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Not Just Skin Deep: by Cassi Cowlam from The Medical Sanctuary.
Itchy, red, scaly, dry, weeping, painful … when our skin is showing signs of distress, what is it really trying to tell us?
Our skin provides a natural barrier to protect us from our external environment, so when symptoms show up on our skin, it is important to understand that our body is trying to tell us that perhaps somewhere else, something is not right. It is not just a reflection of the surface itself, but also of our internal environment.
Our skin has a big job to do. As the largest organ of the human body, it is a highly evolved semi-permeable barrier that helps us detoxify, regulates fluid balance and temperature, protects our vital organs, assists our immunity and helps us synthesise Vitamin D.
Common signs of skin dysfunction include conditions such as eczema, dermatitis, hives, psoriasis and acne, to name but a few. Not only are these an embarrassing and distressful condition for the sufferer, but are also a “red flag” that perhaps something else is out of balance that is creating inflammation that is being expressed on the surface. It is not just “skin deep”.
Skin and your child – is it eczema?
Eczema can affect up to 10-20% of our children, and is a condition I commonly see in practice. So what is it, and can it be treated?
Does your baby or child have a red, hot, dry and itchy rash that usually affects either one or many areas of the body? It can also sometimes have fluid-filled bumps that can ooze. It commonly affects the face (especially at the beginning), back of legs, elbows, back of neck and can move to the trunk area.
Often we are told there is no cure, and creams and lotions are applied which can give symptomatic relief, but is not really addressing what is “driving” the condition. What is causing the inflammation? Perhaps there has been an environmental reason affecting the barrier breakdown making the skin more vulnerable, for example soaps and detergents. There is often a family history of hay fever, asthma and other allergies and this is an important consideration that needs to be addressed. Mum’s and dad’s family history is very important.
Naturopathically I believe there often is a pattern of where the condition of the skin reflects the condition of the gut. As the gut is such an important part of our immune system, and is our baby’s “first line of defence” against its environment, if it is compromised then often this is expressed externally on the skin. Evidence of this is supported by clinical research whereby infant eczema was significantly improved by the supplementation of specific probiotics (good bowel flora). Infantile atopic eczema is often the first sign of allergies and is associated with food hypersensitivities in a high percentage of cases.
Disrupted gut dysfunction can also lead to nutritional deficiencies that then contribute further to poor skin function, leading to increased risk of pathogens invading the body, compromising the immune system even more and then the cycle can continue.
It can be treated and it is important to take a holistic approach and not just see the “skin” as the problem, as there can be various factors that need to be addressed. A helpful tool is Live Blood Analysis using a darkfield microscope and a pin prick of blood which is viewed immediately in clinic, giving an assessment of possible nutritional deficiencies, immunological disorders and gut health. This test can be performed on anyone at any age.
150 Ashmore Road Benowa QLD 4217
(07)5564 5013
click here for full details
Give Fat the Cold Shoulder: with Coolsculpting at the Artisan Cosmetic and Rejuvenation Clinic.
Dr Linda Williams is a doctor of 25 years and director of Artisan Cosmetic and Rejuvenation Clinic. Focused on providing natural looking results, Artisan’s range of carefully selected treatments includes Coolsculpting; the new non-invasive way to reduce unwanted fat bulges.
“It is important to have a healthy, energy-controlled diet and undertake physical activity – but sometimes no matter how hard we try, stubborn love handles, post-pregnancy tummy and muffin tops won’t budge!” Dr Linda says.
Coolsculpting uses a precisely controlled cooling method called cryolipolysis to target, cool and eliminate fat cells.
After a Coolsculpting session, the crystallised fat cells break down and are naturally flushed from your body in the months following the treatment. No surgery, needles, scars or down time.
Coolsculpting can also be used on areas such as upper arms and lower back to reduce unwanted fat deposits.
So if you aren’t happy about your bikini body going into the summer months, kick start your easy journey to a flatter, trimmer tummy today with Coolsculpting.
GOOD HEALTH: Dr Linda’s bulge-busting tips
If you are considering Coolsculpting fat removal but still have some weight to loose before you are ready to have the treatment, try these three easy tips from Dr Linda to reduce body fat in preparation for your final trim-down…
- Reduce carbohydrates: pasta, potatoes and rice will work against your waistline-reduction, especially when consumed at night (before a period of rest). Replace carbs with protein and fresh salad or legumes and beans.
- Cut back on sugar: it is the enemy of all dieters! Replace with natural sugars where possible such as Stevia or honey.
- Move! You don’t have to be a gym junky, just 10 minutes of physical activity focused on the stomach area and core strength each day is a start! Crunches are great, but if you don’t like getting down and sweaty, why not try yoga? It’s a relaxing way to stimulate the lymphatic system and build core strength.
To discuss what’s possible for YOU with your clinician at Artisan ph. 3852 3211 or click here
The Miro, 3/41 Robertson Street
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
Give The Gift of Health and Beauty This Christmas.
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Older But Not Old - at 92?: by Sue Lester Head Transition Coach, at Growing Content Pty Ltd.
If I hadn’t known, I would have guessed she was in her early 70’s. Perhaps a young looking 78, but certainly not 92. Come to think of it, I’ve met women in their 50’s who are considerably older! That may sound odd, but I believe there is a huge difference between growing older and growing old. Growing older is a blessing, for most of us, as the alternative isn’t very appealing. “Birthdays are good for you – they keep you alive.” Growing old, however, is optional.
I can see why, if you thought older automatically meant old, sick and infirm, you’d curse or at least be silent about another birthday, even though it was simply a sign you were still alive, and a simple reminder of the miracle of your birth. (Imagine for a moment if you hadn’t been born how very different your loved ones lives would have been, especially your now non-existent children! Your friends would have had to find someone else to care, and someone else would have had different impact on the places you worked. You have made more of a difference on this planet than you might realise.)
So how do we grow older without growing old? From conversations and observations over the years, I believe it really comes down to how you think about yourself and your options. You can program yourself either way by your self-talk, your beliefs and actions. You can choose to tell yourself you are ‘too old’ to do XYZ, whether it’s learning to use new technology, studying for a qualification, changing your unhealthy relationships, or playing Dress-Ups with a pre-schooler.
A sure sign you are getting old is when you start watching rather than doing. You watch the kids play rather than actively join in. You watch others run, swim, cycle, play and try new things. You always drive the same roads, shop in the same stores, socialise only with your (dwindling) set group and holiday in the same place each year. You stop pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, and start fossilising.
Those who are growing older, but not old, obviously do the opposite. They take care of their bodies, and don’t accept the ‘inevitable middle age spread’ myth as an excuse to over-indulge. “What you don’t use, you lose” is so true. Exercising your body, your intellect, your imagination, social networks, humour and choices ensures you reach your 90s still enjoying your life, with a twinkle in your eye and a spring in your step.
Take a moment now to think of your life in 20 - 30 years time, and how healthy, independent, active and loved you want to be. Now check in with how your life is now, and write down where you need to start making changes. You can’t expect your body to be more active at 80 than you are now at 40, for example, without putting it into gear now. The more excess weight you carry now, the more chance you have of heart and joint issues, and the less mobile you’ll be each year. You can’t expect to be surrounded by loved ones if you are currently neglecting your family relationships and ignoring your friends. What are you doing now, to keep your brain stimulated? How big is your Fun Factor? Where do you most need to change? Write down your list, and choose one, just one, to start with. Once it’s integrated into your life, choose another, and so on. If you try to change everything at once you’re simply self-sabotaging. Set yourself up for success instead, and take small steps that continue throughout the rest of your life.
Remember, if you need a Catalyst of Change or a Head Transition Coach to make your path smoother by clearing the head trash out of the way contact me on the below details
Sue Lester, Head Transition Coach and Master Practitioner of NLP, Hypnosis. Ph 0428128679 or [email protected] www.growingcontent.com.au
Thinking and the Gut-Mind-Body Connection: by Peter McMahon.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common disorder of the digestive system. Its symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating and alteration in bowel habits, with the pain often abating following a bowel movement. It is estimated that up to one-third of the population will experience IBS at some point in their lives, with women slightly more likely to be affected than men. Those patients who seek medical advice generally do so between the ages of 20 and 40. IBS is one of the most common reasons for patients to visit their family doctor.
Not many years ago, IBS was thought to be physical manifestation of a mental disorder, and patients with IBS were not considered to be amenable to treatment. People with IBS were apt to be told that their symptoms were “all in their head”. George Engel’s work in the 1970s heralded an important change in the way in which IBS was thought about. His work in developing the biopsychosocial model of disease allowed professionals to begin to view conditions such as IBS as being a combination of biological, social and psychological factors. In other words, the symptoms people with IBS experienced were very real, but could be influenced by other (psychological, social) factors. Engel’s work provided a necessary framework for understanding and treating common gastrointestinal symptoms, which are now understood to be “the integrated product of altered motility, enhanced visceral sensitivity, and brain-gut dysregulation, and often are influenced by psychosocial factors” .
Vandvik (2006) states that the” brain-gut theory embraces psychological as well as physical factors and respects the indivisibility of mind and body” . Vandvik goes on to explain that in people who suffer from IBS, psychological distress and stressful life events are associated strongly with symptom severity and onset. Many individuals with IBS (40 to 90%) have some type of mood disorder, such as anxiety or depression, and psychosocial factors can influence which patients seek help from their physician (p. 10).
Although there are numerous medical treatments available for IBS, none have been shown to target all symptoms of IBS. Medications generally target one main symptom, such as diarrhea or constipation; however, the symptoms of IBS can fluctuate and patients may experience certain symptoms at one time and other symptoms at other times (i.e. alternating diarrhea and constipation), making the prescribing of targeted drug therapies impractical. In addition, many medical therapies have unwanted side effects. For example, antidepressants may cause daytime drowsiness and sexual dysfunction.
For this reason, research has now turned to alternative therapies that target the mind in an effort to control the GI symptoms of IBS. Therapies such as hypnosis, CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and relaxation therapy have been shown to be as effective, if not more so, than medical therapy. Hypnotherapy and CBT, in particular, have been studied the most extensively: “…cognitive therapy and hypnosis treatment have had the highest reported success rates in repeated formal research studies, with improvement seen in 80% or more of all treated patients in some studies” . Vandvik (2006) concurs: “Gut-focused hypnotherapy is a particularly effective treatment option in patients with severe IBS…recent research suggests that it exerts physiological effects on colonic motility, visceral hypersensitivity and central processing of painful stimuli from the gut” In addition, CBT “is another treatment option with additional beneficial effects which has recently been shown effective also in patients with IBS in general practice” (Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Norway, p. 14).
performed a large case series of patients treated with hypnotherapy who had been diagnosed with IBS. In total, 250 patients with IBS were treated using 12 sessions of hypnotherapy over a period of three months. They also engaged in home practice in between hypnotherapy sessions. The results of this study showed an overall reduction in severity of symptoms of more than 50% on average following treatment. In addition, quality of life, depression and anxiety were all reduced in most patients.
Numerous studies have supported these findings, and research is continuing in this area. Of interest, treatment of IBS symptoms using hypnotherapy has been shown to be beneficial even after therapy has stopped. “We have assessed the long-term benefits of hypnosis in IBS and found that 83% of the original responders remained well between 1 and 5 years following their original course of treatment” .
IBS is a complicated condition that has been shown to be affected by biological, psychological and sociological factors. There are no truly effective medical therapies that have been shown to reduce physical symptoms in all individuals suffering from IBS; however, hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy have been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms in many individuals suffering from IBS. As more research is performed in these areas, it is expected that hypnosis and cognitive behavioral therapies will become the mainstays of treatment for IBS.
Vitale Blog
Vitaleblog.org is a blog (weblog) website aimed at those interested in Natural and organic skin and body care. You will find: * A repository of useful articles for education about how to choose the best organic and natural skin care. These articles are aimed to help you with all aspects of understanding the ingredients and making the right choices for your skin and the environment. * A collection of videos about natural skin care. You can listen to the recordings at any time through your computer speakers rather than having to read through pages of content. * Fresh content is added regularly including vidoes on ingredients, interviews with other skin experts, how-to instructional articles dealing with current hot topics like greenwashing and effecitve ingredients, as well as news and information from the natural beauty world.
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Short and Sweet:Roast Vegetable and Lentil Salad.
Serves 8
8 baby beets, trimmed and washed ½ butternut pumpkin trimmed cut into small wedges 4 Roma tomatoes, halved 1 tbsp olive oil 1 red onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 bay leaf 1½ cups puy lentils 3 cups water 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar rocket leaves Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Drizzle the beets, pumpkin and tomatoes with olive oil and roast until cooked through.
Add olive oil to pan and cook the onion until softened. Add the garlic, bay leaf, lentils and water. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the lentils for 25 minutes or until softened.
Transfer all ingredients to a bowl and stir in the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
Brought to you by Mass Attack.
http://www.massattack.com.au
Laughter is the best medicine!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR0lWICH3rY
.Quote of the Month!
Be thankful and count your blessings for what you have, rather than what you want.
For a Good Cause: Why Support Oxfam Unwrapped this Christmas?
What do you give the person who has everything?
How about a goat? Or a chicken? Or a pig? Or a pile of seeds? Oxfam Unwrapped offers a range of more than 40 totally unexpected gift ideas that will also help transform the life of a person living in poverty.
When you buy an Unwrapped gift card, your donation helps support Oxfam Australia's life-changing work around the world. Best of all, your family member, workmate or friend receives an extremely memorable gift card explaining how their special gift is helping others. It's a way that those of us with a lot can help those with a little.
http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/
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