Nutritional Therapy and Naturopathy

What can Nutritional Therapy & Naturopathy treat?
It can be used to treat a wide range of conditions including arthritis, asthma, eczema, depression, PMT, IBS, menstrual/fertility problems, migraines, high blood pressure and is useful in supporting those with cancer or diabetes.

Nutritional Therapy and Naturopathy - How Does It Work?
It is a commonly held belief that if we are ill we need to take extra vitamins and minerals or medication of some kind. In most cases this is not true. More often, when we are ill there is a great need for products to leave the body rather than to pour more inside. The body needs to be detoxified before being re-nurtured, it needs to be cleansed before it can absorb. This is what natural nutrition and naturopathy seek to do. We believe that the only way healing can take place is to completely de-stress the body and not to cause it any further harm. We use natural, organic foods to reduce the challenge to the body. This takes the pressure off the whole system so that the body then has the energy and resources to begin to heal itself. This is done over a period of time, allowing the client to adapt to an individually tailored programme.
Most people who are ill are chronically dehydrated. They don’t drink enough water and instead drink tea or coffee, both of which are diuretics. This puts a big strain on the kidneys and leads to vital minerals like calcium and magnesium being leached from the system.
People also often rely heavily on coffee and tea to give them a little “boost” when they’re feeling a bit tired or lethargic. This puts a big strain on the adrenal glands as they are constantly being asked to produce adrenaline (not the way the body should be getting its energy), eventually resulting in adrenal exhaustion.

Other Causes of Dehydration
Vaccinations set up a long term vibration of a disease picture which keeps the body on constant alert causing extreme stress and dehydration. Pollution, air travel, electrical circuitry and the breaking of natural rules (i.e. not living and eating with the seasons) all detrimentally affect the body. Most of us do most of these things on a daily basis for much of our lives. We suffer from various symptoms and take supplements or medication to remedy them but in reality we are simply adding to the body’s internal toxic load.
All these factors cause the body a great deal of stress. When we are stressed we become dehydrated and when we are dehydrated we become stressed. It is a deep physiological stress which hampers the ability of our cells to eliminate toxins or repair itself.
By this time the cells in the body will have undergone what we call “electrolyte displacement”- basically, the electrolytes (the main ones being magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium) are in the wrong place within the cells. Cell membranes will have lost their integrity and rather than being strong, flexible and able to keep toxins out, they’ll be weak, flaccid and very permeable to toxins and other substances that are not supposed to be inside the cell. Toxins and acid will have built up inside the cells, making us feel very ill.

So What Does Treatment Involve?
The first stage is to replace challenging foods with easily assimilated foods. This frees up energy which the body can then use for cleansing and repair.
Omega 3 oils play a major part in a person regaining their health on all levels. Oils are integral to the correct functioning of the nervous and endocrine systems as well as helping to stabilize emotions and mental wellbeing.
Naturopathic techniques such as hot and cold showers and dry skin brushing are used to open up routes of elimination. Enemas may also be used to reach and treat the liver.
Supplements are used when necessary but these are usually for a short time only or during specific seasons.
 

If we make it to the age of two on a diet of mother's milk and simple, non-challenging foods, the chances are that as the digestive system develops and becomes fully formed, then we will be able to digest more complex molecules and allergies and intolerances will be avoided. However, allergies and intolerances can still become a problem later on in life as a result of stress, a bad diet and medication, especially the use of antibiotics and the contraceptive pill. Wheat and dairy products are very hard for the digestive system to digest- in order to do so the intestines secrete copious amounts of mucous. Lack of water in the diet can severely influence the amount of hydrochloric acid available to complete the digestive process. If food is not being digested fully, it becomes lodged in the mucous, where the undigested food particles start to ferment and to release toxins, fungi and bacteria through the intestinal lining into the blood stream. Once again the immune system will jump into action and deal with the "invaders", which we recognise as an allergic reaction. One "bad" bacteria that you might have heard of is Candida Albercans, which is actually a type of yeast. This thrives in the conditions created when we cease to digest our food properly and eat lots of sugary foods, wheat, dairy, alcohol and so on. (It is important to remember that "good" bacteria can not survive in the same environment as "bad" bacteria.) If Candida stays in the intestinal lining for long enough, it will eventually take root, creating holes in the intestinal lining- this is so-called "leaky gut syndrome". With this condition, the gut lining now has holes in it, through which molecules of partially digested food can pass into the blood stream, playing havoc with our immune system and the liver. Because the immune system is over-stretched we become prone to infections. You will feel exhausted, continually lethargic and tired because your whole system is having to deal with an extra toxic load from the gut and its unfriendly occupants that have taken up residence there. It's a bit like your dog having fleas- if they are left unchecked they could eventually drain his life-blood away (literally!) Over time the extra mucous secreted by the intestines hardens on the intestinal lining. When this happens, nutrients, vitamins and minerals can no longer be absorbed, causing deficiencies.

So, what can you do to help yourself ?
It's no good just removing the allergens from your life and diet because one day you will find that the only way you can survive is by living in a plastic bubble! You really need to fundamentally change your diet so that your intestinal lining can first of all heal itself. Start by making sure that you are drinking at least 4-5 pints of water per day. Eliminate wheat, dairy, sugar, salt, tea, coffee, alcohol and drugs. Introduce organic short grain brown rice into your diet along with plenty of vegetables, pulses and some nuts and seeds. Instead of sandwiches try rice cakes, oat cakes or corn cakes; switch to porridge, rice flakes or gluten free muesli for breakfast. Instead of milk try rice milk, oat milk or goat's milk (the latter is still dairy but it is much easier to digest than cow's milk). If you know that you have a problem with Candida also try to avoid simple sugars, yeast, fermented foods, fruit and fruit juices, dried fruits, refined flour products and vinegar. You would not have to do this forever, just until the Candida has been starved out. In order to function optimally, the body not only needs plenty of water but also oils. Not vegetable oils like sunflower but oils rich in omega 3, like fish oil, flax oil and linseed oil. If you are not sure whether you have a problem with Candida, here are a few of the symptoms to look out for: thrush, cystitis, fungal infections (like athlete's foot), constipation, diarrhoea, recurrent sore throats, acne, irritability, depression, headaches, lethargy, mood swings, heartburn, PMT and endometriosis.

Good books to read up further on this subject are "Natural Alternatives to Antibiotics" by Dr John McKenna, "Cooking Without" by Barbara Cousins (recipe book), "Staying Healthy With Nutrition" by Elson M. Haas. If you need further convincing about the importance of drinking water try "Your Body's Many Cries For Water", by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj. Lucie Walker, Dip. Natural nutrition (CNN)

What is Energy Healing and how does it work?
We are made up of and surrounded by energy and so is everything around us on our planet. A knowledge of these energies and how they work can greatly aid us in our healing journey.
Healing (also known as spiritual or energy healing) is a simple, non-invasive way of helping the body to restore and balance its energy field and energy centres (charkas). Healing allows the body to relax and de-stress so that physical healing can take place within the cells. This healing energy is channelled from the Universal source.

What is involved?
You will sit on a chair or lie on a couch, fully clothed. All you have to do is breathe and relax as you listen to peaceful, calm music. I will use my hands to channel the energies, either on or off your body. You may feel a slight tingling, maybe feel hot or cold, but, above all, you will feel relaxed.

What can healing treat?
Whilst healing does not claim to “cure” an illness, you could say it facilitates change on many levels- physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Any of these changes can lead to people making positive changes in their lives, leading to a greater sense of peace and well- being.