Health

An increasing number of people are embracing holistic health services now more than ever. The pandemic has highlighted the need to maintain good health, address certain health issues or generally work on boosting the immune system.

Healthcare needs to move more towards a patient centred approach as opposed to the current symptom centred model that does not address the needs of the patient holistically.

While conventional healthcare practices are essential for acute and in emergency situations, there are other options for long standing and chronic conditions.

Here are some case studies which demonstrate how a holistic approach changed patients’ lives.

Female, aged 32 – upper and lower gastrointestinal symptoms for 6 months. A breath test diagnosed SIBO, an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the small intestine. A course of antibiotics was prescribed, and symptoms ceased for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, symptoms gradually returned, returning to pre-treatment severity after several weeks. Due to the high strength of the antibiotics, a repeat prescription was not an option. Patient was advised to follow a low FODMAP diet which is a diet low in fermentable carbohydrates and usually prescribed for patients suffering with IBS. The diet made no difference to her symptoms. It’s at this point that the patient searched for a nutritionist who had experience with treating gut conditions and was advised to follow a restricted diet for four weeks, followed by a course of herbal antibiotics and a slow reintroduction of foods under the nutritionist’s guidance to determine which foods aggravated her. Other gut healing supplementswere prescribed and with these and the removal of aggravating foods, patient is now symptom free and feels well again.

Male, aged 51 – lower back pain from a sports injury which was not improving after 3 weeks. GP referred to a physiotherapist who administered treatment and gave some exercises to do at home. Patient wanted quicker results and was recommended an acupuncturist by a friend. Patient had two acupuncture treatments a week alongside the physiotherapy and was pain free after another month of treatment.

Child, aged 4 – eczema since shortly after birth – no improvement from creams/treatments prescribed by the GP or consultant. Sought the support of a homeopath to get to the root of the issue. After an initial consultation and in-depth history from the parents around the birth and health of mother and father, remedies were prescribed and follow up after four weeks was suggested. At the follow-up, 70% of the eczema had cleared up, a further remedy was prescribed which took into consideration the symptoms and temperament of the child at the appointment. After another 4 weeks, the eczema had gone and hasn’t returned to date, child is now 8.

These are just a few examples of when a holistic or integrated approach speeded up the desired result or provided an alternative when conventional treatment failed to provide the desired result. It’s not always as quick and as easy as these cases, but it often doesn’t take long to start seeing improvements when you are receiving the right treatment for your specific needs.

Is holistic health right for you? If you would like further information or suggestions on which practitioners may be able to support you on your journey, search on Holistic Room today or email us at hello@holisticroom.com, let us know what you are struggling with and we will send you relevant links to some practitioners you can connect with.

Did you know that you have a second brain that impacts your whole health? Download our FREE guide to learn where it is and what you can do to boost it and in turn your overall health.

Guest Post written by Holistic Room
This blog first appeared on the Holistic Room at holisticroom.com

While there are 18 amino acids in bovine collagen, it is the presence of key amino acids that lends the majority of the perks: glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline.

These three amino acids are crucial building blocks of collagen, tendons, and ligaments and have been shown to support health in a number of other ways, such as promoting normal inflammatory processes and supporting immune function.*

L-Glycine is an essential amino acid, meaning that your body needs it, but cannot produce it on its own. It is an immune system booster as it helps build antibodies and has important antiviral properties.

Totally Derma^® Collagen contains this important amino acid, and as a result, by taking 10,000mg of collagen daily you are boosting your immune system.

*ABSTRACT

Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2003 Mar;6(2):229-40.

L-Glycine: a novel anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and cytoprotective agent.

Zhong Z1, Wheeler MD, Li X, Froh M, Schemmer P, Yin M, Bunzendaul H, Bradford B, Lemasters JJ.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW:

In recent years, evidence has mounted in favour of the anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and cytoprotective effects of the simplest amino acid L-glycine.

This article will focus on the recent findings about the responsible mechanisms of protection and review the beneficial effects of glycine in different disease states.

Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12589194

Totally Derma® collagen peptides have an exceptional absorption rate via the small intestine; the peptides that are consumed circulate through the body’s bloodstream instead of going through the digestive tract.

Since Totally Derma^® is broken down to a low molecular level, this ensures that the amino acids and nutrients are easily and quickly, absorbed into the bloodstream.

Please contact us if you would like further information, clinical studies, or would like to become one of our Clinic Partners.

We would love to hear from you.

Please stay safe and well.

If you suffer from leaky gut syndrome, a condition where bad-for-you toxins are able to pass through your digestive tract, collagen can be super-helpful. It helps break down proteins and soothes your gut’s lining, healing damaged cell walls and infusing it with healing amino acids.

The biggest digestive benefit of consuming more collagen is that it helps form connective tissue and therefore “seals and heals” the protective lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Today, we know that many illnesses can actually be traced back to inflammation or irritation stemming from an unhealthy gut. Poor gut health — including changes in the gut microbiome and permeability in the gut lining — allows particles to pass into the bloodstream where they can kick off an inflammatory cascade (hence the name leaky gut syndrome).

Studies have found that in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, serum concentrations of collagen are decreased. Because the amino acids in collagen build the tissue that lines the colon and GI tract, supplementing with collagen can help treat gastrointestinal symptoms and disorders, including leaky gut syndrome, IBS, acid reflux, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. In addition to helping heal leaky gut, collagen also helps with the absorption of water within the intestines, keeping things moving more freely out of body.

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From the Greek pausis (cessation) and men (month), the Menopause is officially classified as the day after final the menstrual flow and marks the end of reproductive life. At this stage, there is a dramatic fall in circulating oestrogen and progesterone and therefore the balance of sex hormones alters; ovaries stop producing eggs and therefore the creation and shedding of uterine lining ceases, resulting in no menstruation. In the UK the average age is 52 years, but this tends to be earlier in smokers.

The peri-menopause is the period of transition (can be up to 10 years) around the menopause, both before and after and usually starts mid-late 40s but can be earlier. During this phase there are wide fluctuations in (overall falling) hormone levels, which can cause the classic symptoms and this can be extremely variable between individuals

Oestrogen affects different systems in your body including the brain, skin, bones heart and vagina. Low levels of oestrogen can affect all these parts bringing on adverse symptoms.

Some symptoms occur due to these hormonal fluctuations and relative fluctuations between individual hormones. These symptoms tend to improve post-menopause e.g. hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings. However, some symptoms occur due to the overall fall in hormones in general and continue on after the menopause, due to the continuing low hormone levels

e.g. conditions like vaginal dryness, urinary urgency, loss of bone mineral density

Triggered by low oestrogen levels, vaginal dryness can result in thinner skin around the vaginal wall and the decreasing levels of collagen also associated with ageing further exacerbate this.  The body’s ability to repair and replace collagen reduces as oestrogen decreases and consequently the walls of the vagina become thinner and more fragile as well as less elastic. As a connective tissue, collagen is responsible for holding cell structures together and the body produces less collagen, particularly during the peri-menopause phase. In addition, the production of Hyaluronic acid also reduces, further contributing to dryness.

Whilst vaginal atrophy cannot be prevented it is possible to take measures to slow down the progression, by increasing the level of collagen and hyaluronic acid in the body and ensuring a diet that is high in vitamin C and other antioxidants to help with the production of collagen in the first place.  Collagen and hyaluronic acid work synergistically to stimulate the production of each and help to rejuvenate the skin tissue so that it is more elastic and hydrated.

Drinking a collagen drink on a daily basis can help improve the integrity of your skin from the inside out and help to alleviate some of the these symptoms associated with the menopause.

The overall health of our gut is very important to our overall wellbeing. In fact, our gut is often referred to as our “second brain”, affecting mood, energy levels and much more. Thus, the food we eat must be well processed if we are to absorb the vitamins and minerals efficiently which in turn affect our body’s critical functions; as well as digestion, hormone regulation, immune response, detoxification as well as mental health.

Ensuring your gut health is therefore crucial and a healthy gut flora and healthy gut lining play a big role in ensuring an efficient digestive process. What you eat will affect your gut bacteria and eating plenty of foods that are high in fibre will help create a healthy microbiome in the gut. However, when it comes to improving the health of your gut, you may not consider collagen as a nutrient to also include. After all, collagen is more likely to be associated with improving skin health and joint pain rather than the gut and digestive system. In fact Collagen can have significant benefits for healing the gut and improving gut integrity and well worth incorporating into your daily routine for better gut health.

Essentially, collagen is the gut’s connective tissue and as such provides the strength and support to the lining of your digestive tract. It is effectively a protective lining, acting as a barrier allowing only particles that should pass through, to enter the blood stream from the gut. If this protective lining is damaged, the gaps between the tight junctions become larger and thus allow larger particles to pass through into the blood stream. This damage results in a condition known as Leaky Gut Syndrome that in turn leads to inflammation, which can be very painful and cause significant digestive discomfort.

Studies have shown that those with inflammatory bowel disease, where typically the gut health has been compromised, were more likely to have lower levels of serum collagen. Increasing collagen intake may help to support the lining of the gut and therefore improve gut health in general.

Taking a supplement is the easiest way to boost collagen intake, but it is important to choose one that contains hydrolysed collagen peptides, where the amino acids in the collagen are already in a more easily digestible and absorbable form.

Once the gut is healed and the tight junctions in the lining of the intestines restored, inflammation is reduced and gut health is restored.

Foods to include to improve gut health:

• Plenty of high fibre fresh vegetables, such as asparagus and broccoli and fruits; aim to reach 7 portions per day
• Complex carbohydrates; wholegrains and starchy vegetables such as butternut squash, sweet potato
• Pulses such as chickpeas and lentils
• Nuts and seeds
• Probiotic foods such as live plain yoghurt or fermented foods such as sauerkraut and pickles

Collagen powder can also be added to smoothies or yoghurt to pump some extra protein into your day.

Joint pain and discomfort can be debilitating for many and reducing pain as well as repairing joints is often a priority to help ease the symptoms day-to-day. After all, pain caused by Osteoarthritis, where the cartilage breaks down, grinding down the joints as the bones rub together, is certainly uncomfortable.  Until around the age of 30, this cartilage regenerates quickly but after this age, this process slows down, so the cartilage layer becomes thinner between the joints. Furthermore, strenuous high impact exercising, excess weight and even a sedentary lifestyle exacerbate this degeneration.

Replacing collagen can be effective to repair and replace cartilage, helping to maintain the structure of the joint and reduce pain. However, eating the collagen found in foods such as meat bones, shellfish or chicken skin may not end up part of this repair process. Not only is the type of collagen is important but also the form the collagen is consumed in.

Collagen comes in varying forms and whilst supplementing with Collagen is considered effective to improve skin health; boosting the elasticity and improving appearance, the recommended collagen here is type 1.

When it comes to joint health, type 2 collagen is recommended. It also needs to by hydrolysed, in other words in a processed powder form mixed with water. This is more bio-available and therefore more easily absorbed by the body. Once it has been absorbed, it will act as building blocks in the cells to produce new collagen fibres.

When choosing a supplement, maximize the benefits of a collagen supplement by choosing a supplement that also contains vitamin C, which is needed to produce collagen, as well a hyaluronic acid to boost hydration in the cells.

Without doubt, taking a collagen supplement alongside dietary and lifestyle changes is ultimately the most effective approach to reduce collagen damage and therefore joint pain, as you age. Key considerations include:

• A healthy balanced diet, high in brightly coloured vegetables and fruits providing plenty of nutrients and antioxidants
• Very little processed or refined foods, including sugar
• An active lifestyle
• Minimal stress from high impact exercise

We all know that we need to manage stress to ensure our health. Whether it’s managing blood pressure, ensuring a strong immune system or averting anxiety and depression, increased stress is guaranteed to have an adverse effect.

However, stress also plays a key role in ageing and the appearance of your skin can worsen as stress accelerates the ageing process. Managing your stress on a daily basis will affect how your skin looks and feels.

The body’s stress response does not differ greatly according the type of stress. For example, the body reacts in the same way to stress caused as a result of a life-threatening situation, which is commonly known as the “fight or flight” response, as it does to the stress due to work arguments or deadlines or even being stuck in a traffic jam. In all cases, the stress response will release the stress hormone Cortisol, which in turn activates the release of glucose into the blood stream. This will be used for energy to “flee”. In doing so, it also ensures that essential nutrients are directed to the vital organs, prioritizing the heart, brain and lungs to assist with this.

When there is ongoing lifestyle stress, in other words, chronic stress, this is happening much of the time and the skin is one of the first areas to show the effects. Deprived of essential nutrients over time, the skin’s renewal process slows down, resulting in a dull and lack-lustre appearance. Stress and cortisol release trigger an inflammatory response, producing free radicals that lead to cell damage and the breakdown of collagen. This affects the skin’s cell integrity reducing firmness, plumpness and elasticity as well as its ability to lock in moisture, leaving it more prone to the development of fine lines, wrinkles and dryness. This also makes the skin more vulnerable to the effects of the environment, including the harmful effects of pollution and sun damage.

Managing stress is key to effective age management and lifestyle measures including taking the time to relax, enjoy hobbies and pastimes, exercise and good quality sleep will go along way to reduce stress. However, addressing your diet alongside managing these lifestyle factors is crucial.

Key dietary considerations include:

• Increasing nutrient status by eating up 7-10 portions of vegetables and fruits per day (max 2 fruits). Choosing dark green leafy vegetables as well as other brightly coloured choices such as broccoli, tomatoes, berries and oranges will ensure adequate vitamins, minerals and in particular antioxidants to combat the effects of stress. Try this
• Avoid severe blood sugar fluctuations by reducing refined sugars, fizzy drinks, cakes, sweets, biscuits. These energising bliss balls  are an ideal slow releasing snack
• Ensuring adequate hydration; around 8 glasses per day
• Eating fibre rich foods such as oats, beans and pulses to remove harmful toxins Try this delicious Butterbean and Tomato Bruschetta to boost your fibre intake
• Increasing the intake of antioxidants with a supplement to help to combat the harmful effects of the oxidative stress.