​Many women have some form of hormone imbalance or hormone dominance.  The three main hormones I will look at today are the reproductive hormones:

• Oestrogen
• Progesterone
• Testosterone

 
Did you know that there are many signs you might pass away as normal that would give you a hint at a hormone imbalance?  Especially when they are associated with PMS symptoms.

1. Oestrogen dominance – bloating, swelling and tenderness in your breasts, fibrocystic lumps in your breasts, decreased sex drive, irregular menstrual periods, increased symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), mood swings, headaches, anxiety, panic attacks, weight gain, hair loss, cold hands or feet, trouble sleeping, sleepiness, fatigue, memory problems
2. Progesterone dominance - anxiety, bloating, breast swelling, breast tenderness, depression, reduced sex drive and/​or weight fluctuations
3. Testosterone dominance – acne, balding, decreased breast size, deepening of the voice, excess body hair, hirsutism, increased muscle mass, irregular menstrual cycle, low libido, mood changes, obesity.

 
The first thing to do, if you feel you have a number of symptoms in one category, is to go to your family Dr and ask for a hormone panel blood test.
 
If you have a hormone imbalance there are a number of options available.  In natural medicine there are several things to think about using:

• Diet 
• Herbal medicines
• Exercise
• Gut health protocol
• Hydration

 
Once you have your blood results and have a clear picture of which hormones are out of balance, then your therapist can put together a tailored plan of action to bring you back to a place of balance, using a combination of herbs, diet and exercise.
 
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
It’s A Natural Choice  
We love breaking fads
Join Facebook group – The Natural Health Tribe
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads

​Many women have some form of hormone imbalance or hormone dominance.  The three main hormones I will look at today are the reproductive hormones:

• Oestrogen
• Progesterone
• Testosterone

 
Did you know that there are many signs you might pass away as normal that would give you a hint at a hormone imbalance?  Especially when they are associated with PMS symptoms.

1. Oestrogen dominance – bloating, swelling and tenderness in your breasts, fibrocystic lumps in your breasts, decreased sex drive, irregular menstrual periods, increased symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), mood swings, headaches, anxiety, panic attacks, weight gain, hair loss, cold hands or feet, trouble sleeping, sleepiness, fatigue, memory problems
2. Progesterone dominance - anxiety, bloating, breast swelling, breast tenderness, depression, reduced sex drive and/​or weight fluctuations
3. Testosterone dominance – acne, balding, decreased breast size, deepening of the voice, excess body hair, hirsutism, increased muscle mass, irregular menstrual cycle, low libido, mood changes, obesity.

 
The first thing to do, if you feel you have a number of symptoms in one category, is to go to your family Dr and ask for a hormone panel blood test.
 
If you have a hormone imbalance there are a number of options available.  In natural medicine there are several things to think about using:

• Diet 
• Herbal medicines
• Exercise
• Gut health protocol
• Hydration

 
Once you have your blood results and have a clear picture of which hormones are out of balance, then your therapist can put together a tailored plan of action to bring you back to a place of balance, using a combination of herbs, diet and exercise.
 
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
It’s A Natural Choice  
We love breaking fads
Join Facebook group – The Natural Health Tribe
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads

We have all heard that our bodies can detox, there is no need to do a designated detox, it’s a waste of money.  Well, I agree and disagree and here is why.
 
Your body most definitely can detox, in fact there are 3 main organs that do this very efficiently:

• The liver
• The kidneys
• The gut

 
The problem is our modern way of living, these organs were never meant to deal with all the toxins that are thrown at them and so struggle to do their jobs proficiently.  Thing like:

• Processed foods
• Stress
• Lack of sleep
• Dehydration
• Too much sugar
• Chemicals from cleaning 
• Pollution
• Working too many hours
• Too much screen time

 
So, do you need to detox?  Well, if you are going to keep exposing yourselves to all of the above you will.  The good news is there are some simple daily practices that can help support your detox pathways and the 3 main detox organs:

• Hydrate – with water and for an added bonus have warm water with fresh lemon when you wake up
• Eat your greens – especially your kale, spinach, broccoli, sprouts, chard.  These are part of the brassica family and help the liver.
• Juice – this not only boosts your nutrients, it helps all 3 detox organs
• Chia pudding – this is a great food for the gut so helps remove a lot of the toxic load
• Quit the processed foods – this is the biggest.   Start simple but gradually increase the amount of freshly prepared food you eat, more veggies, more wholegrains, more chemical free foods.

 
Give it a try and let me know how you feel in a month?  I can guarantee if you do these things daily, you’ll see an improvement.
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
It’s A Natural Choice  
We love breaking fads
Join Facebook group – The Natural Health Tribe
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads

​How do you lose weight, get healthy or fit using what you eat?  Is it all about cutting out foods we know are not the best for us?   Well the answer is a little yes but a lot no.  Let me explain. 
 
In order to get long-term,  good and achievable results your focus needs to shift more towards what foods are good for you rather than what food is not good for you.  How many of us have done a variety of diets that felt like pure hell?  Always thinking about the foods we aren’t supposed to be eating and driving ourselves crazy just trying our best not to eat them.
 
This year try a new approach.  Rather than focussing on what you “can’t eat” why not put your focus on what you need to eat more of.
 
If you eat natural produce (cuts of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, dairy, fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, legumes etc none of which should be processed) as 80% of your diet, the other 20% can be the foods you have been telling yourself you can’t eat, it will help you reach your weight goals and health goals without the turmoil.
 
This year is all about changing the patterns that just didn’t work for you before, this includes ones that gave you short term results but nothing stuck.
 
So go and have a look in your fridge and imagine what it would look like if it contained 80% natural foods.  The next time you go shopping try to aim for 80% of your trolley to be natural produce (Your eating starts with your shopping choices).  Put your natural produce foods at one end of your trolley and your products at the other so you can have a clear visual.
 
You will need lots of easy tasty recipes if you are going to change your diet so feel free to check out my website and social media pages for these.  Don’t forget to like and share the ones you like and I’ll share more like those.
 
So this year I want you to focus on what you can have and not on what you can’t.
 
 
 
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com 
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
It’s A Natural Choice  
We love breaking fads
Join Facebook group – The Natural Health Tribe
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads
 
 
 

This is not going to be about beauty being skin deep, or personality vs looks.  This is about how when you look after your insides your outsides will glow.  Most importantly your gut health, as this has the biggest impact on your skin, aging and weight.
 
The last few years have aged many of us, we either leaned into the lockdowns with baking, walking, taking time to relax or we folded under it, gaining weight, eating junk, drinking more alcohol and binge watching tv.  When things get tough the majority comfort eat.
 
So, what has that to do with outer beauty?  Lots, poor diet and health habits have a huge impact on our skin, hair, nails and more, it will age us quicker than anything.  There is good news though.  If you want to reverse those changes some simple diet tweaks can really help.
 
Include:

• Vitamin D3
• Vitamin C – lots of fruits
• Fibre – lots of veggies, nuts and seeds
• Oils – get in the good oils – omega 3, algae oils, avocados

 
Cut back:

• Junk foods
• Fried foods
• Eating late
• Alcohol
• Fizzy drinks

 
Remember your inner health will always show signs in your outer appearance, so if your hair breaks easily or won’t grow, if your nails are thin and ridged, if your skin breaks out or is dry/greasy then your body might be giving you a sign you need to adjust something.
 
 
Now is when we change that around
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
It’s A Natural Choice 
We love breaking fads
Join Facebook group – The Natural Health Tribe
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads

- Winter is the breeding ground for bugs and viruses, we all get the sniffles, but this year so many friends and family spent the time they had off over Christmas either in bed or in isolation waiting to see if they had Covid. 
 
So does the advice I would give clients in the winter still hold true with what we are facing right now?  The simple answer is yes (with a few tweaks)
 
If we look at the symptoms of the latest variant of the Covid virus, they are upper respiratory in nature, affecting the upper lungs, throat and sinuses, leaving you feeling lethargic.  Now I am not selling a cure here, but by making sure you are getting in the nutrients scientifically known to support the immune system and the upper respiratory system you can have a positive impact on the level of symptoms you might experience.
 
Here are my top 5 nutrients, what foods they are in and why they are important:


Vitamin D3
- D3 is more efficient than D2.
It is vitally important for immune function
- Take as a sublingual supplement
Adults 4000iU (no more)

Vitamin C
- Vitamin C is probably the most widely studied nutrient in connection to the immune system.
 - Found in:
Citrus fruits
Kiwi fruit
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Green & red peppers
Strawberries
Blackcurrants
Acerola cherries
Rose hips
Thyme

Elderberry
- Elderberry is specifically linked to lung issues, has anti-viral properties and looks like the lungs
- Elderberry jam
Elderberry juice
Elderberry syrup
Elderberry tea

Honey
- Local honeys can help but Manuka honey has been found a more potent anti-viral
- Manuka honey

Polyphenols - antioxidants
- Helps to fight the inflammation caused.
Polyphenols have been shown in studies to reduce damage to the lungs
- Pomegranate specifically.  The pomegranate looks like the lungs when you cut a cross section

 
A simple way to think about food and health is:
You can either fuel your body or you can feed the disease.
 
So this winter try to include these foods to help your body fight whatever bugs and viruses come its way!
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
It’s A Natural Choice 
We love breaking fads
Join Facebook group – The Natural Health Tribe
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads