List of Articles
1 Start taking that multi vitamin!
2 Nutrition: Food portions
3 Inflammation and pain relief
4 Strengthening your immune system
5 Iridology not just the window to your soul
1. Multivitamins: take them now
Start taking that multi-vitamin
Getting and staying healthy in this age is much more difficult than 20 or 50 years ago and it turns out that the 21st Century is a Tough Place to be Healthy.
1. Food we eat today contains fewer nutrients than food that was available 20 years ago because:
- Our soils are low in nutrients,
- Many food processing techniques destroy or remove nutrients, and
- Cooking methods further destroy nutrients.
2. This is compounded by the fact that we have an increased need for nutrients due to:
Pollution being not just your cosmetics, aftershaves, soaps, detergents etc. but also on the radiation side, your wireless gadgets, cellphones, electronic devices at home and work. We are drowning in radiation today and it is getting worse. The belief that you can get all your nutrients from your foods is now a myth. It is obvious that our soils are deficient. Either by overburdening the soils with more planting than we used to do and by acidification with fertilisers and the use of pesticides and herbicides to reduce competition between plant and insect species. In short it comes down to this: when soils are deficient so are the plants AND the animals that roam the fields. Since most of us eat both we are scavenging our own body to get the minerals we need.
Most vegetarians are not as healthier as they believe. MOst vegetarians do smoke, drink wine and alcohol as well as coffee and caffeinated beverages, and above all they consume less protein foods than the body needs, all of which are detrimental to your health. Remember that vegetarians do not live longer than non-vegetarians.
Low protein diets produce a diminished detoxification process and so increase the toxin loads.
In nature you will see obese herbivore animals, while you do not see obese carnivores. The herbivores need to eat all the time and consequently graze most of the time they are awake. They often have no time to process what they eat till later when they are chewing their cud when they are resting. Animals with a predominant carnivorous diet are rarely obese. Proteins are processed to peptides and amino acids and these cannot be stored. Carnivores sleep for sometime during the day and hunt in the evening and at night for a relative short period.
If you want to be a vegetarian you need to be menatlly tough and not imbibe the above drinks, and eat more vegetarian protein. Low protein diets do not aid in detoxification processes in the liver. It is however an advantage to eat some vegetarian meals with a 1:1:1 caloric ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
And to top it off if you want children you better start eating more fats (the good ones of course), more proteins and cut back on the dense carbohydrates AND take that multivitamin at least 9 month before it all happens.
Every one will feel better when taking one or two multivitamins every day. If you think that you do not need it start taking one for a ten-day period and then stop it, your body will remind you how good you felt within two days.
What ever you buy from your chemist or health food shop is not as good or balanced as what you can get from your naturopath. Try it out and you will find the difference for your self.
As with everything, you tend to get what you pay for. Cheap vitamin formulas tend to contain cheaper ingredients in an imbalanced ratio. While on the surface they may appear easier on the pocket, in the long run, they prove quite uneconomical. You may need to take up to four of a cheaper multi to get the same benefits as one of the superior quality, and taking a higher number increases your risk of unwelcome side-effects.
Choosing the right multivitamin and mineral formula is not always simple and straightforward. We are skilled in assessing your vitamin and mineral needs, assuring that you will get the best value for money and the absolute best for your health. Call today to let us help you feel your best!
2 Nutrition: Food portions
Everybody that comes to see me for an iridology session at the market or in my clinics says they have a good diet. Diet is a word that defines the food habits, which macro-nutritional elements and their quantities are eaten. It however does not conform to what is expressed in and by the body. The recently changed food pyramid has about 75-80% carbohydrates, 15-20% proteins and 5 to 10% fats and oils expressed in the ratio of 4:2:1.
The manufacturers of food have deliberately been fiddling with the composition of foods and have since the mid 1920's been paying the government officials enormous amounts of money in the form of bribes and lobbies. Then producers are not afraid you give up on their product, but eating less is a more profound threat to the profits they make. Read "The Diet Delusion" by Gary Taub if you want more information. In naturopathic circles this has been known for decades and most sensible naturopaths teach these nutritional theories to clients. The science of the Food Pyramid diet does not add up, not medical, not biochemical and certainly not nutritional. Therefore going back to the age when obesity was an "organ failure" problem, mostly unrelated to food, is important. NUtritionally going back to you parents or grandparents time is a good idea. The next best thing is the 40/30/30 or Zone Diets. These give you the correct quantities of your macro-nutritional elements.
If you look back you will see that in the "olden days" people ate more proteins, much less carbohydrates and more and better fats. The ration of macronutrients was close to 1:1:1. You do not have to be a brain surgeon to deduct that the change to the now universal food pyramid diet introduced in the late 60's is part if not totally to blame for the globesity (and its concomitant diseases) epidemic.
I think that most people eat the right foods, HOWEVER most people are eating the wrong quantities of the macro-components. Going the weight-watcher (and better still the Zone Diet) way teaches about portions and when to eat during the day. Using low glycaemic foods is NOT enough! The glycaemic scale of a food determines how fast the food is broken down to glucose and how much insulin is produced. Cooking, baking and toasting food increases the glycaemic index of foods. A good low glycaemic diet should have proteins and fats/oils to lengthen the digestive process. Therefore adding the right amount of protein and oil foods to carbohydrates will slow digestion down by normalising your hormonal system, reducing the speed of insulin production/uptake and reducing insulin means reducing inflammation. This will provide a long-term energy supply, you will feel less tired and consequently snack less between meals. You will feel better. If you like to know more and learn a method to portion your nutritional elements call Peter on 372-8573.
3 Inflammation and pain relief
Inflammation is one of the most critical medical conditions in the body. Inflammation is defined by four criteria: SWELLING, REDNESS, HEAT and PAIN. A fever or a head cold is one of those conditions too. Three body systems control inflammatory conditions: cellular defense, and the immune and hormonal systems. The main sign for you to react is pain.
The body is designed to regulate these systems automatically. However operating the body in hazardous ways: like eating the wrong foods, emotional issues, tissue damage (wounds, punctures, etc.), moving too much (work, sport and play) cause tissue damage. Tissue damage releases components in several waves to close the area off by attracting more chemicals and cells to clean up the area.
Foreign agents like bacteria, fungi, yeasts, viruses as well as chemicals pose a danger to tissues. Local infections can spread quickly once certain barriers are breached. Infections can be life threatening causing the same 4 inflammation signs mentioned above and produce a raised white cell count. Some dietary conditions and a number of allergies are other examples of inflammations. Control of any inflammation is vitally important. Using anti-inflammatory agents, especially those that produce minimal negative side effects is imperative. There are a number of naturopathic ways to overcome pain and discomfort from inflammation. However, antibiotics may have to be used as they have their place in removing infections. A number of naturopathic options (herbs, antioxidants, and supplements) can be explored after finding the cause of the inflammation. Talk to Peter at 09-372-8573 to find out more.
4 How to keep your immune system up to date
With the unstoppable germ warfare H1N1 (Swineflue) virus sweeping the world it is essential to shore up your body's defence system.
Your immune and lymphatic systems are your main defence systems.
The way your immune system works is that it needs contact with the offending microbe, virus, or chemical agents. With viruses you only need ONE to get through your defenses to enter a cell and the self-replicating process can be started, then millions copies of the virus are produced and released to infect neighboring cells. Stop the viral reproduction process by blocking the viral neuramidase with the right herbs and you halt multiplication of the H1N1 virus in your cells.
You can improve your immune system by doing number of simple things: Your food - garlic, onions, Vitamin C, and blood group diet. Exercise daily, take a good multi-vitamin, de-stress regularly, take the proper immune enhancing, neuramidase blocking and strengthening herbs (Echinacea, Astragalus, Elder flower, Olive leaf (put a few crumpled up leaves in your tea). Get your 6 to 8 hours of sleep. Exercise regularly. Best Food: 1 tsp manuka honey mixed with bee-pollen and propolis every day.
I found the most amazing solution to colds and flues to be Fer Phos - Cell salt #3 (Schuessler range, combination T is even better); take one daily and for the first two hours half hourly when you feel something coming on. It stops acute infections in their tracks.
Iridology, the window to more than your soul
This article is published in the December 2009 issue of SOUL QUISINE
Iridology is the study of the iris of the eye. The words 'Iri' and 'iris' come from the Greek name of the goddess of the rainbow, Iris. The Greeks noted eyes come in many colours. And 'ology' in Greek, means study of. There are dozens of books about iridology and it is taught in naturopathic colleges. The iris is one of the major physical reflex systems that will show what is happening in the body and show a change when it actually occurs. When you break a leg or arm it will show immediately in your iris. Iridology is usually part of a naturopathic consultation. It is a tool and not a cure or treatment. It is very old, with references found in ancient cultures of China, India, Egypt, even in middle and South America.
In anatomical references it is mentioned that the Iris is a mechanism to regulate the amount of light coming through the lens and pupil. It consists mostly as muscular tissue in a doughnut shape, it has blue or brown colour pigments and nerve fibres. Any other colours are corruptions of blue or brown. Most iridologists start out with an eyeglass and a small torch to provide a source of light. When they become more proficient, most practitioners of iridology graduate to a more refined microscope arrangement for a much higher magnified image and some use an iriscope, similar to a close-up digital camera usually connected to a computer to study the image. This way it also becomes a wonderful educational tool where the client can see their own eyes and see why the iridologist remarks on the signs on the iris and sclera (the whites of the eye).
In iridology virtually everything shows. For example, when you are under long-term stress, nerve rings develop in the Iris. These nerve rings look like the grooves on one of those old vinyl LPs. The more and deeper they are, the greater the stress the body has been under. To combat stress, you need to eat more Calcium and Magnesium rich foods, regularly take B vitamins, do stress relief methods like meditation, tai chi, relax or go on a holiday.
If you stress your lymphatic/immune system by eating the wrong foods, have infections and inflammations, white or yellow spots occur in the iris. When arranged in a circular fashion near the outside of the iris, it is called a Lymphatic Rosary. The best foods for this sign are the foods related to your blood group and the use of herbs like garlic and Echinacea. It is also best to avoid processed dairy products like treated milk and yellow cheese, as well as peanuts and wheat, corn and potatoes. The lymphatic system also benefits from exercise like swimming, dancing, brisk walking and especially rebounding on a mini-trampoline.
If you overly stress an organ, the fibers change and form a lacuna or lesion indicating an ongoing process of inflammation or degeneration, and in the process of healing the lacuna will change. A lacuna looks similar to a flower petal; the colour, size, and fibers inside it depend on the healing process. Specific action for treatment is essential by taking herbs, vitamins, physical intervention, etc. There are a number of other forms of iridology dealing with the spiritual and personality aspects (Rayid iridology) based on t-he same iris signs. From my experience they are equally valid.
Most conditions that are visible in the iris have been developing in the body for years, so do not expect an overnight cure; everything takes time, but. . . miracles do happen. Medical science still regards iridology as quackery, mainly because they cannot explain how it exactly works. This is despite the fact that iridology stemmed from their own research and that it was used for almost 70 years. I have seen thousands of irises and am still constantly amazed by what I see in my clients and the correlation of iris signs to medical and physical body conditions. It is a wonderful tool for assessing your health.