Hot Topics in Health

WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?

NEW PATIENTS

Please click on this email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and send your details to Dr Helen’s assistant. Send a brief paragraph about why you would like an appointment and the name and contact details for the person. Email your name, details, preferred days/times for the appointment.

ALREADY SEEN DR HELEN SMITH PREVIOUSLY AT THE CLINIC

You can simply use the Manage My Health patient system and click on the BOOK NOW BUTTON

Book Now .

Or

email Kylie (Dr Helen’s assistant) using This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get help to book a time. Kylie answers you promptly and works remotely.

There is a phone for the clinic 09 307 6411where you can leave a message if you are not able to access an appointment via email for some reason or wish to leave a phone message about the appointment.

If you are feeling like you need to recharge the batteries and get a grip on some exhaustion or would simply like to improve your energy over summer here are some handy health tips.

Find out more about the health benefits of salty electrolytes, sunshine, a cup of coffee, healthy fats and more...

Progesterone is made naturally in the ovaries when women ovulate and also in the adrenal glands.

Cholesterol is changed through various enzymes into progesterone hormone. As the female body changes with age there is less ovulation until at menopause ovulation ceases.

There are natural creams with progesterone identical to what your body makes that you can use to support the low progesterone phases of your hormones.

Gluten is the protein found in some grains like wheat, oats, barley and rye.

It can create problems in the body like gut upsets and inflammation, poor absorption of nutrients and aching joints or fluid retention. The gluten protein basically punches holes in the gut and gets inside and creates inflammation in your tissues of your body and some organs.

At its most severe when the gut has actually been destroyed or flattened due to damage from gluten we call it “coeliac disease” and when you look inside the small bowel of someone with coeliac disease you see flat “villi” (little fingerlike protrusions that help absorb the food) and you see poor absorption of iron, B vitamins and minerals on the blood tests.

I often see patients who come in feeling tired and low in energy. It really helps to do a full set of holistic blood tests to see what is going on with the body organs and systems.

The most common areas I see that are creating low energy are as follows:

Low energy or physical exhaustion is probably the most common symptom I see as a holistic doctor. These days we hear a lot about adrenal fatigue. If you tend to be wired or wake in the early hours and feel wacked out and tired during the day or find it hard to get out of bed in the morning then consider adrenal fatigue.

So when the adrenal glands are not working so well what are some health tips we can take in our lives to help the adrenal glands recover.

Zinc is a mineral our body uses in over 300 places in the body to help it work well. It is concentrated in the heart and helps keep the heart muscle healthy along with preventing atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.

Breathing is something we do every minute of every day we are alive. Mostly we don’t even think about it and it is on automatic.

Sometimes our bodies can get into a state of hyperventilation or breathing through our mouth and over-breathing – blowing off too much carbon dioxide and leaving the body in an out of balance state of oxygen relative to carbon dioxide for the body systems.

Around this time of year people can get more problems with allergies. Symptoms include runny nose, sneezing, red eyes, mild headache or sinus ache and an itchy nose that just won’t stop being a nuisance.

When we eat food it needs to be broken down into smaller pieces so we can absorb it across the gut lining and into our systems to be used for cellular energy. The nutrients we absorb are used for building and repairing the body and supporting all the glandular, organ (liver, kidney) and immune systems.

There are three main food types: proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Breakfast comes from the two words “break” and “fast” it is the meal we have when we are breaking the fast from not eating at night while our body has been resting and cleansing and repairing our systems.

Some people skip it, some drink a quick coffee and shoot out the door, others make a meal of it and some have a quick slice of toast or bowl of cereal or porridge with fruit and yoghurt and get into their day.

How can we make it a good sustaining nourishing start? When should we eat actual food in the mornings?

So many New Zealanders are now taking some kind of anti-depressant medication – I think it is around 1 in 20 or higher – so I thought I would do a brief write up this week on how to achieve good mood naturally.

There are the basic steps of having a good environment and the people around you being uplifting or helping you go well in life rather than pulling or getting you down. Changing your environment and resolving conflicts through communication are all important for happiness.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep…

I won't look at the clock…

It would be so great to get a good night's sleep...

Oh my goodness is it morning already? Oh no …

How does a woman keep her breasts healthy? If she has had problems with painful breasts or breast cysts is there anything you can do naturally to help? How can we prevent breast cells changing? Are there any natural substances that help keep the breasts going well?

We have trillions of micro- organisms that live on and in the body and are an essential part of helping us create nutrients and even defending the body from other harmful bacteria, viruses and toxins. The largest colonies of these microbes live in the gut. We have about 1.5-2 kg of gut bacteria!

Our bodies are designed to work with specific minerals and vitamins helping all the systems function well.

The immune system is amazing and when given enough nutrients like Vitamin D (sunshine, cod liver oil), Zinc (oysters, pumpkin seeds, nuts and seeds), selenium (Brazil nut, seaweeds such as kelp or selenium drops) and Vitamin C (colourful vegetables and fruits – especially ripe ones) it will heal itself.

How on earth do you get a body to lose weight when you have tried everything?

Here are some quick health tips to check off to see if you can spot which area you need to change, or perhaps even bypass some habits or normal routines so you can be the weight or body shape you’d like to be!

We know the heart is an important pump that keeps the blood flowing through the lungs and into the body providing vital oxygen and nutrients and fluids to the body organs, cells and structures.

So how do you keep your heart healthy? Well the trick is to know what heart's need and want to do well!

Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome is a condition in which the ovaries have too many egg filled cysts in them.

It can lead to an excess of testosterone in the body and thus acne, dark facial and chest hairs or dark body hairs and male hair patterns. It can also lead to problems with fertility and even mood, weight issues and so on.

I get fascinated by the research coming out that shows more and more that we are actually meant to have trillions of healthy gut bacteria all working in communication with the body. These “probiotic” or “pro-life” bacteria all work with our digestion to help digest our food and create the nutrients we need. They also help detox toxins, remove metals or chemicals and generally create a big part of our immune system.

When you were at school you might have been taught that whole grains were the best source of B vitamins. There are B vitamins in your whole grain bread, but the grains are in a form that makes it hard for your body to digest. Have you ever wondered why cows and other animals have more than one stomach and have to chew the grass and grains so long and allow them to digest for hours?

Bones are made of a lot of minerals sitting in a flexible cellular and collagen (stretchy, bendy structure). There is a hard outer bone and a soft bone marrow in many of the bones like the long leg bones. It is not just calcium that makes up healthy bones, but also magnesium and other essential trace minerals like Boron, Strontium and so on.

Kefir is a healthy yeast that has been used to ferment dairy products to create “curd” as far back as the ancient “Vedic” health texts called the “Aryuveda” in ancient India. It was also seen as a “gift from the gods” by the ancient Caucus region people (Russian area).

There is a period around the late 40’s as women come up to the change of life where the ovaries stop ovulating (releasing eggs) called the “peri” menopause. “Peri” means “around” so it is the time when the ovaries are perhaps ovulating less or producing less hormones or there are hormonal changes.

Our body is made of many cells held together with membranes which are called "cell membranes". These cell membranes are made of cholesterol in a form known as "phospholipids" that are essential for a healthy cell.

As the body ages, the ability to make active forms of Vitamin D in the skin using natural sunlight decreases. Add to this the fact that a lot of us spend our time in doors working on computers and laptops, or not seeing much natural light outside and also when we do get outside between showers for an early morning walk there is no real sunshine. Pretty quickly you can see we end up with a Vitamin D deficiency.

The B vitamins were numbered by the early scientists who discovered them as B1, B2, B3 etc. Vitamin B12 is also known as cobalamin. It contains a mineral called ‘cobalt’ that helps it to work. It naturally has a red colour.

For libido women need a certain amount of natural testosterone produced by their body. Zinc & exercise help produce this. Progesterone is a natural calming hormone that can be prescribed & helps sleep & anxiety & has a protective effect on the cells.

It is interesting to note the recent increase in women with "Hashimotos" ( thyroid autoimmune disease). Many of these women respond to a gluten free diet along with supplementing key minerals like selenium & zinc.

Many people these days have low energy levels. Getting a holistic health check with comprehensive blood tests often reveals the underlying reason.