Inflammation is a part of life! Our bodies work to protect us from injury. Injury happens all the time, we stub our toe, get a paper cut, bite our tongue, or have one too many drinks. Acute inflammation is the common red, raised, hot and painful injury often caused by cuts, bruises, and sprains. This type of inflammation can often
What is Ulcerative colitis? Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a life long chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects the large intestine, specifically the colon. It is an immune-mediated inflammatory condition associated with inflammation of the rectum but can involve, and often does involve other areas of the colon. UC can cause debilitating physical symptoms such as an inflamed rectum, urgency
What is leaky gut? It is a condition where the tight junctions in your mucosal layer let bigger molecules through than it normally does (this is called increased gastrointestinal permeability), this can lead to increased inflammation, allergy, and immune responses and gastrointestinal upset (Mu et al., 2017). How does your gastrointestinal tract protect you from bacteria, toxins, food antigens, and
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the name they use for the gastrointestinal disorder is which the patient shows symptoms of abdominal pain (relieved by defecation), and either diarrhoea or constipation or an alternating between the two. The Bristol Stool Chart (see post here) is used along with the Rome IV criteria when making a diagnosis and determining which (diarrhoea (IBS-D)
Constipation is a symptom of something else happening in your body, either dietary, hormonal, or functional. Conditions such as hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s Disease, and Diabetes are associated with constipation. Constipation is a subjective condition, ie. each person will have a different idea of what constipation means to them, but does have a definition of less than 3 bowel movements per week
With so many bowel conditions and variations, researchers needed a way to come up with a standardized test to determine what each person’s bowel motions actually looked like and what this may mean clinically. As everyone has their own subjective view on their types and patterns of poop. The scale is used by clinicians, researchers, and the public alike. Stool
As a society, we do not usually talk about bowel movements, for many it may be a manners thing – especially around the dinner table! For others, it may be embarrassment, or just the plain old “ick” factor that seems to plague people’s minds when they think about it. So in this blog, I’m not holding back – fair warning
Meditation, it’s grown in popularity over recent years, what was once seen as a religious practice is now more mainstream and is being practiced by individuals all over the world, whether they are religious or not. So what is meditation and why do so many people and practitioners tell you that you should practice it? Well, depending on your world
With today being National Hydration Day, lets talk about water! How much water have you drunk today? How much do you drink per week? Reflecting on your water intake thus far today, I’ve put a few things water is important for, and some tips to increase your intake below 😊 What does it do? Water is needed for chemical reactions,
With winter coming, easy and nutritious breakfasts are important for a healthy immune system, digestion, and your circulation! So being the friendly naturopath I am, below are just three ideas to help spark the imagination 🙂 Try adding some of the warming herbs and spices (listed below) to help stimulate your circulation, support your immune and gastrointestinal systems and provide
