Today’s Gut Health Tip

Lyme Disease Prevention Part III : Make Tick Tubes

Deer ticks are carried by deer but more commonly by the white-footed mouse. Reduce the amount of ticks a mouse is carrying and reduce the chance of having one bite you. Using the same chemical Permethrin, make tick tubes. You will need toilet paper or paper towel tubes (cut long ones in half), cotton balls and Permethrin spray. Wearing gloves in a well-ventilated area spray cotton balls with Permethrin on both sides and let dry. Stick approx. 10 cotton balls in each tube. Leave these tubes in areas where you have seen or suspect mice activity. Corners in your garage, near wood piles or under shrubs. The mice will take the cotton balls back to their nests and the chemical will drive the ticks from the nest reducing the number of ticks a mouse can carry. Voila! No harm to the mice and less ticks in your yard. Permethrin spray here: http://a.co/bTVcHjo Tick Tubes Video: http://bit.ly/2JokddY

Lyme Disease Prevention - Treat your clothes with Permethrin

Having designated clothing for outdoor play, gardening or hiking is a great idea. Treating these pieces of clothing with a spray containing the chemical Permethrin repels bugs and insects keeping you safe. The one we like is on our Wellness Warrior Checklist here: http://a.co/bTVcHjo Make sure to use it in a well ventilated area and don't breathe in the spray. Let the clothing dry for a few hours before wearing and never spray directly onto skin. As always, tick check when coming inside, throw those clothes into the washer and hop in the shower. Remember the clothes sprayed with Permethrin will protect you for up to 6 washes.

Lyme Disease - Protecting Yourself Part One

If you are knowingly headed out to the garden, the woods, on a hike or even the golf course you should consider using a chemical agent on your skin. Along with wearing light colors, long sleeves and long pants and a hat, consider treating your skin with an insect repellent containing no more than 30% DEET. http://bit.ly/2FbfFFt Tick check as always and be sure to check your pets whenever they have been outside.

Lyme Disease Testing. Which labs are best?

Not all labs are created alike. I have a few negative LabCorp ELISA Lyme Tests. Shoot for a Western Blot from one of the following labs: www.IGENEX.com (California) www.mdlab.com (NJ) http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/pathology/tick (NY) If you have questions or concerns hit us up on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook @theguudcompany. Happy to help.

Lyme Disease: What's with the bulls-eye rash?

A tell tale sign of Lyme Disease is the bulls eye rash. However only a third of people diagnosed with Lyme recall seeing a bulls-eye rash. Learn how to spot it, what it means, and why you don't have to see a bulls-eye rash to have Lyme Disease. https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html

Lyme Disease: Tick Removal and Testing

It's imperative to tick check after being outdoors. What to do if you find a tick attached and how to send the tick in for testing. 3 day turnaround for tick testing at http://www.tickreport.com

Lyme Disease, the basics.

This week we are talking all about Lyme Disease, the fastest growing infectious bacterial disease in the US. It's tricky to diagnose, even harder to treat and left untreated can become a chronic, even deadly, disease. A few links for more information. http://www.ilads.org or http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org for more information on Lyme and Tick Borne Illnesses. Transmission of Lyme Disease: http://sponauglewellness.com/lyme-study-how-borrelia-bacteria-is-transmitted-from-mosquitoes-to-humans/ If you think you have the flu and it's summer check and see if the flu is in your area....if not, think Lyme! http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm Our Wellness Warrior Checklist has a link to Richard Horowitz's book "Why Can't I Get Better" : http://a.co/bTVcHjo

Self Care Sunday: Start a wellness journal

Keeping track of all these great changes you have made in your lifestyle will help you to keep going when you feel like resorting back to old ways, make bad food choices or stop making time for your wellness. We love a small Moleskine journal for this purpose and the LePen pens. Find them both on our Wellness Warrior Checklist http://a.co/bTVcHjo

Saturday Supplement: Collagen

Collagen is a wonderful supplement help with cartilage, skin, bones and joints. It is flavorless, odorless and mixes with just about anything. THe brand we love is Vital Proteins http://www.vitalproteins.com As usual, you can find it on our Amazon Checklist here http://a.co/bTVcHjo

Probiotics - a healthier gut

As discussed back in March when we reviews Gut Health, taking a daily probiotic is a great idea for everyone. Especially if you have recently taken a round of antibiotics. The one we like is VSL#3 and you can read more on their website at http://www.vsl3.com It's easy to buy on Amazon here: http://a.co/bTVcHjo Remember to keep it in the fridge.

Fish Oils and OMEGA 3's.

Listen and learn why OMEGA 3 fatty acids are so important to health. Our favorite brand's website is very educational : http://www.nordicnaturals.com Our wellness Guru Dave Osprey has lots to say about high performance over here http://www,bulletproof.com We love the Ultimate Omega product which is on Amazon here: http://a.co/bTVcHjo

Vitamin D3 BUT only with K2

Vitamin D is actually a hormone that can be synthesized in the body. Eating enough of these food sources, such as fatty fish and flax seeds along with daily exposure to sunlight can sometimes provide adequate levels of D in the body but it's very easy to supplement. A quality product that contains Vitamin D3 along with K2 (as MK7) is what you need. Our Wellness Warrior Checklist on Amazon has our favorite. http://a.co.bTVcHjo

The Brilliance of a Multi-Vitamin

A really easy way to work on wellness is to incorporate a multivitamin into your daily routine. We like to keep ours next to our toothbrush so we don't forget. Our pick is on the Wellness Warrior Checklist on Amazon. http://a.co/bTVcHjo is the link.

Multi-Mineral Monday

Melissa's favorite supplement that multi mineral! Minerals are so important for the body's everyday processes and our soil in bad shape providing less minerals to our plants than we need. One a day. It will do you right. Remember to check out our favorite on the Wellness Warrior Checklist on Amazon here: http://a.co/bTVcHjo

Self Care Sunday - DIY Safe Household Cleaners

Buy a few spray bottles or mason jars. Google "DIY safe household cleaners" and get to work. Looks for ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, salt, sugar and lemon.

Shoes off Saturday

Making residents and visitors remove shoes at the door keeps the house much cleaner. You won't be bringing in all those sidewalk germs, dirt and grime. You'll need to clean less and will improve the air inside your home. Get cozy friends, shoes off!

Avoid like the plague: Anti-microbials and Fluoride

Anything with TRICHLOSAN needs to go in the garbage. This anti-microbial is overkill and killing us. Also, fluoride. Get it out of your water and your toothpaste. It had been declared a neurotoxin and still our government lets this toxic waste by-product into our water supply. Dumbing us all down. Raise your IQ - avoid Fluoride.

The CLEAN smell

"Fragrance" is a very dirty word. Hiding tons of chemicals in our products under cover of a simple word. Not regulated by the FDA. People, stop using products with added fragrance. Avoid Febreeze, Bounce and Tide at all costs.

Hey you, let me offer some HUMP DAY encouragement.

In the midst of a rough week? Then it's more important than ever to nourish yourself through this. Cultivate your wellness and know you can control how well you take care of yourself. Slow it down. Easy does it.