Top 5 Tips for Treating Sinus Problems

Top 5 tips to improve Sinus Problems

Sinusitis means infection or inflammation of the sinuses, causing draining or blocked mucous, headache and facial pain. There are 4 sinuses in the head which are all interconnected and have other connections to the nose and throat via ostia. The sinuses are lined with cells that produce mucous to protect them from infection, which sometimes become irritated and inflamed. Sinusitis occurs when too much mucous is produced during a common cold, hay fever or allergic irritation.

Current western medical treatments include nasal decongestants, antibiotics and occasionally surgery.

Nasal Polyps are overgrowths of the mucosa lining the sinuses that often accompany allergic rhinitis (hay fever). The true origination of nasal polyps is unknown, however, clinically, I notice this in patients that were not born in the area they are now living and have acquired sinusitis since moving. Working in Melbourne, Australia, this seems to be the classic situation.

Current treatment is nasal decongestant, nasal steroid spray or surgery. Unfortunately polyps can reoccur in up to 70% of cases after surgery.

Post Nasal Drip occurs when excessive mucous is produced by the nasal mucosa that drips down the back of the throat leading to constant swallowing. The sinuses often become inflamed caused by flu, rhinitis, sinusitis, swallowing disorder or reflux which is persistent throughout the year.

Standard treatment with western medicine is antibiotics, nasal irrigation, sinus massage, decongestants, antihistamines and occasionally minor surgery.

Tip #1: Airborne Allergens

Melbourne has many hypoallergenic types of pollen from London Plane trees that cover most of the city, rye grass, Bermuda grass. Other common irritants include mites, cats, dust and fungi.

Plane trees are a common one, and you may notice symptoms worsen between September through to November. The trichome fibres that are most irritating start in October and continue through to December.

If you suspect you have an allergen and you don’t have a bacterial infection, antibiotics are not going to do anything but destroy your intestinal flora and reduce your immune system. Go see an allergy specialist and diagnose the cause. Once you find out what the allergy is, you can either avoid it or protect yourself against it during certain times of the year when the pollen is blowing around.

Tip #2: Allergen Protection

Once you have a test you can ascertain which allergens are the culprits. Dust is one of the most common. One wise move is to remove the carpet in your house if it’s an option and clean regularly. An air purifier can remove any other free floating dust or pollen. For dust mites you can change your bedding or get it professionally cleaned. On windy days you can cover your mouth and eyes when walking around outside. Vaseline up the nose also often helps. For severe allergies, immunotherapy is an option where small amounts of the allergen is injected or drops under the tongue used over a period of time to build up resistance.

Tip #3: Food Allergens and Sensitivities

This is very common and is easy to test. I find the most common allergens that lead to sinusitis are wheat, dairy, sugar and alcohol. The most common type of alcohol intolerance is red wine. This comes from LTP in the skin or yeast, bacteria and also sulphites. Other types of alcohol can cause sinus symptoms such as beer and white wine. The best thing is to keep a food diary or just observe what happens when you eat a certain type of food or drink. If you suspect one, cut it out of your diet for a month and see what happens.

Tip #4: Mould & Fungi

Moulds and fungus are the often overlooked culprits of sinus infections. I often find this in patients that have lived in houses with black mould, and that is around the time their sinus problems started. A nasal swab can culture your nose to see what fungus if any is living in there.

Tip #5: Acupuncture

If you have tried so many options and nothing has worked for you, Acupuncture and Chinese medicine is an option. In our clinic we use a combination of laser, acupuncture, herbal medicine and dietary advice to diagnose and treat nasal and sinus conditions. Treatment time depends on severity and length of the disorder. We generally notice reduction in symptoms immediately but sometimes can take up to 3-4 weeks in severe cases to start getting relief.

Chris has over 10 years experience treating many conditions such as sinusitis and offering health advice and also teaches at RMIT university, Melbourne.

Call today for an appointment Melbourne Acupuncture Clinic- Chris Eddy 8676 0599

712/365 Little Collins St Melbourne 3000

The Top 5 Health Benefits & Myths about EGGS

The Top 5 Health Benefits & Myths about EGGS

Time to crack open the egg jokes and bust some common myths with science.

Myth #1: Eggs are bad for your heart:  Not true. In fact a cohort study of over 21,000 physicians showed absolutely no increased risk of Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD). In fact, the study revealed it may prolong life, especially in diabetic subjects. 1 The cholesterol in eggs does not become harmful if you don’t over-cook them. Better to eat them runny.

Myth #2: Eggs are high in bad cholesterol: Not true. It’s true that eggs are actually high in cholesterol, but cholesterol is not necessarily bad for you. The other factor is that not all dietary cholesterol goes straight to your blood and is then deposited on artery walls. Your body will not survive without some cholesterol. There are two types of cholesterol, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) the good type, and Low Density (LDL) the type that can cause problems in some individuals. Certain oxidised fats and excess sugar in the diet have a much bigger effect on poor cholesterol levels than eggs. Too much refined sugar will more likely be converted in your liver to triglycerides, lowering HDL and increasing LDL. 2

Myth #3: Uncooked eggs contain salmonella: No, certainly not all. There have been cases of salmonella out breaks and it is possible to get salmonella from eggs, around 1 in 20,000, about the same as being murdered or having a car accident. A few things about salmonella, one it is more likely to occur from caged and unhealthy chickens and it generally occurs on the shell so we can take precautions. To prevent salmonella, wash the egg in hot soapy water or water with a few drops of iodine. Also, don’t eat cracked eggs and cook the white. To cook the white you can flip quickly or blow torch the top briefly until clear turns white.

Benefit #1: Nutrients: Most of the nutrients in eggs are in the yolk, including 3g of protein. Good quality free range eggs contain tryptophan (essential to life, regulates mood, builds protein), Selenium (antioxidant), Iodine (low in Australian soil), Phosphorus (teeth, energy, DNA), Riboflavin (B2, energy and fat metabolism), Choline (cell and brain function, CNS, prevent atherosclerosis), Folate (also called Vitamin B9 or folic acid, prevents spinal bifida, reduces homocysteine, reduce stroke, reduces macular degeneration), Lutein (reduces risk of macular degeneration, cataracts and certain cancers), Zeaxanthin (reduces macular degeneration, powerful antioxidant), Vitamin D (essential for strong bones and muscles, prevent MS, heart disease and cancer, enhances immunity).

Benefit #2: Organic vs. Caged: You probably already know my answer here but I’ll go over the facts anyway. Organic, free range eggs allow the chicken to peck around and eat what it normally should; pasture grass, bugs, seeds and get ample sun exposure. Researchers found that free range eggs contain 30% more vitamin E, 66% more vitamin A, twice the amount of omega-3 and 7 times more beta-carotene.

Final Tips:

1.    Choose pastured, free range eggs

2.    Keep eggs in the fridge

3.    Keep eggs in cartons. Each egg contains 17,000 pores that absorb odours.

4.    Store eggs ‘pointy end down’ as the air sack is at the other end and won’t impact on the yolk.

5.    Totally safe during pregnancy, just make sure you wash the shell to be safe.

6.    Wash the shell with warm soapy water or water with iodine.

1.       Am J Clin Nutr April 2008 vol. 87 no. 4 964-969

2.       CIRCULATIONAHA.110.972166Published online before print January 10, 2011,doi: 10.1161/​CIRCULATIONAHA.110.972166

We have over 10 years experience treating many conditions and offering health advice.

Call today for an appointment Melbourne Acupuncture Clinic- Chris Eddy 8676 0599

712/365 Little Collins St Melbourne 3000

GM food in Australia

GMO:What is it & am I eating it?

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Genetically modified food: Australia

“GM foods are genetically modified using biotechnology. Common foods include maize, soybeans, oilseed rape (canola), chicory, squash, potatoes, pineapples and strawberries. GM foods are designed for greater resistance to pests and viruses, higher nutritional value and longer shelf life. However, their safety, potential risks and ethical concerns are still being debated. Laws to regulate labelling of GM foods vary.” Source: Victorian government Australia, Better health channel.

The above is a state government approved statement. We could look at the last line that says ‘… their safety, potential risks and ethical concerns are still being debated’, and stop there and logically hold these products until further testing potentially proves them safe, however GM foods are slowly making their way onto our plates. So let’s look at some of the benefits and concerns.

GM benefits:

$·        Drought-tolerant and salt-tolerant crops

$·        Inexpensive food

$·        Foods with longer shelf life

$·        Food with medical benefits (nutraceutical) edible vaccines inserted

$·        Disease and insect resistant crops

GM risks & dangers:

$·        New allergens can be created- an example was the brazil nut gene introduced to soybeans. It was found that people allergic to brazil nuts became allergic to soy beans. This project has since ceased.

$·        Antibiotic resistance- certain genes are inserted to provide antibiotic resistance. Once taken up by the gut microflora in humans and animals, the effectiveness of antibiotics could be reduced.

$·        Cross-breeding- GM crops can cross-breed with surrounding vegetation. ‘Round-up ready’ or glyphosphate-resistant genes in crops have been shown to transfer to weeds, making the weeds resistant also to the weed killer.

$·        Biodiversity- Bees cannot distinguish GM from non-GM crops and thus cross pollinate with local organic crops.

$·        Pesticide-resistant insects- genetic addition of bio-pesticides into crops encourages spray resistant insects- requiring even stronger, more toxic pesticides to be used.

$·        Cross-contamination- plants that contain bioengineered pharmaceuticals may contaminate other food crops, delivering medicine randomly.

$·        Health effects- Minimal research has been done to ascertain acute and chronic health concerns of GM foods.

Social & Ethical Concerns: What’s really going on here?

“Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people.”Henry Kissinger- 56th United States Secretary of State.

Health, social and religious issues aside, let’s look at monopolisation.

Interestingly the Victorian state website ‘better health channel’ does state under concerns about GM regarding:

‘The possible monopolisation of the world food market by large multinational companies that control the distribution of GM seeds.’

This brings to mind the company Monsanto, the world’s leading producer of genetically modified seed.

If we look at the history of Monsanto, we see this is the company that tells us GM is safe, but aslo produced agent orange and told us that was safe; an estimated 400,000 people were killed and 500,000 children born with birth defects in Vietnam. They also produced DDT, PCB’s and told us they were safe too. There was a court case in the UK where Monsanto produced a commercial stating that Roundup (their top selling weed killer) was as safe as table salt. They were successfully sued.

Some of the seeds that this company produces ready soon for countries including the third world include ‘terminator seeds’, this produces plants that are sterile. This means that farmers can only plant the seeds once, harvest, then have no seeds to save, thus have to buy more.

There are numerous court cases and accusations related to Monsanto regarding suicides of farmers in India. There are numerous individuals that hold or have held positions at Monsanto that also work or have worked in the American FDA, Environmental Protection Agency, CIA and the Supreme Court.

Australian Regulation of GM

In Australia, GM foods are regulated under Standard 1.5.2- Food produced using gene technology from the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

A GM food will only be approved for sale if it is as safe and nutritious as it’s conventional counterparts. They test for:

$·        Nutritional content

$·        Toxicity (using similar test to conventional food)

$·        Allergic reaction

$·        Stability of gene

$·        Unintended gene effects

Long term effects are difficult to estimate.

GM Labelling in Australia

Since December 2002, Australian law requires that GM food or food with ingredients must be labelled on the package.

But….

Special labels are NOT required for:

$·        ‘Highly refined’ foods that no longer contain the altered DNA or protein like oil

$·        GM food additives or processing aids

$·        GM flavours less than 0.1 per cent of the food by weight

$·        Food prepared at point of sale (take away food and restaurant food does not need to be labelled)

GM food in Australia

$·        Soy imported from US: found in chocolates, potato chips, margarine, mayonnaise, biscuits and bread

$·        Cottonseed oil: Frying, mayonnaise and salad dressings

$·        Imported Corn: For cattle feed, breakfast cereal, bread, corn chips and gravy mix.

$·        Other: Potatoes, canola oil, rice, sugar beet, yeast, cauliflower and coffee.