Adventures in Wellness, Episode 3: Probiotics

I have a cold. I feel kinda crappy. However, I am ecstatic! I used to get sick several times per year and I wouldn’t be free of symptoms for about a month each time. I thought I just had a really hard time fighting colds. Then it was brought to my attention that what I battled several times per year was a cold turning into at least bronchitis, if not pneumonia. Then I didn’t think I was such a wimp for feeling like I was going to die. So just feeling “kinda crappy” is great! I had an epiphany yesterday when I noticed that I wasn’t getting worse as quickly as I have in the past. I realized that this must be what it feels like to just have a cold, and that this is probably as bad as I’m going to feel this time. That is SO. EXCITING. And I owe it all to probiotics.

A little over a year ago, I started taking daily probiotics. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: "Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host". In other words, there is such a thing as good bacteria. And ooohhhh, is it good! This is the first time I’ve been sick since starting to take probiotics. I haven’t had a break between sicknesses this long since I was a child. Even as a kid I got sick a lot. This nice long stretch of health has really spoiled me; I knew I’d get sick again someday, but I felt invincible. I tested fate several times: going out in the cold without proper bundling, being in close proximity to sick people, etc. I am still convinced that I only got sick this time because it had been too inconvenient to go to the store and replenish my stock of probiotics for a while, so my system has been lacking the positive reinforcement that they give. What is this magical positive reinforcement, you ask?

Probiotics mainly work to strengthen the immune and digestive systems. Essentially, probiotics work by displacing harmful microorganisms and lowering the pH in the intestines, thus creating an environment unfavorable to the growth of harmful bacteria. Since at least 70% of your immune function takes place in your digestive system, if you keep your digestion happy, it keeps your immune system happy. For more details about the strong connection between the digestive and immune systems, check this out. For a fun little cartoon about how probiotics work to balance these systems, check this out. Or you can just take my word for it.

So are you ready to add probiotics to your daily life? I thought so. There are many avenues to incorporating probiotics into your diet. The most natural way (and generally the natural ways are best) is to ingest plenty of fermented foods, and I don’t mean you should have a bunch of beer. I mean natto, kimchi, miso, tempeh, saurkraut, kefir and other fermented foods. A note about yogurt, however: it is a commonly held belief that all yogurts contain probiotic cultures.  However, in order to meet the definition of a probiotic, a culture must survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract and provide a benefit to the host.  The only requirement in the United States for yogurt is that they contain live cultures of Lactobacillus bulgarius and Streptococcus thermophilus which do not survive past the mouth. While some yogurts contain Lactobacillus acidophilus which is a preferred culture as it is more able to survive passage through the stomach, not all Lactobacillus acidophilus based yogurts deliver live microorganisms since some yogurt products are heat-treated after fermentation thereby killing the cultures.

You can also get your daily probiotics in more of a supplement form, although in that case, make sure your supplements are refrigerated, even during transport from the manufacturer to the store you buy them from to ensure the cultures stay live. I have been taking the route in between natural food sources and supplementation; I drink GoodBelly. I just drink 8oz of the deeleeshus juice every day (my favorite flavors are mango and cranberry watermelon, yum!) and I get 20 billion live and active cultures for the day! GoodBelly juices are allergy-friendly with absolutely no dairy, tree nuts or peanuts, wheat, fish or seafood or soy. They are vegan and have no genetically-altered ingredients, no preservatives and no artificial flavors or colors. They are not made with modified corn starch, fake dyes, or other mystery ingredients. Since I tend to be pretty lazy in the kitchen, GoodBelly is a great option for me so I don’t have to commit to preparing the above foods all the time.

Find out which way would work best for you and start taking probiotics today! Your body will thank you.

Here's a coupon for anyone who wants to try GoodBelly... hurry, it expires at the end of the month!

Adventures in Wellness, Episode 2: Mickey's Mousercise

Hi Mouseketeers! Let’s Mousercise!

For the past couple of weeks memories of doing Mousercise have been popping up in my head for no apparent reason. I decided that it was meant to be the next entry here in my blog.

Mickey’s Mousercise is fun fitness for the young and the young at heart. It’s upbeat and cheesy (Get it? Mouse? Cheese? Oh, I’m horrible.) but it does get your heartbeat up! In this electronic age, it’s hard to get kids to exercise, especially if you can’t afford a Wii (which in my opinion shouldn’t be the first choice for exercise anyway), but for 99¢ you can get the “Mousercise Medley” on iTunes. Most kids can’t resist bouncing when they hear a beat, and with the urgings, encouragement and guidance of Mickey and Goofy, they’ll get 7 minutes of aerobics that they wouldn’t get otherwise.

For adults that are “young at heart”, this is an excellent way to warm up your body before your “real” workout. Also, I’m not naïve enough to assume that everyone has a workout routine that they do regularly. Many people don’t enjoy exercise for different reasons. If you have trouble finding the motivation to get yourself into a fitness routine, maybe you should try starting with Mousercise! If you’re not used to doing a lot of exercise, this is a great way to work into getting your body moving. If you don’t have a goal such as increasing strength or losing weight, keep in mind that even just increasing circulation for a few minutes every day will have tremendous health benefits.

I’ve been incorporating Mousercise into my lifestyle twice a day and I feel great! Even on my busiest days I can take 7 minutes every morning and night to do some Mousercise and increase my circulation and pump some endorphins into my system.

Here’s a challenge to you: do Mousercise at least once a day for one week. Keep a journal if you feel like it, or just pay attention to any changes in how you feel for that week. At the end of your week, send me an email with your thoughts!

Ok, here it is... Mickey’s Mousercise Medley, circa 1982!

Adventures in Wellness, Episode 1: Bikram Yoga

Being a massage therapist, I feel I have a responsibility to explore many paths to wellness. I was a pretty quiet, lazy kid so I feel like I'm a bit behind the times. I hated PE, didn't ride a bike for so long that I forgot how (apparently it is possible) and didn't really get any kind of regular exercise until I started dancing. Even then, I was just doing it because it was fun; I didn't really care that it was good for me and I didn't pay that much attention to that aspect of it. For a time, I belonged to Curves and that was a blast but I didn’t keep up with it. My mom was into yoga for a while, but I just thought it was weird and decided I wanted nothing to do with it.

Fast forward several years. I have dealt with my yoga issues. I still think it’s weird but I understand it more now. I also am positive it’s something I could benefit from. So, off I marched (with some encouragement from my awesome friend and acupuncturist Almine, who has a great entry in her blog about yoga btw) to Bikram Yoga for the first time with my shorts and tank top and water bottle. I went into the hot room (over 100°F) and set up my mat and towel. When I sat down with my legs straight out in front of me, I could already feel the pull in my hamstrings and I knew I had a long journey toward anything resembling flexibility. When the instructor entered the room, we began with breathing exercises, and my body made it very clear to me that I had a long journey toward normal lung capacity as well. By the end of the class, I was crying, although I don’t think anyone could tell because my face was red and dripping with sweat anyway. On one hand, I was crying because I was just so darn worked over. On the other hand, I realized later that I was having a tremendous emotional release. That first day kicked my butt, and I only attempted maybe half of the poses. Today I am writing this after my fifth class, and it is the last day of my intro period. I am now attempting all of the poses, I am breathing better, I feel cleaner inside, I am dealing with the stresses of life much better, my skin looks and feels better and I am much more flexible. I haven’t found an increase in strength yet, but I know it’s coming because I sure have been sore (you know, that good kind)!

I’m totally getting a membership.

I can't do that yet.

I can't do this one yet either.

I'm awesome at this one though.

Introduction

Ok, this is my first blog... here I go...


This is the blog of Martha Kay, licensed massage therapist. I am planning on this blog being mostly about my explorations into different modalities and other health-related activities. I think I shall call it "Adventures in Wellness". Yeah. Yeah, I like that.


As a massage therapist, I feel a responsibility to research and explore many paths to relaxation and health. Once I do that, don't I then have a new responsibility to share what I've learned? I think so. I may not be the most eloquent, or bring you tales of unheard of treatments/activities, but maybe you'll learn something or at least gain a new perspective anyway. I'd be happy to hear from anyone who has something to contribute that will help me learn or gain new perspective; or, if you have a suggestion of a modality/activity you think I should try and then blog about, tell me that too!


If for some reason you found my blog first, I suggest going to my website to learn a bit more about me and what I do.


Also, if you don't already, I'd appreciate it very much if you "like" me on Facebook. :)