Naturopathy is a form of alternative medicine where illnesses are treated through natural ways including nutrition and therapies instead of artificial drugs. Lately, naturopathy is gaining traction and people are turning to this alternative treatment option to get healed naturally. Barbara O’Neill is a renowned Australian naturopath and health educator who is widely known for her holistic approach to wellness and natural healing. In an exclusive conversation with Onlymyhealth, Barbara shares some valuable insights on naturopathy and nutrition.
Barbara’s philosophy to healing and taking care of the body
“My philosophy is keep it simple, make it realistic and have a look at these basic conditions. Yes, we need to drink more water so how are we going to do that? Yes, we need to go to bed earlier so how are we going to do that? So if you plan to go to bed at 9pm, you gotta be thinking about it at 6:30/7pm. So it's being realistic and having a look at food. How can I eat most of my food, breakfast and lunch instead of eating it in the evening,” shares Barbara.
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She suggests pre-planning of meals to make it easy for you to adapt to the new regime.
If you are planning to eat out, Barbara suggests, “ Look at when you can do it. Look at what time you can go out there. I am not going to go out at 12pm. But yes, I am going to get that at 9am. It's just analyzing and having a serious look at how you can do this.”
Also Read: What Is a 7-Day Gut Reset? Expert Shares Simple Meal Plan for Better Digestion
How is naturopathy a better alternative to healing?
“It's a much better technique for healing because it's working with the healing powers that are already in our body. It's just knowing a little bit more about how the body works because when you know how the body works, then you know how to treat it and then you know what to do with it to bring that healing. It's that simple,” answers Barbara.
What are some simple changes we can make to boost our health?
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Here are some simple yet important suggestions by Naturopath Barbara O’Neill:
- Turn the hot tap off at the end of your hot shower and have about 10 seconds cold. Maybe in a week, you can have about 20 seconds cold. Benefits of cold shower include that is one of the best immune system boosters that we can give to our body.
- Start drinking more water. Instead of half a glass in the morning, try for a whole glass. You don't have to drink it all at once. Just spread it out.
- Look how you can implement a simple exercise program. Look at how you can do something in the morning. If you are unable to walk and go outside, do some push ups and squats because the body must move.
- Have a look at how you can introduce more fruits and vegetables in your life. Start planning to go to bed a little bit earlier.
What are some nutrition related myths you think need to be busted?
Salt is bad is a big myth.
People have been using salt for centuries. A lot of things aren't really tasty without salt. We must have salt. The problem is most people are using refined salt and that is actually dangerous. There are 92 minerals in sea water. Probably, every country has their own salt. They sometimes have 70 and sometimes 80 minerals in them. Our body needs salt. We are salty people. Our blood is salty and so we need a little bit of salt.
Also Read: Is Drinking Salt Water Really A Thing? Expert Shares Benefits and More
The other myth is that fat is bad.
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No, fat is not bad. People have been eating fats for centuries. The two fats that have stood the test of time are coconut oil and olive oil. Before the industrial revolution, heart disease was hardly heard of. But ever since the industrial revolution suddenly exploded, it's not just because of the fat but because of the high heat and chemical equipment during the industrial revolution to be able to extract oil out of hard seeds. That produced those cheap seed oils. Peanut oil or soya oil, canola oil, be careful of those cheap seed oils. They are dangerous. Our body actually needs natural fats.