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Staying In The Game

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I got back from my boot camp workout this morning, and although I’m feeling a bit sore, it’s a good kind of pain….. the kind that lets you know you’ve accomplished something…. not the other kind… the one that is your warning signal of something gone awry. Like me, I’m sure you’ve experienced both kinds of pain, so you know what I’m talking about. Our bodies certainly do speak to us.

​Being a ‘gym rat’ is a fairly new concept for me… a late in life one at that. I always felt like I got my workouts in simply by working on the farm and ‘doing life’. And up until the age of 48, I felt like that was enough. Midway thru that monumental year, I had a very significant run in with our bull, and ended up in the hospital. I’ll give you the cliff notes version …. I very nearly lost my left foot, and spent about 6 months in intensive recovery. The experience taught me a great deal, not the least of which is this….. Regardless of your health situation, it is important to keep moving. My injury involved broken and dislocated bones, severed tendons, and soft tissue & nerve damage. I now have hardware in my leg that is a permanent part of my recovery. And yet, I do not walk with a limp. I give credit where credit is due, and in this case, the EMT’s, a great surgeon, and our wonderful God all blessed me with great care and healing. But I had to do my part too. That part involved working hard to get past the initial discomfort of intensive physical therapy after having to be mostly sedentary for nearly 4 months. It also meant that my ‘new normal’ necessitates that I move certain joints regularly, or like the tin man, I simply won’t be able to move easily. This is where my new ‘gym rat’ moniker comes in…. (although my workout buddies and I typically meet in a parking lot!). What I’ve found is this:

  • If you don’t move it, you WILL lose it
  • if you don’t use it regularly, you’ll have to ‘work the rusty parts’ loose or they will get so rusty they won’t function at all (painful and annoying)
  • If you’ve significantly damaged some part of your body in your life, you will have to work extra to keep those parts in good working order
  • Unless your doctor tells you differently, you’ve got to push thru the pain to get thru to the other side of recovery.

Whether you’re like me, and have to occasionally push thru discomfort in order to make ‘it’ (whatever ‘it’ is for you) happen or you are a weekend warrior, I’d encourage you to give Cool Azul a try. Just as it sounds…. this blend provides cool relief.  Young Living has given us 3 oil infused options in the Cool Azul Family to help us with our daily locomotion.

  • Cool Azul Pain Relief Cream : Oh. My. Goodness. Young Living rolled out the red carpet for our achy joints and muscles… and enlisted the help of wintergreen, chamomile, peppermint, sage, oregano, copaiba, tea tree, lavender, blue cypress, elemi, dorado azul, and more…..a little goes a VERY long way. It is the first oil infused FDA approved OTC product of its kind. You can watch a short video that explains how Cool Azul works: Cool Azul Pain Relief Cream Video
  • Cool Azul Sports Gel : This is the original gym bag version. Some like cream… some like gel. You pick.
  • Cool Azul Essential Oil Blend: Feeling the urge to make your own topical roller bottle blend but not sure where to start? No worry… just get this instead, add the carrier oil of your choice, and you’ll be good to go!

I don’t need to use my Cool Azul every day, but on the days that I do need it….. I’m thankful I’ve got it on hand. I use it to augment the benefits I reap from Agilease and Sulfurzyme(supplements I take daily).

A quick reminder: one of the active constituents of wintergreen oil is methyl salicylate. It has amazing pain relieving properties, but like another salicylate (Aspirin), it should not be used without a doctor’s approval if you are currently on prescription blood thinners. As with all oil products, be sure to avoid eyes and mucous membranes.

Make today a great one for yourself, and get to moving! Your body will thank you 

If you’re ever interested in learning more about these or other products you’ve seen mentioned on my blog, feel free to message me! I’d love to have you join me in health. ​

Sheep…Er, Sleep 101

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As much as this oily farmgirl loves her animals, counting sheep as I lay in bed is NOT my favorite thing to do. In fact, it’s downright annoying and, over time, it can actually become destructive to the body. Usually, I have no trouble falling asleep, but there are times when I wake up with some thought that is front and center in my brain and refuses to leave. That’s a problem. Thankfully, it isn’t a chronic issue for me, but when it does happen, it sure makes the following day a little more challenging. 

If you do suffer from chronic sleep dysfunction, ultimately your health will be affected. Heart disease, cancer, mood disorders, immune system function, the healing process, memory loss, diabetes, and increased speed of aging….. all of these (and more!) become more likely to occur with chronic insufficient sleep.

Sleep issues are incredibly diverse, and this post will certainly not do the topic justice. Some of the most common reasons for not falling asleep, not achieving deep sleep, or nocturnal awakenings (my occasional complaint) can be blamed on everything from health conditions to bad sleep habits.

  • vitamin (D) or mineral (magnesium or potassium) deficiency
  • decreased melatonin production
  • hormone imbalances (especially common in menopause and ‘man’opause)
  • thyroid or adrenal imbalances
  • pain
  • diabetes
  • cardiovascular disease
  • heartburn and reflux (GERD)
  • kidney disease and/or bladder dysfunction
  • respiratory disorders (including sleep apnea)
  • poor gut health (our gut bacteria is largely responsible for neurotransmitter production that facilitate sleep)
  • a bad mattress or pillow (or one that doesn’t suit your body’s needs)
  • stress, depression, and/or anxiety
  • the result (a side effect) of many many medication’s side effects
  • caffeine (especially in the afternoon/evenings)
  • not enough exercise during the day (preferably early in the day)
  • money! (this is actually THE #1 reason people lose sleep)
  • poor sleep hygiene habits:
    • not dark enough in the bedroom
    • temperature of the bedroom is not cool enough
    • light emitting technology (TV’s, ipads, phones) in the bedroom
    • heavy meal at dinner time
    • not enough ‘downtime’ (including technology) before bed

Recognizing that one or more of these factors may be affecting your sleep quality is the first step to achieving a better night’s sleep. Many of these factors are physiological dysfunctions and the ’cause and effect’ can become cyclical very quickly. For example, pain can prevent sound sleep. Conversely, lack of sleep can magnify pain and lower the pain threshold. It is situations like these that can easily develop into chronic sleep pattern disruptions.

Lest you think “My doctor can give me a pill for that, right?”, let me lay out some facts. I see far too many people at the pharmacy assume that taking a pill is an easy fix for a sleep disorder, and this group of medications is a classic example of cause and effect.

  •  Prescription sleeping pills are designed for short term use only. None of the narcotic sleeping aids are approved by the FDA for daily longterm use (Ambien, Lunesta, etc).
  • Narcotic sleeping pills increase the risk of:
    • developing a rapid tolerance to the prescribed strength and bear the risk of addiction (if you have been using them regularly, tapered discontinuation is generally recommended because of this)

I am all about sustainable living in all aspects of life. Long term nightly use of prescription sleep aids is not sustainable, safe, or approved by the FDA….. and yet nearly 9 million Americans take prescription sleep aids on any given night.

By far, the majority of sleep dysfunction can be corrected by simply improving sleep hygiene habits, improving diet ( and adding a probiotic like Young Living’s  Life 9), adding activity and exercise to a life schedule, and most importantly managing stress in a holistic manner. The limbic system within our brain is a powerful tool we can utilize to help us fall and stay asleep. If you have been around oils for any length of time, you understand the important role that the limbic system also plays in memory and in our body’s physiologic response to odors…… odors including those of our beloved Young Living oils. There has been a tremendous amount of research on this topic, especially regarding fragrances with very specific constituents that have therapeutic properties. Fascinating stuff. So, in addition to modifying your sleep habits, it may behoove you to experiment with a few of the Young Living oils or oil blends known for their sleep support:

Any or all of the above may support your sleep in ways you never imagined possible. Tranquil and Rutavala are designed to be used topically, and come in a roller bottle ready for use. I use Tranquil nightly at the bottom base of my big toes (vitaflex points) to help me sleep at night. All of the other oils can either be applied topically (same location) or on the wrist or neck, diluted and spritzed on a pillow, or diffused.

Two other products,  Sleep Essence and Immupro are Young Living sleep support supplements that may also keep you from having to count sheep. Both are oil infused and contain melatonin, a key hormone needed for healthy sleep patterns. Additionally, 1-3 drops of Lavender Vitality oil under the tongue may also prove to be your best nighttime friend.

As mentioned previously, there is a tremendous amount of information on sleep, and I always feel like understanding a body process (or dysfunction) is key to finding a solution that affects the root of the problem…. not a band-aid to simply address the superficial symptoms. Moving forward, I will be offering an online class on Sleep at least every 6 weeks if you’d like to learn more. You can watch for class dates (as well as other classes) here on my blog, where upcoming classes are posted regularly.

I hope that this post has encouraged and inspired you to give your sleep a little support. So put that flock of sheep away, and work towards getting at least 7 hours of quality ZZZZZZ a night!

DISCLAIMER: ALL POSTS, ARTICLES, LINKS OR TESTIMONIALS ON THIS SITE ARE FROM OUR “INDEPENDENT YOUNG LIVING WHOLESALE MEMBERS” WHO RECEIVE COMMISSION ON THE SALE OF COMPANY PRODUCTS. THEY ARE INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES, REFLECTING THE REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES OF THOSE WHO USED OUR PRODUCTS. HOWEVER INDIVIDUAL RESULTS MAY VARY. WE DO NOT CLAIM, NOR SHOULD THE READER ASSUME, THAT ANY INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES RECOUNTED ARE TYPICAL OR REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT ANY OTHER CONSUMER MIGHT EXPERIENCE. TESTIMONIALS ARE NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT ANYONE ELSE USING OUR PRODUCTS MAY EXPERIENCE. YOUNG LIVING IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OPINIONS OR COMMENTS POSTED ON THIS WEBSITE, AND DO NOT SHARE THE OPINIONS, VIEWS OR COMMENTARY OF POSTINGS ON THIS WEBSITE. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE STRICTLY THE VIEWS OF THE POSTER OR REVIEWER. THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.
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Say What? The Role The FDA & FTC Play

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You may have seen by now that I have a passion for sharing and educating. I can’t help it… and at times I am unapologetic about my passion. I love sustainable wellness and sustainable living… the methods, the practice, the fact that it is available to everyone who is willing to work for it. I don’t think I would be this way if I hadn’t spent 25+ years in the trenches of the pharmaceutical industry, and seen the carnage that results from loosely prescribing ‘bandaid medication’ instead of getting to the root of what is actually malfunctioning and working to correct what has gone awry holistically. Don’t get me wrong (I feel like a broken record player saying this), there is a time and a place for medications, but why is the consumption of 80% of ALL medications worldwide occurring in the United States by Americans? We’ve been suckered into thinking that a little pill will solve everything.

I post occasionally about Young Living products because it is a company I believe in as a sustainable wellness tool……. they provide me, my family, and my farm-ily with what we need to support our various body systems (in addition to eating properly, exercising daily, nurturing our faith and deep friendships & maintaining emotional life-work-stress balance) so that we can function optimally, despite the abuse our bodies have taken over the years. YL is one of the most ethically sound companies I have ever come across…..far more so than any drug company I’ve found in my pharmacy career, or any traditional mega-corporate food company where profit is king.

As I dive deeper into supplements and all things Young Living on occasional posts, you might think I am speaking a little vaguely on some topics. In fact, you might wonder why I say something like “please Google Frankincense or one of its constituents, alpha-pinene using https://scholar.google.com/ for more specific information”. It’s not because I don’t know. Frankly, it’s the opposite…. it’s because I DO know but cannot legally relay ALL of the information to you.

There are two organizations that will prevent me from providing you with concise and precise information for the following reasons:

The FDA: You can read about the scope of the FDA here . Per FDA guidelines, “we” cannot make definitive health claims on products that are deemed supplements and that haven’t gone thru the vetting process that is dictated by the FDA (this is both good and bad)….despite the fact that there are literally thousands upon thousands of studies on essential oils and their role and place in healthcare. I invite you to begin your personal research on both pubmed.gov and on Google Scholar . Both of these resources are a wealth of information, so bookmark this page. You may want to come back to both links later after we’ve talked more.

A couple of years ago, the FDA & FTC really cracked down on supplement and nutritional companies, and so it became a bit more tricky to share valuable information. Please take some time to read this article from Health Impact News for details.

The FTC: You can read about the FTC here . The long and the short of it is this: While I work independently, I am representing products that I use from Young Living. Having done the research, from a pharmacists perspective, I believe you would not find a more superior health/wellness product line anywhere. However, I cannot make claims to diagnose, treat, or attempt to cure…. I can only lead you as much as possible down the information path so that you can reach your own educated conclusions.

So, sometimes, my words may seem a little vague or “fluffy”. You likely want hard cold facts. I understand that, and I want to help you navigate “what to do when, where, why, and how” with ease so that you too can have optimal wellness. Young Living has created a document called ” Sharing Young Living the Right Way” and in order to remain compliant and in the good graces of the FDA and FTC, I do my best to abide by that document.  Please feel free to refer to that link when needed in our discussions. That way, we will speak the same language and you will better understand the path I am trying to guide you down.

Education is important, and so is learning to navigate information. Learning to be the CEO of your own health is a skill that requires honing and development, and too many people assume it’s somebody else’s job to do it for them. That’s a risky proposition if you ask me….. the business of letting someone else (who may have more interest in your ill health than they do in keeping you well) be the manager of you. Everyone has choices. Do not be afraid to take the plunge and do a little research yourself….. and if you have questions along the way….. GREAT! That’s what I’m here for. I’m happy to be your bloodhound, tour guide, and navigator here to help! ​

Asparagus! It’s What’s For Dinner

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First fruits (okay, vegetables) of gardening this year!

I’m not sure why so many people think asparagus is hard to grow. It isn’t. Maybe it’s because it can be so dang expensive in the grocery store that people just assume it must be hard. Or maybe it’s the patience factor….. because planting it means you MUST wait for several years (at least 3) before getting good bounty if you want a sustainable crop.

Oh, you can plant it, and get a few stalks the first year you plant it…. but if you harvest all that grows, you deny the root system the energy it needs. That part we snap off and eat? That’s what supplies the roots (technically called rhizomes) with energy. Remember in elementary school all you learned about chlorophyll? The green upper part is what helps turn sunlight into energy for the plant. If you always harvested 100%, eventually the root system would die off and you’d have to start over again. For this reason, we let about 50% of our crop reach full maturity so that we feed the root system in anticipation of next year’s harvest.

In some areas of our garden it actually has the weed quality about it…. (ie: a plant growing in an undesirable location) now. And in some parts of the country, it actually grows wild in bar ditches. It is a great foraging food if it’s in your area (provided foraging doesn’t include raiding your neighbor’s garden at midnight ;)!

Asparagus is interesting and rather amazing. It literally grows inches every day during growing season. To make sure you are able to get to it before it gets woody, you really have to check your plants twice a day, or you might as well let them leaf out because it may be stringy and tougher than you like.

Asparagus is loaded with health benefits…

  • it’s a natural diuretic
  • it’s loaded with antioxidants (antioxidants are what combat free radicals… free radicals are largely what cause dysfunction and disease within our bodies)
  • it’s loaded with Vitamin E, B6, K, and Folic Acid (4 stalks of asparagus/day will provide 22% of your daily requirement!)
  • due to specific minerals and amino acids there is merit to adding it to your breakfast meal if you had too much to drink the night before. (who knew??)
  • it combats bloating thanks to its work as a prebiotic (prebiotics feed probiotics… the good gut bacteria)
  • as an aphrodisiac (there is science behind this folks!)
  • Because of its vitamin and tryptophan content, adding asparagus to the diet regularly may help with depression or simply to improve mood. (I’m telling you, true food is a healing agent!)

Store bought asparagus is no substitute for fresh picked in terms of flavor. Fresh picked is sweeter and more tender. Many stalks never make it beyond the garden as I eat it straight-away… picked as a snack!  People who say they don’t like asparagus (kids in particular) typically find that they like the fresh stuff. I find this to be true with most foods when comparing farm fresh vs most store options. So, go find your local farmer’s market and hunt down some of this fresh goodness while the season is upon us.

Fresh asparagus…. it’s what’s for dinner! (and for breakfast…. omelette’s anyone?)

Have a blessed day,
Liz

Know Your Source

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Earlier this week I made a comment in a gardening post, and I wanted to expand on that a little more. The comment made was in regards to the purity of our gardening bounty and how important it is to know both your source and how your food (ie: the plants or animals) is cared for from seed (or birth) to the farm table.

As you might have guessed by now, I am an advocate of following this principle in all aspects of life.

​Knowing your source……whether that be your:

  • Information source (Ah! News…. are you a mainstream news follower, or do you seek deeper truth than that which is spoonfed?)
  • The people in your life who either affirm you (hopefully) or emotionally cripple you (toxic relationships)
  • Food (we literally ARE what we eat)
  • Makeup and personal care products (bad news! Have you looked at your ingredient label?.. and are you making choices based on that ingredient label?)
  • Household chemicals/cleaning products ( I can’t even find current stats on this, but in previous years, household chemicals have been accounted for over 10% of toxic exposures reported to US Poison Control centers… and that’s just Emergency Room visits… we aren’t even counting the health cost of personal toxin load buildup over time)

All of these have great impact on YOU… emotionally, physically, mentally, and on your long term health and wellness plan….. what you allow yourself to be exposed to…. is it sustainable to good emotional and physical health?

Can you expose yourself regularly to toxic relationships (any relationship qualifies here) without health detriment?

Can you use toxic chemicals daily… both on your person (soaps, shampoo, makeup, skin care etc) AND in your home and expect to remain healthy as your body loads slowly with these chemicals?
Can you continue to eat prepackaged food with unpronounceable chemicals as part of the ingredient list and expect your body and immune system not to rebel?

The answer is NO to all of these. 100% NO. (hundreds of studies will back this)

And yet….. And yet….. And yet… we tell ourselves little white lies, because the truth would mean that we acknowledge the need for change.

  • “That illness will happen to our neighbor, but not us.”
  • “That person who tries to tear me down daily doesn’t affect my self esteem, self worth, or even my physical or emotional health.”
  • “I’ve eaten this way for years, and it hasn’t bothered me yet, so I’m sure I’m not affected the way other people might be.”
  •  “If I don’t read the label, I won’t have to KNOW…. and if I don’t KNOW, then it won’t be bad.”
  • “A little exposure to those chemicals every day isn’t bad, right? I mean, I don’t work in a chemical factory or anything.”

Daily exposure to toxins of any kind IS having long term effects on all of us…. Why do I personally know 3 people under the age of 40 who are currently battling colon cancer? Why are nearly 1 in 5 Americans on mental health drugs compared to 30 years ago (when it was 1 in 184)?

Having an insider’s view of the prescription end of our healthcare system for over 25years has made me extraordinarily aware of this, as has my interest in the health ramifications (both physical and emotional) of toxic relationships versus healthy ones. It is this insider’s view that really began convicting me of making personal SUSTAINABLE changes in MY life and in my family’s life many years ago. Don’t forget, there was a time when I was a statistic just like you yourself might be now…. I’ve written about it on my blog in an earlier couple of posts. 

It was the pharmacist in me that followed an initial curiosity with my own personal research before committing to the oil and supplement company you’ve seen me reference. In my humble opinion, buying from companies that cannot give a step by step accounting of the ‘life’ of each and every bottle oil from seed to bottling…… well, that would be equivalent to buying a prescription drug from someone off of the internet (THAT is illegal… but you get my drift)……. You never know what you’ll get. The other thing I like about Young Living is that they have a batch/distilling # on each bottle, so that not only does the company commit to purity, it qualifies that by giving each bottle a number that can be tracked BACKWARDS. This is not a common practice in the essential oil industry.
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I leave you now with these thoughts:

  1. You cannot unlearn something that you now know
  2. Now that you know….are you going to do something about removing toxins in your life and the life of your family?
  3. Lauren Crews Dow, another YL oil aficionado commented on her public FB page:

“There are, as of yet, no standards for therapeutic-grade essential oils set by any government agency in North America. Hence, labeling fraud is rampant. Therefore, to be sure you are getting TRUE therapeutic-grade essential oils, you need to know your grower, your distiller, your packager, and your distributor because anywhere along this chain of delivery, oils can be compromised.

There is nothing dishonest about producing food or perfume grade oils. The problem comes when such oils are bottled, labeled, and presented as if they were therapeutic when they are NOT!

A common practice in the Essential Oil community, is to take a decent grade of Essential Oil, dilute it by 90%-95% with an odorless, colorless solvent (usually an inexpensive petrochemical) so that what was a pound of good oil then becomes 10 or 20 pounds of diluted oil to be sold as if it were the original substance, thus multiplying the profit. Understand, that such diluted oils often carry labels stating they are “Genuine” or “100% Pure”, which is allowed by the U.S. FDA. However, when you see a bottle of Frankincense for $10-$20 for a full ounce, you can be sure it has been diluted because you can’t gather the resins from the Arabian and Somalian deserts, transport them to France or England to be distilled, and then import them to North America (or any other country) for that price and maintain quality and purity.

Mysteriously, for every pound of Frankincense distilled in the world, more than a dozen pounds are eventually sold (pretty scary). Pure, unadulterated Frankincense, should cost around $140 per ounce. In Biblical times, a pound of Frankincense oil was more precious than a pound of gold. In fact, in ancient times, it was called “liquid gold”. Today, a pound of gold is worth around $4,800 (referenced in 2010), while on the retail market a pound of pure Frankincense is worth about $2,400.

If you have smelled TRUE Frankincense, then you will know the difference immediately when given a sample of the diluted versions that are very common on the market.

Other signs on labels are when only the common name “Frankincense” is used, and the Latin name, “Boswellia carteri” is missing, that is another clear warning that it is not genuine and certainly not therapeutic.

(Info from The Chemistry of Essential Oils by David Stewart Ph.D., D.N.M.)

Moral of this, you GET what you pay for in essential oils. Period. I know essential oils are “popular” now, but be an informed consumer! Don’t be fooled!”

If you’d like some help getting started detoxing your life, I’d love to help you find your True North. Starting with kicking chemicals out of your home one by one (baby step style) is a great place to start! (Have you heard of The Thieves Product Line?)
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In Health and Sustainable Preparedness,
Liz

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