“Everything we can do to reduce stress in our lives will lead to great health.” – Ronda Collier

Stress is the new health epidemic only that it’s not new at all. Stress has influenced humans since we were running away from sabre-toothed tigers and living in caves. That same flight-or-fight response still powers our nervous system today – and many of us are not very good at managing it. But that is certainly changeable with generative feedback technology like the HRV Sense™ app. Ronda Collier from SweetWater Health, joins Bulletproof Radio for a second time to discuss the science of Heart Rate Variability and how monitoring it efficiently allows for peak performance and a healthier life! Learn about why the average person should care about HRV, how broccoli is used to qualify fractals, and why self-awareness is key to self-preservation.

Ronda Collier, B.S.E.E., M.A. Psychology holds more than 25 years of experience in high technology product development with a proven track record of delivering leading edge consumer electronic products within both privately held startups and Fortune 500 corporations. She has spent the last 3 years as an independent scholar researching non-invasive health monitoring techniques to improve overall personal well being. This research led to the founding of SweetWater Health, L.L.C. in 2010.

Watch the podcast!

Go to the Bulletproof Executive website – original article.

Go to the SweetWater Health website.

Download SweetBeat – HRV Sense (same as SweetBeat) – Food Sense

If you have any questions, please email support@sweetwaterhrv.com.

To download SweetBeat, click here.

Many of you are using SweetBeat for one of its several useful functions (stress, heart rate variability [HRV] for training, food sensitivity testing, etc.). Many of you are using HeartMath technologies in conjunction with SweetBeat – which we fully support! The Sweetwater Health team and HeartMath are front leaders in the HRV movement and long-time partners.

emWave® technology is based on learning to change your heart rhythm pattern to create coherence; a scientifically measurable state characterized by increased order and harmony in our psychological and physiological processes.

“Personal coherence, also known as psychophysiological coherence, refers to the synchronization of our physical, mental and emotional systems. It can be measured by our heart-rhythm patterns: The more balanced and smooth they are, the more in sync, or coherent, we are. Stress levels recede, energy levels increase and our brain and what HeartMath calls the “heart brain” are working together. It is a state of optimal clarity, perception and performance.” – As defined in the HeartMath FAQs.

SweetBeat has three main components: HRV for Training, stress monitoring and food sensitivity testing. If your body goes into a state of coherence, it will have an effect on your stress monitoring.

Below are some tips on how to understand your SweetBeat numbers:

• There are industry standards for low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) ranges

–     LF = 0.04hz – 0.15hz

–     HF = 0.15hz – 0.4hz

• Coherence is associated with a “spike” at 0.1hz frequency (LF)
• The SweetBeat stress levels are associated with a high LF with respect to HF (high LF/HF ratio). Because coherence is associated with a high power spike at 0.1hz, which falls into the HRV definition of LF, coherence shows as high stress in SweetBeat.

Here is an example of a coherence spike at 0.1hz:

• Very high power in the LF range (0.04hz – 0.15hz; blue) and little to no power in the HF range (0.15hz – 0.4hz; red). This is coherent data represented in Kubios

This is what a SweetBeat “Heart Rate Graph” looks like during coherence:

If you haven’t already, download SweetBeat and start quantifying! Compatible heart rate monitor required for stress management and HRV for training.

Please email support@sweetwaterhrv.com with any additional questions.

Below is an excerpt from Howard Jacobson’s blog post and podcast with Sweetwater Health CEO and co-founder, Ronda Collier.

“Sweetbeat measures heart rate variability (HRV), which turns out to be a very good proxyfor the body’s resilience and health.

In this interview, Ronda explains how a low HRV can lead to weight gain even when eating right and exercising, how HRV is measured, and how we can increase HRV, reduce low-level inflammation, and bring ourselves back into balance.”

Listen to the podcast on Howie’s blog.

The podcast can be found below the screenshot of SweetBeat. >>

Download SweetBeat on iTunes!

Please enjoy the following interpretations of SweetBeat’s heart rate variability (HRV) for training, along with explanations of average power levels and HRV age.

Important points to remember:

• HRV can vary greatly from person to person depending on health and fitness
• HRV can vary greatly for an individual from day to day and even hour to hour
• While there are “average HRV values” determined through clinical research, HRV is dynamic and individuals will tend to have their own range
• Scroll down to see charts of “average HRV values” from some research papers
• Some athletes have HRV values that are magnitudes higher than average persons
• SweetBeat is about understanding and managing the nervous system and not intended to diagnose anything. If you feel your HRV is “low” see your doctor
• Athletes use HRV to guide training
• As seen on the next 2 charts, HRV power levels vary quite a bit
• The elite athlete has LF and HF power that are orders of magnitude higher than average
• Don’t be alarmed if your HRV values are closer to average

To download SweetBeat on iTunes, click here.

This is the 58th podcast by the Bulletproof Executive with guest speaker Michael Fishman. Scroll to the bottom for a link to the article, which includes the podcast.

“Take control of your food choices, understand your willpower, and combat sugar cravings by listening to this episode with expert health marketing advisor, Michael Fishman. You will hear how Michael radically changed his diet to be a healthier, more in control and happier version of himself, and how you can do that too.

Michael Fishman is a leading advisor on marketing, positioning and strategy for health, wellness and personal development businesses and personalities such as Rodale’s Prevention and Men’s Health publishing brands, Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Dean Ornish and many others.

Michael is also a highly sought after speaker on how marketing language, customer care and work culture combine to take companies from merely good to the beloved best at what they do. He created the  annual Consumer Health Summit, which is the preeminent invitational forum for CEOs, entrepreneurs and marketing leaders in health and wellness. He is also a co-founder of BehaviorCon, a conference on marketing and consumer psychology.

What You Will Hear

• 2:05 Michael’s radical diet change
• 3:00 Choices vs. Restrictions
• 5:30 How food choices convert to personal confidence
• 6:00 Take control of your diet, and, in turn, your life
• 6:50 “I can’t” vs. “I don’t” – specific language in food psychology
• 9:00 How Michael destroyed his sugar cravings
• 9:45 Willpower and how to always have it
• 12:00 The relationship between long-term goals and empowered willpower
• 12:55 How to shop Bulletproof at Whole Foods
• 14:10 Michael’s take on the “4-hour body cheat day”
• 15:30 Dave’s experience with the “cheat day”
• 16:20 How Dave resets his food cravings
• 18:30 Feeling Bulletproof vs. eating “cheat foods”
• 19:00 The reality of sugar
• 20:20 Psychology recommendations to begin a better diet
• 21:30 Dave’s food recon in homes
• 22:35 The cost of quality food, wellbeing, attitude, and income
• 24:30 What happens after you eat processed foods?
• 25:00 A vision without Oreos
• 26:45 Dave, Men’s Health, and conflicts of interest
• 27:45 How to stay informed & overcome “Big Food” marketing
• 28:30 What to avoid in the grocery
• 30:10 Ranch dressing in Whole Foods
• 31:15 Is the use of “organic” on consumer labels fair?
• 32:30 What is the gap between knowing good food practices & applying these practices?
• 34:30 Personal control and food psychology
• 36:00 How assumptions may hurt your psychology
• 38:30 The associations created by food marketers & how to make more informed food decisions
• 40:30 Top 3 recommendations to be more Bulletproof”

Read the full article, “#58 Food Choices, Willpower & Sugar Cravings”

Download the Bulletproof Food Sense App for free now!