Tag: health journey

Our Immune System and how we get sick.

Todays post is about the Immune System.

This past week I have been resting, letting my body and immune system work through a virus.

This one really crept up on me. Most of us usually feel when we are becoming unwell. We feel achey, maybe get headaches or a ‘heavy head’. Usually this is what happens to me. Well, this time I didn’t see it coming.

The previous week, I had been very busy, I worked more hours than usual. I had appointments to attend and other projects to complete. I was feeling tired, but that was to be expected after my busy week. Or so I thought.

So, ending up in bed late last Sunday night with a fever, was a surprise. Not a nice one either. This got me thinking about how we get sick.

I had been quite confident that I was healthy, with a fairly good immune system. So, what let me down?

In hindsight, stress and lack of quality sleep. Not giving my body, and my immune system, enough time to recover.

The Immune System

The immune system is one of the hardest working mechanisms in the human body. What many people may not realise is that the body actually has two immune systems: the innate (or primary) system and the adaptive (or long-term) system.

When a possible threat from an illness-causing invader is detected, the innate system, is alerted to respond to the threat.

However, many people have a lowered immune system that can cause the innate system to work harder than it needs to in protecting the body.

So when that system has to work harder, we have less energy and in many cases, an overwhelming feeling of fatigue and feeling really tired.

The 4 most Common Causes of Lowered Immune System are
  1. Stress. Nearly all of us have felt the effects of stress at some point in our lives. Headaches, pounding chest pains, uneasiness and an overall tense feeling are hallmarks of stress. These factors all combine to cause the immune system to have to work harder to defend the body against threats to health.
  2. Lack of sleep.You may not realise it, but while you’re sleeping the cells in your blood that fight infections are working to keep infections at bay. So lack of sleep and fatigue can leave your defence system weak.
  3. Not enough exercise. Your body’s defences will likely not be at their best if your lifestyle is too sedentary.
  4. Improper nutrition, Fats, particularly polyunsaturated fats, tend to suppress the immune system. Also be on the lookout for the consumption of too much sugar, which can inhibit the process by which white blood cells work to destroy viruses and bacteria.

So while our immune system is struggling with keeping up with our busy lives, it is left open to attack. It now has a diminished ability to fight off the germs and viruses that can lead to colds, the flu and other threats to our well-being.

This is information that a lot of us already are aware of, however, our lives get so busy that it’s easy to forget.

It’s a shame we have to become ill to remember it all again.

 

Until the next post, take time to rest and

Live Clean n Prosper

Menu planning has its advantages

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So today I’m going to write about menu planning.

Towards the beginning of this month, I wrote about memory loss. I shared that I found the use of a calendar, a diary and my phone calendar essential.

Well, I have also found menu planning very useful. We have been a bit slack over the last month or two, so I decided to get back to it. On Saturday morning, drinking a cup of coffee, with a few of my favorite recipe books.

Menu planning, in our view, has many advantages.

Using my recipe books to choose the meals, we find we eat a wider variety of meals.

Without a menu, we found we tended to eat the same types of meals every week.

There are many books available with recipes for quick, easy, healthy meals. I find it inspiring to look through them and get ideas for an interesting dinner.

When creating the menu, I don’t choose what we eat on what day. Instead we found that creating a list of 6 different meals works best. This leaves 1 evening open for dinner out or with friends.

I bookmark the recipe books, so that either one of us can make a start on the evening meal. I’m lucky in the fact that Scott also enjoys cooking.

Planning the week’s meals means that we buy less groceries.

No more buying something that we ‘might’ use and have it sit in the pantry for weeks, or go bad in the fridge. We only buy what is required for the recipes on the list. Usually we manage to choose meals for the week that have some common ingredients.

Doing the weekly shop this way actually saves us money. As our food is always fresh and we buy very little foodstuffs in boxes.

My favourite Recipe book at the moment is a vegetarian one called ‘A Modern Way to Eat’.

So this week’s menu is full of interesting, tasty meals, mostly vegetable based.

Looking forward to some tasty dinners.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper.

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Coping with Menopause or Perimenopause

Todays post is about Menopause, or is it Perimenopause?

Lately the topic of menopause has been coming up in conversation with several of my friends and work colleagues. Probably because we are all around an age where menopause is starting to affect our lives in some way.

For me personally, the most common symptom of ‘hot flushes’ started about 2 years ago.

They were only occurring every so often at first. I visited my G.P. and he advised that this was probably the start of ‘perimenopause’. This was a new term for me and it was the beginning of some new learning.

I think most of us have the terminology wrong. We think that the term ‘Menopause’ relates to the period when we are actually suffering from ‘hot flushes, night sweats, irritability and disruptive sleep. In fact, Perimenopause refers to the time when the symptoms start.

Changing levels of hormone production in our bodies, particularly the reduction of oestrogen produced in our ovaries, are the cause.  Typically symptoms start in the mid-40s and at this stage the symptoms may be mild. This is what is called the perimenopause.

The duration of these symptoms is different for everyone and can last from months to several years. The term Menopause actually refers to the total cessation of menstrual periods as well as a decrease in oestrogen and progesterone production by the ovaries.

Now all of this is very educational, but dealing with the symptoms is different for everyone.

I have chosen to deal with the symptoms by taking specific nutritional supplements.

A friend of mine introduced me to a company that manufactures a supplement specifically for the transitioning hormones of women.

I am so grateful to my friend for sharing this with me, as the results have been fabulous.

My sleep was also starting to become restless, so I started using a natural hormone balancing cream and a supplement at night to aid my sleep.

I can honestly say that I can no longer go without these  items. They are what keep the ‘heat’ away and keep my sleep restful.

So, why are they great?

First, the supplement contains herbal ingredients such as Black Cohosh and Red Clover. These herbs have been used for centuries to help relieve menopausal symptoms.

Next, the hormone balancing cream called Balancing cream. This fantastic smelling cream contains herbs such as Wild Yam and Chaste Tree, which have been used to relieve menopausal symptoms for centuries. It also contains the essential oils of Roman chamomile, lavender, ylang ylang and geranium, which help to relax you and ease stress.

Finally, to help with sleep and general stress – Stress Health. This supplement contains a compound called Lactium, which inhibits the stress response.

St Johns Wort, which also helps reduce anxiety, and Valerian, a herb that has been used for centuries to treat insomnia.

Together these 3 things have been essential in my daily routine to make this ‘Menopausal’ stage a negligible obstacle. I have included the links to the website where I purchase my supplements, if you wish to know more.

There is so much information, as well as remedies, available to us. It just takes a little research to find out what works for you. As always, I prefer to try the most natural approach first.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper