HEALTH HUB Latest Articles
Too much iron can harm your liver
Too much iron can harm your liver By naturopath Margaret Jasinska Iron deficiency is an extremely common health problem that we see in the vast majority of our menstruating female patients. Excess iron can be a problem too though. This is more common in men above the age of 40 and post menopausal women. When present at excessively high levels, iron can harm the liver and increase the risk of serious health problems. Three quarters of the body’s total iron content is found inside the red blood cells and is part of the protein haemoglobin that enables red [...]
Be careful with paracetamol use in children
Be careful with paracetamol use in children By naturopath Margaret Jasinska Paracetamol is the most widely used medicine in children, both in hospitals and in homes. In most countries it is available on supermarket and pharmacy shelves, as well as a prescribed medicine. It is used to relieve pain and fever. Pain has historically been undertreated in very young children who are not yet able to speak, while fever is overtreated, especially in high income countries. There are concerns regarding the safety of paracetamol in relation to potential liver toxicity and possible long term effects in the development [...]
Artificial sweetener damages DNA and causes leaky gut
Artificial sweetener damages DNA and causes leaky gut A brand new study has found health concerns about the artificial sweetener sucralose so alarming that researchers said everyone should stop eating it and the government should regulate it more. The World Health Organisation has even advised against its use. Sucralose is sold under the brand name Splenda and is used in so many packaged foods and beverages. It is sometimes listed as number 955 on food labels. The research was published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. The researchers conducted a number of experiments exposing human blood [...]
Your brain fog is probably coming from your gut
Your brain fog is probably coming from your gut By naturopath Margaret Jasinska Do you often find it difficult to think quickly and get motivated? Brain fog is a very common symptom that a lot of people experience. It can make your life harder, as it takes longer to get work done, and you may have to deal with the consequences of forgetting to do something important. Many people find that correcting intestinal problems can be an amazing way of restoring mental clarity. Research has shown that people with undiagnosed coeliac disease who regularly eat gluten are more [...]
Endometriosis raises risk of gestational diabetes
Endometriosis raises risk of gestational diabetes By naturopath Margaret Jasinska New research has shown that women with severe endometriosis are three times more likely to develop gestational diabetes than those with milder forms of the condition. This finding is based on data from 4.6 million women. The authors of the study suggested that endometriosis “may be considered as a red flag” for diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus and should be included with other risk factors assessed during pregnancy. They went on to say “In this sense, the earlier and more specific detection of GDM in women with endometriosis could [...]
The 5 colon cancer warning signs you should know
The 5 colon cancer warning signs you should know By naturopath Margaret Jasinska Colon cancer is frightening. Many of us have known someone who has died from it. Worldwide, the incidence is rising, and even worse, it’s becoming more prevalent in younger people. Rates in under 50 year olds are climbing. Colon cancer is often diagnosed late in young people, because the symptoms get attributed to irritable bowel syndrome. Usually no one suspects that the symptoms could be due to colon cancer. A recent study has identified four signs and symptoms that may be red flags of colon [...]
Your waist circumference can predict your breast cancer risk
Your waist circumference can predict your breast cancer risk By naturopath Margaret Jasinska Did you know that women with a waist circumference greater than 35 inches (88 centimetres) have a higher risk of breast cancer? This is especially true in postmenopausal women. Being overweight or obese is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking and is linked to 13 types of cancer including bowel, breast, and pancreas. Waist circumference is an indicator of how much visceral fat a person has on their body. Visceral fat is the deep internal fat that gets inside and around the [...]
Osteoporosis – what you must know
Osteoporosis – what you must know By Dr Sandra Cabot The bone thinning disease of osteoporosis is becoming more common. We can take effective steps to increase and maintain bone strength. You can increase your bone density to safe levels with the right tools. Osteoporosis is a silent disease in that it is often not diagnosed until there has been a bone fracture and it is then harder to repair the bone damage. It is obviously better to prevent osteoporosis, and this is why it is important to check your bone density with a DEXA test at middle age [...]
Integrative Medicine
Integrative Medicine By Dr Sandra Cabot What is it? Integrative medicine is a combination and synthesis of conventional medicine (for example drugs, surgery, and modern diagnostics) with natural medicines and lifestyle modification. Integrative medicine is not the same as alternative medicine because in many cases drugs and/or surgery are best used in combination with naturopathic medicine. Integrative medicine is a combination of conventional medicine and naturopathic medicine and works out a designer program to best suit the individual patient. Integrative medicine looks at the patient as a whole and not as one disease. It looks at how a disease [...]
Fatty liver may be caused by your gut
Fatty liver may be caused by your gut By naturopath Margaret Jasinska When a person is diagnosed with a fatty liver, it is important to figure out what caused it. A healthy liver is supposed to be almost entirely free of fat. If you’ve ever eaten lamb or beef liver, you would have noticed. If excess fat is present inside the liver, it is because the liver cells have been injured in some way. The culprit is often an intestinal problem. Blood from the intestines flows directly to the liver. An overgrowth of the wrong bugs, or an [...]