Nutritional Medicine

A healthy balanced diet is necessary to maintain a healthy mind and body. Nutrition is an orchestra of many different substances that help to maintain your body's biochemical balance, thereby maintaining good health and correcting ill health. It is preferable to obtain vitamins and minerals from our food, but there are times when supplements are required. Nutritional medicine encompasses various factors such as age, lifestyle, health history and personality. A stresser requires different ratios of minerals to say one who takes a phlegmatic approach. 

There is more to nutrition than the quality and type of food. The body needs to be able to effectively digest and assimilate the nutrients in food. How we feel and what we think (attitude/emotions) has an effect upon our mental and physical body. As an example, poor digestion may be caused by something such as worry, stress, anger or resentment. Our mind and body are only as good as what we feed them, whether it is food, or thoughts. Eczema may be cleared with vitamin B and essential fatty acids, or simply by blowing off steam. Insomnia can be helped by increasing calcium or magnesium in the diet, exercising after work to wind down, or letting go of anxieties. 

Many people complain of being tired. If you feel you have a good diet and lifestyle but you are still tired, take a closer look at your life. What are you tired of? What are you worrying about? Are you holding on to negative emotions? Remaining tense or bitter can just as easily make you tired as a diet lacking in a few vital nutrients. Eliminating worry and resentment therefore can be just as effective to restore your energy levels. 

Diets - Which one? 

There are a myriad of diets out there today and it can be confusing to pick which one to include in your lifestyle. In clinic over the 12 weeks I am treating a patient, I apply a combination of Keto/Paleo-Grain free/Blood Type/RAW. After 12 weeks each person can decide how to continue. I use this combination because it is highly effective, tasty, filling and not difficult. It is more about your resistance to trying something different that can make it seem hard. 

Biochemical Individuality. Supplements-do I need them?

Did you know minerals have a personality too? 

This is one way of assessing nutrient deficiencies. My belief is that supplements are indicated in certain circumstance but are not necessary daily long term. One patient comes to mind. Many years ago at his first appointment he brought in a bag of supplements he had been self prescribing. The first thing I did for the next 6 weeks was to take him off all of them and replaced it with herbal medicine and dietary tweaks. At his follow up he said the majority of his symptoms had gone. Unfortunately over time he began to re-introduce them and his symptoms began to return. Like anything, too much of a good thing can have a negative impact.

An elderly lady had been on calcium and fosamax for many years. She began to experience heart beat irregularity and a recent bone density test revealed deterioration. I recommend discontinuing the supplements, begin taking magnesium instead and adjusted her diet using recommendations from her HTMA. Her symptoms went away and her bone density has improved!

Balancing your Biochemistry and Detoxification

 HTMA (hair tissue mineral analysis) measures mineral composition of hair and identifies certain toxic metals that may be stored in your body. It is a valuable analytical tool that has made much progress over the years. Hair is used by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and worldwide agencies to identify toxic heavy metals (for more information go to www.interclinical.com.au. 

HTMA is recommended as an additional analytical tool when further diagnostic tests are necessary. HTMA will identify your biochemical profile indicating your predisposition to specific mineral imbalances that may be inherited and which mineral ratios need to be adjusted in order to treat an illness or prevent potential illness from developing. 

Research has identified certain mineral patterns in diseases such as; schizophrenia, ADHD, autism, diabetes, migraines, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, learning disabilities, dyslexia, Parkinson's, kidney problems, skeletal abnormalities, arthritis, hypertension, high cholesterol, infertility, anorexia, cardio vascular heart disease, PCOS, PMT, Crohn's, obesity, cancer and more. 

For example; zinc and copper are closely related to estrogen and progesterone. An imbalance between the two are often found in women suffering from menstrual irregularities/PMS, other symptoms such as headaches/migraines and severe morning sickness when pregnant. A copper imbalance is found in arthritis, anemia, infections, neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, cardiovascular disorders, some malignancies, post partum depression, gallstones, hair loss and fungal infections. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/nz/blog/holistic-psychiatry/201709/copper-toxicity-common-cause-psychiatric-symptoms#:~:text=When%20copper%20levels%20are%20high,thoughts%2C%20restlessness%2C%20and%20insomnia.

A manganese deficiency or toxicity is associated with skeletal disorders, postural defects, cartilage and connective tissue disorders, impaired reproductive function, dermatitis, anorexia, speech disorders, abnormal gait, hallucinations. Whilst toxic metals such as lead causes fatigue, abdominal discomfort, anorexia, muscle weakness, immune suppression and arthritis. 

HTMA is gaining popularity because it works.