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💖Dear all,
I hope you’re doing well and you’re holding strong during this last month before the holidays. For many, this is one of the busiest times of the year, as we would like to finish everything we have planned not only for this month, but for the whole year :) Between getting things done at work, starting to prepare the gift list, family visits, we can easily feel overwhelmed during this time. It doesn’t help that November is not the most energising month of the year.
But still, let’s take a deep breath and a step back: nothing is more important that your feeling good; you need to preserve that, no matter the rush. It’s only when we’re doing well ourselves that we can do our best for the others, for the people we love and for the job we have.
So, how are you doing these days?
💡Now let’s learn a few things together. Here’s what we’ll talk about in this newsletter:
1/ inspirational story: Isabell’s story
2/ medical news:
- Functional Medicine & health outcomes
- Inflammation and Alzheimer's disease
- digital health news: a new way of health monitoring?
3/ My very personal experience:
💊 On a completely different note, I wanted to mention that if you’re already an Akesio user, you can now buy your food supplements in one place and at a better price. Just write back to me for the details.
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ISABELL'S STORY: when yoga and mindfulness become
I met Isabell at my yoga center and immediately connected with her calm nature and good vibe. As often happens when I meet beautiful and inspiring people, I want to know more about them, to hear their story and eventually build bridges and see where they take us. Here’s what Isabell has to tell:
"I’ve been fascinated by yoga and meditation since my early teens, but other than reading books on Buddhism, Taoism, existential philosophy and everything else a teenager is usually attracted to, nothing much ever came of it. In the early 2000s I finally started practicing Tai Chi and going on meditation retreats and on one of those retreats I had my first yoga class. Back in London, I was quickly hooked and yoga immediately became a constant in my life.
I was interested in a practice that emphasises the breath, establishing the focus for a moving meditation and started practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga – linking breath with movement and finding space and alignment within one asana through the breath. Yoga is a place of balance, an intimate connection between body and mind, the world around us and beyond us. It gives us a framework to develop a deeper awareness and understanding to live a more meaningful, happy life – even if it’s just for a moment every day".
This weekend, I had the chance to participate to a 3 hours workshop with Isabell (a mixt of vinyasa and deep guided relaxation), it was an amazing experience that I'm already looking forward to renew.
Let's give a round of namasté to Isabell! 🙏
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FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE & HEALTH OUTCOMES
The functional medicine model of care provides an operating system that works to reverse illness, promote health, and optimize functioning. This concept is addressing underlying causes, symptoms, and functional imbalances in interconnected biological networks.
This recent study published in JAMA last month shows that functional medicine model of care may have the ability to improve patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL), including physical function and well-being.
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INFLAMMATION DRIVES ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
We've already known that inflammatory process affects brain health in many ways. With this new study published last week in Nature, researchers were able to better understand the underlying mechanism between inflammation and Alzheimer's disease.
"Inflammatory processes promote the development of Aβ pathology, and as we have now been able to show, of tau pathology as well. Thus, the inflammasome plays a key role in Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases", says one of the authors of the study.
With these findings, the neuroscientist sees opportunities for new treatment methods.
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NEW WAY OF TRACKING HEALTH?
I must say that I am very excited about the sensors area in general and I'm looking forward to can use them for health monitoring sometime soon. But what about if we wouldn't need to "wear" any device at all, even the finest sensor? The MIT professor Dina Katabi is building a gadget that can sit in one spot and track everything from breathing to walking, no wearables required. Imagine a box, similar to a Wi-Fi router, that sits in your home and tracks all kinds of physiological signals as you move from room to room: breathing, heart rate, sleep, gait, and more.
I personally don't feel very comfortable with this idea (are we really sure is this harmless?), but it is something we will hear about it in the future. I am looking forward to know more.
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MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
One of my dearest friends told me recently, “Lately my goal has been to really focus on how I’m feeling. If what I’m doing doesn’t make me feel good, I don’t do it".
I can’t say I’m yet prioritising feeling good over work (although most of the time I feel good while I’m working:), but I am in a highly intensive self-care programme that I designed for myself :)
Here’s what I am doing these days:
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I’ve increased my meditation time to at least 30 minutes per day, and oftentimes more (I even tried a workshop this weekend with Isabell, 3 hours yoga and meditation, it was an amazing experience).
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I’m in a detoxifying period (zero alcohol, very low meat consumption, daily vegetable juices and little coffee; that last one is the hardest. I’m also back to the sauna regularly, but it’s still difficult for me to do in London, I haven’t yet found the perfect spot that’s both accessible and nice).
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I’m back to my beauty routine
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I’ve spent almost the entire week-end out, despite the cold weather, which is great! Some of my gut bacteria are for sure happier (cold weather also influences our microbiome, if you remember one of my old posts) :)
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Want to know more?
Just give me a signal, I’m happy to talk :)
Have a nice November and stay healthy!
And if you like my Newsletter, share to your friends and family, thank you !
Pssst: my doctor website has a fresh touch, have a look 😉
Lavinia ❤️
Medical Doctor | Dr Ionita
Founder | Akesio
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