Author Archives: Lily Kiswani

About Lily Kiswani

I am an Integrative medicine practitioner. I transitioned into Integrative medicine after three decades of Gynecology practice and Endoscopic surgery. I was the first female Laparoscopic surgeon in India. I have co-authored a textbook, Endoscopic Gynecologic Surgery, available on Amazon. Now, after all these years, with the realisation that I can help people regain their lost health, I find myself inordinately excited and blessed to have this opportunity.

How Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Health Concerns Can Be Addressed by Changing What You Eat

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Adapted from Heather McClees

WHO recommends that we eat 9 to 13 servings of vegetables and fruit daily. A serving equals 1/2 cup, cooked, or 1 cup uncooked. A cup being 250ml capacity. Another blogpost, ‘What should I eat’ explains serving size with illustrations.

Why should we eat so much of vegetables – preferably organic?

Simple, because we can avoid the following chronic illnesses. That’s it. No medicines, no costly investigations, no fear of illness. Safe and low cost, low maintenance.

1. Cancer

Let’s start with a biggie, shall we? Plant-based nutrition is now something the American Cancer Society promotes as the smart way to go. A whole foods, plant-based diet is full of all the right foods to fight cancer right where it starts: at the cellular process where what you eat is literally what you become.

2. Diabetes

Another biggie to tackle is Type 2 diabetes. That doesn’t mean those with Type 1 should ignore the research either. A plant-based diet can normalize blood sugar levels due to the high amounts of fiber and reduce inflammation, weight gain, and arterial plaque that comes from diabetes and is now promoted as the way to eat by many medical organizations.

3. Obesity

Plants like whole grains, beans, greens, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and fruits all promote a healthy waistline, heart, and fill you up so you’re never hungry and resort to unhealthy eating patterns. A plant-based diet has helped people all over the world lose weight, and has been shown to be the most effective at helping individuals overcome food addictions and overeating.

4. Heart Disease

Whole grains lower cholesterol and clear the arteries, beans and legumes do the same while providing protein and antioxidants, and veggies, leafy greens, and fruits all contain powerful antioxidants such as vitamins and minerals for the heart. Nuts and seeds also contain healthy fats that happen to be free of cholesterol and that are also rich in anti-inflammatory protein and beneficial omega 3 fatty acids. Studies have confirmed that a diet high in whole foods, plant-based fibers reduces cardiovascular disease and has even been found to completely prevent and reverse heart disease.

5. Chronic Inflammation (Arthritis, Gout, Joint Pain)

Greens,vegetables, herbs, seaweeds, some fruits and grains, and raw nuts and seeds are some of the best foods to eat to combat inflammation.

Stay Healthy!

Triclosan – Do You See This Word in Your Home?

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Triclosan is an antibacterial compound added to soap, toothpaste and household cleaning agents, in the belief that disinfecting our surroundings is good for health.

Yes it is. But there’s a BUT.

Routinely disinfecting our body and surroundings may actually cause far more harm than good in the long run.

Not only does it promote the development of drug-resistant bacteria, but antibacterial compounds such as triclosan have also been linked to a number or harmful health effects, especially in young children.

Triclosan has been linked to:

  • Allergies
  • Thyroid dysfunction
  • Hormone disruption
  • Weight gain
  • Inflammation leading to disease

Most recently, triclosan was found to aggravate the growth of liver and kidney tumors.

Besides hand soaps and products specifically marketed as antibacterial, triclosan can also be found in a number of other household and personal care products, including cutting boards, toys, acne cream, and even toothpaste.

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At present, Colgate Total is the only triclosan-containing toothpaste sold in the US, but it’s a best-seller—chances are you have a tube in your bathroom right now. If you do, consider this: if triclosan can cause serious health problems when used topically, using it in your mouth is likely even worse, as chemicals are readily absorbed into your oral tissues.

Colgate claims its product is safe, of course, citing a Cochrane Review as supporting evidence. However, the authors, Philip Riley and Thomas Lamont, specifically noted that the studies did not allow them to assess any long-term side effects.

Warm water and a mild soap is really all you need to scrub off the germs. Even the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that “there is currently no evidence that [antibacterial soaps] are any more effective at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water.”

Proper Hand Washing Techniques

In one recent study, only five percent of people washed their hands in a way that would actually kill infection and illness-causing germs. So, to make sure you’re actually removing the germs when you wash your hands,

  • Use warm, running water and a mild soap (avoid antibacterial soap)
  • Work up a good lather, all the way up to your wrists, scrubbing for at least 15 or 20 seconds (most people only wash for about 6 seconds)
  • Make sure you cover all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers, and around and below your fingernails
  • Rinse thoroughly under running water
  • In public places, use a paper towel to open the door to protect from germs on the handles. Avoid hot air hand driers, they encourage growth of bacteria by fostering a warm, humid environment.

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Keeping Yourself and Your Home Clean, Safely

It is highly advisable to ditch all chemical disinfectants, including antibacterial soaps, laundry detergents, and bath and kitchen cleansers, in favor of more natural alternatives.

Coconut oil also has potent disinfectant properties, and can be used to disinfect wooden cutting boards. Sunlight is another powerful disinfectant.

Truly, there’s no need to expose your family to dangerous chemical disinfectants. As an added bonus aside from the health benefits, using natural cleansers is much less expensive than commercial varieties.

Be Informed. And Be Healthy.

 

Why an Integrative Medicine approach to Illness

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I have been involved with Integrative Medicine (IM) since 8 years now, including it in my Gynecology practice, and since almost a year now I am practicing it full time. I have given away my laparoscopy equipment, since I am thoroughly convinced about the potential, the results and the logic of an Integrative approach to healing.

Anyone who is following my blog, or has knowledge about the subject, knows that the approach is very simple – get the body into balance so that it can heal itself.

Once the body is in balance, it can recover. Illness can recede, paving the way to good health. Without any side effects. Contrast with the traditional approach, which I practised for 30 years. Never could we claim to reverse chronic conditions, only control them, often at the cost of possible damage to other organs from side effects of the synthetic medicines.

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It is self evident that, even someone who chooses to follow the traditional route to treating illness, will benefit from adopting IM principles. After all, we are what we eat so it follows that if we eat well, our nutritional status and therefore our immune status, is optimum. And if immune status is optimum, no illness can come close, be it a respiratory infection, or diabetes, or even cancer.

That is the reason everyone – ‘normal healthy’ individuals, or persons taking traditional treatment for any illness – cardiovascular disease, acne, cancer, anything – will always benefit from following IM principles. It can only help faster and more complete recovery. There is NO downside.

Just BeHealthy. And StayHealthy!

 

Image Courtesy Google

 

Mercury Dental Fillings are TOXIC

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Mercury pollution is growing across the globe.

In the words of Charlie Brown, President of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, “Amalgam is a “primitive, polluting, 19th century product that began when physicians were sawing off legs. Medicine has since moved forward.”

Consider these disturbing facts:

  • Amalgam is the MOST EXPENSIVE dental material when you count environmental costs and clean-up costs.
  • Amalgam is the number one cause of mercury exposure for consumers, according to the Canadian government and other sources.
  • Mercury from dental offices is the largest source of mercury in wastewater. At least 40 percent of mercury flowing into municipal water treatment plants begins in dentist offices. And those plants are not set up to remove it, so it ends up in your fish.
  • Amalgams of the dead post a risk to the living. Emissions from the combustion of mercury fillings during cremation are a significant contaminator of air, waterways, soil, wildlife and food. It is estimated that, left unchecked, crematoria will be the largest single cause of mercury pollution by 2020.

In Sweden, it is mandatory that teeth be extracted prior to cremation.

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According to Charlie Brown, the FDA is far behind the rest of the world in stepping up to the plate to reduce mercury. The FDA has been standing in the way of banning these dangerous dental materials since 1976.

  • Canada advised dentists to stop placing amalgam in children and pregnant women in 1996!
  • Denmark, Norway and Sweden have essentially banned amalgams.
  • There are 5,636 hospitals in developing countries that are committed to or already mercury-free. The majority of these are in the Philippines, India, and Argentina.

Check what your dentist is planning to use. And if it is a mercury amalgam, Refuse. Also, it’s  wise to have existing amalgam fillings removed, but by a qualified dentist, for the procedure is delicate and can be potentially risky.