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Preventive Health & Root-Cause Medicine

Pay the Farmer or Pay the Pharmacist: Why America Spends the Most on Healthcare but Isn’t the Healthiest 

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 If spending more money on healthcare actually made us healthier, the United States should be leading the world in life expectancy. 

See the United States out there in front? That’s not a good thing at all. 

 Note that the data has been adjusted for inflation and differences in costs between countries. 

No other country is even close. 

Now, take a look at life expectancy….. you’d think, that with all that spending we do on “health care” there would be the added benefit of a longer life. ….. you’d think. 

Reality: The United States spends outrageously on health care for a very mediocre lifespan. 

Health expenditures here do not include 

  • gym memberships 
  • eating quality whole foods 
  • using herbs, essential oils, tinctures, and homeopathy to support optimal health 

and yet, so many people say they can’t because these items are out of their budget. 

The reality is that you can pay for prevention or you can pay for outcome “repairs”. Either way, there is a cost. 

I choose to pay the farmer, not the pharmacist. 

PS: It’s interesting that Costa Rica’s lifespan is slightly longer than the United States, and yet their medical costs are a fraction of ours (even adjusted for cost of goods ($1,565 vs $12,023) 

https://ourworldindata.org/…/life-expectancy-vs-health…

If you are interested in spending less time and money at the doctor’s office….. let’s talk! 

xoxo~ Liz 

Turmeric For Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)? What I Learned In Pharmacist CE — And How To Spot Bias 

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Working my way through Pharmacist CE’s this month for licensing renewal. It tests me…. not because of difficulty, but because of industry bias and study references that have pharma ties, and quiz questions must be answered as they want them answered, not because of the full truth. 

Not all CE’s are like this, but the vast majority are. It’s pharma after all. 

Thankfully, I subscribe to a CE and pharmacist education program (NatMed Pro) which focuses on “natural med”…. their words, not mine. Tho I do agree wholeheartedly. I don’t always agree with some of what is said even in these CE’s because there is still some pharma industry bias that shines thru. You’ll never see them cite “Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism” by Yance, “Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer” by Yance and Valentine, “Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health” by Romm…. because if they did, there would be more truth in the CE’s than what is portrayed in the watered down version we get in NatMed Pro. Doing this type of CE in between the hardcore pharma CE’s at least lowers my pulse rate and blood pressure and lessens my desire to yell at the screen . 

All this to say…. It’s good to stay abreast of all things. To learn what is being said about a product, to parse out the pieces of truth as well as the pieces of fluff or even outright gaslighting (which I see in CE’s quite often. Heavy sigh . ) 

I’m reading back through this post now, and you can probably see how my brain ping pongs between the two worlds of pharma and herbalism/ natural healing. 

I took a couple of screenshots (shared here) of one of these CE’s that I DID actually learn something in. It was quite good…. covering turmeric, elderberry, cranberry, ashwagandha, and a few other herbals. For the most part, I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars (high rating in the pharma CE world when you’re a pharmacist with strong leanings towards the natural! ) 

Thought you might appreciate this info on turmeric. We tend to think about turmeric as fantastic for supporting proper inflammatory response. I did not know it held some pretty amazing properties benefitting those with NAFLD (non alcoholic fatty liver disease), so bonus points for this particular CE . 

Not all turmeric is equal. Do your research…. deeply. Know your sources and understand how THEY (the people you follow) learn what they know. Know your product too….. the supplement world is a tricky one…. just as tricky as pharma in many cases. 

I’m here for you if you’ve got questions. xoxo~ Liz 

Is Your Antidepressant Just a Band-Aid? Why Root Cause Healing Matters

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One of the pharmacy facts I am passionate about getting people to understand is this: EVERY medication out there only addresses symptoms… not root cause. And only addressing symptoms without addressing the cause would be like continuously patching cracks in a wall without addressing the shifting cracked foundation of a house.
We are so unique. Each one of us. In mind, body, spirit, soul, emotions, experiences. Mental health medications aren’t about “fixing” the problem….. they are the patch on the crack-y wall without addressing the foundational problem (which could be something as complex as a childhood trauma, lack of community, a toxicity, or something as seemingly simple as a nutrient deficiency).
To be clear, in my opinion, most mental health drugs should be listed as a type of drug very similar to drugs with addictive potential. No, your body will not ever “crave” Prozac, Lexapro or anything else in the SSRI or other psych med categories, but once you’ve been on them for a period of time, it can be incredibly hard to get off of them because your body and brain become rewired to depend on the medication. It then takes a fierce desire to correct that dependency, and that fierce desire includes working on oneself in all the areas ….mind, body, and spirit.
SSRI’s are by far the most common class of mental health meds. Roughly 1 in 6 people in the USA take them not knowing or understanding the ramifications of taking them long term. Informed Consent is so very important (and required by law, but rarely enforced 🙄 even if something goes really wrong… part of our broken medical system). How often does a doctor tell their patients what I just said above? 👆 How often does a doctor explain that what they’d like to do, with the patient’s cooperation, is to give them an opportunity to get to the root cause of mental health issues (with help from avenues of mind, body, and spirit professionals), perhaps agreeing to use medication on the short term to get over a hump but with the understanding that the medication would be used as a short term tool to be used while discovering the root cause and then healing from the traumas, toxicities, and/or deficiencies the body is experiencing. (I have much much more to say about this, but I would be writing a novel).
I have so much compassion for people walking through mental health crises, coupled with a desire to see people truly healed and walking in freedom….. and that won’t happen with long term use of these meds. In fact, over time, studies have repeatedly shown that one med will translate to multiple medications because of the side effect profiles.
You are worth doing the behind the scenes work. We all are 💖.
xoxo~ liz
(Please read this article written by a medical doctor for a better understanding. I don’t encourage anyone to cold turkey stop their medications, or to do so without the help of their preferred medical professional)
 
What I Have Learned in Working With 300+ People in Their Journey of Tapering

“Created for a Purpose” Event -2

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Our event in Ohio this past Saturday was such a wonderful God-centered event. Its theme was “Created for a Purpose”. The topic of my talk centered around how health challenges can undermine our ability to let our purpose(s) shine, and how the enemy would like nothing more than for each one of us to NOT achieve the purposes God designed us for.
 
John 10:10 (“the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy”, but Jesus came to give us life abundantly) makes that quite clear. Sometimes when a thief comes, he/she initially does good before embarking on mischief and mayhem, a stellar reason to be on our toes, use discernment, and have 🧐 situational awareness.
 
The world of pharmaceuticals💊 is no different. While there will always be a time and a place for certain medications, when misused or over-trusted, there can be some mischief and mayhem that results. Roughly 100% of us ( 😉 ) have a digestive issue at some point in our lives, and about 20% of adults in the USA will end up with one of the most common “modern-day” digestive complaints: reflux 🥴🤢 (aka GERD). Did you raise an eyebrow over my referencing that as a modern-day problem? GERD hasn’t always been a “1 in 5” people common complaint. When this sort of digestive disorder happened historically, different cultures worldwide would address the need for support with plant-based support.
 
Culturally today, we want an “easy button”, and pharmaceuticals definitely can do that, but that “easy button” almost always comes with a price you may not immediately recognize you are paying. I often talk about how reflux medications rob the body of virtually all nutrients, melatonin, and glutathione over time. Imagine how losing those things slowly will impact the body. When we lose things slowly, we often don’t even recognize what is being stolen or that theft is happening. Dementia is like that too. It happens so slowly that often it’s not recognized for decades, and once it is recognized, it’s too late to reverse the course.
Proton pump inhibitors/PPIs (ex: Prilosec, Nexium, Protonix, Prevacid ) have been an “easy button” pharma fix for decades.
 
Unfortunately, this particular “easy button” is so easy that the short-term use frequently becomes a years-long use pharma fix, and that will always come with a price. Several years ago the FDA required a black box warning (one of the strongest pharma warnings issued by drug manufacturers) to be included on these drugs. That black box warning indicates that this class of drugs should not be used for more than 8 weeks at a time. One of the lesser-known effects of long-term PPI use is a tremendous increased risk for dementia ( a 44% increase!)…. this isn’t part of the black box warning… it’s just a little-known potential side effect. ( https://jamanetwork.com/…/jamaneuro…/fullarticle/2487379 )
 
As we age, we gain wisdom through our life experiences, and we are to use that wisdom to train up, educate, and protect others who are younger and less experienced in life than we are. I can think of no greater weapon of the enemy than to steal the jewels of experience within our brains meant to be shared for good.
The good news 🙌is that we can learn from our ancestors and their plants using ways to support digestion, instead of first leaning into trusting a potential thief. Thank goodness Young Living has harnessed that goodness for us! Let me know if you’d like a little help on how to best support your digestion without risking dementia in the future!
xoxo~ liz
 

Do Thoughts Affect Our Health?

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We’re on day 9 of the 14 Day Reset today, and the changes our group is seeing are so beautiful. Although the focus is on inflammation, much much more is happening (including the bonus of weight loss in some people). 🙌
Here’s a video that ties in some of the teachings that have been released on emotions in the 14Day Reset group. The topic is too important not to share.
(The next round of 14Day Reset starts on April 10th!)
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Kristi Zittle, I just love you! (She has been educating on emotions) I have listened to your video twice now, and I wanted to drop a science nugget in support of all you have been so generously sharing about emotions. I love when scripture and science bump into one another and truth comes out no matter which way you turn it. Proverbs 23:7 says “As a man thinks, so is he.” We’ve got to meditate(focus) on that which is good in God’s eyes….. especially the voices (those not from God) we hear whose intention is to tear us down. Are our thoughts about ourselves (and others too) Biblically based? What effect do these thoughts have on the hypothalamus 🧐 (and then ultimately the rest of the body)?…. listen and find out! 😉
In my mind, I tend to be more motivated when I know the “why”….. I was one of those kids who was always asking “why” growing up…it probably drove my parents crazy 😂 . I pray this blesses someone today!
xoxo~ liz

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