Are fruit juices and smoothies too high in sugar?

For a long time now we have all been led to believe that lots of fresh fruit juice and fruit smoothies are the best possible way to remain healthy.  We can buy and drink litres of the stuff and feel refreshed and proud for doing something so supportive and beneficial to our health. However, could daily intakes of juice and fruit smoothies be contributing to blood sugar imbalance and the associated health risks (diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity?)

The short answer is yes.  

Although fruit is crammed full of vitamins and antioxidants, when you remove the fibre and drink only the juice, the glucose takes an instant journey into your cells and gives your pancreas the job of regulating that glucose through insulin production.  Although smoothies retain the fibre, they still remove some digestive time and get that glucose into our system at record speed.  When we get too much sugar in one hit and it has minimal fibre, protein and fat to balance it, we often experience a sudden blood sugar low afterwards. This low can lead to mood swings, cravings and the conversion of more glucose within the body's supply (this can result in a rise in adrenaline and feelings of anxiety).

So are all juices and smoothies too high is sugar?  Not necessarily. If you balance your juices with green vegetables, you reduce the sugar load per glass and experience a more gentle and healing drink.  Green juices are much more healthy and also offer an even greater nutrient load.  In terms of smoothies, you can add flax seed, coconut oil, spinach or other leafy greens to the fruit and this creates a well rounded drink which releases glucose into the system at a much more regular rate.

So, don't kick juices and smoothies altogether, simply adjust your recipes to provide a more balanced glass of goodness.  Remember even some vegetables are very high in sugar, these are generally below ground root vegetables such as carrot and beetroot (always balance this kind of juice with green vegetables not more fruit).  An example of a very high sugar juice to avoid is carrot and apple.

Happy drinking!

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How can you heal anxiety?

Feeling anxious and nervous about life is a common symptom of modern lifestyles and so many people go through the day dodging various levels of unease with distraction.  These days we are on sensory overload and screens, sounds and advertising infiltrate us without us even trying.  This means that sitting with ourselves and focusing on our needs, is something which rarely happens.  

It is so much easier to put on the latest episode of your favorite programme than to sit on the sofa in silence and focus inside on your pain and your dreams and what you really want to do with your days. This means that so many people are pushing their feelings back down into the abyss of the psyche where they can fester for a while before they reappear to be dealt with or ignored.

If your feelings are constantly being ignored and pushed down out of sight, then sometimes they appear as simply a feeling without any apparent root cause.  This is a feeling of anxiety or panic.  A sudden feeling of not being able to cope or manage your day, or possibly even that minute.

This is much more common than people realise and symptoms of anxiety can be anything from biting your nails to full blown panic attacks.  The key here is to notice your behaviour.  Once you realise you are displaying physical or mental patterns of stress then you are already in a place of power to do something about it.  Once you recognise that you are suffering with stress then you can take steps to dismantle it, starting with the outside layers and moving into the middle to find out what is really going on!

Here are my five top tips to beat anxiety:

1. Exercise.  Getting yourself to the gym or on a long walk is a great way to release the build up of adrenaline which builds up during the day.  Sometimes adrenaline can make you feel panicky.  Take yourself outside and get some fresh air.

2.  Meditation.  This is a great tool for lowering your heart rate and finding a place inside yourself where you can relax and retreat, honing this skill is probably the most useful tool you can ever have.

3.  Chamomile Tea.  this wonderful herb has great carmative properties.  Drink this ito get a feeling of total calm and reassurance.

4.  Kick Caffeine.  This substance actually mimics the stress response.  Needless to say that if you are already feeling wired and anxious, this is not a good idea.  Switch to herbal teas!  

5.  Count your blessings.  Spend as much time as you can focus on what is going right in your life.  This is a great way of dispelling negative thoughts which can lead to anxious behaviour.

Everything is going to be fine, it always is in the end.  Finding a way to manage the times when you feel like things are far from fine, is a very useful tool in life and everyone will have a different pathway to get to that place.  Jsut keep trying different techniques and remember that life is a magical journey which goes up and down, the lows are always followed by highs, allow yourself to recognise both and embrace the roller coaster instead of fighting it.

Good luck!

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Adapting to Change - My Five Top Tips...

I find it fascinating that the most unavoidable of all life's conditions gives us the most anxiety; change.

As humans we enjoy stability and security.  Yes perhaps sometimes we like to stretch our legs and reach out of our comfort zone with an adventurous trip or a new adrenaline rich hobby.  However, unplanned, perhaps unwanted change can throw us completely out of kilter and leave us feeling utterly lost and bewildered. 

Life is a complex twisting journey which is a little like the books we had as children which allowed you to choose the destiny of your character and change the ending by making different options.  We might decide to move, to take a new job or to have children and this creates a new chapter with new risks, options and opportunities.  However sometimes we get something thrown in that we didn't bargain for. Or perhaps something we opted for has turned out slightly differently that we had planned or imagined.  This is the time which causes us to stumble a little and find it hard to make sense of things.  The unknown bears down on us and leaves us feeling out of control and anxious.

So, when this time appears and change rears its head at an unwelcome time, what can we do to get in 'control' of things again?

1.  Forget control. Unfortunately as much as we like to think we are in charge here, we can only nudge things in certain directions, we cannot create outcomes. So imagine you are in a boat and instead of paddling against the river you allow the oars to sink to the bottom of the river bed and allow the boat to take you where the river flows...you may end up enjoying the view much more!

2.  Breathe.  Such a simple technique, but it really does make an awful lot of difference.  When we worry about something our chest tightens and our breathing becomes shallow. The lack of oxygen can make it hard to think and even harder to relax. So taking a deep breath in and allowing it to slowly flow out can make the world of difference when change jumps out from behind a bush.

3. Think about the positives.  There is always a silver lining to anything which at first appears bad.  A redundancy can result in a new way of life and new career opportunities.  A divorce can lead to new love, new friends and new adventures.  A death can lead to acceptance of life's fragility and a growing appreciation for those you still have.  When change appears and it feels scary, spend some time writing down potential positives to the situation and focus on these instead.

4. Accept that change will always be here.  It is actually the only thing in life which is constant from birth to death!  

5. Look to others for support.  It helps to get other peoples views on new change.  They are often more able to see the positives in the situation and they can help you adapt by giving you reassurance.  Often it is easier to laugh at yourself and feel more lighthearted about things when you share them.  So don't keep your fears inside, they look much scarier in there!

Good Luck with changes and remember, you are not alone.  Change can be scary, but it always presents an opportunity for growth and new potential.

Warm Wishes.

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Beauty is NOT Skin Deep

I always raise an eyebrow at the well known saying ‘beauty is only skin deep’, because although we all know that true beauty comes from within, in our heart and spirit, I happen to know that physical beauty starts much deeper than the upper dermis.  

When we think of skin, we all have an ideal of a glowing, blemish free complexion.  However, most of us don’t think much deeper than our appearance and only see troublesome spots or red patches as a beauty obstacle.  A nutritional therapist will look at blemished skin and think, ‘liver? Gut? Lymph?’  The secret to looking good on the outside is very much a matter of being clean and functional on the inside.  A tired liver, a slow gut and a sluggish lymphatic system will instantly show in the face and body as a hunched posture, puffy eyes, dark circles and blemished skin. 

Seeking beauty from within will most definitely show as external beauty.  It may also result in a good mood, positive mindset and a skip in your step.  The good news is that by nurturing your body with fresh juices, green smoothies, abundant salads and plenty of water, you have a better chance of creating a shining, glowing vision of perfection with a lot less covering and simply more highlighting.  

A great tip is to increase your intake of fluids to 1.5-2 litres a day.  Choose mineral water, diluted juices and herbal teas and avoid caffeine as much as possible.  This is going to give your elimination organs a great deal of support and help you heal in miraculous ways, in the most simple of steps.  Drink up and enjoy feeling hydrated and happy in the knowledge that your body is doing all the good work of excreting toxins and plumping up your complexion.

Either way? Enjoy.

Josie.

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