I have spoken before of my struggle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and depression during the early 1990s. During that time, I tried every natural remedy and treatment under the sun in my quest to heal, and that was when I came across colon hydrotherapy and experienced my ‘light bulb moment’ to train in the practice and help others to heal ‘from the inside out’.
Taking supplements and having treatments have been part of my journey to stay physically and mentally fit and healthy ever since. I now can’t envisage a time in my life when I wouldn’t take supplements or have massages, acupuncture, reflexology, and colon hydrotherapy, as well as periodically fasting.
I appreciate that choosing to live your life this way doesn’t come cheap, but over the years, I have gone without holidays abroad, a new car, updating the house and so on, in order to maintain my health and wellbeing. After all, to quote the master poet Virgil, ”The greatest wealth is health.” (Rome, c.50 BC).
How paradoxical then, 2000+ years later, it seems to be for the ‘developed’ world that wealth is the main pursuit, with health on the backburner while many struggle to earn money.
How do I start to prioritise my health?
I’d certainly say that taking care of my health has led me to lead a more ‘wealthy’ life – and wealth for me includes being fit and healthy, and having the raw energy to carry me through my week. I’m sure you’d agree you can’t put a price on that!
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle demands consistent habits and a disciplined life. There are various good habits that I try to adopt like exercising regularly to maintain my physical fitness. This also affects my mental health, as my confidence is automatically boosted.
When you feel great, you are able to wake up every day and do the things you need and want to do. If you’re feeling sick, dealing with chronic illness, addiction or pain, you cannot do these things.
In short, health is never something to be taken for granted, and absolutely should be one of our top priorities in life. All the riches in the world will do you no good if there is an absence of a healthy lifestyle.
How do I know which supplements to take?
I do realise that many of you may feel a little bit lost when it comes to deciding which supplement protocol is best for you. Perhaps you have ‘dabbled’ for a few months and then stopped, perhaps you haven’t really felt the benefits of supplementation.
Either way, I understand that making a full commitment to taking them for life is a leap of faith. And it can be overwhelming when you try to figure out which supplements you need.
There are so many options that sound great, but there are also so many questions: Which ones really work? Exactly how effective are they? Are they worth the money? How long should I take them? What about the quality? And so on…
The marketplace is a minefield, flooded with thousands of different supplements, some good, some bad, and some downright ugly. My working class upbringing loathes waste and my sense of fairness is rattled when people hand over their hard earned cash for supplements that, at best, may not be suitable, and at worst, may be full of unsuitable ingredients.
Over the years, thousands of people have consulted me, having been taking a cocktail of supplements, spending hundreds of pounds every month, and feeling no better.
In these cases, I dig deep, I ask lots of questions, I ask for history.
When did their symptoms start? What do they think triggered the symptoms? Are symptoms worse in morning or evening? Are they worse after food? Does stress affect symptoms? I ask how old they are, what prescription meds they are they taking, if there has even been a period when they had to take multiple courses of antibiotics, e.g., for suspected UTIs or acne, or if they have they ever had food poisoning.
Some of my questions are met with puzzled responses, such as ‘What has food poisoning got to do with my IBS?’ or ‘What have antibiotics got to do with my constipation?’ or ‘Why does my taking antibiotics whilst breastfeeding cause my baby to have diarrhoea?’
But these are important parts of the puzzle.
When I have all the pieces in place, I can recommend a supplement protocol that will help bring about a positive change. And once we have found the right combination of supplements, I usually do not need to see them again.
Do I need to take supplements everyday?
A common question I receive in regards to taking my Live Bacteria probiotics is whether it is OK to take them every day. Whilst there may be a few exceptions to this rule, the general answer is yes, it’s safe, and often recommended to take them daily.
Many people (including my whole family and I) choose to take probiotics every day, whilst some might just use them periodically or whenever they feel that they need a little support.
Whichever way you find works best for you, it is worth remembering that many factors can negatively affect the probiotic colonies in our gut. So, whilst you might think that once you have established good gut flora that it can then be left to its own devices, in reality our lifestyles are now so challenging for our gut microbiome that many of us need to nurture it on an ongoing basis.
If it were left to me, probiotics would be added to our water supplies so that everyone had a daily top-up.
Antibiotics do not differentiate between the good and bad bacteria in our guts, and therefore negatively impact on our probiotic colonies, but we often do not look at all the different sources of antibiotics in our food chain.
Not only are we exposed to antibiotics when we take them ourselves, but we are exposed to low levels all the time if we eat non-organic meat and dairy produce. These can have a similarly negative impact on our gut flora.
Other factors that deplete our flora include over-consumption of sugar, contraceptive pills, HRT medication and stress. With all of these things in mind, it is easy to see why a daily top-up of probiotics might be a good idea for many people.
Will I feel the benefits straight away?
I sometimes get enquiries from people who start to take my supplements and experience headaches, tiredness, loose stools, skin outbreaks, and they wonder why, and if this is normal.
I explain that once you begin taking supplements that help to cleanse the digestive system and gut, the body can go into clearing mode, mobilising ‘toxins’, and these toxins can be expressed in different ways. The side effects of clearing need to be welcomed, as they are an indication that some ‘housekeeping’ needs to be done.
Very often such symptoms can manifest when the released toxins are unable to be eliminated, so avoiding constipation at all costs is very important, which is why it’s worth considering colon hydrotherapy treatment at this time.
The majority of supplements are very safe, but the important thing is to get them from a trusted source, recommended if possible, and vegan, wherever possible (I do prefer an Omega 3 taken as a fish oil though and not a plant-based one) as, in my experience, I’ve found these more effective.
My Just For Tummies supplements are made to strict Medicines Health Regulatory Agency (MHRA) guidelines and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines.
Here are a few more reasons to give the Just For Tummies range a try, if you haven’t already:
- We are the only supplement company in the UK dedicated to improving digestive, gut and immune health with a targeted range of supplements. Check out the range here.
- We are the only supplement company whose range has been developed by a natural health therapist with over 28 years experience and who specialises in natural protocols to resolve common digestive and gut disorders.
- We offer free expert advice on which supplement/s a person needs, based on their symptoms, with ongoing free support. Email us at feelgood@justfortummies.co.uk to get started.
- We have a very active, supportive, online community in our Facebook group. It’s open to everyone and you can join us here.
