Healthwise Clinic Natural Health Blog

So many people spend hours on the computer, and it can become a habit to reach for a cup of coffee to punctuate the day.  Coffee will eventually give you a sour taste in your mouth, while what you really need in Spring is a genuine taste of something sour.

Detox during Spring with lemons.

During the spring our bodies are de-toxing naturally, and the perfect way to help them is to provide a taste of something sour like lemon.  The taste of lemons will give added punch and help your body to get rid of excess fat and toxins.  Incredible though it may seem your body loses weight naturally at this time of year.  It makes sense as in the natural world animals need layers of fat to see them through the lean winter months, and when the earth wakes up, leaves start to appear and more food appears, those fat deposits are not needed any more.

Like animals we can benefit from the natural cycle of the seasons.

Changing your diet to include more sour less sweet tastes.

The first action you can take is to replace endless cups of tea and coffee.  To be honest they can become a habit.  Giving up those drinks can sound difficult if you have a stressful life and use the drinks as a pick me up.

The warmth of tea or coffee is important, so what we suggest is that you have a warm comforting drink first thing in the morning.  Boiled water and a slice of lemon will be much more appealing before you eat anything sweet.

It could help to imagine all the excess gunk leaving your body effortlessly helped along with the drink.  During the day you do need to drink water, and we reckon that hot water and lemon could soon become your favourite! Start gradually, and reduce the other drinks and replace with water and lemon.

The other action to take is to reduce the amount of sweetness you eat.  Having started the day well should give you a boost to cut down.  Your body does not need sweetness during Spring, so try fresh greens and food with more vitality which is far far better for you than stodgy junk food.  Over time you will find your taste preferences change and you prefer food which is not clogging up your arteries and metabolism.  Fresh vital food helps to give you energy, and eating lemons in spring help you to lose weight, so it is a double gain!

Simple and powerful. Boost your liver to detox naturally.  Put the kettle on and get started ..and imagine all that gunk effortlessly leaving your body.

Seaweed as you will know from Andrew Loosely’s last newsletter is a great addition to soups and casseroles.

It is rich in minerals and can help to reduce weight.  Andrew particularly recommended it during March which is the natural time to lose weight.  All good!

I see in the press that seaweed’s weight-losing abilities are now going to be used as an addition in junk food!  The thinking being that nobody can do without their junk food, so the best plan is to make it secretly help you to lose weight.

I suppose this is for two reason

The idea of eating seaweed is weird.  After all you could be at the beach and look down at the seaweed and you would be unlikely to think of having a quick munch!

Seaweed may not be on sale in places where you can buy junk food.  It is mostly in health food shops.

Seaweed to help you lose weight in junk food

Seaweed is presented in thin sheets and in fact doesn’t look like what we think of as seaweed at all.  It is not universally available in mainstream supermarkets here in the UK.

More information about edible seaweed.

Read more about the team from Newcastle University who conducted the research to put the seaweed into bread and their plans for more seaweed- based junk food products

But the best thing would be to make sure you are on Andrew Loosely’s newsletter so you get health tips for the season delivered to you .. real health nuggets not chicken nuggets!

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Spring is the favourite season for many of us.  The sun is at last starting to shine, it is getting warmer (even though the winds are still bitter), but we feel excited and energised about the changes and the still warmer weather to come.

Green is the colour of Spring

Green is the colour of Spring

As you may know each season is associated with a colour in traditional chinese medicine and it can be no surprise that in Spring the colour is a warm green.  So feast your eyes on green-ness it could be good for your health.

Anger is the emotion of Spring

Each season is also connected with an emotion.  It can be a surprise to discover that the emotion associated with Spring is not peacefulness and calm but Anger and Frustration.  It doesn’t fit with our image of spring as being a pretty time.  Even thinking about anger can seem threatening sometimes.  But anger is a very necessary emotion in order to create change.  In traditional chinese medicine change is welcomed, and essential.  We are not the same all year round.  Our bodies minds and spirits need different things at different times of the year.

Think of spring and you think of spring cleaning, of clearing out, of houses going on the market and home owners moving.  All of these involve frustration with the old, and change.  It is the impetus to anger that makes spring so effective.  In fact we need some anger in order to get up off the sofa at all!

So this spring embrace any frustration you may feel and do something about it.  If you find yourself becoming irritated with others, simply wonder what you could do about your own life.  It could be there is something you would like to have, or to be or to do.  Plan to make the change and very often you discover that what was previously annoying has stopped affecting you, and you are more energised about your own situation.

Spring is the time to get it done.

Adding lemons to your diet in spring is the secret traditional chinese medicine tip to lose weight.

In Spring your body is detoxing naturally – yes really!  This excellent news means this is the perfect time to lose weight.

Why add lemons to your diet?

Lemons break down mucus build up

Lemons also help to reduce blood fats

which leads to you losing extra weight and being healthier.

However, you don’t need too much of the sour taste in Spring as it will upset the Liver which is the organ associated with Spring.  About half a lemon a day – or posssibly even one whole one – is easily enough.  If you have too much of the sour taste you can damage your tendons and soft tissue.

One of the best ways to get the benefits of lemon is to squeeze the juice of a lemon into boiled and slightly cooled water, and drink.  Go on, try it!

Traditional Chinese medicine links to the lunar calendar which is based on the Moon.  Health is affected by the seasons and each season is linked to different functions within the body.

This year 2010 the first day of the new year, which is also the first day of Spring, is on 14th February.

The Chinese approach is to dedicate each year to an animal.  2009 for example was the year of the Ox, and 2010 is the Year of the Tiger.  An ox and a tiger have little or nothing in common, and the year ahead has the potential to be very different from the past year.

The years rotate, and you can work out which year you were born in.  To have “Tiger” qualities you would be born in 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, and 1998.

Here is a brief summary of the qualities of Tiger people:

Tiger people are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. They are naturally centre of attention, and if ill demand a great deal of sympathy.  They can also be extremely short-tempered, however.

Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority. Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision made too late. They are courageous and powerful. Tigers are most compatible with Horses, Dragons, and Dogs

Chinese medicine and your health

In chinese medicine as you probably know we treat the whole individual rather than the symptom.

Even within each Year of the tiger there are other influencing factors, and each year is dominated by a particular element:

Water, Wood, Fire, Earth or Metal.

While it can be fun to find out about the qualities of a particular year, or Chinese animal type, the most important aspect for your well-being is to have a personalised diagnosis.

Your health is determined by the balance of energies within your body.  some of these may have been influenced by your year of birth, some by upbringing, and some by your dominant thoughts.  Your health is a complex and fascinating subject, and our great joy at Healthwise is to help people realise how much of their own health is within their own power.

The magnificent energy of the Year of the Tiger will, we hope, help us to improve the health and well-being of a lot more people who are suffering.

Related

• Year of the (Metal) Golden Tiger – 2010 (coconuter.blogspot.com)

Dandelions are a wonderful source of nutrition.  Pick the leaves while they are still small and you will be doing wonders for your blood and even your mood.

Young dandelion leaves are full of nutrition

The dandelion leaves should not have been contaminated with any harmful substance like fumes or weedkiller, and it is probably a good idea to wash the leaves anyway.

Dandelions can be munched on, raw, added to salads and made into delicious and nutritious soups.  They are particularly helpful in purifying and strengthening the blood.

Dandelions also help to calm feelings of irritation and anger which, you may remember, are emotions associated with the spring.  I have often noticed that gardeners who get angry about dandelions appearing in the lawn are the ones who would benefit from eating the leaves.  If they could just stop and eat it would do them far more good!

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We have had such beautiful  weather in the last week that blossom and leaves have appeared.

In the parks at the weekend I saw people wearing shorts and light tee shirts.

It does seem a tempting idea but – I am going to sound like your granny here – it is best to stay warm until summer is properly here.

A run of warm weather in spring is not the same as summer.  The spring winds are still cold and you can catch a chill quite easily. in fact very easily.  A lot of health problems are as a result of failing to behave according to the season.  Wear a light coat, and put the sandals back in the cupboard!

If you have never tried lemon and ginger tea now’s your chance!

We will be giving all the visitors to our talk on 24th March a lovely cup of this gorgeous tea.

The sharpness of the lemon and the spicy ginger combine to give you all round goodness. Yes, this is a great drink for Spring as it helps your metabolism detox and boosts increasing energy as spring turns to summer.

You can get this in a sachet of pre-made tea but we prefer the real thing. Slices of real lemon and real ginger into boiling water. Let it cool a little and then sip.

Andrew Loosely’s first article on natural health has been posted
at 50 Connect in the category alternative health.

The 50 connect website encourages people over 50 to “live life to the full” which fits exactly with Andrew’s views on health. One of the secrets of good health is to adapt to the seasons, and the article will gives more background to the principles.

Head over and read it! You don’t have to be over 50 to look after your health!

The sun is out at last! Spring has arrived and the leaves are starting to turn green.

Our bodies are regaining energy after the winter but they still need to be gently supported in the Spring. So don’t immediately turn to cold food even thought the sun is out.

Soups can be made easily and quickly and are the perfect spring time meal. Lighter than the rich winter casseroles, soups help your body to make the most of the natural detox going on at the moment. They are a great way to get lots of nutritious goodness. And for an extra twist to really help your body add a little spice. It will boost your energy.

To find out

come to Andrew Loosely’s talk at Healthwise