So, you’re in pain and you’re brain doesn’t feel the way it used to? Depression? Anxiety? Panic Attacks?  or just don’t have the memory you used to have???  Pain hormones create inflammation, inflammation creates brain conditions/symptoms such as our ADD, ADHD, Autism, Aspergers, Allergies and Memory Loss…

Brain Inflammation… sounds awful doesn’t it? Did you know that it’s impossible to have any of ADD, ADHD, Autism, Aspergers, Memory Loss without brain inflammation?  It’s an increasing problems these days:

1. 1 in 12 kids have ADD/ADHD
2. 1 in 91 kids have autism/aspergers (this was 1/1000 10 years ago…)
3. 1 in 3-6 kids have allergies (very much linked with ADD/ADHD/Aspergers/Autism)
4. 1 in 2 people over 50 years old will have dementia by 2030

Scary statistics!

But does it feel like there’s nothing that can be done? Medically it’s a matter of give this drug (a calming down drug) in the morning and this drug (another calming down drug) at night…  not to mention the side-effects and family stress associated with the problems of these conditions.

There are some things we can do immediately to start the process of reducing the inflammation in the brain!  Kinesiology helps us target the correct things for you and your family - not everyone needs every intervention, and that would be exhausting!

1. Stop wheat, gluten and dairy: many kids have a DPP4 enzyme deficiency which creates an ‘opioid’ effect in the bloodstream which can literally make them act like they’re on drugs!  Hyperactivity, tantrums, exhaustion, brain-dead…
2. Colourings, preservatives and flavourings: these overload metallothioneine pathways in the liver, the ‘particles’ create the inflammation in the brain, and cause hyperactivity and extreme anger symptoms in susceptible bodies…
3. Salicylate Sensitivity: often in kids with nasal allergies, red rashes.  Salicylates are an aspirin-like substance that thin the blood (the liver, the skin, the gut - in susceptible people) and can cause huge problems where there’s an issue.
4. Sugars, fructose, glucose issues: many kids don’t have an ability to break down sugars properly.  Kids foods are soooooo linked with sugars these days, all the pre-packaged spreads and biscuis, tiny teddies, fruit juices, cereals, muffins…  If there is ‘insulin resistance’ the body is not getting the sugar into the cells, insulin is floating around outside the cells - yep, creating more inflammation!
5. Auto-Immune Components: Through live blood screenings and kinesiology we can find out if there’s the possibility of an auto-immune condition affecting the brain.  Current thinking with Autism (particularly) is that an old staph/strep infection is affecting the basal ganglia in the brain, directly affecting moods, behaviour and how we interact with our world around us.
6. Heavy Metal toxicity: Lead, mercury, cadmium and aluminium (regularly in medications we give our children such as vaccines) are very well documented to  be a link in ADD, ADHD (lead particularly), Autism (aluminium and mercury particularly), Aspergers and Allergies
7. LEAP Kinesiology: is a specific process done at New Leaf Natural Therapies that re-integrates the pathways of the brain.  The more toxic the brain is (the more inflammation, insulin, opioid-like-substances, sugars, flavourings, colourings, preservatives) the more likely our brain pathways won’t be functioning properly.  See if any of these problems sound familar for someone you love!

Amygdala stress: the amygdala is a part of the brain that is activated when we’re under stress.  IF we’re stressing, and we don’t get our logical and creative thought processes finding a solution quickly enough, we whip into an old ‘amygdala’ pattern.  (This is the same pattern that people with PTSD and Vietnam Vets know all about)  The amygdala holds patterns of:

• fight and flight (these can be fully activated or have exhaustion)
• pain and punishment circuits (kids who are constantly in trouble are easily ‘labelled’ and therefore their brains and always expecting the worst.  This doesn’t help behaviour in any circumstance where there’s always a pattern in place
• escape, submission, freeze: some kids brains just ’switch off’, they look like they’re ‘not paying attention’ but their brains are just overloaded and they can’t take anymore
• rage, anger, frustration (need I say more?!?)
• pleasure and reward centres - switched off!  this creates depression, anxiety, panic attacks, lack of enjoyment with day to day activities

Our Learning Enhancement Programme has been put together to get the best results and to save you $$$.  Ask about our 9 month programme (standard length of time for ‘normal’ learning and behavioural issues).  More complicated health problems take longer to resolve - but we’ll see how we’re going as we go through the sessions.

Madonna Guy ND
Chief Clinician
New Leaf Natural Therapies
3348 6098 / 0417 643 849

You know, I hear it in my clinic each and every day - my doctor’s checked my blood sugar levels and I’m totally ok…  Doug or I check their insulin resistance and it’s in the high risk for diabetes.  It’s damaging and inflammatory and it’s NOT OK!

What is insulin resistance?

It means that when you eat carbohydrates (anything that turns into sugar - grains, sugar, flour, fruits, starchy vegies (potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, corn etc) creates insulin which, instead of creating energy, increases inflammation and is NOT giving you energy…  Your cell membranes are either not functioning properly - not allowing insulin inside the cells OR the internal pathways within the cells are getting jammed and not allowing the energy production from insulin.

Is insulin bad?

No.  It is a crucial hormone - each and every cell in your body requires it to make energy.

Is insulin resistance bad?  What health problems does insulin resistance cause?

Yes!  When insulin isn’t getting into our cells it becomes a very inflammatory and dangerous hormone which has the ability to create:

• blood sugar issues
• dizziness
• diabetes
• peripheral neuropathy
• dementia
• memory issues
• degeneration of the nerves in our hands, feet and brain
• chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia
• insulin, being a hormone, if out of whack can create an imbalance with any other hormone

How can I find out if I have insulin resistance?

We do a simple blood test (2-3 drops from your finger - the more hydrated you are the easier the test is!!!) which gives us the results in about 3-4 minutes.  Easy!

Are there supplements I can take to reverse insulin resistance?

Yes there are:  My favourite supplements are

• Insulex; 6 daily which is for insulin resistance combined with lots of pain
• Resist X; 4 daily which is for insulin resistance, sugar cravings and low energy (also helps girls gain a ‘waist’ over a period of time; contains ingredients such as korean ginseng, cinnamon and chromium
• combination of these 2 if it’s really dangerous!
• Krill oil works through increasing HDL cholesterol (good HDL levels are crucial for good hormone production and decreasing our risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes) - there are many qualities of krill oil - be careful with supermarket brands
• Shake It Extra - high protein meal replacement with the ingredients of insulex in the formula.

What foods should I avoid until my insulin resistance is within the ’safe’ range?

Anything that turns into sugar is very inflammatory and exhausting for your body to cope with when we have insulin resistance.  Insulin is a fat-storing hormone when out of balance - and a huge reason for obesity.

• All grains and flours:  wheat, rye, spelt, rice, oats, barley
• All fruits
• All starchy vegetables:  potatoes, pumpkin, carrots…
• breads, cakes, cereals (obviously - they contain the ingredients above)
• sugar (yes, I commonly get ask if it’s bad)
• alcohol - turns straight into sugar - and our body burns it down first, before anything else!

Starting to make a little sense??

Talk soon,

Madonna
Chief Clinician
New Leaf Natural Therapies
3348 6098 / 0417 643 849