The Health Detectives

Having heard an interesting talk about acupuncture a few days ago by Chris Ashdown at The Ark, haverfordwest, it prompted me to write some words of encouragement along the preventative thinking line!

Acupuncture which has been well tried and tested (handbooks date back some 5000 years, no I haven’t added an extra 0) looks at the whole person’s life as do many of us in natural therapies. Interestingly the chinese doctors were only paid for WELL patients… I think that would focus some practices in the NHS!  They would look at whether people were living appropriately for the ‘seasons’ of the year … or of their life, with the over all aim of conserving their ‘Chi’ or energy reserves to be in good health for life, not just youth! The chinese system talks of different chi from that we are born with (ancesteral) which is really hard to replace once lost, so has to be conserved by living appropriately. Then there is the energy we do (or don’t) get from our food, and so on.

Chris gave a winter example that we can all relate to – winter is the season of drawing in energy and not expending it unwisely, its when animals would hybernate for example, and NOT be rushing round flat out christmas shopping and wrapping presents into the night after a full on day’s work and a further hammering from all the xmas sweets and alcohol. Basically it’s when our energetic body wants to be curled up in a blanket by a fire with no big demands until Spring, so that  the whole cycle of growth and energy can start again.  How TRUE!

So we all know the pressures but what of the health consequences? Having drained our reserves, we all know people who get run down, get a bad cold or flu over xmas (when their adrenalin stops keeping them going as soon as they have reached xmas and done all the preparations)… and often soon afterwards many more people feel depressed. Again this can be the biochemical burnout taking hold. The immune system is often compromised and this has many effects, and even things we may not think of, such as effecting night sweats, photosensitivity (over sensitive to day light or electromagnetic sources such as computer screens and mobiles), and perhaps allowing existing imbalances such as gut fungus and candida, parasites, IBS , and our defenses in general to suffer.

If we are depressed biochemically it is hard to motivate ourselves to do useful energy measures such as exercise or good diet that takes a little more time and planning. In come sugars and quick to grab things that perhaps further upset the gut balance – hello bloating, headaches, constipation and insomnia. We can so easily set off a long chain reaction and find ourselves living at half our physical potential.  Watch out spouses.. this won’t help our sense of humour.

Chris explained that in some traditional hospitals you would be sent for different treatments depending on your level of need (or the state you had got yourself into!) They would look first at the food you are eating and the situation you are in – sleep, pollution, lifestyle etc. Then they might give you some foul tasting herbs to deal with immediate issues, like parasites, before sending you for acupuncture for deeper rooted energy and meridian imbalances which effect the running of the whole system. I guess without Chi we are like robots rather than human beings ?!

Oh and there are even hospitals with tree lined avenues for patients to do their daily ‘prescribed Qui Gong’ exercises which work on specific health systems, organs and conditions! A prescription for exercises – now that would be a useful lesson over here – so if any of you want to check out the little films which show you qui gong exercises – basically you get well gradually by doing these standing still postures daily – so not strenuous at all, the link is http://www.qigonghealingarts.org/qigong-exercises/master-lam-kam-chuen-free-qigong-videos/

But for now – looking after your whole system at this time of the year is going to set the tone of what the spring and summer can bring you in your life. So reboost your system by nurturing and perhaps consider having a thorough health MOT with us over the next month at The Ark, Haverfordwest.  We can see where you are biochemically and even energetically, and work with you to make sure 2012 is a year where you won’t have to face the challenging economic and employment situation in an already depleated state.

Don’t worry if you are not local to us – we will certainly do MOT’s at a distance if you send us a HAIR SAMPLE – see else where on this site for details – its fast and easy to send in your form and a hair sample, and we will test it as fully as we test patients in person – but please put as much detail as possible on your form. If you need supplementation it’s better to know now, so that it would have a chance to rebuild you well before spring when you will want to be enjoying a new year! You are not alone – we have all been over doing things and are now busy picking up the pieces for a spring clean of our health. Now… where did I put my Vit B2 ?

To your very good health!

 Welcome to the New Year – we look forward to working with you and your friends and family to make it the best it can be.

Clearly any year has challenges to face, both expected and unexpected, but do we really stop and think about how ‘fit we are to face it’ … beyond making a few new year’s resolutions to counter balance our guilty festive excesses?

Yes –  good decisions (resolutions plus an action plan we WANT to succeed at) can really reduce stress, improve our health and facilitate happiness. It is alot to do with our state of mind. But have we stopped to look at our HEALTH … if this is not on our side those intentions will never become decisions, and before we know it we will be beating ourselves up with some nasty negative self-talk.

What health aspects can help us feel clearer headed and fit for the fight .. and the fun?

H is for Hormones – if out of balance this can range from depression, debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, horrible periods, muddled thinking, unwanted sensitivities and emotions, that is for starters.

A is for adrenals – again part of the bigger hormone picture, and adrenal exhaustion is all too common. Not helped by stress, xmas and money worries , family issues, lack of sleep and much more. We force ourselves to go on being super wife, mother, man etc.  but at some point our adrenals (or worse, our heart chemistry) starts to rebel and it becomes harder to pick ourselves up.

S is for sleep – this can be elusive and causes of poor sleep can be emotional, or biochemical (if you have got rid of other external factors – noisy neighbours etc) and lack of good quality sleep can again lead to depression, and loss of self confidence. That would not help in achieving goals and enjoying the year ahead. Often rebalancing the biochemistry with nutrients when we are working on patients has the positive side effect of improving sleep even when we are not working on that directly. For many patients its one of the first changes they report back, when we are for example working on their digestion or hormones.  Without good sleep it is hard to keep our moods even and our self esteem intact.

D is for digestion. Many of our patients have been told that their ‘IBS’ can only be managed and not cured. Poor digestion is not only painful, but is a real stress for many people who have to constantly watch what they eat, worry about what they eat, and keep a short clear path to the nearest loo , where ever they are. That is one stress we wish to remove for anyone looking forward to living life more freely in 2012. We have MANY happy patients who have had fast relief and lasting relief from IBS symtoms Without having to stay on long term remedies – so make getting rid of IBS a new years’ resolution for yourself or someone you care about. It does NOT need to be lived with in normal cases.

Finally… F is for Fungus… an amazing number of us can suffer from fungal imbalances which can have a wide range of impacts from Candida, to thrush recurring, to cravings for sweet things, to unfairly awful hangovers from moderate intake of alcohol, to mystery skin lesions, to really foggy headed problems thinking straight!  It can if left untreated also weaken key body systems such as the immune system, with nasty potential future risks, but it can be treated and left behind.

Our new years’ resolution??? To work with even more lovely patients than in previous years to get them through whatever health problems have stood in the way of them being who they really want to be – and to be a simple back up for them to stay that way and enjoy being… well … WELL!

Join us for an MOT for yourself or give an MOT as a gift for a great year to anyone who is being held back by ill health.  We will work with anyone who wants to be well and is willing to work with us using natural medicine and determination!

Wishing you a wonderful 2012.

Best wishes – Gitti and Lise – The Health Detectives

Poor immunity is undoubtedly a major factor in allowing Candida to overgrow. A weak immune system appears to be the norm these days. The main reason is often nutrient deficiency.  Almost every nutrient known has a role to play in creating immunity, and since most individuals exhibit multiple nutrient deficiencies, they inevitably have chronically impaired immune systems.
Psychological stress appears also to be a much overlooked cause of immune weakness, and the same is true of electromagnetic and geopathic stress.