Wellness Program ViaZen Articulation-Joint
- Dietary Recommendations
- Lifestyle hygiene
- ViaZen Health Tips
Eating a clean and healthy diet is essential to ensure the optimal healing of joint structures. Whenever possible, choose locally grown foods, and organic, sustainably sourced products.
GREEN LIGHTHave your meals in a quiet, stress-free environment. This is essential because digestive functions are aversely affected by stress. Improved digestion will ensure the proper absorption of nutrients and will help optimize tissue healing. Make sure to include fruits and vegetables in ALL your meals and snacks. Choose alkalinizing fruits and vegetables to restore the body’s pH balance and reduce inflammation. In addition, because heat destroys vitamin C, you should aim to consume half of your daily fruits and vegetables in their raw form (either whole, or in a smoothie, juice (centrifuge) or gazpacho, for instance):
Note: Foods marked in bold are excellent sources of vitamin C. Make sure to include a complete protein source in all your meals and snacks to ensure you’re consuming all the essential amino acids required for tissue regeneration. Choose easy-to-digest proteins:
Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have potent anti-inflammatory properties. In order to fully benefit from the myriad therapeutic properties that omega-3 fatty acids offer, we recommend that each week, you include three meals featuring fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines or sea trout. |
RED LIGHTAvoid saturated fatty acids and hydrogenated fats, which are all precursors to inflammation: Fatty meat: beef, lamb, bacon, lard, cold cuts, butter, cream, ice cream, sour cream, high-fat cheeses, milk chocolate and cocoa butter, commercial peanut butter, anything deep fried, refined oils, margarine, shortening and commercially made muffins. Avoid highly allergenic foods that predispose to inflammation: wheat, soy, peanuts, dairy products from cow’s milk. Avoid acid-forming foods that trigger inflammation:
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Maintain a healthy weight. Excess body mass increases the load on your joints and can exacerbate inflammatory joint conditions as well as cause premature wear and tear.
Stay hydrated by drinking at least 1.5 liters of water a day, between meals. Optimal water intake allows for better transport of water-soluble nutrients, as well as helps eliminate metabolic toxins. Also, keep in mind that several joint structures contain larges amounts of water (ex. cartilage, intervertebral disks), thus require a steady supply to function optimally.
Integrate daily physical activity into your routine. Moving helps to avoid ankylosis. Muscles and other tissues that ensure the integrity of the joint weaken when they are not moved regularly – which results in the joint gradually losing its mobility and flexibility. Focus on range of motion (ROM) exercises that help maintain or restore normal joint movement and reduce stiffness. In addition, choose low-impact aerobic exercises such as swimming, walking, water aerobics and ergonomic cycling that don’t add additional stress on the joints. Also, keep in mind that it’s important to warm-up prior to exercising, as well as to cool down at the end of every session. As a bonus, daily exercise will improve your overall sense of well-being and help you maintain a healthy weight.
Make sure to get in a minimum of 7 hours of sleep at night. Insufficient sleep promotes inflammation and impairs joint tissue regeneration.
Allow yourself a daily relaxation period to help you better manage everyday stressors (including joint pain). Try breathing exercises, visualization, meditation music, or whatever else strikes your fancy.
Making changes to one’s overall lifestyle hygiene and diet can take time and a little getting used to. An adjustment period is thus to be expected, so don’t put additional stress on yourself. Take the time you need to gradually get used to your new wellness program.
10 ViaZen Articulation-Joint Health Tips
To integrate daily!
- Have your meals in a calm environment, conducive to an efficient digestion.
- Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily.
- Plan three weekly meals featuring fatty fish.
- Avoid common food allergens: wheat, soy, dairy products from cow’s milk, peanuts.
- Consume alkalizing fruits and vegetables with ALL meals and ALL snacks.
- Avoid all sweets.
- Make sure to get in at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
- Get in 30 minutes of physical activity daily.
- Allow yourself a 15-minute daily relaxation period.
- Take one Viazen Articulation-Joint with breakfast and dinner.
