Meet Sally
Sally came to see me for tiredness. She’d been to the doctor, had all the blood tests, but nothing seemed wrong. Her iron levels were a little low so she went to the health food store and bought some iron tablets. While she was there the naturopath recommended some B vitamins, some herbs and some magnesium as well. However, it didn’t seem help.
Tiredness is a symptom of just about every disease!
When she came to see me we investigated her circumstances fully, looked at her body, blood and iris for signs as to what her body was indicating it needed. A whole person case history showed she had constipation, she suffered from the cold and she’s gained 3 kilos in the past year without apparent reason.
I organised some additional tests for her and she completed some questionnaires. The thorough investigation revealed an auto-immune thyroid condition with gut issues and nutrient deficiencies. Her genetic inheritance indicated a need for regular liver and blood support as she had a tendency for this to be sluggish.
Step 1
The first step was to put her on a specialised detox protocol. The gut is where health starts and in my experience just about everyone need improvement in gut and liver function.
This comes from the naturopathic philosophy that most diseases come from “auto-intoxication” or in other words, impaired detoxification causing the body and blood to become “toxic” – full of wastes. This overloads the regular organs of elimination ie liver, kidneys, bowels. Then, 2 things happen: the body still needs to get these wastes out so it will release toxins through the skin (acne, eczema) or the bowels (diarrhea) or through the lungs (colds). We recognise these as diseases or disorders but really, the body is simply trying to detoxify.
The other thing that happens is that the toxins cause inflammation or damage. So, blood vessel walls get damaged, tissues become inflamed, pain may occur and so on. Once again, we see these as disorders. In truth, if we lessened the load of toxins entering our body and increased our bodies ability to get rid of them, these symptoms would most likely disappear.
Step 2
The detox is just the beginning however. How this client responds to the detox, her symptoms that don’t clear up, other issues that come to light – all of this will determine the next steps. Ongoing maintenance is very important too.
Let me give you another example of why getting to the real cause of illness is necessary.
Meet Rosie
An elderly lady came to see me recently. At 77 years you could say having osteoporosis is to be expected. And with her genetics is probably is.
The Iris gave it away
Her iridology indicated a strong structural constitution with a great need for alkalising minerals. Her doctor had recommended calcium, vitamin D, etc – the typical nutrients for osteoporosis but the results so far were limited. Looking at her blood and her iris, I was able to see that she needed sodium! Sodium in the form that comes from celery and other vegetables helps removed acidic waste from the body – essential in this lady’s case. With the addition of sodium and a few other indicated minerals and dietary changes, her bones are far less likely to keep deteriorating and may even improve!
Know the cause
Many people want to know the true cause of their health complaint. I applaud this! However, our tendency is to prescribe symptomatically without thinking about how everything is connected. This can be so frustrating as the results are often limited.
Get yourself checked out by a naturopath, especially if you’re suffering from a complaint that you can’t seem to get rid of.
