The Health Detectives

A news headline the other day read

“…large doses of B vitamins can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with memory problems and may slow their progression toward dementia, data from a British trial showed on Wednesday, Scientists from Oxford University said their two-year clinical trial was the largest to date into the effect of B vitamins on so-called “mild cognitive impairment” — a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.”

In our clinics and hair testing as The Health Detectives, and no doubt for many natural medicine practitioners, there was a moment of “I told you so” hovering in the air. Mental function, even mild feelings such as ‘brain fog’ experienced by many people way before serious loss of function, often respond well to B vitamins.

When we test for memory and brain health, or the cause of someone’s depression or anxiety, we check that the neurotransmitters (brain messengers) are in balance, and if they are not we have to find out why, and how to correct this.

Many factors spring to mind and we test for these – such as mineral or vitamin deficiency (for example Vitamin B6 or B12) , toxicity from metals such as aluminium – known to correlate to cases of Alzheimers – which need to be removed from the body if found, and high quality oils – important in the building of proper myelin sheaths around nerve fibres for proper neurological functioning.

We would not ASSUME that someone with mental problems would automatically require a B vitamin, though it has long been recognised by naturopaths and nutritionalists as an important remedy to consider. We always TEST to see what an INDIVIDUAL needs to correct their biochemistry so that they can function properly. For one person with memory problems it may be caused by a deficiency in the right nutrients for their body to function optimally, for others it may be that a toxic metal is stopping their biochemistry from functioning by poisoning the enzymes that oversee the different reactions needed to function well. So giving someone with aluminium toxicity, lots of vitamin B may not be as important as chelating the toxic metal and getting them out of the body (largely through the kidneys, which in turn may need to be supported by some kidney supporting nutrients).

At the end of the day, a guess is a guess, but why not come for testing or send in a hair sample if you want to check your brain chemistry (neurotransmitters) and important risk factors, such as toxic metals, and lack in B vits. It’s not just fillings (dental amalgam) that can leach toxic metals into our blood system. We have found patients who are using make-ups which test up to toxic metal, and drinking water (additives) as well as mercury being used as a ‘preservative’ in many vaccinations which are pushed hard onto the population such as the swine flu vaccine.  Always ask what the ingredients of a vaccine are before you have the cocktail injected into your little children.

Other factors during our younger lives can predispose us to future toxic levels of metals, increasing our risk of alzheimers and dementia. For example, depending on our body types (Auyurvedic) we may have a natural susceptibility to aluminium, mercury and lead, or nickel.

The news articles I read also mentioned a connection between high levels of homocysteine and Alzheimers. We also test for homocysteine, and it is part of a very important chain of reactions called the Methylation cycle. This is very important for good cardiovascular health and is an early indicator of heart problems. This we have always treated with nutrition – such as specific B vitamins – so the big news of the week is really not new at all. Ask any complementary therapist, but then, many doctors do not rate our sector sadly.  We would also check homocysteine and methylation in our health MOTs as well as toxic metals – so rather than guessing, and spending a fortune on B vitamins that may not do the job in your case, come and be tested (or send a hair sample – click on Hair testing in the menu) and find out what your risk factors really are… and how to correct them.

So please… B vitamins are not new news – though its heart warming to see a headline that recommends a great natural nutrient that does so many essential jobs in the body – rather than another block buster pharmaceutical such as statins, with known side effects and questionable benefits, where natural healthy living practices could do the same job in many cases.  In a month where new E U regulations are taking yet more wonderful minerals and natural remedies off the shelves purely on licensing grounds, hurray for one being made too popular to axe!

If you are worried about your health – contact us and we will ‘get on your case’!

Best wishes, The Health Detectives

There are mixed feelings even in the NHS with those I have talked to about the year old vaccination programme against the human papilloma virus (HPV). Some question the need to give it so young as the main problems only start for most when they become sexually active. It is also a new cocktail and has no meaningful history so in effect the girls receiving it are guineapigs.

When it came out, I spent several days on the phone trying to get a sample of the vaccine so we can test that our patients can tolerate it. My calls were met with hostility even when I explained that we wanted to support those clients who WANTED their daughters to have it but wanted  to make sure they could cope with it as safely as possible.  Even though we are not anti vaccines in principle, the fact that often toxic metals such as aluminium and mercury (both neurotoxic) are added, along with other adjuncts (to speed the immune response) means that it is rational to have concerns.  Yet  the head pharmacists, and even those in charge of public health, would not allow us a sample or even to make a homeopathic copy. They would not return calls or reply to emails. We are happy to work with them on issues that our patients are concerned about.  They clearly are uncomfortable with any suggestions that vaccination is not plain sailing. 

Many healthy kids would probably have no reaction at the time - although at a deeper immune level may well do.  This may not ever be picked up, as links to the vaccine would not be made when they have other health issues later – unless they have a negative reaction to the jabs at the time.    

However, just one example from our clinic recently – and I hope our young patient will not mind us referring  to her plight -  a young healthy girl developed a bad throat and loss of voice that would not clear. Then, when the parents realised it only started after her third jab of Cervarix, we tested with kinesiology and found that her throat problems related directly to something in the vaccine.

What it had done was NOT an immediate  external reaction,  such as a sore arm  like her friends, but a much more hidden response in her immune system which we had to correct with the right remedies. It had interrupted the body’s ability to fight fungus, so the initial throat infection was fungal, and we treated that and she improved but it was still weakening her voice. When the vaccine connection was made we tested and found that was the deeper issue. We hope to hear her singing in a couple of weeks at a concert!

So the bad news is…. vaccines can be bad for the health at a deep level … and in any case only offer  (according to the information from the manufacturer) about 70% immune protection  from the virus that can trigger cervical cancer. The good news is, with testing, we can check the link  to any problems you believe it might have caused, and we can remove the disturbance it causes her deeper health,  to take your daughter  beyond the negative effects.

We are really happy to check vaccines before or after your kids have them, and as parents ourselves who have experience of the pressure to vaccinate or not, will support your child’s health whatever decision you have made. 

It’s a hard decision for any parent so here are some thoughts that will hopefully help:
Firstly, ensure your child is fully well before any jabs – we are happy to do health MOTs and in particular to check the immune system – either if you come to our clinic or if its urgent, through a hair sample (see site for details).

If your child has already been vaccinated and you have concerns however ‘intuitive’ – you know them better than the doctors and you have no vested interests in the vaccines financially – so please listen to yourself. If you are in a position to bring the vaccine sample along – great and we have a number of samples, including CERVARIX  too, so we will test your concerns out.

The advice we would give any parent who suspects a negative effect on their child’s health after the vaccines – even if it’s not immediate – is that they go online and report it http://vaers.hhs.gov/index – or google vaccine side effects, reporting and you should find what to do next – and to put it in writing to your doctor and even the local pharmacists as they are at the front line and often tell patients about drugs and what not to take them with when the doctors don’t know.

Here is a link to a vaccine info site http://www.vaccine-tlc.org/

We hope this has been helpful to those of you with worries and hunches in your own families.

There is some information on the Dr Mercola site …. its about homeopathy, and near the end of the article the author refers to a site on vaccines and reporting. Interesting article on homeopathy too! http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx

Are you of reasonably athletic build, active and moderately muscular? Do you tend to have problems with inflammation, skin or joints? Is your weak point perhaps your heart? Maybe you are a red (Pitta)!

Are you smooth skinned and easy-going? Tending to have even, white teeth? Put on weight easily? Maybe you have problems with phlegm or mucus, lumps and bumps. You may tend to be family focused, often a peacemaker rather than ambitious… you could be a good old green (Kapha!)

And if you are a Vata, you might have grown up hearing yourself described as ‘the black sheep of the family. You may be the tallest or the smallest, the only blond in the family, etc. You might have a tendency to worry or feel anxious, with irregular symptoms and irregular appetite. You might have a lighter, thin build and pale skin colour, making you a blue!

Many people are a mix of two of the body types (Doshas) so if you feel you fit more than one description, you may have characteristics of two of them. Each body type resonates with an energetic frequency which happens to match a colour within the spectrum – blue for Vata,  red for Pitta, and Green for Kapha.

If you search the internet, there are lots of sites listing the characteristics of the three main body types, and information about which sorts of diet suit each. There are also numerous sites with quizzes and questionnaires so that you can calculate your body type. We don’t like to rely on guess work, but use our muscle test and colour filters to ask the body which is very precise compared to answering a questionnaire or guessing yourself.

At our Picton centre talk last September, we had great fun with the audience who were all keen to find out their Ayurvedic body type. This is an ancient traditional medicine and way of classifying the body with different characteristics so that we can perhaps find a way of understanding ourselves that can make our health less of a mystery! Clearly it is only part of the story of our health – but it is an interesting ‘filter’ when we are trying to get a picture of what is happening to us.

For us, as The Health Detectives, finding your body type can be a way to narrow things down when we are looking for clues to solve your health mysteries. Whether we’re restoring hormones, digestion, brain chemistry or meridian systems, immune system or detox organs, we can use body types to tell us what may be corrupting these systems, particularly toxic metals can muck up a number of processes. Some interfere with enzyme activity meaning we cannot break down or make some of the substances we need for our body to work well, such as hormones or neurotransmitters, others have shown up in various studies – such as suspected links between aluminium and alzheimers or MS. Mercury is known to be damaging to the brain (yet is used in a number of vaccines – see our swine flu video spoof on our website) and lead likewise is something most of us would prefer not to ingest as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Under a spectrometer, the colour Red shares a pattern profile with aluminium, meaning that a Pitta type body (or ‘red’ as we call them) can be particularly sensitive to aluminium toxicity. So for example, wrapping a Red’s sandwiches in Aluminium foil or cooking in it, may have much more of an impact on the health of a Pitta, than for example a Kapha.

Kapha (or green) who is more naturally sensitive to nickel. They might find they cannot wear a watch without getting a sore or irritated wrist, or might find a sore spot where the back of their jeans button is in contact with their tummy. 

Vata (or blue) are naturally more sensitive to mercury so while some patients may have dental fillings without any problems, it would be silly for us not  to check a blue with our mercury test nosode.

So yes, we test which body type someone is by either getting them to look through coloured visors/acetates or by holding a test nosode of their weakening colour(s). As quick as that, no lengthy quizzes, just a muscle test or two and then we can focus on the type for further health diagnosis.

What else can be revealed by your body type?
Different types will for example often have a preference for certain types of treatments if feeling in need of practitioner.

The Red or Pitta often prefers a good structural treatment, a few bone crunching noises and good hard stretching or manipulations to really feel the work is going to do the job. Pitta’s elements are fire and water, and a balancing diet would include cool or warm foods (but not steaming hot foods), moderately heavy textures. Favourable tastes include bitter, sweet and astringent (such as pulses). Less butter and added fat.

The Green or Kapha often would prefer treatment through herbs, or if something hands-on, it may be massage, skin brushing or something with fluid movements. The main Kapha element is water primarily, and earth. When out of balance with health problems, conditions like fluid retention, lumps and growths would be more common. A balancing diet would favour warm light foods, dry food without too much water. Favourable tastes include pungent, bitter and astringent foods to stimulate. Minimum butter, added fat and sugar.

The Blue or Vata would be a naturally more highly strung or neurological type when out of balance, and would tend to like more emotional or energetic treatments and light hands-on treatments such as Bowen Technique or cranio-sacral treatment. The sort of health problems a Vata may find would be gut problems, the shakes (nervous system problems), and possibly wasting diseases and MS.  A balancing diet would favour warm, moderately heavy, unctuous foods. Added butter, fat and salt. Soothing and satisfying foods.