Tag Archives: copper

Five Simple Steps To Beat Baby Blues Naturally

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Five simple steps to beat BABY BLUES naturally

It comes from nowhere and catches you off guard.  Those feelings of being vulnerable, emotional, sad, tearful and sensitive may make it difficult to believe that it is supposed to be the happiest time of every woman’s life.

Don’t worry, you are not alone! Postnatal anxiety, also known as ‘baby blues’, affects 85% of women and may occur on the day of the birth, the day after or not at all. Despite those overwhelming feelings, remember it is a normal reaction after having a baby.

‘Crying and confusion are experienced by most women and are partly due to the hormone changes experienced during the labour and can also be connected to when the milk comes through. But for some 15% of women, this despair and tearfulness continues and develops into post-natal depression’, explains Dr Marilyn Glenville, the UK’s leading nutritionist and an author of The Nutritional Health Handbook For Women.

Before you start worrying, follow these five simple steps to beat baby blues naturally and start enjoying motherhood!

Take a break

Make sure you find time to rest. Permanent sleep deprivation is the biggest cause of anxiety and low mood. Instead of catching up on all those chores that have piled up, try to coordinate your rest periods with your baby.

‘You may need to ask for help with the housework and other chores so that you can have time to rest, sleep, eat properly and also spend time getting to know your baby. It is a good idea to get out the house on your own; it can feel quite overwhelming to suddenly have someone depending on you twenty-four hours a day. Giving birth may bring up unresolved emotional issues from the past that needs to be dealt with. Counselling may be very helpful if this has happened’, Dr Glenville suggests.

Keep your sugar levels at bay

It is important that you make sure that you are eating little and often. Keeping your blood sugar in balance is crucial for helping you through this time as it directly affects mood and energy. ‘Aim to eat complex and unrefined carbohydrates as part of your main meals – this means choosing brown instead of white (wholewheat bread, brown rice and wholemeal flour). Don’t forget about breakfast, porridge and oatmeal is a good choice. Do reduce and preferably avoid stimulants including tea, coffee, chocolate, smoking and canned drinks with caffeine’, explains Dr Glenville.

Too much copper is no good news

Mineral imbalances or deficiencies can also contribute to ‘baby blues’. One of the most important nutrients during this difficult time is zinc.

Zinc and copper are antagonists, which means that high levels of copper reduce zinc and vitamin B6. Once you are pregnant, copper levels in the blood tend to rise dramatically and remain high for up to a month after giving birth as it stimulates the uterus.* This can cause what feels like depression: extreme fears, anxiety, sleep problems, paranoia and even hallucinations. ‘High levels of copper that decrease zinc can be dangerous, especially for a new mum, as she may be already low in this mineral after giving birth. Zinc deficiency can cause stretch marks, white spots on fingernails, decreased wound healing, loss of appetite and low mood. Make sure you are taking good multivitamins and minerals, the ones you took during pregnancy are fine but add some extra zinc’ (recommended daily intake is 50mg of zinc a day), advises Dr Glenville. Try Nature’s Plus Zinc (www.nutricentre.com, £8.59).

Fatty acids

During pregnancy, women are constantly being deprived of fatty acids because of the physical demands of growing fetus. ‘Omega 3 fatty acids are proved to increase levels of serotonin so they are essential in fighting depression and anxiety. Try to include salmon, avocado and nuts in your daily diet. If you don’t like fish, choose a good quality omega-3 supplement such as Omega 3 by Quest Vitamins (www.revital.co.uk, £6.19).’ recommends Shona Wilkinson, Head Nutritionist at www.nutricentre.com.

Balance your hormones

‘Try to take milk thistle every day to support the liver and gall bladder. This powerful herb can help the liver to deal with toxins and process excess hormones from the body. In addition, it is an excellent promoter of milk production, so will help with breast-feeding as well’, says Shona.

*http://metabolichealing.com/zinc-copper-imbalances-immense-biochemical-implications/

 

 

Adnams Copper House Distilled Gin Review

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Named “Best Gin in the World” at last year’s IWSC awards, add ice, some lime and a good amount of tonic for something quite close to heaven.

adnams Copper House Distilled Gin

From the famed Southwold brewer Adnams. This is a barley spirit with a base of juniper. Incredible, just incredible. More aromatic and fragrant than most gins. You make think that all gin is created equal, drink this to be proven wrong.

Handcrafted and copper stilled using East Anglian malted barley, it has a selection of six botanicals. Distinct with lots of character. It is amazing.

Adnams Copper House Distilled Gin is available here.

Copper House Distilled Gin – 40% abv 750ml. RRP £26.99

 

 

Bar Keepers Friend Review

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Bar Keepers FriendI am not keen on chemicals. I believe there is too many chemicals in the stuff we use today, especially cleaning products. When I got sent Bar Keepers Friend to review, I was very pleased that there wasn’t a lot of ingredients. Two in fact: citric acid and oxalic acid. I immediately like the cleaner. Let’s see if it works.

I used the products on different areas of the house. They came in a spray (used on surfaces and the bathroom) a cream (used on the cooker and harder areas) and a stain remover.

The natural ingredients do much better than their chemical loaded counterparts. The stain remover gets rid of any stain and I even use the power spray on my bike. I am impressed and I am also converted. Top marks. Will use again.

 

New Bar Keepers Friend is a traditional, quirky,niche cleaning product first launched in America in 1882 but now being relaunched with two new cleaning ‘friends’ – a NEW Power Cream and NEW Power Spray.

 

BKF is great for specific jobs that require something a little more specialist and works a treat on stainless steel, glass, chrome, brass, copper, aluminium, porcelain, tiles etc and can be used in the kitchen, bathroom, garage, shed, on bikes, cars and boats plus many other applications!
The presence of Oxalic Acid found in rhubarb gives Bar Keepers Friend the edge and it is this unique formulation that can cut through rust grease and oil, mineral deposits and stains.

 

First launched in 1882, the BKF range is being enhanced and extended, and aims to fully

capitalise on its claim of “Once Tried Always Used.”

 

Bar Keepers Friend Stain Remover Powder (250g, RSP: £2.79) will be complimented by two

exciting, new products from the US:

 

NEW Bar Keepers Friend Power Cream – a superior cream formulation that “cleans where

others fail”. Formulated for cookware, kitchens and bathrooms (350ml, RSP: £2.99).

 

NEW Bar Keepers Friend Power Spray – this easy-to-use format delivers BKF cleaning

power for use in everyday cleaning situations, from kitchen and bathroom to stainless steel

and glass (500ml RSP: £2.99).

 

Bar Keepers Friend is a premium, specialist cleaner with a non-bleach formula that can

be used in the kitchen, bathroom, garage and shed! It removes stubborn stains and cuts

through mineral deposits, oil and grease, rust stains and everyday grime giving great results

on stainless steel, tile, porcelain, fibreglass, aluminium, copper, brass, chrome and glass. It

cleans work surfaces (is recommended by Corian), cookers, cookware, sinks, toilets as well

as cars, bicycles and golf clubs..

 

Other top-selling cleansers containing chlorine bleach which are not recommended for use

on stainless steel. BKF benefits from the unique cleaning power of Oxalic Acid (found in

rhubarb, parsley and chives) and when combined with its unique mineral base and surfactant

blend, delivers a unique cleaning performance.

 

BKF owes its existence to rhubarb! Back in 1882 a chemist from Indianapolis noticed how

clean and shiny his tarnished pot was after cooking rhubarb.

 

Using an active ingredient that’s found in the plant he made a talcum smooth cleaner and sold it to the city’s taverns. It

worked so well that it was called ‘Bar Keepers Friend’! BKF boasts a long and successful

heritage that few modern day equivalent products can match.

 

BKF is available in Robert Dyas, Lakeland, John Lewis, Waitrose, independent homeware/

hardware stores or online at www.barkeepersfriend.co.uk. It is distributed in the UK by

Kilrock Products Ltd.

 

Top 3 Advantages of Metal Finishing for Your Business

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Now, before you start reading this in the interest that you’ll find out how metal finishing can add value to your marketing, HR or IT business, I want to quickly confess that I’m only reaching out to those fellows predominantly involved with the construction and engineering trade.

For those of you who work in these industries, you’ll know that the heavy-duty tools, machinery and appliances you use to carry out vital day-to-day jobs need to be able to stand the test of time. Repairs can be a costly band-aid, and if structure failure as a result of cheaper material choices occurs, this poses a public safety risk, not to mention a risk to the safety of your workers. With online OSHA 10 and key occupational training, and the adoption of solid metal finishing for your project, you ensure your project uses the safest industry-standard materials on the market.

Metal finishing relates to the process of deposition, application or treatment of a metallic coating onto a product in order to enhance its appearance, function or performance. Due to its ability to be applied to a wide range of surfaces including steel, aluminium, copper and crass, metal finishing holds the ability to add value to any construction business.

How, exactly? Well, here a 3 top reasons why metal finishing could help to benefit your business:

1. Improve Appearances

Metal finishing can be accomplished through a variety of techniques; powder coating, silk screening, anodizing, e-coating and plating are just to name a few. However, whichever way your finish is achieved, you can be assured that the most notable advantage it’ll provide to your product is the improvement to its overall aesthetics.

It can help to remove sharp edges, smooth surfaces and clean the surface to produce a textured, matte or glossy finish. Aside from also contributing to removing burrs and other surface flaws that may be present on the surface of your product, it can modify decorative options such as the application of colour, metal polishing, glass beading and custom metal plating.

By doing so, you can ensure you’re providing your customers and clients with the highest quality products, should they demand those with greater decorative appearance.

2. Greater Resistance

By overlaying your products in a protected metal finish, the most notable advantage of the process is its ability to make them last a lot longer. If left untreated, metals can wear and disintegrate much quicker than those that are treated.

The metal finishing coating system offers a low coefficient of friction with great abrasion resistance and durability towards corrosion, chemical and tarnish wear. So whether your business uses hardwearing operative machinery, or whether you manufacture building materials for consumers, you can ensure your product will last whatever it’s purpose, as well as however and wherever it’s used.

3. Ease of Cleaning

Part of preserving a well-utilised product/machine/tool lies in the maintenance and cleaning of it.

Metal finishing significantly reduces product contamination and adhesion due to the microscopic smoothness when applied to the surface. This finish also ensures the surface is well maintained and protected.

On the other hand, metal finishing a product can also significantly reduce the time spent cleaning it. On previously non-coated materials, considerable time and care has to be spent to ensure chemicals and procedures don’t contribute to the wearing and rusting of the product. However, with metal finishing, items can be power-washed or hydro-blasted with ease. Companies that have already adopted the use of metal finishing have reported a reduction in cleaning time of more than 50%; meaning that your workforce can spend that previously used time on more vital and beneficial tasks for your business…

This article was written by Ella Mason, an experienced freelance writer. Ella specialises in providing informative and engaging advice to businesses.