There is a growing interest in iridology and kinesiology, but do these alternative health practices work and can they be trusted? asks CLODAGH MULVEY
THEY MAY be the windows to the soul, but the eyes also act as a tool to help some alternative health practitioners identify looming problems.
The practice, known as iridology, claims to distinguish between healthy organs in the body and those which are overactive, inflamed or distressed, by examining the patterns, colours and markings of the iris.
It is steadily rising in popularity here. So too is kinesiology, a relatively new practice which incorporates the ancient energetic aspects of traditional Chinese medicine to work with the body’s energy meridians and acupressure reflex points.
But as footfall increasingly moves from the local doctor’s surgery to the local complementary health practice, valid questions arise, such as: do these alternative health practices work, and can they be trusted?
Helen Begadon, director of the Irish School of Natural Healing in Portlaoise, argues that the answer to both these questions is an unequivocal yes.
An iridologist and herbalist for 25 years, Begadon insists however, that she does not diagnose her patients. She says she assesses their individual susceptibility to disease and general state of health, using iridology as a tool.
“The approach is different,” she explains. “We don’t approach the symptoms the way the medical profession does during diagnosis. We approach the person. Symptoms are just clues as to what may be going on underneath. Symptoms are not the disease.”
Iridology dates back to ancient Greece and was popularised by homeopathic physicians in Germany as recently as the 1930s.
Like the foot in reflexology, iridologists claim the iris of the eye acts like a map of the body showing the nerve supply to each organ and, consequently, its condition.
In addition, a practitioner can locate emotional root causes for organ imbalances or reveal a person’s creative strengths and abilities, Begadon says.
The iris shows “inherited organ strengths and weaknesses and also experiences you may have acquired during your life, which means the practitioner can see quite early on what organs are likely to cause problems later in life – if a person maintains a toxic lifestyle,” she explains.
“Given most people’s lack of healthy lifestyle nowadays – with the amount of processed foods and sugars and medications we ingest – late onset diabetes is a massive problem,” she says.
“From an iridology point of view, you could have six people who all eat loads of sugar, processed and fatty foods – three of whom will develop diabetes and three who won’t. I can see from a person’s iris who is most likely to develop it, because of certain markings and colouring on the iris which indicate a tendency to poor pancreas function or an inherited tendency to poor pancreas function.
“So, I can see somebody in their 40s who has a very sweet tooth or poor diet and can say, that from the markings I can see in the iris, I think you would seriously need to consider giving up junk food and sugar because that tendency is there. That’s not to tell them that they’re going to get diabetes, but that if you do this and this, you won’t. So it’s a positive and holistic assessment tool. You give people guidelines,” she says.
Dublin-based kinesiologist Liz Svensson says her approach to diagnosis is also holistic and nothing akin to a medical diagnosis. “I don’t make diagnoses and don’t know any kinesiologist who does,” she says. “That’s for doctors to do.”
Developed in the US in 1964 by chiropractor Dr George Goodheart, kinesiology uses muscle testing to decipher where an imbalance exists in the body and whether it is chemical, energetic, physical or emotional in origin.
Muscle testing involves the therapist putting a client into the “testing position” – an arm held straight out in front of them for example.
The kinesiologist then asks the client to resist light pressure on their arm, while asking them about foods or other possible causes for the ailment. Where there is no imbalance, the person will easily resist the pressure and the arm will remain in its original position, otherwise it will fall.
A subtle practice, kinesiologists believe the body carries within it an inherent wisdom, which if tapped into, can reveal what it requires to right itself, Svensson explains.
Many of Svensson’s clients have come to her after a medical diagnosis of IBS – irritable bowel syndrome.
“But IBS is a description of the symptom – it’s not a disease,” she insists. “To me, IBS is an alarm bell that says there is something wrong.”
Her approach, she explains, is to check for toxins, candida, parasites and bacteria and to work at getting rid of them.
“I ask the client to bring in the top 10 things they eat and we do food testing with them. Following this I work on rebuilding their gut through the use of vitamins and food supplements and suggest lifestyle changes.
“I also check for mental stress and rebalance this by helping disconnect the stressful thought from the physical reaction to it, which may be producing acid in the stomach.
“Kinesiology brings about dramatic change for the better in people’s lives,” she believes.
English language summer school organiser Neil O’Riordan chose kinesiology for the treatment of a rash he developed on his face during a stressful period in his job.
He says he was delighted to find it cured within 24 hours, after enduring it for two weeks previously.
Dissatisfied with the “closed”, symptom-based approach of orthodox medicine and prescription of pharmaceutical medication, O’Riordan believes it is important to incorporate complementary therapies into the modern healthcare arena.
“You’ve got to look at all of the knowledge out there. Traditional Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years and I think you have to give it some respect,” he says.
Begadon agrees. “Iridologists, herbalists, reflexologists and kinesiologists, who may have some difficulty in setting up an evidence base for their work, are actually very, very popular,” she says.
“Modern medicine is fantastic in the treatment of acute illness and if you are in a car crash, then you need to go to the accident and emergency and not to an iridologist or herbalist.
“But each has its place and while orthodox medicine does amazing work, it’s got to know its own limitations – the same way that alternative medicine must know its limitations.
“The medical profession really cannot claim success in every aspect of health. While it can claim success in some areas, we can claim success in the maintenance of public health and motivating people towards healthy lifestyles. We have to work together.”
For more information, see greenmedicine.ie; iridologyireland.ie and kinesiology.ie