There is an old farm saying, “No hoof, no horse.”. The savvy horseman looks at hooves very carefully because he or she knows that a horse with poor feet will not be able to function optimally, and that a horse with chronic hoof issues often has metabolic, digestive, or rarely… a genetic anomaly . The same holds absolutely true with humans.
If you’ve had an excellent massage therapist (or perhaps even an astute pedicurist), perhaps they’ve told you a little bit about yourself simply by examining your feet while they worked. It’s lovely to have a day of pampering, but don’t depend on anyone to look for clues. It’s time to get to know your feet really well if you haven’t done so already! Our feet are an excellent barometer of overall health. Clues often appear below the ankles before any other place on the body, giving ample time to reverse the course of your personal story should it happen to be heading down a rocky road.
26 bones. 33 joints. 100 ligaments. More than 100 moving parts. What could possibly go wrong? 😬Well, take a seat….shuck the shoes 👟and socks, and take a close look at your hardworking utterly complex feet. I’m going to group feet clues into two categories: What you can SEE and what you can FEEL.
Visible Foot Clues:
*Do you see dry, cracked, peeling, blistered, red, or scaly skin, usually on the bottom of the foot or between the toes? Sometimes these clues may be accompanied by a burning or itching sensation. Athlete’s foot is a fungus known as tinea pedis that thrives in dark, damp places….an excellent reason to go barefoot whenever possible! Fungal infections throughout the body are fueled by high sugar diets. A sustained change in diet (along with allowing the feet to breathe!) often eliminates chronic foot funk. Occasionally, all of these clues may point instead to contact dermatitis. When contact dermatitis occurs, it’s most often due to a chemical / toxin exposure. It’s just one more reason to use the Thieves Household Cleaner line of products!
*Now, check your heels for cracks. Going barefoot or wearing flip flops often do not cause cracked heels, though this is a popular belief. Cracked heels is a classic sign of a struggling thyroid.
*Hairy toes. Do you have them….. Or, did you used to have them but now you don’t? The same can be said for the tops of the feet and the lower legs. Hairy toes, feet, and lower legs are a sign of healthy circulation. Nourishing hair follicles on the lowest extremities is one of the first things to go when the circulatory system starts struggling. A poor nourishment pathway in the legs starves the follicles, and hair ceases to grow. Don’t panic if you’ve never had hairy toes. Not everyone is genetically predisposed to furry distal digits. The important thing to remember is your uniqueness, and to learn to watch for these clues so that you’ll notice when something changes, or goes missing! This is a clue easily caught on men, and less easily caught on women.
*Swollen feet and ankles. So very common in pregnancy, but an important clue for those who are not pregnant. Even if you are standing all day, feet and ankle swelling should be minimal with good circulation. This is a clue that may indicate impaired circulation or lymphatic drainage. Additionally, the kidneys remove excess fluid from the body. If they are not functioning properly, excess fluid tends to accumulate in the body. An under-active thyroid may also contribute to fluid retention.
*Sores that are slow to heal on the feet are a significant clue also indicating impaired circulation. This particular clue is often seen in diabetes and peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD is a narrowing of the arteries which reduces blood flow to the legs. If nourishment cannot get to a wound, it will be slow to heal.
*If you have noticed circulatory system clues in your feet, try to avoid crossing your legs when you sit. Sitting like this further constricts blood flow and will only exacerbate the clues you’ve noticed!
*Stinky feet! You may have noticed that some people have stinkier feet than others. Feet are loaded with sweat glands: 250,000 give or take a few. But odor is not caused by sweat alone. It is caused by the byproducts of bacteria, possibly fungus, and ALWAYS the toxin load of the individual. Simply put, the more toxins ☠️ within a person’s body, the greater the odds of some rank stank. All the more reason to help your liver out and choose healthy, toxin free options whenever possible in life! #thanksYL
If you know someone with stinky feet, consider gifting them this easy peasy helpful spray for their shoes (and feet!), and get them on the path to a less toxic lifestyle.
***Stink Stank Stunk no more Shoe Spray***
👟3-4 oz glass or metal spray bottle
👟2 oz witch hazel
👟1 ounce filtered water
👟30-40 drops total of essential oil using any of the following (Purification, Eucalyptus Radiata, Peppermint, Lemon, Rosemary)
Shake well before each use!
Take some time to look at your feet at least once a week. I do a quick assessment every night as I apply Thieves to the bottoms of my feet before bedtime for immune support and Tranquil to the base of my big toe for a good night’s sleep.
See you next week…. We’re just getting started on foot clues!
xoxo~ liz
#caringissharing
#footcareisgoodmedicine
#knowyourfoundation
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL
Kidney
Health Clues from Your Liver part 3
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 from Heartburn
Down the alimentary canal we go….. Clues you can use from your head to your tush!
I’ve gone round and round in my head about how best to approach this next topic. It’s a “which came first…. the chicken 🐣or the egg situation”, so I will leave it up to you as to how you choose to run with these clues!
As we travel down the alimentary canal, some of the roughest waters are located right beyond the oral cavity. An estimated 60-70 million people have chronic digestive disorders in the USA, with 25% of the adult population experiencing weekly symptoms of reflux.
Here’s “the chicken”:
– Reflux commonly results from either a mechanical dysfunction or environmental trigger. Mechanically, it may be caused by a diagnosed hiatal hernia, pregnancy, excessive weight, eating a large meal too close to bedtime……there are others, but these are the biggies.
Biochemically, certain foods and beverages may also trigger reflux in some people. Spicy, oily, or fried foods, alcohol, and caffeine are well known irritants.
👉👉There are two other under diagnosed but VERY COMMON dysfunctions….. Hypochlorhydria: a deficiency of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and insufficient digestive enzyme production within the body. 👈👈
Causes of low stomach acid include:
– Stress
– A deficiency of Zinc or B vitamins
– Medications taken for reflux
– Gastric bypass surgery
– Age – people over the age of 60-65 are most likely to have inadequate stomach acid production
Before refrigeration and the advent of the processed food industry, normal diets were rich in food that contained prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes that supplemented what was already made within the body. Sadly, the Standard American Diet (aptly acronymed ‘SAD’) contains none of these, and the “fakeness” of many foods has made the digestive process even harder to accomplish.
Digestive enzyme insufficiency has several possible causes:
– Gallbladder removal
– Crohn’s or Celiac
– Leaky gut
– Chronic Stress
– Inflammation (often due to toxin load)
– Genetics
– Aging
Certain diseases affecting the pancreas
Low stomach acid and/or insufficient digestive enzymes can cause a cluster of clues over time….
🔎Bloating and burping
🔎Upset stomach that sometimes feels worse when you take supplements
🔎Heartburn or indigestion
🔎Diarrhea and gas
🔎Hair loss
🔎Fatigue
🔎Protein, B12, Calcium and magnesium deficiencies
🔎Neurological issues such as numbness, tingling, and vision changes
🔎An appearance of or worsening of an autoimmune disorder (lupus, allergies, asthma, skin conditions, etc)
🔎Osteoporosis
Prescription trends reflect this stat: Approximately 65 million prescriptions are written for reflux medications on an annual basis…. The most common being💊 acid reducers.
WAIT. WHAT??!?!? If the reflux problem is commonly related to too little acid in the stomach, why in the world are drugs like 💊Pepcid, Prilosec, Nexium, Protonix 💊prescribed so regularly? After all, they are designed to reduce acid in the stomach. That, my friends, is the multi- billion dollar question you’ll need to ask Big Pharma about.
I make no recommendations to quit any medication without talking to your favorite health care professional first. I’m not a doctor…. only an observant pharmacist who knows when things don’t add up. #followthemoney
And now we come to “the egg”….. the medications regularly recommended for heartburn. You see, the drugs within the acid reducing class are approved by the FDA for short term use only (generally 8 weeks or less) and yet we all probably know multiple people who have been on them for years.
What happens when the pH within the stomach continues to slowly become more alkaline?
* A worsening of B12 deficiency which affects many parts of the body, but especially the nervous system. Prolonged deficiency increases the risk of dementia and neuropathy.
* An increased risk of hip, wrist, and spine fractures due to accelerated osteoporosis
* A 50% greater risk of pneumonia
* An increased risk of a cardiovascular event
* A worsening of overall digestive problems
* Increased risk of kidney disease
How can this particular “chicken/egg” question be avoided? The biggest answer to nearly everything we talk about is always going to revolve around diet, exercise, stress management, sufficient sleep, and removal of toxins whenever possible. It’s not always easy to incorporate enzyme and stomach acid supportive foods into today’s daily eating habits, and yet they are a valuable and needed piece of the wellness and vitality puzzle.
Thankfully, we have some very supportive digestive enzyme supplements available to us! 🙌🙌
Young Living’s Essentialzyme caplets also contains Betaine HCl which help support healthy stomach acid pH.
Young Living’s Essentialzymes-4, Allerzyme, and Detoxzyme are also digestive enzyme supportive capsules, and Mightyzyme chewables are for kiddos (or adults who like them!) who might need a little extra digestive support!
As always….. This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, or cure….. Rather to give you the tools you need to make the best and most informed decisions you can make in regards to your own health. You are the responsible party for Y.O.U. …… no one else.
xoxo~ liz
#sharingiscaring
#digestivehealthclues
#healthcluesyoucanuse
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL
Health Clues in Your Teeth – part 3
Do you utilize vitaflex/reflexology points on your hands, feet, and even ears👂 when you apply essential oils? Do you have an excellent massage therapist who is able to make you feel better both physically and emotionally after a nice long appointment? Have you ever employed the powerful tool of acupuncture or acupuncture point based therapy as a means of retaining or regaining health or function?
Or, are you just not sure “those things” are real? As a 100% science minded health professional, I needed some strong evidence….. After all, these applications are not taught in the Western medicine education system. So, as any good doubting Thomas would do, I set out not to disprove what I didn’t understand….. but to dig for validation and information of what was confounding me! Never discount something because it doesn’t make sense to you or doesn’t fit the mold you’ve been taught! Dig until you find the truth. My own digging has led me through many books, conferences, professional journal articles, and pubmed…. and through these…. Hard facts and data.
We are energetic beings. Energy⚡️ is measured by the rate of oscillation of an electrical current (measured in hertz/ Hz). The rate of this oscillation of current is called frequency. EEG’s and EKG’s are measuring the frequency of the brain and heart respectively. Those are only two organs….. The entire body is one big energy frequency machine! ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
Acupuncture is based on 14 energetic meridians in the body. (For ease of discussion, I will refer to them as rivers) If one of those energy “rivers” (meridians) becomes stagnant, damaged or “clogged”, the entire “river” will be affected. Over time, that damaged “river” flow will cause pain, dis-ease or dysfunction within the parts of the body it runs through. As that meridian becomes more damaged, it will begin to affect other meridian functions too.
The role teeth play within a body’s energy circuits is one of the most important clues I will write about. This is where physics meets biology! Our teeth are crystalline structures, and they act as a circuit breaker for the meridians in our body. A decayed tooth or a root canal (which actually leaves residual decay behind even when patched up) acts as a resistor on the specific electrical circuit, and eventually, this will show up as pain, dysfunction, or illness somewhere else in the body along the same meridian (river). Interestingly, over 90% of malignancies are associated with a root canal or decayed tooth on the same meridian.
The easiest way to utilize teeth as clues for both present and future health concerns is to reference a chart. ( I will include an example of one below this article).I often use teeth as a clue to “root cause” and “root prevention”. Pun intended!
Let’s take my 1st upper molar as an example. If I had a root canal or untended cavity in that particular tooth, over time, the frequency would drop within the stomach meridian of my body. Because I know my frequency is now prone to dropping in the stomach meridian, I would pay special attention to, and support all of the corresponding organs and tissues in an effort to prevent future dis-ease and dysfunction. (Refer to the chart )
* I would watch my thyroid numbers closely thru comprehensive annual (if not more frequent) thyroid labwork, and support my thyroid function as needed with Young Living’s Thyromin capsules and/or Endoflex essential oil blend.
* I would also make sure my liver, pancreas and stomach had the tools they needed to function efficiently. Digestive enzymes (Detoxzyme or EssentialZymes-4 are my two favorites), and Juvatone capsules for liver support on the regular!
* I’d work to keep my body well hydrated, exercise, and avoid medication that is particularly hard on the kidneys (ex: Ibuprofen and other NSAIDS).
* I’d know that my weakest point on my spine was potentially going to be where the thoracic vertebrae meets the lumbar portion of the spine, and I would work to keep it strong, healthy, and flexible thru exercise focusing on core strength and flexibility.
* I’d know that my jaw and knee joints would be things to keep an eye on and support accordingly to prevent injury.
* I’d know that my trunk muscles needed extra focus at the gym in terms of muscle groupings. #legday #BLMandSulfurzymeforthewin
* I’d want to support my maxillary sinus in a healthy way so that I don’t become prone to sinus infections. I would do this by diffusing all our healthy “breathing oils” and by using my home made (amazing!!!) nasal spray regularly.
All of these body parts I just mentioned are tied to the stomach meridian in the body, and they are going to need a little extra TLC to keep them healthy since the tooth itself is now working against the body.
Forewarned is forearmed, right?!? Using the health of specific teeth to determine how best to support your body is an easy and excellent way to hopefully sidestep potential issues elsewhere in your body in the future!
If you’d like to know more about teeth and their relationship to our health, here are some excellent book 📚 resources (note that all of the authors are either doctors or dentists who have also done their additional research to learn the truth!!):
Healing is Voltage – Jerry Tennant MD
Toxic Teeth – JM Swartz MD and YL Wright MA
The Toxic Tooth – Robert Kulacz DDS and Thomas Levy MD/JD
The Root Canal Coverup – George Meinig DDS
xoxo~ liz
#sharingiscaring
#healthcluesyoucansinkyourteethinto
#healthcluesyoucanuse
#goodmedicine
#ThanksYL
Canadian Horseweed
One man’s weed is another’s tool 💡😍. Interesting reading. Note all the other names Canadian Horseweed is called. Good stuff!
xoxo~ liz