The role of inflammation in fibromyalgia has been the topic of debate for decades. In fact, the condition used to be called “fibrositis,” which means “fibrous-tissue inflammation.” Due to an apparent lack of inflammation, the name was replaced with fibromyalgia (fibrous tissue and muscle pain) because it was believed to be more accurate. But now many researchers are finding connections with chronic inflammation that may contribute to the pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is frequently referred to as an arthritis-related condition. However, it does not cause joint damage or inflammation, as arthritis does. Nor does fibromyalgia cause damage to muscle and other tissues. Because of this, it was believed that fibromyalgia was not an inflammatory condition.

In recent years, multiple studies have revealed several markers of inflammation in people with fibromyalgia, including high levels of C-reactive protein and pro-inflammatory cytokines.

C-reactive protein is produced by the liver. The level of C-reactive protein can be measured in your blood and increases when there is inflammation in your body.

​Cytokines are proteins that are produced by cells which act as communicators in the immune system. There are both pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Pro-inflammatory cytokines promote systemic inflammation and play a key role in persistent and exaggerated pain states.

What Is Inflammation?

Inflammation is part of the body’s healing process. Without inflammation, infections and wounds would not heal. But inflammation can also be potentially harmful. There are two types of inflammation, acute and chronic.

Acute inflammation comes on suddenly from an injury or infection. It presents classic symptoms such as swelling, redness and pain. Acute inflammation is temporary, lasting from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the cause of the inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is long-term inflammation that lasts for months and years. It comes about slowly and sets the stage for chronic diseases. Heart disease, autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, arthritis and many other conditions are linked to chronic inflammation.

The causes of chronic inflammation include poor diet, stress, lack of exercise, chronic infections, and allergens or toxins from food or the environment.

Inflammation In Fibromyalgia

For decades it was believed that fibromyalgia was not an inflammatory condition because it doesn’t appear like most inflammatory disease. Joints don’t look swollen and typical tests for inflammatory markers generally reveal normal or only slightly elevated levels in fibromyalgia. Whereas, diseases such as lupus and arthritis present high levels of inflammatory markers.

Fibromyalgia research has been focusing on the possible contribution of inflammation to disease progression, and is finding some interesting results. We now have evidence suggesting inflammation may play a role, after all.

These are some of the findings:

• Skin Cells – A study from 2010 showed elevated levels of mast cells – which release inflammatory chemicals in response to various triggers – in the skin of people with fibromyalgia.
• Fascia – Another study in 2010 suggests that it could be the fascia (a thin layer of connective tissue) that’s inflamed in fibromyalgia. The research concludes that fascial dysfunction and inflammation may be what leads to central sensitization, which is believed to be a core feature of fibromyalgia.
• Stress Response – In 2012, researchers found that there was an inflammatory state that seemed to be tied to an abnormal response to stress. They were unable to determine whether inflammation leads to stress dysfunction or stress dysfunction leads to inflammation.
• Mitrochondria – In 2013, Spanish researchers theorized that inflammation in fibromyalgia could be the result of dysfunction in the mitochondria (cells that break down nutrients to create energy).
• Brain Inflammation – Scientists have discovered that brain inflammation caused by chronic nerve pain can affect signaling in the regions of the brain associated with mood and motivation. This discovery suggests there is a mechanism that connects chronic pain with symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• Poor Sleep – Poor sleep quality and short sleep durations are associated with higher levels of inflammation. Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, found in a study that sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality raises inflammation.

​Fibromyalgia Inflammation Treatment Options

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) and steroids are the primary treatments for inflammation. Unfortunately, anti-inflammatory medications have been tested in people with fibromyalgia and do not improve symptoms.
The options we have to lower our inflammation are listed below:

• Massage – Manual therapies that target the fascia may be effective. That includes trigger point therapy (myofascial release) and a deep-tissue manipulation called rolfing.
• Exercise – Exercise can suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In separate studies, gentle exercises such as warm-water exercise and yoga have been shown to reduce cytokines in people with fibromyalgia.
• Supplements – Anti-inflammatory supplements include:
  • Ginger
  • CoQ10
  • Omega-3 Fatty Acids
  • Rhodiola rosea
  • Turmeric (curcumin)
• Diet – Many doctors recommend an anti-inflammatory diet for inflammatory conditions. Although we don’t have research on whether it works for fibromyalgia. I have been following an anti-inflammatory diet for the couple of years and it has helped me.

Conclusion

Although there is no visible inflammation in fibromyalgia, the inflammatory factors are there and they are measurable. Multiple studies have revealed several markers of inflammation in people with fibromyalgia. Preliminary evidence suggests excess cytokines may be responsible fibromyalgia symptoms. These findings are uncovering new possibilities for fibromyalgia causation, as well as treatment options. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we will have more answers and treatments that actually work. -Shared by FibroDaze

Are you getting enough vitamin D? According to recent studies, there’s a good chance you aren’t. In 2009, researchers reported levels of vitamin D in the U.S. population had dropped between the years of 1988 and 1994, and then again between 2001 and 2004. Not only had average levels dropped, more than 75 percent of the people studied had inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood.

Vitamin D deficiency is linked with an increased risk for serious diseases. Reduced levels of the vitamin are associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Deficiency is also linked with multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, and more. That’s why it’s so import to get enough vitamin D. But identifying vitamin D deficiency can be tricky.
Our bodies don’t make vitamin D, so we have to get it from our environment. The primary source of vitamin D is the sun, but we can also get it from some foods. Lifestyle, race, age, and other factors can put you at risk for vitamin D deficiency

The truth is that it’s extremely difficult to tell whether you have a vitamin D deficiency. The only way to be absolutely sure is to take a blood test. Most people with a vitamin D deficiency won’t be aware of it. It doesn’t usually produce noticeable symptoms. However, symptoms are possible. If you are vitamin D deficient, you may experience:

• muscle/joint pain and weakness
• bone pain
• tiredness or fatigue
• depression

​Your body is designed to get the vitamin D it needs by producing it when your bare skin is exposed to sunlight. The part of the sun’s rays that is important is ultraviolet B (UVB). This is the most natural way to get vitamin D.

​Large amounts of vitamin D3 are made in your skin when you expose all of your body to summer sun. This happens very quickly; around half the time it takes for your skin to turn pink and begin to burn. This could be just 15 minutes for a very fair skinned person, yet a couple of hours or more for a dark skinned person.
You don’t need to tan or to burn your skin in order to get the vitamin D you need. Exposing your skin for a short time will make all the vitamin D your body can produce in one day. In fact, your body can produce 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin D in just a little under the time it takes for your skin to turn pink. You make the most vitamin D when you expose a large area of your skin, such as your back, rather than a small area such as your face or arms.

The assumption that vitamin D supplements will protect you against diseases associated with low vitamin D levels is incorrect, according to Australian researchers. The report found that vitamin D supplements are immunosuppressive and may actually make diseases worse. 

Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor (VDR) influences the expression of over 1,000 genes, including those associated with diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. According to the new study, supplemental vitamin D actually blocks VDR activation, which is the opposite effect to that of sunshine. Instead of positively impacting gene expression, vitamin D supplements appear to suppress your immune system.

Vitamin D has a remarkable role to play in your health, influencing nearly 3,000 of your 25,000 genes, and playing a critical role in your immune response. Vitamin D could rightly be described as a “miracle nutrient” for your immune system, as it enables your body to produce well over 200 antimicrobial peptides, which are indispensable in fighting off a wide range of infections.
​

Your body is capable of generating electricity, and this ability is actually a key part of your achieving health. Electricity allows your nervous system to send signals to your brain. These signals are actually electrical charges that are delivered from cell to cell, allowing for nearly instantaneous communication.

The messages conducted via electrical signals in your body are responsible for controlling the rhythm of your heartbeat, the movement of blood around your body, and much more.

Your biological clock even uses electrical activity in order to help keep your circadian rhythms in order.1 You are, quite simply, an electrical being. If electrical activity stops in your body, you cannot survive. But how, exactly, does this electrical activity take place?

How Does Your Body Produce Electricity?

The video above, from The Medicine Journal,2 gives a concise explanation of the complex process your body uses to generate electricity. Inside your body are atoms that are made up of positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and neutrons (which are neutral).

An atom with unbalanced charges will become either positively or negatively charged, and the switch from one charge to the other allows electrons to flow from one atom to another. This is what is referred to as electricity.3
​
Your cells generate electrical charges via electrolytes like sodium and potassium using a mechanism known as the "sodium-potassium gate." As Discovery Health explained:4

"When your body needs to send a message from one point to another, it opens the gate. When the membrane gate opens, sodium and potassium ions move freely into and out of the cell.

Negatively charged potassium ions leave the cell, attracted to the positivity outside the membrane, and positively charged sodium ions enter it, moving toward the negative charge. The result is a switch in the concentrations of the two types of ions -- and rapid switch in charge.

This flip between positive and negative generates an electrical impulse. This impulse triggers the gate on the next cell to open, creating another charge, and so on. In this way, an electrical impulse moves from a nerve in your stubbed toe to the part of your brain that senses pain."

It is because of your body's electrical activity that defibrillators, which deliver an electric shock to your heart, may work to restore heart rhythm and why receiving the wrong type of shock, like an electric shock or lightning strike, can essentially "fry" your body's electrical system. The opposite also holds true in that you can actually harness the electrical charge of the Earth to positively influence your health in numerous ways.

Your Body Can Absorb Free Electrons from the Earth

The Earth carries an enormous negative charge. It's always electron-rich and can serve as a powerful and abundant supply of antioxidant and free-radical-busting electrons.

Your body is finely tuned to "work" with the Earth in the sense that there's a constant flow of energy between your body and the Earth. When you put your feet on the ground, you absorb large amounts of negative electrons through the soles of your feet.

The effect is sufficient to maintain your body at the same negatively charged electrical potential as the Earth. This simple process is called "grounding" or "earthing," and its effect is one of the most potent antioxidants we know of.

Grounding has been shown to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, improve sleep, enhance wellbeing, and much, much more. When you wear rubber- or plastic-soled shoes, however, you are effectively shielding yourself from this beneficial influx of electrons from the Earth.
​
​Why It's So Important to Stay Grounded

Grounding's potent antioxidant effect helps alleviate inflammation throughout your body, a potentially life-saving benefit since inflammation is at the root of most diseases, including heart disease.

According to Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a prominent cardiologist, inflammation thrives when your blood is thick and you have a lot of free radical stress, and a lot of positive charges in your body. Grounding effectively alleviates inflammation because it thins your blood and infuses you with negatively charged ions through the soles of your feet.

Grounding helps thin your blood by improving its zeta potential, which means it improves the energy between your red blood cells. Research has demonstrated it takes about 80 minutes for the free electrons from the earth to reach your bloodstream and transform your blood.

Hypercoagulable (thick, slow-moving) blood contributes to chronic inflammation, because when your blood does not flow well, oxygen can't get to your tissues. Grounding's effect on blood thinning is so profound that if you are taking blood thinners, you must work with your health care provider to lower your dose otherwise you may overdose on the medication. 

​Grounding Helps Neutralize Free Radicals

Interestingly, grounding research has now discovered that if you place your feet on the ground after an injury (or on a grounded sheet, or place grounding patches on the balls of your feet), electrons will migrate into your body and spread through your tissues. Any free radicals that leak into the healthy tissue will immediately be electrically neutralized. This occurs because the electrons are negative, while the free radicals are positive, so they cancel each other out. As noted by Dr. James Oschman, an expert in the field of energy medicine:

"So really what is happening with grounding or earthing is that you're protecting your body from -- I call it, collateral damage… Damage that was not intended to take place but does take place because we have disconnected ourselves from the Earth by putting rubber and plastic on the bottoms of our shoes."

Free radical stress from exposure to pollution, cigarettes, insecticides, pesticides, trans fats, and radiation, just to name a few, continually deplete your body of electrons. Simply by getting outside, barefoot, touching the Earth, and allowing the excess charge in your body to discharge into the Earth, you can alleviate some of the stress continually put on your system. Walking barefoot can help ameliorate the constant assault of electromagnetic fields and other types of radiation from cell phones, computers, and Wi-Fi. It's also thought that grounding may actually facilitate the formation of structured water in your body.

Furthermore, grounding also calms your sympathetic nervous system, which supports your heart rate variability. And, when you support heart rate variability, this promotes homeostasis, or balance, in your autonomic nervous system. This is important because anytime you improve your heart rate variability, you're improving your entire body and all its functions. If you want to learn more, check out the Grounded documentary (in which I actually appear). You'll hear first-hand accounts from residents of Haines, Alaska who have overcome chronic pain, sleep apnea, and much more simply by getting grounded.

How to Reconnect with the Earth's Electrical Charge

Many Americans spend most of their waking hours wearing shoes with rubber or plastic soles. These materials are very effective insulators, which is precisely why they're used to insulate electrical wires. Yet, they also effectively disconnect you from the Earth's natural electron flow. Wearing leather-soled shoes will allow you to stay grounded with the Earth, as will walking barefoot, but you'll need to do so on the proper surface.

Good grounding surfaces include:

• Sand (beach)
• Grass (preferably moist)
• Bare soil
• Concrete and brick (as long as it's not painted or sealed)
• Ceramic tile

The following surfaces will NOT ground you:

• Asphalt
• Wood
• Rubber and plastic
• Vinyl
• Tar or tarmac

Like eating right, exercising, and sleeping, grounding can be described as yet another lifestyle habit that supports optimal health by supporting your body's "electrical" connection with the Earth. It's supported and backed by prominent medical doctors, scientists including Dr. David Suzuki, NASA astronauts, and was used by ancient civilizations who placed strong value on their relationship to the Earth.

As mentioned, simply taking off your shoes as much as you can when you're outdoors will help you take advantage of natural grounding opportunities. When indoors, using a grounding pad or sheet is an excellent way to stay grounded while you're working or sleeping. (For frequent travelers, I typically bring a grounding pad with me when I fly, too.) - Dr. Mercola

Overloaded toxicity could be a major contributor to fibromyalgia.  We store everything in plastic.  Plastic containers from fast food restaurants are harvested and reused to keep our leftovers organized.  Yet, are you aware of the chemicals made to produce these items?  And, sadly, we reheat our leftovers in the microwave allowing the basic components of plastic to leach into our food.  It's no wonder there are so many individuals being stricken with auto immune disorders. We intentionally sell our systems short!

Toxins, Endocrine Disruptors And Carcinogens That Migrate From The Molecules Of  Different Plastic Containers To Their Contents

PET: Polyethylene Terephthalate 
Used for: Soda Bottles, Water Bottles, Peanut Butter Jars, Cooking Oil 
  BottlesWhat migrates from plastic container to contents: Acetaldehyde 

HDPE: High-Density Polyethylene 
Used for: Milk Jugs, Detergent bottles, Plastic Bags, Yogurt Cups
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Antioxidants, BHT, 
Chimassorb 81, Irganox PS 800, Irganix 1076, Irganox 1010 

PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride 
Used for: Water Bottles, Salad Dressing Bottles, Detergent Bottles, Cooking 
Oil Bottles, Shampoo Bottles, Mouth Wash Bottles, Meat Wrap, Also: Babies’ 
Teething Rings, Pacifiers, Nipples and Toys (Barbie for example). 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Plasticizers (Lead, 
Cadmium, Mercury, Phthalates and the carcinogen, Diethyl Hexyphosphate) 

LDPE: Low-Density Polyethylene 
Used for: Produce Bags, Food Storage Containers 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Antioxidants, BHT, 
Chimassorb 81, Irganox PS 800, Irganix 1076, Irganox 1010 

PP: Polypropylene 
Used for: Bottle Caps, Drinking Straws 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: BHT, Chimassorb 81, Irganox 
PS 800, Irganix 1076, Irganox 1010 

PS: Polystyrene 
Used for: Meat Trays, Foam Take-Out Food Containers & Cups (not in 
Berkeley!), Foam Packing Materials 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Styrene (traces found in 
nearly everyone’s body fat) 

Other 
Used for: Laminated Containers requiring properties of more than one type of resin. 
What migrates from plastic container to contents: Depends on plastics used. 

If you must store in plastic containers, by all means ensure the food you tote to and fro is contained in glass when you are out.  Pyrex glass containers are an excellent source to transport your food and ensure no compounds are leached into your fare.  Simply remove cap, microwave, and enjoy!  No health hazards in these containers.  

​Fibromyalgia patients who regularly practice tai chi show greater symptom improvement than those engaged in an aerobic exercise program, results from a clinical trial suggest.

The study, “Effect of tai chi versus aerobic exercise for fibromyalgia: comparative effectiveness randomized controlled trial,” was published in the journal BMJ.

Patients with fibromyalgia experience chronic musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep abnormalities, and physical and psychological impairments. There is currently no cure for fibromyalgia, and treatment generally involves a combination of medication, exercise, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Many studies have shown that exercise in particular can be very beneficial for fibromyalgia patients, and it is now a recommended part of standard care. Patients, however, often have a hard time adhering to exercise programs, commonly due to the fibromyalgia symptoms. Therefore, more approaches are needed to help patients exercise.

Tai chi — a form of mind-body therapy rooted in traditional Chinese medicine — has been shown through previous clinical trials to effectively improve pain, as well as physical and mental health, in fibromyalgia patients.

However, the benefits of tai chi have yet to be compared with those of aerobic exercise — a common treatment for fibromyalgia. Additionally, it is not known how frequently or for how long patients with fibromyalgia should practice tai chi.

To assess this, researchers at Tufts Medical Center in Boston conducted a randomized clinical trial (NCT01420640) for 52 weeks to compare the effectiveness of tai chi versus aerobic exercise in 226 adults with fibromyalgia.

Patients participated in either supervised aerobic exercise twice weekly for 24 weeks, or one of four tai chi programs once or twice weekly for either 12 or 24 weeks. Effectiveness of the programs was determined by a change in revised fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQR) scores at 24 weeks.

As expected, FIQR scores improved in all five treatment groups. However, the tai chi groups demonstrated a statistically significant improvement compared with patients in the aerobic exercise group.

Specifically, patients who participated in tai chi twice weekly for 24 weeks saw a greater benefit than patients who did aerobic exercise twice weekly for 24 weeks — indicating that, at a similar intensity and duration, tai chi is more beneficial.

Patients who did tai chi for 24 weeks also had a greater improvement than patients who did it for 12 weeks. Interestingly, patients who did tai chi twice a week did not exhibit significant improvement compared with patients that just did tai chi once a week.

Patients in the tai chi group attended more training sessions than patients in the aerobic exercise group, suggesting that patients adhere better to a tai chi program.

Other parameters such as the patient’s global assessment, anxiety, self-efficacy, and coping strategies were lalso significantly improved in patients in the tai chi group compared with the aerobic exercise group.
​
“Tai chi mind-body treatment results in similar or greater improvement in symptoms than aerobic exercise, the current most commonly prescribed non-drug treatment, for a variety of outcomes for patients with fibromyalgia,” the authors concluded. -By Iqra Mumal - FNT

​One of the biggest challenges women face is learning how to care for themselves while caring for others. It requires a delicate balance between what often feels like polar opposites. I’ve spent a lifetime studying self-care. And I’ve come to the conclusion that good self-care is the single most important aspect of our health, period.

The programming of self-sacrifice leads ultimately to health-destroying sentiments, such as guilt, resentment, anger, and other emotions linked to high levels of stress hormones. Self-sacrifice feels wrong to us on a soul level—our spirit gravitates naturally to joy and happiness.

That’s why self-sacrifice ultimately makes us sick and keeps us stuck in dead-end situations—and why its opposite, self-care, is so essential to living a happy, healthy life. How well we care for ourselves as adult women is determined in part by how well our mothers cared for us (and themselves). Ultimately, however, it’s our responsibility to learn how to optimally care for ourselves regardless of what happened (or didn’t) with our mothers. We refine this process throughout our entire lives.

The key is knowing in your heart that the best way you can care for others is by caring for yourself. I know this requires a paradigm shift for many of you!

Despite what you’ve been brought up to believe, caring for oneself is not an example of a zero sum model (where your gain is someone else’s loss).

Everyone benefits from a woman who knows how to care for herself.

Self-care sustains and enhances the health of all those around you. The flight attendants are right when they say: You have to secure your own oxygen mask before assisting others.

Seven Easy Steps to Better Self-Care

Here’s a simple, up-to-date blueprint for enhancing your health through self-care:

Step 1. Tap into the stream of healing energy regularly.

Your body is connected to a healing stream of energy (also known as chi, prana, light, Source, and God) that you can absorb at will. All you need to do is be aware of it and be open to receive it! This is the basis for the healing power of prayer.

My favorite prayer service is Silent Unity. Silent Unity has volunteers who will pray with you and then pray continuously for 30 days. Tell the volunteer your concerns by phone or email, any hour of the day or night, and they will pray with you.  

Another particularly powerful way to absorb this healing energy is through Divine Love petitions as taught by Robert Fritchie, founder of www.worldserviceinstitute.org. Divine Love is the most powerful energy in the universe. You receive it into your body through your thymus gland, located just below your sternum.

To do a quick Divine Love petition for yourself, sit with arms and legs uncrossed. Now say the following petition out loud:

With my Spirit, and the angels help, I focus Divine Love throughout my system. I ask my Spirit to identify every situation and cause that separates me from the Creator. I release to the Creator all of these situations and causes. I ask that the Creator heal my system according to the Divine will. 

Now, close your mouth, draw in your breath through your nose. Hold it for several seconds. And pulse it out through your nose like you’re blowing your nose. That releases the petition. Throughout the day stay connected to the Divine by saying “I accept Divine Love.”  This practice – which is free to anyone- has been associated with many well-documented physical and emotional healings that conventional medicine cannot explain.

Step 2. Know that you are your own best mother.

Treat yourself like an ideal mother would by talking to yourself in a wonderful, nurturing way and providing for yourself that which you wish you had received from your own mother. For example, say to yourself, “Darling, I see that you’re tired. Why don’t you lie down and take a nice nap. When you get up, we’ll have a nice cup of hot tea” or “I see that you need a break. How about a nice hot bath and a good book.” You get the picture.

Step 3. Do something pleasurable each and every day.

Taking time for pleasure and fun decreases the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin, which, over time, are responsible for heart disease, cancer, and most chronic diseases such as arthritis and high blood pressure. Plus when you take time for enjoyment, you’ll be able to approach arduous tasks with more energy and a better outlook.

Step 4. Breathe deeply and fully on a regular basis.

Breathing in fully through your nose instantly engages the rest and restore parasympathetic nervous system and helps the body metabolize stress hormones. Put Post-it notes on your phone, your computer, and your bathroom mirror. Write BREATHE in beautiful letters that uplift and remind you to breathe fully.

Step 5. Get support for self-care.

Find a self-care buddy and agree that each of you will hold the other accountable for taking care of herself. Start with my suggestions and add your own ideas. Brag to each other about how well you’re doing and especially how well you are caring for yourself. Plan to call your friend whenever you start to slip into over-care of others.

Step 6. Use the incredible power of no.

When someone asks you to do something you don’t really want to do, say NO! This is especially important if saying “no” makes you feel guilty or unworthy. In most cases this means you’re letting the needs of others overshadow your own. Only you know how much you can handle without over-committing. Over time, you’ll strengthen your “no” muscle and also attract friends who support your need to set healthy boundaries. Remember, saying “no” to someone else usually means saying “yes” to yourself!

Step 7. Don’t wait for permission to start taking care of yourself.

Believe me, no one is going to give it to you, although I know how much you desperately want someone to do so! How well I remember being on call in the hospital watching the nurses give each other breaks. I yearned for one of my colleagues to give me permission to take a break after being up all night. But no one did because the culture of medicine (particularly a surgical specialty) is so macho. I ended up with a huge breast abscess that dissected into my chest wall while I was trying to nurse my first daughter and work full-time. I learned a huge lesson about self-care—and also destroyed my ability to nurse my second child from both breasts!

Taking care of yourself regularly takes courage in our society. Far too many women get sick because it’s the only socially acceptable way to get the self-care they require. I think we can do better, don’t you?

Prepare to be called “selfish” when you start taking better care of yourself. And when someone calls you that, celebrate! (Then call your self-care buddy to brag about it!) After all, taking care of yourself is prevention at the most fundamental level. And it sure beats getting sick. (For those of you who claim that you don’t have time to take care of yourself, think again. Do you really have time to get sick? And will dying prematurely really be the best way to take care of your loved ones?)

Your Body, Your TempleAs you may know by now, you are a Soul. You are not your body. But you do have a body. And it is your job to take care of that body until you leave it. The same way you take care of your house or your car. This is your responsibility—it doesn’t belong to your doctor, your spouse, or your mother. It’s that simple.

Taking care of your body means, first and foremost, having a healthy belief system about what’s possible physically—especially as you move through time. And, you must engage in the physical activities necessary to maintain your physical self.

6 More Ways to Care for Yourself

1. Change your beliefs. Optimal care of your body begins with your beliefs. Every thought you think is accompanied by biochemical signals that move throughout your body. Serotonin, dopamine, and epinephrine are neurotransmitters that affect all areas of your body, and their production is based on what you think and feel. Stressful thoughts filled with anger, fear, or sadness increase stress-hormone levels in your body, which ultimately leads to cellular inflammation—the root cause of osteoporosis, depression, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and cancer. But this isn’t the only way your thoughts affect your health. They can literally determine which genes get expressed! It’s important to know and believe that your body was designed for health, vitality, and well-being for your entire life.

1. Treat yourself like a precious child. Self care is something that our society does not reward us for. In fact, it is often looked down on when someone, especially a woman, takes care of herself. I was reminded of this recently when I was watching my granddaughter, Penelope.   I was cleaning up the living room and realized that she was hungry.  So of course I stopped to take care of her — I would never starve my granddaughter.  Yet, I have certainly done this to myself!  Learning to treat ourselves the way we would a precious child connects us with our Divinity. You can practice this by doing simple things such as using the rest room when you have the urge, or eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. It also helps to set out a meal for yourself on a plate and actually sit down and enjoy it versus eating on the run while in your car or standing at the kitchen counter.

1. See your body as a temple for your soul. We are beings of light.  Our bodies are the densest, darkest matter.  When you see your body as a temple for your soul and treat it with love, and kindness and respect, you are bringing light into the darkest area.

1. Make gravity work for you. Sitting for more than six hours a day increases your risk of disease including heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. In fact, even if you exercise regularly, prolonged sitting cancels out a lot of the good effects. Standing all day is not the answer. The answer is moving your body through the gravitational field of the earth. Every time you move your body through gravity your body goes through thousands of minute physiologic changes in blood pressure, fluid exchange, hormone secretion, and stresses on bones and joints that help ensure health. So, if you sit at a desk, get up at least six times per hour. But if you can, it’s always best to add in something more such as stretching, knee bends or even squats. And remember, since the soul knows no timeline, it’s never too late to try some activity you have always wanted to do – dance, ride horses, ski, hike – whatever will keep you moving.

1. Take Care of Your Fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue that runs throughout your body. It connects skin to muscle and muscle to bone and every organ in the body. Our fascial network is a secondary nervous system. It can become dense, scarred, and thickened as a result of physical, emotional, or mental stress. Working your fascia regularly through body work, resistance flexibility, yoga, and other exercises can help you release old patterns that are stored there.

1. Feel Your Human Emotions. Being a spiritual being on a human journey requires that we feel human emotions. But, with spiritual practices becoming very popular, so too is the practice of taking a “spiritual bypass” to avoid dealing with painful feelings, unresolved wounds and developmental needs. A spiritual bypass looks something like this: “It’s all good.” “Everything happens for a reason.”  “Spiritual people don’t cry or have negative feelings.” “If you feel sad, you’re not spiritual enough.” While this may seem better than using alcohol or drugs, it has the same effect. Being a human being on a spiritual path requires that you are present in each moment for all of your feelings without letting those feelings define you.  Now, this does not mean that you want to stay in a perpetual state of anger, victimhood, grief or sadness.  These emotions lower your vibration.  It simply means you allow your emotions to surface and embrace them fully without judgment, and then allow full expression of those emotions safely.  That is the only way to deal with them successfully. Your soul actually learns from this process of deep awareness and release. (Every other approach — drugs, alcohol, spiritual bypass — just digs them in deeper.)  - Dr. Christiane Northrup

​Have you ever noticed how good it feels to walk barefoot on a sandy beach, or in a forest? There is a reason for that—it’s called the grounding effect. The reason for this sense of well-being is due to the fact that you’re receiving a surge of potent healing electrons from the ground.

The earth has a slightly negative charge, so when you stand barefoot on that sand, electrons from the earth flow into your body, giving you a virtual “transfusion” of healing power.

The featured documentary, The Grounded 2, is a sequel to the film The Grounded, released in 2013. The sequel features Step Sinatra, the son of cardiologist Stephen Sinatra MD, astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell, and yours truly, among many others.

Step was a Wall Street trader until his health suddenly began to decline, bringing him to the brink of death. He credits his ultimate recovery to learning about grounding, along with a switch to an all-organic diet.

In 2010, his father, Dr. Stephen Sinatra released a book on the healing power of grounding called Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?, co-authored with Clint Ober, one of the pioneers in this field.

​The Ultimate Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory

Grounding or Earthing is defined as placing one's bare feet on the ground whether it be dirt, grass, sand, or concrete (especially when humid or wet). When you ground to the electron-enriched earth, an improved balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system occurs.

The earth is a natural source of electrons and subtle electrical fields, which are essential for proper functioning of immune systems, circulation, synchronization of biorhythms and other physiological processes and may actually be the most effective, essential, least expensive, and easiest to attain antioxidant.

Modern science has thoroughly documented the connection between inflammation and all of the chronic diseases, including the diseases of aging and the aging process itself. It is important to understand that inflammation is a condition that can be reduced or prevented by grounding your body to the Earth, the way virtually all of your ancestors have done for hundreds if not thousands of generations.

​How the Modern Running Shoe May Be Destroying Your Health

Materials such as metals are electrical conductors. They contain free or mobile electrons that can carry electrical energy from place to place.

Your body is somewhat conductive because it contains a large number of charged ions (called electrolytes) dissolved in water. Your blood and other body fluids are therefore good conductors. Free or mobile electrons can also move about within your body.

Other materials, called insulators, have very few free or mobile electrons. Plastic and rubber are good insulators and are used to cover electrical wires to keep the conductors from touching each other and from touching your skin, which could otherwise give you a shock.

Traditionally, shoes were made of leather, which actually conducts electrons and therefore maintains a conductive contact between the earth and your feet. However, modern day rubber and plastics are electrical insulators and therefore block the beneficial flow of electrons from the Earth to your body.

​Grounding Is a Foundational Aspect for Optimal Health

Free radical stress from exposure to mercury pollution, cigarettes, insecticides, pesticides, trans fats, radiation, and many others, continually deplete your body of electrons.

This is one of the primary reasons why antioxidants are used, which actually donate electrons back into your body, to help ward off free radical damage to your tissues.

You can also get these electrons by going outside, barefoot. Touching the earth helps neutralize the damaging positive charges of free radicals in your body.

According to Clint Ober, this lack of grounding appears to be an underlying thread in most chronic disease—a phenomenon he calls “electron deficiency syndrome.” 

For a visual demonstration of this, review my previous article, which features an experiment conducted by Gary Schwartz, PhD, at the University of Arizona. Using sunflowers, he demonstrates the powerful biological effects of grounding.

​The Health Effects of Grounding

When your body is exposed to a lot of free radical stress, your blood tends to thicken, and positive charges accumulate in your body. This causes chronic inflammation, which is a hallmark of most chronic and degenerative diseases.

Grounding effectively helps alleviate inflammation in your body. It also helps thin your blood, by providing your red blood cells with a surplus of electrons so they can effectively repel each other and avoid being sticky, which can lead to blood clots that can cause a heart attack or stroke. Research has demonstrated it takes about 80 minutes for the free electrons from the earth to reach your bloodstream and transform your blood cells.

For example, early (and even some current) birth control pills were notorious for causing heart attacks in women. One of the mechanisms responsible for this increased risk is that synthetic estrogens and progesterones increase blood viscosity. Other biochemical alterations caused by grounding include changes in:

• Phosphorus
• Calcium metabolism
• Fibroid metabolism
• White blood cells

Grounding also helps calm your sympathetic nervous system, which supports your heart rate variability, which plays an important role in balancing, in your autonomic nervous system. Pain relief, improved sleep, and a generally enhanced sense of well-being are but a few of the health benefits reported by people who try grounding.

Last but not least, when you are grounded to the earth, the negatively charged electrons you receive increase the structure of the water in your cells—just as water increases in structure when a negative charge is introduced by an electrode.

As explained by Gerald Pollack, PhD, author of The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor, living water is negatively charged water. This water can hold energy, much like a battery, and can deliver energy too. In essence, when you ground, you are charging every single cell in your body with energy your body can use for self-healing.

​How to Ground, Both Indoors and Outdoors

Walking barefoot is one of the easiest and best ways to get and stay grounded, but you’ll need to do so on the proper surface. Many walking surfaces in today’s modern world will NOT allow for electron transfer between the earth and your body. This includes asphalt, wood, rubber, plastic, vinyl, tar, and tarmac. Surfaces that will allow your body to ground include:

• Sand (beach)
• Grass (preferably moist)
• Bare soil
• Concrete and brick (as long as it's not painted or sealed)
• Ceramic tile

Even indoors, and while flying, there are ways to help you stay grounded. As noted in the film, touching the faucet with one hand while shaving with the other helps you ground. And when flying, you can take off your shoes and place your feet (bare or with socks) on the steel struts of the chair in front of you, as this too will help you stay grounded. There are also grounding pads you can use to sleep or sit on, which can be particularly beneficial if you live in a high-rise building.

​Grounding May Be Essential for Life and Health

It’s important to understand that grounding is not a "treatment" or a "cure" for any disease or disorder. Rather, it is one of the key mechanisms by which your body maintains equilibrium and health. The human body evolved in constant contact with the earth, and your body needs this continuous interchange of energy in order to function properly.

Exercising barefoot outdoors is one of the most wonderful, inexpensive and powerful ways of incorporating grounding into your daily life. You can also simply take off your shoes as much as you can when you’re outdoors to take advantage of these natural grounding opportunities. - Dr. Mercola

Just because I post many vegan recipes, does not mean I do not partake in the essential components of a high protein diet throughout the week.  Here's one everyone in your family will love.  

This moist and tender turkey cooks up with even browning and crispy skin in half the time of a whole turkey

• 1 turkey (12 to 14 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried Herbs de Provence 
• 
  
  
  
  

Place turkey with its breast side down and tail end facing you on a work surface. Using kitchen shears, cut along each side of backbone; remove and save for making gravy. Turn over turkey so breast side is up; flatten by pressing down firmly on breastbone until it cracks. Using a knife, remove wing tips by cutting through the joints; save for gravy.

Mix remaining ingredients; rub onto all sides of turkey. Transfer turkey to a rack in a foil-lined rimmed baking pan. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.

Preheat oven to 450°. Remove turkey from refrigerator while oven heats. Roast until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours. Remove turkey from oven; let stand 15 minutes before carving. 

I am a huge fan of history. I’ve been working on my family tree for a while now. I think it’s super important to know our roots. Similarly, I think it’s important to know the roots of our diseases. Although fibromyalgia (FM) may seem like a new syndrome or disease, it has actually been around for a very long time. It has gone through many name changes as new information about it has been discovered.

The first time it was described by doctors was in the 1800s. At that time, it was called muscular rheumatism, with symptoms including stiffness, aches, pain, fatigue, and sleep difficulties. In 1815, William Balfour, a surgeon from Scotland, first described what we now know as the “tender points” that patients with FM experience.

Around the year 1904, inflammation was thought to be the cause of FM. Thus, the term fibrositis was used by Sir William Gowers. In Latin, fibro means “connective tissue fibers,” and itis means “inflammation.” In 1913, doctor Luff wrote in the British Medical Journal that symptoms worsened when the barometric pressure lowered and when rain was on the way. The terms fibromyalgia wasn’t used until 1976. The name comes from Latin root words fibro, plus my (meaning “muscle”), al (meaning “pain”), and gia (meaning “the condition of”). In other words, fibromyalgia is a condition of pain in the muscles and connective tissues.

In 1990, the American College of Rheumatology wrote the first set of guidelines for fibromyalgia diagnoses. In 2005, the American Pain Society published the first guidelines for how to treat FM. The first prescription medication for FM, Lyrica (pregabalin), was approved by the FDA for treatment of this condition in 2007. Only in recent years have we learned about the connections between FM and other illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome.
​
In more recent years, we’ve recognized FM as a central nervous system disorder. Through magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) of the brain, doctors can now diagnose FM with 93 percent accuracy.
The good thing is that research is always ongoing, and while I know that answers are slow in coming, they are coming. By Robin Dix

To assess how Earthing may be helping you, list any common symptoms you have in the column on the left. In the second column, make a note of the severity of the problem.  If the symptom is pain, for instance, rate the pain on a scale of 0 to 10 - with 10 being the worst and 0 being the best.  Then rate your condition or symptom at progressive intervals.  You may also like to do this with your other medications to see if they reduce as well.  See example below:

Check your own benefits from earthing.  Download here.