Lyn Cridland Naturopath

17/01/2023

Sleep apnoea is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep. This can be a serious disorder. It can lead to snoring, daytime tiredness, and high blood pressure.

Since the cause of sleep apnoea is the muscles of the throat improperly expanding and blocking the flow of air, strengthening those muscles may help them maintain more tension during sleep, in turn keeping your airways open. Several studies have shown the connection between oral exercises and sleep apnoea symptom reduction.
Beyond regular exercise, it’s also helpful to give smaller muscles a workout, specifically those in your mouth, throat, soft palate, and tongue. Some mouth and breathing exercises that place focus on those areas include:

Tongue Slides
Push the tip of the tongue against the roof of your mouth, also known as the hard palate, and slide the tongue backward. Repeat this exercise 20 times. It can go a long way to strengthening your tongue and helping to reduce sleep apnoea symptoms.

Fake Yell
Open your mouth as wide as possible and stick your tongue out in a downward position. Your tongue needs to be as far out as possible. The uvula, the small fleshy piece in the back of your throat, needs to be lifted upwards as you stick your tongue
out. Use a mirror to ensure that you’re raising the uvula correctly. After practice, you will be able to sense the uvula lifting, and you will not require the mirror. Hold the elevated uvula for five seconds and repeat 10 times.

Jaw Release
A tight jaw puts added pressure on your breathing passages. With your tongue in the resting position and your mouth closed, arch your tongue against the roof of your mouth and slide the tip of your tongue back as far as it will go along the roof of your
mouth. With your tongue in this position, slowly open your jaw until your tongue can no longer rest on the roof of your mouth. Repeat this process two times each day for five minutes to aid in reducing sleep apnoea issues.

Palate Stretch
A natural stretch for your soft palate is to open your mouth as wide as you can while saying “ah” in the back of the throat. Continue this stretch for 20 seconds. Close your mouth, wait five seconds, then repeat between five and 10 times.

As always seek advice from your health care professional if you have health concerns.

From

There are several breathing exercises can help better control sleep apnea. We explore a variety of breathing exercises for sleep and your daily regimen.

01/11/2022

Omega 3 Fats
Omega 3 fats are a type of polyunsaturated fat and they are an important part of cells membranes in the body. They are the starting point for the production of hormones that regulate such things as contraction and relaxation of artery walls, blood clotting and inflammation. These effects are the most likely reason that Omega 3s have been associated with the prevention of heart disease and stroke, helping control of eczema and rheumatoid arthritis and may have a protective effect against cancer.
The body can't make this essential fat so we must get it from food. The best sources are:
Cold water fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring and sardines
Nuts and seeds especially flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts
Leafy green vegetables have fibre and other nutrients as well as some omega 3 fatty acid.
Read more here: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/types-of-fat/omega-3-fats/ #:~:text=What%20makes%20omega%2D3%20fats,of%20artery%20walls%2C%20and%20inflammation

26/09/2022

Studies indicate that increasing the amount of antioxidant rich fruit, vegetables and legumes we eat is associated with a decrease in the risk of heart disease, cancer and death from all causes. It's not just the antioxidant alone that creates the benefit but the combination of fibre, mineral and other substances in the fruit and vegetables working together.

Read more here https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/antioxidants/

24/08/2022

Intermittent Fasting, a time restricted diet, has become a popular way to lose weight and assist in managing pre-diabetes. One example is the 16/8 method where each day you fast for 16 hours and only eat during the remaining 8. This may mean eating healthy food options between 10am and 6pm then only non calorie containing fluids for the next 16 hours or possibly eating midday to 8pm for those who get home later.
All ways check with your health practitioner for suitability before embarking on a new eating regime especially if you have other health issues.
Read more here
https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/blog/intermittent-fasting/

13/08/2022

Diabetes and physical activity
Physical activity can lower your blood sugar levels by using the glucose as fuel for the muscles.

Read more herehttps://www.ndss.com.au/wp-content/uploads/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-physical-activity.pdf

Photo by Gavin Vallet - unsplash

27/07/2022

What is fibre?
Fibre is the indigestible parts of plant foods, such as vegetables, fruits, grains, beans and legumes. It
is type of a carbohydrate that helps keep our digestive systems healthy.
There are three different types of fibre which all have different functions and health benefits.
Soluble fibre helps to slow the emptying process in our stomachs, which helps you feel fuller. It also
helps to lower cholesterol and stabilise your blood glucose levels.
Soluble fibre is found in fruits, vegetables, oats, barley and legumes.
Insoluble fibre absorbs water to help to soften the contents of our bowels and support regular
bowel movements. It also helps to keep us full and keep the bowel environment healthy.
Insoluble fibre is found in wholegrain breads and cereals, nuts, seeds, wheat bran and the skin of
fruit and vegetables.
Resistant starch is not digested in the small intestine and instead proceeds to the large intestine
where it can assist in the production of good bacteria and improves bowel health.
Resistant starch is found in undercooked pasta, under ripe bananas, cooked and cooled potato and
rice.
Fibre also helps you feel fuller for longer, can improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels and can
assist in preventing some diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and bowel cancer.
From

18/07/2022

Tulsi an Auyverdic herb has been shown to normalise blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels, and psychological stress through positive effects on memory and cognitive function and through its anxiolytic and anti-depressant properties.
Tulsi’s broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, suggests it can be used as a hand sanitizer, mouthwash and water purifier. this sounds amazing and it's available in stores as a tea. Worth giving it a try.

04/07/2022

When someone in the family loses mental capabilities in their later years this creates a fear that this will someday be me. A recent study suggests that diet can slow down the rate of mental decline associated with aging.

Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is a combination of the Mediterranean diet & the DASH diet which may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. (Morris, et al., 2015).

MIND Diet Guidelines:
• Berries more than 2 serves/week
• Leafy greens more than 6 serves/week
• Veg (apart from leafy greens) more than 1 serve/day
• Nuts 5 serves/week
• Olive oil to cook with
• Wholegrains 3/day
• Fish more than 1 serve/week
• Legumes / lentils / beans more than 4 serves/week
• Poultry more than 2 serves/week
• Wine less than 1 glass/day Read the full article here:

Introduction The Mediterranean and dash diets have been shown to slow cognitive decline; however, neither diet is specific to the nutrition literature on dementia prevention. Methods We devised th...

25/06/2022

For many people walking 10000 steps per day is really hard to achieve. As it turns out 7000 steps may be adequate. Recent research found that compared to adults who walk less than 7000 steps, adults (male and female) who walked 7000 to 10000 steps per day were 60-70% at less risk of early death from any caues.
Read the full article here:
https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/09/15/-aiming-for-10000-steps-it-turns-out-7000-could-be-enough-to-cut.html