More than mood

A bad mood can be caused by more than just simply emotions.  To help you through the tough times in life, understanding the factors that may lower your resilience is vitally important.  Poor digestion, inadequate nutrition, hormone imbalance, immune dysregulation, sleeping habits, chronic pain, some medications, alcohol, and food intolerances can all impact on your mood – and this is certainly not the full list.  Naturopathy can help you determine the factors that negatively affect your mood and give you treatment options.

In support of Earth Hour, here's another reason to turn the lights off

Research has found that exposure to room light compared to dim light for the eight hours before bedtime reduces the body's production of melatonin - a hormone vital for sleep. The authors concluded that regularly keeping on room lights in the hours before bedtime delays the start of melatonin release and reduces its duration as the body thinks night is shorter than what it really is - leading to less sleep.  As melatonin has been found to be involved in a number of regulatory processes, the authors suggest that the reduction in melatonin production not only affects sleep but also regulation of body temperature, blood pressure, and blood glucose.  So, for the sake of good sleep, as well as it being good for the environment and your power bill, turn the lights off!

Ref: Joshua J. Gooley, Kyle Chamberlain, Kurt A. Smith, Sat Bir S. Khalsa, Shantha M. W. Rajaratnam, Eliza Van Reen, Jamie M. Zeitzer, Charles A. Czeisler, and Steven W. Lockley 2011, Exposure to Room Light before Bedtime Suppresses Melatonin Onset and Shortens Melatonin Duration in Humans (abstract only), J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011 96 (3): E463-E472 , doi:10.1210/jc.2010-2098

If you have trouble sleeping, Naturopathic Health Care can help.

What exactly does a Naturopath do?

When I tell people I'm a Naturopath, I sometimes see a quizzical look on their face... what exactly do Naturopaths do?

Basically, Naturopaths treat or help to manage almost any health condition using natural-based treatment methods such as nutrition, herbal medicine and homoeopathy. My explanation could stop here, but I shall go on.

Naturopathy's holistic approach, recognising the interconnectedness of all things, is guided by the belief that the body has its own innate healing ability with treatment aimed at removing obstacles to healing and strengthening each individual’s vital force (qi, prana, life force), or in other words, restore homoeostasis.

Naturopathic treatment can be undertaken for short periods focusing on addressing a particular complaint, with the person returning to the Naturopath only when another health issue arises.  However, Naturopathy is at its best for people who want to take an holistic, proactive and preventative approach to their health.

Naturopathy can be seen as a long-term resource that helps you achieve and maintain your optimal state of well-being throughout your life-time. As our vital force is continually being challenged by 'life', regular annual/quarterly/monthly Naturopathy consultations can help to keep you vitalised!  Just like regularly servicing your car! 

So, you’re in your first Naturopathy consultation:  while aiming to minimise symptoms and help you to feel better as quickly as possible, Naturopathy takes a thorough look at the big picture: Why are you sick right now? What is going on in your life, your body, your mind that may be contributing to your ill-health? These issues may be hormonal fluctuations, food choices, stress, environmental factors, digestive problems, a relationship, previous illness, or a combination of many.

A simple example: a person gets a cold. They take cold tablets and the symptoms clear, but they still feel worn out and a few weeks later get another cold but this time it’s worse. Naturopathic treatments will indeed treat the cold symptoms, but why is this person now more susceptible to colds? It's revealed that the person has been feeling tired and grumpy for some time and hasn't been sleeping well because of pressure at work... this high level of stress has depressed their immune response. So, treatments are aimed at the respiratory, immune and nervous systems, improving sleep, and supporting the patient to investigate strategies for managing the current and future stressful situations. A range of treatment options may be offered such as food-as-medicine, lifestyle coaching, nutritional supplements, herbal remedies and counselling.

Even if you are already on medication or undergoing other forms of treatment Naturopathy can provide support so you can achieve your best outcome. For example, if you are on an anti-depressant there may be food and supplements that can benefit, say, specifically your digestion to improve assimilation of nutrients and in turn your mood, thereby supporting the action of the anti-depressant.

Naturopathy's value is also clear in situations when patients say, “they can't find what’s wrong with me, the tests show nothing, the medication doesn't seem to be helping”.  Whilst diagnoses are helpful, the Naturopathic approach can formulate a treatment plan based on your medical history, the symptoms of your main complaint, and on information gathered through extensive questioning about other aspects of your body, mind, lifestyle, environment etc. The focus is on treating you the person, not a disease label.

People come to see me for a range of diverse reasons.  The most common can be grouped as follows:

MOOD: anxiety, depression, irritability, sadness, erratic moods, low motivation/energy

DIGESTION: constipation, bloating, cramping, irritable bowel, indigestion/heartburn

HORMONES: irregular periods, excessive bleeding/pain, infertility, low libido, menopause, thyroid dysfunction

The above in the presence of CHRONIC DISEASE: asthma, HIV, autoimmune disease, diabetes, arthritis

I hope reading this has given you information about why you might benefit from Naturopathic Health Care.  If you have a question, please contact me.

Home grown organic veges - yum!
(now cooked, eaten and enjoyed by me)

Yoga IS good for mood

Most people who practice yoga will say how good it makes them feel. A recent study has reported that yoga does indeed improve mood, reduces anxiety and positively effects levels of the neurotransmitter GABA (often the target of anti-anxiety medications) compared to walking at the same energy-burning level.  So, while all exercise is good for mood, yoga may give you that little bit more!

Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine Vol 16, No 11, 2010, pp. 1145–1152.

Why Vitamin D is HOT!

Why Vitamin D is HOT!

Vitamin D supplements are currently hot sellers. Let me tell you why.

Many people are being diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency measured by blood sample.  The main cause is reduced exposure to sunlight due to sunburn/cancer protection behaviours, being housebound or always wearing clothing that fully covers the body.  Rather than roasting in the midday sun, supplementation is a safer way to increase those Vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D has long been known to play a role in bone health but it has also been found to be potentially beneficial in improving immune function (specifically in autoimmune diseases), cardiovascular health, may reduce rates of some cancers, improves activity of insulin, reduces psoriasis symptoms, and may reduce chronic pain and depression.

So if you associate with any of the factors above, speak to your healthcare practitioner about checking your vitamin D levels.

Ref: Reynolds, B 2010, FX Medicine, Vol. 60.

Simple DETOX Tips for Spring

This season's focus is simple tips for detoxing - always a hot topic in Spring and Summer.

Simple Detox Tips

Spring is traditionally considered the best time to revitalise ourselves with a cleansing detoxification program.  Conveniently, it is also the time when many of us start to feel inspired to clean up our insides as well as our outsides.  To get you started try these ten easy to follow spring detox ideas for a short one to two week program.  

If you would like to do a professionally supervised individualised detox program over a longer period, or have recurrent headaches, allergies, poor digestion or tiredness make an appointment for a professional Naturopathic consultation. It is recommended that people with long term health concerns, chronic illness or on prescription medication seek the advice of a health professional before undertaking a detox program.

1. Eat a variety of fresh, unprocessed foods with an emphasis on vegetables (juiced, steamed, stir fried, salads, baked) along with lean animal protein or plant protein.  Avoid preservatives, additives, colours, flavours and limit wheat and dairy especially if you normally eat these foods a lot.  Include whole grains, vegetables, lean meats, fish, legumes, pulses, raw almonds, seeds, vegetables, unflavoured yoghurt, vegetables, herbs, spices etc etc.
2. Eat three meals and two snacks daily leaving no more than three to four hours between eating. 
3. Limit fruit to two serves a day.
4. Reduce your portion sizes - especially at dinner.
5. Drink 1.5-2 litres of water a day. Don't drink with meals.
6. Aim for eight hours sleep every night.
7. Exercise at least four times a week.
8. See the light - walk in the sunlight for 15-30 minutes a day.
9. Reduce exposure to chemical based cleaning products, cosmetics, etc.
10. And yes, you knew this was coming  - NO (or at least REDUCE substantially) alcohol, smoking, recreational drugs, over the counter drugs (of course, continue all prescription medication), coffee, caffeine containing foods or drinks, soft drinks, cordials, lollies, chocolate, snackfoods. 

Remember, every little bit helps!  

Jen

september 2010