Asthma

Dangers of Cleaning Products & Air Freshners on Lungs

Liz James · July 4, 2021 ·

“Frequent use of common household cleaning sprays may be an important risk factor for adult asthma.”😳

“…..one in seven adult asthma cases could be attributed to common (household) spray use.”😳

“…34.7% of the population reported health problems, such as migraine headaches and respiratory difficulties, when exposed to “fragranced” products.” 😳

“Exposure to 1,4-DCB, a volatile compound found in common air fresheners and toilet bowl cleaners ….. may result in reduced pulmonary function. This common exposure may have long-term adverse effects on respiratory health.”

FACT: There is no law in the US that requires the disclosure of all ingredients in fragranced consumer products. 😱

FACT: According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, ingredients do not need to be fully listed on either the product label or the official safety data sheet. They also are not required to list the presence of a “fragrance”.

If asthma, migraine headaches, and/or respiratory difficulties are a problem within your household, give Thieves household cleaner a try.
Toss your common household air fresheners, and diffuse YL oils for healthy home air quality.

Lung damage is a breeding ground for Fall respiratory illnesses. Consider a summertime overhaul (if you haven’t already) and give your lungs a chance to be healthy and happy!
Safe.🙌
Effective (in a smell good, healthy, sparkly way! ✨)
Young Living products are designed to be healthy and UNCOMMONLY good!
xoxo~ liz

#knowbetterdobetter
#sharingiscaring
#Godgaveusallweneedinthegarden
#ThanksYL
#uncommonlygood
(5 min quick video) https://nutritionfacts.org/…/the-effects-of…/…

Masks

Liz James · April 23, 2020 ·

Well, today’s foray into an interesting tidbit of medical history got sidelined by The Great Mask Debate 😷. I’ve been in SMH mode since I first heard various heads of “Important Organizations and World Leadership” speak with great concern about the virulence of the virus at hand, and the ensuing discussions of all manner of masks. Wait 30 minutes and information (and opinions) will change.

Keeping up is like trying to catch a greased pig 🐷 quickly.

Impossible.😉

One thing that has stayed the same tho, is this topic of masks. And interestingly, “they” seem to be promoting masks even more vociferously the further we get into Mask Mania 2020.

Regardless of whether you are pro mask or anti mask, the following information should be helpful. …… because ACCURATE information certainly seems to be in short supply.

The following points to ponder upon are not my opinion. They are facts:

😷1. Let’s start first with the assumption that ANY mask or face covering is better than no mask at all.

This is patently not true, and I find it vexing that people with some semblance of authority would even suggest this. Nonetheless… I shall be referring to both the WHO’s (World Health Organization) and the CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) own literature as I explore this topic.

Cloth made masks or scarves may keep dog hair, pollen, or bugs from flying into your mouth and nose, but they will do nary a thing to keep said virus (or bacteria) out of your personal ecosystem.

In addition… REUSE of a used cloth mask with its poor filtration may actually contribute to infection…. ESPECIALLY if you are already harboring lungs that have been compromised. (think COPD, asthma, emphysema, etc)

Here is a study if you’d like confirmation of the above information:

government article

😷 2. Secondly, according to the WHO website, “using a mask incorrectly may hamper its effectiveness in reducing the risk of transmission”.

The WHO website also clearly states this:

Community Setting/ Individual WITHOUT respiratory symptoms should heed the following “a medical mask is NOT required, as no evidence is available on its usefulness to protect non-sick persons. “

Whereas…. “Individuals WITH respiratory symptoms should: – wear a medical mask and seek medical care if experiencing fever, cough and difficulty breathing, as soon as possible or in accordance with to local protocols”

Seems pretty black and white to me (according to the WHO website…. not me).
Sick= wear mask 😷
Not Sick= don’t wear mask

#OfficialwordaccordingtoWHO
… but don’t believe me, please, do read for yourself.

who on masks

😷 3. What about other masks? Glad you asked! There IS a difference between mask types AND there’s actually a hot market for them right now in case you hadn’t noticed.

✅ N95 Masks are considered the industry standard in blocking particles. They block particles over 0.03 microns. Said virus has been found to be as small as .02 microns, and according to this website, the N95 mask will work for about 95% of the virus particles PROVIDED the mask size fits the face properly, facial hair has been removed, and other considerations have been taken.

Please don’t rely on me for this information…. Here is the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation’s (APSF) information:

apsf.org

Not all masks are N95. Surgical masks, as a rule, are not, unless indicated as such. If they are not labeled as N95, the ability to shield oneself from the virus has gone down considerably.

Because N95 masks are a hot commodity, so are (unfortunately) scam artists who make fake ones. Be wary from who and where you buy N95 masks.

Here is information on how to identify a true approved N95 mask: https://www.cdc.gov/…/npptl/usernotices/counterfeitResp.html

cdc article

Additionally, according to the CDC website, “Used respirators (N95 masks) are considered contaminated and ideally should be discarded after each patient encounter. A user should never touch the contaminated front of the respirator with his or her bare hands. Hands should always be washed after donning and doffing the respirator. “

cdc on used respirators

😷 4. Wearing a used and contaminated face mask (paper or cloth) for long periods of time on a daily basis actually INCREASES the risk of infection TO THE WEARER. Additionally, the longer the same mask has been worn around others, the more concentrated the infectious load becomes.

Add in high warm moisture content, and lower oxygen intake (A mask wearer actually does breathe in less oxygen and more carbon dioxide than a maskless person, especially if worn for extended periods of time), the stress of wearing a mask for extended periods of time (not to mention the said pathogen load now living in your mask)….. and well….. all of these are lovely amenities if you are looking to acquire a truly happy colony of ill mannered bacteria (or virus) to call your very own.

(Even the CDC website has this to say about reusing masks that have not been properly decontaminated: “Used respirators are considered contaminated and ideally should be discarded after each patient encounter.” Please refer again to the CDC website linked above)

Something about all of this seems counterintuitive to what’s going on in real life……. or is it just me?

😷 5. Finally…. What about disposing of your used masks? Please discard them properly…. Do not leave them in your buggy, or the parking lot of the shopping establishment. That is just wrong. Used masks, as you have just learned, have a buildup of potentially infectious particulates that could include viruses or other pathogens, and if left around willy-nilly could actually give somebody something…. Which is what we are ALL trying not to do.

Really…. wouldn’t it just be easier to work on supporting your immune system? Not just now, but always?

Stay well. Be kind. Operate in truth. 😘

xoxo~ liz

#AlltheThievesplease
#knowbetterdobetter
#sharingiscaring
#truthtrumpsfear
#walkinginthelight
#ThanksYL

Sleep Week – day 2

Liz James · July 2, 2017 ·

Good morning friends!! I hope you got a good night of sleep last night! Fireworks were fierce out here in the country til nearly midnight (we’ve got at least 2 more nights of them.. July 4th is around the corner)… and our animals were stressed. Needless to say, OUR sleep was affected!

Sleep deprivation causes increased hunger and increased stress hormone levels… never a good thing, but especially if you are trying to manage your weight or lose a few extra pounds. Sleep deprivation can make that goal dang near impossible!

Sleep deprivation speeds up the aging process. Telomeres are the caps at the end of chromosomes that protect your cells and genes. When telomeres get short from aging, (or a lifestyle that promotes aging), our cells cannot replenish. Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep these caps long and happy. Getting adequate sleep is one of them! People who get roughly 7 or more hours of sleep a night tend to have longer telomeres, especially among the elderly!
Recent studies show poor sleeping habits cause brain damage and even accelerate onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Sleep is necessary for maintaining metabolic homeostasis in your brain. Without sufficient sleep, neuron degeneration sets in and catching up on sleep during weekends will not prevent this damage.
Sleep deprivation causes disruption of certain synaptic connections that can impair your brain’s ability for learning, memory formation, and other cognitive functions.

Frequently, poor sleep is simply the result of poor habits (which we’ll talk about later in the week), but just as commonly, it is the result of a physiological dysfunction and/or side effects of the medications that are used to treat a physiological dysfunction.

Y’all have a great day! See you tomorrow…
Liz

Is Your Home Sick?

Liz James · February 13, 2017 ·

As a prepper, we need to think of ourselves as a well oiled machine. We would not leave our guns, tools, and food supply in an environment that would ruin them…. so why do we neglect our bodies and purposefully expose ourselves to toxic agents?… especially knowing that we need to be in prime health to survive and thrive.

Chances are that your house is sick, and that means that you are affected too. Household cleaning products are responsible for over 10% of all toxin exposure calls to the Poison Control Centers in the United States. But what about the more insidious silent illnesses caused by seemingly harmless household chemical exposure?

Of the over 2000 chemicals on the market, more than 1/2 of them are known to ACTIVELY cause or promote allergies, asthma, cancer, birth defects, nervous system disruptions, and/or endocrine disruption.

In our preparations for what is to come, we will need to be healthy! …. scratch that…. we need to be healthy no matter what!

Think about the products YOU use around your home, your children, and your pets.

What’s in them? If you are curious, check out the Environmental Working Group website to find out.

Personally, I don’t like to wonder…so I found out, and then I made some serious changes many years ago in our house and on our farm.

This is one of the reasons I love essential oils.

They’re safe. They’re natural. They’re non-toxic…. And they can kick some serious booty when it comes to cleaning. Their presence in your home “creates an inhospitable environment” for bacteria to grow.

Thieves® oil blend and the entire Thieves Cleaner family are miracle-workers…. and giant killers. This blend truly is a David vs Goliath story when it comes to germs.

You’ll see what I mean here.

So, get your house in order! We are told to do that, right?….Both Biblically and in preparedness. Our “house” isn’t just our home… it is also a reference to our body. Let’s clean house!

The (Health) Road Paved With Good Intentions

Liz James · January 15, 2017 ·

Hey there!

If you want to ask something nearly impossible of an introvert, ask them to write a blog about themselves. Sheesh! This is going to be a rough one for me to write.

Yes, I’m an introvert and don’t normally air my health laundry…… but my passion to promote great health is bigger than my privacy issues…. and YOUR health is just as important as mine…. so I’m here to spill the beans on how I came to be “a healthy me” at the age of 50. Perhaps you can glean some inspiration, knowledge, and hope from MY story….and then maybe you too can turn your health around. I going to dissect my life into two halves, and will post the first half today… the second will come by the end of the week.

Life is full of lessons. I have been fortunate in that my profession of choice (pharmacy) has given me the gift of continuous learning. I LOVE learning, researching, digging up and exhuming hidden facts. It took me many years to piece together my health story, but once I did, everything made perfect sense. If I had not made some conscious choices to change my life habits in my early 30’s, I likely would be one of the statistics (one of the “one in two” people in the USA with an active chronic health condition).

I was not a chronically hospitalized kid growing up, but I had my share of chronic issues. I was the kid in the family that the pediatrician saw frequently for fairly severe allergies, bad asthma, and for some odd reason, strep throat regularly. I had a steady diet of (prescription strength) Dimetapp, steroids, and antibiotics in the early ’70’s. When I hit puberty, my cycles… tho regular… were excruciating. It took a few years, but I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis. This was in the early ’80’s, and not many doctors were well studied on this female disorder. I will abbreviate the story here…. 2 surgeries later, and after being told to ‘have children quickly or good luck with that‘….. we found a way to manage the ongoing problem with a prescription. Meanwhile, I still had allergies to many things. Sadly, the things I loved the most were the things I was most allergic to!….. animals and the great outdoors (pollen, grasses, trees, etc)! My allergies were severe enough that they prevented me from entering Vet School (my life long dream). I was crushed, and after some deep thought, switched directions to pursue a pharmacy degree. Many years of college (and working while in college), poor diet, too much coffee and Diet Coke and not enough sleep eventually gave me some fairly significant stomach issues. I graduated in ’91 with my degree and a diagnosis of (ICD-10 code K59.9) ‘functional intestinal disorder, unspecified’ as an added bonus.

Fast forward…. Charlie and I got married in ’92…….. and in 2001, after 4 doctors and many months of seeking answers for my new issue (the incessant need to pee both night and day) … I got diagnosed with interstitial cystitis (a bladder condition that has no cure). Thru trial and error over the next several years ( that’s another post/another day) we found a definitive pattern regarding food triggers. Using diet modifications, I was able to ‘somewhat‘ manage my IC without the VERY EXPENSIVE drugs or the daily self- catheterizations that are common among people with this condition. Thank God! Let me tell you…. there is no incentive like the prospect of daily self-cathing to change your diet!

About the same time my IC was diagnosed, I had a fairly minor fall (tripping over a wheelbarrow) and broke my wrist. I was 33. My orthopedist suggested a bone density scan, and I was subsequently diagnosed with osteopenia. He told me to take more calcium and warned me that I would probably need to be on a medication to prevent further bone loss before I turned 40. It was the same year that Charlie and I both were told that we both had high cholesterol (over 200), and that if we didn’t attempt to lower our cholesterol levels soon we would both need to be on a cholesterol med.

So you see….. I was right on track with the “not so American Dream”…. to be good and unhealthy by the ripe old age of 40. I was set to join the ranks of the 50% who drew the genetic short straw and got to be on the losing team of the “one in two” who have a chronic health condition. Yay me! Not.

And this is where the baby steps of change truly began occurring.

Fast forward to 2017….so how did a sickly, allergic, asthmatic …..who became a young adult with endometriosis and a messed up gut…. who then became an adult with interstitial cystitis, osteopenia, and hypercholesterolemia on top of all the previous ailments (at 33) become a healthy 50 year old? That, my friends, is what comes next….. how I slowly worked my way backwards out of this health hot mess train wreck I was going to be the older I got.

Stay tuned…. You truly ARE what you eat….. and drink…. and expose your body to (or deprive your body of)! In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about some of my lifestyle choices my family and I have made, join me here!

Hugs and Love,
Liz