Fun Facts from Nutrition School Part 1

After work ends, and on weekends, I'm doing a program that deep dives into the health and wellness space. I've been fortunate enough to hear from some really amazing sources like Lissa Rankin, MD, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Oz, Dr. Weil (the founder of naturopathic medicine!) and so many others. I find myself writing down some of the most interesting take-aways from those sessions, and wanted to share those notes here.

Going forward, I'll share 5 interesting snippets, and my thoughts on each. I'd love to know which are your favorites!

For the first in the series, here are my 5.

1. Food can be broken down into 2 segments. Primary food (which is not actually food on your plate!) and Secondary food (the nutrients you put into your body).

Have you ever noticed that some people can eat McDonalds their whole life and not have health issues? What about people who eat so healthy but struggle with auto-immune conditions or uncontrollable allergies? It’s not random. Your primary food affects how your body functions. Your secondary food feeds your body.

There are several things that count as primary food

• Relationships / - Trauma in families, abusive relationships, friendships that are unhealthy, inequitably or unbalanced relationships, work dynamics, etc.

• Physical activity/ Health - Moving. your body the way it needs to be moved to pump blood and oxygen through your organs.

• Work / Finances- Whether it’s stress at work, or a balance between a career that s fulfilling to you, our experience at work affects our life and thus affects our bodies.

• Spirituality / Community - Or lack thereof. This does not refer necessarily religion, but something that grounds you to your values.

Relating to that - you’ll notice a lot of religions practice some sort of fasting tradition/schedule. When you take away FOOD food (Secondary food), it’s so much easier to see what areas of your primary food distract you from hunger, bring you joy, or add to your stress. Or have you noticed that when you’re stressed/busy or having a great time doing something, you forget to eat or don’t feel hungry until you’ve finished what you’re doing? Your lifestyle feeds your body - so the quality of those things is extremely important.

Fasting has also proven to be really healthy as a mini detox! Look up Intermittent Fasting and give it a try~

2. Community and connection is SO much more important to our health that we might think.

There's a community of people in Roseto, PA who were mostly Italians. They held fast to traditions, had a unique sense of community, and an insanely low rate of heart disease. As the community became more westernized and the younger generations moved out, the rate of heart disease skyrocketed. Studies were done about this town and something called the Roseto Effect became a thing health professionals talked about. We also see this in areas called the Blue Zones. These areas have the highest number of residents who live to be over 100 years old.

3. Placebo and Nocebo Effect -

Did you know that the placebo affect is 35% effective? Apparently relinquishing control to something you believe has the ability to help you allows your nervous system to relax, therefore allowing your body to heal in the way your body should naturally heal. What if this is why they say “the power of prayer” can heal or to “embrace what will be.”

“Strong placebo responses have also been linked to increases in dopamine and opioid receptor activity. Both of these chemicals are involved in reward and motivation pathways in the brain. Conversely, nocebos have been found to reduce dopamine and opioid receptor activity. ”

— Medical News Today

Another example of this is the statistic that 8% of previously thought" “infertile” couples will get pregnant after adopting. They relinquish control, and give up the struggle to conceive, and in relaxing they find they get pregnant.

Now the Nocebo effect is different. It says that the negative perspective or attitude towards something with negatively affect the outcome. Have you experienced this? Maybe it’s someone hearing they “just aren’t good at math” and that affect their belief in their ability to excel at math.

If we KNOW the brain controls the functions of our body, then what the brain thinks will be translated to the functions of the body. Amazing.

4. Love heals. Kind of. In actuality, feeling love increases the levels of oxytocin and endorphins in your brain, which then activates the body’s natural healing mechanisms. These are the same healing mechanisms that help you get over a cold.

This kind of goes hand in hand with the point about Roseto, PA - communities that support each other and show kindness and love and connection tend to be the healthiest and live the longest. So, feeling unloved, feeling abandoned, feeling unworthy of love, feeling lonely, or feeling hate will negatively impact your wellness level.

Imagine being in a room full of people who loved you. How would your body feel? At easy maybe? Buzzing with joy perhaps? Calm and relaxed maybe? Now imagine being in a room full of people who dislike you. How would your body feel? Maybe you’d be anxious? Maybe your chest would feel tight or your palms would feel clammy. Maybe you’d pretend not to care but you’d be thinking about why they dislike you. What you feel directly affects physical mechanisms in your body.

5. A bully’s brain will light up in the same areas as the person they’re bullying. Their stress hormones (cortisol) increase and their body exhibits signs of going into protection mode themselves, even if they’re not on the receiving end. Showing that “do unto others” isn’t just a moral thing, it’s also a hack for getting what you want from your body. Treat others with kindness and your brain will light up in the same way as when you’re feeling kindness shown to you.

Help someone out and you will likely feel as good as they do for having received your help. Give someone a compliment, see them light up (or blush, it depends ☺️) and you’ll likely feel good as a result of seeing them light up.

The brain, the body, and our ability to control both of those things is truly fascinating.

Ok, so which one did you find to be most intriguing? Do you want more of these? I’d love to know in the comments below!

Be well,

Mia