Reflexology may reduce the intensity of migraines

The injury to a brian caused by stroke can lead to problems with talking, seeing, thinking, remembering, moving, eating, swallowing and more.  It's no wonder stroke is a leading cause of disability in adults worldwide. Here are some lifestyle tips to cut the risk of suffering a stroke:

1. Eat at least 3 to 5 services of fruit and vegatables a day - the more the better.
2. Exercise most days of the week.  Brisk walking for an hour a day five days a week can cut the risk of a stroke in half.
3. Maintain a health weight, and especially watch out for abdominal fat.
4. Limit alchol to no more than two drinks per day if you drink.
5. Eat more grains such as oats, quinoa and brown rice.
6. Eat more sources of good fats such as fatty fish, walnuts, flaxseed and chia seeds.
7. Destress - psychological stress is a known risk factor for stroke.

The small intestine is as wide as your thumb and around 5.5m long.  It is both a food blender and assimilator as it digests more of your food than your stomach.  Food stays in the small intestine  for 1 - 4 hours before moving on to the large intestine for further processing. Maintaing a healthy small intestine is all about controlling your bacteria levels and mucus build-up on your intestinal walls which can cause havoc and deplete your energy levels.  If you have bloating, gas and loose bowel movements you may have a small intestine issues such as:

• Candida
• IBS
• SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

1. Cut out imflammatory drugs e.g. asprin, paracetamol and avoid alchol.
2. Take L-glutamine and butyric acid both of these can help heal the gut, but check with a nutritionalist first as dosage is important.
3. Drink slippery elm tea which calms inflamation of the small intestine and helps relieve IBS.
4. Up your intake of vitamins A and D - liver is an excellent sourch of these vitamins which protect the mucus membrane of the gut.
5. Eat more antibacterial foods such as garlic, honey and sauerkraut which preven the growth of Candida, fungus and yeast infections.
6. Take oregano oil (Oregnano Vulgaris) which has been shown to stop Candidan in its tracks.
7. Take probiotics daily - look for a count of 50 billion or more in each dose.
8. Take prebiotics daily - to feed the probiotics.  Or eat food prebiotic foods such as sauerkraut or kimchi.
9. Go gluten free.  Cut out gluten for an entire week and keep a food diary to check if your symptoms improve.
10. Mimosa pudica an ayurvedic herb is brilliant at wiping out parasites.
11. Eat more ant-parasitics such as garlic, thyme, chilli, tumeric and ginger.

I said in a previous post that scientists are interested in finding out how massage works.  So if we accept that massage reduces muscle pain, that leaves the question, "How does massage reduce muscle pain?". In 1965, Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall outlined a scientific theory about psychological influence on pain perception; the ‘gate control theory’.  According to the gate control theory, pain signals are not free to reach the brain as soon as they are generated at the injured tissues or sites. They need to encounter certain ‘neurological gates’ at the spinal cord level and these gates determine whether the pain signals should reach the brain or not. In other words, pain is perceived when the gate gives way to the pain signals and it is less intense or not at all perceived when the gate closes for the signals to pass through. Cutaneous mechano-receptors are stimulated by touch (massage) and transmit information within large never fibres to the spinal cord.  These impulses block the passage of painful stimuli entering the same spinal segment along small, slowly conducting neurons. This theory gives the explanation for why someone finds relief by rubbing or massaging an injured or a painful area. For example, the pain gate theory explains "how"  a child feels better after mum or dad intuitively rub their knee when they have fallen over. In summary massage produces short term pain relief by being a particularly effective trigger for the pain gate process. References Melzack R, & Wall PD (1965). Pain mechanisms: a new theory. Science (New York, N.Y.), 150 (3699), 971-9  Moayedi M, & Davis KD (2013). Theories of pain: from specificity to gate control. Journal of neurophysiology, 109 (1), 5-12 Jacobs M. (1960) Massage for the relief of pain: anatomical and physiological considerations.  Physical Therapy Review, 40: 93-8 Melzack R, Wall PD. Pain mechanisms: a new theory. Science. 1965 Nov 19;150(3699):971–979. Wells PE, Frampton V, Bowsher D. (1988) Pain: Management and Control in Physiotherapy.  Heinemann Medical.  Chapter 13. Watson J. (1982) Pain mechanisms: a review.  1. Characteristics of the peripheral receptors.  Australian Journal of Physiotherapy.  27:135-43