Cold, dark and feeling down

Waking up in the dark and getting home in the dark can have major effects on our mood but also our overall health. Recently, I’d been feeling a little low, run down and not my usual bouncy self. While we can all have need for a quieter day, I noticed that the sluggish feeling was hanging around longer and my usual cheerfulness was missing.

I had a kinesiology session which showed I was struggling with a virus but also low serotonin levels. This surprised me as I had recently returned from a holiday to Thailand with plenty of sunshine, however on our return the change to darker, colder days was extremely noticeable. To be fair I also had a minor operation under a general anaesthetic which had also affected my body and mind. I was very grateful to have a good balancing session with kinesiology and felt much better over the next few days. I also gave into resting a little more as I felt I needed to help my body reset and recharge.

A good kinesiologist will check you not only for Vitamin D in these winter months but also folate and B12 as well as other minerals to ensure your body has the best balance. I am a firm believer that we need to give ourselves a helping hand with nutritional supplements, with different vitamins and minerals needed at different times of the year depending on our circumstance.  We often just need a boost for a few months of a particular one which is sufficient to top up your natural levels. I am currently taking FolaPro by NutriAdvanced (£15.95 for 60 tablets, 1 a day) and  Vitamin D3 from Neal’s Yard Remedies (£12.50 for 60 tablets, take 1 a day).

Shorter days, darker mornings and a lack of sunlight can directly impact our body’s endocrine glands and result in feeling tired, lacklustre and experiencing a low mood. The endocrine glands are the master glands of your body controlling your hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal & adrenal glands to name a few, essentially, they are in charge of sending messages to the brain and controlling our hormone levels and body functions. Serotonin and melatonin are the ones you will hear of frequently. Serotonin levels affect our mood, sleep and memory as well as impacting on our behaviour, while melatonin relates to the pineal gland the body’s natural circadium rhythm (natural body clock) which helps us distinguish light and dark, day and night and helps us want to sleep at night.

When these are out of balance through stress, mental tension, travelling or anything to upset our natural body clock, we can struggle to fall asleep or indeed to stay awake. I have always been a believer of a bedtime routine, factoring in 30-60 mins per night for me to unwind and switch off. Admittedly this is easier than for some as I don’t have children, however even 5 mins to yourself to put the iphone, switch off the tv and just have a few quiet moments before getting into bed will help. After all, we do this for children every night so why not ourselves? Our poor bodies are just not used to having an abrupt ‘sleep now’ message given to them, and like all good machinery need time to close the files, switch off and recharge.  You can find out more about this during my Sleep and Relaxation workshops.

Alongside this advice, one extra area of support I would not be without during Autumn and Winter is my Lumie Bodyclock. It’s a gorgeous SAD light therapy, aromatherapy diffuser, natural alarm clock. Although I must admit I rarely use the alarm as I set the ‘sunrise’ and uplifting aroma for 30 minutes to naturally wake me up before the need for an alarm. The Lumie is designed to support your natural body clock, allow you to gently wake up through the REM, deep and light sleep cycles, and help you slowly switch off at night. The sunrise and sunset light settings plus two aromatherapy diffuser chambers allow you to control your wake up and relaxation cycles. The Lumie has two separate chambers to make it easy to automatically switch from morning to evening essential oil blends. If you order this through me, I can give you £25 worth of free essential oils to help you unwind, relax and awaken refreshed.

Check out the advice from MIND, the mental health charity on how to manage Seasonal Affective Disorder:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Have a kinesiology session to check for any underlying health imbalance, vitamin and mineral deficiencies
  • Don’t try to do too much, go through your diary and cross out any non-essential times that you can just rest in
  • Create a bedtime routine to switch off. Unplug the technology, take some deep breaths, do a couple of stretches and settle your mind. Write down any ‘to do’ list items, read a fluffy book to switch off or have a warm bath.
  • Consider getting yourself a Lumie Bodyclock. Yes it can seem like an expense, but to be honest I would gladly pay 5 times the price to get my happiness and energy back. It really does work wonders.

I hope these help. Do let me know what else has helped you in these Autumnal months and get in touch if you’d like a kinesiology session to help find out exactly what you need.

 

STRESS AND ADRENAL FATIGUE

SHERBORNE TIMES – JULY EDITION p.96

 

Have you ever been really looking forward to a day off or a holiday and then come down with a cold on the first day? It just doesn’t seem fair. However this is our body, or more specifically our adrenal glands, waving a red flag.

Our adrenal glands sit on top of our kidneys and help the body react to stress alongside regulating cortisol, adrenaline and hormones. They are involved in the fight or flight syndrome releasing the stress management cortisol and action-stations adrenaline to flood through our bodies ready for battle. Unfortunately, they cannot tell if it is a true emergency or just another deadline at work.

 

As someone who suffered with glandular fever and then M.E. for over 8 years, I’ve spent a fair amount of time unconsciously using and depleting my adrenals. I often picture them as a hamster in a wheel, desperately peddling away but not really going anywhere. When it comes to the end of the current stress they collapse with fatigue and our true energy state is revealed.

Adrenal problems show in two ways: exhausted and burnt out, or hyper stressed and running on adrenaline. They can even be a mixture of both, for example running on adrenaline all week and then feeling burnt out and exhausted at the weekend. Stress is a very moden word but the symptoms are wide ranging including fatigue, lowered immune function, digestive discomfort, anxiety or depression, blood sugar problems, sleep difficulties, memory problems, hormone disruption and weight gain.

We see children and teenagers struggling with stress and can see the mental exhaustion it brings but just witnessing their behaviour at the beginning of summer holidays: lots of outpouring of emotion and need for sleep. Their minds and bodies are overtired and need to switch off and recuperate.

So, what can we do to help?

I’m not going to suggest we all quit our jobs and live on a beach, but I am going to suggest we become aware of how we feel and allow ourselves to take charge of our thoughts and actions. If you feel like you’re juggling too many things, find a prioritisation technique that works for you. If you find negative thoughts take over, try Bach Flower remedies which are marvellous at allowing us to think our usual thoughts but stop the emotions flooding our body with hormones. Useful supplements including B vitamins, essential for energy production and vitamin C for our immune system. Create time for yourself to relax. Write down those pesky items that remain on the to do list. Curl up with a frivolous book or have a gossip with some friends. Enjoy a relaxing wind down routine to help you enter a deep sleep to recharge.

What’s the biggest challenge? Letting go of being a perfectionist. We can’t control everything, we can only control our reactions. Changing our thought patterns and behaviour takes time but techniques like Neuro Linguistic Programming, Emotional Freedom Technique and hypnotherapy can be helpful.

Over the summer, I would love for you to take a moment to check in to see how you are truly feeling.  Whether you are a child, stressed employee, busy parent or active retiree, take a moment to breathe and tune into your body. Allow yourself some down time, mix up the routine and let your mind and body recharge. We can only ever do our best and that is good enough.

supplements-infographic

WHY DO WE NEED TO TAKE VITAMINS AND MINERALS?

Last week, I was invited to give a talk to the Butterfly course at StudioBelle last sharing some basic information about vitamins and minerals and when you might need them. I’m sharing some of the highlights below in the hope it helps you understand when and why you might need a nutritional top-up.

 

 

 

WHY AND WHEN TO USE THEM

Supplements – they literally supplement and complement your life style. Use them as a top-up to help maintain optimum vitamin and mineral levels.

 

BUT WHY WOULD YOU NEED A TOP UP?

Always times when our body needs a helping hand. Whether it be knowing there are lots of germs flying around and reaching for the Vitamin C and Echinacea, or knowing that you’re juggling multiple things and need an energy boost with some vitamin B.

Mineral and vitamin levels in foods have decreased over the years hence rise in organic farming. Selenium for example is a mineral previously abundant but now virtually untraceable in soil used to grow your vegetables.

Eating a healthy rainbow diet full of protein, fruit and vegetables is a great way to kick start your health. Increasing your water intake (yes I know you must hear it all the time but as our body is made up of 70% water it is rather vital!) is a great way of maintain healthy cells.

Fun fact: did you know that you can survive for a few weeks without food but only a few days without water?

 

vitamins-with-food

ARE THEY ALL THE SAME?

Unfortunately not – that would make life too easy!

To ensure you get the maximum benefit and cost efficiency, try to look for the purest form available, ideally in a food soluble variety to allow maximum absorption. This may mean a change from your traditional high street brands but I am confident you will see a difference.

I recommend 5 high quality companies:

Neals Yard     Cytoplan       Nutri Advanced     Metabolics       BioCare

Very happy to help you choose the best supplements for you, just contact me.

 

WATCH OUT FOR:

There are some ‘fillers’ that are best to watch out for:

  • Bulking agents – to top up the content of the pills or capsules
  • Binders – used to stick ingredients together in a tablet
  • Anti-caking agents – to stop the ingredients clogging up machines
  • Carriers – to maintain a powder consistency
  • Coatings – to make swallowing easy
  • Preservatives – to save ingredients from spoiling
  • Emulsifiers – to bind water to fats
  • Colours – to look more appealing to the consumer
  • Flavours – to alter the taste, even in tablets that are swallowed whole
  • Sweeteners – to add flavour. Look for words ending in -“ose”

 

SO WHAT I SHOULD USE FOR HOW I AM FEELING?

Below is a little list I’ve created to give you an idea of the vitamins and minerals that often show up with these conditions. It’s not an exhaustive list but hopefully it gives you an idea of what to look for. Please note, I am not recommending you take all of them, but do some research yourself and have a think about which elements you feel would be appropriate. Also please do check with a health practitioner if you have a pre-existing medical condition or are taking medication.

Want to know what could help you? Kinesiology can help you with nutritional testing, assessing your body and identifying areas  that could do with some support. If you would like to have your vitamin and mineral levels checked with Kinesiology testing, do get in touch.

 

BASIC HEALTH:

Good starting point: Multi mineral and vitamins, fish oils

STRESSFUL LIVES:

Vit B, zinc

‘Adrenal support ‘ (B5, selenium, chromium, kelp) NB: Do not take additional B vitamins with this

TIREDNESS:

B vits

Adrenal support

Fish oils with Co Q10 (for energy)

PMS

Calcium

B6

Magnesium

Maca powder

Herbal: Agnus Castus

IBS SYMPTOMS:

Probiotics

Digestive enzymes

Avoid trigger foods

FEELING LOW:

Vit D

Fish Oils

Multi min and vit
Selenium

SUGAR CRAVINGS

Vit C

Chromium

Tapping and positive statements e.g. I feel better if I eat healthier food.

MENOPAUSE:

Multi (B,C E)

Calcium

Vit D

Fish Oils

Co Q10 (for energy)

Herbal:

Black cohosh

St Johns Wort

Aromatherapy Womens Balance

OVERINDULGING OVER XMAS:

Digestive enzymes

Vit B for energy

Vit C and zinc for immune system

Milk thistle for to help your liver!

 

 

 Health disclaimer: this is general advice please do consult with a health practitioner if you have any existing medical condition or are on medication.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I’m a bit odd as I seriously LOVE the adrenal glands! As someone who unconsciously abused and depleted them for years, I’m more in tune with their protest signs these days and do try to help them and switch off when I can.

Here’s a beautiful article on how to naturally fuel your body to balance your hormones and support your adrenals.

I love the writers closing sentence that she felt like a ‘moral failure’ with adrenal fatigue symptoms because she’s a Doctor! I remember hearing that my Kinesiologist was unwell once and I thought the earth had stopped spinning – how could she possibly be unwell when she lived such a healthy lifestyle? Then I remembered: she was human. Just like the rest of us.

We can only do ever our best. We are not infallible but if we can try to do something to help our body every day rather than just stress it further, then give yourself a big high five!

adrenals balance homromne mind body green

Years of battling with glandular fever, M.E. and then my stubborness to work and play as hard as a ‘normal’ 20something in London meant my poor adrenals never really got they support they needed and I was definitely tired but wired. I was constantly burnt out, had a ‘faulty battery charger’ where sleep never fully refreshed me and ironically struggled to switch off and get a good nights sleep. I now understand I was too wired to sleep. My adrenals were in overdrive, my hormones (and periods) disrupted and I was stuck on a loop de loop rollercoaster.

Having thought I had recovered from M.E. I was disappointed to think I was only ever going to be at 70% energy levels UNTIL I started to LISTEN to how I was feeling. Over the course of a few months (ahem, really years), I headed all the lifestyle advice and started to pay attention to my diet. I didn’t just feed my body plaster food such as caffeine and chocolate to keep going but slowly introduced healthier, slow release snacks (humous, carrots and rye bread were a favourite).

Here’s some really helpful advice on what to fuel your body with to give your adrenals a break (or a big hug to say thanks for keeping me going).

Enjoy x