For the Health of It: Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are a wonderful source of B vitamins, many minerals, including zinc, and essential fatty acids. They contain hormone building elements.The oils in these seeds not only support normal sexual function (see my video on the High Libido Diet), but also help protect against heart disease. They have traditionally been used for porstate disorders. They supply a safe and natural source of tryptophan. These seeds are anti-parasitic as well.

Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of unsaturated fatty acids: oleic fatty acids as well as omega 3 and omega 6. Oleic acid has strong beautifying properties. The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant omega 3 fatty acids are great for the body too.

The zinc found in pumpkin seeds can help with skin conditions including warts and acne. Zinc helps improve the ability to smell and taste and promote digestion. Because of the high levels of zinc along with being rich in magnesium pumpkin seeds are a wonderful food for the prostate. Chronic prostate inflammation is linked to a lack of dietary zinc and in Germany pumpkin seeds are an approved treatment for benign prostatic hypertrophy (Fortschritte er Medizin, 1996, vol.10)

Pumpkin seeds are a true aphrodisiac, because, in men, they pump the prostate full of zinc, build seminal fluid and increase sperm count. In women they build hormones and build sexual fluids.



Raw pumpkin sees are on of the best sources of tryptophan. Tryptophan works with zinc to improve one's mood and increase levels of serotonin in the brain which helps alleviate depression and stress.

To eat pumpkin seeds to get rid of parasites eat a handful of raw seeds twice a day on an empty stomach for one week and then take a week off and then repeat this process again for another week. If eaten with garlic, pumpkin seeds are even more effective. The amino acid cucurbitin in pumpkin seeds is likely responsible for this anti-parasitic effect. Cucurbitin is believed to paralyze worms causing them to loosen their grip and then allowing them to be expelled from the body.

Because of the healthy goodness that can come from pumpkin seeds I feel I have to let you know that there are no known side effects or reports of toxicity regarding pumpkin seeds so eat your heart's desire!

Passion is in the Sacral Chakra

The Sacral Chakra is your passion and pleasure center and it is located in the pelvic area above the root chakra, below the belly button. While the Root Chakra is satisfied with survival, the 2nd chakra seeks pleasure and enjoyment.

The gift of this chakra is experiencing our lives through feelings and sensations. When balanced, the second chakra is the center of feeling, emotion, pleasure, sensuality, intimacy, creativity, friendliness and connection.

The main challenge for the second chakra is the conditioning of our society. When the sacral chakra is not balanced we can have trouble handling our emotions. We live in a society where feelings are not valued, where passion, and emotional reactions are being frowned upon. We are being taught not to "lose control". And we get disconnected from our bodies and our feelings.

As if this was not enough, we also experience the wounds of our collective cultural struggles over many sexual issues of our society. On one hand sexuality is magnified and glorified, and on the other hand it is rejected. This results in either blocked or excessive second chakra issues.

The sacral chakra is related to feelings of guilt and kidneys, constipation, muscle spasms, bladder, and large intestine. Carnelian agate, tiger’s eye, and orange calcite can help balance this chakra. The sacral chakracise are pelvic thrusts upward for at least 15 seconds and then circular in the clockwise direction and then counterclockwise, then clockwise again for at least 45 seconds.



Deep Blue is an amazing oil for the sacral chakra! It was developed for sore muscles, aches and pains and since a blocked sacral chakra can cause muscle spasms when I started using Deep Blue to open up the sacral chakra I was getting amazing results! The Wintergreen, Camphor, Peppermint, Blue Tansy, German Chamomile, Helichrysum, and Osmanthus oils found in Deep Blue work together as the perfect soothing blend.

Affirmations can also help. They can be said at any time of day and used with Emotional Freedom Technique.


Sacral Chakra Affirmation

I am creating a life
That has an ebb and flow
Allowing me to grow
Into the individual I AM.
A person of immeasurable value,
comfortable with others and able to assert
my passions without manipulating
and stealing power.
Comfortable in my own skin I express
creatively who I am.
I accept your appreciation and nurturing of
me as I do for you in a healthy relationship.
Oh when I go the other way and fight the
flow to get my way I suffer so from guilt and
shame and have to find an addiction to blame.
No, I will go with the flow and let go of the
need to control, I will let go of the past,
I do not need all the drama to last.
I will take the passage within creating a life
of magical moments for us to share.

Best Shower Filter Uses Vitamin C

When I detox patients from chlorine or lead one of my suggestions to stop such toxicity is to get a shower filter. Shower filters are especially needed if I find the chlorine or lead is bothering the patient's skin or hair. I used to tell patients to go to Home Depot or just buy one online thinking that they were all pretty similar doing the same job until recently. I am lucky enough to have a chlorine filter on the main line of my house so all water coming into the house is chlorine free and I know that the house does not use lead pipes so all my water is chlorine and lead free. But it was recently brought to my attention for patients who don't have that option due to living in apartments there are many types of shower filters and my research has led me to suggest that the best one out there is the Sonaki shower filter. It works by the antioxidant power of vitamin C. Vitamin C is the most effective and efficient chlorine and chloramine filtration media on the market.

Sonaki Vitamin C shower filters are lab tested and proven to neutralize 99.9% of the harmful chlorine and chloramine toxins from your shower water! Sonaki shower filter cartridges are composed of 100% organic, pharmaceutical grade Vitamin C. It has 60 days return policy so that if for some reason you don't like it you can get 100% refund. So there is no risk in trying it. Even though the website doesn't say anything about filtering out lead I have never had Sonaki shower water test for lead energy. You can even bring in the shower water to get tested to make sure your body likes it. Shower filters really help patients suffering with hair loss, eczema, psoriasis, asthma, dry skin and irritated, itchy skin.

Emotional Freedom Technique

I have blogged about balancing the body's energy centers, also known as chakras, to help with both emotional and physical ailments. This week I want to write about another technique used to balance patients' physical and emotional energy. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as tapping, uses acupuncture points, that when tapped can help people release emotional and physical stress in the body. By applying pressure to the acupuncture points, EFT works on the meridians of the body to release emotional energy and because emotional stress can impede the natural healing of the body, once blocked energy is released, physical issues, chronic pain, or diagnosed conditions can get better.

EFT started in the 1990s by Gary Craig. To watch a video of him explaining it.

EFT can be explained in these simple steps
1. Identify the Issue:
Make a mental note of what is bothering you. This becomes the target at which you "aim" the EFT Tapping Basic Recipe. Examples might be: Sore shoulder, my father embarrassing me at my age 8 birthday party or doing well on a test. Be sure you are only targeting one issue at a time. As you will learn later, trying to combine issues in the process will compromise your results.
2. Test the Initial Intensity:

Here you establish a before level of the issue's intensity by assigning a number to it on a 0-10 scale where 10 is the worst the issue has ever been and 0 is no problem whatsoever. This serves as a benchmark so we can compare our progress after each round of The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe. If, for example, we start at an 8 and eventually reach a 4, then we know we have achieved a 50% improvement.

For emotional issues, you can recreate the memories in your mind and assess their discomforts.
For physical ailments you can simply assess the existing pain or discomfort.
For performance issues you can attempt the desired performance level and measure how close you come to it.

3. The Setup:

The Setup is a process we use to start each round of Tapping. By designing a simple phrase and saying it while continuously Tapping a point that is located at the center of the fleshy part of the outside of your hand (either hand) between the top of the wrist and the base of the baby finger. In this way you let your system know what you’re trying to address.

When designing this phrase there are two goals to achieve:

1) acknowledge the problem
2) accept yourself in spite of it

We do this by saying:

“Even though I have this _______________, I deeply and completely love and accept myself”.

The blank above represents the problem you want to address, so you can just insert things like:

This headache:
“Even though I have this headache, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

This fear of heights
“Even though I have this fear of heights, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

             

4. The Sequence:

This is the workhorse part of The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe that stimulates/balances the body's energy pathways. To perform it, you tap each of the points below while saying a Reminder Phrase that keeps your system tuned into the issue. I list the points below followed by a description of the Reminder Phrase:

Top of the Head (TOH)
Beginning of the Eyebrow (EB)
Side of the Eye (SE)
Under the Eye (UE)
Under the Nose (UN)
Chin Point (CH)
Beginning of the Collarbone (CB)
Under the Arm (UA)

The Reminder Phrase is quite simple as you need only identify the issue with some brief wording. Depending on your issue, you might say the following at each tapping point....

"This headache",
"My father embarrassed me",
"This difficulty in singing that high note."

5. Test the Intensity Again:

Finally, you establish an "after" level of the issue's intensity by assigning a number to it on a 0-10 scale. You compare this with the before level to see how much progress you have made. If you are not down to zero then repeat the process until you either achieve zero or plateau at some level.

Sometimes we are highly aware of what is bothering us and so figuring out what phrase to tap is easy but at other times it can be difficult. Since I believe this is a strong tool to help heal I have seen where a patient picks the wrong phrase of words to tap and so EFT actually has a negative impact on the patient. So to help prevent this I muscle test the chakras first and then depending on the chakra that is weak find a positive affirmation that makes the weak chakra change to strong. Then while tapping the patient is to say that affirmation at every point to help reset the chakra energy. Patient repeated report feeling lighter, breathing easier and physical relief after tapping this way.


The Root Chakra

The root chakra is red in color and is located at your lower pelvis . It is the root of your being and establishes the deepest connections with your physical body, your environment and the Earth. It is the most instinctual of all chakras — it is your survival center.


Chakras are energy centers of the body and can be either open or closed. When the root chakra is closed the energy is blocked and a person will experience fear, anxiety, insecurity, frustration, obesity, anorexia, or problems in the hip, legs, low back, knee or sex organs.



Having an open root chakra is about being physically present and such is needed in order to manifest what you want. It will be extremely hard to manifest what you want with a blocked root chakra because you aren't grounded enough with the physical world to make it happen.

When the root chakra is blocked one may not feel grounded. Expressions like "getting on your feet again" or "be on firm ground" convey a good connection with the ground or an open root chakra. "To lose ground" or "getting swept off your feet" convey a blocked root chakra.

When you aren't feeling grounded to help open up the root chakra you can wiggle your toes, stomp feet, march in place or do squats. It is best to do these chakracises with bare feet and on a wood floor. The wood contact is very grounding. When doing root chakracises have your attention on the root chakra, doing them fives times is sufficient.

Earthing pads may help one stay grounded as well. And rocks are said to have special energy characteristics. Rocks that will help open the root chakra are granite, smoky quartz, obsidian, and black tarmuline. When using rocks they don't necessarily have to be placed in the chakra but somewhere on your body or near it is good. Keeping one in your pocket where ever you go is a good idea. Wearing the color red will also help. 



Essential oils are great for opening up blocked energy. Balance is what I use for the root chakra. The warm, woody aroma of Balance, dōTERRA®'s grounding blend, creates a sense of calm and well-being. It contains Spruce needle/leaf, Ho wood, Frankincense, Blue Tansy Flower and Blue Chamomile Flower essential oils in a base of Fractionated Coconut Oil to offer an enticing fragrance which promotes tranquility and a sense of balance for the root chakra.


Root Chakra Affirmation

I belong where I was born
I belong to the family I chose
I needed to learn from them and them from me
I belong in this school of life
I thank you for lessons learned and those to come
I now choose to move up
I have decided to belong inside of me
vibrating in unison with my perfect self

How Salvestrols Save Lives From Cancer

I have been doing a lot of research lately on Salvestrols which are special compounds in plants (phytochemicals) that can help fight abnormal cell growth. In this way they are good for cancer patients and also cancer prevention. I am all about prevention! I am about healthcare not disease-care. May the next generation know cancer as we know the common cold.

The most well known Salvestrol is resveratrol. Resveratrol is known to be found in the skin of grapes, blueberries and raspberries. Resveratrol hit the supplement world pretty big and patients will still come in with their antioxidant supplement that contains resveratrol but since 2014 there has been evidence that it has limited health effects in humans. This led me to do my own research and figure out if salvestrols really do help.

The human cell has enzymes that help it detox on a daily basis. These enzymes are called Cytrochrome P450 enzymes, otherwise known as CYP (pronounced as 'sip'). To date, there are 57 CYP enzymes. Of these 57 CYP enzymes the one you need to know about is CYP1B1 (pronounced 'sip one be one'). This one is special. This one is only found in cancer cells and not in healthy cells.

Why is this important? Because all cancer treatment, chemotherapy and radiation, kill all cells and the doctors hope it kills all cancer cells and not all healthy cells and the patient lives. But if we find something that targets the CYP1B1 enzyme then it will only target cancer cells and the patient has a higher survival rate!

There is a compound, called Stilserene (developed by Gerry Potter PhD.), that is currently being worked on that targets the CYP1B1 enzyme. In laboratory testing Stilserene (think of it as synthetic Salvestrol) was effective in killing 95% of the cancer cells tested. This test included cancers that were resistant to other treatments including stomach, colon, lung, breast and brain cancer cells while having no damage to healthy cells!

When I first started reading about the CYP1B1 enzyme I thought it was only in cancer cells because it was something 'bad' the defective cell was making but Gerry Potter is a genius and figured out that the cancer cells were making the enzyme to try to protect itself and if you add resveratrol to CY1B1 you get piceatannol which is an anticancer agent! Yet studies were conducted that showed if you increased the amount of resveratrol given then the mechanism of producing piceatannol was shut off. This makes resveratrol of minimal use as cancer therapy because it would be difficult to determine how much is too much that would lead to shutting off the mechanism.

But what Professor Potter did find was certain compounds in plants called phytoalexins. Phytoalexins are part of a plant's natural immune system. Phytoalexins that create anticancer compounds through their metabolism by CYP1B1 he coined 'Salvestrols'.

Unfortunately there is no Salvestrol supplement out there yet. I feel like this research has not been translated to the supplement world. But it does explain why the Gerson Therapy Diet works so well for cancer patients and why a diet high in fruits and vegetables is so healthy. So again, your mother was right, eat your vegetables! Next week I will post the fruits and vegetables highest in Salvestrols.

Stop a Cold Before it Starts

You've been there. Adults average 2-4 colds a year that last about 7 days. So don't let your sniffle or slight cough turn into something big that lasts a week. My favorite things to take when starting to feel under the weather are Immuplex and Antronex by Standard Process. Every medicine cabinet should have one. If your medicine cabinet doesn't have them start with these steps until your next appointment:

1. Pop zinc. Research shows taking zinc within a day of your first symptoms can reduce both their severity and duration. Taking a zinc supplement regularly can help, too.




2. Then destress. When you’re under stress, your immune system ends up under-reacting to viral and bacterial infections. Stress goes up, immune system goes down. Use lavender essential oil. Rub on wrists or tension headache, bottom of feet when going to bed or even a few drops in your bubble bath.

3. Increase your water intake. Water helps flush out whatever little thing you are fighting so it doesn't become a big thing.

4. Swish. Evidence shows oil pulling helps clean the lymphatic system which helps boost the immune system.

5. Pop a probiotic. In a recent study, probiotic supplements shortened the duration of a cold from 6 days to 4, made symptoms a third less severe, and halved the number of days subjects stayed home.



6. Try an herbal remedy. It wasn't until recently I started using echinacea in the office. I had written it off as most of us had as being ineffective but when I understood that there were different types of echinacea and which one to use I couldn't believe the results patients were getting.

7. Hop on the D train. It seems like no coincidence that colds hit hardest when the sun is lowest. Add vitamin D during cold season to reduce risk and speed recovery.

8. Pause your workout. Regular moderate exercise is best for warding off bugs, research shows. But once you’ve caught a cold, take a rest. You just need to listen to your body. Don’t try to push through it.

9. Get garlic breath. Used as a home remedy for its supposed antimicrobial and antiviral superpowers, garlic hasn’t been formally studied much. However, some evidence shows it may ward off colds. Eat it raw if you can otherwise rush a clove with dinner.


10. Head to bed. Since sleep boosts immune function, that “pre-cold” may be a good indicator that you haven’t been getting enough lately. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people who slept less than 7 hours a night were three times more susceptible to colds than those who slept 8 or more hours per night.