18 03, 2019

Herbal Teas & Their Surprising Health Benefits

2019-03-18T16:17:38+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Foods, Nutrition, Vitamins|

Most of us drink tea or coffee at some point in the day

What if I told you that adding herbal teas into your daily routine is one of those simple things you can easily do from home that can help with how you feel?

I’m not talking about fruit teas that you find on the supermarket shelves, rather herbal teas. Many supermarkets stock these today, and health food stores certainly do. What’s more you can grow herbs in pots in the kitchen or outside.

I grow lots of kitchen herbs in our garden and pick an array of herbs, especially in the spring and summer, and simply allow them to steep in boiled water for 15 minutes before drinking. This makes a lovely drink and is a powerful way to consume micronutrients, vitamins and minerals and enjoy the medicinal, alkalizing and restorative properties at the same time.

If you are pregnant or on medication, please use caution and get advice before drinking herbal teas – my advice is generally to steer clear of all herbal teas during pregnancy, unless specifically advised otherwise.

Traditional Uses of Herbal Teas

If you are pregnant, please take caution and get advice before drinking herbal teas – my advice is generally to steer clear of herbal teas during pregnancy.

Chamomile: Buds
Relaxing and calming tea, often drunk before bed or for calming nerves and anxiety and for an upset tummy.

Nettles: Leaf
Often used to aid detoxification, as well as high content in things like iron, chlorophyll and minerals and vitamins. It’s reputation as a seasonal allergy remedy has been around for many years.

Peppermint: Leaves
Digestive tonic for bloating, gas and upset tummies.

Rosemary: Leaves
Powerful antioxidant often used to help with memory and concentration, increase circulation and soothe aching muscles.

Thyme: Leaves
Often used as a natural cough remedy, it is also renowned for blocking the growth of organisms, including certain types of harmful bacteria and viruses.

Oregano: Leaves
Antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory – and research suggests it exhibits anticancer activity.

Mint: Leaves
Traditionally used as a digestive tonic and calming tea.

Passionflower: Leaves
For its relaxing and soporific properties – a perfect bedtime tea.

Rose Hips: Buds once the bloom has expired
Vitamin C, D, E and K, and commonly used to boost the immune system, improve digestion and as a general detoxing and nervous system tonic.

Lemon Balm: Leaves
As a calming and sedative tea, which has often been used for anxiety, irritability, stress and insomnia, as well as a nervous stomach.

Echinacea: Buds
This tea has a great history for its affinity with the immune system.

Milk Thistle: Buds
A long history in relation to its usage for detoxification.

Catnip: Leaves
A calming herb.

Raspberry: Leaf
As a tonic for the female reproductive system. This should be avoided by pregnant women.

Lavender: Buds
Calming tea

Red Clover: Buds
Renowned for detoxification and purifying properties.

Dandelion: Root
Weeds found in many people’s garden’s, have a history of being used as a blood liver and gallbladder tonic.

Dandelion: Leaf
Rich in iron, zinc, potassium, manganese and more – has a long history for use as a diuretic, water retention, high blood pressure and nourishment for the kidneys.

Lemongrass: Stalk
For digestion and calming properties.

Ginger: Root
Digestive tonic, morning sickness, colds and flus. Ginger tea should be avoided if you are on blood thinners.

If you have any questions or would like further assistance with your health please get in touch.

13 03, 2019

What’s Your Skin Telling You?

2019-03-13T18:50:14+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Foods, Nutrition, Vitamins|

Our skin is a reflection of our inner health, and a much larger pattern of susceptibility and disease tendency

It is the largest organ in the body, and a very important indicator of what’s going on inside. Having great looking skin is what most of us focus on, but in reality, if something’s not right with your skin it’s worth digging deeper and sorting it out.

The body is an amazing machine, and tries to express imbalance, intolerance and inflammation in the most superficial and the least invasive way. So, eczema for example, is often viewed by Naturopath’s as a safety valve – nature’s way of releasing problems within the body through the skin. By eliminating through the skin, it means that the issue doesn’t show up within deeper tissues and organs, causing more difficult problems, which can happen quickly or many years later.

Suppressing eczema or acne with topical and oral medications, is definitely not within the realms of Naturopathy. The idea is to rebalance, alleviate, detox and treat the underlying cause to help pave the way for a healthier future and glowing skin.

Common causes underlying skin problems

Problems ranging from eczema, psoriasis, oily skin, acne, dry flaky skin, excessive sweating, cracked heals and hard skin to thin skin, itchiness, acne rosacea, cysts, dark circles under eyes and easy bruising, can all be addressed by looking at underlying causes.

Causes can include:

Poor digestive function, such as gut inflammation and poor nutritional uptake.
Lack of essential fatty acids, vitamins A, C and Zinc
Irregularity of adrenal glands
Deficiency of blood or body fluids
Food sensitivities and intolerances
Toxic congestion in the body
Not enough healthy fats in the diet
Hormone imbalance
Lack of vitamin D

If you are frustrated with a nagging or irritating skin condition then it might be time to think about addressing some of the common underlying causes.

7 03, 2019

What’s the Buzz About Cellular Health?

2019-03-07T22:18:31+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Nutrition|

The reason that cellular health is so vitally important is because disease of every kind only sets in when cells become damaged, toxic, inflamed and altered from their healthy natural form.

There are 37 trillion cells in an adult body. Each individual cell needs to eliminate waste and utilize nutritional supplies, just as the body in its entirety does.

Each cell needs to clear waste and toxins and have delivered to it daily clean nutrients and oxygen.

Approximately every seven years your body will have replaced existing cells with a completely new set. Some parts of the body, such as the skin and mucous membranes do this much more frequently. This is why taking continual care of our body, its nutrition, and how it eliminates waste, is important not only to prevent disease but also for your longevity.

Why Are Mitochondria So Important?

Every cell in the body has mitochondria, which are the energy producing, power houses of your cells. They take oxygen and nutrients and convert them into energy. Keeping these mitochondria healthy is key for both energy and to protect against disease.

Key Steps to Optimize Cell Health

Hydration
Having clean water to hydrate the cells of your body is essential. Dehydration will affect a cell’s ability to clear waste and absorb nutrients.
Efficient Fat Burning
We want to generate our fuel from good fats, rather than sugar (such as excess carbs and fructose.) Unnatural foods, sugars, and excess Omega 6 fats (eg vegetable oils, Canola, Rape seed oils) also cause a lot of cellular damage.
Avoid Contact With Pollutants
Things to avoid or minimize are unnatural cosmetics, smoking, excess electromagnetic interference (eg wifi , radiation and mobile phones) and polluted air.
Ensure Your Body is Eliminating Waste Efficiently
The body eliminates waste via various means, such as the lymphatic system, digestive system, circulation, lungs, liver and kidneys and skin. For efficient elimination, bowels should be opened minimally once per day, skin should be healthy, and exercise taken daily to increase circulation and hoxygenation of the blood.
Supplement with Natural Remedies
Cell mitochondria loves CoEnzyme Q10, as well as antioxidants. Each and every one of us has different requirements and needs. MSM is a mineral that aids a cell’s ability to clear out waste and absorb nutrients.

Each condition and sign of illhealth is very often an indication that the body requires physical assistance in the form of nutrition or rebalancing with natural medicine.

22 09, 2018

Research Shows Vitamins to be Beneficial for Depression

2018-09-22T13:19:44+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Vitamins|

Depression: this is so widespread you could call it a modern day epidemic

An intricate tapestry of factors coming together lie behind most cases of depression.

Grief, divorce, money worries – these are all things that will naturally cause bouts of depression, but how well we recover and cope with what life throws at is, is hugely impacted on by our nutritional status and lifestyle factors. Recent research shows specific vitamins impacting depression recovery, such as Vitamin D and fish oil, among others.

Another research piece, which you can visit here describes how natural medicine taken along side antidepressants helps boost the effectiveness of antidepressants. Antidepressants have been the subject of much controversy in terms of their effectiveness, to the extent that in this study they were shown to be no more effective than a placebo in patients with mild to moderate symptoms, so there is much food for thought here on how best to tackle depression.

Natural ways to tackle depression

Depression is one of the most common things people come to see me about, and in general I recommend an approach based on the items listed below. Come and see me or get in touch to discuss your personal situation so that I can help you with this, or speak to another health practitioner.

Assessing and correcting nutritional status, while also using specific herbs or homepoathics to tackle depression. (Contact me for help with this.)
Eating real food: avoiding sugar, processed and junk foods, MSG, and grains.
Optimize gut health by eating fermented foods as part of your daily diet.
Get plenty of sleep.
Ensure you get adequate exercise.
De-stress as much as you can.
De-clutter your life and your environment.
Set goals and purposes in your life.

On this site, I aim is to provide well-researched information, in order to empower readers to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing. In both alternative and allopathic medicine new discoveries are being made and there are vast choices available to people, something to be mindful of. Nicholas Dale, Naturopath is not seeking to impose his views on readers, but rather encourage them to seek out any professional help they may need (in whatever form that may take) and discover what is best for them.

Information on this site should not be taken as medical guidance or advice. Readers should always consult personally with their healthcare provider. Information published on this site is not intended to act as a substitute for advice of medical professionals, and should not be taken as such.

18 09, 2018

Why I recommend Turning Off WiFi at Night

2018-09-18T12:38:06+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Cancer|

Does WiFi Cause Cancer & Other Serious Health Problems?

What’s the Truth About WiFi, EMFS & Our Health?

There has been a lot of controversy for many years about wireless technologies, the microwave radiation they emit and the potentially severe impact on our health. It is still too early to know the full health impact, but evidence is coming together showing this is a problem gathering pace. More research is needed, but taking precautions and simply turning your WiFi off at night or keeping your devices in airplane mode, you are at the very least giving your body a break from wireless radiation. Below there are more simple steps you can follow.

Mobile phones

The most worrying devices emitting wireless radiation are those held closest to our body, such as mobile phone devices. What’s more, the younger generation will often have these turned on 24/7, sleeping with them by their bed or under their pillow, continually emitting microwaves. If you read the fine print you will see there are guidelines from manufacturers for how mobile phones should be safely used. They have to conform to guidelines from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) about the maximum amount of exposure permitted from their device, and they will state a distance to keep the device away from your body, for example this might be 1cm. This means that if you are carrying it in your shirt pocket, or tucking it into your bra it’s likely too close to your body and this is breaching the safety guidelines on the product. A simple precaution is to try and find another way of carrying your device.

As long ago as 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, linked with the World Health Organization, labelled mobile phones a Group 2B “possible carcinogen.”

It’s hard to get away from the multitude of devices in our homes, from mobile phones, WiFi routers, cordless telephones, smart metres, baby monitors and other wireless devices, all of which are emitting microwave radiation.

Anecdotally, as an example, I turn off the WiFi in our house at night. The first time we did it, I immediately noticed an improvement in how well and deeply my children slept at night, and indeed myself.

Tips to minimize your exposure to EMF

Turn WiFi off at night and when not in use.
Don’t carry a mobile phone on your person, eg pocket, bra, etc.
When in use put on the loud speaker where possible, to avoid pressing the phone to your head.
Put your mobile phone and laptop into airplane mode when possible.
Don’t put a laptop directly on your lap.
Opt for hard wired options.
Be aware of where your power board is in your house or office. I know of one instance a client of mine with insomnia moved the position of her bed that was close to an external power board and immediately her sleep improved.
Use a battery powered clock by your bed.
Don’t use a microwave oven.
Avoid fluorescent light as these will actually transfer current to your body.
Children are more susceptible. One study in the US involving 13,000 mothers revealed that children exposed to EMF’s as compared to those not exposed, had a 49% increase in behavioral problems, 35% increase in hyperactivity and 25% increase in emotional issues.

There are homeopathic remedies that help clear build up and damage these microwaves can cause as well as other natural remedies.

Optimising mitochondria function

Mitochondria are the part of the cell where our basic life requirements, air and food, are combined to make energy. The mitochondria are vital to nearly every biochemical reaction and cellular process in your body.

The scientific evidence is showing that wireless radiation damages the mitochondria of our cells. These mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells producing about 90% of the energy in our body. What’s more, it is increasingly becoming apparent that the health and dysfunction of the mitochondria is closely tied with most chronic disease. Therefore, anything that damages our mitochondria should be minimized or avoided altogether. Brain cancer, heart disease, infertility problems and neurological diseases are things that I would expect to see increasing in years to come. Click here and here for findings from recent research.

Looking after and optimising mitochondrial health is a really impoortant step in protecting your health generally. Intermittent fasting, Omega 3s, alpha-lipoic-acid, vitamin D, exercise, heat such as saunas, a nutritionally dense diet, stress reduction and sleep are all things that can potentially help to strengthen the mitochondria.

9 05, 2018

How to Fix One of the Biggest Causes of Illhealth

2018-05-09T12:51:51+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Uncategorized|

50% of optimizing health is about getting good things into and absorbed by the body, and 50% is about getting rid of waste and toxins from the body efficiently.

What this means is that if your body is not eliminating waste well, your efforts with consuming healthy meals will be severely compromised.

Focusing on digestion is vital for both optimizing absorption of nutrients and for eliminating waste and toxins.

Malnourishment – the West’s Modern Epidemic

This might sound like a sweeping statement, but it is something I see day after day in my practice. In fact it is rare to see someone with a good nutritional status, regardless of whether or not they are following a healthy diet. The repercussions of this are widespread, from fatigue, depression, anxiety, to more serious, chronic health issues, such as Cancer, Dementia, and other degenerative diseases.

Poor digestion is so common today. There are many contributing factors that have brought this about, from overuse of medications and antibiotics which affect the gut flora, to high sugar diets and foods that actually deplete the body rather than feed the body.

Checklist for Digestive Inefficiency

Do you experience any of the following:

Gas / bloating
Constipation
Diarrhoea
Digestive pain
Headaches / Migraines / sinus problems
Eczema / Acne / other skin problems
Candida / Thrush
Mental fog

These are often indicators of poor digestive function, and for optimal health should be addressed as a priority.

How to Correct Digestive Function

There are things that can be done at home to help with digestive function, such as including bone broth or fermented foods in the diet, eg sauerkraut. High quality, high potency probiotics are often a good option too. Additionally, avoiding foods that you are sensitive to is important, as well as highly processed and high sugar foods.

In my experience it usually takes an extra push to correct conditions that have generated for months or years. Diet alone has a vital role, but usually remedies in nearly all cases are required to promote healing and help return health to its optimum state. Herbs, nutritional supplements and homeopathics play an important role, and for recommendations please contact me and I will advise based on your situation.

4 05, 2018

Easy, Delicious, Nutrient-Dense, Lunch Recipe

2018-05-04T13:28:25+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Foods, Nutrition|

Powerhouse Soup Recipe

Make the switch to a healthy lunch

It’s so easy to grab a sandwich or sausage roll at lunch time, especially with our busy lives and eating on the run.

The problem with this is that consuming too many wrong types of sugars and carbs is not good for us, since it adds to inflammation, congestion in the body and can affect weight. What’s more, having such lunches displaces much healthier alternatives.

If you can make a switch to healthy lunches, it’s just another nudge redirecting your health into the future.

For example a soup based on bone broth, which is an excellent way to boost digestion, brain health and immunity, is an ideal lunch. Bone broth is a wonderful remedy in its own right, packed with nutrients, amino acids, collagen and gelatin. Combining the broth with turmeric, chili, vegetables and coconut oil makes a wonderful elixir or tonic for the system. When we prepare a meal, such as this, every ingredient is health-promoting and we are not filling up on empty calories or un-nutritious and potentially damaging foods.

With a little bit of planning we can turn our lunches in a powerhouse of nutrition.

My favourite thing to have for lunch, because I know how nourishing and revitalizing it is, is homemade soup. You can cook a big batch of soup and freeze it into portion sizes, and then just heat it up as you need it.

The basis of a healthy soup is good quality, homemade bone broth or vegetable stock. Click here for how to make bone broth and to find out more information on why it is so important for our health.

POWERHOUSE SOUP RECIPE

Ingredients:

Bone broth
7 carrots roughly chopped (you can use other vegetables, such as pumpkin or butternut squash)
½ cauliflower roughly chopped
2 leeks roughly chopped
1 large onion diced
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon of turmeric
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 dried birds eye chilli (more to taste)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste

Method:

Melt coconut oil in a large saucepan.
Add garlic, leeks and onion and cook on a medium heat until soft.
Add carrots, cauliflower or any preferred vegetables and stir into the mixture briefly.
Add turmeric and black pepper and stir briefly.
Pour in the broth so that it covers the vegetables well, put the lid on, and turn heat down so that the soup is simmering. Allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
Take off the heat and blend with a blending stick.

The beauty of this recipe, is that you can adjust it as you like, swap and change ingredients, but always using a healthy broth as a base. Cooking from scratch can seem demanding, but once you get into the swing of it, it is fun and so rewarding. What’s more, cooking in large batches means you’ll have plenty of healthy meals stacked up in the freezer.

As always if you have any questions about your health please write to me and I’m very happy to call you back.

16 04, 2018

Repercussions of a Rundown Nervous System

2018-04-16T10:20:05+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Foods, Nutrition|

80% of the people that come and see me have a rundown nervous system

It is without doubt one of the most common things I diagnose with iridology and in a consultation.

The reason why it is so important is because it is the communication system of the body – quite similar to the wiring that exists in any machine. When the nervous system gets rundown it acts in a sponge-like way soaking up and robbing energy from other parts of the body.

Conversely, when we don’t have a rundown nervous system energy and vitality can flow throughout the body – aiding all the parts of the body to which it is communication with. This includes digestion, circulation, endocrine system and of course and probably most importantly how we feel mentally.

Signs of Rundown Nervous System

A rundown nervous system can affect each and every one of us in a different way, but the most common are complaints of fatigue, depression, anxiety, stress, irritability, lack of motivation, poor mental clarity and concentration (mental fog). In fact, it has an insidious nature with knock on affects across other parts of the body, which are not so obviously related to the nervous system, such as digestive disorders, acid reflux, constipation, and many more. In such cases, the immediate assumption can be made by practitioners that the problem lies in these specific parts of the body, yet correcting the nervous system as the underlying cause can sometimes be a simple answer, especially when other signs of a rundown nervous system are present.

What Causes a Rundown Nervous System?

There are two basic causes:

Poor nutritional status:
Often people say to me, “I eat well, don’t eat junk food, why am i rundown and feel this way?” one of the problems with our food these days is that it contains about 60% less nutritional value that of our grandparents. Another factor affecting nutritional status is our ability to absorb nutrients out of our food. Today, generally we eat far more sugar and take a lot more pharmaceutical medicines, such as antibiotics and painkillers, than our predecessors, and these are just two examples of how nutrient absorption is affected. Higher quantities of stimulants, such as coffee, tea, energy drinks, can further drain the body of nutrients. Alcohol also has a depleting affect on our nutritional status. Many factors weave together to determine how much nutrition we absorb from our food. So even if you decide to eat a healthy, organic diet, if you digestive system is not absorbing the nutrients efficiently much of the goodness will be lost. So this is often an area that needs addressing too.
Stress:
High levels of stress, emotional trauma, and other mental demands, drain the nervous system. (Of course there can be other factors to take into account when looking at how someone is feeling emotionally, such as adrenal fatigue or thyroid conditions.)

The problem can seem like the chicken and the egg scenario, whereby emotional problems can cause a rundown nervous system, in the same way that a rundown nervous system can cause emotional problems.

Nutrition to Help Boost the Nervous System

Diet of course will play a key role in ensuring your body has the nutritional tools and equipment it needs to operate optimally, this is despite the quality of food not being as it used to be. Boosting your nervous system with some of the following foods is a good place to start:

Avocados
Acorn squash
Bananas
Spinach
Sweet potatoes
Almonds
Dried pumpkin seeds
Swiss chard

There are varying degrees of a rundown nervous system, and I find that supplementing with key nutrients is usually also necessary – contact me to find out what specifically you need as this will vary from person to person, depending on one’s needs and what medication a person may be on.

27 03, 2018

Your Health Plan

2018-03-27T12:43:36+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Cancer, Foods, Nutrition|

Directing Your Health Into the Future

100 years ago acute infectious diseases were the biggest health threat people faced. Fast forward to the present day and health issues have turned on their head, with the prevention and control of chronic illnesses being a key problem.

Naturopaths have a unique role, which GPs tend not to fill because of limited time in appointments and generally not approaching illness prevention from a lifestyle standpoint.

An example of this is chronic pain, which now affects a large proportion of the adult population, and for many this means pharmaceutical pain management. It’s now believed that the prescription opioid epidemic is the leading cause of death among adults under 50 years old living in the America. A Naturopathic approach to chronic pain is very different and drug free.

You have to be the biggest upholder of your own health if you want to live the best and healthiest life.

Good health and prevention of serious illness is not just a case of hoping that you don’t become the next statistic. It starts with you, your lifestyle and your home. What you eat and drink can play a very important role and is an integral part of the jigsaw of good health. How much sleep you have, stress management, exercise, these are all things that contribute to the tapestry of good health.

The American Cancer Society states: “More than half of all cancer deaths could be prevented by making healthy choices like not smoking, staying at a healthy weight, eating right, keeping active, and getting recommended screening tests.” Eating right and giving your body the nutritional tools and equipment it needs is vital for good health.

CORNERSTONES OF A HEALTHY DIET

What you eat and drink plays a vital role in your health and that of your family. Here are some simple guidelines to kickstart your health through diet. If you can follow these I think you will enjoy the experience and get a lot out of it.

Doing this now can mean you have a happier, healthier life in the future.

FRESH & WHOLEFOODS

Cooking from scratch with fresh and wholefoods and avoiding processed and convenience foods is a really important step. By doing this you can avoid additives, preservatives, cheap oils and sugars, and many potential hazards. You know exactly what is in your meal.

HERBS & SPICES

Cook with fresh herbs and spices regularly. Things like rosemary, parsley, turmeric, chilies all have powerful properties that are pro-health and well-being. What’s more they add vibrance and flavour to your cooking.

FATS

Include plenty of healthy fats in your diet. Fats need to be taken in a balanced ratio. These days people tend to have far too much Omega 6 from rapeseed/canola/sunflower/vegetable oils, and not enough Omega 3 and Omega 9. Fat plays an important part in having a healthy nervous and circulatory system.

PROTEIN

Protein forms the building blocks of life, but don’t over do it. Too much protein, like anything else, can have an adverse affect.

ORGANIC

If you can manage to get organic food into your diet so much the better. Unfortunately, farming practices and processes involved in processed foods are increasingly troublesome. An example of this is farmed fish.

If you would like to work out how you can implement a healthy, lifestyle plan and get your health on track, get in touch so I can help you with that.

8 03, 2018

Turmeric: Benefits, Uses, Research

2018-03-08T09:52:10+00:00By Nick Dale|Ailments, Cancer, Foods, Nutrition|

More people than ever are turning to the ancient orange spice, which has over 100 therapeutic uses

Turmeric has been the focus of much media attention and is one of the most researched plants in existence, for good reason.

It has been hailed as the latest super herb with reports about its use in the battle against Cancer, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, obesity, heart disease, depression, stress, atherosclerosis, arthritis and pain, and more.

The reason why this herb has so much attention is because of its powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and DNA-protecting properties.

It has a long history, 5,000 years, of been used medicinally and as a culinary ingredient in India.

Tumeric’s Active Ingredient

The medicinal compound curcumin, which is found in Turmeric, is the ingredient that is gaining most attention because of its powerful medicinal properties. Turmeric also contains high amounts of manganese, iron, fiber, vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin C and magnesium. The anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin has been shown to be so effective that is has been compared in its usefulness to prescription medications, with the added bonus of coming without toxic side effects.

A Special Look at Tumeric/Curcumin and Cancer

Curcumin has more evidence-based literature supporting its anti-cancer capabilities compared to other nutrients. Many studies have been done, and while more conclusive evidence is still being sought, the research is promising.

Cancer Prevention: Cancer Research UK talks about cancer prevention on its site, “The main active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin or diferuloyl methane, which laboratory studies have shown does have anticancer effects on cancer cells. A phase I clinical trial looked at giving curcumin to 25 patients with precancerous changes in different organs. This study seemed to show that curcumin could stop the precancerous changes becoming cancer. Research has also shown that there are low rates of certain types of cancer in countries where people eat curcumin at levels of about 100mg to 200mg a day over long periods of time. But currently there is no conclusive research evidence to show that turmeric or curcumin can prevent or treat cancer.”

How to Take Turmeric

One of the issues with curcumin and turmeric is it’s poor bioavailability, meaning that the body needs helps with absorbing and assimilating it, which is an essential step in getting the most out of this herb.

Consumed alone or raw, curcumin has poor bioavailability. However, there are simple ways to improve absorption, such as:

Adding piperine (black pepper), which can increase absorption of curcumin by 2,000%. The liver actively tries to get rid of the curcumin. By adding even just a pinch of pepper, this helps to suppress this process, allowing curcumin levels in the bloodstream to rise. Traditionally, turmeric is eaten with pepper in curries.
Combining with a healthy oil, such as coconut oil, means that the curcumin can be directly absorbed into the bloodstream through the lymphatic system, bypassing the liver, allowing it to stay for longer in the body.
Heat it up to help activate it. When cooking, and Turmeric is heated up, it becomes more bioavailable.

You can include turmeric powder or turmeric root in your daily diet, or you can take a Turmeric supplement. Taking the whole herb in it’s natural form, is as a general rule what I prefer rather than taking extracts. The curcumin content of Turmeric is about 3%, which is significantly lower than the amounts used in most of the research and trials, which is why supplementing is an option some people opt for with specific conditions. If you want to take Turmeric for a specific medical condition then contact me – because there are different ways to take Turmeric that suit different conditions.

My preference however, for general wellbeing and health is to include this spice in your daily life. When cooking, you can make a paste by heating the turmeric with coconut oil and water, and adding black pepper, which you can store in the fridge and add to recipes, smoothies or yogurt. You can add Turmeric powder or root to soups, curries, vegetables, teas, etc. There are hundreds of interesting ways you can combine Turmeric into your cooking. As an example, including 1/2-1 teaspoon a day of powdered Turmeric in your diet is well suited to many people.

Whether you are having turmeric root, powder or supplements, I always recommend you go for organic, because of the potential for additives and treatments that kitchen spices sometimes go through. Keep it pure and organic.

Precautions

Contact me if you are interested to add Turmeric to your regimen. There are times when Turmeric shouldn’t be used, such as if you have gallstones or bile duct dysfunction or if you are on certain medications or treatments. Pregnant women shouldn’t use it without their doctors’ approval. Piperine, from fresh ground black pepper, will increase the absorbency of other substances in your stomach – so if you are on regular medications, you may experience a higher absorbency rate than intended for those drugs – please check with your doctor in relation to this.

Future Health

Many of my clients come to me with worries about things like cancer prevention and questions about how to protect their memory into the future, or how to deal with pain. Turmeric may offer a simple defense and is well worth looking into.

One of the things I really like about Turmeric is that it is very easy and low cost for people to incorporate it into their daily lives through diet. Just this one simple lifestyle change can potentially have profound affects.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more please get in touch.

Ailments