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!

In our clinic we meet a lot of people on a lot of different medications. We are impressed with how many of you really don’t want to be on them, but have been given medications and left on them for years. Some regular themes have been coming up so I thought we could share them with you, and perhaps you can pass this on if friends of yours are affected.

A lot of people seem to be told that once they are on thyroxine, they will always be on it. For those people who don’t like being on tablets at the best of times, this news is often a shock and very upsetting. Well, we don’t see things in quite the same way being Health Detectives. We want to know WHY someone who has previously been happily making their own thyroxine  (made in the thyroid) should suddenly not be able to make it anymore. And then we want to know HOW to support their body to make their own thyroxine again as soon as possible – and not need to take it externally. So we set about rebalancing the whole endocrine system (a set of glands producing lots of different hormones doing loads of different jobs) – and once it’s back in balance, including the thyroid gland, we can’t see why the body wouldn’t make its OWN thyroxin again.

We have found with some patients that this is exactly what happens, and when the doctors see their thyroid tests, they can’t seem to believe their eyes… calling the patient back in to re-check the blood tests… and are stunned to find that (having told the patient they have to be on thyroxine for life) they ‘seem to be making it again’ and the doctors have to reduce the medication!

To us that is great news – and shows that the body really does want to run its own chemistry by itself without being dependent on one drug company or another. So if you know anyone on thyroxin,  who would like to get their system back in balance and see if they can show the doctors that they can reduce their medication intake, please give us a call! If enough of you respond we will be happy to run a thyroid clinic locally! Let’s see a few raised eyebrows in the blood test laboratories, folks!

There are an amazing number of groups and support groups out there doing a great job for people sharing specific health issues, from diabetes to fertility problems, rheumatoid arthritus to colitis and a whole range in between!

If your group gets together regularly and would like us to come and do a talk and demo that specifically relates to the needs of your group, do feel free to get  in touch with us and we will see what we can do. Our talk and demo could include testing sessions at the end, and of course for group interest testing people in the group as part of the demo!  We can usually leave people feeling better just  by knowing how clever their bodies can be once we remove some of the obstacles to recovering. So for a talk with a difference, give us a call on (01437) 741176 or email us from this site. Hope to see you soon.

…Or anything in between…. our hormone or endocrine system plays a key role in a surprising range of our body functions. It includes many hormone producing glands, such as the thyroid, pituitary, pancreas, ovaries and many more. Many patients come to the clinic with symptoms of hormone imbalance - from tiredness to problems getting pregnant, bad periods, sleep disorders, blood sugar issues, hot flushes and outbursts of emotion.

Many people are experiencing ‘hormone hell’!  But take heart! This system has the potential to bring people back into feeling on top of things - and not just to  drag them down into a real battle.

Some diseases, such as the oestrogen dependent cancers, have their roots in the imbalance of just a couple of hormones and these same hormones can mean someone cannot get pregnant, or if they do, cannot stay pregnant. Or if they get as far as giving birth, other glands’ underperformance can mean they can’t feed their baby naturally or they may experience post-natal depression.

So why not take charge of this amazing system within your body and plan for those predictable rites of passage, such as getting pregnant or going gracefully through the menopause with a re-balanced efficient hormone system.

Keeping your body clear of harmful excess oestrogens can protect you from more serious hormone dependent illnesses later on. And how can we finish a post on hormones without acknowledging the numbers of you who come with thyroid worries and are often upset to have been told that once on thyroxine always on thyroxine. Cheer up! Once the hormone system (which includes the thyroid gland) is brought back into proper working order, the thyroid can do its job again, and we would not expect anyone to need to remain on thyroxine unless they have had their thyroid removed! Clearly the sooner you check your endocrine system the better.

You can get your hormone system checked by The Health Detectives at any of our clinics in Pembrokeshire  so make your hormones part of your health MOT and ring us to book a testing session. You can also have your hormones checked by sending us a hair sample – so let your hormone-hounded pals know help is at hand!  Have a good month!

Just to remind you that we do exactly the same kinesiology and biochemistry full health testing using hair samples as well as on clients at clinic. Please visit www.hairtest4health.co.uk for full details. Over time the information on our hair testing website will be included in our new site www.thehealthdetectives.co.uk.

Hair testing is also a useful tool for doing those sudden ‘in between tests’ if someone has a health question – have I got swine flu?
‘Am I allergic to….?’
‘My sleep is rubbish all of a sudden.. what is happening?
‘Have I still got parasites
‘Do I need this supplement or medication any more?’

We often mix clinic visits and hair samples as part of a client’s programme of testing and treatments, such as a recent client diagnosed with lymphoma in September and now in the final stages of clearing the cancer, thanks not only to her thoroughness taking the remedies, but also to sticking to a strict alkalising diet. She had a combination of an initial clinic session to help diagnose the Hodgkin’s lymphoma, then several hair samples sent to test at different stages to ensure that the remedies had done their job (from rebalancing the immune system so she could fight her own cancer cells, to decongesting the lymphatic system and checking that her system was no longer too acidic).

Our hair testing service also includes clients’ pets. Again by request, we have decided to offer this service – so we have now been treating horses, dogs and cats using hair samples. As with our 2-legged clients, we ask for a patient form to be filled in and any feed or medication samples to be included, stuck to a separate sheet of paper. People can download hair test forms for pets from our website www.thehealthdetectives.co.uk or from our earlier website for hair testing www.hairtest4health.co.uk to send in with hair samples. For pets we also ask if possible for a printout of a photo of the animal, marking where it has any physical problems.

For many of our clients with eczema and other skin problems, you will know the relief of finding a supplier of natural, chemical-free, lovely-to-use soaps and shampoos that will not cause you more problems. We are pleased to announce that we have teamed up with New Dawn handmade soaps to offer a testing service for customers who would like to know if a particular skin care product would be better for their skin condition than another.

Dawn has received lovely feedback from customers of how their skin conditions have improved or completely gone after using her soaps, shampoos, etc. For a full look at Dawn’s lovely soaps and other products – an ever expanding range it seems, using organic ingredients and avoiding the normal nasties – we recommend you visit her website, www.newdawnhandmadesoap.co.uk

So if you want to have a look at this natural Pembrokeshire range and be tested   to see which ones are most beneficial to you, send Dawn a hair sample and info on your skin problems and questions, along with a cheque for £10 made out to EITHER  Lise Matthews OR Gitti Coats – and Dawn will have her whole product range tested for you. Please specify if any products have your specific interest.

We are glad to welcome you to our newly updated website and hope that you like our new design and more interactive site.

We offer a thorough natural health test to find the cause of any imbalances and symptoms you are experiencing, and to assess how to treat them effectively with natural remedies. You may have had a lot to do with doctors and medicine; you may have tried various complementary therapies too.

Based on the principles of natural medicine, we aim to treat the causes rather than the symptoms of your problems, so that you can be rid of the symptoms once and for all. The recommendations we make aim to get your various body systems back into balance so that you can get on with normal life without relying on on-going medications. Come to one of our clinics or send us a hair sample for testing if you live away or can’t come in person. You’ll receive a full report and prescription for any treatment needed after we’ve tested your hair sample.