I was surfing "biological age" recently and I came across this article in the Mail Online by Elizabeth Peyton-Jones about eating yourself younger. Click on this link if you want to read the whole thing. She suggests that the five ageing accelerators are:
Signs of inflammation are digestive gas, bloating, loose stools, runny nose or eyes. As we age our natural inflammatory response - the response that helps us heal and fight off infection - can become overactive, leaving activated immune cells circulating in the body. Foods that can trigger inflammation are: red meat, sugar, white flour and some dairy products. The best anti-inflammatory suggested in the article is turmeric: "Aim for one teaspoon of dried turmeric or a thumb-sized piece of fresh root every day". But watch out as it can stain hands and clothes. Oxidation is another process which accelerates ageing. Increasing the level of anti-oxidents which reduce the level of free radicals has been heavily emphasised over the past few years as a way to protect against cancer. There are indications that this may have been over-emphasised, but anti-oxidents are still important to robust health. Elizabeth Peyton-Jones suggests that the best antioxidant are red beans: kidney, pinto or aduki beans. Hormone imbalances can have a dramatic effect on ageing including: weight gain, wrinkles, headaches, muscle weakness, fatigue, dry skin, thinning hair, brittle nails, cellulite, sagging skin, poor memory. The article suggests that key hormone balancers are: pumpkin seeds, asparagus, unrefined whole grains, nuts (especially brazil nuts) and the best of them all if garlic - aim to eat one clove a day. Acidification is chronic acidity of the body and can lead to premature ageing. Acid producing foods include: red mean, coffee, cheese, cereal,and sugary drinks and snacks. Too much acid and the body pulls calcium and magnesium from bones, and iodine from soft tissue: this can lead to osteoporosis, fatigue and depression, weight gain and diabetes. But acid foods may not be acid forming, for example, citrus fruits are acidic, but have an alkalising effect on the body. Elizabeth Payton-Jones suggests that the best alkaliser is lemon and we should start our day with a drink of lemon juice in warm water - but use a straw, so acid doesn't harm tooth enamel. And she suggests that the five most ageing foods are:
No surprise there then! Well, Reflexology might not make you younger, but I'd like to suggest that the gentle rebalancing and detox that seems to accompany a Reflexology treatment would be a perfect supplement to a nutritional approach to ageing well. Vouchers are available, so why not treat your mother for Mother's Day!
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It's not long until Mother's Day, and I'd like to ask; "Are you going to settle for the regular, boring gifts?" Will flowers and chocolates or a meal out (on one of the busiest days of the year) be the most your imagination will stretch to? If you're struggling to think of something different to give your Mother, why not buy a gift voucher for a nice relaxing treatment of Reflexology, Indian Head Massage or Rejuvinating Facial Massage. Not only will the treatments help your Mum feel good, they'll do her good. My Mum loves her treatments and at 85 she's still going strong, in fact, sometimes I think she's fitter than me. Reflexology is a wonderful treatment for general well-being because it is holistic and relaxing and aims to bring the body back into balance. It leaves most clients feeling nice and relaxed, but also can help improve sleep, provide a light detox, give a gentle boost to energy levels and some clients find it helps reduce aches and pains. Reflexology uses finger pressure on the feet, so it's less personal and "touchy feely" than massage - perfect for those of us who are not keen on stripping off more than our socks and shoes! Indian Head Massage is done over clothing and seated in a chair - again perfect for those of us who don't like stripping off or lying prone. It uses a variety of techniques to loosen tension in upper back, shoulders, neck, head and face. It is a gentle treatment which is extremely relaxing (I've had clients fall asleep). Rejuvinating Facial Massage is a non-surgical treatment which uses specific massage techniques to brighten skin and improve elasticity. It is more vigorous than a beauty treatment and aims to lift and tone facial muscles and stimulate muscle memory. Although it is a more vigorous treatment, it is still very relaxing. So, give your Mother something different this Mother's Day, give her a real treat! Book your gift voucher today by calling Doris Wylie on 07724 197627. It's Mother's Day on Sunday 30th of March, so I thought I'd have a theme for the blogs this month: Ageing Well. Of course, we're all ageing every minute, but getting older is both better and worse than it was twenty years ago. Gone are early retirement ages and decent pension pots (for most people anyway). And over 55's are likely to have a heavier burden than ever before - looking after grandchildren and their own elderly parents or relations. But medicine is much better able to keep us alive for longer and there is much more support for the elderly in the community (although always room for improvement). Looking at some of the literature for ageing well, there's a strong emphasis on keeping fit and healthy, but fit and healthy are not necessarily the same thing. Good health is much more than fitness - good health is the result of a complex combination of mental, physical, emotional and genetic qualities. As we get older the changes can be much more challenging - family moving away, loss of parents and other loved ones, declining health, trying to keep up to date with technology, or fear of the future. The relaxing effect of a reflexology treatment can help put things in perspective and provide a listening ear. Often it's the job of the over 55's to listen to the trials and tribulations of others - family, friends, the stranger at the bus stop. So having a listening ear during a reflexology treatment can be the only time some of older folks are heard. Health is about eating well, sleeping well, breathing well, having a good posture, having an effective stress management strategy and supporting an active and robust immune system. Reflexology can help with most of these: the relaxing effects of reflexology helps to deepen breathing and release tight muscles allowing posture to improve and it also helps to improve resilience to stress. Many clients find the quality of their sleep improves after regular reflexology treatments - again perhaps because of the relaxation effect. And that relaxed state allows your body to do it's repair and renewal work, so it helps support a more robust immune response. Reflexology can improve well-being and restore balance to mind, body and emotions - something that we all deserve, but especially well-deserved by Mums in this Mother's Day month. So if you want to treat your mum this Mother's Day, ditch the flowers and chocolates and get something really useful - a Reflexology voucher. So, as a complementary therapist, why am I talking about a healthy mind? Simple, the mind and body are one integrated system and mind affects body and vice versa. A healthy body needs a healthy mind. So, what is a healthy mind? Good question. Some of the characteristics that demonstrate a healthy mind would be: positivity; equilibrium; optimism; calm; flexibility; openness and of course there are lots of others. And what are the characteristics of an less than healthy mind? Well what about: anxiety; fear; obsessive thoughts; not being able to switch off; negative emotions such as envy, self-recrimination, guilt, excessive sadness, over-excitement, etc. One of the main characteristics that distinguish a healthy mind from one that is less so, is the speed and intensity of thoughts and not being able to switch off. But it can be difficult to make changes to the way you think. How DO you stop thinking certain unhelpful thoughts and begin thinking other more helpful thoughts? It all happens so quickly doesn’t it? Your brain just races around certain thoughts or ideas and the faster it goes, the more difficult it is to stop. It’s like a race car. Well, the answer might surprise you. You have to STOP before you start again. Imagine you’re driving a car at high speed. You've got your pedal to the metal and you're racing ahead on a straight road. If you want to change direction – say you want to do a U turn - you have to stop, because if you don’t stop before you change direction you’ll crash and burn. The speed of the car will prevent your attempt to change direction. But if you change down gears, braking gently as you do so, you can stop and change direction easily. Your brain works in just the same way. If you slow everything down gently, it will be much easier to change your thinking. And would you like to know how you slow everything down? RELAXATION. Yes, that old chestnut. Doing regular relaxation or meditation will allow your thoughts to slow down to a pace where you will find it much easier to change direction and adopt a new mindset that will serve you better. It’s about recognising that the more slowly your brain works the more conscious control you have over it. So if you want to control and change your thoughts, a bit of relaxation or meditation is just the job – BUT the only way you’ll know if this is true is to give it a try. And if you find it too difficult to slow down under your own steam, you can always try a treatment of Reflexology or Indian Head Massage! To book contact Doris on 07724 197627. And you get £5 off your first treatment. I first wrote this article around this time last year, and I make no apologies for re-posting it again today... Because I heard recently that most people manage about 9 days of their New Year resolutions before they give up. So if you've had great intentions regarding the changes you'd like to make this year, but find sticking to them much more difficult than you'd thought, here are a few tips to strengthen your resolve:
1. If you've got a goal - WRITE IT DOWN and look at your written goal every day. 2. Be clear about WHY you want your goal - and how much better off you will be once you have it - and write that down too. Write down lots of benefits that achieving your goal will bring you and think about them every day. 3. Imagination is stronger than willpower, so imagine yourself AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE. 4. GET EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED. Generate strong feelings of how it would feel when you achieve your goal, get yourself really, really motivated to achieve your goal. 5. Think only in the positive - the brain doesn't process negatives (try NOT thinking about an orange elephant), so FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT, rather than what you don't want. 6. Check you can MEASURE PROGRESS towards your goal and break your goal down into smaller manageable chunks. Monitor your success and if you're not meeting your targets, use that as a reason to get even more motivated. Good luck! Lothian Reflexology provides Reflexology for Stress, General Health & Wellbeing, Fertility and Pregnancy. Gift Vouchers Available JANUARY OFFER: Detox Reflexology - 3 treatments for the price of 2 only in January and February. I hope you had a wonderful Festive Season full of food, fun and friends. But now that the New Year is here, most of us feel the need to get back to a stricter regime. As a reflexologist, I often see an increase in foot sensitivity in the colon and kidney reflexes at this time of year - a response to the over-indulgance of the holiday season I expect. All these little party snacks and nibbles are packed full of trans-fats, sugar and salt that can take your body out of balance. And that's without factoring alcohol into the equation. How would you know if your body's straining under the effects of the party season? Well, a drop in energy levels, poor skin condition, dull eyes, constipation, or poor sleep patterns may all indicate that your body's in need of some tender loving care. Fortunately your body's a very efficient detox machine and will comfortably clear your system of toxins, but there's no harm in helping things along. Here are a few tips to boost your body's natural detox process:
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