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Remedies

Cold Fighting Tea Recipe

November 12, 2015 by Kristie 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Cold Fighting Tea Recipe KidsA few nights back, my oldest daughter woke me around 1:30 am to tell me that she thought that her sister was sick.  She was complaining of a sore throat.  After I woke up enough to think :), I made her some black tea with honey and some herbal tincture in it.  Then, this natural mama gave her a small dose of not natural tylenol.*  Hey, we needed sleep.

The next day, I wanted to kill the cold quickly and help us not to catch it.  First I made sure that the girls were taking their everyday immune boosting drink-lemon water with cod liver oil*.  Then I gave them gave them Allimax which is a high potency garlic pill-this is good for killing viruses and bacteria!

I also wanted to get them to take an herbal extract which contains a potent mix of herbs that are effective at knocking out many infections and viruses.  But it is preserved in alcohol and tastes bad.  I knew I needed to come up with a way to encourage them to take regular doses-hence this recipe was born.  🙂

I chose black tea because it helps to calm down tummies.  Sometimes my kids have upset tummies when they aren’t feeling well, and I don’t want to chance making them feel worse with herbs or medicines.  The black tea helps their tummies to stay happy.

The honey is helpful for colds and sore throats.  I kept the honey to a minimum in this recipe though because too much sugar can feed viruses.  (You could add a more though if your kids need it for the taste.)  I also added stevia for added sweetness.

1 cup is an adult dose.  Since herbs are often dosed by weight, I give my 9 year old about 1/2 of an adult dose.  This can be given up to 4 times a day.

 

Cold Fighting Tea
Recipe Type: Remedy
Author: Kristie Mobley
Ingredients
  • 1 tea bag (or however many you need to make 1 quart of tea)
  • 1 Tbsp. honey
  • 15 drops stevia
  • 1 tsp. Now brand echinacea goldenseal extract
Instructions
  1. Brew the tea.
  2. Add the honey and let melt.
  3. Stir in other ingredients.
Notes
1 cup is an adult dose. Take up to 4 times daily.
3.5.3208

*If you have never ordered from Pure Formulas you can use my link to set up an account and receive $5 off of your $50 order (shipping is always free with Pure Formulas!)  Click here to receive $5.  (You will need to enter the code RWPNBF in the referral code space on your order.)

*I explain some of our reasons for avoiding pain relievers when possible in this post.

Disclaimer: This post is not medical advice. You should consult your health practitioner before making changes in your diet or supplements. I am not a doctor or medical professional.

Cold Fighting Tea Recipe

Filed Under: Health, Remedies

Supplements to Boost Immunity

October 16, 2015 by Kristie Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Supplements to Boost Immunity 2

Many years ago when my daughter was little, we went to the doctor a lot.  I often had the feeling that we weren’t getting healthier by taking antibiotics, antihistamines, steroids etc.  And all the trips to the doctor made me wonder how I grew up healthy since I hardly remember ever being sick or going to the doctor.

It was my heart’s desire to have a truly healthy family.  I was tired of getting sick and then having to go to the doctor if we didn’t get better.  I wanted us all to have strong immune systems so that we wouldn’t get sick very often, and if we did I wanted to know how to get rid of the illness myself.  I knew some about food and natural remedies, but I wanted to learn more.   So, I began to delve deeper into health research and I have never looked back!

Since changing our diet and adding in appropriate supplements,we now catch less illnesses.  And when we do catch something, I make sure we are taking regular doses of immune boosting supplements so that we can kick the infection quickly.  Sometimes, we are already taking some immune boosting supplements.  But, if we start feeling the first signs of sickness and we haven’t been taking anything-we start right away!

I feel blessed to have been able to use natural remedies instead of pharmaceutical drugs because drugs can have some pretty serious side effects.  A quick google search shows that the yearly hospitalizations from Tylenol are estimated to be in the tens of thousands.  Whereas the hospitalizations from Echinacea number under 100.  Herbs and Vitamins are generally much safer than medicines.  It is still important to be careful with herbs and vitamins, because some can have side effects.

The following supplements have a very good track record-they are safe even for small children.  (Even though these supplements are usually safe, each person must decide for themselves whether a supplement is right for them.)  I feel very comfortable giving these supplements to my children.

I would use medicines if I felt it was necessary.  They definitely are needed for life threatening infections.  I just prefer to stick to things that I know are helping our bodies in every way!

First, a few notes that you might find helpful:  Out of these remedies, Echinacea is the only one that you shouldn’t take all the time.  The rest are generally safe to take all the time.  Or you may just want to take them during the times of the year that you are more likely to catch something.  Certain immune compromised people including children that are prone to ear infections may want to take these supplements all the time (with the exception of the Echinacea).

Powerful Immune Boosting Supplements

Probiotics 

These are the good bacteria that help protect us from bad bacteria.  There are many different “strains” of bacteria. Different strains have different effects in the body. It is important to give children under the age of 2 the strains of bacteria that are naturally found in their guts at that age.  One of these strains is Bifidobacterium Infantis.

Ther-Biotic Infant is formulated for young children and contains Bifidobacterium Infantis.  Another probiotic that is safe for children and infants is Tummy Tuneup.

Vitamin A 

Even in the case of measles infections (which can sometimes be serious) vitamin A can cut the death rate down to almost zero.  Imagine what a difference it can make in the body’s ability to fight off less serious infections like colds.

I have talked about in a previous article that beta carotene (like the vitamin A in carrots) is not the type of vitamin A that is so powerful.  The vitamin A that is immune boosting is the type found in cod liver oil.

An excellent cod liver oil is Rosita cod liver oil.  It is pricey, but one bottle will last a long while.  And a doctor’s appointment will often cost more!  I prefer to spend my money on supplements that help keep us healthy.  🙂  (Cod liver oil can be given in a tiny amount of orange juice to help hide the flavor.)

Echinacea 

Echinacea kills a broad range of disease-causing viruses, fungi, and bacteria, but not through direct action.  Echinacea stimulates the immune system so that it works more effectively.

Echinacea tincture is available online.  A tincture is a liquid form of the herb.  Tinctures are made with alcohol or glycerine.  Alcohol is generally a stronger tincture-sometimes stronger is needed depending on how ugly the “bug”is. The amount of alcohol is very tiny, but if you are concerned you can get alcohol free tinctures made with glycerine only. The glycerine tinctures also taste better and are easier to get kids to take.

I put alcohol based tinctures in a little tea sweetened with a tiny amount of raw honey to help make them more palatable. Tinctures can also be hidden in a little orange juice, but be careful not to give very much because even natural sugars can feed bacteria and viruses.

Echinacea can be given every two hours during the acute crisis phase, and should be continued for 7-10 days after improvement.

Colostrum 

This is the first milk that is produced in a mammal before the breastmilk comes in. Colostrum is very helpful in boosting the immune system.  It also helps to establish friendly protective bacteria (like probiotics).  If you need a dairy free colostrum Kirkman makes a really good one.  Colostrum is very helpful for anyone who was not breastfed, and is also very important to take after a round of antibiotics.  Colostrum is very gentle but also very effective.

These supplements are some of the safest that you will find, but they also really work!  If you are prone to sicknesses in the winter, you might want to start on some of these supplements right away because winter is right around the corner!

I would love to hear from you!  You can comment or ask a question below.  🙂

Disclaimer: This post is not medical advice. You should consult your health practitioner before making changes in your diet or supplements. I am not a doctor or medical professional.

This post was shared at Motivation Monday.

 

Supplements to Boost Immunity

Filed Under: Health, Remedies

Causes of Ear Infections and Their Solutions

October 6, 2015 by Kristie Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Do your kids have trouble with ear infections?  Find out what is really causing the problem and what you can do about it!  My older daughter had quite a few ear infections when she was little, but luckily, my younger hadn’t.  However, one day she started complaining of her ear hurting.  Even though she wasn’t crying, I could tell it hurt pretty badly.  It kept up for a couple days so I took her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with an ear infection and given an antibiotic.

Want to know the rest of the story and find out how to treat your ear problems with natural remedies?  Click here to read the rest of this article at Whole Intentions.

Do your kids have trouble with ear infections?  Find out what is really causing the problem and what you can do about it!

Filed Under: Health, Remedies

Ear Infection Pain Relief

September 16, 2015 by Kristie 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Relieve Ear Infection Pain

Ear infections can be really painful!  There are many things that you can do to help your child heal from an ear infection-you can boost the immune system with food or supplements, you can encourage the ear to drain properly, and you can kill the virus or the infection in the ear.

All of those things will help your child to recover and will lessen the pain.  However, I know that when one of my kids had an ear infection, I wanted to know how I could help my child to stop hurting as soon as possible!

Tylenol and Ibuprofen are often recommended for pain relief, but there are a couple of reasons that they are a last resort for me.

  1. Conventional pain medications such as Tylenol and ibuprofen can sometimes cause more problems than they solve. Ibuprofen can cause ulcers and increased blood pressure. Tylenol can cause nausea and headache. Both Ibuprofen and Tylenol can cause liver and kidney damage. Personally, I only use Tylenol if it is the middle of the night and other pain relief measures haven’t brought enough relief.
  2. Giving pain relievers can make an illness last longer. In one study they gave volunteers the flu virus. Some of the volunteers were given a pain reliever and others were not. The patients that received the pain reliever stayed sick longer!

Here are some things that can help the pain of an ear infection without the bad side effects of conventional pain medicines:

1. Heat-often heat alone is a big help to easing off ear pain. Fill an old clean sock with rice and heat it in the microwave until it is really warm, but not too hot. Apply the sock to the ear.
2. Onion-this often helps ease ear pain. Slice an onion in half bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Let cool until it is really warm but not too hot. Apply to the ear. This can be left on the ear for a long time if desired.
3. Garlic oil-this helps with the pain as well as killing infection.  You can make your own, or buy it online*.  (Make sure that the eardrum isn’t preforated-I explain how you can tell here.)

Sometimes, these remedies work better than pain medicine because they go directly to the source of the pain.  The last time one of my children had an ear infection we used these remedies, and they worked well for us!

*If you have never ordered from Pure Formulas you can use my link to set up an account and receive $5 off of your $50 order (shipping is always free with Pure Formulas!)  Click here to receive $5.  (You will need to enter the code RWPNBF in the referral code space on your order.)

Ear Infection Pain Relief 2

This post was shared at Fat Tuesday.

Filed Under: Health, Remedies

Ear Infections Part 2-A Natural Remedy

September 8, 2015 by Kristie 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Ear Infection Natural Remedy

In Part 1 of my ear infection series I addressed antibiotics and whether they are necessary for your child.  This article will help you with more diagnosis clues (See information about the otoscope below).  I will also cover an effective remedy for many ear infections-garlic oil!

First, I wanted to give an important precaution about using garlic oil inside the ear.  Before you can use garlic oil to kill an ear infection, you need to make sure that the eardrum does not have a hole in it.  If the eardrum has a hole in it, it can be dangerous to put anything into the ear.  A doctor can look into the ear and tell you if the eardrum has burst.  Or, you can buy an otoscope online and look into the ear yourself.

There are otoscopes available online that come with pictures to help you to see what a healthy ear looks like, what an infected ear looks like,and what a perforated eardrum looks like.  Otoscopes by Dr. Mom usually include this information.

When shopping for an otoscope, consider buying one with an LED light.  An LED light is beneficial because it will use a lot less battery power and is a good bright light.  I would also make sure that the otoscope gets really good reviews, because you want to be able to see into the ear well.  You will need to make sure that the specula is the right size for your child’s ear.  (A specula is the pointed plastic cone that goes on the end of the otoscope).

Garlic Oil-The Benefits and a Recipe

Garlic oil is a wonderful ear infection remedy.  Garlic is a natural antibiotic.  It also has antiviral properties-which is beneficial because some ear infections are viral.  Garlic can also help with the pain of an ear infection.  Garlic oil can be purchased online.  (If you want to buy this from Pure Formulas (always free shipping!) and you have never ordered from Pure Formulas you can use my link to set up an account and receive $5 off of your $50 order.  Click here to receive $5.  (You will need to enter the code RWPNBF in the referral code space on your order.)

Garlic oil can also be made at home.  If you decide to make it yourself, buy the whitest, freshest garlic that you can find.  Extra virgin olive oil is the best oil to use because it has anti-inflammatory properties.  I like California Olive Ranch Olive Oil .   This brand is carried by some grocery stores.  (Be careful-many store bought olive oils are not pure olive oil!  The wrong oil can cause inflammation-which is not going to be helpful for an ear infection.)

To make garlic oil chop 2 -3 garlic cloves.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Put the garlic in a small pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil.  Get a large pot that the small pot can fit into.  Put water into the large pot and heat the water until really hot. Take off the heat and put the small pot (with the garlic and oil) into the large pot of hot water.  Take care not to get any water into your garlic oil.

After ten minutes strain the oil.  You can use a clean thin towel (like an old dish towel) to pour the oil through.  You don’t want any garlic particles in your oil.

If you decide to store the garlic oil, be warned that garlic oil can grow a dangerous toxin called botulism.  To prevent this, I usually make fresh garlic oil each time.  Or you can store the garlic oil in the refrigerator for a few days (some sources say up to seven), and warm it up before using it.

How to Use Garlic Oil

To use the oil, first make sure it is warm but not too hot.

Put it into a clean dry dropper and drop 2-3 drops in the affected ear.  Have the child lie down for a few minutes to allow the oil to coat the ear.  You may want something to distract the child.  Use 4 to 6 times a day.

Garlic oil can also be rubbed on the bottom of the feet.  Using the oil on the bottoms of the feet helps boost the immune system because anything rubbed on the skin enters the blood stream quickly.  All that garlic is a great way to help the body fight off any infection.  We do this often at our house for all kinds of sicknesses especially if the child’s stomach is upset, because I can get the garlic into them without them having to eat it.

Nighttime is a good time to put garlic oil on the feet-Rub the oil all over the feet and cover with socks.  (You can apply the garlic oil at anytime, but care must be taken because the oil will stain your carpet).

I have used garlic oil for an ear infection that my daughter had and the infection did clear up.  I love being able to use safe and effective remedies for my children!

Natural Ear Infection Remedy

 

You may also be interested in: Ear Infections-Are Antibiotics Necessary?

Pain Relief for Ear Infections

This post was shared at Fat Tuesday.

 

Filed Under: Health, Remedies

Ear Infections-Are Antibiotics Necessary?

September 1, 2015 by Kristie 7 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Ear Infections Antibiotics

An All Too Common Scenario

It is midnight, and you are sleeping soundly. You hear a noise and recognize your child’s crying. Stumbling out of bed you make your way to your child’s room. You can tell the cry is “that kind of cry”-the kind that tells you that something is really wrong. You wonder what it could be until you notice that your child is pulling on his ears. Then you feel the dread of knowing that your child’s ear is hurting badly, and that usually means a doctor’s appt., an antibiotic and lots of pain for your child until the infection calms down.

But what if there was a way to help your child become well without resorting to antibiotics? Antibiotics can cause digestion problems, allergies, and set the stage for many serious problems-including reoccurring ear infections.

For many children there is a better way. Antibiotics do have their place-some children do need them. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics antibiotics should be prescribed if the child is age 6 months or younger, or if the acute otitus media (ear infection) seems to have severe symptoms. If the ear infection has less severe symptoms and the child is between 6 months and 12 years than simply waiting is an option.  (Source) (I would suggest trying some natural remedies instead of just waiting!)

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that many ear infections go away on their own. Approximately 80 percent of children get better without antibiotics. In one 2000 study of 240 children under the age of 2 only 3% required an antibiotic after 4 days. 97% of the children healed on their own!

(If your child is under the age of 2, has a fever of 102F or higher or has fluid dripping from the ears a doctor’s visit is probably a very good idea. Double ear infections can be a sign that antibiotics are a good idea.)

What Is An Ear Infection Anyway?

An Ear Infection is caused by a bacteria or virus getting into the ear. Often a cold or flu comes on first and fluid has a chance to pool in the middle ear. If the fluids are not encouraged to drain and they become stagnant than bacteria has a chance to build up causing an ear infection. This is an infection of the middle ear (the most common type of ear infection). An infection that is on the outer ear is called swimmer’s ear and is less common.

Ear infections can also be from a virus, and it is often hard to diagnose if an ear infection has a viral component or if it is simply from a build up of bacteria.

How Are Ear Infections Diagnosed? 

An ear infection is diagnosed with a medical history and by looking into the ear with an otoscope. The otoscope is a device that allows the doctor to see all the way into the canal and look at the eardrum. If the eardrum is red and swollen usually the doctor will diagnose an ear infection. However, simply having a red eardrum or a slightly bulging tympanic membrane doesn’t necessarily mean that your child has an ear infection. It can simply mean that the fluid is not draining well.

Standard medical treatment usually includes antibiotics. For some children, antibiotics don’t solve the problem and they continue to get ear infections.

What Can I Do To Help My Child Get Well?

There are the 4 things you can do to help your child recover quickly-

1. Encourage Your Child’s Ear to Drain Properly
2. Kill the Virus or Infection in the Ear Directly
3. Strengthen the Immune System so the Body Fights off the Infection
4. Avoid Conventional Pain Medications if Possible (Try other pain relief measures)

How to Encourage the Ear to Drain Properly

Manually “Massage” the Ear-Since stagnant fluid can cause ear infections, we want to encourage the fluid to move. Some chiropractors will teach you how to do this so that you will be able to encourage the ear to drain properly at home. See below for more on chiropractic care.

Elevate the Head of Your Child’s Bed-The ears can drain much better if your child’s head is elevated. I have done this by taking a couch pillow and placing it under the top part of the mattress. (This might not be good for the mattress though). You could also try placing blocks under the front legs of the bed being careful to make sure that the bed is steady. Also, pillows could be arranged to keep the child in a reclining position instead of a laying position. Make sure that the child is reclined and not getting a kink in their neck. This of course wouldn’t be safe for very small children or babies.

See a Chiropractor-Many children with ear infections are helped by seeing a chiropractor. Chiropractic adjustments are especially helpful to children with chronic ear infections. Many chiropractors can also teach you how to properly massage your child’s ear and lymph nodes. Then, you would be able to help your child’s ear drain properly by “massaging” the ear at home. I would make sure that the chiropractor is trained to work on children. Asking others for referrals is also helpful in determining how skilled a chiropractor is.

I will give you more information on how to treat ear infections naturally in Part 2 of this article!  Stay tuned.  🙂

You may also be interested in this post on how to strengthen the immune system with food-Foods That Strengthen the Immune System-Protect Yourself from Sickness.  

Update:  Part 2 is ready!  You can read part 2 at this link-Ear Infections Part 2-A Natural Remedy

Disclaimer: This post is not medical advice. You should consult your health practitioner before making changes in your diet or supplements. I am not a doctor or medical professional.

Ear InfectionsThis post was shared at Fat Tuesday, and

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Filed Under: Health, Remedies

Foods That Strengthen the Immune System-Protect Yourself From Sickness

August 22, 2015 by Kristie 12 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Strengthen your immune system, cold remedies

Strengthen Your Immune System and Avoid Sicknesses

Did you know that you can help protect yourself from getting sick?  I didn’t used to know that.  I thought that the best I could do was just try to avoid sick people.  But now I realize that the immune system is the best protection from sicknesses.

I rarely take my children to the doctor.  Most of the time, they are not sick.  When they are, we pray and treat them with healthy foods and supplements.  They get better quickly.  I am not bragging-I understand that sometimes it is necessary to go to the doctor.   (I do take my children and myself to the doctor when necessary.)  I just know that we have seen a difference in our health with the right foods and supplements.

I am also not advising you to find some sick people to hang around.  🙂  However, I now realize that an infection (whether viral or bacterial) can affect different people in different ways.   A person with with a serious illness can die from an infection, whereas a healthy person can kick the same infection quickly or not catch the infection in the first place.

A healthy immune system goes into action as soon as someone is exposed to an illness to identify and kill the virus or bacteria.

One thing that I do to help maintain a healthy immune system is to eat certain foods that strengthen the immune system.  I think it is pretty wonderful that I can eat some yummy recipes and help myself to avoid colds and such!

Before I tell you about all the foods that are helpful, I do need to tell you about one food that you should avoid like the plague when you are sick:  sugar.  The number one thing you can do to strengthen the immune system is take yourself off all sugar.  If you are already sick, I would recommend avoiding fruit as well until you get better. Sugar feeds bacteria and viruses!

Now let’s move on to the yummy food that will build your immunity!  🙂

  • A good diet for healing looks like this: meat, vegetables, and a healthy starch (rice, potatoes, or sweet potatoes).
  • And as much garlic and onions as you can to your cooking.
  • Eat as many foods as you can that are high in vitamin C-this would include green peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and mustard greens.
  • Don’t forget to drink lots of water.
  • Fermented Foods-Sauerkraut or Kimchi from the refrigerated section of your grocery store.  (If it is in the canned food aisles it is not really fermented.)
  • Vitamin A foods-beef liver or grass fed butter
    (Keep reading to find out why :))

Why you might want to consider eating beef liver and an alternative

Vitamin A is a powerhouse for fighting all kinds of infections.  This vitamin can help get rid of some tough infections including ear infections and even measles.  This article mentions that the death rate from measles approaches zero if vitamin A supplementation is given.  I found another article which is even more comprehensive and it estimates that vitamin A reduces the death rate from measles by 80%.  Whether it cuts the death rate by 80% or 100%,  I am not sure.  What I am sure of is that Vitamin A is a powerful ally for the immune system.

Beta carotene (like the vitamin A in carrots) is not the type of vitamin A that is so powerful.  Beta carotene has to be converted by the body into vitamin A.  It is much better to give the body vitamin A directly.  The best food to get vitamin A from is from liver.  Eating beef liver from grass fed cows is a wonderful way to get vitamin A.  But that can be hard to source and hard for some people to eat!  I haven’t started eating liver myself yet.  🙂

An easier way to get vitamin A is to take cod liver oil.  (I will be publishing a post soon on supplements to boost the immune system and will talk more about cod liver oil.)

Immune Boosting Recipes

Here are some yummy recipes that will also boost your immunity!

Super Easy Real Food Meal

Easy Real Food Meal #2

Cold Kicker Chicken Soup

Stuffed Peppers

Food is one of my favorite ways to keep myself and my family healthy.  It is the foundation for a healthy body.  I want to encourage you to eat foods that boost your immune system and help you to be vibrantly healthy!

Disclaimer: This post is not medical advice. You should consult your health practitioner before making changes in your diet or supplements. I am not a doctor or medical professional.

Foods That Strengthen Your Immune System, Cold remedies

 

This post was shared at Fat Tuesday.

 

Filed Under: Health, Remedies Tagged With: Cold Remedies, Real Food, Strengthen Your Immune System

Protect Yourself When Visiting the Dentist

July 18, 2015 by Kristie 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

Protecting Your Children's Health Dentist 3

Protecting Your Children’s Health (and your own!) When Visiting the Dentist

Many of you know that I believe mercury played a part in keeping me sick.  Because of the fact that I am sensitive to mercury, and because of my extensive mercury research I am convinced that it is important to protect yourself when visiting the dentist.  Having bad dental work can definitely make you very sick.  It can also be harmful just to be in dentist’s offices if they have mercury floating in the air.  The great news is that you can take steps to protect yourself and your family.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Dentist

The first step you will probably want to take is to do some research about the dentist you want to see.  For example, If you think that one of your children might need a new filling, you will want a dentist that doesn’t place mercury (silver) fillings.  If there is any chance that you will need an old mercury filling replaced-then you definitely need to do your research first.  It can be very dangerous to have a dentist remove a mercury filling.  It is important to choose a dentist trained in safe mercury removal.

A few other things you may want to ask about when calling dentists offices:

  • Some dentists also have digital x-rays-these have way less radiation exposure than traditional x-rays.
  • Some dentists have a filtration system to keep mercury out of the air.

What You Can Do After Your Dental Appointment

When I recently took my daughter for a cleaning at a dentist, I took precautions to protect all of us from mercury exposure.  Many vitamins and minerals can protect you from the harmful effects of mercury.

I chose to do the following to protect us:

  • Activated Charcoal* can actually stick to mercury and usher it out of the body.  I swished with activated charcoal and water after the appointment.  I also took a charcoal pill and gave one to my daughter also.
  • Vitamin C can neutralize the effects of mercury.  I gave my daughter a vitamin C pill.  I already take wheat grass powder daily and it is high in vitamin C.  It is also a good idea to load up on foods high in vitamin C like bell peppers, greens, kiwi, broccoli, and strawberries.
  • Zinc and Selenium also play a big part in helping the body detoxify mercury.  I chose to give my daughter my mineral supplement for a few days before and after the appointment.  (I take my minerals daily already.)
  • Magnesium is also important for detox.  We take this one on a regular basis.  (If you have trouble with magnesium’s slight laxative effect, you can take this type of magnesium.)
  • Vitamin E is important for mercury detox.  I took this one after I had my mercury fillings removed to help with mercury detox.  I decided not to buy that particular vitamin this time (My vitamin budget was already spent :))  So, I ordered sunflower seed butter instead.  Sunflower seeds contain high amounts of vitamin E.

It took some work to prepare for the dentist appointment, but I definitely feel that it is very important to take precautions to protect my families health.  How about you-have you ever felt it was necessary to protect yourself from mercury?

*If you have never ordered from Pure Formulas you can use my link to set up an account and receive $5 off of your $50 order (shipping is always free with Pure Formulas!)  Click here to receive $5.  (You will need to enter the code RWPNBF in the referral code space on your order.)

Disclaimer: This post is not medical advice. You should consult your health practitioner before making changes in your diet or supplements. I am not a doctor or medical professional.

Protecting Your Children's Health Dentist

 

You may also be interested in:

How I Recovered from Mercury Poisoning

How to Feel Better and Look Better

This post was shared at Fat Tuesday, Favorite Things Friday, Simple Life Sunday, and

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Filed Under: Health, Homemaking, Remedies

The Hidden Key to Weight Loss and a Cure for Arthritis?

May 5, 2015 by Kristie 7 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

it starts with food pin

 

(Source for book picture)

I recently found a book called It Starts with Food.  This book is supposed to help people who have been unable to lose weight to finally succeed (and feel great while losing the weight).  It also gives stories of people who were able to make their fibromyalgia disappear.  Others claim to have had all their arthritis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms disappear.  Can this be true?  I definitely think so!  I have written about how Food can be very healing, and I keep writing on it because I believe it has the power to help so many people.

Could Hormones and Blood Sugar be keeping you fat?

It Starts with Food can especially help those who have hormonal dysfunction and blood sugar problems.  How do you know if you are one of those people?  Here are some of the signs of blood sugar problems and hormonal problems:

  • Do you find it impossible to lose weight even when eating less?
  • Do you crave sweets late at night?
  • Do you feel draggy around 3 o clock everyday?
  • Do you wake consistently at 2 or 3 am?
  • Do you get cranky if you don’t eat every 2-3 hours?  Or need a drink (not water) to help you feel better?
  • Do you have a “spare tire” around your waist?

If you answered yes to some of those questions, hormones and blood sugar are probably causing you some problems including weight gain.  And It Starts with Food can give you the science behind why this is true.  Or you can just skip to the end and find out what foods you can eat to help you overcome your cravings and weight issues.

What about health problems?  Who can this book help?

To answer that question, I will give you some examples from the book-

  • One lady had Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  By the third week of the diet all her joint pain, muscle pain, and bone pain were gone!  She felt much more clear minded as well.
  • A type 1 diabetic was able to keep his blood sugar numbers perfect!  Before the program his numbers would jump from low to high extremes without any reason.
  • Another testimonial was about lyme’s disease:  The symptoms were a stiff neck, headache, being tired all the time and hurting everywhere.  She had trouble sleeping through the night because of the pain.   She states that she “lost every one of my Lyme disease symptoms, and a few pounds as well!”

What Foods Can You Eat on This Diet?

For 30 days, you would eat only healthy proteins, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats.  For example-you could eat the easy real food meal I cooked here.  The food is actually really yummy-a meal could be steak and sweet potatoes and broccoli and as much healthy fat as you want.  There is also a cookbook available called Well Fed written by Melissa Joulwan.  All the recipes in this cookbook are approved by the authors of “It Starts with Food”, and this cookbook gets rave reviews for its delicious recipes!

After 30 days, you would test new foods.  First you would add in dairy for 3 days and evaluate how you feel.  If you still feel great you would then try eating gluten again (bread, noodles etc.).  Again you would evaluate how you felt to decide if you need to stay away from gluten or if it is fine for you.  You would keep adding in food groups like this until you had found out which foods make you feel wonderful.

I think It Starts with Food could help a lot of people.  It is a committment-but 30 days is a short span of time especially if you are suffering with certain health problems or have been unable to lose weight.

 

Disclaimer: This post is not medical advice. You should consult your health practitioner before making changes in your diet or supplements. I am not a doctor or medical professional.

Disclaimer: There are referral links in this post, but I only recommend things that I think are awesome! The products are almost always ones that I have used or still use.

This post was shared at Fat Tuesday.

Filed Under: Diet, Health, Paleo, Remedies

How to Have Beautiful Skin, Increased Energy, and less PMS

April 18, 2015 by Kristie 8 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend things that I wholeheartedly endorse. See my full disclosure here

1 habit that can give you beautiful skin and increased energy! Since I started this new habit, I noticed a glow to my skin and my pores are smaller!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33334577@N06/8574899550/
via StockPholio.com

Juicing and Beautiful Skin

I have started a new habit-I have been making juice from vegetables.  I noticed that I felt prettier like I was glowing.  Then my husband said (without me asking :)) that my skin looked better and my pores looked smaller!

I started juicing to heal my digestion, detox my liver and balance my hormones.  Which means I feel better and have more energy.  PMS symptoms start to disappear.  My digestion works better which means less indigestion or bloating.  I  just didn’t  know that I would have improved skin as well!

How Juicing Helps to Heal Digestion, Hormones, and Energy Levels

Juicing is an easy way to get lots of nutrients and vitamins.  Because the fiber is removed, juice is way easier to digest than plain raw veggies.  When the fiber is gone, it means I can take in way more vegetables without overloading my digestive system with fiber.  Many cancer patients have found healing through juicing because they can get in a lot of vitamins (way more than they could get in if they tried to just eat the veggies).

Juicing helps the cancer patients to rid themselves of the poisons which caused their cancer.  (I can’t say that poisons cause all cancers, but they definitely cause some because many people heal from cancer when they work hard at detox).

Juicing also heals the liver so that hormones come back into balance.  When the liver is healthy, it is able to help the body to get rid of  excess estrogen.  Too much estrogen can cause certain cancers to grow.  Excess estrogen can also cause or worsen pms, endometriosis, fibroids, and heart disease.  When estrogen is not in excess and is balanced with the other hormones it can lessen dramatically the hormonal problems listed above.  Other “side effects” of healthy hormones include weight loss and clear skin.

If I don’t have the time or fresh veggies available-sometimes I will take a half of scoop of this wheat grass juice powder.*  It is gluten free (made from the grass, not the wheat grain).  It can be added to something you like to drink to help with the flavor.

How to Make Vegetable Juices at Home with a Juicer Or With a Blender

I made my first juice out of just cabbage.  I then tried lettuce, celery juice, and carrots.  Because I am still working on food sensitivities it it easier for me to try one new thing at a time.  I didn’t make mine for taste but for health.  But I found some juice recipes for you that taste good (see below).  (One precaution to be aware of-if you know you are sensitive to oxalates, then you will need to be careful not to juice vegetables with high oxalate content (like spinach).  (Click here for more information on oxalates.)

Juices can be made easily with a juicer.  I have done some research on juicers and and these two juicers are often are recommended as the best: Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain 700-Watt Juice Extractor and Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer – Black and Chrome.  I would love to have one!  Since I don’t yet, here is how I make vegetable juice with a basic blender….

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Filed Under: Health, Liver, Remedies, Weight Loss

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