Ten tips for surviving Chronic Fatigue or ME
We call all feel tired after a long day at work. For some people a good nights sleep doesn’t refresh them and they end up feeling tired all the time. They may then receive a diagnosis from their GP of Chronic Fatigue or ME. So if you know anyone who has received this diagnosis here are some tips:
- Accept – make peace with your current limitations; it may require you to adjust your lifestyle and to get others to help care for you.
- Look externally – get support from others and see a doctor or a therapist.
- Fix your diet – we all know the importance of a healthy diet, but it is paramount when you are tired and take you may require supplements.
- Look within – meditate and look within to find the lessons from your current situation and illness.
- Examine the past – look for unresolved issues, traumas or behavioural patterns that aren’t serving you well.
- Grieve – spend time grieving over any past hurts and broken dreams and then let them go.
- Get back into the world – when you have the energy, get out and meet people or do some volunteer work.
- Make changes – introduce new behaviours, think positively and keep a gratitude diary.
- Look into the future – set goals for where you want to be in 10 years time, find your passion and take small steps to get there.
- Keep learning – read about what may help your condition and make small changes to your daily routine.
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What is good standing posture?
We all know we need to maintain good posture, but what exactly is good standing posture? Good standing posture When standing, keep these tips in mind:
- Keep your shoulders back and relaxed.
- Pull in your abdomen.
- Keep your feet about hip distance apart.
- Balance your weight evenly on both feet.
- Let your hands hang naturally at your sides.
Take the wall test
To test your standing posture, take the wall test. Stand with your head, shoulder blades and buttocks touching a wall, and have your heels about 2 to 4 inches (about 5 to 10 centimeters) away from the wall. Reach back and slide your hand behind the curve in your lower back, with your palm flat against the wall. Ideally, you'll feel about one hand's thickness of space between your back and the wall. If there's too much space, tighten your abdominal muscles to flatten the curve in your back. If there's too little space, arch your back so that your hand fits comfortably behind you. Walk away from the wall while maintaining this posture. Keep it up throughout your daily activities.Check out your reflection
To see if you're keeping your shoulders straight, stand in front of a mirror. Aim to keep your shoulders square and relaxed.It all adds up
Although good posture should be natural, you might feel wooden or stiff at first if you've forgotten the sensation of standing up straight. The key is to practice good posture all the time. Remember its never to late to start practicing good posture.
The low down on natural sugars – part 2, thumbs down list
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)


