natural medicine
Trying to determine what foods you may be allergic to takes time. It also takes patience and help from a Naturopath Doctor practicing natural medicine. The doctor will give you nutritional counseling to figure out what foods are causing you problems.
Using an elimination diet
If you want to use the natural methods, then you can start with the elimination diet. You will have to keep a diary of the foods you are eating. You will also have to carefully read all food labels plus ask questions to servers about any food you have doubts about when eating out. You will monitor any symptoms you have during and after eating. If you have a reaction, remove the food from your list. If your symptoms disappear after removing it, then the food is suspect. By talking to the doctor during counseling the doctor will recommend replacement of same value nutrient foods. This is to make sure you are still eating healthy.
After a period of time, you will be asked, under supervision, to slowly add the eliminated foods back into your diet. By adding them one at a time and waiting to see if there is a reaction, you’ll be able to see what symptoms belong to what foods. When you do add foods back in and if you have a reaction, write down the symptoms. This food then is confirmed to be a trigger food. The doctor will then have you stop eating the suspect foods. If the symptoms clear up for good, then you know these are foods to avoid.
Other food issues
Some people are allergic to additives. The main ones which cause problems are: glutamates, preservatives, additive colors and flavors. When undergoing the elimination diet, these additives should be eaten sparingly. If necessary, the additives can be tested one at a time in foods you would like to try or eliminate.
If you have lactose, whey or casein intolerance, this can cause some issues in your diet as well. Lactose is a milk sugar that causes intestinal distress. Whey and casein are proteins in milk that cause food sensitivities. Drinking lactose free milk, does not prevent reactions to casein and whey. A common mistake is to drink lactose free, hoping it will correct a sensitivity to milk. Unfortunately it won’t. Other milk alternatives like hemp, almond coconut or soy milk may be suitable replacements.
Even if you have food intolerances, you can work around them and identify them with the help of a good Naturopath doctor. By working together you can find the source of the food problems, eliminate them and feel better.
There is a surge of people who are opting to use botanical medicine instead of prescription medicine. Some questions that are asked are: Does botanical medicine really work? What is the risk factor? Are Naturopath doctors really safe to go to? So here’s some information to help you decide about botanical medicine.
Do botanical medicines really work?
Botanical medicine is also called herbal remedies. However, the term botanical medicine includes more than just herbs. The term also applies to the plant parts used as in bark, roots, seeds and stems. Now scientists aren’t really sure in some cases whether it’ the whole herb which works or just parts of the herb, but there are factors which affect the quality of the herb. Contributing factors can be the climate and the soil the herbs are grown in, when they are harvested, and how they are processed.
Botanical medicine can be very effective when used properly. For example, aloe is used for sunburn, minor burns and skin irritation. Ginger is used for nausea and motion sickness. Peppermint tea can be drunk to settle an upset stomach. There are many herbs and many uses for them when using natural medicine.
What risk factor is there?
As with any medicine, botanical or otherwise, there are risk factors. You have to tell your Naturopath doctor or your physician of any other drugs you are taking. Mixing herbs and drugs together that have similar actions can be dangerous. For example, if you’re taking a blood thinner, you cannot take the herb gingko because it is a natural blood thinner. Some commonly used herbs like Milk Thistle ( a liver support herb) and St. John’s wort (a natural anti-depressant) can have interactions with many medications.
Are Naturopath doctors licensed?
A Naturopath doctor uses natural medicine as an approach to illness and wellness. A licensed Naturopath doctor has attended four years at a naturopathic medical school. The doctor should be well versed in all aspects of nutrition, vitamin supplementation, homeopathic medicine and botanical medicine. You can ask about the doctor’s training and certification also. You can also find a reputable doctor on the website of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
Botanical medicine when used in a program that includes nutritional counseling, stress reduction and proper exercise can be effective towards helping you become a happier you.
Eating fermented foods is not something new in natural medicine. This is because people discovered long ago that fermenting organically grown food not only preserved certain foods naturally but maintained their health. Now fermentation actually works by using lactic acid bacteria to produce fermentation which when eaten breaks down the carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the food before it is consumed. Being one of the natural remedies for maintaining a healthy digestive system, it’s also one of the easiest to introduce into your daily food intake.
Why Probiotics?
For healthy eating, information about probiotics and other types of natural medicine can be taught to you by a Naturopath Doctor. This type of doctor practices homeopathic medicine and herbal medicine and can give you nutritional counseling. This is good to do because a person’s digestive system has a certain amount of microflora when we are born. The bacteria grow and develop as long as a balanced diet is eaten. With nutrition counseling, you will be taught the healthy way to eat such as consuming organic raw fruits and vegetables, probiotic foods, fermented and cultured foods so that the healthy bacteria grow instead of being destroyed. To help this happen, a Naturopath Doctor can give you a list of fermented foods to add to your diet which you can choose from to help solve your intestinal issues.
The doctor will also discuss with you any issues you may be having such as ways to support your immune to help defeat bacterial infection. The doctor can use natural remedies to help your body to increase its ability to heal itself.
Are fermented foods really helpful?
There are quite a few people who believe Homeopathic medicine and Botanical Medicine is only for health nuts or people who are into the New Age movement. This isn’t so. Natural medicine has been around for a long time and using fermentation in food has been around just as long. By the public becoming germaphobes though, the natural enzymes in our systems have been reduced. But since some bacteria are healthy to have in the body, consuming organically grown foods which have been fermented will encourage the growth of helpful enzymes, bacteria and yeasts so your body has a healthy microflora.
Homeopath treatments and natural medicine are very real and valid methods to treat illnesses. Probiotics and eating fermented foods are just two of those methods in these categories which can be used. With nutritional counseling by a Naturopath Doctor, feeling better soon is within your grasp.
When talking to a Naturopath Doctor, it will be stressed that natural is always better. In homeopathic and in naturopathic medicine, the belief is the closer to the source of nature, the better you will feel. This is also true of why you should juice with organic ingredients whenever possible.
Why organic?
Organically grown fruit and vegetables are not genetically modified or altered. Strong chemicals and harmful pesticides are also not used when growing organic food. What this means, is that the fruit and vegetables are as close to naturally grown as possible. Also, by using organically grown ingredients for juicing, there are more vitamins and nutrients to increase your overall health. Since organic juicing has such a high level of antioxidants, it will also help to rid your body of toxins and harmful impurities. Another plus to juicing is it can help with weight loss while still keeping you healthy.
Juicing is one of the natural remedies used to help raise energy levels too. When you drink juice made with organic ingredients, 95% of what is needed in vitamin and enzymes are supplied. Also so by drinking juice, the concentration of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes go directly into your bloodstream. This gives your digestive system a rest, yet the nutritional benefits are still there.
More good points
Using juicing as a natural medicine can promote strengthened immunity; help develop strong bones while reducing your chances of heart disease, stroke and can even cut down the risk of cancer. It has been proven that vitamins and mineral which are plant based are absorbed into the body more easily. Think of it this way, when you are drinking freshly pressed juice you gain the living enzymes plus essential minerals, natural antibiotics, and antioxidants it contains. It would be as if you were drinking a living vitamin as part of your natural medicine.
A smart thing to do is to have nutritional counseling by a Naturopath Doctor before starting a juicing program. Since your body requires all the food groups for proper nourishment, juicing alone can have side effects. You need to give your body what it requires to stay both healthy and strong so counseling is always advisable.