Category Archives for "Immune System"
March 20, 2018
R4 – Reduce Inflammation
Are you burning up?
If you’re reading this then I’m 100% certain that this article is of prime importance to either you, or someone very close to you.
There is a large body of evidence that suggests inflammation is the root cause of cancer, diabetes, thyroid disorders, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and many other chronic diseases.
It can even be behind the inability to lose weight.
Before watching my training video inspired by Dr Pompa, and originally part of www.Mi365.me, here’s a personal story as told by a colleague of mine in the USA:
And here’s my longer training (you may want to get cup of the anti-inflammatory coffee I recommend):
Inflammation of the cell membrane that affects the way the cell communicates, detoxes and will ultimately change gene expression, leading to a diseases of genetic weakness.
There are 3 main contributors that always need to be addressed in order to down-regulate inflammation.
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Controlling glucose/insulin
Keeping tight control of your glucose intake is of paramount importance for any anti-inflammation program to be effective as it is a driving force that cannot be remedied by any supplementation or drug protocol. For example, diabetics do not die from diabetes, but from other degenerative conditions. Despite being on medication, 68% of all diabetics die from heart disease, and 50% of diabetics end up with dementia or Alzheimer’s as they age rapidly from the inside out.
This is directly due to the oxidation/inflammation from uncontrolled glucose and insulin.
By the way, grains, not sugar, are the #1 contributor to elevated glucose. Yes, even whole grains. Did you know that 2 pieces of whole grain toast or a bowl of oatmeal raises glucose the same as a can of Coke? This is why a Cellular Healing Diet eliminates ALL GRAINS from the diet UNTIL cellular inflammation is corrected.
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Eliminate “bad fats”.
What are ‘bad fats’? Well it may surprise you to know that the worse culprit is probably omega 6 fats from all the processed vegetable oils we’ve been told to consume! All the sunflower and rape seed oils we buy in supermarkets to cook in, and that are added to all baked goods.
These oils are causing massive imbalance in the oily make up of our cell membranes and are a major cause of inflammation and artery damage.
You need no worry about eating sunflower seeds though – it’s just the processed oils.
Another inflammatory fat (no surprises) is that found in processed meats and beef from non-grass fed cows.
On the other hand, limited fats from grass fed cows are fine (and contain the beneficial omega 3 oils).
You can learn more by downloading Dr Pompa’s ebook, The Cellular Healing Diet, here:
https://drpompa.com/diet/cellular-healing-diet
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The Hidden and Unspoken Truth
Lastly, toxins, in my opinion, are the biggest driving factor of inflammation today. We have discussed this in every ‘R’ of cellular healing, so I will not get into it here but I will say this: if you do not remove the hidden sources of toxins within your body, the chronic inflammation will NEVER be resolved.
For example, personal care products you use every morning contain, on average, 518 chemicals that are known “hormone disruptors”.
There are also the pollutants and toxins in the air we breath (which kills between 20,000 and 240,000 people in the UK every year), the tap water we drink (a known cause of male infertility) and all the pesticides and herbicides on our fruit and veg.
Here’s Dr Pompa’s pdf on inflammation:
R4-Reducing-Cellular-Inflammation-030616
If you have not already started, know would be a good time to ask us about detox!
March 15, 2018
Fix The Cell To Get Well: R1
R1: Remove the Source
Summary:
The body has an innate ability to heal.
One of the most important things we need to do as therapists is remove the interference, remove the source of the problem/toxicity.
Toxins like mercury leach into the hypothalamus and pituitary.
Once we can impact the cell we can impact so much more going on in the body.
Making ATP (energy) creates waste – must be removed trough membrane like smoke through a chimney.
One main pathway – Glutathione.
Reduced Glutathione removes toxins and down-regulates inflammation.
500x stronger than vit C
Oxidized glutathione needs to be recycled which is ‘expensive’ metabolically
Inflammation is linked to a root cause of cancer, diabetes, thyroid disorders, arthritis, ALZHEIMER’S
And even the inability to lose weight
Its all because of cell membrane inflammation which then effects your DNA
Inflammation of the cell membrane affects the way the cell communicates detoxes and will ultimately change gene expression, which leads to a diseases of genetic weakness.
You can learn more in this document:
November 21, 2017
Protected: The 7 Week Anti-Aging Plan Part 2
March 29, 2017
Glutathione, Pollution, and Your Health
Glutathione, Pollution, and Your Health
A 2017 update on more ways to boost glutathione, decrease body pollution, and help achieve better weight and World Peace too (I dare you to help)
Ageing can be thought of as a form of rusting.
Rusting is exacerbated by oxidation – which happens naturally when you exercise, and as part of life, and it is accelerated by pollution and toxins in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and even the 200 chemicals in our bathrooms and cleaning products.
Of all the molecules our body makes to protect us against this onslaught, glutathione is arguably the most important.
But even glutathione itself is under attack by medicine we think of as safe – paracetamol and Calpol.
Watch the video and read the article for more information:
Your glutathione levels fall, by about 10% to 15% per decade!
Decreased glutathione levels result in accelerated aging, low energy, higher inflammation, and a greater vulnerability to cell damage and disease
Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant .
It functions both as an antioxidant and an antitoxin and is a major defence against illness and aging. Our glutathione levels indicate our state of health and can predict longevity. There are more than 60,000 published papers on the beneficial effects of glutathione.
Possible warning signs you have low glutathione:
- abdominal pains
- diarrhoea
- headaches
- joint pains
- depression
- rashes
- lack of energy
- frequent colds
- shaky hands after exertion
Some of the many functions of glutathione:
- required to get rid of heavy metal toxicity (included are mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium)
- boosts white blood cell formation, which helps boost immunity/immune system
- used by the body to neutralize/remove things like formaldehyde, car exhaust chemicals, cigarette smoke, and certain pharmaceuticals, pesticide and industrial chemicals, steroids, bacterial produced toxins, and alcohol
- plays a role in DNA repair
- anti-viral properties
- positively affects insulin production and control by the pancreas
- can help decrease/reverse cataracts
And most importantly for energy production: glutathione is the only anti-oxidant inside mitochondria, which are the energy producing factories in our cells.
If you have a sedentary, non-stressful life then you should be getting enough nutrients to make glutathione if you eat plenty of organic nuts, seeds, avocados, eggs, lentils and lots of veg, some high quality grass fed meat.
If you are under stress, have any of the symptoms listed above, or exercise, then it would be advisable to take at least a good multivit/mineral with HIGH amounts of B vitamins in, and whey protein from organic, grass fed cows.
We can give you more advice on the products we use at the clinic on your next appointment.
January 28, 2017
Permanent Perfect Eating for Permanent Weight Loss 2 – Cultured Foods
Cultured Foods and Fermented Foods: What are they and why are they so good for us?
What are cultured and fermented foods?
Cultured foods and fermented foods are natural ways humans have consumed probiotics for thousands of years. They don’t just provide a greater range of bacteria than the commercial yogurts, they also deliver more nutrition. There is a whole range, catering for all tastes – vegetables, dairy products, cereals, fish, just about everything. You can make them yourself, or you can buy the read made. I’ve put some resources at the end.
Why are cultured food and fermented foods so good for us?
To understand just why cultured or fermented foods are so important to our health, an introduction to the ‘microbiome’ is needed.
Dr.Martin Blaser, the director of NYU’s Human Microbiome Program has written an important book on a subject all health care providers should be aware of. The subject is the microbiome. The book is called “Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues”.
Dr Blaser points out that since World War II there has been a huge rise in a number of diseases, especially allergies, autoimmunity and obesity. Instead of going down the usual route of looking for individual causes for individual conditions, the world’s collective microbiome projects are pointing to just one major cause of many different problems – the upsetting of the natural order of things in the collection of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microbes that SHOULD be living inside of us, that have a purpose, and a vested interest in keeping us all healthy and well.
We are full of so many of these microscopic bugs that up to 90 percent of all the cells in the human body aren’t human at all — they’re micro-organisms.
The major reasons our microbiome is in such big trouble?
There are a number of factors. One is to do with our previous attempts of staying healthy: Antibiotics, antibacterial soaps, or even just too much washing
Another is the over medicalisation of natural processes – C-sections at birth (far higher than ever before).
Another is agricultural chemicals and industrial pollution.
Even chlorinated water is harmful to good bacteria.
You can read more in Dr Blaser’s book: “Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues”
It’s About DNA too
It’s not just the microbes that are important, it’s actually their genes, Professor Jeroen Raes has this to say:
“We have about 100 times more microbial genes than human genes in the body.”
And there’s more … proteins made from fungus and bacteria called micro RNA circulate in our blood stream. It’s estimated that about 25% of the microRNA circulating in our blood is not human (and nor should it be).
This means that what is living within us actually makes up our genetics. Which also means a lot of our ‘genetics’ is not just what our parents gave us, it is a choice too. This gives us power over our health.
What are the benefits of healthy gut bacteria?
what kind of roles to healthy gut bacteria play for us?
A healthy ratio of good to bad gut bacteria is also essential for:
- Proper development and function of your immune system
- Protection against over-growth of other microorganisms that could cause disease
- Digestion of food and absorption of nutrients
The probiotics in your gut also play a role in helping numerous bodily functions, such as:
- Digesting and absorbing certain carbohydrates
- Producing vitamins, absorbing minerals and eliminating toxins
- Keeping bad bacteria under control
- Preventing allergies
We also know that certain gut bacteria have an effect on brain function, so not only are there probiotics, there are now psychobiotics!
Don’t forget your mouth
It’s not just your gut that needs to be filled with happy bacteria. Your mouth is now emerging as another place we have killed off what makes us healthy.
The best place to learn about the mouth microbiome is from dentist Dr Gerry (this is an affiliate link so if you do buy his toothpaste I’ll make a few cents) – http://shrsl.com/?fbx8
The New Solution To Gut Health
Before we get to the cultured and fermented foods themselves there is one more BIG concept to get. This is something very new, and you may well be one of the first people in the UK (or anywhere) to learn about this.
Cutting edge research has found that even more fundamental to the microbiome then the actual microbes is there communication system. I won’t go into details, I’ll let you watch this interview between one of my mentors, Dr Dan Pompa, and the discoverer of the microbe communication system.
To cut a long story short, if you have gut health issues – leaky gut, irritable bowel, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or you were born by C-section or have a child born by C-section, then you need to try Restore before you spend any money on probiotics.
You can learn more about Restore here – http://restore4life.com/about-good-gut-health/
We do not yet stock it in the clinic but you can get it from the Finchley Clinic (not to do with me, and service can be a bit slow at times, but it’s worth it):
Cultured Food and Fermented Food Recipes and Resources
For cultured foods, here’s some links to recipes to try, and places to buy them ready made.
The Benefits of Cultured Dairy and Cultured Vegetables with Recipes
These are places in the UK to purchase ready made fermented products
http://www.realfoods.co.uk/article/fermentation
http://www.mufarosfamilyfoods.com/
There are plenty more foods to explore on Google, here’s just a few:
Kimchi (Korean food, and as it gets more popular you’ll soon have a restaurant near you!)
Koji
Kefir
Kombucha
Sauerkraut
Here’s Part 1 of my Permanent Perfect Eating Plan for Permanent Healthy Weight, and do call us if you have health issues as expert guidance can be a shortcut to good health
Permanent Perfect Eating, for Permanent Weight Loss, Part 1 – Intermittent Fasting
November 9, 2016
Happy World Freedom Day
Happy World Freedom Day
This is an email I sent to patients today (9/11/16)
Yes, it really is World Freedom Day. (..and health freedom for you if you keep reading)
It was mentioned on ClassicFM this morning, and along with Trump winning the US election, and the recent UK Brexit vote and it started me thinking.
…and then I listened to my favourite morning motivation – Pete Cohen at www.Mi365.me and he had made me think even more.
Pete said that nothing you can do today will change the outcome of the two recent votes.
Life isn’t about what happens outside of us, it’s what we choose to do with these ‘happenings’ that determines our future.
Today you can choose to ‘Vote for Yourself’, you can grab your own headlines.
…and so I thought, ‘What is my manifesto, what would I do if I had millions of pounds to run for office?’
This made me realise that my manifesto needs no multi-million pound campaign. I can start right now.
You see, what I want, is to make my community the healthiest, happiest place to live in Great Britain. I want to make Great Britain the healthiest, happiest country in the world. I want the World to take note, and become a healthier, happier planet for my children to enjoy.
At the moment in the UK, our amazing NHS is under crippling pressure, and prescriptions for anti-depressants and mood altering drugs is spiralling upwards out of control. We are getting sicker and less happy.
But do you know what the shocking truth is?
About 50% of everyone depending on expensive medication could be off it in 6 months with just one change! One FREE change.
This would mean in one year the entire health of the nation would be vastly improved, the NHS saved, and more able to cope with emergencies, which would make us all happier.
So, would you like to know what that one change is?
A change that can improve heart disease, diabetes and dementia?
A change that alters DNA and decreases cancer risks?
A change that can lead to permanent fat loss, better moods, clearer thinking and less pain?
All you have to do is make a choice that will change your life for the better, forever.
I’m already sharing this patients this week as I learned of new discoveries this weekend, but I’m going to get very public about it, especially if you decide to help me save the NHS.
For 7 weeks, every week day, from next Monday, I’ll be doing a ‘Live’ broadcast:
https://www.facebook.com/BodyInBalanceUK/
You don’t have to wait until Monday though, as you can get onto Facebook today as I start sharing my NHS-M: National Health Saving Manifesto, later today – 2pm.
I also plan to hold a talk in Brookmans Park within the next 4 weeks, going into detail on the ‘one change’.
For now, get onto Facebook and tell your family and friends it’s time to vote for themselves.
Look out for another email on Friday from me.
Be Well
Chris
01707 662 704
June 9, 2015
How to Detox Part 2
The Niacin and Sauna Detox
Detox Through Your Skin
Your skin is another major organ of elimination, but many people do not sweat on a regular basis. This may be due to wearing synthetic or tight clothing that does not breathe. Sedentary living and sun damage also inactivate your skin
Dr. George Yu, agraduate of Tufts University Medical School, did his surgical training at Harvard and Johns Hopkins. For the last 35 years, he’s been associated with George Washington University.
He developed a detox method used to treat Gulf War Syndrome in US veterans, and is supported by the US government.
“Of course, a lot of substances come out from your body. But the two biggest surface areas are the skin and the GI tract. In our clinic, we started thinking that we have to mobilize it not only from the skin by sweating after we use the niacin, but also using the GI tract to pull it out,” Dr. Yu explains.
“One of the things that I want to clarify is that people think detoxification is the process. I think it’s actually mobilization of the toxic chemicals, and then having a way to eliminate it and to excrete it out.
‘Detoxification’ by medical terms is only in the liver. That’s very important. But to mobilize things quickly, you have to use this kind of [mobilization and elimination] system.”
The basic protocol is to take high doses of niacin, (vitamin B3) which helps break down fat and release toxins. You need the form that makes your skin flush. You then exercise and go into a sauna to sweat.
Work up to a dose of 5,000 milligrams (mg) of niacin over the course of 30 days. Ordinarily however, 100 mg of niacin, once to twice per week, will be sufficient for most people
In terms of timing, you’ll want to begin your exercise 20 minutes after taking the niacin. Exercise for about 20 minutes, making sure you’re really breaking a sweat, then get into the sauna for up to an hour.
Again, do NOT try this without consulting a health care professional. Call us on 01707 662 704 for more help.
June 9, 2015
How to Detox
How to detox, who needs to detox, and what is detox anyway?
Updated Sept 2017
There are 2 detox programs we use at Body In Balance.
We use the 90 day True Cellular Detox Program which is easy for anyone to do, and more importantly it is effective. We are the only people in the UK to offer this program.
The second program we use is an Intense 7 Day detox (and milder 30 day followup) which we use to get fast change in those who can tolerate it:
More on how we rebuild cells so you can heal and detox
What is a ‘Detox’, and Who Needs It?
Let’s start with the who…
Who Needs Detox
First off, people who are exposed regularly to toxins – which does not just mean industrial chemists. Dentists and hair dressers, and people who smoke – or who have smoked in the past. Remember, hair colouring is a toxic chemical, most make up and perfumes, and massive tattoos are also full of crud.
The truth is though, that there are so many toxins in the environment now that most of us have between 200 and 700 man made chemicals inside us!
Nasty.
5 Reasons You Need to Detox according to Mark Hyman ND
1. You have FLC Syndrome: Feel Like Crap.
You wake up feeling less than a million dollars!. You have symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, achiness, digestive issues, allergies, headaches. Most of us don’t connect what we’re eating to how we feel
2. You can’t lose weight and keep it off (you want to fit into your jeans).
The scientific establishment has convinced us that losing weight is just a matter of calories in/calories out, that it’s about energy balance, about eating less and exercising more. How’s that working out for you? Possibly not so well! Problem is, the scientific establishment is different from the established science. The science says sugar and flour calories are WAY different from fat calories. Sugar triggers addiction, insulin release, inflammation, and belly fat storage. Fat does not do that. Avoid nonsense such as low fat foods – including skimmed milk (it contains more sugar than full fat milk)
3. You can’t control your sugar and carb cravings (you may be suffering from food addiction – see above).
The fact is that sugar and flour are biologically addictive.. They takeover of your taste buds, brain chemistry, hormones and metabolism. Sugar is eight times more addictive than cocaine. If you are trying to use willpower alone to lose weight you may fail.
4. You never have detoxed.
Most of us have never in our life taken 7 days to put nothing in our bodies but delicious, whole clean food. Just 7 days. Even if you think you are healthy and feel good, you may not realize that your normal state is not your optimal state. Think of it as a tune-up, a super-quick, super-easy way to supercharge your health.
As I said in the video – Dr Bob Rakowski even gets elite, Olympic athletes to do better after 7 days on his detox protocol.
5. You need a STAYCATION.
All of us stray from living in a way that supports our health: too little sleep, too little exercise, too much bad food, too much stress, not enough time for ourselves. The best way to reset your life is a 7-day detox. Simple, delicious foods. No toxins or drugs, by which I mean sugar, flour, processed foods, caffeine or alcohol. Self-nurturing practices: deep breathing, sleeping 7-8 hours a night, a little exercise, self-love. All this works to get your body and mind back to their original factory settings—and quickly!
What is a Detox Anyway
Cleanses and detoxes are trendy, popular, and promise to clear out nasty toxins from your
body and make you healthier. Chemicals from pesticides, chlorine, bleach and ammonia, and carbon monoxide build up over time and cause disease. Heavy metals are often a culprit in general ‘illness’.
For example:
• Calcium is replaced by lead, which deposits primarily in bone, and disrupts the formation of red blood cells. Lead contributes to poor bone health such as osteopenia and osteoporosis.
• Zinc is replaced by cadmium, which tends to accumulate heavily in your kidneys. Cadmium overload is associated with peripheral neuropathy.
• Magnesium is replaced by aluminum, which, among other things, induces neurochemical changes and has been identified as a contributing factor to developing Alzheimer’s.
• Manganese is replaced by nickel, which is carcinogenic.
Detoxification is growing increasingly popular.
Juice cleanses, colon cleanses, fruit detoxes, sugar detoxes—we’ve all seen these things, but do they actually work? The old idea for detoxing was to fast, but your body needs nutrients to perform optimally under any condition, and that includes performing the tasks of detoxification.
The normal pathway for toxins to move out of the body is through the liver, which converts harmful chemicals into water-soluble molecules that can be flushed out in the urine or faeces. If there’s a delay in elimination, however, those toxins remain in your system longer. As the modern western diet often leads to constipation many ‘detox’ remedies and systems are little more than laxatives – they get a sluggish system going. They will help some people feel better, but they are not truly detox solutions.
You need to establish a healthy lifestyle and dietary habits FIRST, so you have a reserve that your body can draw on to allow your liver to do its job properly.
If you fail to do this you can easily overwhelm your liver’s ability to process the toxic substances that are being eliminated and you will become very sick, wishing you had never done the detox in the first place.
The Weston A. Price diet recommendations — which were written in 1920 and still, like all truths, hold true today — includes these timeless guidelines:
• Eat foods that are natural, unprocessed, and organic (and contain no sugar except for the occasional bit of honey or maple syrup).
• Eat foods that grow in your native environment. In other words, eat locally grown, seasonal foods.
• Eat unpasteurized dairy products (such as raw milk) and fermented foods.
• Eat at least one-third of your food raw.
• Make sure you eat enough healthy fats, including those from animal sources like omega-3 fat, and reduce your intake of omega-6 from vegetable oils.
Additionally, it’s important to understand that if you’re deficient in essential metals, your body will actually use toxic heavy metals as “stand-ins” instead.
So for most people I would recommend going through the full True Cellular Detox Program, and for the more hardy, the 7 Day Intense – both supervised by a health care practitioner.
You will need the correct selection of nutrients – available here
There is another form of detox that I use and recommend….explained in Part 2
September 19, 2013
How To Beat Colds and Flu This Winter
Colds and the Flu cost the country not just millions in lost work days, but lost days from school as well. The good news is that they are mostly preventable.
The Basics
If you don’t do this, don’t blame me if you get sick!
No matter if your goal is to get healthy, or avoid sickness and disease the basics are the same for everyone:
November 10, 2010
Glutathione and Immunocal
Exercise Is Great Medicine, Especially If You Can Make Glutathione
Just as metals like iron rust when exposed to the elements, and slowly decay, so do our bodies. The process of human rusting is known as oxidation. Oxidation is thought to be one of the causes of aging, and diseases such as arthritis (rusting joints), heart disease (rusting arteries), dementia (rusting brain), some cancers (rusting immune system) and many others.