BTG’s = Basic Therapeutic Guidelines

BTG’s or Basic Therapeutic Guidelines are guidelines to help maintain and create better health.  And it you practise these your overall stress level will be lower and energy will be higher.  When your energy is highest your immune system is functioning to its full capacity and your ability to ward of viral infections or infections in general will be much greater.  So I will list below what the guidelines are with a brief summary about each one.

1. Sleep: Getting enough sleep and good quality sleep is paramount for liver detoxification and stress reduction.  There are many causes of sleep issues, make sure you get help so that the cause can be addressed.  Go to bed when you are tired and get at least 8 to 10 hours per night.  Get some adaptogen herbs from your natural health practitioner to help you if you are a person who travels a lot or works shift work, the herbs will help your body adapt to the strange schedule you keep.  Here is a “sleep hygiene” check list of actions you can take to improve your sleep.
2. Diet: If you have chronic health issues or you just want to maintain good health use your Blood Type Diet, it is the easiest to follow and you are likely eating some of the foods on it anyway so there will likely not be too much to change.  If you have an auto-immune condition, then use the Auto-Immune Paleo diet for up to a year to help your gut heal. Regardless of what diet you are on, it should be low in refined foods or none at all, Ie. white flour, white sugar, corn starch, white rice, deep-fried foods, just to name a few. (Remember eating white sugar disables your white cell activity for several hours depending on how much you have eaten, see the research for yourself.) You want plenty of veggies, ie plate should be 3/4 veggies, plenty of good protein & fats and whole grains.  Make sure the diet is the one suitable to you.
3. Water: Drink only purified water as tap water not only contains Chloride, but also drug residue that people pee into their toilets!  Yuck!  So find a way to get the water you can afford, do your research.  And no, the bottled water from the grocery store is a waste of money since it is basically tap water in a bottle.  Drink 15 to 30 mL per Kg of body weight per day between meals.
4. Body Mindfulness:  There are many Body Mind Meditations and they are basically to help you tune into your needs so that you can take action for yourself so that you do not let stressors build up and create burn out.  Here is a link that is very good at explaining this in detail, click on the link for more detail: BodyMindMeditations.
5. Essential Fatty Acids:  Take the oil that is right for you. Ie. Flax oil, Borage oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Fish Oil or a combination.  Make sure you get a brand that tests for heavy metals like; Genestra, Nordic Naturals, Professional Health Products to name a few.  And most adults need at least 3000 to 6000 mg per day.  Growing children & teens need 1000 mg right up to the 6000 mg mark for teenagers since their brains need it for development.  If you suffer from depression you could need up to 10,000 mg per day.  It is important for your gut lining, your nervous system your skin, blood, Ie. think cardiovascular health…stroke prevention, heart attack prevention since it naturally keeps the blood fluid and thin.
6. Vitamin D:  Every adult needs at least 5000 iu per day up to 10000 iu per day depending on the person’s skin type and how much they are outside.  It is considered a hormone and helps prevent depression as well it keeps your immune system up and running.  You can buy the Vitamin D spot test so that you can determine at what level you are before beginning.  Kids need from 500 iu up to adult dosages for teenagers.  Here is a good webpage for information on Vitamin D  and another good article is written here.
7. Exercise:  Do at least 30 minutes of cardio 3x per week in some form.  Make sure you break into a sweat, as this has been proven to reduce stress levels.  Also, do something you enjoy so that you will want to do it regularly!
8. Probiotics & Naturally Fermented Foods:  Your gut produces many vitamins, digests your food, eliminates waste, absorbs minerals, fats and has serotonin receptor sites.  It is important to keep your waste levels low by eliminating at least 1x for every time you eat a full meal in order to keep the liver less toxic as doing so will keep up your mood and energy.  Did you know that 80% of the waste you eliminate via the bowel is bacteria?  There are only a few good brands of Probiotics, so don’t waste your time buying cheap brands as it will be a complete waste of money.  The brands I use are Genestra HMF series & Cytomatrix Multistrain series.  And it is important that you find a fermented food that you can eat daily to help the probiotics stay in your gut…or set up “house” as it were, since they will become your defence against offending bacteria that may make it through your stomach acid.  Water kefir is easy to make and inexpensive.  Kombucha is also good and easy to make.  Here are 2 links from my blog with recipes for both:  Water Kefir  Kombucha.  You can also try your hand at fermented vegetables or if you can have dairy then try eating yogurt or kefir.  (Coconut milk can also be made into yogurt or kefir as well.)

Ultimately, by doing all of the above lowers the “inflammation” in your body so that your immune system can spend its energy in helping you fight off foreign invaders like viruses etc.

How Herbs Help Humans: Vol. 1, Section 1: Cranky Chamomile…the Herb for the Cranks in your life!

Yes, Chamomile is for cranks!  It is for those who tend to wine and complain about most anything, even when things are going well.  Chamomile is for “babies of any age”. 🙂  This is the emotional or mental type for this herb, but most of these people will also have cranky guts…so they will also find relief for their digestion when using this herb!

Chamomile, we have all enjoyed a cup of chamomile tea, though personally I like the one combined with vanilla bean which disguises its “weedy” taste.  I find that using it for relaxation is best as a tea, but when using it for digestion, use it as a tincture.  Also, the fresh herb tends to relieve tension & promote relaxation and the dried herb promotes stomach, gastro intestinal & liver, digestive secretions…so check each tincture before you buy it to see if it is a dried or fresh preparation.

The botanical name for this herb can be; Chamomilla recutita or Chamomilla matricaria.  It is in the Asteraceae  or Compositae family.  This family consists of flowers within flowers and the centre of the flower is made up of hundreds of “disk flowers”, the big petals are called “ray flowers” so each Chamomile flower, for instance, is made up of hundreds of small flowers!

Some of what we call “indications” or symptoms Chamomile addresses are; irritable sensory organs like ear pain, eye pain, teeth pain, pain in the reproductive organs etc.  It is a great herb for Cranky Babies with colic, teething pain, diarrhea etc.  It is safe to use and no one has ever died from taking too much of either the Chamomile tincture or the tea!  So use it liberally.  For the fresh preparations be aware that some people can be allergic to it.  Some of its other uses are for; ADHD, cramps, colds, stomach aches, fevers…particularly intermittent fevers, frazzeled nerves, insomnia, tension headaches, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), morning sickness, gastric ulcers etc.

Some of the emotions/mental states it will address are; angry, demanding, petulant, self-centred, intolerant of pain & not having their own way, inclined to pick quarrels, yet averse to being touched, soothed, or spoken to.  “I can’t bear it” is a common phrase or expression.

Chamomile is said to “sweeten the soul” and it can help to improve self-esteem.

Remember the fresh herb is good for relaxation and the dried herb is great for the digestion.  I do find that the dried herb preparations either in a tea or tincture can also help with relaxation when related to the digestion.  The easiest fresh preparation is the essential oil, but it can be quite expensive.  I would either grow it yourself or buy a tincture made from the fresh plant if you are trying to get it to act on your nerves.

The standard dose for this herb is 1 cup of tea up to 6x daily or 40 drops of the tincture made from a fresh plant taken 2 per day for calming the nerves and taken 1 hour before bed and also right at bed time. The tincture made from dried herb is taken 40 drops before each meal in a small amount of water to promote better digestion.

This herbal monograph was adapted from reading the following books; “The Earthwise Herbal”, A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants by Matthew Wood, Herbal Therapeutics by David Winston & 300 herbs Their Indications & Contraindications by Matthew Alfs.

Note:  This information is strictly for educational purposes.  The reader must take full responsibility for taking this herb and does so at his/her own risk.  I would always advise to get the advice from your friendly neighborhood  Clinical Herbalist. 🙂

How Herbs Help Humans Volume 1, Section 1. Introduction & Basic Therapeutic Guidelines for Great Health.

How Herbs Help Humans Vol. 1, Section 1. 

I want to write some articles on how herbs help humans because our mindset in Western Culture is not on prevention but on treating symptoms.  Whether you like it or not we are all influenced by the Western medicine mindset on treating symptoms and using drugs & surgery as our main methods of controlling ill health.  Unfortunately, while these methods can be helpful, they do come up short in many illnesses as can be testified by many who have experienced some relief of symptoms only to have drug side-effects and now a different set of symptoms.  I am sure you have known at least one person who has experienced this situation.

What I want to attempt to do is to provide some simple solutions by looking at some herbs that have influence on digestive disturbances, mental health disturbances & structural disturbances/herbal first aid remedies to start.   Unless a person has an allergy to a specific plant or plant family, then there are typically no side-effects to these methods providing you follow instructions from a Clinical Herbalist who knows exactly how to use the herbs.  These articles, then will be to provide information and peek a person’s interest who may be suffering while looking for simple solutions that work.

I will be adding to this volume as I add different herbal monographs and how to use them.  Some herbs need to be used in a formula to get better and quicker results and some herbal remedies need to be taken frequently to get great results in first aid treatment,  plus there are what is called Basic Therapeutic Guidelines that need to be followed in order for the remedies in chronic illnesses like mental & digestive disturbances to really grasp hold and work well.  I will indicate these details on the “herbal monograph” which will be a short blurb on the herb in terms the layman can understand.

Before getting into the herbs themselves I will list what I call the “Basic Therapeutic Guidelines” for great health.

Diet:

A. Avoid:  white flour, white rice (in most cases), white sugar, deep fried foods and generally any “fast foods”.  These foods tend to increase inflammation and cause imbalances in mood, digestion & blood chemistry.  Also avoid aspartame or any other artificial sweetener.  If you need an alternative use “raw” Stevia as it does not have an after taste like the “white” processed Stevia does.

B. Eat: Low glycemic (low sugar) foods like green leafy vegetables (romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, spinach, spring greens etc.), cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, collards, kale, kohlrabi etc.) Also, whole grains, like brown rice, quinoa etc.,  for those who can eat grains and high protein foods like meat, beans, legumes etc.  Note: 50% of what you eat should ideally be non-starchy green vegetables.

Eat & Drink Fermented Foods like; Kombucha, water kefir, milk kefir, yogurt, crunchy sauerkraut, other fermented vegetables, etc.  I am not referring to drinking alcoholic beverages either, though some kefir drinks can contain a small amount of alcohol.  Note: all sauerkraut or fermented vegetables needs to be eaten at room temperature rather than cooked.

Sleep:  At least 9 hours per day and go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every day.  If you are a shift worker do your best to follow this as much as you can. (If you have trouble sleeping and did not indicate this symptom on the intake form please let me know so I can help you with this.) Please also refer to the “sleep hygiene” checklist.

Stress:  Practise stress-reducing techniques like meditating, exercising at least 3x per week and 1 hour each time, listen to relaxing music, talk to a friend, take up a hobby, get in the outdoors, practise self-hypnosis as directed in the book “In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick”, practise body mindfulness with the help of a licensed counsellor etc.

Life Purpose:  Create a “mission statement” or discover your purpose in life by believing in a “power greater than yourself” & ask for help from this “power greater than yourself.”

Laugh:  Laugh daily and find at least 6 gifts to be grateful for.  Write them down.  Watch a funny movie or listen to a “clean” comedian.

Keep a Health Log/Journal:  For those of you who have a chronic illness you will need to keep a health log or health journal to record what you are doing and your symptoms.  This will give information regarding the correlation of lifestyle changes & remedies to your relief or increase in symptoms.  Record all that you do for your health including the prescriptions that you may be using from your doctor etc.

Vitamin D:  For those of you who live up in Canada take at least 10,ooo iu of Vitamin D per day for a healthy immune system, nervous system & for your bones.   It must be taken year round since we do not get enough sunshine here in Canada to stop taking it during the summer months, plus sun screen and showering less than 1 hour after being exposed to the sun stops your body from making Vitamin D.  It is vital for everyone to take this simple vitamin as it has been implicated in the prevention of many diseases.  Note: for those suffering with SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder you cannot afford to miss a day of this, since it will help with the SAD symptoms.

Omega 3’s:  Everyone, unless you are allergic, should be taking Omega 3 oils from fish or flax oil since it helps with inflammation and supports good immune, mental and joint health.  Note: for those suffering from SAD or other mental disturbances you will need an exact amount, determined by a trained professional/Clinical Herbalist, to get the best results.  Also, if you are allergic to fish then you could eat lamb, grass fed beef, eggs, game meats & poultry, but if you suffer from mood swings, depression of any kind and you cannot have fish oil, then I would take flax oil instead.   Most people need at least 3,000 mg per day and those suffering from mental symptoms need more as in 7,000 to 10,000 mg per day.  (That is an amount discovered in clinical research.)

Note:  If you don’t think you need to supplement with “Essential Fatty Acids” (EFA’s) then just look at the palms of your hands.  If they are “orange” instead of “pink” then you are low in EFA’s.  Nothing will change this unless you actually supplement with the correct amount as well as the “correct” EFA type for you.  Some people need a blend of oils while others can get away with just one type.  In my clinical experience, I have observed that the majority of people need 2 oil types either Fish or Flax oil and either Borage or Evening Primrose or a blend of 3 or more oils as found in “Udo’s oil”.

I would highly recommend if you take it in liquid that you keep it refrigerated and use it regularly so that the bottle does not go rancid.  And the liquid form can be cheaper in cost when you take it in high amounts for depression or mood disorders.

Magnesium citrate or diglycinate:  Up to 60% of people are low in Magnesium as it cannot be stored in the body.  It is important for all muscle function through out the body and helps to get rid of cramps and assists in all kinds of important chemical reactions through out the body.  It can improve; sleep, bowel movements, menstrual cramps, irritability etc.  Most people need about 500 to 1500 mg per day.

Nerve &/or Adrenal Formula: At Hirai Health Services one of our specialties is to develop formulas for people undergoing stress to help protect their adrenals, digestion & immune system.  The Nervous System is at the top of the body’s hierarchy & controls your stomach acid, hormones, elimination etc.  A herbal nerve formula will keep the nerves functioning without succumbing to stress as easily & your recovery will be much quicker once the stress is over.   (By the way, stress can just be working very long days at a job you love for weeks & months on end without having regular weekly breaks or daily breaks.)

Also, for those who train “physically” taking a nerve formula can be quite useful to help your muscles recuperate from the stress of working out even though a workout can be a very positive thing.

Adrenals are affected by your nerves first, then if the stress does not go away your stomach acid starts to decline & you will have trouble digesting protein as well as absorbing nutrients like Iron & B12.  Then the bacteria will start to overgrow in your small intestine causing “SIBO” symptoms, (Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth) which is another whole can of worms on its own.  Also, the bones will start to be affected over time because you will not be able to absorb Calcium & other minerals as well since the adrenals are part of the “kidney” in Chinese Medicine & kidney health is paramount to bone health.  Then there is the heart & the Cardiovascular system.  Increased stress will increase your chance of Cardiovascular disease as well, like blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks.

And to think all of the above symptoms can be prevented by stress management, a nerve formula & possibly an adrenal formula when required.  Also just a quick note on when to take a nerve formula, I recommend 1 hour before bed and then take the adrenal support formula in the morning before going to work.

Active B complex: Which means a B complex that is activated with a methyl group so that your body can use it right away.  Yes, it is true that some people methylate better than others and you can determine that by either symptoms or going to 23andme & get a DNA test to determine if you are a methylater or not.  But B vitamins are very important for digestion & assimilation of food as well as important for nerves.

Zinc:  This mineral is very important for digestion since most enzymes are Zinc dependent.  Even if you take just 25 mg a day to keep up your digestion unless you have a diagnosed problem with digestion then you would have to take more.

Think Green!  The liver does something like 300 functions every 3 minutes….so it needs a lot of TLC to keep it going.  How about giving it a “Green” drink or large dark green leafy salad on a daily basis.  If you can add sprouts to the salad including sprouted seeds & soaked nuts even better.  Be careful of drinking too much oxalic acid veggies in drinks as some peoples’ kidneys can hurt from running all that oxalic acid through them!  You would know if this was an issue because your upper back will ache.  Wheat grass or sprout drinks along with Romaine Lettuce do not contain oxalic acid so you can drink plenty of those daily without risk of irritating your kidneys.  Click “here” to check out the list of oxalic acid containing foods.

Visit a Natural Health Practitioner at least 2x per year for “dis-ease” prevention:  Find someone that you can work with, that listens to you & that has a “work” guarantee program.  If you have a problem that is complex or deep, Ie. have had for many years, then a “team” approach is definitely appropriate.  Acupuncture, Cranial Sacral, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, Herbs, Colon Hydrotherapy  etc., can all have a positive affect along with a few herbs & cleansing spring and fall to keep your toxicity level down.  In my clinical experience, most severe problems are due to nutritional deficiencies or toxicity overload.

Please note:  This article is for information purposes only and is not meant to be used for diagnostic or treatment.  This information is applied at the reader’s own discretion.

 

 

 

 

 

Pertinent Preparation Pointers For Getting the Most Out of Your Natural Health Appointments

I have put together some Pointers to help you get the most of your appointments whether “initial” or “follow-ups” with your Natural Health Practitioner or even your regular M.D., though some pointers are really only pertinent to a Natural Health Practitioner unless your M.D. prescribes natural remedies for your health problems.

1. Bring a food diary in showing what you ate for the last 10 days, include all meals & snacks and if you noticed if you felt any different eating certain foods or avoiding certain foods.

2. Bring your current supplements that you are taking along with any prescription medications especially to your first appointment.  You can then just bring anything new that you added in to your follow-up appointments.  

3. Bring in your most recent, even if it was 2 years prior, blood work & any other scans or medical diagnostic tests that you have had done to your initial appointment as well as any current results to your follow-up appointments as you get the tests done.  Sometimes it is easier to scan them to your practitioner before you get there so that they can have a look at them right before they see you.

4. Make sure you bring in a diary of your supplements or however you kept track of the supplements you took and if you noticed that you felt better or not after running out of them.  Ie. Sometimes it is easier to notice if something is helping if you run out of the supplement first and then evaluate how you feel.  If you feel worse after running out of a supplement there may be a correlation, but the Practitioner can determine this at the appointment.

5. If you are feeling quite well and most of your symptoms are gone, but are unsure of what to stay on as far as the supplements you were taking, then ask if you can have a shorter appointment time.

6. Once you have determined what is working I would then ask if you can simply pick up remedies that you need.  It is important to note here that buying store brand products that are cheap have very little health benefits & usually contain substances that are toxic. Keep in mind that Health Canada approves products on our shelves NOT because of good quality control…they do not even look at quality control…thus the same herb in different brands can be completely different and you will not get the same results. (Ie. It could be contaminated with animal dander, not the correct medicinal species etc.) If you go to a reputable practitioner they will often give you advice as to what to buy from your local health food store, if you don’t buy from them.

7.  If your symptoms have improved, but you still have the symptoms then make sure you make another appointment.  Keep in mind that the longer you have had a symptom, the longer it generally takes to go away…though not nearly as long as you had it.  Ie. A symptom that you have had for 20 years you may get rid of in less than 2 years, which isn’t too bad considering how long you have had it.  

    I like the car analogy.  If you drove your car for 5 years without maintenance you can expect to pay thousands on repair/maintenance costs.  Now think of driving your car for 25 years without maintenance…this is what a lot of people due to their own bodies.  It will cost you a lot more if you wait until you have symptoms for years, then go for help.  

    My general recommendation is to go for an appointment at least spring and fall even if you feel well, that way health patterns & changes can be noted and addressed before you become really unwell.  Another reason for going every spring and fall is to detoxify & cleanse using herbs to get at the deeper toxins in the body thus increasing the vitality of the liver, thus increasing your own vitality and wellness.

 Disclaimer:  This is for information purposes only and readers take full responsibility for applying these guidelines to their lives.

 

Steps to Healing (adapted from Dr. Mikael Adams N.D.)

 Steps to Healing (adapted from Dr. Mikael Adams N.D.)

These steps are for chronic conditions of the body, which we will all experience at some point in life, whether the beginning, middle or end.  These steps are not necessarily in the order that you will heal, in fact some of them can be done together.  Ie. Psychological/Spiritual help can be done at the same time as taking drainage or detoxification therapy.

These steps are based on the supposition that the person is on the correct diet for themselves & avoiding exposure, as much as humanly possible, to toxins in their environment. (Correct diet, with good, filtered water, preferably alkaline water so it will absorb properly & the avoidance of chemicals in food, air, water and on your skin.)

Step One:  Open the Excretory Organs & drain:  a)Bowels, b)Lymphatic system, c) Kidneys,    d) Skin, & the liver empties via the bowel.  Ultimately you want to get at the CELLULAR level which requires more than just a great diet.  This is where herbs & homeopathic remedies come in.  Herbs can scour the toxins around & inside your cells, the Unda #’s, which are homeopathic remedies, are used to get rid of cellular toxins, & will help you get rid of toxins affecting cellular function & enzyme systems, that rely on nutrients to run.  When your body’s cells are  “cleaned” this way,  then your supplements & even food  you use will be less in volume or calories, but nutrient rich, since your body will run more efficiently and need less calories to do it. So eating nutrient dense foods with less calories will help your body function correctly while you do the cleansing but it will NOT take the place of cleansing.  Eating a diet such as this will not detoxify you at the cellular level by itself…this is a mistake that a lot of people make.  It isn’t all about diet, in this case. (Ie. When you tune up your car, your gas mileage gets better because it will require less to run on.)

Step Two: Eliminate Environmental Toxins & the predisposition to “collecting” them in your body.  This can be done by treating your “constitution” and your “tendencies” that  you were born with.  This is usually through homeopathic remedies that release the negative tendency and “neutralize” its influence.  These are chronic conditions like; scoliosis, schizophrenia, alcoholism, diabetes, weak lungs, weak joints etc.

Step Three:  Stimulate the enzymes & substitute where necessary.  Using certain herbs to increase digestive power or using the Unda #’s to clean off the enzyme systems can help the person’s body to digest & assimilate their food much more effectively.  (I always say “you are what you assimilate.”)  In this way, all the organs and the systems made up from the organs will function more effectively creating a stable energy flow through out the day with no dips to the energy.  Remember, we are a human chemical factory and if there is a blockage in any of the enzyme systems the liver will try to push wastes through another enzyme system, if it does not work, you will store the toxins often in your bowel, lymphatic system and your between your cells causing you to become lethargic.  This is gradual of course and is often why people do not pick up on their problems quick enough since they believe it has to do with “old age” or working too much etc.  Cancer and other degenerative dis-ease starts here…at the cellular level.

Step Four:  Dysbiosis Therapy which is basically working on your gut and making sure that you are eating fermented foods daily like; water kefir, milk kefir, sauerkraut, fermented veges etc.  (Pickled food is not fermented.)  You may also need some herbs for the gut if you have a parasite or an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut which can lower your B12 levels and cause low energy.  Having a gut with the correct amount of healthy flora will help you produce B vitamins, enzymes etc.

Step Five:  Reduce Stress & Tonify the Qi.  Herbs & diet combined can help to tone the Qi & reduce stress in our body. If you compare this to your car engine, the gas will flow freely to the engine to combust with little waste left over and give your car the energy it needs to run smoothly. This is when you will have the best energy, no blocks to your energetic system.  The herbs & diet you need to maintain this energy or Qi will depend on your body type & individual idiosyncrasies, which is why it is important to get checked out by a professional.  Since just because a certain herb/regime helped someone else does not mean it is the best for you.  It will save you time and money to actually get checked out by a Holistic Professional of your choice since you will not have to guess what you need and waste money trying it out.

Step Six:  Nutritional Support, like Vitamin & Mineral supplements or nutritive herbs can also work well or green smoothies or juicing etc.  Anything to get your nutrient quotient up.  Think organic veges with some fruit in season.

Step Seven:  Constitutional therapy especially for the way you express and feel emotions & your body’s tendencies to certain dis-ease.  Healing your emotions or the way you express them can be challenging for some people.  Ultimately, the way you express yourself or do not express yourself is the way you were built and conditioned.  Certain homeopathic remedies can be helpful for those whose emotions are “stuck” and cause havoc in the body.  Ie. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or any chronic disease has an emotional element to it plus some so called “genetic” dis-eases can be helped by this type of therapy.

Step Eight:  Organ & Enzyme regeneration are sometimes required and organotherapy (a specific form of homeopath aimed at a specific organ to help it function normally) can be useful here.  Even some high strength antioxidants either in foods or herbs are very useful here to restore and protect the liver especially, but also the cardiovascular system, kidneys etc.  This will keep the body from degenerative diseases by protecting the body against the pollutants we have no control over as in the “air you breathe”.  Ie. We all need protection from air pollution.

Step Nine:  Spiritual/Psychological Healing:  Personally, I believe all that we do is spiritual, even if it is just the body, since the body houses the soul and we are one unit.  But sometimes people experience trauma in their life and it will create a vortex that uses up a lot of energy, since the person will be reacting to things that set them off without control.  So these traumas need to be healed and can be released through EMDR methods quite effectively or even talk therapy,  if you get the right professional for yourself.  Also, having a faith in someone bigger than your world can be essential to healing as it will give meaning to the suffering we all endure to one extent or another and hope, to get through it or be healed in the next life, in heaven.

Step Ten:  Removal of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMG) & Geopathic Stress from cell phones, cell phone towers and zones that cause geopathic stress in houses or buildings that people reside in.  Generally, EMG and Geopathic Stress cause Cancer over time but also very low energy and other inflammatory conditions of the body in the mean time.  There is a lot of evidence out there now where you can see the research on the cause and effect of these sources of radiant energy.  These types of energy will affect the body’s electrical system and cause the  bodys’ energy field  to be over-powered by the energy fields from phones & cell phone towers especially, but also geopathic stress will do this also.  One of the protectors I recommend are the Pulsor products which contain various strengths of Piezo Electric Crystals which will emit a field over your own energy field and strengthen it so that you are not affected by the fields that surround you.  (I have experienced this personally around large pieces of automated chemistry equipment while working in the hospital and the Pulsor Crystals saved me.  Very low energy was my symptom…so low that I could hardly function at the end of the day.)

 

Disclaimer:  Please note this article is strictly for information purposes only.  It is not meant to diagnose or prescribe or give advice.  Each person must take responsibility for their own health and get the advice specific for their own situation from a professional of their choice.

 

Long Life Winter Soup

Long Life Winter Soup                                                                     

Use a small handful of American Ginseng root cut up is best, a small handful of  Rehmannia root, 125 mL Wolf Berries, a medium handful of Codonopsis root, 5 large slivers of Reishi Mushroom, 6 dried Shiitake Mushrooms and 5 large Bay Leaves.

Use as follows to make your soup…you can adjust the taste as required like use more Codonopsis than Reishi to increase the sweetness of the soup.

 

1. Put herbs in 1 gallon pot along with 2 large onions cut in quarters,

2. 3 carrots cut in chunks,

3. 3 big, fat fresh burdock roots, cut in chunks,

4. and 1 whole organic chicken or 5 or 6 beef marrow bones (optional, of course). 

5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and partially and cook for  1.5 hours. Cool.

6. Pour through a colander to strain herbs, veggies and chicken or marrow bones, discard. Use herbs only once, then discard.  You can use this base for any soup that you want to make and can add whatever other spices you want to make it a tasty soup. (Ie. sea salt, seaweed, italian spices, curry, cayenne etc.)

 

Adapted from Patricia Kyritsi Howell, RH (AHG), original recipe for Winter Soup by Monica Hirai NHPC #3812, Registered Holistic Practitioner.

Winter Wisdom. Body Preparation for Low-Light Conditions.

Preparing for winter has a number of steps, though not everyone will have to do all steps. 

It just depends on how well your glands are functioning for you.

Basically there are 5 reasons why people have trouble with their glands and therefore have trouble with winter.  (Glands that I am referring to are mainly the pineal gland, thyroid and adrenals.)

1.   You are toxic.  Toxic glands do not function properly.

2.   Your glands are deficient in some nutrients.  Glands that are low in the nutrients that are required for its function, do not work very well.

3.   Stress.  Stressed out people do not produce hormones well.

4.   Inherited/Genetic weakness in one or more glands.

5.   Poor digestion/eating the wrong foods for your constitution.

Getting ready for winter, then, really depends on what state of health you are in.  If you try the basic steps to help yourself, which I will list first, and they do not help you, please seek help from a Holistically-minded professional that has had success in dealing with winter depression in their clients.

BASIC STEPS TO HAVING A GREAT WINTER!!

(I have tried to prioritize these steps for you, though you could do them in any order, BUT all steps must be considered since this problem can be quite complex.)

1.      Take at least 6,000 IU of Vitamin D a day (some people need 10,00 to 12,000 IU).  Have your blood checked to make sure it is in the higher range of normal.  (Check out the “functional ranges”.  There are books on this and I can write about it in another blog post.)    You cannot become toxic unless you take 25,000 IU per day.

2.      Take either Cod Liver Oil, another heavy metal free Fish Oil, and /or Borage Oil or Evening Primrose Oil.  Most people could use a blend of either the Cod Liver Oil/Fish Oil and either Borage Oil or Evening Primrose Oil.  If you use the 1000 mg capsules, then you will need two of each 2x per day on average.  Some people need more.  ( Ie. 2000 mg of Cod Liver Oil 2x per day and 2000 mg of Evening Primrose Oil 2x per day.)  Cod Liver Oil does not thin the blood like regular Fish Oil does.  But it is imperative for brain & nervous system function since the “myelin” sheath which surrounds the spinal cord and brain is made up of lipids and thus cannot function optimally without these lipids.

3.      Use a SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) full spectrum light.  Research the one that looks the best in quality.  Personally, I use the Lite Book and it works, but I have also found that the Philips blue light version works as well as, the larger one sold on Costco by Verilux called the “Happy Light Liberty Energy Lamp.”  Please Note:  Use your SAD light in the evening within 2 hours of going to bed to increase Melatonin Levels to help you sleep.  Use the SAD light in the mornings if you have a hard time waking up in the morning as it will increase your Serotonin Levels when used in the morning.  You will need to use it for minimum 20 minutes up to 60 minutes. It works on the Pineal Gland which gets its light through your eyes.  So you must let the light shine into the corners of your eyes to get the light into the Pineal Gland which is a pea-sized gland in the middle of your head.  Avoid staring at the light directly as it can affect the retina.

4.      If you have done the 1st 3 steps and you are still having trouble, then going to a Herbalist who can make you a Herbal formula for your pineal gland and/or give you a glandular or homeopathic can be very helpful.

5.      Thyroid/Adrenals: If you have done the 1st 3 steps and you are still having trouble, then go have a full thyroid panel done.  Ie. Free T3, Total T4, Reverse T3, TSH and make sure you know your “Functional Ranges” so you can be involved in identifying if you are indeed having a Thyroid problem.  My experience has been that those people who suffer a lot in January often have a Thyroid issue.  The “normal ranges” for thyroid are “disease ranges” and do not concur with a “optimally functioning thyroid”.  You can take your results to your favourite holistic practitioner and depending on your test results it could be corrected with some nourishing herbs for the thyroid.  Desiccated Thyroid can also be used when required and contrary to some information out there it does not act the same as Synthroid and is not hard to regulate.  Desiccated  Thyroid is what is termed “Glandular Therapy” and actually helps to nourish your thyroid.  It is true that some people seem to need it for life, but there are many things that affect the Thyroid and I believe if these are addressed properly, then a person may not need to take it all their life.  I will write another blog post just about Thyroid to address these issues.

Adrenals are affected when you are under a lot of stress.  So the best thing to do is to reduce your stress and support your adrenal glands with supplements or herbs.  This will help your Thyroid work better at converting your thyroid hormones to the active form.

6.       If you are still having problems, then you need to look at your diet.  Make sure you do not have any “white” flour, sugar, rice in your diet.  In fact, if you are severe enough I would do a Cleanse with some Colon Hydrotherapy and then follow the “Body Ecology Diet” to rebalance your gut, since your gut makes most of your serotonin.  Part of this diet is to eat fermented foods.  These foods will help nourish and replenish the good bacteria in your gut, as well as actually help you break down your food more fully.  They will also help you process some toxins and act like Pac-Men that gobble up garbage in your gut.

With Steps 1 to 6 considered, there are still some people that suffer from general depression due to needing more minerals for their brains and nerves.  Some people just require more nutrition for their nervous systems to function optimally.  So one of the best things to use is the Empowerplus Advanced Formula from True Hope.  You start slowly at 1 capsule 2x per day and go up to 4 capsules 2x per day.  It helps to re-build neuro-transmitters and I have seen it work quite well on most people.  If you decide to do this as well, you really need to see a Holistic Practitioner so that you can have help when adjusting the dosage of this supplement.  Sometimes if there is anxiety as well then this can be addressed separately with Inositol Powder also by True Hope.   Their Amino Acid complex may also be necessary for those having sleep issues despite having gone through steps 1 to 6.  I will write more about this in another blog post.

In the meantime, give steps 1 to 6 a try and see how they work for you.

I wish everyone a fantastic winter!

 

Disclaimer:  This information is not intended to diagnose or treat anyone, but simply information for those who would like to help themselves by being actively involved in their own health and healing.   Please always involve a doctor when experiencing severe depression.

 

 

 

1. Take 15 minutes every morning to relax before rushing out the door.  (Sit cross-legged on a hard floor and sip hot water if experiencing sever constipation.)  Deep breathing exercises are also helpful to do at this time.  Ie. Breathe from belly not chest.                                       

See the information here:   http://modernherbalmedicine.com/articles/breathe-your-way-to-better-physical-and-emotional-health.html

2. Avoid anything containing white flour, rice & white sugar, as much as possible.  (called the “white plague.”)

3. Remove as many of the external stresses from your life such as: being ‘too busy’ plus deal with internal stressors like; lies you tell yourself, ‘stuffing’ your feelings, feeling bad about yourself and any “co-dependent” or “co-addictive”, or addictive behaviour.

4. Drink at least 1 to 2 litres of water per day between meals.  (non-chlorinated)

5. Eat lots of fibre in your diet.  If you can eat grains, eat whole grains.  Regardless, everyone should take a fibre drink once per day.  See the information here:                                                                              http://www.hiraihealth.com/pdf/How%20to%20take%20a%20fiber%20drink.%202012.pdf 

6. Eat lots of “live food” like sprouts, fresh vegetables, juices, raw salads, fruit and avoid deep fried and heavy foods containing wheat, dairy, beef or pork.  (These are all hard on the liver.)

7. If your colon lacks tone, do the colon exercises listed on the ‘Colon Regime’ article here:  http://www.hiraihealth.com/pdf/Colon%20Therapy%20Regime%202012.pdf

8. Get checked for a nutrient deficiency if you are still constipated.  If you are low in any of the B vitamins, lecithin or acidophilus, – these help the colon stay lubricated and toned up.

9. Eat and drink fermented foods, and I don’t mean alcoholic fermented beverages.  I mean Water Kefir, Milk Kefir, Kombucha, Fermented Vegetables etc.  These help to maintain a healthy digestive tract.

10. When traveling, take your enema bag along.  (Refer to ‘How to Give Yourself a High Enema.’ http://www.ozonelab.com/monica/enema.htm )    You can also benefit from doing a colonic before and after you travel.  Book these appointments ahead of time.  Also, herbal laxatives such as Senna, Cascara sagrada are okay for occasional constipation.  Do not take herbal laxatives as a long-term solution.   Please consult with me during your next appointment so I can help you determine the cause of your constipation and a plan to address this properly.

11. If you are on drugs or medication, check to see if constipation is a side effect.  Ie. Pain killers cause constipation.  There are herbal alternatives to help with pain.

12.Iron supplements can also cause constipation.  Herbal iron supplements are superior as they do not cause constipation and absorb better to.  

13.Have an assessment to determine if your stomach or liver may be causing the constipation you are having.

 

Tips to Increase Your Energy

 1. Remove all white flour, white sugar and white rice from your diet.  Replace 

with whole grain flour, whole grain sugar cane and brown rice….according to your ABO blood type.

2. Eat the “beneficials” off your blood type chart.

3. Food combine.  Proteins and veges.  Starches and veges.  For more information read about it in the “Body Ecology Diet” book.

4. Drink hot water with fresh lemon squeezed into it.  It helps to unclog the liver.

5. Do a liver/gallbladder flush after doing a series of colonics.

6. Do a liver cleanse with herbs and a series of colonics to flush out the toxicity from your body.

 7. Use fiber drinks and bowel tonic herbs to increase your elimination.

 8. Eat raw veges at lunch and at dinner.

 (compatible with your blood type.)

 9. Juice vegetable juices and drink 2 to 4 – 8 oz glasses daily.

 10. Drink wheatgrass juice in lemon water or in unfiltered, organic apple juice.

 11. Go on a cleansing diet of raw vegetable juices and raw vegetable salads with lots of green veges and sprouts…do for 4 to 10 days if you can.  Come off of it with light proteins.

 12. Drink non-chlorinated water.

 13. Have a bath with 35% hydrogen peroxide in it….soak at least 30 minutes.

 

Colon Cleansing

1. Make sure that you take Magnesium citrate capsules or powder for at least one week before you start the colonics.  Then make sure you continue to take them to keep your bowels regular and soft.  The dosage is: 4 capsules before bed and 2 in the morning.  It can be lowered if you get too loose or can be increased if you are not going at least 2 times per day.  With the powdered Magnesium, the best is to start with the highest dose suggested on the bottle then decrease it or increase it as you see necessary.
2. Make sure to take the fiber drink that works for you.  Ground Chia seeds, Ground Flax seeds, Psyllium Combination Powder, and follow the directions on my website (At the bottom of the Book An Appointment page, look for “How to take a   Fiber Drink”.)
3. Take your probiotic daily (HMF probiotic from Seroyal is the best as it stays in your body the longest.  Ask me about this if I haven’t told you already.) especially at the beginning of your suggested regime.  As you increase your fermented foods, you will need to take the probiotic less and less until you don’t need it anymore.  You can tell when you don’t need it anymore because you will not be bloated after you eat or later in the day any more.  (Provided you are eating the diet that is right for you.  Check my website: www.hiraihealth.com for recipes on fermented foods  under: healthinfo/articles&links.
4.  Report any problems that you may have after the colonic like; a) feeling sleepy, b)increase in gas, c) right-sided lower abdominal/back pain d) not being able to have a bowel movement for more than a day after having a colonic. (Missing the day after having a colonic is normal.)  You need to call me when you have these symptoms.  Usually if you have any of these symptoms it means you have a dysbiosis, which is low good gut flora and increased yeast & parasites.  It can be easily solved by taking a parasite remedy or yeast remedy or a combination of the two.
5. Remember it takes at least 3 colonic spaced out no more than 2 weeks apart, (1 week apart is recommended) to get decent results and most people need at least 6 colonics or more depending on the nature of your digestive issues.
6. Once your colon is cleaned out you will need to have a “Maintenance Program” in place to help you maintain proper elimination & digestion.  This will vary from person to person and you will need a follow-up appointment after your series of colonics.  With this program you will be able to have colonics as a part of a cleansing program or before & after travel or as needed for general health maintenance.  Cleansing clinics around the world recommend a minimum of 3 colonics spring and fall for cleansing to help keep the body free of dis-ease.
7. Eat fermented foods daily and especially on the days that you have colonics.  If you don’t know which fermented foods would be best for you, ask.  Fermented foods help the Probiotic Supplement stay in your system better.  The suggested minimum for fermented foods are 1/4 cup minimum for the kefir drinks and 1/8 to 1/4 cup fermented veges or yogurt. (This may vary from person to person and you may have to start at 1 tsp of kefir and work your way up to 1/4 cup.)
8. Books on cleansing & colonics:  1) Tissue Cleansing Through Bowel Management by Dr. Bernard Jensen. 2) Colon Health by Norman Walker. 3)The Colon Health Handbook by Robert Gray.

If you have any questions or concerns or have any symptoms as listed under #4 of this list, please       email me or call me right away.

HAPPY CLEANSING!  🙂