The overarching umbrella to all other things are principles.  Living by principles tells the story of who you are.  It certainly feeds our emotional, intellectual needs and even our spiritual needs.  It affects our relationships for better or for worse. It is the very soul and conscience of who you are and who you want to be.  The peaceful feeling, knowingness and energy you will have tells you that you are living right by your principles.  

Making decisions based on correct principles cultivates wisdom, integrity, trust, sincerity, honesty, confidence, perseverance and dependability.  All good things.  We are all busy, and have life demands, circumstances and situations that test us.  Reacting to those situations isn’t peaceful.  Living and practicing a principled centered life is essentially “doing the right thing”…and we all know that is sometimes the hardest thing to do.  Here are some great reasons to stay on track and live right. 


10 Benefits of Living a Principle Centered Life:

1. Self Awareness.
2. Confidence.
3. Your own life and experiences will validate your decisions (no need to be validated by others).
4. Others' attitudes and behaviors will not affect you.
5. You listen and act on what you may call your intuition, your gut instinct, conscience or the holy spirit. (how many times have you said “if I would have just listened to myself...”)
6. You will view change as an opportunity to contribute.
7. You will serve and build others up. 
8. You interpret life experiences as opportunities for learning.
9. Emotions and circumstances are less likely to drive your decisions (they will be based on principles).
10. Clarity.  You consider the big picture, outcomes and long term results of your actions, decisions and choices.

10 Actions to Peace:

1. Slow down.
2. Pray, meditate and spend time listening.
3. Pause before you speak.  Allow time for your and mouth and brain to connect.  It is OK to say “That is a good thought, would you mind if I think about it and get back to you?”
4. Clarify.  “If I understand you correctly, I hear you saying...____; Is that right?”  I have read that in 80% of our conversations, two people are talking about two different things and think they are in complete understanding.  This is because we tend to project our own life experiences and perceptions into what we are hearing.  
5. Educate yourself.  No ignorant decisions allowed.  If it is a big decision, it is good to consult with experts, and others whose input you value.  There is no need to deal with tough decisions on your own.  This is different than looking for validation.  This is education, knowledge and consulting.
6. Collaborate.  Very little in life is conquered alone.  It is nice to have others to share in your life experiences.  
7. Prioritize. Make room on your weekly schedule for the bigger things you want to accomplish (A nice analogy is that you won’t tackle the bigger project that is due if you get stuck in your less important e-mails, or, you can’t organize your closet if you first unload the dishwasher everynight.  What are your bigger goals?  Schedule time for those bigger goals each week).
8. Keep your appointments and commitments to yourself and others.  Allow time to prepare.  Allow flexibility for people and your relationships.
9. Fill your buckets.  What do you value?  What areas in your life are out of balance?  Is it a disconnect with your spouse, your children, your girlfriends, church, alone time,  group time, charity, exercise, planning healthy meals, reading a good book, planning for a vacation, or making time to make your dreams come true?  (Did I just stress you out?!…take one at a time). Schedule time to fill those.  
10. Keep a gratitude journal.  It is positive reinforcement to recognize the good in our lives.  Writing down what you are grateful for takes the emphasis off less pleasant things and places it on the good.  Each night write down three things you are grateful for.  At the very least, it can be a hug and a kind expression to someone in your life that you deeply care about.  

Health Inspires.

My prediction for 2014 is that there will be a study published claiming something is bad for you.  I also predict, there will be a study published that claims something is good for you.  My final prediction is that both scenarios will have had a reverse finding in the past.  I bet you knew that!



Although there are holes in most every study, some scientific findings provide valuable data that lead to protocols, guidelines and standards of care for certain diseases and risks such as heart disease and the treatment of high blood pressure, for example.  The daily dietary fiber recommendations for disease prevention comes from studies.  Based on studies, The Institute of Health established these recommendations for daily fiber intake:

• Women: age <50 = 25 grams; age >51= 21 grams
• Men: age <50 = 38 grams; age >51= 30 grams 

A recent meta-analysis published December 19, 2013 in the BMJ (British Medical Journal), found for every 7 grams of dietary fiber eaten, the risks of CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) and CHD (Coronary Heart Disease) were each lowered by 9%.1  A meta-analysis is a review of several studies, on a specific topic, from specific databases and time period.  In this case, 22 studies were analyzed specific to CVD and CHD by Diane Threapleton, a doctoral student at the University of Leeds, UK, et al.

The conclusions were that “Greater dietary fiber intake is associated with a lower risk of both cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.”   Greater intakes of insoluble fiber from cereal and vegetable sources reduced the risk of CHD and CVD, and fruit fiber intake was associated with a lower risk of CVD.1

Fiber has consistently, clinically proven to prevent disease risks associated with specific cancers and heart disease, withstanding the test of time; i.e. ...not a fad.  It truly is another way of saying “eat your veggies, eat your fruits and eat your whole grains, eat less refined and processed foods and less sugar”.  We can each improve our health, prevent disease and reduce our reliance on medications by eating more fiber.  

Fiber is found in plant foods and for the most part, is not digested by human digestive enzymes.  Fiber makes you feel full longer so you are not as hungry and therefore aids in achieving a healthy weight, helps control blood sugar levels, lowers cholesterol and helps maintain bowel health and normalizes bowel movements.  It is divided into two categories; soluble (partially dissolves in water) and insoluble (does not dissolve in water).  

Soluble fiber is found in fruits (apples and citrus), oats, barley and legumes. 

• Delays GI transit so it benefits digestive disorders
• Associated with lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Regulates blood sugar
• Lowers risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes

Insoluble fiber is found in whole grains such as wheat bran, corn bran, whole grain breads and cereals, vegetables (cabbage, green beans and brussels sprouts).  

• Accelerate GI transit and 
• Promotes bowel movements
• Delays glucose absorption   

Ways to easily increase your fiber intake:

• Focus on eating more plant foods in general, and not on the types of fiber (i.e., some foods have both types of fiber like beans and oatmeal-it gets confusing)
• Choose foods high in fiber that you enjoy eating
• Pack fruit for a snack
• Pack a handful of nuts in a baggie for a transportable snack 
• Replace one weekly meat meal with a bean meal  
• Add extra veggies or garbanzo beans to your salad 
• Start your day with a high fiber cereal, think real food like steel cut oats  
• All of these options will displace less healthy choices and will help you lose weight, feel better and promote your health 

Action:  Focus on at least one of these 8 ways to increase your fiber intake that will work for you.  Start today.  Other good habits will naturally follow. 

The following list of “high fiber foods” ARE your “super foods”, your “cancer fighting foods”,  your “anti-inflammatory foods”, your “antioxidant and phytochemical foods”.  These food lists overlap.  They all have health benefits. They all help you shed pounds, promote health and prevent disease.  Look at this list and also reference my defined “super foods” list (defined by healthy and transportable).  Find some foods that you like and add those to your daily/weekly diet for extra fiber.  


Food                                                               Amount                                         Fiber in Grams

Turnip Greens, boiled                                  1 cup                                               5.0

Raspberries                                                   1 cup                                               8.0

Bananas                                                         1 medium                                       3.1

Apple, with skin                                            1 medium                                       4.4

Sweet Potato                                                 1 medium, baked                          3.0

Almonds                                                         1 ounce or about 23 nuts             3.5

Whole Wheat Bread                                     1 slice                                               1.9

Black Beans                                                   1 cup                                                15.0

Broccoli, cooked                                           1 cup                                                 5.1

Carrots                                                           1 medium                                        1.7

Oatmeal                                                         1 cup                                                 4.0

Bran Flakes                                                    3/4 cup                                             5.3

Raisin Bran                                                    1 cup                                                 8.0

Brown Rice                                                    1 cup                                                 4.0

Garbanzo Beans                                           1 cup                                                12.0

Peas and Carrots, cooked from frozen     1 cup                                                 4.0


Health Inspires

1BMJ 2013;347:f6879
Dietary fibre intake and risk of cardiovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis (Published 19 December 2013)