Tag: minerals

Beef Liver: Better Than Botox

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Botox (otherwise known as botulism toxin) is one of the most toxic substances known to man – a million times more toxic than a cobra bite.

The commercial products used today came about from experiments at Fort Detrick, in the quest to weaponise botulism toxin during World War 2.

The reason it ‘works’ on wrinkles is because it causes flaccid paralysis of the muscles underneath the skin, relaxing frown lines.

Or (heres a novel thought), you could deal with the underlying pressures that are causing you to tense up, and frown often?

Or (another novel thought) you could address the underlying deficiencies causing your skin to lose elasticity and plumpness?

One of the major causes of sagging, wrinkling skin is lack of bioavailable copper – either because of frank deficiency, or because the copper is not being used (due to lack of synergistic nutrients).

In the case of the latter, the person will have signs of both copper deficiency (sagging skin, fatigue, varicose veins/haemorrhoids etc) AND signs of copper toxicity (adrenal issues, racing mind, unable to sleep properly). This is because what copper is present, is unbound and wreaking havoc, meanwhile the person lacks bioavailable copper in the form of ceruloplasmin, which has massive implications for iron transport and energy production.

The good news is that the humble beef liver is the world’s highest known food source of copper.

But more than that, beef liver is also the world’s highest known food source of Vitamin A (retinol), which we need to make the copper bioavailable. (Only cod liver oil is higher in retinol, but I would consider it a supplement, more than a ‘food’ per se)

And we need zinc to utilise the retinol….everything works together! Beef liver is not the highest known source of zinc (oysters take that prize), but beef liver does still contain some zinc (approx. 4.5mg per 100g).

For many of us that have not grown up eating organ meats, the taste of liver can be overpowering. I prefer to ‘hide’ it in ground beef dishes. I buy the liver fresh, process in a food processor, than freeze in an ice-cube tray. They can be easily lifted out with a knife and added to beef dishes.

Or a convenient (albeit more expensive) alternative is to take in capsule form. I love Ancestral Nutrition products – they are a small Australian business selling 100% grassfed organ superfood supplements (check out the Primal Energy Women supplement). Use code ‘RADICAL’ for 10% off at checkout.

Nourishing yourself beats poisoning yourself! Always.

PS. Accepting that we are all growing older and finding joy in that journey is also a beautiful thing.

Mineral Deficiencies = Heavy Metal Toxicity

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If our body doesn’t get the essential minerals it requires from diet, it starts to compensate by absorbing less preferable elements that have similar properties, such as metals. Our bodies do this to ensure vital processes continue, even though this very act of short-term survival compromises long-term health.

If our diet is deficient in iodine, our thyroid gland will latch onto fluorine, chlorine or bromine instead – even though these elements will eventually suppress thyroid function.

If our diet is deficient in calcium, then lead will accumulate in our bones, because lead can substitute *some* functions of calcium – though it leads to brittle bones. The same applies to strontium.

If someone has low adrenal function, their body will absorb cadmium – because cadmium raises sodium levels, which is required to keep the adrenals functioning, and avoid complete burnout. It’s certainly not ideal, but it keeps a person alive in the short-term.

Cadmium, mercury and nickel can displace zinc.

Silver and gold displace copper.

Excess iron displaces chromium – this is why iron overload results in dysfunction of glucose metabolism, diabetes and insulin resistance.

Aluminium displaces boron, and can accumulate in the bones instead of boron. It is possible that some of the health issues found commonly in post-menopausal women may be the result of heavy metals (lead, aluminium, etc) being released due to the fast turnover of bone cells, in the absence of sufficient estrogen.

Arsenic displaces phosphorus.

Mercury displaces selenium.

Tungsten displaces molybdenum.

Berillium displaces magnesium.

According to Dr. Paul Eck: “Heavy metals serve as a back-up system. When the primary nutritional minerals are insufficient to protect the person, Nature uses substitutes”.

On the other hand, if we have adequate intake of essential, preferred minerals in the diet, they compete and displace heavy metals, so they are rapidly excreted from the body. The extent that heavy metals cause toxicity, is the extent that we are deficient in essential minerals.

Low Libido Is Not The Problem…

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Low libido is not the problem. It is the body’s way of protecting itself from a pregnancy that it cannot properly nourish. (Yes, even if you don’t actually want to get pregnant, anyway).

Our bodies are always talking. The question is…are you listening?

Women are more sensitive to stress, and that makes complete sense from a biological standpoint. We are the bringers of new life into the world, so naturally, our body is sensing its environment at all times. Is it safe to bring new life into the world? Or is food and resources scarce?

If there is barely enough energy/nutrients to meet the bare minimum requirements that your vital organs need to function, you can hardly expect a raging libido that increases your chances of getting pregnant.

If you are regularly under-eating, dieting (cutting calories excessively), or over-fasting, your body senses famine, and therefore begins to conserve resources and energy. Since libido and ovulation are not necessary for your survival, your body will cease those, in order for the scarce amount of energy and fuel to be directed to vital organs.

Our libido is naturally low/er while breastfeeding, for this very reason. Because your body is already expending energy to grow a small human, and not in an *ideal* position to gestate another (though it can and does happen).

Rather than trying exotic herbs and powders to “fix” your libido (it doesn’t need fixing, it’s working exactly as it’s meant to), look at the bigger picture. What does your body really need? Nourishment? Minerals? Rest? Time for dysfunction to regulate itself? Do the adrenals and thyroid need support? All the above?

Selenium protects against mercury + other heavy metals

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Did you know that the availability of selenium regulates glutathione activity in the human body? No biggie! Glutathione is only one of our most important and potent antioxidants – meaning it combats free radicals and reduces oxidative stress.

Mercury is strongly attracted to selenium, and will bind with selenium, forming compounds that cannot be absorbed by the body, but will instead be excreted. Although this process renders mercury harmless, it also uses up selenium that may have otherwise been used for antioxidant roles in the body. So, good news if you have adequate selenium stores, or the fish you just ate contained more selenium than mercury (likely the case for all smaller ocean fish, but not so for larger, predatory species, like shark)….not so good news if you are selenium-deficient.

Remember how they told pregnant women to avoid eating fish, due to mercury exposure? We know that mercury can cross the placenta and cause brain damage (among other things) in the unborn child. But it turns out that ocean-caught fish are an abundant source of selenium that protects from the mercury found therein, and a deficiency of selenium during pregnancy can also cause brain damage in the developing fetus.

Fish that have a positive selenium : mercury ratio (more selenium than mercury) include halibut, sole, salmon, snapper, flounder and chunk light tuna [Ralston et al. 2008, 2016]

Given the above info, it is probably wise to increase selenium intake before and after removal of amalgam fillings.

Studies show that selenium is also protective against arsenic and cadmium poisoning, both through increased methylation activity, and via binding of the heavy metals, making them biologically inert, and able to be excreted from the body without interacting with (and damaging) cells [Zwolak, 2020].

Some soils are naturally low in selenium (Australia and New Zealand), and what selenium is left in the soil is not taken up by certain plants, in the presence of super-phosphate fertilisers.

The most bioavailable form of supplementation is a yeast-based product called Selenoexcell.