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Daily Telegraph / Weekend
Had Elizabeth Peyton-Jones lived 500 years ago, she would have been burnt at the stake or tied to weights and hurled into a river to see if she floated. These days, however, her ilk goes by the name of 'naturopath' and 'herbalist'. Even so, a scientist might struggle to understand some of her mystical powers.
She infuses natural therapies with uncanny herbal wisdom to cure ME, gout, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, eczema, depression, infertility, colds, fevers, insomnia, stress, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, Candida, symptoms of menopause…in fact, anything short of amputation. She also practices something called NAET (Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique), a procedure for spotting and removing allergies, also used for testing organs and clearing 'emotional blockages'.'I'm a facilitator,' she said, when we met in her Bayswater flat. 'Everyone can achieve good health. I teach people how. I pick up where Jamie Oliver signs off. Using parsley as a garnish is a short step from using parsley as a diuretic or to prevent bruising. The knowledge is there. What's missing is our willingness to identify problems and take time to help ourselves.'
Natural help-yourself therapies are back in fashion. The zeitgeist is telling us that, when healing ourselves, the less we fiddle with Nature's bounty, the better for us all and the NHS. Heading the stampede to 'alternative' therapy are Gwyneth Paltrow, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Watts, Christy Turlington and the Royal Family. 'Most serious film stars and models have naturopaths,' says Peyton-Jones. 'We are the latest celebrity necessity.'
On the strength of two visits, it would be impertinent of me to comment on the efficaciousness of Peyton-Jones's remedies. I can tell you, however, that she diagnoses brilliantly. When we met, I was feeling absolutely fine, on top of the world. Within a few minutes, however, I was staring at myself with Peyton-Jones's eyes, and saw before me a crushed husk of a human being. Having examined my tongue, pulse and eyes, Peyton-Jones concluded that I had 'adrenal stress' which was causing fatigue and despondency. My digestion was not absorbing vitamins and minerals properly, and my colon 'needs a good clean'. Er, will that be all then, I quaked, sounding like Basil Fawlty vs. the Health Inspector.
'You have a congested liver, causing frustration, angry fits or at least intolerance to yourself or others.' THAT'S ABSOLUTE NONSENSE….Her diagnosis had an undeniable ring of plausibility. On the positive side, I have low cholesterol and no furred arteries. How can she tell without cutting me up? 'The irises tell the tale of the organs, signs of illness, toxins and chronic disease,' she said. 'The tongue tells the story of the blood, intestines, heart, lungs and liver. The pulse confirms the above, and indicates energy levels.'
Does Peyton-Jones have X-Ray vision? 'I have a good sense of who someone is the second I meet them,' she says. 'I know how they view themselves, me and their world. I can tell if they are in denial, or if they want to get well - you'd be surprised how many patients don't. That's my gift.'
Peyton-Jones then checked my allergies. One at a time, she handed me a sequence of tiny sealed vials of clear liquid, and tested my muscles for weakness. She tested me for eggs, sugar, salt, grains, iron and wine. I proved allergic to alcohol. 'The molecules in the vials vibrate to a frequency,' she said. 'If that energy field clashes with your energy field, a polarity is created which works against you.'
Ordinarily, Peyton-Jones would cure me with a combination of herbs, diet and NAET in two months' of weekly sessions. But a queue of fee-paying patients was beating at her door, so I couldn't linger.
Far from being technophobic believers in holistic hand-wavy mumbo jumbo, Peyton-Jones's patients include executives, actors and ordinary people who feel run down. A few have her on speed dial. One patient, an opera diva, cannot perform unless her throat and lungs are as clean as a whistle and clear as a bell. 'At any sign of infection, she rings me.' Another patient, head of a large corporation, was suffering hypoglaecaemia, insomnia, mood swings and sugar and alcohol cravings. After Peyton-Jones had cured him, he developed panic attacks while commuting to work. She cured those too.
One person whose life Peyton-Jones has revolutionised is Nicole Scott, an actress. Hospitalised with severe eczema, Scott tried acupuncture, Chinese herbs, hypnotherapy, kinesiology, reflexology, dermatologists, cognitive behavioural therapy, the full quack repertoire. She even tried her GP. One day she met a radiant-looking friend who previously had suffered ME and who pressed Peyton-Jones's card into her hand. After diagnosis, Peyton-Jones said that a cure would take 1.5 years.
Eight months into the treatment, Scott feels 'completely transformed'. She is now back at drama school and has an agent. 'Elizabeth offers a unique set of qualifications and gifts,' says Scott. 'I'd seen healers and hockey witch doctors, but the way she approached my condition was the most sensible of anyone I'd met.'
Many might scoff at Peyton-Jones's remedies as a load of chakras, not what they are quacked up to be. Peyton-Jones prefers to see herself as a beneficent, morally positive therapist in the tradition of Nicholas Culpeper, 17th century herbalist, who preached self-help medicine. 'Some people think I'm a witch with cauldron, black cats and toads,' she laughs. 'But I can change your life, if you are willing.'