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Oasis in the Desert: Choosing a Reputable Supplement Company

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The uniqueness of the world I’ve chosen to live in is not lost on me. On one foot, I’ve got my mud encrusted muck boot as I wade thru one of the wettest fall/winter cow pastures in North Texas history. On the other foot…. my trusty Dansko’s: the only footwear I’ve found that are comfortable for a 10-11 hour shift at the pharmacy. I spend most of my days using my pharmacy knowledge to teach people how to avoid a long term relationship with a pharmacy.  Other days, I put my white coat on and fill prescriptions…. some for those who have no choice, and others….because they continue to make life choices that come with a prescription price tag….. and still others, who simply don’t know any better. #knowbetterdobetter …… that’s why I feel so called to be here.

With the New Year comes a slew of questions regarding supplements at the pharmacy. Resolution toting customers looking for an easy way to lose weight, minimize fresh workout pain, or simply just trying to get healthy in baby steps.

The supplement industry is a tricky business, and deciphering the options can be overwhelming to anyone that hasn’t done a great deal of research…. doctors included. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a patient tell me incorrect information given to them by their doctor regarding supplements. The rare doctor has done his/her research it seems (Not much is taught in medical, nursing, or even pharmacy school regarding supplements. It’s up to the practitioner to crack the code and educate themselves), and the patient is pretty much left to their own devices to find the best product for themselves. My team is spending the next few months educating our ‘family’ on types of supplements, and this topic is so very important that I thought I’d include some of that education here.

​​Why do we need supplements anyway? There are several reasons:

  • Farming practices since the 1970’s have stripped our soils of valuable nutrients. The only way we can receive minerals in our diet is thru nutrient dense soil. Plants soak up that nutrition and then pass it along to the herbivore (or omnivore) that eats it. Somewhere up the line, a carnivore may get involved and the nutrients are passed (or not passed) along to them.
  • Genetic modification of our veggies, fruits, and grains have continued the depletion process. Nutrition has been sold out to prettier “eye candy” produce that ships well, stores well, and looks like something out of a glossy magazine. Fresh produce today is an estimated 50-70% less nutritious than its counterparts 50 years ago.
  • Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fluoride, and chlorine contamination all have played their part in binding nutrients and making them unavailable for our body’s use.
  • Existing health challenges, a regular diet of fast/processed foods, use of acid blockers/reducers regularly, and/or reoccurring GI issues? If you answered “yes” to any of these, odds are high that you have a crippled system preventing efficient production or use of nutrients. (This means you likely need more supplementation than the average bear.) 
  • And finally…. medications. Who’d have thought this was even a problem? Next to nutrient deplete food itself, it’s one of the biggest problems of all. More than half of Americans take medication regularly, and those that do (on average) take four or more on a daily basis. FACT: Hundreds of medications suppress or rob your body’s ability to produce or utilize vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and co-factors necessary for a healthy life.​​

How DO you find a good supplement company? The answer >>>> very carefully! 

While the FDA does quite a bit of governing in the supplement world when it comes to wording (no diagnosing,treating,curing etc… or you might have some ‘splaining to do to the FDA), the reality is that the supplement industry lacks rigid standards that ensure  product integrity and quality. If you sift thru articles, you’ll find dismal stories of adulterated products (especially in the weight loss, antioxidant, sexual performance and workout booster categories). The problem doesn’t just lie in possible contaminants tho… it also encompasses cheap and/or ineffective ingredients.

What this means is that company integrity should mean absolutely everything to you. Do you really know the company you’ve chosen to buy product from? In most cases, you can tell a lot about a company’s product line based on company standards, policy, history, and mission statement:

  • Are the employees well treated and paid fairly?
  • What was the motivation of the company to build a particular supplement? Usually, the best companies are the ones founded by people who had health problems themselves, and found a solution thru proper nutrition. (A great example of this is Kate Farms for their quality nutrition drink for those with strict dietary and medical needs.)
  • Does the company put the purpose of the product above the profit? ie: This doesn’t mean the product will be inexpensive. On the contrary…. a well made product will usually come with a higher price tag (more on that later).
  • Do you know their value system? Are the ingredients fairly and sustainably sourced?Are the ingredients without compromise? 
  • Does the company leave a positive impact on the communities they work with?
  • Does the company have transparency? Are you able to visit them? Do they have 2nd and 3rd party testing?

​If you cannot easily find answers to these questions, odds are high that you may be duped by your current company. Back away from your supplements, and listen up…….  ​

The Care and Feeding of your Body: Supplements 101
Vitamins, minerals, and other micro-nutrients are absolutely essential for all body processes to function in a healthy manner. Energy must be produced, the immune system supported…..vision, brain function, attention span, digestion, skin, repair and recovery processes, structural integrity and thousands of other little nuanced jobs must happen for optimal health.

Our body is no dummy. It does it’s best to prep for us… stashing extra vitamins and minerals as it is able, in anticipation of a sabotage event. There’s a little bit of ‘prepper’ in all of us! If we’ve not allowed our body the resources to stash those excess nutrients, when the moments of stress, lack, or ‘robbery’ happens….. suddenly, there is no backup plan, and one or more systems begin to give warning signs of impending failure. Long term lack allows for dis-ease and dysfunction to set up housekeeping. This is one of the reasons our country is overflowing with auto-immune disease.

If it’s THIS important to keep adequate supplies of these nutritional building blocks on hand, it makes no sense to rely on less than ideal sources. Supplement companies can be tricky little suckers and it pays to be savvy and knowledgeable so you don’t get duped into thinking you got ‘something’ for next to nothing.

Price: There is no such thing as a high quality inexpensive supplement. Common sense should tell you that between bottling, labeling, shipping, marketing, distribution, and profit, a $10-$15 bottle of vitamins leaves precious little $$ left over to invest in quality ingredients. How much is your life worth after all? If you are willing to spend $5 per day on a cup of designer coffee (which is likely loaded with some of the very things depleting your body), you should have no qualms with spending the same amount (per day) on quality supplements your body desperately needs.

Throw out the ‘all in one pill’ mindset: It just can’t happen. There’s no way to cram everything into one pill and end up with a reasonably sized product that only an elephant could swallow. Size does matter, but it’s even more complicated than that. Not every nutrient is compatible with each other, and some nutrients need to be be brought in to the body multiple times a day because storage is just not possible (ex: digestive enzymes). If you’re really serious about protecting, fortifying, and prepping your body for health, expect to take 3-6+ capsules/supplements per day depending on the health challenges you may have been toting around for awhile.

The Junk: Quality and sourcing….. if you are trying to get healthy, the last think you want is unclean ingredients, and yet that happens all too frequently. If your body is having to filter unclean ingredients from your supplement regimen, you’ve lost sight of one of the main reasons you want to take supplements in the first place!

  • Fish oil coming in from waters contaminated with PCB’s, heavy metals, toxins, and radioactive waste. Rancid fish oil that actually causes what it should be preventing. Other ingredients that are sourced from questionable, impure, or unclean environments……A recent study found over 800 supplements containing prescription medications (unlabeled).
  • Fillers that are also allergens: byproducts of wheat, yeast, soy dairy, gluten, corn, or that are low grade and possibly irritating to GI tissue. Additives that are used to stretch the bottom dollar, but at best, do nothing for your health. SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate)… a chemical sometimes used as a disintegrator in tablets. This is a topical no-no in skincare but imagine the implications when consumed. Studies show it has a “degenerative effect on cell membranes…”. Ummm, no thank you. I’ll keep my cell membranes intact for as long as possible thank you very much. 
  • Cheaper forms of ingredients that are less biologically active (ex: using cyanocobalamin instead of the more bioavailable [and pricier] methylcobalamin.)
  • Artificial colors, flavors , and sweeteners (Ahem, God provides awesome natural flavors and sweeteners! Why not use them?)
  • Coatings- how well does your vitamin or supplement dissolve? Ideally, most need to be in capsule form for ease of dissolution. If you’ve ever seen your vitamins in your poop (a common thing), this should be your aha moment.

Ultimately, the question comes down to this: Do you trust the brand you buy, or are you relying on blind faith? If you are relying on the latter, it might be time for a do over.  Just because the product(s) may be found in well known stores doesn’t mean it’s a reputable brand. The bottom line matters to a store, and buyers aren’t generally schooled in supplements (frequently it’s a 19 year old kid who is doing the ordering!)…. they are schooled to find the largest profit margin for their employer. Just as they are looking out for their employer’s best interest, YOU are the CEO of you, and you need to look out for the best interests of your ‘corporation’ too. 

Be kind to yourself. Research before you buy…. and for goodness sake, find a company worthy of your trust. Your health depends on it! 

Hugs and Love, Liz

#knowbetterdobetter
#thisiswhyIdowhatIdo

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Whoops…We Did It Again(smh)

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Yesterday, while at work in the pharmacy, we got official word of a voluntary recall on several brands of valsartan containing medications. A voluntary recall means that the drug company requests that products be pulled from the pharmacy shelves, and selling of that product cease immediately until new product is issued. It does not extend to the consumer level. You can read more about the recall itself here.

Recalls like this happen every so often in pharmacy, and are not usually call for alarm unless it happens to be one that extends to the customer level (not the case this time). That said, media caught wind of it and began reporting on the recall, causing fear and worry amongst customers who are on this particular blood pressure medication. I began and ended my pharmacy day yesterday fielding these many calls from customers who were fearful of continuing their medication even one more day, now that this information was known. 

Once you know something, you can’t un-know it.

The cause of the recall? It became known that one of the ingredients used in this particular medication is a ‘probable’ cancer causing agent.  (Ironically, one of the people I spoke to was a smoker. SMH!) Now, before you start calling your pharmacy wondering what you are supposed to do if you are on valsartan,  let’s take a look at the facts:

  1. Right or wrong, the alleged ingredient has been in the medication since at least 2015.
  2. The recall is not at the customer level (meaning that the situation has not given the FDA cause to issue a recall on dispensed medication too).  In fact, this statement was issued by the FDA: “Because valsartan is used in medicines to treat serious medical conditions, patients taking the recalled valsartan-containing medicines should continue taking their medicine until they have a replacement product.”
  3. “Probable” cancer causing agents should be fully excluded from our daily lives, but sadly they are everywhere you turn. The FDA and the EPA turn a blind eye daily as companies pump probable (and known) cancer causing agents into the environment, our homes, our food and drinking water, AND our personal care products. It’s no wonder that the cancer rate in the United States has skyrocketed since the 1950’s.

Visit the American Cancer Society website, you’ll see a list of  these ‘probable  (and known) cancer causing agents’ that people unwittingly use and allow into their lives.

Once you know something, you can’t un-know it.

I would advise stopping reading now if you want to remain blissfully unaware, because I’m about to give you the lowdown on just a few items on the FDA/EPA list.

Seriously. Stop now. 

Here are just a few offenders from the long list:

Giving you examples of known and probable carcinogens could easily consume my day, because this list just goes on and on and on.…… and ultimately I will bore you to tears (or wake you up to what you likely have in your home).  

I’m hoping by now you see my frustration in yesterday’s moment of media hyped hysteria over the valsartan recall. Of course it should have been recalled, but friends…… we have much larger fish to fry if we are going to worry about this.

I would venture to guess that each person I spoke to about the recall yesterday has more than 100+ known carcinogenic products in their home and garage that they willingly (but perhaps unwittingly) choose to expose themselves to on a daily basis.

SMH.

If you didn’t listen to me, and read this post to completion, you’ve got some decisions to make. What you can’t choose tho, is to now ‘un-know what you now know‘. Knowing gives you personal responsibility for the skin in the game (your own) and begs the next question….. what are you going to do about it?

Reality is this:  It’s not possible to avoid every carcinogenic or body damaging product out there, but there IS so much we CAN do to avoid the majority of them within our own home. There are also many ways to encourage detoxification of the body cheaply, effectively, and holistically.

If this post has you thinking that maybe it is time to wake up and clean up, I’d encourage you to start small in big ways. Get the ‘standard’ household cleaners out of your home…. one by one. When you run out of a product, don’t buy that junk again. Consider switching to Thieves Cleaner (a completely healthy way to clean).

Get the candles and formaldehyde laced air fresheners out of your home, and replace them with healthy diffusers. I promise…. you’ll sleep better, be happier, have fewer headaches, and….. if you diffuse the right oils, you’ll even boost your immune system and provide positive emotional support. This trumps possible and probable carcinogenic loaded products any day. Science backs this ya’ll….. as a pharmacist, I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t.

The cosmetic industry is rife with concerning chemicals. Use up what you have, but as you get close to needing more, consider ‘clean’ skin care and makeup. Yes, it does exist. I’d love to send you a few samples of whatever you’d like to see or try that is not only beautiful, but also loaded with health promoting ingredients. Ever heard of Savvy Minerals? If not, you are missing out.

This is one of the (many) things I love about Young Living. They stand in the gap for us where other companies do not. Scouring labels for toxins was time consuming and the print is small and fine (purposefully I think). I know I am taken care of safely with whatever I purchase for my family and our farm, and that we are taking personal responsibility for us….. because clearly, the governmental entities, are not doing enough of it.

If you’d like to learn more about living a more carcinogenic free life, please feel free to private message me. 

I am not perfect in my walk, but I’ve done it now for much of my adult life and would be happy to walk with you as you begin your journey. It’s never too late to start.

Hugs and love  ~ Liz


​References:

fda article
freeethoughtproject-baby powder
fda harmful ingredintst tables
poison papers
nbc news – chemicals cause cancer

Equipped and Called

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Have you ever felt like you were at a crossroads in your life? I’m not talking about a midlife crisis, but rather something bigger and more profound.

About 3 years ago, we took a pretty long road trip to pick up a bull in a remote (VERY REMOTE) area in West Texas. I mean…… drive to the very edge of civilization and then head 3 hours further…..the kind of remote that requires a physical map instead of cell phone/ GPS service. Without a map or good navigational tools, you’re sunk kind of remote. As you might guess, we confidently drove down the road….. in the wrong direction because we thought we knew where we were going. It cost us about 3 extra hours that day. We were reminded the value of an old school map and a dose of intuition!

This kind of parallels the last 15+ years of my life. I have been a pharmacist since 1991. I graduated, and like most health professionals…. upon graduation…… was pretty sure I had a really good grasp of the profession. I’m not saying I was God’s gift to pharmacy (hardly!), but I certainly thought I knew enough to make a difference in people’s lives. I toodled along in pharmacy doing the absolute best job I could do (because that’s my nature….. never tackle anything halfway).

When I was in my 30’s I thought we were living the dream. Charlie and I both had good jobs, had bought our farm, and had begun building our home (by hand, ourselves…. because that’s how we do things…. with all our heart and soul). We worked super hard…. 40-60 hrs a week at our respective jobs and then swung hammers and wielded paint brushes on nights and weekends for about 3 years before completing our home. It was somewhere during that time that I broke my wrist, was subsequently diagnosed with osteopenia , and both Charlie and I were diagnosed with high cholesterol.  In hindsight, that broken wrist was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I won’t go into great detail (you can read more about that journey here and the second half here), but it was a big fat hairy road sign to stop and assess what I thought I knew.

That broken wrist reopened a different avenue of education for me…. only this time, it was not subsidized by the pharmaceutical industry and there was some skin in the game…. my own. When you are a pharmacist, you’re in the business of knowing side effects of meds. The good news is…. you know the potential side effects. The bad news is…. you know the potential side effects. I wasn’t willing to go down that road given the med options they were dangling in front of me. My gut said no way, and once my research started it changed my life forever. It all began with raw milk. From there, my research extended into finding access to truly healthy and healing foods. Each time I thought I knew enough, I found that more pieces to health puzzles were MIA…. not just my puzzle, but everyone else’s too.

About the same time, I went to work at a pharmacy that specialized in rare diseases, oncology, auto-immune disorders, and infertility (which frequently has an auto-immune component). Sadly, this pharmacy represented the outcome of people living in toxin filled environments. Silly me. I still thought I was helping people. I guess I was. Kindness matters, especially when you are dealing with life altering body dysfunctions….. but kindness and pharmaceuticals don’t dissolve the problems these patients face every day.

Another personal puzzle piece fell into place after I was diagnosed with something called interstitial cystitis and discovered (after 9 years of no REM sleep and frequent trips to the bathroom), that it could be managed well with a fresh and healthy, but limited, diet. Expensive medication and daily catheterization are the common treatments. Ummm, no thank you. I would later learn that IC is part of the autoimmune disorder family. Not surprisingly, approximately 1 in 5 adults in the USA are card carrying autoimmune disorder patients. I had been given my card.

Eight years ago, my dad was diagnosed with dementia. It made no sense to me and we had no family history of dementia. I backtracked the onset to a statin drug (commonly prescribed for high cholesterol). In the finest of the fine print of this class of drugs you will find information alluding to possible memory loss with these drugs. Dig deeply and you’ll find it. I thank God for leading me to raw milk to lower my cholesterol instead of that which stole my dad’s memory. I don’t blame the pharmaceutical industry for burying the whole ‘memory loss’ side effect in the fine print. I mean, would you want to take a drug that could potentially rob you of your memory as a side effect? Ummmm, no thank you.

By now, I’ve truly begun second guessing pharmaceuticals. I began educating myself on everything I could get my hands on that gave honest and documented proof that maybe what I knew wasn’t EVERYTHING…… that perhaps there were some gaps in my education and knowledge base. I dug deep deep deep into gut health and discovered the link to most autoimmune disorders. I studied sleep patterns, herbs, thyroid and hormones. I picked up yoga and began healing my posture and my stress level. That led to my recent certification (7 years later) as a Christian yoga instructor. ​

I had a life changing accident 3 years ago this week, and (eventually… after a 3 month recovery) walked out of it when I should have been an amputee. Last week I walked a 37 minute 5K with many close friends. Thank God.  Despite the severity of my injury, I have no pain day to day and am not on any medication. I’ve got oils, supplements and a little thing called Dolphin MPS that rocked my recovery world so much so that I decided to begin taking classes so that I could help others as I was helped…. another tool in my toolbox that wasn’t related to pharmacy.

The last 18 years, by serendipity or Divine design (I believe the latter), I have been gathering tools to help people (myself included) heal physically and emotionally. What had started out as a mission to care for myself and my family gradually extended to include friends and strangers who have become dear friends. The more truth in healing I gleaned, the more uncomfortable I became in my white lab coat. Back in the day, we took an oath to do no harm (that oath has been changed and no longer includes that phrase).

Once you know something, you can’t unknow it.

I have grown uncomfortable in my pharmacist skin (and coat)….. able to speak only truths that are approved talking points regulated by the pharmaceutical industry.

Once I found that there are better, safer, more life sustainable ways to heal, it became harder and harder to deny people access to these opportunities in wellness……. because they exist for the taking.  

Every day, people make unconscious choices that affect their health….. making poor food choices, drinking chemically treated water, watching too much media and not exercising enough…. taking meds without researching them thoroughly first. They think a pill will solve their ills. I’m here to tell you that medications are simply adding to the already hefty toxin load within all of us. The heavier the load, the sicker the individual.

I’ve had several people in the last many months call me a healer. I don’t claim that moniker. I feel more like a shepherd, leading those who are thirsty to a safe place to drink, eat, and rest. It gives me great peace, and it makes my heart sing a song it’s never sung before.

I have straddled both worlds now for many years, and being true to myself is becoming increasingly difficult despite the six figure income that comes with the white coat. I fill prescriptions for people I have grown to love in the community, knowing that they can be helped in other ways that actually heal. I respect my duty as a pharmacist and do not step outside that boundary……but I feel God’s hand firmly on my back telling me to Go. Do. Become. Shepherd those I send your way. 

Really God?

Yes. Really.

And so I prayed. “Lord, if it is your will, send me those who need me.”  I began praying this daily about 5 months ago. God has a sense of humor. I’m sure of it. About a month ago, I had to alter my prayer a tiny bit. ” Lord, if it is your will, can I have a little breather so I can adequately help those you sent so far? ” God is so very good.

I would have never in a million years guessed that I would step away from pharmacy more than halfway thru my career.  Pharmacy has taught me so much. Perhaps most importantly, it has given me the gift of scientific discernment: the ability to understand fact from fiction or skewed data.

When I was a young pup out of pharmacy school, I thought my life was set on auto pilot. I couldn’t have been more wrong. God took me down a completely different path, guiding me and giving me tools along the way: pharmacy, nutrition, exercise, yoga, health coaching, scientific based knowledge of essential oils, supplements, and herbs, Dolphin MPS, and most importantly the empathy acquired from personal experiences.

God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.

Here’s to the journey! I can’t wait to see what the second half of my life holds.

Hugs and love, Liz

PS: I am not completely stepping away from the pharmacy just yet. You will still see me in a white coat one or two days a week.

Ticked Off

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Years ago, we discovered guineas as a pest control option. Initially, we got them because grasshoppers can be such an issue around here that gardening can be a challenge.  We later discovered that they are also an incredible resource for controlling fleas and ticks. Both of these parasites can be the nemesis to anyone with furry pets, and if you live in the country, they can be especially problematic.

It has been years since I’ve even considered ticks as an issue because we’ve managed our property so well with these birds. Enter Daisy….. our dog we acquired thru adoption last year. No fence will hold Daisy in; she flies over a 5 foot fence with relative ease. Because of her genetic predisposition (she is a border collie / great Pyr cross) she has a strong drive to guard. The perimeter she has chosen includes high grass areas not patrolled by our tick eating fowl. Consequently, ticks have become an issue as we work to protect her (and us) from this disease-laden parasite.

I’ve heard from other sources that this is a particularly bad year in our area for ticks…….the vector to blame for transmitting several diseases, including Lyme disease, and (the new kid on the block)… a tick bite that can make you allergic to red meat. Treatment with antibiotics (for Lyme) is generally effective if caught quickly, but frequently, people get diagnosed much later after the initial tick bite…. and this can lead to lifelong health problems. You can read more about Lyme Disease here, or the tick bite induced meat allergy here.

Everyone’s situation is different, but I thought I’d give some practical tips on protecting yourself and your pets from these little vampires.

*If you live in the country, consider getting some guineas (If you are nearby, I’ve got plenty of adult birds right now, and will donate to your cause).

*Keep your property mowed. If you are like us, it’s not always possible to have your entire property mowed because of the size or terrain involved.

*Keep your pets clean, and consider adding some Cedarwood essential oil to their shampoo as a natural deterrent.

​*In tick prone areas, make sure you are wearing long sleeves, long pants, and tucked in clothing. Wear a ball cap/hat to prevent ticks from dropping onto your head (they do fall from trees too).

​*If you are an avid outdoor guy/gal, grab some safe bug repellent (one without toxins).  Young Living makes a fantastic insect repellent that is incredibly effective.  I have found that a quarter sized amount placed strategically on the neck, wrists, and ankles does a stellar job of warding off biting pests. Benefits include:

  • Repels mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas naturally with 99 percent active ingredients, plus 1 percent vitamin E
  • Formulated with essential oils traditionally recommended for their bug-repellent properties
  • Made with 100 percent naturally derived, plant-based ingredients
  • Formulated without DEET, parabens, fillers, phthalates, petrochemicals, animal-derived ingredients, synthetic preservatives, synthetic fragrances, or synthetic colorants
  • Rubs easily into skin without a greasy or sticky finish
  • Hypoallergenic
  • Pure, gentle formula free from synthetic chemicals
  • Appropriate for use on children
  • Vegan friendly

​*Watch for ticks throughout the day, but especially before bathing… being sure to check all nooks and crannies! If you’ve been in a tick infested area, put clothing directly into the washing machine. After washing, dry on high heat for at least 60 minutes to ensure death of any wee little hitchhiking varmints.
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If you find that you have been bitten by a tick…. do not panic! Simply remove the tick. Use a pair of tweezers and pull gently, making sure you also remove the biting part of the tick. I’ve read many discussions on using a drop of essential oil directly on the tick to force tick to back out. It is a firestorm discussion with opinions on both sides. I would feel comfortable using this removal technique, but please do your own research!

Once you’ve removed the tick, you’ve got a few options….. but DO NOT DESTROY THE EVIDENCE! Tick testing is ‘a thing’ now…. so you can always send it off, but testing sites do not claim 100% accuracy and it’s about 50$ per tick. If you choose to hang on to the little offender instead of sending its carcass off, put it in a baggie or small jar and throw it in the freezer for safekeeping….. just in case you have some weird symptoms that show up weeks/months later. That tick might come in handy for a proper diagnosis…. after all, these critters can give you a loading dose of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa… the likes of which we do NOT want. This brings me to the last point….. immune support.

​Whenever I know that I am entering an environment loaded with ick, I always back up my immune system. Examples: flu season at work, every time I hop on a plane (1 out of every 5 people get off a plane with a new ‘souvenir’ they’ve acquired from recycled airplane air), or times when I am under abnormal stress/lack of sleep. I would list a tick bite as a time when immune support should occur….. after all, there is a lot of potential ‘ick’ in tick.

My two ‘go to’ products for immune support are Inner Defense, and Immupro. I use Immupro for daily immune support (taken at night before bed), and then reserve the big guns…. Inner Defense….when I feel I need to kick it up a notch.  (Helpful hint: be sure to have some fatty food in your stomach when you take an Inner Defense… it does not do well on an empty stomach).

Truly tho, the best defense is a good offense….. which brings me back to my guineas, and the fact that I need to rehome some of my prolific pest patrollers…. Any of my local peeps want some? I’m your (farm)girl!

Hugs and love, Liz

It’s Not Just the Water

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We’ve lived on our farm for nearly 24 years. When we first moved here, our hometown, Anna, Texas was population 900. Today, I believe it is pushing 10,000. Although we’ll likely never move, we’ve learned some valuable lessons about buying property, utility companies, and government. All these things would play a part in a ‘do over’ if that were possible in life.
​
Little towns everywhere (but especially those within an hour or so of booming metroplexes) are frequently the assailed and hostaged of the aforementioned entities. Things happen. Deals are made behind closed doors. Money exchanges hands. The voices are too few to fight back. In a town of 900, those who try to fight are easily outnumbered by big business and big government. It is tragic. There is a difference between growth and what I can only call a hostile takeover of urban life. Residents in small town USA bear the brunt of the outcome. 

​In the last 24 years we have fought:

  • Enormous power lines delivering power to other cities, all while emitting dangerous levels of EMF’s to those who are forced to live close to them due to eminent domain laws.  These laws allow the power company to place these things on private citizen property). We’ve fought this battle more than once.
  • An enormous landfill (aka: The Dump). This was a long hard and lost battle with the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD). The deal was done and small towns in our area were dealt a blow once again. It wasn’t even our trash…. it is trash from Dallas and other surrounding large cities. A back door deal that eventually landed a local mayor in jail a few years back when it all came out. Too late tho. The deal was done.
  • And now, the water. Thankfully, our personal water supply does not come from this company (Is it any coincidence that the same company manages both water and trash?) ….. but I work and serve people within our community who have been deeply impacted. Groups of us have attempted to speak against the water quality for months (if not years), and have been hushed, pacified, and condescended to. I spoke at a city council meeting many months ago regarding the impact that I,  as a pharmacist, saw on local resident’s health. Anna, Texas truly is one of the most nauseous towns (I mean this literally) I’ve ever filled prescriptions for. I determined years ago, that it had to be the water. No other explanation fit. Local Facebook groups had long discussions about it… but still nothing was done.

Last week, Erin Brockovich (yes, that one!) drew the NTMWD into the spotlight for the quality of water it has been delivering to its people. Hundreds upon thousands of families. No longer is this a small town situation. Thank God. I’ve seen mention more than once that Anna, Texas might be of particular concern.

If you’d like to read more about this particular fight, please read on here.

Suddenly, we have thousands of people interested and concerned about their health and their personal safety. We are such a litigious society these days….. it’s so easy to place blame for woes we have (on others) without giving due introspection on how we ourselves have played a part.

Friends, the water quality is important and we do need to fight it hard…. but it is a ‘drop in the bucket’ (excuse the pun) when you look at the bigger picture. The chemicals in the water are causing rashes and other health concerns. This is truth ya’ll, and unfortunately, we have no choice but to use the water that is supplied to each of us.

I know thousands of families in this area buy and drink bottled water to circumvent the crummy tap water, but this still leaves themselves exposed to the SAME chemicals when they take a shower or bath.  Our skin is not like saran wrap…. keeping everything out. On the contrary…. it is our largest organ and absorbs chemicals like a sponge. (Precisely the reason that drugs applied topically have a systemic effect! ).

Now, here comes the self introspective part of this post that may hurt a little …. people are squealing about the water quality…. which we pay for and have no choice but to allow into our homes…..But what about the items we DO have the choice on what we do or don’t bring into our homes? These things cause equal damage (if not greater)…. and yet you may unconsciously do this every day.

Toxic words to look for in your products:
Fragrance (about 300 chemicals hide behind that word)
Dyes of any sort (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green)
SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate) 

This is only 3 in a LOOOONG list of harmful chemicals that are in nearly all standard body care products.

We point fingers at the water company who is doing us wrong , but we may also need to begin to take a close look at ourselves too ….. are we grabbing things at the store that are also causing insidious damage? Just because it’s for sale, doesn’t mean it’s safe……. case and point with our water source.  Our government does not do an adequate job of regulating chemicals in our country…. again… just look at this water situation.

I know many of my friends have also realized this over the years and now make conscious decisions when buying products…. whether that be food, house cleaning supplies, or personal care products.

The problem, is that now we have companies who operate on subterfuge to sell…. they brand themselves as ‘healthy alternatives’ but then slip in damaging chemicals. One bad apple  then spoils the barrel. Take a look at this article by Food Babe (one of my vocal heroes) on the company LUSH as an example: https://foodbabe.com/lush-bath-bombs-not-think/…… and DANG, their products aren’t cheap ($8.95 for a bath bomb?)

I put my pharmacist detective hat on each time I look at a product… and for a long time, that made shopping incredibly time consuming. Over 4 years ago, I found Young Living, and quit reading labels. Originally, it was about the incredible health properties of their oils (because I believe in doing life’s ups and downs naturally instead of with man made chemicals), but YL has evolved into my ‘everything company’. I pretty much just shop once a month for TRULY non-toxic body care products and household cleaning supplies (and yes, they have bath bombs that actually have heal-th benefits, smell great, and cost less than Lush’s… or, you can make your own if you are a DIY’er for even cheaper!).

diy shower bombs

People argue that living healthy is expensive, but I would argue that just the opposite is true. Studies have found that people spend (on average) 16x more on their health on the backside (when all heck has broken out in your body), versus taking care of things up front by eliminating toxic chemicals, exercising, eating right, etc. Our environment really does determine (90%) our health outcome, and we have to take some personal responsibility for creating that environment.

 I see the ramifications of NOT doing these things every day I work at the pharmacy and it breaks my heart.  It is the reason I have slowly stepped back (not yet completely away) from pharmacy and looked toward ways to help people become whole again. Dolphin MPS, Health Coaching, Christian Yoga teacher training, Young Living product education, other holistic modalities…. all of this. The need for repair in our bodies is HUGE and we need more people being part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

But it starts with what we choose to allow into our own homes …. and that starts with us as individuals…. you and me.

If you aren’t sure where to start, reach out to someone you know who is already walking this path. We all had someone lead us initially too, and I don’t know any one who isn’t happy to share tips and life hacks on how to live a healthier life.

To learn more about the personal care products that Young Living offers, you can take a gander at my Young Living store.

Even our makeup usually contains ‘dirty’ ingredients. Young Living has that covered as well.

Be Well my friends  ~

Hugs and love, Liz
#itstartswithpersonalchoice
#todaysthedaytobeginmakingchanges

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