Sunday 25 May 2014

5 EASY WAYS TO PREVENT COLDS & FLUS THIS WINTER – STRAIGHT FROM OUR THERAPISTS!



As cold and flu season is upon us, we must take extra measures to stay healthy. Prevention is key!

As therapists who treat many clients daily, boosting our immune system year-round is so important. Here are a few of the healthy habits we have put in place at the centre. We urge you to try a few!

1. BURNING PEPPERMINT, EUCALYPTUS AND CITRUS OILS – BLANCA LOVES HER GRAPEFRUIT!

One of the first things you will notice when arriving to the centre is the pleasant aroma of essential oils. Burning these oils does not just create a lovely smell. They are antiseptics and bactericides that kill airborne bacteria.  Just add a few drops to an oil burner in your home or office for a pleasing aroma that lifts your spirits and keeps you healthy too!

2. WHOLE LEMON SQUEEZED INTO A GLASS OF WATER DAILY & PUSH THOSE FLUIDS!!!

Eric likes to switch this out with a whole orange or grapefruit. Citrus fruit is energising and breaks up the monotony of plain water. We also make sure to have a few glasses of water between each appointment. This adds up at the end of the day!

3. ORGANIC UNPASTEURISED APPLE CIDER VINEGAR –

Rich in a variety of nutrients, including malic acid, which is a strong antiviral. Add a splash of this tonic to a glass of water at least twice daily to gain its many benefits, including a boost in energy levels and immune function. If you have hung around the centre within the past few years, Blanca would have probably offered you a glass or two!

4. REGULAR MASSAGE –
All modalities, especially lymphatic drainage, increase lymphatic flow. Increased circulation allows your immune system to function at optimal level by delivering immune cells faster and flushing stagnated toxins.

5. REGULAR EXERCISE-
Lymphatic flow is dependent on gravity and muscle contraction. Regular exercise increases your circulation.

MAY THIS COLD AND FLU SEASON BE YOUR HEALTHIEST YET!

Friday 9 May 2014

The amazing MgSO4-7H2O

Let's face it: "MgSO4-7H2O" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Nor, for that matter, does "heptahydrate magnesium sulfate". But if I say "Epsom Salts", everyone knows what I'm talking about.

Everyone? I confess, until today I knew only a couple of things about this amazing natural mineral, which looks like rock salt and is found in many places but firstly in a town called Epsom in Surrey, just 30 km south of London. I knew it was good to soak your tired body in but I didn't know why. I knew it was good for plants because it had magnesium - and that was just about it.
Now I know that we, who live in a big city with a Western lifestyle, mostly suffer from magnesium deficiency - because of several factors including intensive farming which can deplete soil of nutrients, including magnesium. Which cannot be easily absorbed by your intestine but flows easily through the skin - hence the soaking, about 1 cup in the full bathtub.
Note that a hot bath with Epsom salts is not a good idea if you have diabetes or low blood pressure as the warm bath can further reduce your blood pressure. And when you come out of your bath happy, relaxed and freshly re-magnesised (is there such a word? I bet not), you should keep active if you have arthritis - as you know, you should keep those joints moving!

Apparently magnesium helps serotonin work, thefeelgood neurotransmitter the body generates in response to positive events. I'm told Epsom salts can also reduce swelling of a bruised body part, can be used as a natural laxative, is used in the treatment of asthma and even to prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies.

There is a website devoted to it (http://www.epsomsaltsoakbath.com/#), although more complete information can be found on several medical websites.

Friday 2 May 2014

How Massage Heals Sore Muscles!


Curious about what a massage actually does for your muscles? A recent study proves that massage is the most effective way to reduce muscular pain and promote cell recovery.

“With massage, you can have your cake and eat it too—massage can suppress inflammation and actually enhance cell recovery.”

This is the first in depth study of its kind shows how the benefits of massage far outweighs taking pain killers to resolve muscle pain.


How Massage Heals Sore Muscles

Researchers are learning how massage soothes aching muscles.Barbara P. Fernandez for The New York TimesResearchers are learning how massage soothes aching muscles.
A massage after vigorous exercise unquestionably feels good, and it seems to reduce pain and help muscles recover. Many people — both athletes and health professionals – have long contended it eases inflammation, improves blood flow and reduces muscle tightness. But until now no one has understood why massage has this apparently beneficial effect.
Now researchers have found what happens to muscles when a masseur goes to work on them.
Their experiment required having people exercise to exhaustion and undergo five incisions in their legs in order to obtain muscle tissue for analysis. Despite the hurdles, the scientists still managed to find 11 brave young male volunteers. The study was published in the Feb. 1 issue of Science Translational Medicine.
On a first visit, they biopsied one leg of each subject at rest. At a second session, they had them vigorously exercise on a stationary bicycle for more than an hour until they could go no further. Then they massaged one thigh of each subject for 10 minutes, leaving the other to recover on its own. Immediately after the massage, they biopsied the thigh muscle in each leg again. After allowing another two-and-a-half hours of rest, they did a third biopsy to track the process of muscle injury and repair.
Vigorous exercise causes tiny tears in muscle fibers, leading to an immune reaction — inflammation — as the body gets to work repairing the injured cells. So the researchers screened the tissue from the massaged and unmassaged legs to compare their repair processes, and find out what difference massage would make.
They found that massage reduced the production of compounds called cytokines, which play a critical role in inflammation. Massage also stimulated mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses inside cells that convert glucose into the energy essential for cell function and repair. “The bottom line is that there appears to be a suppression of pathways in inflammation and an increase in mitochondrial biogenesis,” helping the muscle adapt to the demands of increased exercise, said the senior author, Dr. Mark A. Tarnopolsky.
Dr. Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said that massage works quite differently from Nsaids and other anti-inflammatory drugs, which reduce inflammation and pain but may actually retard healing. Many people, for instance, pop an aspirin or Aleve at the first sign of muscle soreness. “There’s some theoretical concern that there is a maladaptive response in the long run if you’re constantly suppressing inflammation with drugs,” he said. “With massage, you can have your cake and eat it too—massage can suppress inflammation and actually enhance cell recovery.”
“This is important research, because it is the first to show that massage can reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines which may be involved in pain,” said Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School. She was not involved in the study. “We have known from many studies that pain can be reduced by massage based on self-report, but this is the first demonstration that the pain-related pro-inflammatory cytokines can be reduced.” she said.
Getting a massage from a professional masseur is obviously more expensive than taking an aspirin. But, as Dr. Field points out, massage techniques can be taught. “People within families can learn to massage each other,” she said. “If you can teach parents to massage kids, couples to massage each other. This can be cost effective.”
Dr. Tarnopolsky suggests that, in the long run, a professional massage may even be a better bargain than a pill. “If someone says “This is free and it might make you feel better, but it may slow down your recovery, do you still want it?” he asked. “Or would you rather spend the 50 bucks for a post-exercise massage that also might enhance your recovery?”