Naturopathic Source

Does anyone know exactly what it is that an osteopath does?

I sure don't, but I hear the results are fantastic.

It has to do with moving bones, muscles, organs....and getting everything into their proper place. Or something like that.

I am going to find out and let you know

I have an appointment of my own on February 20th with an osteopath in Toronto and I am going to document what it's all about here for you to read.

Why am I doing this?

Because I have found that most of my naturopathic modalities stop at the point where someone needs their structure taken care of. And so I need to refer out for most of that, but I don't know how to explain it to patients.

If you have had your structure looked at and you end up in my office, my treatments will be much more effective.  And if you are one of my patients, I just very well may want to refer you to an osteopath at some point and I am hoping this will be a great source of information for you.

I've only sent one person so far

I have sent one patient to an osteopath so far and the results have been amazing. I sent this patient only because they had a lot of tailbone pain and I know that osteopaths apparently work very well with this type of pain. The changes in this patient have been amazing.

So I got to thinking...

I used to fall on my tailbone as a way of life - hardwood stairs, concrete stairs - you name it. And, as evidenced by my yoga postures, I could be a bit more limber.

And so to the osteopath I go...Feb 20th....I'll keep you posted!

TC

Does anyone know what detox is?

Some people do, but there are a lot of misconceptions out there.

This is my (second, I believe) attempt to dispel some of those.

Just because things are coming out of your body, doesn't mean you are detoxing

So many so-called detox products have laxatives in them. Taking laxatives, having more bowel movements, having diarrhea and getting `cleaned out` is not detoxing anymore than vomiting or hemorrhaging is detoxing. (Sorry to be so blatant, but I want you to understand this.)

Detoxing bars of soap, face washes etc., etc.

Marketing gimicks. That`s all.

Detoxing shampoos.

There are shampoos that completely strip your hair of product build-up, remove chlorine from swimmer`s hair and so on. Kind of like floor stripper. Taking product build-up and the like off your hair is good. But you are not detoxing anything. You don`t need to detox your hair; hair is dead.

Detox is slang

The word detox is short for detoxification. Our body has naturally occuring pathways of detoxification.  To detox or to detoxify is the verb that comes from this.

Wherefore art thou detox pathways?

In the liver. Our body`s natural pathways of detoxification are located in the liver.

This is not an alternative health concept; look up p450 system in any physiology book (or on Wikipedia for that matter) and it will be there.

These pathways function 24 hours per day, 7 days per week in everyone, except in cases of genetic abnormalities and some liver disease, to put it very simply.

Where the alternative health industry steps in and confuses everyone

The idea of detoxing came from this:

Our liver`s pathways of detoxification can only do so much -- they are chemical pathways and like any chemical pathways they have a limit on how much they can do.

Many people have more toxins coming into their system than their liver can handle. Over the last few hundred years there has been a huge  increase in pollution, chemicals on and in our food, pharmaceutical drug use and stress levels (a high stress level also causes our body to produce toxins).

Since this increase has been fairly rapid (in terms of evolution a few hundred years is practically nothing), our system has not correspondingly evolved.

That is, the amount of toxins coming into our body has drastically increased, but our capacity to detoxify them has not correspondingly increased.

So things get backed up. (I`m not taking about constipation here.) Think of it as a line up of toxins, waiting to get into the liver to be processed. Waiting and waiting.

Are toxins impatient? Is waiting a problem?

Yes they are and yes it is.

As they wait, they cause damage to tissues and cells.

They create free radicals that speed up aging and wrinkles.

They often get deposited in our tissues -- organs, glands, muscles, fat cells. As they sit in our tissues, things in general just don`t work as well.

All things being equal, all livers are not so equal

Some people have a liver that detoxifies much more effectively than others. This is just genetics.

Some things slow the liver detox pathways down

Eg. Sugar, alcohol, junk food, skipping meals, fasting (yes, fasting), stress, not enough vitamins and minerals.

Some things speed the liver detox pathways up and/or let them function properly

Eg. Fruits, vegetables, exercise, relaxation techniques, certain herbs, certain supplements.

At some point are you going to tell me what detoxing is?

Yes; here you go:

Detoxing, in the alternative medicine sense of the word, is using any combination of herbs, supplements, dietary and lifestyle changes to maximize the efficiency of the liver`s natural detoxification pathways in order to

(1) Get the backlog of toxins processed.

(2) Allow the body to take some of the toxins from the tissues and process those as well.

Once processed, the toxins can be safely eliminated through the kidneys and bowels.

That`s all for now; stay tuned for more detoxing info.

TC

Fibroids can be really hard to shrink, especially once they are of a certain size.

Usually, fibroids less than 2cm can be reduced using natural therapies. Once they are larger than this, it can be more difficult.

Keep your uterus

For women considering surgery to remove fibroids, be aware that you do not need to get your uterus removed in many cases.

The fibroids can often be removed on their own and your uterus left intact.

Not all surgeons perform this type of surgery, so you may need to ask around and/or do some research.

But this option exists!

TC

I`ve written about this before on this blog, but I feel the need to write about it again.

Menstrual pain and heaviness are not necessary!

There are so many misconceptions about a woman`s menstrual cycle and what is and is not normal. I see so many woman who have suffered for years or who have had their uterus removed because of heavy bleeding.

So much can be done!

This symptoms CAN be treated -- I have personally done so with many patients.

You do not need to have PMS.

You do not need to have painful periods.

You do not need to have heavy periods.

You should not be anemic because your periods are so heavy.

It is not a natural part of being a woman.

You do not have to live with it.

ALL your organs are important!

Just because you are not going to have children or have any more children, does not mean you don`t need your uterus anymore.

Just because  you are menopausal does not mean you do not need your uterus anymore.

The uterus continues to produce hormones even after menopause.

Know your options!

Being a woman myself, I find it really gets me fired up (ergo all the exclamation marks) that more woman are not given all their options.

In some cases you need to accept pain and suffering. In these cases you don`t.

So if you are having any of the problems I listed above, get yourself to a naturopath who can help you.

TC

I don't like it

Okay, so I admit I am completely biased and always have been.

Long before I knew, or even cared, what alternative medicine was I didn't like the birth control pill (BCP).

The whole idea of taking synthetic chemicals that mimic hormones on a daily basis never sat well with me.  And the "fact" that it's supposed to be completely harmless and safe --- I'm sorry but I'm just not buying it.

Individual choice is always important but informed choice is king

Now, I have several patients that are on BCPs (for birth control and not for menstrual cycle regulation) and I always respect this as their individual choice.

When I think it would be beneficial to their health, I let them know this, but then we move on from there. If and when they decide they would like to discontinue the pill, I let them tell me this. There is no pressure from me.

When it comes to using BCPs for period regulation, I also let my patients know that there are many other natural ways to do this and if they like, I can help them.

But I digress.

I am all about informed choice, so here we go with some information to help with that choice.

Lower bone mineral density in pre-menopausal women on BCPs

Eek!

Where did this one come from? Well, in this case, a national study in Canada.

Pre-menopausal women (if you're NOT in menopause, that's you) who take the birth control pill have a bone mineral density (BMD) that is 2.3% to 3.7% lower than in women who have never used BCPs. 

This potentially translates into a 20-30% increased fracture risk. Lower bone mineral density and increased fracture risk is not a good thing. And these women are not even in menopause yet!

Canadian Medical Association Journal October 16, 2001;165:1023-1029

These cancers go up, those cancers go down

In 2005 the Internation Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs Working Group concluded that the birth control pill (estrogen-progesterone) is carcinogenic to humans.

Carcinogenic means `causes cancer`.

Breast cancer: Up

There is a small increased risk for women who are using BCPs or who have recently used them. Ten years after stopping, this increased risk seems to be gone.

Cervical cancer: Up

The longer a woman uses BCPs the higher her risk for cervical cancer goes.

Liver cancer: Up

Risk is increased in long-term BCP users.

Endometrial and ovarian cancer: Down

The reduced risk is greater the longer the BCPs are used and this decrease lasts at least 15 years.

http://www.iarc.fr/en/Media-Centre/IARC-Press-Releases/Archives-2006-2004/2005/IARC-monographs-programme-finds-combined-estrogen-progestogen-contraceptives-and-menopausal-therapy-are-carcinogenic-to-humans

So, what now?

Well, more research is being done to see if the benefits outweight the risks or vice versa.

My idea

How about not increasing your risk of any cancers by using BCPs and decreasing your risk for endometrial and ovarian cancers (and all cancers for that matter) by following a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle?

TC