Michelle replies:

I suspect that your daughter isn’t producing enough enzymes to digest her food properly.  When chyme (partly digested food) moves from the stomach into the duodenum, the pancreas is stimulated to produce enzymes.  These enzymes pour onto the chyme and are responsible for digesting proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  If there are insufficient digestive enzymes present, then food cannot be properly digested which would lead to the symptoms you describe as bacteria and fungi thrive on this partly digested food matter.  You can see that although a good diet is crucial, if your daughter is not producing enough enzymes, even if she ate a perfect diet for her particular body, food would not be digested in the manner the body requires for uptake at the cellular level.

I would be so interested to put your daughter on my theratest machine as I would then be able to work out if this issue was due to inherited genetics and whether her body is having problems digesting proteins, fats, carbohydrates or all three.  I suspect both proteins and fats are an issue as protein issues tend to result in constipation and fats in diarrhea.  Interestingly, I could also work out where the body is dumping this partly digested food and discuss other symptoms she may be experiencing at the same time.  Other factors which may be taken into account would be things such as stress and food intolerances. 

I hope this brief reply has sufficiently answered your question. 

Kind regards
Michelle

I have been taking spirulina now for eight years now, I am a very busy mum who also works.  I took spirulina to keep my energy levels up (as I have Low thyroid and iron – I take thryroxine and iron tabs as well).   Recently researching on the net, I got to know that Acai berry and bee pollen benefits as well.  There seems to be a lot out there, I don’t know what to take and what not to take.  I wanted to know that if I replace bee pollen with spirulina(as they sound like they have similar benefits), is there anything I am missing out on?  Will bee pollen make me gain weight?

Michelle replies:
Nikita, you are doing your body a lot of good by taking the spirulina, which is so rich in many nutrients, particularly amino acids.  The amino acids are easily absorbed which makes spirulina a great choice for vegetarians, A blood group people and those who have a hard time digesting animal proteins.  You are quite correct in taking the spirulina to keep your energy levels up as it is a high-energy food and, as weight gain concerns you, this superfood is also a good choice as it may act as an appetite suppressant and reduce food cravings (especially if taken 20 – 30 minutes before meals).

I agree that many of the benefits of bee pollen sound similar to those of spirulina.  Bee pollen contains every known nutrient in trace amounts and in fact has the highest amino acid content of any known food.  It is also highly energizing and actually combines well with spirulina and licorice as an energy tonic.  Bee pollen is indicated as an aid for weight loss, so the risk of putting on weight by taking it is minimal.

Spirulina largely has an effect on the glandular system, liver, pancreas tail, pineal and  pituitary whereas bee pollen affects blood, bones, the cardiovascular system, hypothalamus, liver, muscles, nerves, pituitary and respiratory system.  In light of the above, I would probably stay on the spirulina as it targets more specifically the systems you seem to be having an issue with.  As you are a “thyroid girl”, you would do well to add kelp or a kelp capsule to your diet as well.

Michelle replies:
Being really tired, especially when you wake up in the morning is often a sign of adrenal fatigue.  People with adrenal fatigue feel that they don’t really wake up until about 10 a.m., then 3 to 4 p.m. they can feel really low and after 6 p.m. and supper they feel great again.  Often they will get a second wind at 11 p.m. and feel they can stay up all night. I wonder if you also crave salty foods from time to time; can be lethargic; have lowered sex drive and ability to handle stress; experience premenstrual syndrome; feel that it takes you a long time to recover from an illness or trauma and if you feel light headed when standing up too fast.  Some or all of these symptoms may further point to adrenal fatigue.

The adrenal glands, which perch on top of the kidneys, are responsible for producing a number of hormones but the one we need to consider is cortisol.  Cortisol is a powerful anti-inflammatory hormone that assists in normalising blood sugar levels, as well as having an effect on moderating immune reactions and therefore inflammation. It is rising cortisol levels which help us wake up in the morning and eating also results in an increase in cortisol.  In people experiencing adrenal fatigue, cortisol levels don’t rise as high and drop faster than normal.

Cortisol makes sure there are adequate levels of glucose in the blood, but when the adrenal glands are fatigued, cortisol levels drop below normal and it becomes difficult for the body to maintain normal blood sugar levels.  Many people at this stage will overeat to compensate for their lagging energy, and become overweight.  Others turn to coffee or fast foods which have the effect of temporarily driving the adrenal glands, further depleating adrenal reserves.  It is interesting to note that even a temporary increase in cortisol in this case will cause fat to be deposited around the middle (the old spare tire nightmare!).  The solution is to make sure you have three meals a day, preferably spaced 5 hours apart, with a nutritious snack in between each main meal and that a combination of fats, proteins and starches are eaten together to provide a steady source of energy over a longer period as they are all converted into glucose at different rates which means less strain on the body.

Suggested supplements would be: Vitamin C as the more cortisol that is made, the more vitamin C is used.  As Vitamin C is water soluable it is quickly used up or excreted and should therefore be consumed a few times during the day, not all in the morning.  Vitamin E – as the manufacture of adrenal hormones generates free radicals.  Vitamin E has the function of absorbing and neutralizing the free radicals.  800 I.U are suggested.
Note that both Vitamin C and Vitamin E are blood thinners, so it may be necessary to reduce your anti-coagulant medications if taking these vitamins.
B vitamins – these are co-factors to several enzymes in the formation of adrenal hormones, and a B complex is suggested.  Minerals, especially Magnesium, which acts as a spark plug for the adrenals as well as Zinc, Manganese, Selenium, Molybdenum, Chromium, Copper and Iodine among others would be of benefit.  Herbs such as licorice root which enhances energy, endurance and vitality, reduces the symptoms of hypoglycaemis and fortifies cortisol levels, may be used.  Siberian Ginseng is another great herb which supports and rejuvenates adrenal function, increases resistance to stress, counteracts mental fatigue, increases energy levels, reduces lethargy, normalizes blood sugar as well as improving the absorption of B vitamins and reducing Vitamin C loss.

Another things to consider are exercise, laughter and learning to stand up for yourself  i.e. by saying “No”, taking time out for you and consciously minimizing stresses, as adrenals don’t heal from fatigue unless they are given the opportunity to rest.

I’d like you to get thinking about your natural health. The information I share is based on the experience and knowledge I have accumulated over the years in running a natural health shop and is my personal opinion only. Do ensure that you consult a health professional before making any changes to your health regime.

Some people say “I don’t believe in vitamins’. But it doesn’t have to be about belief: it’s about facts. Mostly, it’s about plain common sense. This article has been inspired by a number of world-wide influencers such as Philip Day, Dr Dan Rogers and Don Tolman who are well-respected speakers on the subject of nutritional healing. In particular, the recently launched Food Matters DVD has contributed much of what I’d like to say. Please do watch it.

In this information age Natural and Nutritional Health are becoming widely accepted. People are now looking on the internet and seeing the side effects of medications and finding natural alternatives. More and more doctors are also looking in to nutritional health. Way back in the 1930s Dr Linus Pauling said ‘optimum nutrition is the medicine of tomorrow’. Tomorrow is still coming.

Hipprocrates laid down the foundations for modern medicine. First do no harm “Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”. Since Hipprocrates time however, our approach to treating illness has changed. Hippocrates is considered to be the Father of Modern Medicine. He believed that the human body had an innate capacity for self healing. You only need to scratch yourself to know that!

Unfortunately modern medicine is no longer what it used to be. I’d be interested to know whether there are any Doctors who feel that the modern medicine has deviated from the Hippocratic Oath still recited. It seems to me that modern medicine now revolves around a pill for every ill!

Many people call Natural medicine alternative medicine. I find this quite strange as natural medicine has been around as long as man has. Drugs have only been around in the last century. Most drugs originate from plants and most plants have some medicinal use. Take cashew nuts. Did you know that 2 handfuls of raw cashew nuts per day is the therapeutic equivalent of a prescription dose of Prozac? Without the side affects. 

Science and medical advancement has created huge leaps in our evolution – we can stitch, mend, repair following trauma, and sustain life that was not possible before. With all things there is balance, and with all things there are positives and negatives. With opportunity to serve others, and to heal, there is opportunity to take advantage, to increase personal gain – the medical industry is one of service to others, and is also one of the greatest accumulators of wealth in the world. Good health makes a lot of sense but it doesn’t make a lot of $.

The pharmaceutical industry is a huge business and like any other business, it has a duty to its shareholders. It is a multi-billion $ movement. The problem is with the way it is regulated. The bodies which are required to research, license and test a drug are all paid for by the drug companies. This is like a restaurant hygiene inspector being paid for by the restaurant owner. It needs to change. 

Also most of the medical journals are supported by drug company advertising. If we check the medical literature for the past 65 years there are thousands of papers showing that high doses of nutrients cure disease. However many of these papers are not even written in the medical journals.  It is illegal in most countries in the world to treat cancer patients with nutritional therapy yet the survival rate for cancer has not improved in the last 20 years. 

Please don’t get me wrong. We do need drugs.  A lot of us would not be alive today if it weren’t for antibiotics, they are just overused. We live in a society where if a little is good then more must be better, and end up with a drug for everything. A pill for every ill! We tend to focus more on symptoms, not the cause. If all you do is treat symptoms you are not going to treat the disease.

In the last 23 years there have been an alleged 10 deaths from vitamins. Compare this with the average 106,000 people each year who allegedly die due to adverse drug reactions in the US alone. And this figure does not include drug abuse, only prescription drugs taken according to recommended allowances.

The idea that all drugs are based on evidence and all natural therapies are hooha just doesn’t stack up to examination. In order for a drug to be licensed it has to show that it is more effective than a placebo in two trials. It doesn’t mean that the drug company can’t do lots of other trials which show it is not effective, it just doesn’t need to publish those. This drug is then licensed and given to perhaps millions of people all with different reactions to that drug. We all have different make ups – different blood types, different metabolisms and different genetic coding – then why would we all react the same way to a drug. The same of course goes for natural medicines. That is why we treat the person – not the symptom.

Our body is naturally working towards attaining good health. It is always on our side. It conspires for our success, not our failure. This is our natural inheritance.

What is Illness?

Let’s take a look at what illness is. Illness is the body’s mechanism to tell us that something isn’t right, and also to go through a process of healing itself. When we have a stomach upset we are sick, when we need additional energy to recuperate we lose our appetite, when we need to burn off a virus we run a fever. Taking in unnatural chemicals, may mask the symptoms, and may appear to eliminate the problem, yet we have postponed the bodies need to get rid of, and to rebalance.

Looking at the problem simplistically, taking stomach relief drugs may push the problem to the skin, applying chemicals to our skin, may move the imbalance elsewhere. A tumour, a dumping ground of toxins, is an indication that the body is attempting to go through a healing process. It is still working for our survival by putting the diseased cells in one place. Modern medicine will remove the dumping ground, but it is likely to return because we have not dealt with the real issue. The tumour is the symptom of an imbalance in our natural health, it is not the problem. How we treat our bodies is.

Some say we get all our nutrition from a good diet. However even the freshest fruit and veges in the shops are at least 4 days old and for whatever reason they have been sprayed with herbicides, fungicides and pesticides. Also a major problem is what we do to the soil and the air and the water. Soils have been used over and over again and the nutrients have been used up.  So – we put fertilizers in our ground. These are made up of mainly 3 minerals NPK – Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. The problem is that the soil requires approximately 52 different minerals, so where is the zinc and magnesium and iodine and manganese and all of the other important minerals. When of course the soil is deficient, the plants are deficient and they lose their defences. The bugs and fungus etc arrive and various diseases attack them. The chemical companies are of course happy to sell us pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, growth stimulating hormones and other various chemicals.

So even if we eat good fruit and vegetables we are eating deficient, toxic food, so we can not help but be deficient and toxic.

To prevent disease we need to be doing everything we can to build the body up not break it down i.e. build the immune system nutritionally and use vitamins and minerals to help the body fight disease. We are lucky that vitamin and mineral supplements are readily available. If we take large enough doses of vitamins and minerals we can use them to prevent and treat illness. One nutrient is so good for so many things ie. Vit E is good for heart disease, healing burns and scarring, plus many more, Vit C is an anti toxin, anti histamine, anti viral, helps regulate blood sugar levels and elevates mood. So one nutrient is so good for so many things just as the deficiency of one vitamin or mineral can cause illness. The medical idea is one drug for one disease. This is not true with nutrition where you can not heal selectively. You can not heal one disease and keep two others. It just doesn’t work like that. When the body heals it heals everything. You nourish the body and the body fixes it. The body has its own healing mechanism. Taking vitamins and minerals simply enables the body to heal itself.

This knowledge has drawn people to superfoods – spirulina, bee pollen, wheatgrass, goji, noni,  raw honey, maca,  raw cacao, acai to name a few. Spirulina is the highest source of protein in the world, The raw Kakao bean is the highest source of Chromium, iron, zinc vitamin C and all the other co factors needed for a healthy metabolism. It also has the highest antioxidant content. Antioxidants protect us from DNA damage, viral damage, skin damage etc . Yet most of us would rather spend our money on a good night out than the best superfoods that have ever been discovered. I believe we should invest our money in to our families health by buying the best food and supplements ever. Mineralising and alkalizing the body is the key to good health. It has been shown time and time again that disease cannot grow in an alkaline environment.

Regardless of the natural versus modern medicine debate, we can focus on doing what we can to ensure that we live balanced and healthy lives. If you can accept that you are a natural being, that has a natural connection to the earth’s resources, you can appreciate what the natural health industry is attempting to do – restore this connection and bring forth a natural balance.

At the Bethlehem Health & Tea Shop, we want to support you in restoring your natural healthy balance by using nature’s resources and the wisdom collected over the ages. Discovering your natural health is a lifelong journey. Ask questions, gather information and develop experiences. Most of all, assert your right to know what you are putting into your body.

I hope I have given you some food for thought. If you would like to know more on this subject please go to www.foodmatters.tv

Jude

Hi Michelle, what advice could you give me regarding heart palpitations – I often feel my heart is racing at uneven intervals and this can make it quite hard to sleep. I also get ulcers in my mouth which reoccur frequently – about once a month. I am a tired Mummy but my blood test results say there isnt anything to worry about.

Michelle Says:

Thank you for your interesting questions. I would very much like to see your blood tests to get the full picture as the information you have provided leads me to want to ask a whole host of questions: what is your blood pressure; when do the palpitations occur and how long have you had them for; what other medications are you on; what are your stress levels like; what is happening in your life on an emotional level at the moment; what does your diet consist of and how is your body reacting to certain foods, what food do you crave etc.

Generally, heart palpitations, besides being associated with an actual heart problem which I assume your doctor has ruled out, may be attributed to such things as: overexertion, adrenaline production, alcohol consumption, caffeine intake, as a side effect of drugs and medications such as antidepressants, as a result of anaemia and even hyperthyroidism. My concern is to find out what is actually causing these palpitations, which are a mere symptom of dis-ease elsewhere in the body, genetic, lifestyle or emotional issues. Once the actual cause of the palpitation symptom has been identified, there would be a host of wonderful herbs and minerals that could be used to address putting the correct nutrition in to get your body to heal itself.

Mouth ulcers may occur in response to stimulation by a host of oral antigens such as bacteria, fungi or chemicals such as mercury amalgams and fluoride toothpaste. Your body produces an inappropriate immune response, determined by your genetics, nutrition, emotions and hormones. Wheat sensitivity, deficiencies in iron, vitamin B12 and folate may also be associated with ulcer symptoms. Possible lines of treatment would include checking for food sensitivities – coffee, nuts, chocolate, citrus, wheat and dairy are common ones. You could also check gluten sensitivity and increase iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12 as well as increasing garlic and onions in the diet, both of which are good, together with Vitamin C, for immunity. I would also be considering improving liver detoxification and being diligent in taking even half an hour after the children have gone to bed to relax on your own and mediate, read – do nothing!

The aim of naturopathy is to find the root cause of a complaint and not merely put a patch on the symptoms, so I would highly recommend a naturopathic consultation in which we would aim to get to the root of the issues as they are just the body giving you a sign that all is not in harmony.

Michelle Glassbrook B.Sc H.D.E ND

Michelle is a qualified naturopath who is passionate about natural remedies.  It is due to her personal journey through chronic illness that she first came in contact with alternative medicine.  In particular, it is her experience of the healing power of herbs that has shaped her passion to help other people in their quest for happy, whole and healthy lives.

Michelle works both from the Bethlehem Health Shop (on Monday and Friday afternoons, as well as a Wednesday morning) and her clinic at home in Pyes Pa.  She offers naturopathic and Bach Flower Remedy consultations as well as reflexology sessions at the Bethlehem Health Shop. and is further able to offer massage and lymphatic drainage from her clinic at home.

You can read Michelle’s blogs by clicking on the ’Michelle’s Health Blog’ category on the right-hand-side of this page. Feel free to comment on her articles or ask any questions. She would love to respond to any general queries or comments you might have.

Michelle’s Contact Details

Should you require a personalised and private consultation, you can contact Michelle by:

Email: naturopathmg@gmail.com

Mobile: 027 339 4049

We would love to hear from you! All you need to do is fill in your name, email address (which won’t be seen online) and your comments or questions to any of our posts which can be found against the categories on the right-hand-side of this page.

A friendly note: any content written by our Naturopaths on our blog, as an article or in response to your queries or comments, is intended as general advice only. A full, private and personalised naturopathic consultation is required in order to help you with your individual health concerns.

Best wishes and happy blogging your way to health!

Jude