Narration provided by Wondervox.

By Cathy McNease, Dipl CH, RH 

What gives you JOY? That can be a difficult question to answer for the overwhelmed, stressed-out person. One way to navigate hard times is to attend to whatever gives you Joy, little things, easy things, meaningful things. What I have found is that acknowledging my Joy from drinking tea, or the sun on my face, or a singing bird, or a sweet smelling breeze, provides me with an alternative to troubles.  We all need comfort, but it is too easy to turn to injurious ways of comfort that further our discomfort instead. Then, those behaviors become mindless activities that keep us stuck in suffering.

Camellia sinensis, or tea, as we know it, is a remarkable plant and medicine for our mental health. All of the teas made from this plant contain caffeine, but also tannic acid, which binds some of the caffeine, making it less available than caffeine from coffee. The amount of caffeine varies in teas, with green varieties often the highest and twig tea, kukicha, being the lowest, with only a trace. White tea, the young white leaves, is also low in caffeine.  All of the teas activate the movement of Qi to the head, bringing clarity and a brightness to our minds. For the caffeine sensitive, tea should be avoided, but you may find Peppermint tea or Rooibos tea (a tangy African herb) refreshing and uplifting as well.

Narration provided by Wondervox.

By Cathy McNease, Dipl CH, RH 

It is a familiar problem: stressful events occur and our digestion goes to hell. For some it means loss of appetite, others will resort to binges on comfort foods. Diarrhea, constipation, bloating and indigestion are other common reactions to stress. I fall prey to all of these as well, and over the decades have figured a few things out to help. First, minimize stress as much as you can. Second, don’t allow the stress to send you off the rails in your food choices.

If we can minimize the increase in stress hormones being produced, that is a step in the right direction.

Maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet, as much as possible, is a good start. The following tips will reduce cortisol and adrenaline, which increase with stress. Limit as much as you can these foods: added sugars, processed foods, dairy products, gluten, too much meat, and refined oils. Rely more on non-starchy vegetables. Also watch your intake of coffee and alcohol.

If GERD (gastro-esophogeal reflux disorder), heartburn, or indigestion are the issue, here are a few suggestions. Foods that increase stomach acid problems include very spicy foods, deep fried foods, tomatoes, onions, chocolate, citrus, carbonated drinks, cocktails, caffeine, and mints, especially peppermint, which relaxes the valve between the stomach and esophagus, allowing acid to come up to the throat.  Also, limit canned and vitamin C enriched foods.