The January Blues: what is it and how can you beat it?

It’s all over. The festive season is behind us and it is back to normal now. Or is it? For a lot of people January is a dreary long month. Waiting for the next lifesaving pay check is bad enough, but then there are the long nights, the cold days, the new year with all its expectations, and the post christmas blues.

Symptoms can range from simple grumpiness to depressing thoughts. Mood swings, feeling low, lethargy, insomnia, stress, bloatedness, sluggishness… add to those a cold or flu and there you have it: the January blues in full swing.

If you identify with this and wonder why this is happenning and how you can beat it then think of Shakespeare. Because apparently it was him who said that what goes up must come down, or as I say, everything that goes in must show out.

Here’s the thing, it is not by coincidence that you are feeling like crap. You know this because this time last year you probably felt just the same, and the year before that, and the year before that.

So, blaming it to being broke makes sense. Not being able to go out for another four weeks is going to be tough, especially when you think of what’s on the TV listings… It’s back to work, back to routine, back to the long cold nights and… need I go on?

But the truth is that the main reason why you may not be feeling great has been your own doing. And before you try your first excuse on me, here’s what’s really happened:

You’ve been eating too much crap and drinking too much crap

Food doesn’t just go from your mouth to your stomach to your colon, you know? It goes to every single cell in your body; it goes from the soles of your feet to the tip of your nose, from the back of your elbows to the neurones in your brain.

Food turns into feelings

Not just into fat, or muscle, or blood, or bone or everything else. There is a book out there called “You are what you eat”. Well, you feel what you eat (and drink) too.

So the damage is done and you won’t reverse it with a sachet of detox tea, that’s for sure.

But here are some things you can start to do, that will help you feel better quickly and effectively:

1. ALKALIZE YOUR BODY: Dr Otto Warburg, Nobel Prize Winner, found that when your body becomes acidic, your oxygen levels drop leaving you tired and prone to disease. Some of the causes of acidity in the body are: coffee, tea, alcohol, tap water, meat, dairy, processed sugar and processed foods, cooked food, pharmaceutical drugs… what have you been eating lately? If your body does not have enough alkaline minerals to neutralise the acids you consume it leads to fat gain, fatigue, premature aging, depression, cancer, or worse.

Alkalise and you’ll have tons of energy! Take a dose of good quality Alkalising Salts with bottled or filtered water every day before breakfast.

2. GO RAW: Not another fad diet but a vital move if you want to save yourself from disease, physical or mental. Up to 80% of the body’s energy is used to move food through the digestive system. Enzymes, located inside cells in our bodies and in the foods we eat, break down proteins, fats, carbohydrates and fibre, so we benefit from the nutrients found in those foods. They turn the food we eat into energy we can use. The problem is that when we cook food these enzymes disappear. Microwaving, pasteurization, genetically modifying foods, pesticides, hormones and chemicals also deplete our food of enzymes. This is why it’s so important that most of the foods you eat are fresh seasonal vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fruits in their raw state.

3. GET SEROTONED: Not a new exercise machine! Serotonin is a neurotransmitter located mainly in our gut, and it affects our mood, energy levels and our attitude. A deficiency in Serotonin, caused by overconsumption of alcohol, coffee, aspartame, mercury, a poor diet, stress, lack of exercise and lack of sunlight are some of the main reasons for the raising rates in stress, insomnia and depression.

As many foods today are depleted of many of the vitamins and minerals needed for optimum Serotonin production, a diet rich in organic vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits, legumes, oily fish, will help when accompanied by a high quality multivitamin and mineral, and regular exercise, preferably outdoors.

4. THINK THE RIGHT THOUGHTS: Just like the foods we eat affect our thoughts and mental health, the thoughts we think affect our bodies and physical health too. When you look in the mirror you may see just a head and a body. But in reality, what you are is about ten trillion cells that carry and transmit all sorts of information and messages. Everything, from a cold, to a bloated tummy, to feeling down happens at a cellular level. Every morsel of food you put into your mouth affects the way you look and feel. Every thought you allow yourself to have affects the way you look and feel. Therefore, if you want to look better and feel healthier and happier, it’s vital you eat the right foods. Also, make sure you choose your thoughts just as carefully as you choose your foods. Would you eat a rancid apple, or a putrified egg? It’s important you avoid rotten thoughts at all cost and start to think before you think. Would you like to feel good now? What makes you really really happy? Now hold on to that feeling!