Does kinesiology work?
It’s an interesting question and one to which I am able to provide an answer on the basis of personal experience.
We decided to try kinesiology earlier this year, having noticed that a friend of ours who was already ridiculously fit and active had suddenly become even more so. . . .
It turns out that she’d been to see a kinesiologist who had tested her for food intolerances.
We sniggered when she explained that she’d had to lie down on a couch and raise her leg in the air while the kinesiologist placed a sample of food (in a container) on her stomach and then tried to push her leg down. The trouble was, we could see for ourselves that she was quite literally glowing with health. She’d had to give up eating chicken, corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, apricots, milk, butter, cheese, tea, coffee, beans, vodka and white wine. After several re-tests, she has been able to re-introduce most of these items.
She has suffered from bad migraines all her adult life. Since she went to see the kinesiologist, she has not had a single one. She also reported that she was no longer suffering from the stomach problems which had been making her life miserable.
Well, Mr Darnbrough has had problems with eczema on his face that no conventional medicine seems to have been able to deal with, and over the last few years has also suffered from what have been delicately referred to as “tummy upsets”. It looked as if it might be worth sending him along to see what the kinesiologist had to suggest.
So as not to be left out, I decided to see what she had to say about my recurrent problems with an itchy mouth, a runny nose and my permanent lack of energy (which I generally put down to the fact that I have two young children).
After a certain amount of cajoling and threats, Mr Darnbrough made his appointment. He came out with a list of foods to avoid that was almost literally as long as his leg. The crucial things were yeast, all dairy products, caffeine and anything with cane sugar in it. This ruled out at a stroke: beer, wine (except champagne or cava because they have been fermented twice); chocolate; marmite; most cakes and sweets and most breads and cereals. He was also advised not to use anything with perfume in it and to buy a filter for our water which would remove the chlorine. She also recommended that he take probiotics in capsule form.
The no perfume edict entailed buying organic shower gel, shampoo and conditioner from a specialist supplier and also led to us switching over totally to Ecover products. I baulked at changing the dishwasher tablets however, because Ecover don’t do a combined salt, powder and rinse aid tablet and we had just been to Costco and purchased enough Finish 3-in-1 tablets to last out a small siege.
Two weeks after Mr Darnbrough’s visit, I also went and lay on the couch with my leg in the air. I emerged three quarters of an hour later, with a confirmed diagnosis of candida (which I had begun to suspect) and the prospect of at least a month without: dairy products, yeast, beef, soya, lentils and chick peas, citrus fruits, chilis, coriander, sugar of any kind, balsamic (or any other) vinegar, ham or bacon, caffeinated tea or coffee, almonds . . . I was also advised to take probiotics, and an anti candida tablet called Caprylic Acid.
Our kinesiologist furnished us with a list of alternatives to the banned products and we duly switched to Village Bakery Campagne and Rossisky bread (made using only naturally occurring yeasts), ryvita, St Helen’s goat’s milk and yoghurt (very acceptable), Pure organic spread (much, much nicer than most margarines/spreads) and found Village Bakery seed bars to cope with those sweet-toothed moments that seem to happen every so often.
Since we were allowed to drink gin and vodka, we rootled around in the understairs cupboard and found various useful bottles, which were clutched thankfully and their contents consumed in combination with apple and mango juice (it’s not the same as a G&T). We also investigated Rooibosch tea. Somewhat to my surprise, I found that if you don’t try to pretend that it is real tea (and so put milk in it), it’s actually very nice. In particular, the Rooibosch Earl Grey and Cinnamon teas from a company called Dragonfly. I also started sweetening things that needed sweetening with honey.
As you can imagine, none of this has been exactly cheap. Consultations were £50 for the initial session and £25 thereafter. Goat’s milk is £1.19 a litre, the yoghurt about £1.99 for a large pot. Buying all our bread instead of making most of it, is also more expensive and supplements such as the probiotics, caprylic acid and vitamins made a noticeable dent in the monthly budget. In addition, since it has pushed us into looking more closely at what we eat, the organic content of our weekly shopping basket has risen – and so too has the cost.
Aside from the financial aspects, the effects of all this label-watching have been two-fold. On the “negative” side, I am spending more time preparing and cooking food, since we can’t rely on the processed tomato sauces (sugar gets in everywhere) and so on which had so obligingly crept into our diet. On the positive side, it has made me more determined to push ahead with the Vegetable Patch Project (see below for an update)
And the results?
Well, after just over two months, it would be fair to say that they are mixed:
The conclusion I draw from this is that, for us, kinesiology has reinforced our awareness of the importance of reading labels carefully and avoiding highly processed foods. If it means that Mr Darnbrough never suffers from “tummy upsets” again, then giving up caffeine and cheese (except occasionally) will have been worth it. For my part, not having an itchy mouth and a permanently dripping nose would be a good outcome, but it’s probably too early to say whether I can look forward to either with certainty. I’m glad we went, but I’d have to say that it has only been partially successful.
Below
In case anyone is interested, the Marcos and the onions are already coming up nicely and the peas have started to show themselves too. Encouraged by this, I have now also planted a row of broad beans. This still leaves about two thirds of the plot to fill but we’ve decided to cover the ground with tarpaulin to kill off the weeds and go into planning mode for the rest of the winter.
It’s an interesting question and one to which I am able to provide an answer on the basis of personal experience.
We decided to try kinesiology earlier this year, having noticed that a friend of ours who was already ridiculously fit and active had suddenly become even more so. . . .
It turns out that she’d been to see a kinesiologist who had tested her for food intolerances.
We sniggered when she explained that she’d had to lie down on a couch and raise her leg in the air while the kinesiologist placed a sample of food (in a container) on her stomach and then tried to push her leg down. The trouble was, we could see for ourselves that she was quite literally glowing with health. She’d had to give up eating chicken, corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, apricots, milk, butter, cheese, tea, coffee, beans, vodka and white wine. After several re-tests, she has been able to re-introduce most of these items.
She has suffered from bad migraines all her adult life. Since she went to see the kinesiologist, she has not had a single one. She also reported that she was no longer suffering from the stomach problems which had been making her life miserable.
Well, Mr Darnbrough has had problems with eczema on his face that no conventional medicine seems to have been able to deal with, and over the last few years has also suffered from what have been delicately referred to as “tummy upsets”. It looked as if it might be worth sending him along to see what the kinesiologist had to suggest.
So as not to be left out, I decided to see what she had to say about my recurrent problems with an itchy mouth, a runny nose and my permanent lack of energy (which I generally put down to the fact that I have two young children).
After a certain amount of cajoling and threats, Mr Darnbrough made his appointment. He came out with a list of foods to avoid that was almost literally as long as his leg. The crucial things were yeast, all dairy products, caffeine and anything with cane sugar in it. This ruled out at a stroke: beer, wine (except champagne or cava because they have been fermented twice); chocolate; marmite; most cakes and sweets and most breads and cereals. He was also advised not to use anything with perfume in it and to buy a filter for our water which would remove the chlorine. She also recommended that he take probiotics in capsule form.
The no perfume edict entailed buying organic shower gel, shampoo and conditioner from a specialist supplier and also led to us switching over totally to Ecover products. I baulked at changing the dishwasher tablets however, because Ecover don’t do a combined salt, powder and rinse aid tablet and we had just been to Costco and purchased enough Finish 3-in-1 tablets to last out a small siege.
Two weeks after Mr Darnbrough’s visit, I also went and lay on the couch with my leg in the air. I emerged three quarters of an hour later, with a confirmed diagnosis of candida (which I had begun to suspect) and the prospect of at least a month without: dairy products, yeast, beef, soya, lentils and chick peas, citrus fruits, chilis, coriander, sugar of any kind, balsamic (or any other) vinegar, ham or bacon, caffeinated tea or coffee, almonds . . . I was also advised to take probiotics, and an anti candida tablet called Caprylic Acid.
Our kinesiologist furnished us with a list of alternatives to the banned products and we duly switched to Village Bakery Campagne and Rossisky bread (made using only naturally occurring yeasts), ryvita, St Helen’s goat’s milk and yoghurt (very acceptable), Pure organic spread (much, much nicer than most margarines/spreads) and found Village Bakery seed bars to cope with those sweet-toothed moments that seem to happen every so often.
Since we were allowed to drink gin and vodka, we rootled around in the understairs cupboard and found various useful bottles, which were clutched thankfully and their contents consumed in combination with apple and mango juice (it’s not the same as a G&T). We also investigated Rooibosch tea. Somewhat to my surprise, I found that if you don’t try to pretend that it is real tea (and so put milk in it), it’s actually very nice. In particular, the Rooibosch Earl Grey and Cinnamon teas from a company called Dragonfly. I also started sweetening things that needed sweetening with honey.
As you can imagine, none of this has been exactly cheap. Consultations were £50 for the initial session and £25 thereafter. Goat’s milk is £1.19 a litre, the yoghurt about £1.99 for a large pot. Buying all our bread instead of making most of it, is also more expensive and supplements such as the probiotics, caprylic acid and vitamins made a noticeable dent in the monthly budget. In addition, since it has pushed us into looking more closely at what we eat, the organic content of our weekly shopping basket has risen – and so too has the cost.
Aside from the financial aspects, the effects of all this label-watching have been two-fold. On the “negative” side, I am spending more time preparing and cooking food, since we can’t rely on the processed tomato sauces (sugar gets in everywhere) and so on which had so obligingly crept into our diet. On the positive side, it has made me more determined to push ahead with the Vegetable Patch Project (see below for an update)
And the results?
Well, after just over two months, it would be fair to say that they are mixed:
- Mr Darnbrough’s “tummy upsets” have practically disappeared – so long as he stays off caffeine - but his face is no better.
- My itchy mouth has gone but although the runny nose cleared up initially, it seems to be making a comeback at the moment. I’m hoping this is just a blip because I’ve spoken to so many people who have confirmed that avoiding diary has slashed their tissue budget.
- I think I probably do have more energy/don’t feel so totally exhausted by the end of the day.
- We have both lost weight: nearly half a stone in my case and around 10lbs in Mr Darnbrough’s.
- Although we have been told that we can re-introduce most of the proscribed foods we have decided to stay with the “no- yeast bread” and goat’s milk/yoghurt for the time being.
The conclusion I draw from this is that, for us, kinesiology has reinforced our awareness of the importance of reading labels carefully and avoiding highly processed foods. If it means that Mr Darnbrough never suffers from “tummy upsets” again, then giving up caffeine and cheese (except occasionally) will have been worth it. For my part, not having an itchy mouth and a permanently dripping nose would be a good outcome, but it’s probably too early to say whether I can look forward to either with certainty. I’m glad we went, but I’d have to say that it has only been partially successful.
Below
In case anyone is interested, the Marcos and the onions are already coming up nicely and the peas have started to show themselves too. Encouraged by this, I have now also planted a row of broad beans. This still leaves about two thirds of the plot to fill but we’ve decided to cover the ground with tarpaulin to kill off the weeds and go into planning mode for the rest of the winter.
posted by Susan Darnbrough at
4:30 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home