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Are you ready to be cleaner, leaner and meaner?

Body Intelligence Health Challenge Week 4

The Challenge - Week 4

Congratulations on making it to week 4.  The skills you have learnt are setting you up for a life of good health.  This week we are focusing on sleep.  Yes - that elusive thing that some of us wish we could get more of and some of us wish we didn’t have to have so much.  So the key to sleep is the quality, not necessarily the quantity.  Most research will tell you that you need about 8 hours of sleep per night, however, I have seen a lot of people who survive and thrive on much less.  So, I think it is an individual thing.  I do know however, the quality of your sleep is really important.  And, if you are waking at night, consistently at a particular time, take note and figure out why.

Tune in

This week it is time to tune in to your sleeping pattern.  Take notice of the quality of your sleep and the how you feel.  We spend a third of our life sleeping, the body heals, repairs and detoxifies during sleep and improving sleep quality combats fatigue and many health conditions. Here’s how;  

• At night - tune in to how you feel when you go to bed at night.  Are you still feeling ok and just ready to sleep......or are you completely knackered and cannot keep your eyes open.  Are you still feeling in a good frame of mind, or are you moody and irritated.
• During the night - do you wake up during the night.  If so, what time?  Take particular note of the time as this will give you clues into what part of your body is under stress.
• In the morning - how do you feel when you wake up?  Is your energy good.  Do you still feel tired.  How long does it take to wake up?  What do you have to do or take to get you going?

Tune up

Your challenge this week is to give yourself some extra assistance to get into a deep and restful sleep.  In an ideal world we would all have a little “ritual” we could do before going to sleep, and if you think about it, there probably are things you already do, like clean your teeth, shower, cup of tea etc.  So your challenge this week is to create a regular sleep ritual including one or more of the following;

• Establish a regular bedtime routine & regular sleep-wake schedule
• Best quality of sleep is achieved when going to bed before 11.00pm (10pm even  better)
• Both deep sleep time & growth hormone release can be maximized by following consistent bedtime
• Avoid watching TV while in bed
• Avoid having mobile phones & electrical appliances within one meter of your bed
• Herbal tea at night - you can obtain “sleep” teas from your health food store
•  Abdominal Breathing - we learnt this one last week and I believe it is the single easiest thing you can do for helping you rest, relax, rejuvenate and sleep.  Just try it.  When you get into bed, lie on your back and breathe.

Remember - it’s all about the little things that we can do every day that make a big difference to how we feel.

Happy snoozing!

Jac

This document has been prepared for the Body Intelligence 30 Health Challenge by Jacqueline Edser and is to be used in this context only.  The information provided is not meant to substitute professional assessment or medical diagnostics and treatment.

Body Intelligence Health Challenge Week 3

The Challenge - Week 3

So now we are getting the hang of tuning into our bodies.  It really is just like listening to music.  One of the biggest indicators of your health and one of the things that impacts on all other areas of your health is your gut health.  Trust me, this is something I have struggled with for years, and hence, have a fairly good grasp on what works and what doesn’t.  So this week, we are going to talk about the stuff that no one wants to talk about - poo.  What goes in, must come out!

Tune in

This week it is time to tune in to your digestive system.  The digestive system starts with your mouth and hence, digestion starts with your mouth.  The next down the line is your stomach, then small intestine and lastly the large intestine.  So there are several different parts we need to tune in to.  Here’s how;  

• Mouth - monitor how you eat your food.  A lot of us eat on the run or take huge mouthfuls of food and swallow them before we have even registered what went in.  Focus on what is in your mouth when you are eating and count how many times you chew each mouthful.  The aim is 20 to 30 chews per mouthful.
• Stomach - how do you feel immediately after eating.  What happens when the food is in your stomach.  Do you get reflux, do you feel bloated do you feel nausea?
• Small Intestine - how do you feel generally in the gut.  Do you have bloating, do you have flatulence, do you have abdominal pain or cramping?  Take note at different times during the day.
• Large Intestine - take note of your poo.  Some people think going to the toilet once per week is normal.  We should be having a bowel motion at least once daily, if not two to three times per day.  And, your stools should be well formed and easy to pass.

Tune up

Your challenge this week is to start to look after your gut.  There is no one size fits all, however, there are some things guaranteed to help.  So your challenge this week is to;

Cut out sugar - sugar is one of those “foods” that we eat so much of and is really not necessary.  Firstly, take out all the added sugar, like in tea and coffee, then move towards choosing foods that have no sugar added.  

The best way to do this is to eat foods that have not been processed.  Think about how much added sugar is in a chicken and brocoli stir fry compared to a pizza.  Think about how much sugar is in a handful of nuts compared to a chocolate bar.  

This is a huge challenge, but I know you are all up for it.  Don’t be drastic, just cut it out when you can stick to the process.  Some people may experience detox like symptoms, so just remember to drink heaps of water.

Remember - tuning in to your body is just like listening to music, and everybody knows how to listen to music.

Have fun!

Jac

This document has been prepared for the Body Intelligence 30 Health Challenge by Jacqueline Edser and is to be used in this context only.  The information provided is not meant to substitute professional assessment or medical diagnostics and treatment.

Body Intelligence Health Challenge

The Challenge - Week 2

The challenge for this week is to continue focusing on tuning in to how your body feels through out the day and specifically pay attention to how you feel after lunch.  A lot of people go for a “quick fix” or “pick me up” in a chocolate bar, soft drink or energy drink in the early afternoon because they feel an energy slump and concentration wanes.  My challenge is to not focus on trying to change the behaviour of reaching for the quick fix, but focus on how you are feeling and why?  Once you figure that out, then focus on changing things to not feel that way in the first place.

Tune in

This week it is time to tune in to how your body is feeling after lunch and in the early afternoon.  

• After lunch - how do you feel?  How does your digestion feel?  Are you bloated?  Are you still hungry?  Do you have any pain anywhere?
• How is your energy - has there been a change in your energy?  Are you tired?  Are you more alert?
• Thirst - pay particular attention to your thirst at this time of day.  And, pay particular attention to the amount of water you haven’t drunk!  By this time of day you should have had at least 1 litre if not more!

Tune up

Your challenge this week is to move in a different way.  Just about all of our bodily functions are dependant on movement.  And I am not talking about exercise.  I am talking about moving all your muscles, joints, fascia through full unrestricted range of movement.  This promotes flow and stimulation in your body......flow of blood (important for oxygenation and distribution of nutrients), flow of lymphatics (important for immune system and elimination of toxins), stimulation of healing mechanisms in joints, skin and fascia, and  probably most importantly, stimulation of your brain.

In my experience, most injuries and illnesses develop because we have developed a particular pattern that is not functional or good for us.  We keep repeating that pattern because that is all we know, and, in a way, our body is neurochemically addicted to it.  To change it, there is an uncomfortable period, and then we develop a new pattern that is more functional or better for us and we feel a whole lot better.

So this weeks challenge is 

•  Move differently.  Develop a new movement pattern.  For example, if you usually sit slumped in your chair, try sitting differently.  If you usually stand on one leg when you are talking to people, try standing evenly on both legs.  if you usually carry your child on one hip, try the other hip.  Or if you feel like getting up a boogying in your office - do it!  Wiggle it!!
• Stretch - I have three stretches I am going to give you over the course of the week.  Your challenge is to do them every day while you are doing something else.  For example, I will show you a hamstring stretch you can do while your cleaning you teeth.  That means you can stretch your hamstrings twice every day!  

Remember, all of these tasks are things we can keep doing for the rest of our lives.  Develop a new pattern and stay aware of your body.  At some point you might need to change the pattern again.

Happy moving!

Jac

Some information about dairy

Dairy

Dairy is a major part of the human diet from the moment we enter this world.  And if we look at the consumption of dairy it has increased dramatically in all of the developed countries across the world. 

The Facts

The modern cow is freak of nature – cows are now producing three to four times as much milk than 100 years ago. Why? Several factors have allowed this including selective breeding and use of growth hormones.

Pasteurization and bacteria – is a process of heating the milk to reduce the number of viable pathogens or germs. Raw milk contains lactic-acid producing bacteria that protect against pathogens or germs and during pasteurization, these are also destroyed. Therefore, there is no protection against any undesirable bacteria that may accidently get into the milk. Interestingly, in America, all recently documented outbreaks of salmonella from contaminated milk have occurred in pasteurized milk. So pasteurization cannot give you any guarantees. This could possibly be due to the fact that research suggests bacteria are not totally inactivated until 15 minutes of pasteurization and most modern techniques only pasteurize for 15 seconds!

Pasteurization and nutrients – pasteurization destroys the enzymes which help digest calcium and also alters some of the amino acids. It also destroys vitamins and decreases the availability of minerals like calcium and magnesium. Therefore, consumption of modern, pasteurized milk puts a massive stress on the digestive system.

Consumption of dairy has been linked with an array of diseases and medical conditions ranging from breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes and chronic ear infections in children.

But it gives us strong bones?  Doesn’t it??

The most common misconception about dairy is that we must consume dairy to have strong bones and prevent osteoporosis. I think we have been brainwashed!

A 12 year Harvard Medical School Study of 78 000 women found that those women who drank milk three times daily actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk.

An Australian study of elderly men and women showed that higher dairy product consumption was associated with increased fracture risk. The list of similar studies goes on.

There are many other sources of calcium (vegetables etc...) and many other factors which influence the body’s ability to utilize calcium and build strong bones.

And, to further confuse the issue, some researchers estimate that only 30-40% of the world’s population produce lactase in adulthood. Lactase is an enzyme that is essential to digest lactose or the milk sugar. Furthermore, casein which is the milk protein, is one of the most difficult for the body to digest and therefore can be “toxic” in the body.

Consider the alternatives

There are many alternatives to using dairy and, like most things in life, it is about finding the right balance or combination that works for you and your lifestyle.

Coconut milk or coconut cream – YUM! Including coconut cream in your diet is not hard. It tastes great and has many other health benefits.

Rice milk - this is an easy alternative and most people find that it tastes ok too.

Soy milk – there is many schools of thought on whether soy is safe to include in your diet. In my opinion, the issues centre around the fact that we consume a large amount of soy products unknowingly, as it is used in many processed foods. The second issue is the quality of the soy that is used. More often than not it is genetically modified and an isolate. Ie in an isolated form not in its natural state. So, as with everything, moderation is the key and make sure you use really good quality soy milk.  My preference is Bonsoy.
Almond milk – is best when it is made fresh. Sounds like a hassle, but, try it and you’ll find out it is not. Almonds are full of nutrients including magnesium, potassium, Vitamin E and are high in monounsaturated fats and there is an abundance of research into the benefits of these nutrients. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=20

Goat’s milk cheese – goats milk is more easily digested in the human digestive system due to the protein make up. Therefore, if you want to have some cheese and cracker, this is a good alternative.

In general, my experience has been that people who minimize or eliminate their consumption of dairy products commonly report their digestive systems work better, they get less sinus problems, less skin problems and some people even find they can think better. Go ahead...try it...you’ve got nothing to lose!

For further detailed information specific to you or one on one consultations, contact me on 0415 998030 or jac@jacedser.com.au.  This document is not intended to replace medical diagnosis or treatment.