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Health Clues from Your Feet -part 2

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Before we move on to foot clues you feel internally, I wanted to touch briefly on the toenails. If you’ve been hanging with me this long, you may remember we spent quite some time on fingernail clues. Fingernails and toenails share many traits, and you may want to go back and revisit those posts for expanded details on your distal digits. Very briefly, these are some of the “biggies” for the toes:
*Clubbed toenails – often a sign of lung, heart, liver, or digestive disorders. Poorly oxygenated blood is usually the causative agent for curved nails. 
*Yellowed toenails – usually related to a fungal infection, but if most or all toenails are involved, look for other clues including swollen feet or ankles. Paired with lower extremity swelling, more toenails become involved and the nails appear to get thicker or seem to detach. These telltale tips may also involve clues related to lymphedema, lung disease, or autoimmune disorders such as psoriasis or rheumatoid arthritis. 
*Spoon shaped toenails – frequently a sign of iron deficiency or frequent exposure to petroleum based solvents. Know that there are  “clean” nail polish and nail polish removers available, and using them instead of toxin laden products is one more way to support healthy liver function! 
Chronically cold feet is a clue indicating impaired circulation. Decreased blood flow is commonly linked to smoking, heart disease, diabetes, anemia, digestive disorders, or hypothyroidism. Exercise and deep breathing techniques are two ways to improve circulation. Our bodies are designed to move, not to be still.😉
*Heel pain or pain that radiates from the heel to the arch of the foot (plantar fasciitis) is often a result of inflammation of the ligament attached to the heel bone which runs along the arch of the foot. Plantar fasciitis is often said to be most painful in the mornings. Heel pain alone may suggest arthritis, excessive exercise, or a possible bone spur. 
*Have you been told that you have (or had) stress fractures in your feet?. This is one of the most common injuries seen by our active duty military men and women in training, and is also fairly common in civilian life.  Though contributing factors include improperly fitted boots, carrying heavy loads regularly, and intense exercise, the biggest factor is improper nutrition leading to weaker bones. Very often, stress fractures in the feet can be a clue for osteopenia / osteoporosis if bones are not given the proper nutrients to thrive.
Young Living’s Super Cal Plus is a wonderful supportive tool for bones that need a little extra TLC! It contains Magnesium, calcium, Vit D3 and a thoroughly helpful blend of micronutrients, herbs, and essential oils. You’ll want to remember this supplement when we chat about foot and leg spasms here in just a little bit too!
*Perhaps you’ve had a random but sudden and severe pain in your big toe? This is a pain that appears “ “magically” (if you’ve experienced it, you know what I’m talking about!), and may leave you wondering how you broke your toe but didn’t know it….. It’s THAT painful! 😳Years ago, gout was considered a rich man’s disease because of the rich diet that often precipitates a flare.  Foods and beverages that may aggravate gout include alcoholic beverages, shellfish, bacon, beef, and broccoli, but the worst culprit of all is sugar in all forms, but especially high fructose corn syrup. Gout flares may also be linked to certain medications. Diuretics and certain blood pressure medications in the ACE inhibitor family,  are two of the more common ones. 
*Regular foot spasms are another wonder filled clue with several possibilities. Poor circulation, dehydration, an imbalance in potassium, magnesium, calcium, or vitamin D are all potential thieves of ease.  Thyroid disorders and a sharp change in hormone levels (as is seen in pregnancy) are other potential causes. There are soooooo many medications that can cause a metabolic imbalance resulting in regular foot and leg spasms.  Any medication that depletes any or all of these nutrients often leads to foot and leg spasms unless the deficiency is remediated.
Medications  known to do this include:
💊Acid blockers/reducers (for the stomach)
💊Many common antibiotics ( the quinolone class especially)
💊Many blood pressure medications
💊Steroids 
💊Birth control pills
💊Certain maintenance meds used for breast cancer
💊A high sugar diet (yes…. Sugar may be defined as a drug!)
*Leg spasms are often diagnosed as restless leg syndrome when in reality, it’s more often than not a simple deficiency in potassium, magnesium, calcium, or Vit D that may be easily remedied with proper supplementation. In my experience as a pharmacist, I’ve found the most common culprit to be a magnesium deficiency, especially if the spasms are in the lower legs. Remember, the body is giving massive clues and not a single clue is ever an indicator that it is “deficient” in a medication.
*Generalized pain, tingling, or a burning sensation of the feet affects over 20 million people in the United states, and the clue field is a vast one. This particular clue is the result of damaged nerve fibers. Damage may happen in a myriad of ways, but the most common cause is diabetes followed by alcohol abuse. Other potential causes include chronic kidney disease, chronic hypothyroidism, lyme disease, or a vitamin B12, folate, and/or B6 deficiency. The B vitamin family is critical for nerve health, and Young Living’s Super B is a stellar opportunity to support unhappy (and perhaps malnourished) nerves. 
Medications that rob the body of a variety of B vitamins include:
💊Acid reducers and antacids
💊Many blood pressure medications
💊Bronchodilators (example: albuterol)
💊Many diabetes meds including metformin (do you see the irony here?)
💊Birth control pills
💊NSAIDS
💊Certain medications for Parkinson’s Disease 
Oftentimes,  clues can certainly be found in a pill bottle, once you start to understand the cause and effect and even put together a timeline of when the clue appeared. This is why it is so important to keep a health journal, especially when multiple clues make themselves known. Think of it as writing your personal detective story!
Our body rarely deceives us! 
xoxo~ liz
#caringissharing
#footcareisgoodmedicine
#knowyourfoundation
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL

Health Clues from Your Liver part 3

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We think of the liver as the body’s main ☢️☣️detoxifier, and THAT it is for sure. Did you notice that the liver is also a storehouse with many rooms? We all have at least one junk drawer, or junk closet in our homes, right? If you were to take a tour of the liver, you’d find nicely organized “rooms” filled with glucose and glycogen (for energy), vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as well as helpful hormones and phytochemicals to be released and used as needed.


Deep inside the liver lies the body’s “junk closet” where it keeps it’s darkest stash of the truly “bad boy” toxins☢️☣️. The liver is not a hoarder… quite the opposite! It is doing its best job getting rid of trash and debris as fast as possible. Sometimes, either the liver can no longer keep up with what the body is exposed to, or the toxin is so nasty that the liver throws it immediately into the far corner of the junk closet.


What kind of junk might you find in the liver’s junk closet?
☢️Petroleum products (including those found in mainstream household cleaners and personal care products)
☢️Pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides
☢️Aspartame (you may know this as the artificial sweeteners NutraSweet and Equal)
☢️MSG (monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer commonly found in Asian food, canned vegetables, soups, and processed meats)
☢️Viruses and virus waste materials
☢️Certain medications (including opioids)
☢️Toxic heavy metals


If the liver didn’t do this, we’d be a walking hot mess, and frankly, we probably wouldn’t live long or productively as the brain, heart and other organs wouldn’t be able to tolerate the exposure.


We are built incredibly uniquely, and our livers all work in varying degrees according to our genetics and epigenetics (the environment we are exposed to). Many people have genetics that inhibit methylation. Methylation is a chemical process that enables the body to receive, absorb, and utilize key nutrients we get through eating, drinking, and living in a “clean” manner…..ie: lots of fresh unprocessed foods and fresh filtered water and spending time in the sunshine!
Methylation occurs in the liver in tandem with the ileum (the last little bit of the small intestine). If either the ileum or the liver is impaired, methylation cannot occur efficiently. Vitamin B12 is critical to efficient methylation. If you have not yet incorporated 👉Young Living’s Super B👈 into your daily supplement routine, I encourage you to give it a try and see if you don’t notice a difference!


When the “junk closet” of the liver has hit its overflow and begun filling the hallway, the methylation process is affected. However, when you also add in a liver specific virus….one that is in the herpetic family (shingles, HHV-6, cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr)…. The real trouble starts. Viral waste buildup is one of the most problematic to the liver and B12 levels will slowly begin dropping in the body. Additionally, the liver’s “ junk closet door” has now burst open and virus byproducts are now in the bloodstream causing inflammation within the body, dermatoxin related rashes, and brain fog.


Major clues indicating the liver is waving the white flag are on today’s graphic, and there are many more. Remember, the liver performs hundreds (if not thousands! ) of tasks. If the liver fails to deliver and the task is incomplete, something didn’t happen in the body that should have. Slowly over time, these incomplete tasks will begin adding up until eventually you have a clue so big, you’ve had to make an appointment with your favorite health professional😬.


Other clues indicating significant liver burden include:
🔎Random aches and pains : The liver purifies blood and produces new blood. When not enough “clean” blood is available to reach tendons, muscles, and other tissue, it may result in decreased flexibility, pain in upper back, and even dry eyes!
🔎Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) : may show up as random pain in the back or on the upper right side of the abdomen, kidney, or shoulder blade (referred pain).
🔎Spider Veins: If the liver cannot properly clean the blood, then clotting issues near the surface of the skin result.
🔎Darker Urine (see a health professional please!)
🔎Darker Emotions: An unhealthy liver exacerbates predisposition to depression or negative mood swings.
🔎Gout
🔎Eczema, psoriasis, skin rashes, breakouts, or itchy skin
🔎Allergies and asthma
🔎Bad breath
🔎Fibromyalgia
🔎Fluid retention
🔎Headaches
🔎High blood pressure
🔎High cholesterol
🔎Erratic blood sugar or diabetes
🔎Compromised immune system (including autoimmune disorders)


Once the liver “junk closet” is full…. It’s full and unless someone starts a cleanup process, the spillage will only continue. Have you ever cleaned the house while someone went right behind you and tracked in more dirt, left dishes in the sink, and oh…. Forgot to flush all the toilets?😱 That’s what the liver feels like if it’s burdened to the point of overflow and someone decides to clean it up on the inside, but does not stop exposure to all of the petrochemicals (standard household, personal care, and skin care toxins), pesticides, processed foods, contaminated water, etc.

If you have not yet ditched your liver saboteurs, I encourage you to begin today. 🌿Thieves Household Cleaner, the entire line of Young Living body and personal care, and Savvy Minerals cosmetics are all liver friendly! 🌿


Thankfully, the liver is incredibly resilient and forgiving with the right care and TLC, and is able to regenerate itself and regain function. It can do this even when it’s been compromised by more than 60%. The caveat to that factoid is this: permanent and thorough damage cannot be undone…..precisely the reason we want to avoid walking to the end of that road.
Happy liver, happy life!
xoxo~ liz

#knowbetterdobetter
#healthcluesyoucanuse
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL
#loveyourliver

Health Clues in Your Mouth

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DRY MOUTH
Hippocrates said “All disease begins in the gut.” Considering the digestive system begins in the mouth, it should be no surprise that the mouth holds bountiful clues! 90% of systemic dis-ease has an oral manifestation. 
While everyone has a dry mouth occasionally, chronic dry mouth (known as xerostomia) which persists for weeks may be a symptom of an unhealthy habit, underlying health condition, or side effect from certain medications. If an insufficient supply of saliva is produced, you may notice these signs or symptoms all or most of the time:
👅Dryness or feeling a “stickiness” in the mouth
👅Saliva that seems thick and stringy
👅Bad breath
👅A dry or grooved tongue
👅A chronic dry or sore throat
👅A change in sense of taste
👅Difficulty chewing, speaking, and swallowing


Common habits and health conditions that may cause dry mouth:
👉Dehydration 
👉A thyroid condition ….both hyper or hypo thyroid.  Roughly 50% of people who have persistent dry mouth have a thyroid disorder.
👉Sinus problems which make people breathe thru their mouth
👉Radiation side effects
👉Tobacco and alcohol use
👉Diabetes
👉Stroke
👉Yeast Infection (remember your tongue clues!)
👉Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia
👉Autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disease called Sjogren’s syndrome causes dry eyes and dry mouth, and often accompanies other autoimmune disorders like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. 


Unfortunately, over 400 relatively common prescription and over the counter medications cause dry mouth as a side effect. Some of the more common classes of medications that may contribute to the problem include:
💊Chemotherapy agents
💊Decongestants
💊Antihistamines
💊Pain killers
💊Muscle relaxers
💊Anti hypertensive medications (beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics)
💊Antidepressants
💊Oral inhalers (for the lungs)
💊Medications treating Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
💊Certain seizure medications
💊Medication for motion sickness
💊Bladder control medications
Interestingly, older age is also listed as a reason for dry mouth, but I disagree. Considering that the average elderly patient is on 9-13 prescriptions, the odds of dry mouth as a side effect to one or more of the above medications is quite high. When combined with the health conditions and/or habits listed above, dry mouth could occur at any age, the odds simply rise with the number of health conditions and medications involved. A healthy 70+ish individual (no meds / no underlying conditions) rarely has issues with dry mouth!  


Dry mouth is an interesting clue because it has a cause and effect cycle. The longer dry mouth persists, the more problems chronic dry mouth can cause. Saliva is a necessary component of the digestion process. It washes away food and helps neutralize acid produced by bacteria in the mouth. It also has the capability to both repair tooth enamel thru remineralization (if the minerals are available thru good nutrition!), and wash out plaque. Continual dry mouth will eventually lead to dental erosion, plaque formation, decay, and gum disease, all of which can ultimately lead to more chronic dis-ease throughout the body. It’s a vicious cycle best remedied if possible.
Dry mouth is rarely discussed as a possible side effect from medications. In my opinion, it is one of the most important side effects to be aware of as gum and dental disease plays such an enormous role in overall health. Side effects of medications are some of the biggest reasons it is a good idea to look first for holistic ways to heal as opposed to quickly jumping on to the prescription drug carousel.  
I am personally a huge fan of the Thieves oral care line (toothpaste, mouthwash, and floss) as a way to maintain my pearly whites (and gums!). One of the oft recommended remedies for dry mouth is sucking on lozenges or hard candy. Many common lozenge options are loaded with sugar which really feeds the beast of decay.

If dry mouth is a concern, here are some tips and tricks:
🏆Stay well hydrated! Perk up your water’s flavor with Young Living Vitality drops that are so easily squirted into water. Lavender lemonade, Grapefruit Bergamot (my fave!), or for an added boost of energy, try the clean caffeine boosted Jade Lemon Berry or Spearmint Tangerine!  
🏆Utilize a humidifier in the bedroom and rooms you frequent. Thankfully, many of our Young Living diffusers (including the Desert Mist) also serve as a humidifier! 
🏆Keeping immune and oral health supportive sugar free Thieves Lozenges on hand to suck on.
🏆Avoid salty and dry foods that exacerbate dry mouth.
🏆Avoid tobacco and alcohol use.
🏆Regular dental cleanings from a dentist who doesn’t promote fluoride use! 
Dry mouth is both a clue for the past AND a clue for what may come in the future if dry mouth is allowed to persist, so it’s quite important to get it under control whenever possible!  
xoxo~ liz

#sharingiscaring
#healthcluesyoucanuse
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL

Book Review – Fauci

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I’ve talked to a few friends recently who have asked me about the Dr. Fauci book picture from a week or so ago, asking for more details, so I thought I’d write up a little book review. 
Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to reading this book, but felt like I needed to know more about the man who has played such a large part in all of our collective lives over the last 6+ months.
It was written by Charles Ortleb, an investigative journalist who followed Dr. Fauci closely in the 80’s and 90’s.
In the early 1980’s the AIDs crisis first appeared on both coasts of the USA. Mr Ortleb researched and wrote about AIDS for nearly 20 years. In short, the guy knows his stuff, and was probably one of the foremost journalists covering the topic of AIDS during that time.
Early in the book, Mr Ortleb states, “I began to notice serious credibility gaps in what the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was telling the public about the AIDS epidemic.” He also went on to say that the government narrative reminded him of how the period surrounding the Vietnam era was handled.
(hmmm….. Fast forward to 2020…. I think we could write the same thing!…  )
He further sets the stage by explaining “as the government began building a paradigm around the notion that AIDS was caused by a retrovirus (HIV), I watched credible critics of the retrovirus theory silenced and vilified.”
(again, dang this is sure sounding familiar)
At the same time, there was a second emerging epidemic called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. From Mr. Ortleb’s extensive investigative work, it was hard not to conclude (following the research of scientists) that CFS actually was linked to AIDS by a virus called HHV-6. (Human herpes virus -6) The government agency (at that time led by Dr. Fauci) refused to take this connection seriously.
Quoting Mr. Ortleb, “I have come to the conclusion that the similarities between AIDS science (of the 1980-90’s) and genocidal experiments during WWII are too obvious for people of conscience to ignore…… while on the surface, the manner in which AIDS is understood by the public health authorities and the general public is assumed to be sane, a closer look reveals that a genocidal insanity lurks beneath the surface.”
(I seriously felt like we could be writing this book right now about the ‘rona virus ya’ll)
Quick facts to break down the history:
1968 : Dr. Fauci begins working at the NIH
1977 : Dr Fauci becomes deputy clinical director of NIAID
1984 Dr. Fauci becomes the Director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). “At that time he is noted for not being an especially brilliant scientist, but he made up for it in drive and ambition.”
Mid-1980’s: amfAR (American foundation for AIDS Research was founded. amfAR’s ultimate role was to “squelch” any scientific criticism of the NIAID’s HIV hypothesis. (It turned towards junk science over valid science)
The information the NIAID didn’t want revealed was that HIV could not be found in all AIDS patients.
1988: an amfAR forum scientists attempted to prove that AIDS was not caused by HIV and their findings were squelched.
1992: AIDS conference in Amsterdam. A scientist (Subhir Gupta, a UC immunologist) presented a well documented paper on an AIDs like condition but in HIV negative patients that had been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
In other words…. Mounting evidence that AIDS is not necessarily caused by HIV.and that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is at the very least a close cousin to AIDS (non HIV), and likely from a virus called HHV-6 (Human Herpes Virus -6).
Instead of exploring this possible discovery, the information was squashed instantly. 😳
Had the science presented in Amsterdam been agreeable to Dr. Fauci, both AIDS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research might have morphed into a unified study….. INSTEAD, for nearly 20 years, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients struggled with their disorder and were often told it was a psychiatric disorder…
(Dr. Fauci’s basic attitude towards CFS was that people shouldn’t be ashamed of being told their health problem was psychiatric…… Early in my pharmacy career, I remember having conversations with some of these patients and it was maddening. Nobody knew back then it was viral related because of all of the data was hidden).
The author goes on to say that what happened in Amsterdam was a “nosological and epidemiological crime”…. “And potentially life-saving scientific revolution in AIDS and CFS research was politically nipped in the bud in Amsterdam.” No new theory was allowed to be presented…. And hence, the CFS patients were left hanging.”
Dr. Fauci instead gave “non HIV” AIDS a new name…. Idiopathic CD4 T lymphocytopenia (aka ICL) and THUS…. CFS was a “nothing burger” diagnosis for the next couple of decades until someone “re-discovered” the link between CFS and HHV-6.😢
Everyone suffering from multi-systemic problems of the HHV-6 spectrum (ie: multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, autism, etc) paid a heavy price for the 20 year re-discovery delay.😢
*Why did Dr. Fauci completely ignore the scientists who were working to explain “non-HIV’ AIDS patients?
👉Power and prestige (he called all the shots)
👉Money
👉Politics (look at the demographics of who became the targets of fear based propaganda and public health policy built upon the incorrect assumption that only certain population groups could acquire AIDS. And so, for many years before there was an effective treatment – the gay, iv drug users, and poor black communities (and countries) were targeted. #heisascoundrel
THE END.
…. and now, here is my additional commentary 👇
*What is HHV-6 and why don’t we hear that much about it? Well, it infects nearly 100% of human beings, typically before the age of 3 years old….. With stats like that why isn’t this a common household virus name? It is not a “new” virus….. HHV-6 has likely been around for a very very long time. Under normal circumstances, it stays dormant in the body unless the body is triggered to react somehow.
Conditions caused by rousing a sleeping HHV-6 virus in oneself include AutoImmune Diseases, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Gliomas, Cervical Cancer, CFS, Cognitive Dysfunction, MS, Epilepsy, Heart Diseases, HIV/AIDS progression (and many many more)

As you can see…. Some of these disease states can be deadly, and nearly all are at least fairly debilitating 😬.
*So why haven’t we heard about this? And what could possibly be triggering the activation of a previously “not that big of a deal” virus?
(This falls in the category of “things that make me go hmmmmmm”. )
*Following the same AIDS/ CFS timeline, there has been a rise in the sheer number of vaccinations that the CDC recommends…. 40 + years ago, there were less than 12-15 vaccines recommended before the age of twelve. Now there are more than 75!
*I had a sneaky suspicion and consulted my Vaccines and AutoImmunity text book, and found this information:
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
“CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) has been reported to emerge following vaccinations in several reports, including after MMR, Pneumovax, Influenza, Hepatitis B (HBV), Tetanus, Typhoid, and Poliovirus vaccines.”
*I have read in multiple sources that those first studied and first vaccinated with the new Hepatitis B vaccine were those populations most likely to contract Hep B. (gay males and iv drug users). This would have taken place sometime around 1980.
*I also find it interesting that CFS really didn’t begin rearing its head until the early ‘90’s, right about the time that there was strong encouragement by the CDC for children and adults alike to receive more vaccines per the “official CDC vaccine schedule.”
These are just some personal observations and I’m sure there’s nothing to see here….. 
xoxo~ liz
(PS: tell me about a book you just read! As you can see, #booksaremylovelanguage. This review is a love letter to you. Be well! )

#sharingiscaring
#bewareofweasels
#historydoesindeedrepeatitself
#astrongimmunesystemisyourbestdefense
#ThanksYL
https://www.hilarispublisher.com/…/the-secret-lives-of-huma…
http://hhv6foundation.wpengine.com/

hhv-6 foundation

Health, Big Pharma, and You

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According to the CDC, approximately 1 in 2 adults in the United States suffers from at least one chronic health condition. The comorbidity (having more than one chronic condition) is even more probable once a condition is identified. Why is this? Well, for starters, one condition tends to breed another simply by body system design. If you have gut issues, chances are high that you will eventually have chronic emotional health issues as well as emerging chronic skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.

But there is another issue at hand once a condition is identified by traditional western medicine….. you see, all medications have some sort of side effect, and the more potent the medication, the more likely a side effect will occur. Something as innocuous as using as steroid cream for eczema could lead to a fungal infection…. or a cholesterol med whose little known side effects lead to dementia. This is not myth… it’s reality and I see it happening daily in my pharmacy practice. How many people actually DO read independently about the meds they’ve been prescribed?….digging deeper than the padded information the drug companies make available? Would you be willing to take a medication that may affect your memory?….and yet millions of people do. Every. Single. Day. This tells me that they neither read the fine print OR dig deeper on their own.

​Medication is helpful in certain circumstances (especially emergencies!) , but it should not be used as a band-aid or quick fix if other options are available first. We Americans are guilty of a quick fix mentality as a rule. “What’s the easiest way I can continue my life…. as I like it….?” There is no quick fix towards achieving good health.  It requires work, perseverance, and application of knowledge. People tell me “That’s too hard”. After 25 years of watching patients, I can tell you that it is a much harder to be sick (in the traditional western medicine sense) than to actively work towards a healthier lifestyle. I know this intimately because I was once there too. Stay tuned….. my health story is coming.

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