January 2020

June 2020

BLOGS:

Liver Support:

Our liver plays an enormous role in our general well-being – ridding the body of toxins, producing bile to breakdown fats and modulating our hormones and so on. When our liver is functioning well, we are more inclined to feel full of vitality and strength.

When our liver is functioning under-par, we may manifest symptoms like headaches, migraines, indigestion – bloating and flatulence, dark circles under our eyes or red rims around the eyes, skin rashes like eczema, psoriasis or hives, hormonal imbalances or a low tolerance to alcohol and the effects of caffeine.

There are many ways we can give our livers an extra boost. Here are a few simple tips for the festive season:

• Start your day drinking a glass of hot water with the juice of half an organic lemon.

• Drink fresh vegetable juices from a slow masticated juicer. Add a little beetroot and greens and aim for three or more juices per week.

• Enjoy some freshly whole steamed organic artichokes. Steam them for 20 minutes, peel off the leaves and eat the flesh in a little olive oil, black pepper and lemon juice. Artichoke leaves stimulate the flow of bile and aid digestion, making them a great starter for those heavy festive dinners!

• Eat your leafy greens. These include broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage and brussels sprouts as well as bitter greens such as watercress, rocket and parsley.

• Eat antioxidant foods regularly. Blueberries are a great pick – enjoy a blueberry smoothie with your favorite nut milk and a teaspoon of hemp protein to start your day.

• Load up on potassium-rich foods such as watercress, endive, cabbage, celery, parsley, courgettes, radishes, cauliflower and pumpkin.

• Drink a good quality organic dandelion root tea. It’s a great liver tonic.

• Turmeric is another herb that supports healthy liver function and digestion. Add half a teaspoon of ground turmeric to your smoothie with a pinch of cinnamon and a crack of black pepper.

• Ensure a few good hours sleep before midnight as this supports the circadian rhythm and is very restorative for the liver.

• Limit your intake of alcohol and coffee. You may also want to re-assess any regular medication use such like the contraceptive pill, HRT, paracetamol and other anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids.

• Supplement with vitamin C – at least 1000mg twice daily.

• Try to limit your exposure to and intake of toxins. This includes food additives and pesticides in foods as well as environmental toxins from pollution, petrol, paint and toxic body-care products.

• Try a coffee enema to help your liver with detoxification.

• If you’ve overindulged in fatty foods and alcohol, take silybum marianum, or milk thistle is very protective and restorative to the liver. I recommend Vogel’s St Mary’s thistle tincture. Take 15 drops in a little water morning and night.

If you are experiencing liver distress symptoms or feel you may need more detail or personal assistance, book in for a full naturopathy session with Susan.

Bloating:

Bloating is a symptom of impaired digestion - it’s basically fermentation in the digestion tract, which leads to excessive wind, inefficient digestion and subsequently a distended abdomen.

The causes can be due to a number of factors ranging from - a disturbance in the natural gut flora, an inactive digestive system due to a depletion or disturbance of digestive enzymes, allergies, stress and so on.

Some key Naturopathic tips:

1. Don’t drink and eat at the same time. Drink either, 20-25 minutes before meals or an hour after meals.

2. Don’t eat too late at night. Our digestive processes slow down after 8pm hence best to have your main meal earlier in the day and to eat lighter in the evenings. Always eat 2-3 hours before bed.

3. Eat in a relaxed environment, this allows the digestive processes to take place. Don’t eat standing up, walking, in front of the TV or computer, reading a book – as your digestion will not be prepared for assimilation.

4. Eat slowly and chew your food well. Be mindful not to overeat, eat the portion size of two cupped handfuls of food per meal and take approximately 20 minutes to eat this amount.

5. Supplement a good pro-biotic to help restore the natural gut flora.

6. Drink herbal teas, like peppermint, fennel and fresh ginger tea.

7. Avoid sugar. Sugar aggravates the fermentation process in the gut, which

   can lead to bloating.

8. Avoid Allergens. Some of the common allergenic foods include wheat,

   cow’s diary, white flour, sugar, and alcohol. This is by no means a

   complete list yet these are some of the main offenders.

9. Be aware of good food combining. A quick summary of how good food

   combining works:
   Group 1: Proteins (meat, poultry, cheese, fish, eggs, milk, nuts) produce acid digestive juices and digest slowly.
   Group 2: Carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, cereals, flour, biscuits, etc) and starchy vegetables such like potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, digest quickly and produce alkaline digestive juices.
   Group 3: Salads, non-starchy vegetables, seeds, herbs and spices and nut and seed oils.
   Group 4: Fruit – this is to be eaten on it’s own and holds the record for the fastest digestion rate.
   Solution: don’t eat Group 1 and 2 together in the same meal. Group 3 can be eaten with either, Group 1 and 2, and Group 4 is to be always eaten on it’s own.

   Hope this encourages and helps motivate you all to optimize your health in this area! Great health, Susan Nove.