May/June 2021
Hello my friends!! I have been so busy in my business and behind the scenes in my life. I have also had some health issues and have been trying to rest. Healer, heal thyself as the saying goes. It was self-inflicted. I am an A type and sometimes keep going and going. Well lesson learnt.
I do hope you are well. This is a combined May and June blog as I thought it is late for May but early for June. So, I am splitting the difference. Now this time I would like to chat about diet. Food as medicine. I was discussing this with a colleague who was a student and close to qualifying. Diet and nutrition is what we as naturopaths and nutritionists use to bring balance into our client’s lives.
Herbal formulas and supplements are vital in the progress of a client’s wellbeing, but in the meantime diet and lifestyle are also key. What you eat plays an important part in building blocks for the body. Neurotransmitters, hormones, tissue and cellular health and integrity and energy amongst many, many other things. The quality of the foods is important too. That your food is as fresh and unprocessed as possible. Reducing food that is inflammatory as well as aggravating to the delicate gut mucosal wall.
It is extremely hard to budge the addiction to comfort and unhealthy foods as well as take away. It can be a mind game. Meaning you must approach the matter from a cognitive and behavioural point of view. You may be exhausted from all that you do and reach for an instant sugar hit to boost your energy levels. This leads to a spike and then a huge dip not long afterwards.
So, we must get your diet right and sleeping patterns. Reducing sugar, alcohol, caffeine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the good stuff. Sorry, but it is the only way.
Good exercise too. Gentle walking or bike riding or yoga and Pilates. It all depends on what you feel drawn to. However, diet is key. The right food, such as fruit and veg, feed the good bugs in your gut and so help in production of energy and nutrient absorption. This is how serotonin is made. In the gut. 95% is made in the gut through good nutrition. Imagine if there is inflammation in the gut. No good nutrient is going to get to its mark if it is block. Plus the wrong bacteria create the wrong environment. You get conditions, such as SIBO, where the wrong critters are over populated in the gut and the good guys are outnumbered.
Yes, food is THAT important! So is filtered water. It has the impurities filtered out which puts less pressure on the body and its detoxification pathways. Our body needs nourishing and protecting because if we don’t, then it starts to break down. I don’t mean deprive yourself of a treat now and then. Heck, even I do that. I mean at least may a pact with yourself to eat 80% good interspersed with a little naughtiness. Dark chocolate is a compromise for me. I avoid the common milk chocolate and go for 80% cocoa dark chocolate. Not only is it a treat it is also really good for us. Antioxidants and magnesium. Yum yum.
Everything in moderation, as my late mum would say. It is a mindset and it is attainable. Just keep yourself honest and you will feel less remorse if you slip. Vibrant fruit and veg and good quality grass fed, organic, free range meat are ideal. Oily fish, seeds, nuts, grains. All are beneficial as fuel for the machine that is our body. You can enjoy them. I find it is about being creative in cooking and presentation. So you feel you are eating gourmet.
Anyway, off my soap box for now. I do hope you are all looking after yourselves going into winter. Look after your immune systems and rest as much as you can. I shall see you in July…..I may have to make a mental note to remind myself. Ha ha.
Lisa xx