A Less Stressful Life

As I sit by my window, listening to the sounds of summer….the wind sighing through the evergreens, the robins playing in the sprinkler; I find myself unwinding and slowly relaxing. It was an almost sleepless night, a very busy morning of running to town to bank and shop, and then coming home to put groceries away and the like.  Sitting and taking a deep breath is a nice break.

We often feel we shouldn’t slow up in the day; that our every minute must be crammed with “to do” lists of work and play. We feel guilty when we just want to hang out in our yard or home with a good book or just close our eyes and soak up a couple of minutes peace.  But why? After all, we are the captain of our life; for the most part we can choose certain things each day to make them smoother; to make them a little brighter. So what is it in us that makes us feel that we are wasting our time when we just do nothing?

The answer is what I believe to be the danger of our society; the cancerous idea that erodes our every being. This is the belief that we must act like squirrels scurrying through the fall afternoon; hoarding up winter’s food….frantically running from one place to another. We keep trying to fill our lives with things; with achievements that will mean so very little later on.

So to test my theory, try this:

Think what you did exactly one month ago on this day. Think what you did that was so important; so demanding that it positively HAD to be done; right now! Can’t remember? Neither can I. That’s the point I’m trying to make. We don’t need to be half as busy or stressed as we are; we don’t HAVE to do half of the things we do in our day but still we keep racing through our life as if our hair was on fire.

So today as you go out into the world; as you look at your “honey do” list remember this. If you were to die today would you rather of spent it taking the kids to baseball practice and mowing the lawn or would you of rather spent it doing something lovely and fun with your family? It’s your choice…..and only you can decide what is important. So try to do just that….make it memorable and you’ll be a much happier, much less stressed person!

Is a Tan Really Healthy?

With today’s busy schedules and outdoorsy life; we are exposed to sun in many parts of our day. And while I too am a fan of sunshine and fair weather; I must admit that I’m really not a fan of skin damage. This is an all too common problem in our society. We want the tan but we don’t want the damage. We want to look like bronze replicas of humans with baked skin and dark complexion.

I’m not really sure where this phenomenon came about. In the earlier parts of the generations past; women and men both were considered more beautiful if they had NO tan at all. I think it may have been because only gentlemen and women were exempt from being out in the sun each day. The average laborer or field worker was exposed to the damaging rays as they worked while nobility and the upper echelons of society were more leisurely in their lifestyle; allowing others to toil out of doors. This respect and even worship of the upper class was most probably the reason for lower class wanting to emulate them with lack of skin pigmentation.

But today we have many people tanning; using tanning creams and basically “baking” the skin to a dark leathery texture with the end result being that there are more cases of skin damage and cancer in our society than ever before. Even though many experts in the field have warned against tanning booths and not protecting our skin; people are still flocking to the beeches to lay out in the sun; hoping for the perfect tan line.

The studies of tanning booths are damning in their ability to wreak havoc on the body’s most important organ; the skin. We in the herbal world believe that the skin is considered to be the “third” kidney….meaning that it is responsible in part to helping the body to rid itself of toxins. But people do not respect this and are in fact; slathering on creams and lotions; potions of all kinds to try to get the perfect shade of dark. And then when the damage is eminent; slathering on creams of all sorts to try to stave off the inevitable damage brought on by said sun exposure. Even sunscreens are suspect with many herbalists believing that they are as much a part of the damage as the sun itself.

So what to do with this problem? First of all it’s important to rethink beauty.  If you think a tan is beautiful then go to a nursing home and look at sun damage on the face of someone born to work out of doors their whole life. Then see the woman or man that was fortunate enough to be able to be indoors and see the real difference in their skin; and most probably their health. Many of the older generation; in fact; many of my generation are now starting to have to have spots removed due to their ability to turn into cancerous growths. This is inevitable if we continue to worship the sun!

So when you go into the sun today think about how to best protect yourself. First and foremost; dress the part. A wide brimmed hat; a long sleeved shirt and pants rather than shorts will go a long way toward helping to protect the skin. If possible; staying in the house until after 4 o’clock to do outdoor work is a great idea or going out very early in the morning.  TEACH your children that skin will protect them if they protect their skin! We can stop the madness if we start teaching our kids at an early age!

And remember….God made us in His image; so if he wanted us to be baked like clay He would have made us that way.

Grandma's Medicine Cabinet?

I love to work with people, seeing the transformation of health and more importantly, attitude. This attitude is not just the physical sense but really a sense that you do have control over your body, your health and ultimately, your life. In our society we are taught that others know what is best for us; from our parents, to our teachers, our physicians and even our government. This attitude is with us from the time we are at mothers breast til the day they put us in the ground. We are discouraged from thinking for ourselves, from questioning the validity of their findings. We, in a very real sense, are taught that we do NOT know what we need for good health and a long life. 

A New Year and a great start on Health!

As a former caterer and a long standing "home cook" I am often asked why I gave up a seemingly great career of cooking for others to pursue the art of healing with herbology. The answer is a simple one....I didn't! I still love to cook for others and haven't given up this enjoyable pastime at all. But now instead of cooking for up to 450 people I cook for small groups of people like friends and family.

And I haven't really changed much in my outlook toward cooking with the exception of no pork and very little milk; I do cook much the same as before. On of my favorite dishes is chalk full of nutrients and a family favorite.
Rosemary, Garlic Chicken is one I love to fix and has all the properties of a healthy meal without feeling that I'm "eating healthy". This recipe proves that you can enjoy a great meal without feeling left out of great taste!
Here is a great location for healthy food and great recipes!

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/283/Rosemary_Garlic_Chicken2883.shtml


If you look at the recipe you'll see that it calls for fresh Rosemary and garlic cloves. Rosemary is well known as an aromatic that eases flu symptoms and colds, helps with mucus and is great as a help to the liver! Garlic has been used for many years for boosting the immune system and is a wonderful help for the stomach. Have a look at this recipe and remember....make lots of it because EVERYONE will want a second helping!

Capsicum ~ The Wonder Herb

I've been asked many many times about herbs and one thing a great deal of people have said is this. If I could recommend one herbal supplement and only one what would it be for the masses? I always have this answer - Capsicum!

I know to many this seems a strange answer and truthfully I believed as they did before my studies. But the fact is that Capsicum is an amazing help for the body and also for the mental issues that plague our society.

Here is a small list of the things that have been known to be helped by this amazing supplement.

Capsicum lowers triglycerides; therefore raising metabolism which will help with weight loss.

It's been known to fight cancer by stopping the cancer cells from binding with DNA; therefore possibly preventing cancer when taken regularly.

Due to where Capsicum is found; in veggies such as peppers; it's a well known anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidants are powerful tools for the body to prevent disease from forming by stopping free radicals from damaging cellular bodies such as cardiovascular systems and other parts of the body.

One of the most important things Capsicum does is to stop inflammation in the body. Herbalists believe this is a Yang herb; meaning that it moves energy away from the body. Therefore if Capsicum is Yang; it will move heat and moisture away from that part of the body. So a cream made of Capsicum will help to cool and lesson inflammation in that particular area. It is great for ulcers, and the digestive system in general and is a wonderful help for arthritis as it will take the heat and inflammation from the joints and surrounding tissues.

It has been shown to fight bacterial issues and is well documented to boost the immune system.

Because it's Yang properties are so well founded; it's been shown to help with depression and to help the body in general in a malaise by being a wonderful stimulant. This is not only beneficial to the body as a way to get the body's systems' moving but to help the person who is plagued by depression and other mental issues. Studies have shown that it helps cardiovascular issues and may be used to possibly help with dementia related to cardiovascular disease.

This wonderful herb is a true gift from God with it's ability to help many health issues and it's abundance gives us many avenues of help through diet and supplements.
Try using Capsicum the next time you get a cold and feel that you want to try something other than the over the counter meds regularly given for this condition and see if this amazing herbal supplement doesn't work faster and more efficiently than the normal meds!

http://naturecure.ygoy.com/2008/08/06/health-benefits-of-capsicum/
http://www.iamm.com/capsicum.htm

A Happy Body....

As I go through my email and figure out the week I see some very big similarities with most of my clients. Although these are people that come from many walks of life; all different ages and sizes; I see the same thing. They need to be clean from the inside out.

Now to the average person; this tends to frighten them a little. They have visions of colon cleanses; harsh smelling herbs and enemas. This is not necessarily the case. Most people; if they live in the USA; eat way too much junk food. Now this is not always in the form of a fast food meal; it can be the package of macaroni and cheese for lunch or the hamburger and fries at supper. We almost all eat way too much salt, sugar and processed food; even me.

But to have a healthy body we need to understand that this means getting rid of things the body cannot utilize. And to do so we need to make sure the “plumbing” is working fine. If you eat three times a day you should have a bowel movement three times a day; a good one too. Now most people are going to get embarrassed when I ask the question about their bowels but really it's just a matter of thinking of your intestines as a garbage disposal. If you put stuff in; you expect it to grind up and remove those products out the other end; the only difference being that the garbage disposal doesn't need to get any nutrients out of the food it's grinding up.

Now to do this we need roughage and lots of fluid to help it all go through. This is particularly good if you eat too much fat or sugar. And then there is the whole digestion thing. We need to eat foods that actually need a lot of digesting to help the “Brillo pad” cleaning of the sides of the intestinal wall.
This acts as a scrubber to help not only clean but to build up the tone of the wall so that in later years we don't get diverticulitis or a prolapsed colon. Diverticulitis is a disorder where pockets form on the wall of the intestines catching certain foods like seeds and roughage. This leads to inflammation and even bowel death. A prolapsed colon is when the transverse (the part that goes across the body at the top) colon sags; usually due to a full area that has built up feces over a period of years. This is every bit as horrible as it sounds. And this can lead to chronic conditions that may end up with surgery to correct or even cancer.

So how do we keep our gut in alignment with our body's health? We need to eat well; lots of raw veggies and fruits (skin on if possible!) and lots of water. So what if that doesn't work? Do we give up? No; we don't. Contrary to popular traditional medicines belief that going to the bathroom every three or four days may be normal for you; you absolutely need to eliminate at least two to three times daily.

If you are like I used to be; this is a novel thought. And a difficult problem to address. It has literally taken years to get my intestines to do what God intended. And this is directly due to herbs. My diet was not so bad but my colon health was horrific. As I learned more about colon health I realized that the nerve response from my brain to my colon was almost nil. This lead to a lack of response; no matter what I ate or drank.

So when I went to my herbalist; she put me on an herbal laxative that had Cascara Sagrada in it among other things. And still it took time. For most people; Cascara Sagrada or Senna will work almost too well. But for me it was just a flicker of help. It literally took months before I saw real changes in my bowels and in my health. After all; it took most of my life to get this way; and one week was not going to fix everything!

Another thing to keep in mind when working out this problem is to realize that diarrhea can be part of this fix. We may need to deal with bouts of stomach purging somewhat as the body tries to right itself of the years of abuse we've heaped on it. Now I don't expect a client to suffer through a week of that kind of abuse to the body. That can lead to other issues. But as the body learns to right itself with the proper movements through the right absorption of fluid and doing all the right things to make the body work right; it may have a few hiccups in the process. This is not a bad thing. In fact; most people will tell you that after a bout of this kind of action by the body; a person literally feels much better. If you suffer from a cold or another health issue; may find that this alleviates or eliminates the problem altogether! Now you might wonder why that is. Well the body is removing loads of toxins that cause inflammation and poisons such as germs and fungus in this process. Naturally the body will feel a sense of relief at this leaving the body! That is why an enema was the first choice for many doctors and parents many years ago when a child was sick. They knew that the body needed to get rid of the disease and this was a great way to do it quickly and efficiently. Herbalists will sometimes even recommend using essential oils or herbs in the warm solution to help things along. There are many things you can do; but it's best to consult a professional before trying an herb or essential oil as some are too stimulating or can burn the mucus membranes.

So the next time you go to the store; remember your veggies and fruits. It's important to know that you need at least 5 to 7 servings of raw food each day to keep the colon and body happy!

Being What I Am.....

As of late I've come under scrutiny for comments I've made about others ideas.
Here's the thing people....I'm an herbalist; not a salesman of herbs. I'm not an Amway dealer or a Swanson man. I don't do this to make money or to make a living. I'm an herbalist because that is who I am. I help people to recognize problems with their lifestyle choices such as diet and exercise, supplements and attitude toward life.
Sometimes people understand that and sometimes they don't but I will not waver on these core beliefs that I have.

One person recently said that she did not use Natures' Sunshine products because she saw that they didn't “work” for me.....meaning that I wasn't a size 3. Well I want to clarify something....I hope to never be a size 3 again because that would mean that I'm seriously ill and I don't intend to ever be that way again. As for whether the NSP products work....they do.

Four years ago I was seriously ill with a lung infection that nearly killed me and was so crippled from pain that I could barely walk. I had asthma and stomach issues as well as a host of other problems. All of these problems have resolved themselves; not just through herbal supplements but through learning what my body needs.

And lest you think this is a note to sell products; think again. It's a challenge to all that would believe that I am a pill pusher; a used car salesman of supplements. I teach. I educate those that wish to actually listen.

If I make you uncomfortable in what I say; If I make you think about what your doing to your body then I've done my job. I was not put here on Gods's green earth to make you smile or to pat you on the back. I was put here to be the boot camp sergeant that gets in your face and tells you that if you don't want to be sickly lump of humanity then you need to be proactive in your health!!

I am also a huge advocate of those that are warriors of the untruths of chemicals and the FDA, CDC and other corrupt organizations that would have you believe that the Mac burger you just ate for lunch is just fine......that will never be fine with me and I will tell you to your face.

So delete me or block me; mock me or laugh at me but I will not be silenced and I want you and everyone else to know that if I'm a downer then it's because that is my JOB as an herbalist to make you see the truth. As for my family that does understand; my friends that do believe; I happen to be a pretty happy person most of the time. But to the idiot people out there that do not believe and wish to poo poo me; I'm gonna still be here ….and you will be long gone from poisoning yourselves with God know's what....and for that I will be very sorry indeed.