This month’s case study is 40 year old ‘Suzanne’ who came to the Clinic for a New Year detox!

For the past year I had generally been feeling lethargic, my skin was dull, I felt bloated a lot of the time and I was gaining weight. I knew my diet could be better but never really got around to changing it. I worked long hours and often got home late so the last thing I wanted to do was prepare time consuming meals. A colleague at work had recently been to see a nutritionist at the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic who changed her diet and she was like a new person! I decided that a New Year meant a new me and I was the only person who could make the changes. I was fed up never feeling 100% healthy so I picked up the phone and booked my first appointment.

 

I spoke to a very helpful receptionist at the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic who explained how the clinic works and what I could expect from my first consultation. She sent a comprehensive questionnaire for me to complete and return for the nutritionist to review before meeting me.  I felt like a hypochondriac as I was going through underlining symptoms that I frequently suffered with – lack of energy, lack lustre skin, irritability, mood swings and bloating. It sounded like I was falling apart!

 

I met with the nutritionist 2 weeks later and she went through my questionnaire with me. It was very reassuring to see that she had already been through my questionnaire before meeting with me. We both agreed that the main purpose of my consultation was to generally improve my diet and I suppose give me an MOT! She explained that by addressing one key area, it can have an overall positive impact on all health aspects.   

 

The nutritionist was quite concerned by the quantity of caffeine and sugar I was consuming and the lack of fresh foods. I knew my caffeine intake had increased over the years because as my work load became heavier and I became more fatigued, the caffeine would help me through the day! The sugary biscuits and chocolate had become a daily ‘fix’ which I suppose I was addicted to. I did eat a lot of packaged foods due to lack of time. Because I was putting on weight I was choosing the low calorie/fat range of meals because I thought this was healthy. The nutritionist explained that these ‘so called’ healthy foods are in fact not at all healthy because they contain unnatural ingredients like artificial sweeteners and additives. She recommended that I try to cook from the raw ingredients as much as possible but fully appreciated the pressures of modern day living. If I was to buy packaged food like jars of curry ‘ sauce’ or soups to always read the ingredients. She said that if there were ingredients which were unidentifiable then I shouldn’t eat it! One thing that really made sense was try to think about how we evolved as a human being and this was to eat fresh, unadulterated foods – not processed foods with artificial ingredients.

 

She explained that fresh, healthy food doesn’t have to be time consuming. There are always short cuts and she gave me lots of helpful tips so I could incorporate these changes easily into my lifestyle.  

 

The nutritionist asked me to try and avoid sugar until my next appointment and reduce my coffee intake. I thought this would be incredibly hard, but after the first couple of days adjusting, it was easier than I imagined. I used some lovely herbal teas and a great coffee substitute which did in fact taste quite similar to the real thing! I snacked on oatcakes and hummus and organic dried fruit and nuts. She even gave me a simple recipe for homemade fruit and nut bars which were so easy and tasted amazing! I was eating more soups and salads with fish and beans for lunch and similar for the evening. It was so easy to put peppers, courgettes, onions and garlic into a roasting dish with olive oil and stick some salmon on top to cook in the oven. This took me the same time as it did to wait for a packaged meal to cook and it was so much cheaper, plus tasted nicer!  

  

The nutritionist explained that it’s not just about our diet when we think about detoxing – we also need to think about the products we use on our body and in our homes because many of the ingredients are highly toxic. She recommended an excellent range of natural skincare products from shampoo and body moisturiser to natural makeup. All of these natural products had been approved by Dr Marilyn Glenville.

 

I suppose I never really thought about the impact of makeup and certainly not household products on my health. The nutritionist told me about parabens (preservatives) and sodium lauryl sulphate (foaming agent) which have been linked to cancer. She explained that deodorant containing aluminium has specifically been linked to breast cancer which really worried me because I had a strong family history. The nutritionist recommended I use a natural deodorant stone which contained no harsh chemicals or perfumes and was potassium based. I was a little nervous about using this but I must say it worked as well as my usual roll on deodorant. The rose oil for my face was particularly nourishing and had a wonderful natural scent.

 

I had a follow up consultation in 8 weeks so the nutritionist could see how I was getting on with my new eating plan and new products. I told her that within a week of starring on the programme I was feeling less bloated, particularly from around my face which a lot of people commented on and by the 4^th week, my skin felt brighter and the dark circles under my eyes were fading. I had definitely lost weight without even trying and I actually had managed to give up coffee altogether which I never imagined would be possible! I had so much more energy and this helped me to feel more motivated to prepare and cook lovely meals. I can’t believe how I lived on packaged foods for so long!

 

I was won over by the natural skin and homecare products and bought some of the gift packs for my friends. I’m definitely converted and would never go back to using anything with harsh chemicals. It has definitely taught me to read labels – not just on food but on what I’m using on my skin and in the house.

 

I am so pleased that I decided to book the consultation. I usually suffer with the ‘January blues’ and dread the first few months and now I feel motivated and ready for the year ahead. My colleagues and friends have noticed such a difference in me too. Thank you so much to my nutritionist and all the team at The Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic for their help and support and for changing not just my health but my attitude and awareness.

 

Marilyn’s Comment

 

Suzanne has come on such a long way from when she first came to the clinic. Her diet had gone from containing highly processed foods, lots of caffeine and sugar and very little fresh foods. She now eats well and enjoys it and feels the health benefits by doing so. This is such a rewarding story because unless she had taken the initiative to book the appointment she would probably still be feeling sluggish, demotivated and have dull skin. Suzanne is now a different person, not just in her health but in her attitude to what she puts in her body and on her body!

 

 

If you would like to find out more about our clinics and the products mentioned, then please see the Resources Page.

 

This month’s case study is 30 year old ‘Amy’ who came to the Clinic to help with constipation and bloating

For as long as I can remember I had had ‘sluggish’ bowels but always thought this was normal for me. I was talking to a friend about it and she was horrified to hear that I only opened my bowels once or twice a week (if I was lucky)! She asked if I felt unwell with it – bloated and tired and I admitted that I felt incredibly bloated but again just thought that was me and my body. I did find this quite unpleasant if I wanted to go out for the evening and wear something quite ‘figure hugging’ because I looked 6 months pregnant and felt very self-conscious. During the day I usually disguised this with baggy tops! I decided to visit my doctor to see if there was anything I could do. She suggested that I eat plenty of roughage in my diet including lots of bran and wholemeal bread. She also prescribed me a laxative.

 

I went away and put this into place and it sounded strange but my bowels seemed to be even more blocked and I was experiencing a lot more bloating and lower abdominal pain. All of the roughage just felt like it was swelling and ‘bunging me up’. I took the laxative which did get things moving, but left me feeling quite ‘raw’ inside. I told my friend about this and she suggested I should see a nutritionist who would know more specifically the foods to eat or cut out. She had been to see a nutritionist at The Dr Glenville Clinic for general health and highly recommended I go. I phoned the number straight away and explained to one of the practitioners what my symptoms were and she said they could help.

 

Before my first consultation I was sent a comprehensive questionnaire to complete and return for the nutritionist to review before meeting me. I was very excited by this and set about filling it in. It really made me think about how I was feeling and symptoms like lack of energy, bloating and excessive wind came up.

 

I met with the nutritionist 2 weeks later and she went through my questionnaire with me, asking me lots of questions and then summarising what she thought was happening and then giving me recommendations to help. The nutritionist explained that stress can be a major contributing factor to constipation.  The stress response in humans is designed to allow you to flee or fight a foe or enemy.  These occasions make extra demands on our energy and you would not be eating at that time.  Energy is therefore naturally diverted away from the digestive tract at times of stress.  The natural movement of the bowel stops (causing constipation) and the natural secretion of enzymes that help us to digest our food is reduced. She said that I should never ‘eat on the run’ and always set time aside for eating. I admitted that I was guilty of rushing my lunch at work and sometimes missing out altogether because I rarely felt hungry. She said this was commonly associated with constipation because if the bowel is not emptied the digestive system can feel like it is permanently full. 

 

The nutritionist was alarmed at how much wheat and bran I was consuming and I explained that my doctor had recommended this to ‘get things moving.’ She said that ironically, although high bran based diets have always been recommended, we now know that too much wheat can create more of a ‘binding’ effect and actually slow down gut function and make bloating a lot worse. She explained that more and more people are becoming intolerant to wheat because we simply overload our systems with it, plus the way that modern day wheat is grown and indeed loaves of bread are made is very different to 30 years ago. Modern day wheat has a higher gluten (protein) content making it ‘sticker’ and more indigestible.

 

I didn’t realise just how dangerous it could be not to have a daily bowel movement. She basically said that the toxins generated from our liver (from foods we eat, fumes we inhale and our own hormones) simply get reabsorbed back into the bloodstream, rather than being excreted through the bowel. In the longer term this can lead to malabsorption of vital nutrients, feeling lethargic, hormone imbalance and even an increased risk of colon cancer.

 

She asked me to avoid all wheat (including bread, pasta, cereals, biscuits and cakes) for the next month and use alternatives like brown rice, rye crispbreads and oats. I thought this would be really hard but so many places now offer wheat free options. The nutritionist also asked me to incorporate golden linseeds on a daily basis as these act as a natural ‘bulking agent’, thereby promoting a healthier motion, plus more effective and natural than the laxative my doctor had prescribed. She had asked me to increase my intake of water which was something I struggled with. She said that warm water with a little squeeze of fresh lemon makes it easier to drink.

 

The nutritionist recommended that I also perform a stool analysis to check my levels of good and bad bacteria as an imbalance of these can worsen the constipation. Of course, I had to start the programme first in order to get my bowels regulated before I could provide my samples!

 

Within 2 days my bowels were working! I could not believe the difference in my stomach. I had no bloating, I felt so much lighter and felt more energised. I managed to perform the stool analysis and sent my samples off to the lab as requested. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be! I was really enjoying my new way of eating and didn’t feel I was missing out at all. Even going out for dinner with friends there was always a wheat free option. I found that I was generally eating better and getting more fresh foods because where I would have eaten a sandwich for lunch I was having fish, hummus, eggs and salad.

 

We arranged my follow up consultation to allow time for the results of my stool analysis to be back. Before looking at the results, the nutritionist asked me how I had been getting on and I told her that I didn’t know myself! I had gone from having one or two bowel movements a week to going every day! The results of the stool test showed I had very low levels of the good bacteria, particularly bifidobacterium. She explained that having low levels of the good bacteria makes us more bloated and the bowels become more sluggish. She recommended that I take a supplement containing this good strain of bacteria to help ‘recolonise’ my colon.

 

The nutritionist was very pleased with my progress and recommended that I return in another 12 weeks to review me. She said that I may not need to avoid wheat altogether in the longer term, but to certainly keep it to the minimum and not go back to how I was when I first came to the clinic! I knew that I would never to that! All I can say is thank you so much to The Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic for all their help and support and I just wish I had found out about them sooner.

 

This Christmas I’ll be wearing my party dress without worrying how bloated I look and I certainly won’t be tempted to eat all the bread rolls on the table!

 

Marilyn’s Comment

 

Constipation is such a common ‘condition’ in our modern day lives – we have less time to actually go to the toilet and our diets contain so much more wheat and processed foods and less fresh food. Unfortunately there is still a lot of confusion surrounding constipation and it is still widely recommended (particularly by the medical profession) that a high wheat-fibre and bran diet is consumed. However, this is just one case where in fact too much can make digestion worse. Providing good, wholesome substitutes are eaten in its place like brown rice and oats, there are no implications to cutting wheat (or certainly reducing it) out of the diet.

 

Amy’s story is a good example of just how important it is to listen to your body and not just ‘put up’ or ‘get used’ to a symptom. The digestive system is one of the most important systems in the body because if this isn’t functioning optimally it can have a wide ranging impact on our entire body.

 

If you would like to find out more about our clinics and the test mentioned, then please see the resources page.

This month’s case study is 30 year old ‘Julie’ – who came to the Clinic because of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

During my early twenties while I was at university my periods became quite erratic. I would often go 3 months without a period. All the time I was at university I put this down to stress as I had heard this can interfere with our menstrual cycles. It was actually quite nice not having too many periods! When I reached 30 I suddenly started being more aware of my periods and what was happening to my body. I noticed that I was also developing more hair around my chin and inner thighs. I had developed some acne on my back which was very unusual as I had always had such clear skin. I was putting on weight rapidly, particularly around my middle,  which was also distressing. I decided to go to my GP who said that I had a condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). I asked what this meant and all he said was it was a condition of hormone imbalance and it is linked high testosterone. He recommended I go on the Pill which he said would regulate my periods. I explained that I was not keen to take the Pill and would rather have more investigations. He was reluctant to recommend anything else apart from the Pill so I decided to do my own research.

 

I searched on the Internet for PCOS and came across The Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic. I downloaded an e-book, which was very informative because it explained what PCOS was, something that my GP had never done and it gave me advice about the conventional (medical) approach and nutritional approach. This information gave me so much hope and encouragement and I was very excited. I decided to book an appointment with one of the nutritionists at the clinic because I knew I would need the motivation and support of a qualified practitioner.

 

I phoned to book my first appointment and the reception booked me and sent me a comprehensive questionnaire to complete before my first consultation. She recommended that I check my mineral levels and this could be done via a simple hair sample. I decided to go ahead with this because I thought that the more information the nutritionist would have the better able to advise. I filled in the questionnaire which was very interesting because it really made me think about my health and my diet! I must admit I was quite shocked when I saw my diet in black and white because it was very low in fresh food and far too much coffee and sugar! I found that I was constantly craving these foods so I would just give in.

 

My first appointment with the nutritionist was great – really motivating and I felt that I was being listened to finally! She explained that no definite cause has been established with PCOS but it has been suggested that the problem stems from the ovaries, which are unable to produce the hormones in the correct proportions. This in turn gives the message to the pituitary gland that the ovaries are not working properly and this gland then releases high levels of a hormone called Luteinising Hormone (LH) which results in an irregular cycle and low progesterone. Another reason is that some women just simply can’t deal effectively with the level of hormones which then gives rise to higher oestrogen and testosterone. Blood sugar imbalance has also been linked with PCOS which gives rise to the weight gain and high testosterone. The more insulin that is circulating will encourage the ovaries to produce even more testosterone and so the cycle continues. The nutritionist explained that the conventional approach is to recommend the contraceptive pill and/ or a drug called metformin which is given to Type II diabetics to control their blood sugar. She explained that treatments like the Pill are only going to mask the underlying hormone imbalance and yes it would bring a regular but artificial cycle back for me, but usually reverts back once it is stopped. Metformin comes with digestive disturbance like nausea and diarrhoea, plus there is no scientific evidence to suggest that it does actually help with PCOS! I knew now more than ever that I wanted to support myself naturally.

 

The nutritionist pointed out that my diet was too high in starchy carbohydrates, i.e. white bread and white rice and lots of sugar and caffeine. I explained that I felt I needed these because I was craving them but she said this in fact is very common when blood sugar levels are unstable. The more insulin being produced in response to an high starch/sugar and caffeine diet the more likely the body will develop ‘insulin resistance’ whereby our cells cannot utilise the sugar and it then gets converted and stored as fat. This is when the weight creeps up around the middle area. The higher insulin then leads to higher circulating testosterone. She suggested that I ate less starchy carbohydrates, avoiding altogether after 6pm and eating plenty of fresh vegetables and protein (fish, eggs, beans, quinoa and nuts and seeds). She gave me a menu planner to give me some suggestions, which was very helpful. The nutritionist asked me to reduce my coffee intake to 1 cup per day and to always have it alongside a meal so not on an empty stomach. She told me to slowly reduce it so I would not get a headache! She also said that I had to eat every three hours to keep my blood sugar stable as any longer would result in fluctuations which are not conducive to hormonal balance.

 

The nutritionist went through my hair mineral analysis results and it showed I was low in zinc and chromium. She explained that chromium is an important mineral for regulating our blood sugar and therefore reducing cravings for sugar and caffeine. She recommended I take a supplement of chromium (which would work in a similar way to metformin) to help address this deficiency. Zinc is key to the health of the reproductive system and plays a role in the regulation of blood sugar level. It is also needed to produce adequate levels of sex hormones.

 

She talked about herbs and how they can be very supportive for addressing the underlying hormone imbalance, having a ‘nurturing’ effect on the pituitary gland and ovaries. She prescribed me a formula containing black cohosh, agnus castus and milk thistle which would help to lower LH levels, support the liver and hopefully regulate my cycle. Alongside this, she recommended a good multi vitamin and mineral, a fish oil supplement and the chromium and zinc I was deficient in from the Hair Mineral Analysis.

 

I followed the diet for 8 weeks and in that time started to feel the day-to-day benefits. I had more energy, my skin seemed to be clearing and I had had a period! I couldn’t believe it as I hadn’t had a period for 3 months! I was so excited and at that point I went back for my follow up consultation. The nutritionist was extremely pleased with my progress and recommended that I continue the programme for another 8 weeks and then re-assess. She explained that the herbs would be a medium term support and after we had managed to reinstate a cycle, we could slowly take them away until the herbs could be stopped altogether.

 

After 16 weeks, my cycle had started to regulate and I had lost a significant amount of weight. I was delighted! I had lots of lovely comments from friends and family and this really encouraged me to continue with all my hard work. I am now a year on since visiting the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic and blood tests have shown that my hormones are getting back into balance and I have a 32-day cycle. I still have some excess hair but much lighter in colour so this is a positive sign.

 

All I can say is ‘thank you’ to The Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic for supporting me and helping me get my hormones and life back on track. It is so frustrating when doctors only every recommend drugs when I know for myself that nutrition can really help.

 

My Comments

 

Julie’s story just shows how effective changing your diet and using highest quality supplements and herbs can help to balance female hormones. As we know from her story, doctors are quick to recommend the Pill but it simply suppresses the root cause of the condition and once the Pill is taken away, more often than not the hormone imbalance returns, often more severe.

 

Julie has made some excellent progress with her diet and she went from living on caffeine and sugar to now limiting these and eating an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables and protein. This has really helped her to get where she is today. Although the supplements and the herbs have been very beneficial, it is the combination of everything that really works rather than just one aspect.  

 

If you are interested in having the test mentioned here please see the resources page.