Mandatory Minerals

Avoid Mineral Deficiency Naturally

Ain’t No Sunshine.
I am bringing up the subject of minerals today and inviting you to join me on another fascinating journey, as we explore why we need to care about our mineral intake, what happens when we don’t, and simple ways to make sure the bio electrical unit you inhabit has the correct type and amount of metals and minerals to keep your circuitry conductive, and your neurons merrily firing.

On the road to Somewhere, I have landed in Springfield Missouri. I will be here for another few months, then I’ll be traveling south. In the Autumn and winter months, in this particular region of the country there is great many days without sunshine. I mean, if you find yourself looking around a half deserted city street and wondering if you have accidentally taken up residence in a vampire colony, you might just be in Missouri. One friend of mine described this area in one word. “Gray.” I will extol the virtues, pro’s and con’s of Springfield on another post, but having come here from the unlimited sunshine of Florida, I began to feel weird, and strangely gray. I heard a few references regarding the popularity of people using vitamin D supplements, to make up for the lack of light, and I began to investigate.

Being me, and mostly vegetarian, I obviously don’t drink milk, which might be the second thing you would think of, after direct sunlight, so I started looking into sources for vitamin D, which led me to investigate the different forms of vitamin k, (which is hugely important, as it tells the calcium where to go) and ended up with a renewed respect and more current information on the mineral kingdom inside of me, it’s relationship to my vitamins, and what simply things I could do to make sure I did not join the legions of SADD camo wearing pale skins, shuffling through the isles of Home Depot and Wal Mart, looking for a happy thought. Or power tools and beer. Most likely, the latter.

 

Minerals: the top essentials

About 20 minerals have so far been identified as essential to human life.

Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and chloride are required in amounts of more than 100mg a day.

The rest are known as trace minerals or elements, though some – iron, zinc, selenium, chromium, manganese, iodine and copper – are deemed more important than others, like silicon, molybdenum, and boron.

Sometimes you will see fluoride in that list. It has been a source of much controversy, and may have it’s uses, but it is most certainly not an essential mineral and I am obviously not a big fan of having it added to water sources.

So, sounds simple enough, right? You just eat an incredible variety of fruits, vegetables, Brazil nuts, ethically sourced fish, and related oils, some fermented cruciferous things, get plenty of sunshine, and maybe some pure butter, made only from consenting, grass fed pasture raised cows, lots of shitake mushrooms, and eat your Wheaties, sprinkled liberally with iodized table salt. Right?

 

Unfortunately, most people can’t create a perfectly balanced diet from available everyday sources. Even those of us who do care about such things, can’t be reasonably certain that any of those plants were grown in soil containing any of the required minerals at all. Soil has become increasingly depleted as it is over farmed, and supplementation has replaced the natural processes in a large percentage of the commercially available food sources. Many of the RDA’s set forth by the FDA date back as far as the 1920’s, and have never been officially questioned in any way.

“The first RDAs for protein, energy, and 8 vitamins and minerals were established in 1941 by the US National Research Council at the request of the National Defense Advisory Commission ” They were periodically updated.

 

A Precarious Balance

Essential minerals balance out the PH system, so blood and soft tissue do not become too acidic, or alkaline. They aid in transporting nutrients to the cells, regulate hormones, blood pressure, oxygen delivery, and the transmission of neurological signals to the brain, as well as the nervous system in general. The essential vitamins are co dependent on the essential minerals to do their jobs. The actions are inextricably related. For instance, calcium needs to be present to metabolize vitamin C, zinc for A, magnesium for B, selenium for A and D, ect. Your muscular-skeletal system is dependent on it, your brain is dependent on it.

In a perfect world, sunlight drenches the plants and oceans, the plants transform the minerals from the water and the soil into a form that is bio available to our systems, and we ingest them. The problems arise when the supplements and fortifications that are added to the food where these natural processes have been short shifted, are in the wrong form. This is how they have demonized certain minerals like copper, iodine and boron and explains how you can have heavy metal toxicity, and still be mineral deficient. We can’t eat pennies, or re bar, only plants can. We can only utilize a small percentage of minerals that may be offered in incorrect forms, the rest get stored in places they don’t belong, and may start a chain reaction of other issues that may be impossible to reverse engineer back to the root cause of the current distress. For instance, unregulated calcium, and fluorite without vitamin k or boron, will calcify your pineal gland, and other soft tissue, yet not always go to your teeth and bones, where it belongs.

 

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Sidenote: Water. A huge villain in the heavy metal toxicity story is tap water. Often pipes or the sources themselves are terribly unsafe and overloaded with all manner of metals and other pathogens. If you can avoid it, don’t drink straight tap water. Most grocery stores have refill stations that offer filtered or RO water for just a few cents.

Solutions, Always A Solution

The best solution is obviously to eat a balanced diet.

Food grown as organically as possible from healthy soil, and minimally packaged. If you eat animals, choose fish and meat that live as normal an animal lifestyle as possible, which includes grazing on it’s native food sources, so the circle of life can function as nature intended. Avoid processed foods, and just because something has an impressive list of added vitamins and minerals, don’t assume they are in the correct forms to be assimilated.

There is a young Englishman featured in Food and Wine magazine, Henry Hargreaves, who drags a magnet through some cereals, and pulls out all the iron filings. Frightening! This is clearly not what we need in the way of additives. The irony, so to speak, is that people are warned away from copper, which helps with inflammation, arthritis, histamine tolerance, adrenaline regulation, and brain health, whereas excess iron causes inflammation, system stress, and reduces liver function. We do need iron, but not in the form of metal bits! That only works with plants. Copper also aids in the absorption and distribution of other minerals, including iron, so if you are low in copper, you can eat a bowl of filings, and still be mineral deficient, as well as toxic.

Other metals found in cereal include arsenic, mercury, lead and aluminum. These are NOT minerals meant to be ingested. Why are they in our food? (quote sources)

Find a reputable brand of a multi mineral liquid. There are several kinds on the market, depending on your personal needs, but most often these offer minerals in a form and amount that your body can process without unnecessary stress, build up or excess.

Sea Salt Water. This is by far the cheapest and easiest way to get a leg up on your mineral balance. Get some Himalayan pink sea salt, or any good mineral salt, mix a couple of teaspoons of it with filtered water, and take a few sips every morning. Sea salt can contain numerous trace elements. These elements exist in minute concentrations but work with other minerals to maintain optimal functions in your body. Trace minerals you may find in sea salt include phosphorus, bromine, boron, zinc, iron, manganese, copper and silicon. Your body uses some of these minerals, such as iron and zinc, to make enzymes involved in metabolism. Although phosphorus typically occurs in trace amounts in sea salt, it is actually an essential macro-mineral. Your body uses it as a structural component of bones, teeth and cell membranes, as well as for energy production.

 

Control the Things You Can. Obviously we live in the world we are presented with, but you can minimize the toxic metals in your life, like aluminum, lead, cambium, fluorite, and mercury, by minimizing the use of products that contain them. The most obvious being cooking utensils, coated pots and pans, cheap toys, cleaning chemicals, industrial chemicals, commercially produced cigarettes, questionable water, pre packaging on food items, pesticides, cosmetics, and the list goes on…..

Actual Metal should never be eaten in it’s elemental form. But, wearing silver, gold, copper, platinum, or titanium, can transmit trace molecules in small amounts that can be beneficial. (Why do you think Royalty wore all that gold?)

If you know for a fact that you are deficient in something particular, you might investigate colloidal minerals, which is a form that is already bio available and easily integrated into the system. This is not a blanket statement, however, and if you want some really good science, please read this article, by  Dr. John Switzer.https://ein-langes-leben.de/resources-english/56-colloidal-minerals-fact-and-myth.  As always, check your sources, ask for credentials, and make sure your hard earned money isn’t buying empty promises. If you are an amateur scientist and investigator like myself, there are many tutorials regarding making your own. Don’t experiment on your friends, and buzz words are just trends. The internet has become a politically skewed dumpsite, but the science is still out there.

I hope you found this article helpful, and not at all hysterical or depressing. Because no one wants to be SADD.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/precious-metals-

https://healthfree.com/celtic_sea_salt.html

youtube.com/watch?vqjYowj-pUKg

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS860

https://www.safewaterblog.com/home/2016/12/18/top-5-heavy-metals-in-your-tap-water

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10955048

 

 

The Amazing Versatile Classic, Baking Soda!!

What other product can brighten your teeth, de-funk gym socks, make chocolate chip cookies magical, minimize facial discoloration, put out fires, kill rats. and so much more??

Yes, it’s the beautiful, inconspicuous, but oh so familiar golden box of stuff that you have probably never noticed until you grew up, got your own apartment and went to the store. You bought a box, and put it on a shelf, not really knowing why it needed to be there, but now it felt like a real kitchen! Eventually, you read an article like this, or a friend made a few suggestions, and eureka! You began to unravel it’s mysterious usefulness. Now that you have grown up and become wise, you might keep a box in the kitchen, the bathroom, and in your gearbag, and you get to be the one to tell your friends why it’s so useful.  

I personally use baking soda on a regular basis for evening out my skintone, brightening my teeth, and adding to particularly odious loads of laundry.

 

How It Works: I could go through each individual item that baking soda can clean, but that would be rather redundant. Baking soda is a natural, gently abrasive type of salt crystal, found in it’s natural form in nahcolite deposits. It contains no harsh chemicals or corrosives, so it is safe to use on almost any surface. It has a mild antibacterial and anti fungicide reaction due to it’s alkalinity, and those attributes can be extended to a great many applications. It also deodorizes, by neutralization of the acidic decomposition activity.

When you introduce another element, like vinegar or table salt, you create a chemical reaction, due to the release of carbon dioxide that is activated by the acidic catalyst. This further activates the cleaning and deodorizing potential. When mixed with hydrogen peroxide, it becomes a whitening agent, that has been scientifically proven to whiten teeth, brighten skin tone, and reduce surface bacteria. (report).

Physical Benefits: Due to it’s organic composition, baking soda can be ingested in small quantities, and consumed with water, to alleviate common stomach acid, acid reflux, and heartburn. It may improve immune functions, and act as a mild deterrent to infection and colds. Before we had modern antibiotics, a common cure would have been a half teaspoon of baking soda, five drops of iodine, and five drops of colloidal silver in a glass of water, followed by a teaspoon of cod liver oil. (I am not a Doctor, just a commentator-this is not advice). I have tried it, however, with no negative effects, and I actually do use these suggestions for my own health when indicated. The same antimicrobial and antibacterial properties that make it an effective cleaning agent, can be translated to health and beauty when used in moderation, and the neutralizing chemical reaction that makes things puff up when you bake them, is the same agent that can relieve problems of over acidity in the body. Warning-the gas produced by the relief may cause you to burp or fart to release the excess gas. Small price to pay.

I also tried the baking soda hair removal protocol, (example video) with no success. I'm not saying it doesn't work, just that it didn't work for me.

Pest Control: I had a house a few years back that was great, until the next door neighbors did some remodeling on our shared roof access, and left an opening and a welcome mat out for the warf rats, which are an unfortunate but common squatter if you live near the beach. It gets cold in the winter on the Gulf Coast, and I could hear the rats scampering around in my attic. My cat would also pace up and down, growling at the ceiling, clearly disturbed.

I had read that if you can get a rat to eat a half tspn of baking soda, it will leave the building to look for water, and explode, because it can’t pass gas. This also works for cockroaches, and seagulls. (the seagull thing is illegal, I think). I’m not a big fan of killing creatures, but also not a fan of sharing my house with rats, so I made them some no-bake peanut butter and baking soda cookies. Shazam! No more rats. I only found one dead one that didn’t quite make it outside, and that was truly gruesome, I will say.

Rat Cookies

mix one half cup delicious peanut butter with two tablespoons sugar and one half cup baking soda. Roll into rat bite size balls, maybe with a cute little skull and crossbones stamp, and leave on a festive tray in the party area of the infestation room. 

Kid Stuff: Don’t forget the classic baking soda and vinegar volcano, dancing gummy worms, baking soda stalagmites, invisable ink, baking soda crystals, and the fire extinguishing process, in miniature.

It’s science!

I hope you enjoyed this article, and learned something that you can try or share with a friend. Many links and studies below.

For all of your healing crystal needs, don’t forget to visit Naked Fairy Apothecary shop!!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/530011268/moonstone-and-crystal-bracelet-for-your

killing ratshttps://www.ratrelief.com/does-baking-soda-kill-rats/

kid stuff https://www.hellowonderful.co/post/25-fantastic-baking-soda-experimentshttps://www.hellowonderful.co/post/25-fantastic-baking-soda-experiments

Lost in the Fog- The paralyzing effects of negative news

I have resolutely sat down to write on several occasions over the past few weeks. Such inspiring articles on important topics as “my favorite face masks”, “what is nuerolink” and “all about fluorite”, but found myself instead, entangled in a quagmire of uninspired paralysis, looking at the world around me, and feeling powerless and inert. I have to ask myself, does any of it matter, and what could I add to this endless sea of sales and headlines, and overload, that wouldn't make me feel like I wasn't just throwing one more piece of plastic at the trash barge, as it sailed away to dump more crap that nobody wants into an already tormented ocean.

I watched one commentator on youtube, Some More News who summed it up really well, in his post “The First Week of 2020”. An accurate if cynical look at what is going on worldwide, and I could relate. It's depressing. Like myself, he started off with a forced lovechild plastic smile that faded into a snarl as he recapped what is actually going on. It feels disingenuous to rave about the 25 amazing benefits of baking soda, and give you my favorite raw cookie recipe, when the planet is literally on fire, algorithms are telling me what to think, politics are created and fueled by social media, our data is being mined like coal, people are getting dumber and number and everything I ingest may or may not be toxic.

Everyone is talking, yelling, selling, and yet there is little true understanding of the importance of swift implementation positive resolutions.

I had another unfortunate Ah-Ha moment when watching another show I like, The Sensible Prepper, talking about survival hacks from the homeless. It was indeed sensible, and realistic. I was forced to look at my own pollyanna view of a survival situation. Chances are, no matter if the S.H.T.F. situation derives from an Alien invasion, or a sudden economic downtrend, the reality is most likely not going to be a society of like minded preppers, hunting game and helping each other build log cabins, but a city full of dirty, hungry, scared, humans, who don't know how to function when their lights go out, their Bank of Whatever card is meaningless, and they have no plan B.

All of these things began to weigh down my spirit, and make me feel like the assault of information was just as meaningless as whatever I would add to it.

I sat with that thought for a while. Allowing myself to wallow in morbid reflection. I realized I was adding to the collective fear, feeding the apathy, throwing the door open for the zombies to come in and have a beer and watch Netflix and chill.

But like the Mother Teresa quote, we have to do it anyway. We have to get off the couch, continue to talk, to share what we think is true, what we think is helpful, and needs to be heard by somebody. Just like the people I previously mentioned who had an impact on me. I needed to hear that information. I needed to evaluate it, decide if it was relevant or important to me, and be thankful that somebody is out there sharing the things that they do, and that I am not alone. It was important that I feel the sadness. When we are witness to despair and we fail to have an emotional response, that is when we will begin to lose our humanity.

So, to make myself feel better, I made a bad video, put on my big girl panties, and bravely decided that I will keep talking. On one level I really do believe that what we need will come to us, and that if there is one person out there who benefits from something I share, then I have made a difference. If I made you laugh, think, or look something up, I am part of the solution. The Problem is too big and too complex and impersonal to fit inside my head, or yours. So, for now, I will do my small part to stay sane.

up next: Favorite DIY Face masks and interesting facts about baking soda!

Keep Building.

Why is Activated Charcoal suddenly so popular?

Charcoal is not a dirty word. In nature, we all know what it is-burned wood, right? Why is that substance now to be found in everything from face masks to pet products?

charcoal in it's natural state

Devils Advocate (common sense)

Beyond the hype, and the maddening sales pitches, charcoal does appear to have many benefits, as a valid natural remedy for many minor conditions. It is incredibly hard to prove or disprove these findings without using some of these  suggestions for yourself. While I was trying to read clinical trials, (of which there are hundreds! ) I came across some very well marketed campaigns both for, and against, the effectiveness of charcoal. One prominent “de bunker” with a sciency name cited the failed results of one particular test in which the charcoal did not rid the body of  certain substances. I looked up the study, and it was only partially reporting, based on their bias, and did not disclose the entire success rate. Although charcoal can be both positively or negatively charged, most commonly, when ingested, it is negatively charged, this will attract elements that are positively charged, and scurry them toward the removal end of the body processes. The word “toxic” can apply to just about anything you can stick in your mouth, so a black and  white evaluation has lots of room to play with bias.  

Top Ten uses for activated charcoal

  • Poison control and emergency detox
  • water purification
  • liver cleanse
  • exposure to hazardous material
  • whitens teeth 
  • aids in wound healing
  • controls diarrhea
  • controls internal parasites
  • aids healing of skin irritations and infections
  • natural skin care

How it Works

“Activated charcoal” is similar to common charcoal, but they are not interchangeable. Manufacturers make activated charcoal by heating common charcoal, typically made from hard wood or coconut shells, in the presence of a gas. This process causes the charcoal to develop lots of surface  space. Toxins are adsorbed and eliminated from the system. This is different from acting like a sponge. What it means is that positively charged particles, (positive, in this instance meaning the opposite) are attracted and adhere to the charcoal molecules. Much like a magnet sweeping an area for iron bits.

It does not suck away your anti oxidants or vitamins, as I’ve seen posted out there. It has a specific function. Find toxins. 

Activated charcoal is commonly taken by mouth to treat poisonings. It is also used for intestinal gas, loose bowels, high cholesterol, drug or alcohol over consumption, upset stomach, periodic system detox, and bile flow problems 

Activated charcoal is applied to the skin as part of bandages for helping heal wounds., and can be used in emergency situations when no antibiotics are available. 

These are a few of the forms available. Always check for purity and company reputability when selecting products.

As I always suggest, do your own research. I will provide some helpful links.

Powders

Easily the most versatile and least expensive forms of charcoal is a simple, pure powder.  Powders can be ingested in small amounts, mixed with other herbs to create salves or poultices, added to existing beauty products, or used in making your own products or DIY cures.

https://amzn.to/2PaUoT4

https://amzn.to/2DG9Wc9

Capsules

Capsules are an easy and exacting means of ingesting activated charcoal, or for transporting, storing, ease of use, and lack of mess.  You can use it the same way as a powder, but you won’t the bang for your buck if you want to take them all apart and make a face mask. Mostly used for internal health purposes. Little guesswork involved.  Read the directions. https://amzn.to/34K3TPE   make adjustments as needed

lotions and creams

There are many lotions and creams for health, first aid, and beauty products already on the market, or you may choose to create your own versions using the raw materials. Generally used in skincare or for first aid, these can’t really be abused, and need not be carefully monitored, as I know of no risks to topical application.   

https://amzn.to/2OIkApq

https://amzn.to/35UjxYV

 

commercial product

My magic mud

https://amzn.to/2syWZi4 I am a big fan of charcoal toothpaste, I’ve used it for years, and I have a bright smile with no issues.

 

https://amzn.to/380O2yg 

charcoal face mask.

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