No More Toxic Make Up Removers

Usually I’m able to wash off my makeup with a natural cleanser and water. But some waterproof eye makeup can be difficult to remove without a product. Many makeup removers contain chemicals like isohexadecane, poloxamer 184, benalkonium chloride, methylparaben, sodium benzoate etc. Photo Credit Sunshinecity

It isn’t necessary to ingest toxins for them to enter your body. The skin has a high absorption rate. In fact there are approximately 60,000 deaths per year in the US due to transdermal exposure, and 860,000 occupational reported illness from transdermal absorption of chemicals. Depending on the type of chemical and area of the skin anywhere from 8-70% can be absorbed trans dermally.

Most make-up products are not going to cause immediate issues and are considered “safe”. But the question is how safe? Many products are endocrine disruptors which means they can contribute to hormonal imbalances. Some products such as Vaseline are a petroleum-based product (like gasoline). Some chemicals may cause irritation, inflammation and dryness of the skin.

Well I discovered something a couple weeks ago and want to share with you. It’s very simple. Start with a warm soapy cleanser. Then apply an olive oil, bees wax, vitamin E type of salve to the areas you would usually need a make-up remover. Let the natural salve soak for about 1 minute and everything gently wipes off. It doesn’t need to be a synthetic oil based make-up remover to work. Natural oils work too! I was so happy when I discovered this and wanted to share it with you.

What is True Freedom

Happy Memorial Day! As we remember those who have fought for our country’s freedom today, it can also be a time to reflect on the health of our personal freedom.

-Do you feel like you have freedom?

-Does your health keep you from being a part of what means the most to you?

-Do you feel trapped by your own thoughts in your head and desire emotional freedom?

-Is something in your life not OK, but you’ve allowed it to continue?

-Is there something you desire, but you feel it is impossible to have?

If you are doing fantastic, I am so happy for you. If you are struggling, know that this too will pass. The first step in change is realizing that you want something to be different. I’ve found 2 roadblocks to getting what you desire, and if these are overcome, it is so easy for good things, like health, weight loss, freedom from anxiety/depression, improved relationships, and financial abundance be possible. Let’s overcome the 2 roadblocks.

1.     Lack of follow through. What is true freedom? Is it to do whatever you want, whenever you want? Maybe not. If a kid wants to stick their fingers into the electric outlet, they will get hurt, you tell them no. As adults, true freedom is having the discipline to do what leads us to lasting happiness, satisfaction, and purpose. Having the ability to say no to food cravings will help you feel better and look better. Giving up the comfort of watching TV and going for a walk will give you more energy. Having the ability to stop negative spiraling thought patterns will allow you to get out suffering sooner. Having the ability to think thoughts that serve you will get you want you truly want so much faster.

2.     Lack of control over your feelings and thoughts. Many of you have tried therapy for years talking about the same sort of things but don’t feel it really works. While helpful for insight and understanding about the situation, often our nervous systems are locked into programs since childhood.  Or traumas or negative experiences program our brains into either fight and flight (always being on guard, anxiety, protecting ourselves), or into freeze mode where we are paralyzed to move forward. Techniques that help rewire the nervous system is so helpful to making it so much easier to finally have control over your thoughts and emotions. Helping your nervous system feel safe to make change is what makes you able to change. If your brain wants to change, but your nervous system tells you it is not safe to, then the survival response wins and you are fighting yourself. The good news is there is a way to re-wire your brain to your advantage.

I encourage you to take some time for reflection this Memorial Day. You are worth it, beautiful, valued, important and deserving. You can have good things and good health. Summer is coming and a new season. It’s a good time to make some positive changes. Let me know if I can be of help to you in any way.

Feeling Bloated? Even after Eating Healthy.

Do you make an effort to eat healthily and then go out to eat, ordering something not even that bad but come home and feel like your stomach has to pay for the next few days? You might have tried various diets hoping one of them might heal your gut and you can return back to a more normal lifestyle, only to feel like you have been more and more sensitive to foods. It feels like the list of foods you can handle has shrunk. You’ve even tried some supplements like probiotics but it doesn’t seem like there is much improvement. The medical tests you’ve done do not give much information and there is not anything too abnormal. So what do you do?

The good news is that you don’t need to settle and just live with this. I’ve seen many patients like you and  usually there is something going on that is not right. Most of the tests that traditional medicine runs don’t catch anything unless it has usually already become a diagnosable disease. But it often takes years of an unhealthy or imbalanced state to get to that point.

We can test for things like the distribution of normal flora bacteria in your intestinal tract. Sometimes  the proportion of these bacteria when out of balance can give rise to symptoms such as bloating or oversensitivity to foods. Normal flora bacteria imbalances will not show up in a traditional stool test at your doctors office, because those tests will look for bacteria like C. diff (Clostridioides difficile) or giardia which usually cause acute diarrhea and abdominal pain. The tests I run with my patients will also test for presence of candida, yeasts, amoebas, parasites and other un-belonging bacteria.

We can also test for a few molecules that can indicate intestinal inflammation, poor digestion of fats or proteins, and intestinal permeability or “leaky gut”. These issues can also make you more sensitive to what you eat and bloated. Many stomach conditions can often be remedied by natural supplements, Chinese herbal formulas and for increased effectiveness, combined with energy work. 

Sometimes giving your digestive system a rest by eating things that are easier to digest and lighter for a week or so can help you feel better. Do consult a doctor if any diets, or supplements are appropriate for you.

Some examples include:

-chicken or turkey broth with easy to digest vegetables like zucchini, butternut squash, carrots, ginger, parsley, cilantro etc. Even better you can make bone broth. Add 1-2 teaspoons of apple cidar vinegar to the soup. (These soups are anti-inflammatory, and great for your immune system and easy to digest).

-fresh ginger tea. (Cut up 4-5 inches of fresh ginger. Boil in 4-6 cups of water. Strain and add some honey to taste). This is anti-inflammatory and helps decrease nausea, abdominal pain and bloating.

-Lemon balm, chamomile, ginger, lavender, peppermint teas are all helpful for the stomach and some of these teas help to calm down the nervous system. You may have noticed that stress makes your symptoms worse.

If you are wanting to get to the bottom of what is going on with your gastrointestinal issues, please contact me and I will be very happy to help you have a healthier GI system so that you don’t need to resort to avoiding more and more foods until it feels like your life is so restricted.

Fat and Hormones. Where’s the fat located on your body?

Does fat in different places of your body corresponds to different kinds of hormone imbalances?

Have you tried to exercise and diet, but still find it hard to lose weight? It turns out certain hormone imbalances can keep you from getting the results you want, even if you’re doing the right things to be healthy. This can be frustrating if you’ve put in a lot of effort with minimal or no results. It turns out where you tend to accumulate fat can be a tell tail sign of what system of your body is out of balance.

Belly Fat

Belly fat is usually related to cortisol imbalance. Stress is a bad culprit to belly fat. If you have a saggy belly starting from the navel down, it is usually related to adrenal issues. If your belly is protruding, it can often be related to liver issues. An apple shaped belly is associated with an increased risk to cardiovascular disease. Photo credit TipsTimesAdmin

Thigh Fat

Accumulation of fat in the upper thighs is often associated with female hormone imbalance. Often there is estrogen dominance. This can be either too much estrogen, or more estrogen in relationship to progesterone. The liver processes and detoxifies estrogens and if this is not functioning well, there can be too much “bad estrogens” which have an inflammatory and proliferative (abnormal cell growth, cancer risk) effect.

Upper Arm Fat

Fat in the upper arms or near the triceps can indicate issues with the thyroid. Hypothyroidism is often associated with overall weight gain, dry skin, fatigue, low body temperature or constipation. That is not to say that there are some very thin patients who have hypothyroidism. Some patients have subclinical hypothyroidism even though they have TSH levels within the normal range. It is important to check thyroid hormones such as Free T3 and Free T4 also when doing thyroid lab testing. Often times there is a correlation between adrenal imbalance leading to thyroid imbalance.

Puffy Face

Extreme “moon face” is associated with Cushing’s syndrome which is diagnosed by abnormally high levels of cortisol. This is not a common diagnosis. If you look back to photos 10 years ago and notice your face has become puffier than before, it can indicate lymphatic congestion, need for improved liver and kidney detoxification. Puffy eyes can be a sign of stress, lack of sleep or hidden good allergies.

Overall Weight Gain

I usually look at both sex hormones and blood sugar levels when there is overall weight gain. Patients who tend to feel hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) are more prone to diabetes (high blood sugar) a few years later if left unchecked. Hypoglycemic crashes can lead to excessive carbohydrate or sugar consumption to correct the low blood sugar symptoms (irritability, decreased concentration, hunger, shakiness, feeling weak etc). Diets high in carbohydrates and aging can lead to insulin resistance. Did you know “Stressed” spelled backwards is “Dessert”? This means the body needs to secrete more and more insulin before blood sugar is balanced. But the problem is insulin can make you gain weight.

So the strategy is getting the body to secrete as little insulin as possible for proper blood sugar levels without the weight gaining effects of insulin resistance. If you are wanting to get to the bottom of why you are gaining weight or having difficulty losing weight, please reach out and I would be happy to partner with you. It is possible to achieve the look you desire and be healthier.

Are there good and bad forms of calcium? Isn’t it just calcium?

When they talk about taking calcium, isn’t all calcium, calcium? Have you seen the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast? Beauty can be coupled with the “beast” or she could be coupled with the “prince”. Which would you prefer? Turns out in chemistry, elements like calcium, iron, magnesium etc. cannot exist alone but is coupled with another molecule of opposite charge to be stable.

Going back to the periodic table, the calcium element has a charge of 2+, so it would need to be coupled with a molecule with a 2- charge in order to exist and be stable. So when we talk about calcium is coupled with something else and that something else does make a difference to the human body. Photo Credit Science Activism

For example, here are some different forms of calcium: Calcium Carbonate and Calcium Citrate.

Calcium Carbonate is basically chalk. Not very absorbable. Too much of it can even contribute to the formation of calcium deposits, hardening of arteries, inflammatory micro-adhesions to name a few. Unfortunately, calcium carbonate is found in most calcium supplements, Tums, etc and most people don’t know it.

A study in the American Journal of Therapeutics showed that absorption by the human body of calcium citrate was 27% higher than calcium carbonate. Another study showed that women taking calcium carbonate for osteoporosis did not have decrease in fractures. Therefore, if you are wanting to take calcium for bone health, most calcium on the shelf “calcium carbonate” would not be as effective.

Calcium citrate is much safer and more bioavailable than calcium carbonate. But even better than calcium citrate is MCHC Micro Crystalline Hydroxyapatite Complex. This is basically a mineral complex that contains calcium and other minerals that are part of the human bone structure. Studies show that calcium carbonate slowed bone resorption (bone loss) by 50%, but that MCHC almost stopped it completely. MCHC also improves the architecture of bone, so that its structure is much more durable and stable against fractures.

Besides taking the right type of calcium, it is also important how your body metabolizes calcium. This means how calcium moves in and out of cells and also how much calcium exists inside cells and outside of cells. Improper calcium metabolism is associated with over 150 diseases, so this is actually something important though often overlooked. For example improper calcium metabolism can contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, coronary artery disease, multiple sclerosis and various auto-immune diseases. If you need help with finding the right forms of supplements for yourself or want to delve deeper in underlying health issues you are dealing with, please reach out and I will be happy to help you.