Help Yourself To Health
with Sue Visser
BASIC OUTLINE FOR A HEALTHY YET PRACTICAL AND CHEAP LIFESTLYE
EXERCISE: Thanks to an abundance of Health Clubs we can have access to an exciting variety of exercise and fitness training. Every health regimen starts with exercise and it requires discipline and commitment to do it regularly and achieve an acceptable level of fitness, regardless of your age, shape or size. To achieve the maximum benefit from a health club, you also need to know more about your body, your food, your hormones and some of the common ailments that bug you: allergies, colds and flu, fatigue, depression, weight gain, etc. By changing the way you exercise as well as the way you eat, you can do away with a lot of your medical bills and get fit and healthy. You can help yourself to health! Even diabetics and people with heart problems can exercise – there’s no excuse!
FOOD: We have a unique body. Blood groups, body types, your attitude and way of life change your food into harmful or healing substances. Find the foods that work for you and avoid those that don’t. We often persist with foods that do not agree with us and then wonder why we feel so lousy. By learning how to control our blood sugar you will be amazed at how good you begin to feel, just by eating the right things at the right time. Your blood group will determine how particular types of exercise help you to deal with stress. For instance, the O group are the hunter types who like to let off steam with a heavy workout whilst the vegetarian A’s and AB’s prefer to chill out with yoga and Tai Chi when they are under stress. We are all different; take a look at the web!
HORMONES: HRT is becoming a dirty word. Indiscriminate use of hormone supplements is the route to many a health hazard. Natural ways to boost and balance hormones requires time and patience but the results are safer, cheaper, more reliable, safer and less fattening. Your hormonal make up is unique and that perfect balance is critical. Many women are suffering from hormone related conditions such as cancer, obesity, depression and acne. Have a look at the more detailed articles on hormones and natural ways to outwit those menstrual and menopausal blues.
WEIGHT LOSS: Each generation is getting fatter and a single product cannot make everybody thinner. Identify the cause of weight gain. It could be: hormonal, stress, genetic, metabolic or dietary. Many solutions are offered. Most slimming drugs or crash diets have adverse side effects causing metabolic disturbances and rebound weight gain.
Once you start to eat foods that agree with your type of constitution and learn to control you blood sugar, the weight begins to drop off, especially with all the exercise you do! Don’t undo all the good by eating junk food again.
It is true that regular exercise makes us leaner but heavier. Stop trying to fight the bathroom scale. When you start losing fat, you begin to shrink a few sizes. The best way is to use a tape measure: hips, waist and widest part of the thigh. Keep a weekly record of these measurements, plus your weight and buy new clothes in a smaller size!
SLEEP: Do we need sleeping pills? Boosting the release of your own melatonin works wonders as levels drop during ovulation and menopause. Herbal alternatives are: valerian, kava kava, passiflora, hops or a calcium and magnesium supplement. If you add a good dose of hard exercise to these products, you will sleep better than ever.
INTIMATE HEALTH: Candida, discharges, rashes, itches, dryness and vaginitis have common causes but may be symptoms of more serious infections. Natural remedies are safe and soothing and can be used with medications.
A detailed reference section is available on this Nature Fresh web site. This research has been reviewed by pharmacists, doctors and leading gynecologists and our products have been specially formulated to exclude petrochemicals, irritants and perfumes. Remember that tight, synthetic gym clothing is not ideal, especially when you get hot and sweaty. Fortunately panty liners have come to the rescue, even for men who are prone to rashes.
CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS: Which type of calcium should you take? Nobody dies from taking calcium supplements but too many people get osteoporosis because they don’t. The best time to start is as a teenager. The moment your hormones begin to change and you need to use a deodorant or have stinky feet, you begin to lack calcium and magnesium. We excrete vast quantities of these minerals when we exercise and this is why we often get cramps. Other signs of a calcium deficiency are: menstrual cramps, gum recession and loose teeth, aches and pains, irregular heart beat, clammy, stinky feet and muscular cramps. These minerals help to balance blood pH.
Potassium is also critical to maintain energy levels and to prevent dehydration. Molasses is a good, cheap source.
ANTIDEPRESSANTS: St John’s wort (Hypericum) is taking over from Prozac. It’s cheaper & better but watch out for unexplained shooting pains in joints. Talk to someone, don’t bottle it up. Exercise, a good diet and hormonal balancing also relieve depression. Remember that regular hard exercise releases those feel-good neurotransmitters called endorphins, and some people get addicted to these. They exercise more and more to release these chemicals and get very fit!
A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT: There is always a solution to your problem. Plenty of information is available and there are so many things you can take and do to remedy a situation naturally, without drugs and medicines. Common sense is the only answer. It is the safest of any approach to sort out your own body. In a world where we are given antibiotics, hormones, sedatives and antidepressants to get through the day it is comforting to know that there are other ways to survive The information we provide in our demonstrations, talks and health articles comes from doctors, gynecologists, homeopaths, naturopaths, aromatherapists and many other remarkable people who have provided parts of the jigsaw puzzle that forms the basis of good health. Other pieces came from books, magazines, promotional lectures and the patients themselves.