Nikki Hawkes

Medical Herbalist

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autoimmune disease

Can a leaky gut make you ill?

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As a practitioner that uses functional medicine principles it is clear to me that to improve the health of someone with a complex, chronic condition, factors that contribute to the progression or the severity of that condition must be addressed. We might start by optimising lifestyle factors, such as diet, quality of sleep, type of exercise, stress management, and so on. But, how well someone digests their food has a key role in any functional medicine assessment, especially in relation to how gut health might be linked to overall health and vitality.

There are thousands of research studies that support the importance of good gut health. This article is about the findings of one of these studies, a 2018 systematic review about the association between a leaky gut and disease.

See What can go wrong with the digestive system?

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Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by bacteria

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Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic arthritic condition of the joints. Like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness, but these conditions are very different. While osteoarthritis is considered a disease of wear and tear, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. Which means that instead of protecting the body against an invader, the immune system turns on it’s own body tissues, in this case the joints, especially of the hands, feet and wrists.

In developed countries such as the UK, around 1% of the population may have rheumatoid arthritis. It is a condition that tends to run in families, and it affects around three times as many women as men.

Understanding the underlying causes and triggers for a condition like rheumatoid arthritis can help us understand how we might be able to prevent its occurrence or progression. So this is an important part of the research into rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Scientists searching for the cause of rheumatoid arthritis believe that bacteria play an important part. In particular, at least for rheumatoid arthritis, certain types of Proteus bacteria that can cause urinary tract infections have been implicated. [Read more…] about Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by bacteria

Which therapy – chronic pain and rheumatoid arthritis

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This is the second post in a series of posts about the potential benefits of complementary therapies for people living with chronic pain. In case you missed it, you can find the first post here.

This post focusses on research related to several complementary therapies and rheumatoid arthritis. As reported in a review article in the British Medical Journal.

Acupuncture and rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease of the joints, that involves chronic inflammation, deformity and chronic pain. People with rheumatoid arthritis usually take long term medication, such as NSAIDs and anti-rheumatics for pain, swelling and stiffness. These conventional treatments are associated with significant side effects and risks. [Read more…] about Which therapy – chronic pain and rheumatoid arthritis

Which therapies for chronic pain?

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Chronic pain is a leading reason that people will use complementary therapies. As an acupuncturist and medical herbalist people living with pain often seek my help. Commonly expressing a desire to reduce pain-relieving medications. Especially in relation to any side effects that they might experience. Yet, how can you choose a complementary therapy to help manage or relieve chronic pain? Is there any scientific evidence to help you decide? In fact, this 2017 review published in the British Medical Journal discusses just that. The available evidence for using certain complementary therapies for chronic pain conditions. I will aim to provide a summary of the review alongside some personal observations.

The review discusses rheumatoid arthritis, chronic low back pain, and chronic neck and shoulder pain. As this topic is huge, this post will form part of a series of posts. Starting with a discussion of what chronic pain is. Later posts will continue with the available findings from the review for different therapies. These include acupuncture, mind-body medicine, nutrition and fasting, herbal medicine and nutrients, and cupping.

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Topical herbal and natural treatments for psoriasis

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Psoriasis is the chronic skin condition that causes red and crusty patches of skin with silvery scales. These often occur on the elbows or knees but can appear anywhere on the body. This recent systematic review in the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology discusses natural treatments for psoriasis. Here, I summarise the findings for some of the remedies in the review.

Aloe vera

Aloe vera gel is often used for inflammatory skin conditions, including psoriasis. It has superb wound healing and anti-inflammatory properties.

I have written previously about Aloe vera here and here.

Avocado oil

A combination product of avocado oil with vitamin B12 showed similar symptomatic improvement to calcipotriol for psoriasis after 12 weeks. Skin levels of vitamin B12 is lower than normal in psoriatic skin, and even in apparently healthy skin of psoriasis patients. Participants said the avocado oil and B12 combination was more tolerable than the calcipotriol treatment. Though some people did report some local itching from the B12 avocado ointment. [Read more…] about Topical herbal and natural treatments for psoriasis

Inflammatory bowel disease and the exposome

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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not the same as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The inflammatory bowel diseases are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. These are autoimmune conditions of the digestive tract.  That have chronic gut inflammation in common.

Though not all researchers agree on their cause. We do know that genes may affect the risk of developing autoimmune disease. Yet, it is clear that this is not the full story. The environment also has an impact on who develops these conditions.

In a recent review researchers discuss this further. Outlining evidence that environmental factors, or the exposome, affects inflammatory bowel disease. Where the exposome refers to all possible environmental exposures on a human being from conception to death. 

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What is autoimmune disease?

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Our immune system is a complex and intricate system that our health relies on. It is comprised of several different types of cells and substances. These work together to defend our body against infections and illnesses. From an early age our immune system learns the difference between which cells are “us” and which are not. When the immune system detects something foreign in the body it attacks and destroys it.  But sometimes our immune system mistakes our own cells for foreign material. This results in the destruction of our own cells and leads to autoimmune disease. But what is autoimmune disease? Why does it happen? And is there anything we can do about it? [Read more…] about What is autoimmune disease?