PMS is a touchy subject. In recent years, it continues to be an issue used to undermine women’s rights and equality. Due to this fact, it seems that it is no longer politically correct to honestly discuss PMS, for fear an open discussion will fuel the fire for those who claim women are less capable of handling certain jobs and or responsibilities. There is no doubt that women are just as smart, just as capable, just as able to do every job a man can do unless brute strength is the primary measure, and many women hold their own on this level as well. The argument remains centered on the issue of emotional control. Do you want your plane piloted by a woman suffering from PMS? Do you want the finger poised on the trigger or, God forbid, on the red button to be the finger of a woman with raging PMS? Let’s face it, no you don’t, and neither do I!

That doesn’t mean a woman should be denied the highest office in this land due to her gender. After all, how many wars have been spawned by testosterone poisoning? But tit for tat is beside the point. The real issue at hand is that PMS is not an inherent curse of womanhood. It is a symptom of hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalance and nothing more–an imbalance that can and should be corrected through a healthy diet, supplements, and a healthy lifestyle.

What Causes PMS?

PMS or pre-menstrual syndrome refers to particular physical and emotional symptoms women may experience during their monthly cycle, after ovulation and up to the onset of menstruation or a day or two into menstruation. The majority of women with PMS experience symptoms for a few days prior to the onset of menses; however, some women experience symptoms for the full two weeks from ovulation through the first few days of menstruation. PMS symptoms can be mildly uncomfortable or so severely disruptive they are considered disabling.

Physical symptoms of PMS vary from woman to woman and range from mild to severe. Some women have several physical symptoms, some only a few or none.

Physical symptoms of PMS include:

• Fatigue
• Bloating with possible weight gain
• Headache
• Backache
• Changes in appetite with or without food cravings
• Digestion issues (upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation)
• Breast tenderness
• Skin outbreaks (pimples)
• Muscle and joint pain
• Insomnia

Emotional and behavioral symptoms of PMS include:

• Irritability or anger
• Moods swings
• Anxiety
• Depressed mood (with PMDD suicidal ideation may be included)
• Crying spells
• Poor concentration and/or memory

When emotions spiral out of control due to PMS, the consequences can be severe. Loss of emotional control can affect parenting, relationships with spouses or significant others, job performance, and more.

How to Manage and Eliminate PMS

First stop drinking the Kool-Aid. Stop believing PMS is natural or normal. It’s not. It is not something you are forced to endure because you are a woman. It is a symptom of unbalanced hormones and low levels of key neurotransmitters. Yes, there is a genetic component. That still doesn’t mean you have to live with this debilitating condition every month for years of your life. It does mean you have to make changes–significant changes–if you want to take control and end the roller coaster ride.

All health begins with the foods you eat. And for the body, the gut is the center of the universe. Our gut is filled with bacteria–300 to 1000 varieties. If we are healthy, the vast majority of bacteria in our gut is beneficial to our health. Friendly bacteria line and coat our intestines, crowding out unhealthy bacteria that try to take root and multiply. These friendly bacteria make up 80% of our immune system. Some of these bacteria aid us in synthesizing vitamins. They produce vitamin K, and create 90-95% of our serotonin. The friendly bacteria also keep fungi and parasites in check.

Health begins with a healthy gut and the only way to promote a healthy gut is through a nutrient dense diet. A full 80% of your diet should consist of fresh, raw, organic produce (more vegetables than fruits). Eat a large variety of healthy foods. Eat foods rich in B vitamins. Be sure your diet includes healthy omega 3 fats and fatty acids. (See links below).

An unbalanced, unhealthy gut leads to an overabundance of candida. This causes, or at least intensifies, all of the symptoms of PMS. Read How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem. THis is the first step to almost very single health issue. A few days before PMS is scheduled to begin, some SF722, FloraMend, and some B vitamins should be taken daily, until the period is over.

Avoid all artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. Eliminate MSG, GMOs, and trans fats. Do not eat soy unless it is fermented. Unfermented soy disrupts hormones. Do not drink soy milk or eat soy based margarines. Soy sauce is an example of fermented soy and can be eaten. Do not eat conventional sugar. First of all, it is probably GMO since our sugar usually comes from sugar beets and most of the crop is GMO. Sugar feeds unhealthy bacteria, Candida, and parasites. It does not promote health in any way. It is void of nutrition. If you choose to eat dairy, do not drink any milk or consume any milk products unless they are organic. Most of today’s conventional dairy includes growth hormones.

Detox, detox, detox. Do a thorough detox cleanse and repeat at least twice each year. Parasites and fungus in the gut interfere with nutrient absorption, with neurotransmitter production, and create a host of other problems. Make sure your detox addresses parasites and Candida in addition to other toxins. (See link below).

Drink plenty of good clean water throughout the day. Cranberry lemonade water is especially good if you are experiencing back pain or cramps. (See link below).

Add an excellent nutritional formula to your daily diet. You can purchase a good one, or make your own. (See the link below).

Supplements that Help with PMS

B vitamins need to become your best friend. Eat foods rich in B vitamins and supplement with a good, high quality B complex vitamin. Do not take B6 or any other B vitamin by itself. B vitamins work together and need one another to properly perform functions throughout the body. Taking just one for any length of time has been shown to actually cause you to be deficient in others. B vitamins are essential to cellular functions throughout the body including metabolizing carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Our cells would not receive any nutrition—any energy—without B vitamins. In addition, they are essential to the nervous system and to neurotransmitters. They balance mood, reduce anxiety, soothe irritability. Yes, you should always take B vitamins at the first sign of PMS. Better yet, take them daily.

Take a vitamin D supplement unless you get plenty of sun. Look at a map and mentally draw a line from Atlanta to Los Angeles. If you live north of that line, you will need to supplement with vitamin D in winter months. If you live on the line or south of it, you still need to supplement if you don’t spend at least 15-20 minutes in the sun each day. Vitamin D helps the body with calcium and phosphorus and is therefore generally thought of as the vitamin for bones and teeth, but it also is essential to the immune system and brain function.

Calcium and magnesium have both been shown to reduce physical symptoms. And take omega 3 supplements, if you have not added an omega 3 source to your daily diet.

Supplementation should be taken as a daily nutritional boost, not as a “pharmaceutical” for PMS symptoms. If you are suffering from PMS, your body is deficient in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Food comes first along with nutritional powder. Feed your body what it needs on a daily basis to restore your health and hormonal balance. If you feed your body well, in time you will not need to supplement your diet if your food is fresh, nutrient dense, organic, and is grown in good soil.

If you need immediate relief for PMS symptoms, reach for extra B vitamins first and then consider the following herbal remedies:

Herbs Known to Relieve Symptoms of PMS

• Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa)
• Burdock
• Chaste tree or chasteberry (Vitex agnus castus)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
• Dong quai (Angelica sinensis), also known as Chinese Angelica
• Evening primrose oil (Oenothera biennis)
• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
• Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
• Maca (Lepidium meyenii)
• St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)
• Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa)
• Rasberry leaf (Rubus idaeus)

We recommend two herbal tinctures formulated by Doc Shillington: Female Balance and Female Formula. Both contain Dong Quai, Wild Yam and Chaste Tree Berry to balance hormones.

Shillington’s Female Balance Formulas

Shillington offers three formulas that help balance female hormones.

Female Balance Formula

This formula is the 3 balancing herbs to balances the hormones. It’s good for alleviating cramps and anxiety. Ingredients include Chaste tree berry, wild yam root, and dong quai root in a base of grain alcohol and distilled water.

Female Formula

This formula is predominantly the 3 balancing herbs from the Female Formula along with a few others making it an overall female tonic for balancing hormones, relaxing,, as well as a cramping and anxiety handler. Ingredients include wild yam root, chaste tree berry, Dong Quai root, blue and black cohosh, valerian root, passion flower, uva ursi, hops flowers, cornsilk, juniper berry and dandelion root in a base of grain alcohol and distilled water.

Female Energy Formula

With Damiana leaf, wild yam root, licorice root, siberian ginseng roots, sarsaparilla root, saw palmetto berry, oat seed, kola nut and ginger root in a base of grain alcohol and distilled water, this formula works well at balancing the hormones and improves energy as well as sex drive.

Exercise

Exercise is an important part of any healthy lifestyle. Whether you choose to go to the gym, walk, run, practice yoga, dance in your living room, or bounce on a rebounder, you need to move. Your heart needs it. Your muscles need it. Your lymphatic system demands it. It can’t circulate unless you move!

Chiropractic Care

Studies have shown that chiropractic care can provide a significant decrease in symptoms.

In Conclusion

If you want to end the monthly misery of PMS, treat the cause, not just the symptoms. The root cause is based in nutrition. Either you are not feeding your body everything it needs, or your body is unable to assimilate the nutrients you provide. Once you detox your body and focus on nutrient dense foods, your body will heal itself and find its natural balance. The two most significant supplements to help with PMS mood swings are B vitamins and Shillington’s Female Female Formula. For cramps, add Boswellia.

Recommended Supplements:

• Shillington’s Female Formula
• Total Nutrition Formula
• Maca Root – Wise Woman
• Boswellia – Pure Encapsulations – Gaia Herbs
• Krill Oil (Omega 3s)
• D – Thorne Research
• B-Complex #6 – Thorne Research
• FloraMend Prime Probiotic – Thorne Research
• Formula SF722 – Thorne Research

Further Reading:

• Relieve PMS with these Foods, Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements
• 80% Raw Food Diet
• Mental Health, Physical Health & B Vitamins – Nature’s Valium
• Cheap and Easy Detox Diet Plan
• Cranberry Lemonade Recipee
• Total Nutrition – Make your own Homemade Multivitamin and Mineral Formula

Sources:

• Mayo Clinic.com
• Women’s Health.gov
• University of Maryland Medical Center
• Women to Women

When you’re about to get a cold there are warning signs. Food tastes different, sense of smell is strong and certain odors bother you that did not before, and  your breath becomes stale. Most people ignore these signs. At the very first sign, that first cough with a tickle in the throat, or whatever it is that alerts you to an impending viral attack, you can help your body’s defenses.

Gargle

Gargle now. Use organic, raw, apple cider vinegar and gargle every fifteen minutes for the next two hours. After that, gargle whenever you think of it.

Every time you gargle at the onset of a viral infection, you are cutting the viral load at the point those little suckers are trying to mass produce. You are actively killing them off their armies each time you gargle. Even if the cold or flu takes hold, you will have a milder case if it if you gargle a lot in the beginning.

Get Warm

Heat can help your body fight infection. That’s why we run fevers, which you can simulate yourself. A hot bath, a sauna, a steaming shower can knock out a nasty infection quickly. And you can also add some essential oils like eucalyptus or peppermint to help clear out lungs and sinuses.

Fluids

No, I am not talking about sodas or juice, with one or two exceptions. Make cranberry lemonade sweetened with stevia, hot or cold. Or cranberry lemonade sweetened with stevia with or without added cayenne. Drink lots of it made with pure water

You do not want to drink sodas or juice right now. (Hopefully you never drink another soda in your life, but we can talk about that later.) Viruses, bacteria, and fungi all thrive on sugar. Don’t feed them.

Also, know that conventional sugar (like what you find in sodas) actually repress your immune system.

Garlic

Eat garlic, lots of raw garlic. Chop it up, slice it, press it, or dice it. To benefit more from garlic, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes after cutting and before eating. Eat at least 2 cloves daily; 6 would be better; 10 would be better still. You get the idea.

Echinacea

Echinacea will make your tongue feel fuzzy. If it doesn’t, it’s not echinacea or it’s very weak and not of any use. Few things work as well as high quality echinacea to strengthen the immune system quickly and effortlessly. Take it often, but only take it for three weeks and then stop for a week (less it loses its effectiveness).

Zinc

Zinc may work for you. It is thought to hinder the cold virus’s ability to multiply. But be careful with zinc. Too much can be toxic.

Vitamins

Vitamin D supports your immune system while C, A, and E help the body fight viruses. Lots of vitamin C can be helpful, but if you do take a lot, titrate down. Don’t suddenly stop taking it. Your virus might bounce back.

Doc Shillington’s Total Tonic Recipe (or click here to purchase)

Here’s a recipe that you can do at home. Always have it on hand to knock out infections, and it’s also great for heavy metal chelation and almost everything else that ails you.

• 1 handful of garlic cloves
• 1 handful of chopped onions
• 1 handful of chopped ginger
• 1 handful of chopped horseradish
• 1/2 handful of chopped habanero peppers
• Raw apple cider vinegar

Throw in a blender and cover with an inch or two of organic raw apple cider vinegar. All ingredients should be organic, but don’t let that stop you from making this great formula (as long as the garlic is not from China). You can use the mash right away or wait two weeks and allow it to turn into a tincture.

The Better Big Bang Recipe

I worked at a health food restaurant (sort of) that had a menu item called “The Big Bang.” It’s lemon juice, apple juice, and ginger juice mixed together and heated. I believe I improved upon their recipe:

• 2 parts lemon juice
• 2 parts apple cider vinegar
• 1 part ginger juice (or per your taste)
• 1 part turmeric juice (or per your taste)

You can heat it up or drink it cool. Drinking it hot is very nice, and perfect for a soothing a sore throat, opening the sinuses, and clearing out mucus. On the other hand, if you don’t heat it up you get more health benefits from the tonic.

Update

Now I sip on Mother Earth Organic Root Cider whenever I feel anything in my throat or sinuses that could indicate a cold coming on. It’s the best thing we’ve put on the market to date, and that’s saying a lot! If you find yourself getting sick regularly, or dealing with chronic sinus issues, you’ll love this. It tastes horrible, but you’ll stuff love it. Try it. Take a dose every day, and if you feel any potential infection coming on, sip on it throughout the day. As always with GLM, if you don’t love the results, get your money back.

Conclusion

The bottom line is, if you eat right, and have been eating right for some time, cold and flus shouldn’t even affect you. If you think this isn’t true, you’re not eating right. No single herb or natural remedy compares to a diet with a low toxic load and daily salads with 14 different vegetables, turmeric, garlic, etc. See the first source below for my own salad recipe. If your immune system is susceptible to infection, or you just like to the idea of having a crazy powerful immune system, be sure to check out Bullet Proof Your Immune System.

Recommended Products:

• Mother Earth Organic Root Cider – Barrier Island Organics
• Shillington’s Echinacea+
• Total Nutrition Formula
• Coptis chinensis
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin C
• Shillington’s Total Tonic
• Shillington’s Herbal Snuff

Further Reading:

• 80% Raw Food Diet
• How Viruses Work and How to Prevent them Naturally
• Garlic, the Most Amazing Herb on the Planet
• Homemade Vitamin C
• Make Your Immune System Bulletproof with These Natural Remedies

Sources:

• Will taking zinc for colds make my colds go away faster? – Mayo Clinic

When I was a little girl, I played with toads. I loved them. I have clear memories of playing outside, barefoot, holding, petting… and yes, kissing frogs. I also clearly remember several times when they peed on my feet.

Scientists debunk the belief that toads or frogs give you warts, but I have to say I was the only child in the family enamored with the critters and I am the one who ended up with a bunch of warts on the top of my toes—right where they peed on me.

I don’t remember what medication was used to rid me of the warts, but I do remember needles poked into my skin, the pain, and the goopy burning medication. I also remember my father’s frustration when the first treatment did not work and had to be repeated.

Fast forward to my teen years and I had three warts on my hands, two on fingers, one on my palm. After trying several over-the-counter cures, I had them surgically removed, leaving deep, deep craters in the skin. They grew right back.

By the time I was twenty, the wart problem worsened. Plantar warts invaded the bottom of my feet. These were large patches of warts that spread from the balls of my feet to my toes. The edges of the skin were peeling and it hurt every time I took a step.

An acquaintance of mine suggested I try vitamin E to get rid of the warts. I didn’t believe it would make any difference at all, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I patiently waited while she poked holes in vitamin E capsules, then I spread the liquid on my feet and those old warts on my hand. Imagine my surprise when they all disappeared after that one application. It’s been forty years, and they never came back.

Years later a new wart appeared on another finger. One application of vitamin E took care of it as well. But when my brother told me he had a wart on his thumb, and I suggested he try vitamin E, it didn’t work for him. I don’t know if this was due to personal chemistry or if it was due to the fact that there are more than 100 strains of the wart virus. Perhaps the large number of different strains explains the reason why there are so many natural cures. What works for one person may not work for others. More likely, it was the quality of the vitamin capsule.

If the substance is a liquid you want to stay in contact with the wart or a messy mixture, use a cotton ball and then bandage the area to secure. Directions vary from leaving the treatment on around the clock, to treating only at night, to applying several times a day. Use your best judgment based on your reaction to the substance.

• Vitamin E
• Vitamin A
• Witch hazel
• Essential Oils: tea tree, clove, lavender, Frankincense
• Lemon juice
• Aloe vera
• Crushed vitamin C tablets
• Apple cider vinegar
• Milkweed (the liquid inside of the stem)
• Crushed basil leaves
• Banana (scrapings from the inside of the peel)
• Dandelion milk (the liquid inside of the stem)
• Pineapple juice
• Papaya
• Onion
• Garlic
• Castor oil
• Carrot and olive oil paste
• Baking powder and castor oil paste
• Baking soda mixed with vinegar
• Urine (yep, an old cure)
• One final treatment to consider, especially with children, is faith. My friend Helen told me her father rubbed a coin on her warts and told her they would disappear. It worked. Stories abound on the internet of children being told any number of cures that worked, such as coloring the warts. Belief in the cure caused the result. Children are highly suggestible. It’s worth a try.

Some of these cures may be painful. The enzymes in pineapple and papaya may irritate surrounding skin. I have read testimonials about apple cider vinegar working painlessly within 5 days, but I have also read about painful burns to surrounding tissue. Personally, if I had to choose any of the above methods, I’d start with the vitamins. Vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin D, as well as vitamin E, have long been known to fight viral infections. I also believe the efficacy of any vitamin treatment may be dependent on the quality of the supplement itself. The following vitamins are all of the highest quality.

If these did not work, I’d move on to a natural cure in a bottle. Though I’m all for natural remedies from items in the pantry, I don’t like the mess and the fuss, especially when I am told the treatment requires an application once a day, or several times a day, for weeks. I was lucky. Vitamin E, for me, was a onetime application.

We offer vitamin E and a couple of other formulas that knock out warts pretty quickly. Combine a few of the remedies (including the garlic, but be careful) and most warts can disappear within a week. Remember that a wart is a virus, which is a sign that our body is in a condition that makes it a decent host for an infectious organism.  A wart is a good indicator that it’s time to get the diet on track and take better care of one’s health. We recommend a detox and more produce, see further reading for more on that.

Recommended Supplements:

• Anti-Wart Drops • 2ml – Seroyal/Unda
• E-400 • 100sg – Douglas Labs

Further Reading:

•  Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge
• How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem

Imagine your ten-year-old child walks into the living room shedding his coat. He drops it on the floor or on the couch. You tell him to hang it up. He runs across the room to greet the dog. You tell him again, a little louder. He is distracted by the TV show you are watching and sits down, eyes glued to the tube. “Hang up your coat!” you yell, now furious that the little light of your life never does a damn thing you tell him to do until you roar at full volume.

I know we all wish there was a magic fix for this behavior, but there isn’t. And as much as you probably don’t want to hear this, it’s your behavior that has to change if you want your children to mind you the first time you tell them to do something. You have to get up and physically make your child mind–the first time he ignores you. Don’t repeat yourself. Don’t yell. Stop being a couch potato parent.

To change this behavior, never (ever, ever) give your child a command unless you are ready, willing, and able to immediately follow through to see that it is done.

It’s really quite simple. You tell a child to do something once, then you get up off that couch, gently take that little body to where it needs to go, and assist with the process while saying (in the kindest voice you can muster), “I told you to hang up your coat.” And then, even though you helped every step of the way, and contrary to all reason, once the task is done, you thank the little monster for hanging up his coat.

This simple act tells a child that you mean what you say and you will follow through – every single time. Ignoring you will no longer be tolerated. This works, amazingly well, and changes a child’s behavior very quickly, but only if you are consistent.

The major lesson here? You allowed this behavior to develop. You taught your child that he only has to mind you when you lose your temper. If you want to change his behavior, you have to change yours.

The key, and the hardest part, is to kill them with patience and kindness. When you get up off that couch and take those little hands in yours to reach for that coat, be gentle and loving. When you say, “Good job hanging up your coat!” say it with a small amount of enthusiasm (not sarcasm). This can be hard to do, especially if your child is physically or verbally resisting. Most of the time they will. You’ll hear, “Let me go! I can do it myself!” Ignore this. Just follow through taking those hands, picking up the coat together, holding the coat together, and duck-walking to the closet.

If you use this approach from the beginning, your toddler will learn that Mom and Dad say what they mean, mean what they say, and will always follow through.

As Much As Possible, Stop Punishing

Do you punish your child for the same behavior over and over and over again? Doesn’t that make you wonder if your punishment is working?

Again, lose the couch potato approach, though this issue will require mental pushups rather than a physical response. Whenever you think your child’s behavior is worthy of punishment, try to come up with a consequence instead. Here’s the hardest part: make the consequence fit the crime.

You tell your child to stop playing with his food and he continues, don’t argue or take away privileges. Pick up his plate. Dinner is over. If you tell her to pick up her dolls and she throws a fit, the dolls go into the attic for a week. You get the idea.

Consequences work especially well with older children and trust issues. For instance, your child spent the night at a friend’s house, but she was not where she was supposed to be. You tell her you are disappointed in her, remind her of the rules and drop it. She is going to feel like she got away with it. That is, until the next time she asks to spend the night at a friend’s house. You tell her no, the last time she didn’t follow the rules. She has no sleepover until further notice. She will demand that you tell her how long this punishment lasts. You tell her this is not a punishment, it is a consequence of her behavior. “Until I feel I can trust you to be where you say you are, you will not be sleeping over at anyone’s house.” Now the ball is in her court, to win back your trust.

Time outs and loss of privileges may remain your first choice, but the more you stretch your brain power and outmaneuver your child with logic and direct consequences for actions, the more you will prepare your child for the real world and the more they will respect the rules. Again, the key is consistency, patience, and a loving attitude.

Good parenting is a lot like warfare. Be strategic. Know your opponent, and act more than you react. Outmaneuver and anticipate. Always trust your gut instincts. Never make your decisions based on whether or not your kid will like you, make them based on what is best for your child. Start with getting off the couch.

Vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine, pyridoxa, pyridoxamine) works with other B vitamins to change carbohydrates into glucose, to help form hemoglobin, to create neurotransmitters, maintain normal nerve function, to break down protein, to maintain normal blood sugar levels, and to make antibodies.

B₆ is not stored in the body. Therefore, it is important to eat a healthy diet that supplies the daily need for this essential nutrient.

Foods Rich in Vitamin B₆

Natural food sources high in vitamin B₆ include the following: sweet potatoes, potatoes, spinach, cabbage, turnip greens, garlic, winter squash, bok choy, bell peppers, avocado, green peas, tuna, chicken, turkey, beef, salmon, lentils, lima beans, pinto beans, banana, and sunflower seeds.

Vitamin B₆ Deficiency

Deficiency causes depression and cognitive problems, skin inflammation, burning feet, sore tongue, anemia, and chronic inflammation of the body. Severe deficiency can lead to convulsions. B₆ is important for liver detoxification and immune system function. Severe deficiencies are rare, however, mild deficiencies are common.

How Vitamin B₆ Is Used Therapeutically

B₆ has been proven to be a successful treatment for morning sickness, to lower homocysteine levels, and to treat tardive dyskinesia. The best known use of B₆ is to treat PMS, however, double blind studies have not confirmed its efficacy. (But try telling this to any woman who has received immediate relief from raging hormones by taking B_6, and any man who knows to give them to her ). Studies have proven its aid in treating children with asthma in reduction of medications, but studies on adults with asthma have not shown the same result.

Evidence is incomplete or contradictory in regards to benefits in treating depression, vertigo, dermatitis, schizophrenia, prevention of kidney stones, HIV, photosensitivity, and diabetes during pregnancy.

In reading the literature it appears that many studies have been conducted with small groups and many of the studies have not been set up properly. It is also suspect that none of the studies have been conducted with B-complex vitamins since B vitamins always work together.

Remember, if supplementing B₆, it is best to take B₆ along with the other B vitamins in a B complex, because any long-term use of a singular B vitamin will cause an imbalance in the others. B-complex formulas are available with higher B₆ that maintains a working balance of these precious vitamins.

Managing PMS with B6

With a healthy diet, good whole food multivitamin/mineral supplementation and balanced fats (these are necessary for proper B vitamin assimilation), and a complex B vitamin that’s heavy on the B6, many people have been able to manage their PMS symptoms down to almost nonexistent. Your gut also needs to be balanced in order to properly assimilate b vitamins, and consider Shillington’s Female Balance Formula.

Recommended Supplements:

• B-Complex #6
• Total Nutrition Formula
• Krill Oil
• Shillington’s Female Balance Formula

• Shillington’s Female Formula

Further Reading:

• Mental Health, Physical Health & B Vitamins
• How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem 

Sources:

• Vitamin B6 (therapeutic uses), by: EBSCO CAM Review Board, Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health, January, 2014
• University of Maryland Medical Center 
• World’s Healthiest Foods

If you’ve made the decision that you are truly ready to change your lifestyle and claim your birthright of vibrant health, these are the steps to achieve your goal:

Eat Right

If you drill down health to its most critical and essential element, diet plays the most important role. We’ve all heard the old adage, “You are what you eat.” Once you understand the critical role diet plays in health, you will understand the absolute truth of this statement. Your diet provides every single building block your body uses to create cells, to repair tissue, to move, to breathe, to exist.

Common sense tells us, the better your diet, the better your health. But what is the best diet? Hopefully we all know the traditional American diet ranks at the bottom of the list. But which of the many alternative diets hold the top position? Vegan? Vegetarian? Paleo? There are many to choose from. But I suggest, you don’t choose.

We are all individuals with particular likes and dislikes. Unfortunately, we are habitual creatures who seem hell bent on getting stuck in the same patterns and the same ruts. But this is a time of change, so… Take the first step–clean out your cupboards and pantry. Toss out all of your processed foods. Get rid of anything with artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. No MSG. No trans fats. No high fructose corn syrup. No foods that could be GMO, and that includes refined sugar. Toss it ALL out.

Next, you shop. A healthy diet consists of a wide variety of whole, unadulterated, unprocessed, organic foods. Meat and eggs should be free range AND organic. If you choose dairy (know that goat milk and cheese may be a better choice) be absolutely sure you choose organic. Milk is actually good for you if it is not pasteurized, but good luck finding it. And as far as meat goes, remember if you choose to eat meat, you are eating off of the top of the food chain. If that animal was fed GMO grains, you don’t want to eat it.

Vegetables should be the basis of your diet. A full 80% of your diet should consist of raw, organic, whole vegetables and fruits, more vegetables than fruit.

Grains should be whole. Why lose most of the nutrients? Remember, this new lifestyle of yours is all about nutrient dense foods.

Avoid the trap of becoming a vegan, vegetarian, or other “good” diet follower who has simply found a new way to be a junk food junkie. Processed food is processed food. Choose a great homemade smoothie instead of “healthy” cookies.

Get To Know Your Local Farmer’s Markets! 

A good farmer’s market (not a boutique gathering where they sell jellies and such) will carry the freshest food at the best prices.  Find one that sells organic meat as well as organic fruits and vegetables. Even if you have to drive across town or out into the countryside, the trip is worth it.

Detox

Good stuff in, bad stuff out. Your body has been accumulating parasites, yeast, heavy metals, and a full array of chemicals your whole life. It’s time to cleanse your body and help it to flush out all of these unwanted substances while cleansing your colon to aid in both digestion and elimination. All of those wonderful foods that you will be putting in your body need a fully functioning digestive system to extract the nutrients that will provide your body with the building blocks it needs to repair and grow tissue, to create neurotransmitters, to create hormones, to maintain and build your immune system, and more.

Detox twice a year for the greatest benefit. And always kill excess candida and balance the gut when you do.

Check Out These Detox Articles:

• The One Gallon Challenge
• Cheap and Easy Detox Diet Plan
• Total Body Cleanse

Exercise

Just move. Your lymphatic system needs you to move in order for your lymph to circulate through your body. It has no pump, no other means than the movement of your muscles to circulate your lymph fluid. Try yoga, Tai Chi, walking, rebounding, anything that gets you moving. It’s okay to start off slow and gentle. You don’t need to push it. Once you achieve vibrant health you’ll want to move. It’s one of the signs that you are on the right path.

Supplements

Ideally, your nutrition will come from your food. But let’s be honest, we live in an imperfect world with farming soil stripped of its minerals. Even if the soil was rich, food loses its vitamins and minerals as it makes the journey from farm to table. So unless you are growing your own food in great soil, we suggest you consider supplementation. You may want to consider a nutritional supplement to add to your daily smoothie as well as vitamins, minerals, and supplements to aid in your detox. Source them well. You want only the best. We recommend Shillington’s Total Nutrition Formula as a nutritional supplement to add to your smoothies. For your detox, you need a supplement to kill the candida, a supplement to rebuild the flora, one to MicroDefense – Pure Encapsulations, and one to clean the intestines.

Recommended Supplements:

• Candida – Throne SF722
• Colon – Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse
• Multi – Total Nutrition Formula
• Probiotic – FloraMend

Further Reading:

• 80% Raw Food Diet
• The Difference Between Heirlooms, Hybrids, and GMOs
• Cheap and Easy Detox Diet Plan

Sources:

• How to Cure Candida
• Best Ways to Detox
• How to Kill Candida and…

If you feel stressed out, anxious, irritable, tired, run down, cranky, muddled, or confused, you may need to up your intake of B vitamins. If your intake is low, deficient or depleted, you will feel an instant boost in energy and well-being.

Vitamins are molecules that work as catalysts for chemical reactions within the body. The B vitamins are often found together, working work together to perform various functions. They help carbohydrates break down to glucose, the process whereby our cells produce energy, and they aid in the breakdown of fats and proteins, providing fuel or the proper function of our nervous system and brain. B vitamins are essential for neurotransmitters and nerve tissue. They help our bodies form red blood cells and regulate homocysteine levels. Folic acid (B9) and B12 are essential for normal, healthy, fetal development.

For proper B vitamin production and assimilation, one must have a healthy gut. Please check out How To Heal Your Gut for more information on that.

B Vitamin Deficiency

B vitamin deficiencies affect every system in the body. Mild deficiencies can affect mood and health, can cause inflammation and a host of other symptoms both physical and cognitive. Severe deficiencies can be life-threatening or be causal factors for serious conditions including anemia, heart disease, depression, pellagra, dementia, paranoia, and delusion.

B vitamins are nature’s valium; they assist with sleep, mood stabilization, and cognition. They are a standard treatment for PMS and for those suffering from irritability, anxiety, or depression. B vitamins are also gaining recognition as a treatment for stuttering, with favorable results for about 30% of cases.

Supplementation

B vitamins are water soluble. Unlike fat-soluble vitamins, they are not stored in the body, with the exception of B12, which is stored in the liver. Due to this lack of retention, it is important to provide the body with these vitamins on a daily basis.

Update: Sciences is discovering that a healthy gut microbiome produces many of the B vitamins we need. Again, see How To Heal Your Gut.

B vitamins are nature’s Valium; they assist with sleep, mood stabilization, and cognition. They are a standard treatment for PMS and for those suffering from irritability, anxiety, or depression. B vitamins are also gaining recognition as a treatment for stuttering, with favorable results for about 30% of cases.

A healthy, diverse diet that includes plenty of vegetables, legumes, and animal protein should provide all of the B vitamins needed, however, our ability to metabolize B vitamins can be impaired with age, with digestive disorders, with alcohol consumption, with pharmaceuticals, and by certain health conditions. Celiac disease and Crohn’s disease for example, seriously hamper the body’s ability to absorb B12.  At 50 years of age and older, supplementation with a good whole food complex B vitamin should be seriously considered.

Vegetarians, especially vegans, face a serious challenge in acquiring enough B12 through their diet. Supplementation is strongly recommended.

Studies conducted more than 20 years ago warned that long term use of one B vitamin may result in a deficiency of other B vitamins. It is best to take B complex vitamins to avoid this possibility. Though this caution should be widely known, medical doctors routinely prescribe one B vitamin, such a B6 or B12.

When gut health is not optimal, vitamin B is not assimilated properly. If you have a B vitamin deficiency or just find yourself needing them regularly, check out Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases and The Power of Our Hormones and How To Balance Them.

Related Products:

• Basic: Basic B Complex – Thorne Research 
• Extra B5: Stress B-Complex – Thorne Research 
• Extra B6: B-Complex #6  – Thorne Research
• Extra B12: B-Complex #12 – Thorne Research
• Healthy Fats
• Shillington’s Total Nutrition Formula

Recommended Reading:

• Natural Remedies for Depression
• Natural Remedies for Chronic Stress
• Natural Remedies for Adrenal Fatigue

Sources:

• How Stuff Works
• Harvard School of Public Health
• Mayo Clinic
• Whole Foods -Healthiest Foods