We haven’t even hit winter yet and people are dropping like flies. While there are plenty of things to be done when you actually get sick, keeping yourself in tip-top shape is the best idea – and that way avoid falling ill altogether.

What can you do to keep your health on track? Here are a few simple tips:

Eat healthy : Sounds obvious right? Still, it never hurts to be reminded. Particularly focus on eating foods rich in Zinc (e.g. organic meats, wholegrains, nuts & seeds) and vitamin C (e.g. red & orange coloured fruit & vegies, broccoli, green leafy vegies). Also remember to keep up your fluids – people often forget to drink regularly when the temperature drops.

Herbal teas : Not only will this help to keep you adequately hydrated, some herbal teas can help to boost your immune system.

We make our own Cold & Flu tea at the clinic that contains immune-supporting Echinacea and the diaphoretics Yarrow and Elder.

Some other excellent herbal teas for this time of year include Rosehip, Ginger, and Lemon.

Cook with medicinal herbs & spices : including Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric and Chili. These not only add depth and flavour to your food, but also give your immune system a kick!

Wash your hands! Particularly if people at work are unwell, if your kids bring home a bug, or you interact with a number of different people through the day. Washing your hands regularly (and before eating) will help to prevent picking up other people’s germs.

Relax : Easier said than done I know, but it’s a well known fact that people who experience stress and anxiety are more prone to low immune function. Breathing, exercise, sunshine… all these things make you feel good and help to keep stress levels, well, level.

What are your secrets to staying healthy through winter?

From next month, I will be altering my appointments and availability at HealthWise in order to accommodate several big changes – not least of which is relocating to Sydney! However, I’ll be back inBrisbane (and the clinic) at the end of each month, so I won’t be gone entirely…

Up until Friday 8^thJune, I’ll still be available for the usual appointments (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays)  and have arranged to be back at HealthWise on the following dates:

• Thursday 26^th and Friday 27^th July
• Thursday 30^th and Friday 31^st August
• Thursday 4^th and Friday 5^th October

November dates onwards will be advised shortly, but just ask one of the Triple Js (Jen, Jenine or Judy) on reception if you’d like a later booking.

As usual, I’ll still be available via email or skype for existing patients. There are also the other three (wonderful!) practitioners available at HealthWise every week if you want a full consult.

It’s super important that you call ahead and make a time if you want to see me before the 8th June  - and particularly if you’d like to make a time for one of my return trips – as time is limited and I’d hate for you to miss out!

Why Sydney? Well, my lovely husband has nabbed a pretty exciting academic role at a university down there. I’ve got some freelance work lined up already and am looking into a Sydney-based clinic (to combine with HealthWise) once we’re settled.

So… that’s the news. I hope to see you in the clinic for a catch up before I go!

Getting chilly around these parts, isn’t it?

What are you doing to keep yourself warm – apart from jumpers, slippers and heaters?

Do you eat warmer foods at this time of year? I’m a cold frog, so I do. I also use extra serves of spices to help keep me toasty on the inside.

Ginger: grating fresh ginger (or including a good 1/2 tspn dried powder) into soups, curries, bakes and stir fries is an easy addition to your kitchen habits. It blends well with both sweet and savoury foods.

Fresh ginger tea is also one of the nicest warming drinks you can make for yourself on a cold day – add a squeeze of lemon, some fennel and little honey to soothe a sore throat.

Ginger is a warming digestive – good for upset stomachs, nausea and bloating. It’s also an antioxidant and a circulatory stimulant.

Cinnamon: this spice can be sprinkled onto porridge or yoghurt, baked into biscuits and cakes, or brewed up in an aromatic tea.

Cinnamon is an aromatic digestive that has a heating effect on the body. It also helps to regulate blood sugar metabolism (so I suppose it’s a good thing to include in sweet treats then…)

Turmeric: using fresh turmeric (or dried powder) for curries, stir fries and juices is one of the best ways to get it into you. Turmeric is often used in small quantities to colour foods. However, it is useful for far more than that! This magical and slightly bitter spice is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

Bear in mind that the bright orange/yellow pigment it leaves behind might last a day or so on your fingers!

These are my current top three, but the list is pretty changeable, depending on how I’m feeling and what I’m cooking. What are your top spices?

Are you wondering about the 2012 budget?

Maybe. Maybe not.

In any case, I’d like to show you this infographic… because, why not?

Enjoy.

Last week Sarah and I took part in the last round of  Capers’ Complementary Therapies Workshops. Spending the day talking about pregnancy and birthing with a group of loud and lovely midwives reinforced why I enjoy working in this area so much.

Through the clinic we see all sorts of people: suits, students, snotty kids… but pregnancy care is a particular favourite and it’s a true privilege to be part of that experience with our patients.

The lead-up to pregnancy and birth is a time of such change, learning and excitement. It’s also an excellent opportunity to get focused on good health practices, which will support a happy pregnancy, positive birth experience and a healthy little bub at the end of it.

Getting back to my film-spruiking, you might be lucky enough to live near a screening (they’re popping up all over Australia) or you can buy your very own copy to watch at home – take a look at the Face of Birth website for more info.

Here’s a little clip to give you a taste. Enjoy!

Did you know you can maximise their benefit by soaking nuts before eating? Doing so will break down enzyme inhibitors found in raw nuts that can make digestion difficult. Soaking allows the nuts to sprout – activating digestive enzymes found therein – making all those lovely nutrients more easily digested.

Soaking – also called activating – nuts is a great habit to practice, particularly if you find nuts hard to digest, leaving you bloated or gassy.

Pre-soaked nuts can be bought in health food shops, but they’re also dang easy to make at home. A good batch will keep you going for weeks, so get to it: quick sticks!

How to soak your own:

Take a bowl of nuts – almonds, walnuts, Brazils, etc – and cover with enough filtered water to completely immerse.

Add a good pinch of salt and soak overnight.

Drain the water off completely and pour the nuts out onto a clean tea towel to soak up extra fluid.

Put your oven on the lowest possible temperature – under 100˚C if not lower – and spread the nuts out on a baking tray. Pop them in the oven and keep them there for between 6-12 hours (it will vary depending on your oven’s temperature – this make take a few batches to refine). If you have a dehydrator, you can use that.

The nuts will be ready when they feel and taste completely dry (you’ll probably have to sample a few along the way).

Once they’ve cooled to room temperature, store in an airtight container and grab a handful, for snacks or recipes, as needed.

Usually we recommend that our pregnant patients check in with us through each trimester, and again at 34-36 weeks, in the lead up to labour and birth.

Sometimes we are asked to help with pregnancy challenges, such as breech babies (who often respond very well to acupuncture) and getting overdue babies moving. These little ones may want to stay put well past their due date and – apart from warm baths, walking up stairs and other at-home remedies – there are a number of natural medicines that can be very useful during this time.

In the weeks leading up to birth, herbal remedies such as Raspberry leaf, Withania and Squaw Vine may be combined in a personalised formula.

Raspberry leaf is particularly well known for its use in pregnancy and is often drunk as a tea throughout the second and third trimester; it is considered a partus preparatori.e. a herb that prepares the body for labour and birth.

However, despite the best laid plans and healthiest mums, we occasionally get panicked calls from women who have sailed past 40 weeks! If the due date has come and gone, and bub is showing no signs of movement, we can use herbs such as Schisandra, Cramp Bark and Black Cohosh to get things underway. Herbal remedies are usually combined with acupuncture treatments to help get that baby moving.

I would absolutely not recommend taking any supplements or herbs during pregnancy without talking to a qualified practitioner first, as products that affect your health will also impact the baby.

That’s right my friends: it is Autumn.

What does that mean for our plates?

Well, plenty of delicious leaves and colourful fruits – not so much as you find in abundant summer, but still enough to satisfy a broad palate. Vitamin C rich foods are all around – citrus, pomegranates, cumquats, etc – which are perfectly timed for a pre-winter boost. Root vegetables are also starting to make an appearance.

Dig in!

FRUIT

Delicious Autumnal sweetness

• Apples
• Pears
• Quinces
• Plums
• Limes
• Cumquats
• Mandarins
• Oranges
• Lemons
• Custard apples
• Kiwi Fruit
• Pomegranate
• Figs

VEGETABLES

Swiss browns. Yum.

• Cabbage
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Avocado
• Pumpkin
• Radish
• Sweetcorn
• Carrots
• Potato & sweet potato
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Shallots
• Mushrooms
• Celery
• Asparagus
• Bitter greens e.g. chicory, endives, radicchio

There has been some press in the last week about a new study that’s been published linking metabolic conditions in pregnancy (obesity, diabetes and high BP) with neurodevelopmental problems in childhood.

If you’re unfamiliar with the study I’m referring to, here are the details (you can also read the full text here) : researchers looked at 1,004 children between two and five years old – of these small people, 517 had an autism spectrum disorder and 172 had developmental delays (the ‘spectrum’ of autism includes conditions such as Asperger’s). The researchers then looked at each mother’s health through pregnancy, and found that those with metabolic conditions were far more likely to have children with the above conditions. The reason for this association is not entirely understood (though poor glucose regulation in utero, for example, has potential to severely harm the baby), but it does show a link between the two.

There are a number of earlier studies that have also linked maternal obesity – and its sequelae – to impaired infant and child health, including developmental delays, immune challenges and metabolic conditions of their own.

So what does this mean for us, the wannabe mums and dads of an increasingly overweight and health-burdened population?

Well, as Australia continues to battle the bulge it’s  important to make good choices with what you put in your mouth and how you spend your time. Genuinely caring about your own health and making healthy habits just that – habits – is the best general advice I can give. Eating well, living well and managing your weight is important - not just for looking good, as it were, but for your wellbeing and the health of our next generation.

If you’re worried about your health during pregnancy, or have questions about where to get started… come and see me! These are the kind of things I love to work through with people.

1. There are many sources of excellent dietary fats that are non-fishy. Seriously. Although, yes, fish is also a good source.
2. If you’re going to eat fish, especially tinned, you absolutely must choose a company that uses sustainable practices.

That second point is particularly important – for your own health as well as the long term health of our planet.

For the past couple of years, Greenpeace have published a guide ranking the brands of tinned tuna available on our Australian shelves. This is a good place to start, as it explains why sustainable fishing is important, what the different terms mean (used for fishing methods and type of fish caught) and which are the best companies to source from.

Even better, most of these brands can be found in your local supermarket (except Fish 4 Ever, which is only in health food stores), so once you’re in the know, it’s easy to choose wisely.

Give it a go.