Sleep

You Are Worth It! Move It!

Liz James · October 17, 2022 ·

Sitting for more than 6 hours a day raises your mortality risk no matter how hard (or how much) you exercise before or afterwards.

Chronic sitting has also found to be more deadly than obesity alone (so imagine what that might look like if those two are paired together

God gave us our bodies so that we would use them in all the gifts we have been given.

If you have a desk job, please …… for the health of it, consider these alternatives:

if affordable, use a stand up desk.

get up frequently and take a quick walk (grab the mail, take the dog for a walk, take the stairs instead of the elevator)

use part of your lunch break to take a power walk

park farther away from your destination purposefully

learn some basic chair yoga poses you can incorporate into your day.

walk whenever you have a choice of walking instead of driving.

The short term benefits of incorporating movement into your day improve mood, energy levels, and sleeping at night (not to mention the grounding benefits of getting outdoors if that is feasible in the situation you’re in).

Consider adding purposeful movement to your “to do” list for the day. NingXia Red, Zyng, and NingXia Nitro are all great Young Living pairings. (So is the essential oil blend ‘Motivation‘, if purposeful movement is low on your list of priorities

) You won’t regret it!

xoxo~ liz

NingXia Red Research Findings & Fun Facts

Liz James · October 10, 2022 ·

Do you NingXia Red? NR is a daily staple on our farm.

My husband and I drink at least two ounces daily, though often it’s more than that if we are grabbing a packet on the go.

Fun Farm Fact: We’ve raised a tiny baby squirrel

(who is now 7years old and lives freely outdoors but “with us” on our porch) and an equally tiny baby ‘possum

using raw milk and NingXia Red.

NingXia Red does a body good! Don’t take my word for it… science says so too ( !

ningxia red study results

Thyroid Clues Part 5-Medicine Cabinet Culprits

Liz James · April 20, 2022 ·

Remember the fable about the Princess

and the pea

? You may recall that the true princess felt the effects of a pea beneath twenty mattresses and had a terrible night’s sleep because of it. After all we’ve discussed, you well understand that the thyroid

is the discerning princess in the body……it feels everything!

It’s hard to pin down exactly how many people use medication chronically in the USA, but a rough estimate in 2017 was 66%. (I believe that number has risen significantly since 2020, but to date, official data has not yet been released).

I will forever and always say that there is a time and a place for medication, but that it should be used as a last resort whenever possible. Pharmaceuticals by very definition are a toxin to the body. While they may be performing their “FDA approved task” within the body, behind the scenes they are likely setting up trip wires, snares, and grenades elsewhere. Many commonly prescribed medications are quietly sabotaging thyroid hormone function as they outwardly “play nice” in their appointed tasks of lowering cholesterol, quelling aches and pains, placating gastric reflux symptoms, smoothing out moody days, etc.

Certain medications have the ability to affect thyroid hormones in at least four ways:

1. Some may alter the actual production of thyroid hormones.

2. Some may affect the release of of thyroid hormones from the thyroid gland.

3. Some may affect how well thyroid hormone attaches to (or utilized) at receptor sites.

4. Some may interfere with the conversion of inactive T4 into active T3 in the liver

Who are the thyroid accosting culprits?

As I hinted above, the gang is quite diverse. Nearly ⅓ of this gang of thieves bears a similar “tattoo”…….. They contain fluoride within their chemical structure. You’ll recall (hopefully!) that fluoride (and chlorine, another “tattoo” found in many medications) blocks iodine from its job helping the thyroid produce thyroid hormones. These small doses add up over time with chronic use medications.

Medications known to inhibit healthy thyroid function (in one of these four ways) with chronic use include:

Lipitor, Crestor, Vytorin, Zetia (cholesterol meds)

Prevacid (stomach acid / GERD)

Betamethasone, Clobetasol, Dexamethasone, Fluocinolone, Fluticasone (topical, oral or inhaled steroids)

Celebrex, Ibuprofen, Naproxen (NSAID pain)

Lexapro, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Zoloft (mood stabilizers)

Haldol, Risperdal, Lithium (mood stabilizers)

Levaquin, Cipro (antibiotics)

Synthetic hormone replacement therapies, birth control pills

Amiodarone (treats ventricular heart arrhythmia)

Fluconazole (antifungal)

Interferon Alfa, Sutent, Sorafenib (chemotherapy agents)

Pramipexole, Ropinirole (for Parkinson’s)

Metformin (Type II Diabetes)

Furosemide (diuretic)

Phenytoin and Carbamazepine (for seizures)

Excessive Niacin (Vit B3) intake

(Note that this is a short representation of a very long list of medications!)

I am in no way inferring that you should stop taking medication that you may be currently on because it may be affecting your thyroid function. That is a conversation between you and your trusted health professional. According to an article by the Natural Health Research Institute, almost 75% of chronic illness can be improved or cured with improved lifestyle choices. Has your health professional talked to you about this as part of your treatment protocol?

Statistics like this are meant to empower you. Chronic disorders are generally where chronic medication use comes into play, and changing lifestyle habits can have a huge impact on health outcomes and on pharmaceutical needs.

Five significant ways your choices can impact your health include:

1. Reduce exposure to toxins (thank goodness for our YL Thieves Household Cleaner, essential oils that do “all the things” in a natural gentle way, Savvy Minerals cosmetics and the ART, Bloom, and Orange Blossom skin care lines!)

2. Making better food choices (and ditching the toxic processed foods)

3. Exercise. There is an exercise program / type out there that will work no matter what health situation you may be living with! (NingXia Nitro or Zyng 15-20 minutes prior to workouts elevates my gym workout routine!)

4. Sleep….Make sleep a priority. Improve your sleep hygiene habits! Some of my favorite sleep aids are YL’s Tranquil or RutaVala Roll-on…. Give ‘em a try and load your bedtime diffuser with oils like Cedarwood, Lavender, Peace & Calming, Frankincense, Orange )

5. Manage stress. Recall that chronic stress is as dangerous as a regular cigarette habit to the body. Even simply working on the four previous suggestions will have a profound impact on better management of stress.

In addition to making healthier lifestyle choices that lead to a healthier version of you (and protecting your thyroid

in the process), here’s an added bonus: Annually, direct health care costs average $6032 out of pocket

for an individual with one chronic disease (that number goes up with each additional disorder). Indirectly, chronic disorders also have a profound impact on education, occupation opportunities, income, and social interaction. If your health professional has not offered up these five recommendations as part of protocols for any chronic disorder you may have, they are working as a dis-ease maintenance advocate instead of that as a healer. Ultimately though, it’s our personal responsibility to be our own advocates and in doing so, choosing whether to live in a space of dis-ease maintenance or healing. Care for that thyroid “princess” within your personal kingdom friends! It’s often the first organ in the body to recognize that something is amiss.

xoxo~ liz

#caringissharing

#becomingyourownhealthdetective

#BYOHD

#goodmedicine

#applicationofknowledgeispower

#supersleuthhealthclues

How Do My Feelings Affect My Thyroid? – part 4

Liz James · April 12, 2022 ·

Thyroid Clues Part IV: Emotions, Feelings, and the Thyroid

Mind

, body

and spirit

are so deeply interconnected that it is impossible to be robustly healthy if this triad is out of balance in any way. The “spirit” of what makes us ….”us” is a composite of beliefs, life experiences, relationships, and memories. Outwardly, this clue set may be exhibited to some small degree by our personality. Frankly though, an individual’s personality is the tip of the iceberg. What lies beneath the surface (feelings) always play a leading role in both sickness and health. No one holds the knowledge of your “submerged iceberg self” better than you, which is yet another reason why being your own CEO and chief health detective

is so utterly important.

Surely you’ve heard of people who have died of a broken

heart. This phenomenon has been closely studied and acknowledged by science. Interestingly, we (as a society) tend to lean more into accepting the role of emotions and feelings in a death than we do the role personal belief and hope plays in an abundant life, and we certainly tend to overlook them (emotions and feelings) as responsible parties in health and wellness in day to day living.

How does this fit into the puzzle

of thyroid health? Quite well actually! Every organ and part of the body is affected at a cellular level by emotions, feelings, and memories, and learning to let go of that which doesn’t serve us is profoundly important in wellness and healing. The thyroid is, as you may recall, highly sensitive to changes in its environment. The “frequency” in which we “bathe” ourselves daily affects the health and performance of the thyroid. Frequency is not voodoo. It’s biology and physics. Everything (including our cells) is in a constant state of vibration, and any disease process will be evident as a disturbance in the structure and function of these frequencies. Positive emotions and feelings drive frequencies upwards (healthy), while negative emotions and feelings drive frequencies downwards (unhealthy).

Emotions and feelings tend to get blended together, yet they are not interchangeable.

Emotions:

They may manifest either consciously or subconsciously, and are a physical state or reaction to an event.

They keep us alive! They are a primal response, and are deeply coded into our genetic being!

They happen before feelings evolve about the event that occurred.

They can be measured by facial expressions , body language, blood flow, racing heart, tightening of muscles, skin response, pupil dilation (etc)

They generally last anywhere from a few seconds to an hour. Once the emotion has passed, the body returns to balance ( homeostasis).

Feelings are quite different.

They are experienced consciously.

They are a reaction (caused by emotions), and often influenced by personal experience, beliefs, and memories

Feelings originate in the neocortical region of the brain (the home of conscious thought and separate from the limbic system which houses emotions ).

Feelings form when your brain assigns a meaning to the emotional experience, and are mental interpretations of a situation.

Feelings don’t drift off after an hour (like emotions do). They hang around because of a vast network of personal experiences, belief systems, and memories we hold individually.

Ultimately, feelings are psychological responses while emotions are biological actions.

The thyroid is the on location storage facility for some pretty hefty feelings. Some of these include:

Conflict between the conscious and subconscious

Feeling limited or stuck

Struggling with love of self or feeling unable to speak up for oneself

Feeling a need to be in total control or feeling out of control

Feelings of humiliation

Feeling fearful of self expression

Feeling a deep sense of frustration

Feeling chronically fearful of anxious

Pairing the storage site (thyroid) with the lower vibrational frequency of harboring any of these negative feelings long term, and you may unearth a clue that has tremendous value in your thyroid health journey.

Now, what to do with this clue? There are a couple of valuable resources I’d like to point you towards:

Who Switched off my Brain? Controlling toxic thoughts and emotions by Dr. Caroline Leaf

And…..

The Pathway to Emotional Healing by Jen McCraw

These two books are extraordinarily valuable resources for healing the damage that stored negative feelings can inflict on the body. Doing “all the other things” (avoiding gluten, managing your iodine and other micronutrients, exercise, sleep hygiene etc etc etc) will never be enough if your spirit is not at peace.

Some of the essential oils you may consider when working towards healthy feelings (and subsequently, a healthy thyroid) as you nurture your spirit might include:

Endoflex: supportive of mind, body (endocrine system) and spirit

Transformation: supports feelings of positivity and self awareness

Valor: supports feelings of courage and confidence

Envision: supports feelings of creativity and resourcefulness

Surrender: supports the desire to let go of either too much control or uncontrollable behaviors

Highest Potential or Awaken: supports an awareness of limitless potential!

Peace & Calming: supports a positive peaceful atmosphere and mindset

Sacred Mountain: supports feelings of strength and empowerment

Believe: supports and encourages feelings of faith and inner strength

Release: helps facilitate the ability to let go of anything that no longer serves you

Cardamom, Pine, Myrtle, Frankincense, and Lavender are additional oils that are helpful in supporting healthy (thyroid affective) feelings and letting go of those which do not serve.

Oils are not

magic friends. They are tools

just as are the two books I’ve mentioned above. Neither the oils or the books will be helpful if they are bought and put on a shelf unused. The tools

are there for the healer to use. YOU have the capability to be your own healer. It’s within you to do this. It’s hard work and it’s heart work, and you are worth the effort!

“Each patient carries his own doctor inside of him [or her!]. They come to us not knowing the truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work.” ~ Dr. Albert Einstein

xoxo~ liz

#sharingiscaring

#becomingyourownhealthdetective

#goodmedicine

#mindbodyspiritconnection

#healthythyroidhealthylife

#dothehardthings

Dopamine – part 4

Liz James · February 1, 2022 ·

Dopamine Deficiency Part IV: More Solutions

Do you struggle with belief in any area of your life? Maybe it’s work…. Self confidence…. Big goals…. If so, know that improving your dopamine balance will only help you grow into living what you struggle to believe. Now would be a great time to grab that bottle of Believe essential oil and become a walking diffuser for yourself. Go grab it now… I’ll wait for you!

Gary Young knew which plant chemicals stimulate, protect, and support healthy dopamine levels. And of course, he knew that belief is fueled by dopamine. Essential oils Balsam, Coriander, Bergamot, Frankincense, Idaho Blue Spruce, Ylang ylang , and Geranium all fuel belief through their effect on dopamine within us. These are the oils within the blend Believe. Pretty cool right? Gary never made a product that wasn’t highly purposeful!

Other oils that have been found to contain constituents supportive of healthy dopamine levels in the body include rosemary, oregano, thyme, rose, sandalwood, neroli , palmarosa , and marjoram . Did you notice that many of these oils are used in Raindrop massage? Just one more reason everyone should receive a Raindrop on the regular!

God has gifted us with so many natural ways to support dopamine levels. (Go back and review last week’s post so that you’ll have the full combined list!)

Mowing the yard! It may be hard work, but the aroma of fresh cut grass contains a chemical called hexanal (the “green” smell of grass) that stimulates dopamine release.

St. John’s Wort has been found to increase dopamine in the prefrontal cortex of the brain by 40%. Resveratrol has been found to perform similarly ( found in red wine, fresh grapes, dark chocolate, blueberries, peanut butter)

Organic coffee (No more than one cup a day or it may contribute to adrenal fatigue…. A dopamine high followed by a crash!) or a cuppa organic green tea (Have you tried the YL Vanilla Lemongrass Green Tea yet?) is a dopamine supportive treat.

Rhodiola is another herb known to stimulate dopamine receptors and inhibit enzymes that break down dopamine in the brain. Ashwagandha (You might recognize this as an ingredient in Powergize and Endogize) is also an effective adaptogen with supportive dopamine activity.

Pregnenolone is a natural hormone produced in the body that has a positive effect on dopamine levels in the brain. It is an ingredient in hormone supportive Cortistop capsules, PD 80/20 capsules, and Regenolone moisturizing cream. Do a little research on each of these to determine if they might fight your individual hormone balancing needs.

Acupuncture stimulates the vagus nerve, which in turn support healthy dopamine levels. (Go back and reread the section on low vagal tone!)

Creating and performing music boosts dopamine levels even more than listening to your favorite tunes, but all three are effective. Listening to music has even been shown to improve fine motor skills in Parkinson’s patients.

Chronic inflammation reduces dopamine synthesis and release in the brain. We’ve got tools on hand to support a healthy inflammatory response (as opposed to the runaway variety!). Sulfurzyme, BLM, Agilease, and OmegaGize3 are excellent supplements. Nobody can “out supplement” an unhealthy lifestyle…..examine your life and look for offending (and often hidden) toxin triggers in household chemicals, processed foods and drinks, body care products, and makeup.

Lack of sleep down regulates dopamine receptors and reduces dopamine receptor availability. You know what to do! Sleep is so very important in ALL aspects of health. Review your sleep hygiene practices and look for “holes in the armor” that may result in interrupted sleep. I LOVE and incorporate Rutavala on the base of my big toe and Immupro (chewable) in my bedtime rituals.

Iron plays a role in dopaminergic neurotransmission. Iron and ferritin levels are important lab values to watch (both for being too low and too high). Natural sources of iron include spirulina ( an ingredient in Multigreens), dark chocolate, spinach, shellfish, organ meats (I highly suggest Sally Fallon’s cookbook Nourishing Traditions), beans, lentils, chickpeas, red meat, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, turkey, broccoli, and fish.

Vitamin C assists with the formation and conversion of dopamine in the brain. Deficient levels of vitamin C may show up as a low mood. Super C Chewables are a tasty way to supplement daily.

Vitamins B6 and B9 are critical for dopamine synthesis. Low folate levels contribute massively to low dopamine levels which may ultimately lead to depression. Super B is another fantastic supplement to help the body in at least a thousand little and big ways.

Alternate between standing and sitting. “Chronic sitting” lowers dopamine levels. Our body was designed to move!

Finish a project. Who knew? This in itself causes the brain to flood with dopamine.

Huge (and easy) list, right? And yet, sometimes it may seem hard to get motivated to make the changes. Circle back around….. Grab your bottle of Believe, and start somewhere small. I promise you won’t regret finding your dopamine happy place!

xoxo~liz

#caringissharing #knowbetterdobetter #dopamineisdope #balanceddopamineisgoodmedicine #goodmedicine #BecomingYourOwnHealthDetective

#ThanksYL