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25.01.2022 My 2 minute noodleswell maybe more like 15 minute noodles. These will satisfy all of the soupy, salty goodness you remember from 2 minute noodles you used to slurp down as a kid. Perfect for chilly days or to whip up when you only have a few scraps left in the fridge and your short on time. Ingredients: -1 x 200g packet of brown or white rice vermicelli noodles -knob of ginger, grated... -knob of fresh turmeric, grated -1 TBS sesame oil -3 TBS tamari -1 TBS fish sauce -4 TBS bone broth powder (omit if using fresh broth as your liquid) -3 big handfuls of your favourite veg I used carrots, cabbage and bok choy -Handful of fresh parsley and coriander Method: -pop a pan onto medium heat and add 1 litre of water or bone broth -add in your grated ginger & turmeric, sauces and bone broth powder. Season with salt and pepper -bring to the boil and then reduce to a low simmer while you thinly slice and chop your veg -add in your veg and allow to soften for 5 or so minutes -pop in your noodles and stir in the fresh herbs, these only need about 1-2 minutes of cooking -serve up into 2 bowls and enjoy my healthy, nourishing version of 2 (15) minute noodles
25.01.2022 Do you think you have food sensitivities? You could spend months and years trying to figure out what foods are triggering your symptoms. Sometimes you can figure this out by using an elimination diet. Remember, this is not meant to be a long term diet it is just until we figure out what the culprit is. For 3 weeks you need to eliminate all grains, dairy, gluten, soy, corn, alcohol, yeast, added sugar, eggs, nuts & seeds. Well it doesn’t sound fun but it’s the best way to redu...ce inflammation and get your body back to a baseline. After the 3 weeks you can introduce 1 food at a time. Say you choose to introduce eggs, you don’t change any other variables and you monitor for symptoms for 3 days. If there’s no negative reactions then you can move onto the next food. Do this until you figure out what your triggers are. What if it seems like every food is causing you symptoms? Well then it’s time to dig a little deeper. It may not be food sensitivities at all, there’s a lot going on in that gut of yours. These symptoms can also be those of gut dysbiosis, SIBO, candida overgrowth, parasites, H.pylori, the list goes on. This is where testing can take out a bit of the guess work. As much as I like playing detective I often find investing in the testing in the first instance actually ends up saving you money, time and most importantly gets you better quicker. You will never regret investing in your health, so if you’re interested let me know! I can hook you up.
25.01.2022 Do these symptoms look familiar? If you look at this and can tick of a few of these then it’s time to get your thyroid checked. Your thyroid is a small butterfly shaped gland at the base of your neck. It controls your metabolism, energy, heart rate, mood, mental clarity, menstruation and body temperature. Your brain releases thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) that signals to the thyroid to produce thyroxine (T4) & triiodothyronine (T3). T4 needs to be converted to T3 in order ...for it to be active within the cells. If there’s an issue with TSH signalling or the conversion of T4 to T3 this is where things can start to go wrong. You could also have an autoimmune condition called Graves or Hashimotos. This is where your immune system attacks the thyroid gland causing havoc and a whole lot of symptoms. The good news is there is SO MUCH you can do to support and rebalance your thyroid function. So if you look at this picture and think yep I can relate, then keep following along this week as we take a deeper look into the thyroid.
25.01.2022 Are you feeling anxious, uncertain or worried about what the future holds? At the moment there is a lot of unknown and we are all collectively stressed. This is a time where trying to predict what the future holds brings anxiety, as always we need to look to the present and look within. We need to take a deep breath and soften. Do it with me, take a BIG belly breath and let out a big sigh when you exhale. Ahhhhhhhhh. How good does that feel! Now I want you to do something fo...r YOU on this Sunday. How are you going to nourish your temple, fill up your cup and practice that self love that you deserve? Heres some ideas: Take an epsom salt bath with candles Dry body brush and give your self an abhyanga self oil massage Pour yourself a cuppa and read a book Make yourself your favourite meal or treat and enjoy every single bite Give your lover a 20 second hug (there’s science to prove the benefits!) Put on some music and dance around for no reason (we have recently learnt how to moon walk and if you want to have a good laugh do this) Get out in nature Listen to an inspiring podcast Pop on a guided meditation Lay on the couch and do NOTHING So tell me how are you filling up your cup today, I would love to hear how you are giving yourself some extra loving today
23.01.2022 After a little bit of research I’ve looked at the most affordable and effective water filters to suit everyones individual needs, Here are my top picks. I know the need for filtering your water is something that is easy to ignore because you can’t see the direct impacts of it everyday. Although over time there is an accumulative affect and along with everything else we are up against in this modern world clean, pure water is such an important step in reducing the toxic load on our bodies. I hope this helps
20.01.2022 Do you avoid potatoes because they are too high in carbs? Well I’m here to tell you that you can enjoy all the spuds that you like and in factyou definitely should! Certain foods including potatoes contain a special kind of fibre called resistant starch. This means when you eat these foods the starch within is completely resistant to digestion in the small intestine and is gobbled up by your beneficial bacteria once it reaches the large intestine. This provides a beautiful f...uel source for those gut bugs and once fermented and digested the bi-products that are produced are called metabolites. These metabolites really is where the magic happens and they have a huge array of protective and health promoting benefits. I won’t bore you with the details, all you need to know is EAT MORE POTATOES! The key here is that your potatoes must be cooked and then cooled completely overnight in the fridge. It doesn’t matter if you reheat it again but they must of undergone the cooling process first. You can up your resistant starch by including the following foods into your diet: Cooked and cooled rice and potatoes Rolled oats Lentils Green (underripe) bananas or green banana flour So be sure to add potato salad, rice salad, lentil soups, overnight oats, porridge, left over mash and smoothies to your meal plan this week. If you’re short on time you can buy green banana flour and add it to your smoothie, this is a super easy way to ensure your getting that resistant starch in on a regular basis
18.01.2022 The way we determine a healthy gut from a sick gut comes down to the microbes (bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites) that live within us. Research shows that healthy guts have a couple of things in common. 1. Richness of microbes- in the trillions 2. A large diversity of the different species of bacteria The actual species of bacteria is less important as we all have our own unique gut microbiome, just like a fingerprint. It’s the diversity of these gut bugs that is impor...tant. So, the key is diversity AND richness of microbes. So how do we achieve this? FIBRE Fibre is the main fuel source for our microbes and without it they will not grow and they can’t work their magic. You can take all of the probiotics in the world but without fibre they can’t function. When we feed our beautiful little microbes what they need they produce very important bi-products called metabolites. These metabolites perform various different beneficial functions all over the body: - Maintain glucose stability - Regulates appetite and weight - Maintains and nourishes intestinal mucosa - Reduces inflammation - Produces neurotransmitters like serotonin (our happy hormone) - Supports the immune system We want to be eating at least 30g of fibre every single day from a variety of different sources. This means you will feed a diverse range of microbes keeping them happy and keeping us healthy. Do you need to up your fibre intake?
17.01.2022 In my last post I shared how fibre is the key to optimising gut health. So what is fibre and where does it come from? There are two types of fibre: 1. Insoluble fibre: remains completely undigested through the gastrointestinal tract retaining water and adding bulk producing a nice satisfying poop.... 2. Soluble fibre: resistant to digestion in the small intestine and is broken down and fermented by the bacteria in the large intestine. Some of these soluble fibres are classified as prebiotics which is the fuel that promote growth of our gut bugs. There are small amounts of probiotics in fruit, veg and legumes but the best sources of prebiotics are: Cooked & cooled potatoes and rice Asparagus Garlic Green bananas or green banana flour Artichokes Onions & leeks Aim to eat a wide variety of fruit, veg, legumes, wholegrains, nuts and seeds everyday to make sure you are not only getting enough fibre but also loading up on prebiotics to feed your gut bugs.
16.01.2022 Mother natures penicillin (aka healing chicken soup) For the broth: -1kg chicken bones (I use drumsticks)... -Any veggies scraps you have leftover. (I collect used up lemons, carrot tops, celery leaves, onion & garlic skins and broccoli stalks over the week and keep them in the freezer) Add bones and veggies to a big pot of water with a splash of ACV. Simmer away with the lid ajar for 5 hours or until the liquid has reduced by 1/3. Strain your broth and set aside. Seperate the meat from the bone. (I feed the veggies to my dog) For the soup: 1 onion or leek, diced 1 carrot, diced 1 celery stalk, diced 1 zucchini, diced 1 cup of cabbage, shredded 2 potatoes, diced 4 x garlic cloves, crushedKnob of ginger and fresh turmeric root, grated Small handful of fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, parsley and oregano 1 cup of broccoli, chopped small Handful of pasta or noodles Put a pot on medium heat with a splash of oil, saute onion, celery and carrots until softened. Add remaining veggies and herbs, season well with salt and pepper. Add the broth and chicken pieces and simmer on low for 30-60 minutes. In the last few minutes of cooking add your broccoli and pasta/ noddles until cooked. Season generously with salt and pepper and some fresh parsley. And you have yourself one of the most nourishing meals on earth (in my humble opinion).
15.01.2022 Do these symptoms look familiar? You may be suffering from hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis dysfunction or HPA axis dysfunction. This is commonly referred to as chronic fatigue but the truth is your adrenals arn’t fatigued they are doing exactly what they are supposed to. For example, let’s say you are being chased. Your brain sends a signal to your adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol. This increases our heart rate and blood pressure, pumps blood into your ...muscles, allows stored glucose to be released into the blood stream and dilates your pupils, this is called the sympathetic nervous system or the fight or flight response. This is NORMAL and is exactly what we want in a situation like this. You now have more energy, you can see more, you’re faster and stronger which means you can run away to safety. When the perceived threat has passed adrenaline and cortisol levels return to normal. The issue here is that instead of having a stress response only last minutes while we fight or run away we are inundated with stress in our modern world. Whether this be from work, infections, traffic, naughty kids or gut dysbiosis our stress response lasts days, months and years! This is when stress becomes chronic and all of these symptoms can start to manifest. Your adrenals arn’t fatigued they are still doing what they are supposed to do. But your body is now manifesting in these symptoms because of the constant release of adrenaline and cortisol. This is why managing stress has to be top priority and why I probably sound like a broken record when it comes to stress. So tune in this week and I’ll be showing you exactly how to do it!
15.01.2022 In my last post I went over some of the main ways to combat HPA axis dysfunction or more commonly referred to as adrenal fatigue or chronic fatigue. But how do you know if you actually have HPA dysfunction? Well, we can run a very simple at home saliva test. This will test for your cortisol levels at 4 times throughout the day and also a couple of other important adrenal hormones.... This will map out on a chart (like the pic above) if your cortisol levels are normal or out of range. As you can see our cortisol rises and peaks at around 6am and then gradually falls throughout the day- this is normal. You can see this person is out of the reference range with the little black dots falling outside the green area. With this information we can specifically work to correct and rebalance your adrenals. If you go to your GP they will not be able to tell you if you have chronic fatigue until you have something called Addisons disease. This is when you literally do not produce any cortisol at all. Now I generally like the catch things before they get to that extreme level so that’s why these function medicine tests are so great as they uncover things brewing beneath the surface and we can catch them before they reach the disease state. There are 7 stages of HPA dysfunction and each one of those tells us how far down that adrenal fatigue road you are. So, if your feeling tired, burnout, weak, poor exercise tolerance, low immunity, tired & wired, brain fog, low libido, hormonal imbalance, unexplained weight gain or loss, inflammation, water retention, insomnia or just feeling like something is not quite right then consider getting tested. I really hope this helps because true adrenal fatigue is debilitating and can leave you suffering without answers as it is just not recognised within conventional medicine.
13.01.2022 Hashimoto Thyroiditis is an autoimmune condition of HYPOthyroidism. Antibodies produced by the immune system attack the thyroid gland causing it to underproduce thyroid hormone, the brain senses this and overproduces TSH in attempt to increase thyroid hormone. This overstimulates the thyroid and can cause it to become enlarged and with that comes all of the symptoms like low mood, weight gain, feeling cold & hair loss. Graves’ Disease is an autoimmune condition of HYPERthyroi...dism. antibodies attack the thyroid gland causing excess thyroid hormone to be produced, this overstimulates the thyroid causing symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, nervousness, sweating, hand tremor, hair loss, missing periods and palpitations. So what causes these autoimmune conditions? Intestinal permeability: or more commonly known as leaky gut. This is where the epithelial cells of the intestine become damaged and leaky. This allows pathogens, bacteria, food particles and viruses through directly into the blood stream. This puts your immune system into overdrive and is heavily linked to causing autoimmune disease. Genetics: certain people are predisposed to autoimmune conditions. So if autoimmunity or thyroid disease runs in the family be sure to take on all of the lifestyle reccys in my last post to protect your thyroid. That said, you can’t blame it all on your genes, your genes load the gun but your lifestyle pulls the trigger. Just because your mum and grandma has X disease does NOT mean you are destined to get it. Gluten sensitivity or allergy: can trigger what we call molecular mimicry. The gliadin found in gluten has a similar molecular structure to that of the thyroid gland. This means the immune system can mistakenly attack the thyroid instead of the gliadin when ingested causing damage and potential thyroid disease. Environmental factors: like smoking, infections, radiation, toxins, certain medications and pregnancy can all impact your thyroid and lead to potential thyroid disease. The good news is you can rebalance and heal, having an autoimmune condition is NOT a life sentence
13.01.2022 Supercharged Green Soup This little bowl of goodness is exactly what the doctor ordered on this rainy Saturday. It’s packed with fibre, protein, nourishing fats, prebiotics and plenty of cancer fighting antioxidants and phytonutrients. Ingredients:... -1 leek, chopped-dark green ends removed -2 sticks of celery, diced -1 carrot, unpeeled and diced -1/2 small cauliflower, chopped -1 broccoli, chopped stems and all -2 garlic cloves, chopped -knob of ginger -1cm fresh turmeric or 1 tsp powder -1 chilli, chopped -2 big handfuls baby spinach -2 TBS bone broth powder or fresh broth/ stock -1 cup quinoa, rinsed To serve: toasted seeds, I used pepitas, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds, chopped fresh parsley and fresh lemon juice Method: -put a large pot on medium heat with a splash of oil -add your leek, celery, carrot and broccoli stalk and sauté for a good 10-15 minutes until softened and caramelised -add your cauliflower, garlic, chilli, grate in the ginger and turmeric and sauté for a further couple of minutes stirring to combine -fill the pot with enough stock/ broth or water to cover the veg by about 1cm -add you bone broth powder if using, season generously with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the veg is tender -cook the quinoa as per packet instructions and set aside -once the veg is soft add in the broccoli florets for a couple of minutes until bright green and tender -turn the heat off and add in the spinach, blend with a stick blender until smooth -toast your seeds -serve up your soup in a bowl adding in a couple of spoonfuls of cooked quinoa, sprinkle over the toasted seeds, top with parsley and finish with a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice Get some of my supercharged green soup into ya, it’ll make you feel a million bucks
12.01.2022 I’ve been slack with my adrenal posts sorry! With all that’s going on in the world sometimes I feel the info I’m posting is pointless in the scheme of things. But I’m back in action this week because I realised if you or someone you know is dealing with chronic fatigue (HPA axis dysfunction) or any other health problem for that matter, then that is ALL that is going on in your world. You find it hard to function day to day let alone comprehend the rest of the noise. If you ...go back to my previous post you’ll see a whole lot of symptoms that you may relate to. This could be an indication that there is an imbalance within your hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis). Luckily there are some basic lifestyle and diet strategies you can implement before needing to worry about testing or specific protocols. If however, you feel you need the extra support and guidance then please reach out!
11.01.2022 In my previous posts we covered how and why your thyroid can become imbalanced, but what can we do to to bring it back to equilibrium. First we need to do some testing to see exactly what is going on. When it comes to your thyroid I strongly recommend a test don’t guess approach as we don’t want to be mucking around with trial and error with such a vital gland! You can go to your GP and get a free thyroid panel run if you have a good doctor. In my experience they will test yo...ur TSH and that’s about it and that really isn’t enough to get the full picture. Ensure you see a practitioner that is familiar with the OPTIMAL lab ranges as the conventional medicine standards are wayyyyyyy too wide. The optimal range is much smaller very specific. We want to test: -TSH -Free T3 -Free T4 -Reverse T3 -TPO antibodies -4 point salivary cortisol -IgG food sensitivity test (optional) -Heavy metals test (optional) Because we can’t just look at 1 number, we need to look at the whole picture in a WHOLE-istic way then we can specifically target what we need to work on in order to rebalance the body.
08.01.2022 Causes of thyroid imbalance. There’s a lot here and it takes more then an insta post to break all of this down but hopefully you can start to look at the main things that can be impacting your thyroid. Nutritional deficiencies: unfortunately our food just does not contain the same amount of nutrients it did 100 years ago. Ensure you are eating a nutrient dense diet and supplementing with a good quality multivitamin if appropriate. Stress: when we are in the fight & flight sta...te (sympathetic nervous system) we release cortisol. This is suppose to happen but when this stress becomes chronic- traffic, work, kids, health, deadlines, pandemic....cortisol can inhibit the action of TSH and the all important conversion of T4-T3. You must address stress first if you want to restore thyroid function. This is why cortisol testing is part of our thyroid panel we run at Flourish. Halogens: chlorine and fluoride displace iodine at the receptor. Our thyroid hormone is made up from iodine so this nutrient is critical to thyroid function. Look at getting a water filter. Environmental toxins: read your labels! Chemicals, plastics, parabens, synthetic fragrance these can all cause havoc in the body and particularly your thyroid. Clear out all of the toxic products and replace with non tox alternatives. If you use perfume DO NOT spray this on your skin it is often getting sprayed directly onto your thyroid and they are laden with chemicals. Use essential oils instead or dab a small amount on your clothes. This is a non negotiable if you have thyroid issues. There really is so much you can do to protect that thyroid of yours and allow him to function optimally. Questions
07.01.2022 Omega fatty acids are essential, meaning we must consume them through our food. We get omega fatty acids from consuming polyunsaturated fats. The ones we really care about are omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Omega 3s have powerful anti-inflammatory benefits and are contained in high amounts in wild fish like salmon, sardines, anchovies, oysters and mackerel. They are also contained in grass fed meat, pasture raised eggs and pasture raised dairy products. You can get very sma...ll amounts from vegan sources like algae, chia, hemp, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds and walnuts but these are not high enough to really move the needle. Omega 6s promote inflammation if not in balance with omega 3s. We need some inflammation for normal bodily processes but it’s the chronic inflammation we need to watch out for. In a standard diet of processed foods, vegetable oils, fried food, farmed fish and grain fed meat omega 6s are abundant, and if omega 6s are too high and omega 3s are too low to counteract the inflammation this is when we can start to see dis-ease. Dis-eases of inflammation are basically anything you can think of. From acne to heart attacks, mood disorders to bed wetting, arthritis to diabetes and autism to hormonal imbalance, you name it- inflammation probably has something to do with it. These are all modern day diseases and are just not seen in tribes and cultures that still eat the way we are supposed to. They are all diet and lifestyle diseases 100% preventable if you get a few things right. Research suggests that by getting your omega 6 to omega 3 ratio at a 4:1, without changing anything else will prevent all cause mortality (this means dying from anything) by 70%. Thats pretty impressive right!? I’ll be sharing exactly what you can do in my next post so stay tuned!
05.01.2022 Wanna know the secret? Eat more plants! It really is as simple as it sounds.... We now know fibre is the key to a healthy gut, and where does this fibre come from.plants. The recommended daily intake of fibre for adults is 25-30 grams per day. Now, I don’t know about you but gone are the days of needing to count things before eating them. The best way to ensure you are hitting your fibre goals is by including a wide variety of plants in your diet everyday. The more diverse your diet is means the more variety your gut bugs will be getting in terms of fibre. They are picky little eaters and so we need to make sure we are feeding them exactly what they need. Next time you do your groceries try and pick out a variety of different plant foods So when you go to the apples get a couple of all the different types, grab multiple varieties of lettuces and herbs, pop in a bag of different grains and select a few different kind of nuts and seeds. This all counts towards the diversity in your diet. Aim to include 50 different plant foods in your diet every week. This includes fruit, veg, herbs, legumes, wholegrains, nuts & seeds. It may be easier then you think and your gut bugs will love you for it! I challenge you to give this a go next time you go shopping, don’t be afraid to try new foods.
05.01.2022 Okay so you’ve done the testing and you’ve found out that you’re thyroid is functioning less then optimal. So now what can you do about it? Getting diagnosed with thyroid disease doesn’t mean you have to spend a lifetime on medication, in fact quite the opposite. Depending on severity I normally get my clients to commit to 12-16 weeks in order to rebalance their thyroid. So what do you need to do? First things first STRESS. I might sound like a broken record but you can attri...bute stress as the underlying root cause to pretty much every single disease. We must get your stress in check. We can do that by implementing lifestyle changes like meditation, reducing high intensity exercise and incorporating parasympathetic nervous system activities into your daily life. Sometimes this is enough for people or sometimes we need to use nutritional supplements to push the needle. This is determined on an individual basis. Restoring nutritional deficiencies. Your thyroid needs iodine, tyrosine, selenium, zinc, iron, B vitamins and Vitamin A to function. You can get this from food if you are eating a nutrient dense diet. One of the best sources of these nutrients is liver. Now I don’t know a lot of people that are sitting down to a nice plate of liver very often so I will almost always use nutritional supplements in order to build these stores back up. Removing toxins. Last but not least we must get rid of all of the toxins that are burdening your thyroid so it can get back to doing its thing. This means switching out beauty products, skin care, cleaning products, perfumes, removing food sensitivities, healing your gut, reducing inflammation and getting a water filter. Remember, your body has the wisdom to heal, we just need to give it what it needs in order to do just that
02.01.2022 Are you experiencing any of these symptoms? You might have food sensitivities. A food sensitivity is different to an allergy. With an allergy you’ll know about it pretty quickly and it can be life threatening. A food sensitivity can develop at any age and the symptoms can present up to 3 days later making it very difficult to work out what foods are the culprit. Over time if we are eating the same foods day in day out we can build up a sensitivity and this is where all of the...se symptoms come from. Our immune system starts responding to these foods as foreign causing inflammation and a whole host of symptoms. Intestinal permeability or leaky gut is also a common cause for food sensitivities. If the gut wall becomes damaged this puts the immune system on high alert and instead of that piece of broccoli nourishing you it could actually be doing quite the opposite. The most common food sensitivities are: Egg whites Dairy Gluten Nuts Fish Soy Corn Yeast Chocolate Legumes I recently did mine and found out I had sensitivities to garlic, peas, lentils, chickpeas and dairy. Minus the dairy these are foods that I eat quite often and therefore my immune system had become sensitive to them with the over exposure. Don’t worry it doesn’t mean I can never eat those foods again, with a simple protocol these foods can be re introduced without any issues. Wanna know how? Stay tuned I’ll be going into food sensitivity testing all this week! Pop any questions you have below
