Please note: I received a call this afternoon from Justin Harrison and was informed that Dr. David Hill wanted to do the essential oil presentation for our seminar.
With the addition of Dr. Hill we have rented a larger room to accomodate the guests. This is going to be a terrific evening of education and fun!
When it rains in the NW it pours!
See you on Tuesday.
~ o~
February Health and Wellness Seminar
Goodbye Superbugs, Hello Health!
Special guest speakers: Dr. David K. Hill, D.C. and Justin Harrison
Presented by Young Living NW
February 20, 2007 • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Edmonds Conference Center
201 Fourth Avenue North
Edmonds, WA 98020
Free to the general public, $10 for YLEO Members
Learn about superbugs and find out why they find resisting essential oils difficult. Dr. David K. Hill, D.C., one of our most dynamic leaders in the field of natural medicine will be explaining the complexities of what kills more people each year
than AIDS, breast cancer and autoimmune accidents combined. The culprit? Supergerms.
Dr. Hill will discuss how essential oils play a role in offering assistance. The lecture will include the essential oils of: Geranium, Thyme, Oregano, Cinnamon Bark, Clove, Mountain Savory, Basil, Peppermint, Lavender, Lemongrass & Eucalyptus!
And for Young Living Leaders old and new:
Justin Harrison, Young Living’s Director of Sales and Training, will discuss the benefits of your Young Living home-based business.
Exciting information
A glimpse into Young Living's new enrollment packages
Product Discounts
Door Prizes
Hints on how to build your business
and much more!
This is a very special educational seminar you won’t want to miss!
Pre-register with Evelyn to reserve your seat, space is limited:
Evelyn at TheVeryEssence@mac.com
GET EXCITED ABOUT LIVING WITH YOUNG LIVING, ESSENTIAL OILS ARE SCENTS-SATIONAL
Young Living Northwest Upcoming Health and Wellness Seminars
March 20th, 2007
GOT MOLD?
If you answered “yes” then this is an educational opportunity you won’t want to miss!
April 17th, 2007
KIDS, PETS, FLEAS and PESTS
Are you ready to get toxic products out of your kids & pets lives? We’ll tell you what we’ve done to make a change!
~ o ~
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Goodbye Superbugs, Hello Health!
February Health and Wellness Seminar
Presented by Young Living NW
February 20, 2007 • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Edmonds Conference Center
201 Fourth Avenue North
Edmonds, WA 98020
Free to the general public, $10 for YLEO Members
According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) antibiotic resistance isn't a new problem; resistant disease strains began emerging not long after the discovery of antibiotics more than 50 years ago.
"What's different now, is that we've reached a situation where it's no longer an isolated problem of this bug or that bug; virtually all important human pathogens treatable with antibiotics have developed some resistance." - Dr. David Bell, M.D., CDC
What is worrying to doctors now is that a new superbug has appeared that is resistant to the antibiotic-of-last-resort vancomycin.
Essential oils have been around for thousands of years. Research from all over the word has proven, time after time, that Essential Oils are highly effective in dealing with “bugs.” Due to the “complex” makeup of essential oils, viruses and bacteria are not capable of becoming resistant to them.
Join special guest speaker Justin Harrison and the Young Living NW Group and learn how we keep germs and superbugs at bay using nature’s most effective solutions - Essential Oils.
Discover the benefits of: Geranium, Thyme, Oregano, Cinnamon Bark, Clove, Mountain Savory, Basil, Peppermint, Lavender, Lemongrass & Eucalyptus!
Justin Harrison is the Director of Sales and Training for Young Living Essential Oils and Regional Business Director for the Western US. He is passionate, energetic and deeply commited to the principles of natural health and to your success with Young Living.
For Young Living Leaders old and new: Justin will discuss the benefits of your Young Living business - how the money is made, what it will cost, what is your commitment and more.
In addition, if you have been wanting to have your own Young Living home-based business now is a great time...
Enroll as a distributor now and receive $100 worth of FREE Young Living product! Plus FREE reinstatement of your Distributorship if it has expired! Receive training and support from Young Living NW Leaders in your new business!
To Register for both events contact me through my website (to prevent spammers) at The Very Essence and click on my email address below my photo.
Special Announcement for Young Living Leaders: in addition to the seminar join Justin and the Young Living NW Group for brunch on Wednesday, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM in Lynnwood, WA (location to be announced.)
GET EXCITED ABOUT LIVING WITH YOUNG LIVING, ESSENTIAL OILS ARE SCENTS-SATIONAL
Upcoming Health and Wellness Seminars
March 20th, 2007 GOT MOLD? If you answered “yes” then this is an educational opportunity you won’t want to miss! |
April 17th, 2007 KIDS, PETS, FLEAS and PESTS! Are you ready to get toxic products out of your kids & pets lives? We’ll tell you what we’ve done to make a change! |
To Register for one or both events contact me through my website (to prevent spammers) at The Very Essence and click on my email address below my photo.
~
Monday, February 05, 2007
Essential Oil Quality Tid-bits:
Did You Know . . .
Some oil producers do not actually add chemicals to their oils. Instead, they inject chemical solvents into the water in their boilers during the distillation process, increasing output by about 18%.
Imagine what happens to essential oils when chemicals are added to water, which is boiled into steam and then forced into plants to extract their oil. The very process of forcing chemically-treated steam into the plants fractures the molecular structure of the essential oils. It also seems impossible for an essential oil extracted through this method to avoid containing at least SOME of these chemical additives.
How to be sure your essential oils are therapeutic-grade:
While not everyone has ready access to scientific analysis of essential oils, these questions can help you determine if a product is therapeutic grade:
- Are the fragrances subtle, rich, organic, and delicate?
- Do they feel natural? (An essential oil should not feel greasy like vegetables oils do).
- Do the fragrances vary from batch to batch as an indication that they are pure and painstakingly distilled in small batches rather than industrially processed and mixed on a large scale?
- Does your supplier grow and distill its own organically grown herbs?
- Are the distillation facilities part of the farm where the herbs are grown so they are freshly distilled — or do the
herbs lose their potency as they wait for weeks to be transported and processed?
- Does your supplier use low pressure and low temperature to distill essential oils and preserve all of their fragile chemical constituents?
- Are the distillation cookers vertical rather than horizontal?
- Are they fabricated from costly stainless steel alloys to reduce the likelihood of the oils chemically reacting with metal?
- Does your supplier have representatives traveling worldwide to personally inspect the fields and distilleries where the herbs are grown and distilled?
- Does your supplier buy directly from the grower?
- Does your supplier scrutinize the facilities to ensure that no synthetic chemicals are used?
Ways Young Living Ensures Oil Purity:
1. We plant, harvest and distill on our own farms. The best defense against adulteration is to completely control herb cultivation and distillation. This is why Young Living grows over 15 different herbs, including lavender, clary sage, melissa, thyme, sage, peppermint, spearmint, German chamomile, Roman chamomile, and Idaho tansy.
2. We visit and inspect the farms and distillation facilities of our essential oil suppliers. By personally inspecting the facilities of outside oil producers, Young Living ensures that herbs meet stringent quality specifications.
3. We use state-of-the-art chemical analysis to check every batch of essential oils. Young Living quarantines, inspects, and tests each lot of essential oils for purity and quality. Oils can go through as many as five separate levels of analysis before they are released.
Because Young Living essential oils are grown, handled and distilled properly purity is ensured. You know you are always getting the best.
I have used essential oils for about 20 years. However, Young Living was not in business back when I had begun using essential oils. I still sought out and found the best essential oils I could find in the US. I was looking for essential oils so I could make my own household cleaners, and to use for aromatherapy purposes.
Because the oils I found back then were not stringently regulated and pure I never put a sinlge drop on my body or in my cooking, why? Because they contained chemicals and it would be dangerous. I was only able to use those oils in very limited ways.
Then, about 7 years ago, while attending my classical Feng Shui class, a woman who sold Young Living essential oils did a presentation on how we could use essential oils for purifying negative energy in homes when we were called in to do "Space Clearings." She was also showing us how it was perfectly safe to apply these oils to our bodies and use them in cooking because of their purity.
Well, one smell of the Young Living oils and I KNEW that what I had been buying was junk!
I placed a very large order, over $500, and when I got home I literally threw-out all of the oils I had gotten from that other company. Besides, after smelling pure, high quality oils, the ones I had at home actually smelled horrible and like they could be toxic. Since then, I have only using Young Living oils.
I decided to sell these wonderful oils and essential oil enhanced products about 1 1/2 years ago mostly because I want people to know that the vast majority of what's available out there is junk and they are not safe to use. I wanted people to know there is a better option to choose from. An option that is not adding more chemicals that pollute our lovely earth and bodies.
Even if I were not selling the Young Living line, I would still be buying and using their essential oils and products.
Take a look around my blog here to get familiar with some of the many ways essential oils can be used, this is just a small sampling.
My product website will explain and show you even more ways to use pure essential oils - The Very Essence.
And as always, please feel free to contact me shoud you have any questions and wish to learn more.
~ o ~
Call of Life:
Facing the Mass Extinction
This is a preview from "Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction," a feature documentary now in production.
The loss of biodiversity on earth has become so acute that scientists are now calling it a "mass extinction event." The crisis has many causes, all of which are related to human activity. Through interviews with eminent biologists, psychologists, anthropologists, historians, and many others, the film not only presents the facts of the shocking decline, it also explores the ways in which culture and psychology have conspired to determine our collective and individual response to this situation, and how the latest insights into natural systems could help us turn back the tide.
The film weaves biology, psychology, and cultural history into a clear and accessible story of our changing world. The audience is taken into the depths of the human psyche, through the toughest problems of our times and into the cutting edge of what nature has to teach us. The mass extinction is quite possibly the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced. Those of us alive today have been given a choice—one last opportunity to save the diversity of our planet. The decisions we make or fail to make in the next few years will affect the habitability of earth for millennia to come. This is the greatest adventure of all time—with the future of life itself in the balance.
Species Alliance
~
Are Your Air Fresheners Killing You?
AIR FRESHENERS AND AEROSOLS
Who would have thought that air fresheners could be harmful? In a major longitudinal study, frequent use of air fresheners during pregnancy and early childhood was associated with higher levels of diarrhea, earache in infants and headaches, depression in mothers.
In New Scientist a 1999 study revealed that in homes where aerosol sprays and air fresheners were used, mothers experienced 25% more headaches and were 19% more likely to experience depression.
ARE YOUR AIR FRESHENERS KILLING YOU?
It's rare that we know what ingredients are in those air freshening products. Those products that scent everything from bathrooms, toilets, our friends homes, those stinky paper scented pine trees dangling from car rearview mirrors, and so forth. Unless we have the opportunity to read the list of ingredients we have no idea what it is that we're exposing ourselves and children to.
For some of us, our noses tell us when we are inhaling a toxic chemical and we may have symptoms of burning noses and eyes, coughing, sneezing, upset stomaches, headaches, asthmatic responses, and more. For me personally, when I go into any store or household that sells anything with toxic ingredients my sinuses and eyes burn so badly that it makes me want to protest and get the stores to stop selling those poisons to people. I actually think it should be criminal to manufacture and sell such poisonous products to uninformed innocent people. And we wonder why the health of Americans is so bad.
The main toxin in room fresheners, urinal cakes, moth balls and certain things like paints ,cleaning products, and vehicle exhaust fumes is 1,4 dichlorobenzene (1,4 DCB). A recent National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS) study published in Environmental Health Perspectives showed that among 953 adults 1,4 DCB was linked to a reduction in lung function.
Go into your cabinets and see if any of the products in your home contain 1, 4 DCB.
Labels often omit inactive or inert ingredients that make up 90% of that products volume.
About a month ago, I went into a local department store to purchase common products people buy and use daily for a presentation I was to make. This was something I haven't done in 20 years... I was horrified by what I saw in shoppers carts and in total shock by what I didn't see on the labels.
I couldn't believe how many of these products didn't even list ingredients, but did carry "warnings: do not inhale vapors. If inhaled immediately go outdoors for air." These are products manufacturers expect us to buy and use?!
Of the over 17,000 chemicals used in these products only 3 in 10 are ever tested for human safety. I wouldn't allow those products in my home if they gave me a free lifetime supply!
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN FRESHEN YOUR AIR WITHOUT POISONING YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY
By using therapeutic-grade organic essential oils you will be cutting down or eliminating unwanted microbes, such as fungus, mold, pathogenic viruses and bacteria.
You will want to use a 'cold-air' diffuser with therapeutic-grade organic essential oils. You NEVER want to heat an essential oil as heat will destroy the beneficial properties. And remember, the essential oils found in the stores are 'perfume-grade', which means they can be derived from any source, synthetic-chemical fragrances, and sold very cheaply to the uninformed public. See my previous posts on essential oil quality: Intro To Therapeutic-grade Essential Oils and The Experts Agree About Essential Oil Quality and Smell Testing an Essential Oil. Never expect to get the same results with any store bought essential oil as you will get with a Young Living essential oil.
COLD AIR DIFFUSERS
A cold air diffuser is different than other means of getting an essential oil into the air. It is electric, and nebulizes the essential oil which creates an extremely fine mist that allow the essential oil to permeate your room(s). It uses only cold air. Here is a picture of what one looks like...
Item # 3830
Diffusing essential oils in your home or office is a perfect way to help relieve tension, dispel odors, kill germs & viruses, eliminate and prevent mold, and create an atmosphere of peace and harmony, terrific Feng Shui.
The Young Living Essential Oil Diffuser is designed with an innovative air pump that disperses the oils in a micro-fine vapor so they stay suspended in the air for several hours. The diffuser disperses the oils without heating them, so they retain their therapeutic benefits. Essential oil blends that contain vegetable oils may diffuse slower than other oils.
This diffuser can be purchased at my website:
The Very Essence
WHICH THERAPEUTIC-GRADE ESSENTIAl OILS DO I CHOSE?
These are two, among many, terrific choices that I use: Thieves Blend (item # 3423), Purification Blend (item # 3399).
Other Young Living essential oils that I enjoy diffusing are - Citrus Fresh, Lemon, Brain Power, Joy, Orange, Evergreen Essence, Sacred Mountain, and Peace & Calming.
A cold-air diffuser on a light timer so it turns on and off by itself, highly recommended. Use it in your home, office, studio, store, or any indoor place that you would want to freshen the indoor environment safely and effectively.
If I can assist you please contact me.
To you and your families good health!
Monday, January 29, 2007
The Dance
I had the honor this past summer to attend the first annual 3 day event, 2006 Flute Quest, near Seattle. It was perhaps the most spiritually beautiful publc musical event I've seen. Three days of live Native American Flute music filled the air. Native American flute players from across the US performed all day and into the evening, chatted with attendee's, and set up tables displaying their amazing handcrafted works of art, flutes.
Daily workshops were held for those desiring to learn more about the flute and how to play. Another workshop lead by Robert Mirabal and his brother Patrick Mirabal on how to make these simply stunning wooden instruments. Robert and brother Patrick presented a most entertaining performance one evening. Their wit, charismatic sense of humor, animation, and music was absolutely the most touching and entertaining I've seen. Mary Youngboold was amazing as well as Ron Warren, Coyote Oldman and so many others. It was a terrific event, I can't wait until the 2007 Flute Quest!
Other flutists and musicians included: Mary Youngblood, Ron Warren, Coyote Oldman, Jeff Ball, Vince Chafin, Ash Dargan, Gary Stoudtdos, Clint Goss, Brent Haines and many others.
Daily workshops were held for those desiring to learn more about the flute and how to play. Another workshop lead by Robert Mirabal and his brother Patrick Mirabal on how to make these simply stunning wooden instruments. Robert and brother Patrick presented a most entertaining performance one evening. Their wit, charismatic sense of humor, animation, and music was absolutely the most touching and entertaining I've seen. Mary Youngboold was amazing as well as Ron Warren, Coyote Oldman and so many others. It was a terrific event, I can't wait until the 2007 Flute Quest!
Other flutists and musicians included: Mary Youngblood, Ron Warren, Coyote Oldman, Jeff Ball, Vince Chafin, Ash Dargan, Gary Stoudtdos, Clint Goss, Brent Haines and many others.
REFLECTIONS
EXCERPTS FROM MIRABAL'S NOVEL SOON TO BE PUBLISHED.
There are no goals…, just to explore the facade…,
to explore the false _____ that are inside me…, that lay dormant underneath dusty smiling little lies.
Let the out law track me down and crucify.
Gone will be me…, “That one that used to be.”
Allow me to be the rain in the fall. The leaf
that holds on but eventually forgets the task
and lets go.
Like the earth, let me accept my changes…,
nobly, gracefully, naturally.
Dance I will…, but never the same dance,
and then…, still…, ever so still.
Mirabal Flutes website
To see some extremely artistically crafted flutes visit
Coyote Oldman Flutes website
And be sure to check out
The International Native American Flute Association
to learn about Flute Circles in your area.
The Native American Flute is fun and relatively easy to learn to make a decent song from.
~
Monday, January 22, 2007
Lemon Essential Oil
Heartburn is a burning pain felt behind the breastbone. It is most often the result of acid reflux, that is, when stomach acid rises up the esophagus where it irritates the lining. Lemon is one of the best remedies for heartburn, as it causes the stomach to stop excreting digestive acids. Simply add a drop or two of lemon to a small glass of water and drink.
Did you know that Lemon essentail oil has many traditional uses?
Lemon has antiseptic-like properties and contains compounds that have been studied for their effects on immune function. According Jean Valnet, M.D., the vaporized essence (essential oil) of lemon can kill meningococcus bacteria in 15 minutes, typhoid bacilli in one hour, Staphylococcus aureus in two hours, and Pneumococcus bacteria within three hours. Even a 0.2% solution of lemon oil can kill diphtheria bacteria in 20 minutes and inactivate tuberculosis bacteria.
Lemon essential oil has been widely used in skin care to cleanse skin and reduce wrinkles. It promotes clarity of thought and purpose, as well as health, healing, physical energy, and purification. Its fragrance is invigorating, enhancing, and warming. Lemon has been shown to have antidepressant effects in research done by Komori, et al.,1995. It serves as an effective insect repellent** and works well in removing gum, wood stain, oil, and grease spots.
More ideas:
- Use 6 drops of Lemon essential oil (item # 3578) and 6 drops of Purification essential oil blend (item # 3399) in a spray bottle mixed with distilled water to use in the bathroom as an air freshener.
- Use 1-2 drops of Lemon essential oil to remove gum, oil, grease spots or crayon.
- Use 1 drop of Lemon oil to add flavor to baked goods or beverages.
- For homemade lemonade, in a blender mix 2 drops of Lemon oil, 2 tablespoons of honey and two cups of pure water. Adjust the amount of each ingredient to suit your own taste.
- Rub a drop of Lemon essential oil on a corn, callous or bunion mornings and evenings.
- To clean and increase the shelf life of fresh fruit, fill a bowl with cool water and 2-3 drops of Lemon oil. Drop your cleaned fruit into the water and stir. Be sure all surfaces of the fruit contact the lemon water.
- Add 2-3 drops of Lemon oil to water and spray counter tops to sterilize them.
- Soak your dishcloth overnight in a bowl of water and a drop of Lemon oil to disinfect and kill germs.
- Add a drop of Lemon oil to your dishwasher before the wash cycle.
- Rub a drop of Lemon oil on your hands after using a public bathroom.**
- Use a paper towel soaked with several drops of Lemon oil to sanitize bathroom fixtures.
- Place a drop of Lemon oil on cold sores, herpes or other mouth ulcers to lessen pain and aid in healing.**
- Put a drop of Lemon oil on bleeding gums caused by gingivitis or tooth extraction.
- Put a drop of Lemon oil on oily skin or acne to balance sebaceous glands (oil glands).**
- Rub several drops of Lemon oil on cellulite to improve circulation and help eliminate waste from the cells.**
- Rub two drops of Lemon oil topically to clear athlete's foot.
- Rub several drops of Lemon oil on varicose veins to improve circulation and relieve pressure on the veins.
- Rub a drop of Lemon oil on a wart morning and night until it disappears.
- Rub a drop of Lemon oil to clean a butcher's block or other cutting surfaces.
- Put 10-15 drops of Lemon oil in each gallon of carpet cleaning solution to help pull out stains and brighten the rug. This also leaves a fresh smell in the room.
* * Note: any citrus oil can cause photosensitivity. Therefore to not apply directly to skin that will be exposed to sunlight within 12 hours. Ingesting lemon essential oil does "not" cause photosensitivity. Please use any citrus oil mindfully and with respect.
Disclaimer: Information found in this post and blog refers solely to products from Young Living Essential Oils and is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. We urge you to do the health related research necessary to learn what is right for you. Young Living uses only therapeutic-grade AFNOR -ISO standard essential oils. "Perfume-grade", "Food-grade", or other poor quality essential oils may possibly be harmful due to unknown additives and poor plant or distillation conditions. US labeling for essential oils is governed by the Perfume Act, allowing labels to say "100%"pure essential oil" and by law contain only 5% of any grade oils. Those are not the garding and standards used at Young Living.
Click here to learn more and visit my essential oil website:
The Very Essence
~
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Estrogen and Hormones:
What we women need to know
I've been doing a lot of research these past several months and one of the things of great interest to me is... Why are the people of the USA the most ill and diseased in the world?
There's so much to sort through and attempt to make sense of, big companies and pharma want us to use their latest great products, action groups are battling to be heard and taken seriously, and everything in between.
We are at best left to feel confused, like we cannot do anything about the problem, and we haven't a clue, nor the time, to discover what's fact and what's fiction and what exactly is safe to eat and use these days.
There is hope!
Whenever I moved or arrived in a new town, the first thing I would do is find a place to buy organic food and some restaurants that didn't insult my taste buds and food intellect. Years ago fulfilling those criteria was a great feat in itself. As the years passed it became easier as natural foods became more and more main-stream. I've bought organic everything for the past 25 years. However, over the past few years I've been having conversations with my sisters and friends where we're saying to each other things like... "the organic produce looks and tastes exactly like the regular produce, what's up?"
Even this afternoon I took an apple out of the fridge and it felt "sticky" to the touch, not because it had gotten something sticky on it but because it's sprayed with some type of wax, which is no doubt a petro-chemical. I have paid extra, for the past 25 years to "not" have those types of things on my food. And up until the FDA and USDA took over the regulations on the organics things like petro-chemical waxes were forbidden.
What was also forbidden was to send a organically raised cow to a feed-lot for fattening up. Well gang, not any longer! All those little conversations I've had questioning, "is this really organic?" have come to a halt. Of course we had to suspect something was up when super market sized natural food stores began popping up virtually overnight and so-called organic products filled the shelves.
I am extremely sad to see that a perfectly fine, truly organic industry has been ruined and manipulated. I laughed when I heard WalMart was getting into organics... WalMart couldn't do real organics if their life depended on it! How do I know this? Because that chain is massive and even if you combined all the organic farms in the world together you still wouldn't be able to fill the shelves. True organic farms aren't capable of supplying a massive industry. This is why we are seeing additives and things like petro-chemicals in our organic foods today.
Do you know that according to the FDA and USDA it is perfectly acceptable for a Genetically Modified soybeean to be used in organic products? Or, that Genetically Modified corn is ok too?
Do you also know that the Genetically Modified crops can and do cross pollinate with crops that are not GM crops?
Do you know that "soy" is NOT a health food? It is in fact a poison that we shouldn't consume. Those studies they did some years ago on the Japanese soy-rich diet... well, the Japanese never ate the soy products that big industries have shoved in our faces claiming them to be healthy foods. Yes, we were duped.
In fact, the soy products the Japanese did eat were "fermented" for years before they were ever consumed and for the most part were used as condiments rather than a main dish. The very long process of fermenting soy is slow and expensive.
Also "soy protein" is a by-product, a waste-product. A product that even scientists agree should not be consumed. In the US, we don't see fermented and aged soy products that are ok to eat in very small amounts.
I believe that we women are getting a seriously bad deal here, our kids, and you guys are too. They say cancer is the number one killer in the US.
Are you also aware that cancer can "only" grow under certain conditions?
Cancer can only grow in "acidic" conditions. And, it can only grow in an "estrogen" excess environment. And that is precisely what we have with our diets and our health in this country. It's no wonder that we are the sickest country in the world!
Where does the estrogen and estrogen mimics come from? Genetically Modified crops (corn, soy, cotton & alfalfa), anything soy (and yes I do mean any form of soy), feed-lot animals. Those crops also get fed to the animals we eat. There are also tons of chemicals, household and industrial, that mimic estrogen.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Read labels. If any product has a list of ingredients you cannot pronounce (excluding latin names), and if the list is long, don't buy it. I refuse to buy any product that has any form of soy, or any form of corn in it. Same with cotton seed. I avoid all of those ingredients like the plague.
Buy Locally. No matter here you live in the US there is going to be a real organic farmer near you.
Eat Seasonally. Our bodies are suppose to get seasonal foods, not food trucked in some 3,000 miles from some far off location.
Eat only 100% Free-Range poultry products. Search out a local person who raises their own chickens and allows them to run freely, it doesn't take much ground to raise some chickens so there's no doubt someone is close to you.
Eat Grass-Fed beef, Bison, pigs, sheep, chicken, goat. I have found a fantastic source. I've had different cuts of their Bison, and beef and not only does it taste better than store bought, but it tastes better than the organic! I have also tried their butter, yes it is expensive, but I will say this... I will never again put any other kind of butter in my mouth! The flavor is absolutely astonishing. For the first time in my life, when I eat the grass-fed products, I can honestly say that every cell in my body has a smile. And, I truly feel that I've been slowly starving to death because the organic meats I have gotten are from feed-lots and not grass-fed. Check out their website and place a small order and you'll see what I mean...
US Wellness Meats
Here's a short artcle that I think you'll find interesting too...
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF HORMONES
by Sherrill Sellman
"Supplementing one's diet with plant-based digestive enzymes available from the health food store is becoming necessary for people of all ages.
Women and hormones equal big business these days. Like animals lured into a snare by a trail of crumbs, women have been cajoled with scientific studies, media advertising, patient hand books and drug samples to accept Hormone Replacement Therapy as a magic potion. HRT is praised as the cure for hot flashes and all the other symptoms assigned to the menopause pantheon. In addition, it is considered an and-aging medicine acting as a talisman to ward off osteoporosis, heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Millions of menopausal women flock to their doctors' offices. each year seeking relief from such complaints as hot flashes, night sweats, bloating, indigestion, allergies, headaches, insomnia, fatigue, depression, high blood pressure, weight gain, head hair loss, facial hair growth, mood swings, aging skin, irritability, foggy thinking, lack of concentration, anxiety attacks, heart palpitations, bone loss, and heavy bleeding.
The common panacea prescribed for all these symptoms is usually HRT. All these presenting symptoms are lumped together into the menopausal pigeonhole; estrogen deficiency is the diagnosis, and synthetic estrogen replacement becomes the cure. It's an obvious and simple solution for hormonal imbalance--or so we are led to believe.
But what if these symptoms that mostly plague 40 and 50-year-old women are not at all about menopause?
What if it's not estrogen deficiency but rather estrogen excess that is the cause of these discomforts?
What if the real physiological problems are, in fact, being ignored, misdiagnosed or misunderstood?
And what if the pathological condition of "menopause," the supposed cause of a midlife woman's lament, doesn't even exist?"
OTHER GREAT LINKS
Vital Choice Seafood
Weston A. Price Foundation
Local Harvest
Seeds of Deception
Weston A. Price Foundation
The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food Revealed
And if you haven't watched this 90 minute video yet I highly recommend it: The Future of Food
~
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Seattle Area:
Winter Cleansing & Wellness Seminar Jan. 23rd
Who's ready to get the New Year off to a terrific start?
We are hosting a "Winter Cleansing & Wellness" seminar in the Seattle area on January 23rd, just in time to help you shake off those winter blues and (dare I say) some of those ingredients from holiday feasts and treats. We'll also be covering some of the hundreds of ways you can use essential oils for your wellness and around the house.
Learn about and experience the many benefits of the 'Essential 7' kit.
Learn about the '5-Day Nutritive Cleanse'
Learn how to use AFNOR-ISO grade Young Living Essential Oils to enhance your well-being
Learn about and sample essential oils, ask questions, sample a tasty snack, and spend the evening with like-minded people who are making a difference in their lives for the New Year.
FREE to the general public and guests, $10 for current YLEO Members.
DATE: Tuesday, January 23rd
TIME: registrtion 6:30pm, seminar starts at 7:00pm - 9:00pm
LOCATION: Edmonds Convention Center, 201 Fourth Ave. N, Edmonds, WA 98020 Get Directions
Please state at the registration desk that Evelyn Vincent told you about the event so I can meet you.
*
We are hosting a "Winter Cleansing & Wellness" seminar in the Seattle area on January 23rd, just in time to help you shake off those winter blues and (dare I say) some of those ingredients from holiday feasts and treats. We'll also be covering some of the hundreds of ways you can use essential oils for your wellness and around the house.
Learn about and experience the many benefits of the 'Essential 7' kit.
Learn about the '5-Day Nutritive Cleanse'
Learn how to use AFNOR-ISO grade Young Living Essential Oils to enhance your well-being
Learn about and sample essential oils, ask questions, sample a tasty snack, and spend the evening with like-minded people who are making a difference in their lives for the New Year.
FREE to the general public and guests, $10 for current YLEO Members.
DATE: Tuesday, January 23rd
TIME: registrtion 6:30pm, seminar starts at 7:00pm - 9:00pm
LOCATION: Edmonds Convention Center, 201 Fourth Ave. N, Edmonds, WA 98020 Get Directions
Please state at the registration desk that Evelyn Vincent told you about the event so I can meet you.
*
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The Future of Food
There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America - a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat.
THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.
Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.
Watch this documentary film "The Future of Food" (each part is about 10 minutes):
Part One
Part Two:
Part Three:
Part Four:
Part Five:
Part Six:
Part Seven:
Being a gardener (of mainly heirloom & native varieties), a native plant enthusiast, landscape designer, and a lover of excellent quality and naturally unique foods-I found this film to be very well done and enormously educational.
I believe that purchasing a copy of the DVD and hosting 'free' screenings in neighborhoods across the country would help to enlighten people as to what exactly is going on, it's available at The Future of Food. I honestly cannot believe that 'if' people knew what Monsanto and other large corporations have been doing that they would continue to buy food, or any product, that has been 'Genetically Engineered' (GE).
Take the time to watch this film, it will effect the rest of your life... one way or the other.
THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.
Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.
Watch this documentary film "The Future of Food" (each part is about 10 minutes):
Part One
Part Two:
Part Three:
Part Four:
Part Five:
Part Six:
Part Seven:
Being a gardener (of mainly heirloom & native varieties), a native plant enthusiast, landscape designer, and a lover of excellent quality and naturally unique foods-I found this film to be very well done and enormously educational.
I believe that purchasing a copy of the DVD and hosting 'free' screenings in neighborhoods across the country would help to enlighten people as to what exactly is going on, it's available at The Future of Food. I honestly cannot believe that 'if' people knew what Monsanto and other large corporations have been doing that they would continue to buy food, or any product, that has been 'Genetically Engineered' (GE).
Take the time to watch this film, it will effect the rest of your life... one way or the other.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Plastic: are you aware of this?
Here are excerpts from a Frontline transcript, June 2nd 1998, that I thought was worth putting in the spotlight.
The complete transcript can be found at Fooling With Nature
Fredrick Vom Saal is a Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri. A leading researcher in the field of developmental biology, Vom Saal has studied the effects of both natural and synthetic hormones at extremely low doses. His studies have shown that extremely low doses of hormones can permanently alter development of the reproductive system in mice. He has also studied how manmade chemicals, including plastics, can mimic hormones at extremely low doses.
Interview conducted in February 1998 by Doug Hamilton, producer of FRONTLINE's "Fooling With Nature."
DH: You've said that the doses at which hormones affect the body are extremely low. Give me an example to make me understand that.
FvS: The issue of the amount of hormone that actually causes effects is very difficult for scientists to talk to people about because we're dealing with numbers that are outside of the frame of reference that anybody is going to be thinking about. We see changes, profound changes, in the course of development of essentially the whole body of experimental animals, and we're working with mice and rats, and we see these changes at fifty femtograms of the hormone per milliliter of blood. That's 0.05 trillionths of a gram of this hormone in a milliliter of blood.
DH: And what sort of effect does it have?
FvS: We see changes in the functioning of the prostate. We see dramatic change in the sprouting of glands within the fetal prostate. We see changes in testicular sperm production. We see changes in the structure of the endocrine control region in the brain, which is accompanied by changes in sex behavior, aggression, the way these animals behave towards infants, their whole social interaction, the way they age, the time that they enter puberty, the age at which they cease reproduction. It changes their entire life history, and these changes are capable of occurring at very low levels of hormones.
I remember when we first did this and I was a post doctoral fellow, and my advisor and I looked at the hormone levels and said, "My God, these levels are so staggeringly small and the consequences are so immense it's amazing." Even to biologists, it's amazing.
But what you have is the entire field of toxicology thinking of a millionth of a gram of a hormone or a chemical as being this staggeringly tiny amount, and to most people if I said there's only a millionth of a gram of it here you'd say, "How can it do anything?" A millionth of a gram of estradiol in blood is toxic. The natural hormone is actually operating at something like a hundred million times lower than that. So when you have a physiologist thinking of a millionth of a gram, you have that physiologist thinking this is a toxic high dose. When you are raised in the field of toxicology you are looking at that from the other perspective of "My gosh, that's such a tiny dose, it couldn't do anything."...
DH: Can you again describe the results, the developmental effects in your laboratory mice, that you are seeing with these unbelievably small changes in hormone levels?
FvS: We published a paper just a few months ago in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" in which we experimentally elevated estradiol levels in mouse fetuses during the period when their reproductive organs were forming. And what we did was we experimentally elevated estradiol by one tenth of one trillionth of a gram of estradiol in a milliliter of blood. We estimate that we're increasing estradiol by about one molecule of estradiol per cell in the body. Okay? The consequence of this is that at the end of the first day of development of the prostate in the male fetuses we could see dramatic change in the sprouting of prostate glands. We rendered the prostate abnormally enlarged, and this was detectable within twenty-four hours of the beginning of its embryonic development. And when we looked at these treated animals as adults, that difference had persisted. They had abnormally enlarged prostates that were hyper-responsive to hormones.
Now, prostate disease is for every male in this country and for every male in the world a very, very serious concern. It's the largest bill to the medical community. It's the most prevalent disease of aging in humans. Seventy percent of men, by the time you're seventy years old, will have an abnormally enlarged prostate. We caused this to happen at the first day of embryonic life with that change in estradiol. That's how sensitive embryonic organs are to these staggeringly tiny changes in hormones....
DH: These hormone levels you're talking about are inconceivably low, staggeringly low. How do we even begin to measure them?
FvS: For some chemicals, and for some hormones, the technical capacity to measure them is actually less sensitive than the body's ability to detect them. We've been working with a chemical, bisphenol-A. It's what polycarbonate plastic, hard plastics, are made out of: CD's, the plastic in your glasses' lens, milk containers, baby bottles. It's the chemical that they use to line cans with, it's the chemical they put on your teeth as a sealant and it is a very potent estrogen. It mimics the hormone that women produce in their ovaries, and it mimics this hormone estradiol that is actually being produced in fetuses and during pregnancy that is a major coordinator or an alligator or any other animal.
Estradiol plays a critical role in development and then normal functioning of the body for the rest of an individual's life. The amount of estradiol you're exposed to throughout your life is also the best predictor of breast cancer. This chemical mimics that hormone. The body can't tell the difference between bisphenol-A and estradiol. In other words, it sees this chemical and it thinks it's getting exposed to its natural hormone....
DH: So you're saying that the hormone that has the clearest link to breast cancer, the hormone that is responsible for sexual development in any animal or human, is found in plastics?
FvS: Absolutely. The plastic materials, if they are polycarbonates, are made with this chemical bisphenol-A. And you can think of polycarbonate as a house made of bricks. Essentially you take this brick, this building block, which is bisphenol-A, and you link it together with other bisphenol-A molecules. That's a polymerization reaction. The bisphenol-A is the monomer used to construct these plastic materials. When it's attached to another one, that forms a polymer. And unfortunately in the process of making these plastics not all of the bisphenol-A gets linked together. So you put your food or other material in the plastic and it absorbs the unreacted bisphenol-A into it. And now in your food is a sex hormone...
DH: And what are you finding to be the effect?
FvS: Okay, the chemical bisphenol-A passes out of the plastic or out of the dental sealant that's put on your child's teeth or out of the lining of cans, into the food or liquid that's in contact with the plastic. Now the important point about detection by instrumentation of the bisphenol-A is that, based on our research, the ability of the current instruments used to monitor for bisphenol-A in food is a much lower level of detection than what our animals are able to detect. It's a huge difference as a matter of fact. So that you can put food that you have in contact with plastic into a chemical analysis and say there is no plastic material there. We extract from that same food, put it into animals and we get a big effect. The animals are more sensitive to the chemicals than the machinery...
DH: So the plastics we use in daily life, the baby bottles, the food containers, leach chemicals into the food at levels that cause effects in lab animals?
FvS: One of the things that we started doing a number of years ago is we started looking at the effects of the materials that plastics are made out of in cell culture. We used human cells to see how responsive these cells were to these chemicals, and at what doses the chemicals could influence human cells to start growing and doing things differently. So, in other words, we're getting biological responses out of the cells and we were astonished at the incredibly small amounts of these chemicals that were actually able to alter human cell function...
So what we did in mice was based on the studies using human cells. We know that mouse cells are essentially identical to human cells in the way that they respond to these hormones. That's been known actually for quite a long time...
Now one of the surprising things is that when we started looking into the literature concerning the amounts of these chemicals that were being released into food from plastic containers, and we compared that to the doses active in our cell culture studies, they were the same doses. But they were also doses that the toxicological community was saying were absolutely safe...
...But there were no actual experiments that had ever tested to see if that was true. So we did something that had never been done...
DH: And what did you find?
FvS: For the males, decreased sperm count and enlarged prostates. The treatment altered virtually every aspect of the reproductive system...
...In other words, in every aspect of physiology that we look for, we see effects. And they're permanent. And the important thing about what I'm talking about is we are only exposing babies to these chemicals for very, very short periods of time in development and the consequences are for the rest of the life of that individual. Once you change the development of an organ there is no way to undo that effect. It's a life sentence -- that's a lifetime consequence. Medical science can't undo the development of organs.
DH: And you're finding that organs are affected at levels as low as those that are leaching into our food from common plastics?
FvS: That's correct...
DH: Could I just get you to repeat that in simpler terms?
FvS: OK. If you look at the fish or the human or the frog or the bird at the earliest stages of embryonic development, when the reproductive organs are forming, you're hard pressed to tell them apart. And if I were to show you the developing prostate in a human at the very beginning of its development, and the developing prostate in a mouse at the beginning of its development, you wouldn't tell them apart. And at the functional level they're essentially identical...
DH: One of your colleagues actually stumbled onto this problem with plastics. How did that happen?
FvS: Well, it's a fascinating detective story. At Tufts University, they were doing the same types of studies that we have been doing with human cells: culturing them and then looking at the ability of the cells to respond to chemicals in the environment. They had purchased some new test tubes and the test tubes were made of polystyrene plastic, and the cells that we're using to detect estrogens require estrogens to grow and to proliferate, to go through development. And they put the cells in these test tubes and they started growing. And so the natural assumption was, "Somebody spilled some chemical in the lab that is infiltrating all of our cultures, and oh my gosh this is a disaster." Contaminated labs are a real serious problem.
Instead, after months and months of work, they realized that the lab was absolutely clean and that it was the test tube that was causing the cells to grow. So they called up Dow Corning, from whom they had purchased these test tubes, and said, "Your test tubes are causing our estrogen-responsive cells to grow. They must be releasing an estrogen. What could that be?" And Dow Corning said, "We won't tell you. We won't tell anybody what's in our products." And I'll come back to this because this is an extremely critical issue with regard to knowing what chemicals we're exposed to. Because the chemical industry will not inform scientists or the public what the chemicals in the products we're using are, and so it took months of work, of chemical analysis of these plastics, to realize that it's an additive material.
It's an antioxidant that stops discoloration of the plastic and it's added to the plastic to stop it from discoloring, and it's present in soaps, detergents, hand creams, vaginal creams. It's used in loads of different types of products. This same chemical is also used as an antioxidant in plastics. And it's a potent enough estrogen that when you put human cells into a plastic material made of polystyrene, but it's got this additive material in it, it can cause human breast cells to start proliferating. That's not a good thing...
DH: Could it be cancer causing?
FvS: Well, you can't have breast cancer if you don't have enough estrogen to cause the breast cells to undergo differentiation in development...
DH: And this is coming from soaps, creams, plastics that are in our daily lives?
FvS: That's correct...
DH This issue can't be talked about without getting into politics, it seems. Why is that?
FvS: The political aspects of dealing with the endocrine disrupter issue have really altered the course of what is happening dramatically...In the case of the endocrine disrupter issue, where the chemical that we're publishing about happens to be one of the fifty top chemicals made in the United States, it is worth billions of dollars to a few major corporations such as General Electric, Shell Oil, Dow Chemical. Each of them makes billions of dollars from this chemical...
MC: Steve Safe said to us that the levels of chemicals in the environment have all gone down.
FvS: DDT is at much lower levels in the United States today than it was in the 1970s. Of course it's also being used all over the world, and it's in the atmosphere. And the very current evidence is that while levels decreased after it was banned, we're now somewhat stabilizing. The same with PCBs. Those two chemicals do not encompass endocrine disrupters...
...Every four years, one trillion pounds of plastics are made in the world. They are being thrown away in the landfill. They are leaching these products back into our water. No one is looking for them. So as a general statement, to say that all endocrine disrupting chemicals are at lower levels today than they would have been twenty years ago is just ludicrous. Because nobody's looked. Nobody knew they were endocrine disrupting chemicals...
...what you have is the entire field of toxicology thinking of a millionth of a gram of a hormone or a chemical as being this staggeringly tiny amount, and to most people if I said there's only a millionth of a gram of it here you'd say, "How can it do anything?" A millionth of a gram of estradiol in blood is toxic. The natural hormone is actually operating at something like a hundred million times lower than that...
...We published a paper just a few months ago in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" in which we experimentally elevated estradiol levels in mouse fetuses during the period when their reproductive organs were forming. And what we did was we experimentally elevated estradiol by one tenth of one trillionth of a gram of estradiol in a milliliter of blood. We estimate that we're increasing estradiol by about one molecule of estradiol per cell in the body. Okay? The consequence of this is that at te components of plastics. Every four years, one trillion pounds of plastics are made in the world. They are being thrown away in the landfill. They are leaching these products back into our water. No one is looking for them. So as a general statement, to say that all endocrine disrupting chemicals are at lower levels today than they would have been twenty years ago is just ludicrous. Because nobody's looked. Nobody knew they were endocrine disrupting chemicals.
The complete transcript can be found at Fooling With Nature
*
The complete transcript can be found at Fooling With Nature
Fredrick Vom Saal is a Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri. A leading researcher in the field of developmental biology, Vom Saal has studied the effects of both natural and synthetic hormones at extremely low doses. His studies have shown that extremely low doses of hormones can permanently alter development of the reproductive system in mice. He has also studied how manmade chemicals, including plastics, can mimic hormones at extremely low doses.
Interview conducted in February 1998 by Doug Hamilton, producer of FRONTLINE's "Fooling With Nature."
DH: You've said that the doses at which hormones affect the body are extremely low. Give me an example to make me understand that.
FvS: The issue of the amount of hormone that actually causes effects is very difficult for scientists to talk to people about because we're dealing with numbers that are outside of the frame of reference that anybody is going to be thinking about. We see changes, profound changes, in the course of development of essentially the whole body of experimental animals, and we're working with mice and rats, and we see these changes at fifty femtograms of the hormone per milliliter of blood. That's 0.05 trillionths of a gram of this hormone in a milliliter of blood.
DH: And what sort of effect does it have?
FvS: We see changes in the functioning of the prostate. We see dramatic change in the sprouting of glands within the fetal prostate. We see changes in testicular sperm production. We see changes in the structure of the endocrine control region in the brain, which is accompanied by changes in sex behavior, aggression, the way these animals behave towards infants, their whole social interaction, the way they age, the time that they enter puberty, the age at which they cease reproduction. It changes their entire life history, and these changes are capable of occurring at very low levels of hormones.
I remember when we first did this and I was a post doctoral fellow, and my advisor and I looked at the hormone levels and said, "My God, these levels are so staggeringly small and the consequences are so immense it's amazing." Even to biologists, it's amazing.
But what you have is the entire field of toxicology thinking of a millionth of a gram of a hormone or a chemical as being this staggeringly tiny amount, and to most people if I said there's only a millionth of a gram of it here you'd say, "How can it do anything?" A millionth of a gram of estradiol in blood is toxic. The natural hormone is actually operating at something like a hundred million times lower than that. So when you have a physiologist thinking of a millionth of a gram, you have that physiologist thinking this is a toxic high dose. When you are raised in the field of toxicology you are looking at that from the other perspective of "My gosh, that's such a tiny dose, it couldn't do anything."...
DH: Can you again describe the results, the developmental effects in your laboratory mice, that you are seeing with these unbelievably small changes in hormone levels?
FvS: We published a paper just a few months ago in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" in which we experimentally elevated estradiol levels in mouse fetuses during the period when their reproductive organs were forming. And what we did was we experimentally elevated estradiol by one tenth of one trillionth of a gram of estradiol in a milliliter of blood. We estimate that we're increasing estradiol by about one molecule of estradiol per cell in the body. Okay? The consequence of this is that at the end of the first day of development of the prostate in the male fetuses we could see dramatic change in the sprouting of prostate glands. We rendered the prostate abnormally enlarged, and this was detectable within twenty-four hours of the beginning of its embryonic development. And when we looked at these treated animals as adults, that difference had persisted. They had abnormally enlarged prostates that were hyper-responsive to hormones.
Now, prostate disease is for every male in this country and for every male in the world a very, very serious concern. It's the largest bill to the medical community. It's the most prevalent disease of aging in humans. Seventy percent of men, by the time you're seventy years old, will have an abnormally enlarged prostate. We caused this to happen at the first day of embryonic life with that change in estradiol. That's how sensitive embryonic organs are to these staggeringly tiny changes in hormones....
DH: These hormone levels you're talking about are inconceivably low, staggeringly low. How do we even begin to measure them?
FvS: For some chemicals, and for some hormones, the technical capacity to measure them is actually less sensitive than the body's ability to detect them. We've been working with a chemical, bisphenol-A. It's what polycarbonate plastic, hard plastics, are made out of: CD's, the plastic in your glasses' lens, milk containers, baby bottles. It's the chemical that they use to line cans with, it's the chemical they put on your teeth as a sealant and it is a very potent estrogen. It mimics the hormone that women produce in their ovaries, and it mimics this hormone estradiol that is actually being produced in fetuses and during pregnancy that is a major coordinator or an alligator or any other animal.
Estradiol plays a critical role in development and then normal functioning of the body for the rest of an individual's life. The amount of estradiol you're exposed to throughout your life is also the best predictor of breast cancer. This chemical mimics that hormone. The body can't tell the difference between bisphenol-A and estradiol. In other words, it sees this chemical and it thinks it's getting exposed to its natural hormone....
DH: So you're saying that the hormone that has the clearest link to breast cancer, the hormone that is responsible for sexual development in any animal or human, is found in plastics?
FvS: Absolutely. The plastic materials, if they are polycarbonates, are made with this chemical bisphenol-A. And you can think of polycarbonate as a house made of bricks. Essentially you take this brick, this building block, which is bisphenol-A, and you link it together with other bisphenol-A molecules. That's a polymerization reaction. The bisphenol-A is the monomer used to construct these plastic materials. When it's attached to another one, that forms a polymer. And unfortunately in the process of making these plastics not all of the bisphenol-A gets linked together. So you put your food or other material in the plastic and it absorbs the unreacted bisphenol-A into it. And now in your food is a sex hormone...
DH: And what are you finding to be the effect?
FvS: Okay, the chemical bisphenol-A passes out of the plastic or out of the dental sealant that's put on your child's teeth or out of the lining of cans, into the food or liquid that's in contact with the plastic. Now the important point about detection by instrumentation of the bisphenol-A is that, based on our research, the ability of the current instruments used to monitor for bisphenol-A in food is a much lower level of detection than what our animals are able to detect. It's a huge difference as a matter of fact. So that you can put food that you have in contact with plastic into a chemical analysis and say there is no plastic material there. We extract from that same food, put it into animals and we get a big effect. The animals are more sensitive to the chemicals than the machinery...
DH: So the plastics we use in daily life, the baby bottles, the food containers, leach chemicals into the food at levels that cause effects in lab animals?
FvS: One of the things that we started doing a number of years ago is we started looking at the effects of the materials that plastics are made out of in cell culture. We used human cells to see how responsive these cells were to these chemicals, and at what doses the chemicals could influence human cells to start growing and doing things differently. So, in other words, we're getting biological responses out of the cells and we were astonished at the incredibly small amounts of these chemicals that were actually able to alter human cell function...
So what we did in mice was based on the studies using human cells. We know that mouse cells are essentially identical to human cells in the way that they respond to these hormones. That's been known actually for quite a long time...
Now one of the surprising things is that when we started looking into the literature concerning the amounts of these chemicals that were being released into food from plastic containers, and we compared that to the doses active in our cell culture studies, they were the same doses. But they were also doses that the toxicological community was saying were absolutely safe...
...But there were no actual experiments that had ever tested to see if that was true. So we did something that had never been done...
DH: And what did you find?
FvS: For the males, decreased sperm count and enlarged prostates. The treatment altered virtually every aspect of the reproductive system...
...In other words, in every aspect of physiology that we look for, we see effects. And they're permanent. And the important thing about what I'm talking about is we are only exposing babies to these chemicals for very, very short periods of time in development and the consequences are for the rest of the life of that individual. Once you change the development of an organ there is no way to undo that effect. It's a life sentence -- that's a lifetime consequence. Medical science can't undo the development of organs.
DH: And you're finding that organs are affected at levels as low as those that are leaching into our food from common plastics?
FvS: That's correct...
DH: Could I just get you to repeat that in simpler terms?
FvS: OK. If you look at the fish or the human or the frog or the bird at the earliest stages of embryonic development, when the reproductive organs are forming, you're hard pressed to tell them apart. And if I were to show you the developing prostate in a human at the very beginning of its development, and the developing prostate in a mouse at the beginning of its development, you wouldn't tell them apart. And at the functional level they're essentially identical...
DH: One of your colleagues actually stumbled onto this problem with plastics. How did that happen?
FvS: Well, it's a fascinating detective story. At Tufts University, they were doing the same types of studies that we have been doing with human cells: culturing them and then looking at the ability of the cells to respond to chemicals in the environment. They had purchased some new test tubes and the test tubes were made of polystyrene plastic, and the cells that we're using to detect estrogens require estrogens to grow and to proliferate, to go through development. And they put the cells in these test tubes and they started growing. And so the natural assumption was, "Somebody spilled some chemical in the lab that is infiltrating all of our cultures, and oh my gosh this is a disaster." Contaminated labs are a real serious problem.
Instead, after months and months of work, they realized that the lab was absolutely clean and that it was the test tube that was causing the cells to grow. So they called up Dow Corning, from whom they had purchased these test tubes, and said, "Your test tubes are causing our estrogen-responsive cells to grow. They must be releasing an estrogen. What could that be?" And Dow Corning said, "We won't tell you. We won't tell anybody what's in our products." And I'll come back to this because this is an extremely critical issue with regard to knowing what chemicals we're exposed to. Because the chemical industry will not inform scientists or the public what the chemicals in the products we're using are, and so it took months of work, of chemical analysis of these plastics, to realize that it's an additive material.
It's an antioxidant that stops discoloration of the plastic and it's added to the plastic to stop it from discoloring, and it's present in soaps, detergents, hand creams, vaginal creams. It's used in loads of different types of products. This same chemical is also used as an antioxidant in plastics. And it's a potent enough estrogen that when you put human cells into a plastic material made of polystyrene, but it's got this additive material in it, it can cause human breast cells to start proliferating. That's not a good thing...
DH: Could it be cancer causing?
FvS: Well, you can't have breast cancer if you don't have enough estrogen to cause the breast cells to undergo differentiation in development...
DH: And this is coming from soaps, creams, plastics that are in our daily lives?
FvS: That's correct...
DH This issue can't be talked about without getting into politics, it seems. Why is that?
FvS: The political aspects of dealing with the endocrine disrupter issue have really altered the course of what is happening dramatically...In the case of the endocrine disrupter issue, where the chemical that we're publishing about happens to be one of the fifty top chemicals made in the United States, it is worth billions of dollars to a few major corporations such as General Electric, Shell Oil, Dow Chemical. Each of them makes billions of dollars from this chemical...
MC: Steve Safe said to us that the levels of chemicals in the environment have all gone down.
FvS: DDT is at much lower levels in the United States today than it was in the 1970s. Of course it's also being used all over the world, and it's in the atmosphere. And the very current evidence is that while levels decreased after it was banned, we're now somewhat stabilizing. The same with PCBs. Those two chemicals do not encompass endocrine disrupters...
...Every four years, one trillion pounds of plastics are made in the world. They are being thrown away in the landfill. They are leaching these products back into our water. No one is looking for them. So as a general statement, to say that all endocrine disrupting chemicals are at lower levels today than they would have been twenty years ago is just ludicrous. Because nobody's looked. Nobody knew they were endocrine disrupting chemicals...
...what you have is the entire field of toxicology thinking of a millionth of a gram of a hormone or a chemical as being this staggeringly tiny amount, and to most people if I said there's only a millionth of a gram of it here you'd say, "How can it do anything?" A millionth of a gram of estradiol in blood is toxic. The natural hormone is actually operating at something like a hundred million times lower than that...
...We published a paper just a few months ago in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" in which we experimentally elevated estradiol levels in mouse fetuses during the period when their reproductive organs were forming. And what we did was we experimentally elevated estradiol by one tenth of one trillionth of a gram of estradiol in a milliliter of blood. We estimate that we're increasing estradiol by about one molecule of estradiol per cell in the body. Okay? The consequence of this is that at te components of plastics. Every four years, one trillion pounds of plastics are made in the world. They are being thrown away in the landfill. They are leaching these products back into our water. No one is looking for them. So as a general statement, to say that all endocrine disrupting chemicals are at lower levels today than they would have been twenty years ago is just ludicrous. Because nobody's looked. Nobody knew they were endocrine disrupting chemicals.
The complete transcript can be found at Fooling With Nature
*
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Aspartame:
Ant Poison or Human Food Ingredient???
In my little web travels, I came across this tid-bit of interesting information that I thought my readers would enjoy knowing about. By the way, the DORway link down at the bottom is a pretty good site to check out too.
I currently don't have any insect pest problems to test this out, but if any of you do and are willing to try this little toxic concoction I'd love to hear about your results.
From the June 2006 Idaho Observer:
Aspartame - The World’s Best Ant Poison
contributed by Jan Jensen of WELLthy Choices
We live in the woods and carpenter ants are a huge problem. We have spent thousands of dollars with Orkin and on ant poisons trying to keep them under control but nothing has helped.
So when I read somewhere that aspartame (Nutrasweet) was actually developed as an ant poison and only changed to being considered non-poisonous after it was realized that a lot more money could be made on it as a sweetener than as an ant poison, I decided to give it a try.
I opened two packets of aspartame sweetener, and dumped one in a corner of each of our bathrooms. That was about 2 years ago and I have not seen any carpenter ants for about 9 to 12 months. It works better than the most deadly poisons I have tried. Any time they show up again, I simply dump another package of Nutrasweet in a corner, and they will be gone for a year or so again.
Since posting this information I have had many people tell me of their success solving ant problems with this substance, when nothing else worked.
We found later that small black ants would not eat the aspartame. It was determined that if you mixed it with apple juice, they would quickly take it back to the nest, and all would be dead within 24 hours, usually. I have found that sometimes it will kill them, and sometimes it does not. Not sure why, may be slightly different species of ants or something.
Fire Ants: We got our first fire ant hill about 2 weeks ago. Poison did not work. We tried aspartame and the ants ignored it until we got a light rain. It was just a sprinkle, enough to moisten the Nutrasweet and ground, but not enough to wash it away. They went crazy, hundreds of them grabbing it and taking it back into the mound. When I checked the mound 2 days later, there was no sign of the fire ants. I even dug the mound up some, and still saw none of them.
How does it Work: Aspartame is a neuropoison. It most likely kills the ants by interfering with their nervous system. It could be direct, like stopping their heart, or something more subtle like killing their sense of taste so they can’t figure out what is eatable, or smell, so they can’t follow their trails, or mis-identify their colonies members, so they start fighting each other. Not sure what causes them to end up dying, just know that for many species of ants it will kill them quickly and effectively.
As with any poison I recommend wearing gloves and washing any skin areas that come in contact with this poison, and avoid getting it in your mouth, despite anything the labeling may indicate.
I suspect it will work for other insects such as yellow jackets as well, but have not tested that yet.
More information on this fantastic poison can be found at: DORway
The Idaho Observer
P.O. Box 457
Spirit Lake, Idaho 83869
Phone: 208-255-2307
Web: Idaho Observer
I currently don't have any insect pest problems to test this out, but if any of you do and are willing to try this little toxic concoction I'd love to hear about your results.
From the June 2006 Idaho Observer:
Aspartame - The World’s Best Ant Poison
contributed by Jan Jensen of WELLthy Choices
We live in the woods and carpenter ants are a huge problem. We have spent thousands of dollars with Orkin and on ant poisons trying to keep them under control but nothing has helped.
So when I read somewhere that aspartame (Nutrasweet) was actually developed as an ant poison and only changed to being considered non-poisonous after it was realized that a lot more money could be made on it as a sweetener than as an ant poison, I decided to give it a try.
I opened two packets of aspartame sweetener, and dumped one in a corner of each of our bathrooms. That was about 2 years ago and I have not seen any carpenter ants for about 9 to 12 months. It works better than the most deadly poisons I have tried. Any time they show up again, I simply dump another package of Nutrasweet in a corner, and they will be gone for a year or so again.
Since posting this information I have had many people tell me of their success solving ant problems with this substance, when nothing else worked.
We found later that small black ants would not eat the aspartame. It was determined that if you mixed it with apple juice, they would quickly take it back to the nest, and all would be dead within 24 hours, usually. I have found that sometimes it will kill them, and sometimes it does not. Not sure why, may be slightly different species of ants or something.
Fire Ants: We got our first fire ant hill about 2 weeks ago. Poison did not work. We tried aspartame and the ants ignored it until we got a light rain. It was just a sprinkle, enough to moisten the Nutrasweet and ground, but not enough to wash it away. They went crazy, hundreds of them grabbing it and taking it back into the mound. When I checked the mound 2 days later, there was no sign of the fire ants. I even dug the mound up some, and still saw none of them.
How does it Work: Aspartame is a neuropoison. It most likely kills the ants by interfering with their nervous system. It could be direct, like stopping their heart, or something more subtle like killing their sense of taste so they can’t figure out what is eatable, or smell, so they can’t follow their trails, or mis-identify their colonies members, so they start fighting each other. Not sure what causes them to end up dying, just know that for many species of ants it will kill them quickly and effectively.
As with any poison I recommend wearing gloves and washing any skin areas that come in contact with this poison, and avoid getting it in your mouth, despite anything the labeling may indicate.
I suspect it will work for other insects such as yellow jackets as well, but have not tested that yet.
More information on this fantastic poison can be found at: DORway
The Idaho Observer
P.O. Box 457
Spirit Lake, Idaho 83869
Phone: 208-255-2307
Web: Idaho Observer
Monday, December 25, 2006
When Was the Last Time You...
My gift to all for the holidays and the New Year...
You will need to click on this link and scroll down to nearly the bottom of the page and click on "A Knock at the Door" to view the Flash movie.
A Knock at the Door
Enjoy, and may you all have a most inspired 2007, and remember to open the door to your dreams.
You will need to click on this link and scroll down to nearly the bottom of the page and click on "A Knock at the Door" to view the Flash movie.
A Knock at the Door
Enjoy, and may you all have a most inspired 2007, and remember to open the door to your dreams.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Cranberry Holiday Salad
1 - 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup Agave
2 cups fresh Cranberries
1/2 cup diced Celery
1/3 cup chopped Walnuts
1 Tablespoon Agar-Agar
1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt
In a two-quart saucepan combine the water and Agar-Agar, bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer, stirring often until Agar-Agar is dissolved.
Add Agave and the cranberries and cook without stirring until all skins pop open. This should take about 5 minutes.
Chill until mixture is slightly thickened. Then stir in the celery and walnuts. Pour into serving bowl and chill until firm.
Makes 6 servings.
If you don't know about Blue Agave here are some details: Blue Agave nectar is a delicious natural sweetener preferred by health-conscious people for use in foods and beverages. It has a low glycemic index rating, making it ideal for diabetics, hypoglycemics, dieters, and athletes, as well as those who wish to avoid sucrose or artificial sweeteners. Use it in recipes by reducing the amount of liquid called for, just as with honey. There are about 189 servings per 8 oz. bottle.
Calories: 20 per serving, Carbohydrates: 5.2 grams per serving, Sugars: 5.2 grams per serving
How to use Organic Blue Agave: It is much sweeter than sugar, but with a glycemic index of only 11 (sugar has a glycemic index of 68-85). In recipes, use 1/2 to 3/4 cup in place of 1 cup sugar. You may also need to reduce the amount of liquid, just as you would for honey. Use like honey in beverages or on cereal, bread, etc.
If you'd like to purchase Blue Agave (item # 3221) it is available at my product website: The Very Essence
3/4 cup Agave
2 cups fresh Cranberries
1/2 cup diced Celery
1/3 cup chopped Walnuts
1 Tablespoon Agar-Agar
1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt
In a two-quart saucepan combine the water and Agar-Agar, bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer, stirring often until Agar-Agar is dissolved.
Add Agave and the cranberries and cook without stirring until all skins pop open. This should take about 5 minutes.
Chill until mixture is slightly thickened. Then stir in the celery and walnuts. Pour into serving bowl and chill until firm.
Makes 6 servings.
If you don't know about Blue Agave here are some details: Blue Agave nectar is a delicious natural sweetener preferred by health-conscious people for use in foods and beverages. It has a low glycemic index rating, making it ideal for diabetics, hypoglycemics, dieters, and athletes, as well as those who wish to avoid sucrose or artificial sweeteners. Use it in recipes by reducing the amount of liquid called for, just as with honey. There are about 189 servings per 8 oz. bottle.
Calories: 20 per serving, Carbohydrates: 5.2 grams per serving, Sugars: 5.2 grams per serving
How to use Organic Blue Agave: It is much sweeter than sugar, but with a glycemic index of only 11 (sugar has a glycemic index of 68-85). In recipes, use 1/2 to 3/4 cup in place of 1 cup sugar. You may also need to reduce the amount of liquid, just as you would for honey. Use like honey in beverages or on cereal, bread, etc.
If you'd like to purchase Blue Agave (item # 3221) it is available at my product website: The Very Essence
Make Your Own Furniture Polish
How to Make:
16 ounce spray bottle
Two teaspoons olive oil ( preferably the light kind)
15 drops of lemon essential oil
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
fill the rest of the bottle with distilled water
How to use:
Spray formula on your rag or directly onto the furniture. Wipe it dry immediately. The olive oil conditions and the vinegar cleans. You can also squirt some on your dust mop for your hardwood floors. This recipe is nontoxic and smells terrific! Plus, it's a lot cheaper than the store bought polishes!
Disclaimer: The recipes in this blog are for educational purposes only and intended for those seeking nontoxic solutions. Please use common sense when trying anything new.
Pure lemon essential oil can be purchased at my website: The Very Essence
16 ounce spray bottle
Two teaspoons olive oil ( preferably the light kind)
15 drops of lemon essential oil
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
fill the rest of the bottle with distilled water
How to use:
Spray formula on your rag or directly onto the furniture. Wipe it dry immediately. The olive oil conditions and the vinegar cleans. You can also squirt some on your dust mop for your hardwood floors. This recipe is nontoxic and smells terrific! Plus, it's a lot cheaper than the store bought polishes!
Disclaimer: The recipes in this blog are for educational purposes only and intended for those seeking nontoxic solutions. Please use common sense when trying anything new.
Pure lemon essential oil can be purchased at my website: The Very Essence
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Pets & Essential Oils
If you've been wondering if essential oils can be used with most pets, the answer is yes.
However, I must CAUTION you should NOT use regular store-bought essential oils on your pets as they are not pure and could case great damage to your beloved companion. A reminder, when I refer to essential oils in my blog I ONLY refer to the Young Living oils, because they are AFNOR - ISO quality, in layman terms it means, you can't get any better. And remember, a little bit goes a very long way.
Here is an excerpt from one of Gary Young's books and his experiences using essential oils on his animals...
by Gary Young, N.D.
I have raised animals all my life and presently have several miniature horses as well as four teams of draft horses. I also have pygmy goats, barbadoes sheep and llamas at my ranch where I reside. On my 1300 acre herb farm at Whispering Springs in Mona, Utah, I have an animal petting zoo with Bactrian camels. zeeboos from Africa (miniature Bhramas), Watusi cows and bulls, Walleroos (miniature kangaroos), llamas, buffalos, miniature donkeys, as well as horses and goats. As you can see we have a wide variety of animals.
We have used the oils extensively on many of the animals and are continually making discoveries. The animals respond extremely well and we feel they have benefited greatly. In my experience, I have found that animals respond to essential oils much the same as humans. Animals are not as sensitive to the phenol and sesquiterpene constituents so they can be applied "neet" or full strength. One needs only to determine which oils are applicable to the situation and then apply a few drops 3-4 times daily.
Where and How Much to Apply
The amount for small animals, like cats and dogs is like the application for a child: 3-4 drops each time applied. For larger animals, like large dogs apply 6-7 drops, for horses, apply 15-20 drops.
After applying the oils, I have found it beneficial to cover the open wound with Rose ointment, which keeps the skin soft and helps promote the healing. I have applied the oils in the following ways.
Note: treating cats is different than other animals, be sure to avoid using the citrus oils on and around cats.
1. Apply on their paws where absorption is very fast.
2. On cloven hoofed animals, apply on the auricular points of the ears and/or spine or both.
3. Underneath the top lip on the gums and on the tongue.
4. Sprinkle a few drops on the spine and then massage into the skin, just like with humans.
Conditions and Oils Applied
For various problems I have experimented with the following oils and herbal/mineral products:
1. Strangle in horses, I used a combination of the oil blends Exodus II and Melrose together.(4 parts Exodus II to 1 part Melrose.)
2. Ear mites in cats and dogs - purification and peppermint.
3. Ticks and fleas - Tansy and tansy floral water.
4. Tumors- all animals - Frankincense and lavender mixed together, frankincense and clove mixed together.
5. Worms and parasites- all animals - Parafree and Di-tone.
6. Open wounds- all animals -Melrose, Helichrysum and gentle care Rose Ointment.
7. Trauma- all animals - Trauma Life, Valor, Peace & calming, Melissa, rosewood, lavender, valerian, and chamomile.
8. Bones- all animals - PanAway, birch or wintergreen, lemongrass and spruce.
9. Nervous anxiety with horses - Valor, Trauma Life, geranium, lavender and valerian.
10. Saddle sores- Melrose and Rose ointment.
11. Mineral deficiencies- Mineral Essence( liquid tincture, taken internally) may help meet the animals needs and when met, they will quit chewing on the furniture and engaging in other undesirable activities.
12. Tissue repair and healing directly on wound - Melrose.
13. May help with pain and stop bleeding - Helichrysum.
14. Healing of wounds and abrasions - Rose Ointment.
* * * * *
SOME OF MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
I have a lovely dog. He's 6 or 7 years old now and sometimes is a bit gimpy. He's a mix of Flat-coated retriever and Irish Setter (a beautiful dog with a fantastic disposition!) And our experiences using essential oils on him have been wonderful. His favorite essential oil is Palo Santo (which by the way, you will only find through Young Living, no one else distills it). He enjoys having a drop rubbed onto his back. After a couple minutes he has what we call "puppy energy."
I also use either the Young Living Pet Shampoo or one of "my" Young Living Shampoos on him. Not only does he smell terrific but the scent of the pure essential oils keeps flea's and ticks away. He loves being groomed, and actually loves having a bath, which he gets once a month. I would think that having a bath that often with these products contributes greatly to keeping those nasty insects off of him.
Young Living also has a fantastic pet ointment. Naturally it has essential oils in it as well. Of course it's like all the other Young Living products, nontoxic. The pet ointment can also be used on people. I used it one day for a scrape I had, I didn't have my bag of essential oils with me, so I thought... Well, I know what all of the ingredients are and they're safe, so I gave it a try. I was impressed how well it worked and wouldn't hesitate again to use it on myself. It also worked great on my dog when he got a nasty insect bite on his eye lid, it took the swelling down within minutes.
What I like best is that I don't have to use those toxic flea collars and other nasty products, things that I would never think of putting on my body... So why would I want to put them on my lovely dog???
If you've been looking for nontoxic solutions for your pet you may want to consider the Young Living products. They can be seen and ordered at my website: The Very Essence
Disclaimer: The information in this post is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to prescribe, treat or diagnose any condition. Please refer to your veterinarian or other health care provider.
However, I must CAUTION you should NOT use regular store-bought essential oils on your pets as they are not pure and could case great damage to your beloved companion. A reminder, when I refer to essential oils in my blog I ONLY refer to the Young Living oils, because they are AFNOR - ISO quality, in layman terms it means, you can't get any better. And remember, a little bit goes a very long way.
Here is an excerpt from one of Gary Young's books and his experiences using essential oils on his animals...
by Gary Young, N.D.
I have raised animals all my life and presently have several miniature horses as well as four teams of draft horses. I also have pygmy goats, barbadoes sheep and llamas at my ranch where I reside. On my 1300 acre herb farm at Whispering Springs in Mona, Utah, I have an animal petting zoo with Bactrian camels. zeeboos from Africa (miniature Bhramas), Watusi cows and bulls, Walleroos (miniature kangaroos), llamas, buffalos, miniature donkeys, as well as horses and goats. As you can see we have a wide variety of animals.
We have used the oils extensively on many of the animals and are continually making discoveries. The animals respond extremely well and we feel they have benefited greatly. In my experience, I have found that animals respond to essential oils much the same as humans. Animals are not as sensitive to the phenol and sesquiterpene constituents so they can be applied "neet" or full strength. One needs only to determine which oils are applicable to the situation and then apply a few drops 3-4 times daily.
Where and How Much to Apply
The amount for small animals, like cats and dogs is like the application for a child: 3-4 drops each time applied. For larger animals, like large dogs apply 6-7 drops, for horses, apply 15-20 drops.
After applying the oils, I have found it beneficial to cover the open wound with Rose ointment, which keeps the skin soft and helps promote the healing. I have applied the oils in the following ways.
Note: treating cats is different than other animals, be sure to avoid using the citrus oils on and around cats.
1. Apply on their paws where absorption is very fast.
2. On cloven hoofed animals, apply on the auricular points of the ears and/or spine or both.
3. Underneath the top lip on the gums and on the tongue.
4. Sprinkle a few drops on the spine and then massage into the skin, just like with humans.
Conditions and Oils Applied
For various problems I have experimented with the following oils and herbal/mineral products:
1. Strangle in horses, I used a combination of the oil blends Exodus II and Melrose together.(4 parts Exodus II to 1 part Melrose.)
2. Ear mites in cats and dogs - purification and peppermint.
3. Ticks and fleas - Tansy and tansy floral water.
4. Tumors- all animals - Frankincense and lavender mixed together, frankincense and clove mixed together.
5. Worms and parasites- all animals - Parafree and Di-tone.
6. Open wounds- all animals -Melrose, Helichrysum and gentle care Rose Ointment.
7. Trauma- all animals - Trauma Life, Valor, Peace & calming, Melissa, rosewood, lavender, valerian, and chamomile.
8. Bones- all animals - PanAway, birch or wintergreen, lemongrass and spruce.
9. Nervous anxiety with horses - Valor, Trauma Life, geranium, lavender and valerian.
10. Saddle sores- Melrose and Rose ointment.
11. Mineral deficiencies- Mineral Essence( liquid tincture, taken internally) may help meet the animals needs and when met, they will quit chewing on the furniture and engaging in other undesirable activities.
12. Tissue repair and healing directly on wound - Melrose.
13. May help with pain and stop bleeding - Helichrysum.
14. Healing of wounds and abrasions - Rose Ointment.
* * * * *
SOME OF MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
I have a lovely dog. He's 6 or 7 years old now and sometimes is a bit gimpy. He's a mix of Flat-coated retriever and Irish Setter (a beautiful dog with a fantastic disposition!) And our experiences using essential oils on him have been wonderful. His favorite essential oil is Palo Santo (which by the way, you will only find through Young Living, no one else distills it). He enjoys having a drop rubbed onto his back. After a couple minutes he has what we call "puppy energy."
I also use either the Young Living Pet Shampoo or one of "my" Young Living Shampoos on him. Not only does he smell terrific but the scent of the pure essential oils keeps flea's and ticks away. He loves being groomed, and actually loves having a bath, which he gets once a month. I would think that having a bath that often with these products contributes greatly to keeping those nasty insects off of him.
Young Living also has a fantastic pet ointment. Naturally it has essential oils in it as well. Of course it's like all the other Young Living products, nontoxic. The pet ointment can also be used on people. I used it one day for a scrape I had, I didn't have my bag of essential oils with me, so I thought... Well, I know what all of the ingredients are and they're safe, so I gave it a try. I was impressed how well it worked and wouldn't hesitate again to use it on myself. It also worked great on my dog when he got a nasty insect bite on his eye lid, it took the swelling down within minutes.
What I like best is that I don't have to use those toxic flea collars and other nasty products, things that I would never think of putting on my body... So why would I want to put them on my lovely dog???
If you've been looking for nontoxic solutions for your pet you may want to consider the Young Living products. They can be seen and ordered at my website: The Very Essence
Disclaimer: The information in this post is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to prescribe, treat or diagnose any condition. Please refer to your veterinarian or other health care provider.
Monday, December 11, 2006
My Vanilla Wolfberry Granola Recipe
4 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup Spelt Flour
1/2 cup Blue Agave
1/3 cup Hemp Seed Oil
1 cup NingXia Wolfberries (slightly rehydrated)
4 Tablespoons pure Vannila Extract
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
Preheat oven to 325°.
In small bowl add wolfberries, add enough hot tap water to cover, let sit for 4 minutes, then drain.
In large bowl combine all ingredients and stir well until mixture is evenly moistened. Spread entire mixture onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Recipe by Evelyn Vincent
ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
Ningxia wolfberries rank as powerful antioxidants and as the most nutritious fruit, and provide an array of nutrients and protein. Ever so slightly tart in flavor, use Ningxia wolfberries in cooking (not at too high heat though), as an added nutritional boost in cereals, salads and other foods, or snack on them right out of the bag (far more nutritous than raisins and no added sugar!).
The NingXia Wolfberry is different than other wolfbrries, this species rates the highest in antioxidants. To get more info on the NingXia Wolfberry and the delicious tasting NingXia Red juice click on this link:
1 cup Spelt Flour
1/2 cup Blue Agave
1/3 cup Hemp Seed Oil
1 cup NingXia Wolfberries (slightly rehydrated)
4 Tablespoons pure Vannila Extract
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
Preheat oven to 325°.
In small bowl add wolfberries, add enough hot tap water to cover, let sit for 4 minutes, then drain.
In large bowl combine all ingredients and stir well until mixture is evenly moistened. Spread entire mixture onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Recipe by Evelyn Vincent
ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
Ningxia wolfberries rank as powerful antioxidants and as the most nutritious fruit, and provide an array of nutrients and protein. Ever so slightly tart in flavor, use Ningxia wolfberries in cooking (not at too high heat though), as an added nutritional boost in cereals, salads and other foods, or snack on them right out of the bag (far more nutritous than raisins and no added sugar!).
The NingXia Wolfberry is different than other wolfbrries, this species rates the highest in antioxidants. To get more info on the NingXia Wolfberry and the delicious tasting NingXia Red juice click on this link:
Very Red and sign up for my free newsletter.
Blue Agave nectar is a delicious natural sweetener preferred by health-conscious people for use in foods and beverages. It has a low glycemic index rating, making it ideal for diabetics, hypoglycemics, dieters, and athletes, as well as those who wish to avoid sucrose or artificial sweeteners. Use it in recipes by reducing the amount of liquid called for, just as with honey. There are about 189 servings per 8 oz. bottle.
Calories: 20 per serving
Carbohydrates: 5.2 grams per serving
Sugars: 5.2 grams per serving
How to use Organic Blue Agave: It is much sweeter than sugar, but with a glycemic index of only 11 (sugar has a glycemic index of 68-85). In recipes, use 1/2 to 3/4 cup in place of 1 cup sugar. You may also need to reduce the amount of liquid, just as you would for honey. Use like honey in beverages or on cereal, bread, etc.
If you'd like to purchase NingXia Wolfberries (item # 6360) (Lycium barbarum) or Blue Agave (item # 3221) they are available at my product website: The Very Essence
The anti-inflammatory effects of both omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been demonstrated in many studies, in particular in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However this only occurs when these fats are consumed in roughly similar amounts, such as what is found in hemp oil.
What is particularly interesting about hemp oil is that the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fat is 3:1, which is generally the ratio recognized as being ideal for optimum health. Most North Americans consume a ratio of 10:1 as a result of a heavy reliance on oils and products that contain significantly more omega-6 fat (e.g. soybean/vegetable oil). Hemp Seed Oil can be purchased at: Manitoba Harvest
Saturday, December 09, 2006
For the Photographer in Each of Us
I've always had a passion for photography. I got my first camera back in 1976, a second-hand Canon 35mm SLR with 5 different lenses, and B&W dark room equipment for $100 from an old timer photographer, I was in heaven! I have since sold the dark room equipment, but still have that Canon and lenses. Boy, they sure knew how to make a good camera back then, to this day that Canon has never failed me, nor has it ever needed a repair!
A year and a half ago I got my first good digital camera, a Nikon CoolPix 5900. As much as I love my old Canon, there is an ease of use with the digital. What I like is that I don't have to keep buying film and getting the color prints developed. But the best part is I can download the photo's onto my computer and into iPhoto. If there's a shot I really like and want to do some creative things with it I export it into PhotoShop CS2, WOW!
I came across something that may be of interest to many during this gift giving season and for all those budding photographer's. It's Derrick Story's Top 10 Digital Phtography Tips.
Derrick Story is the digital media evangelist for O'Reilly, and his experience includes more than 20 years as a photojournalist, a stint as the managing editor for Web Review, and a speaker for CMP, IDG, and O'Reilly conferences, author of 'Digital Photography Hacks', and co-authored 'iPhoto the Missing Manual.
A year and a half ago I got my first good digital camera, a Nikon CoolPix 5900. As much as I love my old Canon, there is an ease of use with the digital. What I like is that I don't have to keep buying film and getting the color prints developed. But the best part is I can download the photo's onto my computer and into iPhoto. If there's a shot I really like and want to do some creative things with it I export it into PhotoShop CS2, WOW!
I came across something that may be of interest to many during this gift giving season and for all those budding photographer's. It's Derrick Story's Top 10 Digital Phtography Tips.
Derrick Story is the digital media evangelist for O'Reilly, and his experience includes more than 20 years as a photojournalist, a stint as the managing editor for Web Review, and a speaker for CMP, IDG, and O'Reilly conferences, author of 'Digital Photography Hacks', and co-authored 'iPhoto the Missing Manual.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Root Canal Interview & My Toothache Experience
(an eye-opener)
I wanted to share this information with you because this past September one of the reasons, other than being exhausted from a too busy August, that I was unable to attend the Young Living '06 Convention was because of a toothache I got 2 days before the event.
I knew that others had used Young Living essential oils for toothache, so I went to my computer files and dug them up. This tooth that was hurting was a tooth I had a root canal in some 8+ years ago. After reading what others had done, I got out my bottle of Thieves and Helichrysum essential oils and would put a couple drops on a Q-Tip and rubbed all sides of the tooth, I layered the oils. I knew teeth have all these little tubes in which nutrients and so forth flowed through and that teeth are porous, I thought if I could work the essential oils into the tooth sides as much as possible that it would help the beneficial properties of the oils get "inside" the tooth. I did this several times a day. I also rinsed my mouth with the Young Living Fresh Essence/Thieves Mouthwash before applying the essential oils.
Even though it still hurt and the side of my face was swollen due to the infected tooth, I was able to sleep just fine. I couldn't really talk much or normal, or eat/chew, but I was able to get sleep which I think says a lot.
I also found that I had the best results when I applied the essential oils every 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours that it made a big difference and alleviated a good bit of the pain. I tried not to get too much oil down the inside of my mouth because I knew the skin there is quite delicate and because I'd be doing many applications a day I certainly didn't want to risk irritating the skin. I did rub the Q-Tip at the tooth & gum area thinking that it would help the oils to get down deeper as I knew the infection was also spreading into my jaw. I also applied Helichrysum on my face focusing around the jaw and neck area.
After using the mouthwash and essential oils about 4 days later I was almost pain-free and able to chew soft foods slowly. By the 5th day, the pain was 100% gone, swelling gone, and I could chew anything I wanted to eat. No trip to the dentist either!
What I just discovered today (below) at Dr. Mercola's website in this interview is the reason "why" I got the toothache in the first place - and - "why" the Thieves and Helichrysum worked. Be sure to read the interview clear to the end because I think there is a lot of information about oral care that we have never been fully aware of, I know I am walking away form all of this with a completely different take on the how's and why's.
What I am going to be doing in the future as a preventative is this: at least once a week applying Young Living's Thieves essential oil using a Q-Tip to that root canal tooth and neighboring teeth, and be certain to use the Fresh Essence/Thieves Mouthwash at least twice a day. If I find the tooth is giving me health problems in the future I will have it taken out.
Hope this experience of mine and this interview can help others.
VIDEO UPDATE -- Why You Want to Avoid Root Canals - Dr. Mercola reviews the reasons why root canals can destroy your health and some practical alternatives, Why You Want To Avoid Root Canals and Interview with George Meinig, D.D.S. author of Root Canal Cover Up Exposed.
The Thieves and Helichrysum essential oils and Thieves/Fresh Essence Mouthwash are avaialable at: The Very Essence
Disclaimer: Information found here refers solely to products from Young Living Essential Oils and is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. We urge you to do the health related research necessary to learn what is right for you. Young Living uses only AFNOR-ISO grade oils. Perfume grade or poor quality oils may possibly be harmful due to unknown additives and poor plant or distillation conditions.
I knew that others had used Young Living essential oils for toothache, so I went to my computer files and dug them up. This tooth that was hurting was a tooth I had a root canal in some 8+ years ago. After reading what others had done, I got out my bottle of Thieves and Helichrysum essential oils and would put a couple drops on a Q-Tip and rubbed all sides of the tooth, I layered the oils. I knew teeth have all these little tubes in which nutrients and so forth flowed through and that teeth are porous, I thought if I could work the essential oils into the tooth sides as much as possible that it would help the beneficial properties of the oils get "inside" the tooth. I did this several times a day. I also rinsed my mouth with the Young Living Fresh Essence/Thieves Mouthwash before applying the essential oils.
Even though it still hurt and the side of my face was swollen due to the infected tooth, I was able to sleep just fine. I couldn't really talk much or normal, or eat/chew, but I was able to get sleep which I think says a lot.
I also found that I had the best results when I applied the essential oils every 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours that it made a big difference and alleviated a good bit of the pain. I tried not to get too much oil down the inside of my mouth because I knew the skin there is quite delicate and because I'd be doing many applications a day I certainly didn't want to risk irritating the skin. I did rub the Q-Tip at the tooth & gum area thinking that it would help the oils to get down deeper as I knew the infection was also spreading into my jaw. I also applied Helichrysum on my face focusing around the jaw and neck area.
After using the mouthwash and essential oils about 4 days later I was almost pain-free and able to chew soft foods slowly. By the 5th day, the pain was 100% gone, swelling gone, and I could chew anything I wanted to eat. No trip to the dentist either!
What I just discovered today (below) at Dr. Mercola's website in this interview is the reason "why" I got the toothache in the first place - and - "why" the Thieves and Helichrysum worked. Be sure to read the interview clear to the end because I think there is a lot of information about oral care that we have never been fully aware of, I know I am walking away form all of this with a completely different take on the how's and why's.
What I am going to be doing in the future as a preventative is this: at least once a week applying Young Living's Thieves essential oil using a Q-Tip to that root canal tooth and neighboring teeth, and be certain to use the Fresh Essence/Thieves Mouthwash at least twice a day. If I find the tooth is giving me health problems in the future I will have it taken out.
Hope this experience of mine and this interview can help others.
VIDEO UPDATE -- Why You Want to Avoid Root Canals - Dr. Mercola reviews the reasons why root canals can destroy your health and some practical alternatives, Why You Want To Avoid Root Canals and Interview with George Meinig, D.D.S. author of Root Canal Cover Up Exposed.
The Thieves and Helichrysum essential oils and Thieves/Fresh Essence Mouthwash are avaialable at: The Very Essence
Disclaimer: Information found here refers solely to products from Young Living Essential Oils and is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. We urge you to do the health related research necessary to learn what is right for you. Young Living uses only AFNOR-ISO grade oils. Perfume grade or poor quality oils may possibly be harmful due to unknown additives and poor plant or distillation conditions.
Monday, December 04, 2006
The Best Drug: Love
Over the past two decades, Dr. Dean Ornish has scientifically proven that people can open their blocked arteries without drugs or surgery through diet, exercise and meditation.
However, the most interesting find was that loneliness is more toxic than a cheeseburger.
“Love and intimacy are at the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well,” Ornish declares. “I am not aware of any other factor in medicine—not diet, not smoking, not exercise—that has a greater impact.”
Ornish’s research corroborates what is know as the ‘Roseta Effect’. Until 1965, the people who lived in the small town of Roseta, Pennsylvania, seemed immune to heart disease. Compared to the residents in the nearby town of Bangor, they smoked as much and ate similar food. The striking distinction was Roseta’s tightly bonded social life. The communite comprised mostly third-generation italian immigrants, all of whom had strong commitments to family and friends.
Isolation is definitely a health hazard. Here are a few startling facts from actual clinical studies:
• Women who felt isolated were 3 ½ times as likely to die of breast, ovarian or uterine cancer over a 17-year period.
• Heart patients who felt the least loved had 50% more arterial damage than those who felt the most loved.
• Unmarried heart patients were 3 times more likely to die within 5 years.
The authenticity and intensity of our relationships appears to be the deciding factor in health. Your cheeseburger might not be as harmful if you eat it with someone you love.
Here's the link to Dean Ornishes webiste and article ttitled: Love & Survival. Be sure to look around his website as he has some terrific information to share.
Much love, happiness and great health to all my readers!
However, the most interesting find was that loneliness is more toxic than a cheeseburger.
“Love and intimacy are at the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well,” Ornish declares. “I am not aware of any other factor in medicine—not diet, not smoking, not exercise—that has a greater impact.”
Ornish’s research corroborates what is know as the ‘Roseta Effect’. Until 1965, the people who lived in the small town of Roseta, Pennsylvania, seemed immune to heart disease. Compared to the residents in the nearby town of Bangor, they smoked as much and ate similar food. The striking distinction was Roseta’s tightly bonded social life. The communite comprised mostly third-generation italian immigrants, all of whom had strong commitments to family and friends.
Isolation is definitely a health hazard. Here are a few startling facts from actual clinical studies:
• Women who felt isolated were 3 ½ times as likely to die of breast, ovarian or uterine cancer over a 17-year period.
• Heart patients who felt the least loved had 50% more arterial damage than those who felt the most loved.
• Unmarried heart patients were 3 times more likely to die within 5 years.
The authenticity and intensity of our relationships appears to be the deciding factor in health. Your cheeseburger might not be as harmful if you eat it with someone you love.
Here's the link to Dean Ornishes webiste and article ttitled: Love & Survival. Be sure to look around his website as he has some terrific information to share.
Much love, happiness and great health to all my readers!
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