Some "Gold nuggets" for good health!

Welcome to the August edition of the MindFitBody newsletter.

I recently got back from Wellington NZ where I attended a conference with the Australian College of Environmental and Nutritional Medicine. This is the course that GP's do to become integrated doctors - ie those specialising in conventional and natural /nutritional medicine.

The course included topics on gut health, allergies, diet, toxins and functional pathology. There was lots of great information so in this newsletter I thought I would share some of the highlights, the "gold nuggets" to good health which may also help you win a health trivia night!

• 70% of all health care costs are the result of illness triggered by people's behaviour - NIH review JAMA 2002

With so much of conventional medicine focused on relieving symptoms, during the conference Doctors were encouraged to do more of what Chiropractors have been taught since it's beginning in 1895. The body is a complete ecosystem and we need to ask WHY is that symptom/illness present? Then what can be done to prevent and cure while treating the cause of the issue!

• The quality of our health is determined by the quality of our cells which are determined by the quality of the nutrients we ingest, the toxins they are exposed to and in my opinion how well the bodies operating system is functioning (namely our brain and nervous system)

• Disease results from disturbances in PHYSICAL STRUCTURE, BIOMOLECULES (eg nutrients) present and disturbances of important biochemical reactions (eg due to toxins) - HARPER

• <5% of diseases are purely genetic. You may have heard the saying "the genes load the gun but the environment pulls the trigger"

So with that said it is really important to consider what constitutes our environment? What are we putting into our bodies, what chemicals and electromagnetic radiation are we being exposed to, what stress are we under and what are we doing to support good health?

I understand these questions can be overwhelming particularly when most of us are time poor, already stretched emotionally and perhaps increasingly so financially. We understand that our health is important but often crave in the quick energy boosts, prepared fast foods and have our vices to unwind.

More now than ever we need to understand why we value our health and what good health means to us as an individual to get us through the challenges and temptations that will arise along the way.

The other confusing thing for many of us is the confusion around what is ok and what is not. Adding to this is that what might be good for one person might be poison for another.

Our food industry is also quite deceptive. Next time your in the supermarket pick up a few packaged foods and cosmetic products. I'm lucky to know exactly how half of the ingredients might affect our health. There are preservatives, additives, emulsifiers, anti-caking agents and the list goes on.

“The issue we have in Australia is that many toxins/additives are only evaluated for their potential to cause harm rather than proving themselves to be safe?...”

In Europe they have different legislation and many of the products - food additives, pesticides etc have to be proven safe now and in the future before being allowed onto the market. Many products banned in Europe are still available in Australia!

This means our health is being impacted more predominantly by toxins now and with each passing generation. Interestingly, toxicity can be passed down through generations.

• 1/3 of existing global burden of disease is caused by environmental toxins.

• Cancer rates are set to increase by 70% from 2012 to 2035! - World Health Organisation

• 1 in 6 Australian couples are now affected by infertility issues.

• Only a small fraction of the chemicals used (<7%) have been tested for their capacity to affect our Endocrine (hormonal) system.

I could go on and on with more scary statistics but I won't! WHY? Well it makes more sense to focus on the solutions that we can make daily to reduce our body burdens and increase the likelihood we can thrive!

So what are the keys to good health?

This could be a long article... :) So without the scope to answer every possibility I'll pop down my top 10 tips!

The two most important organs for dealing with the changes in our modern world are the liver and our gut. This is my opinion, but the liver conjugates many of our toxins and gets the energy cycles going. The gut is vital for our immune system and our digestion of important nutrients. It also has a significant impact on our mental health! The brain and nervous system is what keeps things working as they should be, but is affected by our posture, physical and spinal health as well as stress in particular.

1. Add good things first -  before taking away the bad things. An apple before a tray of donuts is better than just the donuts alone. Plus if you fill yourself up on the good things there will be less room for the things you know you shouldn’t have but struggle to resist!

2. Eat as close to nature as you can. Ideally eat organic but as that is not always possible just avoid the "Dirty dozen" when eating conventional fruits and vegetables - click here for infographic.

3. Eat more alkalising foods! -  Follow the Alkaline diet - please email me if you would like more information.

4. Improve your digestion! -  Try lemon water or water with apple cider vinegar prior to your meals. If you have bloating, flatulence, loose stool or constipation don’t just think this is normal for me. It means something is wrong! There are many possibilities of what could be wrong - pathogens, food allergies/sensitivities, leaky gut are some examples. See a professional that can help!

1. Help your Microbiome - fermented foods, bone broths (can buy dehydrated) and quality broad spectrum probiotics will assist the beneficial microbes in your gut and help ensure a good gut / brain connection.

2. Detox at least 2 x a year. I have a great detox program available that is effective and not difficult! Contact me to get more information.

3. Drink more quality filtered water - herbal tea or fresh cold pressed vegetable juices.- 30ml per kg per day to stay hydrated.

4. Cook with quality oils (coconut butter, rice bran oil, sesame oil or macadamia oil), Olive oil is good for salads but not to heat / fry!

5. Exercise - mix high intensity interval training with core activities such as yoga or pilates. Also exercise should be fun/enjoyable. If you have to drag yourself to the class this is probably a habit that won’t last!

6. Sleep - this is when most of your healing occurs. The amount of sleep you need varies - ideally you want to wake feeling refreshed. If you can’t get to sleep or stay asleep something is wrong. Usually it is the result of excess stress chemicals, sleep patterns or pathogens but usually it can be fixed!

Some final notes…

• If you or someone you know gets regular urinary tract infections, genito-urinary infections, gastrointestinal symptoms, colds (ENT infections) of skin problems - It is very likely the cause is related to something going wrong in your gut and microbiome.

• Inflammation in the body is the common link between poor immunity, allergies and auto-immune diseases.

• Many people ask if they need to supplement? Firstly, not all supplements are equal. Some are unlikely to have any effect. Some work brilliantly. However, it is generally agreed that the nutrient density of our food is decreasing perhaps due to modern agricultural practices and fertilisers. This can lead to (amongst other things like stress) increases in our demands due to deficiencies in the nutrients we need to function in a healthy way.

Feel free to share with any family or friends that you feel would benefit from this information and a perception shift to get them back to health!

Yours in health,

Dr Mark Symonds

CHIROPRACTOR / NET PRACTITIONER
NATURAL INTEGRATIVE HEALTHCARE
BChiroSc, MChiro, C.C.W.P., NLP Master Coach

For more information or to book in for an appointment call us on 8667 3023!!