Archive for Natural Therapies

Want To Be Lean & Healthy? Get Normal!

0422161434aQuestions I’m often asked:

“How do I ramp up my metabolism?”

“How do I make my immune system strong?”

“How do I get a flat stomach?”

“How can I have more energy?”

(BTW, that’s Shelby and I on Marco Island a couple of weeks ago )

These questions are expressed from the perspective that if we could take a special supplement, cut a bunch of calories, walk a certain amount of steps, or find the right exercise, the things we hate about ourselves would go away and we’d be golden.

Really though, what we need to do is become normal.  God made our bodies spectacular; we just need to eat the right foods, think the right thoughts, sleep, and move often, to keep it so.

It’s not rocket science, but it’s tricky, because we’ve been inundated with terribly bad advice on diet and health for several decades now.

All those words of wisdom from our doctors/government/pharma, along with commercials and advertising, have us sicker, fatter, and more depressed than ever.

How to pull yourself away from 40 years of being told you need to count calories, shun fat, and take pills to feel good?

Educate Yourself!  We’re a chemistry set, not a math equation.  Work with your chemistry, and you become NORMAL (lean and healthy).   Here’s some wisdom:

Read here to learn how excessive Stress Hormones mess up your gut, your immune system, your sex hormones, your brain, and cause heart disease and weight gain. (Manage Your Stress = Think About What You’re Thinking About).

Read here about studies showing that Rosemary is effective against estrogen dominant breast cancer, and here to learn about studies showing how much more effective Turmeric can be than radiation and chemo, with none of the side effects.  ( Eat medicine foods daily!)

Read here to learn why award-winning cardiologist, Dr. Assem Malhotra, says we need to watch our sugar instead of fat when it comes to heart disease and weight.  (It’s not about the calories.)

Read here to learn how a lack of iodine can cause cancer and disease in many parts of our body.

Please, read, invest your time in learning about how your body works and what it wants. None of us are “low in medicine”; but we’re often full of crappy food, crappy thoughts, and lack of movement.  That’s all poison to the body, and your body will respond accordingly.

Eat Real Whole Foods, control your thoughts/manage your stress, move a LOT, get regular sleep.  It’s truly that simple.

Home Remedies: Proven, Safe, and Effective; Get Over The Learning Curve.

 

mark and i on roadHappy Snowmaggon!

I get a lot of questions about using essential oils and herbs for both illness and prevention.  Well, I have both going on in my house right now:  Shelby’s ill, and I’m trying to prevent catching it.

(**Important: Real prevention comes from a strong immune system: no sugar, good sleep, managing stress, and eating Real Whole Food. “An ounce of prevention….”**)

I think it started as the flu and has morphed to bronchitis.  What am I doing?  A lot!  Here’s a pic showing some of the natural medicines I’m using on both her and the rest of us:supps on counter

And here’s a list of what’s in that photo from left to right:

Biotics ADP – which is oregano extract (anti-viral)

Tea tree and eucalyptus essential oil (these go in a pot of water – steam inhalation.)

Herbal Medicine’s Respiratonic, and Osha Cough Syrup ( definitely helping!  Bought this at Natural Market in Warrenton, Va.)

Ovvio Thief Plus ( I LOVE essential oils!!) This I put directly on the throat and use in a diffuser.

Biotics Vitamin D3

Garlic, which I mix with Manuka Honey (look at a ‘how to’ here)

Herba Tussin Tea, by Traditional Medicinals

Those front baggies:  from the left –

Ground Rose Hips – HUGE amount of vitamin C ( that’s for all of us, I put it in smoothies).

Chamomile flowers ( Natural Market by the ounce – CHEAP, POTENT and very relaxing. I o.d. her a little bit at night.  We all sleep better that way.)

Marshmallow root ( Natural Market, Cheap/Potent/ rebuilds lining of esophagus, great for a cough/sore throat.)

The 2 jars in the back are homemade Vinegar of Thieves and homemade Elderberry Syrup, easy recipes for both are here.

What you’re not seeing?  Regular cold meds.  They give me the creeps.  Do you know what’s in them?

Let’s look at Nyquil:

Active Ingredients (in each 30 mL) (Purpose)

Acetaminophen 650 mg (Pain reliever/fever reducer)

Dextromethorphan HBr 20 mg (Cough suppressant)

Doxylamine succinate 12.5 mg (Antihistamine)

Phenylephrine HCl 10 mg (Nasal decongestant)

Inactive Ingredients

alcohol, citric acid, D&C Yellow No. 10, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Green No. 3, flavor, glycerin, propylene glycol, purified water, saccharin sodium, sodium benzoate, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, sorbitol, sucralose

Why would we put these poisons in our kids?  When I look at the artificial colors, the propylene glycol, the saccharin, the sodium benzoate, I just see cancer and disease. Acetaminophen is the #1 cause of liver failure in the US! This crap can’t make anyone healthier – ever.

Moms, this is mostly up to us.

Our kids are predicted to die at an earlier age than we are.  This isn’t something our family doctor is preventing, as it’s happening under their watch.

This is OUR job.  We need to recognize and then reverse the conditioning we’ve received our whole lives to immediately turn to OTC meds for every sniffle, ear ache, and sore throat, because honestly, these substances aren’t making anyone healthier.  The long-term effects of the ingredients ruin livers, kidneys, hormones, stomachs, etc.

Look around.  The statistics show we’re all getting sicker, fatter, and more depressed by the minute.  This is a multifaceted phenomena, and we can safely say that the ingredients in OTC products are one of the facets.

We all need to step up to the Mom Plate, and start studying, because there’s a big learning curve to using herbs and essential oils. There is no Natural Home Remedies Lobby paying for advertisements via the TV, Radio, and Print Ads.  ( I’m convinced that most Americans get all their medical knowledge thru Big Pharma’s advertising business.)

Neither will our doctors be recommending Natural Remedies, as in med school, they’re only educated on synthetic drugs. Period.

I’m wrapping up here with a dose of guilt, which my kids say I’m good at:  aren’t your kids worth the learning effort?  Isn’t taking care of our kids supposed to be our biggest priority?

That said, there’s a lot to learn.  How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.   Get on the daily mailing list for GreenMedInfo and Dr. Mercola.  Their peer-reviewed information is free – and priceless.  I remember feeling overwhelmed when I first started this journey, but not anymore.  You’ll become confident and comfortable too if you pledge to learn a little bit every day.

Our health, and our children’s health, is in our hands.  Email me if you need help.

Poop’s on Beards, Computers, Desks, CounterTops..Better Build a Healthy MicroBiome!

family

Family get together last night:)  That’s my dad, my mom, and my Uncle Fred, my 3 sisters, 2 of my daughters, and a few nieces and nephews.

Recently, Consumer Reports came out with data that had many people scared to eat meat.  The Report found that beef does indeed contain bacteria that can become pathogenic, like e coli and salmonella.  The report also found pretty big differences in the amount of bacteria, and anti-biotic resistant bacteria, in CAFO cattle (cattle raised in feed lots), compared to cattle raised on grass;  grass fed steers had less bacteria in the finished product.

Comments at the end of articles and on social media had people claiming that this would be the end of their meat eating as obviously, meat was just crawling with germs.

Hold on.

Meat accounts for about 20% of all food borne illness;  fruit, vegetables, and nuts accounts for almost 50%.

More bad news:  beards are loaded with poop.  Actually, germs are literally everywhere: our kitchens, our phones, our toothbrushes, toys, sponges, towels..From Philip Tierno, a microbiologist at NYU, and author of The Secret Life of Germs:  “To focus on beards is to miss the point. We, as a society, are literally bathed in feces,” Tierno said. “Wherever a man touches, there are feces and fecal organisms present.” Even to focus on toilets is to sort of miss the point: One study compared surfaces in the bathrooms and kitchens of 15 homes and found that the toilet was among the least bacteria-laden places tested.

Here’s the bottom line, bacteria are EVERYWHERE.  We have a few pounds of it on ourselves, and in ourselves.  It’s time to quit being scared of germs, and instead make sure our MicroBiome is healthy and cared for.  Apparently, our personal ecosystem is like a garden, and we either feed and water it correctly and give it plenty of sunshine (yep!), so it works for us; or we ruin it with a diet of sugar, processed food chemicals, and a bad lifestyle (no sleep, no exercise, no sun) and get sick, sad, and fat.

(Scientists say our inner bacteria play a role not just in our immune system, but our personality, temperament, and mood. )

Hopefully, you’ve been convinced that we don’t need to starve ourselves in order to avoid bad bugs.

We also shouldn’t be using hand sanitizers (plain soap and water suffice), or keeping our homes too clean.

So, what can we do to strengthen our immune system?  Lots!

1) Don’t eat Sugar or Processed Foods.  Sugar suppresses white blood cell function, destroys bacterial balance in our gut and feeds both bad bugs and cancer cells.   Emulsifiers in processed foods, such as Polysorbate 80 and Carrageenan, also cause damage to our eco-system.

2) Open the windows in your home.  We’ve got bad stuff floating around, don’t keep it trapped.  Have you ever heard of the book, Slow Death By Rubber Ducky?  Scarier than than beef, I promise you.

3) Eat more plants, not just for their vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, but because they feed our good bacteria, they make them strong!

4) Eat your probiotics: kim chi, saurkraut (fermented, not vinegar), kombucha, keifer, good yogurts, fermented veggies…  these foods are loaded with beneficial bacteria.

5) Avoid antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, they wipe out everything, the good and the bad.

*******Use your common sense here.  If you have an obvious bacteria infection, they’re probably necessary.******   Overuse is famously common.

6) Consciously develop a lifestyle that’s Immune Strengthening, instead of Immune Weakening.   Get to bed at a decent time, don’t over-do alcohol, get sunshine, exercise, pray, meditate, develop and nurture relationships.

7) Eat plenty of garlic, onions, ginger, and other foods that are, literally, powerful medicine.    Real Whole Food is our life’s blood.

Want to learn more?  Read this, and this.

Back to the beef:  the boogy-man is us.  Really.  For the most part, we either make ourselves strong, and help our children develop habits and patterns that make them strong, or we make ourselves weak.  The choice is ours.

Do You Suffer With Headaches or Migraines? Here’s Some Tips:)

st thomasConfession: Headaches and Migraines aren’t an issue I’ve struggled with very much.  Until 3 years ago, I’d only had 2 migraines, and a handful of headaches.  Then Menopause hit, or rather the tail end of Peri Menopause, and wow, I got a serious taste of some serious headaches.

For me, it was a matter of getting my hormones tested, and getting on some bio-identical estrogen and progesterone for a year. The headaches stopped immediately.  After a year, I went off both because subsequent testing showed that my hormones levels had gone from way too low to way too high.  I went cold turkey on the hormones out of fear, got on some great herbs, and all was well,…for a while.  Then the headaches came back.

A hormone test (January 2015) showed that my high levels had plummeted way back down to those of old Mother Hubbard, so this time I went on a natural progesterone cream(February, 2015), and added flax (oil and seed) very consistently to my diet to up my estrogen level naturally.  I’m due for another test soon, and I’ll let you know what my results are, but I haven’t had a headache since February.

Point of my story:  my headaches were hormone related.

What causes yours and what can you do about them?  You’re gonna need to put on your detective hat, because this is a condition that has so many causes and triggers.  Drugs are a bandaid at best, as they often don’t even work well with migraines; they don’t eliminate the cause of the pain, and they come with too many side effects to ignore.

Those side effects are real and scary. It’s worth the time and effort to figure out your migraine and headache causes, and then experiment with different solutions.

You already have my hormone/headache story. If your headaches are completely centered around your cycle, no matter your age, then you can assume it has something to do with your hormones.  This doesn’t mean – at all – that you need to start taking hormones!  That’s something for you and your doctor to figure out.

There’s other responses that could be triggering the headache (and cravings and PMS too):  low B vitamins, and low magnesium.  Both of which get depleted during our period. (or I should say, your period) B6 and B12 are the most commonly sited Bs when it comes to our hormones shifting and symptoms, but I recommend a good B Complex to every woman I work with.  Magnesium too; as a matter of fact, Magnesium deficiency is very common.  Studies show that at least 56% of our population is Magnesium deficient,  but my point with Magnesium and female cycles, is that it’s easy to become deficient right before your period, even if you aren’t usually.

So B vitamins and Magnesium, recommendations 1 and 2.  (These are the 2 supplements I have my girls on.)

Next, look at your life style patterns.  Do you sleep enough?  Do you drink alcohol?  What drugs are you on? Trigger, trigger, trigger.

Here’s a biggie:  do you eat gluten, or a high refined carbohydrate diet? Both can be HUGE headache/migraine triggers. For a one stop shop on this, check out the Wheat Belly blog.

MSG, artificial colors, flavor enhancers, histamine containing foods, artificial sweeteners, these can all be triggers.

Even healthy foods can trigger headaches for certain people; foods like eggs, dairy, nuts, …..pretty common allergens, and allergens can cause headaches.

One of my favorite go-to’s is America’s Pharmacist, Suzy Cohen.  That woman’s awesome, and prolific with both her free advice and books, so let’s start there.

Resources:  Her book, called Headache Free.  A podcast where she dispenses all sorts of great advice, here.   Her response to a question about tension headaches, here.  Her blog, here. And finally, a great article kind of wrapping up a whole bunch of her advice on headaches, here.

One last trick to try when it comes to headaches, a Liver Detox.  If you work with me, you know that I believe in always “loving my liver”.  I’m constantly taking dandelion or milk thistle, or doing a Biotics liver detox or taking Herb Pharm Liver tincture.  I also make sure to eat plenty of liver loving foods every single day.

If our liver is so overwhelmed with chemicals and toxins and sludge from high fructose corn syrup or trans fats or SUGAR, then of course it’s unable to perform perfectly.  One of the results from that would be toxins circulating through our brain and causing headaches.

If you think this might be your problem, get in touch with me.

You don’t have to suffer!  What I said in the beginning is true:  become a detective.  Headache meds are band aides with side effects.  Figure out your causes, and then work on natural and healthy ways to eliminate them.

86% of our health care expenses are spent on Life Style Diseases, like headaches and migraines.  That’s actually great news, because we can fix our life style and positively effect our health.

Have a wonderful day!

I LOVE Essential Oils! From Skin Care to Fighting Virus and Bacteria, They’re Fantastic.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe’re living in a world of rampant illness; 70% of us are are both overweight, and on at least one medication.  70%.  The good news: 86% of those meds (and the money spent on them), are for Life Style Conditions.  That means we could reverse or at least lessen the condition through Life Style.

Because we can control our life style; we have tremendous power to improve our immunity, our mood, our energy, and our weight with the steps we take to be healthy every single day.

Here’s the thing:  good health isn’t going to fall on our heads like rain, we have to pursue it.  Essential oils (EOs) are a great tool in that pursuit.  Here’s how my family and I use EOs.

Mea Culpa: a couple of years ago, way after I was deeply into real whole foods, stress management, and using herbs and supplements instead of drugs, I was a total skeptic when it came to essential oils.  I knew nothing about them – I’M STILL LEARNING/NOT AN EXPERT AT ALL.

I’m not a doctor, and I’m not pretending to be one.  My General Practitioner probably wouldn’t use an Essential Oil if you paid him.  But I do.

And I love them! EO’s are amazing!!  The more I read and learn and use them, the more convinced I am that we sure veered off track when somehow we believed that pharmaceutical medications, with all their side effects and placebo effects and risks, were the only way to treat our ills.

They’re not, much of the world uses essential oils, and has for thousands of years.  The Magi brought frankincense and myrrh to baby Jesus.  How exceptional is that?

Is there research on them? Oh yeah!  More and more regular MDs are promoting and using them; here’s both examples and resources for you to use if you’re interested in EO’s for your health.

Wintergreen Oil for pain relief: why?  wintergreen oil contains compounds called “methyl salicylate”; menthyl salicylate is an integral ingredient of nearly every anti-arthritic and analgesic balm for muscle and joint pain that is currently available on the market.

From a Dr. Jon Barron newsletter: One reason for wintergreen oil’s analgesic effect is because the methyl salicylate found in the herb is a substance that is similar to aspirin. Did you know that one teaspoon (5 mL) of wintergreen oil is equivalent to approximately 7000 mg of salicylate or 21.5 adult aspirin tablets? That just might explain why it is used in high concentrations in deep liniments such as Bengay to help treat joint and muscular pain. Studies have shown, however, that it is more effective for acute rather than chronic pain.

Here’s a study from Pub Med showing methyl salicylate’s incredibly similar effects to aspirin in an anti-platelet (blood thinning) study for heart disease sufferers. Wow!  Aspirin’s really rough on the stomach, how wonderful to have an alternative that’s not.

Oregano Oil: anti-bacterial/fungal/viral/parasitic.  This one’s a powerhouse.  From Dr. Mercola:

Carvacol and thymol, two phytochemicals in oregano, are powerful antimicrobials. Research has shown essential oils from oregano may kill the foodborne pathogen Listeria4 and the superbug MRSA (making it a useful addition to hand soaps and disinfectants).5 According to one of the researchers involved in the MRSA study:6

“We have done a few preliminary tests and have found that the essential oil from the oregano kills MRSA at a dilution 1 to 1,000. The tests show that the oil kills MRSA both as a liquid and as a vapor and its antimicrobial activity is not diminished by heating in boiling water.”

Studies have also found essential oils of oregano to be useful against certain Candida species.7

Yesterday morning I sliced my hands in 2 places cutting peaches.  We were planning on spending the whole afternoon in the Shenandoah River, paddle boarding. I applied oregano oil before we left to each cut, and brought it with me in a cooler with an ice pack, so I could apply it again after we got out.  The river’s full of bacteria, so I protected myself.

For more science on Oregano oil, go here, and here.  That second link is to 33 Pub Med studies on Oregano oil and it’s effectiveness on everything from bacteria to candida to encouraging liver regeneration after hepatitis.  Seriously!

Cinnamon oil Ginger oil, and Peppermint Oil,  have huge anti-inflammatory and pro-digestion properties.

Shelby tends to get stomach aches and nausea; ginger oil has become our #1 go to for it.  We dose it 2 ways:  rubbing some on her stomach, or putting a little swipe of the oil on the inside of her cheek.  It’s fast and it works.  Ginger chews and real ginger are fantastic also, but when you’re nauseous, it can be hard to get that stuff down.

Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics has changed their stance on ear infections?   That’s because most ear infections are viral, not bacterial.

Girlfriends, if your mom argues with you about this, tell her the rules have changed since her kids were young.

Anyway, what to do when your child has an ear ache?  Garlic oil and tea tree oil.  We used these last year on Shelby and they worked FAST.  Check out Dr. Axe’s protocol here.

Hopefully I’ve piqued your interest, and if you’ve clicked on any of the links, you’ll see that Essential Oils aren’t woo-woo, at all.  I really really encourage you to learn as much as possible about them, because I’m barely scratching the surface in this Post.

Let me wrap it up with my Skin Care Routine, which is ALL about the essential oils and other fats.

I’m 50, I went through Menopause about a year and a half ago; I spend a lot of time outside.  Preface: I’m not saying this because I’m proud, I’m saying this because I’m pleased:  my skin looks pretty good.  I think it’s because I quit using soap and all conventional products years ago, and just started washing my face with an organic scrub once a day, and using only organic lotions.  I think not slathering chemicals on my skin was a good start. But two winters ago, I began getting little lines on my lips and checks; panic sunk in.  I quit the organic lotions and started using homemade coconut oil/shea butter/cocoa butter/olive oil and Essential Oils.

(Read the ingredients in Clinique Dramatic Difference Moisturizer here.  It’s gross.)

The lines REVERSED.  REALLY!!  I’m not saying I have the skin of a 20 something ( I live with three 20-somethings, they have a freshness…) but I don’t have (big/many) wrinkles yet!  ( I also added way more fat to my diet, and gelatin/collagen – critical to skin formation.)

What I use after my homemade lotion:  Rose Hip Serum, Clary Sage, Geranium Oil, and Frankincense.  I use the serum every night, but the oils I rotate nightly. I’ve also used Carrot oil, and Myrrh.  I’ll probably change this up as I continue to age, and learn more.  But right now, it’s totally working for me.  If you want to read more about skin and EO’s, check here, and here, and here.

Again, I want to say I’m just scratching the surface, but Essential Oils are so fun and effective and – for myself and my girls – addicting!  I’ve made sure all my daughters have their own Essential Oil stockpiles for both home, school, and travel, and that they know how to use them.  The more we learn and use them, the more we want to learn and use them.

What brand do I recommend?  A bunch.  I started with DoTerra, which along with Young Living are the two biggest names in EO’s.  However, they’re not the only names.  I buy from my local health food store, Natural Market, whom I trust to examine their vendors authenticity; but I have other brands I trust also.  Right now, Plant Guru is one of my favs.

If you’re interested, learn more! I am.  There was an Essential Oil Summit earlier this summer, you can find access to it here.  Order some books; look at all the links I provided in this Post.

Take your health into your own hands!  We spend more money on our health through medications and doctors and surgery’s and procedures THAN ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, AND YET WE’RE THE SICKEST AND THE FATTEST – IN. THE. WORLD.

To me, that means it’s time for a change.  Besides, who doesn’t want to look and feel better?

5 Fun Drink Recipes To Improve Weight, Energy, and Inflammation

debbie (27)Great weight, good energy, and optimum health? Oh yeah, they’re important. If you read this blog, you know it’s not a low calorie, low fat diet that makes Health,.. it’s Nutrients; and we get Nutrients from our food. That’s why I’m such a Real Whole Foodie.

Here’s the thing though, it’s more than eating good fats, good proteins, and a ton of Vegetables. Real nutritional powerhouses are Herbs and Spices, and if we want to “up our game”, we need to learn how to incorporate them into our every day life.   The problem: herbs and spices scare people.

Don’t Panic! I get comments all the time like: “I don’t know how to use herbs.” “I don’t know which herbs or spices taste good”, and, ” I don’t have time to do those big recipes that have herbs and spices Debbie, I’m busy!”.
It’s okay! Busy people can be healthy too. Everything’s a journey, right?

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, and that’s how you’re going to approach eating healthy every day. Everything’s only difficult until it’s routine. Then it’s no big deal.

Consider this: (1) We Americans grow up with pretty Bland Tastes: we want sweet, or we want salty. We were raised that way, and for the most part, we’re raising our kids that way. This isn’t working out very well. And (2) we’ve been convinced that Nutrition and Health come from a Pill, a doctor, or Processed Food products with tricky names, like “Ensure”. (Check out the ingredient list of ensure at the end of this Post.) Awareness is a big part of the battle, right?

Here’s a short primer on a handful of herbs and spices, and ideas on how to use them.  If I can do it, you can do it. I was brought up on salt, pepper and sugar, like all good American farm girls. I evolved though, and you can too. Here’s some super delicious (HONEST) recipes to up your nutrition:

20150426_082054This is my Ginger Juice:)
I make this several days a week and put a little in our teas and our waters. It’s simple: buy big, knobby ginger, cut off a piece, peel it, and then chop it into little pieces. Put the pieces in a jar, and fill the jar with hot water. I let this sit and steep over night. Ginger’s anti-inflammatory, great for digestion, and stomach upset. I always make sure to chew and swallow a piece or two also, I’ve grown to appreciate the bite. Ginger’s a great source of iron, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus.

This is a morning smoothie. Smoothies can be SIMPLE (base, fruit, and ice), or smoothies can be vehicles for piling on the nutrients, which is what I do! This smoothie has 2 raw eggs, coconut milk, greens powder, cinnamon, nutmeg,smoothie411 and frozen berries. My smoothies change daily, and I try to keep a mental list of what I use one day so I can switch it around a little the next. Green powder is great for the liver, and now we’re finding that the chlorophyl in greens powder actually helps our cells make energy – just like it does for plants- THAT IS SO COOL! Cinnamon is great for lowering blood sugar, and fighting certain virus and fungi; and nutmeg boosts the immune system, and benefits the blood and skin.

This is Megan’s “Golden Milk” drink. The ingredients: Coconut milk, turmeric, vanilla, cinnamon, cayenne, ghee/butter, and Maca. (Pimage (1)roof that our example matters, right?) Here’s some “whys”: Turmeric is super duper Anti-inflammatory, and multiple ( THOUSANDS ) of studies show it’s benefits in cancer, cystic fibrosis, heart health, and and more.   **Turmeric can be off-putting for those of us not used to it’s flavor. I eased my way into the taste by using Garam Marsala and Curry, two spice mixes that incorporateimage Turmeric, but are less pungent.  While I still LOVE, and use, those spices, I’ve also come to love the taste of turmeric.

Vanilla’s shockingly healthy! It has loads of antioxidants and phytonutrients, which means it not only feeds our cells, but can reverse oxidative damage to our cells, much like turmeric. Cayenne’s another powerhouse: weight loss, digestion, throat congestion, heart disease, the list goes on and on. And Maca, have you heard of that? That’s a herbal “adaptogen” That means it makes hormones “normal”, and who doesn’t need normal hormones? Seems like most of us are walking around with totally Crazy Hormones.

20150224_144352 (1)Next, here’s a tea I make in my French Press: black tea, whole cloves, ginger, and slippery elm. Cloves are very anti fungal, anti bacterial, and anti viral, they’re strong. They’re also indicated in fighting cancer, protecting the liver, and fighting mouth disease. The slippery elm has been my new go-to since last fall. Slippery elm helps the body build mucus ( YES – we need mucus. Delete the TV commercials that picture mucus as Bad Bugs out to get us. Reality: when we’re sick, mucus is instrumental in getting the Bad Stuff out of our body. Plus, several parts of our body are supposed to be lined with mucus, like our throat, our stomach, and our lungs. When we don’t have enough mucus, bad stuff happens.) I started using Slippery Elm (and marshmallow root) this fall, most days of the week. For the first time since high school, I didn’t lose my voice once this past winter, nor get a scratchy throat. Slippery elm (and marshmallow root) help the body build it mucus where it needs it.

20150422_140548And finally, here’s one of my favorite afternoon drinks:  In my french press I mix decaf coffee, cocoa beans, coconut flakes, and then usually turmeric, and here I added Ashwagandha.   THIS IS SO GOOD.   ** My decaf is “Swiss Water” decaffeinated, and it matters.  If you’re not drinking Swiss Water decaffeinated coffee, you’re drinking chemically decaffeinated coffee.  Not only do you drink those chemicals, but studies show chemically decaffeinated coffee isn’t nearly as caffeine free as you may think.  Swiss Water is a patented process that only uses water to decaffeinate, and strips out almost 100% of the caffeine.

Coffee is a Nutritional Powerhouse, so is Cocoa.  The phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, are abundant.  So are the health benefits.

Ashwangandha’s another “adaptogen”; it benefits thyroid and adrenal function. It’s also supposed to reduce brain cell degeneration – I need that!

Did you notice that I used the word “anti-inflammatory” often? Let me link anti-inflammatory and weight loss:  If we can’t lose weight despite working out and eating fairly well, it’s probably because our cells are “inflamed” with either Insulin or Leptin Resistance.  When the cell is inflamed, all the doors on the cell that open for nutrients, are instead, shut.  These anti-inflammatory herbs and spices can help reverse that, and correct cell metabolism so that nutrients can get in and be “burned”, which is a dumb term, but paints a good picture.

My point: anti-inflammatory foods aren’t just for sore joints, and bad stomachs, and chronic disease; they have a profound effect on our metabolism.  Who doesn’t want a better metabolism?

Honestly everyone, there’s a whole new world out there to explore when you start diving into to the components of food, and learn how they benefit our body.

When we get sick, or fat, or run down, we’re not missing a medication.  Think about that:  we’re not LOW on meds.  We’re low on Nutrients that our body uses to function, and build, and repair.  It’s so worth the effort to learn a little bit every day of how our body works and what we can do to make it better.

We’re not a Math Equation, we’re a Chemistry Set.  Food is Medicine, or Food is Poison;  our health, our weight, our energy is the cumulative result of what we do every day, day in, day out.  Make choices that produce great end results, and see your health and weight and energy improve day by day, month by month, year by year.

References and Resources:

Check out Drug and Herb Interactions here: www.standardprocess.com/MediHerb-Document-Library/Catalog-Files/herb-drug-interaction-chart.pdf

Research Herbs and Foods here:

www.greenmedinfo.com

www.organicfacts.net

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed

Learn about Swiss Water Decaf:

http://www.swisswater.com/consumer/swiss-water-process

And the Health Benefits of Coffee and Cocoa Beans:

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-cocoa.html

http://authoritynutrition.com/why-is-coffee-good-for-you/

Great Place To Buy Herbs: www.mountainroseherbs.com

Ashwagandha Benefits: www.draxe/ashwagandha

Finally, look at the ingredients in Conventional Medicine’s healthy drink: Ensure.  Hint, it’s disgusting.  www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/how-to-really-lose-weight-it’s-not-by-dieting-and-a-looks-healthy-but-isn’t

DIY Lotion, Carrot Soup, Elderberry Syrup; Homemade is Worth the Effort, Here’s Why

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAttitude is everything, and my attitude is that I’m Smart, Organized, Energetic, and Able. Believing this about myself makes a busy day much easier mentally, because thoughts affect words and actions.

You are also Smart, Organized, Energetic, and Able.  God didn’t make duds.

In light of those statements, here’s a few recipes. Please don’t move on after reading the word “recipes”.  Homemade is so worth the time and effort, for many reasons; WEIGHT LOSS IS ONE OF THEM.

Our world is a Toxic World.  We literally breath in chemicals, sleep on chemicals, rub on chemicals, and ingest thousands of chemicals every single day.  84,000 chemicals are legal in the US; many are untested, many are unregulated, and many are deemed potentially or definitely dangerous and still allowed in our food, water, and body care products.

These chemicals, which make things smell good, taste good, look good, or feel good, have consequences.  Many of them are hormone/endocrine disruptors, mimicking estrogen.  This has led to men and women and children having higher estrogen levels than what’s healthy, resulting in a long list of problems, from low sperm counts to cancer. Other chemicals cause disease, behavior problems, headaches, and I could go on and on.  You get it.

Remember in my last post I said that Food is Medicine or Food is Poison, and EVERY SINGLE POST IS ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS?  The weight tie-in here is that estrogenic chemicals, along with the sheer volume of total chemicals we ingest/breath/absorb, stress our liver to the point where being a normal healthy weight, or weight loss, isn’t possible.

Our liver has to break down and get rid of every chemical that comes into our body, whether by mouth or skin.  Our liver is responsible for breaking down old hormones. Our liver metabolizes fats and proteins.  Our liver compromises the largest portion of our daily calorie burn ( the brain and heart come in next, and then our muscles ); if our liver is tired, toxic, and over-burdened, happy weight is practically impossible, so is good health.

Read the labels of EVERYTHING; look up some words you see on EWG.org, learn what these chemicals do and you’ll become increasingly motivated to Do It Yourself, I promise. 

I’ve got 3 recipes here that I promise are easy, and wonderful.  Compare the store bought ingredients with the DIY ingredients.

This is Elderberry Syrup, aka, Sambucal, it’s used as either a preventative tonic, or a cold medicine.  Here’s the ingredients:         20150109_060142⅔ cup black elderberries

3.5 cups of water
2 T fresh or dried ginger root
2 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp cloves or clove powder
1 cup raw honey (we get from our farmer’s market)

Compare that to the ingredients in Tylenol Cold and Flu:

Acetaminiphen, Dextromethorphan HBr, Guaifenesin,Phenylephrine HCl, and finally,carnauba wax, croscarmellose sodium, D&C yellow no. 10 aluminum lake, flavor, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hypromellose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, pregelatinized starch, sucralose, titanium dioxide.  O.  M.   Gosh.  Why would we put this in our bodies, or our children’s bodies?

Here’s Carrot Soup,  DELICIOUS! (and easy)

20150108_171941

The ingredients were:                        20150108_165456

5 cups of homemade chicken broth
1 can of coconut milk
a Vitamix full of cooked carrots
1 cooked onion,4 garlic cloves
1 TBSP garam marsala; cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt&pepper

Compare that to Campbells Vegetable Soup Ingredients:

TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), POTATOES, CARROTS, WATER, PEAS, CORN, DICED TOMATOES IN TOMATO JUICE, GREEN BEANS, ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (WHEAT FLOUR, EGG WHITES, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR , CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, CELERY, ONIONS, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SALT, FLAVORING, YEAST EXTRACT, LOWER SODIUM NATURAL SEA SALT, SPICE, ASCORBIC ACID, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE, PAPRIKA EXTRACT.

Last, Homemade Lotion I made yesterday morning for Macy before she went back to school, it took 10 minutes:

The Ingredients are:                  20150109_055505

coconut oil
shea butter
cocoa butter
almond oil
Wild Orange essential oil

Compare that to Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer:

Water, Mineral Oil, Sesame Oil, Propylene Glycol, TEA Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Lanolin Alcohol, Petrolatum, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Red #33.

The old advertisement:  Better Living Through Chemicals…… it’s not true.  We have way too many chemicals in our life; DIY ( unless you can hire someone to Do It For You ) is important!  Not convinced?  Learn more through the links below:

http://www.liverdoctor.com/liver/the-liver-and-detoxification/

http://foodbabe.com/2013/02/26/are-over-the-counter-medicines-making-you-sick/

https://ispub.com/IJU/2/1/7519

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726844/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/opinion/kristof-how-chemicals-change-us.html?_r=1

Action Plan to End Food Cravings, Forever.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhether you have a weight issue or not, cravings can be a bear.  Cravings are incredibly powerful; and weight loss with cravings is almost impossible.

What to do?  Here’s several ideas, but first, what creates cravings?  Low calorie diets, low fat diets, and low nutrient diets, fatigue, stress, and habits.  Sound daunting?  If I eliminated my cravings, you can too.

Here’s a Big List of How-To’s:

Get rid of your fear of fat, now.  Fat satiates; and not because it fills you up, which it actually does, but Fat triggers satiety hormones – really!  Fat makes our Brain say, “aaahhh”.

L-Glutamine, an amino acid that helps build Dopamine ( an anti-anxiety neurotransmitter ). L- Glutamine also helps balance blood sugar.  Anxiety and low blood sugar ALWAYS causes cravings. ( I use Biotics, and I LOVE this product. I also take it on heavy leg days, and I suggest it to all my leaky gut clients.  L-GLutamine is used by muscle cells and endothelial cells to rebuild themselves.  It’s a different dosing/timing than when using for neurotransmitter building.)

Stop eating sugar and grains, which trigger hunger hormones and addiction centers in your brain. Sugar is more addictive then cocaine in lab studies.  No one in your house needs this stuff. A little here and a little there?  It just keeps you addicted.   SUGARS AND GRAINS ARE 99% OF ALL CRAVINGS, RIGHT?  No one’s craving broccoli.  Stop buying the stuff.  Seriously.

Hot drinks mid morning and mid afternoon:  Bullet Proof Coffee and Bullet Proof Tea:  organic tea/coffee with (Kerry Gold)  grass-fed BUTTER and (Biotics) MCT oil or coconut oil.   This is delicious, and the fat knocks out appetite and cravings while at the same time stimulating your brain.  (Ditch the Mad Scientist concoctions they sell at Starbucks, they’re loaded with sugar, artificial sugar, and chemicals.)

5 HTP, an amino acid that helps build Serotonin.  We need level moods to not have cravings. Again, I use Biotics brand.****Serotonin builds Melatonin, Melatonin helps us sleep well.  Fatigue is a HUGE inducer of cravings.  I know a couple other great supplements for sleep, email me.

L-Tyrosine, I LOVE this and have used it every day for 18 months.  It’s an amino acid that helps build your catacolamines.  That means it helps with energy ( among other things ), and we often drift to snacking/cravings when tired, right?  ( I use Biotics)

( ****   One of my favorite ENERGY/DON’T SNACK tricks:  mid afternoon tea with a little MCT oil, and 2 tyrosines.  It’s magic. ********)

Digestive enzymes and HCl.  (again, I use Biotics products).  You might have the best diet in the world, but if you’re not breaking down your food so that nutrients can be absorbed, you’re Nutrient Deficient.    Nutrient Deficient people are loaded with cravings.

Probiotics, probiotic foods, probiotic drinks. Cultured and fermented vegetables, keifer, kombucha, and real yogurt. There’s millions more bacteria in cultured food than in any probiotic supplement. If you’re trying to improve health, use the pills along with the foods/drinks, at least initially.    If your gut bacteria is out of whack, you’ll have cravings for sugar, because that’s what Bad Bugs eat.  Candida is a prime example of this. 

Exercise APPROPRIATELY.  If your workout leaves you STARVING, which leads to cravings, you worked out too hard. Dial it back.

Clean your liver.  Our liver plays a vital role in getting nutrients into our cells and “trash” out of our body. But did you know our livers are the BIGGEST source of calorie burning in our WHOLE BODY?  Our heart and brain are next, and then comes our muscles.   A slow, clogged, overworked, exhausted liver craves nutrients. Drink alcohol, take a lot of meds, eat sugar and chemical/processed foods, eat late at night, I guarantee it’s over burdened.  I use a Biotics liver detox twice a year, and 2 tinctures by Herb Pharm every couple of months:  Milk Thistle and Liver Health.

Go on a Ketogenic Diet:  High Fat, Moderate Protein, and a TON of greens and cruciferous vegetables.  This literally knocks out cravings of any kind, honestly.  Check this out for meal ideas and guidelines.  

Stop eating Processed Foods.  They’re created in a LABORATORY and specifically designed to trigger desires in your brain for more and more and more.  Really.  McDonald’s milkshakes and Doritios are NOT delicious food creations, they’re chemical cocktails created by PhD’s to get you hooked.

Eat bigger meals, and ONLY eat 3 times a day.  Multiple ” Mini-Meals” are DUMB. They’re guaranteed to make you (1) hungry (2) have cravings and (3) mentally habituated to eating all day.  Besides, “mini-meals” are a joke; studies show American’s are pretty incapable of actually having a mini-meal; in reality, the multiple mini-meals turn into “too much food all day long.”

( Moms, we  have to apply the “Stop Eating Sugar/Grains/Processed Foods” guidelines to our kids; they’re sugar/carb/chemical addicts.  The snacking, the cravings, the “can’t stop eating”….. we have to HELP THEM develop great eating habits. )

Work on your habits and thought patterns.  It’s all so mental, isn’t it.  This is just about my favorite area when it comes to health. Our subconscious rules over the conscious, always.  If your subconscious is constantly sabotaging your health efforts, get in touch with me.  It’s not Rocket Science, but you’ll need a plan.

My wrap up?  Eat Real Whole Foods, consume plenty of fat, eliminate addictive grains and sugars, use Smart Supplementation, and train your brain to work for you, not against you. Cravings are a sign that your body, your mind, and your hormones, are “off”; they’re not a sign you’re weak.  You don’t have to be a slave to bad habits.  Let me know if you’re ready for help with a food plan, habit change, or supplements. ( The amino acids need to be dosed and taken on a specific time table.)

Immune Tonic Recipes Everyone Should Have In Their Home

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’ve been on an Immune System kick for my last several posts.  With Halloween around the corner and Sugar Season  the Holiday Season about to start, I want to load you up with ideas that will allow you to make it though the holidays, and then winter, strong and well.

Immune Tonics are AMAZING.  Two years ago, my oldest daughter, Megan, gave me Fire Cider for Christmas.  It’s a blend of herbs and spices that are both immune boosting and germ killing.  I made my own last year, and have just bought the ingredients to make another batch this weekend.  It has to sit and brew for a few weeks, and I want it to be ready for when all my kids are home from mid-December to mid-January.

Why not use an OTC cold/fever/flu medication?  Have you seen their ingredients? The artificial dyes, the artificial flavors, the petroleum products and artificial sugars.. disease in a bottle masquerading as medicine.

Here’s the ingredient list for Vicks Dayquil:

Inactive Ingredients: Citric acid, FD&C yellow 6, flavor, glycerin, polyethylene glycol (aka PEG, I wrote about this in the Miralax post), propylene glycol, purified water, saccharin sodium, sodium citrate, sucrose.

Active Ingredients: Acetaminophen ( #1 cause of Liver Failure in the U.S.),Dextromethorphan HBr, and Pseudoephedrine HCl ( banned from store shelves since 2006).

It’s time to get rid of the false notion that fevers, coughs, runny nose, and watery eyes are either Virus or Bacteria getting the best of us.

Fevers, Coughs, Runny Noses, and Watery Eyes are OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM COOKING, KILLING, AND EXPELLING BUGS.  We actually WANT those “symptoms”, they’re signs of a strong immune response.  Even fatigue is good for us when we’re sick; the less energy we exert on activities, and the more we lie around or sleep, the harder our immune system can work to Kill the Bugs.  

Instead of Vicks, next time you or one of your kids gets sick,  (or even better, BEFORE you get sick as part of your supplement routine) reach for one of these tonics:

Elderberry Syrup.  Why?  In addition to Elderberry’s long history of medicinal use, numerous studies have verified it’s efficacy against cold and flu.  Elderberry has very high levels of Vitamins A, B, and C, which are great for our immune system.  You can buy Elderberry Syrup in any health food store, or you can make it, which is honestly super easy, and potent!  My local health food store sells Elderberries ( cheap ), but you can also buy them on line.

Parents:  This is delicious, your kids will actually WANT to take this.

Here’s the Recipe for Elderberry Syrup from the Wellness Mama site:

⅔ cup black elderberries
3.5 cups of water
2 T fresh or dried ginger root
1 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp cloves or clove powder
1 cup raw honey (we get from our farmer’s market)

Instructions
Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, ginger, cinnamon and cloves (do not add honey!)
Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl.
Discard the elderberries (or compost them!) and let the liquid cool to lukewarm. When it is no longer hot, add 1 cup of honey and stir well. ( you don’t want to kill honey’s live nutrients )
When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a pint sized mason jar or 16 ounce glass bottle of some kind.
Ta Da! You just made homemade elderberry syrup! Store in the fridge and take daily for its immune boosting properties. Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity.
Standard dose is ½ tsp to 1 tsp for kids and ½ Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear. 

Here’s the recipe for Fire Cider, which is DELICIOUS served over vegetables or salads.  Or you could just be tough and drink a tablespoon mixed in water.  Again, this is Immune Boosting and Germ Killing, which is far, far smarter than just suppressing symptoms.  (Recipe from Mountain Rose Herbs.) 

1/2 cup fresh grated organic ginger root

1/2 cup fresh grated organic horseradish root

1 medium organic onion, chopped

10 cloves of organic garlic, crushed or chopped

2 organic jalapeno peppers, chopped

Zest and juice from 1 organic lemon

Several sprigs of fresh organic rosemary or 2 tbsp of dried rosemary leaves

1 tbsp organic turmeric powder

1/4 tsp organic cayenne powder

organic apple cider vinegar

raw local honey to taste

Directions

Prepare all of your roots, fruits, and herbs and place them in a quart sized jar. If you’ve never grated fresh horseradish, be prepared for a powerful sinus opening experience! Use a piece of natural parchment paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal, or a plastic lid if you have one. Shake well! Store in a dark, cool place for one month and remember to shake daily.

After one month, use cheesecloth to strain out the pulp, pouring the vinegar into a clean jar. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness as you can from the pulp while straining. Next, comes the honey! Add 1/4 cup of honey and stir until incorporated. Taste your cider and add another 1/4 cup until you reach the desired sweetness.

Make this year’s cold and flu season the least annoying/invasive/troublesome ever.  Focus on giving your immune system what it wants and needs to fight the millions of germs we come into contact with every single day.  Real Whole Foods.

Coconut Oil – It’s a Super Food You Should Be Eating Every Day.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI want to wax poetic about Coconut Oil. If you’re thinking, “oh, I already use coconut oil, I know it’s good for me”, I bet I’ve got some facts you DON’T know, but should.

Coconut is a SuperFood. In our house, we consume several giant containers of coconut oil a year. We use it in cooking, personal care products, and medicinally.

Here’s the why’s and how’s.

Coconut oil is about 50% saturated fat, 35% monounsaturated, and 15% polyunsaturated.  Most of the saturated fat is a fatty acid called Lauric Acid.  The only other natural source of Lauric Acid?  Human breast milk. ( coconuts……breasts……….coconuts………breasts…….hmmm)   Our body converts lauric acid to Monolaurin; monolaurin is a powerful anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal agent. Monolaurin can actually destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV and herpes, influenza, measles, gram-negative bacteria ( such as LYME ), and protozoa (such as giardia lamblia).

Other components of coconut oil include capric acid, caprylic acid, tocopherols and tocotrienols. (Vitamin E lipids that act as potent anti-oxidants). (Trick: a combination of coconut oil and oregano oi has been shown to be better than antibiotics against certain staph bacteria; use the same recipe to defeat the herpes virus.)

Coconut oil has excellent healing properties, both internally and externally.

For wound healing, coconut oil actually increases collagen production, and skin regeneration.  Do you battle candida, or yeast infections? Supplement with coconut oil:  “In 2004, 52 isolates of Candida species were exposed to coconut oil. The most notorious form, Candida albicans, was found to have the highest susceptibility.”

There are antioxidants in coconut oil that are so anti-inflammatory, they have positive effects on arthritis, swollen prostates, and ulcers ( yes, ulcers are inflammation ).  What about Heart Health?  The studies consistently show that the fatty acids and nutrients in coconut oil lower LDL and raise HDL; which should eliminate any arguing about this fat clogging our arteries. As a matter of fact, the high lauric acid content helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

Coconut and Brain/Neurological Health:  Grain Brain neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter says that coconut oil is such a powerful brain superfood, that it’s part of his “triumvirate approach” to restoring and improving brain function.

For those of us with kids in school where occasionally Lice rears it’s ugly head:  According to research published in the European Journal of Pediatrics, a combination of coconut oil and anise was found to be nearly twice as effective as the commonly prescribed permethrin lotion for the treatment of head lice.

Nursing a baby? According to the research, when a lactating mom adds coconut oil to her diet, the amount of lauric acid available in her breast milk increases to three times the original level and nearly double the amount of capric acid. A single serving of coconut oil affects the breast milk fatty acid composition for 1 to 3 days.  Wow!

Want more testosterone?  Did you know that ALL our sex hormones are comprised of saturated fat and cholesterol? ( Statin users, this is a problem…)  It matters that we eat HEALTHY fats because ANY fat we put in our mouth goes on to be incorporated – in a million ways – into our body.  Bad fats = an Unhealthy Body.  No fats/low fats = an Unhealthy Body.

What about the fat?  What if it ends up on our stomach or our butt?  Not going to happen. The saturated fat in coconut oil actually accelerates the loss of belly fat (the most dangerous kind). And coconut oil helps boost metabolism; some of it’s fatty acids are called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs), which travel directly to the liver where they’re used for energy and not stored as fat. There are now two solid, human studies showing just two tablespoons a day (30 ml), in both men and women, is capable of reducing belly fat within 1-3 months.

Personal Experience:  Mark and I have been eating about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil most days of the week for a couple of years now – zero weight gain.

How do we use it? Obviously in cooking, that’s easy.  You can either saute your meats and vegetables in the oil or use it as your fat in baking.  We add coconut oil to smoothies, tea, and coffee, it’s delicious, but it’s not just for eating. I all use it in our homemade lotions and creams.  From acne to wrinkles to age spots, coconut oil works. Not a homemade type person?  No problem, it’s easy to find great products containing coconut oil, try Tropical Traditions ( Mark loves their face creams – he’s 50 with NO wrinkles ).  As a make-up remover and hair conditioner, it’s excellent.

Coconut water’s a great staple to have around; it’s very high in electrolytes, and minerals.  Use this as a sports drink, the liquid in your smoothie, or for your sick kid on the couch who needs the nutrients.

Then there’s my all time favorite:  Coconut Butter.  Coconut butter is different from oil; oil is 100% fat, but butter is 60% fat and the rest is fiber.  Coconut butter is made from blending all the coconut meat together including it’s natural oil; it has a texture, flavor, and consistency that makes it perfect for adding to desserts.  

My favorite treat that I have several days a week?

COCONUT CANDY

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp coconut butter ( it’s expensive, so I use less )

4-5 drops stevia

pinch of salt

EITHER:  lemon oil, or cocoa powder, or pumpkin pie spice, or or mashed bananas and pumpkin seeds ( weird? ) Freeze

That’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to incorporating coconut into food.  Want great recipes?  Try the Spunky Coconut,  All Day I Dream About Food, or Elana’s Pantry.

Eat for Health, and your Happy Weight happens, I promise.