✆ 1833-887-2627

✉ care@queenofthethrones.com

How to Stay Healthy in the Summer with Fasting

How to Stay Healthy in the Summer with Fasting

anxiety, castor oil, castor oil packs, cleansing, constipation, detox, digestion, gut health, health, irritable bowels, microbiome, mindfulness, nutrition, Other, Poop, relaxation, Sleep, stress, toxicity | 11 comments

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 fasting1 being 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 TO JOIN!
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 T, 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.
  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 Hu, Xiao-ying Jiang, Yi-ming Zeng, Xiao-yang Chen, You-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.

How to Get You Regular with Castor Oil Packs for Constipation

How to Get You Regular with Castor Oil Packs for Constipation

bloating, Bowel movement, candida, castor oil, castor oil packs, cleansing, constipation, detox, diarrhea, digestion, gut health, health, inflammation, irritable bowels, microbiome, Other, Poop, relaxation, stress | 0 comments

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

How to Get You Regular with Castor Oil Packs for Constipation

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

Est. reading time: 9 minutes

I remember my mother always being constipated. She would hyper focus on food and what she should be eating. Sometimes it would help, most of the time it wouldn’t. This is the situation that most people find themselves in. You are trying to get all your fiber and fluids in, yet you’re still not going to the bathroom. You aren’t having those amazing bowel movements as you should. What gives?

Your poo is much more complicated than just the food that you eat. That is just the start of getting things going. The gut is also highly regulated via hormonal and nervous system pathways. In fact, if you didn’t know it, the gut is known as the second brain1. It not only relies on the brain to tell it what to do, but it is the only organ that can work independently.

Meaning you can take it out of the body and it can function completely on its own. This system is called the enteric nervous system and it dictates what goes on in the gut. How interesting is that! There are only a few ways to engage its action. The easiest is the infamous Castor Oil Pack for Liver, and this will be our focus in this article.

 

The Issue of Compliance with Castor Oil Packs

If you’ve been prescribed Castor Oil Packs, you are probably cringing right now. You know all too well the expectation that your practitioner had for you to do them, but they are just too much of a hassle and too messy to do. I know exactly what you’re feeling because I’ve been there too.

That’s what stopped me for years from doing the Castor Oil Pack for Liver. It was something that I was told to do for years by not one, but many people… doctors, health food store owners, people who had years and years of natural health expertise. I wouldn’t listen. Only because I was lazy and didn’t have the time. I know you are feeling that way too, and that’s ok! It’s human nature, after all, to do that which is of the least effort.

Pooping Problems

I was seriously suffering hardcore with gut issues. I’d go from diarrhea to constipation, to major bloating and gas. Like many of you, I was in a constant state of crap in my guts.

I would be told that I had microbiome issues, small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), food allergies, anxiety, depression, hormonal dysregulation, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and fatty liver. You name it, I was told that I had it, and above all, I had MAJOR pooping problems.

 

When You’re Doing Everything ‘Right’ But Still Feel Like Crap

I was addressing all of these things with my naturopath but it didn’t make sense because here I was, doing all the ‘right’ things but still feeling like crap. I was taking good quality supplements, probiotics, digestive enzymes, magnesium, I would even go as far as laxatives from time to time because my constipation would get so bad. I was eating the right foods and exercising, but for some reason, it wasn’t fitting the bill.

I remember vividly, the worst 10 days where I didn’t go poo once. I was literally beside myself, I felt soooo horrible in my own skin. I remember searching out for a way to manually extract my poo!

 

My First Castor Oil Pack

After weeks of constipation, I became super sick and decided that I was finally going to try this  self-care practice that EVERYONE had told me to do. I made myself my own Castor Oil Pack and tried it.

Wow, was my response. It changed my world from the first moment that I put it on my body. I was already feeling better, more relaxed and well in my body. I felt. For a long time, it was like I just wasn’t feeling anything, I didn’t feel present in my system. I know it sounds weird but I was dealing with so much discomfort, that I felt completely disconnected from my body.

You see, it’s easier to look for an escape. It’s no surprise that when you’re dealing with an irritable bowel, anxiety, and depression are usually a result. Some say it is the cause, my belief is it goes deeper than that.

 

Historical Use of Castor Oil Packs

Castor Oil Packs ended up being my saving grace. I’m not surprised, as I began my research and found that this practice dates back to biblical times. It is mentioned in the ancient Chinese and Indian medical texts as well as practiced by the ancient Mediterranean and Egyptian cultures.

Castor Oil Packs are not the new kids on the block, rather, they are the most important tool that fundamentally supports all other wellness practices. No other self-care tool is quite like the Castor Oil Pack and the beauty of it is that now it’s easy, and it can be done in the comfort of your home.

 

Innovative Castor Oil Pack Design

Necessity is the instigator of the invention. I know myself and I’m pretty sure you know yourself too. When something is difficult, time-consuming, or a plain old hassle, it takes a superhuman effort to get it done. When I was told to do the Castor Oil Pack, I would look at the process and snark, “There is no way that I’m going to do that, forget it! I’m busy, I’ve got too much on the go.”

It took me hitting rock bottom, feeling like I was “never gonna get better”. It took years of naturopathic school, to finally believe that it was good for every condition. It took me grabbing the bull by its horns and creating a pack that made the process simple, easy and less messy, otherwise, I was never going to keep it up.

The Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack for Liver was born. Simply apply oil to the cotton compress side and tie it onto the body over the liver. Get your very own Castor Oil Pack Kit here!

 

How Castor Oil Packs Help Alleviate Constipation?

1. Castor Oil Packs may help move the smooth muscle of our body


Smooth muscle is only in select parts of the body, notably the digestive system/gut, including the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. It is in the uterus as well.

The other muscles of our body that you’re familiar with, like the biceps and triceps are made of what is called striated muscle. Smooth muscle works via signals of PG3— what is known as an eicosanoid.

You are likely familiar with it because when you take fish oils to get your omega 3s, those are also eicosanoids. In a nut shell, they are messengers in the body (like carrier pigeons) that tell certain body parts to do something. When you take fish oils, you tell your body to reduce inflammation.

When you do a Castor Oil Pack, you absorb Castor Oil through the skin that may tell the smooth muscle of the intestine to move. Movement in the intestine is known as peristalsis. This is a rhythmic movement, like a dance that propels the contents of the intestine down so it can be eliminated. In the stomach it mixes things, in the intestine, it moves things around to absorb and then to eliminate what we don’t need. The nice thing with the Castor Oil Pack is that it helps regulate this dance.

They may make you go to the bathroom and have an excellent bowel movement. One study in an old age home showed that Castor Oil Packs worked just as well as laxatives without the uncomfortable gas, bloating, and harsh urgency and patients felt more satisfied and fully evacuated3. This one thing that Castor Oil Packs do is incredibly important.

**Please note that Castor Oil Packs are not recommended if you are pregnant or may be pregnant because of the uterus also being smooth muscle4,5,6

2. Castor Oil Packs may help break down biofilm

Biofilm is a protective barrier created by bacteria on mucous membranes. You probably know of these gut bugs as probiotics, which is what we call them when they are beneficial for the body. When they are not good for our health, I have coined them “conbiotics”. Probiotics help us because they create nutrients for our body like B vitamins.

The conbiotics on the other hand, use up our bodies’ resources, they don’t make our vitamins, they create byproducts and gases that actually slow down peristalsis, making us constipated.

The more virulent conbiotics are the worst because of protective biofilm that they can create to stop us from killing them. In Lyme disease, as an example, the bacteria Borrelia is transmitted via ticks. It is known for creating a destructive biofilm that is very difficult to break down. People who are dealing with Lyme disease may find Castor Oil Packs beneficial, as they are one of the tools that may help them to reset their microbiome.

The research shows that Castor Oil, compared to other chemical agents that break down biofilm, outperforms in vivo (in the human body)7,8,9. We need to have a healthy microbiome to have good bowel movements!

Queen of the Thrones Castor Oil Pack are the most recommended remedy for constipation

3. Castor Oil Packs may help with good bowel movements

Stress does not allow you to have healthy bowel movements because it tenses up the parts of the body that need to be relaxed to work.

The intestines and bowels are regulated and working well in a relaxed state. You can take all the fluids, fiber, probiotics and digestive enzymes you want but if your body doesn’t know how to switch into the relaxed state for peristalsis and relaxation of the lower sphincter, you are a duck out of luck. For me, stress was severely impacting my bowels and regularity.

Castor Oil Packs may work via the nervous system by stimulating the nerves in the skin10,11. But this only works when you wear the pack. This is probably the most important action. Improving the microbiome and getting the smooth muscle to function won’t matter if your lower sphincter can’t relax enough to let go! The topical application of a Castor Oil Pack is exactly for that, to “LET GO”.

4. Castor Oil Packs may help recycle/preserve glutathione

We all know that cleansing is important, and there is one molecule known as glutathione that stands out among all of the antioxidants. It cleans and protects the body, and helps to detox heavy metals.12

It is well known that heavy metals impact our bodies in a variety of ways, inhibiting the immune system, therefore aiding and abetting to an unhealthy microbiome. They impact our hormonal system and detrimentally affect the nervous system. Glutathione is well known to be an antioxidant that in this day and age is in lower concentrations in our bodies because of the physiological demand due to industrialized pollution.

There are very few ways to get glutathione. It is found in whey protein (which I don’t prefer since it is dairy based and for those that have an irritable bowel it is just plain torture), rooibos tea (well known for its antioxidant effects), or oral supplementation (the jury is out on whether or not glutathione is absorbed well via supplements).

Supplementing with magnesium and NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) may help as they are precursors to glutathione. The other way is via IV therapy, known as a glutathione push. Recent research demonstrated that Castor Oil may improve the recycling of glutathione in the lenses of rats, greater than even a solution of glutathione13. This is very impressive; Castor Oil Packs may also support antioxidant status14.

5. Castor Oil may help balance inflammation

When you are inflamed in your intestines, it becomes very difficult to go to the bathroom. Castor Oil Packs may help balance inflammation15,16, allowing for smooth passage of stools out of the body.

It’s amazing that this wellness practice can be such aid for those that suffer from constipation. Constipation contributes to more serious conditions and diseases and if something is not done, your body can be severely damaged in the long term. A system that can’t eliminate waste backs up, and the back up is the cause of many problems.

No different than when your garbage removal goes on strike or the sewer back ups, that is always bad news. Now you have the tools at your disposal to make it all better!

Time to act.

xoxoxo

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 get your free e-guide join now!

GET YOUR FREE EGUIDE ON CASTOR OIL PACKS
Click here for references

1. Gershon, Michael D. The Second Brain. HarperCollins World, 1999.

2. Sorin Tunaru,a Till F. Althoff,a Rolf M. Nüsing,b Martin Diener,c and Stefan Offermannsa,d,1 Castor oil induces laxation and uterus contraction via ricinoleic acid activating prostaglandin EP3 receptorsProc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 5; 109(23): 9179–9184. Published online 2012 May 21. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1201627109PMID: 22615395

3. 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.

4. Gao J1, Sun N, Wang F.[Effects of castor oil-diet on the synthesis of prostaglandin E2 in pregnant rats].[Article in Chinese] Zhonghua Fu Chan Ke Za Zhi. 1999 Mar;34(3):147-9.

5. Gao J1, Sun N, Wang F, Hao N.[Effect of castor oil-diet on the initiation of labor of pregnant rat].[Article in Chinese] Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao. 1998 Oct;20(5):367-70.

6. Kelly AJ1, Kavanagh J, Thomas J. Castor oil, bath and/or enema for cervical priming and induction of labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Jul 24;(7):CD003099. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003099.pub2.

7. Andrade IM1, Andrade KM2, Pisani MX1, Silva-Lovato CH1, de Souza RF1, Paranhos Hde F1. Trial of an experimental castor oil solution for cleaning dentures. Braz Dent J. 2014 Jan-Feb;25(1):43-7.

8. Badaró MM, Salles MM, Leite VMF, Arruda CNF, Oliveira VC, Nascimento CD, Souza RF, Paranhos HFO, Silva-Lovato CH. Clinical trial for evaluation of Ricinus communis and sodium hypochlorite as denture cleanser.J Appl Oral Sci. 2017 May-Jun; 25(3):324-334.

9. Salles MM, Badaró MM, Arruda CN, Leite VM, Silva CH, Watanabe E, Oliveira Vde C, Paranhos Hde F. Antimicrobial activity of complete denture cleanser solutions based on sodium hypochlorite and Ricinus communis – a randomized clinical study.J Appl Oral Sci. 2015 Nov-Dec; 23(6):637-42.

10. 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.

11. 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)

12. Jan AT, Azam M, Siddiqui K, Ali A, Choi I, Haq QM. Heavy Metals and Human Health: Mechanistic Insight into Toxicity and Counter Defense System of Antioxidants. Int J Mol Sci. 2015;16(12):29592-630. Published 2015 Dec 10. doi:10.3390/ijms161226183

13.  Holm T, 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.

14. Kennedy D and Keaton D. Evidence for the Topical Application of Castor Oil: A Systematic Review. CCNM. Presentation 2010 AANP

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

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

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?

biofilm, bloating, Bowel movement, castor oil, castor oil packs, cleansing, constipation, detox, diarrhea, digestion, glutathione, gut health, health, inflammation, irritable bowels, menstruation, microbiome, Poop, relaxation, stress, toxicity | 0 comments

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
GET YOUR FREE EGUIDE HERE!

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.

BUY YOUR CASTOR OIL PACK TODAY!

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.

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 TO JOIN!
Click here for references

1 Francis S, Rolls ET, Bowtell R, McGlone F, O’Doherty J, Browning A, Clare S, Smith E. The representation of pleasant touch in the brain and its relationship with taste and olfactory areas. Neuroreport. 1999 Feb 25;10(3):453-9.

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 

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.