5 - 2017 - Dr Libby

May 2017

June 18, 2019May 25, 2017 by Dr Libby Weaver

Isn’t autumn such a beautiful time of year?

When I observe the seasonal transitions that come this time of year, I can’t help but make parallels to the transitions in our lives. Change is inevitable, yet it’s not always comfortable. Some changes can elicit feelings of joy and delight, others make us want to hibernate. Sometimes we feel that our days are graced with sunshine and then the storms roll in and we duck for cover.

We all have varying tolerances for change. Some people relish it and others do whatever they can to avoid it. It, of course, also depends on the change itself. The heartbreak of losing a loved one is a transition that will likely leave a mark on our lives for a very long time, whereas changing jobs might be a little easier for us to deal with.

When it comes to making changes that support our health, I often observe a lot of resistance. It led me to ask one of the key questions that has guided a lot of my work since – why do we do what we do, when we know what we know?

Many of us know that we need to make changes to better support our health and yet, somehow they usually fall to the bottom of the pile. We might know that we need to eat more vegetables and less processed food, or that we really should cut back to one cup of coffee a day. Or we might be familiar with the consequences of not enough sleep but still try to get through on 5-6 hours a night. What is it about lifestyle change that we regularly resist so much?

For many, it takes a health crisis to wake them up to the fact that they need to make some changes. I don’t want that for you. Ask yourself, what small, incremental steps can you make towards better health and energy? It might be that you need some support – either nutritionally or in the form of further guidance. Don’t be afraid to reach out when you need help.

Wishing you a wonderful end to the month.

With warmth,

Dr Libby x

Health gems from traditional medicine

June 18, 2019May 23, 2017 by Dr Libby Weaver

We have learnt so much from traditional forms of medicine, whether this is their use of natural therapies or their holistic approach to the prevention and treatment of disease. Here are a few gems that we use in conventional and holistic practice today.

Listen to your body

Most traditional medicine approaches encourage you to “listen with your whole body”. To become more present and in tune with the different signals your body gives you. For example, instead of just taking medication for a headache, it encourages you to address the origin of the headache. By considering your water consumption, lighting, what you’ve been eating, how you’ve been sleeping and your stress levels. If you’re prone to recurrent infections, it will look at foods and herbs that help modulate the immune system rather than focusing on the infection as in isolated incidence.

Treat the whole person

Eastern medicine treats people as a whole: it also focuses on family, diet and life stressors. Instead of looking at the body symptomatically it considers how an ache or pain in one part may be caused by a completely different area. Holistic medicine practitioners believe that the whole person is made up of interdependent parts and if one part is not working properly, all the other parts can be affected. In this way, if people have imbalances (physical, emotional, or spiritual) in their lives, it can negatively affect their overall health.

Preventing or managing stress is essential to every illness or disease

Preventative health refers to the implementation of certain lifestyle and health practices to promote living in health and avoiding disease. Traditional medicine considers the role of stress in every illness, disease or discomfort. It encourages everyone to look at meditation strategies, mindfulness and yoga practice as a way of combating daily stress and thus benefiting from their protective effect.

Energy is our life force and we must address why it’s lacking

Traditional medicine considers the numerous reasons why you may not be feeling energised. Natural life force energy is something that flows through all living things. It sustains and nourishes our bodies and it can be used to support and increase the body’s natural self-healing ability. Lack of energy can be caused from very simple things such as drinking too much coffee or not sleeping properly, through to adrenal or chronic fatigue. Traditional medicine believes that feeling energised is absolutely essential to optimal health and seeks to always improve energy if it is poor.

Your thoughts and perceptions are critical to your health

Your thoughts and feelings play an incredibly important yet often overlooked role in your health. When approaching an ailment, traditional medicine also probes for answers from your thoughts and perceptions. For example it has been scientifically proven that when you are experiencing positive emotions like joy, contentment and love you will see more possibilities in your life and therefore cope better when faced with illness or disease. As well as considering the biochemistry at the heart of the issue it will also give you strategies to cope with your perception of the issue and provide hope for your journey to wellness.

Strive for consistency, rather than perfection

Make consistent choices that contribute to your overall health and well-being. It is what you do every day that impacts on your health, rather than what you occasionally do. Guilty feelings about food and lifestyle choices are no good for your health. Focus on nourishing your body, moving regularly, getting adequate rest, addressing and finding strategies to cope with the stress in your life, learning new ideas or skills and looking after your emotional health are all part of a balanced, consistent or holistic approach to wellness.

Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B12?

June 18, 2019May 23, 2017 by Dr Libby Weaver

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin (because it contains the trace element cobalt), is an incredibly important B vitamin.

It is necessary for the production of red blood cells and plays an important role in maintaining the health of nerve cells and in the formation of genetic material.

All of the B vitamins, including B12 are water-soluble, meaning that the body does not store them, so we must consume them daily. The best place to get B vitamins is from our food, as for most people, when vitamins are obtained through food they are easily absorbed and utilised because you are also consuming co-nutrients that assist with the uptake and absorption.

Vitamin B12 however, is somewhat different from the other B group vitamins as its absorption relies on a few digestive processes happening in various places in the digestive system. The B12 must bind to a substance called intrinsic factor, which is produced by cells in the stomach, and this then travels to the ileum, the part of your small intestine closest to the colon, where it can be absorbed.

All B vitamins help the body convert food, specifically carbohydrates, into fuel (in this case, glucose), which is used to produce energy. These B vitamins, often referred to as B complex vitamins, also help the body use fats and proteins. B complex vitamins are needed for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver detoxification. They also help the nervous system to function properly.

Vitamin B12 works closely with vitamin B9, also called folate, to help make red blood cells and to transport carbon around the body, essential for almost every internal process. There has been a lot of interest in B12 more recently due to its role in mood regulation. Folate and B12 work together to produce S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), a compound involved in immune function and mood.

Vitamin B12 is a particularly important vitamin for maintaining healthy nerve cells, and it helps in the production of DNA and RNA, our genetic material.

Vitamins B12, B6, and B9 work together to control blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine have been associated with heart disease. However, researchers have not concluded whether homocysteine is a cause of heart disease or just a marker that indicates someone may have heart disease.

The only food sources of B12 are animal foods. Plants don’t contain B12 – in fact they don’t need it – and as a result, people who eat a vegan diet are at greater risk of deficiency. Supplementation for people eating a vegan diet is necessary.

There are numerous reasons why someone might be deficient in B12 which include an insufficient dietary intake, poor intrinsic factor production and undiagnosed coeliac disease.
It is rare for young people to be deficient in vitamin B12, but it is not uncommon for older people to be mildly deficient. This may be because their diets are not as nourishing due to changes in appetite or desire/capacity to cook, or because it becomes harder to absorb because of a lack of intrinsic factor. Low levels of B12 can cause a range of symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, nervousness, numbness, or a tingling sensation in the fingers and toes.

An untreated deficiency can result in a type of anaemia and damage to the nervous system and a simple blood test can inform you of your B12 status. Intramuscular vitamin B12 injections form the basis of most treatment plans. If you think you have a B vitamin deficiency, it’s always best to talk to your GP or a health professional before supplementing.

May 2017

Health gems from traditional medicine

We have learnt so much from traditional forms of medicine, whether this is their use of natural therapies or their holistic approach to the prevention and treatment of disease. Here are a few gems that we use in conventional and holistic practice today.

Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B12?

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin (because it contains the trace element cobalt), is an incredibly important B vitamin.

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We have learnt so much from traditional forms of medicine, whether this is their use of natural therapies or their holistic approach to the prevention and treatment of disease. Here are a few gems that we use in conventional and holistic practice today.

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin (because it contains the trace element cobalt), is an incredibly important B vitamin.

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