Will be back soon

For those waiting for answers to the questions from the lecture, sorry I haven't gotten to them... I severely sprained my ankle (thank goodness for Complete Tissue Formula because I am bearing weight on it and able to walk again after only 3 days, little bruising, etc although it isn't completely healed yet), and then 2 days later gave birth to my 4th child. Labor was very fast and she was born 45 minutes before the midwife arrived. I have not had a spare moment to give to answering questions- she is yet to be named! Check back in a week or two and I hope to have the questions posted and answered.

Super Yummy Avocado Tomato dressing/dip

Last night for dinner I wanted a creamy dressing for the salad that didn't use overt fats and I have a family that loves avocado on their salad... so I put the two together and came up with the following dressing. It was fabulous both on the salad and on our very colorful veggie potatoes (red potatoes mashed with shredded veggies mixed in).
1 Tomato
1 avocado
2 celery ribs
2 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Penzey's Pasta sprinkle (more if desired)

Blend the above in the vitamix and enjoy.

Remedies in your Kitchen

Today I did a class locally on herbal remedies in your kitchen... I hope those who attended got something out of it! In the next couple of days, I will post some of the questions that I got that I didn't get a chance to answer.

For today, I will leave with 1 question.

The question was what to do about bruising.

Personally I have always bruised easily. I remember as a child I constantly had bruised legs. Even as an adult, I have continued to bruise quite easily. It has not, for me, been an issue of not enough iron etc. I found that Red raspberry leaf tea EVERY day helped to clear the bruising. I have had the least bruising during my 2 pregnancies where I drank red raspberry leaf religiously every day.

Continually Amazed at the inspiration from the Lord

I tend to get random thoughts about herbal combinations. They usually are given to me with a purpose in mind. I have learned to write those inspirations down as soon as I receive them because invariably I will forget them. I usually write down the purpose too... but one time I did not. Anyway, I had a list of herbs on my fridge for quite a while and one day when I was making herbal glycerin extracts I made that formula up even though I couldn't figure out what it was for. I knew it had something to do with colds etc since it had elder and astragalus and red raspberry leaf. But, I have lots of cold formulas and I wasn't sure why that one. I have since used it on many occasions with a sick child, but not always. I still have yet to pinpoint the exact use of the formula. Anyway, today a friend was coming over to get a bottle of Dr. Christopher's Infection formula because she has a UTI. As I was setting the formula on the porch, I felt inspired to set out a dropper bottle full of the mystery formula. I told her what I wrote above and left it at that. She came and got the bottles and immediately took some of the glycerite. She said it took away the painful urination immediately, calmed her tummy (she is pregnant and has all day sickness), and made her feel much better. Wow! I am so grateful for the gentle promptings of the Spirit and the Lord's herbs to heal.

Fast forward to this afternoon, out of curiousity I began doing some digging into the formulation and noticed that all the herbs in that formula, while not the cranberry and parsley and juniper that most think of for the kidney bladder area, are beneficial for UTI's. Hurray a new use for my mystery formula :) Guess it isn't such a mystery anymore.

I interupt this blog to rant about nationalizing healthcare

First of all, I rarely seek out any sort of mainstream medicine. I do occasionally seek out "alternative" healthcare providers, but for the most part, my use for mainstream medicine is emergency only. Doctors excel at emergency medicine!

So, why am I ranting about the healthcare bill? It stinks. It will make healthcare worse, harm people, cost tons of money, and lessen what little freedom (if you can call it that currently) that we have to choose our own providers and do what is best for us.
Alan Korwin usually writes about second ammendment rights. He wrote the following:

PAGE NINE -- No. 69 -- SPECIAL

• Health care alert •

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America

My regular report is postponed due to this emergency

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America
July 30, 2009

Dangerous health care insanity spreads --

If the news media would report on the CONTENTS of the proposed federal health care takeover (see details below) it would die in a day. People would rise up, as they did over the recent illegal-alien amnesty attempt, and demand defeat.

Instead, the media reports meaningless drivel, politicing, promises, compromises, party squabbles and leaves out the substance of this incredibly bad hostile takeover of your doctor's office, complete with end-your-life paperwork issued by bureaucrats, denial of service, strict rationing, cash penalties for selecting your own doctors or treatment.

Gun-Rights Linkage: With this much total control over your medical and financial records, there's a very short step between automated analysis of your "fitness" to keep and bear arms, and the various prohibited-possessor lists the government is keeping and recommending. That's just my idle observation, the bill does not explicitly address it in any way.

The lamestream media told you:

July 30, 2009; AP -- House democrats reached a deal Wednesday on a health care reform bill that would reduce federal subsidies, help lower-income families, exempt businesses, cover the elderly, provide additional revenue, require insurance, provide subsidies to the poor, help choose your health insurance, recommend health benefits, cap out-of-pocket expenses, set standards... deadlines, blue-dogs, budget experts, negotiations, the top of Obama's agenda, deadlines, timetable slippage, leadership, deadlines... and cost less than one trillion dollars without increasing the federal deficit. http://tinyurl.com/ko64s3

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

First off, it's impossible to spend a trillion dollars, when your treasury is already demolished by debt, without making your deficit worse, even a moron can see that (proof that morons don't work for the AP).

I make a living studying and describing laws. I've spot checked this man Fleckstein's work below, he is a little blustery, but he is accurate. The media has avoided just about all of this, preferring instead to spread he-said-she-said silliness and posturing, keeping you and the nation in the dark. CNN, FOX, the networks -- none of them are covering the real content of the bill!

If politicians somehow get away with passing this atrocity, the federal government will create an impenetrable barrier to medical service, countless bureaucrats will take over life-and-death power of every aspect of medical care, and they will wreak havoc on nearly 20% of our already frail economy. As you age, your value will be calculated and your access to health care will drop.

Remember -- there is no delegated constitutional authority for any of this: powers delegated to the federal government do not include running an insurance company, regulating what medical care you can get, where you can go for medical treatment, how much you can pay, what sort of treatments you can select, or punishing you or your employer for deciding on your own health care.

We are supposed to have a government of limited delegated powers; if government can do whatever it pleases, without constraint, as they are about to do with your medicine, that's as tyrannical as it gets -- we no longer have a limited government as we should, the basis of our freedom. Pick up your phone, finally, call your representatives, and demand they stop this insane and unlawful intrusion into your doctor's office. At least call your doctor. Do it. Ask for their advice.



Here is the entire 1,107-page health care bill, HR 3200, being pushed by Mr. Obama (no one is saying who actually wrote all of this):
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.pdf

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2009/07/whats-in-healthacre-bill.html
There is a man by the name of Peter Fleckstein (aka Fleckman) who is reading it and has been posting his findings on Twitter. This is from his postings. I have spot checked these, he is spot on:

++++++++

Pg 16: SEC. 102. PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE. lines 3-26 of the HC Bill – OUTLAWS PRIVATE INSURANCE by forbidding enrollment after HR 3200 is passed into law.

Pg 21-22: SEC. 113. INSURANCE RATING RULES of the HC Bill MANDATES the Government will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!

Pg 29: SEC. 122. ESSENTIAL BENEFITS PACKAGE DEFINED: lines 4-16 in the HC bill – YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!

Pg 30: SEC. 123. HEALTH BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE of HC bill – THERE WILL BE A GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get.

Pg 42: SEC. 142. DUTIES AND AUTHORITY OF COMMISSIONER of HC Bill – The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you. You have no choice!

PG 50-51: SEC. 152. PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE in HC bill – HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, ILLEGAL or otherwise.

Pg 58: SEC. 163. ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION HC Bill – Government will have real-time access to individual’s finances and a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

Pg 59: SEC. 163. ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have DIRECT access to your BANK ACCOUNTS for electronic funds transfer. This means the government can go in and take your money right out of your bank account.

PG 65: SEC. 164. REINSURANCE PROGRAM FOR RETIREES is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions and community orgs (ACORN).

Pg 72: SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGE; OUTLINE OF DUTIES; DEFINITIONS Lines 8-14 Government is creating an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Government control.

PG 84: SEC. 203. BENEFITS PACKAGE LEVELS HC Bill – Government mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the Exchange

PG 85: SEC. 203. BENEFITS PACKAGE LEVELS Line 7 HC Bill – SPECIFICATION OF BENEFIT LEVELS FOR PLANS = The Government will ration your Healthcare!

PG 91: SEC. 204. CONTRACTS FOR THE OFFERING OF EXCHANGE-PARTICIPATING HEALTH BENEFITS PLANS Lines 4-7 HC Bill – Government mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example – Translation for illegal aliens!

Pg 95: SEC. 205. OUTREACH AND ENROLLMENT OF EXCHANGE-ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND EMPLOYERS IN EXCHANGE-PARTICIPATING HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Government will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Government HC plan.

PG 102: SEC. 205. OUTREACH AND ENROLLMENT OF EXCHANGE-ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND EMPLOYERS IN EXCHANGE-PARTICIPATING HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN Lines 12-18 HC Bill – Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice!

pg 124: SEC. 223. PAYMENT RATES FOR ITEMS AND SERVICES lines 24-25 HC No company can sue the GOVERNMENT on price fixing! No “judicial review” against Government Monopoly!!

pg 127: SEC. 225. PROVIDER PARTICIPATION Lines 1-16 HC Bill – Doctors/ AMA – The Government will tell YOU what you can make.

Pg 145: SEC. 312. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS EMPLOYEE AND DEPENDENT COVERAGE Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE!!

Pg 146: SEC. 312. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS EMPLOYEE AND DEPENDENT COVERAGE Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay 4 HC 4 part time employees AND their families.

Pg 149: SEC. 313. EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS IN LIEU OF COVERAGE Lines 16-24 ANY Employer with payroll of $400k and above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll.

pg 150: SEC. 313. EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS IN LIEU OF COVERAGE Lines 9-13 Business’s with payroll between $251k – $400k who doesn’t provide public option pays 2-6% tax on all payroll.

Pg 167: SEC. 401. TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesn’t have acceptable HC according to Government will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Pg 170: SEC. 401. TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is EXEMPT from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)

Pg 195: HC Bill – SEC. 421. CREDIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYEE HEALTH COVERAGE EXPENSES Officers and employees of HC Administration (GOVERNMENT) will have access to ALL Americans financial and personal records!

[Note: Although the bill lists a few broad items, it includes anything else the people running the program decide they want. --Alan.]

PG 203: SEC. 441. SURCHARGE ON HIGH INCOME INDIVIDUALS Line 14-15 HC – “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Yes, it says that!

Pg 239: SEC. 1121. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE REFORM Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.

Pg 241: SEC. 1121. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE REFORM Line 6-8 HC Bill – Doctors, doesn’t matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same.

[NOTE: If anything should get your doctor's attention, provisions like this ought to turn on the lights. --Alan.]

PG 253: SEC. 1122. MISVALUED CODES UNDER THE PHYSICIAN FEE

SCHEDULE Line 10-18 Government sets value of Doctor’s time, professional judgment, etc. Literally value of humans.

PG 265: SEC. 1131. INCORPORATING PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS INTO MARKET BASKET UPDATES THAT DO NOT ALREADY INCORPORATE SUCH IMPROVEMENTS. Government mandates and controls productivity for private HC industries.

PG 268: SEC. 1141. RENTAL AND PURCHASE OF POWER-DRIVEN WHEELCHAIRS. Federal Government regulates rental and purchase of power driven wheelchairs

PG 272: SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS – Cancer patients – welcome to rationing!

Page 280: SEC. 1151. REDUCING POTENTIALLY PREVENTABLE HOSPITAL READMISSIONS The Government will penalize hospitals for what Government deems preventable readmissions.

Pg 298: SEC. 1151. REDUCING POTENTIALLY PREVENTABLE HOSPITAL READMISSIONS Lines 9-11 Doctors! Treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission? Government will penalize you.

Pg 317: SEC. 1156. LIMITATION ON MEDICARE EXCEPTIONS TO THE PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PHYSICIAN REFERRALS MADE TO HOSPITALS Lines 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership and investment! Government tells Doctors what and how much they can own!

Pg 317-318: SEC. 1156. LIMITATION ON MEDICARE EXCEPTIONS TO THE PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PHYSICIAN REFERRALS MADE TO HOSPITALS lines 21-25, 1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion – Government is mandating hospitals cannot expand!

pg 321: SEC. 1156. LIMITATION ON MEDICARE EXCEPTIONS TO THE PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PHYSICIAN REFERRALS MADE TO HOSPITALS Lines 2-13 Hospitals have option to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can you say ACORN?!!

Pg 335: SEC. 1162. QUALITY BONUS PAYMENTS Lines 16-25 Pg 336-339 – Government mandates establishment of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing

Pg 341: SEC. 1162. QUALITY BONUS PAYMENTS Lines 3-9 Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing people into Government plan.

Pg 354: SEC. 1177. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY OF SPECIAL NEEDS PLANS TO RESTRICT ENROLLMENT – Government will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people! OMG! My sister has Downs Syndrome!!!

Pg 379: SEC. 1191. TELEHEALTH EXPANSION AND ENHANCEMENTS Government creates more bureaucracy – Telehealth Advisory Committee Can you say HC by phone?

PG 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life

Pg 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 17-19 Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!

PG 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death!

PG 427: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of life. The Government has a say in how your life ends!

Pg 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 1-9 An “advance care planning consultant” will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

PG 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 10-12 “advance care consultation” may include an ORDER 4 end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV

Pg 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 13-25 – The Government will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

[NOTE: Read carefully, it doesn't have to be a doctor, it can be an undefined "physician assistant" appointed by an unelected federal bureaucrat. --Alan.]

PG 430: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 11-15 The Government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life.

Pg 469: SEC. 1302. MEDICAL HOME PILOT PROGRAM Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit organizations. Hello, ACORN Medical Services here!!?

Page 472: SEC. 1302. MEDICAL HOME PILOT PROGRAM Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment 2 a community-based org. Like ACORN?

PG 489: SEC. 1308. COVERAGE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST SERVICES AND MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR SERVICES The Government will cover Marriage and Family therapy. Which means they will insert Government into your marriage

Pg 494-498: SEC. 1308. COVERAGE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST SERVICES AND MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR SERVICES Government will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those services.


Fleckstien's analysis is ongoing, and the democrats are making insignificant changes to gain political support, without effecting the wholesale takeover of the medical industry. Doctors are abandoning the AMA (which is supporting the bill because it puts more power in the hands of the central controllers).

If you don't want to call your representatives in Congress (can't say I blame you, unfortunately) -- call your doctors! Ask them if they've read the bill, and when they say no, tell them you have read a review and it is beyond awful. Tell them you don't want the federal government to take over their office. They may not even be aware of what's going on. Send them this email message -- they'll give you an email address if you press them for it. Save your doctors despite themselves.

I'll have a regular Page Nine report out soon; thanks for bearing with me in this emergency.

Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press
"We publish the gun laws."
4848 E. Cactus, #505-440
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If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you're reading this in English, thank a veteran.

The end of life counseling is ridiculous, but the lack of freedom and the access to personal records and financial records is even more disturbing. This is NOT going to improve healthcare in this country... As much as there are many things in the current system I can't stand, this is worse. Please speak up!

I am so excited...

Tomorrow I am headed to Utah for the Centennial Celebration of Dr. Christopher's birth. I get to hear other Master Herbalists speak, have a great dinner, and spend some time with my sister! Hurray!

Update on the pregnancy...

I posted a few weeks back about how diet mattered- even the small stuff like sprouted grains vs. whole grains that are not sprouted. I am now 27 weeks pregnant. I am STILL WALKING. I am not waddling. In fact I just passed my karate exam for my 2nd level brown belt. That was hard work! Yes, I have slowed down and I am getting more tired more easily and I am a lot slower, but I can still walk, carry my 30 pound almost 3 yr old up the stairs, and function. I just have a belly that is getting a bit in my way these days. Diet does matter.


I am so grateful for the knowledge I gained at the School of Natural Healing. My midwives and chiropractors and anyone else I talked to had no idea how to help me, but the knowledge I learned there taught me so much. I am headed to the Centennial Celebration in August. Who wants to join me!? Also, I don't know how much longer the School of Natural Healing will be offering their Family Herbalist course for $100 but now is the time to sign up because it won't be much longer.

Vegan Ice Cream

Most vegan ice creams contain soy or other ingredients that might not be so great... anyway, I have used the book Vice Cream before for making vegan ice cream at home. However, most of the recipes call for cashews and cashews can be expensive. I calculated the cost of the soy ice cream at the store vs. my homemade and it was more expensive to make homemade because of the cashews...

Then I found this blog. I don't use soy milk or soy creamer, but I did modify her cherry ice cream recipe and it was quite delicious...


I started by making my own almond milk. The first time I made ice cream, I used my regular almond milk recipe which is 1 LARGE handful almonds to 4-5 cups of water in the blender and strain. The ice cream was good. The second time I made it, I used half the water to have a higher fat to water content. Much better. I did use rapidura instead of sugar. Ordinarily I use honey in my ice creams, but this time, since I wasn't starting with a nut base, I was worried about too much liquid. I will fiddle and see what I come up with using honey. For now, this is what I did- not entirely healthy due to the sugar- but FAR FAR FAR better than store bought or dairy ice cream and quite tasty too!

2 c. pitted cherries
½ c. sugar (my cherries were super sweet organic cherries that I froze last year but fresh would work too)
2 c. almond milk
2 T. arrowroot powder
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c cacoa nibs
1/2- 3/4 c pitted cherries chopped and frozen

Reserve 1/4 c almond milk and add arrowroot to it to make a slurry. Pour remaining milk and sugar into a sauce pan with cherries. Heat until sugar begins to melt. Blend and return to pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the arrowroot slurry. Stir until thickened a little. Then add the vanilla. Let cool completely (ideally cool until at least refrigerator temperature so it spends less time in the ice cream maker). Pour in ice cream maker according to the ice cream maker directions. Stir in cacoa nibs and cherry chunks. Enjoy!

Yummy Zucchini Carrot Bread

I modified a vegan Zucchini bread recipe which I found on another blog here.

Zucchini Bread

6 tbsp ground flax seeds whisked into ½ c + 1 tbsp warm water
½ c oil
3/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups rapadura
1 tsp vanilla
2½ packed cups mixed grated zucchini and carrots and yellow squash in whatever combo you have
3 c sprouted whole wheat flour (see early blog entry about how to make this)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 T pumpkin pie spice from Penzey's

Grease 2 loaf pans and preheat the oven to 350. Mix together wet ingredients, including the zucchini and carrot mixture in one bowl. Mix together dry ingredients in another bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet just until moistened. (I ended up using my hands to mix this because my bowl was kind of small and it was not mixing well)

Divide into 2 loaf pans. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I found that I needed to put a tinfoil tent over one of the loaves for the last few minutes to prevent burning.

This was a little too sweet when warm. Next time I will use less sweetener.

Diet Matters!

I can be a little dense sometimes... I might learn something and even believe it but not necessarily apply it. I am 22 weeks pregnant with #4 as I write this. My last pregnancy was horrible. By the time I was 20 weeks, I could barely push a grocery cart EMPTY. I could not pick up a 22 pound 2 year old from a sitting position without pain. I could barely walk. It hurt to get from the car to the front door of a store let alone wander around! I couldn't carry clothes up the stairs or stand for more than a few minutes. I have too much relaxin and boy had it kicked in... I learned a few things since my last pregnancy though. The biggest one being that flour and flour products are NOT for the body! Sprouted grains- YES! flour- NO!

So, like I said, I am 22 weeks pregnant. I am still in karate (no, I am not taking any falls and no one can punch me, but I am still training), I go to the YMCA and work out twice a week (at least try), I can carry my 30 pound nearly 3 year old up the stairs, I am WALKING (no waddle here!) and I have a cute tummy (it seems like this baby is fitting inside better than my other 3 kids). I cheated a few times and had some flour product food (flour tortilla or something like that) and the next day I HURT and didn't want to move. I could tell that those things were harming me. So, I am off flour and flour products and I am doing great...
What else am I eating? Greens, fruits, veggies, sprouted grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and occasionally a little fish and raw cheese or goat cheese... although those last 2 really aren't good for the body but sometimes those cravings are a little overwhelming! I don't eat processed foods, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, flour and flour products, sugar, meat, or much dairy.

Dry Skin... My battle and an answer to a comment question

As a small child I had skin on my feet that would peel. When it was cold, my skin would get very dry and my hands would crack and bleed. My elbows and knees were ALWAYS white because they were so dry... even when I lived in a very humid location! After I had my first child, I had chronic dry fingers that were so bad that the tips were scaled and would crack and bleed. They HURT. They were so scaly that my fingerprints were no longer visible. I have finally healed my hands... but now my fingerprints are scarred.

Severe dry skin is not a problem with the skin on the outside... it is a problem on the inside. Applying ointments and lotions won't solve the underlying problem. It may sooth the pain and can help the problem from getting worse, but it won't solve it. There are several causes, and in my case, I dealt with all of them... most would work for a short period of time and then would stop working.

Diet is crucial. Avoiding processed sugar, flour, and dairy are biggies. For me, the biggest were the sugar and the flour.

Hydration is crucial- drinking plenty of fluids and eating fleshy fruits is great. Fluids should be distilled water or herbal teas or fresh juices. NO SODA or milk... nut milks are fine.

Avoiding chemicals in your soaps. Most soaps, shampoos, and toothpaste contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or other derivatives. Using a soap which has only natural ingredients (and I don't care if Tom's of Maine says that SLS is naturally derived from coconuts, it is not natural!) is also very beneficial. I found the best soap for me to be one made locally. I love the handmade soap by Running Wild Spirit. For the dry skin, the Dry Skin Bar is fabulous and lasts a VERY long time (unless it is in the shower but on the sink it lasts forever because it can dry out between washes). For shampoo, I use Aubrey Organics or Dr. Christopher's. For teeth, I use Dr. Christopher's tooth powder, or read the labels of the toothpaste in the healthfood store... there are a few without SLS or any of the derivatives without fluoride. Weleda is one, ONE of the Tom's products is ok now, JASON has 1 or 2, etc. Liquid soaps at the kitchen sink are also all natural now. The less SLS the better!

Make sure that the EFA intake is appropriate. Udo's oil is a good one. Also adding flax seeds to a morning smoothie works very well. Walnuts are another Omega-3 source.

Plenty of raw food... skin issues are a sign that the liver is needing help. Raw food not only nourishes the body but is also cleansing and rejuvinating. Eat those greens!

A high quality moisturizer is also helpful if other stuff is not quite enough. I like Dr. Christopher's complete tissue formula for MANY things, but the version you buy in the store has too much beeswax for a hand lotion in my opinion. I have heard that some people use the Conditioner as a lotion. I have not tried that. I found a lotion that I really like that is all natural as well. The name escapes me though so I am not posting it. One of the body oils from Running Wild Spirit may work as well... or you could make some oil from local plants yourself...

I did not do this directly, but mentioned it briefly- the liver needs to be paid attention to. Some good liver foods are dandelion greens, burdock, milk thistle, etc. I did do lots of green smoothies and I used plenty of chickweed, carrot tops, kale, chard, collards, etc. in my green smoothies... BTW if the green taste is offensive, add some citrus or pineapple and a couple of inches of cucumber to cut the green taste. One of my favorite combos is carrot tops and peaches and pineapple.


I hope my experience can help someone...


Updated to add:
I used the Hand Cream from Naturally Right. It is not as expensive as some of the other natural lotions on the market. Also, a little goes a long way.

An Uplifting story- there are no incurable diseases

I love the Herbal Legacy newsletter I get every 2 weeks. This week had a very lengthy story about a boy who is healing with natural remedies- starting with Slippery Elm. This story is written by one of the students at the School of Natural Healing. Please, take a moment and read it.
Elijah's Story

There are no Incurable Diseases, only Incurable People

Dr. Christopher always said that there are no incurable diseases- there are only incurable people. I believe this whole-heartedly. I must say that when I first heard it, though, I was a little taken aback. We are brainwashed most of our lives that there are all these incurable diseases. If we are constantly funding research for the cure for a disease, it must be incurable right!? I have come to learn that Dr. Christopher was right though. There really is only one disease. That disease is constipation. Most people think that means constipation of the bowels, but it really means a blockage of some kind. Think about it. If you work on the problem- the constipation of the area, then the condition will clear. Sometimes this requires a lot of work and other times it requires less work. In the end, though, it always requires cleansing the body and healing the systems. It requires making changes to what we are doing- changing the what we did that caused the condition.

We live in a society that is rather fast paced and expects instant gratification. One reason the standard allopathic methods are so popular is because they generally give a big bang fast. However, this bang is either driving the condition deeper, creating side effects, or just covering the symptoms so the person doesn't realize that they are still suffering. Take, for example high blood pressure. There is an obvious constipation of the circulatory system. If we give the person high blood pressure medicine, it doesn't truly lower the blood pressure but instead blocks the signal the brain sends to up the blood pressure because parts of the body are not getting enough blood. As the brain's signal is not recognized, the brain sends a bigger signal and the high blood pressure returns. Ooops. Then the medicine is increased. Is it any wonder that the most common side effect of high blood pressure medicine is.... drum roll please.... high blood pressure! The cause was never addressed. Yes, we got an initial bang fast but did it last? Is the person any healthier? Did they learn to be responsible for their health or did the drug allow them to continue their life as it always was? In other words, allopathic medicine appears to be convenient. We don't have to make any changes, we just need to let someone else take care of our bodies and be responsible.

So back to incurable people. Sometimes a person has a condition which will require quite a bit of work. Generally the person didn't get to that degree of dis-ease overnight and the condition won't be fixed overnight either. It will require work. It will require lifestyles changes- diet changes, exercise, thought processes, etc. Many people are unwilling to change their lives. What they have been doing has been working, "just fine," so why change!? I have had so many people come to me and ask, I am on drug x and I would rather use something natural. What can I take instead? When I explain to them what will be required to fix their condition, which causes the daily dependence on the drugs they don't want, they would rather stick with the drug. The fact that eventually they will be drug free and healthy escapes them.
The saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink!" definitely holds true.

Here is to being curable people!

The School of Natural Healing is having an introductory Special

This year is the 100th anniversary of Dr. Christopher's birth. I just had to tell all my blog readers that The School of Natural Healing is having a special on tuition in honor of his birth. They recently introduced their first course online. Normally tuition for the course is $495 but for a short time, it is $100. Dr. Christopher dreamed of a Family Herbalist in every home and a Master Herbalist in every community. This course will teach you the very basics to be a Family Herbalist. What herbs are in your kitchen that you can use to heal your family in first aid situations? What can you do to improve their health? I will forever be grateful for the knowledge I learned so long ago in that first course.

When should I feed the baby solids?

I have heard lately from several people that they are worried about food aversions or texture issues or pickiness in children if solids are not introduced early. I have heard of people taking their kids to specialists for oral therapy. I think this is a bit silly. How on earth did we survive all these thousands of years without oral therapy and rice cereal for 4 month olds!!!!?????

I sent the following to an email list about this topic. (I have slightly edited it for readability) The woman asking about solids was looking at specialized tables that have been "scientifically" calibrated to tell you what texture to introduce, how often during the day, and in what order to be sure that the child doesn't have texture issues later on. What?!?

This is a soapbox for me... I have heard over and over and over and over again that if you don't feed your kids solids until they are older they will have food aversions or texture issues. I personally think that barring something like autism, this is mostly hogwash IF the family eats a variety of textures etc themselves. Children want to do what we do. Most families eat things that are all the same color, similar texture, etc. Most families today eat a lot of processed junk and don't have variety. Furthermore, these families often want their kids to "eat healthy" so they start pushing foods that they themselves won't eat and is it any wonder the child refuses!? I am the mom of 3 and have delayed solids with all 3. They are the least picky kids I know.

Here is my method:

First and foremost, recognize that as teeth come into the mouth, more and more enzymes for digestion are produced. The last enzymes produced are those which are for the digestions of grains. This happens when the eye teeth come in. I think part of this is due to the fact that you MUST chew your grains thoroughly for the enzymes in the mouth to combine with the grains. This is where the primary digestion of grains occurs. Therefore, I delay the introduction to grains until well after a year. Furthermore, I use sprouted grains because they are better for the body.

Second, I wait until the child has lost the tongue thrust, has teeth, sits unassisted, has a pincher grasp, crawls with the belly off the floor, and is grabbing for food. The grabbing for food I am referring to is not the imitative grabbing at 5-6 months. Babies at that age grab at anything. I am talking about purposeful grabbing of food. Until then, I give them spoons to play with or special dinner time toys during meals.

Third, I only give them what is on my plate- I don't un-spice things, make special baby food, or puree foods. I literally feed them what is on my plate. If there are some soft cooked carrots, I might mush them with a fork, but that is usually the extent of my blending foods. I don't do baby food. I have the opinion that if they can't mush it up themselves in their mouth, they really shouldn't be eating it yet.

Fourth, I follow their lead. As they get more teeth, I will put salad, etc on their plate. Salad is kind of hard to eat, so I usually put 1 piece of lettuce etc and expect them to play with it more than chew it. But, they are used to the variety of textures and colors when I do this. I don't stress. I have one who refused food at all until 8 months and then it was a taste here and there because I didn't really want to feed him solids. At 11.5 months he insisted on 3 square meals with the family. One was 11 months before she would taste foods and began to eat at 14.5 months. One was also about 11 months before tastes and then she began to eat at about 16 months. The last one was a partly delayed in eating because I didn't bring her to the table for dinner time until she was nearly a year old. I did this because she was content playing and I didn't think she needed the food since she was well above average for weight and height on nothing but breastmilk. At about 11ish months I felt like she ought to be part of the family at meals and so I began to bring her to the table and she started to take an interest in what we were doing. She is now 2 1/2 and she asked for her second bowl of salad tonight complete with red leaf lettuce, tomatoes (she will eat an entire chopped tomato by herself while I turn my back to get the lettuce washed if I don't pay attention. Then I have to go chop another tomato!), red peppers, and green cabbage with a little of my Annie's Goddess dressing knockoff. My other daughter got angry with me last night because I made some kale salad and ate all of it- kale massaged with olive oil and apple cider vinegar, a tiny bit of greek spices, sea salt, and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and a chopped tomato.

All of my kids loved spicy (garlic) and lemony hummus by 18 months. Yesterday's lunch was hummus with carrot sticks and celery sticks. No complaining.

So, I think that as long as YOU don't live on chicken fingers and fries and white rice and iceberg lettuce you can raise a healthy eating child without special equipment or specialized feeding schedules or introducing foods at 6 months before a child is truly ready to eat.

Coughs

Someone asked about what to do with coughs. I like to drink red raspberry leaf tea. If it is really bad, I like Dr. Christopher's Lung and Bronchial formula or I like his cough syrup- it is NOT a cough suppressant though... it helps clear out the mucus so you can heal. I also like to make my own cough syrup- chop onion and place in a double boiler then cover with honey and let simmer on low heat for a couple of hours. Strain and take 1 tsp-1T every hour-couple of hours. I sometimes add some thyme to this because thyme is very good for coughs. If I have some left over, and I didn't dip a used spoon in it, I will put it in a glass mason jar for the next round of coughs. Also, avoiding dairy like the plague helps.
I have also been known to make a tea for really bad coughs. I take red raspberry leaves, mullein leaves, a little bit of lobelia, some comfrey leaves, a pinch of lavender, and a bit of thyme. This works really well for opening up the lungs. I don't have measurements on this one, because I do this one by feel, but if I were to venture a guess I would say about 1 part each raspberry leaves, mullein and comfrey leaves, 1/3 part thyme and lavender, and 1/4 part lobelia.
I do use comfrey leaves and sometimes comfrey root internally. Despite the FDA's claim that comfrey is damaging to the liver, the historical usage of it says otherwise. Here is some extensive information on comfrey on Herbal Legacy: Contentions with Comfrey Studies. Unless a person has a liver condition and is taking copious amounts of comfrey for an extended period of time, I don't find comfrey to be troubling. I suppose the above combination would work ok without the comfrey, but one of the things it does is aid in healing the lungs. Here is another contention written by Susun Weed.