Dear Readers

I hope you had a good Christmas break and welcome to this issue of Natural News which starts off another new year.  Of course, with a new year our minds turn to New Year’s resolutions and how we may do things differently for the coming year.  I have always thought that is better to have achievable short term goals that you can stick to, see the difference and then add some more in as you gain in confidence.  It is estimated that most people only maintain their New Year’s resolution for about a week to ten days and it is thought that the problem is that people give themselves unrealistic, unachievable goals which they can’t keep up. 

So take small steps; it may be that you decide to add in either an extra 30 minutes of exercise a week or if you have not been exercising you start with 30 minutes exercising a week.  After a month, you can add in another 30 minutes.  The same with eating healthy, start with small changes, like making sure you are eating little and often and after a couple of weeks, think about eliminating caffeine.  As your health improves you will find that you will have the energy to do more exercise and to make better choices with your food.  It all becomes a positive circle rather than a negative one. 

 

Included in this issue of Natural News is more information on boosting your immune function to keep you healthy over the winter months and how to keep your mood up during the long dark days.  I hope you enjoy the recipe of stuffed pears as it is good to have some sweet foods but they do not have to be loaded with sugar.  If you have any favourite recipes that you are happy to share do send them in and may be say a few words as to what you like best about them.

 

Kind regards

 

Marilyn Glenville

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Readers

Welcome to this December issue of Natural News.  We are well and truly into the winter now and it is so important at this time of year to protect ourselves from colds and flu.  Last month I covered the benefits of a good night’s sleep and regular exercise and this month you’ll learn how your morning shower, deep breathing and fresh air can boost your immunity.  It is important that we do all we can to help ourselves because we are exposed to bacteria and viruses every day and it is only the strength of our immune system that stops us being constantly ill. 

 

It was Louis Pasteur who discovered the antibiotic properties of penicillin. In the early stages of his research, he said, `In order to for you to have a disease you have to have germs’. This encouraged the conventional approach to ‘germs’ and illness. Scientists were determined to find the ‘germs’ responsible, and to get rid of them. But somewhere along the line, these scientists lost sight of the fact that our bodies can do this for themselves. If our bodies are strong and healthy, with our immune systems functioning at optimum level, we are much less likely to become ill, and when we do succumb, we heal that much more quickly. The emphasis clearly needs to be on keeping the body strong, rather than finding shortcuts to health.

 

Exposure to bacteria will not necessarily cause an infection. There has to be a weakness present in order for this to happen. In other words, it is the body’s ability to fight its own battle that governs whether or not we succumb to illness.

 

Years after making his original statement, Louis Pasteur backtracked, saying: ‘In a state of health, animals are shut off from the invasion of germs …The microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything’.  If the terrain (your body) is healthy, disease cannot take hold. Interestingly, Louis Pasteur’s work is considered to be a turning point in the treatment of disease, but his final message has been largely ignored. Conventional medicine isn’t preventative. Nutritional medicine is.  And that is what you are aiming to achieve.

 

Kind regards

 

Marilyn Glenville

 

Dear Readers

I have been working in the field of nutrition for around thirty years and as well as being concerned about what we eat, I have also been concerned about what we put on our skin and what our skin is exposed to on a daily basis.

Did you know that the average woman uses 12 toiletries every day and applies more than 175 chemical compounds to her body in the process?

We are surrounded with chemicals that we use every day on our skin and hair, in our homes and work places, yet nobody knows the potentially harmful chemical cocktail effect these chemicals might have when combined together over a period of time.  

Current research continues to show that many everyday cosmetics and toiletries for example, contain chemicals that can be carcinogenic or harmful to your body. You do not want to be polluting your body by putting potentially toxic chemicals directly onto your skin. Your skin is one of the most absorbent and porous materials in the world, and will absorb into your body anything you put on it.  That is why nicotine and HRT patches work so well through the skin. 

Also this becomes even more important when we think of babies and children and the effect these chemicals might have on them.

I have always chosen natural toiletries and household products for my family and sometimes it has been really hard work finding the right products and checking all the labels.  With so much confusion nowadays as to what is really a ‘natural’ product I have decided to source some of the best products available and grade them depending on whether they are certified organic, contain 100% natural ingredients and for some products like hair dye that they are the most natural they can be and still be effective.  You will find these Natural Living Products on www.naturalhealthpractice.com.  If you know of any really good natural products you think would be useful for other women to know about then do let me know.

Kind regards

Marilyn Glenville