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Protecting your Pet’s Health during the Pandemic

Protecting your Pet’s Health during the Pandemic

Pets provide people with valuable companionship and unconditional love.  They can also greatly contribute to our health. Having and loving a pet can help to reduce stress and anxiety, ease depression, encourage exercise, and even improve cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure. 

All of these benefits are even more essential during these nerve-racking times. For those of us who have and love pets, we also want to do all we can to keep them healthy as well.

As I am prepping for the re-launch of the Healthy Aging Summit in June this year, I had the privilege of interviewing an internationally renowned veterinarian Dr. Judy Morgan.  While interviewing her about how to keep our pets healthy as they age, I also took the opportunity to ask questions about how to best care for our pets during this time of pandemic. Dr. Morgan responded that “our pets are sponges of our emotions, and if you are dealing with stress, anxiety and fear, your pets are feeling that way as well.”  Just like humans, pets need to be reassured that everything is going to be OK.

Pets can exhibit anxiety and stress by urinating or defecating in the house, becoming destructive, restless, compulsive or aggressive, or showing signs of fear, such as hiding.

Dr. Morgan reiterated that our pets respond best to calm and loving manners in their human companions. She recommended that we try our best to maintain a normal routine, love and reassure them through snuggling and petting, and keep a sense of calm.  

Some of her recommendations:

  • Playing soothing music in the house as opposed to the news
  • Maintaining daily walks and playtime
  • If you can’t get outside, play games inside like hide-n-seek (hide some treats around the house and have your pet seek them out)
  • Offer brain stimulation by teaching you pet a new trick or using a food dispensing toy or puzzle

This can also be a great time to work on obedience training.

One thing she warned against is showing love and affection with food!  Like with people, if we use food to comfort our pets, we will all emerge from this time of quarantine 10 pounds heavier!

During this time of quarantine, you also need to prepare for your pet just as you would prepare your family. This includes having a 2-4 week supply of food, medications (don’t forget subscription medications), litter and other supplies.

And if you are wondering if your pet can contract COVID -19, so far, there have been a few reports of pets being infected: a cat in Belgium and two dogs in Hong Kong.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Organization for Animal Health have also said that there is no evidence at this time that companion animals can spread the COVID-19 virus.

If you are so inclined, now would be a great time to adopt or foster a pet.  Many shelters are being overrun with people giving up their pets during this crisis. Additionally, animal shelters, like businesses, have had to go to skeleton staffs, so there are fewer people able to care for the animals. Please reach out to shelters and rescue groups in your area for more information. Even temporarily fostering a pet would ease the burden.

We can best help our pets and ourselves during these trying times by maintaining a healthy routine and finding ways to nurture a calm and peaceful household. 

Susan Brady
is a Physical Therapist,
Nutrition Consultant and
Doctor of Integrative Medicine.
She has been treating women with osteoporosis for over 30 years and is dedicated to helping people achieve
lasting good health and vitality.

Want to learn more about how you can improve your bone health? Contact me for a free 15 minute phone consult to learn more about the BONES Method™ and how it can help you achieve strong, healthy bones for life!

Day 13: A message from Reverend Haffner

Day 13: A message from Reverend Haffner

Monday morning in America.  This traffic map should be lit up in RED!  Instead, people are hunkered down in their homes protecting themselves and their families from this virus that has engulfed the world.

These are very odd and frightening times we are living through.

I would like to share with you a message from Reverend Debra Haffner, a minister from a local Unitarian Church in Reston, Virginia.  She emphasizes why Baby Boomers need to take this virus seriously, despite our insistence that we are still young!

My goal is to help us all stay healthy and vibrant as we age. But we also need to be aware that with every passing year, we do become more susceptible to disease and illness. That’s why it is important to take daily action steps to strengthen our body and protect ourselves from all forms of dis-ease.

Enjoy this message from Reverend Debra.

Susan Brady
is a Physical Therapist,
Nutrition Consultant and
Doctor of Integrative Medicine.
She has been treating women with osteoporosis for over 30 years and is dedicated to helping people achieve
lasting good health and vitality.

Want to learn more about how you can improve your bone health? Contact me for a free 15 minute phone consult to learn more about the BONES Method™ and how it can help you achieve strong, healthy bones for life!

Day 12: Stress Resilience

Day 12: Stress Resilience

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of sleep, and how our primary sleep hormone, melatonin, directly influences our immune system. Melatonin production at night helps boost our immune cells to seek out and destroy pathogens as we sleep. If you remember, the release of melatonin is dictated by our circadian rhythm. 

But there is also another important hormone that is dictated by this daily rhythm, cortisol. Cortisol is released in response to the morning sun to help fuel our brain and body in preparation for the day’s work ahead. However, cortisol also temporarily dampens the immune system by interfering with the action of T-cells (an immune cell) and decreasing the production of white blood cells that also help fight off infection. Additionally, cortisol is also released in response to stress. Stressful situations throughout the day can create surges of cortisol that override the circadian rhythm, resulting in further suppression of immune function. This why prolonged stress weakens the immune system, puts us at greater risk for illness and damages our health.

Life is synonymous with stress. We all face stressful times…like what we are living through right now. However, it is not the stress itself, but how we respond to the stress that’s important. We have a choice; we can let stress overtake our lives and promote a continual flood of cortisol into our system, or we can find ways to manage it. Developing stress resilience or finding ways to cope with stressful situations is the key to managing stress and preventing cortisol surges. 

We can take a 4 “R” approach when dealing with stress.

4 R’s for Stress Resilience

1. Reflect on the people and things in your life that you are grateful for. Taking a few minutes each day for this exercise will help you lower stress, improve your health, better handle adversity and feel happier.

2. Rejuvenate through self-care, exercise, and sleep. We are better able to handle stress when we are feeling physically and emotionally healthy. Spending time to pamper yourself and getting enough sleep and daily exercise will help rejuvenate you inside and out.

3. Restore with breathing, meditation, and/or prayer. Spending a few minutes meditating, performing breath work or praying can restore calm and inner peace.

4. Reconnect with nature. Spending time in nature helps to relieve stress and lighten our mood. Even if it is only sitting quietly outside on your deck taking in the fresh air and sunshine or soaking in the sights from a sunny window, reconnecting with nature has a way of nourishing our soul.

Good stress management skills will help to normalize the daily rhythm of cortisol and keep your immune system functioning at an optimal level. 

Announcement:  Today is the last day of the Pandemic Recovery Summit….over 50 experts have shared their knowledge on how to survive and recover from the Corona Virus. It is FREE for one more day!
Click here to register!

 

Susan Brady
is a Physical Therapist,
Nutrition Consultant and
Doctor of Integrative Medicine.
She has been treating women with osteoporosis for over 30 years and is dedicated to helping people achieve
lasting good health and vitality.

Want to learn more about how you can improve your bone health? Contact me for a free 15 minute phone consult to learn more about the BONES Method™ and how it can help you achieve strong, healthy bones for life!

Day 11: Sleep is Essential

Day 11: Sleep is Essential

Today I am going to share my most important tip for helping you create a home health haven.  A tip for not only keeping your immune system strong in the presence of this virus, but also for living a happier, healthier life in general. 

The Tip: Strive to get a full night of sleep

Sleep deprivation suppresses the immune system. When you sleep, your body makes cytokines, a type of protein that targets infection and inflammation. Sleep also increases the production and efficiency of T-cells, a type of immune cell that fights against pathogens, like viruses, bacteria and cancer cells.  Without these night time soldiers at work, the invaders go wild. 

One of ways sleep affects our immunity is through the production of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone produced in the evening that causes us to become sleepy. Elevated melatonin levels directly influence the release of cytokines and T cells while we sleep.  

Interestingly, as we age we don’t produce the same levels of melatonin as we did when we were younger. This is a strong reason why older people are more prone to infectious diseases than any other age group. 

Melatonin is also a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory further enhancing the benefits of sleep by helping to heal and repair our tissues at night.  

The daily, rhythmic release of melatonin is synchronized by our circadian rhythm.  Taking measures to regulate our circadian rhythm and support the release of melatonin in the evenings can help you get a good night’s sleep and enhance the immune system. 

7 Natural ways to support healthy melatonin levels:

1.    Get morning sunshine.  The hormone melatonin is made by a small gland in the body called the pineal gland.  Morning sunlight directly into the eyes deactivates the pineal gland, suppresses the production of melatonin, and helps to “set” our circadian rhythm. 

2.    Avoid light after the sun goes down. Light is a direct inhibitor to the production of melatonin.  Therefore, exposure to light at night, especially the blue light emitted from electronic devices, can prevent the secretion of melatonin… making it more difficulty for you to fall and stay asleep.

3.    Escape the EMF’s or electromagnetic fields. EMF’s are not a new phenomenon, but we are getting a steady increase in exposure with all the advancing technologies. Studies have shown that exposure to EMF’s can influence our circadian rhythm by interfering with melatonin secretion.  It is best to turn off your phone at night while you are sleeping. However, if it is your primary lifeline to your family, place it at least 15 feet away from your bed.

4.    Sleep in complete darkness. A dark environment ensures a good production of melatonin throughout the night.

5.    Eat foods rich in melatonin, tryptophan and magnesium. Almonds and walnuts contain melatonin. The amino acid tryptophan is needed in the production of melatonin.  Tryptophan is found in protein rich foods such as turkey, chicken, almonds and cheese. Magnesium rich foods like leafy greens, nuts and seeds and legumes also naturally boost your melatonin levels.  If you do snack in the evenings, snack on foods such as pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts or a slice of hard cheese.

6.    Take a hot Epsom salt bath.  The warm water will have a relaxing effect on the body and the magnesium in the Epsom salt will aid to naturally boost melatonin levels.

7.    Limit coffee consumption late in the day.  Caffeine reduces melatonin production, which might be fine first thing in the day, but may interfere with sleep in the evening. 

Supplementing with melatonin is also an option, but because melatonin may interact with certain nutrients, herbs and pharmaceuticals medications, it is best to consult a health care practitioner before taking melatonin.

I am currently offering a 50% discount on my supplement review appointments. Please reach out if you are interested in having me review and update your current supplement protocol.

From living longer, to boosting your immune system and warding off disease, sleep is the foremost nourisher of health!

Susan Brady
is a Physical Therapist,
Nutrition Consultant and
Doctor of Integrative Medicine.
She has been treating women with osteoporosis for over 30 years and is dedicated to helping people achieve
lasting good health and vitality.

Want to learn more about how you can improve your bone health? Contact me for a free 15 minute phone consult to learn more about the BONES Method™ and how it can help you achieve strong, healthy bones for life!

Finding a New “Normal”

Finding a New “Normal”

This week, President Trump extended the isolation period through the end of April. However, it is going to take many months before we truly get back to “normal.” We are being thrusted into a new “normal” that we have little control over, and that can be overwhelming.

And not only that, but our normal schedules and daily routines have fallen by the way side. Those who are unable to work at this time, you can sleep when you want, eat when you want, and binge-watch as many shows as you want. Although this might be fun for a short period of time, most people need structure and consistency in their lives. Our bodies and our minds rely on patterns and routine. A lack of routine can lead to stress, poor sleep, poor eating, and unproductive time. 

I am sure this virus has disrupted your old routine, but its important to find a new routine and a new “normal” in order to stay both physically and mentally healthy. 

1.    Set a schedule. It’s easy right now to disregard the alarm clock and pull the covers over your eyes as the morning sun floods into your room. But maintaining a consistent schedule, waking up and going to bed at the same time every day, is important. Our bodies have a natural rhythm, and just shifting our body clock forward or backward an hour can disrupt our natural cycles and impact our health.  All the systems in our body rely on this daily rhythm, so make sure you are getting up close to the same time you were a month ago when life was “normal.”

2.    Don’t skip a meal. Who doesn’t want to hear this advice! Scheduling your meals and eating at the same time every day also has health benefits. Digestion, metabolization of fat, and blood sugar control are all linked to the body’s daily rhythm. Interestingly, ancient Chinese practitioners believed that energy flowed around the body in parallel with the sun’s movements and that our meals should be timed accordingly. Our “shelter in place” status can lead to grazing throughout the day, but it’s best to stick to your usual meal times. It’s another good idea to stop eating after dinner…the sun has gone down, so should we. 

3.    Continue to dress for success. If you were working outside of the home before and now working virtually, make it a point to continue to shower, groom and dress in your work clothes. This will psychology make you feel better and be more productive when working from home. Even if you are retired or not working right now, consistent daily bathing and dressing practices sets up a healthy routine.

4.    Maintain a consistent exercise schedule. Exercise is one of the best ways to keep your body and brain fit during this time. You must schedule time every day, or at least several days every week, to exercise. Whether it is stretching, doing some body weight exercises (pushups and squats), running up and down the stairs, going for a walk, jogging in place….exercise is essential for mental and physical well-being. If you don’t know how to fit exercise into your new “normal,”  reach out to me and we can schedule a 30 minute consult to develop a home exercise program.

5.    Keep your brain fit. Your brain, like your body, needs constant stimulation to stay fit and healthy. If you are unable to work at this time, learning a new skill can keep your brain sharp, abate stress and support overall mental functioning. 

Staying on a routine is part of “self-care” during this time.  Your body and your brain need consistency and certainty. Designing a schedule for yourself will allow you to create a sense of control during these uncertain times. We are all re-adjusting to our new “normal.”  It is important to set up a daily routine that works for you and stick to it.

Want more information on how to keep yourself and your family healthy during these trying times? Check out the Pandemic Recovery Summit. 

It’s a free, online summit designed to give you reliable information and valuable tips as you navigate through this extraordinary time in history.

You’ll hear from many experts on urgently important topics, such as:

  • Nutritional health hacks to protect you from viral infections
  • Dealing with stress and heavy emotions in times of crisis
  • Knowing how to recover, and how to support others if they get sick
  • The basics of transmission and incubation 
  • How to support your kids (and your sanity) during lockdown
  • Protecting yourself from EMF while working and staying at home
  • Turning on your natural “killer” cells to fight infection
  • Food: Sensible and practical prepping for any situation
  • The hidden dangers of blood sugar when it comes to immunity
  • How to prepare for the pandemic without going off the deep end

The summit is online, so you don’t have to leave your home, but it is only free for the next few days…so register today!

Click here to register for the Pandemic Summit Recovery

Susan Brady
is a Physical Therapist,
Nutrition Consultant and
Doctor of Integrative Medicine.
She has been treating women with osteoporosis for over 30 years and is dedicated to helping people achieve
lasting good health and vitality.

Want to learn more about how you can improve your bone health? Contact me for a free 15 minute phone consult to learn more about the BONES Method™ and how it can help you achieve strong, healthy bones for life!