Dear Readers,
Thanks to those of you who have made the 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health no-cost teleseminar series such a resounding success. For those of you who haven’t joined me and Dr. Hyla Cass yet, it’s never too late.
The next session, Solving the Energy Crisis: Overcoming sex hormone imbalances: PMS, menopause, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism begins Thursday night, May 14, with replays at your convenience through April 22. Register now.
The 8-part series will continue through May with loads of information from Dr. Cass and me and from our book, 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health: A Take Charge Plan for Women. The final session, Combat Blood Sugar Problems, will take place on May 28.
After the 8 Weeks series ends, you’ll have an opportunity to purchase a coaching package that will include downloads of all 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health sessions plus a workbook and lots of bonus material.
I’ve also become a contributing writer for a mew website called Dulabab. “Du la bab” is Tibetan and means “Now Is The Time.” Now is the time for us to learn to live more gently on the Earth so that she may treat us more gently. The site is edited by my dear friends, Jacob Barrocas and Roger Hyde and contains a wealth of information about sustainable living. Take a look. I think you’ll enjoy it.
If you haven’t already subscribed to the RSS feed for my blog, you’ll find it on my home page.
Be well,
Kathleen
PS Join me on Twitter for a chance to interact several times a day. Find me on Twitter at: KathleenSBarnes.
Better Health: The Upside of Recession
Americans are using more supplements and paying more careful attention to their health in this difficult economic climate, according to the April 20 issue of Time magazine.
Time surmises that the economic climate and fear of illness is driving sales of vitamins and other supplements that have risen 8 percent in the past year. The Vitamin Shoppe chain reports a 20% increase in sales.
All of us need to take supplements all of the time since our soils are so nutrient depleted that it is virtually impossible to get all the nutrients we need for optimum health. For several years now, the staid American Medical Association has recommended a multi-vitamin for every man, woman and child.
Supplementation should be a part of everyone’s wellness strategy.
Two facts explain the sorry state of our collective health:
* Most of us haven’t paid that close attention to our nutrient intakes;
* Three-quarters of us do not eat the minimum five servings of fruits and vegetables a day
If the loss of health insurance and the fear of illness in a declining economy are prompting more of us to take supplements to prevent illness, it is one positive sign during hard times that I can only hope will have lasting positive effects.
47 Most Pesticide Laden Fruits and Veggies
In these troubled times, many of us can’t afford to go totally organic.
So, if you’re going part-way, how do you get the most bang for your food buck?
The chart below will help you make some decisions. Starting with pesticide-laden peaches, apples and sweet green peppers down to the low pesticide load pineapples, avocados and onions, this will give you some helpful tools.
Pesticide Load in Fruits and Vegetables
FRUIT/VEGETABLE
1 (worst) Peach
2 Apple
3 Sweet Bell Pepper
4 Celery
5 Nectarine
6 Strawberries
7 Cherries
8 Kale
9 Lettuce
10 Grapes-Imported
11 Carrot
12 Pear
13 Collard Green
14 Spinach
15 Potato
16 Green Beans
17 Summer Squash
18 Pepper
19 Cucumber
20 Raspberries
21 Grapes-Domestic
22 Plum
23 Orange
24 Cauliflower
25 Tangerine
26 Mushrooms
27 Banana
28 Winter Squash
29 Cantalope
30 Cranberries
31 Honeydew Melon
32 Grapefruit
33 Sweet Potato
34 Tomato
35 Broccoli
36 Watermelon
37 Papaya
38 Eggplant
39 Cabbage
40 Kiwi
41 Sweet Peas-Frozen
42 Asparagus
43 Mango
44 Pineapple
45 Sweet Corn-Frozen
46 Avocado
47 (best) Onion
Source: Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Penguin Books 2008)
I have to add a personal note here: I know coffee is technically a vegetable, certainly it is a staple of life for many of us. However, coffee is not included on the above list.
Coffee is one of the most pesticide intensive crops in the world. If you’re a coffee lover like I am, consider lowering your toxic load by buying organic coffee, better yet shade grown and fair traded to add to the eco-friendly perks. (Pun intended!)
Solve the Energy Crisis:
Sex Hormone Imbalances – PMS, and Menopause;
Adrenal Fatigue and Hypothyroidism
By Dr. Hyla Cass and Kathleen Barnes
authors of 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health: A Take Charge Plan for Women (Take Charge Books, 2008)
Are hormone swings making your life, and your family’s, a living hell?
PMS is a real medical condition, as are perimenopause and menopause, low thyroid function and adrenal fatigue. These conditions can sap your energy and cause wide-ranging symptoms that quite literally create havoc with your overall health.
The good news is that these problems are caused by hormonal imbalances that are easily correctible with a regimen of proper diet, exercise, supplements and, in some cases, bioidentical hormone replacement. Yes, you can re-gain your mental stability, and get your energy and your life back.
Complex hormonal structure
Women’s hormonal structure, indeed our very DNA structure, makes us the more complex sex. There’s no question: throughout our lives, we labor harder in the physical, emotional and mental sense. Our reward is that we are susceptible to far fewer genetic diseases and we live an average of seven years longer than men.
Hormones are chemical messengers secreted by the body’s endocrine glands: ovaries, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenals and pancreas. Hormones travel through the bloodstream, telling various systems what to do. In addition to reproductive functions, hormones affect virtually every body function from digestion and metabolism to hair growth.
The endocrine glands are closely linked to each other, especially the ovaries, thyroid and adrenals. Symptoms of imbalances in these three glands are remarkably similar, so it may be difficult to tell if one, two, or all three are out of whack.
Symptoms of sex hormone imbalances
Here are some common symptoms of sex hormone imbalance, thyroid malfunction and adrenal fatigue:
• Weight gain, difficult losing weight
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Moodiness, depression
• Aching joints
• Brain fog
• Low sex drive
• Dry skin
• Headaches
• And many more.
Needed tests
You’ll need to test levels of the female sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone (yes, that’s right!), DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), pregnenelone and SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin).
You’ll also need to test thyroid function, including free T3 and free T4. A TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test may not be a reliable measure of your thyroid function, especially if you have symptoms of hypothyroidism. A saliva test of cortisol levels may help determine if your adrenal glands are handling stress efficiently.
Natural remedies
By getting the whole picture, you’ll know if your hormones are unbalanced, and you can take measures to remedy the situation.
If you have a sex hormone imbalance and you’re not yet perimenopausal, magnesium, GLA (gamma-linoleic acid) and chasteberry may help relieve symptoms and re-balance your hormones.
If you are perimenopausal or menopausal, adding black cohosh, dong quai, chasteberry, red cover, and licorice root may help restore balance.
Prescription bioidentical hormones can bring you back into balance and they don’t have the dangers of the synthetic hormones, though they still require a prescription and monitoring by a physician. On the other hand, synthetic hormone replacement therapy, especially progestin which is modified progesterone, can be harmful.
At any age, natural progesterone cream can help with a wide range of symptoms caused by progesterone deficiency, especially those of PMS and perimenopause.
A combination of indole-3-carbinol or DIM (di-indole-methane)from brassica vegetables, plus calcium-d-glucarate (this is not just calcium) can help protect against breast cancer, by metabolizing the bad or cancer- producing form of estrogen.
Thyroid imbalances are best addressed with tyrosine, iodine, selenium, and if needed, prescription animal-based desiccated thyroid hormone. There are also compounded thyroid formulas.
Finally, adrenal fatigue can be resolved with stress management techniques, a low glycemic, high protein diet and avoiding stimulants such as caffeine and sugars, including alcohol. Small doses of the hormones hydrocortisone and DHEA plus vitamin C, licorice root and vitamin B6 can be very helpful, as are adaptogenic herbs such rhodiola and eleutherococcus (Siberian ginseng).
Some of these are found in Dr. Cass’
Please see our book, 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health: A Take Charge Plan for Women for details of these therapies and specific supplement dosages
