Feeling low

Feeling Low

 

Balance the highs and lows

If you aren’t doing energy demanding physical activities and you eat certain foods, you can cause a spike in your blood sugar levels. The spike tells your body to release insulin to store the sugar in cells so that you don’t pass out from too much glucose whizzing around your body. When the sugar is packed into cells you can have a major dip in your blood sugar causing you to feel a bit emotional i.e. irrational, moody and sad.

 

Common causes of blood sugar spikes and dips: • Chocolate, crisps, sugar, refined carbohydrates • Caffeinated and fizzy drinks • Large portions • Longer than 4 hours without eating • Smoking • Alcohol • Sweeteners • Carb loading • Stress

 

Solutions: • Eat protein or fat with everything you have i.e. beans, meat, fish, eggs, pulses, avocado, nuts and seeds. • Eat chromium rich foods like broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, eggs, and meat. • Eat foods rich in vitamin B such as rice, meat, avocado and green leafy vegetables to encourage the production of positive brain chemicals to be produced.  • De-stress with breathing exercises.  • Drink herbal teas.

 

The happy vitamin

Most people in the modern world don’t get enough sunshine as they tend to spend most of their time indoors whether it be working or socialising and one of the reasons for this is unfortunately we don’t have great weather all year round in the UK.

Solution: 

Sunshine exposure for at least 20 minutes per day helps you produce the happy vitamin, vitamin D. Due to the lack of sunshine in the UK it may be a good option to take a supplement to help improve mood especially during the winter. 

 

Essential fats are essential for the mind

Low-fat diets and the choice of poor fats in the diet like saturated fats from biscuits and pastries mean that people are not fuelling their brain. Think about it this way; the brain is made up from between 60-70% fat.

Solution:  It’s all about the fats you choose to eat so aim for omega 3 and 6 fatty acids from oily fish and nuts to help your mind function. Include these foods daily as both fats have been used together to improve symptoms of most mental health problems.

Mens Health

Mens Health

 

 A happy heart sticks around

Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest silent killers in the UK and although there are factors such as weight and stress which are common when suffering there can be no obvious signs. A person can seem energetic with a healthy weight, but doesn't have a healthy diet and doesn't exercise. Diet and exercise are an important part of the bundle.

With cardiovascular health there are several different nutrients that can be supportive:

Essential fatty acids - there tends to be a misconception that fats are bad for cardiovascular health and therefore ‘low fat’ foods tend to be promoted. This isn’t quite right as essential fats are required by every cell in the body. The more research that is done, it's the type of fat you are consuming that is important.

Foods containing omega - 3 such as oily fish, nuts and seeds have a positive effect on increasing good fats (HDL) and lowering bad fats (LDL) in the blood to encourage circulation.

Coenzyme Q10 - this is a potent antioxidant that is required by tissue throughout the body providing 25% of its energy to heart lung and muscle tissue. The amount of CoQ10 that is made in the system as you get older may go down and its production by the body is blocked when taking statins.

Keeping fertility levels up

So many people in modern society are stressed due to high pressured jobs, working long hours and eating on the move. Stress drains the system by using up essential nutrients to support the energy glands.

As the energy glands and reproductive system tend to share pathways, fertility levels can be reduced.

There are certain nutrients below that are supportive to energy but have been more focussed on fertility:

Zinc - is a nutrient that most people are deficient in which is so important for male fertility by supporting sperm production.

Amino Acids - are commonly promoted to men in protein powders but don’t just have the benefit of building muscle. Amino acids such as l-arginine encourage nitric oxide which is a support to cardiovascular health by encouraging circulation; this therefore has a positive follow on effect by working as natural Viagra. However, if a man tends to suffer with cold sores, rather than having high a level of arginine, beetroot is a good alternative as it also naturally encourages nitric oxide.

Vitamin E - is found in nuts, seeds, oils and avocado and is supportive to sperm quality and a deficiency in this vitamin has been associated with the chance of a discarriage.

Lycopene - is the phytochemical that is active when tomatoes are heated. This nutrient has been classed as important in maintaining healthy cells in the prostate

Prickly heat

Miliaria, commonly known as prickly heat affects many people during the summer. The condition only lasts a few hours or days, often clearing up with no treatment. It is caused by sweat being trapped in the pores on the skin. When the pores are blocked it causes an inflammatory response which shows symptoms of  blisters, or red itchy bumps, or  pins and needles sensation which tend to get worse in the sun. Although the symptoms are not health threatening, it is extremely uncomfortable for people and can really affect a persons holiday. 

This is a condition where the pathology is not greatly understood, however, there are certain things covered today that you can do to try and prevent heat rash or reduce symptoms. 

Choosing suncream- food for thought, only put on your skin what you would put in your mouth!

Recently there has been research to suggest that suncream causes more cancer than the sun itself due to the absorption of the cream by the skin, and blocking sunlight from producing vitamin D in the skin to support natural immunity. Ideally, you should not put anything on your skin in the sun and only be in the sunshine for 20 minutes or until you get a slight pink colour, at this point, its time to get into the shade. This in theory would be great, but on holiday is not overly practical, therefore, we want something that is going to give you protection without blocking the pores.

Bare minerals is a lovely sunscreen that is natural and in powder meaning it is not going to clog your skin. However, if you are going to be in and out of the sea or pool a gentle cream such as green people's hypoallergenic  suncream is suitable and not to heavy on the skin.

Dress cool and be cool with Aloe Vera 

Aim to wear light lose clothes made from cotton so as not to antagonise the rash. The gel from aloe Vera is a must have for your summer holidays as it covers so much! You can use this topically to soothe,heal and cool the skin. The components of the gel can be used to naturally work like an antiseptic to reduce the risk of infection to the rash and can also be applied to sunburn

Biocarbonate brings another meaning to baking

Dissolve a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda into half a glass of water (roughly 150ml) and apply directly to the rash with cotton pads to bring the itchiness and redness down. 

Grapeseed Extract your natural antihistamine that also makes your skin glow

Over the counter antihistamines are often suggested to bring down the inflammation and discomfort, instead you can take grapeseed extract as a supplement for at least two weeks prior to a holiday. The ingredient supports tissue, anti-histamine and an antioxidant levels. Vitamin C and E are import for youthful healthy skin. The OPC components of grape seed extract are 50 times stronger than vitamin E and beats vitamin C 20 times over.