BODY – ZENA GALLERY

Winter Blues Seasonal Affective Disorder

winterblues

Every winter the way we may feel, seasonal affective disorder or SAD. During winter months with less sunlight in addition to a depressed mood, sad, includes cravings for carbs, inability to concentrate, irritability, weight gain etc. Sunlight stops melatonin production in the body, and darkness starts it.

Sunlight is usually missing in the winter months, when light is absent, the pineal gland activates two of its natural enzymes to turn the hormone serotonin into melatonin. Serotonin keeps us from being depressed, stops craving sweets & carbs. when melatonin kicks in, normal serotonin activities are reversed, the pineal gland gets insufficient sunlight.

Dietary Remedies: Apricots,apples, pears, grapes, plums, grapefruits, oranges , Avocados, Brown Rice, dates, bananas, papayas, plantains, pineapple, tomatoes, cottage cheese, turkey, fish ,eggs, ice, shellfish.

Herbal: Teas Chamomile, peppermint, cinnamon

Lifestyle Remedies: Curtains Open, Exercise in the Sun outside or near a sunny window, walking, aerobics, swimming, biking, light therapy, vacation in sunny climate during winter months

The Great “I AM” Sayings

If you have Faith in Him, you will have True Life” JOHN 20:30-31.

I am The Bread that Gives Life! JOHN 6:47-51

I am The Light for the World! JOHN 8:12

I am The Gate for the Sheep. JOHN 10:7-10

I am The Good Shepherd. JOHN 10:11-16

I am The One Who Raises the Dead to Life! JOHN 11:25-27

I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life! JOHN 14:6

I am The Vine. JOHN 15:5-7

GOD I AM

Ethics for a Whole World

“A book that brings people together on the firm grounds of shared values, reminding us why the Dalai Lama is still one of the most important religious figures in the world.” —Huffington Post, “Best Religious Books of 2011”Ten years ago, in the best-selling Ethics for a New Millennium, His Holiness the Dalai Lama first proposed […]

via Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World — DizzBee Shops

GOD Makes a Covenant

Genesis 15:7-21 In this passage, the conversation of our last post continues, this time Abraham asks God how he can be sure that God will give him the land of Canaan, an amazing question all things considered. God’s reply is even more amazing: He swears out a covenant. So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a […]

via God Makes a Covenant — The Life Project

Vitamin-D Deficiency?

What is the purpose of vitamin D in the body?
Known as the “sunshine vitamin,” vitamin D is a vitamin you can get from food or supplements. Exposure to the sun also stimulates vitamin D production in the skin.
Vitamin D serves several important functions in the body. These include:
promoting calcium absorption, maintaining normal calcium and phosphate levels, promoting bone and cell growth, reducing inflammation. According to Harvard University, an estimated 1 billion people are low in vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiencies can cause short-term symptoms and long-term complications.

What are the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency?
Vitamin D deficiency doesn’t always cause symptoms. When it does, some of the symptoms may include: difficulty thinking clearly, bone pain, frequent bone fractures
muscle weakness. soft bones that may result in deformities, unexplained fatigue
Many people don’t develop symptoms until their vitamin D levels get very low or have been low for some time. This can make the condition difficult to diagnose.

Several factors have contributed to the rising incidence of vitamin D deficiency. These include: wearing sunscreen (sunscreen blocks the sun’s ability to stimulate vitamin D production), not spending enough time outside, having darkly pigmented skin, which won’t absorb the sun’s rays as well , exclusively breast-feeding babies for prolonged time periods, being obese, which typically raises your vitamin D requirements. Some people are born without the ability to process vitamin D. Other people have medical conditions that keep them from digesting vitamin D well.

How is vitamin D deficiency diagnosed?
Your doctor will start by taking your health history to determine if you’ve been experiencing symptoms that could indicate vitamin D deficiency. A doctor will likely order a blood test for the serum concentration of 25(OH)D. This is the type of vitamin D that circulates in the blood. It’s considered a good reflection of how much vitamin D you’ve absorbed from sun exposure and taken in from foods.

Levels of vitamin D are expressed in nanomoles/liter (nmol/L) or nanograms/milliliter (ng/mL). According to the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), the results can indicate the following: deficiency: less than 30 nmol/L (12 ng/mL)
potential deficiency: between 30 nmol/L (12 ng/mL) and 50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL)
normal levels: between 50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL) and 125 nmol/L (50 ng/mL)
high levels: higher than 125 nmol/L (50 ng/mL)

If your vitamin D levels are low and you’re having symptoms of bone pain, a doctor may recommend a special scan to check for bone density . Doctors use this painless scan to evaluate a person’s bone health.

How is vitamin D deficiency treated?
Doctors often treat vitamin D deficiencies by prescribing or recommending vitamin D supplements. The amount you should take usually depends on how low your vitamin D levels are. For example, some people may reach their vitamin D intake by taking a multivitamin. These usually have between 400 and 800 IU of vitamin D with each serving. However, people who are very deficient in vitamin D may need higher levels of supplementation — about 1,000 IU per day.

Ask your doctor how much vitamin D you need every day. The ODS recommends the following dietary allowances for eating foods that contain vitamin D as well as taking supplements: ages 0 to 12 months: 400IU, ages 1 to 70 years (including pregnancy and lactating) 600IU, ages 70 and older: 800IU
Few unfortified foods in a person’s diet are high in vitamin D. Foods that are naturally high in vitamin D include: fatty fish, such as mackerel, salmon, and tuna, beef, cheese, egg yolks, fish liver oils, mushrooms .

However, food manufacturers often add or fortify foods with vitamin D. Examples include: milk, breakfast cereals, yogurt, orange juice, margarine. Manufacturers also add vitamin D to some infant formulas to reduce the risk that infants will have low levels.

It’s also possible to increase vitamin D levels by going outside more. About 15 minutes of sun exposure (without sunscreen on) is usually enough to build up vitamin D levels. Several factors can influence the amount of sun exposure you get, including the time of year, cloud cover, and the time of day (the sun’s rays are more direct during the middle of the day). Another consideration is that ultraviolet B radiation can’t penetrate glass. This type of radiation is what stimulates vitamin D production. So even if you’re taking in sunlight through a window, you won’t get the benefit of vitamin D production.
Sunscreen is still very important to your health. If you’re going to be outside for longer than 15 minutes, you should wear sunscreen to protect against the sun’s damaging rays.

Some steps you can take to maintain healthy vitamin D levels include:
getting out in the sun without sunscreen on for 15 minutes each day
taking a multivitamin that contains vitamin D
eating foods that are high in vitamin D
purchasing and eating foods that are fortified with vitamin D, such as cereals and milk
Eating a healthy diet with fortified foods and getting some sun exposure when possible can help you keep your vitamin D at healthy levels.

What’s a Disability?

Disability is often defined as any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted or is likely to last for at least 6 months, or ones Lifetime. However, disability can be defined in several different ways, depending on the context that the word is used. Disabilities can be very varied. They can be physical, cognitive, intellectual, mental, sensory, or developmental. They can be present at birth or occur during a person’s lifetime, and can also be permanent or temporary.

There are many different types of disabilities which affect individual people in different ways. 90% of disabilities are not visible, and two people with the same type of disability may not have the same experiences, which loosely fall into separate categories – intellectual, physical, sensory, and mental illness.

An intellectual disability may mean difficulty communicating, learning, and retaining information. They include Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and developmental delays.

Physical disability may affect, either temporarily or permanently, a person’s physical capacity and/or mobility. They include MS, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, brain or spinal cord injury, epilepsy, and muscular dystrophy.

Sensory disabilities affect one or more senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste or spatial awareness. They include autism, blindness, and hearing loss.

A mental illness affects a person’s thinking, emotional state and behaviors. They include bipolar, depression, schizophrenia, and eating disorders.

Disability and education
36% of people with a disability aged 18-64yrs, have completed Year 12, compared with 60% of those without a disability.
50% of school children with a disability receive additional support including tuition, and access to counsellors or support workers.
25% of people with a profound or severe disability aged 15 – 64 have completed Year 12.

Disability and the community
People with a profound disability are 9 times less likely to participate in activities outside the home.
Nearly 4 in 5 people with disability aged 15-64 years, participated in a cultural, recreational or sporting activity away from home in the previous 12 months (79%).

Childhood disabilities and developmental delays

7% of children have a disability
10% children have a developmental delay
52% of children with disabilities have a profound or severe core-activity limitation
Boys aged 0-14 years are more likely to have a disability (8.8%) than girls (5.0%)
Autism and related mental or behavioral disabilities are the most common disabilities amongst all children
Sensory (sight and hearing), and speech disabilities are the most common disabilities amongst children aged 0-4
66% of children with disabilities attend regular classes in mainstream schools
Just 10% of children with disabilities attend ‘special’ schools
Almost 80% of School principals reported not having enough resources to meet the needs of children with a disability

Mental Health
1 in 5 have a mental illness
Almost half (45%) will experience a mental illness in their lifetime
Women are more likely to have a mental illness than men (22% compared with 18%). However, men had twice the rate of Substance Use disorders (7.0% compared with 3.3%)
The most common mental illnesses are depressive, anxiety and, substance use disorder
More than 10% of people with a mental illness die by suicide within the first 10 years of diagnosis.

Lets all be dedicated to giving people with a disability greater choice, control, and freedom – empowering them to live life on their own terms across the World.

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Ketogenic Diet Benefits ?

Top 6 Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet

1. Healthy Weight Low-carb, high-fat, moderate-protein diets (like Keto) have been used for decades to help people reach and maintain a healthy weight.One key reasons why is that high-fat diets can actually reduce appetite, even when restricting calories. This is due to the nature of fat-rich foods. Also, by consuming a higher-fat/lower-carb diet, the body is retrained to use fat as an energy source, allowing the body to tap into its own fat reserves for energy.

2. Blood Sugar Balance A ketogenic diet can also be beneficial for those wishing to maintain blood sugar balance (for blood sugar levels already in the normal range). Studies show that low-carbohydrate diets, which limit intake of sugar and processed grains, encourage healthy blood sugar balance as well as other significant health benefits.

3. Healthy Brain Function Not interested in the fat-burning aspect of a keto diet? Keto may still be right for you. A big reason why so many people love the ketogenic diet is due to its support of a healthy brain and brain function. In fact, it’s becoming incredibly popular in many high-performance career fields. One animal study on aged rats pointed towards a ketogenic diet boosting cognitive performance for the study animals. More studies are being done, but that it is a promising outcome. I believe the proof is in the “ketogenic” pudding. Ask anyone who been in ketosis how it feels, and they’ll most likely tell you that their mind and thoughts are much clearer.

4. Support Gut Health Many who suffer from digestive issues shudder at the thought of eating a high-fat, low-carb diet. And for good reason. Increased fat intake can sometimes boost bowel transit time. But this is generally only a short-lived side effect. While more studies need to be done, numerous studies indicate that a low-carb diet can be particularly powerful when it comes to healthy digestion and digestive function. So, the keto diet can be a great addition to diet and lifestyle practices for supporting a healthy gut!

5. Discomfort Soother and Supporting a Healthy Response to Inflammation Ketosis has also been shown to soothe discomfort in the body and to support a healthy response to inflammation. I consider that a win-win!

6. Stable Energy Levels What’s probably most shocking about a ketogenic diet is how it keeps energy levels stable throughout the day. That could mean saying “good-bye” to afternoon slumps and no need for an instant hits of sugar, short-lived energy boosts, followed by a crash.

Ketosis for the Win? How is that possible? Fat (and the ketones produced from fat) are a readily available source of fuel. Once someone is fat-adapted and in ketosis, they will typically find that they can easily go for hours without certain foods and not have drastic energy level swings. There’s a solid amount of benefits for those who make the switch to a ketogenic diet.

Note; After reading this, if you are interested in trying a ketogenic diet, be sure check out my brand new line of supplements specifically designed to help you as you embark on a “keto” journey. Of course, the ketogenic diet of high-fat, low-carb and moderate-protein foods is primary, but I believe these supplements can provide keto-friendly options to help support the keto diet.

As with any dietary or lifestyle regimen, before attempting a ketogenic diet in any capacity, I recommend you try it ONLY with the support of your doctor or other health professional.

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Self Cleansing, Get back your Self-power?! Try Today!

Try Self Cleansing Once a week, A month, or anytime suitable to gain your self power and positive energy in your life to a daily basis. Self Rituals are a symbolic way to help you release old hurts and prepare for new goals. Everyone encounters negativity in life, including gossip, turmoil at work, breakups and other losses. They can block you spiritually if you allow them to build and gather power. By performing a spiritual cleansing, you can release these negatives and reclaim your power. A cleansing can act as the starting point for moving in a healthier direction.

Step 1. Take a bath to prepare yourself physically for the spiritual cleansing. Try using bath salts in the water, as salt is traditionally considered to be a cleansing element. As you relax in the hot water, meditate on the specific areas of your life that need cleansing.

Step 2. Write down the aspects of your life that you wish to cleanse. Focus on items that contribute to negativity and keep you stuck. Include everything that needs to be released to clear your spirit.

Step 3. Meditate on the list of negatives you just created. Envision the negativity in your life dissolving, turning to dust and blowing away on the wind. If you have religious beliefs, you can pray to your deity or higher power during this process, asking for help with your cleansing. Otherwise, simply repeat a mantra such as, “I release all that is negative in my life. I release its power over me. I reclaim the power of my spirit.”

Step 4. Burn the list. You can ignite it with a candle, match or lighter, but do it in a safe place where there is no danger of starting a fire. The best spot is over a sink or bathtub. Put a plate in the bottom of the sink or tub to catch any ashes, which you can scatter outside.

Step 5. Say aloud & firm with belief “I am purified by the flame. My spirit is cleansed and freed.” as the paper burns. As you do this, imagine everything negative rising up from your spirit and vaporizing.

Things you need. Bath salts, white Candle, matches or lighter, Bowl or vase (optional)

Happy Cleansing!!!!

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Physical Health & Mental Health

I wish to ask a question today that has been troubling me for last few days. Do you believe that physical health is more important than mental health? Why is it that a person who suffers a physical injury, say from an accident or a calamity or an attack, is given more attention than […]

via Physical Health Vs. Mental Health — My Feelings My Freedom

Selflove & Selfcare SELFISH TO OTHERS?!

Is selflove & selfcare selfish to others? I’ve spent long years telling myself I cannot afford to slowdown, To have even 10 minutes of me time, I have to hustle and work more. Doing that for too long, you will find yourself incredibly exhausted.

It’s time for things to change. Self-care spending a few minutes each day doing nothing. No thinking, no social media, nothing. Get in touch with your body, your inner self.

It starts from there. Reasons you shouldn’t feel selfish for taking care of yourself.

Authenticity. The moment you decide to give yourself a few minutes of the day, you’re also allowing yourself to be more authentic. If you think you already do, think again.

Try it for a month, don’t wait for the weekends; put in a little extra effort and commit to doing something every day for yourself. It won’t take long before you see some parts of yourself you never thought existed. It allows you to determine which parts are authentically yours and which aren’t—we all have aspects in us that are copied from someone else.

You can only help others if you’re helping yourself first, physically, mentally and spiritually. Desire, passion are not enough. You need a healthy body, open mind to function, which aren’t present if you’re filled with self-doubt. It’s not going to be easy, but worth it. The road to self-care is a tricky one. But it’s necessary. Pretending to be strong 24/7 doesn’t last long. The strength must come from within. It helps you go from existing to living.

Existing is simply being on this tiny blue dot called Earth. Living is experiencing everything this tiny blue dot has to offer. Which are you doing? Are you going to wait for your retirement before you decide you want to enjoy life? for yourself? Although we have responsibilities paying bills, raising children, etc.

We’re also responsible for taking care of ourselves. It will help you find your purpose. You’ve probably asked that question countless times. You might have days, weeks or months where you feel down, unsatisfied, feeling like there should be something more. It’s your body signaling you to take a leap into the unknown, because your purpose is out there, waiting.

How do you know when you find it? You just do. Self-care means trusting yourself. It means being willing to go out in the wild or dig deep. It might be scary, but there’s really no other way to figure out what you’re supposed to do in this world. Practicing self-care and building trust between you and your inner self will help you find purpose in life.

Self-care can be Empowering, as you need it to be.

Selfcare is not narcissism
For years now people say that they are being selfish or narcissistic. The suggestion to take care of yourself first gets a bad rap when we begin to do so in the sense that it says “no” to someone else; or we don’t like what the art of taking care of self looks like from our point of view. We can’t pick and choose how we want people to take care of themselves because it looks insensitive to us because them being in a healthy state of mind might leave us behind, or they need time to themselves for an uncertain amount of time. The person who is taking care of self knows what that looks and feels like to them and because we love them we have to allow them to balance themselves in the best way that they know how.

We have so many people doing the opposite of taking care of themselves to the point of self deprecation and deprivation that it is leaving them in a void. Some of us become co-dependents to the state of martyrdom because it makes us look saintly but underneath we are miserable.

When we deplete ourselves because we have chosen to put others before ourselves over and over again in a way that is unhealthy it places emotional stress and tension on us that can present itself through mental and physical health issues. We have to balance out our energies in a way that replenishes us so that we are able to give to those we love and care for in ways that allow us to give of ourselves in the best light possible.

SELF