7 Health Pillars - a Roadmap Back to Health
Do you recognise looming disease?
Most of us don’t know how good our bodies are designed to feel! What’s more, we confuse symptoms being “common” with symptoms being “normal”. Symptoms such as fatigue, aches and pains, digestive issues, headaches, allergies, skin reactions and more. Not only are these not “normal” either, but they are clues to dysfunction within, and clues to potentially developing dis-ease.
who can help?
Conventional medicine is vital and we wouldn’t be without it, for acute emergencies, accidents, broken bones, acute infections, difficult childbirth and more. However it only comes into play at the end, often, of these developing (often chronic) dis-eases alluded to above - such as heart disease, diabetes, cancers, and Alzheimer’s. How do we prevent getting these chronic (also known as non-communicable) diseases in the first place? To highlight how important this knowledge is, consider the very recent New Zealand study quoted to the right.
This article is inspired by one of my biggest influencers - Dr Mark Hyman, a Functional Medicine Doctor. Naturopathy follows the same principles as Functional Medicine (the difference being we are not trained Doctor’s and do not diagnose disease). In summary, these modern health practises, hold the key to maintaining health.
To learn more about Naturopathy and how I work with people click here, but let’s learn about these 7 health pillars - not only do they help us navigate to underlying causes, but they help provide a roadmap on our journey back to health and vitality.
1.Environmental Influences
As the saying goes: “Our genetics may load the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger”. This is what the term epigenetics alludes to - modification of gene expression by outside factors.
These include our air, water, diets, nutritional status, exercise and movement, exposure to environmental toxins (e.g. petrochemicals, pesticides, fertilisers, moulds), heavy metals and radiation, as well as psychosocial factors, stress and trauma.
2. Immune system & Inflammation
Inflammation can be a very good thing - our bodies normal defence mechanism, like a resident Police force - but we physiologically developed to deal with acute stressors, after which the immune system would go back to it’s “on guard” state.
A dysfunctional immune system, can result in systemic inflammation - our Police force becoming (as Mark Hyman describes it) “like a rebel army bent on destroying its own country”. This then contributes to asthma, allergies, weight gain, autoimmunity, but is also at the root of all chronic disease, as well as premature ageing.
3. Hormones & Neurotransmitters
These guys are like the communication super highway, involved in almost every function within us. Both are chemical messengers, and working in symphony - hormones are produced by the endocrine system, while neurotransmitters are produced by the brain and nervous system. They are commonly ‘out of whack’, so finding balance is vital.
Hormones control our stress response, blood sugar balance, thyroid, sexual function and behaviour, as well as growth, mood, weight, sleep and more. Common issues include too much insulin (causing insulin-resistance), too much cortisol (stress), and too much or not enough thyroid (hyper- or hypo-thyroid).
Neurotransmitters keep messages going from brain to body and the other way round, keeping the brain functioning, controlling breathing, heartbeat, learning, concentration, and mood such as fear, joy and pleasure. Issues can lead to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, anxiety, OCD, depression, schizophrenia, Autism, ADHD, addictions, sleep disorders and more.
4. Gut & Digestive Health
It is well recognised today that our gut is at the core of our health, with an imbalance microbiome linked in the research to chronic illness. Our microbiome (elsewhere also in our skin, mouth, respiratory and genital tracts) is made up of bacteria, fungi and viruses, and plays a vital role in our health - helping us digest food, produce vitamins, excrete toxins, regulate hormones.
Good digestive health is needed not only for the digestion, but absorption and assimilation of food (you are not what you eat in fact, but what you absorb); keeping the barrier intact to protect the immune system, only 1-cell thick on the other side of your gut; more neurotransmitters even than in your brain, receiving and sending messages back to it; along with ridding the body of toxins dumped into it by your liver after processing, via bile.
There are so many things that can affect this delicate balance, causing not only gastrointestinal symptoms (bloating, constipation or diarrhoea, reflux, heartburn, gas, irritable bowel and more) but systemic (body-wide) issues such as acne, eczema, psoriasis and other skin problems, allergies, arthritis, autoimmunity, chronic fatigue, mood disorders, cancer, dementia and the list goes on. This is why when you come to see me, we will likely start with looking at the health of your gut.
if you feel it’s time to look after your own seven foundational pillars, then get in touch and we can check ‘you’ out together. Here’s a link to: my Services
Your Seven Health Pillars
A 2021 report* from AIA NZ Finds:
“Our own worst enemy: 90% of all new zealand deaths link back to modifiable behaviours”
5. Waste & Detoxification
Referring back to point 1 above, there are a myriad toxins we are exposed to daily, plus our body produces its own toxins (endotoxins), ‘nasties’ in food, medications etc - all of which need to be processed and eliminated. If we can’t do this efficiently toxins build up, get recycled and result in disease.
Symptoms of toxicity range from aches, pains, fatigue, headaches, gut issues as above, bad breath, skin problems, puffy dark circles under your eyes, brain fog, trouble concentrating, sinus problems, post nasal drip, food cravings, sleep issues, menstrual disorders, water retention, and trouble losing weight, though this list is not exhaustive. As with all dysfunction these can be signs of developing disease - some related to toxicity being autoimmunity, food allergies, IBS, IBD, chronic menstrual issues, chronic fatigue, arthritis, fibromyalgia, heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s, and dementia.
It’s clear therefore, that learning how to minimise exposure to, and getting rid of toxins is critical, as well as maximising our body’s detoxification capacity, if we want to regain optimal health.
6. Energy & Mitochondria
Our mitochondria, you may remember being described in Biology, as “the powerhouses of our cells”, which is correct - they are essentially the energy factories in our body in almost every single cell, more concentrated in places like your brain, heart and muscles. We make energy through metabolism of the foods we eat (absorb) and oxygen. If our mitochondria are not working well, we feel fatigued, have sore muscles, pain, memory loss and brain fog, as well as accelerated ageing … these are symptoms of metabolic burn-out.
Damage to our mitochondria is from oxidative stress, that can come through infections, toxins, allergens, smoking, stress, sun damage, as well as overeating and low quality foods (as opposed to a nutrient-dense diet without additives, preservatives, sugars, vegetable oils, etc).
This means we need to identify and remove or minimise those things that damage our mitochondria and metabolism, as well as giving them the building blocks they need to function optimally, including an anti-oxidant rich diet.
7. The Mind-Body & Body-Mind Effect
We have a bi-directional system running between our mind and body (and therefore back to our mind) which is so powerful that the biggest predictors of health are our attitudes, our social networks, our community and spiritual beliefs. Furthermore one of the biggest predictors of longevity is psychological resilience (🎶 “I get knocked down - but I get up again” 🎶).
We probably all know emotions can effect various functions such as a racing heart, heightened blood pressure, ‘butterflies’ in the stomach, bowel movements, muscle tension, headaches, migraines and sleep disturbances. However ponder these: 95% of illness is caused or worsened by stress; heartbreak can indeed manifest in heart disease; low socio-economic status is associated with poorer health outcomes, in part due to feeling powerless; having social connectedness increases longevity; stress can result in memory loss and dementia; digestive dysfunction can result in anxiety and depression; in turn depression can suppress the immune system.
Of course it goes the other way, where illness can effect thinking and mood, even causing depression which in a vicious cycle can make healing more challenging. Therefore addressing and balancing issues with our energy, nutritional status, gut health, detoxification, immune system and hormones, can have a positive effect on our mood and brain function. Understanding how to influence both directions is tantamount to good health and vibrancy.
