Posted by Paulette
This box of essential oils is my new medicine cabinet. One day a friend of mine called me and asked if I would like to learn more about essential oils. I thought, "sure.
Why not?" The next week I found myself sitting in a small class of about 5 people, while a man in the front of the room told us miraculous stories about people who had used essential oils. Things like, a friend of his who was having over 300 epileptic seizures a year started using frankincense on the crown of his head every day, and how has less than 3 seizures a year. That was life changing! He was able to hold his baby and work at his job and support his family! Another story was about a boy in Chile who went to the park to play soccer against his mother's wishes and had an asthma attack, which was then stopped by using a blend of oils called, Breathe. Emotionally and spiritually, I was overwhelmed with this information. I just knew that incorporating these oils into our lives would be a game changer.
I started small. We signed up with the company, spending about $150 on a set of oils. As I began to use them, I realized that I couldn't be without them!
I've heard so many more stories about what the oils can do, and have experiences of my own to add. I've become a consultant for the company.
Just a few things that have changed:
Before: After:
Albuterol, Vicks, Sudafed Breathe
Zyrtec, Benadryl, (antihistamines) Lemon, Lavender,
Peppermint
Antacids, antidiarreal, anti nausea Digestzen
Sports creams,
Ibuprofen, Tylenol (for pain) Deep Blue,
Peppermint
Zit creams, Antibacterial cream Lavender, Melaleuca
Dandruff shampoo Lavender
ADD and ADHD Rx Vetiver, Balance, InTune
And then there are some oils which there are no substitutes for on the market.
OnGuard: a protective blend which kills viruses, molds, and
bacteria, inside and outside the body.
Frankincense: A healing and calming oil.
Balance: A grounding blend for anxiety and depression.
Serenity: A blend of oils for relaxation. It works for everything
from insomnia, to depression, to anxiety, and hyperactivity.
Purify: A blend of oils for cleansing. I love to add it to my homemade cleaning solutions, to a towel in the dryer for musty laundry, and it can be used topically to cleanse wounds.
This is in no way an exhaustive list of oils. It's just the ones I use most often by a company called DoTerra. The best part of using the oils is that there's no side effects. The worst thing I've experienced is accidentally getting an oil too close to my eyes or in a sensitive spot. I use another oil, like coconut oil to pull it off, and I'm fine. No long term damage from pharmaceuticals to worry about. I was taking 3 antihistamines a day to try and get some relief from my hives. They would put me to sleep for 12 hours, even if I took only half the dose!
I am not a healthcare professional. The above information is based on personal experience.
Next post: Probiotics, Good Bacteria
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Posted by Paulette
So what if I told you that what you had been eating all your life had been altered in some way, and that it was now poisonous? Would you stop eating it? Of course you would.
In 2007, I was pregnant with my 4th child and was experiencing symptoms like asthma and urticaria. Urticaria is a lovely word for chronic hives. No fun! These weren't the kind of hives that you get once and they resemble mosquito bites and they go away after a few hours. These are the kind of hives that cover 80% of your body are huge and leave bruises when they finally do go away. As a result of this, I decided to go on a gluten free diet. My hives and my asthmatic symptoms went away. I began taking a digestive enzyme and while I wasn't pregnant, I could eat wheat again.
Now for those of you who think that going wheat free is torture, I'm going to tell you it really isn't.
Don't these muffins look delicious?
They are! I even learned to make sandwich bread. Still, the taste of wheat bread can't be matched, and I occasionally will have some with unhappy consequences.
One of the mistakes I made when going gluten free was to start eating a lot of corn. At the time I didn't realize that I was poisoning myself and everyone else I was feeding it to. Modern corn has been engineered with glyphosate in their DNA. Glyphosate is an herbicide. When it is consumed it kills off the natural beneficial bacteria in the digestive system, thereby making the digestion of food incomplete. Leaky gut is one name for the consequences of undigested food. It enters your blood stream and the body thinks it's a foreign object and has an inflammatory response. This was what was causing my asthma and hives.
There has been research done about how gluten affects the brain, especially in children with autism.
In my children, I didn't notice any symptoms of disease. It wasn't until after implementing several changes in our diet that I began to see miracles.
Now we are about 80% gluten free. The kids still take sandwiches to school, but I provide them with gluten free alternatives for snacks and breakfast. I've even added some corn back into our diet. I buy corn chips and popcorn from Trader Joes. I was told that any product with their branding on it is GMO free. And so far, I've had no reactions to their foods.
There are so many GF alternatives available now.
If you decide to go gluten free, you'll have to discover for yourself which brands are to your liking. I've found that I don't like boxed cookies. They have a gritty texture. And I've been disappointed by mixes. But, I've always been a bake from scratch kind of girl.
Udi's breads can be found in the freezer section of health food stores. And I've found them to be pretty decent. Sometimes I'll grab a loaf of bread and have a sandwich made at the deli at Sprouts.
A good gf baking cookbook is essential. The best I've found is Easy Gluten-Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone. I substitute tapioca starch for the corn starch in her recipes.
Want some good gluten free recipes? I have all of mine and some others pinned to my Gluten free Pinterest board.
Again, I am no expert on health or nutrition. These are the experiences of myself and my family.
Next time, The Miracle of Essential Oils
Posted by Paulette
There have been some pretty big changes in my family in the last year. No new baby. No new house, or car. So what has changed? Our diet.
Just over a year ago, we were struggling with sleeplessness, being overweight, behavioral problems, lack of focus and inflammation!
A few people have pointed me in the right direction. A fact that I attribute to God, who gives only good gifts. There were many changes that I will discuss in following blog posts, but the first one I want to tell you about is water.
It's the basis of all life, right? My family was drinking tap water. I thought that maybe it tasted a little bad, but it was safe for drinking.
I was wrong. My aunt was doing some research on her own health issues, when she came across a book by Dr David Brownstein called, Iodine:Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It.
I read the book and was surprised to see how many of the symptoms of iodine deficiency my family and I had. I began buying bottled water and putting iodine with potassium iodide in our water. Within a week, I could already see improvement in my son Jonathan. He had dark circles under his eyes. The dark circles were gone. Since then, the shininess has returned to his hair, he has slimmed down, and is sleeping properly.
So why was the water so bad for us? Because it contains fluoride and other chemicals. The US government thinks Fluoride is essential for strengthening the enamel on your teeth.
According to a 2006 report by the National Research Council of the National Academies , fluoride is "an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function."
This altered function can involve your thyroid, parathyroid, and
pineal glands, as well as your adrenals, pancreas, and pituitary.
In Dr Brownstein's book, I learned that the iodide receptors will absorb the fluoride and then won't absorb the iodine found naturally in foods. Thyroid controls so many of the basic functions of the body. So if it's not happy, the rest of your body won't function properly.
To read more about the effects of fluoride on your body, read this article:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/13/fluoride-and-thyroid-dysfunction.aspx
I am not an expert of the thyroid or a physician. I am only sharing what has worked for my family.
In the next post I will discuss our daily bread.
