Decoding your face on your state of health

Many civilisations have used the face, skin, nails, tongue and pulses to decode a person’s state of health.  When you look at yourself in the mirror, some of the observations you have can alert you to health issues that are starting and may not be full blown and diseased yet.

1.       Puffy face and thinning of eye brows – we all love skinny face and long eye brows to highlight our features but if you have been noticing that your face is getting puffier and your outer third of your eye brows are thinning, it could be a sign of iodine deficiency.  Iodine is a trace mineral that we need a very small quantity of, but if you are deficient in it or cannot absorb it, you will have different symptoms that will show up.

2.       One side of the face droops – this can be caused by a viral infection affecting the vagal nerve causing a condition called Bell’s Palsy.  If you have always had a symmetrical smile and notice you are not, get it checked to make sure you haven’t had a stroke.  If what you have is Bell’s Palsy, acupuncture soonest possible can help save you from ongoing droopiness.

3.       Puffy and flaky eyelids – this is usually from some form of allergic reaction, quite often from topical applications or skin care that you have put on.  Eliminate all topical applications and allow skin to heal.  Choose skincare that are as natural as possible and has the shortest list of ingredients.  Avoid any bottles that contain ingredients you cannot pronounce.

4.       Rashes or blotches – this often indicates a food allergy or absorption issues in the gut

5.       Pale and cracked lips – this is often an indication of iron and B vitamin deficiencies

6.       Persistent hair growth on your face if you are a woman – this could be a sign of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.  You will need to get blood tests and preferably scans done to confirm the condition.

7.       Enlarged tonsils – these could indicate ongoing infection or a deficiency of vitamins A,C,E and zinc.

8.       Dry, thinning hair and dandruff – this can be a sign of deficiency of essential fatty acids and hormonal imbalances. 

Undiagnosed Subclinical Hypothyroidism may be making you Sick, Tired, Fat, Inflamed and Anxious

Subclinical hypothyroidism is not only commonly ignored, it is also grossly under diagnosed.  It is easy to dismiss tiredness, feeling sick and fat to our modern lifestyle of having too much to do and too little time.  In turn, this affects sleep, mood and can cause anxiety.

There are many reasons why subclinical hypothyroidism is under diagnosed.  The symptoms are common with many other causes – tiredness, weight gain, anxiety, dry skin and hair, cold hands and feet, poor memory, low sex drive, infertility, hoarse voice, etc. 

The measure of TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is very commonly used by doctors to measure the “normality” of thyroid function.  Unfortunately, through running functional testing for thyroid profile for many of our clients in clinic has revealed that very often, a patient’s TSH is normal but the free T3 is not normal or low.  The free T3 is the active thyroid hormone and if that is low, any or a combination of the above symptoms can show.

What can you do to make sure you have the correct diagnosis?

If your symptoms have been persistent, you need to order the right tests. 

1. You need to know your TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, Thyroid Peroxidase, Antithyroglobulin, TSH receptor antibodies.
2. Vitamin D status

It is also important to make sure that you have adequate amount of trace minerals iodine, selenium and zinc to allow conversion of thyroid hormones to function adequately.

If you have high exposure to heavy metals, which can show up in mercury dental amalgams, pesticides, exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke (both active and passive smokers) you will “crowd out” your important thyroid nutrients.  Removing these sources of heavy metals and having adequate minerals is the first step to help chaperone your thyroid nutrients into your cells.

At NutriActionz Natural Health Clinic, we use appropriate testing and work through your individual biochemistry to ensure that the root causes of your problems are identified and addressed.  If you have been suffering from the above symptoms for a while and want some light at the end of the tunnel, contact us for a consultation so we can lead you on the right path.

Tips for creating vibrant, healthy skin

If you are suffering from distressing skin conditions like dermatitis, eczema, psoriais or acne, you will find that many of the conventional treatments available do not manage your symptoms effectively.  This is because skin problems are rarely caused by one single factor.  Your skin is the largest organ of your body.  Its function is to eliminate toxins, regulate body temperature and provide protection to the inside of your body from potential micro-organisms’ invasion. Your body literally shed millions of skin cells every day and your skin completely replaces itself roughly every 27 days.  This means that if you can identify and treat the factors contributing to your skin problems, you should start to see dramatic improvements to your skin within one to two months.

What causes skin conditions?

The skin is a reflection of the health of your internal environment.  There are often many things that can contribute to a skin condition.  Here are some possible reasons:

• if your internal digestive and detoxification systems are not functioning properly, your skin will suffer;
• if you are experiencing a high level of stress, then the inflammation this causes can become visible through the skin;
• if your circulation and / or lymphatic systems are congested, then your skin will reflect this; and
• if your diet lacks certain nutrients your body and your skin needs, you will be presented with a skin condition indicating that your body is not getting the nutrients it needs.

Improving the health of your skin is not just about applying creams or lotions onto your skin and hoping that the problem will go away.  You also need to address the underlying contributing factors to the skin problem.  Here are some simple tips to improve the health of your skin:

• Eat well, avoid junk foods and feed your skin.  Poor diet is one of the major contributing factors to skin issues.  A poor diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies as well as inflammation and your skin will be the first to show the effect of a poor or inappropriate diet.  Your skin needs certain nutrients.  Nutrients such as zinc, vitamin D and fish oil are vital for your skin health as well as for the immune system.  Deficiencies in these nutrients have been shown to have an impact on skin conditions. 
• Keep your bowel movement regular and maintain healthy bowel flora.  If you are constipated and not moving your bowel regularly, toxins will not be removed from your body efficiently.  Toxins reabsorbed back into your system may be removed through your skin and this can aggravate skin conditions.  Adequate good bacteria (or bowel flora) is essential for healthy skin.  Bowel flora is key for maintaining proper immune function and digestion, to prevent constipation and harmful microbial overgrowth of the skin and digestive system.  So, improving constipation and sluggish digestion will assist in treating skin conditions. 
• Manage your stress and exercise regularly.  Stress is one of the major contributing factors to skin conditions especially acne as it causes inflammation, depletes your immune system and destroys bowel flora.  If you feel that you are stress out, try some relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation.  Exercise can be a way to relax and manage stress as well.  Exercise helps the skin remove toxins through sweating as well as being anti-inflammatory.
• Detoxify your body regularly. If any of your five major channels of elimination, ie., the skin, the bowel, the kidneys, the lymphatic system and the lungs, is not functioning effectively and efficiently, the other channels are forced to work harder to help remove toxins the body is trying to eliminate. In most cases, congestion in one of these channels is expressed via the skin in the form of skin conditions such as acne, dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. Therefore, improving the capacity of your elimination channels through regular integrated detoxification program will help to improve the health of your skin.
• Skin conditions can be caused by a number of factors.  A personalised treatment program is often needed to address the specific underlying causes of your individual condition.  While treating the cause is key to the long term solution of your skin condition, you can also use natural topical creams containing natural herbs (such as chamomile, calendula, aloe vera), essential oils (such as lavender, sandlewood) and nutrients (such as vitamin D, E, B12, zinc) to help manage your symptoms, reduce skin inflammation and promote healing.

Skin conditions can be caused by a number of factors.  A personalised treatment program is often needed to address the specific underlying causes of your individual condition.  While treating the cause is key to the long term solution of your skin condition, you can also use natural topical creams containing natural herbs (such as chamomile, calendula, aloe vera), essential oils (such as lavender, sandlewood) and nutrients (such as vitamin D, E, B12, zinc) to help manage your symptoms, reduce skin inflammation and promote healing.

Natural Treatment of Eczema

What is eczema? Eczema is a condition of the skin that results in weak skin integrity, itchiness, redness and/or weepy skin. Eczema is prevalent in 10-12% of children. Allergic reaction and gastrointestinal function is almost always implicated in eczema cases. The pharmaceutical treatment of eczema is often steroid creams. Many people put up with eczema for years because they think applying the steroid cream from their doctors is the only cure for eczema. There can be different causes of eczema. Amongst the major causes of eczema include:
1. Food allergy
2. Toxicity from the gastrointestinal tract, liver, bowels or lymphatic system
3. Stress
4. Exposure to environmental allergens and irritants or overwashing
5. Nutrient deficiency
6. Immune dysregulation
7. Bacterial infection
Treatment of eczema naturally involves dealing with food allergy or intolerances and working with the gastrointestinal tract as a toxic gastrointestinal tract from leaky gut syndrome, constipation or congestion of the elimination organs like the liver and lymphatic system can also show up on the skin as eczema. For more information, visit our Free Articles page and download the article on treating eczema and allergy naturally.