"Everyone tells me to manage my stress as it's affecting my health. Honestly, I don't know where to start or what managing my stress even means?!" In this Free and Inspired radio episode, Philip deconstructs stress and offers better questions to ask to start managing it. Stress, by definition, occurs when the balance or stasis of the body is affected by something either … [Read more...]
Article: Everyone tells me to reduce stress. I don’t even know where to start?
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...]
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...]
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...]
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: Can my gut cause anxiety?
The answer is most likely yes, your gut can cause anxiety. And make it worse! Extensive studies have validated the presence of the brain-gut connection, with the bi-directional relationship between the two systems now clear and variable in its presentation. In this article, we’re going to help you understand the different ways digestion and your brain interact to either … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 6: Can digestion make my anxiety worse?
Pre-COVID-19 studies suggest that just over a third of people will experience an episode of anxiety in their life. In Hong Kong, an estimated 26 per cent of people have reported mental health deterioration since the pandemic began. Pandemic aside, for those with another illness, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the prevalence of an accompanying anxiety disorder can be … [Read more...]