May is the month we honor mothers! Being a mother, I feel it is a tremendous honor, and of the utmost importance to honor the women that have given their energy to raise us. To honor mothers and all women, we will be featuring products all month long, that support women’s health.

Women are complex not only in their emotions, but their physical bodies as well. Because women have a fluctuating hormone cycle, we need to work hard to maintain our mood, energy and well-being during those times.

There are some fundamental nutrients that all women (and men) should be on for proper hormone balance. The first of these is IODINE. Iodine is essential for proper thyroid function, and is a great preventive measure for endocrine based cancers. We just can’t possibly eat enough iodine in our diet to counteract the iodine competitors in our environment. The competing halides (the periodic table halide elements), are: bromine, chlorine and fluoride.

We suck in bromine in car exhaust, so anyone who commutes a lot, or lives in a big city is getting there fair share of bromine from pollution alone. We also get bromine from white flour.

Chlorine is in the water. We absorb it from foods, our showers, our pools, and it is absorbed right through the skin.

Flouride is now being added to the water. We aren’t supposed to ingest fluoride, it is supposed to be removed, it is like eating the plastic bag the bread comes in, along with the bread. The good news is that fluoride is NOT absorbed through the skin, like chlorine, but if you ingest it in your food and water, you now have it in your body. White spots on the teeth are a classic sign of fluoride toxicity.

These halides compete with iodine and bind to the thyroid. The gradual effect of this is to slow down the thyroid. In order to have healthy thyroid function, we need to take iodine to counteract the effects of these other elements that are inherent in our environment. Thyroid health issues are rampant. Many of these can be fixed with a consistent daily dose of iodine. In addition, once your thyroid is properly with iodine, it disinfects your blood, as all of the blood passes through the thyroid every 17 minutes. Iodine is a powerful disinfectant.

Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers definitely need to be conscious of taking iodine. Iodine is significantly tied to the IQ and growth of the developing fetus

In addition to iodine, we are featuring other products to help balance the female hormone cycle, and reduce PMS and menopause symptoms. Those products contain DIM (diindolylmethane). Diindolylmethane is a powerful compound that helps the estrogen pathways in the liver, and is very protective against breast, uterine, prostate and colorectal cancer. The featured products that contain DIM are: Phytobalance II, Estro Flavone, and DIM Detox.

Ladies, we have several other products that are used for various reasons for women’s health, including a great women’s multi vitamin, formulas for PMS and Menopause, and healthy sex drive (Fem Balance, Menovive, Radiant Woman, Ladies Hormone Helper). We also are featuring the minerals to support healthy bone density, which becomes more and more important as we age and the hormones decrease.

May all of you be radiant in health, and may you feel extra special this month, and always. - Rachel