Most folks know a small amount about metabolism. Some know all about it, some know only that it happens in our bodies, and others have only heard the word.
Metabolism works in our bodies to synthesize and break down food, or “purines”.
Before we go any further on metabolism, we should learn what purines are.
They come from the food that we ingest.
Who thought food could have such a fancy name?
Purines are a double-ringed, crystalline organic base, C5H4N4, not known to occur naturally, from which is derived the nitrogen bases adenine and guanine, as well as uric acid as a metabolic end product.
Now, back to metabolism. Metabolism occurs in living organisms, to sustain life, and/or to synthesize.
In humans, it does both. We require such things as nutrients to sustain our being, and metabolism takes these vitamins out of purines.
Without a metabolism, we would eat and fill up once, never have a bowel movement, and slowly decay from vitamin deficiency.
And there you have it! For those out there who thought they knew it all, I threw in some big words, and for those out there who don’t know the first thing about metabolism, there you go! You can acquire more information on metabolism or purines from books, internet sources, or your doctor.
As parents, it is our job to help our children develop healthy eating habits and maintain a strong and healthy immune system. We are the biggest influence in our children’s lives, so if they see that we are eating healthy, it will become normal for them.
Even the most health conscious parents sometimes find it easy to tolerate less than desirable eating habits, as we all lead busy lives and it can become challenging to find recipes that are easy, quick, and healthy. I have found some great websites for kids and families, fussy eaters, people with allergies and vegetarians.
Freshforkids.com is a fantastic website aimed at school aged children to help achieve a healthy lifestyle. The site offers links for children, parents and teachers, being both informative and fun.
Planningwithkids.com is one of my favourite websites. As well as having great recipes, Planning With Kids has a menu planning app which makes organising the weekly meals and planning for busy families a breeze.
Wisehealthyliving.com.au has great recipes for people with allergies. Mothers often find it a challenge to keep creative when they have a child with one or more allergies such as dairy, wheat, corn, sugar and eggs. Although I am fortunate to not have any allergies in the family, I find the recipes on this site extremely healthy as well as tasty.
Taste.com.au has put together great kid friendly recipes, which the whole family can enjoy. I tend to get overwhelmed when there are too many ingredients in a meal but most of the recipes on this site are quick and easy with few ingredients.
These websites are great for ideas and inspiration, and remember, you can modify the recipes to suit your needs. Planning will make grocery shopping simple, as you’ll know exactly what you need.
Kinesiology is a complementary healing modality that looks at the body as a whole. This includes your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies. Through gentle muscle monitoring, a kinesiologist can determine whether there are any stresses in your life, where it is affecting you in your body, and how you can reduce or eliminate them.
Stress and tension affects almost everyone living in Western society. Trying to achieve the optimal work / life balance seems to be elusive to most and the negative impact of this is that we become more reactive and emotional. This causes stress in our lives and in our bodies which then causes physical pain created by tension in our muscles. We stop sleeping well, we can’t think well, and the stress and anxiety intensify. This can snow ball out of control until we either chose to do something about it, or are forced to.
This is where a kinesiologist can help. During a session, the kinesiologist will ask you to lie down on a comfortable table, use an arm muscle as an indicator, and start checking its response to certain questions. The body wants to be in balance, so once the stress is identified, the brain becomes aware of the imbalance and begins to return your mind, body and spirit to homeostasis.
There are many tools kinesiologists can use to help alleviate the stress and anxiety you are holding. Here are just a few:
Applying pressure or rubbing a point on the body while discussing an emotion is the main tool most kinesiologists will use. The pressure points that are used usually correlate to a point on a meridian. Some of these points can be quite tender but the pain subsides as the issue is discussed and clarity is gained.
Essential oils can be used as fragrance can have quite a powerful effect on our emotions. Inhaling some fragrances can relax and calm, while others can help to energise us.
Colours can have a powerful effect on our visual processing as well as our energy bodies. Looking at a colour can change the way the brain perceives information or placing a colour on the body can bring the energy of the colour into a person’s vibrational field. Colours like yellow, red or orange can be used to uplift you. Whereas colours like blues, greens or purples can soothe.
Sounds, such as humming or forcing a laugh can shift your energy through the vibration pulsating through your body from the inside out. I’ve had many clients that are quietly spoken and also have trouble humming. After practicing humming for a few weeks, their voice naturally becomes louder. External sounds such as playing a Tibetan singing bowl or Native American Drum over the body pulsates sound from the outside in and can be extremely soothing. A drum can also be beat in time with your heartbeat to bring balance back to your body.
There are many more tools then those listed above and some are unique to the practitioner and their knowledge base, so each kinesiologist and each session can be quite different.
What’s important to remember is that stress and anxiety can be alleviated. It doesn’t have to become your normal everyday existence. But if you truly want to let it all go, you do need to do the work and a kinesiologist can help you find the best way for you. Once you have released all the stress and tension, it can be quite empowering to feel the difference in your attitude to life and everything around you. Things seem brighter, easier and more fun. And let’s face it, isn’t that how we would all like our lives to be? So next time you are feeling stressed or anxious, why not give a kinesiologist a go?
Less than a year ago the hangover.clinic opened its doors in Surry Hills promising to revitalize “overindulged” Sydney-siders with IV hangover treatments.
The treatments are adored by celebrities, models and socialites alike with Rihanna, Cara Delevingne, Lily Allen, Kelly Osbourne and Rita Ora all posting pics of their IV therapy sessions on social media.
We caught up with co-founder Max Petro to find out more about the latest health craze to hit our shores.
Q1: What was your inspiration behind hangover.clinic and actIV infusion?
The idea came to me when I spent time working as a ski instructor in Australia and the US. After a night out on the après ski and schnapps, the ski patrol team would always be fresh the next morning despite the shenanigans of the previous night. Asking how they did it, they let me in on an old ski patrol secret – IV fluids, oxygen, and painkillers to relieve the symptoms of hangovers (which they were able to administer as qualified paramedics).
That’s when the hangover.clinic was born. I wanted to make IV hydration treatments available to everybody (not just doctors or paramedics), to relieve the symptoms of hangovers. Since then we’ve grown and have also launched a sister company called “actIV infusion” to focus on infusions that support health and fitness goals and help people keep up with their busy schedules, so not just for hangovers.
Q2: How do the treatments work?
A key cause of the symptoms of hangovers and other issues such as jetlag or sports fatigue is dehydration and vitamin depletion. Our treatments are based on the direct intravenous introduction of fluids and vitamins into the body, and IVs are the quickest way to deliver fluids and vitamins into the bloodstream. The bioavailability (i.e. absorption) of fluids and vitamins administered via IV treatment is 100%, meaning it’s a much more efficient method of rehydration than simply drinking water or supplements.
Max Petro (Co-Founder)
Q3: What are your most popular treatments and infusions?
On the hangover side people love our “Resurrection” treatment – we’ve had plenty of clients say they literally feel like we’ve brought them back to life! On the actIV infusion side, our “actIV Myers Cocktail” is also very popular. It includes a range of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin C (which is great for immunity and collagen production for healthy skin), B Vitamins (which are great for energy), and Magnesium (which is great for improving your mood and helping with muscle cramps).
We can also do everything home service too, so people don’t need to leave their lounge (or in more severe cases, their beds)!
hangover.clinic
Q4: What are some of your key learnings over the last year or so?
Ha, Sydney loves to party (but I think I already knew that).
From a business perspective, the lesson that innovation is king continues to be a guiding principle for us. Introducing home service, the establishment of actIV infusion for the health/fitness market, and the launch of anti-wrinkle injections have been milestones since we opened last year. We’re always listening to our customers and expanding on what we do in order to keep them happy.
Q5: What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Have a thick skin. Tall poppy syndrome is very much alive and well in Australia and people will always try and take you down. It comes from a sense of jealousy of your success – be open to constructive criticism and feedback but ignore the hate and focus on your business and the rest will fall into place if you’re willing to put in the hard work.
Q6: How can people connect with your brands?
hangover.clinic: The hangover.clinic was the first clinic in Australia to offer intravenous infusions to help alleviate the symptoms of hangovers. Despite the initial controversy surrounding the concept, the business has proven a massive hit with the market and is continuing to grow as it comes up to its first anniversary.
actIV infusion: actIV infusion was established as a “sister company” of the hangover.clinic to cater to clients who wanted to experience the benefits of IV hydration and vitamin infusions, but were not necessarily hungover. actIV infusion aims to help clients achieve their health and fitness goals, whether it’s a kick start with a new training regime, support in preparing for a marathon, or simply to keep up with our busy lifestyles. Anti-wrinkle injections, as well as lips/filler injections are also available, along with treatments to help with migraines, excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis), and teeth grinding (bruxism).
Max Petro (Co-Founder): Much to the surprise of his boss and colleagues, Max left his career as a senior corporate lawyer at Asia-Pacific’s largest law firm to establish the hangover.clinic and actIV infusion with his partner. After waking up on New Year’s Day with a cracking hangover, he recalled his prior experiences as a ski instructor in the US where the ski patrollers (who were qualified paramedics) would administer each other IV drips and medications after particularly raucous nights out. It took just under a year to set everything up and get all the required approvals, but since launching on 10 December 2015, the gamble is paying off with the treatments being a huge hit with the market.
When it comes to sports coverage we’ve got a variety for you to choose from including the likes of football, soccer, cricket, tennis and rugby just to name a few.
Both our television and radio broadcasting networks provide complete coverage of all the games and switch into hyper drive when the finals series come along.
And while all this coverage is great, it seems to be masking what is being neglected year in and year out, women’s sport.
If you watch the events that are broadcast throughout the year, you will be quick to notice the gender gap in the coverage that is shown to the public.
The Towards a Level Playing Field: Sport and Gender in Australian Media report shows that on average, the coverage of women in sport make up only 9% of all sports coverage in Australia compared to male sport which occupies a huge 81%.
These statistics also show that over the last few years, coverage has declined from when it was 11% a decade ago.
However, with new reports showing that 2017 is gearing up to be one of the biggest for women in sport, this lack of coverage could slowly be turning around giving women’s sport a chance to share the spotlight in the male dominated industry.
It has been announced that 2017 could be the most prominent year for women’s sport in Australia so far with new AFL and netball competitions set to join the current soccer, cricket and basketball ones that presently exist.
Currently, netball is the only professional women’s sport in Australia. When they signed their historic five-year broadcast deal, it was a breakthrough for women’s sport in this country and set the benchmark for what other sports should be doing with their women’s leagues.
Today, the W-League launched their 2016/17 season to a room crowded with journalists and sporting officials. This year, the launch was met with more interest in the sport than usual with the media genuinely excited to see what the upcoming season will hold.
It was also announced that ESPN 3 would be televising live W-League games direct to USA.
This comes as an outstanding breakthrough and coverage boost for women’s football considering that previously, only one W-League game was broadcast on free-to-air TV a week with the remainder being shown on fox sports.
Despite these upcoming changes, this gender gap in Australian sport still has a long way to go with statistics showing the average wage of a male AFL player being $270,000 compared to a female National Netball Team player who receives on average $45,000 per year.
This is something important that needs to recognised as this gap and lack of broadcasting keep producing the image that there is a lack of career opportunities for women who wish to pursue sport. Furthermore, this lack of coverage means female role models are not publicised as much as they should be so that the younger generation can look up to and aspire to be like them, just as young boys do with their favourite AFL player.
It is important that women are encouraged to participate in sport and for the media and broadcasting industries to begin recognising women’s sport as a league of its own and not just a side to the men’s leagues.
These days healthy eating and living a healthy lifestyle is all the rage. It has become something that is a popular topic throughout society with fitness brands and health food stores popping up all over the place.
However, there is one element that many people forget is just as important for you than your daily exercise, and that’s drinking water.
So we’re told to drink eight glasses of water per day. That’s the equivalent of two litres of water! But how many of us can honestly say we succeed?
During the day we get busy and distracted by our everyday lives. Whether it be working or taking care of the kids, rehydrating our systems can often be the last thing on our minds. However, our bodies are made up of around 60% of water so it is important to rehydrate ourselves throughout the day.
There are genuine reasons that drinking water is good for you, and if you want to improve your health, taking small sips constantly throughout the day will be worth your while.
Firstly, it helps with fatigue. You know when you’re sitting at your desk and at about 3pm you find yourself struggling to keep your eyes open? I guarantee that if you down a glass of cold water you’ll be feeling right awake again in no time.
Feeling tired is one of the first signs of dehydration so filling yourself back up with natures own H2O can definitely help fight that sleepiness.
Secondly, water can help give you a clearer complexion. Your skin contains a lot of water, when you become dehydrated your skin suffers and in turn looks more dry and wrinkled. This can be reversed with proper hydration. It also prevents certain toxins from entering the skin and which would then cause it to inflame and create pimples. Instead it creates a layer and flushes these toxins out reducing the likelihood of acne.
Another reason water is good for you is that it helps your body keep everything moving digestion wise. Water can dissolve fats and fibre, preventing constipation and helping the other organs such as the kidneys and liver flush out your system. If you don’t drink enough water you will run the risk of getting constipation as the water adds fluids to the colon allowing everything to move as it should.
Drinking water can also be a natural remedy to preventing and treating headaches. Dehydration has the ability to trigger headaches and in some cases migraines in some people. Studies have proven that participants experienced relief from their headaches after drinking water as soon as up to 30 minutes after drinking water and rehydrating themselves. Drinking water constantly throughout the day can prevent a headache from occurring in the first place.
Lastly, drinking water helps to prevent dehydration when working out. When exercising for a long period of time it is important to keep hydrated to prevent post exercise fatigue and exhaustion and to maintain a fluid balance throughout training. This can also help transport nutrients in the body and regulate the body temperature.
Still having trouble drinking more water?
Here’s three ways to add water to your everyday life!
Have a glass of water with every meal.
Eat more fruit and vegetables – they have a high water content and will add to your hydration level
Keep a bottle of water with you at work or in your car- this will encourage you to drink more throughout the day
It gets to three in the afternoon and you find yourself looking at the clock yawning wishing you didn’t watch that extra episode on Netflix last night and instead went to sleep a little earlier.
We’ve all been there, keeping ourselves up the night before only to find that we’re exhausted for the days to come.
But how much sleep do we actually need?
We know that getting good nights sleep is important, but not many people will be able to say that they get the recommended amount each night. Sleep is a necessity with the quality of your sleep affecting the quality of your productivity, physical vitality and emotional balance when you’re awake. Sacrificing an hour here and there may sound like a good idea at the time however will in turn effect your mood, energy, ability to handle stress and your mental alertness.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep per night while teenagers need at least 8-9 hours per night. Going to bed at a reasonable hour like 11pm is recommended to get the full amount of sleep that is necessary for your body and brain to fully recharge.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute explains that while you sleep your body is working to help support brain function and to maintain physical health. Ongoing sleep deficiency can raise chronic health problems as well as well as affecting the way you speak, think, react and process information meaning you’ll be more lethargic and out of energy instead of the opposite when you wake up.
While you sleep your body is helping you to recover from all the damage that occurred during the day by performing body maintenance and keeping it running in top condition. Your brain creates new pathways to collect information that you will learn in the day ahead and consolidates information that you learnt during the day.
Sleep also plays a role in physical health as it’s one of the reasons you are energised and ready to go in the morning when you wake up. Sleep is involved in healing and repairing damaged blood and heart vessels while also maintaining a healthy hormonal balance. The hormones that it controls are the ones that make you feel hungry or full.
How do I make sure I’m getting enough sleep?
It is easy to implement certain things that will help you improve your sleep habits. Here are 3 ways you can make sure you’re getting enough sleep every night.
Set a time to go to bed. I know this one sounds basic but it really works. If you say you’re going to bed at 11pm every night, stick to it. This means if you’re out, make sure you leave with enough time to be home by 10:45pm or if you’re watching television until 11pm brush your teeth and change into pyjamas during commercials so that you’re ready for bed when the clock strikes eleven.
Cut out electronics. No I don’t mean from your entire life, just the hour before you go to bed. This means no mobile, television or computer screens. Also try avoiding using harsh bright lights as this may indicate to the brain that it’s time to wake up when in fact you are going for the opposite. Try swapping Netflix for reading a book and see if you’re able to relax into sleeping a little easier.
Don’t eat so close to sleeping. Try to avoid heavy meals right before going to bed. Make sure to leave enough time for them to be digested before attempting to sleep. Also try drinking a warm herbal tea before bed as it acts as a relaxing stimulus and helps to calm the body.
With summer finally on its way, this means we’ll be spending more time outside and making the most of the good weather with friends and family. And while we all get excited about sunny days, whether it be at the beach, park or having a BBQ in the backyard it is important to remember to protect yourself from those harmful UV rays.
As we know, Australians love the outdoors with the bronzed skinned stereotype still running strong throughout our culture, but at what cost?
According to Sun Smart, Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world and it is estimated that two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer each year. (Sun Smart website)
The most commonly diagnosed cancer among adolescents and young adults is melanoma. This accounts for more than one-quarter of all cancers among Australians ages 15-29 years. (Sun Smart)
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that occurs in the parts of the body that have been overexposed to the sun. it is one of the most serious types of cancer as it is more likely to spread to other parts of the body, especially if it’s not detected early. (Cancer Council)
While many Australians still believe that having a tan is a sign of looking healthy, they don’t understand it actually shows the damage of your skin. The main cause of skin cancer is the exposure to ultra-violet (UV) radiation from the sun or other sources such as a tanning solarium.
UV radiation overexposure permanently damages the skin and adds up over time, changing the structure of cells and affecting the way they behave. (Cancer Council)
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the exposure to ultra-violet radiation, both from sunlight and solariums, is the major cause of melanoma in Australia. (AIHW)
The World Heath Organisation (WHO) shows that Australia has a higher UV index than many other countries. This means the likelihood of getting burned and in turn developing melanoma is higher than in other places. (WHO)
So how do you protect yourself?
More than 2,000 Australians die from skin cancer each year, with over 12,500 people estimated to being diagnosed with melanoma each year. (Cancer Council)
These statistics are alarming; especially since taking precautions out in the sun could have prevented being diagnosed.
On that note, here are some great ways you can protect yourself and others this summer approved by the Cancer Council and guaranteed to make a difference next time you’re out in the sun. (Cancer Council)
Apply Sunscreen
This is probably the most well known preventative in the book. If you’re going to be in the sun, apply sunscreen, it’s that simple. Most people don’t apply enough so make sure you’ve covered your body and limbs entirely. And don’t forget your neck and ears!
Protect your skin
Make sure to wear clothing that will protect you from the sun, wear clothing that covers as much as possible including a hat and sunglasses. And where possible, try to stay in the shade, this will not only help protect from the sun in form of melanoma but also heat stroke.
Be UV alert
Try to stay out of the sun during the time of the day when the UV Index is harshest. The UV Alert can be found on the Bureau of Meteorology website.
Avoiding sun exposure during these times is a good idea as sometimes the UV Index can be high for a number of hours.
Use fake tan from a can
Don’t use solariums, tanning beds or solar lamps that give off UV radiation. It is also important not to lie in the sun in an effort to get a tan, as this is when UV radiation can damage your skin. Instead use a tan from a bottle or can to give yourself a bronzed look.
Look for symptoms
If detected early, melanoma can be treated more successfully. It is important to get your skin checked regularly and to check with your doctor if you notice any changes.
So make sure you protect yourself, family and friends this summer. It doesn’t take long to put on some sunscreen and a hat and you’ll be happier in the long term for it.
Anxiety is known as the most common mental illness in Australia. According to Beyond Blue, on average, one in four Australians – one in three women and one in five men – will suffer from anxiety at some point in their life. More than million people in Australia experience anxiety each year. There are various types of anxiety disorders, including generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), having a specific phobia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and society anxiety disorder. While anxiety may be common, it can become extremely difficult to manage if left untreated.
Even though there is no single factor for why anxiety occurs, there are a number of risk factors which can contribute to the development of anxiety. These risk factors may include a family history of mental health illnesses, personality traits, stressful life events such as family and relationship issues, and physical health problems such as asthma and diabetes.
The symptoms of anxiety will vary from person to person, often feeling stressed, worried and nervous. However it’s important to be aware of other symptoms and signs of anxiety which can include restlessness, sweating, nausea, feeling lightheaded or faint, difficulty concentrating, and avoidance behaviours.
If anxiety is affecting a person’s work, school, home, or personal life, seeking help and advice from a health care professional such as a counsellor or psychologist is a good way to get treatment.
Are you feeling a bit sluggish and unmotivated? If you’re wanting an easy way to keep toned and fit without being a regular at the gym, there should be no excuses with why you can’t this exercise at home. Squatting is excellent way to gain strength, tone and build those muscles, making them look healthy and wonderful. Here are five basic steps to help you get started:
1. Setup: Face the power bar and grab it tightly with a medium grip. Put the bar on your upper back by ducking under the bar. Raise your chest.
2. Unrack: Move your feet under the bar. Unrack it by straightening your legs. Step back with keeping your legs straight. Make sure to lock both your hips and knees.
3. Basic Squat: By taking a big breath and holding it in, squat down as low you can. Be sure to keep your knees pushed out while moving back your hips. Keep your lower back in a neutral position.
4. Break Parallel: Squat down until your hips are below your knees. If you can drop below 90 degrees, then you’ve reached break parallel.
5. Squatting Up: Start at the break parallel position, then squat back up. Make sure your knees are out and your chest is up. Lock both your knees and hips at the top. Remember to breathe.
At one time or another, we all experience some form of stress in our everyday lives. It’s when this stress is not properly addressed and left to exacerbate, that it leads to more complex mental and physical exhaustion, also known as burnout.
Characterised by exhaustion, lack of enthusiasm or motivation, and feelings of ineffectiveness, burnout can have serious repercussions and lead to severe depression and anxiety. Periods of excessive and prolonged stress can also manifest physically and cause a faster rate of deterioration in health. Along with headaches, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, burnout can cause sleep disturbance and suppress immunity, significantly impairing quality of life.
A survey from the Australian Psychological Society suggests that many Australians are affected by stress and susceptible to suffering from chronic stress and burnout. Findings revealed that 1 in 3 Australians report having a significant level of stress in their lives, while 1 in 4 say they experience above normal levels of anxiety.
In this age of working smarter and faster, burnout can be easy to overlook, but if chronic stress is not addressed it can become very serious and lead to greater physical and mental health issues. Acknowledging that you feel stressed out is the first step. Take a step back, recognise what is making you feel anxious and proactively implement strategies to help relieve the pressure.
5 Ways to Combat Burnout
Create Movement In Your Day
It is part of our natural make-up to move, but nowadays too much of our day is spent sitting for long periods of time. Take time to centre yourself and reconnect with your body and mind. Engage in some movement, whether it’s a daily run, yoga class or a walk on your lunch break.
Stress leads to tension in the muscles, which then further exacerbates stress. Some movement practice can help you become aware when you are storing tension in the muscles so you can become skilled at letting this go. Movement also helps to alleviate stress so we can re-set and come back to work with a clear mind and be more productive.
Take a Break
Taking mindful pauses regularly at work is very important! Taking 5 minutes to walk with awareness to the water cooler, to reconnect with your breath and your surroundings can help centre our attention before returning back to our tasks. Get outside during the work day and breathe in fresh oxygen!
Keep Values in Mind
You will never have everything in balance but you can ensure that you are giving time and attention to other areas of your life that are important such as your family, friends, and hobbies. Block out time in the week for these as they can be hugely restorative and help us come back to work fresh. Often when we are starting to get burnt out or feel stressed at work we become tunnel visioned and spend more time at the desk.
Don’t Forget the Basics
Often when we are busy, stressed or down we start to let the fundamentals go: food, sleep, meditation, and exercise. When we want to operate at our best we need to be sure to put in the right ingredients for optimal performance. Have healthy snacks prepared, don’t skip meals, and get 8 hours sleep if possible. Be sure to unhook from technology at least an hour before bed to let the mind relax and assist with sleep.
Address Barriers & Reconnect with Your Meaning
This one might seem counterproductive, but it’s possibly the most effective. Often people fail to step back and actually examine the barriers they are having at work and address these systematically.
Do you need support? Is there a better system that can be put in place to ease the load? How long has it been since you have had a holiday?
What is it about your work that brings meaning? What are you passionate about and how can you reconnect with this?
If we are not connected to your sense of purpose and meaning, work can start to become a cause of unhappiness. Be sure to start to examine alternative work options if you are truly unhappy, you don’t need to stay in your current job forever!
Many people lust after a bright, pearly white smile and it’s easy to see why. White teeth are a sign of good health and personal hygiene and can also boost your confidence.
However, over time, teeth can fade to a yellow tone. This can be due to a number of reasons such as genetics, food and drink as well as how often you practise oral hygiene.
An option is to turn to teeth whitening products, but they are not all made the same.
It’s often hard to tell the difference between which are actually effective and they may have some nasty side effects. Laser treatments, whitening strips and bleaching can do serious damage including weakening of the tooth enamel, gum inflammation and even multi-coloured teeth. Yikes!
But don’t worry! There are natural ways to attain those sparkling whites that are easy on chemicals and your wallet. And double bonus, most of these ingredients are already in your pantry.
1. Eat cheese
Cheese is a gradually cleansing food which will protect your teeth and clean them over time. Cheese contains casein, a milk protein, which has been shown to reduce the loss of minerals from tooth enamel.
Try chewing a small cube of cheese as a snack or after having a meal.
Chewing cheese will stimulate saliva flow which helps to neutralise acids that decay or erode the teeth.
Cheese Products (source: The Pioneer Woman)
2. Eat white foods
Pigmented foods such as beetroot, blueberries and carrots can do a lot of damage to your teeth by binding to the teeth’s enamel and staining them.
Take away food like Chinese and Indian can also be damaging as they often contain turmeric or food colouring.
Instead, try to eat white foods which won’t bind to the enamel such as chicken, rice and fish.
3. Eat strawberries
Strawberries are high in malic acid and vitamin c which are natural cleansers.
You can simply snack on strawberries or for more effective results mash the berries into a pulp, add a pinch of sea salt and apply to your teeth like toothpaste.
Strawberry Products (source: Citi Spotter)
4. Use baking soda
Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate is a natural teeth whitener. It acts as an abrasive scrub, which gently brushes away the surface stains to return teeth to its natural shade. Try mixing a teaspoon of baking soda with water or lemon juice to make a paste. It will gradually make your teeth whiter over time.
5. Use coconut oil as a mouth rinse
That’s right, the coconut oil which is usually used for moisturising can also be used as a mouthwash. The lauric acid in the coconut oil will get rid of the bacteria found in plaque that can make them yellow.
The technique, also known as oil-pulling, involves swirling a tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth for as long as you can. Before you brush your teeth in the morning swirl the oil for about 15 minutes. The lubrication will stop stains from sticking to your teeth and it also promotes gum health and helps keep your breath fresh!
Meditation is an excellent stress-reliever, and a great way to clear your mind of negative thoughts. If you are someone who deals with daily stresses at work or home and is in desperate need of a break, take a breather and learn how to mediate with these five simple steps:
1. Find a comfortable position and place to sit or lie down. A meditation chair would be beneficial if you’re extra keen on the mediation process.
2. Close your eyes and keep them closed.
3. Don’t make any effort to control your breathing; make sure you breathe naturally.
4. Put full focus and attention on your breath and focus and how your body moves and reacts with each inhalation and exhalation. Focus on the four key areas of your body: chest, shoulders, rib cage and belly. Your main attention should be on your breath. Avoid controlling the pace or the intensity of your breathing. If your mind wonders off into other thoughts, make sure your return your focus back to your breathing.
5. Maintain this style of meditation for at least two to three minutes to begin with, and then then aim at trying it for longer periods.
And there you have it folks, a simple insight into meditation and the best way to approach it.
A lot of non-Australians assume that Aussies live a stress-free life, spending their days walking around in thongs, relaxing at the beach, having a beer or two in the sun and occasionally surfing.
The stereotype couldn’t be more wrong.
A 2015 study by the Australian Psychological Society found that Australians are becoming increasingly stressed and anxious. Approximately 35% of the population reported a significant level of distress in their lives, 26% reported above normal levels of anxiety, and an equal 26% reported moderate to extremely severe levels of depression. The numbers are concerning.
The most common cause of stress? Personal finances. It’s no surprise then that the workplace is commonly seen as the most prolific environment for anxiety and health issues.
Stress is no joke. We might like to pretend that we’re fine and that we can deal with whatever is thrown at us, but sometimes, that’s just not the case, particularly for those who have previously been exposed to high levels of stress and were unable to resolve the problem.
In simple terms, the basis of stress is negativity. The more negative your constant thoughts and beliefs are, the more easily you will be affected by stress and suffer the consequences. It sounds like an exaggeration, but that’s the harsh truth.
For instance, say your boss tells you he/she wants to have a word with you next week and doesn’t tell you what it is about. If you’re someone inclined to have negative thoughts, you will think that your boss might not be happy with your work and that they’re going to fire you; you are constantly having negative thoughts about yourself, believing you’re not good enough and that you don’t deserve anything remotely close to a promotion. So you will spend the rest of the week stressing about that meeting, wondering what exactly your boss wants to tell you and what you’re going to do when you lose your job.
It’s an endless train of negative thoughts. And it doesn’t end there.
Not only is your mind blinded by this constant dark state of mind, your biology changes to adjust to your current mental status quo.
Your immune system is weakened, your hormone levels become unbalanced and inflammation spreads all over your insides, leaving you unprotected against any disease. That’s why we tend to get sick in times of high stress and end up catching a cold, a virus or having digestive problems.
It’s believed that 95% of all diseases are stress related. This means that we have control over 95% of our own health.
Think about it. Negativity is not something you are born with, so it’s not part of your nature. This means that if you resolve the underlying causes of such negative thinking and behavioural patterns, and retrain your physiology to respond to stress in a more efficient way, you will be able to maintain an all-round healthy lifestyle and get what you really want in life. If you don’t, you will fall victim of the same physiologically responsive pattern every time you’re exposed to stress.
It’s all about knowing how to retrieve your underlying emotional problems, resolve them and go from stress to success in little time.
Take control of your life and don’t let stress stop you from living a happy and fulfilling life.
Celine Healy, known as “the Stress Resolution Expert” by her clients, is a respected stress resolution strategist with an extensive background in counselling, coaching and healing people from all kinds of distress in their lives. Her stress resolution method, scientifically researched and tested, has an holistic approach that focuses on resolving stress, while seeing it from a total body/mind perspective. In her latest book “Boost Success in All Areas of Your Life,” she shares her techniques to resolve stress permanently and gain life time skills to being the best version of you every day of your life.
Imagine if what you define your femininity by is suddenly taken away from you, without any rhyme or reason by a mysterious and confidence crushing disease. We live in a culture obsessed with hair and everywhere we look we see the next TV commercial, billboard, supermodel, or social media superstar showing off their luscious long silky locks. Can you imagine what it would be like to suffer from having no hair, in a world that defines people by their hair? This reality is very real, and affects more Australians than you know, with one in four suffering from some form of hair loss.
For me, this reality was all too real and one morning at the tender age of just nine, I woke up to my worst nightmare. What was happening to me? My once thick long brown hair was falling out everywhere, my pillow was covered and handful after handful of hair would come out in the shower and my brush was overflowing with hair. It is both scary and confusing at the same time, because you have no idea what is going on, where is my hair going? Why me?
It was not long after that I was diagnosed with Alopecia, a rare auto-immune condition which causes sudden hair loss and just like that, you automatically feel stripped of your femininity, sexuality and beauty.
Is there anything you can do about Alopecia? In short, no. I would go through agonising lengths to get my hair back, yet nothing would work. From acupuncture and strict diets to lathering my head in strong hair growth chemicals, drinking flour like powders and even sleeping with black tar on my head, these are just some of the failed treatments I had to endure as a young child and teenager.
Life doesn’t stop when you get Alopecia, I still had to go to school when my hair was coming out, but what I couldn’t come to terms with, was how can you go to school with no hair? Over the next few months, things proceeded to get even worse. The kids at school started realising my hair was falling out and I got to the point where I just couldn’t cover it anymore. So I decided to wear a wig. Sadly, this still didn’t put an end to my bullying nightmare. Kids in the playground can be so cruel, the looks, the comments, it was never ending. Kids think it is “cool” to make fun of you.
My first wig was stringy and made from synthetic hair, aka it was plastic! Who wants to wear plastic hair when all you want to do is fit in? It just looked so looked awful, like a wig and huge plastic ball of frizz on my head. No wonder the kids at school called me “mop head”.
I remember so clearly when our family had to pack up and move to Ireland. I thought no one will know me, know my past and most importantly know I have no hair. This was going to be sweet, I thought to myself, and I had just gone from a brunette to a blonde overnight and I was going to conquer the world! I got to my new school, and my new wig was quite clearly more obvious than I had thought. My new classmates thought I was some ex criminal hiding my identity by wearing a wig. Seriously? Eventually, I admitted why I wore a wig, but this only opened me up to the evil side of teenagers. I hit an all-time low when a close friend of mine walked up to me in the middle of the playground, grabbed my wig off my head and threw it on the floor. In a complete state of shock and devastation I picked up my wig off the playground floor and ran to the bathroom where I hid for several hours until the head mistress eventually convinced me to come out. This was always (and still is) one of my biggest fears, that someone will just come and yank it off.
I survived Ireland and thankfully not long after my hair started to grow back. But this didn’t solve my problems. Think back to your first day starting high school, you wanted to make a good impression right? I remember walking in that first day with boy short hair thinking this is not how I want to make my first impression. For me as a young woman, I didn’t feel feminine or pretty and at this highly vulnerable time you just want to fit in and be like the rest of the girls and to be “normal”.
But the boy short look didn’t last too long, as the Alopecia beast made its way back into my life.
In high school there are things that you do miss out on or things that are just so much harder. I always backed out of school camps as it meant keeping my hair on for 7 days straight, as I refused to take it off. I would play netball and have to duck to the bathroom in the breaks to wipe the sweat out, as at the time I had a suction based wig that wouldn’t be able to grip if there was any sweat. It also meant shaving my head daily to make sure any hair I did have on my head was gone so my wig would stick. When my hair grew back this time, my parents took me on a family holiday to Bali so I could take off my wig and let my hair grow. This time it stuck around for just over a decade but the beast struck again.
So when it came to losing my hair for the third time, I had decided this time I would take control and not let this beast beat me. It was at that point that I said to my hairdresser, shave off all of the hair I had left on my head. She asked, did I want to look the other way? No, it was almost like I was numb to the whole experience. That very first moment you see yourself totally bald again, it is a complete mix of emotions. In one sense it was invigorating as you made the decision this time, but at the same time, boom there goes your femininity again, in one clean shave.
This time around there were no more synthetic wigs, no more suction based wigs but sadly I had been sold into a wig which I quickly learnt was doing more damage than good. This “fusion wig” would be glued onto my head every few weeks with heavy chemical glues, leaving my scalp not only raw but blistering and weeping. Then to add salt to the wound, I was being sold what I was lead to believe was premium hair, yet had been subbed in for a cheap off the floor Asian hair. These wigs were next to impossible to manage and the hair would fall out everywhere, the floor was covered again and at best these wigs would last five to six weeks. It was like re-living Alopecia all over again, but this time it cost over $2k per piece.
It was from this nightmare I turned things around and this became my light bulb moment and the beginning of my beautiful journey. A friend referred me to a spiritual healer, my first session I walked in and she said to me, you have Alopecia and we will fix this. I was in tears while I told her all about my battles to find the perfect hair in Australia. Little did I know 12 months later, I would have opened my very own wig shop.
Now my goal is to help the women feel beautiful, sexy and feminine, all of which having your hair back can do for you. I want to help others with Alopecia or any type of hair loss fall back in love with themselves again. Hair loss will affect your confidence, but you can learn to live with it and you will overcome it. Ultimately this will give you the strength to also overcome challenges in other areas of your life. I honestly believe I am a stronger person because of it. Hair loss doesn’t need to define you; it’s just one tiny part of who you are.
I am proud to have launched The Beautiful Hair Boutique, I am excited to help women feel feminine and beautiful again and I am excited about what lies ahead of me.
Business women and professionals alike have been living under the impression that stress and tension are inevitable and unsolvable parts of life. And so, they spend large sums of money on treatments that don’t work and go through their days unfulfilled and unhappy, all under the impression that stress is a permanent fixture in life.
But this is far from the truth.
Stress doesn’t have to linger at the back of your mind all day, or rear its ugly head every time a difficult situation presents itself. Stress can be completely removed.
Here’s why stress “management” just doesn’t work.
When you visit those stress management facilities and scroll through stress gurus and health professionals, you aren’t looking for a way to put a stop to it. You are looking for a way to hinder it.
And hindering does not stop it completely, all you are really doing is lazily throwing a sheet over the problem until it starts to get in your way again.
The problem with that is, it’s still there. And if you throw a blanket over it, you’re still going to trip over it and be forced to deal with it when it clutters your mind and gets in the way of the more important things. So what’s the real solution? Throw it out, of course! Which is just what stress resolution is.
Celine Healy isn’t a guru here to help you manage your stress, she’s here to resolve it. Celine’s Stress to Success program is a step by step guide to completely destroying that stress and debunking the myth that stress is a permanent fixture. For the professionals, the hard workers, the business women and the people just feeling outright drained and worn out, Stress Resolution is for you.
Stress is much more serious than others would have you believe. Stress is a leading cause of a number of physical, mental and emotional problems. This stress can then lead to a number of unhealthy habits which can even turn into self-medication. People tend to ignore it as a problem, so the issue never goes away, only further fuelling the stress filled fire. Celine herself has been through this very same stage, and it lead her all the way down to burnout.
But, she made her way out of it, and her experience and training have helped her compile the best methods and techniques to help others avoid that nasty burnout, and return back to a positive, happy, stress-free state. Celine’s testimonials and her background in education, counselling and a number of brain integration methods, have given her the best skills to help you turn into the best you possible.
So stop letting all that stress control you and start making a change! Go from Stress to Success today!
Celine Healy provides training, packages and webinars that are created to give you the skills to truly resolve stress. Her latest book, Boost Success in all Areas of Your Life, is also available, with a free PDF of the first chapter on her website.
According to SANE Australia, nearly half (45 per cent) of the population will experience symptoms that meet the criteria for a mental disorder at some stage in their lives and almost one in five Australians (20 per cent) will meet this criteria in any 12-month period. This goes to show how common significant mental health symptoms are.
But despite the prevalence of mental health concerns in Australia, the topic of mental health is still very much taboo. People stigmatise mental health and don’t talk about it as openly as cancer, diabetes or other health issues, despite the level of impact it can have on the individual and their loved ones.
Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma1. These negative attitudes and perceptions of mental illness create prejudices, which lead to discrimination, and this can have serious repercussions. Stigma can serve as a major barrier to recovery as it stops people from asking for help and getting the treatment and support they need. Further, it can add a level of shame to the person’s experience further exacerbating their distress.
Chris, who was diagnosed as bipolar over a year ago, experienced stigma, “There is certainly a stigma, both externally and internally. The few times I have disclosed my diagnosis to friends, they have tried to not change the way that they react towards me, but I can tell that there are some serious unanswered questions going through their minds.”
“Having this label only serves to add to this consistent unavoidable feeling, that I will be exposed and everything I have worked towards will be taken away from me,” Chris explains. “It is not rational, but that is the nature of the beast.”
Openly discussing mental health can help break down the social stigmas associated, leading to more people seeking treatment. As we can see from the statistics, these mental health concerns are common and over a life span they are even the norm (45 per cent), so why are we still reacting to these conditions as abnormal?
Casey lived with the symptoms of depression for 10 years but eventually found a way to break the cycle and now talks about her experience open and honestly. “It was ‘in the family’ so my mother had almost talked me into staying on antidepressants and just accepting it,” says Casey. After spending a lot of time researching, she managed to find a therapy that worked for her and now lives free from the symptoms of depression.
The more hidden mental health remains, the more people will continue to believe that it is shameful and needs to be concealed. We need to start creating a culture where we are willing to open up and be vulnerable about our experiences and these include mental health concerns. This will help us to see the commonality in our human experience and help to shift the false beliefs and negative stereotypes.
Here are five evidence-based behaviours that you can incorporate to improve your mental health:
1. Be Kind to Yourself
Remember that mental health concerns can affect anyone across their lifespan. Try not to get hooked up in shameful thoughts that only intensify the distress. Building a practice of mindfulness and acceptance can help you to be more aware and let go of unworkable thoughts.
2. Take Care of Your Body and Mind
Taking care of the basics is a foundation of both physical and mental health. The link between mind and body is well researched. Eat nutritious meals, drink plenty of water and avoid cigarettes and alcohol. Take time to move your body and aim to get 8-9 hours of sleep.
3. Learn How to Deal with Stress
Stress is a part of life. It’s how we learn to cope with these day-to-day stresses that make all the difference to our wellbeing. Try meditation or mindfulness practices to help your mind re-set after a stressful experience has passed. Take up a daily movement practice such as yoga, walking or dancing. Moving your body helps to release tension in the muscles and also endorphins, which provide a pleasant feeling. To get the most benefit, aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise daily.
4. Surround Yourself with Good People
Make time to spend with good friends and family. Surrounding yourself with those that love and care about you can do wonders for your mental health and give you a balance to see that you are more than just the symptoms you are experiencing.
5. Get Help When you Need it
Mental health symptoms can be extremely distressing and life altering. Seeking help is a sign of strength and courage. Choose a therapist who is able to give you some evidence based skills in how to change the way you relate to these symptoms and who can empower you to continue to work towards the life you want.
Dr Samantha Clarke (PhD)
Samantha Clarke is a Clinical Psychologist and Personal Trainer who provides people with the skills to work through difficulties and places an emphasis on helping each individual move towards their personal goals. She also believes that wellbeing and vitality come from incorporating an integrated approach to health care. Samantha’s work has a strong foundation in providing Mindfulness-based interventions and she is particularly interested in assisting people with addressing lifestyle difficulties and overall wellness. She completed her PhD in the area of goal setting and striving, and focuses on assisting people in clarifying their values to assist in building and maintaining motivation to achieve health goals.
Samantha is the Director of a psychology practice on the Sunshine Coast. She also provides personal training and runs Mind Body Resilience Retreats for wellness industry professionals and individuals in Australia and overseas.
Sunshine Coast Clinical Psychology: http://www.scclinpsych.com.au/
Facebook Mind Body Resilience: @centreforwellbeingandvitality
Instagram: @rechargemysoul
There are two types of stress, it can be a positive force, like wanting to perform well at your job interview, or it can be a negative force like when you’re stuck in traffic. It is a natural reaction; we’ve all felt it in our everyday lives. But too much stress within your lifetime can be very dangerous to your health.
Stress can be seriously bad for you. Chronic stress causes harm to not just your mental health, but your physical health too. Exposing yourself to a lifetime of different types of stress can influence the onset and progression of disease, as stated in the Journal of Health and Psychology, 2016.
Here are some things you can do and take note of to reduce your stress levels:
1. Learn to Forgive:
As stated in an article in the Journal of Health Psychology forgiveness is one factor that may influence the reducing of stress and its harmful health effects on your body.
This is because; forgiveness is the release of negative feelings and influences the potential enhancement of positive feelings, emotions, and behaviors toward an offender. “Research has demonstrated that forgiveness is associated with several mental health outcomes, including less anxiety, depression, and other major psychiatric disorders”. In this context, forgiveness is associated with better health and longevity, forgiveness is letting the anxiety over an issue go, lifting the weight of its harmful effects and giving you better physical health.
2. Walk away when you’re angry:
If you find yourself in a situation where you are so angry, your blood is boiling, before you react, take time to regroup and think. Count to ten before you burst a brain artery. Just walk out and away from the trouble. Walking and other physical activities can help you lift the steam. Not to mention, exercise releases endorphins, which make you feel positive and boost your mind.
3. Rest your mind:
According to APA’s 2012 Stress in America survey, stress keeps more than 40 percent of adults lying awake at night. To help you wind down after a long day, try cutting back on caffeine and remove technologies from your bedroom, such as computers, televisions and phones and go to bed at the same time each night. Attend mind and body classes such as yoga and relaxation exercises. Research shows that these activities not only help reduce stress, but also boost immune functioning.
24% of women say losing their hair is like losing a limb
The average age of women with thinning hair is between 25-35
By age 50, almost 50% of women will complain of thinning hair
Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is the most common form of hair loss in women and occurs in women with Androgenetic Alopecia
What are the stages of hair loss in females?
Without any treatment, female pattern hair loss can progress from a widening part to overall hair thinning. Female pattern hair loss is a progressive condition which means many women will continue to lose their hair; however unlike men many women do not lose all their hair. Treatment can deliver the best results when started at the first signs of hair loss.
Stage 1 – Minimal hair loss which can be camouflaged by hair styling techniques
Stage 2 – Characterised by a decrease in volume and widening of the middle part
Stage 3 – Overall thinning on the scalp, which can lead to a see through look on the head
In a brusque interview London Trichologist Dr Philip Kingley tells Marie Claire “Like a peacock’s brilliant feathers, hair is a secondary sexual characteristic. You don’t need it to keep you either warm or cool, so its primary function is to increase attractiveness.”
So where does this leave woman with thinning hair?
Here are our 9 top tips to help you deal with thinning hair and go from flat to fabulous:
1. Reduce Your Stress.
I know it is easier said than done, but if you can take some time out, and just breathe, it could seriously help! Severe, chronic and even sudden stress can cause havoc on your body. This may lead to your weakened immune system attacking your precious hair follicles as a way of coping with your bodies stress. The good news is, once you reduce your stress levels, often (not always) your hair will start to grow back. So in the meantime, take up yoga, master meditation and try to remove yourself (as often as you can) from highly stressful situations.
2. Eat well and get Moving
It’s simple; our bodies thrive on good food and exercise. Not only does it nourish our insides, but exercise will also help to release that ever so important serotonin, to make you feel happier. Hair loss can be a vicious cycle, we lose our hair so we don’t feel great about ourselves, and when we are down in the dumps our body isn’t loving life. So let’s focus on what we can control, and that is what we put in our bellies and how often we get moving.
Even a 30 min walk, three to four times a week will help clear the mind and get your serotonin pumping.
When it comes to what we put in our bodies, the hair gets off on good proteins, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. Next time you visit the supermarket make sure you stock up on fish, leafy greens, lean meats and chicken, nuts and beans.
3. Add Some Volume to your Thinning Hair with a Human Hair Topper
Hair Toppers are a great way to not only cover the areas on your head that may be experiencing hair loss, but they also add that fabulous volume to your thinning hair. Just a quick flip and clip and voila, you have sudden volume.
Hair toppers come in a range of colours and bases that cover smaller to larger areas on the scalp.
Toppers, also known as crown extensions can be made from beautiful natural looking human hair, which can be cut, styled and even coloured to blend in with your natural thinning hair. We recommend a high quality human hair and a 100% Virgin European Hair Topper if you wish to colour the hair to blend in with your natural hair. At The Beautiful Hair Boutique, we have a unique collection of hair toppers for women experiencing hair loss, and take pride in taking the time to match you up with the perfect piece.
To view our collection of human hair toppers − click here
Wig Varieties
4. Leave the Clips, Hot Iron Tools and Curlers Behind
Reduce the use of hair curlers, straighteners or clip in hair extensions all of which have a tendency to add extra strain to your already fragile hair. When you hair is thinning and can easily snap it is essential you give it extra tender loving care and avoid any extra external pressures.
5. Try switching to wig to take the pressure off your thinning hair (or to cover up greater hair loss)
Hollywood actress Keira Knightley in a recent interview confesses “I have dyed my hair virtually every color imaginable for different films. It got so bad that my hair literally began to fall out of my head! So for the past five years I’ve used wigs, which is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to my hair,” she told InStyle UK.
Knightley has worn a range of stunning human hair lace front wigs. The lace front hair line gives the illusion that the hair is coming out of the scalp. Lace front wigs are also a go-to for makeup artists as the lace can be further blended to the scalp with makeup to give an even, more natural looking hairline.
Wigs are becoming increasingly popular for women experiencing hair thinning, as they can sit on top of your natural hair and blend in beautifully. For the most natural look, go for a human hair wig.
To view our range of stunning human hair wigs − click here
7. Minoxoldil
Minoxidil is one of the most commonly sold products to help fight hair loss, and is used to help women who are suffering from gradually thinning hair or larger areas of hair loss on the top of the scalp. You may recognise it by its more popular name, Rogaine. The 5% strength, topical minoxidil solution, is safe for women, and does not require a prescription. Typically when applied to the scalp twice a day, 40% of individuals (both men and women) will see new hair growth. Hair growth can tend to appear within two to eight weeks on the patches and areas where Minoxodil has been applied.
8. Cortisone Shots
This treatment is not for the faint hearted. Cortisone shots are known to be painful, so I wouldn’t recommend rushing into this option until you are fully informed or prepared to take on this treatment. Cortisone shots have had a solid success rate for women experiencing less than 50% hair loss. The shots work by injecting cortisone directly into the scalp, blocking the hormonal activity that induces hair thinning. For more information on Cortisone shots contact your local dermatologist.
9. Be Kind to Yourself
When a woman loses her hair, she feels like a huge part of her identity and sexuality has gone with it. The good news is, these days there are so many options to help get your hair looking amazing again. If you just show yourself a little extra love, trust me, your hair will thank you for it. Ask your partner, mum, brother, friend or anyone special to you, for a daily head massage!
In August 2015, I took a leap of faith and decided to enroll at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition® to become a Certified Holistic Health Coach. I had been contemplating this certification for almost a year before I decided to just do it.
My gut was telling me “Yes!” but my head was saying “No, what are you going to do with that?”. It wasn’t until I met with a life coach that I decided to go with my gut and go back to school. I literally signed up for IIN® the night after I met with her—talk about inspiration.
Fast forward a year and a half—I’m now a health coach with my own business. Yes, I’m still holding down a full-time job to help pay the bills but on the side, I devote time to building something I can call my own. It’s not always easy and sometimes I have to really motivate myself (usually with chocolate of some sort), but it’s worth it because I am making a difference in people’s lives.
Is there something in your life that you are currently contemplating starting? It might be that you yourself want to start your own business or maybe you want to make a career change. Ask yourself these questions and listen to your gut—it’s always right.
Why am I scared to take this step?
Many people stay in their comfort zones because they are too afraid of failure or change. What is holding you back? Do you fear failing? Are you afraid that a relationship, income, or family dynamic will change? We have to face our fears and embrace what comes next. If something is tugging at our heart, we need to listen to it and see where it can take us.
What is the risk versus reward?
When you are being faced with a decision, weigh the risk and the reward. If you make this decision, what is the worst possible thing that could happen? Also, if you make this decision, what are the reward possibilities? Think about both answers and compare. Is it worth the risk in order to receive that possible reward?
What daily actions can I take?
If you find that you are still not ready to make a decision, my suggestion is self-care.
When we incorporate self-care into our daily lives, we develop a better sense of who we are and what we are meant to do. Some of my favorite self-care activities that help us tap into our intuition include journaling, meditating, reading, and re-evaluating goals.
What is your gut telling you to do right now? If you take action, where could you be in a year and a half?
