#and 101 is something i need in regular doses

[shapersmind]

Tagged by @visible-disappointment to show four albums I‘ve been listening to lately.

Thank you! 🌹

Tagging: @theseedsofviolatorlove @cockychateau @adlamu @depecherose @lady-grinning and anyone who wants to participate

#tag game #my best friend and i went to the barbie movie last weekend to get our message — the car ride home was quite fun #and 101 is something i need in regular doses

[witchescompendium]

WITCHES AND WICCA 101 Sunday School week 1

As promised, from our first Sunday School Lesson

BASICS OF WITCHES AND WICCA 101

Sunday School week 1

Witches are not the supernatural creatures we have come to think of from movies, films and books. Witches don’t sell their souls to Satan, ride broomsticks, conjure otherworldly entities to wreak havoc on their enemies and cook little children. Witches are everyday people who live everyday lives who happen to know how to tap into the universe and try to live lives as one with the universe and the energies around them.

To be a witch does not mean you have to be a Wiccan, conversely, to be a Wiccan does not make you a witch. However these two titles, these two words have become interchangeable and often one is used in the place of the other. However many witches hold the same principles as Wiccans, respecting the earth and honoring the seasons, the gods and forces of the universe and nature. (as they are different I will refer to them as separate things unless otherwise stated in the following texts.)

Wearing a pentacle doesn’t make you a witch or Wiccan, calling yourself a witch or Wiccan doesn’t make you one either.  Wearing black and cloaks and pointed hats, another thing that doesn’t make you one. Attending rituals, sabbats and esbats, reading books, and internet posts and sites, or casting spells, none of these make you a witch or Wiccan. To be one (both or the other) you have to live the life. You have to understand what it means, what the responsibilities are of such actions.

The first rule most anyone practicing will tell you is Harm None. Self explanatory, Do what you want, but harm no one in the process, this includes yourself. Keep in mind, what you send out, comes back to you three fold. This isn’t limited to magical acts or spells; this is something to keep in mind for daily life. Act like a bitch you’ll get treated just the same but worse. All actions have consequences. And all magic comes with a price. Our thoughts, our words our actions, all of them have power and all of them come back to us. So think about that before you act hastily, or harshly. Remember that part of the responsibility that lies in your actions, can also affect other people as well, not just the one who is your aim.

Not everyone is perfect; we are all going to learn at different times and in different ways. Anyone who tells you they are perfectly in tune that they have studied for 20 30, 40 years and are masters and yet can’t cast a basic circle, or cleanse a ritual area, should tell you something. The effort you put into it is what the result will be. You can’t be a wayfarer studying when you want and expecting the world to bend at your knee. Reading only what serves your purpose and not understanding why you still can’t perform the simplest actions.

The other thing that many practitioner fall victim to is what I like to call “the Curse of want” This is where you believe and want all the items listed on the Tool list in a book. So you begin buying right away and suddenly you have 30 decks of tarot cards, 14 athames, 6 wands 45 quartz crystals, 8 cauldrons of various sizes and material,  mortar and pestles and  cabinets of herbs which you aren’t even quite sure what over ¾ of them actually are. I will admit that in the beginning I thought I had to have it all, but I didn’t rush out to get it. I took my time and let the objects and items find me. I will also admit I am one who loves to collect oracle decks and tools, but there are only a few of them that I use on a regular basis. Unless the others call to me, then usually I don’t even bother to bring them out or show them off.

What will follow over the course of the next little while will be a series of lessons and studies to not only inform but help guide through the process of deepening ones devotion and journey into the craft. This will include many different lessons, from basic etiquette in the circle, working with a coven, tools, timing, potions, spells, basic astrology, and more. We have already covered Dedication and the Altar, as well as Circles. Although I may touch on those things again as we continue, and re-share those hand outs.  

So what are the basics a witch or Wiccan needs to begin? That’s simple, their will, a general working understanding of what they are about to venture into and the dedication to achieve it. Focus, Silence, and understanding, which coincide with the four fundamentals of a witch, To Know, To Will, To Dare, and to Be Silent. I strongly believe that these “tools” will get your further in your journey than anything. So our first lesson is: Understanding what it is to be a witch, what that responsibility entails and how exactly these four things play a part in your everyday life.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT IS TO BE A WITCH

Did you turn to the craft to gain phenomenal cosmic powers, to bend others to your will, to gain the ability to master the dark arts and conjure up spectral entities to avenge you when you have been wronged? Did you  come to the craft thinking you would sell your soul because you were seeking the ability to bend time and space to your will, to harness the supernatural abilities of the universe, to strike fear in the hearts of your enemies when your eyes change colors and you wield the power of lightening from your finger tips? Or did you come  with the hopes to fly on your broom stick to the dark reaches of the planet and gather the most mystical and unusual ingredients to whip up a powerful potion, physic or draught to bewitch and ensnare?

If you responded to YES for any of these, then you need to have a harsh dose of reality and a side or of grow up, super sized with a shake to wash it down. The truth is, that though many of these things are believed to be part of what a real witch is, none of them are the truth. Witches don’t fly on brooms, harness dark energy or use their powers or knowledge to strike fear into anyone. Witch don’t sell their souls or wield any sort of supernatural powers.

Witch is a name given to many, in old times it was given to pagans ore any of  those who still held the “old ways” of worshiping nature and the universe, as well as a God and Goddess, by the Christians because they wanted to convert the masses, and to demonize the faith and belief of one race or nation, was a great way to boost your religions supremacy. Over time the word Witch became associated with Women and Warlock with men. However a Warlock is not a male witch, they are a traitor to the kind, “an oath breaker” as the title translates.

Witches were knowledgeable on the universe and the energies of the world around them. They knew how to use this energy, and their own energy to bring about change, to heal and to grow. In the eyes of those seeking to destroy them they were doing the bidding of Satan and were evil creatures. The funny thing is, the Devil is a concept created by Christianity when it demonized other nation’s gods. When they call witches devil worshippers, it never strikes them that in order to be a devil worshipper, you have to first believe in the devil, which is a Christian concept, so thusly; wouldn’t it stand to reason that only Christians could be devil worshippers since they believe so strongly in him?

To Know, To Dare To Will and To Be Silent:

To Know: Know your craft, but mostly know yourself. You may not fully know yourself, there are plenty of us who don’t know who we are, but know who you are at this point and time. Know what your limits are, know where you stand. You are going to be the greatest mystery you will ever have to learn. Magic, ritual, these are things that can be taught, that can become easier with practice and repetition, but you change as you grow, as you evolve and learn. As you become aware of yourself you begin to leave behind values and morals which no longer serve or suit the you who you have become.

Knowledge is power, so it is obvious I think why To Know is one of the “greatest powers” of a witch. But to simply read, and commit things to knowledge, if you don’t know what you have read, and practice it. Knowledge is a great thing, but you have to have the Will to make things happen, but you have to first Dare to do them.

To Dare: To Dare I think is one of those things that can be interpreted in many ways. To Dare, to dare to be yourself, to dare to be different, dare to start living the life you were meant to, dare to see the possibilities before you, dare to embrace the life of a witch. Dare to be! To dare is to shuck off those feelings of doubt and hindrance, to step out from behind the curtains, to embrace those things that are taboo, or scare you. It is about not being afraid to do something. Being a witch is a life that can carry fear, because witches have a stereotype and we live in a society that generally Christian controlled. Anything that goes against the grain is wrong, evil and ridiculed, at the same time not daring to realize or recognize that so many of their own traditions started as Pagan traditions, yet still shun them. At the same time, our family and friends may not understand; either because they live with a mentality as many do, that Wicca or Witchcraft is a bad thing, or not completely understand what it is. By accepting that not everyone is going to understand but that is a path for you and you alone to tread, then you are already making leaps and bounds, and the Dare has begun.

To Will: Now that you know and you are daring, you have to have the will to bring it all together. The will is one of the most important parts. Because you can have knowledge, you can have the mentality to say you want to do something, but if you don’t have the will to follow through, then you have nothing. The will really is the guiding force behind your actions. Without it you really won’t achieve much. You have to be able to see what you want and go for it. The Will is the part that makes things happen taking that knowledge and making it into something almost tangible.  Think of it like this, you made a grocery list, and you know you have to go, but you don’t have the drive or motivation to go so you end up staying home and missing out on those things on your list that you want or need. With the will it’s the same thing, making the list, but you get up go to the store get what you need and come home and put those things to use. The will really is the most basic yet one of the most important of these 4.

To Be Silent: Silence is golden. Silence is a virtue. Silence can be deafening. Some people fear the silence. But few truly understand what silence is. And even fewer understand what Silence is as it pertains to, To B Silent.  To be silent doesn’t mean taking a vow of silence, it means quieting yourself, your mind. Listening to what is around you. If your mouth never stops how will you hear what the universe is trying to say? If your mind never quiets how are you ever going to understand what the universe is saying?  

To be silent also means to not go running your mouth to everyone about your practice. Some people feel extremely comfortable telling people they’re a witch (Wiccan) while others have to be more discrete. Some people use it as a way to boost their ego and to intimidate others by informing them of the fact. To some it is a title and that is it, for they feel saying they are a witch makes them one, and that if someone believes they are a witch then they will be less likely to mess with that person, or will perhaps be more likely to bend to that persons will. The Silence in this situation is especially important when you are a part of a Coven, for silence is a requirement. Again this goes back to privacy and in the old days it was a matter of safety.

Another thing, is silence is a vital part of your magic. If you go around boasting and bragging about your magic, you are going to weaken its charm. The rule is once you have cast the spell, don’t talk about it. Just let it go and do its job and rest assure it is doing what it is suppose to be. Talking about it weakens the magic, the more you dwell the more the expectations are built up to what we want to happen in lo of what the universe will let happen. (more on magic and how it works later).

Silence, will, daring, and knowing, our intentions, the fundamentals of a witch.

When you begin to know yourself, you know that you have truly begun your journey into becoming a true witch.

[nexlance]

Supplements and Antibiotics Guide 101

We'd like to start this article by first saying that we believe that the best approach to achieving health starts with some fundamentals. Supplements are designed to do what the name suggests - supplement your diet. Always try to establish healthy routines of proper hydration, regular exercise and a balanced, varied and nutritious diet. Once this is established in your life then would be a great time to start incorporating supplementation into your regime. Which supplement you take will depend on a few key things. What are your goals? Do you want to increase muscle growth, boost your immunity, improve your skin, hair & nails?... Your individual goals will dictate what you pick. But how do you prioritise which goals you want to preferentially work towards? Is immunity more important than muscle growth? Or is having radiant and healthy skin at the top of your list? A good way to do this is to look honestly at yourself (figuratively and literally). Take stock of your life. It isn't an overstatement to say that the quality of our lives is controlled in large part by what we put in it. If you feel low and are lacking energy then you may want to prioritise a vitamin B compound and vitamin D. If you are overweight and are looking for a slight boost to help you along then you could try a natural fat burning supplement. If you are finding it difficult to focus, you may want to try a nootropic to boost cognitive function. You will only be able to decide how you should prioritise your supplementation regime by taking a very honest look at yourself and examining where you are and comparing it to where you would like to be. Whatever your goals are it is worthwhile to ensure that some key criteria are met by your supplements. Firstly, check the ingredients and check that amount of each component. For example, the mg of vitamin C. It is also good to know what the source of the vitamins are. For example are they from natural ingredients or from a 'man made' process? A lot of people like to know if the foods and supplements they are taking are organic. Whether or not a product that you choose is organic should be clearly displayed on the container. There are also a large number of people that like to stay away from animal products. Whether or not a supplement is suitable for vegetarians or vegans should also be clearly displayed on the container. A very important area to think about is where and how the supplements are made. Do they pass all safety regulations for human consumption. It would a real shame to cause yourself harm while taking something that you thought was going to help you become healthier. Ensure that the vitamins and supplement compounds that you take are safe and have been passed by an appropriate regulatory body e.g. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) This brings us to another issue that you should be aware of. If your dietary choices leave you deficient in certain nutrients then supplementation can be great. A good example of this is the fact that a vegan diet that is un-supplemented will leave you deficient in vitamin B12. This is an essential component to good health and care should be taken to avoid becoming deficient in this. Some people like to mix up their supplementation depending on the season. An obvious example of this is where in winter, people will often increase their vitamin C intake to help fight of viral infections. The good news is that you can safely take most supplements alongside other supplements. It can be hard to achieve optimal nutritional saturation through diet alone and by adding the supplements that you feel will fill in the gaps that exist in your diet you can help move yourself physically and mentally in the direction that you would like to go.

4 Supplements That Help You to Maintain Your Beauty or Stay Svelte

What do you think when we say "skin care"? You may think you always take good care of your skin with the help of exfoliants, moisturizers, and serums. Actually, if you want to maintain your beauty, you need to take care of your skin and change your lifestyle as well. With the right type of vitamins and nutrients, you can heal your skin. Therefore, we suggest that you try out some supplements. In this section, we are going to talk about 4 supplements can help you maintain your beauty or stay svelte. 1. Vitamin C Vitamin C is essential if you want to maintain your skin health. Actually, it helps your skin fight damage and boost wound healing. Aside from this, it offers protection against environmental stressors as well. Besides, it's on the list of the main nutrients that your body needs to produce collagen, which is a building block that keeps your skin in good health. Vitamin C is found in a lot of fruits and veggies, especially citrus fruit and leafy greens. Besides, green tea is another great source to meet your vitamin C needs. If you can't eat fruit or veggies for some reason, you can opt for vitamin C supplements. They are safe to use. 2. B Vitamins Although B vitamins are needed to support your mood, it also plays a great role in keeping your skin in good condition. The benefits of B vitamins for your skin vary. For instance, according to a research study, vitamin B12 helps your body produce enough good bacteria and reduce the bad bacteria. Some good sources of B-vitamins include whole grains, soy products, leafy vegetables, meat, cheese, eggs, and milk. Alternatively, you can go for B-vitamins based on your doctor's recommendation. 3. Fatty Acids Aside from other benefits, fatty acids like omega-3 fatty acids are important for your body if you want to protect your skin against damage. According to research studies, these fatty acids help reduce the symptoms of acne as they have anti-inflammatory properties. Apart from this, omega-3 can help you reduce your skin dryness by trapping moisture. Some good sources of omega-3 fatty acids are nuts, seafood, seeds, legumes, and seaweed. You can also use omega-3 supplements. However, it's better to use the supplements derived from natural sources like mussels, krill or fish. 4. Evening Primrose Oil According to many research studies, adults can benefit from primrose oil supplements to improve their skin health. Actually, this oil contains fatty acids that can help the hormone balance in your body. You can boost the power of this oil by combining it with other fatty acids. If you really want to use omega-3 supplements, you might want to opt for ones obtained from mussels, krill or fish. So, these are 4 supplements that you can use to maintain your beauty. Although eating fruits and vegetables can meet your vitamin needs, it may not be a good choice for everyone. Therefore, opting for supplements is a better idea.

Vitamin C: How Much Is Enough?

How much Vitamin C do we really need? The RDA for vitamin C is set at 90 mg a day for men and 75 mg daily for women. Besides supporting immune function, this vitamin improves heart health, is a building block for collagen needed for skin, gastrointestinal and joint health, and has been shown to kill certain cancer cells among other functions. Additionally, besides getting vitamin C from food sources, you can either take it orally in supplement form or have it administered intravenously. How you get it determines how much you need. When taken orally, which is typically the way most of us get it, intestinal absorption among other factors determines how much is actually concentrated in your blood. It's also important to note that stress depletes vitamin C and who isn't under stress these days? Taken intravenously bypasses digestion and absorption is more effective. According to cardiovascular research scientist and doctor of pharmacy, James DiNicolantounio, optimal doses can be as high as 1,250 mg twice daily and while even 2.5 grams daily doesn't necessarily produce full saturation, it still may have benefits. Keep in mind that vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin so it is not stored in your fat cells. This is why it must be taken on a daily basis. Also some of what you take is excreted. Research has shown that bioavailability was effective and complete for a single 200 mg. dose. In those tested no vitamin C was excreted below a 100 mg. dose. So the conclusion was reached that the minimum effective dose should be 200 mg daily. The optimal dose will likely be much higher. For example: you would need to take 1,250 mg. of vitamin C twice a day to achieve 80 μm (μm represents concentration in the blood); and 5 grams (5,000 mg) a day to achieve 250 μm. So even taking 2.5 grams daily doesn't necessarily result in fully saturated vitamin C blood levels. Also it is important to note that it is more effective to take it in divided doses throughout the day rather than one large dose to get the best results. Years ago I had bio-impedance testing done that revealed my body required much more vitamin C than I was currently taking. And I thought I was taking a lot! Increasing my intake in divided doses to 4,000 mg. daily has helped me get some serious gum issues under control. When I am fighting off a cold or exposed to someone who is, I typically increase that to 1,000 mg. per hour throughout the day for a day or two. Many naturopathic doctors recommend taking vitamin C throughout the day until you reach bowel tolerance, that is until you begin to experience diarrhea, and then back off a bit to the effective amount for you. My suggestion is to pay attention to your body and use vitamin C daily. It isn't stored so you won't overdose on it as you can with fat soluble vitamins. Particularly during cold and flu season, it's important to get enough daily.

The Benefits of Supplements for Sports

Today, many products can be found in the shelves of supplement stores, such as weight loss aids, vitamins/minerals, amino acids, creatine and protein powders, just to name a few. All of the products claim to offer instant, magical results. Although sportsmen work hard to achieve their goals, most of them wonder if these supplements for sports can help them enjoy a competitive edge. Let's find out some benefits of supplements for athletes. With the help of a nutrition course, students can find out about the right type of supplements for them. For instance, if you are a weight lifter, you will use a different set of supplements than your friend who is an endurance runner. Aside from this, other factors like side-effects and dosages also play a great role. In the world of sports nutrition, there is a lot of debate about how to use sports supplements the right way. Let's read some benefits of these supplements. Protein If you want to boost your performance as an athlete, know that protein is the most important nutrient for you. Typically, protein is found in powder and tablet form. Today, there are different brands of protein powders out there, which makes it easier for you to opt for the right one based on your needs. Protein powders are obtained from different sources like soy, egg whites, and whey. Whey protein is used to build muscles as it offers a quick digestion rate that helps you build lean muscle mass. Besides, protein supports fat loss and helps curb hunger. Creatine Creatine is a naturally occurring compound, which is found inside your body. Usually, synthetic creatine is found on the list of performance supplements and is sold in powder form. After taking it, you will feel an energy boost and faster muscle growth. According to scientific research, creatine helps improve athletic performance. Aside from this, it helps boost players' performance on the ground and in the gym. The great thing about creatine is that it is relatively less expensive. However, if used in excess, creatine may exert too much stress on your kidneys and bladder. Vitamin Supplements Often, athletes make mistakes in their dietary choices. As a result, they don't get the vitamins they need from their meals. This is where vitamin supplements come to their rescue. Your body needs vitamins to do many vital functions like heart function, regulation of the nervous system, eyesight maintenance and food digestion. If you follow a rigorous training schedule, you might want to opt for several vitamin supplements. However, this is not a must. Many vitamins like A, B-6, C and D may cause some side effects like toxicity symptoms if you take them in high doses. Let's take an example. Suppose you are taking vitamin B-6 supplements. Now, if you take more than 10mg of it per day, you may experience abdominal cramping and numbness in the legs and arms. So, what you need to do is discuss the matter with an expert. This way you can make the right choice as far as choosing and consuming sports supplements is concerned.

Benefits of Taking Multivitamin Supplements

All of us want to maintain our physical and mental health. Therefore, we try to choose the best diet, exercise regularly and get good quality sleep. At times, we need to give a boost to our health to make up for the dietary deficiencies. A good answer to this problem is dietary supplements, such as a multivitamin supplement. In this article, we are going to take a look at some main benefits of these products. What are the Benefits of Taking Multivitamins? Multivitamins, such as Vitamin D and calcium may help make your bones stronger. Apart from this, vitamin D may boost your colon health and prevent a lot of chronic conditions. Folic acid, for instance, may help prevent birth defects and may reduce the risk of heart disease in addition to boost your energy levels. Similarly, magnesium may relax your body and antioxidants may prevent different types of cancer. Both zinc and vitamin C is known for its immune-boosting properties. This is a description of some of the benefits of taking these supplements. According to statistics, around 75% of Americans don't have enough fruits and veggies. Similarly, most people don't get enough important nutrients, including iron, fiber, potassium, calcium, and vitamin D. According to some research studies, people who consume a lot of sugar are deficient in several micronutrients, such as vitamin A, C, and E. Therefore, you may want to reduce your intake of sugar and go for the best supplements to enjoy good health. Are Multivitamins enough? Multivitamins can supplement a healthy diet, although all of us have unique health needs. Once size doesn't fit everyone. Therefore, a multivitamin may not be an answer to all of our health concerns, such as sleep problems and poor digestion. You can find many supplements that may satisfy your health needs. For instance, omega-3 fatty acids may be a good choice for people with high triglycerides. Besides, garlic may help normalize your blood pressure. Rather than take one multivitamin, it's better that you go for multiple vitamins. However, you may have to spend some time looking for the right supplement and follow the right routine. How to choose the Best Types of Multivitamins and Supplements? If you suffer from stress, poor sleep and a low level of energy, you can get high-quality multivitamins and make them part of your routine. Ideally, you may want to search for multivitamins that are: - Free of additives, artificial colors, and filters - Purity tested - Highly bioavailable - Allergens - Natural Since there are many supplement companies out there, make sure you opt for the best company. Good supplements and multivitamins are backed by scientific evidence. Apart from this, reliable companies are always willing to share the ingredients of the supplements they offer. If you take the right supplements, you can meet your nutrient needs and benefit your health. Therefore, if you follow a good diet, make sure you give a go to multivitamin supplements.

All-Natural Antibiotics for Humans - 100% Plant-Based

Yes, antibiotics do have their place in medicine, but why not think about reaching for a natural solution when you can? If this is you, keep reading...

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/antibiotics-part-of-the-cure-or-part-of-the-problem As most Americans know, Antibiotics wreak havoc on our systems. For millions each year, taking antibiotics means they will experience the antibiotic side effects - unintended and adverse events due to taking the drug. Most of these reactions can be categorized as one of three types: body interaction reactions, flora reactions, and drug-drug interactions. All of these are serious and have long term implications. Antibiotics can only work on Viruses. Some of these Viruses include: Colds Flu (influenza) Sore Throats Coughing / Sneezing Runny Noses Sinusitis Stomach Flu Bronchitis - Viral the most common version Multiple Eye Infections Numerous Ear Infections With all of the side effects of prescription antibiotics and the unusual rise in drug resistant bacteria's, Doctors, Scientists, Nutritionists, and frankly Patients from around the world are looking to find plant based effective alternatives. The more we study the Plant Kingdom, the more we know we need to continue learning from what God has provided us through our plants. Here is just that supplement, produced entirely from the Plant kingdom: Here are the ingredients in the All-Natural Antibiotics broken down by exactly what they do: Echinacea: Colds, touches of flu, Strengthens the Immune System, Fights Infections (viral & bacterial), Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Microbial, Anti-Septic. Garlic: Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Arterial Plaque, Anti-Microbial, Anti-Septic. Burdock Root: Read the full article

#antibiotics #multivitamin #supplements #vitaminb #vitaminc #vitamins

[beerwithtales]

How To Clear Your Mind To Get Creative Ideas--

CREATIVE THINKING 101

Can resourceful believing and maybe even spontaneity originate in an extremely coordinated tactic? Certainly! By way of instance, in the event you see amazing comedians closely, then you are going to observe they have selected habits of the mind. The many spontaneous kinds becoming improved with training, for the reason that they truly are educating their wisdom to discover the comedy in scenarios.

In an identical style, you could train your self to get greater resourceful thinking. Simply begin fostering the most suitable customs on the mind. Why don't you begin educating the human mind now, using some basic methods?

Creative-thinking Methods

Desire the thoughts of the journalist that is creative? Start re-designing all you visit. Imagine far better cars and trucks, more rapidly means to function food better lighting bulbs. In the event you try so every single day for about three weeks, then it is going to wind up a custom.

Wish to function as whoever consistently has anything exciting to mention? Teach to take a look at matters from some other perspectives. What will the Buddha say about it? How does a Martian visualize it? What is the contrary standpoint? The purpose is not to inquire about the other absurd inquiries, yet to inquire further, to find out what intriguing thoughts effect. Try so before it's a custom, and you are always going to have anything exciting to improve a dialog.

Desire orderly imagination? Set a sentence about all forty cards10 nouns, 10 verbs, 10 adjectives, and also 10 random phrases. Shuffle, take care of 4 cards and compose a 4-line poem with among that language in just about every line. My spouse has received poems printed which have been born using this specific technique. Your brain will locate a special use for virtually any word should you make use of this technique usually.

Remedy Problems Creatively

Perhaps you have learned about trouble solving processes such as for example"traits list," and also"notion mix" More creative-thinking will not originate in only knowing the processes, even though. You must utilize these till they eventually become part of one's habitual thinking procedure.

The picture you would like to devise a new fresh bike. In the event you have qualified the head at"premise hard," you are going to routinely start to inquire things such as, "Are brakes mandatory?" "Can it need to really go outside" Whatif the"bicycle" was inside, and pedaling it conducted into a video monitor? You might"steer" by way of boundless diverse moments.

You won't necessarily have fantastic thoughts, however, you are going to have adequate thoughts to make it even more probable you'll discover a one. This"impulsive" imagination will probably soon be due to one's brain practice exercise. Why don't you begin growing those customs of resourceful believing?

10 STEP TO CLEAR THINKING

Is it true that the head sometimes feels like a tv channel you can not quite listen to? You understand there is an intriguing program on - or a couple, but everything is mixed with static. Imagine if you can"listen in" at is going to possess clear believing should you like to buy? Try out a number of these next.

10 Obvious Expecting Methods And Tips

1. Have a Stroll. Science will gradually prove to be always an excellent means to better the attribute of one's believing, however, do not await that evidence. Are there plenty of different motives to have a stroll anyhow?

2. Avoid sugar. In the event, you would like to comprehend what mind coughing is, then consume a sugary donut in an empty tummy then conduct mathematics issues twenty-five seconds after. That which you can encounter, together side this"sugar " is mind fog. At-least put off sugars and carbs that are simple if you ought to believe plainly.

3. Arranged space signifies evident believing. It really is uncommon that somebody is able to work in a jumble. Organized doing work distance means that you won't ever possess the notion"where's the fact that..." deflecting mind.

4. Get much better slumber. Sleep conditions differ, nevertheless the very least for many is around five hrs. Some undergo whenever they rest then 8 hrs. The investigation, however, signifies that following having a certain minimal volume, the standard of slumber is significantly essential to regular brain functioning.

5. Try out working. No more moment; point? Simply shut your mind relax, and see your breath for a short time. Recall your head will ramble, however always reunite your focus to a breath. Five moments with them and later you are going to truly feel that a hike on your brainpower.

6. Conquer your"intellect ." See out your occupied mind. Why not a telephone you want to make was bothering you personally, just underneath understanding. Locate those phobias, also do something to allow them to go. By way of instance, make your telephone, or set it onto a list, and also the thoughts will allow with this to get the time being. Merely visiting an issue and declaring, "There is nothing that I could do about any of it till Friday," will frequently discontinue unconscious stressing.

7. Tend not to consume booze. At the least do not drink a lot of. Whilst moderate levels could be conducive to imaginative thinking, all of the signs claim it is awful for its longterm wellness of the mind.

8. Make conclusions fast. Absolutely nothing will get in the form of obvious thinking as several dozen conclusions hanging around un-made. If absolutely nothing else, then pick when you are going to make your choice.

9. Get air. Go out and breath deeply through your nose again. You will receive yourself a fantastic dose of oxygen for the mind, and also the reversal of the environment might help to clear your brain.

10. Meet your bodily wants. Clear believing is simpler for those who are not overly hungry, hungry, tired, or sexy.

You may believe more certainly launching now. There are more than just ten manners, nevertheless, you only have to make a couple of these custom to really have an even more potent mind. Why don't you take it to a couple of straight today?

7 STEPS TO SUCCESS

Now you are in possession of a smart thought hidden someplace at the rear part of the mind which you can not wait around to try out. The inquiry would be, you might not wish to put it out into the lighting? What can inspire one to emphasize their own creative, inspiring juices into their own extreme taste?

Were you aware it consistently will help to decide on a time limitation into your goals? Establish up yourself therefore that you may reach the maximum tasks at record time. By way of instance, mowing the yard in an hour or so previous to the huge sport on television. The positive and correct attitude at everything you need to do would make matters less difficult, and more enjoyable.

It is easy. In the event you start allowing a bit of favorable believing then you definitely may start to appreciate factors that you just don't ever believe feasible. Believing huge is really the Way and also what built our region booming. It's possible for you to comply with other amazing people in America who tapped in their own innovative intellect and started to item enormous.

Uncover some tips to make it on your own very first week of chance believing even in case you are simply sitting on your favorite sofa. The head is continuously on the job for you personally. Harness involved with it has amazing resources whilst doing regular pursuits.

1. Act. You have to take enthusiastic actions in the direction of living your own life through designing. Talk is economical. Motion = residue at the lender of the authentic future. My mum (most likely quoting another person ) consistently mentioned, "Action speaks louder than words". Without actions, fire is emptiness.

Desires become reality once you only start with trying out mind, then along with your own hands-on. Of course, should the notion simplifies or falters you always have the option to return straight back to it till you end it? Thomas Edison and his Fantasy Team experienced to return to this thought of the bulb and also re-calculate it 1,000 days until the earliest running light-bulb starts off to mild the whole world.

2. Really like. Dedicate yourself. Then dedicate for all those that you would like to harshly generate a lifetime you may adore. Rather than responding, devote to making the spirit and spirit out of love as opposed to concern. The Dream will probably be there, however, a fantasy it's still a fantasy with no movement. Be astounded since the conversion starts.

3. Are Living. Adopt minutes and chances. Realize and adopt the exact notion that all instant is ideal irrespective of its own outcome. Every single time you strike something which may possibly appear as well EX-treme why don't you provide it a chance anyway. Watch whether it is going to do the job. You may be startled with all the consequences. In the event that you don't subsequently opt to utilize the instant to learn out of this and also make the proper change. Learning and increasing from failures and mistakes is just part of residing.

4. Be thankful. Dwell absolutely in an area of gratitude. Learn how to make use of exactly what you need on your palms and make usage of it at the constructive method. Prerequisite may be the mother of innovation. Have you been trapped with no something that you had and needed to make do with somebody different? (MacGyver, by the well-known television show that is fabled for this!) How thankful were you aware you had the ability to fix your circumstance? Slipping into neediness will wind up not as a customer once you over repeatedly shift involving away and gratitude from poverty awareness.

5. Be Passionate. Utilize a Fireplace Formulation of Recognize/Reevaluate/Restore in area of this Shoulda/Woulda/Coulda whirlwind. The prior is centered on enhanced comprehension and prosperity as the latter is targeted on lack and scarcity. Since you experience tasks or people which can seem tougher in simply scaling the peak of this Himalayas, then let yourself understand the endeavor is at least as crucial as offering orders out into your own beneficiaries. You'd prefer to be passionate!

6. Chuckle. Keep comedy at the forefront of the idea, laughing and with your self if potential. You might wind up quite amusing once you flake out! I've to observe that a comic go starving although his jokes are equally 'older as great-grandma'. Lifestyle has much to supply to let yourself mope about yourself shame. Humor is quite desirable, really fervent: life-giving.

7. Find out Your Goal. Consider that you're the architect of one's fate. Knowing how you intend to get recalled whenever you move out of that life is still an extremely driving drive. The purpose of being is seemingly easy to be truly a fantastic parent as complicated as finding amazing remedies.

When you yourself are in possession of a formidable purpose nobody will simply take your own ardent long run out of you personally anyhow for you personally! Indeed, for as long since there is still breath within the entire body, there isn't any limit to how far it is possible to accomplish during a lifetime. Detecting and after your own aim will make it possible for one to enjoy the workout. Celebrate from the discovery which behaving in your own creative thoughts' mind is satisfying with your goal. See what stream right into place together with flawless, ardent accuracy.

Activate your favorable believing. Stretch your own imagination. Think larger than you truly feel comfy. Act-on your own mind. The amount 1 trick this would be activity. Now you would like to begin practicing those ways.

Consider that: It's regrettable that many individuals do not make use of a pc for the reason that it looks overly intricate to start making use of. Or even they simply keep putting it off until a convenient moment. All these are only a few limitations you could install on their own. Constraints and collapse to behave on suggestions and chances leave lots of being a dimbulb at a darkened corner.

Warn! You're not likely to darkness. You want to know more about living a life of love and purpose. The lovely, ingenious notion in you're going to be published. You want to know more about achieving so as you're reading this specific report. Luckily in the event that you genuinely desire something, then the will to reach it's going to start your imaginative head to work out a manner.

You want simply to begin with to behave in your own urge to generate. Act now! Make your road into imagination and abide by your own goal. Simply take the very first step now using a favorable frame of mind.

#Lifestyle

[tipsycad147]

The Witchy Way: 5 Steps to Become a Real-Life Spellcaster

Becoming a Witch – male or female – is not just about casting spells and working with Magic, it is also about building awareness, finding your own Power and living in harmony with Nature and the Universe. In the process, you will also become more confident, more focused, and you will learn to find inspiration and see the bigger picture in every situation. In the end, you will be developing your intuition as a way to wisdom and connection with the spiritual world.

If you’re a regular practitioner, visit our Coven, get initiated or browse the online Book of Shadows. If you’re a Baby Witch, read on!

Witches are very exceptional people and some will call us freaks because we think in a different way. We find beautiful patterns in the simplest things and we really believe we have ultimate control over what happens in our lives… Our wonderful fairy tales! 💜

So keep reading if you want to join this tour of self-discovery as you learn not just how to cast a spell, but also how to channel the energies of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon following the ancient principles on which all Witchcraft is based. Sounds easy? Becoming a Witch is a path that could take you a lifetime.

How Can I Become a Real Witch?

In the first lesson of Spellcasting 101, we will learn:

Step 1: Know 💡

Step 2: Focus 🔍

Step 3: Cast 🔔

Step 4: Connect 🎯

Step 5: Transform 🔥

In Summary

There is no set guide or standard procedure, there is no “Hogwarts School of Magic” where long-bearded professors will teach you exactly how to become a Wizard.

Remember, everyone has a different path to discover. No two Witches are the same, that’s why sharing experiences and learning from each other can be the most important part. Open your mind to new beliefs and practices, search for books, courses, browse the Internet or watch documentaries that can guide you into what tingles your senses, so you can shape your own spiritual life. 🔮

Here’s a quick guide with 5 easy steps that will help you get started.

Step 1: Know 💡

The first step to becoming a Witch is to Know what your intentions are. Where would you like your Witchcraft to take you?

Let’s set a goal for the short and long term. To do this, you must know where you are. This is a great opportunity to use your intuition. Stop for a second and think of who you are right now.

Some of the main traits of Witches are:

High sensitivity,

Powerful intuition,

Manifest creativity,

Meaningful ideas,

Intense character.

We are all born with psychic and instinctive abilities. We are born with the ability to connect with our soul, our Higher Self, and to listen to our intuition. While most people might not use these skills everyday, they can only get so far by thinking it’s all just coincidences. Sometimes we really are channelling the energy that exists in and around us 🙌.

The first step to becoming a Witch is to know that your life is the result of your actions. And your actions are the result of your words and thoughts. To gain control of your reality, first you need to know how to control your mind. And this is something that you can learn and master.

So, how does this relate to Witchcraft and casting spells? There are many types of Witchcraft and each of them offers different experiences. But most of them have their roots inside the heart and mind of the spellcaster.

Positive Witchcraft is a practice for the keenly aware and well-disposed Witch. As with any other subject, there is an ethic to working with Magic and other energies. Most of the time you are free to do whatever you please, as long as it harms none.

A true Witch never sees things from a single point of view. That’s why we never petition for revenge, but rather for justice. From now on, you must be flexible and able to see the different facets of everything around you: things, people, attitudes, and opinions.

If Witchcraft is what you want for your life, the best thing you can do now is read books on Witchcraft, Paganism, and the Occult. While reading books and studying are very beneficial, Wicca and other forms of Paganism are closely related to Nature. Whatever has to happen, will be in conformity with the laws of Nature.

So go out and experiment with the creation of the Divine. Go camping. Take hikes in the mountains. Swim in the lake. Absorb the energy of the Sun and the Moon. Watch birds. Learn as much as you can about ancient traditions, and worship Earth and the Sky as proof of the forces of the Universe. This is all part of the first steps towards becoming a real-life Witch.

Let’s say you already know the basics and you have decided that this is definitely something that fits your belief system. Do this Exercise:

📓 In a notebook or journal, begin to write some of the reasons why you think Witchcraft is your way:

What does it mean to be a Witch for you?

What do you hope to achieve and learn through Witchcraft?

What fears do you find in following this path?

What do you feel when you think of God/Goddess?

What does the Divine or the Spiritual World mean to you?

Be completely honest. Nobody is going to read it except for you. Unless you feel like sharing your thoughts, then you can post them in our Community Forum for feedback. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions.

Having a notebook that will eventually become your Book of Shadows is a great way to start. Later, you will use it to keep your favourite spells, track your experiments and your progress as a Witch.

Not quite ready to become a Witch? Read our FAQs to learn more.

Step 2: Focus 🔍

To Focus means learning to meditate.

More importantly, Focus is the quiet moment in which we can communicate with the God, the Goddess, and with ourselves, taking pressure away from the conscious mind and channelling instead our spiritual consciousness. Meditation usually precedes every Magical act and ritual of worship ✨.

Meditation has very ancient origins. Early humans needed to stop and contemplate Nature just like we do. From active observation to meditation there are a few steps, and beyond there is an altered state of consciousness which doesn’t require any substances. Meditation, in a way, is a door to the spiritual world.

Witchcraft and Meditation can be combined in many different ways: It is the perfect moment to connect with the Divinity, or just to create a quiet space that helps align the mind.

An advanced Witch is able to voluntarily travel between different levels of consciousness. Other techniques include contemplative and introspective meditations, lucid dreams, and visualisations.

Many followers of Paganism and Neo-paganism know that meditation is a fundamental pillar to maintaining a solid connection with the Higher Self and the Divinity.

Meditation is a daily practice that can help us connect with our deepest, wisest and most intuitive mind 🌅.

Want to Meditate? Discover all sorts of witchy Guided Meditations

Step 3: Cast 🔔

To Cast means to throw or direct outwards. This is the ritual part of Magic.

The manifestation of a desire is just energy of thought that runs throughout the Universe. In this way a deep desire can be realised. Manifesting the life you want is an art that requires a lot of discipline, an open mind and a good dose of Faith in Life.

Your thoughts and your words become your reality, so protect your thoughts and guard your words. Always stay positive!

Once you acquire the practice of visualising and creating what you want, nothing can stop you 💪.

Following the many lessons you can find in this website, you will learn how to master your thoughts, your words, your actions, and in turn, your Manifestations. We achieve this by casting real-life spells and rituals.

How do rituals work?

When working with metaphysics, a ritual act or spiritual practice is basically a form of exercise. Think about how your body works: by exercising frequently and staying active, you stay in shape and promote a healthy body. Your spiritual life is no different: To keep it healthy, you must have some kind of spiritual exercise. Spells are a great way of achieving a healthy spiritual life and staying engaged in our own personal growth.

Another type of powerful ritual acts are affirmations. They work on the subconscious mind through “auto-suggestion”, fostering a better mindset for your everyday life. For example, by concentrating your thoughts before you go to sleep, you can channel part of your energy onto what you want and need. If you are going through a moment of fear you could say “I transform my fear into Power”.

As with any other religious practice, it is essential to stay positive and have faith in what you do at all times.

“It can be done, it will be done, it’s going to happen. You’ll see”

You probably already know that many spells use the power of candles. You probably made a wish before blowing out the candles on your last birthday cake!

Since ancient times candles have been used in rituals of Magic due to the indisputable power of fire to protect and to awaken vitality through light and heat 🔥.

Many Pagans and practitioners will always add candles to their rituals. Lighting a candle can help you relax, making your spaces more welcoming and peaceful. You can benefit from their energy during moments of introspection, whether during meditation, writing a wish list, taking a relaxing bath, practicing yoga, etc.

If you feel comfortable with the idea of ​​using candles for your rituals, then you are ready to start casting Magic spells.

We have collected plenty of spells from different sources, you can find them all by browsing Spells8.com

It is a great idea to start by following spells or rituals that you find in books or websites, but keep in mind that every spell was written by a particular Witch at a given time in their life, so it is best to use them as a guide to create your own rituals and write your own spells for your individual needs.

Step 4: Connect 🎯

To Connect means to use your Power to improve your relationship with yourself and others.

Many times we do not realise that everything we have – family, friends, work opportunities, projects, travel, health, love, as well as any wish we have fulfilled – are small miracles that not everyone can have. We assume that we deserve all these, but often times we are not aware of how difficult or impossible it is for other people to have that which we take for granted. Think about it!

You can easily get into a different state of consciousness by just spending some time everyday thanking for everything you have. For example, you can start in the morning when you wake up, giving thanks for having had a good night of sleep, for having the opportunity to live one more day, with all of its potential. Do the same at night before going to bed. Your “To Thank” list can get really long if you focus on the positive aspects of your life and everything you have, instead of the negatives or what you do not have yet.

Giving thanks should be a daily ritual. But even if you do not practice it very often, you will still notice a big change happening in your life, as soon as you start thanking the Universe. Take it seriously, take a minute to do it now. You can write it down on your notebook, or you can sit back and meditate for a minute, then create a mental list of things which you are grateful for. Start by focusing on yourself and you will notice how others automatically start to appear in your mental picture. Give thanks to them in your mind first. When you are ready, you can thank them in person.

Some will recommend a year and a day of self-studying before considering joining a coven (a circle of Witches, male or female). This time should be more than enough to fully consider why you want to become a Witch and what your path will look like, while discovering what ideas, rituals, tools, and practices work best for you.

Some people may choose not to join any organised group, that’s not a problem. A Solitary Witch is still a Witch. But even if you do not join a group, you may want to consider meeting with others who think alike from time to time. It always helps to discover new ideas and meet other people who share your interests.

A Coven refers to meetings of Witches of any magical tradition 🍷.

A coven is a group of practitioners, say a brotherhood or sisterhood, that meets to study, share and celebrate, and is governed by certain rules.

Some covens consist of a traditional maximum of 13 members. The organisation of the coven depends a lot on the Tradition that is followed, since there are several Wiccan currents: Traditional Wicca, Dianic Wicca, Celtic Wicca, Eclectic Wicca, etc.

The Coven can become an extension of the Witch’s family. It is a place to deepen your experience and knowledge about religion and Magic.

What about the people around you now? Your friends and family, coworkers or even your partner. It is possible that they won’t understand all these new changes going on in your life. Change can be uncomfortable for people. It makes them face the reality that someone is working hard to improve, and it challenges what they’re doing for themselves.

Some say that you become the average of the 5 people that are closest to you. They have a subconscious and powerful impact on your decisions, actions, and mindset. This is the reason why successful Witches enjoy each other’s company in the same way athletes prefer to talk to other athletes. As you are getting into Witchcraft more and more, you will need to surround yourself with people with the same goals as you.

This could mean that if you tell your friends and family about your newfound wisdom, they might not accept it and you will end up a “Broom Closet Witch“. Don’t study alone! Join our little online coven and meet witchy-minded people.

Step 5: Transform 🔥

To Transform means to Empower yourself and finally change your life.

This Transformation implies a connection with the hidden reality that alters this world and that can precisely and successfully reveal and bring to fruition your True Will. In other words, using your Witch Powers in real life.

Transformations occur when Magic, something truly invisible to others, becomes your connection with Nature, with Life, and it becomes your day to day 🌎.

Practising positive Witchcraft! Follow and create your own rituals every day. Steadily improving your life can lead to amazing transformations in the matters of love, relationships, career, looks, or whatever success means to you.

Real Magic is an active, premeditated, sure and firm attempt to change a current reality, removing obstacles and allowing a reality that has not yet occurred to finally blossom. Remember that sometimes your subconscious is a few years ahead, so stay positive!

Be welcomed to join this sacred path that always has a happy ending. Follow your dreams and, above all, get rid of everything that is holding back your encounter with Happiness.

In Summary

Learning all about Magic and practising Witchcraft spells by yourself will teach you what works for you and what suits you best. Once you realise that, you can find others with whom to share your experiences, spells and rituals.

Witchcraft is about working with the energies of Nature, finding patterns and connections within the big picture and the Universe.

The decision to become a Witch is not something that should be taken lightly. It is not a costume that can be put on or taken off at will. Witchcraft becomes your whole life and can drastically change your perception of the world.

Becoming a Witch affects everything and everyone around you. In some cases in a positive way, but it always alters how others will see you, so be aware that they may start to consider you different and you should be prepared for this.

Most important, remember the First Rule of Witchcraft:

If it does not harm anyone, do what you want and be happy.

https://spells8.com/lessons/5-steps-become-witch/

[ebenpink]

Keto and the Menstrual Cycle: Is There Reason To Worry? http://bit.ly/2VUzY2P

It seems every “keto for women” forum abounds with stories about menstrual cycles gone wild in the first few months of keto. Irregular cycles, breakthrough bleeding, and periods lasting much longer than normal are common complaints. Sometimes these stories are cited as evidence that keto isn’t good for women, at least not premenopausal women, and that we need carbs for healthy hormones. Yet, many women don’t notice any changes in their menstrual cycles at all, while others report improvement in PMS symptoms and cycle regularity from the get-go.

What gives? Why do some women’s cycles apparently become wacky when they start keto, while others feel like keto is the key to period bliss? Can keto “mess up” the menstrual cycle?

We know that diet—what and how much we eat—can profoundly affect our hormones. This is true for both women and men. One of the reasons people are so excited about ketogenic diets is specifically because keto shows promise for helping to regulate hormones and improve cellular sensitivity to hormones such as insulin and leptin.

At the same time, women’s hormones are especially sensitive not only to dietary changes but also to downstream effects such as body fat loss. Furthermore, one of the ways women’s bodies respond to stressors is by turning down the dial on our reproductive systems. It’s reasonable to hypothesize, then, that women might have a tougher time adapting to or sustaining a ketogenic diet. Keto can be stressful depending on one’s approach, and that might negatively impact women’s reproductive health. But do the data actually bear that out, or is so-called “keto period” more misplaced hype than genuine fact?

Note that throughout this post, I’m going to use the term “reproductive health” to refer to all aspects of women’s menstrual cycle, reproductive hormones, and fertility. Even if you aren’t interested in reproducing right now, your body’s willingness to reproduce is an important indicator of overall health. When your reproductive health goes awry—irregular or absent periods (amenorrhea) or hormone imbalances—that’s a big red flag. Of course, post-menopausal women can also experience hormone imbalances that affect their health and quality of life (and low-carb and keto diets can be a great option for them).

Menstrual Cycle 101

Let’s briefly review what constitutes a normal, healthy menstrual cycle, understanding that everybody’s “normal” will be a little different. A typical cycle lasts from 21 to 24 days on the short end to 31 to 35 days on the long end, with 28 days being the median. Day 1 is the first day of your period and begins the follicular phase, which lasts until ovulation. Just before ovulation, levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol (a form of estrogen) spike. Next comes the luteal phase covering the approximately 14 days from ovulation to menses. LH, FSH, and estradiol drop, while progesterone rises. Estradiol bumps up again in the middle of the luteal phase. If a fertilized egg is not implanted, menstruation commences, and the whole cycles starts over again. All this is regulated by a complex communication network under the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis, which is closely tied to the actions of the adrenal (the A in HPA axis) and thyroid glands.

Across the cycle, fluctuations in body weight are common as fluid is retained and then released along with shifts in estrogen and progesterone. Changes in blood glucose are also normal, and insulin-dependent diabetics often find that they need to adjust their dose at different times of their cycles to keep their blood sugar in check. The most common pattern is higher blood glucose readings in the pre-menstrual period (the second half of the luteal phase), and lower readings after starting your period and before ovulation. This is generally attributed to the fact that progesterone, which is highest during the luteal phase, is known to reduce insulin sensitivity. However, different women experience different patterns, which can also be affected by other factors such as oral contraceptive use.

Normal fluctuations in insulin resistance and blood glucose can mean that women get lower ketone readings at certain times of the month than others. When these occur premenstrually—and so they tend to coincide with a period of (transient) weight gain and food/carbohydrate cravings—women often feel as though they are doing something wrong. Rest assured that these variations reflect normal physiology.

The many factors that affect your cycle and the levels of your sex hormones include: other hormones, gut health and microbiome, metabolic health (e.g., insulin sensitivity), environmental toxins, stress, sleep, immune health, nutrient deficiencies, activity level and energy expenditure, and age. Each affects the others, and all (except age of course) can be affected by diet. It’s no surprise, then, that it can be extremely difficult to pin down a root cause of menstrual changes or reproductive issues.

What the Research Tells Us About Keto and Menstruation

As I said at the outset, there are lots of anecdotes, both positive and negative. In my experience, most women whose cycles seem to go crazy when they start keto find that things get back to normal—and often a better version of normal—after a few months.

First, it’s tricky to determine the effects of keto per se, since many people combine a ketogenic diet with calorie restriction (intentionally to lose weight or unintentionally due to the appetite suppressing effects of keto) and with fasting (intermittent and/or extended). Each of these can independently impact the factors listed above, lead to weight loss, and affect the menstrual cycle and reproductive health.

So, is there any evidence that keto itself causes changes to menstruation?

The scientific evidence is scant….

The one statistic you’ll see floating around the interwebs is “45% of (adolescent) females experience irregular menstrual cycles on keto.” This statistic comes from one small study of adolescent girls using a therapeutic ketogenic diet to treat epilepsy. Six of the twenty girls reported amenorrhea (loss of period) and three were diagnosed with delayed puberty. However, the ketogenic diet used for epilepsy is different and usually much stricter than an “everyday” keto diet needs to be, and epilepsy is frequently associated with menstrual dysfunction regardless of diet.

To extrapolate the findings of this study and argue that nearly half of teenage girls (or women generally) are likely to experience menstrual problems from going keto is a huge leap.

The fact is, I’m unable to find any studies done in healthy human females (or mice for that matter) demonstrating that otherwise normal menstrual cycles are disturbed by going keto.

5 Ways Keto-Related Factors *Might* Affect Your Menstrual Cycle

With the limited amount of research looking directly at keto and menstruation, let’s look first at whether there are direct effects of carbohydrate restriction or elevated ketone production on the menstrual cycle. Those are the defining characteristics of keto and what differentiates keto from other ways of eating. Then we can examine indirect effects that occur due to factors such as weight loss. These are not unique to keto, though they might be more likely on a ketogenic diet compared to other ways of eating.

Carbohydrate Restriction

There is no real body of evidence that looks at ketogenic levels of carb restriction and menstruation, but there are some clues. In this small study, functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) was associated with dietary fat restriction; women with FHA actually ate non-significantly more carbs than matched controls and nearly identical total calories. Likewise, in this small study, FHA was associated with lower fat intake but no significant difference in carb intake.

This meta-analysis looked at the effect of low-carb (not keto) diets on markers of reproductive health among overweight women. The researchers found four studies that examined effects on menstruation; all showed improved menstrual regularity and/or ovulation rates. Of six studies that looked at levels of reproductive hormones, five reported significant improvements.

Carb restriction also results in decreased insulin production. Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are frequently associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), one of the leading causes of female infertility and a frequent cause of menstrual irregularity. There is currently a lot of interest in using keto to treat PCOS, but only one small study has so far directly tested the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet to treat PCOS, with positive results.

Ketones

No studies have looked at the direct effects of ketones on menstruation.

Weight Loss

Of course weight loss is not unique to keto, but keto can be very effective for weight loss. Some women experience rapid weight loss when first starting a keto diet. Weight loss in and of itself can impact menstruation through a variety of pathways (and, of course, keto isn’t the only way people lose weight). A key way is by reducing the hormone leptin. Leptin’s main job is to communicate energy availability to the hypothalamus—high levels of leptin tell the hypothalamus that we have enough energy on board, which also means we can reproduce. Low leptin can disrupt the menstrual cycle and is linked to hypothalamic amenorrhea.

Body fat loss can also affect estrogen levels since estrogen is both stored and produced in adipocytes (fat cells). While fat loss in the long term will decrease estrogen production, it is possible that rapid fat loss might temporarily raise estrogen levels and can also affect estrogen-progesterone balance. These transient changes in estrogen levels might underlie some of the menstrual irregularities women report.

Stress

Stress can impact the menstrual cycle in myriad ways. Cortisol acts on the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, affecting hormone levels, sleep, immune function, and gut health, to name a few. Diets can be a source of stress, both at the physiological and psychological levels. Keto has a reputation for being especially stressful because it is more restrictive than other low-carb diets, but this can be mitigated by following the Keto Reset tips for women.

Thyroid Function

Thyroid dysregulation is another common cause of menstrual irregularities, and there remains a pervasive belief that keto is bad for thyroid health. Indeed, the thyroid is sensitive to nutrient deficiencies and caloric restriction, and thyroid hormones, especially T3, do frequently decline on keto. However, as Mark has discussed in a previous post, changes in T3 levels might not be a problem, especially in the absence of other problematic symptoms. Moreover, many practitioners now use keto as a cornerstone in their treatment of thyroid disorders.

What Should I Take From These Findings?

The first takeaway: there just isn’t much direct evidence about how keto might affect your menstrual cycle, positively or negatively. We have some studies suggesting that low-carb diets improve some aspects of menstruation and reproductive health, but keto is more than just another low-carb diet. Ketones themselves have important physiological properties, such as being directly anti-inflammatory, which might positively impact women’s reproductive health.

Second, the ways that keto is likely to (negatively) affect menstruation aren’t unique to keto, they’re common to any diet: hormone shifts mediated by energy balance, stress, and weight loss.

Furthermore, since keto is so often combined with caloric restriction, time-restricted eating, and fasting, even the anecdotal evidence might not be able to tell us all that much. If a woman is eating ketogenically, in a big caloric deficit, and doing OMAD (one meal a day), and her leptin plummets, how are we to know what really caused it? We don’t have good evidence that otherwise healthy women start a well-executed ketogenic diet and end up messing up their menstrual cycles.

That said, women do need to be cognizant of the sum total of the signals they are sending their bodies when it comes to energy availability and stress. A lot of women come to the keto diet with a history of adrenal, thyroid, metabolic, and reproductive issues. It’s important that they’re extra careful about how they approach keto. Done correctly, it might be just what the doctor ordered. I encourage any woman who’s dealing with other hormonal issues to work with a medical practitioner to tailor a keto diet to her unique needs.

But I’m Telling You, Keto Made My Period Go Haywire!

Ok, I believe you, really! But changes do not necessarily equal dysfunction. It is normal to experience hormone fluctuations when you make a massive—or even a relatively small but important—shift in your nutrition. Sometimes those fluctuations are unpleasant or unwanted, such as a period that lasts 14 days or one that arrives a week before you planned while you’re on vacation. However, that doesn’t make them bad from a health perspective. We need to respect that our bodies are dynamic systems. Changing the input will invariably change the output, and the system might need a few months to adapt to a new normal.

If your cycle goes wonky but you’re otherwise feeling good, give it a few months to sort itself out. If after a few months it’s still all over the place (or definitely if you’re having other disruptive symptoms), enlist help. In the meantime, check to make sure you’re not short-changing yourself nutritionally or calorically. Scale back on fasting efforts, and consider shifting more toward a traditional Primal way of eating.

At the end of the day, if you go keto and experience negative effects, stop. Keto is super hyped right now, but if your body is sending you clear signals that keto is not a good approach for you at this time, don’t do it. You can always try again later. It might be that your first attempt at keto didn’t work, but with a few adjustments and some experimentation over time you can find a version of keto that works for you.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Do you have comments, questions, or feedback? Let me know below.

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References:

Comninos AN, Jayasena CN, Dhillo WS. The relationship between gut and adipose hormones, and reproduction. Human Reproduction Update 2014; 20(2): 153–174.

Fontana R, Della Torre S. The Deep Correlation between Energy Metabolism and Reproduction: A View on the Effects of Nutrition for Women Fertility. Nutrients. 2016;8(2):87.

Klok MD, Jakobsdottir S, Drent ML. The role of leptin and ghrelin in the regulation of food intake and body weight in humans: a review. Obesity Reviews 2007;8(1):21-34.

Meczekalski B, Katulski K, Czyzyk A, Podfigurna-Stopa A, Maciejewska-Jeske M. Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and its influence on women’s health. J Endocrinol Invest. 2014;37(11):1049–1056.  

Tena-Sempere M. Roles of Ghrelin and Leptin in the Control of Reproductive Function. Neuroendocrinology 2007;86:229-241.

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[this-is-a-love-story-isnt-it]

btw, if anyone was wondering, when I went to the doctor yesterday, it turns out I have strep throat. I haven’t had that since I was a kid. I used to get it like once a year when I was a kid, but I don’t remember if I ever got it when I was in high school or later. In one way, I wasn’t that surprised, because I remember how, every time I got strep, I felt so sick. Like, my fever was real high (at the doctor’s office yesterday it was 101 degrees, and my normal temp runs a degree lower than normal (97.6), so that’s like a regular person having a 102 degree fever. And I was all achey and my skin hurt and I had a headache, and stuffy nose and scratchy throat, and just felt really blaaah and tired and light-headed (probably because my blood pressure was 90/62). The weird thing, though, is that every time I have gotten strep, I never got a real bad sore throat. It does hurt, but it’s more of a really scratchy and irritated feeling. I’ve had waaaayy worse sore throats before. omg some of the sore throats I’ve had were like torture. Like that one I had a few months ago. But with strep throat, I’ve never had a really bad sore throat. So anyway, my doctor prescribed antibiotics. and the cool thing is that he was going to prescribe me the Z Pac thing, but then he was like, “oh wait, not that one because it may interact badly with your other medications.” (Idk if I ever mentioned this here, but I have Epilepsy. I’ve had it since I was about 12... it started when I was going through puberty bc my trigger is hormone fluctuations... but I’ve been on meds since I was 18). so anyway, he prescribed something else that won’t have a risk of interacting badly with my seizure meds. Normally doctors are terrible at that- making sure what they prescribe is ok for you to take with existing medical conditions or in combination with other meds. My brother, who has crohn’s disease, went to the doctor for a tooth infection, and the doctor prescribed an antibiotic which he found out later should never be prescribed for someone with crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, and he had a really bad crohn’s flare, had to be put on a high dose of steroids for that, which in turn caused major heart problems that he’s still dealing with like over a year later.

Aaaanyway,

so yeah, I have strep throat but the antibiotics are amazing because I woke up this morning and was like, “woohoo I feel ok enough to go to work today!” and then my boss was like, “what are you doing here? don’t get everyone sick. go work from home.” lmao. so I did. But tbh I don’t like working from home. I’d rather take a sick day. But I’m working on this project that NEEDS to be finished pretty much by tomorrow, so I couldn’t take a sick day.

#me

[bonniejstarks]

SEPHORA SALE: LAST-MINUTE SUGGESTIONS – Beautygeeks

Hands up if you’ve already taken advantage of Sephora’s holiday bonus sale… and are planning to hit the site at least one more time before your discount goes bye-bye tonight.

I don’t know about you, but no matter what I’ve bought, I always think of something I should have ordered after the sale is over. If that happens to you too, then maybe a little a little video from a recent Sephora holiday-stuff preview, and a few recommendations might help?

Thanks for watching!Visit Website

charlotte tilbury

Now obviously the Sephora website has loads more than the items they showed at the preview. For one thing, Charlotte Tilbury is at Sephora; this is a great time to buy anything from her holiday collection.

Can’t get the new Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte Darling eye shadow palette out of my head, and it’s NOT available at Sephora.

Thanks for watching!Visit Website

Thanks for watching!Visit Website

I’m still eyeing the Starry Eyes to Hypnotize ($95 CAD and $75 USD at sephora.com) eyeshadow palette, and the new Instant Look in a Face Palette ($95 CAD and $75 USD at sephora.com), but she just dropped a gorgeous new six-shade Charlotte Darling ($72 CAD and $57 USD at charlottetilbury.com) eyeshadow palette that calls to me just as loudly although it’s not available at Sephora, and thus no bonus discount applies. #decisionsdecisions (It seems so much more reasonably priced in American dollars – sheesh.)

Actually here: I have a little vid of Charlotte Tilbury holiday collection, too.

murad

Murade Replenishing Multi-Acid Peel – so, so, good. Saw results fast!

Murad Replenishing Multi-Acid Peel ($85 CAD and $65 USD at sephora.com) is another new love for me. The formula is a bi-phase liquid that employs glycolic, lactic and malic acides (AHAs), salicylic acid (BHA) and tranexamic acid (manages pigmentation) to smooth and brighten the skin. It’s potent – if I’ve gone the least bit overboard on my exfoliation before using it, my sensitive skin will sting a bit – but it’s also really, really good. I love it. The jojoba seed and moringa oils in the mix are soothing and make my now oil-greedy skin happy. The morning after my first use, my skin looked more radiant! I’m almost halfway through my media-sample bottle, and it’s pricey enough that I welcome that Sephora discount.

consonant

Consonant HydrExtreme Serum – can’t live without it. And it lasts a long time.

Consonant HydrExtreme ($149 CAD at sephora.com and $72 at well.ca) is a must-have for anyone with dry skin. It’s expensive, and I’ll tell you why in a separate post, but it’s also crazy efficacious: all you need is two drops for your whole face to get a hydration boost. My skin is more dehydrated than dry, but less oily than it used to be, and I cannot do without it; I buy it almost every Sephora bonus time. You’ll notice a lower price and well.ca link next to the Sephora info; that’s for a 10mL bottle that Sephora doesn’t sell. I included the link for our US-based friends because Consonant isn’t available at Sephora in the States, and well.ca ships to the USA.

first aid beauty

First Aid Beauty Fablantis holiday set – features full-sized products; I love the Ultra Repair Cream.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Moisturizer and Ultra Repair Cream ($32/$40 CAD and $24/$32 USD at sephora.com) are new favourites this year as well. From late Spring to late Summer, I used the Ultra Repair Moisturizer during the day and the Ultra Repair Cream at night. Now I’m using only the Ultra Repair Cream, day and night.

Honestly I had underestimated FAB on account of the packaging – oops. Shame on me, I’d assumed it was basic stuff, formulated with petrolatum and mineral oil and maybe a few more emollients. And I was okay with that! That’s why I tried it! My skin was being finicky, you see. But I’m glad I hadn’t read the ingredients first, or wouldn’t have tried it. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Moisturizer and Repair Cream are dosed with ceramides as well as glycerin and colloidal oatmeal, and they make my skin happy!

If the moisturizing lotion and cream appeal to you, and you’re keen to try other FAB products, the First Aid Beauty Fablantis set ($64 CAD and $49 USD at sephora.com) might be the way to go to save $$. I haven’t really got into the exfoliating pads because I already have so many chemical exfoliants, but I do have them for when I travel. The holiday set also comes with a lip balm, but I’ll tell you straight up that I do NOT like it. Something about the texture is off-putting for me. Couldn’t wait to take it off and replace it with lanolin. But maybe that’s just me. 

lano

Lano Lips 101 Ointment – I’ve bought so many of these. In sub-zero temps, I apply a tiny bit over my moisturizer as an extra barrier against the deep-freeze dementors who cruelly suck every bit of moisture from the skin. Also my preferred formula in the lineup to use as lip balm.

Speaking of lanolin, you must give Lanolips a try. I’ll get into more about that brand in another post, but if you love Bite Beauty’s Agave Lip Treatment here’s a heads-up: in order to slap a VEGAN label on the brand, Bite is removing the lanolin from that formula. I don’t know what the new texture will be like, but frankly, lanolin is what makes it magic. So if you haven’t tried Lanolips 101 Ointment Multipurpose Superbalm ($23 CAD at sephora.com and $16.95 USD at ulta.com) yet, get it now. I’d say get the 101 Ointment Duo ($37 CAD at sephora.com), actually, because you’ll get two tubes and save about $9 CAD overall (sorry, US-based friends; the duo seems exclusive to Sephora in Canada). 

Lanolips does have lip-balm formulas that are smooth and non-sticky; the 101 Ointment is the closest in texture to Bite’s Agave Lip Treatment. In fact, the 101 Ointment is slightly less sticky because it’s blended with a bit of lanolin oil. (Ultra-purified lanolin – no colour and no odour – and lanolin oil are the only two ingredients, btw.) 

Lano The Ultimate Strength Hand Duo – your poor chapped hands will applaud you enthusiastically after you’ve tried this formula. Trust.

Also remarkable is the Lano Rose Hand Cream Intense ($20 CAD at sephora.com and $14.95 USD at ulta.com). It’s also available in an Ultimate Strength Hand Duo ($32 CAD at sephora.com and $23.50 at ulta.com) that features the rose scent and lemon too, and costs less than buying two separate tubes. The texture might take a little getting used to – it’s quite sticky at first, and needs warming in palms to massage in – but the end result is soooo good. Chronically dry and chapped hands will never feel dry again (with regular use, of course).

bite beauty

Bite Agave Lip Mask – if you love this, buy back-ups NOW; as of January 2020, it’ll be a lanolin-free formula.

And of course, if you’re a Bite Agave Lip Treatment ($34 CAD and $24 USD at sephora.com) fan, stock up now because the new version is coming in January.

Oh, and the opening photo features the Lilly Lashes 3D Mink Miami & Mini Lash Adhesive Ornament ($33 CAD and $25 USD at sephora.com).

now you

All righty, have you taken advantage of the Sephora sale? Did you hit the site more than once??

shoppity shop-shop

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The post SEPHORA SALE: LAST-MINUTE SUGGESTIONS – Beautygeeks appeared first on Trends Dress.

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Keto and the Menstrual Cycle: Is There Reason To Worry?

It seems every “keto for women” forum abounds with stories about menstrual cycles gone wild in the first few months of keto. Irregular cycles, breakthrough bleeding, and periods lasting much longer than normal are common complaints. Sometimes these stories are cited as evidence that keto isn’t good for women, at least not premenopausal women, and that we need carbs for healthy hormones. Yet, many women don’t notice any changes in their menstrual cycles at all, while others report improvement in PMS symptoms and cycle regularity from the get-go.

What gives? Why do some women’s cycles apparently become wacky when they start keto, while others feel like keto is the key to period bliss? Can keto “mess up” the menstrual cycle?

We know that diet—what and how much we eat—can profoundly affect our hormones. This is true for both women and men. One of the reasons people are so excited about ketogenic diets is specifically because keto shows promise for helping to regulate hormones and improve cellular sensitivity to hormones such as insulin and leptin.

At the same time, women’s hormones are especially sensitive not only to dietary changes but also to downstream effects such as body fat loss. Furthermore, one of the ways women’s bodies respond to stressors is by turning down the dial on our reproductive systems. It’s reasonable to hypothesize, then, that women might have a tougher time adapting to or sustaining a ketogenic diet. Keto can be stressful depending on one’s approach, and that might negatively impact women’s reproductive health. But do the data actually bear that out, or is so-called “keto period” more misplaced hype than genuine fact?

Note that throughout this post, I’m going to use the term “reproductive health” to refer to all aspects of women’s menstrual cycle, reproductive hormones, and fertility. Even if you aren’t interested in reproducing right now, your body’s willingness to reproduce is an important indicator of overall health. When your reproductive health goes awry—irregular or absent periods (amenorrhea) or hormone imbalances—that’s a big red flag. Of course, post-menopausal women can also experience hormone imbalances that affect their health and quality of life (and low-carb and keto diets can be a great option for them).

Menstrual Cycle 101

Let’s briefly review what constitutes a normal, healthy menstrual cycle, understanding that everybody’s “normal” will be a little different. A typical cycle lasts from 21 to 24 days on the short end to 31 to 35 days on the long end, with 28 days being the median. Day 1 is the first day of your period and begins the follicular phase, which lasts until ovulation. Just before ovulation, levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol (a form of estrogen) spike. Next comes the luteal phase covering the approximately 14 days from ovulation to menses. LH, FSH, and estradiol drop, while progesterone rises. Estradiol bumps up again in the middle of the luteal phase. If a fertilized egg is not implanted, menstruation commences, and the whole cycles starts over again. All this is regulated by a complex communication network under the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis, which is closely tied to the actions of the adrenal (the A in HPA axis) and thyroid glands.

Across the cycle, fluctuations in body weight are common as fluid is retained and then released along with shifts in estrogen and progesterone. Changes in blood glucose are also normal, and insulin-dependent diabetics often find that they need to adjust their dose at different times of their cycles to keep their blood sugar in check. The most common pattern is higher blood glucose readings in the pre-menstrual period (the second half of the luteal phase), and lower readings after starting your period and before ovulation. This is generally attributed to the fact that progesterone, which is highest during the luteal phase, is known to reduce insulin sensitivity. However, different women experience different patterns, which can also be affected by other factors such as oral contraceptive use.

Normal fluctuations in insulin resistance and blood glucose can mean that women get lower ketone readings at certain times of the month than others. When these occur premenstrually—and so they tend to coincide with a period of (transient) weight gain and food/carbohydrate cravings—women often feel as though they are doing something wrong. Rest assured that these variations reflect normal physiology.

The many factors that affect your cycle and the levels of your sex hormones include: other hormones, gut health and microbiome, metabolic health (e.g., insulin sensitivity), environmental toxins, stress, sleep, immune health, nutrient deficiencies, activity level and energy expenditure, and age. Each affects the others, and all (except age of course) can be affected by diet. It’s no surprise, then, that it can be extremely difficult to pin down a root cause of menstrual changes or reproductive issues.

What the Research Tells Us About Keto and Menstruation

As I said at the outset, there are lots of anecdotes, both positive and negative. In my experience, most women whose cycles seem to go crazy when they start keto find that things get back to normal—and often a better version of normal—after a few months.

First, it’s tricky to determine the effects of keto per se, since many people combine a ketogenic diet with calorie restriction (intentionally to lose weight or unintentionally due to the appetite suppressing effects of keto) and with fasting (intermittent and/or extended). Each of these can independently impact the factors listed above, lead to weight loss, and affect the menstrual cycle and reproductive health.

So, is there any evidence that keto itself causes changes to menstruation?

The scientific evidence is scant….

The one statistic you’ll see floating around the interwebs is “45% of (adolescent) females experience irregular menstrual cycles on keto.” This statistic comes from one small study of adolescent girls using a therapeutic ketogenic diet to treat epilepsy. Six of the twenty girls reported amenorrhea (loss of period) and three were diagnosed with delayed puberty. However, the ketogenic diet used for epilepsy is different and usually much stricter than an “everyday” keto diet needs to be, and epilepsy is frequently associated with menstrual dysfunction regardless of diet.

To extrapolate the findings of this study and argue that nearly half of teenage girls (or women generally) are likely to experience menstrual problems from going keto is a huge leap.

The fact is, I’m unable to find any studies done in healthy human females (or mice for that matter) demonstrating that otherwise normal menstrual cycles are disturbed by going keto.

5 Ways Keto-Related Factors *Might* Affect Your Menstrual Cycle

With the limited amount of research looking directly at keto and menstruation, let’s look first at whether there are direct effects of carbohydrate restriction or elevated ketone production on the menstrual cycle. Those are the defining characteristics of keto and what differentiates keto from other ways of eating. Then we can examine indirect effects that occur due to factors such as weight loss. These are not unique to keto, though they might be more likely on a ketogenic diet compared to other ways of eating.

Carbohydrate Restriction

There is no real body of evidence that looks at ketogenic levels of carb restriction and menstruation, but there are some clues. In this small study, functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) was associated with dietary fat restriction; women with FHA actually ate non-significantly more carbs than matched controls and nearly identical total calories. Likewise, in this small study, FHA was associated with lower fat intake but no significant difference in carb intake.

This meta-analysis looked at the effect of low-carb (not keto) diets on markers of reproductive health among overweight women. The researchers found four studies that examined effects on menstruation; all showed improved menstrual regularity and/or ovulation rates. Of six studies that looked at levels of reproductive hormones, five reported significant improvements.

Carb restriction also results in decreased insulin production. Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are frequently associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), one of the leading causes of female infertility and a frequent cause of menstrual irregularity. There is currently a lot of interest in using keto to treat PCOS, but only one small study has so far directly tested the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet to treat PCOS, with positive results.

Ketones

No studies have looked at the direct effects of ketones on menstruation.

Weight Loss

Of course weight loss is not unique to keto, but keto can be very effective for weight loss. Some women experience rapid weight loss when first starting a keto diet. Weight loss in and of itself can impact menstruation through a variety of pathways (and, of course, keto isn’t the only way people lose weight). A key way is by reducing the hormone leptin. Leptin’s main job is to communicate energy availability to the hypothalamus—high levels of leptin tell the hypothalamus that we have enough energy on board, which also means we can reproduce. Low leptin can disrupt the menstrual cycle and is linked to hypothalamic amenorrhea.

Body fat loss can also affect estrogen levels since estrogen is both stored and produced in adipocytes (fat cells). While fat loss in the long term will decrease estrogen production, it is possible that rapid fat loss might temporarily raise estrogen levels and can also affect estrogen-progesterone balance. These transient changes in estrogen levels might underlie some of the menstrual irregularities women report.

Stress

Stress can impact the menstrual cycle in myriad ways. Cortisol acts on the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, affecting hormone levels, sleep, immune function, and gut health, to name a few. Diets can be a source of stress, both at the physiological and psychological levels. Keto has a reputation for being especially stressful because it is more restrictive than other low-carb diets, but this can be mitigated by following the Keto Reset tips for women.

Thyroid Function

Thyroid dysregulation is another common cause of menstrual irregularities, and there remains a pervasive belief that keto is bad for thyroid health. Indeed, the thyroid is sensitive to nutrient deficiencies and caloric restriction, and thyroid hormones, especially T3, do frequently decline on keto. However, as Mark has discussed in a previous post, changes in T3 levels might not be a problem, especially in the absence of other problematic symptoms. Moreover, many practitioners now use keto as a cornerstone in their treatment of thyroid disorders.

What Should I Take From These Findings?

The first takeaway: there just isn’t much direct evidence about how keto might affect your menstrual cycle, positively or negatively. We have some studies suggesting that low-carb diets improve some aspects of menstruation and reproductive health, but keto is more than just another low-carb diet. Ketones themselves have important physiological properties, such as being directly anti-inflammatory, which might positively impact women’s reproductive health.

Second, the ways that keto is likely to (negatively) affect menstruation aren’t unique to keto, they’re common to any diet: hormone shifts mediated by energy balance, stress, and weight loss.

Furthermore, since keto is so often combined with caloric restriction, time-restricted eating, and fasting, even the anecdotal evidence might not be able to tell us all that much. If a woman is eating ketogenically, in a big caloric deficit, and doing OMAD (one meal a day), and her leptin plummets, how are we to know what really caused it? We don’t have good evidence that otherwise healthy women start a well-executed ketogenic diet and end up messing up their menstrual cycles.

That said, women do need to be cognizant of the sum total of the signals they are sending their bodies when it comes to energy availability and stress. A lot of women come to the keto diet with a history of adrenal, thyroid, metabolic, and reproductive issues. It’s important that they’re extra careful about how they approach keto. Done correctly, it might be just what the doctor ordered. I encourage any woman who’s dealing with other hormonal issues to work with a medical practitioner to tailor a keto diet to her unique needs.

But I’m Telling You, Keto Made My Period Go Haywire!

Ok, I believe you, really! But changes do not necessarily equal dysfunction. It is normal to experience hormone fluctuations when you make a massive—or even a relatively small but important—shift in your nutrition. Sometimes those fluctuations are unpleasant or unwanted, such as a period that lasts 14 days or one that arrives a week before you planned while you’re on vacation. However, that doesn’t make them bad from a health perspective. We need to respect that our bodies are dynamic systems. Changing the input will invariably change the output, and the system might need a few months to adapt to a new normal.

If your cycle goes wonky but you’re otherwise feeling good, give it a few months to sort itself out. If after a few months it’s still all over the place (or definitely if you’re having other disruptive symptoms), enlist help. In the meantime, check to make sure you’re not short-changing yourself nutritionally or calorically. Scale back on fasting efforts, and consider shifting more toward a traditional Primal way of eating.

At the end of the day, if you go keto and experience negative effects, stop. Keto is super hyped right now, but if your body is sending you clear signals that keto is not a good approach for you at this time, don’t do it. You can always try again later. It might be that your first attempt at keto didn’t work, but with a few adjustments and some experimentation over time you can find a version of keto that works for you.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Do you have comments, questions, or feedback? Let me know below.

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References:

Comninos AN, Jayasena CN, Dhillo WS. The relationship between gut and adipose hormones, and reproduction. Human Reproduction Update 2014; 20(2): 153–174.

Fontana R, Della Torre S. The Deep Correlation between Energy Metabolism and Reproduction: A View on the Effects of Nutrition for Women Fertility. Nutrients. 2016;8(2):87.

Klok MD, Jakobsdottir S, Drent ML. The role of leptin and ghrelin in the regulation of food intake and body weight in humans: a review. Obesity Reviews 2007;8(1):21-34.

Meczekalski B, Katulski K, Czyzyk A, Podfigurna-Stopa A, Maciejewska-Jeske M. Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and its influence on women’s health. J Endocrinol Invest. 2014;37(11):1049–1056.  

Tena-Sempere M. Roles of Ghrelin and Leptin in the Control of Reproductive Function. Neuroendocrinology 2007;86:229-241.

The post Keto and the Menstrual Cycle: Is There Reason To Worry? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Keto and the Menstrual Cycle: Is There Reason To Worry? published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

[jesseneufeld]

Keto and the Menstrual Cycle: Is There Reason To Worry?

It seems every “keto for women” forum abounds with stories about menstrual cycles gone wild in the first few months of keto. Irregular cycles, breakthrough bleeding, and periods lasting much longer than normal are common complaints. Sometimes these stories are cited as evidence that keto isn’t good for women, at least not premenopausal women, and that we need carbs for healthy hormones. Yet, many women don’t notice any changes in their menstrual cycles at all, while others report improvement in PMS symptoms and cycle regularity from the get-go.

What gives? Why do some women’s cycles apparently become wacky when they start keto, while others feel like keto is the key to period bliss? Can keto “mess up” the menstrual cycle?

We know that diet—what and how much we eat—can profoundly affect our hormones. This is true for both women and men. One of the reasons people are so excited about ketogenic diets is specifically because keto shows promise for helping to regulate hormones and improve cellular sensitivity to hormones such as insulin and leptin.

At the same time, women’s hormones are especially sensitive not only to dietary changes but also to downstream effects such as body fat loss. Furthermore, one of the ways women’s bodies respond to stressors is by turning down the dial on our reproductive systems. It’s reasonable to hypothesize, then, that women might have a tougher time adapting to or sustaining a ketogenic diet. Keto can be stressful depending on one’s approach, and that might negatively impact women’s reproductive health. But do the data actually bear that out, or is so-called “keto period” more misplaced hype than genuine fact?

Note that throughout this post, I’m going to use the term “reproductive health” to refer to all aspects of women’s menstrual cycle, reproductive hormones, and fertility. Even if you aren’t interested in reproducing right now, your body’s willingness to reproduce is an important indicator of overall health. When your reproductive health goes awry—irregular or absent periods (amenorrhea) or hormone imbalances—that’s a big red flag. Of course, post-menopausal women can also experience hormone imbalances that affect their health and quality of life (and low-carb and keto diets can be a great option for them).

Menstrual Cycle 101

Let’s briefly review what constitutes a normal, healthy menstrual cycle, understanding that everybody’s “normal” will be a little different. A typical cycle lasts from 21 to 24 days on the short end to 31 to 35 days on the long end, with 28 days being the median. Day 1 is the first day of your period and begins the follicular phase, which lasts until ovulation. Just before ovulation, levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol (a form of estrogen) spike. Next comes the luteal phase covering the approximately 14 days from ovulation to menses. LH, FSH, and estradiol drop, while progesterone rises. Estradiol bumps up again in the middle of the luteal phase. If a fertilized egg is not implanted, menstruation commences, and the whole cycles starts over again. All this is regulated by a complex communication network under the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis, which is closely tied to the actions of the adrenal (the A in HPA axis) and thyroid glands.

Across the cycle, fluctuations in body weight are common as fluid is retained and then released along with shifts in estrogen and progesterone. Changes in blood glucose are also normal, and insulin-dependent diabetics often find that they need to adjust their dose at different times of their cycles to keep their blood sugar in check. The most common pattern is higher blood glucose readings in the pre-menstrual period (the second half of the luteal phase), and lower readings after starting your period and before ovulation. This is generally attributed to the fact that progesterone, which is highest during the luteal phase, is known to reduce insulin sensitivity. However, different women experience different patterns, which can also be affected by other factors such as oral contraceptive use.

Normal fluctuations in insulin resistance and blood glucose can mean that women get lower ketone readings at certain times of the month than others. When these occur premenstrually—and so they tend to coincide with a period of (transient) weight gain and food/carbohydrate cravings—women often feel as though they are doing something wrong. Rest assured that these variations reflect normal physiology.

The many factors that affect your cycle and the levels of your sex hormones include: other hormones, gut health and microbiome, metabolic health (e.g., insulin sensitivity), environmental toxins, stress, sleep, immune health, nutrient deficiencies, activity level and energy expenditure, and age. Each affects the others, and all (except age of course) can be affected by diet. It’s no surprise, then, that it can be extremely difficult to pin down a root cause of menstrual changes or reproductive issues.

What the Research Tells Us About Keto and Menstruation

As I said at the outset, there are lots of anecdotes, both positive and negative. In my experience, most women whose cycles seem to go crazy when they start keto find that things get back to normal—and often a better version of normal—after a few months.

First, it’s tricky to determine the effects of keto per se, since many people combine a ketogenic diet with calorie restriction (intentionally to lose weight or unintentionally due to the appetite suppressing effects of keto) and with fasting (intermittent and/or extended). Each of these can independently impact the factors listed above, lead to weight loss, and affect the menstrual cycle and reproductive health.

So, is there any evidence that keto itself causes changes to menstruation?

The scientific evidence is scant….

The one statistic you’ll see floating around the interwebs is “45% of (adolescent) females experience irregular menstrual cycles on keto.” This statistic comes from one small study of adolescent girls using a therapeutic ketogenic diet to treat epilepsy. Six of the twenty girls reported amenorrhea (loss of period) and three were diagnosed with delayed puberty. However, the ketogenic diet used for epilepsy is different and usually much stricter than an “everyday” keto diet needs to be, and epilepsy is frequently associated with menstrual dysfunction regardless of diet.

To extrapolate the findings of this study and argue that nearly half of teenage girls (or women generally) are likely to experience menstrual problems from going keto is a huge leap.

The fact is, I’m unable to find any studies done in healthy human females (or mice for that matter) demonstrating that otherwise normal menstrual cycles are disturbed by going keto.

5 Ways Keto-Related Factors *Might* Affect Your Menstrual Cycle

With the limited amount of research looking directly at keto and menstruation, let’s look first at whether there are direct effects of carbohydrate restriction or elevated ketone production on the menstrual cycle. Those are the defining characteristics of keto and what differentiates keto from other ways of eating. Then we can examine indirect effects that occur due to factors such as weight loss. These are not unique to keto, though they might be more likely on a ketogenic diet compared to other ways of eating.

Carbohydrate Restriction

There is no real body of evidence that looks at ketogenic levels of carb restriction and menstruation, but there are some clues. In this small study, functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) was associated with dietary fat restriction; women with FHA actually ate non-significantly more carbs than matched controls and nearly identical total calories. Likewise, in this small study, FHA was associated with lower fat intake but no significant difference in carb intake.

This meta-analysis looked at the effect of low-carb (not keto) diets on markers of reproductive health among overweight women. The researchers found four studies that examined effects on menstruation; all showed improved menstrual regularity and/or ovulation rates. Of six studies that looked at levels of reproductive hormones, five reported significant improvements.

Carb restriction also results in decreased insulin production. Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are frequently associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), one of the leading causes of female infertility and a frequent cause of menstrual irregularity. There is currently a lot of interest in using keto to treat PCOS, but only one small study has so far directly tested the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet to treat PCOS, with positive results.

Ketones

No studies have looked at the direct effects of ketones on menstruation.

Weight Loss

Of course weight loss is not unique to keto, but keto can be very effective for weight loss. Some women experience rapid weight loss when first starting a keto diet. Weight loss in and of itself can impact menstruation through a variety of pathways (and, of course, keto isn’t the only way people lose weight). A key way is by reducing the hormone leptin. Leptin’s main job is to communicate energy availability to the hypothalamus—high levels of leptin tell the hypothalamus that we have enough energy on board, which also means we can reproduce. Low leptin can disrupt the menstrual cycle and is linked to hypothalamic amenorrhea.

Body fat loss can also affect estrogen levels since estrogen is both stored and produced in adipocytes (fat cells). While fat loss in the long term will decrease estrogen production, it is possible that rapid fat loss might temporarily raise estrogen levels and can also affect estrogen-progesterone balance. These transient changes in estrogen levels might underlie some of the menstrual irregularities women report.

Stress

Stress can impact the menstrual cycle in myriad ways. Cortisol acts on the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, affecting hormone levels, sleep, immune function, and gut health, to name a few. Diets can be a source of stress, both at the physiological and psychological levels. Keto has a reputation for being especially stressful because it is more restrictive than other low-carb diets, but this can be mitigated by following the Keto Reset tips for women.

Thyroid Function

Thyroid dysregulation is another common cause of menstrual irregularities, and there remains a pervasive belief that keto is bad for thyroid health. Indeed, the thyroid is sensitive to nutrient deficiencies and caloric restriction, and thyroid hormones, especially T3, do frequently decline on keto. However, as Mark has discussed in a previous post, changes in T3 levels might not be a problem, especially in the absence of other problematic symptoms. Moreover, many practitioners now use keto as a cornerstone in their treatment of thyroid disorders.

What Should I Take From These Findings?

The first takeaway: there just isn’t much direct evidence about how keto might affect your menstrual cycle, positively or negatively. We have some studies suggesting that low-carb diets improve some aspects of menstruation and reproductive health, but keto is more than just another low-carb diet. Ketones themselves have important physiological properties, such as being directly anti-inflammatory, which might positively impact women’s reproductive health.

Second, the ways that keto is likely to (negatively) affect menstruation aren’t unique to keto, they’re common to any diet: hormone shifts mediated by energy balance, stress, and weight loss.

Furthermore, since keto is so often combined with caloric restriction, time-restricted eating, and fasting, even the anecdotal evidence might not be able to tell us all that much. If a woman is eating ketogenically, in a big caloric deficit, and doing OMAD (one meal a day), and her leptin plummets, how are we to know what really caused it? We don’t have good evidence that otherwise healthy women start a well-executed ketogenic diet and end up messing up their menstrual cycles.

That said, women do need to be cognizant of the sum total of the signals they are sending their bodies when it comes to energy availability and stress. A lot of women come to the keto diet with a history of adrenal, thyroid, metabolic, and reproductive issues. It’s important that they’re extra careful about how they approach keto. Done correctly, it might be just what the doctor ordered. I encourage any woman who’s dealing with other hormonal issues to work with a medical practitioner to tailor a keto diet to her unique needs.

But I’m Telling You, Keto Made My Period Go Haywire!

Ok, I believe you, really! But changes do not necessarily equal dysfunction. It is normal to experience hormone fluctuations when you make a massive—or even a relatively small but important—shift in your nutrition. Sometimes those fluctuations are unpleasant or unwanted, such as a period that lasts 14 days or one that arrives a week before you planned while you’re on vacation. However, that doesn’t make them bad from a health perspective. We need to respect that our bodies are dynamic systems. Changing the input will invariably change the output, and the system might need a few months to adapt to a new normal.

If your cycle goes wonky but you’re otherwise feeling good, give it a few months to sort itself out. If after a few months it’s still all over the place (or definitely if you’re having other disruptive symptoms), enlist help. In the meantime, check to make sure you’re not short-changing yourself nutritionally or calorically. Scale back on fasting efforts, and consider shifting more toward a traditional Primal way of eating.

At the end of the day, if you go keto and experience negative effects, stop. Keto is super hyped right now, but if your body is sending you clear signals that keto is not a good approach for you at this time, don’t do it. You can always try again later. It might be that your first attempt at keto didn’t work, but with a few adjustments and some experimentation over time you can find a version of keto that works for you.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Do you have comments, questions, or feedback? Let me know below.

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References:

Comninos AN, Jayasena CN, Dhillo WS. The relationship between gut and adipose hormones, and reproduction. Human Reproduction Update 2014; 20(2): 153–174.

Fontana R, Della Torre S. The Deep Correlation between Energy Metabolism and Reproduction: A View on the Effects of Nutrition for Women Fertility. Nutrients. 2016;8(2):87.

Klok MD, Jakobsdottir S, Drent ML. The role of leptin and ghrelin in the regulation of food intake and body weight in humans: a review. Obesity Reviews 2007;8(1):21-34.

Meczekalski B, Katulski K, Czyzyk A, Podfigurna-Stopa A, Maciejewska-Jeske M. Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and its influence on women’s health. J Endocrinol Invest. 2014;37(11):1049–1056.  

Tena-Sempere M. Roles of Ghrelin and Leptin in the Control of Reproductive Function. Neuroendocrinology 2007;86:229-241.

The post Keto and the Menstrual Cycle: Is There Reason To Worry? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Keto and the Menstrual Cycle: Is There Reason To Worry? published first on https://drugaddictionsrehab.tumblr.com/

[pitz182]

Microdosing Marijuana at 9 Years Sober

Microdosing. All the cool kids in Silicon Valley are doing it, and anyone who got sober before 2015 has been left out of the fun. At least, anyone with an all-or-nothing recovery plan, which is most people, but definitely not yours truly. Anecdotally, it looks like it’s better to have Silicon Valley hooked on low doses of LSD and psilocybin than abusing Adderall, but more empirical data on the therapeutic benefits of this trend is needed. Though I’m not going near psychedelics without a doctor’s note, I have dabbled in some microdosing on weed, and I still consider myself 100% sober.Alcohol was my problem. It was a gnarly problem. I put the kibosh on that problem in 2009 and haven’t looked back.Google piqued my interest in microdosing on weed by feeding me a headline that claimed one puff of it could blast away depression. I double-clicked. Since I deal with bipolar disorder and have benefited from using CBD (the non-psychoactive component in marijuana), the article seemed relevant.According to the study, one drag of low-THC and high-CBD dose of weed can knock out depression immediately, unlike traditional antidepressants that often take a few weeks to kick in. But, there’s a catch: Continual use of THC could worsen depression, so this had to be an every-now-and-again smoke. I stored that information in my brain for future reference, noting that if I ever experienced an intense depression that didn’t abate I could give it a try since I’m fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles (pot shops on nearly every major street).About two months after I read about the study, I got stuck in a morass of negativity and self-deprecation and self-doubt for about a week. Everything was out of alignment, and no matter how much meditation I did, I just couldn’t snap out of it. Sure, I have bipolar II, but because I take meds, 90% of the time the symptoms are manageable. Still, there are those days when stress or neurochemistry or hormones or a bad fight with a boyfriend can throw me off.Sometimes I find relief in jogging or dancing, calling my therapist or going to a meeting, but there are times where I don’t have the energy or ability to do the very things I know will help (Depression 101). Since I’ve dealt with the condition for so long, I know when I’m dealing with a chemical imbalance and when I’m dealing with a psychological imbalance.This time it felt like both.I was curious to see how the weed would work, especially since I’d heard so much about the benefits of microdosing on psychedelics from friends. Because the CBD succeeded in quieting my anxiety and smoothing out my thoughts, I figured why not try something with a bit of THC.Anyone who smokes pot can tell you that it triggers euphoria, thereby alleviating depression; you don’t need a study to tell you that. But I’ve never been a huge fan of weed, for several reasons.For starters, my sister smoked way too much of it when she was 18, and she wound up with a permanent case of acute paranoid schizophrenia right after a three-month-long binge. Her doctor said the weed probably triggered a dormant case of the illness inherited from my schizophrenic grandfather, one that would have emerged with or without the pot, it was just a matter of time. So, that instilled in me a well-warranted dose of fear.After staying far away from weed until my early 20s, I started smoking it every now and then, but not very often, and I certainly never purchased any or had it around. You’re probably wondering why I’d even risk smoking pot at all given my sister’s condition. Well, the doc also pointed out that she displayed many early signs of the disorder from childhood, and that my emotional and expressive--albeit mood-disordered--personality was opposite of what you’d typically see in a child predisposed for schizophrenia.I also had passed adolescence by the time I started smoking, and the science says adolescents are the ones most at risk. Strength and frequency also play a huge role, and my sister admitted that she holed herself up in her dorm room smoking bowl after bowl after bowl all day long for months until she literally couldn’t think anymore. I had no intention of smoking more than a hit or two off a blunt.My highs were a total mixed bag: Sometimes they relaxed me, sometimes they brought on unstoppable fits of giggles; one time I had waking dreams about dancing tortilla chips, and a few times I found myself in the midst of very uncomfortable paranoia. The one and only time I smoked way more than two hits, I wound up with full-blown psychosis that ruined an entire Halloween for multiple people. Even when smoking did bring on an enjoyable high, I still had to endure those moments of not remembering the last word I spoke, which I found, and still find, utterly horrifying. Plus my head felt like it weighed 100 pounds and my face felt like it was going to burn off.Pot just didn’t provide an alluring buzz. I never developed a craving for or addiction to it.If the weed I smoked had had even a small percentage of CBD, those episodes of paranoia would likely have not occurred since CBD actually curbs the anxiety-inducing effects of THC. In fact, in a bizarre twist of irony, studies have shown CBD effectively treats schizophrenia.Sadly, whoever bred weed in the 90s and early 2000s grew strains that had little or no CBD because it decreases the psychoactive effect. (Remember chronic?) Now, CBD is making a comeback among health-conscious, microdosing millennials who are sensible enough to want a more balanced high. This is good news for a paranoid Gen Xer.Now, you can walk into the local dispensary and see a smorgasbord of pot goodies that include CBD, from all-CBD vanilla bean cookies to 1:1 taffies to 100% CBD oil cartridges. There are salves and gums and pre-rolls and mints and a white CBD dust that looks just like cocaine, and all of them are labeled with the milligrams and the percentages of THC and CBD. This is heaven for someone like me who might want to try some pot without getting paranoid or stoned.I have to say, I love budtenders. Mitch, who manned the shop by my house, was extremely sympathetic to my terror of coming down with pot-induced paranoia. He emphasized that dosing, strain, and CBD content made a world of difference when trying to avoid it and pointed me in the direction of 1:1 taffies. Each taffy had 5 mg of CBD and THC, which sounds low, but it’s no microdose for someone like me. According to Mitch, 5 mg of CBD and THC can lead to a strong high for someone with zero pot tolerance, and I wasn’t looking to get stoned — I just wanted that mild euphoria, for the bell jar to lift.I ended up buying the taffies and slicing them into thirds, which Mitch suggested. In the end, I was ingesting about 1.5 mg of THC and 1.5 mg of CBD, which a lot of doctors would consider an ineffective dose, but not for me! My brain is super sensitive. After two hours, I ended up feeling a very small effect, but of course it grew.Ultimately, the high — if you’d call it that — was a powerful feeling of ease and positivity. My thoughts quieted, and yes, a mild euphoria fell over me. It was, without a doubt, a nice buzz, but a buzz no more intense than a glass of wine sipped slowly and on a reasonably full stomach. Despite this buzz, I had no craving for more pot. I was so pleased to not be paranoid or forgetting my thoughts as they spilled out of my head, the last thing I wanted was more. More might have induced those adverse effects. (Oh, the benefits of legalization!)I am not ashamed of that pot buzz nor do I think it nulls my sobriety in any way. My sobriety is just that — my sobriety, and it’s not some stringent moral code that demands I never feel any psychoactive pleasure whatsoever just because I used to drink myself into rages, sobs, and blackouts. If the pot buzz was harmless and actually beneficial for my mental health, why not embrace it? One of the main reasons I got off the booze is because how seriously destabilizing it is for my mood given my bipolar diagnosis. When I drank too much, it sent me crashing down into suicidal depressions.Normal drinkers get a slight buzz — if not a big buzz — from their drinks, and they’ll admit it. It’s a social lubricant and a relaxant that well-adjusted and healthy folks leverage all the time to take the edge off and have fun. When they manage to leverage these positive aspects of alcohol without destroying their lives, we tip our hats to them.Being out of AA for nearly three years no doubt helped me take the microdosing plunge with zero guilt.Now, if I wanted to gorge myself on those taffies after this experience, that would be problematic, at least for me. Someone else might not care if they engage that behavior, but I’m not in the mood to pick up any new addictions.I’m still very wary of using weed on the regular given my familial history of schizophrenia, though at this age my chances of developing the illness are low. Some studies have shown that heavy and regular use can fry your short-term memory, and I’m not down for that either: I need all the synapses I can get as I push 40. So, I don’t plan on using it very often.After having the weed, the positive mood lasted for a few days without ingesting any more taffies. I basically just returned to baseline. I didn’t eat any for weeks after that episode. Since then, I’ve probably had two or three, each time cutting them in thirds or halves. After a while, the package just sat there in the fridge, and eventually I ended up tossing them when I moved out of the apartment.So, now I have no taffies, and I could frankly care less. If I feel like one might help me in the future, I’ll take it. If I go out to the desert, maybe I’ll take some for recreational use. Either way, I know my limitations, and I know I don’t want to do it often. Because I don’t experience a craving, I doubt this will be a problem. I experienced a craving for alcohol from Day One. From the very beginning, I needed more.“Marijuana maintenance,” or smoking pot in recovery, is generally frowned upon by your standard AA member. Historically referred to (incorrectly) as “the gateway drug,” 12-step philosophy looks at it in the same way, cautioning that if you start smoking it in recovery it will open up the floodgates toward drinking again.The problem with this thinking is that it doesn’t take into account the vast differences that exist between all of us, be they physiological or psychological, or, hell, even spiritual. After reading much about recovery, from Lance Dodes to Marc Lewis to Gabrielle Glaser to Bill Wilson and all the stories in the rest of the Big Book, I feel that it's unconscionable to argue that we are not unique, as so many people do in 12-step programs. We are highly unique, and observing this and tailoring treatment plans for each individual will increase success at recovery. One-size-fits-all recovery modalities are, according to my research, quite dangerous.Imagine if a woman with breast cancer walked into a doctor’s office and the doctor said, “Well, there’s no reason to take any additional imaging because all breast cancer patients are the same. You’re not unique. Mastectomy it is!”Even in the dark ages medicine was probably more sophisticated than this. So why are we in the dark ages when it comes to addiction treatment? If our bodies are this unique, then so are our minds. The field of psychiatry also takes our differences into account, with medication and other treatment prescribed according to individual circumstances.I am not encouraging anyone to microdose, but I am trying to encourage the sober community to keep an open mind about new psychotherapeutic treatments and to accept the fact that some people can stay away from their drug of choice while indulging in a substance that wasn’t and isn’t problematic. Studies have shown that marijuana can benefit our mental health; let’s continue to study this promising medicine instead of closing ourselves off to it out of fear.Microdosing on anything while in recovery is a very nuanced topic, and drawing blanket conclusions won’t do anyone a bit of good. But in order to make room for these conversations, we have to be open and accepting. We have to be willing to say, “Okay, she can take a little THC every now and then and enjoy it. I know it’s not a good idea for me since I smoked too much pot in the past, so I won’t do it.” We all need to be in touch with our own limits and accept them while not imposing them on others; otherwise, we resort to reductive fear-mongering that has no basis in reality.

[alexdmorgan30]

Microdosing Marijuana at 9 Years Sober

Microdosing. All the cool kids in Silicon Valley are doing it, and anyone who got sober before 2015 has been left out of the fun. At least, anyone with an all-or-nothing recovery plan, which is most people, but definitely not yours truly. Anecdotally, it looks like it’s better to have Silicon Valley hooked on low doses of LSD and psilocybin than abusing Adderall, but more empirical data on the therapeutic benefits of this trend is needed. Though I’m not going near psychedelics without a doctor’s note, I have dabbled in some microdosing on weed, and I still consider myself 100% sober.Alcohol was my problem. It was a gnarly problem. I put the kibosh on that problem in 2009 and haven’t looked back.Google piqued my interest in microdosing on weed by feeding me a headline that claimed one puff of it could blast away depression. I double-clicked. Since I deal with bipolar disorder and have benefited from using CBD (the non-psychoactive component in marijuana), the article seemed relevant.According to the study, one drag of low-THC and high-CBD dose of weed can knock out depression immediately, unlike traditional antidepressants that often take a few weeks to kick in. But, there’s a catch: Continual use of THC could worsen depression, so this had to be an every-now-and-again smoke. I stored that information in my brain for future reference, noting that if I ever experienced an intense depression that didn’t abate I could give it a try since I’m fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles (pot shops on nearly every major street).About two months after I read about the study, I got stuck in a morass of negativity and self-deprecation and self-doubt for about a week. Everything was out of alignment, and no matter how much meditation I did, I just couldn’t snap out of it. Sure, I have bipolar II, but because I take meds, 90% of the time the symptoms are manageable. Still, there are those days when stress or neurochemistry or hormones or a bad fight with a boyfriend can throw me off.Sometimes I find relief in jogging or dancing, calling my therapist or going to a meeting, but there are times where I don’t have the energy or ability to do the very things I know will help (Depression 101). Since I’ve dealt with the condition for so long, I know when I’m dealing with a chemical imbalance and when I’m dealing with a psychological imbalance.This time it felt like both.I was curious to see how the weed would work, especially since I’d heard so much about the benefits of microdosing on psychedelics from friends. Because the CBD succeeded in quieting my anxiety and smoothing out my thoughts, I figured why not try something with a bit of THC.Anyone who smokes pot can tell you that it triggers euphoria, thereby alleviating depression; you don’t need a study to tell you that. But I’ve never been a huge fan of weed, for several reasons.For starters, my sister smoked way too much of it when she was 18, and she wound up with a permanent case of acute paranoid schizophrenia right after a three-month-long binge. Her doctor said the weed probably triggered a dormant case of the illness inherited from my schizophrenic grandfather, one that would have emerged with or without the pot, it was just a matter of time. So, that instilled in me a well-warranted dose of fear.After staying far away from weed until my early 20s, I started smoking it every now and then, but not very often, and I certainly never purchased any or had it around. You’re probably wondering why I’d even risk smoking pot at all given my sister’s condition. Well, the doc also pointed out that she displayed many early signs of the disorder from childhood, and that my emotional and expressive--albeit mood-disordered--personality was opposite of what you’d typically see in a child predisposed for schizophrenia.I also had passed adolescence by the time I started smoking, and the science says adolescents are the ones most at risk. Strength and frequency also play a huge role, and my sister admitted that she holed herself up in her dorm room smoking bowl after bowl after bowl all day long for months until she literally couldn’t think anymore. I had no intention of smoking more than a hit or two off a blunt.My highs were a total mixed bag: Sometimes they relaxed me, sometimes they brought on unstoppable fits of giggles; one time I had waking dreams about dancing tortilla chips, and a few times I found myself in the midst of very uncomfortable paranoia. The one and only time I smoked way more than two hits, I wound up with full-blown psychosis that ruined an entire Halloween for multiple people. Even when smoking did bring on an enjoyable high, I still had to endure those moments of not remembering the last word I spoke, which I found, and still find, utterly horrifying. Plus my head felt like it weighed 100 pounds and my face felt like it was going to burn off.Pot just didn’t provide an alluring buzz. I never developed a craving for or addiction to it.If the weed I smoked had had even a small percentage of CBD, those episodes of paranoia would likely have not occurred since CBD actually curbs the anxiety-inducing effects of THC. In fact, in a bizarre twist of irony, studies have shown CBD effectively treats schizophrenia.Sadly, whoever bred weed in the 90s and early 2000s grew strains that had little or no CBD because it decreases the psychoactive effect. (Remember chronic?) Now, CBD is making a comeback among health-conscious, microdosing millennials who are sensible enough to want a more balanced high. This is good news for a paranoid Gen Xer.Now, you can walk into the local dispensary and see a smorgasbord of pot goodies that include CBD, from all-CBD vanilla bean cookies to 1:1 taffies to 100% CBD oil cartridges. There are salves and gums and pre-rolls and mints and a white CBD dust that looks just like cocaine, and all of them are labeled with the milligrams and the percentages of THC and CBD. This is heaven for someone like me who might want to try some pot without getting paranoid or stoned.I have to say, I love budtenders. Mitch, who manned the shop by my house, was extremely sympathetic to my terror of coming down with pot-induced paranoia. He emphasized that dosing, strain, and CBD content made a world of difference when trying to avoid it and pointed me in the direction of 1:1 taffies. Each taffy had 5 mg of CBD and THC, which sounds low, but it’s no microdose for someone like me. According to Mitch, 5 mg of CBD and THC can lead to a strong high for someone with zero pot tolerance, and I wasn’t looking to get stoned — I just wanted that mild euphoria, for the bell jar to lift.I ended up buying the taffies and slicing them into thirds, which Mitch suggested. In the end, I was ingesting about 1.5 mg of THC and 1.5 mg of CBD, which a lot of doctors would consider an ineffective dose, but not for me! My brain is super sensitive. After two hours, I ended up feeling a very small effect, but of course it grew.Ultimately, the high — if you’d call it that — was a powerful feeling of ease and positivity. My thoughts quieted, and yes, a mild euphoria fell over me. It was, without a doubt, a nice buzz, but a buzz no more intense than a glass of wine sipped slowly and on a reasonably full stomach. Despite this buzz, I had no craving for more pot. I was so pleased to not be paranoid or forgetting my thoughts as they spilled out of my head, the last thing I wanted was more. More might have induced those adverse effects. (Oh, the benefits of legalization!)I am not ashamed of that pot buzz nor do I think it nulls my sobriety in any way. My sobriety is just that — my sobriety, and it’s not some stringent moral code that demands I never feel any psychoactive pleasure whatsoever just because I used to drink myself into rages, sobs, and blackouts. If the pot buzz was harmless and actually beneficial for my mental health, why not embrace it? One of the main reasons I got off the booze is because how seriously destabilizing it is for my mood given my bipolar diagnosis. When I drank too much, it sent me crashing down into suicidal depressions.Normal drinkers get a slight buzz — if not a big buzz — from their drinks, and they’ll admit it. It’s a social lubricant and a relaxant that well-adjusted and healthy folks leverage all the time to take the edge off and have fun. When they manage to leverage these positive aspects of alcohol without destroying their lives, we tip our hats to them.Being out of AA for nearly three years no doubt helped me take the microdosing plunge with zero guilt.Now, if I wanted to gorge myself on those taffies after this experience, that would be problematic, at least for me. Someone else might not care if they engage that behavior, but I’m not in the mood to pick up any new addictions.I’m still very wary of using weed on the regular given my familial history of schizophrenia, though at this age my chances of developing the illness are low. Some studies have shown that heavy and regular use can fry your short-term memory, and I’m not down for that either: I need all the synapses I can get as I push 40. So, I don’t plan on using it very often.After having the weed, the positive mood lasted for a few days without ingesting any more taffies. I basically just returned to baseline. I didn’t eat any for weeks after that episode. Since then, I’ve probably had two or three, each time cutting them in thirds or halves. After a while, the package just sat there in the fridge, and eventually I ended up tossing them when I moved out of the apartment.So, now I have no taffies, and I could frankly care less. If I feel like one might help me in the future, I’ll take it. If I go out to the desert, maybe I’ll take some for recreational use. Either way, I know my limitations, and I know I don’t want to do it often. Because I don’t experience a craving, I doubt this will be a problem. I experienced a craving for alcohol from Day One. From the very beginning, I needed more.“Marijuana maintenance,” or smoking pot in recovery, is generally frowned upon by your standard AA member. Historically referred to (incorrectly) as “the gateway drug,” 12-step philosophy looks at it in the same way, cautioning that if you start smoking it in recovery it will open up the floodgates toward drinking again.The problem with this thinking is that it doesn’t take into account the vast differences that exist between all of us, be they physiological or psychological, or, hell, even spiritual. After reading much about recovery, from Lance Dodes to Marc Lewis to Gabrielle Glaser to Bill Wilson and all the stories in the rest of the Big Book, I feel that it's unconscionable to argue that we are not unique, as so many people do in 12-step programs. We are highly unique, and observing this and tailoring treatment plans for each individual will increase success at recovery. One-size-fits-all recovery modalities are, according to my research, quite dangerous.Imagine if a woman with breast cancer walked into a doctor’s office and the doctor said, “Well, there’s no reason to take any additional imaging because all breast cancer patients are the same. You’re not unique. Mastectomy it is!”Even in the dark ages medicine was probably more sophisticated than this. So why are we in the dark ages when it comes to addiction treatment? If our bodies are this unique, then so are our minds. The field of psychiatry also takes our differences into account, with medication and other treatment prescribed according to individual circumstances.I am not encouraging anyone to microdose, but I am trying to encourage the sober community to keep an open mind about new psychotherapeutic treatments and to accept the fact that some people can stay away from their drug of choice while indulging in a substance that wasn’t and isn’t problematic. Studies have shown that marijuana can benefit our mental health; let’s continue to study this promising medicine instead of closing ourselves off to it out of fear.Microdosing on anything while in recovery is a very nuanced topic, and drawing blanket conclusions won’t do anyone a bit of good. But in order to make room for these conversations, we have to be open and accepting. We have to be willing to say, “Okay, she can take a little THC every now and then and enjoy it. I know it’s not a good idea for me since I smoked too much pot in the past, so I won’t do it.” We all need to be in touch with our own limits and accept them while not imposing them on others; otherwise, we resort to reductive fear-mongering that has no basis in reality.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 http://bit.ly/2AF1Qjc

[emlydunstan]

Microdosing Marijuana at 9 Years Sober

Microdosing. All the cool kids in Silicon Valley are doing it, and anyone who got sober before 2015 has been left out of the fun. At least, anyone with an all-or-nothing recovery plan, which is most people, but definitely not yours truly. Anecdotally, it looks like it’s better to have Silicon Valley hooked on low doses of LSD and psilocybin than abusing Adderall, but more empirical data on the therapeutic benefits of this trend is needed. Though I’m not going near psychedelics without a doctor’s note, I have dabbled in some microdosing on weed, and I still consider myself 100% sober.Alcohol was my problem. It was a gnarly problem. I put the kibosh on that problem in 2009 and haven’t looked back.Google piqued my interest in microdosing on weed by feeding me a headline that claimed one puff of it could blast away depression. I double-clicked. Since I deal with bipolar disorder and have benefited from using CBD (the non-psychoactive component in marijuana), the article seemed relevant.According to the study, one drag of low-THC and high-CBD dose of weed can knock out depression immediately, unlike traditional antidepressants that often take a few weeks to kick in. But, there’s a catch: Continual use of THC could worsen depression, so this had to be an every-now-and-again smoke. I stored that information in my brain for future reference, noting that if I ever experienced an intense depression that didn’t abate I could give it a try since I’m fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles (pot shops on nearly every major street).About two months after I read about the study, I got stuck in a morass of negativity and self-deprecation and self-doubt for about a week. Everything was out of alignment, and no matter how much meditation I did, I just couldn’t snap out of it. Sure, I have bipolar II, but because I take meds, 90% of the time the symptoms are manageable. Still, there are those days when stress or neurochemistry or hormones or a bad fight with a boyfriend can throw me off.Sometimes I find relief in jogging or dancing, calling my therapist or going to a meeting, but there are times where I don’t have the energy or ability to do the very things I know will help (Depression 101). Since I’ve dealt with the condition for so long, I know when I’m dealing with a chemical imbalance and when I’m dealing with a psychological imbalance.This time it felt like both.I was curious to see how the weed would work, especially since I’d heard so much about the benefits of microdosing on psychedelics from friends. Because the CBD succeeded in quieting my anxiety and smoothing out my thoughts, I figured why not try something with a bit of THC.Anyone who smokes pot can tell you that it triggers euphoria, thereby alleviating depression; you don’t need a study to tell you that. But I’ve never been a huge fan of weed, for several reasons.For starters, my sister smoked way too much of it when she was 18, and she wound up with a permanent case of acute paranoid schizophrenia right after a three-month-long binge. Her doctor said the weed probably triggered a dormant case of the illness inherited from my schizophrenic grandfather, one that would have emerged with or without the pot, it was just a matter of time. So, that instilled in me a well-warranted dose of fear.After staying far away from weed until my early 20s, I started smoking it every now and then, but not very often, and I certainly never purchased any or had it around. You’re probably wondering why I’d even risk smoking pot at all given my sister’s condition. Well, the doc also pointed out that she displayed many early signs of the disorder from childhood, and that my emotional and expressive--albeit mood-disordered--personality was opposite of what you’d typically see in a child predisposed for schizophrenia.I also had passed adolescence by the time I started smoking, and the science says adolescents are the ones most at risk. Strength and frequency also play a huge role, and my sister admitted that she holed herself up in her dorm room smoking bowl after bowl after bowl all day long for months until she literally couldn’t think anymore. I had no intention of smoking more than a hit or two off a blunt.My highs were a total mixed bag: Sometimes they relaxed me, sometimes they brought on unstoppable fits of giggles; one time I had waking dreams about dancing tortilla chips, and a few times I found myself in the midst of very uncomfortable paranoia. The one and only time I smoked way more than two hits, I wound up with full-blown psychosis that ruined an entire Halloween for multiple people. Even when smoking did bring on an enjoyable high, I still had to endure those moments of not remembering the last word I spoke, which I found, and still find, utterly horrifying. Plus my head felt like it weighed 100 pounds and my face felt like it was going to burn off.Pot just didn’t provide an alluring buzz. I never developed a craving for or addiction to it.If the weed I smoked had had even a small percentage of CBD, those episodes of paranoia would likely have not occurred since CBD actually curbs the anxiety-inducing effects of THC. In fact, in a bizarre twist of irony, studies have shown CBD effectively treats schizophrenia.Sadly, whoever bred weed in the 90s and early 2000s grew strains that had little or no CBD because it decreases the psychoactive effect. (Remember chronic?) Now, CBD is making a comeback among health-conscious, microdosing millennials who are sensible enough to want a more balanced high. This is good news for a paranoid Gen Xer.Now, you can walk into the local dispensary and see a smorgasbord of pot goodies that include CBD, from all-CBD vanilla bean cookies to 1:1 taffies to 100% CBD oil cartridges. There are salves and gums and pre-rolls and mints and a white CBD dust that looks just like cocaine, and all of them are labeled with the milligrams and the percentages of THC and CBD. This is heaven for someone like me who might want to try some pot without getting paranoid or stoned.I have to say, I love budtenders. Mitch, who manned the shop by my house, was extremely sympathetic to my terror of coming down with pot-induced paranoia. He emphasized that dosing, strain, and CBD content made a world of difference when trying to avoid it and pointed me in the direction of 1:1 taffies. Each taffy had 5 mg of CBD and THC, which sounds low, but it’s no microdose for someone like me. According to Mitch, 5 mg of CBD and THC can lead to a strong high for someone with zero pot tolerance, and I wasn’t looking to get stoned — I just wanted that mild euphoria, for the bell jar to lift.I ended up buying the taffies and slicing them into thirds, which Mitch suggested. In the end, I was ingesting about 1.5 mg of THC and 1.5 mg of CBD, which a lot of doctors would consider an ineffective dose, but not for me! My brain is super sensitive. After two hours, I ended up feeling a very small effect, but of course it grew.Ultimately, the high — if you’d call it that — was a powerful feeling of ease and positivity. My thoughts quieted, and yes, a mild euphoria fell over me. It was, without a doubt, a nice buzz, but a buzz no more intense than a glass of wine sipped slowly and on a reasonably full stomach. Despite this buzz, I had no craving for more pot. I was so pleased to not be paranoid or forgetting my thoughts as they spilled out of my head, the last thing I wanted was more. More might have induced those adverse effects. (Oh, the benefits of legalization!)I am not ashamed of that pot buzz nor do I think it nulls my sobriety in any way. My sobriety is just that — my sobriety, and it’s not some stringent moral code that demands I never feel any psychoactive pleasure whatsoever just because I used to drink myself into rages, sobs, and blackouts. If the pot buzz was harmless and actually beneficial for my mental health, why not embrace it? One of the main reasons I got off the booze is because how seriously destabilizing it is for my mood given my bipolar diagnosis. When I drank too much, it sent me crashing down into suicidal depressions.Normal drinkers get a slight buzz — if not a big buzz — from their drinks, and they’ll admit it. It’s a social lubricant and a relaxant that well-adjusted and healthy folks leverage all the time to take the edge off and have fun. When they manage to leverage these positive aspects of alcohol without destroying their lives, we tip our hats to them.Being out of AA for nearly three years no doubt helped me take the microdosing plunge with zero guilt.Now, if I wanted to gorge myself on those taffies after this experience, that would be problematic, at least for me. Someone else might not care if they engage that behavior, but I’m not in the mood to pick up any new addictions.I’m still very wary of using weed on the regular given my familial history of schizophrenia, though at this age my chances of developing the illness are low. Some studies have shown that heavy and regular use can fry your short-term memory, and I’m not down for that either: I need all the synapses I can get as I push 40. So, I don’t plan on using it very often.After having the weed, the positive mood lasted for a few days without ingesting any more taffies. I basically just returned to baseline. I didn’t eat any for weeks after that episode. Since then, I’ve probably had two or three, each time cutting them in thirds or halves. After a while, the package just sat there in the fridge, and eventually I ended up tossing them when I moved out of the apartment.So, now I have no taffies, and I could frankly care less. If I feel like one might help me in the future, I’ll take it. If I go out to the desert, maybe I’ll take some for recreational use. Either way, I know my limitations, and I know I don’t want to do it often. Because I don’t experience a craving, I doubt this will be a problem. I experienced a craving for alcohol from Day One. From the very beginning, I needed more.“Marijuana maintenance,” or smoking pot in recovery, is generally frowned upon by your standard AA member. Historically referred to (incorrectly) as “the gateway drug,” 12-step philosophy looks at it in the same way, cautioning that if you start smoking it in recovery it will open up the floodgates toward drinking again.The problem with this thinking is that it doesn’t take into account the vast differences that exist between all of us, be they physiological or psychological, or, hell, even spiritual. After reading much about recovery, from Lance Dodes to Marc Lewis to Gabrielle Glaser to Bill Wilson and all the stories in the rest of the Big Book, I feel that it's unconscionable to argue that we are not unique, as so many people do in 12-step programs. We are highly unique, and observing this and tailoring treatment plans for each individual will increase success at recovery. One-size-fits-all recovery modalities are, according to my research, quite dangerous.Imagine if a woman with breast cancer walked into a doctor’s office and the doctor said, “Well, there’s no reason to take any additional imaging because all breast cancer patients are the same. You’re not unique. Mastectomy it is!”Even in the dark ages medicine was probably more sophisticated than this. So why are we in the dark ages when it comes to addiction treatment? If our bodies are this unique, then so are our minds. The field of psychiatry also takes our differences into account, with medication and other treatment prescribed according to individual circumstances.I am not encouraging anyone to microdose, but I am trying to encourage the sober community to keep an open mind about new psychotherapeutic treatments and to accept the fact that some people can stay away from their drug of choice while indulging in a substance that wasn’t and isn’t problematic. Studies have shown that marijuana can benefit our mental health; let’s continue to study this promising medicine instead of closing ourselves off to it out of fear.Microdosing on anything while in recovery is a very nuanced topic, and drawing blanket conclusions won’t do anyone a bit of good. But in order to make room for these conversations, we have to be open and accepting. We have to be willing to say, “Okay, she can take a little THC every now and then and enjoy it. I know it’s not a good idea for me since I smoked too much pot in the past, so I won’t do it.” We all need to be in touch with our own limits and accept them while not imposing them on others; otherwise, we resort to reductive fear-mongering that has no basis in reality.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 https://www.thefix.com/microdosing-marijuana-9-years-sober

[sherristockman]

The Walsh Detoxification Program Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola Dr. Bryan Walsh is a naturopathic physician extensively trained in molecular biological pathways. In this interview, we discuss detoxification and the food-based detox program he developed. I took his course and believe it's probably one of the best out there. In today’s world, where most of us are exposed to countless toxins on a nearly continuous basis, detoxification is an important issue that needs to be done on a regular basis if you are seeking optimal health. Research even shows that infants are now born with toxins in their cord blood and first bowel movements — toxins absorbed from their mother. "You can decide that you, in your 20s, want to live this clean lifestyle and be free of toxins, but that doesn't speak to all of the thing that may have been stored from your life even prior to you being born. They are ubiquitous. They are everywhere … everybody's exposed to something," Walsh says. I had read the laypeople’s books on detoxification. I believed that we were toxic. I thought that detoxification was probably a good idea. But then I was talking to a colleague who told me about this detoxification guru and how he was describing phase 3 detoxification pathways … It didn’t jive with what my understanding of phase 3 was." Starting From Scratch Walsh decided to investigate further, delving into the scientific literature and eventually coming to the realization that this “guru” was in fact describing that pathway inaccurately. “I have a problem with that, because in functional medicine we need to be accurate with what we’re talking about,” Walsh says. He also learned there’s yet another phase of detoxification that he’d never heard about called Phase Zero. "The third thing that really bothered me was I read about what's called a biphasic response for nutrients that are commonly used in detoxification programs or formulas. What the biphasic response basically says is that a low dose — choose your herb — stimulates certain detoxification enzymes or pathways, but then a high dose inhibits those very same enzymes. In English, this means the amounts found in food generally stimulate detoxification enzymes, but the amounts likely found in an isolated form in a capsule or in a bottle of detoxification product might actually inhibit detoxification. I looked at that and thought, ‘Here we go again. We think we’re doing all these great things, but in fact, we may be doing the exact opposite of what it is that we’re attempting to do, and nobody’s questioning this.’ Those three things happened, and I was like, ‘all right. I’ve got to start from scratch.' Just wipe out everything I thought I ever knew or have been taught about detoxification and go to the scientific literature and say, 'What really is being talked about and studied?' Before even getting into detoxification, answering questions that I thought I knew. 'Are we even toxic in the first place?' Everybody says we are, but I haven't actually looked at the literature. Another one was, 'Is there a synergistic response?' If there are multiple exposures simultaneously, we're told there's a synergistic response. But again, what does the science really say about this? Another one we hear about is that the dose doesn't matter … that our body has these built-in detoxification pathways to deal with these things, so therefore a low dose is inconsequential, say the detox naysayers. Another one is, 'Are [toxins] stored in us?' Supposedly we're toxic, supposedly they're stored, supposedly there's a synergistic effect, but what does the science say?" Is Detoxification Necessary? What Walsh found was that, yes, virtually all of us are toxic and everyone is exposed to a greater or lesser extent and, yes, chemicals are stored in your body and, yes, there is a synergistic effect. What’s more, the dose doesn’t really matter, because a low dose can be just as damaging as a high dose, especially when it comes to endocrine disrupting chemicals. The next step was to determine the most effective way of eliminating all of these chemicals, which ultimately led to the creation of the Walsh Detox Program. "In my opinion, if we truly want to detox, then this is the type of program I believe — and we have some evidence on — that will actually do the job," he says. I couldn't agree more. I've looked at many different programs, and this is the best I've encountered. One of the core components of this program is a modified fasting mimicking diet, originally developed by Valter Longo, Ph.D., professor of gerontology and biological sciences at the University of Southern California. I’ve become convinced fasting is an exceptional health strategy, and one of the books I’m currently working on is “Keto Fast,” which I’m cowriting with Dr. Alan Goldhamer, director of the TrueNorth Health Center, the largest fasting clinic in North America. They’ve taken 16,000 people through the water fasting process, many up to 40 days. While Walsh believes regular water fasting has many health benefits, for this program, he uses a fasting mimicking diet instead. “I just don’t think we’re healthy enough to [water] fast any longer,” he says. "In every mammal study that I've ever looked at, when there's significant calorie restriction or fasting, xenobiotic levels go up in the blood. Toxin levels go up in the blood every single time, no matter what mammal is being studied, which is to say that … we're flooding our body with these xenobiotics. If we are at all nutrient-deficient, if we have any deficiencies in the biochemical pathways, including the detoxification ones, now we're flooding the body with all these toxins, and we may not be getting rid of them … If we don't take active [steps] to metabolize or detoxify them and then excrete them, then they're more likely to cause damage elsewhere in the body. I love fasting. I just don't think that most of us are actually healthy enough to do it anymore." Fasting Releases Toxins The reason toxin levels go up when fasting is because most toxins are fat-soluble and thus stored in fat. When you’re fasting or on a low-calorie diet, you’re primarily burning fat as fuel. When the fat is being burned for energy, it releases the fat-soluble toxins stored within the fat cells — water-soluble toxins you are hopefully excreting every day through sweat, urine and feces. Lipolysis is the process of breaking down stored fat, and anything that induces lipolysis is going to mobilize stored fat-soluble toxins. The more lipolysis takes place, such as during fasting or time-restricted feeding (intermittent fasting) or exercise, the more toxins will be mobilized and released from your tissues. Walsh’s fasting mimicking diet is a slight revision of Longo’s work, which is based on the idea that by consuming a certain macronutrient ratio in a relatively short period of time, your body is tricked into thinking it’s fasting. "My concern [with Longo’s diet], based on studies showing that during caloric restriction or fasting [toxic] levels go up if you were not actively trying to support detoxification pathways, then where are those toxins going? Are they getting metabolized? Are they just going through Phase 1 and not Phase 2 or Phase 3? All these different things. That’s my only issue with it." To address that, Walsh’s diet focuses on foods shown to support and improve the detoxification pathways and detox enzymes like glucuronidation or glutathione conjugation. Brassica vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are excellent for this, as are garlic, onions, leeks and chives. Detox Pathways 101 Phase Zero, which most people have not heard of, is the entrance of the toxin into the cell. The liver typically gets all the credit for detoxing, as it’s part of Phase 1, where the liver makes the toxins available to be water excreted. However, your intestines have the exact same detox enzymes, as do your kidneys and the male testes. So, detoxification actually occurs in a number of organs. Walsh offers the following analogy of the functions of the four pathways: "Imagine you’re in a room that has two doors. The first door is Phase Zero. Somebody walks in through that door. That’s the toxin. They come into your room. The room is the cell. And then you start berating them. You say bad, negative things about them. You expose things about them that they didn’t want anybody to know about. That’s Phase 1. Phase 1 exposes or adds a hydroxyl group [which] makes [the toxin] water-soluble. But now, you just tore that [toxin] apart. They start wrecking the inside of the cell. Phase 2 is you hand them $1,000 … That’s conjugation … [meaning something] is added to it, and now they’re not angry anymore. Phase 2 pathways include methylation, which adds a methyl group to it; sulfation adds a sulfur group; acetylation adds an acetyl group; amino acid conjugation usually will add glycine. Glutathione conjugation is a glutathione molecule; glucuronidation is a glucuronide molecule. After Phase 2, [the toxin] is still water-soluble, but now it’s not angry. It’s not going to cause any damage anymore. But it’s still inside the cell. This is what’s incredibly important. It needs to leave the second door. That second door is Phase 3. If you block Phase 3, which things like curcumin does, and milk thistle, that [toxin] cannot leave, and there are enzymes inside of the cell that can undo that conjugation. So, now they’re angry again. Now, they cause damage inside of the cell." Three Principles of Detoxification So, for a detoxification program to be effective, the following three principles must be in place: Mobilization, which includes calorie restriction or fasting and exercise to engage lipolysis Detoxification, which involves stimulating and optimizing all of the detoxification pathways Excretion. Fiber is an important binder that enhances excretion from the bowels. You also need to stay well-hydrated to flush toxins out through your urine. A route of excretion that cannot be overstated is sweating. Using a near-infrared sauna, or a far-infrared sauna equipped with near-infrared bulbs is ideal The Importance of Binders So, to effectively detox, you first need to mobilize the toxins, then optimize your detox pathways, and finally bind the toxins flowing through your system so that they can be eliminated through your urine, feces or sweat. To do this, you need some kind of binding agent. "I have specific binders that I've included in the program, some with meals, and some away from meals," Walsh says. "Also, along with the fasting mimicking diet, I also utilize time-restrictive feeding. Try to eat in the smallest window of time to maximize lipolysis, not maximize mobilization … Now, if you are in the time-restricted feeding period where you're not eating for 16 hours, you're undergoing lipolysis and you're getting this flood, depending on how toxic you are, of toxins, [which] are getting into your gastrointestinal tract on an empty stomach. How are you going to excrete those if you're not eating as much bulk or food as you were prior? There are some binders that work better on an empty stomach, and then some, like five of them, that work better with food … I use things like chitosan and charcoal, and different types of fibers. There’s evidence modified citrus pectin increases excretion of xenobiotics. It’s vital that you not only [get] fiber when eating, but also, when in a fasted state, [you need to] consume these binders, because if your levels of xenobiotics go up in the blood, some of that is leaking into your gastrointestinal tract. If you don’t have the bulk that you normally eat in terms of just total calorie content, you’re not going to be moving that stuff along as well. That, to me, is a vital piece. It’s not just sweating. It’s not just drinking enough fluids. You have to bind those things up for excretion." Beware of Detox Fads Walsh brings up an important point with regard to detox research. Rodent studies, for example, can be unreliable when it comes to human detoxification, because rodents have more robust detoxification pathways than humans do, are nocturnal, live far shorter lives and have a faster metabolism. So, if something works well in a mouse or rat, it doesn't mean it will work as well in us. How they measure detoxification also makes a difference. Typically, researchers will look at enzyme activity or messenger RNA (mRNA), which tells you how the cell is making a detoxification protein. Walsh cites an in-vitro study that looked at what happened when quercetin was applied to cells. The mRNA went down for certain detoxification enzymes, which suggests quercetin inhibited detox. But when they added a toxin to the mix, quercetin actually increased the toxin excretion. So, even though quercetin appeared to inhibit detox, it still aided excretion of this particular chemical. One potential reason for this paradoxical finding could be because quercetin inhibits cluster of differentiation 38 (CD38), which is a major consumer of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a compound involved in mitochondrial health, cellular redox and energy metabolism. Essentially, quercetin indirectly increases NAD+. There’s also the issue of acute versus chronic dosing. "In most studies, they look at acute dose. They take a cell, they apply green tea (or some other compound), and then they look to see what those enzymes do. Pomegranate acutely inhibited certain detox pathways, but given over a period of two weeks increased those same pathways. Saying all those things together — choose your nutrient of the month and say, 'Does it help with detox?' Well, was it done in a cell, a rodent or in a human clinical trial? Did they look at mRNA or enzyme activity? What cell tissue were they looking at and does it have different effects? What dose was it, meaning biphasic effects? [and] was it an acute or chronic dose? Because of all that, you have to be an expert in looking up the research and interpreting the research to say irrefutably that milk thistle is a detoxification nutrient. I can’t say that. Because of that, because of what I’ve read, I don’t have curcumin, green tea, pomegranate or any of those things [in my program], because if you really want to detox, you have to mobilize. You have to open up Phase Zero, 1, 2 and 3, and you have to excrete. Anything that can inhibit any one of those things, I think doesn’t have a place in the detoxification program." For these reasons, Walsh’s program includes very few supplements. It’s mostly food-based, as you’re not likely to harm or create adverse effects on any of the detox pathways with food. As such, it’s one of the most pragmatic, safe and relatively inexpensive ways to detox. How Often Do You Need to Detox? Considering you're continuously exposed to chemicals and pollutants of all kinds through food, air, water and most household products, how often do you need to detox? Walsh offers the following recommendations: "The program, as it's outlined, is 10 days. My recommendation is to do the 10-day program. The first six days are calorie restriction, but high-protein. The last four are that modified fasting mimicking diet. What I recommend to people is to do the full 10-day program one month, and then depending on how they do, the next month, do the full 10-day program or just do the four- to five-day modified fasting mimicking diet. That, for people who are relatively healthy, I think is a good way to go. That's four to five days a month of the fasting mimicking diet portion of it only — all the supplements, all the sauna and all the exercise … For a period of six months or so, doing that once a month is probably not a bad idea for most people, because of the accumulation [of toxins] that we have. If people want to be somewhat aggressive with this, I would say do two of the four-day fasting mimicking diets a month. Put one in Week 1 of the month, and then do another in Week 3, and then the following month. You can do two of those a month if you really wanted. You mobilize a lot during that." There are very few absolutes, especially in health. It is likely a six-day, high protein diet would help many, but I think it may not be ideal. My strategy would be to use time-restricted eating to at least eight hours and preferably six. Do this for at least a month and then start the four- to five-day portion of the Walsh protocol. Why Checking the pH of Your Urine Is a Good Idea Interestingly, research suggests having urine pH of 7.5 or above greatly increases the excretion of acidic xenobiotics and other toxins. "The pH of the urine dictates whether a xenobiotic on its way out gets reabsorbed or gets excreted," Walsh explains. "It's an incredibly important piece. If your urine is too acidic, you tend to reabsorb the acidic xenobiotics that have been conjugated and are on their way out. Conversely, the more alkaline it is, you'll tend to reabsorb alkaline xenobiotics, which there are less of. Many xenobiotics are acidic." To increase excretion of these toxins, all you’d need to do is use a urine analysis strip to measure your pH, and if below 7.5, take some sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate during the fasting mimicking diet portion of the program, to raise your pH above 7.5. Adding some N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) may also be helpful, as NAC supports glutathione production and calcium D-glucarate to augment glucuronidation. More Information To purchase Walsh’s detox program, go to MetabolicFitnessPro.com. There are two versions of the program, one for practitioners, which includes nine hours of video delving deep into the science of the detoxification pathways. The other is for patients and nonpractitioners, which includes a less rigorous introduction to the science, along with detailed program instructions. The practitioner version includes the nonpractitioner version free of charge. You can also find more information about Walsh on DrWalsh.com. If you’ve been searching for a good detox program, this program is well worth the money. Practitioners can also benefit their patients by understanding the detox process better.

#VitalityPath

[maciaslucymua-blog1]

How to Keep Your Child Naturally Healthy

New Post has been published on http://www.healthgoesfemale.com/how-to-keep-your-child-naturally-healthy/

How to Keep Your Child Naturally Healthy

I see it in the natural mama community all the time.

A lot of the mamas are brand-new to this whole natural-living gig.  They’re used to the mainstream advice to go to the doctor, get vaccines, and take lots of medicine.  This is all they know as far as “keeping kids healthy,” but they’re looking for a different — and better — way.

Many of these mamas are nervous.  They feel like if they aren’t doing all that mainstream stuff, they need to do something else!  Something to keep their precious babies from getting sick.

I get it.  I really do.

But, mamas?  We need to talk.  There are things you can and should do, but they’re not as complicated or expensive as you may feel like they are.  It’s the mainstream that convinces us we need a lot of things and that it’s hard to keep kids healthy.  For the most part, though, it’s not.

Let me explain….

How to Keep Your Child Naturally Healthy

Keeping kids healthy didn’t used to be a big deal.  They played outside a lot, often barefoot.  They got plenty of fresh air and sun (for vitamin D).  They ate farm-fresh foods because that’s what there was.  Outside of crowded, unsanitary cities (where disease spread easily because of human and animal waste and a total lack of understanding of hygiene), people were pretty healthy.  They didn’t have the rates of chronic illness that we have today.

Moms look at kids today and they’re fearful.  How can they keep their kids healthy with all of that around?

The truth is, just avoiding all the mainstream junk is a big step in the right direction.  Not eating junk food, not using OTC meds or repeated courses of antibiotics, not vaccinating….  Avoiding the things that are causing the damage is a big deal!  (If you’re curious why I said that about vaccines, then do some more reading HERE.)

Of course, there are also simple, obvious things that everyone can agree on, like getting plenty of play time/exercise, washing hands regularly, and not being around sick people.  Those go a long way to helping you stay healthy too!

Do you need to do more?

Maybe.

It all depends on if your family seems prone to illness or not, if you live in a crowded area (more exposure, illness circulates more easily), if you’ve had a less-than-optimal early experience (like you’re transitioning from a more mainstream lifestyle), etc.  If you’re already experiencing issues, you may need to be more proactive than someone who’s relatively healthy and wanting to stay that way.

But, either, way…mama, don’t freak out.  There is no perfect when it comes to health — natural or otherwise.  Your child will get sick occasionally.  It’s not a bad thing, when it comes to 24-hour bugs and minor sniffles.  Everyone gets those from time to time.  What you’re trying to avoid is frequent illnesses, or more severe illnesses.  If your child gets a cold, or gets a tummy bug, you didn’t mess up.  It’s part of life sometimes.  It’s okay.

How to Protect Your Kids

If you’re still expecting, congratulations!  Check out these tips for promoting optimal gut health in your newborn.

If you’re already beyond that phase, check out how to improve your toddler’s gut health.

Gut health is a hugely important area, because so much of our health is rooted in our guts.  If we don’t have healthy gut flora, we’re more likely to develop allergies, IBS, and a whole lot of other issues.  Research into gut health is very new, and no one fully knows what an “optimal” pattern of gut flora looks like yet.  What researchers do know is that getting certain strains via food or supplements seems to affect flora — and overall health — in a positive way.

What About Supplements?

A lot of mamas are worried about supplements.  Do you need them?  If so, which ones?  What brand?  It gets really confusing, really quick.

First of all, take a deep breath.  Supplements are not required for your child to be healthy.  Sometimes they are helpful, particularly if you know there is a deficiency, but not everyone needs the same things.

Plus, not all supplements are actually good for you.  Many are synthetic, and have mega-doses of certain nutrients, which could lead to an imbalance.  (Read more about supplements HERE, and HERE.)

I don’t personally trust most of the mainstream, or even major ‘natural’ brands of supplements.  I think they are a cannon-ball approach to the issue and are not really protecting health the way they should.

Instead, I recommend (and use):

Regular sunlight ( vitamin D) — best 10 – 15 min. right at midday

Magnesium lotion, about 1/2 tsp. on legs before bed (I use this one)

Dessicated liver pills, 1 – 2 per day, for iron, zinc, copper, and B vitamins (I use these, these, or make my own)

Herbal tea or herbal multivitamin, for basically everything else ( Nettle, dandelion leaf, or this)

  We really don’t do much else.  I occasionally add in some elderberry or mullein if we see sniffles.  Astragalus root is our friend in the winter if we’re out and about a lot.  We use echinacea from time to time, too.

It doesn’t need to be complicated.  Really.

What About Essential Oils and Kids?

I’m not a big fan of essential oils.  I have a lot of them, actually, but I use them for specific purposes only.  I don’t use them often with kids.

I do diffuse lavender or lemon sometimes — lemon often in the winter to kill germs in the air (and it’s kid-safe).  Both of these are in our natural hand sanitizer too, which I use on all my toddlers and up.

I also use this rub when little ones can’t breathe well during colds, on toddlers and older.

I don’t use essential oils for general immune boosting.  I don’t use them stronger than a 2% dilution with kids.  I rarely use them topically.  They are potent, and they are only some of the plant’s components — the fat-soluble ones.  There are all kinds of important components in plants that aren’t found in the essential oil.  That’s why I prefer to use whole herbs.

Some people do use essential oils with kids.  Check out safe use guidelines so if you do want to use them, you’re doing it safely.

Bottom line?  It’s really not that hard to keep your kids healthy.  Love them, play with them, feed them well, and consider only truly safe, natural supplements (maybe).

How do you keep your child naturally healthy?

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Gut Health 101: Digestive Disorders

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Gut health. It’s a topic most people rarely think about—until something goes wrong. However, every single bite you take and every mouthful of food you swallow must go through the complex process of digestion to be broken down into components the body can use.

As food passes through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract (mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines), the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas do their parts to transform it into amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, and micronutrients that can be absorbed and delivered in the bloodstream to cells throughout the body.

It’s a fascinating process, as long as everything is running smoothly. But what happens when gut health goes awry? Let’s look at natural solutions for some of the most common digestive disorders.

All-Around Protection

Before we get into specific conditions, I want to emphasize the basics for gut health. Regular physical activity is particularly important for the intestinal tract, as it helps keep things moving through the system. Weight loss can have a dramatic impact on stomach problems, and stress management reduces irritable bowel syndrome and “butterflies” in the stomach.

Diet is obviously a significant contributor to digestive problems, and too little fiber is a primary culprit. Recommended daily intake is 30-38 g for men and 21-25 for women, yet we average just 15 g per day. No wonder 63 million Americans are constipated.

In addition to improving elimination, fiber cultivates bacteria in the GI tract, which has profound effects on multiple aspects of gut health.

Tummy Aches

Twenty percent of adults regularly experience heartburn, belching, regurgitation, nausea, or other symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is triggered by stomach acid backing up into the esophagus. Peptic ulcer disease, a less common cause of stomach pain, is usually due to a bacterial infection and can generally be eradicated with antibiotics.

Acid-reducing medications provide temporary relief but can cause serious problems over the long term. Safer solutions include eating smaller meals, avoiding foods that cause symptoms (such as fried foods, carbonated drinks, coffee, alcohol, citrus, spicy foods, and tomatoes), remaining upright after eating, drinking more water, and losing weight—which may completely eliminate GERD.

Folk remedies for stomach distress include cabbage juice and apple cider vinegar. My number-one supplement recommendation is deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL), which reduces inflammation and regenerates mucosal cells lining the GI tract for lasting relief. Zinc, melatonin, aloe vera, and Iberogast (a German herbal tonic) are also helpful when it comes to improving gut health.

Counterintuitive as it seems, low stomach acid may also be a problem. As we get older, our stomachs produce less hydrochloric acid, which interrupts the digestive process and can result in pain and bloating. Restoring stomach acid with betaine hydrochloride capsules may rectify this condition.

Intestinal Issues

Chronic constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, and cramping, are also incredibly common—and embarrassing—gut health issues. But because they are generally functional in nature—function is impaired but there are no underlying physical problems—they’re tricky to treat.

Constipation can be prevented with increased fiber intake, but far too many people rely on laxatives. Occasional use of osmotic laxatives such as Miralax, Milk of Magnesia, or magnesium 500-1,000 mg is acceptable. However, with the exception of bulk-forming fiber products like Metamucil and Citrucel, regular use of laxatives can make matters worse.

Pepto-Bismol and Imodium are helpful for infrequent bouts of diarrhea, and over-the-counter products like simethicone, activated charcoal, and digestive enzymes reduce intestinal gas. None of these quick fixes, however, gets to the bottom of the problem.

Furthermore, many patients suffer with multiple GI problems. This constellation of symptoms, called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), can be treated, but it requires a personalized program of diet changes and targeted supplements—and a commitment from patients to stay the course.

Common Culprits and Solutions

Every person’s dietary hot buttons differ, but common culprits are gluten, cruciferous vegetables, beans, grains, and fermentable carbs such as lactose, fructose, and sugar alcohols. Helpful gut health supplements include the amino acid L-glutamine, which bolsters the integrity of the intestinal tract; inflammation-reducing omega-3s; and peppermint for gas and cramping.

Imbalances in gut bacteria, or dysbiosis, may also underlie IBS—or any intestinal issue. If you suffer with digestive distress, promoting a healthy microbiota (see below) should be your first order of business. If problems persist, natural antimicrobials such as garlic, oregano oil, and berberine are recommended. Serious overgrowth of candida yeast or pathogenic bacteria may call for antifungal drugs or narrow-spectrum antibiotics (Xifaxan).

These same recommendations may also provide relief for inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, serious autoimmune disorders that usually require more intensive treatment.

Nurture Your Gut Bacteria

The microbiota (gut flora) is involved in much more than digestion. This collection of trillions of microbes synthesizes vitamins K and B12 and fatty acids used for energy, fights infection and boosts immune function, reduces inflammation, protects against allergies, and aids in overall gut health. Believe it or not, gut flora even affects weight—thin individuals harbor different bacterial species than heavy people. It also produces or regulates neurotransmitters and hormones that influence mood, emotions, and cognitive function, and plays a role in anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and autism.

Nurture your gut bacteria by avoiding antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, taking probiotic supplements, and eating whole, unprocessed foods, lots of fiber, and fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi, which promote beneficial bacteria and fewer pathogenic microbes.

For serious intestinal infections and inflammatory bowel disease, fecal transplant, which involves transferring “donor feces” from a healthy person, refurbishes the microbiota and often results in remarkable recovery.

Say Goodbye to Digestive Woes

Small changes can go a long way toward improving gut health. I recently received this note from Liz, a Health & Healing subscriber from Ohio. “My husband, Joe, has had digestive problems for as long as I can remember. A few months ago, we decided to clean up our diet, cut out processed foods and sugars, and add probiotics, fiber, and fish oil to our supplement regimen. Within weeks, Joe’s issues rapidly improved. He was having solid bowel movements for the first time in over a decade and he lost a few pounds in his waistline as well.”

Gut Health Recap

Suggested supplements for stomach pain include deglycyrrhizinated licorice 1 tablet chewed 20 minutes before meals, zinc 30 mg, melatonin 3 mg at bedtime, and betaine hydrochloride, starting with one capsule and increasing gradually as needed. Use aloe vera and Iberogast as directed.

For intestinal issues, aim for 30-40 mg total of dietary and supplemental fiber with lots of water. High-potency probiotics are particularly important for optimal gut health. Take digestive enzymes with meals and L-glutamine 3.5-5 g and enteric-coated peppermint capsules twice a day between meals. Use natural antimicrobials (high-dose garlic, oregano oil, and berberine), as directed.

Look for these supplements for gut health online and in stores, or call the clinic at 800-810-6655 to order. 

[Read More ...] http://whitakerwellness.com/2017/10/gut-health-101-digestive-disorders/

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