Dr. Mark and Dr. Chip's Healthy Blogs

  We are here again Natural Health Family. I imagine everyone had a good Labor day weekend. Speaking of Labor day, we can acknowledge the hard work and dedication that many people performed to make what this country is today. Like any group or community that works together, they can see effort paying off and notice the effects of how it can impact those around us. Let’s discuss how the interaction with others and how we choose to live in this world can have influences outside of what we may be able to see.  When you think of the many accomplishments of others in this country or nation, who do you think of? You may think of different people in history involved in athletics, inventions, leadership, business, politics, actors, science, etc. Many people came to this country for an opportunity to make their lives better and in the process made an impact on the country and the rest of the world. If looking through their lives we could see the amount of work and effort they underwe...

  I think it is safe to say that we all love food. We couldn't last very long without food. Just picture a time when food was scarce and we were hunting and gathering. Once we were able to eat, it probably felt like nothing else mattered. Just super grateful for being able to survive another day because no one knows when the next meal would be. Also I could see that if we had to chase down an animal, gather food for the village, or prepare the crop we were probably not relaxed. It was work that needed blood to be in our muscles to perform the task. We were more in a stressful survival state. When we come to eat, we want to be in a nice, relaxed state to eat. This will allow the blood to be in our internal organs to provide the natural state of digesting. Being grateful for our food can help us get into that relaxed state to get the most out of our meal. Gratefulness while eating has been researched to provide people in getting the most out of their food. Gratitude puts you in a par...

  Hello Natural Health Family. I hope everyone got outside and was able to enjoy the weather. Today I wanted to talk about the power of gratitude and why it’s not just something you should do as an activity but more to make it a part of your life. Of course I am not saying you have to do what I will talk about, but wanted to give some key points of gratitude or appreciation that may help someone reading this to see it in a different lens.  When we think of gratitude we may think of a feeling we get when we receive something from another person. Yes, that is one form of gratitude. However, you can be grateful for anything in your life. It may be the house you live in, the water you drink, the food you eat, etc. The feeling of gratitude is not just something that we feel every now and then. Gratitude plays an important part in the physiological aspects of the body. Studies show that when we think and feel gratitude it stimulates parts of the brain that send signals to other pa...

  Hello everyone! Let’s talk about this year’s thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is just that, giving thanks for all the blessings that are in our lives. We are living in different times and many are struggling to see the good in these times. Let’s go over a couple topics so we don’t lose sight of the why we celebrate Thanksgiving.   We might see with everything going on that we start to become frustrated about not being able to spend time with loved ones that we normally do at this time. However, we can take it with a different approach. How about instead of seeing all the restrictions or limitations to see others, we look for the good in what is happening. Perhaps it is time to focus on building our relationships with the people that we are with, the close ones that we are able to spend time with. This is a time when we can grow even closer to our family and friends. We tend to overthink about what we say to others but when we follow our hearts we are able to allow space for e...

  Hi Natural Health Family! This post will be short and brief. I am going to talk about some key points about how we can help ourselves stay healthy. The topics will be movement, food and the mind.  Movement is essential for us to be and stay healthy. When we move we are able to activate our muscles to promote blood flow and help our bodies be able to excrete waste. Blood flow is important because it is the food for our body’s cells. If blood is not getting to all parts of the body then those areas become deficient and may lead to an illness. Excreting waste is also very important so that our bodies can function properly without holding on to unwanted material. Movement is life and when we don’t move on the outside such as physical activities then our bodies have a hard time moving on the inside such as the flow of waste out of the body. Walking is a great and natural form of movement that everybody should do to promote a healthy lifestyle.  What we eat is also import...

Hello Natural Health Family. I wanted to keep this short and to the point. Happy Memorial Day to everyone!      In a time like this it is especially easy to think about what is going wrong and the chaos that is happening. We are all going through what seem like difficult times and it is different for anyone. Many things that seemed difficult in the past and we overcame were some of the best things that changed us to become who we are. When we really think about those past times and realize that we are better for it, those experiences can help us change our perspective on life. It can help us view the tough times and obstacles as challenges that help us grow to become better suited to our environment. It also helps us appreciate the times of peace and time with loved ones.      When thinking back to what our ancestors and relatives had to go through for us to be here, it gives us a better view and appreciation of life. Imagine all the differ...

I wanted to talk about gratitude and why it is so powerful for our overall health and well-being. Gratitude can help us in many situations and in these times it might be one of the most important emotions we can express.      The HeartMath Institute has shown science of why positive emotions such as gratitude can be an effective way to lessen stress and create more balance in life. The institute has discovered how the brain and heart are very well connected. That is why practicing gratitude can play a crucial role in your health.  Feeling grateful for anything in your life produces oxytocin in the body which serves to relax the body, blocks out pain, and helps with other health related characteristics. Gratitude can help balance out the nervous system which helps the body heal and increases its adaptability to stress. Gratitude is a powerful feeling and can be practiced anytime. It is easy to wake up and think about all the things that are or could go ...