It’s no secret that food can be used to support our immune system and enhance our mental health.  Decades of research has confirmed that certain nutrients in food have powerfully medicinal benefits. However, food choices are just one piece of the puzzle. Getting good quality sleep, managing stress, being active and of course washing your hands all play a pivotal role in impacting our immune function and mental health.  

Research studies:

• Vitamin C and immune function https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5707683/
• Many apples a day keep the blues away--daily experiences of negative and positive affect and food consumption in young adults. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23347122
   
• On carrots and curiosity: eating fruit and vegetables is associated with greater flourishing in daily life. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25080035
• Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 Reduces Depression Scores and Alters Brain Activity https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28483500

Check out Kristopher James' music here!

Click here to learn more about The Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete

Click here to learn more about NPR's Code Switch Podcast

You can also follow him on social media @danielgray

You can find out more about the city of Saint Petersburg by heading to their website.

Here is where you can read the online magazine that Anthony curates, St. Pete Rising.

Andre blogs over at AndreRHenry.com

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...You find the thing you love to do, and you learn about it, you go after it and that's what you do- that's what you're meant to do.

I spent a lot of time in the Word and spent a lot of time figuring out that my identity is not defined by what I do, but who I am and who I am in Christ.

On Photography:

No matter how much technical skill you have it's not going to replace an artistic eye.

Your skill doesn't always equal talent in your field.

On Heroism:

It challenged me to try to be that person myself to go from crisis to crisis and still maintain that sort of servant hood. It taught me to be a little more selfless.

On Surrogacy:

If we can name the reasons not to do something and they all have to do with fear, then to us, that's the red flag that we need to do it. Because we feel like our biggest growth spiritually as a couple and as a family happens when we go as deep out as we can possible get into the water.

It was a lesson in teaching her how to fear less and for me how to learn how to be more cautious... sort of a coming together of different personalities.

It's easy to say you're going to go deep, but then when you're there and in the fire...

Those moments of doubt and you're in the deep and you cant touch the floor and your just treading water- its in those instances that you know that you have to depend on God.

In the shallow water you can take care of yourself but in the deep you cant and that's when you know you need a savior.

Being in the deep and having to rely on God to really just give you the strength for the final pushes.

God gives you the amount of strength you need for every occasion.

He gives you what you need for the season you're in. Not too much not too little.

Everybody can stay int he shallow water and be safe and have a fine life, but your not going to understand the depth of who God is and How much He loves you and how much closer you can know who He is unless you go to the deep and you can know Him.

LINKS:

Find Ashley’s Photography here!

Radiant Church

Ashley on Instagram

We live in a society that no longer appreciates conversation.

Conversation has just gotten lost in this broadcast type society.

I want to try to get out of the muck and mire of peoples opinions of whats going on and elevate those types of conversations into what we can do to better ourselves, one another, our communities, relationships with one another and elevate the conversation.

We may be sitting in our little silo'd areas thinking the same thoughts as one another and not even knowing it. Or feeling the same feelings as one another and not even knowing it.

The Altitude Collective serves as a place where you're not by yourself. There are other people having these same thoughts; same feelings Let’s elevate the conversation so that we can see each other on a human spiritual level and let’s see what we can do now that we're there.

For me, being different is stepping into what is uniquely you and that's really hard to do.

I am someone who is actively pursuing my uniqueness.

I view the world as it can be, not as it is right now. Because I view my world as it can be, the conversations I engage people in, is not just about right now, I want to make sure that conversation is moving us, moving you, into the future.

90% of the time, for me, feels wrong. Like 90% I feel like being different is wrong, and then that 10% kind of comes when I lay down and put my head on the pillow and I'm about to go to sleep and I'm just like "No, no, you're fine!"

At some point I am going to have to value what I give to people and I am going to have to put a cost to that.... But that's a different way of thinking.

On defining moments:

-I think that (growing up with a father loosely around) has bolstered me or it has cost me things.

-I understand what it means to want something really, really badly, coming so close to having it, and then the loss of it. That causes me to be more compassionate.

I think in society we dismiss people's wants and their needs so easily.

With these experiences I am able to be soft, I am able to take time with people regarding what they want.

Jesus really frames everything for me.

Masking is this idea that we are putting something else on other than our true unique self.

The struggle is when we're talking about being different, the struggle is I want to be uniquely me in every context. I am not sure that unique Meiko will be accepted at all times even in what should be safe spaces. So when I don't feel like I will be accepted, or safe I'll put on a mask.

There are a lot of men who wrestle with being brave in conversations.

Men are not bad at conversation, they are actually really, really good at talking because they are trying to hide the things that actually bother them. So guys do talk but a lot of the talk is to mask.

I do struggle with that but my aim is to be uniquely me in every situation I'm in.

Just live your life in every single environment, in every context, as much as you can. That doesn't mean that your going to be accepted every single time

I have given, (and daily have to give myself) permission to live my life.

We've got to make the decisions for our lives.

For people it really comes down to just being open. Always creating a space for people to be living their best life. Always creating a space for people to make mistakes...

We need to be open to creating safe places, or safe environments, or safe hearts to let other people live out whats within them.

Age has given me more permission to be uniquely me.

I've learned to trust myself more with those decisions.

On championing others:

-I'm of the belief that each one of us is unique and possesses a unique light. So I just love seeing people achieve the things that they want to achieve.

-I believe that we need to be more involved in peoples lives.

-We need to be celebrating the things that people are achieving, or we need to be locking arms with people as they are in the trenches trying to achieve things.

The human spirit desires to be connected with other people, affirmed, and celebrated and loved.

It's brave to step into someone else's world and motivate them forward.

We are all connected in this great circle of life.

If you are affirming or loving people based on how you want to be loved/affirmed you are actually missing the mark.

We've got to be really careful when we're loving people, affirming people, that we're doing so in their language. Otherwise its just noise.

It takes time to learn another persons love language. If that person is important to you, you will do it.

If your not willing to find out here's the hard truth: You actually don't care about that person.

Relationships regardless of what kind just take work. The world will be a better place when we take the time to step into one another's lives and learn from one another.

The gold in being different is when you can go to bed at night with no regrets.

You can find Meiko all over social media by using his handle, meikoseymour.

Additionally, check out his website that is full of blogs and links to his two eBooks here.

The most difficult journey is really just being true to myself; not losing myself and making sure I’m treating this gift of music, this journey of music, with open hands.

If I’m openhanded with it, I can allow things to happen, I can allow things to come in and I can allow things to leave, and not carry that disappointment — but I can carry gratefulness and thankfulness.

I was unsure of my abilities to be a father but the moment my oldest came into the world, I recognized him.

I try to live my life very balanced to show them that they can dream the dreams and that they can do these dreams at the same time.

I’m doing these things that I’m dreaming for their sake as well!

The most difficult thing about parenthood is really convincing yourself that you’re not a terrible parent!

Be mindful of your children, be mindful of you as a person, and be mindful that everyone of us are human and we are all capable of the infallible, so give yourself grace.

On instilling values:

They have to see me do it, it can’t just be me telling them what to do.

We have to figure out a way to show them value rather then just expecting value, expecting them to pick up on the values that we say. We have to show them how it works.

On important values:

I really just think it’s learning to be okay with yourself even at a young age... we’ll be okay with being afraid (for example).

On mental health:

Being a heavy thinker like I am, I do find myself in a lot of situations where I tend to think, or I find myself down rabbit holes.

It’s okay to make yourself uncomfortable with your thoughts. That is not bad mental health.

I think what makes serious mental health issues is where your body doesn’t process those particular issues as harmful and you become unmindful of the state that you’re in mentally and it slowly dissolves and deteriorates.

I think counseling is an incredible tool that we do not utilize enough.

Even talking for the sake of talking because we don’t process all the time just by thinking.

I love that idea that sorrow can dig these trenches in our souls but it just creates more room for joy to be felt!

In an ideal world, our differences are what makes us most uniquely beautiful. It is fear and our own mortal insecurity that creates every division in our life. So get over yourself!

Learn more about Kristopher James by visiting his website.

You can follow Kristopher James in Instagram to view his daily exploits and insight into his daily life.

Follow The Altitude Collective Podcast on twitter for show updates and

God will put you in a position you may not be ready for but He’ll give you grace.

Never say never!

What God calls you to will make sense/coincide with who you are, your natural abilities, and the things you gravitate to.

God is the source; everything else provided is the resource.

Without faith it’s impossible to please God. - Hebrews 11:6

Don’t let fear of falling, or fear or failing keep you from seeing a miracle that God wants you to see or experience.

Exercise your faith in new ways, in new areas.

Faith Vs. Fear

The opposite of love is fear.

Perfect love casts out all fear. - 1 John 4:18

Base all your decisions based on love instead of fear; love for God, love for passions placed in your heart, love for people.

Vocation- pays you // Avocation- hobbies your love to do.

God has us all on our own journey at our own speed.

Someone else’s speed is not your own. Trust the pace He’s (God) set.

If God gave us what we’re asking for at a time we’re not yet ready to receive it, it would be a curse not a blessing.

Stay on the journey you’ve been set on and learn what you need to learn to prepare for that blessing.

Obscurity is the dark room of the divine.

We never want to be over exposed and under developed.

Don’t despise obscurity.

While you’re in Gods dark room let Him fully develop you.

Take the time to give more attention to the preparation.

You can find Daniel Gray on the web at DanielGray.cc

Check out Pastor Daniel’s YouTube Channel here!

Follow Daniel Gray on Twitter!

Follow Daniel Gray on Instagram!

You’re too awesome to live in chaos.

On creating balance in the midst of busyness: priority over balance.

May the things on your list be the things that light you up!

Who do you want to be and how do you want to show up?

Out of all of your love tanks, fill the one that means the most so you can pour out from it.

Our pain can sometimes be an access point to someones heart // “a blessing and a half”

Loss doesn’t get any easier. The getting easier comes from talking about it (whatever it is.) That brings about acceptance.

Rebuilding Love: Get curious and look for the evidence opposite of your negative experience/logic.

In any relationship (romantic or not) let people know how they can win with you.

Be rooted in love. Ultimately we are called to love each other. Live that out.

Show Links:

Follow Charissa on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mscharissamoore

Check her out on her website, http://www.charissamoore.com/

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http://twitter.com/thealtitudeco