Book Your Health Coaching Call

Good Medicine

Holistic Health Coaching

Preventive Health & Root-Cause Medicine

Pelvic Floor Health

· ·

I’m back from a whirlwind 12-day trip of teaching up North (I’ll post more on my trip soon) ….. and so is yoga, tonight (Wednesday) at 6:30pm at McKinney Fit Body.
Yoga is a form of medicine, and tonight’s class focus will be on improving pelvic floor strength. If you’ve never thought about (or heard about) your pelvic floor, here are a few reasons what, why, and how yoga helps with pelvic floor issues.
🧘‍♀️The pelvic floor consists of 16 muscles as well as foundationally important ligaments and nerves.
🧘‍♀️It’s the very base of our core muscles, and supports the bladder, uterus, vagina, and rectum.
🧘‍♀️Affects WOMEN and MEN. In men, it’s often misdiagnosed as prostatitis and may result in erectile dysfunction. (50% of all women to some degree, and 10-15% of men).
🧘‍♀️Strong pelvic floor muscles help control the bladder, bowels and improve sex (both genders). Also helps stabilize the pelvis and spine (balance)… we wanna keep this area strong as we age!
🧘‍♀️The state of the glutes is a window into what the pelvic floor looks like. Weak glutes are a sign the pelvic floor is too tight in one direction only. (in hypertonic state, urinary frequency, interstitial cystitis, IBS, painful intercourse, lower back pain)
🧘‍♀️For many, the problem is that some of the muscles in our pelvic floor are too tight: Hypertonic: resulting in urge incontinence- This is where yoga comes into play… the muscles need to learn to relax thru specific exercises which promote relaxation & deep breathing techniques which positively affect the pelvic floor.
🧘‍♀️There’s also a hypotonic (weak muscles) state many people have. That leads to leakage with no warning and is often improved with core strengthening (which can be achieved through your workouts and also through yoga).
Because of the complex workings of the pelvic floor, the body needs to re-learn to self-regulate and it can do this through exercises that BOTH STRENGTHEN AND RELAX the pelvic floor.
If you have experienced any of these things, there’s a high probability that your pelvic floor could use some TLC:
👉Pregnancy, sitting too much, lack of exercise, surgery (use it or lose it)
👉Some people actually have overly tight pelvic floors from bad posture or sitting too much. Overly tight in one “way” makes it weak in all the other ways it moves.
👉Other people have an imbalanced pelvic floor because they always cross the same leg or stand putting majority of weight on the same leg or always using a dominant leg (like a soccer player)
Ultimately, poor pelvic floor tone will lead to bladder leakage, digestive problems, back pain, and poor posture.
A healthy pelvic floor is also linked to better balance and bladder health….. especially as we age.💖
Yoga is functional medicine friends. Come tonight and get your stretch on! Message me for details if you’re local and would like to come. Walk-ins are always welcome, and no experience is necessary!
xoxo~ liz
PS: Essential oils that you may find helpful for pelvic floor spasms include AromaSiez, Marjoram, Roman Chamomile, Lavender, Ylang ylang, Clary Sage, Geranium, Cypress, Lemongrass (DILUTE heavily with a carrier oil… it’s a hot one!). Apply to the lower area of the abdomen as needed.

Young Living’s Love Gifts for February

· ·

Happy February 💖friends! Yes, it’s the “month of love”….. in other words, it’s a month of high frequency emotions! And “the greatest of these is love” , right? (I Cor 13:13).

Did you know there are 7 different kinds of love? One of those is “philia” love…. friendship or shared goodwill, and Young Living certainly extends that to us each month with all the freebies we are offered. Take a look at what what will come with your qualifying order purchase 💕:

Deep Relief is one of my most favorite muscle 💪and stress helpers! Make your own 10ml roller bottle (x2) with this freebie and multiply your gift….. Find a friend or loved one who has some achy muscles and share the love with them!

Bergamot. Have you smelled it and used it? It has been studied for its properties that support healthy cortisol levels, allowing the body to rest and relax. Give it a try…. you might just fall in love with this beauty is as beauty does!

Any day can be Valentines Day with Sensation oil blend! It smells amazing in a diffuser, when applied to a neck or wrists as a perfume, or when added to some epsom salts for a nice hot bath. Make your own massage oil with Sensation (There won’t be any regrets! 😉)….. Add about 10 drops to coconut oil, and you’ve just created a love potion💘 with benefits! (PS: this is a VIP oil you’ll be hearing more about… along with some others over the next few weeks here!)

Spa day can be any day with the Charcoal Mask. Detoxifying skin and cleaning pores is something both men and women should be doing at least occasionally. The Charcoal Mask also exfoliates while detoxifying and cleaning! (Pro Tip: if you have a bug bite or itchy area, try applying a little dab of the mask to help pull toxins out and speed up the healing process). I think you’ll love the little peppermint fresh tingle that comes along with using it.

Did you know that toxins in our body affect our frequency, which ultimately also affects our emotions? DetoxZyme is a blend of enzymes and essential oils strategically formulated to promote detoxification and support normal digestive function. Keep yourself (or someone you love) healthy, happy and loved from the inside out!

These are all AMAZING health and wellness tools we (Charlie and I) keep in our “toolkit” and I look forward to restocking our shelves!

Hugs and love to each one of you this February, and remember….. nobody loves you more than Jesus! ~ liz

“Created for a Purpose” Event -2

· ·

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
 

Does Everyone Need Hormone Support?

· ·

Hormone Quiz: True or False (answers are at the bottom 🙂 ).
1. Hormones are no longer important after menopause.
2. There is a close relationship between hormones and gut health.
3. Synthetic hormones are safe and closely match our hormones.
4. Adequate sex hormones help protect and can even improve cognition and brain function.
5. Men and women have the same hormones, just different amounts.
6. We have hormone receptors in our kidneys.
7. Our lungs are healthier if we have adequate hormones serving them.
8. Women tend to live longer if they incorporate hormone support during their period and menopause.
9. Getting hormones checked with labwork after menopause is unnecessary.
10. Labs are important, but the most important indicator is how you feel.
11. Hormones play a role in our muscle mass before and after menopause.
12. Hormones don’t play a role in our sleep quality.
13. If hormones are unbalanced or deficient, it can affect the quality of my voice.
14. If I have junk (toxins) in my body that prevents hormones from “docking” on a receptor site, I just need more hormones on board to overcome that obstacle.
15. Phyto (plant-based) estrogens do not increase cancer risk.
 
Are you ready for some answers now? I’ll put numbers by each answer in the rest of this post.
Hormones are incredibly important throughout our body until the day we die! While that doesn’t mean having babies til we’re in our 90s like Sarah in the Bible, they have a profound effect elsewhere in the body. (1) Let’s talk about that, shall we? I’m hitting highlights here, but I think you’ll get the picture….. As our hormone production goes down, various parts of the body suffer. Our gut (and gallbladder) health declines because there are hormone receptors lining our digestive tract, where most of the immune system resides. Why are women more prone to acquiring autoimmune diseases than men? Could it be because our hormone (or lack thereof) production wanes drastically in the event of surgical or natural menopause, stress, or many other factors, and the gut is affected negatively? (2)
We have receptors for hormones throughout the brain. They help maintain cognition. An estimated 80% or more of the people in neurodegenerative facilities likely wouldn’t be there if they had given their brains an “assist” when hormones were waning. (4) This is especially important for progesterone support. It’s been found that those who do not support hormones as they age tend to age at their normal physiological rate (which picks up speed at every decade). Hormone support slows that process down. Yes, men need estrogen and progesterone too….. Just as women need testosterone, in different ratios of course (5).
After the age of 40, hormones begin waning, and another organ that potentially can take a hit is the kidneys. A decrease in hormones often results in a decrease in kidney filtration rate and function. (6)
The lungs in both men and women are especially responsive to progesterone (7) in several ways. Progesterone helps the lungs repair from injury and also helps protect FROM injury. They’ve done some studies during COVID and found that (according to the studies), progesterone appeared to help with lung recovery.
Multiple studies have shown that women live longer, more productive lives if they have hormone support. ( The largest study ever run by the NIH and Nat Library of Medicine looked at 1.5 million women who had estrogen-supportive therapy versus those who did nothing. The outcome? ….. Those with “help” lived 20% longer. (😎
Many doctors quit running hormone labs once you’ve gone through menopause. Is this ok? Noooooooooo. (9) Your hormones continue to require you to be the conductor of your life’s dance and a little labwork can help with that dance. The best indicator tho??? …… that‘s you. How do you feel? If you feel good, great!!! If you don’t feel great, productive, and energetic most days, it’s past time for an evaluation of what’s working and what’s not. (10)
This is your life, and you play the starring role. You’re also the Director of your life’s show. Exercise is important, as is keeping and building muscle mass. The loss of muscle mass happens as we age. It’s hugely common to hear women talking about losing their strength while gaining a few inches around their belly. You can thank lack of estrogen (11) support for that (as well as excess cortisol usually….. Go check out the post on cortisol!).
Sleep is equally important. We cannot heal and recover from anything without sleep, nor can we function optimally without it. Progesterone “deficiency” is one of the key players in the loss of sleep quality. (12) Yes….. why certainly you could take prescription meds for sleep, but there will be consequences (a 33% increased risk of dementia is one of them.)
Perhaps even you hear a change in people’s voices as they age. The quality (range, tone, strength) all begins to deteriorate. This is not surprising. We have hormone receptors on our esophagus and vocal cords (13)…. I think you’re getting the picture, right? Those little hormone receptors are EVERYWHERE.
To compound the problem, fake hormones (also known as endocrine disruptors) are everywhere. (3) Those little suckers plop themselves right into where the hormones are supposed to attach themselves to do their work. Once those receptor sites are filled up, there’s no more room, and what hormones our body IS producing can’t do their work properly. This is why it’s so important to keep toxins out of your body (which also includes synthetic hormones like birth control) and to detox pretty regularly (NingXia Red and SulfurZyme are both great daily gentle adjuvants for that course of action).
Now…… we are all created differently and need different amounts and even different help in some areas more than others. Here’s a picture of my 4 favorite things that have helped me in my journey through menopause and beyond. Others will have other favorites. I love that I can use plants to support my hormones safely (15).
Go through the entire Happy Hormones Class. It’s entirely worth your while. Live your life abundantly….. And you’re gonna need hormones to do just that! 💖
Xoxo~ liz
(PS: how’d you do on the quiz?)
#happyhormones

Peppermint to Digestive Rescue

· ·

Have you noticed when you go to many restaurants, they will either give you a peppermint ❤️🤍❤️ with your receipt or will have a bowl of peppermints for you to take from as you are leaving after a meal?
Years ago, I used to assume that those peppermints were either to freshen postprandial breath or to act as a light “sweet” to end the meal. While those little red and white striped disks of sweetness do achieve both, there’s more to the story.🤓 Nowadays, those peppermints are usually synthetically flavored….. But a long time ago, peppermint was the real deal, flavored with peppermint oil that came from a plant🌿, and the candy was full of purpose.
Peppermint (from the plant) 🌿has been known to be digestion-supportive for eons. Its use dates back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and has been a “go-to” herb since biblical times for digestive woes.
From studies found on pubmed.gov and elsewhere, it would appear that peppermint 🌿supports digestion by encouraging bile flow into the small intestine where it promotes healthy digestion by acting in a supportive role in breaking down fats more quickly. The menthol in peppermint🌿 has a strong anti-spasmodic effect which may help calm the action of the muscles within the gut. This allows “things” (ahem… gas and stools) to be encouraged to pass more readily.
Note that peppermint🌿 is best for lower GI while spearmint 🌿is preferred for upper GI support. 😉
I’ll include some interesting studies about peppermint🌿 in the comments. I know many many people who have had life-changing gut health experiences simply by incorporating peppermint (real peppermint!) into their routine.
Have you used peppermint as a digestive aid?I know I have, and I frequently flavor my water with a drop or two!
I’m also thankful that peppermint 🌿is a Young Living freebie this month with a qualifying purchase! 🥰

Book Your Health Coaching CallBook Now