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Book NowHibiscus tea is high in antioxidants, and also offers many other health benefits. Recent research has also shown that it may be able to prevent and even reverse Alzheimer’s Disease.
Alzheimer’s is caused by a build-up of certain protein deposits in the brain (A Beta and Tau protein aggregates). These deposits end up causing a chronic inflammatory reaction and damage to the nerve cells, which results in cognitive decline and memory loss.
The brain has its own immune cells called microglia, which attack and absorb these deposits. However constant exposure to the A Beta protein will end up exhausting the microglia, and they can’t continue to remove the deposits.
A recent study established that a compound found in hibiscus flowers called gossypetin activates the microglia. The research team treated mice afflicted by Alzheimer’s with gossypetin for three months, and demonstrated that the microglia were then able to scavenge the A Beta protein in their brains. The A Beta deposits decreased, and the impaired memory and cognition were almost restored to their normal levels. Clinical trials are now planned for developing gossypetin products for the prevention and treatment of dementia.
For more details on the research, visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221116133855.htm .
Hibiscus flower is yet to be regarded as a medical treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s. However, if there is a history of this condition in your family, or if you are starting to experience mental decline or memory loss, it is worthwhile considering drinking hibiscus tea regularly.
With any condition, to get results it is always important to treat the causes of the problem. We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.) These help to identify
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a great life!
In China, mung beans are a very popular food, especially in the hot summer months, and grown in almost all the provinces. Most families eat mung beans in their diet and use them widely in different recipes, such as mung bean noodles, mung bean cake, mung bean rice, mung bean soup, mung bean desserts and even mung bean wine. Mung bean soup is an extremely popular dish in the hotter months, as it is used to help cool the body by helping it regulate the body temperature more effectively.
In Chinese medicine, if the weather is very hot, the body may absorb more heat from its external environment. If the body cannot release enough of this ‘summer heat’ by itself, symptoms such as feeling hot and sweaty, lethargic, lack of energy, headache, dizziness, or even heat stroke may occur.
Mung beans have a cooling effect, and they have been shown to regulate body temperature and to help prevent heat stroke. Cooked mung bean drink or soup is best kept refrigerated, which helps to keep it fresh and increases its health effects.
Recipe 1 (drink)
This recipe is suitable to clear body heat and prevent heat stroke during a hot summer. Drinking two or three cups a day will help to release the ‘summer heat’ from the body.
Ingredients
Instructions
Drink this thin soup as required. The beans can also be eaten if soft enough.
Recipe 2 (soup)
Takes 40 minutes and serves 4.
Ingredients
Instructions
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common health problem, affecting 8-13% of women of reproductive age. It involves complex hormone imbalances, including excess male hormones and high levels of insulin. The majority of women with PCOS also have high levels of cholesterol and lipids (fats) in their blood.
So PCOS can result in obesity, insulin resistance, inflammatory disorders, and oxidative stress (damage to the cells). Low-grade inflammation also seems to be an aspect of PCOS.
The symptoms can include:
As you can see, the effects on the body can be quite broad.
A systemic review and meta-analysis was carried out on studies into the effect of vitamin E supplements (with or without omega-3 or magnesium) on
10 studies were selected as meeting the strict quality requirements of the meta-analysis. The results of the analysis showed that vitamin E (plus or minus omega-3 or magnesium) significantly reduced
The researchers concluded that Vitamin E can play an important role in dealing with a number of the aspects of PCOS.
For the full study, please visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24467-0#Sec2 .
As with any condition, to get results with PCOS it is always important to treat the causes of the problem. We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.) These help to identify
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a great life!
Most people who get COVID-19 recover within a few weeks. But some people, even those who only had a mild case of the disease, might have symptoms that last a long time afterward. This ongoing condition is sometimes called post-COVID-19 syndrome, or more commonly long COVID.
Recent modelling by the University of Tasmania estimates that up to 500,000 people in Australia could be experiencing long COVID by the beginning of December 2022, with more than a fifth of those cases suffering “significant impacts”.
Dr Cysique leads a University of New South Wales team that has been studying the ongoing effects of COVID on the brain since early 2020. The team found that two years on, up to a quarter of the participants had some ongoing cognitive difficulties.
The most commonly reported symptoms of post-COVID-19 syndrome include:
It is not yet clear if post-COVID-19 syndrome is new and unique to COVID-19. However the more common symptoms are very similar to those caused by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and other chronic illnesses that develop after infections. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) can cause various symptoms of inflammation of the brain, including brain fog, lack of refreshing sleep, and things that have a minor effect on the body causing a big impact.
Researchers are now uncovering how Post-Viral Fatigue Syndromes, including Long COVID, can become life-changing diseases and why patients suffer frequent relapses.
In a study published in Frontiers in Neurology, Emeritus Professor Warren Tate of the University of Otago, and colleagues from Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, and University of Technology Sydney, explained how the brain-centred symptoms of these diseases are due to a brain-body connection.
They believe that, following the initial viral infection or a subsequent stressor event, the brain can be affected by either
This causes chronic inflammation of the brain/nervous system, leading to an ongoing illness. Sometimes there will also be an ongoing cycle of mild recovery and relapses.
Their model proposes that the body doesn’t heal and recover because of a continuous signal from the brain to the body, causing the patient to constantly relapse.
Professor Tate advised that “These diseases (CFS and Long COVID) are very closely related, and it is clear the biological basis of Long COVID is unequivocally connected to the original COVID infection – so there should no longer be any debate and doubt about the fact that post viral fatigue syndromes like CFS are biologically based and involve much disturbed physiology.”
“Patients need appropriate affirmation of their biological-based illness, and help to mitigate the distressing symptoms of these very difficult life-changing syndromes which are difficult for the patients to manage by themselves.”
“This work highlighted that there is a susceptible subset of people who develop such syndromes when exposed to a severe stress, like infection with COVID-19, or the glandular fever virus Epstein Barr, or in some people with vaccination that is interpreted as a severe stress.”
In our experience, both Long COVID and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are much more common than people realise. Unfortunately there is no blood test to diagnose these conditions, and conventional medicine has very little to offer these patients.
So we see both of these conditions frequently. We have found the most effective approach is
As with any condition, it is always important to treat the causes of the problem.
We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.) These help to identify
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a great life!
Acupuncture is well-known for its ability to relieve pain. But how does it do this, and is the benefit temporary or long term?
To get good results with any form of treatment, you need three things- correct diagnosis, correct treatment, and correct dosage. If all three are correct, the treatment will work well. However if the assessment is incorrect, the results won’t be good even if the treatment is great. So the acupuncturist will firstly need to check carefully what is causing your back pain.
The exact process of how acupuncture points work is still not fully understood, however they seem to act like tiny controls for the body that can be adjusted up or down to change the way the body is working. There are many hundreds of these points, and over thousands of years we have learnt how they alter and correct the body. With a skilled acupuncturist, there is very little or no sensation from the extremely fine needles, and many people find the treatments have a very relaxing effect.
Surprisingly, most acupuncture points are well away from the areas they treat. For example, an important point for stomach pain is on the shin, one for heart pain is on the wrist, and for sinus pain a point on the top of the foot is often used.
In a treatment, the most important points are those that treat the cause of the problem. These points are referred to as the ‘Root’ treatment. Sometimes, other points near the problem area are used to support the Root treatment, and this is called the ‘Branch’ treatment.
(Some of the many differences between acupuncture and dry needling include
The most common causes of back pain include alignment problems, inflammation, muscle tension or spasm, and tissue damage or injuries.
Alignment and Muscle Imbalances
Your back is designed to be strong and flexible at the same time. This makes it a very complex structure, with lots of different muscles all pulling in different directions. When the tension in all of these muscles is balanced, your back will work well and feel good. Think of the mast on an old sailing ship- if all of the ropes holding it up are correctly tensioned, the mast will be nice and strong, but if some ropes are too tight and some are too loose, the mast is much more likely to bend or crack or split when it is put under pressure.
The imbalances between the muscles can be due to a variety of causes, including poor posture, repetitive movements using only some of the muscles (such as from sports, cleaning, or work activities), injuries, lack of physical activity, etc. The most common ways these imbalances affect your back is by changing the alignment of your pelvis (hips), your spine, or your whole torso.
Pelvis Alignment
Your pelvis is the foundation of your entire back, so if one hip is higher than the other or if the pelvis is slightly twisted, it can cause pain in a variety of places in your back. (Imagine the foundation of a house being uneven, causing the walls to start cracking.) A pelvis imbalance will often affect the base of your spine, where the spine attaches to your pelvis.
Spinal Alignment
The spine contains many small vertebrae to make it nice and flexible. However this means it can easily become crooked by muscles pulling on it unevenly.
Torso Alignment
Your shoulders tend to follow your hips, so if one hip is too high the shoulder above it will often be too high as well. (See A Common Cause of Back, Neck & Shoulder Problems for more details.)
Pelvis Alignment
One of the best acupuncture points for this type of back pain is called Ki9, which is about 2/3 down the inside of the calf, where the main part of the calf muscle stops. Often the hips will visibly be far more level and aligned after using this point.
Spinal Alignment
If the spine is bent to one side or the vertebrae are sitting unevenly on top of each other, the acupuncture point GB39 is very important. This point is about one hand-span above the outside ankle, and if the back pain is caused by this type of alignment problem, it can work very well to resolve the pain.
Torso Alignment
In some ways, the trunk or torso can be viewed as a rectangle, with the hips and shoulders forming the corners. If one of these corners has shifted, it will often affect the other 3 corners as well. For example, if the left hip is tilted down the right hip will be tilted up, and this may cause the shoulders to go out of alignment as well. (So if someone has a shoulder problem, it might be due to a misalignment of one of their hips, or vice-versa.)
Pain caused by this condition is treated by using specific points at all of the four ‘corners’, correcting the torso alignment and relieving the pain.
We often have clients come to us saying that they saw a very good physiotherapist, chiropractor, massage therapist, etc, and despite their best efforts the pain hasn’t improved. Often in these cases we find there is a lot of inflammation involved, and once the inflammation is cleared the pain is relieved. (Note that inflammation can still be an issue even when anti-inflammatory medication doesn’t help.)
The main points for inflammation in the lower back are on the little toe- Bl66 and Bl67. If the pain is more in the hips or buttocks, GB43 and GB44 on the second toe are used instead.
In most cases, treating the alignment issues will cause the release of the muscle tension or spasm in the back. If there is still some tightness or soreness left after this, there are a variety of points on the legs that can be used.
Bone Pain– if the pain is due to a bone problem, Ki7 is the major point to treat it. This point is located in a hollow above the inside ankle bone. (Sometimes this point is very effective for arthritis as well., even though arthritis is more of a joint problem.)
Muscle Pain– Sp3.2 is the most effective point for pain caused by damaged muscles, such as a muscle tear. (Different points are usually used for muscles that are sore from being very tight.) The point is on the inside of the foot, just before the bump near the bottom of the big toe.
Tendons and Ligament Pain– Liv8 is used for pain from any connective tissue damage, such as a badly sprained ankle or a torn ligament. This point is just above the end of the crease on the inside of the leg that appears when the knee is bent.
Disc Pain– if from a damaged disc, Ren12 can often be quite effective in relieving the pain. Ren12 is midway between the bottom of the sternum and the navel.
Nerve Damage Pain– most of the time nerve pain is treated by relieving the pressure on the nerve. However if the pain is due to actual damage to the nerve, Lu8 is usually the best point to relieve the pain. This point is on the inside of the wrist, about 1 cm below the thumb.
As you can see, an acupuncture treatment can involve a variety of factors. A skilled Brisbane acupuncturist can quickly get to the cause of the problem, and start the process of relieving the pain and helping the tissues heal and repair.
If you suffer from back pain, we offer a free Comprehensive Assessment, to investigate what is causing the problem and the best way to fix it. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.) Most people find their Assessment to be very helpful and informative.
Be well, and have a great life!
There are a number of causes of back, shoulder, neck and hip problems. One of the more common ones we see is a misalignment between the shoulders and the hips.
In some ways, the trunk or torso can be viewed as a rectangle, with the hips and shoulders forming the corners. If one of these corners has shifted, it will often affect the other 3 corners as well. For example, if the left hip is tilted down the right hip will be tilted up, and the shoulders will also be uneven. So if someone has a shoulder problem, it might be due to a misalignment of one of their hips, or vice-versa.
As well as causing issues with these areas, a ‘4 Corner imbalance’ can have a flow-on affect to other parts of the body as well. If you try raising one hip high, as well as your shoulder raising up you might also feel how your neck will bend to the side to keep your head straight. So over time, this imbalance could also cause neck pain, lower back pain, soreness between the shoulder blades, sciatic pain, and sometimes even knee pain.
Diagnosis
The main method of identifying a 4 Corner imbalance is simply to look at the person’s back when they are standing up, to see if their shoulders and hips are all level. (You can see from the third diagram that the spine can sometimes also be bent to the side,) If the hips and shoulders are uneven, the person then lays face down on the treatment table, and the area between the shoulder blades is checked for any tightness or soreness. The top of the back of the hip bones (just under the iliac crest) is carefully checked as well.
Free Assessment
If you have a lower back, shoulder, neck or hip problem, we offer a free Comprehensive Assessment, which is a detailed look at what is going on in your body, what is causing the problem, and the best way to sort it out. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.) Most people find their Assessment results very insightful and informative.
Be well, and have a great life!
(Images from Clinical Strategies, Vol.1, by K. Matsomoto and D. Euler)
During a Federal election campaign, politicians are more likely to listen to what voters want, and many of our clients who have experienced the benefits of acupuncture believe that it should be included under Medicare. Below is a copy of a letter we sent to all of the local candidates for the 2022 Federal election, explaining why acupuncture should be included under the Chronic Disease Management scheme (and so covered by Medicare), and asking for their support on this.
Letters were also sent to Anthony Albanese and to Anne Ruston, who will be the new Health Minister if the Liberal National coalition wins.
Please feel free to write your own letters to Ms Ruston, Mr Albanese, and your local candidates as well. You can include details of your own experiences and benefits from acupuncture Brisbane, and all or part of the contents of our letter.
Addresses
Senator the Hon Anne Ruston
PO Box 1671
Renmark, SA, 5341
Hon Anthony Albanese MP
PO Box 5100
Marrickville, NSW, 2204
(Letter wording supplied by the The Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association.)
Dear ,
Health is a major issue for many Australians and affordable, accessible, evidenced based health care is a basic need for all Australian citizens.
The expenditure on health for 2021-2022 is estimated to be $98.3 billion which, according to the Budget Strategy and Outlook: Budget Paper No.12021-22 pp 161-162, represents 16.7% of the Australian Government’s total expenditure.
While it is understood that the provision of health care is under the jurisdiction of the State and Territory Governments, you will be aware that Medicare and the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) is a Federal Government responsibility.
It is the CDM and the inclusion of registered Acupuncturists that I wish to address.
Guaranteeing Medicare – Updating the Medicare Benefits Schedule Budget 2021-22
“The Australian Government acts on the best advice to continue to add and amend listings on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) to improve access to medical services for all Australians.”
“$14.2 million for new MBS items for allied health professionals who participate in case conferences which are organised by a patient’s GP. This will support increased allied health participation in multidisciplinary, coordinated care for patients with chronic and complex conditions.”
Chinese medicine became a registered allied health profession under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) on 1st July 2012.
https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/national-registration-and-accreditation-scheme
https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/allied-health/about
Despite registration and government recognition as an allied health profession, Chinese medicine Acupuncturists have been denied inclusion into the Medicare CDM.
Acupuncture is a recognised treatment under Medicare only if performed by a western medicine trained general practitioner. MBS Item code 173 for acupuncture will cease in November and will be replaced by four time-tiered acupuncture items (193, 195, 197 and 199), which are currently restricted to GPs who have done the training but will be opened up to all “qualified medical acupuncturists”, allowing non-GPs to claim them as well as long as they have done training overseen by the Australian Medical Acupuncture College.
These changes announced in the March 2022 federal budget coming into effect in November, announces Medicare rebates for acupuncture will be restricted to doctors who have done a one-year training course.
Recommended by the MBS Review Taskforce’s general practice committee, claiming “that it will promote high-quality acupuncture”, what it actually does is provide evidence of a gross anomaly.
This is further compounded by the fact that the Federal Department of Health did not have figures on the number of doctors who were providing Medicare-funded acupuncture without doing any formal training but still claimed acupuncture rebates under the outgoing item 173.
Dr Ian Relf President of Medical Acupuncture Association said it was unlikely to be many, which suggests that doctors were claiming Medicare rebates for a practise for which they were not trained nor endorsed to practise by the Medical Board of Australia. Such practise absolutely contravenes the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (The Law 2009) that was passed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG- now the National Federation Reform Council NFRC)) with the aim of protecting the public by standardising a high level of education and training for the 16 registered health professions that provide health care under the NRAS.
The decision to let more doctors claim the MBS items with higher rebates would likely benefit a small number of GPs who were not vocationally registered, Dr Relf added.
“There are GPs who have accreditation in acupuncture, but because they are not vocationally registered or missed grandfathering, they could not claim the 193 series. It is a great change for them because they will no longer be stuck in this no man’s land.”
Training for doctors to practise acupuncture is only 60 hours of online tutorials, 30 hours of hands-on clinical experience and both written and clinical exams. The training is overseen by the Australian Medical Acupuncture College.
In stark contrast, registered Chinese medicine acupuncturists must successfully complete a 4 year Bachelor’s degree that includes between 650-1000 hours of clinical practice to be registered with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia to be able to practise acupuncture.
Chinese medicine practitioners were required and have shown proof of the effectiveness of acupuncture, even though it is already available on the MBS provided by practitioners who do not need the same standard of training.
Why is there this level of discrimination and double standards?
A great proportion of the health budgets in countries around the world are spent on pharmaceuticals. $43 billion has been committed over 4 years for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to make medicines more affordable for Australians.
Pain medication ranks high on the list of medicines that Australians regularly need. According to Pain Australia, the total financial costs associated with chronic pain were estimated to be $73.2 billion in 2018 equating to $22,588 per person with chronic pain.
Pain is universal and there are many studies that confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture for the relief of pain from a variety of conditions including knee osteo arthritis, migraine prevention, tension and chronic headaches, chronic low back pain and postoperative pain.
McDonald J, Janz S. The Acupuncture Evidence Project: A Comparative Literature Review (Revised Edition) Brisbane: Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association Ltd; 2017. http://www.acupuncture.org.au
Acupuncture provides a drug free pain relief option which will not only help Australians living with pain to better manage their condition but also reduce the burden of cost for both the Government and the people who pay out of pocket expenses to manage their acute and/or chronic pain.
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis
The Journal of Pain Volume 19, Issue 5 May 2018 pages 455-474
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1526590017307800
In summary-
We ask that if you are successful in winning your seat in the 2022 Federal election, you endorse the inclusion of Chinese medicine acupuncturists in Medicare’s Chronic Disease Management, thus providing an evidence based, drug free, cost effective, option for pain management for all Australian citizens.
Yours faithfully,
There is much more to Vitamin D than strengthening bones. Vitamin D deficiency is common, and there is a huge gap between recommended dietary vitamin D intakes and the low vitamin D levels in the general population. Many different tissues in the body contain receptors for it, and through these receptors it controls over 200 different genes in the body. These genes look after various processes such as metabolism, mineral balance, bone strengthening, and reproductive functions.
There are a number of ways Vitamin D improves women’s fertility.
Vitamin D levels of 30ng/ml in the blood have been associated with higher pregnancy rates in women, as opposed to those with lower levels.
Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) is a hormone produced by cells in the developing egg sacs (follicles), and the level of AMH in a woman’s blood is generally a good indicator of her ovarian reserve. (The test for this is known as an egg reserve test.) Vitamin D stimulates the level of AMH, improving her ovarian reserve.
There are high concentrations of Vitamin D in the lining of the uterus during the first trimester of pregnancy, and this appears to be important for
Studies have found that women with normal levels of Vitamin D are four times more likely to conceive through IVF than those with low levels. In fact, the levels of Vitamin D in the follicles that release the egg are an indicator of how successful an IVF treatment is likely to be. For every extra ng/ml in the follicular fluid, there is an increase in the likelihood of achieving pregnancy by 7%.
Current research also suggests that Vitamin D plays an important role in treating uterine fibroids, which often impact on fertility.
Investigations have also shown that pregnant women with higher levels of Vitamin D had higher live birth rates than those with lower levels.
There has been a significant amount of research on Vitamin D levels and PCOS. PCOS is a reproductive disorder which decreases a woman’s fertility and increases her insulin resistance. Numerous studies have reported low levels of Vitamin D in women with PCOS.
There is increasing evidence that Vitamin D affects both insulin secretion and metabolism, and Vitamin D deficiency may be an important factor that increases insulin resistance in PCOS, especially in overweight women.
PCOS normally involves excess levels of male hormones and menstrual disturbances, and links have been found between low Vitamin D levels and each of these issues in women with PCOS.
In addition, taking Vitamin D supplements by women with PCOS has been shown to
Vitamin D deficiency has been found to result in low sperm motility (swim effectively) and morphology (size and shape). Too little (<50nmol/L) or too much (>125nmol/L) Vitamin D is also associated with poor sperm counts.
Vitamin D is also responsible for inducing the acrosome reaction, an essential part of the sperm and egg fusion during fertilisation.
If you are trying to conceive, are looking to start trying in the next 12 months, or are going through IVF, we recommend having a Comprehensive Brisbane Fertility Assessment at our clinic. The Assessment will look into what is going on in your body, what is causing any problems, and the best way to sort them out. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.)
Be well, and have a great life!
How’s your memory? Many people feel that their memory is gradually getting worse, and assume that this is a normal part of aging. But there are steps you can take to help improve your memory, and to help prevent the development of dementia or Alzheimer’s as you advance in years.
There are a number of factors that affect brain function and memory, however two of the main ones are medications and heavy metals.
Medications
There are many medications that have an effect on mental functions. Some of these that have a particular impact on memory include
Heavy Metals
Various heavy metals also negatively affect mental function and memory. One of the more common ones is aluminium, which is absorbed from aluminium cookware, flocculation agents added to water supplies, baking powders used in breads, deodorants, antacids, etc. Aluminium causes the nerves in the brain to become tangled (referred to as neurofibrillary tangles), and also causes a glue-like substance called amyloid, which interferes with the normal brain nerve conduction.
Diet
Recent research indicates that it may be possible to prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s.1 This research indicates that one key way of addressing memory issues and improving neural plasticity is through reducing inflammation in the body. Ideally, this involves
This protocol has been shown to arrest serious disease, as well as reverse more mild memory and cognitive impairment.1
The Gut
The 100 trillion microbes that live in our gastro-intestinal system are extremely important for overall health, especially brain health. Today the ‘gut–brain axis’ is a feature at major neuroscience meetings, and literally thousands of publications over the past decade have revealed that the gut microbiome could have profound effects on the brain, and may cause many disorders.2 Improving the balance of the microbiome has been shown to alleviate a variety of diseases ranging from diabetes, depression and anxiety, to foggy brain and obesity.3
The microbiome is a complete ecosystem inside our bodies. It has been shown that when the gut microbial diversity decreases, there is an increased prevalence of chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, obesity, allergies and asthma. So the answer is not in just taking a random probiotic, but in seeing an expert who understands the ecology of the gut and which specific good bacteria need to be increased to restore a healthy balance to this environment. (We would recommend seeing an experienced Brisbane naturopath for this.)
Some Specific Supplements
If you are suffering from a decline in memory, or want to prevent the development of dementia or Alzheimer’s as you age, you can book in for a free Comprehensive Assessment at our clinic. The Assessment is a detailed look at what is going on in your body, what is causing any problems, and the best way to sort them out. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.)
Be well, and have a great life!
1.Bredesen, D. E. (2014). Reversal of cognitive decline: A novel therapeutic program. Aging (Albany NY), 6(9), 707.
2. How gut microbes could drive brain disorders. Nature.
3. Perlmutter, D. (2015). Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain-for Life: Hachette UK.
Acupuncture is well-known for its ability to reduce or completely resolve pain. However there is much more to it than sticking a few very fine needles in at random. A good acupuncturist will have a detailed knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the knee. They will understand how the knee works, what problems can develop, and how those problems are caused. Without treating the causes of the problem, there will be little or no improvement, or the improvement will only be temporary.
So to treat a knee problem effectively, the acupuncturist needs to carefully check
Some joints in the body, such as the shoulder, are very versatile and allow movement in many directions. In some ways the knee joint is much simpler, as it can only bend backwards and forwards.
This makes the knee is very strong in this direction, however it makes it susceptible to damage from being twisted or bent to the side. The majority of knee problems we treat are the result of one or both of these forces, and they are usually caused by misalignment of a foot or of the pelvis.
How the Feet Can Cause Knee Pain
Incorrect alignment of your foot can cause a significant effect on your knee. To see this, try standing up with no shoes, and check the position of your knees. Then roll your feet outward so you are standing on the outsides of your feet, and you will see that your knees bend out as well. And if you roll your feet inward, you will see that your knees will also bend in.
Because the knee is quite a sturdy joint, it will normally cope with this strain and uneven pressure for some time, but eventually damage will start to occur and pain will develop.
Old ankle injuries can also affect your knees. Sometimes a sprained ankle does not heal quite as well as it should, and even though there is no pain at the ankle itself, the body knows there is still a weakness there, and will slightly favour that foot. This can cause you to walk very slightly unevenly and put a little more of your weight on the other foot. The alignment of the knee above it is affected, which over time can cause pain. (So if someone comes to see us for right knee pain, we need to check their left ankle for any old injuries.)
How the Hips Can Cause Knee Pain
It is surprising how many people have a misalignment of their pelvis. In some ways your hips are like a see-saw; if one side is too high the other will be too low. (Or if one is too far forward, the other will be too far back.) This also puts uneven pressure on the knee joint and often ends up causing pain.
Sometimes the muscles above or below the knee can be too tight or too weak, causing the knee to be pulled unevenly. As an example, pain at the top or bottom of the knee is often caused by the muscle just to the outside of the shin bone. One of the best ways to treat this type of knee pain is to use a combination of 3 acupuncture points along this shin muscle.
Specific acupuncture points on the thigh muscles are used to treat pain which is caused or aggravated by different factors. In the diagram,
(Diagram from ‘Clinical Strategies’ Vol.1 by Kiiko Matsumoto.)
It is also very important for the acupuncturist to check the level of inflammation in the knee, as often knee problems don’t improve (or don’t completely improve) if there is still inflammation there. Sometimes the inflammation is obvious- the knee may feel warm, swollen, or improves with anti-inflammatories or ice, but at other times the inflammation may not be obvious. There are 4 acupuncture points on the feet known as ‘Fire Points’ that the acupuncturist can press, and if any are tender it tells them there is still inflammation occurring, and where it is in the knee.
Acupuncture is very good at treating knee pain generally, however if there is any arthritis or degeneration in the joint, it is best to have this treated by an experienced naturopath as well, to help the tissues heal and repair.
This has been a brief summary of some of the areas that need to be addressed to resolve a knee pain issue. If you have a knee problem or any other health issue, you are welcome to book in for a free Comprehensive Assessment at our clinic. We can then have a close look at what is going on, what has caused the problem, and the best way to sort it out. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is completely free, with no obligations whatsoever.)
Be well, and have a great life!
Valued at $120, your Assessment will help to uncover:
All this will be fully explained to you, and you can ask as many questions as you like. That way we can be sure to give you all of the right information, understanding and advice you need. Terms and conditions: This is a free, no obligation offer.