How to Stay Healthy in the Summer with Fasting

How to Stay Healthy in the Summer with Fasting

Gluten and dairy sensibilities by Queen of the Thrones

How to Stay Healthy in the Summer with Fasting

Written by: Marisol Teijeiro MD (inactive).
Medically reviewed by: Victoria Williams R.H.N.

Est. reading time: 9 minutes.

The hot, beautiful sun, dips in the pool, driving with the top down… Yep, it’s summertime! Can you feel it bursting out everywhere? Of course, you want to put your best foot forward, feel great all summer long and have no worries about INDULGENCE over the coming months. After all, the last thing you want is to be deep into the swing of summer things like pool parties, awesome vacations, and BBQs feeling dragged out, depleted and totally in the doldrums.

How to Remain Healthy All Summer Long?

As with everything, we need balance in our lives. If we INDULGE, it’s important to balance it with DISCIPLINE. Too much of a good thing becomes simply, too much of a good thing. You know it, you’ve been there, and I’m sure you’ve felt it after having too much wine or too many beers by the pool. So let’s work together to AVOID that feeling over the summer and make the most of it! 

This week I want to talk to you about one of my favorite health practices to keep you FEELING GREAT all summer long.

What is Fasting?

Fasting, or intermittent fasting as it’s commonly referred to, is basically restricting your eating to a certain time of the day and only drinking water or tea for the rest of the time. It is typically done by skipping breakfast and eating all your food for the day in an 8-hour window.

Why I LOVE Fasting for Wellness?

Recent mind-blowing research discusses the awesome benefits of fastingbeing a non-drug, non-supplement way to enhance your health (love that!). It improves your metabolism via balancing your day-night cycle, or circadian rhythm. It balances the good and bad bugs in your gut (a.k.a. the microbiome) and so much more! Here is why I love it so dearly:

1. Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? No.

I have found this NOT to be true. Many of us don’t crave breakfast in the morning, we just eat it because it is what we were told we have to. Do you know that you have a self-regulating system in your body that TELLS YOU when you are hungry or not?

Have you ever found yourself forcing down smoothies or oatmeal for breakfast when you weren’t hungry, but you did it because you thought it was the ‘right’ thing to do, then the result was it made your body feel really wrong?

2. Cleanse & Heal While You Sleep.

This is the most optimized time of the day for your body to do this. The minute you BREAK-the-FAST and put food into your mouth, you turn off the healing and the cleaning. Our bodies need a lot of cleaning since we have so much exposure to environmental and emotional toxins. Both have the same impact on our systems, they damage it2. Give your body a break and wait to BREAK-the-FAST.

And don’t forget to wear your Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack for Liver overnight, every night if you can!! It supports your body’s natural cleansing and detox processes via improving antioxidant status3 ,4 and regulating the bowels5. It also helps you fall asleep easier as it calms your body and eases it into the relaxed state6, 7. It also helps to reduce bloating for flat tummy.

Another amazing tool for a great night’s sleep is to wear an eye mask like the one included in the Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Eye Compress Kit as it helps to naturally increase the production of our body’s sleep-regulating hormone, melatonin8!

3. It’s easy!… I like things simple, don’t you?

It’s much simpler to eat larger meals 2 times per day, rather than to have to worry about multiple small, balanced meals, agreed?

 

4. What kind of tea should you drink?

Are you a coffee drinker? Maybe you drink an entire pot of coffee each day! Ditch your coffee for green tea before 4 pm, and rooibos tea any time, all the time.

There is some caffeine in green tea so it’s best to avoid it in the evening so as not to disrupt your beauty sleep! Both green tea and rooibos tea help promote glutathione production in our bodies, our powerhouse detoxifying agent that helps with removing toxins and heavy metals from our bodies.

5. Fasting to improve memory & neurological inflammation9

With an ever-increasing aging population, dementia, Alzheimer’s and all types of neurological conditions can be difficult to treat. Small lifestyle changes, like fasting, can be a major help.

6. All religious groups have some sort of fasting practice.

Fasting is very common and integral to human evolution. In the animal kingdom, they do it too. Ramadan and Lent are two such examples, so is fasting for Buddhist monks. The saying goes, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Everyone gets an epiphany when they feel clean. Your body is simply cleaner when you are eating less food.

7. I was doing it anyway!

I gave up forcing myself to eat breakfast just because I thought it was the ‘right’ thing to do. I began listening to my body and I started to only eat when I was hungry. Makes total sense, right?

Fasting improves memory and reduces neurological inflammation according to Queen of the Thrones

How to Intermittent Fast in 5 steps

1. BREAK-the-FAST

Ever wonder where the word breakfast comes from? It’s because it is the first meal of the day, after breaking your nightly fast. You want to BREAK-the-FAST only after observing 12-16 hours without food from the last time you ate the night before.

If you are the type of person who is very hungry in the morning and functions better this way, then the other way to do this is to invert it. Eat breakfast, and then within an 8 hour period eat another meal. Then stay free from food for 12-16 hours (skipping dinner).

During the free-from-food time, make sure to drink your green tea, rooibos tea and lots of water to fill you up and flush your body.

Whether you fast at night or in the morning is up to you, this just depends on if you’re a morning glory or a night owl. Do this every day, 5 days a week, or 2-3 days a week. It all depends on your goals. If you want BIG changes then you need to make BIG commitments. Small changes, small commitments.

2. Eat a healthy, balanced, natural diet.

This is what everyone wants to know with fasting. I say, eat a healthy, balanced, NATURAL diet. Ideally less to no grains, mainly vegetables, hearty protein, and healthy fats. Keep fruits to a minimum and especially avoid combining them with protein. Don’t restrict your portion sizes of the healthy vegetables, have as many as you like. Try to avoid snacking as it is best to simply eat your meals and take time in between to digest.

Drinking Queen of the Thrones Green Tea helps help to increase natural glutathione

3. Drink Green Tea.

Enjoy as much green tea as you like before 4 pm, 2-4 cups or more if you can handle it. Intersperse with WATER, as it does contain some caffeine and can be dehydrating. After 4 pm, or any time of the day, drink rooibos tea. Both rooibos and green tea help with increasing natural glutathione in the body10, our master detoxification agent.

Green tea has anti-stress effects via the component L-theanine11. It helps to calm you down, yet still keeps you alert and improves concentration12. During the fasting state, green tea helps to keep your blood sugar balanced and improves your metabolic profile13.  It also improves your gut health and prevents bad gut bacteria14,15! It’s really a no-brainer!

4. Exercise in the morning after waking up.

After gulping down your glorious green tea, go do a workout. 1 hour, 10 minutes, just get your body moving!

Tabata, pilates, yoga, running, or simply running fast up and down your stairs! The goal is to get your blood flowing, your muscles moving and your diaphragm pumping!

Studies show that exercising during the fasting state will help to reduce hunger, make you feel more satiated and full, and will help you become more disciplined with your eating habits versus excessively indulgent16.

Queen of the Thrones recommends yoga and exercising for a better health
Queen of the Thrones Castor Oil Liver pack is the best compliment for your summer fasting

5. Do the Castor Oil Pack for Liver practice.

How could I end this without reminding you about the Original Organic Castor Oil Pack for Liver practice? When you undertake any new strategy for your health if you combine it with the regular practice of Castor Oil Packs, everything just works that much better. It’s the old school way to 10x enhance your intermittent fasting.

So there you have it, folks! Fasting is one of the easiest ways to supercharge your health over this summer season. Summertime is quite often a time for INDULGENCE, and sometimes these indulgences might not have the best effect on your beautiful temple. So sprinkle in some DISCIPLINE with a fasting practice using these 5 tips and it’ll be smooth sailing, all summer long.

Are you a practitioner, health coach or wellness influencer? If you’re interested in recommending our easy-to-use tools and practically applying them in your health and wellness professional practice, in clinic, or online with the people you serve, you can join now!

Click here for references
  1. Patterson RE1,2, Sears DD1,2,3. Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting. Annu Rev Nutr. 2017 Aug 21;37:371-393. doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064634. Epub 2017 Jul 17.
  2. Habib Yaribeygi,1 Yunes Panahi,*,2 Hedayat Sahraei,1 Thomas P. Johnston,3 andAmirhossein Sahebkar4 The impact of stress on body function: A review Published online 2017 Jul 21. doi: 10.17179/excli2017-480 PMID: 28900385
  3. Holm TBrøgger-Jensen MRJohnson LKessel L.Glutathione preservation during storage of rat lenses in optisol-GS and castor oil. PLoS One. 2013 Nov 19;8(11):e79620. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079620. eCollection 2013.
  4. Kennedy D and Keaton D. Evidence for the Topical Application of Castor oil: A Systematic Review. CCNM. Presentation 2010 AANP
  5. Arslan GG, Eşer I. An examination of the effect of castor oil packs on constipation in the elderly. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2011 Feb;17(1):58-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.04.004. Epub 2010 May 18.
  6. Walker SC1, Trotter PD2, Swaney WT2, Marshall A3, Mcglone FP4. C-tactile afferents: Cutaneous mediators of oxytocin release during affiliative tactile interactions? Neuropeptides. 2017 Aug;64:27-38. doi: 10.1016/j.npep.2017.01.001. Epub 2017 Jan 19.
  7. Rolls ET et all. Representations of pleasant and painful touch in the human orbitofrontal and cingulate cortices. Cereb Cortex. 2003 Mar;13(3):308-17. ( Dopamine release, Limbic System of brain- Fatty Meal Satisfaction)
  8. Rong-fang HuXiao-ying JiangYi-ming ZengXiao-yang ChenYou-hua Zhang. Effects of earplugs and eye masks on nocturnal sleep, melatonin and cortisol in a simulated intensive care unit environment. Published online 2010 Apr 18. doi: 10.1186/cc8965
  9. Vasconcelos AR, Yshii LM, Viel TA, et al. Intermittent fasting attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced neuroinflammation  and memory impairment.  J Neuroinflammation. 2014 May 6;11:85. 
  10. Arpita Basu,* Nancy M. Betts,* Afework Mulugeta,* Capella Tong,* Emily Newman,* and Timothy J. Lyons. Green tea supplementation increases glutathione and plasma antioxidant capacity in adults with the metabolic syndrome Nutr Res. 2013 Mar; 33(3): 180–187.
  11. Unno K1,2, Yamada H3, Iguchi K1, Ishida H4, Iwao Y5, Morita A6, Nakamura Y2. Anti-stress Effect of Green Tea with Lowered Caffeine on Humans: A Pilot Study. Biol Pharm Bull. 2017;40(6):902-909. doi: 10.1248/bpb.b17-00141.
  12. Giesbrecht T1, Rycroft JA, Rowson MJ, De Bruin EA. The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improves cognitive performance and increases subjective alertness. Nutr Neurosci. 2010 Dec;13(6):283-90. doi: 10.1179/147683010X1261146076484
  13. Dostal AM1, Arikawa A2, Espejo L3, Bedell S3, Kurzer MS3, Stendell-Hollis NR4. Green tea extract and catechol-O-methyltransferase genotype modify the post-prandial serum insulin response in a randomised trial of overweight and obese post-menopausal women. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2017 Apr;30(2):166-176. doi: 10.1111/jhn.12408. Epub 2016 Sep 7.
  14. Singh DP1, Singh J2, Boparai RK3, Zhu J4, Mantri S2, Khare P1, Khardori R5, Kondepudi KK6, Chopra K7, Bishnoi M8. Isomalto-oligosaccharides, a prebiotic, functionally augment green tea effects against high fat diet-induced metabolic alterations via preventing gut dysbacteriosis in mice. Pharmacol Res. 2017 Jun 28;123:103-113. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2017.06.015. [Epub ahead of print]
  15. Lee LS1, Choi JH, Sung MJ, Hur JY, Hur HJ, Park JD, Kim YC, Gu EJ, Min B, Kim HJ. Green tea changes serum and liver metabolomic profiles in mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 Apr;59(4):784-94. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201400470. Epub 2015 Mar 3.
  16. Surabhi Bhutani,1 Monica C Klempel,1 Cynthia M Kroeger,1 Eleanor Aggour,1 Yolian Calvo,1 John F Trepanowski,1 Kristin K Hoddy,1 and Krista A Varady1 Effect of exercising while fasting on eating behaviors and food intake. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013; 10: 50.
Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers, are those of the respective authors or distributors. Neither Queen of the Thrones® nor any third-party provider of information guarantees the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content. This communication does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Information provided does not replace the advice of your health care practitioner. If you happen to purchase anything we promote, in this or any of our communications, it’s likely Queen of the Thrones® will receive some kind of affiliate compensation. Still, we only promote content and products that we truly believe in and share with our friends, family and patients. If you ever have a concern with anything we share, please let us know at care@queenofthethrones.com. We want to make sure we are always serving Our Queendom at the highest level.

Best Lab Tests to Help Support Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Best Lab Tests to Help Support Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Packs best alternative in the market

Best Lab Tests to Help Support Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Written by: Marisol Teijeiro N.D. (inactive).
Medically reviewed by: Victoria Williams R.H.N.

Est. reading time: 11 minutes.

So you’ve been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Now what??

Why is IBS a Functional Bowel Movement Disorder?

Irritable bowel syndrome is classified as a chronic functional bowel movement disorder because it is diagnosed by the symptoms that you are experiencing. These are typically abdominal pain, gas, bloating, and changes in bowel movements, often diarrhea or constipation1. Other digestive diseases that can be seen by colonoscopy or confirmed by lab tests are often excluded before IBS is diagnosed.

Why Can’t Labs Tell Me That I Have IBS?

The labs that most conventional doctors use at this moment in time don’t give a definitive diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome. This is because it is a complex interplay of all the processes in our body. It is most often a reaction to stress in the body, whether emotional or physical, that creates an imbalance in the immune, nervous and hormonal systems.

This compounds and affects the natural digestive processes of the gut, causing inflammation, irritation, dysbiosis and lack of digestive factors that all contribute to and aggravate our symptoms2.

The big point here is that it is NOT just one thing causing IBS, and to support it you need to have a MULTIFACTORIAL approach or it just won’t work.

Why should I test for IBS?

Since irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic, long term disease, being proactive in this way helps to stay on top of things and avoid the frustration and suffering of living with uncomfortable symptoms.

It is important to do tests to rule out other conditions; when the diagnosis is clear, it is easier to direct and guide treatment and to track improvements.

Are There Functional Tests for IBS?

Yes, there are things that can be tested, but again, it is a whole-body approach.

Stress Hormone Testing Cortisol and ACTH

Research demonstrates that people with irritable bowel syndrome, mainly women, with onset at a younger age3, will have it for the greater part of their lives.

They typically also have an imbalance in their nervous system and stress response.

Stress markers of cortisol in the blood can be tested and show a difference between men and women as well as between healthy and unhealthy subjects4.

However, this is a costly test and is not common protocol for irritable bowel syndrome.

Salivary or urine cortisol markers can also be used to measure this. Research demonstrates that there is a significant difference in cortisol (stress hormone) markers in the morning and evening, and in general there was a higher spike in the a.m. and lower in the evening. The pattern of circadian rhythm night and day curve was still maintained5.These tests  are offered on YourLabWork.com.Sleep is often something that is a complaint for women with IBS and there seems to be a difference between the type, whether it be IBS-D (diarrhea predominant) or IBS-C (constipation predominant)6. Sleep is something that normally balances our regulatory systems as it helps to reset the immune, nervous and hormonal systems.Wearing an eye compress to bed at night may help support natural melatonin production, without having to take a supplement7. Would you love to have your own sleep compress so you can sleep better naturally?The Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Eye Compress Kit uses Castor Oil applied around the eyes, eyelashes and eyebrows, covered by a sleep mask. This may help relax your system so you can get a good night’s sleep.

Inflammation Testing in IBS

Inflammation is a key component in IBS. Inflammation may be sourced from food sensitivities, allergies and intolerances, or choices of food, such as fermented foods that have high levels of histamine and act as an irritant to the gut. Inflammation is a root cause of all diseases and when there is imbalance in any system there is always inflammation.

Ferritin, the storage molecule for iron can also be a key indicator of acute inflammation. It is important to test in combination with a complete blood count (CBC) as well as an iron panel to make sure you rule out any other reasons for an elevated level of ferritin.

There are certain key markers that are indicative of inflammation. Firstly, high sensitivity C reactive protein (HS-CRP). This marker is not often tested, however, levels have been noted to be higher in those with irritable bowel syndrome as compared to the healthy population8.

Cholesterol is also one of the markers of inflammation.

A complete blood count (CBC) is always important to do as well, because it demonstrates a variety of markers. With regards to inflammation, eosinophils are a marker of allergy and when they are elevated it’s an indicator that there is elevated histamines in the body10.

It’s most commonly correlated to parasite infection, which is something to be considered in irritable bowel syndrome, since the onset of IBS can be due to a gastrointestinal infection11.

Food sensitivity testing is in a class of its own. It can demonstrate inflammatory processes in the gut as well as immune reactivity. When aiming to fix an irritable bowel, it’s important to understand that there are so many things that can be irritating it.

Food is the biggest irritator and since we eat food every day, it’s very important to address this to reduce inflammation.

There are different tests for IBS, the food sensitivity testing in this lab in the US is popular to help measure your IgG reactivity levels.

Can You Test for Dysbiosis and The Microbiome?

You absolutely can, and uric acid (a key indicator of gout) is an excellent marker to use for dysbiosis or an unhealthy microbiome12. Uric acid is a good indicator of microbiome health because it shows improper metabolism of protein, typically due to unhealthy gut bugs.Another test is the Organic Acids Test (OAT), which tracks overgrowth of yeasts as well as possible clostridium infections which aids in the support of people with IBS.There are also recent novel tests that will actually classify the types of healthy v.s. pathogenic microbes in your microbiome. This research is in its infancy.

What Should You Test?

Here is a “dream” test list, so you can rule out other sources of pain in the intestine:

  • BC
  • Serum Electrolytes
  • Liver Enzymes, ALT, AST, ALP GGT
  • Urobilinogen, direct and indirect
  • Blood Lipids/Cholesterol
  • Albumin
  • eGFR and Creatinine
  • HS-CRP
  • Uric acid and urea
  • Iron panel including Ferritin
  • TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Antibodies for Thyroid
  • Dutch Hormone Test
  • Food Sensitivity Testing
  • OAT Test

What to Do While You’re Waiting to Get Your Tests Done?

Start working on a solution!

Start a new self-care routine so you can begin to work on the stress component by balancing your body’s stress hormones with Castor Oil Packs. They may help with inflammation, helping the body to cleanse, get the bowels moving and support pain in the gut. The Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack for Liver Kit is made with top quality organic cotton and an easy less-mess outer layer.

 

In addition, you can add the simple step to your sleep ritual by wearing an eye compress to bed. As mentioned before, this may help support the body’s natural melatonin production, improving quality of sleep. Get your Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Eye Compress Kit today.

You see, adding these two simple steps to your self-care routine may help you support your stress, address the inflammation, cleanse, poop and sleep then you will be able to get a clearer picture of what is going on.

Peek After You Poo

Another simple step you can do is start peeking at your poo. It’s important for you to see what’s going on in your toilet bowl and the best part? You’ll have a better idea of what to tell your doctor.

Because let’s face it, lab tests start to get quite expensive. For the full panel above you could be looking at anywhere between $1500-$2500 per shot, so why not learn what your poo is saying about you? It is an easy daily at-home test, totally free!

Plus, use Queen of the Thrones® Eau de Throne® Organic Essential Oil Spray the ‘After You Poo Parfum to get into the habit of peeking after you poo and allow the blend of organic essential oils to ensure that you will never be embarrassed again for the smell you leave behind!

Start today! Don’t wait for tomorrow to do what you can do today. This is your health, your life, your body and it’s time for you to know and understand what is going on.

Are you a practitioner, health coach or wellness influencer? If you’re interested in recommending our easy-to-use tools and practically applying them in your health and wellness professional practice, in clinic, or online with the people you serve, you can join now!

Click here for references

1. Bandar Mohammed Bardisi, Abdulaziz Kamal H. Halawani, Hassan Kamal H. Halawani, Aseel Hassan Alharbi, Nesma Saleh Turkostany, Taraji Saeed Alrehaili, Aisha Ahmad Radin, and Nasser Moqbil Alkhuzea. Efficiency of diet change in irritable bowel syndrome. J Family Med Prim Care. 2018 Sep-Oct; 7(5): 946–951.PMID: 30598938

2. Emanuele Sinagra, Gaetano Cristian Morreale, Ghazaleh Mohammadian, Giorgio Fusco, Valentina Guarnotta, Giovanni Tomasello, Francesco Cappello, Francesca Rossi, Georgios Amvrosiadis, and Dario Raimondo New therapeutic perspectives in irritable bowel syndrome: Targeting low-grade inflammation, immuno-neuroendocrine axis, motility, secretion and beyond. World J Gastroenterol. 2017 Sep 28; 23(36): 6593–6627.PMID: 29085207

3. Ju Yup Lee and Kyung Sik Park. Gender Difference in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Korean J Gastroenterol. 2018 Oct 25;72(4):163-169. doi: 10.4166/kjg.2018.72.4.163.

4. Elizabeth J. Videlock,a Wendy Shih,b Mopelola Adeyemo,a Swapna Mahurkar-Joshi,a Angela P. Presson,c Christos Polytarchou,a Melissa Alberto,a Dimitrios Iliopoulos,a Emeran A. Mayer,a and Lin Changa,* The effect of sex and irritable bowel syndrome on HPA axis response and peripheral glucocorticoid receptor expression.Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2016 Jul; 69: 67–76.PMID: 27038676

5. Patacchioli FR1, Angelucci L, Dellerba G, Monnazzi P, Leri O. Actual stress, psychopathology and salivary cortisol levels in the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). J Endocrinol Invest. 2001 Mar;24(3):173-7.

6. Robert L. Burr, MSEE, PhD, Research Professor,a Monica E. Jarrett, PhD, Professor,a Kevin C. Cain, PhD, Research Scientist,b Sang-Eun Jun, MS, Doctoral Candidate,a and Margaret M. Heitkemper, PhD, Professora. Catecholamine and Cortisol Levels during Sleep in Women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2009 Nov; 21(11): 1148–1e97.PMID: 19573081

7. Rong-fang Hu, Xiao-ying Jiang, Yi-ming Zeng, Xiao-yang Chen, and You-hua Zhang. Effects of earplugs and eye masks on nocturnal sleep, melatonin and cortisol in a simulated intensive care unit environment. Crit Care. 2010; 14(2): R66.PMID: 20398302

8. Keren Hod, MSc,1,2 Tamar Ringel-Kulka, MD MPH,3 Christopher F. Martin, MSPH,2 Nitsan Maharshak, MD,4 and Yehuda Ringel, MD*,2 High Sensitive C – Reactive Protein as a Marker for Inflammation in Irritable Bowel Syndrome.J Clin Gastroenterol. 2016 Mar; 50(3): 227–232.PMID: 25930973

9. Tall AR, Yvan-Charvet L. Cholesterol, inflammation and innate immunity. Nat Rev Immunol. 2015 Feb;15(2):104-16. doi: 10.1038/nri3793.

10. Church MK1. Allergy, Histamine and Antihistamines. Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2017;241:321-331. doi: 10.1007/164_2016_85.

11. Wouters MM, Van Wanrooy S, Nguyen A, Dooley J, Aguilera-Lizarraga J, Van Brabant W, Garcia-Perez JE, Van Oudenhove L, Van Ranst M, Verhaegen J, Liston A, Boeckxstaens G Psychological comorbidity increases the risk for postinfectious IBS partly by enhanced susceptibility to develop infectious gastroenteritis. Gut. 2016 Aug;65(8):1279-88. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2015-309460. Epub 2015 Jun 12.

12 Zhuang Guo, Jiachao Zhang,  Zhanli Wang, Kay Ying Ang, Shi Huang, Qiangchuan Hou, Xiaoquan Su, Jianmin Qiao, Yi Zheng, Lifeng Wang, Eileen Koh, Ho Danliang, Jian Xu, Yuan Kun Lee, and Heping Zhang, Intestinal Microbiota Distinguish Gout Patients from Healthy Humans Sci Rep. 2016; 6: 20602.PMID: 26852926 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4757479/

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers, are those of the respective authors or distributors. Neither Queen of the Thrones® nor any third-party provider of information guarantees the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content. This communication does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Information provided does not replace the advice of your health care practitioner. If you happen to purchase anything we promote, in this or any of our communications, it’s likely Queen of the Thrones® will receive some kind of affiliate compensation. Still, we only promote content and products that we truly believe in and share with our friends, family and patients. If you ever have a concern with anything we share, please let us know at care@queenofthethrones.com. We want to make sure we are always serving Our Queendom at the highest level.

Do Castor Oil Packs Really Work?

Do Castor Oil Packs Really Work?

Discover with Queen of the Thrones How do Castor Oil Packs Work

Do Castor Oil Packs Really Work?

Written by: Marisol Teijeiro N.D. (inactive)
Medically reviewed by: Victoria Williams R.H.N.

Est. reading time: 16 minutes.

They Are Making a Comeback!

Castor Oil Packs are a legendary self-care practice that date back to ancient times. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda, Ancient Egyptians and Mediterraneans all used Castor Oil for its rejuvenating wellness and beauty aspects.

It is even mentioned in the Bible as the oil that anoints! The plant has been given the special name of the ‘Palm of Christ’. The oil and the packs have been around forever and will forever be a part of the alternative and natural wellness world.

Queen of the Thrones Castor Oil Ricinus Plant

How do Castor Oil Packs Work?

1. Castor Oil Packs May Help you Feel Good and Relax

Who doesn’t want to be relaxed, feel good and feel pleasure? Like the pleasure you feel after an amazing  fatty meal1, right?

Castor Oil Packs are well known to help relax the body. By applying the pack on the body, most commonly the liver area underneath the right ribcage, you stimulate the sensory receptors in the human hairy skin. This sends a message via the somatovisceral reflexes, the fancy term for the sensory receptors on the skin, to the organs inside the body.

The corresponding organs that may be affected are the liver, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, kidney and adrenals. Because the stimulus is soft to the touch and pleasurable2, it moves your body into the relaxed state from the stressed state.

Studies show that stimulation of the skin lights up the areas of the brain exactly as they do with pleasurable, dopamine-stimulating fatty meals. Big difference though, the Castor Oil Pack for Liver is much gentler than an excessively fatty meal!

I call these packs the escape button for the nervous system, like on your computer, and the science of physioneurology proves it.

Castor Oil Packs take your body from frazzled to fine in a matter of minutes, all by naturally working with your physiology to make it happen. 

They are great because they are non-invasive and so beneficial to overall wellness. You could say it’s almost like giving your body a great big hug3 and you get the same benefits from it.

Because of this aspect you want to make sure that you are using good quality, luxurious, organic cotton flannel that is soft to the touch. The sensory receptors identify the soft sensation as pleasurable which promotes the relaxed state. The pack is just as important as the oil. If you use the oil on your body without the pack, you will lose the majority of the relaxation benefit.

Queen of the Thrones Castor Oil Pack Kit diagram

Why does being relaxed matters?

When you are relaxed you can heal, your digestive system produces all of its juices with ease, like digestive enzymes, bile, hydrochloric acid and immune factors4. Most important is that your so called “leaky gut” is a response to living in a stressed-out state. In the relaxed state, stimulated by a Castor Oil Pack, you regain your gut integrity5 6 7.

This means that all the supplements and organic food that you are taking, may absorb even better if you are using Castor Oil Packs. They help support digestion so that all the pills and potions you take will help supercharge your life.

In the relaxed state is also where your body can cleanse, detox and simply clean up the junk that is in your system. When your body is in the stressed state, all of these functions go on maintenance mode instead of enhanced mode. Move your body into the relaxed state with a Castor Oil Pack and you have the recipe for successful cleansing and detox.

A cool practical application of these Castor Oil Packs that I have seen in practice, is for health nuts just like me that love to do regular cleanses. 

When you do these packs during a cleanse, you may AVOID the dreaded cleansing symptoms like headaches, skin irritation, moodiness, joint/muscle aches and pains. The mechanism of action here is this, when you are stressed and running away from say, a tiger who is going to eat you, your blood is flowing to the extremities and to your brain.

Similarly, if you do a cleanse while in the stressed state, the toxins that you are trying to eliminate from your body will flow to your extremities, causing aches and pains, and to your brain, giving you headaches and moodiness.

It’s physiology 101, in the stressed state your blood hemodynamics feed the extremities to get you away from the predator to survive, in the relaxed state your blood flows to your internal organs allowing you to digest, cleanse and reset. If you want to supercharge your cleanses and make it easy on you and those around you, ALWAYS do a Castor Oil Pack for support.

Even better, retraining your nervous system daily to switch into the relaxed state helps you to optimize your life, in general, since you will become more resilient to stress of all types. These days we need it. So make Queen of the Thrones Castor Oil Packs® a daily self-care ritual for life. You won’t want to stop.

2. Castor Oil May Help With Pain & Inflammation

Where there is inflammation; there is sickness, toxicity and overall distress in the body.

Let’s face it, as humans we run from pain and move towards pleasure. How does the Castor Oil Pack stimulate pleasure and help balance inflammation at the same time?

The chemical structure of ricinoleic acid, the main component of this ‘magical’ Castor Oil, is similar in structure to prostaglandins in our bodies that reduce inflammation. To put this into context, when you take a fish oil supplement, you take it because it provides you with these prostaglandins that may help reduce inflammation all over your body.

Castor Oil is similar, although we don’t take it orally for this effect, we use it as a pack on our bodies to help support inflammation.

A study shows that it may help reduce Substance P in the body8 ,that is a chemical messenger involved in the sensation of pain.

Inflammation in your body equals retention of water. Inflammation is basically a fire that burns in the body with the purpose of creating destruction in order to recreate, renew and heal. Inflammation is purposeful and it can be healthy. However, many cases of inflammation get out of control and result only in destruction.

Firefighters use water to control a fire, so does your body. With an inflamed intestine and gut, the body will hold water in the abdominal area to decrease the irritation. This leads to excess weight in your abdomen, the so called central obesity or in layman’s terms, the “beer belly”.

Castor Oil Packs may help balance inflammation in the abdomen, so that you can work towards that flat belly you are dreaming of.

3. Castor Oil May Help Preserve Your Master Cleansing Agent – Glutathione

If you haven’t heard of glutathione, this is what you need to know. Glutathione is a powerhouse molecule that pulls and helps with elimination of most (if not all), if not all, toxic substances from the body including the dreaded heavy metals.

 Glutathione is worth its weight in gold and it is priceless for a healthy body. The problem is that most of us are running on empty. We have used up our stores of glutathione because we have been bombarded with chemicals and pesticides of all types since the industrial revolution in the early 1900s.

Glutathione is also difficult to recycle naturally in our bodies and there are very few sources from our food. Some food sources are whey protein (which I don’t prefer because it can be mucous-forming) or rooibos tea, which I personally love and always enjoy drinking on cleanses.

You can also take glutathione supplementally, via intravenous (IV) infusion or oral capsules. The latter of these isn’t necessarily the best absorbed and there is controversy about whether or not it is worth it to take glutathione orally.

Enter Castor Oil! A recent research study demonstrated that glutathione was increased in rat ocular lenses when they were placed in Castor Oil, greater than in the ocular lenses placed in actual glutathione9 solution! Amazing, right?

We’ve known for eons that Castor Oil Packs aided in cleansing and detoxification but we weren’t sure exactly why. This eludes to the benefits of Castor Oil far beyond what we comprehended. This mystical oil is still surprising us and I’d bet there is more to come.

4. Castor Oil Packs May Help You Poo

We all love a great poo. In fact there is nothing more pleasurable than poo, well perhaps a great orgasm! When we don’t poo frequently enough, we are recirculating in our bodies the junk that needs to come out. This builds our toxic load and predisposes us to problems like excess cholesterol, hormone imbalances and much more.

Castor Oil has been shown to stimulate smooth muscle contraction via the prostaglandin EP3 receptors of the body10. Smooth muscle is what the intestines and guts are composed of, as is the uterus.

One caution: Do not use Castor Oil Packs or Castor Oil while pregnant. It is unknown but it could possibly cause movement of the smooth muscle of the uterus, enough to terminate the pregnancy. Work with your knowledgeable practitioner on this one.

Cleanliness is next to godliness and keeping your bowels moving and regular keeps you happier, healthier and in tune with your body. Instead of using laxatives, a Castor Oil Pack may help! A study done in an old age home shows that it may work just as well, and is a lot gentler on your system11.

5. Castor Oil May Support a Balanced Microbiome, Happy Gut, and Biofilm Breakdown

Having a healthy microbiome has massive implications for your overall health. Benefits include:

– Balanced mood

– Good bowel movements

– Reduced abdominal pain including bloating and gas

– Reduced physical inflammation

– Improvement of auto-immune and hormonal problems

And the list goes on and on. A healthy microbiome is the one major determinant of your overall health.

Microbiome representation by Queen of the Thrones

Probiotics vs Conbiotics

A very common issue for many people is overpopulation of bad gut bugs, or as I call them, “conbiotics”. They are con artists that take up residency in your gut and steal space from the good guys known as “probiotics”.

Probiotics do great things for your body. They produce B vitamins and byproducts like butyrate which help to keep the gut really healthy.

The conbiotics just wreak havoc. They can produce a protective layer called biofilm to keep them from being terminated. Biofilm can be so strong that it is almost impossible to kill off these conbiotics. If you are able to break down the biofilm then you have a much better chance of getting them out of your body and restoring the peace.

Castor Oil is one of very few natural substances that may help break down this barrier,  along with chemical biofilm breakers like sodium hypochlorite12. The probiotics you are taking may actually work better and provide you with super health if you are able to get rid of biofilm in your gut. Wow, you save money and feel better faster!

Now that you know the potential positives of practicing a Castor Oil Pack regularly, it just makes sense to do it. These are all things that many of us are spending thousands of dollars to achieve. The Castor Oil Pack may help enhance all of the treatments, supplements and self-care tools that you are currently using. It’s your best next step to wellness.

Castor Oil Pack FAQs

“1. How does Castor Oil get through the skin?

The active component of Castor Oil is ricinoleic acid. Castor Oil is composed approximately of 75-85% of this fatty acid. It has a molecular weight of 298 daltons. In dermatological medicine there is what is called the 500 Dalton Rule. Substances that are below 500 daltons can permeate through the lower layer of the epidermis, which is the top layer of the skin. It may then go deeper, into the dermis, that contains the blood and lymphatic vessels.

These are the superhighways of the body, transporting medicinal substances like Castor Oil into the body. Compression also helps to put tension on the skin, facilitating its deep penetration. So using the pack is a very important part of the practice.

2. Do you need to use heat?

Heat isn’t necessary. Used as a modality in natural medicine, heat slows things down, so depending on your bowel function you can use it appropriately. If you go to the bathroom too much, adding heat may help to slow things down. If you don’t go enough, let your own natural body heat do the job. If you have your period, heat may help to relax the uterine spasms. Heat has been shown to only speed up the elimination of metabolites and not the rate of liver detoxification13.

 

3. Should I use Castor Oil Packs during my period?

Yes, you can! In fact, it may help with reduction of pain and cramping associated with your period. The concern was that the Castor Oil Pack would make you bleed more. This is not the case, you will bleed what you have to bleed independent of the pack. However, if it’s your first time EVER doing a Castor Oil Pack, wait until your period is over. After regular usage there is no issue doing it during your period.

 

4. Why Castor Oil Packs are so messy?

“I don’t want to do them”! You no longer have this excuse my friends. That’s exactly why I created the Queen of the Thrones®️ Castor Oil Pack for Liver, to make it a simple 2-step process instead of a 12 step ordeal. The Queen of the Thrones®️ Castor Oil Pack attaches onto your body for ease of use, and the outer “less mess” layer makes them less messy than the traditional way. Eventually your pack will leak, so always wear an old T-shirt overtop. 

 

5. How do I wash my Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack?

Before 1st use, you may want to wash your new pack as recent research from the National Institute of Health shows that even organic materials may contain traces of chemicals via packaging, transportation and warehousing17. But luckily, washing was shown to significantly reduce or even eliminate these chemicals completely.

It’s like when you buy your produce, you always wash it first, right? Even if it’s organic! Same rule should apply to the clothing and fabrics you place on your body. This is an unwritten rule, especially for people with extra sensitive skin – trace chemical residues may cause mild reactions.

A new pack can be hand washed or machine washed with natural detergent and laid flat to dry. However, once you have started adding oil to your pack, it’s best NOT to wash it. Washing an oily pack may lead to oil sticking to the outer “less mess” layer of the pack, making it messier and decreasing its natural lifecycle.

 

6. How often do I need to replace my Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack?

Things don’t last forever, but in general, with daily usage your pack should last 2-3 months. For those who care for it well or use less frequently, longer.

 

7. When is the best time to do the Castor Oil Packs?

There really is no best time, but it is best to do it DAILY! Before bed is ideal because they may help relax your body and promote an amazing sleep.

 

8. How long do I wear my Queen of The Thrones® Castor Oil Packs for?

Wear your Castor Oil Pack for a minimum of 1 hour each day, or ideally overnight.

 

9. What kind of material should I use for my Castor Oil Pack?

Using organic cotton, wool or linen for the side that touches your skin is ideal. Otherwise materials may contain brominated flame retardants that are hormone14, nervous and immune system disrupting15 16. The Queen of The Thrones® Castor Oil Pack is made with organic cotton and an outer less mess layer that is thermally bonded (a cleaner alternative to chemical bonding) to a middle layer of organic cotton.

 

10. Why Should I buy my Castor Oil in a glass bottle and organic?

Castor Oil is a carrier substance. In a plastic bottle, Castor Oil may grab onto the chemicals in plastic and bring them into your body. All oils should be in a glass bottle if you are using them into your body. Organic is simply better because it is produced cleaner and has had less exposure to chemicals and pesticides.

 

11. How much Castor Oil do I use per application?

Always start fresh and apply 1 tbsp of Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil in the center of the pack with each use.

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Click here for references

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2 Rolls ET, O’Doherty J, Kringelbach ML, Francis S, Bowtell R, McGlone F. Representations of pleasant and painful touch in the human orbitofrontal and cingulate cortices. Cereb Cortex. 2003 Mar;13(3):308-17.

3 Löken LS, Wessberg J, Morrison I, McGlone F, Olausson H. Coding of pleasant touch by unmyelinated afferents in humans. Nat Neurosci. 2009 May;12(5):547-8. Epub 2009 Apr 12.

4 Grady H. Immunomodulation through castor oil packs. The Journal of Naturopathic Medicine. Volume 7 Jan 1 1998; 7(1): 84-9

5 Snoek SA, Verstege MI, Boeckxstaens GE, van den Wijngaard RM, de Jonge WJ The enteric nervous system as a regulator of intestinal epithelial barrier function in health and disease. Expert RevGastroenterol Hepatol. 2010 Oct;4(5):637-51.

6 Keita AV, Söderholm JD. The intestinal barrier and its regulation by neuroimmune factors.Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2010 Jul;22(7):718-33. Epub 2010 Apr 9.

7 Kraneveld AD, Rijnierse A, Nijkamp FP, Garssen J.Neuro-immune interactions in inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome: future therapeutic targets. Eur J Pharmacol. 2008 May 13;585(2-3):361-74. Epub 2008 Mar 18.

8 Vieira C et al. .Effect of ricinoleic acid in acute and subchronic experimental models of inflammation. Mediators Inflamm. 2000;9(5):223-8

9 Holm T1, Brøgger-Jensen MR, Johnson L, Kessel L. Glutathione preservation during storage of rat lenses in optisol-GS and castor oil. PLoS One. 2013 Nov 19;8(11):e79620. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079620. eCollection 2013.

10 Tunaru S1, Althoff TF, Nüsing RM, Diener M, Offermanns S. Castor oil induces laxation and uterus contraction via ricinoleic acid activating prostaglandin EP3 receptors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 5;109(23):9179-84. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1201627109. Epub 2012 May 21.

11 Arslan GG, Eşer I. An examination of the effect of castor oil packs on constipation in the elderly. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2011 Feb;17(1):58-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.04.004. Epub 2010 May 18.

12 Badaró MM1, Salles MM1, Leite VMF1, Arruda CNF1, Oliveira VC1, Nascimento CD1, Souza RF1, Paranhos HFO1, Silva-Lovato CH1. Clinical trial for evaluation of Ricinus communis and sodium hypochlorite as denture cleanser. J Appl Oral Sci. 2017 May-Jun;25(3):324-334. doi: 10.1590/1678-7757-2016-0222.

13 Huber R, Weisser S, Luedtke R. Effects of abdominal hot compresses on indocyanine green elimination–a randomize cross over study in healthy subjects. BMC Gastroenterol. 2007 Jul 10;7:27.

14 Ezechias M, Svobodova K, Cajthaml T. Hormonal activities of new brominated flame retardants. Chemosphere. 2012 Jan 9.

15 Miller MF, Chernyak SM, Domino SE, Batterman SA, Loch-Caruso Concentrations and speciation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in human amniotic fluid. R.Sci Total Environ. 2012 Jan 9.

16 Wang L, Zou W, Zhong Y, An J, Zhang X, Wu M, Yu Z. The hormesis effect of BDE-47 in HepG(2) cells and the potential molecular mechanism. Toxicol Lett. 2012 Jan 3;209(2):193-201.

17 Herrero M, González N, Rovira J, Marquès M, Domingo JL, Nadal M. Early-Life Exposure to Formaldehyde through Clothing. Toxics. 2022 Jun 30;10(7):361. doi: 10.3390/toxics10070361. PMID: 35878266; PMCID: PMC9318620 

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