Third Trimester Tutorial

This pregnancy has been so much easier than the others, it seems unfair to not share with you what has made the difference! The main difference is I haven't had ligament pains or muscle cramps. Just three things produced the change:

Calcium - I take 2 pills twice a day, per the dosage on the bottle.

Magnesium Malate - I take one 500 mg pill each evening. Calcium and magnesium are both credited for keeping muscles and ligaments relaxed so no more waking in the night with a leg cramp or round ligament pain.

Chiropractic Care - Go as often as you can afford it. Beginning around 30 weeks, I started going every two weeks. In this last month, I have gone once or twice a week, depending on how I'm feeling. It's making a HUGE difference! The only times I have back pain are when I overdo it.

My Go-To Herbs

I got this email over the weekend and thought I'd do just as asked:

I was wondering if you could tell me what your go-to herbs are for sickness(I'm wanting to prepare for winter). What do you always have on hand and what do you use them for? Maybe you could do a thorough blog post about it;)

Your wish is my command. These are the ones we use all the time:

GSE- This is our antibiotic - we use it as a preventative when we're going on trips, and as a treatment for any kind of virus. It can also be used for fungal infections as well.

Sambucus - Given alongside GSE for colds and coughs. It's an echinacea & elderberry syrup that boosts the immune system.

Emergen-C - Ok, it's not an herb, it's vitamin C in a packet. All sickies get one. We call it Vitamin C juice.

Horehound Extract - For preventing ear infections when child has a nasty cold; or treating ear infections.

Bentonite- For all stomach ills. Whichever end it's coming out of, this will cure it. (Sorry to be gross; I wanted to be clear what it's used for.)

Peppermint - For upset stomachs, drink this tea.

Tea Tree Oil - for any kind of fungus (ringworm, athlete's foot, etc.). Rub a drop or two on it. The fungal infection will disappear in a matter of days.

Wondering how to use herbs? Here's a reminder.

Why Herbs?

Why choose herbs instead of drugs?

1. Herbs were created by God for healing and nutrition. Drugs are synthetic forms of all that God made.
2. God knows better than man. Always.
3. Drug antibiotics frequently result in recurrences of the illness. The earlier they are given, the greater the chance of recurrence.
4. Drugs treat symptoms; herbs heal. Think about meds given for reflux, for instance. They make the symptoms stop, but do not heal the problem causing the reflux. So the reflux is still present and still problematic, even if you can't feel it.
5. Herbs are cheaper.
6. Herbs are just as straightforward as drugs. If you can learn the difference between Tylenol and Tums, you can learn what herb to use for what problem too.

This is my favorite book for learning about herbs. This is the one I keep going back to:

First Trimester Tutorial

I've learned a thing or two about herbs that help during pregnancy. Here's my first trimester survival guide:

Milk Thistle - cleanses the liver to reduce or in my case eliminate nausea. Solaray makes a One-A-Day which means less pills to take. Sold!

Bentonite Clay capsules - also good for morning sickness if milk thistle doesn't cut it for you. Take 2-3 capsules/day or 1-2 tsp daily. Drink plenty of water with it. 

Cod Liver Oil - good for baby's developing brain and lots of good Omega 3 fatty acids for you too. 3 capsules or 1 tsp. daily.

Raspberry Leaf Tea - strengthens the uterus and bladder so you don't have to get up so many times in the night ;) Drink 2-3 cups/day. Sweeten it and drink it cold, trust me. Raspberry Leaf tea is also great at the end of pregnancy to tone the uterus in preparation for delivery.

Cayenne - increases gastric acid to eliminate indigestion. Increased progesterone in the first trimester reduces gastric acid and relaxes the smooth muscles, causing indigestion. Cayenne kicks the stomach back into gear. Take one capsule with a meal once a day, as needed.

Baby's First Cold

Recently, Julia got over her first cold. She developed a low grade fever and a runny nose when she was cutting her top teeth, but it turned into a cold.

Here's what I did:

• I upped my Vitamin C intake to 6000 mg daily.
• I began taking one GSE tablet daily.
• I gave Julia a single drop of GSE each morning in her breakfast.
• I nursed her twice as often so she could get more nutrition from me.
• I gave her Horehound Extract to prevent it from turning into an ear infection.

She got over it in less than a week.

Cayenne

Cayenne, or Capsicum, is one of the most important herbs because it's a wonderful healer. It acts like a catalyst when combined with other herbs. Cayenne is high in Vitamin C, so it builds up the body's immunity.

It improves the entire circulatory system. It stops bleeding internally and externally. It can be poured directly on an external wound to stop bleeding, fight infection, and promote healing. It may feel warm, but won't burn the skin.

It should be used with Lobelia for tetanus. It's a great gargle to heal sore throats, including the pain of Strep throat.

It's also great for asthma, Bronchitis, and chest congestion.

If you have a good quality Cayenne in your spice rack, use it. I think you'll prefer it in capsules. ;)

Red Raspberry Leaf

Red Raspberry is useful for all female organs and problems. It is a wonderful pregnancy and labor herb.

• Strengthens wall of uterus and entire female reproductive system.
• Decreases profuse menstrual flow.
• Good during all months of pregnancy. Alleviates morning sickness and nausea. Has been used as a preventative for hemorrhaging during labor. Assists labor, makes delivery easier and relieves after pains. Tones and regulates before, during and after childbirth.
• Increases and enriches milk for lactation, can be combined with marshmallow tea.
• Raspberry tea is mild and pleasant to taste. It is good for stomachaches and bowel problems in children. For diarrhea in babies.
• Soothing to stomach and bowels and cankerous conditions of mucous membranes in the alimentary canal.
• High mineral and vitamin source.

Bayberry

The health benefits of bayberry are mainly for the treatment of colds, coughs, fever, and similar flu-like ailments and symptoms. It is also a powerful herb to help women relieve the symptoms of a heavy menstrual period.

Bayberry extract has also proven helpful with digestion and helping to cleanse the liver of harmful toxins, as well as promoting increased circulation. It is also an astringent herb and helps to strengthen the immune system. It helps to fight bacterial infection and parts of the plant can be applied to the skin to treat symptoms of itching, sores, and even hair loss. Usually this is done as a poultice made from bayberry and other useful herbs.

Bayberry can be taken as a tea, powdered in a capsule, or in tincture form.

Catnip

Catnip is good for all childhood diseases: colic, stomach pains, chicken pox, gas, teething, and flu and fevers. It's a relaxant herb.

A tincture made of catnip and fennel is excellent because it is so concentrated, only a few drops are needed.

Yarrow

Yarrow has been valued for centuries for it's ability to stop bleeding. It's also unsurpassed for flu and fever. Taken abundantly at the beginning of a cold, it will typically break it up within 24 hours. For fever, it can be taken in capsules or as a tea. Yarrow is a bitter herb so it's best to add Peppermint and Echinacea to the tea.

GSE Tutorial

I've blogged many times about our use of GSE. I love it because it's the most powerful natural antibiotic (raw garlic is a close second if you don't mind garlic breath). It kills infection but doesn't cause any of the side effects common to drug antiobiotics.

Here's how to take it:

I give 1 drop per day for a child less than 2 years old.

I give 2 drops per day for a two-year-old.

I give 3 drops per day for a three-year-old.

For children older than three years, follow the dosage on the bottle.

• Always mix the GSE drops in something sweet. My kiddies all prefer the drops in orange juice. The drops do not taste pleasant. I have heard of moms using apple juice, yogurt, honey, agave nectar, or applesauce.

• Prevent sickness with GSE. Whenever we have big family plans like a vacation, we all take 1 GSE tablet per day for the week leading up to the big event.

• GSE drops can also be used to disinfect toothbrushes, clean fruit and vegetables, as a nasal spray to cure or prevent sinus infection, kill infection on the skin, and many more uses. For all of these uses, the GSE will need to be diluted in water.

*DO NOT put GSE drops directly on the skin undilited. It will burn the skin. *

Medicating Babies

Last night, Julia threw up after I nursed her. It was all over me and all over the floor. When the body is detoxing in any way (that's the nicest way to say it), my go-to is Bentonite. It acts like a sponge and absorbs all the toxins that the body is trying to get rid of, so you don't have to be dehydrated in the process. So that was my first thought for Julia.

But how in the world to get it in her? It has no flavor, but that's not to say that it's exactly pleasant to take.

I added two drops of real maple syrup to a teaspoon of Bentonite liquid (worth it's weight in gold because you'll kill yourself trying to get the powder to dissolve in water-- trust me on this). I sucked up the sweet Bentonite in a medicine syringe and slowly but surely got it into my unhappy camper.

I'm happy to report she is fine. Bentonite to the rescue!

Confession

Hi, my name is Ginger and I'm a napper. Have been for years. I take a good deal of teasing for my lack of activity in the afternoons, but I don't mind. Everyone enjoys a little down time. I just happen to enjoy my down time lying down.

Sometime between Chloe and Lydia, I developed hypothyroidism. I pretty much slept through my pregnancy with Liddy, threatening bodily harm to anyone who woke me up, regardless of the time of day. But it wasn't until after Lydia was born, and I still wanted to sit down or lie down all day that I considered another possibility than just pregnancy fatigue. Fast forward through several doctors' mistakes and bad advice; I now feel terrific on my new thyroid regimen. Everday, I take:

Armour Thyroid
Adrenogen
Iodoral
3000-6000 mg. Vitamin C
B-Complex twice a day

and I'm no longer fatigued and lethargic all day and I'm not irritable! Woo-Hoo! (says Kyle)(and the rest of the Clarks)(and all my friends).

Naps are now optional, although more often than not I fall asleep when I lie down in the afternoon with my favorite book. ;)

Anti Antibiotics

So, what's so wrong with antibiotics anyway? I mean, there must be some good reason why you'd be willing to hole yourself up with garlic breath for something as serious as Strep, right?

If antibiotics have no side effects, why not? The problem is that they do.

Antibiotics disrupt the immune system, and kill beneficial bacteria along with the pathogens. * Antibiotics also tend to create resistant strands of bacteria so that they do not work effectively when they are really needed. ** A further complicating issue is that strep bacteria typically do not disappear from the throat after a course of antibiotics. The bacteria will persist even after signs of the infection have disappeared. If a throat culture is taken after some later date, the bacteria will still be present and another antibiotic prescription will follow even though there is no active infection. Finally, studies have shown that when antibiotics are given for strep throat, the infection tends to recur more often than when they are not prescribed.

-Taken from Holistic Pediatric Association.


* This is why many people who take antibiotics, also consume lots of Acidophilus, to counteract this. They're helping to avoid the common resulting yeast infection.

** Any doctor who tells you otherwise, is a doctor who should be replaced. You're in charge. Hire a new doc.

White Willow Bark

I was totally giddy about finding this herb! Tylenol has been my last hold out as far as drugs I'm willing to take, even though I know good and well it depletes the body of Vitamin C. There's an herb for everything, and this one is much better than the medical substitute.
When I decided that there just must be an herb I could take for pain, I looked it up in my handy-dandy, favorite herb book. It never lets me down. I found some very interesting information:

In 1827, Leroux, a French Chemist extracted a substance he called "Salicin" from the bark of the White Willow tree. Salicin is the pain relieving, main active ingredient of White Willow. In Germany, in 1899, Hofman and Bayer created a synthetic form of White Willow and marketed it commercially as "aspirin".

Aspirin is simply a synthetic form of White Willow. It performs the same role in the body as aspirin, but doesn't have the side effects of aspirin.

The three major uses of White Willow Bark:
1. Reduces fever
2. Pain reliever
3. Anti-inflammatory

Sound familiar?

Journal From One Quarintined, Pt. 2

Thursday:

Throat no longer hurting and swelling has gone down noticeably. I can talk again, without sounding like a have a golf ball in my throat. Great feeling. I'm not keen on embarrassing myself with nasal speak.

Still have a fever and serious sinus congestion. Boiled a pot full of water, added 2 tsp of Peppermint leaves, 1 heaping tsp. each of rosemary and thyme. That makes me want to sing a folk song, but I'm too tired to do that. Instead, I let the herbs steep in the hot pot of water for 10 min, then turn it to med-low heat and stand over the steam with a towel over my head. Takes a few minutes to break through all the congestion, but I start breathing through my nose again. An amazing feeling! I inhale the steam as long as I can stand there. It feels fantastic. Such relief!

I do that several times a day, in addition to the 6 cloves of garlic, and 10,000 mg of Vit. C. Also added GSE drops to my neti-pot, to kill any infection in my sinuses.

Feeling much better by now, just really weak. Awake a lot more, just lying around a lot. Kyle bought me kefir smoothies and greek yogurt. That was my first food.

Journal From One Quarintined

This is what took place last week, while I was puny.

Tuesday AM:

Woke up with a fever and dry throat.
Took one clove of raw garlic, set the kids up with a to-do list. Put Elena in charge, since she's the best reader.
Slept all day, waking only to take more garlic. Too tired to take any other vitamins. Not smart.

Tuesday PM:

Woke to discover that Elena made sure everybody got all their schoolwork done and chores too! I'm filled with gratitude. And a bit of wonder. I feel safe being sick.

Throat really hurting. Took two more cloves of raw garlic. One in the afternoon, one before bed.

Wednesday AM:

Woke with a throat on fire. Checked throat with a flashlight in a dark bathroom. All the tell tale signs of Strep throat. Oh crud!

More fatigued, but more motivated to kick this nastiness out of my body. Kyle set Maya up with a schedule and 6 cloves of garlic to crush for me. She brought me a spoonful of garlic every two hours. I wasn't thrilled to see her as she woke me up each time, but very thankful. Also, added 2000 mg of Vitamin C five times a day.

Again, Maya and Elena took charge of household duties. Kyle closes down school until I'm well. Maya cooks meals and keeps the littles in line; Elena made sure chores got done and the house stayed relatively tidy.

Wednesday PM:

I realize once again how blessed I am. But I'm fed up with this flaming sore throat. Start praying about it for the first time. Later that night, my throat stops hurting and my only symptoms now are fever, extreme congestion, and ensuing sinus pain.

Wishing there was an herbal substitute for Tylenol, but too tired to research it. Took 2 Tylenol to get rid of this throbbing whole-headache. (Turns out, there is an herb for pain, fever, and inflammation. But Tylenol is the synthetic substitute for it, not the other way around. White Willow Bark, sold in capsules in your neighborhood health food store. More later on this.)

To Be Continued. . .

The Cold Hard Truth

An old friend of mine posted on Facebook that he had the flu. I said: It's better than the nasty stuff in the vaccine, but that stinks. I'm so sorry! (As it turns out, not surprisingly, he had received the flu shot.)

That led to a discussion about vaccines. (I love being able to talk to people about vaccines, but I also know it's not at all fun to learn. Ignorance is definitely bliss.) I said: I don't encourage you to look into vaccine ingredients unless you're prepared to be grossed out. Apparently he was.

Incredulous, he asked: Why hasn't anybody told me this before?

If doctors really did offer informed consent, as they are ethically supposed to do, would any loving parent really sign up to inject those toxins into their kids? Does anybody who knows what vaccines are made from and how they're made still vaccinate their kids or themselves?

In my idealistic world, nobody would. Fear motivates a lot of people to do things without looking into them. Education is the enemy of fear.

Licorice Root

Licorice Root has a very sweet taste; when infused in a tea it needs no honey or sugar. It's delicious as is. It is specifically used to stimulate and regulate the adrenal glands and the pancreas. It is one of the best known herbs for hypoglycemia. Licorice Root also acts as natural cortisone and it can help with hoarseness or voice damage.

Try it and see if you don't love it. I do!

It's Cleanse Time Again

It's Day 4 for me on the Master Cleanse and I'm feeling so much better already. I gotta say it's really a lesson in selflessness, making food for other people 3 times a day (plus snacks twice a day) while not eating. It's a lesson I can always use and I'm grateful, but I'm not saying it's easy!
Friday week is our annual Family Fun Day, so I planned this cleanse around that. Can't let everyone eat homemade pizza without me!

Several people have asked for the specifics. This is for you:

Here's how the Master Cleanse works:

(1) Drink 1 qt. of salt water first thing every morning. 2 tsp. good quality sea salt (NOT Morton's) in a quart of filtered water.

(2) Then drink at least 8 glasses of the MC lemonade:
1 oz. Grade B maple syrup
1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
8 oz. filtered water
1/10 tsp. cayenne pepper

(I actually love the taste of this spicy lemonade. You will feel hungry if you drink less than 8 glasses.)

(3) Drink a cup of Senna Leaf tea every night before bed. AKA Smooth Move tea or Get Regular tea. Senna is a laxative herb.

The Master Cleanse is designed for a minimum of 10 days.

That's it!


Here's to your health,