I was always lucky to have a good head of hair, I never had to worry about it, if I got a bad haircut it would grow back so quick it was only a temporary problem. That changed when I had to start taking chemo and hormone supressing therapy for my cancer. Now may hair was thinning, wiry and just wouldn’t grow.
For the first year of a cancer diagnosis you are in survival mode, you are just trying to deal with the shock, the fear and trying to stay alive. The second year is when I decided to start thriving again. My hair wasn’t a major issue for my survival but now I am not just focussed on staying alive I’m focussed on living and my hair is one of the areas I started to focus on again. Now, I can’t take the usual herbal tinctures I would have given clients to help with hair growth. This is because their function is to improve blood flow to the peripheries, including the scalp, to bring nutrients to the follicles, hence strengthening the hair and improving growth. I wouldn’t use these herbs because the chemo is partly trying to stop blood flow to the tumours to kill their food supply. So, I looked to what other natural remedies I knew would help my hair grow back strong. These are my 2 favourite and both come from Ayurvedic medicine. Both are used as an oil to rub into the scalp to help feed the follicles at the root:
Here is how to use it: Step 1 – wash your hair Step 2 – apply the oil to towel dried hair Step 3 – wrap your hair in a towel/towel turban and allow to absorb for the minimum of ½ hour. For best results do this at night, sleep with the oil on and the towel turban, and then rinse of in the morning with some shampoo. Start with 2-3x week until you have the required results then reduce to 1x week. (if you are going through treatments that are affecting your hair then I would continue the 3x weeks, you are constantly working against the side effect of the treatment so need a more consistent method of treatment). Let me know if you try this and what your results are! 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
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There’s a lot of talk around collagen at the moment and collogen supplements. Mostly it is aimed at keeping your skin looking youthful. So, I thought I’d share some information on collagen, why we need it an the most natural ways to get it in.
What is collagen? Simply put, collagen is the main structural protein that is found in your skin and connective tissues Why do we need collagen? It’s not just your skin. Collagen is what gives elasticity to our skin and connective tissues. This includes:
Collagen decreases with age and can be an important part of why:
What are the natural ways to get collagen?
Remember it’s not always about how to replace, part of the picture is also how to prevent the loss of collagen. Some of the things that will lower your collagen levels are:
You can follow carina at: www.itsanaturalchoice.com & www.breaking-fads.com Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram: @itsanaturalchoice & @welovebreakingfads Rest & Reset program is available through the Rest & Reset page on Facebook or follow this link : How can you change anything for the better if your motivation levels are gone down the toilet? The biggest struggle I see when someone wants to make a positive change in their life is the rapid loss of motivation after the initial stages.
The good news is that this may not just be you feeling unmotivated, it could actually be a lack of Dopamine in your body. Dopamine is managed by your nervous system but a disruption to this (like the stress of the last few years, cost of living, busy lifestyle, excessive exercise, world affairs, family affairs, illness) will deplete your Dopamine. Short term this is not a problem, but long-term this can lead to some serious health issues. So how do we get you dopamine to optimal levels and return your MoJo to get going?
The main takeaway form this is to remember that you may be able to push through for a while but eventually you will need to slow down before you do real damage. Always remember to get professional advice before taking any herbal medicines. I have come together with Vivianne Maloney and Jannah Walshe to create a series of talks to give you the tools to do just that. If you want to know more about our Rest & Reset series you can follow the links on our social media or go to this web address: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sh/fUVU3Op/RestResetWorkshopSeries The first in the series is a free talk, feel free to sign up and join us. 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 For anyone that has been following my articles you will know that I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, otherwise known as metastatic breast cancer, it was in my breast, lungs, liver, bones and lymph. For those that are reading my article for the first time this is my latest update on my journey.
So a quick catch up, I was:
I have been on the new tablets now for about 3 weeks and can feel the improvement already in my quality. The next few months will see if I am doing as well on this treatment as I was before. My own natural medicine box includes:
It’s important to try to reduce stress when going through cancer (Oh the irony) but there are ways I do, I have a campervan I bought last summer (watch out for the photos on Instagram), I spend time with people who lower my stress instead of raise it, I go for counselling and reflexology and reiki when I can. One of my home relaxation techniques is my daily Epsom salt bath which has the added bonus of relaxing my tense muscles and strengthening my bones. The truth is everyone who is going through cancer will approach it in their own way, this is mine, this is how I find my strength, in knowledge, in understanding this disease and how I can conquer it in my own way. That is what takes the fear out of that word that brings such fear to so many “CANCER”. 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 In the western diet we don’t often think of putting vegetables in our breakfasts, we are more inclined to use fruit at breakfast time. Many other countries traditionally eat more vegetables at breakfast time. It often comes down to what you are used to, the foods you grew up on. So why do you want to add vegetables to your breakfast? Vegetables are:
So vegetables will help to:
That’s all very well but how do you add vegetables into your breakfast without you feeling like it’s no longer like breakfast? Here are my 8 easy ways to add more veggies to your breakfast:
Give it a go and add some veggies to your breakfast for the next week, see if it makes a difference to your day! 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 Have you ever wondered if you could slow down the greying process with your hair? The good news is yes.
Grey hair is the result of the hair follicle not getting the nutrients it needs to produce the colour in the hair, so the hair ends up grey or white. We often see after a severe illness or shock the hair loses it colour quicker than before. This is because the person is either not eating as well as they were, or their absorption of nutrients has been affected. Therefore, seeking the advice of a qualified nutritional therapist or herbalist is a quicker and more effective way to get the right results for you. Grey hair has been found to be lacking copper, whereas white hair has been found to be lacking antioxidants, that’s not to say you don’t need both. The best way to reduce the risk of premature greying is a diet high in nutrients and a strong digestive and cardiovascular system. This means eating a healthy balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, beans, grains, and good quality animal protein. Reducing the amount of processed foods you eat. There are several reasons why hair goes grey/white but the main areas you are looking at are:
In Ayurvedic medicine there is a herb thought to reverse the greying process and restore your natural colour- Amla - Indian gooseberry, this herbs main use is to stimulate digestion so you can see how it’s all about what goodness gets absorbed and how efficiently it gets transported to where it’s needed As with any nutritional or herbal advice always check for contraindications if you are on medication or managing a disease. 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 lucky are we that we live on an Island!! We are never that far from the sea. The beach is my happy place is not just a saying to me, it resonates to my core. Since I can remember I have always loved being near water especially the sea, maybe it’s my being a Pisces, maybe I was just born a water baby or maybe something in me recognised the healing properties of the ocean form a young age.
So why is the seaside to rejuvenating?
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 Parosmia – causing food to taste like trash. Many of us have continued to suffer with parasomnia since having covid at some point in the last 2 years. Many tastes and smells have returned but some are still lingering.
The most common foods that have changed with post covid parosmia are:
Your smell can also be affected. You may be experiencing a distorted smell with the following:
What causes parosmia? It’s basically when the nerve fibres in the nasal cavity that carry signals to the olfactory nerve are damaged. Our sense of taste is linked to our sense of smell; therefore taste is also affected. Parosmia was quite rare before covid so we did not talk much about it before. So what can you do to live with or improve your parosmia?
The general consensus is that your brain will eventually correct the problem, but it can take a long time, so in the meantime try some of these suggestions to speed up that process. 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’ve got a healthy, yummy in my tummy cookie recipe 🫣🤯🤓🥰
Try them out, save the post to make later, tag your favourite Cookie Monster and follow the page! RECIPE 🍪 Ingredients - makes 22 cookies 4 cups oats (we used @flahavans ) 2 cups strawberries chopped 4 ripe bananas mashed 1 cup nut/seed butter (we used our fave almond & coconut from @pipandnut ) 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips Optional extras Blueberries Nuts Seeds Vanilla essence Orange essence Peppermint essence METHOD (easy peasy) Turn the oven on to 175 C Mix everything in a bowl Scoop a small amount of the mix into your hands, roll into a golf ball size then place on a parchment lined baking tray then press down to form your cookie shape. Place in the oven for 15 minutes Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack Enjoy We love these for breakfast, as a snack or as part of a dessert So following on from last week’s article, here are some of my favourite ways to improve gut health at home:
If you are looking for a good probiotic my recommendation is always:
These are all things that can be introduced into your daily lives before you ever look at a supplement. Supplements have their place but never substitute living healthy. If introducing these practices don’t yield results withing 6 weeks, then you should seek professional advice of a nutritional therapist or herbalist to see if you need a more tailored approach. 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 |
AuthorCarina Kennedy was formerly a Nurse, now a Nutritional Therapist and Herbalist living in the west of Ireland. Her passion is food, health and teaching clients to gain control of their life with simple techniques. Archives
February 2022
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