Kava Kava is a member of the pepper family which grows as a bush in the South Pacific. Captain James Cook first discovered kava, and gave the plant the botanical name which means intoxicating pepper. Kava has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal effects as a sedative, muscle relaxant, diuretic, and a remedy for nervousness and insomnia. Kava has also found to be a very effective pain reliever comparable to aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

Recent clinical studies have shown that kava is a safe, non addictive anti-anxiety herbal, which is as effective as prescription medications containing benzodiazepines such as valium. However, unlike the prescription meds which may cause confused thinking processes and lethargy, kava actually has been demonstrated to improve concentration, memory and reaction time for people who are suffering from the symptoms caused by anxiety. Kava can be beneficial in achieving a relaxed state of mind without the adverse side effects.

Kava is mildly narcotic and produces mild euphoric changes which elevate the mood, and can also increase the sense of sound. Care should be taken to regulate dosage levels however, as very high dosages can lead to muscle weakness, visual impairment, dizziness, and drying of the skin. Long term usage can contribute to hypertension, reduced protein levels, blood cell abnormalities, or liver damage. Mixing kava with alcoholic beverage intake can increase the action of kava, and should be avoided.

With the exception of the opium poppy, kava is known to herbalists to be the most relaxing drug. Pharmacological studies have shown that kava’s active ingredients, kava lactones, produce a physical and mental feeling of relaxation and well being. It has been used in the treatment of vaginitis, gonorrhea and menstrual cramps. It is also useful for the treatment of gout, rheumatism, bronchial congestion, and cystitis. Kava can also be applied topically as a liniment for pain relief. Because of the relaxed state and sharpening of the senses this herb creates, it is also a powerful aphrodisiac.

One of the main benefits of Kava Kava is that, unlike St. John’s Wort, which requires a cumulative effect in order to be beneficial, kava works within a few minutes to help alleviate anxiety. Kava Kava can be found in many traditional and herbal pharmacies in tablet or capsule form.

NOTE: Do not use if pregnant, nursing, or being treated for depression. (Kava is a temporary mood enhancer and should not be used to treat clinical or severe depression.)

What is the liver’s job?

The liver has several functions that play a major roll in maintaining health. It breaks down red blood cells, stores fat and glucose, filters toxins from the body and produces amino acids and bile. Its jobs provide energy and facilitate the digestion process.

The liver is the largest gland in the body, located at the beginning of the small intestine. An adult liver produces between 400 and 800 ml of bile each day which is stored in the gallbladder until needed.

The Liver Can Be Damaged

The liver is one of few internal human organs that can regenerate. It can do this with as little as 25% of its mass in tact.

Still, liver function can be impaired, which in turn can afflict other parts of the body. Two common liver diseases are hepatitis and cirrhosis. The liver like the gallbladder can develop stones. Alcohol and other pharmaceutical grade chemicals such as, acetaminophen, and isoniazid can affect the liver adversely.

You May Get Warnings that there’s Trouble Looming

Sometimes your liver functions can be sluggish. Some ailments that have been reported that point to this condition are: headaches, depression, constipation, chronic fatigue, chemical sensitivities and digestive difficulties.

Actions You Can Take

Be proactive when it comes to having good health. Let pharmaceutical drugs be your last resort. They can damage the liver and they put a heavy burden on your liver to filter them from your blood stream. Limit or eliminate alcohol consumption. Your body only needs purified water to live. Choose organically grown items whenever possible. Genetically modified foods add many unnecessary toxins to your diet. Eating a proper diet is a good plan of action.

Eating Habits You Want to Have

Remember the dietary stuff you learned in school? If you decided to ignore it in favor of fast food and steaks at your favorite steakhouse restaurant, consider returning to the healthy choices.

Good eating and drinking habits will save your liver the extra wear and tear of purging your system of all the toxins you regularly ingest. The following healthy dietary practices will nourish you, not overburden your liver, and should improve your energy overall.

• Make sure as much as 40% of your diet consist of live red, purple, orange and yellow fruit and vegetables, including dark green leafy organic vegetables
• Avocados and oily fish such as salmon, tuna, and sardines promote liver health
• Many varieties of raw seeds such as flaxseed, sunflower, and alfalfa seeds are beneficial
• Eat balanced meals, not until you’re stuffed or overstuffed
• Avoid empty calories of fatty foods, and excessive carbohydrates
• Limit your vitamin A intake. Instead opt for emulsified vitamin A, the liquid form of the vitamin, which does not contain cholesterol or fat.
• Keep your sodium intake low
• Find out what your optimal protein intake is and don’t overdo it
• Certain oils (primrose, black currant seed, and cold-pressed olive oil to name a few) assist the liver as well.
• Always wash your food before eating and preparing it.

There are several healthful organic herbs that promote healthy liver functions. Some of these beneficial herbs are:

• Turmeric
• Greater Celandine
• Peppermint Leaf
• Dandelion Leaf
• Dandelion Root
• Chicory Root
• Yellow Dock Root
• Milk Thistle Seed
• Wildcrafted Chanca Piedra

More information about these herbs is provided in The Liver and Liver Stones and their related articles. There are many more healthy living practices you can incorporate into your routines including minimizing your environmental toxins, and exercising regularly.

Make it easy for your liver and other organs to do their parts. Eat healthy for an energized life.

Deep breathing is a critical piece of maintaining good health. Most people overlook it even though the majority of the population breathes rapidly and shallowly, probably indicative of the hurried pace of the world we live it.

Breathing exercises along with muscle relaxation do a number of good things for your life. This is a great exercise as you can see to improve your daily life. It is something you can practice any time you feel the need.

• It lessens your physical response to stress — use it whenever you feel stress setting in.
  • Relieving stress also helps to relax your bowels
• Helps to keep your mind clear — use it whenever you feel unfocused
• In increases the levels of oxygen to your organs — for this reason especially it should be implemented regularly.
  • Because oxygen is key to cleansing, it should be used whenever you perform the 6-Day Advanced Oxygen Cleanse (try for twice daily during the cleanse).
  • It helps when you use it as you sit on the toilet for your bowels to move.

How Do I Do This?

It’s a simple practice that you can use regularly or every once in a while.

• Inhale deeply, slowly, (over a span of about 4 seconds), through your nose
• Hold it for a count of 16 seconds
• Exhale through your mouth, (over a span of about 8 seconds)

Repeat this process nine times.

It’s important that this be a conscious activity for maximum effect. Remember to consciously control your body’s responses. For example, if you’re trying to relax your muscles, then you need to focus on the individual muscles telling them to relax. Often tension is an automatic response that turns into a state of being. So, you have to remind your muscles how to behave.

10 Questions Come To Mind

When I hear in the news that 143 million pounds of beef gets recalled, after most had been distributed (business as usual during the investigative period) and subsequently consumed by an unknowing public, questions come to mind.

While the investigation was going on, the producers were able to continue selling. Subsequently most of their food when to schools; no one protected the children. As a result of the recall delay, 28 people fell ill.

10 Questions I Would Like Answered

1. What body will protect us from the recall of already-eaten, 143 million pounds of anything?
2. Who keeps the public from suffering from the business end of USDA?
3. When do we get the protection that is explicit and implicit in the formulation of government?
4. When will government put the health of people before the revenue of business?
5. How does one create a viable argument for health overruling practices so obviously rooted in commerce?
6. Why are non-organic substances allowed in organic foods?
7. When did we agree that the USDA could defile organic products with non-organic ingredients?
8. Why are producers allowed to label their products organic when in fact they aren’t?
9. How is it acceptable to call non-organic food organic when such a thing is fully unnecessary?
10. Should it really take an act of congress to say that organic needs to be organic?

There are many who take serious issue with the National List’s allowances. Two great articles are on The Daily Green. When “Organic” Doesn’t Really Mean Organic the first article, there is a detailed example of the implications related to the use of non-organic intestinal casings. And, in 38 Non-Organic Ingredients Found in ‘USDA Organic’ Foods the second article, you find a list of the non-organic substances and how they came to be on the list, (when the information was not restricted).

Just because “the people” want it and it is good for them, doesn’t mean that they can have it. It must be economically feasible. Some people decided that they wanted healthier diets for themselves and their families. Some farmers decided that they wanted to produce healthy, organic, fruit, vegetables and cattle. The USDA decided to step in and “regulate” to hell what is organic and how it should be done, and who gets to obfuscate the guidelines. In the face of all that goes on surrounding meat and product, the bonus question that I have is:

Are we any safer with government regulating than if it weren’t in charge of organic guidelines?