Spider Vein Prevention - 5 Easy Tips!
They aren't dangerous, but they're not fun to look at, either – spider veins, the cousins of larger varicose veins, are enlarged red or blue blood vessels that live close to the skin's surface and often form a branching or web-like pattern.
Causes of spider veins include hormonal changes, obesity, being sedentary and sun exposure. While spider veins aren't always preventable, there are some things you can do to avoid this unsightly problem.
Follow these five tips to reduce your chances of getting spider veins.
-
Wear sunscreen – Not only will sunscreen protect you from skin cancer and early skin aging like wrinkles and dark spots, it will also help prevent spider veins – especially on the face.
-
Don't cross your legs – Sitting with your legs crossed for too long can slow blood flow in your legs and may cause vessel damage. This can lead to weakening of the vein valves and walls and contribute to spider and varicose veins.
-
Get moving – Don't stand or sit for too long without moving. If you have to stand for a long time, shift weight between each leg every few minutes to keep blood flowing. Try not to sit for more than 30 minutes without getting up or going for a walk. Movement and exercise promote blood flow and decrease your risk of unsightly veins.
-
Elevate your legs – When you're resting, put your feet up to help take the pressure off your legs and feet and help blood drain back to your heart. This will decrease the pressure on the veins and skin and make them less likely to weaken.
-
Get good footwear – Leave your high-heels for special occasions – low-heeled shoes will help promote good blood flow. Also, avoid tight clothes that constrict you at the waist, groin or legs, as these can cause backup of blood in the lower extremities. Compression stockings or socks can also help blood get back to your heart and keep your veins from enlarging.
Reference and Thank you: Dr Oz: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/5-ways-prevent-spider-veins
The ROOT of an Autoimmune Disease and 8 Lifestyle Tips
The one thing connected to almost every known chronic disease — from heart disease to cancer, diabetes to obesity, autism to dementia, acne to hair loss and even depression is INFLAMMATION!
Other inflammatory diseases such as allergies, asthma, arthritis, and autoimmune disease are increasing at dramatic rates. Conventional doctors are trained to shut off inflammation with aspirin, anti-inflammatory medication such as Advil or Motrin, steroids, and increasingly more powerful immune suppressing medication with serious side effects.
But alternative doctors are trained to find and treat the underlying causes of inflammation in chronic disease. Hidden allergens, infections, environmental toxins, an inflammatory diet, and stress are the real causes of these inflammatory conditions.
Autoimmune diseases, specifically, now affect 24 million people and include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroid disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and more.
So how are they addressed? By powerful immune suppressing medication and not by addressing the cause. That’s like taking a lot of aspirin while hitting your thumb with a hammer. The treatment is not more aspirin or a strong immune suppressant, but removing the hammer. It you want to stop inflammation in the body, you must find the source. Treat the fire, not the smoke. In the allopathic world they are mostly taught to diagnose disease by symptoms, NOT by their underlying cause.
In Functional medicine, the emerging 21st century paradigm of systems medicine, teaches us to treat the cause, not just the symptoms, to take a thorough history and exam to find out the diagnosis of your patient! Functional medicine is a different way of thinking about disease that helps us understand and treat the real causes of inflammation instead of finding clever ways to shut it down. Medicine as it is practiced today is like putting a band-aid on a gapping wound instead of stitching it while the body bleeds to death!
Autoimmune diseases are the result of an uncontrolled immune response also known as systemic inflammation that results in your body attacking its own tissues.
Why is it when the patient described how he cured his autoimmune disease by finding and eliminating the causes of inflammation in his diet and environment, the medical doctors dismiss it as a “spontaneous remission.” Instead of being more inquisitive and trying to find out more information, these doctors are hardly curious and quickly dismissive. What kind of health care is that?
Autoimmunity: What it is and How it Occurs
We are facing an epidemic of allergic (60 million people), asthmatic (30 million people), and autoimmune disorders (24 million people). Autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, celiac, thyroid disease, and the many other hard-to-classify syndromes in the 21st century. These are all autoimmune conditions, and at their root they are connected by one central process: An uncontrolled immune response also known as systemic inflammation that results in your body attacking its own tissues.
Your immune system is your defense against foreign invaders. It is your internal army and has to clearly distinguish these invaders — to know you from others. Autoimmunity occurs when your immune system gets confused and your own tissues get caught in the cross-fire.
Your body is fighting something — an infection, a toxin, an allergen, a food or the stress response — and somehow it redirects its hostile attack on your joints, your brain, your thyroid, your gut, your skin, or sometimes your whole body. This immune confusion results from what is referred to as molecular mimicking. Conventional approaches don’t have a method for finding the insult causing the problem. Functional medicine provides a map to find out which molecule the cells are mimicking.
Another interesting fact: Autoimmune diseases are seldomly found in countries that lack running water and sterilization. They occur almost exclusively in developed countries. Playing in the dirt, being dirty, and being exposed to bugs and infections trains your immune system to recognize what is foreign and what is “you.”
Autoimmune diseases, are a huge health burden in the US. They are the eighth leading cause of death among women, shortening the average patient’s lifespan by eight years. The annual health care cost for autoimmune diseases is $120 billion a year representing nearly twice the economic health care burden of cancer (about $ 70 billion a year).
Unfortunately, many of the conventional treatments available can make you feel worse. Anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, steroids, immune suppressants like methotrexate, and the new TNF-alpha blockers like Enbrel or Remicade can lead to intestinal bleeding, kidney failure, depression, psychosis, osteoporosis, muscle loss, and diabetes, not to mention overwhelming infection and cancer.(ii)
These drugs are not a long-term solution. They shouldn’t be the end of treatment. There is another way to deal with autoimmune conditions.
Recovering from Autoimmunity: Addressing the Root Causes of Inflammation
Using a functional medicine approach, a new way of thinking about the underlying causes and imbalances in chronic disease, begin asking some simple questions. Then hunt for toxins, allergens, and infections — all common causes of inflammation — and find the real causes of the symptoms. Order labs and other necessary tests.
Start cleaning house, get rid of food allergies,fix the gut, and detox. Then heal the immune system by supporting it with nutrients. Start a clean, whole-foods, allergen-free, anti-inflammatory diet. The results will reflect addressing the root of the health problems and treating the underlying causes of what ails you instead of suppressing symptoms with medications.
If you have an autoimmune disease, here is what you need to think about and do.
Eight Steps to Treating Autoimmune Disease
1. Check for hidden infections — yeast, viruses, bacteria, Lyme, etc. — with the help of a chiropractic physician, who can order labs, stool analysis and saliva tests and treat them. 2. Check for hidden food allergens with IgG food testing or elimination diet. 3. Get tested for celiac disease, which is a blood test that your chiropractic physician can do. 4. Get checked for heavy metal toxicity. Mercury and other metals can cause autoimmunity. 5. Fix your gut. 6. Use nutrients that your chiropractic physician prescribes to help calm your immune response naturally. 7. Exercise regularly — it’s a natural anti-inflammatory. 8. Practice deep relaxation like yoga, deep breathing, biofeedback, or massage, because stress worsens the immune response.
Give these steps a try — and see if you don’t start feeling less inflamed. The answers are right in front of you. Treat the underlying causes of your illness and you will begin to experience vibrant "beautiful health: once more.
Guest Post and Thank You : Dr Elena Morreale
5 Major Ways to Reduce Hair Static!
Winter is here and in Minnesota's abrupt cold, it’s appropriate to bring out our cute scarves and classy sweaters. It’s also the end of the year, which often brings great closure, but also a bit of stress. “Is your hair standing on end?”
Kasia brings you a solution whether you are fighting those popping grays, fly aways, or that nasty culprit.......hard to control static!!
“So what’s with the static anyways?”
The fabric on our clothes and the dry heat from our furnace give our hair a positive charge and causes our hair to rise and become fly away.
There are two major steps to rid your locks from static: reduce friction and increase moisture. It sounds simple, but there is more to it.
Here are a few tricks for you to get your hair back in control.
Add in Moisture
Use a moisture friendly hair oil, we recommend our rich oil treatment with Kasia 
Restore Oil. Simply apply it to your mid-strands to ends before styling hair or after. The oil will counter act the positive charge in your hair and calm the strands. Restore adds moisturizers, proteins, vitamins and minerals that combine the help needed for static, a healthy scalp and to promote hair growth.
Frequency of Washing
Naturally our scalp produces oil, we can use that to our advantage and it’s free! Washing hair everyday strips our hair of the naturally oils and can leave hair feeling dry. Giving your hair a rest in between days helps keep the moisture our scalp produces locked in and often makes it easier to style hair too!
Styling Brush
By just styling your hair - adds static chaos! It is important when styling to use a good quality bristle brush. We recommend using a brush that is mostly boar bristle and fewer nylon bristles. Our professional round brush favorite is from Spornette. They help smooth out your style, as well as eliminate static and frizz by evenly distributing moisture from roots to ends.
Dry with an Ionic Blow Dryer!
Quality dryers emit negatively-charged ions that attach themselves to the positively-charged hair for a neutralizing effect. The ionic molecules break down 
the water molecule rather than evaporate it, without stripping your hair of its moisture -- and the less dried out your hair, the less static.
Learn more about THEORIE! It's an incredible dryer with the bonus of a LIFETIME Warranty!
When all is lost....resort to a braid.
Take it easy by pulling your mane into a manageable style with as few loose hairs as possible will minimize the static problem. Plus, with a braid tight to your head, you can avoid hat hair.
By: Amber, Kasia Hair Health Specialist
Confused about the many thyroid hormones? Which is right for you?
A question that is frequently asked by women, “What is the best thyroid hormone?” and the answer is, “It depends!”
Enjoy this guest post from Dr. Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS, MNeuroSci
No one magic thyroid hormone medication exists—instead a variety of factors must be considered. For instance, many people on thyroid hormones have a normal TSH but still suffer from hypothyroid symptoms. Others have a history of trying different thyroid hormones and getting different responses with each. Some do better with bio-identical (Armour), others with synthetic (Synthroid®). And for some, certain brands in either category make them considerably worse or better.
Do you even need thyroid hormone replacement? When the autoimmune disease is successfully managed, thyroid hormones may not be necessary…However not taking them when you truly need them can have disastrous consequences for your health and well-being.
Choosing the right thyroid hormone
When choosing the appropriate thyroid hormone, three factors must be considered:
Sensitivity to fillers
Some people, especially those with autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s, are sensitive to the dyes and fillers in thyroid hormone medications. Cornstarch, found in many brands, is a common trigger. Synthroid®, Westhroid, and Thyrolar contain cornstarch. A good example of how fillers can affect people occurred recently when Armour was reformulated with increased cellulose, decreased dextrose, and added cornstarch, which caused problems for many users. Nature-Thyroid appears to be the most hypoallergenic brand.
Bio-identical versus synthetic hormones
I personally prefer my patients use a bio-identical thyroid hormone such as Armour. Lab tests can measure bio-identical hormones in your system, whereas they cannot measure synthetic hormones (only TSH is an effective marker when synthetic hormones are used). However, some people clearly do better with synthetic hormones, such as Synthroid®.
Why is that? This is common in people with an autoimmune thyroid disease, especially Graves’, who have developed an autoimmune attack against T3 and T4. In other words, their immune system is attacking their thyroid hormones. Because bio-identical hormones contain both T3 and T4, this stimulates the autoimmune attack and makes the person feel worse. In these cases, a synthetic T4 may be a better option. Currently there are no lab tests to test for antibodies against T3 and T4, however one is in development.
The function of T3 hormones
T3 is the active form of thyroid hormone, having the greatest impact on metabolism, but also carries the greatest risk of overdosing. People who have difficulty converting T4 to T3, or whose cells have become resistant to thyroid hormones, do better with thyroid hormones that include T3.
However some people develop hyperthyroid symptoms with T3 support — feeling wired, nervousness, insomnia, heart palpitations, etc. This scenario is most common in Hashimoto’s patients who have constant immune attacks against their thyroid gland, which releases excess thyroid hormone into the bloodstream. These people typically do better with a T4-only medication.
Assessing responses to thyroid hormones
Many thyroid hormone users have a history of trying various meds. Some thyroid hormones make people feel wired, jittery or nervous. Others bring TSH into a normal range but do not alleviate symptoms. Some worked really well. All of these reactions provide insight into the mechanisms involved in the hypothyroidism.
No significant response, but normal TSH
This is very common with those who have Hashimoto’s. Chronic inflammation, whether it is from unmanaged Hashimoto’s or other sources (injury, surgery, infection, cancer, overtraining), can cause three scenarios:
- Prevents the conversion of T4 to T3
- Hampers communication between the pituitary gland in the brain and the thyroid gland.
- Inhibits thyroid receptors on cells from responding to thyroid hormones
In these cases, the response to T4-only medications will be poor. Another factor to consider is that the person may have many other conditions affecting thyroid health, such as insulin resistance, hormonal imbalances, gut infections, food intolerances, and more.
Only felt better with bio-identical hormones
This scenario can occur for several reasons:
- Unable to convert T4 to T3 when using T4-only medication
- Sensitivities to dyes or fillers in synthetic compounds that are not in bio-identical compounds
- May need T3 due to problems with the thyroid hormone receptors on cells
- Receptor sites on cells simply respond better to bio-identical than synthetic hormones
Only felt better with T3 combination hormones
If a person consistently does better with isolated T3 hormones, whether synthetic or bio-identical, a couple of factors are possible. One is difficulty converting T4 to T3. The other is that receptor sites on cells are resistant to thyroid hormones due to high cortisol, low progesterone, inflammation, high homocysteine, vitamin A deficiencies, and more.
Only felt better with synthetic hormones
This may occur in individuals who have an overactive metabolism and can’t tolerate additional T3. As mentioned earlier, this is common in those with Hashimoto’s who experience repeat immune attacks against the thyroid, or when the immune system is attacking T4 and T3, such as with Graves’ disease or multiple autoimmune diseases.
Felt over-stimulated with T3 or bio-identical hormones
Again, this may occur in the person with Hashimoto’s whose immune system is constantly attacking the thyroid gland, releasing excess thyroid hormone into the bloodstream. It also occurs in those with high epinephrine, an adrenal hormone, due to excess caffeine or nicotine, severe psychological stress, constant overtraining, or genetic mechanisms.
Felt fatigued and run down with thyroid hormones
This is almost always related to sensitivities to dyes or fillers in the thyroid hormone medication. It may also occur if the person is having an autoimmune response against their thyroid hormones, such as in Graves’ or in those with multiple autoimmune diseases.
Do you even need thyroid hormones?
Another factor to consider is whether you even need thyroid hormone replacement. Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune attack against the thyroid, accounts for 90 percent of hypothyroidism cases in the United States. When the autoimmune disease is successfully managed, thyroid hormones may not be needed at all, and taking them unnecessarily can do more harm than good. Another consideration is poor thyroid function caused by breakdowns in thyroid pathways that need addressing, instead of true hypothyroidism (this is discussed in Chapter Four of the book).
However if damage to the gland is substantial enough, then thyroid hormones are necessary. Not taking thyroid hormone replacement when you truly need it can have disastrous consequences on your total health and well-being. If a person shows repeated and continuous elevations of TSH, thyroid hormones should be considered.
Even when thyroid hormone replacement is used, it is still vitally important to manage the autoimmune condition. This will enhance the effectiveness of the medication, preserve the integrity of the thyroid gland, and prevent the progression of the autoimmune condition into attacks on other areas of the body.
Thyroid replacement hormones
Brand Name Thyroid Hormones
- Synthroid – synthetic T4 only
- Levothroid – synthetic T4 only
- Levoxyl – synthetic T4 only
- Unithroid – synthetic T4 only
- Cytomel – synthetic T3 only
- Thyrolar – synthetic fixed ratio of T3 and T4
- Armour – bio-identical fixed ratio of T3 and T4 combination
- Westhroid – bio-identical fixed ratio of T3 and T4 combination
- Nature-Throid – bio-identical fixed ratio of T3 and T4 combination
Generic Thyroid Hormones
- Levothyroxine – synthetic T4 only
- L-Thyroxine – synthetic T4 only
- Liothyronine – synthetic T3 only
- Liotrix – synthetic fixed ratio of T3 and T4 combination
- Dessicated Thyroid – bio-identical T3 and T4 combination
Synthetic Thyroxine (T4) Hormones
- Synthroid – Brand Name
- Levothroid – Brand Name
- Levoxyl – Brand Name
- Unithroid – Brand Name
- Levothyroxine – Generic
- L-Thyroxine – Generic
Synthetic Triiodothyronine (T3) Hormone
- Cytomel – Brand Name
- Liothyronine – Generic
Synthetic T3 and T4 Combination
- Thyrolar – Brand Name
- Liotrix – Generic
Bio-Identical T3 and T4 Combination
- Armour –Brand Name
- Westhroid – Brand Name
- Nature-Throid – Brand Name
- Dessicated Thyroid – Generic
Thank you: Dr. Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS, MNeuroSci
EXPRESS MAKEOVER SPECIAL * FREE Makeup Lesson (details inside)
Let's turn the table on your SKIN HEALTH this celebratory time of year! Give your stomach a break this holiday season and give your skin a nourishing feast! Get your skin feel ready to take on the holiday season with NO downtime!
At Kasia we use highly active ingredients that promise delivery and results. We administer medical grade peels that are better for aging skin, as well as more efficient long term. Stripping the skin quickly and abrasively has consequences.
Receive an EXPRESS MAKEOVER!
Schedule an Express Organic Facial and receive a FREE Makeup Lesson! Only $59 ( $40 in SAVINGS!)
Exfoliate and treat your dry skin "dead zone" and learn the correct colors for your skin tone.
Get Expressed!
-
Reduces the appearance of wrinkles and prevents the appearance of new ones.
-
Strengthens, rejuvenates and makes your skin firmer.
-
Counteracts the effects of free radicals.
-
Moisturizes and provides nourishment to your skin.
-
Stimulates cellular activity as well as collagen and elastin production.
-
Balances skin pigmentation and restores skin texture.
-
Repairs the signs of loosening on the cheeks, neck and chin.
-
Restores elasticity of the skin.
Need help deciding? Give our Infused Moisture Facial a try! Medi-Infused Organic Facial for normal, aging, hormonal, or dry skin. Your dermis will be nourished from the many benefits offered and by adding a Hydrating Mask to your epidermis to feel rejuvenated.
Learn more HERE about our custom facial care options for you this holiday season.
*LAST DAY* Kasia Organics Largest Friends and Family Online Sale of the Year
We're celebrating the cyber online holiday shopping craze by giving our friends and family (YOU) the biggest savings of the year!
Enjoy 20% off everything! Deadline is TODAY!
Enter the code "kasiaorganics" at checkout to save 20%
Save on anti-aging skin and hair care, organic sunless tanner for your holiday parties, lavish in our au-naturale handmade artisan soaps imparted with scent and healing properties and our explore our *new* GMO Free +100% natural candle collection.
Shop and save 20%
Store-bought hair color.....may not be worth the money saved.
The modern day super woman is often on the run, leaving us to impulse purchases that take the edge off of a constant battle with time management.
In times of desperation......
Store-bought hair color.....may not be worth the money saved.
Do you hate those harsh chemicals when coloring your hair? Is your scalp sensitive to the chemicals of hair color? Or does the smell of the ammonia in hair color bother you?
Ammonia-fee hair color, works just as good as conventional color, and even better. Enjoy fabulous color solutions at Kasia Organic Salon without inhaling noxious chemicals or suffering from irritated skin and scalp.
Common DIY Mistakes One of the consistent issues with home DIY hair dye is that one lacks wisdom of which tone and color, the correct peroxide (home bought are usually set at a level 40 peroxide - when professions is at a level 10), and lastly - the correct application. One should only apply to the new growth of the original hair color, but most dye their hair all over again, which puts exorbitant amounts of harmful chemicals into their hair.
Harmful ammonias in hair dye strip hair of natural oils and pigments and pull out the minerals that serve as protectors against sun damage.
Ammonia is a strong oxidizing agent used in various household cleaners.
The main function of an oxidizing agent is to destroy color chemicals and kill bacteria, like taking stains out of clothes. In hair there are lots of chemical bonds, and the ammonia from the dye would cause hair to break.”
A lot of the damage can be mitigated if someone uses an ammonia-free hair dye. Products without ammonia work without compromising the cuticle. If someone has already damaged hair through extensive dying, there is some hope for restoring hair back to a presentable state.
Damage Done - Instant Relief with Keratin Treatments
A keratin treatment will put protein back in the hair and smooth it out, this is especially helpful for damaged hair and older women, since as we age our hair stops producing keratin. The results are usually immediate.
Keratin treatments are typically done on a four-month basis. Express keratin treatments are a more economical option. Correcting the damage inflicted on the hair when experimenting with store-bought color is more costly than if they had just got it done professionally to begin with.
If a client comes in with box-dyed hair, I often suggest and need to charge for an extra conditioning treatments and products used to correct the damage. If your hair dye is made out of the same chemicals used to clean windows and take out stains in clothes, I would stay away....