It's a Calms Forte kinda day.

Calms Forte!

It's a total sanity-saver.

Calms Forte (not regular Calms - it's missing some key ingredients) is this amazing homeopathic that knocks out my anxiety and other stress-type upsets.

It's marketed as a sleep aid, and some people use it to sleep better. I don't find it makes me especially sleepy unless I actually need sleep, but it definitely helps to wind down, and that's good for sleep or whenever!

I take 2-3 as needed and it seriously works. You can't overdose on this stuff.

The anxiety just dissolves, and I feel normal.

Not a better-than-me normal (like anti-anxiety things sometimes do). Just me, feeling good-normal. In fact, usually the return to "normal" is so natural that I don't even realize I'm not anxious anymore because I'm so not tracking being anxious anymore!

And if it starts to come back in a few hours or whatever, I pop 2-3 more.

I've never had anything work like that to just return me to a normal state without any intrusion of various side effects. Amazing, right?

What My Highly Sensitive Dog Taught Me About Stress

Bellah

Ok, so you know about Highly Sensitive People, right? If not, check out Elaine Aron's work. It's a revelation! She has a nifty self-test there, too, to help you assess yourself or a child.

The nitty gritty, though, is that the trait of High Sensitivity occurs in about 15-20% of the human AND animal populations. It is inborn and wired in. It creates its own set of challenges, gifts, and opportunities. And, one of the key points to understand is that it is natural and adaptive in the population -- not a defect, even if our present day culture at large kind of sees it that way.

Well, not only am I a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP for short), I also seem to attract Highly Sensitive Animals as pets!

My standard poodle, Bellah, is definitely one. And, while poodles are known to be finely tuned, highly intelligent beings, not all poodles are quite in this category of sensitivity. He is an absolutely amazing dog.

One of his biggest gifts to me has been to mirror my own needs back to me and make them more conscious. As I figure out how to care for him, I learn better how to care for myself, too.

Most recently, he's given me a lesson in the critical importance of helping the body handle stress -- especially for the Highly Sensitive Being.

Anemia? Low Energy? Two GREAT supplements for that.

Today I want to share with you an amazingly powerful supplement that my family discovered many years ago when my grandfather was chronically anemic with both iron-based and B12-based anemia for years, and none of the prescription medications (pills + injections) were working.

Just to be clear, telling you about these supplements should not be construed as or substituted for medical advice. It's just something that has worked well in my world. 

A very knowledgable supplement advisor in an independent health food store directed us to it. Sadly, this store is no more because it was bought out by Whole Foods (grrr...). 

Within a few months, taking just one or two per day, my Grandfather's anemia, the very same extreme anemia which would simply not respond to prescription pills or shots, was gone. And, as long as he maintained the supplement, never returned.

If you have been diagnosed with one of the three types of anemia, or you are simply experiencing fatigue or low energy, this supplement is definitely worth trying to see how it works for you. 

• It's fully food-derived, so it is extremely bio-available unlike synthetic supplements which can be hard for the body to utilize properly. 

• It's also pretty gentle on the stomach and digestive system, which is not the case often with synthetic or non-food-based iron supplements. 

• It's also relatively low dose, but for some reason when things are food based and with the greater utilization that happens with that, it just works better than megadoses. 

• And, it deals with all 3 types of anemia: Iron, Folate, and B12. 

So what is this fabulous, magical supplement?

Energy Riptide in the Collective... Are You Drowning?

Are you really tired these days?

Do you feel like you're walking (slogging) through partially hardened concrete?

Feeling super overwhelmed?

Maybe even kind of depressed for no apparent reason?

If so, you are not alone.

This is epidemic right now based on my informal survey of people I know (and people they know). I only just realized that what I'm personally, quietly dealing with isn't all that personal!

Tired? Stressed? Sick? LOVE YOUR LIVER!

If you have any level of fatigue or any kind of dysfunction going on with your health, do yourself a huge favor and focus on cleaning your liver.

Y'all:  it's so important.

Certainly, in the ancient system of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the function of the liver is believed to be at the root of health and is the first thing to address when disease or dysfunction appears. 

Here in the United States, we don't have a culture of supporting our liver function. Our medical establishment doesn't understand how to heal it or even support its functions. So, unless it's failing altogether, there's very little medical advice about protecting your liver or healing it. 

It's a big blind spot and it's hurting us, especially in these modern times which stress our bodies so much. 

Without a clean and well functioning liver, you will get sick on some level, your energy will be compromised, your emotional health will be affected, and you cannot really get or stay well. 

Yet, it's one of the easiest things in the body to heal. It regenerates itself beautifully! IF YOU SUPPORT IT.

Allergy or Food Intolerance: Does It Matter?

Yes! It matters. Let me tell you why, and how that knowledge can help you.

I just recently came across some really great information that opened up a whole new understanding for me of my own food reactions. The health implications are valuable and important to understand. And the really good news is there is potentially a little more flexibility with eating certain foods!

Getting Off The Bio-chemical Crutches

So, I've discovered what happens when my crutches are gone.

Well, for all I know there are a couple more I'm not aware of (yet - haha), but I'm talking bio-chemical crutches.  Simple things like starch, sugar, artificial sugar, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, antihistamines, painkillers (over the counter).  Even Facebook.  Yeah... I jettisoned Facebook. Hardcore, baby!

I didn't set out to de-crutch myself.  Not. At. All.  

And, I didn't do it all at once.  Not. At. All.  

I did it bit by bit as it came up.

I listened to my intuition and my body along the way and did my best to follow along.

Cold and Flu Remedies

Tired.  Achy.  Then, SNEEZE!  Uh-oh.  Looks like it might be a cold or the flu coming on.

Nip it in the bud!

Be ready with the right stuff if you find yourself getting sick, and cut it short in record time! Better yet, use some of these suggestions as preventatives to minimize the chances of coming down with anything.

'Tis the season and friends have been asking me, so hDrere are my top cold and flu cures.  I have found they make a huge difference and will significantly cut a cold or flu short. If caught early enough, these can make it go away within 24-48 hours! (Your immune system's mileage may vary).

Got Yeast (Candida)?

So, most people have some degree of candida (a.k.a. yeast) in their bodies. That doesn't mean it's normal or healthy, but it's not necessarily a runaway train either.  Candida is blamed for a whole host of health issues, but the truth is it's sometimes hard to know if it's a big problem for you. 

If you're having tons of yeast infections, then, of course, you already know you have a problem. But even without that, you may have more of a problem than you may think.

I want to tell you about an amazing product on the market that will kill it.