In our digestive system, enzymes and other digestive secretions (from the stomach, pancreas, liver and intestines) break down our food into smaller particles, enabling them to be used by the body. Enzymes are the catalysts that make this action happen.
Digestion can be adversely impacted by a multitude of factors over a life time.
Things such as: poor diet, stress, prescription medications, poor chewing action, eating while busy, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol and ageing.
Poor digestive ability / low enzyme levels affects many, many people often without them realising it. For example:

Enzymes help prevent protein intolerance which can be manifested as one or more of the following: loss of taste for meat or poor appetite in general, sense of fullness, indigestion, flatulence and/or nausea one or two hours after eating, ileocecal valve incompetence, lack of vigour and stamina, mental depression, muscular weakness, flabbiness of flesh, fluid retention, hair loss, poor resistance to and recovery from infection, impaired healing of wounds.
Often gastrointestinal distress following the ingestion of foods high in protein is the most noticeable symptom.

The inability to properly digest protein is not a simple problem. Since protein is required for the production of digestive enzymes, an inability to digest protein properly means all food is not being digested with optimal efficiency.

Vegetarians tend to eat a relatively low protein/high fibre diet.  Therefore, they often require supplemental protease enzymes to more fully utilize the small amount of protein that is consumed and cellulase enzymes to help release nutrients from the fibrous food.

If protein is not properly digested, it cannot be utilized by the body to:

Balance the pH of body fluids.  The immediate products of protein digestion have a slightly acidifying effect on the blood which will help normalize an alkaline pH.
The high concentrations of protein in the cells and plasma plus their pK value of approximately 7.4 (the normal pH of extra cellular fluids) make the protein buffering system the most powerful in the body.

Build and repair tissue such as muscles, blood, bone, skin and internal organs.
Protein is a main constituent of all cell membranes. Structural proteins such as collagen provide the contractile mechanism of muscle and support characteristics found in connective tissue and spinal discs.

Transport calcium to structural tissue and to the nervous system. As protein digestion is improved there is more protein available to bind with the free calcium in the blood, facilitating better utilization of calcium by the body.

Form enzymes and hormones which control the metabolic processes of the body.
All enzymes, including digestive enzymes, are proteins and require and adequate supply of amino  acids from dietary protein digestion for their production.
Protein hormones include those of thepituitary gland affecting g the body’s sodium/potassium balance.

Maintain a strong immune system.  Protein is needed for the production of      antibodies, fibrin and phagocytic enzymes, all part of the body’s defence mechanisms.

Produce energy.  As much as 56% of amino acids are converted by the body to glucose for use in energy metabolism.  Therefore the ability to digest protein has a major impact on the blood glucose levels.

Regulate the body’s water balance.  The concentration of proteins in the blood and therefore its osmotic pressure is normally higher that that in the tissue fluids, which balances the pressure exerted on the capillaries by the blood flow.
When plasma protein concentrations fall to an abnormally low level a markedly lowered      colloid osmotic pressure of the plasma results.  This means that the capillary pressure      becomes stronger the balancing osmotic pressure forcing fluid to pass through the capillary walls and accumulate in the tissue spaces.

Enzymes also help prevent nutritional alkalosis often associated with Anxiety Syndromes characterized by one or more of the following: tension without cause, irritable or angry responses to sudden stimuli or frustration, fear of any social activities, indecisiveness, inattention and failure of recall, difficulty falling asleep, nightmares, despondency and pessimism, tachycardia with palpitations, shortness of breath/hyperventilation, appetite impairment, faintness.

Enzymes help prevent loss of bone mass due to inadequate intake and/or utilization of calcium manifested as changes in the curvature of the spine i.e. “dowager’s hump”, dull, aching discomfort in bones, particularly the middle to lower spine, pelvis and long bone fractures and loss of height.

Enzymes help prevent low blood glucose levels manifested as one or more of the following: fatigue, dizziness, weakness, tremulousness, palpitation, diaphoresis, hunger, nervousness, headache, confusion, visual disturbances, slow movement and speech, swollen extremities.

Enzymes help prevent impaired secretion of proteolytic enzymes manifested as a persistent or intermittent aching, burning, gnawing or stabbing discomfort usually localized in the upper abdomen, commonly radiating to the back and accompanied by nausea/vomiting, which is present for more than one day.

Enzymes help prevent food allergies and sensitivities which can form due to incomplete protein digestion in the gastrointestinal tract.

There are different enzymes required to digest different parts of our food, for example:

Amylase helps digest carbohydrates, including glutens.
Protease breaks down proteins into tripeptides, dipeptides and free amino acids for absorption in the small intestine.
Lipase is a digestive enzyme that aids in fat digestion. It breaks down triglycerides (fats) into diglycerides and monoglycerides as well as free fatty acids and glycerol.
Cellulase is not produced  in the body but instead is obtained from the cell walls of plants/ vegetables. It usually passes undigested through the digestive tract adding important bulk to the stool.
These are all of equal importance.

Enzymes are found naturally in all RAW foods. That is why it is best to eat as much salad and raw fruits & veges as possible.
Extra high levels of enzymes can be found in specific fruits such as kiwifruit, pineapple and papaya.

See page on ‘Enzymes – facts’.

Supplementing with digestive enzymes can often be an ideal way to treat many digestive problems.
Go to On-line shop for enzymes.

Rye grass extract used as ‘Oralmat’ is harmless and non toxic, relatively cheap and because it comes as a nice tasting liquid, extremely simple to use.

It is gluten free, and is absolutely safe for those with wheat allergies; in fact in many cases helps clear these allergies. It contains phytoestrogens, anti-oxidants and immune boosting properties.

As well as being an extremely effective anti-viral and anti-bacterial, it is also an anti-inflammatory and analgesic remedy.
It has been effective in inhibiting some types of chronic viral diseases such as glandular fever and herpes.
Ulcers (both leg and mouth ulcers) respond well.
It has been used to treat asthma and hay-fever, sinus, colds and flus and sore throats.
As a cream it can also help heal acne and many allied skin conditions.

I especially find this product especially beneficial for anyone travelling overseas as it helps prevent contracting viral infection via air conditioning or close contact with other people.

It is also a useful method or treating animals.

David Rudov sadly passed away in 2011, but his products are still available at here at Naturally Holistic Health.
Please ‘Contact us’ if you would like this product or,
if unsure whether this product is for you, then send your query and details to ‘Ask Alison’.

Mineral deficiencies – some people may think of Iron deficiency (anaemia) as being a possible reason behind their tiredness, but often other mineral deficiencies can be implicated. This can be easily remedied by using a good quality liquid mineral. There are many of these on the market but I have not found that they all are effective so when I can I import a product that I have found to work extremely well.
See page on ‘Minerals and why we need to supplement’.

Spinal misalignment-this can cause pain and ANY pain will make the body tired, but also can be the cause of very tired legs, sore feet and general lack of energy.

Inflammation-from any cause will cause fatigue.  I would need to see you to sort this one out as there can be many causes and the treatment has to be appropriate.

Gut flora imbalanced-this can often be an underlying cause of inflammation. It can also be a cause of poor mineral/nutrient absorption.
See page on ‘Probiotics’.

Thyroid function-not being optimum. This is more common than many people suspect. It is a common cause of that totally ‘can’t move’ feeling in the late afternoon, especially in middle aged and older people.

Blood sugar levels -fluctuating or too low. This is also very common especially in people whose diet contains a high level of refined/high sugar/high carbohydrate foods. I have in the clinic a very comprehensive/simple to follow booklet on ‘correct eating’ that can solve this problem.
See page on ‘Blood Sugars’.

Post viral fatigue–extremely common and unlike what many people think it is treatable. There are many natural products that can boost the immune system to the point that it can overcome this syndrome.

Stress –this can be huge drain on energy that people often do not realise as it is an on-going part of life. However it is important to address this as it will not go away by itself. Re-structuring your life-style is best but if this is not possible then there are many natural products and various types of body work that can help greatly.
See page on ‘Stress and how to deal with it’.

Toxicity- a toxic body can also cause excessive tiredness. You may well need to look at using a liver tonic (AFTER building up your mineral reserves of course!).
See page on ‘Detoxification’.

If you need to discuss any of these issues, Contact us to make an appointment.

310 ml warm water
2tsp bread yeast
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp honey
1 egg
375 gm spelt flour
pinch of salt

I put all the ingredients except the flour into the bowl and lightly mix before adding the flour.
Once the bread maker is working, I also watch the first few minutes to make sure the mix looks correct.
I do not claim to be an expert bread maker and sometimes I find that it looks a little ‘sloppy’ and that the addition of about 50gms of rice flour improves the loaf!

Note that gluten intolerance usually comes about because of poor protein digestion. (Gluten is a protein) and I have often noticed that  this over all situation can be improved by the long term use of digestive enzymes designed to increase protein digestion.
Go to on-line shop for digestive enzymes.

We seem to spend much of our time explaining to curious beach walkers exactly what we are doing and why. Quite simple really, we are fertilizing our vegetable garden ready for winter planting. Any seaweed makes great fertilizer and it’s free!

There are several ways in which you can go about using the seaweed. We find the easiest is to lay it across the lawn for a day or so until slightly dry and then run the lawn mower over it. This mixes it up beautifully with the lawn clippings and it can then be dug straight into the garden.

Alternatively you can dig it directly into the soil without cutting it up first but it does take longer to break down this way and can become rather odorous if not dug in sufficiently.
A rotary hoe can make this job easier if you have a large garden.

If you have room for a compost bin or two then putting the seaweed directly into the bins along with your kitchen wastes will save the neighbours complaining about the smell.

However if you do not have a lawn or compost bins or if you cannot procure alot seaweed then another method is to soak what you have in buckets of water and once the liquid becomes nice and thick, dilute it and pour onto seedlings.
The buckets can then be refilled with water and the soaking process continued.

All seaweeds are very high in nutrients, especially minerals. This is important as our soils tend to be very deficient in minerals, especially here at the beach where the soil is very sandy. Collecting seaweeds is an effective and efficient way to make up this deficit. So whenever you see seaweed deposits down on the beach, collect it and have fun growing huge tasty vegetables.

I feel that many more people could make use of this resource and in doing so greatly improve their own and their family’s mineral intake as well as saving money.
For those that don’t do this then mineral supplementation is a must if you are going to keep good health.

You ideally need Rugosa rose bushes.
‘Rugosa Rosa’ is great, the hips are huge and easier to peel.
You need:
1 kg of rose hip flesh.
800gm of sugar
200ml water
100ml of white wine or light malt vinegar
1 lemon
Mix all together and boil until soft, with no lid on the saucepan. Takes about 25 minutes. Add the juice and grated zest of 1 lemon and bottle into small sterilized jars.
Keeps for ages but best kept in the fridge once opened.

Rose Hip syrup: There are many Rose hip syrup recipes on the internet.
Most use:
1kg of rose hips of any variety
2 ½ litres water
500gm of sugar or alternatively honey to taste.
Crush, chop, mince or coarsely blend the rose hips. Put immediately into 1 ½ litres of boiling water, bring back to the boil and then leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
Pour into a jelly bag and allow to drip until all the bulk liquid has come through.
Then place the residue back into the sauce pan with the remaining litre of water.
Re-boil, infuse and restrain.
Then pour the total amount of juice into a saucepan and reduce down until you have
approximately 1 litre of liquid. Add the sugar or preferably honey to taste.
This can then be bottled. Keep it in the fridge once opened.
Is a great, economical way of giving children a daily dose of Vitamin C.

PS: If anyone local does have Rugosa rose hips available that they don’t need, please give me a call. My attempt at growing this rose has so far failed and I would be very happy to come a pick any spare hips anyone may have as I have run out of my favourite relish.

Better still, has anyone got any spare ‘runners’ of this rose variety, then I can try growing it again over the winter. I think my last few plants did not establish themselves well enough before the ‘big dry’.

‘SLOW DANCE’

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to the rain slapping on the ground.
Ever followed a butterfly’s eratic flight,
or gazed at the sun into the fading night.

You had better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask ‘how are you?’ do you hear the reply.
When the day is done,
do you lie on your bedwith the next 100 chores running through your head.

You had better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won’t last.

Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,
and in your haste not see his sorrow.
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die,
cause you never had time, to call and say hi.

You had better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day
it is like an un-opened gift…….thrown away.

Life is not a race, Do take it slower,
Hear the music, before the song is over.

I don’t know who wrote this, prehaps someone can let me know.

The first to come on the market were products derived from the bark of the sugar cane or from certain species of pine bark. This last I was a little wary of as it did seem to cause stomach discomfort in some people. I have seen no such effects from any product derived from sugar cane bark however and cholesterol reducing effects seem to be reasonable.

The next on the market were products derived from the bran of ‘red rice’. Red yeast rice has been used in China for hundreds of years and its consumption has been found to regulate cholesterol levels. These are starting to show excellent results even in instances where the first group of products have not been successful. I have seen no detrimental effects to date.

Both products help to correct the LDL/HDL ratios (HDL being High Density Lipoprotein that is considered to be protective against coronary heart disease).

Including other bran products in the diet, as well as the usual elimination of all hard fats, will also help.
However if dietary measures are insufficient or you prefer to take a natural alternative to orthodox medication then I do have an alternative products available.

Red yeast rice is available as a powder, however, I AM UNABLE TO SUPPLY THE PRODUCT AS A CAPSULE due to a change in Australian regulations. This also affects NZ supplies.

I can also supply a product made from sugar cane wax alcohols which is a natural medicine developed to assist in regulating Cholesterol and triglceride levels.
Sugar cane wax alcohols which have been well researched and documented. They have over a number of years demonstrated safety, efficiency and good tolerability.
Please ‘Contact us’ if you would like either of these products or, if unsure which product is for you, then send your query and details to ‘Ask Alison’.

Deficiency of Coenzyme Q10 is a common finding in patients with hyperlipidaemia and this is believed to be a factor in oxidative damage found in tissues such as the arterial walls.
- CoQ10 has been shown also to help reduce cholesterol levels and to prevent oxidation of LDL cholesterol.
- Supplementation with 100mg of CoQ10 daily has also been shown to prevent the development of deficiencies in patients taking ‘statin’ type drugs, which are known to induce deficiency.
- CoQ10 is also advised when using the natural alternatives to these drugs. Research has used levels of 100-300mg daily.
See page on C0enzyme Q10

If you are concerned about your personal situation, then if possible make an appointment to come in and discus the alternative possibilities.
It is important that if you decide to embark on any alternative regime that you inform your doctor of what you are doing and have your cholesterol levels and blood pressure checked regularly.
Click here to see page on ‘Cholesterol’.

This is not an easy question to answer, especially as I feel that it is a very personal one that each individual parent needs to look at.

It is difficult; there is a lot of very conflicting information out there! The best thing I can
say, is that from my point of view, if choosing not to vaccinate then definite steps have to be taken to boost the immune system and helps prevent infections of any sort. It would be very irresponsible to do otherwise.

Unfortunately, simply trying to give a child a ‘healthy’ lifestyle is not always enough,
depending on what each person means by this description of course. Hopefully it means giving a diet free of ‘junk’ and preservatives and as organic as possible, a living space free of pollutants, stress free etc.

However this is not always the case.
The best, first and easiest thing to do for everyone, is to greatly supplement the mineral intake, as it is minerals that your body needs in order to be able to fight bacteria, viruses and enable the body to remain healthy, that’s why I always suggest that people use Colloidal minerals all the time.
Go to On-line shop for Liquid minerals.

Secondly ensure that as far as possible the diet is free of ‘junk’, white flour, refined foods, sugars, etc.

Thirdly give your children a herbal product that will help further boost their immune
systems. This could be Echinacea, Olive or Rye grass extract {Oralmat (TM)}which are great anti-viral remedies for winter, or you could alternate with a course of Colostrum which greatly helps boost the immune system via the gastrointestinal system.
There are also now good probiotics which also help keep the immune system in good shape.
See page on ‘Probiotics’.

If deciding to go the other way and allow your children to have vaccinations then it is equally important to ensure that all children undergoing vaccinations of any sort are as healthy as possible and have adequate mineral levels.
Do not give vaccinations to a child that has the flu or is other wise unwell.

Check with your doctor as to the contents of a vaccine, this is especially important if you are aware that your child has allergies, particularly to egg white.

There has long been huge debate about the safety of vaccinations and one of the main questions of debate has been why some children react to vaccination while others don’t.
A recent study may have shed some light on this .

It identified an apparent link between certain neurodevelopmental toxins, such as heavy metals and certain vaccines, and an increased possibility of developing neurological problems. It showed that heavy metals and some vaccinations can affect growth factor signalling, that can cause adverse effects to the methylation reaction. Methylation is an important part of neurotransmitter production and is critical to normal neurological development in children.

The study showed that thimerosal (a preservative found in some vaccines), ethanol and heavy metals inhibit folate dependant methylation. This meant that if a child having a vaccination happened to have an inefficient methylation process they were likely to be more susceptible to adverse reaction.
Insuring that children have adequate minerals, vitamins B12, B6 and Folate levels would help reduce this possibility.

I would normally expect herbs containing phyto-estrogens to help in a situation like
this, however it can take a little time.
Black Cohosh and other ‘hormonal’ herbs mostly work by tonifying the pituitary gland and all are effective in the longer term (ie) 2-3 months. If you are suffering from this problem then try using specifically Black Cohosh in a standardised form over several months.

Vitamin C can also be very useful. It helps build up collagen which gives the skin its elasticity and therefore can help prevent excessive vaginal dryness. When taken in conjunction with, or incorporated into a product that contains high amounts of other antioxidants the effect can be quite noticeable.
I have noted that in a number of cases the multi-marketed product ‘Mona Vie’ (TM) is one of the best products in this category. I have seen problems with vaginal dryness ease with only a small dose taken daily over a period of 3 – 6 weeks.
Use the ‘Contact us’ page if you would like to obtain or source this product.

Bio-identical progesterone creams or estrogens are another option that may provide quicker results. You need to see your GP about these.

You could also start using foods that contain phyto-estrogens. These would be food products that are Soya based (milks, tofu or other products), also linseeds and alfalfa.

Short term help can be obtained by using a good quality Aloe vera gel that will soothe the area and ease the dryness. Often works even better if combined with Evening Primrose oil. Use this after each bath/shower or as often as needed. Make sure you have a brand of Aloe vera that does not contain additives or medications that make it sticky to use, it should be very soft and smooth on the skin.
Go to On-line shop to order Aloe Vera gel.