LIMITLESS Reduces Inflammation

I’m a firm believer that we are all given challenges in our lives for a reason.  The difference between us is who is listening and doing something different OR who’s pointing a finger, blaming, and having a constant pity party?  You know what I mean?  That is not to say I didn't go through the “why me” stage or felt sorry for myself when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.   The key, however, is how long do you stay in the pity party?  Take ACTION! 

Is it disturbing to learn that chronic inflammation is the root of nearly every modern disease on the rise today.  The good news is, however, we can choose each day to make good choices that will limit the “fuel to the fire” and reduce our chances of having the disease in the first place or, in my case, to conquer the inflammation, pain, and swelling.   I am now leading a fully functioning life.  The more I learn about the human body, the more convinced I am that “we have all the natural tools needed to maintain a healthful balance in our systems.” (Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP) Today is the day to begin leading a healthy and productive life no matter how old you are!!

As a champion for health and wellness, I have been approached by many friends and networkers to try products such as Protandim, Isogenics, and Orenda to name a few.  I found for myself that they didn't make a difference.  That’s my story as I do respect these companies and they do have products that work for others.  Because of this experience, I was hesitant to look at other nutritional companies.

Last January, I was introduced to an authentic company with proprietary products.  A dear friend and mentor, Rick Parros, a former Denver Bronco player, asked Jon and me to go to Dallas and check out EVOLV, a company in Dallas with Trey White as the CEO.  At our visit, we also met Dr. Anne Smith, the CSO (Chief Science Officer) who explained the history of of the products and the science behind each. She is an amazing woman who has led the way with the development of the products.

What stood out to me the most was Limitless.  It has had an immediate and long term effect for myself and a wide variety of people.  Limitless is a pure beet extract and it’s the betalains in the beets that strengthens the body functions and REDUCES INFLAMMATION!!  I have tried so many times to reduce the amount of methotrexate I use for my rheumatoid.  Because of Limitless, I have reduced the amount by 1/3^rd!!  I have also found that after my workouts my recovery time is much quicker, and yet I continue to have more energy throughout the day.  

Now I have young athletes all the way to my 86 year old mom who have found great results with this product.  It’s been everything from reducing and even eliminating shoulder pain, hip pain, migraines, performing at a higher level with their competition, and adding more focus and mental clarity to their work just to name a few results.

Inflammation!  LIMITLESS has definitely made a difference for me.  If you’re in pain and want to learn more, check out my website:

http://njbhealth.myevolv.com/

CHRONIC INFLAMMATION

What is chronic inflammation?

Inflammation seems to be the new “buzz” word.  I always thought inflammation was just when I had something like a sprained ankle.  Little did I know there can be inflammation in and around organs, the reason for so many of our health issues etc. etc.

My rheumatoid arthritis? It stems from inflammation.  Inflammatory bowel disease, eczema? Also stem from inflammation.  “But chronic inflammation has now been connected to many modern diseases from obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, to Alzeheimers,  osteoporosis, Parkinson’s, cancer, and even depression," according to Marcelle Pick, Ob/gyn NP. 

There’s a difference between Western medicine and Functional medicine.  Western medicine primarily has a pathology orientation.  For example, when they look at our lab results, they see if we’re within the “normal, average” range.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve always felt we are each different and our numbers need to be what is right for each of us individually – not an average.  Functional medicine, however, looks at what is true for each individual and even more important what is the cause of what is happening?  Functional medicine views “chronic and degenerative illnesses – and even biological aging – as rooted in chronic inflammation.”  (To clarify, I am NOT opposed to Western medicine as it does have its place. What I am in favor of is getting all the information and finding the cause in order to avoid continuing the problem.  I want to make an informed decision about my health.)

The list of symptoms chronically associated with low-grade chronic inflammation include:

·         Body aches and pains

·         Congestion

·         Frequent infections

·         Diarrhea

·         Dry eyes

·         Indigestion

·         Shortness of breath

·         Skin outbreaks

·         Swelling and/or stiffness

·         Weight gain/obesity

“We all need a measure of inflammation to survive.  Acute inflammation is the short-term immune response our bodies mount in cases of trauma, infection, and allergy.”  When all is working as it should, our bodies “release pro-inflammatory compounds when needed and turning them off with anti-inflammatory compounds when the threat has been sufficiently addressed.”

Chronic inflammation is when the normal response is not completely turned off.  My rheumatoid arthritis was my body fighting against itself and the inflammation continued causing the extreme pain and stiffness.  Another example of inflammation is my slight sensitivity to gluten. It isn't enough for me to completely eliminate gluten, but I do have to pay attention.  Some of our health issues may begin as small inconveniences such as gas, bloating, and discomfort in our digestive system.  (By the way, the digestive system has been referred to as the “second brain.”) I, for one, use to have the mindset that these effects were just an inconvenience.  I didn't pay attention to the fact that every time I ate a lot of bread I had these “symptoms.”  Just like I didn't associate my extreme level of stress which, for me, turned chronic inflammation in my hands and feet into my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis.  The “root of chronic inflammation is an imbalanced immune system.”

My main message is to first pay attention to what is going on in your body, pay attention to what you’re eating and then observe how your body responds.  You may need to keep a journal to watch for patterns and frequency. Our bodies are incredible miracles. Learning more is a key to that health and being the best we can be.

No more excuses that you don’t have time to keep a journal.  Remember…what that really means is you’re not willing to make your health a priority.  Our health should be our NUMBER ONE INVESTMENT. 

The Lessons Continue....

I think our bodies handle stress in different ways.  Some people have heart attacks, strokes, specific diseases etc.  Mine happens to deal with stress by attacking itself…an autoimmune disease…rheumatoid arthritis.  In 1997-98, my parents and I had some difficult challenges as far as our difference in opinion on religion.  It was very intense and difficult.  This time my body shut down.  My hands were curled, I could barely hold a pencil or a piece of chalk, and I actually got locked in the school bathroom at one point.   I couldn’t turn the door knob.  I started using the overhead projector instead of the chalkboard since I couldn’t raise my arm to write.  It would take me almost two hours in the mornings to get “warmed up” enough to move without pain.  Getting showered, dressed, do my hair etc. etc. then drive to school were all taking every ounce of my energy that I could muster.

This time my crises lasted the full school year.   Once again, I had amazing supporters and encouragers between my husband, now teenage children, and my teaching partner.  Handles were put on all the doors of the school so I could move around easier, and my principal was extremely understanding and supportive, and my students were amazing.   All blessings!! 

The school year ended, we celebrated our son’s high school graduation, and I took the summer focusing on me.  I slept, without guilt, I let others do things that before I felt I needed to do, and I spent time realizing that the only person I could control was myself and definitely not my parents.  Duh!  There were and still are challenges, but the good news is I have not had a crises since 1998. This time I learned!

Thinking back, some of these demands on any of us who are working and are also parents it’s just the way it is. When you have a new born, or a toddler, and later when they’re middle and high school the focus is on them.  There’s a small window of time to be with them, create memories, and teach life lessons.   It goes by so quickly.  I loved and enjoyed every stage of their development and would not want to change the experiences and memories we have had as a family.

Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 36?!

At age 36, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. It started in my feet later spreading to my hands.  God has an interesting way of getting my attention once again… I wasn’t taking care of myself.  That episode lasted about 4 months where I paid more attention to my body, what I was eating and getting some exercise (besides running after kids).

The tough thing about paying attention to my body and what it liked and didn’t like was this was all new to me.  I didn’t have a clue what that meant. Listen to my body?  What was I suppose to feel?  What were the specifics?  Really?  I wasn’t raised knowing about those types of things.  Guess now’s my time to learn. 

One of the side effects was I was extremely tired.  How do you take care of two children ages 6 and 9 who are full of energy and a husband that can go full speed all day?  I was picturing myself being an invalid and being a burden on my family.  I’m use to waking up with my To Do list and getting everything done before going to bed at night.  Now I have to take a nap.  What?!  The physical and emotional challenges were intertwined.  Fortunately, I have the most amazing friend, partner, and soul mate as a husband.  He was an encourager, took over many things that I couldn’t continue doing for awhile, and kept up a positive attitude for all of us.  The kids were the nurturers now too.  WOW!

One day a week and one weekend day, I would go to a therapy pool.  The water was warm, I went through the exercises my PT had given me, and did feel better afterwards as my body was getting stronger and the inflammation was decreasing.  My challenge was not in the exercises, it was being there with other women – much older – who had deformed feet and hands and could barely walk.  I was 36!  Is this what I had ahead of me?