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Dr Libby Weaver

10 Tips To Improve Your Health Now

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As the weather warms up, you may notice your mood naturally starts to lift, you feel more optimistic and more willing to become involved in activities. The summer months provide the ideal time to revitalise your health. Naturally you’re drawn to a way of life that promotes health, however some of us may need a little bit of extra care as we transition into summer. You may decide to incorporate just one of these tips, or try all of them – simply do what works for you. Whatever you choose to do your health will thank you for it. Remember success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and out.

  1. Movement in the morning
    Begin each morning with some sort of gentle stretching, yoga, Pilates or a brisk walk. Walk without sunglasses early in the morning so the sunlight can assist the production of serotonin our feel good, happy, calm and content hormone. Regular walking has been shown to help prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers. This week give yourself a target of walking briskly for at least 30 minutes most days of the week.
  2. Bounce
    Get a mini-trampoline and do some rebounding in your living room. Listen to uplifting music while you do so. Bouncing on a trampoline is like a gentle massage for your lymphatic system. The lymphatic system clears toxins, waste and excess fluid from the body and rebounding can help you to experience more energy across your day.
  3. Get a professional massage
    Certain trigger points or areas of tension in musculoskeletal tissue can cause back pain. Ask your therapist or body worker to focus on particular points of tension for therapeutic benefit or simply enjoy the restorative and relaxing qualities of massage. A great way to give your body some extra love.
  4. Make a commitment to view food as nourishment
    Many people have a love hate relationship with food, which is often exacerbated by years of dieting or calorie counting. When you look at a food instead of looking at the caloric value consider what nutrients it supplies you with and how it will make you feel. Ask yourself the question ‘will this nourish me?’ before you eat.
  5. Turn off the television.
    Are you still watching TV late into the night? Although some television programmes can be educational generally television is better switched off. Read more books and set yourself a target that instead of one hour of television watching you’ll read a book. Reducing your exposure to bright light at night can also help you improve your sleep quantity and quality.
  6. Prepare your own food.
    Many people eat a nourishing evening meal as they dedicate the time to prepare one. The trick to looking after your diet is to be prepared. Take Sunday afternoons to set your week up and freeze any leftovers for easy lunches. This way you control the quality of oil, salt and produce you use and as an added bonus you save money too. Another helpful tip to improving the nutritive quality of your diet is to find a way to get an extra serving of greens in everyday.
  7. Take the stairs.
    Do a little bit extra when it comes to movement. Take the stairs, walk to the grocery store if possible, or park a distance away and walk to an appointment. You won’t consciously feel like you’re trying to increase your movement but by default you’ll be getting some extra time in the fresh air.
  8. Switch to eco friendly cleaning products.
    Certain chemicals commonly found in conventional cleaning products present known or suspected problems for the people that use them and the environment once washed down the drain. Volatile organic compounds, used to enhance the performance of a product, can impair neurological functions, while other problematic chemicals can act as respiratory irritants, carcinogens or reproductive toxins, depending upon the extent of exposure, according to the National Environmental Trust and other environmental groups. It’s a common misconception that eco-friendly or green products aren’t as effective as their conventional counterparts and recent research has proven that green products can certainly achieve your desired results.
  9. Manage your energy, not your time.
    If you take a moment to think about it, you’ll probably realise that you are better at doing certain tasks at certain times. For example, some people find that their creative energy is highest in the morning, so that may be a great time do creative tasks such as writing. By comparison, you may decide to block out afternoons for phone calls and emails or admin related tasks. You don’t necessarily need your creative energy to be high for admin tasks, so that may be the best time to get them done. The same goes for exercise despite the fact many people feel great exercising in the morning, you may not. If you prefer late afternoon or early evening as your exercise time, organise your day around this. Start to keep a diary of when your energy is high, low and whether or not it’s your creative time. What type of energy do you have in the morning? What task is that energy best suited for?
  10. Restorative rituals.
    Take a relaxing hot bath with Epsom salts and soothing herbs like lavender. It will do wonders for your mind and your muscles. Play soothing music while you bathe to unwind further. If having a bath isn’t your thing light a candle and let the fragrance and gentle light signal it’s time for you to unwind and facilitate that transition from work to leisure.

The Post-Lunch Slump

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Why Do I Feel So Tired After Eating?

Food is designed to energise us, right? Yet why is it that so many people feel a post-lunch slump? How often have you observed someone or even felt yourself crash after you’ve eaten a somewhat ‘healthy’ lunch. How can food, the very thing that is supposed to give us energy actually lead us to feel more lethargic? Let’s explore some of the biochemical, nutritional and emotional factors that impact whether food energises or exhausts you.

Digestion

The old adage you are what you eat isn’t quite correct; instead you are what you eat, absorb and assimilate. There are a number of factors that can affect our ability to digest and utilise the nutrients from food including stress hormones, caffeine and medications such as antibiotics to name a few. Stress is particularly important to consider when it comes to digestive function, as too many people spend their days in Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) dominance – a constant state of ‘fight or flight’, with high circulating levels of adrenalin. This can have a devastating effect on our ability to effectively produce stomach acid and thus can result in reflux, digestive discomfort or lethargy after eating. One in five women in Australia experience Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and of course food plays a major role in this, but so does the relentless production of adrenalin. From your body’s perspective if it thinks you’re preparing to fight/take flight, it diverts blood flow away from what it considers non-vital processes such as digestion. All resources go into saving your life from the danger your body perceives you are in, due to the high levels of adrenalin.

What and how you eat are also critical to your ability to absorb nutrients and obtain energy from food. Eating a wholefoods diet rich in fresh vegetables, nuts, seeds, some fruit, proteins and good fats fuels most people. The key to sustained energy from food is in the energy release, as well as the fuel your body perceives it needs to use to keep you ‘safe’. In any given moment the body is making a decision about which fuel to use and it can only choose glucose or fat or a combination of both. When you are stressed your body tends to use more glucose instead of effectively utilising body fat as a fuel, as it thinks you need a fast-burning fuel (glucose, not fat) to get you out of the ‘danger’ your body thinks you are in.

When you eat foods that contain fibre such as fresh vegetables, numerous factors in the vegetables – particularly the fibre – help to slow the release of glucose into the blood. This results in a more sustained release of energy. Real foods typically and naturally contain more fibre, vitamins and minerals (than highly processed foods) and therefore, provide more of a challenge for the digestive system. Think of a piece of white bread when it’s cooked in a toaster, it burns readily – it does essentially the same in your body. You want slow burning fuels and fats and proteins help to sustain energy release. Yet another way to slow the energy release from your food is to eat slowly. Be mindful of what and how you eat.

If you are feeling tired almost immediately after eating/within the hour afterwards, it’s usually just because of vasodilation or widening of the blood vessels supplying your intestines, as part of the normal parasympathetic response or ‘rest and digest’ response to the food entering your stomach. The body wants to maximize nutrient absorption into the bloodstream as well as maintain perfusion to the churning stomach etc. This redirection of a portion of blood volume to the ‘non-essential’ organs can make many people feel tired after a big meal! if you are feeling tired almost immediately after eating/within the hour afterwards, it’s usually just because of vasodilation or widening of the blood vessels supplying your intestines, as part of the normal parasympathetic response or ‘rest and digest’ response to the food entering your stomach. The body wants to maximize nutrient absorption into the bloodstream as well as maintain perfusion to the churning stomach etc. This redirection of a portion of blood volume to the ‘non-essential’ organs can make many people feel tired after a big meal!

Fats and fatigue

Fat chosen from real, wholefood sources are imperative for optimal health. Real food fat is satiating. It can help mediate inflammation in the body, is an integral part of a healthy immune system, is essential for the health of your skin, eyes, nails and hair and you need to eat fat to help you burn fat as an energy source! Good fats slow down the release of glucose into your blood stream meaning you actually feel satisfied for longer. Consuming the right kind of organic wholefood fats (such as avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut, butter, sustainable oily fish, pasture-fed meats) can also help people curb their desire for sweet food. Incorporate good fats into your lunch and observe if you feel more alert, fuelled and content, and notice if this alone helps you cruise rather than crash after lunch.

Blood glucose

The post-lunch slump can also be triggered by your choice of food or drinks. For example, when you consume white bread your body quickly absorbs the fibre-less and fat-less starches (which are converted rapidly into sugars) and the glucose moves from your digestive system across into the blood, and spikes your blood glucose levels. This stimulates the production of insulin and subsequently signals to your body to store body fat, as insulin communicates ‘storage’ not ‘utilisation’ to the body. Inflammation increases, triglycerides are raised (essentially fat in your blood), and leptin, one of the hormones involved in appetite regulation, is blocked. Insulin stops the body being able to ‘hear’ the leptin message. Leptin is responsible for signalling to your brain that you’re satisfied, and if the brain doesn’t receive this message, you are more likely to continue eating. This partially explains why many people who follow low fat, high carbohydrate diets can experience the feeling of never being full or feeling hungry all the time.

If you amp yourself up on caffeine, live on adrenalin due to your perception of pressure and urgency, or push your body intensely during cardiovascular exercise, you will keep your body in a state of SNS dominance and you will predominantly burn glucose as a fuel (not body fat) and you will crave sugar to replenish your stores. Slow down! I cannot emphasise enough the importance of activating the rest, digest and repair arm of the nervous system – known as the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) – using breath-focused movement, which allows your body to use body fat as a fuel more efficiently. Extending the length of the exhalation activates this arm of the nervous system as you would never breathe this way if your life truly was in danger. It therefore communicates to every cell in your body that you are safe and you consequently use fat as a fuel more efficiently. Not only will you feel a greater sense of calm, you are also far less likely to experience intense hunger that might result in you eating the entire contents of the pantry.

Food ‘sensitivities’

Your post-lunch fatigue may be due to a food sensitivity – in other words you don’t have the ‘equipment’ to break a particular food down effectively. This could be poor digestive enzyme production, poor liver detoxification enzyme production, poor stomach acid production, or an immune-based response. Working with an experienced health professional to help you decipher this if you suspect this is the basis of your post-lunch slump can literally change your life!

Many people consume foods or drinks that don’t serve them and the body might give you symptoms to let you know this. We then need to respond to the body asking us to do something differently. Continuing to drink three coffees a day despite it giving you reflux and making your heart race is not wise. Or, you might be a person who has a sandwich everyday for lunch and in the 15 minutes following this it feels as though you could fall asleep under your desk. We are all different when it comes to what serves us from a nutritional perspective, however, many people experience food sensitivities. The challenge is we currently have very poor methods to establish food reactions. The science and testing in this area needs to be further developed and quickly.

An underlying factor in many gut problems is food sensitivities. To determine which foods could be a problem, a supervised elimination diet can be insightful. Foods that are most likely to cause digestive distress in susceptible individuals include gluten, milk products, fructose, beans and legumes (such as soy and peanuts), refined sugars and artificial sweeteners (including those found in protein products, chewing gum and mints). There are also components of foods such as phenolic compounds, rich in sulfur, that may cause problems if too much is eaten at once. In this case an enzyme made by the liver is necessary to deal with the phenolics. If your liver can’t keep up with the load you are consuming, you may notice, gut, skin or fatigue-type symptoms, for example.

The theory behind the elimination diet is if you eliminate these common but often problematic foods for several weeks and then re-introduce them one at a time, four days apart, you will have a good idea how your body responds to them. An elimination diet is best undertaken with guidance from a health professional. You want to do it right so you have your answers at the end of it.

Another dietary concept which can be of benefit to people with gastric dysfunction and/or post-lunch fatigue is FODMAP’s. FODMAP’s is an acronym for five types of carbohydrates that can cause gastric discomfort. F stands for fermentable carbohydrates; these are carbohydrates that are fermented by bacteria rather than broken down by our digestive enzymes. O stands for oligosaccharides, which are short chain carbohydrates, often associated with fructose. D stands for disaccharides; the most common and problematic disaccharide for most people is lactose – the sugar in milk. M stands for monosaccharides, a single sugar molecule such as fructose. And finally, P is for Polyols, a type of sugar alcohol. Common FODMAP foods are not limited to but can include wheat, beans, lentils, milk, garlic, onion, stone fruits and fruit juices.

For some people, if FODMAP-rich foods aren’t broken down and absorbed effectively in the small intestine then the food travels to the large intestine to be fermented by bacteria causing health challenges. For most people FODMAP-containing foods are digested and absorbed in the small intestine and then any left over food is fermented in the large intestine. For most this is a completely functional process that does not result in any discomfort or issues. However, people who are sensitive to these foods (or they have other digestive system challenges due to their gut bacteria profile, poor stomach acid production, an altered pH gradient in the gut, or stress hormones are constantly diverting blood away from the gut to the periphery to fight the perceived danger) find that the carbohydrates are not broken down and absorbed in the small intestine. When food is left in the large intestine, mostly undigested it will ferment, which can result in bloating, abdominal cramps, excessive wind and diarrhoea, not to mention the fatigue that can then result. Remember too, that most of your immune system lines your gut so the key to healthy, appropriate immune responses is often mediated through the gut.

How our thoughts can influence feelings of tiredness

Notice if you what you just said, did or ate fosters energy or depletes it, in you and for those around you. Food is designed to energise us and if what you just ate has led you to feel like you want to go to sleep then reflect on what aspect of that meal may have caused that. Or seek the help of an experienced health professional to guide you. Our body doesn’t have a voice but it regularly gives us feedback, suggesting that we eat, drink, move, think, breathe, believe, or perceive in a new way so see these messengers – even post-lunch slumps – as the gift that they are. We can learn, grow and contribute from such a process of enquiry.

Energising Factors

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In all my years working with people on an individual level or in a group, regardless of their age, sex or current health status there is often one thing that unifies people’s health and wellness goals – energy and the desire for more. When you ask someone how he or she is these days the most common response I tend to hear is ‘tired, so tired’. And hence our reliance on caffeine and refined sugars or anything that gives us more energy increases. So how do you intrinsically produce more energy? What drives energy production and what interferes with or depletes our energy?

B Vitamins

Food is essential to nourish our bodies providing vital nutrients and minerals to drive the thousands of biochemical reactions in the body; it also supplies us with energy. Any food we eat is converted to energy, in the form of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP.)

There are many nutrients involved in the body’s ability to produce ATP. The most important group of nutrients for the conversion of food into ATP is B vitamins. Thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2) and niacin (B3) are three B vitamins that are essential in the conversion of food to energy. Without sufficient B vitamin consumption energy conversion can be slow, leaving us feeling sluggish and tired.

The best place to get B vitamins is from our food, when vitamins are obtained through food they are easily absorbed and utilised because you are also consuming co-nutrients that assist with the uptake and absorption. Thiamine rich foods include lentils, nuts and seeds and pork. Leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, almonds and eggs are a good source of Riboflavin. Niacin is found in the highest concentrations in meat such as beef, chicken and fish. Some can also be found in quinoa, a gluten-free ‘grain’, which botanically is actually a seed.

Iron

Is feeling exhausted a constant for you? It has been estimated that up to 20% of women and 3% of men in New Zealand are iron deficient. Without healthy red blood cells, your body can’t get enough oxygen; the consequence of not having sufficient oxygen in the body is constant fatigue. This fatigue or exhaustion can affect everything from your ability to fight infections to your brain function. Iron deficiency anaemia occurs frequently among women of childbearing age. It can be caused by not consuming enough iron rich foods, poor absorption of iron by the body, or loss of iron due to menstrual blood loss. It can be extremely beneficial to get an iron test to determine your iron status.

Immune System

Fighting infections is a sure fire way to zap energy – especially chronic low-grade infections. The immune system expends energy when it gears up to fight a virus or an infection. Coupled with this increase in energy expenditure, when you’re not feeling well the tendency is to eat anything quick and easy but often with little or no nourishment, such as bread, pasta, or fried foods. The immune system is in dire need of support in the form of nutrients when fighting any infection – it particularly loves vitamin C and zinc to name a few. Including a variety of fresh whole foods will help boost your consumption of these vitamins and minerals but it may also be beneficial to add a supplement, especially when you’re fighting an infection.

Digestion

The old adage you are what you eat isn’t quite correct; you are what you eat, absorb and assimilate. There are a number of factors that can affect the ability to digest and absorb the nutrients from food including stress, caffeine and medications such as antibiotics. What and how you eat are also critical to your ability to absorb nutrients and obtain energy from food. The key to sustained energy from food is in the energy release. When you eat foods that contain fibre such as fresh vegetables and lentils you help to slow the release of glucose into the blood – the result being your energy release is sustained. Real foods naturally contain more fibre, vitamins and minerals and thus provide better digestive system health as well as a slower release of energy. Think of a piece of white bread when it’s cooked in a toaster, it burns readily – it does essentially the same in your body. You want slow burning fuel – fat and protein are two slow burning fuels; complex carbohydrates such as kumara and quinoa are also slow burning fuels.

Build muscle

Muscle building or resistance exercise is incredibly important especially for women as they age. We lose muscle mass from 30 onwards unless we actively maintain/build it.By building muscle, using regular resistance training with your own body weight (yoga and pilates) or weights such as dumb bells, barbells and kettle bells, you’re actively supporting your posture, bone health and your ability to feel energised. Then there’s the effect of strength training on hormones such as human growth hormone and testosterone (small amounts are important for women.) Recent studies suggest that resistance training raises levels of these hormones in both men and women. More muscle also means more energy-producing mitochondria in our cells – and that means we have a higher metabolic rate, which assists with body fat management. Naturally you gain better energy reserves as your glycogen (glucose stores) increase, as well.

Open loops/tabs

Consider this as an analogy, we all know that our computer or smart phone slows down and burns more battery, the more programs we have open. For example 23 open tabs of web pages, spreadsheets, documents and presentations, the photo editing, movie playing, music, software updates… our mind can feel very much the same. The more things we have open and unresolved, the bigger the drain on your mind power and energy, from all of these open loops.

How many times across a day, a week, a month, a year, decades even, do tasks or situations open up, yet they are never resolved, finalised, or closed? How many emails do you read that you don’t immediately reply to, and they hang in your mind and add to your task load of what’s not yet done? It’s as if you walk around each day with so many tabs open – like websites sitting open on your computer screen – that you never feel like you’ve got it all handled. How can you close your tabs? Begin by scheduling these reoccurring thoughts into your calendar so you can stop looping over them.

5 Ways To Naturally Add Flavour To Your Food

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One of the biggest reservations I hear when people are transitioning to eating more real food is the perception that they will have to sacrifice taste. This most certainly doesn’t have to be the case at all and there are many quick little tweaks you can make to add flavour to your food.

Add fresh chilli or spice

If you’re not great with hot food, start out slow and remove the seeds of the chilli to reduce the hotness. Fresh chilli is particularly delicious in Asian-inspired dishes.
Use good quality oil

Good quality olive oil is one of the most versatile additions to any kitchen and is particularly handy when making homemade dressings. Coconut or avocado are also good options for cooking – and they make a difference to the flavour of your food.

Use fresh herbs and lemon

Add a delicious freshness and nutrient boost to your food by adding fresh parsley, coriander or basil and lemon. The bonus is they pair with just about everything from Asian cuisine to summery salads and even soups. Your body will love you for adding this combo to your meals!

Toast and grind your own spices

Toasting the spices in a dry skillet before grinding strengthens their flavour even further and gives them a nutty and earthy aroma – perfect as the base to a delicious Indian curry or dhal.

Use organic/market fresh produce

This is an easy way to increase the flavour of your food – produce just tastes better when it has been ripened by the sun and then picked/cut. There is a huge difference in the nutrient profile too, as the longer produce sits in cold store the less nutrients it will contain when it finally reaches your plate. Buy local, shop at farmers markets whenever possible, you can taste the difference!

Why The Brassica Family Of Vegetables Are The Superstars Of The Vegetable World!

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The word superfood gets thrown around a lot nowadays with all sorts of exotic things being touted as the new essential for your diet, however, one thing remains the same – vegetables deserve their place as one of nature’s gifts. They are all the superstars of the paddocks!

Broccoli, spinach, kale, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts are best considered “supercharged” vegetables due to their many health benefits. All vegetables have unique health properties, especially the Brassica family. When looking at nutrient density vegetables such as lettuce actually have very little nutritional density compared to broccoli. A regular intake of ‘bitter’ greens can help curb sugar cravings and reset your taste buds so for those with a sweet tooth, increase your greens and notice your sweet cravings begin to decrease.

Plants also contain many unique properties, which are protective for our health. Properties like, Sulforaphane a superhero component of cruciferous vegetables. Sulforaphane is an antioxidant and stimulator of natural detoxifying enzymes. Sulforaphane may reduce the risk of breast, bladder and prostate cancer.

The Brassica family of vegetables remain some of my all time favourites due to their anti-cancer properties and liver detoxification support. It’s hard to argue with the health benefits of a diet rich in vegetables. Lower blood pressure, a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, reduced risk of digestive problems and some cancers – you’ll even experience an improved blood glucose response that can help keep appetite in check. An extensive report by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research stated that regular consumption of non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, as well as garlic and onions, —“probably” protect against several types of cancers, including those of the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, and stomach. Although “probably” doesn’t sound too assuring, very rarely will you get a research organisation saying “this absolutely does x” – vegetables truly are nature’s nutritional powerhouses.

We all know we need to eat more vegetables but sometimes it can be tiring coming up with new ideas. Simple changes can have a significant impact. Try grating vegetables into meat patties, adding them to sauces or serving a delicious herb-based slaw as well as vegetables with your main meal. You can even add vegetables to your condiments whipping up a quick kale pesto or green dressing with avocado and parsley. Or layer zucchini slices, chopped spinach, and cooked carrots in place of pasta in a lasagna.Juicing and making smoothies with vegetables is another simple way to increase your consumption of vegetables.

Ordinary things that are consistently done produce extraordinary results. Make a commitment to take even better care of yourself by eating vegetables every day. Eat them raw, eat them cooked – however you want to. Just eat more vegetables!

Wind Back The Clock – Ageing Gracefully From The Inside Out

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Ageing gracefully is something many of us aspire to do regardless of race, sex or age. In a world where it feels like every second day there is a product, supplement, or regime targeted at combating age – we are bombarded with constantly changing and often conflicting messages. Ageing is a natural process and unfortunately one that is far too often considered in a negative context. At the heart of the ageing process are a number of biochemical changes – that we can support in a number of ways. Understanding the processes behind ageing helps us to target our solutions, to ensure we take really great care of our physical health, our thoughts and perceptions and we make a conscious decision to age gracefully.

Inflammation

Inflammation is the one of the most important processes to consider in ageing. Put simply, inflammation is your immune system’s response to any problematic substance that has entered your body. How do things enter? You can ingest them, breathe them, or you can absorb them through your skin.

When your immune system perceives that a threatening substance is in your diet, for example, it mounts a powerful and multi-pronged attack on the “invader”. Part of that response is to create inflammation, which we recognise as heat, swelling and redness. This occurs wherever the immune system is engaged in a battle — in the tissues of your face, in your arteries, and/or in your vital organs, for example. Inflammation is essential to keeping us alive, but it also causes collateral damage, such as scarring and wrinkling. The more pollutants we are exposed to, the more inflammation our body experiences, and the more rapidly we age.

One of the best ways to naturally dampen down inflammation is to ensure your diet is high in vitamin C – lots of fresh vegetables, citrus fruits and berries. Or alternatively consider using a high quality, preferably buffered vitamin C supplement. Vitamin C does wonderful things for for skin texture and luminosity and is critical for the synthesis of collagen, an important structural protein of our skin.

Oxidation

Oxidation is another way we age. It has significant inner and outer health consequences. Oxidative damage is done by substances known as free radicals, which are single oxygen molecules that can hurt your tissues and other vital substances in your body.

We stay alive through a process called respiration, a process by which we breathe in oxygen, and we exhale carbon dioxide. When we breathe, oxygen splits apart, forming two single oxygen molecules — free radicals and they are angry little critters, as they have lost their buddy and are now able to damage your tissues. Free radicals do have minimal benefit within the body, which includes assisting white blood cells to reduce infection. However, the number of free radicals within the blood is greatly increased by stress, high-intensity exercise, cigarette smoke, and pollutants such as pesticides and heavy metals. You can see how modern-day living can mean that the number of free radicals in the body becomes high and stops serving our health, and begins to cause harm.

Your immune system is designed to protect you from infection and to play a role in dampening down inflammation. Immune cells will attack any substance that shows up in your body that they decide is foreign or poisonous, or that they believe you are better off without. These substances may appear in your food, water, or as viruses or bacteria that you ingest, which then generate free radicals (also known as oxidants).

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules, and they destroy cells and tissues by causing them to age, form scar tissue, and die. Free radicals cause all living things to age and decay. They are the reason a cut apple left on your bench turns brown and shrivels up. In your skin, free radicals cause the moist collagen fibres that form its super-structure to become dry and shrivelled. When the foundation of your skin shrinks, the surface folds over on itself, forming wrinkles. The more free radicals in your system, the more your collagen shrinks, and the more wrinkles appear on your skin.

One of the major ways the body defends itself from free radical damage is through the consumption of antioxidants. Antioxidant-rich foods are our coloured plant foods. If you could imagine a large platter covered in beautiful, brightly coloured fresh produce, that platter would pack a massive antioxidant punch! The way it works is that the antioxidant donates one of its oxygen molecules back to the single guy (free radical) and they pair up. As a result the oxygen will no longer damage your tissues.

Glycation

Another factor in ageing is glycation. This occurs when glucose (sugar) from what we eat binds to some of our DNA, proteins, and lipids, leaving them unable to do their jobs. If we have a diet high in processed foods, the problem becomes worse as we get older, since the cumulative sugar intake for most just keeps growing. This can cause cells and tissues to malfunction, resulting in ageing, or in some cases disease. Not that long ago in human evolution, processed, high-sugar foods didn’t exist. Then, in the not-too-distant past, they were eaten only on special occasions, like birthday parties, but now they have become part of every day for too many people. I cannot say this enough: it is what you do every day that impacts on your health, not what you do sometimes. However it is important to remember that the ageing process will potentially be slowed if you consume less refined sugar.

Getting your beauty sleep

Rest must follow action for us to have optimal health, the ability to remain calm, and all those “non-vital” processes, such as our skin, hair, and nails getting all the nourishment they need. And very few of us these days truly rest or live a calm state, where productivity, patience, and kindness tend to easily flow.

The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), is active when we truly rest. This is also called the “rest, digest, repair, reproduce” (and I’ve added “radiance”) arm of our nervous system. I also refer to it as the “green zone”. The challenge is that it can be dominated by the opposite arm of the nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which I refer to as the “red zone”.

Appropriate activation of the PNS is essential not only to feeling centred, calm, and lovely – but also for skin, hair and nail regeneration. Prioritising your sleep assists in slowing the ageing process as the body can get to work on repairing damaged cells.

Food to support ageing

When it comes to real food, for me they are all super foods. Each food has its own unique combination of nutritional value to offer you and your glow. Here is a number of foods that you can incorporate into your diet to help supply nutrients and slow the effects of the ageing process.

Almonds

A good source of vitamin E, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, and calcium, all of which are essential to skin oxygenation and function.

Apple cider vinegar

Helps stimulate digestion and may improve extraction of minerals and vitamins from your diet. It may also be a helpful natural remedy for dandruff, because the acids in the vinegar can help stop the fungus-causing chemical imbalances in the skin of the scalp.

Artichokes

Regular consumption of these woody, fibrous vegetables is linked to healthier skin, and, in particular, improved skin luminosity.

Avocados

A good source of biotin and monounsaturated fats, avocados help to prevent dry skin and brittle hair and nails; when applied topically, they help to hydrate dry skin. For me, they are a super special beauty food.

Beetroots

Beetroot contains nitrates, which produce a gas called nitric oxide in the blood, which widens blood vessels and lowers blood pressure; it is also important for blood flow to skin.

Blueberries

One of the richest sources of antioxidants, these beautiful and delicious berries counteract premature ageing.

Brazil nuts

These are a good source of the antioxidant selenium, which helps increase the number of infection- fighting white blood cells in the body, as well as protect against cellular damage. For skin care, selenium’s antioxidant properties regenerate vitamins E and C, thereby decreasing the ageing of skin. A truly amazing nut!

Brassica vegetables

Vegetables worthy of their superstar accolades, they are potent sources of antioxidants, as well as many vitamins and minerals, which help aid cellular repair. Vegetables in the Brassica family contain indoles, substances that help the liver detoxify hormones, which can help with sex hormone balance, which is critical for clear skin.

Coconuts

Coconuts are great for your skin and body, inside and out. Containing vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and natural proteins, coconuts also contain medium-chain triglycerides, which are a wonderful fuel for the body, and also possess antibacterial properties. Lauric acid, for example, has been scientifically shown to have a stronger action against the bacteria often involved with acne than benzoyl peroxide, an ingredient in many medicated skin washes and some prescription acne medications. Topically, coconut oil is a great way to moisturize and cleanse your skin naturally.

Cucumbers

The high water content means it is a very hydrating choice and is a wonderful way to reduce swelling or puffiness around eyes.

Eggs

Eggs are a complete source of protein. They contain biotin, an essential vitamin that protects against dry skin, and is also helpful for nail and hair health. Eggs also contain iron, which is vital for oxygenation of the entire body, including the skin.

Fresh, sustainable oily fish

This is a wonderful source of omega-3, which dampens down inflammation in the body and also helps keep skin moisturised. Fresh salmon also contains astaxanthin, a carotenoid that improves skin elasticity.

Green tea

This wonderful skin-friendly beverage is packed full of antioxidants that are protective against cellular damage throughout the body, including the ageing process of the skin.

Kale

Kale is an excellent source of the beauty vitamins A, C, and E, which have potent anti-ageing properties and help promote healthy new cell growth. It is also loaded with minerals, such as magnesium and calcium, which healthy skin needs; these minerals are also critical to our ability to relax and are highly alkaline.

Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit is a rich source of vitamin C and antioxidants, which help keep skin firm and slow down the formation of wrinkles, and are also great for healthy teeth and bones. The antioxidants in kiwifruit have also been shown to help protect against cancer and heart disease.

Lemons

Rich in vitamin C, lemons are great for the skin and also stimulate digestion — starting your day with lemon in warm water is a wonderful way to kickstart your digestion. The goodies in lemons are crucial for all aspects of beauty, obtaining the maximum nutrition from your diet and helping to supply your skin, hair and nails with nutrients.

Thoughts and perceptions

It’s equally important to consider how you feel about ageing. Are you fearful of it? Do you feel you’re less attractive because you now have lines or wrinkles? In today’s society we place so much emphasis on youth being attractive, but there is nothing more attractive than a woman or man that is comfortable in his or her own skin regardless of their age.

Ageing is a natural part of life that you don’t need to fear; we will all go through it. Your changing lines, hair colour or body in no way detract from who you really are and the goodness in your heart. The passing years also bring wisdom and that has a radiance all of its own.

Walking – The Forgotten Movement

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Everywhere you turn these days it appears there is a new exercise trend and while I’m all for finding different ways to keep moving – there is one way to move that’s free, great for your heart, soul and always accessible – walking! No need for a membership, or special equipment – the best part is anyone can do it regardless of age or fitness level.

Increase your energy

It might seem like a paradox (and often the last thing you might feel like) but a brisk walk is one of the best ways to naturally boost your energy. It is great for circulation, increases oxygen supply to the cells of your body and helps you feel more alert. It’s a wonderful way to break up your day – try going for a walk around 3pm, which is often the time people to start to crave sugar.

Boost your mood

Studies have shown that moderate-intensity movement (such as brisk walking) can be as effective as medication for those experiencing low mood states. It’s also a wonderful way to catch up with friends and reduce your stress levels by having a chat and a laugh.

Get some vitamin D

If you’re walking outside in sun, you’ll be boosting your body’s stores of vitamin D – it’s one of the most effective ways of producing vitamin D intrinsically. Too many New Zealanders are deficient in vitamin D, which plays a big role in everything from bone health to immunity.

It’s good for your bones and joints

Walking is a weight-bearing way to move which is important for strengthening bones. It is particularly important for increasing their density – which is critical to the prevention of osteoporosis, particularly for women. It also a great way to support healthy joint function and may have a protective effect in some inflammatory joint conditions. About 50 percent of adult bone mass is laid done during the teenage years. This makes weight bearing exercise and optimal vitamin D levels critical through these years. It is also vital for people of all ages to minimise their consumption of substances, such as caffeine, that drag minerals such as a calcium and magnesium out of bones, decreasing their density.

It’s a great way to connect with nature

Numerous research papers have demonstrated that walking reduces stress hormone production, improves mood, enhances psychological wellbeing and improves attention and concentration. A great way to incorporate walking into your routine is to leave the car at home and walk to the shops, or to work if possible. Or park a distance from your destination and make the most of the walk!

It even helps you sleep

Studies suggest that as little as 30 minutes of brisk walking over five days could help improve your sleep. Movement like walking boosts the effect of natural sleep hormones such as melatonin. However, walking too close to bedtime can be stimulating so aim for the morning or afternoon.

Feeling The Winter Blues? Feel Good Factors To Help You Through To Spring

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Feel good foods

There are numerous foods linked with enhancing mood, the most famous, of course being chocolate. Dark chocolate in particular is high in the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is one of 10 essential amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. It serves as a precursor for serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps the body regulate appetite, sleep patterns, and mood. Poor serotonin metabolism has been linked to anxiety and depression. Did you know however, that around 80 percent of the serotonin in the body is actually in the gut, not the brain? Foods that are naturally high in tryptophan include fish, other seafood, nuts, seeds, vegetables such as broccoli and legumes. Eating a wholefood diet rich in green vegetables and wholefood fats can make all the difference between feeling sluggish and heavy or energised. If you have poor digestion, getting to the heart of this and resolving the symptoms can have a significant impact on enhancing your mood, too. It never ceases to amaze me everyday, the power a healthy diet can have on all aspects of life, in particular in enhancing mood.

Clarify your life

Sometimes there is nothing better than a good old-fashioned clear out. There may be things you are storing on an emotional level and there may be things you are storing physically that are cluttering your thoughts. If you open your closet only to receive most of it falling straight on top of you it is time to let go of some things. Collect all your old clothes, appliances, or furniture that you no longer need and pass it onto charity. Not only are you letting go of things that no longer serve your life, you are contributing to someone else’s. From an emotional perspective there may be beliefs and behaviourial patterns you are holding onto that no longer serve you. Exploring these and developing strategies to change them can help liberate your mind to focus on the positive and good that is present in your life. Our behaviour is after all, the expression of our beliefs.


Be kind to yourself

At the heart of a lot of very successful, busy people is a strong sense of self-worth. In the busyness of our lives using positive affirmations are fantastic techniques to help you centre yourself again. Mediation, yoga and other breath-focussed practices can be highly beneficial every day, but particularly during times you feel overwhelmed. Repeat calmly to yourself either out loud or in your mind: “Breathing in I am calm, breathing out I smile”. Practice this while you wait at the traffic lights, or allow yourself 10 minutes in the morning to breathe lovely long, slow breaths and recite this to yourself. Say at least one kind thing to yourself a day… the more the better! Maybe you love your eyes, your quick wit, or your kind soul. Whatever it may be appreciate all you contribute to this world just by being you. Be your own best friend.

Not all calories are created equal

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How many of us have been told that if we burn more calories than we eat, weight loss will be inevitable? How many of us have discovered that this century old philosophy does not seem to apply to our body no matter how hard we work, in this modern world? It drove me to write a book about it last year called The Calorie Fallacy, so more people could understand this concept.

But this is often when the confusion sets in; weight loss or weight maintenance is meant to be simple right? It’s defined by calories in versus calories out, so as long as you abide by this you will experience results? But that doesn’t appear to be happening in your case, cue “I must be doing something wrong, ok, I’ll exercise even more and I’ll eat fewer calories than I already am, that should work!” Unfortunately, more often than not it doesn’t.

This fundamental of nutrition has well and truly been questioned and we are seeing more evidence supporting that not all calories are equal. But how is that possible? Our bodies react very differently with calories from different sources. They may go through similar digestive processes but the biochemical reactions they trigger can be completely different. To put this into context let’s compare how 1000 calories from fizzy drink are metabolised in the body versus 1000 calories from broccoli.

When you consume a fizzy drink your body quickly absorbs the fibre-less sugars, the glucose spikes your blood sugar, which stimulates insulin and subsequently signals to your body to store body fat. Inflammation is increased, triglycerides are raised (essentially fat in your blood), and leptin, one of the hormones involved in appetite regulation, is blocked. Leptin is responsible for signalling to your brain that you’re satisfied, and if the brain doesn’t receive this message, you are likely to continue eating. Many people who follow low fat, high carbohydrate diets experience the feeling of “never being full.”

On the contrary if you were to consume 1000 calories from broccoli – a high fibre option that barely registers an effect on your blood glucose, you don’t trigger the same biochemical reaction at all. Firstly, you wouldn’t even be able to consume 1000 calories from broccoli as that would be close to 21 cups – leptin would kick in and let you know you’ve had enough and you would experience the feeling of being full… and incredibly nourished – I just love broccoli!

I have witnessed this for almost two decades in clinical practice. When my patients stop counting calories and focus on nourishing their body by eating real food, good fats and plenty of vegetables – they have a rapid improvement in their overall well-being but they also feel satisfied. It changes their relationship with food completely. Often they end up eating more calories than they could ever imagine and yet the weight starts to fall off, and often for the first time in years.

The difference in the way our bodies metabolise calories is demonstrated quite brilliantly in the recently released ‘That sugar film.’ The film follows Damon Gameau, an Australian man who has eaten a real food diet for at least the last three years, with minimal to no refined sugar. He essentially decides to go back on a low fat, high carbohydrate diet to demonstrate how much sugar people are consuming on a daily basis, particularly without really knowing. It quite dramatically shows the demise of his general well being and on the same or fewer calories than he was previously consuming (around 2300 calories) he started to quite dramatically gain weight, particularly around his middle which, as we know is the most dangerous for our health.

Some naturally high fat (and therefore high calorie) foods are some of the most healthful we can eat in terms of promoting weight loss and reducing our risk of diabetes or heart disease. Avocados are a great example, a high calorie food full of helpful good fats.

Focus on eating more real foods, avoid processed and packaged food and focus on your health rather than your weight. Consider the other health-promoting components the food contains; the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, as these are essential to our health and well-being. An avocado doesn’t come with a nutritional label, so when you move towards consuming more plant foods you naturally stop counting calories. Most people will tell you that you have to lose weight to be healthy, when these days, you actually have to be healthy to lose weight.

Check out The Calorie Fallacy to learn more.

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The Impact Of Alcohol

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Most people are aware that alcohol can impact health in a detrimental way when regularly over-consumed. However many people are naive to the extent at which this can occur. Dry July can be the perfect time to assess exactly how alcohol affects you.

For you, alcohol may lead to an increase in body fat or cellulite, less energy and vitality, worse bouts of PMT or mood fluctuations . . . or perhaps your get up and go has got up and left. As fun as it can be at the time, alcohol can rob you of your clarity and purpose.

We drink for wide and varied reasons. For some, it is the way they socialise, or the way they wind down from the day. Some use alcohol to distract themselves from thoughts and feelings they’d rather avoid. It can be a way that people cope. Regardless of the reason, many of us over-drink without even realising it.

A standard drink is one hundred grams of alcohol in whatever form that comes. In New Zealand, 100 grams of alcohol is a 330 millilitre bottle of four percent beer, a 30 millilitre nip of spirits, 170 millilitres of champagne, and it is a measly 100 millilitres of wine; about four swallows! Next time you pour yourself a glass of wine, measure it, and see what your natural pour is. For most, it is considerably more than 100 millilitres, and, as a result, many of us are over-drinking without intending to.

The current recommendations provided by the Australian Heart Foundation in concurrence with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) now suggest for those who already drink alcohol it is safe to consume no more than two standard drinks per day for both men and women. Other organisations add that the evidence suggests that that must include two alcohol-free days (AFDs) per week. However, I also encourage you to consider many of the cancer organisations from around the world’s position statement on alcohol, which says that if you have a family history of cancer, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, which is a very powerful statement to contemplate.

I’m not suggesting you don’t drink alcohol, unless that appeals to you or you feel this will be necessary to break a potential addiction. Alcohol consumption can be immensely pleasurable for those who partake. I simply want to appeal to you to get honest with yourself about how alcohol affects you. You know in your heart if you drink too much and when it is impacting negatively on your health. Alcohol can affect the way we relate to those we love the most in the world, and of course it affects how you feel about yourself. So, if you drink, drink for the pleasure of it rather than the misconstrued message that alcohol is good for your health.

The link between the consistent, over-consumption of alcohol and breast cancer is undeniable. Research has shown this time and time again and for many years now. Yet, we rarely hear about it.

The human body cannot excrete alcohol; it has to be converted into acetaldehyde by the liver, and then the acetaldehyde can be excreted. This is the nasty substance that can give us a headache the day after a big imbibe. If the liver didn’t do its job properly and alcohol accumulated in our blood, we can go into a coma and die. Alcohol is that poisonous. And I don’t say that lightly. But, thankfully, our liver jumps to action and starts the conversion process and we can carry on. Over time, though, this can take its toll.

The trouble is, when we drink daily, or, for some, just regularly, the liver can be so busy dealing with alcohol as its priority, other substances that the liver has to change so they can be excreted don’t get any attention and are recycled. Estrogen and cholesterol are two examples. It is often the reabsorption of these substances that leads to elevated levels in our body, and that can lead to health challenges.

If you want to cut back or cut out alcohol for a while, or even if you just want to break your habit of regular drinking, still pour yourself a drink at the time you would normally have a glass of wine, and do what you would normally do. Sit and chat to your partner, make dinner, talk on the phone to a friend. So often we have mentally linked the glass of wine to a pleasurable activity when it is actually the pleasurable activity that we don’t want to miss out on! So have sparkling water in a wine glass, with some fresh lime or lemon if that appeals, and add a few more AFDs to your life.

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