Adaptogens are herbal pharmaceuticals (medicines). Through stimulant properties, they counteract the effects of stress in the body. Stress can cause a host of issues, including harming the neurological, endocrine, and immune systems.  

1. Stress management. Stress and anxiety management is number one on the list for boosting your immunity. Chronic stress promotes inflammation and can hinder your immune response. Other articles on this website offer more information on this.  Activities to help manage your stress and anxiety include meditation, exercise, getting enough sleep and eating right.

   Read more: How Do I strengthen My Immune System?

Did you know almost 70% of people feel like Imposters?

There are five different types of imposter syndrome, each based on how someone sees their own competence.

What are the 5 types of imposter syndrome?

1. The Perfectionist
2. The Expert
3. The Superhero
4. The Natural Genius
5. The Soloist

These all have their roots in self-belief, which is the focus of my rapid transformational therapy sessions. We get to the root of why you feel like an imposter and my RTT sessions help you to see your true potential.

Read more: How to know if I have imposter syndrome?

BECOMING AWARE OF OUR THOUGHTS OF WORRY

Did you know,  the average person has upwards of about 60,000 thoughts every day?  And almost 80% of those thoughts are negative thoughts?  95% of the thoughts we think each day are the same thoughts we thought yesterday, and the day before.  Even more mind boggling, is that people worry about the future or think about what happened yesterday, or last week, or last year. Very few of our thoughts are about THE PRESENT.  Why is it we don’t often think about NOW? Do you spend a lot of your time worrying about what might happen?  85% to 90% of what we worry about never happens. If and when what we worry about does happen, 80% of the people it happened to had no problem handling what did occur and some say that it taught them a lesson. That’s a lot of wasted energy worrying.  Worry, for a lot of people is a major source of stress and anxiety and can actually cause depression. Do you want to learn how to change your thoughts and get out of fear and worry about the future? Stay tuned for future posts. Or Contact me to learn more about my services. 

Read more: What is a worrying thought, and Why do I have worrying thoughts?

Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety

1. What is anxiety?

Anxiety is when your emotions of nervousness, worry, uneasiness take over in your mind and you have difficulty with focus and concentration in your everyday activities. You may even feel fear or dread while you are anxious. It’s normal to feel anxiety when giving a speech or presentation, when your teen takes the car for the first time by themselves, or when you are in an unfamiliar situation and not sure of what to do. Anxiety becomes a problem when the feelings are intense, excessive and interfere with your daily living and you have trouble controlling it.

Read more: What is anxiety and what are different kinds of anxiety disorder?

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is and abnormal accumulation of fat in the liver. NAFLD can progress to Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)  where the accumulation of fat leads to inflammation and damage to liver cells. NASH can progress to Cirrhosis in which the damaged cells cause scarring which interferes with the functions of the liver. 

The 6 main functions of our liver are:  Bile production and excretion, which are necessary for the digestion of food ; Filtering and excretion of bilirubin, proteins, hormones and drugs from our blood stream; Metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates ; Enzyme activation ; Storage of glycogen, vitamins and minerals ; Synthesis of plasma proteins, such as albumin, and clotting factors. 

Read more: What is Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

 With heart disease, diabetes, obesity becoming so prevalent in our society these days education and prevention is so important. Our Family Doctors don’t have time to teach nutrition to their clients. Indeed, most Doctors today graduate medical school with very little learning about diet and nutrition.  Unless they take it upon themselves to study nutrition, they typically get less than 12 hours of education on it in all their years of study. The internet provides so much information, conflicting information, misinformation, how do you know what to read, learn about and even believe?  I’ve done the research for you. I’ve been a nurse for more than 30 years and I’ve been studying diet, nutrition and supplements for the last 10 years. I use reputable sources for information, many studies done by large universities and teaching hospitals, by researchers who are the top in their field. I also review information put out by Health Canada and the National Institute of Health in the US.

Read more: How to prevent disease and live a healthy life

Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. It refers to blood pressure that is higher than normal. Your blood pressure typically changes throughout the day depending on what you’re doing, what you’re thinking, how you’re feeling. Blood pressure that is consistently above normal may result in a diagnosis of Hypertension by your Health Care Provider.

Read more: What is Hyptertension?

Prediabetes means that your blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not consistently high enough to be considered diabetes. It can be considered a warning sign of Diabetes Type 2.

Read more: What is prediabetes?

We all feel stress. It’s part of being Human. Stress is how we react when we feel under pressure or threatened. It usually happens when we are in a situation that we don't feel we can manage or control. How we cope with stressors has an impact on our overall health. There are a number of Do-It-Yourself Techniques to help you deal with stress. Some of these techniques also help with depression and anxiety. Many of these techniques can help immediately - within the next 10 minutes. All of them are cumulative, the more you do it the better it feels...

Learn more about how to reduce stress now »

What is Heart Disease?

Heart Disease includes Coronary Artery Disease, Heart Rhythm Problems - or Arrhythmias, Heart Valve Disease, Heart Infections, Disease of the Heart Muscle, Congenital Heart Defects - heart defects you are born with.

What is Coronary Artery Disease?

Coronary Artery Disease or Coronary Heart Disease is a disease in which there is a narrowing or a blockage of the blood vessels that supply the heart with blood, nutrients, and oxygen. It is usually caused by a build-up of plaque inside the coronary or heart arteries, often caused by atherosclerosis (cholesterol containing deposits inside the arteries).

How do you get Coronary Artery Disease?

Heart disease is typically caused by poor diet and lifestyle choices. Poor diet and lifestyle can cause inflammation to the inside of your arteries which causes micro tears to the lining of the arteries. This in turn causes cholesterol or fatty deposits to coat the lining of the arteries. This becomes plaque, which continues to build up and starts to harden. The plaque buildup can cause severe narrowing of the arteries and can also break off a tiny piece which then can become lodged in an artery and block blood flow. The severe narrowing or blocked blood flow can cause a heart attack or angina (heart pain). If this tiny piece of plaque flows with the blood to the brain and becomes lodged then you may have a stroke.

What symptoms does a heart attack or angina (heart pain) cause?

Signs and symptoms may be vastly different for different people. Women tend to have different symptoms than men - usually but not always. Men typically have chest pain in the centre of their chest. Many describe it as an elephant sitting on its chest. The pain may sometimes feel more like a squeezing or tightness around their chest. Women tend to have more of discomfort in their chest, along with extreme fatigue, no energy, nausea, shortness of breath.

Signs and symptoms for both men and women generally can include one or more of:

Chest pain, chest tightness, pressure or discomfort, shortness of breath - that feeling that you just can’t get enough air into you, nausea, extreme fatigue, light headedness or dizziness, aching or numbness to the left hand, arm or shoulder, (sometimes both arms may feel aching or numbness), pain may be felt in the jaw, neck, throat, even through to your back. Some people have complained of an awful toothache and go to the dentist only to be sent to the hospital if the dentist doesn’t find anything to cause the ache. Many people describe it as heartburn as they feel pain in the epigastric area or upper abdomen.

Read more: What is Heart Disease and How do you get Coronary Artery Disease?

Kidney failure definition and facts

 Kidneys are the organs that filter waste products and excess fluid from the blood. They are also involved in regulating blood pressure, electrolyte balance, and red blood cell production in the body.

• Symptoms of kidney failure are due to the build-up of waste products and excess fluid in the body that may cause feeling of weakness, lethargy, swelling, and shortness of breath. Inability to filter and balance electrolytes from the bloodstream may lead to heart dysrhythmias and sudden death. Initially, kidney problems may cause no symptoms.
• There are different causes of kidney failure, and treatment of the underlying cause is the first step in correcting any kidney abnormality.
• The diagnosis of kidney failure usually is made by blood tests measuring BUN, creatinine, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
• Treatment of the underlying cause of kidney failure can return kidney function to normal. Lifelong efforts to control or reverse high blood pressure and diabetes may be the best way to prevent chronic kidney disease and its progression to kidney failure and subsequent dialysis and kidney transplant.

What do the kidneys do?

When blood flows to the kidney, specialized kidney cells have sensors to regulate how much water to excrete as urine, along with what concentration of electrolytes. For example, if a person is dehydrated the kidneys will hold onto as much water as possible and the urine becomes very concentrated. When adequate water is present in the body, the urine is much more dilute, and the urine becomes clear. This system is controlled by renin, a hormone produced in the kidney that is part of the fluid and blood pressure regulation systems of the body.

Read more: Kidney Failure - What is it?