Have you heard of Activated Charcoal?

Activated charcoal is great for your health. It has a wide range of uses including being excellent for detoxification. You will find activated charcoal in things like facial masks and teeth whiteners, as well as digestive remedies.

The benefits of activated charcoal are well known when it comes to traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. It is even used in emergency rooms as an antidote for cases of toxicity and poisoning in developed nations around the world.

Activated charcoal is generally considered to be safe to use but it should be handled with care. It is extremely versatile.

Benefits of activated charcoal

Detoxification is one of the great benefits. Due to its porous surface activated charcoal has a negative electrical charge. This means it attracts positively charged molecules such as toxins and gases removing them from the gastrointestinal tract. It reduces gas and bloating also. This means it can be used successfully for cleansing your digestion and to promote overall digestive health. Since it is a natural gut cleanser it reduces the toxicity in your body. This can also reduce allergic reactions and oxidative damage in your body as well as strengthen your immune system. Research has been done to prove that activated charcoal can help you regulate your cholesterol also. This is because it can attach to and flush the cholesterol from your body. It can also help to reduce the effects of radiation and detox you from many substances. If you want to know more about this, give us a call.

Activated charcoal is a great anti-ageing product because if there are less toxins in your body, your body experiences less oxidative damage that drives the ageing process. It may also help to prevent cellular damage to your natural detox organs.

Side effects of activated charcoal

While this product comes with many health benefits, it is also important to remember that activated charcoal can have some not so good side effects sometimes. The product not only adsorbs toxins and unwanted chemicals in your body, but it can also get rid of the some of the good things as well. This can include nutrients from your food, supplements and prescription medicines. Be careful as this could make the medication less effective. It is best to take activated charcoal on an empty stomach between meals so that it does not affect the absorption of nutrients. Also, you should take activated charcoal between 90 minutes and two hours before taking any supplements or prescription medications.

Another side effect is that it may turn your stool black, but this is only temporary and harmless. When taking it you should drink plenty of water to prevent constipation. Activated charcoal is generally considered safe for use during pregnancy. However, it is important to consult your health care practitioner and take it under supervision. Studies supports its use for cholestasis, a condition with reduced bile flow, during pregnancy. It can be used when pregnant to help alleviate symptoms of nausea and vomiting caused by morning sickness, as well as diarrhoea. Once again only under the supervision of your natural practitioner. In some people, activated charcoal can cause side effects of vomiting and diarrhoea, the same symptoms you may be taking it to relieve. If you want to try this as a detox, call us and book a session so we can get you started with the right products and dosage for your detox from any toxins and other substances you would rather not have in your body.

Handling mould penetration and how badly it can affect your health

Mould is not just caused by too much rain. Now that the heavy rains have stopped in many areas of Australia there is an underlying repercussion. There is the dampness still in some areas, there is the clean-up after the floods and coping with the huge impact and losses it has caused. People are trying to clean up and repair the water damage which has soaked into furniture, clothes and electric items as well as damage to the house itself. One aftermath perhaps overlooked a bit is the damage of mould creeping into almost every crevice, including your body.

What is mould?

Mould is a type of fungi. It likes to grow in damp, poorly ventilated areas and spreads by producing spores. You will find mould almost anywhere inside or outside. It can grow on food, furniture, fabric, carpet, walls, paper, timber and even on your plumbing. The problem comes from the mould that starts to grow in your home. The warm, damp and humid conditions that we are having at the moment are making our homes the perfect breeding ground for mould.

How does mould impact your health?

Mould doesn’t only make your home look bad, it is very bad for your health and can cause serious health issues if you inhale the spores. Some of these issues can include causing an increased risks of asthma, allergies and respiratory infections. Some moulds that are more toxic can cause chronic inflammation. This happens because the mould produces mycotoxins and these can activate immune responses which lead to a myriad of health problems such as headaches, sinus, nasal congestion and skin and eye irritations. If you have an allergy to mould you may find that you are more susceptible to these issues.

There is a range of symptoms linked with exposure to mould commonly referred to as a biotoxin-related illness or a Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. The factors that may come into play with this condition can include genetics, nutritional deficiencies, your previous accumulated environmental toxins, your age and stress levels.

Treating mould exposure

The first thing you should do is remove yourself from the mouldy area. This may mean vacating the room you are in until it is repaired. Or if the mould is throughout your whole home you may need to stay somewhere else til it’s cleaned up. It is important to keep your house dry and dust free. Mould treatment can be complex so it is important to get good advice as to what is needed in your situation, not only for the house but for your health. You may need to take natural anti-inflammatories, eat an organic, wholefoods diet, increase your hydration with filtered water and to make appropriate lifestyle changes, including sauna therapy, increasing exercise and participating in mind-body treatments. You may also benefit from taking herbs to support your immune system.

Where to get help

It is important to attend a proper session to assess your health with a registered, trained naturopath. This cannot be rectified by buying a few supplements at the store. It needs to be assessed and the proper dosage of supplements for your specific case allocated so you can get well quickly and stay well. As for removing the mould for starters you could try bleach however the best way if you have a lot of dampness is to call an expert who knows how to remove it professionally without getting more spores into your body. Our clinic can help you overcome your reactions to mould and other viral and bacterial issues. Everything from a foggy head to unexplained headaches, lethargy etc. Check us out on www.stressfreemanagement.com.au today.

How to Detox from technology

These days we rely on our technology a lot. Everything from reading e-mails, to school homework, to scrolling through social media, to watching our favourite show on Netflix. Technology is used every day: at work, school, and in our homes. It has become such a big part of our lives that sometimes we don’t realise just how much we use it. Sometimes we can spend more time on our devices than with the people that are around us, which is why it is a good idea to give yourself a technological detox.  

A good way to get started is to take a break from it while you eat. While you sit down to eat your lunch or for dinner, put away all the devices and concentrate on spending the time with your family, colleagues or even to just sit quietly and relax and concentrate on what is happening around you and on your food. Chew your food slowly as that is the first stage of digestion. Once this has become a habit then you can try giving a whole day technology detox a try, or perhaps a whole weekend. It will bring a new restful dimension into your life.

It is also good to take precautions to make your home EMF-free. First be sure to take care that your bed is located as far away as possible from SMART meters and turn off your Wi-Fi routers before you go to bed so that EMFs don’t disturb the quality sleep you need to detox and heal.

Things to try while detoxing

Before starting your detox, you can write down how you are feeling - are your stressed? Are you sleeping properly? Are you spending all your time looking at a screen instead of interacting with those around you? Once you are finished your detox, whether it be the weekday or weekend, once again write down how you are feeling. You may notice that you spent more time doing things with loved ones, you may be feeling more relaxed, and you may have even slept better.

There are many things you can do while you are having your technology detox. You can read a book, go for a walk, or try some craft or artwork. You can even just sit in a coffee shop or a park and strike up a conversation.  Sometimes connecting with others is just what we need for our health. Another way to help detox and release stress is to try some deep breathing. Deep breathing can help cleanse the respiratory system and oxygenate the blood. You can also try meditation as this helps to calm your mind and release the stress. Too much stress creates inflammation and toxic build-up.

Exercise is also a good way to help detox the body because exercise gets your blood pumping and while you’re working out your muscles the liver produces an enzyme that clears out depression-causing chemicals. Stretching is also good, it not only keeps your muscles and joints flexible, and it can also help to lower inflammation.

Why not have a detox day at least once a month and let it open up new, healthier opportunities for you away from the Wi-Fi and screens? You may be surprised what unknown sides of your personality open up for you as you become healthier and more relaxed. 

The importance of your Liver

The liver is the largest internal organ in your body and it is something you cannot live without. Your liver has important jobs to do and one of these is to help remove toxins and harmful substances. However, when it comes to the liver it can be very difficult to tell how well it is working. The reason for this is it doesn’t have the capabilities to skip beats like your heart or produce a cough to let you know that it is not working properly until it falls to around 10% capacity of its normal working abilities.

Roles your liver plays

Your liver is made up of two main lobes which are located beneath your diaphragm and on top of your stomach, your right kidney, and your intestines. When your liver is healthy it produces bile which helps remove waste and break down fats. It helps to regulate the levels of protein, sugar, and fat entering your bloodstream and it cleans drugs and alcohol from your blood. The liver also processes the nutrients absorbed by your intestines during digestion, helps to ensure your blood clots when you hurt yourself by producing proteins, cholesterol and clotting factors. It also regulates a lot of your hormones and neutralises free radicals.

The impact of being overweight on your liver

There is new research that suggests that the liver may age faster than the rest of your body if there is excess weight around your waist. This research showed that for a 10-unit increase in BMI the physiological age of the liver increased by 3.3 years. They also found that this increase in years on your liver cannot be reversed by losing weight. Alcohol is also harmful to your liver but there is something that can cause more damage and that is fructose, the most damaging form of sugar when it comes to your liver. This is found in some form in nearly every processed food in your supermarket. Your liver needs to 100% break down the fructose unlike glucose which only needs to be partially broken down before the body uses it. Fructose is metabolised straight into fat which then gets stored in your liver and other internal organs and tissues as body fat. This can lead to mitochondrial malfunction. Fructose produces toxins and free radicals when it is metabolised which can lead to liver inflammation.

Fructose isn’t the only thing that harm your liver though. There are toxins in your home, water, and the air. These are the chemicals in plastics like phthalates and BPA/BPS, flame-retardants, and formaldehyde. These could be in your furniture, carpeting and vinyl floor coverings, building materials, paint, mattresses, vinyl shower curtains, children’s toys, plastic water bottles and containers and scented beauty products.

Time to detox

The good thing is that you can detox your liver from all these harmful substances. There are many

great ways to detox the liver however you need to talk to a naturopath or nutritionist before you do this because if you do it the wrong way you will actually increase the toxins in your body. To ensure your liver detoxes you need to make sure your bowel is functioning properly and you are going to the toilet on a regular basis. If not then the detox, whatever you use, will only go into your bowel and then cycle back into your liver making your body even more toxic. This is a very simplistic explanation of how it works but you need to be aware of this. So don’t rush off to the shop to buy a detox that could be wrong for you. Speak to a trained professional about it. Here at our clinic we carefully investigate your digestive processes before we find a detox that is right for you. Give us a call or email us today to book either an online or face to face session so we can get things moving for you in the right direction.

Spices and their health benefits – Part II

Further to last month’s article here are some more benefits of some vegetables, herbs and spices which you can add to your weekly foods to enhance your health. We all get a little unwell from time to time and need something to give us that extra boost to help our bodies heal. By adding certain spices and foods to your diet you can do this in a more natural way.

Here are a few suggestions:

Asparagus

Asparagus can help with health issues such as kidney problems. It can also help to dissolves uric acid deposits and promote urination so you lose excess fluid that may bloat you. All you need to do is boil it in water and drink. 

Celery

Celery is a great sedative and is good for helping to clean your kidneys when you use the celery seeds in a tea. The seeds and stalk of the celery can also help to reduce hypertension.

Chamomile flowers

Chamomile flowers are great for children if they have a fever and are restless.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is good for you if you are suffering from health issues such as general indigestion, athletes’ foot, dysentery, diarrhea and yeast infections. Cinnamon is also good for colds and may help to reduce cancer causing tendencies of many food additives. There are a few ways to prepare cinnamon for these different issues. You can grind it up or drink with milk after eating a heavy meal. Simmer cinnamon sticks with cloves for 3 min and add 2 tsp. of lemon juice, honey, and whiskey. This is great for a cold. You can use for athlete’s foot by boiling 8-10 sticks in 4 cups water, simmer for 5 minutes and steep for 45.

Cloves

Cloves are good for toothaches and sore gums, nausea and vomiting, pain relief of arthritis and to get rid of cravings for alcohol. You can chew it for toothaches, use in an oil for pain relief or drink in small amounts as a tea for nausea. If you are trying to control alcohol cravings you should suck on one or two cloves whenever a craving strikes.

Peppermint

Peppermint is good for migraines, nervousness, stomach disorders, heartburn, abdominal cramps, stomach aches, and herpes. For herpes you should take 2 cups of tea a day. This will help to ease the symptoms when the virus is active.

All these spices, foods and herbs can assist you naturally for a number of health issues. Refer to our first article for the rest of the list if you missed it. Always consult your health care practitioner to make sure you are using exactly what’s right for you.