Sean Donovan is an Ormond Beach, Florida based life and health coach with an abundance of fresh ideas when it comes to health, happiness, and nutrition. He is also the author of the very insightful, and quite readable book Health and Happiness: An Owner's Manual for the Mind and Body. Recently Sean took a break from coaching, lecturing, and promoting his positive outlook on life to answer a few questions:
After reading your book, I realized that so much of our health comes down to the food we eat. If there were one thing that you would advise everyone to try to eat everyday, what would it be?
If I had to live off of only one food for the rest of my life - it would definitely be an avocado! It's a delicious, nutrient dense fruit that is packed full of phytonutrients, healthy fatty acids, essential oils, potassium, fiber, Vitamins B and E and folic acid. It is also one of the most energy rich foods in the world. It is believed to be incredibly healthy for a woman's reproductive system as well. I eat an avocado pretty much every day as one of my 6 to 8 daily meals.
If there were one thing you would advise us to cut out of our diet completely, what would it be?
My "kneejerk" answer is anything processed or un-natural, but I'm assuming you want me to be more specific and narrow it down to only one thing. How about 2 absolute no-no's instead: Aspartame (artificial sweetener found in diet sodas and lo-cal, "sugar free" processed foods) and trans-fats (found in fried, processed, fast foods). The side effects and artery clogging properties of these two deadly substances are mind boggling (literally)!
I think many of us would like to find natural ways to treat depression, insomnia, or fatigue. Can you tell us what foods and activities you recommend for these common ailments?
Magnesium is a great natural anti-depressant. The avocado and many other fruits and veggies are loaded with magnesium. Artesian water such as Fiji Water also contains magnesium (you should drink 1 liter per 50 pounds of body weight daily). Vitamin D is also a natural anti-depressant and disease fighting anti-oxidant. The body naturally produces vitamin D in the skin when exposed to sunlight. Take a 20 minute walk in nature twice a day when your shadow is taller than you are (morning and night) - if possible, wear no shirt (guys) or a tank or bikini top (ladies) - pull your hair up into a pony tail and don't wear a hat so that you maximize your skin exposure to the sun. Additionally, leave the I-pod and cell phone at home and enjoy the sounds of nature. This sun/nature exposure will reverse depression and create energy and vitality in your life. The exercise from walking will also help prepare you for a restful night's sleep.
How can someone like you who sticks to a strict vegan diet also retain your strength and muscle tone? It's seems counterintuitive to what we know about meat protein and nutrition.
Great question - this is probably the one question people ask me the most. First of all, let me clear up the "protein myth". Have you ever met someone who was sick from a lack of protein? (didn't think so). How often is the cause of someone's death "protein deficiency"? (never). The body doesn't need excess protein to thrive and survive. In fact, the digestion of animal protein creates an acidic, toxic environment in the body and puts stress on organs such as the liver and kidneys.
When my macho weight lifting buddies ask me where I get my protein, I respond by asking them where they get theirs. They invariably proudly respond with "from eating steak or other meat". I then ask them where the 2400 pound cow got all of its muscle and mass-building protein. The answer is grass! I drink 2 to 4 ounces of fresh wheatgrass juice daily. It is my strong belief that I get more bioavailable (usable) protein from a 4 ounce shot of grass juice than others would from an 8 oz slab of steak. Plus, I don't get all of the fat, cholesterol, growth hormones, antibiotics and other toxins found in meat today. There is also ample protein in dark, leafy greens such as spinach and kale as well as beans and nuts.
I've been an avid runner, swimmer, biker, weight lifter, cross-trainer and yoga enthusiast for years and have had no problem gaining and maintaining healthy muscle mass on a vegetarian/vegan diet. Skip the meat - the "grass is greener" on the vegetarian side!
What inspired you to write Health and Happiness?
I lost a close co-worker to her second battle with breast cancer. She died a miserable death at age 36. She never smoked - in fact, she lead a "healthy" lifestyle by most people's standards. Plus, she had no history of breast cancer in her family. She put all of her trust in modern medicine and went through with surgery, radiation and chemotheraphy - which only made her last days more miserable. The worst part was that her doctors could offer up no solution, cure or even explanation as to why she got the cancer in the first place. I visited her often and saw her the night before she died.
Witnessing her ordeal instilled a resolve within me to make a positive impact on people's lives and help them avert a health crisis like Kathleen endured. This was also of particular concern for me personally as I have a history of cancer and other illness in my family. I made some drastic changes in my lifestyle, I dug deep into researching the roots of disease and alternative methods for healing and staying healthy. I believed that I discovered the cure for cancer and all disease. So I began coaching friends, relatives and others for free - writing down the advice I was giving out.
Before you know it, I had several hundred pages of notes that I condensed into an easy to read book full of interesting analogies and good, common sense advice. I wanted to write the book for those who don't normally read books. I have always loved to write and I knew that this would be the most profound way for me to spread health and happiness to the world.
What's coming up with you in terms of writing, events, and life in general?
I currently have several novels in the works and I'm also in the process of writing a health book for middle/high school aged children. I recently finished the production of an 8 part seminar series entitled the "Words of Wisdom WOW Series" by SeanDon. I'm currently presenting the WOW series to local busineses, schools, churches and other groups. The series will ultimately be video recorded and available for world-wide download online. I'm also working on producing an interactive online coaching system for the future.
But for now, my main focus is on developing the Grassroots Reform Organization or "GRO". GRO is a network of people and businesses whose mission is to help everyone become healthier, happier, more enriched and capable of infinite success. My passion is helping people create health and happiness in their lives - and through teamwork and grassroots reform we can all redefine HEALTH as Helping Everyone Always Leads To Happiness!
Looking for inspiration to banish negativity and get healthy? Find your copy of Health and Happiness here.
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