Book Your Health Coaching Call

Good Medicine

Holistic Health Coaching

Preventive Health & Root-Cause Medicine

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

No More Eye Dis-ease

· ·

Fructus lycii: A Natural Dietary Supplement for Amelioration of Retinal Diseases
I’ve been studying the effects of wolfberries (aka goji berries) on the eyes. Our family has a pretty strong history of age-related macular degeneration, and I love my peepers and don’t want to lose them in my twilight years.
 
Thankful I found NingXia Red 10 years ago, and IlluminEyes a few years ago!
Do you have eye dis-ease history in your family tree?
xoxo~ liz
 
 

Do Thoughts Affect Our Health?

· ·

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!)
****************************
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

The Ovarian Adrenal Thyroid Symphony

· ·

Putting the Pieces Together: The Ovarian – Adrenal – Thyroid (OAT) Symphony
Before we reach the nether regions of the endocrine system, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about a very important concept called the Ovarian-Adrenal-Thyroid (OAT) axis. The goal is to live in hormonal harmony within our own body, and that can get tricky pretty quickly when you have a bad conductor directing a personal symphony 🎻🎺🎷🥁🎼orchestra.
A typical symphony orchestra🎻🎺🎷🥁🎼 has more than forty musicians and is an ensemble composed of wind, string, brass and percussion instruments. There are very few great conductors in the world simply because such a job requires charisma, deep knowledge of both music and musical instruments, and major people skills. A stellar conductor must also know the style and history of music and excel in anticipating and then cueing each musician at exactly the right moment. Some of the more extraordinary conductors I’ve seen also appear to have a playfulness within them to balance the exacting attention to detail that must be required to execute a flawless concert.
The endocrine system is much like a symphony🎻🎺🎷🥁🎼, often with “the conductor” being the level of stress we unwittingly allow ourselves to live with. Remember, stress on the body isn’t only caused by meeting deadlines or trying to achieve a long “to do” list. Stress on the body will look different for each person, and may be emotional or physiological… It doesn’t matter the type or combination thereof!
  • Chronic busyness to the point of exhaustion
  • Chronic physical pain
  • Chronic infection or illness
  • Toxin load
  • Heavy metal load
  • Emotional stress
  • Chronic sleep deprivation
  • Too much exercise
  • Nutrient deficiencies due to poor eating habits, medications causing depletions, a physiological inability to absorb certain nutrients properly, or even relying on poorly made supplements for nutrition
Stress always affects the adrenal glands first, and then thyroid and ovaries will begin to suffer.
Conductor: “A little less cowbell please!”
By the time a woman reaches her mid 30’s/ early 40’s (unless she has incorporated solid stress mediation tools into daily life ), there is a high probability that the excessive “cowbell” coming from the adrenal glands has begun to successfully drown out the harmonizing ovaries and thyroid. Because we’ve already fairly thoroughly discussed the adrenal glands and thyroid (reread those sections for a refresher!) I want to focus on how ovarian function is impacted by chronic stress.
In a state of chronic stress, the adrenals cannot keep up with the demand for cortisol production, and in doing so, they begin “stealing” from progesterone production to have the building blocks to make more cortisol.
Conductor: “Add in a little more saxophone.”
As progesterone production drops, estrogen dominance makes its debut.
Conductor: “Decrescendo piccolos!”
Estrogen dominance (which can occur even when ovaries have been removed, thanks to estrogen production elsewhere in the body and xenoestrogen exposure) then begins impeding the conversion of (inactive) T4 into (active) T3 which translates to less active thyroid hormone for the body to have access to. This leads to feelings of sluggishness, fatigue, and all the symptoms related to hypothyroidism. Too much estrogen also interferes with the communication between the brain and the adrenal glands. As time goes on in a state of estrogen dominance, fat begins accumulating around the abdomen. Have you heard the term “muffin top”? It’s a clue, my sleuthing friend! Muffin tops, excessive PMS, infertility or miscarriages, low libido, bloating or water retention, fibrocystic breasts, premenstrual headaches, thyroid dysfunction, irritability or depression, hair loss, thyroid dysfunction, foggy thinking, memory loss, and insomnia are all major clues with the conductor’s baton pointing towards estrogen dominance.
Conductor: “Crescendo violins!”
Estrogen dominance has also been linked to worsening allergies, autoimmune disorders, ovarian cysts, breast and uterine cancers, and is associated with an accelerated aging process. I’ll talk more about estrogen dominance later…. The goal here is to show the snowballing impact of stress on the endocrine system and ultimately the entire body.
Unfortunately, Westernized medicine is usually quick to add to the toxic soup already existing within a body by applying chemical bandaids. Ironically, antidepressants, thyroid replacement medications, and hormone replacement therapies often worsen the OAT imbalance IF addressing adrenal gland health is not part of the health and wellness recovery plan. Understanding the importance of and utilizing stress management tools daily will be a game changer, if you have been identifying with these clues!
Let’s not leave the men out of this discussion. There is a male version of the OAT axis. Abnormal cortisol levels in men cause testosterone levels to drop. Treating low testosterone with a synthetic testosterone replacement while ignoring the adrenal connection does come with risks. Side effects of synthetic testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) may include polycythemia, peripheral edema, aggression, diminished testicular size and fertility, exacerbation of sleep apnea, and cardiovascular and liver dysfunction. TRT is another chemical bandaid which fails to address the root cause (another “to be covered later” topic).
Without question, life has the potential to be stress filled, and we must use the tools easily available to us to mediate its harmful effects.
  • Belonging to a supportive like minded community
  • Prayer and meditation
  • Exercise, especially yoga
  • Spending time outdoors or with a pet daily
  • Practicing self care daily
  • Laughter
  • Minimize phone use and screen time
  • Healthy diet
  • Practicing deep purposeful breathing
  • B Vitamins (have you tried YL’s Super B?)
  • Elimination of toxins especially xenoestrogens commonly found in mainstream skincare lines. Utilize Young Living’s safe ART, Bloom, or Balance skin care lines for safe xenoestrogen free products!). Xenoestrogens are also found in plastics (ie water bottles), red dye #3, BHA (a food preservative, many insecticides, and birth control pills that contain ethinylestradiol.
  • Young Living’s Cortistop
  • Utilize scents that you find relaxing. Many studies suggest that aromatherapy is beneficial for relaxing and decreasing stressful moments. Scents known to promote stress reduction include lavender, rose, vetiver, bergamot, Roman chamomile, neroli, frankincense, sandalwood, ylang-ylang, orange, and geranium. Young Living oil blends designed for just such a purpose include StressAway, Peace & Calming, Valor, RutaVala, or Tranquil.
  • Setting healthy boundaries in all areas of life
  • Using adaptogens to help mediate stress response. An adaptogen is any substance that increases the body’s resistance to a negative stress response. These have been around (and studied) since World War II… so it’s not a new concept! Known adaptogens include:
  1. American and Asian ginseng (found in FemiGen)
  2. Ashwagandha (found in EndoGize and PowerGize)
  3. Reishi mushroom (found in NingXia Greens and Immupro)
  4. Turmeric (found in Golden Turmeric)
  • Reduce caffeine intake. Consider daily NingXia Red, NingXia Nitro, NingXia Zyng, and/or our new NingXia Greens or an adaptogenic “coffee” substitute instead. You may also consider diffusing essential oil blends En-R-Gee or Longevity or Peppermint, Rosemary, or Lemon for an aromatic pick-me-up!
Every body’s symphony🎻🎺🎷🥁🎼 will sound and feel slightly different. We each have the responsibility of constantly “tuning the instruments”, harmonizing within ourselves and among ourselves, and ensuring that “the conductor” (ie: your individual stress load) is neither a taskmaster or curmudgeon!
After all, the goal is an endocrine system which feels like a well played Beethoven’s 5th!
xoxo~ liz
#sharingiscaring
#OATaxis
#chronicstressisthecornerstoneofillness
#theapplicationofknowledgeispower
#goodmedicine
#BYOHD
#becomingyourownhealthdetective
#ThanksYL
May be an image of 2 people and text that says 'Becoming your Own Health Petective Putting the Pieces Together: The Ovarian -Adrenal -Thyroid Symphony "Have you seen a symphony orchestra? There is a person at the back carrying a triangle. now and again the conductor will pont to him or her and that person will play ting That might seem insignificant, but... something irreplaceable would be lost to the total beauty of the symphony if that ting didn't happen. -Desmond Jutu www.goodmedicine.info'
34
10 Comments
Like

Comment
Send

The Salt Of The World

· ·

A Well Seasoned Sleuth looks at Salt Sourcing
 
“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~ Matthew 5:13-16
 
It is awfully hard to be physical salt and light in the world if fatigue has taken over your personal world. The verse in Matthew (above) speaks metaphorically. However, it could also easily be speaking to the body’s physical need for salt. In its God made form (from the Himalayan mountaintops 🗻to the ocean floor🏝), salt is loaded with life giving micronutrients. Every cell in our body needs this kind of salt. Our bodies rely on these micronutrients for healthy bone density, stabilized blood sugar levels, proper blood circulation, and thousands of other small but exceedingly significant ways in the body.
 
Modern table salt, however, (the trample👣 worthy kind) is the stuff health nightmares 😈are made of. If you’ve never given much thought to the type of salt you may be eating in processed or fast foods (or perhaps even lurking…. as a clue… in your cabinet), consider the story of modern salt:
A far cry from the original micronutrient loaded seasoning, table salt is mined from deep underground, and then cooked🔥 at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. As it’s cooked, it loses the other micronutrients it “might “ have contained. Anti-caking agents, fluoride, a less healthy form of iodide, aluminum derivatives, and other ingredients are added to keep the salt shaking freely. Salt in the “real world” is not white, and table salt is bleached to get its pristine color. It may come as no surprise that crude oil extraction is one way “modern” salt is produced.
 
Becoming an avid label reader is one more way to be a stellar health detective. While God’s salt is loaded with health benefits🙌, the man made version wreaks havoc on the body😬. Diabetes, gout, and cardiovascular diseases are all aggravated by modern salt. It is also surreptitiously hard on the nervous and lymph systems, and will aggravate edema, lymphatic disorders, anxiety, and depression tendencies.
 
To recap, manmade salt:
🚫Comes from deep underground and is sent thru a fiery furnace
🚫It is a poor imitation of that which is good
🚫It’s highly addictive
🚫It wreaks havoc quietly on a previously healthy body, and generally makes an unhealthy body sick
It’s almost as if Satan himself came up with this salty plan of attack on mankind, with his uncanny ability to take something so innocently good, twist the narrative, and make it bad.🤔🫣
 
Original salt contains approximately 84 necessary micronutrients and zero toxins.
When used regularly, this type of salt (typically harvested from Himalayan, Celtic, or a natural Salt Lake source):
🥳Aids in hydration of the body,
🥳Improves digestion (and helps remove sediments in the body which can build up over time leading to kidney or gallstones)
supports both adrenal and thyroid function (trace minerals are absolutely key!)
🥳Helps regulate blood sugar
🥳Supports healthy blood pressure
🥳Helps the body detox
🥳Helps re-energize the body at a cellular level
🥳Assists in balancing the body’s pH
🥳One theory of why osteoporosis develops is that the body begins stripping bones of their mineral and calcium content in an effort to neutralize acidic blood. Healthy natural sourced salt is alkalizing by nature, which will eliminate the need of the bones to “give to the greater good (blood). The body is able to survive longer with poor bones than with “poor” blood.
🥳Enhances communication between nerve cells.
🥳Healthy natural salt also helps thin mucous and phlegm (yes, even when ingested!). Think about what a nasal saline rinse does as a physical example of this.
🥳Getting adequate natural salt improves complexion, hair and nail growth over time, and also may improve the appearance of varicose veins.
 
In adrenal fatigue, there is a little talked about hormone called aldosterone.
It follows a similar pattern to cortisol: its production tends to peak around 8:00am, and also rises during stressful situations. Aldosterone is a key player for the maintenance of water and certain minerals (electrolytes) in the body, and where they “should be” within the body. Electrolytes are absolutely necessary for proper cell function… just ask any high performance athlete who has sweated out too many electrolytes!
In adrenal fatigue, perhaps you may have noticed an intense craving for salt.🤓 When adequate cortisol levels drop, aldosterone drops too. When aldosterone drops, there is a tendency towards electrolyte imbalance, causing the salt cravings. Hydrating without adding in electrolytes has the potential to aggravate the electrolyte imbalance by further diluting existing electrolytes within the body.
 
Which brings me back to our naturally available micronutrient loaded salt forms!
 
There is a homemade hydration support tool called Sole (pronounced Sol-ay).
You’ll need a Liter sized mason jar, a cup of Himalayan or Celtic salt and three cups of filtered water.
1️⃣Add salt to the jar, and then fill the jar with filtered water.
2️⃣Put the lid (preferably plastic) on the jar, shake gently, and then leave overnight.
3️⃣If the salt is completely dissolved in the morning, add more salt and leave it overnight again.
4️⃣The mixture will be ready when there is salt sediment in the bottom of the jar. The filtered water is now completely saturated and cannot receive any more salt.
5️⃣Add 1 teaspoon of this mixture to a glass of water and drink it each morning when you wake up (30-60 minutes before taking medication)
6️⃣If you appear to have a detox reaction (such as a headache), start with ¼ teaspoonful and work your way up.
7️⃣Do not use metal utensils to measure your product, as it can interfere with the solution.
 
If you are not a DIY’er or perhaps find yourself on the go and in need of electrolytes/ craving salt (remember, electrolyte balance is important in adrenal fatigue, and not just for athletes!), consider grabbing a bottle of the YL Vitality Drops- Lavender Lemon or Grapefruit Bergamot. (Do not confuse the YL Energy drops available as Jade Lemon or Spearmint Tangerine with these…… they don’t do the same thing!). I love that Young Living uses electrolytes sourced from the Great Salt Lake, and not a synthetic source. The vitality drops are an electrolyte powerhouse!
 
Get yourself the right kind of salty so you can shine your light brightly!
 
xoxo~ liz
 
(Becoming Your Own Health Detective Volume One link: https://goodmedicine.info/my-book/ )
 

Book Your Health Coaching CallBook Now