Kim Mendez

Spring!

Mon, 08 May 2017 10:26:00 GMT

We are now in Spring now!!

It is one of the most treacherous times of the year for health issues. It is so strange as after Winter we long for Spring and, in our minds, Spring is warm breezes, flowers budding, bird song, lighter evenings, a heightened feeling in our bodies as we throw off the gloom of Winter.
However, is it like that? Could it be – like this year: Cold!! Wintery winds!! Heating on!! Sneezing!! Still wearing scarves!!

As we see the lighter evenings, even the sun occasionally, we imagine that the weather is warmer. We see the weather with our eyes not with our skin. The old expression ‘Don’t cast a clout till May is out’ still holds true. Often it is wondered if it is May the month or May the blossom -either way it is still around May!!

So not to shed too much of our Winter attire, maybe yes the heavy winter coat can go but the secret is to dress in layers so can take off or add on depending.
It is treacherous also because Spring is the time of the liver which in Chinese Medicine means the wellbeing of the tendons of the body.
When I trained in China they said lookout for the season of Spring because you will see more conditions in the body concerning ‘Facial Paralysis’ -‘Sciatica’ – ‘Stroke Victims’ to name but a few and blow me they were right.

I can honestly say I hear of more people having strokes this time of year and in my own practice I have more liver-related conditions including sciatca being one of the main.
So keep warm and dress in layers.

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 41 – Sounds for Health

Mon, 17 Oct 2016 09:28:00 GMT

The Chinese are such an ‘Ancient Civilisation’, they have an innate knowledge in all aspects of health and using sound for health is just one factor.

The Chinese use the Pentatonic Scale to make their music, which is using all the black notes when looking at a keyboard.
F# G# A# C# and D#

F# is called Gong, this would be to help the Digestive System and would be of a Mediating Nature. It would be used to give a sense of calm and given to the frightened patient.

G# known as Shang will help the Lungs! This would have a clearing nature and help with the fractious and anxious.

A# is known as Jiao -this would help the Liver. The Liver always needs soothing and this is the action of Jiao. Giving comfort and relaxation -used really to dispel Anger. It will be noticed that there is a correlation with all of these emotions related to the internal organs, as stated in previous blog posts.

C# is Zhi. Zhi can help the Heart. This sound has an invigorating nature and gives a sense of excitement. Very good sound for treating someone with depression.

D# is known as Yu. Yu is good for the Kidneys. This note has a melancholic nature and used to act as a sedative. Very good for insomnia, or any agitation, also that caused by sorrow or heart palpitations.

I think we have not as yet discovered the healing aspects of sound.

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 40 – Drugs & Alcohol

Mon, 03 Oct 2016 09:31:00 GMT

I do enjoy the different wines that go with different foods and how both can be enhanced. However there are some people who are quite happy with a glass of water or a cup of tea! Each to their own in this instance, but as a therapist I have seen the evidence of people on drugs and it is very insidious.

It creeps up on people, similar to stalkers or very jealous people who want to destroy and take you over! It is to my mind and from what I have seen one of the most lethal methods of supposedly relaxation activity because drugs affect our etheric body.

What is the ‘etheric’ body?

If you look up information concerning the subject, it will tell you the etheric body is an aura or a connecting shield between our physical body and our higher more spiritual body. Drugs can interfere with this subtle body resulting in the person experiencing a change in behaviour, this change of behaviour can take over, with it being very difficult for the person to return to their normal selves.
I used to know a wonderful elderly man, I used to visit him and we became very good friends. We used to chat about everything and I remember particularly at one time talking about this very subject. He said ‘ Taking drugs is like opening your window on a sunny day and making jam sandwiches!! Anything will fly in – flies, wasps etc ‘.
I’ve thought about this often since working as a therapist and seeing the evidence of this behaviour change -almost as if someone else had literally flown into that person.

Be careful, we all need to be careful of substances and even alcohol to a certain extent if drunk to excess! They can alter our etheric bodies!!!

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 39 – Air Conditioning & Cold Draughts

Mon, 26 Sep 2016 18:32:00 GMT

Air Conditioning and Cold Draughts
This week I want to talk about draughts, flow of air and the ghastliness of ‘air conditioning’.
In Summer it’s hot! The body has the most wonderful mechanism of allowing the pores to open. This function happens on the skin and acts as a thermostat so that when it’s hot the pores open and a cooling system comes into operation which allows us to perspire. Dogs and other furry animals do not have this facility, if they become extremely hot they stick their tongues out and pant, this is their way of cooling down. However, we as humans have a slightly more refined means of keeping cool as we are blessed with skin, this acts as a cooling method but should not be abused!

The skin is very fragile and very vulnerable to any change of temperature, we can see if we go into extreme heat of the sun we turn red and burn, in the same way when we’re cold we get goose pimples! So our skin is reacting all the time but also protecting us. As we become hot the pores open, as we become cold the pores close. This natural thermostat is happening to shield us from all temperatures.

If one is hot from exercising, to start blowing cold air onto the body simply causes the nearby tissue as in muscles to seize up. Somewhere along the way we seem to have come up with the notion that to cool down we have to blow cold air on ourselves.

No!! Wrong thinking!!

The body has it’s cooling mechanism which is already in operation by making us perspire – so why blow cold air on ourselves as well?!

The organ related to the skin is the Lung, this is why when we’re cold we shiver and sneeze! Sneezing is the body’s way of getting rid of the cold. If we leave ourselves vulnerable to cold air continually blowing at us, as in ‘air-conditioning’, the body then is defenceless and the cold just penetrates even further. As I said earlier the Lung is seen as being the most fragile of all the body’s organs, when cold penetrates deeper the next development is cough. The cold air disrupts the normal downward flow that is attributed to the Lung’s function and the adverse happens as the air flow travels upward, so causing cough and at worse Bronchial problems.

If cold penetrates further it will cause an internal fight as the body’s mechanism will try to battle with the cold, if it loses this struggle the cold will descend to a deeper level and a sore throat will ensue as the cold turns into a feverish heat. The sore throats means the cold has won the battle and the common cold begins with all that goes with it i.e. ghastly coughs, runny noses, shuddering, achey feelings, temperature and worse. All of this could be prevented if cold air hadn’t been blowing at you in the first place. It is not good for the body. The Lung needs protecting and having cold air blowing at the body does not protect the body or the Lung.

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 38 – How To Lose Weight

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 18:33:00 GMT

Marvellous news!

Yesterday’s Mail on Sunday had a whole feature article on ‘Losing Weight by Eating Regularly’. This is fantastic news -all I can think is ‘ Great minds think alike !!’
It is wonderful for this to be published and for seeds of thought to be transmitted. Short blog this week but after completing my several part blog on ‘Losing Weight by Eating Regularly’ it was so wonderful to feel endorsed!

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 37 – How To Lose Weight (part eleven)

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 18:34:00 GMT

One last thought on ‘Losing Weight’ – This is really an after thought – but good to consider!

The internal working of the body needs to function like clockwork -literally! Your Lifestyle pattern and daily routine needs to be of a fairly regular order to achieve this. I shall come to Lifestyle later but just wanted to add this point here.
The manifestations of the internal workings can show themselves in very obvious ways, for example having a bowel movement daily, having a good appetite, sleeping well and soundly, feeling of an equitable mood, neither feeling too hot nor too cold. All of these and more need to run without thinking about them. Why then, do so many people have to stop and think ‘ Did I go to the loo this morning? ‘, ‘ Why couldn’t I sleep? ‘, ‘ Why have I got a headache? ‘, ‘ Why do I feel so full after eating? ‘.

In a perfect state we really want to be like Plato and Aristotle, people of higher thought who wondered what the hell we’re all doing here and why, rather than asking why am I constipated!

If one keeps to a certain order in life, hopefully the internal organs function in a regular way and one’s thoughts can attain a higher level.

All of this shall be mentioned again in further blog posts.

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 36 – How To Lose Weight (part ten)

Mon, 05 Sep 2016 07:16:00 GMT

Some last thoughts on this subject of eating:

A great deal of eating can be and is emotional – an emotional need to satisfy in some way.

Once able to take the emotion away you’re home and dry. Particularly for the female complexities of monthly periods which can make women crazy in mood and a need to eat. The build up before the monthly period causes the body to feel a tremendous pressure with distended breasts, lower abdominal pain and a craving for sweet tasting food. These symptoms only show that the body is not in balance. Ideally there should be no symptoms for the woman before the period starts – only a feeling of gliding into the period without even thinking about it. The craving for sweet food actually acts as a releasing, calming effect with this feeling of low or pent up energy, this is an indication of stagnation which can be moved into action with the sweet taste. However if one can follow this regime of eating only at meal times, the digestion will slowly become stronger and compulsive feelings for sweet foods will dissipate. The emotional feelings of irritation, pent up anger and tears which happen so often before the period will all lessen as the body comes into balance.

In fact each organ has it’s own emotional connection:

The Liver, when out of balance, can produce a feeling anger or tears (which as mentioned can happen before the period for a craving of sweet), otherwise if the Liver is under par the taste of sour will be desired -and remembering the colour of the Liver is green. Gherkins, olives etc. will appeal.

The Heart will like the bitter taste and in reverse if out of balance will have the taste of bitter in the mouth. Strangely the Heart can suffer if there’s too much joy!! For example, someone who wins the lottery can fall down dead with a sudden heart attack. It slows the circulation down where the bitter taste comes in to spark things up i.e., coffee, dark chocolate and cayenne pepper – spicy things!! The colour associated with the heart is red. Sweet, as already mentioned can be a tremendous relaxer -especially for the nervous system and when there is a case of over worrying when the situation doesn’t require this emotion. Sweet has a calming effect -nothing like a cup of sweet tea when anxious but if too much sweet is consumed it will produce a sort of phlegm in the mouth!!

The Lung likes white foods like almonds, pears and also pungent food. It’s easy for the Lung to feel consumed especially in times of grief. Even the posture of a sad person will assume the position of a caved in chest appearance with head drooping.

The Kidney likes salty foods: crisps, salted peanuts – with salt acting as an astringent to absorb the liquids in the body. The knees, teeth, lower back, rooting in of the head hair (as when weak will fall out) over straining (working too many and long hours and not enough rest ) all affected if the kidney energy is…

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 35 – How To Lose Weight (part nine)

Mon, 29 Aug 2016 07:17:00 GMT

Towards the final chapters on the matter of losing weight , only now will I actually talk about food and even then not in an expected way.

I have touched on food concerning ‘tastes’ (part one and part two), but it still shows one how insignificant the actual food is in the scheme of eating and digesting.

There is a thought that food has different categories according to where the animal roams, for example fish swim in water and animals walk on land. Within this grouping I would say we eat almost all fish, even shark is a delicacy to some, but concerning land animals we are probably more choosy. We don’t seem to eat fox, tiger, lion, but having said that, they are probably consumed in some countries.

Probably the hunting of these animals might prove a problem as more likely to be consumed yourself. The creatures living on the face of the earth, whether seabed or land, are considered scavengers namely prawns and pork. Certain organism will help clean up the dead beasts lying round thinking of cockroaches, spiders, wasps, sharks, vultures….etc.

Fish

Any creature from the seabed will agitate skin disease if it’s present, it can also add a strange heat to the body, whereas fish themselves, if consumed regularly will create to some degree an unseen phlegm in the body which can be harmful. Too much fish may produce a toxicity, the tongue can bloat and turn pale as with the complexion. This does not happen to all, only certain constitutions, but is something of which to be aware. Any animal from the sea is seen as being cold in nature that is why the best way to serve fish is with accompanying fresh ginger or garlic which are both hot in nature, this can counteract any toxicity produced by the cold nature of the fish. This gives balance and therefore aids ones health.

Amphibians

Amphibians, the animals in the inbetween state of land and sea include eels, newts, salamanders and my personal favourites frogs . These little creatures can live in the water and on the land. They are an excellent source of protein, thinking of course of frogs legs .

Meat

These are of course overtaken by those that remain on the land all the time-thinking of pork (as already mentioned), sheep as in lamb and cow as in beef. These animals really form our staple diet and give us a rich source of amino acid.

Poultry

When we come to animals that fly, they are always thought of the best for convalescence. These flying animals are the best animals for recuperation of the body (thinking here of chicken soup ) but namely chicken, duck etc. However this is only one feature and they should also be consumed regularly.

As said before, keeping to the middle path in all things, conserves one’s whole being but particularly with food. Remember as in the previous blog post discussing the five tastes, it is important really to have all five tastes a day and within the week to have a variety of fish, lamb, eggs, beef, duck etc, so the body is getting as much nutrition and richness it can through the mixtures of different foods. Protein comes mainly from animal food, that is the full amino acid protein. One can of course have beans and nuts but the combinations need more attention to make sure you are getting your full daily amino acid balance. There is a wonderful book called ‘ Diet for a Small Planet ‘, excellent in it’s combining of non-animal proteins if one didn’t want to eat meat or fish. There is, however a thought that one should eat a ratio on one part protein to four parts vegetables and grains.

I always think of my central heating as an analogy, as you wouldn’t have central heating on full blast all the time but one would want a nice warming effect to take away any chill and damp feeling that might be in the home. This also applies to the body providing an appropriate balance of warmth which can be effective in evaporating excess damp and fluids in the body. A home without any central heating is a cold, damp, cheerless place which is what can happen in the body if the right proportions of protein are not met in the diet. Proteins or rather animal proteins add a fire to the body which other more plant derived proteins do not and with the right proportion of vegetables and grains this is perfect consumption. As I said before a little bit of everything but not a lot of anything !

I have tried to keep away from ‘ how much vitamin content’ and ‘ how many calories’ etc, as that is written about in every single book on the subject of losing weight. To my mind the fundamentals are when you eat and how you eat and without these two factors one cannot digest efficiently. If the digestion is not working in a well-organised manner then the water metabolism of the body will accumulate and stagnate making one feel bloated, full, distended, large, tired, fatigued and heavy!

This is not a comfortable state to be in, it also leads to feeling irritable with oneself and everyone around you.

I’d just like to add here, never eat when you’ve had a quarrel or feel emotional about something. For example having had bad news or heard something upsetting or having just exercised. All these situations leave the body in a non-conducive state to receive food. The gastric juices need to be flowing and in a position to receive food, when the above states have occurred certain acids are in place for a fight or flight situation with adrenalin flowing which is not ideal for the body to receive food.

Here ends my chapters on l osing weight , for the moment that is! I may refer back to these in future blogs and even add some further thoughts but for the moment this is my completed view point on the subject.

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 34 – How To Lose Weight (part eight)

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 19:19:00 GMT

Tastes (part two)

In the last blog post I spoke about Sour and Bitter , now for one of the most dominant tastes – Sweet !

Sweet is a taste that of course includes sugar but also hidden in so many other foods. The sweet taste has so many positive actions, it nourishes the body, calms the nerves and helps to build body tissue. Whereas the sour, as mentioned before, has the function to astringe and help to absorb water, tightens tissues and dries out fats in the body, while the bitter detoxifies the body, the sweet nourishes. Sweet can be seen in so many foods such as bananas, apples, pears, grapes, cherries (in fact most fruits have fructose, a form of sugar), honey, grains, sweet potatoes, beetroot, carrots, apart from all the obvious confectionary everywhere. Dates are a marvellous source of sugar that is beneficial to the body, really helping to nourish the blood -as said, the sweet taste not only nourishes the body but also lubricates. Sweet can also neutralise toxic effects from other foods. Sweet helps the skin, hair, and even the voice but also because of it’s lubricating properties can also aid the large intestine. There is always a contrary picture when too much sweet is consumed and it discloses itself in water retention a strange sort of phlegm that can form in the mouth.

Pungent is a wonderful taste of both stimulating the digestion and metabolism plus has the attribute of fighting out the cold. It does this by causing sweating. These foods would include garlic, fresh ginger, coriander, spearmint, turnips, mustard seed, chilli, curries (especially vindaloo) and some wines. In fact, if suffering from a chill, the best foods are hot curries to make you perspire and cause tears to run down your cheeks so as to expel the chill from the inside, almost as if pushing out the cold out from within.
Certain tastes have actions within them to direct downwards or upwards, also to astringe within or to push out, pungent is definitely to push out.

The last taste but certainly not least is Salty as this is the second strongest taste along with sugar, which is probably being the first. Our foods today are probably smothered in both sweet and salt. When one thinks back to the surfs in the old feudal system that were paid in salt because without a little salt food can be tasteless. A little is beneficial as it keeps our blood pressure at a good balance. However, too much can lead to tremendous retention of water in the body, puts a strain on the heart, kidneys, arteries, causing eventual heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease. One has to look no further than the sea itself to find salty foods, for example sea vegetables, also rich in iodine and extremely good for the thyroid. The sea foods don’t stop there in sea shrimps, sea clams, oysters, crab, sea cucumber, also rich in iodine and extremely good for the thyroid. A little salt can have a moistening action and therefore very good for the large intestine as there is also a softening effect. So a moderation in salt can lubricate and also aid elimination of water, calm the nerves and promote growth in the body. Quite a lot going for salt but the word moderation is the key, in fact moderation in all things.

A little bit of something but not a lot of anything must be the motto. Everything in its right proportion.

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Kim’s Kwik Klinic – Week 33 – How To Lose Weight (part seven)

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 07:20:00 GMT

Tastes (part one)

In this post I’m going to concentrate on tastes, still not even food itself as food really is the last contender.

Taste is something not often discussed, anywhere really -it’s always about the food itself.
We always say ‘a little of what you fancy does you good and it’s true!

Sour – Before we have a meal you’ll often find sour foods put on display, I’m thinking of olives, gherkins, and at Christmas time we used to have pickled walnuts, one can also add to this list, lemons and anything vinegary, all of these foods are sour. These foods have this particular taste which in turns reacts on us internally and helps to stimulate the digestion. The sour taste actually reacts on the liver and gall-bladder enabling the latter to release bile to help with the breakdown of food.

In the same way the taste and action of a little sherry before the meal also promote and stimulate hunger but as with anything, moderation is the key. It is knowing when you’ve had enough. A friend once said to me having too much of something was like going ‘passed your bus stop’. I’ve always thought of that by having too much would be like getting off the bus beyond your bus stop and you’d have to walk back! Why would you want to do that? By having too much sherry or something alcoholic, although can stimulate one’s appetite it can also make one heavy and bloated which is defeating the purpose completely. Remember all these foods etc are aiming too make one as hungry as possible before eating.

Bitter is also a taste we don’t often think about. Bitter taste can be found in coffee, chicory, turmeric, dark chocolate, nettle and dandelion tea, bitter gourd and even melon.
This taste has rare qualities, I think that’s why dark chocolate has had such good press lately as the bitter taste can help to reduce water retention. Bitter even has properties of what one might call the three anti’s – qualities helping with antibiotic, anti-parasitic and antiseptic traits. All these tastes have a contradictory effect, everything should be consumed in moderation but too much bitter could agitate the heart and cause anxiety – at worst palpitations – maybe just the taste of one coffee a day or a nettle tea could be enough!

Sweet – we all know sweet – probably today most of our food is drenched in hidden sugars and salts and our palate is losing the fine definition of these other lovely tastes and flavours. Even a squeeze of lemon over ones fish or suchlike meal will give you sour taste for the day.

It’s all about trying to get the five tastes everyday. By having the five tastes everyday one is nourishing all aspects of your internal organs.
We have spoken so far about sour, which reacts on the liver and gall-bladder and bitter an unusual taste but absorbed everyday without people probably knowing that they’re consuming it. This reacts on the energy of the heart that is why too much of the bitter taste can agitate.
This is to be continued in the next blog with the Sweet and the other two tastes Pungent and Salty completing the five tastes.
Here ends part one of ‘ Tastes ‘

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