These natural home remedies may be good essentials to have in your home during the next few months, not only because of the COVID-19 spread, but also because it is nearing colder weather which means colds and respiratory viruses will be more common (of course if you do get sick, it is always best to see your GP first, especially with the current situation right now).
Some research suggests that the following can help to treat respiratory viruses that may be responsible for excess mucus:
Berries
Berries contain a flavonoid called anthocyanins, which are beneficial for lung health. Eat berries fresh with yoghurt, on top of cereal or even in salads.
Ginseng
Ginseng is an Asian plant which is very anti-inflammatory. Studies have found it to have a protective effect against acute respiratory illnesses and the potential to reduce the severity and scores of symptoms. You can take ginseng in supplement form or in a tonic.
Guava
Guava is rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium and fibre. Guava has found to be effective for control of different respiratory viruses. Guava is super yummy and sweet and you can eat it fresh.
Echinacea
Echinacea is a plant herb loaded with antioxidants, as well as compounds called alkamides, which further enhance antioxidant activity. Evidence has found that Echinacea can help your immune system fight off respiratory viruses and colds, helping to make the recovery process shorter. Echinacea can be taken in supplement form.
Licorice root
Licorice root helps the body to produce healthy mucus, which helps support the healthy functioning of your respiratory system. You can consume it in the form of tea, which can usually be found at your local health store.
Pomegranate
Pomegranate juice contains potent antioxidant power, as well as being antibacterial and antiviral. You can eat pomegranate fresh by breaking it open and consuming the seeds.
Zinc – take a supplement
Zinc has been shown to stop certain viruses from lodging in the mucus membranes of the throat and nose. You can take zinc in supplement form.
Drink plenty of water at room temperature – not ice cold, as it can make the mucus in your sinuses thicker, and more difficult to pass. A glass of warm water or a cup of tea is a good way to get your water intake in when you’re sick.
(This information is general only. Please speak to your healthcare professional prior to taking multiple new supplements).
How to pack a healthy school lunch box: Cheat sheet
Start the new year with healthy school lunches to keep your children (or you!) energised all day long
Secrets of a Nutritious Balanced Lunchbox:
Unprocessed carbohydrates for energy, vitamins, minerals and fibre
Protein for brain power and to fill them up between meals
Fruit and vegetables (essential!)
Water to keep them hydrated
Snack:
Choose 2 (add fruit or veg daily as one of the options - think quick and easy to eat)
Fresh fruit (chopped or peeled or easy to eat, that doesn’t bruise easily e.g. grapes, strawberries, peeled mandarin, small apple, watermelon slices, blue berries)
Rice crackers and hummus or other dip
Cheese and crackers
Snack container of baked beans with a fork
Popcorn
Corn on the cob
Yoghurt
Cheese wedge
Cherry tomatoes
Baby cucumber
Boiled egg - peeled
Falafels
Meatballs and tomato sauce
Biltong
Main lunch:
Think protein and healthy carbs
Choose 1 different option every day to prevent a monotonous diet and to ensure the rotation of grains
Pesto pasta with nut free pesto and gluten free pasta (remember to pack a fork!)
Sushi
Hummus and salad wrap
Chicken drumsticks and veggie sticks (carrot, cucumber, celery, capsicum, broccoli) and dipping sauce (pesto or tomato sauce or mayo)
Tuna pasta (tuna, capsicum, cucumber, tomato, pasta) - remember the fork!
Think small (you want them to be hungry enough to fill up on the nourishing food)
Bag of crisps
Fruit juice
Chocolate
Natural confectionary snake lolly
Biscuit
Muffin
Cupcake
Piece of cake
Banana bread
Muesli bar
Home baked slice
Note:
Allergies: Most schools have a no nut policy, but if your school doesn't of course nuts make a great snack and peanut butter sandwiches are always popular too!
The Mediterranean diet is a diet that is rich in plant foods, healthy fats and healthy proteins... it's delicious... and good for longevity and vitality...
The New Year is officially here, the festive season binging has now come to an end… and it’s time to awaken the inner warrior, be empowered and confident with your lifestyle choices.
Let’s face it; eating healthy is just downright hard to do these days. We have fast food at every glance, conveniently located and we tend to forget just how bad highly processed food is for our bodies. If you want to reach your weight loss goals or just continue on the healthy straight and narrow, these are some great everyday tips to incorporate into your daily routine.
Step 1: Give yourself some motivational encouragement! Set reminders in your phone, write things on your mirror, change your screensaver to something that gets you pumped, maybe even change your morning alarm tone! Don’t underestimate the power of your mind.
Step 2: Time to do a clean out, get rid of your rubbish food so it isn’t staring at you in the face saying ‘EAT ME… EAT ME NOW’. These are generally your trigger foods after a long hard day and you’ve just lost all interest in cooking or making good decisions.
Step 3: PREP. YOUR. MEALS. If you haven’t been doing this, chances are you are going to get super busy, tired and hangry… leading to again, regretful choices. Make the most of our super healthy, freshly prepared meals.
Step 5: Squeeze in somewhere each day to get your 30 minutes of exercise. Whether it’s a brisk walk after dinner, an intense gym sesh or calming light stretches, just do it! No excuses! This is your time to appreciate yourself. It’s worth every single minute.
Waking up and doing exercise on an empty stomach or a small light snack such a banana or some nuts can improve weight loss. Try high interval training to increase your mitochondria (the bodies energy powerhouse).
Drink a glass of lemon water upon waking, this stimulates your digestive organs producing bile, digestive enzymes and getting things moving.
Try to avoid eating after 7 pm, this should be your time of healing not digesting, a 10 – 12 hour nightly fast is excellent for metabolic processes.
Don’t starve yourself. Your body actually goes into starvation mode and starts storing your energy into fats as a protective mechanism.
Drink your 2L of water. A given I know, however, your body can confuse being hungry with being thirsty. Find it hard to drink so much? Why not diffuse it with fruit or make some iced herbal tea – delicious!
Green tea increases your digestive system functionality, increases detoxification processes and when iced is perfect on a hot summer’s day!
Don’t eat bland food. Add fresh herbs and spices to your dishes so your taste buds are satisfied! Eating healthy is actually really delicious.
Set realistic goals. This is really important, as you don’t want to feel like a failure and give up completely; small weekly goals based on changes instead of weight are a great start.
Invest in a health coach, it can be a great way to really succeed and have consistent support on your health journey. Talk to our nutrition or naturapath to personalise a program just for you!
Remember you may have some setbacks, that’s okay! Get right back up again and figure out what your main triggers are. Take note and put practices in place to avoid that temptation.
Live your life! Don’t forget to live, don’t drown yourself in saying no to everything… life is just too short to appreciate the good things, just do it in small doses. Sooner than later the positive changes you’ve made become a habit and you’ll find you won’t want it anyway.
The main thing is to change your perspective and frame of mind when it comes to diet and lifestyle. Believe that you can and you really will. You can achieve results, you can be confident and you can succeed. Be honest with yourself and accept that changing habits doesn’t happen overnight but it sure doesn’t take as long as you think once you truly commit. It’s one of the toughest, most challenging yet rewarding experiences. You can do it!
Are you coming home from work totally exhausted? Waking up more exhausted than the day before? We have all had that feeling where we think it is impossible to keep going; knowing that we need to go home, cook dinner, clean, get the kids ready for bed, oh and somewhere in-between have a life!
Is it just the way life is? Busy days, little sleep and no time for ourselves to relax? No! There needs to be balance and you truly can make a huge difference with good nutrition and easy tricks to get you there.
(Beyond Good Health Clinics) [image] of chronic fatigue
What are signs and symptoms of fatigue?
Constant feeling of tiredness
Shortness of breath or muscle weakness
Lack of motivation
Concentration and memory recall difficulties
(Wedro, 2015)
Why does your body feel so depleted?
Our bodies can be feeling exhausted for many various reasons, you may have a serious or chronic current health issue, a newborn baby or going through a really stressful time at the moment. Whatever it may be, good nutrition will always optimize health by nourishing and supporting the fundamental biochemical pathways that lead us to be the marvelous walking, talking, living, breathing organism we are!
These pathways require sufficient nutrient intake to ensure synthesis and balance of enzymes, proteins, hormones, neurons, cells, EVERYTHING! Without adequate intakes, you can be tipping over a domino and starting a destructive cascade of physiological events inside your body without even realizing. Every single thingin your body will be rebuilt by what you eat.
If you’re eating unhealthy foods, not getting enough exercise, sleep or relaxation your health will eventually mentally and physically suffer, acutely or chronically - period.
We have over 100 trillion cells working fiercely to keep us going, even more amazing you can times that number by 10 and you get the amount of live bacteria in the human body (Rettener, 2016) – pretty amazing right? You have to give them nourishment to thrive and do their jobs effectively – they will do everything in their power to make sure you, the host, can survive.
Watch this amazing video on immune cells in action –
(Healing, 2014)
Potential causes of fatigue:
Prolonged sympathetic nervous system stimulation (stress and anxiety) subsequently causing insufficient absorption and digestion of food increasing malnutrition
Excessive amounts of high carb and sugar foods
Damage to GIT and dysbiosis of the microbiome
Nutritional deficiencies including insufficient water intake
Toxic build-up in your body (see article here on how to detoxify naturally)
Insufficient sleep (recommended 6 – 8 hours)
Side effects from medications
Here’s the exciting part! You can change your life for the better! Don’t let this overwhelm you, let it inspire you; let it take your breath away at just how wonderful, intricate and purely amazing your body is. Believe in yourself enough that you deserve to be healthy; you deserve to love your body and nourish it and feel good again!
Top 10 Ways To Boost Your Energy!
I really am a huge advocate of this – try your best to cut out the processed foods. Anything that comes in a packet, stay clear. Aim to fill your fridge with a rainbow of local fresh fruit, veg, nuts and meats. Nature has us covered, every whole-food contains an array of nourishing vitamins and minerals that you need to thrive on, aiming to help all of those beautiful pathways work at optimum levels. Don’t have time to cook? Check out our AMAZING healthy meals here.
Aim to eat foods high in your B-Vitamins; they all play an integral part in energy synthesis and metabolism. Great food sources include eggs, salmon, nuts, seeds, dark-leafy greens and organic well-sourced animal liver. (Whitney, 2014) If you are really struggling it might be beneficial to opt for a well-sourced B-vitamin complex.
Increase your magnesium (Mg+) intake; most of us are deficient in Mg+. (Here’s a tester-poke out your tongue in a mirror, if it is shaking chances are you may be Mg+ deficient). Mg+ is Crucial for energy, heart, lung, and immune functionality along with being essential for synthesizing glucose, proteins, fats and structures. It is also vital for neural communication. High in seeds, grains and green-leafy veg.
Antioxidants help detoxify harmful substances, repair and nourish your cells along with promoting damaged cell apoptosis (cell death). Great sources of antioxidants: fresh berries, green tea, turmeric, raw organic cacao and nuts. (Mercola, 2016)
Choose complex carbohydrates and lower your sugars, this includes overindulging in fruits – aim for no more than 2 – 3 serves per day max. Complex carbs are sourced from whole fruits, whole grains, green and starchy vegetables e.g. sweet potato, pumpkin and beetroot. Eat them with a bit of protein and good fats to increase satiety and avoid a high spike in blood glucose.
Cut back on stimulants; caffeine, alcohol, black teas and cigarettes. Over-stimulation of the nervous system can eventually cause our body to burn out. Try an alternative dandelion root coffee, mix it up with herbal teas and if you’re a huge coffee and chocolate person aim for a new goal each week to slowly reduce your intake.
Ensure you are getting enough iron (Fe+) in your diet. Fe+ is essential for transporting oxygen around your body through your blood and absolutely vital for many catalyst enzymatic reactions. Nuts, green-leafy vegetables and red meat are all high in Fe+.
Try our amazing PondWater Mix – I am officially in LOVE with this mix! It has all organic ingredients; chlorella, spirulina, wheat grass, aloe vera and spelt grass. Perfect for alkalizing the body, high in glutathione for repairing gut endothelial lining, rich in nutrients and a great 3 o’clock pick me up.
Probiotic rich foods: Once you have started to take a more clean eating approach it’s time to look into probiotic-rich foods or even a supplement. These gut microbes play an integral role in our body and the immune system, it is absolutely essential we have the right bacteria. Try adding sauerkraut, kimchi, miso or low sugar Kombucha into your diet once daily.
Sleep, rest and relaxation: yes, you know this one – we all do, just DO IT! Find a way to take 10 – 20 minutes each day to just be, ground yourself and appreciate your life. What’s the point of working so hard for it to ruin you? There’s no point. I love deep breathing in the car, shower or right now while I am typing. You are just too important to let stress control you. P.S. if you haven’t already, give meditation a go – it’s a win.
Coconut turmeric chicken with vegetable stir-fry – check it out here
References
Asif, M. (2014, February 21). The prevention and control the type-2 diabetes by changing lifestyle and dietary pattern. PubMed. doi:10.4103/2277-9531.127541
Beyond Good Health Clinics. (n.d.). [image] of chronic fatigue. Retrieved August 03, 2016, from https://www.google.com.au/search?q=fatigue&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCl4Cv8aTOAhUJFZQKHaAxCKAQ_AUICCgB#imgrc=eHYfnUSvUhJwVM%3A
Food Standards, Australian and New Zealand. (2010). Retrieved from NUTTAB: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/nutrientables/nuttab/Pages/default.aspx
Healing, S. C. (Director). (2014). Your Immune System under a microscope. [Motion Picture]. Retrieved August 03, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPIzIznmAO0
Mercola, D. (2016). The Ultimate Guide to Antioxidants. Retrieved August 3, 2016, from http://articles.mercola.com/antioxidants.aspx
Rettener, R. (2016, March 10). The Human Body: Anatomy, Facts & Functions. Live Science. Retrieved July 27, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/37009-human-body.html
Wedro, B. M. (2015, March 02). Fatigue. Retrieved July 27, 2016, from http://www.medicinenet.com/fatigue/article.htm
Whitney, E. R.-S. (2014). Understanding Nutrition, Australian and New Zealand, 2nd Edition. South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3205: CENGAGE Learning.
