Susanne Jakubowski
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Susanne's Blog

A Good Nights Sleep is Essential for Good Health

11/25/2019

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Worried about stress and disease? Get a good night’s sleep!  Ahh, but how to get enough consistent sleep? How to avoid waking  up tired and cranky? 
First, let’s discuss the importance of sleep and look at what lack of sleep can cause: 
  1. *It can lead to problems of aging such as heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and cancer. In fact, it accelerates aging in general. 
  2. *It can impair brain functions such as motor skills and problem solving abilities.
  3. *It can impact the hormones that control hunger and/or satiation (ghrelin and leptin). You will experience more hunger and also have to eat more to feel satisfied. Hence, lack of sleep contributes  to obesity. 
  4. *It contributes to the onset of Alzheimer's disease by denying our glymphatic system (like our lymphatics system but for the brain) the opportunity to send cerebral fluid into the brain’s tissues to flush out cellular waste and neurotoxins. The glymphatic system also clears out the amyloid proteins that are found in the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease.  
  5. *It often results in sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. Those with this condition often have high blood pressure or heart problems, daytime fatigue, liver problems and sleep deprived partners.  
  6. *It is prevalent in those who snore. Snoring is a sign of inflammation and is most often linked to our diet.  
  7. *It causes degeneration of the mitochondria whose job it is to take nutrients into your cells and turn them into energy so that the cells can grow, divide and function.  If they  are not functioning optimally we see conditions such as muscle weakness and pain, digestive problems, heart disease and accelerated aging.  
Good sleep is important!  Not just quantity but also quality. Sleep is a time of  recovery and healing for our body. The best sleep happens when  breathing and heart rates drop to their  lowest levels and  brain waves slow down.  So, now the question is how do we get there?   Stay tuned as I will discuss that next in my next blog.  Catch my previous blogs at susannej.com and on Facebook.   Please share.
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How to Stay Healthy Over the Holidays

11/19/2019

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It’s the time of year when chronic stress can build causing unwanted physical and emotional symptoms.  Anxiety, flu and general fatigue will flourish just when you have the least amount of time for dealing with them!.  Your best defense is to be ready with a plan to prevent illness and help you cope with all the demands on your time.  
Here are some tips that help calm the nervous system:  
  1. *Make time for self-care.  Actually schedule time to relax on your calendar.  A soothing bath,  a massage or a restorative yoga class are simple examples.  Listen to music or watch/attend  a comedy special (laughter really is the best medicine).  
  2. *Take your vitamins, particularly Vitamin D and magnesium.   Both of these nutrient powerhouses combat stress and anxiety.  Vitamin D regulates your mood and wards off depression.  It also supports the immune, brain and nervous systems.  Magnesium balances your blood sugar, stabilizes the stress hormone cortisol, improves the GABA levels in our brain that help you relax and rejuvenate, reduces brain inflammation and helps you sleep.  
  3. *Focus your diet on whole foods including lots of vegetables and fruit.  Include greens, healthy fats such as avocados and pumpkin seeds for their zinc and magnesium content.  Have a nutritious  snack before going to parties so you are less likely to overeat. 
  4. *Limit your intake of caffeine and alcohol as they affect your ability to get a peaceful sleep.  They also ramp up your cortisol levels.  
  5. *Try to get to bed before 10 p.m as each hour before this time is really worth an hour and a half of sleep. It’s a better quality sleep than morning sleep. 
  6. *Make a commitment to go outside, preferably in nature, at least once a day.  Hibernation is for bears, humans need the fresh air and the oxygen that plants and trees provide.  
If you feel you can’t do anything from this list , at least do a Legs up the Wall or an Inversion when you are really stressed and busy.  It is the absolute best way to unwind and relax when you only have a few minutes.  
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How to choose vitamins

11/11/2019

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 Though ideal, it is not always realistic to get all our nutrients from our food.  If you were prescribed high dose vitamin C (5000 mg)  by your health practitioner,  you would have to eat 75 oranges to get that amount of Vitamin C  into your body.   That’s a lot of oranges.  Supplementation is clearly the simpler route. However, when faced with the plethora of vitamin brands in the market,  how is one to choose?  Here are some hints, facts and recommendations:  
  1. Most vitamins contain synthetic powders.  Synthetic vitamins are cheaper and work as well as whole food vitamins. Whole food vitamins are very rarely made solely of whole food and are usually lower in potency.  One would have to take 6 or more pills a day and, as a result,  pay a higher price.
  2.  The main difference in brands is what is not in the tablet.  Avoid products with artificial colors, chemicals and  artificial sweeteners. Particularly avoid any vitamins that contain sugars that end in “ose” like sucralose.  Bring your reading glasses as these ingredients are usually written in small print. 
  3. Natural fillers that hold the pill together like magnesium stearate, sodium citrate, dicalcium phosphate, cellulose and silica are harmless, according to vitamin expert, Andrew Saul, PHD.
  4. Vitamin E is an exception to the synthetic rule.  The natural form, D-Alpha Tocopherol, is superior.  Read the label very carefully,  as the synthetic has a similar name, DL-alpha tocopherol.  
  5. Powdered or liquid  forms  of vitamins are easier to absorb especially if your digestion is compromised.
  6. When shopping, consider the source of your advice.  Stores want to make a buck, sales staff are rarely trained, dieticians are often biased against supplementation and most physicians know little about nutrition.  
Before purchasing a supplement, I recommend reading the full label, comparing brands, and getting some professional assistance.   You can also write to the manufacturer and ask for  full disclosure of all ingredients in the products they sell.   A nutritionist, such as myself, can help you navigate your vitamin needs and be an invaluable source of information. 
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Taking Action on Vitamin Deficiencies

11/4/2019

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Last week I discussed common vitamin and mineral deficiencies. This week I'd like to focus on 
what to do if you have symptoms of deficiency. First of all, get your blood work done to confirm that your symptoms are due to deficiencies and not something else.  Ask your doctor for specific vitamins to be tested and explain the need. A naturopath can also request blood work.
Here are some hints to improve your vitamin and mineral profile:
1. Taking a good quality multi-vitamin is like an insurance plan against malnutrition. Most cover
the full spectrum of vitamin and minerals needed for good health. Avoid any brands that have
fillers, chemicals, or preservatives listed in the ingredients, active or non-active ingredients.
2. Eat from the earth. A whole foods diet with a broad range of foods works best.
3. Eat vegetables and fruits especially superfoods like berries, apples, onions and greens that
contain healing antioxidants.
4. Avoid Frankenfoods (manufactured, processed foods) which are full of chemicals and toxins.
5. Eat both prebiotic and probiotic foods for good digestion. Poor digestion and gut health inhibits absorption of vitamins and minerals so work on your gut microbiome.
6. Sugar and alcohol taken with a meal inhibit the absorption of precious nutrients from your meal.  Cut down on these saboteurs!
7. Our food today doesn’t necessarily provide all the nutrients our bodies need. Add individual
supplements to your vitamin regime depending on symptoms. A nutritionist can advise you on
which you may need and optimal amounts.
Optimal health depends on a solid foundation of nutrients available for your bodies use. Your body utilizes vitamins and minerals to perform hundreds of functions in your body. They heal wounds,protect your vision, boost your immune system, and help maintain bone health. There is a reason we call them “essential” as most disease can be attributed to a poor diet and most conditions can be helped, or even cured, by proper nutrition.
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    Author

    ​Susanne Jakubowski is a holistic nutritionist, yoga teacher, Thai Yoga Therapist, and cancer survivor. 

    For previous blog posts, visit: yogawithsusanne.com

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  • Home
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    • Bookstore
  • Events
  • The Author
  • Yoga
    • Yoga Videos
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