My resources

A friend of mine asked me to post links to where I purchase all my supplements etc...here it is, hope it helps!

Vitamin D...Costco, it's about $16 for two large bottles of liquid Vit D. It tastes a lot like apple juice. My kids like it and happily take it daily. I add it to my vegetable juice and helps to sweeten it up a little.

Iodine: HERE is where I buy mine (15%,) I have also seen it on Amazon.com. I purchase at Herbal Healers because they sell a more concentrated form of iodine. I believe the highest concentration you can get in the US is 2% which is supplement level. If your going to help your thyroid...it's just not strong enough unless you are going to take like 30-40 drops at a time. I bought a larger bottle of 5% for food storage.

Hydrogen Peroxide: I got mine in Idaho Falls at "Wealth of Health" natural food store along with glass dropper bottles. Not all health food stores carry HP, so get on the phone and call around before heading out to get it.

Sprouts: I order my sprouts from sproutpeople.com. Alfalfa is easy to sprout and you can get those seeds anywhere, but broccoli sprouts are more sensitive and I have had a significantly more successful harvest with broccoli seeds ordered from sprout people. I will be buying alfalfa seeds for long term storage at Walton Feed by the 50 lb bag and storing them in storage buckets. A food storage specialist summed up sprouting like this..."all the food you have stored for the long term is processed (it has to be to last years,) those foods are the fillers...your sprouts are the nutrients." I whole heartedly agree. It's a garden that grows in 3 days right inside your kitchen.

I sprout using the sprout master. I like it because it has good air circulation and drains easy. I can sprout 1/4 cup of alfalfa or broccoli in the large trays. I also have the easy sprouter (cups) they are about a quart in size and I use them when I travel, they are really easy to transport and you soak, grow and store all in the sami container. These both are also available at sproutpeople.com.

Coconut Oil: I have bought my coconut oil at Fred Meyer in their natural food section...also by the gallon at Nutivia.com. It doesn't matter what brand it is...just make sure is is extra virgin organic Coconut oil.

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My Daily Regimine

I have had several people ask me to post about my daily nutrition routine. On an optimal day I get everything in...but being that I am a mother of six children, optimal days are few and far between! I would say that I get everything in about 70% of the time. I am dedicated to my health and it is A LOT of work. After awhile it mostly becomes a matter of routine.

I usually start my day off with exercise. Exercise cuts your cancer risks in half for multiple reasons. 1. keeps insulin levels low which prevents systemic inflammation (research is showing huge links to chronic inflammation and disease.) 2. Keeps your lymph system moving. Our bodies have twice as much lymph fluid as blood and our blood has a pump (heart.) Exercise and movement is what keeps our lymph system moving and preventing it from becoming stagnant. 3. Reduced estrogen levels which is particularly beneficial to breast cancers.

A study by Harvard Medical School showed that Women with Breast Cancer who exercised 3 times a week improved their chance of survival by 40%. This benefit also remained regardless of whether the cancer was an isolated tumor or it had already spread.

It has also been suggested that apoptosis (programmed cell death) is triggered by exercise, causing cancer cells to die.

Breakfast: 2 C freshly juiced veggies usually carrot, tomato, cucumber, broccoli, spinach celery. From there it varies to what i have on hand. In my juice I add iodine and liquid vitamin D3. I also take a probiotic in the morning.

Vitamins: magnesium, krill oil supplement, selenium (key to body utilizing the iodine)

Sprouts: I eat about a cup of alfalfa sprouts and a half a cup of brocolli sprouts. I put them in a bowl and eat them like a salad (I don't put dressing on them...some people do.)

Coconut Oil: I melt a coupled tablespoons of coconut oil into a small cup of hot chocolate sometime in the early afternoon.

Melatonin: I take a melatonin at night. We all know that sleep has a hand on our overall health and we produce melatonin when we sleep. The older we get the less melatonin we produce. I read a study (which I can't find now) that showed that nurses who worked the night shift had a 60% increased incidence of breast cancer (our bodies can't produce melatonin while sleeping during the light hours,) and blind women (who produce melatonin all the time) had a zero incidence of breast cancer. It has been suggested, especially as we age that a melatonin supplement in very beneficial. I prefer to get mine from Mercola.com (go to products) as his is bio identical melatonin and not artificial.

Other than this I try to fill the rest of my diet with as much nutritious whole, low sugar food. Do I eat desserts, absolutely...I just try to limit them. The more I embrace a wholistic diet the less I crave junk, but I definitely do indulge...keeps my diet realistic and not extreme!


Some reads on Melatonin

HERE

HERE

Iodine, why it's so important...

One of my research efforts I came across a link of two topics that intertwine and both have health interest to me. The first one would be thyroid as I have had a hypo thyroid for at least 4 years and the second topic being breast health.

As I was researching ways to support my thyroid naturally I came upon an article written by Dr. James A. Who is a board certified specialist in internal medicine and spent 34 years caring for office and hospital patients. After 4 years of personal study he became convinced that natural products and treatments are safer, more effective, and less expensive than pharmaceutical drugs.

I suggest you take time to read his whole article....but I will post some important excerpts here..

Dr. Howenstine

"There is considerable evidence for an increased risk of thyroid cancer as well as breast cancer in persons with iodine deficiency. Untreated iodine deficiency leads to goiter, thyroid nodules and eventually some of these nodules become malignant. The decreasing intake of iodine has resulted in an increase in thyroid nodules and increase in thyroid cancer. In 2001 there were 19,500 new cases of thyroid cancer in the U.S. with 14,900 of these cases occurring in women.

The mammary glands have a trapping system for iodine similar to that of the thyroid gland. The breasts effectively compete with the thyroid gland for ingested iodine. This distribution of iodine to both breast and thyroid gland in pubertal girls explains why goiter is 6 times more common in girls than pubertal boys. The disappearance of iodine into breast tissue in women leads to decreased ability to supply the thyroid gland with an adequate amount of iodine. The development of a goiter in young girls indicates deficient distribution of iodine to both breast and thyroid tissue. Treating such a patient with thyroid hormone is not sensible and appears to increase the risk of breast cancer."



target="_blank">HERE is an article about fibrosystic breast disease and iodine. Within weeks of adding iodine as a supplement to my diet I noticed my breasts were less fibrous. In the past I avoided doing self breast exams fearing the more lumpy texture of my breast tissue...which I feel has largely changed due to the iodine.

As for my thyroid, I have physically felt better almost immediately with the addition of iodine. I have not yet retested my thyroid function and plan to at my next Dr. visit which won't be until next January.

One thing to note about refilling your iodine stores is that it is a slow process...your body only absorbs a small amount daily and over months can return to normal thyroid health.

I would recommend finding a health practitioner who can help you with testing and dosing of iodine. Iodine can be measured in a test called "iodine loading test" or a patch test.

Iodine loading test is completed with a 24 hour urine catch by a MD or a chiropractor (not all do this test) whereas the patch test, while not as measurable by numbers can be done at home.
Patch test instructions

I chose to test and supplement on my own. While I can't advise anyone else on how much iodine they should supplement with, If you choose to supplement iodine on your own I suggest you do your own research and carefully weigh the information with what you determine would be a proper amount for your body. I personally have read many studies and monitor how I feel, combined with the patch test to make sure I am supplementing properly. Another thing my chiropractor told me was to watch for a metallic taste in my mouth...reduce your iodine amount as your body is getting more than it needs.

HERE is another good read (more technical, but good,) about iodine and gene expression in breast cancer, Its worth muddling through the big words.

Remember, our bodies function as a whole, there are many pieces of the health puzzle that have to come together to create a whole picture. None of the things that I post on this blog are a miracle cure or can or should act alone, but in conjunction with many other puzzle pieces to complete your health. This post is also not intended to diagnose, prescribe or to take the place of medical advice, but to add to your tool box of healthy habits. Cami