Ultra-Processed foods are making us sick and no one cares

It's completely normal to eat ultra-processed foods. Despite mounting evidence these foods are dire for our community health, none of the major food producers in Australia, or the world for that matter, are making changes, and there's little in the way of government support to educate Australians on making better choices.

An ultra-processed food often resembles a natural product but on closer inspection it contains substances that have been extracted from foods. They have ingredients that are synthesised and not available to the home cook. Things like hydrolysed protein, gluten, invert sugars or additives and flavour enhancers. Have a look at the ingredients list on your packaged products; If you see ingredients you can't put in your pantry, you can classify it as ultra processed. These are different from traditional processed foods which include foods like cheese and sausages. These come from natural foods but have have been prepared with ingredients like oils, fats, sugars or salt. A whole food (not processed) comes directly from a plant or animal source and is not processed or prepared only with other ingredients that come from nature.

I'm a big believer in the bodies ability to heal itself and overcome adversity. Sure we can handle some of these foods, weekly, possibly daily in small amounts. It's not like we can NEVER eat them. Truthfully we've been eating these foods for years and we're ok, aren't we? Perhaps not.

A study gave one group of people access to a wholefood unprocessed diet, and another group access to only ultra processed foods. They were permitted to eat unrestricted, using their autonomy to decide when they were satisfied. The group that ate ultra processed foods consumed an additional 500 calories a day, while reporting the same level of satiety. Even more alarmingly, other research has shown that a diet high in ultra-processed foods lends itself to the development of a gut environment that favours the wrong kinds of microbes which produce a myriad of inflammatory disease. In other words, bad, disease causing gut bacteria flourish on an ultra-processed diet.

It is clear, over time, an ultra-processed diet will inevitably lead to weight gain . And while there's nothing wrong with a bit of meat on the bones, the low fibre and low nutritional value of a ultra-processed diet, coupled with the increased inflammation associated with obesity leads to a frightening list of illnesses including heart disease, dyslipedemia, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, gastrointestinal illnesses and an assortment of cancers.

These are the salty, sugary fatty foods which are chemically formulated to be hyper-palatable and keep you reaching for more. This stuff is addictive. Ultra processed foods train you to eat more and more. Our children are learning how to eat on this stuff. Their little brains are developing neuronal pathways that prefer synthetic foods.

Kids are among the biggest consumers of ultra-processed foods. I'm guilty of feeding it to my fussy eaters also. Packaged breads, cereals and snacks for kids are amongst the biggest contenders. And actually, in high income countries, such as the US, UK and Australia, ultra-processed foods make up more than 50% of calories for the average person. That's scary. And we are not really to blame. The powerful marketing, high availability, cheap (often subsidised) prices and palatable nature of ultra-processed foods make them truly hard to avoid. Many are marketed as healthy, when they’re really not. Some are worse than others. Packaged bread, for example is ultra processed. A couple of slices of wholemeal toast amongst a diet of mostly natural foods is not as harmful as sugary, salty and fatty snacks morning noon and night. And conversely flour is considered an unprocessed food, but foods made of refined flour cause your blood sugar to rise steeply, and when on repeat day in day out, elevated blood sugars drive inflammation and disease. It is wholly possible to eat unhealthily on natural foods by baking flour, sugars and lots of fats together and consuming it all too frequently.

I'm not trying to guilt you into throwing out all the food in pantry. I am encouraging you to fight back one snack at a time with mindfulness. Choose to add in more natural foods, thereby crowding out foods that are not so wholesome. Endeavour to make meals from scratch in your own home. Teach your kids to cook. It takes a bit more planning but the rewards are delicious. What you eliminate from your diet is going to create the biggest gains for your health in the long term. Your body will thank you for it.

References

Fardet, A (2016) Minimally processed foods are more satiating and less hyperglycemic than ultra-processed foods: a preliminary study with 98 ready-to-eat foods.  7, 2338–2346.

Monteiro et al (2019) Ultra processed foods; What they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition. Cambridge University Press

Kids, Stress and ADHD

If you, your child, or someone you love has been diagnosed with ADHD, you will be familiar with the memory problems, anxious thoughts, difficulty concentrating, agitation, moodiness and irritability.

These are also signs of stress in (apparently) neuro-typical individuals. Children with ADHD particularly are more prone to stress than other kids which can compound symptoms, making symptoms worse and increasing stress further still. This is because executive function is located in our prefrontal cortex, which is especially vulnerable to the elevation of brain chemicals caused by stress. The prefrontal cortex matures later in childhood. This maturity is delayed in kids with ADHD. In short, stress makes ADHD worse.

Reducing stressors is an absolute must for all beings, but especially our neuro-divergent loved ones, particularly our children. Spending time in nature with our feet in the grass or sand. Fun and laughter. Interaction with friends and family. Daily exercise in the sunshine. Avoiding processed foods, artificial colours and flavourings and prioritising good sleep are essential for healthy brain function and development.

This is where adaptogenic herbs can gently help reduce stress response and improve cognition, memory and learning. Depending on the individual, there are a range of nutraceuticals that also show good results in improving ADHD symptoms. You can read about some of these here. It’s pertinent to note that there are a range of pathologies and intolerances that contribute to ADHD, or that may exist as a co-morbidities to ADHD, and taking a bottle of vitamins off the shelf may include ingredients that elevate symptoms rather than calm them.

Natural medicine is effective at improving ADHD symptoms. If you’d like to explore the options available to you please book an appointment. Through Wild Grace Health you can access extensive testing and a full health assessment to determine a personalised treatment plan for you.

19 tips for good sleep

 If you need to be woken up in the morning – either by an alarm clock or by another person, then you’re not getting enough sleep. Many of my naturopath and massage clients report they have trouble sleeping. You can give yourself a better chance of a good night by following your body’s natural rhythms and these guidelines. .

 Below I’ve listed nineteen - yes that’s NINETEEN - things you can do to improve your sleep at night.

1: Get out of bed at the same time each day.

Have a regular time of getting up out of bed. Regardless of what time you were in bed the night before get up at the same time each day. 

2. Don’t lay in bed worrying.

Avoid lying in bed for long amounts of time worrying about sleeping. If you’ve been in bed for more than 30 minutes – or what feels like 30 minutes and your worried about sleeping – get up and go do something else in dim light (a few yoga stretches are ideal here) and then go back to bed when you’re sleepy. 

3. Cut your day naps.

Avoid napping during the day – limit to a 20 minute powernap in the afternoon if necessary. 

 4. Get some sunshine.

Spend time outside in natural light during the day 

 5. Lay off irritants.

Avoid eating foods that may interrupt sleep such as acidic citrus, wine, beer or fatty foods that may cause indigestion. 

 6. Go natural.

Avoid Bright light exposure late in the evening, particularly blue light from electronic device screens. Turn off your devices at least half an hour and ideally an hour before bed. Sorry, no more scrolling your phone in the middle of the night. 

 7. Wind down

Avoid big heavy meals or sweaty workouts in the three hours before bed as the can be stimulating for your body and brain.

 8. Be in the dark.

Make your room as dark as possible – remove all sources of light, such as digital clocks and the little lights that might be admitted from electronic equipment such as stereos or laptop charging plugs. This is because light interrupts your production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.

 9. Get comfy.

Use a comfortable mattress and pillow for comfort and support

 10. Don’t work in your bedroom.

Reserve your bedroom for sleeping and making love 

 11. No problem solving

Avoid thinking about troubling issues before bed. Allocate time earlier in the evening or day to worry and problem solve 

 12. Lay off the stimulants.

Eliminate all stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, soft drinks and nicotine, completely if possible but particularly after 3pm 

 13. Avoid alcohol

Reduce or eliminate alcohol – even one glass of wine interferes with healthy sleep and you wake feeling tired. 

 14. Avoid illicit drugs

Avoid illicit drugs – these mess with you and your sleep 

 15. Try and keep pets out of the bedroom .

Avoid having pets in the bedroom, and children (joke!). This is a tough one, obviously this comes down to personal choice and many of us choose to sacrifice good sleep in order to make our loved ones feel secure. The kids may take a few years to grow up and forgo their midnight cuddles, but if you can at least make a special sleeping space for your pets that’s not on your head, your health will be better for it.

16. Drink sleepy herbs

Try drinking a herbal tea before bed. Chamomile is wonderful, so is lavender, passionflower, lemon balm and oat straw. I’ve put all these gorgeous sleepy herbs in a delicious Sleep Tea blend, available in the Wild Grace Tea Shop.  

17. Have a Bath

Have a warm bath before bed – extra points for placing Epsom or magnesium salts in the bath, lavender essential oil is wonderful for inducing sleep also.

 18. Get the temperature right.

19 degrees celsius is the optimal temperature for good sleeping.

 19. Create a routine

Create a bedtime routine for yourself: Set aside 30 – 60 minutes for winding down with a bath, self massage, breathwork, yoga, a meditation and listening to sleepy music. Spotify have some great playlists. 

Herbs that can help when you're feeling grumpy

Some days are much harder than others. When things go wrong, or a spanner is thrown in the works  emotions bubble up and you find yourself being a little bit snappy. Wouldn't you know it though, there's a herb for that. 

I practise herbalism on an energetic basis. We all have our different personality's, dispositions, and energetics. What's right for you will be different to what's right for me, and I love finding the right plant medicine for the right person. 

I mixed up the below formula for myself last week when I was a grumpy mcgrump pants, and it worked a treat.

Korean Ginseng 

This one is powerful. So powerful that I find many herbalists shy away from it. it's quite stimulating, so wonderful if you're feeling tired and havn;t had enough sleep. Which was me last week, a combination of staying up a bit too late and my kids needing me in the middle of the night. It's indicated for loss of physical stamina, exhaustion and tiredness, and diminished concentration and memory Just what I needed. I find a few drops of korean ginseng prior to a long drive is excellent for helping concentration. 

Sage

Sage is one of my personal herbal allies and finds it's way into many of my personal blends. It contains rosmarinic acid which is an antioxidant and really good for your brain. Matthew Wood lists one of sages traditional uses (of which there are many) as indicated for 'withered dry skin and withered tendons.' Yes exactly how I feel after not getting enough sleep for a week. Also has traditionally been indicated for mental lethargy, depression, melancholy and poor concentration. There are many other uses - this plant is complex and full of magic as far as I'm concerned - the uses I've listed above seem the most apt here. 

St Mary's Thistle

A powerful liver healer, this herb prevents and reverses damage to the liver induced by alcohol and life in general. Wonderful for strengthening the liver to process all those nasty toxins you don't need. In traditional chinese medicine the liver is associated with the emotion of anger, so by nurturing the liver you nurture your anger. 

Zizyphus

Has a mild tranquilising effect - perhaps downplaying all those irritable emotions. It's indicated for anxiety, nervous exhaustion, restlessness, irritibility and insomnia. Perfect. I always expected this herb to be quite sedative but have found when taking it, it actually has more of a calm your nerves type vibe. It helps you get off to sleep because it calms your irritability and anxiety allowing you to destress. I’ve found it doesn’t make you drowsy if you want to stay awake.

Ginger

Another herbal ally for me that I consider a master healer. just so much awesomeness in one little root. Full of anti-inflammatory, calming goodness, and a little bit of ginger tincture added to a herbal blend improves the taste an awful lot. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of herbs that can help your mood - there are many more. This mix was exactly what I needed at the time. After taking this blend all noises and mess and annoyance dulled and faded. I managed my tiredness for the rest of the day, and of course, made sure I got into bed early for a goods night sleep. 

If you'd like to experience the gorgeous support offered to us through our herbal allies, please book in for herbal medicine appointment. Appointments are available online or in person in South Fremantle. 

Herbal tincture

Anti-Anxiety herbs for you: Passionflower

There was a magnificent passionflower vine in the backyard of a long term rental house I had in my twenties. I was enchanted at the rather trippy flowers with their intricate and unusual structures, shapes and the colours. This is an artful plant indeed. 

When I started studying herbal medicine I was amused to learn that passionflower is an anxiolytic, nervine tonic and - in higher doses - a sedative. It’s as if the flower gives clues to it’s medicine. Working with the plant opens doors to alternative insights, the bigger picture, and enables relaxation and enjoyment at the same time. It can be used to support withdrawal from opiates, alcohol and cannabis. It can be used for anxiety, insomnia and restlessness and is safe in children (in adjusted doses).Passionflower is especially great for gastrointestinal problems related to anxiety and nervousness. 

One small study found that in a group of 36 people with Generalised Anxiety Disorder, passionflower was just as effective as reducing anxiety after four weeks as Oxazepam - a benzodiazapene -  and it was better tolerated. Another study found that patients given passionflower 90 minutes before surgery scored much better on anxiety scores than a placebo group. 

The anti-anxiety relax and chill out vibe of passionflower and it’s aphrodisiac properties can make this a rather nice herb to have around in these housebound isolation times. 

Passionflower is contraindicated in pregnancy due to uterine contractions. 

If you would like some herbs for yourself please book in for an online appointment with myself. There are many herbs out there and different herbs are suited to different people - and I’ve got quite a knack for matching herbs with people. I’ve created a new appointment type - A herbal medicine consult - which is shorter than a traditional initial naturopathic appointment and is more affordable. $88 includes a 200ml herbal, a personalised flower essence and postage . Or $66 for a 100ml herbal, flower essence+ postage. After your initial appointment refill’s can be arranged for the cost of herbs + postage (or pick up in South Fremantle). All initial appointments are online with zoom, follow ups can be over the phone or video link.

Book your herbal medicine consult here through this link.

4 things about mental health

One

Stress causes cortisol to rise, and high levels of cortisol affect brain function. As you know, we all have stress, stress is normal, some of us deal with it better than others. Some times of our lives are way too stressful. Too much stress causes problems, and so can too little. So self care, giving yourself breaks. Investing time in your relationships, allowing time for play, and laughter. Giving yourself down time and allowing for adequate sleep. These will all help keep you well. If you can’t destress adequately on your own, there are herbs for that, seek help.

Two

It’s understandable to reach out for numbing when we’re down in the dumps. Ciggies, alcohol, caffeine , drugs, junky food, sugar, fried things, too much TV, no exercise.
 These things cause inflammation in your body- including -your brain in varying degrees. Some of these things cause neurotransmitter imbalances that lead to depression.  The subtle inflammation in your brain degrades your mental health.    

When in the habit of excessive use of any of these numbing behaviours your mental health suffers. All the discomfort of addiction is caused by the withdrawal of the substance your using. Continuing to use perpetuates the discomfort. The only way to end it is to break the cycle and sit through the discomfort.  

Three

It’s been conventional to treat mental illness purely as a physical imbalance in brain chemicals. Patients are treated with medication, a bottle of pills … or several.. .depending on how ’serious’ your mental illness is, and sent home.

But this isn’t working, consistent data from scientific reviews shows that targeting one or two neurotransmitters with pharmaceuticals often fails to provide overall meaningful clinical efficacy. Enormous amounts of randomised controlled trials have been used to study antidepressants, with the majority demonstrating only moderate superiority compared to placebo, leaving many patients experiencing treatment-resistant depression.  Medication helps, no doubt it helps, and many people really do need their meds to function from day to day. But while benefitting from the ‘balance’ found through the meds, patients need healing. Mental illness is every bit spiritual as it is physical I have no doubt. And we are severely doing a disservice on the spiritual healing side of things for the average mental health patient in our country. They are given a bottle of pills and left to their own devices. - And this means not even assisting to get in to see a psychologist. The psychiatrist doesn’t do any cognitive therapy anymore, they just prescribe in 15 minute appointments.   

Four

You need a good healthy gut and a solid nutritional profile to be mentally well. Most of your serotonin - aka happy juice - is made in your gut. You need a complete amino acid profile, healthy fats, some nourishing carbohydrates and all the colours of the rainbow for minerals and vitamins to keep your neurotransmitters firing happy. You need to eat well to be well. If you are deplete you are not going to be as well as you could be. There are a range of nutritional supplements and herbs that can help you get to where you need to be, so book a naturopathic appointment for help to make some health goals, get some investigations done and receive evidence based guidance on what you need to eat and take.

Addiction: Are you in a cycle of desire and distraction? Read this:

Life is full of cycles. I like to think we cycle upwards, each time we come around to the start we know a little more, we’ve become a little wiser. We crush it a little better then before. Ideally we ride a spiral of continual improvement.

But obviously this isn’t always the case. I know personally I’m aware of cycles that come up over and over. I know they don’t serve me but there I am, yet again addicted to sugar, drinking to much coffee, staying up way to late, whatever.

Often there is a deep shame about the things we do that we shouldn’t. Yet we do them because we get something out of it, deep in our brains our reward centres are being triggered.

Repeated often enough the behaviour that gets the reward gently turns from compulsive to impulsive. Suddenly we don’t even recognise we’re about to stuff some carbs into our mouths and we do it without thought. The trick is to override the desire, the cravings. Like we need to learn to tolerate them because the outcome where that desire leads us is not serving us.

That’s the thing, what we desire isn’t necessarily what we want.

I have a hunch that talking about these issues out in the open, sharing out stories, becoming aware of where and why we do them, and practising mindfulness will go a long way towards healing unproductive cycles of desire and distraction.

This is exactly what we’re doing in circle. We’re going to sit and share our stories, whatever they are, what’s good, what’s bad, and what we want to be doing better. We’ll be sharing in a sacred, female only, non-judgemental, supportive environment.  The goal is to find more joy through what truly nourishes us, rather then the cheap and easy solution that does you a disservice.

We’re starting on September 8th,

and please send me a message if you have any questions.

naturopath + shiatsu massage

When women gather in circle

A few years ago now, I was visiting my in-law's with Evie, who was then perhaps nine or ten months old. I usually dropped in on them at some point during the week so they could see their Grandaughter.  I sat in the light-filled lounge room as Peter interacted with his granddaughter and Judyth arranged masses of tea cups and saucers on her extended dining table. She was expecting her bookclub within the hour. They had been meeting monthly for over 30 years. We chatted and Evie crawled about. Then the women started to arrive.

They began filling the room in a whirl of colour, warmth and grey hair. There was a buzz of chatter and laughter as old friends joined together yet again. Peter politely escaped to his study.

I witnessed the room fill with wisdom, lifetimes, stories, love and heartbreak.  I noticed a shift in energy that was extraordinary, it felt divine. Something about the pure female presence. There were perhaps 15 women, all in their 70's, coming together to share and chat.

It felt like home.

I realised I yearned for this, this supportive group of women. I was living interstate from my mother, my sisters, my aunty's and all my childhood friends.

Several months later I found a womens circle, it was being held almost an hours drive from my house, but I was happy to make the journey at the time. I got a baby-sitter, popped on an audio book and away I went for a couple of hours. The first freedom I'd had since becoming a mother.

I wasn't really sure what to expect at circle but was pleasantly surprised. All the beautiful women, of all ages, who gathered there had a turn at speaking about whatever we felt like that week. We were all heard and celebrated without judgement. The facilitator, the gorgeous Tracie McFie of Wyld Tribe, led us in meditations and a theme. Sometimes we danced, and at the end we'd all choose a card from a oracle deck that had been arranged around an altar in the centre.

It was healing. At the time I was in my third trimester of pregnancy with John John and notably I had this insight into childbirth through one of the meditation sessions there.

When women come together in support of one another, we begin to heal ourselves. And therefore, by healing ourselves, we begin to heal our families, our communities and the world.

I've had my eyes open but I've noticed a lack of circles available in my own home town. So I've hired a room at The Meeting Place South Freo and I'm running a womens circle starting Saturday September 8th.

My wish is to bring women together in community to support each other through discussing what nourishes us and what doesn't. The focus is to begin to heal negative behaviours and self sabotage.

, I'll be honoured to sit in circle with you.

Why I'm quitting wine time

When I went on holidays four months ago now I started a nightly wine habit. At the end of the day with all my time taken by the demands of my children, sipping a glass of wine while I cook dinner gives a consistent and easy ‘break.’ An delightful escape while still in the throes of dinner, bath, bedtime and clean-up. Its dependable, wine doesn’t let me down.  The subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle shift in sobriety feels like a reward for being prevented from thinking in complete sentences or following a thought process through to action by the constant interruptions and demands of toddlers.

But it’s bad for me. It’s so bad for me. the sugar, the useless calories, the inflammation.  I’m sure it’s ageing me, and I’ve become such a snacker. I’ve gained weight to a point where I no longer feel that great about my hips. And definitely not my calves. My kids have started talking about my tummy. My intuition is cloudier, and it’s starting to take me longer to get going in the morning. I don’t want this anymore.

I know, from experience that once I abstain for a couple of weeks I won’t ever think about it or miss it. But it hasn’t been easy to stop. I open a bottle and have one, maybe two glasses, Andy has one or two, and then there’s still plenty left for the next night and even the night after that. It becomes a nightly habit so easily.

I might go two or three days without wine most weeks. After this short break it feels like wine is a non-issue and rather fun, so I or my husband get another bottle and then we have another couple of nights supply. The habit is fed. It’s a subtle addiction cycle.

The physiology of addiction generally means a release of neurotransmitters such as GABA and dopamine in a rush that is mildly to strongly euphoric. And then in the absence and lack of the neurotransmitter the cravings come. 'Have that substance again so you can feel good’ Your brain and body calls out to you. It’s a cycle, an unnecessary cycle that keeps you trapped always wanting more.

I need to wade through the discomfort with grace and elegance like a dancing crane, according to a reading of my Kuan Yin oracle* cards today. Wading through the discomfort is most definitely necessary.

The challenge is leaning into the discomfort instead of away from it with yet another glass of wine. It takes is a willingness to get to the other side. When in those moments of discomfort if I just allow myself to be there feeling it (oh my god the kids are driving me crazy…) and experience that it’s really not that bad.  It’s bearable.  I have to keep my own promise to myself by choosing not to pour a glass.

With some patience and focus the cravings will disappear, the habit will be forgotten and I won’t even think about it.

My desire to do better is divinely guided.