The "Winter Symptoms set" - physical, emotional and energetic causes

I've been noticing a common set of symptoms in my clients and friends lately that I've found very interesting. It's a set of symptoms I have observed over a number of Winters, and which you may have noticed in yourself or others.

The set of symptoms I've been seeing is:

• aching joints
• sore muscles (especially in the feet and legs)
• immune system dysfunction - colds, flus and allergies
• skin conditions such as rashes and dry, flaky, itchy skin
  
• constipation and/or diarrhoea
  

Sound familiar to you? Let's take an integrative (i.e. both allopathic and alternative) approach to figure out what might be the root cause of such symptoms occurring together. We'll start with the physical and then explore more deeply the emotional and energetic.

Physical

Skin problems such as acne, skin rashes and flaky, dry, and itchy skin often come back to liver and lack of bowel function. Your liver is one of your largest organs of detoxification. In Winter, when we stay indoors more, eat fattier richer foods, drink more alcohol to stay warm, and move less, we inevitably place more pressure on our livers. 

If you aren't eliminating the toxins that your liver has dealt with fast enough then there are only a few other places they can come out and a big one is the skin! Even if liver function tests come back as normal, the liver may still not be working optimally - liver function tests may only appear abnormal once liver function is very impaired.

This is where I'd recommend seeing a good naturopath who can provide herbs that will support your liver such as St Mary's Thistle, Globe Artichoke, Dandelion root, Schizandra, and Turmeric. These herbs all work in slightly different ways so leave it to your Naturopath to decide which ones are best for you.

Certain amino acids such as Methionine, in combination with B Vitamins, Inositol, and Choline are particularly good for supporting the function of the Cytochrome P450 or detoxification pathway of the liver. They are also particularly effective for getting fat out of storage and putting it back into circulation as an energy source, something that many of us could do with during the "Winter storage" period!

Similarly, if your bowels aren't eliminating fully, skin conditions may be exacerbated as the body tries to get rid of excess toxins through the skin. Constipation and/or diarrhoea that persist for weeks are one sign that your bowels are not working the way they really ought to, and are often accompanied by pain, cramping, gas, and bloating. There are a number of reasons the bowels may not be working optimally, ranging from relatively simple and benign to more serious, including:

• Not enough water or very poor diet
• Emotional or physical stress
• SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth) or Dysbiosis
• IBS (Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome)
• IBD, Diverticulitis, Crohn's or Coeliac disease
• Bowel or Ovarian Cancer
  
  

It's difficult to impossible to self-diagnose serious bowel issues so I recommend seeing a trusted medical practitioner for this one, and getting any necessary tests.

Energetic

In the past I may have attributed the "Winter set" of symptoms to liver and bowel issues, and the rest of the symptoms - allergies, colds, flus, and achey joints - to general Winter woes. But having recently undertaken an incredible training in energetic-based nutritional medicine, another more esoteric (and equally valid) explanation for ALL of these symptoms occurring together, became surprisingly apparent.

If you practice yoga, you have probably heard about the chakras or energy centres of our bodies. According to yogic science, there are seven chakras located along the length of the spinal column. Through these energy centres travel energy channels, known as nadis in yogic science. In Traditional chinese medicine, energy points are called meridians, and they correspond with the main nadis outlined by the ancient Indians.

This of course all points to the idea that we aren't just physical bodies; that we are energetic beings also. This is where my dietetic training comes to a cliff's edge, and my yogic training and understanding of more traditional healing wisdom steps in.

Anything we do, eat, say, feel or think purportedly has the ability to shift our collective energy field. This energy field has been recognised for thousands of years by numerous traditional wisdoms, such as Ayurveda, yogic science and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Spiritual practices, such as Qi gong and yoga open or increase this innate energy, and the philosophy behind certain martial arts implies that these energies can be developed and focused.

"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration" - Nikola Tesla

The training in energetic-based nutritional medicine I undertook, called Food & Spirit by developer Dr. Deanna Minich, helped me see a whole new side to the root cause of this particular set of symptoms which I see time and time again during the Winter months. It gave me a wider lens and a personalised toolkit that has already helped me better understand my clients' journeys to wellness, and allowed to me to help them on a much deeper level.

The Root Chakra

What I discovered was that this set of symptoms involves anatomy associated with the most grounded vibration in our chakra system, the root chakra. The root chakra is linked to survival, tribe, tradition, and grounding. According to Dr. Minich, "this slow, assured vibration supports our energetic structure, and provides the instinctual, primal template for who we are as physical human beings." As I re-discovered in my recent training (a reminder from yoga trainings past), the root chakra is responsible for the energy of body systems that provide us with physical structure, allowing us to make contact with - and ground ourselves to - the Earth.

Anatomy associated with the root chakra:

• joints
• bones & muscles
  
• large bowel and rectum
  
• legs & feet
• immune system
• skin
  

Revising this, I started to see a stronger connection between the usual Winter symptom set I described at the start, and our energetic body - not just the physical body!

At a basic level, the physical body is also connected to key elements that are formed from a very young age by our family patterns - aspects like safety, trust, and boundaries. When we are grounded in these fundamentals of everyday living, we feel secure and at ease in our physical bodies, ultimately translating into our relationship with foods and our eating practices and patterns.

Emotional

We are not just physical beings - we have emotional, mental and energetic aspects too. When I run an initial consultation I don't just ask about diet and physical symptoms. I try to get to know the client on a deeper level - who they are, what they stand for (core beliefs), personality, and current life issues. Naturally I started seeing root chakra issues in people with this symptom set, which was an amazing revelation for me to witness!

Core issues associated with the root chakra

• Ability to defend oneself
• Security (financial and physical)
• Safety
• Familial and social law and order
• Physical family
• Feeling "at home" and "grounded" with self, family, and community

When I looked closely, the clients I'd seen with skin issues, constipation, haemarrhoids, poor immune function, achey joints and muscle soreness often shared an interesting life situation - they were in between or highly dissatisfied with their jobs. Facing financial challenges. Feuding with family, or having to face big family issues. Often, they would mention that they felt "ungrounded" or "lost". The correlations were truly amazing, and have expanded my viewpoint of holistic health care to include the energetic system I know so well from my yoga practice.

Treating root chakra imbalance

A root chakra imbalance varies widely between people, depending on whether the chakra is deficient or excessive. One also needs to consider imbalances in other chakras, and the many individual lifestyle factors each person faces. As a general guideline, if you feel you are experiencing an imbalance in your root energy centre, you could look at addressing the following:

• Protein - getting an adequate and a healthy range of plant and/or animal-based protein, not too little or too much protein
  
• Including root vegetables for grounding
• Edible and medicinal mushrooms to boost the immune system
• Addressing bowel issues that may have been ignored
• Assessing for mineral deficiencies
• Investigating suspected food allergies
• Feeling secure about accessing food
• Eating when hungry
• Letting go of protecting oneself with food
• Engaging in healthy social eating
  
  

The recommendations I give to clients with the set of symptoms I described at the start may be based on purely clinical observations, or they may also take into account energetics. As a dietitian I can only practice within a certain scope and my recommendations are always based first and foremost on tangible clinical evidence.

But as a yoga teacher and firm advocate for integrative and energetic medicine I will always take into consideration non-physical factors when helping my clients, especially when there is so much overlap between physical, emotional and energetic symptoms. And especially when I see the great results I have witnessed by using a more integrative, holistic approach to health care.