A Transparent Discussion About Women’s Health & Natural Remedies

I recently sat down (virtually) with the amazing Ali Landry to talk about common issues many women are facing in their health and lives, including the ones that Ali herself faces. We dove deep into natural approaches at both bringing support and healing around those issues. We talked about everything from hormones, stress, sleep and even chronic pain as well as many natural approaches to resolving them. If you missed our video conversation, you can watch the replay of it HERE.

 

Here are a few more general take-aways from our chat…

 

Honoring The Chapter, You Are In

 

We are facing stressors and life challenges that we collectively have never before faced. Every time we turn on the news we are inundated with stressful messages and images. Many of us are facing loss, transitions and increases of stress and anxiety due to the pandemic and state of the world.

 

I have had so many of my patients and also people reach out to me on social media expressing frustration that they don’t seem to either have the energy for the level of self-care that they used to or that they are unable to take effective actions to move their health and wellbeing forward in positive ways. The overall feeling many people have expressed is feeling the need to need to ‘force themselves’ forward.

 

Right now, is a time when we are grieving and processing. During this time, we need to honor where we are, honor the season or chapter that we are in, while also taking balanced actions that feel HELPFUL.

 

Start With Balance

 

Balance leads to wellness and increases our wellbeing. The issue right now is that what was a balanced approach before may no longer be balanced during this time. We must shift our expectations and our plans to honor where we are while also discovering what our new normal will look like, and what balance looks during these times. Start with some self-discovery and most importantly, listening to your own body, heart, emotions and spirit.

 

Where To Begin

 

I often ask my patients, ‘If you could change one thing that would have the biggest positive impact on all of the other challenges you are facing, which thing would that be?’. That is often the answer for the best place to start, otherwise it can become overwhelming and even confusing. This is where working with a good natural, holistic or functional doctor can be hugely beneficial.

 

 

Get To The Root

 

Here is the west we are taught from an early age to treat symptoms versus root causes. Often the solutions include ONLY suppressing the symptoms or things that feel uncomfortable. We reach for a quick fix or a pill. While I definitely think it is important to treat symptoms, I believe that the symptoms we experience in our mind, body and emotions are feedback. If we simply suppress the feedback without ALSO addressing the root issue, we are unable to create (or sustain) positive changes in our health and wellbeing. It is important to listen to the feedback from our body, mind, emotions and even spirit and then work on resolving the root or core issue from the inside-out while also addressing the symptoms from the outside-in.

 

Supplements Are Supplementation

 

Supplements are to support needs that the body has such as daily vitamins and minerals that we are unable to get enough of through our food sources. Supplements that consist of specific herbs, vitamins and minerals that are geared towards naturally treating or supporting health conditions can feel overwhelming for many people. There are so many different ones on the market and you can often feel (based on their descriptions) that you need them ALL. Remember I mentioned starting with one specific focus? I believe it is important to have a balanced approach to your supportive supplements as well instead of overwhelming your system with a ton of different supplements. Focusing on the issue that when resolving it will have the largest positive impact on other issues or areas is key. It is also very beneficial to work with a natural or functional focused healthcare provider to ensure the proper supplements for your health needs.

 

A few of the health issues that Ali and I dove deeper into within our chat were –

 

  • Hormone imbalances, symptoms and solutions
  • Sleep hygiene and its importance as well as ways to achieve better sleep cycles
  • Stress
  • Chronic neck, shoulder and back pain

 

For detailed information, solutions and recommendations please be sure to watch this video as we do discuss much detail about the above issues. Again, you can view the video HERE.

 

Within these conversations I mentioned a few supplements. Below are links to those:

 

  • Stress Master & Sleep Master by Nupeutics Naturals

https://nupeuticshealth.com

 

  • Evening Primrose Oil

https://www.amazon.com/Primrose-Softgels-Cold-Pressed-Artificial-Ingredients/dp/B00NH5AK2S/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=evening+primrose+oil+organic&qid=1594507306&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExUjFYVjUwU0hCNExPJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzQ2ODEwMzBPTkhTOEhXUUhQUSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTI3NjQ3MzM5R0pWWEtQS1RFSCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

  • L-Theanine

https://www.amazon.com/Thorne-Research-L-Theanine-Supplement-Relaxation/dp/B0797BLW59/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-p13n1_0?cv_ct_cx=l-theanine&dchild=1&keywords=l-theanine&pd_rd_i=B0797BLW59&pd_rd_r=ab7f4801-d3d2-4d63-9ad6-dd57d34a6e69&pd_rd_w=pQeCM&pd_rd_wg=CCAzH&pf_rd_p=1da5beeb-8f71-435c-b5c5-3279a6171294&pf_rd_r=1M9JKZQS47QG7ADB6JGK&psc=1&qid=1594507336&sr=1-1-70f7c15d-07d8-466a-b325-4be35d7258cc

 

  • Magnesium Powder (mix with warm water)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BPUY3W0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What The Heck Is Natural Medicine???

Natural Medicine is a distinct system of non-invasive health care and health assessment in which neither surgery nor drugs are used, dependence being placed only on education, counseling, natural medicine modalities and natural substances. This includes, without limitation, the use of foods, food extracts, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, digestive aids, botanical substances, topical natural substances, homeopathic preparations, air, water, heat, cold, sound, light, the physical modalities of natural non-manipulative bodywork and exercise to help stimulate and maintain the individual’s intrinsic self-healing processes.

I am a board certified Doctor of Natural Medicine with a focus on whole person health – that includes the mind, body, heart & spirit. Through natural medicine, lifestyle, mental and emotional healing and other complimentary and alternative approaches, I support patients in achieving whole person wellness, wellbeing and move towards their fullest potential.

Natural medicine approaches include the following –

Nutrition and diet:
Natural Medicine Practitioners understand that nutrition is one of the foundations of health. Adopting a healthy diet is often the first step towards correcting health problems. Many health challenges can be reversed with foods and nutritional supplements than they can by other means, with fewer complications and side effects. Practitioners may use specific individual diets, fasting, and nutritional supplements to support their clients.

Herbal preparations: 
Plants have healing properties known since the age of man and were one of the first forms of medicine. Many pharmaceutical drugs have their origins in plant substances. Plant substances are used for their healing effects and nutritional values.

Homeopathic preparations: 
Homeopathic medicines are very small doses of natural substances that can stimulate the body’s self-healing response without side effects. Some conditions for which conventional medicine has no effective treatments will respond well to homeopathy.
Natural (Nature’s)Medicine Practitioners are not specialists in homeopathic diagnosis but are allowed to dispense combination homeopathic remedies.

Manual techniques:
Natural (Nature’s)Medicine practice includes methods of manual techniques of; soft tissues, joints, and bones, including, but not limited to instruction on exercises, aromatic (body) application, laser therapy, micro-current therapy, acupressure and other non-invasive manual techniques, hydrotherapy, electrotherapies, and ultrasound.

Health Coaching:
Natural (Nature’s) Medicine Practitioners are trained in counseling, nutritional balancing, stress management, hypnotherapy, and biofeedback techniques. They also attend to environmental and lifestyle factors that affect their client’s health.

*As defined by the Board of Natural Medicine Doctors & Practitioners

With my additional certifications my scope of practice also includes mental and emotional health, physical fitness, life and self-development coaching. I draw upon all of my educational background and years of clinical practice and research to provide education, tools and support to those that come along the journey towards wellness with me.

In Wholeness,

Dr. Rachel

 

Meet Your Microbiome – Gut Health – Part 3

Meet Your Microbiome…

By Dr. Rachel Eva Dew, DNM

 

What the heck is the MICROBIOME anyway & why is microbiome health and balance important?

Think of your microbiome as an entire eco system, or community of microorganisms (good and bad) in your body. Your gut microbiome is not the only microbiome systems in the body, your skin is also a microbiome system too! It is estimated that people are ratio to inhabited by even more non- human cells as human cells. According to NIH, ‘The human body contains trillions of microorganisms — outnumbering human cells by 10 to 1. Because of their small size, however, microorganisms make up only about 1 to 3 percent of the body’s mass (in a 200-pound adult, that’s 2 to 6 pounds of bacteria), but play a vital role in human health’. When all of these elements combine, they form your microbiomes unique chemistry.

I am a plant lover, but sometimes I have a hard time keeping certain plants in my home alive and thriving. All of my plants have slightly different needs and preferences for light, water, soil their environment (the pots they are in) and fertilizer. In fact, it seems that as soon as I learn the magical combination that works for a plant to be its healthiest, the season will change, and I have to learn the new combination for that season. Guess what, our microbiomes and their health are exactly the same!!

Finding the exact right balance for optimizing your microbiome (both gut and skin) is a process and the needs and care will be unique to you. However, there are some things that help ALL microbiomes begin to move towards more balance. These are things like diet, exercise, mindfulness, stress reduction, proper hydration, rebalancing the microbiome and taking herbal supplements, probiotics and prebiotics.

Often you will have to source numerous high-quality supplements in order to address rebalancing the microbiome. Often, I have recommended up to 10 different supplements to patients working on balancing their microbiome. This is one of the reasons I love Nupeutics Microbiome Master… it has all of these ingredients in one high quality supplement.

Nupeutics uses some of the most powerful ingredients to support total gut health and rebalance the microbiome. Nupeutics Microbiome Master’s supportive ingredients for microbiome health are –

  • Black Walnut Hull is a powerful herb that has been used medicinally for thousands of years and is especially useful in digestive and parasitic instances. It is a potent antibacterial and anti-fungal and is capable of killing the adult stage of most parasitic worms. It has been used to treat intestinal issues, snake bites, wound care as an antiseptic, ulcers, wart treatment (herpes virus), cold sores, athlete’s foot and Candida.

 

  • Oregano Leaf contains high amounts of antioxidants that help to fight free radical damage and has antibacterial and anti-parasitic properties. Because of this it is greatly effective at reducing inflammation in conditions like colitis. Studies have found oregano oil to be as effective in germ killing properties as prescription antibiotics.

 

  • Reishi Mushroom is a staple in eastern medicine with several immune boosting capabilities and cancer killing properties. It also has even shown to have adaptogenic properties that can reduce stress, fatigue and improve sleep.

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  • Pau D’arco Bark is a South American herb used for decades. It has two chemicals – lapchol and beta-lapchone that are shown to kill bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. Also boasting anti-inflammatory properties that may be effective against diseases like osteoarthritis. Pau D’arco is used to help treat Candida, herpes, influenza, parasites, bacteria infections and cancer.

 

  • Uva Ursi is a small shrub and is most commonly known for its effectiveness to fight and prevent Urinary Tract Infections. (caution should be used when considering long term use). Uva Ursi also contains allatoin which provides a soothing effect to the gut and urinary tract.

 

  • Echinacea is a powerful herb that can stimulate the cells of your immune system and assist in eliminating disease-causing parasites. We all know echinacea is amazing to boost our immune systems and help stave off illness when we feel the sniffles coming on.

 

  • Wormwood is one of the most potent parasite killers around. This is how the tree protects itself from fungi by using wormwood in its bark. It is used in various digestive issues such as upset stomach, gallbladder disease, intestinal spasms. It can also be used to help reduce fever, liver disease, depression, muscle pain, and to treat worm (parasite) infections.

 

  • Cinnamon bark is an anti-parasitic and warming spice used to ward off unwanted guests. Cinnamon bark is also loaded with antioxidants and works to combat inflammation.

 

  • Allicin Garlic has been used for centuries for its ability to kill bacteria, viruses and fungus. It is a potent herb in gut cleansing.

Keep your eyes out for more on gut health!

In Wellness,

Dr. Rachel

Copyright Dr. Rachel Dew 2019-2021. All Rights Reserved