A couple of years ago I was working with a wonderful group in a program called Maverick. We were encouraged to think about our vision for our healthcare practice. Mine was to reduce the burden of chronic disease by 50%. A big goal but we need some big goals in healthcare as our current system is not always delivering good outcomes for people.

What are these chronic diseases that affect 46.6% of Australians? They include cancer, arthritis, type two diabetes, respiratory diseases and heart disease. The cost of supporting people with these conditions is $38 billion annually, but this money is mainly spent on acute treatment and medications rather than any real focus on prevention. Nationally our preventative health spend is around 2%.

For those with Type two diabetes for example the treatment is likely to be glucose lowering medications rather than exercise or nutritional prescriptions. Even if the GP has time to discuss nutrition chances are they don’t have the time to work through the dietary changes needed to effectively balance blood sugar. The GP also doesn’t have the capacity to refer for appropriate exercise options under Medicare.

Balancing Blood Sugar is a critical part of improving your health as you age, a concept that was highlighted in the ReCode protocol training in delaying Alzheimers. The brain is the biggest user of glucose in the body relative to size accounting for about 30% of our use. Systemically if we are having issues with glucose metabolism, such as commonly found in hypoglycemia and metabolic syndrome, then our bodies become increasingly resistant to insulin which is essential for the uptake of glucose. A 2011 study in Neurology showed an increased risk of dementia in people over 60 with elevated blood glucose.

Another key risk highlighted in the Recode training was underlying infections and heavy metal toxicity. The Indian journal of Pyschiatry’s 2006 article on “Reversible Dementia’s” highlight’s the reversible causes at between 0-23% and includes on its list a range of heavy metal toxicities as well as infections such as spirochetes which are seen in Lyme like illnesses.

In clinical practice I often work with older clients who see good improvement in their health and energy by improving their diet, tweaking or adding more exercise and supporting themselves with appropriate supplements. Unfortunately not everyone has the ability to commit to a course of naturopathic treatment and work individually with a practitioner. My eight part Ageing Outrageously program was developed to bridge this gap, providing people with the information they need at the cost of approximately one consultation.

The program covers all the key information that you can use to improve your health and how well you age. It looks at critical dietary support with a focus on Balancing Blood Sugar and Getting Moving as well as looking at whether there are possible interactions with common medications. In addition the program focuses on supporting your Gut and Digestion, which are essential to being able to absorb nutrients from your diet as well as looking at how you can support effective detoxification.

The major advantage of an online program is that a bigger group of people can work on improving their health than I can work with individually. It mightn’t get me to a 50% reduction in chronic disease but its a good start. More information on the Ageing Outrageously program is on this link. Registering on this link means you will also get regular content on Ageing Outrageously as well as being advised of any specials including the upcoming Black Friday sale!

Halloween is usually all about candy but what happens to all the pumpkin that is left over after all the carvings and decorations are finished ? In this blog there are seven ways to include pumpkin in your diet with smoothies, bowls, muffin, porridge, humuus and loaf recipes.

Pumpkin is a nutritious orange vegetable, high in fibre, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and beta carotene. These nutrients may reduce the risk of age related macular degeneration. Including brightly coloured vegetables in your diet is a good way to keep a good range of nutrients. Beta-carotene which converts to Vitamin A, is an important nutrient for the immune system and may assist in supporting respiratory health.

Scroll through the recipe booklet below and see which recipes you might like to try and then download the booklet if you would like to keep the collection. Happy Halloween!

Homeopathy is a system of medicine developed in the 18th century by Dr Samuel Hahnemann, which approaches good health in a holistic way – taking account of the whole person and not just the symptoms or ‘disease’. Homeopathy uses natural substances (plant, minerals or animal substances) to stimulate your body’s ability to heal and strengthen your overall constitution.

Homeopathy is now the second most widely used form of natural medicine globally and is used by over 200 million people annually. In England it is estimated that over 6 million people use Homeopathy regularly and in India many of the homeopaths are originally trained as doctors and there are over 11,000 homeopathic hospital beds.

Hahnemann was originally trained as a medical doctor but observed that very few of the treatments at that time actually worked, apart from a few herbal medicines. Hahnemann trialled these herbal medicines on himself and found that they caused similar symptoms to those that they treated. This lead to the first principle that “like cures like”. For example think about peeling an onion and how your eyes water and your nose may start dripping. These type of hay fever like symptoms would mean that you would use the remedy, Allium Cepa, which is red onion.

The process of experimenting with physical doses of a substance, even herbs ,was often quite overwhelming in terms of the symptom picture so he started trialling a diluted amount of a substance to see whether he still got an effect, which is now called a proving. He found that smaller and smaller amounts would still produce symptoms or a therapeutic effect. This is the second principle which is “minimum dose”. Homeopathic medicines are often diluted and shaken or “succussed” and still have a therapeutic effect.

Hahenmann and a group of his colleagues eventually “proved” about 50 remedies, primarily from herbal medicines initially and started using them to support patients. Over time the process of dilution and succussion allowed them to use substances such as minerals and animals.

Pandemic Prescribing

Homeopathic medicines have been used for a wide range of conditions and in particular were helpful during epidemics of infectious diseases. In 1854 reports were given in the UK showing that the hospitals were experiencing a death rate of 46% from an outbreak of cholera, in comparison the homeopathic hospitals had a rate of 18.4%. In original data the homeopathic hospitals were excluded as they distorted the data but after a public uproar they were published.

Homeopathy in the Home

Once you understand the basics a small first aid kit plus a few books is usually enough for most people to start using it for lots of common conditions including coughs and colds, stomach upsets, sore throats and sinusitis as well as sprains, strains and common injuries. There are useful prescribing tips in the following blogs Natural Medicine First Aid 2022 which looks at bruises, bumps, strains and sprains, Treating Colds and Flu at home which looks more at remedies for upper respiratory tract infections and Stomach Aches and Pains for stomach upsets including diarrhea and constipation.

My first experience of the value of homeopathy came when my son had an earache in the early hours of the morning. Having already discussed this with my homeopath we were fairly sure Belladonna was needed for his ear infection. He got one dose and settled down and after a second dose he rolled over and went back to sleep. Better still with treatment the run of ear infections stopped and we didn’t have the need for antibiotics and panadol.

For more information on using homeopathy there are some really useful courses on my site and if you are keen you can join my next Using Homeopathy Made Easy Course which starts on the 4th October and runs at lunchtime from 12-1pm. If you miss the live course I will record it to have it available as a resource. If you are unsure about doing an online course why not see my recent webinar on Natural Medicine for Common Illnesses and see if you are comfortable with the format.