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Archives for May 2016

Heart of the Matter

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With 90% of women in Australia having one risk factor of heart disease, when I was asked to write an article on The Heart I jumped at it. Whenever I write these articles, I think of these areas that, when we understand them more, we can make better decisions as they need to be considered;

  1. Nutrition
  2. Exercise
  3. Hormones
  4. Heart Brain communications
  5. Stress

All these areas work together to give an overall general health to any area of the body. So let’s explore them;

Nutrition

With up to 50% of women tested recently for cholesterol showing a higher than normal cholesterol reading, it’s time to consider what we are eating. It’s all about the good fats vs the bad fats…or is it? I think it’s more than that, however fats do play an important part specifically in heart health. So what are the good fats? These are the HDL’s or High Density Lipoproteins. They are the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats from foods like nuts, avocados, pepita seeds and olive oil which may actually lower your cholesterol. I make up a natural granola mix with all HDL’s in it and have it to start my day (almonds, macadamias, pepita seeds, raisins, vanilla and cinnamon with a touch of shredded coconut to taste. It’s not only yummy, you are giving your body all the HDL’s in one serving.

I also think supplementation here is the key. To clean out the arterial walls you need a great anti-oxidant and a good multi-vitamin. If you don’t feel you are eating enough foods that are great for detoxing then supplementing with one anti-oxidant may assist you and your heart.

Minerals are also vital as every muscle in the heart requires minerals to assist them to contract. Minerals are also the basis of good hormone health which we will talk about later. The Mitochondria of the heart loves to have Minerals and CoQ10 as its food. A recent study showed that when heart patience took CoQ10 for 3 months their skin improved as well.

Did you know that your weight around your middle area may be indicative of your heart health? Weight around the stomach area is created from many things. Often this fat is formed from eating the LDL’s or bad fats. As you gain this belly fat, your fat cells swell to accommodate the higher triglycerides and the exposure to chemicals. They can also be created when our hormones change. It has been found recently that the lower your Testosterone is the more fat you have around the middle. So for you men out there. If you want to raise your Testosterone you know what area of your body you may like to work on. It’s the ‘brown fat’ area. We use to call it the ‘ugly fat’ because it really can do lots of damage to our organs as well as our heart. Releasing ‘brown fat’ could be the best decision you ever made. I just lost 6kgs by specifically targeting the brown fat areas. The renewed energy is fabulous. Your whole body benefits.

Your inheritance could also affect your fat cell positioning and storage. Men tend to inherit fat cells in the abdominal and face areas and so may be more prone to belly fat. Women on the other hand tend to inherit fat cells around their ‘child bearing areas’ hence the sometimes bigger hips. The point here is that while that is where we may inherit fat cells we actually don’t have to fill them…..it’s a choice. You may however have also inherited your nutritional habits that fill those fat cells so again it’s a choice for you to continue down that path or change.

Exercise

I always say, “If you can’t find time and money for wellness, then you better find time and money for illness”. It’s so easy in today’s busy life schedule that we exercise on the back burner. It is my absolute priority. I get up, take my minerals, and I power walk for 30-45 minutes. I then do two aquafitness fast paced classes with weights every week in my lunch hour. That combination of cross training is excellent on your fitness and health. Without exercise you are running around with very little oxygen in your blood stream. This may lead to tiredness and increased acidity which is not good for your health or your mood swings.

Years ago, I remember a study done at Prince of Wales Hospital. This Doctor John Ward was looking for a marked improvement in older peoples muscle mass, cardiac function and overall health. He got such a shock when, while he did get improvement in those areas, the biggest improvement he got was in changes from depression to happiness by up to 50%. When I was working at the retirement village, years ago I put his research to the test. I offered the older residents three types of exercises to choose from every morning, from cardiac circuits to chair exercises to aquafitness. I then added other activities like dancing etc. throughout the week. One lady came in with depression at that time. Her daughter phoned me to thank me for the happy state her mother was now in. She didn’t have much time now for her daughter’s visits because she was in the ‘line dancing’ group and needed to borrow a red shirt. So exercise definitely assisted her.]

If you want to reduce that abdominal fat we mentioned earlier then exercise is the key when it is coupled with great nutrition. On top of reducing the belly fat, you may notice you have more energy and that your risk for heart disease can decline by up to 50%.

Let’s continue this in the next newsletter where I will talk about Hormones and the Heart, Communication of the Heart to other areas of the body including the brain And STRESS.

Boosting Your Immune System this Winter

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Having just returned from my third trip around Australia talking about Immune Health, I find it frightening to even think of some of the medications that people are on to assist them with their auto immune disease. I have never been able to understand how you can close down an immune system and expect it to heal. It is just not logical to me.

When I was recovering from my Auto Immune Disease (Lupus) I decided not to take medicine and to SLOW down the immune system while it healed itself. Is that the long way round? You may ask this question, but I am well today.

One thing I learnt is that we do not break down our immune system overnight. It can take up to seven years to become ill. What we do is simply ignore the symptoms. We brush the symptoms off because we are too ‘busy’ to address them. Or maybe we are just ignorant of what those symptoms are. Maybe our parents were ignorant of what those symptoms are.

I remember having cramps in my legs when I was a child. I would be in tears with the pain. I was told to go outside and play more tennis and work through the pain. Of course I simply know that everything that happens in our body is a Universal Message telling us that this needs addressing. And, in fact the message I was getting was, that I was not getting, and or absorbing, enough minerals for the activity I was putting out.

So with winter coming up we may need to pay attention to what is occurring in our body and address it immediately. For example: If you are experiencing bloated gut then analyse what you ate before, that may have contributed to that. You may find a pattern forming when you eat certain foods. Wheats, sugars, gluten and yeasts are very common to bloat us, especially if we are experiencing allergies to food groups. Lots of cheeses have YEAST in them as do Rock Melons and Honey Dew Melon. You may find not only a change in your diet, but an addition of a pro-biotic or a digestive enzyme assists you to assimilate the foods that you are eating.

High dairy intake, processed foods, trans fats, sugars, pesticides and environmental chemical exposure can all cause an imbalance in the gut effecting the way you digest your food and your immune system function. Much of what is created from exposure to these foods and chemicals can create undigested foods, toxins and bacteria in the gut that then leaks into the blood stream…hence the term ‘leaky gut’. I remember being told that I had portions of undigested food in my blood stream. Eating not only the wrong foods, but eating on the run in out too busy lives.

Your best friend this winter could be Echinacea. This is Immune Health in a jar. I take it in higher doses at the beginning of winter to act as my Natural Flu shot. I also keep it on hand for that touch of a sore throat or sinus and when taken early it may stop that bacteria infection progressing. There are some big viruses around this winter so being prepared is the key. Krill oil could also help with the synovial fluids in your joints, as particularly in moving things gently through the bowel among many other attributes.

Foods for winter should include warmth, so ditch those salads and bring on the stews, crock pot meals and soups. Your body is looking for liquid because of the drier air and warmth. I cooked two lamb shanks the other day in a natural vegetable soup stock with a few herbs and orange vegetables. The left over juice became part of the stock for a 10 vegetable soup….yummy.

Your zinc levels also may need to be looked at. Chemists quite often do zinc testing or your natural therapists. Your skin on the outside is indicative of your zinc levels, which also indicates your lung condition. Zinc is NOT something you muck around with but it may be something you have a conversation about if your skin is continually dry and/or you are getting lost of chest irritations like bronchitis etc. If you are zinc deficient, the liquid zinc may taste sweet when you swallow it. If you have good zinc levels then you may find that the zinc test is yukky for you. Make sure you seek some advice on this one.

So, to assist you this winter, eat for the season. We have a plethora of foods available to us all year round. However modern technologies and importations may leave us with overly processed and nutrient depleted foods. In order to nourish your body this winter you may like to gravitate to FRESH REAL FOODS that are in season. Vegetables could be your best friend to help neutralise that acid residue and start your alkalising process. Your inflammation may subside, your digestion may improve and you may find you have a lot more energy. It takes 20pts of alkaline to digest 1 part of acid. Happy juicing and souping this winter. Make LOVE to vegetables this winter.