 Today is World Sleep Day, and the aim is to celebrate sleep and draw attention to the effects of poor sleep on our health.
Sleep is arguably just as important as diet and exercise. It is crucial to optimum health and without it, we can’t be healthy.
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 In this video I explain natural ways to support your immune system, including: - Best and worst foods for the immune function - Lifestyle tips, such as around sleep and stress - My favourite immune boosting supplements - My favourite oils for supporting healthy immune function Enjoy x  As much as I know that I create my own stress, i.e. my experience of it stress is mine, and mine alone, I’m only human, and sometimes it does get on top of me.
Sometimes when life throws you a few curve balls, as it has of late, I need to dig deep, to keep myself on the straight and narrow, so that I can continue running my business and being a mum. Last week was particularly stressful and so I found myself thinking about what I knew would help to lift me, so I thought I’d share them in the hope that they might ignite a little spark of light for you too, if you ever need it…  It’s of course not really an accurate term as you can’t actually reset your body, but it’s as close as I can get. Other terms are cleanse, detox… but I’m not so keen on those as it leads people to think you can actually force things out of the body, using supplements, food, oils etc… and you can’t.
 I often get asked about intermittent fasting, usually by women wanting to know whether it would be helpful for them in their quest to lose weight.
My answer is usually the same; yes, it can be very helpful, but there are different ways to do it, and some generally suit women more than others.  I fortunately don't often get sick 🤧🤒
I don't wish to tempt fate! The reason I share this is because it has not always been this way. For example, I had tonsillitis continuously for about a year from age 6 to 7, and eventually a consultant whipped them out. I won't focus on the pros and cons for that, in this email...  When it comes to sugar, there are so many reasons why we need to cut it right down in our diets, but it's the effect on blood sugar that I’m going to focus on today.
Whilst it’s not easy to cut out sugar from your diet, it is definitely worth aiming for, or at least significantly reducing it. And that’s not too hard when sugar is listed as an ingredient. But what about hidden sugars?  Did you know your skin is the largest organ in your body? And your first line of defence?
Skin serves as a buffer that protects us from extreme temperatures and toxic chemicals, amongst other things, and produces antibacterial compounds that help protect against infections. It’s really an incredible organ but a lot of us don’t look at it in the same way as our liver or heart. So I’m here to say that you really should as it plays a very important role in your health.  Ladies, when we hit our late 30’s, 40’s and into our 50’s, midlife weight gain is real and affects many of us.
But beyond the typical concerns about what we look like, and our feelings around that, there is a much more important issue to consider. The fact that this type of fat gain is unhealthy!  We refer to it as ‘menopause’ but those symptoms that you are experiencing before your cycle stops for good? That’s actually perimenopause.
Menopause is officially when you haven’t menstruated for 12 months, the years leading up to that, when things start to change, and we often experience the uncomfortable side effects, is perimenopause.  The problem is that we aren't taught anything about menopause, despite it being unavoidable for all women. But my first message to you is to make clear that there ARE things that you can do to help yourself through it, other than using HRT.
 ARE YOU CALM , HAPPY, HEALTHY?
It’s what we are all looking for, isn’t it? My bio reads “I help 35+ women to feel calmer, healthier and happier without the need for medication, mediation* or diets!” I was thinking about the ‘calmer, healthier and happier’ aims recently, and it occurred to me that you can’t actually have one without the others. Can you? Think about it….  For the last few years I have spent time between Christmas and New Year doing planning for the year, setting some intentions (not goals, but directions; you can read more about that in my New Year’s post) and mentally preparing myself for the year ahead. And this is usually followed by a food cleanse and reset in mid-January.
But this year was a little bit different. I decided to go through a much more in-depth cleanse of lots of other areas of my life. I have still done lots of planning, actually more so than previous years, and I did my 7 Day Vital Reset programme with a group of women last month, but I added some more elements and I found them really helpful. I feel like I’ve cleared out a lot of space in my home, and in my mind, as well as feeling very well and healthy.  As we head into a new year and we see so many posts about creating a ‘new you,’ setting goals, resolutions and so on, it can feel overwhelming to say the least. I find a gentler approach works for me.
Firstly, not taking too much notice of what others are doing and going at my own pace. We can definitely feel a bit of FOMO at this time of year, I certainly can do.  I work with lots of professional and business women. They come to me for all sorts of issues including inability to lose weight, gut issues, menstrual cycle issues, tiredness, low mood, disillusionment, wanting to get their 'mojo back, feeling stuck in some aspect of their life ... the list goes on.
 One question I get asked time and again is "What should I actually be eating?" or "What is the ideal balanced diet?" So I thought I'd write something to try to give you a good broad idea of what a good balanced diet looks like, to me. I say 'to me' because there are many schools of thought on this, but this is what makes most sense to me.
 I recently wrote a blog post entitled “Who am I to Coach People in Weight Loss and Eating Issues” and I shared it on social media. It was hugely stepping out of my comfort zone, and at the same time, hugely liberating. But from the lovely and positive feedback I received, it showed me that being true to myself not only felt right, it also served my clients, and for that reason alone it has been worth it.
 This is a question that has crossed my mind many times, and especially recently…
“Who are you to coach people to lose weight and/or help with eating issues?” I was having some coaching recently from a business coach called Ankush Jain, and this question arose. I explained that because I have never had big weight loss challenges in my life, I sometimes feel that I’m an imposter… His answer, and the subsequent chat that followed, was both enlightening and eye-opening. My personal journey of self-discovery had another chapter to be written.  As I’ve recently recorded a video on how to improve your quality and quantity of sleep, it only seemed right that I choose Lavender as my oil of the month. There are not many people that don’t know the link between lavender and restful sleep (you’ve not doubt seen, if not tried, lavender pillows, pillow sprays and bath milks, to name a few of the related products. But did you know that if the lavender oil is 100% certified pure, it can also be taken internally to promote restful sleep and feelings of calm?
 When it’s freezing cold outside (and snowy as it is right now!), all I want is a bowl of filling soup… And this one hits the spot every time…. It is super tasty, filling, combines protein with slow release carbs, and is incredibly easy to make. Tick, tick, tick!
 This month I’ve chosen Breathe as my Oil of the Month. There have been so many people with coughs, colds, flu, chest infections, and this is the oil that I recommend you have in your home medicine cabinet if you don’t already have it!
 I've run lots of programmes over the last couple of years, some offline, some online, some a mixture of both! Each time I do one, I take the learnings from it and try to improve on the last one and I have to say, this new programme that I launched in January this year is the best one I've created yet!
 I haven’t met a person yet who doesn’t know what Tea Tree oil is or smells like, and most people have tried a version of Tea Tree at one time or another (I remember trying a Body Shop face wash in my teens!). I have had a few bottles of Tea Tree over the years but never have I found one as powerful as the Doterra version!
 This is actually one of DoTERRA’s top selling oils and I can absolutely see why as it has so many uses and benefits. Known for its cleansing, purifying and deodorising properties, it can be used for cleansing both the body and the home! A 15ml bottle of DoTERRA lemon oil contains 75 lemons (or rather, the rind of).
Here are just some of the uses of Lemon oil and its amazing benefits to health!  This soup was designed by Patrick Holford and is renowned for it's detoxifying health benefits. AND it is absolutely delicious! It is incredibly rich in Vitamin E and Vitamin A (Beta-Carotene) as well as anti-inflammatories such as onions, garlic and ginger. The coconut milk gives it a rich and creamy flavour and contains medium-chain triglycerides, a special type of fat used for energy rather than being stored as fat. Coconut is also thought to help fight infections.
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AuthorHelping people to achieve optimal health and wellness - sharing simple nutritious recipes, tips and advice on how to improve your health through food, without compromising on taste. Archives
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