Andrew Weil's Blog: Dr. Weil's Healthy Living Blog, page 15

B Vitamin Foods: Infographic

B vitamins are vital to overall health, as they help to support adrenal function, calm and maintain a healthy nervous system, promote key metabolic processes, and turn starch and sugar into energy. You can obtain your B vitamins through a B-complex supplement that contains a full spectrum of B vitamins, or you can add the following B vitamin foods to your diet – each provide the individual nutrients of the various B vitamins.

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B Vitamin Foods – Infographic

B vitamins are vital to overall health, as they help to support adrenal function, calm and maintain a healthy nervous system, promote key metabolic processes, and turn starch and sugar into energy. You can obtain your B vitamins through a B-complex supplement that contains a full spectrum of B vitamins, or you can add the following B vitamin foods to your diet – each provide the individual nutrients of the various B vitamins.

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Getting B Vitamins From Your Diet

B vitamins are vital to overall health: They support adrenal function (the glands that produce hormones that play a role in controlling blood sugar, burning fat and protein, and regulating blood pressure), calm and maintain a healthy nervous system, promote key metabolic processes, and turn starch and sugar into energy (by acting as a cofactor for the metabolism of carbohydrates). The good news is that most of the B vitamins can be obtained through your diet. Learn more about what foods provide the array of B vitamins.

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What Legacy Letters Give To Its Writers Part 3

When Dr. Andrew Weil endorsed my first legacy book, Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies, he wrote, “The ethical will [“ancestor” of legacy letters] is a wonderful gift to leave your family at the end of your life, but I think its main importance is what it can give you in the midst of your life.”

What exactly does legacy writing give legacy writers? What does it mean today and over time, and in what ways does it transform legacy writers’ lives?

Following the needs to belong and to be known in the June and July 2018 Tips & Tools, for August we’ll explore our need to be remembered.

Considering this need requires us to confront the reality of our mortality. Though we live in a death-averse culture, we will all die. We all know that though most of the time only unconsciously. And herein lies the birth of the need to endure when our lives on this earth are over. In When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple, poet Patti Tana wrote unforgettably (no pun intended) about the need to be remembered. Here is an excerpt of her poem, “Post Humus”:

“And if you come in my garden on an August afternoon,

pluck a bright red globe,

let juice run down your chin and the seeds stick to your cheek.

When I’m dead I want folks to smile and say,

‘That Patti, she sure is some tomato!’”

We can’t know what will endure beyond us and that’s part of the mystery of living and dying. After my mother’s memorial service – in 1972 – people shared stories with me about her. I was surprised: they told me much I never knew about her and her life beyond our troubled relationship. I learned that day that there was much of my mother that endured in others’ lives and memories. My mother was loved by many, appreciated for her loyalty, humor, playfulness, and her love of beauty, whether expressed in her interior decorations, her flower garden, or her exquisite taste in clothes.

I saved several beautiful pairs of her gloves, which I still sometimes wear. For many years they retained a hint of the scent she wore, and though it’s true many thousands of women used that perfume, I remember it as ‘my mother’s delicate scent.’ I also remember her fabulous lemon meringue pie, and her delicious macaroni and cheese with its crusty top. And while I was showering this morning, I realized that she endures and will for all my life at my navel, where we were once physically connected, as are all of us carrying our mothers as they once carried us. Today, 46 years after her death, my mother endures in my memories, and the stories and love of her that others blessed me with.

People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.    

– H. Jackson Brown Jr. (often attributed to Maya Angelou)

We can address our fear of not being remembered by considering what we’ve already done that will be left behind, as well as what our present and future life offers to us. Sally Fox, of Engaging Presence, suggests: “. . . as we make our process of death more conscious we make our process of living more precious.” Steven Jenkinson, author of Die Wise and subject of the Canadian Film Board’s documentary, Griefwalker, reminds us “…to love somebody as if it’s not going to last, because it’s not.”

To review the June Reflection about our need to belong, go here.

To reread the July Reflection about our need to be known, go here.

Practice:

Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, wrote: “…people do not fear dying. What they fear is being forgotten. . .they call it a second death.” Women especially resist legacy writing and fear not being remembered, because they think people only remember ‘public accomplishments.’ They say, “I can’t write” and “I have nothing important to say – I wasn’t a CEO, a doctor, or a Nobel Prize winner; I just raised my family.”

Take some time to reflect and write about what you’ve already left (gifted) your family and loved ones, strangers, groups, and organizations: your words (in legacy letters and blessings), stories, traditions, your present family and ancestral history, lessons you’ve taught, kind acts you’ve done, gratitude and appreciation you’ve expressed, ways you’ve “paid it forward,” philanthropic gifts you’ve made, trees you’ve planted, and your creations of every kind (in crafts and the arts, even a new recipe.) All this and more you’ll be remembered for!
Write for a few minutes about your outstanding traits (positive and problematic), your skills, and foibles, all of which you’ll be remembered for with laughter and love. 
Consider now how you feel after realizing the many ways you’ll be remembered.
Share about your need to be remembered with a trusted contemporary. Another possibility is to communicate and preserve your understanding with a letter to future generations about the universal need to be remembered, assuring them through examples from your writing that they too will be remembered for the ways they live their lives.

May you long endure and may memories

of you sweeten the lives of others,

                                                                   – Rachael Freed

Rachael Freed, LICSW, senior fellow, Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota, is the author of Your Legacy Matters and Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies rachael@lifelegacies.com  and  www.life-legacies.com

The post What Legacy Letters Give To Its Writers Part 3 appeared first on DrWeil.com.

What Legacy Letters Give To Its Writers Part 2

When Dr. Andrew Weil endorsed my first legacy book, Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies, he wrote, “The ethical will [“ancestor” of legacy letters] is a wonderful gift to leave your family at the end of your life, but I think its main importance is what it can give you in the midst of your life.”

What exactly does legacy writing give legacy writers? What does it mean today and over time, and in what ways does it transform legacy writers’ lives?

Following the needs to belong and to be known in the June and July 2018 Tips & Tools, for August we’ll explore our need to be remembered.

Considering this need requires us to confront the reality of our mortality. Though we live in a death-averse culture, we will all die. We all know that though most of the time only unconsciously. And herein lies the birth of the need to endure when our lives on this earth are over. In When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple, poet Patti Tana wrote unforgettably (no pun intended) about the need to be remembered. Here is an excerpt of her poem, “Post Humus”:

“And if you come in my garden on an August afternoon,

pluck a bright red globe,

let juice run down your chin and the seeds stick to your cheek.

When I’m dead I want folks to smile and say,

‘That Patti, she sure is some tomato!’”

We can’t know what will endure beyond us and that’s part of the mystery of living and dying. After my mother’s memorial service – in 1972 – people shared stories with me about her. I was surprised: they told me much I never knew about her and her life beyond our troubled relationship. I learned that day that there was much of my mother that endured in others’ lives and memories. My mother was loved by many, appreciated for her loyalty, humor, playfulness, and her love of beauty, whether expressed in her interior decorations, her flower garden, or her exquisite taste in clothes.

I saved several beautiful pairs of her gloves, which I still sometimes wear. For many years they retained a hint of the scent she wore, and though it’s true many thousands of women used that perfume, I remember it as ‘my mother’s delicate scent.’ I also remember her fabulous lemon meringue pie, and her delicious macaroni and cheese with its crusty top. And while I was showering this morning, I realized that she endures and will for all my life at my navel, where we were once physically connected, as are all of us carrying our mothers as they once carried us. Today, 46 years after her death, my mother endures in my memories, and the stories and love of her that others blessed me with.

People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.    

– H. Jackson Brown Jr. (often attributed to Maya Angelou)

We can address our fear of not being remembered by considering what we’ve already done that will be left behind, as well as what our present and future life offers to us. Sally Fox, of Engaging Presence, suggests: “. . . as we make our process of death more conscious we make our process of living more precious.” Steven Jenkinson, author of Die Wise and subject of the Canadian Film Board’s documentary, Griefwalker, reminds us “…to love somebody as if it’s not going to last, because it’s not.”

To review the June Reflection about our need to belong, go here.

To reread the July Reflection about our need to be known, go here.

Practice:

Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, wrote: “…people do not fear dying. What they fear is being forgotten. . .they call it a second death.” Women especially resist legacy writing and fear not being remembered, because they think people only remember ‘public accomplishments.’ They say, “I can’t write” and “I have nothing important to say – I wasn’t a CEO, a doctor, or a Nobel Prize winner; I just raised my family.”

Take some time to reflect and write about what you’ve already left (gifted) your family and loved ones, strangers, groups, and organizations: your words (in legacy letters and blessings), stories, traditions, your present family and ancestral history, lessons you’ve taught, kind acts you’ve done, gratitude and appreciation you’ve expressed, ways you’ve “paid it forward,” philanthropic gifts you’ve made, trees you’ve planted, and your creations of every kind (in crafts and the arts, even a new recipe.) All this and more you’ll be remembered for!
Write for a few minutes about your outstanding traits (positive and problematic), your skills, and foibles, all of which you’ll be remembered for with laughter and love. 
Consider now how you feel after realizing the many ways you’ll be remembered.
Share about your need to be remembered with a trusted contemporary. Another possibility is to communicate and preserve your understanding with a letter to future generations about the universal need to be remembered, assuring them through examples from your writing that they too will be remembered for the ways they live their lives.

May you long endure and may memories

of you sweeten the lives of others,

                                                                   – Rachael Freed

Rachael Freed, LICSW, senior fellow, Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota, is the author of Your Legacy Matters and Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies rachael@lifelegacies.com  and  www.life-legacies.com

The post What Legacy Letters Give To Its Writers Part 2 appeared first on DrWeil.com.

OPRAH WINFREY MAKES EQUITY INVESTMENT IN TRUE FOOD KITCHEN

PHOENIX, Ariz. (July 11, 2018) — True Food Kitchen, the award-winning restaurant brand that has pioneered health-driven dining, announced today that Oprah Winfrey has made an equity investment in the company and will extend her strategic insight to support the brand’s national expansion. In addition, Winfrey joins the restaurant brand’s board of directors and will collaborate and consult with True Food Kitchen’s leadership team to advance the company’s business and marketing objectives.

Founded in 2008, True Food Kitchen has received national recognition as a culinary leader, with a healthdriven menu of seasonal dishes and natural beverages guided by the principles of founder Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory food pyramid. Today, True Food Kitchen operates 23 restaurants in 10 states, with plans to double its store count in the next three years. Key focus areas include new markets on the east coast in New York, New Jersey and North Carolina, in addition to expanding its existing presence throughout Florida, Maryland and more. Still to come in 2018 will be the addition of two new locations in Nashville, Tennessee and Jacksonville, Florida. The restaurant brand currently has 3,000 employees nationwide.

Winfrey was first introduced to True Food Kitchen by friend and health expert Bob Greene, who shares True Food Kitchen’s belief that food should make you feel better, not worse. In addition to being inspired by the restaurant’s healthful food, Winfrey was struck by the brand’s commitment to its mission of bringing people together to eat better, feel better and celebrate a passion for better living.

“I love bringing people together over a good meal,” Winfrey said. “When I first dined at True Food Kitchen, I was so impressed with the team’s passion for healthy eating and, of course, the delicious food, that I knew I wanted to be part of the company’s future.”

“When Ms. Winfrey and I first sat down to discuss her potential investment, I was impressed by her genuine passion for the intention behind True Food,” said Christine Barone, chief executive officer, True Food Kitchen. “My hope is that her passion and investment will continue to develop our growing brand to allow even more guests to experience a better way of eating.”

True Food Kitchen believes that delicious dining and conscious nutrition can go hand in hand without sacrificing flavor, creativity or indulgence. Its healthful, flavor-forward menu rotates regularly to showcase the freshest, in-season produce and nutrient-dense ingredients. From thoughtfully crafted cocktails, such as the Citrus Skinny Margarita, made with fresh-pressed citrus and organic tequila, to signature dishes such as Edamame Dumplings, Ancient Grains with miso-glazed sweet potatoes and Dr. Weil’s original Organic Tuscan Kale Salad, True Food Kitchen’s menu celebrates variety and caters to every food preference with an assortment of delicious vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

For more information and to find a True Food Kitchen location, visit www.truefoodkitchen.com.

###

About True Food Kitchen

Founded in Phoenix in 2008, True Food Kitchen is a restaurant and lifestyle brand inspired by the philosophy that food should make you feel better, not worse, and that great tasting food and thoughtfully crafted beverages can serve as the foundation for a life well lived. The restaurant brand is driven by a passionate collective of accomplished chefs, visionary restaurateurs and a renowned doctor of integrative medicine, who believe delicious dining and conscious nutrition can go hand in hand without sacrificing flavor, creativity or indulgence. True Food’s seasonal menu is guided by the principles of Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory food pyramid. True Food Kitchen emphasizes wholesome, simple ingredients with thoughtful preparations to highlight the natural health benefits and flavors of each ingredient. From nutrient-dense staples and carefully sourced proteins to little-known superfoods, True Food Kitchen is committed to sourcing the most responsible, creative and freshest in-season ingredients. True Food Kitchen has 23 locations in 10 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, with plans to open two new locations in Nashville, Tennessee, and Jacksonville, Florida, later this year. Following the investment from Oprah Winfrey, Centerbridge Partners remains the company’s controlling shareholder.

True Food Kitchen Media Contact:

Shannon Keller, V.P. of Marketing

skeller@truefoodkitchen.com

(480) 212-7945

The post OPRAH WINFREY MAKES EQUITY INVESTMENT IN TRUE FOOD KITCHEN appeared first on DrWeil.com.

What Legacy Letters Give To Its Writers Part 2

Reflection:

Dr. Andrew Weil’s endorsement of my first book, Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies, began: “The ethical will [the “ancestor” of legacy letters] is a wonderful gift to leave your family at the end of your life, but I think its main importance is what it can give you in the midst of your life.”

What exactly does legacy writing give legacy writers? What does it mean in the moment and over time, and in what ways does legacy writing change and transform lives.

Following in the footsteps of the need to belong we explored in the June 2018 Tips&Tools comes our need to be known. It’s the impetus for telling our stories, wanting someone to listen to and understand who we truly are. In legacy writing our purpose is different than memoirs and autobiographies that seek to tell the story. We write our stories to extricate our learning, discover our values, and preserve both for those who come after us.

As we repeat our stories, they become more cemented in us, and we feel sure that that’s who we are. I caution legacy writers not to be seduced by their stories, not to cling to them. Staying open to knowing that our stories can change, and recognizing that there’s always a broader context and history that underpins every story, enables them and us to grow and change, showing us new perspectives about who we might be and become.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven

– Pete Seeger

 

Stories aren’t static – they change with time and circumstances, sometimes by our choice; more often changes are beyond our control.

The creation of personal narratives helps us to make sense of our experience. These are the stories we tell others about ourselves. The process of narration is hardly straightforward; there’s always more than we are ready to know or able to put into words. This is especially true when our lives are inscribed by traumatic histories that we inherit by way of family and community. I am referring to . . . meanings that remain unformulated, awaiting articulation.

– Roger Frie

Here’s a personal example: I will turn 80 this November, and was certainly not expecting my story to change radically as I approach this new decade, BUT … some weeks ago, by a process of chromosome matching, I found that I have a sister, DLE; she’s 20 years younger than I and we share the same father! Until our discovery, she never knew her father, never knew that she was half Jewish.

When I first learned this, I tried to ignore the scientific reality. I did email her a document about the paternal side of the family – factual information, some pictures, health history. And I put off any other follow-through. In a Memorial Day pool conversation with my son, he said to me, “Mom, how can you not do anything? She’s your BLOOD sister.” I was metaphorically blown out of the water! She IS my BLOOD. In that moment, my heart opened and my story and my family story as I’ve known it is forever changed.. I have not only a sister, but a niece and nephew too..My kids have an aunt they never knew. How this reality and our blossoming relationship will continue to shift our stories, and the life stories of our kids and grandkids I can’t know!

We live inside our stories. – Salmon Rushdie  

If you have further interest in Being Known through your story as part of your legacy writing, see samples on pages 26 and 48 in Your Legacy Matters. Note that each of these letters begins with a larger story, the time and cultural context. That’s followed by a snapshot of the personal story. The writers then told what they learned, or what value they discovered through the story, and each letter closes with a blessing (our topic for August: addressing our need to bless and be blessed.) A template for how such a storytelling legacy letter might be constructed can be found on pages 232-233.

If you want to review the June Reflection about our need to be connected, to belong, visit here.

 

Practice:

Begin by recalling a part of your story when you were celebrating an accomplishment, traversing a transition in your life, experiencing gratitude for a kindness you received, or realizing a mistake and the urge to make an amend.
Write about one of the above for no more than ten minutes.
Consider the broader context in which you lived that story. When did it happen? What period of life were you living? What were the headlines and major issues of that time in history?

As we tell our stories we often discover the divinity that is present in our lives. And if we listen carefully, we hear our stories as part of the cosmic story.                                                

– Rabbi Laura Geller

What did you learn about yourself by retrieving that part of your personal story, or what value that you hold today was born or clarified by that story?
Add a blessing (or wait until next month to close your letter), and voila! you have a legacy letter to send to someone to preserve your story, a snapshot of history, and your values.
Go back to #1 in the practice above, and see whether the prompts suggest other stories you want to tell; if yes, continue through these writing suggestions.
After you’ve told your story, added to your knowledge about yourself, and passed it on through legacy writing to the generations who will come after you, take time to write a reflection for yourself to explore the effects your search, your writing, and your new understanding have on you now. Reflect again in a month or a year’s time to see what lasting effects there may be on your sense of being better known to yourself and by the receivers of your letter.

May telling your stories and what you’ve learned from them help you to know yourself better, and be known by those you love.

 

Rachael Freed, LICSW, senior fellow, Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota, is the author of Your Legacy Matters and Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies rachael@lifelegacies.com  and  www.life-legacies.com

The post What Legacy Letters Give To Its Writers Part 2 appeared first on DrWeil.com.

What Legacy Letters Give To Its Writers

Reflection:

Dr. Andrew Weil’s endorsement of my first book, Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies, began: “The ethical will [the “ancestor” of legacy letters] is a wonderful gift to leave your family at the end of your life, but I think its main importance is what it can give you in the midst of your life.”

What exactly does legacy writing give legacy writers? What does it mean in the moment and over time, and in what ways does legacy writing change and transform lives.

Following in the footsteps of the need to belong we explored in the June 2018 Tips&Tools comes our need to be known. It’s the impetus for telling our stories, wanting someone to listen to and understand who we truly are. In legacy writing our purpose is different than memoirs and autobiographies that seek to tell the story. We write our stories to extricate our learning, discover our values, and preserve both for those who come after us.

As we repeat our stories, they become more cemented in us, and we feel sure that that’s who we are. I caution legacy writers not to be seduced by their stories, not to cling to them. Staying open to knowing that our stories can change, and recognizing that there’s always a broader context and history that underpins every story, enables them and us to grow and change, showing us new perspectives about who we might be and become.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven

– Pete Seeger

 

Stories aren’t static – they change with time and circumstances, sometimes by our choice; more often changes are beyond our control.

The creation of personal narratives helps us to make sense of our experience. These are the stories we tell others about ourselves. The process of narration is hardly straightforward; there’s always more than we are ready to know or able to put into words. This is especially true when our lives are inscribed by traumatic histories that we inherit by way of family and community. I am referring to . . . meanings that remain unformulated, awaiting articulation.

– Roger Frie

Here’s a personal example: I will turn 80 this November, and was certainly not expecting my story to change radically as I approach this new decade, BUT … some weeks ago, by a process of chromosome matching, I found that I have a sister, DLE; she’s 20 years younger than I and we share the same father! Until our discovery, she never knew her father, never knew that she was half Jewish.

When I first learned this, I tried to ignore the scientific reality. I did email her a document about the paternal side of the family – factual information, some pictures, health history. And I put off any other follow-through. In a Memorial Day pool conversation with my son, he said to me, “Mom, how can you not do anything? She’s your BLOOD sister.” I was metaphorically blown out of the water! She IS my BLOOD. In that moment, my heart opened and my story and my family story as I’ve known it is forever changed.. I have not only a sister, but a niece and nephew too..My kids have an aunt they never knew. How this reality and our blossoming relationship will continue to shift our stories, and the life stories of our kids and grandkids I can’t know!

We live inside our stories. – Salmon Rushdie  

If you have further interest in Being Known through your story as part of your legacy writing, see samples on pages 26 and 48 in Your Legacy Matters. Note that each of these letters begins with a larger story, the time and cultural context. That’s followed by a snapshot of the personal story. The writers then told what they learned, or what value they discovered through the story, and each letter closes with a blessing (our topic for August: addressing our need to bless and be blessed.) A template for how such a storytelling legacy letter might be constructed can be found on pages 232-233.

If you want to review the June Reflection about our need to be connected, to belong, visit here.

 

Practice:

Begin by recalling a part of your story when you were celebrating an accomplishment, traversing a transition in your life, experiencing gratitude for a kindness you received, or realizing a mistake and the urge to make an amend.
Write about one of the above for no more than ten minutes.
Consider the broader context in which you lived that story. When did it happen? What period of life were you living? What were the headlines and major issues of that time in history?

As we tell our stories we often discover the divinity that is present in our lives. And if we listen carefully, we hear our stories as part of the cosmic story.                                                

– Rabbi Laura Geller

What did you learn about yourself by retrieving that part of your personal story, or what value that you hold today was born or clarified by that story?
Add a blessing (or wait until next month to close your letter), and voila! you have a legacy letter to send to someone to preserve your story, a snapshot of history, and your values.
Go back to #1 in the practice above, and see whether the prompts suggest other stories you want to tell; if yes, continue through these writing suggestions.
After you’ve told your story, added to your knowledge about yourself, and passed it on through legacy writing to the generations who will come after you, take time to write a reflection for yourself to explore the effects your search, your writing, and your new understanding have on you now. Reflect again in a month or a year’s time to see what lasting effects there may be on your sense of being better known to yourself and by the receivers of your letter.

May telling your stories and what you’ve learned from them help you to know yourself better, and be known by those you love.

 

Rachael Freed, LICSW, senior fellow, Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota, is the author of Your Legacy Matters and Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies rachael@lifelegacies.com  and  www.life-legacies.com

The post What Legacy Letters Give To Its Writers appeared first on DrWeil.com.

HDL Cholesterol & LDL Cholesterol: What They Mean

Blood samples to measure cholesterol levels are drawn after you’ve fasted for nine to 12 hours. Results reveal total cholesterol as well as levels of LDL and HDL (the “bad” and “good” subtypes). Some doctors also order tests for LDL particle size and number.

The buildup of cholesterol on artery walls narrows the vessels, slowing or blocking the flow of blood. If a coronary artery – one supplying the heart – is completely blocked, the result is often a heart attack. Total cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) levels are influenced by heredity, diet, weight, exercise, age, gender, alcohol consumption, and stress. The older you get, the more likely your cholesterol will rise. Before menopause, women tend to have lower levels than men of the same age, but after menopause, women’s LDL levels often increase.

What is HDL Cholesterol?

 HDL picks up cholesterol from the blood and delivers it to cells that can use it or to the liver to be recycled or eliminated from the body. We’ve long believed that the higher your HDL, the lower your risk of heart disease. Studies have suggested that each increase of four milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of HDL in blood reduces the risk of adverse coronary events by 10 percent. A desirable level of HDL is 60 mg/dL or higher. Levels below 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women increase the risk. HDL levels of 60 mg/dL or above are classified as high and have been considered protective against heart disease.

The only caveat to this comes from Danish research published in 2017 linking very high HDL with increased risk of death from all causes, not just cardiovascular disease. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen tracked 116,508 men and women for an average of six years. During that period, 10,678 of these individuals died. The investigators reported that men with extremely high HDL levels – ranging from 97 to 115 – had a 36 percent increased risk of death. That risk doubled among those whose HDL exceeded 116. Women with HDL levels above 135 had a 68 percent increased risk. Extremely high HDL was rare: only 2.3 percent of the men had levels exceeding 97, and 0.3 percent of the women had HDL above 135.

Because this was an observational study, it doesn’t prove that extremely high HDL actually caused the deaths seen. And since the study included only white individuals of Danish descent, the findings might not apply to people elsewhere. Further research is needed to confirm the Danish findings.

How to Raise Your HDL Cholesterol

Avoid trans-fatty acids: These heart-damaging fats reduce HDL and raise LDL. They have been banned in the U.S. and should no longer be in foods sold in restaurants or grocery stores. Check labels and do not consume any foods that list “partially hydrogenated oil”(of any kind) as an ingredient.
Exercise: Daily aerobic exercise can help increase HDL.
Don’t smoke: Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease; it can significantly lower HDL.
Eat more fish: Choose cold-water fish such as wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel and black cod. If that’s not possible, take two grams daily of a fish oil supplement that contains both essential omega-3 fatty acids, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Look for a supplement derived from molecularly distilled fish oils – these are naturally high in both EPA and DHA and low in contaminants. Also choose a brand that has been independently tested and guaranteed to be free of heavy metals such as mercury and lead, and other environmental toxins including polychlorinated biphenyls, also known as PCBs.
Eat almonds: Regular almond consumption seems to increase HDL according to a study from Penn State. Participants were put on a diet that included 43 grams of almonds (about a handful) for six weeks. The researchers reported that the diet improved HDL function by 6.4 percent among study participants of normal weight.

What is LDL Cholesterol?

LDL is known as “bad” cholesterol because it transports cholesterol from the liver throughout the body, potentially allowing it to be deposited in artery walls. A desirable level of LDL is less than 100 mg/dL. Levels between 139 and 150 mg/dL are considered borderline high, those between 160 to 189 mg/dL are viewed as high, while levels above 190 mg/dL are classed as very high.

How To Lower Your LDL & Reduce Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease

Anti-inflammatory diet: One of the most effective strategies for lowering LDL cholesterol is adopting an anti-inflammatory diet. Its principal features are five servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit every day, whole grains instead of products made from flour, more fish and less meat, and olive oil as the main dietary fat. The anti-inflammatory diet has been shown to reduce heart disease and vascular disease by 30% or more.
Regular exercise: As little as 30 minutes of brisk walking daily – can go a long way to keep your heart strong.
Maintain a healthy weight: Lose weight if necessary.
Daily meditation: This can reduce the risk of a heart attack by almost 50 percent.
Relax: Emotional stress may prompt the body to release fat into the bloodstream, raising cholesterol levels. Counter stress by practicing daily breathing exercises and other stress-reduction techniques such as yoga, meditation, guided imagery or tai chi.
Eat some nuts every day: Choose almonds, walnuts and cashews, all of which contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
Reduce the amount of sugar and flour in your diet:Recent evidence indicates that added sugar – in the form of table sugar (sucrose) or high-fructose corn syrup –probably is a greater contributor to heart disease than consumption of saturated fat.
Use fresh garlic regularly: Garlic has been shown to lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Try to eat one or two raw or lightly cooked cloves a day.
Drink green tea daily: The antioxidants it contains help lower cholesterol and prevent the LDL cholesterol in your blood from oxidizing.
Take coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10): This powerful antioxidant benefits heart health by preventing the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and by invigorating the mitochondria in the heart cells (mitochondria are the energy factories in cells). CoQ10 may also help lower blood pressure.
Eat plenty of soluble fiber: Beans and lentils, apples, citrus fruits, oats, barley, peas, carrots and freshly ground flax seed are all good sources of soluble fiber, which has a modest cholesterol-lowering effect.
Substitute whole soy protein for animal protein: Soy protein in whole form, such as tofu, tempeh, soymilk, whole soybeans and roasted soy nuts has been shown to lower cholesterol levels. Choose certified organic products whenever possible.

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The Significance Of Writing Legacy Letters

Dr. Andrew Weil’s endorsement of my first book, Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies, began: “The ethical will [the “ancestor” of legacy letters] is a wonderful gift to leave your family at the end of your life, but I think its main importance is what it can give you in the midst of your life.” I was fascinated and challenged to begin what became an ongoing exploration.

What exactly could legacy writing give to legacy writers? I observed workshop participants and listened carefully to their experience during and after legacy writing, what it meant to them in the moment and over time, and how it changed and transformed their lives.

I looked at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for Self-Actualized people, but his model didn’t fit what I was seeing. After some time I described tongue-in-cheek what I’d found as Freed’s Universal and Unconscious Needs Addressed by Legacy Writing.

What I meant was that most of the time we aren’t even aware that we have these needs, and yet all humans seem to experience them, no matter their economic situation, social class, color, gender, or sexual preference. At first I defined five: 1. To belong (be connected – to family tribe, culture, nation, and our planet) 2. To be known – (everyone has a story and wants it known by others) 3. To be remembered – (during life and after) 4. To bless and to be blessed – (we want to be blessed no matter our age and we are naturally inclined to bless those we love) and 5. To make a positive difference (the desire to do good and to make life better on a small and/or great scale).

Later, I realized a sixth need; it had become obvious to me that it was missing, but as universal as the first five. It is often addressed in legacy writing as gratitude and awe about Life and personal and family lives: I call it: To Celebrate Life.

My intention is to focus Legacy Tips&Tools on one need for each of the next few months. So let’s begin with #1: The Need to Belong, to be connected:

 I often begin workshops asking writers to consider and write about their names, suggesting that our names are the very first legacies we receive.

Names serve to connect us to our parents and ancestors as well as extended families, tribe and culture. For many this introduction leads writers to seek information about parents’ grandparents’ and great grandparents’ names as well as more information about their lives, their homelands, their work and life before us.

A name is like the beginning of the ball of thread

that will lead you through the labyrinth.

– Geraldine Brooks

We take our names for granted until we realize how people are separated from family and their people when their names are forcibly taken from them. Examples include American slaves having to be known by the names of their “owners”; generations later, they have no way to trace their lineage or experience the essential ancestral connections that ground us and provide belonging. Another example is how Native People – children – were separated from their parents and tribes, taken to Christian Schools, and given Christian names, with similar separation and loss.

“…a name has its own history and its own memory.

It connects beings with their origins.”

– Elie Wiesel

The popularity of genealogy should not surprise us knowing the need to belong, It also explains why so many Americans, all of us immigrants, travel back to the “old country” to know our namesakes, the places they emigrated from, to nurture our past, our roots.

If you have further interest in Names and Ancestors as part of your legacy writing, see Chapters 3, 4, and 5 in Your Legacy Matters – 3. “What’s in a Name,” 4. “Linking Past and Future Generations,” and “Digging Deeper: Legacies from our Immigrant Ancestors.”

 

Practice:

Start with a list: see how far back you have information: What are your parents’ names? For whom were they named? When and where were they born? List the same for grandparents and great grandparents (and further back if you can). If you find you are missing information, contact and ask relatives – your parents and aunts and uncles if they’re living, siblings, cousins. You may find and connect with a family member who has similar interests and receive valuable information to fill in your blank spaces.
Write your names and what you know about them: what is the meaning of your name? For whom were you named,? What do you know about the person you were named for (facts, stories, legends)? Why were you named after this person? Do you feel a special connection to her/him because you carry their name?

Perhaps when we die our names are taken from us by a divine magnet and are free to flutter here and there within the bodies of birds.

– Jim Harrison  

If you have named people (children), write about how you chose their names, the meaning of their names, and any stories you know about their names or namesakes. Write a legacy letter to those you’ve named to pass forward their legacy.
After you’ve followed the name trail, added to your knowledge, passed it on through legacy writing to the generations who come after you, take time to write a reflection for yourself to explore the effects your search, your writing, and your new knowledge have on you now. Reflect again in a month or a year’s time to see what lasting effects there may be on your sense of belonging and being tethered to yourself by your name and your past.

 

May your deepening understanding of your name

and its importance

be a blessing to you and your loved ones.

Rachael Freed, LICSW, senior fellow, Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota, is the author of Your Legacy Matters and Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies rachael@lifelegacies.com  and  www.life-legacies.com

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