I’ve never been the incense-burning type and I’ve been skeptical of essential oils. I lumped them in the ‘snake oil’ category and thought they were probably a scam more than anything.

My mind has been changed in a profound way. We were introduced slowly to the world of essential oils, mainly by including them in my homemade cleaning products and hand sanitizer recipes, and have now jumped in feet first. One naturopath doctor explained that she sees essential oils as a missing link in medicine, and we’ve certainly been impressed as we’ve started to use them.

We know that plants and herbs have medicinal properties.  Essential oils, properly distilled, are actually highly concentrated essences of the plants.   For example, 86 lemons are required to make one ounce of lemon oil.   These high concentrations can have impressive effects.

Our Experience

My toddler has been getting random hives and welts, usually right after her naptime. These hives usually last about 4 hours and we’ve not been able to figure out what causes them. I rubbed lavender essential oil on the bottom of her feet and the hives were gone in only 15 minutes. I couldn’t believe my eyes, so we tried it the next time she had them – same result.

My son came in the house with two giant mosquito bites on his leg. I took a picture so I could show you, but my camera couldn’t quite get the focus right. I rubbed Purification essential oil blend on him and the welts were gone in about 30 minutes. The intense itching stopped shortly thereafter I applied the oil.  Later that day, he only had two small red spots where the giant welts had been.

The next day, my son’s legs were sore from playing so hard. He was laying on the couch and whining all morning! I remembered that I had some Pan-Away, a blend of essential oils, so I rubbed that on his legs. Ten minutes later, he was running around playing and didn’t complain any more!

My friend’s husband started getting sick right before they were due to leave the country.  She’d been sick the week before with the same thing and it took her about 8 days to recover!  That was due to have him sick for almost their entire trip!  She gave him some Thieves Essential Oil along with some collodial silver and he was well in 2 days!  I could keep going with more and more stories!

I’m impressed.  Our experiences only scratch the surface of the potential of these oils.  Sacred Frankincense is being used in clinical trials at OU, and they are seeing people with Stage 4 breast, bone, and brain cancer become cancer free!  CANCER FREE!  The oil actually digests the cancer.  Absolutely amazing.    From the National Institute of Health’s website: “Future pre-clinical and clinical studies are urgently needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Boswellia sacra essential oil as a therapeutic agent for treating breast cancer.”   Many of these oils are also amazingly high in anti-oxidants, and are anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral.

Important Caution

All essential oils are not created equal.   I learned recently that most oils in the U.S. that you can buy over-the-counter have been cut with petrochemicals.  You might remember a discussion on this blog about lavender and tea tree oil and their potential to cause hormonal disruption in boys.  This hormonal disruption is certainly possible – but it’s due to the petrochemicals!  So, please, don’t run out and buy oils from your local health food store without thoroughly researching their product standards.  Most oils sold in stores are intended for perfume or aromatic purposes.

Furthermore, to be labled “Pure” in the US, oils only have to contain 5% of the oil!  That doesn’t sound pure to me!

I feel like I’ve been introduced to a ‘hidden treasure’ and I’m excited to share more with you about what I’m learning.  Look for more posts to come explaining some more of the how’s, why’s, and background on essential oil, but I wanted to start with sharing some of our personal testimonies.  If you’d like more testimonies, check out Oil Testimonies.

** If you live in the DFW area, I am hosting a free class on Monday night, May 14 in the Grapevine area.  Email me if you’d like to come! **

* These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Have you ever read the ingredient label on your deodorant? If not, I highly recommend it.  Most commercial deodorants are full of aluminum, a heavy metal that has been linked to Alzhiemers.   Aluminum is a mainstay in deodorants because, as Dr. Mercola explains, aluminum works in deodorants by clogging our pores, thus trapping toxins and sweat inside our bodies!  These toxins then build up and are trapped in our lymph nodes. This buildup can lead to cell mutations and cancer.

That seems like a heavy price to pay just to smell good. 

Thankfully, you can say goodbye to aluminum AND still smell good.

There are more natural deodorants on the market that don’t contain aluminum, but they still have propylene glycol as a main ingredient.   The Material Data Sheet (for cleaning up chemical spills) says that propylene glycol can cause eczema, dermatitis, and allergic reactions as well as kidney and liver problems. It also causes problems with healthy cell growth.

What to do, what to do?

Make your own!   Seriously.  It takes less than 5 minutes to make enough deodorant to last several months.  Plus, this deodorant is actually GOOD for you!

Here’s the recipe:

Coconut Oil Deodorant

Deodorant container (I bought commercial deodorants from the store (with coupons!), and just emptied them out.)
5 TB coconut oil (Vitacost (follow the link for a $10 coupon!) or Tropical Traditions are both great sources)
2/3c baking soda
2/3c cornstarch or arrowroot powder
Essential oil as desired

Melt the coconut oil on the stove if it’s hard (it is liquidy around room temperature).

Mix together the coconut oil, baking soda, and cornstarch/arrowroot.  Add essential oils as desired.

Spoon into deodorant containers.

Refrigerate to harden.  Done!

Have you tried making your own deodorant?  How did it work for you?

Did you know that there’s a simple way to help detoxify your body from heavy metals like mercury?  It’s so simple that you can do it every day, without hardly thinking about it.

Taking a greens supplement that contains chlorella and spirulina will help chelate your body, and remove those heavy metals that can cause/contribute to all sorts of issues including Alzheimers, MS, and autism.

Chlorella is a single-celled, fresh water algae that has been shown to bind to mercury, lead, and cadmium to help remove it from our bodies!  Studies indicate that “chlorella demonstrate a superior ability to safely draw these toxic metals from the gut and intestinal tract where they tend to accumulate.“  I hate to think about how much mercury I have in my body, even just from two fillings!

Spirulina is another fresh water algae that packs a punch.  It’s known as a superfood and contains a high level of nutrients, including Vitamin K, essential omega-3 fatty acids like EPA & DHA, and hard-to-find omega-6 fat GLA.

Spirulina provides nucleic acids (DNA & RNA) that provide a megadose of raw materials for DNA repair. Spirulina is a very rich source of critical B vitamin methylating agents such as B6 and folic acid. Spirulina has an extraordinary array of anti-oxidant phytonutrient anthocyanins. These anthocyanins are renowned for their powerful anti-carcinogenic properties.

Spirulina has strong anti-microbial effects that help create balance in the gut flora. It does this by controlling the growth of pathogenic bacteria and yeasts in the digestive system. This is critical for optimal digestion and nutritional absorption. Additionally, it is a very important part of detoxification through the bowel systems.

More Benefits

These greens also help regulate your bowels and keep things moving along well.  One bonus is that chlorella and spirulina also protect the body from radiation.

Easy to Take

My husband has been taking greens for a while by mixing together Amazing Grass Greens powder into a glass of water.  I wasn’t up for that method, so I was excited to find Nature’s Sunshine Ultimate GreenZone capsules.  They pack a mighty dose of Greens-power, including kelp, chlorella, spirulina, alfalfa, and other healthy greens and they’re an awesome price.  They also have Greens for kids that you can order from Vitacost or Amazon!  (The price is best on Vitacost, especially if you use their $10 off coupon!)

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I wasn’t prepared to treat a burn. I stood in front of the computer, my hand wrapped in a towel after I’d burned it on the dishwasher, googling how to relieve a burn. And I wanted to know NOW. (Did you know the metal coils in a dishwasher get hot pretty much immediately after you start it? Trust me, they do.)  I didn’t find a satisfactory answer though Google and didn’t want to spend a lot of time searching.

Simply out of experimentation (and desperation!), I pulled out my jar of raw honey, spread it on my hand, and covered it with a piece of plastic wrap to help contain the mess. I left it on for a few hours and the difference was astounding. It really helped with the pain, and the burn healed quickly, with just a couple of reapplications.

Turns out that my ‘discovery’ isn’t breaking new ground in the area of healing burns with raw honey. According to a report on Natural News, complete healing of first, second, and third degree burns has been reported without the need for skin grafts and with no infection or muscle loss.   Wow!

Researchers at the Univesity of Auckland found that honey significantly reduced recovery time by 4.68 days for partial-thickness burns compared with standard wound treatments.

How It Works
The same folks at the University of Auckland explain that “honey contains a variety of amino acids, vitamins, minerals and enzymes along with three types of sugar — glucose, fructose, and sucrose — that may provide topical nutrition to enhance tissue repair.”

The sweetener also appears to draw fluid from the underlying circulation, which would keep a wound moist.

Next time there’s a burn at your house, raw honey could be a big help! Make sure you have raw honey though – the pasteurized stuff won’t do the trick.

This is your brain on sugar

I’m not as smart as I used to be.  But, I just thought it was something that happened to everybody as we aged… part of life.  Now I wonder – because I’ve learned: sugar shrinks your brain.  And I have a  CRAZY sweet tooth.  Plus the blood sugar roller coaster ride that goes hand in hand.  Can you stop the train?  I’d like to get off.

Blood sugar surges are old news.  Brain shrinkage is new, at least to me.  Sarah, the Healthy Home Economist, explains that when we eat sugar, glycation takes place in our bodies.

Glycation is the chemical process in the body whereby glucose, proteins, and certain fats become tangled together making all manner of body tissue stiff and inflexible – including the brain.

Glycation is a big free radical problem in the body causing rapid aging.  In neurological terms, glycation has the very real potential of actually shrinking brain tissue.

Great.

Sarah goes on to say, “Consider that Alzheimer’s patients are notorious for having a voracious sweet tooth.  Eating sweets on a frequent basis with the accompanying blood sugar surges depletes magnesium in the body at a rapid rate leaving the brain vulnerable to the ravages of aluminum.   A high aluminum level in the brain is, of course, a hallmark symptom of Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Brain Shrinkage, Alzheimer’s Disease – Motivation Enough?

You think I’d leap off the sugar train and never touch the stuff again.  Somehow, it was easy to get rid of high fructose corn syrup but sugar is proving more difficult.  Perhaps I need more evidence (and maybe you do too!)

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist, explains in his video (with over 2 million views!), Sugar: The Bitter Truth, that sugar is a full-fledged toxicant and contributes to many of the major fatal non-communicable conditions, like cardiovascular disease and cancer.

What To Do
Sugar is a toxin.  Repeat after me.  Sugar is a toxin.

And we can reduce our intake.  Jump over to the Healthy Home Economist and read her great article about “Slaying the Sugar Monster“.    She gives some step by step instructions including the predicatable, get rid of refined and artificial sugars, but then perhaps some surprising ones like, eat more fat!

Want to read more?   Check out Primal Mind, Primal Body by Nora Gedgaudas.

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Once you finish reading this post, I want you to get up from the computer and go to your bathroom. Pull out your personal care products and read the labels. Throw in the trash EVERYTHING that has an ingredient with a paraben on the label. Don’t think twice about it, or dwell too much on how that’s your favorite shampoo or deodorant, or whatever. Just throw it out. Your body will thank you.

Our personal care products are full of chemical preservatives called parabens. According to a study from California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, these parabens trick healthy cells into acting like cancer cells. Furthermore, a study published in the January ’12 edition of the Journal of Applied Technology found parabens in 99% of breast cancer tissue.  No one is saying 100% that parabens cause breast cancer, but all signs seem to indicate that they definitely play a role.

So, do yourself a favor, and purge your bathroom of all your chemical-laden products!  If you’d like to read more about other yucky chemicals to look for as you’re reading labels (like propylene glycol and aluminum), take a look at my post “Getting Rid of Chemical Intruders – On our Skin!!” (written as a guest post at Surviving The Stores).

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by opaquepiphany

Most of us pull out our aloe vera gel and liberally apply it when we spend too much time in the sun.  It’s a lifesaver for helping out a bad sunburn, but did you know that aloe vera juice can have all kinds of powerful healing effects on the body?

My use of aloe vera juice expanded when my horse coliced.  (Colic in horses is essentially severe abdominal pain that can be life-threatening).  My vet determined that he had an ulcer, and told me to give him aloe vera juice.  We’ve given him about 1/2c a day for 3 years now, off and on, and his tummy is doing great!

As I was buying his juice in Costco, I started running into other people who were also buying it.  Being a rather curious and outgoing person, I asked them why they were buying it.  Turns out, they were using it for ulcers on themselves!

After doing more research, I learned that aloe vera juice has a profound healing effect on the gastrointestinal tract.   A study dating from 1959 reports complete healing with no recurrence of peptic ulcers in all patients involved except one (who just stopped coming to the clinic for the trial).  Wow!

Aloe vera juice has powerful applications beyond ulcers.  Mike Adams calls it the “The aloe vera miracle: A natural medicine for cancer, cholesterol, diabetes, inflammation, IBS, and other health conditions” and includes a lengthy list of conditions in which aloe vera has shown to be beneficial.

There are several options for taking it – you can buy a bottle at a health food store, or even Walmart.  You can also grow your own!  Aloe vera is really hardy and easy to grow.  To take it, simply cut off a leaf, fillet it and drop the gel into a blender along with your morning smoothie.  Done!

* These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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We had a SUPER DUPER GROSS mess in our house last week.  I’ll spare you the details, except to say that it was revolting.  I’ve traveled to 3rd world countries and seen some scary stuff.  This was up there.

We needed a super-hero for our drain, and FAST!  I didn’t want to use harsh chemicals because, well, I didn’t.  I also didn’t want to spend $7 on a drain declogger.

Vinegar and Baking Soda are my new heros.  As well as my husband, because he cleaned up the SUPER DUPER GROSS MESS.

My husband hero dumped about 1 c of baking soda in the toilet, and then followed it by a cup or two of vinegar.  Neat bubbles ensued.  Then he chased it with some boiling water.    (A variation on this could make a great homeschool project – perhaps a volcano?)   He used the baking soda and vinegar heroes a few times and, voila, we had a UNCLOGGED DRAIN!    We were so happy to have saved a possible plumber bill and found an all-natural way to eliminate clogs!

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