Homeopathy Hub - 02Jul15 - Skin and Gut Conditions with Jane and Tanja - FINAL

The Radio Kidnappers program discusses the link between skin and gut conditions and how homeopathy can help. They explain that the gut plays a role in skin disorders and that imbalanced gut bacteria can affect nutrient absorption and lead to various health issues. They also mention the importance of a diverse microbial flora in the gut for a strong immune system and healthy skin. The program provides information on common skin disorders such as acne and eczema and how homeopathy can help manage them. They also give lifestyle tips and remedies for acne and eczema. Overall, the program emphasizes the importance of a balanced gut and emotional well-being for healthy skin. This program was produced by and first broadcast on Radio Kidnappers, a volunteer-based community access station. For more information go to www.radiokidnappers.org.nz. Thanks to New Zealand On Air for making this program available through funding the Access Internet Radio Project. This program was produced by and first broadcast on Radio Kidnappers, a volunteer-based community access station. You're tuned to Radio Kidnappers, the voice of Hawke's Bay. This is the Homeopathy Hub program and today it's our pleasure to have in the studio Jane Pritchard and Tanya Baker from Homeopathy Hub talking about skin and gut conditions and how homeopathy can be helpful for people being affected by those. Homeopathy Hub is a group of four homeopaths working together to promote homeopathy and support each other to achieve the best outcomes for their homeopathic clients. Next to Jane and Tanya who we have here today, there are also Heidi Beck and Angela Hare as part of Homeopathy Hub and to find out more about them, you can visit their website on www.homeopathyhub.co.nz. That was a mouthful, wasn't it? It was. Yeah, it is. Greetings ladies, how are you? Yeah, good, thank you. Take it away, Tanya. Hi everyone, we are back here today as part of our Homeopathy Hub radio show to tell you a little bit about skin and gut conditions, what they have in common and how they are influenced by each other. But before we begin, let me introduce you to my colleague Jane Pritchard who is here with me today. Jane is a classical registered homeopath. She offers homeopathic consultations for acute and chronic illnesses. She also uses tissue salts, New Zealand first light essences, offers dietary advice and muscle testing. She works from her clinic in Napier on Bluff Hill. And let me introduce you to Tanya. Tanya Baker has been practising in the Bay for 15 years and offers homeopathic consultations, massages and reflexology. She works from the Acupuncture Napier in Kennedy Road, in Hastings at Babies and at her home in Te Awonga. And getting right down to business, Jane can you tell us a little bit about the gut? Yeah, well the gut is a home to about a thousand trillion bacteria with which we live in harmony supposedly. So these bacteria perform a number of functions vital to health. They harvest energy from diet, they protect us against infections and provide nutrition to cells in the gut. So an imbalanced gut bacteria, which means more bad bacteria than good bacteria or a diminished bacteria in general, will affect your absorption of essential nutrients. So as Hippocrates said, all disease begins in the gut. So this applies to all systemic illnesses and conditions but is especially relevant when considering digestive issues and asthma, allergies, skin conditions and also autoimmune diseases. It's hard to believe that the gut actually plays a role in skin disorders. Tell us about that. Yeah, well researchers have been working for more than 70 years now on the gut-brain-skin theory. Gastrointestinal disorders such as constipation, gastric reflux or for example leaky gut syndrome can cause depression and anxiety as well as eczema and acne just to mention a few. And of course stress can have an influence on the microorganisms in our gut that can then have an impact on our skin health. So our emotions can play an important factor the way our skin looks by changing the bacteria in our gut. Because homeopathy takes all the symptoms of a person into consideration, a homeopath will always ask a question somewhere along the line of and how have you felt emotionally lately and how is your digestion at the moment when even seeing a client that comes with a skin complaint or any complaint really. Of course there could be other reasons for skin problems as well such as hormonal imbalance, blood impurity, stomach problems to mention a few. And that's why we need to at least have an hour time for our initial consultation with the client to really get to the bottom of the problem and to collect as many pieces of the jigsaw puzzle so we can get the picture. Jane, a question for you. What's the main thing to kill gut bacteria? So the number one is antibiotics. They sterilize the gut so they kill all the good bacteria in our intestines. So this is when there is a primary infection that is treated with antibiotics and the gut is not looked after properly so often a secondary infection will result. So other big gut killers include the use of steroids and birth control pills, drugs, the stress, poor nutrition, infections, disease, pollution, radiation, alcohol, lots of things can affect the gut. That's about everything isn't it? It is. Tell us what are some of the more common skin disorders? So there's acne, psoriasis, spoils, rashes, eczema but in this session we're just really going to focus on eczema and acne. And Tanya, why is our immune system or our gut so important for the skin? A weak immune system is most likely hasn't got a diverse microbial flora established in the gut. So it's important to find a balance between the ecosystem of the skin and the immune system. And so instead of clearing out all the so-called bad bacteria in our gut or skin by using antibiotics or suppressing skin symptoms with steroid creams it's worth to look at adding some beneficial bacteria by adding some, for example, probiotics like yogurt in our food or fermented foods and just sort of add them to our diet. On the other hand, a strong immune system is likely to have a healthy digestive system with many different gut bacteria in place that will also have a positive effect on our skin and on our emotions. We often get asked why babies can develop eczema and one reason is that their digestive system is not that developed yet. Even breast-fed babies can have really bad eczema if they are susceptible to skin and gut conditions and most likely there will be a family history of such a problem. Now you might not believe this but growing up I never had acne but a whole lot of teenagers do suffer from that problem. So how can homeopathy help teenagers with acne? Well more than 80% these days of teenagers suffer from acne and while teenage acne is mainly caused by a change of hormones there are a few things that kids could do to help their body getting through this stage of life in a healthier way. Lifestyle is only one aspect. Trying to get enough sleep, getting enough exercise and fresh air and looking at their food choices. Fizzy drinks and chippies or crackers is not a good idea and they should be avoided if they have acne problems already. If you find water too boring try mixing soda water with a bit of apple juice for a refreshing and healthier drink option and if you can't resist chocolate, which I can totally understand just go and try a high-percent cocoa chocolate with less sugar and more cocoa which is going to be better for you. A positive attitude is also something important to consider. Try being a good positive role model for younger kids and be yourself, not a sheep amongst many. Just remember your emotions reflect on your gut health and therefore also on your skin. Be confident and proud about yourself. Very well said and wise words indeed. Now I know acne obviously is a big problem but so is eczema Jane and it's a common problem in New Zealand so how can homeopathy help with eczema? Yeah eczema is a common problem. It's one of the most common forms of skin disease and it often responds really well to homeopathic treatment. It affects up to 20% of school children and 7-8% of adults. So children tend to grow out of it and the majority improve greatly by their mid-teens. So it's an inflammatory condition in which patches of skin become red, inflamed and itchy and the affected areas may also be covered in small fluid-filled blisters. So there are a number of different forms of eczema as well. So there is a current theory known as the Hygiene Hypothesis and that says that kids today are too clean. So try telling that to the mother of an average 8-year-old boy. But it's based on the observation that children who grow up on farms and the younger children of large families are less likely to have eczema. So this means that these children are more likely to be exposed to the certain kinds of bacteria that stimulates their immune system to mature. But not all the scientific evidence agrees on this and the jury is still out. Yeah but it's a big issue that isn't it. How does eczema come about? Give us an example of a case where eczema results from gut problems. I often find that if the body cannot express its discomfort of the skin, the problem will often move deeper inside the body and will often affect say the lungs. So often it is not uncommon to find that a child with eczema also suffers from a weak chest or asthma. In some cases of eczema we are looking at maybe a family inheritance. So there is a family history of asthma, allergies or skin problems. But triggers may include a change in diet, vaccinations, use of pharmaceutical drugs or perhaps a trauma or emotional upset. There are certain foods that also can cause stress for some people and we often crave the foods which often have the potential to harm us. So typically when treating eczema with homeopathy and people are using steroids, we have to withdraw these gradually. And there are also topical creams that can be used such as there is a bark flower rescue remedy. There are bath oils or creams. A few drops of lavender oil can relieve burning skin. Hypercal cream which is a mixture of hypericum with calendula. That's great and also adding oatmeal to your bath is good. There is a case of a child I had. She was a six year old girl. She was behaving badly at home as well as suffering from eczema. She had skin problems virtually all her life and was in hospital at the age of one for this. She was upset by the whole experience. At home she was quite dictatorial, always wanted her own way and fought constantly with her sister. And while at school she behaved well even though her skin was itching a lot in the classroom. So based on her overall behaviour and the skin symptoms and the fact that she had been worse since a severe fight I prescribed her a homeopathic remedy which has been tremendous help both to her and her family. And her behaviour at home started to improve within a few days of the first dose. And her skin gradually improved also. So she's been able to stop her steroid creams and now uses a calendula cream which works really well. That's the proof of the pudding isn't it? It really does work. Yeah, yeah it does. Tanya I suppose nutrition and the gut they go hand in hand but what nutritional advice can you offer to support the gut for the skin? Well instead of lecturing our listeners I would just like to give a bit of advice to keep the food that you are eating as natural as can be which means try to stay away from junk or fast food and processed food. Buy your fruit and vegetables from an organic shop if you can just to avoid all the pesticides and sprays and try and reduce white sugar as much as possible. If you do have a sweet tooth you can try sweeten with honey or maple syrup which is better for you. Have lots of raw fruit and vegetables and nuts to eat and try staying off gluten maybe for a little while if you do have skin or gut conditions to see if this improves your problem. If you would like to add probiotics with your food have a look at all the yogurts you can buy these days with added lactobacteria and if you would like to give fermented vegetables a go sauerkraut is probably one you have at least heard of and is available at most supermarkets. Sounds yum. Jane what would you like to add to that Jane? So yeah, replenish your healthy gut flora that's the main thing and like Tanya said earlier to take a high quality probiotic especially before, during and after antibiotic use if you have used those. So a diet rich in probiotic yogurt alone is often not enough for even the average person so remember there should be trillions of good bacteria in your gut. So you can contact one of our homeopaths at Home Healthy Hub for what probiotic is probably best for you. Also drink plenty of water and this can include non-caffeinated herbal tea and diluted 100% fruit or vegetable juices. It is also great to add lemon or lime to your water especially in the mornings as these have natural cleansing and detoxifying properties. Supplements for the skin are vitamin D, C and also oregano oil. And stress is a major player that can affect all areas of health in negative ways so take time to relax and be sure to exercise as often as you can. Heidi Beck and I will be offering a short course in homeopathy in July where we will be covering homeopathic remedies that can be helpful for coughs, colds and ear troubles. If you are interested in this course you can send us an email to info at homeopathyhub.co.nz or keep an eye out for the info coming up on our Facebook page or on our website. For more information about Homeopathy Hub and the four homeopaths Heidi Beck, Angela Heer, Jane Pritchard and myself Tanya Baker go to www.homeopathyhub.co.nz You are also able to book appointments by clicking the Make an Appointment button on our website. Thank you for listening and be sure to tune in to next month's program when Angela and Heidi will be discussing hormonal imbalances and how to treat them with homeopathy. We homeopaths from Homeopathy Hub work collectively to support you and your loved ones so that you can enjoy life to the fullest in good health and happiness. And we would like to leave you today with a quote from Eckhart Tolle which Tanya found If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. So take care of yourselves and be sure to tune in next month. Maybe we should end on a song. Yeah. Which one? How about Skin Deep by The Stringers? Here it is. Watch down the river bend Watch as you're feeding the signals they send Spoiler alert, you've only got two hands to lend Maybe someone who makes you dream Some nights you loom up ahead when you're asleep Some days things on your mind you should keep Sometimes it's better to look than to leave Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep One day the track that you're climbing gets steep Emotions frayed and you're starving to be free Another day, as long as the time that you keep Brother, you better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep Better watch out for the skin deep www.radiokidnappers.org.nz Thanks to New Zealand On Air for making this program available through funding the Access Internet Radio Project.