Your skin is a mirror.

Have you ever stopped to consider that your skin might be trying to tell you something about your overall health? Our skin is much more than just a surface; it's a dynamic organ that often serves as a mirror reflecting what's happening inside our bodies. Understanding the signs it presents can offer valuable insights into our well-being.

Let's start with the basics: a healthy, radiant complexion. When our bodies are well-nourished and hydrated, it shows in the form of glowing skin. This natural radiance is a sign of good overall health and vitality. Conversely, acne and breakouts can be indicators of underlying issues such as hormonal imbalances, dietary triggers, or heightened stress levels. By paying attention to the location and type of breakouts, we can start to uncover potential root causes and address them accordingly.

Dry, flaky skin is another common concern that can signal dehydration or deficiencies in essential nutrients. Ensuring adequate hydration and incorporating foods rich in healthy fats and antioxidants into our diets can help maintain skin moisture levels and improve overall skin health.

Persistent redness and inflammation are often signs of underlying inflammation in the body, which may be linked to conditions such as rosacea, eczema, or autoimmune disorders. By addressing inflammation through dietary adjustments, stress management techniques, and targeted skincare, we can help calm irritated skin and promote healing.


Beyond these common indicators, our skin can also offer clues about our sleep quality, stress levels, and even potential health risks. Dark circles and puffiness under the eyes may suggest inadequate sleep, heightened stress, or allergies, while sudden changes in skin texture or appearance should be noted and may warrant further investigation.

Nurturing skin health involves a multifaceted approach that goes beyond skincare products alone. It encompasses gut health, hydration, managing stress and prioritizing quality sleep.

Is gut health the root cause of your fatigue ?

Do you often find yourself battling fatigue, despite seemingly getting enough rest?
Do you feel exhausted, frustrated, and you lost desire to take action, to go after your goals ?

You are not alone ! 
I have been helping thousands of people, including celebrities, entrepreneurs, elite athletes, and I can tell you that biochemistry does not compromise. It reacts the same way with all of us.

It's time to consider a factor that might be flying under the radar: your gut health. 

Within our gastrointestinal tract resides a bustling ecosystem of microorganisms known as the gut microbiome. This complex community of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes plays a pivotal role in various bodily functions, including digestion, immune response, and yes—energy regulation.

 

When this delicate balance within the gut microbiome is disrupted, it can set off a chain reaction of events that contribute to feelings of fatigue. One major culprit is inflammation. An imbalance in gut bacteria can trigger chronic inflammation in the gut lining, leading to a systemic inflammatory response that saps our energy reserves.

Furthermore, the health of our gut directly influences how effectively we absorb nutrients from our food. When the gut lining is compromised due to inflammation or microbial imbalance, it can impair the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals crucial for energy production.

But the gut's influence on our energy levels doesn't stop there. It also plays a role in the production of neurotransmitters—chemical messengers that regulate mood and energy. Disruptions in the gut microbiome can impact the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, potentially leaving us feeling drained and unmotivated.

Surprisingly, our gut health even influences our sleep patterns. Dysbiosis in the gut microbiome has been linked to sleep disturbances, which can further exacerbate feelings of fatigue and lethargy during the day.

At Amara Wellness Centre we understand that we are all bio-individuals.
How I approach fatigue is to find the root cause. We do stool test, saliva test, hair analysis along with comprehensive health history.
I am interested in contributing factors such as mental health, language patterns, perceptions and lifestyle. 

As it is those that create imbalances in the physical body and keeps the human self distant from the source self. 

4 Tips to Balance your Hormones

Hormones are the orchestrators of your well-being, influencing everything from your mood to metabolism.  

Some  Symptoms of hormonal imbalance:

  • Brain fog, memory problems, difficulty concentrating.

  • Irritability, mood swings, anxiety and depression.

  • Weight gain or difficulty losing weight - despite efforts to diet and exercise.

  • Cellulite 

  • Fatigue and low energy levels.

  • Fluid retention

  • Hot flashes and sensitivity to cold or heat

  • Irregular menstrual cycles - heavy bleeding or missed periods

  • Low libido 


What can cause hormonal issues:

  • Environmental factors - chemical exposure, candle scents, personal care and hygiene products, cleaning products, air fresheners, chronic stress... are all impacting your hormonal balance.

  • Gut health challenges - bad bacteria overgrowth, parasites, yeast overgrowth, candida creates an unhealthy environment in the digestive tract  and those bad bacteria feeding off our reserves such as iron and other vitamins - leading to anaemia and other cellular dysfunction. Gut is involved in eliminating waste and excess hormones and plays a huge role in phase three detoxification of female hormones. Unfortunately, with poor gut health elimination will not be efficient, ant this ends up in the lymphatic system and loads liver function.

  • Sluggish lymphatic system - Excess toxins in the body end up in the lymphatic system, and if the lymphatic system is not stimulated and drained on a regular basis, it will become overworked and overloaded. Therefor it will not be able to eliminate wastes out of the body effectively. We will end up with excess hormones in the body and experience symptoms as described above.

4 tips to balance your hormones

  1. Endermotherapie Lymphatic drainage treatment - stimulates lymphatic system by 300% compared to manual lymphatic drainage massage, improving waste elimination and excess hormone that is stored in the lymphatic system.  It's important that we eliminate these, on a weekly basis, otherwise unfortunately lymphatic system becomes loaded and your symptoms will start being in the way and will impact our performance in all areas of our lives.*

  2. Sweating - sweating will support our detoxification system.
    Excess toxins can be eliminated out of the body through :
    - Sweat
    - Feces
    - Urination
    Anything not eliminated by these, goes into the lymphatic system to be eliminated out of the body.

    We recommend Far Infrared - which is an invisible light spectrum therapy. 
    It energises cells by :
    - Increasing ATP (natural energy centre of the cell). 
    - Enhances organ function through increased ATP . 
    - Support detoxification process of the body and waste elimination through skin pores. 

    We also recommend Hammam steam therapy and Hammam bathing rituals : 
    - Opens up the airways to detox through breathing
    - Brings balance to the mind (stress reduction and up regulation of parasympathetic nervous system)
    - Calms the mind which will support our female hormones and cortisol levels
    - Allows detoxification through skin pores by removing dead skin
    - Stimulates lymphatic system and blood flow (elimination of excess toxins through this stimulation)

    3- Lifestyle factors : good sleep, diet specific to your microbiome, effective stress management (Hammam rituals can really help with this) - book now your free 15 min discovery session with Dr Zara to guide you to balance and wellness !

    4- Awareness of physical environment : what products you use for your self-care, for your home, candles, incense...

*https://www.endermologie.com/en/body-solutions/

4 Tips To Eliminate Fatigue

Fatigue is a symptom - some feedback  from our physiology to let us know something in our internal environment is not functioning well. 
Lymphatic system - safeguards our bodies against toxins, bacteria, and flushes cellular waste from the body. 

What can cause fatigue:

  • Adrenal insufficiency- chronic stress and cortisol imbalance creation HPA (Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal) Axis  Dysfunction.

  • Gut health challenges - bad bacteria overgrowth, parasites, yeast overgrowth, candida creates an unhealthy environment in the digestive tract  and those bad bacteria feeding off our reverses such as iron - leading to anaemia and other cellular dysfunction.

  • Burdened lymphatic system due excessive waste accumulation in the interstitial fluid.

Some  Symptoms of a burdened lymphatic system :

  • Feeling of fatigue and experiencing brain fog and lacking concentration, memory problems

  • Swelling in the body and fluid retention, feeling heavy and experiencing lag cramps. 

  • Compromised immune function- feeling congested, phlegm, frequent colds and flus.

  • Digestive issues ( feeling gassy, bloated, flatulence, food intolerances).

  • Skin problems (Acne, dryness, flakiness, rosacea, eczema, cellulite).

  • Feeling cold or hot and experiencing hot flashes .

  • Weight gain or difficulty losing weight.

  • Irritability, snappiness, emotional imbalances such as crying for no reason as excess hormones gets stored in the lymphatic system .

  • Experiencing severe symptoms of PMS, perimenopause, menopause.

4 tips to support and take care of our Lymphatic health to eliminate Fatigue:

  1. Endermotherapie Lymphatic drainage treatment - stimulates lymphatic system by 300% compared to manual lymphatic drainage massage, improves  blood circulation  and muscular health. Healthy muscles help with lymphatic flow. We have had many celebrities coming in to take care of their lymphatic system, including Gucci Westman (renown makeup artist clients including Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway, Reese Witherspoon, and Gwyneth Paltrow) travels from New York to see Dr Zara Celik for her Endermotherapie treatments.*

  2. Investment in gut health to  support the liver function  and reduce the load on the lymphatic system.

  3. Drink sufficient amount of  filtered water to hydrate cells so they are like grapes not sultanas. Rule of thumb here is that we need 1L for every 20-25kg of body weight we hold.

  4. Prioritise sleep to regenerate cells.

*https://www.endermologie.com/en/body-solutions/

Self-Care for the Modern Women - Mental Health

Self- care is a buzzword that is heavily used in the media and health and wellness circles. The basic concept requires taking time to slow down and care for yourself, but it goes a bit deeper than that.

As modern women, we tend to juggle a lot of responsibilities and often find ourselves stressed, worn out and physically drained. We unknowingly take on so many tasks without thinking about mental health. The pressure to continuously be switched on and busy has driven has put our health and wellbeing last whilst we continue to care for those around us.

Self-Care for the modern woman - Physical Health

As stated in our previous blogs, self-care is the act of nurturing yourself. However, we are part of a fast-paced society which pressurises to always be on the go which leads to many women putting their needs last. Working women, often juggle careers and family commitments and become resentful and judgement because they don’t take the time to nourish their physical, mental and spiritual needs.

Top 5 Tips on How To Supercharge Your Immune System

As a health practitioner, I would like to take this opportunity to share my knowledge, experience and expert tips on how to supercharge immune system by implementing consistent simple lifestyle factors to create a healthy environment and cellular function.

If you have inflammation in the body, experience digestive health symptoms with frequent colds and flues that may linger on or have existing aches and pains then, you may have weak immune system.

 Top 5 Tips on How to Supercharge Immune System: 

  1. Lifestyle Factors

    • Sleep. Having consistent, regular, non-interrupted, deep and restful sleep will help the body to repair, recover, heal and restore the body. Good quality sleep also improve memory, cognitive function, digestion, and enhance the immune function.  Implementing and scheduling in regular bed time rituals such as deep breathing, applying or burning lavender essential oil, taking a warm bath and applying your favourite body oil will be very helpful with getting good quality restorative sleep. 

    • Hydration. Drink enough filtered water to keep your cells hydrated, maintaining good energy levels and to eliminate toxins out of the body. For every 20-25 kg of body weight, recommended daily intake of water is 5 glasses to keep the cells optimally hydrated.

    • Movement and exercise assist with lymph removal by muscle contractions as well as  increasing and strength, flexibility, endurance , proprioception improve mood and elevate energy levels.

    • Reduce liver loader by eliminating caffeine, alcohol intake , processed foods, artificial sugars and smoking to take the load off the liver and eliminate toxicity in the body.

    • Skin Health and Hygiene . Skin plays a big role in body’s natural detoxification process. When the skin pores are clogged up by dead skin cells, skin won’t be able to expel toxins out of the body. Dry brushing and Hammam Kessa exfoliation can be used to remove dead skin cells. Dry brushing can be done full body before getting into the shower daily while Kessa glove exfoliation can be done after a warm shower or bath to remove dead skin cells and keep the skin pores. Ancient Hammam Bathing Rituals are excellent for mind, body and skin health as it incorporates deep Kessa exfoliation.

    • Lymphatic drainage stimulation to remove toxins out of the body faster by a self message while at home which can be complimented with professional EndermoTherapie Lymphatic stimulation treatment.

    • Nutrition and supplements . Eat local, seasonal, raw, clean and certified organic to nourish your cells and reduce inflammation in the body. Avoid GMO (Genetically Modified Food) and foods containing pesticide, herbicides, fungicides and MSG.

    • Practice mindful eating to avoid digestive upsets and to boost immune system. Check for mineral deficiencies and supplement when necessary.

  2. Stress management -  Constant high stress and negative energy weakens the immune system.It is imperative to manage stress skilfully by implementing and scheduling regular, consistent daily self care rituals such as meditation, deep breathing, exercise, painting and journaling . Having control over your thoughts and changing the perception is also vital to eliminating stress. The thought process produces transferable output of energy which is either positive or negative. The negative energy state will cause distortion in mind and emotions and affects the body by creating an undesirable environment which weakens the immune system.  Spending more time with people in high vibrational energy state empowers energises and elevates internal cellular energy to manage stress skilfully.

  3. Daily Mindful meditation and gratitude practice calms the mind, activates parasympathetic nervous system, provides clarity and opportunity to reflect on the day. Regular meditation will help with improving sleep quality, stress management thereby enhancing immune function.

  4. Gut Health plays an important and vital role in our immune health with 70-80% of the immune function resides in the gut. Prolonged poor digestive health may result in inflammation in the body by weakened  immune function.

  5. Allied Health and complementary therapies such as naturopathy, homeopathy, Ayurvedic and Chineese Medicine can be explored to support general health and wellbeing

I encourage that you take action and implement some of the tips I have shared above and start investing in your health and wellbeing to take your health and wellness journey to a new level where you have vitality to thrive geometrically by having abundance in all areas of your life such as relationships, career, finances and spirituality .

Choose to be healthy, happy, joyful with consistent high vibrational energy state to grow and commit to a fulfilling life.

Best wishes,

Dr  Zara Celik

10 Tips to Rejuvenate and Energise the Body for Vitality

“A healthy outside starts from the inside”

Detoxification or “detox” is a physiological process that continuously eliminates harmful chemicals, toxins, that are either ingested through air, digested though diet and water or absorbed though personal care products. The detoxification systems can become sluggish, causing general inflammation in the body which can lead to physical symptoms such as fatigue, fluid retention, lack of energy, lack of concentration, foggy brain, headaches, aches and pains, poor memory and effect the emotional and mental wellbeing.

It is imperative to take care of body’s detoxification system by investing and taking care of the organs involved in detoxification process such as liver, kidney, intestines, lungs, skin as well as lymphatic system to feel energised and rejuvenated at cellular level.

10 Tips to Rejuvenate and Energise the Body for Vitality 

  • First and foremost remove, eliminate, minimise the toxins that enter your body.

  • Be gentle with your liver as it is body’s primary filtration system where toxins are converted to waste products to then be eliminated by the gut. As it has such an important role to play in your body’s overall regulation, it is crucial that you keep your liver healthy by reducing or eliminating  alcohol, caffeine and toxic substances.

  • Maintain a healthy gut function. If you experience any digestive symptoms such as pain, bloating, wind, flatulence and food intolerances a comprehensive stool testing is recommended to check the health of the gut microbiome, digestive enzymes, good and bad bacteria levels. 

  • Schedule lymphatic drainage massage such as  Endermotherapie  treatments to stimulate the lymphatic function to support lymph transportation out of the body and to decrease inflammation

  • Sweat more by exercising regularly, using private steam rooms  and Far Infrared Infratherapy Vital Dome on a regular basis.

  • Care for the skin by regular dry brushing and  Hammam Kessa Exfoliation on a regular basis to get rid of excess dead skin ensuring pores are open to eliminate toxins through pores of the skin

  • Eat clean fresh, raw, local and seasonal foods that are free from pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Opt for organic produce if you can or follow Clean 15 Dirty Dozen list from EWG.

  • Hydrate with filtered water to assist the body to flush out toxins through sweating and urination.

  • Exercise the body by physical movement which helps with sweating and lymph removal 

  • Establish and stick to a bedtime ritual to ensure you get adequate sleep to repair and regenerate cells.

It is recommended that you book in for an integrative functional health and wellness consultation to assess your health needs and get the relevant laboratory testing as well as gut microbiome analysis. The gut flora and the microbiome will provide extensive information about your internal environment, digestive enzymes, colonic function, good bacteria levels, any opportunistic and pathogenic bacteria, parasites, presence of candida, yeast and much more. 

Based on the findings, we will recommend the best diet and discuss the management plan so you have vitality and thrive geometrically.

How to Improve Gut Health by Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is an important aspect in helping the body to shift into rest and digest mode. In this modern life, people swallow their food as opposed to chewing it. Mealtimes are a hurried affair with food eaten whilst we are distracted by looking at our mobiles, computers or the television. The environment and body have to be in a calm state so the sympathetic nervous system is deactivated and the parasympathetic nervous system is activated during mealtime to improve digestive health. The body is in a calm state so blood and oxygen are directed into the abdominal area so that the parasympathetic nervous system can focus on digestion. 

Top 4 Tips for Mindful Eating

  • Sit down, breathe and get grounded: put everything aside and bring your body into a calm state to start the rest and digest mode. It is time for nourishment. What you feed your body has a great impact on your gut function, mobility and digestive process. 

  • Practice gratitude: bless the food and express gratitude by thanking the person who prepared the meal, including the farmers, producers and the soil. Appreciate mother earth. Spend time looking, observing and smelling the food to activate your salivary glands and stomach acid. Positive thoughts will help the body to go in rest and digest mode by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Take small bites, eat slowly and chew well until it is liquid. Stop eating when you are satisfied. 

  • Eat together regularly: Like everything, eating meals with loved ones must be done on a regular basis in order for it to become a habit. It can be hard to sit and enjoy a meal when we are always rushing to get things done but cultivate this habit slowly and encourage your family members to prepare and relish the meal together. 

  • Eat without distraction and share meals with friends: put all electronics away, avoid eating at your desk, checking your social media or reading news. Create a space that is solely for the purpose of enjoying your meals quietly. Set the table up with candles, flowers and have soothing music in the background. Take the time to nourish yourself. Share meals with friends and loved ones and enjoy both the food and the company. Research shows those who eat meals in the company of friends and family often live longer as they tend to eat healthier meals cooked from home as opposed to takeout. The relaxing atmosphere can also help to calm you and enjoy your meal more.

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The Myth of Anti-Ageing and What You Need to Know About Natural Beauty

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We can’t escape the ageing process, as much as we may try, but with it comes much more than just lines and wrinkles. We often forget the beauty in ageing -- there’s a greater sense of taking control of our health and body image, of achieving things in our lives and careers, and of putting ourselves and our self-care as a priority.

5 Exercise Tips For Busy People

It takes time and effort to take care of your body. No argument here! But it’s incredibly important to find time to exercise. The benefits of exercise are too important to ignore. Yet most of us are too busy to even make time for what we WANT to do, let alone find time to create new, healthy habits. It’s not exactly relaxing to start a new exercise routine when you’re already exhausted from work.