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Community Corner

Gratitude and Giving Improves your Health

Learn how an attitude of gratitude can help you live a longer healthier life

Research has shown, whatever may be occurring in your life, that your overall health will only improve if you are thankful and grateful. A truly healthy long life includes positive outlook and gratitude for where you may be at each moment of your life.  

There’s no doubt that mind and body are connected, and this link is especially apparent when it comes to gratitude.

“Research suggests that individuals who are grateful in their daily lives actually report fewer stress-related health symptoms, including headaches, gastrointestinal (stomach) issues, chest pain, muscle aches, and appetite problems,” says Sheela Raja, PhD, an assistant professor and clinical psychologist in the Colleges of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago in an article on Everyday Health.

"Thousands of years of literature talk about the benefits of cultivating gratefulness as a virtue," says University of California Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons on WebMD. A virtue, as defined by the New World Encyclopedia, is a trait or disposition of character that leads to good behavior, for example, wisdom, courage, modesty, generosity and self-control.

In other words, gratefulness as a virtue leads to better behaviors toward a healthier lifestyle. "Grateful people take better care of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, regular physical examinations," says Emmons.

A healthy person is grateful for their life and the knowledge of their life experiences.  A truly grateful healthy person often gives back. It is a matter of self purpose and self worth that exists in being healthy. "So much of gratitude is about one's perspective and framework for looking at the world and at one’s self. People who tend to be more mindful of the benefits they've received tend to focus their attention outward," Emmons said.

A nutritionist and food psychologist, Marc David focuses on being a healthy person all around. He writes, on The Psychology of Eating

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Good health and long life is not enough. So what if you live to be a healthy 100 years old—yet you’re a total jerk. The people around you would rather have you dead a long time ago.

Health by itself doesn’t always have meaning. Humans need a reason, a purpose for being here, alive, on planet earth. So what if you spend a ton of energy sculpting a skinny body. What else is happening in your life? What’s your skinny body for? What gift are you here to give others? Is your life purpose simply to eat vegetarian, or raw food, or low calorie, or macrobiotic? A healthy body is a grace. Are you willing to use it to give back to the world? Can you see that the body is meant to serve a deeper and more beautiful purpose in the world that’s more than just being pretty, skinny or healthy?

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As Marc David says, living a long time does not mean you are truly healthy until you express your purpose in life. Being grateful for your healthy life and giving back to those who may not be as healthy, is the true meaning of a healthy lifestyle.  

Do something for someone else. “There is strong evidence that helping other people actually helps us focus more on the blessings in our own lives,” says Raja.

Do a good deed, big or small, and the good probably will come back to you.

So, the advice and urging of this time of year to give back is only going to bring you closer to better health. There are many opportunities to give back to our community and the surrounding communities that can leave a healthy lasting impression on you and your family, while also creating a difference for others in need during this holiday season.

Here are five suggestions on ways to give back this holiday season and year-round:

1. Donate to a local food bank such as West Chester Food Cupboard or Chester County Food Bank.

2. Run a local run in support of a cause. Find one at www.runningtheusa.com.

3. Invite a neighbor to your home to celebrate the holiday.

4. Donate a toy or gift card to your local hospital or children’s charity.

5. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or a free clinic for the uninsured. Consider , St. Mary's Shelter or . 

Make a New Year’s resolution to not only improve your health, but to also find the gratitude of giving back to the health of your community and your surrounding world.

About this column: The author is a resident of Phoenixville and owner of the Phoenixville businesses JMB Fitness and Great Valley Adventure Boot Camp. Jennifer Brango will be offering advice, tips and tricks for staying healthy in Chester County.

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