[New Study] How to Lower Blood Pressure

How almost anyone can lower their blood pressure in ONE WEEK👇

I’m not making this up!

This study was done at Northwestern University and recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

They found that 72% of all people could lower their blood pressure by 6-8 points—in one week…

Simply by reducing sodium in the diet 🧂

The participants were in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.

To get this result, they limited their sodium intake to 500 mg per day, which is lower than the 1500 mg max recommended by the American Heart Association.

The main culprits when it comes to high-sodium foods are processed, packaged, and fast foods, like:

▪️ 3 slices of bacon has 411 mg

▪️ 1 cup canned tomato soup has 471 mg

▪️ McDonald’s Big Mac has 1007 mg

But an apple only has 2 mg of sodium 🍏

Sodium is only one variable in the diet, but you can see how eating whole and fresh foods will win out over processed foods every time.

Drop me a 🍏 if you found this helpful ❤️

Reference

Gupta DK, Lewis CE, Varady KA, et al. Effect of Dietary Sodium on Blood Pressure: A Crossover Trial. JAMA. Published online November 11, 2023. [link]

How to Get Out of a Funk!

Can movement shift your mindset?

For sure!

💃Break out of a mental funk by turning on some music and dancing it out

🏃 Shift negative thinking with a good workout or run

🏋️‍♂️ Push yourself a little extra hard to train your brain you really can change

We love to compartmentalize our health—thinking that physical health is separate from mental health—when actually they are intimately and intricately connected.

Comment below and tell me your favorite way to get moving! ⤵️

A 5-Step Visualization Practice

How to make visualization work for you ⬇️

One of the things I see again and again in my patients who create dramatic improvements in their health is that they have a clear vision of their WHY and what they are working toward.

There is no ONE right way to do this, but these steps can get you started:

🧠 Be clear on your goal (better digestion, weight loss, less anxiety, or whatever it is)

✍️ Write down what your life will look like when you reach your goal. Include lots of details.

👀 Create a visual (drawing, vision board, or just a few key words) to capture this vision.

🖼 Place the visual reminder somewhere you will see it every day.

🚶‍♀️Take one small action every day toward that goal.

I’d love to hear if you have used visualization to reach your goals. Drop me an emoji in the comments if it works for you!

For the Meditation-Curious 🧘‍♀️

Science-backed benefits of meditation👇

I’ve been talking a lot about mindset, and one of the most common questions coming up is: 

How do I change my mindset? 

There are lots of ways to go about this, but one science-backed way is through meditation! 

Research shows that meditation literally changes the brain to:

✔️ Calm the “lizard brain” (amygdala)

✔️ Reduce anxiety

✔️ Manage eating behaviors

✔️ Increase pain tolerance

✔️ Improve sleep

✔️ Relieve stress

If you’re meditation-curious, you can dip your toe in (just 5 minutes a day!) with an app like HeadSpace of Calm.

References

Review of research by the NIH. 

Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EM, et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357-368. [link]

Kral TRA, Schuyler BS, Mumford JA, Rosenkranz MA, Lutz A, Davidson RJ. Impact of short- and long-term mindfulness meditation training on amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli. Neuroimage. 2018;181:301-313. [link]

Growth vs. Fixed: Where Do You Land?

Here’s the difference: 

🔹 People with a growth mindset believe they can change. They embrace challenges. They see failure as an opportunity to learn. 

🔹 People with a fixed mindset believe they are innately good at something or not. Smart or not. They may be hesitant to try new things for fear of failure. 

Truth is—like with all mindsets—that we all fall somewhere along the continuum. 

But when it comes to health, I see many benefits of embracing a growth mindset ↗️

When we believe our bodies and brains can change, we are more motivated to better ourselves, whether that’s through what we eat, how we move, or choices we make. 

These mindsets were first researched and described by Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck. 

She found that mindset translates to performance. 

Mindset work is subtle and may seem less powerful than something like changing your diet. 

But our mindset can influence the outcome of everything else we do. 

Like if you found this helpful ❤️