The Way We Used To Eat – The Real Paleo Diet

Without a doubt, our food used to be very different than the food we eat today. Our prehistoric diet consisted of fresh fruit, wild vegetables, roots, wild herbs, nuts, seeds, honey, some wild grains, seafood, and meat. We, as well as our primate antecedents that came before us, evolved to thrive on this plant based diet.

For literally millions of years, we consumed a diet rich in nutrients, low in toxins, high in fiber, and rich in fats. As good as that diet was, it wasn’t ideal. Many prehistoric foods had naturally occurring toxins in them and were lower in nutrients than the best foods available today. Plus, humans were restricted to the foods available in the area they foraged.

In modern times, we can improve upon our prehistoric diet, provided the core concept resembles the same ratios of macronutrients. These ratios of nutrients changed dramatically for the first time, ten thousand years ago when we adopted agriculture. It was then that our diet, and our society, changed forever.

Agriculture spread from one society to another, gradually becoming the dominant subsistence strategy. Farming further reduced variety and increased grains, a change that resulted in a significant decline in health. There is a lot of evidence to support the notion that a high carbohydrate diet, especially when compounded over generations, has a dramatically detrimental effect on human health and vitality. This decline in health can be seen across time and across many cultures.

The average Spanish conquistador was dwarfed in size by the average North American Native American. Spaniards ate a diet high in carbohydrates and low in protein, with limited fruits and vegetables. Native Americans of North America consumed many plants, some fruits and nuts, wild game, some carbohydrates (mostly from squash and corn), and for many tribes, plenty of seafood. The natives in North America could look down on the Spaniards by as much as a half a foot.

South American Natives and Mexican natives are and were significantly smaller in stature than their Northern counterparts. South American Natives relied on agriculture. With farming came a denser population whose diet focused on grains, leading to much higher carbohydrate consumption and less access to meat, nuts, herbs, and vegetables.

The effect that diet has on size is fascinating. Many people attribute genetics to differences in size. Among individuals with a similar diet, this is true. But between populations, like the American population and the Mexican population, diet, over generations, greatly contributes to the average difference in size. Although the effect diet has on size is very interesting, diet has many more profound effects on all aspects of health. Differences in diet lead to different diseases.

Many experts predict that our current population will not live as long as previous generations. Diabetes, heart disease, strokes, hypertension, kidney disease, and obesity are all on the rise, and these diseases are predicted to noticeably shorten the American lifespan. But the story of the American diet doesn’t end there. Our diet did not go from the best in the world to one of the worst overnight, and it won’t go back to the best quickly, either. To understand where we are going, and how diet affects us, it is helpful to understand where we have been and how our diet has affected us in the past.

Freedom has long been lauded as the reason why so many Europeans crossed the ocean. Though religious freedom was certainly a factor, food was probably the bigger incentive. During the time period when Europeans were first settling America, Europe was a very crowded continent. Farming opportunities for European settlers in America were the best in the world. Europeans came in droves to realize the American dream, the dream of being able to feed one’s family, to live in abundance, an abundance of food. It was a modest dream to be sure, but when you can’t feed your family or your family is fed in a substandard manner, it is a dream worth great risk and sacrifice to achieve.

Within generations, a profound difference in size and prosperity emerged between Americans and their European counterparts. This difference in size can still be seen today, but the size gap between Americans and Europeans during modern times is disappearing.

In the early 1800s, most Americans lived on or near farms. Foods were restricted by seasonal availability, and cooking was done on an open hearth, a labor-intensive method.

In 1820, the cast iron stove was introduced. For Americans living in the 1800s this was as timesaving as a microwave is versus a modern day oven. Unlike a microwave, a cast iron stove didn’t eradicate nutrients anymore than the previous cooking method did, it just saved time.

In 1892, the U.S. government collected height and weight data on a representative sample of U.S. men. In white males aged 40-69 years old, obesity was estimated to have been at 4%.

From that time to modern times, a number of changes happened to our food supply, including how food is prepared, how it is produced, its availability, and what foods we choose to eat.

These are some of the changes:

  • 1910s – Hydrogenated (trans fats) were introduced into the food supply
  • 1920s – Gas and electric stoves became common
  • 1920s – Refrigerators became common
  • 1920s – Canned foods and frozen foods were introduced

In the early 1900s, foods like Nathan’s Hot Dogs, Oreo Cookies, Wonder Bread, Yoo-Hoo, Wheaties, Kool-Aid, VanCamp’s Canned Pork and Beans, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were introduced into the American diet and became very popular.

Trans fats dramatically extend the shelf life of foods. Proctor & Gamble learned methods for hydrogenating cottonseed oil from a German scientist. This fat was originally intended for soap, but it resembled lard, so Proctor & Gamble successfully marketed it as Crisco. (The name comes from crystallized cottonseed oil.)

New technologies not only allowed for easy storage of food, they also allowed for a more diverse diet, a diet less beholden to seasonal availability. For the sake of convenience, many more ready- to-eat foods were developed. Refrigeration technology did not just change the foods in the home, it changed the foods available in stores and restaurants as well. And refrigerated train cars, in use since the 1840s, allowed for shipping foods long distances.

Refrigeration and electricity created a technological platform from which commercialized food became more commonplace. This change is important because it is not as profitable for commercially prepared food to be healthy as it is for it to simply taste good and have a long shelf life. It is easier and more profitable for food manufacturers to misrepresent their foods as healthy, than it is for them to actually be healthy.

Consider these ads:

Sugar Ads

This misrepresentation is achieved by focusing on a few upsides to commercially prepared foods while blatantly ignoring the numerous downsides. Food manufacturers don’t attempt to convince us how great sugar is anymore. Their methods have grown more sophisticated. For instance, “fat free” while loaded with sugar; zero trans fat, when high in other fats; “all natural,” when genetically modified; made with real blueberries, when everything else was made in a lab; and my personal favorite, “fortified with vitamins & minerals,” which means this Frankenfood is so dead that in order for it to have any nutrition at all, the manufacturer had to add the cheapest, most unnatural vitamins and minerals known to man.

A Changing Food Budget

In 1889, 93% of all food spending was for food consumed at home. In 2009, only 51% of all food spending was spent on food to be consumed at home. Of the food purchased to be consumed at home, much of it was highly processed and commercially prepared.

Changing Activity Levels

While the standard American diet drastically changed, so did the physical activity levels of the average American. Two hundred years ago, most professions were physically demanding and exercise was a way of life. Over time, this has dramatically changed. Some Americans exercise a few times a week, but it is common for many to never exercise at all.

Obviously, this has had profound effects on American health.

Trading one Disease for Another

The first alarms were sounded in the late 1970s. A senate committee pushed its “Dietary Goals for the United States” urging Americans to eat less fat. It was thought that red meat, eggs, and dairy were killing us.

By the 1980s, nearly a million Americans were dying of heart disease each year.

Again, Americans were told to eat less fat and eat more carbohydrates. These recommendations were built into a monument and lauded to the public as the salvation for American health: The Food Pyramid.

The Food Pyramid recommended carbohydrates as the staple of a healthy diet. Fat was a killer, or so we were led to believe, therefore recommendations for fat intake were drastically reduced. A $150 million dollar study, which pushed the same message, came fast on the heels of these recommendations. The study said to eat less fat and avoid foods high in cholesterol in order to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Americans followed this advice and consumption of grains and sugar rose. Americans are now sicker than before. Deaths from heart disease have dropped a bit, but obesity and diabetes rose dramatically.

Whole milk has been banned from most of our public schools, but strawberry milk, chocolate milk, and soda machines are usually available. Whole plain yogurt is usually difficult to find in a grocery store, but low fat, sugar filled, artificially flavored, artificially colored options are everywhere. The prevailing belief is that these low fat options are healthier, even when loaded with sweeteners, than whole milk.

Though deaths from heart disease have declined, cardiovascular disease remains the nation’s number # 1 killer. According to Time Magazine, diabetes has increased 166% from 1980 to 2012. The low-fat trend was directed toward lowering cholesterol. And yet, few realize that high fructose corn syrup, found in nearly every processed food, is today’s leading cause of high cholesterol.

A Downward Trend

In every measurable way, Americans are in worse health than ever before. It is widely predicted that our lifespan is shortening; the generations that came before us will outlive us, and we are likely to outlive the generations that succeed us.

Most Americans simply want to lose weight, but some aspire to be healthier as well. For either goal or both goals, many Americans have lost confidence in government guidelines and have begun to look for other diets to follow. In the absence of sound advice from the government, many have turned elsewhere for ways to lose weight or to improve their health.

This has led to waves of diet fads, diets that rise and fall in popularity. These are some of the more popular diets:

  • The Pritikin diet
  • The Atkins diet
  • The Gluten Free diet
  • The South Beach diet
  • The Mediterranean diet
  • Weight Watchers
  • The Zone Diet
  • Volumetrics
  • Raw Food Diet
  • NutriSystem
  • Macrobiotic Diet
  • The Paleo Diet

Many of the diets have been designed and championed by doctors.

The Pritikin diet basically echoes government recommendations, with less meat. The South Beach diet is very similar, with fewer carbs and more lean meats like fish and poultry. The Atkins diet is a protein-based weight loss plan that is low in nutrition and very unhealthy. It has been called a nutritionist’s nightmare. The gluten free diet works best if there is a reason for one to avoid gluten. Otherwise, unless one cuts back on carbs, it is unlikely to be beneficial to anyone trying to lose weight. Weight Watchers stresses eat what you want but in moderation and constantly count calories.

The Mediterranean diet is a seafood, wine, veggie, and whole grain weight loss plan similar to South Beach. The Zone diet suggests a rigid focus on macronutrients in regards to protein, carbs, and fat. Nutrisystem is the ultimate have someone else do it for you plan with all meals pre made and pre measured. Volumetrics promotes a focus on fruits and vegetables. Because of their fiber content, they make you feel more full. The raw food diet allows for unlimited raw vegan food.

These were among the most popular diets. Many diet fads were highly restrictive, absurd, dangerous, and downright scary like the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, the vinegar diet, and the liquid diet. Other approaches included the T.V. frozen dinner diet and even a Twinkie diet. The most dangerous and harmful diets were the diets that weren’t even based on food like the cigarette diet (whenever you’re hungry, just smoke), the eat sweets before a meal diet, or, even more crazy, the tapeworm diet, the baby food diet (substitute some of your meals with baby food), and worst of all the cotton ball diet, which recommended that you actually eat cotton balls dipped in juice. This is a choking hazard and can cause intestinal blockages, both of which can kill you. It was crazy, but these were all diets were practiced by some Americans.

Despite the variety of diets, popular and obscure, safe and dangerous, on average, Americans are fatter than ever before. Most Americans eat slightly less red meat and eat more lean meat, but they eat more sugar and more highly processed and refined foods. The CDC predicts that by 2030 up to 42% of the U.S. population will be obese, and 11% will be severely obese.

Experts do not agree on the health effect of grains and sweets. In Georgia, the only cereals WIC will pay for are cereals that contain some kind of sugar – corn sugar, sugar cane, or sugar from beets. Fruit juice sweetened and unsweetened cereals are considered health food and are not eligible for purchase under the program.

Over time, some foods have gone up in demand, while others have fallen in popularity. Sugar consumption from sugar cane has dropped 35% while corn based sweeteners (mostly high fructose corn syrup) consumption has risen by 8,853%. It’s not that Americans choose to eat corn syrup, they choose to eat processed foods, and high fructose corn syrup is added to nearly every processed food.

The current government guidelines are only a little different than the original food pyramid. The current recommendations are still high in grains, but the recommendation for fruits and vegetables is higher.

Conclusion

We recommend a diverse, whole food, plant-based diet. A full 80% of your diet should consist of raw, fresh, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits. Meats should be organic. Nuts and seeds should be soaked or sprouted. Grains should be limited and gluten should be avoided if any illness is present. Dairy should be organic and raw or limited. Omega 3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil, fish oil, or a blended oil and oily fish should be added to your diet. Clean water is also essential.

You should avoid all artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives; MSG; high fructose corn syrup; trans fats; and GMOs. Seriously limit or eliminate all processed sugar.

For more information about a truly healthy diet, read the 80% Raw Food Diet. Boost your nutrition with increased vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, learn how to make your own Total Nutrition Powder.

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Top 5 Shampoo Alternatives and How They Stack Up

If you’ve ever taken a look at the ingredients of a typical shampoo bottle, you’ve probably felt deep confusion, and even a bit of alarm.

Last year, I did something I’ve strangely never done before – I read the ingredients listed on my bottle of Pantene Pro-V shampoo and realized I understood only one ingredient: water. The rest was a mumbo jumbo of hard-to-pronounce chemicals that I spent my apres-shower hour googling.

Turns out several of these ingredients are skin irritants (sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate) and a few that are much more dangerous. The worst offender, methylisothiazolinone, was found in recent animal studies to be toxic to brain cells, even for brief exposures at low concentrations. And I was using this stuff every day!

Well, no more. I was determined to end my chemical shampoo slavery and find better, all-natural options for my hair, scalp, and body.

Here’s what I found during my journey into shampoo alternatives, in no particular order. If you’re also planning a break-up with shampoo, you’ll want to give this a read.

Baking Soda, aka Bicarbonate of Soda

Baking soda was the first shampoo alternative I tried, mainly because there was a big tub of it already lying around in the kitchen, waiting for a purpose.

To use it, you’ll want to dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of water, slowly pour it over your hair, give yourself a little head massage to work the mixture through your strands and then wash it all out.

How does baking soda stack up? Honestly, it’ll leave your hair feeling squeaky clean but also a little dry, brittle and rough. This effect mostly has to do with the fact that baking soda is highly alkaline with a pH of 9.0 while wet hair is naturally a little more acidic with a pH of around 4.5 to 5.5. Since alkalines tend to open hair cuticles (while acids close them), the very alkaline baking soda opens up your cuticles and allows the hair to absorb too much water, resulting in raised and jagged cuticles that make your hair feel rough and brittle.

Overall, baking soda may be too harsh for most people since normal hair needs a shampoo (alternative) with a pH between 4.5 and 6.7. For those with oily hair, however, a more alkaline solution works great in balancing things out so if you’ve got oily locks – baking soda might be great shampoo alternative for you. Just make sure you don’t use it too often!

Apple Cider Vinegar

The above baking soda is very alkaline, and when used alone, it can leave your hair feeling dry and brittle. Add in acidic apple cider vinegar, however, and you’ve got a much better pH-balanced shampoo and rinse combo!

To use apple cider vinegar, mix it in a ratio of 2 tbsp of vinegar to 1 cup of water. After you’ve “shampoo-ed” with your baking soda mixture, apply your apple cider vinegar solution on the length of your hair. There’s no need to apply it near your roots. Wash out.

And don’t worry about smelling vinegar-y all day – the smell goes away as soon as your hair’s dry.

Castille Soap

Much like baking soda, Castille soap is very alkaline and will leave your hair looking brittle and dry if you use it alone. Also like baking soda, Castille soap is ridiculously good at multi-tasking. You can use the stuff as a shampoo, body wash, laundry detergent, and dishwashing soap. So if you’re looking to condense a lot of your soapy needs down to one product, Castille soap just might be your answer. Just make sure you use it with a balancing acidic rinse like apple cider vinegar and again, don’t use it too often!

Clay

Both Bentonite and Rhassoul are healing, detoxing clays that are used for everything from tightening pores to removing toxins from the body. But did you know they also make great shampoos?

Clays make the perfect shampoo alternative since they’re chock full of nourishing minerals, provide deep cleansing, and leave your hair both clean and conditioned. They’re also pH-balanced – a mixture of 1 tablespoon of Rhassoul clay and 8 ounces of water has a pH of around 6, which is pretty close to your hair’s natural pH.

To use, mix clay with water until you get a consistency resembling an egg yolk. Wet your hair and then wring it out. Slowly pour the mud mixture over your head and work it through to the tips. Give yourself a little mud shampoo pack for around 5 minutes and wash everything out.

If you want, feel free to add an apple cider vinegar rinse afterward!

Coconut Milk and Aloe Vera Gel

This coconut milk and aloe vera gel shampoo alternative is also pH-balanced and is perfect for those of us with dry, damaged hair.  Coconut milk is very soothing for dry, itchy scalps and the saturated fats in it help repair damaged hair.

The only downside to this shampoo alternative is that it goes bad. Fast. The best solution to make it last is to make a big batch and then freeze most of it into “shampoo cubes.”

To make this shampoo alternative, you’ll need a can of coconut milk and around 2 cups of pure aloe vera gel. Simply whisk the two ingredients together until they’re fully mixed and then pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze them. You can take a cube out the night before you plan to use it and leave it in a bowl in the fridge to thaw. If you don’t use the whole cube (you probably won’t), put the leftovers in the fridge.

The thing about swearing off shampoo is that it opens you up to a whole world of natural shampoo alternatives you might never have thought to try. And once your hair adjusts to the fact that it’s free of shampoo for good – you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that it doesn’t need store-bought shampoo to stay clean, hydrated, and gorgeous. Plus, you’ll get a kick out of telling strangers who compliment your hair that you actually haven’t shampooed for months!



Arthritis – How To Relieve the Pain and Heal Naturally

Arthritis is painful inflammation of one or more joints in the body. There are more than 100 types of arthritis, though the best-known types are osteoarthritis (which breaks down cartilage), rheumatoid arthritis (which is an autoimmune disorder affecting the lining of the joints), and gout (caused by deposits of urate crystals in the joints).

Any form of arthritis can both emotionally taxing and physically limiting due to pain and stiffness. Over time, damage to the joints can be extensive.

As with any disease, the first essential step is to change your diet. Every cell in the body requires two things: nutrition and detoxification. The proper diet achieves both; it gives the body dense nutrition and aids the body in daily detoxification.

What to eat:

  • Eat a wide variety of nutrient dense, organic whole foods, not processed foods.
  • Eat lots of produce – more vegetables than fruits; 80% of your food should be fresh, raw, organic produce!
  • If you eat meat, always eat organic
  • Omega 3 fatty acids – oily fish, fish oil, blended Omega 3 oil, flax seed oil, flax seeds
  • Soak nuts and seeds before eating them
  • Eat raw garlic, cilantro, and turmeric regularly to help detoxify
  • Add nutrition powder to your daily diet

What not to eat:

  • Artificial flavorings, colors, or preservatives
  • MSG
  • GMOs
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Sugar (in its many forms)
  • Gluten

Stop all dairy for two weeks then challenge yourself with it (eat a lot of it). See what happens. If you feel ill, see dark circles under your eyes, or experience diarrhea, stop eating dairy.

Doc Shillington recommends the following vitamins and supplements for anyone suffering from arthritis:

See the first link below for the rest of Doc Shillington’s protocol.

When we are ill, especially with anything autoimmune, it is very likely that we are suffering from leaky gut syndrome and Candida. It is vital to stop eating gluten and to get Candida under control so the gut can heal. The goal is to heal your gut followed by every other cell in your body.

Again, this is primarily accomplished by diet and aided by supplements. If you suffer from vaginal yeast infections, itchy skin, raw skin, athlete’s foot, nail fungus etc. these are definite signs that Candida is a problem. [See the second link below.

How to relieve the pain of arthritis

Step one is filling the body with dense nutrients. Step two is getting those nutrients into each and every cell of the body while cleansing each cell of waste and toxins. To accomplish this both blood and lymph need to work in harmony to bathe each cell.

Hot and cold hydrotherapy

Hot and cold hydrotherapy not only relieves pain, it aids the body in healing. It is simple and easy to do but it takes some fortitude. Alternate hot and cold water on the afflicted area for 20 minutes. Start with hot water for a minimum of two minutes then switch to cold for two minutes, back and forth. End with cold.

Hot water drives the blood to the surface of the skin. Cold water drives it deep into tissues. This agitation of the blood helps to cleanse the tissues, much like the agitation of a washing machine. See Hot and Cold Hydrotherapy.

Exercise

Exercise is important. You need to move. The afflicted joints need to move. Exercise is also necessary to move your lymph. Lymph aids the blood in removing toxins and waste from the cells and their surrounding fluids.

Massage

A good masseuse can also help with both pain and healing. Massage aids with circulation of both blood and lymph.

Epsom Salts Bath

If done correctly, Epsom salts baths can be very beneficial. The first thing is to use enough salts. The second issue is to soak for 40 minutes. The first 20 minutes draws out toxins. During the second 20 minutes, you soak up magnesium and sulfates.

The amount to use is determined by weight to a standard size bath:

  • 60-100 lbs: 1 cup
  • 100-150 lbs: 1½ cups
  • 150-200 lbs:  2 cups
  • For each addition 50lbs, add another ½ cup

Herbs That Ease Arthritis Pain

All disease begins and ends on a cellular level. Nutrition, circulation, and detoxification are the core elements to end the pain and damage caused by arthritis. The first step to eliminating almost any disease is here: How To Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem. Many other ailments, including arthritis in the elbows, wrists, knees, hips and shoulders are caused by, and/or exacerbated by thyroid problems as well. Check out Understand Hypothyroidism – Prevention and Natural Remedies.

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Seafood & Mercury – What’s Safe To Eat & What’s Not

Mercury is an element (Hg on the periodic table) that is naturally found in our environment in the air, water, rocks and soil. Mercury can be found in several different forms: metallic mercury, inorganic mercury compounds, and organic mercury compounds.

Metallic mercury is also known as elemental mercury. At room temperatures, this form of mercury is a dazzling silver liquid. When heat is applied, metallic mercury becomes an odorless, invisible gas.

How does Mercury get into the Environment?

Mercury naturally occurs in our environment, but much more of it would be trapped in rocks beneath the surface if not for industrial processes. Coal-fired electricity generation, burning fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, smelting, mining, and incineration of waste are the main contributors of mercury to the environment. Of these coal power plants account for over half of the mercury that ends up in our seafood. Mercury used to manufacture light bulbs, switches and thermometers also pollutes due to poor adherence with safe disposal.

The Bioaccumulation of Mercury in Its Most Toxic Form

Mercury is emitted to the air through burning coal and falls onto the ground and bodies of water usually by way of rain and snow. Several species of soil-dwelling anaerobic bacteria that take up sulfate convert inorganic mercury to methylmercury through their metabolic processes. This conversion is problematic from an ecological point of view, because methlymercury is more toxic and it takes much longer for organisms to eliminate it from their systems. Bacteria that contain methlymercury either excrete the mercury into water or organisms higher up the food chain consume the mercury-laden bacteria. Methylmercury then travels the waterways to the ocean.

Methylmercury in water travels up the food chain from being absorbed by phytoplankton. Phytoplankton is then eaten by zooplankton, small fish then eat zooplankton, and small fish get eaten by larger marine life and so on. Methlymercury accumulates in organisms faster than they can eliminate it. Animals consume and retain higher amounts of mercury each step up the food chain. This is why methlymercury is found in the highest amounts in large predatory fish such as tuna. This mercury biomagnification is most problematic for fish-eating wildlife such as dolphins and some whales and certainly poses a problem for us.

The Seafood Highest in Methylmercury

This is how Scientific American and their article How Does Mercury Get Into Fish rank the severity of mercury contamination in fish.

Highest in Mercury:CounterThink Seafood mercury sharks

  • Bluefin tuna
  • Walleye
  • King mackerel
  • Marlin

Higher in Mercury:

  • Bluefish
  • Shark
  • Swordfish
  • Wild sturgeon
  • Opah
  • Bigeye tuna

Also of concern, but to a slightly lesser extent:

  • Orange roughy
  • Chilean sea bass
  • Blue crab
  • Lingcod
  • Spanish mackerel
  • Spotted seatrout
  • Wahoo
  • Grouper
  • Snapper
  • Halibut
  • Tile fish
  • Rock fish
  • Sable fish
  • Blackfin
  • Albacore
  • Yellowfin tuna

Seafood Lower In Methylmercury

We recommend consuming a variety of fish that have lower contamination levels:

  • Anchovies
  • Butterfish
  • Catfish
  • Clam
  • Crab (Domestic)
  • Crawfish/Crayfish
  • Croaker (Atlantic)
  • Flounder*Mercury in seafood- Where does it come from? Infographic
  • Haddock (Atlantic)*
  • Hake
  • Herring
  • Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
  • Mullet
  • Oyster
  • Perch (Ocean)
  • Plaice
  • Pollock
  • Salmon (Canned)**
  • Salmon (Fresh)**
  • Sardine
  • Scallop*
  • Shad (American)
  • Shrimp*
  • Sole (Pacific)
  • Squid (Calamari)
  • Tilapia
  • Trout (Freshwater)
  • Whitefish
  • Whiting

Conclusion

Always make sure any seafood you consume are sustainably caught, not farm raised, and fresh (not “fishy” smelling). Include foods in your diet that naturally chelate heavy metals like cilantro, garlic, onions, brazil nuts, chlorella, and spirulina. Check out this recipe for a homemade multi-vitamin nutrition formula that chelates heavy metals. And read Detoxify from Heavy Metals and the first three sources below for more on detoxifying mercury.

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Further Reading:
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Avoid Tonsillectomies and Save Your Immune System

The tonsils are part of our immune system, the visible part of our lymphatic system. They provide the first line of defense for pathogens swallowed or inhaled. Specialized cells in the surface of the tonsils capture pathogens allowing B cells and T cells to attack.

Tonsil tissue is similar to other lymphatic tissue, what we call lymph nodes found under the arms and near the groin. The purpose of tonsils is clear and immediate – they are a vigorous element of our immunological defense. So why do we perform 200,000 to 250,000 tonsillectomies a year in The United States?

Your child has frequent bouts of strep throat? Yank those tonsils! Your child’s tonsils are big? Put that kid under general anesthesia, and cut them out! Once again conventional medicine treats a symptom not a cause. If your child’s tonsils are enlarged or your child presents with frequent strep infections, the question is not whether or not to rip out the tonsils, the question is what is causing the infection?

Back in the days when my family and I still embraced conventional medicine, I believe the first time I questioned a doctor’s recommendation when he wanted to remove my eldest son’s overly large tonsils. Rather than comply, I put my son on an allergy elimination diet and discovered that he reacted to dairy products. Removing dairy from his diet solved the tonsil problem along with his frequent bronchitis and ear infections.

Years later I faced off with another doctor who insisted on a tonsillectomy for my youngest son after his third case of strep throat that year. I called a friend, my former pediatrician who lived in another state, hoping for her support. She suggested a strep test for my other child, saying he was probably carrying colonized strep with no symptoms and repeatedly re-infecting his brother. She was right. After treatment there was no more strep and no need to remove a vital part of my son’s immune system.

Rachel faced the same decision. Her research told her that her son’s most likely outcome after a tonsillectomy was one fewer sore throat or throat infection a year. She didn’t think such a small improvement warranted the risk of surgery. She took her son to a naturopath. Vitamin D (which is essential for proper immune system function) and vitamin C resolved the problem.

In the 1950s when the United States was still dealing with epidemic outbreaks of polio, researchers discovered that children who had had their tonsils removed were three times more likely to contract bulbar polio (infecting the bulbar portion of the brain stem), than children who retained their tonsils.

Aside from our medical approach that bases solutions on symptoms rather than causation, ignorance of another kind has driven the lucrative practice of removing tonsils – doctors didn’t really understand their function.

In 2012, researchers discovered the tonsil “…is a ‘factory’ for immune cells” – specifically, for T-cells. T-cells are vital for fighting viruses and cancers caused by viruses (like lymphoma or sarcoma) and T-cells play a role in auto-immune diseases.

Excellent nutrition feeds the immune system and will help anyone avoid the pain of tonsils overwhelmed with infection.Check out Bullet Proof Your Immune System, and be sure to balance your gut flora. A strong immune system is impossible with an excess of Candida. The strength of our immune system starts in the gut. And don’t forget, sinus infections are the number one cause of sore throats, so check out How To Use a Neti Pot For Sinus Infections.

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The Power of Pau d’Arco – Herbal Remedies and More

What if you could treat and prevent a wide range of illness just by drinking tea or by swallowing a few drops of a powerful herbal extract? It turns out that you can, and this natural medicine has been in use for centuries.

Pau d’arco is said to treat numerous conditions including, cancer, Candida overgrowth, constipation, fibromyalgia, diabetes, lupus, bacterial infections, viral infections, and various parasites. Pau d’arco strengthens the body’s immune system, detoxifies the liver, treats various ailments, contains many antioxidants, and is said to promote overall health.

What is Pau d’Arco?

Pau d’arco is a large canopy tree indigenous to tropical regions of South America, from the Bignoniaceae family, the Tabebuia genus, and the impetiginosa species. These flowering trees are often chosen in tropical landscaping for their beauty and durability. They can grow up to 30 meters tall and 3 meters wide. Pau d’arco trees only grow in tropical regions, so they can only be grown in the U.S. in Hawaii and southern Florida.

Pau d’arco has definitely been used for centuries, and its use may go back further. It may predate the Inca. Throughout South America, tribes living thousands of miles apart have used the tree bark for the same medicinal purposes. The Tupi and Guarani tribes refer to the tree as tajy which means to have vigor and strength.

The name pau d’ arco is Portuguese, and it was the Portuguese name for the herb that has come to use in common parlance. Pau translates to wood and arco translates to bow – one of the common uses for the wood.

History of Pau d’Arco Use by the Western World

The Portuguese learned that the bark was useful in treating tropical diseases, including the problematic schistosmiasis caused by flatworms. After this, the incorporation and use of pau d’arco within traditional herbal medicine spread to Europe and later North America. Widespread knowledge of pau d’arco was not seen until the late nineteenth century when scientists isolated one of the active ingredients, lapachol, and identified its chemical structure. Lapachol was first synthesized in the 1920s.

More than seventy-five years after lapachol was first identified within pau d’arco, the herb once again caught the attention of scientists working to identify its medicinal properties. In the 1960s, a Brazilian physician’s research revealed pau d’arco was useful as an anti-inflammatory and for pain relief, which then led to further research.

There are many names commonly used to refer to this tree including ipe, roxo, lapacho, tahuari, taheebo, trumpet tree, ipe-contra saran, tabebuia ipe, and tajy.

Natural Remedies with Pau d’Arco

Pau d’arco has been used as a traditional medicine for more than 1,500 years. Multiple studies have proven it accelerates wound healing.

Pau d’arco is used in many forms including:

  • Tincture
  • Liquid
  • Tablets, softgels, capsules
  • Powder
  • Herb
  • Ointment
  • Tea

Pau d’arco is said to cleanse the blood and body and stimulate the immune system and the production of red blood cells. It contains the following properties:

  • Analgesic
  • Antioxidant
  • Antiparasitic
  • Antimicrobial
  • Antiviral
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Antibacterial
  • Antifungal
  • Astringent
  • Laxative

The leaves and bark have been used by traditional folk healers of the Caribbean to treat wounds, snakebites, backaches, and toothaches. It has also been used traditionally by indigenous people to treat malaria, respiratory problems, colds, flu, fever, Lupus, infectious diseases, prostate inflammation, boils, ulcers, STDs, poor circulation, anemia, arthritis, rheumatism, and cancer.

In Western medicine, pau d’arco has been used as an herbal remedy for the following:

  • Liver disease
  • Hodgkin’s disease
  • Osteomyelitis
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Herpes I and II
  • Diabetes
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Inflammation
  • Pain
  • Asthma
  • Influenza
  • Poliovirus
  • Vesticular stomatitis virus
  • Skin inflammations
  • Psoriasis
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Vaginal fungal infections
  • Eczema
  • Athlete’s foot
  • Pernicious anemia
  • Fungal infections of the nails and skin
  • Warts
  • Hepatitis

Combining Echinacea and pau d’arco in a tea is useful for combating tuberculosis. Some herbalists recommend pau d’arco to strengthen immunity, especially in cases of HIV /AIDS or cancer.

Pau d’Arco and Cancer

Like many natural remedies, especially those with claims to heal cancer, information found is contradictory. There are reports of widespread use to heal cancer with miraculous shrinkage and elimination of tumors and reports of curing leukemia countered with warnings that claim the dosage needed to cure cancer would be toxic and may cause internal bleeding.

The National Cancer Institute in the U.S. has declared its side effects are too dangerous (in the high doses it says are necessary to combat cancer). Meanwhile, it is used in South America by doctors with great results. Argentina dispenses it freely to all patients with leukemia or cancer and Brazil sells it in herb stores and regular pharmacies.

Pau d’Arco Research Issues

One problem with most of the scientific research on this herb is the focus on the isolated compound, lapachol, typically a synthesized version. Pau d’arco contains other helpful compounds such as quinoids, benzenoids, flavonoids, and beta-lapachone. The side effects of the isolated lapachol are more intense than the side effects of the whole pau d’arco herb.

Pau d’Arco Warnings

There are strong warnings against using pau d’arco when pregnant or lactating and not giving it to children. These warnings are not generally explained, but large quantities are known to cause digestive upset and bleeding. Be wary of prescription drug interaction, especially with blood thinners. Others warn that too high a dose could weaken immunity. There are also warnings that not all supplements claiming to be pau d’arco contain the correct herb. Obviously, if using pau d’arco to treat a serious disease, consulting a knowledgeable and experienced naturopath will help you determine the correct dosage and schedule and help you source a reputable brand.

Pau d’arco, the “Divine Tree,” is now threatened. Hopefully humanity will recognize it for the gift that it is and protect and cultivate it for future generations.

Pau d’Arco Recipe For Vaginal Yeast Infections

DIY Rosemary Gladstar’s Anti-Yeast Douche

  • 1 quart water
  • 1/2 oz anti-yeast tea herb mix from the following herbs:
  • 1 part black walnut hull powder
  • 1 part chaparral powder
  • 1 part echinacea root powder
  • 1 part goldenseal root powder (organically cultivated)
  • 1 part marshmallow root
  • 1 part pau d’Arco powder
  • 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
  • 1 drop tea tree oil

Boil water then remove from heat, stir in the herbs and let steep for 1 hour then strain.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Let cool to warm.  Pour herbal liquid into douche bag and use it to gently douche the vaginal area. Be sure to check out

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Understanding Stress, Chronic Stress, and Adrenal Fatigue

Stress is nothing new; it has been with us since time began. In its most basic incarnation, we are stressed when we are threatened and faced with fight or flight. In modern times, we need stress to focus our mind and to sharpen our wits. Stress helped to give us the edge we needed to survive. Large amounts of stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenaline) can enable us to do amazing things, feats beyond what we could do under any other circumstances.

Contents

Under the rush of life or death circumstances, our perception of time slows down. We become hyper-focused upon our goals, blocking out all other distractions. Relevant sounds become more prominent, irrelevant noise less so. Reflexes sharpen, and our reaction time improves. Pain is diminished, and we gain strength beyond measure. In those times, the world snaps into focus, and in the rush of the moment, we can reach beyond human limitations.

When it’s life or death, we can do amazing things.

There is a lot to be learned about how this process takes place in our bodies, and science has not yet teased apart all the steps of this complex phenomena. Ethical restraints prevent scientists from recreating life or death circumstances for study. But throughout the years, many people have been witness to extraordinary acts by those in the heat of the moment.

Rising to the Occasion

It was the primal response to danger that enabled Tom Boyle Jr. to do what would otherwise have been impossible. Sitting in traffic, Tom and his wife witnessed a gruesome spectacle. Sparks sprayed from beneath a car ahead of them as it drug 18-year-old Kyle Holtrust and his bicycle, his flesh being torn open along the road. After 20 to 30 feet, the driver finally came to a stop, and Tom Boyle leapt into action.

The bicyclist was pinned beneath the frame of his bike and a 3,000 lb. Camaro. Kyle screamed in agony, pounding the side of the car with his free hand. In that moment, Boyle reached under the frame of the 3,000 lb. car and lifted it off of Kyle. The driver of the car then pulled Kyle to safety. After an amazing 45 seconds of holding the car, Boyle set it back down. Boyle doesn’t deny that it was the extreme stress of the moment that made the difference “There’s no way I could lift that car right now.”

When it’s life or death, we can do amazing things. Other stories similar to this one are easy to find. A Canadian mother, Maureen Lee, used only her bare hands to throw a cougar off of her 3 yr. old daughter. Understandably, the cougar was terrified of her hysterical strength and ran away.

Angela Cavallo lifted a 1964 Chevrolet Impala off of her son after it fell off of the jacks and onto him. Angela held the car long enough for others to arrive and to put the car back onto the jacks. Lydia Angyiou attacked a polar bear that was threatening her son and another boy. While the boys ran for help, Lydia managed to engage the bear in physical combat long enough for help to arrive. Help came in the form of a neighbor armed with a gun. He shot the bear four times, ending the fight. Surprisingly, Lydia’s wounds were minor. This is the kind of stress that we are biochemically equipped to handle.

Unfortunately chronic stress can lead to all kinds of poor health outcomes

Life is expected to be stressful, and we are designed to rise to the occasion. But we are designed for extreme stress. In today’s modern world, extreme stress rarely happens. The kind of stressors that we encounter today are usually more of the low-level, ongoing variety like relationship troubles, financial difficulties, and abrasive bosses. Our bodies are not well equipped to handle long term, chronic stress. Ongoing stress can bring on a multitude of diseases and send us to an early grave.

It’s true; stress can kill you. The Japanese call this Karoshi, which means death from overwork. But it is the stress from work that kills us, not the work itself. That is, the stress and lack of sleep from overwork, which further adds to our stress.

Stomach ulcers were the first disease linked to chronic stress. It took many more years of research to learn that many diseases are linked to chronic stress.

The old saying, “Whatever doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger,” may not hold true when it comes to chronic stress.

Health Problems With Excessive Stress Hormones

  • Acne
  • Addictions
  • Anxiety
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Bone Loss
  • Cancer (due to reduced immune system)
  • Depression
  • Diabetes
  • Digestive problems
  • Heart disease (stress actually creates plaque in the arteries)
  • Infertility
  • Inflammation
  • Impaired immunity
  • Insulin resistance
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar)
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Memory and concentration impairment
  • Osteoporosis
  • Reduced libido
  • Senile dementia
  • Sexual Dysfunction
  • Stomach Ulcers
  • Strokes
  • Weight gain (stress encourages fat to be retained in the body, especially around the abdomen)

Unfortunately chronic stress can lead to all kinds of poor health outcomes, not just the problems listed above.

More Side-Effects of Chronic Stress

Mice subjected to chronic stress had smaller brains, fewer connections formed in their brains, and fewer brain cells. The areas of the brain associated with learning and memory were particularly affected.

Chronic stress kills human brain cells as well, and it has also been shown to lower I.Q. When we are stressed, our ability to use our higher-level thinking (our frontal lobes) is disrupted, as well as our ability to access memories.

Chronic stress may shorten telomeres. Telomeres are at the ends of our DNA strands. Every time a cell divides, telomeres are slightly shortened by the cell’s division. So by further shortening our telomeres, chronic stress can shorten your lifespan and make you age faster. Centenarians tend to possess two common traits: long telomeres and a low-stress approach to life.

Scientific understanding of the stress response has improved a great deal in recent years, but there is still a lot science does not yet fully understand. Physiological changes brought on by stress are very complex. What we do know is that when we are stressed our body releases adrenaline, endorphins, fibrinogen, norepinephrine, corticotrophin, cortisol, and vasopressin, and we have a working knowledge of the changes in the body that are brought on by these substances.

Stress Hormones Defined

Adrenaline is also known as the fight or flight hormone. Adrenaline gives you an instant surge of energy, and it focuses your attention to immediate threats. Adrenaline directs blood flow to our arms and legs. Heart rate and respiration quicken, and we may start sweating. Adrenaline is released from the adrenal glands after the brain sends a warning of imminent danger.

Corticotrophin’s primary function is to drive the release of other stress hormones. Corticotrophin also suppresses appetite, improves memory (even as other stress hormones dampen memory), increases overall anxiety, and it focuses attention. Corticotrophin also plays an important role in inflammation. Corticotrophin is produced in small quantities by white blood cells and in larger quantities by the hypothalamus.

Endorphins are released in times of stress to act as a natural painkiller. Many people report not feeling any pain from injuries until after the threat to life or limb has passed. By numbing our sense of pain, we are able to push ourselves further than we otherwise could, straining muscles and pushing past injuries to do what is needed.

Fibrinogen is a protein that aids in blood clotting, providing some protection against excessive bleeding. Fibrinogen is also why high levels of stress forms plaque on the arteries.

When your boss tells you that his or her job is more stressful than yours they’re probably lying…

Norepinephrine is a hormone that is very similar to adrenaline. It makes you very alert, more responsive and invigorated. It also diverts blood from the skin, the digestive tract, and other non-essential areas, shifting more blood to your muscles. This can further aid in any fighting or fleeing that you may need to do. The adrenal glands and the brain produce norepinephrine.

Although norepinephrine might seem redundant considering that adrenaline (which is also called epinephrine) mirrors its affects; it actually works as a back up and as a compliment to adrenaline. If your adrenal glands are not working well, you can still get a solid dose of norepinephrine from your brain.

Vasopressin is also known as the antidiuretic hormone or arginine vasopressin. This hormone causes reabsorption of water by the kidneys, which concentrates our urine. This is why we are less likely to think about trips to the bathroom in highly stressful situations. It also induces something called vasoconstriction, which is the constriction of blood vessels. This raises our blood pressure. Vasopressin is produced by the hypothalamus, then stored and later secreted by the pituitary gland.

Cortisol has been nicknamed the “stress hormone.” It is, in fact, not the stress hormone, but one of many. Cortisol does a lot of good things for us. It aids in metabolism and many other bodily functions. Under stressful situations, cortisol takes a little longer than the other stress hormones to kick in. It is meant to provide us with sustained energy over a longer period of time.

Stress hormones are some of the heavy lifters that helped Tom Boyle leverage the Camaro off of Kyle. This ability to respond to extreme circumstances with extreme measures is undoubtedly one of the upsides of having stress hormones. There are other benefits to stress hormones as well.

Positive Aspects of Stress

“He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.” – Edmund Burke

Stress can make you feel alive. It is this rush of stress hormones that give us that thrill when we are watching action movies or horror movies. Our bodies release stress hormones when we are watching sports and when we are playing games like paintball, laser tag, and video games. Some amount of stress is good, healthy, and invigorating. It can make us feel more “in the moment”.

Another upside to stress is its ability to act as an effective motivator. Ever heard that old adage, “I work best under pressure”? The right amount of stress sharpens our focus. The right amount of stress coupled with an optimistic outlook hones athletic performance. Under the right circumstances, stress can be our ally.

The difference between good stress and bad stress is mostly how we perceive the circumstances. The majority of people think of stress as something that happens to them, from external factors, like one too many straws that broke the camel’s back. This idea of one too many is often extended to those in mental institutions and prisons, as we ask, “What was the last thing that made those people snap?”

The idea of too much, too many, is a good model for physical stress. Bridges, houses, and buildings are all built to withstand a certain amount of physical stress. When subjected to too much stress at once or too much stress over an extended period of time, the structures collapse.

It’s All In Our Heads

Emotional stress doesn’t need to affect the body in the same way. All of our stress passes through our minds before it goes on to affect our bodies. Our thinking about stress either magnifies our stress or dampens it. Many of us think of our jobs as stressful, our boss as stressful, or traffic as stressful. Although some occupations are more stressful than others, we can mitigate the intensity of our stress by changing the way we think about it. Being stuck in traffic isn’t fun either, but we can all take a deep breath and listen to enjoyable music instead of obsessing about how much time we’re wasting looking at the sea of brake lights ahead. It is the way we react to these situations, the way we think about them, that makes them so stressful.

Many people thrive under stress, while others do not. Usually the difference is in perception, but it also helps when events are seen as being somewhat under their control. For many, powerlessness amplifies stress exponentially.

It’s Good to be King

Where you are in your corporate hierarchy also matters a great deal. When your boss tells you that his or her job is more stressful than yours they’re probably lying – if not to you, then at least to themselves. Numerous studies have shown that stress is lower at the top of corporate structures, not the other way around. The higher rank someone is, the less stress they endure and the longer they live. Rank does indeed have its privileges.

The Fine Line Between Stimulating and Stressful

Those who do well under stress also do not wallow in negative events. As an example, lawyers and doctors have stressful occupations. The difference between a lawyer or a physician coping well with their stressful careers lies in part with their ability to leave their job at work and not take the stress home with them. To those who thrive in stressful jobs, their jobs are rarely all that stressful-because they don’t perceive them to be that way. To them their job is challenging.

The right kind of stress is stimulation. The good kind is that thrill we get from a rollercoaster ride, the rush we get from a good horror movie, or the exhilaration we get from watching a sports game. Even in these examples, the way we perceive the stress is key.

Take sports for instance. It’s possible to become too emotionally involved in sports, even as a spectator. Sports fans have a way of feeling both the triumphs and failures of their favorite teams. Taken too far, this can be unhealthy.

In one study, researchers tracked the health outcomes of soccer fans. The Dutch fans of the European Cup Soccer game were devastated by their teams’ loss. The Dutch fans risk of heart attack increased by 50% shortly following the game.

So stress can take a lot out of us. Evolved out of dire necessity stress hormones divert energy away from reproduction, tissue repair, digestion, anything non-critical. Our bodies’ design is to worry about these things later, if there is a later. This can allow us to do incredible things, when life or death is at stake.

Ease The Pain

When stress is ongoing, it hurts our health and it takes away from our quality of life. Looking for a way to cope, many people try to self medicate when they are chronically stressed. Drug use and alcohol abuse are commonly used to cope with stress. We recommend turning to vitamins or supplements instead. A good B complex vitamin, tryptophan, and supplements for the adrenal glands are very effective without such harmful side effects. See Natural Remedies for Adrenal Fatigue below.

There are other adaptive ways to foster resilience. Caring and compassion create resistance to stress. Connecting with others and sharing a laugh are powerful ways to mitigate the harmful affects of stress.

Oxytocin is the body’s natural antidote to stress. Known as the cuddle hormone, it has anti-inflammatory properties and promotes healing, especially for cardiovascular damage.

Positive emotions also spur on the enzyme telomerase, an enzyme that can actually repair telomeres.

Apathy

Some amount of stress is actually good for us, and without some stress, boredom sets in. The key to coping with stress is to see hardships as challenges. If you can view some stress as helpful, it mimics the biological changes induced by joy and courage. The trick is to change your perception of stress from a negative thing to a positive motivator.

My favorite analogy about stress being helpful comes from Dr. Mike Evans. He describes optimal stress as keeping stress high but not too high. Perceive current events as relevant, but not overwhelming and manage it like a bicycle tire. Give it enough pressure to keep rolling, but not so much it explodes if you hit a bump in the road.

Release the Pressure and Handle Stress Better

When you feel close to that breaking point, there are a number of techniques you can use to bring the pressure back down to optimal levels. These include some of the old standbys like deep breathing, exercise, humor, meditation, spending time in natural surroundings, and sharing your troubles with your friends.

Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

Chronic stress, stress managed poorly, poor sleep quality, and addictions lead to adrenal fatigue. When dealing with chronic stress, the adrenals are being severely taxed.

Adrenal fatigue is a collection of symptoms, known as a syndrome, that results when the adrenal glands function below the necessary level. Most commonly associated with intense or prolonged stress, it can also arise during or after acute or chronic infections, especially respiratory infections such as influenza, bronchitis or pneumonia. As the name suggests, its paramount symptom is fatigue that is not relieved by sleep, but it is not a readily identifiable entity like measles or a growth on the end of your finger. You may look and act relatively normal with adrenal fatigue and may not have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of unwellness, tiredness or “gray” feelings. People experiencing adrenal fatigue often have to use coffee, colas and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.” – What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Life is much harder when someone suffers from adrenal fatigue. When the adrenals aren’t working, the whole body isn’t working. The body does its best to make up for under-functioning adrenal glands, but it does so at a price.

Symptoms include:

  • ADHD
  • Anxiety
  • Balding lower legs
  • Body fat accumulation
  • Brainfog
  • Breast cancer
  • Chemical sensitivities to paint, fingernail polish, plastics
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Coffee, tea, or energy drinks addiction
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Constipation
  • Cravings for salty or sugary foods, alcohol, caffeine, high protein
  • Dark circles under eyes that does not go away with rest
  • Dependence on sunglasses
  • Depression
  • Dry skin
  • Dysmenorrhea advancing to amenorrhea
  • Electrolyte imbalance
  • EMF sensitivity, including cell phone and computer monitors
  • Endometriosis
  • Exercise helps first, but then feels worse
  • Feeling “wired” and unable to relax
  • Feeling of adrenaline rushes in the body
  • Feeling tired in the afternoon between 3:00 and 5:00 pm
  • Fibrocystic breast disease
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Grave’s disease
  • Hair falling, randomly or alopecia
  • Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
  • Heart palpitations
  • High or low blood pressure
  • Hollow cheeks
  • Hormonal moodiness, bad PMS
  • Hyper activity
  • Hypoglycemia symptoms, though lab results normal
  • Inability to handle stress
  • Inability to take in simple carbohydrate
  • Insomnia
  • Irritable bowel syndrome, with more constipation then diarrhea
  • Irritable under stress
  • Joint pain
  • Kidney health issues
  • Legs that feel heavy
  • Lines in fingernails
  • Lines in fingertips
  • Loss of healthy facial skin tone color
  • Low back pain
  • Low energy
  • Low libido
  • Low thyroid function, hypothyroidism
  • Muscle mass loss
  • Muscle pain
  • Numbness and tingling in extremities bilaterally
  • Ovarian cysts
  • Pale lips
  • Panic attacks
  • Polycystic ovarian syndrome
  • Poor emotional and coping ability
  • Post partum fatigue and depression
  • Premature aging skin
  • Premature menopause
  • Psoriasis
  • Recurrent miscarriages during first trimester
  • Short of breath
  • Systemic Candida
  • Temperature intolerance
  • Tinnitus (chorionic ringing in the ear)
  • Unable to get pregnant
  • Unexplained back or knee pain
  • Uterine fibroids
  • Vertigo
  • Wake up in the middle of the night
  • Weak immune response

Natural Remedies for Adrenal Fatigue and Chronic Stress

Adrenal fatigue can be treated naturally with herbs and supplements, but diet and good habits have to be in place. Bad habits need to be removed (caffeine, alcohol, smoking anything). The gut and thyroid need to be healed as well. 

The following herbs are used to treat adrenal fatigue:

  • Licorice
  • Rhodiola
  • Shisandra
  • Holy Basil
  • Ashwagandha root
  • Astragalus
  • Ginseng Root

The following vitamins and supplements are helpful in treating adrenal fatigue:

Candida and Adrenal Fatigue

Candida is the number one cause of poor health in our country. An overabundance of Candida will eventually cause adrenal fatigue (along with many other problems). If you’re experiencing adrenal fatigue, cut out stimulants completely. No more coffee. Clean the intestines.

Grounding for Adrenal Fatigue

Get outside and get grounded. Learn how to breathe! And take up yoga or meditation, preferably outside and barefoot.

Fitness for Adrenal Fatigue

Don’t push yourself too hard, but do exercise. Exercise is good for the thyroid and the adrenals. Any exercise from yoga to high intensity interval training (HIIT) will help you normalize your energy levels. But be careful with intensive training. If you have severe thyroid or adrenal problems, intense exercise could be dangerous. Once your body and your adrenals are responding to detoxification and proper nutrition, HIIT can radically accelerate the thyroid and adrenals’ improvement.

For long-term health, mix it up and add variety to your exercise routine.

Conclusion

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another” – Dr. William James

If you feel that your life is stressful, and there’s no avoiding stress, you’re right. Stress is unavoidable. Life has a way of giving us ups and downs, and worse still, life has a way of kicking us when we’re down. We’ve all been there – when things couldn’t possibly get worse and then they do.

We all have choices to make. How are you going to take care of your body? Will you eat the healthiest diet possible? Will you exercise? Will you get enough sleep? How are you going to react to life’s inevitable setbacks?

These choices are actually life and death choices. This may sound melodramatic, but it is true. Poor nutrition, lack of sleep, little to no exercise and giving in to negative emotions will send us to an early grave. We have a choice in the way we live life, and our choices become our reality.

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