I’ve been making a sincere effort to reduce referring to “stress” when talking with patients. Why? You might think it’s obvious two minutes into a new doom scrolling session on Twitter, but as soon I enter into the discussion with patients, I’ve just started to feel as if it’s a moot point. Here’s often how the conversation goes. “So, talk to me about your … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 14: What is a leaky gut, and does it affect the brain and gut?
Do you have "leaky gut?" “The title says it all. I remember walking through an airport and seeing the caption on the front of Women's Health and smiling as it seemed to have finally crossed over into the public vernacular.” Of course, this was when we could fly freely, as a side note. The term "leaky gut" and its symptoms and causes are becoming highly ambiguous … [Read more...]
Article: Leaky gut and its influence on digestive and mental health.
The term "leaky gut," its symptoms and causes, are becoming highly ambiguous to my patients and readers alike. So, in this article, I will attempt to clear up some of the confusion. I'll look at some key points to simplify things a little more and help you perhaps prioritise your understanding around its influence on digestive and mental health. Finally, I'll look at some of … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 13: Zinc is essential for your mental and digestive health
Zinc is undoubtedly one of the most important forms of currency your body uses to pay its bills. “You walk around with around 2-3 grams of zinc in your body every day. It's in all tissues in the body, with eighty-five per cent found in your muscles and bones and eleven per cent seen in your skin and liver.” In this Free and Inspired radio episode, Philip looks at … [Read more...]
Article: Zinc is necessary for IBS, immunity and depression.
Zinc is undoubtedly one of the most important forms of currency your body needs to pay its bills, especially for IBS, immunity and depression. It’s hard to simplify just how many of these transactions it pays for in a day, but maybe some fun facts might better illustrate it. Of all the trace elements in the body, only iron is more abundant than … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 12: Is histamine worsening your mental and IBS symptoms?
We've all been affected by histamine at one stage in our lives. Hay fever and skin rashes aside, there are more profound effects of histamine in the gut and the brain that you might not know about. It can be surprising how intrinsic it is. For instance, histamine plays critical roles in immune defence, brain activity, growth and development, fertility and … [Read more...]
Article: Is histamine making your mental and IBS symptoms worse?
I feel histamine is most well-known because of anti-histamine drugs than its actual effect on the body, certainly not IBS. It's no wonder as allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, is thought to affect ten to thirty per cent of the worldwide population, and that was ten years ago.[1] We've all been affected by histamine actions on the body at one stage in our lives, but hay fever … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 11: Going on a gluten-free diet – Things you need to know.
“It doesn’t take too many consultations into my practice day to have the “gluten-free diet conversation.” I don’t think I’m overstating things when I suggest that it might be the most hotly contested dietary conversation of the last decade.” In this Free and Inspired radio episode, Philip introduces gluten, how it might affect you, and some of the disadvantages of a … [Read more...]
Article: Things you need to know before going gluten-free.
Well, the answer is if you are sick, going gluten-free might be worth a try. Just be prepared to do it for beyond 30 days. Let’s look at this nuanced answer in a lot more detail. It doesn’t take too many consultations into my practice day to have what I call the “gluten conversation.” I don’t think I’m overstating things when I suggest that it might be the most hotly … [Read more...]
Article: “I don’t know why, but by 3 pm, I’m tired and ready to sleep.”
We’ve all been there. Lunch is over, the afternoon workload is looming, and the clouds in your brain are starting to form. Your brain always gets foggy around this time of day, and just as you feel it on the horizon, the bloating starts. Your eyelids are heavy and tired within a few moments, and you’re ready for a nap - it must be 3 pm. Feeling tired at 3 pm is a common … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 10: “By 3 pm, I’m ready to sleep.” Discover the 3 pm slump
Ever get an hour in after lunch and feel like it's time to sleep? Learn more about the 3 pm slump in this episode! The 3 pm slump is a common symptom for a lot of people. You just have to see the queues forming at your local coffee spot to see how many people are silently going through the same thing. We've all been there. Lunch is over, the afternoon workload is looming, … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 9: Can your fatigue be linked to your digestive system?
In this Free and Inspired radio episode, we will examine how your digestive system can worsen your fatigue. The microbiome is as unique as your fingerprint. We have a lot to learn, but we know that the proportions of the different species of bacteria in your digestion play a huge role in how you’re feeling. Especially in fatigue or your sense of mental and physical … [Read more...]
Article: Can the digestive system make your fatigue worse?
In this article, we will be looking at how your digestive system can make your fatigue feel worse and how probiotics can make a difference. Fatigue is a funny word coming to the end of 2021. There’s the somewhat obvious pandemic fatigue, then end of year fatigue, end of school year fatigue, and the list continues. What if it’s none of those things, and your fatigue has … [Read more...]
Article: Use food to unlock essential genes to reverse ageing
The estimates on just how much the global anti-ageing industry is worth currently range from US$30 to over US$100 billion. Creams, serums and just about anything that can be applied or ingested most likely, it seems, have some form of potential to reverse ageing. For a price, of course. In this article, we will talk about another form of ageing, internal ageing. More … [Read more...]
Article: Waking up during the night? Maybe it’s your blood sugar.
I prescribe a few things to people in the clinic that raise my patients’ eyebrows. No more so than when I prescribe an herbal and nutritional formula for blood sugar levels to be taken in the morning to fix a problem centred around waking up at night. I can just hear the voice my patient’s inner voice saying, “Oh my god, I’ve come to get my sleep sorted out, and this guy is … [Read more...]