Did you know that a Vitamin D deficiency can lead to many different diseases and health problems in women? It’s one of the most important building blocks our body has. Without enough Vitamin D. many of a woman’s systems are missing an important ingredient. And it’s easy to get enough Vitamin D. You just have to pay attention! We hear about the importance of calcium for our bones, but the benefits of Vitamin D are just as important if not more so. They do work together. Vitamin D is so important to women, especially as we age, that it could even be called a woman’s guardian angel. It is now considered one of the most important supplements to monitor and frankly, it is very difficult for an active woman to get too much of it.

Benefits of Vitamin D, Your Breasts’ Best Friend

Vitamin D deficiencies often occur in women who don’t get out in the sun much (less than 10 minutes of direct sunlight per day), who have kidney problems or whose body has a hard time processing Vitamin D from food. A Vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, frequent broken bones (especially hip), weak muscles, and can possibly increase the risk of some cancers.

Some steroids taken for medical conditions in women may slow or stop the body’s ability to absorb the benefits of Vitamin D from the sun. A doctor can counteract this by suggesting a change in diet or adding supplements that are high in Vitamin D. Unfortunately, there were few studies about Vitamin D until recently; and more information is expected based upon current studies. It is now believed that there may have been more health risks caused by Vitamin D deficiencies than have been formerly thought.

Recent studies have determined that it’s almost impossible to overdose on Vitamin D and current research is still working to determine how much is too much. It’s now believed that women can safely ingest up to 4000 to 8000 IU’s supplemental Vitamin D per day with great benefit. In fact most women it now appears absolutely need that much more than their current diets and sun exposure are giving them.

Most women will not be able to get enough Vitamin D unless they regularly eat a lot of cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel or sardines that are canned in oil. Some dietary supplements or weight loss pills can be high in Vitamin D, so women should check the levels before starting a new product. Many women do get basically what they need of Vitamin D through food and sun exposure. This is especially true for women who spend a lot of time in the sun wearing sun block that is less than SPV 8. These women are getting Vitamin D sun exposure naturally through their skin, which is the best way of getting Vitamin D into a body. But most women have been warned by dermatologists to wear no less than SPV 15 sunblock. That amount of sunblock unfortunately keeps a woman’s body from experiencing the positive effects of sun exposure and the levels needed to metabolize and create usable vitamin D in their systems.

Even though researches haven’t studied benefits of Vitamin D extensively, there is evidence that Vitamin D has many benefits to a women’s health that have not yet been fully appreciated. Proper levels of Vitamin D can help a women’s body fight MS, mild depression, many forms of cancers, arthritis, chronic pain and even premenstrual syndrome. Some people even believe that Vitamin D guards against breast cancer. While there aren’t thorough studies that prove the breast cancer guardian theory quite yet, studies of people with cancers such as lung and colon cancer reveal Vitamin D deficiencies.

One of the problems with Vitamin D is that nobody knows exactly how much Vitamin D a woman should get in a day. Researches have yet to develop an optimum level of Vitamin D. To do so, they will have to factor in the sun. They do believe that women who live in areas of decreased sunlight during the winter months don’t get anywhere near the level of Vitamin D that they should in a day. For instance, Canadians are encouraged to take a regular amount of Vitamin D daily in the form of Vitamin D supplements.

One thing seems to be clear in the research that has been done: increased supplementation of Vitamin D can only benefit women. We now know that vitamin D, perhaps the breast’s best friend, may also be the body’s best protection against many different cancers and other illnesses. In short, Vitamin D is a cancer fighter and is one of a woman’s most beneficial guardian angels.

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) Continuing our 15-part article series called Heal Yourself in 15 Days, today we focus on cleansing your digestive tract and energizing your cellular energy with the help of some living foods. This is in preparation for part six in the series, which we’ll get to tomorrow.

Here’s the cool part about this: You don’t need a juicer to do this step. All you really need is a blender and a nut milk bag (a fine mesh bag used to squeeze out the juice). Of course, a proper juicer really helps, but it’s not required. Below, I’m going to give you an absolutely delicious live foods juicing recipe that I think you’ll really enjoy. I’m using special ingredients in this juice that help mask the more bland tastes of the green ingredients, so even if you’ve tried fresh living juices in the past and didn’t like them, check out what you’ll read below…

Raw living foods offer one of the greatest secrets to disease reversal and lasting health, and nothing beats fresh living foods right out of the garden. So if you can grow any of your own ingredients for this when Spring comes around, definitely make an effort to do so. Otherwise, buy them at a store or farmer’s market.

Here’s what you’ll need (always choose organic):

• 1 container of Blackberries (use all the blackberries)
• 1 bunch of Parsley (use all the parsley)
• 1 bunch of Kale (only use 2-3 large leaves in this recipe)
• 1 bag of Carrots (only use 3 large carrots for this recipe)
• 1 bunch of Celery (use 2-3 stalks for this recipe)
• 2 Pears (use both pears)

If you can’t find these ingredients, substitute something close. It’s crucial to have some berries in the mix, however. They are part of the recipe for making it all taste good.

After proper preparation (washing, etc.), push all these ingredients through a juicer to generate the fresh juice. If you only have a blender, then blend all these ingredients with water, then pour the juice into a nut milk bag and squeeze out the juice from that. With either method, you’ll end up with a container of fresh juice.

This juice will be extremely potent, so mix this with water (add an equal amount of water to the juice). You may also wish to add some stevia if you’d like to sweeten up the taste a bit.

Health benefits of the fresh living juice

• The blackberries will mask the bitter tastes of the other ingredients with their acidity. This acidity greatly improves the overall taste of the recipe. It also improves digestion of the minerals in the vegetables (you need an acidic digestive environment to absorb minerals).

• Blackberries also have a powerful anti-cancer effect through your entire digestive tract, from your mouth and gums down through your colon.

• Parsley is a super digestive cleanser. It will help eliminate toxins while providing your body with a burst of chlorophyll that will help cleanse your blood and liver.

• Kale contains potent anti-cancer phytonutrients. It also contains healthy plant-based proteins and lots of chlorophyll.

• The carrots are used primarily as a sweetener here (they really do sweeten up the juice), and they also contain a wide assortment of beneficial nutrients, most notably beta carotene (from which carrots get their name).

• The pears are the sweeteners here. I find that pear juice tastes much better than apple juice in these raw living juices, but of course it’s your choice of what’s best for you. If you’re diabetic or want to reduce the sugars in this recipe, reduce the numbers of pears to just one or eliminate them altogether (when I juice here in Ecuador, I don’t use pears at all. I just use carrots.) Some people prefer to use oranges instead of pears. The tart taste of the oranges in some ways provides a better overall taste. Try the recipe both ways and see what you like best.

In addition to all the benefits listed above, these foods are alive with nutrients and energies. They are live foods, not dead processed foods, and they provide both the nutrients and the energies of life! It’s a simple concept, really: If you want to stay alive, eat more living foods. If you want to be dead, eat more dead foods.

Your body will thank you

The point of today’s living foods juice is to both introduce you to the joy of juicing (if you don’t already know about it), and to prepare your digestive tract for tomorrow’s action item.

How much juice should you drink? Just drink whatever amount you feel comfortable with. I recommend an 8 oz. glass of this juice at minimum, but if you only feel like drinking half that much, that’s fine, too. Some people will drink as much as 64 ounces of fresh juice in a day! (Juice Feasting)

For the purposes of this 15-day experience you can still eat all your other normal food during the day. This isn’t about eliminating everything else, it’s about adding some fresh, living juice to your day. Ideally, you’ll make this a regular part of your diet because whatever your diet consists of — whether it’s pure vegan or based on McDonald’s cheeseburgers — it will be helped by adding several ounces of fresh juice.

Pointers and shortcuts

Don’t have time to make your own fresh juice? There are shortcuts, but none of them are as good as actual living fresh juice.

You can, if you wish, consume juice from a superfood powder such as EnerFood, VitaMineral Green, Boku Superfood, Delicious Greens or others. These are all reasonable alternatives to fresh juice, but by their very nature they are not as fresh as living foods would be.

Do NOT reach for a Naked Juice, or Odwalla juice and make the mistake of thinking they are fresh living juices. All of those juices are DEAD, pasteurized juices made by the big soft drink companies (Coke and Pepsi). None of them are fresh, raw and alive. They still have nutritional benefits, so I’m not saying they’re worthless, but they pale in comparison to fresh, raw juices that you make at home.

You can drink this juice between meals, or during a meal, or any time you want. Just drink it quickly after making it, because fresh juice oxidizes in mere minutes. The nutritional quality of the fresh juice you make literally starts to degrade with each passing second. Ideally, start to consume it within two minutes of juicing it, and finish it in no more than five.

You may feel some “detox” side effects from this juice, especially if you currently pursue a relatively unhealthful diet. But they should be mild. After all, this is just simple juice from simple foods. These aren’t drugs or extracts. They are the foods your body was meant to consume.

By the way, I’m not here to push a vegan diet or a vegetarian diet on you. Decide to eat whatever you wish to eat, for your own reasons. Just add this fresh juice to your day and see what happens for yourself. Even if you gobble down pepperoni pizza and diet soda, these fresh juices will improve your health results in a noticeable way.

In case you’re curious, I drink about 16 ounces of this fresh juice each day, right from my own garden. Except I don’t use the pears, and I add in fresh aloe vera gel from fresh leaves that I grow myself here in Ecuador. I grow all my own fresh berries, kale, carrots, parsley, broccoli, cucumbers and more, and these go right into my juice.

Just so you know how powerful this is, I just finished a 90-hour fast. Aside from a raw coconut food bar a friend gave me, I didn’t eat any solid food for 90 hours. I did, however, drink one glass of fresh, living vegetable juice each day.

If I had been consuming a junk food diet, my energy would have collapsed within the first 24 hours. I would have been dead tired, detoxing in bed and probably suffering through it all. But because my daily diet is so clean, I was able to eat virtually nothing for nearly four days and still have the energy to write these articles, to go hiking up the mountains behind my house and generally get along with a normal day. (Yes, it got difficult on the fourth day, which is why I ended the fast at 90 hours.)

Fresh living juice is such a powerhouse of nutrition and energy that even when you eat virtually nothing for several days in a row, the juice you had before the fast keeps you alive, healthy and energetic. That’s been my experience, at least.

What about the pulp?

I’ve added this section to the article because people are asking why they shouldn’t drink the pulp and fibers of the fruits and veggies instead of juicing them.

Here’s my take on it:

First off, I don’t want vegetable fibers, and I don’t need ‘em. The fruit fibers, on the other hand, are very good for your digestive health. Fruit pectin even helps prevent cancer according to many naturopaths. So if you want more pulp in your juice, then do this:

#1) JUICE the vegetables to get pure juice while tossing out the fibers.
#2) BLEND the fruits to keep the fruit pulp. Then pour in the veggie juice and add water.

To me, this is the best “pulpy” juice. It’s easy to remember, too: KEEP the fruit fiber, TOSS the vegetable fiber.

But for those who are using juice therapeutically to treat disease under the care of a naturopathic physician, for example, they will probably want no fiber at all. That’s because the fiber makes it more difficult for your body to absorb the juice. So for people who are fasting, or treating cancer, or detoxing or whatever, it’s often recommended that they discard all the fiber and go for the pure juice.

There’s no absolute right or wrong about this. What’s important is what works for you! Try it both ways and do what makes you feel healthier and happier.

“Integrative medicine combines the discipline of modern science with the wisdom of ancient healing. For people living with chronic or life-threatening illness, it can transform the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of their lives. Integrative medicine may also be valuable to those who are not ill but wish to increase self-awareness, enhance well-being, and help prevent health-related problems.

In treating disease, complementary therapies are not substitutes for mainstream medical care; they are used in concert with medical treatment to help alleviate stress, reduce pain and anxiety, manage symptoms, and promote a feeling of well-being.” Sloan Kettering

Integrative medicine is the future.  All of us must come together as one and use the best of the best medicine to heal the world.  We can find solutions to our health challenges and we can overcome any disease.   We can overcome cancer.  We can be cancer survivors or cancer triumphants. 

I  believe with all my heart we came here to be healthy and abundant in all areas of our lives.  We have the available resources, knowledge, hope and courage to help all heal from cancer and other chronic illnesses. 

When we stop fighting each other, when stop thinking we are right and we have the only answer, we will come together for an amazing solution for all.  It is starting to happen.  We have to be patient and allow others to work through their fears of letting go of past practices and beliefs.  Slowly we are seeing more and more doctors and hospitals work together to heal the whole, body, mind and spirit.  This is great progress.  When I was diagnosed with cancer and wanted to heal the whole, doctors and hospitals didn’t know what I meant.  They were not involved in Integrative Medicine at the time.  Now Integrative Medicine is part of their healing protocols. 

Little did I know where this journey would end.  I guess I still don’t, and it doesn’t matter.  I am learning to enjoy the adventure.  Resting in the knowingness that the perfect experience will happen today or NOW.

This new year began with a knowingness from within to start cleansing my physical body.  I followed my heart and had no idea where this journey would take me.  At the time, I had no plans for a trip to Tulum.  I only felt a need to clean out the old and begin putting clean, healthy nutrients back in a clean body.

When we remove the old (no matter what it is) there is room available for the new.  This is true in cleaning out old clothes, or dealing with a painful experience, or facing a negative relationship, or any experience in life.  The cleansing began to prepare the way for removing  the old and making room for something new.

When we listen and trust God leads us and guides us on our journey.  I was ready to listen and trust that my next step would be provided.

I was cleaning my intestines and colon and eating good organic food, when the opportunity landed at my door to go to Tulum.  See the first Tulum Story. 

My body was prepared for the experiences in Tulum.  I was able to physically endure the exercises including yoga, pilates and cardio.  I was mentally clearer to be present.  Being present in conversations with the other women, with yoga, or my healing sessions, or in the sweat lodge all allowed me to truly be there and experience it.  I was clearer as emotions came up I was able to feel, see and experience them.  So I could let them go forever.

A calm and peace appears as we are present and connected to God and our true self.  This awareness is comforting and peaceful.  We are able to see and know things we didn’t before.  Answers to questions appear, and guidance on decisions is available. 

So this was an amazing plan.  Not a plan I was consciously aware of, but a plan that I trusted and followed.  Tulum was a healing and growth process.   I feel as if I shedded another layer or layers of “stuff” I have been carrying around this human body.  As I shed more “stuff”,  New “stuff” arrives.  I anxiously wait for more new stuff.  What do I mean by stuff???

Well new exciting experiences are coming my way, new rewarding relationships, new opportunities to do what I love, new opportunities to help other people, new information I never heard about……..the list goes on and on.

This is life! So let’s enjoy the adventure together!

My heart hurts for them.  I feel their pain and sadness.  I remember being at that very place and time in my life.  I lived it too.

Then I want to shout from the rooftop, “They can be a cancer survivor too!”

As a cancer survivor and speaker, I want to share with everyone the hope available to them, for them to reach out and grab. I want to tell them all the information available for them to heal body, mind and spirit.  I want to share the natural cancer treatments for a cancer survivor.  It is energy spilling out of me as I meet people.

And then I stop (and let me tell I don’t always stop) more on that later………..

Not everyone is ready to hear. Not everyone is ready for a cancer survivor story. I know each person has their journey to take and I pray they find peace on that journey.

I want to be their friend and help them.

Barb Harris tells how our mind affect our entire being.

“Mind-states affect our biology: being optimistic and resilient improves immune function and counters stress.  Spirituality makes us healthier, including listening to our hearts, clarifying our values and beliefs, and living according to them.  To be truly healthy is to be energized and vital, living with purpose and feeling good in our bodies.  It is loving life and celebrating our true nature.”
       ~ Barb Harris
Editorial Director, Natural Health Magazine, October 2003
 

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As they were closing the door for the second time, I said, “I am ready!  I am going back in!”

I saw who I was, the being beyond the mind and the fear. This recognition was part of my healing and was part of my purpose there at that moment.

Confidently I enter the lodge and centered myself within.  I began to breathe and focussed on the energy within my body.  I focussed only on the moment and the experience I was having.  I allowed my mind to be still with no thought whatsoever.

The steam and heat increased and I bathed in the cleansing energy.  It was as if part of me was being washed away and I was lighter and clearer.   I soaked up the energy of the ceremony.  I began to feel my energy rise and a smile covered my face.  I was able to feel the peace and joy within and all around me.  I just wanted to giggle.  With singing, chanting, drumming and horns we celebrated.  I entered a state so profound and so loving, I didn’t want it to end.

As the last door opened the exhileration I felt was amazing. We were led outside and squatted next to the lodge.  In gratitude, I prayed as they bathed us in buckets of water.  They wrapped us in fresh white sheets.  Refreshed and new we surrounded the fire pit where this had all begun.  In celebration, we gave thanks for the ceremony, the purification and healing of body, mind, and spirit and for this wonderful thing called life.

I remained in this state of peace and gratitude for several hours.  My awareness expanded and the love I felt for life and all beings here was miraculous.  Each of us experienced something different; some cried and some experienced intense physical sensations.  We experienced mental, emotional and physical cleansing. 

Each of us will take an important gift with us after the experience.

I allowed cleansing of negative emotions, healing of physical ailments, clearing of mental concerns and releasing of spiritual blockages.  After surrendering, I was able to have a life changing experience.

Lesson five was felt deep within….at any moment I have a choice.  Allow my mind to become me or step into my true self.

Many North American and Central American Indian tribes have traditionally used the sweat lodge for purification, cleansing and healing of mind, body, emotions and spirit.

I knew the sweat ceremony was another opportunity for cleansing and healing for me and I was so excited to participate. Only six of the ten women chose to participate. We began with a ceremony outside standing around a fire. Together we chanted and offered prayers. Although I don’t think any of us really understood one thing said or done. Our leader was a shaman in his thirties who had grown up with the tradition in Mexico. Each of us then left our hand print in the sand around the fire and then proceeded to the sweat lodge.

“The sweat lodge is a ceremonial sauna. During the ceremony, the participants encircle the stone pit inside the lodge. The medicine man, shaman, or elder, the leader of the ceremony, perhaps better referred to as the pourer, receives the glowing hot stones from the firekeeper and places them in the pit using a pitch fork. When enough stones have been placed in the lodge, the medicine man (pourer) closes the door and pours water on top of the stones to fill the lodge with steam. This happens usually four times, with periods of between ten minutes to hours spent sweating in the lodge.”

The lodge looked like an igloo with heavy blankets covering the entrance. As I squatted to enter my heart raced and my mind took over. I am CLAUSTRAPHOBIC!

Slowly one by one hot rocks were placed in the fire pit and we repeated chants of the shaman. Then they lowered the heavy wool blankets over the opening and the black filled interior. No sound, no light, as the heat filled the space and my body. I began to panic! There would be five doors total the shaman informed us.

Again, I watched as I created the thoughts of fear. Observing I chose to breathe, to become present in this moment. I listened to each breath and the peace filled me. The shaman began chanting and we all offered our intentiions for the ceremony. I stated my intention: To drop all past experiences and suffering and to heal and become one with all in gratitude.

Water was poured over the glowing hot rocks and stimulated by fanning with large palms. The heat and steam filled the dome inclosure. It got hotter and hotter and louder and louder as we were shouting healing chants. Then I heard “Puerta, Puerta” and I was relieved to see some light and feel the coolness of the night air. I took deep breaths to remain in the moment and not let my mind wander. Overcome by heat and emotion, one of the women had to leave.

Again, one by one they carefully lifted several more hot rocks through the opening and then again the blackness surrounded us. The heat was increasingly intense and I was dripping wet from head to foot.

We chanted intentions of healing and gratitude. I became overwhelmed by the heat and had to lay my head on the ground. My mind was telling me to run….jumpup and crawl out the door. Then again I heard “Puerta, Puerta” and the light was a welcomed sight. I continued to wrestle with my mind, and I knew I was, I was conscious of what I was doing. I knew the fear in my mind was not real. I knew these thoughts were crazy.

RUN, RUN, RUN!

I screamed, “Let me out!”

As I stood among the trees and the cool night breeze, I saw clearly how my mind had won!!