August brings us an abundance of summer fruits and vegetables such as apricots, peaches, nectarines,

The Health Guru. August Blog

August brings us an abundance of summer fruits and vegetables such as apricots, peaches, nectarines, watermelon, cherries as well as summer squashes, green beans and courgettes. Many of us in lockdown, grew our own veggies and baked our own goods.

We are beginning to see the fruits of our labour with fresh tomatoes and lettuce from the garden, making salads on the hot summer days in between the rainy ones!

I have been vlogging for Mind, Body, Soul, with simple recipes, advice and tips to heal, repair and lose weight. I must admit I have been finding it very difficult to lose weight and although, I have a creaky cross trainer and following my cousin’s workouts online, I have not lost a pound, instead I seem to be gaining, I think this is a mixture of age, hormones (oestrogen dominant) and thought I would investigate what actually happens during those peri-menopause years. However, many have complained of putting on weight during lockdown as the gyms were closed and we are not moving around at the same pace as before.

During our menopausal years we may have more oestrogen in relation to progesterone and these need to be in balance otherwise, we can experience symptoms such as anxiety, mood swings, tired, feeling lethargic, disrupted sleep, bloating, migraines and hair loss. Conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis and adenomyosis also, contribute to these symptoms that vary from person to person.

We need to eat fibre rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables, broccoli, brussel sprouts, asparagus and fermented foods. I have miso soup that is a fermented soya bean, sauerkraut, kimchi and pickles that help the liver to break down oestrogen.

We were buying plastic bottles of water due to not wanting to drink tap water, although Welsh water is one of the best I still believe in filtering due to toxins. We had a Virgin water filter installed that was easy and we can fill our water bottles with cold, filtered water and no longer need a kettle as it takes thirty seconds to heat several cups of tea. I believe we need to support our body’s healing mechanisms and with chronic illness I want the healthiest systems possible.

The Virgin Pure system may seem pricey if you use tap water but for those who rely on bottles this, is a godsend, especially as it is filtered. I am currently, looking into air conditioning at home and people may say we only have a few days a year where the temperature in this part of Wales is over 25 degrees for me, with a chronic illness this has to be mandatory. It is a win-win as it hydrates the family and helps the environment, to no longer use plastic bottles. Anyone with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes needs to protect from the sun and know what to do if dehydrated or follow sickness days.

I tend to overheat and have to deal with symptoms immediately, but then the water, fluid loss can take me two weeks to get back to balance. I feel very ill and my heartbeat feels either weak or fast so I would rather have to invest in air con to help me on those days than, suffer.

The days of Covid mean meetings are still online with Zoom that means you can have a rug on your legs with your slippers on sipping cocoa and no one will bat an eyelid as they can only see the top of you. However, this can get a bit awkward when the phone rings and your husband leaves a message saying he is thinking of you etc. and when my son wonders in rubbing his eyes asking for cocoa pops. The doorbell almost always rings, well you catch my drift.

I am also focussed on my healing and had a session with ex-actor Jeff Craigen, now healer who talks about Mind, Body healing and how our thoughts and behaviour affect our health. It came to mind when, we were conducting our Zoom session that I put enormous pressure on myself for things to be perfect and this in turn, puts an enormous amount of pressure on my body and health. As time after our meeting went on I realised how deep this actually is as, this does not just refer to work but in all aspects of my life.

For example, when I feel under pressure as people are coming for dinner or to stay, everything has to be perfect and I can create a stress response without really being aware of it that affects my health. When, I overheated in July and it took a while to recover I was preparing the spare room for my dad. We were under pressure as we moved a few months ago and everything needs, repairing and painting. So, I wanted to do something as innocuous as painting the wardrobe handles that were rusted.

I realised halfway through that I was feeling dizzy and faint even with the fan on and the room was really hot. It was too late by the time the symptoms hit me but this happens time and time again. I then reflected upon other times I had become ill with the heat and last year was preparing an afternoon tea for two couples who had wanted to meet us. It happened to fall on the August bank holiday and was one of the hottest day of the year. I felt I could not cancel and went out to get shopping with my family in an air-conditioned car.

When I got home, I prepared tea with sandwiches, cakes and an array of goodies and one couple turned up but I had already overheated trying to get ready, tidy up and make tea. The other couple never showed and I had spent quite a long time getting things ready and under pressure to get ready on time and clean. Needless to say, I put myself under pressure and suffered the consequences for two weeks thereafter. At least a wake-up call to try and modify my behaviour.

I decided to do some Pilates online and will be recording some for our Diabetes Covid page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/812797045919882 from my organisation The Olive Trust, Wales. A great help for our health and fitness especially when suffering from Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.

Similarly, what we think can greatly, affect our reality. This, is not just pop psychology but the power of thinking positively. Our minds are very powerful and quantum physics ‘observer effect’. Has been proven time and time again with different experiments. Where, the act of observing a phenomenon changes it. Perhaps the laws are not so immutable as we are taught to think where, the subatomic particles in our bodies - can change their behaviour. It opens up all sorts of questions about how we perceive the world may actually change it. If we think peace, we can all create peace. Now wouldn’t that be something.