Here is the information that I gleaned from my nutrition evening the other night. It is a little random, but I’ve picked out the things that I found interesting/helpful. I cannot guarantee that everything is right – I may have not remembered things correctly (owing to dehydrated brain).
TONGUES
Our tongues change from day to day, therefore we should regularly check them. They can give a fairly accurate account of what might be going on within our bodies. So many problems start in the gut and the tongue can quite often highlight what specific ailments we may have.
LONG AND LEAN:- Strong constitution, digestively. Won’t suffer from IBS.
TOO FAT FOR MOUTH:- If scalloped down the sides it means the tongue is swollen and getting scraped by the teeth owing to excess pressure. It means your liver is overloaded – too much sugar and/or alcohol. Too much rich food in general. You need to detox.
RED/PURPLE AT TIP:- You are under serious stress. You need a break or you are suffering from internal problems or have had an illness or an operation/anaesthetic. A red tip means that your adrenal glands are overloaded and if most of the tongue is red you need 2 months off. A purple tongue is not good. The nutritionist said the last person she saw with a purple tongue she sent immediately to a cardiologist and he had a heart attack 3 days later.
PALE WHITE COATING ON TONGUE:- Normal, especially towards the end of the day.
THICK COATING: Means you have an imbalance of bacteria in the large intestine. If it’s thick towards the back of the tongue you have a war between good and bad bacteria going on and may also have some bloating. You need to cut out fruits and sugars and go on an anti-candida diet (anything fermented).
CREVICE IN MIDDLE:- If you have a line down your tongue that is near the tip and deep it usually indicates a deficiency of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. If you are complaining of heartburn it might be that you need digestive enzymes with HCL in them, rather than need an antacid (interestingly the symptoms are the same for both too much and too little HCL in stomach).
BALD PATCHES:- Severe mineral deficiencies.
HYDRATION
Pick up the skin on the back of your hand. If it takes a while to drop back into place you are dehydrated (mine didn’t seem to ever go back down, which means I am dessicated). If you have subcutaneous spots at the back of your arms or thick/cracked skin on your heels or dry calves then you are dehydrated. If your skin is dehydrated then so is your brain and other internal organs. Apparently signs of memory loss or forgetfulness have more to do with brain dehydration than the ageing process.
If we are dehydrated then apparently we have a definite deficiency in essential fatty acids. Re-hydating the body is not just about adding water. We have 100 trillion cells in our bodies and every single one has a double layer – a phospholipid bi-layer, which is designed to keep good things in and act as a barrier to unwanted things. This layer is made up of essential fatty acids, which are vital for our bodies – Omega 3,6,9 etc are very relevant to women because breast tissue has a high concentration as does our brain (80%).
Apparently expensive creams don’t really help, you have to hydrate from within and that is why it is never recommended that you go on a fat free diet.
Fish is the richest source of Omega 3 oil, not only the larger oily fish, but also the small ones – anchovies, mackerel/sardines. NOT tuna too often though because more than any other fish they absorb quite high levels of mercury. Eat a variety of different sorts of white fish, but you need to eat the skin as well as the Omega oil is formed for insulation so it is found just under the skin as a fatty layer.
If also you use a combination of Coconut Oil (1 tsp) and Hemp seed oil (2 dessert spoons) every day you will get all the other important Omega oils (3,6,9,12,15). Apparently in 3 – 5 weeks if we do this our skin will be softer and our hair and nails better.
FLU
She advised that we were going to have quite a serious flu virus this winter and therefore anybody who is diabetic or asthmatic should get a flu injection. She talked about a specific homeopathic tincture that can help fight off the the virus as well as stomach bugs etc. She said she always travelled with it as it was an antiviral/bacterial/fungal tincture that would kill just about anything and consequently she never got ill whilst abroad.
CRAMP
Apparently cramp is a result of a magnesium deficiency. Why is it then that my parents always swear that copious amounts of salt works when they get cramp. You will be pleased to know that chocolate is rich in magnesium (but it has to be high cocoa, dark and no milk powder) as are green leafy vegetables and wholegrains – oats/barley/rye.
nikonfan
November 22, 2008Just 2 questions: who had the heart attack? The person with the purple tongue or the cardiologist and secondly: what was the flu tincture called please? Thanks.
Kitty
November 23, 2008What was the anti-flu tincture called? It’s always good to know.
I am in a ‘risk’ group, so have had the jab, but you never know …
A tip – if you or someone you know gets cramp, tell them to press the end of their thumb or index finger HARD up into the base of their nose, where the nose meets the bit that goes down to your mouth. I don’t know why it works, but it does.
I’m off to drink some water and look at my tongue ….
xx
Zed
November 23, 2008I feel very confused. I know why I get cramps, then there’s heart-burn which I remedy by a mouthful of Rennies – and my tongue. It’s strange.
Grit
November 23, 2008going to make a healthy cup of green tea right now and skip the glass of red wine.
family affairs
November 23, 2008zed – now I’m confused – is it your tongue that’s strange and if so why? and why do you get cramps? Lx
VG Grit, but it’s too boring to drink tea Lx
Kitty, will leave you a message on your blog re the homeopathic remedy Lx
Expat mum
November 23, 2008Yay – I don’t have the fat, scalloped alcoholic tongue. Mind you, I’ve been in bed all weekend with a throat thing and not a drop has passed my lips, so that may be why.
And the skin on the back of your hand thing. I’m afraid once you get over a certain age, it’s nothing to do with hydration and everything to do with being old and craggy.
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November 24, 2008now go back and read this again, but omit the heading ‘tongues’; takes on a whole new meaning…fnar fnar!…especially if you read it after ‘get better’ X
family affairs
November 25, 2008Oh “M” you’re right – that is how I got some sex spam!! Lx