Ready to face the colder months?
As I opened up my emails this morning, one of the first ones I saw had a headline that read; “Is your health ready for winter?” This got me thinking about whether or not my health – and that of my family – is ready to face the colder months ahead, as well as the spike in Covid infections that have suddenly riddled our wonderful country.
Our minds and bodies are connected in many ways. When we are stressed or anxious, it can take a terrible toll on our physical health. When we don’t get enough sleep or when our diets are poor, our physical health can take strain.
“A person’s mind, heart, and body are all interconnected and interdependent in what can be termed ‘the mind-heart-body connection,’” said Dr. Glenn N. Levine, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas and chair of the writing committee for the statement. “Research has clearly demonstrated that negative psychological factors, personality traits, and mental health disorders can negatively impact cardiovascular health.” * resource
Balance is not something you find. It is something you create.
As I look back over the past month I can see that I am 95% ready to take on this winter. I am exercising on a regular basis and my eating habits have dramatically improved since I decided I needed to lose a couple of kilos and drop a dress size (or maybe 2), and I am pursuing healthier mental habits by giving myself the best daily boost by taking my Release Sce-Forte daily.
This encouraged me to dig deeper into how I am in fact helping myself mentally to cope during these trying times that we find ourselves in and my conclusion is this:
My “golden bullet”, my “ace up my sleeve” definitely has to be the fact that I give my body a daily dose of Release Sce-Forte, containing a massive 3.5-3.8% alkaloid extract in the 50mg of Sceletium per capsule. Best of all, it is a plant grown right here in our backyard.
Did you know that Sceletium has a long history of use as a traditional medicine by tribes in South Africa?
In fact, it has been used to enhance mood, decrease anxiety, stress, and tension and cause relaxation, happiness, and joy!
Traditionally the roots and the leaves of the plant are fermented and then chewed.
How does Sceletium work as a natural SSRI?
Image source: https://mayfieldclinic.com/pe-anatbrain.htm
To understand this, we need to delve a little into how the brain works. Our brain sends and receives many chemical and electrical signals or messages on a daily basis, throughout our bodies. Each one of these messages controls different processes, and the supercomputer we call our brain has the ability to translate each one of these. All of these actions happen in split seconds.
As we look at the nuts and bolts of what makes up our brains, we find that it is comprised of 2 types of cells: nerve cells (or neurons) and glia cells. The human brain contains about 86 billion neurons according to a study published in 2012 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The messages sent through the brain have to move from neuron to neuron. Between each neuron, there is a small gap called the synapse, which requires something to carry the message from one neuron to another.
This is where the chemical messenger, Serotonin, comes to the party. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, carries the message from one neuron to the next or through to the muscles.
In order for the message instruction to reach its final destination, it is important that the message moves through the neuron in the correct direction. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. SSRIs or Selective Serotonin Re-Uptake Inhibitors, stop the “backward flow” of Serotonin by binding to the serotonin transporters. You can imagine that the Sceletium, or chemical SSRI, acts as a one-way valve. With the Serotonin concentration sitting in the correct location within the synapse of the brain, the messages can move through effectively and reach their intended destination.
When you have low levels of Serotonin, you might feel anxious, low, or depressed. You could feel irritable or aggressive. People have been recorded having sleep issues or feeling fatigued. You could experience sweets or carbohydrate-rich food cravings.
However, I have found that when I crave a slab of chocolate, my magnesium levels are low and a few days of good Mg tablets help to eliminate that craving.
You may be asking yourself why I am not 100% ready. I know I am not perfect and there is more that I could probably do in order to improve my health for the upcoming month so, yes, I believe I am 95% covered! So we come back to the initial question…
Is your health ready for winter?
