Food Allergy – 5 Steps To Healthy Eating Using An Elimination Diet

Posted on December 9, 2011 by

Food Allergy – 5 Steps To Healthy Eating Using An Elimination Diet

Article by Cinda Crawford, ELT Practitioner









Whether you suffer with pesky health problems like allergies, being overweight, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus, Crohn’s Disease or certain types of Arthritis, your daily diet plays a major role in how you feel, what symptoms you battle and how successful you’ll be in feeling better. I’ve lived through such an experience; I was sick for fifteen years. I started healing five years ago. Now I’m completely well using the same strategies and techniques that I share with my clients every day.

Step 1- Think for a moment and decide if there may be a food bothering you and/or making you feel bad. Fact 1: We’re human. We eat things that we know will irritate our bodies. We may be aware of which food causes an unpleasant side effect, but do we always stay away from such a food? No, not necessarily. Sit down today and make a list of what foods should go on an “offender” list. (Hint: If a food produces one unpleasant symptom, it may cause other less noticeable ones, too.)

Step 2- Stop eating all offending foods! Okay, you say, I can think of a couple of possible troublemakers, but how can I figure out all of my problem foods? Fact 2: some trouble foods may not be easy to spot. Consciously, you avoid Uncle Charlie’s chili, but never consider that Aunt Sara’s yeast rolls may be harming you, too. Why? Because you love to eat them! We often crave foods that are “bad” for us. Plus, this second class of offending foods may not produce immediate symptoms thereby prodding us to make that conscious link between eating the food and how badly we feel. (Doctors call this “delayed reaction food allergies” when the symptoms arrive later and cannot be easily attributed to consuming one particular food.)

Step 3- Clean up your diet by eliminating the confusion. One method to pinpoint problem foods is by using a simple Food Elimination Diet. This can be a good tool to help you figure out the foods that bother you–in other words, causing food allergy or food intolerance. Allergists or dieticians can advise and help you through the process, however many people are quite capable of carrying out an elimination diet on their own. It takes patience, persistence and being a bit of a detective.

*Bonus Tip #1: When I started on such a quest years ago, my allergist put me on a limited diet of rice, beef, bananas, green beans, celery, tea and water. (These were supposed to be “good foods” that were easily digested and caused few problems, but not everyone finds this to be true today. Beef is no longer recommended universally and some people cannot consume caffeinated products like tea, cola or coffee.)

Be observant, listen to your body and figure out which foods cause your symptoms. Then restrict your diet to a limited number of foods until you stop having symptoms completely. (Plus, eat plain foods, not pre-fab or combination preparations. That will only confuse matters.) Stick to this food regimen for a few weeks. Later you can add one new food choice about every third day to see if it causes a symptom. (Hint: when you re-introduce a “new” food, overeat it for a few meals to try to provoke a reaction.) If a new food does not cause an immediate or delayed reaction symptom, then move on to new foods according to your schedule.

Note: If you have a complicated problem, this process can take months, but taking such a diet inventory may be worth your time and energy. Be willing to be your own detective. You may discover the foods that irritate your system and you won’t spend a dime at the allergist!Step 4- Refine this process further by looking into other diet issues, such as blood type and genetics. These issues can play big roles in how your body functions in our complicated world. Some of the best books on this subject are in Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo’s series that begins with Eat Right 4 Your Type (4 Blood Types, 4 Diets). Dr. D’Adamo discusses how foods can create symptoms, including weight gain and hypothyroidism.

**Bonus Tip #2: In the beginning, people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and similar illnesses function better by totally eliminating certain foods from their diet. Removing white flour, milk products and all corn products for someone with Fibromyalgia can help to lessen symptoms. Take away Aspartame (i.e. Nutrasweet

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Should You (or your Mom) LIve in a Retirement Community?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by

Should You (or your Mom) LIve in a Retirement Community?

Article by Susan Dunn, Life Coach









How to age well is quite the topic these days. One thing that’s often debated is whether one should live in a retirement community or not.

This is so much a matter of personal preference. You can be happy and have good experiences anywhere (or not). The main thing is that you keep going and growing. In my coaching practice, I have many people over the age of 60. Let me share some of the things I’ve learned.

Who you hang with matters a lot at any time in life. A retirement community can give you commiseration for things – someone to talk with about Vietnam, and what’s wrong with the government, and what helps arthritis. More importantly, people who can share your frustration. Like going shopping and having to wade through 50 cheese choices instead of 3. People who, when the discussion turns to the fact that there may be social security in 20 years, remember the time before there was social security and know that life goes on – which is irritating for youngsters to hear. That sort of thing, and you should always keep people around who share your history

However, this can be too much of a good thing. It is healthy at any time in life to associate with people who are very different from you–in age and in every other way. I coach emotional intelligence, I should add, and we’re talking here about things that research has shown help us age better.

There’s the famous “new toys, new playmates” study with the mice. The ones who were given a steady supply of new and stimulating toys in their cages, and got to meet new little mice did a lot better. So if you live in a retirement community, be sure you get out of it quite often.

You see, we cannot form new brain cells as we age, but we can form new neuronal connections, and to do this, we need new experiences. Take the analogy of marriage. It’s great to be in love and have a great spouse. However, to keep the relationship alive and interesting, you both need to go out and meet new people and do new things, and bring that back to the relationship.

So wherever you choose to live, make sure you keep going – mentally, physically and emotionally. Learning something new is one of the best things you can do. I mean SO new that you’re totally lost. Where you can feel the brain working to try and get around it, and not really having anything to hang it on. I mean learning to play the violin when you are (or were) a physics professor. Or getting a job if you never worked outside the home. Or moving to a new place where you have to learn how to get around on the highways. If you’re reading this with a parent in mind, encourage this as well. Keep asking, “What’s new?”

One reason people grow through crises is because it’s something you can’t get your mind around. Some people, of course, do not GROW through a crisis, they just GET through it and then, sometimes, harden and grow brittle. Things are not going to adjust to YOU, you must adjust to THEM. You can learn resilience, BTW, it’s an emotional intelligence competency, as is the sort of frustration tolerance it takes to sit in the back of the classroom and know nothing at all. Now there’s a new experience for a senior! Best thing in the world.

Also pay close attention to where you go for counsel. Whether it’s a coach, therapist, or clergy, don’t ever stick with someone who seems to have no ideas or enthusiasm for you and your life, or who doesn’t keep pushing you to your growing edge. You always have a growing edge, no matter how old you are. Unless you decide you don’t, in which case you are right! Check out Yvonne Dowlen, figure skating at the age of 80+: http://www.dailyherald.com/galleries/benskate/index.HTML. “If you don’t move,” she says, “you can’t move.” This applies to the mental and the emotional as well as the physical. This woman has real spirit. She had a car accident and her doctor told her to give up skating and she took that as a challenge.

Good role models? Oh, there are the obvious ones, like Art Linkletter, James Brown, Jack Lalanne, Luciano Pavarotti and Colonel Sanders, but that’s like looking at movie stars. There are things we know about their lives, and things we don’t and they sort of live on another plane anyway.

Let me share with you some real life examples, some real life heroes. They’re the best kind. Names and a few details changed for confidentiality.

Julie is 63. She tore a core muscle last year and had some bad months where she could hardly walk, but she was determined to get back to her – yes – rollerblading, and she is. She also became fluent in Russian and German in the past 5 years.

Maureen lost her adult son when she was 60. This might crater a person, and who would blame them. Instead Maureen moved to a big city and got a job downtown, with a 4 hour commute in some of this nation’s worst traffic and in a new field. She says it’s keeping her young.

Raymond, a retired math professor is 70 and his wife died last year. He is enthusiastically looking on the Internet sites and dating. He travels to one of his kids’ homes every month, and just got back from an Alaskan cruise – his 10th.

Annie, 55, lost her husband 5 years ago and went into a shell. Well not with good coaching you don’t! With encouragement, she’s over her fibromyalgia, started playing tennis again and got back into her size 6s. She’s dating on the Internet and just bought a new home.

On my last river cruise to Russia was Amanda, 87 years old, on her own. She said she hadn’t had time to before then. She fell in Moscow, and got some bandages but she refused to even talk about it, just kept smiling. She said she was there to have a good time, and wanted the rest of us to. What a woman! After the 2-week cruise, she was staying over in St. Petersburg for 2 weeks at a hotel.

Nancy is over 60 and speaks on cruises. Like many people of an age, she knows a lot and always has topics of interest. She stays current on the Internet. She pays a small per diem, and her companion travels free. This makes her very popular! No, she’s not a retired college professor, she’s just a dynamic and great speaker with the wealth of information one can have at this age.

Edward, 85, was someone I trained to be a coach. Coaching is a great late-in-life profession because clients come to you and want your advice and listen to you, good clients that is. Edward said he felt wanted and needed and that his own kids wouldn’t listen to him, so this was fun! And BTW, he had to learn how to do a website. Not a problem to this guy!

One last one, Peter the successful attorney, 60. He signed up for a film course and just made his first movie. It’s very artsy. “I needed that,” he said.

60 is the new 40, so 80 must be the new 60. Wherever you decide to live, keep yourself surrounded by the good old things, but be sure and give yourself a nice supply of new playmates, new experiences, and new toys.



About the Author

Susan Dunn, http://www.susandunn.cc, mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc (for free ezine). Susan offers individual coaching, including aging and retirement. She trains and certifies coaches worldwide, highly-rated program, no residency. Susan Dunn is the author of “Speak on a Cruise, Travel the World for Pennies” http://tinyurl.com/6ny55.










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Where Should You Live At Your Second Saturn Return?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by

Where Should You Live At Your Second Saturn Return?

Article by Semiramis Appiamo









This is a question that comes up around the second Saturn Return, at 58 – 60 years old. It’s like our second chance, and there are often drastic changes. Some people orchestrate theirs. Others, if you aren’t aware, have them happen to them. It’s a time of life change and an opportunity you don’t want to miss. A Saturn Return reading is a great investment if you are approaching a Saturn Return (28-30 years, 58-60 years, 88-90 years). Getting a Saturn Reading gives you information and helps you prepare to take full advantage of this time in your life.

Anyway, some people retire at their second Saturn Return, or change careers and want to know if they should live in a retirement community or not.

This is so much a matter of personal preference. You can be happy and have good experiences anywhere (or not). The main thing is that you keep going and growing. I read for people of all ages, plenty of them over 60. Let me share some of the things I’ve learned.

Who you have around you matters a lot at any time in life. You always want to attract and surround yourself with positive people.

A retirement community can give you people to share history with – someone to talk with about Vietnam, and what’s wrong with the government, and what helps arthritis. They can also share same-age frustrations. Like wasn’t it really easier when you had 3 cheeses to choose from at the grocery instead of 100? People who, when the discussion turns to the fact that there may not be social security in 20 years, remember the time before there was social security and know that life goes on. That sort of thing. You should always hang on to the good, and it’s very comforting to have people around you who can share history. This is why family becomes important at second Saturn Return, and many siblings reunite, bury the hatchet, etc.

However, this can be too much of a good thing. You may choose to live in a mixed neighborhood or apartment because it is healthy at any time in life to associate with people who are very different from you, not just in age. There’s the famous “new toys, new playmates” study with the mice. The ones who were given a steady supply of new and stimulating toys in their cages, and got to meet new little mice did a lot better. So if you live in a retirement community, be sure you get out of it quite often.

You see, we cannot form new brain cells as we age, but we can form new brain connections, and to do this, we need new experiences. That’s why you hear, “I blah blah, it’s keeping me young.”

So wherever you choose to live, make sure you keep going – mentally, physically and emotionally. Learning something new is one of the best things you can do. I mean SO new that you’re totally lost. Where you can feel the brain working to try and get around it, and not really having anything to hang it on.

At your second Saturn Return, pay close attention to where you go for counsel. Whether it’s a psychic, astrologer, coach, therapist, or clergy, don’t ever stick with someone who seems to have no ideas or enthusiasm for you and your life, or who doesn’t keep pushing you to your growing edge. You always have a growing edge, no matter how old you are. Unless you decide you don’t, in which case you are right!

Check out Yvonne Dowlen, figure skating at the age of 80+: http://www.dailyherald.com/galleries/benskate/index.HTML. “If you don’t move,” she says, “you can’t move.” This applies to the mental and the emotional as well as the physical. This woman has real spirit. She had a car accident last year and her doctor told her to give up skating and she took that as a challenge.

Good second Saturn Return role models? Oh, there are the obvious ones, like Mother Teresa, Art Linkletter, James Brown, Jack Lalanne, Luciano Pavarotti, Pope Benedict XVI, and Colonel Sanders, but how about people who live just down the street?

Let me share with you some real life examples, some real life heroes. They’re the best kind. Names and a few details changed for confidentiality.

Julie is 63. She tore a core muscle last year and had some bad months where she could hardly walk, but she was determined to get back to her rollerblading. And yes, she has. She also became fluent in Russian and German at the time of her second Saturn Return.

Maureen lost her son at her second Saturn Return. The cards indicated a move would be a good thing. Maureen moved to a big city and got a job downtown, with a 4 hour commute in some of this nation’s worst traffic and in a new field. She says it’s keeping her young.

James is 85 and tells me, chuckling, that he just got a 25-year mortgage on a new home.

Annie, 55, lost her husband 5 years ago and went into a shell. Not with me you don’t! At her second Saturn Return, she’s rid of her fibromyalgia, started playing tennis again and got back into her size 6s. She’s dating on the Internet and just bought a new home.

At her second Saturn Return, Nancy is speaking on cruises. No she’s not a professor or anything, she just knows a lot (who doesn’t at this age?) She stays current on the Internet, and always has topics of interest. She pays a small per diem, and her companion travels free. This makes her very popular!

One last one, Peter the successful attorney. As his second Saturn Return approaching, he was bored with life and disgruntled. He signed up for a film course and just made his first movie. It’s very artsy. “I needed that,” he said.

60 is the new 40. Pay attention at your second Saturn Return. Really good things can happen.



About the Author

Semiramis, http://www.webstrategies.cc/PsychicSemiramis.htm, mailto:semiramis.appiamo@hotmail.com. Email for book “Speak on a Cruise, Travel the World for Pennies.” Readings,charts,Saturn Return reading. All matters-love,money,health. Confidential, phone or email. Email for fr** mini-reading.










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Hi, My Name is Fibro… Fibromyalgia

Posted on December 8, 2011 by

Hi, My Name is Fibro… Fibromyalgia

Article by Vivian Gilbert Zabel









Hi, My Name is Fibro… Fibromyalgia, and I live with her. Funny, living isn’t exactly the correct word. I am her. She just won’t admit it — yet, but she will in time. She will.

Oh, the joy of watching her struggle through a very good day. True, she may call it a “bad” day, but she doesn’t realize how hard I work to make those days special. I start when I cause her to feel tired, but not just a “worked hard and earned it” tired, rather a complete exhaustion that makes her cry for relief. Then I add the spice of muscles-that-cramp and knot. The most fun for me to watch is when the tops of her feet cramp and pull her toes in odd directions. She screams sometimes when that happens. Oh, the joy. Have you ever seen someone whose two fingers pop out of place and slide under the palm of the hand? I’ve watched her force her fingers back into place, watched in glee.

I jab her fibro spots with a burning pain, and a sheet that brushes against her skin brings more suffering. I’ve heard her say, “I wish I could just scrape my skin off. It hurts so bad,” as she smooths lotion over her legs and arms, seeks relief, a way to sooth the needles of torment.

A trip to the doctor’s office thrills me so much. Every time we’re there, the nurse slaps on the blood pressure cuff and pumps away. I so enjoy watching my “friend” squirm and grit her teeth as the pressure increases. The agony radiates over the skin of her arm and to the bone. Often tears form in her eyes, and she tries so hard to be brave, not to whimper. However, I’m stronger than she is, and I win, as usual. The nurse says she’s so sorry, but she has no clue as to the torture she causes.

The rheumatologist’s office is different, though. They use wrist blood pressure cuffs so that they won’t cause more pain for fibro sufferers. She doesn’t dread visiting that doctor, especially since the lab tech doesn’t have a problem finding a vein. He doesn’t cause more than a slight prick, either, not as most people do that draw blood for tests. She no longer has several painful sticks, and her arms are not covered by bruises any more. All my fun spoiled.

But what’s the most fun for me — memory games. I do so enjoy the memory glitches I cause her when a sudden blank erupts in her brain. *sigh* Too bad things return when I forget to keep the stress level high.

I don’t understand why she keeps fighting me. I’m going to win, especially with the army beside me: RA, Lupus, and my good friend Diabetes. Yes, she and I are inseparable, whether she admits it or not.



About the Author

After teaching composition for years and becoming an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ a site for Stories, Vivian Gilbert Zabel also writing as V. Gilbert Zabel, produced Hidden Lies and Other Stores, Walking the Earth, The Base Stealers Club, and Case of the Missing Coach, found on Amazon.com.










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U.S. Patriot Act Is Going To Kill Me

Posted on December 7, 2011 by

U.S. Patriot Act Is Going To Kill Me

Article by Douglas Bower









I am going to die. I do not know exactly how long I have to live but my death is imminent. I think I may have 10 days before the medications that keep me from death run out. Currently, at the writing of these words, I have no access to money to replenish the medications. It isn’t that I do not have money. It is that I have absolutely no access to the money that I have.

I will begin to have the following symptoms sooner or later after I run out of medication:

Increased sensitivity to coldConstipationPale, dry skinA puffy faceHoarse voiceelevated blood cholesterol levelUnexplained weight gainMuscle aches, tenderness and stiffnessPain, stiffness or swelling in your jointsMuscle weaknessHeavier than normal menstrual periodsDepression

The longer I go without the medications the worse the symptoms will become. I will develop something called myxedema. Though it is rare, but it can be life threatening. Signs and symptoms include low blood pressure, decreased breathing, decreased body temperature, unresponsiveness and even coma. In some cases, myxedema can be fatal. I am sure my demise will come more quickly because of the additional problem of a pre-existing heart condition. I also can’t access my money to buy the medications to control that.

My wife and I moved to Guanajuato, Mexico in August 2003. The reason we did is because we were forced to expatriate due to the impossibility of paying for medications in the United States. In addition, I have Fibromyalgia Syndrome and all its accompanying problems. We became unable to afford the meds we needed to continue living. We had to leave America. So we found a solution: Mexico. Here I can buy all my medications for the cost of ONE co-pay with the American insurance we had. Moving to Mexico was a no-brainer for us.

What the U.S. Federal Government has done is forbid me from having an American Bank account into which my disability payments–our very living–has been deposited. In fact, the balance I had in my account as well as my December 3rd, 2007 directly deposited disability check is missing. The bank account was closed suddenly and without warning two weeks ago and we have had no access to our money ever since.

We were banking with Netbank (Atlanta, Georgia), an Internet and international bank. Through some bad decisions made by the officers at Netbank, the Feds closed Netbank down. The bank known as, ING, allegedly bought the accounts from Netbank. On November 23rd, 2007 our ATM cards stopped working. When I checked the Netbank website I found my account closed. Though I knew ING would be buying Netbank’s accounts, we were led to believe from a letter ING sent that the transition would be seamless and we the customers need not worry or do anything.

When I immediately internationally called ING from Mexico, I was told my account was closed because I live in Mexico. As a U.S. citizen, I have my primary residence in Mexico. I do have a legal address in Florida from which I receive my mail. However, according to ING as well as all the big name banks we called, because we live in Mexico as our primary residence, we are denied an account. All the banks we called claimed the American Federal Government is forcing the banks to comply with some provision of the Patriot Act that essentially:

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Fibromyalgia Needs A Natural Approach

Posted on December 7, 2011 by

Fibromyalgia Needs A Natural Approach

Article by Lisa Ann Homic, M.Ed. D.C.









The devastating pain and disability of fibromyalgia has made it a misunderstood and over treated condition. Ironically it seems to be under treated since it can take years of suffering before a diagnosis is made. With the appropriate understanding of the natural course of fibromyalgia, the proper steps can be taken to naturally reverse it.

According to the National Institutes of Health, three to six million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with fibromyalgia and more than eighty percent of them are women. Fibromyalgia symptoms such as tender points, muscle pain, and poor sleep can appear to be unrelated to each other. This is how it becomes over treated because each symptom is perceived to need a different plan of attack. Usually this is an overmedicated approach that creates a syndrome of side effects that also mimics and worsens fibromyalgia.

Non-drug healing professions such chiropractic perceive health as something that needs to be built up naturally since unnatural events break down health. Natural approaches are simplified yet successful because the same techniques used to build up health actually address the multiple symptoms of fibromyalgia.

The human body is a living organism that responds to other life sustaining sources for health, but our environment has become unnatural and harmful. For example, our schedules are unnatural by being out of sync with the hours of sunlight. We no longer acknowledge the seasons as important times to wax and wane our activities. Our diet and eating habits can be described as “manufactured.” How natural is it to eat on the run? We have denatured so many of the earth’s substances. It is assumed that “chemically synthesizing” our environment has made nature more efficient. These and other factors lead to the break down of health and symptoms of fibromyalgia.

A natural approach to regain health requires a different outlook and this includes a changed vocabulary as the first step. We must nurture and enhance rather than treat and attack. There are no true causes of disease but rather “contributions” which is much more useful than applying “blame.” This is more empowering because we can now contribute in a different manner that cultivates health.

Natural health practitioners who teach how to strengthen health can give fibromyalgia sufferers a fresh approach to their care that addresses what the body needs without over treating multiple symptoms. Part of this natural approach includes understanding how to avoid the three basic mistakes of fibromyalgia treatment which is available in a free internet mini-course.



About the Author

Dr. Lisa Ann Homic is a chiropractor and wellness coach in Auburn, NY. She wrote the 3 Mistakes of Fibromyalgia Treatment Mini-Course & The Numbers Don’t Lie Diet. Visit http://www.morefibronews.com and http://www.drhomic.com.










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Candida Cleanse – A Powerful Way to Improve Your Health

Posted on December 7, 2011 by

Candida Cleanse – A Powerful Way to Improve Your Health

Article by Dennis Carter









Before performing a Candida cleanse, consider this; most cases of Candida infection are caused by the person’s own Candida organisms. Candida yeasts usually live in the mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina without causing symptoms. Problems occur when something upsets the balance of bacteria in the body and allows the yeast organism to reproduce and become overgrown in these sites, leaving the body unable to perform it’s natural detox process.

To appropriately restore the bodies natural ability to cleanse and detoxify itself there should first be an understanding of the risks of the overproduction of yeasts, what causes the overproduction of these bacteria’s, and how a Candida cleanse can restore the natural detox ability of your body.

How Does the Overproduction of Yeast Effect My Health?

One of the most known forms of yeast is the vaginal yeast infection. However, the over production of yeast can play a role in just about any mental health condition or chronic illness you can think of.

Yeast overgrowth interferes with the bodies natural detox process and is considered to be a leading contributor in alcoholism, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivities, crohns, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, leaky gut syndrome, pms, endometriosis, fibromyalgia syndrome, prostatitis, attention deficit disorder, multiple sclerosis, asthma, food allergies, muscle and joint pain, clinical depression, anxiety disorders, asthma, repeated urinary tract infections, hormonal imbalances, migraines, digestive disturbances, difficult menopause, psoriasis, lupus, chronic pain, rheumatoid arthritis, Addison’s disease and many others.

Preventing The Over Production of Yeast in Your Body

A Candida cleanse can help bring the body back into it’s natural balance restoring the ability to cleanse and detoxify itself but first, let’s take a look at the contributing factors that cause this over production of yeasts in the first place and the ways that you can help prevent this over production of yeast, restoring your body’s ability to perform it’s natural detox process.

There are a variety of causes of Candida, but the two leading contributors are a diet high in sugar and refined foods and the overuse of antibiotics.

First and foremost you want to refrain from taking antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary. Try to find other healthy alternatives such as whole body cleansing to detoxify your body and clear infections first. Of course there may be times when it can’t be avoided and antibiotics are needed to clear infections.

If you must take an antibiotic for some reason, consider taking an acidophilus supplement during the course of the treatment. This will help keep healthy bacteria present in your body.

The second most important factor in reducing Candida symptoms is to follow a Candida diet. A diet high in sugar is optimal for the overproduction of yeast. It’s crucial to eliminate sugars and refined foods to reduce overgrowth.

Most people with Candida infections are also suffering from nutritional deficiencies. A crucial step in restoring your body’s natural ability to cleanse itself of the excessive yeast growth is correcting these nutritional deficiencies.

How to Choose a Candida Cleanse

A natural approach to a Candida cleanse is the most powerful way to relieve symptoms and improve your health.

Many people find a good colon cleanse to be helpful in eradicating or reducing their symptoms. Although good colon health is crucial for reducing yeast overgrowth, Candidas effects many parts of the body and all of the effected areas need to be addressed to assure an efficient Candida cleanse.

So in your search to restore your body’s optimal performance, look for a natural detox system, that performs a whole body cleansing and provides your body with the proper nutritional diet that will help cleanse your body now and prevent reoccurring infections in the future.



About the Author

Would you like to completely transform your body in just 21 days? For a short period of time, we are sharing our entire “Healthy Living” video library over the next 52 weeks for absolutely free!Go to http://www.21daybodymakeover.com and receive your 1st video today.










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Fibromyalgia – The Start to Understanding the Beast Within

Posted on December 6, 2011 by

Fibromyalgia – The Start to Understanding the Beast Within

Article by Erica Thompson









In my quest for gathering information to share with my fellow “Fibromytes” I’ve found it hard to find a starting point. There are so many aspects of Fibromyalgia and the plethora of medical conditions that accompany it, it makes it hard to trudge through all the important facts because, to me, and I assume to you, all of it is important. Every ache and pain we feel changes the way we live and in most instances, is connected to another ache or pain.

So, I will start with the basics and in future articles, will cover every last detail that might make a difference to someone in how they manage their pain, find an appropriate doctor, understand the symptoms and causes, and delve into all the treatment options that are out there today.

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FM) is a common, chronic pain condition of the soft tissue. It shows persistent, widespread pain and tenderness to tender points located in the soft tissue of the musculoskeletal framework. Symptoms can include insomnia, cognitive dysfunction, depression, anxiety, recurrent headaches (migraine or tensions), dizziness, fatigue, morning stiffness, numbness & tingling in extremities, irritable bowel syndrome, restless leg syndrome, myofascial pain (I will explain in depth in my next article), irritable bladder syndrome & more.

There are a few experts that I follow closely and I consider them my “fibro heroes”. Mainly, because they are at the top in the field, but also because they were the first that helped me understand my pain and gave me validation – my pain is real.

One of those experts is I. Jon Russell at the University of Texas Health and Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. He has studied the abnormalities of particular key neurochemicals in the brain and the central nervous system. One specific neurochemical called Substance P, a neurochemical in the brain, sends signals to the brain to register pain. He discovered that this agent is found in Fibromyalgia patients at a level three times higher than in the average person. He also found that the neurotransmitter, serotonin, which decreases the intensity of pain signals sent to the brain, is apparently lacking in FM patients. This is important research and is ongoing, but many researchers agree that this could be key to how Fibromyalgia is treated and many drugs that are prescribed today work to increase the levels of serotonin in the brain. – New Developments in the Management of Fibromyalgia Syndrome 2003

Serotonin levels are of utmost importance. If you have too little, you hurt more and it can cause depression & anxiety. If you have too much, you can get Serotonin Syndrome, which can be deadly. I dedicated a page on my website to Serotonin alone.

There are many treatments out there for FM and each person can respond differently to any given treatment. So, it is important for you and your doctor to find the treatment that really works for you and reevaluate your treatment every 6 months to a year. Some medications or treatments may become ineffective over time and changes might need to be made. If you feel something isn’t working for you or may be causing side effects or interactions, talk to your doctor immediately. Life is too short to take chances with your health! I have had to change medications and supplements many times in my life with FM. It’s just a part of it.

Start managing your Fibromyalgia instead of letting it manage you!

Website: Fibromyalgia Help 4 US



About the Author

Erica Thompson is a 40-year-old, Stay-at-Home mom with 3 children and a husband in the military. She was diagnosed with FM in 1995, but suffered from it many years prior to diagnosis and later, diagnosed with Chronic Myofascial Pain. She has done extensive research and is an expert based on her own experience, her mother’s and her grandmother’s. Her goal is to educate as many people as she can about FM & CMP. http://fibromyalgiahelp4us.com/










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Fibromyalgia – How Did I Get It?

Posted on December 6, 2011 by

Fibromyalgia – How Did I Get It?

Article by Erica Thompson









What causes Fibromyalgia (FM)? There is no ONE known cause for Fibromyalgia, but researchers are discovering new information about this condition and it may not be long before we have a more definitive answer. There seems to be a number of factors involved. Researchers are focusing mainly on: autonomic nervous system dysfunction, chronic sleep disorders, emotional stress or trauma, immune or endocrine system dysfunction, upper spinal cord injury and viral or bacterial infection as causes of FM.

Exciting new research has also begun in the areas of brain imaging and neurosurgery. Ongoing research will test the hypothesis that FM is caused by an interpretative defect in the central nervous system that brings about abnormal pain perception. Medical researchers have just begun to untangle the truths about this life-altering disease.Substance P – Recent studies have shown that people with FM process pain differently. There is a chemical in our cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) called Substance P that transmits pain impulses to the brain. Substance P has been found to be 3 times higher in Fibromyalgia sufferers than the average person. This can increase our pain perception and make it more intense.

fMRI – Research has also shown that FM patients are not only more sensitive to pain, but that the pain also effects the mood centers in the brain in a way that it does not in healthy individuals. This data has been proven through a brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, which allows researchers to observe the brain’s responses to pain in healthy people versus FM patients.

Trauma – Some scientists believe that FM is caused by a traumatic event like a fall, a car accident, lifting something incorrectly, etc. My Fibromyalgia worsened after the birth of my son. The pregnancy was rough and the delivery was LONG and INTENSE. I believe that is where most of my hip trouble started. Suddenly, I couldn’t walk without one of my hips feeling like it was about to pop out of its socket. Other symptoms worsened as well.

Sleep – Other researchers believe Fibromyalgia is caused by chronic sleep problems. It is during stage 4 sleep that the body renews itself and muscles recover from the activity. Sleep studies show that as people with FM enter stage 4 sleep, they stay in a lighter form of sleep. You may sleep longer, but your quality of sleep is poor. In one study, researchers took healthy volunteers and did not allow them to enter into stage 4 sleep, these people developed symptoms similar to those of fibromyalgia.

Genetics – Some scientists speculate that a person’s genes may regulate the way his or her body processes painful stimuli. This theory suggests that people with fibromyalgia may have a gene or genes that cause them to react intensely to stimuli that most people would not consider painful. Also, a history of FM or related diseases seem to run in families. For instance, my mother, grandmother, aunts & cousin all have fibromyalgia and some of us have chronic myofascial pain & other associated disorders. Back when their grandmother had it, she didn’t know what it was. She commonly referred to it as “my rheumatism”.

Infection – Some researchers believe that a viral or bacterial infection may trigger fibromyalgia.

Serotonin – Serotonin is a brain nerve chemical and is found to be lower in FM patients. It is one of the major neurotransmitters in the body. It affects sleep, pain thresholds, vascular constriction (narrowing of the blood vessels resulting from contracting of the muscular wall of the vessels. When blood vessels constrict, the flow of blood is restricted or slowed as well as dilation, hunger and libido. It also plays a prominent role in depression, anxiety, and possibly obsessive-compulsive disorders. That is why SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are popular in treating Fibromyalgia.

Low Growth Hormone Levels – IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) is a hormone that is controlled by the adult growth hormone, and promotes bone and muscle growth. Low levels of this hormone are related to a diminished ability to think, lack of energy, muscle weakness, and extreme sensitivity to cold. Severe growth hormone deficiency has been seen in a subset of Fibromyalgia patients. More research is needed but a 2005 study indicates that serum growth hormone levels may be an indicator of the FM.

I believe that with today’s technology and ongoing, aggressive research, we will have a definitive answer to the causes of the chronic pain condition we call Fibromyalgia within the next decade or sooner. As it becomes more recognized by the medical community and the average person, more research funding will be provided, better tests will be discovered and our lives will be bettered! Look at the progress that has been made in the last decade! Let’s look forward and see a brighter future!

Website: Fibromyalgia Help 4 US



About the Author

Erica Thompson is a 40-year-old, Stay-at-Home mom with 3 children and a husband in the military. She was diagnosed with FM in 1995, but suffered from it many years prior to diagnosis and later, diagnosed with Chronic Myofascial Pain, IBS, RLS, migraine & more. She has done extensive research and is an expert based on her own experience, her mother’s and her grandmother’s. Her goal is to help chronic pain sufferers. http://fibromyalgiahelp4us.com










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Pain Relief With Occupational Therapy and Postural Training for Fibromyalgia & Other Pain Conditions

Posted on December 5, 2011 by

Pain Relief With Occupational Therapy and Postural Training for Fibromyalgia & Other Pain Conditions

Article by Erica Thompson









Occupational Therapy (OT), helps people regain, develop and build skills that are important for independent living, health and happiness. Fibromyalgia sufferers can experience physical, emotional, or other challenges that prevent them from living the life they once led. Chronic pain and depression can make it difficult for FM patients to do everyday tasks or be as active and as independent as they’d like. If you have trouble performing daily activities because of these limitations OT may be able to help you.

Most FM patients find there are certain things they do on a daily basis that seem to make their pain worse. These activities frequently involve the repetitive use of muscles or continued tensing of a muscle, such as the muscles of the upper back while looking at a computer screen. You need to note these associations and determine how you can modify or eliminate them. That’s where occupational therapy can help. OT is designed to help Fibromyalgia Syndrome and other chronic pain patients regain the independent lifestyle they once knew before the onset of their illness. Occupational therapists are trained in both physical and psychiatric rehabilitation.

An occupational therapy program is customized for the patient by combining an evaluation of medical history, environmental issues and personal goals. Therapy includes solutions for pain due to repetitive movements in the work place or elsewhere. Job modifications, changes in ergonomics, and a reduction in work hours may be necessary. Sometimes an occupational therapist can work with the patient’s employer or supervisors, educating them about FM and discussing contributing factors in the workplace. You might be taught to conserve your energy, use appropriate splints if needed, and minimize tissue trauma.

Occupational therapy should help you maximize function through strengthening activities, retraining cognitive and visual-perceptual skills and helping prevent misalignment of the vertebrae. If you have had a back injury, ergonomics encourages the use of proper equipment and lifting techniques. For muscle pain, the proper positioning of body and equipment can help prevent everything from mild soreness to serious tears and strains. For eyestrain, headache and fatigue, you might need adjustments in lighting, noise levels, posture and work positions can help relieve physical and mental stress.

An occupational therapist can help you identify what aspects of the way you carry out your daily routine is helping or hindering your healing. Patients are also taught stress management, how to assert themselves, time management, and planning/pacing skills, in order to help to reduce stress, anxiety, and fatigue. Occupational therapy can help you discover what job or home activities could be increasing your neck, back, or arm pain. Your therapist can watch you at work and make specific recommendations for reducing the strain on your body and provide specific therapy and exercises to help improve range of motion and reduce pain.

Here are a few tips to optimize your workspace for comfort: Allow enough leg room under your workstation and use a document holder so that your documents are at the same height and distance as your computer screen. Your feet should be flat on the floor, your knees should be level with your hips, and good lower back support is a must. Avoid positions in which your body is twisted. Sit about an arm’s length away from your screen and tilt the screen back a little. Your arms should rest at your sides with your elbows at a right angle and your wrists need to be straight. Cushioned grips and ergonomically-designed tools to reduce vibration, pressure and relieve stress are beneficial and something as simple as a pillow behind your lower back or a stool to raise your feet can provide relief.

Posture or movement training is often required for FM sufferers to undo lifelong bad habits which can cause or increase pain and to re-educate muscles and joints that have become misaligned. The muscles in the back of your neck, between your shoulder blades and your upper and mid back experience chronic tension. Stretches and strengthening are crucial. Lumbar (lower & mid back) support is even more so. Fibromyalgia patients who have significant problems with foot pain resulting from poor posture or body mechanics may also benefit from special shoe inserts (orthotics) prescribed by a podiatrist.

If there are techniques we can use to better our quality of life by lessening our pain, why not do it? We need to take advantage of every opportunity to make our lives better! If we don’t, who will?

Website: Fibromyalgia Help 4 US



About the Author

Erica Thompson is a 40-year-old, Stay-at-Home mom with 3 children and a husband in the military. She was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 1995, but suffered from it many years prior to diagnosis and later, diagnosed with Chronic Myofascial Pain, IBS, RLS, migraine & more. She has done extensive research and is an expert based on her own experience, her mother’s and her grandmother’s. Her goal is to help chronic pain sufferers.










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