Ways to Fight the Flu and Diarrhea

We are finally on the mend after a terrible case of vomiting and diarrhea that wouldn't let my boys go. After three+ weeks of the illness cycling through my family Leif and I were at our wits end. I finally decided to buckle down and figure out how to fight this with the knowledge that I've gained through my holistic health studies. Why I let it go on so long before doing this I have no idea! But I did finally come up with 2 Very Simple remedies and I truly believe they helped my boys finally sleep without vomiting or Diarrhea.

FIRST:
I mixed 2 Tablespoons of Pure Honey with 1 teaspoon high quality Cinnamon. I was thrilled to see that my boys licked this off of a (baby sized) spoon like it was a lolly pop. I just needed to be sure to wipe their little mouths so the cinnamon didn't irritate their skin. But they didn't let that little irritation stop them from sucking this down several times a day. I really believe it helped!
Here's why I used these two ingredients:
Cinnamon is one of the world's most widely used digestive aids, helping to improve most gastrointestinal problems. It is greatly effective in relieving intestinal gas and eases diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. It also contains propanoic acid, which helps to stop the formation of stomach ulcers without interfering in the production of the gastric acid needed for good digestion. Germany's Commission E approves Cinnamon for loss of appetite and indigestion. 
Cinnamon is now on the list of antivirals. An Israeli researcher has demonstrated that a Cinnamon extract has been able to quickly and effectively immunize fowl against Newcastle disease virus, and further studies on Avian Flu H9, HIV virus and herpes simplex-1 also achieved positive results. Furthermore, Cinnamon extract may also be useful in combating the deadly Bird Flu H5. 
Honey: In treating diarrhea, honey promotes the rehydration of the body and more quickly clears up the diarrhea and any vomiting and stomach upsets. The anti-bacterial properties of honey, both the peroxide and non-peroxide, are effective in the laboratory against MRSA strains of bacteria which are notoriously resistant to antibiotics and are sometimes responsible for the closing of hospital wards. 

SECOND:
I monitored and planned their food. My boys were fine during the day so they would eat. But their stomach wasn't breaking the food down fast enough and it would all come up at night when they slept. So this is how we ate:
Breakfast: We had a regular breakfast (cereal, toast, yogurt, etc.)
Snacks: Juices, cinnamon toast, bananas or applesauce (no snacks after 3:00PM)
Lunch: For lunch we ate oatmeal (quick oats) with a lot of cinnamon. We used soy milk to limit dairy. Oatmeal could cause problems for some. You could make hot cereal with brown rice (google it for a recipe or purchase it at the store.)
Dinner: This is the most important meal to monitor! You want it to be light and smooth. No chunks! I made a chicken broth soup with boiled potatoes. I added a Butternut squash pasta sauce as a base. It still wasn't quite thick enough so I drained some of the juice out of a can of southwestern chicken veggie soup and added the contents into the pot. After bringing it to a boil I poured it into my Vitamix and blended it until smooth. It was very tastey but we ended up wanting to drink it.;)  This was the perfect meal to ease the stomachs. It had a touch of garlic and a touch of cayenne both have soothing and healing properties. The next night we had leftover soup, mashed potatoes, and bananas dipped in cool whip.

GOOD LUCK!

Healthy Habits Contest!

My sister in Law Heidi has put together a great contest to help us all feel more healthy for the new year. I want to invite anyone else who wants to join us! Let Me Know!!

Here are the Rules (Written by Heidi): 

1. By the end of tomorrow  (Dec 6) everyone will email me (HeidiBoydPotter at GMail.com) back with your BMI (Body Mass Index). If you go HERE  It will ask you a couple questions and calculate it for you. I think it is better to go off of this number, rather than actual pounds lost. As we are all different sizes and have different goals :) I will keep a record, so that you don't have to announce it to the whole group, and I'll keep track of everyones, so that we know who the winner is at the end.

2. By the end of tomorrow (Dec 6) everyone will email me (HeidiBoydPotter at GMail.com) back with your goals. For example, Mine are... I would like to lose 20 pounds, Exercise 6 days a week for a minimum of 30 mins and wake up before 6 am every morning and go and read motivating material with my hubby :) Your goals can be whatever you wish. I'm just simply making you write them down and say them to somebody. Ya' welcome :)

3. EVERY monday, you must respond to the weekly email that I send. You will respond with your updated BMI, and how your goals are going for you, and, if you wish, any recipe ideas, and/or tips you learned the previous week that you would like to share! But, I AT LEAST need a quick check in email with your BMI.

4. As far as what you eat. This is not too strict, However, if you wanna win, you will do whatever it takes. I suggest going off of soda completely. Narrow your sugar intake way down and eat less carbs and more proteins and grains. You can use www.weightwatchers.com for healthy recipe ideas. Try to avoid going out to eat as much as possible during this time. Plan ahead. Make lunches for yourself the night before. If you do go out to eat, on the weekend, than CHOOSE WISELY. For example, ask for no mayo or extra sauces on sandwiches. Choose a salad with a light dressing. AVOID YELLOW CHEESE!! It's no good. Just trust me. Think about switching to Almond milk. There is better health benefits than regular milk. Eat Greek yogurt, instead of regular..Eat lots of veggies and fruit.

5. If you miss reporting on 2 emails. You are DISQUALIFIED. So don't do that. If you had a bad week, report anyway. We are all going to have bad weeks, let's be honest, it's the holidays. SO, just report, and keep going. It will be worth it.

6. You will take a picture of yourself every week and hang it up on your bathroom mirror to see each week. (this is the part I dread) 

7. Every morning, you will wake up and say OUT LOUD one of these two options " I am Alive. I am Alert. I feel GREAT! " or "I am Happy. I am Healthy. I am TERRIFIC!" and no... I'm not kidding. You WILL do this. If you feel so inclined, you will also repeat these thoughts to yourself as you go to bed at night. 

GREAT! Now, here is the PRIZE idea I have..

* Everyone, besides the winner, will put $25 towards buying the winner a gift, and if necessary, mailing it to that person if it cannot be delivered by you. Think of how fun it will be to be the winner and receive 8 thoughtful gifts in the mail. I know right ???!! Oh, and PS don't send a restaurant gift card, it needs to be an actual present. Be creative :)

THE Competition Begins NOW and ends March 5. We have 90 days to make this happen!!! If you know of other people that would like to join, please send me their email address and they may participate. 

And remember * This is not a DIET, Diet's have a beginning and an ENDING. We are making a healthy eating HABIT. Habits take 30 days to develop, so be patient with yourself for the first month and keep plugging along. 

Alrighty folks!!!  I figure, if we are going to do this, we are going to keep ourselves accountable and on course. BECAUSE, We are so SUCCESSFUL!! Yay team!! Now, happy healthy shopping for food!!

Email me back with any questions!  We will also set up a blog as soon as we get going to help us stay in touch. 

Free Guided Meditation

I'm taking a University Stress Management class. One of the assignments is to use several different modalities for Stress Management and choose which work best for you. I have found that Audio Meditation and Positive Affirmations have really worked for me. I turned on some healing tunes on Pandora while I was getting my kids ready for bed tonight. I told my son to lay on the couch and listen to the song. I then helped him visualize floating through outer space. He LOVED it!!  He begged me to find him a real meditation and let him listen to it after the little boys went to bed. I found a GREAT website that offers free Audio Guided Meditation. It's called Fragrant Heart.com My son and I listened to the Meditation for Children. It was great! I'm going to listen to one for me tonight. I love when I find just what I'm looking for right when I need it!! Hope you all enjoy!

doTerra Essential Oils

Throughout the past four or five years I have tried many, many, many different holistic health products. Everything from colon cleansers, herbs, and homeopathic drops, to flower essence and a huge box of raw food meals. Occasionally I find something that really works. In fact it works so well that I share the success with others. Well, I found something! I found doTerra Essential Oils. They take an extra step in the purification process and their oils are so pure that some of them can actually be ingested. I have compared doTerra to my other oils and the difference is clearly noticeable.

So far (within one month of having the doTerra oils I have seen positive results within the day of use from various oils for:

Vaginal/Urinary Tract Infection
Cold sores
Canker sores
Sunburn
Blisters
Sore Muscles
Earache
Sinus pain and pressure
Hyper children (Lavender)
Anti-viral
Chest congestion
Upset stomach
Smelly vacuum (Citrus Bliss)

So far these are my favorite doTerra Oils and Oil Blends:

And I look forward to using these oils in the near future:

I purchased fractionated coconut oil with my oil and it is wonderful! The OnGaurd oil has cinnamon in it and can burn if not used with the carrier oil. This Coconut oil stops the burn within seconds. A very good thing when you're working with children.


My husband is a Massage Therapist and uses doTerra oils at his Day Spa.  His clients LOVE them!
Let me know what you think about Essential Oils and how you have used them!

How I Used Financial Aid to Pay for GCNM

I have been asked on several occasions about how I used Financial Aid for the GCNM program. There's not really a drawn out answer to this question. What it boils down to is I signed up for Community College courses (along with my GCNM program) and when I accepted the Financial Aid offered for the Community College classes I accepted more then what I needed for that tuition and used the extra to pay for my GCNM education.

What Will I Do With My Holistic Health Practitioners Credentials

Several of my readers have asked me what I will do with my GCNM Holistic Health Practitioners credentials. I thought I'd take a minute to answer their question.

When I began the GCNM program in August 2008 (2+ years ago) I had many ideas of how I would practice Holistic Medicine. My main goal was to finish within a year and open up a Holistic Health Consultation Practice. Well, as we all know, very rarely does life goes as we plan it.  This is no longer my goal. Why, you ask?

My life and view of Holistic Medicine has changed dramatically since I began my course. I still have yet to finish. I hope that GCNM will still award my efforts when I do finish even though it has taken me so long. I have three little boys now who take my full attention. And I am still on a personal mission to heal Myself.  I have been chronically ill since 2006. Therefore, my research has become more of a gigantic trial and error type case study, with myself as well as my children being the main participants of the study. I have come a long way, but I feel I probably have a long way to go.

I have learned a very valuable lesson. Not one that I like, but one that I have come to accept.
One of the most frustrating truths about becoming a Holistic Health Practitioner is that 90% of the people whom you want to give suggestions to, to help them help themselves, will never follow through with your recommendations. Our clients have to want the advise. They have to be ready to make the changes, no matter what the suggestions. They have to be ready to trust outside of the box. From my experience it is the people who come to you for help that are ready. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why I enjoy blogging. I can share my knowledge and experience, people can come to me, and they can choose to take it or leave it and my heart is spared the ache of watching those in need go away from the help they need without accepting it. As well as blogging, perhaps I should consider my home and family my current Holistic Health Clinic and Practice? That sounds about right.

And finally, my view of natural medicine has evolved and changed over the years. I have said this before, I personally should have taken the Nutritionist Program. Personally, I have found that at this point I only use herbs on occasion. My main focus has become on lifestyle, diet, and nutritional supplementation. I also have a respect for Western Medicine being used in its place along side Holistic Medicine. Similar to what Dr. Wiel calls Integrated Medicine. As you study with GCNM you will find that they are strongly bias to Alternative Medicine and quite close to Anti-Western Medicine. I do not agree with their philosophy in this regard. It is important to find a good balance and not fall too deeply into the traps of conspiracy theory's and wild or unfounded opinions. Find a balance and strive to maintain it within you practice. Don't rely too heavily on one way of thinking and remember to look at the whole picture of things before making a final conclusion.

So, this is what I am doing with my knowledge and experiences that have stemmed partly from GCNM. Sharing with anyone and everyone who is willing and ready to listen. I pray that I may be an instrument of change and well-being in at least one person's life every day.

What Is Leaky Gut? - Andrew Weil, MD

What Is Leaky Gut? - Andrew Weil, MD

While researching Gluten Intolerance I have often come upon the term "Leaky Gut Syndrome." Having heard of it in the past I decided to look into it a little more. I was happy to find some insight into the subject from Dr. Andrew Weil. I trust his judgement and appreciated what he had to say. Hope it gives you some food for thought. As of right now, I'm going to take his advise.