If this seems like a rather strange question, bear with us, it isn’t meant to be. Instead it’s a gentle wake up call, designed to bring you back to the here and now. Confused? Then let us explain. 

 

One thing we constantly notice with clients – as well as family and friends – is how little time most people spend in the here and now. The present moment. Engaged 100% with what’s happening in their lives RIGHT NOW. 

 

True, they’re physically present, but their minds are miles away. They’re here in body but not in spirit. 

As we’ve mentioned before our blog posts usually spark some interesting responses from clients – and often these aren’t what we expected. A recent example of this are the couple of posts we did on sugar, highlighting how easily it becomes part of our diet without us ever realising it AND why it’s so addictive. 

 

Much to our surprise, it was the second point – focussing on its addictive qualities – that has caused most comment. Not to mention some ruffled feathers with comments along the lines of: 

 

“How could we possibly say that sugar was addictive? That’s not a “proper” addiction. What’s wrong with a sugary treat? It’s nothing like alcohol or drugs. Those are real addictions.” 

Whether you’ve come across this story before – or not – it’s a great one to be reminded of from time to time. So, here goes. 

 

Let’s face it. Painful personal trauma and tragedy – like illness or injury, death of a loved one, loss of a job or an unexpected breakup of a relationship – are all part of life’s rich tapestry. 

 

The question is: Will these private calamities erode our capacity to be happy or cause us to become stronger and better able to live a meaningful and fulfilling life? 

A couple of weeks ago we looked at why we love sugar so much – and, “yes” human history does play a large part in this (!) – as well as some of the many ways sugar is “hidden” in our favourite foods. 

 

This week we’re going to look at why a high sugar diet is so damaging and how it’s associated with so many health problems. While some of these may be obvious – such as tooth decay and soaring rates of obesity – many others are less so. 

 

To do this we first need to remind ourselves of a few basic facts about sugar and how our bodies are designed to deal with it. 

Having posed this question to several clients over the last week or so – and then hearing from a friend who has waited years for the “right time” to launch her business – we’ve taken the hint and put pen to paper. Or, more accurately, fingers to keyboard (!). 

 

What stuck us is how many people seem to get stuck in “waiting mode”, often without realising it. While there may give a whole plethora of reasons as to why they’re waiting – and, like our friend, the one you’re most likely to hear is that it’s not the “right time” – there does seem to be a common underlying cause. Fear. Perhaps it’s fear of failure. Or of what other people may say – or think. 

Sugar – particularly the sugar “hidden” within so many foods we never give a second thought to – is a subject which has received much press coverage in recent years. It’s one we discuss regularly with clients and have mentioned many times before in this blog. And yet, despite it being linked to many long term health problems, the message still doesn’t seem to be getting through. 

 

So why is this? The simple answer is that sugar fuels one of our most basic instincts. Sweetness equating to food being good – and safe – to eat. It’s been used by humans as a basic survival tool for thousands of years. Just think of the sweetness of any fruit, telling us when it’s ripe and ready to eat. And how unpalatable the same fruit is, if picked too early. 

 

Unfortunately this association has now become our undoing, with our diets having changed out of all recognition in the past few decades. Let alone centuries. 

We recently came across this story which we thought was a great one to share. It’s also a gentle reminder that it only takes one person to start building a bridge – and they don’t even need to be the one to have created the rift in the first place. 

 

Sitting comfortably? Then here we go. 

Having been in practice for a number of years we’re aware that our perspective on life generally – and health in particular – is rather different to everyone else’s (!). Or, as a younger family member so delightfully puts it, “You’re not normal, why can’t you be like everyone else?” Much to his annoyance we take this as a compliment, rather than the wind up he was intending! 

 

In large part, we’d say this was down to our independent natures, possibly verging on delinquent at times (!) – coupled with a tendency to question things that everyone else seems to accept as true… 

Don’t you just love the questions children ask you – and they’re always the ones without a simple answer! Having been asked this one the other day, we thought it was time for a little research on something we all do every day without ever thinking about it… 

 

Well, our answer – and the obvious answer at that – was that we laugh when we find something funny. But, as we all know, it’s much more than that. 

 

There are so many different reasons why we laugh. And not only when we find something funny. Those uncomfortable - or inappropriate – situations, when we just can’t seem to help it. Or, perhaps, when we’ve hurt ourselves. 

You may well have heard the saying “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper.” But is it still true today? Our answer would always be a resounding “yes” (!) and you only need look at the word itself to see why it’s so important. 

 

Breakfast is an old english word which can be traced back to the 15th century. It’s a shortened form of “breaking the fast”. In other words the first meal of the day which “breaks the fast” of the previous night. 

 

While we may sleep during the night our bodies don’t; with many vital housekeeping and detoxing processes running overnight. This is the reason why we wake up feeling hungry – and often thirsty too – as our metabolic rate, blood sugar, energy and hydration levels all tend to be at their lowest when we wake. Not forgetting the essential trip to the bathroom to get rid of the end results of all that work (!) and freshen up for the new day..