Always with Heart from BetsyHealth Ramona Levacy Billingslea

In this podcast, I discuss some of the basic functions of the parts of your immune system, as well as ways to support your immune system through some simple, good-for-you habits. I hope you find it informative and applicable. Thanks for listening.

In health,
Ramona

BetsyHealth Note: Ramona Billingslea is a health blogger and educator with more than twenty years' experience in the health foods industry. She is not a licensed healthcare provider. The statements in this podcast are for educational purposes only and are not designed to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease and have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Consult your healthcare provider, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, taking medication, have a medical condition or planning surgery.



Cover Art Photo by Kristin Vogt: 

Lymph nodes and tubes may be found all over the body. And when the lymphatic system works properly, they help the body fight infection, drain away cellular waste, and maintain body fluid levels. In fact, a healthy system with functioning nodes filters and breaks down germs, toxins, and debris, carrying these things away from body tissue via the lymphatic tubes and then drained into the bloodstream once cleaned.

In a perfect world, your lymphatic system would work like a well-oiled machine, keeping your tissues hydrated and ridding your body of toxins, infections and cellular waste. But we don’t live in a perfect world. Poor lifestyle and nutrition choices can have negative effects on your lymph health.

Because one-third of the body’s lymph nodes are in the face, neck and jaw area, skin issues such as acne, clogged pores, puffy eyes, eczema, and even a dull complexion can be warning signs that your lymph system needs a little TLC. Some people may also experience swollen lymph nodes, hands, or feet, frequent headaches, weight gain, brain fog, and fatigue.

Of course, before you assume these symptoms are isolated to your lymph system, it’s a good idea to describe your concerns with your health care practitioner, who can rule out anything more serious and help you determine the need for a lymph cleanse according to your current physical needs and challenges.

Today, I want to discuss 8 tips to improve lymphatic drainage and get your lymph system ready for a cold winter season. Many of these tips are simple practices you can incorporate into your current lifestyle. Some will require a change in habits.



Reference: Schauch, Marita, ND. “8 Tips to Improve Lymphatic Health.” Womensvoicemagazine.com. Volume 18-U. 48.



*This podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice. It does not attempt to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. Consult your healthcare provider with health concerns or before taking supplements, especially if you take prescription or over the counter medications or have a medical condition.

Cover art courtesy: Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/beautiful-beauty-blond-blur-289225/

Learning is a lifetime endeavor, whether you are in school or not. In fact, it’s when we stop trying to learn new things that our brain health can begin to decline. Besides old favorites like crossword puzzles and sudoku, this digital age in which we live provides so may APPs and games that help us keep our brain active, whether through play or by learning another language or building a virtual kingdom all our own. No matter what time of life you are in, the brain needs great nutrition, including lots of antioxidants, to do its best. Drops in blood sugar, agitators like caffeine, even too little water for hydration, can all have negative effects on your brain cells. As neurons fire information back and forth in your skull, remember that healthy brain cells are composed of membranes that the body has created using the fats your diet provides. Good fats make for limber, porous cells that easily trade information and nutrients with surrounding cells. Bad fats stiffen cell (and subsequently vessel) walls, making it more difficult for the brain to work at optimum levels. An imbalance in fats, usually on the side of too many bad, can further cause inflammatory responses that further hinder nutrients and oxygen from passing into and through the cells as they must if you plan to live a long, healthy life. Yet, no matter what your calendar age may be, any brain can learn to be young again. Here are a few things to consider. Thank you for joining me for this quick look at brain health today. Visit our blog anytime at betsyhealth.com. Download our APP from your APP store. It’s FREE, and it gives you access to everything BetsyHealth, right at your fingertips. Betsy’s Health Foods is your family-owned vitamin store, always taking your health and your budget to heart. Proudly serving the Houston area since 1993. BetsyHealth note: This podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before taking a supplement, especially if you take medications or have a medical condition, including being pregnant or nursing.

Let's discuss the importance of skin health, along with tips for managing your skin's health care. See this podcast transcript below for more information.

Thanks for listening.

NOTE: *This podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice. It does not attempt to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. Consult your healthcare provider with health concerns or before taking supplements, especially if you take prescription or over the counter medications or have a medical condition.



Article copyright 2022 by Alive Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/affection-baby-barefoot-blur-415824/



IS YOUR SKIN STRESSED?

Stress and hormone imbalance can wreak havoc on the skin, leaving acne, eczema, and wrinkles in their wake. Learn how to mitigate stress and strike a balance in your hormones to cultivate a happier reflection in the mirror.

Skindications of overall health
Like a multitasking parent, the skin juggles protecting the body from environmental stressors such as UV light; producing neurotransmitters and hormones; synthesizing vitamin D; and regulating electrolytes, fluids, and body temperature.

The skin also moonlights as a crystal ball to reflect how the body is doing internally. Your skin may be dry, itchy, flushed, yellowish, pimply, or wrinkled because of inadequate nutrition or underlying dysfunctions in your hormonal, digestive, and immune systems. And these body systems are heavily influenced by stress.

Keep it simple
Waking up and going to bed at the same time every day (regardless of whether it’s the weekend!) is key for regulating hormones, since they’re affected by the circadian rhythm. The same thing goes for mealtimes; if you keep them as consistent as possible, your stress levels and hormones will be happy.

Pair movement with stress relief for a double whammy of health benefits. Whether that’s dancing, kickboxing, or walking, choose your bliss and do it often! Exercise encourages blood flow and lymphatic drainage, both of which help tonify and detoxify the skin.

Inside-out skin care routine
Internal
Enjoy foods rich in the following nutrients, or supplement with:

omega-3s (fish, walnuts, chia)

vitamin D (egg yolks, fish, mushrooms)

vitamin C (bell peppers, citrus fruits, broccoli)

vitamin E (wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds)

vitamin A (leafy greens, sweet potato, carrots)

zinc (poultry, legumes, nuts and seeds)

collagen (bone broth)

Drink good quality water to hydrate your tissues and skin.

External

Incorporate these topical skin care products and apply them to the face in this order:

Wash face with gentle cleanser.

Apply toner.

Nourish with a serum such as hyaluronic acid for dry and aging skin, and vitamins C and E to protect against skin damage.

Apply a small amount of moisturizer.

Finish with two fingertips’ worth of sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher (and reapply according to instructions).

Need extra help?
Look under the surface with blood work and other diagnostic testing to identify the contributing causes of your skin health woes. Keeping tabs on your thyroid hormones, vitamin D status, estrogen, and cortisol values in the blood can be helpful indicators of how your skin’s doing on a microscopic level.

ACTION ALERT!

Let's not try to fix what isn't broken. In this podcast, Betsy and Ramona Billingslea of Betsy's Health Foods discuss the latest threat to our supplements, S. 4090 and Senator Durbin's rider added to the 400-page Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) that must be reauthorized this September 2022. We discuss the particulars of these legislative actions, why Dietary Supplement Health Education Act (DSHEA) works and doesn't need fixed, and the grass roots effort in the early 1990s that helped bring DSHEA into existence.

DSHEA defines supplements as food, which is why we can sell them and why we are always adding the disclaimer that supplements don't cure, prevent or treat any illness. DSHEA provides the FDA with the oversight to monitor supplement manufacturing, approve certain structure/function and limited health claims, and more. 

The proof of DSHEA's efficacy is in action. Supplements have by far the lowest Adverse Event Reporting. Our AERs are less than a percent of all AERs reported (including reports from actual drugs). Your own faith in the supplements products you take, as well as your experience in their efficacy also prove that DSHEA effectively monitors the supplement industry.

Though S. 4090 and the policy added to PDUFA may seem harmless or even sound like a decent idea, they actually make way for the FDA to overreach, deciding that your supplements are drugs just because a drug company may have investigated the possibility of using the supplement as a drug. . . 40 years ago. 

We hope you find this podcast an informative introduction into the current controversy concerning supplements. We want the power of choice to be where it belongs, in your hands. We want you to know that coming together, we can defeat this bad policy. Keep posted through our email and on our website. Our home page includes a section titled ACTION ALERT--SAVE OUR SUPPLEMENTS! We're working to keep that section as up-to-date as possible so you have the tools you need to act.

Thank you for your support all these years. We thank you in advance for joining us in this fight to yet again save our supplements.

Sincerely,

Betsy and Ramona

Discover steps to a more positive mindset, including information about serotonin and supplements that support healthier responses to stress. Make your best mood a priority through healthy eating, positive self-talk, regular exercise and more. 

References:

Alive Publishing Group, Inc.

WomensVoiceMagazine.com Vol. 17-U. 41-42.

Episode art courtesy pexels.com

*This podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice. It does not attempt to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. Consult your healthcare provider with health concerns or before taking supplements, especially if you take prescription or over the counter medications or have a medical condition.