Introduction The vast majority of illness is progressive, whereby a minor ailment can, over a period of time, develop into a related but more serious condition.  This type of complaint can often be traced to toxins which we have accumulated, or even inherited through our family. The suppression of even a simple cold blocks the body’s natural channels of elimination and can lead to a more serious complaint developing in the future.  Every time we suppress an illness we deny our immune systems’ ability to deal with an illness naturally, thus increasing our toxicity and reducing the body’s ability to deal with future illness. The food we eat today is often less nutritious than in previous generations, with residues of pesticides and processing additives.  Preservation of foods through canning, or even freezing removes vital trace elements, such as zinc, manganese and calcium and the chemicals used during this process affect the body's ability to absorb the remaining trace minerals. The addition of preservatives, colourings, emulsifiers, food additives, artificial flavourings, antibiotic and hormone residues will all accumulate in the body causing increased toxicity. This burden on the immune system will affect the absorption and utilisation of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients and a poor quality diet will incur greater imbalances, affecting cell function and inevitably resulting in ill-health. The Ann Shaw Clinic of Nutritional Medicine >>   HOME Clinics Teddington, Claygate, Surbiton & Sutton Experience Practicing since 1992 (17 years) Qualifications/ Accreditations DThD.DN Med., T.A.S.K. M.BANT. NTCC British Association for Applied Nutrition & Nutritional Therapy (BANT) Nutritional Therapy Council Certified (NTCC) Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) Registered Practitioner Contact 020 8977 0463 ann@annshawclinic.com