Journal

Nature provides many opportunities to help us be mindful and present.

What can we see? Notice the many shades of green and fractal patterns of leaves and branches.

What do we hear? Notice the orchestra created by the wind and leaves, the songs of birds or the crunching of frost beneath our feet. 

What do we smell? Notice the various scents of pine, the earthiness of fungi or the memory-evoking smell of soil.

What do we feel? Notice the softness of moss with our hands, the tickling of the pine on our cheeks or the coolness of the wind on our skin.

And finally, what do we taste? We can sometimes taste the air or finish a forest bathing session with a taste of the woodland, such as with pine needle tea.

Forest Bathing is known in Japan as shinrin yoku and was started in the 1980s when many Japanese people showed signs of being stressed and overworked due to what was called “technostress”.

As Japanese society became more reliant on technology, people were further removed from nature. Something needed to be done. With tree coverage of 67% and a culture that pays reverence to nature, Japan naturally looked to the forests. Forest bathing was born.

In 2004, Japanese government-funded research began to look into forest bathing and the results were impressive.

Research has continued and these studies showed that forest bathing has the potential to:

• Improve weakened immunity, with an increase in natural killer (NK) cells, white blood cells that attack tumours and infection
• Significantly decreased levels of stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline
• Reduce blood pressure
• Increase heart rate variability (HRV – an indicator of being in your parasympathetic nervous system state)
• Decrease blood sugar levels
• Increase anti-cancer proteins perforin, granzyme A and granulysin
• Increase hours of sleep
• Improve concentration and memory
• Improve levels of feeling of wellbeing

The first source of the benefits of forest bathing are phytoncides.

Walking in the forest exposes us to the forest’s natural aromatherapy. Phytoncides are the natural oils within plants and are part of a tree’s defence system, protecting it from pests and diseases. These same phytoncides are partly responsible for the benefits. The main components of phytoncides are terpenes, which include D-limonene (smells lemony), Alpha-pinene (has a fresh, piney scent), Beta-pinene (smells herby, like basil or dill) and Camphene (smells of turpentine, a resinous smell)

The second source of the benefits of forest bathing are mindfulness and meditation.

Mindfulness and meditation helps us switch from our sympathetic nervous system, or ‘fight and flight’, to our parasympathetic nervous system, or ‘rest and digest’. If you already practice mindfulness and meditation, you will know that the key to calming the mind down is to focus on your breath. However, it can sometimes be difficult just to focus on the breath. Nature provides many subjects for us comfortably and happily to focus on and helps us “be in the present”. Remember the sight, sound, smell, feel and taste sensory exercises I introduced earlier? They help us re-connect with nature. After all, humans have spent 99.9% of time in history in a natural (rather than urban) environment making nature a place where humans instinctively feel relaxed and comfortable.

So next time you are in the forest or woodland, see if you can slow down your walking pace and take time to notice what is around you.

Or to slow down fully, let a forest bathing guide help you do the thinking. Two to three hours of forest bathing every four weeks replenishes the benefits of forest bathing.

There are many places you can practice forest bathing.

Forestry England is one source that shares locations of woodlands near you. The National Trust has a wealth of locations to forest bathe. If you are near the Surrey Hills, Hinoki Forest Bathing provides guided forest bathing sessions, including sunrise and sunset sessions, that finish with a Japanese influenced woodland tea ceremony.

Let nature replenish and care for you and in turn be inspired to care for nature.

By Lisa Duncan, HINOKI Forest Bathing in the Surrey Hills

When it comes to protecting our heart we can further help by supplementing our diet with daily Aged Black Garlic. This has been shown to help relax our blood vessels, allowing for more efficient circulation of blood to our tissues. How does it do this?...Our Black Garlic is selected due to its naturally high concentrations of the chemical allicin. A six month aging and fermentation process converts allicin to active S-allyl cysteine (S-AC). This high strength, premium grade S-AC provides the protection for our cardiovascular system. Aged Black Garlic and Metabolic Gold are a perfect combination, working in harmony with each other on separate cardiovascular systems.

Synthetic vitamins are usually made artificially from chemicals within a laboratory or factory. They mimic the chemical structure of naturally occurring nutrients. The more complex the structure of the vitamin/mineral the more stages required to synthesise and therefore the greater number of impurities that need to be removed before the final product can be sold as a food supplement. Petrochemical solvents may be required to achieve this, which can have a negative impact on the environment.

Natural vitamins are sourced from whole food such as algae, fruit or vegetables. They are dried, concentrated and their nutrients are extracted (generally with water or alcohol) to form a nutritional supplement. In this way, the beneficial compounds remain in their natural form, just as you would find them in your food but at much higher concentrations. Studies have shown that naturally sourced minerals have a higher bioavailability than synthetic alternatives because they are absorbed more efficiently.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), an essential water-soluble micronutrient, is a good example of the differences between synthetic and naturally sourced. Whilst synthetic and food-derived vitamin C are chemically identical, the food-sourced version is rich in numerous additional nutrients, dietary fibres and phytochemicals which contribute to the health of the gut micro-biome. These synergistic ingredients are not present in chemically produced vitamins.

A research-based approach for supplementation using only food-sourced vitamins and minerals provides advantages for both the health of the body and the environment. When supplements are made only from concentrated, 100% natural ingredients they are better absorbed and able to support the gut micro-biome. The Naked Pharmacy includes organic prebiotics within all its vitamin and mineral formulations.

Kevin Leivers M.R.Pharm.S.

When our Vitamin B12 supply was interrupted, rather than revert to adding a readily available synthetic B12, we sourced organic marine minerals from the Scottish Hebrides as a replacement instead. Based on science and our core values, we believe it will bring additional benefits, especially in terms of energy levels. Our Saffrosun Energy can be taken alongside prescription medicines (just like the previous formula) and also with an underactive thyroid, although additional iodine supplements should be stopped. We do not recommend taking Saffrosun with Marine Minerals if you have overactive thyroid function. We aim to have our Saffrosun Calm back in stock late November 2020 at the earliest.

The science says yes and the experiences and feedback from consumers who regularly take bergamot supplements supports this too. In a recent trial of 77 patients with high cholesterol, subjects were treated with either a statin medication alone or a combination of statin and bergamot. The combination therapy produced the lowest LDL cholesterol and the highest HDL cholesterol.

This trial also showed the measures of damage to blood vessels by oxidation were the lowest when bergamot was added. Further studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of bergamot on blood sugar levels and body weight were demonstrated.

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of increased abdominal fat and waistline, hypertension, abnormal cholesterol lipid values with low HDL and high triglycerides and elevated blood sugar.

An estimated 20–25% of the world’s adult population is thought to have this condition and maybe as many as one third of adults in the United Kingdom suffer from it. Bergamot has proven to be particularly useful in assisting the reversal of this syndrome, which raises the risk of future events like heart attack and stroke.

A particularly challenging condition seen more and more commonly is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), also known as NASH. NASH results from an inactive lifestyle along with a diet that is high in processed foods, oils and fats which over time, overloads liver cells with fat droplets. It is also associated with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes and adult Type 2 diabetes as the insulin resistance builds. While the foundation of the treatment of NASH is activity, weight loss, plant-based diets with low or absent of added oils, bergamot shows promise here too. In a study of humans with metabolic syndrome and NAFLD, significant responses to bergamot were recorded.

When combined with lifestyle efforts focusing on diet, exercise, sleep and stress, the bergamot fruit from southern Italy could provide significant cardiovascular benefits.

Our new formulation of Metabolic Gold sees a move from tablets to capsules that contain pure Bergamot fruit extract and artichoke leaf extract in a tapioca capsule shell, nothing else.

Olive leaves have been used in medicine dating back to Ancient Egypt, where they were considered a divine symbol as well as a popular remedy for fever.

Recent reports have shown that ELA acts to effectively put the brakes on a viral life cycle. It has been shown to be a natural neuraminidase inhibitor, recommended by WHO for viral infection management. We know that neuraminidase is an enzyme present in the flu virus that facilitates entry of the virus into a healthy host cell. ELA prevents this.

Olive Leaf from The Naked Pharmacy is:

• 100% plant based. The Olive leaves are carefully harvested in Spain and an innovative process is used to isolate the ELA extract to create the most effective supplement.
• Fortified with the natural prebiotic, Moringa Leaf, for a prebiotic to support your microbiome and gut health.
• Side effect free and safe to take alongside prescribed medicines such as antibiotics.

Easy to remember dose of ONE capsule daily, with or after food.

A study, published in the BMJ in 2017 which reviewed data from 25 trials, showed the vitamin can help prevent acute respiratory infections, particularly in those patients with a pre-existing vitamin D deficiency.

Professor Martineau, who was the lead author of the review, stated ‘When vitamin D is made in the skin, it gets converted in the liver to a form that circulates around the body. This creates a natural antibiotic-like substance in the lining of the airway that can bash viruses and bacteria, killing them’.

‘It is a generic effect: we don’t know yet whether that would work against Covid-19.’

Research from the University of Birmingham carried out in 2018 demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency trebles the length of hospital stay.

Previous studies and data reviews have shown that Vitamin D can help prevent and treat respiratory infections such as community acquired pneumonia.

However, despite the recently quoted Irish study suggesting that high dose vitamin D could be used as part of the Covid-19 treatment program there is still insufficient evidence for its role in reducing the risk of the coronavirus.

It is thought that around 1 in 5 adults and children in the UK are deficient in Vitamin D. The recent coronavirus lockdown, on top of (sensible) use of sunscreens may have contributed to decreased levels of vitamin D in the blood.

Research has shown that levels of deficiency are higher than expected in the general population. Research from The University of Surrey discovered a high number of students had very low levels vitamin D at the end of the summer term when levels were expected to peak.

Daily exercise outdoors will help boost levels.

10 minutes exposure for pale skin on the arms and face, darker skin may need around 25 minutes exposure to stimulate Vitamin D production.

Ethnic groups with dark skin need more daily sunlight exposure and should also take a year-round supplement.

Vitamin D supplements are widely available.

The most easily absorbed version is called D3 but these supplements are commonly made from synthetic or animal sources.

One vegan friendly, marine algae sourced D3 is available and this is used in The Naked Pharmacy Saffrosun supplements. There are also mushroom derived D2 alternatives.

The recommended dose is 10mcg (or 400iu) daily and should be taken for several months to build up healthy vitamin D levels.