Awaken Your Health Newsletter - 1st September 2008

A warm Spring welcome to all, with the first Awaken Your Health Newsletter.

Why a newsletter? I wanted a quick and easy way to keep in contact with my patients - offering practical suggestions for some common health issues, plus giving you some healthy recipe ideas.

This month I have included a 'Focus on Stress' to encourage you preserve your energy, so that you can leave the winter chill behind and transform yourself for the spring.

For plenty more recipes and some great resources, please visit the new
Awaken Your Health website.

Important announcement: While the clinic is still humming along at this stage and will be until the end of September, I will be taking a short break from practicing over October, November and December with the arrival of my second child.

I will still be available a few days each month for questions, weigh-ins; and dispensing of herbs, minerals, and vitamins. See below for dates. Please note that these will be "Dispensing Days" so that I will have 30 minute time slots only. Please call or email me your preferred time slot for your repeat medicines and follow-up appointments as soon as you can - as these times will fill-up!

Dates for Practice in October, November and December are as below:

The clinic will re-open full-time in January.

I will be returning refreshed and I look forward to supporting all of your post-party season Detoxification needs! ;-)

Thanks for your continued support. This naturopathic clinic relies upon word of mouth referrals, and your referrals are highly valued. Please forward this newsletter to friends and family for whom good health is a priority.

Yours in good food, good health, and good fun the natural way,

Tabitha.

Focus on Stress Stress is impossible to escape in the modern world - it is relevant to everyone. 100% of the patients I see in clinic present with some level of perceived stress. Stress becomes a problem when it starts to impact on our feelings of being 'balanced' and when it turns into 'distress'. Distress and long-term chronic exposure to unrelenting stress is detrimental to our health.

Maintaining the body in a constant state of 'flight' is very nutritionally demanding
- It's not surprising we start to feel run down! In addition, Long term elevation of stress hormones on our body can lead to hormonal disruption, blood sugar imbalances, weight gain, skin problems, accelerated ageing, serious digestive complaints and a dampened immune function.

What I have found clinically is that the more confident a patient feels with their stress management techniques or coping mechanisms, the less of a detrimental impact the stress will have on their lives and health.

Here are some important tips to help you reduce or better manage your stress levels:

* Develop effective coping strategies like simple breathing exercises, time-out, listening to music, going for a walk - these are great as they can be done almost anywhere.

* Get out of the office for a walk at every opportunity- surround yourself with nature even if just for 10 minutes - and if you simply can't, then buy a pot-plant for your desk.

* Stress-proof your diet. Start your day with a fibre-rich, low GI breakfast with plenty of protein to encourage balanced blood sugar levels - this will help you to maintain a cool and calm attitude throughout the day's events. (Please see my Breakfast Muffins Recipe).

* Replenish yourself with plenty of water and calming herbal teas, and nourish your body and soul with good food, good friends, laughter, enough sleep, and a daily multivitamin /mineral complex if indicated.

* Some common things that exacerbate stress are excess caffeine, sugar, alcohol, recreational substances, cigarettes and high GI carbohydrates - try to keep these to a minimum.

* Live as much as you can in the present moment, and have times where you allow your mind to quieten down - try using a simple Yoga Nidra meditation CD.

* Always speak your truth, and try not to sweat the small stuff

Recipe - Stress busting Breakfast Muffins Here is a quick and easy recipe for healthy Breakfast muffins which are guaranteed stress-busters. They are Low GI, containing plenty of fibre and protein (wholemeal and buckwheat flours, berries, bananas, crushed raw nuts and seeds and LSA). They are also low in gluten, low in saturated fats, and still delicious! (Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:
1 cup Whole meal flour
1 cup Gluten-free flour (eg. Buckwheat, Brown rice flours)
2 tsp baking soda
Sprinkle of sea salt
2 eggs, beat
100ml extra virgin Olive oil
100mg melted butter
1 cup crushed, raw seeds and nuts (crush in mortar and pestle)
1 cup frozen berries
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons of Blackstrap Molasses
½ cup of freshly squeezed orange juice

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 200C. Place muffin papers in a 12 muffin tray

Mix dry ingredients well, and then add olive oil and melted butter
- work oil into flour with fingers.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and then mix in all other wet ingredients.

Then finally combine wet and dry ingredients together - mix loosely.

Place mixture into muffin papers in muffin tray, and cook at 200C for 25 minutes.

Let cool and Enjoy.

Tip:
Try these other delicious fruit/nut combinations as alternatives to above:

* 3 chopped apples, 1 cup of dried cranberries or blackcurrants, 3/4 cup of crushed walnuts or almonds

*3 ripe bananas, 125g pitted organic prunes, 1 cup sunflower seeds and pepitas

* 4 chopped Nectarines and ¾ cup of LSA or Almond meal

Notes:
* These muffins are high in fibre and protein - giving them a low GI

* Blackstrap molasses is a mineral rich natural sweetener that adds a bittersweet flavour to these muffins. It is particularly high in Iron, Calcium, Manganese, Magnesium and Copper. It is available at good Health food stores and some supermarkets in the Health food isle.

* LSA is ground Linseed, Sunflower seeds and Almonds - also available at Health food stores and some supermarkets in the Health food isle.