Stress

Your heart races. Your breathing becomes quick and shallow. You feel alert and slightly anxious; your palms are sweaty and your muscles tense. This is your body getting you ready to run, or even fight, for your life. Are you a cave dweller facing down a growling, ravenous lion, armed with only a spear and your wits? No, you are a modern human, sitting at a desk, fingers flying over your keyboard as you race to meet a deadline. So why does your body respond as though your survival is at stake?

Chances are you or someone you know suffers from IBS, which affects one in ten Australians.[¹] Symptoms range in severity from mild to debilitating and include digestive discomfort, excessive flatulence (gas), bloating, constipation or diarrhoea, or alternation between the two. These symptoms can be associated with three underlying factors: gut inflammation, an imbalance in the number of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ gut bacteria and stress.

Modern stress is a handbrake. As a collective we’re experiencing unparalleled levels of fatigue, but why? Simply put, our bodies are trying to function in a world they just weren’t designed to live in.

Did you know that magnesium is required by the trillions of cells in your body to carry out hundreds of different processes every day? Magnesium is involved with the metabolism of your foods, hormone production, stress modulation, muscle relaxation, bone health and sleep regulation. So you can see why magnesium is a vital nutrient!

If you’ve ever experienced anxiety, you are likely to be a little more than familiar with the words above. However, if you’re one of the lucky ones who hasn’t experience anxiety, then chances are you live, work and/or socialise with someone who has.

If you know anyone that has tried to lose weight, or have set out on this journey yourself, you know it comes with its fair share of challenges. On the surface, adhering to a balanced diet and engaging in physical activity appears relatively simple; however, as most people are intimately aware, losing weight is not always as easy as it’s said and done.

Modern living has created what seems to be an ever-increasing workload, a culture of demanding emails, texts and social media posts all vying for attention; in addition to financial juggling and all the other ‘life admin’ that keeps each week ticking along.

Not that it ends there as, if you are really committed, there is also the need to fit in ‘scheduled down-time’ along with eating well and moving regularly so you can theoretically refill those energy reserves for all of the above…plus there is the need to carve out time to invest in social and family relationships!

Menopause is a natural process where a woman transitions from her childbearing years to the next stage of her life. Whilst menopause usually occurs around age 50, a woman is said to be officially in menopause once she has not had a menstrual period for twelve consecutive months so this can occur at various ages. 

However, for many women, the months or years leading into menopause (known as perimenopause), can mark the onset of challenging symptoms including irregular menstrual cycles, flushing sensations, irritability and night sweats.

Which best describes your day? Is it busy but everything goes smoothly and you respond positively to whatever challenges arise – or does it feel more like everything is a frantic juggle and you literally cannot take on board a single additional thing? The difference in how a day can feel has much to do with how resilient you are to life’s stressors, because it is your degree of resilience that helps you adapt to an ever-changing environment.

Counting sheep? You’ve been lying in bed for what feels like hours, persistently watching the clock tick over, calculating how much time until the sun rises. Hundreds of thoughts rush through your mind and relaxing for a restful sleep is at the bottom of your to-do list. Did you know your sleep woes could be affecting your weight? There’s many more factors at play in healthy weight management than your daily food choices and exercise habits.