Healthwise Clinic Natural Health Blog

Andy Murray was the hottest British tennis star yesterday at Wimbledon on the hottest day for three years. The match was hotly contested, and the temperature meant that the crowd was hot, too.

The heat means everyone needs to take in more water.  Most people on Henman Hill probably had a plastic bottle of water with them.

However, n the heat there is a chance that the bottles will warm up. When the plastic is warm toxins are leached from the plastic into the drink.  By a coincidence the more environmentally-friendly the plastic, the more likely this is to happen.

Wimbledon tennis stars like Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka take their drinks from a cool cabinet.  Between the games we see the players drinking from plastic bottles filled with water or isotonic drinks.  But the crowd is more likely to drink from a warmed bottle rather than miss the tennis action.  Without knowing it they are risking taking in damaging toxins.

We are being encouraged to take water with us in this heat but many people don’t realise there is a potential health hazard, too.

Prevent toxins being leached from plastic with a few simple guidlines:

Don’t fill an old water bottle with new water

Don’t use an unopened bottle which has been in heat and  cooled down as the damage is already done

Use a cool bag if you are going to be out and about in the heat and your water bottle might heat up (obtainable in many supermarkets)

Throw half consumed-bottles into recycling.

Drink from glass if possible.

This advice is important for all ages, from babies to the elderly but is especially vital for women who are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant.

The new roof at Wimbledon esnures we get the hottest tennis action when it is raining or late into the evening, but we all need to keep our water intake cool.

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IVF treatment for infertility can be available on the NHS for free

We are often asked our opinion of IVF in the clinic.  One additional question that is asked is whether it is available for free on the NHS.  The answer is yes if you fit certain criteria.  The first step is to visit your GP who recommends you for treatment.

However each PCT will vary slightly.  One of the key aspects is that you have been infertile for 3 years and neither of you has a child.  There are also age restrictions.  See in NHS guidelines on IVF.

Before you start down the route to IVF we would love you to explore the natural fertility alternative.  Knowing about your own condition and understanding your health options is a key part of our approach to natural health at Healthwise.

You can make an appointment for a free introductory session at our fertility clinic in Burnham or Harley Street.  Seeing your GP is obviously a good idea anyway, but acupuncture and chinese herbs is a more natural approach to infertility IVF which you may find more sympathetic.   We have weekend and evening appointments, and a first meeting is completely without committment.

Whether or not you qualify for free IVF treatment on the NHS, or intend to have treatment privately, we believe that knowing all the options puts you back in control of your fertility and often contributes to pregnancy.

Having a baby naturally without IVF is the ultimate dream for most couples.

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If you have the problem of infertility you are already in a slightly stressful situation because all couples would prefer to conceive naturally and easily.

If IVF has been considered, the first things to think about are the medical issues. The most common is often the risk of multiple births, and then the realisation about the artificiality of a situation where you are taken to menopause and then brought back.

But it would never cross your mind to consider the chance of adminstrative errors. The press has reported two stories recently of error: adminstrative mistakes with a huge repercussion on people’s lives.

One woman who thought she had an egg saved to try for a second birth, has now discovered she has no egg. It was donated to another woman who promptly aborted it when the mistake was realised.

The other case involves another mix up where a white couple now have a baby from a different race.

IVF treatment is difficult and costly, and usually time is running out for the mother, so to be told that the egg had been given away must be very hard.

And the parents of the child born with a different coloured skin were expecting the baby to be their own flesh and blood, and not the result of an admin mix up. Obviously many couples (not just Madonna and Brangelina) happily adopt children of a different race, but in these situations it is all part of a conscious decision.

These problems make it impossible to pretend that IVF is a natural process, and add another layer of concern for couples already coping with the stress of infertility.

At Healthwise Clinic we advocate a natural approach both in terms of the way the baby comes into the world, and in a personal relationship with the couple. Our success rate using careful diagnosis, acupuncture and herbs gives us cause for confidence. And we know we are improving health and reducing stress at the same time.

There is a natural alternative to IVF.

Acupuncture is not a simple word to write or say but it is a simple treatment to receive to aid fertility.

After your consultation and diagnosis you lie fully clothed on the treatment couch.
You then relax and very very fine needles are inserted at certain points into your skin.
You lie peacefully on the couch and may find that you naturally doze off for about twenty minutes.
The needles are removed, and most patients tell us they feel refreshed, and come back gently into “normal” life.
You will then be given some guidance on what to do or avoid.
Your supply of chinese herbs that have been prescribed individually for you will be checked, and you may receive a new prescription.

It all takes place in one room in the clinic, and with one consultant who knows you personally and sees you every time. You are not sent from one department to another with your notes under your arm to talk to different people.

We have been told that this helps to make the process of having a baby seem more natural, and helps to give you confidence that you can become pregnant.

As our bodies and minds are linked, we think that having a respectful relationship with you and your body contributes to our success rate of over 65%.

Andrew Loosely spoke on the Debbie McGee show on Radio Berkshire.

You can hear a replay and get some hay fever tips by going to Radio Berkshire, clicking on Debbie McGee, and in the pop up window moving the pointer over to the right to 1 hour and 8 minutes.

It will only stay live for 7 days so listen in!

Listen to Radio Berkshire on Sunday 6th June to hear Andrew Loosely talk about what you can do for your health – especially if you suffer from hay fever.

He will be interviewed at 10:15 am.

Listen in locally on a radio at 104.4, 104.1, 65.4 and 94.6FM.or online from anywhere in the world

Andrew Loosely was interviewed on Marlow FM the community radio station. He was a guest on “That Fabulous Friday Feeling”

Andrew explained that in fact he works all day on a Saturday at Healthwise Clinic but gets a double dose of a fabulous friday feeling. Clients come in for treatment on a Friday so they are all prepared for the weekend, so he enjoys their enjoyment before the weekend, and he gets his Friday feeling on a Saturday which is the day before his weekend starts on a Sunday. Andrew said that in fact he gets a good feeling every day of the week when he talks to his clients, and knows he is helping them improve health in body and mind.

Andrew gave some hints on improving health at this time of year. Hay fever is very common at the moment, and Andrew explained that a tea made from peppermint and elderflower, or alternatively from nettles would be help to soothe the unpleasant cold-like symptoms, and strengthen the body.

He concluded by giving a quick diagnosis of the health of Gordon Brown by looking at his face. This is one of the four methods used to assess health. If you want to know more you will have to ask at Healthwise…

Hay fever symptoms are usually worse in early summer.  But if you asked the 6 million hay fever sufferers in the UK what the cause is, very few would say it is the horse chestnut tree.

The obvious first answer is hay, but when people realise they have not been near hay they think again, and usually say grass seed.

But the surprising truth is that pollen from the horse chestnut tree is the cause of a lot of hay fever in Britain and elsewhere.

The horse chestnut is such a beautiful tree, and means that finer weather is here and it seems almost wrong to think of it being a problem!

Of course in natural medicine, it is not the tree that is the problem, but an imbalance in the body which allows the horse chestnut to cause the symptoms.

The pollen in the flowers is easily blown around by the wind, and once airborne is then inhaled through the nose or mouth.  This can cause symptoms similar to having a cold.  The only difference is that you do not feel as bad as you would with a cold.

Unfortunately there is little you can do to avoid the pollen.  Natural health treatment focuses on expelling the pollen from the body, and soothing the inflammation which can occur in the nose, eyes, and throat.

The use of over-the-counter or prescribed anti-histamines, effectively damp the body’s natural reaction against the pollen.  Although they reduce symptoms in the short-term, they can create a greater imbalance for the future. With these types of medication the body becomes weaker and the energy depletes due to the toxicity of the drugs.

Nature has an array of plants that can be used to help with hay fever. Drugs cause further harm!

Many trees, flowers and grasses can produce hay fever symptoms.  However, the appearance of the horse chestnut flower indicates the start of the season and the most common type of hay fever which occurs in late spring and early summer.

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Hay fever affects an increasing number of the population.  Each year during spring and summer more and more people seem to get the runny nose and sneezing that is often an indicator of hay fever.

It is not the strength of the pollen or the allergen-causing products we come into contact with, but the weakness of our immune system that causes the problem.

However our bodies get more and more depleted by the ever-increasing allergens in the environment. There is a great deal you can do to protect yourself against allergens, and to naturally reduce the problem of the symptoms.

Andrew Loosely will be explaining how to treat hay fever on Radio Berkshire at 10:15 am on Sunday 7th June. Listen in to get some good tips and hints to improve your health naturally.

Listen on 104.4, 104.1, 65.4 and 94.6FM.to

For some people with a lower immune function pollen in the air causes problems in the form of allergies.

Pollen is only one of many allergens known to us and there are now thousands of people suffering with various allergies every day of the year.

Some of the common symptoms that indicates a reaction to pollen include a runny nose, itchy eyes, puffy skin round the eyes and a general feeling of being unwell.  A reaction to pollen can look the same as a cold. It can be called “hay fever” even if you have been nowhere near hay!

From a natural health perspective, the body’s defensive system are weaker than normal for a substance to cause an allergic reaction,  so we strengthen the body so it can fight against the allergen.

One of the first steps could be to have an allergy test. We use a method that works by assessing the hair and the response within the body when you came into contact with the allergen. The hair stores everything that you come into contact with is stored inside the hair structure, so it can be read in detail.

The results and advice on what to do are given to our clients.

Many allergic reactions can be treated with diet.  If it is diet related treatment can be as simple as just making some dietary changes over a few weeks and the immune system may improve.

If this is not sufficient then it is possible to get excellent results using natural medicine such as herbal medicine and acupuncture to improve the immune system.

There have been many new research projects showing that acupuncture and various herbs greatly improve the number of T cells.  These are responsible for the health of the immune system.