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Walking Above The Line-Sustainability

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Sustainable Wellness Practices. Sustainability defined by Websters: “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.”

My career path (pharmacy) has placed me in a ringside seat of wellness gone south. Approximately 116 Million Americans suffer from chronic pain.  Standard western medicine gives answers to chronic pain that are NOT sustainable solutions. There is not one Opioid or NSAID (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory) or other pain reliever that provides a sustainable answer to a long term problem. Long term use of any of them will inevitably lead to a body system dysfunction.

I would encourage everyone to open their minds and seek alternative methods of chronic pain relief. Yoga, acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage, exercise, proper nutrition (especially proper nutrition!)… the list goes on. Sometimes relief comes in the form of a blend of these, and frequently, normal daily aches and pains can be managed or prevented with proper body system support.

I have used a mixture of ALL of the above in my adult life, and I’ve found my sweet spot with what works for me.

Today, I’d like to show you another powerhouse tool in my personal wellness tool box. Earlier, I shared  Sulfurzyme. I’m hoping that you’ve ordered it, fallen in love with it, and are now telling others about it!  I mean, who keeps things you love a secret??? Precisely……. And because we’re (virtual) friends,  I’m going to let you in on another product….One that goes hand in hand with Sulfurzyme.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Agilease. We are a busy hard working family out here on the farm, and a day rarely goes by that we DON’T go to bed sore and fatigued from the beating our bodies take. Sulfurzyme AND Agilease taken together ensures that we are able to rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat…. day after day. What makes THIS one so special, and why would you need both?

Agilease contains the following :

  • Frankincense (B. Sacra)
  • Calcium Fructoborate
  • Curcuminoids complex (Tumeric)
  • Piperine (Black Pepper Extract)
  • Collagen (undenatured type II)
  • Glucosamine sulfate
  • Hyaluronic Acid
  • Wintergreen
  • Copaiba
  • Clove
  • Black Spruce 

What’s the ruckus about the above ingredients? Well friends, let me break this down for you piece by piece.  

Frankincense (Boswellia Sacra) : majorly supports the skeletal system. The key constituents include alpha-pinene and beta-pinene. If you are science-minded, this is where I’m going to tell you to start doing some digging on an enormous scientific website called Pubmed.gov. You might want to start with those two constituents I just mentioned, or perhaps, even Frankincense/ Boswellia Sacra!  As a side note,  I’ve noticed that some well known OTC joint health brands are starting to add Frank (not sacred frank but another….. easier to attain but less effective…. variety to their blend).

Calcium Fructoborate: Boron is a trace mineral vital to our good health. This is a plant based Boron. There are stories of people who buy Borax and try to dose themselves. Don’t be one of them…..that is not a safe thing to do! We are frequently deficient of Boron, as a society, due to current commercial farming/chemical fertilizer practices. Hallmarks of Boron deficiency may include:

  • abnormal metabolism of calcium and magnesium
  • hyperthyroidism
  • sex hormone imbalances
  • osteoporosis
  • arthritis
  • neural malfunctions

We need it folks…. And we are likely not getting it in our diets the way we should be.

Tumeric: one of the most researched spices to date. Literally thousands of studies have been done on this spice. Why? Because more than 30 years ago, scientists acknowledged that the incidence of chronic illness and inflammation was much much lower in India than in Western countries (countries like the USA that consumed almost no Tumeric or Cumin in their diets). Please do your research on this spice! It has been found to be a powerful antioxidant….Oxidation within us causes chronic low grade inflammation which can affect every single system in our bodies….. not just our creaky joints. Tumeric curbs the oxidation process in our bodies.

Black Pepper Extract: (Piperine) Much like Frankincense, Black Pepper was once considered a rich man’s spice. It has many health benefits of its own, but it is widely known to magnify or enhance the effects of other herbal supplements. There are loads of studies on this spice, specifically on the constituent Piperine (another Pubmed.gov worthy assignment!)…. Please do your research as health benefits are not just limited to improving ease of movement.

Collagen (undenatured type II): Such an important ingredient to support joint health! Even if you are not a researcher, please take a look at close look at the studies that have been done on this ingredient. I’m going to be a spoiler here and quote the final line of a stellar study on Pubmed.gov : UC-II treated subjects showed significant enhancement in daily activities suggesting an improvement in their quality of life. (note: this comes from chicken, so if someone is strictly vegan, please be aware).

Glucosamine Sulfate: I would be surprised if you haven’t heard of this one. It is found in almost all pharmacies in the OTC joint health section. Glucosamine sulfate is a compound found in the human body. It is used by the body to produce a variety of other chemicals that are involved in building tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and the thick fluid that surrounds joints. Joints are cushioned by the fluid and cartilage that surround them. In some people, the cartilage breaks down and becomes thin. This results in more joint friction, pain, and stiffness. The Glucosamine in Agilease supports joint and bone health.

Hyaluronic Acid: This is another great addition to the Agilease. Hyaluronic acid is similar to a substance that also occurs naturally in the joints. It works by acting like a lubricant and shock absorber in the joints and helps the joints to work properly. Again, please do your research. Lots of studies out there! (note: in the past, this has almost always been derived from chicken as well. Another vegan fyi).

Wintergreen: I’m hoping you already know about YL’s wintergreen oil. It is a powerhouse for supporting joint health by providing relief from rusty feeling joints, and for musculo-skeletal support (especially when we over do it!). It is an oil also found in Young Living’s blends: PanAway (found in the Premium Starter Kit), Deep Relief, & Ortho Ease Massage oil to name a few. (A word of caution to folks on blood thinners: this is one product to only use with your doctor’s approval. Wintergreen has a constituent that acts a lot like aspirin).

Copaiba: One of my personal faves! I was happy to see this on the ingredient list. It has so many stellar qualities, but in this case, clearly the focus is the effects a major constituent, beta-carophyllene, has on our bodies. It is also well known to calm swelling. I would encourage you to do a little research on beta-carophyllene if you haven’t already!

Clove: Clove has three main constituents, eugenol, eugenol acetate, and our friend on the field…. Beta-carophyllene. (Seriously….get your inquisitive study cap on and go find out about beta-carophyllene) . The bang for your buck in this oil comes from Young Living’s commitment to use only clove BUD oil… not just the leaves. This is huge and makes all the difference in the therapeutic value of this particular oil. Clove oil (especially if derived from the buds) is one of the most potent antioxidants available to us.

Black Spruce: Spruce oil in general is great for supporting the immune system, the respiratory, the endocrine system, the musculoskeletal system… and so many more!

So there you have it. Agilease…. Because sometimes being a Superhero means you need quick recovery from what life throws at you.

Enjoy your day and make it a great one!

xoxo, Liz

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.

Is Your Home Sick?

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As a prepper, we need to think of ourselves as a well oiled machine. We would not leave our guns, tools, and food supply in an environment that would ruin them…. so why do we neglect our bodies and purposefully expose ourselves to toxic agents?… especially knowing that we need to be in prime health to survive and thrive.

Chances are that your house is sick, and that means that you are affected too. Household cleaning products are responsible for over 10% of all toxin exposure calls to the Poison Control Centers in the United States. But what about the more insidious silent illnesses caused by seemingly harmless household chemical exposure?

Of the over 2000 chemicals on the market, more than 1/2 of them are known to ACTIVELY cause or promote allergies, asthma, cancer, birth defects, nervous system disruptions, and/or endocrine disruption. 

In our preparations for what is to come, we will need to be healthy! …. scratch that…. we need to be healthy no matter what!

Think about the products YOU use around your home, your children, and your pets.

What’s in them? If you are curious, check out the  Environmental Working Group website to find out.

Personally, I don’t like to wonder…so I found out,  and then I made some serious changes many years ago in our house and on our farm.

This is one of the reasons I love essential oils.

They’re safe.  They’re natural. They’re non-toxic…. And they can kick some serious booty when it comes to cleaning. Their presence in your home “creates an inhospitable environment” for bacteria to grow.

Thieves® oil blend and the entire Thieves Cleaner family are miracle-workers…. and giant killers. This blend truly is a David vs Goliath story when it comes to germs.

You’ll see what I mean here.

So, get your house in order! We are told to do that, right?….Both Biblically and in preparedness. Our “house” isn’t just our home… it is also a reference to our body. Let’s clean house!

What’s your Retirement Plan Look Like?

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Finances. Ah…… Debbie Downer…. don’t bring that up. I was having a pretty good day until you mentioned the “F” word.

This is a topic that is such a big one in ALL of our lives, and yet the average person wants to run the opposite direction when “the big F” is mentioned. It is very personal. Some peopleare blessed with stewardship training at a young age. One of my parents greatest gifts was the actual act of teaching us to manage money. I knew how to manage money from a pretty young age, partly from this training, and partly because I’ve worked since I was barely a teenager caring for and supporting my own horse. Squandering money just didn’t happen in my world. Others may have figured it out on their own without training, but by trial and error. My hat is off to you…. not everyone learns from financial mistakes, and consequently there is a wake left that grows to tsunami proportions with each passing year.

The reality in today’s world is this…… no matter what your prior circumstance, unless you are born into wealth, your retirement plan likely looks like one of these scenarios:

  • It just might be do-able. I’ve been saving for retirement since I was 16, and my family tends to die young anyway (now THAT’s another topic for another blog!)
  • I know I don’t have enough saved, but I’m planning on working til I die of old age. I just hope I’m not on duty as a Wal-Mart greeter when it happens!
  • Uhhh…. I’ll just live off Social Security… isn’t that what it’s for?(Good luck with that one! I’ve seen too many people at the pharmacy who make monthly choices about food vs medication because they’ve tried just this approach to retirement).

Now dream with me a moment. Have you already fallen in love with  Young Living products? (If so, you can scratch the whole “dying young plan”off your retirement scenario list, ’cause it ain’t likely that’s gonna happen). Or, have you just stumbled into my website… dazed, confused, and a little rising excitement about what you’ve found regarding natural wellness options…?

I’m not asking you to share Young Living with others… Only about 8% of YL users actively grow a business, so you are in great company by just being a content product user. Thank you!

But I would like to tell you what could happen if you did share your love of YL’s presence in your life with others.

You see, my husband and I  have great jobs. We both work very hard on the farm and in our careers. We also only get 2 weeks of vacation a year, and when you have remote family members with health conditions and/or farm events…. choices for vacation days have to be made. There were several years we’ve had to use nearly all our vacation to address very “non vacation” life events, and several times we’ve missed critical moments in life because of this. Residual Income comes from building an asset (your ever growing YL business) that continues to earn you money even if you are not actively building that asset at every given waking moment.  Make no mistake… building a business around Young Living IS work, but the freedom to plan….. or to be spontaneous about this work is priceless. If I could have some “do over” moments in my life and not miss some extremely important family events because of work, I would in a heartbeat. Many of you are younger than me…. Don’t be me. Think about this long and hard now, and don’t miss out because you had to “clock in”. Begin working now on freedom.

Secondly, Charlie and I HAVE been saving for retirement. I personally have been saving since I was 23 years old (I am 50 now). There have been times in our lives that we have dumped relatively large amounts of income into retirement plans, and while we are better prepared than most (when we turn 70 1/2!), it’s still not a ton of money in the grand scheme of growing old. It gives me great peace to be at a point in my Young Living journey (after just 3 years) to have residual income we can count on. If Social Security evaporates into thin air before we retire, with our YL income, we will be fine. This is not a pipe dream… this is our reality. Again…. many of you are younger than me. If I’d started growing my YL business at 25 instead of 47, who knows what kind of financial magic would be happening!  Remember, this business is an “at your own pace” kinda thing…. but even if you grow slow and steady, in 25 years, you’ll be the rockstar granny (or grandpa) who is enjoying retirement instead of working  at Wally World because they have to! What is your current 401K offering you? You can see actual “pedal to the metal” numbers on the 2015 YL Income Dislosure Statement. 

Thirdly…. what does your WILL look like? Will your job continue to pay you long after your death? Do you have a spouse, kids, relatives (or a farm full of animals like us!) who rely on the support your income affords? What if it stopped? The cool thing about Young Living is that once you get a YL business off the ground and write a personal will, you can then fill out survivorship paperwork with YL, and guess what….. that residual income becomes a legacy for your family…. (or in our case, our ‘farmily’). You can read more about willing your business in section 3.7.1 of the Policy and Procedure manual.  Does your current job offer this perk? I didn’t think so….

If, after reading this… you find yourself interested in learning more, please contact me!

If you’ve never even heard of oils til now AND you’re already nervous about what your retirement does look like, let’s talk.

If you love oils and are already on my team, but have never even considered these options until now, maybe I’ve planted a seed or two. I am here to help you get started. We are about raising each other up, and I’m more than pleased to help.

If you are on my team or about to be on my team, and this message has rocked your world, ……………… contact me. If you are truly serious, I will make sure you have the resources you need at your fingertips to be successful. This business is about growing up, locking arms, and thriving together.

A Young Living business will truly offer you a sustainable future.

Hugs and Love, liz

Body Chemistry 101

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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”

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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