Feel better in 5
Big changes start with simple steps. Try these ideas to help improve your wellbeing
ZUCCHINI POWER
The perfect summer veg to enjoy raw, grilled, sliced or diced is the zucchini. Why? Because it has numerous benefits to your health, whether you have diabetes or not.
Zucchini contains 35 per cent of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C, and is rich in B-vitamins, which can boost your body’s energy production, reducing fatigue.
High in water, it also has the ability to improve digestion, reducing constipation and other digestive issues. Further, zucchini is low in fat and sodium but, as a result, is high in potassium and fibre, which helps to maintain healthy blood circulation. And, due to the higher intake of fibre, you’ll feel fuller longer, reducing your BGLs and increasing insulin sensitivity. Lastly, this power food also has other health protecting antioxidants and phytonutrients that can maintain and improve eye health. What a veg!
EMBRACE THE OCEAN
Summer is here and we can guarantee there may be a trip or two to the beach. Other than ensuring you slip, slop, slap, heading into the ocean water for a swim is one of the greatest ways to calm your mind and relax your body. Being full of minerals including sodium, magnesium, chloride, calcium and sulphate, the ocean is great for helping with closed wounds and cuts, as well as reducing the symptoms of hayfever and sinusitis (the salty water reduces
inflammation of the sinus lining).
But that’s not all! The sea also heals your mind. The weightlessness of floating in water can have a calming effect, and has been shown to decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety. Once you’ve enjoyed your swim, be sure to take a moment on the beach to listen to the rhythm of the waves crashing in.
While you’re there, make sure that you take time to watch sunrise or sunset over the water – you can thank us later.
ORCHESTRA OF THE BRAIN
It’s never too late to learn something new, and that includes a musical instrument. Learning an instrument enhances your memory, increases your fine motor skills (and hand-eye coordination) and teaches you both spatial reasoning and language skills.
While listening to music stimulates your brain, learning instruments engages most of your senses (vision, hearing and touch), engaging more areas of your brain and strengthening the corpus callosum (the nerve fibres that connect the two hemispheres of your brain).
Whether you learn or relearn an instrument at home or with a music teacher, or join a group, music can reduce stress, enhance emotional wellbeing and bring a sense of achievement in mastering one of your favourite songs.
BECOME MORE SPONTANEOUS
They say life is too short to spend your time pleasing
others, so today is your reminder to stop, and start living a life that is true to you. If you’re delaying a dream, or turning down opportunities… why? Don’t be scared of what other people think. Sometimes you need to say yes to the unknown and see where life takes you.
It can be scary to take that first leap of letting go of plans and perfection, but more times than not this can be what is holding you back. Spontaneous people have been known to feel more freedom as they are more adaptable and flexible with plans, and more open to opportunities. As we get older, we become more cautious about decisions and consequences, causing us to play it safe. Take a moment to find your inner (fearless) child, and ask them what they want to do before making a decision. If all else fails, flip a coin and follow fate’s
decision.
LIVE YOUR BEST FRILUFTSLIV
Nordic concepts are taking over once again, but this time it’s friluftsliv (pronounced freeloofts-liv). This concept translates as ‘open-air living’, and is perfectly connected with the Swedish saying “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes”. No matter the weather, heading outdoors – whether to see water or greenery – strengthens your mental and physical abilities. Whether it’s going for a walk around the block on your lunch break, eating your lunch at the local park, commuting by bicycle or going for a swim at the beach, it’s enough for you to take a break and connect with your roots.
Studies have found those who head outdoors are more likely to connect with their work, feel more refreshed and are more creatively inspired. So, if you have the time to sit down and watch Netflix, then you have the time to head outside to connect with the great outdoors and embrace friluftsliv.