Tag: immune system

BLOG POST 6: Skin: Psoriasis, Eczema, Hives, Acne: What you must do to resolve these health conditions to reveal CLEAR, SMOOTH skin.

Posted MichellePosted in Building Health, Health, Natural Health

MYTH: Skin conditions can only be fixed with topical creams, steroids, or prescriptions. 

THE TRUTH: These are all usually secondary conditions to a systemic problem.  

Which means they are symptoms of an underlying cause. Find the cause, resolve it and that is when the symptoms can truly be reversed.  Simply said, adopt the TRIPLE F method: 

Find it. Fix it. Forget about it.

Why do some people have asthma, and others don’t? Are we born with the issue or do we contact it later in life?

And why are skin conditions such as eczema, hives, psoriasis or acne so problematic and distressing for some people, yet others have clear healthy skin all their lives?

These are all questions that are a constant source of confusion and frustration for many people.

SKIN issues are health conditions with usually more than one root cause…

  1. There could be a detox elimination problem. This can occur when the body has a hard time clearing out toxins, including chemicals and pesticides in our food, water and even the air. The liver is the major player cleaning waste from the blood. And when it simply can’t keep up with the onslaught, it can dump toxins in other areas… sinuses being one place, the skin being a favourite…
  2. Gut issues are likely. Cleaning up digestion is key.
  3.  Inflammation is often a factor.
  4. STRESS is usually involved.

Perhaps you can see why just applying a topical cream or taking a prescription would not  SOLVE the problem.  So remember the TRIPLE F approach: Find it, Fix it, Forget about it!

As we explain in the True Health Philosophies, health is multi-faceted with FIVE levels:

Physical. Nutritional. Chemical. Emotional and Spiritual.

First and foremost we must DE-STRESS. The body will always have a hard time absorbing nutrients and eliminating toxins if we don’t deal with and learn how to manage our EMOTIONS and STRESS.

Stress is the modern-day enemy to True Health because:

  • Stress burns through minerals and nutrients.
  • Stress suppresses immune function.
  • Stress strips you of your energy reserves, drains your vitality.
  • Stress leads to an outpouring of the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol.

Left unchecked it can cause a whole miserable range of problems from insulin resistance, weight gain, anxiety, hopelessness, depression, and excess inflammation – a precursor for disease.

Secondly, we need to make sure the detox organs are functioning well and are adequately supported. All explained in the De-stress 2 Digest system.

Thirdly, we must repair and heal our digestive issues. Why? Because DIGESTION is the foundation of health.

Let’s use PSORIASIS as an example: It is a condition that is often associated with SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION and STRESS.

Some things to consider:

  1. ADRENAL SUPPORT: Support those extremely important little glands that sit on top of your kidneys. They are your STRESS POWER HOUSES in charge of vital hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.  When you are STRESSED, the poor adrenals are pumping out cortisol at an alarming rate. Read all about FIGHT OR FLIGHT to understand how damaging this can be for the body. Things that you can be doing to help those adrenals include drinking lots of clean water, getting plenty of sleep, making sure you get lots of Vitamin C, magnesium and the GOOD salt. For a reliable product that supports adrenals see below.
  2. DE-STRESS. Yes, you can do lots of extremely beneficial things such as meditation, prayer, yoga, and be outside in nature. These are all fundamentally important to not just your PHYSICAL health but your MENTAL HEALTH.  But there might be deeper things affecting you such as unresolved issues from your past that have to be addressed. Maybe people who need to be forgiven? Learn more HERE
  3. Address and heal GUT ISSUES.

All of this and so much more is covered in the DeStress 2 DIGEST system, coming soon. In the meantime you can always EMAIL me with your questions.

There are products you can be taking to help with stress, gut issues and to boost health. You may need digestive enzymes, HCL, probiotics, adaptogenic herbs etc. But remember, everyone is different, so always check with your health provider first, especially if you are taking any medications as there may be contraindications. Feel free to ask me a question here.

Stress, is a big player, and so is a compromised immune system. Hormonal imbalances, infections, viruses can all play their part of course. But read on…

As mentioned, the liver and other organs in our body are constantly working hard to detox the chemicals and pesticides in our food, water and the air. Dumping them on the skin or in the nasal cavities is the liver’s way of moving them out of the body quickly. All those toxins can cause a stress on the liver. Bacteria, infections, heavy metals etc. can weaken the body’s immune system and damage health at a cellular level.

You simply do not want toxins floating around inside the body.  And yes you can be born with toxins in the body, depending on the health of your parents. Read this case study

If the liver and gallbladder are able to work together efficiently to eliminate the toxins effectively, then the chances of suffering with these health issues  may well be diminished or disappear entirely.

Remove the toxins. 

A sluggish digestion is often an indicator of too many toxins. Any of the following symptoms may relate: Bloating, uncomfortable gas, indigestion, burping, pains in abdomen, constipation, diarrhoea/diarrhea, sinus problems, breathing issues, skin rashes, headaches, fatigue.

So what to do? Here are some key points that we address in the True Health protocols:

  • Eliminating processed food, hydrogenated oils and focusing instead on eating a whole food diet, incorporating as many organic veggies and fruits as possible is key. But you already know that right?
  • Nourish your body with the right foods and essential fatty acids. Drink plenty of clean water to keep digestion healthy. 
  • If you are not having at least one regular bowel movement every day, then we need to work out why. It could be your diet, fibre or water intake. Is it your bile flow? You might benefit from enzymes, HCL, probiotics, or it could just boil down to stress. 
  • Take the guess work out of supplements, ensuring you are just taking ones that ACTUALLY work and you REALLY need. Two companies I use and highly recommend are HERE
  • Learn the quick way to release those enzyme inhibitors that make it hard to digest grains and nuts. Click HERE 
  • Clean up and support the liver, and target the blood to remove blood stasis (thick blood) which indicates toxins. **
  • Detoxify chemicals, heavy metals, viruses and infections that can cause a burden on your tissues and organ systems. Check HERE
  • Address STRESS and emotional blockages. That’s right.  Learn more? Click HERE 

(more…)

Blog Post 5- Food Allergies, what you NEED to know and the FIVE things YOU can do to change your life

Posted MichellePosted in Building Health

MYTH: When suffering with FOOD ALLERGIES you will FOREVER AND ALWAYS need to avoid the allergen in question.

THE TRUTH:  Allergies are a secondary condition to a systemic issue. Find the root causes, get to work on addressing them and watch the beauty of the body’s healing mechanisms spring into action!

Food allergies are not to be taken lightly as allergic reactions can be deadly. With peanut allergies doubling over the last two decades(1) it is crucial that we have more resources available to address this “21st century epidemic.” (1)

More on nut allergies soon. Let’s chat about gluten for a moment.

Coeliac/celiac disease is a serious condition whereby your immune system struggles and attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. It causes inflammation in the gut and can prevent you from absorbing nutrients. Symptoms include bloating, pain and diarrhoea/diarrhea. People with coeliac disease need to be on a gluten-free diet until they have utilised the resources to reverse the disease.***

Foods that contain the protein gluten include:

  • Wheat based foods such as wheat bran, wheat flour, split, durum, kamut, semolina, bulgar wheat and couscous.
  • Barley, Rye, triticale, malt, brewer’s yeast.

The added problem for anyone suffering with allergies is that many products are processed in factories with nuts and gluten products, so cross contamination is possible.

But can I actually prevent allergies from impacting my life? Is it possible to reverse the problem completely?

Yes. There are things that can be done. Do not despair. With the right steps, knowledge and diligence, we can go a long way towards reversing the effects allergens can have on the body. Here are the FIVE steps you absolutely need to know and of course DO if you are having trouble eating gluten in your diet or indeed if you are suffering with other food allergies.

  1. Products containing gluten must be 100% organic as it is the chemicals and pesticides used in today’s farming methods that can turn gluten from friend to foe. The same goes with nuts and other crops. Our bodies weren’t designed to ingest chemically soaked foods. As good as our detox organs are at excreting toxins, overwhelm has increasingly become the norm, and for anyone suffering with an allergy knows, enough is enough!
  2. Soaking nuts and grains release the enzyme inhibitors which can make these foods difficult to digest. It really is quite interesting. Soak a handful of almonds for a couple of hours and they will swell in size, revealing a softer, buttery centre. Those almonds are now ‘live foods’ which left will sprout after a couple of days. They are more filling, more nutritious  and so much easier on the digestive system.**
  3. Understanding the Gut microbiome and its role in supporting our immune system is vital. With the overuse of antibiotics and pesticides in our society, it is now, more important than ever to make sure we have plenty of good flora in our guts, increasing probiotic foods, and our vitamin D levels are optimum.
  4. Ensuring the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM is strong, clear and all of YOUR detox organs are getting the support they need. Destress2Digest is a system that hands you the resources step by step. Simply said, it covers it all. Digestion is the foundation of health and is EVERYTHING!
  5. The gradual reintroduction of foods. This is an important concept which once learnt makes total sense… BUT for SERIOUS FOOD OR NUT ALLERGIES (1) READ ON…

(1) Dr. Kari Nadeau is the Director of the Sean. N Parker Centre/Centre for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University in California. She has written articles as well as a book about her research and her work with many children and adults which spans across 17 years.

She uses ‘Oral immunotherapy’ under close supervision with her patients to literally reprogram the immune system. The premise being that the targeted allergen is re-introduced in tiny doses, gradually increasing the amount as the body learns to tolerate and re-assimilate the foods through the systems of the body (for up to 2 1/2 years in more severe cases)

Many will -at the end of the treatment- be able to tolerate accidental exposure to an allergen and others will be able to freely eat the allergen. In either scenario it is “life changing.”

(1) Dr. Nadeau calls it a “21st century epidemic” as peanut allergies have doubled over the past two decades. More than 10% Brits/Americans are now allergic to one or more foods.

(1) The UK has one of the highest rates of allergic conditions in the world with 20% of people suffering. 

* An article that she wrote in the Health section of The Times newspaper reads:
“An end to food allergies?” — meet the doctor who says it is possible. “Peanuts, eggs and other foods need not be deadly,” Dr Kari Nadeau tells journalist Damian Whitworth.

(1) To read the entire article click HERE You may need a subscription to the Times to read this.

She has also written a book of  her findings:

The End of Food Allergy:

The New Science of Reintroduction and Reversal to Take the Fear Out of Food by Kari Nadeau and Sloan Barnett (Ebury, £16.99)

SO as you can see, there is much that can be done towards reversing allergies IF we understand the underlying causes surrounding them. If you are prepared to do the work  it is entirely possible to strengthen the bodies ‘terrain” so that you can eventually eat the foods that you love again, and not have to worry about being exposed to allergens that are potentially harmful or even deadly.

Everything you need to know to clear, prepare and strengthen your body and immune system before  thinking about point 5 is right HERE

** BONUS: Click HERE for my recipe: Dope (dopamine and serotonin) coconut crusted nuts with a ‘serotonin’ filled buttery centre.  Want to know more about the benefits of soaking? With more Myths and all the resources you need for perfect digestion and BUILDING HEALTH? Then click HERE

*** Disclaimer: Anyone with a serious nut or grain allergy needs to always work under the supervision of a doctor or trained health professional. When re-introducing foods, do so with an epipen in a doctors’ office until you are told that the programme can be continued in the home.

BLOG POST 3 – True Health Philosophy

Posted MichellePosted in Building Health

Our job as nutritionists is to educate people on how to take care of themselves… that might be on which foods to eat, and what to avoid, how to deal with and reduce the stress we often choose to ignore or bury deep inside. 

In Western medicine doctors look at the body as being purely physical and may treat symptoms and disease with the two main tools at their disposal – surgery and drugs. For any acute conditions, those modalities are often absolutely necessary and life-saving. And for those reasons conventional medicine is indispensable and second to none.

But the problem is, many of the daily health issues we deal with aren’t acute, they are chronic; building up slowly over time. Examples being sleep issues, energy levels, headaches, digestive issues such as bloating or constipation, allergies, rashes, diabetes, arthritis, inflammation, hormonal disruptors, stress, mood, depression… the list goes on.  And honestly, there isn’t a pill out there that alone will solve a chronic issue.

Why is that?

Drugs often band aid symptoms, and occasionally that is exactly what we need. If you have an important event to attend, or you just need to get through the day, but have a nasty bout of hay fever or a debilitating migraine, then implementing a quick fix will bring much needed relief.

But if the same problem keeps rearing its ugly head, a plan of action is what you need. And we have just that! Hunt for the root causes and eliminate them for good!

So whatever the health issues are, we show you how to dig in, clean up and ultimately BUILD HEALTH.

We know it is important it to eat a healthy diet, exercise and hydrate, all part of a healthy lifestyle. 

Testing for nutritional deficiencies, checking for infections, cleansing toxins, balancing hormones are  important. However, if you feel you are doing everything right –  but you’re not as healthy as you think you should be, something else is going on.

The culprit may well be a virus, a metabolic dysfunction or something missing in your diet, it’s true. But just as likely there is STRESS to deal with and EMOTIONAL ISSUES to address.

STRESS is the modern-day enemy to True Health because:

  • Stress burns through minerals and nutrients.
  • Stress suppresses immune function.
  • Stress strips you of your energy reserves, drains your vitality.
  • Stress leads to an outpouring of the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol.

Left unchecked it can cause a whole miserable range of problems from anxiety, hopelessness, depression, insulin resistance, weight gain, and excess inflammation – a precursor for disease.

You may well be eating the healthiest food but literally starving your cells! Sounds crazy right?

But if you are crumbling under stress or just simply having a bad day then your body most likely ISN’T absorbing those vital nutrients.

Stress can diminish everything good that you do. This is so important to grasp, because your worries, fears, insecurities, anxiety and any negative emotions –  if ignored or worse – buried, will weaken your resolve and your immune system.  Stress can damage your cells, blocking your body’s ability to absorb the ‘good stuff,’ to function properly and to heal.

There’s no point eating an antioxidant rich meal, taking a bunch of supplements, but then getting stressed out at work, taking care of the family by yourself and slumping exhausted into bed before starting all over again the next morning. If this is the case a plan of action is most definitely needed.

The True Health protocols are unique because they first teach you how to dissolve the impact stress has on you, and to manage emotional issues effectively before moving on to the other components of good healing.

Here are EIGHT protocols we expand on in the De-Stress APP that are important for optimum health:

  1.  MONITOR your pH
  2.  REDUCE Inflammation…  either from an injury or a systemic issue? Know the difference.
  3.  ABSORB. Are you ACTUALLY getting THE MINERALS  you need? But more importantly are you absorbing them and other crucial nutrients?
  4.  CLEAN UP time using Anti-Microbial products if needed.
  5.  ADD INS: Does your body need enzymes, HCL, CoQ10, a multi or Immune support?
  6.  HEAL THYSELF: Physically and Emotionally: a) Gut Repair for smooth digestion.  b) Gentle measures to clear emotional blockages and elevate wellbeing.
  7. REINOCULATE – Probiotic foods and/or supplements.
  8.  BOOST immune system

If this seems like a whole new way of looking at things and you want to better understand it all, then  good! Let’s consider this…

It’s true that we are physical beings – we strive to be strong, fit and healthy. But we are so much more than just physical. We are made of many layers: nutritional, emotional, relational, chemical, hormonal, sexual, spiritual, and it is important to address each of those layers to be truly healthy and happy 🙂

So we look at the health issues, gather the symptoms as information, and work on addressing the underlying causes or the “roots” that may have contributed to weakening our health.

Our protocols take you by the hand through every step, showing you how to be a Master of your Health instead of being a Victim to stress.

I invite you to stop running around in circles trying different things that haven’t STUCK.

Whether you are sick, feel lost and frustrated by treatment that isn’t working for you, or you just want a SOLID BLUE PRINT that will hand you effective health strategies, crammed with fresh new insights and answers, then you are in the right place.  Our protocols will  guide you seamlessly through the ESSENTIAL steps to elevate your health to new heights, the honest way.

CONTACT ME TO START MAKING THIS HAPPEN.

Check out the Highlights from our new APP: De-Stress2 Digest.

Look out for our BLOG on Emotional Rescue.