Could a critter be the reason for your symptoms?

OK, in technical terms the critter is referred to as a parasite.

A parasitic infection could be linked to so many symptoms and can go undiagnosed.

A parasite infection is closely linked to immune health, if the immune system is strong and healthy, it could easily rid the body of the parasite naturally as nature intended. However most immune systems are comprised therefore leaving the body less able to handle such an invasion.

@sonance

 So whilst it may seem like the critter is to blame, it is not really, the real culprit is the health of the gut where 70-90% of immune cells reside, so focusing solely on removal of the parasite is counter productive without looking at the core of the issue which is the gut and immune system in conjunction.

Some warning signs of a parasite infection (but not limited to):

• Chronic digestive issues from top to bottom

  • poor or inconsistent bowel movements

  • vomiting

• Autoimmune disorders

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Body aches

• Headaches

• Eye aches

• Behavioural changes

• General malaise or fatigue

 There are a plethora different species at play most of which can easily be detected via a poo test from your local GP.

 Keeping in mind, whilst removing the parasite may be successful via natural or pharmaceutical methods, the body still requires a level of rebuilding to ensure the problem does not persist or return.

Foods to include which are considered anti-parasitic:

• Garlic – this can even used as a suppository if you are game

• Coconut oil

• Apple cider vinegar

• Hazelnuts

• Pumpkin seeds

The purpose of these foods are to create an environment that the parasites do not want to be in. It is also beneficial to eliminate refined sugars, processed foods to speed up the eliminating process and create an environment for healing.

You quick take away action if suspect there could be a parasite:

1. Clean up the diet

2. Include anti-parasitic foods

3. Remove refined sugar and processed foods

4. If symptoms persist, consult your local GP to do a poo test or work closely with an integrative or functional practitioner.

Chantal is a Certified and Accredited Nutrition & Wellness Coach with a special interest helping stressed and overwhelmed mums and women to fully transform their physical and emotional health.

Gut Healing Foods

Ok, ok, you get it, the health of the gut plays in a humungous role in terms of your physical and mental health.

You also get that you IF you are suffering with any sort of symptom, there is an issue with the gut, and that there is some work to do heal it. From what you’ve seen or heard, it’s all rather complex and just too hard.

The real truth of the matter is that it is not complex.

So what are the gut healing foods?

• Whole and real food is step #1. It really cannot get much simpler than this. Cut out the crap and start eating real and wholefood. This by default will start healing the gut as the body no longer needs to deal with additives, colours and preservatives.

• Bone Broth – this is a liquid containing stewed bones and connective tissues. An assortment of vegetables, herbs and spices can also be added to further boost the nutrient profile.

Benefits of bone broth:

• Highly nutritious as it is rich in calcium, magnesium and phosphorous, collagen. If the bones you are using also contain marrow, then the broth will also be rich in iron, vitamins A and K, fatty acids, selenium, zinc and manganese.

•    Protective to joints – this is due to the gelatin, which breaks down into collagen in the body

•    May help reduce inflammation and heal the gut. This is due to the amino acid glutamine that is present within bone broth

• Helps with a better night sleep. Once again due to the amino acid profile of the broth, in particular glycine. This alone is enough reason to have a copious supply available!

• Probiotic Foods – Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for you, especially your digestive system and typically referred to ‘beneficial’ bacteria. Incorporating probiotic rich into your diet it one of the easiest ways to rebalance your gut bacteria, not to mention far cheaper than probiotic supplements that can be inferior in quality.

  • Types of probiotic foods:

    • Dairy products: such as aged cheeses (cheddar, gouda and mozzarella)

    • Kefir

    • Traditional butter milk

    • Yoghurt

  • Non Dairy:

    • Non diary yoghurts

    • Kimchi

    • Kombucha

    • Miso

    • Natto (fermented soyabean)

    • Sauerkraut

    • Tempeh

    • Water or brined cured olives          

• Prebiotic foods – these are foods that actually feed the “beneficial” live bacteria to promote their growth. This is done via the fermentation process when it reaches the large colon.

  •         Foods rich in prebiotic fibre:

    •         Chicory root

    •         Onions and garlic

    •         Oatmeal

    •         Wheat bran

    •         Asparagras

    •         Dandelion greens

    •         Jerusalem artichoke

    •         Barley

    •         Apple with skin

    •         Foods rich in resistant starch

Depending on your symptoms, it may beneficial to remove a number of other foods for a short period of time to enable faster healing to occur such as:

• Gluten

• Grains

• Dairy

• Sugar

• Nuts

• Eggs

• Fish

Foods containing naturally occurring chemicals such as amines, glutamines, salicylates and oxalates.

When you start removing these types of foods, you start entering the world of therapeutic nutritional protocols such as GAPS, Paleo, AIP, Fodmaps etc

These protocols are not to be entered into lightly and are best performed with specialist assistance and support.

Steps to heal the gut:

1. Remove processed and packaged food and any known trigger foods

2. Replace with real and wholefood

3. Restore with plenty of broth, probiotic and prebiotic foods

 If you are feeling overwhelmed with the concept of healing the gut and unsure where is best to start, then please send me an email to info@chantalkhoury.com.au or send me a message via my contact page to see if any of my programs are fit for you and your family.

Chantal is a Certified and Accredited Nutrition and Wellness Coach with a very special interest helping mums restore the health of their family using healing nutrition and transformational wellness practices.

The Role of the gut in ECZEMA

That itch, that flare up, not another round of cortisone, sleep……what is that you ask????

 As someone who has navigated eczema with her baby quite successfully a number of years ago, I understand your angst when it comes to dealing with this skin condition. You just want it to go away, but how???

 I remember searching for hours on end for the MAGICAL solution or cream.

The truth is that eczema is a complex condition to navigate and what works for one, might not work for the next child or person. My road to success will look very different to your road to success, because each and everyone of us are so uniquely different.

However, at the heart of the issue for everyone, the same foundational pillars need to be “FIXED” in order to heal and it takes TIME, WORK & PERSEVERANCE.

The skin is influenced by other organs in the body and this is especially true of the gut and brain, so much so that scientist coined the term “gut-brain-skin axis”

In this article I am going to focus on the role of the gut in healing eczema.

The triggers of a flair are different for most people, but the most common include:

• Food intolerances and/or allergies

• Environmental

• Emotional wellbeing

 None of these “triggers” are the real problem for eczema, but rather an indication that the gut microbiome is out of balance and that the mucosal lining needs to some repair, otherwise known as a leaky gut.

So rather than messing around with lengthy food eliminations protocols for an unsaid period of time, you want to put your efforts straight at the ‘ROOT CAUSE,’ and that is healing the gut.

The gut and eczema:

Eczema is a highly inflammatory skin condition which is a signal that the immune system is unbalanced. The unbalanced immune system is as a direct result of an unbalanced gut flora and leaky gut.

The approach to healing, is that if you correct the gut microbiome balance and seal a leaky gut, this improves the immune function, which decreases inflammation, the body is better able to handle the “triggers” and therefore heal eczema.

How to heal the gut?

When healing the gut, it is best to adopt the very common 4 R approach used in functional medicine:

1. REMOVE – all packaged and processed food in addition to any known trigger foods

2. REPLACE – with whole & real food

3. RESTORE – balance with healing nutrition such as bone broth and fermented foods

4. REPLENISH – the whole person with lifestyle choices that enhance emotional wellbeing

 In a nutshell, eczema is just a symptom of a number of organs that are not functioning at optimal levels, one of which is the gut. Start wherever you at and make smaller consistent changes over a period of time and be observant with YOUR reaction to the eczema.

Chantal is an Accredited and Certified Nutrition & Wellness Coach with a very special interest in helping mum’s create thriving wellness for them and their family through the use of healing and transformational wellness practices.

The Top 3 Foods that could be triggering the next Eczema Flare

This really is a topic that is close and dear to my heart. My little man suffered terribly with this debilitating skin condition. I was literally pulling my hair out and would do ANYTHING to give some relief and not watch him scratch himself to sleep. These are memories that still haunt me today. There was a silver lining in the cloud and we did heal his eczema naturally with lots of concerted effort.

Eczema is very much an inflammatory skin condition that is linked to the health of 2 organs in particular, the gut and the brain, i.e. root causes. Will go into that another day.

There are 3 main triggers that can set off a flare up, food being one of them. Most people suffering from eczema will quite often have a very strong sensitivity or allergy towards the common inflammation causing foods. This was definitely the case for my son, even though none of the practitioners would listen to my concerns at the time to get him tested. In true stubborn "Chantal" style, I took myself privately to get him tested, and what do you know? A positive testing to at least 3 of the 7 common foods, anaphylactic to 2 of them.

The top 3 trigger foods for Eczema:

• Dairy - A sensitivity or allergy to cow milk dairy is more than likely due to the A1 protein found in the milk. This is not to be confused with a lactose intolerance to dairy, which is an issue processing the natural sugar found in the milk.

• Eggs - Once again due to the protein found in the egg and more than likely the white of the egg than the yolk, however both can present an issue as it did for my son.

• Gluten - The culprit here, you guessed it, is the protein found in the gluten. Unlike the other 2 foods above, symptoms can be presented within minutes of consuming gluten, whilst the others can have a delayed reaction.

Other likely and common culprits are:

• Nuts

• Soy

• Fish

• Shellfish

My little man tested positive to Nuts, Eggs, Dairy, Peanut & Sesame with anaphylaxis to Nuts, Peanut and Sesame.

How do you know whether these foods can be a trigger for yourself or a loved one?

The short answer is to remove them from the diet for a minimum of 30 days. Couple this strategy with a healing protocol and you will give the body an innate window of healing at which point you can challenge the trigger food.

Just removing the 'culprit food' is counter productive if no healing strategy follows.

For clarity purposes, I want to re-iterate that allergies or sensitivities to the above mentioned food is not the main cause of the eczema, they are just a symptom of a much deeper issue, however can trigger a flare up in most people, not everyone.

If you are feeling completely frustrated and overwhelmed dealing with a skin condition, then why not grab my 90 minute Nutrition & Wellness Audit, where I can help you, uncover the the potential triggers & root causes. Together we will lay out an achievable plan how you can overcome the root causes and start healing without relying on topical & band aid solutions.

Chantal is a Certified and Accredited Nutrition & Wellness Coach with a special interest helping families implement healing wholefood protocols and wellness practices to transform the health of the family.