Journal
Ignorance and Neglect
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland situated in the neck just below the Adams Apple. The thyroid controls metabolism (which is why poor thyroid function can inhibit weight loss no matter how much you exercise) and nearly every other aspect of health including mood, energy and circulation. Thyroid damage can lead to underactivity (hypothyroidism), overactivity (hyperthyroidism), thyroid inflammation (thyroiditis), and thyroid cancer. I often hear of women who have been given anti-depressants because they go to their GP with low mood, depression and anxiety. But what if the depression is a symptom of something else. The anxiety/depression can often caused by an undiagnosed thyroid condition and because in this country unless you have a private full thyroid screening your GP will mostly only test the practically useless TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/tsh-why-its-useless/. This is NOT a good indicator at all and you may feel like you are banging your head against the wall when you are told your results are ‘normal’ and you fall within the range. People can go for years without being treated properly and instead may be put on other medication with the root cause of their complaints not being addressed. There is a long list of symptoms here which you may find yourself in http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/long-and-pathetic/ including feeling the cold, anxiety, painful joints, IBS, constantly tired, poor B12 and iron absorption, cracked heels and more. Even if you are prescribed Thyroxine this still often doesn’t work well http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/t4-only-meds-dont-work/. I think its safe to say we have an epidemic of thyroid disease. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/03/10/water-fluoridation-thyroid-dysfunction.aspx http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11430087/Fluoride-in-drinking-water-may-trigger-depression-and-weight-gain-warn-scientists.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-rodale/whats-behind-the-secret-e_b_2915186.html. Hormones and thyroid disease. http://hypothyroidmom.com/progesterone-thyroid-a-hormonal-connection-essential-for-optimal-womens-health/ It is a real travesty for the untreated walking wounded. I recently met someone who initially complained of inflammation of the the joints, so this is the root the medics have gone down, but on speaking further for years she has suffered many other thyroid symptoms but has been told time and time again her thyroid is fine. She knows it is not. So next time a person in authority tells you your results are normal, but you still feel bad seek help from elsewhere, perhaps with us. http://hypothyroidmom.com/when-thyroid-disease-masquerades-as-psychiatric-disorder/ The secret to getting ahead is getting started – Mark Twain
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Toxic beauty, not with Noah
The beauty industry magazine In-Cosmetics stated that a woman absorbs 4lb 6oz of chemicals from toiletries and make-up every year. Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and soaps, hairspray and hair dye, perfume, make-up, deodorant and the like accumulate to this huge chemical overload. One of the toxic ingredients, parabens have been thought to behave like the female sex hormone oestrogen which can encourage breast tumour growth and indeed traces of these chemicals have been found in breast tumour samples. On a daily basis we are bombarded with a cocktail of chemicals; sprays on our food, that food often cocooned in hormone altering plastic, pollutants in the air and not to mention the junk we smother on our skin, our largest organ covering about 18 square feet of our bodies. You can reduce this toxic overload, and it is important to do so. One way is to use more natural skin and hair care. I am lucky enough to try out everything before we decide to stock it. The new hair care range from Italy called Noah ticks all the boxes for me. I have been using Noah Thickening Shampoo and the Noah Restructuring Cream and absolutely love them. Toxic free, beautiful sleek packaging, gorgeous scents and they leave your hair beautifully nourished. A simple way to take care of yourself, with small daily gestures. It is a concept developed according to different criteria, to solve and correct specific imbalances. The single products are made according to natural principles, from mixes of essential oils of beneficial properties. Pure essences with the only purpose to cleanse, revitalize and moisturize the skin and the hair, only using healthy ingredients with botanical composition and targeted effects. NOAH hair care is the result of advanced researches based on innovative scientific technologies. Each single product of the line contains high synergistic concentrations of pure essential oils, extracted from plants and flowers, according to the most traditional and ancient extraction techniques. The precious therapeutic powers, the aromas, and colours that characterise each essence are preserved in a totally natural way, without using harmful chemical additives. Enjoy.
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Butterflies and SSRI’s
GUT FEELINGS Have you ever wondered about the sensation of butterflies in your stomach when you are worried or anxious about something? That you may have to run to the toilet when you are upset? When you are feeling uptight your digestion shuts down and you experience bloating and indigestion? Your thoughts affect your gut and your gut status effects your mental health. Around 70% of your immune system is found in your gut and now it has been shown to have the greatest concentration of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, and not the brain as we have been lead to believe. The gut has for some time now been called the ‘second brain’ because while it talks to the brain, it also has the ability to act independently and influence behavior. The vagus nerve, sometimes know as the ‘wandering nerve’, which extends from the brainstem to the abdomen by way of multiple organs including the heart, esophagus, and lungs sends message upstream from the gut to the brain as well as travelling downstream through the vagus nerve from your conscious mind (via efferent nerves), alerting your organs to create an inner peace so you can rest and heal during times of safety, or prepare your body for fight-or-flight in threatening situations. “The notion that the state of our gut governs our state of mind dates back more than 100 years. Many 19th- and early 20th-century scientists believed that accumulating wastes in the colon triggered a state of “auto-intoxication,” whereby poisons emanating from the gut produced infections that were in turn linked with depression, anxiety and psychosis. Patients were treated with colonic purges and even bowel surgeries until these practices were dismissed as quackery.” – Scientific American Many research papers are now pointing to the fact that probiotics are showing positive results in those suffering with anxiety and depression. Optibac ‘for everyday’ probiotics contains 2 specific bacteria strains proven to help reduce negative thoughts associated with sad mood. ANTIDEPRESSANTS With studies now showing that those with anxiety and depression actually have HIGH serotonin and not low are SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Prozac, Citalopram, Xanax etc the answer? SSRI’s work by preventing the reuptake (movement back into the nerve endings) of serotonin. This makes more serotonin available for use in your brain, which is thought to improve your mood. SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are believed to ease depression by enhancing levels of Serotonin to the brain. With 95% of the Serotonin in the body living in the digestive system, diverting Serotonin from their natural receptors to the brain can increase anxiety, alter sleep patterns, cause sexual dysfunction and adversely affect the cardiovascular region. Balancing Serotonin production in the gut is vital to restoring the balance. The chemical imbalance theory was never proven and in 1983 the National Institute of mental health concluded there was NO evidence that there is anything wrong in the serotonergic system of depressed patients. Much research has taken place since and last September, the National Institute of Mental Health awarded four grants worth up to $1 million each to spur new research on the gut microbiome’s role in mental disorders, affirming the legitimacy of a field that had long struggled to attract serious scientific credibility. Balance Emotional Health Through Nutrition Ensure you get enough sun and if this is impossible supplement with Vitamin D until your levels are adequate. Eat good quality saturated fat. Butter from grass fed cows, coconut oil, olive oil. Eat fermented foods like Kimchi, Sauerkraut, Kefir, Kombucha etc. Take a good quality probiotic like Optibac shown to help anxiety. Probiotics are carefully prepared friendly bacteria that replenish the microbial balance. Use good quality unrefined salt. Walk daily, being mindful and taking in your surroundings. Practice appreciation and gratitude. Consider magnesium. Studies show that low serum magnesium levels were associated with depressive symptoms. under par. Studies show that St. John’s wort can be as effective as antidepressants in treating mild to moderate depression. Consider the bitter herb Andrographis for gut dysbiosis. – a new way of thinking, a new way of life STUDIES AND RESEARCH PAPERS Psychobiotics Too much serotonin Can the bacteria in your gut explain your mood Rhodiola for mild to moderate depression Serotonin, depression and aggression
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The Nocebo Effect
The Nocebo effect – “a detrimental effect on health produced by psychological or psychosomatic factors such as negative expectations of treatment or prognosis.“ You hear time and again that people do as they are told by someone in a white coat or a person in authority even as much as dying on the foresaid day. Hope seems to be going out of the window. How the “Nocebo Effect” Can Trick Us Into Actually Dying Hope When All Else Fails Epigenetics is the science of how your genes are INFLUENCED by thought, nutrition, exercise, attitude and your environment. In the amazing book The Biology of Belief, Dr Bruce Lipton explains how his research revealed the science of epigenetics. “I placed one stem cell into a culture dish, and it divided every ten hours. After two weeks, there were thousands of cells in the dish, and they were all genetically identical, having been derived from the same parent cell. I divided the cell population and inoculated them in three different culture dishes. “Next, I manipulated the culture medium—the cell’s equivalent of the environment—in each dish. In one dish, the cells became bone, in another, muscle, and in the last dish, fat. This demonstrated that the genes didn’t determine the fate of the cells because they all had the exact same genes. The environment determined the fate of the cells, not the genetic pattern. So if cells are in a healthy environment, they are healthy. If they’re in an unhealthy environment, they get sick.” Dr. Lipton then took this a step further, which brings us back to the cancer question. “Here’s the connection: With fifty trillion cells in your body, the human body is the equivalent of a skin-covered petri dish. Moving your body from one environment to another alters the composition of the ‘culture medium,’ the blood. The chemistry of the body’s culture medium determines the nature of the cell’s environment within you. The blood’s chemistry is largely impacted by the chemicals emitted from your brain. Brain chemistry adjusts the composition of the blood based upon your perceptions of life. So this means that your perception of any given thing, at any given moment, can influence the brain chemistry, which, in turn, affects the environment where your cells reside and controls their fate. In other words, your thoughts and perceptions have a direct and overwhelmingly significant effect on cells.” Your thoughts matter What you eat matters How you move matters Who you spend time with matters How you sleep matters How much sunlight you get matters What you believe, really matters In this wonderful true story Stamatis Moraitis didn’t succumb to the “Nocebo Effect” after a terminal cancer diagnoses advised he had months to live, instead he lived till he was 102! Read his story below. How a Man Forgot to Die
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The power of red
The power of RED. Share with your friends to encourage them to eat a red breakfast and a red lunch:-) These colourful and tasty foods are gifts from nature. They offer many health benefits because they have some of the following nutrients; lycopene, ellagic acid, quercetin, hesperidin, fiber, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Plus just looking at them speaks of vitality and health. BEETROOT – beetroot is great for boosting stamina and making muscles work harder, it also contains potassium, magnesium and iron as well as vitamins A, B6 and C, and folic acid. Beetroot also contains carbohydrates, protein, powerful antioxidants and soluble fibre.Studies show beetroot reduce blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and strokes. Has powerful antioxidant properties, contains silica which helps utilise calcium, stabilises blood sugar, helps treat anaemia and fatigue and a recent study by Wake Forest University in North Carolina has shown the nitrates in beetroot help fight the progression of dementia. Red breakfast Chia seeds soaked overnight in milk.Blended in the morning with apple, banana,1 tbsp melted coconut oil, handful of blackberries (defrosted from last years pick) and handful of walnuts sprinkled with dessicated coconut and raw honey. Anjum Anand’s Beetroot cakes and Indian purple coleslaw from Anjum’s Indian vegetarian Feast
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What if its your Thyroid?
Is thyroid disease one of the most under-diagnosed, mistreated and untreated diseases? We see many people in practice suffering from what they believe may be an isolated condition ie chronic inflammation in the joints, only to discover it as a symptom of thyroid disease. I do wonder often when women present themselves as chronically down, tired, apathetic, unenthusiastic and sluggish if it is really an undiagnosed thyroid condition. Life is too short to be just ‘existing’, believing that is just the way things are.. We should be vital, enthusiastic about life and able to feel joy and excitement. If that is not the case it is easy to think ‘it’s just me’ or ‘I have always felt like this’ or even to be told by your GP that there ‘is nothing wrong with you’. I believe change and feeling alive and well is possible. Sometimes you have to look elsewhere. Are you suffering with Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, aggression, bipolar, OCD, phobias, acheing joints, inflammation, thinning hair, constipation, loss of third end of eyebrow, unable to lose weight, sluggish, feel cold all the time, carpal tunnel syndrome, digestive issues, hormonal problems, infertility, miscarriages, fatigue and exhaustion. Every cell of the body requires thyroid hormone for proper functioning, so symptoms of hypothyroidism can result in every part of the body. Research reveals hypothyroidism is linked to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer, issues with the liver, kidneys, gall bladder, mental health, pregnancy complications, and more. Check your temp here http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2012/11/19/temperature-and-pulse-basics-monthly-log/ The following sites may be of help http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/long-and-pathetic/ http://warddeanmd.com/hypothyroidism-the-underdiagnosed-epidemic/ http://hypothyroidmom.com/ http://www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/ https://www.facebook.com/thyroidsexy http://thyroid.about.com/bio/Mary-Shomon-350.htm http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ Unfortunately testing in this country under the NHS is inadequate. Private testing will show a full picture, though symptoms in themselves are very revealing. At Botanica our dedicated practitioner’s can arrange private testing if it is required for you. We can also advise you on diet and prescribe herbal medicine and other medications where appropriate. We find ReMag, ReLyte and Ashwaganda beneficial to support thyroid health. Being wheat free and adding in healthy fats to your diet will be hugely beneficial. A high quality B Complex and C is also suggested.
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The Astounding Benefits of Honeysuckle Tea
I have to admit until a few months ago I hadn’t thought or heard of Honeysuckle Tea until a lady asked me if we stocked it. I put my detective cap on and started an investigation. I found articles in The Times and The Telegraph with intriguing studies of its ability to fight flu, but even more excitingly, the Ebola virus, but stating it was impossible to find this tea here in the UK. After some phone calls we found a supplier who said he was baffled as his sales had soared. Honeysuckle tea has been touted as ‘viral penicillin’. A study done at Nangjiang University in China showed that mice, which absorbed a molecule from the plant, were shown to suppress flu. Until recently antibiotics were the preferred magic bullet for many infections and although still necessary for more serious illnesses, nature provides us with many powerful alternatives including Honeysuckle. This has been used by the Chinese for hundreds of years to specifically ward off the flu. A recent study which was published in Cell Research, has also shown that it may work against the Ebola virus. Herbalists use Honeysuckle for its many properties including anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and it’s calming qualities. Prevention against viruses is key. Here are my top tips for keeping your immunity strong and vital: Stay emotionally well – appreciation being the most positive emotion Monitor your stress, take time out each day to nurture yourself Walk daily Eat nourishing foods Spend time with friends and family (only if you like your family;-)) Take a daily probiotic, a healthy gut makes for a healthy body, and a health body makes for a healthy mind “Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude”. Dale Carnegie
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Why Ashwagandha Is So Beneficial
Do you sleep like a baby, rising refreshed with a clear mind ready for what the day is going to bring? Or do you feel unrefreshed, with a foggy head and a sense that perhaps you ‘feel’ a little toxic. What is clear is that sleep is absolutely vital for emotional and physical well being. I am posting along with this a wonderful TED video on the incredible detoxifying process of sleep and also to reiterate the talk that many of you enjoyed at Botanica recently on aluminium, is it really poisonous? To aid sleep practice 7/11 breathing before bed – in for 7 out for 11 through the nose, take magnesium and Ashwagandha or Holy Basil. Take these morning and evening. Ashwagandha, which is known as Indian Ginseng is a natural energiser which rejuvenates the body, and helsp to minimise the detrimental effects of stress and anxiety. It promotes calm along with a natural sense of wellbeing, vigour and vitality. Ashwagandha also acts as a potent antioxidant, which enhances brain and nerve function and balances sexual and reproductive function. The TED introduction to this video says: “The brain uses a quarter of the body’s entire energy supply, yet only accounts for about two percent of the body’s mass. So how does this unique organ receive and, perhaps more importantly, rid itself of vital nutrients? New research suggests it has to do with sleep.” https://youtu.be/MJK-dMlATmM “Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together”Thomas Dekker
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Could ReMag Change Your Life Too?
On a weekly basis I receive messages of how magnesium has changed lives. Restless legs, depression, hot flushes, irritability, palpitations, cramp, insomnia ….This email from from Dr. Carolyn Dean tells all… “October 30, 2014 Aloha, The following report is from a 34-year old client and mother of two young teens. She told me that before she started taking magnesium she was a wreck. She gave me permission to share her story in hopes that it will help people to understand the benefits of magnesium. My client says: In 2014 all the stress in my life finally caught up with me. Being an overly worried mom, school volunteer, perfectionist wife, people pleaser, business owner w/ husband and everyone’s go-to-person took me over the edge Panic attacks and anxiety were in full swing and it just got worse. Before all this I was very confident and strong willed and could do anything and drive anywhere. One day, supposedly “out of the blue” I had a panic attack on the road driving and it scared me so much that I was afraid it would happen again and the fear overwhelmed me and created a mass of episodes daily. These are the things I could no longer do: * Be around groups of people * Eat at restaurants * Leave the house * Drive far distances or even wait for over 5 minutes in a car without panicking…the heat made it worse. * Go to work * Watch anything bad on TV or hear bad stories… * Sit for more than 10 minutes watching TV without twitching * Go to the store or movies I became afraid of Western Doctors. I still am due to pill pushers trying to make me take drugs. I was scared to take anything new (vitamins and supplements). I was actually afraid they might kill me. Body effects Daily from anxiety and panic attacks: * Insomnia * Twitching-shoulders, legs, eyes, face, feet other body parts * Head scratching/picking from nerves * A sense of ready to jump out of my skin and ready to lose it * Stomach issues- indigestion, fullness with little food, pain, choking feeling and gagging * Weird head sensations and burning * Numbness and tingling in face and extremities * Sharp pains in the back between shoulder blades * Sensitivity to heat * Lack of appetite * Afraid I was going to die daily and never going to get better * Loss of muscle strength * Bad/fear thoughts * Nightmares * Loss of weight due to lack of appetite * Easy bruising * Everything frustrated me * Crying easily I became a research queen and prayed a whole lot and I feel like the higher power lead me to Magnesium. Before I knew it, Magnesium was everywhere I looked, on books, on covers of magazines where I went, on and on and I took it as a sign. The final kicker was when I was on the internet researching natural solutions and I ran across a man who was referring people to the Magnesium Miracle book by Dr. Dean because he said it is a miracle. I emailed him, he replied and told me how his over 25 yrs. of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts ended by the miracle of Magnesium. It was a major sign, the man is a NASA scientist and I believed him – we still keep in touch. All through this time all the doctors just wanted me to be on Paxil or Celexa. I tried them and they made me feel worse. Dr. Dean later warned me that they both contain fluoride. Doctors told me I had an anxiety disorder and it will NEVER go away. No wonder I was terrified of them. I was hopeless and they gave me no hope. I had a consult with Dr. Dean and started her ReMag (magnesium) at a snail’s pace because I was still terrified of everything killing me – but she told me that even a few drops would begin helping and they did and I increased my dose over time. The symptoms disappeared day-by-day and week-by-week. I also took Vitamin C complex and B complex from Grown by Nature. I incorporated getting outdoors as much as possible, looking at nature and daily meditation/contemplation. I realized I had to slow down and look at my life in a different way. I even felt I had to eliminate the negative people from my life and focus on what I love and enjoy Now, when symptoms creep up, I can pin point what I have done to cause my magnesium deficiency and simply increase it. I also took the advice of a dear friend who said “Just know that you will get better.”
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