10 Ways to Detox Your Life

1.     Drink more water! “The solution to pollution is dilution”, Steven Horne. I like to add Cell Food to my water: which adds enzymes, minerals, and amino acids to help bring balance to the body and help to increase detoxification activity.

2.     Liquid Chlorophyll (Nature’s Sunshine) – Chlorophyll is the blood of the plant, providing concentrated nutrition. Usually from alfalfa which grows deep into the ground, absorbing the minerals found there, such as iron. Chlorophyll is both cleansing and building for the body.

3.     Chlorella (also Nori and Wakame seaweed) – consuming chlorella resulted in a significant reduction of dioxin levels in breast milk in a study of Japanese women. Chlorella has the potential to absorb heavy metals and has been used to reduce lead and mercury.

4.     Cilantro enhances mercury excretion following dental amalgam removal and decreases lead absorption in the bones of animals. Use cilantro any time you have been exposed to heavy metals.

5.     Probiotics restore the damaged environment in the intestines, facilitating excretion of toxicants, replacing them with healthy flora.

6.     NAC (n-acetyl-cysteine) enhance mobilization of toxicants from tissue storage sites and increased their rate of elimination. It also reduced and removed arsenic form the organs. Glutathione (in absorbable forms) facilitates the movement of toxins from fat storage.

7.     Bentonite clay and activated charcoal decreases the re-uptake of toxicants in the body by absorbing them and assisting their removal through the lower bowel. Use these any time you feel that you may have been poisoned.

8.     Eat plenty of Fiber! Fiber in the diet helps to keep the bowels clean and reduces absorption of toxins into the body. Psyllium is also a natural lipase inhibitor, which decreases the absorption of fat - and the toxins stored therein - into the body.

9.     Essential Oils which have been traditionally used to detoxify the body include: lemon, grapefruit, and peppermint. I love doTerra’s Zendocrine blend too.

10.   Herbs that have been traditionally used to detoxify the body include: aloe, buckthorn, bugleweed, burdock root, capsicum, cascara sagrada, cilantro,dandelion root, ginger, licorice, marshmallow, milk thistle, Oregon grape, red clover, sarsaparilla, turkey rhubarb, and yellow dock.

Consider including some of these into your daily lifestyle to improve the detoxifying of your body. We are exposed to multiple toxins daily, so we need to be aware and active in removing them from our lives as much as possible. Please stop into the shop to discuss with me some of the detox possibilities we have available, or call for an appointment to create a plan of action to meet your goals. I would love to partner with you as your health coach!

10 Reasons to Detox Your Life

 1.     Heavy metals are passed down to the next generation and are actually changing our DNA. There are over 287 harmful chemicals found in umbilical cord blood. These toxins affect behavior, mental ability, health, and obesity in our children. Detox BEFORE you get pregnant! Mercury and lead can be inherited!

2.     Heavy metals are stored in body fat. Yep, and the area around your organs, the visceral fat is the worst. The storage of heavy metals contributes to achy joints, unbalanced hormones, and obesity. The middle-aged spread may have to do with the storage of toxic chemicals. Your body knows that if it releases them into your system, you will be very sick. So it tucks those dangerous metals away in your fat. Be careful to detox as you lose weight…you will lose toxic metals too!

3.     Heavy metals damage the nervous system, suppress the immune system, and cause inflammation. The brain is made of fat – true, not cheese. Since toxins are stored in fat, where do you suppose a lot of those toxins are stored? Yep, in our brains! Aluminum is used in water treatment plants to neutralize the pH. It is also abundant in chem trails, killing trees and poisoning us. Aluminum causes neurodamage and damages the myelin sheath protecting your nerves.

4.     Mercury has been connected with MS and with birth defects. Mercury fumes are easily absorbed by the lungs, yet we fill our teeth with mercury. Breathe in mercury fumes – breathe deeply now! What? Of course it ends up in the body! Don’t be fooled.

5.     Lead was used extensively in the paint of homes in the 1950’s. Did you know that lead causes mental instability? It is possible the fall of Rome may be attributed to the lead pipes in their water system, especially of the wealthy-ruling class. Lead is stored in the bone. If a mother experiences bone loss during pregnancy, where does the bone go? To the baby, along with a dose of lead too. Studies show that high lead levels lead to criminal behavior. It also is disruptive to hormones and toxic to gut bacteria.

6.     There are 3 main toxins affecting 4 generations: lead, mercury, and glyphosate. See the news for details of how glyphosate (round-up) has caused disease! It is possible that these 3 toxins are causing 95% of the autoimmune disease in the general population.

7.     Did you know there is an area the size of Texas in the ocean that is floating microplastics? These plastics are eaten by the fish and then eaten by us. OK – enough is enough – plastic the size of Texas? Come on…WE have to DO something about this! No more plastic!

8.     Did you know that you are only 10% human? 90% of the cells in our bodies are bacteria and other microbes. The toxins we are exposed to create a gut imbalance that allows bad bacteria to dominate the gut. Endotoxins are then released into the body and may affect your health. Including immune function, blood sugar, weight, cardiovascular health, emotions, and energy levels.

9.     A recent report from WHO shows that 92% of the world’s population breathes polluted air. At least 1 in every 4 worldwide deaths are attributable to these toxic environments. Poor air quality not only damages your lungs, but all of your organs as well. It triggers mutations in your genes, damages brain cells, and T-helper cells.

10.   How toxic are you? The CDC as found that the average person has 420 chemicals known to be highly harmful in their bodies. This toxic burden, in combination with poor diet and lifestyle, makes it extremely difficult for our body to function optimally.

Scary, isn’t it? Don’t bury your head in the sand, these chemicals and toxic metals are harming us and our children! What are YOU going to do about it?

Want to know more? Read the book: Your Body’s Environmental Chemical Burden, by Cindy Klement, MS, CNS, MCHES. (Available for purchase at Healthy Life Solutions)

Thinking of Starting the Keto Diet? Here are some Common Misconceptions

1. “I couldn’t eat ALL that FAT!”

I only add extra fat in the form of MCT oil (about 1 tsp.) in my coffee every morning. It gives me energy to start the day. I use olive, avocado, coconut oils in my cooking and salad dressing. I use butter, as much as I want for flavor, on my vegetables. In the months that I have been eating keto, I have NEVER eaten a fat bomb! I do enjoy a small bite of dark chocolate and peanut butter pretty often. Some keto authors suggest adding in more fat as you begin to eat keto, with the idea that you are switching your body to fat burning instead of sugar burning. This is helpful at first, but if you continue eating loads of fat, your body will not go for burning the stored fat. Let’s face it, most of us are wanting to burn those extra fat rolls! A typical ketogenic diet contains 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbs. Remember that is 70% of your calories and fat contains a lot of calories. It isn’t 70% of the food on your plate. Big difference!

2. “I couldn’t eat ALL that MEAT!”

A balanced keto diet is not huge steaks and tons of bacon. Most of us have this idea leftover from Atkins fanatics who were eating unbalanced amounts of meat. Most keto diets contain protein at every meal, 25% of your daily calories. That protein should be a serving size, about enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Keep in mind that nuts, dairy, and eggs count as protein too. Getting enough good quality, clean protein, is important for healing. You also need enough protein so that you don’t lose muscle, just extra fat stores. Keto is a moderate protein diet, not a high protein diet.

3. “I don’t want to give up my carbs!”

Yep, that is the real problem. None of us want to give up those comfort foods. Many of them have a great emotional attachment. After all how can it be Christmas without decorated sugar cookies or a Birthday party without the cake? Let me just say that if you decide to do keto as a lifestyle and not just a diet, there are yummy substitutes that work just as well. I made fabulous keto cheesecakes for my husband’s birthday last year. The kids never knew the difference! Plus, after you are fully keto adapted, you can go off the diet once and awhile to enjoy a treat without it totally sabotaging your ketosis. You just can’t eat loads of carbs every day. Another thing to note is that once keto adapted, your cravings for the sugar and junk go away. I am NOT kidding! You really don’t want it and don’t miss it. I find myself looking at carbs and wondering if they are worth it. I feel SO good when I don’t eat them. Is the taste today worth feeling crappy tomorrow?

4. “What about ketoacidosis? Isn’t it life threatening? Is this diet safe?”

This is a common mistake: ketosis is NOT ketoacidosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a life threatening condition seen with unmanaged diabetes. It is characterized by dangerously high levels of blood ketones (15-25mM/L) and high blood sugar (200 mg/dL), as well as very low blood pH. Nutritional ketosis is a safe metabolic state that produces low-level ketones (generally 0.5 to 5.0 mM/L) with blood sugars averaging from 60-120 mg/dL and normal pH levels.

These are just a few of the misconceptions I have heard about the ketogenic diet. I hope I have clarified them for you. Please call me to set up a health coaching appointment if you would like to work one on one with me. I would love to help you find solutions for your health struggles.

If you are tired of doing the same old diet, with the same old results, maybe it is time for a change of lifestyle. Consider KETO – it could change your life!

Mullein: "The Respiratory Herb"

Mullein is one of my favorite herbs to have on hand for winter. I used it often in our home while raising my children and now for my grandchildren. It is soothing for respiratory symptoms, coughing, drainage down the back of the throat, or earaches. Mullein, Verbascus thapsus, grows in fields and along the side of the road in Ohio. You may even find it in the crack of the driveway. It loves poor soil. Mullein is a biennial, which means it only lives for two years. The first year it grows in a simple rosette of soft, fuzzy, oblong leaves. The second year it sends up a tall stalk and blooms with tiny yellow flowers. Leave the stalk to release seeds for the next year.

You can use flowers, leaves, and roots for herbal medicine. I use the leaves the most, as an expectorant and bactericidal, wonderful for the respiratory system. Its long list of traditional herbal uses include: allergies, asthma, bronchitis, broken bones, coughs, croup, diarrhea, earaches, emphysema, swollen glands, lungs, swollen joints, and pain. It also has sedative properties. Mullein flowers can be used as an antiseptic for wounds, to prevent infection, and soothe nerve pain. I love to make earache oil from the flowers. I call it, “liquid gold”, because you have to go out each day to pick just a few flowers and save them up until you have enough to make the oil. Mullein roots have uses too – make into a tincture for bedwetting, symptoms of facial nerve pain, or for bones when something seems “out of joint”.

I have used mullein for swollen glands in the neck. Make a tea of the leaves, add peppermint and sweeten if you like, and drink a quart a day. Also make a strong tea to use externally on a cloth over the swelling. You will quickly see the lymphatic inflammation go down in the gland. You can also dip a whole fresh leave in hot water and use it as a poultice on the swelling.

I have seen mullein do wonders for people just out of the hospital with bronchitis or complications of COPD.Mullein tea makes a very inexpensive, safe, and effective herbal medicine! A favorite combination for use with asthma or other breathing difficulties is to use 3 parts mullein with 1 part lobelia in a tincture form. See Dr. Christopher’s writings to learn more about how to use mullein to help with breathing and opening up the bronchial airways.

Nature’s Sunshine has a terrific formula called ALJ. I use it and keep it as a staple in my herb cupboard. I like to make it into a glycerite tincture for my granddaughter, as she likes the taste of my homemade remedy better. This recipe is tried and true – it works! I use it as a decongestant/expectorant with colds and allergies. Here is how I make it.

Lisa’s Version of ALJ – In a pint jar place one-fourth cup of each herb: Boneset, Fennel Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds, Horseradish Root, and Mullein Leaves. In a large measuring cup mix together: One and one-third cup hot water with two-thirds cup vegetable glycerine. Pour the liquid over the herbs in the jar, make sure the herbs are covered well. Screw on lid. Let set for 2 weeks, shaking the jar daily. Strain and put liquid into a tincture bottle. Dose: 2 dropperfuls every 2 hours for an adult for 3 days, as you feel better reduce the dose to 3 times a day. May use once a day for more chronic allergies, usually in the morning. To figure a child’s dose, go by body size – half an adult size body gets half a dose (1 dropperful), a smaller child maybe one-fourth a dose or half a dropperful.

Directions for Earache Oil – Collect as many mullein flowers as you can, dry them slightly by laying them out for a few days on a plate. Place the wilted and dried flowers in a glass canning jar that is size appropriate to the amount of flowers you have gathered, they should only fill it halfway. Cover the flowers generously with olive oil. Screw on lid. Let set for 2 weeks, shaking daily. Strain and place in a tincture bottle with dropper. To use, warm the oil by setting the bottle in a glass of hot water, test the oil on your wrist. Place 3 drops warm oil in the ear, followed with half a cotton ball to keep it warm. Use as needed for the pain.

Take the time to gather your herbs, dry them, and make your tinctures and oils before you actually need them. Be prepared with these wonderful remedies at home. Save money, use less drugs, have less need for doctor’s appointments, and keep your family healthy! Call ME, your local herbalist, if you need help.

Increase Your Vitality

How do you feel today? Tired, overwhelmed, depressed, sick, stressed, in pain? Or are you “on top of the world”, full of joy, energy, laughter, and just plain healthy. It is easy to let the work of daily living take its toll on your body. All at once you wake up to notice that you look terrible and feel even worse! Been there?

At the beginning of this year, I took a good look in the mirror and wasn’t happy with what I saw or how I felt. It is easy to “let yourself go”, being too busy working or taking care of others. Maybe it is time to take care of yourself for a while. Yes, it really is ok to think about how YOU are doing – you have permission to take some time for yourself. These are some of the changes I have made to take care of myself and increase my vitality.

Vitamins – I began taking DoTerra’s Vitality Pack for multivitamins, omega oils, and antioxidants. Amazing the difference! I have far more energy now. Most of us do not eat everything we should daily, yep – I am talking vegetables! So taking supplements can really make a difference. Call me if you want to save money with a DoTerra membership.

Dance – I always wanted to learn how to dance, you know, like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. So my husband and I have been taking ballroom dance lessons. What FUN! It is great exercise too. Next, I want to learn line dancing – anyone know a good place to learn?

Cleanse – Any time my vitality is lagging, I know the toxins have built up in my body and it is time to do a cleanse. Many people are afraid of cleansing, thinking it will be too uncomfortable. I like to use a simple herbal box cleanse, like the Tiao He Cleanse from Nature’s Sunshine. It helps support the liver and bowels to remove toxins and even addresses parasites. The herbal cleanses I carry in the store are designed to allow you to continue with your daily life and work without being too interruptive. You eat normally, just try to eliminate junk foods. It is just like changing the oil in your car, it keeps you running smoothly.

Ketogenic Diet – My husband and I both committed ourselves to losing weight this year. The keto diet is a challenge to get started, but once you learn how it works, it is easy to maintain. I have lost 24 pounds and hubby has lost 40 pounds in just 3 months! I feel great, have energy, and am not hungry. I always have struggled with low blood sugar and the grumpiness of not feeling good if I didn’t eat in a timely fashion. This new diet is changing that. I no longer feel a slave to needing to eat and find I don’t have to think about food all the time. Stop into the store and buy my favorite book on the subject, Simply Keto, by Suzanne Ryan. She has a simple, easy to understand explanation of the keto diet and great, easy to make recipes!

Reiki and Yoga Practice – I am trying to establish a daily practice of meditation, Reiki, and yoga. Reiki is a light touch healing technique which helps you find balance and maintain the energetic flow in your body, mind, and spirit. This spring I took the Level 2 Reiki class so that I could offer Reiki sessions to others (Call me for an appointment). For myself, I have set up a simple yoga mat in a quiet corner of my home to make it easy for the daily practice of both of these. Keeping a positive energy feels amazing, but it doesn’t just happen, we have to work at it. That is why they call it practice.

Aromatherapy and Essential Oils – I have attended several essential oil classes this spring and am learning how amazing they are! Not only physically, but emotionally. I now run a diffuser every night as I sleep, all day here in the store, and I love to wear my diffuser necklace too. I want to know how to use these wonderful herbal oils in my daily life!

Daily Skin Care – Wrinkles, puffy or dark circles under eyes, brown spots, dry skin, these are not healthy looking. Growing older is not fun, but it does inspire us to take better care of ourselves. I was at the shopping mall, when one of those expensive vendors grabbed me and put me in front of a mirror. She started talking about some of these skin problems and how her products could help (for a cost of $250). Yikes! After a good look at the difference I saw in the mirror, I knew it was time to take better care of my skin. Rather than spend a lot of money, I ordered DoTerra’s Essential Skin Care kit and got started with a daily routine. I also found a wonderful Eye Cream on my store shelf that makes a huge difference. My skin feels soft, moist, and smooth – all it takes is a few natural products and a little time to take care of myself.

Grandchildren – I now have 5 beautiful grandchildren. If I need a little positive energy, I just give one of them a hug or a smile, even just seeing a picture of them or hearing them laugh will increase my vitality and mood. Children are a blessing, make sure you have a few in your life.

These are a few changes I have made in my life so far this year! I hope this simple list inspires you to take better care of yourself. Summer is a great time to give a little extra time to YOU. As your vitality goes down, your disease goes up. Prevent disease by increasing your vitality. It is that simple! Call me for a personal consultation, I would love to help you through this process.

What is In Your Medicine Chest?

Drugs with a lot of side effects? 

NSAIDS have been shown to harm the liver, kidneys, and stomach lining. Is that really what you want to take for that headache or PMS cramps? I use a homeopathic remedy called Formula 303. It combines valerian root, passionflower herb, and magnesium into a fantastic little pain reliever. I keep this in my purse and use it as my first go to for headache pain.

Pain and inflammation a little more intense? Maybe a little too much snow shoveling or work in the garden? Then I use Curamin X Strength – pain relief in 20 minutes. Any side effects? Nope!

Feeling nausea, bloating, gas, upset stomach? I keep a jar of crystallized ginger by my desk for any time my tummy feels off. It is great to take on trips for motion sickness too!

Digestion problems more intense? Relying on antacids? Did you know they have a very bad form of calcium that can build up in the body? Think kidney stones, bone spurs, or inside your arteries – whoa, definitely a bad idea! Try digestive enzymes instead – these help to break down the food in your stomach, solving the cause of distress.

Did you know that there are natural alternatives to most of the everyday drugs you rely on? You can improve your health by taking the time to evaluate your drug choices and bring in more natural remedies. Be Your Own Doctor classes start in March if you want to learn more! 

Medicine Chest Makeover Challenge!!!

Go thru each item in your medicine chest. Evaluate side effects and target drugs you want to replace. Check for out of date items and throw them away – yes it is ok to get rid of them! As each drug in your medicine cabinet runs low, find a natural alternative to replace it. One choice at a time – you can live more naturally! Need help? Make an appointment with your herbalist for assistance.