My natural health kick started in April 2009 when I decided that I was tired of getting antibiotics and drugs from traditional doctors. I didn't feel like it was doing anything. I remember watching Michael Moore's SICKO documentary about how doctors in the UK are paid more if they get patients healthy - which means they need to treat the source - not the symptoms. Living in Australia, natural health and alternative health solutions are much more common and accepted. In the US, you simply walk into a doctors office, they give you a pill and you walk out. No one gives you the 'why' to the symptoms.
My first visit to the naturopath was eye-opening and the blood screening was the wake-up call that tipped me over the edge and on my path to be come a 'healthinator'. Here's what we found:
Annulocytes (medium)
Annulocytes are also known as 'target cells' due to their characteristic inner ring, which indicates that the cells are not full inflated. This is typically due to a lack of haemoglobin inside the cell, which may be caused by nutrient insufficiency. A mild annulocyte-like appearance may occure with dehydration.Erythrocyte Aggregation (mild)
Your red blood cells are sticking to one another and forming clumps, due to being coated in sticky proteins. This is a sign that there may be inflammation happening in your body. This inflammation can be associated with infection, allergy, toxicity, poor digestion or unhealthy dietary choices [regularly ate take out, although I thought I chose healthier options, in reviewing my behaviour I didn't].
Fibrin - Clusters (medium)
Clusters of fibrin, resembling small spider's webs (observed within 10 mins) indicate that your body my be experience inflammation. Fibrin may also indicate liver stress, which can be caused by dietary or lifestyle factors.
Platelet Aggregation (medium)
Platelets are responsible for blood clotting. Various lifestyle choices (such as smoking [I don't smoke] or eating fatty foods) and disease states may make platelets stickier, resulting in platelet aggregations. Large aggregations can be a sign of an increased tendency to blood clotting.
In my next post, I'll review the progress I've made since then. But, so I don't leave the 'chapter' in suspense... things have remarkably improved.
I liked to joke that if 5 = steel, then my 5++ was adamantium (Wolverine's indestructible metal alloy skeleton). He also said he was able to tell that I was a type A personality (which I am completely) from the way I sat and composed my email.
