Natural ways to reduce anxiety – Part 5

The function of sleep is to renew us and its gives us our vitality or give us energy to live our lives.  But while it may be ideal to have 7, 8 or 9 hours a sleep it’s not always possible with our 21^st century life styles.  For many people there is simply too much to do to sleep.  So given you can’t create time, what can you do.  First remember that sleep is only one way to recharge our energy battery. Energy How much energy you have right now isn’t purely based on how well you slept last night or how well you have been sleeping recently.  By “energy” I mean your personal ability to live life to its fullest capacity.  So where would you put yourself on an energy scale of 1 to 100% where 1 is very low energy and 100 is full of energy?  Below 30% we are de-motivated, low in self-esteem and feel out of control.  Just like jump-starting a car when the car battery has gone flat, if your energy falls below 30% then you need an energy boost from something like acupuncture, shiatsu or reiki.  Once your energy level is about 30% then it’s possible to help yourself boost your energy. Physical Energy Boosters This is what we do to care for ourselves physical and the things that give us our vitality and make us feel physically well and energised.

• Rest is not just the essential precursor to brilliant sleep; it is also a substitute for sleep as it allows us to recharge our batteries.
• A healthy diet provides the nutritional support your body needs to provide physical energy.
• Exercise including yoga, swimming, walking and tai chi help re-charge our batteries.

In clinic I find neck pain is really common and while I see results, its always interesting to see what the latest research has to say.

There are lots of "natural" sugars, and as I said before how do you know the ones to avoid?  Here is my guide to the ones I try to avoid and why. Evaporated Cane Juice The new kid on the block of "natural" sugars.  It is a sugar syrup from partially refined sugar which is very similar to ordinary sugar.  The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has warned of mislabelling with this product. Fructose This no longer has the goodness and fibre of fruit.  Unlike sucrose and glucose it won't spike your insulin levels, but it will cause weight gain around the middle.  It also interferes with the production of hormones related to hunger and satiety (feeling full) and hence increases appetite.  On top of this it gets converted to unhealthy fats e.g. LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and triglycerides.  Remember fructose is fine when naturally occuring withing fruit but I recommend avoiding it when its a white powder added to food. Agave This is essentially up to 90% refined fructose (see above).  There is no way of distinguishing between commercially and traditionally produced produced products. Molasses This has the least amount of sugar and the highest level of vitamins and minerals.  Half its sugar content is fructose and glucose in equal amounts while the other half is sucrose.  So it will spike your insulin levels which causes the body to create fat.  It may contain high levels of pesticides and other chemicals use in the processing. Xylitol Sold as a white powder considered natural as it occurs in plants but needs a lot of refining.  Low in calories, it doesn't spike insulin levels so useful for diabetics.  It is on my avoid list because it requires a lot of processing to produce and because it ferments in the gut causing diarrhoea and bloating. Sorbitol Used in foods for diabetics at it triggers little or no insulin production.  I would avoid it as it is heavily processed as it is hard on the digestive system just like Xylitol. Honey A simple sugar up to 40% glucose and fructose so it affects your blood sugar levels very quickly.  If you must use it, I mix it with lemon and ginger when I have a sore throat, cold or flu then by organic and I perfer manuka for its healing properties. References Natural Alternatives to Sugar by Dr M Glenville (Lifestyle Press 2016)