2012
Welcome to the monthly Ask Dr. Marty Newsletter. In response to several requests, I have decided to share some information based on questions that I frequently receive regarding natural health topics. I promise to keep the newsletter short. But if at any time you get overwhelmed with emails, please let me know and I’ll be glad to take you off of the mailing list. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the newsletter and hope that you will forward any questions you may have as well. Even if they don’t make it into the newsletter, I promise to answer all questions. All questions will be anonymous.
Question: I always get so exhausted during the holidays. By the time Christmas arrives, I don’t enjoy it as much as I should. And it takes a couple of weeks to really get back to my normal energy level. HELP. (see…I was even too tired to put an exclamation mark.)
Answer: There are some tips that can help. I promise. This is such a special time of the year. We don’t ever want to miss the joy of the true meaning behind the holidays or the joy of being with friends and family. I’m doing this newsletter earlier than usual during the month so you can take advantage of some of the ideas. This month’s newsletter is a little longer than usual, but it covers a lot of territory.
Get set up for the fun NOW. Be GOOD to yourself with some great timesavers that can take a huge amount of pressure off of you. The following tips can help you eat healthier and keep your stress levels at bay, which both play a key role in keeping your energy level up. Feeling in control also helps keep stress to a minimum.
• Make some big pots of soup, stew, gumbo, chili, or whatever you and your family love. Use healthy ingredients. It doesn’t usually take any longer to make a big batch than a small batch. Freeze in containers that are the perfect size for one meal. Doing this will allow precious time for more important stuff later. This also keeps you and the rest of the family from making poor decisions when you or the rest of the gang come home starved and tired. Instead, you can just heat up the defrosted dinner, add a cut up cucumber or tomato or whatever, for a dinner that is ready in five minutes. This type of dinner is also easy for the rest of the family to prepare if you’re going to be late.
• USE YOUR CROCKPOT. If you don’t have one, get one. They aren’t very expensive. You don’t need a lot of bells and whistles if you don’t want them. Plain and simple works. If you use a large crockpot, you can probably freeze leftovers. Dinner and a wonderful aroma greet you when you open the front door. The rest of the family can eat earlier than you do if you’re going to be late. It’s a nutritious EASY, FAST way to cook. You put a whole chicken in the crockpot. Sprinkle your favorite seasoning on it. Put on the lid. Turn it on. Doesn’t get any easier. Even faster than fast food. No lines. No junk in your family’s diet that can raise their stress levels as well. LOWER STRESS in the entire household is a GOOD thing (at the risk of sounding like Martha Stewart).
• Some holiday dinner items (like sweet potato casserole) can be made in advance and frozen. This leaves more time for relaxing with friends and family when it counts.
• Have healthy snacks available whether you’re at home or out and about. Fresh fruit and vegetables that are clean and ready to eat can keep you from making poor choices when you’re starved. Healthy snacks like raw almonds in the car or purse can ward off temptation when you’re away from home, smelling goodies at the mall, and running late.
• Remember the WATER. One of the signs of dehydration is fatigue. Always have good water with you to sip on all day. Take your weight in pounds. Divide it in half. That’s the number of ounces you need to work up to daily. If you do diuretics, like coffee, non-herbal tea, and soft drinks, you need to add the same number of ounces in those diuretics to your daily ounces of water. Drinking enough water also makes other body processes work more efficiently, like concentration and bowel regularity – two more very good things.
Exercise helps stress levels and blood sugar levels and helps prevent weight gain. Keep on your regular schedule of exercise if you can. If not, here are some tips on squeezing in extra minutes of exercise.
• Take the stairs at work or even walk up the escalators at malls.
• Park farther away from the store (like that’s not going to happen anyway).
• Even when I don’t need something on every aisle at the big box stores, I walk quickly down each aisle. It helps me remember some things that aren’t on the list, and I get more exercise. I haven’t injured any fellow pedestrians so far.
Can we talk frankly about the stress of shopping? I love to shop. I find it relaxing and fun. But during the holidays, shopping can be very stressful for almost everyone. So what are some ways to minimize last-minute crowds, long-lines, and fretting over buying the wrong thing? Here are some ideas.
• Start early. Doesn’t get any simpler than that. It’s a lot easier on the budget, as well, when you can stretch it over several months. I usually start in August and love having more relaxing holidays.
• Send a quick email to the loved ones on your Christmas list (or their parents, if appropriate). Ask for what they need or want. As kids get older, they usually get harder to buy for. Consider gift cards or a check. You will guarantee they’ll love it. No returns. No wasted present because it doesn’t fit or suit them. Better yet, for some on your Christmas list, you may want to take them on a shopping trip before the Christmas rush. Let them pick out what they’d like within the budgeted amount. You have an enjoyable time together with no stress.
• For those of you who feel comfortable using the internet, order gifts whenever possible on-line. You can get great deals, sometimes free shipping, save gas and tax, save time, and get the exact item your Christmas-gift-listee wants without having to search through 5 stores to find it. This is especially important to those of us who have to travel at least 30 minutes to get to stores. Shop as early as possible to avoid the stress of waiting on an on-time delivery.
• Be realistic. Set a reasonable budget and stick to it. A gift from the heart is what’s important, not the magnitude of giving the biggest and best. Keep in mind the real reason for the season.
Using stimulants like caffeine and sugar will sabotage your energy. Your roller-coaster energy will peak, then sink even lower. You may also have trouble sleeping, adding another straw to the proverbial camel’s back that drains energy from your body. You’ll crave more empty calories and caffeine to keep up your energy and add more stress to make everything worse. Picture a horse that’s tired. You have two choices. Do you let the horse rest a short while with some healthy food and water? Or do you beat it with a stick to make it run faster? The horse is your adrenal glands, which play a key role in energy. “Beating” your adrenal glands to make them go faster can have long-term dangerous effects on your health. But that’s for another time, another newsletter…
Hot Tip: Make sure long before the holidays are here that you have the nutritional support needed for any imbalances you may have in the pancreas, thyroid, reproductive, or adrenal glands. Imbalances in the glands, and other factors like anemia, are common causes for fatigue.
Next month…Being kind to your budget
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Maureen (Marty) Kernion is not a physician and does not diagnose nor prescribe. She received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Louisiana State University, and a Master of Science degree and Doctorate of Natural Health degree from Clayton College of Natural Health. She is the author of Going Natural with Herbs. Marty lectures on natural health topics across the country and has been featured at 78 Barnes and Noble book stores since her book was published. She is also a retired adjunct professor with Clayton College of Natural Health where she authored 39 courses in nutrition and herbal remedies.
It is always wise to advise your pharmacist or health care practitioner about any change in diet or supplements you plan to take, especially if you take any prescription medication.
“Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12
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