Alcohol free for a month – Four Reasons your body will thank you.
Posted by Christine Pope on in Detoxification, Health Care

Alcohol free for a month – Four Reasons your body will thank you.

Spending a month without alcohol is for many people a less than fun way to spend the month. However your body will thank you for removing a major stressor and allowing it to function more effectively. Also I would recommend that you replace the night at the pub with some other fun activities which don’t involve alcohol – go to the movies, bush walking or try a dance or yoga class. Distract yourself to make it easier to manage the changes to your lifestyle and you may find some of them stick.

Your body will also benefit from these changes in several areas.

First up your waistline will thank you! The high kiliojoule count of alcohol (27kj per gram) particularly when combined with juice or soft drink means that cutting out alcohol removes a significant source of extra kilijoules. One of my clearest recollections in clinic was seeing a weight loss client who had put on over 20kg in a year from consuming the equivilant of half a bottle of wine a night. Cutting out the alcohol and exercising regularly saw her lose the weight in less than six months.

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Secondly if you have problematic skin replace the alcohol with 6-8 glasses of water a day and watch it improve. Alcohol is very dehydrating and as the skin is a major organ of detoxification it will often show signs of the struggle on the surface – redness, flushing, blotchy skin, greasy skin and dryness even rashes. A recent UK challenge showed before and after photo’s for a number of women doing a similar challenge with quite amazing results. Have a look at Daily Mail Cold Turkey for some real inspiration. Better still its a lot cheaper than expensive skin care and facials!

Third your liver needs a break and cutting out alcohol for a month gives it a chance to work on eliminating a significant range of other toxins from your system. It may also down regulate your alcohol dehydrogenase pathway which means less alcohol to get a buzz on in future. Fatty liver can be significantly helped by removing the stress of dealing with alcohol as well. You might need to give it a little more than a month and tweak the diet as well but the liver has an amazing ability to regenerate.

Finally you may start to smell better. Skin is one of the biggest organs of elimination so bad body odor or problematic skin is often a sign that we are not coping well with our current diet and lifestyle.  We all know how bad someone with a hangover smells as they detox the next day. Removing this burden on your system will really reduce the smell factor!


Christine Pope is a naturopath, homeopath and nutritionist based at Elemental Health, St Ives. She regularly runs Detox workshops and programs. Contact her on 8084 0081 for appointments.

Seven gluten free and dairy free breakfasts
Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Breakfast, Dairy Free, Gluten Free

Seven gluten free and dairy free breakfasts

Many of us stick to the same boring breakfast every day however when you suddenly find out that you can’t have wheat anymore the usual toast or cereal just doesn’t cut it any longer. So what do you do?

Here is a range of suggestions that I find work well in practice. I have included recipes or links to the recipes. Its easy to substitute particularly with gluten free grains or different types of milk (coconut, almond, rice or soy).

  1. Easy peach crumble (or pear or berry or apple or any combinations you like).
  2. Banana and choc chip muffins
  3. Roast vegetable hash
  4. Mango chia pudding
  5. Gluten free muesli with fruit puree
  6. Buckwheat pancakes (Orgran packet mix has all the instructions) but works well with bacon and maple syrup or grilled banana or fruit.
  7. BLAT on gluten free bread.

The recipes for most of these options are listed below but two recipes have links. One is  for the easy mango pudding recipe from the Healthy Chef which only has four ingredients but really comes down to fruit, chia seeds, water and coconut milk plus the other link is to my gluten free muesli recipe which really can be tailored to personal preference. An even easier version can be buying a gluten free muesli and adding a few of your favourite ingredients, such as nuts and seeds or LSA mix.

shutterstock_93158164Easy peach crumble

4-6 peaches sliced

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup quinoa flakes

50 g melted butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar (coconut sugar, maple syrup work well too)

Place sliced fruit in a casserole dish. Combine melted butter with almond meal, quinoa flakes and sugar . It will be a little lumpy. Sprinkle over sliced fruit and cook at 180c for 20-25 minutes until topping is crispy and golden. Serve with coconut yoghurt for a little extra protein but its delicious by itself and the quinoa and almond provide good protein and fats.

Banana and choc chip muffins

  • 1 tsp vanilla essence (add to sugar)
  • 50 g butter
  • 3 mashed bananas
  • 1 1/2 cups gluten free self raising flour or 1 cup gluten free self raising flour plus 1/2 cup of almond meal or coconut flour (coconut gives it a nice moisture)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup choc chips preferably dairy free
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Melt butter, mix in sugar and then egg. Add in alternately flour and bananas and stir well. Then add in the choc chips. Spoon mixture into 12 muffin cases or greased muffin tray. Cook 15-20 minutes at 180 Celsius. Muffins should be lightly browned when cooked.

Roast Vegetable Hash

This is really just a good way to use up leftover roast vegetables and many combinations work well.

Ideally you need half a cup of roast vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, parsnip, carrots, etc) per serve

2 slices of bacon per person

1/2 small brown onion

1/2 cup greens either bok choy, wombok or cabbage work well

Saute bacon and onions for 2-3 minutes until lightly cooked. Add greens and roasted vegetables and stir for 3-5 minutes until warmed through. Salt lightly and serve.

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BLAT (Bacon lettuce avocado and tomato)

Saute two to three slices of bacon and serve on a gluten free bread roll toasted with mashed avocado and sliced tomatoes.

Christine Pope is an experienced natural medicine practitioner who also teaches and until recently was Head of Nutrition at Nature Care College. Food is one of her favourite topics!

Would love feedback on the recipes or any other easy breakfast suggestions which are gluten and dairy free!

Is your brain still suffering?
Posted by Christine Pope on in Health Care, Minerals

Is your brain still suffering?

Brain health doesn’t have to deteriorate as we get older but it seems in many people that they blame poor memory or difficulty concentrating simply on ageing. Actually difficulties with your brain are really an indicator of declining health generally. Symptoms which alert you to the fact that your brain is struggling could be vague, such as forgetting names or where you parked the car or they can be more disabling such as vertigo or tinnutis (ringing in the ears) .

Improving brain health requires a systematic approach focussed on reducing inflammation and improving function. In an earlier post I talked about the gut brain connection so if you have sorted out this area without resolving your issues its now time to consider other areas which can cause damage to your brain.

Probably the two major areas are toxicity and deficiency. So how does each of these present and what can you do to improve your brain health?

Toxicity 

Heavy metals particularly aluminium and mercury can build up over years of exposure and create problems. Aluminium is probably the easiest metal to understand as there is research to show that you have a significantly  higher risk of developing Alzheimers if you worked in Aluminium factories. Alzheimers involves the development of plaque which blocks connections in the brain (known as beta amyloid). The Lancet published some research showing a link between long term aluminium exposures and an increase in the build up of this type of plaque. A researcher called Rondeau also looked at the impact of high daily intake of aluminium from water and other sources and found it was correlated with an increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline. Anecdotally I am also aware of a case of severe onset Alzheimers in a gentleman who had worked in an aluminium coating plant for a long period of time.

Worker with protective mask welding metal

How do you detect heavy metal exposures? Blood tests are not very reliable unless the exposure is recent as the body will try and move heavy metals to fat to protect you from the impact and levels in the blood will not be maintained. Hair analysis is useful if you are what we call “an excretor”, that is you are able to detoxify and mobilise the metal out of fat stores. Obviously if you are able to detox heavy metals you wouldn’t be experiencing symptoms. Hair analysis and blood tests can show up heavy metals if you administer a provocation challenge before the tests, otherwise hair analysis may not give you an accurate picture until you have chelated heavy metals for a number of months.

The Oligoscan machine can detect heavy metals held in tissue and is based on spectrometer analysis. Its not unusual once you start treating a client for heavy metals to actually see levels increase before they start reducing. This is usually because they are mobilising deeper stores of the heavy metals and moving them out resulting in an increase in levels.
Home Made Cultured Or Fermented Vegetables
How do you reduce heavy metals or “chelate” them as it is more commonly known? The first step is ensuring the client’s system is alkaline which requires a diet high in fruit and vegetables as well as additional support from Vitamin C in reasonable doses (up to 2g a day). You would also ensure that you were giving nutrient minerals which antagonise the heavy metal. Generally that requires zinc in significant doses however it is also worth looking at other nutrients such as selenium which is also a potent anti-oxidant to support chelation.

Deficiency

Obviously deficiencies of key nutrients can allow toxicity to buildup and its important to ensure that you maintain a good intake of key minerals from your diet to minimise this risk. Nutrient deficiencies can show up with wide range of symptoms. You really need to look at the complete picture to determine what may be problematic. Generally with brain fog and low energy always think about magnesium, iron and iodine – for quite different reasons.

Magnesium is a critical nutrient responsible as a catalyst for over 300 reactions in the body. Low levels can really affect your ability to operate at many levels, typically you can be wired and tired as well as suffering from cramps or constipation.

Iron is the nutrient which carries oxygen in the blood so low levels can result in poor brain oxygenation and difficulty thinking. Its a simple blood test to get iron levels checked so it should be excluded as a possible issue.

Iodine is a key component of thyroid hormone and Australians’ are suffering from historically low levels of iodine which means deficiency is very common. Thyroid is a master hormone controlling growth and repair as well as energy. Low thyroid will leave you foggy, tired and prone to easily gaining weight.

It’s not unusual to find that you have both toxicity and deficiency as your body will try and “normalise” the situation depleting it of important nutrient minerals. You need to work on improving your stores of nutrients first before chelating out toxicity.

Need more information on supporting your brain health? Christine is in practice at Elemental Health St Ives , appointments can be booked on 8084 0081.

EMF could it be destroying your sleep?
Posted by Christine Pope on in Detoxification, Health Care, stress

EMF could it be destroying your sleep?

Currently I am listening to a series of Environmental Health master classes with the first one on Electromagnetic radiation. I have always had an interest in this topic as many years ago I remember being told that engineers on the Centrepoint tower near the transmitters would be infertile within fifteen minutes if they weren’t wearing shielding. That highlighted to me how dangerous even invisible sources of radiation can be to the human body.

Now for most people this isn’t a risk as they would rarely be in this situation. However over the last twenty years with the increasing use of a wide range of devices and Wi-Fi our exposures have increased dramatically and some people are really starting to be affected badly often with one of the first signs being insomnia, difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep. Another major symptom is usually headaches particularly at the front of the head.

Mobile Phone Base Station With Background Of Blue Sky
Generally I would be concerned about the insomnia and headaches being associated with EMF if it started after you moved house or if you sleep well when travelling but not at home. Australian levels of acceptable radiation are much higher than Europe (often as much as ten times higher) as they have largely been set by industry, rather than being based on research.

The first thing I would recommend is to remove devices from the bedroom, even a digital clock radio which emits low levels of radiation should be at least two metres from your head. Secondly do a quick audit of where you are sleeping relative to strong energy currents from your meter box, fridge or microwave oven. Ideally the further away the better but at least a metre away even through the wall where the device is located. Turning off Wi-Fi in the home at night can be beneficial. There have been reports where severe insomnia sufferers started sleeping when towns lost power for a few days at a time.

Man Removing Apple Iphone 6 From Pocket
The other area to look at is your phone. Have you noticed how much it heats up when you hold it close to your head for a ten or fifteen minute conversation. Do you really want to have that heating other parts of your body on a regular basis?? And you know where most men put their phones, at least women largely stick it in a handbag! Reduce your exposure by using your phone like a teenager and mainly texting or get a pair of headphones for calls if you need to talk to people. At home think about switching to a corded phone as even the cordless phones put out a reasonable amount of radiation.

If you are interested in more information on this topic I can recommend Nicole Bijlisma’s book Healthy Home, Healthy Living as its well researched and is focussed on solutions. Nicole is a naturopath and building biologist. She also has quite a lot of information on her blog.

Have you made changes to reduce your exposures to EMF? Let me know how it affected you.

Christine Pope is a practicing Homeopath and Nutritionist based at Elemental Health, St Ives (8084 0081). She is also Head of Nutrition at Nature Care College at St Leonards.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Health Care, Minerals, Nutrition

Why I feed my dog a natural food diet

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In 2008 I was on the Organising Committee for a Homeopathic conference which was held in Sydney. One of our most popular speakers was a Vet who also used homoeopathics called Clare Middle and what really stuck in my head was her attitude towards diet. She said 70% of skin problems in animals were solved purely by feeding the pet a natural food diet. To me that showed how helpful a natural food diet could be in maintaining your pet’s health.

So what does our dog eat? Well most nights its a couple of chicken wings plus a bone of some type as well as leftover fruit and vegetables. We keep a tub in the fridge in which we put organic vegetable peelings, outside lettuce leaves and the woody bits of the broccoli and cauliflower as well as the tops and tail of carrots plus leftovers from our table like salad or risotto. Generally we avoid anything with a lot of garlic or onion which are quite toxic for dogs. Anything that is looking a little too soft from the fruit bowl also goes in the dog bowl.
Dog bowl

Feeding the dog this way is actually very cost effective – most of the vegetables would have been thrown away and the 2kg of chicken wings a week is only about $8. The vet Claire Middle also recommends a weekly meal of oily fish, we find a can of sardines work well and are usually quite cheap. She also has a little book available through her website which explains exactly what you need to feed your pet. Click here for details.

Our dog Buffy is now 7 years old and is a really healthy animal. She doesn’t seem to suffer from dog breath and has a really healthy coat. The picture above is one my son took when we were away and checking on the dog (it was taken on his sister’s bed)!

So what’s wrong with commercial dog food? Depends on what it is really, but as the Vet explained it seems that they often have a very high carbohydrate content and that’s different to what dogs would eat in the wild. Dogs were really scavengers and would eat small animals and whatever was dropped on the ground or easily accessed. Basically dogs are used to having bones in their diet and in the wild you will see animals eating the droppings of carnivores to access the calcium from the bones they consumed. There would be some carbohydrate in their diet from vegetables and fruit however not really from grains which is what many commercial dog foods may use.

We did try to convert our cat to a natural food diet with a little less success – she will eat raw minced meats like chicken and lamb but cannot figure out what to do with chicken necks, which is what was recommended for cats. She also gets a bit sniffy about fish, not really keen on canned fish but loves a bit of our leftover tuna or salmon.

How do you feed your pets? Have you tried a natural food diet with them and been successful?

Christine Pope is a nutritionist and homeopath based in Sydney at St Ives and practices at her clinic, Elemental Health. She feeds her family a largely whole food diet and her pets as well.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Detoxification, Health Care, Nutrition

Getting ready to detox!

Sick Woman On Bed Concept Of Stomachache, Headache, Hangover, SlThe first time I really detoxed was at Camp Eden. I was supposed to be studying for a nutrition exam but somehow got distracted doing “online” research and did a Blackmore’s online quiz. A few weeks later I got a phone call from Marie Claire magazine and I had won a trip for two people for a week to Camp Eden. It was an amazing week and a real turning point for me as it highlighted the benefits of just one week of healthy food and exercise.

It also highlighted how tough detoxing can be if you don’t make some preparations beforehand. I didn’t really seem to have a difficult time with it as I had already made a few changes to my diet whilst studying however I did see some quite unhappy people the first few days.

First up cut down the coffee or alcohol or whatever your drug of choice is before you arrive. With my group there were people going cold turkey from 4-6 coffees a day, several beers and a couple of other things which best stay unspecified! Just the coffee withdrawal was fairly bad, people had headaches and were quite grumpy for the first couple of days. I did hand out a bit of Nux Vomica 30c to those who were prepared to give it a try. One serious drinker left after 48 hours. So cut down significantly in the weeks before the detox. Halve the coffee for example and then reduce to one a day. With alcohol I would suggest alternating drinks with water and then making every second day alcohol free.

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Secondly start your exercise program before the detox. Ideally walking or swimming are good places to start building to at least half an hour a day. Camp Eden had a sneaky way of making you exercise as all the activities were at the bottom of the hill and the accommodation, spa and dining hall were half way up the hill. That was at least 30 minutes of intense uphill walking each day on top of whatever else you did.

The other part of the week that was a little more confronting was the group sessions which covered a range of topics from goal planning to looking at obstacles to success. If you haven’t done much counselling work on yourself you may find it a little confronting however it was fabulous to see how much other baggage people dropped as a result of this work. So perhaps a little work on yourself to see why you want to make these changes and setting yourself some goals could be a powerful addition to your motivation.

If nothing else I would love everyone to have been with us on the final day which started with tai chi on the beach at 6am, followed by an invigorating swim (it was May) and then a whole day of playing! Yep we played hours of tennis and had a lengthy water polo match. The tired stressed group who arrived at the start of the week had so much energy at the end that they could play like kids – we just had fun all day!

If you are interested in detoxing you can make an appointment on 8084 0081 or book in to our detox workshop to see what its all about.
Email christine@elementalhealth.net.au for more information