No wonder more connected generations before us paid so much attention to nourishing and nurturing the pregnant woman and more so the post partum woman, insisting on a good whole month at a minimum to completely rest and recover to some degree. Another example of traditional wisdom getting it so right without all the science and technology we have available to us today.
While obviously nothing was keeping me away from the most precious milestone of the birth of my grandchild - my daughter living on the other side of the world, was only one of some significant challenges - there was more than just the maternal desire and joy to be present. For me (and fortunately my daughter) there is an innate responsibility passed down through generations of women, though sadly these days neglected to our societal and personal detriment.
It seems sharing about the process of hormesis is coming up frequently in consultations recently
Have you heard of hormesis?
Hormesis is the process of stressing the body to a degree to strengthen or produce positive benefits.
Now you will have heard me frequently emphasise the deleterious effects of stress to our overall health. In fact I believe stress is the main contributor to much of our poor health today. However
The topic of lunchbox ideas for me is one of the most frustrating.
It comes amidst parents lamenting they feel like they spend all their time in the kitchen, parents who are exhausted, parents who selfishly put their own self care at the bottom of their ‘to do’ list, parents who spend enough time on social media to have themselves feeling less than in nearly every area of their lives, parents who slavishly and unconsciously follow food/nutrition trends…
Today I’m preparing for a talk I've been asked to share on feeding children from baby's first foods onward.
So many parents are filled with angst that their toddlers don't eat enough or any vegetables so whenever I show this slide there is a simultaneous sigh of disbelief and relief.
Obviously there is much discussion and explanation that follows and in the days and weeks after the talk I receive much feedback about how relaxed meal times have become.
It’s that time of year where crazy detox protocols seem to be everywhere –
Not. A. Fan.
Ok so maybe you overdid the food and/or alcohol over the Holyday and New Year period and now you’re feeling sluggish and blah. Well your body is already struggling and under stress so why stress it more with a punishing/ restrictive detox protocol?
After noticing a spate of posts in my newsfeed on various neighbourhood, ecourse, community support, mothers and even financial advice groups as well as health related groups, for requests for random recommendations of probiotics for everything from finger infections, to frequent colds, to digestive disorders, period pain and migraines, I went searching for this post I had written previously and realised I've yanked it out of the archives a number of times - throwing it out there again for what it's worth, though not sure if anyone is really taking any notice...
As many of you know, I prioritise knowing about the food I eat – the where, who and how the food was raised and/or prepared. This isn’t always as easy as it once was and I believe, should be.
Salmon is a case in point. So many people in Australia consume salmon regularly believing it to be a healthy food to eat. I used to do that too until I discovered that all fresh salmon in Australia is farmed and, from what I have been able to ascertain, the way salmon is farmed in Australia has me saying ‘no thanks’. Concerns around animal and thus human health in addition to environmental damage are the issues for me.
We often blame a virus for us being unwell with colds and flu in winter.
Consider that it might not necessarily be the virus but our general state of poor health that is the issue and that maybe each year the virus seems 'stronger' because we as a population are actually weaker. In clinical practice it does appear that people are on the whole mentally, emotionally and physically unhealthier these days, possibly than ever before.
Many people find they can eat a certain food without issue and then they can’t…. Seemingly all of a sudden a food they ate with no issue in the past now causes some form of discomfort; bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, joint pain, skin problems, fatigue etc There could be a number of reasons to develop a sensitivity to a particular food.
The ‘bucket theory’ could be one reason.
For many months now it has become more and more common to have young Mum’s either during a talk or consultation, comment on how they feel inadequate and are letting their families down because while the meals they serve their family are delicious and healthy, they aren’t gorgeously plated up like the meals they see on social media. Many are in tears.
I spent last night with five of my soul sisters (one of them my biological sister!) having our spirits fed by each other and the mother of vulnerability Brene Brown. Her book "Gifts of Imperfection" has been mentioned many times on this page as it caused one of the biggest 'aha' moments in my life when I read it in 2010.
It's that time of year where there's lots of talk of challenges, cleanses and detoxes with all sorts of pills, shakes, bars, drops, elixirs and potions filled with a variety of magical superfoods and the like that are touted as the silver bullet to absolve you from all your festive season 'sins' and have you trim, taut and terrific in no time.
