Being a midwife and sometimes a fertility counselor and having studied reproductive anatomy—especially female reproductive anatomy—extensively, I expected to enjoy creating this section. I did, but it was difficult deciding what to include and what to leave out. I did not want a bunch of questionable pictures, either male or female, and I didn’t want to bore you all to death or, as one of my sons remarked years ago, ‘give you more information than you wanted to know ’. I sometimes did that sort of thing at the breakfast table after a night attending an intense labor and birth!
I finally decided to aim for the coverage of very basic anatomy and place major emphasis on wellness details that you may not be aware of, and to provide suggestions and possible solutions from years of experience and study.
A phrase from a childhood book/video/something just popped into my mind. I can’t remember where from?! “Can we fix it? Yes, we can!” I truly believe that! I have seen herbs, essential oils, homeopathics, and a bit of knowledge work miracles so many times. But, of course, I forgot to keep it short in some (most) places, as I usually do! Sorry. The anatomy and possible solution sections of my Foot Zone Course run to many, many pages! Am I willing to share it all? If you are interested, quite possibly.
The Adrenal Glands and That Important Hormone Cortisol
Albert Einstein is reputed to have said that he studied science in order to better ‘understand God’s thoughts’ as He created this wonderful world. As I have studied anatomy and physiology and the healing properties of ‘God’s pharmacy’—for a lifetime—I am, like Einstein, absolutely in awe of the genius of our Creator and of His overwhelming love for each of us!
With plants, in either herb or essential oil form, we have been given wonderful ways to nourish and heal our bodies. I have also been fascinated by and love the study of anatomy (where things are placed in the body) and physiology (what their functions are and why they are where they are)! Placing those little adrenal glands right on top of the kidneys makes perfect, beautiful, harmonious sense! Because of their importance to survival, they are placed with each other in a well-protected spot in the body!
Most of this perhaps too-long article is taken directly from part of what I teach about the Endocrine System during Foot Zone Therapy classes at Butterfly Expressions, LLC in Clifton, Idaho.
An allergy is an inappropriate response by the body to a substance that is not harmful to most people. The immune system, which is supposed to protect us from toxins and pathogens, wrongly identifies a substance as harmful to us and goes into action. The response can be anywhere from mildly annoying to symptoms severe enough to create anaphylactic shock. These types of allergies may begin with only mild symptoms but grow worse with each reaction; they are NOT something that a person typically grows out of.
When I saw this month’s topic I got very excited. Allergies can be devastating and have a nasty effect on trying to live life and enjoy it! I had so many allergies—an unbelievable number and to a wide variety of substances—during my childhood and early adulthood. If it blew on the wind, if it was meant to be consumed in a raw or natural state such as watermelon or nearly every kind of vegetable or fruit, or if it was a drug of any sort—even such things as antibiotics, dental deadening, and mouthwashes—I was going to react to it in some uncomfortable or dangerous way. Oh, the list could go on and on! I spent my life either in misery from one allergy or another or I was sleepy from the allergy pills I was taking. Trips to the dentist’s office became scary for me and for the dentist! Eventually, I even started to react to allergy pills of every variety.
As with all true allergies, the reactions to many of my ‘triggers’ got worse with time—much worse, involving my heart in scary ways!
Who am I today as far as allergies are concerned? I have none and haven’t had for many years! I eat whatever I want. Do you have any idea how enjoyable a piece of watermelon or a raw carrot tastes these days? Or how fun it is to be outdoors. I don’t even worry about bee stings these days! If I feel the slightest itch in my throat or eyes or any other allergic-type reaction I simply go back to the things I know. Many of those things will be talked about in this article.
Side Note: Having had some scary reactions to antibiotics and other types of drugs in the past and having lived so many years without them, I can’t really say for sure whether they are still a problem or not. I suspect those allergies have also gone away. I took 2 antibiotic pills and 1 painkiller a while ago (the first of either in 40 years) after some extensive dental work. No reaction at all!