All posts by cytoffice

Young attractive couple shopping at a farmers market for organic fruit and vegetables to support their liver health.

Natural ways to support your liver health

The liver is a highly metabolic organ with a range of functions which are essential for digestive health, hormone regulation as well as the detoxification and excretion of waste products. If the liver is under stress, it can contribute to multiple symptoms associated with excess toxicity, hormone dysregulation and digestive dysfunction. Hence, poor liver health is a major contributor to chronic disease and is associated with a decline in wellbeing.

The liver is also an essential regulator of blood glucose, cholesterol and clotting factors therefore, liver health has a significant influence on cardiovascular function. It is also intrinsically linked to the digestive system; waste products are excreted from the liver to the digestive system via the bile and absorption of products from the digestive system are transported to the liver for filtration. This filtration process protects multiple bodily systems, including the immune system by modifying the content of infectious agents in the bloodstream.

It is important to consider that the liver must be resilient to oxidative damage, stress and inflammation, to protect and support its optimal function. In this week’s blog we will look at the detoxification processes of the liver, dysfunction which contributes to poor liver health and associated conditions, and at how to support liver function.

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Adrenal health and fatigue. Attractive woman sat crossed legged on her bed in her home stretching whilst waking up.

Adrenal health: could tired adrenals be the cause of your fatigue?

In the UK, unexplained tiredness is one of the leading causes for people to visit their GP1. A recent YouGov survey found that around 13% of Britons feel constantly exhausted – a phenomenon so common that it has its own acronym: TATT (tired all the time). A further 25% report feeling exhausted most of the time, and 33% suffer with tiredness around half the time, which can have a huge impact on all aspects of their life.2

Once a specific cause such as anaemia or thyroid function has been ruled out, individuals are often advised to consider more sleep and to increase their exercise to improve energy levels, but what if your fatigue is not relieved by sleep, and exercise makes you feel even more tired? What if your exhaustion is coupled by an inability to cope with daily stressors and increased feelings of anxiety or brain fog?

While still a controversial topic in medical practice, a steep rise in the above symptoms has led many integrative practitioners to look to adrenal health for an answer, in a condition coined ‘adrenal fatigue’.

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Close up of a beautiful women with healthy teeth free from dental disease.

Diet, nutrition and dental disease

The mouth is often considered the terrain of the dentist, with the oral cavity being treated in isolation from the rest of the body, and often separately from the ‘rest of medicine’.

The mouth, however, IS attached to the rest of the body, and it is not a case of ‘what happens in the mouth, stays in the mouth’. On the contrary, what happens in the mouth can often be a sure sign of what is happening in the rest of the body.

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Young woman staying centred as she stands on one leg, arms spread wide.

Staying centred in a challenging word

Supporting others, in achieving their best life, has been a passion of mine for many years now.

What constitutes a successful life is of course unique to each of us.  However, one thing I believe we all have in common – a healthy body and mind is the foundation for enabling our choices.

To maintain, or set a path, to our desired life shape with wellbeing as our companion, is a combination that I personally strive to live and breathe by, and the ethos behind much of the work I do.

I am of course not immune to the fact that striking a balance between the two is not the easiest of endeavours.  In fact, I often joke that the reason I do what I do is that I am naturally rubbish at it!

So why a blog about staying centred in a challenging world, from someone who is innately flawed at achieving it?

Quite simply, I think we all need to regularly shine a light on ourselves and our health, at the best of times.  Right now, I think we need to do this more than ever.

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Attractive man, sit having a rest from hiking. White willow bark can help with delayed onset muscle soreness.

White willow bark – uses and therapeutic benefits

White willow bark is harvested from the dried bark of young branches or twigs of the  trees, usually in early spring or autumn. It belongs to the willow family1. Historical records show that white willow bark has been used for thousands of years in ancient China, Egypt, Greece and South Asia, to relieve headaches, reduce fever, lessen muscle ache and pain and to support various other illnesses.2 Indeed, anecdotal accounts of willow bark extract being used as a medicine have occurred since written records began, in the time of Hippocrates (400BC) when physicians advised their patients to chew the bark to reduce fever and inflammation.3

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Headshot of pretty young woman against a blue sky. Clearing her brain fog.

Brain fog: causes and helpful interventions

Brain fog is a common issue in clinic with many clients reporting poor memory and concentration, fatigue and an inability to focus. Although it may seem trivial to some it can have debilitating effect on work, family and social life and it is also an indication of impaired cognition.

Brain fog may be an early warning that cognitive function is under stress, and it is associated with conditions including depression anxiety and dementia. Therefore, it is important to identify the drivers, understand the physiological processes involved, and implement interventions to support mental clarity and optimal cognition.

In this blog we look at factors which contribute to brain fog as well as associated conditions, highlighting the most appropriate interventions for individuals.

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