Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category

Dr. Miller’s Holy Tea

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

Product Reviews - Dr. Miller’s Holy Tea

Except for any noted source material, content copyright, Neva. J. Howell, all rights reserved


Holy Tea Product Review

I posted earlier about my introduction to a product called Dr. Miller’s Holy Tea. It is a combination of blessed thistle, holy thistle, persimmon leaves, marshmallow and malva leaves.

I admit to being a little turned off by the name. One of the ingredients is milk thistle, which is sometimes called holy thistle. Another ingredient, blessed thistle, is also sometimes called holy thistle. It felt a little like a marketing ploy so I passed on it the first time I heard about it.

When Dr. Miller’s Holy Tea crossed my radar the second time, I had been suffering with the worst case of chronic constipation I have ever experienced in my entire life. I had tried every natural constipation remedy I could think of and nothing was working. Then, a woman at my local health food store sold me one of her packages of tea that she orders monthly. It worked, in a major way!

Since then, I’ve completed my first gallon of Dr. Miller’s Holy Tea and went on to purchase another month’s supply. After reading that many of Dr. Miller’s patients have taken the tea for years and seeing the results that the first gallon produced, I decided to try it a while longer.

It has continued to cleanse and release waste as I go into my second gallon. I am not taking the recommended daily dosage, which is 8 ounces twice a day and four ounces once a day. Instead, I take about 4-6 ounces 3 times a day.

What I’ve noticed since taking the tea:

I definitely have better elmination, both of waste and of gas. For the first week, I had tremendous gas then it tapered off. I’ve noticed the waste looks a different color on the tea as well, almost having a little of an orange tint. Not sure if that is due to the herbs or some kind of waste being released.

I feel better and have more energy on the tea.

I am also noticing inch loss, specifically in the abdominal region. This is a particular blessing for me since that has been the area that my perimenopausal weight seems to have settled around and it’s been difficult to lose any of it at all. I have noticed a reduction in appetite too, also a welcome change.

I’ve also done a little research on the herbs used and wanted to post the following precautions for anyone considering trying the tea.

Is Dr. Miller’s Holy Tea Safe?

For most any otherwise healthy person, I’d say it is as safe as any herbal combination. If your primary problem is chronic constipation, I’d say it’s about the most effective and safest option I’ve ever come across.

However, there are two factors that keep me from saying it is safe for everyone. First, a person can have an allergic reaction to anything on earth and that certainly does not exclude herbs. Second, prescription drug interactions are always a potential, particularly if taking more than one drug.

Like almost every other herbal remedy I know of, the potential for prescription drug side effects is real so I’d like to cover the ingredients in this tea and offer a partial list of potential side effects or reactions to watch for when drinking Dr. Miller’s Holy Tea or deciding whether to drink it for constipation relief.

Blessed Thistle

Persimmon Leaves

Malva Leaves

Marshmallow Leaves

Milk Thistle (called Holy Thistle in this formula)


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Product Review on Bursitis Patches

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Product Review - Bursitis Patches for Addressing Swelling and Pain of Elbow Bursitis - Thumbs Up!

Except for any noted source material, content copyright, Neva. J. Howell, all rights reserved

This review is long overdue. I had a very painful and stubborn case of elbow bursitis a while back and tried just about every bursitis remedy you can think of, it not every one.

One of the things I decided to try was these bursitis patches that are advertised online. Here are the previous posts I made, in order. It may be helpful to review those before reading this product review:

Bursitis Swollen Elbow Pain
Update on Treament
Relentless in Elbow
Spiritual Significance
Related Articles
Bursitis Patches Results
Researching Bursitis Remedies Ad Nauseum

Ok, after reading that book, here’s my final review:

The two main symptoms I wanted to control were pain and swelling. I had some serious swelling, to the point that I worried about the elbow joint itself. As I mentioned in other posts, Aleve was about the best a relieving the swelling and MSM seemed to help most with the pain.

The bursitis patches initially made no noticable difference at all but by about the fourth day, I got the idea to dampen the patch a bit rather than putting it on the skin dry….big difference. Noticable reduction in pain and swelling after doing that. The results did seem to plateau after a few days but also, I had used up several of the patches dry so I didn’t get to use the full pack. I believe if I had dampened them from the beginning, one package of 10 patches might have done the trick.

I have dialogued with the company that makes the patches, as you can see from the comments left by their representative, Toky. I appreciated their attention to my concerns, one of which was the difficulty of using a patch designed to be placed flat on an area that was totally not flat.

Like most other detox patches I’ve tried, these are rectangular patches with a very sticky adhesive around the edges. Trying to put these on the elbow in a way that covers the entire elbow is almost impossible.

I suggested that a new design be considered for elbow use. I also shared that I was getting much better results by dampening the patch (not wetting, just slightly dampening - wetting it ended up sticking it to my elbow in an uncomfortable way) and the company is doing their own research into whether this actually helps increase effectiveness on elbow bursitis.

Also, and this is true with other detox patches I’ve tried, there was too much adhesive space around the patch and I ended up with the adhensive stuck to my skin in a painful way. It was really painful to pull it off.

So, I got the idea of cutting notches all around the adhesive, to make it easier to pull off than the solid strip. It worked well for me.

However, these are design problems that I would have had with any detox patch and do not speak to the effectiveness of the product itself.

I found the patches to be effective. I’d give them a thumbs up.

Official website for Danniel’s Bursitis Patches


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Book Review Energy Medicine by Donna Eden

Monday, February 4th, 2008

Very informative and clear work on Energy Medicine; Written in a way that even a beginner in healing facilitation can understand
Except for any noted source material from Donna Eden or her book, Energy Medicine, content copyright, Neva. J. Howell, all rights reserved

I had this book on my wish list and Spiritual Journey Woman sent it to me as a gift. I was so excited when I opened the package and saw that it was this book, Energy Medicine, by Donna Eden.

I had a feeling I’d resonate with her work and I was not wrong. I have so enjoyed reading about her healing modality and her unique way of expressing. I resonate with so much of what I’ve read, and recognize her language from my own experience.

There are things she sees a bit differently and I think that’s part of the gift that energetic healing facilitators can offer each other. The foreword is from Carolyn Myss, whose work has also informed my own and yet, in my awareness, these two could not be further from one another in terms of how they present their information. How wonderful to have so many and so varied a level of expression in the energy medicine community!

I love the physical exercises in the book and plan to incorporate a few of them into my weekend retreats, as well as making this book available in the library for those who come and want to learn more about Donna’s work. A large part of the work I do in the private healing intensives here revolves around integration of the energy and, for me, there’s no better way to keep energy flowing than movement. I often suggest walking, stretching or dancing when dealing with serious issues or struggling with something that is trying to emerge for healing.

The Cross Crawl exercise, in particular, was powerful and I immediately understood the Energy Medicine behind it. A lot of my own work with others focuses on male and female balance, yin and yang, right and left in the body/mind connection.

To do Donna’s Cross Crawl exercise, which helps balance left and right hemispheres of the brain, you just lift one arm with the opposite knee and then, switch.

In other words, lift the right arm and the left knee at the same time, and come back to center, then switch and lift the left arm and the right knee. Doing the Cross Crawl for about a minute will help restore focus, clear thinking and coordination and will help harmonize energies within you.

Donna does note that, if doing the Cross Crawl causes you to feel confused or tired, it is probably because you are stuck in what she calls “homolateral” which means your energy is not crossing over, from one side to the other, as it naturally should be and she offers additional work that can be done to unlock that unhealthy pattern.

I recognized this homolateral pattern from my own work as a healing facilitator. I’ve see people with energy that went straight down their body as well as people who had energy zig-zagging in all sorts of defensive and protective, unnatural patterns as the result of trauma and compressed cellular memory that prevented proper energy flow.

One gift Donna gave me was to present a different way of viewing the Chakras. I will be working with that in future sessions. She sees levels of the Chakra down in the body, and at deepest level, a grid. I’m very familiar with the etheric template of the body and see that as a grid all around the body but I had not looked down through the chakras to see what was at the base of them inside the body itself….or at least, I had not done that consciously although there have certainly been cellular releases that I know to have released from deep within the cell tissues of all parts of the physical body. I will enjoy delving into this new perspective of viewing the levels of the chakras.

If you have an interest in Energy Medicine, I’d recommend getting Donna Eden’s book. For convenience, here is an amazon link to Energy Medicine by Donna Eden or you can just pick up a copy at your local bookstore.

I give this resource a big thumbs up!


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Ambient Pillow Product Review

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

My experience with the Ambient Holofiber Pillow, a technology designed to supply added oxygen to the tissues during sleep

Except for any noted source material, content copyright, Neva. J. Howell, all rights reserved


Product Review - Ambient Holofiber Pillow - Thumbs Down.

I first heard of the Ambient Pillow the way I bet a lot of people did….on the Oprah show. I heard this fella talking about new nano-technology in this pillow that actually resulted in more oxygen being released to the body during sleep. That sure sounded like a good thing to me.

In particular, I was wondering….might this help people with heart disease? One of the reasons people with heart problems often die in their sleep is lack of oxygen and nitric oxide. Might the Ambient pillow provide much needed oxygen to those folks? In researching before doing this product review on the Ambient Pillow, I did find information about a study that indicated the holfiber technology was beneficial to diabetics and it mentioned cardiovascular function in that study so it may be true that heart patients might also benefit if they can use the pillows or other holofiber garments that are available.

At the very least, I thought, more oxygen would help my skin look younger, kind of like a mini-spa in my bed. I ordered the Ambient Pillow, not just because I’m at the age where I start noticing every new line on my face but more because I have had a life-long search for the perfect pillow. I have probably tried more pillows than the average bear.

I thought the memory foam pillows might be the ticket but found, because I sleep so much on my side, that they pushed my chin out in an unnatural way that eventually ended up causing pain. Yes, even the more expensive Temperpedic had this unwanted effect.

I tried the water-filled pillows one of my chiropractors sold….it seemed to lump up in areas while not providing enough support to my neck. I tried more water, less water, more, less, til I gave up.

So, I ordered the Ambient pillow. I wish I could say my search for the perfect pillow ended there but, alas, it has not ended.


What I liked about the Ambient Pillow:
The covering was lush and soft against my skin. I liked that.

I also liked that I actually felt more warm when lying on the Ambient pillow, which seemed proof to me that it was indeed delivering more oxygen and improving blood flow.

What I did not like about the Ambient Pillow:
I did not like the sewn ribs that go in two rows around the top and bottom of the pillow. I can feel these ribs when I am lying on the pillow and they bother me.

The pillow was also too high for my neck. I ordered the standard size, not the large, because I am a woman and have a small neck. Still, it was too high. When I lay on my back, my neck was tilted foward to an uncomfortable degree. Sleeping on my side for a few hours left
me with neck pain as well.

The final deal breaker came when I realized that, after just a short time sleeping with the Ambient pillow, I felt smothered and as if my throat and nose might be closing up.

Important note: I am extremely sensitive to chemicals, allergens, etc. so it may be that I am the only person in the world that this pillow would adversely affect in this way. Since I am aware that any number of allergens could have produced that affect, I tried again and again with the pillow, to be sure it was the addition of the holofiber that was causing the reaction I first reported in my earlier, initial product review. After dozens of similar experiences, I concluded that I am allergic to something in this pillow.

I had about resigned myself to the idea that maybe I could use the pillow as a body pillow instead, and at least enjoy the extra warmth on chilly winter mornings. Maybe if it wasn’t near my head, it wouldn’t cause the smothering feeling. No such luck. Even under the cover, and away from my nose and face, I still ended up feeling as if my nose and throat were constricted.

I looked for any information online that would tell me what is in holofiber but couldn’t find that information. There is some general information at holofiber . com but not about what it is made of and that’s what I need to know.

So, I have to give the Ambient Pillow a thumbs down in my personal experience. If none of the other factors besides my allergic reaction to it would be factors with another person though, I think it might be an enjoyable experience for many people.


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Product Reviews Coming

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

Health Product Reviews and Book Reviews Category Added

Except for any noted source material, content copyright, Neva. J. Howell, all rights reserved


I’ve added a new section on the wellness blog for Product Reviews. In addition to reviewing products and books that I experience myself, I am looking for people with experiences, either negative or positive, with particular products or particular books, tapes, cds, etc. Although these products don’t have to be health-related, that will be the focus of most of my own reviews.

If you have a health-related product you’d like me to review, just be prepared for an honest report. If so just email to askme at askahealer dot com and tell me about your product. I am not accepting books for review at this time.

I am behind on getting this going because I have several products ready for review….

However, I have added reviews on the bursitis patches I used when I had bursitis in my elbow, the Ambient holofiber pillow and the awesome Holy Tea that ended the worst bout with constipation I think I’ve ever endured. Look for more reviews in the future including one on an awesome personal ultrasound machine I’ve been using with success.

Let me know if you’ve tried a product that has really been superior or if you’d like to offer CONSTRUCTIVE criticism on design or effectiveness of a product you’ve personally used. No advertising or emails from people promoting a product. This about personal experience with products, and feedback that is constructive and would be helpful to someone who is considering purchase of the same product as well as to the company, who may (as in the case of the creators of the bursitis patches) actually care about what their customers say.


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Ambient Pillow Review

Friday, December 14th, 2007

Does the Ambient Pillow Work?
Except for any noted source material, content copyright, Neva. J. Howell, all rights reserved

I’ve probably spent a thousand dollars on pillows, searching for one that would be comfortable enough to allow me to sleep through the night. I’m still searching.

I bought a temperpedic, which was a great improvement over a regular pillow but over time, caused discomfort in the chin area. It’s fine for when I’m on my back because it cradles the neck good (although I think it’s too wide for a woman’s neck) but when I turn on my side, it presses too hard against the chin.

Of course, the cheaper versions, like the one I bought at Walmart, often have a terrible smell that last for weeks and don’t work as well as temperpedic.

I’ve tried the Chiropillow that has water in it. Nope. Again, more comfortable than a regular pillow but still not “it” for me.

The other day, I saw the Ambient Pillow on Oprah and decided to order one. It is advertised as “Holofiber” and benefits include singificant increase of oxygenated blood flow through the body.

I can’t say I love it yet, but I’ve only slept on it one night. I can say it’s too big. I got the standard and didn’t see a smaller size. I’m beginning to wonder if the default size for pillows is determined by men. Maybe a woman needs to design a pillow for women……

Anyway, too big. Hurt my neck. I tried to lay on it but I just couldn’t. I was dizzy the next morning, I think from my neck.

In any case, I used it as a body pillow instead and will try that for a few days to see if I receive any of the benefits of increase oxygen that they advertise:

Says increased oxygen should help me build strength, accelerate muscle recovery and regulate body temperature.

Also, canary in the coal mine that I am, there is a smell that I don’t like. It’s very, very subtle and probably would not bother most people but those with MCS might want to go to a store and smell one first.

My final product review on the Ambient Holofiber Pillow


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