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Rid your body of Toxins by Cleansing with Aloe

10/16/2013

Benefits of Colon Cleansing with Aloe

Aloe vera and its cleansing functions are much touted all over the world. People with digestive complications have experienced great benefits from this plant.
Cleanses are used to break down and clean out waste from the colon and detoxify the blood stream. Toxins in the colon, if reabsorbed into the blood stream, may cause fatigue, low energy and headaches. Cleansing the colon flushes the toxins from the colon and the blood stream, and rejuvenates the body. This can help with weight loss, boost the immune system and reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Aloe vera juice is thicker in texture; it helps in easing bowel functions by counterbalancing the effects of toxins and wastes in the body, thus ridding the body of waste materials. It is very important to cleanse the colon regularly to improve bowel functions and enhance general health. Furthermore, colon cleansing can help in strengthening immunity and boosting metabolism too. Aloe Vera does not require a procedure or a major lifestyle change and is easy to incorporate into other types of cleanses. Unlike other methods of cleansing, aloe vera colon cleanse is very effective as well as efficient. It is one the easiest ways to improve your colon health and ensure that your immunity is at its best.

Dietary Benefits of Aloe Vera

The benefits of a diet that is supplemented by Aloe Vera can be varied and profound. To name a few, research suggests that Aloe may lower cholesterol, slow tumor growth, prevent kidney stones and ease inflammation. It is widely known that topical use of this plant will increase recovery time for scratches and burns, however, it is less well known that ingestion of the gel, or derivatives thereof, may also increase healing time of internal afflictions like ulcers. Nutrients from these plants have also been used as a natural treatment for colon polyps and pre-cancerous lesions in the colon. Moreover, when ingested, the gel is a gentle natural laxative that cleanses the colon and detoxifies the blood.Nutrients in Aloe Vera include minerals, vitamins, essential amino acids and plant compounds like triterpenes and polysaccharides. Triterpenes are known to exhibit antioxidant activity and reduce blood sugar. Polysaccharides boost immune function and digestive function. It is this breakdown that makes Aloe one of the most useful herbal products on the market today. The unique blend of these vital ingredients allows aloe to cleanse the body in a way that is safe and powerful. Because of the colon cleansing attributes of this plant, it helps in addressing all colon ailments and improving the colon health by eliminating and ejecting wastes from the human body. The juice of aloe vera, as well as aloe vera extracts can be extremely beneficial for overall health.

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Wheat Warnings!

10/9/2013

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Dr. William Davis, seeker-of-truth in health, a preventive cardiologist who practices in Milwaukee, Wis., argues in his new book Wheat Belly that wheat is bad for your health—so bad that it should carry a surgeon general’s warning!

"I’m not promoting drugs, fancy medical procedures, or costly equipment. I’m not promoting a process that makes a pharmaceutical company rich or helps a hospital gain more revenue-producing procedures. I’m talking about a simple change in diet that yields incredible and unexpected health benefits in so many more ways than you’d think. And it’s not just about celiac disease, the destructive intestinal disease from wheat gluten that affects 1% of the population. It’s about all the other destructive health effects of wheat consumption, from arthritis to acid reflux to schizophrenia, caused or made worse by this food we are advised to eat more of. It’s about being set free from the peculiar appetite-stimulating effects of the opiate-like compounds unique to wheat. It’s also about losing weight–10, 20, or 30 pounds is often just the start–all from this thing I call wheat belly. The key to understanding wheat’s undesirable effects is to recognize that the total effect on human health is greater than the sum of its part."

FAQ's on Frankengrains being Bad for your Health ...

Q: How does wheat make us fat, exactly?
A: It contains amylopectin A, which is more efficiently converted to blood sugar than just about any other carbohydrate, including table sugar. In fact, two slices of whole wheat bread increase blood sugar to a higher level than a candy bar does. And then, after about two hours, your blood sugar plunges and you get shaky, your brain feels foggy, you’re hungry. So let’s say you have an English muffin for breakfast. Two hours later you’re starving, so you have a handful of crackers, and then some potato chips, and your blood sugar rises again. That cycle of highs and lows just keeps going throughout the day, so you’re constantly feeling hungry and constantly eating. Dietitians have responded to this by advising that we graze throughout the day, which is just nonsense. If you eliminate wheat from your diet, you’re no longer hungry between meals because you've stopped that cycle. You've cut out the appetite stimulant, and consequently you lose weight very quickly. I've seen this with thousands of patients.

Q: A lot of us have switched to whole wheat products because we've been told complex carbohydrates are heart healthy and good for us. Are you saying that’s not true?
A: The research that indicates whole grains are healthy is all conducted the same way: white flour is replaced with whole wheat flour, which, no question, is better for you. But taking something bad and replacing it with something less bad is not the same as research that directly compares what happens to health and weight when you eliminate wheat altogether. There’s a presumption that consuming a whole bunch of the less bad thing must be good for you, and that’s just flawed logic. An analogy would be to say that filtered cigarettes are less bad for you than unfiltered cigarettes, and therefore, a whole bunch of filtered cigarettes is good for you. It makes no sense. But that is the rationale for increasing our consumption of whole grains, and that combined with the changes in wheat itself is a recipe for creating a lot of fat and unhealthy people.

Q: You say the crux of the problem with wheat is that the stuff we eat today has been genetically altered. How is it different than the wheat our grandparents ate?
A: First of all, it looks different. If you held up a conventional wheat plant from 50 years ago against a modern, high-yield dwarf wheat plant, you would see that today’s plant is about 2½ feet shorter. It’s stockier, so it can support a much heavier seedbed, and it grows much faster. The great irony here is that the term “genetic modification” refers to the actual insertion or deletion of a gene, and that’s not what’s happened with wheat. Instead, the plant has been hybridized and crossbred to make it resistant to drought and fungi, and to vastly increase yield per acre. Agricultural geneticists have shown that wheat proteins undergo structural change with hybridization, and that the hybrid contains proteins that are found in neither parent plant. Now, it shouldn't be the case that every single new agricultural hybrid has to be checked and tested, that would be absurd. But we've created thousands of what I call Frankengrains over the past 50 years, using pretty extreme techniques, and their safety for human consumption has never been tested or even questioned.

Q: But I’m not overweight and I exercise regularly. So why would eating whole wheat bread be bad for me?
A: You can trigger effects you don’t perceive. Small low-density lipoprotein [LDL] particles form when you’re eating lots of carbohydrates, and they are responsible for atherosclerotic plaque, which in turn triggers heart disease and stroke. So even if you’re a slender, vigorous, healthy person, you’re still triggering the formation of small LDL particles. And second, carbohydrates increase your blood sugars, which cause this process of glycation, that is, the glucose modification of proteins. If I glycate the proteins in my eyes, I get cataracts. If I glycate the cartilage of my knees and hips, I get arthritis. If I glycate small LDL, I’m more prone to atherosclerosis. So it’s a twofold effect. And if you don’t start out slender and keep eating that fair trade, organically grown whole wheat bread that sounds so healthy, you’re repeatedly triggering high blood sugars and are going to wind up with more visceral fat. This isn’t just what I call the wheat belly that you can see, flopping over your belt, but the fat around your internal organs. And as visceral fat accumulates, you risk responses like diabetes and heart disease.

Q: What extreme techniques are you talking about?
A: New strains have been generated using what the wheat industry proudly insists are “traditional breeding techniques,” though they involve processes like gamma irradiation and toxins such as sodium azide. The poison control people will tell you that if someone accidentally ingests sodium azide, you shouldn't try to resuscitate the person because you could die, too, giving CPR. This is a highly toxic chemical.

Q: Can’t you just get around any potential health concerns by buying products made with organically grown wheat?
A: No, because the actual wheat plant itself is the same. It’s almost as if we’ve put lipstick on this thing and called it organic and therefore good, when the truth is, it’s really hardly any better at all.

Q: You seem to be saying that aside from anything else, wheat is essentially the single cause of the obesity epidemic.
A: I wouldn't go so far as to say that all obesity is due to wheat. There are kids, of course, who drink Coca-Cola and sit in front of video games for many hours a day. But I’m speaking to the relatively health-minded people who think they’re doing the right thing by limiting fat consumption and eating more whole grains, and there’s a clear subset of people who are doing that and gaining weight and don’t understand why. It causes tremendous heartache. They come into my office and say, “I exercise five times a week, I’ve cut my fat intake, I watch portion size and eat my whole grains—but I’ve gone up three dress sizes.”

Q: You write that wheat is “addictive,” but does it really meet the criteria for addiction we’d use when talking about, say, drugs?
A: National Institutes of Health researchers showed that gluten-derived polypeptides can cross into the brain and bind to the brain’s opiate receptors. So you get this mild euphoria after eating a product made with whole wheat. You can block that effect [in lab animals] by administering the drug naloxone. This is the same drug that you’re given if you’re a heroin addict; it’s an opiate blocker. About three months ago, a drug company applied to the FDA to commercialize naltrexone, which is an oral equivalent to naloxone. And it works, apparently, it blocks the pleasurable feelings you get from eating wheat so people stop eating so much. In clinical trials, people lost about 22.4 lb. in the first six months. Why, if you’re not a drug addict, do you need something like that? And of course there’s another option, which is to cut wheat out of your diet. However, and this is another argument for classifying wheat as addictive, people can experience some pretty unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

Q: For how long?
A: Generally about five days. And once you’re through withdrawal, your cravings subside, your calorie intake decreases and your alertness and overall health improve.

Q: So do you believe food manufacturers are putting wheat into more and more food products, not just bread and crackers, because it’s addictive and stimulates appetite?
A: These are not stupid people. The research showing that wheat stimulates appetite didn't come from some little alternative health practitioner. It comes from the NIH. It stretches credibility to believe they have no awareness of the evidence.

Q: If there’s all this evidence, why does the government encourage us to “eat healthy” by upping our consumption of whole grains?
A: That’s the million-dollar question. Wheat is so linked to human habit, it’s 20 per cent of all calories consumed by humans worldwide, that I think there was the presumption, “Gee, humans have consumed this for thousands of years, so what’s the problem?” I don’t think the misguided advice to eat more whole grains came from evil intentions.

Q: Wheat is a huge industry. What do you say to all the farmers who grow it?
A: To me, it’s reminiscent of tobacco farmers, who would say, “Look, I’m just trying to make a living and feed my family.” Nevertheless, tobacco is incredibly harmful and kills people. It could turn out that if we wind back the clock 100 or 1,000 years, and resurrect einkorn or some of the heritage forms of wheat, maybe that would be a solution. Of course, wheat products would then be much more expensive. Instead of a $4 loaf of bread, maybe it would cost $7 when grown with a heritage wheat. To me, it’s similar to free range eggs or organic beef 20 years ago. Everyone said, “No one will pay a premium for those.” But people do. And when it comes to wheat, my main goal is to inform people, including farmers, that the prevailing notion that cutting fat and eating whole grains will make you healthy is not only wrong, it’s destructive.

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Candida, understanding the Gastrointestinal (GI) connection

10/8/2013

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What is Candida and do I suffer from it?

What is Candida and how does it connect to intestines?

Candida is a fungus, which is a form of yeast, and a very small amount of it lives in your mouth and intestines. Its job is to aid with digestion and nutrient absorption but, when overproduced, candida breaks down the wall of the intestine and penetrates the bloodstream, releasing toxic byproducts into your body and causing leaky gut. This can lead to many different health problems, ranging from digestive issues to depression.

How do you get candida overgrowth?

The healthy bacteria in your gut typically keep your candida levels in check. However, several factors can cause the candida population to get out of hand:

Eating a diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugar (which feed the yeast)
Consuming a lot of alcohol
Taking oral contraceptives
Eating a diet high in beneficial fermented foods like Kombucha, sauerkraut and pickles
Living a high-stress lifestyle
Taking a round of antibiotics that killed too many of those friendly bacteria

Here are 10 common candida symptoms

Skin and nail fungal infections (such as athlete’s foot or toenail fungus)
Feeling tired and worn down or suffering from chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia
Digestive issues such as bloating, constipation, or diarrhea
Autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma or Multiple sclerosis
Difficulty concentrating, poor memory, lack of focus, ADD, ADHD and brain fog
Skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, hives, and rashes
Irritability, mood swings, anxiety, or depression
Vaginal infections , urinary tract infections, rectal itching or vaginal itching
Severe seasonal allergies or itchy ears
Strong sugar and refined carbohydrate cravings

How do you test for Candida overgrowth?

Blood test: You'll want to check your levels for IgG, IgA, and IgM candida anti-bodies. These can be checked through most any lab. High levels indicate an overgrowth of candida.

Stool testing: The most accurate test available. This will check for candida in your colon or lower intestines. The lab can usually determine the species of yeast as well as which treatment will be affective. (Note: be sure that your doctor orders a comprehensive stool test rather than the standard stool test.)

Urine Organix Dysbiosis Test: This test detects a waste product of Candida yeast overgrowth known as D-Arabinitol. An elevated test means an overgrowth of candida. This test will determine if there is candida in your upper gut or small intestines.

Here is a detailed list of more symptoms and conditions that commonly occur in people with Candida overgrowth. Most all of these same symptoms typically improve or disappear with effective treatment for Candida.

Some of the symptoms listed may sound “normal,” because the Candida problem is so common in the modern world. Some are led to say, when they review this list, “Doesn’t that describe everybody?” It must be emphasized that none of these symptoms are part of normal health. When too many people around us are ill, strange symptoms may become common, but that does not make themnormal. Many of the things listed — such as asthma, diabetes, epidemic obesity, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, ADD/ADHD, autism, panic attacks and others — were virtually non-existent (or at least much less common) before the 1970s. They became much too common as a consequence of various factors, including: widespread overuse of antibiotics starting in the 1950s; increased availability of chlorinated swimming pools; much increased use of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics in the food supply; the advent of the birth control pill; and the addition since the 1990s of barley malt into nearly every baked food (cereals, crackers, cookies) and of high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in beverages.

A person with Candida overgrowth may have only 2-3 of these symptoms, or may identify with many.

Mental/emotional/nervous system:

Headaches and migraine headaches
Depression
Sleep problems — difficulty falling asleep, or waking up in the middle of the night with a mind that won’t calm down (typically between 1 and 3 am)
Irritability and confusion
Poor memory
Anxiety attacks, panic attacks
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Heart beating too fast or irregularly
Sexual problems — impotence or lack of desire, or excessive sexuality
Attention deficit, hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD)
Dizziness
Numbness
Feeling of floating or not quite being in your body
Indecisiveness, difficulty organizing and cleaning messy areas

Digestive system:

Cravings for sugar, chocolate, milk, cheese, vinegar, pickles, alcohol, bread, nuts or fruit
“Metabolic syndrome” which includes the following: large abdomen (“beer belly”), adult-onset diabetes, high cholesterol or triglycerides, high blood pressure
“Beer belly,” also called truncal obesity — excess weight centered around the abdomen
Acid reflux/GERD (heartburn)
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
Bloating, flatulence or abdominal pain
Rectal itching
Constipation and/or diarrhea
Excessively thin or anorexic/bulimic

Skin, eyes, hair:

Skin and nail fungal infections (current or past), including: athlete's foot, vaginal yeast infections, fungal toenails, ringworm, jock itch, tinea versicolor or itchy eyelids
Skin problems like eczema, rashes, psoriasis
Prematurely graying hair
Pupils always dilated
Unusually green eyes, or eye color has turned greenish

Immune disorders:

Asthma and allergies
Recurring infections — colds, ears, bladder, sinus
Autoimmune disease (lupus, hypothyroidism, arthritis, others)
Penicillin allergy

Whole body:

Fatigue
Muscle or joint pain, fibromyalgia
Cold feet, cold hands, sometimes cold nose
Sweating, especially at night
Uncomfortable at any temperature

Women’s health issues:

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Endometriosis (chronic pelvic pain)
Infertility (female), some miscarriages, toxemia of pregnancy (preeclampsia)

Symptoms seen particularly in children up to about 8 years old:

Early allergy to foods like milk
Infections as a baby
Child had or has frequent ear infections, tonsillitis, strep throat or bladder infections, especially if these infections were treated with antibiotics
Cravings for milk, cheese, yogurt, macaroni and cheese, or peanut butter
Asthma
“Drama king” or “drama queen” — complains quite vocally and often
Poor sleep patterns — difficulty going to sleep, sleeps too lightly or has frequent nightmares, and wakes up too early (or sometimes too late)
Too thin or overweight
Attention deficit with or without hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD)
Aggressive, poor social interactions, can’t stop moving, frequent fights or arguments, frequent crying
Autism
Pale complexion, dark circles under the eyes

Two points should be understood with regard to the above list of signs and symptoms of Candida overgrowth. First, while all of the symptoms listed are definitely seen in Candida patients and evidence indicates Candida causes or strongly contributes to the development of these problems, there are other contributing factors that can also bring about some of these problems (such as mercury or other metal toxicity, consistent excess electromagnetic field exposure, underlying viral infections, petrochemical exposure, etc.). Second, treatment for Candida alone will usually bring about significant improvement in these symptoms, but will not be adequate in all cases to restore health. Often additional treatments aimed at improving liver, adrenal or thyroid function, or correcting immune and allergic problems, are necessary to regain health.

How do you treat candida overgrowth?

Effectively treating candida involves stopping the yeast overgrowth, restoring the friendly bacteria that usually keep them in check, and healing your gut so that candida can no longer enter your bloodstream.

Getting rid of the candida overgrowth primarily requires a change in diet to a low carbohydrate diet. Sugar is what feeds yeast, so eliminating sugar in all of its simple forms like candy, desserts, alcohol and flours.

And reducing to only one cup a day of the more complex carbohydrates such as grains, beans, fruit, bread, pasta, and potatoes will prevent the Candida from growing and eventually cause it to die. I would recommend eliminating all fermented foods as well.

It's a must to restore the healthy bacteria that typically keep your candida population under control, you should take probiotics on a regular basis. Taking anywhere from 25 to 100 billion units of probiotics should help to reduce the Candida levels and restore your levels of good bacteria. Finally, healing your gut by eliminating inflammatory foods that can harm your GI tract and introducing foods that aid in digestion and nutrient absorption, will prevent candida from working its way through your body, and will dramatically improve your overall health.

If you would like to find out for sure if you have candida overgrowth, consider seeing a functional medicine doctor who is trained in detecting and treating candida.

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Aloe Vera Basics 101 - The "Super Juice"

10/7/2013

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Aloe Barbadensis Miller Plant. It’s a mouthful, but it’s a name worth knowing. There are around 400 species of Aloe plants found in arid regions throughout the world. They’re each beneficial in their own way, but there is only one species that has been recognized for millennia for its magically soothing abilities… Aloe Barbadensis Miller. As one of the oldest recognized botanicals, records of this plant exist on Sumerian clay tablets from as early as 2200 BC; Aloe Vera has long been lauded throughout history for its natural soothing, cooling, and moisturizing abilities. It is known for soothing minor burns, comforting and moisturizing stressed skin, and even helping to aid in your skin’s natural ability to regenerate itself. But the real magic to Aloe Vera is when you consume it. With science, innovation and our devoted research and development team, Aloe Vera of America is dedicated to bringing the best Aloe Vera directly to you.

Aloe Vera is improving overall health! Aloe is an excellent addition to a healthy maintenance regimen, and some of its most well-known benefits include:

helps support a healthy digestive system
helps sustain and promote healthy regularity
supports a healthy immune system
assists antioxidant support
reduces toxins in the body
supports normal muscle and joint functions
moisturizes and hydrates the skin.

Learn more from FLP's very own Mr. Julio Dajer, PhD. Director of Operations Dominican Republic: http://www.discoverforever.com/journey/our-aloe/

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Welcome!

about the Author

Sonia is a passionate advocate for natural, holistic alternatives, dedicated to providing simple, everyday holistic solutions that truly enrich our lives. Her mission is to challenge the conventional by introducing practical, natural strategies that offer a refreshing alternative to the norm. Born from her own personal challenges and a resilient spirit, Sonia has cultivated deep empathy and a nuanced understanding of modern life’s pressures, which fuels her unwavering commitment to helping others. Drawing from years of business acumen and a genuine passion for holistic wellness, Sonia combines traditional wisdom with innovative research to develop effective, natural methods for a balanced lifestyle. Her approach demystifies complex wellness concepts, making them accessible and actionable for anyone, regardless of how hectic life may be. On her blog, you’ll find a curated collection of discoveries, insights, and practical blueprints designed to inspire healthier living. Each post is a testament to Sonia’s belief in the transformative power of nature-based solutions, offering you a clear path to living well and enjoying life to the fullest.

Rid your body of Toxins by Cleansing with Aloe

Wheat Warnings!

FAQ's on Frankengrains being Bad for your Health ...

Candida, understanding the Gastrointestinal (GI) connection

What is Candida and do I suffer from it?

Aloe Vera Basics 101 - The "Super Juice"

about the Author

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