Healthtrip
28th Jun 06
Health Trip explores the world of herbs, food, lifestyle and much
more from the realm of natural healing. Now in it's 14th year on
the R's, in the new timeslot of 10.30am Monday resident
Naturopath Gill Stannard continues to bring you down to earth
advise on a wide variety of health issues and healthy
talkback.
Gill Stannard BA, Dip App Sci.
City Natural Therapies, suite 510/220 Collins St. Melbourne 3000.
PH 03 9650 3419 for consultations. (Gill is a RRR subscriber
discounter)
You can now go to the Health Trip website http://healthtrip.blogspot.com/
where Gill has archived snippets of health information from the
show and beyond.
.......................................................
Anxiety
Health Trip 20.6.05
There are many types of anxiety (generalised, obsessive
compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, social
phobias and panic attacks) the following suggestions are mainly
focused on generalised anxiety and panic disorders.
Anxiety is often linked to depression and stress. It may be
viewed as a form of biofeedback, your psyche letting you know
that your life is out of balance. Anxiety is a normal stress
reaction (sympathetic nervous system’s “fight or flight”
response) to situations that would not normally trigger such a
degree of fear. Understanding how the nervous system works may be
useful to understand the physical symptoms of anxiety eg:
breathing difficulties, awareness of your heart beat,
hypervigilance etc
Herbs for anxiety: “nervines” such as chamomile, passionflower,
skullcap and peppermint are useful taken as organic teas or in a
tablet form.
Kava and St Johns wort are specific for anxiety but as these can
interact with other medicines, it is better that you see a
herbalist before taking herbs if you are on any prescribed
drugs
Diet:
Avoid hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) by eating food with a low
GI – true whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds and good
quality protein. Cut out coffee – it really can increase your
anxiety levels. Avoid processed foods, flour and sugar.
Food allergies can trigger anxiety so too common food additives
such as msg, artificial flavouring and colourings.
Lifestyle:
Explore some of these options on a daily basis – meditation,
exercise, relaxation techniques.
Common prescribed and illicit drugs may trigger anxiety.
I strongly recommend seeing a psychologist to work with your
anxiety, especially a practitioner of cognitive behavioural
therapy (CBT),
References:
PADA (Panic Anxiety Disorder Association) – resources and
psychologists practicing CBT. 03 98869400
http://www.panicanxiety.org.au
Bronwyn Fox “Power over Panic”
Bev Aisbet “Living with It” (and runs courses in Melbourne)
Natural Therapies for your pets
as they say "you are what you eat" and so if if your cat or dog
looks like a bag of 'crunchies' its time to change the diet -
ditch the processed pet food and feed them meaty bones,
fish,cereals and veges (for dogs) and a variety of fresh raw
meats and fish for cats.
Some great books:
Juliet de Bairacli Levy "The complete herbal handbook for dog
and cat" and "the complete herbal handbook for farm and
stable" (covers sheep, goats, cows, horses poutry, bees and
working dogs)
A good Aussie book by a naturopathic vet:
Ffiona (no that wasn't a typo) Phillips & Christina
Fitzgerald "The alternative Cat"
.........................................................
Healthy food fast – what are the alternatives to junk?
Familiar scenario – come home tired or late, nothing in the
fridge, dial a pizza or go cruising for something fast. The most
obvious way to break the pattern is to shop for fresh food,
regularly. Make it part of your routine at least once a week and
it becomes a no brainer. Also stock up on handy non-perishables
that can become a meal in minutes:
• tins of: beans (eg: kidney, cannelini, chickpeas – just rinse
well and use), corn, fish (not tuna all the time because it
contains heavy metals, remember to include salmon, sardines
etc)
• whole grains – rice brown is best, basmati is the better option
of white and cooks fast
• miso – instant sachets (avoid those with msg) are the
healthiest instant soup option, or tubs/sachets of fresh which
can stay refridgerated for months – simmer a few veges, add tofu
if you like, take off the heat and whisk in some miso paste. Add
cooked rice or rice noodles to be more filling.
• Longer life fresh stuff – onions, carrots,garlic, ginger,
lemons – can jazz up a tin of beans or fish
• Keep some eggs in the fridge for a quick frittata or to
poach
• Frozen veges are better than no veges!
If you have a garden, courtyard or balcony (and lack a ‘black’
thumb) try growing some parsley, rocket, lettuce or silverbeet in
tubs. These add freshness to a the back up foods.
Fast food isn’t only a health poor option (when eaten more than
once or twice a month) due to its high salt, fat, sugar and
overall calorie content, the issue is what you don’t eat when you
eat pizza, burgers, fried chicken, chips etc – fresh vegetables,
wholegrains, fruit and quality protein (lean meat, chicken, tofu,
eggs, beans). It’s easy to get out of balance fast the more
convenience food you eat.
Are there any healthy convenience foods? Try a falafel (or vege
platter from the local middle eastern outlet), grilled fish and
salad “hold the chips” or even a sandwhich on grain bread with a
high percentage of salad in the filling instead of a pizza (which
is really an open sandwich with lots of fatty cheese, meat and
salt).
Check out the low down on just how unhealthy the new ‘healthy
choices’ are at the fast food chains that Australian Choice found
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=103633&catId=100289&tid=100008&p=1
School lunch boxes
Who’s the boss? It might seem easier to give into the demands for
all those child portion ‘treats’ – chocolate, chips, mini
biscuits etc, but the reality is you are setting your child up
with bad eating habits for life (and happily falling for the
manipulation of the (mostly) multinational food companies who
think they know more about nutrition than you do). If the peer
group pressure is high to include these foods, talk to other
parents to make some changes.
Healthier options include:
Sandwiches that have at least some vege content (egg and cress,
grated carrot and promite), use the best quality bread you can
find and cut it into shapes – circles, hearts, stars etc with
biscuit cutters
Stick (carrot, capsicum, cucumber, celery) and dip (hommos,
tartex)
Homemade fruit balls – food process one kind of dried fruit
(apricots, figs) with a nut (cashew, almonds) roll iin sesame
seeds or coconut, into balls. Stores well between layers of
baking paper in airtight container in fridge. NB: if you are in a
nut free school – there is a spread made from soy beans (soy
crunch etc) which tastes amazingly like peanut butter !
Choice has also a review of lunchbox treats – as a naturopath I
don’t entirely agree that their healthier choices are really that
great, but at least you can see what is really crap!
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=104577&catId=100286&tid=100008&p=1
The bottom line is – use your imagination, include foods that
look like they come from plants every day in your diet.
Gill’s Health Trip Top 5 for Good Health
1. Keep your Liver happy
This organ does many complex things in our body from digestion
through to breaking down chemicals. Like the filter in a swimming
pool, it plays a major role in clearing out the rubbish in our
body.
TIP:
* the juice of half a lemon in warm water when you get up in the
morning is a naturopathic favourite to ‘kick start the liver’ for
the day.
* moderate any intake of drugs, alcohol, caffeine, fats and
unnecessary pharmaceuticals.
2. Stay hydrated
Keep aiming for 1.5 –2.5 litres of positive fluid a day. More if
you are exercising, have diarrhoea, breast feeding. in hot
weather or airconditioning.
TIP
* Caffeine is a diuretic, pulling precious water out of your
body. It can also interfere with the absorption/utilisation of
many nutrients including calcium, iron, protein and water soluble
vitamins. If you have to have it, ingest caffeinated drinks and
foods at least 2 hours before or after meals and
supplements.
3. Fruit and Veg
Load up your plate with at least 5-7 different vegetables and 2
fruits a day.
TIP
• You can eat veges at any time not just at dinner time!
4. Exercise
20-60 minutes a day, everyday for pure maintenance. For weight
loss up have to up both time and intensity.
TIP
• Exercise keeps your circulatory system happy, offering some
prevention for heart disease and lowering unhealthy cholesterol
levels
5. Stay connected
Feed your mind and soul, a happy mind creates a healthy
body.
TIP
* Being connected to a like minded community, regularly
debriefing with family and friends, and laughter have been shown
to increase quality and quantity of life in those with life
challenging illnesses. Don’t wait to get sick to start!
________________________________________
Health and beauty on a budget
Good health has been long associated with poverty! The peasants
ate coarse unrefined bread, while the wealthy got bowel cancer
eating the white stuff. Eating at home on a budget, can encourage
greater wellbeing than dining at the best restaurants. Whole
grains like brown rice, rolled oats, split peas and dried beans
all come cheap and are packed with nutrition. But getting health
advise, particularly the complementary kind is often at a high
price. Here are some ways to access the knowledge as
inexpensively as possible.
Training institutions: Want a massage, a naturopathic
consultation, an osteopathic adjustment. All accredited courses
require students (usually in their final year of training) to get
contact hours with patients. This is most often done in a fully
supervised student clinic. Here are a few of the better known
clinics. Check out the yellow pages http://www.yellowpages.com.au/yp/search
for more options. Southern School of Natural Therapies
(Healthtrip’s own fine sponsors!) 43 Victoria St, Fitzroy (03)
9416 1448 http://www.ssnt.vic.edu.au/clinics.asp
(the website gives details of opening hours, supervisors and
costs) :naturopathic consultations and massage Melbourne College
of Natural Medicine: Elizabeth St. Melbourne (03) 9662 9911:
naturopathic consultations and massage Victoria University
Osteopathic Medicine Clinic: 301 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (03)
9248 1111 Shiatsu Australia: 465 Hawthorn Road Caulfield Sth VIC
3162 (03) 9528 1212: http://www.shiatsu.aimtec.net.au/shiatsu/default.htm
Buying vitamins: Sometimes cheapest isn’t the best value. For
example if you want to take a B vitamin supplement for stress -
you want the whole range of B vitamins including at least 50mg
B6. Check out the contents to find the one with the most
appropriate dosage at the best price. Australia has stringent
regulations on all therapeutic goods - so its safer to buy
products here rather than through the net from countries such as
the USA. Supermarkets and large chain stores buy and bulk and can
sell leading brands at competitive prices. There are some well
priced mail order supplement services in australia too.
Home remedies: If you have a green thumb and get your herbs from
well identified sources (don’t want to mistake something toxic
for harmless!) freshly grown herbs for teas etc are cheapest and
tastiest direct from the garden - try mint and lemonbalm which
grow easily in melbourne back yards. Many neighbourhood houses
have very cheap home remedies and massage courses too.
Home beauty spa!: There are lots of books and resources on DIY
beauty. You may need to invest in some essential oils. With oils
you tend to get the quality you pay for, but use your nose as a
good ‘sniff’ guide. Always buy pure, undiluted oils. Lavender is
a favourite and the bottom end of the price range. *face washing
grains* A big name company sells these as Japanese - but you can
make your own for a fraction of the cost. Grind aduki beans
(small red mini kidney shaped beans) in a sturdy food processor
or clean coffee grinder (soft bread is a good thing to whiz
through to clean your grinders). Store in an airtight jar. Pour
about a tablespoon on your hands, add a little water and gently
rub on your damp face. Leaves it smooth and clean. *Indian salt
scrub* Pour sea salt in a jar and saturate with raw sesame oil
(not the roasted chinese kind). Add a few drops of essential oil
if you wish to scent it. A good scrub to use in the shower to
clear off dead skin and encourage the blood flow.
Eating well, cheaply: Don’t forget places like Friends of the
Earth and other co-operatives with inexpensive membership that
gives you access to healthfood at cheap prices. The markets also
provide fresh fruits and vegetables at reasonable cost. Freshest
really is best, don’t be tempted on the ‘great deal’ of produce
on the turn. Have you got any more ideas of health and beauty on
the cheap in melbourne? Email enquiries at 3rrr@rrr.org.au and
they will pass them onto me.
Gill ...........................