Saturday, January 28, 2012

Not a Good Long Weekend

Because we had a public holiday on Thursday, I did what probably 60% of Australians did this week, and took the Friday off (that's a really rough guesstimate, by the way). The weather's been beautiful, I had several things planned, but I didn't plan to be stricken down with gastro on the Friday evening, which has left me incapacitated for the rest of the weekend. To make matters worse, the fiance got it within a few hours of me getting it! So our household hasn't been a fun one.

Not that I wrote this post for sympathy, rather, I thought I'd turn it around and write a bit about how I would treat gastro, because mainly, we all just ride it out, not wanting to risk a car ride to a doctor when we know it won't last too long anyway.
Had I have had these in my cupboard, this is probably what I would have used on myself:

Slippery Elm Bark Powder - I've used this to pretty good effect at settling down a tummy bug, but the disadvantage is it doesn't taste fantastic, so it can be hard to get down.

Saccharomyces Boulardii - Available in capsule form, these contain a strain of yeast which is beneficial to restoring the 'good bacteria' in the gut, and helps effectively in treating stomach upsets.

There's loads of other treatments but those two would probably be what I'd pick.

As it was, I didn't really have anything in my cupboard that I thought I could use, and on the Saturday morning my mother-in-law gave us some Hydralyte, to replenish our fluids, but they tasted too sweet and fake that I couldn't finish mine. So I've just been drinking mass amounts of water and lying on the couch watching movies.

I'll be right as rain just in time to go back to work. Fantastic.

Take care (and don't get this bug that's going around!)
Jac

Monday, January 23, 2012

I'm Alive, Honestly.

Hola!
I'm back. Really I am. I'm sorry for not writing anything for over 4 months now... I don't really have an excuse. Life got in the way? Anyway, forgive me, and I aim to not disappoint any time soon.
So what's news? Here's some ideas I've picked up since we last talked:

1. EVERYONE in southern Tassie reads the Body and Soul section of the Mercury, or at least that's what it seems like when I get people coming in for anything and everything that is written in it (even when it's wrong, like 2 weeks ago they advertised a product that wasn't in production anymore). Although I do agree with most of it.

2. As above, a big fat I told you so re all the things I blogged about last year, like kefir - now everybody wants a piece of the tasty probiotic drink - and quinoa, selling like hot cakes, for real. The next big thing will be kombucha, I'd say.

3. Still loving the smoothies, but I'm making them with water now rather than any type of milk - less calories (and less tasty, but no biggie).

4. Ironically, America seems to be leading the 'health food craze' and Australia is seeming to follow their lead. More people are after hemp seed products which are widely used in America for it's fatty acids and protein, whilst Australian legislation still prohibits it to be sold as anything to be ingested by humans. Aussies are just tending to eat the hemp meal anyway, even if the packaging says 'not intended for human consumption in Australia'. I should point out here that there is no cannabis-related effects from hemp seed products either.

5. Outdoor exercising!! It's summer, it's perfect, it is time to go for a run, join a bootcamp, go on a hike, just get yourself outside instead of cramming into a window-less gym, you can save that for winter!

Just a shout out to get you geared up for the Natural Health and Wellbeing Expo on at the City Hall on February 19th - be there! I will be giving a seminar, it's a work in progress but hopefully I'll be able to entertain people for 30 minutes... I'm slightly scared but looking forward to it!

I'll talk soon, I promise.

Jac