Ditching the Dose

07/29/2025

Sleep isn’t just about feeling rested. It plays a powerful role in how your body manages blood sugar.

Research shows that even one night of poor sleep can drive insulin resistance up by 25 percent—similar to what’s seen in early-stage type 2 diabetes. In one study, healthy young adults who slept only four hours per night for six nights experienced this shift.

This is a reminder that rest is not optional. It is an essential part of caring for your brain, your metabolism, and your long-term health.

07/28/2025

✨ Your energy is your greatest asset—so spend it wisely.

Investing in yourself isn’t selfish, it’s essential.
Whether it's nourishing food, restful sleep, therapy, or hobbies…

Each mindful choice is a deposit into your future self.

Which one are you prioritizing this week?👇

07/26/2025

Just in case you were on the fence about your fluoride toothpaste, fluoride mouthwash, the 10 cups of tea a day (yes tea is a high source of naturally occuring fluoride) and your fluoride treatments at the dentist.....

So you might get away with it if you have hyperthyroidism or graves, but generally these two issues end up in hypothyroidism territory.

Choose wisely... remember, not everything affects everyone the same, so while half the world may be just fine with fluoride in their toothpaste (fun fact there is a poison number on the side of toothpaste if you consume too much 😱) but if you have thyroid issues, you need to leave it to them....

07/25/2025

Nighttime anxiety is extremely common in people who are stuck in fight or flight. Instead of winding down, or body (signaling a threat) keeps us on high alert. Thoughts become racing and even when we’re exhausted, our mind won’t stop.

Most of the common sleep advice says to shut down screens a few hours before bed. But this can actually increase anxiety because we’re alone from the thoughts we usually distract ourselves from.

If you’re in fight or flight or have complex trauma, screens can actually be self soothing. Especially familiar shows or movies that signal to your body that it’s time to relax.

Do you allow yourself screen time before bed, and does it help? Let me know in the comments

07/24/2025

The next frontier in medicine isn’t another drug.

It’s a radical shift in how we view the body, the brain, and disease itself.

Depression is often rooted in systemic inflammation, gut dysbiosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, insulin resistance, trauma, or disrupted circadian rhythms. ADHD may be tied to neuroinflammation, poor blood sugar control, or nutritional gaps like low magnesium, zinc, or omega-3s. And heart disease? It’s largely a food-borne illness, driven by a diet of ultra-processed, inflammatory, nutrient-poor calories.

There is no single root cause. But there are root causes.
And they are almost always connected by lifestyle, environment, and systems-level dysfunction.

Medications have their place… But they were never designed to reverse chronic disease. They manage symptoms, often while the underlying dysfunction worsens.

If we want to reverse the chronic disease epidemic, mental and physical, we need to stop asking what drug treats this and start asking why the body lost balance in the first place.

The answer isn’t in the pharmacy… It’s in how we eat, move, sleep, connect, and live.
It’s in our soil, our food system, our communities, our kitchens.

The next revolution in medicine will come not from the lab but from returning to the root.

07/12/2025

06/08/2025

🧠🫀 The Overlooked Alliance: How Your Nervous and Lymphatic Systems Are Deeply Connected

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, exercise, or health regimen.

Introduction

The nervous system and lymphatic system are traditionally studied as separate entities—one governing electrical impulses and sensory perception, the other managing immune surveillance and fluid balance. But recent medical breakthroughs reveal a fascinating and vital crosstalk between these two systems, opening new doors in our understanding of neuroimmune regulation, detoxification, and inflammation management.

1. The Lymphatic System: Silent River of Detox

The lymphatic system is composed of:
• Lymph vessels: thin-walled structures that parallel veins
• Lymph nodes: immunological hubs that filter pathogens and debris
• Lymph: the interstitial fluid collected from tissues
• Associated organs: spleen, thymus, and tonsils

Its main functions include:
• Interstitial fluid balance
• Immune cell trafficking
• Removal of metabolic waste
• Absorption of fats from the intestines

2. The Nervous System: The Command Center

The nervous system is divided into:
• Central Nervous System (CNS): brain and spinal cord
• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): motor and sensory nerves
• Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): controls involuntary processes like heart rate, digestion, and lymphatic flow

3. The Discovery of the Brain’s Lymphatic System

In 2015, researchers from the University of Virginia and University of Helsinki made a landmark discovery: functional lymphatic vessels exist in the dura mater (the outermost layer of the meninges surrounding the brain).

These meningeal lymphatic vessels:
• Drain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and interstitial fluid from the brain
• Connect to deep cervical lymph nodes
• Support clearance of amyloid-beta and other neurotoxic proteins

🧠 Source: Louveau et al., Nature (2015):
“Structural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatic vessels”
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14432

4. Neuro-Lymphatic Cross-Talk: How the Systems Interact

A. Autonomic Regulation of Lymphatic Flow

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) plays a key role in modulating lymphatic contractility and flow. Lymphatic vessels contain smooth muscle cells that respond to sympathetic stimulation, which influences:
• Lymphangion contractions
• Lymph propulsion
• Immune cell transport

🩺 Research Insight: Gashev & Zawieja, Lymphatic Research and Biology (2001) show that norepinephrine and other catecholamines affect lymphatic tone and contraction.

B. Neuroinflammation and Lymphatic Clearance

Chronic activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in response to stress can lead to:
• Altered immune signaling
• Reduced lymphatic drainage
• Increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB)

This creates a loop of neuroinflammation, where poor clearance of inflammatory cytokines aggravates neural function.

🧠 Study: Plog & Nedergaard, Trends in Neurosciences (2018):
“The Glymphatic System in Central Nervous System Health and Disease”
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2018.01.003

C. Vagus Nerve & Immune Modulation

The vagus nerve, a key component of the parasympathetic system, exerts anti-inflammatory effects via the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. It indirectly supports lymphatic drainage by:
• Lowering sympathetic overdrive
• Stimulating smooth muscle activity in lymph vessels
• Promoting gut-immune-brain communication

🌿 Clinical Relevance: Vagal stimulation is currently being explored in treatments for IBS, autoimmune disease, PTSD, and depression—conditions closely linked to lymphatic congestion and immune dysfunction.

5. Clinical Implications

Understanding this connection opens avenues for integrative therapies:
• Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) to reduce neuroinflammation
• Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for immune regulation
• Breathing techniques & HRV training to balance autonomic input
• Glymphatic-enhancing sleep hygiene (e.g., sleeping on the side, adequate hydration)

These modalities enhance the lympho-neural interface, optimizing both immune and cognitive function.

6. A New Era of Neuro-Lymphatic Medicine

We are entering a phase where neuroscience, immunology, and lymphology are merging to form neuroimmunolymphatic medicine. This multidisciplinary understanding may be crucial in addressing:
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Long COVID
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Autoimmune disorders

📚 Recommended Read:
Ma, Q., Nature Reviews Immunology (2017):
“Neuroimmune interactions and the lymphatic system”
https://doi.org/10.1038/nri.2017.48

Final Thoughts

Your body is a masterpiece of interconnected systems, and the nervous–lymphatic connection is a testament to that design. As science continues to explore this frontier, we can harness this knowledge to not only manage illness but enhance human healing and resilience at its deepest levels.

If you’re navigating chronic inflammation, autoimmune imbalance, or neurological dysfunction, supporting your lymphatic and nervous systems together may offer profound healing potential.

🌿 Stay regulated. Stay flowing. Stay well.

©️

05/11/2025

Hello hello massage friends!
Earlier today there was a smoke only “fire” at my apartment complex.
We are all safe!
We are very fortunate that damage wasn’t worse however there is some smoke damage.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out about my welfare and offered help to get back up and running!
I am truly blessed with the people in my life
Thank you thank you 💜💜💜💜💜

03/18/2025

01/19/2025