The Benefits of Magnesium

What is Magnesium good for? Hopewood Naturopath Jenny has the scoop.

• Magnesium is directly involved in 300 functions within the body, is found in every organ of the body, contributes to the make-up of teeth and bones and is one of the most essential nutrients to our wellbeing.
• Magnesium can help maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keep heart rhythm steady, support a healthy immune system, regulate blood sugar levels, promote normal blood pressure and strengthen bones. 
• To keep your nutrient levels up consume magnesium rich foods such as dark leafy green vegetables, spinach, broccoli, pumpkins seeds, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, wholegrain breads and certain fruits.  Avoid eating refined sugar and flour products as this can deplete the body of magnesium. Excess stress also robs the body of magnesium; find some stress coping techniques to help in this area.
• Like many other minerals, magnesium cannot be made in our body and therefore we need to source it from our diet to remain healthy. Magnesium deficiency can cause heart palpitations, as well as neurological and muscular symptoms. While magnesium deficiency is fairly rare, see your doctor if you have concerns.   

Jenny Colless-Buhn is a Naturopath at Hopewood Health Retreat, for more information visit www.hopewood.com.au or call (02) 4773 8401.

Fresh food ideas

The sun has come out of hiding and spring is in the air! We’ve put together some of our favourite refreshing healthy food options to help you feel energetic and fit back into your summer wardrobe.  Thank you to our Hopewood fans for providing us with these great suggestions.  

“I love green smoothies made with banana, raspberries, apple, pineapple, mango and a bunch of fresh English spinach with chai seeds.”

“My favourite healthy dish at the moment is a pea and mango salad. I’ve been given a lot of ideas from my visits at Hopewood :)”

“A Middle Eastern dish of couscous, finely cubed cucumber and tomato and diced red onion with a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.”

“I love light Philly cheese whipped with light cream, lemon and lime juice, and fresh pineapple pieces. A great dessert that is light on the calories but high on taste.”

“Stewed apple with a crumble topping of rolled oats, cinnamon, coconut, pepitas, sunflower seeds and a tiny bit of melted butter.”

Thank you all who shared your favourite healthy culinary options. We can’t wait to try out some of these melt-in-your-mouth ideas. Enjoy!

Secrets to being healthy revealed...

During our 50 Prizes in 50 weeks competition, we asked our dedicated Hopewood fans “what’s your secret to being healthy?” We were overwhelmed with all the wonderful and inspiring answers we received.

We’ve listed some of our favourite responses below, because some secrets are just too good not to share:

“Staying positive. An internal happiness creates peace, lowers stress and encourages enthusiasm for life. And makes for wonderful relationships with those I love.”

“I discovered the secret how to be healthy 2 weeks ago...the secret is to LOVE YOURSELF! It is intense journey but it is worth it”

“I maintain a positive attitude, eat healthy, drink plenty of water, and make lots of time to spend with my lovely friends and family.”

“My secret to good health is eating nutritious food, walking in the fresh air, relaxing with good company and taking time out to be pampered.”

“Regular exercise, good healthy food, eight hours sleeps each night, no smoking & doing things that I enjoy to de-stress.”

“My secret to being healthy is being positive in life, eating well, exercising regularly and enjoying every moment and making it count.”

“Plenty of sleep, exercise, sunshine, fresh air and beautiful vegetarian food - oh and a healthy dose of love and affection!”

“Downtime.  I think it is extremely important to relax, recharge when you can and find a quite place to gather your thoughts as often as you can.”

“I keep stress to a minimum, and when I do get stressed I turn up the music and dance around my house singing.”

A big thank you to all who shared your secrets. We hope you don’t mind we shared a few!

Coconut Oil - Good for you?

Coconut oil… is it good for you? Hopewood’s naturopath, Rebekah Travers reveals the truth about this saturated fat. 

• Coconut oil is derived from the coconut tree, and is well-known for its use in cooking and skincare products.

• Coconut oil consists of more than ninety per cent of saturated fats. This has resulted in a bad reputation, as saturated fats can increase blood cholesterol.

• However, coconut oil is great for the immune system. Rich in lauric acid, it helps strengthen the immune system and boasts antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties.

• Coconut oil also provides the brain with an alternative source of ketones. Ketones nourish and provide energy to the brain. It is also known to improve memory function and concentration.

• Coconut oil is best consumed in its natural state. Always opt for organic cold-pressed coconut oil, or natural organic extra virgin coconut oil.

Rebekah Travers is a Naturopath at Hopewood Health Retreat. Visit www.hopewood.com.au for more information and health tips. 

Feeling weak at the knees?

Follow these useful tips from Hopewood’s Naturopath Wendy Hannah to build your bone strength:

• Exercise is key to bone integrity. Try weight resistance work such as yoga, Pilates, stretching or dyna band sessions. Aim for four or five 20 minute sessions per week.
• Avoid stimulants such as sugar, soft drinks, coffee, smoking, salt, alcohol, excessive protein, and processed foods. Stimulants can affect the balance of minerals resulting in bone loss or protein loss and can lead to inflammation in the joints.
• Increase your intake of magnesium. Eat regular servings of seaweeds, mixed green leaves, parsley, nuts, egg, low fat mozzarella, figs and soya beans. Magnesium is important in immune function, general movement and bone structure.
• Spend 10-15 minutes daily in direct sunlight without sunscreen. Vitamin D is essential for bone density and formation.

Wendy is an Naturopath at Hopewood Health Retreat, for more visit www.hopewood.com.au

The Suffering from foot pain? Hopewood’s expert Doug shares these helpful tips

 Hopewood’s expert Doug shares these helpful tips:

• Treat yourself to a hot foot bath. Heat water to 30 degrees, add half a glass of Epsom salts and three drops of lavender oil. Soak feet for ten minutes.
• Massage your whole foot from toes to arch to heel. Use your hands to bend and stretch your joints as you go.
• Roll a golf ball on the floor with the bottom of your foot while seated. This massages the bottom of the foot and can help relieve the discomfort of heel pain, cramps or arch strain.
• Avoid wearing high heels, cheap or old runners or poor fitting shoes.
• Don’t persevere with discomfort; a visit to the podiatrist could save you a lot of money and pain.

Doug is an Osteopath at Hopewood Health Retreat, visit www.hopewood.com.au for more information and health tips.

Gentle Benefits

If you suffer from an injury or don’t have time to attend a session at the gym, you may feel like it’s time to ditch your sneakers and give-up on exercising all together.  However first – let’s have a look at the benefits of gentle exercising.

Staying active, albeit at a leisurely pace, will maintain bone mass, increase flexibility and cardio fitness; these are only some of the physical side effects. By following a gentle exercise program, you can also reduce stress and enhance self esteem.

There are several ways to include gentle exercise in your daily lifestyle. For instance, gardening, mowing the lawn and walking will raise your heart rate and reduce knee pain (as less pressure is placed on the knees with lower impact exercising). Tai Chi, Yoga and Aqua aerobics can also be beneficial, increasing co-ordination and muscle strength.

The trick is to find something that suits you. You want to choose something you will enjoy and stick with it, because these helpful exercises are too important to your wellbeing to ignore.