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Fact vs. Fiction – corona virus

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Yesterday was a looooooong day of research and writing as I built a class for my peeps on the Coronavirus. I’m looking forward to separating fact from fiction in real time with them today…and then stepping in my “therapy session” 😉…. working in the garden and with my horses the rest of the day …. decompression time feeds my soul.

Time spent in nature is critical to every single one of us…. even if you weren’t raised in an “outdoorsy” lifestyle. Science has proven that it will:
🌳 Decrease your stress load
🌳 Make you happier
🌳 Relieve mental fatigue
🌳 Increase creativity
🌳 Increase generosity and kindness
🌳 Make you feel “more alive” instead of simply going thru the motions of day to day living.

And it’s free to every single one of us! 💕. I’ve long said that my therapy is our farm. There are times I think we should have named it “Prozac Pastures” 😂…. yes, farm life is alot of work, but daily immersion in nature keeps my husband and I balanced and sane.

I spend a great deal of time writing, researching, and studying as I help others live their best possible lives. Occasional breaks throughout the day to go pull weeds in the garden or brush a horse (if even for 20 minutes) is balm to my soul and my body.

Do you have a place in nature? If not, please….. find one. There are public parks and nature trails throughout the world and in every town in the United States. Chronic stress is no joke. It can literally kill you if left unchecked. Do yourself a favor….. go outside. Go for a walk. Put your phone on airplane mode or turn it off. Doing this regularly just might keep you out of the doctor’s office 😉.

hugs and love, liz

#plantsaregoodmedicine
#proudtohugatreeandadogcathorseandcow
#thanksYL

how nature can make you kinder, happier and more creative

Winter Rest – part 2

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(Apologies for taking so long to get part II of my adrenal reset post out…. I’ve been taking my own advice and have been in Hawaii on a much needed business / vacation / relaxation time! 😉) #ThanksYL


I wrapped up talking about living a fear based lifestyle and how hard that is on the kidneys and adrenals. Fear can creep in to our life in insidious ways….. ways that we typically don’t even recognize as a fear. What may that look like in any of our lives?…. and how can we learn to eliminate it?


🔥Trauma: In my own educational and healing journey, I’ve learned a great deal about the damaging effects of trauma based emotions. #yowza! It’s a fascinating topic and frankly, if more people actually understood it, it would change the trajectory of both their life and their health. Trauma goes beyond the brain teaches our body (at a cellular level) that it must constantly be on guard and vigilant. This keeps us in a constant state of low grade “fight or flight” which I promise will not end well if not addressed. We MUST learn to slowly unwind, release your fear, find balance, and begin to heal.
👉 (If you’d like detailed help, please book a private session)


🔥Expectations: Do you feel like the earth may cease to spin on its axis if you don’t meet your own personal expectations or other’s expectations of you?
I exaggerated that slightly 😉, but truly…. a lot of stress comes from believing that everyone depends on you. It’s lovely to feel needed…. but often, these are personal beliefs we heap onto our own shoulders, and not reality. At least for these winter months….. give it a trial run and step back a little from your own expectations and see if the world doesn’t keep on spinning😘. #sayingthisinlovefriends


🔥With expectations comes Responsibility…. Lord have mercy, who doesn’t have this?…. fianancial burdens, high stress work environments (don’t get me started on that! Pharmacists were #3 in the suicide category for many years😳), family stressors…. the “sandwich generation” who takes care of both their kids AND their parents are particularly vulnerable.
Honestly, there’s not always a great way to get out from under true responsibilities, but hopefully the tips below 👇will help decrease the stress / fear load on your adrenals.


Winter Rest is important….. vital really… to health. That said, the following tips can and should be used year round to maintain optimal health:
🌸 Sleep! If your body is calling for it….. do it! During the winter, make an effort to get an extra hour of sleep each night. (If sleep evades you, again…. feel free to private message me for some non drug tips and tricks). Our body does its greatest healing during deep sleep.
🌸Unplug. Next to sleep, I think this is perhaps the most important and simplest way to rest. If you were born before 1990 (just typing this makes me feel kinda old😂), you’ll remember that there WAS life without cell phones and internet and we actually survived quite well. In fact…. we were a far healthier bunch of people than we are now as we are literally triggered each time our device dings or vibrates!
🌸 Stay in and don’t allow yourself to get caught up in the rat race. Read a book, nap, or allow yourself time outside in nature to get grounded and recharged. Grounding is vital to our balance and well being.
🌸Say No. For some of us, this is a word that is underused to our own detriment. Once I learned to do this…. saying no gracefully, I realized how freeing it was. Life is too short to say yes to everything everyone asks of you. It is a learned skill….. but one you’ll find of great value! #metoo
🌸Take a spa day or at least a “spa hour”…. even if it’s at home. Epsom salt baths with some calming therapeutic grade oils (like they do at the fancy places!) can be easily done at home at a fraction of the price. It will go a long way towards resetting your adrenals and cortisol levels. This isn’t selfish time… it’s called self care. You can’t care for others well if you yourself are not well😘.
🌸Yoga, gentle stretching, and acupuncture or acupressure are all excellent aids for adrenal resets.
🌸Foods that help with adrenal resets: walnuts, cashews, clove, ginger, fish, shellfish, eggs (organic free range is best!), cranberries, blueberries, apples, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, and asparagus
🌸Adaptogenic herbs (plants that support the body’s ability to accomodate varying physical and emotional stresses):
🌿Ashwagandha- this is an incredible herb for a variety of reasons, but for the topic at hand… it is very helpful in supporting healthy cortisol levels. Do a little Google search to learn more about this oddly named herb. My two favorite supplements that contain Ashwagandha are called Endogize (typically for women) and Powergize (typically for men).
🌿Siberian Ginseng
🌿Rhodiola
🌿Curcumin
Not herbal, but Vitamin D3☀️ (levels can drop significantly in the winter… get bloodwork to confirm. If you do not have insurance or a doctor, I can help you get inexpensive labwork done).
Omega 3 Fish oil🐟 … but be warned…. much of what is available for sale is actually rancid and will only make the situation worse…. so best advice I would give you is to really know your supplement company well.😉
I hope this helps. I believe strongly that God gives us our experiences in life, good and bad, so that we can learn from them in order that we may use our life as a testimony and a map to help others. #payitforward
Looking back, I can see several points in my life where, by pushing myself beyond what the body is able to handle on a chronic stress daily basis , I could have very easily ended up a hot mess healthwise. I hear this phrase all the time…. “I’m not sure what happened. I was fine, and then all of a sudden I had all these health problems”. See, here’s the deal. The body is masterful at “running from the lion “…. but we can’t run forever. And when “the lion” finally catches you….it doesn’t just take a nibble.
Hugs and love, Liz
(I’m gonna go have a day on the beach now and continue my reset!☀️)
#ThanksYL
#knowbetterdobetter

Probiotics Uncapped

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How do you feel about your gut?

Did you know that you have roughly 100 trillion bacteria (3-4 lbs worth!) sharing your personal space with you?…. more to the point…. inside you? Our “friends” within us are terribly important to our health. They keep the bad bacteria (aka: the bullies) in check. When our gut is healthy, approximately 80-85% of our bacteria is good, and 15-20% are bad. At this ratio, the good bacteria are able to keep the bad bacteria “in check”. The good bacteria are team players. When they are healthy, and there are enough of them, they are able to keep the bad bacteria from overpopulating and causing damage, dysfunction, and disease. 

In addition, good bacteria in the gut play a major role in many body functions…. including digestion and pooping, preventing inflammation of the intestinal wall, AND helping prevent  leaky gut syndrome. Surprisingly, our little bacteria friends also play a large role in our mental health. Poor gut health has been found to be directly correlated with OCD, ADHD, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, learning disabilities, memory, and mood…. not to mention general poor gut health. Our gut population is also responsible for approximately 80% of our immunity, AND not having enough good bacteria can lead to autoimmune disorders, allergies and infection. Good gut bacteria is also important to our weight!

Gut health plays a huge part in overall body inflammation. When your intestinal lining is compromised, total body inflammation or inflammation in certain parts of the body… including the brain is virtually guaranteed. Inflammation within the brain is painless, and yet it is a factor in Parkinsons, Alzheimer’s, MS, and Autism.

Finally, as we age, our good bacteria tend to naturally die off… and this is not good…not good at all. (Everyone “of a certain age” should be on a probiotic for optimal health). Go back and re-read the paragraphs above…. is it any coincidence that the elderly have regular issues “being regular”, having brain fog/memory lapses, sleep disorders etc? 

There are many ways we unintentionally damage and abuse our gut bacteria on a regular basis:  

  • Overuse of antibiotics. If you must use them…. Always, always always use a heavy round of probiotics both during and following antibiotic use (making sure to separate the antibiotic and probiotic dose by at least 2 hours).
  • Alcohol, processed foods, refined sugar, and refined carbohydrates. All of these products feed bad bacteria and promote inflammation
  • NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). They cause gut inflammation, damage the gut lining, and recent research indicates that their use induces gluten sensitivity.
  • Antacids and Acid Reducers. (Did you know that most of these are not FDA approved for use longer than 8 weeks). Long term use promotes Candida (yeast) overgrowth. 
  • Minimize and control your stress levels. High levels of stress can cause major GI damage over the long term.

And finally…. when we reach ‘a certain age’, our good gut bacteria begins to naturally die off. When this happens, our overall body health is compromised unless we supplement! 

Young Living offers one of the finest probiotics on the market: Life 9. And no, not all probiotics are created equally. Case Adams PhD, wrote a book: Probiotics-Protection Against Infection. In his book, he outlines what to look for in a good probiotic….. The type of capsule (HPMC), the diverse strains of bacteria (YL has 9 strains: 4bifido, 4lacto, and 1 strepto), the quantity of bacteria per capsule (10-15 BILLION Colony Forming Units is recommended for maintenance dosing), the container itself (glass with a metal lid…not plastic), and a moisture control (calcium carbonate). All of these requirements are so important… and they cumulatively make Life 9 the powerhouse for our health that it is. I know that there are tons of probiotics on the market, but MOST do not follow this advised criteria. Do your homework and then pick up a bottle of Life 9!
So, in a nutshell… we truly ARE what we ingest! But the zoo within us needs regular TLC and protection. Without that, you may end up with a gut gone rogue…. and that, my friends, is one of the worst things that could happen to your overall body health.


Hugs and Love~ Liz
(PS: Young Living makes a top notch probiotic for kiddos too…. it’s called Mighty Pro. ;))

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Guilty or Innocent? Weighing in on Cholesterol

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Cholesterol has been heavy on my heart for the last month… haha! No pun intended there… my cholesterol is actually fine….. but I tend to root for the the misunderstood and the underdog when given a choice. (That’s probably why our farm tends to be a haven for rescue dogs and cats…. but I digress!) 

Did you know that approximately 80% of people with acute cornary syndrome….(ie: reduced blood flow to the heart… often leading to heart attack) have NORMAL cholesterol values? What’s up with that? 

Cholesterol is one of those underdogs. Bless its sticky little heart….. it’s given a bad rap more so than nearly any other body produced compound. What would we do without cholesterol?  That’s a good question…. I’m not entirely sure any of us would be around to discuss it if we lacked it in our bodies! It is a major component of cell membranes and is a necessary building block for hormones, fat soluble vitamin D, and bile salts (aiding in the digestion of fats and fat soluble nutrients). Cholesterol is also extremely important to the function of our nervous system. Without it, we’d be bumbling malfunctioning idiots….especially considering that our brains are roughly comprised of 50% cholesterol. So why all the hate?

Our bodies are efficient producers of cholesterol…. producing about 80% of what is in our bodies (the other 20% comes from dietary sources). Cholesterol should not be confused with Triglycerides (perhaps the real bad boys), or the obscure thug that likes to hang on to its buddy LDL….. lipoprotein(a).

Unpacking Cholesterol: The cholesterol in our vascular system is a mixed bag of good and bad. HDL (the good guys) has the job of bouncer…. and it escorts out the shadier gang members, LDL, from our bloodstream. LDL comes in a variety of sizes…. and the smaller sizes (subunits 3 & 4) are really bad news. The bigger ones (subunits 1 &2) are fluffier and are actually pretty helpful. Because they (subunits 3&4) are small, they can easily work their way into the lining of our arteries where the bouncer (HDL) can’t reach them. In a whopping 20% of the population (1 in 5) there is something called Lipoprotein(a) that makes LDL ‘extra sticky’….. if you carry this genetic characteristic, it is best to know about it early on in life, as it dramatically increases your risk for clogged arteries and  blood clots leading to strokes and heart attacks. It is a serious health risk, and frankly…. should be tested for at least once in everyone’s life.
While managing total cholesterol with careful eating habits (avoid processed and ‘fast’ foods) is important, …. the real culprits we should be monitoring are inflammation, triglycerides, and lipoprotein(a).

Triglycerides are produced predominately by the liver. When we eat, the body stores any excess calories as triglycerides in our fat cells. It is particularly fond of doing this with carbs. Later…. between meals…. hormones will signal a need for more energy, and those triglycerides will be released. Herein lies the rub tho….. if you eat more than you exert energy, triglycerides begin building up and you end up with hypertriglyceridemia (HTG), and THAT my friends, is cause for alarm. Even if someone has verified genetic HTG, management can be achieved with responsible ownership of the vessel you reside in:

  • Daily physical activity
  • Conscious consuming of healthy fats… avoiding processed foods and other sources of “bad fats”
  • no smoking
  • Optimizing body weight
  • Limit processed sugar intake to no more than the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of sugar per day. (The average North American consumes about 200gms or 48 teaspoons of processed sugar in their diet daily)
  • Work towards optimal triglyceride lab values of <100 and a triglyceride to HDL ratio of 1:1 to 2:1. 

Lipoprotein(a) is no joke. 73 million people in the USA are estimated to be living with this ‘sticky’ situation. It is extremely dangerous because the molecule itself is so small, sticky, and it difficult to manage. What makes it even more dangerous is this: most insurance companies refuse to pay for the test that determines if you have it….. and many doctors don’t even mention the test to patients because insurance doesn’t pay. I have not been able to wrap my brain around the logic of NOT paying for a potentially life saving test…. but there you have it. It’s just one more reason to take charge of your own health and ask for the test and pay for it out of pocket, ESPECIALLY if you have family history of heart disease. Nothing….. no vacation, no daily coffee, no new phone…. should be more valuable to you than knowing this information about yourself. Once you know, you have the power to act…. and that can change the trajectory of your life. If you do carry this genetic trait, you will want to have your children tested. They need to learn healthy habits early in life. It’s never too young to become a CEO of oneself!

IF you have inherited lipoprotein(a), you’ll want to pay very close attention to what you CAN do, because it’s time to take your health seriously. Some people do not get a warning, and find themselves diagnosed at the same time their mortality is realized. Lp(a) requires close attention and monitoring. Tools to help in management include: 

  • Daily baby aspirin
  • High quality Omega3 fish oil…. lots of it… has been found to lower Lp(a)LDL by approximately 10%. (Poor quality Omega 3’s become oxidized and can actually do more damage than taking nothing at all. Know your supplement company…not just their name, but how they do business. This is especially important with Omega 3’s.) Omegagize3 from Young Living!
  • High doses of Niacin (1-3 gms/day) … the flushing kind (ex: Slo-Niacin)… have been found to lower Lp(a)LDL by up to 30%
  • Maintain a fasting blood glucose of <100
  • Vitamin C @ 3000mg/day
  • L-lysine, L-proline & L-carnitine in high doses (L-carnitine helps make lp(a) less sticky)
  • Test for and maintain hs-CRP (high sensitivity c reactive protein) at <1. This measures inflammation in the body and high levels are a risk factor for heart attack.
  • Control blood pressure ideally at 120/70.
  • Consistent exercise
  • Abstain from smoking
  • Get (regularly) an Advanced Lipid Panel every 6 months w/ the following goals:
  1. LDL< 60
  2. Triglycerides < 60
  3. LDL particle # < 700

I realize this has been kind of a heavy post. I’m sorry about that. It’s a heavy topic tho. Most people (even healthcare professionals) don’t have a clear understanding of exactly what causes the real problems in our vascular system. Hopefully, you can see that cholesterol itself is not the real monster….. it’s actually pretty awesome stuff. Too much of a good thing is bad tho…. no matter what it is. Although I only barely touched on inflammation in this post, it’s HUGELY important to this topic too. Sticky Lp(a)LDL is especially fond of a chronically inflamed vascular system.

It is my hope and blessing that this helps someone better manage their own health, and to prompt personal responsibility one’s own health. I am not a doctor. Information here is for recommendation purposes only, and not intended to substitute for specific medical advice. Please do use this information as a starting point for your own research, and use as discussion points with your personal healthcare provider.

Love and hugs,  Liz

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Goin’ Down the Gopher Hole

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Have you ever begun researching or looking for information on something, and it leads to more research ad infinitum? Well, that has happened to me over the course of the last six weeks. It’s all good stuff and I’m super excited to begin sharing it with you all, but first I have to get it unpacked properly from my brain.  I love learning and uncovering new information…. it makes my heart go pitter patter, even if it does at some point begin to give me blurry vision and in need of a map as I return from the warren of learning I’m being steeped in. 

The gopher hole (yes, I know the cuties above are actually prairie dogs!) I went down began with a simple question that had been ping ponging about in my brain for several months. I am a holistically minded pharmacist as you may well know, and I LOVE to help people realize feasible ways prevent dis-ease, restore function, and become optimally healthy. In a word: Not just surviving, but thriving! 

There ARE times when medication is necessary and Western medicine needs to work its magic thru intervention, but really….. this needs to be reserved for emergent care, when holistic measures have failed, or when genetics simply deal us a challenging hand.

Unfortunately, we have become an immediate gratification society, and the ‘grab and go’ healthcare system has capitalized on that. It’s much easier to take a pill for a symptom than it is to identify the root cause and work towards fixing what’s actually ‘broken’…..but taking a pill (or having an elective surgery) will ALWAYS have a consequence, and frequently, it may have more than one consequence. Often, the consequence will simply replace the original symptom (dysfunction), but occasionally, it can open a can of worms that was bigger than the first problem. I’ve seen this scenario happen too many times to count in my career.

“We” (ie: our current worldview) tend to discount risk versus immediate benefit in lieu of the desire for an immediate ‘fix’. When the immediate need is resolved, the focus of our attention is removed from the problem (or dysfunction)…. we’ve moved on to the next thing. Meanwhile, the risk may have slowly and quietly slipped thru the cracked door, and we fail to notice the correlation….. benign neglect, innocent ignorance of our own bodies, willingly handing over the ‘care and feeding of us’ to a Third Party who has little or no vested interest in our optimal health….. regardless of the reason(s)….. secondary dysfunction has crept in on padded feet. 

Here is but one example:
Statins are one of the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States for high cholesterol. Nearly 30% of adults over 40 are on them. Impressive stat for Big Pharma, right? 

But let’s go over another set of stats on the statins. Statins work by blocking a VIP enzyme called HMG-CoA. When this enzyme is blocked…. it blocks the production of cholesterol, but it also blocks the production of a nutrient called CoQ10. (Blocking the production of cholesterol is a post unto itself, that I will tackle next week and unpack for you…. cholesterol has been demonized when in actuality, it is an absolutely vital component to our well being)CoQ10 is critically important, and it can be supplemented to offset potential problems. Unfortunately, in my experience, most doctors never tell their patients this when they hand them a statin prescription. The doctor ‘might’ tell them to let them know if they have unusual soreness or cramping in their legs (a warning sign of something called rhabdomyolysis). This is a common ‘side effect’ of statin use…. but the reality is that it’s a sign of a secondary deficiency that crept thru the door that statin use opened. Other signs of CoQ10 deficiency include:

  • cardiac arrhythmia or palpitations, which could land you on medication. (Low CoQ10 is found in nearly all patients with heart failure. Read into that what you will…..) 
  • depression or memory loss (meds for this too)
  • fatigue (you may live with this, or begin self medicating with caffeine or other stimulants)
  • Impotence or decreased libido (ugh!)
  • High blood sugar (setting you up for diabetes OR making your current diabetic state harder to manage or regulate….. don’t even get me started!)​In 2014, the American Diabetes Association actually made the recommendation that all adults over the age of 40 take statins. (I’ll speak more to this when I write that cholesterol post)

Does this worry you? It should. And this is but one class of medications that causes a deficiency of CoQ10. 

Now, I’m not a doctor, and please….. do not take my words (or anyone’s words) as gospel.  I am all about self study and whole truth… which is not always easy to come by in the healthcare industry. (Remember, there are billions of dollars at stake here.) I encourage all of you to become the best advocate of you that you can be. Nobody knows you better than you, right? Self study can be a little confusing if you aren’t used to it. Talk to your healthcare provider. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions….. and above all, be armed with knowledge that you yourself have found. Do not be afraid to shake the dust off your shoes and move on if your doctor doesn’t take full consideration of your concerns.

If this post has rattled your cage a little, so be it. That is my job as a pharmacist…. to point out some things that are important for a body to stay healthy, and it’s your choice whether to keep your head in the sand or be on the lookout for danger. We (pharmacists) are trained to counsel on side effects, but we need to be taking it a step further …..counseling on the causes of those side effects as well as potential ways to mitigate them, and to teach our tribe how to not just avoid deficiency, but to have optimal health in the process. ​

This is but one of the reasons I believe proper supplementation is so absolutely critical to living well, but especially if you are one of the millions who are on (and may need to remain on) a medication. Because statin use is also now being linked to probable Vitamin D deficiency, I recommend both MindWise and OmegaGize3 as being stellar products in the supplement industry… for everyone. Don’t wait for a deficiency to actually happen. It’s much harder to fix than it is to prevent, right? 

If these products are new to you, I encourage you to learn more about Young Living and why I’ve chosen them as my supplement company of choice. You can learn more about the company and how to receive discounted pricing by returning to my home page, or if you’d like to chat, please reach out to me. That’s why I’m here.

Be well, and have a glorious day! 
Hugs and Love, Liz
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