Category Archives: Mrs. Cog’s Corner

Mrs. Cog's Corner

Chelation

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From Mrs. Cog's Corner

The content on this page is for discussion purposes relating to health and well being only and is not intended to be medical advice. Links and sources provided are for informational purposes and do not represent an endorsement of a person, product or treatment.

Chelation is the removal of heavy metals from our bodies, including the bloodstream. It has long been know that such heavy metals as mercury and arsenic act as poisons to our systems, but living in today's toxic soup, we can add aluminum, barium, stronium and radioactive particles to metal substances we wish to purge from our bodies.

Questioning everything...

Why would you have unwanted metal in your body?

For starters, it appears there is arsenic in your rice. As Forbes magazine tells us according to information from Consumer Reports, there is probably a lot more than you realize. If you are someone who takes comfort in government data, the FDA says it's just a little arsenic and it's all good dawg.

Aluminum, now shown to cause Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to name a few (good clinical links at the bottom of this article), is in products all around us. It's in our deodorants, cookware, and drinking water. Here is a list of specific brands you may use which contain aluminum. There is even aluminum in the air we breathe.

Another culprit is mercury which we are exposed to from eating fish, certain dental fillings and from pollutants from coal fired power plants. Mercury is unfortunately also used in many modern vaccines and has, in some infant vaccines, has even been replaced with... wait for it... aluminum.

The number of different heavy metal toxins all around us are too voluminous for this page. I have included links to more information at the bottom.

How does Chelation remove heavy metal from our bodies?

Chelation introduces a substance that magnetically binds to heavy metals and carries them out of your body when waste is eliminated. A more detailed description of just how this binding process unfolds is also found here under the section on Calcium Bentonite Clay.

How can someone chelate naturally with food?

Although modern medicine has ways to introduce these substances via IV in cases of acute metal poisoning, there are many natural foods with the ability to chelate.  More information about sources of chelating food can be found here, here and here.

There is much more information out there on the benefits of chelation and even the arguments against it because certain parties have claimed Chelation Therapy goes far beyond removing harmful toxins from your body. As always, I suggest you do your own research .

 More information:

Heavy metal toxicity can cause a variety of signs and symptoms. While manifestations of toxicity vary among the many toxic metals, several symptoms are often observed and may be indicative of heavy metal toxicity. http://www.lef.org/protocols/health_concerns/heavy_metal_detoxification_06.htm#signs

Currently the two most important sources of mercury exposure for Americans are dental amalgams and vaccinations. The Federal government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for reasons not explained, have chosen to ignore this fact. These agencies and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) focus exclusively on mercury in seafood, to the extent that the NIH will not fund studies that address mercury in amalgams and vaccines. http://www.lewrockwell.com/2004/09/donald-w-miller-jr-md/the-curse-of-mercury-in-vaccines/

The human body requires extremely trace amounts of a few metals, but too often the concern is with getting too much, rather than too little. Metals become toxic when the quantity is too high and it takes really very little to be too much. http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/effects-of-toxic-metals/

Heavy Metal Poisoning Symptoms - Many of the toxicity symptoms listed below are also signs that you could have developed any number of health conditions including autoimmune disease, liver and kidney disease, Crohn's disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, fibromyalgia, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and neuromusclular disorders. http://www.evenbetterhealth.com/heavy-metal-poisoning-symptoms.asp

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Essential Oils

From Mrs. Cog's Corner

The content on this page is for discussion purposes relating to health and well being only and is not intended to be medical advice. Links and sources provided are for informational purposes and do not represent an endorsement of a person, product or treatment.

Mainstream sources will tell you essential oils are the distilled aromas of a plant, sometimes with other properties. Natural medicine unveils that essential oils are actually the highly concentrated medicinal property of a plant.

Because essential oils are so powerful, they can be a bit tricky to use. A few can make you sick if you take too much or use them the wrong way. For instance, several are anti-coagulant and you cannot take them if you are also taking pharmaceutical medicine that is a blood thinner. Further, unlike over the counter medicines, these oils come with no instructions or warning labels. Because they are natural, the FDA (so far) does not regulate them and the western medical world does their best not to acknowledge these alternatives.

Since essential oils are derived from plants who have DNA not so different from our own, our bodies do not see them as a foreign substance when they enter our body. Usually, our bodies do not fight the oils and allow them to have natural healing effects more easily than any processed pharmaceutical drug might. Our body chemistry does know that most prescription drugs are foreign substances and not natural and treat them as such. The essential oils have the properties of the defense and immune system of the plant itself and our bodies seem to recognize this and utilize the benefits in it accordingly.

Many essential oil companies use chemicals and solvents to distill the essential oils, so sourcing them as legitimate "therapeutic grade" is important. I read many blogs and hundreds of comments from people who have used various oils and brands to see what people have to say. I always try something myself before I give it to anyone else to take. You will not find me discussing anything that I have not tried myself.

Essential oils can enter the body three ways. One is to inhale it. The fumes are quite powerful. When you smell Vicks Vapor Rub, that is the Eucalyptus Oil you are inhaling that clears your sinuses, same principal. The chemicals do enter your bloodstream this way. The second way to use oils is topically, rubbing it on your skin to be absorbed into your blood system. This is very effective. Most essential oils need to be diluted in a bland oil called a "carrier oil" in order to apply it topically, but not all of them. The last way is to ingest it in a pill, drink or food. (You MUST research to know which oils are GRAS.) They actually sell empty gel caps you can fill with oils, but I do not use them. I prefer to drink it in a warm drink such as tea or warm cider. On occasion I have put a few drops on a cracker and washed it down with a beverage. I have read that topical application, rubbing an oil into your skin may be more effective. Why put a medicinal item into your digestive system to be processed if you can rub it on and have it directly absorbed, circumnavigating the process of digestion? There is wonderful conversation and debate about this in the Essential Oil blogging world.

One more thing, the method of inhaling oils is called aromatherapy. The oils and so called aromatherapy you see in most stores? NOT THE SAME THING. It is a commercial version to capitalize on pretty and soothing smells, but it is far from therapeutic grade essential oils in a wellness context. Do your homework!

More from Mrs. Cog:

Links and Resources:

Essential Oils Effective Against MRSA ( Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infections):

 

 

Mrs. Cog's Corner

Happiness

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From Mrs. Cog's Corner

What is happiness?

The NY Times says, 'after 40 years of research, they attribute happiness to three major sources: genes, events and values.' The Huffington Post has devoted an entire section to better understand it. And just in case it's still not clicking for you, here is a TED talk on how to buy happiness. If you think you might need further input on tracking what really makes you happy: there's an app for that.

Indeed, there seem to be recipes for happiness everywhere. Some, like the song in this video (thank you to my child unit), I cannot get out of my head. (Well worth the four minutes to watch once.)

But is there more to the "happiness" thing than the obvious?

Fascinating studies not only show that being happy boosts our immune systems, scientists think they know how. It has also been shown that happy people live longer lives. After coming to these wonderful conclusions and more regarding the benefits of happiness, Harvard researchers even ponder whether happiness might be made into policy (lol).

After reading more than a hundred different articles, studies and websites on the topic of happiness, I came to several conclusions myself. First, happiness seems to be defined by the individual and like our health, no two people are the same. Second, happiness sells. It is the ultimate carrot to dangle whether you define yourself on the outside by what others perceive of you, or on the inside by looking within, there are an abundance of products, people and services to help you reach your goal. Third, and possibly most important, in these trying times when change is roaring through the world as we know it, more people are consciously grasping for genuine ways to achieve some degree of happiness while artificial stimulus crumbles and leaves many exposed to an emptiness.

In the end, I suppose the one constant point boils down to a recently penned Cogism. No one can "make me" happy. I can only find it on my own.

Some famous insights to happiness:

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”  Mahatma Gandhi

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”   Dr. Seuss

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”  Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”  Dalai Lama XIV

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”  J.R.R. Tolkien

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”  Buddha

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” Winnie the Pooh

Read More:

While I may take joy in the quiet moments, you may get more energy and happiness from socializing. Despite these little differences, there are certain areas of our lives that we can adjust and make immediate changes to in order to feel more joy on a daily basis. http://naturalsociety.com/5-things-boost-happiness-now-part-1/ and naturalsociety.com/5-things-boost-happiness-now-part-ii/

We crave happiness. It is certainly more desirable than unhappiness. By understanding how happiness, and the lack of it, affects the overall well-being and level of consciousness of oneself, each person is able to take steps towards streaming more happiness into one’s life. By using tools such as meditation and positive psychology exercises such as expressing individuality, we are able to experience more happiness more often. http://wakeup-world.com/2014/03/28/elevated-happiness-the-why-and-the-how/

For at least the last decade, the happiness craze has been building. In the last three months alone, over 1,000 books on happiness were released on Amazon, including Happy Money, Happy-People-Pills For All, and, for those just starting out, Happiness for Beginners. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/meaning-is-healthier-than-happiness/278250/

In 1964, magazine editor Norman Cousins was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, an arthritis-type auto-immune disease that affects the spine. Doctors gave him a one-in-500 chance of recovery. He scoffed at their prognosis and began a new type of therapy—happiness therapy—self-medicating with regular doses of mood-boosting movies and activities which he ultimately credited with his “dramatic recovery”. Considered one of the forefathers of what’s known as psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), Cousins was one of the first to demonstrate the impact of moods on health. http://naturalsociety.com/happiness-impacts-health/

The results demonstrated that affective profiles systematically relate to psychological well-being and harmony in life. Notably, individuals categorised as self-fulfilling tended to report higher levels of both psychological well-being and harmony in life when compared with the other profiles. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24688843

Complex associations among physical activities, health status, and social functioning appear to determine happiness levels in older adults. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24679157

The Journal of Happiness Studies is a peer reviewed scientific journal devoted to subjective well-being. It covers both cognitive evaluations of life (like life-satisfaction) and affective enjoyment of life (such as mood level). Next to contributions on appraisal of life-as-a-whole the journal accepts contributions on life domains (such as job-satisfaction) and life-aspects (such as perceived meaning of life). http://www.researchgate.net/journal/1389-4978_Journal_of_Happiness_Studies and http://link.springer.com/journal/10902

Research on how to increase positive moods and capitalize on your strengths has proliferated in recent years,that  thanks to the positive psychology movement, and has shed light on ongoing insights into personality, mood, and cognition. Not everyone is born with a sunny disposition, but experts agree we can all learn how to bring more meaning and satisfaction into our lives. http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/happiness

It’s a chicken and egg problem, though. Does happiness bring those kinds of things, or do those kinds of things lead us to be happier? While we may not exactly know the answer to that question yet, we do know the answers to many other questions about happiness. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/04/10/5-reliable-findings-from-happiness-research/