This week we posed a number of questions to Dr Eva Selhub who is based in Waltham, Massachusetts in the United States. Her decades of teaching and resilience training is a perfect match for Keeping The Beat, and as a global leader in the field, she offers valuable insights and wisdom that can benefit us all.
I'm very grateful for your time Dr Eva. To set the scene, could you tell us about your background? Where do you work now?
I am a medical doctor, board-certified in Internal Medicine. I have been treating patients for over 25 years and 23 of those years have been in the mind/body medicine field. I taught at Harvard and worked at Harvard affiliated hospitals (including being the Medical Director of the Benson Henry Institute of Mind Body Medical Institute from 1999-2006), while delving deeper into holistic healing practices to find ways to bridge western and eastern medicine. With this knowledge and experience, I developed ways to work with individuals to help their mind and body tap into their innate resilience and ability to heal and thrive. Over the years, I left working for the hospital and built a private practice which eventually shifted to a coaching practice, which I still do currently, virtually, with clients all over the world. I also work with companies to help shift the culture to one of resilience and wellbeing.
‘Keeping The Beat’ was created to help people overcome setbacks. From my experience, many of us live in fear after a trauma. What are your top tips for creating a positive mindset in recovery?
It is important to remember that hardship and trauma will happen and the mind/body system is designed to withstand it. Having said that, we can go one of two ways after experiencing hardship -- into post-traumatic stress or post traumatic growth.
Our human default, is to be fearful of trauma and feel victimized by it. The other option, the growth track, is to validate that anxiety and fear that arise from hardship, yet to also realize that one has grown from it, lived through it and therefore capable of handling anything. It's essentially the mindset of a victor. Fear only motivates short term to affect change, but not healthy in the long run. It's important to remember that if you are here, you survived and therefore, you can survive again because you are resilient.
That’s so true. I found that after my heart event it took me at least six months to regain my confidence. And then after about 12 months I felt grateful about still being around and had a deep drive to make the most of my second chance. What are your top tips for building resilience?
Think of building resilience as being prepared for anything. That means building yourself up physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, socially and so forth. It means looking at everything in life as something that either fuels you and improves your life force or takes away from it.
Nutrient-rich food versus junk food is fuel.
Restful sleep is fuel.
Movement or exercise is fuel.
Taking time to be in stillness and letting the mind/body system be calm (like meditation), is fuel.
Positive belief and states of mind like gratitude, appreciation, forgiveness, compassion, charity, etc are fuel. Negative one like fear and victimization are akin to leaks in one's gas tank.
Healthy relationships where there is a giving and receiving is fuel.
Learning how to communicate and express needs and hear needs, is fuel.
You talk about nutrient-rich foods – can you please expand and offer our readers some tips?
We now live in a world where technology has taken over the need to be connected to nature. We rarely move our bodies and to eat, we drive through fast view venues to eat food that is processed and high in sugar to satisfy our addictions while our bellies grow. It is no surprise that there is a rise now of diabetes, obesity, metabolic disorders, heart disease and cancers. The good news is that not all is lost and we do indeed have the ability to get back to nature by eating the right foods that will regenerate our health.
Nature offers us a variety of foods that have many beneficial functions that include helping the body to break down fat into energy, improving metabolism, increasing sensitivity to insulin, reducing inflammation, strengthening the immune system, and decreasing oxidative stress. Called “functional foods,” these nutrient-dense foods contain enzymes, vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates that work with the body to enhance its functions. Not only do they have the ability to treat and prevent a whole host of ailments and diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune problems and metabolic syndrome, but can also enable the body to truly thrive.
Though there are a multitude of different functional foods you can eat for a variety of purposes, these six food groups are my “must haves” in your diet:
1. Fatty fish
Fatty fish are probably one of the best foods you can eat. Fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, albacore tuna, anchovies and herring are packed with omega-3 fatty acids (polyunsaturated fat), which have been found to be cardio-protective (protect the heart), lower cholesterol and fight inflammation. A 2012 meta-analysis showed that people who regularly consume marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids had a lower risk of heart disease, while another meta-analysis showed that people who ate fish at least once a week had a reduced risk of dying from heart disease.
2. Avocado
Avocados are high in mono-unsaturated fat as well as lesser amounts of polyunsaturated and saturated fats, which help the body maintain healthy cholesterol levels and to digest nutrients from the other foods. Preliminary studies are suggesting that eating avocado helps support cardiovascular health along with weight management.
Avocados are also high in fibre, but unlike other high fibre foods, they don’t cause a spike in blood sugar. As a caveat, know that avocados are high in calories, so adding a quarter or half an avocado to your meal is plenty.
3. Leafy Greens
A tasty, low-calorie option, leafy greens are high in fibre and vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that can help regulate blood sugar levels, reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Studies suggest that eating one and a half servings of leafy greens may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Green leafy vegetables include spinach, kale, Swiss chard, lettuce and collard greens. You can also try the microgreen or seedling version of these leafy greens, which have a higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
4. Nuts
Nuts like almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts and pecans, are high in protein and provide good fats and digestible fibre without causing spikes in blood sugar levels. Eating almonds, in fact, may help regulate blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity according to recent studies. Other research has shown that eating this variety of nuts may reduce inflammation, LDL cholesterol levels and insulin spikes after eating.
5. Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar has been touted for its many science-supported health benefits, including weight loss, lowering cholesterol and blood sugar, improving insulin sensitivity, and acting as an anti-bacterial. Indeed, vinegar teas were used to help regulate blood sugar levels before the advent of medications many, many years ago.
A 2004 study found that subjects with insulin resistant type 2 diabetes who consumed apple cider vinegar with a high carbohydrate meal had improved insulin sensitivity and insulin responses, as well as reduced blood sugar. In addition, a 2016 review of the literature confirmed the finding that not only does vinegar improve insulin sensitivity and circulating fat levels, but also improved satiety, leading to lower food intake. These findings give evidence that apple cider vinegar can aid in weight loss and loss of abdominal fat.
6. Herbs & Spices
When you add a variety of herbs and spices to your meals you don’t just add taste, but you also give your meal a boost of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. There are some herbs and spices that have the added benefit of helping to regulate blood sugar. Take paprika, for example, which is rich in antioxidants and is a wonderful anti-inflammatory. It has also been found that paprika may lower blood sugar and insulin levels after a meal. Of note, paprika is best absorbed when eaten with a fatty food like avocado. Other herbs and spices that may aid in blood sugar regulation include cinnamon, fenugreek, curry leaves, garlic, basil, bitter melon, cayenne pepper, ginger and turmeric, to name a few.
How much importance do you place on positive self-talk in recovery and in general life?
As I mentioned, it is very important, but be aware that it is not just ‘pollyanna’ affirmations. It is important to validate the way you feel if you feel negatively. Compassion and forgiveness towards the self is the first step. From that place of love, then you can access your positive mindset of believing that come what may, you will be okay, that you've managed before and will do so again. The way you speak changes the physiology, the way the brain works and therefore how you manage and make decisions.
Do you have any helpful examples of patients you’ve worked with who made a great recovery? Do you find that more optimistic patients have the ability to recover quicker than those less positive?
All of my clients and patients have made recoveries of one nature or another. And in the course of working with me, they learn how to develop a more optimistic mindset which helps them recover. Keep in mind, that many if not all people falter and go back into old habits of thinking, which only shows them the contrast between being one way and the other. Believing in the body's natural ability to heal and thrive is challenging, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.
I agree that we all need to create an optimistic mindset, but it doesn’t come naturally for us all. My one word is STRONG. I say this word before I go to bed, and when I rise. The word STRONG has become part of me – it’s also my go-to word when I feel like a bit compromised. It re-focuses me and centres me. Strong of mind, strong of body.
How do you specifically work with patients on their language and affirmations?
I am very specific about language. Words and thoughts turn the stress response on or off. Negative language therefore has the effect of turning on the stress response which can stimulate fear, other negative emotions and a negative, contracted physiology. I ask my clients to pay attention to their choice of words all of the time, to pay attention to what they experience in their body (a sensation of contraction versus expansion) and how they feel in their mind (I can and will do something versus I can't or don't want to). It's important not to use words that are positive and have no meaning or basis in reality, because it has to be believable too. For instance, I often tell people not to ‘should’ on themselves and replace the word with ‘could’. I ‘could’ do something rather than I ‘should’ do something carries less blame and allows for the possibility that you will do whatever it is you want yourself to do. Strong is a great word as is POWER. Go on a rampage of saying positive and inspiring words and you will feel the mind and body respond in kind (if you did the opposite, said negative words, you would feel the body and mind contract).
Science and technology are making great advances - are there any new or upcoming health technologies that you believe will advance human health (e.g nanotechnology)?
I am not up-to-date on the new technology, but it is pretty fascinating and can be extremely useful and helpful in stimulating an individual's body to heal itself. Resilience is about regeneration and recovery and new technology is certainly researching how to enable this to happen more easily.
Thank you kindly, Dr Selhub - we appreciate your time and great insights on resilience.
Disclaimer: If you’re looking to change your lifestyle based on any information brought to you by this blog, please check with your GP beforehand.
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