Fluoride Poisoning

What to do About Fluoride Poisoning

You're exposed to fluoride if you taking prescription drugs like Prozac, swim in pools, or sit in hot tubs.  It's in conventional produce like lettuce, and commercial bread and bakery products.  It may be in beverages like iced tea, wine, and beer made with city or town water, or in infant formula.  And of course it's in toothpaste.  It may even sneak into your food from Teflon coated pots and pans. 

Fluoride is a neurotoxin that collects in the brain and spine, increasing the risk of death. Fluoride also calcifies the pineal gland and hardens the arteries.  Fluoride toxicity can also increase the risk of hypothyroidism, reduce infertility, and cause debilitating bone disease. So what can we do about it?

The first thing is to make sure your toothpaste doesn't have fluoride in it.  Toothpaste ingredients will not be found on the tube but on the box when you first bought the toothpaste so it is best to check online for your toothpaste ingredients.

Step two is to filter your water if it isn't well water or drink bottled water.  Brita, Pur and other common filters will NOT remove fluoride.  Reverse osmosis water filters are the best for filtering out fluoride along with chlorine and heavy metals but they also take out trace minerals so be sure to replace with mineral drops or a trace mineral tablet.

If you think you may have fluoride toxicity taking iodine and/or tamarind can help. A study that was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that it can remove risky fluoride deposits from your bones. In the study, researchers discovered that healthy boys who consumed a third of an ounce of the fruit for just 18 days noted significant enhancements in their urinary excretion of fluoride. In another study, boys who were given tamarind to eat for just three weeks noted additional fluoride excretion compared to a control group.

However, tamarind also provides another incredibly useful benefit: It can prevent and alleviate chronic diseases. Tamarind seed extract has been shown to target and kill inflammatory chemicals like interleukin, reducing joint pain, swelling and inflammation. This makes it quite useful or those who suffer from osteoarthritis.

In addition, its rich vitamin C content means it can boost immunity and help detoxify. It’s a good source of potassium, supporting healthy blood pressure, and it also helps prevent heart disease by removing excess LDL cholesterol from the veins and arteries in the body. It also promotes circulation and normalizes the levels of triglycerides in the blood. In addition, it boasts a significant iron content, helping to ward off anemia.

It’s important to note, however, that tamarind can thin your blood, so be careful if you take aspirin or other blood-thinning medications.

According to the Fluoride Action Network, many children now exceed the recommended daily fluoride intake just by using toothpaste. More than 50 studies have linked fluoride to lower IQ in children. If you are worried about fluoride exposure for you and your loved ones, tamarind or iodine could prove to be an essential part of your diet or supplement regiment.  To know for sure it's best to get muscle tested to see specifically what nutrition your body needs.  With the right nutrition the body can detox and heal naturally.

How to Juice

Juicing 101

Juicing is generally used for two different purposes:

• For cleansing or detox: Solid food is eliminated and only juice is consumed as a way to cleanse your body of toxins. Juice cleanses range from 3 days to several weeks in length. Depending on what the goal is I usually only suggest 3-5 days.
• To supplement a normal diet: Fresh juice can be used as a handy supplement to your daily diet, increasing vitamins and minerals intake from fruits and vegetables that you wouldn't otherwise consume. To learn more on supplementing your diet  with celery juice read here. These are two common types of juicers: 
• Centrifugal juicers: These juicers grind fruits and vegetables into pulp through a high-speed spinning action.
• Cold-press juicers: Also called masticating juicers, these crush and press fruits and vegetables much more slowly to get as much juice as possible.
• Cold-press juicers don't produce heat, so they do not cause the breakdown of beneficial enzymes and nutrients that is thought to happen with centrifugal juicers.

I love the following Juicers:
1. Champion
2. Breville's
3. Omega

1. 
   
   If you have thyroid issues,consider blanching kale, Swiss chard or spinach before juicing or simply exchange it for romaine lettuce, celery, or mixed greens in any green drink.
2. If you have been eating a diet rich in sugar, processed food and dairy, then I suggest cleansing your body for a few days and incorporating more vegetables, raw foods, fruits, soups, and reduce the processed foods before you begin your juice cleanse.
   
   When buying your fruit and veggies I do suggest going out of your way to buy only organic.  It would be a shame to do all this hard work of juicing while putting toxins in your body from pesticides. 
   In general, the following "Dirty Dozen Plus" from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic:

• Apples
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Celery
• Peaches
• Spinach
• Sweet bell peppers
• Nectarines (imported)
• Cucumbers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Snap peas (imported)
• Potatoes
  
  Plus these, which may contain organophosphate insecticides, which EWG characterizes as "highly toxic" and of special concern:
  
  
• Hot peppers
• Blueberries (domestic)
  
  Also, be sure to start drinking at least 100 ounces of water 2-3 days prior to cleansing to begin flushing toxins from the body. Increase your water intake to at least one gallon per day during your detox. For extra hydration, particularly if you feel lightheaded, you can, in between juices make and drink a natural Gatorade by adding 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt, 1 tablespoon of honey, and the juice of one lemon to 30 ounces of water.
  Note: If you have candida overgrowth, diabetes, or sugar imbalances, then I encourage you to stick with green juices and not do the fruit juices. Green juice is very powerful for alkalizing the body, and by only juicing greens you are consuming low glycemic juice.
  
  For everyone juicing I suggest juicing 80% vegetables, 20% fruits to keep the fruit sugar low because too much fruit sugar can overwhelm your body and not give you the healthy results you want from a juice cleanse.
  
  It's best to use glass jars to drink and store your juice. This keeps the juice fresh and allows you to avoid leaching (which can occur when using plastic). You can even bring your own glass jars to the store as it's less waste and no leaching! I also recommend stainless steel straws, which you can buy on Amazon. Keep some in your bag or at work—it will also save on waste.
  If you like these tips and want learn more about the health benefits of juicing and detoxing come to this Saturday's workshop on Spring Detox. 

Drinking Olive Oil for Dessert

Drinking Olive Oil for Dessert

Sometimes I recommend drinking a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil with a squeeze of lemon juice after dinner to help the liver detox the daily toxins that built up in the system.  The liver does the majority of its detox work at 11pm-1am.  With the olive oil in your body at that time it helps the liver move the toxins through the gallbladder duct to the large intestine to then be eliminated.

Combining olive oil with lemon helps maintain lubricant for digestive mucus so not only does it help in moving toxins but also helps rid the body of constipation.  The discomfort from the body being toxified can lead to discomfort, and there’s no better cure for that than taking a quick drink of olive oil after dinner. The body has subtle ways of signaling that it is in need of a detox. Signs of this include headaches, slower digestion, and dry mouth. 
Olive oil is another great tool for taking care of the skin and hair. Taking a small drink of olive oil is known to help boost hair growth. The vitamin D and vitamin E contents found in olive oil can help moisturize dry skin. While helping improve the skin cosmetically, it can also help prevent skin cancer. The antioxidant properties of olive oil counter the oxidation of rays from the sun. Studies show that in the Mediterranean region where drinking olive oil is common, only three in every 100,000 residents there get skin cancer.

The idea of consuming olive oil this way comes from the Mediterranean diet, which, despite its share of naysayers, has been found to be effective. Olive oil has an acid called oleic acid, which gives the feeling of fullness and promotes the feeling of satiety.

According to various studies, drinking extra virgin olive oil may prevent the formation of free radicals in the body, and reduce the incidence of colon cancer. This is because olive oil is full of antioxidants.
So now you know! All you need to do, to make the most of this amazing night tonic, is to take the juice of a ripe lemon and add it to a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and drink it up! The better the quality of olive oil, the more beneficial this "dessert" will be for you. 

How Baking Soda Baths Can Help

Baking soda is a mixture of sodium and bicarbonate ions that help remove odor, bacteria and acidity.  Adding 1/4 cup - 2 cups baking soda to a hot bath and soaking anywhere from 10-40 minutes could help your body by giving you detox support or killing candida or bacteria as in a yeast infection or UTI.  If you want extra detox support add 1/2 cup dead sea salts to the bath.  Dead sea salts is higher in trace minerals than Epsom salts.  This higher content of trace minerals makes Dead Sea salts a better option for detox or relaxing sore muscles. 

Always drink plenty of water before taking a baking soda bath to help flush out toxins.  For best detox support you may want to dry brush before the bath.  Dry brushing helps get rid of dead skin cells.  It also helps by opening up your pores to get the most detoxifying and purifying benefits.  Don’t get baking soda mixed up with baking powder.  You want baking soda.  It works so well because it is alkaline and our bodies tend to be too acidic so the alkaline water gets absorbed through the skin and creates a better pH.  It’s good for irritated skin as well.  

When you add the baking soda or salts make sure you swish it around so it dissolves.  I also recommend you rinse with fresh water after the bath to help get rid of toxins and residue.  Also drink more water after the bath as well to replace what was sweated out into the hot water.  

Take a baking soda bath if you want help with 

• Detox
• UTI
• Yeast infection
• Hemorrhoids
• Constipation
• Boost immune system
• Sore muscle relief (combine with Dead Sea Salt)
• Skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, poison ivy, hives, itchiness, etc.  

Be careful and talk to your health care provider before doing a baking soda bath if you have high blood pressure, open wounds, are nursing or pregnant. 

Benefits of Fasting

Why You Shouldn't Eat on Mondays

Fasting is a confusing term.  If you google it there are so many studies promoting it and others that say it doesn't help.  There are also many different ways to fast and figuring out the right way can be really tough.  Depending on what your health goal is I am a fan of intermittent fasting, the type of fasting where you eat for only 8 hours a day.  It's also known as 16:8 and it depends on the person but I usually suggest an eating window to be 11am-7pm.  Read here for more on intermittent fasting (8 Things to Know Before You Try Intermittent Fasting).

I have recently been playing with the idea of taking one day a week to fast.  I have been doing a lot of research and it makes sense for some people to do.  It all depends on what your health goal is but the research shows fasting can hep people lose weight, help lower cholesterol  and lower blood pressure too. 

It works because when you’re not digesting food, your body diverts energy to a process known as autophagy. It’s essentially a means where your body recycles and ditches the junk inside of you that it doesn’t have time to address when you’re digesting food all the time. It helps to regulate hormones, improve blood sugar, and increases a couple different enzymatic processes.  Fasting also has the same impact on your growth hormones as sleep and intense exercise. Studies haven't been done on humans but various animal studies show that fasting helps extend lifespan.  

The most important thing you can do when starting a 1-day fast is to promise yourself you’ll stick with it. You will inevitably experience some discomfort during the fast, and although it’s not insurmountable, it does require some willpower to get past. Commit from the very beginning, and you’ll be going into it with the right mindset. There’s a lot of power in commitment; harness it!
A lot times when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually just thirsty. The simple way to beat this is to drink a lot of water. Water actually curbs your appetite, as it decreases one of your hormones called ghrelin, which tells your brain that you’re hungry. By drinking more water you can quiet that nagging hunger.  Water is your best friend during a 1-day fast.

The health benefits of fasting are extremely appealing, but I do want to stress that fasting isn’t always for everyone. People who suffer from hypoglycemia and diabetics should probably avoid fasting, up until blood glucose and insulin levels have been normalized. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should absolutely not fast, as it can have negative effects on the baby. So for the first time I am writing about something I actually have not tried because I don't feel like waiting a year to finish breast feeding and then fast one day a week to share my opinion.  I really wanted to give you the info now and if you think it could work for you let me know at your next appointment and I'll let you know if it's something you should consider.  

Hand Sanitizer is Not Healthy for You

Hand sanitizer in small travel-size has been a novel idea when soap and water are not available but the alcohol that is in it is actually toxic to your body (so is the fragrance, but that's another topic). The alcohol in hand sanitizer is made from petroleum which comes from gasoline.  Yes, the gas we put in cars.  So when you use hand sanitizer you rub a derivative of gas onto your hands which gets absorbed into the body.   The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in petroleum is what is found to be toxic.  How toxic? Cancer toxic. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) considers PAHs as a class to contain reasonably anticipated carcinogens (http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/pubhealth/roc/roc13/); the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) lists 14 PAHs as probable or possible carcinogens and one PAH as a known carcinogen. ( http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/)

Besides hand sanitizer, petroleum is Vaseline and found in chapsticks and lotion, It is labeled as petroleum, petrolatum, paraffin oil, or mineral oil. Burt's Beeswax is a good company because they use beeswax instead of petroleum in their products.  
If you still want that convenient, on-the-go solution for cleansing your hands when soap and water are unavailable this homemade version will not only cleanse your hands, but moisturize them too.

Ingredients
5 tablespoons aloe vera gel
4 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon vitamin E oil
8–10 drops doTERRA On Guard
(I have On Guard for purchase at the office.  It's great because of it's high clove content it really helps kill germs.)  

Note: Essential oils can be stored in plastic containers if the essential oils are highly diluted. Make sure the plastic is thicker and of high quality if you do use plastic containers. Glass containers are always better.

Instructions

1. In bowl combine aloe vera gel and vitamin E oil.
2. Add eight to 10 drops of doTERRA On Guard Protective Blend to aloe vera mixture.
3. Add water and mix well to combine. Add more or less water depending on the consistency you want.
4. Pour into container.
5. Place your homemade hand cleanser in your bag, car, or office for an effective, alcohol-free hand cleanser.

Have You Heard of Greenwashing?

Yes it’s a real thing. Greenwashing is the use of marketing to portray an organization's products, activities or policies as environmentally friendly when they are not.

To spot greenwashing, it can be helpful to compare how much money a company or organization spends on being green versus how much it spends on publicizing that its products, services or policies are actually green.

Greenwashing can take the form of changing a product's name or packaging to evoke a more natural esthetic even if it still contains dangerous chemicals or ingredients that are environmentally unfriendly to produce.

Yes it happens and yes it is allowed. I fell for these traps for years. “If it says it’s natural it must be.” Nope! Reading ingredients, not the label, is what’s important. One example is Mrs. Meyers. Mrs. Meyers is made without chlorine, ammonia, petroleum distillates, parabens, phosphates or phthalates. They also say they are made with essential oils and fragrance.

Anytime I see fragrance on a product and it is not noted what is making up that fragrance I won't buy it. On their website Mrs. Meyers shows fragrance in their ingredients as “mixture of natural, high-quality essential oils and safe synthetic fragrance ingredients.” Nope. My nose is so trained now because I don’t use any chemicals that I can smell them right away. It’s strong and doesn’t smell natural. 

I also contact many of the companies to ask where their essential oils are sourced and what grade they are. If they can’t tell me then I won't use it. 

There are different grades of essential oils. Most essential oils are distilled quickly so they can produce more and use them to fragrance perfumes and other products. When you distilled them quickly, you lose all the healing properties and are left with only the smell. So when you see a product that says scented with essential oils or made with essential oils, unless you know the company and where they source the oils from, they are usually perfume grade.

Also there is no regulation on fragrance. Fragrances are linked to allergies, hormone disruption, asthma, neurotoxins and cancer. There are something like 3000 chemicals that companies are allowed to use to make their fragrances and they don’t have to label them all. They can use hundreds of them to make one scent and not say what they used. It’s amazing what they approve to be in products in the store and our food. We have to read labels if we care what goes on and in our bodies. Instead of figuring out what the labeled 'fragrance' is sometimes it's just easier to find fragrance-free products.  One company I love for fragrance-free products is Ecover Zero for dish soap, laundry detergent, etc.  

Here are some links to info about fragrance:

https://www.prevention.com/beauty/skin-care/a20454834/the-truth-about-fragrance-free-products/
https://www.forceofnatureclean.com/truth-about-toxic-fragrances/

If you are wondering if the products you are using are safe this is a great website. You can plug in your product and it will tell you how toxic it is. 

https://www.ewg.org