Is your body trying to tell you something?

I woke up one morning with a nasty headache.

Of course one would first assume that I had enjoyed way too much alcohol the night before and was experiencing a hangover. I wish it were that simple, in fact I had to do some research behind these headaches as they started to last for over a period of 3 days. Not a fun way to live… we all know that pain will slow you down and keep you from living your fullest life so we want to get past it as soon as possible.

Before grabbing Aleve or some other form of pain-killer, I started to do a mental assessment of my body. Step one, am I dehydrated? Most headaches are caused by simply not getting enough H2O into our bodies… which explains a hangover. If you’re going to drink, be sure to drink plenty of water as well…

That wasn’t it, so I narrowed it down to a pinched nerve in my back, which resulted into a knot in my shoulder, that caused a headache in my upper neck, base of my skull area that stuck around until I finally saw my chiropractor. He aligned my spine and by that afternoon, I was headache free.

See how symptoms can be overlooked and quickly squashed by giving that symptom a quick “band-aid” to cover the pain temporarily? Does that really solve the problem? Apparently in my situation I didn’t really take action until day 3 of a persistent headache…and I KNOW better! Take a look at your life at how you’re covering up the real issue with a temporary fix. Not just with your health but in life. Are you pouring pink paint over your problems in hopes that they will just go away or are you willing to dig deeper into a solution to eliminate that issue altogether? Deep stuff… take some time to process that….

Did you know that your body will give you telltale signs of health issues? Did you know that your skin can be a billboard of what is going on underneath…in your blood, tissue, and organs?  From freckles and rashes to rosacea and eczema…there is an underlying cause.

How many of us are truly paying attention and how many of us are doing our best to ignore these signs in hopes that they will just go away?

I’m going to simplify what your body may be trying to tell you with some simple examples below to alert you to pay attention to what your body may be trying to say:

My headache was a way for my body to tell me that I had a pinched nerve and my spine was out of alignment. It also could have been a variety of things, but start to do an assessment- drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, get your eyes checked… this could be a symptom of multiple warning signs that your body is trying to communicate with you.

Mouth:

A Painful sore tongue with a smooth appearance may be a folic acid deficiency.

Cracked Lips: You must live in the desert with me in Las Vegas!… or vitamin B2 deficiency…

Cold hands:

If your hands are always cold and it’s not because you’re building a snow fort in my home state of Michigan, then you could have a deficiency in Magnesium, signs of hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue with low cardiac output (aka…poor circulation = heart issues)

Eyes:

Cataracts, chromium deficiency or excess free radicals*

Bags or dark rings under your eyes: are allergies or a food type intolerance..overeating sugar, gluten, lactose…

Premature grey hair: Free radical damage as well, and Vitamin B12 deficiency.

Skin:

Stretch marks can be a sign of zinc deficiency.

If you have yellow hands/palms- excessive beta-carotene intake- meaning you are eating too many carrots or check your supplement intake- you’re overdoing it Mr. Overacheiver.

Dry scaly skin – You must live in the desert again… with me in Las Vegas! Just kidding… Vitamin C deficiency..especially if you have clogged hair follicles.

Pimply rough skin at the back of your upper arms, otherwise known as “chicken skin”- you are deficient in essential fatty acids, time to start taking a fish oil or flax seed oil supplement.

Legs:

Tender calf muscles, back to magnesium deficiency- unless you just did a killer workout, then you’re good to go… walk it off!

Brisk knee Reflexes: also magnesium deficiency…

Joints that crack and pop all the time – could be a gluten intolerance, play along with this one- do some test and measure to see if taking gluten out of your diet actually changes your joint pain and noise.

Heart:

Irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, cardiomegaly: Magnesium and Co Q 10 deficiencies also perhaps sensitivity to caffeine.  

(I had this while I was pregnant with my daughter, it was a magnesium deficiency for sure)

Throat:

Thyroid swelling: Iodine deficiency, hypothyroidis.

Nails:

White spots: Mineral deficiency but often low in zinc
Ridges in your nails: Zinc Deficiency – (This also happened to ME! I had forgotten to keep up with my zinc supplements… problem eliminated).  

Soft or brittle nails: Mineral deficiency.

Facial Skin:

Greasy red scaly face and nose: Vitamin B2 deficiency.

Acne on nose and forehead even resulting into a rash, is most likely a Vitamin B6 deficiency.

Isn’t our body amazing? I’ve been in awe of our creation and creator since the day I picked up my first health book over 10 years ago!

If you’ve ever given birth… you will share with me in the amazement and awe struck feeling that I have in regards to how our bodies can grow a HUMAN BEING! Hello? If that isn’t enough to blow your mind…keep researching natural health, biology and start appreciating the gift of life that we’ve all been given …Start loving your body today by listening to it and feeding it the RIGHT fuel so that you can obtain optimum health that will carry you through this wonderful life and into your dreams.

Yours in abundance,

Karie Millspaugh
Wellness Coach

PS. If you found this article to be of help to you, pass it on to a friend or family member … if you have a question for me in regards to free radicals and how to fight disease, send me a private reply or leave a comment/question below.