Routine is not a dirty word.

Whether we are talking about a new born, toddler or teenager, routines make sense. Babies respond to the cues we give them about what’s going to happen next.  They might have a bath to start their night time routine progressing towards going to bed. Toddlers can take on responsibility knowing that part of the day requires different things of them, like getting out of bed and dressing themselves. And teenagers know routines in the form of what to pack in the school bags for after school commitments.

Now how well they complete these tasks is totally up to the individual, but it’s only with practice that the child is able to learn and grow. 

Doing the Hokey Pokey

Work smarter not harder

Have you often looked at just what your doing whether its how you sit at your desk or how you walk and really thought about the actual movement itself. Could you be doing the same thing day in day out just because that's the way you've always been doing it? It might be time to look at things from a different perspective and look at doing it smarter not harder. A small adjustment in the "how" might lead to long term better posture and muscle tone, let alone not causing you any amount of pain.

Take for example the example of sitting at your desk. Been doing that for ages? Spend alot of time at the keyboard tapping away and then using the mouse with a death grip? How about changing hands to use the mouse? Do you think your other hand is totally useless, that it would be too hard, that you wouldn't be able to work as fast? Well lets think about that, just how fast were you when you first started to use the computer, how dexterous were you. It's all a matter of training. Start with those activities that you can take your time on - maybe reading through your emails and get the hang of just scrolling with the mouse in the other hand. Then add another activity every other day as you get used to things, switching back as you lose correct form. Remember you want to work smarter not harder.

Then as you build up strength and speed you can increase the amount of time that you spend with the mouse in the other hand. Your dominant hand does a fair more work than the other hand does, so sharing the load helps reduce the overloading and provides you with a chance to do things differently and correct long standing poor habits.

Chiropractic works when traditional methods fail.

Dr Esteb writes a Monday motivational email that many Chiropractors subscribe to. I would like to share with you one of his Monday motivational emails and expand on this topic in my own words. Hopefully this will give you an insight into some of the principles of Chiropractic.

"Chiropractic works when traditional methods fail." William D. Esteb

1.    Is the original stress still present? If subluxation is the body's attempt at accommodating physical, chemical or emotional stress, and the stressor is still present in the patient's life, the likelihood of chiropractic working is less assured. 

Teaching patients to work smarter not harder has to be part of their treatment. It’s like a mechanic performing a wheel alignment and balancing the tyres, then teaching you not to hit the potholes on the way home. If you continue to do what you’ve always done – you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. Looking at the small daily things that you do is a great place to start. It could be how you are sleeping at night, how you sit at your desk at work, how you exercise or don’t. Otherwise you’re only putting a bandaid over the whole issue and not getting to the cause.

2.    Limitation of matter. In the same way we can't regrow lost fingers and toes, there are limitations to what is possible based on a patient's age, conditioning and their willingness to follow recommendations and make lifestyle changes.

Getting the best outcome for our patients needs to be taken into perspective, we just aren’t able to make you into your younger self (lets think about it – Do you really want to be) But what we are able to help you with is being the best you can be at this stage of your life. That is, progressing towards your true health potential with you, not as many patients seem to think that we do this for you. Your healing is your body’s responsibility; we merely give it the adjustment and allow it to heal itself.

3.    Is the patient invested in their recovery? Some may enjoy secondary gains from their poor health and aren't fully committed to healing. Harnessing the mind/body connection is essential and one reason to employ effective chiropractic patient education.

 It’s an often unspoken subject that someone could be gaining from their ill health, but it is more common than you think. We receive attention; we receive sympathy and empathy from often even strangers. Helping ourselves is the first step to healing and it’s fraught with the unknown for many people. So while there is still a benefit from being ill, stepping into the unknown may not be something we are willing to do and this paradox holds people in limbo for years.

In light of this, William has rephrased the original statement to be “Chiropractic often works when traditional methods fail”.

Of mice and men.

Testing on animals is always going to be controversial. A recent study into the effects of supplementing our diet with Omega 3 fatty acid, found that in mice, it had a positive effect. However when it came to the effects in humans, many of these animal studies miss the mark. Mice are chosen in these tests for their close link to us genetically - strange but true. So to test on mice, it would seem reasonable to assume that we would be seeing similar results in us too.

This study in particular, while understanding the downfall in this assumptive link, still sites that supplementing our diets with Omega 3 fatty acid can have a positive effect, especially to reduce the inflammation response in our bodies. This is the case with Diabetes in particular. While it is still in the individuals best interest to manage their weight and include a level of exercise in their daily activity it can have no known ill effect to also supplement with Omega 3 fatty acids to reduce the effect of inflammation.

On the positive side of things, the study did find that Omega 3 fatty acid worked by blocking the inflammatory process in the cells. Since chronic inflammation can lead to insulin resistance this could help in reducing the onset of type 2 diabetes.

A new Diabetes link.

"Diet and exercise are widely known to impact the risk of type 2 diabetes, but few people realize that breast-feeding also reduces mothers' risk of developing the disease later in life by decreasing maternal belly fat," said Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, an assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, in a news release from the university.

So what is Diabetes?

Diabetes refers to two conditions centred on your blood glucose levels. Your body is fuelled by glucose, all the food that you digest is broken down in vitamins and mineral and fuel – glucose. Managing how much glucose is in your blood stream is your Pancreas job.

Having too high levels of blood sugar levels or too low levels causes the body stress. Normally your pancreas responds to these altered levels and controls the level of glucose in the blood by releasing insulin. Insulin is a hormone; it helps to move glucose out of the blood stream and into your cells to give them energy to carry out their normal functions.

Type 1 Diabetes stems from a problem with the pancreas that does not produce insulin or very little at all. Leaving the body to cope with rising levels of blood sugar that go unchecked. In the long term this can produced devastating results and damage, especially to your heart eyes, kidney, nerves and gums and teeth. This type of diabetes is often developed in childhood or in young adults. However other ages can be affected
.

The typical symptoms may include

• Being very thirsty
• Urinating often
• Feeling very hungry or tired
• Losing weight without trying
• Having sores that heal slowly
• Having dry, itchy skin
• Losing the feeling in your feet or having tingling in your feet
• Having blurry eyesight

Type 2 Diabetes is a different issue. The insulin that your pancreas produces to move sugar out of your blood stream and into your cells in this case becomes ineffective – the body is resistant to the effects of insulin. Unlike type 1 where the solution would be to provide an external source of insulin for the body, type 2 is not as easily helped. A far better solution would be to prevent this from even occurring.

Management of weight and regular exercise is at the core of type 2 diabetes prevention. Now with the new study it looks like mothers that breast feed their babies can also reduce their chances of developing this type of diabetes.The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can develop slowly over a long period of time
:

§  Increased thirst and frequent urination. As excess sugar builds up in your bloodstream, fluid is pulled from the tissues. This may leave you thirsty. As a result, you may drink — and urinate — more than usual.

§  Increased hunger. Without enough insulin to move sugar into your cells, your muscles and organs become depleted for energy. This triggers intense hunger.

§  Weight loss. Despite eating more than usual to relieve hunger, you may lose weight. Without the ability to use glucose, the body uses alternative fuels stored in muscle and fat. Calories are lost as excess glucose is released in the urine.

§  Fatigue. If your cells are deprived of sugar, you may become tired and irritable.

§  Blurred vision. If your blood sugar is too high, fluid may be pulled from the lenses of your eyes. This may affect your ability to focus clearly.

§  Slow-healing sores or frequent infections. Type 2 diabetes affects your ability to heal and resist infections.

§  Areas of darkened skin. Some people with type 2 diabetes have patches of dark, velvety skin in the folds and creases of their bodies — usually in the armpits and neck. This condition, called acanthosis nigricans, may be a sign of insulin resistance.

For further information visit Diabetes WA

Scones

This is not an original recipe of mine, but its one that I use without fail. Believe me, before this recipe came into my life my scones looked and tasted more like ice hockey pucks!!

 

4 cups Self raising flour

300 mls of thickening cream

300 mls of water ( measure this out in the container that the cream came in - do you really want to wash any more than you have too!!)

 

Preheat oven to 200 C.

Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands or a knife to bring it all together. Turn out onto a floured board and cut scones to shape required. I use a standard scone cutter most of the times, but if your after a different size use any floured glass to do the cutting. Using flour stops the dough from sticking to the glass.

I spray a quiche dish with cooking spray and use a scone cutter to cut out the scones. Place them into the dish close together. And then bake for approx 20 mins.

I have used light cream, sour cream and a mixture of all of these to the same result.

I've even turned out the mixture into the dish and scored it into wedges - works just as good. Apparently you get more jam and cream to scone ratio with this.

Enjoy 

Helping new mums

Two recent studies with new mums in mind give us valuable information in regards to how we can help our new mums.

Researchers have found a common link between those that experience depression and their brain chemistry and Mums that experience postpartum depression. Both groups showed an elevated level of an enzyme that breaks down two common brain substances – serotonin and melatonin. Therefore this would lead to low levels of the two in the system.

Serotonin –is a neurotransmitter, involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. It is manufactured in your body using the amino acid tryptophan. Release of serotonin or other drugs (depending on the type of nerve) causes the other nerves to fire and continue the message along the "cable”. It is also a chemical that helps maintain a "happy feeling," and seems to help keep our moods under control by helping with sleep, calming anxiety, and relieving depression.

Melatonin –is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain. It helps regulate other hormones and maintains the body's circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is an internal 24-hour “clock” that plays a critical role in when we fall asleep and when we wake up. When it is dark, your body produces more melatonin; when it is light, the production of melatonin drops. Being exposed to bright lights in the evening or too little light during the day can disrupt the body’s normal melatonin cycles.

When low levels of serotonin are found it may increase the intensity of depression and anxiety. While low levels of melatonin, decrease the quality of sleep.

Helping a new mum in the first few weeks after the birth of her child might mean looking at her diet to boost the production of these important brain chemicals. Two such compounds that are needed in the diet to help form serotonin and melatonin are Tyrosine and Tryptophan.

Tyrosine is an amino acid which may be good for those who have prolonged and intense stress. A dietary source of Tyrosine is found in soy products, chicken, turkey, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, bananas, milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.

Tryptophan is an amino acid needed for normal growth in infants and for nitrogen balance in adults. It is an essential amino acid, which means your body cannot produce it -- you must get it from your diet. In order for tryptophan in the diet to be changed into niacin, the body needs to have enough: iron, riboflavin and Vit B6.
Tryptophan can be found in: cheese, chicken, eggs, fish, milk, nuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy, tofu and turkey.
To help with increasing the levels of serotonin having up to five servings a day of each tryptophan and tyrosine could help to moderate the effects of depression in a new mum.

Another study also reported that it isn’t about the amount of sleep new mums are getting its more about the quality of sleep. They might be accumulating the hours but because the circadian sleep cycles are being interrupted the quality of sleep is poor. Sleep cycles last about 90 minutes to 2 hours. And when a new mother’s sleep is interrupted it is often difficult to maintain the correct cycles for a healthy sleep pattern. That also explains why cat napping during the day may not “top up “the sleep that she misses out on. A better solution would be to “sleep when the baby sleeps”, especially in the first few weeks. This would help to maintain a healthy sleep routine and provide the mother with enough quality sleep. Or we need to find other opportunities for the mother to gain more quality sleep, maybe express milk for a night feed so that someone else could feed the child.