Website Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy + Disclaimer For Website, Programs, Products + Services 

By entering this website or purchasing or using our blog, e-mails, videos, social media, programs, products and/or services, from or related to TWISTED NATURE THERAPY, you are agreeing to accept all parts of this Disclaimer. Thus, if you do not agree to the disclaimer below, STOP now, and do not use our website, blog, e-mails, videos, social media, programs, products or services or anything you have purchased or experienced through us (collectively “Website, Programs, Products, and Services”).

For Educational and Informational Purposes Only.  

The information provided in or through our Website, Programs, Products, and Services is for educational and informational purposes only and is made available to you as self-help tools for your own use. When using any material obtained from or through TWISTED NATURE THERAPY whether through in-person, phone, Skype, webinars, teleseminars, webcams, social media, and otherwise in a variety of settings, including but not limited to individual and/or group programs, classes, workshops, events, retreats, seminars, consultations and/or trainings, you acknowledge that we are supporting you in our role exclusively as providing business education, and in no other role.

Not a Substitute for Medical Advice.  

The information provided in or through our Website, Programs, Products and Services is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment that can be provided by you or your clients’ own Medical Provider (including doctor/physician, nurse, physician’s assistant, or any other health professional), Mental Health Provider (including psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, counselor, or social worker), registered dietitian or licensed nutritionist, or member of the clergy.

Not Holding Self Out.  

In this capacity as a health coach, I am not holding myself out to be a Medical Provider (including doctor/physician, nurse, physician’s assistant or any other health professional), Mental Health Provider (including psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, counselor, or social worker), registered dietician or licensed nutritionist, or member of the clergy.  Rather, I serve as a trainer, educator, coach, mentor and guide who provides education and learning opportunities.

Consult Your Physician or Health Care Provider. 

Our intent is NOT to replace any relationship that exists or should exist, between you or your clients’ Medical Provider or Mental Health Provider. You and your clients should always seek the advice of your/their own doctor/physician, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, Mental Health Provider, or another health care professional regarding any questions or concerns about your/their specific health situation.  We advise you and your clients to speak with your/their own Medical Provider or Mental Health Provider before implementing any suggestions obtained through our Website, Programs, Products and Services including but not limited to exercise, lifestyle, weight loss, food, vitamins or supplements; engaging in an elimination diet, detox or cleanse; meditation or deep breathing exercises; or participating in any other aspect of a weight loss, healthy eating, exercise and/or lifestyle program. You shall not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking professional advice because of information you have read on this website or received from us.  You and your clients should not stop taking any medications without speaking to your Medical Provider and/or Mental Health Provider. If you or your clients have or suspect that you or they have a medical problem, you are advised to contact your/their own Medical Provider or Mental Health Provider promptly.

Not Legal or Financial Advice.  

The information contained in our Website, Programs or Services is not intended to be a substitute for legal or financial advice that can be provided by your own attorney, accountant, and/or financial adviser. Although care has been taken in preparing the information provided to you, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, and we accept no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever arising. The law varies by state and it is constantly changing and therefore it affects each individual and business in different ways.  As a result, it is recommended to seek outside financial and/or legal counsel relating to your specific circumstances as needed. You are hereby advised to consult with your tax consultant, accountant or lawyer for any and all questions and concerns you have, may have, or hereafter have regarding any and all information presented by our Website, Programs or Services pertaining to your specific financial and/or legal situation.

Personal Responsibility. 

Our Website, Programs, and Services aim to accurately represent the information provided. You are acknowledging that you are participating voluntarily in using our Website, Programs, and Services, and you alone are solely and personally responsible for your results. You acknowledge that you take full responsibility for your business, and for your own health, life and well-being, as well as the health, lives, and well-being of your family and children (where applicable), for all decisions now or in the future.

Testimonials.  

We present real-world experiences, testimonials, and insights about other people’s experiences for purposes of illustration only. The testimonials, examples, and photos used are of actual clients and results they personally achieved. Each client has approved these testimonials, examples, and photos for use in materials to speak to our Program, Product and/or Services, but they are not intended to represent or guarantee that current or future clients will achieve the same or similar results.  Rather, these client stories represent what is possible with our Programs, Products and/or Services. Each of these unique stories, and any and all results reported in these stories by our clients on our Website and through our Programs, Products, and Services, are the culmination of numerous variables, some of which we cannot control.

Assumption of Risk. 

There are sometimes unknown individual risks and circumstances that can arise during use of our Website, Programs, Products and Services that cannot be foreseen that can influence or reduce results.  We are not responsible for your or your clients’ personal choices or actions before, during or after use of our Website, Programs, Products, and Services. You understand that any mention of any suggestion or recommendation on or through our Website, Programs, Products or Services is to be taken at your and your clients’ own risk, with no liability on our part, recognizing that there is a rare chance that business failure, illness, injury or even death could result. You accept full responsibility for the consequences of your use, or non-use, of any information provided by us through any means whatsoever, as well as your clients’ use or non-use of any information obtained through you or our Website, Programs or Services. Your or your clients’ use, or non-use, of this information, is at your own risk, and you absolve us of any liability or loss that you, your clients, your business, your family and/or children or any other person may incur from your or their use or non-use of the information provided.

No Liability and Release of Claims.

 We will not be held responsible or liable in any way for the information, products or materials that you request or receive through or on our Website, Programs or Services.  In no event will we be liable to you, your clients’ or to any party for any type of direct, indirect, special, incidental, equitable or consequential damages for any use of or reliance on our Website, Programs and Services, or on those affiliated with us in any way, and you and your clients’ hereby release us from any and all claims, including, without limitation, those related to lost profits, personal or business interruptions, personal injuries, accidents, misapplication of information, or any other loss, physical or mental disease, condition or issue experienced by you and/or your clients, or otherwise, even if we are expressly advised of the possibility of such damages or difficulties.  We do not assume liability for accidents, delays, injuries, loss or damage due to any act or default of any company, organization, or person engaged in rendering this Website, Program or Services in any way. In the event that you or your clients use the information provided through our Website, Programs or Services by us or affiliated with us, we assume no responsibility.  We will not be held responsible in any way for the information that you or your clients request or receive through our Website, Programs or Services. By using our Website, Programs, and Services, you and your clients fully and completely hold harmless, indemnify and release us and any other of our employees, shareholders, directors, staff, consultants, agents, or anyone affiliated with us from any and all liability, damages, causes of action, allegations, suits, sums of money, claims and demands whatsoever, in law or equity, that you or your clients ever had, now have or will have in the future against us, arising from your or your clients’ participation in or in any way related to our Website, Programs, and Services, unless arising from the gross negligence on our part.

No Warranties.  

WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THIS WEBSITE OR THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES INCLUDED ON THE WEBSITE. TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS WEBSITE OR OUR PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES.

Not Evaluated by the FDA.  The information contained on this Website or provided through our Website, Programs, Products, and Services has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. 

Accuracy.  

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information shared on or through our Website, Programs, Products and Services, the information may inadvertently contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. We are not responsible for the views, opinions, or accuracy of facts referenced on or throu3gh our Website, Programs, Products, and Services or those of any other individual or company affiliated with us in any way. Every effort has been made to present you with the most accurate, up-to-date information, but because the nature of healthcare, scientific, business, and technology research is constantly evolving, we cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of our content. 2023

No Endorsement. 

Reference or links in our Website, Programs, Products or Services to any other individual’s, business or entity’s information, opinions, advice, programs, products or services do not constitute our formal endorsement. We are merely sharing information for your own self-help and for informational and educational purposes only. We are not responsible for the website content, blogs, e-mails, videos, social media, programs, products and/or services of any off-site web pages, companies or persons linked or referenced in our Website, Programs, Products or Services.  Should our Website link appear in any other individual’s, business’s or entity’s website, program, product or services, it does not constitute our formal endorsement of them, their business or their website.

Terms and Conditions

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully. TWISTED NATURE THERAPY reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions on the Website from time to time, and by using the Website, you agree to the Terms and Conditions as they appear whether or not you have read them. If at any time you do not agree with these Terms and Conditions, please do not use this Website.

Website Use and Consent

Whether you use this Website as a casual visitor, guest, registered user, licensee, or as a member of our programs, you agree to certain terms which are outlined below.

If you have purchased a program or subscription or otherwise entered into an agreement with us, you will also be governed by the terms of that agreement or the terms and conditions for that program, which shall prevail in the event of a conflict. Online purchases have additional terms and conditions relating to the transaction as indicated.

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published information on or through this Website, the Website may inadvertently responsibility for errors or omissions on the site or in documents referenced by or linked to our Website.

This Website is intended solely for users who are thirteen (13) years of age or older. Any registration by, use of or access to the Website by anyone under age 13 is unauthorized, unlicensed and in violation of these Terms of Use. By accessing or using this Website, you represent and warrant that you are 13 years or older and that you agree to and to abide by all of our terms and conditions.

Intellectual Property Rights

The content, layout, design, data, databases, and graphics on this Website are protected by United States intellectual property laws. Content is solely owned by us unless otherwise indicated.

Our Limited License to You. This Website and all the materials available on the Website are the property of us and/or our affiliates or licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

The content, layout, design, data, databases, and graphics on this Website are protected by United States intellectual property laws. The content is solely owned by us unless otherwise indicated.

If you purchase any program, services, or materials through this Website, you will be considered our Licensee and the terms and conditions specifically relating to the respective program or service purchase shall apply.

If you are a visitor to this Website and you are not making a purchase of a program, service, or materials through this Website, for the avoidance of doubt, all content obtained from or on this Website is our property, and you are granted a revocable, non-transferable license for personal, non-commercial use only, limited to you only.

When you enroll in or purchase any of our programs or services or obtain information through this Website, you expressly agree that you will not steal our content. Duplication, sharing, or uploading course files to sharing sites, or downloading or sharing information contrary to the limited license we have provided to you herein is considered stealing and theft, and we will prosecute theft to the full extent of the law.

In addition, as a Licensee, you understand and acknowledge that the information obtained on or through this Website have been developed or obtained by us through the investment of significant time, effort, and expense, and that this information is a valuable, special and unique asset of ours which needs to be protected from improper and unauthorized use.

You may not use this site or the materials available on or through this Website in a manner that constitutes an infringement of our rights, or that has not been authorized by us.

As a visitor to this Website, you may from time to time, download and/or print copies of individual pages of the Website, including blog posts, for your personal, non-commercial use, provided that you give us full attribution and credit by name, keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices and, if used electronically, you must include the link back to the Website page from which the information was obtained.  By downloading, printing, or otherwise using Website content for personal use you in no way assume any ownership rights of that material.

You may not in any way use, copy, adapt or represent any of our material in any way as if it is yours or created by you unless specifically permitted to do through the terms and conditions relating to your respective program or service purchase or unless specifically authorized by us in advance and in writing.

Unless otherwise explicitly authorized in these Terms and Conditions or the terms and conditions relating to a specific program or service you purchased through this Website, or unless you obtain advance written permission from us, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, translate, sell, create derivative works, exploit, or distribute in any manner or medium (including by email or other electronic means) any material purchased through any of our Programs, Products or Services, or obtained on or through the Website, including through an individual or group program, e-book, private Facebook or Website forum, or class for commercial use, or for use in any way that earns you money, and you must seek our permission before using any of our materials or content from this Website for your own business use or before sharing with others.

All rights not expressly granted in these terms or any express written license are reserved by us.

The trademarks and logos which are displayed on the Website are trademarks belonging to us. Any use including framing, metal tags or other text utilizing these trademarks, or other trademarks displayed, is strictly prohibited without our express written consent.

Your License to Us. By posting or submitting any material (including, without limitation, comments, blog entries, photos and videos) to us via the Website, you are representing: (i) that you are the owner of the material, or are making your posting or submission with the express consent of the owner of the material; and (ii) that you are 13 years of age or older.  In addition, when you submit or post any material, you are granting us, and anyone authorized by us, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to use, copy, modify, transmit, sell, exploit, create derivative works from, distribute, and/or publicly perform or display such material, in whole or in part, in any manner or medium, now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose. The foregoing grant that includes the right to exploit any proprietary rights in such posting of submission, including, but not limited to, right under copyright, trademark, service mark or patent laws under any relevant jurisdiction. Also, in connection with the exercise of such rights, you grant us, and anyone authorized by us, the right to identify you as the author of any of your postings or submissions by name, email address, or screen name, as we deem appropriate.

You acknowledge that we have the right but not the obligation to use and display any postings or contributions of any kind and that we may elect to cease the use and display of any such materials (or any portion thereof), at any time for any reason whatsoever.

Limitations on Linking and Framing.

You may establish a hypertext link to the Website so long as the link does not state or imply any sponsorship of your site by us or by the Website. However, you may not, without our prior written permission, frame or inline link any of the content of the Website, or incorporate into another Website or other service any of our material, content or intellectual property.

Security

We take every precaution to protect our users’ information. When users submit sensitive information via the Website, all information is protected both online and offline. However, due to the nature of the Internet, we cannot completely ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted to us or through our services. Submitting information is done at your own risk. We have security measures in place to prevent the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information that is obtained from you, but we make no assurances about our ability to prevent any such loss, misuse, to you or to any third party arising out of any such loss, misuse, or alteration.

Disclaimer 

As a visitor to this Website and as a Licensee, you agree that you are using your own judgment in using the information provided on and through this Website, which is done at your own risk.

THE INFORMATION, PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE AND BY US AND ANY THIRD-PARTY SITES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY OF ITS FUNCTIONS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT ANY PART OF THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING BULLETIN BOARDS, OR THE SERVERS THAT MAKE IT AVAILABLE, ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

WE DO NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE WEBSITE OR MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE OR ON THIRD-PARTY SITES IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY OR OTHERWISE.

You agree at all times to defend, indemnify and hold harmless us and our affiliates, successors, transferees, assignees and licensees and respective parent and subsidiary companies, agents, associates, officers, directors, shareholders and employees from and against any and all claims, causes of action, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses, including legal fees and expenses, arising out of or related to your breach of any obligation, warranty, representation or covenant set forth herein. We try to ensure our Website is available for use at all times, other than for a small period of scheduled downtime; however, we do not warrant that at other times our Website will be available.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable to you for damages or refunds should our Website become unavailable or access to the Website becomes slow or incomplete due to system backup procedures, internet traffic volume, upgrades, overload of requests to the servers, general network failures or delays, or any other cause which may from time to time make our Website inaccessible to you.

The content obtained on or through this Website is designed for non-medically trained individuals and should not be relied upon as a replacement for consultation with your doctor or other qualified healthcare providers.

The information provided through our Website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment that can be provided by your own physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, therapist, counselor, mental health practitioner, licensed dietitian or nutritionist, spiritual counselor, or any other licensed or registered health care professional. You and your clients should not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking professional advice because of information you have read on this Website or received from us. You and your clients should not stop taking any medications without speaking to your physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, mental health provider or other healthcare professional. If you or your clients have or suspect that you/they have a medical or mental health issue, you are advised contact your/their own health care provider promptly.  You and your clients assume all risks and no results are guaranteed. The content of this Website is provided for educational and informational purposes only to help you reach your own business goals, but you are solely and personally responsible for the results you and your clients obtain through our Website. By using our Website in any way or for any reason, you also implicitly agree to our full Disclaimer.

Limitation of Liability

Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to negligence, shall anyone related to TWISTED NATURE THERAPY or any subsidiary and parent companies or affiliates, included but not limited to our shareholders, directors, officers, staff, employees, affiliates, successors, transferees, assignees or licensees and their respective parent and subsidiary companies, agents, associates, officers, directors, shareholders and employees, be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the Program, including its materials or third party materials made available through the Program, even if we are advised beforehand of the possibility of such damages.

You agree at all times to defend, indemnify and hold harmless TWISTED NATURE THERAPY our shareholders, directors, officers, employees, affiliates, successors, transferees, assignees or licensees and their respective parent and subsidiary companies, agents, associates, officers, directors, shareholders and employees of each, if applicable, from and against accidents, delays, injuries, harm, loss, damage, death, lost profits, personal or business interruptions, misapplication of information, physical or mental disease, condition or issue and any and all claims, causes of action, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including legal fees and expenses, arising out of or related to the Program as experienced by you, anyone affiliated in any way with your business, or any of your clients, and/or your breach of any obligation, warranty, representation or covenant set forth in these Terms and Conditions.

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Third Party Links

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Continued use of any of our Programs, Products or Services, or information obtained through or on the Website following the posting of changes and/or modifications constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions, please contact us at twistednaturealaska@gmail.com               © Copyright 11.24.2023

The 11 Systems of the Human Body — and the 6 That Power Movement

The human body is made up of 11 major systems, each working together to support life, movement, and health:

🔹 The 11 Body Systems:

1. Integumentary – Includes skin, hair, and nails.

2. Skeletal – Bones, cartilage, and joints.

3. Muscular – Skeletal muscles, cardiac and smooth muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

4. Nervous – Brain, spinal cord, nerves, and sensory organs (eyes and ears).

5. Endocrine – Glands that produce and regulate hormones.

6. Cardiovascular – Heart, blood, and blood vessels.

7. Lymphatic – Lymph, lymph nodes, vessels, and glands.

8. Respiratory – Lungs and airway passages.

9. Digestive – GI tract, liver, gallbladder, pancreas.

10. Urinary – Kidneys, bladder, and related structures.

11. Reproductive – Organs involved in reproduction.
    
    

💪 The 6 Systems Most Directly Involved in Exercise & Movement:

Let’s focus on the six systems most critical to physical movement and performance:

🦴 1. Skeletal System

Composed of bones, joints, and cartilage, the skeletal system provides:

• Structure and body shape

• Protection for internal organs

• Support for movement

Your bones form the framework for muscle attachment, making movement possible.

💥 2. Muscular System

Made up of over 600 muscles—including skeletal, cardiac, and smooth (visceral) muscles.

Key muscle types:

• Visceral muscles: Involuntary muscles found in internal organs

• Cardiac muscle: Found only in the heart

• Skeletal muscle: Voluntary muscles under your control that move your bones

Primary functions:

• Powering movement

• Maintaining posture

• Generating heat through contraction

When skeletal and muscular systems work together, they form the musculoskeletal system.

🧠 3. Nervous System

Composed of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and sensory organs. It acts as your body’s communication network.

3 main functions:

1. Sensing internal and external changes

2. Interpreting information

3. Responding through muscle movement or glandular action

This system is key to coordination, reaction time, and muscle control.

🌬️ 4. Respiratory System

Includes the lungs and airways. Its job during exercise is critical:

• Brings in oxygen, which powers muscle activity

• Removes carbon dioxide, a waste product from energy production

Without oxygen, your muscles cannot sustain effort.

❤️ 5. Cardiovascular System

Made up of the heart and blood vessels, this system delivers fuel and removes waste.

Vital functions:

• Transports oxygen and nutrients

• Carries away carbon dioxide and metabolic waste

• Helps regulate body temperature and pH levels

• Plays a role in immune function

It’s your body’s delivery and cleanup crew—working nonstop during physical activity.

🍽️ 6. Digestive System

Includes the GI tract (mouth to anus), liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.

Its job:

• Breaks down food into usable nutrients

• Absorbs those nutrients

• Converts them into fuel for energy, growth, and repair

A well-functioning digestive system is essential for energy during workouts and recovery after.

🧩 These 6 Systems: Your Body’s Movement Dream Team

Together—with support from the other five systems—these six are what make running, dancing, lifting, breathing, reacting, and recovering all possible.

The human body is an incredible, complex machine designed to move, adapt, and thrive when cared for well. The better you understand these systems, the better you can train, heal, and perform at your best.

SPELL IT OUT COMPLETE....

The human body is divided into 11 systems, which are organized as follows: 

• Integumentary, which includes skin and all the structures derived from it (hair and nails). 

• Skeletal, which includes all the bones in the body, the associated cartilage, and joints. 

• Muscular, which includes all the skeletal muscles, visceral muscles, cardiac muscle, tendons, and ligaments. 

• Nervous, which includes the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and sensory organs (eyes and ears). 

• Endocrine, which includes all the glands that produce hormones. 

• Cardiovascular, which includes blood, the heart, and blood vessels. 

• Lymphatic, which includes lymph, lymph nodes, lymph vessels, and lymph glands. 

• Respiratory, which includes the lungs and the passageways leading into and out of them. 

• Digestive, which includes the digestive tract and associated organs including the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. 

• Urinary, which includes organs that produce, collect, and eliminate urine. 

• Reproductive, which includes organs that produce reproductive cells and organs that store and transport reproductive cells. 

Not all these systems are directly related to exercise. Those systems are the skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory systems, and digestive systems. 

Let’s see what are the functions and roles that these 6 particular bodily systems play in the process of movement and exercise. The skeletal system is comprised of all the bones in the body as well as the associated cartilage in joints. 

The function of the skeletal system is to give rigidity and form to the body. Your basic body shape is genetically determined in large part by your bone structure. The skeletal system provides our bodies with support, protection and shape. 

The muscular system There are more than 600 muscles in the human body. the muscular system is comprised of visceral, cardiac and skeletal muscle tissue. 

The visceral muscle is the smooth or involuntary muscle over which we have no conscious control and it’s found in the walls of organs like the intestines and esophagus. 

The cardiac muscle is found in the heart. As a health weirdo you will likely find skeletal muscle tissue to be of the most interest. 

The skeletal muscle it's often called voluntary or striated muscle because it is under our conscious control and it looks like bands of tissue. 

When the skeletal and muscular systems work together to cause movement we call it the musculoskeletal system. The muscular system has three basic functions. -to work with other systems in the body to assist in causing movement -to maintain posture and -to create Heat. Muscles perform these three functions through contraction, which is shortening of the muscle tissue. 

The nervous system it's comprised of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and the sense organs. It serves as the control center and communication Network within the human body. The split-second reactions determined by the nervous system and carried out by nerve impulses are instrumental in keeping the body functioning efficiently. 

The nervous system has three primary functions. 

1. First, internal and external changes are sensed via a variety of sense organs and tissues. 

2. Next the nervous system interprets these changes. 

3. And last is responding to these interpretations through muscular contractions or glandular secretions. 

The respiratory system it's made out of lungs and a series of passageways leading into and out of the lungs. The system is very important in exercise because it functions to supply oxygen to the body from the air we breathe. This oxygen is critical in the production of energy used for sustained muscular contractions. Another important function of the respiratory system is to get rid of the body’s carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of energy production. 

The cardiovascular system is named for the organs from which it is made: Cardio means Heart and Vascular represents the blood vessels and the Blood they Carry to all parts of the body. This system has many very important functions including the following: 

• Distributing oxygen and nutrients to the cells, 

• removing carbon dioxide and waste from the cells, 

• maintaining the acid-base balance of the body, helping regulate body heat, 

• and helping the body protect itself from disease. 

The Digestive System The Digestive System is the group of Organs that break down food and absorb the nutrients used by the body for fuel. The digestive system is made up of the gastrointestinal tract—also called the GI tract or digestive tract (mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. —and the liver, pancreas and gallbladder. The digestive system breaks nutrients into parts small enough for your body to absorb and use for energy, growth, and cell repair. 

These six powerful systems are your body's built-in support crew—keeping you moving, breathing, thinking, and thriving.

These 6 systems, helped by other bodily systems work together to make us the marvelous creatures we are creatures capable of walking, running, dancing, laughing, having emotions, eating and so much more. The Human Body is truly a complicated but incredible machine. 

🧠💪 Ultimate Guide to Vitamins, Minerals & Where to Get Them from Real Food

💧 Water-Soluble Vitamins

B Vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12)

Essential for energy production, brain function, and red blood cell formation.

Food Sources:

• Whole grains: oats, whole wheat, rye, buckwheat, brown rice

• Legumes: split peas, lentils, chickpeas, soybeans

• Nuts & Seeds: peanuts, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds

• Veggies: broccoli, peppers, mushrooms

• Others: Brewer’s yeast, soybean flour, hazelnuts

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)

Vital for nerve health and DNA production. Must be consumed through food or supplements.

Food Sources:

• Seafood: oysters, mussels, scallops, mackerel, tuna, salmon, sardines, crab

• Meats: liver, beef

• Dairy: eggs, yogurt, Swiss cheese
  
  

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Boosts immunity, supports collagen formation, and acts as an antioxidant.

Food Sources:

• Fruits: guavas, kiwi, oranges, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, papaya, mango, pineapple, melon

• Veggies: red peppers, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, peas, mange tout
  
  

🧈 Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Beta Carotene (Provitamin A)

Converted by the body into Vitamin A. Supports vision, skin, and immune health.

Food Sources:

• Orange & green produce: sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, spinach, collards, butternut squash, pumpkin, Swiss chard, red peppers

• Fruits: mango, dried apricots, peaches, melon

• Others: tuna, mackerel, butter
  
  

Vitamin A (Retinol)

Crucial for vision, immune health, and cell growth.

Food Sources:

• Organ meats: liver (beef/lamb)

• Fish: cod liver oil, mackerel, salmon, tuna

• Dairy: goat cheese, eggs, cheddar, cream cheese, butter, paté
  
  

Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol)

Regulates calcium, supports bone health and immune function.

Food Sources:

• Fish: salmon, trout, swordfish, mackerel, tuna

• Dairy: buttermilk, fortified yogurt

• Others: mushrooms, eggs
  
  

Vitamin E (Tocopherol)

An antioxidant that protects cells and supports skin and immune health.

Food Sources:

• Greens: spinach, kale, Swiss chard, turnip greens, collards

• Nuts & Seeds: almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds

• Seafood: shrimp, salmon, smoked salmon, swordfish, herring, trout

• Oils: olive oil, sunflower oil

• Produce: sweet potato, squashes, kiwi, mango, peach, nectarines, apricots, guava, raspberries, blackberries
  
  

Vitamin K

Essential for blood clotting and bone health.

Food Sources:

• Greens: kale, spinach, mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, cabbage

• Herbs: parsley, basil, coriander, sage, thyme

• Others: spring onions, leeks, cress, paprika, chili powder, fennel
  
  

🔩 Essential Minerals

Calcium

Strengthens bones and teeth, supports nerve function.

Food Sources:

• Greens: watercress, kale, broccoli

• Dairy: low-fat mozzarella, cheddar, yogurt

• Others: tofu, almonds, sugar snap peas, canned sardines (with bones), tinned pink salmon
  
  

Copper

Supports immune function and iron metabolism.

Food Sources:

• Whole grains: rye, oats

• Seeds/Nuts: sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, walnuts

• Legumes: soybeans, garbanzo beans, lentils, lima beans

• Greens: spinach, kale, Swiss chard, collards

• Others: mushrooms, tempeh, liver, spirulina, dark chocolate
  
  

Iron

Needed for oxygen transport in the blood.

Food Sources:

• Whole grains: rye, whole wheat

• Seeds: pumpkin, sesame, sunflower

• Animal sources: chicken liver, oysters, mussels, clams, beef, lamb

• Nuts: cashews, pine nuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds

• Legumes: lentils, white beans, soybeans, kidney beans, chickpeas, lima beans

• Veggies: oatmeal, spinach, Swiss chard, kale

• Others: dark chocolate
  
  

Magnesium

Regulates muscle function, supports nervous system and energy production.

Food Sources:

• Grains: buckwheat, millet, rye, brown rice, whole wheat

• Sea vegetables: kelp

• Nuts: almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, peanuts, walnuts

• Others: tofu, coconut, soybeans, dried figs, apricots, dates, corn

• Veggies: avocado, spinach, kale, broccoli, Swiss chard, collards, turnip greens

• Seafood: prawns
  
  

Manganese

Important for metabolism, bone development, and wound healing.

Food Sources:

• Grains: rye, oats, brown rice, barley

• Nuts/Seeds: hazelnuts, pine nuts, pecans, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds

• Legumes: lima beans, chickpeas, lentils

• Fruits: pineapple, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries

• Veggies: spinach, kale, sweet potato

• Others: tofu, soybeans
  
  

Phosphorus

Works with calcium to build bones and teeth, vital for energy production.

Food Sources:

• Grains: brown rice, oats, rye, whole wheat

• Meats: chicken, turkey, pork, liver

• Seafood: sardines, scallops, salmon, mackerel, crab

• Dairy: milk, yogurt, cottage cheese

• Nuts/Seeds: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, pine nuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews
  
  

Potassium

Balances fluid, supports nerve and muscle function.

Food Sources:

• Fruits: dried apricots, bananas

• Seafood: salmon, mackerel, tuna

• Legumes: white beans, lentils, kidney beans

• Veggies: butternut squash, spinach, mushrooms, potatoes

• Dairy: low-fat yogurt

• Others: avocado
  
  

Selenium

Protects cells from oxidative stress, supports thyroid function.

Food Sources:

• Nuts: Brazil nuts

• Grains: brown rice, rye, whole wheat

• Seafood: sardines, tuna, shrimp, oysters

• Others: mushrooms, sunflower seeds, liver, eggs, beef, turkey, cottage cheese
  
  

Zinc

Boosts immunity and supports wound healing and DNA synthesis.

Food Sources:

• Grains: rye

• Seeds: pumpkin, sesame, sunflower

• Nuts: cashews

• Protein: beef, lamb, pork, chicken

• Legumes: chickpeas, baked beans

• Veggies: spinach, mushrooms

• Others: cocoa powder, dark chocolate

Supplement Summary

Most supplements will have little to no actual long term effects on your results, unless you plan on staying on them for good. Your focus should always be on a good workout plan along with a healthy diet. There are, however, a few supplements I recommend, simply because they will make your life a lot easier, as you are learning how to eat the healthy foods your body needs.

Protein Powder

You don’t need a protein powder to build muscle, but it is a lot more convenient than eating high protein foods all the time, especially before and after a workout or when traveling. I recommend getting a simple but quality whey protein. Watch the ingredients closely. Read more about protein and make sure you are not over indulging. 

Creatine

Creatine is an organic acid found in many foods (such as fish and beef). As a supplement, it will improve strength (thus build more overall muscle) through a faster restoration of ATP (Adenosine Tri-phosphate). ATP is the primary molecule used to store energy. During muscular contraction, your body turns ATP into energy and simply put, the faster the muscle can replenish ATP the stronger you will be. . Myths about creatine causing kidney problems, have been disproven by countless studies. For healthy adults, creatine has been shown to have no harmful side effects and only people who already suffered from kidney diseases reported problems from creatine supplementation.

Fish Oil

While not as important as protein and creatine supplements, fish oil will not only boost your mood, but help maintain healthy cholesterol levels and strong bones and ligaments. It isn't necessarily going to help you build muscle faster, but indirectly it will improve your health and increase the quality of your workouts.

Multivitamin

Supplementing with a multivitamin can help but results will depend on your current diet and whether deficiencies exist. Unfortunately, many multivitamin pills are overdosed, which can harm you in the long run.

 ⚡️Understanding Human Energy Metabolism

How the Body Converts Food into Fuel

🧪 First: What Is Energy?

There are six forms of energy:

• Chemical
  
  

• Mechanical
  
  

• Heat
  
  

• Light
  
  

• Electrical
  
  

• Nuclear
  
  

The Law of Conservation of Energy says:

"Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another."

🌞 The Origin of Energy: The Sun

All usable energy for life begins with the sun’s nuclear energy, which radiates to Earth as light energy.
Plants convert this light into chemical energy through photosynthesis, storing it in food molecules (like glucose, proteins, and fats).

Humans can’t photosynthesize — so we get energy by eating plants (and animals that ate plants).

🔋 ATP: The Body’s Energy Currency

When we eat food, our bodies break it down and convert it into a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
ATP is the immediate source of energy used for every muscular contraction and cellular function.

How it works:

1. Food is digested → nutrients absorbed into bloodstream
   
   

2. Nutrients enter cells → converted into ATP
   
   

3. ATP breaks down → releases energy for the body to use
   
   

🥗 Macronutrients & Storage:

• Carbohydrates → broken into glucose → stored as glycogen
  
  

• Fats → converted to fatty acids → stored in fat tissue
  
  

• Proteins → broken into amino acids → used for tissue repair or stored as fat if not needed
  
  

🏃‍♂️The 3 Energy Systems Used in the Body

Depending on the intensity and duration of activity, your body taps into three different systems to make ATP:

1️⃣ ATP-PC System (Phosphagen)

• Fastest energy source
  
  

• Uses stored ATP and phosphocreatine (PC)
  
  

• No oxygen required (anaerobic)
  
  

• Powers: sprints, jumps, short bursts (0–10 seconds)
  
  

• Simple and immediate but short-lived
  
  

2️⃣ Anaerobic Glycolysis (Glycolytic System)

• Uses carbohydrates to make ATP
  
  

• No oxygen required
  
  

• Produces lactic acid, which causes fatigue
  
  

• Powers: high-intensity efforts up to 2 minutes
  
  

• Yields more ATP than ATP-PC but less than aerobic
  
  

3️⃣ Oxidative (Aerobic) System

• Uses oxygen to break down glucose and fatty acids
  
  

• Most efficient ATP production (but slowest)
  
  

• Takes place in the mitochondria
  
  

• Powers: long-duration, low/moderate-intensity activity
  
  

• Fuel sources: glycogen, fatty acids, occasionally protein
  
  

🧠 Fun Fact: Fat yields the most ATP, but needs more oxygen.

🥩 Protein as Fuel (Only in Special Cases)

Protein isn’t the body’s go-to for energy — it’s mainly used for repair.
But in extreme conditions (like fasting, low-carb dieting, or starvation), the body converts amino acids into glucose through gluconeogenesis.
⚠️ Byproduct: Nitrogen → Urea → Kidneys must work harder.
Overuse of protein as energy can stress the kidneys, liver, and muscle tissue.

🧬 Hormonal Control: The Body’s Internal Regulator

You don’t choose which energy system activates — your hormones do.
Hormones released during exercise, stress, rest, or fasting determine:

• What energy system is active
  
  

• Which fuel source is prioritized
  
  

• How much ATP is produced
  
  

All systems are always active, but at different levels depending on intensity, duration, and your internal state.

🪑 At Rest vs. In Action

• At rest (e.g., watching TV): mostly oxidative system, burning fat
  
  

• During high effort: glycolytic or ATP-PC systems take over
  
  

• As intensity shifts, your body blends energy systems seamlessly
  
  

🔁 Summary:

• You eat → body converts food to chemical energy
  
  

• ATP is made → broken down for muscle contraction and cellular work
  
  

• Depending on the activity, your body pulls energy from different systems
  
  

• Hormones control the system mix, not willpower

Quick overview on top, 

full discussion next. Which helps you learn better?

I want us to talk about a very important topic which is the energy metabolism or the conversion of energy within the human body. 

This is a fascinating process. 

There are six forms of energy: 

there's chemical energy, mechanical energy, heat energy, light energy, electrical energy, and nuclear energy. 

The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed only converted from one form to another. The total energy in an isolated system is constant. Energy production in humans starts with nuclear energy produced from the Sun. All energy used by the biological world is ultimately derived from the Sun. Some of this energy from the Sun reaches the Earth in the form of light energy. This light energy is converted to chemical energy by plants through a process known as photosynthesis. Plants use this chemical energy to build food molecules such as glucose, cellulose, proteins, and lipids. 

We, humans, are not capable of doing this. We must eat plants and other foods to supply our chemical energy. Food it's used in the human body to supply the chemical energy needed for growth and the mechanical energy needed for muscular contractions. ATP or adenosine triphosphate it's a chemical compound which is the most immediate chemical source of energy for a cell. The formation of ATP in the muscle cell involves the conversion of food. Food is consumed, digested, absorbed in the bloodstream, transported to active cells, which are the site of energy production, and immediately used or stored. Carbohydrates are converted to glucose and stored as glycogen. Fats are converted to fatty acid and primarily stored as adipose tissue. Proteins are broken down into amino acids and ultimately stored as fat if not used. This breakdown of food is not directly used to do any work. Rather, it’s used to produce ATP which is stored in all muscle cells. It is the breakdown of ATP that releases energy to be used by the muscle to contract or perform mechanical work. 

An active muscle has available three sources of energy. 

1. The ATP/PCR system provides the working muscles with an immediate source of energy. Activities with a high energy demand over a very short period of time depend primarily on this system. This involves a relatively short series of chemical reactions, it does not require oxygen and is the Least Complicated way to generate ATP. 

2. The glycolytic system or anaerobic glycolysis uses carbohydrates as the source necessary to produce ATP. This metabolic system is the primary source of ATP for intermediate energy or activities lasting more than a few seconds up to approximately 2 minutes. The glycolytic system does not require oxygen and involves the incomplete breakdown of carbohydrates into lactic acid which causes muscle fatigue. The body breaks carbohydrates down into a simple sugar called glucose which is either immediately used or stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. The terms sugar, carbohydrate, glucose, and glycogen are often used interchangeably when broadly referring to energy metabolism. the word anaerobic glycolysis refers to the breakdown of glycogen in the absence of oxygen. This second process is chemically more complicated than the first one and requires longer series of chemical reactions, but it yields slightly higher amounts of ATP. 

3. The third source of energy is the oxidative system which yields a substantially greater number of ATP, uses oxygen to generate this ATP and is activated to produce energy for long-duration exercise. The aerobic metabolism it's a slower and much more complicated process. The ATP reaped from the breakdown of glucose or fatty acids in the presence of oxygen takes hundreds of complex chemical reactions involving hundreds of enzymes. This breakdown occurs in a specialized subcellular compartment in the muscle cell which is called the mitochondrion. The mitochondria are considered to be the Powerhouse of the cell and are capable of producing mass quantity of ATP to fuel muscular contractions. Now, in this system, if fatty acids are used to fuel the system instead of glycogen, then more oxygen is needed but the yield of ATP is substantially higher. Keep in mind the glycogen and fatty acids are the preferred fuel source for ATP creation using the oxidative system. 

Occasionally protein is also used as a metabolic fuel source. But it's important to know that protein is typically used to provide less than 5% of energy needs. The use of protein as a fuel source usually occurs when the body has been physiologically stressed through fasting or other dietary measures or has extremely low levels of fat and glycogen stored. When protein is used as a fuel source it is converted to glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. A byproduct of this process is nitrogen which is converted to urea and excreted by the kidneys. When you are on high protein, low carbohydrate diet please keep in mind that the kidneys, liver, and muscle stores can be compromised as a result of this diet. 

Please understand, specific energy systems are activated in response to specific types of exercise or activity. 

In times of low energy demands or during physical inactivity, like when sitting on the couch, stored glycogen or lipids are used to supply the body’s energy needs. When we rest, most of our energy needs are supplied by the oxidative system, receiving oxygen through the normal breathing process. Higher demands of energy stimulate the cardiorespiratory system to deliver more oxygen to the mitochondria in the muscle cell to be used in aerobic energy production. 

It is important to realize that one system does not shut off as another one is activated. All systems are being used at all times. Now, which systems are being used and at what level is not for us to say. Everything is controlled by our Hormones. The Hormones released during exercise and during rest are responsible for how much energy is produced in our bodies and for the selection of fuel sources used. 

The Essential Elements of the Human Body — and What They Do

Nearly 99% of the human body is made from just six elements — with five more making up most of the rest. These elements don’t just sit in our bones or float in our blood — they power everything from our thoughts to our muscle contractions.

🔹 1. Oxygen (O) – ~65%

• Found mostly in water (H₂O) and organic molecules.

• Powers energy production via aerobic respiration (used by mitochondria to make ATP).

• Binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells to circulate oxygen through the body.

• Too much oxygen? It can cause oxidative stress, damaging cells.
  Oxygen is the most abundant element in the human body. It’s mainly found bound to hydrogen in the form of water. Water, in turn, makes up about 60% of the human body and participates in countless metabolic reactions. The element oxygen acts as an electron acceptor and oxidizing agent. It is found in all four of the major classes of organic molecules: protein, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids. Because it is a key element in cellular respiration, large amounts of oxygen are found in the lungs and in the bloodstream. Hemoglobin in blood bind the oxygen molecule, O2, from inhaled air. Oxygen is used by the mitochondria in cells to produce the energy molecule adenosine triphosphate or ATP. While it’s essential for human life, too much oxygen can be deadly, as it can lead to oxidative damage to cells and tissues.

🔹 2. Carbon (C) – ~18%

• The backbone of all organic life.

• Forms complex chains and rings that make up proteins, fats, carbohydrates, DNA.

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a waste product expelled during breathing.
  Carbon is the second most abundant element in the human body and the element that is considered the basis of organic chemistry. Every single organic molecule in your body contains carbon. The element bonds to itself to form chains and ring structures that serve as the basis for all metabolic reactions in the body. Carbon in carbon dioxide is expelled as a waste product when you breathe.

🔹 3. Hydrogen (H) – ~10%

• Most of it is in water, but it's also in every major molecule.

• Plays a key role in acid-base balance and energy reactions.

• Acts as a proton in many biochemical reactions.
  Most of the hydrogen in the body is bound with oxygen to form water, H2O. Hydrogen, like carbon, is found in every single organic molecule in the body. 

🔹 4. Nitrogen (N) – ~3% of body weight

• Found in amino acids (protein building blocks) and nucleic acids (DNA, RNA).

• Obtained from food, not from the air we breathe.

Because most of air consists of nitrogen, nitrogen gas is found in the lungs, but it is not absorbed into the body that way. Humans get nitrogen from food. The element is an important component of amino acids, which are used to build peptides and proteins. Nitrogen is also an essential component of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA and all of the other molecules derived from the nitrogenous bases.

🔹 5. Calcium (Ca) – ~1.4%

• 99% stored in bones and teeth as hydroxyapatite.

• Vital for muscle contraction, nerve signaling, and blood clotting.

• If your body is low on calcium, it pulls it from your bones — increasing risk of osteoporosis.
  About 99% of the body’s calcium is found in bones and teeth, where the element is used to build strong structural compounds, such as hydroxyapatite. Although most of the calcium is in bones and teeth, this is not the mineral’s most important function. Calcium is an important ion, used in muscle contraction and protein regulation. If any critical function has insufficient calcium, the body will actually pull it out of the bones and teeth. This can lead to osteoporosis and other problems, so it’s important to get enough dietary calcium.

🔹 6. Phosphorus (P) – ~1%

• Supports bones and teeth.

• Found in ATP, the body’s energy molecule, and in DNA/RNA.
  Like calcium, the element and mineral phosphorus is found in the bones and teeth. The element is also found in nucleic acids and energy molecules, such as ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

⚡ The Next 5 Key Supporting Elements

🔸 7. Potassium (K) – ~0.25%

• Key for nerve transmission, heartbeat regulation, and cell function.

• Works with sodium in maintaining fluid balance and muscle contractions.
  Electrochemistry in the body depends on ions. Of these, potassium is among the most important. Potassium is used in nerve conduction and regulating the heart beat. All cells in the body require potassium in order to function.

🔸 8. Sulfur (S) – ~0.25%

• Found in important amino acids which are used to build proteins in the body. Sulfur is found in biotin, methionine, thiamine, and cysteine.

• Supports protein structure and function.
  
  

🔸 9. Sodium (Na) – ~0.15%

• Essential for nerve impulses and muscle contractions.

• Helps maintain fluid balance in and out of cells.
  
  

🔸 10. Chlorine (Cl) – ~0.15%

• Helps form hydrochloric acid in the stomach (digestion).

• Maintains electrical charge and pH balance in cells.
  
  

🔸 11. Magnesium (Mg) – ~0.005%

• A cofactor in 300+ enzymatic reactions.

• Binds to ATP to help with energy transfer.

• Essential for bone, nerve, and muscle health.
  
  

🧬 Essential Trace Elements and Their Functions

🩸 Iron (Fe)

• Primary Role: Carries oxygen in the blood.

• Where it's found: Hemoglobin (in red blood cells) and myoglobin (in muscles).

• Why it matters: Without iron, your cells don’t get the oxygen they need. Low iron = fatigue, weakness, anemia.

• Bonus: Supports immune function and brain development.

🧠 Zinc (Zn)

• Primary Role: Supports immune system, wound healing, and cell division.

• Where it's found: Throughout the body in cells, especially skin, hair, and immune tissues.

• Why it matters: Deficiency affects growth, taste, smell, and makes it harder to fight infections.

• Bonus: Essential for DNA synthesis and healthy sperm production.

🔩 Copper (Cu)

• Primary Role: Helps the body absorb iron, make red blood cells, and form collagen.

• Where it's found: Liver, brain, heart, and kidneys.

• Why it matters: Plays a key role in nervous system health, immune defense, and energy production.

• Bonus: Works as an antioxidant to reduce cell damage.

🦷 Fluorine (as Fluoride, F⁻)

• Primary Role: Strengthens tooth enamel and prevents cavities.

• Where it's found: Teeth and bones (also added to drinking water in many places).

• Why it matters: Helps remineralize teeth and reduce bacterial acid production.

• Bonus: Also contributes to bone density in small amounts.
  
  

🛡️ Selenium (Se)

• Primary Role: A powerful antioxidant that supports thyroid function.

• Where it's found: In cells and enzymes throughout the body.

• Why it matters: Defends against oxidative stress, supports fertility, and regulates metabolism.

• Bonus: Works with Vitamin E to protect cells from damage.
  
  

🦋 Iodine (I)

• Primary Role: Essential for making thyroid hormones (T3 and T4).

• Where it's found: Mostly in the thyroid gland.

• Why it matters: Controls growth, brain development, and metabolism.

• Bonus: Deficiency can lead to goiter or developmental issues in children.
  
  

🧪 Trace Elements (Tiny But Mighty)

Elements like iron, zinc, copper, fluorine, selenium, iodine, and more are present in tiny amounts but play crucial roles in:

• Oxygen transport (iron)

• Thyroid function (iodine)

• Enzyme activation

• Immune defense

Some trace elements are toxic at higher doses (like lead, mercury, cadmium), so balance is key.

Some trace elements are essential or have a beneficial effect on the body, while others have no known function or appear to be toxic.

🪨 Silicon (Si)

• Function: Helps with bone formation, collagen production, and connective tissue strength.

• Where it’s found: Skin, hair, nails, bones.

• Why it matters: Plays a role in wound healing and skin elasticity — sometimes taken as a supplement for hair/skin/nail health.
  
  

⚡ Rubidium (Rb)

• Function: Still not fully understood, but it mimics potassium and may play a role in electrical conduction in cells.

• Where it’s found: In trace amounts throughout soft tissue.

• Why it matters: Some research links it to mental health and enzyme regulation, but it’s not essential (yet) based on current science.
  
  

🦴 Strontium (Sr)

• Function: Supports bone metabolism and may enhance calcium absorption.

• Where it’s found: Bones and teeth, in very small amounts.

• Why it matters: Strontium ranelate has been studied as a treatment for osteoporosis in some countries — though it’s not FDA-approved in the U.S.
  
  

🧂 Bromine (Br)

• Function: Previously thought to be unnecessary, but recent research suggests bromine is needed for tissue development.

• Where it’s found: In extracellular matrix and connective tissues.

• Why it matters: May play a structural role in collagen synthesis — and is now being reconsidered as conditionally essential.
  
  

🔩 Copper (Cu)

• Function: Essential for making red blood cells, maintaining nerve cells, and forming collagen.

• Where it’s found: Liver, brain, heart, kidneys, muscles.

• Why it matters: Works with iron to help the body form blood, and supports immune function and iron absorption.
  
  

🧠 Summary:

Even in tiny amounts, these trace elements are like the unsung heroes of the body — quietly working behind the scenes to support your bones, nerves, enzymes, and connective tissue.

Some are essential (like copper), while others are still being researched for their potential roles (like rubidium or bromine).

🌟 Wrap-Up:

Your body is a living chemistry lab — and every element plays a role. Whether it’s your bones, breath, blood, or brain, these core elements work in harmony to keep you moving, thinking, healing, and thriving

What Are Natural Preservatives & How to Use Them Safely

Natural preservatives are naturally-derived substances that help extend the shelf life of products by inhibiting microbial growth, slowing oxidation, or modifying the pH to create an inhospitable environment for spoilage.

🔍 Core Functions of Preservatives:

1. Antimicrobial – Stops bacteria/fungi.

2. Antibacterial – Targets bacteria specifically.

3. Antioxidant – Prevents oxidation of oils (rancidity).

4. pH Adjusters/Enzyme Inhibitors – Delay enzymatic breakdown.
   
   

What Are Natural Preservatives?

Natural preservatives are ingredients that are found in nature and can — without artificial processing or synthesis with other substances — prevent products from prematurely spoiling.

These substances can be safe, effective alternatives to controversial synthetic preservatives such as parabens.

There are no federal laws that define what natural preservatives are. To avoid legal risks, some corporations instead claim “no artificial preservatives,”

Because of this lack of regulation around the term, people have made assumptions about what natural preservatives are and how they work. Some consumers have believed, for example, that vitamin E can act as a natural preservative. In reality vitamin E, even in its oil form, is only useful as a supplement and skin treatment.

We’re here to clear up all that confusion and help you understand exactly what natural preservatives are.

What Are Natural Preservatives Used for?

Manufacturers use natural preservatives to extend the shelf life of their products, reduce spoilage and retain smell or taste. After all, the goods need to survive the shipping process, and they might be sitting in a store or warehouse for a while before someone buys them.

Natural preservatives are popular in natural brands of cosmetic products, including makeup and moisturizers. These ingredients are also common in shelf-stable food products such as peanut butter and jelly.

To become available for consumption, most of these formulas need to pass a preservative efficacy test [PET], also known as a “challenge test.” This process simulates natural contamination by injecting products with microorganisms. If the preservative succeeds in eradicating these organisms, the product is ready for market.

Like synthetic preservatives, natural preservatives fall within the category of what scientists and industry insiders often call a “preservative system.” This phrase refers to three ways preservatives tend to work, and we added antibacterial to make the list four total:

antimicrobial: inhibits the growth of microbes such as bacteria and fungi

antibacterial: inhibits the growth of bacteria such as mold and yeast

antioxidants: delays or stops the process of oxidation (usually the beginning of something deteriorating because it is losing electrons) acting on enzymes: stops aging of cosmetic products

The most popular natural preservatives are harmless substances we’re all familiar with:

salt

lemon juice

grapefruit seed extract

Rosemary extract

sugar

citric acid (from citrus fruits)

To give you an idea of why these ingredients are so special, let’s get into what Rosemary extract is and how it can protect products. The process starts with deriving antioxidants from Rosemary leaves via a method called carbon dioxide extraction. As we mentioned when explaining a preservative system, antioxidants can prevent organic substances from deteriorating.

The extraction creates a small amount of oil that can be mixed into products. Rosemary extract in particular is very popular for cosmetics.

Natural Preservatives for Beauty

Within the beauty and cosmetics world, natural preservatives are specifically used in skin care products, hair care, lip balms, essential oils and more.

Here is a short list of ingredients and how they tend to match up with different types of products:

Aloe Vera

Around 2005 a team of researchers in Spain invented an aloe vera gel that functioned as a natural preservative for produce. This ingredient has been a sustainable alternative to synthetic food preservatives such as sulphur dioxide.

Since then scientists have developed aloe vera preservatives for other industries. Aloe vera — in its juice, gel or powder form — is one of the most pervasive natural preservatives for makeup products.

Manufacturers will often mix the aloe vera in makeup products with controversial synthetic ingredients such as parabens. The justification is that aloe vera alone is not an effective preservative.

Benzyl Alcohol

This chemical can be extracted from plants or the anal glands of beavers, although obviously the former is preferable. You can find it in essential oils, perfumes and many other types of products.

Citric Acid

Citric acid occurs naturally in citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons. It has a ton of applications, everything from food and supplements to disinfectants and cleaners.

Potassium Sorbate

Potassium sorbate is a naturally occurring white salt and another alternative to parabens. It is used to prevent microbes from developing in food and hair care and skin care products such as shampoo and moisturizers.

Sorbic Acid

This antimicrobial white powder is a key ingredient in preserving facial and eye makeup, skincare and hair products. Derived from the berries of the mountain ash tree, sorbic acid has also been included in wine and food.

Preserve Yourself, Too

Natural preservatives do tend to be in healthier products than synthetic ones, but remember that they aren’t guaranteed to be good for you. Take the aforementioned benzyl alcohol, which some people are allergic to. If you experience any sort of negative reaction to a product, consult your doctor.

Guide to some Natural Preservatives

Over the course of the last several years, I have gotten many and a wide variety of questions about how to preserve homemade products, and what natural preservatives can (should) be used.

With the rise in awareness about possible toxins or irritants in many of our foods, cosmetics, and even medicines, more and more people are looking for natural and/or organic alternatives.

I, myself, am one of those people. I like to make my own food and cosmetics to control the quality of the ingredients. I also like to make sure that my products don’t have certain ingredients that I choose to avoid. By making products myself, I can ensure that.

When you make your own products, you are normally trying to make something that is safer. Unfortunately, you can’t just mix whatever you want together and automatically expect to have a safe product, even if all of the ingredients themselves are free of toxins.

Why use a preservative?

Toxic ingredients aren’t the only danger that can be lurking in our cosmetics.

Microbes can also form there, whether those cosmetics are homemade or not!

The main microbes that we need to worry about when making our own products are bacteria, yeasts, and fungi such as mold. Mold is normally quite obvious to see, making it easy to tell when you should toss a certain product affected by mold growth.

Bacterial growth can be invisible

On the other hand, bacteria can form and proliferate without us being able to see them. A normal looking drop of water can have thousands (millions?) of bacteria.

While not all bacteria are harmful, some of the bacteria that can form in our homemade cosmetics can cause infections and can make our skin break out. Bacterial infections can cause folliculitis, which many people could wrongly attribute to acne or allergic reactions.

It can even become more serious than that, though. The bacteria that form in our cosmetics could make us deathly ill.

You want to take special care when making cosmetics that will be used around the eyes or any other sensitive areas. Bacteria in eye care products can cause eye infections or even blindness! (That’s why it’s always a good idea to change out your mascara or liquid eyeliners often, even if you haven’t used them all up!)

A homemade lotion needs a preservative!

When do you need to use a preservative?

This may be the most important question!

There is a lot of confusion about when and why to use preservatives. Not all homemade products necessarily need preservatives. In fact, in some cases, it isn’t effective to use your normal preservatives.

Water-based ingredients

Any time you add water-based ingredients to a recipe, the resulting product will be more prone to microbial growth.

Generally, water-based products or any product with water-based ingredients in it will need a preservative of some type.

This is especially true of emulsions in which you are blending together oil-based ingredients with water-based ingredients or mixtures of mostly water-based ingredients.

When does a water-based product NOT need a preservative?

There are, however, a few exceptions to the “Water-based products need a preservative rule.”

Soaps and liquid soaps

I often get asked about what preservatives to use in liquid soaps. While this is a bit of a controversial topic, these are my thoughts…

True soaps and liquid soaps (those soaps made with lye) are usually self-preserving. They do NOT normally need a preservative, making them exceptions to the water rule.

It is unusual for pathogenic bacteria (the kind that can do us harm) to grow in liquid soaps because they naturally have a very high pH (generally 9-10 or higher).

Any time you have a product with an extreme pH, it becomes an environment that is less hospitable to most microbes. Yes, there are some acid-loving or alkaline-loving bacteria and other microbes that exist, but they aren’t commonly a problem with homemade cosmetics and other products. Normally, you can keep a liquid soap safely diluted for up to a year without any problems.

Bar soaps and undiluted liquid soap pastes can be kept for even longer and they will usually start to smell off or go rancid before there is any worry of problems due to bacterial growth or mold.

Syndet bars or homemade shampoos and shower gels are not true soap. Their pH tends to fall in a more neutral range so they will need a preservative if water is one of their ingredients.

Preservatives for liquid soap

The problem with trying to preserve liquid soap is that most of the preservatives on the market are ineffective at the high pH of soap. There are very few exceptions.

If you are set on using a preservative for your liquid soap, these are my recommendations:

Add the preservative at the time of dilution. The soap paste itself has a very low liquid content and keeps very well.

Use a preservative whose effective pH range includes the pH of your homemade soap.

From my research, this preservative seems to be the best bet for liquid soap (and appears to be safe and paraben-free)…

Suttocide™ A (INCI: Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate): A synthetic broad-spectrum preservative derived from Glycine with a pH of 10-12. It’s active in a pH range of 3.5-12.

I’ve seen Germall Plus and Glydant plus recommended for use in liquid soaps, but their recommended effective pH range is lower than that of most liquid soaps. Glydant Plus looks a bit more promising, but the pH range cited for Germall Plus is only 3-8.

Glydant Plus (INCI: DMDM Hydantoin & Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate (IPBC)): A broad-spectrum preservative that is effective in a pH range of 3-9. As some soap has a higher pH, it’s debatable if this preservative would actually be helpful for use in most liquid soaps.

Products with extreme pH’s

Soap isn’t the only water-based product that doesn’t need a preservative. Products with an extreme pH (below 4 or over 9), will not be as prone to microbial growth. (That doesn’t mean that you can fill them with ingredients prone to growth and be safe. More about that below…)

That’s why you may see some products offered for sale without a preservative in their ingredient list.

When working on a MIY version of a cleaner once for a reader, we noticed that there was no preservative listed for the product. We also noticed that the product had a rather high pH. She contacted the company and they confirmed that the high pH of the product was what was being used to keep their product free of pathogenic microbes.

Since then, I have made many batches of my homemade laundry detergent. While I used to bring the pH into an effective range for my preservatives, I have lately been preserving it by increasing its pH to around 10 with a solution made with water and sodium hydroxide (NaOH, commonly known as lye).

While I haven’t done any microbial testing, it appears to work quite well. It’s been a very easy-to-use, inexpensive way to keep my detergent clean and clear.

Do anhydrous products need a preservative?

What is an anhydrous product?

Anhydrous products are those that do NOT include water (or water-based ingredients). They are oil-based products that include liquid oils, solid oils, butters, and waxes.

Generally, oil-based products like homemade body butters or homemade lotion bars don’t need preservatives. Without the addition of water, they just aren’t prone to microbial growth.

There are exceptions, though, and cases where you will want to consider using a preservative in an oil-based product.

Body butters are normally anhydrous and don’t require preservatives unless you’ll be using them in a wet environment.

Anhydrous products and humidity

Just because a product doesn’t have water as one of the ingredients, doesn’t mean that water won’t eventually be incorporated into it.

Oil-based products meant to be used in the shower are especially likely to be “contaminated” with water or humidity. That’s why I recommended that you use a preservative when making my emulsified sugar scrub.

Sugar scrubs don’t normally have water as one of the ingredients. They are, however, normally used in the shower. People take their wet hands and scoop out some of the product and rub it all over their wet arms and legs. They then reach back in and scoop out some more.

Even if you were to carefully scoop out the product with a clean spoon each time, the likelihood of water or humidity getting into the container is quite high. Moisture that condenses on top of the product can form mold or can be the perfect medium for other microbial growth.

Judi’s Tip:

Use a preservative any time you will be using a product that will likely get wet- even if it is anhydrous. While sugar scrubs and other products used in the shower are the most obvious examples, some people use body butters on wet skin to lock in hydration.
If you will likely be using the product with wet hands, consider either using a dispenser that won’t allow for humidity to contaminate the product or add a preservative.

What is a “Natural” preservative?

There are many ways to define what a “natural preservative” is, so I’ll give you my definition.

Natural preservatives are those that can be used in products with a “natural” or “organic” certification because they use ECOcert certified ingredients. (There are other similar certifications, but for the sake of keeping things simple, I chose one and stuck with it.)

These preservatives have been developed to replace parabens and preservatives with formaldehyde or other ingredients that many people, looking for safer alternatives, want to avoid in their cosmetics.

In an effort to use more natural ingredients, though, some people look to natural ingredients that aren’t protecting us adequately.

When talking about preservatives, we need to use broad-spectrum preservatives, those that will inhibit the growth of a variety of unwanted bacteria and molds.

Natural “preservatives” that aren’t effective

🌿 Natural Preservatives and Their Functions:

• Rosemary Extract – Works as an antioxidant to extend the shelf life of oils and fats. Great for oil-based products but not a full-spectrum preservative on its own.

• Vitamin E (Tocopherol) – Antioxidant that protects oils from going rancid. It does not prevent microbial growth but helps maintain freshness in oil-based formulations.

• Leucidal® SF (Radish Root Ferment) – A natural antimicrobial derived from fermented radish. It’s gentle and ECOcert approved, but its true efficacy is debated.

• Benzyl Alcohol – A plant-derived antibacterial used in many natural preservative blends. Often combined with other acids for full-spectrum coverage.

• Sharomix™ 705 – A broad-spectrum preservative blend (includes benzoic acid, sorbic acid, and benzyl alcohol). ECOcert approved and effective for products with a pH below 6.

• Preservative ECO / Geogard® ECT – A natural blend of benzyl alcohol, salicylic acid, glycerin, and sorbic acid. Provides broad-spectrum protection across a pH of 3 to 8.

• Sorbic Acid / Potassium Sorbate – Antifungal ingredients derived from fruit. Commonly used in food and cosmetics to prevent mold growth.

• Alcohol (Ethanol) – Effective preservative and solvent when used at 20–30% of the total formula. Best for sprays and tinctures.

• Glycerin (in high concentrations) – Acts as both a humectant and a preservative at concentrations above 55%. Useful for glycerites and very water-light formulas.

MORE IN DETAIL.....

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is not a broad-spectrum preservative.

It is sometimes referred to as a preservative because it can extend the shelf life of certain products. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps extend the shelf life of oil-based ingredients. It won’t, however, ward off microbial growth in ingredients with water-based ingredients.

How to use it:

I add vitamin E to most of my homemade lotions, oils, and butters at around 0.5% of the product by weight to help protect the oils from oxidation, thus extending the shelf life of my products.

Essential oils

Many essential oils like tea tree, oregano, rosemary, and thyme do display anti-microbial properties. They are not considered to be effective broad-spectrum preservatives, though; at least not in the sense that you could use them alone to protect your homemade lotions and other products.

Unfortunately, in most cases, you would need to use much too high of a concentration of them in your product for them to be considered safe to use as preservatives. At high percentages, many essential oils can be irritating to the skin. They also cause allergic reactions in many people.

How to use essentials:

While I don’t use them as preservatives, I do sometimes add essential oils (if no actual herb can be found) at around 1-2% of the recipe by weight to add a natural fragrance and other beneficial properties.

Rosemary extract

Like vitamin E, rosemary extract is another antioxidant that can help extend the shelf life of oils by preventing their oxidation. It also adds a pleasant aroma to soaps, oils, and butters.

Rosemary extract isn’t just useful for extending the shelf life of cosmetics, though. It is also used to extend the life of many food products.

While it is a wonderful product, it can’t be used alone as a broad-spectrum preservative.

How to use it:

Rosemary extract can either be added at around 0.15-5% by weight directly to your oils or to the oil phase of a recipe to help extend the shelf life by protecting against oxidation of the fats.

Grapefruit seed extract

Grapefruit seed extract is often promoted as a very natural broad-spectrum preservative, but there is a lot of controversy about if it could actually even serve as such. While it may show some antimicrobial activity, there are several problems with using grapefruit seed extract as a preservative.

Grapefruit seed extract varies highly from supplier to supplier. Depending on the extraction method, it may be contaminated with other chemicals like triclosan which may be the ones that are actually giving the product their antimicrobial properties.

Grapefruit seed extract on its own probably isn’t going to be enough to actually preserve any homemade product.

There just isn’t enough trustworthy information out there backing the use of GSE as a preservative.

With the risk of it being contaminated with other chemicals, and little evidence that it can even work as a preservative, I definitely do NOT recommend trying to use grapefruit seed extract as such.

Common natural broad-spectrum preservatives

Alcohol

While it may not be the ideal preservative for using in lotions or shampoos, having a high enough concentration of alcohol will prevent microbial growth in homemade formulations. It also has the added advantage of being able to solubilize essential oils.

The fact that it can both solubilize and preserve makes alcohol the ideal choice for incorporating essential oils into water in products like linen sprays.

Alcohol is also great for making tinctures. By infusing plant material into the alcohol, it helps extract many of the plant’s beneficial properties.

For solubilizing, you want to use a strong alcohol; as near to 100% alcohol content as possible. As the percentage goes down, the amount of solubilization will also decrease. (You’ll want a minimum of 75%.)

For preserving and extracting, you’ll want to use an alcohol with at least a 40% alcohol content. Generally, tinctures and extracts like homemade vanilla extract or homemade bitters will use an alcohol with an alcohol content of at least 40%.

A good goal for making safely preserved homemade sprays is to have around 20-30% of the final formula be alcohol. That means that if you are using an alcohol with 95% alcohol content, formulate the recipe so that around 1/4th of the mixture will be that alcohol. If you are using an alcohol with a lower alcohol content, you can increase the amount used accordingly.

Glycerin

As with tinctures made with alcohol, glycerin can be used to extract the flavors, aromas, and/or the beneficial properties of certain plants and preserve them. These extractions are called glycerites.

In most cases, you won’t want to preserve a homemade product with glycerin as glycerin needs to be used in very high percentages to effectively preserve it. Also, glycerin, while a great humectant, tends to make a product feel sticky at concentrations over 5%.

To preserve with glycerin, you’ll want to use a concentration of at least 55%.

Leucidal® Liquid SF

Leucidal is a radish root ferment that appears to be a completely natural preservative. Antimicrobial peptides are derived from Leuconostoc kimchii, the lactic acid bacteria that are used in making kimchi, a Korean fermented cabbage.

It seems like an especially ideal preservative, not only because of how natural it is, but because peptides have been found to help moisturize the skin.

When I first started making lotions, I recommended using Leucidal because I knew that many people are afraid of using “preservatives” and were looking for products that were as natural as possible. I used it without (apparent) issues.

The only thing I didn’t really like about it was the fact that when used alone, it needs to be used at a higher percentage by weight (3-4%) than the other preservatives I normally use (0.5-1%).

With time, though, I became concerned about two issues with Leucidal.

First, I had read in several places that Leucidal wasn’t as effective against molds. (Honestly, to me, that wasn’t as concerning as one can normally see mold and know to throw an affected product away.) I never had problems with mold forming in anything I made with Leucidal, though.

More concerning was the fact that a study came out that put into question what is actually preserving the products made with Leucidal. The study concluded that it isn’t really the antimicrobial peptides of the radish extract itself, but instead from salicylic acid and didecyldimethylammonium salts found in Leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate samples…

“In summary, the antimicrobial activity of commercial Leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrates (LRRFF) are attributed to salicylic acid and didecyldimethylammonium salts. Moreover, these two compounds are too deficient in 14C to be the product of recent fermentation, suggesting that they are derived from petroleum feedstock. We were unable to detect antimicrobial peptides in any sample of fermented radish root filtrate.”

J. Agric. Food Chem. 2015, 63, 11, 3053-305

So, I no longer use Leucidal. It’s not cost-effective for me, and I have too many doubts about it. You, however, are free to give it a try. ?

INCI: Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate

Effective pH range: between 3-8, works best when the pH is under 6

Dosage: 2-4% of the recipe by weight

Heat stable: up to 70°C

ECOcert approved? Yes!

Sharomix™ 705 is a straw-colored liquid.

Sharomix™ 705 is another natural broad-spectrum preservative.

INCI: Benzoic acid, sorbic acid, dehydroacetic acid, and benzyl alcohol

Effective pH range: Product must have a pH lower than 6 (lower than 5.5 even better)

Dosage: Use at 0.6 – 1.2 %

ECOcert approved? Yes!

Note: Sharomix is heat stable up to 80ºC, but shouldn’t be kept at high temperatures for a prolonged time.

Preservative ECO / Geogard® ECT

Preservative ECO offers broad-spectrum protection against bacteria and mold. It does impart an odor to products that some people don’t like. That can be camouflaged by the use of essential oils or other fragrances.

INCI: a blend of benzyl alcohol, salicylic acid, glycerin, and sorbic acid

Dosage: It is normally used at 1%.

Effective pH range: pH3-pH8

Solubility: It is water-soluble, but can also be used in anhydrous products like sugar scrubs. 

ECOcert approved? Yes!

Warning Because it contains salicylic acid, it shouldn’t be used in leave-on products for babies (but can be used in rinse-off products like gels and shampoos for them).

Geogard ® 221 (aka. Cosgard)

Cosgard is another natural preservative that I have used in the past without any apparent issues. It’s an amber-colored, water-soluble liquid.

INCI: Benzyl Alcohol (and) Dehydroacetic Acid

Effective pH range: between 2-6, works best when the pH is under 5.5

Dosage: 0.2-1% of the recipe by weight (Max. 1.15%)

Solubility: water-soluble

ECOcert approved? Yes!

Geogard ® 221 (aka. Cosgard) is an amber-colored liquid.

Rokonsal™ BSB-N

Rokonsal™ BSB-N is a viscous colorless liquid that is generally considered a mild broad-spectrum preservative.

INCI: Benzyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid

Effective pH range: Under 5.5

Dosage: 0.2-1% of the recipe by weight

ECOcert approved? Yes!

Euxyl® K 903

Euxyl® K 903 is a very gentle, yet effective preservative, making it an ideal preservative for products that will be used around the eyes or for products like baby wipes or other baby products. It’s particularly effective in nonionic products, but also works in cationic or anionic products.

INCI: Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, and Tocopherol

Effective pH range: 3-6 (Around 5-5.5 is ideal)

Dosage: 0.2-1% of the recipe by weight

Solubility: 100g of water at 20°C will dissolve 1.2g of Euxyl. It is NOT suitable for anhydrous products

ECOcert approved? Yes!

Dermorganics® 1388

Dermorganics® 1388 is a colorless preservative with a mild scent. It works in a very limited pH range, so it’s important to test the pH of the product you’re making if you want to use it.

INCI: Glycerin, Aqua, Sodium Levulinate, Sodium Anisate

Effective pH range: 5-5.5

Dosage: 2-4% of the recipe by weight

ECOcert approved? Yes!

Dermorganics® 1388 is mostly colorless

Can I substitute one preservative for another?

In most cases, you should be able to substitute the preservative that is called for in a certain recipe with another preservative that you already have on hand. There are a few things to keep in mind, though, before doing a direct switch.

Using the proper dosage

When substituting one preservative for another, don’t automatically use the amount called for in the recipe.

Instead, look at the recommended dosage for the preservative that you want to use instead. In most cases, dosages for common broad-spectrum preservatives fall around 0.5-1% of the recipe by weight. So, substituting one for another doesn’t normally greatly change a recipe.

On the other hand, some preservatives like Leucidal or Dermorganics need to be used at higher percentages to be effective. (Leucidal is normally used at around 3% of the recipe by weight.)

Using the proper pH

As you have seen above, each preservative has its own range of pHs in which it will be effective.

While most will be effective at a pH of 4.5-5.5, the range most commonly used for skin and hair products, it’s important to check the final pH of your product to make sure it falls into an effective pH range for your particular preservative.

Dermorganics, for example, is only effective at a pH range of 5-5.5. So, when using that particular preservative, it’s especially important to test the pH.

Also, note that many preservatives will alter the pH of your product slightly. If the final pH of your product is important, test the pH again after adding your preservative.

Making sure the preservative is water/oil soluble

While many preservatives can be used in both water-based and anhydrous products, not all can be used in either. Euxyl® K 903, for example, states that it is not suitable for anhydrous products.

As many of the preservatives are mixes of acids and alcohols, they are generally soluble in water and may also incorporate well into anhydrous products.

All of the above will work well in emulsions and products with both a water and an oil phase.

I tried to list solubility information for the various preservatives when I could find it, but in many cases, that information wasn’t listed. When in doubt, it’s best to check with your supplier.

Shelf life with preservative

So, you’ve determined that your homemade lotion will need a preservative and have chosen to use one of the preservatives that I have listed above.

But how long will your preserved product keep safely?

Microbial testing

When companies make products to sell, they are normally required to do some sort of microbial testing to ensure that their product is free of harmful bacteria and molds for a certain amount of time. (This, of course, depends on the regulations from country to country.)

When we are making the same sorts of products at home, though, we aren’t likely to spend the money on that sort of testing.

That’s why I recommend making small batches, those that will be completely used up within 2-3 months, even when using preservatives (especially the more natural ones).

Difficult to preserve ingredients

Just because you are using a preservative, doesn’t mean that your products will automatically be safe from microbial growth.

Certain ingredients will feed the microbes and make it especially difficult to properly preserve the products that include them. This includes food-type products like milks, honey, fruits, etc. Plant-based materials like freshly extracted aloe gel are also very tricky to preserve. Clays are another ingredient said to be troublesome.

When using any of the above ingredients, keep them to an absolute minimum. The higher the concentration of troublesome ingredients, the more likely your product will fail. For products that won’t be used immediately, I suggest buying aloe that has already been preserved from a supplier rather than extracting the pulp yourself.

Use distilled water vs. tap water when possible

Avoid using food ingredients and plant materials, when possible (Use hydrosols and/or essential oils instead.)

Avoid using high concentrations of clays, botanicals (like aloe), and anything that may contribute to microbial growth.

Use Good Manufacturing Practice

Another important part of making products to sell is conforming to “good manufacturing practice” (GMP).

Again, while we don’t need to follow the specification of GMP when making homemade products for ourselves, we should try to learn from those guidelines.

The hygiene employed while making homemade cosmetics will also affect their shelf life. You can’t preserve a homemade lotion and pour it into a moldy container and expect it to keep well.

Wash your hands well or wear gloves.

Wear your hair back.

Sanitize workspaces, storage containers, and tools by spraying with 70º alcohol and wiping dry.

Don’t reuse containers that can’t be properly cleaned or sanitized.

Conclusion

Hopefully, by now, you’ve learned that not all preservatives are bad! A product doesn’t have to be preservative-free in order to be considered “natural.”

Many preservatives are mild and safe and accepted in organic cosmetics.

Armed with the knowledge of how and why to use preservatives in your homemade cosmetics, I hope you feel more confident in moving forward.

🧼 When Do You NEED a Preservative?

• Water-based products: Always (lotions, toners, gels)

• Products used in wet environments: Even if anhydrous (e.g. scrubs)

• Emulsions (oil + water): Absolutely

• DIY cosmetics for sale: Required (ethically & legally)

🚫 Common Misunderstandings

• Vitamin E ≠ Preservative: It protects oils, not against microbes.

• Essential oils ≠ Safe preservatives: Need unsafe concentrations to be effective.

• Grapefruit Seed Extract: Often contaminated or ineffective alone.
  
  

💡 Pro Formulator Tips

• Always test your final pH to match your preservative’s effective range.

• Use distilled water, not tap water, to reduce contamination risk.

• Work clean — sanitize tools, containers, and hands using 70% alcohol.

One look at most processed foods on store shelves will have you running the other way if you’re concerned about your health and using food to fuel it. Which is smart. The average box of cereal, granola bars, cookies, chips, dip, spreads, and even some non-dairy milks and frozen desserts contains at least five to 10 ingredients we can’t even pronounce or at least have no idea what they are. Whether they’re gums, stabilizers, emulsifiers, taste enhancers, or preservatives, foods made in a chemical lab are lurking with suspicion. Not all processed foods are bad, of course. The jar of simple almond or peanut butter, the plant-based milk with five or less ingredients you actually know what they mean, and the tin of salsa or hummus made with real, whole foods. Processed doesn’t have to equal evil, but when it comes to the group of preservatives, you should be extremely cautious with what they are and how much of them you’re eating.

First though, what are the main preservatives used in processed foods?

Sea salt and salt are two of the most common. These are harmless in small amounts, however, the problem is that they’re relied on too heavily which is why so many processed foods are high in sodium and cause high blood pressure. It’s a nice rule of thumb not to use (or even buy) any processed food that contains over 200 milligrams of sodium per serving. The daily limit is 1400, but that’s pushing it if you want a healthy heart. Plus, you actually get most of your sodium from whole foods which have more than you would think. Processed options shouldn’t make up the bulk of your sodium intake. However, salt isn’t the only preservative. Other common ones include BHA and BHT (neurotoxic chemicals also linked to hormone problems and mood disorders), citric acid that’s typically derived from yeast—not the good kind, mind you—or they contain MSG, nitrites and nitrates, sulfur dioxide and potassium bromate … all linked to severe health conditions and negative side effects.

And the real kicker? You don’t even need any of them to preserve your food.

How to Preserve Food Naturally

Nature gave us real food to preserve other foods the simple way, in a much healthier fashion. Preserving our food helps keep leftovers fresh, keeps items from spoiling more quickly, and many can prevent bacteria from developing, even if they just sit a day in the fridge.

Here are a few options:

1. Lemons

Lemons are a natural source of citric acid, a fantastic preservative found in their peel and flesh, but not the kind you find in store-bought items that is derived from yeast (or even chemicals which you won’t know because they don’t list the source). Lemons are a fantastic anti-bacterial food too, but you’ll need to be sure the lemons you buy are fresh and not fixing to spoil. Keep your lemons in the fridge regardless that the store sells them outside of the cold section in the produce department. The colder they stay, the longer they’ll keep; just don’t put them in the produce drawer unless you have it set to a fruit crisp setting. They store fine on a middle shelf in the fridge. To use them to preserve your food, squeeze them into cold dishes or on top of items right after you cook them. A few things they work well in: salads, dressings (here’s my favorite), entrees you serve chilled, a dip or spread, overnight oats or breakfast bars, and even energy balls and bites (try it!).

2. Garlic

Garlic is a potent anti-viral food that’s incredibly well at fighting bacteria—both in your body and in food. Using a whole clove or minced garlic in a soup, dressing, an entree, a dip, or anything else will help ward off harmful bacteria to prevent it spoiling quicker. As an added bonus, it’s a cheap instant upgrade to make anything taste better too.

3. Pink Unprocessed Sea Salt (Himilayan Rock Salt)

This salt is a special one; it is considered a raw salt because it’s produced through a mill and doesn’t undergo the harsh refinement of regular sea salts you find at the store. Because it is still pink when you purchase it (often in a grinder), it’s also mineral-rich and a fantastic alkalizing food, yet actually improves stomach acid levels needed for digestion. Using just a tiny grind or pinch (very small) will help preserve your food in a much healthier way. It’s also one of the most effective, most delicious ways to add flavor to your foods with hardly any salt at all. Use it in anything; it’s especially delicious in desserts (try this healthy fudge or lemon dessert cups!), dips, dressing, spreads, healthy pasta dishes, soups, and in all vegetable dishes like root veggies with a side of sauteed kale, collards, or broccoli.

4. Fermented Foods

Fermented foods are nature’s most miraculous preservatives! They’re rich in probiotics and aid in gut health, but also help fight bad bacteria and can help your foods keep longer. One cool way to use them is as a flavoring option: add sauerkraut to a cold dish like a salad, or kimchi to a mock tuna salad. Use miso in a salad dressing, tempeh or a soup, use coconut kefir to help your smoothies keep for an extra day or two in the fridge, or use a bit of coconut yogurt to make overnight oats for the whole week and don’t worry with them spoiling. Though they won’t make your dishes last forever, fermented foods are a great, simple way to add flavor to a meal and ensure they don’t get thrown out too quickly.

5. Cayenne, Hot Sauce, and Mustard … a.k.a. Spicy Foods!

Possibly the most surprising of all, are spicy foods. Cayenne, hot sauce and mustard are three of the best natural foods that will help your foods keep longer. Mustard and hot sauce have the added benefits of containing vinegar, another natural preservative, but cayenne is also effective. Spicy foods have been shown to fight bacteria, which may be one reason why they’re so good for us outside of the metabolism-boosting benefits. Add a little of them whenever you can; they taste delicious in many things from entrees, to dips, dressings, and don’t be afraid to add a sprinkle of cayenne to a dessert or even a smoothie; it gives it a touch of spice and enhances the tastes of chocolate!

Ditch the boxed stuff and go for real foods when you can. They were meant to benefit us, so let’s take full potential of the opportunity, save money, eat better, and get healthier too.

The great thing about protein, which is an essential nutrient for humans is that most of us naturally eat the right amount of it without paying too much attention to it. Protein is vital to life because it is the building block of all body tissues. It can also be converted into glucose for energy, when we are energy deprived. 

For us it is important to know that protein forms the major structural component of muscle, as well as that of the brain stem, blood, skin and hair. It is a very important macronutrient, as is the transportation mechanism for iron, vitamins, minerals, fat and oxygen within the body and it's a vital key to acid base fluid balance. Protein contain enzymes which speed up chemical reactions in our immune system by creating antibodies for us to use in fighting infections. A complete protein it's a linear chain of amino acids. The human body can produce most of the amino acids that make up proteins but there are 8 to 10 essential amino acids which cannot be produced by the body and must be consumed in the diet. Essential amino acids can be absorbed by the body by breaking down proteins during digestion of food. Then, we have non-essential amino-acids, which are produced by our bodies, and can become essential in certain situations like in time of chronic illness or stress, in other words in case of absolute need the body will produce this amino acids as an emergency reaction for a short period of time. 

There are two important things to consider when we talk about protein: 

How much should we eat and what type of protein should we choose. 

We also have to classify proteins into complete proteins and incomplete proteins. the complete ones have all essential amino acids, while the incomplete ones are lacking one or more. Generally animal products contain all of the essential amino acids and they form the complete proteins, while plant foods do not contain all the essential amino acids. Just like with any rule, there are exceptions: soy and quinoa are 2 examples of plant-based complete proteins. They are still low in one or more essential amino acids when compared with animal protein, but clearly soy and quinoa are the better source of quality plant base protein. However, vegetarians and vegans can boost protein quality by combining complimentary incomplete plant proteins. Great combinations include grains with legumes like rice and beans for example, or legumes with seeds like alfalfa. Our bodies need protein because of the constant breakdown and regeneration of the cells. But unlike carbohydrates and fat, the body does not store protein. In a healthy body the level of protein unused it's exactly matched by the amount of protein lost in feces, urine and sweat. The muscle tissue goes through continuous breakdown and it rebuild itself with a fraction of the muscle protein being destroyed and an equal fraction being rebuilt everyday with the help of amino acids. If the body breaks down more protein than it can create that means that we are highly stressed, or have severe infections or trauma. If the body produces more protein then it breaks down, this means we are in the time of growth like childhood, pregnancy, recovery from illness, or from resistance training when we overload the muscles. There is a myth going around saying that you cannot eat too much protein. Carbs and fats, everybody agrees that are bad and we can literally eat too much of those, but never too much protein because living beyond what the body needs will be eliminated at the end of the day. From a logical standpoint this theory makes sense because the body has little capacity to store protein and many of the leftovers will gets eliminated in the urine as urea. However there is another portion of the protein, the carbon portion, which it's not eliminated but it's readily converted to glucose or fat, depending on the body's needs. 

This is very important to explain to those who are on a high protein diet. 

Ultimately, the protein we consume beyond what the body needs has same fate as the excess carbohydrates or fat- it gets transformed into stored fat. Protein quality can be tricky especially when the trend is to take protein powders like everyone seems to do these days. As you probably know you can find on the market a variety of protein powder supplements which many people who engage in regular exercise or even people who want to lose weight are taking on regular basis. Just the same as meat, chicken, and fish, egg protein, whey protein, casein protein and soy protein all contain the full range of essential amino acids while fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts are incomplete proteins and must be combined to make sure that we get right intake of amino acids. The most popular type of protein powder it's by far the whey protein, which is the powder processed form of the liquid remained after the milk has been curdled and strained. Whey protein is ingested by the body, it gives the individual a burst of amino acids in the blood and It stimulates muscle protein synthesis more than soy protein and casein protein. Casein protein, is another fairly popular protein from milk. In fact, is the milk’s white color, forming the most predominant protein in milk. Unlike whey, casein is slowly digested resulting in the longer release of amino acids lasting up to hours. 

It is important that I mention right now that I am not recommending nutritional supplements to you. I am hoping you will learn the foods you need to eat to help yourself. But in case you want to try out the quick way I think you should at least understand what you are eating. I encourage you to do your research, based on the knowledge I have provided you, or you can schedule a appointment with Twisted Nature Therapy to have me come do a private consultation as your nutrition Life Coach.  

For a fee charge & more information go see private consultation on the contact page.

Micronutrients, even though are needed in pretty small amounts in the human body they are amazingly important because with them our human bodies are able to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances that are essential for our proper development and growth. When we do not get these micronutrients the consequences on our health are very severe. Vitamins are organic, non-caloric micronutrients essential for normal physiological functions. 

Most vitamins are not produced by our bodies and therefore we must eat them in our diets. The exceptions to this rule are vitamin K and biotin which can be produced by our bodies when normal intestinal Flora it's present, or vitamin D through sun exposure. These are some of the reasons for us to take probiotics and also spend 10- 15 minutes in the sun minimum per day, Of course, with the appropriate sun protection. I wish I could tell you that there is one source or magical food that will be able to give us all the necessary vitamins that our bodies need, but unfortunately, I can't. There is no perfect food containing all the vitamins in the right quantities for us. This is why keeping a balanced diet on regular basis it's very important. 

We, Humans need 13 different vitamins in order to function properly. These 13 vitamins are divided into two groups: 

• water soluble like vitamin C and the B vitamins, and 

• fat soluble vitamins A D, E, and K. Except for vitamins b6 and b12, 

none of the other water soluble vitamins can be stored in the human body and the excess of them it's always eliminated through urine. 

This is a good thing because this way we do not risk overdosing on these vitamins but it also means that we need to absorb them in our systems, thru our diet every single day. 

Let's take them one by one and see what are their function, why are they so important, and some of the places where to find them. 

Vitamin A or carotene, helps in the formation and maintenance of skin, hair, eyes, as well as in bone and teeth growth. Great sources for this vitamin are yellow or orange fruits and vegetables, like carrots yellow peppers. It is also found in green leafy vegetables, in liver, and dairy products. 

Vitamin B1 or thiamin, helps the body release energy carbohydrates during metabolism. it also helps with growth and muscles toning. it can be found in Meats, rice and pasta, whole grains and again organ Meats like liver. 

Vitamin B2 or riboflavin, it's important in helping the body digest and create energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrates, so it helps the metabolism. It can be found in whole grains, green leafy vegetables, organ Meats, milk and eggs. 

Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine, helps in processing protein and building body tissue. It can be found in fish, and avocados. 

Vitamin B 12 or cobalamin, helps in the development of human cells, as well as in the metabolism of protein and fat, and in the nervous system. We can get it from meat, milk products and Seafood. Then there is biotin which is important in the metabolism also we often see supplements for hair and nails growth containing biotin. We can find it in liver, legumes, foods which contain yeast and cereal. 

Choline, it's essential for liver function and it can be found in liver, milk eggs and peanuts. 

Folate often known as folic acid it's very important in red blood cell production and helps in our genetic development especially in pregnant women. it can be naturally absorbed through organ Meats, green leafy vegetables, dried peas, beans and lentils. 

Niacin, is involved in the metabolism of protein fat and carbohydrates and we can eat it in eggs, dairy products, potatoes peanuts, meet, fish and chicken. There is also pantothenic acid, which helps release energy from fats and vegetables end sound in lean meat, whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits. 

Vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is essential for the structure of blood vessels, muscles and bones and it helps our bodies absorb iron. We can get it in citrus fruits, berries and vegetables especially in green peppers. 

Vitamin D helps with bone and tooth development and also helps with the nervous system functioning properly. Like I said earlier our bodies can produce vitamin D if we expose ourselves to the sunlight for in 15 minutes a day, but we can also eat it through fish, eggs, butter. In the modern grocery stores, it's often found in milk and other products like margarine for example, or orange juice but it's important to know that vitamin D does not come naturally in those products. it is added in them through processing. so if a client wants a diet of organic non-processed foods it is perhaps much better if they get their vitamin D from its natural sources.

Vitamin E protects blood cells and essential fatty acids from destruction in the body. it can be found naturally in nuts, wheat germs, green leafy vegetables. just like vitamin D it is added in different products like fortified cereals but, as I said, it does not come naturally in the grains. 

Vitamin K it's essential for blood clotting functions and we can eat it in green leafy vegetables fruits, Dairy, and grain. 

Macronutrients - (Fats) are the primary energy source for the body, providing 9 calories per gram as compared to both carbohydrates and protein, which provide only 4 calories per gram. 

Fat, in return is very nutrient poor, but even so it should never be avoided altogether. 

Mono and polyunsaturated fats are excellent sources of essential nutrients. They play a very important role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, regulating body temperature, supporting the immune system, insulating internal organs, nerve transmission, vitamin and mineral absorption, and hormone production. Just like gasoline and Diesel are both fuels that cars can run on, but if you put gasoline in a diesel engine or the other way around, the engine may run but it won't run well, or it wont run for a long time, in the same way the human body functions on the entire range of fats in combination with carbohydrates and protein, but it would run much better on some types of fat, compared to others. 

Before we break down the main types of fats in order to be better understood, It's important to mention that all fats are made up of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen and all fats are insoluble in water. So let's begin by examining the different types of fats to determine which are the preferred fuels for the human body depending on each persons needs. 

Saturated fats 

As we said all fats are made up of molecular chains of carbon hydrogen and oxygen atoms. They are classified as short medium or long of the molecular chain. Long chain saturated fats: myristic, palmitic, and stearic acid are found mostly in milk of animals who eat grass like cows and sheep. According to many researches, these fats are the core structural fats of the human body making up to 75 to 80% of fatty acid in muscles and they are the primary storage form of energy, in other the words when the body stores excess energy from food to use it later, it stores it primarily as long chain saturated fat. Since 1950s all the way until a few years ago fat has been given bad reputation in general, but especially saturated fats, because they come from Meats, whole milk, cream, butter, or egg yolk. Recently though, new Mega Studies have been coming out with new results from a number of many years of research and ultimately saturated fat is not seen as bad as it used to. To explain, saturated fat is solid at room temperature but it turns liquid at high temperatures, so think about bacon grease, red meats, the cream on the whole milk, all grass-fed milk, cheese, as well as coconut oil. One meta-analysis of 21 studies, covering almost 350,000 participants stated that there is not enough evidence that saturated fats actually increases the risk of heart disease, but because they are originated in animal products it does contain cholesterol and for that reason most nutrition experts still recommend limiting saturated fats to under 10% of calories per day, While others consider saturated fat much healthier then the commonly used polyunsaturated fats like omega 6, like sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil and other oils commonly used in the last 70 years. 

Medium chain saturated fats found in coconut, have unusual properties and they are metabolized differently than long chain saturated fats. They do not need bile acids for digestion and they pass directly to the liver. This makes these fats a great source of easily digestible energy, and they're used in the liquid Hospital formulas given to patients who have had sections of their intestines removed and cannot digest solid food. Studies also showed that this medium chain saturated fats not only that they are a good source of energy but they're also high in lauric acid which is a fact found in mother's milk and has antibacterial antioxidants and antiviral properties. Interestingly enough these fats have a lower calorie content than other fats, they are not stored in fat deposits as much as other fats. They also promote the development of ketons, a substance that the brain can use as fuel. The main dietary source for this type of fat is the coconut in its entirety: the flesh, the oil, the milk, and the butter. 

Unsaturated fats such as oleic acid are found primarily in olives, avocados, some Meats and macadamia nuts. Just like saturated fats, monounsaturated fats form the core structural fats of the body an they are not toxic even at high doses. As you probably heard and know, these fats are the only thing typically people who resist eating any kind of fat will be okay with, because they are well know to have great beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease: they can reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol, they can reduce inflammation and oxidation in the body, as ell as lower blood pressure. Resources for this type of fats are olives, olive oil, avocados, macadamia nuts, almonds, as well as surprisingly, duck, chicken, and egg yolk. 

Polyunsaturated fats, or essential fatty acids, which are called this because they cannot be produced by the human body, are divided into two categories: Omega-3 and omega-6. Omega-3 fatty acids are present in green leaves and algae, and they also end up in the flesh of the animals, which eat them, like fish, for example. Omega-6 essential fatty acids are found primarily in seeds, as well as In the animals who eat them. Polyunsaturated fats play both a regulatory role and a structural role in the human body. They help form cell membranes, regulate gene expression and cell functions. it is important to keep a balance between these 2 types of fats because they have both anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory effects on the body. in general, if we intake too much omega-6 and not enough Omega-3, this can cause inflammation in the body, but if we get the right amount of Omega-3 and we restrict amount of omega-6 then we prevent inflammation. 

Resources for Omega-3 acids are: caviar, herring, salmon, anchovy, mackerel, wild salmon, bluefin tuna, and oysters in this order, where caviar has the biggest amount. 1 type of Omega-3 could be found in walnuts and flax seeds. 

Resources for omega-6 fatty acids are nuts, seeds, avocados and it's also present in large amounts in industrial seed oils like soybean, safflower sunflower, cottonseed, corn and it is used often in processed and refined Foods as well as in most restaurant kitchens because it’s pretty inexpensive, unlike the Omega 3s. 

Trans fats come in two types: natural and artificial, and according to many diets especially the ones who are not vegetarian or vegan and therefore they eat meat, natural trans fat it's inversely associated with heart disease as well as ability to help manage type 2 diabetes by improving glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Natural trans fat found in cow's milk, beef, lamb, butter, goat's milk, yogurt, and cheese and it's a naturally occurring and it can be found in the meat and the products which are from a hundred percent grass-fed animals. Artificial trans fat on the other hand is found in many already packaged foods. We have to pay attention to the label and recognize that in most of the foods the we buy at a grocery store, trans fat is listed as partially hydrogenated oil, that come from processes and makes unsaturated fat solid at room temperature with the goal to increase the chemical stability and therefore the shelve life of the products. 

I am advising you to read the label on the food you are buying and pay attention to hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil and if so it's best to avoid (or limit it) that particular product. Very common examples of these products are: Donuts, margarine, fast food, chips, cookies, crackers, instant soups, cake mixes, microwavable popcorn, as well as flavor rice and pasta mixes. 

Depression and Anxiety: A Holistic Nutrition and Lifestyle Guide

Understanding the Link Depression and anxiety, while distinct mental health conditions, often share overlapping symptoms such as nervousness, irritability, and sleep difficulties. Despite this, each has unique root causes and behavioral patterns. Common treatment methods often rely on medication, but this approach may come with life-altering side effects. New research shows that many people have reversed these conditions naturally, without lifelong dependence on psychiatric drugs.

Mental Health in America Today An estimated 20% of Americans are on psychiatric medications, most commonly antidepressants and antipsychotics. However, mental health outcomes are not improving. Notably, mental illness is rising sharply among teens and middle-aged adults (45 to 64). While genes may play a role, environmental factors and lifestyle choices—through the lens of epigenetics—can heavily influence mental health outcomes.

What Is Depression and Anxiety? Depression is expected to be the leading cause of disability worldwide through 2030. It cannot be measured with a physical test but is diagnosed through symptoms such as guilt, sadness, brain fog, fatigue, and more. Depression often involves ruminating on the past, which can disconnect individuals from the present and lead to further isolation.

Anxiety, on the other hand, stems from worry about the future. Past trauma often fills mental gaps with fear, triggering a fight-or-flight response. This can manifest in panic attacks with symptoms like chest pain, nausea, and racing thoughts.

Causes of Depression and Anxiety

• Mental/Emotional Stressors: Trauma, ACEs, brain injuries, and ongoing stress.

• Inflammation: Resulting from diet, immune dysfunction, hormone imbalances, and nutrient deficiencies.

• Environmental Stressors: Mold, heavy metals, parasites, and infections.

• Leaky Gut: Intestinal permeability can lead to autoimmunity and neurodegeneration, affecting organs and brain function.

SSRIs and Antidepressants: Pros and Cons While helpful for short-term symptom suppression, medications do not address root causes. Long-term use can lead to tolerance, dependence, apathy, memory loss, and in some cases, increased suicidal ideation or psychosis. Antipsychotics may impair cognitive function and cause movement disorders or what some term "tardive dementia."

The Shift from Root Cause to Profit Model Modern psychiatric treatment has drifted from holistic models to pharmaceutical dependency, spurred in part by profit motives. Resources shifted away from holistic care toward symptom-masking drugs. This approach has delayed progress in mental health care by decades.

The Holistic Approach True healing comes from addressing the root causes. Natural healthcare providers focus on the body’s ability to self-heal, using nutrition and lifestyle changes to reverse disease. The human brain is capable of tremendous change and recovery when supported with the right tools.

Nutrition and Diet Unhealthy eating habits contribute significantly to mental health decline. A plant-based, nutrient-rich diet supports not only physical but also emotional well-being. Processed foods, sugar, gluten, and animal products create systemic inflammation, which has been linked to depression and anxiety.

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

• Plant-Based Diet: Reduces brain inflammation, eliminates cholesterol, balances hormones, and enhances cognitive control.

• Eliminate Sugar and Refined Carbs: These suppress BDNF, impair neuroplasticity, and trigger inflammation.

• Avoid Gluten and Dairy: Known to trigger immune and inflammatory responses in sensitive individuals.

• Processed Foods: Engineered for addiction, lack real nutrition, and disrupt satiety signals.

Food Industry Influence Processed food industries exploit stress, using marketing to create emotional triggers. They manipulate the brain's reward system and satiety mechanisms, leading to overeating and addiction. Their influence has contributed to obesity, chronic disease, and mental health crises.

Top Functional Foods for Mental Health

• Turmeric/Curcumin: Anti-inflammatory; pair with fat or black pepper for absorption.

• Bromelain: Found in pineapple core; supports curcumin absorption.

• St. John’s Wort, Chamomile, Mint: Herbal support for mood.

• Ginger: Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.

• Pumpkin Seeds: Support GABA production.

• Flaxseeds: Provide omega-3s for brain health.

• Walnuts & Almonds: Contain neuroprotective compounds.

• Avocados: Provide healthy fats and essential brain nutrients.

How to Get Started

• Eliminate: Meat, dairy, processed foods, refined carbs, and excessive caffeine.

• Incorporate: Legumes, leafy greens, fruits, seeds, whole grains, and herbal teas.

• Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water.

Challenge: Try a 2-week plant-based diet. Start with one meatless meal a day. Gradually increase based on how you feel. Doing it for your health and the planet makes it sustainable.

Conclusion Mental health healing is not about a temporary diet, but a long-term shift in lifestyle. Each choice you make—every meal, every beverage—affects your mental and physical health. If you slip up one day, simply make better choices the next. True health is the cumulative result of your daily decisions.

Healing your brain, boosting your mood, and restoring your health is entirely possible through natural, nourishing food and lifestyle changes. You have the power to transform your mental health—one bite at a time.

MORE in DETAIL....

Depression and anxiety disorders are different, but people with depression often experience symptoms similar to those of an anxiety disorder, such as nervousness, irritability, and problems sleeping and concentrating. But each disorder has its own causes, and its own emotional and behavioral symptoms.

Medications can have profound and life-altering side effects, and yet many people are told medications are the only option for treating these conditions. But in the research we want to share, you will see that there are natural, effective alternatives and that chronic depression and anxiety can actually be totally reversed, often without these potentially harmful medications.

with diagnosable mental health conditions. Approximately 20% are on some kind of psychiatric medication, mostly antidepressant drugs. But in recent years, there have also been a lot of antipsychotics, which, of course, come with big risks associated —so mental health in America is not getting any better. Anxiety and depression have long been associated with older patients who suffer from neurode generative diseases due to the onset of cognitive deterioration. Statistically, the rise in teen mental illnesses has been shocking to many, but another group that was rarely associated with depression and anxiety was middle-aged adults, 45 to 64. Yet, in recent years, this group has become increasingly more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than any other group. That means, no matter our age, we are all susceptible to these conditions. Too often we are told that mental illness is simply a hormonal imbalance and we are just genetically predisposed toward a particular mental health problem. However, science is discovering that, while genetics certainly plays a role in all this, we are not doomed by them. The environment in which we live, and the choices we make can alter our genetic expression. This is called epigenetics. So don’t fall for the lie that you were born with an imbalance and you may have to be on medication for life because of your depression, anxiety, or other mental illness. These statistics may seem staggering, but there  is hope. Many people have been able to reverse their depression and anxiety with the tools that we will be sharing with you. However, we should also take time to realize that we really need to understand what is going on in the minds of those suffering from these conditions. What is their experience? They need our understanding and care in order to be able to reach out and seek help. It is important that we, as a society, take the time to better comprehend mental illness and the struggles that go on in the minds of millions of Americans.

WHAT IS DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY?

Depression is predicted to be the number one cause of disability through 2030. It is a global epidemic and a public health crisis. But what is depression? Believe it or not, there is no tangible way to measure depression, like there is with diabetes or high blood pressure. There is a list of symptoms, but it cannot be quantified. A psychologist, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist makes a diagnosis with a patient by understanding the symptoms the patient is experiencing. Depression symptoms include feelings of guilt, desperation, sadness, worthlessness, poor concentration, brain fog, poor memory, changes in appetite and sleep patterns, inability to experience pleasure, lack of energy, fatigue, and motor retardation.

A common sign of depression is continually ruminating on past events. A depressed person may feel as though they don’t connect with those in the present because they’re still living in the past. They feel different or distant from all those around them and often feel like no one can understand. So even when loved ones do express care for them, they hold back from sharing their deep struggles. This causes further isolation, which amplifies the feelings that no one can ever understand or really care for them. Someone with depression may feel like they’re stuck in a whirlpool that is sucking them down. Every once in a while, they are able to get to the surface and get just enough air to stay alive, but they’re still in a constant struggle to avoid being sucked down to the bottom.

Alternatively, someone who is constantly focusing on the future and trying to determine the outcome may be diagnosed with anxiety. Because their minds have limited information, they tend to fill in the gaps based on their experiences from the past. If they’ve had failures or bad experiences, like trauma or abuse, their mind will fill in those gaps with that information, and if those gaps get filled in with ideas of failure or bad experiences, then it creates an overwhelming fight or flight reflex. Cortisol kicks in, and the feeling of anxiety rushes over them. If this fight or flight reaction escalates too much, it can develop into a full-blown panic attack, and they feel they are going to die and there is no way out.

Some of the symptoms include shortness of breath, heart palpitations, weakness in legs, stomach upset, nervous stomach, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, headaches, fear of impending doom, feeling like they’re going crazy, and sleep problems. There are over 100 symptoms and signs for anxiety disorders, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), phobias, and anxiety attacks (panic attacks).

In the physical world, when there is a threat to our safety, such as being chased by a dog for example, there is something tangible to react to. We may fight or take flight. But when a threat is triggered by the thoughts in our mind, where can we go? How can we fight? The fear is there, but we can’t quite pinpoint where it is coming from. And if we don’t understand what is happening, it can be very difficult to diffuse the situation.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY?

Known factors that cause and contribute to depression and anxiety include mental/mind/emotional stressors, leaky gut or intestinal permeability, environmental stressors, and genetics. While genetics may make an individual more prone to these diseases, it generally takes one or more of the other factors to trigger the expression of the genome that results in the disease. Without a triggering factor, the genome can lie dormant and the inherited genetic potential for a disease may never develop.

SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THESE FACTORS?

1. Mental/mind/emotional stressors include Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), physical and emotional traumas such as abuse, brain injury or infection, life-threatening experiences, and multiple life stressors such as death, divorce, serious disease, accident, etc.

2. Causes of inflammation include: dietary food choices, a weakened immune system, food sensitivities, allergies, microbiome imbalances, hormone imbalances, and nutrient deficiencies from lack of nutrients and/or inability to absorb nutrients.

3. Environmental stressors may include heavy metal toxicity, mold, parasites, and Lyme disease, and its co-infections. These can cause a weakened immune system, trigger inflammation, and even lead to nutrient deficiencies through decreased absorption.

4. Leaky gut or intestinal permeability is a condition in which the junctions in the gut are open bigger than they should be, letting things into areas where they shouldn’t be. And when things get in that shouldn’t be there, like big, undenatured proteins or any type of pathogen, the body starts attacking it. Then autoimmunity and neurodegeneration start getting triggered because the body can’t tell the difference between the large foreign particles and the normal particles of the body. So then the body attacks itself, such as in specific organs like the thyroid, adrenals, joints, nerves, and even the brain. See more info in depth on CANIDIDA on our pages.

THE PROS AND CONS OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND SSRIS

Medications have their place, but they never heal the illness. While they may sometimes be needed, ideally their use will only be for the short term because they only help to suppress symptoms, but then the brain actually pushes back. The goal should be to help people discover what the underlying issues are that are triggering their mental illness so they can address those and actually get well instead of just masking symptoms through prescription drugs. Then they truly become free instead of feeling like they’re chained to medication for the rest of their life. Medication is just a tool that should be used only as a bridge to helping people address those underlying issues and then get well instead of just saying, “Well, this is the rest of your life on medication.” When someone is on these medications long term, it’s very difficult for them to get off. In addition, they start missing out on the joy of life, and say things like, “You know, I’m not really even in touch with who I am anymore or my feelings. I’m not depressed, but I’m also not happy. I’m not really fulfilled.” In other words, anxiety medication helps to decrease the amount of neuronal activity in the brain, so that slows everything down. It makes the person feel calmer. But then in time, the brain pushes back and actually upregulates the amount of excitability in the brain to counterbalance that. Soon, if the underlying issue is not being dealt with, there will be just as much anxiety, but now the person has become tolerant of, and dependent upon, the medication; and as the symptoms continue to worsen, they also have the side effects of the medication. The result is that anxiety medications can create long-term chronic anxiety.

A major side effect of leading antidepressants is that they can increase suicidal thoughts and some times actions. Some people that have started these medications actually did things to harm themselves or other people. Antipsychotic medications make the brain super sensitive to dopamine, which means they’ll tend to have more chronic episodes of psychosis. Then they start to develop movement disorders like tardive dyskinesia, and people can actually develop refractory psychotic symptoms. They get worse and worse over time. Another problem with antipsychotics is that it blocks the release and stimulation of dopamine into the frontal lobes, and that can cause problems with cognition. They can start having difficulty with thinking clearly, being motivated, getting things done, with attention. Some researchers have started calling that tardive dementia.

In addition, both antidepressants and antipsychot ics cause problems with mental processing and memory; and they start impairing frontal lobe function, which is important for logic, self-control, and moral reasoning. And they make the person apathetic, meaning they don’t really care about things anymore. These medications are not benign, and we have to be very careful in understanding that they’re potent drugs. If they’re not used correctly, they can do more harm than good. There are cases where people have done things that are completely out of character for them because their brain was altered with medication, or because they lost that fear of the consequences of doing something very violent to somebody or even to themselves. When a violent act occurs in a household or public place, and medications are considered, and benzodiazepines are of greatest concern. They have the biggest effect on the frontal lobe, especially when combined with alcohol. It’s a very lethal combination. And now with the opioid epidemic, the combination of opiates with benzodiazepines can be deadly, Many people just fall asleep and never wake up. So now you can understand how these medications, even though they might help the symptoms short term, in the long term can actually cause more harm.

If the use of these medications can potentially cause so much harm, why are they so prevalently prescribed today? Was there a concerted effort by pharmaceutical companies to convince the public that there was a chemical imbalance in the brain —and that drugs are the solution in order to sell more drugs? Did that happen? History shows that in the 1950s, clinically, people stumbled upon the fact that some of the drugs they were using for other purposes, such as for nausea, also had the effect of decreasing psychotic symptoms in some patients. Since these drugs helped block dopamine, they concluded that too much dopamine was why people became psychotic. So they started creating dopamine-blocking drugs, which came on the market. Soon different medications and antidepressants came on the market with the idea that with the right balance of norepinephrine and dopamine, depression and anxiety would get better. When that didn’t work very well, serotonin regulation was considered and a new generation of antidepressants hit the market. All of these drugs were part of what was called the monoamine hypothesis. Monoamines are those chemical messengers in the brain that nerve cells send to each other to communicate. Researchers thought that getting the right balance of those in the brain would help improve people’s mood states or decrease their psychotic symptoms. We have since learned that the brain is much more complex than that. As a result of these medication developments, the psychosocial approach in mental health care began to change to a more medication-based approach. And this was a wonderful opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry to say, “Yes, now we finally have drugs to actually treat mental illness.” Then the National Institute of Mental Health started funneling all of their resources away from exploring more holistic approaches for treating the root causes of mental health to finding drugs that masked the symptoms. That may have been driven largely by trying to make profits on treating people’s mental illness. Unfortunately, that did two things. One, it didn’t solve the underlying issue with mental disorders, and two, it kept researchers from continuing to find things that would actually be effective. This may have set back mental health care at least 40 years from where it should have been by now, because a lot of valuable time has been lost that could have been spent addressing the underlying causes of mental illness instead of just find short term “solutions.”

THE BEST APPROACH IS A HOLISTIC APPROACH

Most natural healthcare providers are not collecting from insurance or pharmaceutical companies. They are not part of this distorted system, and therefore, they

are working for the benefit of the patient. They truly want to help patients in ways that are synergistic with their body’s natural ability to heal itself. Rather than simply making a quick buck on a patient who is brainwashed by the media to believe they need prescription drugs, these doctors are seeking the root causes of disease to help cure them. The Western medical system really has no impetus to prevent the diseases that are taking over America. A positive aspect of the human brain is that it can change, and when we find out the causes of the problems, they’re actually much more simply solved than we might think. As we use a comprehensive approach, the brain can become as effective as it was meant to be. As the old sayings go, “A stitch in time saves nine” or “The best defense is a good offense.” And so it is with our brain and nervous system health. While there are some factors beyond our control — childhood abuse, deaths, accidents, etc. — the sooner we begin a lifestyle that reduces the factors that cause illness and increase the factors that cause health, the more likely we’ll be able to turnaround any illnesses we may already have, including depression and anxiety, or at least prevent or slow their advancement. We should not look at chronic physical and mental illnesses as diseases to be treated, but instead, should determine how to stop their progression. Then the changes that we drive in the body and the brain will lead to substantial increases in quality of life and longevity.

Not only can anxiety and depression affect us mentally, but it can lead to other chronic illnesses as well. Both depression and anxiety lead to prolonged cortisol exposure. Cortisol is the stress hormone that causes that fight or flight reflex that we talked about earlier. Considering that prolonged cortisol exposure can lead to chronic illnesses, this is alarming. So, the thought that “everything bad always happens to me” might end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, in the sense that chronic negative thoughts can lead to chronic physical ailments. A study published in Biological Psychiatry found that the elevated cortisol levels (referred to as Cushing’s syndrome) caused by depression was associated with nervous system illnesses, cognitive impairment, hippocampal atrophy, and weight gain. Other possible associations were bone loss, hypertension, diabetes, and peptic ulcers. Because stress can be mitigated through positive lifestyle changes, people may finally gain some control over these devastating illnesses.

This information may seem overwhelming at first, but it’s good to take a step back and think of it in the context of understanding the connection between the systems in your body. When you know that your body works as a whole system, just like the engine of a car, you can see why, when one part of the system is failing to work efficiently, it will affect other parts of the system as well.

NUTRITION AND DIET

Most people see eating as a pleasurable experience. They feel that restricting their diet or leaving out foods that they enjoy would be depriving them of a full and happy life. The thought of limiting the foods they love feels extreme and severe. It’s like a punishment. It’s this the brain thought that stops many Americans from discovering the benefits of enjoying a truly full and happy life.

While eating is enjoyable, there are many other activities that can bring joy and fulfillment that are missed out on because the diet is lacking in nutrients that the body needs to run optimally. So, while you may enjoy eating bacon or steak, you may be missing out on experiences, which could bring even more contentment to your life. Perhaps you’ve tried vegetarian alternatives and thought they were terrible. Perhaps you’ve tried to eliminate things from your diet and felt miserable. But the thing that few people realize is that it is possible to have the full benefits of a healthy diet and still eat delicious food. In fact, when people really commit to it, they find that they actually enjoy a variety of foods that they had never tried before. Not only do they enjoy their food, but they experience amazing benefits from healthier foods that they had never imagined. It’s so easy to give in to the momentary impulse to eat that sugary treat or that processed meal. But, if we understand how each bite impacts our overall health and potentially leads to debilitating diseases, can we really eat these things without feeling that we’re actually missing out? With unhealthy food, we are taking away from every single area of our lives that we could be enjoying.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIETS

It’s critical to understand how inflammation impacts your life. While an inflammatory response is an essential part of the immune system’s ability to defend the body from infection, chronic inflammation can have dire results. Scientists established the evidence supports a strong correlation between brain inflammation and psychiatric illness. In this same study, the connection between these conditions and autoimmune disease was also established.

This helps us to understand that brain inflammation is a major factor in both chronic diseases and in psychiatric illnesses like depression and anxiety. This is why it is so essential for us to understand how we can reduce the inflammation in our bodies with diet. By making some simple changes and adding the nutrients we are lacking, we can see a vast improvement in our overall health. Not only that, but our immune system will run more efficiently overall. This helps to combat any future pathogens or problems that may arise.

PLANT-BASED DIET

Research on depression and anxiety indicates there’s only one diet that improves these conditions significantly, and it starts to do that in as little as two weeks. That’s a plant based diet. A plant-based diet is needed for several reasons. Animal products are very harmful, because they increase inflammation in the brain. One of the pro-inflammatory mediators from animal products is arachidonic acid that tips the balance towards inflammation, which has been clearly linked to mental health problems like depression. Oxidized cholesterol, which results from eating animal products, is also pro-inflammatory. Eliminating animal products eliminates oxidized cholesterol. Plants don’t have cholesterol.

Eating animal products can potentially increase aggression because they trigger inflammation, which increases activity in the limbic system — the emotional part of the brain — which, in turn, increases the potential for aggression and loss of self-control. Animal products also contain hormones. If the balance of hormones in the human body is incorrect,

that affects the brain in a significant way and could potentially lead to impulsivity and aggression. Decreasing inflammation decreases the overactivity in the emotional part of the brain and enhances the frontal lobe, which balances the brain so the person can think more clearly, make better decisions, and have better self-control.

SUGAR

Sugar also increases inflammation, and it decreases BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor). That means the brain’s ability to have neuroplasticity or change in a healthy way is minimized by sugar. When we think about sugary foods, we usually think about sweets. But even refined carbohydrates (white bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta) are a form of sugar. When our body processes carb-rich snack foods and fast foods, our body — especially our brain — develops inflammation. This causes the brain to not function as well, and reduces the neuroplasticity needed for optimal function.

GLUTEN

Another major dietary culprit for causing inflammation is eating wheat, which is genetically modified and contains gluten. When someone with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity eats gluten, their immune system jumps into action and triggers inflammation. This inflammation can affect the body’s organs and soft tissue. You may notice external signs of inflammation, such as redness and swelling, and skin conditions (acne, psoriasis, etc) and may notice other symptoms, such as joint pain, chronic migraines, brain fog, mood swings, and irritability, digestive pain, depression, anxious/intrusive thoughts, etc.

PROCESSED FOODS

A major factor in reducing inflammation in the body and combatting deteriorating health issues is learning to cut out processed foods. You may feel that this is a major obstacle for you. It has become quick and easy today to just have a to-go meal that doesn’t take long to prepare, or a snack that can satisfy our hunger. Many factors have created this mindset in our society. Our work-driven society tells us that working is more important than taking the time to eat properly prepared meals. While some more affluent citizens may thrive on specially prepared meals, most of the working class of America rely on fast food, microwave meals, or other processed snacks to get through that lunch hour as quickly as possible. When arriving home from an exhausting workday, we often don’t feel like preparing a meal. That’s why processed foods seem like such a lifesaver for us. We are in over our heads and just struggling to stay afloat. It seems there is never enough time, and we feel tired and want to relax.

PROCESSED & FAST FOOD

INDUSTRIES This is where the TRILLION dollar processed and fast food industries sees their ability to take advantage of the American public and capitalize on their stress-filled lives. The “ready to eat” and “heat and eat” food industries exploit the exhaustion of millions of overworked Americans and market unhealthy foods through media. By creating commercials that appeal to our limbic system, the part of our brain that processes feelings, they manipulate our minds to feel that we need their products in order to survive. How many commercials have we seen of the mom offering her hungry children some type of convenient, microwaved meal and then she’s done. There’s an underlying message behind the food industry advertisements that tells us that they are helping us by making our lives easier and more enjoyable. There’s also the message that processed food is better tasting than any other type of option we could choose. But is it? This profit-hungry industry has not only manipulated our minds with theircommercial persuasion, but they also manipulate our body’s chemical reactions. Through years of research, the food industry has determined what they call “the bliss point,” which is the point at which the body reacts to a food with the most pleasure before that food becomes “overdone.” So they aim to get the perfect amounts of sugar or flavor into foods to create a euphoric effect. By tapping into this bliss-point, a chemical reaction happens in the body, which releases the neurotransmitter dopamine. This creates an addictive behavior associated with any given food. Add to that the fact that they also engineer their food to interfere with our body’s ability to tell when it’s full. By shutting down the receptors in our stomachs, which give the feeling of satiation, these foods are not only addictive, but you rarely feel “full” while eating them. That’s why you can down a whole bag of chips in one sittingand still be craving more when you are done.

These factors have contributed to many health problems in America, and we, the public, are suffering the negative effects of these major companiesexploiting us for profit. They are not there to help us have an easier, more care-free life as is portrayed in their commercials. They are instead betting on our inability to say no to their addictive, mind-altering products. You can see now why we have an obesity epidemic in America. Why we are rampant with chronic diseases... And why we have so many people affected by psychiatric illnesses. These products are leaving us deficient of nutrients. Though they say they are “enriched,” they were first stripped of many nutrients and then “enriched” by putting a few back in, plus the added vitamins and nutrients are often not in a bioavailable form, and our bodies are not able to absorb them. When foods come to us directly from nature, they are in the perfect package — the perfect combination of vitamins and nutrients that can be readily absorbed and utilized by our bodies.

SPECIAL MENTION FOODS

Turmeric is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory foods available. It’s not commonly used in the US, but it’s very popular in India in curry andother dishes. A component of turmeric, called curcumin, makes turmeric a functional food, which the Mayo Clinic defines as having “a potentially positive effect on health beyond basic nutrition. Proponents of functional foods say they promote optimal health and help reduce the risk of disease. To help your body absorb turmeric well, it is recommended to include a healthy fat and/or black pepper when consuming it. Healthy fats, such as raw nuts and seeds, coconut, or a coconut or nut milk, increases absorption because turmeric is fat soluble. Black pepper has a component called piperine that studies have shown increases absorption of curcumin. When taking it as a supplement, it can be taken with bromelain. Bromelain is a pineapple enzyme that helps to increase absorption of curcumin. And bromelain is anti-inflammatory in itself, so those two mare really good together.

As a note, there’s more bromelain in the core of the pineapple, which is usually thrown away, than in the fruit itself. So when preparing pineapple, don’t throw the core away. Chop it up and eat that, too. You’ll be getting a lot of good anti-inflammatory effects just from the core of the pineapple.

Herbs for depression and anxiety include St. John’s Wort, the mints, and chamomile tea, which help calm down and uplift the spirits.

Ginger is loaded with antioxidants and potent anti-inflammatory properties, and is believed to play an important role in the health of the brain.

Pumpkin Seeds are very beneficial for the functioning of the nervous system. They help to produce GABA, an anti-stress neurochemical in the brain, which affects nervous irritability and other mental health conditions. Pumpkin seed oil exhibits anti-inflammatory effects.

Flaxseeds are high in those all-important omega-3 fatty acids that are essential for brain development and function. Flax contains alpha-linolenic (ALA), a type of omega-3 fatty acid that boosts the cerebral cortex, an area of the brain that processes sensory information.

Walnuts & Almonds contain a number of neuro protective compounds, including Vitamin E, folate, melatonin, omega-3 fats, and antioxidants. They may support brain health, cognition, and memory.

Avocados are “full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that promote healthy blood flow in the brain, along with several of the brain’s most essential nutrients, including folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and copper. The B vitamins in avocados relieve stress and keep nerves and brain cells healthy. Its high amount of potassium helps lower blood pressure. And the monounsaturated fats also help support information-carrying nerves in your brain.

IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH /THROUGH A HEALTHY EATING

Many people with depression and anxiety also suffer from insomnia or some sort of sleep disorder. These conditions are often caused by inflammation from eating sugar, refined carbohydrates, gluten, and animal products. If you want to transform your health permanently (unlike diets, which are short term fixes), you must cut out unhealthy foods to eliminate inflammation. Depression symptoms can improve with a healthy, nutrient-rich diet of fresh fruits and greens loaded with polyphenols and antioxidants. We’ve only scratched the surface on understanding what they do for the body and the brain, but some of the better known ones, like resveratrol, omega-3 fatty acids, and curcumin, have been shown to have amazing effects on the brain. But if these products are isolated from their original sources — the whole foods — they often don’t have the same effect. It’s really the whole food that has the most optimal effect on the body and brain.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE

If you want to make a permanent change in your health, take this challenge: Go on a plant-based diet for the next two weeks.

See what it’s like eating legumes, vegetables (especially dark leafy greens), fruits, nuts, and seeds.

You’re probably not going to want to continue eating meat, but you may want to eat some high quality fish, which has omega-3s for the brain. Make sure you drink lots of water.

FOODS TO ELIMINATE

Meat digestion creates a great burden on the body, and it’s very highly inflammatory. Farm animals are often pumped full of hormones and antibiotics to make them grow faster (and fatter), and ensure they stay alive. The rampant overuse of antibiotics is responsible for the surge in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When humans are infected by superbugs, antibiotics have decreased effectiveness and they can become powerless. 

Dairy is also not good. It causes a lot of inflammation and mucus. And as mentioned, cows are given large doses of hormones and antibiotics that affect the health of humans drinking their milk. Wheat gluten is very harmful for all people not just people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities. However, according to WebMD.com, “Once you start to follow a gluten-free diet, your symptoms should improve within a few weeks. Many people start to feel better in just a few days. Your intestines probably won’t return to normal for several months. It could take years for them to completely heal.” Limit caffeine. Cut out coffee. If you need a little caffeine boost, drink some Matcha green tea or whatever it is you like other than coffee. Coffee can cause a lot of anxiousness and also messes with the neurotransmitters and serotonin.

HEALTHY EATING VS. DIETING

First of all, put it out of your mind that you are going on a diet. Diets don’t work, because they’re not sustainable. If you go on a diet, chances are you’ll go off the diet, regain the weight, and have all those toxic emotions of shame and guilt, anger and humiliation.

So the best way to get started is to recognize that some foods are healthier than others, and the same goes for beverages. Therefore, every bite of food you eat or beverage you drink will either contribute to your health or diminish your health. The choices are entirely up to you. The healthier your choices, the healthier your body and mind will become. 

What happens if I accidently deviate? 

What matters most is your overall way of eating and living. So if you indulge yourself one day, it doesn’t mean you cheated or you failed. Just eat healthier the next. And if you don’t have time to exercise one day, do a little more the next day. If you don’t have time to be with your friends and family one day, spend a little more time with them the next day. Then you can’t fail. It’s a much more compassionate approach because if there’s no diet to get on, there’s no diet to get off. Your level of health becomes the result of your level of choices. Another thing that often brings meaning to people when they make healthier food choices is to realize that it’s not just helping your health, but that what’s good for you is also good for the planet. 

So maybe you’re not ready to go completely plant-based yet, but maybe you could choose to have one meatless meal each day, because it’s going to help you and it’s going to help the planet.

Start slowly and then as you begin to do it for others — it brings meaning — which makes it sustainable because these biological mechanisms are so dynamic. You’re going to feel so much better when you have that one meal a day that’s plant based and you’ll say, “Well, maybe I’ll have two meals,” and then it comes out of your own experience and that ultimately is what makes it sustainable.

7 Urgent Health Challenges Facing Women 

Natural Solutions for Low Energy, Stress, Hormones, and So Much More 

A shocking 75% of American women are on prescription drugs, compared to only 56% of men. Yet we’re not getting any healthier. And the quest for health is an expensive endeavor. Prescriptions are not only expensive, but they come with a variety of side effects that can be more or just as dangerous as the condition they treat! 

It’s little wonder so many women are seeking natu ral solutions. Remedies from nature are often easier  to access, cheaper, and get to the root cause of the  issue, rather than simply cover up the symptoms. 

I understand how confusing it can be when it comes to all the conflicting messages about what is healthy and what is bad for you. I deeply understand the desire to find actual, practical solutions so you can heal and reclaim YOUR life, too.  

Let’s explore the most common, urgent health concerns for women, and how you can use natural herbs and remedies to revolutionize your health.7 

In this time of intense stress, juggling demanding jobs and family responsibilities, and the general atmosphere of immediate gratification that we live in, it can be tough to find space or time to take care of your health. Especially for women. 

The age-old joke is that women, particularly moms, “don’t have time” to get sick...there’s simply too much to do and too many people to take care of. So they “don’t get sick.”  

Of course, that’s a lie! Women do deal with our own health challenges... We simply don’t always take care of ourselves as we should. Too often women put themselves last on the list of priorities. 

Some of the most common health issues and risks facing women today include: 

•   Heart attack 

•   Stroke 

•   Stress 

•   Anxiety 

•   Fatigue 

•   Low energy 

•   Infertility 

•   Hormone imbalance 

•   Cancer 

•   Weight gain 

•   Autoimmune disease 

•   Diabetes 

•   Thyroid problems 

•   Cardiovascular disease 

•   Hair loss 

•   Skin issues 

There are also female-specific health issues, such as PMS, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, and menopause. 

Then, there are mental health issues such as depression. In fact, there are certain types of depression that are unique to women.  

In reality, the list above is just the tip of the iceberg.

1. HEART HEALTH When you consider the national statistics on heart disease, you begin to understand why this is the most urgent health concern for women. According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for 1 in 5 women in the United States. However, only 56% of women recognize this danger.  

So what is heart disease, exactly?  

The term ‘heart disease’ actually refers to several different heart conditions. These include heart attack, coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, as well as cardiovascular disease, which refers to conditions with blocked or narrowed blood vessels that can lead to heart attack or stroke. Things that affect your heart’s valves, muscles, or rhythm are considered heart disease.  

High blood pressure (hypertension) does not necessarily mean you have heart disease; however, it definitely increases the risk.  

Factors that affect and increase the dangers of hypertension and/or heart disease include: 

•   Unbalanced gut (microbiome) 

•   Overweight and obesity 

•   Diabetes 

•   High sodium diet 

•   High cholesterol 

•   Chronic stress 

•   Smoking 

•   Lack of exercise 

•   Family history 

The most surprising item on this list is probably gut health. A study highlighted a connection between poor gut health and increased incidence of arterial hardening, a well-known risk factor for heart disease. In contrast, researchers saw a decreased incidence of arterial stiffness in those with a more diverse (healthier) microbiome. 

Another study, compared  the stools of 218 people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) to 187 healthy individuals.  They noted vast differences between the microbiomes of the two sets, indicating a link between an unhealthy gut and ACVD. 

“There’s a complex interplay between the microbes in our intestines and most of the systems in our bodies, including the vascular, nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. All of these relationships are highly relevant to cardiovascular health.” 

There is a strong connection between blood levels of a certain substance called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a byproduct of eating red meat, fish, poultry, and eggs. What happens is certain gut bacteria feed on a nutrient in these foods called choline. This creates a substance called trimethylamine (TMA), which your liver then converts into TMAO.

TMAO has been strongly connected to the development of artery-clogging plaques, heart attacks, and strokes. 

Significantly, this risk was determined to NOT be connected to other risk factors like obesity, diabetes, and kidney function. In other words, even if you are not obese, and do not have diabetes or kidney problems, having a high level of TMAO as a result of an abundance of certain gut choline-eating bacteria and eating high-choline foods such as red meat, fish, poultry and, eggs puts you at a 62% higher risk of heart disease and problems. 

What all of this and other growing research  seems to indicate is that ensuring your gut has  a wide diversity of organisms, and that your digestive system is functioning optimally may be  a foundational way to decrease the risk of heart  disease and ensure a healthier heart.  

We look at other ways to naturally support heart  health later on. 

2. WEIGHT GAIN Unwanted weight gain is not just a matter of inconvenience or aesthetics (how it looks, or you prefer  to look), it’s a red flag that can signal developing  health problems. In addition, added weight increases the risk of disease. 

Conditions science connects to excess weight include:  

•   Cancer 

•   High blood pressure 

•   Heart disease 

•   Heart failure 

•   Stroke 

•   Type 2 diabetes 

•   Fatty liver disease 

•   Kidney disease 

•   Osteoarthritis 

•   Sleep apnea 

•   Gout 

Pregnancy problems (high blood sugar, high blood  pressure, and increased risk for cesarean delivery) 

According to some sources, each pound of excess  weight increases the risk of disease. When you get  up into higher numbers of excess weight, the data  gets a little scary.  

For example, some experts calculate that thirty  pounds of extra weight may increase the risk for  heart disease, stroke, and diabetes by 40, 75, and  100% respectively, with the risk for breast cancer  risk jumping to 110%.  

With these same metrics, some estimate that 55  pounds of excess weight would make the risk of  heart disease jump to 80%, with the risk for both  breast cancer and diabetes tripling to over 300%  each.  

One Swedish study found that people at roughly 30  pounds overweight with high cholesterol and high  blood pressure had a terrifying 500% increase in  the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Suffice to say, being overweight is a matter of concern for any woman seeking true health.  

So what causes weight gain?  

Many will tell you that weight gain is simply a matter of calories versus energy expended (movement/ exercise). However, if you’ve got excess weight, you  probably know that it’s often not that simple!  

Not understanding why you are gaining weight, or  unable to release excess weight despite your best  efforts can be frustrating, at best. As highlighted  above, at worst, it can mean health issues or the  compounded risk for potential health problems.  

Factors that can affect your weight include: 

•   Inflammation 

•   Parasites 

•   Toxins 

•   Unbalanced microbiome (gut) 

•   Yeast overgrowth 

•   Hormones 

•   Thyroid 

•   Food allergies or intolerances 

•   Autoimmune disease 

•   Insulin resistance 

•   Diet insufficient in essential nutrients   Malabsorption of nutrients 

•   Ineffective or incomplete elimination  

Many things on this list can create or be part of a cycle of cause and effect. Meaning, one issue leads  to another, and in turn, they each trigger other issues and even each other, and/or combine to influence other problems. It’s a ‘which came first — the  inflammation, hormone imbalance, or the insulin  resistance’ type of situation.  

To discover what is causing your weight gain, or  your challenges in releasing your extra weight, all  of the above should be considered. However, the  foundation of health starts with nutrition. You want to make sure you are not only consuming all the nutrients your body needs to function best — things  like omega 3s, Vitamins K2 and D3, glutathione, and  more that we discuss further on — you want to ensure you are ABSORBING the nutrients.  

Proper absorption depends on several systems,  processes, and factors. These include hormones,  enzymes, and even your gut flora.  

Hand in hand with absorption is proper elimination.  Your body must be able to efficiently and complete ly remove toxins and waste from your body, other wise more toxins are created. Assisting your body in proper elimination means  giving it a fighting chance by including several  antioxidants in your diet and ensuring your lymphatic system, kidneys, and liver are functioning  well—flushing out toxins and waste. In addition,  your body’s waste disposal system (gut and colon)  must be running well, without toxic build-up, constipation, or inflammation that can create further  toxicity. Also, if you’re not expelling waste properly,  your body can’t absorb nutrients effectively, under mining a healthy diet or the benefits of nutritional  supplements.  Anything you can do to help your body eliminate  toxins, free radicals (oxidants) or parasites, and flush them out, the better. All things that help moderate inflammatory response naturally, and ensure  the availability and absorption of nutrients, will help  your body be able to naturally heal and achieve a  healthy weight. We will explore several natural ways to support your  body later.

3. ANXIETY More than 40 million adults in the United States are  affected by anxiety disorders, yet just under 37% receive treatment. According to the National Institute  of Mental Health, women are twice as likely to get  an anxiety disorder some time in their life. Anxiety often coincides with other health conditions  such as:  

•   Eating disorders 

•   Headaches 

•   Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 

•   Sleep disorders 

•   Substance abuse 

•   Adult ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactive  disorder) 

•   BDD (body dysmorphic disorder) 

•   Chronic pain 

•   Fibromyalgia 

•   Stress 

4. DEPRESSION Many people with anxiety disorders also experience depression. Of course, depression can be independent of anxiety.  

There are different types of depression, but nearly all types of depression affect more women than  men. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that twice as many women than men are  likely to have a depressive episode.  

Some basic stats on depression:  

  Major depressive disorder (MDD) is  categorized as a collection of serious depressive symptoms that last for a period  of two weeks or more. It affects about 7% of  the population per year, the majority of them  women. The average age for this condition to  develop is 32.5 years.  

  Persistent depressive disorder (PDD) is  considered a ‘low-level depression’, that is  not as severe as MDD but may last longer.  In general, a diagnosis means depressive  symptoms have been present for two or  more years. It affects around 1.9% of women,  compared to 1% of men.

Seasonal depression, also known as seasonal  affective disorder, includes a time of major  depression, with mood influenced by the  seasons. Four out of five people with this  disorder are women. 

  Postnatal (postpartum) depression is different  from the “baby blues”. The “baby blues  affects up to 80% of new mothers and usually  lasts about 2 weeks as the body’s hormones  rebalance, and the mother recovers from  labor. These feelings of sadness, worry, and  fatigue go away on their own. Postnatal  depression presents with more serious  symptoms, lasts longer and may require  treatment. According to the NIMH (the  National Institute for Mental Health), with  “postpartum depression, feelings of sadness and  anxiety can be extreme and might interfere with a  woman’s ability to care for herself or her family.” 

5. STRESS Stress, which may or may not be correlated to anxiety and depression, is also a common health concern for women. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), chronic stress is on the rise in the US, as are the physical symptoms or effects of stress.  In fact, according to an annual poll, Americans are  the most stressed-out people on the planet! Just  this year, the New York Times reported that out of  over 150,000 people polled world-wide, Americans  reported the most stress, with 55% saying they felt  stress for most of the day. Globally, that statistic  was just 35%. Similarly, 45% of Americans polled  said they had felt significant worry the previous day.  That’s a lot of people anxious, stressed, and depressed! That makes the odds that you are included  in those numbers quite high. 

The problem with that is the toll each of these  three conditions can take on the body. Likewise,  these conditions can overlap. Stress can trigger anxiety, anxiety can be part of depression, and de pression can create stress and anxiety.  

Depression and anxiety can limit your activities,  which can further affect mental health in terms of  lack of support, or your happiness quotient. It may  also limit your physical activity, which, of course, will  affect overall health. 

However, of these last three health issues, stress is the most damaging to your body and health. 

Though research is showing that men and women respond to stress differently, it is widely accepted that chronic stress is extremely harmful to your health and wellbeing.  

Stress can lead to:    Menstrual problems   Hair loss   Headaches   Back pain Overeating   

Digestive issues: upset stomach, cramps,  bloating, heartburn, IBS   Weight loss or gain Skin problems: breakouts, hives, rashes Irritability   Sleep problems   Depression   Lack of focus   High blood pressure and heart trouble   Weakened immune system   Inflammation - considered the root cause  of many diseases, including autoimmune  disorders and cancer 

In keeping with the theme of the body’s health conditions affecting the overall homeostasis of its com plex systems and processes, if stress creates or contributes to one of the conditions listed above, they  can, in turn, contribute to or create other problems.  

For example, lack of sleep can contribute to irritability or a lack of focus. Lack of proper sleep will also  increase the stress hormone cortisol. A weakened  immune system can lead to greater health concerns. Weight gain by stress eating can lead to the  risks we discussed above.  

Your body is a delicate system! Anything you can do to lower stress will be of benefit.  

DECREASING STRESS 

Some of the main lifestyle changes you can  make to lower stress levels include:  

  Participate in cortisol-lowering activities like  deep breathing, meditation, and yoga 

  Makes choices that: 

• Allow you more time to sleep • Create a better sleep 

• Allow you more downtime to relax and have fun 

• Lower pressure on you: lowering your budget • Ensure you eat regular balanced meals 

• Get enough healthy exercise or fun physical activities 

  Laugh more — laughter is incredibly healing and releases good hormones that can help lower stress 

  Get more hugs! That’s right, studies show that more frequent hugs from a partner or loved one increases calming oxytocin levels in women, and even lowers cortisol and blood pressure.  

Another thing you can do to help with stress is to consume high-quality supplements that are proven to lower cortisol, like fish oil (omega-3), ashwagandha, and other adaptogens. We look closer at  these and other natural remedies further on. 

6. LOW ENERGY Women are doing more than ever. Working, raising  kids. Starting and running companies. Having low energy was one of my worst symptoms  before I found relief with natural medicines. I could  barely get out of bed, many days. And I’m not alone.  Many women struggle with this issue.  

Stimulants like caffeine just burn out your precious  adrenal system. But not having enough energy to  get through a day can simply become intolerable.  Besides this, low energy can be a sign of deeper  health issues, and should never be dismissed as  ‘just part of life’ for too long. And yet, as I discovered myself, many Western doctors don’t take low  energy very seriously as a symptom. So what can you do?  

First thing is to look at the possible causes for your  low energy. There are several basic factors that can  contribute to this. Here are some places to begin,  when seeking the root cause of your low energy. 

SLEEP PROBLEMS 

Sleep is a basic physiological requirement for all hu mans. Lack of sleep can lead to a great many health  problems, including low energy. Ask yourself: Are  you sleeping enough? Is your sleep interrupted by  something or someone? Could you have sleep apnea?  

Whatever it takes to make sure you are getting sufficient, uninterrupted and fully restful sleep—able to  go through all the sleep cycles—you must do. This  should not include sleeping pills. This could include  things to lower your cortisol (and overall stress), like  meditation, hot baths, exercise, supplements, etc.  

PARASITES 

Parasites are designed to live undetected. Their survival depends on you not knowing they are there.  That is why you can live for many years—just as I  did!—with parasites, and have no real clue. Even  testing for parasites (if you can even convince your  doctor to do this), is not reliable. Yet, you could have  more than one common parasite living inside you,  literally sucking the life out of you. They also can  emit low-level amounts of toxins as part of their life  cycle, increasing the tax on your body.  

We will discuss this issue, including what you can do to expel para sites from your body. We’ll look at one or two natural ways to do this with supplements, below.  

NUTRITION 

Your gas engine cannot run on diesel fuel. That is a  fact. How can we expect our body to run well if we  are not giving it the best, or even correct fuel?  By now you are probably aware that our soil is not  providing the same level of vitamins and minerals  (nutrients) in our fresh produce that our grandparents grew up with. That is an unfortunate fact of the  times we live in.  

Likewise, the quality of seeds and breeds of fresh  foods are somewhat skewed. They have been modified in a variety of ways, mainly to ensure they ripen  quickly and are less prone to attack by disease or  insects.

If our fresh produce has become increasingly less  nutritious, where do we begin when discussing  processed foods? Processing removes many of the  good things that do make it into our food, and often add several artificial ingredients in the name of  shelf life, taste and even cost-cutting. Manufacturers will even add chemicals and fillers in order to  make foods more “addictive”! 

Yet, even if you are on an organic, plant-based diet  and taking supplements to get an array of vitamins  and minerals…You could be malnourished. In fact,  you aren’t “what you eat,” you’re what you ABSORB. Many women don’t realize that if their gut health,  the health of their liver, kidneys, or lymphatic system is compromised, they may not be absorbing  much nutrition at all. So you could be eating all the  right things, but if your gut (microbiome) is out of  balance, you may not be absorbing nutrients well.  Likewise, if your liver, kidneys, and lymphatics are  struggling to remove toxins and waste from your  body, you may have malabsorption.  

Ensuring your gut is balanced, your body is detoxifying itself efficiently and completely, as well nourishing yourself with the right foods, vitamins and  minerals are essential to creating a foundation for  having the energy you want to live a vibrant life.  

Other causes for low energy can include candida  overgrowth, anemia, heart problems, autoimmune  disease, imbalanced hormones, thyroid problems,  and low-grade infection. 

7. HORMONAL ISSUES You’ve probably been hearing about your hormones since you were a teenager. Women, especially it seems, are ruled by our hormones for what  seems like our entire lives!  It starts out with puberty and the onset of our menstruation. We hear about how hormones make  us a woman, make us moody, make us grow. Our  hormones are blamed on skin breakouts, weight  gain, bloating, PMS. We take hormones to prevent pregnancy. If we choose to or are able to be mothers, then we have pregnancy hormones rising and  falling. If you’re trying to get pregnant you may be  injecting hormones into your body. If you have had  a hysterectomy you may need to take hormones. If  you breastfeed, hormone levels can create havoc in  your life, too. It can feel like everything in our life is  hormones, hormones, hormones! 

Then as we get older, women go through ‘the  change’. As a society, women are trained to fear this  period of life. We hear about night sweats soaking  through the sheets, hot flashes, random bleeding,  loss of sexual desire, and intense mood swings.  We’re told our hormones are depleted. 

Though each woman’s journey through their re productive life will definitely be unique, we do all  share the same physiological makeup and our hormones control much of it. And while it can feel like  we really are “ruled” by and at the mercy of what  our hormones are doing, there’s much more to it. There’s much you can do to get and help keep your  hormones in balance.  

The first thing to understand is that while you  hear a lot about estrogen and progesterone,  those are just two hormones out of the 50 or so  that our body secretes and circulates, and uses  to function.  

As with just about every other system or aspect  of our body, all of these hormones are designed  to work in harmony. Their synergy is vital to your  health. As well, hormones are created in multiple  areas of your body: your brain, pancreas, gut (microbiome), ovaries—just to name a few!  

Here is a list of symptoms that may indicate hormone imbalance.  

•   Weight gain or weight loss 

•   Excessive sweating 

•   Difficulty sleeping 

•   Sensitivity to cold and heat 

•   Dry skin or skin rashes 

•   Changes in blood pressure or heart rate   Brittle or weak bones 

•   Elevated or low blood sugar  

•   Irritability and anxiety 

•   Fatigue 

•   Thirst 

•   Depression 

•   Headaches 

•   Changes in bathroom behavior (frequency,  urgency) 

•   Bloating 

•   Changes in appetite 

•   Lower sex drive 

•   Thinning, brittle hair 

•   Infertility 

•   Puffy face 

•   Blurred vision 

•   Goiter 

•   Breast tenderness 

•   Deepening of the voice (females) 

•   Heavy, irregular, or painful periods 

•   Osteoporosis (weak, brittle bones) 

•   Hot flashes and night sweats 

•   Vaginal dryness 

•   Indigestion 

•   Acne (during or just before menstruation) 

•   Fibroids, or uterine bleeding not associated  with menstruation 

•   Increased hair growth on the face, neck, chest,  or back 

•   Thinning hair or hair loss 

•   Skin tags 

As one doctor explains it, “Hormones act like traffic  signs and signals by telling your body what to do and  when, and making sure its machinery runs smoothly  and maintains homeostasis, or balance.” Knowing this, you can understand how getting your  hormones into balance requires a multi-level approach. You need to address the entire body, and  support its function, to attain optimal hormone  balance. 

Here are some ways to support hormone  balance.

SLEEP 

Yes, sleep again. Lack of sleep can play real havoc on  your hormones. For full function, your brain needs  uninterrupted sleep that permits it to pass through  all five stages of each sleep cycle. “Sleep deprivation  causes imbalances in many hormones, and in turn,  the imbalance of these hormones causes more sleep  deprivation,” In particular, insulin, ghrelin, leptin, cortisol, and  growth hormone are all affected by sleep.  

For example, if you don’t get enough sleep, you  temporarily become insulin resistant. Another example we find in scientific research, less  than 6.5 hours of sleep affect leptin and ghrelin levels — two hormones directly connected to your appetite.  Your thyroid hormones are also affected by sleep.  This can slow your metabolism and cause your thy roid function to wane. Cortisol, the “stress hormone” also is affected by  lack of sleep. Normally your cortisol level should de crease at night, allowing you to sleep. Studies have  shown that cortisol levels can fall up to six times  more slowly if you are sleep deprived. In turn, “Elevations of evening cortisol levels in chronic sleep  loss are likely to promote the development of insulin resistance, a risk factor for obesity and diabetes.”  Increased cortisol also affects your “sex” hormones,  including testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. This can not only affect your sex drive (libido),  but any change to these key hormones will affect  your reproductive system and more. Bottom line: making sure you get enough quality sleep is very important for hormone balance.  

EXERCISE 

ANY amount of exercise or physical activity is better  than none. As they say—sitting is the new smoking.  Inactivity is hurting us, while any increase in physical activity has a tremendous benefit.  

Among its benefits, exercise (even just walking)  helps: 

  Control insulin levels and decrease insulin  resistance.  

  Support hormones that help maintain muscle  and which normally decline with age. Namely  DHEA, growth hormone, testosterone, and IGF-1 

  Increases adiponectin, a hormone that  helps regulate metabolism and has anti inflammatory effects.  

  Balance thyroid hormone levels and control  how efficiently the body uses them 

  Reduce some of the effects of cortisol

NUTRITION 

What you eat—and absorb! (see above)—is extremely important to having balanced hormones.  

Insulin, serotonin, cortisol and dopamine, estrogen  and testosterone can all be affected by the food  choices you make. Each nutrient plays a role in how  your hormones function and how your body uses  them.  

In particular, diets high in sugar and carbs will eventually knock your insulin levels out of whack.  

Studies show that even fructose (sugar from fruit,  agave, honey, and maple syrup) can increase insulin  levels that promote insulin resistance and related  conditions, like PCOS… Especially if you are already  overweight, obese, or have prediabetes or diabetes. 

The consumption of medium-chain triglycerides  (MCTs) like those found in coconut oil, palm oil, and  pure MCT oil are also beneficial for hormone balance. Consuming MCTs and other ‘healthy’ fats like  fish oil, and olive or avocado oil helps lower insulin  resistance by increasing insulin sensitivity. It also  triggers the release of hormones that help you feel  full and satisfied. They also have been seen to be  anti-inflammatory, and decrease both cortisol and  adrenaline. 

As important as what you eat is how much you eat.  UNDER eating can affect your hormone levels. Studies have shown that restricting calories to under  1200 per day increases cortisol and that calorie-restricted diets can even trigger insulin resistance. 

Overeating has its own pitfalls and will affect your  hormone balance, especially as it relates to insulin  and cortisol. 

Alcohol can curb health efforts, in part because of  the ways it can contribute to gut imbalance. Your  gut flora must be in balance for hormones like serotonin and dopamine to be manufactured and used  effectively. A yeast overgrowth (candida) can also affect your  hormones. What you eat will “feed or starve” candida, and other organisms in your microbiome. There are many natural supplements you can use  to help heal your body so that your hormones are  in balance. Other ways to naturally support hormone balance  include managing stress (especially cortisol levels),  reducing sugar in your diet, upping your fiber in take, quitting smoking, drinking green tea, reducing  dairy intake, and making sure you are getting adequate protein (amino acids). 

NATURAL SOLUTIONS Your body is a complex organism. It contains a myriad of systems and processes that work in harmony to create homeostasis—balance. When one or  more of these systems get out of balance, health  challenges begin. Symptoms commence, and disease can begin.  Due to this complexity, there is often overlap when  it comes to the cause and the resolution of health  issues. For example, a simple headache could be  the result of many different factors. It could stem  from what your hormones are doing, or needing  more water, or even a reaction to something you  ate. 

The same applies in reverse when it comes to natural solutions for the common health issues we’ve  explored so far—There may be one natural sub stance or remedy that can affect multiple systems  in the body, and help you achieve homeostasis and  thus better health.  

Water is a good example of this. Not drinking  enough water can lead to dehydration that can put  a burden on your kidneys, or give you a headache. It  can also cause constipation. Or even fatigue. 

Likewise, decreasing your stress and cortisol levels will heal numerous health issues and systems  in your body. As will increasing your absorption of  essential nutrients, decreasing inflammation, and  ensuring your body is able to effectively detoxify. 

For this reason, we’re going to list out the natural  remedies separately, here. Keep in mind, though,  that just like your body works together in harmony  with all its systems and processes, many of these  natural substances can and will work together to  help you achieve better health, too.  

Below are nine of the top herbs, minerals, and  substances that can assist you in your quest for  health. 

Please note: We cannot and do not offer medical ad vice. You should always consult a trusted health professional before changing, decreasing, or adding to  your medications and healing protocols. 

ASHWAGANDHA 

Ashwagandha is a staple in ancient Ayurvedic practice. It’s known for improving sleep, boosting con centration, memory, and cognitive function; relieving both stress and anxiety, increasing energy  levels, and improving concentration. 

Research has demonstrated that this adaptogen  has multiple healing properties including possessing anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and  antitumor properties. Ashwagandha has also been  found to have positive influences over endocrine  and central nervous systems. 

Other health benefits of ashwagandha that re search has confirmed include:  

•   Lowers blood sugar levels  

•   Reduces cortisol levels 

•   Helps with severe depression 

•   Supports fertility 

•   Increases antioxidants 

•   Increases muscle mass and strength   Decreases inflammation 

•   Helps fight infection 

•   Reduces cholesterol and triglyceride levels 

•   Promotes antioxidant activity and reduces  free radical damage 

•   Reduces oxidative stress 

•   Helps induce programmed death of cancer  cells 

PRECAUTIONS: People with autoimmune diseases  such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Hashimoto’s  thyroiditis, and Type 1 diabetes should be cautious  with ashwagandha. Consult your healthcare professional. Additionally, caution is needed if you are taking medication for thyroid disease, as ashwagandha  may increase thyroid hormone levels in some people—A case where the natural healing that occurs  lowers the need for thyroid supplementation, potentially causing an overabundance of thyroid hormones. A natural healthcare practitioner should be  able to guide you. 

BERBERINE 

Berberine is a natural chemical found in that is  found in some 450 plants, including goldenseal, European barberry, and tree turmeric.  

This plant extract has been a staple in Chinese  and other traditional medical practices. In recent  decades berberine has been studied for its many  health benefits. These include:  

•   Benefitting heart and cardiovascular health  and function 

•   Lowering blood pressure (decreasing  hypertension) 

•   Balancing blood sugar 

•   Curbing insulin resistance 

•   Regulating metabolism 

•   Supporting antibacterial and anti 

• inflammatory properties 

•   Improving bone health 

•   Helping rebalance gut flora 

•   Promoting anti-cancer properties  

•   Reducing fat build-up in the liver  

When compared to lifestyle changes alone, berberine was found to be as effective as common medications in lowering blood sugar levels, lipid levels,  and decreasing hypertension. The upsides were  decreased cost (the herb is cheaper than common  medicines) and the absence of serious side effects. 

A 2008 study demonstrated that berberine combined with cinnamon extract had better “anti-diabetic” effects than a leading prescription medication for people with elevated blood sugar, or Type  2 diabetes.

In another study, one gram of berberine per day  lowered fasting blood sugar by 20% and also improved levels of blood lipids, like cholesterol and  triglycerides. 

Other studies suggest berberine helps with weight  loss and can improve symptoms and markers of  metabolic syndrome. 

PRECAUTIONS: Berberine can decrease the speed  the liver breaks down some medications. You  should also take precautions if you are taking medications to lower your cholesterol or blood pressure.  

DIGESTIVE ENZYMES 

If you are not digesting and absorbing nutrients,  your body is not getting enough of the right “fuel”  to function well, let alone heal. If your body is dealing with inflammation, it may not be digesting food  efficiently.  

Supplementing with digestive enzymes can reduce  the burden on your digestive organs—the stomach,  pancreas, liver, gallbladder, and small intestine—by  making foods easier to digest. They do this by help ing your body to break down harder-to-digest proteins, starches, and fats. 

Sometimes your body does not produce adequate  amounts of the many enzymes required for proper  digestion. Supplementing with quality enzymes can  correct this. 

Signs that you might benefit from taking digestive  enzymes include the following symptoms: 

•   Food cravings 

•   Thyroid problems 

•   Hormone imbalances 

•   Severe PMS 

•   Acid reflux, heartburn, GERD 

•   Bloating 

•   Flatulence 

•   Diarrhea 

•   Losing hair 

•   Brain fog 

•   Fatigue 

•   Joint pain and arthritis 

•   Dull or dry skin 

•   Insomnia 

•   Depression 

•   Irritability and mood swings 

•   Migraines and headaches 

IMOSA PUDICA 

This plant is also known as the “shy plant” and has  been used by Ayurvedic practitioners for thou sands of years. It’s been used to treat a wide variety  of conditions, and research has shown that it has  many medicinal properties. Among these, mimosa  pudica holds the following benefits:  Antiparasitic -  Anti-inflammatory -  Anti-microbial - Antipyretic (lowers fever) - Antidiarrheal - Pain relief -  Lowers blood sugar -  Lowers blood pressure -  Helps purify blood -  Helps menstrual cramps -  Supports uterine health -  Supports depression -  Helps hemorrhoids -  Treats eczema and psoriasis (topically)   Acts as a diuretic -  Helps ulcers Promotes liver healing -  Assists with detox -  Promotes gut (microbiome) health -  Helps sciatic nerve regeneration 

This plant will actually paralyze parasites, so your  body can purge them. In fact, two separate studies  concluded that mimosa pudica is as effective as the  leading anti-parasite medication. 

Mimosa pudica acts as a powerful internal “scrubber”. It will work its way through the intestinal walls,  pulling out parasites, toxins, heavy metals, biofilms,  and other unwanted elements to provide immune  and digestive support. 

This plant was a stand-out component of my healing  protocol, and in getting rid of parasites that were rav aging my body without me knowing! 

Other valuable herbs for removing parasites are wormwood and black walnut hull (juglone). 

BLACK WALNUT HULL 

Black walnut is a well-known natural medicine. It  contains high amounts of the phytochemical juglone, which has strong antifungal properties that  science has demonstrated to be as powerful as  pharmaceutical antifungal agents (such as clotrimazole and tolnaftate). Juglone has also been seen to  reduce tumor growths, kill certain cancer cells, and  can help kill the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, which  has been connected to stomach ulcers and other  digestive ailments.  

Extracts of black walnut hull have both antibacterial and antioxidant properties. In fact, the tannins in  the hull have been observed to kill Staphylococcus  aureus, Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli. 

Other chemical components—such as antioxidants,  polyphenols, and monounsaturated fatty acids, folate, melatonin, and phytosterols—are thought to  be responsible for black walnut hull demonstrating the ability to prevent and treat several types of  conditions. These include cancer, diabetes, neuro degenerative diseases, chronic constipation, and  hemorrhoids. 

One of black walnut’s most famous medicinal  uses is for parasite treatment. Science has shown  it is effective for giardia, ringworm, tapeworm, pin  (thread) worm, and other intestinal parasites. In  fact, while safe for humans, black walnut hull is of 

ten used as a natural pesticide.

WORMWOOD 

Wormwood is actually a cousin of the daisy family.  As a known, natural antiparasitic herb, it’s common ly paired with black walnut hull to eliminate intestinal worms, especially pinworms and roundworms. Wormwood is also used to treat anorexia, Crohn’s  disease, SIBO, insomnia, anemia, lack of appetite, flatulence, stomachache, and indigestion. It’s also  antibacterial and antimicrobial, proving effective to  fight Candida overgrowths. 

OMEGA-3  

Omega-3 fatty acids—especially DHA and EPA—are  essential to health, healing, and longevity. It’s some thing your body needs to function at the basic level  and must be consumed, because your body cannot  manufacture it. Sadly, many people are deficient in  this essential nutrient.  

Fish oil is an excellent source of DHA and EPA. Science has studied and shown that omega-3 helps: 

•   Decrease inflammation 

•   Support heart health and function 

•   Support cardiovascular health and function   Protect the heart 

•   Protect your cardiovascular system 

•   Support brain function and longevity   Support erectile dysfunction 

•   Lower Depression, Anxiety & Stress 

•   Lower cortisol 

•   Support Mental illness  

•   Improve metabolism 

•   Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) 

•   Prevent and support Alzheimer’s 

•   Prevent and support dementia 

•   Lower oxidative stress 

•   Support healthy immunity 

•   Balance blood sugar 

•   Prevent tumor proliferation 

•   Prevent Cancer 

•   Support hormone balance 

Note: During pregnancy and after childbirth  women should be especially aware of the need to  consume enough omega-3. 

PROBIOTICS & PREBIOTICS 

Hopefully, you are already aware of the importance  that probiotics and prebiotics play in your quest to  heal your gut (microbiome). In addition, these build ing blocks for a balanced gut and diversity in gut  flora can help naturally support you in healing autoimmune disease, inflammation, depression, anxiety, hormone balance, and more.  

Here are some important, general facts:  

Your gut contains trillions and trillions of organisms  that are not only part of your digestive system but contribute to mood, hormone balance, and even  brain function. This environment is called your microbiome. The organisms are known collectively as  microbiota. 

The symbiotic balance of these organisms in your  microbiome is essential to overall health, but in particular for a healthy immune response and inflammation.  

“Probiotics” is the term used for a variety of beneficial bacteria that are essential for a healthy set of  microbiota and microbiome. 

Prebiotics are fundamentally food for your micro biota. They often come in the form of soluble fiber  and resistant starches that encourage a healthy balance in your microbiome, by feeding the probiotics. 

While many people know that getting good probiotics is important, they often overlook the value of  prebiotics. Optimal health is achieved with a balance of both.  

Why is this balance of probiotics and prebiotics so  vital? There are so many answers to that question!  

However, in the context of autoimmune disease  and inflammation, here are just a few ways a balanced microbiome can help: 

70% of your immune cells are found in your micro biome.  

Your microbiota are at the core of immune response, and thus any deviation from a healthy response, such as in the case of autoimmune disease. 

A gut that is not functioning optimally may not ab sorb Vitamin K or other vital nutrients. 

An inflamed gut often leads to gut permeability, or  “leaky gut”, now thought to be at the root of several  autoimmune diseases. 

Your gut has been found to directly influence anxiety levels.  

Both probiotics and prebiotics help reduce cortisol.  

Researchers have observed that Alzheimer’s patients frequently demonstrate unhealthy microbiota patterns. 

As long as 100 years ago, doctors believed an un healthy gut led to chronic infection, stress, and inflammation. A 2015 study showed Lactobacillus acidophilus could  reduce gut inflammation. Probiotics are known to  quicken healing in gastrointestinal infections, as  well as the cold or flu, decrease blood pressure,  and provide relief from ulcerative colitis, IBS, and  Crohn’s disease. 

The Arthritis Foundation list probiotics as “crucial”  to both health and supporting a life with arthritis. 

I really could go on for several pages about  both probiotics and prebiotics. Afterall, “probiotic”  means “for life”, or “pro” life. Keeping your micro biome filled with happy and balanced microbiota is  the foundation of all healing.  

So how do you do that?  

The easiest and surest way to keep your microbiome happy is to eat a healthy, diverse, and high fi ber diet. But if you are out of balance, you may have  to increase the balance of ‘good’ bacteria. In fact,  experts recommend daily supplementation with  good quality prebiotics and probiotics. 

One challenge consumers face is that most probiotics sold in foods come from dairy, which is often  a trigger for yet more inflammation and/or autoimmune issues. These types of foods are also notorious for containing far fewer probiotics than advertised.  

Unfortunately the same applies to many store bought probiotic supplements, as well. Even with  the more expensive, refrigerated probiotics, you  have no way of knowing how many live bacteria are  present, simply because there are so many environmental factors in transit, storage, and stocking  shelves that can compromise (or completely kill)  them!  

A plant-based probiotic is more stable and doesn’t  need refrigeration.  

You’ll be looking for a variety of organisms, including: Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei,  Lactobacillus acidophilus, marine polysaccharides,  fructooligosaccharide (FOS), and Bifidobacterium lac tis. 

Prebiotics are much more stable. They easily survive the long journey from your mouth to your in testines. Probiotics are more of a challenge in this  way, so finding a formula that has a high number  of bacteria (often called CFUs, for Colony Forming  Units) and that offers some kind of capsule protection is ideal. The number of CFUs will ensure you  get the most ‘soldiers in the field’ as it were; and a  capsule with protective shielding allows it to travel  to your gut and ensure they arrive ready to make a  home in your microbiome.  

Get your microbiota in balance, keep them happy  and healthy with continued supplementation and a  top-notch diet, and you can witness the antianxiety,  antistress, autoimmune, and inflammation support  and more yourself.  

FULVICS (FULVIC AND HUMIC ACID) 

Fulvic and humic acids are electrolytes created by  microorganisms in the soil or aquatic environments  that enable nutrients and minerals to be assimilated by plants. They are water soluble, and function  in all pH conditions, namely: acidic, neutral, and alkaline.  

As electrolytes, fulvics have the ability to balance and energize biological matter. Studies have  demonstrated that electrolytes, as conductors of  electricity, have the power to restore life. In contrast, as we grow older, our own biological electric  potential decreases. Some experts believe that by  harnessing the power of fulvics, we restore balance  to cell life and renew the electrical potential, which  in turn prolongs the life of the cells and the organ ism they reside in. 

As we’ve discussed previously, optimal health  comes from balance, and absorption is the key. You  can eat the most nutritious diet in the world but un less your cells can use the nutrients, it is somewhat  self-defeating. 

Fulvics assists the body in absorbing nutrients into  the cells, even determining which minerals to assimilate, and which not, for optimum cellular balance.  

Several degenerative diseases have been paired  with silica deficiency. Fulvic acid has the ability to  easily dissolve silica, being an excellent catalyst for  cells to absorb this nutrient. 

In some ways, fulvics are a form of probiotic and  prebiotic in one, in that they promote a healthy gut  balance. They do this in several ways.  

Fulvics are powerful antioxidants that rid your body  of oxidative stress that comes from free radicals. 

Fulvics are not just antioxidants, they are free radical scavengers that protect your cells from the dam age of free radicals. 

They are a source of detoxifying enzymes called superoxide dismutases (SODs) 

Oxidative stress from free radicals is indicative of  several autoimmune diseases, and also Alzheimer’s,  in particular.  

Good nutrition helps inflammation, and helps your  gut stay healthy. Fulvics help your body absorb  the right nutrients and even assist cells in knowing  which nutrients are needed and at what level 

Fulvics dissolve silica, an essential nutrient that also  binds toxins and helps remove them from the body. 

In general, fulvics are chelators, binding toxic met als and ushering them out of your body and harm’s  way.  

Fulvics help prevent leaky gut by way of stopping  gut permeability. This, in turn, helps to detoxify  your body, decrease immune response, and lower  inflammation. Leaky gut has been associated as a  root cause of autoimmune disease. 

Fulvics can also help with Alzheimer’s. Nearly all experts agree inflammation is a key component to this  condition. Fulvics have been seen to not only pre vent the plaques and tangles associated with this  devastating disease, but to actually untangle them.  

It’s clear that fulvics are beneficial for overall health,  as well as being great allies in healing inflammation,  autoimmune diseases, and your gut. 

Other very valuable and effective natural supplements for women to consider are:  

•   Turmeric 

•   Ginger 

•   Bioperine 

•   Rhodiola 

•   Milk Thistle (Silymarin) 

•   Vitamin D3 

•   Cordyceps (Glutathione) 

•   Dandelion Root 

•   White Mulberry 

•   Triphala 

•   Yucca root 

•   Vitamin K

How It Feels To Have Adrenal Fatigue

An Open Letter to the Loved Ones of Patients

Dear Friends and Family…
If your loved one has been assessed to have Adrenal Fatigue, this may be the most important letter you ever read.

I have consulted with many patients and if there’s only one thing I could impart to the loved ones of my patients, it would be this: The best way for patients to heal from Adrenal Fatigue is with the support from those closest to them. 

Your Loved One Has Pushed Too Hard for Too Long

Adrenal Fatigue is a stress-response dysfunction that develops because of a combination of genetic vulnerability and enough chronic stress to overwhelm those genetics. This condition takes many years to develop, and the early symptoms are often medicated symptomatically by well-meaning doctors.

Upon evaluation of their medical history, it’s obvious that my Adrenal Fatigue patients are typically overachievers that have pushed themselves beyond their capacity to adapt to the stressors of life; as a result, they are now underachieving. Ultimately, these maladapted stressors take a toll on the person’s HPA Axis, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and the limbic system of the brain. The dysfunction in the entirety of the stress response system causes this syndrome to proliferate.

Your loved one has pushed herself and “faked it” for too long; she is suffering from complete burnout. This burnout is akin to a zebra in the wild running from a cheetah. The natural experience is designed to last less than a minute, after which the zebra curls up and recovers for a day or two. Your loved one has been “running from cheetahs” for years—not days—with no respite or recovery.

Have You Noticed Your Loved One Is More Sensitive in Every Way?

Stress comes in many forms: the mental pressure of a career or from an employer, the loss of a parent, psychological upset, decision-making, discord within the family, perceived lack of love, etc. Other stressors include the physical stress of a standard American diet (sugar and processed foods devoid of nutrition), blood sugar imbalance, hormone imbalance, spinal misalignment, and pain.

The origin of the stress is not the real issue; the crux of the issue is what the adrenal patient perceives as stress and the subsequent response that elicits. Adrenal Fatigue patients will have an increased stress response to events that the majority of people handle easily. Their five senses are all on high alert. Smells are stronger and possibly irritating. The slamming of a door may feel like an earthquake to them. The phone ringing makes their heart race. They usually react more strongly to supplements and pharmaceuticals. When faced with a decision, they may find it impossible to choose. Their stress-tolerance has bottomed out.

This Is What Adrenal Fatigue Feels Like

So that those who do not suffer from Adrenal Fatigue might understand this, I often will propose a simple exercise for emphasis. I will ask that one considers the last close call he had in a car, getting cut off in traffic, for instance. Now I will ask that you feel that response: feel the blood bound into muscles, heart, and lungs; feel eyes dilate; feel the palpitations; feel the sweat, the queasiness, the sense of fear and panic. I will ask that you then continue to hold on to that experience and add to it the aches, pains, and debilitating fatigue of the last bad flu you had.

Imagine having aches, pains, anxiety, and fatigue 24/7.

If you can imagine this, then you can imagine how it is to be an adrenal patient 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Your Loved One Is Not “Just Tired”

My patient interactions have taught me that my patients are not malingerers. There is no greater desire of our patients than to be able to return to a fulfilling, active, and productive life. For those reading this letter, you probably know your loved one isn’t “lazy.” If there is a fault with my patients, it is a tendency to force themselves prematurely back into the lifestyle that they enjoyed before developing CFS/Adrenal Fatigue. This tendency to return to “normal” too soon then causes a relapse in their condition.

A patient’s greatest wish is to be able to return to a fulfilling, active, and productive life.

Time and proper care are needed for recovery. They need to make changes in activity judiciously and gradually to prevent any recurrence of their condition and allow space for the neurohormonal system to adapt to each new situation, stress, or demand. In time, I expect them to recover completely; however, the degree to which and speed with which patients recover from this condition is quite variable.

How You Can Help Your Loved One

As a friend or family member, we are either alleviating our loved one’s stress or contributing to it, and we must assess which one is occurring. I continuously counsel to do their best to mitigate or control every possible stress that they can, and this is where we can finally help them. We need to do our best to accept, unconditionally, what stress is in the patient’s mind (as ridiculous as those stressors may seem to us at times) and do our best to control this stress. These stressors can seem inconsequential or innocuous: answering the phone, seeing clutter in the house, attending a get-together with friends, taking a walk, or even the lack of touch from a loved one. I understand that this concept can be challenging to comprehend fully, but know that this is the rule with adrenal patients.

Pushing your loved one to “snap out of it” is not the solution; in fact, it worsens their condition by adding guilt to the mix, a crushing stressor they just can’t handle right now. It’s time for support and understanding, not abandonment and criticism. A simplistic but appropriate view of this condition is that, in order for healing to take place, treatment of the patient must outpace the stress of the patient; if the patient and I can accomplish this for a long enough period, recovery is possible. Beyond emotional support, you can keep an eye on your loved one and help them with these key parts of healing:

— Reducing or eliminating external stress.
— Pacing themselves, resting, and accepting their limitations.
— Getting quality nutrition and following a hypoglycemic diet.
— Working on easy-to-follow, low pressure treatment protocols.

Treatment for Adrenal Fatigue Patients

When you work one-on-one with Adrenal Fatigue patients, treatment plans are individualized. Depending on the patient’s set of symptoms, health history, sensitivity level, diet, social support, and any testing, treatment is unique to the individual. Treatment includes all areas of life.

— Diet and nutrition
— Supplements, vitamins, and phospholipids
— Sleep and relaxation
— Lifestyle, balance, and movement
— External stressor management
— Digestion and immune function
— Self-assessment and care

I hope this helps you understand what your loved one is going through daily. 

Please be patient with them.

🌿 Understanding Hormonal Imbalance

A Root Cause Behind Why So Many People Feel “Off”

👩‍⚕️ Why Hormone Health Matters

If you’re feeling drained, moody, gaining weight, or just “not yourself”... it could be your hormones.
And you’re not alone—millions are experiencing hormone-related symptoms, but are told it's “normal” or “just aging.”

In truth, our modern lifestyle is hijacking our hormones.

• Chronic stress

• Poor diet

• Environmental toxins

• Sedentary habits

• Poor gut and immune health

• Even genetics...

…all disrupt your endocrine system—your body’s hormone powerhouse.

🧬 What Are Hormones?

Hormones are chemical messengers that tell your body what to do, when to do it, and how to feel.

They influence:

• Metabolism

• Mood

• Sleep

• Sex drive

• Reproduction

• Growth

• Immune balance

• Blood sugar

• and so much more.

Over 50+ hormones have been identified, made by organs and glands in your endocrine system (like the thyroid, ovaries, testes, pancreas, adrenals, etc.).

⚠️ What Is Hormonal Imbalance?

A hormonal imbalance means you have too much or too little of one or more hormones.
Even a small disruption can cause major effects on your health or well-being.

It can be:

• Temporary (due to stress, illness, diet)

• Chronic (due to conditions like PCOS, thyroid dysfunction, or diabetes)
  
  

🩺 Common Conditions Linked to Hormone Imbalance

• PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)

• Endometriosis

• Infertility

• Low Testosterone

• Thyroid Disease (Hypo- or Hyperthyroidism)

• Diabetes (Type 1, Type 2, Gestational)

• Cushing’s Syndrome

• Menopause or Andropause

• Hormone-sensitive cancers
  
  

🔎 Symptoms to Watch For

Metabolic Signs:

• Unexplained weight gain/loss

• Fatigue, sluggishness

• Cold or heat intolerance

• Constipation or diarrhea

• High cholesterol

• Dry or thinning skin/hair

• Darkened skin patches or skin tags
  
  

Sex Hormone Imbalance (Female):

• Irregular or heavy periods

• Acne or adult acne

• Hair loss or excess facial/body hair

• Hot flashes

• Low libido

• Infertility

• Vaginal dryness
  
  

Sex Hormone Imbalance (Male):

• Low sex drive

• Erectile dysfunction

• Breast tissue growth

• Hair loss

• Infertility

• Reduced muscle mass
  
  

Mood & Cognitive Symptoms:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Irritability

• Brain fog

• Sleep disturbances
  
  

💥 What Causes Hormone Imbalances?

• Chronic stress (cortisol overload)

• Poor diet (processed food, sugar, inflammatory fats)

• Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (plastics, cosmetics, pesticides)

• Lack of movement

• Gut dysbiosis

• Autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto’s, Graves’)

• Tumors or adenomas on endocrine glands

• Trauma or surgery affecting hormone glands

• Steroid or medication use
  
  

🧪 How It’s Diagnosed

• Blood tests (e.g., thyroid panel, cortisol, insulin, estrogen, testosterone)

• Saliva or urine hormone testing

• Glucose tolerance tests

• Symptoms review and physical exam

• Imaging for tumors or gland damage (in some cases)
  
  

💊 Treatment Options

Conventional Medical Treatments:

• Hormone replacement therapy (e.g., thyroid, estrogen, testosterone)

• Medication for tumors or endocrine dysfunction

• Surgery or radiation (in extreme cases)
  
  

Lifestyle-Based Healing Support:

• Stress management

• High-quality sleep

• Detoxifying your home and skincare

• Movement that supports adrenal/thyroid health

• Nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory eating

• Restoring gut health

🌱 Natural Ways to Support Hormone Balance

• Eat healthy fats (avocados, nuts, wild salmon)

• Avoid excess sugar, caffeine, alcohol

• Use glass, not plastic

• Practice breathwork or meditation

• Walk, lift weights, or do yoga

• Get 7–9 hours of sleep

• Use adaptogens (with guidance): ashwagandha, maca, rhodiola

• Support gut health: fermented foods, fiber, probiotics  ***There is a recipe guide for fermented foods to support gut and hormone health on the next tab.
  
  

👩‍⚕️ When to See a Doctor

If you notice persistent changes in energy, mood, weight, cycle, or skin—don’t ignore it. You may benefit from working with:

• A primary care provider

• A functional medicine practitioner

• An endocrinologist

• A hormone-literate health coach or nutritionist
  
  

✨ Final Thoughts

You’re not crazy.
You’re not lazy.
You may just be hormonally out of sync.

The good news?
You can support balance—naturally and medically.

Hormonal imbalance is one of the most common causes of feeling unwell. Here is more in detail if you want to read more.

So, there are many reasons for poor hormone health - poor diet, chronic stress, poor gut health, poor immune health, sedentary lifestyle, genetics, and increased exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals all play a role.

 All of these factors can cause hormonal imbalance by negatively influencing our steroidogenic pathway. 

Due to our modern ways of living (think: poor diet, chronic stress, toxic environment), conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis, infertility, declining testosterone, and hormone sensitive cancers are becoming more common.

 Most of us are struggling with some sort of hormonal imbalance, however because it's become so common, we're often told symptoms are normal. 

Our goal is to help you feel better & teach yourself the nutritional way to help your body heal on it's own. 

What are hormones? Hormones are chemicals that coordinate different functions in your body by carrying messages through your blood to your organs, skin, muscles and other tissues. These signals tell your body what to do and when to do it. Hormones are essential for life and your health.

Scientists have identified over 50 hormones in the human body so far.

Hormones and most of the tissues (mainly glands) that create and release them make up your endocrine system. Hormones control many different bodily processes, including:

• Metabolism.

• Homeostasis (constant internal balance).

• Growth and development.

• Sexual function.

• Reproduction.

• Sleep-wake cycle.

• Mood.

What is a hormonal imbalance?

A hormonal imbalance happens when you have too much or too little of one or more hormones. It’s a broad term that can represent many different hormone-related conditions.

Hormones are powerful signals. For many hormones, having even slightly too much or too little of them can cause major changes to your body and lead to certain conditions that require treatment.

Some hormonal imbalances can be temporary while others are chronic (long-term). In addition, some hormonal imbalances require treatment so you can stay physically healthy, while others may not impact your health but can negatively affect your quality of life.

What conditions are caused by hormonal imbalances?

Dozens of medical conditions are caused by hormone issues. For most hormones, having too much or too little of them causes symptoms and issues with your health. While many of these imbalances require treatment, some can be temporary and may go away on their own. Some of the most common hormone-related conditions include:

• Irregular menstruation (periods): Several hormones are involved in the menstrual cycle. Because of this, an imbalance in any one or several of those hormones can cause irregular periods. Specific hormone-related conditions that cause irregular periods include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and amenorrhea.

• Infertility: Hormonal imbalances are the leading cause of infertility in people assigned female at birth. Hormone-related conditions such as PCOS and anovulation can cause infertility. People assigned male at birth can also experience hormonal imbalances that affect fertility, such as low testosterone levels (hypogonadism).

• Acne: Acne is primarily caused by clogged pores. While many factors contribute to the development of acne, hormone fluctuations, especially during puberty, are a significant factor. Oil glands, including those in the skin on your face, get stimulated when hormones become active during puberty.

• Hormonal acne (adult acne): Hormonal acne (adult acne) develops when hormonal changes increase the amount of oil your skin produces. This is especially common during pregnancy, menopause and for people who are taking testosterone therapy.

• Diabetes: In the United States, the most common endocrine (hormone-related) condition is diabetes. In diabetes, your pancreas doesn’t make any or enough of the hormone insulin or your body doesn’t use it properly. There are several different kinds of diabetes. The most common are Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes. Diabetes requires treatment.

• Thyroid disease: The two main types of thyroid disease are hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone levels) and hyperthyroidism (high thyroid hormone levels). Each condition has multiple possible causes. Thyroid disease requires treatment.

• Obesity: Many hormones can affect how your body signals that you need food and how your body uses energy, so an imbalance of certain hormones can result in weight gain in the form of fat storage. For example, excess cortisol (a hormone) and low thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism) can contribute to obesity.

Symptoms and Causes

What are the signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalance?

Because your body makes over 50 different hormones — all of which contribute to important bodily functions — you could experience several different symptoms depending on which hormonal imbalance you have.

It’s important to know that many of the following symptoms could be caused by other conditions, not just from a hormonal imbalance. If you ever notice a change in your day-to-day health and are experiencing new, persistent symptoms, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider — no matter what you think the cause might be.

Hormone imbalance symptoms that affect your metabolism

Common hormonal imbalances include those that affect your metabolism. Your metabolism consists of the chemical reactions in your body's cells that change the food you eat into energy. Many different hormones and processes are involved in metabolism.

Symptoms of hormonal imbalances that affect your metabolism include:

• Slow heartbeat or rapid heartbeat (tachycardia).

• Unexplained weight gain or weight loss.

• Fatigue.

• Constipation.

• Diarrhea or more frequent bowel movements.

• Numbness and tingling in your hands.

• Higher-than-normal blood cholesterol levels.

• Depression or anxiety.

• Being unable to tolerate cold temperatures or warm temperatures.

• Dry, coarse skin and hair.

• Thin, warm and moist skin.

• Irregular body fat distribution.

• Darkened skin in your armpit or the back and sides of your neck (acanthosis nigricans).

• Skin tags (small skin growths).

• Extreme thirst and frequent urination.

• Sex hormone imbalance symptoms for people assigned female at birth

• People assigned female at birth (AFAB) can have imbalances of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, which the ovaries produce. They can also have excess testosterone and androgens. An imbalance in sex hormones can cause the following symptoms in people AFAB:

• Acne on your face, chest and/or upper back.

• Hair loss.

• Heavy periods.

• Hirsutism (excess body hair).

• Hot flashes.

• Infertility.

• Irregular periods.

• Loss of interest in sex.

• Vaginal atrophy.

• Vaginal dryness.

• Sex hormone imbalance symptoms for people assigned male at birth

• People assigned male at birth (AMAB) can have an imbalance of testosterone, which the testes produce, and other sex hormones, which can cause the following symptoms:

  • Decrease or loss of body hair.

  • Erectile dysfunction (ED).

  • Gynecomastia (enlarged breast tissue).

  • Infertility.

  • Loss of interest in sex.

  • Loss of muscle mass.

Can hormone imbalance cause weight gain?

Yes, certain hormone imbalances can cause weight gain, including:

• Hypothyroidism: This condition happens when you have low levels of thyroid hormone, which causes your metabolism to slow down. This can cause weight gain.

• Cushing’s syndrome: This is a rare condition that happens when your body has too much of a hormone called cortisol. It results in rapid weight gain in your face (sometimes called “moon face”), belly, back of your neck (sometimes called “buffalo hump”) and chest.

• Menopause: During menopause, many people assigned female at birth gain weight due to hormonal changes that cause their metabolism to slow down. It’s important to remember that this type of “hormonal imbalance” is natural and an expected part of life.

• Several other factors contribute to weight gain. If you’re experiencing unexpected weight gain or are concerned about your weight, talk to your healthcare provider.

Can hormone imbalance cause anxiety?

Yes, certain hormonal imbalances can cause anxiety, including:

• Hyperthyroidism: If you have hyperthyroidism, it means your body has too much thyroid hormone. Excess thyroid hormone speeds up your metabolism. This can cause anxiety, in addition to unusual nervousness, restlessness and irritability.

• Cushing’s syndrome: While it’s not as common of a symptom, Cushing’s syndrome (excess cortisol) can cause anxiety, as well as depression and irritability.

• Adult-onset growth hormone deficiency: Adults with growth hormone deficiency often report having anxiety and/or depression.

• Several other conditions and factors can cause anxiety. It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider if you’re experiencing anxiety.

What causes hormonal imbalances?

Throughout your life — and even throughout the day — your hormone levels naturally rise and fall.

Certain periods of life cause more dramatic changes and fluctuations in hormones, including:

• Puberty.

• Pregnancy.

• Menopause.

However, there are several other reasons why your hormone levels may be irregular at unexpected times. Some of the most common causes of fluctuating or imbalanced hormone levels include:

• Stress.

• Certain medications.

• Steroid use.

These hormonal imbalances are more likely to be temporary or fixable with a change in medication or properly managing stress.

Chronic hormone-related conditions can have several different possible causes. In general, the main conditions or situations that cause medically significant hormone imbalances include:

• Tumors, adenomas or other growths.

• Damage or injury to an endocrine gland.

• Autoimmune conditions.

• Tumors, adenomas and growths

• Any kind of growth on a gland or organ that produces hormones, such as a tumor, adenoma or nodule, could affect its ability to do so.

Tumors

• Rare endocrine tumors form in glands or in cells that produce hormones and can cause hormone imbalances. Some of the rare endocrine tumors include:

• Adrenocortical carcinoma: An adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a cancerous adrenal tumor that forms in the adrenal cortex. It sometimes causes excess hormone production.

• Carcinoid tumors: Carcinoid tumors are a type of neuroendocrine tumor (NET) that grows from neuroendocrine cells. Neuroendocrine cells receive and send messages through hormones to help your body function.

• Medullary thyroid cancer: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), is cancer that forms in the inside of your thyroid (the medulla). The medulla contains special cells called parafollicular C cells that produce and release hormones.

• Pheochromocytoma: A pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor that forms in the middle of one or both of your adrenal glands (adrenal medulla). The tumor is made of a certain type of cell called chromaffin cells, which produce and release certain hormones. They’re usually benign but can be cancerous.

• Paraganglioma: A paraganglioma (also known as an extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor that forms near your carotid artery, along nerve pathways in your head and neck and in other parts of your body. The tumor is made of chromaffin cells, which produce and release certain hormones.

Adenomas

An adenoma is a benign (noncancerous) tumor. Many adenomas are nonfunctioning, meaning they don’t produce hormones. But some can produce excess hormones. These are called functioning adenomas. Adenomas that affect your endocrine system and cause hormone imbalances include:

• Pituitary adenomas: Pituitary adenomas can cause an imbalance in any of the hormones your pituitary gland makes. For example, pituitary adenomas are the most common cause of acromegaly (excess growth hormone in adults).

• Adrenal adenomas: The most common cause of Cushing’s syndrome (excess cortisol) is an adrenal adenoma on the adrenal cortex.

• Parathyroid adenomas: A parathyroid adenoma can cause primary hyperparathyroidism (excess parathyroid hormone).

• Other growths

Growths other than tumors and adenomas on endocrine glands can cause hormone imbalances. For example, thyroid nodules, an unusual growth (lump) of cells in your thyroid gland, can cause hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.

Damage or injury to an endocrine gland

Any kind of damage or injury to an endocrine gland can cause hormone imbalances — usually a lack (deficiency) of hormones. Damage could result from the following conditions or situations:

• Accidental damage from surgery: For example, approximately 75% of hypoparathyroidism (low parathyroid hormone) cases are from accidental damage to your parathyroid glands from neck or thyroid surgery.

• Excessive blood loss or lack of blood flow to an endocrine gland: Lack of blood flow can cause tissue to die (necrosis). For example, Sheehan’s syndrome, a cause of hypopituitarism, can happen when a person experiences severe blood loss after childbirth.

• Bacterial or viral illness: For example, hypopituitarism can be a complication of bacterial meningitis, though this is rare.

• Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy for cancer treatment can damage endocrine glands. For example, up to 50% of people treated for head and neck cancer with radiation therapy develop hypothyroidism.

• Brain or head trauma (also called traumatic brain injury, or TBI): Situations such as a vehicle accident, a fall or contact sports can cause head trauma and brain injuries, which can cause damage to your pituitary gland or hypothalamus.

Autoimmune conditions

An autoimmune disease happens when your immune system accidentally attacks a part of your body instead of protecting it. It's unclear why your immune system does this. If your immune system attacks a gland or organ that produces hormones, it causes a hormonal imbalance. Autoimmune endocrine conditions include:

• Hashimoto’s disease.

• Graves’ disease.

• Type 1 diabetes.

• Addison’s disease.

• Polyglandular syndromes.

• Diagnosis and Tests

How are hormonal imbalances diagnosed?

Healthcare providers typically order blood tests to check hormone levels since your endocrine glands release hormones directly into your bloodstream.

Certain hormone levels vary drastically throughout the day, so providers may order other tests to measure your levels, such as a glucose tolerance test or insulin tolerance test.

Your provider will also ask you about your medical history and symptoms and perform a physical exam.

Management and Treatment

How are hormonal imbalances treated?

Treatment for a hormonal imbalance will depend on what’s causing it.

If you have lower-than-normal hormone levels, the main treatment is hormone replacement therapy. Depending on which hormone is deficient, you may take oral medication (pills) or injection medication.

For example, if you have low thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism), your provider can prescribe synthetic thyroid hormone pills. If you have growth hormone deficiency, you’ll likely have to take injections (shots) of synthetic growth hormone.

If you have higher-than-normal hormone levels, there are many treatment options depending on the cause. Options include medication, surgery, radiation therapy or a combination of any of these.

For example, if you have a prolactinoma, a benign (noncancerous) tumor that causes excess prolactin (a hormone), your provider may prescribe a medication to shrink the tumor or you may need surgery to remove it.

How do you fix hormonal imbalance?

Many health conditions that involve hormonal imbalances, such as diabetes and thyroid disease, require medical treatment.

Many nutritional supplements in stores claim to treat different hormonal imbalances, but few of them have been scientifically proven to have a beneficial effect. It’s important to always talk to your healthcare provider first about taking supplements.

Aside from medical treatment, your provider may recommend certain lifestyle changes to help manage a hormonal imbalance, such as managing your stress levels and getting routine exercise.

What kind of doctors treat hormonal imbalances?

Primary healthcare providers can diagnose and help you manage many hormonal imbalances, but you may benefit from seeing an endocrinologist. An endocrinologist is a healthcare provider who specializes in endocrinology, a field of medicine that studies conditions related to your hormones. They can diagnose endocrine (hormone) conditions, develop treatment and management plans and prescribe medication.

Prevention

How can I prevent a hormonal imbalance?

While many hormonal imbalances aren’t preventable, there are certain things you can do to optimize your overall health, which could help keep your hormones balanced, including:

• Maintaining a healthy weight.

• Eating a balanced, healthy diet.

• Exercising regularly.

• Managing your stress.

• Getting enough quality sleep.

• Managing your chronic health conditions well (if applicable).

• Quitting smoking or using tobacco products, if you smoke.

Living With

When should I see my healthcare provider about a hormonal imbalance?

If you’re experiencing new, persistent symptoms, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider. They can order tests to help determine the cause of your symptoms.

Hormones are complex and powerful chemicals. If one or more of them goes out of whack, it can cause certain symptoms that make you feel like you’re not in control of your body. If you have new and persistent symptoms, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider. They can order some tests to see if a hormonal imbalance or another condition is the cause. The sooner you reach out for help and treatment, the sooner you’ll be able to feel like yourself again.

Fermented foods are foods or drinks that have been through a process of controlled microbial growth and enzymatic action. This process uses natural bacteria, yeasts, or molds to break down sugars and other compounds in the food. Fermentation helps preserve food, enhances its nutritional value, improves flavor, and adds beneficial probiotics that support gut health.

Common fermented foods include:

• Yogurt – Made from fermented milk using live cultures. It contains probiotics and is rich in calcium, which supports gut and bone health.
  
  

• Kefir – A tangy, drinkable fermented milk with a wide variety of probiotic strains.
  
  

• Sauerkraut – Fermented cabbage, rich in fiber and vitamin C. The raw, unpasteurized version contains live probiotics.
  
  

• Kimchi – A spicy Korean dish made from fermented vegetables like cabbage and radish. It’s rich in antioxidants and supports immune and gut health.
  
  

• Miso – A salty paste made from fermented soybeans, used in soups and sauces. It contains minerals and supports digestion.
  
  

• Tempeh – Made from fermented soybeans pressed into a firm cake. It’s a great plant-based protein and a source of probiotics and vitamin B12.
  
  

• Natto – Sticky, strong-smelling fermented soybeans high in vitamin K2 and beneficial for gut and heart health.
  
  

• Kombucha – A fermented tea that’s slightly fizzy and tangy. It supports detoxification and gut health with its live cultures.
  
  

• Natural Pickles – Cucumbers fermented in a salty brine (not vinegar). These contain probiotics and support digestion.
  
  

• Sourdough Bread – Made with a natural starter of wild yeast and bacteria. It’s easier to digest than conventional bread and has lower gluten content.
  
  

Health benefits of fermented foods include:

• Supporting a healthy gut microbiome

• Improving nutrient absorption

• Strengthening the immune system

• Reducing inflammation

• Supporting mood and mental health through the gut-brain connection
  
  

Tips when eating fermented foods:

• Choose raw and unpasteurized options whenever possible, as pasteurization kills live probiotics.

• Introduce them slowly into your diet, especially if you’re new to them or have digestive issues.

• Keep them refrigerated to maintain their probiotic content.

• Read labels and avoid options with added sugars, preservatives, or artificial ingredients

Here's a recipe guide using fermented foods to support gut and hormone health. 

These recipes are simple, nutritious, and packed with probiotics, fiber, and hormone-balancing nutrients.

🥣 1. Gut-Loving Probiotic Breakfast Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened plain Greek yogurt or coconut yogurt (for dairy-free)

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

• ½ banana, sliced

• ½ cup berries (blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries)

• 1 tbsp raw sauerkraut (optional – try a mild variety!)

• Drizzle of raw honey or maple syrup (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine yogurt, chia seeds, and flaxseed. Mix well.

2. Top with fruit and a small spoon of sauerkraut for extra probiotics.

3. Optional: drizzle with honey.

4. Let sit for 5–10 minutes or prep the night before for convenience.

Benefits: Supports digestion, hormone balance, and immune health.

🥗 2. Hormone-Balancing Kimchi Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mixed leafy greens (kale, spinach, arugula)

• ½ avocado, sliced

• ¼ cup kimchi (choose a clean, organic brand with live cultures)

• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

• ¼ cup shredded carrots

• 1 boiled egg or grilled tofu (for plant-based protein)

• Dressing: 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar + pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1. Toss greens, carrots, and avocado in a large bowl.

2. Add boiled egg or tofu and top with kimchi and sesame seeds.

3. Drizzle with olive oil and ACV dressing.

Benefits: Rich in fiber, healthy fats, probiotics, and hormone-supportive nutrients like vitamin E and zinc.

🥪 3. Sourdough Open-Faced Gut-Healing Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 slice of organic sourdough bread

• ½ avocado, mashed

• 1 tbsp sauerkraut or fermented pickles

• 1 poached or boiled egg

• Handful of arugula or sprouts

• Sprinkle of hemp seeds or pumpkin seeds

Instructions:

1. Toast the sourdough lightly.

2. Spread mashed avocado, layer egg, and top with sauerkraut and greens.

3. Sprinkle seeds for added nutrients.

Benefits: Provides fiber, healthy fats, and hormone-friendly nutrients like magnesium, omega-3s, and probiotics.

🥘 4. Tempeh Stir-Fry with Miso Glaze

Ingredients:

• ½ block organic tempeh, cubed

• 1 tbsp coconut oil or avocado oil

• 1 cup broccoli florets

• ½ cup bell peppers, sliced

• 1 tbsp white miso paste

• 1 tbsp tamari or coconut aminos

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• ½ tsp honey (optional)

• Green onions and sesame seeds for topping

Instructions:

1. Whisk miso, tamari, garlic, ginger, and honey in a small bowl.

2. Sauté tempeh in oil for 5–6 minutes until golden.

3. Add veggies, stir-fry for 3–5 minutes.

4. Add miso glaze, cook 2 more minutes.

5. Garnish and serve with quinoa or cauliflower rice.

Benefits: Miso and tempeh offer fermented soy benefits, supporting estrogen balance and gut flora.

🍵 5. Kombucha-Infused Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:

• ½ cup kombucha (raw, low-sugar)

• ½ cup almond or oat milk

• ½ banana

• ½ cup frozen mixed berries

• 1 tbsp flaxseed or chia

• 1 scoop hormone-supporting protein powder (optional)

Instructions:

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

2. Serve immediately.

Benefits: Probiotics from kombucha + fiber from flax = gut + hormone win!

🥣 Bonus Tip: Fermented Food Pairing Ideas

• Add kimchi to your grain bowls or tacos.

• Use sauerkraut in wraps or with roasted veggies.

• Mix miso into salad dressings or soups.

• Drink kefir in place of milk or blend into smoothies.

• Snack on fermented pickles with hummus.

Acupressure for Health Here is a list of the conditions, the points and locations. 

Your ‘Go-To’ points

Large Intestine 4: 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger. 

● The master point of the head 

● Great for pain all over the body 

● Contraindicated in pregnancy 

Stomach 36: 

(St 36) 4 finger widths below below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone 

● Energy point 

● All stomach problems 

● Knee pain 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

● Great for pain all over the body 

● Calms irritability, frustration, anger 

● When someone is ‘emotionally stuck’ 

Large Intestine 11 

On the end of the crease at the outer elbow when the elbow is bent 

● Cooling point, great for red rashes, hot flashes, fevers 

● Locally for elbow pain 

● Large intestine problems 

CV 17 Sea of Tranquility: 

This point is often considered to be the best point to relieve worry and anxiety. It helps to deepen your breathing and stimulates your thymus gland. 

This area is located four finger widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost directly at the center of the chest. Basically between the nipples for most people. 

Here’s how to locate the CV 17, also known as the Sea of Tranquility in Chinese medicine. Use your fingertips to slowly rub up and down the center of the breastbone. You are feeling for a small indent in this area. 

Yintang: 

Yintang is one of the best acupressure points for calming and also sleep apnea treatment that calms the mind, clarifies ideas and stimulates restful sleep. This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

Spleen 6: 

4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone 

● Great for all gynecological disorders 

● Energy boosting 

Pericardium 6: 

2 and a half to 3 finger widths from the crease on the wrist, between the two tendons in the center of the forearm. 

● Nausea 

● Stomach problems 

Gallbladder 21 : 

This is an easy acupoint to locate. If you have ever massaged someone’s shoulder area, you have definitely contacted GB 21. It is at the half-way mark between the side of the neck and the edge of the shoulder, just slightly toward the back side. 

● Neck and shoulder pain and tension 

Treating conditions:  General Wellbeing 

Points: 

Stomach 36: 

(St 36) 4 finger widths below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Spleen 6: 

4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

Large Intestine 4: 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Contraindicated in pregnancy 

Large Intestine 11 

On the end of the crease at the outer elbow when the elbow is bent 

CV 17 Sea of Tranquility: 

This area is located four finger widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost directly at the center of the chest. Basically between the nipples for most people. 

Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

Gallbladder 21 : 

4

This is an easy acupoint to locate. If you have ever massaged someone’s shoulder area, you have definitely contacted GB 21. It is at the half-way mark between the side of the neck and the edge of the shoulder, just slightly toward the back side. 

Skin Conditions 

Points: 

If Stress is involved (many are) 

CV 17 Sea of Tranquility: 

This area is located four finger widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost directly at the center of the chest. Basically between the nipples for most people. 

Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

If from frustration 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

For itching but use on all conditions 

Large Intestine 11 

On the end of the crease at the outer elbow when the elbow is bent 

Stomach 36: 

(St 36) 4 finger widths below below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Spleen 6: 

5

4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone If on the face: 

Large Intestine 4: 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Local points on the face: 

Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

Stomach 3: 

On the bottom of the cheekbones 

Acute Seasonal Rhinitis (Hay fever) 

Points: 

Large Intestine 4: 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Large Intestine 11 

On the end of the crease at the outer elbow when the elbow is bent Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

Large Intestine 20 

6

On the bottom corner edge of the nostrils 

Extra point Bitong 

Slightly lateral and higher than Large intestine 20 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

Stomach 36: 

(St 36) 4 finger widths below below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Spleen 6: 

4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

Arthritis Points:  Bladder 23 and Bladder 20 

Rub up and down and around the lower back 

Kidney 3 and Bladder 60 

Between the ankle and the achilleas tendon, use a pincer grip to squeeze both sides Stomach 36: 

(St 36) 4 finger widths below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Gallbladder 34 

Slightly down and in front of the fibula head 

Triple warmer 4 and 5 

(TW 5)On the back of the wrist 2 and a half fingers from the wrist crease in the center of the forearm 

(TW 4) Next to the tendons, on the little finger side, on the wrist crease Large Intestine 4: 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Note: Use a muscle or joint balm on the points and use a heat pack on top of the to enhance further 

Asthma Points: Lung 1 and Lung 2: 

On the front shoulder crease on the chest below the clavicle 

Dingchuan 

Slightly out from the bottom edge of the C7 vertebrae 

CV 17 Sea of Tranquility: 

This area is located four finger widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost directly at the center of the chest. Basically between the nipples for most people. 

Lung 9 and 10: 

In the depression on the wrist crease when you extend the thumb, Lung 10 is on the muscle of the thumb in the center of the muscle. 

Poor Energy/Fatigue Points: 

Stomach 36: 

(St 36) 4 finger widths below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Spleen 6: 

4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone Conception Vessel 6: 

2 finger widths below the navel on the center line 

Emotional Wellbeing 

Points: 

CV 17 Sea of Tranquility: 

This area is located four finger widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost directly at the center of the chest. Basically between the nipples for most people. 

Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

If from frustration, anger, frustration add: 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

Pericardium 6: 

2 and a half to 3 finger widths from the crease on the wrist, between the two tendons in the center of the forearm. 

If worried excessively add: 

Spleen 6: 

4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone Stomach 36: 

4 finger widths below below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone If fear based add: 

Rub the Kidney area with fists the create warmth 

Kidney 3 

Between the ankle and the achilles tendon 

If grief/loss add: 

Lung 1 and Lung 2: 

On the front shoulder crease on the chest below the clavicle 

Colds and Flus 10Points: 

Governing Vessel 16: 

In the depression at the center of the back of the head beneath the skull Gallbladder 20 : 

(GB20) is located by feeling for the mastoid (ear) bone and following the groove back to where the neck muscles attach to the skull. 

Bladder 10: 

About 1/2 inch out from the spine on the trapezius muscles right next to GB 20 Large Intestine 4: 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

If fever add: 

Large Intestine On the end of the crease at the outer elbow when the elbow is bent Strengthening Points for the body: 

Lung 1 and Lung 2: 

On the front shoulder crease on the chest below the clavicle 

Stomach 36: 

4 finger widths below below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Local points: 

Bladder 2: 

On the medial edge of the eyebrow in the depression ( for frontal headaches) Yintang: 

3rd eye point between the eyebrows (frontal headache) 

Stomach 3: 

At the bottom of the cheekbone below the line of the pupil 

Large intestine 20: 

On the edge of the nostrils 

Extra point Bitong: 

1/2 inch above Large intestine 20 point. 

Constipation Points: 

Large Intestine 4: 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Large Intestine 11 

On the end of the crease at the outer elbow when the elbow is bent Stomach 36: 

4 finger widths below below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Conception Vessel 6: 

2 finger widths below the navel on the center line 

Diarrhea Points:

Spleen 6: 4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone

Stomach 36: 4 finger widths below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Conception Vessel 6: 2 finger widths below the navel on the center line 

Stomach 25: 3 finger widths out from navel 

Insomnia Points: 

CV 17 Sea of Tranquility: 

This area is located four finger widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost directly at the center of the chest. Basically between the nipples for most people. 

Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

If from frustration, anger, frustration add: 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint. The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

If fear based add: 

Rub the Kidney area with fists the create warmth.

Kidney 3 

Between the ankle and the Achilles tendon 

If mind is racing: 

Kidney 1: 

On the sole of the foot, in the depression below the ball of the foot. 

If from nausea: 

Pericardium 6: 

2 and a half to 3 finger widths from the crease on the wrist, between the two tendons in the center of the forearm. 

If from neck pain and headache 

Gallbladder 20 : 

(GB20) is located by feeling for the mastoid (ear) bone and following the groove back to where the neck muscles attach to the skull. 

Bladder 10: 

About 1/2 inch out from the spine on the trapezius muscles right next to GB 20 Large Intestine 4 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Eyestrain Points: 

Bladder 2: 

On the medial edge of the eyebrow in the depression (for frontal headaches) Yintang: 

3rd eye point between the eyebrows (frontal headache) 

Stomach 3: 

At the bottom of the cheekbone below the line of the pupil 

Stomach 2: 

Below the pupil under the eye on the edge of the orbit in a small depression Large Intestine 4 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

Hot Flashes Points: 

Spleen 6: 4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone Kidney 1: On the sole of the foot, in the depression below the ball of the foot. Large Intestine 11 

On the end of the crease at the outer elbow when the elbow is bent Gallbladder 20 : 

(GB20) is located by feeling for the mastoid (ear) bone and following the groove back to where the neck muscles attach to the skull. 

Bladder 10: 

About 1/2 inch out from the spine on the trapezius muscles right next to GB 20 

Large Intestine 4 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

If nausea: 

Pericardium 6: 

2 and a half to 3 finger widths from the crease on the wrist, between the two tendons in the center of the forearm. 

If upset stomach and poor energy: 

Stomach 36: 

4 finger widths below below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone 

Memory/Concentration Points: 

Governing Vessel 26: 

On the top lip under the nose 

Du 20 

Go up from the front of the ears to the top of the head and feel for a small depression Gallbladder 20 : 

(GB20) is located by feeling for the mastoid (ear) bone and following the groove back to where the neck muscles attach to the skull. 

Bladder 10: 

About 1/2 inch out from the spine on the trapezius muscles right next to GB 20 If you are stressed out: 

CV 17 Sea of Tranquility: 

This area is located four finger widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost directly at the center of the chest. Basically between the nipples for most people. 

Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

If from frustration, anger, frustration add: 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

If fear based add: 

Rub the Kidney area with fists the create warmth 

Kidney 3 

Between the ankle and the achilles tendon 

If mind is racing: 

Kidney 1: 

On the sole of the foot, in the depression below the ball of the foot. 

Menstrual Disorders/PMS/Pain Points: 

Kidney 1: 

On the sole of the foot, in the depression below the ball of the foot. 

Liver 3: 

The point is located between the big toe and the second toe. Slide your finger along the space between the first and second toe to the tip of the joint.The point is located in the depression before your finger touches the bone (metatarsal joint). 

Spleen 6: 

4 finger widths up from center of inside ankle just behind the shin bone Stomach 36: 

4 finger widths below below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Conception Vessel 6: 

2 finger widths below the navel on the center line 

Conception Vessel 4: 

4 finger widths below the navel on the center line 

Smoking Cessation Points: 

Anatomical snuffbox on wrist 

CV 17 Sea of Tranquility: 

This area is located four finger widths up from the base of the breastbone, almost directly at the center of the chest. Basically between the nipples for most people. 

Yintang: 

This point is also called the Third Eye Point, and it is located directly between the eyebrows, in the bend where the bridge of the nose meets the forehead. 

Heart 7: 

On the wrist crease on the little finger side 

Lung 1 and Lung 2: 

On the front shoulder crease on the chest below the clavicle 

Earache/Water in ears/Tinnitus 

Points: 

3 points in front of the ears 

Point behind the flap of the ears 

Large Intestine 4 

(LI4) is located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together and press towards the finger 

Stomach Pain and Disorders Points: 

Stomach 36: 

4 finger widths below the kneecap one finger width out from the shin bone Conception Vessel 6: 

2 finger widths below the navel on the center line 

Pericardium 6: 

2 and a half to 3 finger widths from the crease on the wrist, between the two tendons in the center of the forearm. 

Acupressure for Health

Go-To Points - Quick Guide

Large Intestine 4 (LI4): Located on the highest spot of the muscle when the thumb and index fingers are brought close together.

• Master point of the head

• Pain relief across the body

• Contraindicated in pregnancy

Stomach 36 (ST36): 4 finger widths below the kneecap, one finger width lateral to the shinbone.

• Energy point

• Treats all stomach issues

• Knee pain relief

Liver 3 (LV3): Between the big toe and the second toe, in the depression before the metatarsal joint.

• Pain relief

• Calms irritability and emotional stagnation

Large Intestine 11 (LI11): At the outer elbow crease when bent.

• Cooling point for heat conditions

• Red rashes, hot flashes, fevers

• Elbow pain

CV 17 (Sea of Tranquility): 4 finger widths above the base of the breastbone.

• Relieves anxiety and worry

• Deepens breathing

• Stimulates thymus gland

Yintang: Between the eyebrows.

• Calms the mind

• Improves sleep

• Supports sleep apnea

Spleen 6 (SP6): 4 finger widths above the center of the inner ankle, behind the shin bone.

• Gynecological support

• Energy boosting

Pericardium 6 (PC6): 2.5 to 3 finger widths from the wrist crease, between the two tendons.

• Relieves nausea

• Stomach problems

Gallbladder 21 (GB21): Halfway between the neck and the edge of the shoulder.

• Shoulder and neck tension

Conditions and Recommended Points

General Wellbeing: ST36, SP6, LV3, LI4, LI11, CV17, Yintang, GB21

Skin Conditions: CV17, Yintang, LV3, LI11, ST36, SP6, LI4, ST3

Seasonal Rhinitis: LI4, LI11, Yintang, LI20, Bitong, LV3, ST36, SP6

Arthritis: BL23, BL20, KI3, BL60, ST36, GB34, TW4, TW5, LI4

Asthma: LU1, LU2, Dingchuan, CV17, LU9, LU10

Poor Energy/Fatigue: ST36, SP6, CV6

Emotional Wellbeing: CV17, Yintang, LV3, PC6, SP6, ST36, KI3, LU1, LU2

Colds and Flus: GV16, GB20, BL10, LI4, LI11, LU1, LU2, ST36, BL2, Yintang, ST3, LI20, Bitong