Suzy Cohen is a pharmacist who knows that medications have their place, but she prefers to avoid the automatic rubber stamping of drug treatments. She also writes "Dear Pharmacist," a nationally syndicated column which also appears on the Healthier Talk website.
In a recent column, a reader inquired about a so-called "superfood."T.E. Chicago, Illinois: You mentioned "spirulina" in a recent column as a supplement to help boost thyroid hormone. I've never heard of this, is it a vitamin? What else is it good for?"
Suzy Cohen: "Spirulina is supercool, and it's a superfood. It's actually algae that grows in our oceans, springs and lakes. If you viewed it with a microscope you would see beautiful bright blue-green spirals, for which it is named. Spirulina is a single-cell organism that is capable of turning sunlight into energy, and it has been on earth for eons.
"Spirulina is a superfood because it has tons of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. It's food, people of many cultures actually eat a version of it. Spirulina is a great source of vegetable protein and what makes it even more amazing is the detoxifying chlorophyll (the green pigment in plants).
"Chlorophyll eliminates body odor and cleans out the digestive tract. Because spirulina packs this kind of a punch, I think it is a good supplement for everyone, especially those of you who do not eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Spirulina could be of benefit to you if you have:
Chronic fatigue or anemia Hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's or Graves' disease Vision loss Frequent infections Pollen, hayfever, and/or mold allergies Heart problems Neuropathis pain or heavy metal burdens Type 2 diabetes
Earthrise are chewables that our daughters pop in like candy, several times a day.
Nature's Sunshine brand are capsules for easy swallowing.
Spirulina does occasionally detox the system too quickly when first starting, so I would start out with adults: 1/day with a meal, Children 1/2 tablet a day. Adults can EVENTUALLY build up to 3 capsules a day, and children 3-5 tablets a day.
This is a WONDERFUL all-purpose vitamin for children, otherwise I would reccomend this one as well as a safe and effective, daily vitamin for children:Natures Sunshine Elderberry Plus Herbasaurs.
******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******
If you go to almost any child's birthday party now days, you will most likely find a colorful, brightly frosted birthday cake with colors so vivid, you can't possibly miss them. Yes, birthday parties and colorful cakes SEEM to go hand -in-hand, but do they necessarily HAVE to? Some may call it "common sense" to "need" a colorful birthday cake in order to celebrate, yet others may call it "materialistic" to "need" colorful birthday cakes. The same goes for blue applesauce, florescent cereals, green ketchup, purple "vitamins" and all colors of sugar drinks. So, why would someone opt out of those brightly colored chemical dyes in their child's celebration? Let's find out through a little bit of history, study, and effects.
"In the 1800's some manufacturers colored products with potentially poisonous mineral-and metal based compounds. Toxic chemicals tinted certain candies and pickles, while other color additives contained arsenic....." John Henkel
HISTORY
(Taken fromhttp://www.fennogold.org/) Natural food colors were first used, but the cheaper chemical colorants quickly took their place because they were cheaper to make, easier to use, control and mix into foods and had limited flavor to alter the taste of foods. By the time the early 1900's hit, there were more than 80 types of dyes, none of them having been tested for short/long term affects. The dyes created were, and still are, derived from PETROLEUM ANILINE, and were first named coal-tar colors because the starting product was taken from bituminous coal. Laws were eventually made to attempt to control the extent and identify the colors, but nevertheless, very little research done on the safety of putting them in the human body.
SOURCES/EFFECTS
RED #40
Is usually in anything red, pink, purple, burgundy, or orange colored, possible foods: Popsicles, salad dressing, kids drinks and cereals, ice cream, & chips. It is also sprayed on many non-organic, fresh red apples, red potatoes, cherries and strawberries to enhance them with a more appealing look.
Holistic health views this food dye to have a negative/weakening impact on our killer cells: T-cells, macrophages and white cells. Abnormal cell growth in ANY AREA of the body, brain, bone or pituitary glands. Dr. Feingold did his own research to find that this food dye can increase hyperactivity, anger, rage, and irritability.
BLUE #1
Found in most any foods that are blue, green, purple, including many of the same items as those having Red #40 on them.
Ingesting Blue #1 can lead to illnesses involving the spleen,enlarged lymph nodes, weak veins, polyps in the brain and spleen, some tumors, chronically high triglyceride count, skin problems, weak immunity, abnormal cell growth anywhere in the body.
Yellow #5
Found in green, yellow, orange and brown items such as pickles, drinks, chips, medicines, Hepatitis B vaccine, soap, lotion and various toiletry items.
Yellow #5 in the body can lead to abnormal cell growth and weakness of the liver, abnormal cell growth in the prostate, ovaries, vagina, cervix, intestines, can lead to blood sugar imbalances, improper filtering of toxins out of the blood stream, bone marrow weakness and abnormal T-cell or white blood cellproduction.
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES WRITTEN ON THE STUDY OF DYES ON CHILDREN:
Much of the above information came from a "Blessed By Nature" Handout
******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******
PLEASE hit PLAY to watch the movie FIRST, so that it lines up with the intended song :)
There is definately a place for modern medicine--for emergencies and life-threatening surgeries/illnesses. HOWEVER, I believe pharmaceuticals are waaay over used, and the Pharmaceutical industry is focused too much on profits....please make careful to note that I view doctors differently than pharmaceutical companies, who sponser and fund their medical training.....the quote "DON'T KILL THE MESSANGER" can be applied to this situation.
It is our responsibility to seek out non-invasive measures of treatment for OTHER purposes beyond emergencies. If we don't seek it out, and we put 100% belief in one particular system....we may end up unknowlingly using the system for more than we should. God gave us plants for oils and herbs.....this is the least invasive way of healing from non-emergencies. My intention is to only make you think.....
I am personally one of the 42% that the video mentioned who have been directly affected by a medical mistake...an "experiment" on my right knee you might call it--words from another knee doctor who said that that type of procedure shouldn't have been done on anyone. What makes me know (along with the other doctor's words), that he messed up? He cut the leftover ligaments holding my knee in place to "balance it better", and ended up having to follow it up with YET ANOTHER surgery to attempt to correct the first "experiment". The results? Well, I have to be very careful not to have it fall out of placeduring exercise involving twisting and turning. Later, in my years of studying natural methods, I found that all you need is one shred of ligament in order to repair the entire thing with the proper nutrients. I have come to learn that I need to search out answers, rather than settling for them; I need to pray about decisions heavily before putting total trust in another person's actions if it may be potentially life altering; I will choose to seek out first and foremost, methods of healing that are not invasive, but rather natural ways.
In the clip above, it also mentions that "You're told to stay out of the sun, yet 50,000 people die from cancer each year due to not enough sun exposure".God made the sun to be our major acessable source of VITAMIN D.Without the proper levels of vitamins and nutrients supplied to our bodies on a daily basis, our bodies become suseptable to diseases such as CANCER.
Vitamin D --can be obtained naturally from thesun (ONLY WITHOUT SUNSCREEN),fish liver oils, and meat and dairy raised in the sun(organic ones are). SO, YES! Cows raised in the sun have enough vitamin D in them to pass on through their milk and meat--cows raised indoors in industrial corporate buildings are deprived of vitamin D, and therefore need synthetic Vitamin D added to milk in the processing.
"NATURAL SOURCES of Vitamin D increase the absorption, retention, and utilization of magnesium, calcium and phosphorus." pg 193, Adelle Davis's book, Let's have Healthy Children
"Studies have shown that calcium is retained efficiently only when 2,000 units of natural Vitamin D are taken daily. Vitamin D added to calcium tablets, (also commercial milk).... are not stable and should not be relied upon" as a source. pg 99, Adelle Davis's book, Let's have Healthy Children
I had always assumed the more sunscreen, the better, when dealing with health.But, since reading up on Vitamin D and its benefits, I now know to just limit the amount of time in the sun I spend with my children. We usually try to balance time outdoors between shade and direct sunlight. We also start early in the spring getting our bodies accustomed to the sun again by spending hours at a time outdoors. That way, when summer comes, our bodies don't get burned from being a couple hours in the sun without sunscreen. Sun is beneficial for your skin, burning skin is not, and sunscreen is not. If you plan on taking a trip to somewhere tropical, or have no shade on a long day outdoors, there areNatural Sun Creams(click on words for link),if you find you need one. If you start early, there's no reason for sunscreen if you don't over-do it it on any given day! God made the sun for a specific reason, along with making our skin be able to soak it up to detox for a specific reason.
Did you know that "sun spots" are acutally spots that your body is using energy from the sun to detox through, by bringing impurities to the surface? GOD DESIGNED nutrients to detox--too much of a certain nutrient (including Vitamin D from the sun) can speed up the detoxing process too much. So, in essence, a cancerous tumor your body was working on fighting (our body is constantly fighting and breaking up cancerous cells) is instead pushed to the surface to be labeled skin cancer instead of another form. Want more info on cancer? Here's another BLOG post of mine on cancer, click on the following word link: http://bodymindsoulfood.blogspot.com/2009/05/cancer-movie-not-to-miss.html
Dr. Mercola says in one of his newsletters: "Vitamin D levels in your blood fall to their lowest point during flu seasons. Unable to be protected by the body’s own antibiotics (antimicrobial peptides) that are released by vitamin D, a person with a low vitamin D blood level is more vulnerable to contracting colds, influenza, and other respiratory infections."
******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******
God blessed us with a little miracle at the beginning of April 2009. I remember feeling a little "BLAH" that day, feeling sick to my stomach, with everything else out of sorts. It disappeared after a few days, so I just attributed it to some new juice I had tried..... LATER ON, I would find out that it was a baby that we would never know while it was alive.
At 10 weeks, when we discovered that I was expecting a baby, the baby had already passed away a few days prior, thus setting off "symptoms". It broke my heart to find out, but I know God has a reason for everything, and trusted that LIFE WOULD GO ON. I know under any other circumstances, as I looked down at my flat stomach laying in bed, I would be thankful for it's appearance, but tonight it would be most difficult to see it again considering the circumstances that led up to it.
Today as I found out about the loss, the day seemed so dark and lonely at first. My mind kept swirling with questions and thoughts--so much that I don't even remember driving home from the hospital. God DOES provide comfort in these dark of times, though, I just wasn't ready to look for it. So, even though I felt too weak to pray for myself (ever been there?), and too hopeless to even want to try, I had a gracious friend who God put in my path at the time offer a prayer to me that changed my outlook COMPLETELY. As the day's events unfolded, I would soon see that this WASN'T the horrible event that I kept thinking it was--this was an opportunity to teach our girls about life and death, and to know that God blessed us with a baby that he chose ME to lovingly carry for the blessed short time it was alive! An OPPORTUNITY, instead of a nightmare that my mind kept telling me it SHOULD be! As my focus of the days events changed, so did the actual events unfolding before my eyes.....
My miracles started as I talked with the Chaplin at Sanford Hospital to find out what becomes of the baby once it was"born". Some people may just want to move on and not glance back at the pregnancy-gone-sour, but I couldn't rest easy unless I knew what was generally accepted as the methodology of closure for the precious tiny soul. The Chaplin told me that he would be leaving when we were coming in, so the college campus pastor from my Alma-mater would be on call. I quickly realized that God wanted to give me a familiar comfort for tonight's surgery, something I had never even considered a possibility! I learned that he generally only works about 3 nights a month, and I "happened" to come in on one of those nights! (Happened? Not at all.......more like "was planned to be by divine intervention "!) My college pastor and I have kept up over the years--so he already knew we were expecting a baby, along with knowing our family dynamics, family values, and our family goals.
We decided as a family to do this together, since the girls had been there for the ultrasound, seeing the baby on the screen, and then seeing both their mama and the ultra sound technician brushing back the tears they shared at that moment. Yes, they knew, and were full of questions. Like I said, this was an OPPORTUNITY to share both the blessing AND the sadness with them!
When I got chauffeured into the surgery room, I soon realized that God's plan of comfort wouldn't stop at just my campus pastor friend, he was going to bless me with a room full of familiar faces! Out of the 5 people in my surgery room, I knew 3 of them! (and there were several rooms full of other people!) A classmate/friend from college was my anesthesiologist, one of my nurses was a friend who I had bought scrapbook supplies from for years, and my doctor was my very own, who happened to be on call tonight. YES, God had surrounded me with comforting, familiar faces for the surgery I had been needlessly dreading all day long! Quite awkwardly, most of the night I found myself not being able to hide the smile God had painted on me with such loving hands.
After surgery, we had a ceremony in our room with my college pastor, which was so very meaningful, that I couldn't hold back the tears. Although I may not remember all the words he spoke from the sheer magnitude of the evening, I do remember, that as we held hands he said that we were together as a family for the first time, and that the next time we would be together would be in the presence of our savior. AMEN.
Through this, I have learned that God's plan is God's plan. We may tell ourselves that we are in control but if God's plan is to have a baby in his arms, then so it shall be. Praise the Lord forevermore!
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."Matthew 19:14
I must apologize to everyone for not being up front with you on the reason my BLOGS have slowed down a bit. I just often forget that I have readers in the BLOGGER realm who are outside my Twitter, Facebook and E-mailing networks. I have kept the rest of them informed, but have overlooked my fellow BLOGGERS, so I apologize!
Since I'm not big on announcements, I'll make this into a prayer request. The reason I haven't been blogging as much is because my husband, Jesse, and I are expecting our 4th child, and would love to have you all uphold us in your prayers! I have been quite nauseated in the evenings, this being my absolute favorite time to BLOG, when the rest of our house is restful and quiet. I've always been a night owl, so it has been difficult for me to give up my favorite time of day to my mattress. What makes tonight different? I had an appt with my Master Herbalist today, and we're targeting the nausea with high doses of green olives, B6, grapefruit, enzymes and prayer! Tonight was an o.k. night.
Nevertheless, I am still doing a heap better than in my first and second pregnancies (please read a snip-it of my story, found on the website of my favorite Protein shake drink mix:Testimonies on "Quest" Protein Shakes). As you can see, I'm no longer on prescription sleep aids, prescription nausea drugs, prescription acid reflux inhibitors, prescription allergy drugs, etc. I have worked with a phenomenal Master Herbalist between the pregnancies, so each one has been better than the last. Over the past few years, she specifically targeted building enzymes and healing my stomach from sugar damage in my youth--which had been causing acid reflux and vomiting for the 8 out of 9 months of my pregnancies!
During my appt today, my Master Herbalist commented ONCE AGAIN how surprised she is that we've made it through so many births with all of the trials I have gone through, along with all of the trials my husband has dealt with as well. My answer? We're just trying to further HIS kingdom one birth at a time! Seriously, though, God gives you strength when you need it most, and he has been by Jesse's and my side the entire 30 months that I've been pregnant so far in our marriage! Why wouldn't we keep trying, LOL?
This month, I plan to dedicate to all those mothers-in-waiting! I have a cousin, along with a few friends who are expecting babies as well, so I'm going to share with both them and the rest of you, my favorite pregnancy book, that promotes health in your pregnancies and babies.....all the way up to the time they graduate! You want a quick glimpse of the book to possibly get started on it before I reveal all of the juicy details? It's called:Let's Have Healthy Children by Adelle Davis(I also have the link in my sidebar, listed under BOOKS FOR BODY FOOD). This was my first book I read having to do with Natural Health, and it's a dinosaur, but one of the best for parents! The only thing is, I lent it to one of my friends, and I'll have to sweet talk her into "lending" it back for a month for me to BLOG about!
In the mean time, I pray that I can keep up on BLOG postings for you. I will also leave with you a glimpse of me at 9 months pregnant, so that you can envision me as you pray! (It's my BEST pregnant-picture-to-date, so don't crack any jokes!)
PLEASE BE SURE TO PAUSE THE MUSIC PLAYER (BELOW AND TO THE RIGHT) TO HEAR THE VIDEO!
CURRENTLY HITTING THEATERS, the Full-length movie FOOD,INC
If you haven't educated yourself on the ins and outs of the Multi-Million Dollar Food Industry and the secrets it's hiding from consumers, now is the time!
I found the above trailer for the Movie FOOD,INC at:http://tinyurl.com/m39nlk.Dr. Ron Spallone utilizes Twitter, Facebook, Blogger to pass on health & wellness information daily to his followers. He had such a wonderful write-up on the above movie trailer, I wanted to include it in my BLOG POSTING for you to read as well:
"Deception… greed….profit…. 'the bottom line'… chemicals… artificial… toxic… inhumane… empty…synthetic…wrong?
Should those words be included in the description of our current methods of ‘manufacturing’ and mass producing the foods we eat? Should they be listed as ‘disclaimers’ outlining the very foundation of our current 'Food Pyramid?'
A new movie will be coming out shortly that unveils some pretty frightening data about what’s inside and behind the food we eat, what packs the aisles of our grocery stores and what lines the pockets of an absolutely monster industry.
'Food, Inc.' is the title of the movie.
Are we unknowingly using our mouths as a weapons to naively self-inflict the afflictions that we will ultimately suffer from? Is the drug dealer on the corner peddling things that much different than what lines the shelves of the corner grocery store?
How painful is it to watch someone you love pass? If you’ve ever had to hold someones hand as they suffer-you know what I mean.
Are we now facing the fact that much of what they suffered from and how they suffered might have been caused from ‘food’ choices and the industrial formulation and manufacturing practices?
This subject goes beyond ourselves, beyond our children. It’s multi-generational. Ultimately, if we don’t wake up and alter our motives, we’re on a path to effect the human species. Here’s my one and only attempt at being a movie critic…If you only see one movie this year- this should be it!" --RON SPALLONE
******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******
Here are a few of the changes I have noticed over the past 2 years in changing over to an all natural diet:
FRECKLES FADING and disappearing--MOST freckles are caused by over-taxed kidneys. Eating SEEDED watermelon and ESPECIALLY the black watermelon SEEDS on a regular basis, support and strengthen kidney functioning. (NOT to be confused with seedless watermelon, which is genetically altered, so that the body cannot identify it as food, and it actually harms the kidneys). Otherwise, here's a good herb-mixed support for kidneys: KIDNEY ACTIVATOR ATC CONCENTRATE, I take this when my lower back/kidney area aches on occasion.
ACID REFLUX GONE: When I was pregnant with our first child, I got acid reflux so bad I stopped eating and drinking--for days! Anything I would ingest would cause me such horrid discomfort that I would cry and rather deal with the hunger pains. Over the course of the next few years, I jumped from one prescription to the next, trying to releive it. I'm now to the point that my stomach enzymes are built-up enough I can eat green peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes.....all things I stayed away from growing up because of the discomfort that followed a meal with these included. The only way I know of building stomach enzymes properly is to go through a Master Herbalist--someone who has not only fixed that for us, but a whole list of things for our family!
Rough, cracked and dry feet turning to SOFT & SMOOTH FEET--having enough oils in the body to hydrate/replenish it from the inside out. COLD-PROCESSED olive oil, organic REAL butter, oils from raw nuts and seeds(sunflower, almonds, walnuts,etc)
NO NEED FOR DEODORANT--yes! There IS a reason why people never had to wear deodorant before: they didn't stink like some people do today! The people of today are detoxing heavy metals, chemical preservatives, food additives, household cleaning and yard chemicals, hydrogenated oils--stuff that stinky bacteria LOVE to use as a growing medium! I will admit, if I have had something not QUITE natural in my diet, I use a SALT ROCK on my underarms. A salt rock is JUST THAT--salt to destroy any unpleasant bacteria that my body chooses to push out. HOWEVER, I have known a few people who wasted their money on SALT ROCKS, only to be disappointed that it wasn't sufficient because of the diet they did not alter as well--they go hand in hand!
NO NEED for DE-CONGEST ANTS--These were a part of my "diet" as a child--I remember my doctor showing me an X-ray of my nasal cavities and telling me that some people just have a pre-disposition to having full sinuses! It didn't make sense to me why I had to suffer?? I grew up breathing out of my mouth since my nose was always so congested I would pass out if I relied on only my nose for air! After 30 years of breathing through my mouth, it is a habit hard to break, but I could easily breath through only my nose for hours if needed! no more de-contestants--no more processed sugar and processed foods on a regular basis.
No need for FANS/AIR FRESHENER in the bathroom--the less processed your foods are, the less your stools will have any smell to them! Unless someone is sick with a nasty virus, or ate a meal with unidentifiable ingredients--there should be no need to hold your nose!
No More TARTER-FILLED TEETH/BAD BREATH--Once you have proper enzymes in the stomach, and proper foods meant to go through it....one has less "breath" issues, less "plaque" issues, less "need" for brushing teeth. Don't get me wrong--we still brush for hygiene purposes, but don't desperately "need to" in order to talk with someone in the morning! HOWEVER, we use a toothpaste made out of calcium, since calcium is what makes teeth strong. Flouride only strengthens the enamal, and kills the root of the tooth since it's a toxic chemical. SUNSHINE BRITE TOOTHPASTE
EYE SIGHT improving--the last 2 visit I've made to the optometrist, my eyesight has improved--by enough to catch my optometrist's attention enough to ask if I have been eating large amounts of carrots. Ha, Ha!
EAR WAX--I never had a large amount growing up, just enough to clean out every so often. HOWEVER, our first child had ears so clogged you couldn't see inside for anything! We would clean them daily, and still not stay on top of it! In the natural world, ear wax is known to be a sign of insufficient calcium....either by not enough, or by not absorbing it. I'm not talking about the synthetic calcium "added" to cereals, milk and other unnatural products; I'm talking about a TOP-QUALITY raw dairy product with calcium already in it! Once we got our daughter on the right track with absorbing calcium, we no longer have a need for Q-tips for her! We gave her ORGANIC WHOLE MILK YOGURT (fruit break down the good bacteria, and your body needs the fats to digest the proteins in it) on a regular basis, which promotes proper digestion, therefore promotes proper calcium absorption! This is typically one of the first signs we will see in our family when one of us needs more calcium--itchy/waxy ears. Here's a FABULOUS LIQUID CALCIUMlink for kids, otherwise I take this calcium, that also doubles as my vitamin supplement: SKELETAL STRENGTH. I can order either one with a discount, or else you can order directly from those links.
When an adult is getting proper calcium intake, they will sleep through the night without wiggly/restless legs (something I had for two years). Children will sleep better through the night, haveless "growing pains", along with get teeth in easier. Our 2 year old goes to the fridge to look for her liquid calcium when she's getting a tooth in--which is sufficient enough of a pain "med" for her!
******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******
Foremost, I am a follower of Christ and a child of God. I am also a devoted wife to my charming husband, a homeschooling mama to four respectful and loving young children, and an enthusiest of living and eating naturally.
My hubby and I have known each other for 15 years, and have been married for 11. At the time we met at USF, we started leading the youth group at a Christian Church and have passionately enjoyed doing it since then. We are raising 3 lovely daughters and an extraordinary son together, while homeschooling them as part of God's plan for our family. Over the past 7 years, we have been utilizing Homeopathy and living naturally in diet and health.
When I list resources on the sidebar, they are for you to view and enjoy....not to push products! You have to know my heart to know where my intentions are. It is so that you do not have to SEARCH for these goodies on your own without the knowledge to comprehend it all. I did not have this visual opportunity when I first got into natural health--I had my natural health consultant (and what a wonderful resource she is!) and information that she thought was revelant. You get to pick and chose what resources to check out, without the knowledge of me knowing!!! ENJOY!!!
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