Halloween , warts and all !
Posted by Christine Pope on in Health Care, Homeopathy

Halloween , warts and all !

Halloween brings up the images of witches with warts so I thought a few wart remedies would be appropriate. Warts can be easily treated with homeopathic remedies and each has its own picture. Common wart remedies include Thuja, Ant Crud, Calc Carb Graphites, Nit-ac and Causticum. Homeopathically the picture is different for each remedy. Some examples includes;

Antimonium crudum (Ant-c.): Hard, smooth warts that often appear in groups. Irritability and a thickly coated white tongue also suggest the need for this remedy. The person may also overeat and have various digestive complaints.

Calcarea carbonica (Calc.): Round, hard, solitary warts. Often useful for endophytic warts that have a horny wall surrounding a central depression. Indicated in people with clammy hands and feet who prefer routine and the familiar rather than change and the unknown.

Causticum (Caust.): Old, large warts on the face (especially the nose), under the fingernails, or warts on fingertips that bleed easily suggest the need for this remedy. The warts also tend to be hard, inflamed, and painful and sit on whitish-yellow, dirty looking skin. People who benefit from this remedy tend to fear that something awful will happen and feel intensely sympathetic about the hardship of others.

Graphites (Graph.): Especially in periungual warts or corn-like warts on palms or soles of feet that may be tinged with yellow. Indicated in those who have trouble making a decision and who are prone to keloid scarring.

Nitricum acidum (Nit-ac.): This remedy is indicated in treating large, fissured or gold-yellow warts that itch and sting or bleed upon washing.. This remedy is also indicated for people who are anxious about health and worry about cancer. Often useful for endophytic warts that have a horny wall surrounding a central depression or the more common plantar wart.

Thuja occidentalis (Thuj.): The most common remedy for various kinds of warts. If no other remedy is obviously indicated, consider Thuja. Particularly indicated in isolated, jagged warts that smell or bleed easily or mosaic warts on the sole of the foot. Indicated in those prone to numerous growths or tumors and who worry too much about what people think of them.

In clinic a product called Verucca mix is often quite useful when you can’t decide which remedy to use as it is a combination of a number of the most useful ones.

Christine Pope is a homeopath and nutritionist who practices at Elemental Health St Ives. Appointments can be booked on 02 8084 0081. But for more useful information about treating common health problems look at investing in the four week online program Homeopathy 101

Posted by Christine Pope on in Iodine, Minerals, Nutrition, Weight Loss

Iodine – a critical element for metabolism

Fish Oil CapsulesEarlier this year I was working with a tall guy who was close to 100kg on the scales. He could lose 5-6kg and then get stuck. Ideally he needed to be around 86-89 kilos for his height and frame. He could be eating well and exercising a lot but he struggled to loose the extra weight and he was really frustrated with it.

I did an Oligoscan test to look at nutrient minerals and see what his levels were like. Given his overall presentation I was thinking about possibly a slow thyroid and expected to see low levels of zinc, selenium or iodine which are all critical for effective thyroid function. Surprisingly his zinc and selenium levels were all in the normal range but his Iodine was critically low.

Snapshot

Why is Iodine so important? Basically thyroid function is dependent on adequate levels of iodine and tyrosine. The thyroid gland produces two primary hormones – thyroxine (also referred to as T4) and tri-iodothyronine (also referred to as T3). The numbers 3 and 4 refer to the number of atoms of iodine in the hormones. Iodine is essential for the production of thyroid hormones and we need about 150 mcg each day.

Iodine is important for the health of all glands but also critical for early growth and development during pregnancy and early childhood. Iodine deficiency in early development can contribute to a 10-15 point drop in IQ’s.

Iodine deficiency is increasingly common in Australia. Good sources of iodine include eggs, fish, seaweed and Celtic Sea Salt, but many people rarely consume fish on a regular basis and will need to rely on supplements to increase levels.

My weight loss client was asked to supplement with iodine at a reasonable level and over the next 4-5 months reduced his weight to 87kg. Generally a weight loss of 0.5-1kg a week is reasonable and sustainable.

Long term supplementation with high amounts of iodine can inhibit thyroid function so it is important to ensure when supplementing that you are carefully monitored and ensure you are receiving adequate but not excessive amounts of iodine. The cautious recommendation is no more than 600 micrograms a day when you are deficient.

Interested in finding out more about your minerals? Follow my blogs or book in for an appointment and have an Oligoscan test done to see what your levels of nutrient minerals are like.

Christine Pope is a Homeopath and Nutritionist based at Elemental Health at St Ives and is contactable on 8084 0081 for appointments.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Detoxification, Nutrition, Weight Loss

Five easy detox lunch options

One of my favourite meals to eat out is lunch so before I started the detox I scoped out the local area for some good detox lunch options.

The detox is gluten and dairy free to remove inflammatory foods as well as excluding alcohol and  coffee. It’s not that challenging for me really as I am gluten free and usually only have a little cheese or yoghurt. It also excludes processed foods such as deli meats and recommends minimal deep water fish which often have heavy metal exposures.Basically the idea is to reduce as many toxins going in to your system to lighten the load. Its helpful if you make sure you also include the following;

1. 5-6 serves of vegetables a day, including at least one of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage;
2. A small handful of nuts and seeds – great nutrients for detox and you can use raw or activated nuts.
3. Two to three serves of fruit a day – berries are a good inclusion.

4. Protein with every meal to support detox pathways. Ideally think palm size and palm thickness.

5. Gluten free grains such as rice and quinoa, 2 serves a day.

The detox is also supported with a low allergen rice protein powder which has good liver support included, plus some gently detoxifying greens. I tend to mix that all together as breakfast and that makes for an easy (but green) start to the day.

When eating out remember many meals can be adapted by asking for the sauce or dressing on the side so don’t worry about asking – the worst they can say is no! Usually if they say no it means its been pre-prepared and sitting around for a while so it might be better to eat somewhere else.

The Stanley St Cafe downstairs in our building has a great range of salads and is very accommodating so the week started with a lovely Crispy Salmon Salad with Macadamia nuts with a colleague. She is working on the weight loss program at the moment so her lunch was the chicken and haloumi salad. It was a bit tricky resisting the lovely saltiness of the haloumi.

 The following day we went round to Mischica for their Korean warm salad – Bim Bim Bap, they offer chicken, beef, pork or tofu so plenty of options. The warm salad comes with sprouts, greens, brown rice, carrots, mushrooms and other vegetables and, when on detox, grilled chicken. Delicious!

The Runaway Spoon at Lindfield has a reliable salad on its main menu which is filling and detox friendly, the Quinoa and Lemon herb chicken with avocado, pumpkin and tomato. Another great option at St Ives Shopping Centre, a Coconut Chicken salad with rocket, paw paw and avocado.

The one meal I ate at home during the week was a lamb salad my son made with mixed greens, cucumber, lamb and olives. A great range of flavours and adding more greens such as cucumbers or beans to a salad makes it filling as well.

What else would you add for lunches during a detox?

Christine Pope is a nutritionist and homeopath based at Elemental Health, St Ives. She is also a Director  and Treasurer of the Australian Traditional Medicine Society. She is available in clinic on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Appointments can be made on 02 8084 0081 or through their online booking software at http://www.elementalhealth.net.au

Posted by Christine Pope on in Health Care, Nutrition

Cholesterol – good, bad or indifferent?

IMG_0274If you have a family history of heart disease then chances are you start having your cholesterol checked from an early age. But is it really a good predictor of Cardiovascular disease or are there better options for determining if you are at risk? One of the concerns about focusing solely on cholesterol is that in 2011 the Journal of the American Medical Association published results showing that 71% of heart attack sufferers had normal cholesterol levels and 14% had none of the conventional risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes, elevated cholesterol or hypertension. What do we look out for to see if we are at risk?

Cholesterol is produced naturally by the body (80%) with the rest provided by diet. Studies on consumption of eggs which are a high natural source of cholesterol showed that increasing consumption didn’t lead to an increase in cholesterol, in fact some parameters such as HDL or the so called good cholesterol actually improved as did levels of anti-oxidants in the blood. Note this study was done on whole eggs, not just the egg white. So what is happening – well if you increase dietary consumption basically the liver produces less cholesterol. So is cholesterol really the issue?

Cholesterol is a really critical molecule for the body and without it we would be incapable of producing hormones like testosterone or oestrogen and it is also incorporated in cell membranes. Structurally it is critical and that is why the liver is so good at ensuring we have enough to function properly.

What current research is showing is that its not the Cholesterol numbers that matter but rather the size of the particles. Small damaged LDL and even HDL cholesterol are more of a risk for heart disease than simply the numbers themselves. Why? Because the small damaged particles can penetrate the vessel walls and start to cause plaque which causes the artery to stiffen.

How do you find out whether your cholesterol is the right size or whether you are at risk? In the US integrative cardiologist, Dr Mark Houston, has a fabulous battery of tests which includes an Endopat test which measures endothelial dysfunction such as arterial stiffening. It isn’t currently available in Australia so here are some other measures which may be useful proxies.

1. Sit and Reach test – This is a quick and ready test that you can do yourself, sit on the floor and reach towards your toes. If you can reach or go past the toes great! If you are more than 8cm away from them you might want to investigate a little further as this could be a sign of some stiffening of the arteries.

2. C Reactive Protein – a simple blood test which measures an acute phase protein which is an indication of inflammation. Do further investigations if it is more than 3.

3. Fasting glucose – a good indicator of whether you may have elevated blood glucose which is a risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes and also indicates elevated cardiovascular risk in the future. Generally higher than 7 is a concern.

Another test I have been using in clinic is a full cholesterol panel from Nutripath. Whilst its a little pricy compared to a simple blood test it provides a full panel of cholesterol size and type making it easier to assess whether you have a concern. If you have small cholesterol particles for example , regardless of HDL or LDL they are more likely to cause damage and its these levels you should be monitoring.

Christine Pope is a nutritionist and homeopath based at Elemental Health, St Ives. She is available in clinic on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and is Head of Nutrition at Nature Care College on Mondays and Thursdays. Appointments can be made on 02 8084 0081 or through their online booking software.

Arriving in great shape
Posted by Christine Pope on in Health Care, Nutrition, stress

Arriving in great shape

The worst thing in the world when you start a holiday is getting sick. You just spent thousands getting to your destination and now you have to deal with being sick, missing out on part of your holiday and even dealing with a doctor in a language you don’t speak. So what can you do to avoid this?

First up don’t work right up to the second you get on the plane. You are setting yourself up for a lovely adrenal crash when you land, depressing your immune system so you can’t resist the bugs that were on the plane or in the airport. You are going on holidays and they need to cope when you are gone – coach them with some baby steps the weeks before your trip so that its all running smoothly and you can enjoy your break.

Support your immune system assiduously before the trip. Ideally look at a minimum a good quality probiotic for at least a month, plus if you are prone to colds and flu think about some form of immune support in the form of Echinacea, Vitamin C and Zinc. If its really your adrenals that are struggling then consider some ginsengs such as Withania which provides gentle support. Again start at least a month before travelling to really build up your adrenals.

Book your flights so that you start relaxed. By this I mean rather than getting a 6am flight because its cheapest, travel at 10 or 11am when its more relaxed and you can enjoy a slow start to the day. Treat the travel as part of the holiday and make it a relaxed experience. If you are doing Europe in economy think about breaking it overnight to sleep flat in a real bed and make it easier on your body. Alternatively book a massage once you arrive to really start your holiday in the best frame of mind.

Then on the plane work on barrier support. Try a nasal spray with saline and essential oils to keep mucous membranes functioning and bugs at bay. This is also good if you are prone to difficulties with ears on takeoffs or landings as it will help keep the passages clear. Stay well hydrated even if you have to get out to the toilet every few hours – moving around will help you feel better at the other end anyway.

My favourite homeopathic combination for long trips is a dose of Oscillococinum and Hepar Sulph on each leg of the flight. Oscillococinum is marketed as Flu Stop in Europe and its a great preventative if you are prone to catching those type of bugs. Better still it can be used as treatment if you do get a bug so it covers a few bases.

Christine Pope is a Homeopath and Nutritionist who practices at Elemental Health, St Ives and can be contacted on 8084 0081 for appointments. Her travel bug has been curtailed of recent years due to a busy work schedule but she is planning a trip to New Zealand in January.