“Milk thistle’s benefits derive from silymarin and silybin. Silybin belongs to the flavonoid group called flavonolignans, which have strong antioxidant properties that reduce proinflammatory mediators through modulation of a variety of cell-signaling pathways.”
Some of you are like đ, while others of y’all are like. I get it. If this were something written about computer technology, you’d have lost me too! That is why we are all gifted uniquely!
So, if that was a foreign language, let me translate for you đ.
God made plants with capabilities to heal.
Milk thistle is literally a crazy obnoxious weed in our farming world. And it is loaded with thorns, which makes it hard to handle without gloves.
This large obnoxious stickery weed just also happens to be a potent antioxidant ( something that fights free radicals in the body. Excessive free radicals in the body are linked to diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease and others). Milk thistle also happens to have anti inflammatory and anti fibrotic effects (fibrosis of any organ is not a good thing). This wayward weed also appears to reduce insulin resistance and decreased fasting insulin levels. Kinda cool, right?
Mostly tho, I’m pleasantly surprised to find this article in a Big Pharma journal… Ya’ll, plants heal. Don’t underestimate the power of plant juice đ.
xoxo~ liz (your friendly pharmacist purveyor of plant juice and plant juice information.)
#knowbetterdobetter
#plantjuiceisgoodmedicine
#onemansweedisanothermansmedicine
#whatsinthegardenisbetterthanwhatsinthela
#ThanksYL
Inflammation
Health Clues from Your Eyes -part 5
*Iris clues. Are you ready to dive a little deeper down this fascinating rabbit warren of information? If you are just now joining in this portion of detective work, Iâd highly suggest a quick look at last weekâs post before proceeding-Health Clues from Your Eyes – part 4.
đNoting the changes within your eyes may be likened to the notification lights on the dashboard of your car. If you know something is wrong early enough, you often have time to correct that which is setting the signal off. The iris manifests clues marking changes within the body that warrant correction.
Depending upon how the clues manifest themselves, they may indicate acute, recovery, chronic, or degenerative situations within the body.
Acute – active inflammation. During this time, the body is using its resources rapidly in an attempt to gain control of the inflammation. The iris âwarning signsâ will look like white ribbons in the areas corresponding to the inflamed tissue. Other corroborative clues may include noticeable mucus production somewhere in the body, or visibly inflamed or swollen tissue. Detoxification is occurring, but often itâs not fast enough. Consider giving your body all the nutrition support you can. Add in Young Living’s Master Formula and NingXia Red for added support.Â
Sub-Acute- Once the initial rapid inflammation has tapered off, the white ribbon like areas start to become darker. This is suggestive that nutrients have been depleted and need to be restored. If a sub-acute state is left unattended and the body continues to be exposed to either nutritional or physical stress, a chronic state of inflammation may result. Don’t stop supporting your body!Â
Chronic- In this state, toxins and waste are not eliminated properly, cellular activity has slowed down considerably, nerve impulses are impaired, and conditions become ripe for chronic illness or dis-ease to set in. The iris will manifest the chronic condition state with the appearance of various sized âblack holesâ in the netting of the iris fibers. This will ultimately lead to further degeneration if positive changes are not made to a personâs lifestyle in an effort to reverse the course of dis-ease or illness. The black holes may get larger and multiply as more body systems are affected.Â
*About â
of the way away from the iris lies the autonomic nerve wreath. The autonomic nervous system is broken down into two subsystems. The parasympathetic nervous system is for basic housekeeping within the body and it controls the body while we rest. The sympathetic system is also commonly referred to as our âfight or flightâ response. The nerve wreath is not always uniform in shape.. The more this wreath shape deviates from a standard roundish type shape, the more suggestive it is of a system off balance. Additionally, the color of the autonomic nerve wreath should match the color of the rest of the iris. Any increase, decrease, or change in color in this area suggests disharmony within the body. To recap, color and shape of the wreath are important cluesđ!
What about colored spots within the iris? These are called psora, and are typically considered to be an indicator of toxin loads within the body. If you watch your eyes closely, you may notice that these colored spots often change locations over time. This suggests the toxin load (including drug deposits) has moved to another portion of the body. Sometimes these spots show up in different colors: red yellow, and orange are not uncommon. They are most often seen in Zones 1 thru 3 in the irises.
“Scurf rim”đ is another clue on the outermost zone (7) of the iris. Is the area darkened? This is suggestive that the skin (remember, itâs an organ!) is not able to function effectively in the detoxification process, and toxins and metabolic waste are having a hard time being released from the body. An accompanying clueđ might include not sweating easily.
At the very top of Zone 7 (roughly 10pm -2am on a clock) look for an arc that often has fuzzy edges with a whitish tint. Though this used to be a mark of old ageđ”, it is becoming more and more common in younger peopleđ©đš. Presence of this arc is suggestive of poor oxygenation and blood perfusion in the brain.
Now look for a solid white ringđ on the periphery of Zone 7. This suggests a chemical imbalance of some sort in the body. Western medicine also recognizes this ring as an indicator of probable excessive cholesterol and triglycerides in the body. Not surprisingly, further digging (with lab work and testing) often reveal poor calcium metabolism which contributes to plaque in the arteries (arteriosclerosis) and joints (arthritis), and subsequent higher blood pressure.
Zone 6 sometimes houses cloudlike spots đresembling a string of pearls. If the spots are very white, these spots suggest acute inflammation. Yellowed or brownish pearls suggest that the inflammation has moved to a chronic state.
Check yourself for other clues. Do you also produce a great deal of mucus elsewhere in your body or have swollen lymph glands? Dry brushing, lymphatic massage, and regular exercise are all excellent ways to mediate impaired lymphatic function.Â
Nerve ringsđ may appear anywhere in the pupil.. They look much like growth rings found in a cross section of a tree. These rings suggest long term stress in one or more parts of the body, and are most often seen in chronically stressed individuals. Shouldnât we all be huffing our Stress Away whenever the moment requires it? We have so many blessed tools at our fingertips to help support our bodies during times of stress. These nerve rings are similar to an SOS smoke signal. Pay attention to them!Â
Check your eyes for dark lines đradiating out from the pupil. These lines (called radii solaris) suggest a slower moving digestive tract and a subsequent toxin load. If you are not offloading the poo my friends, the toxin load will be there. ! This clue might also be suggestive of a parasite load.
Weâve just barely skimmed the surface of the cluesđ the eyes can give us, but if youâre ultra curious, keep digging on your own. Dr Bernard Jensen is considered to be the modern âFather of Iridologyâ, and his work is an excellent place to start!
Iâll leave you with this cool factoidâŠ. Did you know that you may be able to change the color of your eyes? Brown discolorations in blue/green eyes are suggestive of digestive system dysfunction, a gallbladder weakness, or liver dysfunction. Cleaning up these problems with clean eating habits and restoring health to the digestive system just might make your brownish eyes blue! The next time you think someone might be full of itđ©, check their eyes…. You just might be right!đ
 xoxo~ liz
#sharingiscaring
#supportyourlocalpeepers
#goodmedicine
#ToxinFreeIsTheWayToBe
#goodmedicineisproactiveinsteadofreactive
#ThanksYL
Health Clues from Our Eyes – part 4
Eye Clues Part IV: What do your irises say about your overall health?
Perhaps youâve heard the phrase, âThe more you learn, the more you realize you donât know.â Itâs one of the reasons I identify as a lifetime student. I pray that I am able to learn something new every day. This next foray into clue finding required diving a little deeper into a topic Iâm fascinated by, but certainly no expert!
The iris is the part of the eye that carries color. Iridology is a form of âclue findingâ in which patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the fibers of the iris are examined. Just as with feet,â hands, đears, đtongue, đ©face, and skin⊠the iris is loaded with body health cluesđ! The eye itself is a visible extension of the brain with hundreds of thousands of nerve endings, a vast microvascular network, muscles, and other tissue types. Interestingly, the iris is connected to every organ and tissue of the body by way of its role in the central nervous system. The iris is also controlled by sympathetic (âfight or flightâ response) and parasympathetic (basic body âhousekeepingâ and autopilot âat restâ activities), so if you imagine that trauma, drama, or a toxin load might affect affect the iris, youâd be right! Nerve fibers in the iris respond to changes in body tissue. As the changes in the body tissue occur, those changes also physically manifest in the portion of the iris which âidentifiesâ with that portion of the body tissue. The result is this: the color part of our peepers drop clues relating to past, present, and possibly future health. Even having a basic understanding of cluesđ within the iris may help you identify how best to support and care for your body by suggesting where inflammation may be, and at what stage it may be manifesting.
*There are 90 known body specific areas that are mapped on each iris. Each eye is different. These areas are mapped out much like spokes on a wagon wheel, with the pupil being at the center axis. There are also 7 concentric zones of the iris beginning at the pupil. The stomach and intestines are closest to the pupil, followed by:
Zone 3: representing heart, bronchi, pancreas, adrenal, pituitary, pineal, gallbladder
Zone 4: representing prostate or uterus , skeleton
Zone 5: representing brain, lung, liver, spleen, kidneys, thyroid
Zone 6: representing muscles, motor nerves, lymphatic, circulatory
Zone 7: representing skin, sensory nerves
Today, weâre only going to talk about the overall appearance of the iris. Compare the âtextureâ of the iris to a piece of cloth. Does it appear tightly woven like silk or more loosely woven together like burlap or cheesecloth? There is a correlation between the âtightnessâ of the fibers of the iris with the bodyâs ability to hold and utilize nutrients, dispose of metabolic waste and toxins, and have general robust cellular activity. More âloosely wovenâ iris fibers trend towards a correlation with difficulty maintaining nutrient levels and efficiently disposing of metabolic waste and toxins.
This may be a valuable clue to note in your healthđ detective journal. Remember, clues are not diagnosesâŠ.. they are a gift from our Creator so that we may notice changes and work towards achieving better healthâŠ. a constant & evolving process. Sometimes it may feel like two steps forward and three steps back. #metoo. We all have our own health journey with seasons of success and seasons of lack, with lots of moving parts that we can choose to control or leave to chance. Scientistsđ©âđŹ and doctorsđšâđŹ who have studied the iris closely have found that irises which suggest a weaker constitution can belong to healthy people who take care of themselves well. Likewise, irises suggesting a strong constitution of the body can also be made weak over time through toxin exposure and lack of care. Epigenetics (the environmental component of gene expression that we CAN control) plays a tremendous role in our health!
If you are so inclined, grab a magnifying glass, light and mirror (partnering up may be easier) and happy clue hunting! . Make note of what you see compared to how you feel overall, and how you might be feeling if you werenât taking care of yourself in âall the waysâ.
I know I would feel much different if I werenât faithful with my eating and exercise habits, self care routine, and of courseâŠ.my daily supplement routine: Sulfurzyme, BLM, Thyromin, Femigen/Progessence Plus, OmegaGize, NingXia Red, Multigreens, and others on board!
Weâll dive just a little deeper next week!
xoxo~ liz
#sharingiscaring
#supportyourlocalpeepers
#goodmedicine
#goodmedicineisproactiveinsteadofreactive
#ThanksYL
#youareworthit
Pumpkin Spice Creamer
â’Tis the season! I’m not a fan of Starbucks for a variety of reasons….. not the least of which is their potent inflammation causing ingredients. Save some big bucks and make your own Pumpkin Spice Latte for a fraction of the price! And heck, you even get real pumpkin with other real ingredients that are helpful instead of harmful đ.
Super interesting article that pulls the curtain back on what exactly is (and isn’t) in a ‘bucks Pumpkin Spice Latte:Â https://www.popsci.com/whats-actually-in-pumpkin-spice…/Â
The application of knowledge is power.Â
xoxo~ liz
Health Clues from Your Urine – part 2
What does your pee say about your health? PART II
*Urine, in most healthy situations, should be seen but not smelled. There are exceptions of course (Have you ever experienced âasparagus peeâ?), but the offending odor should be transient and not trending towards permanence. Urine with a strong ammonia smell may indicate dehydration or bacterial infections. A sharp change in hormones (ie: pregnancy or menopause) may also contribute to pungent pee. âSweet or fruity smellingâ urine may indicate a high ketone content in urine as is often seen in unregulated diabetes. Some medications can certainly create an environment for malodorous micturation. Sulfa based medications (note: sulfa and sulfur are NOT the same chemical entity), antibiotics, diuretics, birth control pills, lyrica, tramadol, and oxycodone are also potentially causative agents of stinky pee.
Frequent urination is a topic near and dear to my heart (and bladder). An estimated 33 million people in the USA struggle with this health clue. Having a spastic bladder can be a nuisance or it can be downright life limiting. The causes (clues) are varied:
đUrinary tract infection (pair with urine color and odor)
đLow estrogen levels (resulting from a hormone imbalance, menopause,or even excessive exercise)
đPregnancy or post childbirth, chronic constipation, chronic coughing, frequent heavy lifting, obesity, pelvic floor weakness (see unbalanced pelvic floor muscles below)Â
đEnlarged prostate (men)
đDiabetes
đSpinal cord injuries or dysfunctions
đPelvic floor muscles (there are 16 of them) are unbalanced. Think of a webbed hammock where some of the webbing is strong and others are weak. Each muscle needs to be equal in strength. If this is a known issue, kegel exercises are not the answer. Youâll want to find an excellent pelvic floor therapist to guide you in your strengthening and healing process. Â
đMedication (ex: diuretics, lithium, steroids)
đEmotions. The bladder and kidneys are the home to emotions related to fear and anxiety. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, chronic bladder and kidney issues may correlate with âdifficulty finding their place in lifeâ. Many women (and men) who have a weak pelvic floor often report lacking support somewhere in their lives. Please do not underestimate the importance of healing emotionally when looking for ways to heal physically. Our issues do indeed reside in our tissues. There is an excellent book entitled The Body Keeps Score, by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (MD) which explains the importance of resolving the emotional ties to specific health conditions. #worththeread
đInterstitial cystitis
Interstitial cystitis is where myđââïž personal âoveractive bladderâ story began in 2002. IC is an enigmatic chronic bladder condition that causes varying degrees of pelvic pain and discomfort. It also causes a chronic and constant need to urinate. Imagine having stomach ulcers in your bladder. Thatâs the best way I can describe what it felt like. In my case, it took nearly 3 years and 4 different doctors before finding one who suggested a cystoscopy to confirm her suspicions. As with all inflammatory disease states, what we expose ourselves to matters. I was blessed with a doctor who actually took the time to educate me on the truth of this. Instead of pushing me towards medication, she urged me to begin a strict elimination diet, stay well hydrated, and to learn to manage stress better. Wow! Imagine what our health care would look like if all western medicine based doctors would prescribe this type of sage advice! đ
Learning which foods and lifestyle choices triggered a worsening of my urge to pee was eyeđ opening indeed. Sometimes it was hit or miss, and I would often pay the price by having to get up 7-8 times a night to go to the bathroom. A serendipitous travel situation in 2008 completely changed everything when I discovered that nearly all processed foods were inflammation causing agents. I couldnât believe how much better I felt in the presence of 100% fresh clean food! Staying well hydrated with filtered water quickly became key to keeping my bladder happy too. I know it may sound counterintuitive to strive for a full bladder to pee lessâŠ.. Diluting toxins in the bladder makes whatâs in the bladder less of an irritant! Â
Fast forward to 2013 when I was introduced to Young Living products. I had learned to manage my interstitial cystitis as holistically as possible, and in doing so, I had dodged the very real bullet of daily self catheterization that often occurs with people who have severe IC. I still had some nasty flare ups, and was still getting up 4-6 times a night (on average) to pee. One of the âthank youâ products I had received from my Young Living monthly subscription order was Sulfurzyme. It was free, looked interesting, and tho I hadnât really identified a personal need, I decided to take it. According to the YL website, Sulfurzyme may be of value to anyone who wishes to support their joints, range of motion, bone health, metabolic function, immune system, hair and skin. Within two weeks of taking Sulfurzyme faithfully I began noticing enormous changes within my bladder along with a decreased urge to urinate. Around that time, I also began using a DIY face serum recipe which contains Frankincense and Lavender every morning. Should I have been shocked that what I put on my face also happened to make my bladder very happy? In 2014, I was still learning essential oil basics, and this was a lesson to the truth that oils work best in âall the waysâ when they are used. Get them out of the bottle and into the air or on your skin. You just never know what might happen with regular consistent use. đ
Iâve continued to clean up my “issues within my tissues” over the years, and I am so much healthier in mind, body, and spirit than I was when I was in my 30âs. This is a lifestyle, not a âonce ân doneâ kind of thing. Freedom is never free, especially in the case of a health condition. I had to be willing to do the hard work, to live like no one else sometimes, and to listen to what my body needed. Everyone has their own story, their own diagnosis, their own emotional journey to recognize. Overcoming ( ____________ ) requires change and the courage and willingness to do so. As they say, âInsanity is doing the same things over and over again, and expecting different results.â I pray you are discovering yourself as you become your own health detective. Learning to read your own health clues and then acting on those clues is true self love. Never forget that each of our bodies is a temple and as such, requires tender loving care and maintenance every single day. You are worth it!
xoxo~ liz
#sharingiscaring
#goodmedicineisnotfasteasyorcookiecutter
#goodmedicine
#thanksYL
