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5 Things You Can Do to Relieve Allergies

Published: 21 April 2016
Written by Leah
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Categories: Blog

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I see more and more people each year suffering from allergies, and I want to say, you don’t have to!! I write this as a previous allergy sufferer myself, and I understand your pain. Allergies are no fun, and they are actually a sign that your body, especially your immune system, is not functioning up to speed. Many people also start to develop other inflammatory issues (arthritis, headaches, colds often, skin reactions, etc), so you want to nip this in the bud. And I’m here to say, it’s absolutely doable!

A little bit about allergies- they are caused by an increase in inflammation from bad gut flora which affects your regulatory T cells of your immune system. The reg T cells stop functioning well and that’s how you get allergies. Ignoring them or taking allergy meds won’t help your situation in the long run. You want to get at the causes…

Inflammation is caused by a number of factors

– car and factory emissions- this not only hurts us directly, but it causes plants to produce more pollen. For example, diesel fumes can increase your sensitivity to ragweed pollen sevenfold!

– the air you breathe in your home. Chemicals used in cleaning supplies, some furniture, carpet glue, etc..

– harmful products like soaps, shampoos, lotions, makeup, etc. Some of which get absorbed in your skin, and others are harmful to breathe in, not to mention harmful to ocean life.

– the western diet is highly inflammatory. It’s filled with refined foods like bread, pasta, sugary treats, cereal, bad oils like vegetable and canola. And remove most processed foods because they have environmental toxins and chemicals that were used in their processing methods and added for preserving, etc.

5 things you can do to help relieve allergies for good 

1. Get rid of chemical laden cleaning substances in your home. If you have been considering ripping out that carpet, go ahead and do it! For a list of products that are healthy for you and your family, go to the Environmental Working Group’s website.

2. Use clean (no chemical laden or inflammatory causing) products on your hair, skin and body. To see if your products pass the test or to find some that do, go to the EWG personal care product website

3. Eat phytonutrients like bioflavonoids, folate, vitamin A, etc from fruits, veggies and herb sources (eat the rainbow!)- they nourish T reg cells and enhance detoxification. Flavonoids help increase and diversify your gut flora which is necessary for digesting your food and healing leaky gut.

4. Eat organic. Enough said.

5. And most importantly, stop consuming allergens and inflammatory causing foods! Dairy and grains are high allergen foods. Also refined sugar, and other processed foods which have hidden inflammatory causing chemicals and refined ingredients. Dairy is an allergen for many people, specifically because it is pasteurized and homogenized which takes away a lot of it’s digestive enzymes. Cow’s dairy, in particular, is the worst, as it’s harder to digest than goat and sheep dairy.

If you want to know more specifics about how to heal your gut, and decrease inflammation which is causing your allergies, arthritis, skin issues, weight issues, headaches, fatigue, etc.., please be in touch. I am a nutritional counselor and have helped many with inflammatory issues.

I’d love to be your allergy consultant, so please be in touch if you have any questions or concerns. A free 45- min consultation over the phone or in person can bring some clarity to why you’re suffering with allergies.

All the best,

Leah

Your Body is Whole, Not a Sum of it’s Parts

Published: 20 March 2016
Written by Leah
1 Comment
Categories: Blog

It’s amazing how many times I see a client who has been in with a doctor or physical therapist for say back pain, and lo and behold, the doctor or physical therapist will just take account of their back, maybe their glutes or hamstrings as well. But people, we are a whole body. We are not a sum of parts patched together. Our cardiovascular system, meaning our blood vessels, if laid out in a line, would be so long that it would encircle the earth more than 2 times! Ponder on that for a second…7203788448_c85e2cc0f3_m

So, how is it that when we have pain, we immediately zoom in on the pain area without taking into account our whole body?
Well, it’s a much easier route to go, but it in no way touches on the potential complexity of our body’s situation.

Just today, I saw a client who had extremely short calves, not just tight, but truly short. And, he had low back pain. Even I fell into the trap of working mainly his back, hamstrings, and calves until realizing (only 20 mins into the session), that I needed to check & work on his neck and the front of his legs. Luckily, he had booked a 90 min massage 🙂

The reason I mention his neck is not just because it is part of his spine, but because when you have forward head syndrome (which many of us do), it throws your top weight forward and creates tension along your fascia and musculature in your back. So, I was not that surprised when my client had a pattern of forward head posture and desperately needed some lengthening and fascial release of the soft tissue around his neck.

So, when doing your own research for the pain you’re experiencing, I hate to break it to you, but it might not be so simple. You might end up going on a journey of health discovery. And that’s ok. That’s how we grow. Just like staying stagnant in our physical body can be detrimental, so can being stagnant in our emotional and mental body. Try to keep an open mind, and remember to question your doctor, massage therapist, acupuncturist, etc. Everyone will provide a different piece of the puzzle.

photo by Saad Faruque

Pain in the butt?

Published: 7 June 2015
Written by Leah
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Categories: Blog

If you literally have a pain in your butt, this is the article for you. Sorry, I can’t help you with figurative pain in the butts, you’re gonna have to deal with them on your own.

Luckily for you, most pains in the butt stem from trigger points in that area, and there are some self care techniques that might possibly relieve your pain.

One disclaimer – If you are experiencing any kind of nerve pain (numbness or tingling accompanying the pain), then your butt pain might be a bit more serious. Please don’t self diagnose, seek out a physical therapist or doctor skilled at diagnosing pain. It could just be that your piriformis (a muscle in your butt) is inflamed or tight and pinching on a nerve, but it could also be a host of other more complicated issues.

Gluteus Maximus

Pain from this muscle can be in the butt and/or sacrum. In the pic, the x marks the trigger point and the red stippling is where you’ll feel the pain. The ways you can develop trigger points in this muscle are from the following:

  • Gluteus Maximus TrPsMuscle strain from a fall or from bracing to prevent a fall
  • Impact from a fall
  • Swimming (particularly the crawl stroke)
  • Walking uphill while leaning forward
  • Repetitive kicking, as with martial arts or dance.
  • Weight lifting exercises, particularly squats and deadlifts.
  • Prolonged sitting, especially with a slouched posture.
  • Sitting on a wallet
  • Intramuscular injections

The second glut max trigger point is the most common (referring into the sacrum and most of the butt) and can refer pain deep into the buttock, making it feel like a deeper muscle is the culprit.

Getting Relief

The best way to relieve a pain in the butt is to massage it! You can try some maneuvers on your own, starting with a foam roller if you can’t take the pain yet and moving onto a tennis or lacrosse ball (or really any small ball you might have). Here’s a simple video to get you started. You can play around having your leg straight or bent.

You’ll want to find a good point that creates some discomfort and possibly a radiating, dull or achy sensation (move the ball if any tingling or numbness arrises- you don’t want to compress a nerve). Make sure you work both sides, even if you only experience pain on one side.

If you can’t seem to kick the butt pain, schedule a massage with a specialized massage therapist. Preferably one who is skilled at trigger point therapy.

And stay tuned for the next trigger point article on the piriformis, a muscle that can cause sciatica symptoms.