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Natural therapies snapshot
It wasn’t too long ago that natural medicine was considered a vestige of the flower power era, something only hippies were into. Nowadays, complementary medicine has become almost mainstream. 60% of Australians regularly use herbal and vitamin supplements, and the latest figures show around three quarters of a million people consult a natural therapist every year.
Low Starch Diet also helps prevent calcium loss from bone
A diet low in starch (like the one I recommend) has been proven by a recent study at the University of Illinois to not only assist with weight loss, but prevent calcium loss from bone which can happen with other diets.
Eating for teenagers
Am I imagining it, or are teenagers taller, cleverer and better looking than they were twenty years ago? Every so often, under the guidance of their shorter stubbier parent, one of these young gods gangles into my clinic. Very often the complaint is poor energy and lack of concentration at school.
Acid forming foods
Our body likes to be in a state of steady balance (homoeostasis). We prefer our blood pressure to be within a certain safe range, same goes for blood sugar levels, hormone levels, temperature and pH levels. pH is a measure of acid/base (alkali).
Tea and Health - the lastest
My day begins with copious quantities of freshly brewed tea. This ritual used to be a guilty pleasure, but now that tea has been promoted to health superstar, I now drink my morning cuppa(s) with pride.
Antioxidants
Since the mid 1990’s, antioxidants have been a buzzword in the fields of both nutrition and medicine. Antioxidants are of interest to nutritionists (and naturopaths) because most antioxidants are found in food, and for medicine because antioxidants help prevent certain diseases including heart disease, cancer and possibly osteo-arthritis and autoimmune conditions.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha Lipoic Acid may not be as well known as other antioxidants, but this is bound to change as medical research reveals the enormous benefits of this important nutrient. While it is possible to make Alpha Lipoic Acid in the body, production decreases as we age, and reduced quantities may worsen a range of conditions.
Not Human - Still my Child
Josephine Formosa has written a beautiful poem for a friend that passed away.
Natural Therapies for Jetlag
Australia lies in splendid geographical isolation. Unfortunately, this means a plane journey of between 8 and 24 hours if we want to travel overseas for holiday or work.
Breast Cancer
There is a scary statistic around lately that says 1 in 13 Australian women will contract breast cancer. If it was any other disease, we would be calling it an epidemic. What can be done about beating these odds?
Beat the Bloat
Is your tummy bloated? Do you buy skirts and pants according to waistband elasticity rather than style? Abdominal bloating is a common but generally harmless symptom, which doesn’t stop it from a pestilence.
Are you Stressed?
Once you have acknowledged that stress is affecting your health and happiness it’s up to you to take steps to reduce your stress (if possible), and minimise the damage the stress may be causing to your body and mind.
Are you exhausted?
Are you exhausted? I mean really exhausted. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being jumping-full-of-beans, do your energy levels hover around minus 3? Well, you are not alone.
A bitter pill to swallow
James Green an American herbalist said “the mistake of eliminating the bitter flavour from our daily experience is like eliminating one of the colours of the rainbow.” Unfortunately, in Australia, bitter foods are thin on the ground.
Ten Supplements for Women
Supplements can help fill the nutritional gaps caused by living life as we do. Mim outlines 10 supplements are especially good for women.
Wedding stress
Sally has just married the love of her life, Joe. Their wedding was a wild success. The following morning, the happy couple jetted off to an island resort.
Just add water
It’s often the small changes that make a big difference to our health. Take water for instance. I’m convinced most of us are walking around dehydrated. Dry as a chip. Certainly, we consume enough fluid for the basics, but making a conscious decision to increase water intake leads to improvements in all sorts of unexpected areas. The brain, for example, is a very wet organ.
Warts
Mim, what can you do about warts?
- Worried
Dear Worried Wart
Bach Flower Remedies
In the 1930’s Edward Bach was a poo man - a gastroenterologist who practised in Londons famous Harley Street. After many years of treating patients he began to see the connection between peoples emotions and their illnesses.
Too much of a good thing
It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Take sunshine, chocolate, aspirin, vitamin C and cats. A little bit of each is good, but taken to extremes you’ll suffer from sunburn, zits, stomach ulcers, diarrhoea and fur-balls. A recent study showed that thousands of Australians are hospitalised due to the ill-effects of medical treatment.
Thrush
Tell me about it girl friend. Sprain an ankle, and you will drip in sympathy. But, when you’re writhing around the office with a bad case of thrush, the most they will offer is a smirk.
Theory No. 47 - Stress and Weight
Everyone has a theory about weight gain. Mine (theory No. 47) relates to the connection between unexplained weight gain and stress. Some people put on a lot of weight for no good reason. Good reasons for weight gain include an unnatural and unfettered desire for chocolate cheesecake and a disinclination to do any exercise more vigorous than pressing buttons on a remote control.
The wheat trap
Our digestive tract has remained in much the same state for hundreds of thousands of years. Although humans have the incredible ability to adapt intellectually, our biology binds us to the past. Physical adaptation is painstakingly slow.
Naturopathic travel kits
I am often asked to organise naturopathic first aid travel kits for my patients before their overseas holidays.
Weight loss
We all know someone who eats like a sparrow but has the silhouette of a Christmas turkey. The problem with sparrow-style feeding (apart from the beak versus mouth issue), is that it lowers our metabolic rate. The metabolic rate governs how quickly the body burns calories for energy. If you are interested in weight loss, you are interested in procuring a speedy metabolic rate.
Cancer
Cancer is not a new disease. Evidence of it appears in skeletons of prehistoric man. Now it seems everyone knows someone who has been touched by cancer, and it has recently pipped heart disease to the post by becoming the leading cause of death in Australia.
Day Spa
A day in a Day Spa is the latest fashion accessory. Although it sounds like you’ll spend 12 hours in a sudsy whirlpool looking like a prune, the Day Spa concept is more of a one-stop-shop affair, where you are buffed and coiffed, pedi and mani-cured, facialled, exfoliated, shiatsued and lumi-lumied. Apparently you end up looking like a clean Elle Macpherson.
What are the benefits of counselling?
Most of us live very busy lives that can lead to exhaustion and a feeling that we’ve lost touch with what is really important. In an attempt to meet our responsibilities we have little time or energy for ourselves; we forget to check that our lives are on track.
Water - too much
Health and beauty magazines tell us to drink plenty of water so that our complexion will glow like Isabella Rossellini, our figures will ungrow to be like Elle Macpherson, and our energy levels will match tennis dynamos Venus and Selena Williams. Little wonder many of us wake each morning full of earnest intentions to drink a camels hump and a half of water before nightfall.
What is tea?
I am a tea girl from way back, unable to start the day without a full pot of tea under my belt. A tea snob too, none of this tea-bag nonsense for me, I insist on tea leaves for my cuppa. Unfortunately, I am rarely able to enjoy my preferred beverage away from home.
When does a therapeutic diet become an eating disorder?
Do you know anyone on a very restricted diet? First to go is red meat (because of the cholesterol), then chicken (because of the antibiotics) then it’s anything with eyes. What follows on the banned list is dairy (because it forms mucus), gluten (because of the bloat), potatoes and rice (because they are starches) and oil (because it’s oil).
Change of season
With monotonous regularity, at this time every year I get panicked by the large number of patients ringing up complaining of sore throats, hot and cold sweats and copious amounts of green mucus. “What is happening?”
Childhood coughs
Coughs and colds affect everyone, young and old. But at least an adult can tell you what’s wrong. Young children just suffer, some more silently than others. Here are some natural remedies that will help little ones recover from a nasty cough, so they, and the rest of the house, can sleep peacefully through the night.
Chickens, hormones and the end of an urban myth
I am guilty of perpetuating an urban myth - the one about chickens being force-fed hormones. For years I believed the story. What else could explain chicken breasts the size of Arnold Schwartzneggers pectorals? Those chooks had to be on ‘roids.
A-Z Edited
An alphabetical guide to some of the more esoteric supplements available in your supermarket, chemist and health food store.
Calcium
Calcium is a major league mineral. Mainly because there is so much of the stuff in our body. Up to 2% of our body weight is made up of calcium, which is about 1.2kg for a 60kg person. That’s a lot of mineral.
Aromatherapy
I had no idea Mum was a closet aromatherapist. A fan of the seldom seen (but effective) treatment for the flu popular in the late ’60s, she used to rub Vicks onto the soles of my feet, put on some woolly socks, and send me to bed with the cat. Aromatherapy is not really new age.
Childhood eczema
Itchy, Hot and Irritable or Scratchy, Sore and Sorry, whatever way you look at it, eczema and children are a miserable combination. Eczema is one of a group of inherited conditions that includes hayfever and asthma.
Convalescing - a lost art
The word convalescence brings with it visions of wan weak spinsters sent to the seaside for a ‘cure’, after suffering a painful bout of something vague. The only distractions to be soup and blancmange, writing letters to dear aunts and taking long solitary walks along pebbly, wind-swept beaches.
Cystitis
Having a quiet wee should be one of lifes simple pleasures. Cystitis shatters this pastoral scene. With visions of razor blades, hell-fire and multiple midnight journeys back and forth to the toilet.
Co-enzyme Q 10
Co-enzyme Q 10 is referred to as accessory nutrient, which makes it sound like it will go perfectly with that little black dress that works so well at cocktail parties. However, accessory in this context means these nutrients differ from vitamins and minerals.
Constipation
The occasional bout of constipation is part of life’s rich tapestry, more than now and then, however, can be a bit of a strain. Straining, going to the toilet less frequently, and rabbit-dropping poos are all signs of constipation. Other symptoms include bad breath, tiredness, headaches, loss of appetite, coated tongue, bloated tummy, flatulence, and skin problems.
Coffee
Directly below my clinic is a coffee shop. I often see victims furtively gulping down a cappuccino before their appointment with me, obviously thinking that coffee and naturopaths don’t mix.
Coffee can be compatible with good health. However, some people are definitely better off without it. Coffee is a frequently used negotiating tool by me when designing diets. I’ll let you have one cup of coffee a day if you sacrifice the camembert and chocolate.
Echinacea Trial
You may have read in the papers of a trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine which concluded that Echinacea has no effect on the prevention and treatment of the common cold. While naturopaths welcome rigorous scientific review of herbal and other natural remedies, this study may not reveal the whole picture.
We are what we think
The influence our thoughts and emotions have on our health is now scientifically proven and Josephine Formosa explores this area.
Life's a peach
Furry, firm and smells good. What’s not to love about a peach? Originating in China 4,000 years ago, peaches are members of the Rose family that also includes, plums, apricots and cherries.
Don't toss the salad
The Renaissance saw a return of the preprandial salad, restoring a custom from ancient Rome where bitter green leaves and herbs were dressed with salt (‘salata’ - salad), vinegar and the ubiquitous drizzle of olive oil.
Kingdom fungi - mushrooms
Commonly grouped with vegetables, mushrooms are neither plant or animal, but are classified in a kingdom apart … Fungi.
Fall in love with garlic
I have always had the utmost respect for garlic. Even so, I was surprised when I fell in love with it.
Salmon superfood
Once only found only on plates of the posh, salmon now has a regular gig in the Australian diet. There are a couple of reasons for the popularity of our best slimy friend.
Detox ... if you must
Detoxing has become as fashionable as a Manolo Blahnik stiletto. In certain circumstances a gentle detox is justified. However I have several “issues” with the concept!
What is naturopathy?
A history and guide to naturopathic medicine in Australia. Naturopathy endeavours to find out and treat the underlying cause of an illness, not just the symptoms. Naturopathic medicine aims to improve your sense of wellbeing in all areas.
Life Coaching
Life Coach, Josephine Formosa writes about the inspiring life of Helen Keller, and how we all can live life as a ‘daring adventure’.
Stress and Cortisol
This article is a summary of a lecture Mim Beim gave to the AGM of the ATMS (Australian Traditional Medicine Society) in September 2005.
Sleep
Up to 40% of Australians suffer from poor insomnia. Whether it’s not being able to fall asleep, or having a restless night, it’s hard to feel 100% without a decent night’s kip. Some of the following suggestions may help to improve your sleep.
Chocolate - redeemed
To say that chocolate is confectionary is like saying a diamond is a hardened lump of carbon. Both statements are true, but they totally miss the point. Chocolates are not food in the same way as diamonds are not rocks (unless the ‘rock’ is over 2 carats and you also call your Palm Beach Mansion D’amour, ‘the cottage’). Chocolate is bliss incarnate. It represents comfort, desire, love, reward - and it tastes pretty good too.
Stress and the HSC
Stress not only affects adults, children and teenagers can also suffer it’s ill effects. Especially when studying for the dreaded HSC. Here are some suggestions to help your child cope with this difficult time.
Gone with the Wind
Is your tummy bloated? Is flatulence causing you concern? Yes and yes are the answers I commonly hear from patients. Even for the most ladylike among us, it is normal to pass 200 - 2,400mls of wind (flatus) each day.
Conditions
The A to Z of natural cures.
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