Unfortunately, cold and flu viruses spread easily, and even the strongest among us can succumb to infection. If you do get sick, natural medicines can help you recover faster by supporting your immune defences, and when taken long-term, can even reduce your risk of getting sick. Before we look into how they do this, let’s examine what happens when we get a viral infection.

What happens in an acute cold or flu?

Viruses such as influenza and the common cold enter through the nose and mouth, with the goal of multiplying and making your body their new home. These viruses can’t multiply without a human cell, so once they enter your body they immediately start infecting your cells, hijacking them and turning them into virus-replicating factories. They do this by injecting their genetic material into your cells, which both provides a blueprint for how to make more viral particles and forces your cells’ ‘machinery’ to create them. These brand new viral particles then exit the cell and seek out new cells within your body to infect, continuing the cycle of infection.

Fortunately, your body doesn’t just take this lying down. Instead, the infected cells signal danger to the body, stimulating the protective inflammatory response, which allows your immune system to fight back. It does this by sending white blood cells (WBCs) to the infected areas, which then lock on to viral particles and destroy them. Interestingly, rather than being caused by the virus itself, the symptoms that make you feel terrible, such as a sore throat, chills and aches, are actually a side effect of your immune system fighting off the virus. As you can see, the quicker and more effectively your immune system can get rid of the virus, the fewer days you will spend being sick, and the better you will feel.

Can taking natural medicines help me get better quickly?

The major advantage of natural medicines is they reduce uncomfortable cold and flu symptoms while also helping your immune system fight off viruses faster and more effectively. Taking natural medicines at the first sign of infection means fewer days spent feeling miserable, fewer days off work or school, and more time to enjoy the things you love! When taken on an ongoing basis, many nutrients and herbs can even reduce your risk of getting sick in the first place – good news for those of you who get sick regularly.

To help you feel better sooner, here are four-star players you can call on to support your immune system and get you feeling back to normal ASAP:

• Andrographis (Andrographis paniculata): A herb used in traditionally in Ayurvedic (Indian) medicine to treat respiratory diseases, fever and sore throat, research shows that andrographis reduces symptoms of the common cold and other URTIs.^[2],[3] It does this by helping your WBCs destroy viral particles,^[4] fighting off infection.
• Zinc: When taken within 24 hours of the first symptoms of infection, zinc reduces the severity and duration of colds.^[5] By boosting the production and function of WBCs, 30 mg/day of zinc helps fight off colds and flu.^[6] If you get sick often, taking zinc daily for five months may reduce the occurrence of infection and sickness-related absences from work.^[7]
• Vitamin C: An important nutrient for the immune system, vitamin C reduces symptom severity and duration of the common cold by an average of 23%,^[8],[9] cutting the number of days spent feeling unwell by almost a quarter! This vitamin helps by enhancing the movement of WBCs,^[10] getting them where they need to go in order to fight the battle.
• Medicinal mushrooms: The combination of cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis), coriolus (Trametes versicolor), reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) and shiitake (Lenintula edodes) mushrooms reduces common cold symptoms by enhancing immune strength and function, preventing viruses from entering cells, stimulating WBC activity, and helping your immune system recognise and fight infection more effectively in the future.^{[11],[12],[13],[14]}

What else can I do to get better quickly?

Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to help yourself feel better and recover faster:

• Start your natural medicine regime as soon as you feel yourself getting sick – the quicker you get on top of the infection the better you will feel!
• Get plenty of rest and sleep, taking as much time away from work or school as necessary;
• Eat nourishing whole foods with plenty of vegetables and easily digested proteins, such as fish or eggs;
• Consume plenty of fluids such as water, herbal tea and homemade chicken and vegetable broth;
• Consume plenty of garlic (bonus points for raw!) and onion as they help boost immune function (Avoid if following FODMAP diet), and
• Try steam inhalations to reduce congestion.

TO FIND OUT MORE, pick up these immune-enhancing supplements or would like a personalised immune-boosting natural medicine program. PLEASE CONTACT ME!

https://blog.metagenics.com.au/natural-cold-and-flu-relief-your-questions-answered/

All Health & Wellbeing DNA test kits https://www.fitgenes.com/health-wellbeing/ completed by January 31st 2020 will also receive a complimentary half-price upgrade to FOOD CHOICE! https://www.fitgenes.com/product/foodchoice/

It’s fun to enjoy a little bit of indulgence over the summer holidays, however, it can make it difficult to get back on track with your HEALTHY HABITS and WELLNESS ROUTINE.🤦‍♀️

If you are still feeling flabby after too much Christmas pudding, New Year’s champagne and Australia Day celebrations? Or if you are finding it hard to hit the gym after the holidays? These FIVE EASY TIPS will help get you back on the WELLNESS train to eating well and moving like you were last year.🤗

1. Organise you Morning.🌝 🍽

Prepare everything the night before. Layout your workout gear and pack your gym bag.

Plan your meals and if possible, have them prepped and waiting for you. Doing this means a less stressed morning and a higher chance you follow through on your healthy routine!

2. Clear out the Crap.🍕🍟🍫🍬 🥤

Why test your will power unnecessarily? If there is leftover Christmas chocolates and that IS YOUR WEAKNESS THROW IT OUT! Nibbles hanging around from New Year? Ditch them.

Don’t think, just throw, or even better, donate!

3. Close the Kitchen.🚫

Pick a time where the kitchen is off-limits. Turn out the lights, make a family service announcement. THE KITCHEN IS NOW CLOSED.

If you can do this for one week you will notice that night-time eating is a habit that will recede if you stop heeding the call.

4. Aim for Daily Movement.🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Of course, there will be days where you miss it but if you aim for it every day and put it on your calendar you will at least end up with a solid 4 or 5 days of exercise.

Start small if you have had some time off and build up over time! Pick something you enjoy, maybe a beach walk and swim or ball games with the family.

5. Give up the Booze (or at least reduce it).🍻🍷🥂

Getting on the wagon is the quickest way to lose the bloat. Not only will you save the extra calories, but your willpower will also be stronger to resist forbidden foods and your hunger will be more moderate.

Especially now that the major celebrations (and stress) have passed, there is no excuse really to be downing the wines. Give it a rest and notice how awesome you feel!🥳

Remember that getting back on track is even harder than starting a brand new routine, as when you begin again, you remember how you used to feel and that can lead to some crappy thoughts.🥺

Just keep moving and you can stay ahead of your thoughts about not being on track! You’ll get there, one step at a time.💚

If you need some extra support around this, please contact me to make an appointment.😇

Check out what super foods are going to be trending this year.🤗

From the increasing popular celery juice to Ashwagandha to help calm your nervous system.

Read more at:
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/health-lifestyle/20-superfoods-of-2020/articleshow/72770807.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/health-lifestyle/20-superfoods-of-2020/articleshow/72770807.cms

People with coeliac disease cannot tolerate gluten, the protein found in wheat, and their immune system wrongly identifies it as a threat, making them sick.🥯🤢

Australian scientists have recently isolated immune cell receptors of coeliac patients and discovered that these receptors can recognise protein fragments from certain bacteria and commit this information to ‘memory’ in case it invades the body again. What makes this interesting is that the bacterial fragments mimic the protein fragments in gluten.

The presence of this BACTERIA may contribute to persisting symptoms despite the removal of gluten from diet.😖

Probiotics and high fibre foods have been posited as important treatment options for coeliac disease.🥝🥦

TO FIND OUT IF YOU ONE of the half of all Australians are who are born with one of two genes that cause coeliac disease, please contact me to discuss how undertake a simple DNA test.🤗

For more information on study click on links below.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6316269/

https://scitechdaily.com/bacterial-link-discovered-in-celi…/

It certainly seems like one of the biggest diet trends right now is intermittent fasting. Everyone on Instagram’s talking about it, how-to guides are being published online, and some outlets are sharing its benefits — or warning about its potential dangers. So… what’s the deal? Is intermittent fasting safe? Should you try it? And what’s more, does it even work?! Luckily we were able to turn to our friend Dr Mark Hyman, author of the new cookbook Food: What the Heck Should I Cook?, who told us everything we need to know…

To find out more information click on the link below.

• https://medium.com/wake-up-call/should-you-try-intermittent-fasting-b30b12671365

• 

Restarting Healthy Habits Post Festive Season.🥑

Indulging especially around the holidays season is completely healthy and normal! Generally, one day or even a few days of overindulgence will most likely not set you too far off track. However many times, overindulging can also cause feelings of guilt, failure or frustration.😣

To help return to your regular routine, slowly restart over a few days with parts of your normal, regular routine. This can make the transition less stressful for you.

As you return to work or a more normal routine, here are some handy hints for getting back on the wellness track.🤗

1. Avoid the “give up” attitude. 

Many times, it’s easy to throw in the towel after a few unhealthy meals or days of eating. You may think you’ve “ruined” your day by an unhealthy meal, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make positive choices for the rest of the day! If you’ve slipped up try to immediately think of the next healthy choice or lifestyle behaviour you can make instead of punishing yourself for the choices you have already made.

2. Forgive yourself. 

Overeating or overindulging — especially over a few days — can make you feel really guilty or like you’ve failed your healthy eating plan. But that’s not true. You haven’t failed anything and there’s nothing to feel guilty about. Remember, overeating and indulging in some unhealthier foods is part of normal eating AND give yourself some grace.

3. Review your goals. 

The original goals you may have had last year or the ones you made for this year might seem much farther off after overindulging. But you can get right back on track by thinking about how you plan to meet them. One small step at a time! You might have thought you’d be further along by now, but start where you are. Slow and steady is more sustainable than all or nothing.

4. Schedule in your meals and exercise. 

Sometimes the number of changes you need to make to get back to your normal routine can feel overwhelming. However, making a schedule or plan can make it seem more manageable.

• Try scheduling in your physical activity during the week. Write out which days you’re going to work out, at that time, and for how long.
• Write up a meal plan for your healthy meals and snacks. This will give you the framework for grocery shopping and healthy eating.

5. Do a detox!

The easiest way to reset your body and start the year with a healthy mindset is to do a 2-week detox program. On sale now!🤸‍♀️

Ease yourself into 2020, don’t give up and if you need more support, I’m here to help!😇

Happy New Year 💫xo