A healthy tum = a healthy you!
“‘Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds.’ ”
Have you heard about Lectin?
Our digestive system is key to absorbing nutrients from the food we eat. When food enters the intestinal tract, the nutrients are absorbed leaving the waste to leave our body via the toilet. The walls of the colon are very thin and certain foods are considered spiky and can cause breakages within the wall, this allows food waste to leave the digestive tract and enter the bloodstream. Known as leaky gut syndrome, it can cause inflammation within the body. Your body’s reaction is to send a lymphatic response to attack, this can cause arthritis in joints and auto-immune disorders.
What are the signs you have too much lectin in your body
abdominal cramps, bloat
painful swollen joints & muscles
a sensitive allergy-prone skin
hormonal imbalance
headaches
feeling tired
What are Lectins?
Lectins are found in foods normally considered healthy alternatives, they are proteins that attach to carbohydrates. Foods such as brown rice, tomato skin & seeds, pepper skins, potato skins, beans, peanuts & cashews alongside seeds such as chia, sunflower, and pumpkin. Aubergines are high lectin foods too. It is hard and spiky if you think of the hard brown outer layer of the brown rice grain. You can eat these foods but they have to be soaked or boiled to deactivate the lectin hormone.
There are foods that are low in lectin, eggs are free of the lectin hormone. Kiwi fruits, broccoli, cauliflower, and sprouts are considered a lectin blocker as are cranberries, blueberries and avocados. You do not need to ignore food groups just be careful to soak high lectin foods before eating. If you love to eat porridge, soak the oats overnight to remove the lectin. There are plenty of foods to eat which are low to zero lectin foods so having a good healthy balanced diet is easy. If you decide to eat lectin-free foods, it can take up to 3 weeks to see a difference but make this part of your daily life to have a happy healthy body.
Have you heard of Leptin & Ghrelin hormones?
Leptin and Ghrelin are the hormones responsible for our appetite, they are called our Hunger Hormones. By sending messages to our brain to say we are hungry (ghrelin) and then satiated (leptin). The amount of leptin you have in your blood depends on the amount of body fat. Leptin is made in the adipose fat layer but some people have leptin resistance due to being overweight. Foods rich in triglycerides (a type of fat also known as lipids) help to increase the levels of leptin, they are;
berries
vegetables
salad greens
healthy oils such as olive, flax
mushrooms
One study found that people who lacked sleep, felt stressed, and had an unbalanced sugar rich diet, had higher levels of ghrelin which gave them a bigger appetite alongside lower levels of leptin.
How can essential oils help soothe and calm the digestive system?
If you struggle with a bloated stomach, a sluggish digestive system, and stress-related IBS type disorder, massaging your abdomen is very soothing. By using our blend of anti-inflammatory organic essential oils in the “help me, it’s way past my bedtime” massage oil, you can help ease and soothe digestive cramps. Try this massage. First get comfortable, place a pillow under your knees and lie on your back.
Start on the right side hip, apply a small amount of the massage oil in a circular movement over your stomach
Place both hands on your stomach and take a deep breath in, hold and very gently press the area whilst you exhale. Repeat up to 3 times then move your hands to the right hip bone again.
Using gentle circular movements, work clockwise up to your diaphragm and along to the left side and down to the left hip bone. Move to the start position again and repeat, this is so soothing for your stomach and really helps to gently empty your colon.
End the massage by working over your hips and as far to your back as you can reach. The nerve endings come from your spine into your stomach area and gently massaging them is very beneficial for IBS.
Afterwards, drink plenty of water, warm to hot if possible and maybe a peppermint tea which is very beneficial for a bloated tum.
How does stress affect your stomach?
Stress has a profound effect on your stomach and digestive system, for some, it can slow down the digestive process resulting in constipation and a bloated tum. For others it can speed up the process, resulting in diarrhoea. Stress can cause inflammation within the colon, conditions such as IBS and ulcers can appear. So it is vital to release the stress you hold. There are many ways to do this
By practising meditation and mindful breathing, you can release the tension held within your stomach. Create a calm space by maybe lighting a candle, soft music and cushions to feel comfortable. Place your hands on your stomach and take a deep breath in, close your eyes.
OUR NEWS
July 9th is our first in person event - we love The Darnhall Show. Its our local country show, we love to meet old friends and tell our town what we ve been up to. Come along and have a wonderful time. Starts at 11am
Heres 10% off your next order, simply add “HMO10” to your next order as a big thank you from us
July highlights the importance of living a plastic free life. We need to stop using plastic, its made by the Fossil Fuel Industry which is causing the climate crisis. If we refuse to use plastic, then they will have to change to a plant based alternative. Have you wondered how much plastic is in your home? Try doing a plastic survey for a month and see, You will be shocked. Let’s all make a pledge to eliminate our plastic use by this time next year. We have reduced our plastic, slightly struggling with the straw in the room spray, massage oils, and the dropper top on the essential oil bottle, but we are currently talking to our supplier for an alternative as we are determined to be 100% plastic free. We reuse the bottles containing the base ingredients and all of our packaging is compostable and reusable.
Small changes = Big changes. But we need government and big corporate greedy giants to listen and not put greed before the safety of our planet.
If you would like to find out more, have a look at this wonderful website https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/
“Only we humans make waste that nature cannot digest”
