Consciously Change the Channel

Each of us has certain thought patterns or behaviours that we fall into when we are feeling stressed.  These patterns/behaviours have generally been with us for a long time - they are a familiar space to return to when we are feeling ungrounded.  
Unfortunately though these patterns/behaviours can contribute further to our stress load because they usually aren't truly helpful for us (common patterns can include:   procrastinating/worst case scenario worrying/being unkind to our selves or others etc).  
Most of us are aware of these patterns/behaviours within our selves, but it is really difficult to shift them even with this awareness.  We have very well worn channels or tracts in our brains that carry us into these patterns/behaviours, channels that have been formed over many many years and are the easiest direction for us to go when stressed.   
One of the ways that we can start to slowly shift our ingrained patterns/behaviours is to change the channel, not TV wise, but landscape wise.  Create a new channel, a new tract for our brain to default to in times of stress, one that serves us and supports us more fully.  This requires daily practice - bringing our awareness to how we respond when we are stressed, aiming to pull our selves out of the pattern as soon as we can, and consciously creating and building a new way to respond instead.  
The more we travel down a new channel, a new tract in our brain, the more familiar it becomes and the easier it becomes over time for it to be our conscious 'default' when we are feeling stressed.  It isn't easy and it doesn't happen quickly (and we never become 'perfect' at it), but it is possible if we are engaged in the process and do the work around it. 

Biologically Active Nutrients

One of the ways we can optimize the support supplements offer us is to take the biologically active form of nutrients.  The biologically active form of nutrients can be used directly by our body and do not need to be further converted upon absorption.  

Some examples of biologically active forms of nutrients includes:

Vitamin D - Vitamin D3

Folic Acid - L-5-Methyltetrahyrdrofolate (5MTHF)

Vitamin B6 - Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate (P5P)

Vitamin B12 - Methylcobalamin

CoQ10 - Ubiquinol 

Aiming to pick up supplements that contain nutrients in their biologically active form ensures we are buying good quality, well absorbed, easily utilizable supplements. 

Water!

Water is an essential building block of our body - if we are dehydrated, we have a harder time moving through all of our day to day processes.  Improper hydration leaves us open to headaches, lower energy, foggy thinking, body pain, suboptimal functioning.

For most of us, we want to aim for 2 litres of water per day.

If we do a work out, we want to add at least an additional 500 ml to our daily water intake total.  

Most of us aren't natural water drinkers - we have to train our selves to drink water.  

The best way to get our selves to drink more water is to slowly increase our intake by 1 additional cup (250 ml) per day each week (i.e. - week 1 - 5 cups per day, week 2 - 6 cups per day and on).  This allows our body to adjust to the increased water intake and for it to slowly become a part of our regular routine.  

Setting out our goal amount of water (in a pitcher or reusable bottles) at the start of the day is helpful too.  This serves as a visual reminder of how much we have already drank and how much more we have to go.  

We want to slowly drink water throughout the day rather than gulping down large amounts at a time.  This allows for the best hydration of our system. 

Room temperature (or warmer) water is the easiest on our body - it is best to avoid ice cold water because it does place extra stress on our system.  

For most of us, after having drank 500 ml of water, we will have to go pee within 1 hour - this is helpful info to have when on a long road trip or during a concert!

The only thing that counts as water is water - unfortunately coffee, tea, juice, pop all don't count as water because the body will relate differently to each of these drinks and not receive the same amount of hydration as it does from water.  

We don't want to use thirst as a daily guide/signal for us to drink water.  Unless we have eaten a saltier than normal meal or it is very hot outside (or we have an underlying endocrine concern), we shouldn't really ever feel thirsty.  Drinking water regularly throughout the day and properly hydrating our system generally prevents thirst from occurring.  

Deep Breathing Practice

It is important for each of us to have some form of daily stress release built into our routine.  Stress release practices help to calm and relax our central nervous system and support healthy adrenal function.  Stress release practices help us to feel more grounded and more able to manage the sources of stress in our lives.  

Deep breathing is a simple form of stress release that anyone can do - it requires no equipment, no extra training, and is free! 

Pick a space that is quiet and private/with no distractions.  Pick a length of time that feels manageable (5-10 minutes is great) and set a timer for the length of the practice.  Sit in a comfortable/upright position.  When we breathe in, our abdomen should rise/come out.  When we breathe out, our abdomen should fall/go in.  If we find this difficult, it is helpful to place one or both of our hands on our abdomen - it acts as a good guide/encouragement for deep full breathing.   For many of us, it is helpful to count our breaths (or repeat a mantra/saying if more comfortable) - in, out, one, in, out, two and on.  Everyone's mind wanders during deep breathing - when we catch our self thinking and no longer counting, we just start back at one and continue forward from there.  Reaching a certain number isn't a goal - committing to sitting for the length of time we have set out each day is.  The more consistently we practice deep breathing (or any other form of quiet/internal focused stress release), the easier it becomes to focus more clearly and deeply, the less frequently we will find our selves returning to the number one.  As well, the more consistently we practice deep breathing, the easier it will be to note the impact it has on our daily lives and the way we respond and react to stressful events.  

Some Supplement Basics

Supplements can be helpful in supporting our base level of health and can also be deeply tonifying and strengthening for the different systems in our body.

Good quality supplements are generally not found at the drugstore, the grocery store, or large chain/box stores.  Instead we want to buy our supplements from a health food store or the practitioner we are working with.

It is best to take supplements that are in a liquid, powder, or capsule form.  Tablet based supplements tend to be lower quality and are very difficult to break down and absorb.  

Iron is best absorbed with vitamin C, but needs to be taken away from all other supplements.

Any supplement with a fat base (fat soluble vitamins like vitamin D, essential fatty acid rich supplements) is best taken with food.

Zinc also needs to be taken with food because it will cause noticeable nausea on an empty stomach.

As well, regardless of what is recommended on the label, probiotics are best taken with food - if they are taken on an empty stomach, we lose approximately 70% of the probiotics we are taking.

Any supplements that can boost our energy (multivitamin, greens product, vitamin B complex, adrenal tonifying formulas) are best taken in the morning and possibly again at noon, if necessary - we want to take these supplements when our energy needs are at their highest rather than in the evening when our energy/body is meant to be starting to settle and prepare for rest and regeneration.

Iodine is generally best left out by people with auto immune mediated thyroid concerns (graves' and hashimoto's) because it can cause extra confusion/place extra stress on the body and further throw off thyroid function.

It is important to have a clear understanding of why we are taking each of the supplements that are part of our routine.  We want to ensure that we are taking well indicated supplements only and aren't including supports that aren't necessary or beneficial for our body.

Hormonal Basics

Our menstrual cycle is divided into the follicular phase (first half of the cycle, pre ovulation) and the luteal phase (second half of the cycle, post ovulation).  The follicular phase starts with day one of our cycle (which  is the first day of our period) and ends with ovulation (at mid cycle generally).  And the luteal phase starts after ovulation and ends with the last day of our cycle (which is the day before our next period starts).  A 'normal' regular cycle doesn't have to be exactly 28 days - it can be anywhere between 21 and 35 days.  Most importantly we need to have a sense of what our average cycle length is - this establishes our own individual normal and if our cycle starts to shift from this, it is a reflection that something is changing for us, hormonally.  

We generally ovulate approximately 14 days prior to our next period starting.  Some women will note one sided ovarian pain at ovulation (we ovulate from only one ovary each cycle and will ovulate from the other ovary the next cycle).  Generally there are also changes in the cervical mucous at ovulation with increased production and change in texture being pretty easy to note.

 It is also important for us to know how many days our period/menstrual flow lasts for and how heavy our flow is (a heavy flow is generally defined as needing to change menstrual products at least every 1.5-2 hours).  If we have a heavy flow at any point during our period or if we have an extended flow (6 days or more), it is important to have our ferritin levels (which measure our iron stores) tested at least yearly.  

All women will feel some increased sensitivity as we lead up to our period.  During the luteal phase, we are able to more closely connect with our intuition and how we are feeling on a deeper/less conscious level.  It is important to create some extra space for our selves during this part of our cycle to be able to listen more carefully and more clearly to the messages our body is more able/willing to share with us.  This can also make it easier to manage any fluctuations (on an emotional or physical level) that may occur during the luteal phase.  

If we do experience concerns that have a significant impact on our life and how we function as we lead up to the period, there are a number of different naturopathic therapeutics that we can consider to help bring more balance to our hormones and our cycle.  

Becoming more informed around and familiar with the basics of our own menstrual cycle can help us have a more manageable and balanced period and is a proactive way of supporting our overall health. 

Digestion Basics

Even though our digestive system does a great deal of work on a daily basis, outside of recognizing when we are hungry or full,  some occasional  minor gas, and a sense of when we have to have a bowel movement, we shouldn't directly feel too much going on, digestive wise.  
Balanced digestion involves little to no digestive discomfort, no painful gas or bloating, and at least 1, but no more than 3, bowel movements per day.  Our bowel movements should be formed and remain together in the toilet bowl and should contain no blood or mucous.  
Our bodies do a great job of normalizing any concern that we experience for an extended period of time and this especially occurs for any digestive symptoms.  For many of us, our digestive function doesn't match up with the above list, but we come to accept discomfort, bloating, disrupted bowel movements as normal because we can't remember having felt any differently.  
It is a good idea for all of us to track how we feel digestively for a few days and note if any of these concerns are occurring for us.  If so, it is good idea to then further explore potential causes for our symptoms.    Digestive concerns can be linked to the foods we are eating (doing a cleanse provides a great insight into whether any of the foods we are eating are contributing to different symptoms we are experiencing), imbalances in gut flora/digestive mucous membranes/digestive enzyme functioning (all of which can be addressed through different supplements), and emotional concerns or stress (which can be supported through counselling and stress management techniques such as journalling, deep breathing, meditation).  
Our digestive system does tend to be pretty flexible and responsive to positive changes, so pinpointing a concern and working on addressing/supporting it has great potential to help us to feel better on a digestive level.