Get Healthy – Be Happy

“It is a great mitzvah to be happy all the time, and to make every effort to avoid gloom and depression. All the illnesses people suffer come only because of lack of joy… And joy is the great healer! …The main point is that one must make every effort and put all of one’s strength into being happy at all times… For this reason one has to force oneself to be happy at all times and to bring oneself to a state of joy in whatever way possible, even with good natured fun and jokes…” Likutei Moharan II, 24.

Interestingly, Rebbe Nachman talks about a couple of ways through which physical health can increase our simcha, our joy in life. That’s revolutionary even for today’s times and remember – there were no studies on the benefits of physical activity or on how food affects your brain function back in Rebbe Nachman’s day yet he discussed these very clearly. I can’t think of a better reason than simcha to live a healthy lifestyle – can you?

DIET

“Our state of mind directly corresponds to the food we eat. When the body is pure, the mind is clear and one is able to think properly and to know what to do in life. But impurities in the body cause putrid gases to rise to the brain, throwing the mind into such confusion that it becomes impossible to think straight.” Likutei Moharan I, 263

Research now indicates that diet does influence our mood in some ways. Food has been found to have an effect on the brain through its ability to bring about chemical and physiological structural changes in the brain, which can lead to altered mood.

Furthermore, a 2013 UCLA study reports:

“Researchers have known that the brain sends signals to your gut, which is why stress and other emotions can contribute to gastrointestinal symptoms. This study shows what has been suspected but until now had been proved only in animal studies: that signals travel the opposite way as well.

‘Time and time again, we hear from patients that they never felt depressed or anxious until they started experiencing problems with their gut,’ [Dr. Kirsten] Tillisch said. ‘Our study shows that the gut–brain connection is a two-way street.'”

As a detox specialist I’ve definitely been privy to the fact that intestinal health is vital to all aspects of wellness.  Personal experience, working with clients and continuing research has shown me that emotional stability and vitality are directly influenced by what is going on in the colon and that a clean colon often improves mood rather quickly. The toxicity and weight plastered on to the colon walls can have devastating effects on our emotions. It is truly amazing yet true that mood could improve so profoundly, simply by detoxifying the GI tract.

EXERCISE

“A ‘good sweat’ (as when one sweats over a holy task) leads to joy – festive joy… The reason is that joy depends on the state of the blood. Depression is caused by the spleen. Malfunctioning of the spleen gives rise to impurities in the blood… The remedy is to sweat, because the illness-generating toxins in the blood are exuded in the sweat, and the blood is left pure. One can then come to joy. The reason is because depression is caused by the buildup of impurities in the blood and the spleen. Now that the impurities have been flushed out through the sweat, one comes to joy…”  Likutey Moharan II, 6.

The book “The Emperor’s New Drugs – Exploding the Antidepressant Myth”, talks about the results of a clinical trial assessing exercise as a treatment for depression, in 2000, by a group of researchers at Duke University, North Carolina:

“Equally depressed patients were randomly divided into three groups. One group was given a four month course of aerobic exercise; the SSRI Lustral was prescribed to a second group; and the third group was given both Lustral and exercise. After four months of treatment there were no significant differences between the groups (emphasis mine)…In other words, exercise was as effective as medication in lowering depression.”

Ten months after the trial began, things got a lot more interesting with some important differences starting to surface between the three groups: “By this point, significantly more exercise patients had recovered from depression, and more SSRI patients had relapsed. In other words, exercise was more effective than drugs.”

Six months after having my last baby, I had to rush one day early in the morning to run an errand. I left the baby with my husband and speed walked 25 minutes to an office in town and back. I hadn’t yet resumed my exercise routine at that time and once I got back home and settled down with the baby I suddenly noticed how good and high energy I was feeling. I hadn’t felt so alive in months! I had forgotten what a little exercise can do for the mood. Not surprising since exercise not only increases blood flow to the brain, it releases endorphins, the body’s very own natural antidepressant. It also releases other neurotransmitters, like serotonin, which lift mood.

So where does that leave us? Remember that sense of happy-to-be-alive and high energy we used to feel long ago? Me neither. And it’s really starting to show on our body, health and simcha. Time to take action! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: eat a high percentage of food that is cleansing. Raw fruits and vegetables contain enzymes that act as catalysts inside the body, or in simpler terms, they act like soap and water. They are both cleansing and energizing. Water is also highly important for cleansing the pipes. Drink it generously. Stop loading up on the same old un-metabolizable junk that brings on gut problems to begin with (refined carbs, junk food, fried food, frankenfood, too much dairy and meat, artificially flavored drinks). Move your body. Exercise anyway you like. Walk, jump on the trampoline, or why not do the Breslev favorite – dance!

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Yardena Slater is a certified Raw Food Nutritionist and Detoxification Specialist.