Acupuncturist Mihaly Rosta shares his success in treating a client with constipation with some simple acupuncture points. I thought to share a few stories from my clinic so you can have a better understanding of what Acupuncture can help with. As well as to provide a gentle introduction to how it works. Relief for constipation and other bowel issues is a remarkable and frequent outcome of such treatments. Over the years I am starting to figure out that the body is truly amazing. It really is a wonderful ‘machinery’ that often needs only a little nudge in order to recover. As long as one has sufficient vital substances – Blood, Qi and Essence (talk about those in a later post) – it will recover rather quickly. When it comes to treating bowel issues such as constipation, diarrhoea, inflammation and such Acupuncture can have a quick reliving effect – whilst it may take longer to re-establish proper internal harmony in case of chronic conditions.
One of my clients came to me recently complaining about the inability to empty their bowels properly for almost a week. Although their main complaint was different, something like this can often be incorporated into the treatment. I used a combination of 2 points located on the Stomach channel, whilst other points were used to support the underlying conditions. The acu-point, Stomach 37 was needled and gently stimulated. This is a point which has a strong effect on the bowels through the connection of the digestive organs of the Stomach and the Large Intestine, which is mainly responsible for the appropriate elimination and further absorption of nutrients. As you can read in the other article -click on the link above-, it is also a majorly useful point to generally assist IBS and it’s related symptoms. I also used acupressure on Stomach 25 which has been observed to have a very strong effect on the Intestines. Via the aforementioned connection, this point is able to strengthen and enhance the natural function of the Stomach and Spleen, which is responsible for the transportaion and transformation of nutrients. Although I worked fairly gently on these points, the client reported having a ‘big clear-out’ the same day. Of course, no 2 people have the exact same needs. The beauty of Chinese Medicine lies in its ability to show what needs to be done for the person in front of us in that given moment. Sometimes the body only needs a few gentle yet precise inputs in order to start making steps towards equilibrium.
0 Comments
Massage therapist Erika Zettervall shares an update on her experiment to see if running can help with depression and low motivation. Here she shares how this is going over the depths of winter and the effect it is having on her life. Still running
In my previous blog I had just taken up running regularly as a vehicle for keeping mind and mental state in good health. So here is a little update a few months along deep into mid-winter. I am still running - three times most weeks, for about 40 minutes and really enjoying it. The after-effect of brightness and energy in mind and body, even if the actual run sometimes felt like hard work, is really very nice. It definitely has been harder to get up when it’s dark and out of the door in the mornings during the winter. North is in my blood so temperature is not a deterrent and frosty ground a more pleasant experience than the mudslides our parks often turned into this time of the year and I also quite enjoy getting out in bad weather, better running than walking in the rain. Then afterwards it’s so nice to get back in and indoors feels lovely dry and warm. It’s more the general tiredness of January and winter with its short days, a time when, if possible, it’s okay to linger a little longer in bed and take it a bit slower. This coming week, February 1st, marks the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. This day is also called Imbolc or st Bridgids day. From now on the acceleration in daylight per day is becoming more noticeable week by week. Amusingly, this day has lately gain notoriety due to an increased interest in old Irish and Gaelic traditions, a side effect from the many Brits looking into Irish roots in pursuit of a passport in the wake of Brexit and is now celebrated in several places in London. When it comes to avoiding slipping into depression, one of the purposes of the running regime, it is obviously impossible to know and compare how I would have felt if had not been running regularly. The dread and despair that I often experience around this time of the year, so familiar and recognisable I know it will pass, like a winter season of mind, but sometimes it sticks and turns into depression. This year it feels okay. The structure of running is helpful and having regular dose of joy and satisfaction from keeping up with the commitment is good mood boost but the sense of strength and vitality is the biggest benefit I experienced so far. We have three practitioners at WNT who use acupuncture in their treatments. They each have distinct approaches so to help you decide who would best fit your needs we have asked them some questions about how they work and who they work with. There are 3 acupuncturists at WNT, please can you share a bit about your individual approach or style of acupuncture? I practise East Asian Medicine (EAM), an umbrella term for many different styles which include my initial training in Traditional Chinese Medicine and 5 element acupuncture with subsequent courses in other styles including Master Tung, Channel Palpation and ear acupuncture, each with their own strengths. Training in TuiNa massage really changed how I work, and it was during that time that I started incorporating more hands on approaches to diagnosis and treatment. Broadly, EAM can be used to focus internally on physiology in a holistic way looking at how the different systems interact and impact on a physical, mental and emotional level. It can also be used to look at the body in a more structural way, focussed on the musculoskeletal skeletal system, but still taking into account the background physiology that nourishes the muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments and joints. My training particularly in fertility and musculoskeletal acupuncture has incorporated more western concepts and diagnostic approaches, but EAM is at the heart of how I work. My approach is to deepen and utilise the mind-body connection which is done by bringing my decade long Tai chi and meditation practice into the treatment room. Whether it is acupuncture or martial arts, we always aim to create a good flow in the body and mind, as stagnation or being stuck is seen as the root of suffering. So my treatments are often described as a calming flow between Acupuncture, massage and gentle guidance. Thus working on both the Body, Mind and Energy (QI) of the person. I practice what is known as Dry Needling or Medical Acupuncture (DN/MA). This is an approach used to treat musculoskeletal problems. When I think it may be beneficial to use needling during a massage session I will discuss with the client first and use it in combination with soft tissue work (massage). I will massage the area first to detect where the needles are required and usually leave them in place for 20 minutes or longer if needed. I use DN/MA in approximately 50% of my treatments. I am foremost a massage therapist and I am aware that when people book a massage, that is what they want. I also respect that some clients have a fear of needles although I am happy to say I have introduced DN/MA to a number of clients over the years who have been converted when they feel the benefits of a needle versus my elbow! What kind of clients do you mostly treat? I treat a wide variety of conditions but since qualifying most of my additional training has focussed on four main areas which in turn determines the type of clients I mostly treat:
So, I see a lot of women for gynae issues like painful periods, PMS, menopausal symptoms, through pregnancy right up to the birth and beyond and a very wide range of fertility issues. This may be support conceiving naturally or while going through ART procedures like IVF and FET, often with background diagnoses like endometriosis or PCOS. I also treat a lot of people with headaches, migraines, musculoskeletal conditions like sciatica, back and knee pain, often chronic recurrent conditions. I tend to refer athletes and sporty people with more acute conditions to Tessa. I have built up good peer support and referral networks in the key areas on which I focus and that is so important in getting help with more challenging cases and signposting clients in the right direction if I can’t help them. Although I see people with a wide range of health complaints, the most frequent conditions that I treat (and have success with) are anxiety, stress, nerve related pain, sinusitis and digestive issues. I am also happy to say that I see a fairly equal amount of man and women (and everyone in-between). I am really happy to see that men reach out and attend to their mental health needs. I use DN/MA on all types of clients. From those with migraines or neck/shoulder/back pain to muscle tears. From young semi-professional footballers with injuries to more mature clients to assist with pain relief and rehabilitation from many conditions including Osteoarthrititis and hip/knee replacements. Again I only treat with needles if the client is happy to. What do you enjoy about using acupuncture to work with clients? I love how very different we all are and feeling a connection with people. Everyone brings their own personalities, strengths and struggles, and it feels vitally important to get a sense of each person and what treatment means to them in order to treat effectively. That spark of connection is so important whatever people are coming for. There is invariably an emotional element to some degree, sometimes a key focus, sometimes more in the background. Acupuncture with its holistic approach and focus on mind, body and spirit offers a versatile framework. It is so good at helping to achieve a sense of peace in our often hectic city lives, where that reset into more 'rest and digest' is a key element for healing. Whether people come with pain, with mental health struggles, wanting to start or grow a family or for another combination of reasons acupuncture offers a way to assess and address the physical and emotional together, and also to regulate the many complex interactions within our body as a whole. I like that approach, it makes sense to me to treat the body as the unified, interactive, self-regulating system and gently nudge it towards a more healthy balance. I really enjoy seeing the change that I help to facilitate in my clients. It's amazing how people can leave behind pain and find more comfort within themselves. Love seeing people's attitudes and priorities change about their own health as that is what makes the "healing" sustainable. Oh and I must say that I love treating new things that I perhaps have never seen in person before. It's fascinating to see how the two of us can unravel what is the ongoing behind the labels of disease. I enjoy seeing the positive results of DN/MA when used on my clients. It also gives me the freedom to multitask if there are a number of areas of the body I need to work on in one treatment. For example I can use needles in the neck and shoulders while using massage on the legs. DN/MA doesn't work for everyone but I've had some amazing results and responses from clients. I used one needle on a hamstring tear in one session and the client had no further pain. My favourite response to the suggestion of using DN/MA being "ooh needles, yeah. I can feel it whooshing through my shoulders, it's fantastic. Love it!" You can book online with Philippa, Mihaly (aka Mike) or Tessa or contact them directly if you would like any further information. NB: Sessions with Philippa or Mihaly begin with a 90minute session to allow for a longer consultation (sometimes on zoom) while with Tessa acupuncture needling is something that is incorporated into her regular sports massage treatments.
WNT founder Jennie Duck shares some thoughts around how light impacts our environment and what that means as we embrace the transition of autumn. My husband and I play a game in our house: I come into a room and turn the lights on, he comes in and turns them off. He is driven by environmental concerns, an aversion to waste and the cost of electricity. My drive is simpler and more visceral: happiness.
Light makes me happy. Different lights make me feel different types of happiness - a misty morning with the sun breaking through fills me with optimism and ideas for the day or an urge to take photographs of the beauty it shows up. Late afternoon light is more peaceful than the morning and speaks of socialising more than doing - beer gardens, barbeques or tea and cake depending on my age and stage. Soft lighting makes me feels safe, cosy, reflective, nourished. A bright kitchen light makes me want to put music on and engage with my family, while a darker room makes me feel like retreating and dampens my energy. I love the role that lighting plays in a therapeutic setting. My friend used to talk of 'entering the womb' when she came for a massage and I believe that plays no small part in the nourishing effect of a session at WNT or another thoughtfully lit treatment space. You are invited to slow down, to stop and retreat for a while. This entering into such a space reminds me of Autumn, a time of transition from long, bright, energetic days to short, dimmer, more slothful days – getting ready to enter the womblike winter where so much of the world around us is curling up to sleep. How does this transition sit with you? Are you like me and derive some of your inner spark from the light around you? Or are you more ambivalent about the role light has on your inner world? How do you adapt around this time of year? For me this time of year needs a conscious shift, a letting go and starting to prepare for hunkering down. In our home it means adjusting the lights we use in each room to make it cosy rather than bright, getting some candles out and replacing the bulbs in my salt lamps. We will also start to light the fire soon, which in our house is our primary heating source, and that brings with it extra cosiness and a particular type of restorative, wholesome, vital light and warmth. And pretty soon my husband and I will start a new game with the boost button on the central heating… Reflexologist and reiki practitioner Laura Devonshire looks at hydration - why it is so important, what it can affect and how much and what we should be drinking to keep hydrated. It’s summer (hurrah!) and this season’s theme at West Norwood Therapies is water. I have been exploring water and the human body and why hydration is so critical. Water is essential for life and for our bodies to function optimally. On average water makes up around 60% of body weight in men and 50-55% in women (this can vary depending on age and body composition). Drinking enough water each day is essential for the function of all the cells in the body, it helps us to: regulate body temperature, keep eyes and joints lubricated, helping to rid waste and transport nutrients, helps convert food into energy, protects the nervous system, prevents infection, and keeps organs functioning properly. Some organs contain much more water than others and I found it staggering to learn that the brain and kidneys possess the highest percentage of water: a whopping 80-85%, followed by the heart and lungs 75-80%, muscles, the liver and skin are 70-75%, blood is 50%, bones are 20-25% and lastly teeth at 8-10%. This helps to put into context how dehydration can have so many symptoms and consequences. The current UK recommendation is to drink 6-8 glasses of fluid per day, more specific recommendations about the quantity needed at different ages are shown below: (provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA): The EFSA assume that 20% of fluid intake comes from food and 80% comes from drinks.
It is also important to note that doing strenuous activity or living in hotter or more humid climates may need more than the above. The body works hard to find balance and drinking too little or too much water can have severe consequences. The warning signs of dehydration include:
As mentioned above the brain contains 85% water, dehydration can also impact on cognitive function with difficulty in concentrating, impacting mood making us prone to feeling angry, anxious, and irritated. It’s important to note that on the flip side at the extreme end of consuming too much water, can lead to hyponatraemia, a very serious condition that causes extremely low sodium levels in the blood. It is more common for people to suffer with the symptoms of dehydration. The best way to avoid dehydration is to keep track of how much fluid you drink and drink water throughout the day. It’s ideal to avoid excessive caffeine drinks as they have a diuretic effect on the body, as does alcohol. Of course, I am not staying to cut them out but to just be mindful of intake and ensure you’re having an adequate water intake too. If you have been unwell with a fever or diarrhoea, playing sports or have been sweating a lot in high temperatures: drinking coconut water or a sports drink or rehydration drink can help to replenish your electrolytes and essential salts and minerals. Swap sugary drinks for sugar-free or no added sugar and dilute squash drinks to reduce the sugar content. If you don’t like the taste of water you can try sparkling water or try adding a slice of lemon or lime, some berries or cucumber. Sports massage therapist Tessa Glover interviews her client Emily Hayter who is a competitive swimmer who trains with Spencer swimming club. Emily shares how she approaches training and competing and encourages us that swimming can be taken up at any age and stage. Thanks for sharing Emily! How long have you been a competitive swimmer? I always loved the water and I swam competitively for a few years in my early teens while I was living in Canada. I swam on and off on my own after that but was mainly keeping active through other things. After a 17 year break from club swimming I joined a Masters club, Spencer, in London in my early 30s and started competing again. How did you come to choose your preferred swimming stroke and distance? It's changed since I was younger, partly due to injuries (eg no breastroke because of my knees so no medley events anymore). The only one of my favourite events from when I was younger which I'm still doing is the 50m butterfly. One thing that's great about pool swimming is you learn and practise all four strokes, so everyone finds their own favourite. Aside from the 50 fly I race all freestyle, everything from 100m to 1500m. This year I'm also doing my first open water event which will be 3800m. At some point I might need to choose between the short and long distances though, as it's difficult to train for both at the same time. What do you love most about swimming? What does it give you? As an adult, swimming in a club has brought me back to a regular fitness schedule, guided by a coach and in the company of great fellow swimmers. I get so much more from it than I was getting just from going to the gym. I've also made new friends and started going on swimming trips like training camps at Club La Santa in Lanzarote and sea swimming holidays in Italy with SwimTrek. I feel inspired by the older swimmers in Masters, many of whom are still racing and setting records in their 60s and beyond. Club swimming has brought me great examples of how to stay fit in later life. What's the toughest part of training for a competition? I've always been more of a training person than a racing person. I like training and usually go 3 times a week with Spencer. Some people are the opposite, they love racing but not so much training. The unpredictability can be tough in both training and racing. You have good days and bad days in the pool, and they can be quite random (ie not linked to diet, rest etc) which can be discouraging. So trust and confidence in the training you've been doing throughout the year is important. There's also a lot of technique to think about in swimming, and we work on that all the time. It's difficult to change ingrained habits and patterns of movement, and it takes patience. I usually find that as soon as I fix one technique detail I start doing something else wrong! So it's a continuous process. Can a swimmer get into competitive swimming as an adult? Definitely! I know several people who only started doing lane swimming or learned all the strokes as adults and then got into competitions, either in pool/Masters swimming, open water or triathlon. At my club not everyone competes in pool competitions, some people do triathlon or open water and others just train for fitness and don't compete at all. How do you look after yourself physically and mentally? I do pilates a few times a week, which helps with management of old knee and back injuries that would otherwise prevent me from swimming. Swimming encourages me to do these types of conditioning exercises I should have been doing before but wasn't motivated to do. I used to do yoga but after learning more about hypermobility I swapped to pilates and find it better for me. I also go for massages with Tessa at WNT which really helps me manage a neck issue I've developed. I'm lucky to have generally good mental health. I try to maintain it through exercise, work/life balance, social life and occasional restorative yoga. I love food and eat a lot but generally pretty healthily. Another thing I should have mentioned that swimming gives me is the excuse for a lot of snacking. Acupuncturist Mihaly Rosta shares some information about the Chinese Medicine concept of 'dampness' in the body and factors that might cause and help this. Is diet just about what you eat? Sluggishness (especially) in the mornings; Heaviness of body and mind; Bloating; Loose, sticky stools; Swelling; Weight gain. These are only a few symptoms of Dampness in the body. Damp.. what?
Imagine a clear beautiful river gracefully flowing through a forest. Now what if this river is being filled with debrish? It slowly becomes cloggy and turn into dirty mud. The most common cause for this muddiness to develop in the body is improper DIET. Excessive intake of fried, greasy, raw food; as well as alcohol, sugar, dairy, and even meat may result in the symptoms described above. However before removing unhealthy, overly processed foods from the diet, it’s important to intorduce new, appropriate foods in your diet. On the picture you may see a simple stir-fry dish, perfect for lunch or even breakfast -accompanied by some soup or tea. Bitter and slightly pungent/aromatic food like kohlrabi and romain lettuce are excellent at transforming congealed body fluids. Add some radish and leeks in order to strengthen the Lungs (Metal/Autumn) and clear any damp/phlegm that may reside there. Kidney -especially Aduki- beans are great source of protein in this case. Complementing the dish I also used garlic, thyme and parsley to help clear excessive mucus. To make this dish more seasonal, add some water and cook it on low heat. In order to introduce the sour balancing flavour of autumn (Metal) you may finish your dishes by squeezing some lemon/lime juice over them. Making small changes in the diet is an excellent tool for becoming more healthy over time. However if an already developed illness (or any of the symptoms above) are present, acupuncture treatment may be especially beneficial in order to address those issues. Please note that we always advise patients to see a professional Acupuncturist in order to determine the accurate diagnoses, which allows us to make personalised recommendations. For any seriously health concerns please see your GP. #diet #damp #acupuncture #bloated #sluggish #autumn Acupuncturist and massage therapist Mihaly Rosta shares some interesting thoughts around the 'how' of our eating habits being as, if not more, important than the 'what'. ow important is it to have the right food on your plate?
I usually see a divide amongst my friends and clients when it comes to diet and food. Some people just eat for the joy of it, not caring much about if they eat a lot of carbs or meat. Whilst other people can be “almost” obsessive about what they eat. May that be superfoods, very specific vegetables and meat, etc. So what is the correct attitude to diet? Well, I of course could not give a simple answer to such an important question. Especially as I am not a dietician. However when it comes to Chinese medicine, we always strife for balance. Walking the middle path. Sure, it is important to have a varied diet -according to both food energetics, colours, food groups- but I find it much more important to look at how people eat and digest. In my experience, our mental health and eating habits combined has a much stronger effect on our digestion and general health than the types of food we eat. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that we should all eat white bread, milk and sugar 3 times a day. I am referring to the fact that if you have a varied intake of vegetables, fruits and meats/nuts, you should not worry too much about whether it is organic or not, or how many superfoods and brown rice you include in your diet. What is important then? 1. Structure and rythmn It is generally important to follow a rythmn in our daily life. Structuring our days around our meals and sleep can provide with a healthy l. So we priorities ourselves, our nourishment amongst other responsibilities. 2. Rest Taking breaks between meals (3-4 hours) gives our digestive system a rest, as opposed to continuous snacking which will overwork our Spleen and Stomach. 3. Focus /mindfulness Eating should be about the food and our nourishment. The taste, texture, colour, smell of our food should be in the focus of our mind when we eat. Not TV, Netflix, news, daily tasks or plans for the week. Let’s do ourselves a favour and eat mindfully. Just when we decide on the food we eat, we should apply the same mindfulness during our time of nourishment. 4. 2/3 There is a Chinese saying that you should only fill your belly 2/3 of the way, so there is space for Qi to do the digestion. Overeating is overtaxing on our digestive system. Finding the correct amount of food that does not leave us hungry, but also doesn’t makes us sleepy is essential. 5. Fluids It is important to drink plenty of fluids during the day, however it is best to avoid drinking with our meal. If you have a weak digestion, you may find it beneficial to drink digestives 20 minutes prior to your meals. Or if your meal seems to settle in heavy (lots of fats/oils) you may find drinking a (half) shot of clear spirit (I recommend Bison vodka for flavour 😛) also very beneficial. On a different note. There seem to be a misconception about the amount of fluid we all need to drink. Generally speaking of we want to hydrate ourselves we have to include fluid-ful vegetables in our diet. Soups, curries, tomatoes, courgettes, etc. 6. 100 steps Digestion does not stop when we finish eating. On the contrary. It’s fairly important that we rest after a meal for about half an hour. The Chinese has been recommending 100 slow steps after eating. As (slow) walking aids the intestinal movements (peristalsis) and thus digestion. 7. Avoid going to bed on a full stomach Simple as that, we should not be wasting our energy on digestion whilst we are sleeping. More over, it is most beneficial to have a bigger gap (intermittent fasting) in our day when our digestive system is to rest. 8. Anxiety = IBS Last but not least, looking after our mental health is perhaps the most important of tasks that we need in order to have a healthy digestion. I’ll talk about this more in detail another time. So these are only a few points that are in my opinion are just as (if not more) important than the quality of the food we eat. Thus if you are suffering with any digestive issues, you may find it beneficial to go through this list before you start cutting out your favourite foods. Of course Acupuncture is an amazing tool to help/reset the digestive system. So if you feel you need some additional support in that regard. Do not hesitate to get in touch. Happy Eating! WNT founder Jennie Duck considers how differently we interact with anniversaries of births and deaths and in the week of 'dying matters' shares what currently matters to her about death and dying. My son turns six in June – something generally agreed to be an exciting event, greeted with enthusiasm and joy (and, as parents, with utter awe that this person exists with a tinge of sadness that the stages he’s gone through are in the past now). It is a time for celebration; we tell people our birthdays and we enjoy marking them with cake and parties. Granted they might become a little less joyful if we are feeling resistance to aging, but they tend still to be a time we are cherished and celebrated.
In July it will be 5 years since my dad died and in February it was 4 years since my mum died. These dates loom very differently on my internal visual map of the 2022. While the anniversary of my son’s birth is a gentle peak, something with a very outward, yang energy, the anniversaries of my parents’ deaths are big craters with much more of an inward, yin energy. I describe these as ‘craters’ which sounds very negative, but I don’t feel like that. The crater-ish-ness is symbolic of the desire to retreat and go down into the grief, it is also a reminder of what the period around the deaths felt like. These were dark holes of time that have left their mark forever. But they are not something I ever want to avoid. They are there and my awareness of them is part of the landscape of my life now. These anniversaries change year to year. The first couple of years they hit extremely hard and involved a lot of reliving. I relived the week following my dad’s sudden death when we were absorbing the shock, whereas my mums rapid decline the week preceding her death was something I went through almost hour by hour the first two anniversaries. Now they are more mellow and I can’t always predict how it will pass. I do know, though, that it is vital to give them space, to allow for time and feeling the days leading up to it and sometimes beyond. I find it extraordinary how we interact with death in our society – or how we try and avoid interacting with death. There seems to be a sense that if we draw attention to anniversaries, it is reminding people of loss, of the pain of grief. But this loss and pain is always there, it doesn’t go away because we don’t talk about it or acknowledge it. For some people an anniversary might just feel like something that they need to get past, but for me it feels as vital as Christmas. It shapes the year, it helps me remember in a mind, body and spirit way that life is precious and fragile and cannot be taken for granted. This week is ‘dying matters’ week which draws important attention to the circumstances and environment of how we die and encourages conversations around death. It is easy to avoid putting attention towards our own death or that of anyone we love, be that practical or emotional attention. At the moment what matters to me about dying is that we remember it. That we remember it in our very act of living, that THIS is life, this is our existence, and it doesn’t go on forever. That we remember it in our relationships, that these people we rely on and share with and love so much will one day die. That thought that can be so crippling can also give us fire for living, an opportunity to savour who and what we have while we have it. And mostly, still in my relatively early years of grief experience, it matters that we remember the deaths of those that we have lost. That we remember their impact on our lives, how they shaped us and affected us. That we remember who they were in their lives, what they did with their time on earth and who they touched while they were around. And, finally, that we remember what we went through in losing them, how that moment rerouted our life path and changed us forever. If we can let ourselves remember this and really feel it then, perhaps, we can let ourselves really grieve, let go and really live. Acupuncturist and wholesome food enthusiast Philippa Summers shares some of the benefits and uses of bone broth and advises how to get a good batch going with insider tips and ideas to make it tasty and nutritious. I have always had an interest in cooking wholesome food for both enjoyment and health and am guided away from processed foods by choosing ingredients that ‘ran, swam, flew or grew’ in their most natural state. Like many people I have in recent years leant towards a more heavily plant-based diet with an emphasis on a wide variety of colourful fruit and veg, wholegrains and plant-based protein like lentils, pulses, beans and tofu. However, I do still eat fish and meat, buying far less but of higher quality, higher welfare - by trying to choose largely wild fish and meat that is free-range, grass fed, preferably organic - and using every last bit which brings me to the wonders of bone broth. It has been revered for its potent nutritional and medicinal properties by various cultures across the globe for thousands of years from ancient Greece, throughout Africa and Asia, to the infamous recuperative ‘Jewish Penicillin’. A South American proverb states ‘Bone Broth will resurrect the dead’. It had a reputation within Chinese Medicine stretching back over 2,500 years for its ability to support digestion and reproductive health – pre-conceptually for both men and women to support egg and sperm health, during pregnancy for mum and baby, and post birth to help mum rebuild her strength. Bone broth is packed with easy to digest gelantinous protein and amino acids from the collagen in cartilage, and minerals such as magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium from the bones, extracted by long slow cooking. Wide ranging potential health benefits include helping to support skin, bone and joint health, soothing gut issues like ulcerative colitis and leaky gut, supporting immune function, helping recovery from upper respiratory infections and it may also help to promote good sleep. The combination of skin, joint and sleep effects likely make it beneficial for women post menopause, a time when increasing protein and reducing carbs can be helpful. We can get a bit caught up about what’s in food and what it is good for. Sometimes it is good just to let go of that and enjoy the wholesomeness because you know in another more intuitive way that it is nourishing. For me bone broth is one of those things. A warm soothing elixir! It is delicious drunk on its own, makes a great base for soups and stews. For convenience you can buy bone broth ready-made, conveniently packaged and delivered frozen direct from the farm to your door but it is far cheaper and satisfying to make your own. It cooks for so long that it is more economical on fuel to cook up a big batch so I collect any chicken bones both raw and cooked in the freezer until I have a good supply, supplementing them with some chicken carcass bones from the butchers to fill a stock pot. Chicken Bone Stock Recipe This recipe uses chicken bones and cooks for 4-6 hours. You could make a fish version substituting the chicken for fish heads and bones usually discarded by the fishmonger so very cheap – use about 1kg per litre of water - and simmer for one hour. Strain through muslin to remove all bones. You’ll need a large stock pot with a tight fitting lid. Ingredients:
Method: Optional: Before making the stock you can roast the bones for an hour in the oven until they are golden for a richer flavour.
The effort will more than pay off for the ease with which you can prepare a tasty meal or quick warming drink that nourishes you deep to the bone. Enjoy! |
AuthorBlogs from the WNT team. For our blogs from before June 2020 please see individual profile pages - it's a good way to get to know practitioners too. Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|