Many of us will have spent the last few weeks enjoying well-deserved Christmas festivities and probably feeling the consequences by now. Perhaps your clothes feel a little tighter? Perhaps getting up in the morning is just that bit harder or perhaps you feel tired and sluggish during the day and are struggling with spot breakouts?

If you’re finding it hard to throw yourself into the New Year with energy and enthusiasm because you don’t think you look and feel your best it could be time to give your New Year a kick start with a gentle detox.

 

Over Christmas more toxins than your digestive system can deal with are often introduced and this can explain why you may be feeling sluggish and under par. Fatigue, bloating, skin breakouts, headaches, constipation, irritability and mood swings are just a few of the symptoms of toxic build up.

 

Before you panic at the mention of the word detox it is important to stress that detoxing does NOT have to be about starving for days on end or drinking foul tasting herbal concoctions. Detoxing does not have to be painful to be good for you. In my post-Christmas detox plan below you will not be asked to fast or sweat it out in spinning classes, instead you will simply be asked to make sensible diet and lifestyle changes that can help redress that essential balance of ‘toxins in equals toxins out. You’ll be retraining your body on how and what to eat and reminding yourself that the New Year really is a time when you can look and feel your best.

 

Your post Christmas repair plan:

 

• Sleep hygiene: Just as too much food isn’t good for you too much sleep isn’t either; in fact a recent study showed that people who slept more than 8 hours a day had shorter life spans than those who slept for 6 to 8 hours.

This doesn’t mean you should skimp on sleep if you need it; quite the opposite. After all the Christmas partying, eating and drinking your body needs time to recover and during sleep your body does most of it’s repair and healing. (Sleep is also crucial for successful weight loss because sleep loss tends to increase hunger and affects your body’s metabolism making it difficult to maintain weight loss or lose weight.).

 

What it does mean, however, is that you should aim for between 6 to 8 hours of undisturbed sleep a night – no more and no less – and when you wake up in the morning instead of lying in and getting a headache you should get up, start burning calories and start enjoying the day.

• Go organic: If you make one New Year’s resolution this year why not make a promise to yourself to eat more organic produce. Organic produce is higher in nutrients and free of additives, preservatives, chemicals and other toxins that your body doesn’t want or need. Stay away from processed foods or those loaded with additives and try to eat as much organic food as possible – even more preferable if it local.  It may be a bit more expensive but organic food is better for you and you are worth it.
• Chew it over: Every time you sit down for a meal remind yourself to chew your food thoroughly; this will help your digestion.  Remember poor digestion equals toxic build up and weight gain – something you are trying to avoid.
• On waking: Drink a mug of warm water with the juice of half a lemon added and slice of ginger. This can really boost your digestion and wake up your liver. Wait 30 minutes until you have breakfast but don’t leave it any longer as this isn’t good news for your blood sugar levels.
• Drink up: Make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to help flush toxins out of your body. Tap water contains up to 800 chemicals so either filter your water or use mineral water and squashs and soft fizzy drinks.
• Green tea: Avoid alcohol, coffee and tea. Reduce your intake of these to one per day or better still swop to green tea or herbal teas with a slice of lemon.
• Increase your intake of vitamin C: This will help clear your skin after all those parties over Christmas. It also helps maintain teeth and bones and aids our absorption of iron. Great sources of vitamin C are strawberries, kiwi fruit, blueberries, broccoli, cauliflower and oranges.
• B vitamins: The B vitamins help soften the impact of alcohol on the liver and encourage cell rejuvenation. So increase your intake of energy and health boosting whole grains, legumes, green leafy vegetables, fish, especially salmon and nuts and seeds.
• Stock up on antioxidants: To combat any signs of ageing that the Christmas party season and winter central healing has brought on, you need to up your intake of foods that contain anti-oxidants. Antioxidants are powerful anti ageing (anti wrinkle) compounds found in brightly coloured fruits and vegetables like peppers, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, apricots and carrots.
• Before 8 pm: Try to eat your dinner, preferably consisting of a selection of cooked vegetables with oily fish, nuts, seeds or legumes) before 8 pm. When you go to bed your body needs to be resting not digesting.
• Psyllium: If you feel constipated over the next few weeks try to increase your intake of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes and if this doesn’t help take a natural product that contains psyllium husks to get things moving.
• Head outside: Walking for a minimum of 30 minutes a day is a great form of exercise and will blow away all those cobwebs that have accumulated from spending too much time inside. As well as being therapeutic it will also help you burn calories and lose weight. So grab your coat and scarf and head outside for plenty of fresh air and exercise.
• Body brushing: Try this once a day to boost circulation and remove toxins your body managed to move to the surface of the skin. If you haven’t done this before buy a body brush and work from the feet up, brushing in a circular, clockwise direction up towards the heart. From your chest upwards, start brushing in a downward movement as if encouraging the blood towards the heart.
• Treat yourself: If you really want to totally relax and recover then treat yourself to a spa treatment, this can be low cost and yet have loads of benefits. We all love to be relaxed and it gives us a sense of well being. So why not nip off to your local beauty salon and get a massage or facial, you will feel loads better for it.

Try not to panic:

 

Within a few weeks you’ll feel on top form again if you keep active, choose healthier options, increase your intake of fruits, vegetable and whole grains so there is a rainbow selection of colours on your plate, don’t starve yourself, drink plenty of water, enjoy your food and listen to your body. It can’t be said enough. Make this the year when you let your body tell you what it needs and can do without. Live a little, but don’t go overboard if it is only going to make you miserable the next day.

 

Believe it or not emotional upset, stress, worry and anxiety can cause your body to use up essential nutrients so try not to panic if you’ve put on a few pounds over Christmas. Most of us will gain an average of two to three pounds over Christmas but studies show that this is not an important health risk if you do not smoke and are not obese–and if, when spring comes, you can manage to shift back to your pre-Christmas weight.

And what’s the best way to do that? Just follow the guidelines above and go back to a routine of healthy eating, sleeping and regular exercise and if you haven’t been eating healthy or exercising regularly the New Year is the perfect time to start.

It may seem peculiar, but a sore throat is not necessarily the precursor to disaster and doom, or even a dose of the dreaded flu. This is because your body, however unhealthy your diet and lifestyle may be, maintains a stubborn determination to clear out toxins.

One way of doing this is to raise the temperature in the glands to burn up old rubbish – much like having a grand bonfire with all your garden junk. Another method is to expel toxins via mucous secretions. The upshot of such activity can be a sore, swollen throat with catarrhal congestion and a general feeling of concrete in the head – but this isn’t always a sign that you are going down with a cold it could be a sign that your body is trying to detox.

Although a sore throat can be a sign that your body is trying to detoxify itself if it persists for more than a few days consult your doctor. In the meantime plenty of water will help flush the system through and keep you energised. Regular doses of Vitamin C will help your immune system perform efficiently and prevent a clearout deteriorating into a serious cold or flu. Echinacea tincture can help lubricate the throat whilst delivering its immune boosting herbal effect to the body.

At the first sign of a sore throat, gargle with sage, an herb that has traditionally been used for throat infections, due to its antiseptic qualities. It can be used for mouth ulcers and inflammations, for the same reason. Sage also helps to regulate body temperature, keeping you cool whilst your body battles the bugs.

This month’s case study is ‘Clare’ – who came to the Clinic because of fibroids

Clare’s story:

I was first diagnosed with a fibroid in 2006 and although it wasn’t causing painful or heavy periods, it did cause general abdominal/pelvic tenderness. I also knew it wasn’t natural to have a large mass within the uterus and it could possibly interfere with my fertility.

My initial scan revealed that the fibroid was the size of a 16 week foetus which was quite shocking. I also had a small cyst on my right ovary. My consultant suggested that I should have a hysterectomy straight away but I felt very strongly that I didn’t want to go down this route, particularly because I hadn’t had children.

I researched Fibroids on the internet and came across The Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic and I downloaded a chapter on Fibroids. It was so useful because it the chapter was broken down into what fibroids are and the factors which cause the condition and what the medical and natural treatment options are. Rather than trying to follow the advice by myself I decided to book an appointment as I knew I would be better with professional guidance.

I phoned the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic and booked an appointment with one of the practitioners. I had read about the Hair Mineral Analysis which I was keen to do before my fist consultation so I arranged for this to be done so the results would be back before my appointment. I had to complete a very comprehensive Nutrition Questionnaire which I sent back to the practitioner so she could look through it before meeting me. This enabled me to explain more about my condition and how it was effecting my health, plus I had to fill in a 2 day diet diary. It was really helpful doing this because I didn’t realise how much caffeine and sugar I was consuming!

During my first appointment the practitioner went through my questionnaire to glean as much information as possible. She also talked me through the results of the Hair Mineral Analysis which was fascinating. It showed that I was low in the minerals zinc and chromium. Zinc is needed for hormone balance and the production of progesterone which was very relevant to my condition. Chromium is related to blood sugar stability and indirectly keeping progesterone levels high which again was relevant because I do tend to suffer with sugar cravings through the day and that mid afternoon ‘slump’!

The practitioner explained more about the nature of fibroids and how important nutritional therapy is in balancing hormone levels. Because I didn’t suffer any day to day symptoms apart from pelvic tenderness, we were concentrating on trying to reduce the size of the fibroid through diet, vitamins and minerals and herbs. She recommended that I have another scan 6 months on with my gynaecologist to assess the effectiveness of the nutrition because without a physical examination it is hard to know.

I was put on a hormone-balancing diet, which involved avoiding meat and dairy because they may contain hormones which would create more imbalance in my system. The first month I also had to avoid caffeine from tea and coffee and sugar which can all suppress the immune system and deplete my body of vital nutrients. The caffeine and sugar was in fact the hardest thing to reduce but I was obviously addicted to them after years of consuming them! After this initial detoxification period, I continued to follow the same diet because I felt so well on it.

The practitioner explained that fibroids are stimulated by excess hormones, predominantly oestrogen, which can be exacerbated by poor liver function/detoxification.

She recommended I perform a ‘Detoxification Capacity Profile.’ This involved providing a saliva and urine sample which assessed the various different stages of liver detoxification. It is well known that people with hormone imbalance often have a reduced ability to clear then hormones from their liver. The test results showed that both phases of liver detoxification were sluggish which meant the hormones were more likely to get reabsorbed back into my blood stream, setting up further hormone dominance and imbalance, which in turn ‘feed’ the fibroid and stimulate its growth. This area was supported with specific herbs and vitamins and minerals and I was advised to really increase my intake of brassica vegetables like broccoli, kale and cabbage which help to clear oestrogen efficiently from the liver. This was an area I knew I had to improve because I struggled to get my greens everyday.

Although I couldn’t measure exactly how effective the nutrition was on dealing with my fibroid I generally felt so much healthier – I had more energy, less pelvic pain and my skin looked bright and clear. 6 months after seeing the practitioner and following her recommendations, I had a follow up scan and it showed that my fibroid had reduced in size! It had shrunk from 86 x 106 mm to 78 x 66 mm and the small cyst on my ovary had totally disappeared!

My gynaecologist was quite shocked and it was only then he believed that the nutritional protocol worked and he no longer kept trying to push me to have a hysterectomy. He recommended that I have another scan 6-12 months on to keep a check on the fibroid. I was so pleased with this outcome and it made me even more confident and inspired to continue eating so well.

Based on my experience of nutritional therapy, I would recommend to anyone reading this who suffers with fibroids or other hormone imbalance to seek advice from a practitioner.

It has changed my life in so many ways not only because it has helped to reduce the size of my fibroid but I feel more educated and informed on what foods I should and shouldn’t be putting into my body. I think Drs are all too keen to recommend hysterectomy as a ‘quick fix’ solution. Not only would it have been an invasive procedure with general anaesthetic and scarring after, but it would have meant I’d never be able to have children. My message to anyone is be open minded to other treatment options before making decisions.

Marilyn’s Comments:

Claire’s story is very inspiring and a good motivation for those with fibroids or indeed any hormonal imbalance. The medical profession recommend drug therapy and/or surgery which can sometimes feel like the easy option, but Claire has shown us how effective nutritional therapy can be.

Of course, there are times when surgery is needed and in fact is essential, but even if this is the case, good nutrition is still essential to reduce the risk of reoccurrence and to help the healing process.

It also shows how conditions can vary so much in regards to the symptoms. For example some women with fibroids have extremely heavy and debilitating periods which can lead to severe anaemia and some can suffer with constant pain, tenderness and a ‘dragging ‘sensation in their pelvic area.

Claire suffered with pelvic tenderness, but thankfully didn’t have the heavy periods. This is why it is so important to seek professional advice to get the correct treatment plan. My book, ‘The Nutritional Health Handbook for Women’ is a good starting point but if you would like to find out more about having a consultation and the tests that were mentioned, please do call The Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic on 0870 5329244. The functioning of the liver’s detoxification pathways is assessed from a saliva and urine sample.