Wellness series: Radiate

Hello Blog readers! Happy May! The month of April has flown by, and mine was filled with lots of awesome stuff- visits from beloved friends with their new babies (the best kind of visits!), a re-commitment to a way of eating that helps me thrive (back to the Paleo template and feeling great), a new acupuncturist who specializes in and is treating us for Fertility (which has been super interesting and we have seen lots of positive changes already), and a huge new addition to our garden project (even more yummy food growing this year!). In the last week or so, I have gotten 4 requests from friends and blog readers who are trying to start down the path to wellness, and are looking for some "where to start" guidance. It seems more then a coincidence that I have been asked about this repeatedly recently, and I started mulling over the idea of doing a sort of "where to start when you feel like crap" series to highlight what worked for me and give some easy recommendations for starting your journey back to feeling well. I am going to try and focus on basics that will work for everyone- it is so overwhelming when you feel like crap and know you need to eat better/heal your gut/deal with your life/get more energy, etc etc etc- feeling terrible and trying to do so much at once to change is unmanageable and will just make most people throw in the towel right away. It's all about little steps that then add up to big changes. Nothing is going to change overnight, but you can and will get to a place where you think to yourself "hey, I haven't had a headache in a few days... and I didn't even notice" (or something similar, that was just my first experience with starting to feel better). I will break it up into categories, such as food, hormones, sleep/stress, supplements/herbs, and mind/emotional work... something along those lines - this is a fluid process, so I don't have it all totally mapped out now. Food will be the first topic, as that I feel food is the most important part of any healing journey. Food has the capacity to help us to thrive or help us to die, and I firmly support letting food be thy medicine... So my next post will focus on that. Today I just want to suggest something a little "woo woo" (that's the phase we use when I talk about something hippie-dippie around these parts), but something that I used as a tool when I began my healing journey (so bear with me, we are about to get flowery and mystical up in here!). I am a reader and a writer by nature, so words and images are very powerful to me. I love the sounds of certain words, and the colors and images that they invoke. Even just thinking about a word or an image can change your mindset (think mantra or power phrases) and focus your brain. When I started trying to get better, I sat down one day and thought "what do I want? in one word, what do I want to feel?" and I started writing down all these words that were inspiring to me in terms of wellness... such as "heal", "thrive", "nourish", etc. I picked my favorite of those words, and wrote it in colored markers on a piece of paper in my journal (you could just do this on a piece of paper too) and doodled pretty things around it, and it became my mantra- when I felt like shit or felt like eating something that I knew would make me feel sick or when I felt like I couldn't get a handle on my emotions, I envisioned my word. It helped center me, helped to remind me why I was trying to motivate to cook dinner instead of grabbing packaged food. I know you are probably all smiling a little smile and thinking "Oh Steph, you're so cute you are such a hippie", and while that is true, it really did change something for me. And it might work for you. It is really easy to get overwhelmed by the bad stuff when you are feeling unwell ("I always feel crappy and I won't ever feel better so I am just going to resign myself to feeling like this because cancer is unavoidable and the world is horrible" etc etc etc)- it is good to have a little mental gong of sorts, to bang on and remind yourself that you can get better and you will get better. If that sounds crazy to you, no worries, I get it, but it worked for me and I still use my word frequently to motivate me to keep moving towards thriving.

So we begin the wellness series with a word. I will share mine with you, feel free to use it or to come up with your own. When I asked myself what I wanted, when I was feeling completely sick and bogged down and in a big mud puddle of unwell, I decided I wanted to radiate. Bright beautiful light, radiating on everything and making everything warm and sunny and nourished. So I leave you with that today, go out into the world and RADIATE! Even if all you can muster up today is a smile at a stranger, or a compliment to a friend who is exhausted too, do it and radiate and feel a little glimmer of a glow. And feel free to chuckle at my hippie dippie-ness while you think it :)

A skin clearing "latte" that tastes almost as good as the real thing...

The humble dandelion. Who knew such a cute little weed could help our skin look beautiful and clear? Dandelion is a wonderful herb for helping the liver function better, clearing the skin (because a happy liver = happy skin) and building blood in the body. Come springtime, we see Dandelion pop up in all sorts of cleanses, juices, etc, and for good reason. Who doesn't want clearer skin and a happy liver?

My body has a hard time with cold foods/drinks. I love my juicer, but I can only make fresh veggie juices in the summer, when it is very warm out and my body temperature won't get too cold when I consume a cold food. Raw salad, cold beverages, sushi- they are all very cold foods per Traditional Chinese Medicine, and when I started going to my acupuncturist she advised me to stay away from cold foods since I have a tendency towards a low body temp. I notice if I drink/eat something cold, I will get a little headache and a stomach ache, a sure sign that my body is unhappy. So I look for ways to use cleansing foods and herbs in warm ways, such as warm veggie soups and warm teas.

Dandelion tea is a great way to incorporate the highly cleansing plant into your life. I buy the Traditional Medicinals brand, I trust them and they make some great teas. Dandelion tea is a good substitute for coffee or black tea, if you are tying to limit your caffeine intake. My husband and I have been completely caffeine free for about a month now, and I tell ya, it is liberating! I stopped drinking caffeinated coffee about 2 years ago, after being a 3-5 cup a day-er in my past life as a grad student. Coffee makes me crazy jittery and sweaty, and I needed to get off of the "needing it to function" train. My real love is black tea- for me, there is nothing quite like a strong cup of good black tea with a splash of cream in it. But, alas, even my black tea was affecting me, albeit less then coffee, but I was still noticing some side effects. Since we are trying to get pregnant, and I knew I wanted to be caffeine free once we get a baby cookin' in there, I figured why not get a jump on it now and get through the groggy mornings post quitting caffeine before I was knocked up. Enter Dandelion tea. Roasted Dandelion tea has a great bitter roasted flavor, not unlike black coffee or black tea. Now, I'm not saying it's the same, IT'S NOT. But it's close enough for me to enjoy it for now instead of black tea, and the added health benefits of drinking it are worthwhile too!

Here is a simple Dandelion tea "latte" recipe:
Brew a strong cup of Dandelion tea (make sure it is organic!)
Add about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of coconut milk to it.
Drink and enjoy.

The coconut milk adds good fats to the drink, and lends a hint of sweetness to cut the bitterness of the Dandelion tea. I make my coconut milk at home, to avoid canned coconut milk which always contains emulsifiers and other weird ingredients, as well as to avoid BPA. It is super easy to make:

Put 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut into a blender. Add 2 cups boiling water. Blend until well shredded, to a nice creamy consistency. Let it cool. Poor it through a very small gauge sieve or cheese cloth to separate the coconut meal from the liquid. The liquid is your "cream" and you can use the leftover coconut meal for any number of baking projects... it can be used to make some super yummy macaroons! This makes about a cup to a cup and a half of coconut milk.

I hope you give the humble Dandelion a try this spring, and let me know if you try the Dandelion latte. Cheers!

How to whiten teeth naturally for a happy healthy smile.

Between my husband and I, we have had more then our fair share of "tooth issues" over the years. Knowing what I know now about how diet, specifically grains and other inflammatory foods, affects the body, and seeing how much our health has improved by removing almost all grains/legumes and vegetable oils from our diet, and consuming properly soaked nuts instead of un-soaked,  it's no wonder we have dealt with quite a few cavities in our time (before said new diet). Sugar is not the only villain in tooth decay, phytic acid (mostly found in grains, legumes and nuts) and gut imbalances play a huge role as well. We have been on a mission in the past few months to remineralize our teeth (that sounds weird at first, but your teeth are bones, and your bones remineralize- like when you break a bone and it heals, or you work on adding bone mass when you have osteoporosis). The remineralizing protocol is for another post, but introducing it is pertinent to this post- I also wanted to whiten my teeth, and after reading about some of the ingredients in my "super clean hippie" toothpaste (I was using Desert Essence SLS/Flouride free with tea tree oil and neem oil), I decided I was going rogue and getting rid of the toothpaste for good. Screw putting questionable ingredients into my mouth just to give me a false sense of protection from decay! Side note: Please don't use commercial toothpastes - Crest, Colgate, etc- they are full of plastics (yep), chemicals and sugar (seriously) and do more harm then good.

So then, what are we doing to naturally clean and whiten our teeth?

It's super simple. And I promise you, my mouth is just a clean and fresh and tingly as it was when I was using store bought toothpaste- more so, actually.

My tooth whitening/chemical free tooth care regiment:

MORNING:
1. Tongue scrape first thing in the morning. LITERALLY first thing. I wake up, go to the bathroom, and scrape my tongue. It is a key player in maintaining a healthy mouth- there are a lot of toxins and gross things that accumulate on your tongue in the night, and you want to clean it off first thing (before you eat or drink anything) so that you don't swallow them back into your body.

2. Oil pull. I am currently using sesame oil (helps to warm the sinuses and clear sinus congestion) but coconut oil is great for overall mouth health and whitening. I have dedicated a whole blog post to oil pulling, so if you want details check that post out. This step is a huge part of the whitening.

3. Floss and brush. I floss with silk floss (no plastic!) and then brush. Right now I am using my remineralizing tooth powder that I make at home (which I will follow up this post with info on that), but you can easily replace toothpaste with baking soda and peppermint essential oil. Take your clean toothbrush, wet it, dip it in a jar of baking soda (aluminum free) and then put one drop of essential oil (spearmint and clove oil work well too) on it and brush away. It will feel very different the first few times you do it, but I promise your mouth will feel nice and clean. The baking soda is a mild but enamel safe way to clean and lighten teeth, and the essential oil is antibacterial.

4. Rinse with homemade mouthwash: 3 parts water to one part hydrogen peroxide and 2-3 drops essential oil (I use peppermint, it is refreshing as hell). The peroxide naturally whitens, and the essential oil leaves you fresh and minty.

EVENING:
1. Brush with activated charcoal. Here is the real whitening superstar! Activated charcoal is something we should all have in our medicine cabinets. You can use it for poisoning situations (food poisoning, actual poisoning, etc), and it absorbs toxins from the body rapidly, then moves them out of your body without harming you. The same is true for your mouth- when you brush with activated charcoal, it binds to all the crap deep down inside your (porous) teeth and in your gums, and pulls it out. Who doesn't want that? The only funny thing is that you look kind of crazy, like a little kid who ate a bunch of oreos and it's all over their teeth. Brush brush brush, spit, rinse (be careful in your sink- porous material will soak it up and it can stain!) and then move to the next step...

2. Brush and floss and rinse as outlined above. I swear the charcoal will come out of your teeth entirely, and you won't look like a very scary person with black teeth. But you will look like a person with a fresh, white smile that was obtained without using really scary bleaching chemicals!

Simple as that. I have noticed a huge difference, and my mouth feels great. I feel better knowing I am not putting anything questionable into my mouth (therefore my body), and that I am not spending a bunch of money on scary chemicals to assuage my vanity. Let me know if you try it, and good luck not laughing at yourself in the mirror when you have black teeth!

The simplest thing you can do to improve your health and your life...

I am going to hit you with a profound statement right now, are you ready?

Every single thing you put in your mouth either fights potential disease or feeds it.

BAM.

That is a pretty life changing statement... well, at least to me it is. My view on food has changed drastically over the past few years. I thought that I used to "eat well"- I for the most part avoided junk food (although I ate my weight in taqueria burritos), don't have a sweet tooth, and ate kale and blueberries on occasion . Little did I know that even though I thought I was eating "well", my body was breaking down. Stomach aches, heartburn, gas, bowel "flow" issues- you have probably had them in your lifetime, perhaps more frequently then you would like. You may even know the foods that trigger these issues, but "it's all good, just pop a tums!". I am here to tell you that those symptoms are not good. Even on occasion. We all get food poisoning every once in awhile, or the stomach flu, but I am not talking about symptoms from those ills. I am talking about symptoms from crap food. Or symptoms from foods that your body just can't handle (lactose intolerance, anyone?) Our modern medicine system (or more on point, our modern pharmaceutical system) has a "cure" for every symptom, so that we can go on eating the shit that is making us feel like shit- just pop a pill afterwards and don't worry about how those chili fries are treating your insides! But here's the thing- gas, bloating, etc-those are all just SYMPTOMS, symptoms of something greater going on. Maybe a little heartburn is worth the taste explosion of joy that are those chili fries... but I would be willing to bet your stomach and intestines, if they could speak, would not agree with you. We know so much about inflammation, and how chronic inflammation is the root of most western disease (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc). A stomach ache, or diarrhea, or heartburn, creates inflammation in the body (well, it's a sort of chicken and egg situation really- inflammation caused by a substance creates the heartburn which creates more inflammation... but I won't get into the biochemistry behind all that). And over time, that inflammation adds up (like in my case, where inflammation caused leaky gut, triggering my Celiac Disease). For many people, all that inflammation results in a leaky gut, which we also know so much more information about now, and are finding that leaky gut contributes to/triggers a host of ills- Celiac disease, Diabetes, Heart disease, Cancer, ADD/ADHD, Austim... the list goes on and on. It's interesting to me that one of the newer ways to help deal with Austim for some children is implementing the GAPS diet, which removes almost all inflammatory foods (all processed foods, gluten, nightshades, egg whites, etc etc) and many people are seeing vast improvements in their children via this diet. Back to the point- yes, a stomach ache or a bout of heartburn here or there *won't* kill you (now), but over time the effects of those things do add up in the body. Everything in moderation may not be the way to go when it comes to putting crap in your body.

So on to a really, really easy way to deal with all that. I could create a list with all the things that contribute to inflammation (eating foods made with processed vegetable oils, GMO's, questionable meat made with pink slime, etc), but let's just keep it simple here. Most of this stuff can get really overwhelming really fast, and I think it's important to take easy steps first to change your health, so that you see results and can encourage yourself to continue. So here it is:

Stop eating processed crap.

That's it.

If it's "shelf stable" and has more then 2-3 ingredients (I'm not talking dried pasta here), don't eat it. If it's packaged and says anywhere on the label "vegetable oil/canola oil/soy anything" don't eat it. If it was made anywhere where you can get a burger for less then 5 dollars, don't eat it. If sugar is in the ingredients list and that seems weird to you (there does not need to be sugar in pasta sauce, that is ridiculous), don't eat it. A simple way of dealing with this in the grocery store is only shopping around the outer sides of it- fresh fruits and veggies, fresh quality dairy and meat, bulk grains and beans, etc. I shop this way- we have virtually no packaged food in our cupboards- only dried beans, a few flours and other baking ingredients, and spices and vinegars... I understand that not everyone has the time to cook home cooked meals every day. Of course you don't! But that doesn't mean you can't make better choices- maybe trade Taco Bell for a Taqueria where they grill real meat instead of weird "meat product". Maybe that means trading the crappy Lays potato chips for chips made with avocado oil or olive oil (or better yet, air pop some popcorn instead!). Switch to eating the clean fifteen and avoid the dirty dozen to get some more organically grown veggies and fruits in your diet (http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php). Make burgers at home, where you can control the ingredients rather then going to Burger King.  STOP DRINKING SODA (period). Little steps. Most importantly, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. When you get gas, or heartburn, or whatever symptom after eating a meal, listen. If eating a meal makes you feel heavy and crappy and bloated, listen. I did not listen to my body when I felt this way, and I continued to not listen until my body screamed at me to stop. Many of us think, "oh I don't have symptoms of IBS (or whatever issue) so I am not going to worry about it", but the effects of crap food are cumulative, and may add up to IBS (or something worse) for you at some point. Don't pop a tums and move on, ignoring what your body is telling you. Respect the gift of being alive by supporting your body's ability to CONTINUE BEING ALIVE. Strive to be well, rather then to be just "okay".

Just put down the processed crap. Your body will thank you for it, I promise.


Side note: I got an overwhelming response from my last post- so much love and support and "thank you I needed this right now!" was given about what I wrote, I was moved to (happy) tears by things that people had to say, in facebook messages, comments on the blog, and directly to me. I appreciate everyone's love and support so much, and hope to continue write things that you guys need and want to hear. Thanks so much!

the cult of busy... or, how a vaguely nasty facebook comment made me proud of myself.

Oh the joys of facebook. Being able to say something to someone that is rude and vaguely hurtful without having to say it to their face (not to mention the horrid things that are said anonymously on the internet) is part of the dark side of social media. I love my facebook, I love being able to connect to my friends and loved ones around the world in ways that would not be possible without it. I love sharing my life, and seeing other peoples joys. I don't especially love people who judge behind a computer screen. A few days ago, I posted about something I was doing, and I got a snarky comment along the lines of "how nice it must be to have nothing to do". Now, this was from someone who knows me, but they don't know me that well. I don't expect everyone to know my life story, but I share a considerable amount of my personal life with pretty much anyone who knows me (I'm an open book, baby!), so to snark me for "not being busy enough" is pretty callous- the last few years have been ROUGH (we're talking body/mind overload/breakdown). To snark ANYONE about their life choices sucks, but that's a whole other topic there. Ranting commence:

I have noticed, in recent years, that being busy has become a badge of honor. You know that friend you have, who for the last 20 years has been "the busiest they have ever been!"? I don't mean with normal life things like school and work, I mean every second of every day is crammed with something they "must" do. Or "should" be doing. You haven't seen them in a year (but you live 10 minutes from each other) because every moment of their life is "jammed"? Or maybe that is you, and you haven't sat down and taken a moment to breathe in who knows how long... Now, this is not a judgement on people who are overloaded in their lives, because lord knows our world is overloaded and we are all taking on way to much every day, and the last thing anyone needs is to be feeling more pressure about the way they are living their lives. But we also don't need to be sitting up on our "busy" thrones, judging people who aren't as "busy" as we are. This is just a personal point of view from someone who pushed it WAY TO MUCH, and broke herself. Yep, that's exactly right, I broke myself. I ignored every single screaming cue that my body was giving me to slow the f*#k down, and then my body just stopped. And I finally listened to my body, when it told me to stop. I stopped. I stopped everything. I understand that some people don't have the luxury to stop everything- you must pay your bills, and parent your kids. I am so grateful that I have a life situation where, for now, my husband supports us financially and we are able to exist on one income. We have made sacrifices with that choice- we won't be buying a house for a very, very long time. I know that completely halting one's life is not possible for some people. But what is possible is to listen to your body, really listen, and learn how to say no. Do only the things that you have to do to survive (eat, sleep, play with your kids and do your job) and do nothing else. You do not have to be "busy" to be worthy- remind yourself that daily. I hear things like "oh, you're JUST a yoga teacher" or "you're a stay at home mom, what do you do all day? it must be nice to be home relaxing all the time" (I can't tell you how much that one pisses me off, and I am not a mom!) I hear things like "I wish I had time to read" or "I don't even have the time to cook a meal". I don't know about you, but reading books, even a page a day before I fall asleep, and cooking a meal (even just once in awhile) are non negotiables for me. And because some random person on the internet chooses to judge me because of that doesn't change the fact that I am doing what is right for me, and that is more then enough for me to feel worthwhile. I wish we could all support the person who "just" wants to be a yoga teacher- man was I grateful for that person when it was pretty much all I could do to get myself to yoga class daily and nothing else- I needed that yoga teacher more then she knew! We need to be lifting each other up for our individual choices, not tearing someone down when we are feeling overwhelmed with our lives. And having been a chronically "busy" person before my breakdown, I know how hard it can be to let that go. You feel like people will be let down by you. Well, I can tell you, the people who truly love you are the ones who go "you're overwhelmed? let me bring you some dinner tonight so you can sit on the couch with your little one instead of cooking" rather then the ones who judge you for your need to sit in silence for a hour. I think a lot of people believe that by being busy, they are contributing, or doing what they are "supposed" to do. For me right now, I am supposed to be writing. And drinking tea. And looking at the beautiful trees. And hugging my friends. And going to therapy. And recovering. And I am happy with this place that I am in. And I wish the "busy" person who snarked me was happy with the place they are in, but I fear they are not. And that makes me sad. Even if all you can do is take a hour a week to laugh with a friend, have a good cup of coffee, walk on the beach, just do something that you love just for you, that is still an hour you took to be free and feel good. Even if it means literally sitting and staring into space for an hour. Our brains are not meant to GO GO GO! I hope that no one breaks themselves like I did. And I hope that if they do, they can recover and realize how damaging it is to judge other people for not being busy. I am proud, in this moment, to not be busy. To be where I am. To get here took work. I haven't been sitting around on my arse eating bon-bons every day. I have worked hard in therapy, worked hard restructuring my diet and my stress levels and my health so that I can heal. Worked hard to get to a place where I can breathe again. I am proud of my choices, and I am finding more and more that when people criticize your choices it has more to do with their own issues with their own choices then anything to do with you.

Now I will get off my soapbox and go back to not being busy. Thanks for listening.

a little extra help when you are feeling overwhelmed...

I have been getting some requests for blog posts (well, advice requests followed by "you should blog about that, I bet a lot of people would love to hear what you have to say..."). I absolutely LOVE getting asked for advice about wellness, and getting asked to write about specific topics on the blog- it really makes me feel like I am doing the right thing with my life, and really reaching people. I dropped the ball a little bit with getting some of said posts written, because my dear husband got sidelined with the flu (and if you know him, you know he NEVER gets sick, so when he does it's usually a doozy- this is the second time in our 8 year relationship that he has been sick, and the only other time was Pneumonia, so that tells you a lot right there). My last post on Elderberry syrup was a timely one, and by giving him a teaspoon of Elderberry syrup every 3 hours for two days we were able to knock out the 102 degree fever pretty quickly, along with plenty of rest and homemade chicken soup (with cilantro and tumeric, yum). BUT this is not a post about the flu, I think I have covered that pretty well in previous posts.

A dear friend asked me last week about using herbs to help deal with stress- she knows quite well about my struggles with stress, and she herself has been feeling pretty bogged down by it lately. Now, here is my disclaimer- I am NOT a Doctor, Naturopath, Herbalist, etc, and all of the knowledge presented here stems ONLY from my personal experience with using herbs for support during times of stress, and my own personal research into said herbs. I STRONGLY encourage everyone to do their own research, talk with their Doctor/Therapist/Naturopath/Acupuncturist, etc, when adding herbs to their lives- herbs are very powerful and should be respected. Take a moment and do some digging to find out what you think will be best for you. I will try to lay this out in a concise way- there is SO MUCH information out there about herbs, and it can be hard to understand and find the right formula that works for you (that's why I really encourage people to go see a Naturopath or Acupuncturist- it takes the work out of it). Everyone's stress manifests differently, and some herbs are more helpful in certain situations then others. Without further ado:

-If you are feeling fatigued, anxious, and have symptoms of stress induced insomnia (racing thoughts, waking up and can't go back to sleep, etc), then ASHWAGANDHA could be for you. Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb (also known as Indian ginseng) that is a potent stress fighter, and is good for long term use as an adrenal tonic in cases of adrenal fatigue. I have used this herb over periods of months (I am still recovering from adrenal fatigue), when I was dealing with large amounts of stress and having anxiety, and I really feel like it helped keep me centered in the storm, and helped me to sleep. Important note: if you are allergic to nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, peppers), do not take Ashwagandha because it is a nightshade.

-If your menstrual cycle is making you a crazy emotional person, and you can't seem to get a grip, VITEX (also known as Chaste Berry) might work for you. Vitex works to balance your hormones, specifically helping to regulate and balance the pituitary gland, the effect of which cascades to the other hormone regulating glands in your body, therefore helping with PMS and other cycle issues, which in turn helps to alleviate stress. Important note: do not take Vitex if you are using hormonal birth control, it will mess with you more- get off those artificial hormones (reasons why for another post) and get your hormones back to optimal without the use of artificial hormones that have long term negative effects on your body.

-If you are feeling low energy, need more vitality and stamina, (maybe you need lots of caffeine to get through the day) then MACA may be right for you. Maca is a root from South America that is an adaptogen, meaning it doesn't "add" anything to your body, but helps your own system adapt by balancing your hormones and giving you energy. My husband swears by Maca (it regulates hormones, helps naturally boost energy, and can be an especially good tonic for men), and has really noticed a difference in his energy and vitality since he has been taking it (for about a year now). It is said that Peruvian warriors took Maca to help with endurance and vitality on long arduous journeys, and as that I have amazing Peruvian family members, I can attest that these people know their shit, and they have known what's up for a very very long time. Important note: Maca may cause some people to feel jittery (myself included) and if you are dealing with anxiety specifically, this may not be the best choice for you.

-if you are feeling emotionally unbalanced (things that would not normally stress you out make you emotional and overwhelmed), your well-being just feels out of whack, or you are feeling exhausted by normal life, REISHI mushroom might work for you. I take a mushroom tonic (multiple types of medicinal mushrooms in one formula) through most of the fall and winter, for emotional support and because specific phytochemicals in the mushrooms are potent immune boosters. I have personally noticed an improvement in my well being while taking a mushroom tonic, and while I can't say it's totally due to the mushrooms, I do think that they really help me to stay balanced.

These are the herbs I have tried on my own (I have had a few other formulas given to me by my kick ass acupuncturist, but have no grasp on Traditional Chinese Medicine, so would not even try to recommend their formulas), and have had great success with some of them. I think it is (again) super important to do your research, and of course try them only one at a time, and give yourself enough time on them (most need months of daily use to have observable results). Remember that herbs are potent, but they are not a magic pill- they take time to work, and we must take other steps as well to deal with stress (ex. exercise, diet changes, therapy, journaling, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, massage). Herbs are there to support us, gently, as we learn to really take care of ourselves along the path of wellness.

If you are dealing with overwhelming (crushing) stress, please please PLEASE see a Therapist, Naturopath, or Acupuncturist (in my case all three!) who can really help you and tailor a path back to thriving for you. If you just need a little help, try one of these herbs (and maybe some deep breathing!) and see if things improve.

I hope that helped, and please let me know if you try any of these, have used any of these, and if it helps! Wishing everyone a stress free existence!

Scoff at flu season with Elderberry Syrup!

Alright pumpkins, the height of Flu season is officially upon us, and it seems people are dropping like flies. I spent about 4 months of last year (Thanksgiving through March) battling bouts of the flu/colds (at one point, I thought I might need to go to the hospital, which, if you know me, means I was REALLY sick). My immune system was super low (years of gluten reaction will do that to ya), I was having major emotional issues with some of my family (depression doesn't help your immune system) and my hormones were still going crazy from coming off birth control (it takes SOOOO long to get your normal hormonal system back up and running after a long time on artificial hormones- but it is possible!) So the last 6 months have been me focusing on getting well, period. It's my main life focus. And I vowed that this year, I WOULD NOT GET SICK. So far, since last March, I haven't had even a sniffle (which I cannot take all the credit for- my therapist, my acupuncturist and my chiropractor have been major players in keeping me well). Long story short, we are heading into the thick of flu season, and this morning my facebook news feed was full of "I /my spouse /my child have the flu what can I do??!!" posts, so I figured it was a good time to post about my favorite flu fighter, that pretty much anyone can use (kids, babies, pregnant women, all humans really)... drum roll please...

... Enter Elderberry Syrup. My husband tells me stories of his great grandmother keeping an elderberry bush, and making syrup out of the beautiful purple berries to give to the kids (he just thought it tasted good, he didn't know it was also a potent flu fighter). Alas, I do not have an elderberry bush to make homemade syrup with (it is on my list of things to do when we have our farm) but luckily I live in Santa Cruz, where there is a health food store on nearly every corner, and we have access to a huge amount of herbal medicines. Elderberry syrup is a super easy way to prevent the flu- when taken as a preventative during flu season (1 teaspoon a day works for me) it ups the amount of T cells (white blood cell immune system Navy Seals) and works to prevent the flu from taking hold in your body. When taken after a known exposure to the flu, I up the dose to a few teaspoons a day. The recommendation for taking it when already sick is generally a teaspoon about every hour or so, but do your research on that one- I haven't had to take it yet so I am not positive on the dosing for already sick people. Elderberry is very high in vitamin C, and that may be the key to it's flu fighting ability, along with all those purple plant pigments (antioxidants) that are oh so good for you.

I use Gaia Herbs Black Elderberry Syrup, I really trust the company and have used many of their supplements. They have a nighttime formula as well, with passion flower and valerian root in it if you need a little bit of support to help you sleep as well. My hubs and I take it when we think we may have been exposed and when we know we're going to be around a sick person. In the height of flu season, because my husband is a paramedic and is exposed to stuff constantly, we take it everyday.

If you haven't gotten sick and don't want to, if you have kids (little ones are germ factories- and I mean that in the most loving way!) or if you are feeling a tickle in the back of your throat, I highly recommend picking up a bottle of Elderberry Syrup. It tastes yummy and is an easy way of coasting through flu season. Sending you all healthy flu free thought! Let me know if you try it!