Meg Mathews on cleansing your gut and your emotions

From Red Online

Having a healthy gut is now seen as the cornerstone to good health. And menopause and gut health are intrinsically linked. The complexity of the gut and its importance to our overall health, and hormonal imbalance, is a topic that is being increasingly debated and researched. I have long been an advocate and wanted to know more.

During the menopause our oestrogen levels fall. This can have a debilitating effect on the gut, as oestrogen helps fuel the good bacteria needed to maintain good gut health. Modern medications, such as antibiotics, can also affect the gut wall and cause problems, so it’s imperative to rebalance. I’d recently had to take antibiotics for my tooth root and was feeling flat, bloated and very imbalanced.

And, with my menopause symptoms I was finding just simple things I took for granted were taken away from me - sleep, energy levels, mood, sex, stress levels, weight, the lot!

Going to Lanserhof

I’d heard amazing things about Lanserhof. Global pioneers in modern and holistic medicine, with clinics in Germany, Austria and soon London, Lanserhof takes a 360 approach to wellness, which is heavily focused around good digestive health. It’s a proven fact that the state of our intestinal flora has a direct influence on our health. The food we eat and the time we eat affects our entire body, as digestion, the extraction of nutrients and detoxification happen in our digestive tract. If the intestinal wall is damaged, food intolerances and allergies can be the consequence and the gut become a toxic place.

Gut health can also be the root cause for both physical and mental health issues, as well as digestive issues. I decided to undergo the signature Lans Med Concept, at Lanserhof Tegernsee in Germany, which is described as’ an intelligent symbiosis of modern medicine, naturopathy, validated therapy methods and the latest scientific research’. The concept is built over 30 years by the influence of specialists who ‘approach the human body as a whole’ and based on the principles of detoxification and deacidification of the body. Only a ‘detoxified body’ is capable of regenerating and responding to different treatments. With a combination of the LANS Med Concept, traditional naturopathy and state-of-the-art medical diagnostics, the team at Lanserhof aim to tackle these problems at their root in order to create lasting change.

I arrived with a mixture of feelings. I knew it was going to be tough, both physically and emotionally and I was also alone. And while loving the idea of having a few days to myself, I’m usually going mad after more than three days without company. So, this was going to be a challenge.

Beginning my gut health journey...

I arrived early in the morning on a Sunday (the best day to arrive before starting the seven day Lans Med programme). The setting was really amazing, very peaceful, and set high in the mountains of Tegernsee, in Bavaria. The clinic itself was state of the art, almost monastic and super modern.

There are many reasons that people check in at Lanserhof. As well as digestive issues, stress, burnout, weight, sleep and emotional issues are very common. For me, it was probably a combination of them all. I needed to regenerate and get my gut back on track.

After checking in to my state-of-the-art room looking out towards the mountains, I had a one to one consultation and medical examination with my doctor, during which time I was analysed, examined, and asked general questions about my health, gut, lifestyle and whether I had any particular issues or concerns. I was then provided with a tailor-made plan for the week, based on my consultation and the results of my medical examination.

There are six different pillars that support the programme: rest, cleansing, training, substitution, exercise and mindfulness. During the programme, body and mind is put into resting phases that are integrated into a day-to-day routine.

Having a clean gut is key. So, the first step was to get this in order. Chewing training is (30 times minimum per mouthful) and an individual detox plan assigned to me. Each detox application supports the dietary change while the physiotherapists and therapists help the body to find a new balance and strength.

In addition to the Lans Med programme, one of the treatments I had heard about A LOT from people who had been before was the Deep Liver Detox. This state-of-the-art treatment is known to effectively and quickly cleanse the digestive tract while supplying your system with vitamin and mineral infusions. My doctor agreed that this also would be a recommended treatment for me and booked me in for the next day.

Now, as you know, I don’t drink alcohol anymore and lead a pretty heathy existence. So, I didn’t think had much to detox from, apart from my recent medications. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I took the infusion intravenously, and pretty much immediately started to feel achy and weak. Luckily, I had my CBD oil with me, which helped me remain calm. The following few days I felt progressively worse, with aches, inflammations and pains, to the point where I very nearly went home. By day 5 however, everything quite suddenly clear. My incredible therapist, Zara (who also managed my colonics), explained that our emotions are stored in the liver and that by cleansing the liver with infusions, we clear the body of negative thoughts and feelings. I realised that mine had been stored there for years, hence it being the hardest thing, emotionally, I have ever possibly done in my life. And as well as all that emotion, there was lots of anger there, which was all being flushed out by the process.

It had taken me five whole days to go through this process and afterwards I felt grounded, clear, light and truly happy for the first time in years. I really had gone on a physical and emotional journey with Lanserhof. On my return everybody commented on not just how well I looked (which was an added bonus as I had lost some weight) but much more importantly, that I seemed different; softer, stronger and lighter. And its stayed with me since, which I am eternally grateful for.

Here are my top tips for good gut (and emotional) health:

• Chew lots and eat slowly. Be mindful of what you eat!

• Stop the bad habits: smoking, excessive caffeine, and alcohol. It’s obvious, but we need to remind ourselves.

• Try and manage your stress levels

• Get more sleep

• Try & detox or gut cleanse at least once a year

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LANSERHOF

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