Supplements

Young Living’s Free Gifts for July

Liz James · July 1, 2024 ·

Good morning friends! We are officially halfway through 2024…. can you believe it?? July’s gifts with purchase are perfect for our household because we use all three of these on a daily basis.

Freebies = I don’t have to buy them for the next few months! = Winning!!

All three of these… I’ve used each of them for years:

Lemongrass…

this is a fantastic multipurpose oil. It is considered a “hot” oil, so do not use it on the skin without diluting it. I use it topically, internally, and diffused to support various body systems and body functions.

When I had a serious accident 9 years ago (and nearly lost my left foot), it was a key player in my topical “repair” blend to support healthy tendons (4 of which had been severed in the accident).

Biting bugs tend to dislike lemongrass. I take it internally and in doing so, I appear to be much less attractive to mosquitoes and other biters. (note that it took several days of taking internally before I became a walking diffuser for said bugs).

when taking internally, lemongrass is also helpful supporting healthy cholesterol and vascular health.

Stress Away……. One of my all time favorite and most used oils. Back when I was working as a retail pharmacist, this oil lived in my lab coat pocket and was used several times a day. There is science behind the oils in this bottle, and its regular use will help support a more comfortable autonomic nervous system balance (wouldn’t you rather live in a healthy balance of fight-flight freeze and rest relax and digest?…. our bodies are not designed to live in constant stress). Combine this oil with healthy self-care practices and you’ll notice the difference! ( And so will those around you

. Pro Tip…. do you spend a great deal of time around someone who might need this oil?…… start putting it on yourself and become a walking diffuser for them. See if you don’t notice the difference!)

Super C Chewables….. If you are taking Vitamin C and the ingredient says “ascorbic acid”…. take note. Ascorbic acid is largely made from GMO’d corn and it is not as bioavailable as truly natural (ie: doesn’t require a laboratory) vitamin C sources such as acerola, camu camu, and rose hips…. all of which are in Super C Chewables). There’s additional synergy in these yummy chewables with the addition of citrus oils!

Are you already using these products too? What’s your story?

Stay cool and Happy July! ~ liz

Young Living’s Love Gifts for February

Liz James · February 1, 2024 ·

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

Does Everyone Need Hormone Support?

Liz James · January 17, 2024 ·

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

Young Living Says Thank You

Liz James · November 1, 2023 ·

Here in North Texas, we went from Summer

weather to Winter

(29 degrees) in the blink of an eye, and now it’s November with Thanksgiving and Christmas

right around the corner! With all of the gatherings planned, along with shopping, and big “to-do” lists before the end of 2023, Young Living ushers in the season for us with a great group of freebies for November.

Who uses Grapefruit regularly? If not, please reconsider! With the holiday munchies available everywhere you turn, we need all the help we can get. Studies like this https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17615482/ can be found on the YL website, indicate that getting grapefruit into your daily habits might be a great addition as we navigate the next few months of carbs and sugar!

Sometimes the overwhelm can kick in this time of year, and it can be challenging to remember the reason we are “doing all the things” or that we have the ABILITY and Resources to do anything…. much less…. all the things. We receive Gratitude with gratitude

this month as a freebie. Nope…. this oil isn’t magic (tho it does smell lovely!), but it does bring intention and attention to the room. Words matter, and a specific scent paired with a word helps the brain recall the reason. (Plus, I love that there are oils in this blend that actually stimulate certain neurotransmitters that are present when gratitude is in play

Inner Defense. The best offense is a great defense! Inner Defense is a brilliant support to keep handy for those days

when you just are not feeling up to par. It’s also a FABULOUS tool in terms of prevention.

PROTIP: I travel with a bottle of ID because when we travel we often run into cooties

that like to ruin the trip. I take 1 capsule a day (always take it with fatty food!) preventatively whenever I’m on the road OR whenever I know I’m going to be in a big crowd of people.

One Heart is an oil blend that was introduced in support of the Young Living Foundation. https://www.younglivingfoundation.org/ WHAT?? You didn’t know that YL had a not-for-profit foundation benefitting people all over the world? They do, and have impacted people’s lives in ways that nurture, rescue (literally!), and protect. In essence, the YLF does “in the physical” exactly what the oils and products do for each of us. One Heart is a beautiful (and helpful!) fragrance that contains pricey oils like jasmine, frankincense, ocotea, northern lights black spruce, and more. Not only is this a great oil to drop into your diffuser, but remember that each oil within a blend has specific properties that act upon our body…. and this particular blend has some great ones that support the body all year round. “Perfume with a purpose”

RC is a “must-have” on standby (and inaction) for this time of year. We tend to think of RC as for “respiratory and congestion”, but leaving it at that would mean underutilizing its capabilities. RC is a blend of oils that are also great for focus and energizing. I know several people who also carry this oil to their pedi appointments and drop a few drops in the soaking water.

Sometimes the holiday season brings out the grouchy in even the most cheerful of folks. PROTIP: It’s just hard to be grouchy when Citrus Fresh

is in the room…. so drop this beauty into the diffuser and watch moods change for the better! Turns out, it’s not our imagination…. there’s science to back it up. (homework: go read about Citrus Fresh in the “discover our research” portion of the Citrus Fresh writeup on the YL website).

Happy November friends! I’m curious…. who has Inner Defense in their home already? Give me a

if you do! (If not, here’s your chance to get it for free

and save some money in the process! As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

)

xoxo~ liz

Science Confirms Effectivity of Turmeric

Liz James · September 28, 2023 ·

Someone met me the other day and said, “Oh, you’re the rebel pharmacist!” Why yes, I’ll carry that title proudly (tho I prefer to think of myself as well-rounded and not afraid to speak the truth! )

One of the pharma science fields I really love is called pharmacognosy… ” the branch of knowledge concerned with medicinal drugs obtained from plants and other natural resources.”

“It’ll never work “….. says who?

Do you ever wonder why more doctors don’t suggest something like turmeric (which has stellar success in supporting a healthy inflammatory response)? There are, in fact over 2600 studies on the effects of turmeric in the body. In fact, turmeric has been found to compare favorably to a variety of pharma products (you’ll need to read the attached article to fully understand how important this piece of information is….. legit.

Which brings me to this question: YL’s Golden Turmeric. Have you tried it?

A combo of Turmeric, Boswellia resin (Frank baby!), and ginger working together to support the body’s natural response to inflammation, immune response, joint health, mobility, and recovery.
The unique water-dispersible Golden Turmeric makes it 24X more bioavailable than standard turmeric extracts. Example: the tiny 1/2 tsp scoop of golden turmeric (300mg) is equivalent to 1,926mg of standard extracts found elsewhere. (I don’t know about you, but if I was battling something that was affecting my quality of life, I’d go for the big guns! )
Bonus points! Golden Turmeric also contains prebiotics to support healthy digestion and a healthy happy microbiome (essential for a well-functioning gut-brain axis, right?).
How to use it? Mix 1/2 teaspoon in 6-8 oz of water, juice, or milk of choice and enjoy once daily!

Who knows….. you might even be able to avoid a pharma

or two in the process! (And THAT would be a very very good thing!)

Have you been able to kick something to the curb because of a YL product? Do tell… I’d love to hear your stories!

https://greenmedinfo.com/…/science-confirms-turmeric…

Happy Wednesday friends!

xoxo~ liz

#bettertogether

#H3

#HealthyHabitsHavenYL

#ThanksYL

#Godgaveusthegoodsinthegarden