Three Rules to Healthy Skin via A Healthy Life

Hello Everyone,

Here we are just about two weeks away from Christmas. How the heck did this happen? The year has flown by, hasn't it?

I've been in Ohio in preparation for moving back here at the first of the year. Yes, I am really leaving San Diego and moving to Ohio. Most people give me a cross-eyed look and their whole face contorts into a giant question mark. Why, would someone do this?

Well, lots of reasons for me, but mainly it rains here. Yep. Rain and earth worms. Not to mention my parents live here and I want to play with them. It is interesting spending time here to see where the consciousness is relevant to organics. Right now it is in the infant stages. Most folks are still eating canned and prepared, packaged foods. Choices in restaurants are definitely interesting. For example yesterday I was just about to order a quesidilla and asked what kind of cheese they used - cheddar. And to be honest it was not Real cheddar, it was some food product. Run, Forrest, run.

I know I'm supposed to be talking about skin care, and I am. So for today I'm going to revisit conscious eating and probably none to soon, considering we're heading into Christmas where all the goodies are laid out for our consumption.

Rule #1: Avoid the sugar and prepared, packaged foods. As much as humanly possible keep the tastes of the goods to just that, tastes. No need to insult your hostess by refusing to participate in her feast. However, let moderation be your uppermost thought. A sip, a taste, a tich. Meanwhile, go for the fresh stuff. The veggie plate, the real food. Have ONE cookie. Reach for the nuts and dried fruits.

Rule #2: Keep exercising and moving that body around. I have become convinced this year of the importance of using our bodies strenuously. If you live where it snows, make shoveling an adventure and exercise. Delight that your body can do this, actually gets to do this. Switch off sides so as not to strain only one side. Go for long walks on those starry, cold and silent nights. It is magic.

Rule #3: Appreciate every single little thing that is of the tiniest blessing to you. Did you notice that there was a parking space just opened up as you got to the store? Did you actually appreciate that? Did you notice that your neighbor shoveled your walk? Did you appreciate every bit of food that you got to eat today? Are you appreciating how good your body feels? When I say appreciate, I mean appreciate EVERYTHING and then, look for more things to love, adore and appreciate.

How does this affect your skin? When we are peaceful, content, happy, grateful, optimistic, and positive everything in the body responds, as well. This is exactly how beauty is achieved from the inside out.

Happy Holidays Everyone. Make it your new practice to appreciate, eat whole fresh foods, and look for the Good inherent in every single minute. You will be astounded at how much Good grows from simply following the Three Rules. Of course I hope that in this New Year you will expand your consciousness and give yourself the quality products you deserve, like Miessence.

Wishing for you, all that you wish for.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Giving and Receiving Quality

Hello Everyone,

It is Christmas and everyone is grappling with what to give to whom. I always think about Quality.

Quality is experienced not characterized by the price. Sometimes there is a correlation between Quality and price, but not always.

Quality feels Good. It is inherent in the product or service and the experience of that product or service. A Quality Experience is uplifting, life affirming and expansive. It can be delightful, joyful, and often times defies explanation with words. This is because this Quality I am referring to is Life, itself. It is Real, not real. Whatever the earthly manifestation - skincare products, services, a conversation, a card - it contains more Heart, more Love, more Good. It is manufactured with the highest intentions in mind, the highest quality raw materials, and the highest possible experience in mind for the recipient. This is Love.

When you are considering the perfect gift for anyone, including yourself, consider those things that are Good for all, feel the Heart in the product or service and the intentions of the provider.

A gift should convey love, Life and support the dreams and Life of the recipient. They need not cost a lot, but they do need to be Real and from your heart to theirs.

A gift sees who the recipient Really is and speaks to that. From the giver's perspective, it feels perfect. Giving is like a game of catch. It takes a pitcher and a catcher to complete the transaction. The pitcher throws the ball (the give of Love) and the catcher has to receive it (catch it). Make all your transactions gifts of love, Quality given, Quality received. This is giving Life, supporting Life, affirming Life. It is Who We Are.

Thanks for Reading!

Kath

Antiperspirants and Deodorants: Aluminum A Toxic Health Risk

Hello Everyone,

When I was a little girl, my Gran used to pat baking soda under my arms before I went to school. This was my first antiperspirant/deodorant. I used it for years until they started making the commercial types you could purchase at the drug store. I have to admit that I never liked using them. First they made my clothes white with a powder and it just didn't seem natural to me. Baking soda, though, was a very benign substance.

Today, however, in our society, somehow all of our bodily functions have come to be regarded disreputable and despised. To this end of covering up what is natural, we risk our health for societal acceptance. Let me just say right here that most commercially prepared antiperspirants and deodorants are toxic to your health with direct links to both cancer and Alzheimer's. I couldn't possibly surpass the quality of research done by the website controlyourimpact.com on this subject. They have written a three part article which I encourage you to read entirely. For Part 1 click this link; Part 2;For Part 3.

In summary, most over the counter antiperspirants and deodorants use aluminum. It is absorbed into the skin and when it combines with the moisture in your body, swells and blocks the gland, thus the perspiration. Sounds pretty abnormal to me. At any rate, constant exposure to aluminum absorbed into the body is proven toxic.

There are many natural alternatives out there, but of course, I am partial to One Group's Deodorant. It works really well, and I've tried many other natural products out there.

And if you think the FDA is looking out for your interests, think again. However, the USDA has an opposing opinion to the FDA.

So, there you have it. Time to eliminate yet another toxin from your daily use. The good news is that there are alternatives out there that are actually good for you.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Antibacterial Handsoaps - NO NO NO

Hello Everyone,

In past blogs I have talked about your immune system at great length as the key to health. Today I want to talk to you about antibacterial hand soaps. There are two reasons why you should not use them.

#1. They contain toxins, chemicals like pesticides to kill bacteria and are dangerous to humans

#2. You body needs the "exercise" in coming in contact with bacteria, so as to build the immunity to fight them. All you really need to do is "remove" the bacteria from your skin by simple washing and rinsing.

The main ingredient in most liquid soaps on store shelves is triclosan, a pesticide that kills bacteria. Studies show that antibacterial soaps aren't more effective at preventing illness or removing germs than good old-fashioned soap and water.

In fact, antibacterial soaps do more harm than good. It's overkill to use them. Once again manufacturers prey on your "fears" and tell you that you have to have this to be safe. Nonsense. You don't need to be putting pesticides on your hands which touch your face and other people. Pesticides are just that = they kill pests, bugs, bacteria and people. They are poisons.

It is speculated that triclosan may contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It's also present in human bodies and breast milk, as well as in streams. The Environmental Working Group says triclosan has been linked to developmental defects, liver toxicity, and cancer in lab studies. It also may affect thyroid and other hormones that are crucial to normal development.

The best thing you can do is avoid soaps that claim to be "antibacterial." A quick read of the label will tell you if triclosan or triclocarban (a similar compound more commonly used in bar soaps) are active ingredients. Don't use them.

Of course, One Group's Liquid Hand Soap is triclosan-free.

• 
  
• Size250ml/8.5 fl.oz.

• Description

  A beautiful certified organic liquid soap for the bathroom. Concentrated and economical with a luxurious, rich, creamy lather. Enriched with extra virgin coconut oil to leave the skin soft and moisturised. Naturally free of synthetic chemicals and detergents. Contains purifying and cleansing organic lemon myrtle essential oil.

• To order go to http://honestskincare.mionegroup.com/en/product/13220
  

Organic Matters

Hello Everyone,

Since I'm an organic grower for the County of San Diego in herbs and garlic, I get a lot of neat stuff sent to me. The one I want to tell you about today is the Ecological Farming Association. Their website is http://eco-farm.org. They are in Watsonville, CA; and they are 29 years old. They've been around for awhile.

"The Ecological Farming Association is dedicated to the development of ecologically-based food systems, both domestically and throughout the world by educating farmers, the agriculture industry and other stewards of the land about practical and economically viable techniques of ecological agriculture informing consumers and policy makers about ecological food production and its connection to the health of people and communities, and promoting alliances between individuals and organizations who share our vision of a transformed global food system."

This is taken from the most recent newsletter directly.

In the course of my blogs, I have come to teach you that your healthy skin, your general health, and the health of everything around is all starts with our food supply. This is an issue of concern to everyone, finally, across political lines, race, socio-economic status and even religion.

This would be a great organization in which to throw in your lot. January 21-24, 2009 there will be a huge conference called Eco-Farm 2009. It will be held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California. Not only is Asilomar a wonderful place to visit, a great destination spot, but you'll get some REAL GOOD information and meet lots of great folks.

Focusing ourselves on what we want, not what is, is how we will get what we want.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

You Must Eat Cholesterol!

Hello Everyone,

The blessings and curses of television, media and free speech. We have to be discerning and feel the correctness of information.

This topic bears repeating - the topic of fat in your diet. Contrary to popular belief and common thought (USDA, televisions and possibly your doctor), eating cholesterol is imperative and here's why.

First you have to understand that we are supposed to be eating a balanced diet of non processed whole foods. Shall I repeat that? Yeah, I think I will. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE EATING A BALANCED DIET OF NON PROCESSED WHOLE FOODS. There. I feel better. Oh, one more thing...WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MOVING OUR BODIES AROUND! IN ACTION!
Now, I feel even better. So did you get those two very critical points?

1. Eat a balanced diet of whole foods, preferably fresh, and NOT PROCESSED
2. Get out of your chair, off the couch, and move it!

Ok. Next to explain why you need to eat cholesterol and fat. (When the fashion industry and every girl magazine will have you eating air popped popcorn morning, noon, and night.)

The liver, your liver, is a triage station. After you've eaten and the nutrition from that meal enters the blood stream (via the portal vein), the liver takes a head count. It's job is to see that a steady stream of sugar is always going to the brain, and not too much. When sugar enters the portal vein, insulin is released. Insulin is a hormone. If you've just eaten all carbs, here's what happens. The liver interprets this as a "flood" of sugar and starts processing it into

Energy
Triglycerides
Cholesterol
Glycogen

If you don't need energy at that moment, your body checks to see if you need to store some glycogen. If your glycogen stores are full, then your body turns that excess sugar into cholesterol. Cholesterol is used by your body to build hormones, membranes and other structures like triglycerides, which are fatty acids used for energy or fat storage.

A normal body eating a healthy balanced diet produces the right amounts of cholesterol and triglycerides, essential for health. ESSENTIAL for health.

Now, if you're not consuming cholesterol and you're mostly consuming way too many carbohydrates or doing something else to stimulate insulin production artificially (alcohol, phony sugars, etc.), your body malfunctions.

Now your body sees the deprivation of cholesterol as a famine. When your body perceives this as a famine, insulin then activates an enzyme in your liver called HMG Co-A Reductase that will over-produce cholesterol from the carbohydrates you eat. This is the plaque that ends up in your arteries. When you starve the body of dietary cholesterol, forcing it to make its own cholesterol, it over produces.

The body always responds to the over stimulation of insulin levels by over producing cholesterol.
It doesn't matter how the insulin level gets over stimulated, this is what happens: plaque in your arteries. (The Schwartzbein Principle, Diana Schwartzbein, MD)

So you're much better off eating a breakfast that has an egg and buttered toast, than a bowl of cereal with skim milk.

Other benefits of fat in the diet? Luxuriant hair and nails. Supple and moist skin. Great bowel movements.

So, get that fat back into your diet. All kinds. Remember, we're supposed to be eating from the complete array of foods on this planet. I particularly like olive oil and avocados. And one more thing, if you eat some fat at every meal, you'll notice immediately that your meal has staying power in the energy department. You're not going to be looking for that Starbuck's coffee at 3 PM. Reach for a handful of almonds or a half an apple with a dollop of peanut butter on it.

Fat will not make you fat, but carbohydrates will.

Next blog entry will be more about fats, the good, the bad, and the Truth. All fats are not created equal.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Nonstick Cookware: No Way Baby!

Hello All,

Today, just cruising through my e-mails I received my daily newsletter from Naturalnews.com. Now Mike Adams, the self anointed Health Ranger, can sometimes be something of a zealot, however, today he reports that what I suspected all along, is true. Using nonstick cookware is no good for you.

You know, when I was growing up these selections weren't available, or if they were, we didn't have them in our household. My father worked for Republic Steel, so my Gram and Mom always cooked in stainless steel cookware. So when we girls were setting up our homes, I am quite sure we all used stainless steel Revere Ware. There are many more companies on the market that sell quality stainless steel cookware, so go shopping right NOW.

When I was helping my two boys set up their homes, I insisted on stainless steel. They both laughed at me, but all I could tell them is it just doesn't feel right. That it was some type of chemical coating and that when heat was applied had to impart those chemicals into the food.

Turns out I'm right. But the cause for celebration is this: it was my Intuition, my KNOWING, that I followed. The point here is, everyone has the same Knowing, if you're paying attention.
You might experience it as strongly as revulsion, or just a 'na, I don't think so.' But whatever it is listen up!

For more research, if you're still not convinced:
www.naturalnews.com/024148.html
www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1817688
donkeyod.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/moving-up-the-food-chain-pfcs-present-in-nursing-mothers-breast-milk/

Oh, one more area where I had that same, "na, no thanks" response. When I was building my house here in the mountains, I had to dig a water well. The County required that we store water in above ground tanks for fire fighting. At that time there were plastic tanks (still are) available. The same feeling came to me about those. That in the hot sun, the plastic would impart the chemicals from the plastic into the water, just like it does with your plastic water bottles. Stop using plastic!!! Get yourself a nice stainless steel thermos (they have them at Starbucks for $24.95) and use that for your water supply.

The real point, folks, is to stop and think. Better living through chemistry is Not always the case. Use your Internal Guidance System, even if "they" say it's safe.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Recipe for Your Long and Healthy Life

Hello Everyone,

I'm reading a really wonderful book right now called, Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Harry Lodge, MD. Please check out their website at www.youngernextyear.com

If you read my other blog, www.appliedspirituality.blogspot.com, you already have a feeling that I believe that we are God and that God and science are one in the same, so I have little use for those pointless arguments of creationism vs. the big bang.

So, when I read something that supports "both", I get pretty excited. This book points to "both" without realizing it; or maybe they do. They are smart, crafty and really entertaining.

Chris is the "old guy" who tells his story on the backdrop of Dr. Lodge's evolutionary biology and "science". Together, they have created a really wonderful book that is fun and, I promise, will really motivate you to get up off your bum and take your life back.

Here's the 'science' of it so far: our biology goes back some 3.6 million years. At that point as you might imagine, the first humans were largely occupied in their daily hours with survival: running, fighting, fleeing and hunting food. This demanded a lot of their biology. As they "desired" something (more energy, swiftness, food, etc), Source responded to the biological requests and thus, this is the heritage of our bodies.

Obviously this world with cars, shopping malls and the internet does not conjer readily the image of "survival". Our bodies are not being used as we desired them into existence. There are substances that our bodies produce, specifically C6 and C10. These work hand in hand to keep renewing the body. The job of C6 is the demolition: it drips constantly into our systems to destroy the old, weak, or sickly cells to make room for the new ones. This is where C10 comes into do it's job.

But here's the kicker: C10 is not produced by the body unless it is mightily and strenuously exercised. When it is, however, C10 floods into the system like a Habit for Humanity team and rebuilds to specifications. C10 is NOT produced unless there is this giant exercise effort.

So, when you don't exercise all that is left is - C6 - steadily destroying, atrophying your body...drip, drip, drip. Not only do the muscles atrophy, but all the other signs of aging come with it: decrepitude, alzheimers, cancer, depression...and on and on...all the things we now go to the doctor for and get yet another perscription for.

Chris and Harry say we have to exercise hard 1 hour a day, six days a week. For Life. If we do this, 50% of all the decrepitude and sickness will be absolutely eliminated from our experience. I believe that. Because when you exercise, you get these wonderful endorphines flooding into your body that make you feel really good, and able to focus on whatever you choose.

They also say that we need to eat a reasonable diet. Well, no duh. Read my past blogs on Real Whole Foods if you want to know more.

And finally, and to me the Real Component: find a passion and have a commitment to it. This can be anything from civil rights to model trains, as long as it interests you, stimulates your mind and focuses your thoughts in a good and positive way.

Actually, all this is pretty much Good Common Sense, which lately seems not so common.

So, America, do you want to get off your mediations, live a long and happy life? Good. Get MOVIN'

Thanks for reading!

Kath

The 90 Day Success Plan

Hello Everyone,

On Friday I passed the 90 day trial period on the Womentowomen.com nutrition and phytonutrient hormone supplement program with the Schwartzbein Principle Eating Plan to regain my health!

Ta-DA!!!

Here's the results:

1. I have lost 6 pounds.
2. I walk at least a mile every morning.
   
3. I sleep like a baby 7.5 hours every night
4. I am regaining muscle mass.
5. I am regaining skin tone.
6. My mood is - hold onto your hat for this one - optimistic.

Now, I'll give you the regimen I am following. And, I'm not giving this up anytime soon. I do believe I am going to do this for life, if not, longer.

6:00 am. I roll out of bed and tie on my tennis shoes. I stop in the kitchen to mix a big glass of pure water. Into I add a teaspoon of Enliven Probiotic and Superfood(One Group*), I chew a supplement from my chiropractor, DSF Formula from Nutri-West (addresses adrenals and thyroid); then out the door. I live in the mountains, so I've worked out a short route with one really steep hill and one long, gradual hill. I do this short route 4 times; if I'm feeling up to it, I'll do one more.

On this walk is some of the most important "Me" time of the day. The first lap, I'm usually waking up by just noticing and appreciating the day. Mostly the bunnies and birds are up, and then the sun is starting to rise. I always look to see something new that is beautiful to me; and I always find something. The next 3 laps are self talk about my attitude, my body and health, and the projects that I am working on. I appreciate me, I appreciate where I am; and I imagine where I am going.

7:00 am. I cook a really good breakfast for myself. This has been the hardest part for me; following the Schwartzbein Principle Eating Program, which came with the Womentowomen.com nutrition. The building blocks are non-starch vegetables, fat, protein, and carbohydrates (non-refined and hopefully, only the kind your could harvest for yourself). I confess the first few weeks, I would stand in the kitchen with one of those cartoon balloons over my head that would have said, "Duh!!" Now, I have a few things in my repertoire that happen more easily.

Option 1. saute garlic, onions and fresh spinach, scramble in one egg. 2. roll into a corn tortilla
Option 2. bacon, lettuce and tomato on open face, home made, all rye bread.

With breakfast I take the vitamins and Omega 3 supplement with the first phytotherapy herbal supplement from Womentowomen.com. I also added 8 mg. DHEA.

• I gave up leaded coffee and switched to decaf
• All foods are organic - ALL.

NOTE: Before I go downstairs to my office to work, I fix a snack for 10:00 am: This can be celery sticks with peanut butter or almond butter; or a cup of cottage cheese with some fresh berries

10:00 am-11:00 am. I eat my snack, Drink a big glass of water and do about 10-15 minutes of breathing, walking around the yard, and refreshing myself - more self talk is good.

Noon-1:00pm. I break for lunch and REST.
I usually have a fresh salad with about everything in it: 3 kinds of lettuces, spinach, garbanzo beans, onions, mushrooms, black olives, and I sprinkle another teaspoon of Enliven on that. Salad dressing is my creation of olive oil and herb vinegars that I made from my garden. I chew another DSF tablet and take the second packet of vitamins from
Womentowomen.com. (I save out both magnesium tablets for evening). I drink a big glass of tea
(my brew: to one gallon glass jar 2 tea bags organic berry tea; 2 tea bags organic green tea; and 2 tea bags organic white tea. To decaffinate: put the bags in a strainer and pour the first cup or two of boiling water over the bags
Then I usually rest for the remainder of the hour. I used to take a full on nap; now if I do fall asleep, it's a short 15-30 minutes)
Back downstairs to my office to work with a mid-afternoon snack: either 1/2 apple with tablespoon of either peanut or almond butter.

4:00 I eat my snack, another big glass of water and a few stretching or tai chi moves.

7:00 pm Dinner: protein, fat, vegetables and a very few carbs. Now I take the two magnesium tablets, the second phytotheraphy herbal hormone supplement, 50 mg. 5HTP from Nutri-West, and a baby aspirin.

I have been inspired to exercise in the evenings, which has led to my being awake until 1:00 am. That pretty much wipes out the next day, so I try not to do that, but rather, just take a gentle walk, the purpose of which is to enjoy the night sky, self talk, breathe and usually do my gratitudes for the day.
9:00 PM I mix a packet of Berry Radical (One Group) and mix in a teaspoon of Enliven Probiotic). I'm in bed, but I treat myself, by listening to a book on disc. I'm usually asleep before the hour disc is finished.

Some notes: About a month into the program, Women to Women, Nurse Emily and I decided to increase the hormone supplements to three times a day, which I did for 6 weeks. Recently, I scaled back to 2 per day, because it just felt right.

It's most important to do the exercise you can do, no matter how much you think you can't or you don't want to. Just blinkin' Do Something.
It's imperative you change your eating patterns and start feeding your body whole food nutrition. Not only do I eat only organically grown foods (60% more available nutrition than industrially grown foods), but I supplment with Enliven Probiotic which is also a superfood, as well as Berry Radical Antioxidant that delivers 7000 orac units per serving, but is also a superfood.

You also have to change your mind. You have to do what ever it takes to change your mindset from pessimism and depression to optimism. I know it's work, but if you don't do it; nothing will change, I can promise you that.

So what's next for me?

I keep going. I want to still feel even better, and I know that I can. I have the formula. I still
want to add in some exercise that will increase strength, maybe 10-15 minutes a day. I like to combine activities; so perhaps I can listen to something interesting while I do push ups, sit ups and do some tai chi. Who knows?

Ladies and Gents, this is nothing short of a miracle for me. I tell you the truth.

Three months ago I had decided that if "that" was the quality of my life, I was done.

Then I found Womentowomen.com and agreed to be faithful and do the 90 day program. I have augmented a bit as my intuition has guided me. I also have made it a point to get body work - a massage or energy work - as necessary. I am not 100% yet, but from where I was 90 days ago, I am 75% better and still gaining on my target.

So, there's my report. Don't wait. Do whatever you have to do to regain your health, but do it.
Oh - one more note: Be sure that whatever supplements, food, vitamins, probiotic, antioxidants you put into your body is of the HIGHEST AND PUREST QUALITY.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Kill the Food; Kill the People Irradiated Food by FDA

Hello Everyone,

Things are creepy. Americans had better wise up and wise up fast.

Check out this article in yesterday's New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/health/policy/22spinach.html?ref=us

The FDA is now going to allow "some" food to be irradiated. First let's start at the beginning.
What is irradiation? Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation in order to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food. Further applications include sprout inhibition, delay of ripening, increase of juice yield, and improvement of re-hydration. Irradiation is a more general term of deliberate exposure of materials to radiation to achieve a technical goal (in this context 'ionizing radiation' is implied.

The genuine effect of processing food by ionizing radiation relates to damages to the DNA, the basic genetic information for life. Microorganisms can no longer proliferate and continue their malignant or pathogen activities. Spoilage-causing micro-organisms cannot continue their activities. Insects do not survive or become incapable of proliferation. Plants cannot continue the natural ripening or aging process. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_irradiation

Basically, the method kills bugs. But if it kills a living thing, a pathogen, then it also kills non pathogens, like probiotics...the good bugs. It can also alter the food itself, meaning, the nutrition contained in the plants known as phytonutrients.

What are phytonutrients?
According to Wikipedia: "Phytonutrients" refer to phytochemicals or compounds that come from edible plants.There is evidence from laboratory studies that phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer, possibly due to dietary fibers, polyphenol antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects. Specific phytochemicals, such as fermentable dietary fibers, meet significant scientific agreement to be allowed limited health claims by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[1]

Phytochemicals have been used as drugs for millennia. For example, Hippocrates may have prescribed willow tree leaves to abate fever. Salicin, having anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties, was originally extracted from the white willow tree and later synthetically produced to become the staple over-the-counter drug called Aspirin.

An important cancer drug, Taxol (paclitaxel), is a phytochemical initially extracted and purified from the Pacific yew tree.

Among edible plants with health promoting phytochemicals, diindolylmethane, from Brassica vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts) is currently used as a treatment for recurring respiratory papillomatosis tumors (caused by the human papilloma virus), is in Phase III clinical trials for cervical dysplasia (a precancerous condition caused by the human papilloma virus) and is in clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute of the United States for a variety of cancers (breast, prostate, lung, colon, and cervical). The compound is being studied for anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties through a variety of pathways and has been shown to synergize with Taxol in its anti-cancer properties, making it a possible anti-cancer phytochemical as taxol resistance is a major problem for cancer patients.

Basically, phytonutrients are the healing properties in plants, spinach to rosemary. Herbs.

To subject alive material to the irradiation process is like spraying DDT on the corn. It killed everything, even the beneficial bugs.

If we are only to eat irradiated foods, we will be stripped of the medicinal properties in the foods.
Why would the FDA allow such measures. Not enough people die per annum from E Coli or Salmonella poisoning to even merit this measure. Could it be that the more food we eat that has no natural protection properties in it, the more we all get sick and need pharmceutical drugs?
Folks, this is serious business.

Already the food supply is sub nutritious because it is raised by industrial agriculture that uses pesticides and artificial fertilizers. These methods have been PROVEN to create food that has up to 60% less nutrition available to us than organically grown and raised foods. Now they want to irradiate it, stripping it of the most essential propertities that protect us from other diseases.

You might like to listen to a podcast from Natural News, the Health Ranger, Mike Adams:
http://www.naturalnews.com/podcasts/PodcastFDAspinachIrradiation2008.mp3

When we are preoccupied as a people with our health, we can certainly not be available for making conscious and aware decisions as good citizens. Who would want us so debilitated.

Wake UP America. Write you Congressmen, Senators and speak up. They are not taking good care of us as a people. It is up to us. And you'd best pay very close attention when you're voting in November. Who do you think cares about you, and not his pocket book and cronies?

Thanks for reading!


Kath

Babies, Chemicals and Pure, Honest Skin Care

Hello Everyone,

We spend a lot of time on this blog talking about health and good skincare, organics and purity.
One thing I've learned about us humans is that we might get it in one context and fail to carry it over to another.

So today I want to talk about children and infants, and what chemicals they are exposed to and are consuming. How we can avoid these exposures for them.

First of all, you have to get that the products on the supermarket and drug store shelves are NOT made for the benefit of your children, but for the profit of that corporation or company. Some are more upstanding and have integrity; others spend their energies trying to spin the good words so that you think you're doing the right thing, but you're not.

You can't be a - excuse the pun here - babe in the woods when it comes to organic and pure products. You have to become an intelligent and savvy consumer. You have to take full responsibility for what you consume and what your children consume.

You have to learn to read labels and come to know who are the integrity players and who is not.

Rule of thumb here: if it's in the supermarket or Walmart or Target, you're going to have to be really, really careful. Most of the integrity players in the health and wellness industry are the multilevel marketing companies like One Group and the Miessence Line and their new Baby Care Line. You're going to have to do your homework. Use the Internet and Google them, read what their philosophies are; what's their mission statement. Now, go to the products ingredients and read. Everything you don't understand, Google it.

You can go into the archives of my blog to read past posts about the difference between the labels of "natural", "organic" and "certified organic". What's important, of utmost importance is that if you are saying yes to a chemical, you do it willingly and fully aware.

When it comes to infants and children, their exposure to chemicals is extraordinary. Never before in the history of the world have children been born with toxins already in their bodies like they are today. They come in with toxins into a toxic environment. As you would with cleaning up your own exposure, you must do the same for them. The best you can do, is the best you can do. What I mean by that is this: you begin. You wash their clothes in non toxic soaps, you make sure they are wearing natural fibers (cotton, linen, silk, rayon, hemp); you feed them only organic foods and pure water. You make sure that if they are on formula, that it's not just "organic" you're looking for, but NO SUGAR as well. And as far as the soaps, lotions, and potions you apply to their delicate skin, it is as pure as you can find.

Babies absorb chemicals! Baby lotion, powder and shampoo can lead to higher concentrations in an infant’s body of phthalates, chemicals linked to allergies and altered reproductive development, a US study shows. The study conducted at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute http://www.seattlechildrens.org/home/about_childrens/press_releases/2008/02/003170.aspfound that babies treated with common baby care products such as lotion, shampoo, and powder were more likely to have phthalates in their urine than other babies. Phthalates are chemicals commonly found in personal care and other household products, including plastic children’s toys, lubricants and chemical stabilisers in cosmetics and personal care products.

Animal studies of phthalates have found that they can harm reproductive system development, and studies in humans have found that prenatal exposure or exposure through breast milk can alter hormone concentrations, the study says.

Lead author Dr Sheela Sathyanarayana, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington medical school, describes the findings as “troubling”: “Babies may be more at risk than children or adults because their reproductive, endocrine and immune systems are still developing,” she says. She adds that phthalate exposure in early childhood has been associated with altered hormone concentrations as well as increased allergies, runny nose and eczema.

Yes, these products cost more money. Quality costs more money in the short run, but I promise you this. Pay now or you will pay later. You deserve only the highest and best quality and so do your children. America is learning the hard way that cheap has cost us big time in our health, in our environment and in our well being. Choose Life. The products I recommend without any equivocation are those marketed by One Group. Yes, I market these products, but I also use them. After a very, very long search for products that I could honestly recommend without any second thoughts or reservations. I invite you to visit: http://www.honestskincare.mionegroup.com

Our children are our future. Nothing is too good for them, or us.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Antioxidants: The Truth

Hello everyone,

I just can't help think how paranoid we all are about our food, our health, our nutrition. This is fear, you know. Fear is never a good thing; and so can we all just calm down!

Here I am writing about antioxidants - again. Why? Because everyone is so worried about their health. I'm here to tell you that worrying about your health will get you one thing: sick. So, stop worrying.

Rather, approach you health, nutrition, and general well being as a matter of fact and expect it.

It really doesn't matter if you consume all the right nutrition, do all the right things for good health if you live in fear of disease and sickness. You must come to understand and know that your body loves to be healthy. You body knows how to be healthy. You body knows how to adjust. Your body is wise and infinitely intelligent. You body asks and it is given, good health.
The only way it does not; is if your mind is living in fear and blocking the reception of all Well Being.

Now, having said that, if you do want to take supplements because you want to love your body even more, or realize that as a practical consideration you could be giving it more nutrients, then read on.

Antioxidants are naturally occurring in all plants as a by products of photosynthesis. It's a - ummm - NATURAL PROCESS. Also, antioxidants and other nutrition are produced in a plant as it grows. The plants that have to "struggle" to survive, as opposed to those that are supported by chemical means, have more nutrition in them, therefore impart more nutrition to us when we consume them. This is why organic foods have more nutrition ounce for ounce than industrially raised foods. They are simply, stronger foods.

Recently a new term has come to the scene - superfoods. It's really a misnomer, but let's work with it. To my mind all foods organically raised are inherently superfoods. In today's vernacular they are usually referring to blueberries or pomegranates or something like that because they have a high antioxidant content. Remember, your body needs lots of other things than just antioxidants. But antioxidants come to the forefront because they have certain "cancer" fighting properties. They deal with free radicals that are associated with certain cancers.

Common sense will tell you that if you simply enjoy a diet of a wide variety of all these foods, you will get all the nourishment you need. Some say that in these times of pollution everywhere, you need more antioxidants. I can't say. I hate to think anyone is taking anything out of fear, rather than for the joy of it.

If you simply want to give your body a lovely treat, and oh by the way, here's a great dose of antioxidants in the mix, then here's the antioxidant that you want to take: Berry Radical by One Group. The first thing that makes it the best choice is that it comes in packets that you can mix anywhere in a bit of warm water, milk, soy milk, juice, whatever. It's portable. Secondly, each packet delivers 7000 ORAC units. Yep. And third, it's certified organic in two countries, the US and Australia. It's shipped in a box with 30 individual packets, so there's not all that weight shipping water in some "juice", plus the waste of all those plastic bottles. You cannot buy a better, more potent, more pure, or more green antioxidant supplement anywhere. Period. It's no contest.

So, if you want to add an antioxidant to your diet, use your common sense. Enjoy it. Do it for the sake of loving your body and drop the fear. And buy the best quality: Berry Radical by One Group. Oh, one more thing, you don't pay any sales tax when you purchase it from Australia.
You can order it at www.honestskincare.mionegroup.com

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Women To Women Program Update

Hello Everyone,

I've been on the womentowomen.com program now for 2 months. It's time to give you an update on my progress.

First, the organization Women To Women is a fine group. Their counselors have phoned me no less than 5 times now. Once the nurse, Emily, called and we had a 30 minute talk over the phone reviewing the various components of my recovery plan. We discussed diet, exercise, the herbal hormone supplements and the nutritional supplements. All discussed specifically to my symptoms with tweaks here and there.

The Women To Women 90 day program is comprised of nutritional supplements taken am and pm together with the herbal hormone supplement, also taken am and pm. Along with the supplements and probably the most important aspect is the shift in diet. They include in the box with the supplements the diet plan called the Schwartzbeing Principle, by Diana Schwartzbeing, MD., an endocrinologist from Santa Barbara, CA.
And of course, the recommendation for daily regular exercise.

At the start I was pretty much couch-bound. Depressed, frustrated and in a general state of malaise, I realized one evening that I had to do something differently and that it quite possibly was hormonal. A year prior my chiropractor had diagnosed that I was coping with adrenal fatigue. That night it came to me that if I were suffering adrenal fatigue, I quite possibly could have other hormonal deficiencies as well.

Two months later I am walking every morning just over a mile. I live in the mountains, so my walk consists of several pretty good inclines that get my heart pumping, then the path eases. Some days I get a second "work out" in with a gentle 50 minute Tai Chi practice which I really like. I found the DVD at the library, and pop it into my DVD player. I especially like all the breathing and the graceful, gentle movements that enhance balance and focus.

I have been absolutely faithful to taking my nutritional supplements. In the course of my consultations with the Women To Women counselors, I have shifted taking the nutrition in the AM (I'm up at 6 am) and at noon to keep myself going during the day when I need to keep on going. Although, I have incorporated a defined lunch break and short nap at the noon hour. I have also upped the hormone supplement to three times a day.

I have gone from a pudgy 144 pounds to 135 pounds. It would be nice to drop another 10 pounds, and I trust that if I continue with the exercise, this will happen easily.
Each week I add something to the physical activity, whether it is another lap or a stint in the garden, Tai Chi, or floor exercises

My skin tone (elasticity) and muscle tone have improved markedly.

Those weird hairs that were appearing on my chin are no where in sight any longer.

I am sleeping like a baby. I sleep 7.5 hours per night no matter what.

My mood is better, although I am still working with that a bit. I have added 50 mg. of 5HTP to my evening supplements as well as tincture of St. John's Wort am and noon. Together with increased exercise to boost my own production of endorphines, this improvement in mood should continue.

The biggest challenge to me has been eating more vegetables. I had to laugh at myself this morning as I still stand sort of dumb founded each morning trying to figure out what to eat. The best is to saute garlic, onions, mushrooms and spinach, then scramble with an egg. I have also switched over to making my own breads: whole grain rye, wheat, oat.

I confess that the first few weeks I felt like I should tie myself down not to hunt down some carbs. Now I find that craving all but gone. I look forward to my two snacks a day usually a half an apple with a dollop of peanut butter or almond butter which supplies some good energy.

I am also enjoying eating more protein and fats (the good ones). I think, all in all, that I had been literally starving my body of the nutrition that it really required.

And you can't say too much for the value of exercise. This was the most difficult area to go from intertia to building some momentum. Now I pretty much roll out of bed, tie on my tenny-runners and go do my laps.

And one more thing: I am spending that walking time doing some lovely Self talk. I appreciate me, I appreciate the day, I look for the new things that delight me. I notice the sunrise, the birds, the plants, the air and how my body feels. At first this wasn't so good, but day by day, my body felt better...and it continues to get better and better as momentum builds.

The best part is that I am now working a full day, albeit, 8 hours not 10. I am writing again, working on two books, and generally find the momentum building in these areas, as well.

I tell myself, "Good Girl, I'm proud of you..." And on a day where I am not quite up to speed, I give myself a break. I've given up beating myself up, allow myself the rest, and more importantly, view that time as my Self integrating with myself.

I'll report back after the full 90 days. Meanwhile, do something...to begin feeling better. Each step, each moment, each little thing begins to add up, like individual grains of sand compose a beach, and soon you are feeling well and that better life is coming into focus.

Thanks for reading!


Kath

NEW! Certified Organic Baby Products by One Group

Good Day Everyone!

I'm so excited! I rarely just talk about the Miessence Line of Products by One Group, but today I am going to brag!

Last weekend One Group had their annual conference in Australia and unveiled their new Baby Care Line. We have all been waiting for this, and it has, well, arrived!

miessence® baby range

miessence® baby range is a new collection of nurturing products gentle enough for newborn babies. Give your baby the purest start to life with miessence® certified organic baby range.

First, a wonderful product for the expectant Mum:

Breast and Belly Balm

An amazingly powerful blend of organic and wild-harvested ingredients from around the world to care for your expanding body. Potent and regenerative oils, butters and extracts from flowers, fruits, nuts and seeds nourish and feed your growing skin. Minimises the occurrence of stretchmarks with exceptional skin regeneratives that actively promote renewal, elasticity and suppleness. Eases the itching associated with rapid expansion. Helps to prevent underlying tissue damage by stimulating skin renewal. Feels wonderful and smells divine, so your massaging ritual is utterly enjoyable and nurturing. Completely safe to use during pregancy, and beyond.

And now for baby....

Baby Bottom Mist

A soothing and calming nappy area salve in a convenient spray. Use daily and at the first sign of redness or irritation for quick relief. Hygienic and convenient. No need to touch sore bottoms; just spray and soothe. Also beneficial for itches, rashes, nicks, scrapes and cuts, sunburn, windburn and other skin irritations. Helps to restore skin to its natural healthy softness.

Baby Barrier Balm

A soothing balm that protects your baby’s sensitive areas. Softens dry patches, soothes irritated skin and calms redness. Repels moisture and calms minor skin inflammations. Protects nappy area from chafing. Can be used all over baby's body to help relieve extra dry patches. Soothes chapped skin and lips. Can also be used for relieving cuts, scrapes, bites, sun & wind burn. Suitable for the whole family.

Baby Wash

A low foaming creamy wash for baby's delicate skin. Extra-gentle cleansing without drying the skin. Keeps baby's skin soft, smooth and supple. Free from synthetic detergents and chemicals. Suitable for sensitive and newborn skin, and gentle enough for everyday use.

Baby Bottom Cleansing Gel

A very gentle, yet effective cleanser for nappy change time. Soothing organic marshmallow, chamomile and calendula calm and soothe baby's sensitive skin. Organic aloe vera inner leaf gel and yucca juice gently cleanses and soothes baby's bottom. Gentle enough for newborns. A hint of organic vanilla helps neutralise stinky odours. Use with washable soft cloth baby wipes to cut down on landfill waste and provide significant savings over disposable wipes. Can also be used to cleanse grubby hands and messy faces.

Baby Lotion

A delightful cream to soothe and protect baby's delicate skin. Organic raw coconut oil creates a protective barrier against moisture loss, and is rapidly absorbed by the skin without greasy residue. Organic aloe vera inner leaf gel nourishes and hydrates dry skin, leaving it smooth and supple. Fragrance and allergen free - gentle enough for newborns. Can be used every day to help keep your baby's skin soft, smooth and healthy; provides long-lasting hydration.

Baby Body Powder

A beautifully fine, soft, talc-free powder to keep baby's skin fresh and soft. Combines the natural absorption of organic corn starch with zinc oxide, a proven ingredient for soothing nappy rash. Keeps baby comfortable and dry whilst eliminating friction that can irritate skin. Organic marshmallow, chamomile and calendula soothe and soften baby's sensitive skin.

Just to remind you that One Group is the unparalleled leader in the organic skin care and personal products care industry. They have set a standard that absolutely no one comes close to matching: their products are produced to FOOD GRADE STANDARDS.

To order these fine products go to www.honestskincare.mionegroup.com

Enjoy! You and your family deserve only the highest and best quality available, and this, friends, is it. Look no further.

thanks for reading!


Kath

Fun, Food and Feeling GREAT

Hello Everyone,

I found a new tool this morning, which is embedding a Youtube video into my blogs. You'd think I'd discovered the wheel!

So I searched for something that you would enjoy, and found Barbara Kingsolver talking about her newest book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. In the video she reads her first chapter.

I give you this book and Kingsolver, because she is my favorite author, and the book is loaded with information and fun and a way to feel good about what you eat when you're eating healthy.



It is my endeavor to make you feel good about what you are, who you are, and being healthy. Let's focus here for awhile, learn some new and fun things...on the way to honest skin care and honestly good health. It's your birthright; It's your natural state of being. Allow It.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Insulin Resistance and Accelerated Aging

Hello Everyone,

Tomorrow is 3 weeks on the Women To Women Program to rebalancemy hormone system.
In the last blog I discussed accelerated aging, today I will delve a little deeper into this modern dis-ese so we can fully understand how this happens and how to reverse it.

Insulin resistance is a cellular condition where the cells are so filled with sugar that they cannot admit any more sugar molecules. To protect against any further sugar overload, the cells reduce the number of insulin receptors (think of them as doors), so that insulin will not be able to unload as much sugar (think of this as no more room here for any more sugar molecules). This is insulin resistance. What happens next is the pancreas produces even MORE insulin in order to over come this resistance, which results in too much insulin in the bloodstream. Your body's cells then react to too much insulin by locking even more insulin receptor doors. Any extra sugar introduced into the body at this point, is stored directly into fat cells (basically around the midsection). If this continues - the high level of sugar in the bloodstream with no place to go, type II Diabetes results.

Insulin is a hormone, just like estrogen, testosterone, adrenalin, thyroid etc. Hormones are the communicators of the body. When one goes out of balance, the others do as well, like a house of cards.

If we go back to the hormone insulin which is there for regulating sugar levels in the body, if we back up just one more step, to diet, we now have the potential and great possibility of control.

The American Diet is and has been schizophrenic, at best. Michael Pollen writes in his book, In Defense of Food, about how he grew up on a largely immigrant diet from Europe: but real food, of course. He wonders in his book if his grandmother would even recognize the items in a grocery store, as food.

Same with my grandmother, as well. Gram lived with us from 1945 when my grandfather passed away until she passed in 1991 at the age of nearly 91. On her death certificate was "natural causes". Gram was not sick, she left. Her diet was good healthy food. It was her familial job to cook the meals, the kitchen was her domain. Being Serbian, she cooked the traditional fair: piggies in a blanket (sarma); roasted chickens and rice; homemade pastries and all with whole fat butter, milk, etc.

Since Gram's parents were farmers, Gram learned how to grow food and preserve it, which was passed on to me if I was paying attention. Summers in Ohio were marked by "seasons", peaches came in, corn came in, apples, etc. And each crop in its turn was purchased from a local farmer or harvest from Dad's garden, and "put up" for the winter. In short, we ate whole foods and for the most part, organically grown.

Gram's physician was a wizened guy who would lecture her on her weight. "Mrs. Zegarac, "he would intone, "you must lose 30 pounds. This is done by eating a diet restricted to 1800 calories a day for your height." "Doctor," Gram would answer, "I sample 1800 calories a day when I cook." Gram not only cooked well, but she worked hard physically. She cleaned house every Friday like the President was coming to visit. I mean, furniture was pulled away from the walls, windows and woodwork washed. We're talking physical, aerobic work. And the other days were vigorous trips into the garden, hoeing, raking, weeding, bending stretching, sweating. Gram's doctor passed away at the age of 61.

If we are looking with the eyes to see, we have a road map for a healthy life style. While Gram's doctor tried to put her onto a low fat diet, she intuitively refused, but more importantly she did what felt best to her. Her heart and love went into not only the food she made and served to us each evening at dinner, but her heart and love went into all the efforts of her days. In other words, she felt purposeful, happy, and loved and needed.

We started this blog on insulin, as a hormone and talking about the modern day phenomenon of insulin resistance. When we follow a diet of low fat/no fat we have just cut off the building blocks to hormones. Hormones are manufactured in the body from proteins and fats. And the body needs to consume cholesterol (butter, cheese, eggs, animal protein), because if it doesn't, it will take all those carbs and begin manufacturing cholesterol which blocks your arteries.

Insulin resistance is the result of too many carbs in too many places for too long a period of time.
i.e. low fat/high carb diets. This path leads directly to hormone imbalances, heart disease and diabetes.

So, you must consume fat in your diet; good fats. The fats that nature places in the pork, in the steak, in the chicken, in the egg, in the cheese. Wholesome fats that are grass fed and organic, of course. You cannot become fat from eating fat. Fat does not trigger insulin production in the body. Good fats for cooking (saturated): Butter (Yeah!), cheese, chicken fat, coconut oil, dairy only cream, duck fat, eggs, goose fat, nutmeg oil, sheanut oil, sour cream, turkey fat.
Good fats for cooking (monounsaturated): almond oil, apricot kernel oil, avocado oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, hazelnut oil, mustard oil, oat oil, olive oil, peanut oil, rice oil.
The following fats are polyunsaturated and should NEVER be used for cooking, as heat damages these: corn oil, essential fatty acids like primrose, flaxseed and borage, herring oil, fish oil, salmon oil, sardine oil, sesame seed oil and wheat germ oil. The very best oils to use are cold or pure-processed oils, essential fatty acids, extra virgin olive oil, fish oil, and mayonnaise made from pre-pressed canola oil and containing no hydrogenated oils.

So you can begin eating meat again, but now cook it slowly, no charbroiling it to damage the fats, and never eat hydrogenated fats (man-made) like shortening and margarine.

It's about common sense, folks. My sort of "default" question is "what would they have done 100 years ago? This seems to put me back into common sense territory and prior to the chemical alteration of our foods.

By all means, of course, if you are experiencing any kind of symptoms, you should consult a health care practitioner. But now you are armed with some common sense information: diet is everything. Return yourself to the four basics: protein, fat, non-starchy vegetables and carbohydrates (those that can be harvested, grown, etc.) and eliminate completely man-manufactured foods, processed foods.

Feed yourselves good whole food, America. And while you're at it, dance!
All this food discussion is taken from The Schwartzbein Principle:The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy and Feeling Younger, by Diana Schwarzbeing, MD and Nancy Deville.

It's all pretty much common sense.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Accelerated Metabolic Aging

Good Day Everyone and Happy Father's Day to all you Dads!

Especially to my wonderful Dad, he's a peach.

Today I'm going to give you the one week progress report of my following the Women-to-Women program for rebalancing hormones.

In the box with my 90 day supply of nutritional support (multivitamin/mineral + Omega 3 gel cap +
calcium/magnesium) and the herbal hormonal supplement came a book that revolutionized my eating. The book, The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy and Feeling Younger by Diana Schwarzbein, MD (endocrinologist) and Nancy Deville.

I took the supplements and immediately read the book cover to cover. I'm understanding more and more, and truth be told, I had my suspicions supported.

I can report to you that I feel 40% better in one week. And believe me, when you've been "on the floor" with fatigue and fuzzy head, this is nirvana.

My adjustments were not so much remembering to take the supplements, because they're easy. They come in a packet for am and pm; the hormonal supplements in a jar. I set them on my counter the night before so I see them first thing. The more difficult adjustment is to COOKING my food. My grandma used to say, "Good food takes time." That was her job in our household, and she usually spent the better part of her day preparing dinner for the 6 of us. I could use a grandma about now. My biggest resistance was to all the time I was going to have to put into thinking about the right foods and then preparing them. Fortunately the book has 30 days of recipes in the back for the "brain dead".

In addition I have to have breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, and dinner. Now I have to think about eating 5 times a day! But I did it and I continue to do it, because the alternative is going back to feeling like poo, and I won't do that.

I had started doing Tai Chi a few weeks before that in the morning when I got up. I found a tape in the library. I pop that in and do the am workout before I do anything else. The routine is more like dancing than anything else. It's gentle and elegant and lots and lots of deep breathing. I find it easy to commit to. There is also a pm workout, which eventually I will attempt to put into my daily routine. But as I've told you, dear reader, one thing at a time and keep doing it.

In addition a couple of mornings I actually found myself waking at 5:30 and wanting to go for a walk before the sun came up. That, was shocking! While I was out there I found I wanted to dink around in the garden for a bit. Double shock. I was having "energy" and desire to "do."

What I want to share with you is Dr. Schwartbein's concept of Accelerated Metabolic Aging.
This is getting old before your time. Quite frankly I believe that in years to come we will have utter control over this whole process, but that's for a later blog and possibly over on the Applied Spirituality side of things. But for right now, most of us suffer from this as a result of Western Life Style and poor diet.

As you might know metabolism is defined as the amount of energy a person's body burns. So thinking of your body as the engine, and your food as fuel. But additionally, metabolism is
"the combined effects if all the varied biochemical processes that continually occur in your body on a cellular level, " making it possible for you to function as a living being. Regeneration processes are twofold: those that build up the body; those that break down the body. The breaking down process is essential for clearing out the old cells and old cellular materials such as enzymes, hormones to make way for the new ones.

Hormones are the chemical communicators that direct the cellular binding processes which are essential for breaking down old cells and making new ones. Since the body is a composite of interconnected systems, when one hormone levels goes out of balance, it affects all the others as well.

More on cellular health. You body has two types of cells, stem cells and committed cells. Stem cells live only to produce committed cells. Directed by hormones, stem cells divide slowly over the course of a lifetime to make new stem cells and committed cells. Committed cells perform the biochemical processes of the body. Committed cells are constantly being renewed as they are short lived.

Here's the deal: if stem cells were to continue to produce and adequate supply of perfect committed cells, your metabolism would not age and you would therefore, never age. [I believe this is coming.] However, in this time since we believe in aging, the decreased efficiency of our metabolism is the natural and inevitable result of cellular aging that carries out that belief.

So here's how it works: stem cells make committed cells, committed cells make hormones, hormones direct the stem cells to make more committed cells, etc. Accelerated Metabolic Aging is the premature breakdown in this chain due to unhealthy eating and western lifestyle habits such as stress, toxins, poor nutrition, medications (both perscription and over-the-counter), etc.

Hence the return to organically grown whole food diets with high levels of real nutrition in the food you eat. Hence the avoidance and elimination of prepared, packaged and processed foods which have poor nutritional value and synthetic chemical additives. Hence the addition of exercise, meditation, yoga, breathing and tai chi for calming the internal state down.

We were not meant to lead the lives we are living under such stress, anxiety, urgency and fear.

All these factors combine in every one of us, regardless of chronological age to result in accelerated metabolic aging.

Next blog I'll talk about insulin resistance.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Honest Food for Honest Skin Care

Good Morning Everyone!

Little did I know last night when I was blogging that I'd be right back here this morning, but such a good thing came across my e-mail this morning I had to share it right away.

Mike Adams, the self proclaimed Health Ranger who writes a whopping good newsletter, has put together this eating guide for healthful consumption.

I like schematics like this. They are clear, they tell you quickly what it is you're supposed to "take away" from it. In short they deliver the information in swift, clear fashion much like a picture with words.

If you go to http://www.honestfoodguide.org you can can download Mike's Honest Food Guide for free. This is a tremendous public service that he is giving away. It distills for you the complexity of nutrition so you can quickly determine what you ought to be shopping for, growing and fixing for meals.

Mike's anger with big business need NOT concern you. My advice is to just keep reaching for the deliciousness of eating whole food, preferably organically grown and raised. My fall back question is, what would they have done 100 years ago?

The same advice goes for your personal care products. Keep reaching for the purist products you can afford. Any improvement is a step in the right direction, and keep in mind that to change all this in your environment at once is virtually impossible. First of all, you have to acquire the consciousness to change. So even if you had unlimited funds to throw out everything in your house that was toxic in some fashion and replace it, you still would stand in the kitchen at least three times a day wondering what to eat and how to fix it. It takes time to evolve this into a way of life.

As a step in the right direction, download and print off the Honest Food Guide and take it with you when you shop. Post it on your refrigerator door, and every day take one more step in the healthy direction.

It's summer now. Why not pot up a few tomato plants, or strawberries, or summer squash to get started growing your own produce. And for heaven's sake get heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are those that have NOT been genetically modified. Therefore you can save the seed and they will regrow into new plants next year. To get started buying your seeds, check out www.heirloomseeds.com or www.seedsavers.org. You're in for a lot of fun and good eating.

If you click on the title of today's blog it will take you directly to the Honest Food Guide.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

What If...

Good Day Everyone!

Well big OOPS!

Last Saturday I was writing my other blog and got sidetracked with a phone call. When I came back to the blog, the cyber faeries had great fun with me and published that blog to this one. I have no idea how that happened, but there it is ! And there it will stay.

I not only talk about good health, organics, and beautiful skin, but my passion is Applied Spirituality, which is a subject of my own creation. You can read my blog, A New View at www.appliedspirituality.blogspot.com or if you feel like you'd like to read my book or (coming soon) take a class, you can visit my website at www.appliedspirituality.com. Looks like I've blown my cover.

But it must be Freudian, because increasingly as I write this skin care blog, I've gotten further from the topic of topical skin care with each blog. I couldn't help it.

When I was a little girl, my folks had fixed up our basement in Ohio into a party room. They would have guests over and entertain there. I remember peeking to see them dancing and snacking, and playing records. One of those records was Tennessee Ernie Ford singing, The Shin Bone's Connected to the Knee Bone...and so on.

Well good skin is a lot like that. It's all connected. And fundamentally you cannot have great skin if you aren't healthy; and if you don't put quality fuel into the engine you can't have good health and finally....the subject I've skirted around for months...if you don't feel the Well Being inside, you probably have poor health and icky skin as well.

Beauty truly does come from the inside out at any age. All of it, every single bit of it, begins with how you feel inside. Of all the subjects we have feelings about, the single ruling subject is of course, our own self esteem. How well do you think of you? Are you your best friend, faithful and loyal and loving no matter what?

I was going to ask, "When oh when in America did we start paying attention to the surface rather than the essence of things?" Then up popped Twiggy in my head. Some of you might not remember her, but I was a girl when she became the first famous fashion model rather than a pinup girl. What was significant was that she was so skinny, like a twig...hence her name. http://images.google.com/images?q=twiggy&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B2GGFB_enUS225US229&um=1
http://www.twiggylawson.co.uk/

This media event seemed to tell all of us that we were "wrong". Well, especially such as myself from voluptuous peasant stock. Breasts were definitely OUT. Oh where oh where did Jane Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe go?

But it seems to me that from that point on in America, we were lost in the spiral downward into the importance of external appearances to the exclusion of the inner value. We took external appearances so far that we starve ourselves, we are bulimic, anorexic and we don't even care if there are toxins in our skin care products, just so we can be forever young and beautiful on the outside. For God sake, we even cut ourselves for beauty.

Europeans didn't take it so far. Good skin care has come out of Europe for decades but with a moderation that seems to have escaped America. And the organic skin care movement did not begin here, but rather in Australia.

How do I figure that? Just look at BBC television. Their idea of a starlet is not our idea of a starlet. They have "real" women in starring roles. Look at Kate Winslett as only one example. She is feminine and soft and curvy...and natural.

From the time of Twiggy on we have been assaulted by media campaigns from the cosmetics industry, fashion industry and drug industry to sell us the latest image (which is certainly not who you or I are). They tell us what we should and must aspire to in order to be acceptable, trendy, beautiful, sexy, lovely, and desired. Now, how would "they" know?

OH ARRRGGG!!!

So, when I talk to you about your health and beauty, I cannot stop with the surface applications and the food you eat. We have to address how you feel about yourself, which really ought to have come first. So I apologize. But funny, no one comes to the core except from the outside (which gets your attention) and then, maybe then, they start the journey inward to rediscover the lovely Core.

The other day I was tossing some ideas around in my head as I was digging in my garden and up popped this one single thought that is worth some time to chew on. It was this:

What if that thing you hate about yourself is actually your truest blessing, highest virtue, most solid strength, and most rich talent of all? It could be anything about yourself...your nose, your butt, your sensitivity...doesn't matter what, except that right now you think it's the noose around your neck. It's the ONE thing that, if you could change it, would make everything about your life better....

Now here's your assignment: What if...just what if...that one thing you hate most about yourself were really your blessing of all blessings... If you could re-view it, change your mind about it; see it differently....

Well, how would that change your life?

Let me hear from you on this one. This is important.

Next blog I'll give you my progress on following the Women To Women program.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

PS. You realize, of course, that I was asking myself this question at the time, right?

High Self Esteem: Remembering Who You Really Are

Good Day Everyone,

This week the theme seemed to come up repeatedly as "self esteem" or "self value" or "self appreciation" or "self worth".

Any of these terms ring true for you?

The first time it came up was in a class that I was taking via teleconference. A lady was sharing that she was "selfish" and confessing that as if it were a horrible thing. A gentlemen chimed in that he, too, was a "selfish prick". Whooa! Wait a minute! Wait just one minute!

When and where did "selfish" get such a rap? I'm thinking it has to do with religion and wanting to get the masses to do what was expected. So, therefore, let's give "selfish" a really bad moral rap, then they'll be more pliable if they're in fear of their mortal souls. Arg!

I like to take words apart and find a true meaning in them. If I do this with the word "selfish", I come up with self and fish. Fishing for self, and morphing that into fishing for Self. Now I know what the word really means and where it focuses me internally: searching within for the Me of me - my own Godchip. My True Voice. My True Godself.

Well, we wouldn't want those masses finding out how powerful they really are, so no wonder they made the word selfish "bad". A virtual sin. I'd best leave anymore remarks about that and move on right here.

One of the really interesting benefits of being "selfish", is that when you are following that internal path, you learn what makes you tick, what makes you feel good, what blows your skirt up, what makes you joyful, and fulfilled. These emotional tracers of feeling good are all street signs on the path of selfish - fishing for and finding your True Self. These thing make you happy, by Jove! These are the things that connect you to Source and show you that you can make yourself happy.

Now when you're feeling good, and filling up your own basket with joyous events, situations, activities and focus points, guess what happens? Your cup runneth over. You are so full of Source (joy, love, energy, creation itself) that it flows out of you in every thought, word and deed. Then and only then are you a blessing to others and effortlessly "give" from your overflowing cup.

When you are overflowing your cup of love and blessings (energy) to everyone and everything around you: your co workers, your family, your friends, the book you're writing, the project you are focused on - you are flowing It - Source Itslef right smack into your creations, which benefit and bless over and over again. In that moment when you can see and realize that by You being You, doing what makes you tick blesses people, there is the real value of You. A Value Beyond Measure - you being fully Who You Are, which is what you love to be - uniquely YOU. This is applied spirituality in action.

When you feel this "Zone", you feel your self esteem, self worth, self value, and self love and self-appreciation. When you know Who You Really Are, there is only Self Esteem. For how could it be otherwise?

The hallmark of a spiritual journey is fraught with irony and paradox because it is mirroring the 180 polarity of human mind and Godmind. So, being selfish (finding your True Self) is the path to Self Esteem - your Godchip, usually in juxtaposition to the conditioned human mind. Who would have thought?

Thus the path to Self development is following your heart, following the daily moment to moment decisions that feel good to You, being with the folks that feel right to you, participating in the activities that feel enlivening to You, is the way you find and connect, then blend with your True Self and let It rip! When you let IT rip, you feel You flooding through you, creating your dreams, words, creations. When you're feeling You flowing through you, there is only Self Love.

Thanks for Reading!

Kath

The Schwarzbeing Principle: Balanced Diet Key to Physical and Emotional Health

Good Day Everyone!

Ask and it is answered.

In the last blog I described to you how I've been suffering from severe fatigue and exhausted adrenals for years. It came to a head about 10 days ago when I went searching online for help.

I ended up at the womentowomen.com site where I took their "hormonal imbalance" quiz and was pronounced with severe symptoms. I ordered their 90 day program. It arrived yesterday - took 10 days to get here! Of course I started right away with the nutritional support and the herbal hormone support.

The surprise in the box was a book called the Schwartzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy and Feeling Younger by Diana Schwartzbeing, MD. Dr. Schwartzbein is an endocrinologist in Santa Barbara, California. (see link: www.schwartzbeinprinciple.com). I have spent about 2 hours this morning reading her book. I am learning so much, but more importantly, it is supporting some of my suspicions that I've garnered over the years.

For example, I have often wondered why we crave carbohydrates: the bagel, the donut, the cookies; or gotta get that afternoon cup of java; a cigarette; and other stimulants.

I have often wondered about these cravings, weight gain, insulin and immune diseases.

Dr. Schwarzbein addresses all of these, so far, in her book.

What I have learned so far in the program obtained from Women To Women is that the nutrition is the who key to our optimum health. If you'll read past blogs of mine, you'll see that I've been hot on this trail for awhile now, promoting whole foods, organic foods, real foods. But now I can add to this the balanced diet.

The elements to a balanced diet are not to be found in the US Government's Food Pyramid, but rather in a square comprised of 1. Proteins; 2. Fats; 3. Non-starchy vegetables (not corn) and 3. carbohydrates - Real Carbohydrates such as wheat, not pasta or bread, rice, not rice cakes; potatoes, not potato chips. i.e. NOT MAN MADE or MANUFACTURED.

So, so far, we're on the right path here with Real Whole Foods - that is to say - not processed and that which you could grow, gather or harvest, theoretically, yourself.

The surprise is in the importance of fats (once again, Real Whole Food Fats) that are gained in eating red meat, chicken, fish, butter, nuts, seeds and how critical they are to the manufacture of hormones in the body.

Eating a low fat diet can make you fat and lead to high cholesterol, because your body requires these to be obtained in nutrition, when it doesn't get them, it thinks it's gone into a famine and starts using all those carbs and turn those into cholesterol - so important is cholesterol to the functioning of a healthy body.

One last basic I will pass on for today. Dr. Schwartzbein recommends that you eat something from each of these 4 basic food groups at each meal. For example this morning I sauteed some home grown swiss chard with garlic in olive oil, scrambled in an egg; had half a glass of organic orange juice (with my probiotic superfood). The vegetables: swiss chard and garlic; the protein. the eggs; the carbs; the orange juice; and the fats, the olive oil.

Dr. Schwartzbein's program calls for 3 balanced meals a day plus two snacks between meals.

A sample day's menu mike look like this:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with nitrate-free sausages, 2/3 cup oatmeal with butter and cream; and sliced tomatoes.
Snack: 1/4 cup sunflower seeds or a handful of almonds
Lunch: Cobb salad (made with chopped chicken, nitrate free bacon, hard-boiled egg; bleu cheese, salad greens and tomatoes). Olive oil and vinegar dressing. 1 small apple
Snack: 1/4 cup almonds and string cheese
Dinner: Roast pork loin. 1/3 cup brown rice with butter. Asparagus with butter. Mixed greens salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, tossed with olive oil and vinegar dressing.

There are vegetarian versions of this balanced protein-fat-veggie-carb diet as well.

What is absent absolutely is sugar, refined flour, alcohol and caffeine.

Don't be overwhelmed. Just begin anywhere, right where you are. Just begin! You'll refine it over time. It took me a year to get all the inorganic stuff out of my pantry and I'm still refining it.
But you can start with your next trip to the grocery and your next meal. Definitely throw out all your phony sweeteners, get raw sugar, raw honey for now until you've weened yourself from the cravings.

Remember, it's the poor diet that keeps you locked in the vicious cycle of sweet, caffeine, or other stimulant in order to feel better; but they are short lived and you're reaching once again for that "fix".

One more thing. The importance of a good probiotic supplement is essential. I personally recommend One Group's MiVitality InLiven Probiotic Powder. For an intensive start use it with InLiven Fast Tract Liquid. To order these go to www.honestskincare.mionegroup.com. And if you need help or want to ask questions, just contact me a www.honestskincare@gmail.com.

You can't change the world of you don't feel good. Let's get well and healthy!

Stay tuned. I'm right in there with you making my way slowly back to complete and perfect health, which is exactly what I asked for. Come do this with me!

Thanks for reading!

Kath

What If It Were Hormones?

Hello Everyone,

Well, I feel really stupid. For about 5 years I've been dealing with "energy" challenges. Major energy challenges. Now I thought as they would appear, one by one over time, that I was just "over worked" or "over stressed." And by taking that thought pattern, I would shrug it off and just tell myself to "buck up."

I can't begin to tell you how many times my "internal" voice would be nagging at me to get up off the couch and get to work, beat me up for being lazy, and generally make me feel like I was a good-for-nothing, no account laggard.

On a good day I would give myself a break, saying to myself, "you've got a lot on your plate, be patient with yourself, give yourself a wee bit of mercy." That was on a good day. But never once did I connect the dots: stress, stress response, menopause, food and diet, exercise = hormonal imbalance. I mean to say that I never understood the deep response and the downward spiral of this delicate house of cards known as the endocrine system.

Well, yesterday as I lay in bed all afternoon wondering - despairing - if I would ever get my act together, it suddenly came to me. What if it were hormones?

Now I have been cleaning up my diet quite religiously for at least a year now. This is to say that I'm eating way more veggies and fruits, absolutely NO processed foods, and mostly organic. I drink no sodas, only water and green/white teas. I went off coffee a year ago, and if I do have a cup (one cup), it's decaf. I faithfully take my "superfood" and mineral supplements. I have even begun doing Tai Chi in the mornings to rev up the old engine. But within hours, I'm out of energy, focus and fuzzy. I could sleep ( and do ) a lot.

I've had patience with this for over a year since my chiropractor informed me that my adrenal glands were "blown out". No sh_t Sherlock. No wonder I couldn't get up off the floor, but more importantly, was the realization that it was my reaction to stress (internal) and the consistency of it that got me here. Add to that, this particular time of life to which I gave no notice or import.

So it came to me, what if it were hormonal? Then I went searching and found http://www.womentowomen.com. I took their online quiz and found out that my symptoms were "severe" and "entrenched" hormone deficiencies. Sigh. The good news (found the answer) and the bad (not an instant fix).

I don't know when I've felt so utterly stupid, not to have put this together sooner. I should have known when the antidepressants did nothing for me and I threw them away. I should have guessed a long time ago, but well, let's stop the self-flagellation and get on with the getting well part.

This morning I called Women To Women in Maine and reached a lovely woman named, Lisa.

Turns out they've been doing this work for 20 years. Well, thank heaven.

The symptoms which I think every woman should pay attention to are these:
1. by 3:00 pm you need coffee or a nap to get through the rest of the day;
2. you're craving sweets (bagels, donuts, carbs, candy); and
3. your sleep patterns are disrupted (can't get to sleep, can't stay asleep, or you could sleep all the time); and
4. your thinking is fuzzy.

Listen, it doesn't matter what age you are, seems that we here in Western Culture with all of our "stress" can experience hormone imbalance at any age, it doesn't have to be menopausal age.

Lisa told me that in some parts of the world where they don't live our life style, they don't even have a word for "menopause", because women don't experience anything disruptive. Imagine that.

Our food (quality) and our lifestyle is what contributes to this hormonal imbalance at any age.

Well, to make a long story short, I have signed up for their 90 day program which consists of phytotherapy (plants and herbs for hormone rebalance and regeneration) as well as nutritional support (the foundation). A book comes along with the supplements. Lisa assures me that by the 4th of July I will be feeling like my old self again. (Can't remember what that felt like, to be truthful.)

So stay tuned. I am going to be the human experiment once again and report back to you as I go along.

Baseline is today, May 28, 2008. I eat mostly organic foods; I eat no processed foods other than tortilla chips; I drink no sodas. I drink only decaffeinated coffee and probably have less than one glass of wine a week (organic). I do eat meat, but not a lot. I am doing Tai Chi in the am for 20 minutes. I write in my journal every am. Meditate daily. Walk daily for at least 20 minutes. I take a superfood, and liquid minerals daily. I sleep at least 8 hours a night (and could sleep more).

What I'm hoping for? Energy, enthusiasm, staying power and pure positive focus, even temperament, balanced optimism, and cheerful countenance.

Stay tuned, I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, if you'd like to join me on this 90 day program, check out http://www.womentowomen.com. Take the quiz and participate along with me.

For now I have decided to wait on any kind of HRT - hormone replacement therapy, which will be the subject of another blog at a later time.

Thanks for reading!

Kath