Liz James

* Although we could explore skin clues for the rest of the year, today we’ll wrap up dermal geographical points of interest. You’re getting the idea, right? The body, especially its “packaging” gives loads and loads of early clues as to the direction a body’s health may be headed. As with GPS, you can pay attention to the map and gain control over where you are heading, or you can ignore the map/clues……… and who knows where you may end up! 

* Acanthosis nigricans (AN) is a skin abnormality that results in velvety darker discolorations found most often in body folds and creases. The discoloration develops gradually over time and is most often seen across the back of the neck, armpits, and groin area. Although acanthosis nigricans is sometimes an inherited skin characteristic, the most common cause is diabetes and obesity. Endocrine abnormalities (thyroid) and certain cancers (adenocarcinomas) can also cause this type of skin change. 

Chronic use of certain medications can also cause AN. Birth Control Pills and some hormone replacement therapies, steroids, high dose niacin, and a class of drugs used to treat HIV (protease inhibitors) are the most common offenders. 

* Keratosis pilaris (KP) is an annoying but harmless skin condition which causes dry rough patches and tiny bumps often seen on the upper arms, thighs, cheeks, or buttocks. You may have heard it sometimes called “chicken skin”. An estimated 40% of the population has experienced it, and though often related to a Vitamin A deficiency (which is seen in roughly 51% of adults in the USA), KP is most often seen in people who regularly eat a very specific set of food triggers. 
Who’d have thought that 51% of adults in the USA would have a Vitamin A deficiency?…. And yet we do. Vitamin A deficiency will ultimately affect the eyes in addition to the skin. Young Living has a super eye health supplement called Illumineyes  which happens to be loaded with Vitamin A. #killtwobirdswithonestone

Those with KP would do best to avoid common skin irritants found in mainstream bath and body care products. Thankfully, Young Living has us covered here too! They make caring for ourselves so very easy! Have you tried any of the YL bath and shower gels and bar soaps? I’m especially fond of the Morning Start Shower Gel!  
Food triggers are a serious influencer of keratosis pilaris. Thankfully, the foods that tend to trigger the outbreaks are 100% unnecessary and are generally void of  quality nutritional value.

These would include:
🔥Refined white sugar
🔥High fructose corn syrup
🔥Trans fats (found predominantly in junk and fast foods)
🔥Refined carbs (white bread, pastries, soda, sugary breakfast cereals, etc)
🔥Artificial flavorings and colorings
🔥Gluten
🔥Commercial (homogenized/pasteurized) dairy

My feeling about KP is that, while annoying and harmless, it is an early red flag clue that bumpy waters may lay ahead if reparations are not in order. If food is a trigger, then the gut is compromised and showing early signs of stress. Don’t let this stress escalate…. It’s a slippery slope. The gut is at the root of all chronic disease throughout the body, not the least of which is digestive disorders themselves! YL’s Life 9 probiotic and a digestive enzyme (Essentialzyme, Essentialzymes-4, Allerzyme, or Detoxzyme) would be excellent supportive measures to get and keep your gut on track.

KP is a common skin condition among children too….. It’s far better to nip things in the bud than it is to let a situation escalate, even if it means going thru a season of junk food withdrawal. Good eating habits are perhaps one of the best gifts you can give a kiddo! Don’t forget that Young Living has Kidscents Mightypro probiotic packets and Mightyzyme chewable digestive enzymes for little tummies too!   
Because KP is actually a buildup of dead tissue, a gentle but effective way to minimize the bumps is by using a “clean” DIY sugar scrub on the areas 3-4 times a week. 
2 cups organic brown sugar
½ cup organic fractionated coconut oil
½ cup honey
5 drops of lavender essential oil

* Dandruff affects roughly 50% of the population and comes in a few common types. It too is more annoying than harmful, but clues are flying with each brushing of the hair! 

Possible causes of dandruff include:
🔥Chronic inflammatory skin condition(s)…. Remember skin is a mirror of the gut!
🔥Allergy or sensitivity to something either applied or ingested (again, gut flag!)
🔥Yeast overgrowth (gut flag!)
🔥Omega 3 deficiency

Managing stress is key with any inflammatory condition. Stress reduction techniques  include yoga, prayer, meditation, deep breathing, and utilizing your favorite calming essential oils. 

A whopping 98% of the US population fails when it comes to optimal Omega 3’s in their diet. OmegaGize3 is loaded with what we need so as not to be a part of that epic fail statistic. Other clues of Omega 3 deficiencies may include dry hair, dry skin, depression, dry eyes, joint pain and stiffness.
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* Thinning hair is something that happens gradually over time. While it is normal to lose around 100 hairs a day, hairs should also be growing back in as they are falling out. Very few people have the hair in their 50’s+ that they had in their 20’s. #aginghappens  

Factors that affect thinning hair may include:
Genetics (family pattern hair loss)
Emotional & physical stress
Medical conditions (thyroid or hormone imbalance, and heart disorders)
Poor nutrition or poor absorption of nutrients
Hair products that make thinning worse
Decrease in collagen production as we age

—Ways to minimize thinning hair include eating nutrient dense foods (and utilizing the YL digestive enzymes mentioned above!), OmegaGize3 !!!, and supplemental collagen (internally). 

Medications will always and forever have side effects. By their very definition they are a toxin, and many of them cause hair loss. Some of the top offenders include:
Certain acne meds
Certain antibiotics
Anti-coagulants (after about 3-4 months)
Statins (cholesterol)
Immunosuppressants (methotrexate, Enbrel, Humira etc)
Some anti seizure meds
Blood pressure meds (those whose generic name ends in -olol or -pril)
Mood stabilizer meds (including paxil, zoloft, amitriptyline, and prozac)
Weight loss meds (eg: phentermine)
Gout meds (allopurinol)
Many chemotherapy agents
Steroids (which are also immunosuppressants)
NSAIDS (ex: ibuprofen, naproxen )

I am not a doctor, and cannot diagnose, treat or cure you. I will however, continue to provide you with clues you can use to help you find your way back to the vibrant healthy person God designed you to be (or to support the vibrant health person you already are!). Which body part should we cover next as we continue to unearth clues?
xoxo~ liz

#caringissharing
#pharmacistandfarmacist
#applicationofknowledgeispower
#skininthegame 
#goodmedicine
#goodmedicineisknowingthyselfwell
#yourskinisamirrortoyourhealth
#ThanksYL

Someone here needs to hear this good word from my friend Jen Weir. She is the bomb with both words and knowledge!
Know what else is the bomb? The essential oil Kunzea. Have you tried it? If you have a bottle of it at home, but haven’t used it, you may find you have a hidden treasure after reading Jen’s words.
xoxo~ liz

#sharingiscaring 
#shineon
#JesusandEOs
#ThanksYL

NOT YOURS
Can we talk about energy for a moment? Or, a lot of moments…
According to Mr. Einstein, everything is energy. Yet in many circles, particularly those of the more faith based nature, we shy away from energetics, deeming it woo woo, weird or, gasp, of the devil. 
My soul, who do people think created energy? 
enter exasperated eye roll….
Have you ever been so drawn to an oil but not sure why? Or better still, have you ever given yourself the space in your day to play with the oils, use something you’ve never tried or even, possibly dare open one that you’ve been saving for good? Hoarding is so 2020 you know.
Such was the case with me today and Kunzea. Remember her? 
This precious oil was drawing me in, it literally jumped off the shelf and of course I began digging in. 
The interesting part to this experience is that I have been asking the question- why won’t my shoulder heal? To be totally transparent, I had struggled with severe pain for eight long years. Ever since my baby girl was in the NICU this pain has been unbearable at times. I don’t talk about it because frankly drawing attention to dis ease is not my style. Yet today, I was done. Enough already. 
Emotional releasing, yep, check. 
Using CBD or any other pain essential oil blend, check check. 
Prayed for healing, check check double check.
Short of smoking weed to numb it, I’d say I had done all the things. 
End of rope officially reached. 
And yet…
Knowing what I do about energy I had to ask the question abotu why I was drawn to this seemingly obscure oil. There had to be a connection to needing this one today and this incessant pain. 
One of Kunzea’s unique features is that it can diffuse and transform deep emotional pain, that has hardened in the body. Where there is pain in the body, there is always an emotion attached to the pain. Kunzea assists in releasing emotional pain and in transforming the immediate shock of accidents. 
Bingo. 
The emotional pain attached was the burdens others have heaped on my shoulders. 
The opinions of this THE way, rather than simple A way. Can anyone else relate? Just me? 
So, there’s THE way to raise your people, not just A way.
There’s THE way to hear from God, not A way.
There’s THE (newest) way to eat, not A way. 
There’s THE (again, newest) way to build a MLM biz, not A way. 
There’s THE way to love your neighbor, not A way.
There’s THE way to respond to blatant tyranny, not A way. 
You guys feel me? It’s heavy to even type all of this. 
Let’s just say my entire adult life has consisted of others telling me every way I am doing x,y,z wrong, and possibly, sinning. 
Being type A, wanting to do it all correctly, yet having the personality of non compliance was beginning to take its toll. hence the shoulder and neck pain…
You see, this specific may not be your story, and I pray it’s not. Yet some of you have pain, real physical pain that you take meds for, oils, weed, whatever your bandaid is. But healing is possible. It’s emotional. 100% of the time, it’s an emotion that has hardened itself in your body and needs to be chipped away. It won’t happen overnight. Or I don’t know, maybe it will. It’s really anyone’s guess. 
But I can tell you, once I began to speak truth and stop believing other people’s truth, my should started to loosen. It was literally the weirdest freakiest thing evah. But it’s truth. 
The cracking I heard when I stretch is at an all time minimum. 
I’ve got a little more to go, a little more truth to tell myself, a little more business to do with Jesus and whole lot less business to do with other people’s opinions. But I’m on my way- me, Jesus and a little oil called Kunzea. 
Let me ask you, is there an oil you have been drawn to? Before this did you know that your body/energy is trying to tell you something? 
Just try it. Emotion talk is my jam and not everyone’s cup of tea. But I swear to you, not having physical pain feels so much better than having it. I mean, you do you. But I just thought you all should know.