by Sal Prothero | 28, Apr, 2020 | Blog
Feeling overwhelmed with life at home? Starting to go a little crazy? So many emails, social media, news stories about what you should be doing? Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to keep up to date with the latest news but I’ve limited my exposure. For once, I’m enjoying being in a bubble. Increased stress has a negative impact on our immunity and of course, our mental health so I thought I’d share what’s helping me get through this challenging time. You may find something useful. Let me know in the comments.
- Positive Distraction
As I mentioned, I’m enjoying living in a bubble. I don’t want a continuous feed of Covid-19 news because I know this is going to increase my anxiety.
In the meantime, I’m thinking of the positive things I can do that I’ve been wanting to do for so long but ‘never had the time’. No, I haven’t been learning a new skill like everyone’s telling me I should be doing. I’m doing things I love such as cooking, listening to music, dancing, reading a book during the day (who would have thought!?), watching movies and Netflix. Home DIY which I don’t love but hey, we have time now. Oh and did I mention doing a jigsaw with the kids? You get the idea.
- Me Time
It’s so easy to get caught up with managing the home. Making sure everyone’s fed, endless trips to the supermarket (I love going to the supermarket now to escape!), constantly hearing your name, trying to work amidst the chaos.
Schedule ½ hour just for you to do something that you enjoy. I don’t mean endless social media scrolling. It could be a bath, reading, listening to a podcast – do something just for you.
- Gratitude
Write down 5 things you’re grateful for each day. You might think of nothing right now but it could be something as simple as having a nice bed or a nice car. I think back to how people survived the wars. At least we have access to food and water.
- Exercise
I know some of you don’t like that word! Move your body. It doesn’t matter what you do. It can be walking, cycling (we’re allowed do that), online yoga, kicking a ball, dancing, push ups, it doesn’t matter! We’re sitting down more now so take a break. Exercise has been clinically proven to relieve stress, anxiety and depression and it’s also great for your gut and immune health.
- Nature
Take a break outside. The park, the streets surrounding you, whatever green you have around you. Again, studies have found nature to relieve stress, anxiety and depression.
- Diet
I know it’s very tempting to eat that block of chocolate or tub of ice cream but how do you feel afterwards? Probably moody and irritable and possibly a little guilty? If you haven’t before, now is the time to take control of what you eat each day. Depending on your circumstances, you might have more free time. Being organized and planning is the key to eating well. Have a two week rotation of meals, plan what you’ll eat each day and buy only these food items. Also eat regularly. This will avoid those blood sugar swings which contribute towards anxiety and depression.
- Take each day at a time
Anxiety is all about living in the future. We may be in lockdown for months on end, we just don’t know. Thinking of the future will drive us into a panic resulting in increased anxiety and depression. Take each day as it comes. Think what you’re going to do each day and enjoy this time at home for what it is.
- Self-reflection
Before Covid-19, were you too busy, stressed, overwhelmed, unhappy, depressed? Now is your chance to slow down and think about what you really want in life. Do you want to be healthier? Are you tired of being depressed or overwhelmed? Do you want a better work/life balance?
Step out of your comfort zone and be a better you.
If you need help in figuring out what to eat and how to change your life for the better, I am offering 30 minute online consultations. Click here to book.
If you want to find out more information about me and everything to do with gut health/mental health and how the two are related, I’ll be doing a Facebook Live each Wednesday at 4pm AEST. Click here https://www.facebook.com/salthenutritionist
Tags
[tags_all_in_one number=”20″ smallest=”11″ largest=”11″ unit=”px” separator=” ” orderby=”name” order=”asc” post=”true”]
by Sal Prothero | 24, Mar, 2020 | Blog
- Zinc (the mineral everyone knows)
Nuts, seeds, lentils, legumes (chick peas, red kidney beans etc), tahini, wholegrains (brown rice, brown basmati rice, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, millet), mushrooms, green peas, kale, parsley, spinach, zucchini, broccoli, silverbeet, seafood, poultry, lean red meat.
- Vitamin C (the vitamin everyone knows)
Citrus fruits, capsicum, broccoli, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, kiwi fruit, strawberries and other berries.
- Anti-inflammatory (contain amazing immunity boosting compounds)
Apples (with skin on), garlic, ginger, onion, leek, turmeric, berries, veggies, avocados, nuts and seeds, cinnamon, green tea
- Honey (antioxidant, antimicrobial)
Good quality, raw honey.
- Protein (nourishes your immune system, repairs the body and assists recovery)
Lean red and white meat, fish, eggs, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, avocado, legumes, lentils, veggies.
Tags
[tags_all_in_one number=”20″ smallest=”11″ largest=”11″ unit=”px” separator=” ” orderby=”name” order=”asc” post=”true”]
by Sal Prothero | 02, Oct, 2019 | Blog
Follow these 5 simple ideas to help reduce anxiety.
- Eat protein with every meal
Protein or amino acids are essential for the production of neurotransmitters (brain chemicals). Serotonin is a well-known one. Protein also keeps you full for longer and avoids those blood sugar dips which can contribute to anxiety.
Foods: lean red and white meat, fish, tofu, oats, nuts, seeds, eggs, wholegrains, dairy, legumes
- Eat regularly
This means breakfast, lunch, dinner with small snacks in-between. If this sounds tricky, eat smaller portions. By eating regularly, you’ll be balancing your blood sugar levels which will make you calmer and less anxious.
Need help with healthy snacks? Here is my free download – ‘Boost Your Focus – 5 Power Snacks to Boost Focus & Performance’.
- Reduce/cut out caffeine and energy drinks
Caffeine is stimulating so it will increase your anxiety. If the thought of reducing or cutting out caffeine is too daunting, reduce it gradually. For example, if you have 3 coffees each day, have 2 coffees each day for a week and the following week, have 1 coffee each day. Cold turkey doesn’t always work!
- Cut back on sugar
I know what you’re thinking, ‘No way am I cutting back on sugar!’ There are too many reasons to list here as to why sugar is harmful but in terms of anxiety, here goes:
Blood sugar balance – as mentioned previously, keeping blood sugar levels balanced is essential. When you eat refined sugar, your blood sugar is like a rollercoaster and when that rollercoaster falls, you feel irritable, anxious and nervous. You also want to eat more, right? Refined sugar has no nutrients except for glucose which you need for energy but that energy is short-lived. Again, you experience energy dips. Next time you eat sugar, monitor how you feel. Yes, you get a quick burst of euphoria but then you feel crap again when the rollercoaster falls.
- Food intolerances
Do you react differently to different foods but not sure which foods are causing those niggly feelings? Food intolerances cause even more inflammation which you don’t need when anxious. Think of the gut-brain connection. Certain foods and drinks that you consume can cause a reaction, which ultimately affect your brain. Not sure which foods/drinks? Find out about the HairSense Nutrition Analysis Test here.
by Sal Prothero | 17, Jun, 2019 | Blog
Gut health is closely connected with anxiety, depression and other neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Affective disorders, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and chronic pain.
Your gut is your second brain via the gut-brain axis. It is a bidirectional link
between the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS)
of the body. This occurs primarily
through neuroimmune and neuroendocrine mechanisms, often involving the vagus
nerve. This communication is dictated by
what’s going on in your gut. For
example, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA’s) are part of this communication
process and they are the main source of energy for the cells lining your colon. You can find SCFA’s in fibre rich foods such
as fruit, vegetables and legumes and in foods containing resistant starch such
as cooled potatoes, rice and pasta.
Don’t forget that the gut-brain axis is a two-way communication highway. If you have anxiety and/depression or chronic stress, this is going to have an impact on your gut (signals from your brain to your gut) and the health of your gut is going to have an impact on your brain (signals from your gut to your brain).
What are the signs of an imbalanced gut microbiome?
- Irritable and moody.
- Interrupted sleep.
- Allergies, intolerances and/or food
sensitivities.
- Difficulty in losing weight.
- Depression and/or anxiety.
- Behavioural issues.
- Low energy and fatigued.
- A ‘foggy’ brain.
- Hormones out of whack.
- Constipation, acid reflux, diarrhoea, bloating.
- Skin conditions.
Stress
Given how closely the gut and
brain interact, it becomes easier to understand why you might feel nauseated
before giving a presentation or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. Stress (or depression or other psychological
factors) can affect movement and contractions of the gut, make inflammation
worse, or perhaps make you more susceptible to infection.
There is strong evidence that exposure to stress may be
responsible for the dysregulation of the brain-gut axis, thus leading to the
different diseases of the gut. What can you do about it? Repair
your gut and de-stress!
Repair your gut
You can start by removing the following:
- Common reactive foods – usually dairy, eggs, gluten. If you’re not sure which foods don’t suit you and don’t want to follow a strict Elimination Diet, click on the link for more information about the Biocompatability Hair Test which tests for 500 foods, personal care and household products that you may be reacting to https://salthenutritionist.com.au/food-biocompatibility-test/
- Refined carbohydrates and sugar
- Artificial sweeteners
- Unhealthy fats
- Additives and preservatives
- Environmental toxins
- Excess caffeine/alcohol
- Unnecessary medications
- Chronic stress
To help with reducing stress, treat yourself and have a
massage. If this isn’t your thing, go
for a walk, try a yoga class, chat with a friend. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Do anything that you enjoy and it’s away from
work and home.
If you need help with improving the health of your gut and your mental wellbeing, book a complimentary 20 minute health assessment at https://salthenutritionist.com.au/bookings or contact me at sal@saltheutritionist.com.au or 0412 370321.
Tags
[tags_all_in_one number=”20″ smallest=”11″ largest=”11″ unit=”px” separator=” ” orderby=”name” order=”asc” post=”true”]
by Sal Prothero | 29, Apr, 2019 | Blog
A year ago, I wrote about how anxiety was affecting my daughter and my family. I received wonderful and touching messages about how it resonated with so many people. I would love to be able to say that my daughter, now 17, is back at school full time and is leading a ‘normal teenage’ life but the opposite is true. For most of the last year, we have focused on improving the anxiety (not her anxiety) and she has taken a break from school. Her second attempt at school this year didn’t work out. She desperately wanted it to work because she wanted to learn and make new friends. As a mother, it is heartbreaking to see your child suffer like this but it was taking a toll on my health. This year, I am focusing on myself. If I’m not well, how can I look after my family? As mothers, we need to put ourselves first and sadly, I don’t see this very often in my clinic.
The anxiety rollercoaster at home has forced me to think about my own childhood and adolescence. People have asked me did I have anxiety when I was younger and the answer was always no. Now that I’m familiar to this type of behaviour, I now realize that I did have anxiety in one form or another. The words ‘anxiety’ and ‘depression’ were never discussed when I was growing up. We were just told to get on with it and not talk about our feelings and emotions. From my 20’s, I noticed something was wrong when, in group situations, I would freeze, go red and have palpitations. Never, ever, did I think it was anxiety. This affected my working life in that I couldn’t speak in meetings. Frustrating and embarrassing. It is only now that I am older, hopefully wiser and run my business that I can’t hide anymore. The thought of public speaking filled me with dread and I would get palpitations just thinking about it. The passion for sharing my knowledge and educating people about health and nutrition far outweighed the negative aspects of public speaking. Getting out of my comfort zone was the best thing that happened and I now absolutely love it. Sure, I still get nervous and there is still room for improvement but to get up in front of a group of strangers and speak is an achievement in itself.
Initially, I didn’t want to share this update. My thoughts included, ‘people are going to think we’re weird’ or ‘how can her daughter not go to school!’ and masses of judgement but you know what, she’s not the only one. Each week, I hear of another adolescent suffering with anxiety, depression and even suicide. Many of them are not going to school either. How did it get to this? Maybe that’s for another blog! In one word – pressure. Masses of extra-curricular activities, homework, exams, tests. Social media, gaming, social isolation, bullying, body image, world events and many other factors make up the big picture. There is huge pressure on our children and teenagers to be ‘perfect’ in every way. These words are based on my opinion but you only have to look at the statistics to see that anxiety and depression are on the rise, particularly in young adults.
As a Nutritionist, I focus on diet, lifestyle, biochemical and genetic imbalances and nutrient deficiencies. For someone who suffers from a mental illness, it can be hard for them to eat healthily. When we feel good and aren’t stressed, we tend to eat healthy foods. If we’ve had a bad day, we tend to reach for the unhealthy food and/or alcohol. For someone with anxiety, this stress is switched on constantly and all they want to do is either not eat at all or eat unhealthy foods. I see this with my daughter and this is why it is so important to assess the person’s lifestyle and environment. It’s not all about diet! My daughter is now trying to find a part time job (stressful in itself). Getting out of the house and being in a different environment will help her immensely. We keep our fingers crossed.
Whole Food Nutrition has changed direction this year and I am proud to say that I now specialize in gut health, mental health and preventative health. The focus is on diet, lifestyle, biochemical and genetic imbalances, toxicity and nutrient deficiencies. My daughter and so many people like her have inspired me to follow the mental health and well-being path.
If you’re not part of the Whole Food Nutrition community and would like to know more about nutrients, tips and foods to improve your mental wellbeing, click here https://salthenutritionist.com.au/blog/ to subscribe and download your FREE ‘A-Z of Mental Well-being’.
Tags
[tags_all_in_one number=”20″ smallest=”11″ largest=”11″ unit=”px” separator=” ” orderby=”name” order=”asc” post=”true”]
