 Making changes to get better your health does not have to be overwhelming. Start with these small steps. You can adjust from here to achieve long lasting changes. When I work with clients my emphasis is always to make the changes simple. Take time to breath – really! Breathe through your nose for 5 counts and out for 6. Repeat 5 times. You'll find it calms the mind. Do your food shopping online or stick religiously to a shopping list. This way you avoid those impulse purchases. Eat together as a family. Studies have shown that those who do have better relationships. Plant a seedling( or seeds if you have the patience!) Watch it grow. Nothing difficult. Carrots in a pot, Basil or Oregano on the window sill or a hanging basket of strawberries! Smile! Laugh. Get your silly on. What's the point in being on this planet if not to enjoy, share the moment and SMILE.  Eat slowly and chew properly. The more you chew the better your digestive system will function. Less chewing puts more strain on the whole digestive process. Starting in your stomach. Start your day with Super Foods. Berries, ground flaxseed, cooked greens like spinach, kale, cucumber, nut butters. Sadly, cereal is not going to help you on your road to good health!  Chia Seeds Check your posture. By tilting your hips forward you'll put less strain on your back. When you're sitting at your desk make a conscious effort to drop your chin. It tends to poke out towards your computer screen. This results in a stiff neck. (thanks, to my mom for these wise words!) Detox your fridge. Keep nourishing foods within in easy reach. A little bit of preparation goes a long way. Carrot sticks, cucumber sticks. A tub of hummus and cottage cheese. Plain yoghurt to dip apple or pear slices into. And give your fridge a steam to kill any bacteria lurking about. Add some movement to your day. Have you got time for one song? Your favourite song. Or just turn up the radio and grab your child for a manic 3 minutes of movement.   You first then others.
If you're not well then how can you look after others? Choose wholesome snacks. Ditch the biscuits and snack bars. Sugar is not your friend. Choose nuts, biltong, cheese, vegetable sticks. Drink more water. Aim for 8 glasses per day. For every cup of tea or coffee have a glass of water. Plan your meals. It can make your life so much easier. If you'd like to see the meal plan I have then drop me an email. Start small, take little steps and you will feel motivated and goals will be achievable. How about choosing 3 baby steps? Let me know which ones you've chosen. I'll check in during the coming days to find out how it's going for you... To your baby steps this week... Much happiness Lee I'm so thrilled to be able to share this with you. I hope you find this a useful tool. Something to put on your fridge door or in your diary....   Do you ever wonder if you need a multivitamin? If the answer is Yes, I wonder then ... I can tell you that YES you need one! If your answer is No, I’ve never thought about it, I can tell you that YES you need one! Honestly… do you eat 5-9 servings of fruit and veg each day? I know I don’t. How much is a serving? –
So aiming for just 5 servings, this is what you would need to eat for example… Imagine it –
And here is another example of 5 servings...  That is a lot of fruit and vegetables. So if you’re not eating that quantity or more then you need a multivitamin, no question. Why? Because so much of the food that we eat is nutritionally dysfunctional. The soils are depleted of essential nutrients. The fruits and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides, the processing, packaging and transporting of foods depletes the nutrients further. By the time we have cooked and prepared the food it is very low in nutritional value. Even if you’re going organic you need a multivitamin to fill the gaps.  If you are a green goddess or god and eat wholly organic everything, you probably still need a supplement. Why? Because although you are living clean, the place that we occupy and the lives that we lead mean that we’re living surrounded by pollution and stress. These 2 factors alone have an impact on how your body absorbs and uses nutrients to benefit your body. So YES a multivitamin helps you to perform better. Think of taking a supplement as necessary as a service is for your car. When your car is serviced it runs more efficiently, it burns fuel better and goes further. You will too when you supplement with a multivitamin. Plus when you take a multivitamin you may find that you are
 The Recommended Daily Allowance is established as the MINIMUM amount of each nutrient needed by your body so as not to become deficient. Most low dose multivitamins contain no more than 100% of the RDA. By taking such a multi you can rest assured that you are not likely to get scurvy or beri beri but you probably aren’t going to be performing at the top of your game. If you’re looking to have peak health then consider this; 25mg or more of most B vitamins 800-1000 IU of vitamin D 500mg++ of vitamin C. It’s best to spend a bit more to get a supplement that is going to give you more than just the RDA. Aim to take your multis with food. To get the most out of your multivitamin it is ideal to take it at least twice per day. This will allow for good absorption of the vitamins and minerals Make sure that these ingredients are NOT in your supplement – Sugar, lactose, artificial colours (E#), flavours and non-nutritional binding agents.  This product I first used when I was about 7 or 8 years old. My immune system was very run down and I got boils a couple of times on my bottom – very sore and uncomfortable… Anyway, my mom got me garlic and parsley capsules. I since started using them again about 12 years ago because they help to strengthen the immune system and fight infections. Garlic is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral. It is a must for overall health. Its powerful antioxidant properties help cells to fight against free radicals which can damage them leading to illness and aging. Garlic is also useful in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system. It helps to improve circulation and reduces blood thickening.  It can also help to lower blood pressure by relaxing the muscles in the artery walls. When the muscles are relaxed then the vessels dilate. The force of the blood against the walls is lower because they are not narrowed. It has been studied for its ability to lower cholesterol. There are at least 2 enzymes producing cholesterol in the liver that are stopped by properties in garlic. As a result the making of cholesterol is lowered. This is good news for me because I have a family history of cholesterol. Garlic and parsley are both natural blood cleaners and they help to detoxify our liver and kidneys. How much should you take? Approximately 1 fresh clove and 10 sprigs of parsley Or 2-5mg of garlic oil Or 300-1000mg of garlic extract. If you know of someone who’s looking to bring harmony & health to their life, please share this blog with them.
They'll appreciate it and so will I…  Welcome to Part 2 of What's in my Tablet Box... Meet Zinc, my main mineral!!!! This mineral is an absolute must have in your health box. It is needed in more than 100 enzymes and it is involved in more body functions than any other mineral. It’s also fairly common to be zinc deficient. This is as a result of soil losses and food processing losses. Where do we find zinc? OYSTERS! Red meat and liver. Egg yolks.  The zinc found in animal sources is better absorbed by the body than those sources in plants. It is possible to obtain adequate zinc from plant sources, though. Whole grains are rich in zinc – wheat, rye and oats. Pecan and Brazil nuts contain high amounts of zinc. And pumpkin seeds are considered helpful to the prostate gland. What is Zinc for? Zinc is required for
What does Zinc do? It is involved in many body functions. It aids the liver in detoxifying alcohol but drinking alcohol flushes zinc from the liver. So you’ll need to take extra zinc after you have indulged in those cocktails! Zinc helps the body to use and maintain levels of vitamin A. This action may help to keep healthy skin cells and make new skin cells. In one study of macular degeneration the supplementation of zinc resulted in significantly less vision loss. We all need our eyes so what a good idea to add zinc each day… It is needed in energy production. Do you feel tired and lethargic? Maybe it’s time to up your zinc… Zinc is important to the male sex organ function and reproductive fluids. It is helpful in treating infertility by improving sperm count and motility of the sperm. It helps in digestion. Zinc attaches to over 300 enzymes (structures made of protein that break down other molecules). It is needed by the body to use amino acids from the food we at. It also helps to break down carbohydrates which are a source of energy for the body. It supports immune function. Zinc helps to boost the immune system in fighting the common cold and prevents the progression of viral flu symptoms. It supports insulin activity. This is especially important for people who have diabetes. Zinc binds to insulin. Insulin is stored in the pancreas and is released when glucose enters the bloodstream. Zinc allows digestive enzymes that are needed for insulin to bind to cells so that the glucose in the bloodstream is used by the body for energy and not stored as fat cells. Zinc helps with your taste sensation. A study done with anorexic patients found that by increasing their zinc intake their appetite and taste function improved. Of course there is more to anorexia than just not eating. But by not eating their zinc levels would be low and so they would have a reduced appetite. A vicious circle.  It can speed up recovery time post op. (I’m thinking post C-section, tell your friends who are preggers). Zinc is useful in treating skin problems like acne, dermatitis, bedsores and boils. Teenage acne has been successfully treated with zinc supplementation. If only I had known this when my brother was suffering the worst of acne. He was staying in a back packers at the time and living on baked beans. Nothing wrong with baked beans just not for every meal for every day…. As we grow older the absorption of zinc is reduces as well as our intake. This is because our digestion is not as good as it is when you are younger AND you tend to eat less so there is less nutrition to be gained. When we are pregnant our need for zinc increases. This is probably because we are growing another human who requires zinc too. PMS and using birth control pills are associated with lower zinc levels. Have you ever noticed white flecks on your nails? This could be a sign of low zinc levels. Being under stress causes the body to use more zinc. Have you ever wondered why you have a white tongue? It could be a sign of low zinc levels!! It has also been found to improve behaviour and IQ in children who may be deficient in zinc. There is a product for children called Zinplex. It comes in a liquid form and tastes great. Ask my Boys!!! Both my boys take it from time to time. When I notice that J is getting a cough or post nasal drip then he'll get Zinplex for a few days. When M is teething that usually brings on a snotty nose and I give him Zinplex which seems to stop the runny nose. In two studies, extra zinc was given to Alzheimer’s patients. The improvements in cognition were dramatic. It seems that a deficiency leads to plaque forming and nerve cells being destroyed in the brain tissue. Do you know an older someone? Make sure that they are taking zinc…  How much zinc?
The RDA is 12mg. The average American consumes 10mg. We can safely assume that we also are somewhere close to that number. The result? We’re short on zinc. I use a product called Zinplex. It provides 9.5mg of elemental which means available zinc per 50mg. I take 100mg twice per day. When I’m fighting off a cold or infection then I take 150mg twice per day. A side note… Cadmium is a toxic trace mineral that COPIES Zinc. Ther is no benefit to cadmium and yet it is found in our foods!! Its toxicity is kept under control by zinc. Whole foods have a beneficial ratio of zinc to cadmium. BUT when a food is processed and refined then zinc is removed from the food and cadmium dominates. It is found in coffee, tea, shellfish, sugar, white flour and white rice. Chat soon, Lee If you know of another mom who’s looking to bring harmony & health to her life, please share this with her. She’ll appreciate it and so will I… Click here to get quick meal ideas for your kids |
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