"Sick and Tired"

Indeed, these two words go together easily! Fatigue is one factor that wears down your immune system, but it's not the only factor. Here's a little "diagram" that is going to show you how your system works, how it can break down, and how it could be healthier!

Everyone carries a toxic load. I know, sounds uncomfortable. But in our society, it's inevitable. The good news is that there are some things we can change. We have things like nasty toxic cleaners being absorbed every day by the largest organ in our body (our skin). We have stress from all sorts of things, we don't get enough sleep because we stay up late to watch "The Daily Show." :) We slather ourselves with nasty personal care products and makeup that is full of junk that could kill a lab rat. Our "wholesome" frozen family sized lasagna is full of MSG. We are breathing in our industrialized nation, and "oops," junior brought a cold home from school! Yikes, our bodies can't handle this load. Call in the EPA, we're gonna have an emission!

If only we could just puff this junk out of us! Unfortunately, we just wear down and get sick. Our immune system is working its pants off and can't handle one more responsibility. So, how do we train our eager IS to work more efficiently? We give it the tools it needs, and we lighten it's workload. The first and easiest thing to do is to replace all of the nasty toxic household products with healthier, natural ones that do just as good a job or better. I know, some folks use vinegar or baking soda to do all the cleaning, but I personally don't like the smell... and those products aren't going to kill all of the bacteria that a scientifically formulated, natural cleaning product containing high grade ingredients like oil of melaleuca will kill. (If you want to know where I get my great and inexpensive cleaning products, send me an email to melinda_bryce@yahoo.com. )

Okay, so now we've lightened the workload, let's give ourselves some tools. The tools are things that are working from the inside out... vitamins, minerals, foods, water, etc. Did you know that the quality of our food as far as it's vitamin and mineral content is dropping drastically? So even if you are eating local organic fruits and vegetables, you are unable to get the nutrition you need from your foods alone. In fact, in 2002 the American Medical Association stated that everyone must suppliment to maintain their health. Those vitamins are going to give your body the strength it needs to tackle the tough jobs.

But, there are so many vitamins out there! I mean, seriously, whole stores commited to vitamins and nutritional suppliments alone! Well, I just asked someone who knew! The vitamins I buy for me and my family have a patent-pending formula that allows the vitamins and minerals to absorb directly into the bloodstream from within the small intestine. They have actually been proven by third-party laboratory testing to absorb over 50% more of the nutrients than even the most expensive store brand. And those one-a-day vitamins aren't going to be very helpful, as they have extremely poor absorption. Here's a test... take one of those vitamins and put it in a glass of apple cider vinegar (same PH as your stomach). Let it sit for 24 hours and chances are that it will still be there! What good are the nutrients if you are just pooping them out!!! But maybe that's better anyway, because most of those are made of completely synthetic vitamins and minerals. Mmmm, mmm, good! But seriously, why not give yourself what you deserve to stay healthy?

Okay, so I have to go make some home-made chicken soup now, but if you have questions about any of this, just send me an e-mail to melinda_bryce@yahoo.com, or post a comment here! I try to get to this every day.

Our Immune System

The first thing I want to tell you, friend, is that your body is strong. Contrary to popular belief, you are fully capable of fighting off germs and viruses without the help of 24 Hour Cough Medicine or Night Night Juice, or any of the barrage of "helpful medicines" marketed at the "sick and tired of being sick and tired."

Your body is a fortress equipped to destroy and eliminate poisonous "intruders." As you know, there are many things that occur naturally in our environment that are toxic to our systems, so we must have defenses against them. Our livers and kidneys filter out toxins and our T-cells conquer foreign invaders. But what happens when your troops are exhausted? They can't fight the enemy, and your body gets contaminated. How did your troops get so tired? You opened the door and let the enemy in...

There are over 150 toxic chemicals in our homes. They are in our cosmetics, our dishwashing detergent, our laundry soap and baby shampoo. They are in our tile cleaner and wood floor polish. They are in our underarm deoderant and our nail polish. And guess what? We PAID to put them there!

Did you know you paid for the formadehyde in your baby shampoo? Guess what? This ingredient is a "Suspected carcinogen. May be fatal if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through skin; causes burns; inhalation can cause spasms, edema (fluid buildup) of the larynx and bronchi, and chemical pneumonitis; extremely destructive to tissue of the mucous membrane." (Material Safety Data Sheet- Formaldehyde) I know, there is such a small amount in the shampoo, it can't be harmful. Perhaps not... But when there is a little in the shampoo, a little in the conditioner, some more in your lotion, your dish soap, and your laundry soap... now it's worth paying attention!

So, here's what happens in a nut shell: Your awesome immune system works like mad to fight off all these toxins that we are slathering, soaking, swallowing and spraying all over our bodies, then a virus comes along. BAM, we are done. We are aching and coughing and we run to the drug store to fill our bodies with more chemicals. Ugh! Wow, is this depressing!

No, this is going to be okay! I am here to tell you there are safe and cheap alternatives to bombarding our immune system every day! Whew! Seriously. I have been using alternative products for most of my adult life, and stomaching the cost of them. But I have found a buying club that is totally cost-effective and gets the toxins out of my life.

Why am I so adamant about this? I know five people that have recently survived cancer. Did you know that the average American has a cancer cell in their body SIX TIMES in their life? For many people, their army of defenses is able to conquer them six times. However, if your immune system is spending it's energy fighting off a whole host of other things, guess who is going to win? I am not willing to take that risk. Not when I can get that crap out of my house, replace it with natural beauty products and cleaners that kill more bacteria than bleach (but can be ingested with virutally no consequence), and have more money in my pocket at the end of the day! It's worth it for me, my husband, and my children... and it's worth it for you, too.

Keep watching my blog for more information about home toxins and fighting diseases and disorders from the "inside-out" as well.

In Good Health,
Melinda