• sneezing
• running nose
• swelling of the nasal tissues
• itchy eyes and tearing
• nasal polyps
• swelling in the ear

These symptoms are all common in allergic rhinitis.  Hay fever is the common term for allergic rhinitis due to seasonal spread of pollens in the air, but the condition is not necessarily seasonal and can result from other irritants besides pollen.

If you wonder whether your symptoms could be due to pollen, one way to check is to see the pollen calendar on this link and determine if there is a pattern to your symptoms.  Do they seen to start around a particular season? If you do think pollen is the culprit, try Weleda’s Mixed Pollen 30 during the specific pollen seasons.

Other irritants can include: house dust, animal hair and dander, insects, fungus spores, moulds, feathers, powders, insecticides, chemicals, and foods such as diary (and others).

If you are in doubt about what may be the cause of your allergic rhinitis symptoms, Shannon will work with you to determine the root cause.  Lab tests and a thorough medical history are a great starting point.  A variety of treatments can help significantly and depend on the cause, but will include herbs, homeopathy, and nutrition.   Please feel welcome to contact Shannon if you would like further help in determining the cause of your allergy symptoms.

Happy Spring!

From the Times Online….

Fifteen tips on how to live to 100

“Follow this checklist of 15 tips and you could add up to 77 years to your life. Sound too good to be true? Not according to new research from Norwich Union. The insurer’s actuarists have crunched some numbers that shows simple things like enjoying a good laugh and eating well can give a huge boost to your longevity.

The list ranges from the fairly obvious – quit smoking – to the more esoteric. Who would have thought that flossing your teeth could add six years to your life?

Here is the the list:

Books:

• Malignant Sadness: The Anatomy of Depression by L. Wolpert
• Harriet Lerner, PhD PsychologyHas written a series of books on different topics: anger, fear, intimacy, and many others
• Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel By Changing the Way You Think by Christine A Padesky, Dennis Greenberger
• Overcoming Depression by Paul Gilbert
• The Depression Workbook: A Guide for Living with Depression and Manic Depression by Mary Ellen Copeland, Matthew McKay

 Videos:

• TED Talks under the “What Makes Us Happy” Theme (One particularly interesting video is on Positive Psychology)

Books:

• Healing with Whole Foods:  Asian Traditions with Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford.  This is a book about using Traditional Chinese Medicine to choose the foods best suited to your health.

YOUTH

Websites:

• Battlefront is an incredible resource for young people who would like to become involved in making their community and the world a better place.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

Books:

• The Web That Has No Weaver by Ted J. Kaptchuk.  This is a book about understanding the philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

This page will be updated continuously….

275g Dove Farms Gluten Free Brown Bread Flour (Doves Farms and available at many health food stores)

125g quinoa flour 

2 TBS psyllium husk

1 TBS of xylitol (natural sugar substitute)

2 Tsp(heaped) dry yeast

1.5 Tsp salt

125g whole linseeds

125g sunflower seeds

2 eggs

1 egg white

300ml water

100ml rapeseed oil or coconut oil

10ml apple cider vinegar

Mix the dry ingredients together and mix the wet ingredients together. Combine both together in food processor for 3 min.  The final mixture will be quite loose (unlike regular bread dough).   Pour into greased bread tin.  Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1.5 hours.  Bake for 35 min at 180 C.  (To test if done, knock on bread and listen for hollow sound).   Allow to cool before serving.  Enjoy!

There are many effective treatments for gout and it may take a combination of these to eliminate it.  The first part of this article outlines tips for treating gout and the second part provides you with information about why gout happens.  Often making some basic diet changes is enough for many people to eliminate gout.   Some basic starting guidelines are:

• Eliminate alcohol intake
• Drink plenty of water
• Eat foods low in purines
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Eat cherries
• Try key nutritional supplements, if needed

Water and Alcohol

Drink lots of fluids and eliminate alcohol.  Drinking plenty of water helps to dilute the uric acid in the blood and prevent the crystals from precipitating out from the blood.  Dilution of the urine also reduces the risk of kidney stones. Drink at approximately 2 L of water each day, depending on your size and activity levels.

Alcohol worsens gout in two ways.  It increases uric acid production by increasing the breakdown of purines. It also reduces uric acid excretion by increasing lactate production, which impairs kidney function. Many people never have a reoccurrence of gout once they eliminate alcohol.

Diet

Purines
A low purine diet can significantly decrease uric acid levels.  Foods with high purine levels should be take out of your diet completely. These include: many meats (kidney, liver, veal, turkey and venison), shellfish, yeast, sardines, mackerel, fish roes, mussels, scallops, and anchovies.  Intake of foods with moderate levels of purines should also be reduced. These include: dried legumes, spinach, asparagus, fish, poultry, and mushrooms.

Cherries
Cherries, blueberries, and other dark red-blue berries are rich sources of anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins. Eating approximately one-half pound (225 grams or 1 can usually) of fresh or canned cherries per day has been shown to be very effective in lowering uric acid levels and preventing attacks of gout. The anthocyanidins give cherries and other fruits their deep red-blue color.  Cherries reduce uric acid levels because the specific anthocyanidins in them, may inhibit xanthine oxidase, an enzyme involved in the production of uric acid. This causes the body to make less uric acid. The anthocyanidins in cherries also block pain and inflammation and act as anti-oxidants.  You can use any type of cherry but choose darker cherries if buying fresh ones.

Key Supplements

Your genetic make-up, medical history, and environment, should all be taken into consideration when devising any treatment plan. If you are finding diet changes are not enough to eliminate gout for you, then you likely need a more comprehensive treatment plan that includes other therapies, including nutritional supplements.  For treating gout, I use a combination of diet changes, a few key nutritional supplements (for example: celery extract), herbs, hydrotherapy, and homeopathy, all based on my patients’ specific requirements and underlying imbalances in the body.

More about Gout….

What is it?

Gout is a type of arthritis caused by a build up of uric acid crystals in a joint.  In about 50% of people it affects the big toe but can also develop in any joint, tendons, kidneys, and other tissues, where it causes inflammation and damage.

Gout can be extremely painful and usually occurs as an “attack” that can last up to 3-10 days.  After the attack the joint usually feels normal and pain-free again.  Gout attacks cannot be predicted and, if left untreated, can cause future attacks to be more frequent and last for longer, as well as cause uric acid kidney stones.

Uric acid is a normally harmless waste product of the body which is a by-product of purines.  Purines are found naturally in the body as well as in certain foods and alcohols. Gout is very common, affecting 1 in 200 people, and mainly affects men as they have higher uric acid levels than women.

Causes

There are two types of gout:  primary and secondary.  Primary gout is typically from a genetic malfunction in metabolizing uric acid and accounts for 90% of gout. You will often find gout runs in families.  Secondary gout is seen in 10% of cases and is usually caused by certain medications (diuretics, chronic low dose aspirin) or a co-existing condition such as renal disease.

It is not always known what triggers a gout attack. For example, some people can have high levels of uric acid in their system but never suffer from gout, and some people who are affected by gout will have a normal level of uric acid.

Symptoms

The typical symptom of gout is sudden and severe joint pain, usually in joint of the big toe. The pain will often occur during the night but can also happen at any time. Other symptoms include:

• inflammation and swelling
• red and shiny skin over the affected joint,
• peeling, itchy and flaky skin over the affected joint, and
• chills and shivers, sometimes with a mild fever during an attack

Approximately 62% of people experience a repeat attack of gout within a year. However, some people will only ever experience one attack in their lifetime.

Diagnosis

There is no one specific test that diagnoses gout.  As there are many conditions that can cause the symptoms of joint pain and swelling, the diagnosis may not be made right away.  Some tests may include, a blood test for uric acid, syovial fluid sample (synovial fluid is what lubricates your joints), or an x-ray to rule out other conditions causing joint damage.

SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES

We’ve all seen a child with the typical symptoms of a respiratory allergy: stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, itchy skin and eyes, and red, watery eyes.   Not very fun!  The symptoms can be seasonal or chronic and depends on the particular allergens involved.  The seasonal allergies are typically caused by pollen, so you see the symptoms reoccurring at about the same time every year, when the offending plant is blooming.  Spring hay fever is most often due to pollens from grass and trees, and hay fever later in the summer or early fall is usually caused by ragweed pollen and moulds.

The chronic respiratory allergies are usually caused by allergens in the environment year-round, such as animal fur, dust, feathers, wool, moulds and chemicals.  Children with chronic allergies can experience allergic rhinitis, which is chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the nasal passages caused by an allergic reaction.  They will usually experience itchy red eyes, stuffy, runny nose, frequent sneezing, and typically breathe through their mouth.  Headaches, itchiness, nosebleeds and fatigue can also occur, as well as dark circles under the eyes.

A child with respiratory allergies may also be allergic to certain foods.  Infants with chronic rhinitis are often allergic to food, especially cow’s milk.   Dairy products, wheat, eggs, chocolate, nuts, seafood, and citrus fruits are all common allergens for many children.

There is often a family history of allergies in either chronic or seasonal allergies.  As a child grows, their immune system also matures and becomes capable of fighting off infections and they often outgrow the allergies.  Allergies can contribute to other health problems such acne, asthma, bedwetting, chronic ear infections, eczema, irritability and poor concentration.  An allergic reaction can occur immediately after exposure to the substance, or can take days to appear.

DIAGNOSIS

A chronic runny nose may not always be the result of allergies and should be differentiated from a more serious underlying problem, such as chronic sinusitis.  It is best to visit a health-care professional for a diagnosis, if your child has a chronic runny nose.

There are several tests that can be done to identify specific allergens:

1. Scratch testing and intradermal testing involve placing a small amount of diluted allergen on or under the skin with a needle and waiting to see if red, itchy bump appears indicating an allergic reaction to that substance.
2. A blood test can be very effective for identifying many types of allergens.   A blood sample is taken and tested for levels of IgE and IgG antibodies that are produced by the immune system in response to allergens.  An elevated level of either of these can indicate an allergic reaction to the substance being tested.
3. For food allergies, an elimination diet is also very effective.

NATUROPATHIC TREATMENTS

GENERAL

Keeping the air inside your home allergy free is very important.  This can be difficult, especially if you have pets.  However, it is not the cat or dog hair itself that causes the allergy, but the old skin cells (dander) mixed with the pet’s saliva from cleaning their fur, that are constantly being shed.  If animal dander is the cause, then keeping pets outside may help.  If this isn’t possible, then an alternative solution is to wipe your pet’s fur down daily.  You can purchase pet wipes for this, as well as gentle liquid solutions to spray on your pet’s fur to help keep the dander down.  This works for many people.
An air purifier with a HEPA filter can help keep the air at home clean.   If you smoke, then please provide your child with a smoke-free environment.  Either quit or smoke only outside. Wood stoves can also be a significant source of respiratory irritation.   It may also be necessary to eliminate feather pillows and household items that collect dust, such as stuffed animals, rugs, drapes and old furniture.

DIET
One of the best ways to determine which food allergies are causing problems for your child is to do an elimination diet.  This involves removing certain foods from the diet for a period of time and then introducing them back one by one.  An elimination diet should be done with the supervision of trained health-care practitioner.

You can encourage your child to drink lots of water to help thin mucus secretions.  It can be very helpful to keep a diet diary of what your child has eaten when they experience an allergic reaction.  For example, dairy foods can thicken mucus and stimulate an increase in mucus production, so you may notice they cough more after eating dairy.

You can also encourage your child to eat a lot of anti-inflammatory foods that are rich in flavonoids, such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and purple grape juice (not from concentrate).  Yummy!

HOMEOPATHY
Take one dose three times daily for three days.

• Allium cepa 30X or 9C for the child that has bouts of sneezing with a burning feeling in the nose, and whose symptoms get better outdoors or if he splashes cold water on his face.
• Ammonium muriaticum 30X or 9C for the child with a watery discharge that burns the upper lips and inside of the nose.  The nose feels plugged up even though there is a flowing nasal discharge.  This child may have a tickling feeling in his throat and no sense of smell.
• Arsenicum mauriaticum 30X or 9C helps the child who has sneezing, with nasal burning and who feels better with a warm compress on the sides of his nose or breathing into a warm humidifier.  This child may also have allergies to cats, food and moulds.

There are additional herbal, acupressure, homeopathic and nutritional treatments that can effectively reduce the symptoms and causes of allergies.  Please talk to Shannon about creating a treatment protocol for your child’s allergies.

Makes one large 24cm cake (enough to feed 10-12)

• 375g roasted and peeled beetroot, cut into chunks
• 450g firm silken tofu
• 70g unrefined caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 350g chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa solids) melted
• chocolate shards or fruit and cream to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (gas 4) and line the base and sides of a 24cm loose-bottomed round cake tin with baking parchment-but don’t grease it.

Place the beetroot, tofu, sugar, vanilla and baking powder in a food processor and blitz to a fine puree. Tip into a bowl and mix in the melted chocolate.

Pour into the tin and bake for 30minutes. The cake will look quite uncooked but don’t panic-it will be fine. Leave to cool completely (it’s quite a soft cake), then remove from the tin and place on a large plate. Store in the fridge until needed, but bring back to room temperature before serving.

To serve, simply cut into wedges and decorate with chocolate shards or serve with fruit (it’s great with berries, pineapple and mango) and, if you like, cream.