http://www.thelongevitynowconference.com/beauty1.html
radiant skin, lustrous, clear eyes,
Shizandra berry, the quintessence of Chinese herbs
wild ginseng
and more in the magnetic tea pot
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13Sep
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25Jun
By Aimee Hughes, Naturopathic Doctor
http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp_371040/Discover_Detox_Secrets_From_Around_The_World
Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a pollution-free environment, where we drank only the purest of water and ate naturally untainted foods? Where the homes we lived in were free of chemicals and the air we breathed, water in which we swam, and even the clothes hugging our skin were clean of any artificial substances?
Of course, this idealistic notion has probably never been the case, and is especially impractical today. That is why the next best thing we can do for our health is to cleanse our bodies of these toxins from time to time through various methods of detoxification.
Detoxification refers to the elimination of poisons or toxins. Due to the huge amounts of today’s environmental contaminants, our bodies are in serious need of regular cleansing to reduce damage to our immune systems and metabolism. Detoxification is vital to maximize the body’s energy and to prevent chronic illness. It is also a time-honoured way to keep digestive elimination regular, circulation under control, and stress to a minimum. Detoxification both maintains good health and promotes healing from illnesses.
Common methods of detoxification influenced by cultures around the world are described here. Some are physical approaches that speed toxin removal from tissues so they can be excreted. Others are plant or food based, which treat the body to loads of immune-boosting substances that inactivate toxins and enhance their elimination.
Massage
Massage, dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, is an excellent method to improve lymph movement and blood flow. That, in turn, aids in getting cellular waste products and accumulated toxins out of tissues, into the bloodstream, and to the kidneys where they are eliminated in urine.Melinda Pizzano, L.M.T., matches specific massage techniques to a client’s constitution. One of her favorites is a salt massage or salt glow. “I use this method to stimulate the large lymph glands and exfoliate the skin, as the skin is the largest organ of elimination.” She uses a blend of salt, oil, and an assortment of herbs and sugars during the massage, then rubs it off with hot towels. Melinda adds, “Swedish massage, which is a more vigorous rubbing technique that really stimulates the lymph and circulatory systems, might be better for someone else, while the lymphatic drainage technique might suit another individual.”
Aromatic essential oils such as lemon and grapefruit enhance the detoxification process, as does regularity of treatments. Ms. Pizzano suggests massage be enjoyed on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis to ensure the treatments reach the body’s deepest layers, where unwanted substances build up over time.
Heat treatments
Hyperthermia techniques, which elevate body temperature slightly to remove toxins, have been used throughout history, such as by ancient Greek physicians, in the ornate bath complexes of the Romans, in sweat lodges of the Native Americans, and in the steam baths of the Scandinavians. These techniques are still very popular today. Steam baths, hot tubs, and saunas in particular are favourite ways to get your heart beating and your blood circulating, which improves toxin transfer from tissues to the bloodstream, then to the liver, which chemically alters many harmful substances into harmless ones.Further, according to authors Patricia J. Benjamin and Francis M. Tappan in Tappan’s Handbook of Healing Massage Techniques, “Steam rooms help clear the sinuses and relieve respiratory congestion. Steam also raises the body temperature and causes sweating.” A cold shower following a steam bath washes off toxins released in sweat and brings body temperature down to normal.
Be sure to drink adequate amounts of water before, during, and after heat treatments. The powerful detoxification process takes place when the body reaches 101 to 103 degrees F. Note that one’s pulse rate should not exceed 130 or 140. Check with your physician to see if this technique is right for you.
Skin brushing
Dry skin brushing is another European technique that has been used for centuries. Not only does it remove toxins accumulated in dead skin cells, it enhances circulation. Dr. Bernard Jensen (author of Dr. Jensen’s Guide To Better Bowel Care) recommends in his book, “your daily regime should begin with skin brushing for a period of three to five minutes. I believe skin brushing is one of the finest of all ‘baths.’ No soap can wash the skin as clean as the new skin that you have under the old. You make a new top layer of skin every twenty-four hours. Skin brushing removes the old layer and lets this clean new layer come to the surface.” He recommends, “the whole body (except the face) should be brushed one-half hour after rising and prior to the morning bath or shower. You may wish to skin brush again before retiring for the night.”Use an all-natural vegetable fibre brush with a long handle to reach out-of-the-way places. Brush from the outermost points—the feet and hands—toward the centre of your body; brush bottoms of the feet, as nerve endings here effect the entire body. Brush across your upper back and down the front and back of your torso. Use lighter strokes over breasts and do not brush the nipples. Wash your brush every few weeks in water and let it dry. Feel the sensation of newly invigorated skin!
Foods and beverages
Certain foods and beverages aid in inactivating toxins or in removing them. These include fruits and fruit juices, fresh vegetable juices, chlorophyll-rich foods, herbal teas, and sea plants. For optimal results, these foods should be organically grown and consumed fresh.Blend or juice your favourite fruits in the morning for a detoxifying breakfast. Fruit juices speed up metabolism to release waste quickly and have an alkalising effect (acid-neutralising) on the blood; citrus fruits and their juices in particular are rich in alkaline salts, mainly potassium. High-fiber fruits aid digestive regularity and stabilise insulin levels. Together, these properties of fruits reduce fat storage, speed metabolism, and minimise sugar cravings. Fruits should be eaten by themselves, without protein or complex carbohydrates, and before noon for best energy conversion and cleansing benefits.
Fresh vegetable juices provide the body with necessary vitamins, minerals, and enzymes to power the natural detoxifying activities of cells. For example, a combination of three carrots, three celery stalks, ½ bunch spinach, and ½ bunch parsley is high in potassium and is one of the most effective juices for cleansing blood and tissues, neutralising acids, and rebuilding cells.
Leafy green vegetables have chlorophyll, a detoxifying agent that helps clear the skin, cleanse the kidneys, and cleanse and build the blood. Eating any chlorophyll-rich food will help to boost immunity, treat illness, and rid the body of unwanted substances. Spirulina (blue-green algae) and chlorella (green algae) have become popular supplements due to their extremely high chlorophyll content. Powdered concentrates of these green ‘superfoods’ may be purchased at your local health food store and added to fruit and vegetable juices.
Sea plants (‘sea vegetables’) aid in detoxification by transforming toxic metals into salts that the body can eliminate. They also are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, and proteins. Seaweed, dulse, kelp, nori, and wakame are examples. Two tablespoons of dry minced sea vegetables added daily to a bowl of miso soup is a wonderfully therapeutic dose.
China introduced us to the miraculous green tea, which is high in antioxidant content and combats free radical damage to protect against degenerative diseases. It also boosts enzyme production in the body. It has antibiotic, antiviral, and antibacterial properties, and is highly valued as a cancer preventative.
Milk thistle, one of the best liver cleansing tonics, used with honey by the Romans, is also rich in nutrients and antioxidants to prevent free radical damage. Burdock, known as the plant of longevity, is one of the best blood purifiers of the herbal world and its use dates back to ancient Greece. The leaves make a delightful medicinal addition to soups and salads, or chop it into vinegar to drizzle over green salads.
When taking these herbs in tea form, drink over a long time period as opposed to all at once. This allows the tissues to absorb as much of the medicinal value as possible. Drink two to three cups daily for optimal medicinal effects.
Exercise
One of the most important detoxification methods is regular exercise. Exercise accelerates the removal of toxins through our largest organ of elimination, the skin, when we sweat. It also stimulates lymph flow, which depends solely on muscular movement (or massage). Lymph function is critical to our body’s ability to cleanse itself. Exercise also enhances metabolism and circulation. Almost any kind of exercise, from riding a bicycle to planting flowers in the garden, increases the circulatory system’s transportation of oxygen and nutrients to our cells, while carrying away toxins and wastes from tissues to the organs of elimination. Further, exercise counteracts the greater risk for some diseases, such as heart disease, that correlates with a sedentary lifestyle.Yoga is a wonderful form of exercise because it sends blood flowing to particular places in a tactical way. A shoulder stand, for example, gets blood flowing the opposite way from its usual course. Yoga poses, or asanas, help soothe the muscles and soften blocks of stress that have accumulated over time. Yoga also incorporates conscious breathing and meditation; just 20 minutes each day can do wonders not just for the body, but also the spirit.
Breathing
India’s Ayurvedic system of health utilises breathing techniques, or pranayama, to settle, balance, and detoxify the body. In the Ayurvedic tradition, prana refers to the vital life force, and pranayama is the process by which this vital force is increased.Certain breathing techniques enhance your body’s ability to eliminate toxins because detoxification is directly related to the delivery of oxygen to cells and removal of carbon dioxide.
Try ‘calm belly breathing’ (breathing into the gravitational centre of the body to ease stress and anxiety). Start by lying down in relaxation pose: on your back with arms relaxed to the side and palms up, feet naturally splayed open, and eyes closed. (If you need to modify this pose due to pain in the lower back, simply bend the knees, leaning them against one another, or if the legs are extended, place a towel underneath the head and/or knees.) Now exhale without force while observing the navel fall. Breathe in and out through the nose for five minutes; meditate or mentally focus on the navel rising and falling during this period.
Thomas A. Edison once said, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause of disease.”
May you take these words to heart, and let the detoxifying health techniques mentioned above enrich your own life, foster prevention, and inspire a future of less stress, less disease, and longer days!
Aimee Christine Hughes, ND, writes for a variety of magazines on topics of natural health.
Source: www.livingnow.com.au -
29Apr
From: NaturalNews <insider@naturalnews.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 12:50 PM
Subject: NaturalNews special report: Pet health secrets revealedNaturalNews Insider Alert (www.NaturalNews.com
)
Online reports / book announcements
(Unsubscribe instructions at bottom)
—————————————————————Dear readers,
How much do you really know about what’s in your pet food? Like most
pet owners, I used to assume that dog and cat food was safe and
healthy. But then I started researching the issue by interviewing pet
nutrition experts, and I was absolutely shocked to learn the truth
about what ingredients are perfectly legal to use in pet food.It turns out that your pet food could very easily be causing liver
damage, diabetes or even cancer in your pet right now.I want to show you how to protect your pet’s health from the
hazardous ingredients found in pet food. I’ve authored a new guide
called, “The Real Safety Guide to Pet Health.” It’s available at:
http://www.realsafety.org/PetHealth.htmlI’ll reveal more about this valuable guide in a minute. But first,
let me explain why having this information could literally save your
pet’s life!If you saw the headlines about the recent Diamond Pet Food scandal,
you know that pet food toxins can be deadly. Nearly 100 dogs died from
eating contaminated dog food before the company recalled 34 million
pounds of poisonous kibble. That story made headlines around the world,
but the real story on pet food remains untold: That common pet food
ingredients — even those found in expensive, brand-name foods — may
be harming your pet right now.Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. Before I began to pursue
nutrition and holistic health, I had a beloved family dog who died
from diabetes complications. Only later did I learn that diabetes and
cancer have skyrocketed in pets over the last ten years. That’s
because pet food is now filled with many of the same unhealthy
ingredients that are causing these diseases to reach epidemic
proportions in the human population.For example, check your pet food right now for “rice” or “white rice.
” This is a cheap filler ingredient that actually promotes blood
sugar disorders in dogs and cats, just like it does in people. Except
that dogs and cats are even more susceptible to the detrimental
effects of refined white rice because their digestive systems require
far more protein (and fewer carbohydrates) than humans.So why are pet food companies putting white rice into pet food?
Because it’s a cheap filler ingredient, and most pet food companies
are more interested in selling cans of food than protecting your pet’s
health.But I want to help you keep your furry friends healthy, so I’m
sharing my knowledge of holistic animal care in “The Real Safety Guide
to Pet Health.” Available at http://www.realsafety.org/PetHealth.html,
the guide reveals valuable information about pet food and pet health
that these companies simply don’t want you to know.In this guide, you will learn:
* Which common preservative has been linked to spleen, stomach and
liver cancer as well as immune deficiency syndrome.* How to verify that your dog or cat food meets the Association of
American Feed Control Officials’ nutrition standards.* Which commercial dog food brands contain the healthiest mix of
ingredients.* How to determine if your pets’ food has the appropriate percentage
of protein, fat, and fiber.* Which grains are best (or worst!) for pets.
*How to decide if commercially prepared, alternative, or raw pet
foods are best for you and your pet.* Why you should never feed your dog cooked bones.
* How to prepare raw food for your pet (animals in nature don’t cook
their food!).* Why your dog needs plenty of vegetables, but not high-glycemic
foods.* How supplements may benefit your dog or cat.
In addition to this important nutritional information, “The Real
Safety Guide to Pet Health” provides tips on exercising pets, seasonal
hazards, common house plants that can poison animals, and cleaning
products that need to be kept away from animals. The guide also
explains how to prepare an emergency kit to treat your pet if he or
she is accidentally poisoned. You’ll even learn how to give your dog
CPR, a technique that can save their life, just like in humans.If you love your pets, learn how to give them the same level of
nutrition and positive health that you give yourself! Check out The
Real Safety Guide to Pet Health right now. It’s available in both
downloadable and hardcopy editions:http://www.realsafety.org/PetHealth.html
To your health,
- Mike Adams, The Health Ranger -
04Sep
7 Secrets to Optimal Hormone Balance for Women
by Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo MS, DC, CCN, DACBN
September 3, 2009
If you think that the symptoms of hormone imbalance are limited to the discomforts of PMS, hot flashes, and other common menopausal discomforts, and that the solution is medication or “white knuckling it”, you’re not alone.Hormone imbalances contribute to a myriad of common complaints that most people don’t consider hormone related, including inability to shed excess body fat, fatigue, hair loss, palpitations, skin problems, and a host of others. Chronic and debilitating diseases like fibromyalgia, diabetes, osteoporosis and heart disease are hormone related as well.
There are 7 essential, yet often overlooked strategies for balancing your hormones that are crucial keys to living a vibrant, healthy and balanced life.
1) Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude. Stress is one of the key contributors to hormone imbalance. When you’re in a stressful situation, your body produces a cascade of chemicals—hormones, enzymes and neurotransmitters –– that mobilize your body to escape or fight. This is what’s often known as fight flight mode, and most Americans live there 24/7. When this is chronic, the excessive demands of on your adrenal glands, the “stress soldiers”, causes less nutrients and hormone precursors to be available to make other hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA. Studies show that you can transform a stressful state through the power of deep breathing and appreciation. Take frequent deep breathing and appreciation breaks throughout the day to support your hormones.
2) Get Enough Sleep. While there is not a one size fits all prescription concerning the amount of sleep you need, you do need to figure out what your body really requires, and get it on a consistent basis. During sleep, your body takes out the broom and mop and goes to work cleaning up from the “mess” of the day. Insufficient sleep will leave you tired from the metabolic debris that doesn’t get cleaned up and will throw your hormones into a tailspin. One particular hormone, called leptin, is particularly sensitive to variations in sleep cycle. Leptin controls your appetite and metabolic rate. Insufficient sleep will result in lower leptin levels leading to slower metabolism and weight gain.
3) Optimize your Digestion. Eating on the run, eating processed foods, trans fat containing foods and hard to digest, heavy meals will lead to undigested food particles, damage to your digestive track and physical stress. This can affect the adrenal glands just as significantly as physiological stress, leading to the same hormone imbalances as being “stressed-out”. Stick to unprocessed, whole fresh foods, eaten slowly and with gratitude. You can also take enzymes and probiotics to help your digestion purr.
4) Avoid plastic drinking and food containers. These contain what’s known as xenoestrogens, which are estrogen look alikes that bind to estrogen receptors. Xenoestrogens can cause endometriosis, ovarian cysts, breast cancer and fetal abnormalities. Other sources of xenoestrogens are detergents, some skin lotions and soaps, commercially raised meat and dairy, spermicides, and herbicides. The xenoestrogens leach from the plastic food containers into the food or water. Heat increases the amount of xenoestrogen that gets into the food or water. Use ceramic or glass as much as possible, NEVER heat anything in a plastic container,and use only pure, chemical free body and home care products.
5) Do periodic cleansing. Your liver works hard to keep your blood clean, but the overwhelming number of toxins from both external and internal sources can overwhelm its capacity. As a result, toxins are stored in fat, leading to resistant weight loss. In addition, when the liver is overburdened by toxins it can’t adequately convert “used” hormones, to water soluble forms for excretion. As a result, these”used” hormones recirculate and bind to hormone receptors, thus displacing the active hormones. This is particularly problematic for estrogen, and can lead to such symptoms as PMS, hot flashes, mood swings and uncomfortable menses. Periodic breaks in the action with a green juice or green smoothie cleanse can restore balance.
6) Eat plenty of sea greens. In addition to containing all the minerals known to be important in human health, and most likely many that have yet to be discovered, sea vegetables are powerful detoxifiers. They have the ability to bind heavy metals and carry them out of the body. Heavy metals can disrupt hormone balance. A study in 1998 in the Journal of Human Reproduction linked heavy metals with recurrent miscarriage. Their conclusion was that heavy metals negatively impacted both ovarian and pituitary function. Sea vegetables are especially important for thyroid hormone hormone production, as they contain iodine, a mineral that’s deficient in land vegetables due to mineral depletion of our soils. Studies have shown that a particular species of the sea vegetable kombu, called laminaria digitata actually contains T3 and T4, the thyroid hormones.
7) Run away from heated fats. When heated above about 118 degrees, unsaturated fats oxidize, producing free radicals that damage your glands, organs and cells. Free radical damage is one of the key underlying causes of hormone imbalance and most other health challenges. The heated oils disrupt your natural production of prostaglandins, small messengers that regulate everything from hormone production to smooth muscle contraction. Eat fats in their raw and unprocessed state and be sure to get enough omega 3 fatty acids daily, in the form of chia seed, flax seed, hemp seed, pumpkin seed and blue green algae.
Hormone balance is a complicated process. When the conditions are right, your glands will function normally and you’ll notice a difference in how you feel. It takes a bit of time and diligence to make the lifestyle and diet changes needed to have healthy hormone balance, and it’s worth it. Give yourself time to incorporate the changes. Seek the support of a natural health practitioner who can personalize your program, and add specific herbs and foods that support your uniqueness. Remember to stay focused on the solution rather than the problem, and appreciate the choices in front of you. While this is not a comprehensive list,it’s a great place for you to start to balance your hormones and live a happy, healthy life.
Join Dr. Ritamarie and I starting September 8th for an “Ageless Woman’s Health” 3 night telecourse…
For almost two decades, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo has been supporting women in restoring their energy and balancing their hormones so that can become the vibrant healthy and happy women they were born to be. She’s a certified clinical nutritionist and chiropractor with certifications in acupuncture, Heart Math(TM) stress transformation technologies and herbal medicine. She transformed her own life through the power of whole living foods, cleansing and nutrition and she’s passionate about empowering others to do the same. She resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and 2 sons.
