food – Notes from Ladybug

How to have a better life

Japanese style- a better life

There goes without saying that no country in this world is better than another, but Japanese may come pretty close. The Japanese way of living is a very balanced way of living and all we can do is learn from them.

Photo by Evgeny Tchebotarev on Pexels.com

Contrary to Hector Garcia and Frances Morales’s book, the Ikigai Encyclopedia by Ken Mogi defines “ikigai” as being in harmony with the environment and those around yourself. He describes in this book, that in order to live a happy life, Japapnese people enjoy eating something sweet/enjoyable in the morning. You do not need to do something enjoyable for work but you can find something that you enjoy to do every day after work, you can pursue you passion after work hours. You can find meaning in every situation.

Another Japanese concept is Nagomi-this refers to balance, comfort and peace for the heart& mind, the equilibrium of multiple factor. In this other book- The way of Nagomi, Mogi suggests that in orders to find nagomi you need to forgive yourself your past mistakes and forgive others for the things they made against you.

You do not need to love something in order to find an ikigai, you only need to find small enjoyable things around yourself- you need to search for the activity you do without caring what others think of you. In order to remain yourself, as he suggests, you need to embrace change and leave the past behind.

I hope that in this new year you will learn to love yourself, to take one step at a time in the direction of your dreams. Believe in yourself.You are strong. YOU CAN 🙂

Why health matters

It goes without saying that health is the most important aspect of your life. Not being healthy can limit you from performing certain activities and while being sick, it is the thing that you miss the most, that you wish you were grateful for being healthy.

One of the key steps to having a healthier life is to begin to accommodate daily exercise in your daily life. For the next month, plan to have some objectives:

-daily walk

-a week without sugar, limit your intake only in weekend in small amounts

-fruits & vegetables every day

-intermittent fasting 2 times a week

The emotions that you have can bring you insight on why certain situations are not good for you. More and more, different author came to the conclusion that oriental medicine already know that physical health is in closely bond with the emotions you are experience. That is why when exercising, the brain releases dopamine, which makes you feel good.

The people of Okinawa, a Japanese island manage to live a longer and healthier life than anyone else. Their secret is that they do daily exercise, have a healthy diet rich in vegetables & fruits and fish. In addition to that, they provide great support towards each other and have different activities & hobbies. Being surrounded by people you cherish, strengthens your immunity that protects you from illnesses. That is a great lesson for all of us, surround yourself with great people that are there for you even in bad times, not only when everything is perfect. Being healthy means being also in a great mental shape

I hope this helps…You can start living a healthier life.

How to be healthy

Nowadays being healthy weighs more than having money. Health is the greatest asset that one man can have.

As one of the Tibetan proverbs says:

The secret of living well is:
Eat half
Walk double
Laugh triple
& love without measure
Tibetan proverb

Balance in eating is key to having a good health, since most medical conditions improve/become worse depending on the diet you have. According to dr Uma Naidoo, the best diet to follow that helps reduce most mental health conditions and improves overall health is the Mediterranean diet. This diet consist of plant based foods such as legumes, fruit, nuts, seeds, whole grains, herbs and spices. The Greek & Italian cuisine contain plenty of delicious meals that are good for your health.

By maintaining a healthy diet and doing exercise you are one step of having a good life. Try to avoid eating sweets as these are the ones that do the most harm to your health. As for exercise, you do not need to go to gym every day, you can achieve movement by simply walking and enjoying the landscape. Also, it is said that by walking every day, you not only get a great posture but also the Vitamin D that you desperately need. As research shows ( according to dr Uma Nadidoo), by increasing your intake of vitamin D, you can ameliorate the symptoms of depression and avoid mental health conditions. If you have been trough that path, you know how important is to be healthy. Also, walking around can also help improve cognitive function by clearing your mind.

There are great doctors out there that share their resource for the greater good. One of them is Dr Eric Berg that uploads almost daily videos on YouTube related to various conditions. One of the steps he suggests in achieving weigh loss and having a healthy body is by inter-mediate fasting, this way the body clears itself of the toxins and also the body starts “eating his fat reserves”. I highly recommend also check out dr Megan Rossi ( also known as the Gut Health Doctor), she provides great valuable advice in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. She is also an advocate of the impact of diet on the gut microbiome, the gut having a key role in a lot of medical conditions.

All in all, maintaining a balanced lifestyle is key to living longer and healthier. Make sure you remember, that you should food isn’t the only thing that can be toxic, so avoid as well toxic relationships. Take care of your mental and physical health.

Check them out: https://umanaidoomd.com/

https://www.theguthealthdoctor.com/

https://www.drberg.com/