How to Grow Your Hair Super Fast!

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

As I promised in my article, “It’s Hair Growing Season People!” we are all growing our hair out for Wigs for Kids (they only need 8”)! So I am going to talk about the best natural medicines for growing healthy, strong, shiny hair, super fast. After all we want those wigs looking good!

Spring and Summer are the best hair growing seasons, so to optimize the hair growing season let’s talk about the things that make hair grow FAST!

First and foremost Chinese Medicine considers hair the ”glory of the kidneys,” and what that crazy talk means is that your hair is an excess of your total well-being.

“Kidney chi” is our “energetic bank” in Chinese Medicine, and if our energetic bank is all dried up, then there is not much left over for such frivolties as hair! Think about it. The healthiest people naturally look beautiful.Second and most importantly, I would like to just say FLAXSEEDS, FLAXSEEDS, FLAXSEEDS! If you get nothing from this discussion on how to grow your hair faster, then just visit my article, “How to Unleash Your Inner Fabulosity!” and follow the instructions on adding 1-3 tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseeds to your daily routine. You can do up to three tablespoons twice daily if you are a flax seed fanatic like me.

On the advice of my vet, since fish oil gives my dog the runs, I now give my Golden Retriever freshly ground flaxseeds and in just a week his coat became shiny, less itchy, and the bare patches filled in (normally this time of year he pulls his hair out like a mad man.

Thirdly we want to have PROTEIN. Flaxseeds are a great source of omega 3 oils and protein, but I would also drink a protein smoothie a day; you can add your flaxseeds to the smoothie as I recommend in my “Favorite Smoothie Recipe.”

Omega Up! If you are doing the flaxseeds hard core, you are getting enough omega 3’s to ensure shiny strong hair, if not, then try a tablespoon of fish or flax oil daily (no cod liver oil for pregnant women because the vitamin A is a teratogen.)

Multivitamin: B-vitamins are crucial to hair growth as nearly the whole B family plays a role in hair growth.

Multimineral: A mineral rich diet is important for healthy hair growth. I like the Tri-Boron Plus by Twinlab, or visit this page or your local health food store for other high quality recommendations.

Biotin: Your multivitamin may not contain that much biotin so check the label and see if you are getting the RDA.

Skip the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate! A known carcinogen and skin irritant, look for SLS free shampoo’s.

Skip the daily shampooing! You can still rinse your hair every day and condition it, but daily shampooing is stripping your scalp of essential oils. This saves not just your hair, but your water and shampoo bill. See? You can afford that more expensive SLS free shampoo after all now….No excuses, organic isn’t really that much more expensive when you look at it as a whole.

Get a trim! Don’t forget to get a bit trimmed off your hair every couple of months (another great way to save money in these tough economic times.)

Try some handstands! Even if you aren’t a gymnast, you can still hang your head off the edge of the bed to increase blood flow to the scalp periodically throughout the day, or you can do some extra downward dogs if you are a yoga fiend like me.

Rosemary and Mint! The invigorating herbs of the Laminacea family bring more circulation to your scalp as I just talked about in the above handstand blurb. Rosemary has been associated with improving hair growth for quite some time.

You can try some of the shampoos available at eVitamins or your local health food store, or buy rosemary essential oil and add a few drops to your favorite shampoo. Start with 1-2 drops and then work up to about 5-10 drops of the pure essential oil (remember never apply any essential oil straight to the skin unless it is lavender.)

Silica! Horsetails have long been touted as hair growing herbs because of their high silica content; unfortunately as our soil becomes more toxic, I don’t feel comfortable using them unless they are certified organic. The reason for this is that they suck up minerals like silica from the soil along with toxic heavy metals such as cadmium and arsenic. I would instead ensure my multi-mineral formula contains about of silica.

Don’t OD on vitamins and minerals! Remember, we can only absorb so much and selenium toxicity, for instance, is associated with hair loss when we get up to the 1000mcg range.

Have a hair growing tip? Feel free to leave it in the comments section.

Related reading:

Acupuncture, Acupuncture, Acupuncture!

Dying to Look Good

Topical Natural Treaments for Seborrheic Dermatitis, Dandruff, Cradle Cap, and Itchy Scalp

Chlorine Shower Filter

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

It’s Hair Growing Season People!!! Wigs for Kids

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

Spring and summer is the best time to grow hair, and the other day when I asked my normally professional looking friend what was up with his new hippie hairdo I hadn’t seen since college, he said “Wigs for Kids!”

“It’s really tough to still look professional while conducting an important business meeting….but it’s for the kids.” Matt said as we both smiled in our mutual “subvert the dominant paradigm kind of way.”

Matt was really excited about Wigs for Kids because, as we both agreed, getting wigs to kids is much more important than providing wigs for adults with cancer.

I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes….but we all know how much more cruel kids can be than adults with teasing, and having cancer or congenital alopecia is certainly a tough enough problem in itself.

I was really touched by my normally “tough guy” kind of friend growing his hair out, and then when I noticed the Operation Smile t-shirt he was wearing, I realized that we were both pretty hopeless bleeding hearts. Yup, I bought diamond grillz and braces for kids in Africa too…or something like that… *wink*

If you are a hopeless bleeding heart and want to join our hair growing team just visit….Wigs for Kids.….come on, it’s for the kids!

Wigs for Kids is easier for me because it only requires 8” which is great because most adult programs need a full 10” and that extra two inches can make a difference to some of us that refuse to let their hair be cut shorter than their collar bone.

Coming up! I will be talking about how we can grow the strongest and healthiest hair as QUICKLY as possible….

It’s hair growing season people!

Are you ready?

Don’t forget to get a little trim every now and then to prevent split ends. We want to grow pretty wigs.

Now let’s all unleash our inner hippies and grow some wigs for kids!

Drop me a comment if you plan to play along!

~Dr. Nicole

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Are There Poisons In Your Baby’s Food?

By Christine H. Farlow, D.C.

Whether you breast-feed or bottle-feed your baby, there may be harmful chemicals in the food you feed them. Many additives in the food you eat may be very dangerous to your health. And since what you eat, you feed to your baby when you breast-feed, the chemicals that are harmful to you are going to harm your baby.

Even products designed for infants and very young children may contain harmful additives. Take, for example, a popular electrolyte replacement beverage for infants. It contains artificial flavors (which may cause developmental problems and many are not adequately tested), acesulfame potassium (a carcinogen), various food colorings (many of which may be carcinogenic or not adequately tested).

It may also contain the artificial sweetener Aspartame, also known as Nutrasweet. Aspartame can cause birth defects, central nervous system disturbances, menstrual difficulties, brain damage in phenylketonurics, seizures, death and a long list of other reactions too numerous to mention. It may cause irreversible health damage over the long term.

Aspartame was approved and claimed safe by a specially appointed FDA Commissioner after his own Board of Inquiry that investigated aspartame claimed it unsafe. This FDA Commissioner later left the FDA to work for the drug company that produces aspartame.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and free glutamate are flavor enhancers considered safe by the FDA. MSG may cause a variety of symptoms, including headaches, itching, high blood pressure and allergic reactions. Free glutamate, the active ingredient in MSG, may cause dizziness, shortness of breath, headaches, drowsiness and even brain damage, especially in children.

Because of bad publicity, food manufacturers found ways to hide MSG in foods they produce. They list the ingredients that contain MSG but not the MSG itself. Or they use free glutamates instead of MSG.

For example, broth may be listed as an ingredient on a label. Broth may contain MSG, but the ingredients in the broth are not required to be listed on the label. Hydrolyzed soy protein, a common ingredient in tuna, is high in free glutamates, but does not contain MSG. The label can legally say no MSG.

Even if the label says “all natural ingredients” and “no preservatives,” the product could contain harmful additives. Almost all packaged foods ─ even so called “health foods” ─ have additives in them, and many are harmful or inadequately tested. The manufacturer hopes you’ll think these are healthy natural products, but if you read the list of ingredients, you’ll find ingredients that are not common food items. If you learn to interpret food labels, you’ll find that many of these ingredients are harmful or of questionable safety.

So, how do you know which foods are safe to eat? Dr. Christine Farlow, in her handy pocket-sized book, FOOD ADDITIVES: A Shopper’s Guide To What’s Safe & What’s Not, now in its 2004 revised edition, makes it easy to identify which additives are harmful and which are not. She classifies 800 commonly used food additives according to safety, whether they may cause allergic reactions and if they are Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

In just seconds, the average person can find out if an additive in the food they’re buying is harmful to their health. It’s clear, concise and easy to use. Make this book your constant grocery shopping companion and you’ll never again wonder about the safety of the ingredients listed on the package. You’ll know.

Dr. Christine H. Farlow, D.C. is a chiropractor, nutritionist and author. She has helped thousands improve their health through nutrition. For more information on food additives and healthy eating, visit http://www.healthyeatingadvisor.com or contact Dr. Farlow.

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Top 9 Cancer-Causing Ingredients To Avoid

By Christine H. Farlow, D.C.

Do you read the ingredients on the label of every item you put in your grocery cart?

Or do you just read what’s jumps out at you on the package? If you’re not reading the ingredients in the tiny print, you’re probably eating additives that are dangerous to your health, chemicals that cause cancer.

You see, the FDA allows manufacturers to add small amounts of cancer-causing substances to the food you eat. So, not only are many of our foods not healthy, they’re unsafe.

Here are some cancer-causing chemicals you’re going to want to watch out for and keep out of the food you eat:

1. Acesulfame-K, also known as Acesulfame-potassium or “Sunnette” is an artificial sweetener. It has not been adequately tested for human consumption. The FDA approved this additive even though the tests done to determine it’s safety did not meet the FDA standards and caused cancer in lab animals, which increases the probability that it will also cause cancer in humans.
2. Artificial colors, or FD&C colors, are mostly are derived from coal tar, which is a carcinogen. Over the years, many FD&C colors have been banned because of their harmful effects. And it is likely that more will be banned in the future. Some of the worst FD&C colors include: Green #3, Blue #1, Blue #2 and Yellow #6 which cause allergic reactions and cancer in lab animals. Red #3 is a carcinogen, which may interfere with nerve transmission in the brain and causes genetic damage. It is banned in cosmetics, but allowed in food, and it’s especially harmful to children.Yellow #5 causes allergic reactions in those sensitive to aspirin. It may be life threatening. Citrus red #2 is a known carcinogen. Its only allowed use is to color orange skins. So, If you use orange zest in some of your recipes, you may be ingesting carcinogens. Any color with “lake” after it means that aluminum has been added to the color to make it insoluble.
3. BHA & BHT are widely used as preservatives, stabilizers and antioxidants. BHA is known to cause cancer in humans. Both BHA and BHT are toxic to the liver and kidneys. BHT may react with other ingested substances to cause the formation of carcinogens. BHT is banned in England.
4. Potassium bromate is used to treat flour to give bread and baked goods a sponge-like quality. It is probably not used in California because it might require a cancer warning on the label. Outside of California, “unbromated” breads do not contain potassium bromate. It is also used in toothpaste, mouth washes and gargles. It is a carcinogen, mutagen and highly toxic. It is banned worldwide, except in the U.S. and Japan .
5. Carrageenan is a seaweed derivative used in a wide variety of foods and cosmetics. In its native form, it has not been classified as a carcinogen, but in it’s degraded or broken down form it has been classified as a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Joanne Tobacman, M.D., University of Iowa assistant professor of clinical internal medicine, and researcher on carrageenan, said “There seems to be enough evidence associating carrageenan with significant gastrointestinal lesions, including malignancies, to avoid ingesting it.” According to Dr. Tobacman, the native carrageenan, after being subjected to stomach acids may be broken down into the degraded form and be a cancer risk. And even if it wasn’t, carrageenan cannot be identified as native or degraded on food labels, so there is no way of knowing if you are ingesting carrageenan, the carcinogen or not.
6. Nitrates and nitrites are found primarily in processed meats. They combine with stomach acids and chemicals in foods to form nitrosamines, which are powerful carcinogens.
7. Olestra has not been shown to cause cancer. However, it robs the body of carotenoids, which are known to have a protective effect against cancer. Studies have shown a 40-50% drop in blood carotenoids after consuming only 3-8 grams of olestra in a day, equivalent to 6-16 chips. It also may causes severe gastrointestinal cramping and diarrhea, which may last for extended periods of time.
8. Propyl gallate is used as an antioxidant in fats, oils, candy and a variety of processed foods. It is a suspected carcinogen and is known to cause kidney, liver and gastrointestinal problems. It can cause allergic reactions in those with asthma and sensitivity to aspirin. It has not been adequately tested.
9. Saccharin, or Sweet ‘N Low, is an artificial sweetener that is known to cause cancer. Because of pressure from the food industry, in 2000, saccharin was removed from the list of cancer-causing chemicals, in spite of the fact that studies still show that it causes cancer in lab animals.

So, how do you know which additives are really safe to eat? Dr. Christine Farlow, in her handy pocket-sized book, FOOD ADDITIVES: A Shopper’s Guide To What’s Safe & What’s Not, now in its 2004 revised edition, makes it easy to identify which additives are harmful and which are not. She classifies 800 commonly used food additives according to safety, whether they may cause allergic reactions and if they are Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

In just seconds, the average person can find out if an additive in the food they’re buying is harmful to their health. It’s clear, concise and easy to use. Make this book your constant grocery shopping companion and you’ll never again wonder about the safety of the ingredients listed on the package. You’ll know.

Dr. Christine H. Farlow, D.C. is a chiropractor, nutritionist and author. She has helped thousands improve their health through nutrition. For more information on food additives and healthy eating, visit http://www.healthyeatingadvisor.com or contact Dr. Farlow.

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

The Healing Power of Cauliflower

Cauliflower is an especially healing autumn food because it is low in calories, high in fiber, and rich in a very special cancer fighting compound called indole-3-carbinol.

This magical component of cauliflower prevents cancer by detoxing the system of the harmful forms of estrogen that result in reproductive cancers and complaints in women.

Researchers are now thinking men can likely use indole-3-carbinol to prevent forms of reproductive cancer, hair loss, and erectile dysfunction that result from these elevated levels of toxic estrogen. The high antioxidant spices added to your favorite cauliflower recipe combined with the olive oil further prevent cancer and reduce inflammation. This side dish will pair well with your favorite chicken, safe seafood, or grassfed beef recipe.

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™