To the extent that you nourish your brain with the nutrients it needs, in terms of foods, supplements (when necessary, if foods are not meeting requirement: 95% of United States Population not meeting nutrient requirements on a daily basis), and all sensory input you give it, is to the extent the brain will be able to focus, concentrate, and have the ability to rebuild itself to the most optimal level possible, no matter in what state an individual finds their brain and/or mind to be in. 

It is now known that the brain CONSTANTLY works on building connections, every minute of every day of our entire lives!  This is called Neuroplasticity, and it means that our mind, behavior and even capability is able to be built up or torn down on a moment by moment and day by day basis!  This is also exactly why cognitive and behavioral therapies work, and  why you will find that some days you seem to “have it all together”, able to focus and concentrate, and some days seem to just fall apart:  All based on the input you are giving your brain and mind, not just in terms of nutrients (foods and supplements), but also in terms of input you are allowing from every one of your five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). This also means that YOU can do many things to help build your brain (or your child’s), and attain optimal brain function, no matter what, or where you start off in brain function capabilities, or even where one starts mentally.  Are you stopping to absorb that truth?…

This means NO MATTER WHAT…Insert your personal experience here:______.  Please note:  For each individual, optimal function will look different, but it will be an improvement over what is currently being experienced.  I hope you understand that what is being said now, via scientific discovery, is that brain function and how the mind works for an individual, is indeed, changeable, no matter what the diagnosis for any individual.  NO MATTER WHAT!

So the spectrum of ASD, to mental and emotional disturbances, to current inabilities of brain function, to ( fill in the blank here with your labeled diagnosis) …there are things that you can do to help improve and change the way the brain functions, thereby impacting processing, behavior, and thinking!  This process WILL TAKE TIME ( and always more time than what you would like it to), so do not expect a full scale miracle in short order.  It is a process, and NOT an event! While it can take as little as a few days to see improvements, BIG improvements don’t start kicking in until around six months.  HUGE improvements can run a spectrum amount of time, dependent totally on your body’s ability to detoxify, your willingness to be faithful to doing the things needed, and your environment ( which is mostly up to you).  There will always be unchangeable variables.  For those of you who are Believers, you know God has those covered…for those of you who are not, just hang in so you can see results.  Ready to ROCK YOUR HEALTH AND WELLNESS?

The following are resources that help build the brain and mind most effectively, and efficiently.  These can be your go-to’s for top brain and mental function!  The brain and mind require deep oxygenation, rest, a state of calm, and relaxation, as well as positive input in all areas, including nutritional, emotional, mental thoughts, spiritual, and all sensory input.  Whether you are a Christ follower, or not, there are plenty of scientific studies (and surely some of your own personal experiences or what you may have witnessed or heard) that show the power of the human spirit.  We are not bodies WITH a spirit, we are spiritual beings in a body.  For that reason, and because our spirit is the essence of who we are, we experience healing and wounded-ness even at that level, and most deeply at that level.  This means that if you want full and complete healing of the brain and mind, it will eventually require seeking and finding God.  Set that aside for now, if you are not yet a Believer, or are skeptical, or outright rebellious of this idea.  Take what you can from the rest of the blog ( I promise you, it will be worth your time ), and at least consider the possibility that you may not know EVERYTHING there is to know in and about the universe, and that there is more that you may not know, that what you do not know might include things about God, and that it might be just as, if not more important to your life than whatever knowledge you may already have acquired! 

 

The number one, completely FREE thing you can do to help boost brain function only takes five minutes a day, and you can do it anywhere!  Sit across from each other, hold hands gently, and gaze into each other’s eyes for at least four minutes.  This can be challenging at first.  Emotional and mental disturbances or neurological challenges cause individuals to avert their eyes from the gaze of others.  But that is because those areas shut down due to trauma, atypical neurological function, heavy metal and other toxicities, or mental or emotional pain of any kind.  These centers can be re-opened by connecting soul to soul with others.  Gazing into the eyes of another starts building those neural pathways again, to open up emotional connection.  This isn’t something you can force, and there should be no coercion, frustration, shaming or yelling of any kind, to try to get another person to do this.  You start with as long or as short as the needy person can handle, (even if it is only a few minutes seconds at first) and simply make a few minutes to give it a try, every day.

This is a fantastic therapy session for anyone wanting to more deeply connect with any other person relationally. Great for reconnecting to spouse, friend, child, or anyone, really!  Simply do for as long as is possible, and notice the changes that occur over time!  Some of you will even notice differences right away!  At first it can be challenging, and even feel silly.  Giggles often erupt, there may be feelings of being uncomfortable, or looked into, or vulnerability…go with it…often there are tears shed.  But always, there is a shift in the way we begin seeing each other and each other’s situations, and there is a shift in your being.  The number one thing you MUST do to have successful sessions:  close your own eyes, before you start ( other person does not have to do this part ), and focus on the complete feelings of LOVE that you have for the person you are wanting to connect with, aaaaand, GO!

Another Simple and Free Thing You can Do:

Music Therapy:  Here is a YouTube Example
Simply listen to the musical pieces at least at night, before going to bed, but also first thing in the morning, if possible, and when you meditate or as you pray or speak your daily affirmations.  Shoot, anytime you can pipe the calming, brain building music through, go for it!  Our brain and mind works off of frequency.  How these work determines the mental, emotional and behavioral capabilities you have.  The more balanced and synchronized they are (left hemisphere to right), the calmer, more focused, better behaved, and greater learning ability!  Sounds at 4-8 Hz are the best.  Calm classical music, Tibetan singing bowls, or REAL Gregorian Monk Chants (singing of Scripture in Latin, NOT same genre for modern or other lyrics), are all examples of healing musical tones or songs.

Check this out:

That should ROCK your world right there!  It’s all about finding ways to bring the brain to a state of calm and relaxation.  Sensory input is what can do that for the brain!!

Hugs:
Science research shows we need 4 hugs a day to survive, 8 hugs a day to maintain, and 12 hugs a day to grow and change, and stay healthy, joyous and vibrant.  This will be challenging for those with sensory issues, and who may not seem to like hugs…the healthier a person gets, the more they will accept hugs…this needs to be worked up to, slowly and gently, as appropriate touch and hugs are extremely healing.

Dry Brushing:
a simple, easy, and very effective and inexpensive therapy you do at home.  Do not get stuck on the “How to”…just start with what you can.  You may only be able to brush the hands, arms and feet, or maybe just one area, to start.  This stimulates the nervous system, and has a huge amount of other benefits.  It wakes up the brain, and helps detoxify the body.  This is ESPECIALLY great for people with ASD, Depression, Anxiety and Emotional disturbances.

LOVE AND PATIENCE:

     
THE most Important and most effective thing you can do to change a loved one’s mental, and emotional health, and the ONE thing that heals at the deepest levels is love and patience.  There is no substitute!  The lack thereof is also the number one contributor to mental anguish, emotional pain, and eventual brain damage…yes, you heard correctly, brain damage.  Have you ever seen entire groups of children, who were neglected, abused or simply unloved?  There is a look about them, that makes them seem “off”.  Their minds have suffered great and extensive trauma, and it has caused actual PHYSICAL brain changes!

What is your home environment like?  Is it chaotic, overwhelming, frustrating, full of anger, or strife or any kind of negativity?  Ours was, at one point too!  It’s time for you to make the changes necessary, to bring peace and love into the home!  The latest scientific studies on the brain and mind suggest that the mind actually directs the brain, not the other way around.  And within that new paradigm shift of thought, is the idea that loving, joyful, positive thoughts create life-giving, healthy brain connections, while stressed-out, chaotic, hateful, ugly, painful, or negative thoughts of any kind, create life-taking, unhealthy brain connections.

This topic alone can take years to discuss and develop, but I’m a bottom-line, get right to the point kind of person:  give and show deep love and patience for all who surround you, and you will be part of their healing.  When you mess up, repent, and ask for forgiveness, purposefully intending and working towards changing your reactions and your own way of thinking and behaving.  For more information on this topic, and how to reverse brain damage, as well as how to help yourself or someone move past ANY kind of psychiatric or brain function diagnosis, you can check out what one world-changing Neuroscientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf has to say, by checking out her link when you scroll down. Keep reading and taking notes on this… it’s getting better and better!

Here is what the Bible has to say about what Love is…think on these truths (whether you are a Believer or not, you will still find these to be right on point!)

1 Corinthians 13 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Way of Love

” If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Detox Your Brain!
Dr. Caroline Leaf’s pioneering work on the brain and mind was the first information that gave our family any hope for our son’s full recovery.  When you come across an expert who is able to synthesize information from not only their own field of work, but seeks greater and deeper understanding of how other things impact what they are talking about, you have found a treasure!  The brain cannot function well, let alone optimally, when it is full of toxic thoughts, “foods”(or really, “non-foods”), spiritual lies, and/or negative thinking.  Dr. Caroline Leaf has a wonderful 21 Day Brain Detox system that you and your family can easily participate in online.  It’s not the only way to detox your brain, but it sure is one of the simplest to follow, and you will easily see results.   You’ll be able to find information on that on her website, listed above.

YOU MUST CONSIDER WHAT YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT!

Since WHAT you think about, builds neural pathways, and these cause either better or worse brain function to occur, it is necessary that you examine and consider WHAT you are allowing to cross your mind! (And see, and hear and process)  If you are a parent, wanting to help a child increase their brain function and ability, by changing their negative way of thinking, it takes time and patience!  This is all about lovingly and patiently correcting any negative thinking, as you probe what they are thinking about, why you see certain actions or behaviors, etc…as they are sharing with you what was crossing their minds, you can then replace it with good, positive options for them to consider.  BUT you MUST VALIDATE THEIR FEELINGS, and try to understand WHY they feel that way, first!  If you are open to an amazing short, concise and powerful book that can change ALL your relational experiences, please prepare your heart and mind, by reading and applying the book titled:  “I Hear YOU”, by Michael Sorensen.  **Please note:  you cannot give what you yourself do not have.  So if you tend to think negatively, it’s time you learn how to turn that ship around for yourself as well!  (For further positive thinking training, see:  “The Power of Positive Thinking”, by Norman Vincent Peale, and  “Emotional Intelligence”, by Michael Garron)

Use Essential Oils to Impact Regions of the Brain:

To improve brain connectivity and calm area you want to address most, apply particular oils to regions outside those areas.  You will see an improvement in function, over time.

YOUR THINKING CREATES THINGS AND MAKES THINGS HAPPEN!
Thinking causes the following reactions to occur in your body:
*Energy Activity (even measurable heat)
*Measurable electromagnetic fields
*Trackable electrical impulses
*Visible and Measurable chemical effects
*Measurable vibrations in the membranes of neurons
*Activation of Photons, which can be captured on measurement devices and seen on computer
*Builds OR Destroys Neural Connections, based on whether you are thinking about positive things, or negative things!
Your thinking sets off a series of actions that involve neurotransmitters, proteins and energies, which create a signal, which in turn CHANGES YOUR BRAIN!!
*Neural connectivity can be facilitated through the use of high quality essential oils!

WHAT YOU TAKE IN BEFORE GOING TO BED, MATTERS!

*To be able to have a relaxing, restful night, you MUST focus on the input you are allowing, right before bed.
Your brain and mind will get to work subconsciously, to work through and out every input you have allowed throughout the day, but especially that with which you shut down your conscious thought patterns with.  This means…
* Do not go to bed arguing, angry, or otherwise in a negative state of mind (Ephesians 4:26)
* Do not watch negative, disturbing, horrifying, scary, mean, or soul-destroying material
* The news is out, it doesn’t help build your mind or your brain
* DO watch uplifting, positive, edifying, encouraging, faith-filling, loving and soul-building material…in fact, one of the many things you can do for GREAT sleep, is study the Bible on any area in your life that you’d love to have better outcomes in!
* DO listen to brain building music…see Music Therapy ideas, below
* Be mindful throughout the day, and note how things affect you emotionally, physically, mentally, and even spiritually…the more you get to understand yourself, the better you will get to address your own issues and help yourself!
* Use specific essential oils and other therapies, before going to bed, to help calm your mind, and get you ready for deep, restorative sleep.
* Drink the Golden Milk Tea found in a separate blog entry.

Sleep Well!
Meaning, sleep deeply and for a long enough time.  As you sleep, every one of your body systems are rebooting, and regenerating/healing! ( When you don’t sleep well, the opposite is true).  Your quality down time, plus the nutrients you’ve fed your brain will determine the quality of regenerating that goes on.  To sleep well:  get off electronics of all kinds, at least one hour before you want to fall asleep.
* Set up an essential oils diffuser in your room, and diffuse relaxing and sleep inducing oils.
* Apply the same relaxing and sleep inducing oils to the bottoms of your feet. One drop.
* Drink the Golden Milk Tea ( recipe listed in separate blog entry).
* Choose to read positive, uplifting, encouraging things, before going to sleep…
If you are a Christ follower, or would like to explore Christianity (so worth it, to your eternity!), there’s nothing like allowing God’s Word to sink into your conscious and subconscious…not only does it help you sleep better, but reading this before going to sleep, allows your brain to get to work on developing and understanding the application of God’s Word.  This in turn, brings you peace, and shows you the straightest, most helpful path for you.  Win-Win!
* Extremely low orange lighting or no light in the room.
* Once your head hits the pillow, count on taking 5-10 minutes to drift into great sleep.
* Do mindful deep breathing, counting in seven slow counts, while breathing through the nose, holding four slow counts, and slowly exhaling out the mouth for 7-9 slow counts.
* Meditate on love and goodness, as you drift to sleep.
* You should wake up incredibly refreshed, and ready to go!  If you don’t, review the steps…what did you miss?  If you haven’t missed anything, check the rest of your lifestyle choices.  Change whatever isn’t about love or higher-level, positive thought patterns.
* While research may say that we “need” 7-8 hours, some people will need more, and some will need a little less.  Don’t get hung up on how many hours, the question is:  have you rested deeply?

Use a Cold Pack!
When the brain is on overdrive, scans show too much heat in that area.  Using a cold pack allows for the heat to dissipate, which in turn allows the brain to work at a cooler and healthier temperature.  Many people with anxiety, or ASD, or any of a number of other diagnosis of imbalance in neurological function find it helpful to fall asleep with a wrapped cooling pad on their pillow.  You can use a cooling pad any time you feel your brain “revving up”.  Please note, this is not just for anxiety, but rather for optimum brain function!  You can also find gel-padded pillows on the market, for this same purpose.

Exercise the brain and mind: games and activities that put the brain and mind to work!

I’m sure you can Google a huge list, but here is a very short list to get you going:
www.Lumosity.com
www.FitBrain.com
www.FreeRice.com
www.Flintobox.com
Phone apps, such as WordScapes, Unblock Me, and Flow Free, or anything that actually engages the brain to work on answers.  Do NOT choose mindless, idle games, games that cannot be won, or most video games that achieve nothing in positive brain stimulation.

Therapies that Positively Impact Brain Function and Mental Health:
     These build the brain by either supporting neural activity, facilitating neural function, or calming the mind to function well:

**Things you can do at home…AND support all other therapies you do!

Practice Love and Patience moment by momentAromatherapy: The use of essential oils, to calm and relax the nervous system, and build neural connections.
Hydrotherapy: The use of warm baths, while using unscented Epsom Salts, adding essential oils to the salts, before throwing into the bath.  BUT, you can also use cold showers/baths to get your mind on a different track…plus it also has numerous other health benefits!
Music Therapy (ex: Whole Tones, or Hemispheric Synchronization, Mozart Effect, Authentic Gregorian Monk Chants, Tibetan Singing Bowl, etc…)
Color Therapy: surrounding yourself with calming, relaxing colors, and even focusing on calming, relaxing colors.
Art Therapy: relaxation through expressing emotions while doing art
Positive/Affirming Speech Therapy: helping build positive neural connections through positive affirmations
Nutritional, Juice and Shake Therapies: giving the brain and mind the nutrients it needs, to work properly
Daily, Intermittent Fasting:  Go 14-16 hours without eating (from dinner previous day to first meal the next day)
3 Day and 7 Day Fasts: for adults, water only (DO NOT DO THIS IF TAKING MEDICATION!!):  The gut and brain, indeed your entire body, is able to do a re-set, when you fast for at least three days!

Things you can learn to do at home…
Practice Safe Conversations:  learn to truly listen and respond from your heart, and with compassion, love and patience
Aroma Freedom Technique
Emotional Release Freedom Technique
Raindrop Technique

Things you can get help with from professionals…
EVOX:  Emotional Perception Reframing- I do this!  
EMDR
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:  NOT for AUTISM
ABA Therapy:  NOT for AUTISM
Therapy to apply at home:  Therapist Aid
Christ-Centered Counseling (not the same as Christian counselors, see “Christian Counseling” blog, coming soon):  make sure counselor believes in FULL and COMPLETE healing!

QEEG- mapping the brain first, to see where brain frequencies are out of balance, the client works on a series of mental exercises while hooked up to sensors, and client causes games, music, or videos to play harmoniously, only by training the mind to enter the correct frequency ranges (required for rational and calm thinking processes, as well as ability to rest).  Then having follow up brain mapping done.  The brain mapping is usually around $1,000 and up, and each QEEG session is around $75 and up.  Your doctor trained in this will decide number of sessions to start with.  Ranges from just a few sessions to 30 or more.  Insurance often pays for this.  If you happen to live in the Dallas area, or are willing to travel there, you have access to Neurotherapy Center of Dallas, with Dr. Jonathan Walker.  They have periodic informational sessions where you can come hear all about the therapy and ask any questions you might have.  You can reach them at: 972-991-1153.  Check for a clinic near you, that offers this therapy, and make sure you are able to get the brain map done before and after the sessions.  This ensures the clinician knows how to set the sessions, and allows you to visually see the difference in you or your loved one’s brain function.

I highly recommend that any and all professional therapies be accompanied by the therapies you can do at home!!  These will all complement each other, and will show greater impact and change, over time!

PLEASE NOTE:  THE ABSENCE OF (APPARENT) HARM DOES NOT EQUATE TO THE PRESENCE OF SAFETY, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR BRAIN!
***Absolutely EVERYTHING you put into your body, with respect to ANY kind of input, AFFECTS THE BRAIN!!
***AND since the brain requires specific nutrients and loving environments, anything you leave out, AFFECTS THE BRAIN!!

Top Brain foods:
95% of Serotonin, and 50% of Dopamine in the body, are produced in your gut!**
Have you been told you have an imbalance of chemicals in your brain, causing you to have ( fill in the blank:  depression, anxiety, OCD, ODD, etc…)?  YOU DO!  BUT IT DOESN’T REQUIRE MEDICATION TO BALANCE THOSE CHEMICALS…IT REQUIRES REAL FOOD! Real food balances your brain chemicals!!

Whole Grains: organic, non-GMO
True Einkorn Flour (Order through my Young Living link!)
Oily Fish (Wild-caught, NOT Farm-raised)
Bone Broth (Expensive pre-made, but you can make your own!  Use organic beef, chicken or turkey bones, and Apple Cider Vinegar; find recipes online)
Eggs (preferably Free-Range, Organic; Pasture-Raised the best, but do what you can!)
Ocean plants (or see JP+ Full Spectrum Vegetarian only Omegas, on my JP+ link below!)
Blueberries
Tomatoes
Blackcurrants
Pumpkin seeds (and other seeds, such as Chia, etc…)
Broccoli and other cruciferous veggies
Green, leafy veggies
Celery
Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme
Nuts, especially walnuts, pecans, and Brazil nuts…very few needed daily
Make your own Nut-butters!
Raw, unfiltered Honey, especially Manuka Honey
Olives
Asparagus
Beets
(Please see Anti-inflammatory Foods blog and Top Brain Foods List)
Raw, unrefined, Organic Coconut oil (eat 1-2 Tablespoons per day)
Cacao nibs
Kiwi
Garlic
Onions
Coconut Oil (Raw, Cold-Pressed, Organic)
Cold Pressed, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
Coconut Water
Fermented foods: Pickled produce and other foods, including pickles, okra, peppers, sauerkraut (cabbage), Kimchee, Kefir, etc…

See too many “green foods” that you can’t yet imagine eating?  Get on Juice Plus+, the most medically researched whole food supplement in the world, to not only bridge your gap in nutrition, but also change your tastebuds over time, making the body eventually crave those foods!

For more info, or to order the Orchard and Garden blends or the Trio blend, click here!

Meal Replacement Shakes:
A great nutritional answer for busy families!  Especially helpful for early morning breakfast brain food!!  Get deep, dense nutrients, simple, delicious, and saves time and money!  Most shakes do not have both great nutrition AND great taste, but these do!  Have kids or family members that can’t, won’t or don’t eat healthy?  Here you go!  Juice Plus+ Complete.  Comes in both Vanilla and Chocolate flavors!  Delicious, nutritious YUM!  Especially great for kids!

To order please choose Vanilla, Chocolate, or Variety, which include both kinds!  For more information, or to order, click HERE

Another great option for meal replacement shakes is YL brand Complete Protein. The aroma alone, makes your brain happy! 

To order the Young Living Complete Shake, search stock number 3301 for Vanilla; for Chocolate: stock number 3298, Here!

Want to grow your own veggie or herb garden, literally ANYWHERE, with 90% LESS water, no dirt, and no weeds to deal with?

Juice Plus+ Tower Garden! (Hydroponic gardening!!)  Click HERE!

Top Brain Killers…Don’t want to destroy your brain?  Stay away from These:
1.  Refined Sugars and Artificial Sugars
2.  Negative thinking
3.  Unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, or any obsessive, or unhelpful emotional baggage you won’t let go of.
4.  Trans-Fats:  Hydrogenated, Partially or Fully, Interestersified, or any other form of chemically changed fat
5.  Chemicals being breathed in: man made fragrances, chemical cleaners, paints, etc…
6.  Passively watching lots of TV
7.  Toxic Stress

Water intake:  

Essential, and ideal to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of filtered water daily (ex: 100 lbs= 50 oz). 

If you have access to Ellis Water, the purest form of water available, introduce to the body slowly, and then keep regimen at 6-8 ounces per day, drinking regular filtered water for rest of daily water intake needs.  Start Ellis water off slowly, as it helps detoxify, and you will want to do so slowly!! 

Other drinks do not make up for pure water intake.  The benefits of water are too numerous to list…we don’t even know the half of it.  Take it from me, a healthy brain requires large amounts of water.

Other Beverages:

A link has been found between caffeine and neuro-atypical brains, which causes those individuals to feel relaxed when drinking caffeine, instead of “wired”, as is the case for most people.  Caffeine is actually the main ingredient that allows ADD and ADHD medications to calm behavior related challenges…so try coffee and tea instead!  Cheaper and completely natural!  ( Many of my clients have reported positive mood and behavioral effects for neuro-atypical individuals, when drinking just one cup of caffeinated tea or coffee…only drink in the morning, never at night).  Other herbals also have a calming effect on the mind.  Want to try calming herb-infused coffees, teas, or non-caffeinated drinks?  Check out Dollar Coffee Club HERE.  For non-caffeinated brain boosting, try the Cocoa beverage.  For naturally caffeinated products, try Active Blendz: Rush, or Energy and Mind Coffee!!

Completely non-caffeine based beverages:
Plant based milk, such as Cashew, Almond, or Coconut milk (unsweetened, best), provide GREAT brain nutrients, and have a much higher amount of calcium than cow’s milk…plus, nowhere near the amount of fat or calories (after all, only baby cows need huge amount of fat, in order to pack on the pounds in a short period of time!).
Chia-based beverages (you can make yourself, with Chia seeds)
Kombucha
Kefir
The last two also boost your needed probiotics!

Nutritional Supplementation:

For your ease and convenience, I have listed any products mentioned in this blog at the very bottom, along with links, for easy access and purchase ability.(scroll down to very bottom at any time). NEVER purchase Supplements or any health and wellness products on Amazon or any other 3rd party website!!  Your health and wellness are at stake, and it is simply too easy to tamper with products, and still make them look new and sealed!!  80% of products on the market do NOT contain what they claim on the label…that’s a super high chance you are at best throwing your money away, and at worst also introducing things to your body that are unhealthy and maybe even toxic!  ONLY PURCHASE SUPPLEMENTS AND ESSENTIAL OILS DIRECTLY FROM MANUFACTURERS OR FARMERS/SPECIALTY COMPANIES.

Nutritional supplementation is no longer a luxury.  The brain requires dense nutrition, and our diet no longer includes the variety, amount or nutritional density required for good health.  In addition, most neuro-atypical brains crave the low nutritional, high caloric, high fat and sugar content processed foods, which only continue to create and perpetuate the vicious cycle of lower brain function!

Juice Plus+ is the ONLY Whole food support system I have found to have and do what it says.  It is the most highly researched nutritional support system in the world!  Independently researched by top medical research facilities, using gold standard, double blind placebo studies. FREE Orchard and Garden blends for children 4 and over! (In fact, as long as they are students, even in college, they qualify for FREE product).  One FREE child per paying adult!! Most families get the Orchard and Garden blends (come in one pack).  You’ll want to get at least the Vineyard blend…for best possible nutritional support, you’ll want the Juice Plus+ Trio!  All come in capsule or chewable gummie form.  This company also has a FANTASTIC full spectrum, completely vegetarian Omega product.  This will add the very needed Essential Fatty Acids, required for highest possible brain function!  For more information, including third party, independent, medical research studies (On the product itself, not the borrowed type research you will find as supposed research support for any given brand), to find out what Medical Doctors in every field of study are saying about the product, or to order, CLICK HERE

Don’t want capsules or chewable gummies?  Try Young Living’s high antioxidant juice drink called NingXia Red.  It contains the Wolfberry, which is shown to be one of the highest possible antioxidant rated foods in the world!  It comes in large glass bottles that last one month each, if taking one ounce daily, five times per week, or two bottles lasting one month, when taking two ounces daily, five times per week (suggested usage amount).  Also available, 30 soft packs, for easy carry and travel, for a one month supply.

Young Living products can only be purchased as a Retail or Wholesale Young Living customer member.  If you do not know someone actively building the YL business, and taking care of their customers through education and resources, I’d love to step in and help you get what you need, as well help you learn how to effectively use it!  Simply type in my member number 1190675, to purchase either Retail or Wholesale options, or click here: 

The company will randomly assign you a customer service leader, if you do not type in a particular member number.

There is a new customer member premium starter kit, which includes 2-4 months worth of NingXia Red, and allows for much greater price decrease as a wholesale customer.  No obligations, except stay active by ordering 50 PV ( about $50) within one calendar year.

If you are on a true wellness plan, you will be ordering more than that, simply replacing other products.  NingXia Red is part of a 4 Month Wellness Plan, please see 4 Months to Wellness blog, coming soon!  To order one time NingXia Red, or order additional NingXia Red products, search NingXia Red, under “Products” link, Here  Or, to register as a wholesale member, with a NingXia Red Premium Starter kit, click HERE and choose “Other Premium Starter Kits” tab

The Direct Link Between YOUR Gut Health and YOUR Brain Health:
Has been known for decades (See research cited in the book titled “Gut and Psychology Syndrome”, by Neurologist Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride).  YOU MUST BALANCE YOUR GUT MICROBIOME, IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE PROPER, LET ALONE OPTIMUM BRAIN FUNCTION!  MUST! NOT AN OPTION!!

Or put more simply:

Probiotics:
An absolute MUST!  Your brain AND mind requires for your gut to be in balance. If probiotics are out of line, the brain and mind CANNOT work properly.  Probiotics in yogurt are not the answer.  No one needs processed cows milk, OR the high amount of refined or fake sugars!  [Though if you feel you must have yogurt, either make it yourself, from RAW, Organic milk, or get the So Delicious! Brand, Coconut based yogurt:  great for those who have milk allergies or sensitivities].  You need high grade probiotics with multiple super strains.  The only two brands I trust are Klaire Labs ( You MUST get from a healthcare professional, NOT online!  Expect price to be about $75 per bottle ), or Life 9 or KidScents MightyPro pixie stix.  They really do taste like Pixie sticks, and include pre and probiotics, allowing the probiotics to double every 20 minutes, thus giving you about 35 Billion colonies within 24 hours.  Expect wholesale price to be about $30.  Life9 and Kidscents MightyPro (not just for kids!) can be ordered through Member #1190675 (or another member you might know), through this link Here.  

Get additional probiotics through your foods!!  Get Kefir, Kombucha, Kimchee, Sauerkraut, or any fermented or pickled products (make them yourself, or get those that do not have any non-essential ingredients!) 

Enzymes:
The body cannot produce these, you MUST eat them, and you MUST have them for the body to break down foods into bioavailable nutrients.  That means you MUST eat plenty of plant-based foods, as close to how God creates them as possible!! Most people can’t, won’t or don’t do so. JP+ helps bridge that gap.  This does not eliminate the need for a healthy diet, but it increases your nutritional density no matter how you are currently eating.   Additional digestive help:  Digest and Cleanse, Detoxzyme, or Essentialzymes-4, all through Young Living Here

Minerals:
Most health issues can be traced to lack of minerals, and the brain and mind absolutely needs consistent mineral intake and uptake, so add more!

Mineral Essence (tastes horrible, but it works GREAT!  Simply hide it in nutritional shakes, like Juice Plus+ Complete, Young Living Complete, or add to Javita Coffee or other drinks to mask the salty/bitter taste…totally preferred over nasty medication and/or developing health issues from lack of minerals!

Try NingXia Red or NingXia Nitro: Made with one of the most nutritionally dense berries on earth (NingXia Woolfberry)!  And/or try MindWise.  All mineral options available through YL, HERE  

Omegas:
Your brain requires Omega fatty acids, found in ocean plants and fish (because they eat the ocean plants)…most people do not have a healthy intake of broad spectrum Omega oils, and they certainly don’t eat much, if any ocean plants or fatty fish regularly… Omega-Gize and other supplements are available to help bridge the gap.  OmegaGize is derived from fish, and Juice Plus+ Omegas are completely vegetarian, and only made with ocean plants.  To order click HERE

Other Brain-Building Supplements:

Calcium, specifically, Young Living’s Super Cal, or Cal-Mag ( Calcium is required for synapse function)!

Essential Oils:
Made from plants, and able to help with proper neurological function (and all other systems of the body).  Able to increase oxygenation to the brain, facilitate in neural connectivity, and calm the mind.  When it comes to the brain, the molecules will travel up the Olfactory nerve, which gains direct access to the brain.  Good essential oils therefore are able to positively impact behavior, emotion and mental state of mind within just a few minutes.  In 20 years of testing and searching for essential oils that are of highest, purest quality, I only found Young Living to be consistently dependable.  Period.  It’s the only one I would use for our own family, and it’s the only one I feel confident in recommending to everyone.

Rosemary, Clarity, Stress Away, Peppermint, Lavender, DiGize, Deep Relief, and/or Frankincense (On area of concern, and over belly)

Lemon, Orange, Lemongrass, Tangerine, Lime, Grapefruit, Citrus Fresh, etc… (One drop, in every water glass; USE ONLY GLASS OR STAINLESS STEEL CONTAINERS when adding essential oils to beverages; good essential oils will eat through all petrochemicals, including plastic, and styrofoam)

Ylang Ylang, Vetiver, Rose, Idaho Blue Spruce, Peace and Calming, Harmony, Valor, RutaVaLa

(On area of concern, around nose, behind neck, and diffuse).

You don’t need them all, you just start with the New Member Premium Starter kit, use those oils, and then replace with new ones from that list above, as your monthly budget allows, and as needed. Essential oils work best when you rotate them.  As my YL client, you will receive resources to help you figure out how to safely and effectively use your YL oils!

CBD oils for calming the brain.  Yes, they can work, but again it depends on sourcing.  I’m still searching for one that I can trust.  When I find it, I’ll share right away!

Juices:  Can get even more goodness when you turn into a shake, and keep all the fiber!!
Delicious combinations are endless!
Here are some particularly brainy ones:
Carrot and celery
Carrot, beet, cucumber
Carrot, celery, spinach, parsley
Add blueberries to any of the above…listen to your body and venture out to more and better!
Want to add more protein, nutrients, and flavor?  Make a shake with either JP+ or YL Complete shake mix, adding the produce above!

Products Mentioned in Blog

Foods:
Most local grocery stores now carry a large variety of organic produce and products.  Local farmers can be a great resource too.  Favorite brands list for other foods and beverages list coming soon!

Supplements:
*JP+ Trio (Includes Orchard, Garden, and Vineyard blends)
*JP+ Duo pack (Orchard and Garden blend)
    *Find out how to get FREE child’s portion, when you order through me!
*Free to any child ages 4- adult, as long as child attending school (including college)
*JP+ Complete:  Case with 4 bags, 60 servings total; All Vanilla, All Chocolate, or Variety (both)
*JP+ Omegas:  Broad Spectrum Essential Fatty Acids, Vegetarian based
For JP+ Clinical Research, CLICK HERE
All JP+ products can be ordered through www.GodProvides.Juice Plus.com

Young Living Products
*NingXia Red Nutritional Juice
*NingXia Red Nitro (extra energy boost)
*MindWise
*Life9 Probiotics with 9 Super Strains
*KidScents MightyPro Pro and Pre-biotic pixie stix
*Digest & Cleanse
*Detoxzyme
*Essentialzymes-4
*AlkaLime
*Mineral Essence
*OmegaGize
*Super-Cal or Cal-Mag

Essential Oils that Boost Brain Function :
Rosemary
Clarity
Stress Away
Peppermint
Lavender
Di-Gize
Deep Relief
Frankincense
Sacred Frankincense
Brain Power

Calming/Uplifting Essential Oils to add to and and all beverages:
Lemon
Orange
Lemongrass
Tangerine
Lime
Grapefruit
Citrus Fresh

Calming/Relaxing/ Sleep inducing/sedating essential oils:

Lavender
Harmony
Idaho Blue Spruce
Peace and Calming
Rose
RuTaVaLa (stinky)
Valor
Vetiver

To Order Young Living products as a CUSTOMER,
choose Retail (pay full price)
or Wholesale: (50% off first time Premium Starter Kit products, 24% off all future orders)
CLICK HERE!

Some of the Beverages Mentioned in Blog:
     Caffeinated Products:
Energy and Mind Coffee:  wake up the mind, without regular caffeine jitters
Burn and Control Coffee:  additional weight loss benefits
Lean and Green:  highest quality, unfiltered green tea
Rush:  natural focus and energy
Non-Caffeine Drinks:
Focus Fusion Cocoa mix:  brain supporting herbs in decadent European chocolate
Active Blendz:
Fiber:  binds to toxins to remove from body
     Control:  additional weight loss benefits
Defend:  Immune system boosting
Flex:  Reduces Inflammation, and calms nerve pain
All above mentioned beverages from Javita, and all (except Cocoa Fusion) in convenient, single serving sleeves for active people on the go!  Grab your single serve, and a bottle of water, and you are in business!!
Order through:  www.DollarCoffeeClub.com/GodProvidesHealth

If you’d like to know how to get your child/grandchild Juice Plus+ whole food nutritional support system for FREE, you will have option to do so, once product has been ordered through www.GodProvides.JuicePlus.com and FREE portion will be added after customer contact. 

Healing for His Glory, Maria Bemont, Holistic Healthcare Practitioner

Sources:
**Gershon, The Second Brain: The Scientific Basis of Gut Instinct and a Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine; New York:  Harper Collins, 1998; Johns Hopkins Medicine.  “It’s High Time for the Gut-Brain”; December 12, 2012

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
ABA Therapy

EMDR:  used in professional counseling.

 www.DrLeaf.com

Books:

Gut and Psychology Syndrome
Eat Yourself Smart

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-foods-boost-your-brainpower

 That is definitely one of my all time favorite images, to share health truths with you!  Take a few minutes to really study that image.

It should encourage you GREATLY, that the health problems you have been dealing with stem from root issues that you can actually do something about!  It’s very simple:  The body requires certain elements, and it has toxicity to certain elements.  Degenerative diseases develop when you either do not give your body enough of the required, necessary elements/nutrients for proper function, and/or expose your body to too much of the toxic elements/anti-nutrients that the body does not want or need.

All toxic things cause inflammation, which then unlocks particular disease processes.  Lack of proper nutrients or addressing the needs of the body, mind and spirit, similarly allow inflammation to take hold.  Therefore, the simple solution (although not easy), is to significantly increase the intake of the good required for proper cellular, mental and spiritual function, and/or significantly decrease the intake of bad or unnecessary elements that harm the body, mind or spirit.

 

As everyone can see, I’ve been missing for several months…While I wish I could say that what ended up taking place didn’t, I always purpose to be honest, and at the same time can now not only say I more fully understand mental health challenges, and the terrible pain that the family endures, but I know for a fact, that EVERYONE walks through mental illness.  EVERYONE.  (Yes, that means YOU too!)  And as strange as it sounds, I am now grateful God allowed us to walk through that with our child (although it really did feel like hell on earth).  I would’ve never been able to say that I could possibly end up being grateful, while we were still walking through it.( And please don’t tell others they’ll be grateful for walking through pain, when they are deeply entrenched in that desperate place).  God is good…but walking through a nervous breakdown with your young child is desperately heartbreaking.  I believe God was using us to help untold numbers of people, as He showed us that EVERYONE goes in and out of mental illness throughout their lives.  So I hope this helps you, and someone you love!

How can I say EVERYONE walks through mental illness?  Because mental illness encompasses a huge spectrum, and is caused by a wide variety of things, including long-term lack of sleep, viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infections in the brain or nervous system, long-term negative thinking, or focusing on emotional pain, as well as the horrors of walking through traumatic events (and how an individual processes those events).  Furthermore, mental illness or a nervous breakdown can befall anyone when other biological functions are coming together all at once, such as large hormonal fluctuations during puberty, low BMI, extreme stress, overworking the mind/brain (not getting enough rest), and being challenged by atypical neurological issues to begin with.  Any one or more of these situations can cause a nervous breakdown.  Atypical neurological issues can include, but are not limited to: anyone who has used drugs, or alcohol (we are all unique individuals, and all have different thresholds and sensitivities to those toxic chemicals), children whose moms used drugs or alcohol during pregnancy, were neglected, abused or traumatized at any point before or after birth, having multiple concussions or impacts on the structure of the brain, or severe brain injuries, Autism, vaccine injured individuals, etc…   Individuals with atypical neurological issues, alongside any of the previously listed reasons, can create a perfect storm for a nervous breakdown. But absolutely everyone ends up suffering through mental and emotional ups and downs…it’s painful, it’s imbalanced, and it is like wounds you cannot see.  Look hard enough, or think hard enough, and if you are honest with yourself, you’ll find times you’ve started getting on or riding that train!

Not all mental illness events end up as a full blown nervous breakdown, and many mental illness events are short lived.  Simply put, mental illness is any mental imbalance, where perception is askew from physical reality.  Mental illness can be brought on when the pain and anguish of our thoughts are just too much to bear.  Mental illness is no different than physical illness…whereas in physical illness we may be able to pinpoint a wound, pain, or physical abnormality, mental illness is a wound, pain or abnormality in our thinking processes, which cannot be seen or pinpointed physically.

“You gotta have the bad days so you can love the good days more.”

 

So that’s the good and bad news.  Mental illness is experienced by everyone at some time in their lives, and often multiple times.  It is on a very wide spectrum, from mild depression and anxiety, to severe cases of complete breaks from reality.

Too many people won’t freely talk about it, and yet virtually everyone suffers through it to some extent!  The number one comment we received from all hospital staff:  “This happens  ALL the time.”  I remember thinking:  “EXCUSE ME?  ALL the time?  Why doesn’t anyone say anything?”  Of course, you know the answer:  No one wants to be known as “CRAZY”… but it’s time to change how we view mental health and wellness.  The shame, guilt, and ridiculous fear stops here!  And if you are sitting there saying “Not me”, you can get off that pretty quickly, by just thinking back at any point in your life, where you got stuck thinking things that were wholly unproductive, brought you down, or upset you beyond what is healthy.  When you were unreasonable, unfocused, or hyper-focused on negativity, when you had a hard time turning off the non-stop negative self-talk, when you couldn’t forgive someone, or when you couldn’t sleep, or felt complete lack of rest, when you picked up a completely unhealthy and/or destructive habit, yet were unwilling to put it down, even as it was costing you everything…and those are but a few examples of self-imposed mental illness (which we enter into without intending to), and do not encompass the many ways other biological functions and illness contribute to the suffering of the mind.

No one really knows how the mind works, not even the so-called mental health experts…counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists are all doing their very best, receiving training from what is able to be observed, and from what the clients themselves are reporting back.  But if and when they are honest, current traditional medicine doesn’t really have a grasp on, or an answer to this widespread issue.  How could they?  The mind is not a physical thing…it’s inner workings and pathways cannot be observed, seen, or known, and everyone is a unique individual, who processes things in a billion different ways.  The only thing that can be seen is the voice/information and behavior that a client actually chooses to share:  and that’s coming from a place of imbalance, pain, and a broken perspective.

Since the 1980’s the “answer” seemed to revolve around mood-altering drugs, and anti-psychotics of many kinds.  However, these do absolutely nothing to heal the mind…

in fact, studies have revealed that these medications alter the brain, and the side effects are often destructive and cause further unspeakable pain, especially long-term. 
~Dr. Caroline Leaf, Neuroscientist

However, new and exciting discoveries have been at the forefront, through the study of Neuroscience that do not look to medications, but instead help the body rebuild the mind to get vibrant, strong and healthy!  I won’t bore you with the details but here is what you MUST know:  NO MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION HAS TO BE LONG TERM; The mind actually builds the brain (what you think about matters):  every experience you have, every moment of every day, is building neural connections! (or destroying them)  One year from now, your brain will be COMPLETELY different, based on what you have focused on through thought, and all your senses. What you eat, matters!  In fact, every sense you have is instrumental in the recovery and rebuilding of the mind, and you can change the brain and mind to end up in a better place than ever before!  That includes neuro-atypical challenges.  For every individual the continuing optimal level is different, but no matter what the issue, it absolutely can look different one year from now, and each year thereafter.

Specific colors, sounds/music, love and kindness, tastes (foods), smells (in aromatherapy, molecules travel up the olfactory nerve and go directly into the brain), and touch are all healing to the mind!  If you want to change, if you want to get better, there are amazing resources to help you get to a place of mental and emotional wellness.  The opposite is also true, though:  if you are not careful, if you refuse to get rest, take care of your body, and use your senses for your well-being, those same senses can take you to mental illness.  The biggest question you have to ask yourself is:  do you want to get well?  If the answer is “Yes”, or “Yes” for a loved one who is beyond able to help himself, because he has already stepped over the line of rational thought and reality, there are wonderful resources to help heal the mind.  Rule out any physical illness issues that may be affecting the mind, such as virus, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infections, and then start working on mental wellness through all of your senses!  I will share what we did, that changed everything.

While I’m typing up a list of resources, here is the first doctor who gave us hope:
Dr. Caroline Leaf, Neuroscientist extraordinaire, and founder of the Integrated Mind Network.  Find her information by going to: www.DrLeaf.com

 

YOU are the only one who can get and keep yourself healthy. Own it!

1. Everything you eat, drink, breathe in, apply listen to, watch, think about, and apply on your skin causes biochemical reactions in your body. Good or bad!
2. Your gut is responsible for 80% of immune system function.  Eating well and probiotics are a must!
3.  Boost your immune system naturally.  There are many ways to do this, but one of the most effective ways is through the use of essential oils.  While all essential oils will do something, if you want to get your immune system fully on track, you will only want the most effective brand available:  Young Living.  There are quite a few of the oils that will help boost the immune system…one of the most effective is the Thieves blend.  Please click HERE and do a search on Thieves.  You can order via retail or wholesale…wholesale purchases are at a discount of about 24%.  DO NOT PURCHASE THESE OILS ON AMAZON.  THEY ARE LIKELY NOT WHAT THEY CLAIM, AS THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE SOLD IN THIS WAY.