Thursday, October 27, 2011

How can I take care of my liver?

An indulgent lifestyle? We all know it is bad for our livers, but we seem invincible, our bodies appear to cope and recover?  I used to think so too, but as I have moved away from my old lifestyle and refined my diet and thoughts about health my feeling have changed massively.  Do we really understand the effect the poisons we use regularly are having on our bodies and our long term health?  I fear not.

Our liver is responsible for controlling the toxic load our body faces.  Each day it is desperately trying to clean our tissues and blood of:

-Pharmaceutical Medications
-Alcohol
-Smoking
-Saturated Fat
-Fumes
-Chemical body products
-Cleaning Products
-Parasites
-Normal Body Function by-products

Our liver is our largest internal organ and is responsible for over 500 functions in the body.  It weighs in at around 1.5kg and filters 1.4 litres of blood every minute. On an average day at the office our lovely liver...

-Manufactures amino acids
-Stores and releases glycogen for energy
-purifies blood of bacteria, toxins, parasites, pathogens, unwanted microbes
-Stores fat soluble vitamins
-Produces bile and regulates our metabolism

This handful of functions out of the 500 are already impressive and are basically responsible for our energy levels, our immune function, our hormone levels, our mood, our weight, our sex drive and our ability to cope with life. 

With this in mind, a healthy liver is something we desperately need if we are to survive in this complicated world, blimey, we have enough to deal with, without having to struggle with the symptoms of an overworked liver.

I urge you to LOVE YOUR LIVER!

Give it:

-Plenty of water
-A 51% raw diet which stands a chance of giving it the nutrients it needs to perform
-Time off from drinking and smoking if you possibly can
-Garlic
-Grapefruit
-Green Leafy Vegetables
-Dandelion and Artichoke supplements or tinctures
-Raw Cabbage
-A Hulda Clark Liver Flush http://www.drclark.net/info/liver.htm
-LOVE and kindness
-A gentle massage before bed with rhythmic motions

Phew. Yeah.  So there are some things you can do, to at least support your wonderful, fantastic, once in a lifetime liver.

Be kind to it, and if you are going to abuse it, at least make up for it in between with the right foods and some tender, loving care.

Josie Was this useful?  Like My facebook page... :)


Sunday, October 16, 2011

How do I know if I have parasites?

This is a topic which has recently been brought to my attention from a number of sources.  I have a friend who passed handfuls of ascari (roundworms) in her home enema after a water fast and the new detox centre I am working at has a big emphasis on parasite cleansing and offers great informative workshops on the subject.

So, it is only fair to share...and it might just save your life...

A parasite is an organism that is dependent on a host.  It lives within, or on, humans and animals, feeding from their cells, their energy and the food they eat to survive.

There are thousands of different strands and sizes of these organisms ranging from microscopic protozoa to 60ft long tape worms (largest found inside a human).  Protozoa can be transferred to you via vectors such as mosquito's.  Malaria is an example of a protozoa transferred in this way and is responsible for killing a child every 30 seconds!  More common varieties are pin worms which most of us picked up as a child at some point, they cause an itchy bottom and spread really easily to people we work or live with.

Whatever the size of the parasite they all do the same thing; feed on us and infect us.

We can catch parasites in many ways, the most common being ingestion.  Contaminated food, water or dirty fingers making contact with our mouths is the most likely situation.  However, kissing, oral sex, swimming in pools, shaking a hand, stroking animals or walking barefoot also puts you at risk. 

Symptoms experienced to the host can be wide ranging with anything from headaches to IBS being caused by parasites in the body.  More serious conditions can be as severe as epilepsy or strokes in cases where parasites have made their way into the brain. Many complimentary health practitioners believe that parasites are to blame for a host of common ailments that go undiagnosed as well as a lot of unexplained deaths!

This can seem a little scary and when I started to hear more on this topic I became fearful of touching anything.  But, the good news is there are ways to cleanse your body of parasites and some very simple natural herbs are the most effective treatment available.

If you suspect you may have parasites in your body do the relative research and be aware that your doctor can only test for 5% of known parasites.  A good herbal parasite cleanse and electronic parasite zapping can be an excellent way of removing parasites from the body, but this must be continued for a full month to make sure you destroy all stages of the parasite, including all the eggs.  The detox centre I am working at uses the approach of Dr Hulda Clark.  I include information below and the link if you would like to find out more.


Black Walnut Hulls (from the black walnut tree - juglans nigra)
was used by the Indians of America as an anti-parasite, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal remedy. Its active ingredients are juglone, tannin and iodine
Wormwood (from the Artemisia shrub - artemisia absinthum)
Its known for its vermicidal properties and helps those with a weak and under-active digestion. It increases the acidity of the stomach and the production of bile. It reduced bloatiness and 
Common Cloves (from the clove tree - eugenia caryophyllata)
has anti-parasitical, anti-fungal, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. It also removes pain

These three herbs must be used together. Black walnut hull and wormwood kill adults and developmental stages of at least 100 parasites. Cloves kill the eggs. Only if you use them together will you rid yourself of parasites. If you kill only the adults, the tiny stages and eggs will soon grow into new adults. If you kill only the eggs, the million stages already loose in your body will soon grow into adults and make more eggs. They must be used together as a single treatment.

So, if you think you may be at risk of hosting some kind of parasite?

-Try this simple herbal approach. 

-Eating lots of raw garlic and onion is also a great way to eliminate them (although this may not sound like the most socially acceptable approach) and it really works. 

-They love sugar so limit your intake of sugar and simple carbohydrates.

-Wash your hands regularly and avoid putting things in your mouth if you don't know where they have been.

-Avoid rare meat and fish if you are not sure it has been stored correctly and iced as soon as it was caught.

-Wash fruit and vegetables really, really well before eating them, especially when raw.

-Keep an eye out for common symptoms such as itchy bottom or nose, weight loss or gain or abdominal discomfort.

Finally, don't panic, not all parasites will get out of control, we can live happily alongside a few of them.  Be aware, be prepared and never let symptoms go unchecked.

Josie :)

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Thursday, October 6, 2011

How can I be happy?

Experience can not be gathered all in one place.  To be truly happy I think you have to try a few things out and discover what happiness feels like, uncover what unhappiness feels like and find a happy medium that makes you feel content.

Happiness to me is accepting that you cannot always be happy, it is allowing yourself space to be thouroughly unhappy once in a while.  I think that once you realise that all emotions come and go, that every situation that troubles you will dissolve with time and that whatever happens you are always going to be ok, then you can find a nice place where you feel happy in the now.

I have a few friends who trouble themselves over finding out what they want to do with their lives, finding a passion that makes them 'happy'.  This is a really tricky one which can seem hard to tackle.  My advice is to stop focusing on the goal and start with something, anything, to make a change.  By staying in one place wondering about other places, there is no room to grow and flow.  By putting a foot forward in any direction, you are sending out the message that you want to move somewhere, and with that one step will come new opportunities and experiences that could prove to be just what you are looking for.

Happiness in relationships is sometimes about accepting that relationships alone cannot make you happy.  We often put too much pressure on relationships to be perfect when of course it is impossible for them to be even close to that.  We judge ourselves harshly as partners and judge our partners harshly if they do not meet our expectations.  Accepting our differences and finding fulfillment in all areas of our life, not just our relationships, often gives them a new lease of life. 

This works the same way with friends, one friend cannot be everything, each friend will have different strengths for you to draw on, and equally they will have weaknesses.  Love them for both and draw on different friends at different times depending on your needs.  Balance is the key to happy friendships.

This may all seem rather cryptic and strange, finding happiness exactly where it is not.  But I believe, and you dont need to agree of course, that it is by accepting life as it is, totally imperfect, it becomes perfect.  Its imperfection can be marvelled at and laughed at and embraced.  We never know what is around the corner, so to enjoy where we are is the best bet we have at being content, even if where we are feels a little bland and boring.  After all, out of the darkness always comes light and why not enjoy the process?

If you want to be extra happy, come and do a detox in Koh Samui, I can guarentee it will leave you with a glowing new light inside, ready to take on the world...I will be there if you need me!