Nutritional therapy helps people to improve and maintain their health and sense of well-being through advice on diet and nutrition. Better nutrition helps the body heal itself more quickly and helps prevent disease processes getting started in the first place. if you would like more information please feel free to contact our Nutritional Therapists using the form above.

What is Allergic Rhinitis:

Allergic rhinitis is the inflammatory response by the immune system to particles and substances such as pollen or dust.  This immune reaction is normal in cases of harmful substances like bacteria or viruses. However, in allergic rhinitis, the immune system is over stimulated and not able to modify its reaction to harmless particles like pollen, dust or pet dander.

Symptoms of allergic rhinitis include:

• Congested, runny nose
• Sneezing
• Red, itchy, and watery eyes
• Itchy mouth, throat, ears, and face
• Cough
• Headaches, with pain or pressure
• Fatigue

There are two types of allergic rhinitis.  The first one is perennial (year round) which is caused by indoor allergens such as dust, pet dander and mold.  The second type of allergic rhinitis is seasonal, also called hay fever, and is attributed to outdoor allergens such as pollens and spores.  Allergic rhinitis is extremely common and occurs in 1 in 5 people.

Naturopathic Nutritional Therapies for Allergic Rhinitis Symptoms:

Reduce exposure to allergens.

The first line of defense against allergic rhinitis is to reduce exposure to allergens.

Suggestions to reduce environmental exposure are as follows:

For perennial allergic rhinitis:

• Remove carpet and install tile or hardwood floors.
• Cover pillows and beds with allergen-proof covers.
• Wash bedding in hot water once a week.
• Use an air purifier/filter to remove dust and pet dander or a dehumidifier to clear mould.

For seasonal allergic rhinitis/ hay fever

• Close windows.
• Do not hang laundry outside to dry.
• Use an air purifier/filter.

To reduce inhalation of allergens:

• Apply bees wax balm around the nose to inhibit particles from entering the nose.

Support your immune system

By supporting your immune system to regulate the histamine response to harmless elements, you may reduce allergic rhinitis symptoms.

• Reduce inflammatory foods such as dairy, sugar and processed foods.  By reducing these foods, you may reduce hay fever and rhinitis symptoms.

• Eat quercetin containing foods.

Quercetin, a plant flavanoid, has been found to inhibit the production and release of histamines.

Foods containing quercetin are apples, red onions, berries, and brassica vegetables which include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and green tea.

• Eat foods high in Vitamin C containing foods and include quality supplementation.

o  Vitamin C has an immune supporting action in the body.

o  Foods containing Vitamin C are berries, citrus fruit, red pepper, melon, and brassica vegetables

o  Supplementation of 2,000mg/day has been found to be beneficial in combating allergic rhinitis/hay fever.

• Use herbs that support and modulate the immune system.

o  Elder flower (Sambucus nigra) has an anti-catarrh and anti-inflammatory action particularly in the upper respiratory tract.

o  Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) may reduce symptoms.

These herbs can be prepared and consumed as tea.

Consult a qualified practitioner before using herbs if taking any medications or if being treated medically for chronic conditions.

By reducing your environmental exposure and by supporting your body to regulate its immune response, you may find relief naturally from your allergic rhinitis/hay fever symptoms.

It may take additional investigation to determine the root cause to the immune system™s over reaction to harmless particles.  Whether it is connected to things such as digestive problems, food intolerances or other underlying issues, the root cause can be explored through Naturopathic Nutritional consultations with Erin McCann.

References

Hoffman, D., 2003. Medical Herbalism, The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press.

Kompauer, I.,  Heinrich, J. , Wolfram, G. ,Linseisen, J., 2006.  Association of carotenoids, tocopherols, and vitamin C in plasma with allergic rhinitis and allergic sensitisation in adults.  Public Health Nutrition. [Online] June 9(4), p. 472-479.  Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16870019

Oseiki, H. , 2008. The Physician’s Handbook to Clinical Nutrition, 7^th Edition. Australia: AG Publishing.

Podoshin, L., Gertner, R., Fradis, M., 1991. Treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis with ascorbic acid solution.  Ear, Nose and Throat Journal. [Online] January 70(1), p. 54-55. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2065622

University of Maryland Medical Center, 2009. Allergic Rhinitis. [Online] Avaliable at: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/allergic-rhinitis-000003.htm

• Naturopathy
• Erin McCann ND Dip CNM mBant
• Rosacea and Naturopathic and Nutritional Therapies by Erin McCann
• The Naturopathic Nutritional Approach to Reducing Allergic Rhinitis and Hay Fever. The Naturopathic Nutritional Approach to Reducing Allergic Rhinitis and Hay Fever.

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder affecting the face, specifically the areas around the cheeks, nose, chin and forehead. Rosacea is characterized by persistent redness or flushing, blood vessel dilation, papules and pustules. Other symptoms of rosacea may include dry, burning or stinging skin, nodules, enlargement of the nose, or even inflammation of the angles of the eyes. Suffers have also reported that the condition affects their self esteem and self confidence leading to avoiding social and professional interactions. This implies that rosacea is not just an inflammatory condition of the skin, but a condition that affects the whole person  emotionally, mentally, physically, and professionally.

Conventional treatment is focused on controlling the symptoms rather than curing the disorder. Oral antibiotics and topical steroids are used to reduce skin inflammation.

Naturopathic and nutritional therapies may be effective in treating the root causes of rosacea and in reducing symptoms. Suggestions for treating and managing rosacea naturopathically are:

• Avoiding triggers to keeping the symptoms to a minimum. Common triggers detailed by the National Rosacea Association are:

o  Weather and temperature related – sun exposure, extreme cold, hot baths

o  Heavy exercise

o  Emotional stress

o  Alcohol

o  Spicy food and thermally hot drinks/food

o  Food sensitivity  citrus, yeast products, dairy

o  Vasodialating medications or topical steroids

o  Skin care products or cosmetics

• Identifying and addressing food intolerances or allergies to reduce histamines and systemic inflammation.  Actions include:

o  Testing for food intolerances or allergies.

o  Eliminating problematic foods such as wheat and dairy.

• Determining if low levels of gastro hydrochloric acid (HCl) are leading to undigested proteins being released into the intestine and causing intestinal and systemic inflammation. Actions include:

o  Reducing stress which affect digestive secretion output.

o  Eating bitter foods and using nutrient supplementation may improve the body’s production of HCl and therefore reduce inflammation.

o  Using nutrients, such as L-glutamine, to repair the intestinal lining while repopulating with beneficial bacteria, may assist in reducing intestinal and systemic inflammation.

• Improving elimination of toxins through the colon and skin may reduce rosacea inflammation. Actions include:

o Consuming more fibre and water

o  Using therapies such as colon hydrotherapy or massage.

o  Performing skin brushing before showers and baths.  may reduce rosacea symptoms.

• Identifying and dealing with stress or emotional triggers to rosacea.  Actions include:

o  Relaxation techniques  meditation, massage.

o  Counselling or group therapies

• Using paraben free, natural, anti-microbial products to avoid reactions to chemicals in products.

By applying a complementary approach to treatment, rosacea sufferers may find lasting relief from an enigmatic, conspicuous condition that is more than skin deep.

• Erin McCann ND Dip CNM mBant
• Rosacea and Naturopathic and Nutritional Therapies by Erin McCann
• The Naturopathic Nutritional Approach to Reducing Allergic Rhinitis and Hay Fever. The Naturopathic Nutritional Approach to Reducing Allergic Rhinitis and Hay Fever.

£130.00 for 60 minutes initial consultation, an eating plan, comprehensive notes and explanations, menu suggestions  and recipes, 6 weeks of email and telephone support while you adjust to your new plan and a 45 minutes follow-up consultation at the 6 weeks mark to move you forward into the next phase.

To book an appointment call Chelsea Natural Health Clinic on 0207 352 3087, or feel free to contact Halina using the form if you would like more information.

• Nutritional Therapy
• Halina Osinski High
• Hair Mineral Testing
• New Nutrutional Therapy Package from Halina Osinski - High
• Special Christmas Gift Voucher from Halina Osinski High.

In order to take full responsibility for our own health and well-being, we need to accept the premise that optimum health is greatly determined, by what we eat and drink.

Although heart disease and cancer were rare a hundred years ago (even in old age), today these diseases are common, despite enormous sums of money being invested in research, diagnostic techniques and surgery.

Most of us know someone who suffers from illness and disease such as arthritis, diabetes, obesity, allergies, IBS or depression. The question to ask is: Why, when we’ve had such huge advances in science and technology, do we seem so much less healthy.

Are we all highly overfed but perhaps undernourished?

Nutritional Therapy aims to help individuals and families invest in their health by improving not only their diet but also their understanding of food and the human body, based on current published research.

Whilst science may have forged ahead at an exponential rate, the evolution of man is in comparison, extremely slow.  Our bodies have not had enough time to adjust to the enormous changes in our food production and processing techniques.

The Consultation

Before your consultation you are requested to complete a comprehensive questionnaire and to keep a food and drink diary for 3 days.  At the first appointment, we will discuss your questionnaire, your medical history and your current health concerns in depth and look at how your diet (and lifestyle) might be contributing to your symptoms.  We will then devise a plan of action together; with goals for change that are both achievable and practical.

It may be useful to do further investigations through your GP, or tests looking at saliva, blood or stool samples can be arranged during your appointment with me.

The payment for your initial consultation  includes:

- 1 hour first consultation,
- an eating plan,
- comprehensive notes and explanations,
- menu suggestions  and recipes,
- 6 weeks of email and telephone support while you adjust to your  programme,
- a 45 minutes follow-up consultation at the 6 weeks mark; to move you forward into the next phase.

It is recognised that changing habits can be a difficult process, particularly when it must fit around busy work and home-life schedules.

About Halina

Halina graduated from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London, in 2005.  Her ongoing professional development has included workshops on obesity, diabetes, children’s health, immune dysfunction and digestive disorders.  She is a member of The British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT) http://www.bant.org.uk/and is accredited by the Nutrition Therapy Council. http://www.nutritionaltherapycouncil.org.uk/

Halina’s early life includes many years as chef working in fine-dining.  This, along with being a mother ensures she is well qualified to enhance your interest in good food, with minimal processing but maximum flavour, which can be incorporated into busy lifestyles.

Philosophy

Halina follows the premise that our diet today should be based on (for the most part) the same foods that we have been eating for hundreds of years; along the line of the Palaeolithic Diet:

It should include quality reared grass fed meats and poultry and their fats (unless of course you are vegetarian for philosophical reasons), fresh fish, free range eggs, properly prepared nuts, seeds, grains and legumes, a wide variety of colourful vegetables, seasonal fruit, fresh water, fermented foods such as yoghurt and kefir and as little processed food as possible.

Many studies have shown just how many health benefits are available when simple, less processed diets are followed: http://www.drbriffa.com/2007/07/04/primal-diet-outperforms-mediterranean-eating-in-study/

Halina is also a passionate advocate of Wise Traditions, the organisation based on the research of Dr Weston A Price, whose studies of isolated non-industrialised peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. http://www.westonaprice.org/home-mainmenu-1.html

CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL DIETS

1. The diets of healthy, nonindustrialised peoples contain no refined or denatured foods or ingredients, such as refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup; white flour; canned foods; pasteurised, homogenised, skim or low fat milk; refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils; protein powders; or toxic additives and colourings.

2. All traditional cultures consume some sort of animal food, such as fish and shellfish; land and water fowl; land and sea mammals; eggs; milk and milk products; reptiles; and insects. The whole animal is consumed — muscle meat, organs, bones and fat, with the organ meats and fats preferred.

3. The diets of healthy, nonindustrialised peoples contain at least four times the minerals and water-soluble vitamins, and TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins found in animal fats (vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin K2) – as the average Western diet.

4. All traditional cultures cooked some of their food but all consumed a portion of their animal foods raw.

5. Primitive and traditional diets have a high content of food enzymes and beneficial bacteria from lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, dairy products, meats and condiments.

6. Seeds, grains and nuts are soaked, sprouted, fermented or naturally leavened to neutralise naturally occurring anti-nutrients such as enzyme inhibitors, tannins and phytic acid.

7. Total fat content of traditional diets varies from 30 percent to 80 percent of calories but only about 4 percent of calories come from polyunsaturated oils naturally occurring in grains, legumes, nuts, fish, animal fats and vegetables. The balance of fat calories is in the form of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.

8. Traditional diets contain nearly equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids.

9. All traditional diets contain some salt.

10. All traditional cultures make use of animal bones, usually in the form of gelatin-rich bone broths.

11. Traditional cultures make provisions for the health of future generations by providing special nutrient-rich animal foods for parents-to-be, pregnant women and growing children; by proper spacing of children; and by teaching the principles of right diet to the young.

• Nutritional Therapy
• Halina Osinski High
• Hair Mineral Testing
• New Nutrutional Therapy Package from Halina Osinski - High
• Special Christmas Gift Voucher from Halina Osinski High.

What is Hair Mineral Analysis (HMA)?

HMA is an analytical test that reveals the mineral composition of the hair. It is becoming increasingly used in the field of preventative health care. Interpreted correctly, the analysis may provide indications of mineral imbalances and toxic metals.

Why use hair?

Hair is ideal for mineral testing as it contains all the minerals present in your body. Unlike blood, it can be sampled easily and it is simple to transport.

When it reaches the skin’s surface, the hair’s outer layers harden and lock in a blueprint of the nutritional metabolic activity during the past 1-2 months. A properly obtained sample indicates your body’s mineral levels and your accumulation of toxic metals. You can detect what the levels are right now and see how the levels have changed during the last month or two. A blood test cannot do this.

What can cause a mineral imbalance?

The principal contributory factors are:

Data may be affected by the individual’s lifestyle, personal activities, diet, medication, environment and hygiene for example.

You should also be aware of the potential influence of the following:

Published research relating to Hair Mineral Testing:

Increased Release of Toxins Into The Environment

In 2005 approximately four billion pounds of chemicals were released by industry in the United States. According to the EPA, chemical releases have increased by 117 million pounds over the past year.Lead compounds alone amounted to about 469 million pounds, while mercury was approximately 4.4 million pounds. Sci.News. 171, 2007.

Aluminum Induced Cholestasis Reduced By Vitamin E

Aluminum is known to reduce bile secretions by impairing hepatocellular transporters. Investigations on animals were carried out to determine if the aluminum-induced reduction in bile flow was related to oxidative stress. It was found that aluminum increased lipid peroxidation by fifty percent, reduced liver glutathione by forty-three percent, catalase by eighty-three percent and glutathione peroxidase activity by fifty percent. Vitamin E supplementation reduced these adverse effects significantly, as well as increased bile flow and contributed to an increase in aluminum removal. Gonzalez, MA, et al. Involvement of Oxidative Stress in the Impairment in Biliary Secretory Function Induced by Intraperitoneal Administration of Aluminum to Rats. Biol.Trace Elem.Res. 116, 2007.

Mercury and Heart Disease

Numerous studies over the last decade have shown the potential of the harmful effects of mercury on cardiovascular disease (CVD). A study following a group of men over a period of thirteen years found that for each microgram of mercury found in the hair the risk of acute coronary events increased by an average of eleven percent, and CVD death by ten percent. The mechanism for increased susceptibility is associated with the interaction of mercury and selenium, reducing the free radical scavenging effects of glutathione enzymes.  Selenium protects the body from adverse affects of mercury. When mercury enters the body it is bound by selenium forming a mercury selenide complex. However, in those cases of high exposure to mercury, selenium will be required in greater amount in order to bind the mercury. As a result, selenium bioavailability will be reduced, thereby allowing increased free radical activity, which can promote cardiovascular disease, cancer and other related health conditions.

Virtanen, JK, et al. Mercury as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. J..Nutri.Biochem. 18, 2007.

If you are a new client of Halina’s you will be required to download a questionnaire (please click the link below) and return it to her by e-mail or by post (details are on the form).

DOWNLOAD FORMS

For further questions please contact Halina using the form above.#

• Nutritional Therapy
• Halina Osinski High
• Hair Mineral Testing
• New Nutrutional Therapy Package from Halina Osinski - High
• Special Christmas Gift Voucher from Halina Osinski High.

Nutritional therapy helps people to improve and maintain their health and sense of well-being through advice on diet and nutrition. Better nutrition helps the body heal itself more quickly and helps prevent disease processes getting started in the first place.

If you are a new client of Halina’s you will be required to download a questionnaire (please click the link below) and return it to her by e-mail or by post (details are on the form).

DOWNLOAD FORMS

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• New Nutrutional Therapy Package from Halina Osinski - High