Naturopathy
By Clare Badrick
Joanne was a mother in her thirties who was still breast
feeding her third child of 14 months at the time she came
to me. Joanne’s problems were that she was completely
exhausted, she felt she had various allergies including
a recent problem she had developed to her make up which
was giving her red puffy red eyes and a runny nose. She
also had constant catarrh and sinus problems that would
get much worse with her first cold each winter; the catarrh
would go to her chest and remain as a cough until the spring.
She also had many uncomfortable problems with her digestive
system, such as bloating and constipation and often had
an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
Joanne ate what most people would think of as quite a healthy
diet, porridge for breakfast, a banana mid morning, a sandwich
for lunch with rye bread, an apple and some water. At 4.30
she’d share some of the children’s tea of pasta
and vegetables which were organic and then later she may
have a meal with her husband of grilled chicken, jacket
potato and vegetables straight from their own garden, followed
by fruit. Despite this seemingly healthful diet it was obvious
to me that Joanne could benefit from some nutritional supplements.
She had had three children and breast-fed each one, and
was still breast-feeding the third at fourteen months. Breast-feeding
is extremely demanding on the body and uses up huge quantities
of the mother’s resources, the fact that her allergies
had worsened after each pregnancy confirmed this relationship.
Often allergies are just a sign of the bodies poor state
of health and disappear of there own accord when the correct
nutrients are available and the immune system is running
healthily again. I gave Joanne some essential fatty acids
to take, which her diet was lacking, as well as a multivitamin
and mineral suitable for breast-feeding mothers. I also
gave her some herbs to help her energy levels, and to help
her sluggish digestive system to be more regular.
We talked about how tiring it was to be a mother of three
and discussed ways she could find of getting more help and
finding times to rest. She realised that she had to make
more effort to get to bed at a reasonable time.
On her next visit Joanne was already feeling quite a bit
better and the puffiness around her eye was lessening. This
time we did some hands on work – I used cranial osteopathy
to loosen the mucus on her chest and in her sinuses. We
did a simple muscle test to identify that she was reacting
to dairy and citrus products and she decided to do an experiment
and avoid these for a month. We also decided that it would
be sensible for Joanne to take a probiotic supplement. Probiotics
are ‘good’ bacteria; they should naturally live
in the bowel but are often outnumbered by ‘bad’
bacteria because of our diet and lifestyle. Joanne had taken
several courses of antibiotics most winters because of her
seasonal chest problems and this will predispose to a problem
with the gut bacteria that we call dysbiosis.
The next time I saw her she was very pleased, she felt
the cranial work had really helped shift the catarrh on
her chest. She had managed to stay dairy and citrus free
and for the first time since she was 18 years old she had
no catarrh at all. She was passing a motion nearly every
day and felt a lot better in herself. She found she was
no longer allergic to her make up and could eat wheat again
but in limited amounts. She was well on the way to getting
back to her old self.
About the Author
Clare Badrick
My interest in naturopathic medicine began as a teenager.
I had extremely bad acne and no periods. I knew instinctively
that the two were connected, although my G.P didn’t
seem to agree. Dissatisfied I began reading about vitamins
and minerals and started experimenting on myself. I studied
Business and Marketing for my first degree, when I qualified
I started working as a Marketing Manager for an Aromatherapy
company where I learned all about the essential oils and
also qualified in Reflexology.
I started to use the oils for my hormonal problems and
had a great deal of success. I decided I was really a lot
more interested in natural medicine than in marketing and
looked around for a course. Initially I thought of studying
nutrition on it’s own but when I found Naturopathy,
a combination of nutrition, hands on work, detoxification
and hydrotherapy - I knew it was for me. I qualified with
a first class degree in Osteopathy and Naturopathy in 1996.
Since then my passion for Naturopathy has lead me to become
Chairperson of the Education Standing Committee for the
General Council and Register of Naturopaths (the GCRN is
the governing body for Naturopathy). I have continued to
study virtually every aspect of Naturopathic practice –
currently including Medical Herbalism and Complex Homeopathy.
Over the next few years I hope to see Naturopathy develop
onto the central core of all alternative and complementary
medical practice.
I practice at The Holistic Centre,
The Barn, Wiggins Yard,
Godalming,
Surrey. GU7 1HL.
Tel: 01483 418103.
The rest of my time is spent working for the GCRN, studying
herbs and writing articles.
