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A simple guide to understanding Nutrition and the part it plays on your body, and how to heal your own body!

‘Life is a construction of nutrition and drainage under the control of the nervous system.’

Nutrition.

Nutrition is the process where raw material is converted into living structures. Materials which are used for digestion, fertility, rebuilding of cells, and repairing of tissues are accomplished. The body is equipped with a whole series of amazing organs, (this is a part of the nutritive system) which allow the body to take in raw materials like air, sleep, water, real food from nature and sunshine and turn this into life. By taking these into the body it is converting them into the blood stream so it can be taken to all parts of the body and used by the cells of the body and converted to structure and tissue. To make and keep life!

FOOD-We take in food and chew it slowly hopefully, and this is the first step where enzymes break down starches and create sugars, we then take it into the stomach where small glands excrete juices and break it down further. We then pass the food in to the small insensitive where more glands produce more juices and also juices from the pancreas and bile from the liver are together used to break the food down further. It reduces the food into small compounds where it can be passed into the blood stream and be utilised. This is called absorption. All these glands and organs are part of the digestion system. When the food particles are in the blood stream, they get picked up and moved to the liver where it then goes through more changes, where it get passes back into the blood to be utilised by the cells. This is a part of the nutritive system. We cannot live without fresh raw food. Food combining and why is it essential for health!-chart.

 

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WATER- we take it into the stomach just like food, but water does not need any digestion and goes straight into the small intestines and can be passed around the blood stream to be utilised by the cells. Too much water or water eaten with food simply dilutes the digestive juices and flushes the minerals and goodness from the body. We cannot live without fresh clean water. If our water is filled with fluoride and chemical this does not nourish us but aids in being a load on the body. How much water is good for you, and why you should never take it with food?

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AIR- we should take it in through the nose (not the mouth) and it is then passed down to the respiratory tracks and into the lungs our largest waste organ, where the blood picks up the oxygen and carries it to the cells to be used by the circulatory system. This is another part of the nutritive system. We cannot live without fresh clean air.

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SUNSHINE– the skin is your largest organ and sunshine is a raw material vital to our bodies. The glands in the body need sunshine and the vitamin D we get from it to convert into tissues and building material. We cannot live without sunshine. The sun does not cause skin cancer the products the sun burns onto the skin causes skin cancer. Small amounts of sun exposer daily is nourishing and needed. Cover up if you are in it for longer periods as too long can deplete your body.

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SLEEP- we do not heal from the food we put in our mouth! food is simple a way to fuel the body and can either put presure on it , or take pressure off of it. A system that is not overloaded but nourished when you go to sleep, can use these raw materials to repair, restore and re build our bodies. If we do not get enough sleep we will simple break down and age faster and our cells will start dying off and sending out symptoms of sickness and disease. This is the first stages of cancer. Sleep allows the body to rejuvenate and re grow. It must be good quality sleep and not induced by a suppressant or sleeping pill and this is not true sleep and will not allow your body to really switch off.  Sleeping and removing the load off your body is the fastest way to repair it and reverse damage. If you are exhausted stop work and all vigorous exercise and sleep as much as you can for as long as you can.

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It is through the endocrine system, the respiratory system, the circulatory system and the digestive system that nutrition is taken in and for the body to repair and re build it self, it needs rest and proper sleep. They all have to flow and work together which is why removing glands like tonsils and appendix is never a healthy option, as this has an effect on every cell of your body as it is clever balance. And all of these raw materials need to be in plentiful amounts and of the highest quality for it to complete its tasks.

Drainage.

Drainage or (detoxification) is the process of which waste is removed from the cells and carried to the organs that do the excretions; skin, kidneys, liver, bowels ect and then from the blood into the large intestines and excreted out the body. This is big process for the body and takes the lymphatic system to be working properly for the waste to be removed. The lymphatic system picks up waste from the cells and carries it through channels into the blood stream. These are things that do not need to be in the body like ie toxins, heavy metals, chemicals, fat, unnatural foods or synthetics, excess minerals it cannot store ect. The lymphatic system then passes it through the lungs to remove carbon dioxide and then goes to the liver and that then passes the waste materials to be converted and used again where possible into the blood, it then goes on to the large intestines and the waste is then excreted from the body in stools or urine which is filtered blood. If this process does not work you get backed up in your lungs (Asthma, croup, CPOD ect,) liver (fatty liver, low stomach acid) skin (eczema, acne, psoriasis ect) and intestines (IB ,Crohn’s and leaky gut) and your blood gets sticky and your lymphatic system slows down unable to work further. The body then leaches waste in to the blood from the instines and the body sends out ways to clean it up and the food particles get trapped and leaky gut is created. You store your waste in fat cells and the body tries to clean the lymphatic system by sending out mucus and bacteria. The mucus then putrefies and causes infections in the ears, lungs and skin. The bacteria gets overgrown and cause imbalances and yeast overgrowths. If the body is not draining probably this affect the glands as they stop excreting juices or produce too much, and of course this all effects the hormones as hormones are made in the glands. . .Wow!!

Are you starting to see how EVERYTHING is connected and how removing glands, or organs just is not the answer, how surpassing symptoms with drugs and medications only leads to death. We must restore balance to the body and only put raw materials into the body.

This is all controlled by the nervous system. The nervous system is so vital in the body, without that transmission nothing would work. So the final part of nutrition is the stress levels in your life. If you can remove the stress and the toxic relationships and trauma and return the body to the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), and allow the body to drain the waste correctly then you can control all illnesses and diseases, retuning the body back to it’s healthy balances state.

By understanding the importance of what you put in you body effects what your body sends out and how that breeds disease, then you understand that it is all, fixable with the right raw materials to start with. Which are;

  • REAL FOOD
  • SUNSHINE
  • FRESH AIR
  • CLEAN PURE WATER –not the chemical cocktail from a tap!
  • A POSTIVE ENVIORMENT

I hope this information helps you to make the wisest choices for your clever body. The only thing stopping your health is YOU!

Why do we get sick and why are we always so tired?

What is ‘Theta Healing’ and how can it help you?

Theta Healing is a unique technique unlike any other energy healing work in that you can clear trauma, directly re-programme the subconscious with new beliefs and teach new feelings to every cell of the body instantly including changing your DNA.

It only takes a couple of minutes and the whole session is 60 minutes long and the effects can be felt for the rest of your life. Some people need one session others need more.  It is not a religious-based therapy and is not part of any church or religious denomination, but as a client you have to be open and and believe in a higher source energy and believe in yourself and the practice of mindfulness.

The ability to feel happiness and love has always been there but we open the receptors to be able to identify the feeling and re program the messages from childhood and media that you have been fed over time or unhelpful beliefs and painful feelings stored in the subconscious.

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The feelings and intuition work we do allows us to look at our environment from a different perspective by healing emotional and spiritual aspects of ourselves and this is what makes Theta Healing so powerful.

What is a ‘Health Coach’ and how can they help you achieve your goals?

Theta Healing is a spiritual, physical and emotional healing technique conducted while you and the practitioner are in a theta brainwave state. This is where you are awake but fully relaxed, as you would be during a mediation, this is achieved by breathing techniques and a guided mediation from ourselves, so even if you have never mediated before we can assist you to get into a theta state.

Theta Healing can help with a wide range of issues from releasing past trauma, abuse, resentment and anger, to finding your life’s purpose, feeling safe and supported, infertility blockers, improving relationships and recovering from broken relationships, low self- esteem and confidence, physical health problems, self sobataging blockers, depression, aniexty,  mis-guided beliefs, past life trauma, current trauma, forgiveness, weight loss, balancing hormones and diseases. The lady who started this technique healed her self from cancer in her leg read about it here: http://www.thetahealing.com/about-vianna-stibal-founder.html

With this Theta Healing technique we can assist you to connect to your Inner Being/Soul/Source/God or which ever word you prefer or resonates with you and connect you to the higher energy source of the universe that creates all that we are, see and feel, and if you are open to it and feel it is right ask your spirt guides to assist you in your path or pass on any messages they have for you.

 

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For a consulation or Theta session with myself Hannah Miles or Robin Miles, my beautful husband who is qualified Theta Healer too, and holds a natural gift for healing and has a powerful connection to source energy. Please go to my contact page.

Read more on this web link:

http://www.thetahealing.net.au/unique-about-theta

 

What does “Mindful Eating” really mean and how can it help your food intolerance?

For years I put everything into what I was eating and the quality of the food without ever thinking about the words I used around food and the way I spoke to my self when I ate that food or even prepared my food. Now I truly know the power of words and thoughts and how they can effect everything you eat and how your body responds to the food on a cellular level and if it will react to it or not.

So how the hell does a word effect if you react to tomatoes or not? Well in one way it doesn’t . . . but in another way it does. By using positive words, mindful eating and affirmations daily you raise the vibration of your body and when you are vibrating at a higher frequency your body heals it self. Your cells rejuvenate faster, repair more efficiently and cope with foods better as it’s not in a state of inflammation.

So what is “Mindful Eating” it’s banded around so often in blogs, but what does it really mean?

 

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What it means is to slow down when eating and take some care over what you fuel your body with. When you are busy and running around at work or with kids or shopping, your in fight or flight mode, most of us live in this state 90% of the time. We are at a very anxious level all day and can not switch off. Then when we eat we inhale our food throwing it in our mouths. So not only do we not digest in fight or flight but also as we have eaten to fast it puts an added burden on our bodies. To digest our food we must switch back into our parasympathetic nervous system ‘repair and digest” or there is not point eating at all, as all it does is laden the body with a burden you don’t get the minerals and benefits from eating food.

wen you cook your food think about how much it went through to get to you. Thank the farmers, the animal that sacrificed it’s life, or the earth, sea or tree for providing it to you. When you have it in front of you touch, taste and smell it to start appreciating it. When you eat it, smell it to start the saliva in your mouth, which tells the brain to start activating the juices in your stomach, and prepare your body to start the digestion process. An example of the reverse of this is inhaling a burger in a few bites and that burger sitting in your stomach unable to be digested, as the body has had no warning signs it was coming. But if you cut ripe water melon and smell it and lick your fingers, your body is aware of what your about to eat and it gets excited as it pulls up that memory of eating it. You feel grateful for this watermelon and say to yourself ‘this will replenish my body and hydrate me, this is exactly what I need right now’ your body will digest this very easily.

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How you talk to yourself and feel makes a big affect on your digestion system and how the body takes nutrients to the cells too. An example of this is: ‘This food will heal me’ ‘This food is nourishing my body’ or ‘I’m so grateful for this food’.

The opposite to this is: ‘This isn’t very good for me’ ‘I shouldn’t really eat this’ or ‘I’ll have to pay for this tomorrow and have to go to the gym for 2 hours’

One is telling your body this is great food to eat and the other is saying don’t digest this it will harm you and the body will send out white blood cells to eradicate it. Now this doesn’t mean you can eat junk food with positive affirmations, as junk food is junk food at it serves no purpose in your body and causes inflammation . . . but it means not to beat yourself up when you have an indulgent healthy treat as that will be worst than the treat on the body and your everyday food should be eaten with appreciation and in a slow mindful manner. CHEW CHEW CHEW!! Oh and CHEW!

Your posture can play a part in this too up right strong and happy or slumped tired and unhappy? Choosing a positive mindset

Another level of this is: choosing the right “diet” or way of eating for your body. There are so many celebrities out there who indorse their way of life. But we have all got different bodies and our bodies all react differently to food, environment have certain genes are switched on or not. Just because it worked for that celebrity it may not be right for you. So how do you know what “diet” I hate that word . . . is right for you?

Well if you eat meat and your body feels heavy, sluggish and you feel guilt for eating an animal, then maybe that’s not right for you no matter what fade “diet” is in at the time. Or maybe you eat meat and it gives you so much energy and makes you fit and lean and you have no issue eating an animal, then maybe it is right for you.

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Your mindset when going into a new way of eating is so important. If you believe in it and feel it is right than it most likely will be right, as your mindset is in alignment. If you go into a new fade diet and you say to yourself ‘this will be a hassle’ or ‘it will be hard and I wont be able to stick to it.’ Or something I hear all the time ‘my kids wont eat that!” . . then you guessed it, it will be hard and not work as you have set your self up for failing before you started you are sending out that vibration and you and your kids will pick up on that. Go in to any thing in life with the right mindset and alignment and things will fall into place and work for you.

The food it self is vibrational and a plant just picked or a fruit just picked will have a high vibration that will help to keep your body vibrating at a high level and running efficiently. If you choose food that is void of vibrations and a dead food like an over cooked burger which hold no life force in it at all. All it will do is dull your body’s energy and flow of life force, over time this plays its price on your body and inflammation and disease.

So is it mambo jumbo or scientific fact? Try it and see! Think about the way you talk to your body and how you feel when you eat a food and they way you talk to your self after eating a food and see if you can twist it positively and see any changes. I used this to overcome my fear of food as so many foods I used to react to. I just kept saying before I ate a food ‘oh I will react to this’ and low and behold I did! When I started to say ‘I love this food and I’m going to eat it and have fun and be relaxed’ suddenly foods I couldn’t eat caused me no problem. Even some foods I eat everyday might cause a reaction if I’m in the wrong mindset as my conscious ego pops up and says ‘oh don’t eat that your eyes will come up’ NO NO NO they won’t hahahah!

Positively and positive words raise Serotonin and reduces Histamine in the body. Help regulate the glands and lowers the white blood count. I.e. inflammation!

So how do you actually eat mindfully?

You need to prepare your body for food. Shovelling food into the body and not chewing properly stops digestion and if the body is working hard on digestion it will take energy away from other functions and you will feel sluggish and tired and bloated after you eat . . . (Christmas dinner anyone?). You are supposed to feel energised and light after food. If you are not re think the food you are eating!

So do the following before you eat always!

  • Take 10 deep belly breaths
  • Be grateful for the food
  • Smell your food
  • Touch your food
  • Thank the farmers or who ever made it for you

By this stage your mouth will be watering sending signals to the gut to start the digestive juices and the enzymes that are needed to break down the food. Digestion starts in the mouth!

CHEW CHEW CHEW CHEW CHEW 30 times each mouthful!

  • Savour each mouthful
  • Thank your body for digesting this food.
  • Be grateful for how lucky you are for having great food and the time to eat it-if you have not got time to eat re think your priorities and work on the balance in your life like what we spoke about earlier.

The other side to mindful eating is knowing where your food comes from and looking after the planet.

  • How was it raised and killed?
  • What part of the world did it come from?
  • What has it been through to get here?
  • What the life force or vibration of this food?

Hannah’s Gut Healing Protocol.

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Remove

Removing is the first step: by removing harmful foods, toxins and stresses on the body you give it the best chance to heal. If you imagine your body as a large cooking pot and each toxin, junk food, chemical, truama or stressful day goes into fill up that pot, eventualy that pot will over flow and you can try to put a lid on it (medication) but you are just supressing the inevitable of it exploding and spilling over (disease and illness). Foods like spices, cooked foods, meats and flesh, alcohol, packaged foods, coffee and chocolate are stimulants to the body and will stop it healing. The body can only heal when it has no pressures on the system and is getting adequate sleep.

Below is what you need to remove without cheating or using as a “treat food”

Things in moderation does not apply to good nutrition and healing the body. A small amount of harmful unnatural foods are still damaging for the body. Large amounts are more damaging!

  • alcohol, coffee, cacao, chocolate
  • soda and canned drinks, fruit juices and cartoon drinks, UHT milks and juices and nut milks
  • cooked foods
  • sweets, lollies, candies, pop corn and packaged treats and biscuits
  • chocolate (even raw if you have Adreanal or Chronic Fatigue)
  • spices and spicy foods
  • sugars and natural sugars like agave, maple, honey, coconut sugar
  • trans fat, crisps, chips, fried foods and packaged and canned foods
  • jared, tinned and pre-made foods
  • wheat, gluten and grains (some grains and seeds like quinoa, buckwheat and millet can be added back in once the healing has been done)
  • canned beans, legumes, meats, broths and dairy
  • stress and toxic relationships
  • work pressures
  • the need to be right
  • the need to be perfect
  • badly combined foods
  • eating late meals
  • reducing nightshades like tomatoes, eggplants, capsicum and starchy vegetables like parsnips, carrots, beets and white potatoes some may need to remove completely but can be returned after the skin has healed
  • remove all parastite and yeast over growths by doing cleanses or probiotic protocols
  • tap water and bottled water and drinking when you are not thirsty
  • chemicals, toxins from your skin care and home cleaning products-supermarket supplements
  • moulds from your home
  • stresses and environmental stresses including work and relationships
  • antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication – ibuprofen, Oral contraceptive pill and thrush medication-all mediation safely.
  • chiropractic adjustments, saunas, vigorous rough massage, excessive exercise that exhausts you and anything else that stimulates the nervous system
  • salt and pepper

This list may seem overwhelming and too much to remove but you will not achive healing if you are still using chemicals on your skin or toxins in your home or having weekend treats of raw deserts, chips, cakes and chocolate or eating foods that are cooked to often in your diet. You must go through a strict removing stage to allow your body to expel the inflammation and re-program itself to start the healing process. It’s not to say if you do slip up (we are all human and life happens) that you have undone all you have worked hard on so far. It’s about getting back on the horse and trying again. Each time you do this your body will recover faster and eventualy it will signal you don’t need those foods anymore and it will show you how to get what you need from natural healthy foods and your environment.

HOW SERIOUS ARE YOU TO GET BETTER? 

For example I used to suffer from migrains and as soon as I felt one coming on I would reach for my migraine tablets and have a chocolate craving. Well what my body was telling me is that I needed magnesium and it was trying to detoxify my system. So now when I feel a mild headache come on I have some almonds or a banana and take double dose of my magnesium powder, or I fast to allow my body to remove the toxins efficiently, I listen to my body instead of supressing the signals it’s telling me.

Your body is very clever, it’s equipt with everything it needs and signals to you what it wants or needs to function. We have become so far removed from our bodies and we are used to suppressing or stimulating it with junk foods or medication we have lost the abilty to read it and understand what it needs. ‘You don’t eat for hunger but to fuel your cells’.

Repair

Repairing is the second but most important step: once you have removed these foods and environmental toxins, it allows the pressure to come off the sympathetic nervous systems which primary process is to stimulate the body’s fight-or-flight response and return to the Parasympathetic nervous system which primary process is to calm and relax the body and allow healing to happen. Healing will not be able to happen if you are in the fight-or-flight response your body does not digest from this state and it can not heal from this state. Eating mindfully is important and eating mono (one food meals) at first will help your digestion repair faster. Having a meal of just one fruit can really help kick the digestion back in.

 How do you repair you body?

These foods below you should be eating daily if possible and be incorporated into your weekly nutrition where possible, try to eat a large amount of organic or low spray greens and vegetables daily and get most of your nutrients and calories from ripe in season fruits. which is our primary source of energy. Nuts and seeds can be added in the right food combinations and depending on your level of leaky gut. Nuts and seeds and the truth about digesting them . . .

“Coffee to a healthy strong body can be productive in small doses sparingly, coffee to a person with leaky gut, stress, hormone unbalances and adrenal fatigue can be a killer and is not a health food.”

Healing healthy foods are essential as is the right environment for healing and repairing cells.

  • bio-individual probiotics if needed until the gut is healed
  • prebiotics rich foods like sweet potato, papaya and lemon
  • bio-individual natural supplements like zinc, magnesium, iodine, glutamine, B vitamins, D vitamins and trace minerals, adaptogens.
  • organic essential oils
  • large amounts of green leafy vegetables daily
  • aloe vera and beetroot juice – for constipation
  • barley grass powder for minerals
  • liquid chlorophyll
  • ripe fruits in abundance
  • sunshine daily on bare skin
  • grounding into the earth bare footed
  • ocean, forest or mountain air regularly
  • silica (diatomaceous earth) -for diarrhoea
  •  activated charcoal – for food allergies or reactions
 

 

  • mesquite powder -zinc, magnesium
  • zinc rich foods like – brazil nuts figs and pumpkin seeds.
  • vitamin A/beta carotene rich foods like- orange root vegetables
  • good natural saturated fats like avocado, walnuts and whole coconuts in small amounts
  • balancing hormones with diet and supplements like maca powder
  • iodine rich foods like seaweed
  • magnesium baths with sea salt and bi-carb to pull out toxins
  • correct food combining is essential to gut health
  • love and friendship
  • mediation daily
  • green juice on a empty stomach
  • only drink when you are thirsty
  • try to stay as raw as possible and only have cooked foods for dinner

The truth about fruit . . . and Carbs carbs carbs . . . good, bad and how many is right for you? may help you too . . .

Renew

This step is the third step: but one of the most important as it seals your new healthy life change and keeps your body able to protect itself and keep growing and healing the cells promoting anti-ageing and high energy levels.

You have done the hard part by removing the foods and making the lifestyle changes. By now you should be used to eating a healthy diet and learning to listen to your body’s signals.

These practices below will help you stick to this lifestyle and allow your body to cope with the everyday stresses that arise:

  • a healthy diet balanced in small amounts of good omega 3 fats, high amounts of natural complex carbohydrates (fruits and vegetables) iodine rich foods like green leafy vegetables and seaweed, nuts, seeds and an abundance of colour from natures foods, and clean filtered distilled water eaten away from food.
  • a daily practice of 10 minutes meditation twice a day will keep your anxiety down and help you think clearly and make decisions in every day life.
  • essential oils to help bring your into your body and relax you.
  • regular soft massage will help remove toxins and help relax your body.
  • Qi-gong or Ti chi or Yoga daily or at least 3 times a week will balance hormones, remove toxins, help with weight loss and distress your mind.
  • walking in nature as often as possible helps ground you (bare foot if you can).
  • practicing mindful-living will help keep you in the present moment and not living in the future or past thus keeping anxiety and worry down
  • setting values up around you and making sure you lifestyle choices are always in keep with these values will allow you to stay on your path.
  • boundaries and communication is vital to your health, if your body feels hard done by or stressed because of others it will show up in physical symptoms. By having open communication to those close to you and always putting yourself first and not over stepping your boundaries you will keep your body feeling safe.
  • chew chew chew your food slowly and spend time appreciating your food. It is fueling your body -do not just throw I down your throat. What does “Mindful Eating” really mean and how can it help your food intolerance?
  • breathing this is the most important thing we can learn as humans and the one thing we all do so badly at because of course we breath or we would be dead right? Well most of us don’t breath deeply enough and shallow breath can cause stress on the body. Take the time to deep breath in for 3 seconds hold for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds at least 5 minutes of each hour every day. I do this every time I stop at a red light or sit on the toilet. Find a place and time that suits you and make it a daily practice. Mediation and Breathing techniques for beginners!

Regrow

The final step to healing your body:

Once you are at this stage you would have changed as a person, your body will be thanking you with clear skin, sleeping well, no aches and pains and no inflamation, an alert mind and clear thinking – sounds blissfull right!

The final step is to address any of lifes hurts. This stage is the most difficult to overcome and most of us are still on this journey even the most enlightened guru’s have their past hurts or backage to overcome.

Through Coaching or Mickel Therpay or CBT or Theta Healing or your chosen way, I suggest dealing with any pain you have been caused or any pain you cuurently have in your life. This can unblock years of trauma you have pushed down causing your body physical symptoms. This is something I can help you with at a one to one coaching session. What is ‘Theta Healing’ and how can it help you?

Each persons story will be different and at first you might not want to open up about painfull past issues, but if you can make the connection beween you constant neck pain and your issue with your mother then you start to see the importance of doing so.

Have you ever returned from a family lunch with a headche or shoulder pain that you didn’t have before? Or met a friend for lunch and not felt listen to or he/she didn’t ask about your life or how you are and you come away feeling down and then go to the shops or eat something to make yourself feel better and just push that emotion down?

Do you see the connection between supressing emotions and physical pain and do you see that suppressing your body with food will cause more symptoms. Even if you have overcome this as an adult and you no longer let others effect. And you and you don’t absorb their pain or issues as your own (well done you) dealing with your past hurts can be prodcutive for your physical body. A simple guide to understanding Nutrition and the part it plays on your body, and how to heal your own body!

I recommend these books to help with this and to find a counselor or therpist you feel comfortable with:

‘You Were Not Born To Suffer’ -by Blake D Bauer

‘Your Can Heal Your Life’ -Louise Hay

‘Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway’ – Susan Jeffers

 

I leave you with this point that healing the body isn’t just about food or supplements, but about a whole body-mind approach and that the balance of life has to be right to achieve total happiness.

Please contact me if you need more support and guidance through your Gut-healing Protocol as doing it alone can be hard.

What is a ‘Health Coach’ and how can they help you achieve your goals?

Understanding The Gut-Brain Connection and Behaviours.

Each food you eat either fuels your body and benefits your cells healing and reproducing new healthy cells. Or it harms your body causing inflammation and deficiencies and thus behavioral issues like Depression, Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia and Bi-Polar Disorder, or inflammation illness like; Arthritis, Diabetes, ME, MS, Heart Conditions, Crohn’s, Eczema, psoriasis, Asthma, Epilepsy and Auto-immune diseases. It’s vital to understand eating the right foods and living in the right environment for your body so it can heal itself and do what it is designed to do without medication and intervention.

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The “Mind-Gut Connection”

The trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body, collectively called the microbiome, are estimated to weigh two to six pounds. Up to twice the weight of the average human brain (No wonder we call the Gut the second Brain) Most of them live in the gut and intestines, where they help us to digest food, synthesize vitamins and ward off infection. Studies have linked the gut microbiome to a range of complex behaviours, such as mood and emotion, appetite, and even learning and memory. Not only does the gut microbiome appear to help maintain brain function, but it may also influence the risk of psychiatric and neurological disorders, including anxiety, depression and autism.

  • Gut microbiota help break down certain nutrients.
  • Gut microbiota produce brain chemicals such as,
  • GABA, tryptophan, serotonin, histamine and
  • Dopamine (all needed to function and stay happy and balanced)
  • 70-80% of your brain chemicals are made in the gut!

Disruption of the gut barrier:

  • Dysbiosis “leaky gut” – toxicity
  • Parasites and over-growths of yeast
  • Inflammatory bowel disorders

Microbiota Disturbance

There are many things that can upset this delicate balance, from family genes passed on from blood lines, to environment, toxins and of course most important is the food you nourish your body with.

  • Environment – pesticides, herbicides, synthetic hormones and pollutions.
  • Foods – intolerances, processed foods, white sugar, trans fat, wheat, gluten and food chemicals, preservatives and additives. (Gluten can cause opening of the cell junctions, open it up to toxins and bacteria entering the blood stream causing Leaky Gut)
  • Under-active digestion (low stomach acid)
  • Stress and emotional trauma. (Causing diarrhoea or constipation, bloating, wind, reflux, low stomach acid, ulcers in the digestive tract, disruption in motility, bacterial imbalance, when stressed there are tendencies to eat more sugar and refined carbohydrates when under pressure)
  • Medication -painkillers, sleeping tablets, thrush treatments, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory e.g. Nurofen, Cortisone, Voltaren.

Many factors come in to play to stop our cells from talking to each other and growing healthily or reproducing:

  • Inflammation
  • Food sensitivities – e.g. gluten intolerance
  • Oxidative Stress (toxicity of cells)
  • Hormones – e.g. Cortisol (stress)
  • Leaky gut

What is “Leaky Gut”?

The lining of our digestive tract acts as a barrier with tiny holes that should only allow small, harmless particles to pass through while preventing waste particles and undigested food from escaping. However, if this lining becomes compromised or more porous than normal, undigested food particles and waste products can get through and enter the bloodstream. When undigested food particles and waste seep into the bloodstream, the immune system responds with inflammation throughout the body, leading to leaky gut syndrome (coined my Naturopaths). Inflammation can then lead to symptoms like bloating, cramps, constipation, diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, rashes, achy joints, allergies, and more. These symptoms, in addition to chemicals produced during this immune response, are contributing factors for kids who struggle with behavior, focus, and learning difficulties. Kids with leaky gut syndrome may also experience vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to poor absorption, which can further exacerbate learning or behavioral struggles. While it is widely accepted that people with Crohn’s Disease, Celiac Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) often experience leaky gut syndrome, the idea that kids with ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Autism and Dyslexia and other neuro-developmental disorders may also be affected is gaining traction thanks to Dr Natasha Mc Bride ‘The GAPS Diet’.

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Hannah’s Gut Healing Protocol.

Hormones

Hormones play such an important role in your body and its healing ability, if one is out or low or too high it can cause many long-term health issues. If your lacking in any of these hormones or your body is imbalanced you can get symptoms of depression, learning difficulties or leaky gut. Here I break down each one and the importance of them:

Neurotransmitters

These act as messengers for the brain and nervous system:

  • They either “excite” or “inhibit”
  • Keep you in a “fight or flight response”

Noradrenaline

Helps with:

  • Alertness, concentration, memory and mood:
  • Overproduction can result in high stress – panic attacks or anxiety and not being able to switch off at night

Acetyl Choline

Helps with memory and learning, signs and symptoms of a deficiency include:

  • Poor concentration
  • Light sleep
  • Fatigue
  • Anxiety
  • Highly reactive to stress

Serotonin

Helps with regulating sleep, mood and eating behaviours. Signs and symptoms of a deficiency include:

  • 95% of serotonin in the body is in the GUT! – Gluten effects serotonin production
  • Aggressiveness
  • Bad temper
  • Anxiety
  • Panic attacks

(so if your guts not right your not going to feel happy)

Dopamine

Helps with motivation, mood regulation, memory and movement. Signs and symptoms of a deficiency include:

  • Restless legs (Fibromyalgia)
  • Low libido
  • Depression/low mood
  • Dull boring dreams or no memory of dreams

GABA

Helps with sleep maintenance and our main inhibitory brain chemical “stops excitatory brain chemicals” signs and symptoms of deficiency include:

  • Anxiety/panic attacks
  • Alcohol cravings
  • Insomnia or struggles to fall asleep/waking during the night with a rushing mind

Cortisol.

Too much elevated Cortisol levels can interfere with every aspect of your health. Signs and symptoms include:

  • Learning and memory difficulties
  • Lowered immune function
  • Bone density
  • Increase weight gain or unable to loose weight even when under eating and exercising
  • Blood pressure issues
  • Cholesterol
  • Heart disease
  • Keeps you in chronic stress
  • Increase risk for depression
  • Mental illness
  • Lower life expectancy
  • Inflammation in the body
  • Burn out your Adrenal Glands

Histamine

Helps with your immune system, proper digestion, and your central nervous system. As a neurotransmitter, it communicates important messages from your body to your brain. It is also a component of stomach acid, which is what helps you break down food in your stomach. Too much Histamine can cause:

  • Leaky Gut
  • DEO deficiencies
  • GI bleeding

Too little Histamine can cause:

  •       Arousal and wakefulness
  •       Loss of appetite
  •       Low stomach acid
  •       Food allergies
  •       Binge eating and cravings
  •       Dry skin allergies
  •       Tissue swelling
  •       Difficulty regulating temperature
  •       Fatigue
  •       Cramping around menstruation
  •       Anxiety
  •       Nasal congestion, sneezing,          difficulty breathing
  •     Vertigo or dizziness
  •       Arrhythmia, or accelerated heart rate

Parasites

Parasites can cause many issues when untreated and stop the healing process. The body becomes Malnutritioned and they can cause Leaky Gut and Fat Malabsorption, meaning the body doesn’t get the nutrients from the food you are eating as they take it all first. This then affects the Gut Flora and Microbiome and other deficiencies accrue. We all have parasites to some level but some are able to expel them natural without it causing them harm whilst others need medical help. Parasite can be picked up through:

  • Travel to other countries – e.g. “Bali Belly”
  • Weakened immune system
  • Pets and animals
  • Lack of hygiene

Signs and symptoms of them include:

  • Diarrhoea
  • Wind
  • Bloating
  • Indigestion
  • Pain
  • Nausea
  • Weight gain or weight loss

Parasites can be passed through salvia and bodily fluids and from changing nappies so if one family member has them you all have them. Testing can be hard but worth persisting to find out which ones you have and the right treatment for them. Treatment can take up to 1 year and there are foods to help with expelling them as well as natural cleansers.

Candidia Yeast Overgrowths and Sibo

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (or SIBO) is a chronic bacterial (and/or yeast) infection of the small intestine, where excessive number and/or abnormal type of bacteria (and yeasts) growing in a part of the gastrointestinal tract that normal contains relatively few microorganisms.  These bacteria can cause a variety of problems by interfering with digestion and absorption of nutrients and by damaging the lining of the gut, causing a “Leaky Gut” Symptoms of bacterial overgrowth include abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, gas, belching, flatulence, chronic diarrhoea, and chronic constipation.  These symptoms are due to the large volume of bacteria the digestive tract (alive and dead, as they read the end of their lifecycle) and the large amount of gas and metabolic waste that they produce.  Many more symptoms of SIBO are a direct effect of nutrient mal-absorption (the body being starved even though you are eating). This arises either from the bacteria metabolizing those nutrients before we can absorb them or by the bacteria causing enough inflammation in the lining of the gut that it the gut can’t work properly anymore. The bacteria preferentially consume iron and vitamin B12, causing anemia.  The bacteria decrease fat absorption by de-conjugating bile, leading to deficiencies of vitamins A & D and causing fatty floating pale stools.  As the gut lining becomes increasingly inflamed and leaky, larger and not fully digested food particles enter the body, causing an immune reaction, which leads to food allergies and food sensitivities.  Bacteria themselves can enter the blood stream causing systemic inflammation and immune reactions that can lead to autoantibody formation and autoimmune diseases. The truth about fruit . . .

Read about my gut healing protocol here; Hannah’s Gut Healing Protocol.

Knowing you have to make changes, but your feeling scared and overwhelmed?

Are you looking for the answer to better health in your self and your family?

Especially if you have a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

But don’t know where to start or why there is the need for such dramatic changes?

That’s completely understandable, it can mean a massive change to your lifestyle. And if autism is in your family, you’ll know exactly how challenging change can be. or maybe you have become unwell your self and your life is centred around how sick your feel.

A simple guide to understanding Nutrition and the part it plays on your body, and how to heal your own body!

But, if your family is impacted by autism or health issues, you’ll also understand that it’s often the things that make our children (and us) feel the most uncomfortable that bring about the biggest gains in the long run. Nothing that is right is easy.

Take their therapies for example. By challenging our kids, bit-by-bit, they start to make inroads and soon we’ve shifted to a new normal – a better normal that, at the start, we didn’t think possible.

The same goes for our changing your family’s diet. And, perhaps the key to making the change is to think that starting a raw vegan diet as just another necessary therapy needed on your path to better outcomes for your child, allowing all the therapies to work better and give you your lives back, as it did mine.

For our family, starting changes in our nutrition didn’t feel like a choice, it felt much more like a necessity. Does it feel like that to you?

WHY RAW LIVING FOODS! For Healing Diseases and Autism. . .

Our eldest child’s behaviours had been challenging, even when he was tiny and long before his ASD diagnosis. And it was early on that we began to realise that foods were impacting on his little body and his behaviour.

 

I had worked in the organic health food industry prior to having children, so I felt I had great knowledge about foods. But even foods that I had previously considered healthy, like carrots, were causes obvious tummy upsets, and I was at my wits end.

It was only after months of research and trying different approaches at home did we land into the world of the GAPS Diet and then moved to Raw Vegan where we found most of our gains and continue to thrive getting cleaner and healthier each month. We had already removed gluten and dairy and seen great improvements in William’s health and behaviour, but still we faced the daily tummy upsets, as well as challenging behaviour. Raw vegan lifestyle gave us our sons health back. And mine!

Autism needs advanced nutrition and full focus to heal. It is not an easy road nor short but you will be rewarded beyond your dreams, if you work hard on their nutrition, your mindset and create a clean, chemical free healthy environment.

But when we came across dietary changes and learned more about the ‘leaky gut’ syndrome, it all started making sense. We then made a choice, and for our family, and it has been the best choice we could have made.

Choosing a positive mindset

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But – I know for some it may seem too hard, too restrictive and too much work. Let me reassure you, the first weeks are tough, but once you discover your routine – both preparation and tastebud wise – it gets much, much easier. Theres is no cooking and it is so easy!

And you don’t have to go cold turkey. You can start by ‘crowding out’ the unhealthy foods and replacing them with healthier options. That way, you can make the change little by littlest using the right food combinations. Food combining and why is it essential for health!-chart.

So before you put the ‘Raw Living Vegan Diet’ in the too hard basket. Think about the possible outcomes – healthier children and who begin to calm as the diet starts to heal the gut and toxins are eliminated from their bodies. Healthier parents, happy family?

What is a ‘Health Coach’ and how can they help you achieve your goals?

And isn’t that the whole point? Isn’t that what you’re looking for? A healthy child that has the emotional space to live, learn and experience life?

That’s what I was searching for, and I’m proud to say that’s where we’re headed now.

I am here to help you achieve this x x

Trusting your Instincts and how it can help you find your path to health.

As a new parent you’re bombarded with information and advice about the ‘best’ way or the ‘right’ way of looking after your child.

But what do you do if that advice conflicts with your instincts? What do you do, if you know in your gut, that following all the ‘good’ advice is not what’s best for your family?

Society seems to want to condition us to conform to a ‘normal’ way of parenting, a ‘normal’ way of eating and a ‘normal’ way of thinking. But how can we be normal when everyone has their own brand of ‘normal’.

You need to feel confident in trusting your instincts, even if your instincts lead you beyond what you already know.

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For me, I learned the value of trusting my instincts in finding the path to better health, nutrition and wellbeing when I began to look for answers to ease physical, behavioral and digestive symptoms being experienced by our then-toddler son William, who was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at aged two years old.

In those early days I had applied my own brand of ‘normal’ to transitioning William to solid food, and I was quite certain I had it right. After all, I had worked in the organic food industry, food was my passion and being healthy was a conscious goal.

But, as I applied my knowledge to feeding my child, my gut, my instinct as a mother, told me that something was not right.

I had always fed William organic home-cooked foods that I thought to be healthy but the more I read and saw others’ journeys, the more I realised that was far from what I was doing. At one point he was eating three or four safe foods and a carrot or tomato was causing him skin reactions, tummy pain, behavioral issues and sleepless night. How could this be!

Instinctively I knew that there were more answers to be found.

So we followed our instincts and started working with a Biomedical Doctor who guided us thorough the midfield that is food sensitivity, intolerances and food allergies. We used supplements to build up what his body was lacking. And the results were clear, our gut instincts had taken us on the right path and we were beginning to see results.

That’s when we moved from working instinctively to purposefully seeking answers.

Soon we came across the GAPS Diet and, after the initial hard Intro stage and changing our mindset about grains and dairy and lots of detox, we started seeing massive improvements cognitively and behaviorally with William, and our younger son Edward.

Our instincts were right. Our instincts have taken us down the right path for now and have led to happier, healthier life for my family, and a way of eating that has seen William’s stress levels within his body ease, giving him the space to make the most of early childhood intervention therapies. But then my instincts kicked in again and I could see this Gaps Diet was masking and suppressing not healing and very against my ethical view asa vegan and wanting my family to be vegan to. So we started searching and I went on as many Nutrition courses studying over 100 diets and cultures,  and we found the RAW Vegan- high carb, low fat way of eating based upon the 80 10 10 philosophy from Dr Dough Graham. This lifestyle took us to further healing and to a lifestyle we adore and that fills us with joy and is easy and fun. I have then studied Natural Hygienics which is based upon the work from Dr Herbert Shelton this is a true understanding of what the body needs from a physical, mental and energetic level and be cohesive to the planet. My instincts also showed me the path away from mainstream schooling to our blessed Steiner School where the boys can be held and celebrated for all there quirks differences and needs.

But best of all, easing the stress within William has given him the opportunity to see beyond the anxiety that autism brings, and has made him calmer so he can now embrace emotionally family, friends and is thriving at school. All of this from a boy, who we were told would never feel empathy, be social or be able to love. We are blessed and my instincts led us there . . .

Thank goodness I trusted my instincts!

If you need help to start this path to health for your children please contact me for a consultation in your mindset and how to get your family started on this natural lifestyle.

hannah@nourishtohealth.com.au

0414967763

How your thoughts can heal your body.

Your mindset can heal your body beyond what food and supplements can do. It has taken me a long time to really connect to this thought but i have seen it over and over with clients. We often put a lot of effort into taking the right supplements, green juices and organic foods that is what our bodies need for fuel and to heal. But with every negative thought or judgment of yourself or others you counteract all that good work you’ve done. Don’t get me wrong eating junk and loving your self is not the road to health but eating well and not looking after your mind allowing ‘chatter’, doubt and self criticism that arises daily is not the answer either.

I use to think it was ok to talk to myself and beat myself up in my head. Tell myself I’m not pretty enough, slim enough, talented enough i’ve done it my whole life – hey we all do it, we are all stressed its normal right? . . . but it is not ok and we all do it and we all think the other person has an easier life clear of stress and negative thoughts. Well ladies we all have insecurities and we all think we are not good enough! WHY?

In my dream world we would all celebrate each other, support each other’s dreams and love our differences. We would not look at the girl across the street and think I wish I had her car or her hair or I wish my legs looked like hers or my job was as well paid full of envy and jealosy.

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But we have all heard this before right? Well did you know that every negative thought about you or someone else surges Cortisol through your body and it can take up to 1 hour to process that and disperse it out of the body. It uses up vital minerals and nutrients and stops your body using your fat cells for energy and it therefore runs off of glucose instead which is needed for healthy brain. Meaning it keeps you in that “fight or flight’ state we hear so much about. The mind looks to the past for happy memories to release happy hormones making the future an anxiety fueled place to be. So ladies don’t do it. Live in the now!

Stop that ’chatter’ in your head and stop the negative banter and worry especially what others think of you. Live from your heart not your head, be truthful to yourself and your loved ones. We are all in a vulnerable state and need love. If you have someone in your life who judges you and does not give you what you need . . . maybe now is the time to shed yourself of him or her. You don’t need that in your life so only surround your self with those who make you feel great, support your life and when you come away from them feel secure in that relationship. You need to be surrounded by loved ones who get you without judgment and need things in return. It sound tough but in the long run of your life it is best for you.

Choosing your mindset is as easy as dropping guilt for an action you did in the past – hey you can’t change it and you can’t re-do it, so let it go . . . . I personally held that over myself for years, flogging myself with guilt, self hate, blame and hating the decisions I’d made. But at the time I just did my best with what knowledge I had. A big part of my healing was to forgive others and myself and ‘let it go!’

You choose your actions, mindset and path not your parents, lovers or friends so stop blaming them for your life. Yes others actions and your environment may have influenced you, but you have the choice of how you act or respond to life situations. You can either turn a bad situation in to a positive or let that toxic situation eat you up and make you unwell. Been there done that – no thanks!

When William was diagnosed I fell in to deep depression after struggling to cope for 2 years it was enough to break me. After hitting rock bottom and I mean rock bottom, with the amazing support of my husband a few great friends I worked my way back up and saw all the positives that can come out of out of our new life path. Like a chance to learn and grow and change, to clean up our lives from chemicals and toxins, eat cleanly, live within our means with joy and simplicity. Not to take material things for granted and to stop climbing ladders and striving for goals that are unreachable and unimportant and to share my journey and help others. I had to go through an element of grieving for the life I thought I’d have but now every decision we make or step we take we ask ourselves is this best for the boys our family and in line with our values. This has led us to set up our businesses and we have met some truly beautiful friends on our journey to health who have shown us what’s important.

We are told often to ‘let it go’ and my dearest girl friend and I often laugh at what that means when you’re stressed, up to your eyeballs and exhausted. But over time we have both learnt it means to forgive ourselves, to be kind to ourselves and to let the small things, like a clean floor or perfect makeup or being on time go. These things are all surface things. The true importance is love, health and wellness of mind and compassion for each and every person. The rest you can ‘let go’ really you can let it go and that comes from a control freak with OCD for a clean house haha, you should see my house now!

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A few things that have helped me and still help when I fall off the mindset train of living from love and when I go back to my head and live in fear and with ‘chatter’ are:

Mediation: there is a common misbelief that to meditate you must have a totally blank mind. If you can achieve that, then that’s amazing. But you still get the benefits if you just slow down . . . breath deep belly breaths -In from your nose belly expand and out from your nose belly falls. Even 10 deep breaths will calm your nervous system down. If you find clearing your mind difficult focus on one thing like a candle flame or a tree and hold that thought for a long as you can. If stuff enters your mind sweep it away with a big brush and start again. Laugh at your thoughts and keep trying. Your ego wants to be “chatting” all the time. Don’t let it take over who you are. We use apps on our smart phones to start our mediation off each evening and they are handy if you are in the car before school pick up or a big work meeting. Yoga can help with this too and walking in nature daily.

Mickel Therapy: which is talking based therapy about taking action when an emotion arises and moving through it fast to clear you physical symptoms.

www.mickeltherapy.com/what-is-mickel-therapy/

Homeopathy: which works on lowering your level of stress building your nervous system and supporting you whilst you heal. I have used Dhanvanatari Collage and also more recently Michael Higginson in Geelong to support me.

http://www.geelonghomeopathic.com.au/about.html

http://dhanvantaricollegeofhomeopathy.com.au

A gratitude diary: I write 3 things I am grateful for each night in my phone. This helps me see the positives in the day, even if there were more negatives. So that last thing I think about are positives. We do this with the boys each night too, we talk about their day and pick 3 great things that happened and not dwell on what they may have done wrong or if they were upset.

Debt Clearing: no matter how hard it is if there is something upsetting me or someone had said something that has hurt my feelings I clear the debt by talking it through and not going to bed on it. This means setting boundaries and protecting myself first. It does not mean confrontation or stomping back in to a shop because someone was rude to me. Just simple clearing the air so it does not fester and become a physical symptom.

Happy list: each week I look at my dairy and decide if the tasks in it are + or – and if I have more – than + I plan a trip to the movies, yoga or catch up with a friends or get my nails done to balance up the week. This is putting joy into my life. Making sure I don’t get bogged down with the task of mother hood and running a house or running a business and not going without joy and fun for my being. Its unrealistic to think I can spend my time just in the + zone but if I have a few to look forward to it keeps me from feeling a lack of joy. The body is amazing it likes joy and fun and if it doesn’t get enough it makes you go back in the mind to find it. So feed it joy and fun and show it love and it will keep you in the now and physically strong.

So . . .

When you feel you’re self ‘chatting’ in your head STOP be aware – take action – and practice – clear your mind and start again.

When you have a week of – plan some + joy and fun!

Write down your gratitude list each evening.

Debt clear every night and set boundaries so your not being hurt.

Put yourself first and remember to love yourself and do your self care daily be that a new nail polish, a cup of tea in peace or a day in a spa to unwind or talking to your best friend.

As woman we put our children, partners or bosses first . . . please stop that we come first!

I find as i’m a visual learner I write positive athermations on my walls, mirrors and on postie notes in my car and keep them on my phone to remind me how to think and act. If you are a kinetic learner maybe you could listen to self help books. Find what works for you. . . and roll with it!

The only person that can heal you is YOU! The only person that can truly make you happy is YOU!

Choose to be happy and to live in the now, not the past or future, as that is where anxiety and fear is bred from.

Namaste beautiful ladies x x x

From darkness there is light . . .

There is a beautiful light that surrounds our family. It shines with hope, love and promise and it’s there to remind us to keep looking forward to a future of health, happiness and life.

But there hasn’t always been light. Like so many families who live with the uncertainty that Autism and illness brings, our journey to health began in a very dark place.

After our first son was born, we knew something was wrong almost from the start but we were too exhausted and overwhelmed by false information to even see clearly, let alone take action.

We tried to coped with his constant screaming, tantrums that started way before the average toddler age, violent rage that was unbelievable in a young chid. We did this by living day-to-day and numbing ourselves with bad food, alcohol and respite escapes, all the while with others telling us that all parents feel overwhelmed and that our son’s behaviour was normal. Going to health check up and being told we were just like everyone else go home and give him more milk he is a big baby and just hungry. Or parenting classes and told we need to work harder at putting him on the naughty chair.

But in the pit of our stomachs we knew that this wasn’t normal parenting tired . . . we were breaking, we were falling apart, we were not coping.

Somehow in the midst of this chaos we found the strength to begin look for answers. We started removing chemicals from our home and investigated every type of colic remedy before deciding to take our son off diary, thinking that my own diary allergy as a child could be a clue to what was wrong. After more research we also embarked on a gluten-free lifestyle. Life became a bit more settled, but things still weren’t great.

Our idea of what our family was going to be like was shattered. Instead of a loving, happy child ours was not affectionate and only wanted to be touched on his terms like feeding times. From birth he had been in meltdown almost all day, every day. We lived on eggshells. Life was tough and we had little happiness.

Monday 20th February 2012- 12 days before our son turned 2 he was officially diagnosed with High Functioning Autism. I remember my husband and I leaving the office feeling numb and we both fell to the ground and held each other. Life felt like it had stopped. The responsibility and guilt I felt was overwhelming. I felt responsible. Be that right or not it was how I felt for such a long time, I felt that because I didn’t look after myself over the years or that because I had passed on to him heavy toxins and metals during my pregnancy. I felt guilty for feeding him dairy and grains that caused more damage, I felt responsible because I had immunised him on a weakened immune system that contributed to his toxic overload. I’m not saying vaccination or eating dairy caused his autism, it was an accumulation of many factors I was not aware of at the time, so did nothing to change the outcome. Hindsight is a useless emotion and I have had to put all that to rest and move on. If you are reading this and beating your self up about things you could not change please I beg you to stop and be kind to yourself.

Instead I put all my efforts into creating the best life I can and for him to have a better future than the experts were predicting for him.

When he was diagnosed we were told our little boy would never feel empathy, be social or seek our love that life would be tough for us and that we should grieve for the child we wont have. This was my lowest point as I lost hope and did grieve for the boy that I thought I was going to have. But somehow that sense of responsibility kicked in and I researched, researched and researched some more to save our child from what everyone told us was a life sentence.

Gradually we started to understand the connection between the level of toxins in our son’s system, his nervous system and how it was affecting his behavior. We came across the Raw Vegan Diet, Homeopathy and embarked on a clean living lifestyle and removed all toxins and chemicals from our home.

By now were had welcomed our second son, who was tested for Autism at 2-years and was instead diagnosed with a Global Development Delay of 18-months. That meant that although he was a two-year-old, he had the ability of a child aged 10 to 12-months-old. Again, we grieved. Would this little boy ever be able to talk and fit in with his peers?

By now I was determined to heal my boys, and persisted with our lifestyle changes as well as Mickel Therapy and Homeopathy to help me beat the depression, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia that was a result of years of running the stress treadmill that had become our lives and always putting others first.

Gradually, we began to see our boys blossom, and our family began to feel like the family I had hoped for. By reducing toxins within their bodies, my boys had found a new sense of calm and now had the space to embrace early intervention therapies and for these therapies to be much more effective.

Our boys are now creating their own life sentence instead of following the path that was predicted for them. They are learning, loving and achieving every day. Our older son is clever, kind and thoughtful who loves his family and friends and is coping with kinder really well. Our younger son is a cheeky, funny, social little boy who has healed our family and now has a delay of 2 to 3-months and does NOT stop talking!

So what was the purpose of sharing our story? Our journey shows that there are answers out there and I want to share them with you. Our journey shows that through diet and lifestyle you can get your children back and unlock them from the chains that are Autism.

But most of all, I was to help the amazing mothers and fathers and grandparents who battle a battle each day that others don’t see. I want to help these amazing people look after themselves, so they can look after their beautiful children and live the life they dreamed of.

Your ‘Wellness Warriors’ and you can change your families outcome x x x

contact me for a free consultation of how I can help your family.

hannah@nourishtohealth.com.au

0414967763