Tag: sickness

  • The Cookie that Caused the Traditional Holiday Cold

    It happened every year, after an exhausting 24 hour car ride (driven in the middle of the night so the kids could sleep) we would arrive at grandma’s house and eat dozens upon dozens of sugary Christmas cookies. It was my grandma’s sugar cookie recipe and it was a Christmas tradition. We would eat them the whole time we were there. Inevitably, someone in the house would get sick and then it would spread through the grandkids and adults. Sickens during the holidays became a tradition too.We just thought it was because we were all in close proximity to each other and spreading germs. Those cookies were so addictive that we couldn’t stop eating them. My husband told me that one night he was tired and sleepy and not hungry but he still dragged himself to the kitchen and had another sugar cookie. These cookies were covered in sprinkles and they would fall off, so he ate them over the trash can as to not get them on the carpet. Good lord, it was crazy. 

    Fast forward many years, and I now know why we got sick. 

    As humans, we naturally crave a sweet taste. It is an essential part of balancing the other tastes found in nature such as salty, bitter, and sour flavors. But it felt like we were crazy addicts at Christmas time. So, what happens when we consume a lot of sugar? First and foremost, our bacteria shifts dramatically and makes more sugar-loving microbes that make us crave sugar like crazy. This, along with the key player in the reward system of our brain, set us up for control problems. That feeling of pleasure we get from food and other substances is made by dopamine. Dopamine receptors are all over our brain, and indulging in any addictive substance, such as sugar, brings on a deluge of dopamine. 
    Guess what happens when we eat a lot of sugar?
     
    Yep, those levels also surge and then we need more to stay satisfied. Neurotransmitters – namely epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine – have been shown to play a major role in controlling and maintaining homeostasis within the gut system in terms of nutrient absorption, blood flow, gut microbiome, local immune system, and overall gut motility and cravings. Hang on — I’m not saying you have to give it all up, but I’m going to tell you what to do to help yourself and bring the balance back. But first, let me tell you what goes on inside of your body. 

    There is a fact that you may not know about your body’s immune system:

    EATING ANY KIND OF SUGAR HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE YOUR BODY’S DEFENSES BY 75% OR MORE FOR FOUR TO SIX HOURS.

    This is the reason my family always got sick at Christmas. We had way too much sugar during the holidays and it lowered our immune system’s ability to keep us well. Let’s talk about this in regards to vitamin C. In the 1970’s, Dr. Linus Pauling (one of the greatest researchers in the field of microbiology) discovered that vitamin C helps the body combat the common cold. But what he also found was how sugar can do the opposite.

    So it’s not a great idea, and especially if you’re sick, to eat any kind of sugar, because the white blood cells can’t get past the sugar to do their job. So this is why we all got sick every Christmas. Our bodies lost their superpower strength to keep us healthy because we were eating so much sugar and crashing our immune system again and again. 

    Want to avoid getting sick? In addition to washing your hands frequently and staying warm (mom was right … bring a sweater; viruses thrive in cold weather) perhaps the best way to prevent illness is to avoid eating excess sugar. Sugar weakens the immune system. 

    There are certain times of the year when you need to strengthen your inner micro-biome and the holidays is one of those times.

    Look at these great holiday inspired ferments: 

    KEIFER

    Kefir is my number one thing I consume every day. It sets my day off right. It balances hormones and blood sugar and, goodness, I don’t know what I would do without it. There are fifty bacteria in kefir. It will be a mighty force in your life and slowly change this whole world inside of you. 

    You just make a jar of Easy Kefir, which only takes 24 hours to make. Then when it’s done, add a few spoonfuls of this to small jars and fill them with milk. Let this ferment for 24 hours or until it’s thick and creamy, and then place in the fridge. You can even make chocolate milk kefir and boy, is it yummy. It’s such an easy way to make kefir and since it’s made from actual kefir grains, you get all the benefits of kefir without worrying about straining out the grains. Kefir is so nutrient dense that it will give your gut and brain what it needs and calm your body down while strengthening your immune system too! 
    Have it every day and just watch how you’ll change and sail through cold and flu season.
    KOMBUCHA
    Kombucha is a powerful detoxifier and will stop those craving for sugar quite effectively. Sugar is hard on your liver and kombucha will help support liver function. Kombucha will also supply you with a very powerful probiotic yeast that fights Candida and keeps not only the good bacteria in your body healthy, but the good yeasts too! When I have overwhelming cravings for food I know won’t be good for me, I always drink a kombucha first; and then if I still want it, I can have it but I never do. Kombucha works and it’s super delicious too. 
    Candy Cane Kombucha and let the microbes eat the sugar out of the tea. Then you’ll receive a holiday treat with tons of Christmas flavor and lots of bubbliness too! 

    Click Here

    And what about an interesting twist on Keifer water – gingerbread style featuring blackstrap molasses, ginger and spices.! 

    gingerbreadwaterkefir.jpg
    Gingerbread Water Kefir

    christmas-kefir-soda.jpg

    Christmas Kefir Soda  Christmas flavored kefir soda that’s super bubbly. The fruit adds extra food for the culture, which gives you extra probiotics too. This bottle can be used as a starter for many more bottles. Donna shares her recipes, and how to’s on her site Click Here

    These recipes and so many more are available at CulturedFoodLife.Com

    More Information

    Colds and flu aren’t the only reason not to eat sugar. Look through this list of other-sugar-related-ailments. If you are suffering from any of these, think about how much sugar you are ingesting. Here’s another article on a blood sugar stabilizing diet, it’s similar to the Mediterranean-type diet. This is a very simple and delicious way to cut back on the sugar.

    water-kefir-pot-icon.png

    This article originally appeared at: https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/a-cold-you-can-beat-after-a-holiday-treat/.

  • Unsuspecting Families Are Feeding Their Children Contaminated Finger Foods

    My pediatrician told me that my when my infant was about 9 months old (maybe a bit older) he was ready for solid foods like original Cheerios. So I followed the doctor’s advice, I kept a ready supply of this handy finger food in my diaper bag. My children ate boxes and boxes of Cheerios. In fact, I served it almost daily. Like you, I thought I was feeding my family a nutritious source of ‘whole grain part of a balanced diet’. Unwittingly, I was filling their body with high levels of toxic glyphosate and the 10,000 food additive chemicals, all of which are allowed to be added (directly or indirectly) to their food.  

    75% of US foods are contaminated with Roundup with glyphosate. 

    Now, my children are suffering from ADD, anxiety, depression, chronic constipation and a myriad of other ailments that are linked to imbalance known as a “leaky gut”. People who have leaky gut are more likely to have a number of other health problems including “gastrointestinal issues such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhea, colitis and Crohn’s disease, obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression, cancer, cachexia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and ALS, among others.”

    Our gut is the key to our health and wellness. its responsible for 75% of our immune response. <Learn More about Leaky Gut>

    Glyphosate responsible for gut imbalance? 

    Glyphosate is the key ingredient of the herbicide Roundup, more than one billion pounds sprayed in the US alone. It’s applied to our food as little as three days before harvest. It is absorbed into the plant and can’t be washed away. It is catastrophic to the beneficial gut bacteria that is responsible for our immune system response.

    Monsanto has steadfastly claimed that Roundup is harmless to animals and humans because the mechanism of action it uses (which allows it to kill weeds), called the shikimate pathway, is absent in all animals. However, the shikimate pathway IS present in bacteria, and that’s the key to understanding how it causes such widespread systemic harm in both humans and animals.

    The bacteria in your body outnumber your cells by 10 to one. For every cell in your body, you have 10 microbes of various kinds, and all of them have the shikimate pathway, so they will all respond to the presence of glyphosate!

    Glyphosate causes extreme disruption of the microbe’s function and lifecycle. What’s worse, glyphosate preferentially affects beneficial bacteria, allowing pathogens to overgrow and take over, including the highly toxic Clostridium botulinum. 

    In the interview above, Dr. Seneff reviews a variety of chronic diseases, explaining how glyphosate contributes to each condition. So to learn more, I urge you to listen to it in its entirety. It’s quite eye-opening. According to Dr. Seneff, glyphosate is possibly “the most important factor in the development of multiple chronic diseases and conditions that have become prevalent in Westernized societies.”

    It’s disconcerting to say the least. I did what my doctor said, and fed my children Cheerios and other foods recommended by the government via the food pyramid. Now my children are part of the statistic of that is 54% of children suffering from chronic illness and disease. 

    Not giving up the possibility of healing my kids

    My mission, to see if I can undo the damage, support their body’s healing processes and help them to make better food choices. Its never to late to start making a change and to heal from the damage done. This is what we are doing to help detox the glyphosate, build our guts and provide nutrient-dense foods to support healing.

  • What Are Toxins Doing To Our Kids?

    We cannot assume that just because chemicals are in common trade and usage that they have been evaluated for safety by our government or any other scientific board, nor that they have been approved. Most are not and have not. We’re strong parents who can face the truth and do something strong and positive and powerful with it to protect our kids, our neighbor’s kids, and kids in other countries who are still getting exposed to those same chemicals that have been banned for use in our country.

    62,000 Toxic Chemicals & Failed Legislation

    The Toxic Substance Control Act (TCSA), passed in 1976, is the US federal law that regulates industrial and consumer chemicals – the thousands of synthetic chemicals in use that are not intended to be used in medication, cosmetics, foods, or pesticides. At the time this law was passed, the Environmental Protection Agency was charged with creating an inventory of all existing chemicals, which were then to the biomarker for safety. At that time there were already about 62,000 existing chemicals. Rather than being tested, however, they were “presumed safe” and were “grandfathered in.”

    Only 5 chemicals have been banned under the TSCA in over 35 years. Yes, 5! Do you find that as shocking as I do?

    The EPA has otherwise been entirely unable to require testing on, regulate, or remove any of the remaining chemicals from the marketplace. Only a few states in the US – California, New York, and Massachusetts among them – have state laws relevant to children’s environmental health. California put legislation in place so that by 2012, 1200 chemicals identified by the EPA were to be regulated; NY, MA, and CA require commercial pesticide applicators and farmers to report pesticide application to the state, and CT has banned BPA use in carbonless receipts from banks and retail stores due to its risk of absorption and potential harm to offspring when childbearing women who handle these regularly at work are exposed.

    Of the over 80,000 chemicals now in use in the US, it is clear that many are harmful to human physical and neurological development. Exposure at various vulnerable times during pregnancy, infancy, early childhood, and even though the teenage years when the lungs, endocrine, and nervous systems are still developing, can result in the same health problems increasing amongst our children including those I mentioned earlier. Because of their surface area-to-body weight ratio and immature detoxification abilities, most toxins impact children’s health harder than they do us grown-ups.

    https://hfi.designbyparrish.com/our-kids-are-so-very-sick

    What You Can Do to Protect Your Children from Environmental Toxins

    1. Optimize nutrition

    Great nutrition has two key benefits – eating natural foods with as little packaging and as few additives, colorings, pesticides, and herbicides as possible reduces chemical exposures for our kids (even after just 5 days of switching to mostly organic produce, kids’ blood levels of toxic agricultural chemicals go way down). Also, good nutrition boosts our natural ability to detoxify environmental toxins. I recommend that kids get at least two brightly colored fruits or vegetables at each meal (think carrots, blueberries, squash, for example). Healthy All Year has an entire section of lessons dedicated to teaching you how to use nutrition to boost your child’s immunity and support natural detoxification. You’ll also learn which supplements you can use to enhance detoxification naturally and safely, without breaking the bank!
    Teach your children about real foods Food Renegade has a new lesson book a great resource to learn together.

    2. Get Educated & Reduce Exposures

    Knowing which industrial, household and personal products (i.e., shampoos, lotions, sunscreens) are most toxic is key to protecting your child’s health. You also need to know which are the healthier alternatives. The Environmental Working Group, which has recently merged with Healthy Child, Healthy World, another of my favorite environmental advocacy groups. Other advocacy groups, Robyn O’Brien’s Allergy Kids, and Beth Lambert’s Epidemic Answers. Support the body’s ability to naturally detox. 

    3. Don’t be Afraid to be Called “Mean Mommy” and Other Names

    It’s our job to be parents and that means keeping our kids out of harm’s way when we can, even if it makes us temporarily unpopular. While we want our kids to live comfortably in the world, and not make life feel too restrictive, how comfortable is obesity or a hormone problem, really? 

    Yes, my kids called me “mean mommy” because I refused to let them wear the cool pajamas their friends were wearing – the ones treated with flame retardant chemicals. Now, 25 or so years later, the data is unequivocal. Flame retardants are seriously hazardous to our health, and more so to young children whose exposures far outweigh our own, and in whom exposures at critical times may have a detrimental impact on immunity, hormones (including those that impact obesity), and neurological health. 

    4. Join Together and Speak Up!

    It’s amazing what powerful mothers, fathers, grandparents, and citizens have accomplished in making policy changes in their children’s environments from toxic paints and toxic foods in schools to environmental dumping, fracking, and chemical waste plant leaks. Health Freedom Idaho is a coalition of moms (dads, grandparents, concerned citizens) who are speaking up. It is no small task, but clearly, the government isn’t going to clean this problem up for us, so we’ve got to be activists for our children’s health! 

    Will you join us!

    Impact of Toxins on Children’s Health:

    Aviva Romm https://avivaromm.com/government-failing-to-regulate-toxins-harming-kids/

    toxins and children

    ToxicFreeTribe: 16 ways to reduce toxic exposure

    Generation In Jeopardy: https://www.psr-la.org/PesticidesReport

  • The Real Cost of Breast Implants

    The Real Cost of Breast Implants

    Dr. Ed Melmed & Dawn Strohm

    For more information please visit
    http://www.knowthecause.com/index.php…

    This article originally appeared at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeRoZzfA3jg.
  • We avoid the Stomach Bug with this essential that’s ALWAYS stocked in my “medicine bag”

    We avoid the Stomach Bug with this essential that’s ALWAYS stocked in my “medicine bag”

    I am a mom of many and I can not stand the sight or smell of puke. There is a lot of nasty stuff moms have to deal with, but the stomach bug is something I can’t handle well. Fortunately, we found a remedy that has been a sanity saver in my household. Activated Charcoal and Gripe Water are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for your medicine cupboard. This isn’t one of those things you can wait until you get sick and run to the store and get it.  You must have it ON HAND for the stomach flu. From our experience, there is a small window of opportunity to get it into you system to help reduce and even eliminate symptoms altogether.
    Our family “discovered” activated charcoal after many bouts of vomiting due to my youngest child’s sensitivities to chemicals and pesticides on his food. Unfortunately, even organic foods were making him ill. It was an internet search, that led me to a blog, and out of desperation we tried charcoal at the first sign of a food reaction. Amazingly, we reduced the vomiting from days and days to a couple hours and eventually timed it better to avoid any vomit at all.
    This is how OUR family uses it.
    2 capsules broken open into a teaspoon of gripe water (our favorite is Mother’s Bliss). The gripe water helps sometimes to settle the tummy just enough to allow the charcoal to stay down and start absorbing. We try to have a SIP of water to get the grit out of the mouth but sometimes all we could do is just that teaspoon full of the gripe water charcoal mix. Every 15 minutes a teaspoon full and within an hour he was feeling well enough to sit up in bed and watch a show. Two hours later, and a couple more teaspoons and gradual sips of water he was back to his happy self. No more ‘throw ups’ for a sensitive little guy.
    The Stomach Flu BANISHED!
    We had the opportunity to try it on the stomach flu that struck our house and YES! It worked with that as well. Unfortunately, the first two kids suffered the entire 3 days because we just didn’t catch it in time, but the other four of us got queasy, but nothing more. Same protocol every 15 minutes until nausea subsided…then adding spoonfuls of water.

    So, who does it work?

    Here’s the history that I found from an article at http://articles.perfectorigins.com/activated-charcoal-health-benefits/.

    The year was 1831.

    Professor Tourey stood before an auditorium packed with his esteemed colleagues at the French Academy of Medicine.

    He held up a glass filled with a murky gray liquid and announced that this potion contained 15 grams of the deadly poison strychnine — ten times the lethal dose.

    Then Professor Tourey did something that stunned and terrified his peers: he gulped down every drop of this lethal cocktail.

    The auditorium at the French Academy of Medicine erupted in frantic shouts and screams. Men stormed the stage, prepared to drag Professor Tourey to the nearby hospital… or the morgue.

    But remarkably, Professor Tourey wasn’t harmed by this apparently suicidal stunt. Why? Because he’d mixed the strychnine with activated charcoal.

    What Is Activated Charcoal?

    Activated charcoal is one of the world’s oldest and trusted detoxification methods.

    activated_charcoal

    It’s been used since ancient times in Chinese and Ayurvedic traditions as a potent antidote for poisons. Today, you’ll find activated charcoal in hospital ER rooms around the world.

    When a patient is rushed to an emergency room because of poisoning or a drug overdose, nurses and doctors give them activated charcoal.  Millions of lives have been saved because of this amazing detoxifying agent.

    But activated charcoal has health benefits that reach way beyond the ER room.

    If you’re interested in better digestive health, less gas and strong protection against nasty foodborne illnesses, then activated charcoal could be a good fit for your lifestyle.

    How Does Activated Charcoal Work?

    To understand how activated charcoal works you must first understand how it is made.

    You make activated charcoal by burning a carbon source such as wood, peat or coconut shells at extremely high temperatures (1,700 — 1,800 °F). This creates char. The char is then heated in a furnace at even higher temperatures in the presence of steam.

    The charcoal is “activated” because this process causes it to have a very fine particle size. These ultra-fine particles are peppered with millions of tiny pores. And these pores are the secret to activated charcoal’s amazing detoxifying properties.

    Activated charcoal works by adsorbing (trapping) poisons, heavy metals, and intestinal gasses in these pores. But it doesn’t absorb these toxins.

    Absorption is when a fluid permeates a solid or is dissolved by a liquid. Adsorption is a chemical reaction where elements bind to a surface.

    Once activated charcoal enters the body it acts like a “toxin magnet”.

    Because activated charcoal has a negative electrical charge it attracts and binds positively charged toxins like heavy metals and industrial toxins before they have a chance to cause harm.

    Importantly, the human body cannot metabolize activated charcoal. It passes through the digestive system like a million microscopic magnets, grabbing toxins as it goes.

    Eventually, this activated charcoal and its toxic payload is harmlessly passed out of your body when you use the bathroom.

    Your Turn: Have you ever used activated charcoal? If so, what did you think? Share in the comments below! 

    Portions of this article originally appeared at: http://articles.perfectorigins.com/activated-charcoal-health-benefits/.

    Dr. Charles is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician who has certifications in wellness, nutritional response testing and killmode training protocols. Dr. Charles is a best selling author whose #1 weight loss book, “Fat Loss Factor”. has taken the Internet by storm in several countries around the world. His newest book, “Dare to Succeed”, was co-written with “Chicken Soup For the Soul” author Jack Canfield and has hit best seller status in 5 categories.

  • Kid-Friendly Cough Syrup

    Kid-Friendly Cough Syrup

    This Idaho family approved cough syrup is especially helpful with a congestion-related cough.

    The Components

    Lemon Juice

    Lemons are good for detoxing the body, in this case from an illness. They are also high in vitamin C, which is immune boosting. It is naturally anti-viral and anti-inflammatory. It’s also good for breaking up mucous that may be on the throat causing the cough.

    Honey

    Honey, especially raw honey, is well known for its many benefits. It is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and full of antioxidants. If you’re careful with only slightly heating this and you buy local raw honey it should help even more with an allergy related cough due to honey’s ability to help arm your immune system for dealing with local allergens.

    Coconut Oil

    Coconut oil has many amazing properties, but the important ones here are the anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties. All these make it perfect for fighting winter colds and viruses. It has even been shown that coconut oil can bolster the immune system by improving white blood cell counts, which directly fights viruses and infections.

    Together this syrup fights inflammation, bacteria, and viruses while soothingly coating the throat and breaking up mucous.

    How to Make It

    4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

    1/3 Cup Honey (Preferably Raw)

    2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

    Pic 1

    Place in a small pot and gently heat on a very low temperature, just enough to melt the coconut oil and warm the honey to mix easily.

    Pic 2

    For long term, you should store in the refrigerator but I leave it on the counter for a few days when there is illness in the house. Near the stove or warm crock pot (I use mine often for making broth when sick) will keep the coconut oil melted. Otherwise the coconut oil will solidify and you will need to melt it again before administering.

    Administer usually 3 times per day one tea spoon for child, and double dose for adults…

    Add-ins

    We’ve also added a bit of oregano oil into the syrup when fighting off something pretty bad. Oregano oil is an amazing natural antibiotic. Be sure to use a high quality essential oil for ingestion.

    Cayenne pepper or Apple Cider Vinegar can also nicely break up the mucous causing many coughs.

    This article originally appeared at: http://www.modernalternativehealth.com/2014/03/04/kid-friendly-cough-syrup/

    Another favorite source for natural treatments is Heather’s blog http://www.mommypotamus.com/

    How do you treat coughs at home? What other things would you add?