"Do You Check Your Own Blood?" - Being a Live Blood Analyst
“Do you check your own blood?”
I often get asked this question by my clients and the answer, of course, is “yes”!
In fact, I am extremely grateful for my microscope, it has helped me to gain a deeper understanding about how the human body reacts and responds to the stresses of life.
After looking at my own blood under the microscope over the last 8 years I have witnessed how it has changed throughout the ups and downs in my own health. I believe this has helped me become a much more informed nutritionist and now, I cannot imagine life without my microscope.
The Truth is in Your Blood
When I first trained in LDBA I remember sitting in class along with about 12 other nutritionists, herbalists, naturopaths and health practitioners feeling very apprehensive when asked by our tutor – “Who would like to have their blood taken so we can all look at it under the microscope together?” There was no rush of hands; instead there was hesitation and reluctance.
We were fearful of what our own blood would reveal – “Will our cells show that even though we believed we were doing all the right things to be healthy – we were not healthy on the inside? Had we got it all wrong?”
We soon got used to putting ourselves under the microscope and became completely fascinated by this amazing tool for assessing our health. Once I was in the privacy of my own home with my own microscope, I could see my blood as often as I liked, This is when I really began to realise it’s worth, not only to my own health but also to my family’s and my clients.
Healer Heal Thyself
I became a nutritionist because changing my diet literally changed my life. I had ME/CFS twenty five years ago and I recovered within two years due to a massive diet change, taking a variety of supplements and using naturopathic techniques.
I still need to be cautious with my own health and being able to analyse my blood has helped me understand some of the root causes of the symptoms I still suffered from.
Lingering colds, weak immune system.
One of the biggest health issues that had continued to linger since recovering from ME/CFS was my seemingly sluggish immune system. I could feel a cold coming over a period of weeks; I would eventually get some symptoms such as blocked sinuses, foggy head, achy body and headaches but they would take months to clear completely.
To understand why this was happening I decided to analyse my blood when I next felt I was coming down with a cold. I discovered that my white blood cells, specifically my neutrophils, were very small, there were not as many as there should be and that their nuclear lobes were undefined and “cloudy”.
Comparison between normal and small/cloudy Neutrophils
All of this indicated that my white blood cells were deficient in certain nutrients – they needed minerals and vitamins to help them be produced normally in the bone marrow, and they needed fuel in the form of antioxidants in order to be viable immune cells.
I created a bespoke protocol that would aim to boost the immune system, replenish the antioxidants – such as vitamin C, zinc, selenium – to encourage healthier neutrophils.
I boosted my B12 and folate levels with supplements but also checked my diet for the right foods, and supported the digestive system to make sure the nutrients could be digested and absorbed.
I saw my neutrophils improve over a period of a few months and after six months of following my protocol my body had a proper cold! I had a real fever and chills, lots of mucous and these acute symptoms only lasted for three days. I recovered within a week rather than a few months.
Helping the Ones I Love
The most valuable thing to me is health, not just my own but also my family’s. When you love someone you do whatever you can to help them.
When my husband became sick five years ago, it was the biggest challenge of my career.
He had many diagnostic tests issued by both his Dr and functional medical practitioners and has had many interpretations of what may be going on in his body. Initially he was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/M.E and later he was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and co-infections.
I have analysed his blood from the time he first started to feel ill, throughout his anti-viral and antibiotic medication and during his herbal protocols. In times of frustration when nothing seemed to be working or when a symptom would come on suddenly without apparent provocation, I have been able to look at his blood, make an assessment and offer advice. This had many advantages:
Reassurance – because I knew my husband’s blood well, I was able to judge when things changed. This helped me to reassure him when he was feeling rough and was worried that things were getting worse.
I was able to assess his blood during the various protocols he tried which included prescribed medications as well as herbal and supplement protocols, checking for changes or new developments.
It gave me the sense that I was able to help and make a positive contribution to the man I love, even if I couldn’t offer a cure.
It also gave me a valuable insight into the progress of a diagnosis such as this which is often vague, hard to treat and fraught with a lot of “try and see” approaches to finding relief from symptoms.
“Somethings just not right – I need to look at his blood.”
Just recently my youngest son has been poorly. He has been having a repeated cycle of nausea, dizziness and stomach pain that comes every few weeks. At first I assumed it was a tummy bug and it passed after a few days, but when it returned again a week or so later I knew I had to look at his blood.
I could see all the signs of a parasite infection and this enabled me to take immediate action and put an anti-parasitic protocol into place for him. I loved the reassurance my microscope gave me. As a Mum, that is priceless.
It is often harder to help those you love because you care so much, the emotions can take over and you can lose your focus. My microscope has been my rock to cling to when I was worried about my family and helped me use my knowledge to take positive action to help them.
The beauty of being able to use Live & Dry Blood Analysis is that I can get immediate results, no waiting for tests or appointments and I can take action straight away.
Having my own microscope gives me the opportunity to experiment!
With so many new supplements being produced, new types of tests being invented and theories about health and diet being written about, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by all of this information input! How do you, as a nutritionist, absorb it all and use it effectively to help clients?
I have used my microscope to experiment on myself by doing many “before and after” blood checks. I have tried new supplements over a period of months and checked my blood to see if there are any changes. I have induced a hangover (all in the name of science of course!) and administered hangover cures and seen how my blood changed.
What the blood looks like during detox - I conducted a gallbladder and liver cleanse on myself and I analysed my blood before I started, during the detox and once I had finished so that I could track how my blood changed during the process. It really helped me understand that once you start a detox it doesn’t end.
I learned to allow the body the time it needed to complete a detox. Your body will continue the process for some time after you have finished the detox routine.
Once toxins are kicked out of their hiding place in the cells and tissues, you must check that they are indeed being excreted and are not left circulating in the blood able to settle somewhere else.
Detox Before & After
Pleasant Side-effects
Having constant access to my own microscope has been a huge benefit to my health, my family’s health and my clients’ health. It has allowed me to grow in my knowledge and experience of the human body and how it is in constant flux, adapting and responding to its internal environment.
I have learned also that we are all truly unique and our own blood has a unique signature – I can see patterns, similarities and a range of abnormalities in everyone’s blood but the particular collection of indications in a person’s blood is unique to them.
I initially trained in LDBA because I thought it would help me be more effective as a nutritionist, which it absolutely has. I completely underestimated just how valuable it would be to my own health and the health of my loved ones.
If you would like to know more about Live and Dry Blood Analysis Training so that you can use it to assess your clients’ health then please follow this link.
You are also invited to join our Facebook Group ‘Learning Live Blood Analysis’ - a private group of students, qualified analysts and anyone interested in learning.
If you have any questions about this topic or LDBA in general please email Shirah directly at info@naturecureacademy.com or add a comment below!
