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Holistic Health, Natural Remedies & Homeopathy

Glorious Golden Health Benefits of Turmeric

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Curcumin, the active ingredient of turmeric, is a very powerful antioxidant

Turmeric has enjoyed a revered status in India and China for thousands of years for its amazing healing benefits. In the Pacific the spice was also known and used by the Polynesians who carried it to Hawaii where it is still known as Olena. Recognized in the west as the yellow coloured ingredient in many curries, turmeric has long been used extensively in Asia to treat a wide range of medical conditions due to its strong anti-inflammatory effects.

The main beneficial component of turmeric, or Curcuma longa, is curcumin. Curcumin is a very powerful antioxidant, far more powerful than grape seed or pine bark extract. It can help reduce DNA and cell damage caused by dangerous free radicals in our body.

There are many who believe there’s a strong link between inflammation and chronic illness. Curcumin is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. These make it very effective for fighting heart disease, the pain of osteoarthritis and many other health problems associated with inflammation.

The effect of curcumin is particularly evident inside the colon where the result of its action is a quick turnover of cells. Damaged or mutated cells are destroyed quickly before they have the opportunity to spread through the body.

 

Benefits of Turmeric

Turmeric is one of the most researched natural remedies and there are numerous studies that validate its benefits. These studies have shown that turmeric may be useful to:

Prevent and Destroy Cancer Cells

Turmeric can help prevent breast, prostate, skin and colon cancer. Studies show that it can start a process of self-destruction in the cancer cells, destroying them before they have the chance to spread through the body.

Nine different studies all showed turmeric reduced the size of brain tumours. It also limits the growth of blood vessels in tumours, and can be used to ease the side effects, and boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

 Support Healthy Bones, Joints and Skeletal System

Turmeric supports healthy joint function and is a wonderfully effective remedy for arthritis, reducing the inflammation that leads to pain without side-effects. Studies show that turmeric is a natural pain-killer.

Maintain a Healthy Digestive system

Curcumin helps improve and balance your digestive system. It increases the flow of bile needed to break down dietary fat, which can relieve many gut and digestion problems.

Prevent Diabetes and Hyperglyceamia

The antioxidant agents in turmeric help reduce insulin resistance and may help prevent the onset of Type 2 Diabetes. If blood sugar levels are already within the normal range turmeric helps maintain them.

Promote Heart Health

Turmeric supports healthy blood and your circulatory system. It reduces the risk of blood clots, and prevents buildup of plaque in the arteries, helping to reduce the risk of stroke and other blood clotting problems. It helps reduce bad cholesterol and improve good cholesterol to maintain levels within the healthy range.

Slow Alzheimers and Support Memory Function

Studies have shown that the curcumin in turmeric can slow the progress of Alzheimer’s, as well as the progression of acquired brain injury.

Reduce the Symptoms of Asthma

Turmeric helps reduce the inflammation associated with asthma as well as reduce the symptoms. A teaspoon of turmeric added to warm milk before bed is a remedy for asthma you can try at home.

Depression

In Traditional Chinese Medicine turmeric is a long-standing treatment for depression.

Promote and Support the Immune System and Boost Immunity

Turmeric is an adaptogen that helps to support your body under stress and support the immune system.

Protect Against Liver Disease

Turmeric is a strong liver detoxifier, helping to remove toxins from the body and supporting and encouraging healthy blood and liver functions.

Help Promote Healthy Skin  

While neutralising free radicals that cause skin aging, turmeric also nourishes and cleanses your skin and helps maintain its elasticity.

The anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin can help heal cuts, wounds and other skin infections. Simply mix turmeric with water to form a paste and apply to the skin. It helps with restructuring the skin so may prevent scarring. When applied topically it helps the symptoms of psoriasis. It is a natural antiseptic and can also be used to treat burns.

Promote Weight loss

Turmeric helps to metabolise fats and provides a boost for the metabolism.

By reducing the activity of the cells that contribute to many diseases including insulin resistance, turmeric helps reduce the incidence of obesity-related disease and contributes to weight loss.

Slow Multiple Sclerosis

Turmeric slows the progression of Multiple Sclerosis

Other Health Benefits of Turmeric

Turmeric supports overall eye health

It promotes a healthy female reproductive system

Turmeric assists your neurological system with a healthy response to stress

Recently it was reported that curcumin has antimalarial properties.

Research Into the Benefits of Turmeric

There are many studies into the effects of turmeric on a range of different health problems. This study from the University of Texas suggests that turmeric may halt the ability of cancer cells to grow.

Other studies have shown that the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin are at least equal to those of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The big difference of course is that turmeric doesn’t have the side-effects of the drugs. Nor does it leave toxic residue in the body.

Benefits of Turmeric for Arthritis

Turmeric shows an excellent ability to reduce inflammation throughout the body and thus positively affect many conditions. But perhaps the most significant impact of turmeric is in relieving symptoms of arthritic diseases, particularly Rheumatoid Arthritis. It is here it has the ability to make a significant difference.

A 2012 study comparing the efficacy of turmeric with the NSAID Voltaren showed curcumin to be more effective in relieving the symptoms of RA, including tenderness and joint swelling. The curcumin had no side effects, unlike the drug.

To gain the therapeutic effect for RA requires relatively high doses. Take it as capsules under the care of your Natural Health Practitioner to ensure you get sufficient turmeric to give you relief.

Make Turmeric Part of Your Wellness

Using unprocessed and organic powdered turmeric spice in your cooking is a simple and effective way to enhance and optimise your health. Even if you only have it sometimes your wellness will benefit.

But it can be difficult to rely on turmeric in food for therapeutic use. You need to take a significant amount every day. When you add the spice to meals it’s important to remember just how much you actually end up ingesting. Adding a teaspoon of turmeric to a dish made for a whole family means you will not be eating very much in the end.

Some of the health benefits of turmeric are lost through the cooking process. If you are in reasonable health adding the spice to food occasionally is beneficial. But if you have a health problem you need a high quality supplement on a regular basis to get enough turmeric to gain the benefit.

Don’t expect too much from turmeric selected from the spice section of your supermarket as it’s processed. Using turmeric therapeutically requires a pure, high-quality product. Buying organic herbs for therapeutic use is a better option.

Powdered Turmeric

If you prefer taking powdered turmeric it’s better to take a measured dose than rely on turmeric in meals. Here are a few guidelines.

  • Take one teaspoon twice a day (every day) with meals as a preventative for diabetes,
  • Adding one teaspoon of turmeric powder to a glass of warm milk before bed can help prevent inflammation. This is a good way to take turmeric as a treatment for asthma, colds or flu and general inflammation.
  • For arthritis you need take a turmeric supplement in order to get a sufficient quantity to relieve the symptoms.

Taking turmeric in capsule form is an easy way to ensure you are taking enough to treat your health problem. To ascertain the amount you require consult with a qualified Natural Health practitioner.

Turmeric, Nature’s Golden Gift

Turmeric is useful to improve general wellness and is impressive as an alternative natural anti-inflammatory.

But it shines most brightly as an impressive natural treatment for a wide range of specific health issues.

When cells are healthy the body is healthy. Turmeric supports and builds those healthy body cells.

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Conscious Mindset, Self Care, Stress & Overwhelm

Stressed? Relax The Natural Way

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Stress has become such a permanent part of people’s lives that many stressors are now considered a normal part of everyday life or regarded as a necessary evil of modern life.

The world, and our place in it, has developed at an alarming pace. Although we’re still adapting to life on earth, it’s at a much, much slower rate than millions of years ago. Our bodies and our reactions are completely out of synch with our world. Our brains tell us stress is just part of living a modern life, but our bodies tell us the opposite. 

Stressors can be physical, such as illness or violence, extreme heat or even noisy neighbours. They can be caused by lifestyle practices, such as work stress, alcohol abuse or poor sleep habits. Or the stressors can be emotional, originating in your mind. These emotional responses can be the most complex and lead to the greatest impact on our health.

Ongoing chronic stress is now considered the number one hurdle to good health

Stress can have many widespread effects on the body. Sometimes anxiety develops as a result of ongoing stress. But the effects of even low-grade stress are significant.

These include:

  • Blood pressure increases
  • Muscles tense up
  • Breathing rate increases
  • Heart rate increases
  • Brain waves slow down

Of course these are all signs of the ‘fight-or-flight’ response kicking into action. This is fine in the short term but detrimental to your health when they are ongoing.

When stress is ongoing it leads to widespread problems through the whole body.
  • Weight Gain – Stress alters the way fat’s distributed in the body, depositing it around the midriff where it poses the most danger to health.
  • Faster Ageing – A study from the University of California found chronically stressed mothers aged faster. Another study linked prenatal exposure to the mother’s stress to accelerated ageing in the child.
  • Affects Brain Cells – A Stanford University study found brain cells shrink in the chronically stressed.
  • Serious Disease – Stress is known to increase free radicals incidence which leads to the development of serious chronic disease.

Recognising Stress

While anxiety is often the effect of stress, not everyone who’s stressed is anxious. People who suffer from stress often appear calm. So it’s important to recognise other body cues that occur when you’re stressed. If you learn to notice and recognise the signs in your body, you can take steps to reverse them.

Do you recognise or experience any of these signs that you are under stress?

  • Your neck gets tight and stiff and you develop a tension headache at the base of your skull.
  • Your shoulders and back tighten.
  • Your chest wall feels constricted. If you cross your arms to compensate it simply further constricts your breathing.
  • You get a feeling of a tight ball or knot in your belly.
  • Your jaw clenches, your forehead tightens, as do your lips.
  • Your fingers feel tight, your hands clench.
  • People looking at you can easily see your stress as your shoulders hunch, your head bows, your face is clenched and you may even seem to be wearing a defeated air.

You may even experience some more serious problems which include palpitations, stomach upsets, sleep problems, impotence, reduced sex drive, raised blood pressure or a stroke or heart attack.

Perhaps most importantly, stress has been shown to lead to an increase in free radicals throughout your body. Free radicals lead to inflammation and are now seen as the forerunner of serious chronic and autoimmune diseases such as cancer, SLE lupus, other autoimmune disorders, ageing, cataract, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

Your De-Stress Tool Kit

While it can be virtually impossible to eliminate many ongoing, underlying stresses from your life, adopting some simple techniques to use in times of increased stress can help you feel better in moments.

When you actively reduce your stress response you also immediately effect the stress hormones released through your body. Having a few tools suitable for crisis control can restore your sense of wellbeing and help you cope in difficult situations.

Being able to reduce stress and anxiety without having to fall back on medications helps build your health in the long term.

Some techniques will work better for you than others so search out those that you find most effective. Try any technique you come across, even the esoteric ones, you can never be certain which will work best for you. Allow them all the benefit of the doubt and give them a fair try. It is likely you will need to combine more than one technique, so be on the watch for any improvement and don’t reject anything if it is only partially helpful, it will still be making some difference.

Learn the technique before you are caught in a difficult situation. Memorise it and practice it – you need to be able to use the skills automatically.

Most important, don’t give up – stress can make you restless and inclined to not stick it out.

There are many ways to manage the symptoms of stress. Acupressure, massage and diet are some of the better known. Flower essences and homeopathic remedies are excellent and very effective. Herbals are available in many forms. But there are also some simple techniques and practices that you can do wherever you happen to be, right in the moment you need help.

Simple Ways to Relieve Stress Naturally

Relax

When your muscles are tense you are often not even aware of it. Relaxing is a very basic and simple technique which will not only help you to release the tension but also bring you awareness of the state of your muscles.

Sit, stand or lie. Tense up one set of muscles in your leg or arms as tight as you can. You can even start with just your toe muscles to be more effective. Then let them go so they are quite limp. The contrast between the two states will show you what ‘relaxed’ actually feels like.

Concentrate on that feeling as you then tense and relax the other muscle groups in your body, your toes, feet, legs, buttocks, back, abdomen, hands, arms right through to your head. Pay particular attention to your jaw and forehead.

Breathe  

Before you begin, reassure yourself that consciously controlling your breathing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to control anxiety and stressful feelings, and to diminish the effect of stress on your body.

Find somewhere quiet, clear your mind and start breathing deeply into your abdomen. Place your hand on your belly, you should feel it rise and fall. Breathe slowly and don’t raise your shoulders.

If you struggle, breathe as you count backwards from fifty. Breathe in on ‘fifty’, out on forty-nine and so on. Keeping your mind focused on synchronising your breath with the numbers slows down your breathing and forces you to breathe deeper.

Ninety percent of people breathe inefficiently.

You can read more about the technique of deep breathing, and learn how to make effective breathing a normal, unconscious part of your life here “Breathe Deeply to Reduce Stress”.

Smile

Frowning triggers the release of stress hormones and smiling decreases them. In addition, smiling causes the release of endorphins, the chemicals that make you feel ‘oh-so-good’.

Stretch

Simple but very calming! Do it as slowly and gracefully as you can. There are three coordinated actions involved:

  • Controlling your breath
  • Raising your hands and arms
  • Stretching your whole body from toes to fingertips

Stand. Let your arms, wrist and fingers go limp. Bend your knees slightly, entwine your hands loosely and turn your palms upward.

Slowly breathe in. Raise your hands towards your mouth and start to straighten your legs.

Slowly breathe out, turn your palms outward and stretch your body. Slowly exhale totally, reach your arms up, face your palms to the ceiling. Stand on your toes.

Now reverse the action

Repeat at least five times, slowly. Take a few minutes afterwards to relax and do nothing.

Affirm

Your subconscious is a powerful force. Affirmations tap into your subconscious and are extremely effective if they are worded well and are used routinely.

Given the impact and complexity of emotional stresses, affirmations are a useful tool because your subconscious cannot tell the difference between what is real or what is not, it only ‘knows’ and directs according to what you tell it. If your thoughts are always that you can’t cope or you have no money, that’s what your subconscious believes and will direct accordingly.

The exact words you use form your affirmations are very important and can make or break the effectiveness of the affirmation. It is important that they become a regular part of your day and so the way you integrate them into your life needs to be considered.

Keep your statements in the present tense, as if they already exist. “I want to…” or “I can…” or “I will” relate to what you want to achieve and are not as powerful as “I am” or “I (do)” which relate to a state already in existence.

You will find useful guidelines to creating and using affirmations here.

It can be helpful to consult a practitioner to set up an affirmation technique that really works for you.

Visualise

If you are a visual person imagining a big screen showing a scene that you find calm can be useful.

Close your eyes and choose an image that reflects how you would like to feel, perhaps an idyllic tropical island or a peaceful waterfall.

Next imagine this image on a big screen in your mind.

Keeping your eyes closed examine the image, notice the golden sand, the gentle waves, the island in the distance.

When you see it clearly, step inside. See yourself in the scene as if you are really there. Notice what you are wearing, what you can hear, smell. Feel the sand, the breeze in your hair.

Once you feel you are really in the scene, reach for the ‘controls’ of the screen and turn up the volume and picture. As everything around you becomes brighter and louder and your physical feelings more intense, you become calm and relaxed almost immediately, as if you were really there.

Relax, keeping the calm with you.

Release

One of the most common symptoms of stress is a clenched jaw and clenched teeth. Releasing the jaw is a simple technique to release much of the tension of stress.

First become aware of the tension in your jaw. Clench tighter, then release it.

Lightly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth behind your teeth.

Part your lips slightly and feel your jaw relax.

Repeat several times a day.

Tap

The Emotional Freedom Technique, or tapping, is SO simple and SO effective. Anyone can teach themselves the basic routine and use it to create all types of changes. It can be very effective for creating calm.

It simply involves a routine of tapping on acupressure points in the body, while saying a set of statements. The process lodges any change in thinking within the subconscious. Changes occur with EFT extremely quickly.

Discover the basics of EFT, watch a demonstration and learn how to do the basic technique yourself right here. If you would like to learn more, many EFT practitioners run free information and demonstration sessions.

Eat

If all else fails eating small amounts of DARK chocolate helps calm anxiety. The theobromine in chocolate helps to elevate your mood and the tryptophan in dark chocolate improves your levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that influences mood and contributes to feelings of wellbeing.   Many people with anxiety are known to have low levels of serotonin.

Importantly, remember to first try out the techniques when you are feeling ok. Get to know them so you can move straight into doing them whenever you need, without having to think them through. If you struggle to remember what to do it will only add to your stress.

Do you have technique that you find really helps when you are feeling stressed? Leave a reply below and share it with us.

Stress and the inflammation that results are now seen as the forerunner of serious chronic and autoimmune diseases. It’s time to change that right now.

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

Source articles

Wilson, P. Instant Calm, Penguin, 1995

Hartley, A. Love The Life You Live, Hart Publishing, 2000

Holistic Health, Natural Remedies & Homeopathy

Natural Remedies for Lactose Intolerance

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There’s an epidemic of food sensitivities surrounding us. Allergies to foods, food intolerances, or even just increased sensitivity have become more and more common right across the population. Food allergies aren’t so common, but food intolerances seem to be increasing at an alarming rate.

FOOD INTOLERANCE CAN BE DIFFICULT TO DIAGNOSE

Unfortunately for many people, food intolerances are often misdiagnosed or even missed altogether.

Symptoms are often very diverse and can take anywhere up to days after eating to appear. This means often they’re not directly linked to the troublesome food. The delay makes it very difficult to pinpoint exactly what is the causing the problem.

In addition, the person may often be intolerant to more than one food. If it happens to be an ingredient that’s commonly found in many different foods, such as gluten or lactose, it may be near impossible to detect. Simply eliminating one food from the diet doesn’t stop the symptoms as the other problem foods still cause problems. When this happens it’s easy to assume the eliminated food is not the cause, when in fact it may be a PART of the cause.

Common allergy tests don’t detect food intolerances and the sufferer is often given a clean bill of health after testing, but continues to endure the debilitating symptoms.

Gluten sensitivity is also becoming very common and you can read about it here.

LACTOSE INTOLERANCE

Lactose intolerance is a condition where the person is unable to digest the sugar in milk (lactose) properly. It’s fairly common with estimates that about 65% of the world’s adult population have the condition to some extent. It’s not a dangerous condition but can be very unpleasant, even ruining the quality of life for the person.

Some people have the condition mildly only experiencing symptoms if they overload on dairy foods. Others have it severely with strong symptoms occurring with even the tiniest amount of dairy foods.

Symptoms include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, stomach bloating, flatulence, and appear anywhere from thirty minutes to a few hours, or rarely, even days after consuming the food.

The severity of symptoms depends on three things:

  • The amount of lactose consumed
  • The levels of the lactase enzyme present
  • The speed of gastric emptying – the faster the gut transit the worse the symptoms.

WHY LACTOSE INTOLERANCE OCCURS

People with lactose intolerance don’t produce enough lactase, an enzyme required for lactose metabolism.

Not everyone with lactase deficiency has lactose intolerance. The deficiency develops over a long period. Although it starts around two years of age most people don’t develop symptoms until adolescence or adulthood. It may also develop as the result of damage to the intestine through illness such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, severe diarrhea or chemotherapy.

It’s long been thought that lactose intolerance was entirely due to this enzyme lack in the gut. It’s now thought that low levels of good intestinal bacteria may also be the cause. In many instances low bacteria levels are the result of other problems or illnesses.

It is now thought that low levels of good intestinal bacteria may be the cause of lactose intolerance.

EAT RIGHT FOR LACTOSE INTOLERANCE

There are studies that show many of those with low lactase levels actually do absorb lactose in small amounts. These people don’t necessarily need to eliminate lactose entirely or to take extra foods or supplements to balance the gut to improve their symptoms. Rather they just need to cut back on the amount of dairy foods they consume.

For others the only way to get rid of symptoms for good is to adopt a dairy-free eating plan.

Dairy foods include all forms of cow’s milk, cheese, cream, ice-cream, butter, yoghurt, curds, and many foods made from these. It may include the milk products of goats, sheep and camels. It doesn’t include eggs. Here’s a comprehensive list of all dairy foods.

If the gut symptoms are due to an illness such as IBS eliminating dairy foods won’t give significant symptom relief.

Evidence shows that eating yoghurt, probiotics and kefir replaces certain gut bacteria which improves symptoms. This is certainly worthwhile but it doesn’t address the underlying cause of the problem.

LACTOSE FREE FOODS

There are many lactose-free foods now available. While soy milk previously was the standard replacment for milk there are now many others. Now coconut milk often replaces milk in a product. Rice milk, almond milk, oat milk and soy milk are others that are all lactose free.

There are many lactose-free oils to replace butter. Ghee is butter with the lactose skimmed out of it and is often an excellent substitute.

Some fruit sorbets have no added milk.

Read the labels on processed foods and you’ll find many lactose-free alternatives.

Words that indicate the presence of lactose include:  Milk, lactose, whey, curds, milk by-products, dry milk solids, non-fat milk powder, milk solids.

Lactose is also used in many prescription medicines, including birth control pills, over the counter medications and health supplements.

Some people can tolerate low-lactose foods made from goats or sheep milk. These foods have less lactose than those from cow’s milk.

Often our bodies know what’s not tolerated and let us know. When I stopped eating dairy I very quickly remembered I hated milk and cheese as a child and had only started eating them as an adult in response to peer pressure.

However, the opposite can just as easily occur. Many people who have strong cravings for creamy dairy foods or milk actually have an intolerance or allergy. If you experience either strong cravings or aversions it’s worth considering your tolerance of that food.

NATURAL WAYS TO REDUCE LACTOSE INTOLERANCE

There are a number of foods and supplements that help reduce unpleasant digestive symptoms caused by eating dairy foods.

Probiotics

Probiotic bacteria useful for lactose intolerance include Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria and Streptococci. Bifidobacterium longum is very efficient at metabolizing lactose, although all three are capable of producing lactase to improve lactose digestion.

While probiotics are live strains of good bacteria, prebiotics are the nourishment these bacteria needs to stimulate growth. Taking prebiotics as well as probiotic supplements help to significantly build levels of good bacteria. Some foods containg inulin, the most common form of prebiotic, are asparagus, garlic, leek, onion, and artichoke.

Apple Cider Vinegar

ACV can be a very effective way to reduce, even eradicate, lactose intolerance. It helps to balance the body. Try one tablespoon in ½ to one full glass of water every morning. Adding ¼ teaspoon of bicarb soda (baking soda) to the ACV before adding the water seems to help. It takes several weeks to improve symptoms and you must be diligent and not skip a day.

Coconut Oil

Taking 1-2 teaspoons of virgin coconut oil daily may help reduce intolerance. Alternatively, use coconut milk as a milk replacement in many recipes.

Yoghurt

Even though yoghurt is a dairy product, a few spoonfuls of good quality, full fat yoghurt with each meal introduces beneficial bacteria to your gut. Many people with lactose intolerance can digest yoghurt because it contains live bacteria in it to help break down the lactose and improve digestion.

Fermented Products

Sauerkraut and kimchi are foods made from fermented cabbage that contain good bacteria which helps re-populate the gut and regulate the digestive system. Drink the juice of the sauerkraut as well as eating it. Kimchi is quite spicy. It takes a few weeks for the bacteria to build up to sufficient levels to reduce symptoms.

Lactase Enzyme Supplements

Lactase is an enzyme produced in the small intestine that breaks down lactose in the body. When a person doesn’t produce sufficient lactase they experience the symptoms of lactose intolerance.

Lactase supplements are a small pill taken with foods containing lactose. They’re useful as a temporary measure or when you’re eating large quantities of dairy foods, but may not be so good for the long term. Some people become immune to lactase pills over time. Adding the enzymes to milk a few hours before drinking it helps break down the lactose. They’re available from health food stores

Sometimes you may not even be aware you’re eating dairy foods. I once watched a famous chef on TV divulge that the secret ingredient in his amazing clear chicken stock was cow’s milk.

One other problem with lactase supplements is that when the lactase arrives in the gut from another external source the body no longer needs to keep producing any lactase at all. You may very quickly go from producing some (if insufficient amounts) lactase to producing absolutely none.

Hard, aged cheeses have less lactose than soft cheeses.
Hard, aged cheeses have less lactose than soft cheeses.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

If you’re only slightly lactose intolerant  all you may need do is cut down the amount of dairy you eat. You may tolerate some dairy foods better than others and if you choose carefully you may feel better in ways you hadn’t really noticed were wrong before.

If your intolerance is a little more severe you could find adding fermented foods, apple cider vinegar or probiotics gives you huge improvements.

  • High fat milk is digested more easily than low-fat milk.
  • Hard, aged cheeses have less lactose than soft cheeses.
  • Butter is low in lactose.
  • Milk products containing live bacterial cultures are already partially digested and may be tolerated.
  • Eating good quality yogurt containing live culture 10-15 minutes before eating dairy products may help your symptoms.

To eliminate symptoms eating dairy-free is often the best choice. These days it’s not difficult as there are many alternatives, including soy and coconut. If you’re able to tolerate a little lactose, and most people can, add very small amounts of one of the more easily tolerated dairy foods to remind your gut to keep producing any lactase it can.

For many simply cutting back the amount of dairy products is enough to eliminate the symptoms. Drinking less milk every day, eating yoghurt instead of drinking milk, replacing cows cheese with goat’s cheese are just a few things you could do.

What have you found to be the best way to deal with your lactose intolerance?

dairy-cows-175309_640

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatments suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.

Source articles

http://www.naturalnews.com/036379_food_intolerance_allergies_epidemic.html

http://www.bio-kult.com/research-technical/134/lactase-activity-of-probiotic-bacteria

http://earthclinic.com/CURES/lactose-intolerance.html

http://chriskresser.com/how-to-cure-lactose-intolerance

http://natureheals.hubpages.com/hub/ways-to-cure-lactose-intolerance

http://jillgrimesmd.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/lactose-intolerance-chocolate-milkthe.html

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance

http://healing.answers.com/remedies/natural-remedy-treatments-for-lactose-intolerance

 

Holistic Health

Stevia, Kick Your Sugar Habit

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sugar

Kicking the sugar habit is easier said than done. For some people even making the decision to stop eating sugar is beyond thinking.

One of the biggest health pushes of 2013 was to encourage both us and food manufacturers to dramatically cut back the amount of sugar we consume. Suddenly it seemed that the finger was pointed squarely at sugar as the primary culprit behind one after another health problem.

We all know that too much sugar is bad for us. But most of us don’t really know why, or how much too much actually is. But it seems that many of us have now picked up on the message that it could be that ANY sugar is bad for us.

But actually removing sugar and sweet foods from your diet is another matter altogether. Only last week someone told me about their New Year resolutions and breaking their bad habits. “I really need to lose weight” she said “but I don’t think I’m quite ready to say good bye to sugar”. And therein lies the problem that the majority of Australians, and probably most other Westerners face. They love their sweet food and they know just how hard it is to say goodbye to it completely.

Add to this reluctance the fact that sugar is addictive, and the resolve to abstain dissolves.

Break the Sugar Addiction

The decision is not just about deciding to give up sugar. It is also about breaking the physical effects of sugar. As with any other addiction, sugar metabolism sets up a chemical reaction in the brain as well as the body. Within the brain, glucose from metabolised sugars causes a higher release of dopamine and opioids.

Dopamine is often called the ‘feel-good neurotransmitter’. But while it may make you feel good, the release of too much has many health consequences. Many addictive drugs including nicotine, cocaine and methamphetamine also cause increased levels of dopamine to be released in the same way that sugar does. The opioids released by sugar metabolism also make sugar hard to beat by playing a part in the withdrawal symptoms.

How Sugar Affects the Body

One health problem where sugar plays a part is ADHD. Although sugar is not thought to cause ADHD, it does raise levels of dopamine. Increased levels of dopamine have been shown to lead to high activity level and impulsive behaviour in the person. So it seems that when parents notice behavioural changes in their child after eating sugar, they may be seeing the dopamine effect.

During 2013 it was suggested that sugar should be included amongst the big three causes of high cholesterol. The other two being trans fats and stress. It was thought that saturated fat was the main cause of high cholesterol levels but the question is now whether it may be sugar instead. At present this remains a controversial topic.

Sugar and Illness

Here are some of the many illnesses that sugar is known to either cause or where it plays a significant role in aggravating the symptoms of illnesses:

  • Diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Osteoporosis
  • Mineral depletion which interferes with the absorption of magnesium & calcium
  • Food allergies
  • Slows down your immune system
  • Increases your risk for cancer – as hypothesized by Dr Walberg
  • Heart disease
  • Behaviour problems, ADHD
  • Insulin resistance
  • Hypoglycaemia
  • Increased triglycerides
  • Reduces (HDL) high-density lipoproteins
  • Poor nutrition
  • Suppresses your immune system
  • Causes inflammation within the body
  • Causes a decline in tissue elasticity and function
  • Raises dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline levels and release
  • Leads to an acidic digestive tract
  • Arthritis
  • Learning disorders in children
  • Candida overgrowth

 For more from this impressive list of 143 Ways That Sugar Ruins Your Health check out this list from Nancy Appleton.

More Sugar Problems

Over time you become desensitised to sugar. The more you eat, the more effective your body becomes in absorbing it, and the more sugar you absorb the more damage it does. As well as becoming more sensitised to sugar you also become more sensitised to its toxic effects. But fortunately, this sensitisation to sugar can be reduced by taking a sugar holiday so you become less reactive to it. Even just two weeks off sugar can be effective.

 Sugar is an expert at masquerading and is excellent at hiding in the foods you are eating. It goes by many names but an easy way to identify many sugars is to read the ingredient panel and take note of any ingredients that end in “ose”. Dextrose, lactose, sucrose, glucose, maltose are all just different forms of sugar. When each of these is metabolised in your body they all end up as the same thing, and all have the same negative effect on your body.

Remember that natural sweeteners, although better for you than white cane sugar because they are not so processed, also all become the same thing in your body, blood sugar or glucose. If you want to cut back the amount of sugar in your blood you cannot just replace one type for the other.

How to Cut Back Sugar

The alternative is NOT to turn to artificial sweeteners. Diet soft drinks, artificially sweetened yoghurts, lo-cal, lo-joule or diet anything are definitely a poor alternative when they contain artificial chemical sweeteners.

The chemicals such as aspartame that are used to sweeten “diet” or low-sugar foods are linked to many health problems.

But there is one sweetening agent now readily available that is a good alternative to sugar, or to any other sweetener, and it is very safe.

That product is STEVIA.

Stevia rebaudiana

Stevia rebaudiuna is a herb that comes from Paraguay in South America, where it has been used for centuries as a sweetener and a health tonic by the Guarani people.

The leaves of Stevia are intensely sweet. This naturally sweet extract is in fact up to an amazing 300 times sweeter than cane sugar, so you only need to use a tiny amount of stevia.

The thing that makes the use of stevia so attractive and exciting is that it does not cause an increase in blood sugar levels, in spite of being so sweet. Stevia allows you to enjoy some sweet foods in your diet without the health or weight issues that are caused by cane sugar.

And stevia can be used in cooking.

Occasionally some people find stevia has a metallic aftertaste, but this seems to be related to the way the plant is processed. The plant leaves have no aftertaste. If you find this a problem try another brand of Stevia or use stevia liquid.

Be careful when you buy your Stevia because it is sometimes mixed with other sweeteners like aspartame. Read the label! Buy only pure Stevia. It’s just as important to read the ingredient panel on foods that are sweetened with Stevia as it is any other to make sure there are no other artificial chemical sweeteners added.

Crushed stevia leaves

Health Benefits of Stevia

  • Lowers blood pressure
  • Provides sweetness without elevating blood glucose level
  • Research shows taking 1000mg a day of stevioside reduced blood sugarlevels after meals by up to 18 percent in people with type 2 diabetes.
  • Studies conducted at Mahidol University in Thailand showed stevia to have the following actions: Lowers blood pressure; anti-inflammatory; anti-tumour; anti-diarrhoeal; diuretic; immunomodulating

Currently further research is being conducted into the effects of stevia on diabetes.

So why not make the decision today to reduce your sugar and other sweetener intake and give stevia a go.

Have you tried stevia? Have you totally removed sugar and sweet food from your diet? Share your experience in the Leave a Reply section below.

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatments suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Source articles

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/16/stevia-the-holy-grail-of-sweeteners.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/106/4/523.full

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2012/october/cholesterol-myth-what-really-causes-heart-disease/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine

http://nancyappleton.com/141-reasons-sugar-ruins-your-health/

http://www.healthylife-healthyplanet.com/health-problems-caused-by-sugar.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2356674/Stevia-First-natural-sugar-substitute-help-fight-obesity-diabetes.html

http://owndoc.com/pdf/Stevia%20new%20rural%20industry.pdf

 

Natural Remedies & Homeopathy, Stress & Overwhelm

Getting Naturally Candid About Candida

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You may start to wonder if you will ever get well when you feel ghastly but test after test comes back clear.
You may start to wonder if you will ever get well when you feel ghastly but test after test comes back clear.

It is so common to have clients come in and say “I feel just awful but all my tests have come back normal”. Whilst they could have a number of different problems, often they are suffering from yeast overgrowth, or Candida.

This has become so widespread within the community with research suggesting that 90% of the population, men and women, may suffer from it. Many individuals regularly use fungal treatments when obvious symptoms flare up. But they are not addressing the problem at its source in the digestive tract and so the symptoms persist or recur. The yeast overgrowth leads to chronic systemic problems that leave them feeling exhausted with a variety of other seemingly unconnected symptoms, ranging from itchy throat to joint pains, or brain fog.

Candida albicans is a robust form of yeast normally present in our body. It can lead to fungal infections in the digestive tract, as well as the mouth, the vagina and on our skin. The presence of other friendly bacteria, normally keep it in check and hold it to levels that do not create problems for the immune system.

But many people’s gut bacteria are not in balance. When you have sufficient numbers of “good” bacteria they keep the candida bacteria in check. But when the numbers of good bacteria are diminished it allows the candida to grow and multiply rapidly until it overtakes the good bacteria, and causes a variety of chronic health problems in both women and men.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE IS TOO MUCH CANDIDA?

First the candida bacteria damages the lining of your intestines causing them to weaken and allowing toxins to pass through, which are then carried throughout your body. This is known as Leaky Gut. As well as spreading the toxins right through your body it leads to intolerances to many foods that were previously well tolerated such as dairy foods, eggs or gluten.

Next you start to crave sugars and carbohydrates more and more. Candida feeds on sugars both refined and unrefined. Carbohydrates break down in your gut into sugars and so are just as appealing to the candida bacteria as are simple sugars. As the numbers increase so does their need for food and so you seek out more of these types of food.

As the candida matabolises and then dies it creates 79 different toxins. These cause symptoms such as bloating, diarrhoea or gas within the digestive system. As the toxins leak out of your gut, enter your bloodstream and are carried around your body they make you feel terrible. You may feel like you have the flu or even that you are drunk. As the numbers of candida increase the quantities of released toxins also increases.

Oral and vaginal thrush, or candidiasis, plus skin affections such as nappy  (diaper) rash, are commonly recognized and treated with western medicine. However dysbiosis, where the candida has become so prolific in the intestines that it causes the wide-ranging symptoms throughout the entire body, is more controversial and often rejected by many doctors.

WHAT CAUSES THE PROBLEM?

Dysbiosis is thought to be created by a few things. Taking lots of antibiotics is considered one of the main things that can lead to this situation as many of the “good” bacteria are killed. Candida however is not affected by the antibiotics, and with fewer numbers of other bacteria left to maintain the balance, it is able to flourish and reproduce wildly.

The overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics is most often the cause of the problem, particularly when the person has been on them for long periods to treat problems such as acne or sinus. But there are other medications that can also create the problem. Birth control pills are a perfect example of these medications. Taken for very long periods, often many years without a break, they has a strong bearing on gut bacteria, allowing the proliferation of Candida albicans. Commonly prescribed oral corticosteroids like prednisone, is another.

Other factors that increase susceptibility to dysbiosis are stress, lowered immune function, high-sugar diets, diabetes, and the hormonal changes in pregnancy.

When you remember that the command centre of the immune system is found in the gut it is obviously essential that significant problems in the intestines are addressed and turned around.

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF CANDIDA

The imbalance of intestinal bacteria, or flora, is often called dysbiosis. It leads to many symptoms including:

  •  Nail fungal infections, discolouration of toenails
  • Skin fungal infections such as tinea, athlete’s foot, ringworm
  • Feeling tired, fatigued, worn down or exhausted
  • Digestive problems – bloating, diarrhea/constipation, gas, new food sensitivities, spastic colon
  • Autoimmune diseases including Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ulcerative Colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma, Multiple Sclerosis
  • Muscle and joint aches
  • Poor concentration, poor memory, disorientation, brain fog, lack of focus, dizziness, headache
  • ADD or ADHD
  • Skin problems – eczema, psoriasis, recurrent rashes
  • Sinusitis, recurrent colds, chronic nasal congestion
  • Mood swings, irritability
  • Recurrent vaginal yeast infections, vulvar itching (women)
  • Prostate and bladder infections (men)
  • Rectal itching
  • Urinary tract infections
  • PMS, decreased libido
  • Strong cravings for sugar and sweets or refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, cake, cookies etc)
  • Weight gain

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU DO HAVE CANDIDA

Candida can be measured with a blood test. Many natural health practitioners are able to test in their clinic, or a doctors can order a blood test to test for Candida Anti-bodies, or a stool test to identify candida in your colon. But make sure it is a comprehensive stool test, not a standard one.

HOW TO BEAT CANDIDA

Diet

A good way is to starve the candida out, and to use probiotics to repopulate the gut with the friendly bacteria that then keeps the candida in check. The damage to your intestines causing the leaky gut also needs to be repaired so any chemicals produced by the remaining candida can no longer travel through your body.

To starve the candida requires adhering to a strict diet for at least two months, although it can take longer. Candida flourish in the presence of sugars, refined and unrefined, and anything fermented. Foods such as sweets, soft drinks, most fresh, all dried and all juiced fruit, refined grains including bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, rice, or fermented foods like soy, alcohol and vinegar, create “candida heaven” in your intestines. Removing these from your diet and supplementing with probiotics to help repopulate the gut with “good bacteria” can starve out the candida and help to create balance between all the gut bacteria.

Eliminate all sweets and sugars on the Candida Diet
Eliminate all sweets and sugars on the Candida Diet

It can be quite difficult to maintain the diet, especially as our Western diet is based on sugar-rich refined foods. Many people baulk at the diet and give it away before it has killed sufficient candida to reduce their symptoms in the long-term. Although the diet does require commitment, when you consider just how far-reaching the effects of yeast overgrowth are, and the extent of its impact on your entire system, it seems worth the effort. The long term improvement in lifestyle as well as health makes it worth persevering.

Removing any foods that are causing inflammation in your digestive tract, such as dairy foods and gluten, will help your gut to heal and aid your digestion. Healing your gut stops the candida getting out and making its way right through your body. Reducing inflammation improves your overall health, helping to prevent chronic disease later.

Once you finish with the candida diet it is time to be pro-active with your diet. Introduce foods rich in good bacteria such as miso, sauerkraut, kombucha tea and kefir (fermented milk). And don’t go back to eating lots of sweet or processed foods.

fermented foods

Probiotics

You require about 25-100 billion units of probiotics daily to start to balance out the candida by restoring the good bacteria. The variety needs to be Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bifidus and saccharomyces boulardii (SB). The Lactobacillus varieties maintain the balance of friendly bacteria and the SB variety reduces the candida population by acidifying the contents of the intestine.

Eating yogurt alone will not replace a quality supplement.

Herbals

Echinacea angustifolia boosts the immune system to battle yeast infections.

Garlic (Allium sativum) enhances immunity and research has shown that it reduces Candida albicans. Adding garlic to your diet is very useful in fighting candida.

Goldenseal may be effective for candida-related diarrhea.

Silymarin supports the liver, which may have reduced detoxification ability due to being compromised by the candida-related toxins. It enhances function and offers protection.

There are a number of herbs useful for treating candida and their effectiveness varies. This has led to some saying that different herbs must be used in cycles. In order to ensure you are taking the best antifungal for your needs, you would be better to use them under the care of a Natural Health practitioner.

Fatty Acids

Caprylic acid, a fatty acid has anti-fungal actions. It works by interfering with the cell walls of the fungus. Your body makes small amounts but it is also found in plants, particularly in coconut and palm oils. Although there is no clinical data available as to its effect on candida, it has been found to reduce the ability of the candida to grow and replicate.

Lifestyle

An approach that incorporates change on all levels is far more effective than simply taking probiotics or changing your diet. Altering your lifestyle can make a big difference to the reappearance of yeast overgrowth.

Maintain an exercise program to support and enhance your immune system.

Reduce stress. Taking up meditation, yoga, qi gong or tai chi will help you deal with stress you cannot avoid.

Avoid commercial feminine hygiene products. Also, the perfumes in them can irritate the mucous membranes.

Eat yoghurt which is not sweetened and contains live cultures of acidophilus.

Increase fibre to maintain bowel habits to effectively eliminate toxins in the gut.

Avoid exposure to chemicals in paints, cleaning products, perfumes as chemical sensitivities are very common in those with overgrowth of yeast.

Take up meditation or yogato help you deal with stress you cannot avoid.
Take up meditation or yogato help you deal with stress you cannot avoid.

Natural Therapies

While western medicine has many strengths, it is natural therapies that shine when it comes to treating chronic illnesses. Two natural therapies are particularly useful in dealing with yeast overgrowth.

Homeopathic remedies can be selected to treat candida overgrowth, quickly reducing the associated symptoms, and at the same time building the immune system. They are also useful for dealing with associated food cravings for sweets. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technoque) is also great for stopping cravings.

Traditional Chinese Medicine combines acupuncture with Chinese herbs to clear the candida and strengthen the immune system.

For my clients I combine Homeopathic remedies with other natural therapies, the candida diet and probiotics. This combination addresses the symptoms and improves their general health, which has been undermined by the overgrowth. It also seems to speed up the process, and help with the symptoms that arise as the candida dies off.

HOW TO PREVENT FURTHER YEAST OVERGROWTH

To prevent yeast overgrowth avoid the use of antibiotics unnecessarily. If you do need to take antibiotics take probioics at the same time, and for about three weeks afterwards to rebuild friendly bacteria numbers. Avoid unnecessary steroid use. Rinse your mouth or nose after using a steroid inhaler or nasal sprays if you do use them. Consider your use of birth control pills, particularly if you use them continuously for long periods. Reduce the amount of sweet, refined carbohydrates and processed fermented foods in your diet.

Be aware that as large numbers of candida die off all at once they release significant toxins into the gut. These can cause a temporary return of symptoms such as bloating, pain or diarrhea, or general ‘flu-like’ symptoms. The symptoms pass as the waste toxins are removed.

Be careful about assuming that you have dysbiosis. Although it is quite common, and is often not diagnosed, the symptoms are similar to those of other conditions and problems. There is also quite a bit of misinformation about candida around and you need to be careful about diagnosing yourself from a book or the internet.

If you think you may have an overgrowth of candida consult with a Natural Health Practitioner. While you can make the necessary changes for yourself, this can be a very complex problem that can have extensive effects on your body, and one that is far better managed holistically by a practitioner. They will construct the best protocol for you and manage any difficulties you encounter along your way to overcoming this disorder and returning to better health.

lust for life

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

Source articles

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/06/10/holistic-treatment-for-candida-infection.aspx

http://www.wholehealthchicago.com/76/candida-overgrowth-syndrome

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/what-your-body-is-trying-to-tell-you-9-signs-you-shouldnt-ignore.html

http://drmccombs.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/10-candida-myths

 

Nature's Rhythms

Living With The Seasons – Summer

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Consciously living in harmony with the natural world around us supports our body, our emotions and our spirit. Within that consciousness we need to be in harmony with the greater cycles of life. When we align with the passage of time by living with the seasons our energy synchronises with universal and earth energies to bring us balance.

I’ve been luxuriating in the relaxing space between work finishing before Christmas and now, the New Year, doing very little and simply enjoying the summer. This two week period included the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the day when the sun sits above the horizon the longest and the night is shortest.

I practice living in sync with the seasons, emotionally as well as in the basics like in what I eat or wear. But slowing down over the Summer Solstice flies in the face of this practice. The energy of Summer Solstice is intense, joyous and one for celebration and partying. Taking it slow isn’t what’s called for, but this year the seasonal energy called for rest and summer reading. I’ve included some great wellness books about aligning with the seasons below for your summer reading.

In the modern world it is in the ancient teachings behind Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that we see the theories of living with the seasons at their strongest. This ancient discipline examines the effects that emotions and foods have on the different organs of our body. It provides guidelines about which organs of the body are most significant in each season and the steps needed to support the appropriate organ and create harmony within.

The diet recommendations of TCM are based on many aspects including the quantities of food eaten, time of day, even your state of mind while you eat.

But living with the seasons requires more, it requires a wholistic approach.

Getting sufficient exercise, sleep, and clean water; reducing stress, anxieties and toxin exposure are equally essential to living a balanced life, in tune with the rhythms of the earth and the seasons.

Living with the seasons

Align With the Season

The natural way for your body to respond to the seasons is to ‘close down’ over the winter and to ‘open out’ over the summer. During the cold, dark winter months you need and want more sleep, your activities slow and quieten, your body requires external warmth from fire and warm, nourishing foods. Even emotions can close down and it’s not uncommon for depression to surface during the depths of winter, partly due to the lack of sunlight and associated decreased Vitamin D intake.

Living With Summer

During the warmer summer months, when the days are longer, the body requires and benefits from, less nourishment. It doesn’t need extra kilojoules to keep itself warm, you feel more energetic and your natural instinct is to get out, socialise, and be much more active.

Take a moment to think about how much easier it is to go out to a party on a warm, balmy summer night than it is on a cold, dark, rainy winter one, when all you want to do is curl up with a book or movie, or simply sleep. Think of how much easier it is to diet and exercise during the warmer months when your requirement is for lighter foods.

As more and more of us grow our own vegetables and shop at Farmers Markets, we are becoming increasingly aware of which foods are in season at any time and beginning to direct our food choices towards only foods that are in season. Obviously we don’t need watermelon in the winter when it doesn’t grow. Instead, we look for stews made from warming meats and root vegetables in season at that time.

In summer we naturally choose light cooling foods like salads, fruit and cook drinks. We crave light meals like grills instead of stews.

Seasonal Reading Wellness Books

Summer holidays are the time when many catch up on their reading. Here are a few books I love which are useful guides towards living in tune with the seasons.

Eating For The Seasons by Janella Purcell, an Australian Naturopath, Nutritionist and Cook is an appropriately named cookbook. It’s a great book with tips and recipes carefully selected to benefit and support to your body in each of the four seasons.

Another book I love is Ancient Healing For The Modern Woman by Xiaolan Zhao. This book looks at the ‘seasons’ of a woman’s life, rather than the seasons of the year. It offers wonderful ways to naturally remedy problems like PMS, symptoms of pregnancy, menopause, and breast health. It contains many great, simple tips taken from the author’s personal experience of Traditional Chinese Medicine used by her family in China. Zhao is a doctor of both TCM and Western Medicine in Canada and her advice is soundly grounded in both modalities.

If you’d like something more comprehensive you may prefer Healing With Whole Foods by teacher and nutrition researcher Paul Pitchford, a very comprehensive guide to Chinese Medicine. This book also contains lots of information about nutrition and diet, as well as seasonal recipes. There are sections on the Ayurvedic principles of food-combining, treating disease with foods, plus much more. As I say, detailed and comprehensive.

Living In Tune With Summer

Early and Mid Summer

According to TCM, summer is the season of Yang (masculine energy), and during early and mid-summer the heart and small intestine come to the fore. The emotions associated with the heart are joy and playfulness. Mental acuity is also associated with the heart in TCM, so memory, thought processes, emotional well-being and consciousness, as well as sleep also belong to this time.

When the heart is balanced the mind is calm.

Early and mid-summer is a time for celebrating and partying, as well as balancing that with enough rest and sleep.

When the fire element is out of harmony, so too is your experience of joy. You feel either depressed with too little fire, or joyous chaos with too much.

When your fire is unbalanced you experience associated symptoms that include agitation, nervousness, high blood pressure, heartburn, irregular heartbeat and insomnia.

Imbalance of the heart, governed by fire, can lead to confusion, crazy or no laughter, a very red or very pale face, stuttering, verbal diarrhoea, memory loss, mental illness or an aversion to external heat.

Late Summer

In the late summer (the fifth season in TCM) we move into the time of the spleen and stomach. An overworked spleen or stomach is associated with worry and obsessive thoughts. Spleen is associated with damp and problems may kick in if the weather is humid.

The summer season is ruled by fire. Life and energy is at a peak.

 

Rise early and face the sunrise to benefit from the rays.
During summer rise early and face the sunrise to benefit from the rays.

Harmonise With Summer Energy

The aim during Summer is to let your energy flow ‘out’ to get rid of the heat stored in the body over winter.

During Summer focus on making changes in your life related to joy, growth and spiritual awareness. With the predominant nature of Summer being Yang, which is related to excitement, assertiveness and exuberance, it’s the perfect time to take action for positive change. But keep calm and refrain from anger, don’t let that yang energy run wild.

Rise early to benefit from the rays of the sun and go to bed later. Rest at midday if you need more sleep.

Eat more cooling, hydrating yin foods to balance the fire heat of summer. Include raw foods, salads, seafood, legumes, sprouts especially mung-bean, zucchini, cucumbers, kelp, and fruits like watermelons, apples, limes and lemons.  Cooling foods tend towards the green foods like lettuce, cucumbers, watercress. Very few vegetables are warming. Fish and seafoods are cooling but most meats are warming. Be careful not to eat too much raw or cold food though as it may ‘cool’ your digestion too much. As always, you want to achieve balance in all things!

Eat in moderation. Keep your food light and simple. Indigestion, sluggishness and even diarrhoea can easily occur in the summer. Eating lightly is healthier for you and gives you more time to get out and enjoy the outdoors.

    Here are a few specific food suggestions for Summer

    Drinks
    • Drink plenty of clean water (water is the opposing element of fire), take cool baths, seek shade. Watermelon juice, an old remedy for dehydration, cools the body and cleanses the system
    • Add lemon or lime slices to water to sip during the day.
    • Mint, chrysanthemum and chamomile are all cooling teas. Green tea is great for summer
    • Avoid drinks full of sugars and chemicals which don’t actually relieve thirst, but do bring toxins into the body which then have to be cleared out
    Foods
    • Avoid heavy or salty foods, meat, excess grains, dairy, oil and eggs as they will make you feel sluggish during summer.
    • Eat spicy foods to induce sweat, it helps rid the body of heat
    • Add pungent and strong flavours to your diet
    • Eat foods that promote energy and activity. Use hot spices such as fresh (not dried) ginger. Black pepper, cayenne and horseradish will induce a sweat. Cardamon is a useful spice as it clears the digestive system of blockage caused by heat.
    Early to Mid-Summer

    Bitter yin foods are associated with the heart and small intestine so are good for early and mid-summer. They reduce the heat and drain dampness. Include foods such as celery, dandelion, endive, watercress, quinoa and rye. But be careful not to overdo bitter foods, unless you have lots of fire in you. Asparagus and lettuce are both bitter and sweet.

    Avoid cold foods in early summer such as iced drinks and ice-cream because they hold in the sweat and heat. 

    Late Summer

    Later in the summer add the sweet yang flavours of complex carbohydrates, legumes, nuts, oats, rice, peas, peaches, avocado, kiwifruit, cucumber and raw honey. These build and strengthen the spleen and thus the whole body. The spleen is the most important organ of the immune system. They also slow and relax an overactive heart and mind. But don’t have too much!

    The Key To Living With The Seasons

    If you remember that the human body is simply a microcosm of the universe, the macrocosm, it becomes easier to understand that the same imbalances that occur in the environment are mirrored in the human being. By keeping this relationship with nature in mind we can become more conscious of keeping the rhythms  of life in harmony, of living with the seasons.

    living with the seasons summer

    Disclaimer.

    All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

    Source articles:

    Purcell, J, Eating For The Seasons, Allen & Unwin, 2011

    http://www.chinesemedicineliving.com/blog/nutrition/seasons/summer

    https://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/Summertime!+Chinese+Medicine+and+the+Summer+Season

    http://straightbamboo.com/articles/how-to-stay-healthy-in-summer/

    Related articles

     

    Holistic Health, Natural Remedies & Homeopathy, Self Care, Stress & Overwhelm

    How’s Your Liver? Holiday Recovery Tips

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    After the festivities and often overindulgence, of the Holidays it’s common for many people  to find themselves suffering the after-effects.  After too much rich food, junk food and alcohol, combined with too little sleep and too much stress it can be hard to recover quickly.  Quite apart from the immediate discomforts of hangovers, other symptoms such as migraines, joint pain, bloating, and fatigue can appear and persist for some time.  Often it’s very difficult for your body to detox if it’s endured an onslaught in December. After too many the indulgences through the Holiday your liver may just need a little TLC.

    Instead of treating each individual symptom it’s more efficient to target treatment towards supporting your liver. Taking steps early in the New Year will help reverse the problem so you can get back on track.

    The state of your gut partly determines your vitality and overall health. It is directly tied in to your immune system and affects your mood and thinking ability.

    Your gut forms part of your immune system and influences your vitality and overall health. It also affects your mood and thinking ability.

    A Healthy Liver Is The Key to Health

     The liver’s one of the most important organs in your body with many functions.  As part of the digestive system, it is the detoxification centre of the body.  Everything we ingest must be processed by the liver before it can be used in the body.  This includes not just the food we eat, but also any drugs, alcohol, and chemicals we come in contact with.

    Your liver also helps clean metabolic waste out of the body.  It produces bile to digest fats and remove toxic bilirubin from the blood.

    The liver plays a role in the immune system, blood clotting, regulating amino acids, storing iron and glucose, producing plasma proteins as well as toxin removal.

    Without a liver we cannot survive, although we can manage with just a part of a liver. It certainly is aptly named as the “live-r”.

    Natural Liver Support And Care

     Taking time to attend to the needs of your liver over the Holiday period will help you fly through the New Year.  There are various natural ways to counteract the after effects of too much celebrating, too little sleep and too much stress and anxiety.

    How to Recover From Too Much Celebration

     

    Homeopathic Remedies For Hangover

    On New Years Day I always carry some Homeopathic Nux-vomica with me. It’s not for myself, but for anyone I encounter suffering a New Year hangover.

    Nux-vomica is toxic in its crude state, but as a Homeopathic preparation it’s an excellent remedy for illness from overindulgence of rich food, alcohol or coffee. In fact it’s often called the “Hangover Remedy”.  Taken according to Homeopathic prescribing principles it will bring a quick recovery.

     There are other Homeopathic remedies that are excellent for both supporting and cleansing the liver, providing speedy and sustained relief, protection and support.

    However they should be selected individually according to the symptoms that are individually expressed by each person. If you find you are susceptible to liver stress consult a trained Homeopath to determine the remedy that’s best for you and your problem.

    Herbs For Liver Support

     Dandelion Root

    Dandelion root provides a gentle cleanse for the liver.  It’s also great for any gallbladder problems as it increases bile production.  Often used as an appetite stimulant, it improves food metabolism by the liver and helps to remove toxins quickly and efficiently from the body.

    Often found in herbal tincture mixes, dandelion root can be taken as capsules (500 to 2000mg daily) or as a ‘tea’ or ‘coffee’ drunk three times a day. Dandelion root even makes a decent latte!

    including grasses and flower pollen
    Milk Thistle

    Milk thistle (Silybum) seeds are a powerful liver cleanser.  Milk thistle was traditionally taken to help protect the liver and is used to relieve the symptoms of over-indulgence of food and drink by fighting oxidation and free radicals.

    It’s also useful for rebuilding the liver after it has been damaged because it stimulates liver cell regeneration.  It also stimulates the secretion of bile from the liver and gallbladder.

    Take it as a tablet before and after you head out for a night partying. Look for an extract containing about 140mg of silymarin. You can take it daily right through the Holiday period and for a while after as an excellent gentle support for your liver.

    You will also find silymarin, the active ingredient of milk thistle, in artichoke leaf extract which is another great liver cleanser.

    Burdock Root

    Burdock root cleanses the liver and aids detoxification. Studies have shown that the powerful antioxidants in burdock help the liver to heal, and protect it from further damage.

    Turmeric

    Turmeric is a fabulous herb for reducing inflammation.  The antioxidants in turmeric are known to be of great benefit in easing joint pain but also improve the health of the liver.

    Adding the spice to your cooking is the easiest way to take it. You won’t get enough through your diet to reduce pain symptoms you are already experiencing, but it can act as a support to your body and liver.  Take it with black pepper for better absorption.

    There are many great quality turmeric formulations now available in tablet or liquid form.

     

    Green Tea And Pomegranate

     Enjoy green tea which supports liver function as it is high in catechins.

    Pomegranate, seeds or juice, contains the liver detox compound ellagic acid to help liver detoxification.

    Food For Liver Support

     Protect your liver from further overload stress. Eat organic, even if only some of your food, as it keeps pesticides and chemicals out of your system.

    Avoid foods stored in plastic as the toxins in the plastics can leach into your food.

    Avoid GMO foods.

    Steer clear of non-green personal care products and cleaning products – the toxins are absorbed through your skin.

     

    Photo courtesy: Shawn Campbell
    Photo courtesy: Shawn Campbell

     It’s vital to get straight back into healthy eating practices right after overindulging. Get rid of sugars, cut back on grains and try to eat lighter meals.

    Your digestion works best in the morning so eat more earlier in the day and keep your evening meal small.

    Certain foods benefit your liver. Onion and garlic activate the liver enzymes that flush out toxins. Beets and carrots, full of beta-carotene, promote increased liver function and make great additions to freshly squeezed juices.

    Apples, avocados, walnuts and lemon juice all help flush toxins, although in different ways.

    Water – water – water – and more water. Drink filtered, fluoride-free water to flush out the toxins from the liver.

    A glass of warm water with the juice of half a lemon or lime squeezed into it first thing in the morning, kickstarts your liver and the digestion process.

     

    Lemons and limes are one of natures great gifts and including them in your morning routine has huge health benefits

    Natural Remedies to Protect the Liver

     While you’re actually experiencing digestive symptoms caused by overindulgence there are natural remedies that can help.

    Activated charcoal absorbs toxins, helping to protect the liver.  Aloe vera is a digestive tonic which also relieves pain.  Both are easy to find in your health food store.

    Chewing fennel seeds after eating will help your digestion. Or you can take it as fennel seed tea after eating.

    There seems to be some truth to the big ‘fry-up’ as a morning after cure. Although freshly squeezed fruit juice would probably be better.  You experience hangover symptoms partly because your blood sugar levels are out of balance.  By substituting fruit juice for coffee you speed up your body’s metabolism of the alcohol.

    Eating high protein foods like eggs helps the body produce serotonin and endorphins, the chemicals which help you feel good.

    EFT For Liver Support

     EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or Tapping, is an effective method that combines ancient Chinese acupressure techniques with modern psychology. Incredibly simple at its basic level it can be done by anyone, anywhere in a couple of minutes.

    Simply tapping with two fingers on the ribs on the right side of the body over the liver stimulates liver processes. Watch this short video for a demonstration. (Note that it’s posted backwards and shows her tapping the left side, the wrong side! It must be the RIGHT side)

    Massaging your hands and feet daily stimulates a number of acupressure points that help keep your liver strong and healthy. According to EEM practitioner Rose Mattax the most effective point is in the “V” where the big toe meets the second toe on the top of the foot at the base of the metatarsal bridge. Massage this source point of Liver chi several times a day.

    Natural Liver Support

     Even when you feel terrible or lethargic after heavily overdoing it, keep moving. The twisting postures of yoga are particularly good and a great way to help digestion.

     

    This is how I picture myself meditating...but it is far more likely I will be sitting in my car catching a few brief moments to centre my breathing before plunging back into the chaos of life

    Elimination For Liver Support

     Lastly sweating helps get the waste products out of your body once they have been processed by the liver. Exercise or saunas every day promotes the excretion of toxins through the skin and optimizes your detoxification systems. And don’t forget to balance out the fluid loss by drinking lots of water.

    What are your natural secrets to overcome holiday overindulgence?

    Tell us in the comments below.

     

    Revised January 2018

     

    Disclaimer.

    All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

     

     

    Source articles

    http://www.naturalnews.com/039201_live_health_detox_home_remedies.html

    http://www.care2.com/greenliving/4-herbs-to-cleanse-your-live.html

    http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/the-best-herbs-for-liver-cleansing/

    http://www.schwabepharma.co.uk/pages/common-ailments/over-indulgence/milk-thistle-as-a-hangover-cure.php

    http://weeklycupofqi.com/2013/11/26/digestive-recovery-after-holiday-indulgences/

    http://health.india.com/diseases-conditions/top-6-natural-remedies-to-keep-your-liver-healthy/

     

     

     

    Nature's Rhythms, Uncategorized

    Seasonal Greeting

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    There are so many people about the shops and on the roads over the next few days who are feeling the stress and tension of the season.  Remember to keep your cool today and tomorrow. Don’t take on the stress of other people when you are out and about. Hold your own space and you will be fine.

    To all the readers of this blog may you find all the peace and blessings of the Season.

    I value and appreciate your presence here. Thank you for your loyalty, for visiting back here over the last year.

    I will be back later in the week with some suggestions for Holiday Season Recovery. Remember to check back for your tips.

    Blessings,

    Catherine

    christmas-1386235586MYq
    Natural Remedies & Homeopathy

    Natural Remedies For Travel – Create Your Own Kit

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    With the summer holidays just around the corner many Aussies are heading off on their annual holiday. Whether it’s to one of our country’s magnificent beaches or overseas there’s always the chance that some mishap will occur. If you’re not prepared it can really mar the whole holiday. But it’s easy to leave home well prepared for travel illness with your own natural remedies first-aid kit.

    natural remedies for travel

    Most people going on holiday take along some products or medications just in case they’re one of the unlucky ones who fall ill – even if this is as simple as aloe gel for sunburn. But with a little foresight you can leave home much better prepared.

    Whenever anyone in my family heads off on holiday they always put together a Natural Therapy First Aid Kit to take with them.

    Our family natural remedy kit started soon after I first used homeopathic remedies for my boys when they were quite young. Our collection of remedies was kept in a partitioned plastic case that slid under the car seat when we went camping at the beach. It proved invaluable many, many times for all sorts of ailments from sunburn, summer colds, Bluebottle stinger attacks, sprained ankles through to New Years Day hangovers. The remedies were often pulled out to treat other campers as well.

    Over the last decade we traveled further afield, through SE Asia, Southern Africa and across the Pacific to Mexico, South America and USA, and natural remedies went along on each journey. Items from the kit have been used on every trip.

    Homeopathic First-Aid Kits

    Our kits contain Homeopathic remedies to deal with Travelers Diarhorrea, food poisoning, fluid retention, sunburn and burns, sprains strains and bruising, nausea, travel sickness, infections, fever, insect and animal bites and stings, plus others. We also add various remedies selected to suit the individual using each kit. A migraine remedy for one, another gets sinus pain in flight, two are very susceptible to altitude sickness, another to skin infections, so we add these types or remedies where they are needed.

    I usually pack everything together in a small plastic storage box from the supermarket. It keeps the products dry and clean and helps prevent spillage and breakage.

    BUILD YOUR OWN NATURAL REMEDY KIT

    My Family’s Basics

    Homeopathic remedies always form the basis of our travel kit. They are small, light and quickly very effective. There are a number of basic remedies we take wherever we go. Then we add others selected specifically for the problems we’ll likely encounter in the area we’re visiting.

    I pack these remedies into a small zipped leather pouch. It keeps the remedies secure and has the added advantage of being easy to flip open to be manually scanned at the airports (rather than passing them through on the higher powered scanning belt which may damage them).

    Homeopathic remedies in their zipped leather case.
    My family’s well-used Homeopathic remedies in their well travelled zipped leather case.

    There are a number of different strengths, or potencies, but 30c is quite suitable to use and the better choice if you’re not familiar with using them. They come in the form of tiny pillules which are dissolved under the tongue.

    It can be difficult to source homeopathic remedies. Many Homeopaths have Travel Kits for sale but if you don’t have a Homeopath you visit regularly then the best alternative is to buy a Travel Kit online. They come with a small instruction booklet

    Martin & Pleasance in Melbourne Australia make a compact little kit containing 20 remedies.   (It comes in the same case I use to fill with my own remedies).

    This Homeopathic travel kit from Ainsworths in England contains 10 remedies and comes in a canvas or leather case  Owen Homeopathics make a small kit which only has 7 remedies

    What Natural Remedies To Add

    Probiotics

    Many people from industrial countries find it difficult when they travel through developing nations because there’s a huge range of bacteria that they’re not normally exposed to.

    Taking good quality probiotics increases good gut bacteria and supports your immune system. Taking them right through your travel may help protect you from ‘Travellers Diahorrea’,  keeping your immunity high so you don’t get sick so easily, and help your digestion when it’s weakened by a strange diet or unfamiliar bacteria. They’re also very restorative if you do happen to catch parasites.

    You need to select a probiotic that doesn’t require refrigeration.

     Activated Charcoal Tablets

    Charcoal tablets are activated carbon that absorbs toxins. They’re excellent for reducing diarrhoea. Their special benefit over medications is they absorb the bacteria and toxins from your gut, carrying them out of your body when you use your bowels.

    The good news is they’re odourless and tasteless.

    Don’t mix activated charcoal with ice-cream or chocolate as these reduce the effectiveness. But avoid these foods anyway if you’re suffering from travel diarrhoea!

    Bach Rescue Remedy

    Bach Rescue remedy has been such a basic for natural first aid for decades. A blend of flower essences developed by Dr Bach, it helps you recover quickly from shock and upset. Great for dealing calmly with lost baggage or missed flights.

    But it’s also useful to avert many acute illnesses, or manage acute stress by keeping down anxiety levels. Losing luggage, missing connections, problems with accommodation, all the stresses that can spoil a holiday can be reduced and managed with the help of Rescue Remedy.

    You could use Australian Bush Flower Emergency Essence instead – some people seem to respond better to this, although I’ve found the Bach Rescue Remedy works for everyone I’ve given it to. You simply take a few drops under your tongue.

     BachProducts-All-SM

    Calendula Cream

    Creams are easy to carry and use and Calendula is a ‘must-have’.

    Calendula is anti-inflammatory, reducing pain and swelling. It promotes the rapid healing of skin tissue. It’s great for applying to  to chafed skin, scrapes, grazes, and minor burns including sunburn. It can also be used on minor wounds.

    Hypercal Cream is antiseptic and particulary suited to cuts and wounds, particularly if there’s a chance they may heal slowly and become infected. It combines calendula with hypericum and often other herbals and like calendula cream provides pain relief.

    Tea-tree Cream

    Tea- tree is a powerful anti-bacterial and this cream is really effective on skin cuts, burns and infections. It’s also good for any fungal infection you may pick up on your feet. You could also take it in the form of oil. Either can be applied directly to the wound.

    Arnica Cream

    We use Homeopathic Arnica pillules for sore muscles, aching joints, bruises and pains. But Arnica is also available as a cream to rub into the sore areas. Not as strong-acting in the cream, it nonetheless gives wonderful relief and is used by many sports stars around the world. Traumeel ointment or gel combines 14 different Homeopathically prepared plants which all help relieve sprains, strains and sore muscles.

    Colloidal Silver

    Through the ages water was often stored in silver because silver is an effective antimicrobial agent and it kept the water pure. Colloidal silver is a powerful natural antibiotic and works by suffocating the enzymes required by the harmful microorganism, without damaging any human enzymes.

    It can be added to water to help purify it if you get caught out. I wouldn’t ingest it on a regular basis as long-term use may turn your skin grey, but it can be useful in an emergency.

    It also has other uses. It’s often taken orally under the tongue or in water, to ward off viral and bacterial infection. Applied to the skin it can ward off infection.

    In the tropics where the air’s very moist skin infections can be very difficult to heal. For my sons backpacking or traveling in isolated places where the conditions may not be hygienic, the prevention of infection is very important and colloidal silver is a must-have for them.

    It’s also useful for tinea, eczema, psoriasis, acne or burns, wherever there’s the potential for a bacterial or fungal component.

    Lavender Oil

    If sleeping in a strange bed is a problem for you, or you’re a pillow princess (yes that’s me – pillow princess! I always take a pillow) a small bottle of lavender oil can be a lifesend. It’s a proven sleep enhancer and inhaling the scent or shaking a few drops on the pillow helps to sedate and promote a good sleep.

    Lavender oil can also help you relax if you get nervous on the plane, but you need to be careful in the confined space as some people are allergic to it.

     lavender-76476_640

    Coconut Oil

    If you’re seeking a moisturizing agent coconut oil is your answer. It’s very hydrating in dry climates. calms rashes and is excellent for chapped lips.  You can use it all over your body.

    Magnesium

    Not usually part of my family’s kit, magnesium is a great addition if you experience constipation. It clears it up very quickly. It’s also great to relax you before bed and help you sleep. If you find you’re insomniac while traveling magnesium will calm your nerves, relax you and help you get that rest.

    Sunscreen

    Of course you’ll take sunscreen, but it’s worth selecting one that’s not laden with harmful chemicals. I have no affiliation with any brands of products I mention here. They’re just ones I’ve used and found to be effective and high quality.

    My family loves Soleo All Natural Sunscreen because it’s very easy to apply. I love it because it’s organic and rated #1 sunscreen by the EWG.

    Wotnotmakes an excellent sunscreen, which isn’t tested on animals,

    UV Naturals is another excellent natural sunscreen recommended by the Feingold Association USA. Their range includes a special sunscreen formulated for babies.

    These are all Australian made sunscreens, don’t contain titanium oxide and are  available around the globe.

    Bioeffectives

    Bioeffectives come from pine needles. They’re loaded with a multitude of essential nutrients including chlorophyll and many substances already found in the blood, brain soft tissue, and skin. They’re a powerful antioxidant and address any imbalances, so are perfect to support the effects on the body caused by the different environment, including parasites and bacteria.

    My son picked up an extremely nasty amoebic parasite in Columbia recently and was very grateful for the Bioeffective-A (used here as a probiotic substitute) he was carrying, as it helped his gut recover quickly so he could enjoy the rest of his travels.

    No-Jet-Lag/Jet Ease

    My family uses straight homeopathic Arnica and homeopathic Coca for jet lag, but No-Jet-Lag, which is  called Jet-Ease (in Australia), is a popular Homeopathic alternative which many swear by. It combines Arnica with four other homeopathic remedies that also address the negative effects of air travel .

    Remember these remedies are specially prepared homeopathically and the substances used to make them can be quite toxic in their original form if ingested.

    Of course I add a few other items such as bandages and alcohol swabs as my boys like to head off the beaten track. You can include anything else that’s relevant to your travel plans but this list should give you some starting ideas.

    Most of these products are available from Health Food Stores or Natural Health Practitioners. Some are available online.

    Get yourself prepared and have a great holiday!

    Do you have any other Natural Health Remedies that you wouldn’t be without on holiday?Let us know in the comments.

    natural remedy kit for travel
    photo credit: Hadi Zaher

    Disclaimer.

    All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

     

    Source articles

    http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9520/8-natural-remedies-every-traveler-should-carry.html

    http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20428732,00.html

     

     

    Nature's Rhythms, Self Care, Stress & Overwhelm

    Twelve Top Tips For a Happy Healthy Christmas

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    12 Top tips for a happy healthy Christmas

    With December arriving so quickly the festive season is all around us. Follow these twelve top tips to stay healthy in the holiday season so you can reach New Year in your best state ever, without having to lock yourself away to keep out of temptations reach.

    Research shows that the three biggest stresses for most people around Christmas are: weight gain from overindulging, financial strain from overspending, and anxiety from having to spend time with people they prefer to avoid.

    According to a recent Australian study by Roy Morgan Research, around 60 per cent of Australians dislike Christmas shopping, and I’m one! But instead of devising a shopping strategy about 20% head out to shop without any plan of action, and most (75%) come home without buying anything at all.

    Instead they DO get to stand in queues, hunt-the-parking-spot, surround themselves with crowds of stressed people and ramp up their own stress, frustration and anxiety levels.

    12 Top Tips For A Happier Healthier Christmas

    Top tips to stay healthy at Christmas

    Use this list of Twelve Tips to enjoy Christmas this year, instead of simply surviving it.

    1.      Stress

    Shopping. Whether it is standing in long queues, finding space to park, or trying to hunt down a desperately desired gift, many people find Christmas shopping the most stressful part of the season. Wherever you go you will encounter tired, cross irritable people.

    It is good to remember that stress and anxiety are quite normal at this time of year. When one family member is under stress, other family members are likely to feel stressed too, aggravating the situation and making life even more difficult for all.

    There are many different natural ways to deal with the stress. The simplest of these is without a doubt the flower essence, Bach Rescue Remedy.

    Rescue Remedy has been around since the 1930’s and was created to help people cope with everyday stressful situations. Its effects are calming and centering. It is suitable for stressed children as well as adults. Carry some with you or keep it in the car so it’s handy when you need to de-stress.

    Get it from the Health Food shop or your natural medicine practitioner. Keep one in your bag, your car or your office, so you have it on hand whenever you start to feel stressed. It is available in a number of different forms, drops, spray, gum, cream, even pastilles and is easy to use. You can take it as often as you need.

    2.      Water

    This might seem a no-brainer, but it is one that is easy to forget. The reality is that dehydration is a greater problem when you are drinking alcohol. Have two glasses of water before you go to any function. Alternate alcoholic drinks with cool clear water or soda water when you are out socializing. Adding a slice of lemon or lime to the water is even better. Carry a water bottle when you are out shopping.

    Remember to keep hydrated.

    Photo credit: Evan Courtney
    Photo credit: Evan Courtney

    3.      Family Conflict

    Family tensions seem to surface at this time of year, especially if your relationships are a little strained normally. If you struggle to interact some of the family normally then Christmas is not likely to be any different.

    Rather than self-medicating with alcohol, cigarettes or other drugs in order to cope, you can again use the Bach Rescue remedy to help you get through difficult events. If you are able to identify triggers for the conflict, and consciously avoid them you may find it easier to cope.

    Christmas gatherings are frequently the place where family dynamics replay just as they existed back decades ago. It can be difficult to be treated as the vague child you once were, when you in your everyday life you are a capable, competent and responsible adult with many skills and abilities.

    Involving the family in a group activity after lunch can help keep conflict at bay. Backyard cricket, swimming if you have a pool, or charades if the weather turns nasty, will help lighten the mood.

    And if it is still too much, then politely but firmly decline invitations.

    4.      Sleep

    It is far too easy to lose sleep during December, with busy calendars, lots of socialising, and preparations for the big day. Aim to get seven to eight hours sleep each night.

    We all know that sleep deprivation can cause foggy thinking, slow reactions and irritability. But insomnia can also increase your risk of depression and anxiety, or contribute to obesity. With stress and anxiety already a problem for many people adequate sleep is essential to help keep it at a minimum.

    If you are tired, don’t go out. It won’t hurt to miss some parties.

    There are a number of herbs that aid sleep. Lavender is very effective and can be used in the form of an essential oil in a burner or diffuser, in your bathwater, or in carrier oil rubbed on the skin. Chamomile, Californian Poppy, Passionflower or Hops are others to help insomnia.

    Many herbal formulations to aid sleep are available as teas and are simple and lovely in the evening before going to bed. Children can also drink many relaxing herbal teas such as Chamomile.

    5.     Avoiding weight blow-out

    Going to parties hungry, anticipating lots of yummy Christmas treats is a recipe for disaster. When you are hungry it is difficult to resist eating anything offered to you and you are likely to overindulge.

    Finger foods are high in kilojoules, as well as fat and sugar. Opt for low-joule options like vegetable crudités, hummus or fruit. Eating smart when you’re out partying is the way to stay on top of excessive weight gain. Limit temptation by eating regular nutritious meals and avoiding Christmas goodies like chocolates, pudding and shortbread throughout the whole season.

    Keep up your regular exercise program, and keep in mind it takes many hours of exercise to burn off the extra kilojoules gained at two or three parties.

     6.      Purpose

    Finding some ‘purpose’ to Christmas may help you cope better. There are plenty of ways in which you could volunteer your time. As well as benefiting others, contributing to your community may create feelings in you that make you feel happy. If you find experiencing Christmas Joy difficult this could be a way to get in touch with it again.

    7.      Finances

    Credit card blowout in January can be devastating, often taking many months to pay off. Paying for gifts, as well as your celebrations, with cash means you will know whether you can afford the purchase or not, and avoid the financial headache in January.

    Rationalise who you will buy gifts for and consider whether you can gift with your time, or something you have made yourself if finances are tight.

    If you are hosting the Christmas meal, avoid the temptation to over-cater. You don’t need more food than you would on any other day. You will be thanked when your guests do not feel awful after eating too much.

    8.      Breathe

    Incorporate the practice of mindful breathing into your daily habits every day through December, if you haven’t already. Simply spend thirty seconds to take slow deep breaths. Do this a few times a day. It is a great way to reduce stress. The simple relaxation technique of focusing on your breath helps to relieve tension and anxiety.

    Alternatively, you could meditate. There is no need to be scared of this, it is not about becoming a yogi, simply the practice of drawing focus and reducing stress.  Here are some fun, light, easy ways to spend just a few minutes in meditation.

    Christmas is about giving, but it is also the time to allow you to receive the gift of relaxation from yourself.

    9.      Relax

    It’s easy to say take some time out for yourself but often we feel there is no time, especially in busy December. However, setting aside a relaxing night in to create a home spa experience, followed by a good book or movie and an early night, could be the answer to getting through Christmas and New Year and soaring into the New Year.

    Relax in a bath with hand made natural products to sooth away stress

    Run yourself a soothing bath if you have a tub. If not sit yourself in a comfy chair with a relaxing foot bath and a ‘renew you’ herbal brew for about twenty minutes.  Add essential oils to the water to help you relax.  Follow with some nourishing cream on your skin before you curl up with your book or movie.

    10.      Loss and loneliness

    For many people the Christmas Season is one when feelings of loss for a loved one who has passed are magnified, especially as they are surrounded by others celebrating with their families.

    For others who are single, whether they are young or elderly, it can be a time of great loneliness. Those far from home can feel overwhelming homesickness. When emotions become overwhelming Homeopathic remedies can be of great assistance. There are a number of excellent ones to help with grief, such as Ignatia, Nat-mur or Causticum. Homeopathic Nat-mur, Capsicum, Phos-ac or Ignatia are just some of dozens of remedies that help relieve homesickness. But Homeopathic Remedies need to be well matched to your own individual experience, or symptoms, of homesickness or loss, and this is best prescribed by a professional Homeopath, who takes many things into consideration before selecting the remedy best suited to you.

    If you have decided to add purpose to your Christmas, one way to achieve this is to include someone on their own, far from home in your celebrations.

    11.  Embrace your inner child

    Children look forward to Christmas with enormous excitement. They pour love into cards and gifts made at school. They marvel at the Christmas tree and street lights, rip open presents, pop crackers and join in the traditions with absolute exuberance. They keep going all day because they stop before they have overeaten and don’t need to lie around to recover. They live every moment of the day before falling into bed at night to sleep soundly.

    Approach Christmas with the resolve to have fun.

    12.  Alcohol

    Start the practice of alcohol-free days each week.

    Don’t drink on an empty stomach. Limit the number of drinks you consume and alternate them with water or soda water. Be aware that many restaurants use over-sized wine glasses that contain much more than normal serving sizes. Also watch out for top-ups.

    Drinking alcohol in the evening interferes with sleep. While you may fall asleep easily, it leads to disturbed sleep later in the night, possible waking you for long periods, or leaving you exhausted in the morning.

    If you do overdo it help reduce a hangover with Vitamin C on the day after and Vitamin B Complex both BEFORE and AFTER the big night. It’s a much better combo than Berocca and is minus the aspartame which Berocca contains.

    Many people find Homeopathic Nux-vomica, taken in accordance with Homeopathic prescribing guidelines gets rid of the headache and nausea very quickly.

    Chlorella has been shown in studies to reduce hangover by 96%. It’s a green sea algae and available from health food shops. Buy a reputable organic brand, that’s very important!

    Coconut water is rich in electrolytes and antioxidants to help cleanse . Drink it through the day before you head out as well as before you go to bed to help offset some of the damage caused by the alcohol.

    Dandelion root tea helps detoxify the liver and can be drunk before you go out as well as the following day.

    Very Important –  What Not To Do

    Finally, these are some things that you should NOT do if you want to sail through into the New Year easily.

    • Don’t start a new diet, there’s time for that later.
    • Don’t add the expense of sending out cards to people you see all the time.
    • If your kids are scared of Santa, don’t force them onto his lap just to get the cute picture.
    • Remember, you don’t have to find the ‘perfect’ gift. Fundamentally a gift is a token that tells the recipient that you have had them in your thoughts, nothing more. It does NOT have to be big, or expensive, or just what they have always wanted. It is A TOKEN of the feelings from your heart.
    • Do NOT stress about being the ‘perfect’ Mum, partner or friend. Most people close to you will understand.
    And finally, don’t become a slave to any list – gift, card, menu, parties, or even this list. Stay flexible, honour what your body tells you is needed the most, and enjoy the Christmas Season.
    keep calm it's only christmas

    Disclaimer.

    All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

    © Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

    Source articles

    http://www.drjoe.net.au/dr-joes-diy-health-guide-to-christmas/

    http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Christmas_tips_to_reduce_the_stress?open&utm_term=Christmas_tips_to_reduce_the_stress&utm_source=&utm_campaign=newsletter

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