|
One of the fringe benefits of cleaning up your body (ie: ditching toxic ☠️ products) is pretty evident during the summer months. 🌞Sunburns and sun damage (tho they can still happen) usually become a less common occurrence. Before I began cleaning up my diet, my skin care & personal care products, and our household cleaners and chemicals, it was not uncommon for me to get a decent sunburn a couple times a year. In college (years ago!), I got a few really memorable ones.😳 #thebabyoilyears #ThanksYLforallthetools #ThievesHouseholdCleanerforthewin Sun exposure is super beneficial on many levels, not the least of which is its role in the body’s ability to synthesize Vitamin D. We should strive for daily exposure to the sun, not hide from it! Many people fear going out in the sun because they burn so very easily, and while melanin plays a part in whether or not you are prone to sunburn, the reality is that the risk of sunburn and sun damage rises the more “polluted” the inside of your body is. I’m a blonde haired blue eyed farm girl, and have lived this fact. There is a second part of this equation tho. 🌞In addition to ditching toxins, seek out foods that are high in antioxidants (like blueberries, wolfberries, kale, dark chocolate, beans, and pecans). These help bind up the damaging free radicals from both toxins and excess sun exposure. I love that NingXia Red is loaded with both wolfberries and blueberries! It is a daily staple in our home. ( item #3042 for the 2 bottle pack) 🌞You’ll also want to eat foods high in lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant AND it also absorbs both UVA and UVB radiation. Reach for watermelon, tomatoes, red bell peppers, asparagus, red cabbage, and mangos as often as you can! 🌞Omega-3 Fatty Acids come into play as well! Does that surprise you? They help maintain our skin’s integrity and aid in a proper inflammatory response. In other words, they help our body cope with a little too much time in the sun. Walnuts, salmon, cod liver oil, flax, hemp and chia seeds are all loaded with Omega-3’s. I try to get a handful of walnuts in my diet daily, but I ALWAYS take my OmegaGize3 (item #3097)! 🌞Foods high in beta carotene are also important. Beta carotene converts to Vitamin A in our body, and committing to a diet rich in carrots, dark leafy greens, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, apricots, and red bell peppers over time (10 weeks according to one study) provides natural sunscreen protection. 🌞Green Tea contains a flavanol known as EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) which has been found to help reduce skin damage from UVA light and also help support healthy collagen (the protein responsible for our skin’s elasticity). Young Living’s organic Vanilla Lemongrass green Tea (item # 32205) is just as good iced as it is hot. ☕️ Organic tea (and coffee) is so very important because the traditional non-organic processing methods are loaded with ☠️toxins. 🌿Young Living does have an amazing sunscreen (SPF 50 item #24137) that is toxin free (most on the market are loaded with unhealthy ingredients)…. So this was a welcome addition in our home when it became available a few years back! Enjoy that sunshine friends! 🌞It’s one of God’s ways of smiling on us and it’s an absolutely free health and wellness tool we all have access to. Be well! xoxo~ liz (PS: If you would like to share this post with someone outside of our group, you can find it also posted publicly, here: https://www.facebook.com/thewellnessprepper/posts/1655950537895251?__tn__=K-R #usethegiftsGodgaveus #sunshineispowerfulmedicine #ThanksYL #ditchthetoxins 
0 Comments
I've talked to a few friends recently who have asked me about the Dr. Fauci book picture from a week or so ago, asking for more details, so I thought I'd write up a little book review. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to reading this book, but felt like I needed to know more about the man who has played such a large part in all of our collective lives over the last 6+ months. It was written by Charles Ortleb, an investigative journalist who followed Dr. Fauci closely in the 80's and 90's. In the early 1980’s the AIDs crisis first appeared on both coasts of the USA. Mr Ortleb researched and wrote about AIDS for nearly 20 years. In short, the guy knows his stuff, and was probably one of the foremost journalists covering the topic of AIDS during that time. Early in the book, Mr Ortleb states, “I began to notice serious credibility gaps in what the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was telling the public about the AIDS epidemic.” He also went on to say that the government narrative reminded him of how the period surrounding the Vietnam era was handled. (hmmm….. Fast forward to 2020…. I think we could write the same thing!... ) He further sets the stage by explaining “as the government began building a paradigm around the notion that AIDS was caused by a retrovirus (HIV), I watched credible critics of the retrovirus theory silenced and vilified.” (again, dang this is sure sounding familiar) At the same time, there was a second emerging epidemic called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. From Mr. Ortleb's extensive investigative work, it was hard not to conclude (following the research of scientists) that CFS actually was linked to AIDS by a virus called HHV-6. (Human herpes virus -6) The government agency (at that time led by Dr. Fauci) refused to take this connection seriously. Quoting Mr. Ortleb, “I have come to the conclusion that the similarities between AIDS science (of the 1980-90’s) and genocidal experiments during WWII are too obvious for people of conscience to ignore…… while on the surface, the manner in which AIDS is understood by the public health authorities and the general public is assumed to be sane, a closer look reveals that a genocidal insanity lurks beneath the surface.” (I seriously felt like we could be writing this book right now about the ‘rona virus ya’ll) Quick facts to break down the history: 1968 : Dr. Fauci begins working at the NIH 1977 : Dr Fauci becomes deputy clinical director of NIAID 1984 Dr. Fauci becomes the Director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). “At that time he is noted for not being an especially brilliant scientist, but he made up for it in drive and ambition.” Mid-1980’s: amfAR (American foundation for AIDS Research was founded. amfAR’s ultimate role was to “squelch” any scientific criticism of the NIAID’s HIV hypothesis. (It turned towards junk science over valid science) The information the NIAID didn’t want revealed was that HIV could not be found in all AIDS patients. 1988: an amfAR forum scientists attempted to prove that AIDS was not caused by HIV and their findings were squelched. 1992: AIDS conference in Amsterdam. A scientist (Subhir Gupta, a UC immunologist) presented a well documented paper on an AIDs like condition but in HIV negative patients that had been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In other words…. Mounting evidence that AIDS is not necessarily caused by HIV.and that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is at the very least a close cousin to AIDS (non HIV), and likely from a virus called HHV-6 (Human Herpes Virus -6). Instead of exploring this possible discovery, the information was squashed instantly. 😳 Had the science presented in Amsterdam been agreeable to Dr. Fauci, both AIDS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research might have morphed into a unified study….. INSTEAD, for nearly 20 years, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients struggled with their disorder and were often told it was a psychiatric disorder… (Dr. Fauci’s basic attitude towards CFS was that people shouldn’t be ashamed of being told their health problem was psychiatric…... Early in my pharmacy career, I remember having conversations with some of these patients and it was maddening. Nobody knew back then it was viral related because of all of the data was hidden). The author goes on to say that what happened in Amsterdam was a “nosological and epidemiological crime”.... “And potentially life-saving scientific revolution in AIDS and CFS research was politically nipped in the bud in Amsterdam.” No new theory was allowed to be presented…. And hence, the CFS patients were left hanging." Dr. Fauci instead gave “non HIV” AIDS a new name…. Idiopathic CD4 T lymphocytopenia (aka ICL) and THUS…. CFS was a “nothing burger” diagnosis for the next couple of decades until someone “re-discovered” the link between CFS and HHV-6.😢 Everyone suffering from multi-systemic problems of the HHV-6 spectrum (ie: multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, autism, etc) paid a heavy price for the 20 year re-discovery delay.😢 *Why did Dr. Fauci completely ignore the scientists who were working to explain “non-HIV’ AIDS patients? 👉Power and prestige (he called all the shots) 👉Money 👉Politics (look at the demographics of who became the targets of fear based propaganda and public health policy built upon the incorrect assumption that only certain population groups could acquire AIDS. And so, for many years before there was an effective treatment - the gay, iv drug users, and poor black communities (and countries) were targeted. #heisascoundrel THE END. .... and now, here is my additional commentary 👇 *What is HHV-6 and why don’t we hear that much about it? Well, it infects nearly 100% of human beings, typically before the age of 3 years old….. With stats like that why isn’t this a common household virus name? It is not a “new” virus….. HHV-6 has likely been around for a very very long time. Under normal circumstances, it stays dormant in the body unless the body is triggered to react somehow. Conditions caused by rousing a sleeping HHV-6 virus in oneself include AutoImmune Diseases, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Gliomas, Cervical Cancer, CFS, Cognitive Dysfunction, MS, Epilepsy, Heart Diseases, HIV/AIDS progression (and many many more) To see the full list: https://hhv-6foundation.org/conditions-associated-with-hhv-6 ) As you can see…. Some of these disease states can be deadly, and nearly all are at least fairly debilitating 😬. *So why haven’t we heard about this? And what could possibly be triggering the activation of a previously “not that big of a deal” virus? (This falls in the category of “things that make me go hmmmmmm”. ) *Following the same AIDS/ CFS timeline, there has been a rise in the sheer number of vaccinations that the CDC recommends…. 40 + years ago, there were less than 12-15 vaccines recommended before the age of twelve. Now there are more than 75! *I had a sneaky suspicion and consulted my Vaccines and AutoImmunity text book, and found this information: 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 “CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) has been reported to emerge following vaccinations in several reports, including after MMR, Pneumovax, Influenza, Hepatitis B (HBV), Tetanus, Typhoid, and Poliovirus vaccines.” *I have read in multiple sources that those first studied and first vaccinated with the new Hepatitis B vaccine were those populations most likely to contract Hep B. (gay males and iv drug users). This would have taken place sometime around 1980. *I also find it interesting that CFS really didn’t begin rearing its head until the early ‘90’s, right about the time that there was strong encouragement by the CDC for children and adults alike to receive more vaccines per the "official CDC vaccine schedule." These are just some personal observations and I’m sure there’s nothing to see here….. xoxo~ liz (PS: tell me about a book you just read! As you can see, #booksaremylovelanguage. This review is a love letter to you. Be well! ) www.goodmedicine.info #sharingiscaring #bewareofweasels #historydoesindeedrepeatitself #astrongimmunesystemisyourbestdefense #ThanksYL https://www.hilarispublisher.com/…/the-secret-lives-of-huma… http://hhv6foundation.wpengine.com/  About 6 1/2 years ago, I ripped open the two oz NingXia Red packet that was in my YL Starter Kit and drank it. It was tasty, but I didn't yet understand the significance, or the science behind what I had just consumed (other than that it was mighty tasty! ☺️). It wasn't until I read the book you see in this picture, that I got a fuller understanding of just how much purpose was in that packet. If you are a science nerd like me, this book will make your heart go pitter patter. (You can find it at www.DiscoverLSP.com) I've heard soooooooo many personal stories about NingXia Red since I started drinking it myself. One of my health stories is this..... see those glasses on the table beside the book? They aren't for reading and they aren't for driving. I started wearing glasses when i was a Junior in college for nearsightedness.Well, the longer I drank NingXia Red consistently, the more my glasses started bothering me.... like my prescription was too strong. 😳 About 5 years ago, I went to my optometrist and had to get a weaker prescription. A couple years ago, I pretty much quit wearing glasses entirely. I still carry them in my truck and do wear them if it is night time and I'm driving in an area I'm not familiar with.... but 99% of the time, I am glasses free. (The glasses you see on the table are blue blockers for protecting my eyes from the computer screen). Can we talk science and genetics for a second? My family has a strong history of age related macular degeneration. My grandmother went blind from it and other older family members have it now. Protecting my eyes is high on my priority list. Wolfberries are loaded with zeaxanthin and lutein, both of which have been shown to help support eye health in dramatic ways. Wolfberries are one of the main ingredients in NingXia Red. A sweet friend of mine once said to me: "You can pay the farmer 👩🌾 now, or you can pay the pharmacist 👩🔬 later." Truer words could not be spoken. Is NingXia Red worth it? Are my eyes worth it... not to mention my brain and heart health? Absolutely. Everyone's NingXia Red story is different than anyone else's because we are uniquely made.....I'd love to hear your NingXia Red success story! xoxo~ liz www.goodmedicine.info (If you'd like to try NingXia Red and do not currently have a Young Living membership, please message me!) #allthingswolfberryYL #ThanksYL #productswithapurpose #whatsyourstory PS: see that little cardinal peering thru the window? I didn't notice him until I had taken the picture. Cardinals were my grandmother's favorite bird ❤️. I'd like to think she just gave her nod of approval to this message!  With farm life, clean and white can be hard to come by! I was just visiting Christan Morales's team page and saw this recipe. I am so going to give this a try! DIY Bleach From Lindsay Tuttle: Bleach is a household favorite, but it has so many disrupting chemicals in it that this is an amazing equivalent! A friend of mine shared this, and I made it a few months ago and added Thieves Household Cleaner to it! I found my gallon jug at an antique store, but any glass jug will work. 3/4C Hydrogen Peroxide 1/4C Lemon Juice 15 drops Lemon Essential Oil 3/4C Baking Soda 1/4C Thieves Household Cleaner 7C Water Mix all ingredients in container. For laundry, use 1C per load. Also use in tubs and sinks as you would regular bleach! Happy Cleaning!  POST #3 Corona Virus 101.... Demographics Based upon current info, this is what we can safely deduce... 👉 Most cases are hitting ages 30-79 years old, But the fatality rate was 14.8% in people 80 or older, likely reflecting the presence of other diseases, a weaker immune system.... LONGER EXPOSURE to pollution, toxins, and cigarettes or simply worse overall health. (see how this might skew the above overall stats?) 👉 Virus symptoms appear to be mild in ~80% of cases in children (a group not at risk!.... perhaps in part because they have had less exposure in their short lives to pollution, toxins, and cigarettes?) 👉 Pregnant mamas? Info gleaned in a small group study revealed that the virus appears to be more mild in pregnancy…. But mamas can transmit to their babies. As for the mothers, “Covid-19 seems not to be especially severe in pregnant women, at least based on the small number in this study,” the scientists wrote. Well this is good news! I might also add that pregnant women in China know enough about 5G that they wear special clothing to protect their unborn children. (For real!... here is more info on radiation protection attire... http://www.unmappedmag.com/issue-6/dress-to-protect/ A bit further digging (and a tiny bunny 🐰trail!), and I found that you can buy radiation protective clothing here in the US too! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=maternity+radiation+protective+clothing&crid=52CBUUWMV6UE&sprefix=maternity+radiation+%2Caps%2C238&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_20&fbclid=IwAR2pasZ9sdhL4fNbDlOEzhPcE3I3QedK9qRiIL5gQ8B-9oD1iJl5-0FHyos 👉 Personally, my greatest concern lies within this last group.... the immuno-compromised. 👈These people ... these are the ones that are going to need all of our help. The virus is real, and although it does appear to be relatively mild if you are a healthy individual and are taking care of yourself, but the reality is that we have ALOT of unhealthy people in our world. Who would qualify as immunocompromised? According to the CDC.... that would include: HIV/AIDS Cancer & Transplant Patients Rare inherited diseases that affect the immune system (that's pretty much their list 😳 ) My list of those who might qualify as being immunocompromised is quite a bit longer.... We here in the USA have been encouraged to be vaccinated against pretty much everything under the sun, and yet, we are one of the sickest first world countries in the world. #truthbomb This is another topic I have plans to discuss at some point... not now. But my concerns are on point. Really, anyone who is diabetic, has heart disease, compromised pulmonary function, an autoimmune disorder that is not well managed.... if you know anyone in these categories, I encourage you to encourage them to #dothethings that will help boost their immune systems. There's no time like the present to start boosting your immunity now. Details to come beyond what I'm about to write.... but let's simply start today with the basics: 1.🍗🍖 Fresh (not processed) foods 2. Clean filtered water (not soft drinks, junk juice etc) 3. Regular exercise 4.☠️🍞🍟🍭🎂🍩💉☢️☣️Remove as much of the toxin load as possible in food, beverages, household cleaners, synthetic air fresheners, body care products, and even cosmetics and replace these things with immune system boosting products whenever possible, or at the very least "green and healthy" products. If you are a Young Living member, I do not need to fill in the blanks for you.... if you are not a YL member, I encourage you to reach out to someone you know and trust who can help with the immune supportive cleaning supplies, cosmetics, and alternatives for air fresheners that Young Living provides for everyone. Many of us have been toxin dumping for years, and we can guide you thru what we ourselves have successfully done. Studies have shown that toxin load reduction begins decreasing within days of implementing the above 4 steps. Stay tuned...... lots more to talk about. xoxo~ liz www.goodmedicine.info #knowbetterdobetter #healthismoreimportantthantoiletpaperwhenprepping #ThanksYL http://www.unmappedmag.com/issue-6/dress-to-protect/?fbclid=IwAR2hTXYDnUud2jH2Oc6fAjBOiXyrkNmdPOWcP2mf-Mz4_w2Tu4OpXmxkZlE 
There was a time when doctors promoted smoking and opium derived products for nerves, and in the 60's, housewives were prescribed "a little something" for energy.
DDT was "so safe" they sprayed it directly on kids without worry. Asbestos was used as an insulator for homes and military ships and buildings. All these things☝️☝️☝️ were accepted without question as being safe. ? When a watchdog group of authority raises an alarm, I listen. I've been sharing my concerns about 5G for several months now and the warning bells just keep getting louder. Friends, my husband and I don't have children, but I spend much of my time fighting for the health of future generations because I care about your kids and I care about the world. I have no genetic skin in this game.....come fight this battle with me. Your kids and your grandkids matter. Promote awareness, protect yourself with knowledge. Ask your community leaders some very specific questions about the installation of 5G in your towns. Easton Connecticut just banned it ..... because some brave people spoke up and fought to bring truth to their town leaders. Do your research. Learn. Dig. Do not take the telecom and tech industry's responses as gospel. Follow the money. xoxo~ liz #sharingiscaring #loveandlight #ThanksYL https://wearetheevidence.org/professor-butler-clear-evidence-of-the-risks-to-children-from-smartphone-and-wifi/?fbclid=IwAR3t_afGnlLgGPckhVWkVzhuq5xTOFGwACKR8gEpE71hby0fVc5CJ0rI15k
https://wearetheevidence.org/professor-butler-clear-evidence-of-the-risks-to-children-from-smartphone-and-wifi/?fbclid=IwAR3t_afGnlLgGPckhVWkVzhuq5xTOFGwACKR8gEpE71hby0fVc5CJ0rI15k
Many of you are gardening 👩🌾👨🌾 this year, and I hope thought has been given as to how to organically manage pests and weeds. I have been an organic gardener for years, and organic gardening requires a bit of pre-planning and a willingness to exercise. Pesticides and herbicides have a lifetime of potential side effects. Thankfully, there ARE alternatives out there, although you gotta be willing to put some "sweat equity" into your food. Ya'll are a smart bunch.... and I feel certain you've thought this thru. Lest you want to give up and reach for a toxic chemical, I'm speaking up on behalf of your mitochondria.... it's one of the most important bits of you. Your cell's mitochondria are your energy makers, helpers in your detoxification process, and play a supportive role in your immune system. In short.... you surely don't want to poison this very important bit of you 😘. Garden on my friends....safely! xoxo~ liz www.goodmedicine.info #knowbetterdobetter #youcandothis #toxinfreeisthewaytobe #ThanksYL #SeedtoSealiswhatYLdoes https://microbeformulas.com/…/10-pesticides-that-could-harm…   Yesterday, while at work in the pharmacy, we got official word of a voluntary recall on several brands of valsartan containing medications. A voluntary recall means that the drug company requests that products be pulled from the pharmacy shelves, and selling of that product cease immediately until new product is issued. It does not extend to the consumer level. You can read more about the recall itself here. Recalls like this happen every so often in pharmacy, and are not usually call for alarm unless it happens to be one that extends to the customer level (not the case this time). That said, media caught wind of it and began reporting on the recall, causing fear and worry amongst customers who are on this particular blood pressure medication. I began and ended my pharmacy day yesterday fielding these many calls from customers who were fearful of continuing their medication even one more day, now that this information was known. Once you know something, you can’t un-know it. The cause of the recall? It became known that one of the ingredients used in this particular medication is a ‘probable’ cancer causing agent. (Ironically, one of the people I spoke to was a smoker. SMH!) Now, before you start calling your pharmacy wondering what you are supposed to do if you are on valsartan, let’s take a look at the facts:
 Visit the American Cancer Society website, you’ll see a list of these ‘probable (and known) cancer causing agents’ that people unwittingly use and allow into their lives.
Once you know something, you can’t un-know it. I would advise stopping reading now if you want to remain blissfully unaware, because I’m about to give you the lowdown on just a few items on the FDA/EPA list. Seriously. Stop now. Here are just a few offenders from the long list:
Giving you examples of known and probable carcinogens could easily consume my day, because this list just goes on and on and on.…… and ultimately I will bore you to tears (or wake you up to what you likely have in your home). I’m hoping by now you see my frustration in yesterday’s moment of media hyped hysteria over the valsartan recall. Of course it should have been recalled, but friends…… we have much larger fish to fry if we are going to worry about this. I would venture to guess that each person I spoke to about the recall yesterday has more than 100+ known carcinogenic products in their home and garage that they willingly (but perhaps unwittingly) choose to expose themselves to on a daily basis. SMH. If you didn’t listen to me, and read this post to completion, you’ve got some decisions to make. What you can’t choose tho, is to now ‘un-know what you now know‘. Knowing gives you personal responsibility for the skin in the game (your own) and begs the next question….. what are you going to do about it? Reality is this: It’s not possible to avoid every carcinogenic or body damaging product out there, but there IS so much we CAN do to avoid the majority of them within our own home. There are also many ways to encourage detoxification of the body cheaply, effectively, and holistically. If this post has you thinking that maybe it is time to wake up and clean up, I’d encourage you to start small in big ways. Get the ‘standard’ household cleaners out of your home…. one by one. When you run out of a product, don’t buy that junk again. Consider switching to Thieves Cleaner (a completely healthy way to clean). Get the candles and formaldehyde laced air fresheners out of your home, and replace them with healthy diffusers. I promise…. you’ll sleep better, be happier, have fewer headaches, and….. if you diffuse the right oils, you’ll even boost your immune system and provide positive emotional support. This trumps possible and probable carcinogenic loaded products any day. Science backs this ya’ll….. as a pharmacist, I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t. The cosmetic industry is rife with concerning chemicals. Use up what you have, but as you get close to needing more, consider ‘clean’ skin care and makeup. Yes, it does exist. I’d love to send you a few samples of whatever you’d like to see or try that is not only beautiful, but also loaded with health promoting ingredients. Ever heard of Savvy Minerals? If not, you are missing out. This is one of the (many) things I love about Young Living. They stand in the gap for us where other companies do not. Scouring labels for toxins was time consuming and the print is small and fine (purposefully I think). I know I am taken care of safely with whatever I purchase for my family and our farm, and that we are taking personal responsibility for us….. because clearly, the governmental entities, are not doing enough of it. If you’d like to learn more about living a more carcinogenic free life, please feel free to private message me. I am not perfect in my walk, but I’ve done it now for much of my adult life and would be happy to walk with you as you begin your journey. It’s never too late to start. Hugs and love ~ Liz (You can reach me privately thru this link) References:
 Have you ever felt like you were at a crossroads in your life? I’m not talking about a midlife crisis, but rather something bigger and more profound. About 3 years ago, we took a pretty long road trip to pick up a bull in a remote (VERY REMOTE) area in West Texas. I mean…… drive to the very edge of civilization and then head 3 hours further…..the kind of remote that requires a physical map instead of cell phone/ GPS service. Without a map or good navigational tools, you’re sunk kind of remote. As you might guess, we confidently drove down the road….. in the wrong direction because we thought we knew where we were going. It cost us about 3 extra hours that day. We were reminded the value of an old school map and a dose of intuition! This kind of parallels the last 15+ years of my life. I have been a pharmacist since 1991. I graduated, and like most health professionals…. upon graduation…… was pretty sure I had a really good grasp of the profession. I’m not saying I was God’s gift to pharmacy (hardly!), but I certainly thought I knew enough to make a difference in people’s lives. I toodled along in pharmacy doing the absolute best job I could do (because that’s my nature….. never tackle anything halfway). When I was in my 30’s I thought we were living the dream. Charlie and I both had good jobs, had bought our farm, and had begun building our home (by hand, ourselves…. because that’s how we do things…. with all our heart and soul). We worked super hard…. 40-60 hrs a week at our respective jobs and then swung hammers and wielded paint brushes on nights and weekends for about 3 years before completing our home. It was somewhere during that time that I broke my wrist, was subsequently diagnosed with osteopenia , and both Charlie and I were diagnosed with high cholesterol. In hindsight, that broken wrist was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I won’t go into great detail (you can read more about that journey here and the second half here), but it was a big fat hairy road sign to stop and assess what I thought I knew. That broken wrist reopened a different avenue of education for me…. only this time, it was not subsidized by the pharmaceutical industry and there was some skin in the game…. my own. When you are a pharmacist, you’re in the business of knowing side effects of meds. The good news is…. you know the potential side effects. The bad news is…. you know the potential side effects. I wasn’t willing to go down that road given the med options they were dangling in front of me. My gut said no way, and once my research started it changed my life forever. It all began with raw milk. From there, my research extended into finding access to truly healthy and healing foods. Each time I thought I knew enough, I found that more pieces to health puzzles were MIA…. not just my puzzle, but everyone else’s too. About the same time, I went to work at a pharmacy that specialized in rare diseases, oncology, auto-immune disorders, and infertility (which frequently has an auto-immune component). Sadly, this pharmacy represented the outcome of people living in toxin filled environments. Silly me. I still thought I was helping people. I guess I was. Kindness matters, especially when you are dealing with life altering body dysfunctions….. but kindness and pharmaceuticals don’t dissolve the problems these patients face every day. Another personal puzzle piece fell into place after I was diagnosed with something called interstitial cystitis and discovered (after 9 years of no REM sleep and frequent trips to the bathroom), that it could be managed well with a fresh and healthy, but limited, diet. Expensive medication and daily catheterization are the common treatments. Ummm, no thank you. I would later learn that IC is part of the autoimmune disorder family. Not surprisingly, approximately 1 in 5 adults in the USA are card carrying autoimmune disorder patients. I had been given my card. Eight years ago, my dad was diagnosed with dementia. It made no sense to me and we had no family history of dementia. I backtracked the onset to a statin drug (commonly prescribed for high cholesterol). In the finest of the fine print of this class of drugs you will find information alluding to possible memory loss with these drugs. Dig deeply and you’ll find it. I thank God for leading me to raw milk to lower my cholesterol instead of that which stole my dad’s memory. I don’t blame the pharmaceutical industry for burying the whole ‘memory loss’ side effect in the fine print. I mean, would you want to take a drug that could potentially rob you of your memory as a side effect? Ummmm, no thank you. By now, I’ve truly begun second guessing pharmaceuticals. I began educating myself on everything I could get my hands on that gave honest and documented proof that maybe what I knew wasn’t EVERYTHING…… that perhaps there were some gaps in my education and knowledge base. I dug deep deep deep into gut health and discovered the link to most autoimmune disorders. I studied sleep patterns, herbs, thyroid and hormones. I picked up yoga and began healing my posture and my stress level. That led to my recent certification (7 years later) as a Christian yoga instructor.  I had a life changing accident 3 years ago this week, and (eventually… after a 3 month recovery) walked out of it when I should have been an amputee. Last week I walked a 37 minute 5K with many close friends. Thank God. Despite the severity of my injury, I have no pain day to day and am not on any medication. I’ve got oils, supplements and a little thing called Dolphin MPS that rocked my recovery world so much so that I decided to begin taking classes so that I could help others as I was helped…. another tool in my toolbox that wasn’t related to pharmacy.  The last 18 years, by serendipity or Divine design (I believe the latter), I have been gathering tools to help people (myself included) heal physically and emotionally. What had started out as a mission to care for myself and my family gradually extended to include friends and strangers who have become dear friends. The more truth in healing I gleaned, the more uncomfortable I became in my white lab coat. Back in the day, we took an oath to do no harm (that oath has been changed and no longer includes that phrase).
Once you know something, you can’t unknow it. I have grown uncomfortable in my pharmacist skin (and coat)….. able to speak only truths that are approved talking points regulated by the pharmaceutical industry. Once I found that there are better, safer, more life sustainable ways to heal, it became harder and harder to deny people access to these opportunities in wellness……. because they exist for the taking. Every day, people make unconscious choices that affect their health….. making poor food choices, drinking chemically treated water, watching too much media and not exercising enough…. taking meds without researching them thoroughly first. They think a pill will solve their ills. I’m here to tell you that medications are simply adding to the already hefty toxin load within all of us. The heavier the load, the sicker the individual. I’ve had several people in the last many months call me a healer. I don’t claim that moniker. I feel more like a shepherd, leading those who are thirsty to a safe place to drink, eat, and rest. It gives me great peace, and it makes my heart sing a song it’s never sung before. I have straddled both worlds now for many years, and being true to myself is becoming increasingly difficult despite the six figure income that comes with the white coat. I fill prescriptions for people I have grown to love in the community, knowing that they can be helped in other ways that actually heal. I respect my duty as a pharmacist and do not step outside that boundary……but I feel God’s hand firmly on my back telling me to Go. Do. Become. Shepherd those I send your way. Really God? Yes. Really. And so I prayed. “Lord, if it is your will, send me those who need me.” I began praying this daily about 5 months ago. God has a sense of humor. I’m sure of it. About a month ago, I had to alter my prayer a tiny bit. ” Lord, if it is your will, can I have a little breather so I can adequately help those you sent so far? ” God is so very good. I would have never in a million years guessed that I would step away from pharmacy more than halfway thru my career. Pharmacy has taught me so much. Perhaps most importantly, it has given me the gift of scientific discernment: the ability to understand fact from fiction or skewed data. When I was a young pup out of pharmacy school, I thought my life was set on auto pilot. I couldn’t have been more wrong. God took me down a completely different path, guiding me and giving me tools along the way: pharmacy, nutrition, exercise, yoga, health coaching, scientific based knowledge of essential oils, supplements, and herbs, Dolphin MPS, and most importantly the empathy acquired from personal experiences. God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called. Here’s to the journey! I can’t wait to see what the second half of my life holds. Hugs and love, Liz PS: I am not completely stepping away from the pharmacy just yet. You will still see me in a white coat one or two days a week.   Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Honestly, as much as Charlie and I love each other, we are not huge proponents of this particular advertising holiday…. ’cause we just love each other every day, and do our best to show one another that we still do #evenafteralltheseyears. I mean, why limit your love to just one day? Of course we both fail spectacularly on occasion…. but the point is, that we both do try.
Have you heard of the 5 Love Languages? It’s a concept that has been around for several years and was outlined in a book by Gary Chapman. My love language is service, and Charlie nails that one for me every time. It wasn’t always that way tho. When we were first married, he gave me a few gifts that resulted in a hairy eyebrow from me. Although he was giving from the heart, it was not in a ‘love language’ that my receiving heart understood. I know my blog is primarily about health and farm life, and ya’ll might think I’m deviating from that venue in this post. Not so. Our heart, body, and emotionally health is completely and utterly dependent on healthy loving relationships….. not just with our significant other, but also with friends, family, and/or ‘framily’ (those friends who truly become our family). Do a little Googling on this topic, or take a peek at some of the benefits here. I posted on my personal Facebook page about this topic last week, and my dear friend Miss Dottie added to my musings. She is a little older than I am, and infinitely wiser! ….. there is a distinct advantage to aging well, learning from life, and then passing along golden nuggets to others. Life lessons should shared so that others may find their road a little less rocky in life! From Miss Dottie: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”~John 15:12 As a former relationship coach, matchmaker, & author of the Dr Romance column, I was immersed in the world of love & what makes us tick (or not). Each February my thoughts return to that season with a smile & I love writing about all things of the heart. My friend posted this little chart this morning. Since Valentines Day is just around the corner I thought it might help you in showing love specifically to each person you care about. I know the media pushes roses, candy, & cards but sometimes that’s not what means the most. Valentines Day isn’t really about YOU, it’s really about THEM. It’s really important for all of us to communicate what’s important to us. For me words of affirmation & quality time are the wind beneath my sails. Want to crush me? Use words that make me feel less than. Want to bruise my heart? Never spend time with me or come alongside me. If you’re alone or maybe not in a healthy relationship, I would encourage you to meet my BFF Jesus. I would also encourage you to “romance the self.” Need a friend? Be a friend. Love flowers? Plant your own garden. I think you get my drift. I think I Corinthians 13 offers the best definition of love: “Love suffers long & is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…” Enjoy your day tomorrow, regardless if you are single or have a significant honey in your life. You are loved by someone no matter who you are or where you are in life. Don’t ever forget that! Miss Dottie is a wise woman, and her words are golden! Hugs and Love from me to you this Valentine’s Day, liz |
AuthorHey there....thanks for stopping by! This is me (Liz James)... an eclectic mixture of holistic (and organic) farmgirl meets pharmacist. It's a synergy that works well as I speak truths and dissect fact from fiction. If you're looking for healthier living options, you've come to the right place! Archives
July 2020
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed