Today’s interview with naturopath Jenny Blondel discusses mononucleosis natural treatment including diet, supplements, exercise and stress management.
Hi its Liz Noble here, and today we are talking with Jenny Blondel – a qualified naturopath. Jenny has qualifications in naturopathy, nutrition, botanical medicine and homeopathy, as well as a wealth of experience behind her. She has been in practice for over 13 years, both in Australia and the UK.
So welcome Jenny
Hello Liz
Firstly can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the field of natural medicine?
Well Liz I’ve always been interested in health, and really just naturally fell into it. I studied a four year full time degree many years ago and gained qualifications in naturopathy, homeopathy, nutrition and herbal medicine. That was about 13 years ago now.
Do you believe that there is a trigger for patients picking up the Epstein Barr virus that causes mononucleois or glandular fever?
Absolutely Liz. I think there are quite a few triggers and the main one, at the top of the list would be stress. Doing too much, not looking after their health, burning the candle at both ends. I find it common in teenagers and young adults.
Yes – very true! Can you tell us about the procedures that you go through when you have a patient presenting with mono?
Liz I take a thorough family and medical case history. I go through their presenting symptoms. I look at their diet and lifestyle choices like their job and how many hours they work, their exercise patterns and other health habits. And then I use tools such as iridology and the biomarker machine and mineral checks to offer a wholistic approach.
You sound very thorough. And the mineral tests are like the taste test, tongue and nail signs. Is that correct?
Absolutely Liz. And also in regards to the biomarker machine, that’s measuring people’s cell quality and cell function, their fluid distribution, their body composition index and also their biological age.
So you can gauge a patient’s results over time with that machine?
And that’s what they love. They love to see their health improving, and it’s actually on paper.
Absolutely. Now Jenny, are there are other diseases which can mimic mono in terms of the symptoms?
Yes Liz, in regards to symptoms, starting with fatigue, other conditions that can be related are low thyroid function or adrenal exhaustion, anaemia, low blood pressure and even depression can cause fatigue.
In regards to fever and swollen glands – its usually a virus or bacteria in the body. It’s always important to get a blood test from the patient’s doctor to confirm it is actually mono.
In regards to aching muscles, we could be looking at nutritional deficiencies such as magnesium or even neuromuscular diseases like MS or fibromyalgia. It’s very important to get tests done.
A lot of our patients who have mono have been told just to go home and rest by their doctors, and have lots of fluids. Do you think this advice is adequate?
Unfortunately this is really all that doctors can advise – apart from offering sick notes. They really don’t have any specific treatment up their sleeve to help patients with mono. Wheras a naturopath can use high dose supplements, herbs, homeopathics and lifestyle remedies to actually improve their health, and for the patient to recover a lot faster.
What are the consequences of patients who ignore their symptoms and try and push on with their busy lives?
I see this time and time again when patients approach me in my clinic. There is a risk of prolonging their illness, and even ending up with more severe conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, ME and fibromyalgia.
How do you treat a patient in the acute stage of mono?
Liz in the acute stage, I always ensure the patient gets adequate rest and sleep. I get them to feel better again as soon as possible using high dose supplements, herbs and homeopathic remedies.
What particular supplements do you prescribe?
I prescribe very high dose vitamin C, zinc, magnesium, B complex, essential fatty acids such as the omega 3 fish oils, and the use of herbal medicine such as echinacea, St Johns Wort, cat’s claw and lymphatic herbs like blue flag and poke root.
Do you recommend a certain diet?
Yes Liz, I recommend a balanced diet such as the blood sugar diet, and an alkaline diet as well. Where the foods are more alkaline to reduce acidity in the body. Such as lemon juice in warm water.
Do you prescribe any exercise or physical therapy for patients recovering from mono?
I recommend gentle walking, yoga, tai chi and even gentle massage.
So nothing too difficult in the early stages obviously?
That’s right.
Some patients experience mono for weeks, months or even years in some bad cases. For a patient who presents with chronic mono do you do anything differently?
Liz I look to liver and gastrointestinal cleansing. I also look at emotional support. I look for secondary infections or other factors which may be suppressing their immune system. And I also give very strong antioxidants to stop further cell damage occurring.
And what kind of secondary infections have you seen in chronic sufferers?
The secondary infections I’ve seen are conditions like viruses, candida – a yeast, mycoplasma, Chlamydia pneumonia and Lyme’s disease – a tick borne disease. And that’s just to name a few.
What about the patients you have seen both in Australia and the UK. What sort of experiences have they had from using natural therapies to get over mono?
Liz I’ve seen my patients respond extremely well and at a much faster rate than they would have on their own. And they always appear ever so grateful for coming my way and me prescribing what I have in my data base, such as herbs, homeopathics and high dose vitamins to help them on their way.
Do you think that over the years that you have been in practice that you are now seeing more cases of immune disorders like mono or chronic fatigue syndrome? And if so why do you think that is?
Yes Liz. I am definitely seeing more cases of chronic fatigue syndrome, and mono and ME. The reasons I think are that people who have busy lives are just burning the candle at both ends, and causing greater stress than ever. Its really people taking on more than they ever have before. They have really increased the stress around them.
I know how busy you are, so I’ll let you go for now. It’s been lovely talking to you, and good to hear your treatment approach. Thank you for your time and we’ll talk again soon.
Thank you Liz
Bye for now.
For further information on mononucleosis natural treatment please refer to the e-book “Nature’s Amazing Mononucleosis Cures” by qualified naturopath Elizabeth Noble. Mononucleosis natural treatment includes a healthy diet, nutritional supplementation, graded exercise, stress reduction, liver cleansing and adequate rest and sleep. The e-book also comes with personal email support with Elizabeth.
