Category: Diarrhea

Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Diarrhea, Health Care

Travelling with a weak gut?

It can be quite tricky travelling when you have a range of food intolerances but even more so when you have a weak gut that is quite reactive. I have put a few tips together for supporting your gut whilst travelling however I would always recommend that you get it in the best shape possible before you go as the ideal way to prepare.

First up how do you just prepare for an extended trip? Make sure you are taking a good quality probiotic for up to two months before you travel to seed your gut with a good range of protective bacteria for your journey and then travel with a heat stable probiotic. If you have quite a few food intolerances ideally do a bit of a heal and seal protocol before travelling which should include high doses of glutamine. Better still a full detox would get your whole system working as well as possible to protect you on the journey.

What are some things you can do to acclimatise your gut when you get to your destination? On an extended journey start consuming the local fermented food – it could be kim chi, sauerkraut or yoghurt but it will help innoculate your bowel with the protective species of your local environment.

Feed the good gut bacteria a range of fruit and vegetables, just remember to stick to cooked or peeled as much as possible as salads which are washed in local water can be very problematic in some regions. Ideally aim for at least six serves of vegetables a day which will optimise your nutrition as well as keeping gut bacteria happy.

For gut protection and repair you can’t go past traditionally made bone broths or stocks. Whether its a miso soup in Japan or just a hearty home made soup, bone broth is a great source of nutrients as well as providing healing ingredients for the gut, such as gelatine. On the off chance that you do pick up a tummy bug the tips in my Stomach aches and pains blog for suitable homeopathic medicines would be helpful reading.

Christine Pope is a nutritionist and homeopath based at Elemental Health at St Ives. Appointments can be made on 8084 0081.

Detoxing – is it for me?
Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Diarrhea, Health Care, Nutrition, stress, Weight Loss

Detoxing – is it for me?

What’s the first thing you think about with detox? Not drinking? Stopping coffee? Mostly you think about the things you will miss for a little while.

Very rarely do you think about the benefits of detoxing and how great you will feel during and after the detox. I am constantly surprised in clinic by the significant improvements people get in their health from detoxing. Often there is little left to deal with after the detox as “surprisingly” when you nourish your body with healthy food and support elimination with the right combination of herbs and nutrients most people find a lot of health problems resolve. I have seen significant improvements with skin complaints, hormonal imbalances and a whole range of gut issues as a result of following a detox for four to six weeks.

The first time I did a detox I had recently gone off gluten so being wheat and dairy free wasn’t really that big a challenge by that point. The first few days I was a little tired and sluggish and I did get a fairly massive headache after doing a full on 90 minute Yoga class (probably because I hadn’t done any Yoga and then jumped straight in!) However for probably 2 years after that I noticed my hay fever was minimal and that my energy levels were a lot better.

So why do we need to detox? Well frankly if you live in a major capital city you are constantly exposed to toxins whether its from petrol fumes, personal care products, your own hormones, highly processed diet or sterile office environments. Other areas that can expose you to toxins can be both legal and “party” drugs as well as repeated infections.  Your liver is working hard to eliminate these toxins but if it can’t deal with them it puts them into fat cells and puts more fat around them to try and protect us. This is why eliminating toxins can help with weight loss as well as improving your overall health.

Tasty Summer Fruits On A Wooden TableThe detox diet is anti-inflammatory and most people can maintain a modified form post detox to continue to maintain good health. Generally the focus is on good quality lean protein, lots of vegetables, a reasonable three serves of fruit a day plus at least a handful of nuts (assuming you are not allergic). Gluten free grains such as rice or quinoa can also be included and fermented foods in the form of good quality organic yoghurt. Plus at least two litres a day of water and green or herbal teas to help flush out toxins.

Some people may find the dietary changes sufficient however usually its more effective (ie quicker) to support the process. The first stage in my program uses a low allergenic Rice Protein which has liver support in the form of Silymarin (Milk Thistle) plus digestive enzymes and a detoxifying green powder. The second stage is individual with several options based on what presenting symptoms dominate – gut symptoms usually require more of an anti-parasitic protocol to remove bad bacteria whereas hormonal symptoms usually benefit from more liver support. There is no one size fits all in detox and its preferable to do a program which is tailored to your needs.

So what do you think? Are you ready to make some changes to enjoy better health?

Christine Pope was previously a Head of Nutrition at Nature Care College, speaks for ATMS and practices at Elemental Health at St Ives. Appointments can be made on 8084 0081.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Diarrhea, Homeopathy, Research

Meta analysis?? Where homeopathy has been shown to work!

 

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Meta analysis – more research jargon I’m sorry but its not really tricky to understand.

Basically a meta analysis can be done when you have a number of studies that look at treatment of the same condition. So if you have a group of clinical trials on childhood diarrhea for example you can then conduct an analysis to see if it was effective across all the groups. This can be useful when the original groups were quite small (a common criticism of natural medicine trials).

There have been seven meta-analysis conducted of homeopathic trials of which six have shown homeopathy to be more useful than placebo. One of the older studies is on childhood diarrhea where there were three studies analysed. Basically what the meta analysis showed was that homeopathy reduced the average duration from 4.1 to 3.3 days as measured by the number of loose stools (1) .  Most people when they have some form of gastro bug are happy for a reduction in the time they spend suffering.

The major homeopathic medicines used in those trials were Podophyllum, Arsenicum album, Sulphur, Chamomilla and Calcarea carbonica – which were used for 78% of cases.

So what other conditions have been shown in meta analysis to be effectively treated by homeopathy? Meta analysis have been conducted for conditions such as allergies, hay fever and upper respiratory tract infections showing homeopathy to be more effective than placebo. Most people who have used homeopathy for those conditions would happily confirm that this is the case.

How do you find out which homeopathic medicine to use to treat acute conditions? I run regular Homeopathic Workshops at my practice in St Ives so come along to a short two hour workshop on May 1 , 2014 from 10-30-12.30  if you are interested. The cost is $99 and you can book in on (02) 8084 0081. Alternatively if you aren’t local  I find the book Homeopathic Self Care a great resource and the author is Reichenberg Ullman – you normally need to order it online from Amazon, but it does cover how to prescribe and up to 70 conditions with self naturopathic suggestions as well.

 

(1)  Jacobs J1, Jonas WB, Jiménez-Pérez M, Crothers D., Homeopathy for childhood diarrhea: combined results and metaanalysis from three randomized, controlled clinical trials, Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2003 Mar;22(3):229-34.