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Dr. Brenda Gill Wellness Articles....

Spring Detox

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General Information

Dr. Brenda Gill
Box 1841
Rossland, B.C., V0G 1Y0
250-362-5035
 
Dr. Brenda Gill
601 Lake St.
Nelson, B.C., V1L 4C7
250-352-3150

Blood Pressure

ACNE

Reducing high blood pressure is one of the conditions in people I often see and help bring it down to normal levels. It is always worthwhile to try dietary and lifestyle changes first, before adding a drug, to see if the body can re-balance itself, which it usually does. Some of the strategies to lower blood pressure are:

• Cook with only olive oil and use flax seed oil with olive oil on salads. Use butter sparingly.

• Decrease dietary fats as much as possible (i.e. animal products- meat, dairy products and desserts. Remember, sugar turns to fat too if not used by the body)

• Eat some raw foods daily, steaming is better than boiling and sauté food rather than frying.

• Increase your daily intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes and dietary fiber (e.g. Whole grain bread/brown rice/whole grain pasta and oatmeal. Try some of the alternate grains such as quinoa, millet and kumut.)

• Use generous amounts of fresh garlic and onions in your diet.

• Decrease simple sugars in your diet (even fruit juices should be diluted 50:50 with water.)

• Use fresh, filtered, spring or bottled water, 6-8 glasses a day as a minimum.

• Minimize coffee from your diet, including decaffeinated to 2-3 cups/wk.

• Be aware of sodium in your diet and watch for hidden sources- e.g. in processed foods, catsup, dressings and carbonated water.

• Enjoy eating cold water fish such as salmon, halibut, herring 2-3 times a week.

• Be conscious of stress in your life. While it is impossible to avoid, we must learn ways to manage and control stress

• Other specific supplements for high blood pressure can be utilized if necessary. These would be specific vitamins, minerals or herbs that have been found to reduce blood pressure.

        One of the most common problems I treat with teenagers and some adults is acne.  It typically occurs between the ages of 12-20 years old and is a result of many factors.  These typically are: changing hormones, diet choices, hygiene, sleep patterns, liver function and lymph flow.  Therefore, to resolve this problem without using a pharmaceutical drug, you need to look at all these factors and change what is out of balance. 

1. The first step is to work on balancing hormones.  When we go through puberty or into menopause, the hormones are fluctuating and sometimes swing too widely.  It is important that they are brought back to balance with herbs such as: Angelica(Dong Quai),  Vitex(Chaste Berry), Glycyrrhiza(licorice), Serenoa (Saw palmetto) for example.  They all help to regulate the proper release of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.  When the hormones flow smoothly, the liver has a much easier job at regulating them & can break down their metabolites much more effectively.

2. The second step is to analyze your diet.  If you have read ANY of my articles, you will know that FOOD & WATER IS THE KEY TO WELLNESS!!!  I always tell folks that we have a shower/bath everyday to keep our outside clean, drinking water or herbal tea flushes our insides clean.  You should be drinking ½ your body weight in ounces.  So, if you are 140 pds, you should be drinking 70 oz/d.  By drinking water, you are continually flushing toxins and metabolites out of the body, just like flushing the toilet!!!!!!  You want to minimize any acidic drinks, such as coffee/tea/pop.  Not only do they make the system too acidic, but, they also have other naturally occurring chemicals that the liver has to de-toxify.  So, try to drink them as a treat on the weekend.   

     Then, it is important to look at what you are eating.  As always, eat at least 4-5 servings of veggies, especially green leafy veggies and raw seeds and almonds.  Fruits should be 2-3 servings/d and whole grains- whole grain cereals/breads/ pastas/crackers/flour etc.  This keeps the system alkaline.  When the system is alkaline, it can detoxify and get rid of by-products from the body.  Proteins are primarily acidic.  So, you want to always balance your protein- fish/chicken/turkey/beans/legumes/soy/ lamb/buffalo with your veggies/grains on your plate.  This keeps the overall pH neutral or slightly alkaline.  As always, you want to minimize processed/ packaged/canned foods.  They typically have a lot of chemicals/preservatives/ sugar/dyes which put a load on the liver.  This can overload the liver and therefore, since your next biggest elimination organ is the skin, it will send them out through the skin to get rid of them.  Minimize acidic foods such as citrus & tomatoes.

3. The third step is hygiene.  Having a shower or bath everyday to rinse off the skin of released metabolites allows the skin to breathe and therefore let the pores release on a regular basis.  If they become blocked, residue and bacteria can build up and form acne/boils or rashes.  The same is true of the scalp.  Always try to rinse the scalp and give it a good massage in the shower.  This minimizes dandruff. 

4. The forth step is sleep.  The body does much better if it is in a rhythm.  It’s important to try and get to sleep at the same time each night & to wake at about the same time.  This helps set the hormones and therefore minimizes the load on the liver to balance them out. Also, make sure you are getting at least 8 hours of sleep/night so the body can do sufficient repair and be strong during the day. 

5. The fifth step is liver function.  It is the liver’s job to breakdown and get rid of toxins/metabolites and debris from the body.  If the liver is working effectively, it will then send these toxins out through the feces and urine.  If, however, it is being overloaded, it will send them out the skin, since this is our next biggest elimination organ.  Eating healthily and drinking sufficient water minimizes the load on the liver, but, I often try to build it up with herbs.  The most common ones are: Milk thistle, Dandelion root, Burdock, Yellow Dock and Nettles.  There is often combination formulas in the health food stores that work quite well.  Be sure they are capsules and have high levels of herbs in them.  I tend to use tinctures, which are a liquid form of herbs.  They absorb better and tend to be more effective.

Another tool that is very effective to unload the liver is castor oil packs.  The castor oil draws out toxins from the lymph system & unload the liver.  If you’d like to know how to do a castor oil pack you can pick up a sheet at the office or we can e-mail you a copy.

6. The sixth step is lymph flow.  To maximize the movement of toxins out of the body I have all my patients do dry skin brushing.  By brushing the skin with a dry towel or dry skin brush towards the lymph centres- under the arms & in the groin, it stimulates the movement of metabolites out through the feces and urine.    

So, all these tools should get you on the right track to get rid of those annoying blemishes!!!!!! 

If they are still being persistent, please call the office for an appointment: in Nelson: 250-352-3150 & in Rossland: 250-362-5035