Supplement Shake-up

Image Pintrest

I love taking my vitamin and mineral supplements because they work. 

I take them at therapeutic doses, I know exactly what they do for me and what I need them for, after all I am a Naturopath. I studied for four years at University learning about this stuff; doses, pathways, interactions, contraindications, actions, indications. Apart from learning at University, I've spent over 10 years in clinic and working with people seeing results and the benefits that proper prescribing can do. In effect I've been doing my own clinical studies and trials for a decade.

Do you know why you are taking those supplements that your neighbour told you to take?
Or the lovely girl at they health food shop?
Or the supplements you picked up at the supermarket because they were on special?
The TV advert, said that some fish oil would reduce inflammation! But are you taking the best quality and more importantly are you taking therapeutic doses that work? Do the vitamins living in your pantry even have therapeutic doses? Believe me I see brands (well known too) that don't have enough folate to protect you or your baby from spina bifida and they are charging you more than proper practitioner only products. Professional advice is the best advice.

The Health and Wellbeing Industry industry is a 20 billion dollar industry! Are all the sales and marketing slogans really working for you or do they want you to contribute to a piece of the pie? 

I will share with you my professional opinion and help you save your health and your money by conductiing a Supplement Shake-up and teach you if you need to take the supplements that you've accumulated.

Image Pintrest

If you have loads of bottles of Vitamins and Minerals in your cupboards at home and want to know why you need to take them, come in and see a professional. 

Monday 25th November Supplement SHAKE-UP day

Bring your shopping bag of stuff into my clinic and I will sit down and go through it with you.
Why are you taking it?
What it will assist with?
What dose will achieve results?
Do you even need it?

Call me 0408 397 298 to book your appointment, it'll be the best $40 you've ever spent.

The Vitamin D Affair

We are a nation of sunshine, everyone thinks of Australia as a sunny country, where we are all lazin’ on our beaches and looking tanned and healthy. However this is not the case – whenever I go to another country everyone is tanned and enjoying the sun. Australians have become scared of the sun, we are told to slip/slop/slap; we’re told that the sun causes cancer, we are told to wear hats, cover up, sit in the shade. It is now coming back to haunt us, we in Australia are facing Vitamin D deficiency and nearly everyone is supplementing.

Vitamin D and lack of it has been a big concern of mine for a long time, it comes from the sun and synthesises in our skin to then be processed in our liver. It aids Calcium assisting bone density and bone structure. But apparently, we here in Australia are starting to have proportions of deficiency especially in children and older people because of our avoidance of the sun! Too much slip, slop, slapping so to speak.

The major benefit of Vitamin D is bone health it helps our bones stay strong and stable holding us up and enabling us to move. It’s also known to help aid and support our immune system, studies indicate higher levels of Vitamin D in our blood supply can help ward off the common cold in winter, help prevent cancers, help our moods, balance our hormones and make us feel happier.

Food sources are generally low in this vitamin. The richest sources of vitamin D include fatty fishes such as mackerel, herring, cod and tuna and of course Cod liver oil. The skin of fish and chicken also has some supplies of Vitamin D (if they have been growing in the sun)- but we are encouraged not to eat this because of the high fat content, let yourself go and enjoy some flavor. Eat til your heart is content! Often Milk and milk products are fortified so these are also good sources.

Sun is the best source of Vitamin D yet absorption of the special UVB rays only occur 8 months of the year (no Winter vitamin D) and to get the best absorption experts say you must be in the sun for up to 15minutes between the hours of 11-3 (scary hey). However, over the years we have been encouraged not to go out in it. Now I am certainly not saying to go out and bake in it everyday for hours at a time but we need some sun, preferably 15 minutes a day, and you need to expose more than just your face, as your face is only 9% of your skin coverage, get you back, arms and legs out. Enjoy that summer sun.

Tip: Vitamin D absorbed from the sun lasts up to 3 times longer in your body stores than that taken via a supplement! 

Slow down your biological clock

Have you ever thought that maybe your biological clock is older than your chronological age, imagine that! This weekend I have spent time at the ‘Turning Back the Biological Clock’ conference and boy did I learn a thing or two.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself to see if you are living at the age you really are;

Have you ever felt that you were older than you really are?

Do you feel like the years haven’t been kind to you?

Do you think that for your age, you should have more energy than you actually do?

At this conference it was incredible to see, through scientific evidence that some things really do contribute to us aging well beyond our years and with some simple and facilitated professional health assistance these can be addressed and changed – or better yet stopped in there tracks.

Some simple lifestyle strategies that I am always harping on about were of course addressed.

And again, I will share them with you; 

•  Fresh air
•  Exposure to Sunlight
• Eating Quality Vegetables
• Exercise and Physical activity
• Adequate Water intake
•  Forming healthy and loving interpersonal Relationships

 Yet if these actions are so simple and second nature to us why do we keep ignoring them? Why do we forget to breathe deep and activate our lungs daily? Why do we avoid the sun and now most Australians are presenting with signs of Vitamin D deficiency? Why aren’t we eating a minimum of 3 cups of vegetables a day? Or exercising or loving the one we are with?

These are the road-blocks of your day to day however if you are given the tools and learn to apply them you could drive straight through! Imagine enjoying your life to its full extent.

Other hot topics that were discussed were the drivers of Aging and Chronic Disease including Mitochondrial dysfunction, Inflammation and Genomic Instability. Again we learnt more about the benefits of using therapeutic doses and practitioner quality products to assist in the stopping and slowing down of the aging process.

Phyto-nutrients are a key indictor for making you feel younger than you are, and now they are coming in concentrated forms, which makes it easy for your body to take in one go. The use of quality anti-oxidants, Essential Fatty Acids (EFA), probiotics and of course quality multi-vitamins but unless you are taking the therapeutic doses you are not getting the benefits.

Creating balance is something we all have difficulty in achieving in these busy times; too much work, not enough family time not even enough ‘me’ time – we all strive for balance but how can it be achieved? What are some of the things that you apply to your lifestyle to make it flow? 

Brrr it's still Winter.....

Image pintrest

It's been a tough winter this year, there are not only one but two different viral strains floating around causing everyone to come down with some awful cold and flu like symptoms. It's not a bad thing for your immune system to be hit with a good dose of cold every few years, it actually strengthens it and makes you less susceptible the next season. However, supporting your immune system and taking action in preventing yourself from catching a cold is also wise.

Here're some tips:
1. Clothing; you may laugh and say 'but I always leave the house clothed' that you may but I suggest you invest in a good, long singlet that tucks in! It may be old fashioned but you need to be tucked in and your kidneys need to be covered. So simple and effective in keeping you warm and preventing a chill getting into you bones.
2. Covering your mouth when you cough! Another tip that may sound as simple as second nature, yet everyday I am out and about I see people coughing without covering their mouth, walking along coughing as someone is walking towards them, coughing on the train/tram. So simple so sensible and prevents airborne contaminates.
3. Washing your hands regularly, especially if you have come into contact with someone that has cold and flu symptoms.
4.Take a sick day - that's what it's there for, don't go to work if you are suffering from cold and flu symptoms, prevent contaminating others. Rest and convalesce at home, in the warmth of your own home. Stay inside in an even temperature.
5. Dose up on natural anti-bacterial foods including garlic and onions.
6. Eat lots of colourful fruits and vegetables, organic is best as they have higher concentrations of nutrients. These nutrient dense foods will stimulate your immune system and help support it.
7. Herbs to keep in the cupboard and dose up on over these winter months include; Echinacea, Olive leaf and always have some YEP tea(Yarrow, Elder, Peppermint) to help combat cold and flu symptoms including fever!!
8. Increase your intake of Vitamin C - it is the king anti-oxidant and is known to support the immune system and reduce the duration of cold and flu like symptoms. See your Naturopath to be informed of therapeutic doses
9. Other supplements that may help you ward off this dreaded beast is Zinc and Vitamin D, both will help support your immune system and keep you soldiering on.
10. Finally REST, it is winter and winter is about hibernation, enjoy this quiet time and re-charge your batteries.

Tips for new new mums

Image Pinterest

As we welcomed a new baby son in October, yes it was really that long ago. Another beautiful boy to add to our family, I thought I would list some simple tips on how to keep a new mum sane!

'Tips to help settle into being a new mum' but I think you all know the golden rules.

• First week (or first 3 months) be INDULGENT and loose all GUILT, sleep, accept all offers of help, have no shame just say YES and if you are not particularly good at it learn fast.
• I can't emphasise enough how slow you should take it; REST. Think of the next three months as the fourth trimester.
• EAT. Eat good healthy wholefoods, forget biscuits and cakes, eat real food, nurture your body. Almonds are a great to snack.
• DRINK lots of water, keep rehydrated especially if you are breastfeeding, fill a jug of water to have on the bench and just keep topping up your glass through out the day
• SLEEP and generally rest and hang with your baby.
• Slowly reintroduce yourself back into the world and BE GENTLE with yourself DON'T PLACE UNREALISTIC GOALS ON YOU OR YOUR BABY.
• Want that tummy to return to normal? Try these Belly belt it will be the best investment you can ever make and will help your uterus contract and your tummy retract. (Wish I'd known about this post my babies, I wore high waisted bike-like pants; it was very difficult to go to the toilet!)
• Begin activating your PELVIC floor as soon as possible after the birth. The sooner you get started the sooner you will be in better shape in more ways than one. I wore these great high waisted 'contour shorts', yes very attractive but they pulled my uterus in much faster than after having my first child. Your tummy may never be the same as prior to pregnancy but CORE STRENGTH activation will certainly help.
• Don't make too many rules or timetables as you may just come unstuck and no-one wants that, not you nor your husband/partner or family. Everyone does love a new mum and is only willing to help - Just ask.
• Take a good quality SUPPLEMENT to help with your energy levels, best to see a health professional and be prescribed the correct therapeutic doses.
• Get out of the house and WALK, breathe FRESH AIR and mostly ENJOY your new bub because as everyone says 'they grow up so quickly'!
• Welcome to motherhood

What's your best tip for a new mum?