My life is currently one hectic chaotic mess! I'm studying full time, working weekends and have a 7 month old and a menagerie of critters to look after. And I know it's taking a massive toll on my body.

I am still eating relatively healthy, but lately I've noticed that my body is taking longer to heal than usual.

I need some ideas of what I can do to help boost it back up [other than taking a bunch of vitamin tablets...I hate taking tablets].

apparently wheat grass juice is a really good health tonic, look on Isabel Shippards site for lots of info on herbs

www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information.html

I have her book "How can I use Herbs in my daily life" and there are many herbal teas that you could drink to help with almost everything that you can think of!! Lots of fresh whole foods will help rather than processed but you probably already know that

Barley grass apparently has less of the gag factor.
I'd recommend sleep! Early nights. The only way it's really going to work is if you slow down. You can't do more without sacrificing something else. I've learned this the hard way. Is there an option for part time study?

Just a thought. I wish you well
x

Ravyk, there is only so much one person can do. Can you reduce you study load? I have been there and done that, eating well is always a good idea but you need time to recharge. If you could reduce the study load to part time it might take a bit longer but everything else would be easier. Remember if you go down because of the load you are carrying nothing will be achieved. I wish you well in what you are trying to do but you need to realize that sometimes doing a bit less will actually help you achieve your goals. Take care

Thanks guys! Will definitely have a look at the herb site and the alkaline foods-any recommendations on good sites for that? I'll get myself some wheat to grow wheatgrass .

Unfortunately enough sleep at the moment does not come easily-my 7 month old is still not sleeping fully through the night, not to mention is a wrigglepot in bed [and OH snores! anyone got a solution for that, that doesn't involve a pillow over the face? ]

My study is almost over, hopefully I'll get my last 3 assignments done by the end of this term which will mean I won't need to repeat any subjects. The main issue is I'm in the last year to do my course in this format [the two year course], and if I do wait until next year I may end up having to do more work because the course has changed. I will have another chat about doing it part time with my co-ordinator but I know some of the subjects I need to do have already been done with the PT group. My main concern is my work placements which start in July. I haven't been in full time work for a long time so the thought of doing 4 or 5 days a week is kind of scaring me. And I have 15 weeks of it! [luckily I have some breaks in between the different placements].

Now back to not procrastinating studying for tomorrow's exam! Eep!

Hi Ravyk, glad you got some ideas, just on the alkalising stuff - this is about rejuvelac from the herb book I mentioned

"Rejvelac is the fermeneted water left over from soaking wheat seed, and is rich in enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and lacto-bacillus bacteria. Any proteins present are predigested for easy assimilation by the body. The lactic acid in the rejuvelac, destroys harmful intestinal bacteria, and allows the friendly bacteria to perform their vital tasks, boosting vitamin production in the gastro-intestinal tract. Research has found that rejuvelac is a valuable source of eight b vitamins as well vitamins e and k. Rejuvelac is easy to make, is highly alkalising to the body and can benefit anyone's health."

I put this here because I make rejuvelac and then use the seeds to sprout for the chickens but they could easily be left to grow into wheatgrass.

to make rejuvelac - put 1 cup of what seeds in 3 cups of water and soak 24hours (longer in cold climates), it may be necessary to allow 48 hours for the first soaking to activate the fermentation process. Pour off the liquid, to drink during the day and add 3 more cups of water. Repeat this process over 3 to 6 days and then begin again with fresh seeds.

to sprout seeds the process is to soak the seeds for 24 hours and to place in a sprouting jar, the liquid you get from soaking for that time is essentially rejuvelac!!

to grow wheat grass, after soaking you spread the grain out thinly on a layer of moist soil/organic matter/potting mix (2 - 5 cm deep). Cover with wet newspaper or a thin layer of soil and after 2 - 3 days the seeds will be sprouted and the newspaper can be removed. Keeps the seeds moist. After 5 - 14 days the grass will be 10-20 cm high and can be harvested with scissors. If you don't have a juicer (don't use a centrifugal type juicer as it mixes air with the juice which will cause undesirable oxidation) you can simply chew the grass for a few minutes and then discard the fibre - it can taste strongly of chlorophyll though.

So you can make rejuvelac and then grow the wheat grass or just sprout the seeds and add them to salads etc as they are good for you at sprouting stage too. A good all rounder!!!


As for snoring - I've found the best solution is separate bedrooms!!! I'll look it up in this book though for you and post back if I find anything.

Ravyk wrote:
I can sympathise with you on this one, in the 10 years DP and I have been together he has gone from being an "every now and then" light snorer after a big night on the grog and he happened to sleep on his back, solution was a gentle nudge to get him to role over and all was good...... but over the years it has got worse, to the case now where I will reach out to nudge him to get him to role over only to find that he is already on his side or front (no help), and the snoring has increased in frequency and volume......solution has been to get up and move into the spare bed although this doesnt help with the fact we enjoy going camping and need to sleep in the same tent......so new solution is put up with the snoring but sleep with earplugs next to the bed, within easy reach in the dark (although I would advise caution of this with a 7 month old) once they have expanded to fill my ear, its peacefull sleep. I have a low presure type at the moment which seems to be quite comfortable but I have heard of people cutting them in half to suit the smaller ear holes of females (this was a discussion had while camping and how does everyone put up with their husbands snoring (and snoring of nearby campers) when their away)

what about some meditation or yoga

If you're really stressed out it takes it's toll on your adrenals. The fuel for your adrenals is vitamin C so make sure you eat a good source of vitamin C with every meal. To both alkalinize and boost your vitamin C you can't beat lemons and parsley. Humans are one of the only species of mammals that cannot create their own vitamin C so more has to be eaten when stressed.

Next up, if you're stressed you're probably also manufacturing a lot of adrenal hormones. Adrenal hormones like cortisol are derived from cholesterol, so if you get really stressed out you can find yourself becoming cholesterol deficient. This causes your body to become quite run-down as many body systems are relying on cholesterol-based compounds and the cortisol uses it all up. Additionally one of the side effects of being low in cholesterol is to become extremely anxious, which coupled with stress is a recipe for disaster. Eat plenty of eggs and animal-based fat to prevent the valuable resource from being depleted.

I really hope you feel better soon