There is only one spectrum

In the latest ‘What Doctors Don’t Tell You’ (WDDTY), the cause of skin cancer in relation to the sun is discussed. As you can imagine, they are arguing that the doctor’s have not told the truth; surprise, surprise. So, doctors have been warning us that excessive sun ‘exposure’ can cause skin cancer, where as WDDTY suggest that hiding from the sun can cause a host of other illnesses.

I am not going to say whether I agree or disagree with either side. I would like to take time to suggest that just like the sun is both good (rainforests) for the earth it is also bad (deserts), and in this same way it is a matter of finding your own balance. You are going to have to figure out how to find your own happy medium, how you use the sun is up to you.

I think what often happens is a scare turns into media frenzy and with time, becomes a myth, a myth that often points at excess or deficiency. This is obviously not specific to sun exposure; there are also myths regarding apples causing cancer, apples as anti-oxidant and mobile phones causing cancer. There have also been non-cancer related myths, like chocolate in any form is bad for you and will contribute to your weight issues. As you can imagine there are ways in which chocolate is excellent for you, for example pure dark chocolate with no sugar is fantastic for teeth and hormones.

Now all myths come from some truth, but we must remember that myths are there to remind us that extremes are bad for us. It is up to each individual to listen to their mind and bodies and decide how much is too much and how little is too little.

Drawing on last week’s blog we all know how out of tune we are with our bodies. So, maybe, rather than listening to myths and acting on them in extreme ways, why do we not spend time listening to our bodies? I know for example that I need as much Sun as I can get to keep me happy (this does not mean I fall asleep on a sun-bed, in the blazing sun with no SPF on) and chocolate in small amounts contributes very positively to my wellbeing (a nice way to reward myself when I have been particularly productive)!

Where do you sit on the spectrum?

49,900 Years of Healthy Eating

There are several approaches to healthy eating, and I think in general it is fair to say that from person to person it will be different. Some people may require a much lower sugar intake than others (those suffering from PCOs or Diabetes), others may not be able to eat certain types of green vegetables (may cause allergic reactions, constipation or loose stool) which we are often told are good for us. 


However, some interesting advice has cropped up more recently from The Fat Nutritionist:


“Eat what feels satisfying, is pleasurable, and helps you feel good. It really doesn’t have to be more complicated than that – if it did, humans would have died out long ago, because all these nutrition theories really only cropped up during the 20th century. That’s 49,900 years of eating without any nutritional guidance! And yet somehow we survived.”

In theory this is sound advice, however in practice I feel The Fat Nutritionist gives everyone too much credit. Unlike even 200 years ago, we do not talk to our tummies as much as we used to. I think we have stopped listening to it closely and answer it with a very generic “you are hungry so here is some food”. The advice The Fat Nutritionist gives, would require each person to retrain to listen much more closely to their gut. For example, your hunger pang may not be for a biscuit, it may not be for fruit, it may be for a specific type of food, vitamin, mineral or even water. 


I have often found that the day before I am about to start my period (and I am not the most regular of people) I get a sudden hunger for steak, and in general it is not one of the foods I would pick off a menu. It is a very specific craving, one that will not be satisfied by chocolate or a tray of vegetables. I used to think it was a sugar craving, as most media shows women binging on chocolate during PM times. Chocolate just did not work! I kept eating more and more and realised it was not making me feel better, in fact probably made me feel weaker. Then as I slowly developed my listening skills I realised that my tummy was crying for iron. The tinniest piece of steak would be “satisfying”, “pleasurable” and make me “feel good”. With this in mind I took a lot more time listening more closely to my gut. I kick started with a 2 week detox to level the playing field, I cut out the alcohol, reduced my intake of everything to 3 meals a day with smaller portions and everything home-made (unprocessed) and increased drinking water. I found after this, when I was hungry, I was being much ‘fussier’ about what I wanted to eat. This fussiness was listening for what my body wants. 


Another issue I have with what The Fat Nutritionist has said is that 49,000 years ago is comparable with today. I think most historians; archaeologists and scientists would agree that the world has changed an awful lot in that time, as have humans, as have the way we interact with our world, including our ways of eating and processing food. So yes although people are people always, our eating habits have changed, just like our body shapes and size.


So all in all, we should eat what is pleasurable, satisfying and makes us feel good but we should also make sure we are listening clearly to what our body is finding pleasurable, satisfying and makes us feel good. Each person’s body at different times of day is going to be hungry for different types of food. Maybe we have undergone some serious normalisation of eating-habits, and these needs to be undone slightly in-order for us to listen to our bodies; supper at 7, consisting of a light meal may not be the right thing for everyone… and that is supposed to be one of the oldest rules in the ‘healthy eating’ book.

Less is more

We live in a society that is constantly striving for more; more money, more space, more time, more success, more stuff! However, this may also be the cause for more unhappiness is our lives. Does less equal more when it comes to happiness?

A recent study at the University of Warwick has suggested that in some cases a pay rise can actually cause a dip in confidence and lead to unhappiness! Let me explain: if a person uses money as a benchmark for success and they receive a pay rise which is not as much as they expected, they may see this as a failure, or certainly in a negative light, possibly thinking they are under appreciated. 

Graham Hill looks at stuff as a cause for serious life constipation, the more space you have the more you fill it with, and in fact the more cluttered your life is. Sometimes you have to let go of things to make space for better things, in this case let go of ‘stuff’ to make space for happiness. 

I think the same can be said for our gut... the more you have in it the less happy it is! Bite size is the way forward in life! Don’t clutter your life and tummy with unnecessary junk, only keep the vital good bits, and see how much happier you feel!

Dr Mercola's Wonder Emporium

It is Monday morning, I open up my e-mails and sat in my inbox is an e-mail with an interesting title “nine health risk habits”. Naturally I am tempted to open it and start reading. The first 7 sat on the line of informative and absurd. Then I got to number 8 and I realised I was reading something purely absurd. 


Dr Mercola, is a celebrity doctor and the founder and editor of an alternative-medicine website, where he advocates dietary and lifestyle approaches to health and market a variety of dietary supplements. Mercola criticizes many aspects of standard medical practice, particularly vaccination and the use of prescription drugs and surgery to treat diseases. Mercola has been the subject of criticism from the business, medical and scientific communities. A 2006 Business Week editorial criticized Mercola's marketing practices as "relying on slick promotion, clever use of information, and scare tactics." 

So number 8 on this health risk list suggested that fermented vegetables are a replacement therapy for colonic-therapy. Having read this I wonder what else in our daily lives we could replace with “healthy and natural” substitutes… what has the great Dr Mercola missed out?


1. Toothbrush
We could certainly replace our toothbrush with a twig like substitute and use a bit of hay for flossing.


2. Toilet Paper
Yesterday’s newspaper might make a good substitute… as they say yesterday’s news paper is today’s fish and chip wrap!


3. Dry-Shampoo
If you leave your hair for long enough, it can start to look ‘greasy’ which is not necessarily a desirable look. To reduce the appearance of shine you could use some dried, powdered mud, reducing your exposure to harsh chemicals that dry-shampoo contains, and it is a natural substitute!


4. Potato Peeler
Use knife, because we don’t know what sort of bacteria could get caught between the blades of a peeler!


5. Facebook
Let us go back to getting in touch with friends, talking on the phone, writing letters, meeting up and having a coffee… or rather a tea… or a herbal tea… or just a plain old glass of H2O goodness!


6. Internet
Rather than reading trash on the internet why not enjoy a good book, not from the Steel or Bloom variety but a classic like Austin or Byron.


7. Reading a book
Don’t be a couch potato! Rather than lazing around and reading a book you should go and experience the great outdoors. Go for a leisurely stroll or take up an outdoor sport like tennis or football.


8. Going for a walk
When walking you could be exposing yourself to all sorts of harmful pollutants so do not walk where there are cars or any form of human life! 


And all of these healthy life-style adjustments can be supplemented by colon-hydrotherapy and fermented vegetables! 


On a serious note, we should use the best of complementary from main-stream and complementary therapy, rather than hiding in the deepest, darkest cave!

Bullying and the Bowel

Amy Weber recently wrote a wonderful piece on bullying and how it manifests within society. She focusses mainly on the impact of bullying on children; however her article got me thinking about the ways in which adults are affected by bullying & how other non-psychological aspects of wellbeing are affected.

It is well known that bullying affects not only the psychological and sociological elements of a bully victim, but also the physiological. The big question is how do the physical symptoms manifest? What sort of ailments can occur?

In children, bullying can cause many physiological issues, but one that is prominent is constipation. This is usually related directly to the child’s fear and anxiety and can sometimes be a desperate ‘cry for help. The signs of constipation can range from light tummy pain to involuntary soiling, which children often try and hide especially when they already feel vulnerable from bullying. There is a huge amount of shame that comes with any ‘pooping’ related issues, and children are most susceptible to these feelings of shame. Many parents will scold their children for soiling themselves, which adds further to the child’s underlying anxiety, which in turn can make the constipation issues much more severe. It has been suggested that rather than scolding a child for soiling their pants, you should be asking why they did not ‘poop’ in the toilet. Soiling and other indicators of constipation are a sadly useful way for an adult to ask questions about a child’ distress and the nature of the bullying that could be causing the constipation.

Moving to adults now, research has found that adults who are victims of bullying in the workplace can also suffer from constipation, manifesting in erratic bowel movements and serious bowel discomfort. Again there is a shame that is related to ‘pooping’ and discussing such issues, that adults may ignore these issue, focusing more on the psychological elements of the bullying. Which begs the question if the constipation is relieved, would the victim find some relief from the bullying?

Colon-hydrotherapists, will always take a history of their client, and usually these histories address not only the physical symptoms but also psychological factors that may impact the client’s bowel. This being the case, bullying is one thing that may be picked up by colon-hydrotherapy. If adults really do not like discussing their bowel movements, the colonic treatment provides a space in which they can, which may in fact lead to addressing the impact of the bullying on other elements of wellbeing. In a nut-shell the cure for bullying may well start in a colonic-hydrotherapy treatment room!

Have you as a colon hydrotherapist ever encountered a case where the cause of constipation was bullying? What was your reaction and did you discover an effective way to help your client overcome or confront their issues? Send us your case histories and share your knowledge about bullying and constipation with other therapists. 

Mad Dogs and Vegetables

You may be looking at the title thinking that your beloved Gut Guru has lost the plot... but do not worry! There really is a connection to be made between dogs, vegetables, and... how did you guess? Of course, it all comes down to poo.  

 

There was a wonderful little article in the BBC the other day about the tax on dog food for guide dogs. It discusses the type of dog foods guide dogs must eat, and, unlike racing hounds, guide dogs require a relatively low protein diet as they do not expend as much energy.

Apparently eating too much protein would cause the dogs to develop irregular toilet habits, causing difficulties for the blind owner. Therefore the dog food they need to eat is high in fibre and vegetable goodness!

So the real question is, for us as colon therapists: how much protein is too much? 

For dogs, the answer is clear: the less they move, the more vegetables they need in their diet. And vice versa. Racing dogs just need to eat meat to be successful. So what about us humans? 

If we are not running around for a living should we be consuming so much protein? We are not all athletes so should our protein intake correlate to our lifestyle to avoid irregular toilet breaks?

But then again, we need animal protein for body maintenance and repair. 

Please share your thoughts and advice.

Spanish Fever - Part Two

On the 3rd night at Health Retreat Spain we caught up with some guests who came to the retreat at the end of February, and they are now back, eight weeks later, for a top-up. They are both from the UK, and having become friends in February, they have decided to come back again now at the start of May.

 They are spending a week here. Their plan is to eat for the first couple of days, then do just juice for three days, and then go back to sampling the gorgeous food at the end of the stay. So, we asked them what they were expecting to get this time from the stay that they did not get the first time.

Alyn, who is a make-up artist from Manchester, said: "The first time you get here, everything is new. I went the whole way with Carol and Andy on food and exercise and juicing and this made a big difference to me. I have stayed on vegetarian foods and juices since then, without any effort. I feel good. Now I am back here because the atmosphere and the energy here enable to to spend time with yourself, and to process stuff. This time I am taking from it what I need in my life right now."

 Louise agreed: "The beauty of this place is that no one is forcing you to do anything. You can take it as far as you personally want to, do as much or as little as you wish. I am here for me".

Many people come here to become more active, and a walk is always on offer at 10 am. Andrew told us not to miss this morning's walk, so we went along. Down a hill, up a hill, down and up - and this was the most gorgeous view that one could imagine.

 Leading by example is a big thing here. Listening to "office conversations" of admin staff actually makes this all a lot more real. Where else would you hear this - "I haven't bought any dairy for three weeks now...we don't even drink a quarter of what we used to.... last night we went out and there was prawn cocktail and pork on the plate and I did not even manage to get through a quarter of it..." This is not for the show, and this is where the real change lies.


 Six years ago Andrew and Carol would have laughed at anyone who would tell them that a diet could make a difference to their health. In fact, Andrew remembers walking out of a personal development seminar when the seminar leader suggested that going vegetarian could improve health. He only agreed to stick with it for a month because Carol wanted to try it. Now, six years later, Andrew is a firm believer that health, diet and lifestyle cannot be separated or compartmentalised.


What will you discover on your path to a healthier lifestyle at Health Retreat Spain?