Managing Cold & Flu Symptoms

This winter has been unusually cold.  Despite your best efforts at preventing infection through diet, exercise and supplementation, you may succumb to a cold or flu at some stage this winter. This can occur particularly if stress or life events get in the way of maintaining the healthy habits that help keep your immune system strong.  Should you find yourself ‘under the weather’, the good news is that there are natural remedies you can take to help you get back on your feet.

Both the common cold and influenza (flu) are caused by viruses, most commonly the rhinovirus. What many people may not realise is that antibiotics only target bacteria and are not able to kill the viruses responsible for colds and flu. Fortunately, there are herbs and nutrients that can help manage these viral infections and keep your immune defences strong.

A number of traditional herbs have been clinically shown to improve immune function and reduce symptoms of the common cold and flu, for example:

-         andrographis can reduce both the severity and duration of cold and flu symptoms;

-         picorrhiza can help maintain a healthy immune system, and it is now understood that this herb has both anti-inflammatory and immune-stimulating actions;

-         elderberry, a mainstay of traditional Western herbalism for its anti-catarrhal and fever-reducing activity can help relieve acute cold symptoms as well as recurrent coughs.

If you are unwell with a respiratory virus, a herbal formula that contains the above immune-supporting herbs can help you cope with your symptoms.

Medicinal mushrooms have a long history of use in Asian cultures and are now known to have potent antiviral activity. In particular, the immune-boosting potential of reishi, shiitake, cordyceps and coriolus mushrooms has been extensively studied.  Not only can they help reduce the length and severity of an acute cold, they can also help prevent future recurrences.  A concentrated extract of these mushrooms can help reduce the symptoms and severity of your cold.

Mucus and phlegm are signs that your immune system is hard at work, but the resulting congestion can lead to blocked sinuses and breathing difficulty. The decongestant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial essential oils of eucalyptus, thyme, lavender and peppermint may help to reduce the nasal and sinus congestion that accompanies upper respiratory tract infections. Mucus congestion can also cause irritating or chesty coughs.  Liquorice is recognised in Western herbal medicine for its soothing, anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties. An extract of liquorice root can reduce irritation of the respiratory mucous membranes, helping to soothe dry coughs and relieve mild bronchitis. The Ayurvedic herb adhatoda is a helpful bronchodilator also with expectorant properties. By encouraging the clearing of congestion-causing phlegm, your airway becomes more open and that irritating wheeze reduces. If you are coughing or your sinuses are blocked, an appropriate formula containing these mucus-busting herbs and essential oils may help.

In this modern world, we seem to have lost the “art of convalescence”. We always feel obliged to ‘soldier on’ despite coughing, sneezing and operating at less than optimal capacity.   Taking the time to rest and recuperate can help you to recover sooner.  So, the lifestyle prescription when you are unwell is sleep, sleep and more sleep! Resist the temptation to check your work emails. Instead, focus your efforts on restoring your energy levels with warm, nourishing foods such as soups; drink plenty of fluids to replace those lost from blowing your nose repeatedly; and avoid mucus-promoting, inflammatory foods such as dairy and processed foods.

If a cold or flu finds its way to you this winter and is stopping you from performing at your best, don’t despair.  There are herbal or nutritional formula with antiviral, anti-inflammatory, decongestant and immune-boosting power to support your convalescence and help get you back in the game again.

Hot and sour fish soup

     

4 kaffir lime leaves (middle vein removed, sliced)

1 stalk lemon grass, crushed

4 cloves garlic, bruised

½ large onion, chopped

3-5 birds eye chilli, optional

1 bunch coriander, chopped

300g white fish (this can be gurnard, dory or tarakihi), cut into pieces

1 medium carrot, sliced

4 large broccoli florets

4 large cauliflower florets

6 button mushrooms, quartered

8 okra, cut into 2-3 pieces per okra

1L prepared chicken or vegetable broth

½ lime, squeezed for juice

¼ tsp salt

Method:

1. Warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil and put herbs in (except coriander) to fry till fragrant.  Add chicken broth and let it simmer for 10 minutes to get the fragrance of the essential oils of the herbs into the broth.
2. Add the fish and vegetables and cook.  Let boil for 2-3 minutes until vegetables are just cooked.
3. Switch off fire, add salt and lime juice.
4. Serve and garnish with chopped coriander.

This is a great way of making hot and sour soup without using artificially flavoured soup sachets, which almost always contain a large quantity of MSG.

Serves 2

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.

Simple Healthy Cooking - Warm Nutty Lettuce and Eggplant Salad

Ingredients:

½ head of lettuce, soaked, washed and broken into small pieces

1 long eggplant, cut lengthwise into 2 inch strips

1 kumara, cut lengthwise into 2 inch strips

1 small carrot, grated

100g shelled pistachio

50g pine nuts

Dressing:

3 tablespoons hempseed/ flaxseed oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1-2 teaspoon maple syrup, optional

1. Drizzle olive oil onto eggplant pieces and kumara pieces and roast in the oven for 20 minutes (eggplant) to 30 minutes (kumara).
2. Mix dressing ingredients together.
3. Combine warm vegetables once cooked into the raw vegetables and mix in dressing. 
4. Add in the nuts just before serving.

How to reduce the risk of Osteoporosis

Age-related bone degeneration due to osteoporosis had been accepted as a normal part of ageing in the past.  Elderly folks with stooped backs and brittle bones often suffered from fall and left them incapacitated due to broken bones. It is estimated that around 15% of women and 3% of men over the age of 50 suffer from osteoporosis.  

Osteoporosis occurs when there is a loss of calcium and other minerals from your bones, undermining the normal bone structure and therefore strength. A reduction in mineral content (also referred to as a loss of bone mineral density) can result in porous, brittle bones that can be easily broken in a fall or merely carrying out everyday activities, such as lifting a heavy object.  As there may be no indication that a loss of bone density is happening until a fracture occurs, Osteoporosis is often called a ‘silent disease’.  While broken bones are a concern, reduced bone mineral density can also lead to significant pain, immobility and ultimately a loss of independence. So what can you do to maximise your bone density and reduce bone mineral losses?

Your Diet

Your diet is one of the most important sources of calcium right from your growth years. Peak bone mass is achieved during your 20s.  Calcium and other minerals from your diet form the foundation of strong healthy bones.  A diet incorporating dark green leafy vegetables, sardines, nuts and seeds, as well as dairy products all offer excellent sources of calcium. You also need to ensure that you are getting sufficient vitamin D through moderate sun exposure, or supplementation, to support calcium absorption.  Regular weight bearing exercises can help promote bone density and help create a solid foundation for skeletal health. 

Bone mineral density begins to wane naturally by mid-30s.  Poor lifestyle choices such as smoking and excessive alcohol intake, as well as the onset of menopause in women can all accelerate this process. At this time diet becomes even more essential to ensure you are obtaining sufficient calcium to keep your bones strong. However, obtaining your daily calcium needs through diet alone is not always achievable. Fortunately, you can help support bone mineral density by utilising a highly absorbable form of calcium.

Calcium and Mineral supplementation

When taking calcium supplementation, it is important to know that you are taking a good form of highly absorbable natural calcium together with all the elements required for bone reconstruction in a protein-mineral complex.  These elements should include the two key minerals required to maintain bone density - calcium and phosphorus, in ideally 2:1 ratio, trace minerals including zinc, boron, chromium, copper and iron. In addition to the bone-building minerals, specific proteins needed to ‘cement’ the minerals together such as collagen and bone amino acids should also be needed. As vitamins K and D play important roles in the regulation of calcium movement into and out of bone, these form an important addition to any bone supporting formula. Last but not least, soy isoflavones help enhance bone reconstruction, particularly in postmenopausal women, making this ideal for

women in particular.

You now know that there is a great deal you can do to support your bones and help prevent osteoporosis, even if your bone mineral density has already started to decline.  So, take action now so you can live a longer, stronger life!

Simple Healthy Cooking - Spiced lamb with pistachio pine nuts and buckwheat

In the cold winter nights, having some warming (or 'yang' in TCM terms) foods is great for balancing. The black pepper and cumin add to the warming effect.

Ingredients:

2-3 pcs lamb loin chops cut into cubes, marinated in some Himalayan salt and ½ tsp of cumin and black pepper

½ large onion chopped

2 tablespoons shelled pistachios

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 tablespoons buckwheat, dry roasted

1 bowl cabbage sliced

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon nutmeg and cinnamon spice powder mix

Chicken stock (from boiling chicken frames with ginger and garlic)

Method:

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and fry chopped onion until limp and fragrant. Save half of the onions for the cabbage buckwheat mix. Add in lamb cubes.  Fry until lamb is just cooked, add in pistachios and pine nuts, stir through and dish onto serving plate.
2. Add a small amount of olive oil onto the pan and fry cabbage, dry roasted buckwheat and onions (the half saved from above).  Once cabbage turns bright green, add in chicken stock and allow it to boil, cook and soften buckwheat.  Add some nutmeg and cinnamon mix into the pan. Once the stock dries up, it is ready to be served.  Garnish with some extra pistachio and pine nuts.

How to boost your sex drive naturally

The media always reminds us that there is another pill to increase sex drive, deal with erectile dysfunction or increase our libido. Your sex drive and libido is a reflection of what you are doing to your body.  Nature typically has it that fertility and libido is appropriate when a person’s health is in a good state.

So, if you are having trouble in the bedroom, you may want to consider these factors:

1. Are you on a low fat diet, or a bad fat diet?  Hormones are fat soluble substances and having adequate good fats is important for the body to maintain a good level of hormones.  It may surprise you, but cholesterol is a precursor to the making of hormones!  Bad fats create oxidative stress in the body and can affect the body’s optimal hormone production.  So make sure you are having adequate good fats from raw seeds, nuts, cold water fish and avocado.
2. Are you not exercising enough?  We all know exercise helps to increase our output of endorphins, our feel good hormones.  Adequate endorphin is important to the making of sex hormones and manages the making of stress hormones.
3. Are you overweight? Increased abdominal fats, imbalance in blood sugar levels, diabetes and inflammation often affects peripheral circulation and will have an impact in your sex drive.
4. Are you not eating enough real food and having adequate antioxidant support?  Food as close to its naturally occurring state as possible supplies nutrients for the making of cells in the body, including those of the reproductive system.  Good, lean protein from fish, egg, chicken, lean meat, nuts and seeds help the making of good cells. Antioxidant from fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs has a protective effect on our cells and assist in making healthier cells.
5. Are you stressed?  Stress and sex typically do not go together.  In a fight or flight situation, stress requires us to “run from danger”.  In the “danger” situation, our body shuts down the reproductive system and focuses on giving energy to the muscles and pupils to “run from danger”.  If you have persistent, high levels of stress, take time out for yourself, do some yoga, meditation, prayers or your own de-stressing activity, some people de- stress by tending to the garden, play a musical instrument, play a sport, watch a comedy or do some handicraft.

If you still have trouble in the bedroom after answering “No” to all of the above questions, it is worthwhile to run a hormones test to see what is going on.  You can run a blood sex hormones test but blood is not a good indication of free hormones (the ones that matter) as it measures bound and unbound hormones.  The better choices are salivary or dried urine hormones tests.  We offer these tests at NutriActionz.