THE BUZZ ARCHIVE

Articles from AUGUST 2000

Earlier this month Delcia was here in the shop to answer questions on her book BODYWORK THERAPIES FOR WOMEN. This book is filled with very useful information for anyone seeking professional help with improving their health, physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. There is a very wide choice and this book is very comprehensive. Delcia herself found help with overcoming an eating disorder through body massage and has an interesting personal story which she shares with her readers. We are very used to people suggesting that physical problems can have a psychological cause but perhaps less familiar with psychological problems having a physical solution. Of course 'wholism' means connections are in all directions so it is quite logical that physical massage can release emotions. Delcia works as a healer and psychologist and uses her own personal experience to help others find solutions.

NONI JUICE has been the panacea of Polynesian populations for centuries and they are now sharing it with us. Historians believe it originated in Southeast Asia and the oldest references to its use as medicine date back tens of centuries to India's ancient Sanskrit writings Following several requests for this product I did some research into products available and found a sea of information and rivalry amongst different producers to get their Noni accepted in the marketplace. After much consideration I decided to stock 'Hawaian Blessings Noni' from 'r:evolution'. Herbal Blessings make their juice in the traditional Hawaiian way: long fermentations where the juices are unheated, no other yeast or sugars are added, and no non-beneficial bacteria or yeast are ever found in independent lab tests. Having trained with the Hawaiian Kahunas (traditional specialised experts with considerable skills in physical diagnosis and pharmacology) the producer is well accepted and his product are similar to products used in Kahuna treatments. It is a pure Noni, bottled whole and undiluted, not pasteurised or reconstituted from concentrate. The quantity and cost of trying the product is 300ml for £14.95. This is 7 - 60 days dose depending on whether it is being used to treat an acute condition or for its general tonic properties. Herbal Blessings recommend traditional Hawaiian dosing e.g. take noni juice for 5 days rest for two, repeat the cycle. Scientific studies show that Noni has the potential to stimulate the immune system, purify the blood, inhibit tumor growth, regulate proper cell function and regenerate damaged cells. We have lots more information on Noni and its properties you can ask to read and you might like to visit r:evolutions website: www.n-n-p.com

SLIMMING. At this time of the year many people choose to shed a few pounds. There are so many ideas about the best way to do this and so many products offering a quick fix painless way to loose weight. Let us take a look at a few of these:-

Hydroxycitric Acid H.C.A. from the tropical fruit Garciana Cambogia. This comes under a variety of names and is often know as 'Citrimax.'. This fruit extract stops us turning excess glucose that the body is unable to store as glycogen into fat, thus preventing further weight increase. The trace mineral, Chromium enhances the effect of H.C.A. Together they help break the viscous cycle of no energy, craving food, eating sweet food and storing excess glucose as fat which is soon followed by no energy and a repetition of the craving for something sweet. It is important to get the greatest benefit from this product to follow a low fat and low alcohol diet It has worked wonders for some people and will help make your dietary restrictions more effective. We stock this as a product called 'Citrin' by Power Health.

Apple Slim - the Cider vinegar capsule. This product made newspaper headlines earlier this year and has become a popular choice for shedding the pounds. It is not really a new idea. Cider vinegar, apple pectin and apple fibre have long been regarded for their helpful properties to those wishing to speed up their metabolism and improve their digestion and elimination. Each Appleslim capsule contains 500 mg of concentrated apple cider vinegar and some additional beneficial B vitamins. and will enhance the effectiveness of any weight loss regime. And our customers are telling us that it works.

Biocare's Lipatone Intensive & Lipatone Maintenance This new product from Biocare comes from the cream of some of the most advanced scientific research. The principle ingredient conjugatted linoleic acid - a fatty acid first isolated in beef fat. This fatty acid is manufactured in the bellies of cattle when they graze principally on fresh pasture and it causes them to build lean body mass rather than body fat. Before modern farming modified the diet of cattle both meat and dairy foods eaten by humans contained as much as 80% more conjugated linoleic acid than they do today. It is possible to manufacture this fatty acid from the linoleic acid in Sunflower oil and thus possible to take it as a supplement to good effect by those wishing to loose weight or maintain optimum weight in today's world. BioCare's Micro Cell process water solubilises CLA - improving its absorption - and overcomes the gastric irritation that some people experience when taking other forms of CLA.

In the Lipatone intensive Biocare have also included some H.C.A (as above) and some of the amino acid L Carnitine. This combination of nutrients in LipoTone works synergistically with enzyme processes that facilitate the breakdown of fats already stored in fat cells, thus allowing them to be used for energy. The same processes help ensure that fats in the diet are used as energy rather than being laid down as fat. The results achieved in trial done with this product are most impressive and I am looking forward to hearing of good results with those customers who are already taking this product for weight loss. I think that we will be hearing a lot more about this conjugated linoleic in the future too as it appears to have valuable anti-carcinogenic properties especially in relation to breast cancers, but research is still being done in this area.

In all the trials that have been done it was found that people taking the conjugated linoleum acid felt less hungry and ate less finding a restricted diet much easier to stick to.

Seagreens A slow metabolism (the rate at which our bodies convert calories to energy) is well known to predispose a person to weight gain. Seaweed known as Kelp is often recommended because of its high level of natural iodine, to nourish the thyroid gland which to some extent controls metabolism. Seagreens capsules are made from wild wrack, which has been specially selected for its beneficial properties offering a higher quality of nutrition than standard kelp. If you think you have a sluggish thyroid you would be advised to consult your doctor for a blood test. However a blood test is not so good as an early warning system as the basal temperature test, which you can do for yourself. Please ask if you want more information on this. Seagreens have many other helpful properties for the slimmer and indeed for everyone else. Better still eat sea-vegetables every day.

All of the above products could be used together safely and to good effect. Whether you use them all or just one of them a sensible eating plan is also essential. But just what is a sensible eating plan. It is a matter of finding the regime that will suit your individual needs. There is no harm in some of the more radical regimes for a few days if you want to break with old eating habit patterns but you need to then follow it by introducing an eating plan that will work for the years ahead so that you continue to loose weight or maintain the weight loss you desire.

As a dietary therapist I help people find the regime that will work for them using the principles recommended by Dr Barry Sears in his books on the 'Zone' diet. Adequate intake of the right sort of fat and protein together with the restriction of carbohydrate intake balances insulin release and thus blood sugar levels. The Zone diet is not a diet but a lifelong hormonal control program that allows you to maximise your full genetic potential as well as enjoying your ideal body weight. It is based on moderation of the amount of protein, carbohydrate, and fat consumed at every meal according to your own personal needs.

I also like to advise people according to their blood group as proposed by Peter A'Damio in his book 'The Eat Right Diet'.

What I do not recommend is a Fat free diet and I will not stock products that stop one absorbing fat. These are all based on the premise that it is fat that makes you fat. Initially stopping fat absorption reduces calorie intake and the person experiences some often dramatic weight loss, whilst still enjoying the improved taste that fat gives to many foods. However if the fat intake is replaced with increased intake of carbohydrate food, as is often recommended to people on low fat diets, all manner of problems follow and ultimately weight increase will occur again. Adequate intake of the right sort of fat and protein together with the restriction of carbohydrate intake balances insulin release and thus blood sugar levels. If you want to understand the importance of eating fat in your diet another excellent book is 'Fats that Heal and Fats that Kill' by Udo Erasmus'. This book and 'The Anti-Ageing Zone' are in my opinion the important reading for anyone wishing to follow a healthy dietary regime.