From 26 years of research and clinical experience at the Natural Health Advisory Service, where we actively set out to help women over health problems, we discovered that when we found the right kind of diet and lifestyle for an individual, those that were overweight, not only overcame their symptoms, but lost weight naturally, without dieting. In fact, many of our patients were eating far more than they had before and had thrown their calorie counting books away. Without dieting those 10% overweight lost 8lbs within 3 months and those 20% overweight lost just under 13lbs.
We have discovered too, through our research on women of childbearing age, that they very often have nutritional deficiencies which affect their brain chemical metabolism. As the brain chemistry can be likened to the conductor in an orchestra, in that it orchestrates different departments within the body, it follows that deficiencies have a knock-on effect to all the body processes. Being short of vital nutrients often affects our immune system, as do the chemicals in our food chain. The immune system, the department in our body responsible for fighting off toxins, when impaired, may mis-identify certain foods and drinks as being “toxic”, resulting in a chemical reaction which causes havoc. The symptoms that result may be either “mental” or physical and include fatigue, loss of vitality, bowel disorders like constipation and diarrhoea plus headaches, mood swings, cravings for food, depression, loss of libido, panic attacks and palpitations. These chemicals can also cause us to retain fluid which then prevents the bathroom scales from registering any weight loss, even when on a low calorie diet.
In the last decade it has become apparent that the numbers of individuals suffering with conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, and food intolerances is on the increase. We estimate that at least 50% of the women we treat at the NHAS experience bowel disturbances like constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal wind and bloating. Even larger numbers of women seem to be suffering with fatigue, and we commonly find that whilst in a nutritionally depleted state these women suffer with what we call transient food intolerances. Transient, because once we have corrected nutrient levels, over a period of months, and thus given the immune system a boost, we then reintroduce the offending foods, often without an ongoing reaction.
Although there is currently a lack of scientific information to explain precisely why common health problems are on the increase, after treating tens of thousands of women successfully over the years, it is our observation at the NNAS that a combination of nutritional deficiencies and chemicals from our food which our bodies were not designed to deal with are probably responsible to a large degree. When individuals become familiar with their body’s requirements and fulfils them, and more discerning about their choices of food, we invariably see that these actions have a normalising effect on brain chemistry, which in turn helps the immune system to function normally. It is like flicking a light switch. Symptoms disappear, vitality and humour return, and weight loss occurs in those who are overweight. Interestingly, those that are underweight seem to gain weight, which leads us to believe that when you discover the correct programme for your body it seems to have a normalising effect on metabolism.
Through our work at the NHAS we have discovered that there is no substitute for education about the body’s requirements, in terms of diet and lifestyle. It is a subject we miss out on all through our education process which has dire consequences on our physical and mental shape and that of our families.
“Six years on now I’m still full of energy, my skin looks smooth, my nails no longer split and break, and I no longer have cravings for food. I am two stones slimmer now without dieting, I’m more confident and can honestly say that I feel like a different person, I’m really amazed.”
Alison