What’s the Best Water for Detoxifying and For Drinking?

Earth is the water planet. Oceans, rivers, lakes, streams–water abounds. Unfortunately, most of it is polluted. Our industries use our waterways to dump their waste; industrial farming pollutants leach into waterways and ground water. Even jet fuel is found in our water–in well water and municipal water. Mercury pollutes our rivers, streams, and lakes. Fracking is dumping chemicals into groundwater.

We treat water to remove as many pollutants as possible, to make our dirty water drinkable. And yet, our treated water still contains toxic chemicals and toxic metals like lead and arsenic, antibiotics, and fluoride, along with other chemicals used to sanitize the water. In Louisiana, municipal water includes brain eating amebas.

Many have turned to other water sources as a safer alternative to water straight from the tap. But which water is the best? What are the choices?

  • Rain Water
  • Well water
  • Spring water
  • Reverse osmosis water
  • Filtered Water
  • Distilled water
Related: How To Heal Your Gut

Rain Water

The purity of rainwater is dependent on the environment. Have you ever heard of acid rain?

Once while walking along the beach, I turned my face up towards the newly falling snow. That blissful moment exploded as those “pristine” flakes melted and burned through my skin, leaving me bleeding.

If you do decide to collect and drink rainwater, get it tested, and depending on your area, you may need to get it tested regularly. And don’t forget to keep whatever collection bin you use very, very clean.

Related: Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

Well Water

There’s not much better than having your own well full of clean drinking water. Nature built a filtration system. The natural water cycle includes water soaking into the ground through dirt and rocks until it becomes groundwater. We retrieve it through wells or springs.

Unfortunately, well water may be contaminated. Chemicals are not always filtered out by the earth. Fracking, runoff, and other dumping contaminates groundwater.

It is also imperative to keep wells clean. Water can become contaminated from the well itself.

Spring Water

Spring water is groundwater that finds its way to the surface. Again, the cleanliness of the water is dependent on whether the groundwater is pure. Bottled spring water is regulated and tested. According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), the FDA standards for bottled water are more stringent than the standards for tap water.

On the IBWA site, you can see a video of a water bottling business. Their spring water goes through several filtrations before being treated with UV rays and ozone, both of which kill bacteria.

Reverse Osmosis Water

Reverse osmosis is used to desalinate or clean water. Basically, pressure is used to force water through smaller and smaller filters, separating particulates from the water.

Shillington says, “Reverse Osmosis is questionable, and I’ve heard that it contributes to Candida.  Since this was from a verbal source, more investigation needs to be done on this one.  RO units have filters that need replacing ever so often, and they do not remove certain toxins from the water such as Fluoride.”

Recommended: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Filtered Water

Home water filtration may involve a whole house approach (which may include a reverse osmosis system) to an on-the-counter filtration machine, a single tap filter, or a water pitcher with a replaceable filter. (See the link below to discover which pitcher filtering system works the best.)

Carbon filters, used in most water pitchers and tap filters, do remove some toxic chemicals but it does not to a good job filtering out fluoride, most of the toxic metals, or all other contaminants.

Mike Adams recently tested 12 popular water filtration devices and Zero was the best by far. It’s always been the only one we’ve recommended. It even removes fluoride, though it is not certified to do so.

Distilled

The cleanest water is distilled. Yes, it is more acidic. Yes, it is devoid of minerals. Even so, given a choice of water available, it only makes since to start with distilled water for the cleanest, safest water possible. Dr. Ian Shillington advocates distilled water, suggesting that a level teaspoon of baking soda added to a gallon of distilled water makes it highly alkaline (8.0). Add minerals back in as well, and you have clean, alkalizing, mineral water. The reality is that “…if someone is eating right, and taking a good multi-vitamin/mineral like Total Nutrition, they don’t need to worry about the very small amount of minerals distilled water can leach from the body.” He also states, “It is true that “untreated” distilled water will leach some minerals from your body.  However, the majority of these minerals are inorganic minerals that you don’t want there anyway such as Calcium Carbonate which builds up to form bone spurs and Arthritic Calcium deposits.  Any of the “good” minerals leached can be quickly replaced with a small handful of raw nuts or seeds so this isn’t a major concern.”

If you purchase a water distiller, you won’t have to buy your water at the store in plastic jugs or bottles. At a dollar a gallon or more from the store, a water distiller will pay for itself. Be sure you choose a distiller that also includes a filter. Your water will be clean and pure.

The Best Drinking Water For Detoxifying

The best possible choice for water to drink on a regular bases for someone with a healthy immune system is a clean, safe, high quality spring water. The trouble is, as mentioned, it can be difficult to know how clean it is.

During a detox, when the idea is removing toxins, distilled water is by far the best choice. If you don’t have access to a trusted source for spring water, well water, or rainwater, then distilled is still your best bet for daily drinking. If you’re using water for enemas, distilled is the only water one should use. If the lack of minerals is still much of a concern to anyone using distilled water, a few trace mineral drops in the water can fix that. One of the best things anyone can do for themselves, whether they are detoxifying or not is to drink a lot of water every day. If you’re looking to detoxify, check out Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge, and Total Body Cleanse if you’re looking for a very serious detox or need to target certain organs like kidneys.

Recommended Supplements:
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Relieve PMS with these Foods, Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements

Suddenly you realize there’s a little black cloud over your head. Or maybe it’s a big one. Things that usually don’t bother you are getting on your very last nerve. You’re not sure if you want to pick a fight or cry. Before you tell your boss what you really think of him or confront your significant other about his shortcomings, stop and check the calendar. Is this PMS? Is “estrogen poisoning” ruining your day? If that’s the problem, there are supplement and herbs you can use to get back in control.

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)

Vitamins, minerals, and supplements to relieve symptoms of PMS

Chocolate candy is not your best friend right now. You do not need to add unstable blood sugar to unbalanced hormones and underachieving neurotransmitters. If you are craving chocolate, your body is craving magnesium. But that is not the only supplement you need right now. Your first aid supplements should include the following:

  • B vitamin complex
  • Calcium
  • Vitamin D
  • Magnesium
  • Chromium
  • Omega 3s (either as a supplement or take a tablespoon of flaxseed oil, fish oil, or a blended omega 3.6.9. oil)

If you take a really good multi-vitamin with all of the above included, unless it is very high in B vitamins, it’s not a bad idea to include a B complex. B vitamins are nature’s Valium; many women feel considerable relief fifteen minutes or so after taking a large dose of Bs.

This is a day to be on your best behavior. Not only do you need to hold your tongue, you need to watch what you put in your mouth. This is a perfect day to snack on fresh organic veggies and fruits all day long. And all those things you’re not going to say? Write them down and see if those are issues you need to deal with next week, when you’re not feeling so intense. Chances are, you really do need to deal with those issues, just not right now.

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.

What typically causes PMS symptoms

An inability to process and assimilate B vitamins, a lack of vitamin D, and other hormonal imbalances can be traced back to an overabundance of candida. Like so many diseases, candida  is often the underlying cause. Even when candida is not the source, at the very least, candida exacerbates PMS symptoms. Check out the first source below for information about candida and the gut.

While it is great to know that there are natural remedies to alleviate the symptoms of PMS, alleviating symptoms is a short term strategy, not a cure. If you are ready to rid yourself of these miserable symptoms and get your hormones in balance, it’s time to make some lifestyle changes.

If you’re on the lookout for some healthy chocolate recipes, go to healingthebody.ca. And see Natural Remedies for PMS for more information on diet, herbs, and other supplement options.

Recommended Supplements:
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Natural Remedies for PMS, Mood Swings, Bloating, Cramps, Etc.

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:
Further Reading:
Sources:


Increase your IQ with the Right Foods, Herbs, Vitamins, and Exercises for Your Brain

Not too long ago, the general consensus about our IQ was that our intelligence can’t be improved. Though this issue is still debated occasionally, today most of us know that learning a new language and becoming an avid reader have both been proven to increase one’s score on any intelligence aptitude test. The idea that people cannot get smarter is ridiculous, but so are a lot of other conventional medical beliefs still held today.

Contents

If you can take IQ tests over and over again, study them, get help figuring them out, and learn how to do them quickly and well, your score will improve. Some would argue that this is not really increasing intelligence, but it is. Experiences that challenge the brain’s cognitive abilities raise intelligence–real intelligence. IQ tests, while certainly not a great indicator of how well someone will do in life, are a pretty decent indicator of memory, problem solving skills, and other cognitive functions. Obviously, an abundance of these skills is helpful.

A better idea than taking IQ tests over and over again is to do some other brain teasers, learn a language, and learn to constantly exercise your brain. Live life like it’s all about learning, because it is!

Combine these mental push-ups with the right diet, a fitness program, and a few brain boosting herbal supplements, and your focus will be sharp while your cognitive ability will improve significantly.

The more you practice using your brain in various, challenging ways, the better you will get at using it. The better you take care of your brain’s health, the more efficiently and easily it will work, and the longer it will work as well.

How Brain is Connected to Your Gut

Your brain is very connected to your gut. We have a symbiotic relationship with every microbe living inside us, and the highest concentration of microbes is in our gut. In addition, parasitical influences, like candida running rampant throughout our body causing us to crave junk food, can be traced back to intestinal health.

Speaking of candida, this fungus has been identified as a possible cause and a definite contributor to depression. Getting your intestinal health up to par is the most important first step in increasing your intelligence. Healthy gut = healthy body = healthy brain.

Good bacterial health is necessary for balanced hormones. Gut bacteria produce 90% to 95% of our serotonin, the key neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood. We need bacteria to assimilate B vitamins, which are essential to the function of the nervous system and the brain. Without enough B vitamins, we can’t concentrate well.

Gluten also leads to an overabundance of Candida and a host of other problems in the gut and the whole body which directly affect the brain’s ability to function.

Brain Boosting Herbs

If you’re looking for a quick boost to finish a term paper, there are lots of herbs and other things you can do right away. If you’re looking to increase your cognitive abilities over a period of time, and enjoy life with a clear head and all the focus you need, then the first step for most people is to kill the candida and balance the gut, so don’t skip that section above!

Bacopa

Bacopa is used to treat ADHD, anxiety, brain disorders, poor memory, and tension. Bacopa has been shown to stimulate brain function and improve cognition skills and memory. It also increases serotonin, a brain chemical known to help sooth and relax the mind.

Ginseng

Ginseng is a well-known stimulant that can reduce stress, increase focus and memory, and raise metabolism and energy levels.

Sage

Sage has been shown to improve memory. Sage is being investigated as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Gota kola

Gota kola renews nerve functions, fights premature aging, aids circulation, and improves memory and intelligence.

Rosemary

Rosemary stimulates the pituitary gland, which produces the HGH (human growth hormone) needed to regulate weight and look younger. It also improves memory, along with a host of other benefits.

Rhodiola Rosea

Rhodiola Rosea has been shown to increase energy levels, reduce fatigue, and improve cognitive ability (specifically: associative thinking, short-term memory, calculation, concentration, and speed of audiovisual perception)

Ashwagandha

This herb is to Ayurvedic medicine as ginseng is to Chinese medicine. People use ashwagandha for improving cognitive ability and it treats many other health problems from infertility to inflammation.

Vitamins, Minerals, Fats, and Other Nutrition Our Brains Need

A deficiency in any one of the following nutrients can lead to brain health issues. Even less than optimal levels can impair cognitive function.

Fats

Numerous studies have proven that eating a balanced diet with healthy fats, and/or a fatty acid supplement with omega 3s, are imperative for all brain functions. It’s no wonder, since the brain is about 60% fat (if you exclude water, which makes up about 70%). DHA is a fatty acid chain that is one of the major building blocks of the brain, critical for optimal brain health and function. Of the many fatty acids that benefit the brain and offer noticeable cognitive improvement, DHA is the most significant. Balanced healthy fats are also needed to properly assimilate B vitamins.

B Vitamins

B vitamins are the vitamins of the nervous system and they are needed for the numerous functions critical to every cell in the body. B vitamins are essential for hormone production, stress management, and the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. B vitamin deficiencies are not uncommon, and lead to many physical and mental illnesses. Anyone suffering from an inability to concentrate, PMS or other hormonal issues, insomnia, depression, or virtually any other mental health issues should reach first for B complex.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is more than an anti-oxidant and necessary vitamin for fighting infections and viruses, it is necessary to synthesize the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. It also helps the body flush heavy metals such as iron and copper from the brain.

Vitamin D

Normal brain development and function is dependent on vitamin D. Deficiencies have been proven to impair cognitive abilities.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is essential to maintain the integrity of cell membranes. Among other symptoms, a deficiency in this vitamin manifests in neurological symptoms including injury to sensory nerves and impaired coordination and balance.

Calcium

The brain requires calcium for secretion of neurotransmitters. The body maintains a specific level of calcium in the blood at all times, pulling calcium from the bones, if the level in the blood drops too low. So deficiencies generally affect bone health, not the brain.

Iodine

The thyroid requires iodine to produce its hormones, which are used in the myelination of the central nervous system. It is also critical in the development of the brain, therefore deficiencies during pregnancy can result in various neurodevelopmental deficits from mild cognitive deficits to mental retardation.

Iron

Iron is essential for proper development of the brain cells that produce myelin and for the synthesis of neurotransmitters. An iron deficiency during fetal development can cause permanent learning and memory deficits; childhood deficiency also causes cognitive impairment.

Magnesium

Magnesium is essential for metabolic reactions required for brain function. Deficiency results in neurological and muscular symptoms.

Selenium

Selenium is required for antioxidant enzymes in the brain and other tissues.

Zinc

Zinc plays a role in neurotransmission as well as catalytic, structural, and regulatory roles. Deficiencies can cause congenital malformations, deficits in learning, and other deficits including attention and learning.

Choline

Choline is another essential nutrient needed for myelination of nerves, neurotransmitter synthesis, and cell membranes and other structures of the brain and nervous system. Deficiency is related to cognitive defects.

Antioxidants

Your brain uses a lot of oxygen, and therefore, it is highly susceptible to free radical damage. This is why antioxidants are critical brain boosters. They protect brain cells by neutralizing free radical damage and preventing premature brain cell aging. Anthocyanins, the antioxidants that are found in berries, have been found to be particularly beneficial to the brain.

Food that’s Good For Our Brains

When you talk about food for the brain, cold-water fish top the list due to their fat content. Fish like salmon, sardines, trout, mackerel, and cod contain significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and essential amino acids in proteins that build healthy brain cell membranes and improve cognitive function.

Other great foods for the brain (especially if you’re vegetarian or vegan) include:

  • Avocados, pumpkin seeds, various nuts, and other oils containing healthy fats along with vitamin E
  • Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables provide antioxidants and brain defending carotenoids
  • Berries give the brain vitamin C, create healthy connections between brain cells, and protect brain cells against free radicals with antioxidants.
  • Turmeric’s active ingredient, curcumin, detoxifies the brain.
  • Cayenne can wake you up like nothing else, rushing blood to the brain. Cayenne is a great supplement to take with other remedies.
  • Ginger protects the brain and has some of the same effects as cayenne, as far as waking up the senses and increasing blood flow.
  • Pretty much all produce nourishes the body and therefore the mind.

Essential Oils for Cognitive Function

Many essential oils are great for temporarily boosting cognitive function, and there are some combinations that work particularly well. Three drops of rosemary with two drops of lemon is a simple recipe to boost memory. Four drops of cypress with one drop of rosemary is another recipe for brain power. So many essential oils offer powerful and beneficial effects with the brain. In particular, rosemary is proven to increase memory by up to 75%. Peppermint, lavender, cedarwood, and sage are other essential oils particularly notable for proven abilities to increase brain function, but the list doesn’t end there. If you happen to have any essential oil around, give it a sniff and see what happens. Better quality oils produce better results.

Use It or Lose it

Our brain works much like the rest of the body in that it is a “use it or lose it” organ. If you don’t use your brain enough, your cognitive abilities suffer. People who really think more than the average person, like scientists and professors, are less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases of the brain.

Studies show that learning a new language increases intelligence measurably. It’s not just languages though. Learning anything complicated that takes lots of time and practice, that uses the brain in many different ways, will have a noticeable effect on intelligence. If speaking another language isn’t in the cards, learning to play a musical instrument, mathematics, or learning computer languages can offer the same benefits. Learning how to develop websites, for instance, is an excellent way to exercise the brain. I personally had an IQ increase of 6 points after spending a few years learning HTML, PHP, CSS. There are also countless apps and websites with daily brain-teasers and exercises. Most of us know that reading increases our intelligence, but processing a variety of information has a greater effect than just reading fiction or a single other genre. All reading, whether it be fiction, magazine articles, blog posts, or historical, has benefit and can work our brains in different ways.

Exercise itself is huge for brain health! Being physically fit has been show to help with concentration. Exercise regulates proper hormone production, and exercise is the best way to take a break from an arduous brain task.

Be sure to keep taking those free IQ assessment tests when you can, too. What better way to raise your IQ than to practice taking various different IQ tests? There are also lots of toys and games like the classic Rubik Cube. If you really want to turn your noggin into the mind of a brainiac, playing with brain teasers, puzzle toys, crossword puzzles and the like should be a hobby. Collect them and use them on a regular basis.

Breathe Right

Take deep, slow breaths. Breathe so that your abdomen expands with each breath and your ribcage compresses with each exhale. Read How to Breathe for more.

Drink Plenty of Water

Most people are chronically dehydrated. Coffee and sodas are only making it worse. Our brain is made up of 75% water. Sometimes when concentration seems impossible and the day feels like it’s spiraling out of control, chugging a few cups of water can change perception and get things back on track. .

Maximum Brain Function Regimen

Obviously, I eat well, typically consuming lots of produce with beneficial fats, enzymes, antioxidants, and all the other nutrients my body needs. But sometimes I need a boost. If I am tired, having trouble focusing, can’t figure something out, or am in need of some brain help for any reason, I have a protocol I use.

I juice equal parts turmeric, lemon, and ginger. I make about ½ of a cup total, spike it with as much cayenne as I can handle, and take the shot. I follow that up with a B vitamin complex, Shillington’s Brain Tonic, and then Shillington’s Blood Detox. If there’s any chance I have some candida going on (which always impacts my focus) I take about 15 SF722 and 5 FloraMend as well.

And then I make my salad for the day.

If you’ve got a routine you love that gets your mind just right, whether it’s for increasing focus and cognition or elevating your mood, please share with us in the comments below.

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

This is such an amazing formula, not just for overall long-term brain health, but also to give the brain a boost when it needs it the most.

(Mix the following by volume, and make a standard tincture (click here for instructions) using 100 proof vodka as your menstrum.)

  • 15 – parts Gingko Leaf
  • 1 – part Gotu Kola Herb
  • 1 – part Calamus Root
  • 1 – part Rosemary Flowers
  • 1 – part Cayenne Pepper
  • Optional:- 1 part Kola Nut

A ‘part’ is a measurement by volume.  Blend all ingredients together and make into a tincture using a 50 – 50 Blend of Alcohol and distilled water. For more, see How to Make a Tincture.

A Dropperful is considered to be about 1/2 way up the dropper from a two ounce bottle.

Be sure to shake well before each use.

Conclusion

The most important and significant thing you can do to increase your concentration and other cognitive abilities right away without making any lifestyle changes is to breathe right, take a B vitamin complex, a dropperful of brain tonic (or other herbal combination for brain function), drink water, and do a few squats. For long term, taking something like Shillington’s Brain Tonic, and the right diet makes for a more intelligent, and aware person who isn’t just trying to make it through the day.

If your mind is sluggish, detox. If you smoke anything, stop. It all impairs brain function. So do pharmaceuticals and alcohol. As stated, a healthy body = a healthy mind. An unhealthy body, i.e., a body full of drugs and other toxins, with limited nutrition and little ability to absorb it, makes for a brainwashed sheep who simply tries to make it through the day without getting slaughtered.

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Detox vs. Fasting – Which One You should do?

It’s often argued that a detoxification regimen is pointless because the body is always detoxifying. While this is true, there is also a process of “medicinal removal of toxic substances” which is the definition commonly used by naturopaths, and other alternative health care advocates. So, for the purposes of getting past this inane sticking point, let’s redefine detoxifying, and “detox” to mean a method to expel waste from the body at a significantly greater rate than what the body will remove without such aid.

Personally, I think that sounds pretty good. If you’ve got a better definition, I’d love to read it in the comments.

There is a huge difference between detoxification and fasting, and yet the words tend to be used interchangeably. To detox is to facilitate the removal of toxins from the body whereas fasting is a severe restriction of calories. A fast may be a water fast where no nutrients are consumed, but the typically fast is to eliminate all solid foods while drinking a lot of fluids, including juices, to flush out the body. The Master Cleanse lemonade diet is a well-known example. The Master Cleanse does help to detoxify the body, so it is both a detox and a fast.

People often wonder if a beet juice fast, or a watermelon fast, or some other kind of fast is right for them.

Benefits of Fasting to Detoxify

  • Whether it be a viral, bacterial, fungal, or a parasitic infection, not eating is the easiest way to ensure you do not feed the infection.
  • Fasting quickly resets the taste buds, which can make it easier to enjoy healthy foods when the fast is over.
  • Not eating for a while can reset the appetite, allow someone to come off of the fast with more restraint from overeating.
  • Fasting can break or adjust psychological barriers with weight loss and food.
  • Fasting can kick start a weight loss diet by shedding pounds quickly.
  • For people with a severely compromised digestive system, juicing only, or exclusively consuming fruits that are very easy to digest, is often the best way to quickly facilitate healing.
  • When taking certain tinctures and other herbal formulas, fasting can ensure that no foods or herbs are eaten that could reduce the effects of the formula.
  • It is difficult for a toxic body to detoxify without supplemental support, even with a very healthy diet. Fasting can overcome this, especially when lots of fluids are consumed, flushing the body.

It’s easier to restore one’s health by eliminating all foods, and then slowly adding produce and then other foods into the diet as health improves, learning along the way which foods should be avoided and why, as opposed to simply learning what foods to avoid.

Fasting is great. It’s got most of the benefits of detoxifying, with additional benefits as well. Fasting, when done right, is powerful. Personally, I recommend fasting regularly, but only for short periods of time.

Once the intestinal tract is capable of properly digesting food, if the person’s health isn’t too poor, introducing the right foods into the diet can aid in the detoxification process.

Benefits to Detoxifying Without Fasting

I highly recommend eating while detoxifying. When made right, salads have amazing medicinal benefits. Try one with as many different vegetables as possible, from dandelion leaves to collard greens, and add a bunch of fresh garlic, lemon, and apple cider vinegar. Salads are the easiest way, in my experience, to digest a lot of raw garlic at once. Even if you don’t care for salads, after a fast, this sort of vegetable medley can be very appetizing. Check out 80% Raw Food Diet for more on that.

  • It’s possible to sustain a detoxification regimen longer when eating, which is imperative for ridding the body of many serious health afflictions.
  • Many foods are actually well known to aid the body in detoxification. Great examples are cilantro, garlic, turmeric, and cabbage.
  • Vegetable, spice, and herb health benefits often have accumulative effects when eaten together.
  • It’s easier to get a lot of nutrition and a lot of garlic into the body.
  • When the intestines are healthy, nutrition is better absorbed as food.
  • Enzymes, found in fresh food, also help the body detoxify and rebuild.

It’s true that the body is always expelling waste. To oversimplify things, a sick body, and a body that is getting sick, expels toxins slower than it accumulates them. A healthy body, or a body getting well, eliminates toxins at the same rate or more quickly than the body accumulates them. The right foods help to detoxify the body. Getting enough nutrition allows the body to detoxify on its own. A healthy person who has practiced eating a truly healthy diet that focuses on fresh produce and eliminates toxic food almost always eliminates more toxins than accumulated. These are the people who do detoxify every day, all day. Some assistance via supplementation, every now and then, can increase the body’s ability to detoxify from environmental toxin accumulation.

Regardless, Get Nutrition

Restricted calorie programs don’t have to restrict vitamins and minerals and other important nutrients. We recommend a good multivitamin/mineral formula regardless of whichever detox protocol you choose. Even when we eat very well, it can be hard in this day and age to get enough nutrition from our food. Especially while fasting, a nutrition powder can significantly affect the results in a positive way.

Make sure any detox you do addresses candida. If you’re looking for an inexpensive, and easy detox, click here, and see Make Your Own Nutrition Formula for a recipe, or check it out to see some of the best ingredients to look for when shopping for yours.

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Casting a Light on Ear and Body Candling

Candling (or coning) has been used as an aid for health for thousands of years, throughout the world. Candling is sometimes considered an old wives’ remedy, but how many of these gentler methods are we rediscovering today?

Simple in themselves, the candles are hollow tubes or cones of differing lengths, made from cotton or linen impregnated with wax and various herbs, such as chamomile, lavender, eucalyptus or sage.  (Preferably, all ingredients are organic.)

What is Candling?

The candle or cone is placed just over the entrance to the ear canal and the top is lit. As it burns, it sends a gentle warmth spiralling down, which massages the ear drum and stimulates the immune system. We know that a properly functioning immune system is vital for perfect health and when this is built up in children from infancy, they have a wonderful gift to carry them through life. For adults, it is equally important to have a well-functioning immune system to enable us to avoid any bugs floating around, or if we don’t quite manage that, to get rid of them in record time.

The acupuncture points in the ear are also treated by the candles and six of the main meridians (energy lines according to Chinese medicine) in the human body, including those concerned with allergies, either start or terminate at a point between the nose and the ear. The candle is therefore sending energy right through the body by means of its meridians.

Practical Uses of Candling

So what are their practical applications? I have been using them and training people in their use for more than 25 years, so I have picked up a lot of information in that time, far too much to put into an article.  However, here are a few examples:

Children adore them, and they naturally react far faster than adults. A regular patient brought her four year-old daughter who fell so deeply asleep that her mother had to shake her gently to wake her up.  Candling did the trick, though; her sinuses unblocked and she was able to enjoy the flight to her homeland half a world away a few days later.

People with allergies find great relief, although the candles won’t remove the allergy.  One of my patients has been coming every month for several years, and after the very first treatment, was able to breathe more easily and snore less loudly at night and on my treatment table! It was this patient who sent me a friend suffering with sleep apnoea, telling her that it was worth a try.  She had been using an oxygen mask at night, which kept her awake and during the day she was exhausted.  After a couple of treatments she was able to discard the mask and now she comes in for treatment about every six weeks.

Another patient, who had a slight stroke four years earlier, told me that after the very first treatment, she felt more balanced than she had since her stroke and that there was “more light”. One of the functions of the candles is to balance the two hemispheres of the brain, so that was a confirmation, if any was needed, of their efficacy.

A reader of an early edition of my book told me how candles had helped and comforted her mother in the final weeks before dying of cancer. Without a treatment before bedtime, she felt as if she were suffocating; candling was the only way she could sleep in comfort.

A woman who suffered from two or three migraines a month, who was taking codeine regularly, came for three treatments over a short period and felt an attack coming on as we finished the third session. She returned a year later and told me she had suffered only one migraine during the entire year. She had completely forgotten that migraines had been her initial reason for consulting me.

A former student of mine reported on the case of a patient suffering from depression, insomnia, and constipation. As she started candling, the patient’s intestines began to rumble and at the end of the treatment, the therapist burnt a candle on the belly. The patient rushed to the lavatory and was able to reduce the load in his gut.  He stopped using sleeping tablets after the first treatment and, with his doctor’s help, was able to reduce his reliance on anti-depressants.

Body Candling

A candle on the belly? Yes, candles can be used anywhere on the body and this is something many people do not necessarily know. Of course treating the ears and stimulating the immune system are going to have a generalized effect anyway, but sometimes a more targeted approach has been found to work faster. For constipation and/or hemorrhoids, a candle burnt on the sacrum or directly on the belly can work wonders.  The great thing is that the patient doesn’t need to undress – just put a paper tissue on the spot and hold the candle upright over it.  For painful periods as well as painful glands in the breast, candling has been shown to offer rapid relief. How I wish I’d known that when I was younger!

There are always other things I have advised my patients to do to enhance their candling, such as drinking more water or less tea and coffee, avoiding dairy products if they suffer from blocked sinuses,  and managing stress. These are all things many of us know, but our lives are such that we can’t always follow them. Like most other things, candling maintenance sessions are advisable every six weeks or so depending on the problem, the person, and his/her schedule.

Even after 25 years I am still discovering conditions for which the candles are ideal.



Flu Shot Facts Everyone Should Know

There is a consistent misnomer among the mainstream consensus that vaccines are healthy. If flu shots are effective, one could argue that the end result is healthy, but there is nothing healthy about the vaccine itself. In 2014, the ingredients include thimerosal (mercury), aluminum salts, sugars, gelatin, egg protein, formaldehyde, and neomycin. Nobody in their right mind can argue that allowing these toxins into the body is actually “healthy.” The idea is that the damage the vaccine may do is outweighed by the illness it prevents.

The question remains, is it worth the risk, however minor or major the risks may be? To answer this question, we need to answer the question of whether the flu shot reduces the number of flu cases each year. The CDC says yes, but most people don’t know that the CDC admits they cannot verify their claims.

If you’re on the fence about flu shots (or know somebody who is), the following is undisputed, inarguable information that can all be easily verified, information that everyone should be aware of to in regards to flu shot dangers and efficacy.

The CDC has no idea how many people contract influenza or die from it each year

The CDC states that they receive reports on confirmed influenza cases in children but not adults. Their website lists the number of annual flu-related deaths for children. The average since 2003 is 113 deaths per year. Yet they claim 25-35,000 Americans die from influenza each year. They base their numbers on cases of pneumonia, respiratory, and circulatory related deaths without laboratory confirmation that influenza was a cause. Many of these cases are the elderly who suffer from chronic diseases. The CDC claims their deaths are due to flu-related illnesses or that the flu weakened their condition, yet there is no confirmation that the patient suffered from influenza.

The flu is not usually the flu

Whenever we spike a fever along with muscle aches and pains we (and doctors as well) decide we have the flu. But we probably don’t. We may have a virus of some kind, or we may have a bacterial infection (which could also be from food we ate) or a fungal infection (like candida, which can infect the body just like a virus or a bacteria and show all of the same symptoms). Even if it is a virus, there are more than 200 viruses that cause flu-like symptoms.

Pneumonia has more than 30 different causes, influenza being but one of them.

The National Center for Health Statistics states, “Cause-of-death statistics are based solely on the underlying cause of death [internationally defined] as ‘the disease or injury which initiated the train of events leading directly to death,'” Since the flu is rarely an “underlying cause of death,” the CDC created the term, “influenza-associated death.”

The CDC does not want to know how many people actually die from the flu. Or, they do know, and don’t want anyone else to know. When you put the pieces of the puzzle together, that much is clear. If they wanted to know how many people died from the flu, as in, how many people die from flu symptoms with laboratory confirmed influenza virus every year, it would be relatively easy to find out. We have those statistics for other diseases, but not for the flu.

The CDC does reveal the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of flu inoculations

In children, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is reported to be a mere 66%. It doesn’t seem possible to derive a factual number for adults since the CDC states that tests for influenza are not reported. When laboratory tests are done to confirm influenza, they often show that influenza was not present. Perhaps this is why the CDC does not collect this information.

They guess which influenza shot to give you every year

The viral strain used to manufacture the vaccine is based on the best guess of which flu strain will spread during the next flu season. Add to this best guess scenario the fact the viruses mutate. Even if the correct strain was chosen, a mutation may render the vaccine useless. It’s interesting to note that while, as mentioned, the CDC does track the annual confirmed influenza deaths of children, but the CDC does not track what influenza virus kills them. We cannot find any record of how often the vaccine companies manufacture for the correct strain, or how often any particular strain of influenza is more or less likely to kill us.

For all we know, they could be giving people the wrong flu vaccine more often than not.

Flu vaccines contain aluminum salts & formaldehyde

The use of aluminum salts on the skin has been linked to breast cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and many other diseases. Aluminum, in any of it’s forms, is known to be extremely toxic to humans. Of course, injecting or snorting aluminum, as opposed to drinking from aluminum cans and absorbing it from skin products, is very different. We would argue that this difference poses a far greater risk to health, but vaccine advocates disagree.

Flu vaccines are not vegan friendly

Sugars (sugar often comes from non-vegan sources), egg protein, and gelatin (derived from collagen obtained from various animal by-products) are in the 2014 rounds of flu shots. The flu vaccine is prepared from the fluids of chick embryos inoculated with an influenza virus.

Yes! Influenza shots still contain mercury

If you choose to take a vaccine, look for the ingredient thermisol. Thermisol is in multi-dose vials of flu vaccine, which are most of the flu vaccines.

Autism is not the most common vaccine injury being settled in vaccine court

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is an auto-immune reaction to viruses and vaccines. The immune system attacks the nervous system. Symptoms range from tingling and weakness in the limbs to life-threatening paralysis.

There has been a lot of news about the links between vaccines and autism, but settlements for Guillain- Barré Syndrome exceed autism and other child development cases in vaccine court. The number of settlements also far exceed the numbers of cases cited by the CDC and other pro-vaccine sources.

The CDC has no idea how many people contract influenza or die from it each year

The CDC states that they receive reports on confirmed influenza cases in children but not adults. Their website lists the number of annual flu-related deaths for children. The average since 2003 is 113 deaths per year. Yet they claim 25-35,000 Americans die from influenza each year. They base their numbers on cases of pneumonia, respiratory, and circulatory related deaths without laboratory confirmation that influenza was a cause. Many of these cases are the elderly who suffer from chronic diseases. The CDC claims their deaths are due to flu-related illnesses or that the flu weakened their condition, yet there is no confirmation that the patient suffered from influenza.

The flu is not usually the flu

Whenever we spike a fever along with muscle aches and pains we (and doctors as well) decide we have the flu. But we probably don’t. We many have a virus of some kind, or we may have a bacterial infection (which could also be from food we ate) or a fungal infection (like candida, which can infect the body just like a virus or a bacteria and show all of the same symptoms). Even if it is a virus, there are more than 200 viruses that cause flu-like symptoms.

Pneumonia has more than 30 different causes, influenza being but one of them.

The National Center for Health Statistics states, “Cause-of-death statistics are based solely on the underlying cause of death [internationally defined] as ‘the disease or injury which initiated the train of events leading directly to death,'” Since the flu is rarely an “underlying cause of death,” the CDC created the term, “influenza-associated death.”

The CDC does not want to know how many people actually die from the flu. Or, they do know, and don’t want anyone else to know. When you put the pieces of the puzzle together, that much is clear. If they wanted to know how many people died from the flu, as in, how many people die from flu symptoms with laboratory confirmed influenza virus every year, it would be relatively easy to find out. We have those statistics for other diseases, but not for the flu.

Conclusion

The flu is completely preventable. The irony is that the flu shot makes a healthy person more likely to get the flu and a person with a compromised immune system is much more likely to be damaged by toxic vaccine ingredients than a healthy person. The more often the flu shot is received, the more likely an injury will occur, and the weaker the immune system will be in the long run. If you’re looking for more information on vaccinations, be sure to check the first source. Also check out How to Detoxify from Vaccinations, and Bullet Proof Your Immune System.

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