Get Up & Go Breakfast - Awareness Health - Dr Wendy Christien
Wendy is a wellness practitioner and an health coach at Intergrated Health Solutions and she helps us ensure we manage our bodies well, to get the best out of them.
Wendy Christien - Salt Intake
Salt, otherwise known as sodium, is necessary in small quantities for our body functions. Salt helps for the conduction of nerve impulses, the contraction and relaxation of our muscles, and it plays a role in the fluid and mineral balance in our bodies. Too much salt intake can cause health…
Wendy Christien - Spring Detox
Spring is a time of renewal and as the weather starts to get warmer it can be a good time to detox our bodies. Detoxification can help to alleviate the sluggishness that we can feel after eating too many comfort foods over the winter months and to help get our…
Wendy Christien - Blood Pressure Part 2
Blood pressure is the term given to the pressure of the blood that pushes against the walls of our arteries as it circulates around our bodies. Last week Wendy focussed on High Blood Pressure. This week she looks at the various types of Low Blood Pressure
Wendy Christien - Blood Pressure Part 1
Blood pressure is the term given to the pressure of the blood that pushes against the walls of our arteries as it circulates around our bodies. The arteries transport blood from our hearts to the rest of the body and this pressure can fluctuate throughout the day. When our blood…
Wendy Christien - Heart Health
Our heart is a very important organ. It is a muscular organ about the size of a fist, located just behind and slightly left of the breastbone. The heart pumps blood through the network of arteries and veins called the cardiovascular system. If it stops or if something hinders its activity, we have a serious problem! What is helpful to heart…
Wendy Christien - The importance of sleep
Sleep is important to keep our bodies well and healthy. Good quality sleep protects our mental health and physical health and has a profound impact on our quality of life. The way we feel while we're awake depends in part on what happens while we're sleeping. Many metabolic processes take…
Wendy Christien - Diabetes
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are the two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the pancreas’s beta cells so that the body cannot produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is more commonly a lifestyle disease. Wendy tells…
Wendy Christien - Glucose
Glucose is a type of sugar we get from the foods we eat, and it is what our bodies use for energy. Insulin is the hormone that the body produces in response to the foods we eat and is necessary to transport the glucose from our bloodstream into our cells…
Wendy Christien - The negative effects of physical inactivity
Many of us work at a desk or spend a lot of time in a car all day, then we go home at the end of the day and sit down for dinner, then sit on the couch. Added to this most people travel to and from work and to…
Wendy Christien - Understanding Food Labels Part 2
Nutrient labels are there to provide the nutritional value of all the components and ingredients in the particular item you are buying. The nutrient quantities generally apply to a single serving, but some items will have double columns that state the categories per serving as well as for the entire…
Wendy Christien - Understanding Food Labels
What to look out for on food labels Nutrient labels are there to provide the nutritional value of all the components and ingredients in the particular item you are buying. The nutrient quantities generally apply to a single serving, but some items will have double columns that state the categories…
Wendy Christien - Types of Fat
Over the past few decades, we have been led to believe that fats are our enemy and that we should avoid them at all costs, but fats are not something we should be avoiding. Healthy fats should be included in our diets as part of a balanced diet.
Wendy Christien - Oils Part 2
There are a variety of oils available. Some are good for cooking, and some are good to use as salad dressings. Either way, healthy oils have several benefits and should be included as part of a balanced diet. It is, however, important for us to know whether an oil is…
Wendy Christien - Oils
There are a variety of oils available. Some are good for cooking, and some are good to use as salad dressings. Either way, healthy oils have several benefits and should be included as part of a balanced diet. It is, however, important for us to know whether an oil is…
Wendy Christien - Body Odour
Body odour happens when our sweat mixes with the bacteria on our skin. The sweat itself doesn’t have a smell, but when it mixes with the bacteria it can cause an odour and sometimes this is not very pleasant! Body odour can smell different and can vary from person to…
Wendy Christien - Headaches
Headaches commonly affect many people. They can be described as pressure or a throbbing pain in the head or across the forehead and they can vary in intensity and severity depending on the type of headache. Headaches can also be experienced in different places like behind the eyes, in the…
Wendy Christien - Bladder Health
The bladder is a hollow organ that is about the size of a grapefruit and its main purpose is to store urine that has been processed by the kidneys. The bladder expands as it fills and can hold up to two cups of urine, but most people start to feel…
Wendy Christien - Hemochromatosis
It is possible for some people to have too much iron in their bodies. Iron levels can be raised due to the destruction of red blood cells in the body, or due to excessive supplementation or consumption of iron-rich foods. Hemochromatosis, however, is a hereditary genetic condition.
Wendy Christien - Blood
Blood is a specialized body fluid that is essential to life. The four main components of blood are red blood cells, plasma, white blood cells, and platelets. Keeping our blood healthy ensures that our organs and tissues can function optimally. For this reason, it is important that we provide our…
Wendy Christien - Brain Health
June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Changes to our bodies and brains are normal as we age, but certain behaviours and lifestyle choices can speed up cognitive decline or cause our brains to age faster than they should. Everyone gets forgetful, but there are some warning signs that we should…