Insomnia
Many people spend night after night tossing
and turning being unable to get to sleep. There are many nutritional and
lifestyle changes one can make in order to ensure that you are able to get an
improved quality of sleep. If one has a busy lifestyle and works until late at
night, taking caffeinated beverages to keep them going - is it any wonder
that actually getting to sleep may be tricky?
Certain vitamins and minerals are depleted
during stress and we need to top up on these if life has thrown additional
stressors in our direction. Also learning a few relaxation techniques can be
very helpful and can help us cope with stressful times.
Chronic Fatigue
Many people are tired all the time and have
trouble doing many of the everyday tasks most of us take for granted. This can
be due to numerous reasons such as iron deficiency anaemia, pernicious anaemia,
post viral syndrome, however it often also occurs due to prolonged stress. This
state is very hard for our body to endure as it depletes us of many important
vitamins and minerals e.g. magnesium, vitamin C. Our adrenal glands which are
situated on top of our kidneys are undertaking numerous important endocrine
functions. They need lots of Vitamin C and B5 (pantothenic acid) to remain
healthy and are producing adrenaline which is the hormone responsible for a
number of chemical reactions to help us in an emergency situation. We like
adrenalin as it gives our bodies a bit of a high and many of us are living our lives under pressure in order to produce even more of this chemical. Whilst we
can do this occasionally if we do it to often our adrenal glands can weaken and
we may reach a state of adrenal exhaustion. In this state our adrenal glands
are worn out and are no longer able to function as normal.
Depression
This is a fairly widespread problem and can
range from fairly mild to totally debilitating in its action. It appears
statistically that more and more people are suffering this condition including a
huge incidence in children. Diet plays an enormous part in how we feel and if
we are low in nutrients then we will indeed feel tited and low, the severity of
this may go hand in hand with how malnousished one is. It is possible to be
extremely obese but still suffer malnutrition as the QUALITY of the food is the
all important factor.
Our lack of essential oils plays a large
hand in this problem with low fat diets not being the healthy option. Our brain
is a fat rich organ and needs good fats to be present within the diet in order
for it to work properly. Damaged fats within the food chain are responsible for
inflammation within the body and the brain cannot cope in an inflamed state. Is
it little wonder that the percentage of people with mental health problems is
soaring.
When one is depressed it is extremely hard
to have the necessary energy to bring about changes to their diet and this is a catch 22 situation. It is therefore necessary to
seek help from a person or an organisation in order to be fully supported during
this process.
Headaches
A common symptom of stress, headaches may
be due to tension in the back, neck and shoulder area. They may also have a
root cause in dietary imbalances. Drinking enough water can often simply cure
the first signs of a headache. As calcium contracts muscles and magnesium
relaxes an imbalance of the two nutrients can be problematic.
Eyestrain may be creating the headache and
there are many nutrients that are essential for eye health. Many people are
going blind in
Africa due to the extreme lack
of Vitamin A in their diet. A lack of this vitamin can create many eye related
problems and also allows us to see under poor illumination. Many other
antioxidants are also essential.
Lows in blood sugar levels can create
headaches and one needs to ensure that they have all the blood stabilising
nutrients present within their diet. They also need to keep their blood sugar levels
balanced by eating the correct types of foods. This will minimise the risk of
hypoglycaemia and/or diabetes.