Last post on our early summer organ support journey! I'd love to hear what you learned, what you loved or if you would like to see more emails like this!
PROSTATE:
Emotions: Feeling inferior; stuck; ashamed; helpless; guarded; lacking confidence; rejecting masculinity; deep seated disappointment, resentment or guilt.
A small, squishy gland about the size of a ping pong ball, the prostate is located just below the bladder, deep inside the groin area where it produces a fluid that forms part of the semen.
Foods to avoid for prostate health include meat like beef, lamb and pork; milk, cheese and other dairy products; processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, sausages; soda; sugary or fried foods; tomatoes; vinegar; citrus fruits; alcohol; caffeine; spinach, rhubarb and nuts.
Foods that support prostate health include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, salmon, sardines, herring, trout, mackerel, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, bananas, tomatoes, soya beans, and green tea.
TESTES
Emotions – masculine principle; masculinity; gratitude; swallowed up; repression.
The testes, or male reproductive organs, produce sperm and secrete hormones, primarily testosterone. They are in the scrotum, just behind the penis, but sometimes one or both do not move down into the scrotum once they develop.
The right testicle can be slightly larger and the left hangs lower and usually that difference is nothing to worry about, but it can sometimes indicate a problem. If there is pain or a change in shape, consult your doctor.
For testicular health, it is recommended you avoid all hydrogenated oils, trans fats, deep fried foods, margarine, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and soda, as well as decrease your sugar, white flour, and processed food intake.
Instead, it is suggested that you include foods like oranges, yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, grapes, Brazil nuts, sardines, salmon, and turmeric in your diet.
Oils for the men include Mister, Highest Potential, Trauma Life, Forgiveness, Golden Rod.
UTERUS
Emotions – discounting feminine part of self; holding on to old hurts; issues with your mother; depleted; ungrounded; unsupported; neglected; unbalanced; focused on other people’s problems; unappreciative of self; or need for approval.
Approximately 2” wide, 3” long and 1 ½” thick, the uterus, also called the womb, is a hollow, inverted pear-shaped muscular organ located between the bladder and rectum whose function is to nourish a fertilized egg until the fetus is ready to be delivered. It is divided into two parts – the cervix and the corpus. The corpus is the larger part and what expands during pregnancy.
Common uterine problems include fibroids, endometriosis, uterine prolapse, polyps, scar tissue, or infection. The first sign of a problem with your uterus may be bleeding between cycles or after intercourse.
Foods to clean your uterus include lemon, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, fiber, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, cold water fish and castor oil.
OVARIES
Emotions – swallowed up; repression; not safe to be; holding on to old hurts; not trusting your intuition; low self-esteem; neglect; worry; focused on aging.
Ovaries are two oval-shaped organs that produce and store a woman’s eggs and make the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. When a baby girl is born, her ovaries will hold hundreds of thousands to millions of eggs, but throughout her lifetime, only about 300-400 of those eggs will mature and be released.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, irregular or absent menstrual cycles, or absence of ovulation is considered a kidney disease process. The kidney in TCM is considered the root cause in polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Food rich in Vitamin A (cod liver oil, eggs, milk, sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, spinach, and pumpkin); selenium (whole wheat bread, Brazil nuts, meats, eggs, and shellfish); and Vitamin C (fresh produce, strawberries, oranges, red peppers, and broccoli), all support ovary function and health, along with fighting cancer formation.
Oils for the women might be Sclaressence, Dragon Time, Highest Potential, Trauma Life, SARA, Forgiveness, Inner Child, Clary Sage Jasmine or Ylang Ylang.
For both male and female:
Chakra and Color: Root chakra, Orange
Meridian: Circulation Sex
Time of day: 7-9pm
Opposite organ: Stomach
Who hasn't dealt with adrenal issues?? It's so common...
And, I'm pretty sure all of us want to keep our heart functioning properly... ;)
Here we go!
Here we go!
ADRENAL GLANDS
Emotions – lack of energy; fatigue; unbalanced or unstable; paranoia; panic attacks; fear; anxiety; stuck in fight or flight; depression; emptiness; worthlessness.
Adrenal glands are also known as suprarenal glands and are small almond shaped glands that sit on top of your kidneys. They produce hormones that help regulate metabolism, blood pressure, your immune system, response to stress, and more.
Signs of adrenal dysfunction include losing weight, weakness, extreme fatigue, nausea or vomiting, low blood pressure, craving salt, or dizziness when you stand up.
To help overworked adrenal glands, it is suggested to eat within an hour after you wake up; don’t eat processed foods; avoid high impact exercise (sounds easy, right?); get lots of sleep and fresh air; B vitamins; say yes to protein, and no to caffeine.
Chakra and Color: Solar Plexus, Yellow
Meridian: Triple Warmer
Time of day: 9-11pm
Opposite organ: Spleen, Pancreas
Oils to apply on the adrenal vitaflex points might be Endoflex, En-R-Gee, Hope, Surrender, Nutmeg or Clove.
HEART
Emotions – self-criticism; worthless; pushing yourself further than you can handle; not listening to your heart; unfulfilled; belief in strain and stress; loneliness; not enough; fear of intimacy; scattered; wanting to please; relentless; drained; unenthusiastic; depressed; heavy hearted; rejected; and lonely.
The heart represents the center of love and security, and problems with it indicate longstanding emotional challenges.
The heart is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood, hormones, nutrients, and other substances to other parts of the body; receiving deoxygenated blood and carrying metabolic waste products, like carbon dioxide, from the body and getting it to the lungs for oxygenation; and for maintaining blood pressure.
Natural ways to support your heart include making healthy eating choices, being active, maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking, avoid secondhand smoke, manage stress, don’t overeat, and…don’t forget the chocolate.
Chakra and Color: Heart, Green
Meridian: Heart
Time of day: 11am to 1pm
Opposite organ: Gall Bladder
Oils to support your heart include Rutavala, Aroma Life, Valor, Joy, Forgiveness, Ylang Ylang, Cypress or Jasmine.
Be watching next week for all things reproductive support for both men and women.
Continuing on our journey of exploring organs that like the early summer, this week we are taking a look at your pituitary and thyroid glands...
Pituitary Gland
Emotions – represents the control center; not fulfilling purpose; fear; depleted; suppressed; unemotional; confused; sluggish memory; threatened; always changing your mind.
Called the master gland, the pituitary is a small structure in your head, but it influences almost every part of your body. Its main function is to secrete hormones into your bloodstream that affect other organs and glands, particularly your thyroid. It handles nutrients and minerals, helps control growth, metabolism, blood pressure, reproduction, and other vital body responses.
You can experience many hormone-related problems if this gland gets bumped even the tiniest bit by an accident or concussion. Your skin, brain, reproductive organs, vision, mood, energy, growth and more could be affected if it is not working properly.
If your pituitary gland is underactive, you could experience shortened height, infertility, intolerance to cold, fatigue, headaches, changes in vision, confusion, a drop in blood pressure, and an inability to produce breast milk.
Foods rich in minerals like manganese, magnesium and Vitamins C, E, B1 and B12, omega-3, iodine and iron like wheat, leafy greens, nuts, fish, fruits, and some legumes help support your pituitary gland. The herbs of Chaste tree and Sarsaparilla also help.
Chakra and Color: Third Eye, Indigo
Meridian: Triple Warmer
Time of day: 9-11pm
Opposite organ: Spleen, Pancreas
Oils to support your Pituitary gland that can be applied to the vitaflex points on your feet include Endoflex, Transformation, Valor, Envision, Surrender, Awaken, Lemongrass, Myrtle, Frankincense, or Lavender.
Thyroid Gland
Emotions – humiliation, “I never get to do what I want to do. When is it going to be my turn?”, lack of drive, grief, sluggish, disconnected from your purpose in life, holding back, always pleasing others, muddled, confused, inefficiency that drains your energy, never enough time.
The thyroid is shaped like a little butterfly and sits under the skin in the front of your neck, the area that moves up and down when you swallow. Every cell in your body needs thyroid hormones to work properly as it regulates metabolism, growth, and blood calcium.
Signs of an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) include anxiety, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, hand tremors, hyperactivity, a visibly enlarged thyroid gland, heat intolerance, feeling tired all the time, sensitivity to heat, muscle weakness, hair loss, difficulty sleeping and more. If you have hyperthyroidism, consider avoiding iodized salt, fish, shellfish, seaweed or kelp, dairy products, iodine supplements, foods containing red dye, egg yolks or blackstrap molasses.
Medication that either blocks your body’s ability to produce new thyroid hormones or replaces missing thyroid hormones is the general course of treatment.
When your thyroid is not active enough, signs of hypothyroidism include fatigue, weight gain, trouble tolerating the cold, dry skin, slowed heart rate, depression, muscle aches and weakness, irregular menstrual cycles or they stop all together.
Suggested foods for hypothyroidism include roasted seaweed, salted nuts, baked fish, dairy, eggs, apples, berries, dark leafy greens, seafood, and poultry.
Chakra and Color: Throat, Blue
Meridian: Triple Warmer
Time of day: 9-11pm
Opposite organ: Spleen, Pancreas
Oils to apply on the vitaflex points are the same as above... Endoflex, Transformation, Valor, Envision, Surrender, Awaken, Lemongrass, Myrtle, Frankincense, or Lavender.
Here's to better health!!
Summer and citrus oils just go together...but, just to be safe, it is recommended that you avoid direct UV exposure to an area where you applied your favorite citrus oil(s) for at least 12 hours...One option is to apply them at night. or as one of my mentors suggests, apply them where the sun don't shine... ;)
WHY? Citrus oils (and some others) contain natural molecules that react with sunlight and can cause sensitivity to the skin. You will find that your favorite YL oils and blends that contain these compounds are labeled with a warning to avoid sun/UV light for 12 to 48 hours after applying.
Diffusing is always an option, as well!
Oils that shouldn't see the sun:
* Angelica
* Bergamot
* Dill
* Grapefruit
* Lemon
* Lemon Verbena
* Lime
* Orange
* Tangerine
* Citrus Fresh
* Jade Lemon
* German Chamomile
* Abundance
* Awaken
* Christmas Spirit
* Clarity
* Deep Relief
* DiGize
* Dragon Time
* Dream Catcher
* Envision
* Forgiveness
* Gentle Baby
* Grounding
* Harmony
* ImmuPower
* Inner Child
* Into the Future
* Joy
* Live with Passion
* Longevity
* Peace & Calming
* Raven
* SARA
* Surrender
* Stress Away
* Thieves
* Trauma Life
* White Angelica
