Claire Hosking N.D.
Specialist Naturopath – Holistic Nutritionist – Herbalist
TOPIC 1- EVOLUTION
Over the long weekend, I was fortunate to join Rob and Matt at the Metagenics Congress in Sydney. Over the two days, we focused on Women’s wellness and the treatment of complex female conditions. We heard from various experts from Australia and around the world.
As you may be aware, women’s health is what drives and inspires me in my daily practice.
The congress focused on unraveling the complexity of women’s health problems especially with respect to hormones. Women’s hormones fluctuate during all stages of their lives and require multifaceted management. The presentations on the weekend featured such topics as the evolution of women’s physiology, hormone influence on ADHD, pathophysiology of adenomyosis and the effect of collagen on ageing.
Considering the insights and learnings I gained from the congress, I thought I would share some of these with you across several installments.
The first topic that I would like to cover is ‘evolution’, which was presented by Professor Sarah Hill from the United States.
EVOLUTION
This presentation provided a fascinating look into the evolution of women and our role in society.
Women have worked hard (and will continue to do so) to build our rights. Thankfully our status in society is improving, but it is taking a toll on our mental health.
With women now being involved in all areas of society and wanting to show their capabilities accordingly, the pressure is on women to be everything to everyone. In the words of Professor Sarah Hills ‘women are an evolutionary mismatch’.
In a sense, we are both the hunter and the gatherer. We are the wage earner and the primary care giver. It’s fast becoming an overload.
Traditionally, our ancestral environment involved us living in small groups, surrounded by our kin. We were predominantly pregnant or lactating most of the time. Our kin worked with us to raise our children. We spent most of our day outside, walking potentially several km’s each day as we gathered food for our family. Our diet consisted of wild meats (30%), starchy tubers (30%), seasonal fruits / vegetables (30%) and seeds / nuts (10%). We were seen as the care givers of our community.
Although our rights and roles were then limited, we did seem to have greater support, exercised more and had a healthier diet. So how do we get the best of our new lives of opportunity?
The trick is to keep a little of the old, as we embrace the new.
Here are some things you might consider:
• GET OUTSIDE AND GET MOVING– just like our ancestors did. They could walk up to 10 km in a day. It is still a requirement for our general health that we move each day.
• IMPROVE YOUR QUALITY OF EXPOSURE TO SUN– we require the sun for our daily vitamin D production, but we also require it to help balance our circadian rhythm.
• CREATE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS AND TALK TO YOUR PARTNER ABOUT SHARING THE LOAD
• CALL UPON FAMILY/FRIENDS AND GET INVOLVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY
• MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP– ideally 7-9 hours of sleep each night
• DETOX FROM SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEWS – while keeping up to date is important, notice the favorable effect on your nervous system when you have a rest from the information overload.
This presentation was a fascinating look into the evolution of women and our role in society. It highlighted that we need to have realistic conversations about our load with ourselves and our support network. We do not have to do it all.
Although, it may be tempting to go on strike all we have to do is share the load. Remember a problem shared is a problem halved.
Can we divide the chores? Can we be more strategic with pickups and drop offs? If we haven’t got the partner or family support, can we rely on friends? Where there is an opportunity, I encourage you to explore it. We don’t have to do this alone. Times are changing and so we must change with them.
Keep an eye out for my next post in this series from the Metagenics congress- The Well Woman in which I will cover the highlights from the Integrative Treatment of Pelvic Pain presented by Dr Peta Wright .
As always if you have any further questions, or would like to make an appointment please call our reception team on 03 5221 8220.
I would love to discuss how Naturopathy can support you.
In health and happiness,
Claire
