Hi Henry, you wrote:
>You mentioned that you treat chronic fatigue... what nutritional advice to
>you give these people?? I am asking because I have a person who has chronic
>fatigue at the moment, and I am doing a lot of reading into a lot of
>nutritional advice, and I am just interested if you could offer other ideas.
Probably nothing that you don't already know. A lot of them have imbalanced
diets, with a lot of sugar and processed foods (and often wheat-heavy),
which unless they are organic can have residues they may be sensitive to
within them. One theory that's doing the rounds currently is that many CFS
patients are sensitive to wheat because wheat absorbs more of the
pesticides etc that are sprayed on it than other grains. I advise on a
balanced diet with minimal processing and refer them on to a nutritionist.
There's thoughts that things like milk thistle can help, but I advise
people to see someone who's qualified, as even milk thistle is dangerous if
a person is pregnant.
>I know that the field of nutrition is
>interesting, but I believe we should at least have a basic knowledge on it.
Yeah, so long as we KNOW it's basic, and remember that a little knowledge
is a dangerous thing. Especially when imparted by a 'white coat'. ;-)
Personally, my diet is vital to preventing my eczema and depression (I
suffer a bit from eczema nowadays, but from depression not in the slightest
for seven years), in combination with craniosacral therapy. I just have
reservations about a physio prescribing a diet. We don't have the knowledge
or facilities to test for sensitivities or allergies, and however much we
read around the topic, there will always be little things we don't know
that can trip us up, unless we do a specialist professional course.
>Just to make the topic more interesting, the other day, I was reading a book
>on offering nutritional advice based on blood type (which is based on
>anthropological studies). They say that type A like more vegetables, while
>type O like meat! Just something interesting that I wanted to mention.
I've read something along those lines too, quite interesting to read that I
should be a carnivore when I'm a vegan who doesn't eat wheat! It apparently
helps loads of people (including Marine McCutcheon) lose loads of weight.
So this is why I carry my extra stone. Or perhaps that's just water
retention due to the pinch of salt I take all these diet things with. :-)
It remember thinking it seemed to be hard diets to stick to (but who am I
to talk under the circumstances!), and I'm not sure how many people would
follow it without missing out on some essential nutrients, by only eating
the more easily available foods.
I'd be far more keen to suggest a varied diet, with as little processing as
possible, but as much variety as possible.
On the other hand, the visceral manipulator within me has very fixed ideas
on diets to suit particular organ problems, and if patients (with CFS or
any other problem) want to pursue this end, I refer them to a sympathetic
nutritionist I liaise with.
But I do welcome your thoughts on this and other subjects as it does open
up thoughts, ideas and debate. I definitely think that we should all be
VERY aware of the importance of diet. One area that deserves especial
mention on this account is mental health, where doctors will (for example)
happily prescribe tryptophan as an adjunct to antidepressants, but would
never dream of prescribing foods to naturally produce tryptophan instead.
Karen (fan of tofu and beans of all description)
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