Integrative Health Blog

A dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free family favorite!

Everyone loves sweet potatoes. They are a great alternative to regular, starchy white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are packed with fiber to help with digestion and contain beta-carotene, which is a potent anti-oxidant.

Sweet potatoes are typically used in casseroles or topped with butter or sugar. This healthier mashed sweet potato recipe uses the good fat of coconut milk and the sweetness of cinnamon and ginger to make a healthy meal or side dish for your family.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs. medium sweet potatoes

1 Tbsp.  honey

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Bob Johnson DMD

Traditional dentistry touts the benefits of fluoride to prevent caries/ cavities in your teeth.  This has been the conventional wisdom since the 1950’s.   Continued research by the dental community and outside researchers has occurred since that time.

As a result dentists and the traditional dental community recommend giving fluoride treatments and to legislate fluoridation of public drinking water. 

In recent studies,  fluoride has increasingly been shown to be toxic and not as effective at reducing decay as once thought.  There are alternatives to fluoride to improve the health of the mouth and to prevent decay.  These include using xylitol rinses and gum, rinsing with chlorhexidine or rinsing with baking soda solution to neutralize the acids which cause decay.

Fluoride and the Thyroid

Fluoride has now been shown to bind with and pull toxic mercury and aluminum into the brain and thyroid.  This may contribute to thyroid and brain dysfunction and degeneration. The mercury and aluminum which is pulled into the brain has been shown to damage individual nerve and thyroid cells resulting in decreasing function of these organs/ gland.  

In the thyroid the most important nutrient is Iodine.    Fluoride which has migrated into the thryoid from the mouth displaces the bound iodine resulting in an increasingly dysfunctional thyroid.   Whether or not fluoride actively causes a dysfunctional thyroid and brain or is the vehicle to transport other toxic materials such as mercury or aluminum into the brain and thyroid the use of fluoride must be reassessed as a toxin and its utilization be re-analyzed.   Given that there are much healthier and possibly equally effective alternatives our suggestion is to avoid the use of fluoride from all sources.

Make an Educated Health Decision on Fluoride

I started working for NIHA a while ago, and I have always been interested in colon hydrotherapy.   I mean, come on, the benefits touted are immediate weight loss, miraculous flat tummies,  improving your skin, better digestion and clearing out your 20-something-foot intestine!

Who wouldn't want all that? 

Colon Hydrotherapy for Detoxification

But NIHA also taught me how incredibly beneficial colonics could be for my health.  Colon hydrotherapy washes away the many toxins that build up over the course of your lifetime and leaves your colon clean and toxic free.  I try to eat a clean diet and limit exposure,  but we still encounter toxins in personal care products, household chemicals, EMF’s, pollution etc. Did you know that every meal you eat should be followed by a trip to the bathroom? And if you are not eliminating as much as you’re consuming, well, where do you think it’s going?

The Procedure

So I booked my appointment and the colon hydrotherapist gave me all the pre-colon hydrotherapy instructions. The colon hydrotherapiests are extremely professional and knowledgeable. No eating for at least 2 hours beforehand to ensure my body is still not digesting anything during the treatment.  Fortunately, she is very experienced and sensitive to the patient’s needs, because really, who normally discusses bodily functions and bowel habits like this with a stranger? I filled out a questionnaire and headed into the colonic room.  The procedure-prep went as follows:

Dr. Mercola posted an article, Low Magnesium May Play Key Role in Insulin Resistance and Diabetes about low magnesium and it’s role in insulin resistance and diabetes, two things that I have a great interest in and have posted  numerous blogs about.

He states that an estimated 80% of Americans are deficient in this important mineral!

There can be many reasons: nutrient depleted soil, nutrient deficient diets, intestinal problems, kidney problems, diabetes, age, certain medications.

My focus here will be on the relation to Type II diabetes. Dr. Mercola says “ the evidence is clear: if you want to optimize your metabolism and keep your risk for type 2 diabetes low, one of the things you need to do is consume adequate magnesium.”

How to Increase Your Magnesium Intake with Food

The easiest way to do that is to eat foods that are high in magnesium:

• dark leafy green vegetables

• sea vegetables like dulse,nori, wakame, kelp

• unrefined sea salt

• sunflower and pumpkin seeds

• nut butters

• almonds, cashews, brazil nuts

• brewer’s yeast

• wheat germ

• cilantro, dandelion

• unprocessed grains

In a recent 2013 study, according to Mercola, pre-diabetics with the highest magnesium intake, reduced their risk for blood sugar and metabolic problems by 71%!!

Laurie DeRosa RDH

To understand alkalinity it is important to have an understanding of pH.

pH is an acronym for “potential of hydrogen,” a value that indicates the acidity or alkalinity of a liquid.  The measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration in a liquid determines the pH value.  Every liquid has a pH value, which falls on a scale between 0 and 14, with 7 being neutral.  A pH value less than 7 is acidic: values greater than 7 indicate alkalinity.

Your body also has a pH value. In fact, all your body fluids each have a pH value, but blood most accurately reflects the acidity or alkalinity of your body.  Ideally, your blood’s pH should be between 7.3 and 7.5.

How Too Much Acid Affects Us

Research has shown that a slightly more alkaline body is vital for good health and is associated with higher energy levels, better digestion, a healthy weight balance, increased mental clarity, fewer aches and pains, and better overall health. However, if your body is more acidic this will allow unhealthy bacteria to survive and may cause chronic fatigue, weight gain, joint pain, immune deficiency, premature aging, and more. When acids build up in your system your body will restore its optimal pH by depleting certain minerals, such as potassium, calcium and magnesium, from organs and bones.