Tag Archive for: cancer

woman using deodorant in armpit

How Deodorants Cause Disease

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How Deodorants Cause Disease? It sounded a bit crazy to me as well when I first learned this.

Did you know that where we place deodorant there are over 20+ lymph nodes? WHY is this a concern?

What is the Lymph Node’s purpose: Lymph nodes filter substances that travel through the lymphatic fluid, and they contain lymphocytes (white blood cells) that help the body fight infection and disease.

Axillary lymph nodes are commonly involved in breast cancer because of their proximity to breast tissue. 

The body’s cells and tissues dispose of waste products in lymphatic fluid, which lymph nodes then filter. During this process, they catch bacteria and viruses that could harm the rest of the body. Lymph nodes are an essential part of the body’s immune system.

Your skin, which is your largest organ, can absorb what you put on it, as quickly as 26 seconds up and into your bloodstream. 

SO if we are applying toxins like parabens, aluminum, propylene glycol, phthalates, triclosan and whatever else conventional deodorant brands add, you are placing them in a direct path not only into your bloodstream but into your lymph nodes. 

So let’s review a few of these toxins and learn what they can do in the body:

  • Parabens are xenoestrogens; chemicals that disrupt hormone balance
  • Aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Propylene Glycol can cause damage to your central nervous system, heart and liver
  • Triclosan is a pesticide. Need I say more?

So what can you do?

  • CHANGE your thinking about spending money and always buying the cheapest (toxic) deodorants. The “I am fine and I used it forever” is sad because our children are paying the price. 
  • CLEAN up your environment! I’m talking about your home cleaning products, skincare, and personal care. When you reduce your toxic intake, you won’t smell as bad. Truth! Many days I don’t use deodorant because I don’t need to.
  • SWEAT. Allow your body to sweat, it’s natural! Take a break and let those pits breath!

Over 10,400 children in the USA will be diagnosed with cancer in 2022. Over 290,000 adults will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022. That’s an average of 36 kids and 795 per day this year alone.

Life is a pay Now or pay Later program. Every day you have a choice what you put on your skin and in your mouth. If not for you, do it for the next generation.

There are better choices. I use a couple different ones. One from Modere and another from Doterra. My husband uses Lume and has had good luck with it. 

Let me know what area you need to “clean up” and I’ll provide resources that I use.

 

Personal Care Products that could be Harming Your Family

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As I was cleaning out cabinets, I decided to glance over the ingredient list of some hair care products that I used to use. To be honest, it scared me. I used to put these on my body and didn’t think about the impact to my skin, lungs or other vital organs!

Think about the personal care products that you and your family use on a daily basis…lotions, shampoo, conditioner, soap, sanitizer, nail polish, baby soaps, make up, perfumes/colognes, deodorant, toothpaste, laundry detergent.  EWG.org (Environmental Working Group) concluded in a study that on average people use 9 personal care products daily and applied an average of 126 unique ingredients on their skin daily. That’s a lot of chemicals!

Do you feel safe knowing that the government does not require long term safety studies or pre-market testing for most ingredients in personal care products? According to the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors, “a cosmetic manufacturer may use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient and market the product without an approval from the FDA.” The cosmetic industry is authorized to police it’s own ingredient safety and many of these ingredients have the potential to harm humans and animals. The FDA panel has only banned 11 ingredients while the European Union has taken action on hundreds of toxic chemicals in cosmetics.

Your skin is your largest organ and is porous, so whatever you put on it will be absorbed within moments of application. And what about your lungs? You are inhaling the chemicals as well, even if you aren’t applying them to your skin.  If the products you use contain harmful ingredients such as harsh, toxic chemicals, colors, and fragrances, those ingredients make their way into your body, your blood and lymphatic system. The majority of mainstream personal care products contain carcinogenic chemicals, allergens, endocrine disruptors or xenoestrogens, irritants and can cause harm to your reproductive system. It is easy to see why it is so important to be diligent to watch what is in the products that you are using.

So what ingredients should you avoid? There are countless toxic ingredients in the products that we use on a daily basis and so it is important to do your research and always look at the ingredient list in everything that you buy. A few ingredients to avoid are fragrance, perfume, substances that generate formaldehyde (nearly 1 in 5 cosmetic products contains a substance that generates cancer causing formaldehyde–see list below), mineral oil and petroleum, parabens, ethanolmines (DEA, MEA, TEA), benzones, triclosan, heavy metals such as cadmium, aluminum, mercury, lead, and arsenic, phthalates, and styrene. This list unfortunately is not all-inclusive. Plus these chemicals are xenoestrogens which can disrupt our hormone balance and health.

You can easily switch over to safe products by accessing easy to use Apps and websites like ThinkDirty, EWG’s Skin Deep, and the Good Guide which will rate your personal care products for safety and toxicity. Always read the ingredient label and do not be fooled by labels such as natural and even partial organic products can contain harmful ingredients. I especially avoid parfum or fragrances as I will have an immediate reaction to these. Use products with the MADE SAFE® seal. Also, support hair and nail salons that offer safer and more natural products. I ask lots of questions before making an appointment and conduct my own research on their product lines. Knowing which companies test on animals is a top priority as well. Check out the company’s testing practices on sites such a PETA.org to find which do and do not test.

Avoid these ingredients/chemicals as they contains a formaldehyde-releasing chemical:

  • DMDM hydantoin
  • Imidazolidinyl urea
  • Diazolidinyl urea
  • Quaternium-15
  • Bronopol (2–bromo–2–nitropropane–1,3-diol )
  • 5-Bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane
  • Hydroxymethylglycinate

For your safety, schedule time to review and clean out the harmful products that you are using and replace them with safe nontoxic options! I’d love to chat more about healthier options, set up your call here!

Why you won’t see me wearing a fitness tracker

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Fitness TrackerTechnology, for the most part, is great! It has changed the way we act, think, communicate and yes, it has even changed the way we track our physical activity; but have we crossed the line? Could the popularity of these fitness tracking devices actually put your health at risk? The answer is a big, resounding YES!

I continually remind people, especially women (and their children), not to sleep with their cell phones next to their head or keep it on their body constantly; and now, someone creates a device that is made to be worn 24/7, even while sleeping!

It’s important to understand that ALL wireless and electronic devices emit either high or low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and EMF’s have been linked to cancer. I find it ironic that a so-called “health gadget” is, in actuality, negatively affecting our long-term health. To make things worse, many employers have decided to make wearing a fitness tracking device mandatory for employees as an incentive to help them reduce overall health insurance costs.

The Working Group classified ELF-EMFs as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”,
based on limited evidence from human studies in relation to childhood leukemia.

In addition, there have been 2,300 studies by the US Navy showing biological impacts of EMF exposure. A 2016 study by the National Toxicology Program shares preliminary results showing that cell phone radiation causes cancer in rats. This study is the gold standard of EMF research and makes it clear that our current wireless safety standards do not adequately protect the public.

While physical activity is important, a person’s level of physical activity is only one small component of their overall health. In fact, some of the most active people can often be the least healthy. Take athletes for example. People make assumptions that athletes must be extremely healthy, yet that is not always true. Many athletes have little or no nutritional knowledge. If we could attach a camera to individuals who embrace this mindset and evaluate their lifestyles, we would discover that many people are eating toxin-laden foods.

True health begins with feeding and detoxing the cells, which can only be found in whole clean food; free of additives, preservatives, hormones, steroids, GMO’s and/or other toxins. Listen closely and you will often hear me say, “skinny is not healthy, nor can you out exercise a bad diet.”

Keep in mind that it is also important to take into consideration the amount of stress these devices may create. One of the most dangerous contributors to the increase in adrenal stress is constant mental and physical exertion. In other words, telling someone they have to meet a certain amount of steps or physical exertion could have a serious negative impact on their health.

I love to see people becoming aware of their health and the positive impact of physical movement; however, do we really need more EMF exposure to make this happen? What about the peace of strolling through nature untethered versus the stress of something monitoring your every movement? Could this monitoring activity create continual emotional stress of feeling like you’re not measuring up to a one-size fits all standard?

So it’s time to ditch the device and refuse to limit your health goals with measuring steps or miles. Get out and experience some fun, sweaty activity….. just the way God and nature intended.

A Mom and Her Dog – Part I of Beau’s Journey

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They steal our hearts with their unconditional love.  You can leave the house for five minutes and they greet you with such excitement that you’d think you had been away for days, weeks or months. They create habits and lifestyle that we condone or become enslaved to.  I’m not referring to our children; however, they could fall into this same category. I am referring to our four-legged children.

Beau is our four-legged child/twelve-year-old boxer. Beau came into our lives when my son was 10 years old.  He and my husband wanted a dog and I swore we wouldn’t have one of those little creatures in my home! (Never, say never!) However, I really felt it was important for a “boy to have a dog” as much as I despised the thought of a dog in my home.  I remember telling a friend that we had an indoor dog she exclaimed, “You have a dog in your home?!” as it was completely out of character for me.

It all started when a family in Kentucky advertised a litter of pups and we went to “look”.  We were on the floor checking out all the pups when Beau walked over and curled up in my lap and went to sleep. It was done.  I lost the battle.  Beau reached out and grabbed my heart at that moment and 12 years later he still owns it.

We brought him home and since this was my son’s pet, I’d place Beau in bed with him so they could bond.  However, Beau would always find his way back to our bedroom.  I’m not sure why this was (or maybe I do)!  Was it because I carried the dog around with me constantly like he didn’t have legs?  Or, I would take him for a walk and end up carrying him because he’d get tired.  My husband tells everyone the story that the dog’s feet never hit the ground the first nine months of his life.  Sadly, that is partially true.

I remember “walking” him one day carrying him like a baby on his back, which he was perfectly content with.  One of my neighbors thought he was hurt or sick and asked me what was wrong.  I told him that “he was just tired of walking” so I had to carry him.

One thing we noticed about Beau when we brought him home the first day was that he had unusually large feet especially for a boxer.  Well, Beau grew into those feet and peaked at around 80 pounds.  Therefore, sleeping with us in bed wasn’t as cute as it was in the beginning.  So we did the most humane thing possible, we replaced our queen size bed with a king.  However, no matter how big the bed was, Beau insisted on sleeping between us and sleeping on a body part.  He like laying on our legs and many nights we would wake up with partially paralyzed extremities!

Well, those fond memories are gone as Beau is no longer strong enough to jump up in bed.  For a while we would help him up in bed but realized this wasn’t in the best interest for any of  us.  After a few heartbreaking and failed attempts, we purchased him his own dog bed, which we placed next to ours.  We didn’t know how he would adjust after 11 years but I think he realized it was time.

Beau was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor when he was around 5 years old. We revamped his diet, supplements and lifestyle to the same protocol I would use for my cancer clients.  He did exceptionally well up until the last few months.  We recently learned the cancer is back and this time it is a nasal tumor.  Boxers have an extremely high rate of cancer and typically don’t survive much past eight years so we knew we might expect a return one-day.  However, living this much longer than average, we feel extremely blessed.

Obviously with our commitment to holistic approaches, Beau is receiving mass quantities of herbs, essential oils and the best foods. He eats a blend of raw and cooked meats (organic/clean of course) along with raw goats milk. I’m also utilizing infrared technology on him.

The hardest part is seeing the changes in him.  He no longer runs to greet us when we come home.  He may lift his head off “his” chair or bed but the good ole days off his energetic puppiness is gone.  His appetite surprisingly is still good.  I am grateful as Beau and I have been drinking green smoothies together for years and he eats most all other whole, clean, organic foods that are in our home.  Yes, Beau eats better than 90% of most Americans.

We are taking one day at a time and staying focused on enjoying the moments we have left and thank God for bringing the once bouncing (and large) bundle of joy into our lives. Animals teach us so many lessons in life and Beau has taught me more than I could mention.

My son left home years ago and is now in the military.  What started out as a boy and his dog developed into a mom and her dog.  I’m so grateful as he’s taught me so many lessons about life and unconditional love.  He has also brought joy and love to many of my clients.

If you’ve had a special pet in your life, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

girl smashing alarm clock

The Alarm

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I woke up before the alarm today, thank God. I really despise alarms. Alarms are loud, set our nerves on end, disrupt us from our focus (usually much-needed sleep), and force us to take action immediately.

My first thought this morning was that this is just like our health. The alarm signifies our “wake up” call. We may have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis or God forbid cancer.

Every day we make choices. We either say YES to health and NO to disease/sickness or we say YES to disease/sickness and NO to health. There really is no in between.

We can take action DAILY before the “alarm” goes off by drinking water to rejuvenate us in the morning instead of caffeine (that further stresses our body and interferes with our immune system).

We can take action by sleeping the 7-9 hours that our bodies demand.

We can take time to prepare REAL food. We can say YES to eating whole, clean (preservative, additive, hormone-free) food and NO to processed, dead, sugar-laden food.  We can also say YES to making health a priority for our children by teaching them what whole, clean food is!

We can say YES to fun, sweaty activity (i.e. exercise) for at least 20 minutes per day and NO to the television or our other numerous forms of technology.

We can STOP thinking food is RECREATION and start thinking of how it SHOULD serve and feed our body and cells.

The deficits continue to build in our body or should I say in our weakened immune system.  We are creating long-term “nutritional debt” (and you thought the national economic debt was bad) which is getting ready to trigger the “alarm”. alarm

Remember, once the “alarm” goes off, it will be much harder to turn it off than to prevent it from sounding in the first place.

Taking small steps every single day IS the answer to saying YES to health and NO to disease/sickness.

Because ultimately saying YES to health is about changing lives forever. People who experience good health also experience a fulfilled and satisfying life!  What steps are you taking daily to ensure good health?

Tips for Reducing Stress

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It seems that now more than ever many Americans are too stressed out. With work, family, the economy it can become easy to feel overwhelmed and consumed by even the smallest of tasks. Constantly exposing yourself to stressful situations takes not only a mental toll, but can be physically taxing on your body. With increased stress becomes increased risk of stroke, heart disease and even cancer.

Understandably, you cannot remove all the stresses from your life. But with some simple strategies you can get better at managing the stress you have.  These include:  working out, deep breathing, prayer, meditation, eating right, let loose and have fun.  To be a healthy and happy individual stress reduction must occur; plain and simple. You owe it to mind and body.  To learn some more ways to reduce stress check out the feature article Tips for Reducing Stress.
Start with these stress management tips:

  • Keep a positive attitude.
  • Accept that there are events that you cannot control.
  • Be assertive instead of aggressive. “Assert” your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of becoming angry, defensive, or passive.
  • Learn and practice relaxation techniques. Deep breathing is a simple one.
  • Exercise regularly. Your body can fight stress better when it is fit.
  • Eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
  • Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from stressful events.
  • Don’t rely on pharmaceutical drugs to reduce stress.
  • Seek out social support.
  • Learn to manage your time more effectively.

Turmeric Tea

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What are turmeric and turmeric tea? Turmeric, an herb often used in cooking, has many great health benefits. Turmeric, a plant in the ginger family. Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant.

Meghan Telpner, author of the blog Making Love in The Kitchen, shared the following benefits one should consider it.

Historically, turmeric was used in Ayurveda and other traditional Indian medicine, as well as in Eastern Asian healing such as traditional Chinese medicine. In India, it was traditionally used for disorders of the skin, upper respiratory tract, joints, and digestive system.

Today, turmeric is promoted as a dietary supplement for a variety of health conditions, including arthritis, digestive disorders, respiratory infections, allergies, liver disease, depression, and many others.

I love that this recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free which makes this recipe even better for the digestive system. Plus it is super simple to make.

Turmeric Tea Ingredients*

  • 8 ounces (1 cup) coconut milk (or any plant milk)
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1/2-inch wide round slice of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
  • Dash of cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon honey or other natural sweeteners
  • Optional additions: cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, etc

Instructions

Gently warm the milk on the stove. In a mug, combine the remaining ingredients. Drizzle a teaspoon of the warmed milk into the mug and mix until the liquid is smooth with no lumps. Add the rest of the milk and mix well. You can leave the pieces of ginger in the tea, or strain it out before drinking.

If you love turmeric as much as I do, check out this Maple Pecan Cauliflower recipe!

It’s so delicious on a chilly night and so therapeutic if you are having digestive issues. I’m all about supporting the gut so let me know if I can help you further. I’m one of the top Digestive Health Specialist in the Summerville, SC area but work with people all across the U.S. If you’d like to learn more about gut health, we’d love to connect!

*Recipe courtesy of Joanna Kneller.