After the arrival of our kids, I pretty much birthed my business too – sharing all I was learning and researching in my parenting to help other families thrive with our children my beautiful inspiration and most important teachers.
In these years I’ve spent hours and hours researching what our family eats, learning about the toxins we’re exposed to and how we live. It’s worked – my husband and I are in our 50’s and are on no medication, have had no surgery (apart from bike riding casualties)! and none of us have a chronic illness or auto-immune condition.
It might be luck, but it’s more likely the choices we’ve been able to make.
Which takes me to today and the Covid 19 vaccine. Will this be a choice our family wants? And will we have the freedom to make that choice?
Making an informed choice.
A discussion with Dr Judy Wilyman & Dr Catherine Fyan.
When I have questions about it’s safety answered, I will feel happier taking it. I can’t make this choice without being better informed, you may feel the same, in which case I hope this helps e.g.
To help give me the answers I met with two highly qualified Doctors.
Dr Catherine Fyan, a General Practitioner and Author trained in allopathic medicine with interests that have led her to study other healing practices. Dr Fyan has a foot in both worlds and has gained valuable insights into the specturum of health care practices and consumer demands.
Dr Judy Wilyman PhD is a public health educator and Author with in-depth knowledge of the historical control of infectious diseases. Her PhD was titled ‘A critical analysis of the Australian government’s rationale for its vaccination policy’ and her book: ‘Vaccination: Australia’s Loss of Health Freedom’ was published in March 2020.
With differing views to the public narrative, they are in agreement with thousands of Doctors worldwide being censored and de-platformed, including in Australia. Science requires healthy debate and rigour. Why aren’t the differing views of qualified experts being welcomed in the midst of this pandemic? A question they also address.
Watch here or click on the image… https://vimeo.com/513730694
Despite the huge divide on this topic, the one thing we all agree on is doing what we can for the health and safety of our families, first and foremost. I hope this helps give you confidence and clarity in your choices. All references, resources and contact details for Judy and Catherine are listed underneath the video.
Mandating the vaccine.
It’s worth taking a moment to reflect that while the vaccine isn’t mandatory, there will be and are restrictions on accessing the workplace, education, travel and more, along with the requirement of a ‘vaccination ID’ as potential infringements on our freedoms.
In Western Australia, there’s very concerning legislation that’s in place under the State of Emergency, I’ve had it checked by 2 different lawyers and it is in effect.
Western Australia: Enforced vaccinations
“The Western Australian Public Health Act 2016, under which authorities can enforce vaccinations, medical examinations and treatments. The Act is
‘Crown Bound’, which means it binds the State and, so far as the legislative power of the State permits, the Crown in all its other capacities. In other words, nothing within this Act makes the Crown in any capacity liable to be prosecuted for an offence.
Under Part 11, Section 158 of the WA Act entitled ‘Enforcement of requirement to undergo medical observation, medical examination’, explains that police have the power to apprehend, detain, restrain or remove any clothing (including underwear) for the purpose of the person receiving treatment, examinations or vaccinations”.
While the vaccine isn’t mandatory, it actually will be and that means it is no longer my choice, whether I want the vaccine or not. Why is our freedom of choice being removed?
Digging Deep.
As always I encourage you to do your own research and either way you too remain confident with the choices you’re making for your family. There has never been a time more important than now.
Whatever differing choices we make, they will be and are the right choices for us at the time, always giving wonderful chances for learning and personal growth, void of fear and guilt.
Toxins are ubiquitous. We can’t escape them…
… and that’s just a sample.
We are exposed to toxins daily – our air, food and water – nearly 2 million years (Chris Organ – Harvard University) of relative purity has not prepared us for the post-industrial toxic burden. 300 years of ‘progress’ vs 2,000,000 years of evolution.
So how do we KNOW if we are detoxing and these toxins aren’t accumulating in our body, messing with our cells, our bio-synthesis, our neuro-pathways, our minds and our children’s health? Especially important in these unusual times.
Some clues.
Do you have stubborn weight or belly fat you can’t lose no matter what you do? Feel bloated? Experience mysterious lethargy, moodiness, unstable blood sugars? Have excess gas? Irregular bowel movements? Or kids who are anxious, moody or exhibit unruly behaviour? Or perhaps you feel like something just isn’t right? …
Most of us don’t realise that some of these ailments can be the result of a body weighed down with toxins.
Why? The body cleverly stores toxins in our fat cells or organs as a protective mechanism when in overload.
Most of our organs e.g. lungs, skin, liver and kidneys are known for some form of detoxifying mechanism. If we’re exposed to a lot of toxins our organs can become clogged or sluggish, and we can’t properly filter these inflammatory and disruptive toxins efficiently – hence their ‘fallback’ storage in our fat cells.
What happens? Toxins can then re-enter our blood stream rather than being naturally excreted from our body. When in the blood stream the body does the next best thing and stores the toxins in our fat tissue until the body CAN efficiently excrete the toxins.
We may be healthy and eating well but if our liver and organs aren’t working at full capacity, our ‘systems’ – immune, nervous, endocrine (hormone), respiratory, lymphatic, reproductive, circulatory, digestive, etc – can be impacted … which helps explain WHY;
Could it all be so intricately linked to this one menace … toxins? Yes! Especially if you’ve tried everything else to ease your ailment, it could be time to consider detoxification.
Our children
My biggest concern is for our children who are likely to have inherited or been exposed to the recent onslaught of industrialised toxins.
Here’s how. Some toxins stored in our fat tissue are then cleansed from our bodies in breast milk while nursing our babies. Toxins are also transferred in the womb, through the placenta. As our children tend not to carry a lot of fat, these toxins can then quietly sit in their organs e.g. the liver and the brain, the fattiest organ of all. Heavy metals like mercury, aluminium, cadmium, arsenic and lead. These are toxins that I have (had) and both our children and at disruptive levels.
Our experience is another reason I feel it’s so important to share and be aware of this information. Not alarmed. The more we know the better we can do.
So if the body cleverly stores these toxins – why worry? Because life is full of change and at times stress and these triggers can compromise our immunity and with our protective mechanisms down, we fall sick. Perhaps I’m over simplifying, but if there are toxins we can control, let’s do that – for ourselves and especially for our children.
Prevention is better than the cure.
Some common everyday toxins we’re exposed to include;
Heavy metals
Let’s focus on heavy metals as these are most easily identified in the body with hair tissue analysis and are very common. It’s a big topic, which I introduce here.
‘But I don’t have heavy metals’ I hear you say. You may not know you do, but it is highly likely that in-fact you do – inherited from our environment, our parents and even their parents.
Some sources include;
We can see how easily most of us in the Western World are harbouring a scourge of toxicity that the body masterfully deals with … until it can’t. Until those ‘quiet’ clues it’s been giving us i.e. the weight gain, lethargy, digestive complaints, skin irritations or breakouts, anxiety, depression and so on and that we’ve ignored for so long or we’ve been far too busy to listen to – finally make us STOP and listen. ‘Thank you Mother Nature’.
Those quiet clues that become louder and louder until ‘all of a sudden’ we HAVE to stop and listen because we physically can’t go on and we’ve become sick.
It doesn’t need to be this way. The best way to detox is to take time each day to check in with our bodies wisdom. How do we FEEL? What do we need? More rest, better food, less food, more joy, more regular movement, more fresh air, sunshine or even just time to breathe deeply and be grateful.
These simple choices support our detoxification channels naturally and in todays world need to be an integral part of our lives.
Prevention is better than the cure.
It’s almost impossible to escape toxins. We can however be aware of what we’re exposing ourselves to and make toxic free choices plus ensure our bodies detoxification pathways are firing and gracefully support our body function – naturally.
17 ways to detoxify naturally;
If any of these are new to you, you don’t need to jump in and upgrade all these choices at once! Choose 1 or 2 that resonate, upgrade your choice, and start to integrate it until it’s just a way of life, then turn your attention to your next best choice.
And if your symptoms are chronic or you sense toxicity is an issue for you or your family seek medical advice and work with your Doctor or Health Practitioner on a detoxification program.
Or join me on my online ‘gentle cleanse’, my next LIVE round kicks off on the 19th of October, check out the details here or email me at kate@katebarnes.com.au. I’d love you to join us.
Emerging out of the grey of a slow, cold winter, for many of us rather than feeling the joys of spring, we’re feeling heavy and sluggish and have been sick, actually… really sick.
70-80% of our immunity lies in our gut, so a significant part of staying healthy is about a healthy gut.
Healing the gut is the number 1 focus for healing everything … almost. While it’s not the only consideration, the health of the gut must be the number 1 consideration.
Our kids and I have all been diagnosed with gut issues i.e. leaky gut and nasty parasitic infections, yet without obvious symptoms. My daughter, however, had very bad eczema as a baby and my energy and immune system literally crashed when the children were little ones.
Symptoms I now know were linked to poor gut function and other imbalances.
You might be thinking, ‘I’m healthy! Why have I got gut issues?’
We’re all work in progress, but I reckon I’ve had gut issues for a while, and the health of my gut and my husbands’ has affected the health of our childrens’.
For me personally, the following may have contributed;
Other factors contributing to gut dysfunction;
Unknowingly many children are starting life with compromised gut function. If parents haven’t actively detoxed for heavy metals and rebuilt their microbiome, our kids are inheriting a handsome dose of toxins and an under performing gut flora that can quickly set the scene for gut dysfunction, malabsorption, autoimmune and inflammatory disease.
I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s a reality and far better to know and to do something about it sooner than later.
And there is good news! The gut will heal and so will the body.
Have a listen to my gorgeous client, Callie and her inspiring story. Cal shares how she helped her 3 year old son, Bowen recover from a severe allergy to eggs. How she trusted her mothers instinct and her number 1 tip for creating a healthy home.
When the gut is functioning well, the foreigners i.e. toxins, heavy metals, parasites, viruses, bacteria etc. can pass right on through, while the body naturally does its thing.
Are you dealing with a form of gut dysfunction? Or perhaps you are but you don’t know you are. It’s highly likely.
Other than the obvious gut symptoms e.g. irritable bowel, reflux etc. Other clues / symptoms to consider;
Unless you’ve already identified an issue and taken action to restore it, it’s time to start rebuilding your gut health, gently, gradually, one step at a time and help safeguard your future wellbeing.
It doesn’t have to be difficult and the earlier you take action the better.
Learn more about protecting and restoring your gut health at my next Enriched Living Workshop, ‘Gut Health. Simple steps to healthy digestion & a long life’ We’re going on a fun and informative journey of the digestive system. You’ll learn commonly missed aspects to great gut health, plus lots of ideas for recipes and remedies to begin repairing your gut and your families. Simply. Naturally.
Seats are limited. Register ASAP.
And have a listen to Callie’s story.
Remember learning about European explorers, who travelled on their long journeys with certain foods like sauerkraut, to help prevent scurvy? An illness caused by a Vitamin C deficiency.
… we’ve known about the vital roles nutrients play in promoting health and how deficiencies are instrumental in contributing to illness for a very long time.
If any of our family are unwell or ‘run down’, while there’s no fear of scurvy, I always ‘add in’ a good dose of Vitamin C either with native plants or a good quality supplement (details below) to help fight infection and aid our recovery.
Along with our food and lifestyle choices, it works. I can’t remember the last time any of us, even the kids who are 13 and 15, went to the Doctor.
So with the change of seasons on the way and bugs aplenty, it’s a good time to consider adding vitamin C into your meals & routine.
And this ESSENTIAL Vitamin is so much more than an immune booster! Vitamin C is involved in protein metabolism and collagen synthesis i.e. it’s needed to help make these molecules accessible for the body to absorb and use. It’s also vital for other critical functions including our happiness and youthful skin.
In this post discover 8 great reasons you need Vitamin C daily, especially with the change of seasons, how we become deficient AND simple ways to get more into your day.
Why Vitamin C is essential in your daily diet.
6 more good reasons.
Other than immunity, Vitamin C is necessary for these vital functions;
Why we may not get what we need;
9 Signs of Deficiency.
The best source.
Our food. Especially fruits and vegetables, in their whole form, fresh and local;
Eating foods in their most natural and whole forms give our bodies more nutrients and the ‘co-factors’ i.e. the other nutrients and enzymes that allow those nutrients to be easily and effectively absorbed by our bodies.
While many of us turn to supplements first, it’s important to emphasise the best source of any vitamin, mineral, or nutrient is fresh, raw and local food sources.
However, in saying that, with the change of seasons I always add in a Vitamin C supplement.
Specific foods to be adding in;
These foods can easily be added into our meals or another easy way to add them in, is in smoothies. I’ve got lots of great smoothie ideas on my site. Check them out.
Supplementing: If we need to supplement be certain that the supplements are high quality, they are bioavailable i.e. in a liquid form (e.g. a lioposomal vitamin C) or powdered, with few ingredients, are free of additives, fillers, or synthetic ingredients and are preferably bottled in glass.
And THE best ways to boost our immune system overall… sleep well, move more and stress less.
Key Messages
And some more inspiration and information on boosting our immunity simply;
A checklist for great immunity. 24 tips to nurture and nourish.
14 tips your immunity will love.
Be curious. Experiment. Listen. Be enriched.
A bowl, a spoon, a box of cereal and a bottle of milk, that’s breakfast. Done. As soon as the kids can pick up a box they can make breakfast. There are no pots or pans to wash up and minimal preparation time. Infact you don’t even really need a kitchen! Brekki in a box easily shaves 15 – 20 minutes off the morning routine, gets us out of the house and on with our day. It’s easy and convenient.
But with this convenience and the promise to save our precious time has come the demise of our health, our family unit and importantly an energetic connection to our food.
Exaggerated? I don’t think so. Let me explain.
Last week we were all in the kitchen making brekki. Someone on eggs, someone on bacon and someone making tea, (I was acting sous chef). This moment made me so happy. It was chaotic, but we were all in there together in our little kitchen cooking, chatting, creating and connecting. A humble meal that had the power to bring our family together, create memories and connection. Our tummies were full and so were our hearts. For me, it was the perfect way to start the day.
(Btw there are many mornings that are definitely not so perfect… and I’ve thought how a box of cereal and milk would be SO much easier)!
And after a chat with my gorgeous neighbour it got me thinking. We all know the importance of a good breakfast, but many of us still find it difficult to break up with breakfast cereals. Why is that?
It’s much more than the ease of getting it ready. There are a few, very good reasons.
In this post I share a new perspective on our attachment to breakfast in a box. It’s about time, convenience, billions of dollars and importantly, the emotional bonds of childhood.
A brief history.
Some form of porridge has been enjoyed as breakfast for centuries. The arrival of packaged cereal in a box
is only recent, in the early 1900s, with Kelloggs Cornflakes. Kelloggs cornflakes originally began life as a health food created by a Doctor, John Harvey Kellogg, to nourish patients at his Sanitarium.
‘His brother Willian K Kellogg worked for him for many years until, in 1906, he broke away, buying the rights to Cornflakes, to set up the Kellogg Toasted Corn Flake Company’. A savvy entrepreneur, ‘William Kellogg discarded the health food concept, opting for heavy advertising and commercial taste’. (wikipedia)
How cereals make billions and why we have such a strong emotional attachment to them.
Transforming the fabric of food and family life.
Until breakfast cereals arrived there was no such thing as convenience food. Breakfast cereals, Cornflakes, heralded the beginning of convenience. Then with women entering the workforce more in the mid 1900’s and mornings becoming time critical, it was at a time in history that was ripe for anything that saved time i.e. convenience and cereal in a box. It was marketed as being good for us. We didn’t know otherwise and had no reason to question it.
Breakfast in a box took off at lightning speed, leaving its nourishing country cousin, the cooked breakfast, far behind back in the paddock, our bodies depleted and families fragmented.
‘The number of different types of breakfast cereals in the U.S. has grown from 160 (1970) to 340 (1998) to 4,945 (2012)’. (wikipedia)
For busy women entering the workforce breakfast cereals and convenience food offered a perfect alternative to cooking. It was understandable, and one that the billions of dollars spent on advertising, made very attractive but without realising WHAT that meant for the wellbeing and socialisation within our families.
An amazing breakfast / brunch we had with family that was whipped up by our cousin in the middle of the South African bush. Fond family memories of a magical time and place. (Don’t think the memories would be quite so fond with a box of cereal)!
So is breakfast in a box really that bad nutritionally? … Yes.
Most of us know this, but here’s a quick recap on what this ‘food’ really is.
11 tips to help break up with cereal.
How to choose a better box of breakfast cereal?
Then to prepare a good cereal breakfast e.g. a muesli soak it overnight to help release any anti-nutrients and make it into a porridge or a bircher muesli the next morning.
Summary
It’s a complex and very lucrative web that big business has spun to lodge breakfast cereals firmly in our hearts and our homes. The lifestyle, the emotional connection, the convenience and the advertising all make it extremely difficult for us to part company with it.
But it, along with convenience foods generally, has come at a cost. The demise of our health, our family unit and our energetic connection to our food along with creating a breakdown in the socialisation that naturally comes with preparing, cooking and eating a meal together.
I know many of you already start your day with a good breakfast, but for many of us it’s still a very hard choice to make, especially as time is of the essence in our busy lives. And at the end of the day it is our choice. But perhaps it’s time to stop and have a good look at those choices and why we’re really making them.
What is this important meal of the day creating in your home?
Is it the emotional connection you want your children to be passing onto their children?
Is it adding to the busyness of every day life or is it allowing you the chance to stop, prepare for the day and connect with loved ones?
Is it fuelling busy bodies or growing bodies with the nutrients they need for peak performance, achievement and happiness?
Is it the emotional bond of your child hood that you’re hanging onto?
Whatever you decide or wherever you’re at, the most important thing is to take the time to really enjoy your food and to connect with those around you. In joy.
Let’s bring breakfast back. To keep us motivated and inspired with this busy, time poor and important time of the day, join me in ‘The Great Breakfast Adventure‘ a FREE 5 day discovery to The Best, most energising & simplest breakfast for the whole family. Includes my ebook ‘Brainstorm the best Breakfast’ with over 30 pages of tips and new recipes to try. Details here.
All you need to know to fill your heart and your families tummies to get the day off to the best start possible.
References.
Choice review of 204 ready-to-eat cereals in 2015
The food that makes billions (documentary)
How familiar are you with the word ‘microbiome’? …
Going back 5 years, it was a rare word and not one I’d come across. Fast forward to today, unless you’ve been on a deserted island, it’s likely you’ve heard of it and for good reason.
This ‘invisible organ’ is at the heart of our wellbeing and quite possibly shaping our evolution.
In my research I was struck by just how fundamentally important these microscopic bugs are to our existence. Let’s discover exactly WHAT the microbiome is and WHY we need to start paying it a lot more attention.
Together, these tiny bugs work extremely hard on our behalf and in all that I’m learning, deserve deep respect. So much so, I wonder if this microbiome of ours, has and is, quietly guiding our evolution?
1. We need their genes. While the genes of our microbes give them ‘life’, their genes also help us survive, e.g.
The genes of our microbiome outnumber the genes of our very own body by about 100 to 1.
Consequently, it’s like we have two sets of genes! The ones we inherited from our parents and the other acquired i.e. our microbiome.
Geneticist, Seth Bordenstein says, “Arguably, the microbiota are as important as genes.”
2. An ancient relationship. Animals and microbes have lived together for as long as animals have been in existence and long before humans walked the earth.
Almost every cell in our body has a form of bacterial ancestry.
3. It changes within 24 hours. Our gut flora (microbiome) changes day to day, depending on what we’re exposing it to. We need to keep feeding it daily to maintain its healthy integrity. Changing our diet can change the composition of the bugs in our gut within 24 hours!
4. Diversity is the key. Generally, a lower diversity or different types of bacteria in our microbiome relates to an increased risk of disease’, ‘Increasing diversity reduces chances of disease e.g. inflammation’. Dr Justin Sonnenberg, Scientist.
And this…
“We’ve discovered that there’s this class of chemicals in the mother’s milk that is there, not for the baby to digest, but for the microbiota to digest. The mother actually laces her milk with a kind of dietary fibre that’s a class of molecules you can’t find anywhere else on the planet. They’re not even present in cow’s milk.” ~ Dr Justin Sonnenburg, Scientist.
Right from birth our bodies intuitively know how important it is to not only nourish our babies, but our babies bugs, our microbiome. Showing just HOW fundamentally important our gut flora is.
With our modern lifestyles and choices the diversity of this ancient and mutually beneficial relationship is steadily diminishing – perhaps along with our natural evolution as a species.
“Throughout our lives, we help shape our own microbiomes — plus they adapt to changes in our environment. For example, the foods you eat, how you sleep, the amount of bacteria you’re exposed to on a daily basis and the level of stress you live with all help establish the state of your microbiota” ~ Dr Axe.
Years ago, my Dad piled up this heap of dirt at the farm, especially for the grandchildren to play on. They still have hours of fun on it, plus it’s the perfect way to nourish their bugs – just as nature intended.
Eliminates toxins. Certain benefical bacteria can prevent or inactivate toxins released by harmful bacteria, from entering our blood stream. Some may also inactivate toxic molecules that we ingest.
Digests food and helps with colon and gut health. The majority of our gut microbes live in the colon and some of them specialise in fermenting fiber e.g. in legumes, fruits, and vegetables, and the byproducts of this activity helps to nourish the cells lining our colon.
Some bacteria produce a chemical that provides an energy source for our cells. It also helps to strengthen the connections between the cells of our intestinal lining, reducing the likelihood of a leaky gut.
Supports immune health. This is one of our microbiomes most important roles. Our gut microbes can teach the immune system to recognise and attack harmful invaders. It can determine how quickly we fight off illness e.g. a respiratory infection or the flu.
Anti-inflammatory function. Some bacteria release compounds that have a calming effect, preventing inflammation and keeping the immune system from overreacting.
Supports brain health. Bacteria in the intestine make some of the same molecules that are known to transmit signals in the brain e.g. serotonin (our happy hormone) and melatonin (our sleep hormone) – effecting our mood, behaviour and our sleep.
Increasing evidence supports the primary role of the gut microbiome in influencing stress-response patterns, most notably cortisol (stress hormone) production and its regulation.
Supports metabolic health. Along with what people are choosing to eat, there is more and more research showing the link between obesity, metabolic disease and the microbiome. With the diversity of our microbiome having a direct affect on our metabolism – the lower the diversity, the lower the metabolic rate, the lower the energy levels experienced.
In summary, the gut is our home to optimum health and our microbiome appears to be the heart of that home.
1. Mothers own healthy microbiomes, natural births and breastfeeding set the scene for passing on a healthy microbiome to our babies.
2. Our food and lifestyle choices and exposures.
For many of us, this introduction to life for our babies isn’t always possible, that’s okay, (and it wasn’t for my babies either). The body is incredible and the microbiome can be repopulated, keep reading as I share how…
Then what disrupts this complex and intimate system?
Loving our microbes is a fundamental strategy for disease prevention and for kick-starting our wellbeing. Thankfully it’s not hard. Infact, it’s easy, start with one new choice at a time.
3. Control chemical and toxin exposure
4. Move more
5. Sleep well
Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT): If you or a loved one suffers from a chronic digestive complaint or one you cannot find a solution to, perhaps investigate the possibility of an FMT. A procedure in which your microbiome is replaced with a donors microbiome.
Perhaps there are no good or bad bacteria. That potentially harmful microbes become dangerous once they ‘overpopulate’ or start to outnumber the more beneficial bugs, which can happen when any of the above factors are out of balance. Also consider that there is research that shows some of our so called harmful bugs may in fact have a role in stimulating a healthy immune system and also have a part to play in our microbiome.
While much of the science on the microbiome is in its infancy, the important role it has to play in our wellbeing is not. The microbiome has provided a beneficial relationship to our species for eternity.
What we expose our gut and our microbiome to is going to directly impact our vitality and our ability to ward off chronic illness. And many of these environmental exposures we CAN control. Our health is very much in our own hands.
By improving our diet, eating plenty of bug-loving foods and probiotics, lowering our stress, and exercising regularly, we can support our body’s microbiome, simply. Going to war against ‘bugs’ is not the answer, we need to respect the intimate relationship that we have evolved with them.
Whatever we are exposing ourselves to daily, let’s consider not only how it protects our physical body, but also how it protects our microbial community. In doing this we will protect our childrens futures and the natural course of our evolution at the same time.
What can you start doing today to nourish your microbiome better? Is it more time outside, opening the windows, eating more fibre rich foods? What will it be? Choose one and start enjoying adding it into your routine.
References
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24388028
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009898115000170
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/backseat-drivers/
http://www.mercola.com
I’ts taken me a long time to get to this. It doesn’t happen overnight and you may already be doing a lot of them, or not. Choose one or two that really resonate and start adding them into your life-style!
Now I’d love to hear your thoughts. What works for you?
Why see a health coach when there are so many qualified health practitioners and time and money is limited?
This is such a good question and the answer isn’t always obvious. I found it hard to answer myself and had a client help articulate it for me!
As a health coach, scientist and mum, I want to know about your concerns holistically i.e. as a whole person, what underlying triggers are disrupting your wellbeing? i.e. what’s the root cause or creating the disconnect or the discontent? I do this by developing a relationship with you, listening and understanding ALL aspects of your life, especially as mothers. With so many factors impacting our health – our introduction to life as babies, stress levels, sleep deprivation, lifestyle, toxins, microbiome, environment, connection, movement, inadequate nutrition, I get a thorough picture of your life before offering guidance or recommendations that will ultimately empower you in the choices you make. I help you bring wellness back into your home and create a place where the foundations for great health are created. Something as women, mothers, nurturers we innately understand but often become disconnected from.
We need to take this time initially to REALLY learn what’s going on.
My intention, and promise, is to create lifestyle choices that surpass the need for medication and excess supplementation. I promote lifestyle medicine which is about prevention – using real food and lifestyle choices to support the bodies natural healing mechanisms. My approach pays high regard to the wisdom of our ancestors while incorporating current research that is shaped by the needs of our modern lives. It is NOT a quick fix, we need to learn what our bodies need and a quick fix, bypasses this important learning. I believe our health is a life long journey. And this is what I offer through my programs.
In cutting out expensive doctors and specialist appointments and medications, while not having to rely on Dr google and heresy, and in becoming more productive in our life my clients make an investment in their future, their families future and save both money and time. At the same time they quickly gain incredible knowledge that can confidently be passed on from one generation to the next, and one kitchen to the next, just as our ancestors did.
This is my motivation and I feel incredibly lucky to do what I do and to work with incredible women. Including the 2 beautiful and super talented women and mamas who helped create this pic. Check out their work, they are awesome. Thank you Lisa Quinn-Schofield at Featherhorse Studio and photographer, Jody D’Arcy.
and if you’d like to learn more about my coaching, please contact me for an initial complimentary consult or visit my website to schedule a time for us. http://kateb.wpengine.com/
According to the WHO ‘Methylmercury (a form of mercury) is the major source of body burden in children worldwide’. All forms of mercury are toxic.
It’s with personal experience and frustrations that I’ve discovered just how invasive and damaging Heavy Metals (HM) can be, especially Mercury.
HM are ubiquitous i.e. everywhere and most of us are carrying them in some shape or form. Mercury, Aluminium, Lead, Arsenic, uranium, cadmium, a few of the common ones.
Let’s focus on Mercury. It’s one of the most common and one I’ve had most experience with and researched.
It’s a topic that’s close to my heart, as it’s something each member of our family has dealt with, in particular our eldest child and has had a defining part to play in their developmental challenges.
This is often an overlooked topic and trigger to illness and as Dr Chris Shade, one of the worlds leading expert in mercury and glutathione says,
‘Overall, mercury has a very strong ability to upset our entire system, which is part of the reason why toxicity symptoms are so difficult to pin down to mercury’
Mercury toxicity is far more common than we realise and has devastating consequences, especially on our neurology (brain) and immunity. There IS good news though, because with the right tools and fuels – we CAN – ship it out.
Importantly, if we don’t detox, it can lead to issues later on in life as stress takes hold or as our bodies age. And of even greater consequence is that these toxins accumulate in our bodies as they are passed on from one generation to the next, crescendoing the impact on the vitality of future generations. Watch the video here.
We need to detox heavy metals, not only for our own health, but for the health of future generations.
A snapshot of what Mercury does in the body;
Overall, mercury has a very strong ability to upset our entire system, which is part of the reason why toxicity symptoms are so difficult to pin down to mercury.
Not to alarm but to be aware. If you are struggling with an illness or issue you can’t get to the bottom of and haven’t considered toxicity, it might be worth considering.
It was certainly the case for us.
Insights
I am a great believer the body and the mind together can naturally deal with toxins, including heavy metals, it’s incredibly clever, and it has the mechanisms to do it. In a healthy, strong body.
BUT the reality is most of us do not live in a way that our stressors are low enough (busyness, relationships, emotions get in the way daily) or that our energy is clear enough to be able to do this naturally.
And until we are there, which can take a lifetime, I think it’s important we support our bodies with small steps to daily detoxify, feel better and continue our evolving progress of wellbeing.
Unless we detoxify from these metals, they continue to accumulate and pass on from generation to generation, causing devastating neurological and immune problems along the way.
Our Story
Has to do with all of us, but in particular our children.
We have had a frustrating and challenging time over the years trying to get to the bottom of their development. As a 5 year old development within their body stopped when they were 5 years old. It’s fine now, development progressing and they are by all means a super healthy, happy child.
It wasn’t always this way and we have definitely had our challenges. A longer story for another time.
I discovered there were 4 key elements at the heart of the issue inhibiting development.
They had it all going on. How did I discover this. I listened to my gut instinct and we did testing. I knew there had to be a cause for the challenges that presented, and despite being told there was nothing that could be done. I found answers. The testing we did Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis and stool testing and working with a good health practitioner.
Let’s focus on Mercury. When we first tested, it was barely negligible and under the ref. range of her hair tissue analysis.
Fortunately we were with a Naturopath that understood it’s not OK and there is no room for heavy metals.
We started a detox protocol and the metals started to come out. Over the space of a year her levels for mercury, lead, arsenic, rose. Mercury was incredibly high, thankfully now we are almost there.
As mentioned, Mercury is a potent neurotoxin.
At the same time, despite their good diet, their nutritional profile for key nutrients was very low. Heavy metals (along with the imbalance of bugs) can rob the body of these nutrients.
WHO 3 Key facts;
Sources of Mercury.
Different types of mercury, affects the body differently
All forms of mercury are more or less toxic to humans, because it is widely distributed in the body and many systems are affected.
The toxic effects of mercury vary according to:
The fetal brain is the most sensitive human tissue to damage from this powerful neurodevelopmental toxin. Certainly explains some of the challenges we had to deal with.
Not going into detail re some of the effects, but you can imagine.
What is more concerning is if there is NO heavy metals detected as it may mean the body isn’t detoxing well and pathways are compromised.
5 things I wish I’d known.
You have to have all parts of this going and working well.
I wish I had known a few of these things first up, it would’ve saved us a lot of time and money.
11 things we can do.
Other things to do.
If you do suspect heavy metals and want to investigate it further, find a good health practioner experienced in the area.
Detox needs to be done carefully, gently and properly as can go onto cause further damage.
Be patient, it takes time and be comforted knowing food and lifestyle choices can heal.
If you want to talk to me about my experience and next steps, I am very happy to share. I would love to help you save costly and unnecessary time and money. Pop some time in our diaries here or email me for a 30 minute consultation on kate@katebarnes.com.au.
References
How long does it take to make or break a habit? 3 days, 21 days, 28 days, 90 days? Why is it we see so many ‘health’ professionals tease us with promises of making health induces habits in 21 days and curing our problems in 28 days? Where does this actually come from?
Keen to find out just how long it takes to make or break a habit, I went searching for the science… and what I uncovered was pretty eye opening to say the least… let’s just say it has to do with moving house and getting nose jobs! No seriously…. read on…
The Myth
We’ve been told so many different things about how long it actually takes to make or break a habit, but where does this really come from. As far as the science is concerned it seems this myth stems back to a book released in 1960 called “Physco-Cyberneticks” from Maxwell Maltz. Yeah, my eyes glossed over just reading the title. It seems Dr Maltz observed that patients who recovered from plastic surgery took around 21 days to get used to their new look. He also observed amputee patients experienced the ‘phantom limb’ phenomenon for about 21 days, along with observations that it takes around 3 weeks to settle into a new house. The end.
Hang on… what?
Is this all there is to support 21 days to make a habit, how long it takes to adjust to a nose job or a new house? Seriously?
The theory is Maltz used the word habitualise, meaning to get used to, and that’s how an observations of nose jobs became the worlds most believed myth.
The Truth… Based on real evidence
So, it turns out a few skeptics out there with science backgrounds who put this habit breaking myth to the test. In the book Making Habits Breaking Habits Jeremy Dean shares a university study from London that asked the question how long does it take to form different habits. He tested a handful of habits over 84 days with varying results. Depending on a few things, like the habit itself and how often the student performed the task depended on how long it took to form an automated habit. The average was more like 66 days to form a healthy habit with some variations within that. Wanting to drink more water, that might take about 20 days. What about eat more fruit, that might take you around 40 days to form a habit… and exercise proving the hardest reported still not a habit after the 84 days.
Another study looking more at breaking habits, whilst this one was about addiction, as we know from the habit sliding scale, a bad habit is only a short stroll from a full blown addiction. Researchers at Yale University found the neural connections started to rewire in the pre-frontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for self control and decision making) after 90 days. It could in fact take up to 388 days. Author Jeremy Dean shares one recorded study of trying to break a food habit taking a full 388 days before it was habitualised and automated… WHAT? That’s a lot of 21-day programs before you see a result!
How long is a piece of string?
So, the answer is not 21 days, it’s not even 90 days, the answer on how long does it take to make or break a habit is… It depends. It depends on the habit, how often you perform it, and how much support you have around you. However you can bet if your bad habit is food for fitness related, you’re looking between 66 and more than 90 days, perhaps even up to 388 days. Its not all doom and gloom though, you can influence the outcome and speed up this result with these habit hacks.
Break my habit stat – your top tips to breaking a habit faster than you can say choc chip cookie!
The good news is your brain can’t tell the difference between imaginary and reality… so the more you visualise yourself breaking the habit the more your brain takes this as ‘practice’ speeding up the process up to 15 times faster thank non-visualisation.
How to Visualise
Firstly, identify all the possible scenarios that could get in the way of breaking or making your habit. See the cheat sheet for some examples.
Secondly, imagine the PROCESS not THE OUTCOME. You need to image the process of breaking/making the habit. For instance, imagine yourself getting up to exercise when you’ve had a bad night sleep, when its raining, when you feel good, when you feel bad, imagine all of the scenarios you outlined in step one.
Thirdly, make your visualisations as real as possible, what can you see, sense, taste, smell, feel. Who are you with, where are you, what are you doing? Make it as real as you possibly can.
And finally, practice practice practice. Do this visualisation for 15 minutes every day. If you can’t do it in one sitting, do it in 4-5 minute blocks throughout the day. When you’re communiting, when your waiting for your computer to start up or shut down, when your on hold, when you taking a ‘function’ break. Take any and every opportunity to visualise visualise visualise.
Written by Melitta Hardenberg. Melitta is Chief Habit Breaker at Breaking Bad Habits.
Melitta is passionate about realising potential, in particular helping to make the connection between physical, mental, emotional wellbeing and executive brain performance. Whether it is working with an individual one on one, or working with leaders to improve productivity and engagement. Helping others realise their ultimate success is what motivates he every day.
Find Melitta at http://www.getfitandfocused.com.au and on Facebook.