Allergies? And What's So Important About Your Lymph?

I have lots of new things to share from the homeopathy and herbal worlds. Low energy or seasonal allergies can make you miserable, but there are some great solutions that come in liquid form, so that means less pills. This seems to be a strong pollen year here in many places, so let me know if you need some relief. Allergies can be handled at a root cause level.

You don’t need energy drinks, but you can jumpstart your energy and metabolism at a cellular level using homeopathic remedies, herbal medicine or nutritional supplements. This is one way to handle inflammation. I am using some homeopathy that directly influences the cells to make more ATP, which is cellular fuel for function.

Speaking of inflammation, how about a Lymph detox? The Lymphatic system is the white blood cell system in your body, and you have a number of sites like thyroid, spleen, tonsils and Lymph nodes that have lymphocytes, the cells of the Lymphatic system. It is an integral part of the immune system and carries lymph to the heart and carries away cellular waste products.

In Asia and Europe, lymphatic drainage is ofter performed to clean out the lymph system. There is a homeopathic lymph remedy that will help clear out the Lymph system. This may clear out old “stuff” and maybe even illnesses that have left a residue in the system.

There are reputed beauty benefits because the lymph does help remove toxins that affect skin. The Japanese beauty company Shiseido found a link between lymph and sagging skin. iCongested lymph vessels may cause swelling called “lymphedema” and this may contribute to skin sagging.

Anything that rids the body of waste products is bound to produce healthier skin, and enhanced immunity, so there is no downside to supporting this vital organ system.

Traditionally, lymphatic drainage is performed through massage. But not everyone has access to a massage therapist or acupuncturist trained in the technique. So, I am very excited about these homeopathic remedies to flush out the lymph system. Let me know if you want to find out more and order for yourself.

How To Know if You Have a Food Intolerance

You can probably recognize an actual food allergy.  Classic symptoms would be hives or difficulty breathing.

But food intolerances are harder to spot. They may not appear immediately and you may mistake the symptoms for a variety of other issues.

More and more people have food intolerances these days, even kids. As our food supply is more chemical, and the “natural foods” have more pesticides and are genetically modified, the human body is faced with trying to break down and metabolize an entire new type of ingestibles.

You can’t really call some of this “food” anymore, since lab-created chemicals or chemical/food hybrids won’t actually support human life.  These pseudo-foods will kill slowly, and they won’t support healthy physiology and function of organs and glands, so the quality of life suffers. This is why many obese people are actually starving at a cellular level.

The benefits of addressing food intolerances include:

1) Easier weight loss   2) better, deeper sleep   3) reduction of cravings  4) less PMS 5) mood stability  6) less bloating  7) improved immunity.

Even if you don’t suspect that a food you are eating is bothering you, check out this list. You may be surprised.

A short list of symptoms that could point to food intolerance includes stomach pain, reflux, ear infections, frequent illnesses, red cheeks, eczema, joint pain, frequent diarrhea/constipation, asthma, temper tantrums, fuzzy thinking, fatigue, headaches, failure to thrive, excessive gas, and sleep disturbances.

On one hand, eliminating foods that your body can’t handle will help. On the other hand, improving digestion, from stomach to gut, is also vital. Food intolerances are an indication of “leaky gut” which means that the gut wall is compromised and toxins or undigested foods are able to pass through to the blood. Normally the body is very protective of what goes into the blood, and anything that slips by the protective mechanism is going to trigger an immune response, and may lead to chronic inflammation-one of the main risks for heart disease.

Probiotics and digestive enzymes can be used by most people to support healthy digestion and replace the protective gut “bugs” that guard the intestinal walls. Fermented and cultured foods also help. We now know that food is not just a matter of putting gas in your tank. It is also a means of maintaining a strong fortress against disease.

So, if you have some puzzling symptoms, consider that something you are eating may be causing you digestive distress and compromising your immune system. It is far more likely that you are suffering from inflammation than a serious disease. But chronic inflammation from a gut and stomach that are not working correctly leaves you susceptible to disease. So, catch it early. You will feel so much better for it.

Heartburn-That Acid Stomach Feeling and What To Do About It

If your Medical Doctor has told you that you suffer from Gastric Reflux (GERD) realize that digestion is not something that was well taught at medical school.

Most MD’s think the problem is too much (hyperacidity) stomach acid. But most often the problem is actually not enough acid (hypoacidity.)

Americans spend more than $13 billion on acid stopping drugs each year. This expense might be justified if antacid drugs were actually curing heartburn and GERD. But just the opposite is true. Not only do these drugs fail to treat GERD, they will make the underlying condition worse.

Tums and other over-the-counter or prescription medications do work, and they do treat the symptoms. But they do no treat the cause. Stopping digestion, by lowering acid even more, is not the answer. When you lower acid even more, and undigested food hits your intestine, that creates a burden to your guts that sets you up for candida formation and leaky gut. That means you have the wrong kind of gut bacteria growing out of control and undigested proteins and other food components are transferring across the gut wall into the blood. This is a common cause of allergies, inflammation, acne, rosacea, skin rashes, and a compromised immune system.

Improving the stomach acid response, and improving digestion, makes your stomach happy, relieves symptoms, and is very important for your over-all health.

So, if you suffer from acid reflux or heartburn, reach for hydrochloric acid tablets and digestive enzymes. Take a couple of each with each meal and see what happens. If you still suffer with digestive discomfort, let me know. Rarely there is more of a sort-out needed. But most often you will find your digestion greatly improved.

As people age, they lose more stomach acid, although that may be because the standard American diet is a great burden on digestion. Avoid combining fruit with protein, eliminate sugar, coffee, alcohol and breads and pastas for a few days, and see what happens with your digestion.

Lightly steamed vegetables are good for your digestive tract. Chew animal proteins well and don’t drink too much water with your meals. And don’t drink anything BUT water with your meals, and see how that affects your digestion.

Your life-line, the route for getting nutrients to your blood and cells. is through your digestive tract. Most people would not pour Kool-Aid into the gas tank of their car, but they may think nothing of pouring garbage into their mouths.

Naturopaths are very well trained to treat the entire digestive process because it is one of the vital keys to long-term health and strong immunity, feeling great and looking the best you can. It also will help you to lose weight.

If your stomach bothers you at all, come see us. Don’t suffer, but get the root problem fixed.