The Wellbeing Bible E-Book

CICO Books

• Herausgeber: CICO Books
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 131

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2026

Beschreibung

The Wellbeing Bible offers a gentle invitation to RECONNECT with yourself... Foster a more GROUNDED and BALANCED way of living with wise advice and restorative routines. Starting with Mindful Eating, you'll learn how to transform your relationship with food, helping you to make simple changes towards a healthier diet and feel more nourished in body and mind. In Mindful Movement, explore how gentle movements and targeted exercises can refresh your energy, enhance your overall wellbeing and address specific physical and emotional challenges, helping you feel stronger, lighter and more in tune with your body. Rest, Recharge and Revitalise delves into ways to support true relaxation and peace of mind, from improving the quality of your sleep through mindfulness techniques and adjusting your sleep environment, to using essential oils to create calm, boost your mood and much more. Finally, in The Joy of Empowerment, you'll discover strategies to awaken contentment from within, using simple yet profound ways to open your heart, shift your mindset and reconnect with the happiness already available to you.

Leseprobe

THE Wellbeing

Bible

THE Wellbeing

Bible

NOURISH YOUR BODY, MIND, AND SOUL FOR A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER, AND MORE BALANCED LIFE

Published in 2026 by CICO Books

An imprint of Ryland Peters & Small Ltd

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

1452 Davis Bugg Road

London WC1R 4BW

Warrenton, NC 27589

www.rylandpeters.com

Email: [email protected]

Text originally from Nourish Your Brain Cookbook, Living in the Moment, The Self-healing Revolution, A Year of Living Happily, The Green Cure, Mindfulness and Sleep, The CBD Beauty Book, The Art of Kindness, The Secrets of Happiness, and The Power of Gratitude.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Rika K. Keck, Anna Black, Noelle Renée Kovary, Lois Blyth, Alice Peck, and Colleen Quinn 2026

Design and photography © CICO Books 2026

For additional text and image credits, see page 144.

The authors’ moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. US Library of Congress CIP data has been applied for.

ISBN: 978-1-80065-576-8

E-ISBN: 978-1-80065-654-3

Printed in China

Assistant editor: Danielle Rawlings

Senior designer: Emily Breen

Art director: Sally Powell

Creative director: Leslie Harrington

Production manager: Gordana Simakovic

Publishing manager: Carmel Edmonds

The authorized representative in the EEA is

Authorised Rep Compliance Ltd.,

Ground Floor, 71 Lower Baggot Street,

Dublin, D01 P593, Ireland

www.arccompliance.com

Safety note: If you have food sensitivities or allergies, or are taking any medications, discuss your dietary choices with a health professional or doctor. If you are having a sustained period of difficulty sleeping, consult a health professional or doctor for advice. Please note that while the use of essential oils, CBD oil, and particular practices refer to healing benefits, they are not intended to replace diagnosis of illness or ailments, or healing or medicine. Always consult a health professional or doctor in the case of illness, pregnancy, and other personal sensitivities and conditions. Neither the authors nor the publisher can be held responsible for any claim arising out of the general information, recipes, and practices provided in the book.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1Mindful Eating

Chapter 2 Mindful Movement

Chapter 3 Rest andRecharge

Chapter 4Finding Happiness andJoy

Resources

Credits

Index

Introduction

Begin a journey of holistic renewal built on four foundational pillars: how we eat, how we move, how we rest, and how we think and feel.

As you explore each chapter, you’ll learn to listen deeply to your body’s rhythms and clarity, and cultivate practices rooted in nourishment, presence, and grounded joy. There are no rigid rules—just simple, mindful habits to weave into daily life.

In the first chapter, Mindful Eating, we examine how what we eat—and how we eat—profoundly shapes our wellbeing. It isn’t about dieting; it’s about bringing gentle awareness to our hunger, enjoyment, and nourishment. Some foods cultivate a thriving microbiome, while others can provoke inflammation. Similarly, our choices influence our energy, mood, and mental clarity. Learn how to recognize foods that uplift you, avoid those that hinder you, and prep meals to harness their full potential.

Mindful Movement explores how activities don’t have to be strenuous to be transformative. Gentle exercises like yoga, stretching, or walking activate powerful physiological and psychological benefits. Yoga in particular strengthens the body while also calming the mind. Even short, daily sessions—as little as 10–15 minutes, done two or three times weekly—can redirect energy flow, enhance posture, and foster a sense of physical and mental harmony. Through rhythm and breath, you’ll unearth a way to feel more alive, centered, and attuned to your body’s wisdom.

The third chapter, Rest and Recharge, explains how sleep is not simply a chore or idleness—it’s a powerful tool for renewal. Quality rest, mindful downtime, and restorative practices are the soil in which vitality grows. Nurture that deep rest through mindful shifts in thinking, digital boundaries, calming rituals, and natural aids like CBD and essential oils. Take the time to adjust your routine, and you can lower your stress, regulate your hormones, and rebalance your nervous system, enabling you to wake up restored and resilient.

Finally, lasting happiness doesn’t come from chasing extraordinary moments—it grows from small, mindful habits and mental shifts. In Finding Happiness and Joy, discover how savoring simple pleasures, kindness toward yourself and others, empathy, embracing your unique self, and daring to try new things can build emotional resilience and reduce stress. As you cultivate calm, practice giving, choose courage over complacency, and dissolve old patterns of negative thinking, joy becomes less about attainment and more about awakening to everyday wonder and connection.

Together, these four foundational pillars offer a practical and inspiring path toward holistic wellbeing, not as a series of one-time fixes, but as everyday habits rooted in presence and nurturing. Each practice reinforces the others: eating well fosters better sleep, which makes movement easier, which in turn uplifts your mood. When you truly listen to your body, you lay the groundwork for a life that feels balanced, connected, and alive. And when your thoughts align with gratitude, curiosity, generosity, and kindness, you open the door to sustained joy and deeper connection with yourself and others.

Chapter 1

Mindful

Eating

Transform your relationship with food with simple changes that will help you achieve a healthier diet and feel more nourished in body and mind.

Our gut–brain connection

Our brain and gut are closely interconnected in terms of our senses, biological functions, emotions, and moods.

You know what it feels like when you smell freshly baked cookies and your mouth waters. You also know what it is like when you have a gut feeling about a situation, or when you feel sick to your stomach when you are very upset. You also know how emotionally satisfied you can feel after you have enjoyed a delicious meal with loved ones.

Every piece of food we consume and every stressful thought we have affects our brain directly, in both gut and head. Both “brains” need to be nourished if we wish to perform well, maintain mental energy, and stay emotionally balanced.

Unhealthy processed or junk foods irritate the stomach—and they will irritate the brain, too. They contribute to inflammation in the gut and brain, and over time that can contribute to many illnesses, including autoimmune diseases (see page 20), developmental problems in children, painful joints, cognitive difficulties, and degenerative neurological diseases in adults.

The science behind it

Time for a little anatomy: Our two “brains” are closely connected by a complex nervous system that relies heavily on the vagus nerve. This large nerve is like the captain of the ship, conducting information back and forth from the brain to all the organs and glands that are involved with our digestion, breathing, and heart function. It is also known as the gut–brain axis.

The digestive tract is like a rubber tube that runs from the mouth down to the anus. Millions of nerves are embedded in its walls, and that is why we can feel pain and other symptoms if we have trouble digesting certain foods. This network of nerves is the enteric nervous system, and it is also known as the “second brain.” The gut tube has a mucosal lining of gut-associated lymphoid tissue that forms a large part of our immune system. Its role is to provide a protective boundary between the outside world and our inside body. It is often said that all disease begins in the gut.

When foods move from the mouth through the digestive tract, many different hormones, nerves, and digestive enzymes are called to action by the gut–brain in our innards. Digestion requires a lot of energy; after all, it is the biggest driver of our metabolic fire. Too much stress in daily life, and a lack of nutrients such as zinc, affects the body’s ability to release stomach acid and enzymes that are essential for healthy digestion and the absorption of nutrients. Both too much and too little stomach acid is a problem.

Any undigested food that putrefies and ferments in the stomach invites harmful microbes and yeasts to feast on it. At the same time, you may be noticing digestive symptoms such as acid reflux, gastric inflammation, bloating, excessive gas, or constipation, while your mind is experiencing ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), anxiety, brain fog, and funky moods. You might also experience itchy skin, sleep difficulties, or tightness in the chest (do consult a cardiologist if you have this last symptom, to rule out cardiovascular problems). In addition, any difficulties with elimination or excessive bowel activity are an indicator of digestive troubles that can originate higher up.

The vagus nerve conducts information back and forth from the brain to the rest of the body. This is a simplified diagram—in reality, the nerve descends from the brain as a pair of nerves and branches out throughout the body.

The basics for a healthy brain

While we go about our busy lives juggling home and work commitments throughout the day, we hardly think about the most important organ in our head—our brain.

Different areas of our brain allow us to hear sounds, smell aromas, think and speak freely, move our limbs, breathe, memorize experiences, interpret information from the outside world, and learn new things that are useful in our lives. Think about it: If you stub your little toe, it hurts. Your brain knows that, too. If you walk into a surprise birthday party and your heart pumps with excitement, your brain is charged up, too, with excitable brain chemicals and adrenaline. All are simple examples of how the brain is implicated in every situation.

Even at night, our brain does not rest when we do. While we sleep, the brain ensures that we breathe and maintain steady blood sugar, and that our heart keeps beating. It also processes and stores information gathered during the busy day, reinforcing our memory. Not only that, but “housecleaning” in the brain also occurs at night. While we sleep, the brain shrinks slightly, and the lymphatic fluid can sweep out accumulated toxins that contribute to inflammation and premature aging.

Food for thought

How we manage stress, beginning with a healthy eating, exercise, and sleep strategy, will have a great impact on the long-term wellness of our brain. Consider, for example, that a deficiency of vitamin B12 is associated with dementia and tingling sensations in feet and fingers. Every day, every meal, it matters what and when we eat, as our blood-sugar balance and brain energy depend on it. A nutrient-deprived brain ages faster.

It is particularly important to nourish a developing brain in a young child, and an aging brain in the later stages of life, when often more nutrients are needed than are supplied in the daily diet. Sadly, foods today contain much lower levels of vitamins and minerals than the foods our grandparents ate. Skipping meals creates an energy crisis, depriving the brain of the energy it needs if we are to think clearly.

Gut flora, probiotics, and prebiotics

A diverse gut flora plays an important part in our resilience (physical, mental, and emotional), our outlook on life, and our ability to maintain a rational mindset.

Think of your gut flora as an internal soil and garden that you carry around with you wherever you go. This ecology becomes a lifelong template that promotes or decreases our physical health and mental wellbeing. It needs tending, just like the vegetable patch in a backyard. What we eat affects our microbes and our moods directly.

Prebiotics are like a fertilizer for the good microbes in our gut—they optimize the balance of our bowel flora and absorption of nutrients. They consist of the insoluble fiber in fruits, vegetables, and grains and are fermented and converted into short-chain fatty acids called butyrate. Butyrate is often deficient in many chronic illnesses and autoimmune diseases, including colitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), so it’s important to have it.

Probiotics are live bacteria that are part of the body’s microbiome, and they feed on prebiotics. So the more fiber-rich foods we incorporate into our diet, the happier our probiotics are. Well-known examples of probiotics are species of Lactobacillus, including L. bifidus and L. acidophilus, and a healthy yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii.

The microbes in our gut (known as the microbiata) are like busy construction workers on a work site.

FOOD FOR A FLOURISHING GUT FLORA

Examples of prebiotics in food include the inulin in bananas and fiber in garlic, leeks, onions, avocados, legumes, coconut flakes, and guar gum (found in many processed foods). Additional prebiotic supplementation includes fructooligosaccharides (FOS), psyllium husk, and acacia.

Probiotics occur naturally in cultured and fermented foods such as kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, tempeh, miso, and pickles. It is also possible to supplement your diet with soil- and spore-based probiotics. These beneficial microbes add to the diversity within an individual’s gut flora, but you should consult with a health practitioner to discuss which probiotic choice is best for you.

Dark leafy greens, multicolored vegetables, fermented foods, and healthy fats from nuts, seeds, pasture-raised animals, and fish, also help our body to get rid of the toxins that we are exposed to daily.

Fermented foods and drinks such as sauerkraut, kimchee, kombucha, and kefir encourage health-supporting bacteria and yeasts in our gut, but are not in the mainstream diet. We need them, however, since they play an important part in maintaining our mood and energy.

How to nourish your gut and brain

Improper eating can result in your memory and cognitive function diminishing, meaning it’s so important to pay attention to what you eat. Here is a list of essentials that make a great foundation for your brain-health pantry.

Fermented foods

These make the nutrients in food easier to absorb and provide a variety of health-supporting probiotics. Try kefir in a smoothie, sauerkraut with grilled chicken, or pickles as a twist to your salad.

Fruity fruit and varied veggies

The enzymes, minerals, and vitamins found in raw foods, salads, and smoothies help to heal tissues, and are part of various biochemical processes that affect our energy and our ability to handle the stress of daily life. Vitamins A, K, and C in these foods help to heal a leaky gut (see page 20). The more colors on your plate, the better you can provide your brain and body a variety of phytonutrients:

• Tannins are the water-soluble phenols found in grape skins, cocoa, tea, sage, cranberries, and red wine. They have astringent properties, and their health benefits include the inhibition of plaque formation on teeth, the healing of wounds, and the alleviation of gastritis and diarrhea.

• Flavonoids are phytonutrients that have anti-cancer, heart-healthy, and brain-healthy properties, while also improving memory and microcirculation in the brain. They are found in plant-based foods and determine the color of the vegetable or fruit: the darker the color, the better, as in blueberries, purple grapes, blackberries, parsley, black beans, capers, and green tea.

• Organosulfur compounds are essential minerals needed for the detoxification pathways that play an important role in our ability to eliminate environmental toxins, chemical estrogens in plastics, and infections. A lack of these may increase our risk of cancer of the reproductive organs. Sulfur-containing foods include eggs (especially the white), meat, and vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, bok choy (pak choi), turnips, onions, garlic, and leeks.

• Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory found in certain fruits, red wine, and cocoa. It increases microcirculation in the brain and heart, and is a memory, vision, and immune modulator. Resveratrol can cross the blood–brain barrier. (Incidentally, Japanese knotweed, a great source of resveratrol, is used in botanical treatments for Lyme disease.)

Eat whole