A Naturopath’s Guide to Living Your Best Life.
As I mentioned in the previous blog - there is so much information out there, and it’s really hard to decipher what works, and what doesn’t. If you are like me, the time you have is precious, you don’t want to be wasting it on something that doesn’t work OR spend that time trying to find evidence to see what works best.
So, let me save you that trouble with this mini series by showing you some simple, tried and tested tips to help improve your overall wellbeing!
One of the most important part of anyones life is our health baseline, our pillars - Our health without any supplements or nutritional changes. Making sure this baseline or foundation is as strong as it can be, gives us and any supplementation or nutritional changes the BEST opportunity to do their thing and heal. I’ve listed a few recommendations below to help you put that right food forward when it comes to this baseline.
Lifestyle Recommendations:
1. Sun in the morning.
Especially within half an hour of waking. Skin exposure to outside light (it doesn’t have to be directly on the skin) helps to set our circadian rhythm and regulate our cortisol (stress hormone) levels. It also encourages the synthesis of our happy and alert neurotransmitters - helping us feel awake and lively through our day and sleepy at night. It does this by ensuring that we produce enough serotonin (happy & alert hormone) through the day, so we can effectively turn it into Melatonin (our sleep and rest hormone) at night, allowing for sweet and restful sleeps.
2. Cold water exposure.
Even just 2 minutes every day (at the end of our shower) can increase our immunity, reduce stress, regulate our nervous system and promote adipose fat loss. If 2 minutes feels like a lot, work your way up. Start with 15 seconds at the end of your shower, you’ll find that it becomes easier to increase this time and work your way up to that 2 minute mark. You won’t know how you lived before incorporating this each day (even in winter!!).
3. Focus on moving our body.
Movement/exercise is not just for weight loss and cardiovascular health, it’s for mental health support, blood sugar regulation, cognitive enhancement and just general good vibes. Try to get moving every day – out in nature is even better. I really love getting patients to incorporate a short walk after meals that are sugar or carbohydrate heavy, even just 10 minutes, can help reduce the glucose spike (and fall). Meaning energy levels will be sustained, brain fog will be reduced and you are way less likely get that sugar craving at 3pm.
4. Having down time.
I cannot stress this point enough, making sure you have time to relax and do something that just fills your cup is imperative to our health and wellbeing. Whether this is by catching up on some reading, heading to the beach, dancing around your lounge room or even just watching a movie on Netflix, this recharge is needed for our poor little adrenal glands (MVPs) and for our soul. It gives our body time to stop pushing out cortisol (our stress hormone) and adrenaline and plug into that power socket and recharge. Like our phones, our bodies energy reserves deplete after use - eventually going ‘flat’ unless we charge them. Which in most cases is acheived by having that down time. I rest my case on the argument that being seemingly ‘unproductive’ can actually be productive.
5. Trying new things.
I know this sounds so cliché but trying new things and learning is actually so beneficial for our overall wellness. Not only does it stimulate neurogenesis (the formation of new neurons/nerve cells in our brains), which can help prevent cognitive decline and age related neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. It can also help with boosting confidence, feeling a sense of accomplishment, and encourages open-mindedness and empathy through the exposure to new ideas and experiences - allowing us to see the world in a different way.
So there you have it folks, a pretty straight forward and simple list of habits to help build those foundations to your health. Try incorporate one of these into your day and see how you feel.
Information on this blog is not intended to treat or diagnose any condition, it is purely for general education purposes. If you are wanting to get on top of your health and see if these dietary recommendations are right for you - book an appointment with me here: https://alchemy-natural-health.au2.cliniko.com/bookings#service
Cover photo sourced from Pexels by Prasanth Inturi