Category: Blog

Is the time of the year for blackberry and mulberry fruits. I love going in Springfield park and picking blackberry, even though I come out with either I have been stung by hives or the blackberry thorns. I have also seen for the first time a tree of black mulberry, which I do not usually see in in London. Seeing them, it reminds me of Italy, and my upbringing and it makes me feel at home. The nutritional value of these two berries are also quite good quite amazing:

Blackberries: Blackberries and many of the red and black or blue berry are full of antioxidant. It seems that the riper they are the more their antioxidant capacity increases. Blackberry and any other berry can retain their antioxidant capacity even when frozen or dry, so they can be eaten in the winter as well. I eat those either with yogurt (any type) or in smoothies (they can be made with either orange juice or other substitute dairy free yogurt or milk). This can be a snack or with breakfast, same with the mulberries.

Mulberry: I have seen dry mulberry as well, the green and the black ones have been shown to decrease hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance as well in animal, which is a good news for snacks if you have high cholesterol and diabetes 2. The black ones have higher antioxidant capacity as well, like the red strawberry and blueberry as well.

Mulberry (Morus spp., family Moraceae), is a multipurpose tree that produces fruits for human consumption, foliage for rearing silkworm, medicine for patients, and fodder for animal feed. Mulberry leaves are succulent, characterized by high crude protein (CP; 19.4%) and low neutral detergent fibre (NDF; 36.1%). Mulberry fruit pomace is rich in carbohydrates (20.85%) (Niu Y). This might be the reason why it lowers they hyperglycaemia and improves insulin resistance. Also there is a possibility of feeding the good bacteria with the fibre from the berry, which improves the elimination process and the healing of the intestinal tract.

Reference:

1. Choi JW (2016). Structural analysis and anti-obesity effect of a pectic polysaccharide isolated from Koreanmulberry fruit Oddi (Morus alba L.). Carbohydr Polym.
2. Choi KH, et al (2016). Mulberry (Morus alba L.) Fruit Extract Containing Anthocyanins Improves Glycemic Control and Insulin Sensitivity via Activation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in Diabetic C57BL/Ksj-db/db Mice. Med Food
3. Niu Y et al (2016). Effects of Diets Supplemented with Ensiled Mulberry Leaves and Sun-Dried Mulberry FruitPomace on the Ruminal Bacterial and Archaeal Community Composition of Finishing Steers. LoS One.
4. Sung JM et al (2015). Effects of Freeze-dried Mulberry on Antioxidant Activities and Fermented Characteristics of Yogurt during Refrigerated Storage. Korean J Food Sci Anim Resour.
5. Yang Sy, Lin HS (2000). Antioxidant activity in fruits and leaves of blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry varies with cultivar and developmental stage. Agric Food Chem.

Why Craniosacral therapy helps with getting the person better, emotionally?

Well in my experience it let the body communicate with their inner soul or deep unconscious, which will let them know what is really going on, consciously. I found that people who free themselves of the mundane worry or let go of things that are not as important or essential anymore, they have the chance to find out what is stopping them from moving forward, but also what is bothering them. It is only when we agree to heal ourselves and know what is really bothering us, that real conscious healing happen. In CST there has to be also a trust between the person and the therapist, in order for that to be achieved.

During the treatment, a space is created where the person feels safe to acknowledge to themselves and eventually others, what is really going on. What and where is the blockage and finally once it is conscious, deal with it and let it go. It is that simple, really, however because of our busy lives, our family beliefs, our own community belief and our own belief, that quite often we do allow that to happen. I have seen with many people, not only my clients, but everywhere, friends, family, that because they do not allow that space of connecting to their inner soul or mind, they cannot see things clearly, even for themselves. The majority of it is fear, fear of knowing, fear of dealing with something that we do not know. However, once it comes out, whatever it is, it frees the person from being stuck in a position that they do not want to be. So in reality the worse thing is not allowing that to happen and even though it is scary, once it is out, it allows things to clear and move forward, so it is hard to start with, but much easier afterwards.

If something is bothering us, we might keep busy ourselves with lots of things, such as work, at home and outside, so that we can distracts ourselves and when we feel angry, upset or annoyed by things that happens around us, for no apparent reason, we cannot connect the emotion within ourselves and the surrounding circumstances.

Sometimes, we blame the circumstances or everybody around us for our own problem or situation, where in reality what we need to do is allow our own emotions to come out and be acknowledged, in order to see what is really going on with us.

I found in babies and children, they would communicate that in either way, such as crying or getting frustrate and angry with little things.

With teenagers, if they have no space to talk or have their say, and they are controlled to much of what they do and do not do by their parents or schools then, they will eventually rebel in some way or another. So in teenager time, the most important thing for them is allow that communication to happen in some way or another, even if we do not like it.

When should the communication with parents and children start? As soon as they are born. Allow babies to cry or children to say when they are frustrated or angry about, is the key for their future communication, so that even as teenager when all those hormones kick in, the teenagers themselves can deal with it and we as parents are more prepared to accept their opinion, and still manage to give support to our children.

Where does all this communication best to start from? Well ourselves of course. If we can be true to ourselves than we can allow our children and other people to be true to themselves and respect each other opinion and wishes.

 © Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapist – NAET – R-CST

Craniosacral Therapy 

Today I would like to add some of the wonderful results that Craniosacral therapy would have from babies to adults:

• Relieve trauma from birth, physically, mentally and emotionally for the babies and mother, and father if there was any particular shock during pregnancy or birth.
• Unblock stored fears from childhood which still blocks the person in their lives, and stops them from moving forward in every aspect of their lives
• Settles the Central nervous system and helps the digestive system to be switched on again.
• Reduces the allergies symptoms
• Reduces physical pain and emotional pain
• Deals with the most painful memory and heals some of the emotional wounds
• Ground the person and child so that they are fully integrated into their body
• There are many more that I can think of read here for more
• Teething for toddlers
• Resets the babies and children system after an illness, so that their little body can deal with working nicely and smoothly again, getting rid of any of the irritation and inflammation that an illness can trigger. Coughs and flu are the main ones, however even after gastroenteritis and other illness can help restore them back to normal.
• After Toddlers and children falls, to reset their physical and emotional system back to balance.
• Adults falls or accidents, or illness to restore their system into normality.

The hay-fever seasons has started well been under way for sometimes now. Apart for NAET method that I used to reduce and eliminate the pollen and hay-fever reactions, which I do in the winter, I usually suggest the following supplement to reduce the histamine reaction. It works really well and within about 20 minutes of taking them.

To treat it in winter with NAET method, you need to put a little water outside the window every few days till you stop sneezing, and for some is for the entire summer, for others is till September and others is only for a month in the summer. This is because each react to different pollen or spore from either the flowers or the grass or weed, etc. Pour the water every 3 days in a bigger jar that can fit in your freezer and then bring it during the winter when it is time to have a session with NAET. click here to read more about NAET treatments, or pass my website and information to people who need the treatments.

• Vitamin C from 500 mg to 2000 mg a day in the worse time a day
• Vitamin E 200 iu to 4oo iu a day
• Quercetin follow the dosage suggested on the bottle
• Oily fish up to 1000 mg a day (mixed EPA and DHA) a day
• I would also suggest to have plenty of fruits and vegetables and healthy diet with non fried food or no take away food.
• Alcohol would increase the stress level in the body or the toxins and therefore worsen the symptoms of hay-fever.
• Vaseline inside your nostril to trap the pollen and spores.
• Saline Nasal spray are very helpful to reduce the pollen accumulation.
• Eye drops for the irritation of the eyes are also useful to reduce eyes symptoms.
• Reducing dairy products and wheat and gluten also reduces the allergy symptoms as the food is harder to break down for some people.
• Artichokes, chicory and any bitter green vegetables can help the liver to detox.
• Drink up to 2 liters of water a day, throughout the day to help the body to run smoothly and detox from the kidney, via urine.

WARNING: all the above supplements can thin the blood, if you are on any medication, consult your Doctor before taking them. 

It is impossible almost to list the benefit of CST treatment from pregnancy to babies, I have listed few in the past, from trauma, emotional and physical to injury, physically and emotionally. However the effect is also for the individuals. It depends pretty much what each of us needs to clear or bring up to surface in order to clear it. Quite often it is impossible to know consciously, till they surface up and only if you notice what changed, that you will be aware of what changes have happened. Others you will know only later on, and might not even connect it to the treatments, however that is what happens in some way or another.

Now it is quite ironic that I am doing a workshop for fears, as in the past year more or less England and the business world has been in an uncertainty time since the announcement of the EU referendum. Apart from the fact that many people did not understand the full impact of the results, either way, the outcome shocked everybody. Even the ones that are happy about the results.

 If you are very sensitive, like I am, you would have noticed a cloud of fear in some way, prior to the referendum and the day after the results!

Fear it is a common ground for many things, and turning that fear into a positive outcome is important for each and every one of us. Knowledge and knowing what to do next is also an important step to get rid of the fear. So as an individual, and as a global population, knowing what will happen next, is essential for our own fear to be reduced and feel safe again!

However we can only start from ourselves!

Liquorice come from Turkey and Greece, and it is a member of the pea family. The medicinal property come from the root, and contains glycyrrhizin. Liquorice also contains phytoestrogens (the good oestrogens), and flavonoids (anti-oxidants). Liquorice is quite bitter and quite often in a chewing form, sugar or other forms of sweets is added to it. Liquorice in a capsule forms supports the adrenal glands (the gland that makes the adrenaline to support stress). Liquorice increases the immune system and in particular the interferon, which is the virus fighting part of the immune system. The DGL form (deglycyrrhizinated liquorice has glycyrrhizin removed) helps is also beneficial to the digestive system and respiratory system, as well as thinning mucus if you have a thick cough. Liquorice does increase the blood pressure so if you are on blood pressure lowering medication or you tend to have high blood pressure you need to be cautious of taking this. Because of the effect on the adrenal glands it is quite often used in chronic fatigue syndrome (exhaustion stage of the stress response). Liquorice herb can be taken for fighting inflammation; in case of hepatitis it seems to reduce inflammation caused by the virus. It is fought that the DGL form helps with preventing ulcers in case of stress, especially the chewable wafer type.

It is possible that people who do love and eat pure liquorice quite a lot, might in a unconscious way support their adrenal glands, as they might be struggling to keep up with the stress that is going on in their body. If you are eating the DGL one, in sweets, than it is possible that you are supporting your digestive system, which can be damaged by long term stress.

Liquorice sweets are sweetened with aniseed oil and if you have a lot of it, you might risk raising your blood pressure. However if you do have a low blood pressure and you are under a lot of stress, this might help your adrenals not to give up too soon. The DGL type does not seem to raise blood pressure.

Bibliography:

Lamberts – The practitioner guide to supplements – Lamberts Healthcare Ltd

It is called cranio-sacral because the of the spinal fluid going from the cranio to the sacral is what makes everything function well and properly. All the nerves and nerve transmition from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain go through there and it is all connected like a tree with branches and roots. What the cranio-sacral therapist does is listening to the rhythm of that fluid and feel if there is any blockage in the body, memory cells of the tissue and the mind as well as the energetic field around that body to see if it is breathing well and properly. If there is a blockage just our training and knowledge will help the mother, baby and adult unblock the blockage and re-balance the system or body function.

Memory cells – my experience with Cranio-sacral therapy was amazing. My labor and my son birth were very traumatic. My son kept having colds and coughs from the time I stopped breastfeeding at 14 months. As I did not want to give antibiotics all the time I sought for  other ways of dealing with that. Homeopathy vitamin C and nutrition helped to get rid of the colds or reduce them when he had them but he still kept having more colds and coughs that he should have had. So I took him to cranio-sacral and it took a while as I took him to the Student clinic but they got rid of his traumatic birth and finally his colds and coughs were reduced to once a year and now not even once a year.

I found that CST has also a strong spiritual healing power as well. It depends on the therapist and if they have themselves experience their own spiritual healing (this is nothing to do with religion, it is something to do with your inner soul and own spirituality however you see it).  Continue reading “My experience of Cranio-sacral therapy and my clients experience of what it does:” →

Stomach acid (HCL)

Why is stomach acid important?

Well it does a lot of things, not only helps with digestion of protein and is the second place where digestions starts (1^st one is the mouth, by chewing and releasing amylase which starts digest the starches).

The stomach acid is releases from parietal cells, part of the interior stomach, the same cells activate the release of the intrinsic factor which is essential for the absorption and transportation of B12.

What is the HCL main function:

• It stimulates the production of pepsin to break down protein.
• Denature big protein bonds, to smaller ones in order to be broken down later in the small intestine into amino acid or small peptides so that they can be easily absorbed and made into various other proteins and hormones in the liver.
• Kills harmful bacteria.
• It releases various nutrients from organic complexes

Hcl is stimulated by ingestion of food, drugs, neurotransmitter acetylcholine (parasympathetic and sympathetic receptors) high histamine.

Now what happens if the hcl is too low or too high?

What symptoms would you have?

If too low you would have bloating, diarrhoea or constipation, yeast or candida, dysbiosis (more of the harmful bacteria than the good ones), stomach and belly pain, irritable bowel syndrome, undigested food, eventually leads to low nutrients and physical or emotional and mental problems with low nutrients level. Acid reflux also is another sign, due to H. pylori, vomiting and nausea is another symptoms.

If too high, well same symptoms, apart for the undigested protein you might feel more of an acid burning in the stomach and eventually ulcer. Stress increases acid reflux and eventually it reduces it because of low zinc and other nutrients that deals with stress click here to read about the effect of stress.

Did you know that zinc is important for making hcl and that if low in zinc hcl cannot be made and that zinc cannot be absorbed from food with low hcl? So it is again the chicken and the egg problem, which comes first?

Well it depends on what is going on in your diet, lifestyle and possible going back to stress, how much stress you have!

 

Reference 

Groff J.J. and SS Gropper (1999) Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. UK Wadsworth.

Stasi C. et al (2014).Serotonin receptors and their role in the pathophysiology and therapy of irritable bowel syndrome. Tech Coloproctol. Abstract.

There are many snacks for work around. My suggestions are the best 5 diet snack that I feel they are healthy and easy to prepare, as well as full of nutritional value and slow energy release. No matter if you do a desk job or more of a manual job, the following are light and nutritious.

1. A palm full of nuts (more walnuts) – this snack is good unless you have an allergic reaction to nuts.

All nuts, apart for peanuts, which I exclude from my suggestions as they are not proper nuts, they are part of the pea family, are healthy and nutritional. One of the reasons I suggest it, is that they are full of nutritional ingredients as well as being slow energy release. They contain more of the omega 3 and 6 of essential fats, which are the healthy fats of our body. Nutritional value and benefits for a work snack are: They are an easy snack to bring to work and can be eaten anywhere. They contain protein, healthy fat, fiber, and minerals. Walnuts are one of the few nuts that has been researched more than then the others and it is connected with cardiovascular health. Walnuts contains both omega 3 and 6, as well as magnesium, manganese, copper phosphorous. It is rich in fibre, which makes you feel full and stops you from wanted to eat the sugary snacks. Walnuts are considered the food for the brain and it has been used since the time of the Romans and food for the Gods!

2. Avocados dip with carrot sticks, celery sticks or half pitta bread. This is another of my favourite suggestions as a work snack, as it can be eaten eaten for breakfast, as one of my client does and/or as a snack. Very simple and easy to make or buy and/or to carry around.

Nutritional value and benefits for work snack are: The Hass avocadoes (the most used), has a good source essential fatty acid (healthy fat), potassium, vitamin E, B and Half of avocadoes contain a good source of protein, fat and fiber. Avocado also have a good proportion of carbohydrate, and minerals, which is again the best combination in a snack for work. It keeps you full till the next meal, it is great as brain fuel, and it keeps you away from sugary snacks.

3. Fruits with skin on such as apple, pears, kiwi, oranges and mandarins:

This is again one of my biggest suggestions for a work snack. It is easy to carry or buy at any supermarket. Different fruits have different nutritional value and benefit, so the person can choose from many of the fruits around. I suggest the ones with the skin on if eaten alone as the skin is fiber and slows down the energy release. Apples and pears are from the same family which is the rose family. There are many variety of apples and pears, the nutritional value is still good for all of them. Apples, pears, kiwi, oranges and mandarins have all an excellent amount of vitamin C. Good winter work snack as it is an essential vitamin that support the immune system in fighting colds and flus. Apples have a high amount of pectin which is a soluble fibre that keeps the intestinal tract moving healthily as well as an antioxidant called quercitin which reduces the inflammatory cascade. Again this slows down your blood sugar level and therefore keeps you focused and concentrated on your work for longer. Apples have been researched extensively for their benefit in keeping the intestinal tract healthy, the immune system and the health of the heart as well. The leaves of the apples though contains a high amount of quercetin and other anti-oxidants. Well you could eat the leaves too but maybe in a smoothie type rather than as it is.

4. One small pot of plain yogurt (any yogurt cow, goat, soya and or coconut) with nuts. This is another of my favourite work snack. One of the reasons is that combines the protein from the yogurts, essential fats from the nuts for the brain, heart and nerves, as well as all the other mineral benefit and a good source of calcium essential for bone health. One of the other reasons of suggesting it is that can be carried with you or can be bought easily in any of the shops. There are so many variety of healthy yogurt for people who cannot tolerate animal yogurt can have the alternative of soya or coconut yogurt. Same as the nuts or seeds. Coconut and soy milk have been shown in studies to reduce the bad cholesterol and increase the good one. As well as being a good source of protein. This again is an excellent work snack for the brain, heart and keep you focused on the day at work.
5. One small pot of plain yogurt (same as above) with chia seeds and 1 piece of fruit. This is another excellent work snack and a new one that I started to recommend as chia seeds have quite few good points nutritionally. They also are easy to take with you as they sell chia shots in small bags. Chia is one of the newest seeds that has been shown to have great benefit for human health. It was used by the Aztec and South American people. Chia seeds have high content of omega 3 and 6, as well as fiber, protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamin E. In combination with yogurt above is again an excellent work snack, because, again is a fuel for the brain, slow down the blood glucose level and makes you focus on the work that you need to do and beneficial for your heart and nerves health as well as increasing the good cholesterol and decreasing the bad one.

I believe that if a person can have a good nutritional snack during the day at work, it is beneficial for the person and the work as well. Try the above snacks for varying your snack and see which one suits you best.

Reference for Nuts

1. Murray M. (2005). The encyclopedia of the healing foods. Atria Books, NY.
2. Ros E. (2009) Nuts and novel biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases. May; 89 (5): 1649S-56S.

Reference for avocado:

1. Dreher M. L., et al (2013). Hass Avocado Compositionand Potential Health Effects. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 53:738–750.
2. Murray M. (2005). The encyclopedia of the healing foods. Atria Books, NY.

Reference for fruits snacks:

1. Murray M. (2005). The encyclopedia of the healing foods. Atria Books, NY.
2. Kalinowska et al. (2014). Apples: Content of phenolic compounds vs. variety, part of apple and cultivation model, extraction of phenolic compounds, biological properties. Plant Physiol Biochem. Sep 16:84C:169-188.
3. Liaudanskas M. et al (2014). Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Activity of
4. Malus domestica Leaves. Scientific World Journal, Volume 2014. Article ID 306217, 10 pages.

Reference for coconut milk and soya milk

1. A. I. Ekanayaka, et al.(2013). Impact of a Traditional Dietary Supplement with Coconut Milk and Soya Milk on the Lipid Profile in Normal Free Living Subject. Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. Volume 2013, Article ID 481068, 11 pages.

Reference for chia seeds

2. Norlaily Mohd Ali et al. (2012). The Promising Future of Chia, Salvia hispanica L. Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.Volume 2012, Article ID 171956, 9 pages.

I have been researching and preparing for a therapist workshop and in particular what and how fears can stop people from moving forward. Most specifically, the workshop is about the unconscious fears and where they come from.

Well there is so much evidence regarding it that is almost overwhelming and where do you start and finish!

What I have found in a nutshell, is that unconscious fears can be stored in the part of our brain called the Amygdala and that fear can come out unexpectedly when we are mostly under a lot of stress.

We might not know what fear it is consciously, but it is there.

So, what happens if it comes out under more stress? Well it causes more stress, more panic attack and anxiety than it should be. This means that a rational fear, becomes an irrational fear and makes the brain and body think that you are in a constant danger. With the body going into a stress mode, we sleep less, our heartbeat is constantly up, our blood pressure is up, our muscles becomes hot and as they are ready to run, so become restless, our pupils dilate to make us ready to see better and our brain is on alert all the time.

The consequence of all that, is: less sleep, more nutritional depletion, anxiety for any small little thing that we need to do, and not seeing the logical part of life in general.

Now the other interesting part of my research is that the right and the left brain differences in dealing with life in general. The right side of the brain is more gentle and emotional, more compassionate and more creative, while the left part of the brain is more logical, scientific and matter of fact way of dealing with life. Now in order to have a balanced way of dealing with stress, you need to work with both brains. For example if you are dealing with an issue in the most emotional way, you need the logical part to step in and put yourself together!

If you are dealing with an issue with the most logical way, you might need a more compassionate and gentle way from the right part of the brain.

So as you seen above, our two part of the brain needs to work together in order for the person to function well.

Well what happens if they do not?

Either you get too emotional regarding a simple issue and therefore cannot see a way out in a more gentle and logical way, which it means you might get irrational even at the thought of a small task in hand! Or

You become so busy in your life and disregards anyone with some compassion and gentle thoughts that you become numb to yours and other people around you. So in someway you need a bit more gentleness towards yourself and others!

Naturally with all the stress and fears, which the body uses the same mechanism, the nutrients as some point or another will be depleted or the person ends up with a constant Irritable Bowel Syndrome or colics for babies and stomach ache for children, including constipation and/or diarrohea!

So dealing with the stress or the fear is very essential for keeping the body resources balanced up instead of depleted (if the body reaches the nutritional deficiency state can be quite hard to get to a balanced state in a short time).

(c) Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapist – NAET – R-Craniosacral therapist