I am attaching a link to an article about a study that just came out and is well worth the read. I will put the link below in green.
Vitamin D is important for so many things and is often overlooked.
One of the roles of Vitamin D is that it is vital for the growth and health of bone; without it, bones will be soft, malformed, and unable to repair themselves normally, resulting in diseases called rickets in children anosteomalacia in adults.
Immunity
One of the big factors we should be honing in on though is Vitamin D’s role in immunity. According to Dr. Fred Pescatore, in his personal COVID-19 protection protocol recommendation, when it comes to vitamin D 3, is that it helps white blood cells destroy viruses that sneak into lungs, lowering the risk of respiratory infection by 64% and COVID complications seven-fold. While sunshine boosts D-3, supplementing ensures adequate levels. Dr. Pescatore says: “I suggest 50,000 IU for two days, then 15,000 daily.”
* Be sure to follow you own Doctor’s advice regarding supplementing with D3. I am simply sharing his Protocol from Woman’s World Magazine, Sept. 14, 2020
Also according to Dr. Pescatore:
“People at higher risk of deficiency include the elderly or obese people, people who don’t get enough sun exposure, people with darker skin, and people who take certain medications for long periods of time. Adequate sun exposure is typically estimated to be two periods per week of 5-20 minutes. People who do not have adequate sun exposure may obtain the vitamin D that they need from food sources or supplements”
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For those that live in my part of the world, here in Canada, we know that most of us are deficient in this critical nutrient. In fact, I have in the past requested Vitamin D testing and was told it was a waste of time and they don’t recommend it because they already KNOW that more than 80% of the population here is deficient!
Wow, what does that tell you? I highly recommend reading the article and you may want to take the issue of your Vitamin D levels and put it at the forefront of your personal health care routine.
Maggie’s Favorite Vitamin D Product because of its exceptional delivery system. You can read the details by clicking on the picture. Included are the ingredients, benefits, info on the delivery system as well as the science behind it all.
Eye floaters are spots or dots that appear in your vision and you seem to have to chase them in your vision.
I remember the first time I had eye floaters when I didn’t know what they were. I thought it was a little bug or fly in my kitchen and I kept trying to catch it. 🙂 I eventually realized that the object I was chasing was in my vision and asked around about what was happening to me (this was pre Google) and found out about eye floaters.
Although these are often harmless, they can sometimes indicate a serious condition so if your eye floaters persist be sure to visit your eye doctor for a proper examination.
As for eye health, nutrients are important for eye health, just as nutrients are important for all organs and body parts that we have.
I have been drinking daily celery juice and now realize that I no longer have eye floaters and I also have had an improvement in my eye sight.
I was reading today in Anthony Williams book “Medical Medium Celery Juice” this:
“Celery juice helps with eye floaters by reducing inflammation that occurs on the optic nerve – which is what’s responsible for this mystery symptom that confuses medical research ad science. White spots, flares, white flashes, or black spots that occur without noticeable damager to the retina, pupil, or any other part of the eye are the result of neurotoxins from the Epstein-Barr virus, combined with heavy metals such as mercury, inflaming the optic nerve.
The powerful flavonoids and vitamin C that travel with celery juice’s sodium cluster salts and specific nerves in and around the brain, including the optic nerve. They disperse neurotoxins that have been sitting on the nerve, and they even protect the nerve from viral invasion while feeding nerve cells, allowing the optic nerve to rejuvenate.”
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Some of the most important nutrients for eye health
The most important nutrients for eye health include:
Vitamins C, A, and E.
Zinc.
Selenium.
Anthocyanins.
DHA.
It is interesting to note that when I do hair mineral analysis testing for clients to determine the presence of heavy metals in the body and brain as well as checking for nutrient deficiencies and imbalances, we almost always see low levels of Zinc and Selenium!
I personally supplement with all of the above mentioned nutrients as well my daily 16 ounces of celery juice.
There are two supplements that I highly recommend for eye health and general health. If you are looking to support your eye health and your health in general you might want to consider taking a look at these two in particular. They are beneficial for eye health and so much more!
Next is one of the most important nutrients of our time. Vitamin C! This one is delivered in a delicious drinkable form as well and taste great. You can even mix the OPC-3 and Vitamin C together and along with any other Isotonix supplements. I drink these every morning and have for 23 years!
Isotonix Vitamin C
I hope that you found this helpful and I will share some other links here too that you may also find beneficial.
It is interesting to see that there is a lot of scientific research coming down the pipes around the topic of pets and their contribution to our mental and physical health.
For pet owners who adore their pets, I am sure this is no surprise, but it is nice to see it scientifically backed also.
Researchers from the U.K. conducted a survey of 6,000 participants during the country’s lockdown period, lasting from late March to early June of this year. Roughly 90 percent of respondents reported having at least one pet. Source http://sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200926145210.htm
And it did not matter what type of pet it was, whether it was a dog, cat, guinea pig, or fish, that animal companion ended up providing a significant buffer against psychological stress.
More than 90 percent of the survey’s respondents said that their pet helped them cope with the emotional fallout of lockdown. It is also important to note, that nearly all of them said that their pet also was helpful in keeping them active and fit, which is a huge contributor to better health overall.
It sounds to me, that having a pet to love and play with is a win-win situation all around.
One of the fears of pet owners during the pandemic, however, is having access to quality and accessible vetertary services. As a Nutritionist I cannot stress enough the importance of supplementing to plug any nutritional leaks that YOU or your pet might have 🙂
The more we can support our own immune systems, as well as our furry family members, the better!
I know a lot of people think that supplementation is about the Now and sometimes when they feel great or there are no troubles, they think it is not necessary, but the real truth is, supplementing is for the future!
By supplementing with high quality nutrients you may be able to prevent future complications and actually save money by for example, reduced doctors or vetertarain visits.
So many of you know that I am an advocate of celery juice and try to drink it every day.
Well just over a week ago, I was commenting on a friend’s FB thread where they were talking about avoiding night shade vegetables.
There were many comments back and forth, but I am only going to share a few here to lay the framework of the point of my post here.
My first comment to my friend…
We went back and forth and then I shared this comment.
So speed ahead to 11 days later and Lei tags me in a post! I guess she researched the Medical Medium work and tried celery juice. Here is what she said.
And if you are wondering what HS is:
Hidradenitis suppurativa (hi-drad-uh-NIE-tis sup-yoo-ruh-TIE-vuh) is a skin condition that causes small, painful lumps to form under the skin. The lumps can break open, or tunnels can form under the skin. The condition mostly affects areas where the skin rubs together, such as the armpits, groin, buttocks and breasts.
And another one from my friend.
In conclusion, I can’t wait to see if celery juice continues to help Lei. And I am so glad that she shared this with me.
I for one, am a firm believer in celery juice and its benefits and have heard and read countless amazing stories of how it has helped people. I will keep spreading the word. 🙂
Show some love to you furry family members by cuddling them as much as possible. And we all know that they LOVE it, but it is super good for OUR health too!
A study in the journal Science found that dog owners, for example, experienced a 300% increase in the calming hormone oxytocin after spending just 30 minutes cuddling, petting or playing with their pooch!!!
Domestic animals have a way of calming us and lowering our stress response.
And it doesn’t matter our age, young or old, this works!
A little girl hugging her doggie
Instead of just walking the dog today, why not make pet time and play a priority and a part of your daily self-care? It seems to me like everybody wins. 🙂
Lately I been having trouble getting paper towels. First it was toilet paper and now paper towels. Go figure.
Anyhoo, the cool thing is that I came up with a creative solution and it ties in with one of my favorite topics which is thrift store shopping and my love of fresh air!
Here was one of my thrift store scores from a while back:
A pretty flannel sheet with roses on it
This was a king sized flat panel flannel sheet that I picked up at the thrift store for like $2 or something like that.
More than a sheet!
But this sheet is more than a sheet. I have used it for a cover at the lake house for my futon that I had on the deck this summer and it tied in with my ‘shabby chic’ theme. It ended up getting a hole in it but who cares? It was 2 bucks!
Now it has more wonderful uses:
My pretty sheet cut up into various sizes of towels or rags
I cut the entire sheet up in to various sizes of towels or rags, or call them what you will. These are now, rags for around the house, used in drying my fruits and veggies, and now also paper towels substitutes!
My cut up flannel towels on the paper towel rack.
The best part about using these is that I wash them and then dry them on the clothes line and the smell is oh so amazing. So I love using them for that reason too. Not to mention how pretty they are.
I will be on the hunt for more flannel sheets to add to my collection and then we can all have our own color in our household too…. 🙂
I love recycling, reusing, repurposing and helping charities and the environment. What’s not to love about all of those things?
Have a great day everyone and if you want to see some of my favorite thrift store treasures that I have found here is the link:
Snap Laundry Detergent – Triple Enzyme Maggie’s favorite NON-TOXIC & Enviro-friendly laundry soap delivered right to your door. Also available in scent free and large quantities.
Shoulders are the forgotten body part until they are not 🙂
We kind of forget about our shoulders until we are stressed or start having some kind of shoulder trouble whether it is simply tension or as far along as frozen shoulder.
In the past when I have been very stressed I can remember feeling as though I was hanging on a coat hanger. Can you relate to this? 🙂 It is a visual for me and was exactly how I felt. In fact, I would wake up in the morning, sit on the toilet and realize that I had my shoulders hunched up all the way to my ears! I still find myself doing this, but now I notice more quickly and then consciously choose to relax them.
Giving some love to your shoulders is very important. If you go to the gym there are various exercises, weights, and machines you can use to strengthen and stretch your shoulders, but I want to share an easy Shoulder Exercise you can anywhere. Doing these types of shoulder exercises are especially important in this time of lots of Zooming and excess screen time.
2 Shoulder Exercises
Shrug your shoulders as far as you can all the way up towards your ears. Now hold for 5 to 15 or so seconds. Then relax. Repeat this pattern three times. It will feel great!
2. Let your arms fall beside you and slowly rotate your shoulders forward in a circle. Repeat continuously 10 times. And then do the same thing but rotate your shoulders backwards. It will feel great!
I hope you found these 2 simple exercises helpful. 🙂
There are SO many health benefits to garlic. I try to use lots of garlic in my cooking every day.
Roasted Garlic is an easy go-to and easy to make and delightful to eat in a variety of ways. You can smear it on crusty bread or crackers, put it into mashed potatoes, dips, add it to soups and gravies, pasta dishes, etc. The list is endless.
This is one ingredient for cooking that you can get creative with.
Here is the basic How-To to roast up that lovely garlic.
10 heads of medium sized garlic cloves
3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Preheat over to 400 degrees F
Arrange the heads of garlic on a baking sheet.
Bake 40 minutes to one hour. When the garlic is soft and squeezable you have met your target for the perfect roasted garlic recipe.
Remove from oven, let cool and it is ready to use. Store any remainder in a small glass container in the refrigerator. I like to reuse glass jars for things like this. They work perfectly.
I would love to hear ways that you incorporate garlic and/or roasted garlic into your cooking?
Let’s face it our pets are members of our family and we are living in a world where toxicity levels, stress and industrial pollution are at an all-time high. There has never been a more important time for us and our pets to be taking antioxidents
A free radical is an atomic structure with an unpaired electron in its outermost shell. These unpaired electrons tend to be highly reactive, resulting in chemical reactions such as oxidation. Because they have one or more unpaired electrons, free radicals are highly unstable. They scavenge the body to grab or donate electrons, causing damage to cells, proteins and DNA. Free radicals are naturally occurring; however, air pollution, stress, cigarette smoke and heavy exercising all contribute to the creation of harmful free radicals. Free radicals can cause oxidative damage. Normally the animal’s body is able to protect itself from the damaging effects of free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if free radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur. Antioxidants are natural cell protectors, neutralizing free radicals by pairing an electron to the outermost shell of radical oxygen molecules, rendering them harmless. Antioxidants are nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and enzymes that are capable of counteracting the damaging, but normal, effects of the physiological process of oxidation in bodily tissues. Antioxidants work in two ways: chain breaking and prevention. A chain-breaking antioxidant such as vitamins A, C and E, stabilize free radicals or cause them to decay into harmless atomic structures. A preventative antioxidant prevents the oxidation process by scavenging free radicals.
PetHealth OPC is a food supplement made from a combination of bilberry, grape seed, red wine, pine bark extracts, citrus extract bioflavonoids, and glucosamine, designed to promote health joins and provide a strong antioxidant defense. Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) are bioflavonoids (complex organic plant compounds) found in fruits, vegetables and certain tree barks that provide exceptional nutritional benefits to your pet’s body. Studies have shown OPCs to be up to 20 times more powerful than vitamin C and 50 times more powerful than vitamin E in neutralizing free radicals. PetHealth OPC Formula with Glucosamine offers a unique, great-tasting powder that is sprinkled over your pet’s regular food. It represents the latest technology available today in naturally based pet food supplements. PetHealth OPC Formula is available in a tasty beef flavor that your pets will love – and you’ll love knowing that you’re doing all you can to help your pets stay healthy and live long, healthy lives. Pets face many of the same issues as humans. Many pet foods are over processed and have little nutritive value. Dogs and cats breathe in the same pollution as we do, inhaling harmful free radicals. Potent antioxidants like OPCs help to strengthen your pet’s free radical defenses. Antioxidants promote cardiovascular health, support healthy visual acuity, promote healthy blood vessel dilation and promote healthy platelet activity.
Your Pets and Joint Health As pets become older, antioxidants become even more important in the fight against free radicals and their associated effects on cells in joints and other tissues. All animals are at risk for declining joint health. Many factors can affect joint health and the integrity of cartilage, including diet, genetic make-up and activity levels. The cold wintery months can also contribute to a decline in joint comfort. Each animal’s genetic code, for example, can influence the thickness and durability of its cartilage and its overall joint health. Proper nutrition, especially antioxidant supplementation, is critical in maintaining healthy joints. Glucosamine has been shown to promote the retention and normal regeneration of cartilage, support normal movement and flexibility of joints and promote joint comfort.
Ingredients
Grape Seed Extract Grape seed extract helps protect cells from free radical damage. Rich in polyphenols, beneficial compounds that have been shown to support normal circulation, grape seed extract can help maintain a healthy circulatory system.
Red Wine Extract Red wine extract is a potent antioxidant that contains beneficial amounts of resveratrol. Resveratrol can promote normal blood platelet activity and it is believed that it is partially responsible for the cardiovascular health benefits associated with red wine.
Pine Bark Extract Another strong antioxidant, pine bark extract has been shown to support normal circulation, the immune system and the strength of blood vessel walls.
Bilberry Extract Bilberry extract is beneficial in promoting strong red blood cells and capillaries, specifically around the eyes and in the retina. Bilberry extract supports the capillaries in the body to help maintain optimal peripheral circulation.
Citrus Bioflavonoids Citrus bioflavonoids are natural substances found in fruits and vegetables, nuts, and some tree barks. They counter the effects of free radical damage and also promote respiratory health.
Glucosamine There are numerous European studies showing a clear benefit of glucosamine supplements for promoting joint health. Glucosamine may also support chondrocytes (cartilage cells) in the normal production of healthy new cartilage.
Optimization by Blending It has been suggested that several antioxidants blended together in moderate amounts may be more effective than high levels of one antioxidant. The blend of antioxidants in PetHealth OPC Formula Powder includes grape seed extract, red wine extract, pine bark extract, bilberry extract and citrus bioflavonoids. These antioxidants contain oligomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPCs. Much the same way antioxidants can help optimize a person’s health, they can also be beneficial to our dogs and cats. Antioxidants help fight the damage caused by free radicals. They can also help support immune responses and support normal vaccine recognition in dogs and cats. Young animals can benefit tremendously from antioxidants. Antioxidants can help maintain optimum health in your animal’s gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems, liver, kidneys, eyes and immune system. Another important role of pet antioxidants is their ability to support immune-cell function for dogs and cats in their senior years.
What are OPCs? OPCs, or oligomeric proanthocyanidins, can help reduce free radical damage, support the strength and normal repair of connective tissue, and can support proper enzyme activity. OPCs can also help maintain normal histamine levels. Not limited to being just strong antioxidants, OPCs are also crucial in their role in supporting the circulatory system.
What are antioxidants, and why should I give them to my pets? Antioxidants are naturally occurring nutrients that help maintain optimum health by protecting against free radicals. Antioxidants are found in the body naturally as well as in many plants. Even cells that function normally generate large amounts of oxygen free radicals. Free radicals have an unpaired electron, making many of them reactive and destructive. When free radicals roam freely throughout the body unregulated by antioxidants, they can attack various healthy cell structures, including cell membranes, proteins, RNA and DNA. Certain factors in everyday life encourage an increase in the formation of free radicals for humans and pets alike. These factors include the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Each one of these necessities can contain harmful reactants. We need a “neutralizer” in our body to rid our system of these harmful reactants and a strong and effective antioxidant is the best way to fight free radical damage. It is becoming increasingly apparent to veterinarians that antioxidant supplementation could very well provide optimal health support for dogs and cats in a manner similar to that experienced by humans. Both pets and their owners could benefit from a “neutralizer” operating in their systems that fight free radicals. A strong antioxidant is the best way to fight free radicals.
What is a bioflavonoid? Bioflavonoids are complex organic plant compounds. Plants and fruits differ in colors based on the specific bioflavonoids they contain. An increasing number of clinical studies have shown how bioflavonoids support health. Bioflavonoids and OPCs play a key role in supporting cardiovascular health and maintaining vascular integrity. Bioflavonoids have been shown to support healthy circulation and cell vitality. Normal collagen renewal is promoted, which supports firmness of the skin, joint cartilage and connective tissue.
What is the history of OPCs? In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier was leading an expedition up the St. Lawrence River. Trapped by bad weather, Cartier and his crew were forced to survive on a ration of salted meat and biscuits. Cartier’s crew began to suffer from severe deficiency of vitamin C and showed symptoms of scurvy. Many crew members died before the surviving members encountered a friendly Native American who saved most of their lives. He told them to make a tea from the bark and needles of the pine tree to cure their malady. They complied and, as a result, Cartier and many crew members survived. Some 400 years later, Professor Jacques Masquelier of the University of Bordeaux, France, read a book by Cartier detailing their expedition. He concluded that pine bark not only contained some vitamin C, but obviously was a good source of bioflavonoids, whose effects are similar to those of vitamin C. Further studies and research revealed that the pine bark contained an array of proanthocyanidins complexes. These compounds were also found in a variety of plants, including grape seeds, cranberries, peanut skin, lemon tree bark and citrus rinds. Masquelier termed the active ingredients of the pine bark “pycnogenols”, which today are referred to in the scientific community as oligomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPCs.
This morning I was drinking my celery juice and was getting ready to wash my juicer and I thought “Hey, I should make some of my Celery Juice Pulp & Potato Soup”! And it is the perfect day for it, not that there is never a perfect day for this delicious soup. But today is rainy here so it makes it extra perfect. 🙂
I have made this soup before and even my 14 year old daughter loves this one so this is a big, big, bonus. I am sure you will too.
After I made the soup I was still working on drinking my celery juice and knew that I should finish that and wait for a bit before I have anything else to eat or drink, but I couldn’t! This soup is that good. I had to try some. And let me tell you my taste buds loved it, but so did my tummy. Seriously, it is the most soothing soup ever!
This soup is tasty, soothing and healing! You just can’t go wrong with this one.
And I will show you step by step how to make it. But first the recipe:
Celery Juice pulp that you have. I had about 14 stalks worth of pulp. If you don’t have celery juice pulp, just chop up about 7 or so stalks of celery.
6 small to medium sized potatoes. I had these to use up.
3 to 4 garlic cloves or more if you love garlic.
1 small onion diced or more if you love onion. I am one of those cooks that says to go with your gut and intuition. We don’t have rules in my kitchen. 🙂
2 veg bouillon cubes. I used organic, non GMO and gluten free. Note: depending on the diet you are following Ex.. Medical Medium perhaps, you could omit these and the soup would still be good with the use of salt and pepper
Salt & Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. And again depending on your diet you could omit and sautee the garlic and onions in a bit of water.
Okay Let’s Get Started!
My potatoes, onion, garlic, celery juice pulp and my celery juice to sip on while I cook. 🙂
You might notice that my potatoes are on the soft side and look like they are ready to be used up and they are but that is fine for this soup because we will be blending it baby! I don’t waste any food because it is medicine!
6 cups of water and my 2 Vegetable Bouillon cubes Olive Oil and Lotsa Pepper. I love pepper!
Again depending on your diet you could omit this step entirely and just use water to saute the garlic and onions (not quite the same)
Garlic and onions and EVO and pepper
Can you smell these? Wow. The best smell in the world. Nothing better than garlic and onions cooking together. Cook these just until soft.
Celery Juice Pulp, Potatoes and 2 Veg Bouillon Cubes go into the pot.
Into the pot they go! I like using a big cast iron pot like this one. I use these pots for everything!
6 cups of water for the Celery Juice Pulp Soup
Next is your 6 cups of water. Now you could take your two bouillon cubes and stir them into the water and use hot water before you put in the pot. Probably a better idea than what I did which was to just throw them in the pot. It turned out okay because it was blended at the end, but I could see they hadn’t dissolved after boiling.
Celery Juice Pulp Soup boiling
Get your soup boiling and then slowly boil or simmer it until the potatoes are fork tender. Looking good already though!
The soup is done and potatoes are fork tender.
The soup is done! And didn’t take long at all. And by the way, you can cut your potatoes in any size you want and even leave the skins on if you want. I removed mine because my potatoes were not that fresh.
Now time to head to your Vitamix or blender.
The cooked soup in the Vitamix ready to be blended.Celery Juice Pulp Soup back in the pot after blending.My finished product. A delightful bowl of Celery Juice Pulp & Potato Soup
Now I have to say this was one of the best bowls of soup that I have ever had. I very much listen to my body and my body loved this! I intuitively know that the soothing and nutrient dense ingredients in the potatoes are what I need!
If I had to give one word to this soup, it would be SOOTHING. 🙂
I hope that you enJOY!
And here is a link to other ideas for celery juice pulp:
MaggiesVitamins 