Megan Rand

Category: Detoxification

  • My Favorite Uses for Lemon, Lavender & Peppermint Essential Oils

    My Favorite Uses for Lemon, Lavender & Peppermint Essential Oils

     

    I started using doTERRA essential oils a few months ago and still continue to be amazed at the number of applications that they have. The Intro Kit, around $26, includes Lemon, Lavender & Peppermint. By far, these are the 3 oils that I use the most.

     

    The essential oils were a savior during our cross country road trip from San Diego to NH. With a 3 yr old in tow, you never know what you might get into! They came in handy for bug bites, sunburns, clogged sinuses and to make lemon water on the go.

     

    Here are my favorite uses for the basics trio:

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    Lemon

     

    Warm Lemon Water in the morning. When traveling, carrying a bag of lemons for your morning lemon water is pretty darn inconvenient. Although inconvenient, this is often when we need to support our liver and digestion the most.  Add 1-2 drops of Lemon oil to warm water in the morning.

    Eradicate Undesirable Smells. Wish your bedroom didn’t smell like the salmon you made for dinner last night? Diffuse Lemon oil to neutralize odors.

    Pick-Me-Up. When you lack motivation or energy, try rubbing a drop of Lemon oil on your hands, the back of your neck or even through your hair. You’ll be amazed at the power of the lemony aroma!

    All-Purpose Cleaner. Mix 5-6 drops Lemon essential oil with water and vinegar in a spray bottle to cleanse and purify surfaces. Use to clean kitchen counters and stainless steel appliances. For stainless steel, mix Lemon essential oil with olive oil for best results.

    Get Rid Of The Sticky Stuff. Lemon essential oil is excellent for removing sticky tree sap, sticker residue and permanent marker. It even gets gum out of hair!

    Super Study Powers. Diffuse with Peppermint in the classroom or during homework time to help the kids stay awake and focused.

    Preserve the Fruit. Use Lemon essential oil in a spray to keep your cut fruit fresh until serving.

    Refresh Bad Smelling Washcloths. When your kitchen washcloths smell foul and could use a boost, add Lemon oil to your detergent, soak overnight, wash, dry and your kitchen will smell so much better!

    Nourish Your Leathers & Furniture. Preserve and prevent leather from splitting with a Lemon oil soaked cloth. Also, a few drops of Lemon essential oil combined with a few drops of olive oil makes a great furniture polish.

    ‘Lemonize’ Your Laundry. Instead of dryer sheets, try adding a few drops of Lemon oil  to a damp washcloth in the dryer with the rest of your laundry. Be sure to set the dryer to a low temperature cycle, as high heat will lessen the effects of the oil.

     

    Lavender

     

    Take A Lavender Bath. Drop a few drops of Lavender essential oil along with Epsom salts or magnesium oil to your bath water for an ultra-relaxing experience. This is my favorite use!

    Sleeps Best Friend. Rub on the bottoms of the feet for a more restful sleep. A few drops of Lavender placed on a pillow will help a restless toddler (or adult) fall asleep and stay asleep. (Lily’s requests lavender every night!)

    Bug Bites. Rub Lavender oil on your bugbites in the evening when they start to itch like crazy. This worked really well for my daughter this summer who was eaten alive in NH!

    Quick Fix. Mix three parts fractionated coconut oil with one part Lavender essential oil in a small spray bottle or roll on to help clear up skin irritation associated with chafing. Great for little ones!

    Enjoy A Fresh And Clean Mattress. Sprinkle a mixture of 1 cup baking soda and 10 drops of Lavender essential oil over your mattress. Allow the mixture to sit for at least one hour then use the vacuum hose to clean it up. You can combine with drops of Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Clove, or Rosemary as well.

    Ouch! That’s Hot! The next time someone doesn’t realize the iron or pan is still hot, apply Lavender oil to the affected area to soothe skin irritation, relieve redness and ease swelling.

    Homemade Aftershave. Use after shaving to soothe and soften skin and to lessen the redness and burning caused by razor burn.

    Take the “Ouch” Out. One drop of Lavender will help relieve the pain and sensitivity of occasional sore gums, dry or chapped lips, occasional scrapes and abrasions, or after too much sun.

    Clear The Mind. Apply Lavender to the temples and back of the neck to lessen the effects of stress and anxiety and to promote mental clarity.

     

    Peppermint

     

    Stuffed up Sinuses. Dilute a drop of Peppermint oil combined with fractionated coconut oil and place under your nose to support open airways and help you breathe easily.

    Peppermint Smoothies! Peppermint makes a delicious addition to all things chocolate. I add a drop into a cacao nib smoothie and I feel like I am having a mint chocolate chip milkshake. YUM!

    Bad Breath? Use a drop of Peppermint with Lemon in water for a healthy, refreshing mouth rinse.  It freshens breath and builds confidence in your close encounters.

    Take a Deep Breath. Inhale deeply to invigorate lungs and increase alertness.

    Stressed? Apply to neck and forehead with Lavender to relieve tension and pressure.

    A Joint Effort.  Peppermint is a great way to cool joints without taking an ice bath. It helps to soothe occasional soreness in muscles and joints.

    Tummy Calmer. Rub on the stomach or take internally for occasional digestive discomfort.

    Out on the Open Road. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel! Inhale Peppermint from a handkerchief or straight from the bottle to perk up on long drives.

    Approaching Deadlines Mean Long and Late Hours. Rather than grab a Snickers to revitalize you as you ‘go the extra mile’, deeply inhale Peppermint to feel revitalized and ready to go.

    Un-Block Writer’s Block. Peppermint can support blood circulation and leave you feeling rejuvenated to keep those creative juices flowing. Simply spritz peppermint on child’s shirt before study time for improved concentration and alertness.

     

    What else do you use your essential oils for?  We LOVE learning new tricks.  Share with us!

    Check out all the amazing oils available from doTERRA here.

     

     

    Adapted from: http://www.doterraeveryday.com/150physiciankituses/

     

  • 6 Ways Juicing Can Help You Lose Weight

    6 Ways Juicing Can Help You Lose Weight

    Juicing is all the rage lately!  There is a juice bar on every corner and $8 cold pressed green juices are flying off the shelf.  Is this a silly fad?  Why not just eat the fruits and vegetables?   Juicing provides a high level of quality nutrition that many people may not be able to otherwise absorb. By bypassing the need for stellar digestion (which is uncommon nowadays!), we can help build our vitamin and minerals stores. Having optimum nutrient levels will naturally assist in weight-loss.   Read on to find out how adding in a juice can help you slim down.

    1) Easy Digestion

    One of the best benefits of juicing fresh fruit and vegetables is that drinking them (as opposed to eating them) makes them really easy for your body to digest.  Many of my clients find through functional lab work that they have “leaky gut” or intestinal permeability.  With a compromised GI tract, it can be hard to digest and absorb the same amount of raw vegetables found in a juice. But by juicing those vegetables, you can absorb a dense quantity of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients really easily.

     2) Reduction in Cravings

    When you drink a glass of freshly made vegetable or green juice, you are loading every cell of your body with detoxifying minerals. By drinking your veggies and fruit, you are giving your body all the amazing nutrients that it needs to heal, stay healthy, and reduce the risk of illness. In turn, you will also find that you experience a reduction in cravings, particularly for sweets or processed foods. Often when we eat junk foods, we confuse the body.  After eating, a message is sent to the brain announcing that it is still needing certain minerals and vitamin causing cravings.  After drinking a nutrient dense juice your body is getting all that it needs and has no need to signal the brain. And it is pretty obvious how not having cravings can help someone losing weight.

    3) Tasty Fuel

    It is also handy to know that green juices taste great! You can make your juice really flavorful by adding in lemon, mint or ginger to add a tasty punch. You may enjoy the flavors of the juice so much that you choose to make a juice rather than eat another less healthy snack food. It is also worth noting that juice you make at home is a much better option than that which is store bought. Fresh juice made with a base of vegetables is going to contain much more nutrition than the kind that comes from a carton. Even fresh, store-bought juices often have sugars and other additives as well as preservatives added to the juice. On the other hand, a homemade vegetable and fruit juice delivers nothing but goodness that is healthy fuel for your body.

    4) Crowding out

    This is a principle we learned at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and is my favorite approach to weight loss.  By adding fresh juices into your daily regimen as either a snack or a meal, you are crowding out the junk that you would have otherwise eaten.  Instead of focusing on what you cannot have which leaves people feeling deprived and just wanting that forbidden junk even more, we focus on adding in the good.  Over time you start to realize that your body chemistry has shifted and you don’t reach for the junk food as often.

    5) It is not a fad diet

    Once you start making juicing a regular part of your lifestyle, and start to experience all the health benefits and begin losing weight without a struggle, you will realize that incorporating fresh juices into your life is definitely not a diet fad. Unlike regimented diets that are difficult to follow and which can often make you gain weight, juicing works in such a remarkable way that you will want to include juicing in your life forever. You will never feel deprived or hungry. Not only that, but other aspects of your health will also improve. You might notice your skin is clearer, your eyes are brighter, and your nails and hair grow more quickly. You will also have more energy and you will start to feel amazing. Juicing will become a way of life you will want to follow forever!

     6) Fun and Variety

    In order to lose weight and to stay motivated, life needs to be fun, right? Juicing is the ideal way to bring this into your life. As you start to get into juicing, you will find it great fun making new combinations of fruit and vegetables cocktails. You will make all kinds of unique and interesting drinks, and you will find that you never get bored from the endless variety of beverages that you can make for yourself and others. You will also want to share these drinks with others, which will mean getting encouragement and support from those around you as you continue your weight-loss goals. Support is extremely important when it comes to making, and sticking to, healthy changes in your life.   Really, juicing is a fabulously fun, easy, and healthy way to shed those unwanted pounds without any struggle or deprivation. You have nothing to lose by starting to make green juicing a regular part of your lifestyle. To get you started, here is a delicious and easy juice to kick-start your weight-loss:

    Green Ginger Juice

    4 carrots

    2 apples

    1 cucumber

    ½ beetroot (peeled)

    1 rib celery

    1 lemon

    1-inch piece of ginger (or more!)

    Run the vegetables through your juicer and enjoy!

  • Is your clogged liver making you fat?

    Is your clogged liver making you fat?

    Talking about the liver is one of my favorite topics.  I don’t think the liver gets enough press, I mean this organ is pretty darn cool.

    The liver is the largest solid organ in the body and weighs approximately 3.5 lbs! It is a HUGE filter.

    Important functions of the liver:

    • Detoxifies the blood to rid it of harmful substances such as alcohol and drugs.
    • It makes and secretes bile to help your body absorb fats and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K).
    • It metabolizes and stores carbohydrates, fats, sugars, vitamins (and other nutrients obtained from the foods we eat) for energy and brain function.
    • It breaks down harmful chemicals (bilirubin and ammonia) produced by the body and keeps the body regulated and healthy.
    • It manufactures proteins to help maintain blood purity and proper flow.

    What does this have to do with weight gain?

    If the liver is overburdened with toxic substances day in and out, other important functions such as metabolism will be compromised.  The liver is responsible for helping to metabolize fat through the production of bile.  A compromised fat metabolism leads to weight gain as well as feeling bloated and sluggish.

    Anger and the Liver

    Did you know that anger is the emotion tied with the liver?  Have you ever noticed that alcoholics or people who regularly abuse their liver tend to be angry?

    Signs that your liver can’t keep up with the junk you are sending it:

    • Headaches
    • Don’t feel like eating first thing in the morning
    • Food allergies and chemical sensitivities
    • Dark urine
    • Loss of appetite
    • Nausea and vomiting
    • Diarrhea, and light colored stools
    • Enlarged blood vessels, easy bruising
    • Anxiety and depression
    • Mental confusion
    • PMS
    • Exhaustion and fatigue
    • Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin
    • Impaired libido (sex drive)

    If the signs above point to a clogged liver and you would like to confirm that, there is a lab test we can run.  This lab would also make sense if you have been making a lot of effort to reduce stress on your liver and want to see your progress.

    How will I know if my liver is congested?

    As a Certified Functional Nutrition Practitioner, examining liver function is one of the first 2 lab tests that I complete with a client.  The BH 101 collects data on digestive and detoxification functions by looking at the Urinary Bile Acid Sulfates (UBAS). When the liver cannot filter efficiently the bile acid sulfates spill over and are present in the urine.  A high UBAS is a clue into what is going on within the body.

    How can you support the liver?

    1)      ½ Lemon in 16 oz water in the morning (warm or room temp) – the lemon water will help flush out the liver.

    2)      Increase your intake of greens – dandelion greens, kale, parsley and collards

    3)      Herbs that support the liver – milk thistle, dandelion, burdock root & turmeric (curcumin).

    4)      Avoid eating out– the added chemicals, “natural flavors” and additives in restaurant food (even healthy restaurants) are much higher than in any home cooked food.

    5)      Eat liver – The Native American cultures believed that if you want to support an organ you should eat that organ of an animal.  With 2 wise Native Americans in my house, I am going to take this advice to be true! If you are into eating odd, squishy foods, go for it. Get yourself some liver and chow down. Are you grossed out by the idea of eating liver?  You can also get desiccated liver capsules by Radiant Life and take them first thing in the morning.

    6)      Give the liver a break! Limiting your intake of highly processed foods, dairy and meat and replacing that with vegetables, fresh juices and soups for a few weeks (if not always!).  I like to do this at the change of the seasons.

    In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is the time of the Liver and the Gallbladder.  This is why every Spring I like to give the liver a break from the toxins, chemicals, alcohol and processed foods. During my 2 week cleanse I also support this liver with herbs, chlorophyll rich foods, and a special detoxifying beverage!

    Resources: liverfact.com