 None of the following information is meant to diagnose or treat disease. I am offering strictly nutritional advice and nutritional supplements to support the immune system and the body during this time.
ST. JOHN’S WORT: There are different classifications of viruses. The C-virus that everyone is concerned about right now, is under the category of enveloped viruses. What that means is that the virus is encased in a lipid layer (or fat encasing). St. John’s Wort handles enveloped viruses.(1, 2, 3) You may have probably heard that St. John’s Wort is for depression. Yes, it can help with that too. However, it has been traditionally used throughout history for enveloped viruses. MediHerb has 4 options: St. John’s Wort tablets, Viranon tablets, and 2 liquid tinctures. Nature’s Sunshine has 2 products as well: St. John’s Wort and their Time Release version. I am carrying all of these tablets and liquids. If you do not already have a Nature’s Sunshine account, I can set you up with one to get their herbs at a discount, and you could order them direct from the company. ECHINACEA & VITAMIN C: Purchase a high-quality Echinacea to set your defenses at the front lines ready to fight. Both MediHerb’s Echinacea Premium and Nature’s Sunshine Echinacea and Echinacea combinations are high quality. Consider adding in whole food vitamin C (not ascorbic acid) to pair with the Echinacea so that these nutrients are absorbed efficiently. You need those 2 items in proper balance for the body to effectively utilize these nutrients. Look for whole food vitamin C. Ascorbic acid is just the protective outer coating of the Vitamin C complex. You will become deficient in the other 4 parts of the complex if you take in high doses of Ascorbic Acid, as your body tries to pull the other parts of the complex together in order to process it. Foods and herbs high in Vitamin C include buckwheat (aerial parts) juice, rose hips, acerola, and cilantro. SUGAR & VITAMIN C: A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that sugar decreases your immune defenses for 6 hours after ingesting it.(4) Focus on lower carbohydrate meal plans for now until we are over this hump. Sugar and Vitamin C compete for the same port on the cell wall. And sugar always wins. If you are ingesting quite a bit of the white stuff along with breads, pasta, and grains, you are going to have a hard time absorbing Vitamin C. Write down what you are eating to track how much sugar you are taking in. Count the carbohydrates in each food. Do this for a few days and you will see a trend. Stick to veggies, protein, and good quality fats. Meal examples: chicken and broccoli, or meat and side salad. Olive oil (not heated), avocado oil, coconut oil, butter, and ghee are good fats to incorporate in. Eat real food and you will be fine. Real food makes your body strong! ESSENTIAL FATS: I watched Dr. Darren Schmidt’s newest YouTube video this morning. He gives excellent information and links to research articles. I carry all the supplements he mentioned. In addition to what I spoke about above, Dr. Schmidt presented research that Linoleic Acid kills the C-virus.(5) CLA, GLA, Evening Primrose Oil and Flax Seed Oil are high in Linoleic Acid. Get a gel cap of the flax. It’s unstable and goes rancid before it even hits the store shelves. Or grind the seeds and eat them right away. Don’t buy the already ground seeds. Again, rancid. DRAINAGE: Dr. Schmidt also talked about the drainage pathways (lymph, liver, kidney, lungs, and sinuses) and the importance of opening those pathways. Making sure you have lymphatic supportive herbs in your regimen such as Lymphonest (from MarcoPharma) or Spanish Black Radish (from Standard Process). Are you having 2-3 bowel movements per day? You should be! If you are not pooping that often, then you are constipated. You want your body to drain all this junk out! If your sinuses are full then it is highly likely you are stopped up somewhere down the line on those drainage pathways. CHOLESTEROL: Dr. Schmidt also referenced research that indicates LDL (the so called “bad” cholesterol) can be anti-viral as well. This is what I have been saying for a while now: These statins are lowering cholesterol too much, and people end up getting sick. Cholesterol protects the brain from heavy metals, Alzheimer’s, helps you make other hormones, and it’s also anti-viral! Cholesterol should naturally increase with age. We shouldn’t be squashing it. A person on a statin will not be making the necessary hormones for all their endocrine glands and organs, immune system, digestion, and let’s not forget intimacy! If you’re having trouble with intercourse, look at your statin! Thank you to Dr. Darren Schmidt for putting together this video and locating the following excellent research articles!(6) See his video link below for more information. As Dr. Schmidt said in his video, we have many different companies that are smart when it comes to packaging herbs, so if one product is on backorder, another company may have the equivalent. The point is, there is no need to panic. Keep your body healthy by eating vegetables, proteins, and good fats, and you’ll be able to fight off whatever viruses come your way. The people that have had a problem with the virus are those who have one of the following medical concerns: hypertension, diabetes, or congestive heart failure.(7) IRON & OXYGEN: Evidence suggests that the virus interferes with the function of heme in the body and the uptake of oxygen.(8) I have 2 thoughts on this. Take iron and take the CR28 which can support and strengthen the lungs and assist with Oxygen uptake. You will want to find a whole food Iron, not a rock supplement which is what most of them are. Iron from food. Ferrofood from Standard process or the FeMaxTonic from MediHerb are whole food iron supplements we carry. Lastly, take some Zinc for the immune viral response and inhibiting viruses.(9) Whole food, of course. Please refer to my last blog post for the other herbs and supplements needed for prevention (Vitamin D, etc). Call us if you have any questions. We’re here to help! References Hundreds of Herbs are anti-viral (Research):
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When you come down with a bug and aren't feeling well, what are some steps you can take to start feeling better? For starters, schedule an appointment with us. When you are not feeling well is the best time to be checked and muscle tested. We can find underlying immune challenges and problems that we don’t normally find in a normal visit, and things that could be holding you back in your health improvement program. Second, we can help you feel better more quickly, reducing the duration and severity of the issue so that you are back on your feet in no time! If you find you are unable to make it out of the house and just feel too awful, then we can have a phone consult and make recommendations to help you start feeling better quicker. Our skilled practitioners are well-versed in working with all manners of immune challenges, so if you come down with a virus, cold or flu, call Custom Wellness! We have herbs, homeopathics, and whole food supplements that support the body’s immune system and drainage pathways naturally. Let’s find just the right remedy for you! Let’s take back your health!  How will we celebrate International Women's Day? At Custom Wellness we support women through every stage of life! We meet you wherever you may be. And in lieu of this special day our particular focus is MENOPAUSE. This topic is imperative for discussion. Do you ever notice when people say 'menopause' (men and women alike) or talk about the subject it’s always discussed with a cringe or in some other negative fashion? That is called stigmatization friends! Any form of stigmatization oppresses an individual and prevents empowerment to allow them to take control of their situation rendering them powerless. Our role and goal is to empower you! So let me get off this high menopause horse or better yet, let's look at the facts.
Menopause is a beautiful thing. Yes, let me say this again, MENOPAUSE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING. And every woman will eventually go through this transition in their life, so why can't it be celebrated? Historically, and in other cultures, this transition in a woman's life was incredibly powerful. Think queens who ruled countries. They would become the active matriarch of power. Isn't that an incredibly honorable role? BUT, you're not thinking queen or power right? Are you thinking hot flashes, irritability, sweating and vaginal dryness to name a few? Ok let's have a chat about those. Menopause is not a disease and it is not a medical diagnosis! It is a natural progression of life just as puberty is a natural transition into the next stage of womanhood. Female transitions do not go without hormonal changes. Most think of only two hormones during menopause; progesterone and estrogen. Many women I have worked with believe those are the only hormones responsible to help them to function and the decrease in them are to blame for making them feel dragged down and sometimes crazy. It is crucial to know that we need to support this transition by understanding the needs of our bodies as we are going through this and all the hormone producing glands need special attention, not just the sex glands! To address or more favorably prevent symptoms we look to the adrenals, thyroid and our heroine, the liver! Support the adrenals, which has active duty in support of your stress response and also responsible for levels of the hormone cortisol (stubborn belly fat anyone?) and you support the thyroid (while balancing hormones) all by meeting your emotional, physical and nutritional needs. The more array of whole foods you can eat the happier your thyroid and adrenals will be. They are hungry for the right foods so that they may produce the proper amount of hormones to keep you balanced and ease into your transition. Basics! Foundations! Are you meeting your own needs? And let's thank the LIVER for always flushing out our daily toxic load. Sometimes the liver gets exhausted and can't do the job properly because it becomes overloaded with environmental and digestive stress! Sometimes an overload of these toxins and stressors can create a rise in temperature and sweat (hello hot flashes! Or wait could that heat also be a result from my unhappy thyroid?). Balancing these and giving them proper tender-loving-care during this particular transition in life will help aid in sleep, prevent hot flashes and irritability and heck we can even throw in some suggestions for libido and vaginal dryness which can all be healed and prevented through the right nutrition and lifestyle. How can we offer support throughout this new chapter in your life? We're ready when you are. Amy Prins Certification in Natural Health/Alternative Medicine Presently studying Traditional Naturopathy  Do you suffer from headaches and migraines and often feel held-back from living a “normal” life? You never know when a debilitating headache could strike, causing you to err on the side of caution when making plans. Headaches themselves are painful enough, not to mention the additional inconveniences like light and noise sensitivity, nausea, dizziness, and vertigo. After trying everything from Tylenol, to prescription migraine medication, to hot compresses, and even major lifestyle changes, many headache sufferers find themselves asking “what now?” in desperation. If this sounds like you, and if you are ready to try another natural approach to headache relief, we suggest booking a Reiki Session with our very own Mark Balcer! What is Reiki, you ask? It’s a form of energy therapy that can aid in the relief of many conditions and emotional states. The word itself means “mysterious atmosphere, miraculous sign”, coming from the Japanese words “rei” (universal) and “ki” (life energy). This form of energy medicine aims to help the flow of energy and remove blocks, enabling relaxation and reduction of pain, according to Medical News Today. What exactly happens in a Reiki session? You have the chance to fully relax your body in a peaceful setting. You remain fully clothed and there may be light music or aromas depending on your preferences. The practitioner places his/her hands lightly on, or over, specific areas of the head, limbs, and torso, allowing energy transfer to take place. The practitioner’s hands may become warm or tingly, and when they feel the heat or energy diminish in that area, they’ll move their hands to a different area of the body to pick up on other energies and blockages. How does Reiki specifically help with headaches? Both an excess of energy in the head or deficiency of energy can lead to pain. This can be the result of an issue within the head itself, or disruption further down the body which obstructs the free flow of energy, according to Ottawa Holistic Wellness. The disruption in energy flow can result in various headache symptoms including a dull ache, pressure, throbbing, or bursts of sharp pain. Through Reiki we address underlying issues of energy imbalance and work to open up the channels throughout the entire body, allowing energy to move freely so that the pent-up pressure in the head can be released. Reiki is seen as a legitimate natural method to ease pain and stress, even being recognized as a method of healing by WebMD. If you’re a headache sufferer, let’s get to the bottom of it and begin helping your body’s energy flow freely! Take back your life and start feeling better now — book a Reiki Session with Mark Balcer! This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. |
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