Health & Wellbeing

Health & Wellbeing Bottoms up! A way to use coffee to perk you up

Coffee, for me is one of the hardest things to give up during a detox. It is not just the coffee itself, but the routine of making it; the smell and then the hit from drinking it. Plus, giving it up can make you feel awful with a splitting headache and aching muscles. Obviously the more you drink, the more severe the symptoms. Naturopathically, we have been told that coffee should not be drunk at all as it is so bad for us. Drinking too much may contribute to osteoporosis as it can stop calcium absorption in your bones. It can cause a temporary rise in blood pressure, confusion, diarrhoea and nausea. Your body cannot store excess caffeine, so getting rid of it puts a strain on your liver and kidneys and increases urination which can lead to bladder instability. It can also contribute to insomnia and anxiety. How depressing! However it is a very powerful herb and can do a lot of good. Not only can it be used for asthma, as it a potent bronchodilator, but it can also be excellent for detoxing the liver and cleaning the blood. But you need to put it up your bottom! I can hear gasps of horror and repulsion, particularly from my family where the very idea is abhorrent. It is a very controversial subject with some people swearing by it and others saying it is very unsafe. Whatever, it is not recommended without prior consultation with either a naturopath or health professional. The reported benefits of having a coffee enema are that coffee will travel through the colon wall into blood vessels that transport blood from the intestines to the liver. This is called the portal system and avoids the digestive tract. There it stimulates the liver to dump bile by dilating the bile ducts and promoting glutathione, a very important antioxidant and detoxification pathway. Together this helps the liver to rid itself of toxins. It also removes excess fermentation from the caecum, part of your large intestine and stimulates peristalsis (contracting of longitudinal and circular muscles) across the transverse colon. It can help with constipation and people have reported feeling lighter and brighter and energised after having had one. 4.5 litres of blood pass through your liver every 2.5 minutes, so if you can hold the coffee enema for 15 minutes the blood will have a thoroughly good clean. Being British, we rather giggle and shy away from anything to do with our bottoms, but many cultures swear by enemas for cleansing and detoxing the system. I however am British, so would rather my coffee in a cup!

Fiona Chapman is studying naturopathy and herbal medicine at the College of Naturopathic Medicine A walk around... with retired Dorset rights of way officer Chris Slade

HALSTOCK

Halstock is on the western edge of the Vale. The locals are very proud of their Saint: Juthware. She was decapitated by her stepbrother and carried her own head to the church and placed it on the altar! There’s space to park near the village hall. Head north, crossing the stream, and you’ll soon be at the church, which is worth visiting. Then carry on up the road for a mile, climbing Abbot’s Hill. At the top of the hill is a pond, which is on the border with Winterset, so go no further but turn back and enjoy the wide views over the Vale as you descend. At the foot of the hill, by a stream, turn left, north-east, and continue for half a mile until you come to a T junction. If you’re interested in watching aquatic birds, turn left and you’ll soon come to the Sutton Bingham Reservoir where there’s a bird watchers’ hide next to the road. Otherwise, turn right and head south for a while back to the village, passing a road sign with a picture of Juthware and the former village pub, now a B&B, the Quiet Woman. Turn right and you’ll soon be back at your car. Now you have the choice of walking or driving west for a couple of miles through Lower Halstock Leigh to Higher Halstock Leigh near which, to the south, is the Bracketts Coppice Nature Reserve. There are a couple of entrances, the first up a track to the left of the road, the second further along and up a road to the left past an industrial unit. The Coppice is worth taking time to explore, maybe on another visit as it’s quite large. There are some lovely longhorn cattle grazing there. 45

Health & Wellbeing Try not to stress over remote learning

Since the first lockdown there has been a visible difference in what schools across the country have been able to offer. Whilst some schools have been able to set up a workable programme from the get-go, others are still struggling. There are many reasons why this is the case and clearly this is unfair. I think we have reached a point in this lockdown where reality has sunk a little deeper – this is what is going to define our lives for some time. A language teacher at a secondary school in Somerset commented: “We can’t support our pupils as much as we would like to. We know parents often feel their children are not getting enough interaction or support in lessons. “Then there is the uncertainty of exams.” But looking at how teenagers are coping as far as social interaction with their friends and how their social development is being affected, she was very clear. “Don’t forget,” she said, “they will have learned about making friends, communicating, bridge building and sorting out arguments with friends in their primary years. They won’t lose those skills – they will still be there when they hit the big wide world again.” I also spoke to a primary school teacher. She is adamant that, for this age group, parents’ concerns about children being left behind are understandable but not necessary. She recommends a Montessori style of learning for young children, incorporating everyday life into learning. Sorting out vegetables into different colours or number groups. Making their beds. Planting seeds to grow on a windowsill. Online tools such as BBC Bitesize are also helpful –but for younger children she made a plea to keep them off screens as much and as often as your own situation allows. My secondary school teacher in Somerset told me whilst they are missing out on school-taught soft skills such as learning or social boundaries and work ethics, they are learning independence, to think ahead and self-sufficiency. They are learning to work from different remote platforms. So it’s not all bad. Everyone I spoke to had one piece of advice in common. Encourage your child to keep reading and talking. Reading will compliment and enrich all their other learning. Even at a very early stage reading a book together and talking about it afterwards. Consider your own behaviour patterns. Your time management and communication. Children thrive on support and structure. There WILL be life skills they are learning that they would not have learned in school. They WILL recover and they WILL be looking to us and following what we do. Alice Johnsen is a life coach based just outside Sherborne. 07961 080513 alicejohnsen.co.uk

Looking after your mental health as important as physical

Our newest columnist is psychotherapist David Stanton, who lives near Sherborne.

This pandemic has taken its toll in lots of ways on many of us –including our mental health. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s been traumatising, in one way or another, for all. I certainly believe it’ll be remembered in history and the consequences to both our mental and physical health will be felt for generations. I’ve been working in mental health for 40 years; in many countries and cultures around the world. I’m an international senior psychotherapist, mental health consultant, clinical supervisor and trainer of other professionals in this area of health and wellness. I have a private practice and travel extensively; giving talks and facilitating workshops/ retreats on mental health awareness and understanding emotional intelligence – and everywhere I go there’s still stigma and shame attached to this incredibly important area of our health. What does remain fairly constant wherever I go and with whoever I meet; are our thoughts, feelings and subsequent behaviours. We are products of our lived experiences; but even if they’re markedly different, our reactions to them are often similar, even in differing situations and environments. I often equate our mental health to a car. Nowadays most cars are pretty comfy and often luxurious inside and attractive on the outside; but if you don’t keep the engine serviced it will not operate at its optimum level and can eventually break down –therefore leaving the car looking okay but not working. Our bodies are the same. If we don’t keep our minds healthy and working well our cognition, emotions and subsequent actions will suffer, and all sorts of unpleasant things can happen. It always amazes me how much time, effort and money people will spend on their physical health (exercise/gym) and even their appearance – but they’ll only invest in their mental health if something goes wrong. Surely prevention is better than cure? Mental health is a very hidden illness and often misunderstood. Those reporting problems with it has jumped 29% since the pandemic began. Fear, anxiety, guilt, anger, depression have all increased. Relationship problems, domestic violence, physical/sexual abuse, addictions/dependencies, grief and loss, confusion and panic are all rife. Our world has been turned upside down. Maintaining good mental health is essential in coping with what we’re all experiencing. If we keep our minds clear, calm and in good working order; our organs and bodies remain healthy and functioning better. It’s well-known that poor mental health often manifests itself in poor physical health – so please don’t neglect your mind; it’s the ‘engine’ to your body. If you have a question on mental health you’d like David to address, email newsdesk@ blackmorevale.net or contact him direct: David Stanton IAC ICPT BACP FDAP ISOCCS ISSUP. Senior psychotherapist, mental health supervisor, trainer and consultant. tatvacenter.com edas-addictionservices.com 07584 711488

Health & Wellbeing Meditations in Nature: The magic of the night

How easy it is to stay in the warm on a cold winter’s night, but what magic we miss by doing so. It is not only the seasons that paint the earth in different colours but also the time of day. After the rooks have headed home to roost and the sun has sunk below the horizon, the sky turns into an indigo lake. The constellations emerge, and with them, a vision of infinite time and space. As Galileo once exclaimed: “I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” In the midst of a wet and icy spell, I wait until the moon is nigh and the stars are bright, don my boots and head out for a night walk accompanied by the melodic, soothing notes of a singing blackbird; his the only song in the darkness, I hope his beloved is listening. One of the joys of night walking is that it leaves little room for mundane concerns and personal anxieties and greater room for immediacy, that is, existing entirely in the moment. Accompanied by a sense of adventure, it forces you to heighten senses as you interpret the unfamiliar shapes, shuffles and sounds that emanate from the shrouded landscape. Tonight it is a waxing gibbous moon. It is so bright and vibrant that I do not need a torch. Moon-shadowed trees create inky tributaries beneath my feet whilst around me, the silverwhite light creates new dimensions as it sparkles indiscriminately from every puddle, water droplet or ice crystal in an enchanting choreography of light and land. As my feet instinctively find their way along the track and into the fields beside the River Stour, I scan the landscape for signs of life. Here by the riverbank, my eyes stop on a sleek, lithe, dark ‘ottery’ shape by the riverbank. I keep perfectly still. But alas, having spotted my presence, bright, beady eyes look in my direction before bounding across the fields towards the meandering river. The taste of this sweet, brief encounter lingers in my mind way beyond the moment. In folklore, otters symbolise friendship, kindness and family; an affable creature full of playfulness and gladness. How fitting, I think, as I make my way home, my heart full of joy and inspiration at having seen one of our most shy, elusive and charismatic mammals in the Vale. Dr Susie Curtin curtin.susanna@gmail.com

IT AIN’T ARF OTTER MUM: Photograph courtesy of Tim Balmer Photography

Natural Pain Relief therapist in Gillingham. Bio resonance scan and atments.clinical reflexology & baby/ toddler reflexology. T: 01747 826931 yvonne@intelligenth ealthclinic.co.uk Making Life More Comfortable!

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ADELE CLINCH, BSC HCPC Registered chiropodist/podiatrist 01935 812231 Home visits in NW Dorset sherbornepodiatry. com

QUALIFIED COUNSELLOR based in Sherborne, offering phone and online consultations during lockdown. Specialising in working with young people, but also experienced in working with adults. For more details go to branchandroot.co.uk or email karenbranchandroot @gmail.com.