Fresh Environment, Healthier You

It’s Springtime! While you are doing an internal cleanse to rid your body of toxin build-up and anything that survives on the nutrients meant for you, it’s important to take a look at environmental factors that may be impacting your health. Follow these tips to freshen your environment for a safer, healthier home.   

Cleaning Products

Rid your home of toxic, harsh cleaning products. Cleaning ingredients vary in the type of health hazard they pose. Some may cause immediate hazards such as skin or respiratory irritation, watery eyes, or chemical burns, while others have been associated with chronic or long-term effects.

Most homes can be safely cleaned with a few non-toxic ingredients: vinegar
(it’s anti-bacterial), baking soda, water, and microfiber mops and cloths.

•     Make your own all purpose cleaner by mixing 1 part vinegar
     and 1 part water in a clean spray bottle. Spray on surface
     and wipe with a cloth. Caution: Improperly diluted vinegar can harm
      certain surfaces. Always test in a small area first.

•        Create a surface scrub for stained or dirty surfaces using 1
     part baking soda and 1/3 part water.  Mix in a container to
     create a paste. Spread paste over surface and wipe with a
     cloth. For stubborn stains, let paste stand 15 minutes before wiping off. 

 
Dust Control

House dust has been known to absorb toxic substances. To keep dust at a minimum, purchase a high quality vacuum and use it frequently. Try dusting with a damp or wet cloth as dry dusting can circulate dust back into the air.

Detergents and Fabric Softeners

Fragrances added to many laundry detergents and fabric softeners may cause negative effects such as respiratory irritation, headache, sneezing, and watery eyes in sensitive individuals. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found that one-third of the substances used in the fragrance industry are toxic. Try to purchase detergents and fabric softeners that are gentle and fragrance free.

Cookware

•       Try not to use plastic containers/plastic wrap in the
    microwave. Harmful chemicals can move from plastic
    into foods and drinks.  

•        Replace non-stick and aluminum cookware with cast-iron,
     stainless steel or glass whenever possible.
  
•         Store food in glass or ceramic containers.
  
•        Eat fresh foods whenever possible.

Cosmetic Products

Be aware of what you are putting on your skin and hair!  Some lotions, make-up products, and hair-care products contain dangerous chemicals such as carcinogens, formaldehydes, and heavy metals. Studies show that much of what you put on your skin and hair is absorbed into the body and bloodstream. Try to find non-scented, or naturally scented, organic personal care products whenever possible.

7 Day Delicious Detox Diet

This recipe is a cleansing diet from a hospital nutritionist used to help patients detox and lose weight before a surgery. When followed correctly, it may help clean out your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. After only seven days of this process, many have felt lighter and experienced an abundance of energy.

Delicious Detox Soup: 1 large can of stewed tomatoes  3 large green onions chopped 3 garlic cloves pressed 2 quarts fat-free chicken or beef broth 1/2 head of cabbage chopped 1 bunch of celery chopped 2 lbs carrots peeled and chopped 2 red bell peppers chopped 3 Bouillon cubes or to taste 1/2 tsp. Poultry seasoning 1 tsp. Spike seasoning Heat the broth and add chopped and peeled carrots in a large sauce pan. In a separate pan, saute the chopped celery, onions, garlic and peppers until tender crisp in 1 tsp. olive oil, then add seasonings. After adding and mixing the seasonings, pour this in with the carrot mixture. Add the cabbage and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate and reheat on the stove top as you are ready to eat it. This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry during the week. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want.

DAY ONE: Eat any fruit except bananas. Cantaloupes and watermelon are lower in calories than most other fruits. Eat only soup and fruit today.

DAY TWO: Eat vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed with fresh, raw, cooked or canned veggies. Try to eat green leafy veggies and stay away from dry beans, peas or corn. Eat veggies along with the soup. At dinnertime reward yourself with a big baked potato and butter. Don't eat fruits today.

DAY THREE: Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato. If you have eaten as described above for three days and not cheated, you should find that you have lost a few pounds.

DAY FOUR: Eat at least 3 bananas and drink all the skim milk you can today, along with eating the soup. Bananas are high in calories and carbohydrates, as is the skim milk, but on this particular day your body will need the potassium, carbs, proteins and calcium to lessen the craving for sweets.

DAY FIVE: You may have 10-20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes or as many as 6 tomatoes on this day. Eat the soup at least once today.

DAY SIX: Eat to your heart’s content of beef and veggies today. You can even have 2-3 steaks if you like with green leafy veggies but no baked potato. Be sure to eat the soup at least once today.

DAY SEVEN: Eat brown rice and veggies and drink unsweetened fruit juice. Eat as much soup as you can today. You can add cooked veggies to the rice if you wish.

By the end of the seventh day many have lost 10-17 pounds. If you have lost more than 17 pounds, stay off the diet for 2 days before resuming again. 

Due to the variety of digestive systems in individuals, this diet will affect everyone differently. After day three you will have more energy than when you began. After being on the diet for several days, you will find that your bowel movements have changed. Eat a cup of bran or fiber if needed.

You can eat broiled, boiled or baked chicken instead of beef but absolutely no skin on the chicken.

DO NOT - DO NOT

No bread, carbonated drinks (including diet drinks). Remember, absolutely no fried foods.

DO- DO- DO- DO

Drink plenty, at least 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, as well as any combination of the following beverages: black coffee, unsweetened fruit drinks, cranberry juice, skim milk, herbal tea.

Why Liquid Extracts???

"Liquid herbal extracts solved my dilemma of convincing Tristan at four years old that his survival depended on eating the ground up herbal tablets and powders from capsules mixed with applesauce. What I did not know until much later, was I had stumbled across the most effective form of herbal delivery. The small amber glass bottles with rubber topped droppers held the precious liquid extracts of herbs that gave my son a normal life and he didn't mind taking it!" from A Mother's Guide to Herbal Extracts: Saving Tristan by Kathy Garber.

Kathy Garber further writes in the book, A Mother's Guide to Herbal Extracts: Saving Tristan, how the use of herbal extracts kept her son off dialysis and kept his blood pressure normal for 12 years.

According to Terry Willard PhD of the Wild Rose College and author of the textbook Modern Herbology, extracts are found to be up to 70% more effective than tablets or encapsulated herbs. Their research found the liquid form being much more easily assimilated into the body and the alcohol acting as an effective carrier into the blood stream. This discovery is valuable when quick relief is needed or in an acute situation.

But what about taste? There is an old saying, "The more bitter the draught, the better the cure". Bitter herbs are helpful. Science now confirms when we taste something bitter a sensory response is sent to the brain, stimulating the intestines, gallbladder, liver and the digestive juices in the stomach for digestion. This all happens because of the bitter taste experience!

The digestion process of foods or supplements can take 4-6 hours before most nutrients are absorbed. With liquid, the healing properties your body needs are pulled out of the herb, making it easier for your body to use. This is especially helpful to those who have poor digestion. Liquid extracts retain their beneficial properties for up to 3 years. Tablets or encapsulated herbs can loose up to 90% of their effectiveness within a year. Discover the best form of herbal delivery!

7 Tips for Staying Healthy in the Winter

7 Tips for Staying Healthy in the Winter

As winter approaches, more and more of us are noticing people with sniffles and coughs and remembering that we need to take some extra steps to stay healthy during the winter season. 

1. Eat Healthy - meats and complex carbohydrates give your body more fuel to burn, which helps to keep your core body temperature regulated.
2. Drink plenty of Water - our body uses more of it to warm and moisturize the cold, dry air we are breathing in.
3. Use herbs like Echinacea, Elder Berry and Propolis resin to support the immune system.
4. Stay warm, but not too hot. Dress in layers.
5. Use herbs like Anise seed, Elecampane, Stinging Nettle leaf, Elder flower, Thyme, Licorice, and Bayberry bark to help support the respiratory system.
6. Take your daily multivitamin and mineral supplement. Winter typically means foods aren't as fresh, and therefore don't contain as many nutrients.
7. Get plenty of fresh air. Try opening the windows in the house for 15-20 minutes each day.

Taking a few extra steps each day can benefit the ability of your body to stay warm and healthy!

~ Happy Holidays!

11 Steps to Naturally Increase Fertility
for Women and Men

Infertility, by definition, means not being able to achieve pregnancy after one year of trying (or six months if a woman is 35 or older). About 1/3 of the time, it is a female problem. In another 1/3 of cases, it is the man with the fertility problem. For the remaining 1/3, both partners have fertility challenges or no cause is found.

Some general steps to help increase fertility include:

• Cleanse and Tone your body and reproductive organs of toxins and all unnecessary burdens
• Stay Stress Free, try to find ways to relax and de-stress each day
• Support and Enhance your glands and reproductive organs
• Women, look for herbal combinations including such herbs as: Vitex, False Unicorn, Dong Quai and Eleuthero
• Men, look for herbal combinations including such herbs as: ELeuthero, Tribulus terrestris, Epimedium and Astragalus
• Women: Add Vitamin C to your daily regimen of vitamins
• Men: Take a daily multivitamin 
• Women: Reduce caffeine consumption, switch your morning drink to decaf green tea.
• Men: avoid hot baths, bicycling, tight underwear and hot work environments.
• Eat fruits and vegetables
• Exercise – be a healthy weight
• Make lifestyle choices that will improve health
• Pray, children are a gift!

6 Secrets to A Effective Cleanse

More and more evidence is linking the toxins in our environment and foods to ill health. Our generation is exposed to more pollution than any other in history. We are eating more processed or fast foods and commonly abusing our bodies with sugar, food additives, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and other drugs. 

The accumulation of toxins may lead to fatigue, general aches and pains, premature aging and many chronic diseases. Cleansing toxins from the body is an important key to improving our overall health. We hope the following tips will help you increase the effectiveness of your cleansing experience.

1. Eat a good breakfast and lunch (60-80% should be fiber). Go easy at dinner. And don’t eat before bed.
   
2. Avoid constipation by adding fiber and fresh fruits to your diet.  Wash fruits before eating and avoid over ripe fruit. If you are able to, it's best to eat your vegetables separately from your fruits. This helps your digestive system work less to get nutrients so it can focus more on the cleansing.
   
3. Drink at least 8 glasses of pure water daily.
   
4. Avoid caffeine and alcohol consumption starting a week prior to and during your cleanse to avoid further detox symptoms of headache, nausea and dizziness.
   
5. Reduce your fatty acids and sugar intake. Eat leafy greens, fresh fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains. Stock your home with fresh fruits and vegetables you like. Raw is better than cooked.
   
6. Avoid overeating or eating while under stress.

7 Health Tips to Improve Learning

 7 Health Tips to Improve Learning

As many as 20 percent of our school age children are estimated to have difficulty focusing and concentrating on simple tasks for more than a few minutes. Anxious, forgetful, impatient, fidgety and hyperactive, these children find it hard to be at peace regardless of the setting.

The good news is there are natural ways to bring relief!

1. Choose an alternative to prescription drugs, try powerful, gentle herbal combinations.
2. Try diet changes and adding good vitamin and mineral supplementation to daily routines.
3. Encourage eating a piece of fruit or a fresh vegetable as a snack.
4. Avoid sugary foods or drinks as they can exaggerate the behavior.
5. Add foods rich in essential fatty acids, they are vital to brain health and development.
6. Most often the individual with a learning disability or behavior problem is intelligent and creative.
7. Keep your child's love tank full with kind, affirming words. Your love and affectionate touch helps them to be emotionally healthy.

Here are a few herbs that can be helpful in calming the nervous system and having a positive effect on the brain: American Ginseng Ginkgo biloba Valerian root Gotu Kola

Foods for your brain: Blueberries Carrots Pumpkins Sweet Potatoes Butternut Squash Spinach Strawberries Chicken (Poultry) Flaxseed oil or fish oil Yellow, orange and green vegetables