Hormones and Fat

Why Are Your Hormones Messed Up?
To understand why your hormones can be thrown out of whack and derail your ability to maintain a healthy weight, you first need to know one key fact about your endocrine system: It reacts to what you put into your body and how you treat it. All day your body interacts with external variables — what you choose to eat, the time of day, the intensity of your workout — and your endocrine system responds by releasing hormones to help you balance your blood sugar, go to sleep, burn fat, or build muscle.
The problem is that the endocrine system doesn't know what to make of many of the external variables it's introduced to. Many factors in our diet and environment — from processed foods to pesticides to lack of sleep — confuse our hormones to the point that they don't know which end is up. I call these factors endocrine disrupters because in the face of them, your hormones begin to overreact and overcompensate. And that's when trouble starts.

Endocrine disrupters can start a chain reaction: One hormone goes into overdrive and another goes into hibernation mode. That imbalance creates another, and another, and another. These dramatic hormone shifts weren't part of your body's original plan, so eventually the unpredictable fluctuations start to wear down your body's natural regulatory processes. Your endocrine system no longer understands what balance looks like. It stops responding the way it should. Your organs take a beating; your glands burn out. You develop a hypothyroid condition and/or become resistant to leptin (a satiety — or fullness — hormone) and insulin. And then you gain weight.

The good news is that you can help balance your hormones in part by changing what you put in your mouth. It is important to dig deep and remove all the toxins and poisons that your body wraps fat around to try to protect itself. These toxins damage your organs and your endocrine system, turns on your fat-storing hormones, and causes you to gain weight. It is then important to feed your boby the right kind of foods to restore the nutrients that speak directly with your fat-burning hormones to nudge them back to functioning at normal levels. Finally, you rebalance the energy going into and out of your body, so that your metabolism works for you as a fat-burning machine, instead of against you, storing fat and stealing energy.

You can get your hormones back on track! It is worth it to put forth the time and energy to connect back with your body, and heal all the damage that we create through our unhealthy lifestyles. Your body will work amaizingly for you if you give it the right fuel.

Find joy in the journey!
Maria

Are Pesticides Lurking in Your Food?

All right, it's time to look at the facts. You know all those pesticides that we spray on our lawns to make them look like suburban Edens, and on our crops to keep the bugs away? Where do you think they ultimately end up? Let's see: They accumulate in the soil, leach into groundwater, linger on the grass our kids run on in their bare feet, and hang out on the foods we eat. In other words, they end up in our bodies.

Considering that those chemicals were invented to, you know, kill things, what kind of effect do you think they're having on us? This is territory that researchers have only recently begun to explore. And they're turning up some disturbing connections: A recent large-scale National Institutes of Health epidemiological study found a dramatically increased risk of diabetes among farmers who routinely applied one of seven common pesticides to their crops. Research that has examined a broader group of chemicals called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) — including many pesticides, as well as the by-products of pesticide manufacture — has linked them to insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. (Another cause for alarm: The word "persistent" refers to the fact that these chemicals stick around in the environment and in the food chain long after their use. Although many POPs have been banned in most parts of the world, they still turn up in people's bodies years later.)

It'll take more research to tease out the all the effects of pesticides on human health, but one thing seems clear: They are not good for our metabolisms. We've endured a toxic onslaught for years without knowing what it's doing to our bodies. It's getting clearer by the day that we must start paying very close attention to where our food comes from. I am not being alarmist when I say that what we eat could have lifelong ramifications for our health, hormones, and metabolism. Buy organic, or create your own garden space in your yard to avoid pesticides in your foods, and keep those nasty chemicals off your lawn!

The cleasnsing effect

Is it ever good to feel bad? In some cases, yes. When you start a new treatment for an illness, your symptoms might increase at first, leaving you wondering if you're really getting healthier at all. This is called a Herxheimer reaction. This is the "die-off" effect that many people experience when they dramatically improve their diet and lifestyles. It is an allergic response to the toxic by-products produced when the body's pH is changed for the better. When this happens, large numbers of dangerous bacteria and yeast organisms die and leave the body.
During this period, you won't feel very well, but in reality, you are responding positively to treatment. After this initial detoxification period, you should see significant improvement of your symptoms.

Drinking lots of water, and supporting the cleansing reaction with minerals can help lessen this.

How to Get Sick: Use Artificial Sweeteners

As bad as sugar can be in its various forms, artificial sweeteners are worse! Some are downright deadly because of their carcinogenic properties. Also, they are used in such high-volume products as diet soft drinks and sugar-free foods. Chief among sinners is aspartame, which is marketed as NutraSweet or Equal. Renowned diabetes expert Dr. H. J. Roberts believes there is a clear scientific link between aspartame and increased incidence of brain tumors, seizure disorders, chronic headaches, and hyperactivity in children. As for saccharin, the "cancer-causing" warning labels still apply. The newcomer on the block is sucralose (used in Splenda), but the jury of scientific research still seems to be awaiting further testimony on this one. (If the Maker didn't produce it "as is," then it probably isn't much better than the other synthetic sugar substitutes.)

So it is that time of year when our kids come home from school sick, coughing, fevers. What is the typical protocol for dealing with this. For me it used to be a trip to the store to purchase Motrin, cough suppressants, and whatever else looked like it would get the job done. I would usually end up a few days later at the Dr. office to get an anti-biotic. The funny part about that was that the stuffy head would shift into the lungs and settle there.
Ok, there has got to be a better way to do this right? Well I have found many different resources that I use that help do the job. The trick is to strengthen the immune system and wipe out the bug, not suppress it.
I feel that there are some simple basics that you can use for all of these bugs that come our way, however you have to customize the program to the problem, and the child.
Products I use and love:
I always have Echinacea and Goldenseal on hand. This will be useful for the flu, fevers,earache/infection, sore throat, and a cold. This product is only used at times of illness, not as a preventative.
Silver is a one of those do everything products. I don't recommend a colloid, or a made it yourself product. find a great aqua sol formula, there is not the same risk involved with this technology. I love Nature Sunshines Silver Shield.
A good probiotic is going to be vital. You can find this in many different forms. Colostrum, Bifidophilus, Acidophilus, and other forms of Lactobacillis. These friendly bacteria prevails in the intestines to keep harmful bacteria in check.
There are many herbs that can be used to help purge congestion out of the chest and sinuses. I love an use all of the following alone or in different combinations.
Garlic- called natures penicillin. Good for the circulatory system. Anti-viral, Anti-fungal, and Anti-bacterial. My kids love garlic gels.
Mullien- A powerful lung remedy. Soothing and lubricating to the lungs, Helps heal weakened lungs,and purge congestion. You can find this in combinations with garlic or lobelia, fenugreek, horseradish, or wild cherry bark.
Olive leaf, Oregon Grape, Zinc Lozenges, and any herbs that help clear the liver are always options to add.
Essential oils are a vital. I use them internally, topically and diffuse them into the air.
Eucalyptus- The cooling congestion clearer. Sinus congestion,lung infection, headache, aches and pains.
Lemon- The clarifying detoxifier. Great for clearing toxins out of tissues.
Thyme- It is for everything microbial. Very gentle yet effective for severe cough and infection.
Frankincense- Good for grounding and blood clearing. Anti-inflammatory, great for pain, skin, infections, headaches, asthma. One of my favorites.
Lavender- The do everything oil. Use this for baths to soothe the body, mind, and spirit. Headaches, congestion, rashes, burns.
Cinnamon- Warming infection fighter. Great for any infection.
Myrrh- is very soothing to the system. great for mouth sores, chest infection
Oregano- Is one of those do everything oils. This oil is considered bringing in the big guns.
Peppermint- Clarity and refreshment. Put on the bottoms of the feet to pull down a fever. Works on headaches, coughing, congestion.
Tea tree- Also known as Melaleuca- The anti-fungal first aid wonder. Great for chest colds, mouth sores, thrush, yeast issues.
You can put oils together in many different combinations to fit your issue. I am very picky about the Quality of oil I use . My favorite is Doterra.
www.mydoterra.com/maria

These are all the curative options. What we need to be mindful of in our everyday life, with the choices we make in food, drink, stress, thoughts,and environment is preventative.
There is nothing better than taking control of your families health. Having the knowledge to be empowered as the healer of you family is key. Take every cold, flu, earache, and cough as an opportunity to learn. Have the tools in your home. Teach your kids to make healthy choices.

Find Joy in every Journey!
Maria

What I love

I want to share with everyone the things that I love, and use on a daily basis. I am the mother of 6 Children and have learned to take responsibility for all of our health. Life with kids comes with lots of challenges,and opportunities. Not a day goes by without a meal to fix, an owie to fix, a heart to love, a spirit to lift. Many opportunities to learn and teach.





In my home we do things quite simple. We eat simple, and at the same time we eat healthy and only the best. People think it cost more to eat healthy. I think that it is quite the opposite. I feed 8 of us on a very modest budget. We have lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Good high Quality meats. Most of our meals are freshly made. My kids get angry and refuse to eat if I dont offer them a good fresh meal. They think that canned food and ready made meals are poor food. I love that they are food snobs. Yes they love sweets and chips and junk foods. We have learned how to make smart choices on those options.

I have found many food co-ops that I do group orders with. My favorite is Green Polka Dot Box. If you could imagine purchaseing food at the wholesale price like Whole Foods, Good Earth, Or Trader Joes. The foods are delivered to your home. When you purchase over $150.00 your shipping is free. Here is the link to this opportunitie. ...so check this out. It's a new online club called The Green PolkaDot Box. They've got a rewards program that gives you extra discounts and they pay money back when you tell others so you can wipe out your cost for the food you buy. It's really cool: FREE Organics!
Learn how you can help wipe out your cost for natural and organic foods.
http://www.greenpolkadotbox.com/join/57
Find joy in every journey
Maria Heuser, Member

http://www.greenpolkadotbox.com/join/57