Top Tips to Help with Overwhelm

Isabelle, our Head Nutritionist and Pharmacist provides her top tips to help manage the current status of overwhelm.

We don’t have the answers to the current chaos but we are here to share positivity, a sense of community and sound advice on our Kijani Living platform.

Science or technology at the moment cannot fix the current chaos, and often the general reaction of the public is to panic and develop a form of emotional crisis. Besides this situation not being ideal for everyone’s mental and emotional wellbeing, we must remember that some of us need more support than ever. Those that are elderly, live alone or even live in a very small place and need to adopt a new routine as family, or simply those losing their jobs and are completely uncertain about their future. Some of the suggestions might apply to you or not at all. But take time to read and seek advice on how things can work out for you today. Take each day at a time, until we have better control as a country and around the world over our future.

1) Develop a structure to your day:

Working from home is new for many, and working from home with children and other halves around. Structuring your day can give it a sense of purpose and achievement and keep everyone a lot calmer and entertained at the same time.

It can sound tricky, but avoid working in your pyjamas, in bed is one of them. Develop a routine of getting ready for the day, just as you would if you had to commute to work. When the evening comes, if you feel that you have been able to complete your set tasks for the day, then switch off your work laptop, electronics and even leave your personal phone away from the bedroom before bed. Essentially switch off from unnecessary stress.

2) Exercise:

Vital for your body and mind. Social distancing still in this present time, allows for a walk in the park or even a walk around your neighbourhood. Breathe in some fresh air, taking in some sunlight, have a change of scene, and come back feeling re-vived. For some of us, running or cycling are alternatives or just kicking a ball with your children in your garden or the green nearby. If exercising in the outdoors on some days isn’t possible, there are plenty of online platforms offering yoga, meditation or workouts.

3) Keep connecting with others:

Even if virtual, that connection is important. Keep conversations going, and remember the community you have on your street or neighbourhood. Reach out to those who may need help in purchasing a few essentials or have a smaller network of friends and family than you do.

4) Choose to do things that are comforting:

Cook as a family;  if uncluttering helps your mind, then go ahead and do that;  have a bath with some music or essential oils;  do puzzles with your children when they are taking a break from their homework or do some gardening in between work and childcare.

5) Nourish your mind and body:

Do some meal planning, although you might think it is quite a hard task since we are struggling to get the basic groceries. Again ask your neighbour to share or swap some items. You never know you might be surprised.

Nourishing your mind and body is important. It can be easy to go down a path, where we reach out for processed foods, sugary snacks and too much coffee, tea or alcohol. Remember all these are stimulants to the body, acting on our adrenal glands (those tiny glands that sit above your kidneys) and release the stress hormone commonly known as cortisol. Processed foods or sugary snacks all contain hidden sugars, and cause increases in your blood sugar levels, which can cause changes in mood, changes in how your body processes the sugar and is a precursor to type 2 diabetes, but also hormonal imbalances. Sugar also disturbs the gut microbiome (the trillions of bacteria found in our gut), which in turn works with our immune system. We want a strong immune system and not a weak one right now!

So if you have time, bake at home and use sugars derived from fruits. As snacks, be conscious of what you are having and again, vary where you can from crudités, oatcakes, rice cakes, some nuts or seeds, olives, fruits, or a simple piece of toast with some nut butter or good old lather of butter. Make a latte or a smoothie, with one of our products we stock. Browse our kijani living website and  look into the options from brands such as Nutiva, OM, Garden of Life or Organic Traditions.

As for your main meals, even if we are currently cutting down on the number of ingredients or variety we are putting into our dishes, we can still aim to have 1-2 vegetables per dish (even if frozen), favour wholegrains like wholegrain pasta or rice and make sure to have a form of protein, be it a legume (chickpeas, cannellini beans, red kidney beans, lentils); tofu; fish or seafood; or a source of lean protein such as turkey or chicken.

If for example, you usually pick oven-cooked fish coated with breadcrumbs for instance, simply because of the general lack of time after work. Then  this is the perfect time, to try and make your own breadcrumbs with oats for instance or homemade bread. Our access to hundreds of heathy recipes online, is key to help challenge us in making the right choices for our mind and body.

Thinking of a natural remedy to help, there are a few suggestions:

Ashwaghanda is a known botanical that is revered for its properties as an adaptogen. Traditionally used to help promote a calm mind and encourage restful sleep. According to Ayurvedic principles, Ashwaghanda is a wonderful daily herb that can help support your general wellbeing, vitality and health.

You can find Ashwaghanda in our

• * Nature’s Answer holistically balanced alcohol-free Ashwaghanda extract, that can be taken daily, as recommended on the packaging, by diluting it in a small amount of water.
  
  
• * Organic Traditions Chocolate Latte with Ashwaghanda and Probiotics, this is a latte made with certified organic  Ayurvedic herbs and spices, made with coconut milk and is dairy free. It is also a source of fibre and has really good amounts of Magnesium from the raw cacao. Magnesium is involved in about 300 processed in the body and is an important mineral for the brain. It can also be found in lots of other sources than chocolate of course. This latte also has prebiotics and 1 billion of beneficial live heat stable probiotics per serving.
  
  
• * Microbiome Mood Formula by Garden of Life, contains 300mg of organic Ashwaghanda, a dose clinically shown to work synergistically with wild Alaskan blueberries to support your emotional wellbeing. A blend of diverse clinically studied live bacteria at 50 CFU and certified organic prebiotics are also present, which support the immune system, our gut health and our resilience to stress. The latter also relates to how the gut and brain work hand in hand, and communicate to each other to help support our feel good hormone (serotonin) production and help produce the brain chemicals such as GABA, which show to reduce symptoms of anxiety and low mood.

This is a wrap for us and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out for advice we may be able to help with. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming information we will be releasing over the next few days.

Please stay safe and we are sending you lots of love, from the Kijani Team.