November 2010

YOUR HEALTH

Our bodies are amazing machines, aren’t they? Like any machine, some fine tuning can really improve performance and quality. I recently learned that my Zinc to Copper ratio was off. When our Zinc is low in our bodies, it can spike Estrogen. Estrogen is a nasty culprit of inflammation; inflammation is to blame for many diseases. All connected and easily fixed: increase Zinc.

Beef contains the best combination of Zinc and Copper, as our body was intended to receive. Interesting! Many of us have reduced the amount of beef in our diets, and that has also decreased enzymes in our body. I’ve mentioned Glutamine before as an excellent way to get needed enzymes in our system that we may not be getting, especially if we have eliminated beef all together. New studies are revealing that Gluatmine is essential to muscle tissue growth, not just muscle recovery. Without it, we do not develop near the amount of muscle fibers during our workouts and can become weaker as we age…we automatically produce less muscle fibers as we age.

Options are to add some low-fat beef back into your diets or increase Glutamine and Zinc supplements to compensate. I’m going to do a little bit of both! Next time you get some blood work test, see how your Zinc is doing. It will be a good indicator of how you are doing with the balance, which is what it is all about.

YOUR LIFE

I’ve heard from some of you and how you enjoyed the last couple of month’s challenge. So, I have another one for you! The holidays are here, and the rest of the year will fly by at warp speed. The holidays can be a double edge sword for many. We love the extra time with family and friends (and good food!), but we dread the work involved. Here is your question: what tradition are you holding on to that you need to let go?

We often put the pressure upon ourselves to have a perfectly decorated house, but does our family really care? We may put the expectation upon ourselves to bake everything from scratch, but can we buy some things? We might love sending off holiday greetings to everyone we know, but does it have to be hand written or can we opt for photo cards with an imprinted message?

Take a look at what a “normal” holiday looks like for you…what are you dreading? What has started to feel like “work” and consider eliminating it or at least minimizing it to some degree. Then, we just might have the energy to enjoy this most wonderful season!

MONTHLY FEATURE

You may or may not know that I have a professional consulting, corporate training and executive business called Concept One, Inc. I’ve recently updated my website and welcome your feedback and referral of my business to anyone you know who might be in the market to enhance communications, build better teams, increase productivity and improve their bottom line.

In addition, I am pleased to announce that Virginia Bowen is a contract provider for Concept One, Inc. Her photo and bio are listed under “About Us,” so please take a look and learn more about what she can offer.