Earlier this week, I received a call from a lady who was frantically trying to find a cure for her son’s hay fever (allergic rhinitis). His main symptoms were streaming eyes, sneezing, mucous, thick head and the inability to sleep well. Nothing from the chemist was touching it. This call spurred me to share some ideas for treating hay fever naturally.
Can you Prevent Hay Fever?
Most of us can relate to the Nettle as mostly an unpleasant experience when inadvertently coming in contact and receiving a tingling, itching sensation to the skin for hours to come. The more nettles that manage to sting you the longer it lasts and the more intensive the tingling. The humble and prolific nettle is also very nutritious containing vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, as well as being packed with minerals including iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous and selenium. The high iron content makes it useful for treatment of anemia when mixed with molasses.
The dictionary defines stress as “a pressure or tension exerted on another object; a demand on physical or mental energy; or forcibly exerted influence usually causing distress or strain.” In short stress is any factor, positive or negative that requires a response or change. Medical research recognises that chronic ongoing stress can lead to illness, aggravate existing disease conditions and accelerate aging.
Many diseases have a foundation of stress. 43% of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress. 75-90% of all doctor appointments are for stress-related ailments and complaints.
Whilst spending time in South Korea it is obvious that I should blog about the famous Korean Kimchi. Kimchi is a traditional food made by fermenting vegetables with probiotic lactic acid bacteria and served as a side dish with most Korean meals, along with chilli paste, seaweed, and rice.
The main ingredient is Chinese cabbage, often with other vegetables, such as leek, scallions, cucumber and radish, all of which are fermented together in herbs and spices, usually garlic, cayenne pepper and ginger.
Bravo to Heart of Nature for producing this fantastic bread. It is made from wholesome ingredients including seeds of all kinds – chia, linseed and quinoa, wild oats (Avena sativa) and contains no wheat, no sugar and is dairy free.
I love it both toasted or just sliced and fresh with poached egg, avocado, salmon and humus. Not altogether!
The main ingredient, Oats gives many health benefits, including insoluble fibre. Insoluble fibre of which most people need about 26 g to 35 g per day, moves food along through the intestines, and in the process helps to keep you regular by preventing constipation.
Put your hands up if you made a New Year’s resolution to lose several pounds, or to get fitter, or perhaps to cut down on sweet things? This time of the year sees many of us going alcohol free for January, starting that diet which we have been talking about for months, and signing up for that gym membership which we leap into with enthusiasm, but interest soon dwindles when we see limited or little result.
Traditionally and historically garlic is best known for its use in cooking for flavouring stews, pasta sauces etc. Eaten raw this herb strengthens the immune system, but some might say “at a price!” One such person was Thomas Nash, who once said, “Garlick maketh a man wynke, drynke, and stynke.” (First husband of William Shakespeare’s granddaughter Elizabeth Barnard)
After being plunged into “Daylight Saving” its time to take out the candles, and bring warmth into your life with warming foods – stews, casseroles, soups as well as festive aromas. We can also bring warmth into the long dark evenings by diffusing essential oils. Essential oils bring natural, delicious, warming, soothing and uplifting fragrances into the home. Combined with the flicker of candlelight and the warm glow you are set to see the long winter nights through with ease.
What are essential oils?
I recently took part in the Wantage Pilates Studio event on “Women’s Pelvic Health”. Whilst I do not specialize in pelvic health, I was still able to contribute from the perspective of a Kinesiologist, Herbalist and Naturopath. The title I decided on for my presentation was “Beyond Pelvic Health?” This blog is based on the presentation I did for that event.
Thomas Dekker the actor once said, “Sleep is the golden chain that binds health and our bodies together.”
Sleep hygiene can be called one of the essential pillars to our health. As we are all unique it cannot be assumed that everyone needs a certain amount of sleep hours per night, but it can be said that when you wake up, the mind and body should feel refreshed and energized ready to face the day. There is nothing worse than putting your head on the pillow and then circular thoughts start. Your mind runs actively over the days business, difficulties, challenges, outstanding problems, worries to do’s and so on stopping you from nodding off into a peaceful slumber and good nights rest.