Mind-Body-Spirit

Did you know one of the foundational beliefs in Naturopathy is that there is a mind-body-spirit connection.

Interestingly, a lot of us tend to leave out the spirit component, because it blows our world right open.

I mean even up until last year, I also avoided the energy (spirit) component of health. Partly because I didn’t fully understand it, partly because I didn’t know how connected it was and partly because I was honestly afraid.

But here’s the thing.

If someone is sensitive to energy and we ignore that, the physical body and mind can only move SO far. Because energy also has to move.

And sometimes, physical symptoms can be a result of stuck energy.

Honestly, I have been working on MY physical health for years and the thing that kicked it’s ass was getting my energy to move again.

And looking at what my energy is connected to, and getting that to move too.

We all do have an energy body (around our physical body). We are not all connected to that (and that is completely okay).

I find that particularly for people with conditions like Autism, ADHD or sensitive souls that like to help others- often the missing link is the energy component.

Safely prescribing supplements

I bet you’ve heard at some point to just take X and you will feel better.

A super common one is magnesium (which, for the record is involved in 300 reactions in the body - and has a huge usage and demand when we are stressed - so this makes a lot of sense).

So, you go off to the chemist to get some magnesium and you may or may not notice any changes.

The thing is though- there are a few things that we need to consider.

Firstly Dose:

Each body is different, so will need different amounts of each nutrient in order to work.

More is not always better (and in the case of magnesium, you will generally get diarrhoea if you take too much at once).

Next Form:

The form of nutrients is super important.

Magnesium commonly comes as Magnesium Oxide from the chemist- which is just a filler, and doesn’t have any major therapeutic use.

When I say form, I’m talking about it’s second name (or surname, if you will). There’s also magnesium bisglycinate, magnesium citrate, magnesium lactate, magnesium chloride etc.

Each of them serve a different purpose inside the body.

Not always spoken about is Sensitivity:

Your body may be more or less sensitive than someone around you. If your body is more sensitive, you might need less to get more results - or if your body is less sensitive, you may need more.

Doses on the label are Conservative:

Generally speaking (though I wouldn’t take this as a blanket rule), the doses on the label at the chemist are at a level where they aren’t going to interact with medications. Which is very safe, but you might not notice any changes because of this.

Interactions with other nutrients and medications:

All nutrients and herbs can interact with (AKA fight with and change the function of) other medications and supplements.

For example- zinc and iron operate on the same receptor- so giving both of these supplements at the same time is likely to render the dose null and void.

Or liver herbs might make medication exit your body faster (therefore meaning your medication can’t work in the way it’s supposed to).

I love to see people starting to really take empowered steps with their health.

But a part of this is learning and growing and understanding how much information there is to understand.

A lot of clients I have worked with can now use nutrients in a functional way to get rid of symptoms- but it takes time to get to this.

If in doubt, always contact a health professional who has studied the nutritional space so you can be mighty comfortable with your choice.

Blood Test Ranges

Let’s talk about one of my absolute favorite things to talk about- blood test ranges.

The current system is great for the purpose of ruling in (or out) disease. But that is it’s purpose. So if you fall outside of the range you can be officially diagnosed with whichever disease (eg. low iron = anemia).

HOWEVER.

There’s a sweet spot which is un-spoken about.

And this sweet spot will be the difference between whether you feel good or bad.

Interestingly, we often know that something is not quite right- so we go to get some bloods to confirm this and are met with nothing being ‘wrong’.

But the absence of disease is not the absence of symptoms.

Symptoms are our bodies way of chatting to us- to let us know something is off centre.

And the body falling inside of this range means you are simply without a diagnosable illness, but not necessarily well.

Our bar is set low. Like low-low.

And if you’re trying to be better than ‘without disease’, you need to look at bloods with a fine-tooth comb (or get someone to help you with this). Generally speaking, centre of the range is where you’re aiming for - though it is a little more nuanced than this too.

To get our bodies into it’s perfect performance state (if you’re an athlete, a mum or even just a child this should be the minimum we are hoping for) - we have to aim a little higher than ‘without disease’.

The Mind-Body Connection

Have you ever stopped to wonder how connected you are to your body? If you were to ask it right now, would you get an answer? Do you feel like you can trust it if you do get an answer?

An interesting thing happened a while ago. Probably a revalation more than anything else.

It was a few years ago- and I had gone to the doctor to find out why I kept gaining weight. 20kg in 2 months (which just for the record, is not a normal amount- though this is pre-Naturopath days). Something didn’t feel right.

I was met with comments like:

“Yes, well you’re growing up so of course you put on weight”

And

“You have PCOS so if you lose weight, that will fix it”

And so I listened to these professionals who told me there was something wrong with my body. I did everything I could to change my weight.

I was trialling all the diets.

What I did stumble upon was likely to change the course of my relationship with my body.

It was diet that got you to eat certain food combinations, then check in with your body immediately, 20 minutes following and again after 2 hours.

Did I feel hungry, tired, moody, sick? And then depending on which particular food combination made me feel the most well- that was the thing that I needed to do for my body.

A revalation, if you will.

So today’s food for thought is a simple one.

Our body is the coolest thing we get when we are birthed on Earth.

How well are you listening to what it needs and wants?