From Acne To Clear Glowing Skin

Many women and adults develop acne in their teenage years and sometimes it continues into later life. It is important to address so that it does not diminish self-esteem. Acne is not caused by ‘dirty” skin, poor hygiene or oily hair on the face. It is a symptom of an underlying hormonal imbalance of increased androgens (male hormones) together with enlargening of the pores in the skin, sebum overproduction, bacterial infection in the skin and consequent inflammation and oxidative stress. However, some people have hormonal imbalances but do not develop acne, while someone with acne will often have normal androgen levels in their blood tests. It is thought that these people have increased sensitivity to androgens or that the androgens are converted into stronger, more potent hormones in the hair follicle producing a localized effect only which does not show in the blood. These localized increased androgens cause increased sebum production and acne. This is related particularly to acne occurring around the jawline, chest and back as opposed to the T zone of the forehead and cheeks which relates more to internal body toxicity.


Diet Tips:

• Eat lots of vegetables, salads and fresh fruit everyday: 5 serves/day – the more colour the better: carrots and pumpkin (high in betacarotene); lots of dark green leafy eg. rocket, baby spinach, broccoli. Fresh vegetable juices eg. carrot, celery, beetroot, ginger are a wonderful way to cleanse and heal the skin.

• Avoid sugars, sweets, chocolate, soft drink, fruit juice, cordial and alcohol which imbalances your blood sugar level causing insulin resistance and bacteria in your skin bread off the sugar.

• Avoid constipation by increasing water intake to 2 litres per day at room temperature (not iced), regular exercise, prunes, psyllium husks: 1Tb in water on rising. Try colonic irrigation.

• Squeeze ½ lemon in glass of warm water upon rising to aid liver detoxification and hydration

• Reduce dairy as it raises Insulin-Like Growth Factor causing acne and clogs your lymphatics around your jawline and face, especially milk, ice cream, cheese. Make sure you have adequate calcium though – tinned fish with the bones, nuts, seaweeds, miso soup.

• Avoid coffee, cigarettes or drugs as they stimulate the stress hormones which raise androgen levels and your blood sugars and insulin as well as providing thousands of toxic chemicals.

• Protein in all your meals: controls your blood sugars by slowing down the absorption of sugars, stimulates your metabolism, decreases hunger and sugar cravings as well as aids liver detoxification of hormones: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds.

• Avoid synthetic hormones: only eat organic or hormone-free chicken and eggs, although ideally all food organic.

• Herbal teas: Roasted dandelion root is a coffee alternative & aids detoxification of the liver and bowel. Excellent mix is nettle leaf, red clover, burdock, dandelion root(unroasted) and calendula: 1 tsp of each: 2-3 cups per day. If stressed add chamomile, passionflower or lavender.

•     Herbal medicines that help clear acne include Echinacea, Calendula, Burdock, Dandelion Root and Chaste Tree for women if the acne is hormonal.

•    Nutritional supplements that help heal acne include Zinc, Vitamins A, C and D.

Lifestyle Tips

• Antibacterial face washers containing tea tree oil helps clear an infection. Avoid make up and heavy creams which block the pores and always remove makeup before going to bed. Facials with a qualified beautician help remove the blackheads before they become infected and to release the infection in cystic acne. If infection is severe, use benzoic peroxide 5% cream on the pimples only. Calendula and vitamin E cream or rose hip oil, lemongrass, carrot oils are very healing and reduce scarring once the infection is under control. Try Moo Goo products www.moogoo.com.au

•       Do not squeeze or pick at pimples, as the germs on your hands further infect the area and it is more likely to scar. Use natural makeup and skin care products and wash makeup brushes regularly and dry in the sun.

• Reduce stress. Adopt a lifestyle that balances work and relaxation, allowing some time to have fun, relax and have a good laugh! Consider a massage fortnightly, meditation, breathing techniques, aromatherapy, acupuncture, yoga, relaxing hot epsom salt baths with rose and lavender oils.

• Regular moderate exercise: minimum 4x week 45 mins (ideally daily) combination of aerobic and resistance is essential to control insulin levels and for stress management.

• Balance your weight. If you are underweight, you will need to increase it to boost your oestrogen levels. If you are overweight, your body stores many toxins and chemicals in your fatty tissues so you will need to lose some, even 5% which is usually only 3-5kg.

• Sunlight and salt water are very anti-microbial and healing for the skin.

Spring Salmon Salad

Ingredients:

Salmon
- Salmon fillets
- 1 lemon
- 1 Tb of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup of water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Dried dill or bay leaf

Place salmon fillets in oven dish. Squeeze lemon juice over top and add a couple of lemon slices and olive oil. Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper, then add 1/2 cup of water to poach. Cook in preheated oven at 150 degrees for 20-30 minutes, depending on the number of salmon fillets. Check periodically until it flakes easily with knife. Can be served hot or cold.

Salad
- 1/2 Fennel sliced thinly or in a food processor
- Fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 Cucumber sliced thinly or in a food processor
- 3 Radishes sliced thinly or in a food processor
- 2 Tb of fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tb of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste

Toss altogether and serve with salmon

September is PCOS Awareness Month

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is an increasingly common condition in women where cysts develop on the ovaries and ovulation is inhibited. 20-25% of women have PCO which only affects the ovaries, while 5-10% of women of reproductive age have PCOS which involves blood sugar irregularities, insulin resistance, thyroid, adrenal and the pituitary.

PCOS usually begins in puberty and worsens with time, although fortunately it is a benign disorder. PCOS is complex because it is so much affected by a woman’s emotions, thoughts, diet and personal history. Instead of producing eggs in the ovary and releasing them once a month, called ovulation, women with PCO/S produce eggs that do not mature properly but develop into multiple cysts on the ovaries. The woman’s body produces too many male hormones, known as androgens. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is one of the most common hormonal problems for women and a risk factor for Type-2 Diabetes. Many women have PCOS for 20 or 30 years before they develop diabetes, and most don’t realise that their daughters and granddaughters are at high risk too. Between 50% and 70% of women with PCOS have high insulin levels, called Insulin Resistance.


Signs and symptoms include irregular or absence of menstrual periods, which is usually the 1st warning sign, infertility, excess body hair, obesity, underweight or history of eating disorders, acne around the jawline, chest and back, craving sugars and starchy carbohydrates such as white flour products, heightened stress, anxiety or performance pressure.


Diagnosis requires two of the following tests:

• Hormone Blood Tests: The ratio of Lutenizing Hormone (LH) to Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) is 2:1 or more. Oestrogen and Testosterone are high, while Progesterone and SHBG are low.
• Internal Ultrasound Examination of the ovaries illustrating 10 or more cysts on the ovary. Ovaries are usually 10ml or more in size.
• Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) with Insulin is elevated. According to Dr Warren Kidson, the leading endocrinologist on PCOS at the Prince of Wales and Sydney Children’s Hospitals, all women diagnosed with PCO/S should be screened for insulin resistance by a 1 + 2 hour oral GTT: Glucose Tolerance Test with Insulin. Measuring only fasting blood sugar and fasting insulin are not sufficient.  This will determine whether it is systemic and whether the woman has already developed Type 2 Diabetes.

Self-Healing

Dietary and lifestyle changes are essential for successful treatment of PCOS and for maintenance of the condition to prevent long term complications.

• Eat 3 main meals with protein daily that stimulate your metabolism. If you skip meals, it slows your metabolism down and your blood sugars drop so that you crave a sugar or stimulant to bring them back up again quickly.

• Reduce sugars, sweets, chocolate, soft drinks, fruit juices, cordials, alcohol, white bread and biscuits. Low glycaemic index foods are best, eg. whole grain bread, rolled oats, Basmati or brown rice, natural muesli, quinoa, fresh fruit.

• Apple cider vinegar aids digestion and has been shown to improve blood sugar control in obesity and diabetes. Drink 1Tb in glass of warm water on rising.

• Include some foods that contain phytoestrogens that help buffer against the stronger oestrogens in the body eg. 2 Tb of ground flaxseeds (flaxmeal) on your cereal or in smoothie, ¼  cup of alfalfa or sprouts, use mixed beans and legumes instead of grains, eat sunflower seeds, non-genetically modified soy products such as tofu, tempeh and miso. However, I do not advocate other Western invented soy products such as soy milk, soy sausages, soy protein powders, soy cheeses, etc

• Thyroid: Check your thyroid (TSH<2 .5=".5" and="and" by="by" crushing="crushing" div="div" eat="eat" fry.="fry." iodine="iodine" levels.="levels." nori="nori" on="on" or="or" salad="salad" seaweed="seaweed" some="some" stir="stir" your="your">

• Regular moderate exercise: minimum 4x week 45 minutes combination of aerobic and resistance is essential to control insulin levels and for stress management. 

• Castor oil pack: Apply organic castor oil on lower abdomen with hot water bottle on top, ½ hour three times a week which is anti-inflammatory and helps you relax.

• Adopt a lifestyle that balances work and relaxation, allowing some time to have fun, relax and have a good laugh! Consider a massage fortnightly, meditation, breathing techniques, aromatherapy, acupuncture, yoga, relaxing hot bath with lavender oil

• I specialise in treating women with PCOS and find that most women benefit from herbal medicines to rebalance their hormones and regulate their periods. Naturopathic treatment does not interfere with IVF treatment and increases fertility. 

• Using the work of Christiane Northrup, author of Women’s Bodies Women’s Wisdom, and the work of Vianna Stibal, ThetaHealing®, the emotional connections to PCOS are discussed to address any underlying emotional issues or creativity blocks so as to create healthy boundaries in all areas of your life. Claudette’s supportive approach makes this journey towards optimum health and balance rewarding and empowering. 

Natural Remedies for Allergy Relief

Spring has arrived and with it misery for about 20% of the Australian population.Whether the culprit be dust mites, pollens, grasses, pollutants or foods, these allergens trigger the production of antibodies known as immunoglobulin E (IgE). These IgE antibodies then attach to specific immune cells known as mast cells and basophils causing them to release copious amounts of histamine and inflammatory chemicals. This results in the annoying symptoms of allergy such as runny itchy nose, watery eyes, irritated throat, skin rash and asthma.

Just as we need to spring clean the house once a year, spring is when the body needs a clean out as well to decrease the toxic load. Natural remedies work well to improve drainage and circulation of sinus/nasal passages, improve immunity, decrease allergic response and membrane inflammation.

• Avoid Dairy, Sugars, soy milk and alcohol which all produce excess mucous and phlegm
• Drink lots of Water! Try 3 days of only water, freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit juices. Sip on fresh ginger slices in hot water or fenugreek, peppermint or chamomile teas. Squeeze ½ lemon into your water jug/bottle.
• Stop it before it starts! If it starts with an infectious bang, take homeopathic Aconite; for sneezing, take homeopathic Euphrasia; for a runny nose, take homeopathic Allium Cepa. Ask your local homeopath or health food store.
• Eat as much onions, garlic, ginger, chilli, horseradish as you like, or other people can tolerate, as they are a natural antibiotic, will flush out excess mucous and decrease inflammation. A wonderful disguise for children or adults who do not like the taste is to slice an onion and pour a tablespoon of raw honey over the top. Keep it in the fridge in an airtight container and in 24 hours you have a sweet antibiotic syrup. A teaspoon/day of the liquid syrup helps kill any germs!
• Increase your Vitamins. Take Vitamins C, A, Bioflavonoids and Zinc in one tablet or formula together daily. This will boost your immune system as well as decrease inflammation of the sinus/nasal passages. 
• Herbal Magic. My favourite herbal mix for allergies includes Echinacea, Eyebright, Golden Rod, Golden Seal and Albizzia. These herbs decrease the allergy response and speed your recovery. 
• Sinus Drainage Massage: 10 drops of eucalyptus or chamomile essential oils into 10ml rosehip/olive oil and massage around sinuses, inside nostrils, base of nose 3x day for 3 days. 
• Steam Inhalations: add 6 drops of oils above to a bowel of hot water/bath/hot shower or to palms of hands & cup over nose. 
• Salt Water Wash. Mix ½ tsp of sea salt to 1 cup water and use a dropper or neti pot to clear wash out your sinuses.Swimming in the ocean will have the same effect!
• Exercise. Regular exercise that is stimulating and FUN helps unclog sinuses, increases circulation and reminds us to enjoy life! Try skin brushing each morning before showering.

If these handy hints do not provide relief, book in for a comprehensive, individual treatment plan.