SOL Natural Health

15/11/2022

Swipe through to find out about how my favourite mineral can nourish your nervous system and the crucial role it plays when we are stressed 🤎

01/11/2022

VITAMIN D

Have you had your vitamin D levels checked recently? I just got my blood results back and vitamin D was sitting at 77. Now I am far from the mildly, moderately or severely deficient range, BUT my levels were not as such in the optimal range, as ideally we want to see vitamin D at 100+. Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption, protecting bone health, muscular activity, immune function, insulin secretion, blood pressure regulation, healthy mood, cellular function, and plays a major role in reproductive health with hormones and fertility.

Vitamin D status is such an important marker for health concerns like autoimmune disease, thyroid dysfunction, PCOS, subfertility, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, low AMH, obesity, osteoporosis, fatigue, depression, preeclampsia, & low immunity/recurrent infections.

I’ll be making sure I catch 20 mins of sunlight everyday as vitamin D is synthesised by our body via skin exposure to sunlight. vitamin D can also be obtained from dietary sources, so I’ll be increasing eggs & oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel (full fat butter is also a good source). Side note, when consuming vitamin D rich foods, make sure to include healthy fats to enhance absorption as vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. For example, pop some avocado with your eggs or some extra virgin olive oil over your fish & salad. I’ll probably also take 1000-2000IU of vitamin D daily in spray form (cod liver oil is also a great source of supplemental vitamin D) until my next blood test and reassess 🌞

26/10/2022

Diet is and should be a huge focus for women with PCOS - food truely is medicine with this condition!

As 70% of PCOS cases have insulin resistance as an underlying driver, we need to focus on foods that are low GI (glycemic index ranks carb rich foods in terms of their blood glucose raising potential). Low GI foods will improve glucose management and menstrual regularity and prevent long term complications such as type 2 diabetes. High GI foods include sugary, refined and processed foods. Think white bread, white pasta, cakes, biscuits, waffles, candy, chocolate, fries, chips, soft drinks. We want to avoid all of these even without having PCOS! High intakes of simple carbohydrates is linked to more severe insulin resistance, inflammation & high androgens.

If you have PCOS, focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, legumes/ pulses, olive oil, nuts and seeds and herbs and spices!

When creating your breakfast, lunch and dinner plate, focus on including:
Protein ~ fish and seafood, eggs, lean cuts of meat (chicken, beef, turkey), nuts and seeds, legumes (peas, beans, soybeans, peanuts) and pulses (chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, white beans)

Healthy fats ~ extra virgin olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, oily fish, flaxseed meal, h**p seeds, chia seeds, coconut cream, coconut milk, flaxseed oil

Complex carbohydrates ~ fruits, vegetables (including starchy carbohydrates like sweet potato), brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, oats, pulses, whole grain bread, legumes, pulse pasta. These foods are all high in fibre that increase SHBG levels to reduce androgens (male s*x hormones). It will also assist in the removal of excess circulating hormones as opposed to reabsorption.

The Mediterranean diet also shows positive benefit for women with PCOS as it focuses on antioxidant and anti inflammatory rich foods that are rich in complex carbs, protein, fibre and monounsaturated fats. This is linked to greater improvements with body composition, menstrual regularities, fertility outcomes, lowered inflammation and insulin resistance as well as reduced risks of type 2 diabetes.

(Read on in comments)

23/10/2022

self care sundays 🌸 ~ this is something I regularly include in my clients treatment notes. We can't pour from an empty cup, otherwise we become physically, mentally & emotionally drained, depleted & well.. irritated/cranky/annoyed at everyone 🤪. Mamas, it’s so important to take some space to tend to our own needs that will only benefit you, your partner and your children. Don’t make it overwhelming, but aim to schedule unstructured time into your week (even if its just for 10 minutes a day whether it’s first thing in the morning, or at night after you’ve put the kids to sleep. So what might this look like?
- Yoga session on YouTube
- Putting your feet up against the wall
- 10 minute meditation on insight timer
- A bath with Epsom salts
- A nap
- A face mask
- Reading a chapter of a book
- Watch a short tv episode (highly recommend working moms)
- A gentle walk in nature
- Enjoying your lunch in the sun
- Enjoy a herbal tea on the couch with some loco love chocolate
- Making a nourishing slow cooked meal or dessert (if cooking doesn’t stress you out 😂)

what fills up your cup?

20/10/2022

Antibiotics are life saving drugs when needed, but unfortunately they can upset the delicate balance of “good” and “bad” bacteria in the digestive tract. Luckily, we know we can restore gut health during and after antibiotic use to reestablish the beneficial gut bacteria. There’s conflicting opinions about whether you should take probiotics when you are on a course of antibiotics. What strains are beneficial? Do I take a generalised probiotic off the shelf? Do I take probiotics at the same time as the antibiotics? Swipe across to find out more!

11/10/2022

Don’t forget about the gentle, yet therapeutic herbal teas you can consume during pregnancy to support any pregnancy related conditions). Please speak to a qualified naturopath before consuming to make sure it’s safe to use for your individual circumstances🤰🏻
Personal fav pregnancy teas
🫖 chamomile
🫖 marshmallow
🫖 ginger
🫖 peppermint (avoid if have reflux/ heartburn)
🫖 nettle
🫖 raspberry leaf (avoid in 1st/2nd tri)
🫖 lemon balm (avoid if you have hypothyroidism & instead opt for chamomile)

Personal fav postpartum teas
🫖 raspberry leaf
🫖 nettle
🫖 fenugreek
🫖 fennel
🫖 chamomile

What are/were your go to teas when pregnant & breastfeeding?

30/09/2022

Our main reproductive hormones include oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone mix that are produced by the ovaries! These s*x hormones are derived from cholesterol and play an important role for our s*xual development & reproduction. They are responsible for puberty, menstruation, pregnancy & menopause. The delicate balance of these hormones ebb and flow throughout the stages of life & during our menstrual cycle. Slide across to see what symptoms can arise with low and high hormone levels. As a Naturopath, we are here to support you to regulate and balance your hormones. We take a detailed history of your menstrual cycle to understand its current rhythm, investigate with blood or saliva hormone testing and treat accordingly with food as medicine, specific nutrients & herbal medicine.

Some common scenarios we see in clinic are:
💛 excess androgens & PCOS
💛 excess oestrogen & Endometriosis
💛 low progesterone & PMS
💛 low oestrogen & menopause

30/08/2022

29/08/2022

weekend full of food, flowers, family time, sleep + sunshine
..and tantrums 🤍

17/08/2022

here are some loving, warming ideas to show your support to mama and family experiencing loss of a child. even if you feel lost with words, show that you love them and are thinking of them always. a lot of these have come from heartfelt treasures I have received and have been so meaningful.
~
there is no time frame for the grieving process, and there is no set way to grieve. Grief never gets lighter, we just get used to carrying the weight.

13/07/2022

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!
We are super excited to present our first workshop where all our practitioners will come together to give you the most exciting, interactive and informative workshop.
We have come up with our almost very own antenatal/postnatal educational workshop to provide you with practical and information we believe you NEED to know to survive and thrive in motherhood both; physically, emotionally and mentally.
For too long we’ve sat with hundreds of women, who have told us ‘ I wish we had of known this’ - and now we give you ‘BORN FOR THIS’ workshop.