So we use the term “I slept like a baby” to mean we had a good nights sleep…ok so not my babies at the moment that’s for sure! We have gone through about three weeks of disturbed nights, I think due to the 4-month sleep regression and the onset of teething…yay!…but I really started to struggle with the lack of sleep I was getting…so what better time than to do an article all about sleep!?

Sleep is incredibly important as it is a time for your body, particularly your brain, to cleanse and repair. I am sure you notice how much better you feel, not to mention, how much nicer a person you are, after a good kip! I know nearly everything and everyone irritates me and I find myself crying in the shower if I don’t get my sleep…can you relate!?

At least 6-8 hours a night is recommended, as losing sleep ages you and decreases brain plasticity (the ability of your brain to adapt and change by making new neural connections), thereby causing cognitive impairment (difficultly remembering, learning, making decisions, concentrating etc).

Studies have shown that going 17-19 hours without sleep (5-7-hour sleep cycle in 24 hours) is equivalent to an alcohol breathalyser reading of 0.05, which is the legal limit to drive here in Australia!

So many of us, however, struggle to get enough quality sleep each night with the day-to-day stresses, commitments and obligations we must fulfil.

I appreciate, being a new mother of twins, that frequent waking’s in the night may also be unavoidable. As I mentioned, I have certainly experienced a decrease in cognition and heightened emotions these past few months with the birth of my boys.

As hard as it may be to think of yourself in these times, or when work deadlines and commitments are calling you, I truly believe this is THE most important time to take note and give yourself a break. I always say…”you can’t pour from an empty cup”…so make sure to keep topping yours up!

I know I am a better mother and wife, if I give myself 15 minutes for a bath before bed, with some candles and soft music…and my body feels so much better doing the odd few minutes of stretching and twisting of my spine throughout the day, after all the breastfeeding and baby carrying. Heck I even like myself more too!

If you don’t take the odd few minutes where you can, whether you are a busy mother, or a busy person for other reasons, then things just mount up to a point where your body won’t be able to sustain proper function. This could mean you get sick, or you may even experience a mental breakdown or burn yourself out. Should it get to this state, the choice will be taken away from you and you will be forced to rest…plus it will take you even longer to get your health back on track.

Keep pushing your limits and you put yourself at higher risk of Alzheimer’s, some cancers, heart problems, blood pressure issues, blood sugar issues, and stroke.

OK, so I have you convinced you need sleep, but how do you get that sleep and increase its quality!?

Well, most importantly…you cannot go from a stressful day, to being on social media or watching TV, then go to bed and expect your brain to be able to turn off and go to sleep.

If you have kids you know the importance of a bedtime routine, so why should it be any different for you?

I advise my clients to give themselves at least 30 mins to wind down before bed (ideally 60-90 minutes) and to develop a routine that they do each night in this time, so their body “gets programmed” into knowing its bedtime.

For example, my bedtime routine starts with putting on some calming tunes like Reiki Healing or similar, brushing my teeth, dry body brushing, having a shower or Epsom salt bath, self-massage applying my body lotion or doing my galvanic spa, and 5-10 minutes of stretching. Then I am all set to get into bed and do some mindful breathing exercises as I drift off to sleep.

What’s your routine going to be?

Here are my top 15 tips to a better nights sleep that may help you. You will also notice that what happens in your day and your environment, can impact your sleep too…

1. Ensure you get bright sunlight in your mornings – this helps to set your circadian rhythm in place right from the start of the day (if you are a shift worker make sure you have all the lights on!)
2. Limit caffeine intake during the day (particularly after about 2pm as it may affect your circadian rhythm by spiking cortisol) – I don’t recommend anymore than 2 coffees a day max – if you are a big coffee drinker and it no longer affects you, then maybe you need to consider weaning yourself off it. Caffeine blocks your adenosine receptors, which help slow neural activity and increase blood vessel dilation, thereby affecting oxygenation of the brain and sleep quality.
3. Get some exercise – preferably outdoors in nature. Doesn’t have to be much, a 20-30 minute walk is fine, dance around the house whilst vacuuming or brushing your teeth, stretching in front of the TV…whatever floats your boat!…just get moving!
4. Get a massage – this not only releases physical tensions and stresses but will help support your mental health, immunity and circulation
5. Avoid bright lights in the evening – I like to use salt lamps for a low, warm light (and decreased fire hazard!)
6. Avoid stimulating screen time (nothing that makes you want “just one more” episode!)
7. Set your ipad/phone’s brightness to change automatically in the evening – just a flash of blue light from your phone reduces melatonin by 60%! Better still…make after 8pm a phone/device-free time!
8. Consider investing in a pair of “blue blocker glasses” that block blue and green wavelengths of light (those from TrueDark or SafetyBlue block both these wavelengths – the “less-stylish” wrap around styles are the best, as these avoid light entering from the sides of the lens)
9. Drink a calming bedtime tea (valerian, lemon balm, chamomile, passionflower) – if really struggling talk to your Herbologist about trying Kava.
10. Consider a bed time snack of protein and fat, or carbohydrate and fat (experiment to see what works for you as different metabolisms benefit from different food sources – this could work if blood sugar is your issue – e.g. half green apple and peanut butter, hummus and celery with hemp seeds, chicken leg and avocado, raw cacao avocado mousse and Brazil nuts
11. Diffuse some lavender and frankincense in your bedroom – I also love doTerra’s Lavender Peace, which helps to reduce anxiety …and Easy Air, which helps respiration and makes you feel calm and clear
12. Play some 432Hz miracle frequency music whilst you are getting ready for bed
13. Turn off your Wi-Fi router before bed, and remove all electronics from your room to reduce EMFs
14. Turn your phone to aeroplane mode before you close your eyes for sleep
15. Get blackout curtains and ensure there are no lights from clock radios etc in your bedroom – an eye mask can be used if on a budget or travelling

Done all the above and still struggling!? Then don’t waste any more time!

You more than likely know of the mental stress and active mind that may be keeping you up at night, but there are many other reasons why you aren’t getting enough ‘Z’s.

You may be struggling with any number of things, including:

• Poor gut health leading to low melatonin (sleep hormone) production
• Physical stress from aches and pains
• Chemical stress from your environment or from imbalances in the body
• Inflammation
• Blood sugar imbalances
• Parasites – these often get active in the early hours and release their waste products and toxins causing early waking
• Mold toxicity
• Poor neurotransmitter function e.g. low GABA
• Copper toxicity (more info on this to come in an alternative blog, but if you have been on hormonal birth control at all it is incredibly likely you are copper toxic)
• Low or bio-unavailable magnesium
• Slow oxidation state

…all which impact your quality of shut eye.

So! Book in for an obligation free chat with me where I can go through your options and recommend some lab testing for you based on your personal struggles. Let’s investigate what’s happening on a deeper level with you!

We all neeeeeed sleep! …and I want you to get some great restorative sleep so that you can always …feel good from your core!

Are you getting stiffer by the day…decreased range of motion and flexibility?

You likely need some fascial release, or more specifically myofascial release.

Fascia is fibrous connective tissue that forms between muscles and internal organs. Myofascia being that related specifically to muscles.

It’s quite similar to when you peel an orange…there is an outer skin, a fibrous white pith, and the juicy segments each separated by more fibrous tissue. It is this fibrous tissue that is like the fascia between our muscle fibres and the muscles themselves.

Each night when we sleep and the body repairs, new fibres are laid down between our muscles. If too many fibres build up over time this can prevent the glide between the muscles. It may also build up more in some areas than others and so have a distorting pull effect on the muscles.

This also happens if we remain in our poor postural positions, and/or do lots of repetitive movement; our fascia adapts and this becomes the new norm. The same is true if we become injured, hence why you can lose range of motion if you don’t keep working and stretching the site. If left this is when we develop trigger points…those sore spots that when active, refer pain to various regions of your body.

All this decreases our flexibility and range of motion, as well as increases pain and inflammation.

Morning stretch routines can help prevent this, as can frequent foam rolling sessions…if done right! Think slow and steady, stop and hold on any particular tight, sore bits, and take some deep breaths to help release. Better still, book a Remedial Massage with myofascial release.

Start and end your day with some stretches and mobilisations:

Circles with your shoulders,
Bring your shoulders all the way forward then retract them all the way back and repeat,
Turn your head from side to side, lower one ear at a time to the shoulder, look down to the floor and up at the sky,
Do circles with your hips and drop one hip down and then the other and repeat,
Bend forward and touch your toes, stretch out the hamstrings,
Rotate your torso keeping your hips straight,
Sit in a chair and put your foot on the opposite knee and push the elevated knee down then rotate your body to the same side,
Stretch out your pectorals in a doorway,
Do circular motions with your spine clockwise and counter-clockwise,
Some down dogs, and some cat cows.

AND book a regular massage!!! You should be having a massage at least every month! Especially in this modern world where we spend a lot of our time sitting in a similar position day and night.

This will not only help your fascia but will help boost your circulation, immune system, reduce stress and inflammation, and prevent pain and injury.

Book yours today!

Image source: http://www.remedybarre.com

When we have hormone imbalances, often we will get prescribed synthetic hormones to “level us out”

The problem is that by doing this the body thinks there is enough of that hormone and so it stops producing it, thereby causing an increased malfunction, which can lead to long-term negative effects and imbalances.

If we have difficulty metabolising or clearing our hormones effectively, then this effect can be even worse.

Often hormones are prescribed as creams. The doses of which are hard to monitor and much of the hormone actually gets stored in our fat deposits making us more toxic.

Synthetic hormones like those in the contraceptive pill also cause copper toxicity and affect the body’s levels of vitamin and minerals; namely zinc, B vitamins and magnesium. Ironically these nutrients are required to metabolise hormones properly…and so the problem escalates.

Unfortunately, what we are now seeing far too often, and what many of my clients present with, is a whole heap of hormone imbalance symptoms such as fertility issues, heavy, irregular, or painful menstrual cycles, PCOS, endometriosis, acne (and not always when we are just a teenager), indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, vaginal dryness, sore boobies, osteoporosis (brittle bones), hot flashes, night sweats, unexplained weight gain, anxiety, irritability, we might lose our sex drive, suffer from unexplained or excessive sweating, develop excess hair in areas we didn’t expect until our 90’s! Seriously! It’s not fun!

Many of us have been on contraceptive pills since we developed acne in our early teens, even before we were sexually active! They were prescribed as a medication to help clear the skin. We then stayed on them for over 15 years until our early 30’s when we finally found a decent guy, had our careers in place, and were ready to start a family. Then month after month goes by…still not pregnant…

Our bodies are totally out of balance, yet the medical professions answer is often to supply even more synthetic hormones.

When does it stop?

Why aren’t we trying to fix the lack of hormone production in the first place?

Our bodies are designed to keep us functioning at our very best. We have various mechanisms in place to help it do so, and keep it in a state of ease, or balance known as homeostasis. But the body can only work with what it has. If we don’t give it the right ingredients, have a congested liver, dysfunctional gut, and high toxic burden, then it is going to have to compensate somehow.

Some ideas are included below:

1. Good nutrition:
   • First need a well functioning gut to be able to digest and assimilate the nutrients we eat
   • Eat wholefoods i.e. foods that are in their natural state
   • Eat good fats like cold-pressed organic avocado and extra-virgin olive oil, cold-pressed organic coconut oil (or expeller-pressed if you dislike the flavour), activated nuts and seeds, and oily wild-caught fish like sardines and red salmon – dietary fats, and cholesterol are in-fact cofactors for making your hormones, so these are incredibly important!
   • Eat quality grass-fed, pasture-raised animal protein
   • Avoid inflammatory foods like processed food, soy, regular dairy, gluten, refined carbs, sugar, alcohol, caffeine
   • Eat lots of veggies – think the rainbow. Best eaten blanched or steamed and with some good fats to better absorb the nutrients.

2. Adequate rest:
   • 8 hours of undisturbed sleep
   • Bed before 10:30
   • Don’t over exert yourself i.e. listen to your body

3. The right amount of exercise
   • At least 20-30 minutes daily where you are working hard enough you can’t maintain a conversation
   • Stretching to maintain flexibility and aid circulation

4. Reducing toxins:
   • Eat organic where possible or wash fruits and veg in apple cider vinegar and water
   • Choose natural personal and cleaning products
   • Eat foods rich in antioxidants (blueberries, raspberries, spinach, kale, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, oranges, butternut squash)

5. Reducing stress:
   • Mental – mindfulness and mediation
   • Physical – regular massage, chiro, physio, get those aches and pains sorted
   • Chemical – (see reducing toxins)

This is a brief overview.

If you need further guidance a great place to start is with my online Feel Good from Your Core Program, which is launching soon. To find out more email bookings@corehealthclinic.com with “Tell me about your program!” in the subject line.

If you want to know for sure what’s going on with your hormones then functional lab testing is a far more advanced method than the regular blood test you may get at your doctor.

Dried urine testing (DUTCH) can show us how you are using and metabolising your hormones, so we can actually see why you are suffering the way you are and develop more targeted treatments.

For more info book your free consultation here.

How many people are sick at the moment!? I mean seriously! I was thinking myself so lucky not catching anything…until one morning I woke with the dreaded razor blade throat! Even the healthiest of us can get sick on occasion but the difference is…we recover so much quicker!

My daily nutrition includes lots of immune boosting nourishing, anti-inflammatory foods with lots of veggies, no dairy (accept now I am pregnant…I have goat milk yogurt on occasion to help boost my calcium and probiotics), limited gluten (spelt sourdough on the weekends or sprouted grain bread), no refined sugar…

…oh on that point get this juicy finding…

Consuming 8 tablespoons of sugar (equivalent to one 12-ounce can of soda) can reduce the ability of your white blood cells to destroy invading pathogens by 40%, according to the Environmental Law Centre of the United Kingdom. The immune-suppressing effect may begin within 30 minutes of ingestion and last for up to 5 hours! I always say refined sugar is the devil!

…and immune boosting supplements like natural forms of Vitamin C (e.g. camu camu), reishi, broccoli sprouts, glycine, DHA, zinc, and a medicinal mushroom blend, to help support my body.

However! As I said even the healthiest of us can get sick…often when we are pushing ourselves a little too hard, and when we aren’t getting enough sleep (which was what I was doing!). We are then forced to rest. I love how the body has ways of making you do what is needed…hopefully you listen and heal well!

So…what is it I do when I get sick…Sudafed, Strepsils, and cough syrup? HELL NO!!! As soon as I feel something coming on I gargle the colloidal silver (1 tbsp morning and night) and swallow…

Before antibiotics, silver was used in medicine, recognised for it’s antimicrobial properties. Silver can be toxic if used regularly however, so I don’t recommend this be your regular go to if you are someone that gets sick often (I would be recommending you get your diet and gut checked out, which I can help you with if interested in knowing more). Wellness Mama has a great blog about silver that you can read here.

…I get on the olive leaf extract…tastes fowl as a liquid medicine (better absorbable form if you can handle it…and great for a sore throat gargle…but I sometimes wimp out and opt for the capsules!)

Research suggests that olive leaf extract may reduce the infectivity and inhibit the replication of viruses that cause colds, influenza and lower respiratory tract infections. It has also been shown to stimulate phagocytosis, which may enhance the body’s response to a viral infection.

…I make a conscious effort to get out in the sun for my vitamin D…granted if you aren’t in the Queensland climate this may not be an option when you get sick, so consider a Vitamin D3 supplement instead! This should be part of your daily support so if sunlight is a rarity for you (even those in hot climates that cover themselves in sunblock or clothes, or hide indoors in the aircon) be aware you may be low in vitamin D. A rough guide is 20 minutes in the sun daily, but this is dependent on your location, time of day, skin tones etc so it obviously is very variable. I haven’t used it but there is an app to help determine how much you may need here. If you give it a try be sure to comment your findings!

Vitamin D is a key factor linking innate and adaptive immunity.

…Fire Cider!…this is packed full of nature’s antimicrobials including apple cider vinegar, ginger and turmeric roots, garlic, horse radish, chilli, herbs, lemon, and sometime kombucha and sauerkraut juice. Shot it or drink as a warm tea with a little manuka honey. You can find recipes online or buy ready made from various sources. I love Buchi Fire Cider!

…and finally my doTERRA essential oils! I make a roller bottle blend mixing fractionated coconut oil OnGuard, Melaleuca, Clove, Oregano, Basil, Coriander, Lemon, and Frankincense and roll it on me throughout the day. At bed time I place a drop of each on my feet and rub my feet together (no hands). AI also diffuse some Easy Air and/or OnGuard to help keep my sinuses open through the day and night. If you want setting up with an account to buy these beautiful oils, or if you are local to me on the Sunshine Coast, Australia, and would like a free oil party then let me know!

And voila! I was down for one day then back to feeling good from my core!

I would love to hear your tips and recommendations…I know onion and garlic wrapped around the feet at night is supposed to be a goodie, anyone tried!?

When looking at prenatal supplements recently and during discussions with my peers I learned more of the importance for copper and zinc balance. Please keep reading…this isn’t just associated with pregnancy!

Copper is an essential trace element required for proper organ function and numerous metabolic processes. Zinc is important for immune support and it plays a role in cell division and cell growth, so is very important for proper growth and development, as well as wound healing, and the breakdown of carbohydrates. Copper and zinc compete for the same absorption sites, hence can impact the absorption of each other. The ideal ratio being somewhere between 8:1 and 12:1 zinc to copper. The tolerable upper intake level (TUL) for zinc is 40 mg for adult women and men. The TUL for copper is 10,000 ug/day for adults.

Copper and zinc are also associated with taste and smell and so can impact appetite. Excess copper can cause people to skip meals and crave more spicy, sugary, or salty food to stimulate their taste more.

This is where my interest first peaked having suffered with Anorexia nervosa. You can see how a copper/zinc imbalance can be potentially lethal for people with eating disorders as it can lead to further food deprivation, and increased imbalances and deficiencies.

Copper excess also increases the risk of yeast and viral infections (some of which contribute to chronic fatigue), immune deficiency, abdominal pains, headaches, prolonged and heavy menstrual cycles (which zinc supplementation may reduce), depression, and postpartum depression.

This is where my interest peaked a second time! Having suffered with depression, anxiety, and anorexia, I am classed as being more likely to develop postnatal depression. After attending my first Mindful Mum’s class at the hospital, one mother had been diagnosed with postnatal depression after her first baby and is now suffering with it again during her second pregnancy…I wanted to find out more to see if I could help her, and also prevent this happening to myself!

During pregnancy we often become much more diligent with our diet and supplementation to ensure we are getting the right nutritional support, well I certainly have anyway, and like many, I take a natal supplement to support the growth of my babies. Like most multi vitamin supplements, it of course contained copper. Now copper is highly prevalent in people’s diets. Our water pipes are commonly made of copper so we get a dose in our drinking water, and it occurs in many foods including almonds, avocado, beans, broccoli, buckwheat, chocolate, lamb, mushrooms, pork, prunes, sunflower seeds, legumes, liver, quinoa, asparagus, kale, chia seeds, goat cheese, and wholegrain cereals…many foods we consume as pregnant ladies and even as healthy women in general!

Zinc on the other hand…well I read at http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au that 85% of Australian females are deficient in zinc. I can’t find a research paper to confirm this, but it doesn’t surprise me if true. As an FDN Practitioner, we may recommend clients supplement with zinc to support their immune system as this is also impacted by gut health; a foundational area that we address in healing. Some foods containing zinc include beef, capsicum, egg yolks, herrings, liver, milk, oysters, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, seafood, and yeast. Whilst we may consume most of these foods, I think it’s quite clear that copper/zinc imbalances could easily be very common.

Some other disorders associated with copper excess include hypotension, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, PMS, paranoid and hallucinatory schizophrenias, calcium accumulation around joints causing stiffness, premature aging, irritability, fatigue, amenorrhoea, pyroluria, miscarriage, metallic taste, liver and kidney failure, tachycardia, dyslexia, green stool, dizziness, childhood hyperactivity, and autism. Any mild abnormality or impairment of liver function can lead to copper excess.

Note: legumes and wholegrains contain phytates that prevent zinc absorption so ensure you soak, heat, sprout, or ferment them sufficiently before eating.

We must, however, remember that adequate copper levels are essential for the growth of new blood vessels, wound healing, and recovering from heart attacks and strokes, so please don’t think it’s the enemy! If we supplement excessively with zinc we may suffer copper deficiency increasing our risk of cardiovascular dysfunction,

This blog is to purely make you aware that this imbalance can exist, and you may want to investigate this more if you have a history with depression, an eating disorder, fatigue, or immune issues. Zinc deficiency testing is a good start; you can get a simple test at your chemist to give you a rough idea if this may be present. If you know you are zinc deficient, or you have pyroluria/pyrrole disorder (an inability to properly absorb B6, magnesium and zinc), then you may want to investigate further with a HTMA (Hair, Tissue, Mineral Analysis) test, which I can run for you.

If you are suffering with postnatal depression, depression in general, lack of appetite, fatigue or any other malady, then please don’t hesitate to schedule a free 20-minute consultation to see how I may be able to help you on your journey back to feeling good from your core!