Medications

“Feed Me Seymore!” Candida Exposed

Liz James · February 5, 2017 ·

“Feed me Seymore!” if you remember, this is a famous line out of the movie, Little Shop of Horrors. When I teach gut health classes, I use this analogy in reference to another monster within us who has an insatiable appetite….. Candida.

Candida is a sugar fermenting yeast that naturally lives within our digestive tract, and is helpful and necessary in our gut ecosystem when colonized in appropriate amounts. Unfortunately, 70-80% of all Americans have fallen below the wellness line and now suffer with chronic Candida overgrowth. How in the world did this happen to so many of us? The possible list of culprits is long:

Immune dysfunction in the form of:

exposure to toxic metals
poor digestion leading to buildup of toxins within us
stress

Reduction of good bacteria (who act as the national guard and keep Candida in check). This happens by:

heavy consumption of refined carbs, alcohol, and caffeine
heavy consumption of refined sugar
antibiotics
mercury fillings (double whammy! they also affect our immune system)

An adjustment in intestinal pH (allowing Candida to flourish). This commonly occurs when:

acid blocking medications (like Prilosec, Nexium, etc) are used regularly and in excess
we have a decrease in production of digestive enzyme
we age. In the normal aging process, our stomach acid actually becomes less acidic, allowing Candida to grow out of control.

One of the hallmark signs of a Candida overgrowth is an insatiable craving for sugar and carbs. It feels almost like something is living inside you telling you that you MUST eat sugar and carbs…..ie: Feed me Seymour! If you have those feelings (and can’t stop after just one cookie), chances are, you have a heavy Candida load. Candida is ASKING for this “nourishment” to survive, and you are feeding it each times it asks….. just like the plant with the voracious appetite in Little Shop of Horrors.

Symptoms of Candida overgrowth are varied… they include anxiety, depression, panic attacks, hyperactivity, sinus problems, bad breath, constipation, bloating, diarrhea, hypoglycemia, eczema, psoriasis, skin fungus, yeast infections, chronic fatigue, swollen joints, and gout. The list is much longer…. but you get the idea…. Candida overgrowth is very problematic in all aspects of wellness.

Young Living has many products that will help keep you above the wellness line (ie: Healthy!) when it comes to Candida. One such product is called Detoxzyme. This powerhouse capsule combines digestion enhancing essential oils with several fast acting enzymes that assist in the complete digestive process. They help detoxify and promote intestinal cleansing (a critical component for maintaining overall body health). The enzymes within the capsules are designed to help us digest starches, sugars, proteins, and fats. Efficient digestion helps the body detoxify. Importantly, Detoxzyme also helps in opening the gallbladder duct and cleansing the liver, preventing Candida and other yeast overgrowth…. also important in the detoxification process. Remember, your liver is the main “garbage processing center” organ of our bodies…. and if it has a backlog of work, then toxins simply sit in our body and wreak havoc as they wait to be excreted.

So, if you are looking for ways to lose that sluggish feeling and regain your energy, quit feeding that monster no matter how much it asks to be fed, and grab yourself a bottle of this dragonslayer!

Have a great day, and contact me if you have any questions!

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Body Chemistry 101

Liz James · February 2, 2017 ·

Body chemistry 101…. Is your body acidic or slightly basic?… and why does it matter?

pH is measured on a scale from 0 to 14, with “7” being neutral. Our bodies are generally happiest when we are slightly basic… somewhere between 7.35 to 7.45. However, without a proper diet, our bodies frequently hover in the acidic range, and when that happens, body system dysfunction begins occurring…sometimes on a grand scale.

A chronically acidic body will begin stealing minerals from your cells that make up your bones, organs, and tissues in an effort to become more alkaline (basic). Robbing minerals means that they won’t be available for use, and when THAT happens…. toxins build up, oxygenation within our body is negatively affected, pathogens become active, our immune system becomes depressed, and vitamin absorption is compromised…. and THIS is just the short list! Chronic acidity within our bodies has been identified as a contributing factor to a myriad of diseases and dysfunction over time… including chronic inflammatory conditions, diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis. Kidney stones are also a not so gentle reminder that your body is likely chronically acidic.

So what causes acidosis? In a nutshell… it can happen predominantly thru our lungs (respiratory acidosis) or thru our kidneys (metabolic acidosis) by way of any of the following:

chronic airway conditions such as asthma or COPD
alcohol overuse
obesity
sedative overuse
antibiotic overuse
regular use of artificial sweeteners
chronic exposure to toxic household cleaners, BPA , pesticides, herbicides, and many beauty products
poor diet ……ie: regularly eating processed and refined foods (if the ingredients sound like chemicals, they probably are!)
pollution exposure
chronic stress

By far, the biggest contributing factor is our diet. We can encourage our bodies to stay at a more basic pH by eating more fruits and veggies (raw or lightly steamed is best), and avoiding processed foods, excessive quantities of dairy and standard processed red meat, and most grains (remember, corn is a grain, NOT a vegetable). Drinking alkaline water is also helpful, as is exercise.

You can read more about acidosis here

Alkalime is a supplement made by Young Living, and it is designed to help ensure the body’s proper pH balance…. thus preserving or even restoring our chances at better health. I encourage you to do more research on both acidosis and Alkalime…. it just might be the thing that helps you live above the wellness line!In health,

Liz James, RPh

NSHC Certified Health Coach & Wellness Educator

YL Brand Partner #1602257

“Making Wellness A Contagious Pursuit”

The (Health) Road Paved With Good Intentions

Liz James · January 15, 2017 ·

Hey there!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hugs and Love,
Liz

Health, Big Pharma, and You

Liz James · January 14, 2017 ·

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.

Some Of My Best Friends Are Bacteria!

Liz James · January 12, 2017 ·

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.

Feel free to contact me with any questions~

In health,
Liz

YL member#1602257