Beauty is NOT Skin Deep

I always raise an eyebrow at the well known saying ‘beauty is only skin deep’, because although we all know that true beauty comes from within, in our heart and spirit, I happen to know that physical beauty starts much deeper than the upper dermis.  

When we think of skin, we all have an ideal of a glowing, blemish free complexion.  However, most of us don’t think much deeper than our appearance and only see troublesome spots or red patches as a beauty obstacle.  A nutritional therapist will look at blemished skin and think, ‘liver? Gut? Lymph?’  The secret to looking good on the outside is very much a matter of being clean and functional on the inside.  A tired liver, a slow gut and a sluggish lymphatic system will instantly show in the face and body as a hunched posture, puffy eyes, dark circles and blemished skin. 

Seeking beauty from within will most definitely show as external beauty.  It may also result in a good mood, positive mindset and a skip in your step.  The good news is that by nurturing your body with fresh juices, green smoothies, abundant salads and plenty of water, you have a better chance of creating a shining, glowing vision of perfection with a lot less covering and simply more highlighting.  

A great tip is to increase your intake of fluids to 1.5-2 litres a day.  Choose mineral water, diluted juices and herbal teas and avoid caffeine as much as possible.  This is going to give your elimination organs a great deal of support and help you heal in miraculous ways, in the most simple of steps.  Drink up and enjoy feeling hydrated and happy in the knowledge that your body is doing all the good work of excreting toxins and plumping up your complexion.

Either way? Enjoy.

Josie.

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Hangover help: My Top Tips!

Ok, so we all overindulge once in a while and a Friday night is often the time to do it...

But, when it comes to looking and feeling great?  Dehydration, tired livers and late nights are a real no-no.  There is nothing more aging to the skin than repeated bouts of excessive drinking.  Of course most of us enjoy a drink occasionally, but if you are binge drinking once a week or more then your body and face will start to show it.  Here are my five top tips to help you take care of your body during these frivolous nights:

Five Top Tips

1.   It is wise to drink plenty of water between drinks to keep your body hydrated.  The liver has the impossible job of detoxifying your blood during nights out so it is vital to provide it with plenty of water to do the job!

2.  Make sure you always have a sustaining meal which is rich in protein (this will stay in the stomach longer). 

3.  When you start to feel drunk then try to slow down, this is the last point you will be able to use your conscious decision making and is probably the best company you will be all night, so switch to water instead of another drink and save your lovely liver.

4.  Avoid shots and choose a mixer drink like vodka and soda with lime, which will provide you with water as well as alcohol.  This makes the balance more equal and your liver will thank you for your thoughtful choice.

5.  Green Smoothie the next morning!  Instead of reaching for the frying pan, choose your blender and make a green smoothie, your body will start to repair much more quickly, as will your headache!

Green Smoothie Love!

All you need is a tabletop food processer/blender, a good knife and a chopping board.  Start with fruit as this is full of water and blends better, the greens will then whoosh in with the fruit pulp easily.  Add the ground flax (linseed) and water at the end for a final whizz.  When it comes to water, just add as much as you like to get the consistency you prefer.

Summer Berry Green Boost (frozen fruit is fine in winter months)

1/2 cup blueberries (rich in antioxidants)

1/2 cup strawberries (rich in wonderful vitamins)

1 small banana (the potassium will help your hangover)

3/4 cups Spinach (magnesium/iron and green goodness to ease the aches)

1 teaspoon of milk thistle powder (your liver''s best friend)

2 Tablespoons of flax ground seed

Add water to blend it to a drinking consistency.  Yum!

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How can colonic irrigation help with problem skin?

For those of you who are new to the idea of colonic irrigation, you may also hear it termed ‘colonic’, ‘colema’ or ‘enema’.  All techniques are quite similar but if you visited a therapist to have it done, rather than a DIY job at home, they would usually term it ‘colonic hydrotherapy’.  All methods do the same thing; they allow water to gently enter the body through your bottom and around the colon - this cleans inside and carries out years of hardened waste. 

The large intestine (colon) has a one way valve where it meets the small intestine so the water will never go further than the colon.  The pressure of the water feels like the urgency of needing to go to the toilet RIGHT THIS MINUTE and with practice you can retain the water and allow it to flow further into the colon to cleanse even deeper.  I understand that it may seem very strange, but I can assure you the results are amazing.

If you are suffering from bad skin in the form of spots, rashes, lumps or bumps, it is important to think about where the problem is starting.  We all have bad skin from time to time as hormones and lifestyles change over the years, but putting up with skin problems constantly can be exhausting and bad for self esteem.  The skin is something we cannot hide and visible eruptions can be one of the most upsetting problems people experience.  

The most important factor to remember is the skin is one of our elimination organs.  If what our body is consuming, producing and excreting is toxic?  Our skin will look toxic.

Maintaining a healthy colon can be a great way to help your skin by taking the strain off your liver and releasing the toxic load on your body.  Compacted faecal matter that gathers, as a result of our low fibre and high simple carbohydrate diet, becomes sticky and clings to the wall of the colon.  This hardened matter creates blockages and causes a toxic overload on the liver (which is responsible for cleaning and filtering our blood).  

Our poor lovely liver has SO much to do already because blood which circulates to the liver from our small intestine and colon can be extremely toxic (on top of this we drink alcohol and get exposed to all sorts of pollution which our lovely liver also has to manage).  If our digestive tract is clogged with old rubbish then our body is always full of toxins (waste products) which cannot be detoxified and released (autointoxication).  This may leave us tired and sluggish and very often...spotty!

I can understand that it may repel some people, but if you keep your mind open there really is no space for anything other than magical healing power inside and out.  A healthy digestive tract may produce clear skin, clear thoughts and a lot more energy, so it is definitely worth a try!

Good luck and remember that the body can heal itself of anything if you give it a helping hand.

Josie

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CONCORDE HOUSE SPRING OPEN DAY

Spring Open Day

at Concorde House Clinic

26a Stour Street, Canterbury CT1 2NZ

Saturday 20th April

11am — 5pm

Our skilled and experienced team of therapists will be on hand to answer questions, give demonstrations, free taster sessions and a series of informal and informative talks

Acupuncture Herbal Medicine Homeopathy Shiatsu

Hypnotherapy Aromatherapy Reflexology Yoga

Massage Alexander Technique Sophrology Reiki

Sound Baths Healing Naturopathic Nutrition Qi Gong

Cosmetic Acupuncture Counselling Psychotherapy

Free Talks & Classes - All Welcome

11:00 Men’s Yoga class - increase your flexibility and stamina

11:30 Sophrology open workshop - practical tools to manage stress

12:30 Acupuncture for anxiety, depression and emotional stress

1:00 Posture & Movement – the Alexander Technique

1:30 Women’s womb health - from fertility, pregnancy, post-natal to menopause

2:00 Introduction to Soul Voice work - discover yourself through your unique voice

4:30 Sound Bath with sacred instruments to subtly soothe, restore and rejuvenate

Book Your Free Taster Session Now

Acupuncture, Shiatsu, Reflexology, Aromatherapy,

Massage (Indian head, Japanese Facial, Deep tissue, Stress release), Womb massage, Advanced Bowen

Technique, Postural assessment (Alexander Technique)

Call 01227 788 868

Concorde House Clinic 26a Stour St Canterbury CT1 2NZ

www.concordehouseclinic.co.uk info@concordehouseclinic.co.uk

How to reduce your toxic exposure by 90% in 1 easy step!

Organic foods are expensive and often they are not an option financially.  Although choosing organic is the best way to avoid your exposure to pesticides and other damaging chemicals used to grow crops, there is a way to reduce your exposure to these toxins.  

Although all non-organic crops always use some kind of chemical spray, there are some crops which use considerably more.  By avoiding the most heavily sprayed crops or choosing organic versions of this produce you can reduce your exposure to chemical nasties by 90%!  

So, here is the list!

1. Apples (More than 10 different chemicals may be sprayed on apple trees or other vegetable crops 
before harvest)

2. Bell pepper

3. Celery

4. Cherries

5. Imported grapes

6. Nectarines

7. Peaches

8. Pears

9. Potatoes

10. Lettuce

11. Spinach

12. Strawberries



Happy Shopping! :)

Josie

WHO. Pesticides - Children's Health and the Environment. Available from: http://www.who.int/ceh/capacity/Pesticides.pdf.

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"Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness."

Edward Stanley

Oil Cleanse Beauty Tip!

Oil Cleansing Method


Though it sounds counter-intuitive, certain blends of oil are great for acne because they

 help break down grime on our skin without stripping it. This prevents the skin from 

overreacting and producing more oil. It's also thought that the avoidance of harsh drying 

soaps can prevent premature aging, so it’s beneficial for all skin types.  For general skin 

nutrition tips visit my blog on keeping your skin vibrant: 


http://therealfoodcoach.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-improve-skin-problems.html



The Method

1. Get your oil mixture, washcloth, and a hand towel.

2. Wet face with warm water.

3. Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of oil (quarter size amount) into your palm and rub hands 

together.

4. Rub fingers gently over your face in small circles for 30 seconds to 2 minutes to allow

 the oil to penetrate. Concentrate on areas with blocked pores.

5. Wet hand towel with slightly less than scalding water, wring out, and fold up to keep

 the heat in.

6. Quickly wet the washcloth with super-hot-but-doesn’t-burn-your-face-off water, 

wring it out, and spread it over your face.

7. Cover the washcloth with the towel to seal in the steam and to keep the washcloth 

from cooling right away. This is key.


8. Leave on until the towel and washcloth have cooled to about room temperature and 

then wipe your face with the washcloth.


9. Repeat 1-2 more times, but use the clean towel to wipe your face the second and

 optional third time.


10. Voila! You have oil cleansed. There should be a thin layer of oil still on your skin to 

balance and protect.


11. If your skin feels tight after, it is recommended to rub a small amount of the 

cleansing oil in. I prefer to use a food-grade skin balm or hydrating oil.


This tip was borrowed from my lovely friend Magdalena at The Thyroid Diet Coach.


Truly cleansing.


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Heal Your Emotions, Heal Your Body.

In Western medicine doctors are taught to treat the illness.  They know all about disease and dysfunction and how to treat it, but are taught nothing about being well and how to maintain it.  The body is not a time bomb waiting to go off, it is a magical place which can heal and regenerate in truly amazing ways.  In some cases drugs actually suppress disease by pushing it back down into the system and doctors rarely address the lifestyle issues which causes the disorder to surface e.g. stress, diet, lifestyle.


I have recently been reading a book called 'Women's bodies Women's Wisdom by Dr Chrsitiane Northrup. It interests me that a medical doctor has turned her back on the orthodox approach to medicine and put a  lot of time and research into producing a book about the effect of emotions on Women's health (there is no reason why her theories and observations cannot be applied to men too, but her area of medicine for 20 years was woman's health so that is where are interest lies)

She suggests that: "To improve our lives and our health, we must acknowledge the seamless unity between our beliefs, behaviour and our physical bodies."

This powerful quote summarises neatly what a lot of people are missing in their approach to good health.  She believes that by loving ourselves and accepting our bodies we give our physical body the right environment to heal.  If we are angry and resentful and hold on to negative emotions, then our whole system will be affected.  This can be seen in a physical way through the stress response.  If we become stressed then our body produces powerful hormones which start a domino effect of reactions in the body including a raise in blood sugar - to run from the threat!  If over time we are stressed daily and do not address it, our high blood sugar may lead to diabetes or  metabolic syndrome.  The stress response can be triggered by something as simple as reliving a stressful event, such as an argument with a friend.  The heart starts to race, the shoulders hunch and the body begins to react negatively by shutting down certain systems such as our digestive secretions.  

Our mind and our thoughts are part of our bodies and until we address them together and respect their connection, we will find it very hard to heal.  Recently doctors have been given the power to recommend certain self help titles on the NHS system such as 'Feel the fear and do it anyway' by Susan Jeffers.  This acceptance of mindset on health in mainstream healthcare is a fabulous thing and a sign that we are perhaps on our way to a more holistic approach to being well.

The most useful advice is simply to think good thoughts about yourself and others.

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Carbohydrates and Weight Gain.

Diet plans are designed to fail as they take away all the fun and make planning the day ahead seem like an arduous task.  A lot of diets include measuring amounts of food, cutting out all the fun stuff and reducing valuable fats.  

Food falls into three main groups; protein, fats and carbohydrates.  They all give us different levels of energy and are broken down by different enzymes and chemicals in the digestive tract.  When we eat carbohydrate based (starchy) foods, our body converts this into glucose which gives us a very quick burst of energy and our blood sugar rises considerably.  Our pancreas releases insulin which helps to transport the glucose into our cells to be used as energy.  

‘Simple carbohydrates’ such as fruit, white bread and white rice may escalate our blood glucose levels rather quickly.  This blood sugar high we experience is often followed by a plummet in the blood sugar levels because the simple carbohydrate food has released very quickly into the system and left us feeling tired, grumpy and craving more energy.  Unfortunately, because the blood sugar has dropped so quickly, we often reach for another quick fix high carbohydrate food and the cycle continues as our blood sugar spikes up and down throughout the day.  If we take in more energy than we need, then the sugar in our blood is converted to triglyceride fats and stored in the liver and then muscles and eventually all over the body once our initial stores are full.  Our pancreas is also overworked as it has to produce high levels of insulin throughout the day and this can result in related health issues.  

The other type of carbohydrate is called ‘complex carbohydrate’ and gives us a slower release of sugar into the blood which may sustain us for longer and keep our blood sugar levels more stable.  Examples of these ‘complex carbohydrates’ are porridge oats, quinoa and brown rice.  They have more fibre and nutrients so take more processing by the body.  If you combine proteins with these complex carbohydrates they will move even more slowly through the digestive tract and keep our blood sugar levels more steady.  This is because the protein stays longer in the stomach (2-3 hours) as it requires a longer digestive breakdown and this helps to slow the release of the carbohydrates which are eaten with it.  Therefore a balanced snack could be a pear with some almonds and a good slow release meal might be some salmon and brown rice with peas.  

So, it may not be as hard as we think to lose weight, by balancing your meals rather than limiting them, we may feel fuller for longer and stop craving sugary snacks.  It may be a good idea to have a mid morning snack such as an apple and a  few brazil nuts (4-5), a snack can help to keep your blood sugar levels stable between meals and prevent cravings for the wrong foods.  A balanced lunch with good quality protein may help to keep you going until an afternoon snack (e.g. a couple of oatcakes with hummus).  Your evening meal  should also be balanced with protein and it is a good idea to make sure that your plate is well balanced by having 1/3^rd protein, 1/3^rd complex carbohydrate and 1/3^rd vegetables as well as some fats or oils and herbs. 

So don't cut carbs out, just cut down on them.  We need carbohydrates to fuel our brain so taking them out the diet is a bad idea.  However, balancing them mindfully may be a very good start to weight loss.

Good Luck..

Josie

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Natural Remedies for Asthma?

Asthma can be scary, uncomfortable and very difficult to treat so finding ways to support the body naturally can be empowering for asthma sufferers. There is no need to stop medication which is vital for supporting sufferers through attacks and prevention, but over time natural methods can support the body so that medication is less frequently used.

So many people think that because asthma is a condition which is genetic or innate once it has developed it cannot be changed.  Although it may be triggered by genetic and external factors, it can be controlled and improved with natural approaches and this can avoid or reduce the need for steroidal medications or brochodilator inhalers.  Even if you still need medication, you may get to the point where you can reduce the dosage or limit usage by supporting your body naturally.  Orthodox medication has an important place in the treatment of asthma, but it works well alongside natural remedies too.

So, if you are suffering with asthma or know someone who is, then trying these natural approaches can only do good on the road to managing a life with asthma.

1.  Vitamin C rich foods and/or supplementation will help to support the immune system .  Your immune system needs a real boost during any allergic/immune condition so make sure you are getting plenty.

2.  Essential Fatty Acids are vital in any inflammatory condition.  They  balance other fatty acids which can be pro-inflammatory so are a great support for asthmatic conditions.

3.  Fresh fruit and vegetables are vital for anyone suffering from asthma.  The body needs extra support so green smoothies, juices and lots of abundant salads will help to support the body's natural immune health and may lessen the frequency of attacks.

4. Remove any chemical additives from your diet as they can interfere with the body's natural healing systems and cause imbalances.  Inflammation and dysfunction responds well to natural foods but foreign chemicals can make it worse.

5.  Meditation and breathing techniques are great for asthma.  Although it is a physical problem, it still responds to stress.   By managing stress levels and staying balanced, the body will be in a stronger place to deal with allergic reactions and asthma attacks may be less frequent.

So, try these natural approaches and remember that there is only good to come of getting in tune with your body and feeding it things which promote balance and health.  All these efforts will improve your whole system, so only good can come of it.

Warm Wishes

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