The little organs that sit on top of your kidneys called the adrenal glands have the major role of managing your body's stress response. When you experience stress, your fight or flight mechanism gets activated which makes your eyes dilate, your heart race, your face flush, and your palms sweat. This system is literally preparing your body to fight or flee. It expends energy, increases heart rate, and causes blood to flow to the muscles in preparation to run away. This is meant to be an acute response, meaning it should only last in the short-term. The problem is that, in our modern world, we are faced with constant stressors. And consistent, chronic exposure to this kind of stress and adrenaline can wreak havoc on your body. Specifically, it’s our adrenals which take a big hit, leading to issues related to adrenal overdrive or burnout. In today's post, I give you the signs and symptoms to look out for that your adrenals need some love, as well as walk you through the steps of healing adrenal dysfunction using nutrition, supplements/herbs and lifestyle techniques.
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CBD (aka cannabidiol) is the new kid on the block getting tons of attention for its benefits on sleep, stress, pain, anxiety, inflammation and more. Despite all the buzz, there is still a bit of confusion around what it is, where it comes from, what its used for, if it's legal, safe, etc. In this post, I fill you in on everything you need to know about CBD, plus a delicious way to use it... CBD Bliss Balls!
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Mid-morning and mid-afternoon can be particularly challenging during the work-day. My clients tell me that these times are usually when they feel tired, bored, fidgety, frustrated, stressed and often get the urge to snack (even when they’re not hungry). One of my go-to suggestions is to get up from your desk and make a cup of tea. By choosing one that offers stress-relieving benefits, this ritual becomes even more productive! Fve medicinal teas for helping you cope with stress are up on the blog!
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I want to get something clear right off the bat - there is nothing wrong with stress eating and you should not feel guilty or shameful for having a craving to munch when you're stressed. It's actually quite normal. Instead of judging yourself for your stress-induced cravings, I recommend investigating your trigger by stopping yourself en route to the pantry to ask the question: “what do I really need in this moment?” You may find that what your body truly needs is not food at all. Rather, it is some form of self-care, like a walk outside, a nap, a hot shower or a chat with your mom. These acts of self care all serve as ways to reduce stress that don’t involve putting something in your mouth. But if you decide that you don't need any of these things and consciously choose to satisfy your craving with food, click the button below for my tips to make satisfying your craving a calm and relaxed experience, along with the 10 best snacks to nosh on.
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Let’s talk about hormones. Those über-important chemical messengers affect many aspects of our health and we wouldn’t be able to live without them. When our hormones are regulated, we feel great–stable mood, lots of natural energy, healthy weight, good sex drive and beautiful skin and hair. But when they get out of balance, it can cause many unpleasant symptoms and lead to health issues down the road. Some common signs of hormone imbalance are fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, brain fog, anxiety, sugar cravings and low libido. Any of these sound familiar? If so, click the button below for my top 10 tips for balancing your hormones using food as medicine.
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Things like ashwagandha, reishi, maca and are making their way into lattes and smoothies at the trendy health-food cafes. You may have heard of a few of these before but not totally sure what the deal is. Well, they are adaptogens -- plant medicines that protect our bodies from the harmful effects of stress while supporting overall health. Sounds pretty good, right? There are lots of different adaptogens, each with its own set of special skills. I wrote a comprehensive guide to the most popular adaptogens over on Hello Glow. You may find a few that really speak to you in which case you should give them a try! There is almost no downside and lots of upside to being better equip to handle all the stresses life throws your way!
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Mushrooms are a delicious food to incorporate into your healthy diet. While button, cremini, portobello and oyster mushrooms are all great, there are a group of medicinal mushrooms that go above and beyond in terms of health benefits. These mushroom superfoods do amazing things for your brain, hormones, energy, mood and immune system so it's no wonder they're starting to pop up in coffee, tea, smoothies, elixirs, chocolate, etc. To learn more about these six special fungi, click the button below to be taken to my blog post at Hello Glow.
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Ancient Ayurvedic wisdom teaches us that living in accordance with the natural rhythms of nature will lead to flow and ease. Living out of sync with these rhythms can cause disruptions in our bodies, such as indigestion, bowel irregularities, hormonal fluctuations and difficulty sleeping. The 24-hour day is broken down into six 4-hour cycles, each with its own optimal activities. The cycle I'm honing in on in today's post is our natural sleep-wake cycle, which is ideally 10pm - 6am. I've explained this in more detail in the post, along with discussing five of the most common sleep issues either I've experienced personally or hear from my clients. I've given you the action steps for how to fix these issues, plus a handful of deep sleep tips, to help you start getting more restorative sleep tonight!
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It’s likely that you’ve heard about the detrimental effects of the stress hormone cortisol. Elevated cortisol levels and chronic stress can affect every physiological system in your body. It can make you tired, anxious and irritable; lead to weight gain, bone loss, high blood pressure, insomnia and digestive issues; and contribute to diabetes and heart disease risk.
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Let’s face it – most of us feel like we’re experiencing some level of stress in our lives at the moment. Whether it’s family, work, financial or physical stress, our bodies are under some form of stress on a daily basis. While some stress is a good thing - it’s what gets you out of bed in the morning and motivates you be a productive person – many of us are feeling too much stress too often or for too long which puts us at risk for various health conditions.
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In life, we can choose to move with or against the current of nature’s natural rhythms. Our daily rhythms and hormonal fluctuations are tied to the cycles of nature and, when these are all in sync with each other, life seems a lot easier because you'll be 'going with the flow.'
According to Ayurveda, the stress of living against these natural cycles is a fundamental violation of healthy living. Living in sync with nature’s cycles is a powerful lifestyle tool to de-stress the body and mind and feel like you're in the flow of things.
Ayurveda suggests that, in nature, there are two 12-hour cycles that are each divided into three smaller cycles.
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If you struggle finding comfort during your "lady holiday" (as I just recently heard it referred), perhaps try some of the below natural remedies which I learned from my Ayurvedic doctor in India, as well as through reading Maya Tiwari's book, Women’s Power to Heal Through Inner Medicine.
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I recently attended a seminar by Dr Sherrill Sellman who is a Naturopath and a doctor of Integrative Medicine. She is one of the leading voices in women's holistic health and wellness and travels the world lecturing on topics related to hormonal health. Dr Sellman is the author of Hormone Heresy: What Women MUST Know About Their Hormones and What Women MUST Know to Protect their Daughters from Breast Cancer.
Keen to gobble up any and all information regarding women's hormones, I was thrilled to hear that Dr Sellman was coming to Sydney and eagerly bought a ticket to attend her lecture titled 'Getting Hormones on Track.' She did a fantastically informative two hour talk on which I furiously took notes. (Old habits die hard!) Here is a bit of a recap of what I learned.
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Whether you're a snow bunny or a sun worshiper, we all feel the effects of the cold, heavy, damp, cloudy weather during winter in our bodies and minds. We spend less time outside getting sun on our skin and more time curled up under blankets in hibernation mode. This is completely natural considering the days are shorter and everything in winter slows down, including our bodies. As a particularly cold and dry person myself, I have to take extra care in winter to avoid further aggravation of these qualities and maintain my health. Even if you find that your body responds well to the colder temps outside, everyone can benefit from keeping an eye on these qualities to prevent colds, flu, sore throats, congestion, and other respiratory problems. The key to health in winter is ensuring the body’s lymphatic and circulatory systems are working efficiently. If you’re feeling a little less-than-awesome, try one or some of these winter remedies:
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