Let’s talk MTHFR

MTHFR deficiency may explain many of your symptoms – it did mine, when I found out I had this deficiency.

When your body produces MTHFR normally, you’re able to efficiently process homocysteine, an amino acid produced when proteins break down. In healthy humans, almost all homocysteine is converted into other substances that the body needs, so there is very little left in the bloodstream. When there’s an MTHFR deficiency, however, homocysteine levels are elevated, which is concerning because high levels of homocysteine can cause blood clots and damage arteries. 

MTHFR deficiency symptoms include:

• An increased risk of cardiovascular issues, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and blood clots
• Homocystinuria, a disorder affecting the eyes, joints, and cognitive abilities
• Psychological and mental health issues including mood swings, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia
• Frequent migraines
• Birth defects, specifically neural tube defects, which are severe birth defects of the brain and spine
• Recurrent miscarriages (see my other posts regarding supplementing with natural progesterone)
• Certain cancers like leukemia and colon cancer
• Chronic pain and fatigue

Functional medicine practitioners can help you test for the MTHFR gene. I encourage you to do your own research on MTHFR deficiency. Your research may give you the answers you’ve been looking for, as it did for me.

The benefits of Pueraria Mirifica

I recently came across this awesome herb and am still fascinated by its multitude of benefits.

Pueraria Mirifica has been traditionally used as a vitality enhancer and rejuvenating agent particularly for older women.

Practitioners extoll the virtues of this herb for its powerful antioxidant properties and ability to neutralize free radicals that cause harm to cells. These antioxidant effects, along with its oestrogenic benefits, are believed to be useful in treating female health, including:

• Hot flashes
• Low libido
• Vaginal dryness
• Osteoporosis
• High cholesterol
• Mood swings
  

When looking closely, Pueraria Mirifica is a great source of classical phytoestrogens (including the soy isoflavones) but contains a class of phytoestrogens known as Chromenes that rival estrogen itself in potency. The herb is highly estrogenic as a result, and is considered the standard herbal ‘estrogen replacement therapy’ due to its potencies

Research on Pueraria Mirifica is fairly limited, but the research includes studies on:

• Menopause
• Bone health
• High Cholesterol

This is one herb well worth looking into.

Acupuncture and Fertility

I see a lot of clients (male and female) where fertility is a concern. When it comes to female hormonal issues, there is a rise in endometriosis, polycystic ovaries and other women’s health issues. While, in men, there’s a rise in issues concerning low sperm counts, low sperm quality and sperm motility (Morassutto et al., 2016, Ganie and Kalra, 2011, Levine et al., 2017).

Happily, many of the modalities I offer help to increase fertility, along with advice for lifestyle changes like regular exercise, stress reduction alongside with meditation or other practices, and healthy eating. Of course, this sounds like standard advice for many issues that are a part of modern life, but these are particularly important whilst trying to conceive and bring a healthy new life into the world.

It’s always heartwarming for me when my clients send me photos of their scans after a difficult time conceiving, or when I get the message that they’re on their way to maternity after a session to bring on labour when a baby is over due.

Redox Signaling Molecules

This past week I was introduced to a new science which has taken up interest and my time in trying to understand more about Redox Signaling Molecules (RSM).

In 1998, two scientists won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of redox signaling molecules. Before this time, these molecules were thought of as the cellular waste produced by the cell’s energy powerhouse – the mitochondria.

Fast forward to 2007 and the first biotech company worldwide stabilized redox signaling molecules for human consumption. It’s 100% non-toxic, safe, and native to the body (unlike supplements). It’s made as made in the cell, from salt water, but put through an extensive 3-day process to stabilize the redox molecules.

Made from salt water within our cells, our redox signaling system instructs our cells to do things like activate our antioxidants to fight free radicals and do important things like repair, regenerate, and die off cells; and attack viruses and bacteria.

Science knows that the mitochondria begins to flake off and diminish function by 10% per year, starting age ten. By the time you are 50, you have 40% less energy than a 10 year old; by the time you are 60, you have 50% less (this we have all observed). And because the mitochondria make redox molecules as well as ATP, you have an increasingly less functional signaling system.

I’ve now read and watched hundreds of testimonials from people who are saying RSM has helped many ailments and conditions.  Today I’m trying RSM for myself and monitoring how my body reacts to it.  Watch this space for updates.

Defining Dementia

 

I love this infographic taken from Dr Joashua Axe’s site with whom I was fortunate to have studied.

Candida

Candida Albicans is a very common type of yeast infection found in the mouth, intestinal tract and vagina – it can affect skin and other mucous membranes. If the immune system is functioning optimally, this type of yeast infection is rarely serious. However, if the immune system is not functioning properly, the candida infection can migrate to other areas of the body, including the blood and membranes around the heart or brain.

It was quite a few years ago that I discovered I had candida and the only symptom I had was intense, chronic fatigue.  I remember it well: I was studying for my second degree in complementary medicine and I vividly remember dragging myself out of bed each morning to get to work and at weekends when  I was doing my studies and research for my thesis, I forced myself to study.  I spent many hours in bed each and every weekend. Even now, thinking but, I don’t know who I got through that period. And I don’t know how I managed to obtain a First Class Honours.

Through my thirst for knowledge to understand why I was feeling the way I was feeling, I found help via a therapist in South Africa who was to become my mentor.  Through email communication she diagnosed adrenal fatigue and Candida.  This, in fact, started my desire to set up this website and to inform people of what I had learnt and what I had experienced so that through my knowledge and experience, I could help others.

Candida is a fungus that aids with nutrient absorption and digestion, when in proper levels in the body – in fact, we all have candida to a certain extent.  It’s when it overproduces, however, that the typical candida symptoms may appear. In the digestive tract, left unchecked, it breaks down the walls of the intestinal lining and penetrates into the bloodstream. This releases by-product toxins and other toxins from your system, causing leaky gut syndrome.  Fortunately, I didn’t get leaky gut, but my candida was systemic. It took a few months to get rid of it and even now I have to keep it in check.

When the body’s natural pH balance is upset, the candida can grow out of control, creating a systemic problem. Good healthy bacteria and a properly functioning immune system are essential when fighting this stubborn infection.

Some symptoms of candida:

• Exhaustion
• Cravings for sugar
• Bad breath
• White coat on tongue
• Brain fog
• Hormone imbalance
• Joint pain
• Loss of sex drive
• Chronic sinus and allergy issues
• Digestive problems (gas and bloating)
• Weak immune system
• UIT

I’ll let you into a secret:  one easy, and not so well known way to identify whether or not you have Candida is upon waking, before eating or brushing your teeth fill a glass tumbler with water.  Spit into the water and wait a minute or so.  If the spittle sits on the top of the water, the likelihood his you’re candida-free.  If, however, the spittle starts to grow ‘legs’ growing down to the bottom of the glass, Candida is present.

Nutrigenomics

As I do more and more research on the subject of nutrigenomics, I am in absolute awe. As seasoned alternative health practitioner helping hundreds of my clients to feel better, I didn’t realise the full impact of food and nutrition on health.  Oh, sure, I understood the importance of eating healthily and my degree in nutrition taught me a lot more.  But, only now am I fully understanding – and seeing for myself – how the foods we eat interact with our genes to affect our health.  This is worth repeating – take a minute to think about this: the foods we eat interact with our genes to affect our health.  This is now a huge area of research and I’m hearing so many testimonials.  This science is called nutrigenomics orf nutrigenetics.  

One approach that nutrigenomics researchers use is to investigate how nutrients and bioactive components in food turn on or off certain genes – these genes impacting important metabolic and physiologic processes in the body.  For example,  researchers have identified compounds found in broccoli that switch on a specific gene that helps the body detoxify some of the harmful chemicals we’re sometimes exposed to.  Of course, we know cruciferous vegetables are good for us, but now we know why and to what extent.

This is why I’m so happy to have found Protandim – a powerhouse of nutrition able to turn on the nrf2 pathway to protect against oxidative stress.  I’m now in a position to help so many more of my clients, family and friends and have research and testimonials  at my fingertips.   

 

Help for leg cramps

As a health practitioner I get a lot of people asking me about leg cramps and what can help with this condition.  It’s actually a common health complaint.

Diagnosing leg cramps can be tricky and the exact cause is difficult to pin point. Whilst usually the odd leg cramp can be endured without too much suffering, for those experiencing frequent cramping, the pain can be intense. Frequent leg cramps can also be quite disruptive to sleep. The good news is that there are a number of natural treatments that you can try to rid yourself of night time leg cramping.

One potential cause of leg cramps may be a deficiency in hesperidin. Hesperidin is a bioflavonoid that is sometimes referred to as vitamin P. Some medical research suggests that hesperidin, along with other bioflavonoids like citrin, rutin, flavones, flavonals, calechin, and quercetin, may be able to help prevent night leg cramps. In one clinical trial performed in Italy, researchers set out to investigate the preventative action of pycnogenol on cramps and muscular pain in different groups of subjects. Pycnogenol is a name for a combination of bioflavonoids that are obtained from the bark of the Pinus maritima pine tree and are known for their antioxidant properties. The study included a five-week observation period to evaluate the effectiveness of pycnogenol.  Four 50 mg capsules were prescribed with a suggestion to drink at least 1.5 L of water every day. In the first part of the study, 66 healthy subjects completed a five-week observation period. The research team found that the difference between the number of cramp attacks in the two weeks before the study and in the fourth and fifth weeks was statistically significant. In normal subjects, the average number of episodes was reduced from 4.8 events per week to 1.3 at four weeks. In venous patients, there was a decrease in cramping from. In athletes, the number of episodes decreased from 8.6 to 2.4. The decrease was still present at five weeks in the three groups, at levels significantly lower than at the start of the study.

Studies:  Young, G., “Muscle cramps: quinine derivatives likely to be effective but not recommended for routine use due to toxicity; vitamin B complex, naftidrofuryl and calcium channel blockers possibly effective,” Evid Based Med 2010 Aug; 15(4): 114-5.

Vinciguerra, G., et al., “Cramps and muscular pain: prevention with pycnogenol in normal subjects, venous patients, athletes, claudicants and in diabetic microangiopathy,” Angiology 2006 May-Jun; 57(3): 331-9.

Protandim – Love your Zzzzzz

I turned to Protandim in October 2016 out of desperation because my quality of sleep had decreased.  In fact, for whatever reason, I just wasn’t sleeping.  It was a diabetic client of mine who told me about Protandim and as I’d tried everything else, I thought I’d give it a go. My sleep pattern returned in 3 days and now, on days like these, when I wake up rested and refreshed, I’m so pleased I gave it a go.

What is Protandim?

I’m constantly being asked my clients and friends alike,  how I look so young and where I get my energy.  I think this video sums it up:  http://protandimlondon.com/what-is-protandim/