What happens when one’s religious beliefs clash with making healthy lifestyle choices?

If there’s one thing that most religions around the world agree upon, it’s the importance of respecting one’s body. Ranging from the Christian tenet that the body is a temple created in the image of God to the Buddhist belief that a healthy body enables us to live longer in order to benefit others, most religious practices emphasize that caring for your health can in fact be a spiritual act.

As an essential source of primary food, spirituality not only offers a sense of community and comfort, but it also often explicitly rejects unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, excessive drinking, and overeating. Many studies show that religious people enjoy greater emotional and physical health than those who are nonreligious.

Yet clashes between religion and healthy behaviors can and do arise. A recent MSNBC article highlighted the conflict that some devout Christians feel towards yoga. Despite the exercise’s well-known physical, mental, and emotional benefits, there are concerns that yoga poses, interpreted as offerings to Hindu gods, are incompatible with Christianity.

Happy first official day of spring! Today, we celebrate the new season and the vernal equinox. (Scientifically speaking, that’s when the earth’s axis is parallel to the sun instead of tipped towards or away from it, and it only happens twice a year!) 

Traditionally, spring is associated with new life and fresh beginnings—blossoming trees and plants, brighter weather, and a sense of renewed spirit and energy after the cold, long winter. So, what does the start of the season mean for us? It’s a great time for mental and physical spring cleaning.

For some ideas on how you can detox as the weather warms up, listen to Spring into a Clean Mind, Body, and Home, a pre-recorded webinar with Julia Argenti, Health Coach and founder of Lemons & Loafers, a popular food and fashion blog.

Today is Leap Day - it’s like a 24-hour bonus to your busy schedule. An extra day that only shows up once every four years.

You could stick to your usual schedule: get up, go to work, take care of the kids, do some chores, work out, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Lather, rinse, and repeat.

Or, you could take the extra day to do something for yourself. Why not feed your body the primary food that it is hungry for by spending time with your family? Or take the day to pamper yourself with a massage or pedicure? Here are a few Leap Day activity ideas that you could do to celebrate this extra day!

Show Yourself Some Love

Schedule an appointment for a massage, a pedicure, a facial – anything that will bring you the relaxation that you have trouble finding time for during the other 365 days of the year!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today’s devoted to one of life’s most important primary foods: romantic love. Whether you plan to dine in with your special someone or go out with your spouse, a happy romantic relationship is something to cherish all year long.

Having a partner to love is good for the soul – not just for the moments of passion, but also for the ordinary comforts of sharing how your day went over dinner and watching Modern Family together.

Study after study shows that love is good for your physical health, too. For centuries, scientists have observed the “marriage advantage” phenomeon; people in happy romantic partnerships tend to be healthier and live longer.

Last week we kicked off our new Vitamin L series, which celebrates the various relationships in our lives throughout the month of February, with a post on friendship.

Next up, we’re talking family. That’s right, those crazy people who drive you nuts, and at one point (circa age 15) you didn’t want to be seen with, but at the end of the day, you love ‘em anyway.

Unlike some other relationships, we don’t get to choose our family members. Who we marry, yes; but that mother of yours who made you take those really awkward photos on the first say of school, you know, the one who is constantly reminding you that she’d like grandchildren someday? Well, you’re sort of stuck with her.

At times it’s easy to be harsh or brutally honest with these people, as we know our family will love us unconditionally. But that’s also the reason that we cherish them so much. On our good days they’re our biggest fans, and on our bad days there's nothing quite like the comfort a family member can provide.

Our graduates are doing amazing things. From developing food and wellness products to opening private practices, we love sharing stories from successful students and grads that are working to change the world for the better. 2009 graduate Susan Roberts, of New York City, is a special case. She’s making strides in an area where the importance of good nutrition is not explored or emphasized enough.

Susan applied what she learned in the Health Coach Training Program to her work as an occupational therapist. She already addressed other areas of wellness with her clients, such as the importance of primary food, but for this advanced scholar, author and lecturer, her nutrition education provided the final piece of the puzzle in her practice: eating well. This interview with Susan highlights her thoughts on where the “mealtime” process went wrong, and her essential work to restore a healthy, positive diet for even the pickiest kids out there.

What type of work have you done since completing in Integrative Nutrition's program, and what are you up to now?

I began touring the United States teaching other professionals (primarily occupational therapists, speech therapists and registered dietitians) the role of primary foods and real foods to helping children eat a wider variety of healthy foods and the importance of having "happy" mealtimes. My presentation is called "Mealtime Success for Kids on the Spectrum: Holistic Nutrition for Picky Eaters." I educate 200 to 300 professionals every month. I also wrote a book on the same subject for families, My Kid Eats Everything: a Journey from Picky to Adventurous Eating.

Photo Credit: AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

At the beginning of the month, we announced our Holiday Six-Word Story Contest, asking you to sum up what the holidays mean to you in exactly six words. Then every day for 12 weekdays, we chose a winning story to share on our Facebook wall.*

Your stories were funny and touching, made us laugh and made us smile, but most of all, they made us reflect on the holiday season. It was a tough decision (who knew how creative our community could be!) but here are the 12 winning stories that made the list:

I'll always believe in Santa Claus" - by Sam P.

Brother's deployment over, primary nourishment achieved! - by Kirsten H.

"Father and Son Fun" courtesy of Katrina Forrest,
the grand prize winner of our Summer Photo Contest!

Have you seen that famous clip of the sneezing baby panda? Or the hilarious “Charlie bit my finger” YouTube video? How about an old Seinfeld classic?

Whatever your sense of humor, take a moment today to find something that tickles your funny bone – because as it turns out, laughter really is the best medicine. Studies show that having a deep belly laugh is an incredible immune system booster and powerful antidote to the harmful effects of stress.

Our bodies produce hormones in response to anxiety, anger, or hostility that weakens the immune system, increases the number of artery-blocking platelets, and raises blood pressure. Not only does laughter significantly lower the levels of these harmful stress hormones, but it also boosts the production of gamma-interferon proteins, T cells, and B cells, all of which are major parts of the immune response and destroy disease.

Vista McCroskery, a 2011 graduate from Nacogdoches, TX, grew up on a small farm where she planted her own seeds and enjoyed organic fruits and vegetables. When she moved away, her diet and lifestyle drastically changed, and consequently she became overwhelmed with serious health problems. She did not seek help for a long time, but years of medications and stress forced her to make a change.

After rediscovering whole foods and primary foods through the Health Coaching Training Program, Vista was able to move away from her medications and lose an astonishing 100 pounds. She launched her own health coaching business, and currently has three books in the making. Most importantly, Vista has returned to a state of happiness and self-confidence, and after a long, difficult journey, she’s finally living to her full potential.

Photo Credit: AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

Can you sum up what the holidays mean to you in just six words?

In celebration of this festive time, we were inspired by Smith Magazine’s Six-Word Memoir project: tell a simple story in six words, no more, no less. The NY Times’ Well Blog has followed suit with contests for six-word love stories and six-word motherhood stories. Often funny and almost always touching, six-word stories capture the finer and more poignant details of life.

The question: In exactly six words, what do the holidays mean to you?

The contest: Post your story in the comments section of this post. Every day for the next 12 weekdays, we’ll choose a winning story and post it on the wall of our Facebook page. If you win, email us at blog@integrativenutrition.com to claim your prize.*