Category: Health and Wellness

The Most Important Thing

On By seancovellIn Health and WellnessLeave a comment

I’ve just finished reading a book called The One Thing. My thoughts? In a word: fantastic. It’s basic premise is that you must narrow down you focus, your priorities to just ONE important thing. The authors suggest in planning your day, week, month, year, ask yourself, “What’s the one thing, such that by doing would make my life easier and make all else unnecessary?” What a fantastic question. I would venture to say that most never ask it. I know that I haven’t. I wish I had earlier in my life. Regardless, it got me thinking, “If you could only have one trait, what the most important one to have.” This is another way of asking, what the most important “thing” in life. After careful consideration, I know the answer. Courage.

Courage is the most important thing in life to have. Without it, nothing would happen. Without courage we humans would live in constant fear of everything–fear of death, fear of embarrassment, fear of losing loved ones, fear of financial ruin, fear that we are not enough. It’s in our nature to be fearful. We are not the biggest or strongest creatures to have roamed the Earth. We are constantly faced with things that could kill us, ruin us, embarrass us or make us quite uncomfortable. Fear is what drives us if we act on instinct alone–unless you have Courage.

Courage is not the lack of fear, it is acting in spite of fear. The two attributes are not mutually exclusive. They balance each other like good and evil, light and dark, yin and yang. Fear is what holds us back. Courage is what drives us forward. Courage is what drives all of humanity forward. Life without courage is no life at all. Another word for courage is faith. A life without faith is no life at all.

From The One Thing: “One evening an elder Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on in all people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us. One is Fear. It carries anxiety, concern, uncertainty, hesitancy, indecision and irritation. The other is faith (courage). It brings calm, conviction, confidence, enthusiasm, decisiveness, excitement and action.” The grandson thought about it for a moment then meekly asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.”

FEED YOUR COURAGE. STARVE YOUR FEARS.
-Sean

What is a Carbohydrate?

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, UncategorizedLeave a comment

What is a Carbohydrate and Why You Must Limit Them in 500 Words

I’ve just returned from the tropical paradise of Hawaii and while I’m still buzzing with sun and saltwater energy, I must say that I noticed something I hadn’t on my previous trips. Most of the indigenous population of Hawaii is severely overweight. You wouldn’t think so, because they spend so much time outdoors, engaging in physical activities, but it’s a fact. I couldn’t really understand why until I was offered some pineapple from a staff member of my hotel. I replied “No thanks, I’m not taking in carbs until after my workouts.” Her response was, “Pineapple has carbs?” I had just realized that so many people don’t even know what a carbohydrate is or why they should be consumed in moderation.
Carbohyrate: “any of various neutral compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (as sugars, starches, and celluloses) most of which are formed by green plants and which constitute a major class of animal foods.” In other words, fruits, vegetables, starches like rice and potatoes, wheat, corn, sugar-these are the most common sources of human carbohydrate consumption. Why is this important and why should we limit our intake of them? The simple answer is that carbohydrates cause a rise in blood sugar, an event in which the body responds to by releasing insulin to absorb the sugar in the blood stream and shuttle it into the cell-which can then use it for energy. Sounds great right? Sure, most of us have been taught that we need lots of carbs for energy. The problem is, our cells respond well to insulin (assuming one is not diabetic) when we are young, but constant carbohydrate consumption can damage the cells, especially as we age, making them not as sensitive to insulin and therefore causing a whole host of health issues.
Additionally, if the cells are not in need of glucose (the end product of carbohydrates that cells use for energy) the rise in insulin after consuming carbs will trigger your body to shuttle the energy into you fat cells for storage. If this continues on and on, obesity and diabetes or pre-diabetes is likely to occur. So the question becomes, why should be eat carbohydrates if over consumption can cause severe health problems? Like anything, you never want too much. Carbs are very useful for repairing damaged muscle tissue and replenishing energy (glycogen) reserves in the body. If you are an endurance athlete or weight lifter, consuming carbs to aid in recovery is a great idea. Insulin is a very powerful hormone. It can make you extremely fat or extremely muscular and strong, but you have to understand how your body deals with carbs. Some people are very carb-sensitive. Others are not so much. However, as all bodies age, the ability to process carbohydrates will decrease, so it’s a wise idea to limit their consumption except when necessary for tissue repair. What about veggies? Stay tuned for the next edition……