Tag Archive | #nutritional cleansing

Our Natural State

Jun1

Our Naturally Healthy State

In our current society, it can be difficult to realise that our natural state is one of health.

Why is it difficult to realise this? Because we are constantly being told through the media that there is something wrong with us, and we need a variety of medications to get better.  Rather than looking to the world of nature.

I recently discovered this amazing video on the inner workings of a cell, bear in mind when you watch it that there are trillions of these working just like this in your body, every day!

Can you imagine what foreign substances that are not of benefit to your body will do to this fine balance of workings that occur in your body every day?

Recently the following came to my attention:

Once – measles, mumps and chickenpox

were considered ‘normal’

Now – we have a new normal

autism, type-1 diabetes, cancer, allergies

asthma, eczema, ADD, ADHD

learning difficulties…………

Does it have to be this way?  I don’t believe so.

By removing the impurities within our own body, we are allowing the body to function in the way it’s developed to do, build immunity, extract energy from our foods, allow development of healthy bones, organs and the brain.

More and more, aspects of our environment are impacting on the health of ourselves, our family and our friends.

A study that was published in 2008 shows that there is potentially a higher risk of Parkinson’s Disease, when the LDL cholesterol levels are lowered.  The LDL cholesterol is the ‘good’ cholesterol we need to maintain many of our bodily functions, including protecting the brain.  There is more ongoing work into this aspect, but it is an indicator that the widespread use of statins to lower cholesterol may have an ongoing long term effect that is yet to be determined.

All food for thought I would suggest.  How are you treating your body? Take action now and learn about how you can reduce your impurities in your body! Call me today, 5545 0939, or email me sandra@sandravenables.com for more information!

Menopause and Weight Gain

Dec20

Often in society, as menopausal women, you are told that the weight gain that occurs is something you will need to learn to live with.

I Totally Disagree!

I struggled with weight gain after my 35th birthday, every year a couple of kilos (or 4 – 7 pounds) will silently creep onto my small frame.  This weight gain usually came after a holiday, or after the holiday season, or both!!  

By the time I was in my mid-40s I was being told that it was normal to gain weight, that it was due to the hormonal change, that it would be more difficult to shift than ever before.  Does that sound familiar to you?

Now in my late 40s, I have lost this weight easily and it has been maintained for nearly a year.  This is a successful outcome and makes me believe that:

weight gain in your 40s is not to be accepted!!

On the side of science, there is some evidence to support the idea that weight gain occurs after 40.  About 68% of women aged 40 – 59 are overweight or obese (1). Some researches do suggest that hormones are to blame for this rise in obesity.

Another study (2) looked at hormonal changes in menopausal women, and found that hormonal changes in women alter the way the body distributes fat in the body, making it more likely to accumulate in the abdomen as visceral fat (the fat that sits around your vital organs).

What is concerning about this idea is that a recent study (3) has now suggested that visceral fat is linked to bone and muscle loss.  Another cause for concern is that often women with a healthy weight have hidden visceral fat stores that they are unaware of.

The question that is now coming to your mind is:

What Do I Do To Battle The Middle-Aged Spread?

Obviously the most important thing to do is to begin to lose weight and in the process lose the visceral fat and build muscle!

Here are 3 simple steps to combat this outcome:

Step 1: Age strong, exercise intensely

Resistance training at a high intensity helps to stimulate muscle growth, which in turn increases the metabolism and burns fat.

People who are physically inactive can lose as much as 3 – 5% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30

Physcially active women entering menopause are leaner than sedentary women and have a decreased risk of developing metabolic disease. (4)

Post-menopausal women who exercise daily maintain their weight.

Sedentary post-menopausal women have been found to have increased body fat, especially around the middle. (5)

Loss of muscle is a common result of the aging process with women losing about 1% of their lean body mass per year after age 40 if they aren’t physically active.

Step 2: Age lean, eat protein-rich diet

Eating a well-balanced diet with the right amounts of high-quality protein (such as whey protein in Isagenix Isalean) can stimulate muscle growth and boost the metabolism.

A diet lacking in essential nutrients and high in refined carbohydrates and empty calories (that glass of wine in the evening to unwind) will accelerate the aging process including age-related weight gain.

Step 3: Age energetic, sleep well

Up o 61% of post-menopausal women may have issues with falling asleep or getting enough quality sleep most nights. Obviously this can be aligned to menopausal symptoms, including hot flushes.  Loss of sleep has been associated with increased levels of hunger and decreased levels of satiety, leading to overeating and consequently, weight gain.

To improve your sleep quality, avoid caffeinatted drinks before bedtime, follow a regular sleep routine, exercise during the day and turn off all electrical equipment 1/2 an hour before you retire.

Bonus Step 4: Contact me now to take your health into your own hands and make 40 and above feel like 30 all over again!!

Just Shift It!

Weight Loss, Menopause

References:

1. Odgen, CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, et al. Prevalence of overwieght and obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. JAMA 2006:295(13): 1549-1555

2. Davis, SR, Castelo-Branco C, Chedraui, et al. Understanding weight gain and menopause. Climadteric 2012;15(5):419-29

3. Zhang P, Peterson M, Su GL, Wang, SC. Visceral adiposity is negatively associated with bone denisty and muscle attenuation. Am J Clin Nutr doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.081778

4. Sternfeld B, Dugan S. Physcial activity and health during the menopausal transition. Obset Gynecol Clin North Am. 2011:38(3):537-566

5. Sternfeld, B, Wang H, Quesenberry CP Jr, et al. Physical activity and changes in weight and waist circumference in midlife women: findings from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. Am J Epidemiol. 2004:160(9):912-922

Do you clean your teeth daily?

Sep21

If so, why don’t you clean your body daily?  That is such an important question, especially in this day of increased toxins in our environment.

I recently read a very interesting blog by Dr Michael Colgan, I’m reproducing parts of it below.  When you read this blog, think about how you cleanse your external body on a regular basis – we clean our teeth, we shower, we wash our hair, we use cleansers to remove the ‘grime’ from our skin (including makeup),we even are happy to soak our poor aching/filthy feet

BUT

do we ever clean our internal cells????

ANSWER?

generally, no!!

Why should we I hear you ask??

Well, a lot of the environmental toxins are what we call lipophilic, this means that they mix with fat easily.

The impact for us? This means that products such as: pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals from building products, household products, furniture, carpets, and industrial waste, are all being held lovingly in our fat cells (Jandacek, 2001).

A great example of toxins building up in fat cells, is the level of particular toxins present in human breast milk (remember, babies thrive on human breast milk as it has a high level of good fats in it for their satiety and growth).

This can be shown in flame retardants, polybrominated biphenyls (PBDs) (remember, these are put into materials that cover our furniture in our homes) where the levels have been measured in breast milk, and found to be higher in the breast milk of women in the USA than the legal limit in any other type of milk!!! (Marchitti 2013, Giordano 2012)

I find this very worrying. The reason this is of concern, is that the effect of these building up in our fat cells is measurable.  It has been demonstrated that high blood PBD levels in mothers at the 35th week of pregnancy correlated with defective motor function, defective cognition, and disordered behavior of the child measured up until age six (Roze 2009). This is only one of a variety of studies, on one particular toxin that is lipophilic.

How many other lipohilic toxins are we regularly ingesting, and not supporting our body to cleanse these out?

If you want to know more about cleansing the lipophilic toxins, contact me to discuss further.

Jandacek et al. Factors affecting the storage and excretion of toxic lipophilic xenobiotics. Lipids. 2001;36(12):1289-1305

Marchitti et al. Improving infant exposure and health risk estimates: Using serum data to predict polybrominated diphenyl ether concentrations in breast milk. Environ Sci Technol. 2013;47(9):4787-95.

Giordano et al. Developmental Neurotoxicity: Some Old and New Issues. ISRN Toxicol. 2012; Published online June 24, 2012.

Roze, et al. Prenatal exposure to organohalogens, including brominated flame retardants, influences motor, cognitive, and behavioral performance at school age. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2009;117(12):1953–1958.