Morning Wellness Tonic, Salty Facts, Recurring Themes and more

The best healing and wellness support system we have is Nature. Yes, Mother Nature! 

Here is the latest edition of 1 thing I’m doing, 2 things I’ve learnt and 3 things to explore lovingly created so you can live a happier, healthier and longer life. Much love, Sandy xx

1 THING I’M DOING

Morning Wellness Tonic: Body & Brain Boosting Drink

You just woke up. Now what?

We all have our go-to morning routines – that series of things we do, almost on autopilot. But here’s something you might not be doing which could make a world of difference.

After I wake up, say a little prayer to set my intention for the day, and take a peek outside to greet the day, I head straight to the kitchen for my morning hydration and cleansing drink: water, a pinch of salt, and a squeeze of lemon. Let me tell you why this is my secret weapon for starting the day right.

Why Morning Hydration Is Important

Throughout the night and whilst we’re sleeping, we actually lose quite a bit of water. Depending on how much you sweat, if you’re dehydrated from the night before and just through the process of breathing, our body and brain wake up thirsty.

While we’re sleeping, we lose a surprising amount of water – from sweating, breathing, and just the natural processes our bodies go through overnight. So when we wake up, our bodies and brains are like, “I’m sooo thirsty!” Instead of reaching straight for a caffeine hit, I’ve found that nourishing my body with something a little more hydrating first makes all the difference.

So, here’s my super simple morning tonic recipe and why it works wonders:

Big Glass of Clean Spring or Filtered Water

Start with a big glass of water – clean, fresh, and ideally filtered or spring water. Water is like a wake-up call for your organs and the electrical systems in your body. It’s the best way to jumpstart your brain and body naturally after a night of sleep. Remember, your brain is about 75% water, so if you want to fire up those neurons and be at your best, you need to be well hydrated.

Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt

Add a pinch of quality Celtic Sea Salt. Why? Because salt is full of trace minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium, which are essential for your body. Plus, salt helps your body absorb more UV light – perfect for syncing your natural circadian rhythms.

Juice ½ Lemon or Lime:

Now for a splash of citrus – half a lemon or lime. This little addition not only balances the salt with a lovely tropical flavour (cue the mental image of you beside an exotic beach), but it’s also packed with Vitamin C to support your immune system. The flavonoids in citrus help activate your body’s natural detox pathways, kicking off your morning with a fresh, clean slate.

This morning tonic is an easy drink that will help you get your day off on the right foot. From here it’s a trip to the shower, my morning walk at sunrise and making the bed, all making me feel that regardless of what happens for the rest of the day, I’m #winning already!

✔️ Action Item – What are the first things you do in the morning? If you’re someone who can’t imagine life without that morning coffee hit, why not try this tonic first for a week or two? It’s a small change that takes a little effort, but isn’t that what growth is all about? Remember, the habits we build shape the person we become. So, why not start your day with a little extra love for your body and mind. And if you have a favourite morning drink, I’d love to hear what it is.

2 THINGS I’VE LEARNT

Salt: The Good, the Bad, and the Surprisingly Salty Truth

The message is simple. And it’s one we have been told for a looooong time. In fact, it was 1979 that the US Surgeon General’s warning about salt started gracing our news and TVs. We were told that salt is bad for us. We should reduce our salt. And that salt leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. I’m sure there were scary looking commercials to go with the statements at the time.

But let’s not just take things at face value. Even the Australian Dietary Guidelines are still preaching a similar same story. Here’s a quick recap of what they’re saying about salt:

Australian Dietary Guidelines 2023 – Salt Guidelines

In the latest edition of the Australian Dietary Guidelines 2013 the guidelines in regards to salt are:

1. Limit intake of foods and drinks containing added salt. This one makes sense because if something has “added salt,” it’s probably something processed and that you’re not making from scratch. So, yes, we should absolutely try to limit those.
2. Read labels to choose lower sodium options among similar foods. Again, a positive statement. If you’re reading labels (first of all, yay you) it means that you’re trying to make better choices for you and your family. That’s a big win in my book! And look, I get it. I have a family and teenagers too so buying things in packages happens – no judgey judgey here. But honestly, we should absolutely limit the amount of processed and ultra processed foods we buy as these usually come with other nasties such as added sugar, seed oils, artificial colors, flavours and additives. This one gets a tick from me!
3. Do not add salt to foods in cooking or at the table. What? Mamma Mia! This one has me perplexed. Don’t they realise that as an Italian when salting your pasta Nonna always says “salt it like you mean it”? Have they not seen the fancy chefs on cooking shows with their fancy big salt grinders? Have they not discovered the simple pleasure of quickly frying off some mushrooms or asparagus in butter and garlic and seasoning generously with salt and pepper?

My Two Cents On Salt

So, what do I think? Here’s the thing. We’ve been taught to avoid salt, but maybe we shouldn’t fear it quite so much. After all it’s salty water and blood that runs through our veins. As I always say, everyone has to do what’s right for them as you may have certain medical conditions and needs, but here’s my take.

Use a Good Quality Salt

Salt is a wonderful seasoning. In fact, I must say I’m a quite partial to the Organic Schulz Cultured Salted Butter of late. Oh my!!

When buying salt, I think you can get low-quality and average salt and you can get salt that is packed with trace minerals. My personal favourite is Salt of the Earth Celtic Sea Salt. This salt is pure, unrefined and packed with active key minerals and trace elements such as magnesium, calcium and potassium.

Sure, avoiding processed foods (and their sneaky added salts) is a great idea. But a little sprinkle of salt when you’re cooking? Totally fine, in my book!

But you know, this isn’t just about salt. There is a deeper message. It’s about how we’ve been programmed to accept certain “facts” without questioning them. Guidelines, instructions, health advice—they all come from people and organisations, often with big bucks and even bigger vested interests behind them. We need to use our critical thinking, question everything and re-wild ourselves so that we can unlearn, re-learn and be willing to keep on learning and being curious.

So, when Australia’s Dietary Guidelines are revised very soon, like the ones from Austria last month, I will do what I generally do. I will politely ignore them, keep doing my own research and go back to enjoying my big delicious breakfast of buttery scrambled eggs, with a good shake of salt and a whole lot of love!.

✔️ Action Item – What influences your food choices? Who do you trust for information? Is there something you need to validate? Take a little time to dig into some research. You might be surprised at what you find!

Salt For Healing: Salt for Heart Failure & Anti-Tumoral Properties

Did you know that in America (not sure about Australia) that doctors use a hypertonic (high-sodium solution) to treat patients with severe heart failure? Doesn’t make sense right. We have the US Surgeon General’s message warning us that we should avoid salt as it can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and yet, doctors administer a high salt solution to what would be considered the most vulnerable group.

It seems strict sodium restrictions have been questioned lately due to a lack of proven benefits. Like this statement:

The administration of hypertonic saline (HS) in decompensated heart failure (HF) seems counterintuitive, given the concept that sodium is universally harmful for these patients. However, increasingly, strict sodium restrictions have been questioned due to the lack of proven benefits.

In the article The Paradox of Hypertonic Saline Use in Heart Failure various studies are referenced including a 2014 paper by the Institute of Medicine which convened an expert committee to evaluate the evidence about the health effects of low sodium intake. The committee found limited evidence that low salt intake is associated with an increased or reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in the general population but that it may be associated with adverse health effects in some subgroups, including some patients with heart failure or other forms of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease.

And before I put my salty cheerleading pom poms down, here is another salty story that crossed my desk this week.

Salt & Anti-Tumoral Properties

Two new studies, published in August this year in Nature Immunology, found that increased salt levels can significantly enhance immune cells’ cancer-killing abilities. In the study titled “A pinch of salt boosts T cell function”, these two studies showed that salt (NaCl) supplementation can enhance the effector function of CD8+ T cells and boost their anti-tumor responses.

Now, I’m not saying to go out and start eating salt by the bucket full. Or that you should even increase the amount you have at all. It’s just interesting to see medical studies reporting the beneficial qualities of sodium, when we’ve been told otherwise. As most things, life is about quality over quantity and about balance right? So, give me an S! A! L! T! What does it spell? A little more flavour, a lot less fear, and a whole lot of curiosity. Let’s keep learning together!

✔️ Action Item – Do you think you have too much salt in your diet? Or do you think you have been holding back? I hope you find your Goldilocks amount and what’s “just right” for you.

3 THINGS TO EXPLORE

Emotions Need to Flow: Just Like Water

Have you ever walked past a stagnant body of water? Perhaps a puddle, a rockpool at the beach, a still patch of water at a creek. Murky, frothy and perhaps even a bit smelly, that water isn’t going anywhere, and because it’s stuck, it’s turned into a little breeding ground for unpleasantness.

Remember, we’ve talked before about how water holds our emotions and intentions. Well, our emotions are a lot like that stagnant pool. If we don’t let them flow, they can become murky, stuck, and, over time, even toxic.

We often think of grief as a single event – something to “get over” quickly because it’s inconvenient, an interruption to our busy lives. Anger is often frowned upon, seen as something to hide or suppress. Fear is often labeled as a weakness. But these are all valid, real emotions – a part of what it means to be human.

If we don’t allow our emotions to flow, they can get trapped, just like that still water. They start to fester, and before we know it, we’re carrying around this heavy weight that affects everything we do, think, and feel.

✔️ Action Item: Let Your Emotions Flow! Take a moment today to check in with yourself. What emotions have you been holding onto or pushing down? Grab a journal, go for a walk, or just sit quietly and allow yourself to feel whatever comes up. Cry if you need to, scream into a pillow, or share your thoughts with a trusted friend. Let those emotions move through you like a river, clearing the way for whatever comes next.

What You Resist Persists

Have you ever noticed how certain patterns or themes keep popping up in your life? Like an annoying mosquito that keeps buzzing around your  head, you find yourself in the same spot with the same feelings, once again. There is a saying I learnt in my early Yoga days – what you resist persists. It’s like the universe is gently tapping you on the shoulder, saying, “Hey, maybe it’s time to deal with this” and “Oh, if you don’t, we’ll just be here again”.

Resisting truths or situations, trying to bury them under the carpet and hoping if you ignore them they’ll go away doesn’t work. Who wants to face the tough stuff? But perhaps more importantly, what are we missing out on if we don’t?

What you resist really does persist. The more you ignore it, the louder it gets. It’s only by finally sitting down and confronting what you’ve been avoiding, whether it’s a tough conversation, a big decision, or even just some own negative self-talk, that things start to shift. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary. And on that upside, that shift brings a sense of relief, peace, and even clarity.

Action Item: What recurring themes have been popping up for you lately? Write them down and ask yourself, “Why does this keep coming up? And what can I do today to face it head on?” Start small – maybe it’s a phone call, a journal entry, some extra meditation or time with a counsellor. Whatever you do will be worth the investment of trying to hop off the merry-go-round.

Braver Than You Believe 

“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin