Resources for Health & Resiliency

Greetings! I have been developing a list of nutritional, herbal, and wellness recommendations since I began my holistic health and herbalist practice in 2008. These strategies have helped my clients ease symptoms, reduce toxic multi-system overload, and bring renewed energy. In this blog post, I will share some of these recommendations with you.

I have made this list public with the intention of making reliable holistic health recommendations accessible to as many people as possible. I do not receive anything from these companies whose products are mentioned. By incorporating these strategies into your daily routine, you can support your overall health and wellbeing. I hope you find them helpful!

The content is broken down into categories for easy navigation. You don't need to do everything listed here. Consider integrating one or two recommendations at a time. What is calling your attention? These steps aren't hard. They just may be different!

For a more personalized plan with custom herbal formulas, you can schedule an initial 15 minute complimentary phone call with me to see if I'm a good fit for your health needs.

~ Deia Pauline, Clinical and Energetic Herbalist, RH, AHG. (Registered Herbalist with The American Herbalist Guild)

CONTENTS:

Water Is Life Salt = Electrolytes Healthy Fats = Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's) Gut Health Has Never Been As Important As It is Right Now Staple Herbal Remedies Core Supplements Nutrition & Your Kitchen Quality Sleep Breathwork & Meditation Exercise + Move Your Lymph Biohacking Recommended Podcasts Herbal Books and Websites Excellent Resources for Detoxing from Toxic Mold Exposure Disclaimer Permissions

Water Is Life

Hydration is crucial for our bodies to function and as we get older our tissues tend to dry out. Most of us are dehydrated and we don't even know it. The most common advice is to drink at least 8 glasses in small increments throughout the day as our bodies can only absorb it at a slow rate. Simply honor your thirst, drink a glass each time after you urinate and especially after drinking coffee or alcohol. Conversely drinking too much water (happens rarely but is possible) can disrupt your electrolytes.

If possible, filter your water because unfortunately our water sources are increasingly contaminated in many ways. See this Ultimate Guide To Water by Luke Storey who has done a lot of research into clean water sources. For a less expensive but great option I recommend the Berkey Water Filter.

Avoid plastic water bottles because the plastic has endocrine disruptors and wreaks havoc in our bodies and the Earth. This includes avoiding food in plastic.

It's not about chugging water. Choose hydrating foods, healthy oils and fats, include electrolytes, and sip on water throughout each day.

Salt = Electrolytes

Electrolytes are salts that become charged molecules, called ions, when they are dissolved in a liquid. Electrolytes maintain the electric voltage throughout your cells so that signals can pass easily. Several bodily functions are dependent on this electrical communication that electrolytes help carry.

Having the right amount of healthy salt in your body is essential. Healthy salt will help to keep you hydrated. Healthy salts include sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, calcium, sulfate, magnesium, and phosphate. Healthy salts combat stress, slow skin aging, calm the nervous system, increase circulation, ease muscle stiffness, help balance lymphatic fluid, and assist immune system function. Table salt is stripped of these minerals. Your body needs more when you're stressed because salt is an important part of your adrenal (flight and flight) response. An imbalance of electrolytes can cause major imbalances in the body.

Sodium and blood pressure: A lot of people have high blood pressure not because they have too much sodium but because they don't have enough potassium or magnesium. People who have low sodium levels can have a serious problem dealing with stress. Lowering your sodium to the official recommended dietary guidelines actually increases your heart attack risk because low sodium increases renin, which can increase your cardiac risk dramatically. Source: American Hypertension Society research on sodium and cardiac risk. Also see Shawn Stevenson, Model Health Show and author of Eat Smarter.

Try LMNT electrolytes packets without the sugar!

Type of Salt: Throw out your table salt! Healthy salts include the name of the body of water or place where it comes from (e.g., just 'Sea Salt' won't cut it). I prefer Celtic or Grey Atlantic salt. It looks sticky and wet in the container and is the most hydrating of the salts for kidneys and our tissues -- especially when placed in water and drank. The grey color denotes richness in magnesium. Himalayan pink salt is good as well but it is a bit warming, good to know if you already run hot and flushed. It's mined from half-way around the world too.

Dosage: Take 1/4 tsp in your water right when you wake up. This is when your body uses salt the most efficiently. Individual needs vary based on a person's genetic makeup and lifestyle.

Pro tip: carry your own salt with you wherever you go.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's) = Healthy Fats

Essential because our bodies need them. Fats have a bad reputation due to faulty research and the sugar industry's fear propaganda. However the right types of fats play a premiere role in every aspect of our lives -- from our decision making processes, our risk for diseases like cancer, ability to lose weight, and even the rate at which we age. Newly pressed extra-virgin olive oil actually shares pharmacological properties with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen. (However Dr. Lani Simpson in Dr. Lani's No-Nonsense Bone Health Guide wrote that chronic use of ibuprofen damages stomach lining, making it susceptible to injury, even from normal HCI levels.) Healthy fats are excellent energy resources. Healthy fats can optimize not only our cognitive performance, executive function, mood, and long-term brain health, but also our overall health. (Excerpts from 'Genius Foods', Max Lugavere). Some vitamins are fat soluble meaning that they need fat in order to be absorbed in the body. Eating the right kinds of healthy fats help maintain and balance hormone levels and even result in weight loss.

Healthy EFA's are mostly cold pressed: olive, Udo's blend, or hemp oil which is cooling (good if you tend to run warm and flushed). Do not cook these oils (though olive on lower heat is fine according to newer research by author Max Lugavere, Genius Foods). Beware of fake olive oils. If you're unsure go local, talk to your local olive grower at the farmers market or choose Greek over Italian. There's lots of info on the internet about this.

Grass-fed, grass-finished butter or ghee are also great sources of fat -- and great to blend a tablespoon or two in your morning coffee with MCT oil!

Virgin Coconut oil, although a saturated fat, is still healthy in moderation. It can be used for higher heat and is excellent for skin care, is anti-fungal, and has some sun blocking properties.

MCT Coconut Oil (not the same as regular coconut oil). "MCT" stands for "medium-chain triglycerides." MCTs contain fatty acids that naturally occur in coconut oil, goat milk, and breast milk. Your body turns MCTs into molecules called ketones, which help burn fat, curb cravings, power your brain and provide incredible energy. Studies are showing that cognitive function in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease has improved with MCT oil and a keto diet. (Max Lugavere). MCT is great in your morning coffee, teas, smoothies, and salad dressings.

High quality fish/krill oils. Fermented Cod Liver Oil is one of the most nutrient-dense substances. Green Pasture ferments theirs. Fish oils are excellent for your brain health.

Avoid palm oil -- its production is linked to rainforest destruction and orangutan habitat loss. It also contains palmitic acid which escorts toxins from the gut into the body and brain and contributes to brain fog.

Unhealthy fats: Vegetable, seed and bean oils (soybean, corn, safflower, canola). Most commercially available canola oil is extracted through a process called hexane solvent extraction, heated then bleached, and is often found in salad dressings. Multiple health risks are linked to this oil even in small amounts.

Pro tip: make your own salad dressing and bring it with you in case you eat out. In with the good fats, out with the bad.

Dosage and storage: Use 2-5 tablespoons of the cold oils daily on your salads, soups, in your smoothies, and on other dishes right before you're about to eat them. For optimal benefits take daily for 3 months consistently to feel a difference. Familiarize yourself with their smell and taste as fats can go rancid fast, especially flax, even when stored in the fridge. DO NOT store your oils (or spices for that matter) above your stove where heat rises causing them to go rancid. Keep in a cool dark place.

Gut Health Has Never Been As Important As It is Right Now

There is a direct connection between your gut microbiome and the strength of your immune system. Science is catching up to many longstanding healing traditions in knowing that our gut is the seat of our health. Disease can begin and end in the gut. Our gut is the place where we're actually interacting with the things we choose to eat. It's a place of vulnerability and for that reason it becomes imperative that we take care of and nurture our healthy gut microbiome. Your brain's best friend is your gut. If you have an unhealthy gut it is going to affect your brain. If you have a healthy gut you have a brain that is being optimized.

IMPROVE GUT HEALTH: Many cancers often originate in your gut according to functional medicine which looks at root causes. (Dr Mark Hyman, The Doctor's Farmacy). Beyond avoiding inflammatory foods, adding in probiotics, prebiotics, and lots of phytonutrients, like curcumin (found in turmeric) and resveratrol (found in grapes), can reduce gut-based inflammation.

PROBIOTICS: An excellent podcast on Probiotics and Healing Your Gut Microbiome with makers of the probiotic Just Thrive. If you have a hard time accessing it on the link I supplied then visit The LifeStylist episode #224 on iTunes or YouTube.

New Frontiers in Microbiome Research with Aviva Romm, Natural MD Radio with guest Dr. Petrosino, Professor and Interim Chairman of the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine where he's also the Director of the Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research.

DIGESTIVE ENZYMES are the workhorses of your digestion and are part of making every cell in your body work better. If you're over 35 your enzyme levels start to decline and by the time you're 65 your saliva and pancreatic secretions can be down by 50%. That leaves chronic indigestion, causing further gut issues, yeast and mold overgrowth and even sometimes malnutrition.

PODCASTS, YOUTUBE, & BLOGS ABOUT YOUR GUT MICROBIOME: Mastering the Microbiome: A Master Class in Gut Health | Rich Roll Podcast

GLUTEN & LEAKY GUT: Dr. Mark Hyman - Gluten: What you don't know Might Kill You. Dr. Mark Hyman - To Gluten or Not to Gluten Dr. Mark Hyman on Gluten and Leaky Gut

DIGESTIVE HERBAL BITTERS: WE AREN'T WHAT WE EAT, WE ARE WHAT WE CAN ABSORB. Are you fully digesting your food and pooping each day? A few drops of herbal bitters on your tongue or in water before each meal is to get your hydrochloric acid and other important digestive juices flowing. We often need the extra help to digest, especially after around the age 30. Bitters formulas stimulate the process of digestion, absorption and elimination by increasing production of gastric hydrochloric acid, liver, pancreatic and small intestine digestive enzymes and fluids. By stimulating bile production bitters also enhance fat metabolism and act as a natural aperient/laxative. Indications include achlorhydria, malabsorption, chronic gas, belching, indigestion, and gall bladder congestion. Bitters are also a useful adjunct for any protocol addressing food allergy or toxemia caused by dysbiosis or leaky gut syndrome. Many chronic conditions such as arthritis, autoimmune disorders, skin conditions, etc may benefit from normalizing digestive and liver health. (Source: David Winston, Herbal Therapeutics) Since most bitters are cooling, look for blends that have warming carminative herbs for a balanced formula or talk to me for one!

Core Herbal Remedies

Here are a few herbs that I recommend often.

Digestive Bitters: See above.

The benefits of Turmeric and how to make an anti-inflammatory 'Golden Milk' by Andrew Weil. Just make sure that your turmeric drink or capsules has black pepper which enhances absorption. Use organic raw honey (and make sure it's real as there are fake honeys on the market). According to Ayurveda, do not cook black pepper or honey, as the high temps turn it carcinogenic.

Nervines -- In today's times we probably all could benefit from herbs to nourish our nervous systems. In tea form or extracts: chamomile, milky oats, skullcap, lemon balm, motherwort, hawthorn, passionflower, linden, california poppy and others.

Nootropic herbs for brain health: If you're using a lot of brain power, think about herbs that enhance memory or other cognitive functions. Rosemary, Gotu-Kola, Lions Mane, and Holy Basil are fabulous nootropics. Ask me about my Nootropic Brain Tonic. For optimum brain health, pair nootropics with other supportive herbs like nervines and adaptogens, healthy fats, good sleep hygiene, neurofeedback, and exercise.

Supplements

Because they can be costly I'm not the biggest fan of supplements however due to the bombardment of contaminants in water, soil, air, and even in our own homes, plus soil and nutrient depletion, some supplements are very helpful.

MAGNESIUM CANNOT BE OVERSTATED: The average person is deficient in magnesium. It is extremely important for many things including blood sugar regulation, impaired sleep quality, restless leg syndrome, tardive dyskinesia, chronic constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, temporomandibular joint pain, bruxism, chronic back spasms, muscle spasms, bladder spasms, rectal spasms, ovarian neuralgia, heart attacks, and any time where you have spasticity of muscle, where you have chronic muscle stiffness and tension.

Long time respected herbalist, author, ethnobotanist, and president of the American Herbalist Guild, David Winston, uses magnesium extensively in his clinical practice and claims that he has not ever seen anything that works like magnesium. Chances of you getting enough magnesium from your diet is slim. It is hard to absorb and in addition most people don't eat enough of these foods or quantity of these foods to get enough magnesium. If you have significant digestive issues you're probably not going to digest your magnesium.

Magnesium Breakthrough by Bio-Optimizers is one brand I like.

Liquid form: David Winston claims that the best magnesium is liquid. The liquid tastes like drinking metal and is not pleasant but it works SO well. It is not expensive. The name of the company is Cardiovascular Research. Get an 8 oz bottle.

Dosage: Take 1 tablespoon of the liquid magnesium in a liter bottle of water and sip throughout the day. Do that for four days. After four days go up to a tablespoon and a half for another four days. After four days increase your dose another 1/2 tablespoon to 2 tablespoons. Then every four days go up 1/2 tablespoon. Somewhere around 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons you will develop diarrhea. At that point cut back by a tablespoon and that's your level. Do this every day for about two weeks until you get diarrhea again. When this happens you reach tissue saturation. At that point cut back another 1/2 tablespoon. For most people their daily dose ends up being about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon in water.

Many are familiar with the powdered magnesium called CALM. If you take enough of it, it may work.

Nutrition

Leafy greens and other veggies for nutrients and fiber: 60% Veggies, 40% meat or some grains -- or better yet, 80%/20% on your plate.

Eating organic can rack up the cost so be sure to know your Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen Fruits and Veggies by The Environmental Working Group to avoid eating pesticide sponges. They have an app for convenience.

Find healthy seafood picks -- Environmental Working Group's consumer guide to seafood, including a seafood calculator and app.

'What The Heck Should I Eat' -- 2020 book by Dr. Mark Hyman.

A comprehensive guide to surviving the modern supermarket by Max Lugavere: Food or food-like products that are stripped of nutrients promote overconsumption and drive inflammation. Inflammation is at the core of most dis-ease. Systemic inflammation can correlate with aches and pains, asthma, significantly larger waistline, brain disease, brain fog, depression, and more. Eat living (non-processed) foods that are the color of the rainbow!

Want a kitchen makeover for an anti-inflammatory diet? Crazy Sexy Kitchen by Kris Carr offers a baseline (as no two bodies are alike and our needs vary). She's vegan, however listen to what your body needs. Let me come to your home for a kitchen cabinet re-do!

Avoid factory-farmed meats and dairy, full of antibiotics, disease and suffering, as well as contributing to deforestation.

Bone broth: An excellent link about bone broth that includes recipes as well as links for where to buy it.

Should You Drink Coffee? by Kris Carr.

Quality Sleep

The quality of your sleep, determined by how fast you fall asleep and how much time you spend in REM and delta (deep, restorative sleep) is much more important than the quantity. Use of artificial lighting and electronics at night are contributing to lack of and quality sleep. When it gets dark our pineal gland secretes the hormone melatonin which tells our bodies to sleep but electronics emit a blue wavelength light tricking our brains that it's daytime.

Are you looking at screens at night, sleeping near them, or using your phone as your alarm clock? Not only is the blue light messing with your health and well-being, the Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMF's) may also be wreaking havoc on your sleep and overall health. Create better habits and boundaries with electronics at night.

Solid tips: Why Blue Light Is Messing With Your Sleep and What To Do About It. The best 20 minutes you'll spend: Quik Tips to Sleep Better, a podcast by Jim Kwik. The Neuroscience of Sleep Hacking: Dan Levendowski How to Sleep Better: Science-Backed Sleep Hacks to Wake Up Ready to Go Losing Sleep Wrecks Your Gut. Here's What You Can Do About It.

Breathwork and Meditation

Breathwork can have profoundly calming effects immediately. Exhaling longer than inhaling can access your vagus nerve to reduce the fight-flight-or-freeze stress and improve decision-making. You can do this by taking two minutes to do 10 rounds of breathing: 4 seconds inhaling, hold for a couple of seconds, 8 seconds exhaling.

There are numerous breathing exercises and meditations but here are two simply as a reminder as an overall holistic program for health and wellness.

Ultimate Breathwork Guide, Ben Greenfield Fitness. Wim Hof Breathwork Tutorial. Jack Kornfield meditations.

Move!

There is ample information about the health benefits of exercise. Find something that works for you and MOVE. Weightbearing exercises are especially important to build muscle as we age.

How to Jumpstart Your Brain & Day -- My Morning Routine, by Kwik Brain. 10 Morning Habits Geniuses Use to Jumpstart Their Brain by Jim Kwik.

Move Your Lymph to Boost your Immunity & Increase Your Flow: Our lymphatic system is a central part of our immune system. It is our body's watershed and we want these rivers to keep flowing. The lymph can be assisted in its movement with tools and techniques:

Dry brushing: Daily. Get your lymph and blood flow/circulation going. Begin at the feet using brisk, upward, invigorating motions towards the heart. Turn the skin pink then move on -- blood flow is building. Also brush the arms toward the heart and make sure to get in the soft of the arm and armpits. After dry brushing either take a shower or just apply body oil following the path of the lymph, rubbing the oil into the skin. Start at your feet and brush in sections towards your heart.

Gua-sha daily. It's a tool and an action. The gua sha is a flat piece of wood or jade that is used to move the lymphatic system, break down scar tissue, and tenderize muscles. Use the edge of the gua sha vigorously rubbing along the skin moving feet to heart and hands to heart. The gua sha can be used with water in the shower, steam room or tub. It's best with a body oil to drive nutrients into the tissues. The gua sha can be used over clothes also. This technique can create bruising from the toxins releasing in the tissues. With time the bruising will stop happening, since the toxins will be released and tissues get tonified.

Biohacking

What is biohacking? Another way of saying it is optimizing your life. Biohacking is more than eating healthy food and power smoothies. It's the art and science of changing the environment around you and within you so that you have more control over your own biology. It requires some curiosity, some commitment, and the desire to improve how you show up in the world.

Personal disclaimer: there's a fair amount of privilege in the biohacker world with the cost of cutting edge holistic technologies and treatments. There is however a movement to bring the costs down. I hesitated sharing but I have found so much solid science and traditional-wisdom-backed info.

Control your own biology with a whole variety of at-home tests ranging from food sensitivity to metabolism to an advanced thyroid panel. The tests are private, simple and they all go through certified labs. Everlywell.com -- choose the test you want, tests are private, and they get shipped to your doorstep. You get your results in about five days. This can track your diet, exercise, and inflammation.

Get your gut microbiome tested -- Viome.com is the only company that can identify and quantify living organisms in your gut in order to analyze what those bugs are producing and provide you with a personalized meal plan, nutrition and fitness recommendations.

Disclaimer: Food sensitivity testing may not always be accurate and can scare people off of food. There are other sources for doing your own testing that are less pricey.

Speed Healing Pain & Injuries With Pulse Centers Pulsed ElectroMagnetic Field -- The Life Stylist Podcast #212.

Podcasts

A few of my favorites: Natural MD Radio with Herbalist, Midwife, Dr. Aviva Romm; The Herbal Highway on KPFA.org (free herbal education!); The Doctor's Farmacy with Mark Hyman; Kwik Brain with Jim Kwik; The Lifestylist by Luke Storey; Ancient Wisdom Today; Medicine Stories; and The Broken Brain.

Herbal Books and Websites

Anything by herbalist Michael Moore; Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal; Anything written by David Winston; Botanical Medicine for Women's Health by Aviva Romm, MD.

American Herbalist Guild American Botanical Council United Plant Savers

Excellent Resources for Detoxing from Toxic Mold Exposure

Mold sickness is much more prevalent than you think. Found in 40% of buildings in the U.S. -- mold and mycotoxicity (the spores that mold gives off) is an epidemic. All it takes is a pinhole leak and 24-48 hours for mold to start growing. If it becomes dry that is a stressor to the mold and it may then shoot out mycotoxins or volatile organic compounds of very sticky nanoparticles that can work their way all throughout our body. Due to chemical fungicides, mold has mutated causing it to create toxins that we are not genetically adapted to resist.

Mycotoxins are also in our food supply: grains (especially corn), nuts (especially peanuts), coffee, chocolate, and wine to name a few.

Symptoms: Chronic exposure through our respiratory and digestive systems can wreak havoc on our health. Mold sickness may include respiratory issues, post-nasal drip, brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, vertigo, ringing in the ears, low immunity, auto-immunity, neuralgias, skin issues, static shocks, and more.

Websites: How To Deal With Black Mold and Recover From Mold Poisoning. Surviving Mold: survivingmold.com Surviving Toxic Mold: survivingtoxicmold.com

The ERMI Test: Environmental Relative Moldy Index. An ERMI test is a standardized objective test used to quantify the indoor mold burden on a building. The ERMI test looks for the DNA of mold in the dust sample that you send to the lab. Molds that cause health problems are listed in Group 1 (26 kinds) on the ERMI report. They now run around $400 including the Actinomyces bacterial species as an add-on test. Actinomyces commonly grows with mold and is just as harmful to your health.

Envirobiomics is the lab that I used however there are several.

Podcasts: Is Toxic Mold Causing Your Symptoms? A Conversation with Dr. Ann Shippy on the Broken Brain Podcast. The Hidden Dangers of Toxic Mold -- Rewild Yourself Podcast by Daniel Vitalis. It's not Lyme, It's Mold with Dr. Andrew Heyman #557, Bulletproof Radio.

Excellent classes from The Southwest Conference on Botanical Medicine: Naturopathic Strategies for Patients with Exposure to Molds and Mycotoxins by Naturopathic Dr. Kenneth Proefrock. Mycotoxins -- The Health Effects of Mold and How To Diagnose and Treat by Naturopathic Dr. Walter J. Crinnion.

Books: Toxic -- Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness by Neil Nathan, MD. Break the Mold -- 5 Tools to Conquer Mold and Take Back Your Health by Jill Crista, Naturopathic Dr. Is Your Home Killing You? MOLD -- The War Within.

Disclaimer

The statements, remedies, and techniques described herein are for educational purposes only and do not substitute medical care or are meant to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any disease.

Permissions

I believe that the knowledge of the plants, nutritional, and other health information is our right so I share this knowledge to put the power back into the people's hands. If you want to use these words then please give appropriate credit. Ask for my permission before reproducing, transforming or building upon the material especially if you want to utilize it for commercial purposes in print or curriculum. Thank you. With Love, Dixie Pauline.

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