When to Use Ice, When to Use Heat

By Dr. Mercola

Applying ice or heat can provide relief from injuries, aches, and pains, but they shouldn't be used interchangeably. Generally speaking, ice works well after a sudden injury while heat helps to soothe ongoing muscle aches and pains.

Ice works for injuries because it narrows your blood vessels, which helps prevent blood from accumulating at the site of injury, which will add to inflammation and swelling while delaying healing. This is also why elevation is helpful, since it limits blood flow to the area to minimize swelling.1

A good rule of thumb to remember following an injury is RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. You should generally ice the area for 48 to 72 hours to reduce secondary tissue damage and ease pain.

Ice should be applied for about 20 minutes once an hour. You don't want to use ice longer than this as it could damage your skin or even lead to frostbite. Be sure the ice or gel pack you use can be wrapped around the injured area and even compressed to minimize swelling. You'll want to protect your skin from direct exposure by applying a cloth or towel between your skin and the ice.

When to Use Heat…

For muscle aches and pains, applying a heat pack will help bring blood flow to the area, which promotes healing and soothes pain while increasing flexibility. As blood flow increases, so does the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the area while waste materials are removed.

Heat also works well for joint pain or as a pre-workout warm-up. Hot gel packs or heated water bottles work well for this and don't pose any of the risks of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure that most electric heating pads do.

Generally speaking, pain that is chronic and does not involve swelling will respond well to heat treatment. As with ice, you'll want to use a barrier between the heat and your skin, such as a cloth. Apply the heat for 15 or 20 minutes at a time.

You may also want to try alternating heat and cold, which is a strategy often recommended by physical therapists and trainers. Apply heat for 20 minutes then follow immediately with 20 minutes of cold.
 

Another Way to Use Heat: Hyperthermic Conditioning

Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are used by your cells to counteract potentially harmful stimulus. Whenever a cell is exposed to an unfriendly environment, the DNA separates in certain regions and begins to read the genetic code to produce these stress proteins.

HSPs are actually beneficial, helping to both prevent and repair damaged proteins. Heat-shock proteins are induced by heat, and this is one reason why sauna use is so beneficial.

According to Rhonda Perciavalle Patrick, Ph.D., increasing your core temperature for short periods, as is done by using a sauna, may offer dramatic improvements to your athletic performance.

She calls this concept "hyperthermic conditioning," which emerging research suggests has multiple positive effects on your body, from increased endurance to the growth of new brain cells.

Hyperthemic conditioning, or "acclimating yourself to heat independent of aerobic physical activity through sauna use," boosts endurance because it induces adaptations in your body that make it easier for you to perform when your body temperature is elevated.

In short, as your body is subjected to reasonable amounts of heat stress, it gradually becomes acclimated to the heat, prompting a number of beneficial changes to occur in your body.
 

The Benefits of Sauna Use

As your body adapts to heat stress, these adaptations include increased plasma volume and blood flow to your heart and muscles (which increase athletic endurance) along with increased muscle mass due to greater levels of heat-shock proteins and growth hormone.

In one study, those who had a 30-minute sauna session twice a week for three weeks after their workouts increased their time it took to run until exhaustion by more than 30 percent!2

Daily sauna use has also been shown to cut men's risk of death from fatal heart problems in half, compared to those who only used it once each week.3 Other physiologic adaptations that occur from hyperthermic conditioning include:

• Infrared sauna: 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit, for 15-30 minutes
• Regular (Finnish wet or dry) sauna: 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit, for 10-20 minutes

Additionally, consider the following safety tips at all times:

Improved cardiovascular mechanisms and lower heart rate5	Lower core body temperature during workload	Higher sweat rate and sweat sensitivity as a function of increased thermoregulatory control6
Increased blood flow to skeletal muscle (known as muscle perfusion) and other tissues7	Reduced rate of glycogen depletion due to improved muscle perfusion8	Increased red blood cell count9
Increased efficiency of oxygen transport to muscles10

General Sauna Recommendations

Infrared saunas are known for their ability to promote detoxification, as discussed in a previous interview with Dr. Brian Clement, medical director of the Hippocrates Health Institute. By heating your tissues several inches deep, the infrared sauna can enhance your natural metabolic processes and blood circulation.

It also helps oxygenate your tissues. Your skin is a major organ of elimination, but many people do not sweat on a regular basis, thereby forgoing the benefits of this natural detoxification process. Repeated use of the sauna slowly restores skin elimination, which can help reduce your toxic load quite significantly. Many also enjoy saunas for relief of pain and muscle tension.

For all its health benefits, exposing your body to high temperatures should be done with commonsense and caution. If you've never taken a sauna before, start out by spending only a few minutes in there. Try a maximum of four minutes when first starting out.

Then, for each subsequent sauna, add about 30 seconds, and slowly work your way up to somewhere between 15 to 30 minutes. The reason for this is because the detoxification process can, in some cases, be severe, depending on your toxic load. General sauna recommendations are as follows:

Avoid using a sauna by yourself; always sauna with a buddy

Always listen to your body when deciding how much heat stress you can tolerate. If you're ill or heat sensitive, decrease the temperature, time spent in the sauna, or both

Do not use a sauna if you've been drinking alcohol	Be sure to drink plenty of pure water before and after your sauna session. To replace electrolytes, add a pinch of Himalayan pink salt, which is rich in natural microminerals
Avoid saunas during pregnancy	You may want to rest either sitting or lying down for about 10 minutes afterward

When to Use Cold-Water Baths…

At the other end of the spectrum, exposing your body to cold temperatures may also have health benefits. For starters, intriguing research suggests heat-shock proteins may also be cold-induced.

In one animal study, cold exposure induced the expression of HSPs in brown fat,11 the implications of which are as yet unknown. It's thought that cold-induced expression of heat-shock proteins may facilitate thermogenesis in beneficial brown fat,12 and, on a much broader scale, that exposing your body to reasonable amounts of both cold and heat stress may actually be beneficial.

Brown fat is a heat-generating type of fat that burns energy instead of storing it, and this may have important implications when it comes to weight loss. In one study, scientists found that they were able to activate brown fat in adult men by exposing them to cold temperatures.13 Swedish research published in 2009 also found that cold temperatures increased the activity in the subjects' brown fat regions.14 In fact, cold-induced glucose uptake was increased by a factor of 15.

Based on animal models, researchers estimate that just 50 grams of brown fat (which is less than what most study volunteers have been found to have) could burn about 20 percent of your daily caloric intake—and more if "encouraged."

Regular cold water and ice baths, otherwise known as cold-water immersion or "cryotherapy," is also a popular technique among amateur and professional athletes, as it is thought to help reduce muscle inflammation and pain after exercise, as well as speed recovery time.

Indeed, after analyzing 17 trials involving over 360 people who either rested or immersed themselves in cold water after resistance training, cycling, or running, researchers found the cold-water baths were much more effective in relieving sore muscles one to four days after exercise.15

Most studies on cold-water immersion report no or minimal side effects, so if you're willing to spend 20 minutes or so in a cold tub of water, you may very well find some relief. Of course, common sense must be used. When you immerse yourself in cold water, it will shock your body to some degree, so you need to make sure the water is not too cold and you do not stay in it for too long.

Brief Exposure to Cold Water Might Promote 'Hardening'

Exposing your whole body to cold water for short periods of time is also used to promote "hardening." Hardening is the exposure to a natural stimulus, such as cold water, that results in increased tolerance to stress and/or disease. This was demonstrated by a study involving 10 healthy people who swam regularly in ice-cold water during the winter.16 Following exposure to the cold water, researchers noted:
 

• "Drastic" decrease in uric acid levels: High levels of uric acid are normally associated with gout, but it has been long known that people with high blood pressure, kidney disease, and people who are overweight often have elevated uric acid levels. When your uric acid level exceeds about 5.5 mg per deciliter, you have an increased risk for a host of diseases including heart disease, fatty liver, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and more.

• Increase in glutathione: Glutathione is your body's most powerful antioxidant, which keeps all other antioxidants performing at peak levels.

Personally, I have been experimenting with cold-water immersion for a couple of years. I will go into the shower without allowing it to warm up, and I also go in the ocean without a wet suit on when most people consider it too cold to swim. I have found that if I hold my breath it really helps adjust to the initial shock, and I rapidly acclimate to the cold. I have come to enjoy it and now view it as a form of healthy stress, very similar to exercise.

If you decide to give any type of cold-water immersion a try, be sure to listen to your body and work up to the more advanced techniques gradually. There are a number of different options you can try:

• Place an ice pack on your upper back and upper chest for 30 minutes per day (you can do this while relaxing in front of the TV for example)
• Drink about 500 ml of ice water each morning
• Take cold showers
• Immerse yourself in ice water up to your waist for 10 minutes, three times per week. (Simply fill your tub with cold water and ice cubes)

And remember, you can use hot and cold therapeutically for muscle and joint pain and injuries, respectively. If you have swelling and an acute injury, apply cold using an ice or gel pack for 20 minutes at a time. For chronic aches and pains, use a gel pack or hot water bottle for 20 minutes for relief.

Exercise and Diet Combat Inflammation

By Dr. Mercola

Most people want to live a long, healthy life. If that's something you aspire to, you'd be well advised to keep a careful eye on your insulin sensitivity. It is perhaps one of the best markers for limiting your risk for degenerative diseases that will take you out prematurely.

The reason for this is because insulin resistance lays the foundation for virtually all chronic disease, as it promotes chronic inflammation and speeds up your body's aging processes.

A recent study^1,2 looking at extreme longevity confirms this view, concluding that having very low levels of inflammation in your body is the most potent predictor for living beyond 100 years of age.

Inflammation levels also corresponded to people's ability to live independently and maintain cognitive function throughout their life.

Chronic inflammation can be the result of a malfunctioning, over-reactive immune system, or it may be due to an underlying problem that your body is attempting to fight off.

But many of these "problems" are actually rooted in an unhealthy (inflammatory) diet and lack of exercise.

 

How Can You Determine If You Have Chronic Inflammation?

In contrast to acute inflammation, chronic inflammation typically will not produce symptoms until actual loss of function occurs somewhere. This is because chronic inflammation is low-grade and systemic, often silently damaging your tissues over an extended period of time.

This process can go on for years without you noticing, until a disease suddenly sets in. Since chronic inflammation tends to be "silent," how can you determine if inflammation is brewing in your body?

Clinical tests used in allopathic medicine include:

• C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test, which measures a protein found in your body that signals responses to any forms of inflammation
• ESR (sed rate) test, which checks for non-specific indicators of inflammation

But you can also use your fasting blood insulin level to gauge inflammation.  Although this test is typically used to screen for diabetes, it's also a marker for inflammation.
Typically the higher your fasting insulin levels are, the higher your levels of inflammation tend to be. Clinically, I have found this test far more useful than the other markers for inflammation.

 

Diet and Exercise Are the Primary Ways to Combat Chronic Inflammation

Avoiding processed foods, which are high in inflammatory ingredients such as refined sugars and processed fats like trans fats and vegetable oils as the video above discusses, and getting regular movement and exercise are two of the most potent ways to help normalize your insulin levels and avoid insulin resistance.

Diet accounts for about 80 percent of the health benefits you reap from a healthy lifestyle, and keeping inflammation in check is a major part of these benefits. It's important to realize that dietary components can either trigger or prevent inflammation from taking root in your body.
If you have not already addressed your diet, this would be the best place to start, regardless of whether you're experiencing symptoms of chronic inflammation or not.

To help you get started, I suggest following my free Optimized Nutrition Plan, which starts at the beginner phase and systematically guides you step-by-step to the advanced level.

But diet is not the only component that will have a profound impact on your health and longevity. It's really about addressing your total lifestyle, and physical activity is a major component of that.

 

Physical Activity 101 

 

When you think of "physical activity" you may automatically think of a regimented fitness routine — going to the gym several times a week, for example. But while that is certainly part of a healthy lifestyle, what you do outside the gym plays an equally important role.

The average American adult spends about 10 hours each day sitting, and research shows that this level of inactivity cannot even be counteracted with a 60-minute workout at the end of each day. My personal experience confirms this. It's really important to realize that you simply cannot offset 10 hours of stillness with one hour of exercise. You need near-continuous movement throughout the day. At the bare minimum, you need to get out of your chair every 50 minutes or so.

While a brief period of sitting here and there is natural, long periods of sitting day-in and day-out can seriously impact your health and shorten your life. For me, sitting and getting up every 10 minutes failed miserably. The only thing that worked was to restrict my sitting to under one hour a day.

In fact, the evidence suggests chronic sitting is an independent risk factor for insulin resistance and an early death – even if you eat right, exercise regularly and are very fit; even a professional or Olympic level athlete. For example, research³ has shown that sitting for more than eight hours a day raises your risk for type 2 diabetes by 90 percent!
So, to lay the groundwork for overall health and longevity, I recommend avoiding sitting as much as possible, ideally striving to sit for less than three hours a day. A stand-up desk is a great option if you have an office job.

The second step is to simply walk more. I recommend aiming for 7,000 to10,000 steps a day. Use a fitness tracker to make sure you're meeting your goal. Next, you'll want to incorporate a more regimented fitness routine, and while virtually any exercise is better than none, high intensity exercises are the most potent.

 

High Intensity Training Promotes Anti-Inflammatory Myokines

 (HIIT) is one of the most effective and efficient ways to capture and maximize the benefits exercise has to offer. It also offers anti-inflammatory benefits that you cannot tap with milder, less strenuous exercise. 

Some of the latest research into the benefits of HIIT involves myokines, a class of cell-signaling proteins produced by muscle fibers that offer potent protection against metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions, including high blood sugar, that raises your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

High intensity training effectively stimulates your muscles to release these anti-inflammatory myokines, which increase your insulin sensitivity and glucose use inside your muscles. They also increase liberation of fat from adipose cells, and the burning of the fat within the skeletal muscle. Acting as chemical messengers, myokines also inhibit the release and the effect of inflammatory cytokines produced by body fat.

Now, it's important to realize that your diet can sabotage these beneficial effects. By eating inflammatory foods, such as sugar/fructose, refined grains, trans fats, and processed foods in general, your body will generate inflammatory cytokines. And, unfortunately, you simply cannot exercise your way out of a bad diet. No amount of exercise will successfully create enough myokines to outcompete the inflammatory cytokines produced by an unhealthy diet...

A frequent question that comes up with regards to high intensity exercise is the differences between the high-intensity cardio that you can do on an exercise bike or elliptical machine, versus high intensity strength training, using weights. Either strategy will give you the general benefits of HIIT, which includes cardiovascular fitness, improved muscle growth and strength, and the generation of "anti-aging" human growth hormone (HGH), also referred to as "the fitness hormone." 

However, high intensity strength training has the added benefit of inducing a rapid and deep level of muscle fatigue. This triggers the synthesis of more contractile tissue, and all the metabolic components to support it — including more anti-inflammatory myokines. So if you aim to address chronic inflammation in your body, high-intensity weight training may offer additional benefits over other forms of HIIT training.

 

To Avoid Chronic Inflammation, You Need to Recover Between Workouts

The fact that exercise can reduce inflammation may be confusing in light of the fact that it also increases inflammation... Mark Sisson addressed this seeming contradiction in a previous blog post,⁴ noting that "depending on the context, this increased inflammation due to exercise is either a good thing or a bad thing."

The key difference is that while bouts of exercise tend to promote acute inflammation, when done regularly over the long term, it decreases chronic or systemic inflammation. The oxidative stress from the exercise forces your body to build up your antioxidant defenses. This is indicated in studies showing extended exercise programs help reduce inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein.

That said, acute inflammation can become chronic, so part of the equation involves exercising in such a way as to avoid turning those acute bouts of inflammation into a chronic one. I've often stressed the importance of recovery — especially when doing HIIT — and this is precisely why. If you over-train, you typically wind up end up doing more harm than good, as your body needs to recuperate from the damage (inflammation) incurred during your workout.
As Mark explains in his article:

"An effective training session is basically an acute stressor that initiates a transitory, temporary, but powerful inflammatory response. An effective training regimen is composed, then, of lots of those acutely stressful training sessions interspersed with plenty of recovery time against a backdrop of lots of slow moving and good nutrition.

Avoid inflammatory plateaus. Track your training. Plotted on a graph, the inflammatory responses to your training should resemble a series of peaks, dips, and valleys. If you don't let your last exercise-induced inflammatory spike recede before exercising again, you'll only heap more on the pile.
If you keep stringing together spikes in inflammation without recovering from the previous one, they start to overlap and that starts to look a lot like chronic inflammation. That gives you a plateau, a mesa of inflammation. Avoid the mesa."

 

Both Nutritional Deficiencies and Excesses Can Contribute to Inflammation

Your diet will also wield a significant influence over the level of inflammation in your body, as most food will either promote or deflect it. Recent research⁵ also shows that both deficiencies and excesses of certain micronutrients (such as folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and zinc) can result in an ineffective or excessive inflammatory response.
As noted by co-author Anne Marie Minihane:⁶

"Studies have showed that high consumption of fat and glucose may induce post-prandial inflammation (manifesting itself after the consumption of a meal), which may have consequences for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The Western-style diet, rich in fat and simple sugars but often poor in specific micronutrients, is linked to the increased prevalence of diseases with strong immunological and autoimmune components, including allergies, food allergies, atopic dermatitis, and obesity.

Inflammation acts as both a friend and foe, being essential in metabolic regulation, with unresolved low-grade chronic inflammation being a pathological feature of a wide range of chronic conditions including the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases."

The easiest way to ensure your diet is as anti-inflammatory as possible is to simply eat REAL FOOD. You really do not need a PhD in nutrition to get it right. To help you get started on a healthier diet, I suggest following my free Optimized Nutrition Plan, which starts at the beginner phase and systematically guides you step-by-step to the advanced level. It is especially important to avoid processed vegetable oils and sugars. Personally I believe the oils are far more toxic than the sugars. You simply must have a regular source of high quality unprocessed fats if you hope to be healthy.

Beyond that, it's simply a matter of learning which foods tend to provide the greatest anti-inflammatory benefits. I've provided a sample list of such foods below. By replacing processed foods with whole, unprocessed, and ideally organic foods, you will automatically eliminate several of the most inflammatory culprits in your diet, including:

• Processed fructose and refined sugar and grains
• Oxidized cholesterol (cholesterol that has gone rancid from exposure to heat)
• Vegetable oil (such as peanut, corn, and soy oil), which degrade into toxic oxidation products when heated. One category called aldehydes are highly inflammatory
• Trans fats
• Synthetic chemical additives such as preservatives, stabilizers, colors, and flavors, etc.

 

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

A number of foods are well-known for their anti-inflammatory properties, and making sure you're eating a wide variety of them on a regular basis can go a long way toward preventing chronic illness.  The following foods and nutrients deserve special mention for their ability to quell inflammatory responses in your body:

Animal-based omega-3 fat	Animal-based omega-3 fats — found in fatty fish like wild Alaskan salmon and fish or krill oil — help fight inflammation throughout your body. It's particularly important for brain health.  Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology7 in 2012 confirmed that dietary supplementation with krill oil effectively reduced inflammation and oxidative stress.
Leafy greens	Dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens, and Swiss chard contain powerful antioxidants, flavonoids, carotenoids, and vitamin C — all of which help protect against cellular damage. Ideally, opt for organic locally grown veggies that are in season, and consider eating a fair amount of them raw. Juicing is an excellent way to get more greens into your diet.
Blueberries	Blueberries rate very high in antioxidant capacity compared to other fruits and vegetables. They are also lower in sugar than many other fruits.
Tea	Matcha tea is the most nutrient-rich green tea and comes in the form of a stone-ground unfermented powder. The best Matcha comes from Japan and has up to 17 times the antioxidants of wild blueberries, and seven times more than dark chocolate. Tulsi is another tea loaded with anti-inflammatory antioxidants and other micronutrients that support immune function and heart health.
Fermented vegetables and traditionally cultured foods	Optimizing your gut flora is important for a well-functioning immune system, and helps ward off chronic inflammation. In fact, the majority of inflammatory diseases start in your gut, as the result of an imbalanced microbiome. Fermented foods such as kefir, natto, kimchee, miso, tempeh, pickles, sauerkraut, olives, and other fermented vegetables, will help "reseed" your gut with beneficial bacteria. Fermented foods can also help your body rid itself of harmful toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides that promote inflammation.
Shiitake mushrooms	Shiitake mushrooms contain strong compounds with the natural ability to discourage inflammation, such as Ergothioneine, which inhibits oxidative stress. They also contain a number of unique nutrients that many do not get enough of in their diet. One is copper, which is one of the few metallic elements accompanied by amino and fatty acids that are essential to human health. Since your body can't synthesize copper, your diet must supply it regularly. Copper deficiency can be a factor in the development of coronary heart disease.
Garlic	Garlic has been treasured for its medicinal properties for centuries. It's also one of the most heavily researched plant foods around. Over 170 studies8 show it benefitting more than 150 different conditions. Garlic exerts its benefits on multiple levels, offering anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and antioxidant properties. It's thought that much of garlic's therapeutic effect comes from its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin. Research9 has revealed that as allicin digests in your body it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reacts faster with dangerous free radicals than any other known compound.
Herbs and spices	Being liberal in your use of high-quality herbs and spices is a simple way to boost the quality of your food. They're among the most potent anti-inflammatory ingredients available, ounce for ounce. Spicing up your meals is not enough, however, if processed foods comprise the bulk of your diet

Homemade Flea Powder

Kelly from Primally Inspired
Homemade Flea Powder – Flea, Tick, Ant, Mites, Fly, Mosquito and other Insect Repellent. Ditch the toxic chemical repellents and kill fleas and other insects naturally with this homemade flea powder!

Ever since I posted my success with a natural tick repellent (see that post HERE), I’ve been getting tons of questions asking about a natural flea repellent or a natural flea powder.   

And I didn’t have any experience with any of the natural flea repellents out there so I couldn’t make any personal recommendations to you……until now.  
My big boy just turned 5 at the beginning of summer (isn’t he so handsome?!). And we’ve been blessed with not having any flea issues during those past 5 years.  

But at the end of April, we moved into an older house even deeper in the woods of Pennsylvania. And soon after we moved in, we discovered that it was totally infested with fleas. UGH!

My poor buddy was being eaten alive by these nasty fleas.   Ohmigosh, it was so horrible. I literally felt sick to my stomach watching him scratch and itch. His poor tail was raw, red and inflamed from him chewing on it so much.  

I absolutely hated the idea of putting any sort of toxic chemical flea treatment on my dog. Those products are the #1 cause of pet poisonings.  Did you know that on those commercial flea and tick repellents, there’s a big warning to not let it come into contact with human skin. So somehow it’s ok to put all over my dog?!! I don’t think so!  

I needed to do something and using toxic chemicals was going to be my very LAST resort.  Once I realized that we had a pretty major flea problem, I broke out my holistic pet care books (THIS and THIS) and consulted with a holistic vet friend.  

And today I’m giving you my homemade flea powder recipe that I now swear by. This flea powder worked at getting rid of a pretty major flea infestation in our home.    

And I didn’t have to use any toxic chemicals!!!! Bonus – this flea powder also works at repelling and killing ticks, flies, mosquitos, ants, spiders and other bugs. This is awesome stuff!  

*Note: If you don’t want to make this recipe yourself, you can buy Buck Mountain Parasite Dust HERE – I based my homemade flea powder off of this product. But it is much more cost effective to make it yourself, especially if you have a flea infestation because you are going to need a lot of it.  

 

Ingredient List and Benefits of Homemade Flea Powder:

This homemade flea powder is composed of Diatom Flour, Neem Powder, Yarrow Powder and Eucalyptus Oil. All 4 ingredients are traditionally used as very effective insect repellents and recommend by many holistic vets as a successful flea and insect killer and repellent.   

 

Food Grade Diatom Flour (also called Diatomaceous Earth or DE)

Diatomaceous Earth is soft powder made up of fossilized remains of tiny aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica. Under a microscope, DE is very sharp, allowing it to puncture the exoskeleton of insects and causing them death by dehydration. Diatomaceous Earth kills insects by physical action, not chemical. It’s important to note that DE particles are so small so it just feels like a fine baby powder to humans and pets. It is a simply a mineral silica. Food grade, fresh water DE is harmless to humans and pets. For more information about the safety of food grade DE, see the end note at the bottom of this post.  

 

Neem Powder

Neem is an herb used in Ayurvedic medicine.  It has been used for centuries as a very effective herbal insect repellent, repelling fleas, ticks, lice, mites, ants and mosquitoes. Neem has a few natural active ingredients that make it so effective . For example, the compound in Neem, Azadirachtin, disrupts the metamorphosis of insect larvae. So by inhibiting molting, Neem keeps the larvae from developing and they die without producing a new generation. Azadirachtin is so repulsive to insects that they would rather starve to death than touch anything with traces of neem.  Another neem compound is called salannin and it’s equally as effective of a repellent. In a few studies, it’s even been proven even more effective at repelling biting insects than those repellents containing the chemical concoction of DEET.
Neem also has many moisturizing properties and helps get rid of excess dryness and scaling. It helps soothe irritated skin. The anti-bacterial properties of neem prevent development of any further skin infection. Because Diatomaceous Earth can by very drying, Neem helps protect your pet from excess dry skin.  

 

Yarrow Powder

Yarrow’s most ancient use and most famous use in the herbal medicine world is as a natural wound healer. It’s also considered a sacred herb by many cultures around the world because of it’s healing ability.  Yarrow is a wonderful anti-inflammatory for skin conditions and soothes irritated skin. It is also anti-microbial and has pain relieving properties. Because pets with fleas tend to get secondary infections from flea bites, Yarrow protects your pet from those secondary infections and also helps soothe red, irritated skin.  

 

Eucalyptus Essential Oil 

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus citriodoro) is a natural bug and insect repellent. There is evidence that the components in eucalyptus oil are as effective and sometimes more effective than DEET.  Eucalptus oil also has antiseptic properties for healing after bites.  

Homemade Flea Powder Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (find HERE)
1/2 cup Neem Powder (find HERE)
1/2 cup Yarrow Powder (find HERE)
20 Drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil* (find HERE)  *Leave out the essential oil if using for cats. 

 

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and put in a shaker top container. I used a mason jar with a shaker top lid (I got my mason jar shaker top lid at Christmas Tree Shop, but you could make your own by drilling holes in a regular mason jar lid).   
Apply from head to tail along your pets spine in dry conditions. Brush your pets fur going the opposite direction so the powder comes in contact with the skin. Avoid the eyes and nose. Rub the powder on the belly and legs. Try to get the flea powder on as much skin as you can.
I have found that brushing the fur in the opposite direction and applying the flea powder with a cosmetic puff (like THIS) works really well. I also found the fleas seem to like the tail, the area right above the tail and the belly/groin area so I made sure to pay extra attention to those areas to get them well covered.  

 

How often to apply flea powder?

To use this as a general repellent (with no serious flea infestation), applying once a month during active flea season (end of spring/summer) is sufficient. If the pet gets a bath or gets wet, it will need to be reapplied.  

 

If you have a flea infestation:

You will need to apply more often, depending on how bad of an infestation you are dealing with. I applied every other day until I saw no more traces of fleas (now I’m just using it as maintenance). Some are successful with applying as little as once a week, but others need it more often – it just depends on the level of infestation. Also remember to reapply if your pet gets wet (important!).   
If you have a flea infestation, you will also need to apply this flea powder to your floors, windowsills, door sills, pet bedding, sofa, etc. Focus your efforts where your pet spends the most amount of time, since fleas and their eggs will be the most concentrated in those areas. Just apply a light dusting to the areas in your house and leave it there overnight. Vacuum in the morning or sometime the next day. Do this once a week for 4 weeks if you have a flea infestation.  

This flea powder works amazingly, BUT, it will not work overnight if you have a flea infestation. You must be diligent about applying it to your pet AND applying the powder to your home and vacuuming at least once per week for 4 weeks in a row to get rid of an infestation.  

You can even use this flea powder it in your yard to repel and kill fleas, ticks, spiders, ants, mosquitos, etc!  

I also leave a little bit of this flea powder in my door and window sills  to prevent spiders, ants and other bugs from entering.  

Based on my research and the advice of my holistic vet friend, I’ve learned some really great tips and other options about how to get rid of fleas naturally, including a few options that are holistic vet recommended that you can purchase if you are not a do it yourself-er. That is covered in PART 2 that you can read HERE (this post was already long enough ). 

 

End Note: Is Diatomaceous Earth safe?

Somewhere along the line, a rumor was started that Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth was harmful to your lungs if breathed in.  This is true for Crystallized or Filter Grade Diatomaceous Earth where it can cause a disease called silicoses if breathed in for very long periods of time. But this is NOT true for food grade Diatomaceous Earth, which we are using (it’s very important to make sure your DE is FOOD GRADE!). Food grade DE is processed and shaped differently than crystallized diatomaceous earth and is not harmful to pets or people. Food grade DE is recognized as safe for animal and human use, safe for consumption and even safe for those pregnant and nursing. Like any dusty product, you probably want to wear a dust mask if you will be breathing it in for a long period of time such as when dusting your yard. 

Magnesium: An Invisible Deficiency That Could Be Harming Your Health

By Dr. Mercola

Magnesium is a mineral used by every organ in your body, especially your heart, muscles, and kidneys.¹ If you suffer from unexplained fatigue or weakness, abnormal heart rhythms or even muscle spasms and eye twitches, low levels of magnesium could be to blame.

If you’ve recently had a blood test, you might assume it would show a magnesium deficiency. But only 1 percent of magnesium in your body is distributed in your blood, making a simple sample of magnesium from a serum magnesium blood test not very useful.

Most magnesium is stored in your bones and organs, where it is used for many biological functions. Yet, it’s quite possible to be deficient and not know it, which is why magnesium deficiency has been dubbed the “invisible deficiency.”

By some estimates, up to 80 percent of Americans are not getting enough magnesium and may be deficient. Other research shows only about 25 percent of US adults are getting the recommended daily amount of 310 to 320 milligrams (mg) for women and 400 to 420 for men.²

Even more concerning, consuming even this amount is “just enough to ward off outright deficiency,” according to Dr. Carolyn Dean, a medical and naturopathic doctor.

Magnesium Deficiency May Trigger 22 Medical Conditions

Download Interview Transcript

Magnesium is often thought of primarily as a mineral for your heart and bones, but this is misleading. Researchers have now detected 3,751 magnesium-binding sites on human proteins, indicating that its role in human health and disease may have been vastly underestimated.³

Magnesium is also found in more than 300 different enzymes in your body and plays a role in your body's detoxification processes, making it important for helping to prevent damage from environmental chemicals, heavy metals, and other toxins. In addition, magnesium is necessary for:

• Activating muscles and nerves
• Creating energy in your body by activating adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
• Helping digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
• Serving as a building block for RNA and DNA synthesis
• Acting as a precursor for neurotransmitters like serotonin

Dr. Dean has studied and written about magnesium for more than 15 years. The latest addition of her book, The Magnesium Miracle, came out in 2014 and in it you can learn about 22 medical areas that magnesium deficiency triggers or causes, all of which have all been scientifically proven. This includes:⁴

Anxiety and panic attacks	Asthma	Blood clots
Bowel diseases	Cystitis	Depression
Detoxification	Diabetes	Fatigue
Heart disease	Hypertension	Hypoglycemia
Insomnia	Kidney disease	Liver disease
Migraine	Musculoskeletal conditions (fibromyalgia, cramps, chronic back pain, etc.)	Nerve problems
Obstetrics and gynecology (PMS, infertility, and preeclampsia)	Osteoporosis	Raynaud’s syndrome
Tooth decay

Early signs of magnesium deficiency include loss of appetite, headache, nausea, fatigue, and weakness. An ongoing magnesium deficiency can lead to more serious symptoms, including:

Numbness and tingling	Muscle contractions and cramps	Seizures
Personality changes	Abnormal heart rhythms	Coronary spasms

 

The Role of Magnesium in Diabetes, Cancer, and More

Most people do not think about magnesium when they think about how to prevent chronic disease, but it plays an essential role. For instance, there have been several significant studies about magnesium's role in keeping your metabolism running efficiently—specifically in terms of insulin sensitivity, glucose regulation, and protection from type 2 diabetes.

Higher magnesium intake reduces risk of impaired glucose and insulin metabolism and slows progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes in middle-aged Americans.⁵ Researchers stated, "Magnesium intake may be particularly beneficial in offsetting your risk of developing diabetes, if you are high risk."

Multiple studies have also shown that higher magnesium intake is associated with a higher bone mineral density in both men and women,⁶ and research from Norway has even found an association between magnesium in drinking water and a lower risk of hip fractures.⁷

Magnesium may even help lower your risk of cancer, and a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that higher intakes of dietary magnesium were associated with a lower risk of colorectal tumors.⁸

Results from the meta-analysis indicated that for every 100-mg increase in magnesium intake, the risk of colorectal tumor decreased by 13 percent, while the risk of colorectal cancer was lowered by 12 percent. The researchers noted magnesium’s anti-cancer effects may be related to its ability to reduce insulin resistance, which may positively affect the development of tumors.

Surprising Factors That Influence Your Magnesium Levels

Seaweed and green leafy vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard can be excellent sources of magnesium, as are some beans, nuts, and seeds, like pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds. Avocados also contain magnesium. Juicing your vegetables is an excellent option to ensure you're getting enough of them in your diet.

However, most foods grown today are deficient in magnesium and other minerals, so getting enough isn’t simply a matter of eating magnesium-rich foods (although this is important too). According to Dr. Dean:

"Magnesium is farmed out of the soil much more than calcium… A hundred years ago, we would get maybe 500 milligrams of magnesium in an ordinary diet. Now we're lucky to get 200 milligrams.”

Herbicides, like glyphosate also act as chelators, effectively blocking the uptake and utilization of minerals in so many foods grown today. As a result, it can be quite difficult to find truly magnesium-rich foods. Cooking and processing further depletes magnesium.

Meanwhile, certain foods can actually influence your body’s absorption of magnesium. If you drink alcohol in excess, for instance, it may interfere with your body’s absorption of vitamin D, which in turn is helpful for magnesium absorption. If you eat a lot of sugar, this can also cause your body to excrete magnesium through your kidneys, “resulting in a net loss,” according to Dr. Danine Fruge, associate medical director at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Florida.⁹ The following factors are also associated with lower magnesium levels:¹⁰

• Excessive intake of soda or caffeine
• Menopause
• Older age (older adults are more likely to be magnesium deficient because absorption decreases with age and the elderly are more likely to take medications that can interfere with absorption)
• Certain medications, including diuretics, certain antibiotics (such as gentamicin and tobramycin), corticosteroids (prednisone or Deltasone), antacids, and insulin
• An unhealthy digestive system, which impairs your body's ability to absorb magnesium (Crohn's disease, leaky gut, etc.)

 

Calcium, Vitamin K2, and Vitamin D Must Be Balanced with Magnesium

It may seem like you could remedy the risks of low magnesium simply by taking a supplement, but it’s not quite that simple. When you're taking magnesium, you need to consider calcium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 as well, since these all work synergistically with one another. Excessive amounts of calcium without the counterbalance of magnesium can lead to a heart attack and sudden death, for instance. Research on the Paleolithic or caveman diet has shown that the ratio of calcium to magnesium in the diet that our bodies evolved to eat is 1-to-1.¹¹Americans in general tend to have a higher calcium-to-magnesium ratio in their diet, averaging about 3.5-to-1.

If you have too much calcium and not enough magnesium, your muscles will tend to go into spasm, and this has consequences for your heart in particular. "What happens is, the muscle and nerve function that magnesium is responsible for is diminished. If you don't have enough magnesium, your muscles go into spasm. Calcium causes muscle to contract. If you had a balance, the muscles would do their thing. They'd relax, contract, and create their activity," Dr. Dean explains.

When balancing calcium and magnesium, also keep in mind that vitamins K2 and D need to be considered. These four nutrients perform an intricate dance together, with one supporting the other. Lack of balance between these nutrients is one of the reasons why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, and why some people experience vitamin D toxicity. Part of the explanation for these adverse side effects is that vitamin K2 keeps calcium in its appropriate place. If you're K2 deficient, added calcium can cause more problems than it solves, by accumulating in the wrong places, like your soft tissue.

Similarly, if you opt for oral vitamin D, you need to also consume it in your food or take supplemental vitamin K2 and more magnesium. Taking mega doses of vitamin D supplements without sufficient amounts of K2 and magnesium can lead to vitamin D toxicity and magnesium deficiency symptoms, which include inappropriate calcification that may damage your heart.

 

Tips for Increasing Your Magnesium Levels

One way to really increase your magnesium, as well as many other important plant-based nutrients, is by juicing your greens. I typically drink one pint to one quart of fresh green vegetable juice every day, and this is one of my primary sources of magnesium. Organic foods may have more magnesium if grown in nutrient-rich soils but it is very difficult to make that determination. If you opt for a supplement, be aware that there are a wide variety of magnesium supplements on the market, because magnesium must be bound to another substance. There's simply no such thing as a 100 percent magnesium supplement.

The substance used in any given compound can affect the absorption and bioavailability of the magnesium, and may provide slightly different, or targeted, health benefits. The table that follows summarizes some of the differences between the various forms. Magnesium threonate and citrate are some of the best sources, as it seems to penetrate cell membranes, including your mitochondria, which results in higher energy levels. Additionally, it also penetrates your blood-brain barrier and seems to do wonders to treat and prevent dementia and improve memory. If you take a supplement, you can use the “bowel test” to determine if you’re taking too much magnesium. Dr. Dean explains:¹²

“The best way to tell if you are getting enough magnesium is the “bowel test”. You know when you have too much magnesium when your stools become loose. This, in fact, may be a blessing for people with constipation… [which] is one of the many ways magnesium deficiency manifests.”

Besides taking a supplement, another way to improve your magnesium status is to take regular Epsom salt baths or foot baths. Epsom salt is a magnesium sulfate that can absorb into your body through your skin. Magnesium oil can also be used for topical application and absorption. Whatever supplement you choose, be sure to avoid any containing magnesium stearate, a common but potentially hazardous additive.

Magnesium glycinate is a chelated form of magnesium that tends to provide the highest levels of absorption and bioavailability and is typically considered ideal for those who are trying to correct a deficiency.	Magnesium oxide is a non-chelated type of magnesium, bound to an organic acid or a fatty acid. Contains 60 percent magnesium, and has stool softening properties
Magnesium chloride/Magnesium lactate contain only 12 percent magnesium, but has better absorption than others, such as magnesium oxide, which contains five times more magnesium	Magnesium sulfate/Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) are typically used as laxatives. Be aware that it's easy to overdose on these, so ONLY take as directed
Magnesium carbonate, which has antacid properties, contains 45 percent magnesium	Magnesium taurate contains a combination of magnesium and taurine, an amino acid. Together, they tend to provide a calming effect on your body and mind
Magnesium citrate is magnesium with citric acid, which like most magnesium supplements has laxative properties but is well absorbed and cost effective	Magnesium threonate is a newer, emerging type of magnesium supplement that appears promising, primarily due to its superior ability to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane, and may be the best magnesium supplement on the market

Spirulina

  A Luxury Health Food and a Possible Panacea for Malnutrition

 

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By Dr. Mercola

Spirulina, a type of blue-green algae, is an incredible superfood that provides a concentrated source of protein, vitamins, antioxidants, and other nutrients. As one of the oldest life forms on Earth, the use of spirulina as a food source dates all the way back to 9th century Chad, and it is believed spirulina was used by the Aztecs in 16th-century Mexico.¹

Spirulina, a type of one-celled organism, got its name from the Latin word for “helix” or “spiral” because of its spring-like physical characteristic. In the US, spirulina is mostly known as a nutritional supplement or an ingredient to add nutrient power to smoothies and green drinks. However, in other parts of the world, spirulina is regarded as a valuable food source to prevent malnutrition.

 

What Makes Spirulina a Nutritional Superstar?

Although spirulina is often described as "blue-green algae," it is technically a type of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are classified as bacteria because their genetic material is not organized in a membrane-bound nucleus. Unlike other bacteria, they have chlorophyll and use the sun as an energy source, in the way plants and algae do.
One of the special traits of spirulina is its rich protein content—it's 50 to 70 percent protein by weight (which is even better than red meat, which is about 27 percent protein). It also contains all of the essential amino acids, and 10 of the 12 non-essential amino acids, along with a potent array of other beneficial nutrients, such as:

B vitamins (including exceptionally high B-12), vitamin K, and other vitamins	Naturally rich in iodine	Minerals (including calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, manganese, potassium, and zinc)
One of best known sources of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, an important fatty acid for heart and joints)	Other essential fatty acids, including sulfolipids, which may be protective against HIV infection of T-helper cells2	Phytopigments (phycocyanin, chlorophyll, and carotenoids)
Metallo-thionine compounds (proteins combined with metals that bind heavy radioactive isotopes)	Low in carbohydrates (15-20 percent)	Eighteen different amino acids

In addition to this rich nutritional blend, spirulina has the following special properties:

• The proteins in spirulina are of a highly digestible type (83 to 90 percent digestible), due to the fact that it does not have cellulose walls, like yeast and chlorella do. Therefore, the net protein utilization (NPU) is high (between 53 and 61 percent) and requires no cooking to increase the bioavailability of its proteins.
• Studies confirm a very high "protein efficiency ratio" (PER) for spirulina, meaning your body will be able to efficiently use these amino acids.
• Gamma-linolenic acid is rarely this high in ANY food and normally has to be synthesized by your body from linoleic acid. GLA is a precursor to important biochemicals, such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and thromboxanes, which serve as chemical mediators for inflammatory and immune reactions.
• Spirulina has no fatty acids with uneven carbon numbers and very low-level branched-chain fatty acids—two types of lipids that higher order animals, like you and me, cannot metabolize.
• Spirulina has about the same calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium content as milk, a vitamin E (tocopherol) level comparable to wheat germ, and four times as much vitamin B12 as raw liver!

 

Using Spirulina to Help Fight Malnutrition

Wild spirulina grows wild in the alkaline lakes of Mexico and on the African continent, although it is commercially grown and harvested all over the world. It reproduces quickly, and because the individual organisms tend to clump together, it's easy to harvest.

Commercial production of spirulina is estimated to reach 220,000 tons by the year 2020. Japan is the largest producer of spirulina, as well as the largest consumer, however its use is growing in India, as well.
For instance, the organization Antenna India provides spirulina “sweets” to children at risk of malnutrition and offer low-cost spirulina to women in self-help groups, who can then sell the superfood for profit while raising awareness about malnutrition.³

Research has shown that children who received a spirulina supplement daily five days a week for two months had better nutritional status and improved intellectual status compared to those who did not.⁴
This food is so nutritionally dense, in fact, that NASA and The European Space Agency are researching the benefits of incorporating spirulina into astronauts’ diets on spaceships and on Mars.⁵

Even beyond nutrition, spirulina offers multiple advantages to the environment and those who cultivate it. For instance, producing spirulina requires 10 times less water than other vegetables, and harvests occur year-round. And according to Antenna India, compared to soy, spirulina has a 20-fold greater harvest of protein per acre.⁶

Further, spirulina is easy to grow and reproduces itself with a rapid growth rate of about 30 percent a day.⁷ It offers benefits for workers, too, especially compared to other traditional jobs, such as working on rice paddies. According to development professional Amy Sheppey:⁸

“The women cultivating spirulina are paid a fair wage – about double in comparison to rice paddy workers – and the job is much less physically strenuous.

What’s more, the work is not dependent on good weather conditions and the women are not left vulnerable through intermittent employment. Considering spirulina’s numerous benefits, I question to this day why it is not used more widely across the development sector.”

 

Enhance Your Immune System, Reduce Inflammation, and Fight Chronic Disease with Spirulina

The health benefits of spirulina are vast and appear to impact virtually every area of your body. For instance, spirulina shows great potential for people with cardiovascular disease, in terms of creating better lipid profiles, controlling hypertension, and increasing blood vessel elasticity.

Animal studies suggest spirulina can also protect your liver, probably as a result of its high antioxidant properties and its ability to synthesize or release nitric oxide, and in a study of three antioxidant-rich diets (blueberries, spinach, and spirulina) spirulina was found to have the highest neuroprotective effect, possibly due to its ability to squelch free radicals and reduce inflammation.⁹

Spirulina has also been shown to benefit such wide-ranging conditions as arsenic poisoning to allergies. According to one study, patients treated with spirulina reported relief of symptoms commonly associated with allergic rhinitis, such as nasal discharge and congestion, sneezing, and itching.¹⁰ In fact, there are scientific studies supporting spirulina's potential usefulness in preventing and/or treating the following health conditions:

AMD (Age-related macular degeneration)	Type 2 diabetes
Cardiovascular disease, including hypertension	NAFLD (Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease)
Liver health and decreased damage from heavy metal exposure	Cerebrovascular disease (including stroke)
Nutritional diseases, such as iron-deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia (B12 deficiency), vitamin A deficiency, and kwashiorkor	Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
Protection from HIV11 and other viruses	Reduced allergy symptoms12
Cancer protection13	Radiation protection
Bone marrow and blood health14 (especially during use of anticancer drugs)	Strengthening immune defenses15 and modulating inflammatory response
Reduced pain sensitivity16 by inhibiting prostaglandins, which contribute to pain and inflammation	Reduction of arthritis symptoms
Protection from the damage of ionizing radiation

 

Spirulina Safety: Beware of Contamination

Spirulina has a record of safety, even at high doses,¹⁷ with few reported side effects. However, if harvest from polluted waters, or cultivated incorrectly, it can accumulate toxins from the environment. For this reason, I recommend you avoid spirulina from Japan and nearby waters harvested after March 1, 2011, as they may be contaminated with radiation from the Fukushima nuclear incident. Ideally, only consume organic spirulina from a reputable source that is grown in pollutant-free waters.

If you are going to start on a spirulina regimen, the recommended dosage is 3,000 milligrams (mg) per day for adults, and 500 to 1,500 mg for children, for use as a preventative. For therapeutic use, 10,000 to even 20,000 mg per day is required for adults. However, remember that, in addition to being your powerhouse of essential vitamins and minerals, spirulina is a potent detoxifier. For that reason, it is best to start with a small dose and work your way up. Once you see how your body responds, you can then gradually increase your intake. Again, while side effects are minimal, the most prominent reactions you may experience are:

• Slight Fever -- The high protein content in spirulina increases metabolism, which may elevate your body temperature.
• Dark Green Waste Matter -- Spirulina can remove accumulated waste product in your colon, which may cause darker stool. Also, spirulina is high in chlorophyll. This will also turn waste matter green.
• Excessive Passing of Gas -- This may indicate that your digestive system is not functioning properly or you have an extreme build-up of gas.
• Feelings of Excitement or Sleepiness -- Your body is converting protein into heat energy, which may cause temporary feelings of restlessness. On the other hand, the detoxification process may also cause sleepiness, which may indicate your body is exhausted and needs better rest.
• Breakouts and Itchy Skin -- This is caused by the colon cleansing process and is only temporary.

It’s very likely that your body will go through an adjustment period with spirulina, and your best bet to reduce potential reactions is to start out small and increase your dose gradually to see how your body will react. However, there are some people who seem to be sensitive to spirulina and can’t tolerate it. If you are one of those, it would be wise to avoid spirulina. You might try chlorella, which has similar benefits. Most people can tolerate either chlorella or spirulina.