If you are human, you have to deal with the ups and downs, the twists and turns and the daily stressors of life. We are constantly dealing with everyday inputs from family and work demands, environment, pop up ads, media, people, traffic, noise, light, social media, internal stressors, illness, physical and emotional stressors and many more.
Luckily, we have internal mechanisms and systems that help us deal with that via the HPA Axis which is a complex set of direct influences and feedback interactions among three components: the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and finally our hard-working adrenals.
The big player in this response are our adrenal glands. The adrenal glands sit right on top of our kidneys and they help us deal with our stress response. They produce hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and epinephrine. They are also our back up hormone system and help in producing DHEA, testosterone, progesterone and estrogen. They are tiny, but play a big role in our livelihood, energy and mood. We need to look after them!
Problems arise when the HPA axis and adrenal glands get overburdened with more demand than we can manage and constantly stimulate the adrenals to secrete hormones to help us cope. This can lead to excess cortisol in the body (overactive adrenals) or even worse, tired adrenals where we have trouble managing the stress response and they could become underactive.
Cortisol, for example has many functions:
Raise blood sugar. Yes, this means we can raise our blood sugar without even eating sugar!
Stimulate blood pressure levels
Moderate immune function
In addition to playing numerous other roles
If our cortisol level is low, the person may experience fatigue, low blood pressure, hypoglycemia, poor immune function, an increased tendency to allergies and environmental sensitivity, and an inability to deal with stress.
Regardless we need to take action to get ahead of stress before it gets us and symptoms set in
Symptoms of adrenal fatigue include
Fatigue, exhaustion, anxiety
Insomnia - interrupted sleep, irritability
Difficulty handling stress
Inflammation
Hormone dysfunction
Belly fat and weight gain
Crave stimulants (caffeine, sugar, salt)
Extreme menopause symptoms
Alcohol intolerance
IN MEN - Beer belly, breasts and erectile dysfunction
If half of these (or more) apply to you or if you know you are the type of person who takes too much on, has difficulty saying no, often feels overwhelmed, and also tends to be hard on yourself, it’s time to take measures into your own hands!
-*And of course, it is always best practise to consult your health care practitioner if your symptoms persist or worsen
Tips for overcoming adrenal fatigue
Say no to extra tasks and requests! Be sure to Plan self care and time for yourself daily
Breathe, incorporate meditation, yoga and other balancing activities to take you into the moment and be easy on yourself.
Sleep – just 8 hours a night can do wonders for your well being – if only you could sleep! Don’t eat or exercise late at night and avoid caffeine after 12 noon.
Eat colourful natural foods and avoid processed sugar laden foods.
Take a multi-vitamin with minerals daily to suit your lifestyle. (be sure it includes lots of B vitamins, and magnesium)
*Take adrenal support nutrients daily to reduce the effects of stress such as found in ADRENAsmart
ADRENAsmart does wonders for your adrenals. It contains four synergistic non-glandular, adaptogenic herbs that work brilliantly to offer your body and adrenals the much-needed support and balance they desperately need.
ADRENAsmart contains:
Rhodiola- to reduce the effects of stress
Suma- a restorative tonic especially for fatigue
Schisandra Berries- works well for nervousness, fatigue, and insomnia
Sensoril Ashwagandha – a superstar for anti-stress, for overall heath and energy, immune modulation
Take 2-3 capsules per day at lunchtime or mid afternoon to give your adrenals the much-needed support they need to help us cope with the world of daily stressors! That way you can show up as your best self everyday! *Always read the product label before consuming.
Now is the time to look after you and enjoy your life the way you are supposed to.
Written by: Angela Ysseldyk, CNP, Director of Education and Training – Jamieson Wellness Specialty Division
Protein: Power plants
For a variety of reasons, you might be cutting back on the animal foods in your diet – at the same time that you’re concerned about how to meet your daily requirements for protein. Luckily, plant foods are powerful and delicious sources of protein that you can easily incorporate into your meals and snacks.
Start with seeds
Seeds contain all the nutrients required for a plant to start and sustain early life. With 8 grams of protein per cup, for example, quinoa is a grain-like seed that also provides magnesium, antioxidants, and fibre. Amaranth offers 7 grams of protein per cup, along with a side order of iron, B vitamins and magnesium. Pumpkin seeds take protein up a notch with 8 grams per 1/4 cup.
Sprouts for maximum protein
In order to stall germination until optimum growing conditions occur, seeds contain anti-nutrients including phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors and lectins that can cause digestion problems and impaired absorption in humans. The trick to de-activating these anti-nutrients is to start seed germination, which breaks down starches and makes it easier for you to digest plant nutrients without bloating and gas. As a bonus, sprouting is associated with higher in enzyme activity in plant foods, as well as the B-vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, iron, zinc and the phytonutrient sulforaphane.
Sprouting also amplifies amino acids, which will help you with your goal to eat more protein. Compared to raw, for example, sprouted quinoa provides 30% more antioxidants and higher concentrations of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA). Germinated brown rice also contains higher levels of glutamic acid, alanine, and glycine versus the raw grain. The net result is undeniably better nutrition.
Supplemental support
Add a scoop of Iron Vegan Sprouted Protein to your morning smoothie for an extra 18 grams of plant-based protein derived from 5 organic, non-GMO sprouted grains and seeds, including brown rice, amaranth, millet, pumpkin seed, and quinoa. Try delicious vanilla, chocolate or unflavoured.
For 16 grams of protein on-the-go, try Iron Vegan Sprouted Protein bars. Available in Coconut Cashew Cluster, Double Chocolate Brownie, Peanut Chocolate Chip and Sweet and Salty Caramel, these bars are also an excellent source of fibre.
We all deal with it and we all have our own unique ways of battling it. Healthy Planet is working alongside the amazingly talented Nutritionist Kelly Maia Agnew, showcasing some of her favourite all natural products to help cope and deal with stress.
Stress is real and touches us all. With all the ways stress can enter our body, it is only natural that it finds ways to relieve itself naturally. For some, a natural calm comes easily, for others, the key to finding balance can be aided by the addition of Magnesium. This essential minerals help regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure and are required for producing and storing energy. Simply put, there are no single dietary factors as critical as magnesium for stress regulation. Most of us don’t have enough Magnesium in our body to begin with. Add factors that can deplete magnesium levels, such asemotional stress, heavy exercise, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders and too much calcium in your diet and you are left with a body that is stressed and tense.
Natural Calm is one of our favourite products out there to help maintain a healthy level of Magnesium in the body. Discover the benefits of less stress and a calmer sense of being with the help of Natural Calm. Help alleviate stress and #livelifehealthy !
Ambassador Marissa Liana shares with us some of her favourite and easy to prepare breakfast recipes to keep you fueled for the days task's ahead.
Make multiple servings, keep them in your fridge and get the correct amounts of fiber, fat and proteins to balance your blood sugar, stay satiated and keep yourself fully charged for a healthy and productive day.
Enjoy the Chia Seed Pudding, Smoothie Jar or Yogurt Hemp Granola and have the best breakfast week ever!
Share your favourite breakfast creations and tag us @healthyplanet with #livelifehealthy.
Nutritionist and Ambassador Kelly Maia Agnew explains what adaptogens are and one of her favourite supplements for managing stress.
Find Stress by St. Francis at Healthy Planet online or in stores.
Mother’s Day is quickly approaching! This is the perfect opportunity to treat all the Mama's in your life and even yourself to a few sweet gifts to celebrate this beautiful day. Healthy Planet is currently running an INCREDIBLE Mother's Day Sale, full of pampering and practical products for all Mothers!
I have narrowed down my top 4 favourite products that not only do I use, but would make the perfect Health & Wellness gifts for the Mama's in your life this Mother’s Day!
Organika Collagen – Because healthy skin is always on trend. Collagen has many beautiful benefits that does our body so good - promotes skin health, boost muscle mass, improve ingestive health, burns fat, alleviate joint pains, promotes heart health, and improves cognitive health. Our bodies naturally produce collagen, however our ability to produce it decreases less and less as we age. This is why it is so important to either incorporate foods that contain collagen in our diet or supplement it with a product like, Organika Collagen. Because let’s be real, who doesn’t want beautiful skin?
Skin Essence Facial in a Jar – Spoil the Mama's in your life with this multipurpose product. You can either use this as an exfoliator to scrub away dead skin or leave it on as a mask so that the product can absorb all the oils and impurities out of your skin. Either way, this product will leave your skin super soft, supple, nourished and will brighten your overall complexion!
Everyone Hand Soap Coconut Lavender – This is the best naturally smelling hand soap on the market. I really love that it is kind to our earth, cruelty free, gluten free, does not contain synthetic fragrance, and really does a wonderful job at cleansing and moisturizing the skin.
Andalou Naturals Body Lotion Lavender Thyme – You will not catch me without some sort of hand lotion in my diaper bag. With all the diaper changing and constantly washing my hands to avoid catching my toddler’s germs, it strips away my natural oils leaving my skin super dry and cracked. I love this hand lotion not only does it DELICIOUS but it also does a fab job at moisturizing and keeping the skin moisturized for a long period of time. If Lavender Thyme isn’t your jam, they also have a large selection of other scents as well!
Written by Healthy Planet Ambassador @lifestylebycp. Follow Cherrie as she lives her best life spreading her vision of the Health and Wellness lifestyle with the help of Healthy Planet!
Essential Oils. If you stop to smell the roses, you are experiencing a particular combination of unique chemicals called essential oils. Those chemicals can be extracted and concentrated into what consumers call essential oils. Essential oils can be found in all plant parts including the bark, leaves, flowers and roots. The word “essential” refers to our experience of plant aromas which are considered to be the “essence” or soul of the plant. The oil refers to the volatile component extracted from plants. Since they are volatile they easily evaporates into the atmosphere allowing for the wonderful experience of aromatherapy.
How we experience essential oils. The array of potential therapeutic effects of essential oils is a reflection of the multiple points of entry and impact. When we inhale them they make their way directly to a primitive part of our brain responsible for emotions and memories as well as to our lung tissues and from there into our blood streams. We also absorb essential oils through our skin and mucous membranes and ingest them as is the case with peppermint candy cane. For centuries essential oils have been used to treat inflammation, insomnia, stress, skin diseases, pain, infections, headaches and the list goes on.
Safety of essential oils. It takes approximately 75 lemons to make just one small 15ml bottle of lemon essential oil.Such highly concentrated extractsare not found in nature and therefore must be treated with care and respect. Never apply essential oils without diluting them. A 1-3% dilution (6-18 drops in 30 ml bottle of carrier oil) is generally safe for an adult body below the neck. My carrier oils of choice are either fractionated coconut oil or jojoba (which has a great self-life). When diffusing essential oils around small animals and babies make sure the area is well ventilated area. For more information visit: https://www.nowfoods.ca/essential-oils/quality-safety
Ingesting essential oils. If you have every used natural toothpastes or eaten commercially prepared foods you have likely ingested a variety of essential oils. While certain essential oils are safe to consume (see a list https://www.nowfoods.com/now/nowledge/food-grade-essential-oil-faqs) this does not mean you can simply drop them in water and swallow them. Essential oils that are edible must still be safely diluted and dispersed. Since they are NOT soluble in water (they don’t mix) this is not a safe medium for consumption. Make sure you are working with a professional with knowledge and experience before attempting to make your own ingestible goods.
Essential oil quality. NOW® Essential Oils are highly tested for quality and purity using internationally recognized methods and tests which are transparently published on their website: https://www.nowfoods.com/now/nowledge/safety-data-sheets-essential-oils While the term “therapeutic grade” is often tossed around some circles, this is a marketing term and has not official meaning. The term “pure” on a bottle typically means not diluted with a carrier oil and has no official meaning or guarantee of lack of “impurities.”
Enjoying essential oils. The plethora of uses for essential oils is mind boggling. You can diffuse them (a great way to wake up, focus, or wind down), soak in them, apply them topically, add them to homemade body care and cleaning products, make a potty spritz, bath bombs, body scrubs, and more! A great place to start is here: https://www.nowfoods.com/essential-oils/recipes
Cold versus flu. In general a flu has an abrupt onset of weakness, muscle aches, headache, high fever and a dry cough that often persists. A simple cold comes with feelings of malaise, sneezing, runny nose, scratchy throat and only a slight fever. Generally speaking, the common cold has symptoms from the neck up whereas the flu involves symptoms below the neck. Antibiotics are of no use for these viral related afflictions although you should be aware of signs of secondary bacterial infections (see below).
Do it yourself. Most of us can easily treat our common colds and the flu at home. The key to success is to start treating within the first 12-24 hours of symptoms (ex. scratchy throat or feeling run down), take remedies consistently and get plenty of rest. Consult a doctor if tonsils are beefy-red, discharges are tick and yellow or green, cough is severe, you experience chest pain or difficulty breathing, have a fever of 103 degrees F or greater for over 4 days, are elderly, immune compromised, diabetic or a child.
Seasonal Herbal Support. Echinacea root (Purple Coneflower) is one of the most undervalued and misused immune modulating herbs (with antiviral and antibacterial actions) that is best used well before getting sick. It can help relieve the symptoms and shorten the duration of upper respiratory tract infections. If you suspect a secondary bacterial infection then combine it with Goldenseal and seek out a professional. Echinacea is also one of the few remedies that can be taken during pregnancy and lactation. Astragalus is another great traditional remedy used to tonify the immune system and with demonstrative abilities to boost white blood cells. Gentle enough for children, it is often taking for a period of months during cold and flu season.
Other useful herbs. Andrographis contains andrographolides to help reduce symptoms of the common cold and upper respiratory tract infections (throat, sinuses and lungs). It is a key herb for strong and immediate short term immune support. Liquorice, traditionally used to sooth dry coughs and other lung disorders, sore throats, and laryngitis, contains glycyrrhizin, a constituent with powerful antiviral activity. Combining 3-5 herbs is not unusual traditionally so don’t be afraid to try. Garlic naturally contains a sulfur compound called allicin that is responsible for many of the prised antimicrobial properties. NOW® Garlic 5000 allows for the release of allicin which is otherwise mostly lost when garlic is crushed, chewed or cooked.
A great combo for a cold or flu. NOW® Allibiotic CF™ contains five ingredients which in combination provide support for a healthy immune response. It contains garlic known to help relieve symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections and catarrhal conditions,Black Elderberries which exert free-radical scavenging, anti-viral and immunomodulating properties (attributed to their anthocyanidin flavonoid constituents), Olive Leaf extract which contains phenolic compounds (in particular the phytochemical oleuropein) with demonstrated antimicrobial, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities, Oil of Oregano which contains carvacrol and thymol suggested to be responsible for its antimicrobial activities and Arabinogalactan from the Larch tree bark (ImmunEnhancer AG™) shown to promote immunomodulation in response to microbial insults. Use 1 daily for prevention and 2 daily at the onset of any symptoms.
Each day we are confronted by harmful toxins in the air we breathe, the food and water we consume, and even in the products we use every day to make our lives more convenient. Over time, those toxins can build up in the body and impact our overall health. For this reason, many health experts recommend regular internal cleansing to help the body more efficiently eliminate toxins and waste.
While there are plenty of herbal cleansing formulas to choose from, beginners may benefit from a total-body formula designed for first-time cleansers. Such a program will typically last about two weeks and include gentler whole herbs to provide natural support for each of the body’s elimination organs—including the kidneys, liver, lymphatic system, and bowel (or colon). After that, you may wish to move on to a more advanced cleanse. These can last up to a month and will often contain deep-cleansing herbal extracts to support detoxification and help restore digestive regularity.
Helpful Tips to Remember
During any type of cleanse, remember that your goal is to support your detoxification processes while helping your body maintain a healthy balance of nutrients. Your daily diet should provide support for your organs of elimination as well as overall nourishment for your body, which is why choosing the right foods while cleansing is also important. Below are some quick tips to help you get started:
Eat plenty of “living foods” such as raw, organic fruits and veggies (veggies may also be lightly steamed) in addition to fermented foods that contain beneficial probiotic cultures such as yogurt, kefir, miso and/or tempeh.
Choose lean protein sources such as organic, natural, or free-range chicken, turkey, beef, fish, tofu, and eggs.
Consume essential fatty acids such as the beneficial Omega-3 fats found in oily fish and certain nuts and seeds.
Opt for well-cooked grains from sources such as millet, buckwheat, khorasan wheat, amaranth, quinoa, spelt, teff, rye, basmati rice, wild rice, and brown rice—all of which provide an excellent source of fibre while cleansing.
Drink plenty of purified water to help to flush unwanted toxins and waste from the body. A good rule of thumb is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of purified water every day.
Try to limit your consumption of sugar (both table sugar and hidden refined sugars) and starchy carbohydrates, which may feed unhealthy microbes in the gut.
Sexual health and the concerns related to it are the things one shouldn’t neglect. In fact, it has been observed that individuals are quite reluctant to even talk about sexual problems.
