Family Health

Last weekend I gave a talk at a fundraising event for the neo natal unit in Southend. The organiser asked me to talk about family health, which is an issue close to all of our hearts. Here are some of my top tips. Take Responsibility We have a choice how we live our lives. Lifestyle medicine; what we eat, how we exercise, how we think and feel, championed by BBC TV’s Dr Chatterjee, is proven to prevent and treat chronic disease. A great book on this subject is Louise Hay’s You Can Heal Your Life. The title says it all. Learn I am always learning, studying and growing my knowledge of natural health. Being able to help my family when they are unwell, or even better to prevent them from getting ill is very rewarding. I use garlic in olive oil for earache, make sage tea for sore throat, use elderberries to boost the immune system and essential oils to help relax aching muscles. It is these little things that add up to make a big difference. Exercise Together It’s good to exercise on your own but sharing the experience can bring even more benefits. When I attend a yoga class I seem to benefit much more than practicing on my own. There is something in communal activity that is good for our soul. Some of the best quality time my family spends together is when we are out walking. When Needed Use Your Doctor Thank God for the NHS - your doctor is there for you and is highly trained to diagnose illness and give advice on treatment. My doctor was fantastic at detecting a B12 deficiency when I was pregnant, and the B12 shots made a big difference to my health and I’m sure to my baby. Find A Good Homeopath I have travelled to remote parts of the world with my family and taken a large kit of homeopathic remedies to help deal with whatever we may encounter - food poisoning, malaria prevention, general health complaints etc. For me, knowing a good homeopath is as important as having a good doctor. A few days ago I came down with a bout of mastitis. I was wiped out with a fever and didn’t know if I would be able to make my speaking engagement. A call to local homeopath Dietmar Kennard (www.kennardsacademy.co.uk) gave me the remedy I needed, which helped clear the infection quickly, and I was able to give my talk the following day. Up Your Nutrients A car needs the right fuel and we do to. Our nutrient needs are wide ranging and complex but some key nutrient deficiencies to watch out for are vitamins D, C, B’s and the minerals magnesium and zinc. Omega 3 essential fat and fibre deficiencies are common and should be addressed through diet. Getting children or fussy adults to eat a wide range of nutritious foods may require cunning tricks. The excellent book, The Art of Hiding Vegetables has many such strategies. Some of my tricks are: Breakfast smoothie You can hide raw a handful of raw greens like kale, spinach and brocolli in a smoothie blended with berries or raw chocolate powder. Just blend with water, vegan protein powder, a banana and a few dates. Add in some supergreen powder and you have a family sized super-smoothie to start the day. Blended Food My eldest son jokes that my husband only knows how to makes three dishes: soup, pasta sauce and curry. As my children don’t like to eat lumpy cooked vegetables, we blend them up to make a smooth sauce. The children will then woof it down if served with bread, brown rice pasta or rice. This way, they are consuming so many different vegetables without even knowing. Super-Power Balls Blend 1 cup oats, 1 cup nuts, ½ cup pumpkin seeds, ½ cup dates, ½ cup other mixed dried fruit, 1 tbs vegan protein powder, 2 tbs maple syrup and 2 tbs of water in a food processor and roll into balls. These are healthy, yummy and a nutrient fix for hungry kids straight after school. Rainbow Veg Chart We have recently started a ‘Rainbow Foods’ chart at home. Every evening at the dinner table we review how many different coloured vegetables we’ve eaten. We aim for a minimum of five different coloured vegetables with fruit counting as bonus points. At the end of the week there will be a reward for everyone who has done well. Already this challenge has inspired the whole family to eat more veg. We made our own chart but you can print off a great one from at www.drchatterjee.com/rainbow-chart If you would like to learn more about family health I have 4-week online course on this subject and there is a 75% discount on it for just over a week Hurry, this offer is for a limited time only. www.juliettebryant.com