Anxiety in Women

SOUTHERN CENTRE OF NATURAL NATURAL HEALING

 

Anxiety – a big worry for women

Anxiety affects over 2 million people aged 16-85 years, with the majority being women. While depression affects one in five women, anxiety is more widespread with one in three women experiencing anxiety at some time in their life.

Anxiety is a normal emotion that helps us to focus and even alerts and protects us from imminent danger. It may be experienced as feeling nervous, apprehensive, distressed or a feeling that something bad is about to happen. Feeling anxious does not necessarily mean you have an anxiety disorder. It is when feelings of anxiety become excessive, irrational or interfere in daily life that they become a problem

TYPES OF ANXIETY

There are different types of anxiety and those suffering from anxiety may experience more than one type at a time.

Generalised anxiety disorder: feeling anxious and worried about daily situations. These feelings are usually out of proportion to the circumstances concerned.

Phobias: a specific fear of something like spiders or even social situations where you may be embarrassed or feel you are being judged.

Panic disorder: frequent and unexpected panic attacks that usually last a few minutes, but can be so intense that it feels like something is really wrong, like you might be about to have a heart attack.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): having intrusive, repeated thoughts (such as thinking there are germs everywhere) and trying to make these thoughts go away by performing certain behaviours (compulsions such as repeated hand washing). 

Post-traumatic stress disorder: experiencing significant anxiety after a traumatic or distressing event. People with PTSD tend to re-live and avoid reminders of the event. Common traumas include car accidents, natural disasters and being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

While anxiety can happen at any time, there are times in a woman’s life when she may be more likely to experience anxiety. Major life events such as difficulty getting pregnant, being a new mother, menopause and managing a chronic illness can be times of higher anxiety for women.

The effects of anxiety can be physical such as a racing heart, sweaty hands, sleeplessness or fast breathing or it could be emotional such as difficulty concentrating, feeling panicky or overwhelmed.

It’s important to get help if your anxieties interfere in your daily life and cause significant emotional and physical distress. The good news is there is a lot you can do to help with anxiety.

 

10 practical tips to help with anxiety

•       Focus on the present moment

•      Take deep breaths

•     Find out what you can control

•      Ask yourself: will this matter in a week? A month? A year?

•       Listen to music you like

•     Take some time out

•     Laugh

•       Go outside and take a break for a few minutes

•    Visit your GP or your health professional

•        Speak to a registered psychologist

 

Find out more

Anxiety: Learn, Think, Do is an online ‘hub’ designed to help women learn about worry and anxiety, think about the anxieties they have, and offers practical ways to manage and live with anxiety. A self-assessment tool can help to identify levels of worry and anxiety and an online toolkit offers a variety of practical options to help deal with worries and anxieties.

For more information on anxiety across the whole of women’s lives visit anxiety.jeanhailes.org.au

Published with the permission of Jean Hailes for Women's Health
jeanhailes.org.au
1800 JEAN HAILES (532 642)

Science Shows Herbs Can Significantly Enhance Bioavailability of Nutrients

As a practising herbalist for 27 years I still get passionate when I tend to my herbs in my garden, make up my herbal mixes for my clients, see pictures of herbs and read about how well they work for us naturally.
I also love cooking with my fresh and dry herbs and spices and love the taste, benefits and science associated with using herbs as foods and medicines. So I am happy to share this link from GreenMedInfo with you:-

Science Shows Herbs Can Significantly Enhance Bioavailability of Nutrients

Healing Weeds: Crunchy & healthy snacks with wild leaves

As a herbalist and lover of herbs and plants I discovered this wonderful blog about weeds via Julie Bell of Blissful Herbs in Warburton on her face book page. There are great photos, recipes and videos and more . So I really encourage you if you love herbs to take a look and a read.

Healing Weeds: Crunchy & healthy snacks with wild leaves: Here is a very easy and delicious recipe that will convince everyone - even the kids! - to eat more wild greens. It is also a great way ...

Clinic seminars and talks

My Upcoming Seminars

MAXX PERFORMANCE with REDUCED STRESS

Are you studying and want to perform at your best without getting exhausted and feeling too stressed out ? Then this seminar where I will give you healthy tips for "brain & memory " foods, herbs and essential oils is for you to help you in your preparation for exams.Practical tips on how to reduce your stress and more. This event is a fundraiser for a student Anna for her World Challenge trip to Central America in 2015. Cost is only $15 per person or $20 for a parent with a school student.

DATE-Saturday 13 September at 2pm to 3.30pm.

Bookings with payment in advance as places are limited. 

GRASSROOTS HERBAL MEDICINE-Using Weeds from our garden as medicines.

 

 

This seminar is to celebrate National Herbal Medicine Week here in Melbourne and will be followed at a later date by a visit to a herb garden at the Melbourne Botanical gardens or the Indigenous Garden at Monash University.

DATE-CANCELLED

For other education events in Melbourne please click onto the WORKSHOPS & CLASSES link above.

Natural or Bioidentical Hormone Therapy

This article of interest for all women is printed with the kind permission of the Jean Hailes Clinic for Women’s Health here in Melbourne, Australia.

Natural or bioidentical hormones

Most women will pass through the time leading up to menopause (peri-menopause) and menopause itself with only mild – or no – symptoms. However, a percentage of women will have symptoms so bothersome that they may seek help.

Symptoms related to menopause such as hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, problems with the urinary system such as urinary leakage or urgency, vaginal dryness, formication (sensation of crawling or itching under the skin) and joint pains are related to a fall in the hormone, oestrogen. However, other symptoms such as fatigue, irritability and difficulty concentrating may be more related to the hot flushes and night sweats that reduce the quality of sleep.

The problem for women is where do they go to seek help to relieve the symptoms. Many have become fearful of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to relieve menopausal symptoms, after the release of findings from a major study in 2002. The study indicated higher levels of breast cancer (26%) in women using HRT and increased risks of heart disease, blood clots and strokes. However, the study had major flaws, and a subsequent review has shown that when used appropriately, HRT is a safe and effective therapy for symptomatic women around the time of menopause.

However, women remain concerned about the risks and are turning in large numbers towards so called ‘natural’ hormone therapies, also known as ‘bioidentical’ hormone therapy.

Natural or bioidentical hormones are plant-derived products made up in pharmacies to provide individualised dosages for the relief of symptoms related to menopause. They are marketed as natural, safe, risk free, age reversing, sex enhancing, and as cancer preventing. However, women are being misled by these claims.

The main problem is that their effectiveness and safety has not been tested, and their use has been shown in some cases to cause serious health concerns such as endometrial cancer.

Fact 1# Natural is not always safe

The term natural implies ‘not synthetic’ or ‘artificial’, which is misleading. All plant-derived hormone preparations undergo a chemical extraction process to produce the final product. There is little difference between the end products used in bioidentical hormones and those used in many forms of HRT. Therefore, to claim bioidenticals are more natural is misleading.

Fact 2# Natural hormones are not the same as the hormones in our bodies

The term bioidentical hormone implies that the compounds more closely resemble hormones produced in the human body than HRT. The oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone used in bioidenticals are the same as those used in many forms of HRT.

Fact 3# Bioidentical hormones are not customised

Bioidentical hormones, which can be ordered over the internet, claim to monitor hormone levels via salivary testing as a way of individualising therapy. There is no evidence of a relationship between symptoms and measured salivary hormones, nor between salivary hormone testing and hormone tissue levels. In addition, many salivary hormone tests are not accurate. Hormone testing is not a reliable indicator of hormone levels due to irregular fluctuations, particularly around the time of perimenopause. Therefore, to claim dosages are tailored to an individual’s hormonal profile is not based in science. The only method to monitor the effectiveness of hormonal therapy for the relief of symptoms is via self-report.

Natural or bioidentical hormone therapy is currently untested for safety and effectiveness and is not approved by the regulating body (TGA). There have been documented cases of harm caused by these therapies. Conventional HRT, when given to women in the right age group (50-59), in the lowest effective dose, is approved by the TGA and is safe and effective for the short term relief of menopausal symptoms.

Published with the permission of Jean Hailes for Women's Health
1800 JEAN HAILES (532 642)
jeanhailes.org.au

CREATIVE COOKING WITH HERBS

I recently did a cooking session with the Food Culture group at the Venus Bay Community centre using herbs from my garden, spices from my kitchen cupboard & some kindly donated herbs from Justine. I am sharing the recipes with you all as you might like to try the tasty dishes on a cool autumn day as it is here now in Melbourne.

BEETROOT SOUP

1 bunch beetroot with leaves (so you know it is freshly picked ), 1 white onion, 2 sticks of celery with leaves; fresh herbs such as dill, sage, oregano, marjoram & parsley to garnish; stock or vegetarian stock powder.
Cut beetroot into cube chunks with skin on for more nutrients, dice onion & celery. In a medium saucepan add 1-2 tbsps. olive oil or coconut oil, heat & fry onion until soft. Add beetroot, celery with enough water to cover & bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Add roughly chopped herbs including fresh bay leaves and stock or powder & cook until tender. Add a few chopped beetroot leaves with stems & season to taste with salt & pepper. Soup if you wish can be blended but I served it as is with a dollop of sour cream & chopped parsley. This soup would be nice to serve with rye & caraway bread or sourdough bread with sprinkled seeds such as cumin or sesame with olive oil toasted in the oven.

As I had a bunch of left over beetroot leaves I made a soup last night using this in my creative way with pumpkin, carrots, celery, onion, dry dill leaves, thyme, oregano , cumin powder & seeds with a dash or two of vinegar. I cooked firstly all the vegies & beetroot stems in water to cover (except for the beetroot leaves ) until soft- then pureed & mashed this.Then I returned the mixture to the pan and added sliced beetroot leaves to cook for a few more minutes with added chicken stock & seasoning. We enjoyed it with a dash of sour cream- it was DELICIOUS & I have some left over for later.

BAKED VEGIES WITH HERBS & SPICES

We used a selection of roughly cut pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, red onion, red capsicum and garlic cloves in their skins. Oven was preheated to 200 C. We put in all the vegies except for capsicum & garlic to add later to an pan with olive oil. After cooking for about 15 minutes I added freshly torn bay leaves, oregano & thyme. After cooking for a further 15 minutes I added 2 tsps. cumin powder, smoked paprika powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, black mustard seeds, fennel seeds & nigella (black cumin seeds). Vegies were mixed to be coated with the spices and garlic & capsicum were added. Continue baking until soft and browned. Serve hot.

MIXED AND WILD GREENS SALAD WITH FRESH HERBS

Well you can put just about everything into this lovely green salad. I used dandelion leaves, nasturtium leaves & flowers, Centella asiatica leaves and a salad mix with rocket/ lettuce varieties. I also added some quartered tomatoes for colour 7 taste.Then lots of fresh chopped herbs- salad burnet, tarragon, chives, parsley and basil. Toss with a vinaigrette dressing of olive oil, vinegar & mustard.

BAKED APPLES WITH SCENTED PELARGONIUM LEAVES

I used golden delicious apples with skins on that had the core removed but leaving some apple at the bottom. Use a baking tray  with a few cm of water in the bottom. Place each apple on a peppermint pelargonium leaf. Into each apple cavity add one tsp. of unsalted butter, a clove, sprinkle with cinnamon & nutmeg powder and a fresh nutmeg pelargonium leaf. Bake in an oven until soft. I forgot to bring raisins or sultanas to add and when I do I usually add a little juice to moisten the dried fruit. We served this with freshly whisked cream but you can use plain yoghurt or ice cream. Also finely chopped peppermint pelargonium leaves or a drop of peppermint oil added to the cream is a great taste sensation and aids digestion. Also on retrospect it may have been a good idea to cover the baking apples to permeate then more with the aroma from the scented pelargonium leaves.

VITAL VIEWS NEWSLETTER March 2014

Southern Centre of Natural Healing Newsletter
 
We are now well into 2014 and the beautiful season of Autumn. And here FINALLY is my first clinic newsletter for the new year.

The topic for this month is the Acid and Alkaline Balance for Health and Wellness.
I listened last year to an interview with historian and author Professor Iain Mc Calman on the ABC radio who described the Great Barrier Reef as having “coral osteoporosis “ due to the effects of global warming and rising acid levels in the sea. I thought this comment most accurate considering that we as a human species now commonly have osteoporosis in our bones. This can be due to the effects of acid load in our bodies from our too “acid” diets, physiological effects of stress –such as cortisol leaching calcium from our bones and build up of toxins that puts a load on our bodies elimination processes. We are part of this living world our earth “Gaia”, and what we experience in our bodies and minds is reflected in the environment as well as the reverse. So as we heal ourselves , we heal our planet.
 
All cells in our body involve chemical acid-base reactions. The correct pH balance is necessary for a healthy living organism to function properly. The pH refers to the potential for Hydrogen ions H⁺ to form acidity, which is a ph value below 7.0 (neutral) or alkalinity when the pH is above 7.0. Our normal blood pH is between a narrow range of 7.37 and 7.43 for correct physiological function. This is maintained by compensatory functions of the kidney, lungs and digestive systems. But many factors can impact on our body’s ability to buffer acid due to decreased renal function as we age, diet, stress, toxic overload, medications, poor breathing and reduced cell oxygenation, and disease.
 
If our bodies carry an over acid load we will experience disease such as arthritis, fatigue, fluid retention, joint and muscle pains, itchy skin conditions, poor concentration and osteoporosis.
Our diets have become more acid forming with the over consumption of highly processed foods such as sugars & white flour products; too much protein, soft drinks, alcohol and the ever increasing levels of stress that we exposed to in this busy, polluted world of technology, noise and artificial light. How often do we relax, breathe deeply and correctly to help release tension & detoxify ourselves ? Do we get time to sit quietly by the sea or by the trees in a forest ?
So as modern humans, ourselves and our earth can suffer from disharmony due to over acidity. But we can regain balance again and return to a healthy constitution by eating more vegetables & fruit; drinking plenty of water; exercising regularly by walking, tai chi, dancing, yoga; enjoying nature and social time spent sharing with others.
As a natural health practitioner I can assist you:-

• By determining your acid load using the Mineral Priority Index to help you understand your current acid load.
• Doing a specific Matrix Evaluation test that involves simple urine and saliva ph measurements to ascertain which is the best treatment protocol for you .
• I will provide you with a comprehensive and specific food chart that very simply shows you which acid forming foods to eat less of and which alkaline forming foods to eat more of.

Here is a start for you towards a more alkaline and more relaxed you with this drink recipe:-

Blender Greens
1 cucumber, roughly chopped
1 big handful spinach
2 kale leaves
1 handful fresh mint
few sprigs fresh parsley
juice of one lemon or lime
250-275mls coconut water or alkaline/filtered water-adjust as necessary
optional extras: fresh ginger root, dandelion leaves, lemon grass, other herbs like dill or coriander, chard, baby greens, sprouts, bok choy, zucchini, celery.
Method
Place all ingredients in blender and process on high until smooth and not very thick. This is ideal when it is a thinner consistency. Pour into your favourite glass and flood your body with this alkaline goodness. Repeat as often as you can with a variety of alkalizing green veggies

Upcoming Clinic Events

• GUIDED RELAXATION & MEDITATION sessions are on again this year on most Wednesdays from 2 to 3pm starting on 5 March. No cost to attend unless you want to offer a small donation for remedies for the Sacred Heart Mission clinic. Please let me know if you intend joining us.
• LOOK, TALK AND AFTERNOON TEA AT THE HERB GARDEN at the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens on Saturday 22 March between 2 and 4pm.
• Showing of the documentary film FOOD MATTERS at a time to suit, so please let me know if you are interested.
• ZING INTO LIFE SERIES of 3 talks/ workshops starting once a month from April on a Wednesday afternoon. I will be discussing how you can improve your energy and health with foods, herbs and lifestyle support techniques. These will be held at the Mordialloc Community Centre.
• A SOCIAL GET TOGETHER FOR LUNCH at a local Bayside café.
• A WALK AT BRAESDIDE PARK

More information about these events will be coming closer to the dates or follow me on my face book page at www.facebook.com/southern.centre.of.natural.healing to register your interest, book your place and keep updated about these and more health news.

Australian Wild Native Food Plants

Indigenous Australian plants that were used by the traditional Koori peoples of this land as foods and are now popular gourmet cuisine food ingredients available in our supermarkets and on some restaurant menus. Organic wheat pasta flavoured with lemon myrtle, native mint or wattle seed; jars of Quandong compote, bush tomato chutney or Kakadu plum jelly can be used to give our food dishes a native Australian flavour.

Warrigal Greens

Plants such as the wild spinach Tetragonia tetragonoides or Warrigal Greens which is found in all States except NT. The early botanist Joseph Banks took its seeds to grow back at Kew Gardens where it became popular English summer spinach and was available for sale in seed catalogues. It was eaten here in our early colonial days. It is a leafy ground cover to 1.5m wide. It prefers moist, free draining soil in part shade. Leaves are edible raw or cooked. Young leaves are less bitter, and an excellent spinach substitute. 
 
The Kakadu green plum or billygoat plum Terminalia ferdinandiana in 1983 was discovered to contain 3150mg or vitamin C per 100g. This is the highest source of this vitamin in the world. The plum grows on a tree in the NT where this fruit has been eaten by the native aborigines for thousands of years. The tree also exudes an edible gum that was roasted and eaten. The plum is a small fruit the size of an olive. It has a sour taste with a mild apricot flavour. It is used in jellies, sauces and as a spread.
 
A native Australian nut that we are all familiar with is the macadamia from the tree Macadamia integrifolia. This nut was originally developed into a commercial crop by seeds shipped to Hawaii in the early 1900’s by the Americans.
 
Wild bush tomatoes Solanum chippendale & S.ellipticum are high in minerals of potassium & calcium, vitamins B and C. The explorer Captain Charles Sturt survived severe scurvy from being fed a large pot of small acid berries that were probably a species of this bush tomato. Deaths from scurvy were a common problem on the convict ships and in the early colonial days. Apparently those that regularly ate wild foods such as desert limes, currant bush Leptomeria acida, gums and “scurvy grass” which was a cress called Lepidium oleraceum may have ingested enough vitamin C to prevent this disease. As Captain Cook encouraged his crew to eat leafy wild plants which included the wild spinach which they had previously discovered in NZ he was awarded on his return to England the Royal Society’s medal for his victory over scurvy. The green fruits grow on small shrubs with purple flowers in the outback. The fruit in the heat of the sun would often shrivel up to form a “raison” which the aborigines regarded as a precious food. It could be ground to a paste with water, then covered with red ochre and dried in the sun to be stored for use later. Bush tomato has a strong flavour of tamarillo and caramel. A ground powder and chutney is available to add to your salads, sauces and salsas.
 
Quandong fruits from Santalum acuminatum are high in potassium and Vitamin C. They grow as shrubs or small trees and were used by our early settlers in puddings and preserves. The oily seeds are also edible and were gathered by the aborigines during the drought for their high (25%) protein content. The bright crimson red round fruits are sour/tart with an apricot/peach flavour. They can be made into jams, pies and as a sauce for game meats.
 
Lemon myrtle Backhousia citriodora is a rainforest tree. The leaf has an aroma like lemongrass and lime. I have been using the dried leaves for a refreshing tea and in fruit punches. It is available as oil and in soaps and hair shampoos. Use dry leaves or powder products with fish, chicken, biscuits and cheese cake. 
 
Hibiscus heterophyllus (Native Rosella) grows in Qld and NSW. It is an attractive, rounded shrub which grows to 2 metres. It needs well moist, drained soil and partial shade. The leaves and flower calyx has quite a sour and acidic taste, hence it is also known as native sorrel. This plant is still a useful food for Aborigines of the tropical north. Buds can be cooked and made into rosella jam. Buds can be eaten raw in salads or boiled as a vegetable. Petals can be eaten in salad or made into a tea. There is also a Wild Rosella plant Hibiscus sabdariffa that was introduced from early fishermen from Indonesia and now grown in Queensland. It has a tart flavour but with a more fruity palatable taste.

Tasmannia lanceolata (Mountain Pepper) grows in TAS, Vic & NSW. It is a not related to the true pepper but is a bushy shrub or tree to 3m but needs deep rich soil and some shade. Protect the plant from wind. The bark has been used as a remedy for scurvy as well and was used by the Europeans in the nineteenth century as a herbal remedy known as winter’s bark. J.H. Maiden a former director of the Sydney Botanical Gardens mentioned this tree with potential as a pepper or allspice substitute. The essential oil is used as a flavouring in confectionary and some trials are been carried out to widen its use. The leaves and berry are both edible as a very hot, spicy & biting flavour. Can be used fresh or dried. Great for seasoning meat and casseroles.

Prosanthera ovalifolia and P.rotundifolia (Native Mint Bush) grows in Qld, Vic, NSW& SA. It is a dense, rounded shrub to 2m. It likes moist & well drained soils in sun to part shade. Leaves have a delightful mint aroma which is excellent in jams, jellies and as a tea. The leavers contain aromatic oils and P. Rotundifolia or round leaved mint bush was used as a patented medicine for stomach flatulent disorders in colonial days.

Native Violet

Viola hederacea (Native Violet) grows in Vic, Qld, NSW, TAS, & SA. It is a creeping, mat forming groundcover but needs a moist spot, and some shade. It has delicate white and purple flowers which are edible, and make salads look amazing or add to your summer punches. 

Wild Parsnip

Trachymen anisocarpa (Wild Parsnip) has an edible tap root that I tasted at the recent spring heath land walk at Braeside Park. It is a leafy annual or biennial plant with spectacular flowers that can grow up to 1m. It can grow readily from seed and likes a moist sandy soil in the sun to part shade.
 
And now to tempt your palate for the taste of true native flavours here are a couple of recipes:-
 

•  ORIENTAL MYRTLE DRESSING-1 tspn soya sauce or tamari, 6 leaves of lemon myrtle ground or use powder, 6 tbspn of macadamia oil or substitute with another nut oil or olive oil , 2 tspn rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar) and lemon juice to taste. Blend all ingredients together in a jar and pour over a salad which may include warrigal greens or weed greens such as chickweed or dandelion. Toss in some native violet or heartsease flowers for colour.

•  MACADAMIA & KAKADU PLUM ICE CREAM-3 ½ cups natural yoghurt (Lemon myrtle honey and Bush honey yoghurts are now available to use as an alternative), 1 tbspn honey (omit if using honey yoghurt), 2 tbspn thick cream, 2 tbspn lemon or lime juice, 50g macadamia nuts coarsely chopped, 2 heaped tbspn Kakadu plum spread (use dark plum or Damson jam etc instead). Beat the yoghurt, plum spread and honey until smooth. Fold in the cream, add lemon juice & stir. Pour into a bowl and place in freezer. Remove and beat mixture every 15 minutes during the first hour of freezing. Serve with berries as a summer option and garnish with native violet flowers. 

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 References:- Sustainable Gardening Australia website. CERES website Bush Foods Catalogue. Book Wild Lime Cooking from the bush food garden by Juleigh Robins 1996. Book Bush Medicine by Tim Low 1990. Book Australian Medicinal Plants by E.V. Lassak & Tim Mc Carthy 1983.