Sam’s Seedy Vegetable Bread for a nutrient dense breakfast. Delicious spread with avocado or topped with an egg for a good hit of protein and fibre. Thermomix recipe by Samantha Bake Clinical Nutritionist.

• 500g spelt or wholemeal spelt flour (can use wheat flour)
• 2 slightly rounded teaspoons dry yeast
• 50g rolled oats or barley
• 30g linseeds
• 45g sunflower seeds
• 45g pumpkin sees
• 30 g chia seeds 
• 30g Blue Label Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses (can use honey)
• 30g Rice bran or grapeseed oil
• Approx 250g vegetable puree (eg pumpkin, zucchini, sweet potato, tomato or leftover veggie soup)
• 250g lukewarm water (total amount of vegetable and water should equal 500g, I have found it best not to exceed 300g of veg or the dough isn’t wet enough)

If using zucchini that doesn’t need to be precooked – just add roughly chopped to Thermomix, add water to make 500g total and blitz until consistency of a puree. Place all ingredients into the Thermomix bowl. Set lid to closed position and knead for 3 minutes on Interval speed. The dough should be sticky, scrap into bread tin and sprinkle top with oats or seeds. Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise for 30-40 minutes or until near the top of the tin. 

Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (temperatures may vary from oven to oven). Bake for 30-40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped. Let sit in tin for 10 minutes then cool on a rack for a while before slicing. This makes a moist, dense (fibre filled) but delicious loaf perfect for toast or with a hearty soup. Pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini make for a neutral tasting loaf that can be enjoyed with sweet or savoury toppings. If using tomato or leftover soup you will get a more savoury loaf.

Have you ever felt tired & exhausted, yet also wired at the same time? Sounds bizarre I know, yet many women are living with this daily. We are run off our feet &
wanting to collapse at the end of the day, although our minds are in full flight of stimulation with to-do lists & everything in between!

What does this mean?

The body is in ‘fight & flight’ mode, scientifically it is called our sympathetic nervous system. This is where our body is designed to respond to a threat by either staying to fight or running away (like our ancestors needed to from potential animal predators). Ideally, when there are no immediate threats in our day, we should be in ‘rest & digest’ mode, this is called our parasympathetic nervous system. This is where our body is taking care of our digestion & our nutrient absorption & all other processes that make us function. Various methods which relax the nervous system include stimulating the vagus nerve.

Why do we want to stimulate the Vagus nerve?

Various techniques can stimulate the vagus nerve providing rest & digest – parasympathetic nervous system activation. The vagus nerve has direct and indirect
connections to the cortical-limbic-thalamic-striatal neural circuit involving emotional and cognitive functions. Vagal nerve stimulation influences the activity of
norepinephrine and neurotransmitters such as serotonin, assisting in improving mood.

What techniques can we use to activate our ‘Rest & Digest’ Nervous System?

Slow, rhythmic, diaphragmatic breathing Try breathing deeply from the diaphragm rather than shallowly from the top of the lungs, and focus on your breath. As the amount of breaths per minute reduces, ideally to about 5-7 times per minute this is when our ‘rest & digest” nervous system is activated. The muscles will become more relaxed and the oxygen supply to the cells will increase producing endorphins; the body’s feel- good hormones. This in turn will help lower heart rate and reduce anxiety & worry.

How to deep breathe?

Take a deep inhalation through your nose into your belly, expanding the diaphragm to the count of five. Pause on the inhalation, and then exhale slowly through a small hole in your mouth to the count of six. Repeating this process for multiple rounds/minutes. The most important part of your breathing is ensuring that the exhale count is longer than the inhale count.

So next time you’re feeling wired & tired try this breathing exercise for some immediate relaxation.

Alison Patchett

Naturopath

B Health Science (Naturopathy)

Alison is extremely passionate about helping women with pregnancy and postnatal care, particularly the first 18 months of new parenthood.

The first 18 months can be such a challenging time for mums to manage the demands of being a parent with broken sleep, along with fatigue, feeding and nutritional concerns and then later transitioning back to work.

As a mum of 2 children (aged 3 and 1), Alison understand these challenges faced by parents in the busy modern world and provides practical and realistic support to ensure health of the family unit. 

Sparked by her own experiences, Alison initially was inspired to become a naturopath through her own experiences, seeing such a positive impact on her own health. After a corporate career in IT, Alison completed extensive studies at Southern School of Natural Therapies achieved a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) whilst working part-time and raising a young family

Primary Amenorrhea – you’ve never had one and you’re 15 years or older. (And female..) 

Secondary Amenorrhea- you used to have a period but now it has left the building and hasn’t been seen for 3-6months (and you aren’t pregnant). 

Secondary amenorrhea is the more common one I see. 
So why does it happen?

Stress has a lot to answer for here and high stress does have the potential to completely stop your cycle in its tracks. 

This doesn’t just include emotional stress but also any physical stress on the body like being super busy and not resting can do this as well. Excessive exercise is a great example of this. 

Other reasons can be menopause, being on or coming off hormonal birth control (The pill, IUD, implanon etc) or other underlying hormonal imbalances. 

Your period is always a monthly reminder of how healthy and balanced your last month was so when treating irregular or nonexistent periods its all about bringing balance back to your world. 

Here’s some things you can start on right now to start rebalancing hormones:

• Stress less. Meditation, breathing exercises- If you’ve tried and it’s not working, come see me. I have tips.. and herbs 😉
• Moderate amounts of exercise- try swapping out some of the HIIT for some more gentle forms of exercise like yoga, pilates or even just good old fashioned walking. 
• Good food- healthy fats (avocados, nuts, fish) and lots of fibre (veggies). 
• Good sleep- early nights! 
• Reduce stimulants- coffee, sugar, alcohol
• Hydration- 2 litres of water a day.

Good skin comes from within.

Have a think about how you might be able to include some more of these nutrients in your diet.

• Fibre. Extremely important for cleaning out your digestive system and moving toxins and excess hormones out of the body. My favourite food sources of fibre include: Flaxseeds, chia seeds, psyllium husk, slippery elm, kiwi fruit and dried figs. 
• Fish Oil. Full of goodness for nourishing skin cells and working on that natural skin glow that we all want. It’s very important you take a good quality brand though. The general rule for fish oil, is the more expensive, the better the quality.
• Zinc. Helps to balance hormones, repair leaky gut and re-train skin cells to bounce back after pimples, reducing the risk of scaring long term. Zinc is present in high levels in nuts and seeds- particularly pumpkin & sesame seeds but also in leafy green vegetables.
• Probiotics. The link between the skin and the gut is very well documented, so any imbalances with your gut microbiome or bacterial overgrowths will be impacting on the microbiome of your skin. Reset this balance with daily probiotics.
• Water. 2 litres a day is vital for not only flushing out toxins and supporting healthy digestive function but it’s also important for hydrating skin.

Inflammation is a major driver of a number of chronic diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. IL-1B, IL-6 and TNF-a are inflammatory cytokines found in the body that have been linked to the development of numerous chronic diseases.

This pilot study looked at whether improving skin function reduces proinflammatory cytokine levels in older people. After 30 days of applying 3ml of an emollient moisturiser twice a day, blood levels of IL-1B and IL-6 reduced to levels comparable to young controls and levels of TNF-a decreased by over 40% suggesting that improving skin function can largely normalise circulating levels of three pro-inflammatory cytokines that are strongly associated with aging and disease.

While this is an area that obviously needs more research there’s certainly no harm in making this a daily self-care routine and you might just find you’re experiencing more health benefits than healthier skin.

Our skin is our largest organ and since it is porous it absorbs whatever you put on it so make sure you choose a product that’s free from toxic chemicals. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30835878

ReMed Natural Medicine – Are You Magnesium Deficient? 

My love for Magnesium is two-fold. For one, I love what a difference replenishing someone’s Magnesium levels can make on their health and feeling of wellbeing and two, it was my own Magnesium deficiency that first introduced me to the world of Naturopathy.

I’d been experiencing twitching muscles which over time progressed to constant eye twitching which was driving me crazy! I asked some nurse friends and doctors about it, but no-one could tell me why it was happening or how to stop it. I then met a Naturopath- an industry I didn’t know much about and if I’m honest was a little sceptical about given I studied and worked in Western Medicine- and asked her about my eye twitch. She quickly identified that I was Magnesium deficient and within three days of taking the recommended Magnesium supplement my eye twitch disappeared- my Magnesium Miracle! It wasn’t just my muscle twitches that went away, I also noticed that my body aches and pains had improved, my headaches had lessened in frequency and severity and my body no longer felt like a tight rubber band ready to snap. So what is Magnesium and what happens if we don’t get enough?

Magnesium is a mineral that is crucial to the body’s function, in fact over 300 enzymes require Magnesium to function. In Australia, up to 72% of people don’t get adequate amounts of Magnesium in their diet and this is before we talk about the things that reduce the absorption and increase the excretion of Magnesium. 

Cooking and processing deplete Magnesium from foods while alcohol, coffee, sugar, soft drink, high levels of protein in the diet and some medications such as diuretics, cytotoxic drugs, antibiotics and Beta Blockers (blood pressure medication) cause Magnesium to be excreted through the kidneys. High stress levels also increase the excretion of Magnesium. Even before we start destroying Magnesium in the kitchen, we’ve depleted Magnesium in the soil so the food we’re eating has lower levels of Magnesium than it used to. If you have any sort of digestive disturbance such as coeliac disease, Crohn’s, low stomach acid, dysbiosis or loose stool or have high stress levels then your body will also have trouble absorbing enough Magnesium from foods. 

Signs that you may be deficient in Magnesium include: low energy and fatigue, muscle weakness, muscle aches, twitches and cramps, high blood pressure, asthma, headaches and migraines, period pain and hormone problems, osteoporosis, sleep problems, stress, anxiety, depression and heart ‘flutters’ or palpitations.

How to increase your Magnesium levels

Eating foods high in Magnesium is a great way to improve your Magnesium status so make sure you’re including some of the following foods into your diet every day: dark green leafy vegies like spinach, kale and collard greens, quinoa, nuts eg. almonds, cashews and brazil nuts and seeds eg. flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds and chia seeds, avocados and whole grains. 

For some people just increasing their dietary intake of Magnesium is not enough so taking a Magnesium supplement may be required. There are a number of different types of Magnesium supplements on the market which come in different forms and doses and not all supplements are created equal! In order to ensure you’re taking the most suitable and bioavailable form of Magnesium for you and at the right dose make sure you consult a health professional such as a Naturopath or Nutritionist. 

Take this quick 1-minute survey to identify whether you are at risk of Magnesium deficiency

https://magnesiumguide.com.au/magnesium-minute/

If you think you may not be getting enough Magnesium or want to know more about the role Magnesium plays in health and disease I’d love to talk to you. Call 1300 173 633 or visit www.remed.com.au to book an appointment or a complimentary 20-minute consultation.

Melbourne Naturopathic Clinic

Super moist egg free Chocolate Cake – Thermomix instructions

• 100g butter
• 50g rolled oats, blitzed in Thermomix or food processes or make oat flour
• 100g coconut sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 400g steamed, mashed sweet potato or pumpkin
• 100g water
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
• 250g SR flour
• 20g cocao
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Melt butter on 60 degrees for 2 minutes, speed two
2. Add sugar, vanilla, sweet potato and water and heat at 60 degrees for 2 minutes, speed 2.
3. Add bicarb soda and mix for 5 seconds on speed 2.
4. Add oats, flour, cocoa ad cinnamon and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4. Use spatula to scrape the sides and mix for another 5 seconds.  
5. Pour into a lined 20cm round cake tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. This is a soft and denser cake because of the sweet potato and oats, it tends to be slightly lighter if you use pumpkin.

Delicious and healthier served with natural Greek yoghurt and berries, however, for something different you can try Date Icing.

Date Icing

• 10-12 Medjool dates (soaked in hot water for up to 10 minutes and then drained if not very soft and plump)
• 40g cacao
• 50-100 g cold water  
• Pinch of salt flakes
• 2 teaspoon vanilla paste
• Pinch of cinnamon or cardamom (optional)
• 2-3 teaspoon coconut oil

Start with 50g water and blitz in the Thermomix (speed 7-8 for 5 seconds at a time then scrap down) or food processor until smooth, adding more water as needed to reach the desired consistency. This is like dark chocolate icing so you can decrease the cacao for a lighter flavour.

Caring for Carers – Nurses, this one’s for you!

I’ve been a nurse for the past 14 years and in that time, I’ve worked alongside some of the hardest working, caring and compassionate people I know. People who day in and day out give everything of themselves to their patients often leaving nothing for themselves. Nurses are (rightly or wrongly) trained/expected to put others needs above their own- whether that be not taking their break because a patient needed something, leaving work late so they don’t leave work undone for the next shift or not going to the toilet for twelve hours because there just wasn’t time – which means that they’re often not very good at putting themselves first or allowing others to care for them.

Nurses are at a higher risk for a number of different health concerns most commonly musculoskeletal conditions, obesity and mental health concerns. This comes as no surprise to me- nursing is a physical job, we’re on our feet for up to 12 hours a day, bending, kneeling on the floor and having to move patients that are unable to move themselves. Nursing and shift work lends itself to living an unhealthier life than we would otherwise like to- it encourages a poor diet of unhealthy food often eaten on the run, little time or energy for exercise, insufficient and poor quality sleep, social isolation, poor work/life balance and high stress levels.

Nurses work lives are increasingly stressful- patients are sicker, hospitals are under stress financially and nurses are having to find ways to juggle patient care with all of their other assigned tasks and that doesn’t even take into account the emotional stress of caring for critically ill patients and their family members. There is also the pressure we feel when we’re unwell to still show up to work because we’re aware of the stress our absence puts on our colleagues.

Something else I’ve noticed is that as nurses we can start to have a skewed view of health and wellness. We see such sick people every day that we have a tendency to down play our own health concerns. It really took me studying Naturopathy to change my thinking around this. You don’t have to be critically unwell before you see a health professional for help. Our bodies are very good at giving us little signs when we start to get out of balance and if we don’t listen to this then our body gets louder and louder with more serious signs and symptoms until we have no choice but to do something about it.

Unfortunately, the longer we ignore the messages our body is giving us, the more serious and insidious our health problems become and the harder they get to treat or reverse. Working with nurses and other care givers is something I love to do because I truly understand the difficulties our work presents and I’ve been there- there was a time I didn’t prioritise my own health and wellbeing and paid the price!

If you feel like it’s time to put your health first come and see me at ReMed- you can book online at www.remed.com.au or call 1300 163 773. If you’re not sure about Naturopathy and want to know more you can come in for a 20 minute free consultation to chat about any health concerns and how Naturopathy can help you. Skype and phone appointments also available.

Photo by Sage Kirk on Unsplash