Dr. Thyr’s Weblog

My husband and I, along with a group of 15 people from my practice, are on day 2 of our annual spring cleanse. It is an event that I always look forward to and relish when it comes – feeling the warmth of spring, new sprouts of life everywhere, and taking some time for our health.

This morning we are taking the time to be creative with the abundance of greens and root vegetables from our local farm box (CSA = community supported agriculture). Making a big batch of roasted vegetables and some brown rice will help sustain us. A smoothie of carrots, collards, beet greens, frozen mango and the detoxification powder supplement that we are using this year comprise our breakfast. We will be on this plan for 10 days, with the food choices becoming more restrictive as we go along. From the beginning we bid a fond farewell to caffeine, sugar, alcohol, refined carbohydrates, eggs, dairy products and flesh foods.

I lead liver detoxification workshops twice/year, in the spring and fall, the most optimal times to cleanse. But spring is always my favorite. I’m a summertime gal, so spring is when I can let myself start to get excited about longer days, growing tomatoes and all of the fun that summer brings. That feeling of excitement and motion is why many people are moved to do spring cleaning – it is a natural shift from the hibernation of winter. Acknowledgment of the changing of seasons helps us to be more connected to nature, to eating more seasonally (which I appreciate is a little easier in a climate where we can grow food year round), and to shift our bodies and activities in concert with this.

So too it is the right time to think about cleaning out our bodies.

The eating plan on the detox is more restrictive that what I normally do. For some people making the changes is not that difficult. For many of us, it is. I encourage cleansers to pay attention to the luscious healthiness of what they are consuming (rather than focusing on what they cannot eat). Food on the cleanse is focused nutrient density…and paying close attention to what you are putting in your body. It feels so good to me to do this. We just don’t take the time in our normal daily routines, at least not to the extent that we do now. I love the permission on the detox of taking it easy, spending more time with food, focusing on greens, and feeling all of the cells of my body soak up the intensity of the nutrition.

We are exposed to toxins all the time. When I began leading detox workshops, I spent lots of time talking about all of the things in our environment that are bad for us, and ended up seeing many deer-in-the-headlights faces. I find that the people who want to come to the program realize there are some inherent toxins in their environment, so I don’t belabor the point quite so much. But education is one of my passions, so I always have to throw in a few little details about safe sunscreens and toothpaste. Some people are more exposed on the job. But everyone, even those who live clean lives, has some toxic load. Pollution, plastic bottles, pesticides on produce, medications, personal care products (like deodorant, lotions, cortisone cream, cosmetics, sun screen, shampoo) have chemicals that have been shown to cause harm. Categories of damage include endocrine disruption, carcinogenesis, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, and allergies or immunotoxicity.

While finding the balance between awareness and panic, and making positive changes or falling into bottomless depression about how we’ve polluted our world, I now lean more towards a detox that is also good for your spirit. Find a place where you can make some positive shifts without feeling completely overwhelmed. Doing a detox requires spending more time preparing your food, rather than buying something quick. Relish in that. Give up some of the other tasks of the day to make chopping the carrots meditative. Rest and take care of yourself, so that putting together a delicious vegan dinner doesn’t feel like such a heavy load. Appreciate the new leaves on the Japanese maple, or the tulips or whatever is blooming in your yard. That is the beauty of spring. That is all part of the health of our natural world.

I recently read an article in the NY Times that said that many people who have been diagnosed with food allergies don’t actually have them. They felt that perhaps only 8% of children and less than 5% of adults actually have them.

I feel that quite the opposite is true. In my practice, I see many people who have undiagnosed food allergies. And they often don’t associate their symptoms with foods. But once they avoid the reactive foods, they find myriad of symptoms that they have struggled with, for either weeks or years, disappear. Symptoms affected by food allergies are wide ranging – from making seasonal allergies worse, to ear infections, fatigue, headaches, eczema, heartburn and other digestive disorders – even high blood pressure.

Their distinction of food allergies versus food intolerance did make sense. A food allergy is actually activating the immune system. This involves antibodies. Conventional allergists often test for food allergies using the skin prick test, where a small amount of a serum with the food is injected under the skin to see if a reaction forms around the area on the skin. The antibody that is active in this type of testing is called IgE (which stands for immune globulin E). Some practitioners do a blood test, which often looks at another immune globulin called IgG (as above, immune globulin G). IgG is better at finding the undetected food allergies are found, as it is more prevalent in delayed hypersensitivity reactions. IgE is the mediating immune globulin for more immediate sensitivities, like those that cause inhaled allergies – like when you get itchy eyes from petting a cat; or the more serious anaphylactic reaction from eating a peanut.

A food intolerance is more common. Many people are lactose intolerant – they cannot digest the sugar in milk, and find themselves with symptoms such as upset stomach and loose stools. Reacting to sulfites in red wine is also an intolerance, rather than a food allergy.

For many people, the distinction is immaterial. They feel better if they avoid the food. So avoid the food.

One reason I like to make the distinction is that most people with food allergies are likely to also have intestinal permeability (also known as “leaky gut”). With this in mind, there are a number of therapies that can help to heal the digestive tract. Along with food allergy avoidance, healing the digestive tract can improve health, including eliminating symptoms caused by the food allergies, as well as mitigating reactions when they have any of their allergenic foods.

Whether you think you have food allergies or just an intolerance, it is wise to see a naturopathic doctor – a specialist in finding a treating the cause, as well as treating illness with the most nutritive elements nature has to offer.

I have long felt a connection between the earth and naturopathic medicine. So it wasn’t much of a stretch for me to want to investigate how permaculture principles might influence the practice of naturopathic medicine.  I took a year-long course recently at the Regenerative Design Institute (RDI) in Bolinas, California, one of the premier permaculture centers in the US. This missive includes my thoughts on how the fields of permaculture and naturopathic medicine work similarly.

Global warming shows us that we have a detachment from what we do/put onto and into the earth. We have a similar detachment from our bodies and our healthcare. Many times, people relinquish their power in their own health to their primary care provider. They hand over their wellness whole cloth, to a medical profession that is largely untrained in looking at nourishment of the body, as well as in finding the underlying causes of illness, as naturopathic doctors are.

Most of the world’s problems can be solved in a garden. In the garden we work with water, waste and nourishment – many of the same things that our patients struggle with. Permaculture is a design science rooted in the observation of natural systems. The goal is to design human settlements that have the stability and resiliency of a natural ecosystem. Similarly, two main principles of naturopathic medicine “first, do no harm,” and “find and treat underlying cause of illness or disease” work to produce sustainable health for the people it touches.

Reductionist science sees each component separately. Permaculture recognizes the interconnectedness of humans and nature and all of the aspects that nourish and harm both. Naturopathic physicians recognize the interconnectedness of all of the body’s systems, bringing to light the principle to “treat the whole person.”

One thing that is noted immediately upon arrival at the Regenerative Design Institute is the incredible diversity of bird species. This diversity is indicative of the ability of the ecosystem there to handle stressors. In naturopathic medicine, we welcome diversity in the profession. It serves to make us all stronger, and increases our ability to morph, support and deal with change – to deal with stress on the system (the entire profession of naturopathic medicine.) In order to support this diversity, you may give up one thing in order to have another. But what you get in return will outweigh this sacrifice.

The first principle of permaculture is observation. It is through careful observation that we can truly see what the ecosystem needs. It is similar in human health. It is important for me to spend a lot of time with my patients, to get a very good idea of all of the aspects of their health. If someone comes in with migraines, it is important to not focus only on the head, but also assess digestion, hormones, hydration, nourishment, absorption, etc. In the garden, you can’t jump in with plow and pesticides until you see how it is all working together. Each part of the system affects the other. How can we create balance? First you must observe the whole being in order to become familiar with all of the players in the illness.

I recently purchased a new worm bin (my new favorite topic if anyone has questions or comments!!) and decided to put it closer to the house so that we could put our food scraps in the bin more quickly and easily. My husband was worried about it getting too much sun exposure (bad for a worm bin). I was happy to report to him that I had been watching what happened with the sun on our back deck for the past year. I had also been watching the moonlight, as the full moon will reflect the sun path 6 months hence. So our worm bin will be safe in the corner by our hedge. But I could only come to this by careful observation over a long period of time.

People with illnesses often come to us wanting a quick fix. That can happen occasionally, but the observation of that human system takes time. Similarly, real and true healing (and guidance in that healing) takes time.

Another permaculture principle that I love for its relationship to naturopathic medicine is stacking functions. The goal is to get at least three functions out of any one project. In the case of my worm bin, we are reducing the amount of waste that goes to the landfill, decreasing the number of trash pick-ups we need, and producing some of the finest compost money can buy. All from our food scraps.

In naturopathic medicine, I am always working to stack functions, even before I was aware that it had a groovy name. Women who seek my care for hormonal issues and who also happen to have digestive issues will benefit from a good source of fiber. The fiber prevents re-absorption of the hormones in the GI tract, and also gently corrects digestive function.

Every time we utilize another piece of permaculture in our lives, we are healed too. We connect to as much life force as possible. Work in the garden is so appealing because it is so close to the life force. Helping our patients into the garden will connect them to it as well.

James Stark at RDI speaks about the homeopathic intervention – something that gently and slightly makes a motion that creates a profound effect as it ripples outward. Moving in harmony with natural systems, you can create more food, more water, more beauty, and more health. The homeopathy that I use on my patients helps them heal gently from the inside out. Yet quite profoundly, once the appropriate intervention is chosen.

Lastly, a word of caution on getting rid of weeds. Different types of weeds are clear indicators of what your soil is lacking. Similarly, in our relations with colleagues, patients, friends and even adversaries, the “weeds” can show us what we need to do to improve our own “soil.” So welcome the weeds to help you see what is missing in your own ecosystem.

The healing of ourselves and the healing of the earth is all the same journey.