Top 5 Easy Tricks To Make Food Your Medicine

We are all familiar with basic foods that help our immune system and help us fight disease, but did you know that you might not be using those foods correctly to release their maximum potential? Here are my Top 5 Easy Tricks to maximize the healing benefits of what you're probably already using:

1. Garlic: Smash your raw garlic, then let it sit in the open air for 15 minutes before using it in your cooking. This will help activate and preserve the disease fighting enzymes so they aren't destroyed as much in cooking.
   
2. Tumeric: When using tumeric, always use black pepper as well. The black pepper will increase the bioavailability of the tumeric so that your body can actually benefit from it!
   
3. Herbal Tea: To extract as many active ingredients as possible from a cup of tea, cover it while letting it steep.
   
4. Herbs: When possible, use fresh herbs instead of dry ones. You then eliminate the possibility of an herb having lost its potency.
   
5. Broth: For broths, make your own bone broth whenever you accumulate enough chicken or beef bones, divide into 1 cup portions, and freeze in individual baggies. When someone is sick, just pull a bag out and defrost! SO much more nutritious and beneficial than store bought broth, and this makes it super easy to have on hand.

Natural Flu Remedies for Babies & Children

One of the most common questions I'm being asked right now is how to help your baby who has the flu. I'm convinced it's just as miserable for a mom to watch their sick baby as it is for the sick baby herself! The great news is that you can fight the flu, and you can easily acquire the supplies to do so.

For all babies:

•  Get as much breastmilk into him as possible. It will have the antibodies you're building against the same virus to help your baby fight the flu, too. It can also pass on helpful virus fighting properties from the herbs and spices you ingest!
• Diffuse virus killing and respiratory support essential oils, thirty minutes at a time. Good ones may be eucalyptus radiata, oregano, tea tree oil, wild orange, ravensara, white fir, and lemon. Avoid peppermint, rosemary, and eucalyptus globulus as they can cause respiratory depression, including respiratory arrest, in young children.
• Use an infant-appropriate vapor rub on the child's feet and cover with socks. The oils in the vapor rub will be absorbed through the feet, include the reflex points that the child needs to support the organs affected by the flu. I make my own and avoid the commercial ones because I don't want the petroleum and other junk that's often in them. ALWAYS check your ingredients, as I've even seen "natural" ones including essential oils like peppermint in them. 
• Humidify the air using a cold air humidifier. In a pinch, create steam in the bathroom with your shower.
• If you're breastfeeding, start ingesting virus fighting herbs and spices such as fresh garlic, tumeric (always combine with black pepper), ginger, rosemary, oregano, basil. Also increase your vitamin and mineral uptake, making sure you are getting the optimal doses.
• Avoid Tylenol as it depresses the immune system. If you cannot avoid an NSAID, use Ibuprofin over acetaminophen, and remember to treat the child, not the thermometer number. Hyland's Colic, Teething, or Cold tablets may provide pain relief and fever support and are gentler on the body!
• Rest, hydrate, and keep warm.
• Get everyone in the house washing their hands!
• Saline nose spray or breastmilk (yes, sprayed in the nose) and then sucked out with a Nose Freida (can't believe we ever lived without one!) to reduce upper respiratory congestion.
• Infant appropriate probiotics.
• Elevate head/chest to help breathing.

Babies over 6 months who are on solid foods:

• Lots of foods can be a help in fighting illness! Consider the spices and herbs above, as well as making a bone broth, Golden Milk (a very yummy tumeric tea recipe), chicken, and tummy settling things like fennel if baby is experiencing tummy upset (will also pass through breastmilk).
• Elderberry syrup that doesn't contain honey.
• Reduce intake of mucous producing products, like milk and acidic juices.
• Avoid sugar, white flour, and processed foods that tax the body and increase inflammation.
• Fire Cider
• Rose Hip tea or other appropriate preparation (SUPER high in Vitamin C)

Babies over 12 months:

• Elderberry syrup with local, raw honey if possible.
• Honey infused with fresh garlic and onion (chop your garlic and let sit in the air for 15 minutes, then combine with chopped onion, cover with honey, and simmer on stove for 20 minutes. Bottle the entire thing and keep in the refrigerator--eat a spoonful or two every day).

Remember that just because something is natural, doesn't mean it's appropriate or safe for every person. And just because a "natural" company or a "natural" product says it's safe for children, remember that anyone can make a product and the creator, while having good intentions and a good idea, may not be trained in safe use of oils or herbs! Listen to your mommy or daddy instinct, listen to your child, and practice common sense. 

What natural flu remedies have you tried for your little ones before?

(note, will update this post with research and recipe links when I get a chance!)

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice, nor is anything here intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or otherwise do anything for you or anyone else. The information written here is just that--information. Always consult a medical professional, not a blogger, for medical advise.

Before and After Pics of the Ultimate Body Applicator Wrap

I used my first It Works! Ultimate Body Applicator and...It Works!!!!!!!

My result photos are after using one body wrap on my abdomen. I did not exercise, take any supplements, or anything else. I left it on for about 8 hours and drank a lot of water over the 72 hours following putting the wrap on. I did drink a coffee drink and also ate an ice cream sundae during those 72 hours which apparently you aren't supposed to do because they cause toxins to build up in your body which the Ultimate Body Applicator is trying to work against. I did not remember this at that time. :-\

DISCLAIMER: Before reading about my results and seeing my photos, please know that the PURPOSE of the wrap is detoxification--the inch loss that many experience is just a side effect. It is not  promised and some people don't have inch loss as a results of the detoxification. It Works! does not advertise inch loss--what they DO advertise is that you can "tighten, tone, & firm in as little as 45 minutes with the Ultimate Body Applicator". Ok, moving on now that you understand this. ;-)

My results: I lost 3.5"after only 45 minutes of putting the wrap on. 

Photos: well, you can see for yourself!

Before Photos are on the left; After Photos are on the right and were taken about 74 hours after initially putting on the wrap.

Now, I know that the ingredients in this wrap do NOT produce a diuretic (water weight loss) effect, but I still I watched for it while this process was going on...and I found no evidence of it. I had no sweating, and my feet were just as swollen after wrapping as before. And I haven't had any changes except my skin isn't as tight as it initially was after wrapping at the one week post wrap mark. You can see how each of the ingredients works to detoxify and shrink your adipose (fat) tissue here: http://lifemoresimply.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-ultimate-body-applicator-works.html 

This is the first thing that has worked for me post-pregnancy. I did the INSANITY workout program. I did an 800-calorie medically supervised diet for a month. Nothing helped. Until now! I actually cried after I took my 45-minute measurements!

My plan is to do a few more wraps (you can do them every 72 hours) until I reach the shape I want to be (belly and thighs, baby!). I'll be using the Defining Gel daily, taking the Greens supplement to alkalize my pH and detox my body systemically, and will also be taking the Thermofit formula to help my body burn fat instead of just leave it on me!

To come: further results. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Check out all of the products on my personal distributor site here: http://BodyMoreSimply.itworks.net

The Master Cleanse (Lemonade Diet) - Day One

Back in college, I came down with a 7-month long debilitating stomach ache after eating some salad on campus one day. After seeing many doctors, I was diagnosed with a "chronic bacterial infection" and was prescribed drugs that didn't help and a depressing timeline of "lifelong" pain. Not accepting that as a good quality of life, I researched different options and ended up hearing about the "Lemonade Diet" aka "Master Cleanse" from a friend. After really looking into and reading about this monodiet full body detox, I gave it a try...and was completely cured of the bacterial infection.

Since then, I had two babies in under two years, and have nursed for almost 3 straight years. My son who turned one yesterday has been self weaning, and I decided now would be an excellent time to do another cleanse. I am overweight from what I was before getting pregnant with baby #1 and unfortunately fell into that category that Weight Watchers describes as "holding on to ten pounds" throughout nursing (in theory, then, I should be able to lose that weight now...or so I am crossing my fingers for!). My first time cleansing, I lost a whole whopping two pounds. I'm guessing that's because I wasn't overweight and my diet was a vegetarian one to begin with so my body wasn't very toxic. This time, though, I'm really hoping that on top of the excellent benefits of detoxing in general, that it'll also help kick start some weight loss.

Anyway, I'll try to keep ya'll updated on how it's going. If I make it through the whole thing, it'll take ten days (I did eight days my first time). If you have never heard about the Master Cleanse, you should definitely Google it tonight. It may be the best thing you ever did for your body and mind!

Day One of Master Cleanse (Lemonade Diet):
I haven't been real hungry, but around dinner time began really craving cheese, vegetables, and a nice cold glass of vanilla soymilk. Weird, I know. Most people crave things like fried food and chocolate. Me? Extra sharp cheddar cheese. Physically, I began losing it around midday--right after doing my first "Insanity" video workout. Killed me. Almost threw up. (Maybe I shouldn't be doing both of these simultaneously, but darnit, I deserve to get back into shape quickly.) Right now, it's 8:33pm and I have a weird sort of headache, am lightheaded, and grumpy. If I remember right, the first 3 days on the cleanse are pretty rough, but after that you're home free. I can make it two more days!

Oh, and maybe this isn't the best time in my life to start a cleanse; I'm getting divorced, just spent 53 hours in a row working EMS at the Phish Ball (three day Phish music festival), and have a two year old and a one year old. BUT. I don't have to work again until Friday which will be day five of the cleanse and I have been wanting to get back in shape since, oh, GIVING BIRTH almost three years ago, so I think now's probably as good of a time as any.

But just in case any of my friends read this, know that I need extra hugs for the next ten days. If you want to come give me a massage, watch a movie with me after the children are sleeping, or just talk to me about goldfish so as to distract me from the mental block of not eating and feeling lonely on top of it, please call. :)

Apple Cranberry Walnut Fruit Crisp Recipe

I'm a big fan of fruit crisps since they're so easy and delicious. Here is my healthy rendition of a fruit crisp. Enjoy!

Apple Cranberry Walnut Fruit Crisp Recipe

Apple Cranberry Walnut Fruit Crisp

Prep: 30 Minutes
Bake: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 5 cups sliced apples (unpeeled for extra fiber)
• 1/4-1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup regular rolled oats
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I use 1/4 C four and 1/4 C flaxseed meal for added nutritional benefit)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Place apples and cranberries  together in a 2-quart square baking dish.
2. Combine all of the rest of the ingredients together to make the topping. Mixture will resemble coarse crumbs.
3. Sprinkle this topping over the fruit.
4. Bake in a 375f oven for 30-35 minutes or until the fruit is tender and the topping is golden.

Note: 1) This is great with vanilla icecream! 2) If you're like me, you want to double the topping portion. Don't. I already did it for you. :-)

Variation: if you're short on time, just use a can of pie filling in place of the fruit and put in the oven on your "broil" setting for a few minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Watch it--it won't take long to warm through!

We Have the Flu--HELP!

We have the flu. Both babies and the mama...which blows my mind. My 100% breastfed baby is SICK and he's only 6-weeks-old?! How is this possible? LoveBug never got sick until she was exactly one-year-old. I guess it's really more of an intense upper respiratory infection plus a cough and low grade fever, but it makes you feel all achey and like a train hit you on top of the breathing problems.

Here's what I've got going so far:
*humidifier with white vinegar added
*big garlic oil supplements for mom
*organic immune boosting vitamin gummy bears for LoveBug
*Cold-Eeze every two hours for mom
*Lots of fluids and rest for everyone (try nursing with a stuffy nose--not easy)
*Vicks for everyone
*Tylenol as needed

I need some help here! What else can I do for my babies that is along the "natural" line of thinking? Please share your ideas and recipes. I'll be checking this post until we're better and will try everything I'm able to.
 Seriously, I already missed 11 hours of work because of this and am scheduled to work 8.5 hours tomorrow. :-\ I need all the help I can get with overcoming this super bug!

Hugs,
Rachel

VaporEze Waterless Humidifier Review & Giveaway!

A big thanks to A Mother's Boutique for being a big sponsor of the Baby Mama Shower!



Vapor-Eze Waterless Vaporizer Review & Giveaway
Here's a product that'll make you wonder and be glad at the same time: a waterless vaporizer. One of the things we don't enjoy as people in general is sickness, particularly if it's in our children and involves the respiratory tract. One of the solutions we use for that problem is a humidifer, but with that comes parts to clean, heavy jugs of water to lug around, and electric cords that you hope won't get wet in the process. LoveBug is almost 18-months-old and is just getting over being sick for the second time in her life (thank God). The first time was on her very first birthday (I attribute that long stretch to breast milk). The second time was just recently along with my self. We seem to be plauged by the enver ending cold (I'm just clearing up now after more than 2 weeks!), but have been able to get through this illness WITHOUT the use of a humidifer. :-) Let me tell you more.

VaporEze has been around for over 13 years, providing a very small (can hold it in the palm of my hand) waterless vaporizer/aromatherapy machine. It's a pretty neat product, but an even neater company since they do all of the manufacturing in the US and use Sertoma Centre (a workshop to employ people with significant handicaps) to do the packaging. You can purchase the machine with the essential oil pads, and also purchase the pads alone separately.

Here's what they say...

Product Description: The Vapor-Eze Vaporizer / Aromatherapy appliance uses the latest in “heat activation” and “aromatherapy” technology to provide relief from respiratory symptoms. (Allergy, asthma, bronchitis, colds and flu, coughs and sore throats, and sinusitis). Thanks to the carefully formulated refill pads, the Vapor-Eze vaporizer / aromatherapy unit can be used day or night, at home or in the office. Simply plug it in, and breathe a sigh of relief.


How it Works: The vaporizer / aromatherapy unit has been designed to use no-mess replaceable pads that are impregnated with a carefully formulated blend of pure Menthol and Eucalyptus oil. Each pad will last from six to ten hours, depending on the setting used during operation (Low, Med. or High). Five long lasting pads are supplied with each vaporizer. Extra refill packs are sold separately.

Features:
• Waterless Vaporizer
• 100% Natural Oils
• Safe – Can be used by newborns & senior citizens
• Silent Operation
• Built in Night Light
• There is no Water for Mold spores or bacteria to grow in
• 1 year warranty
• Three settings – Low, Medium, and High
• On/Off switch
• Uses as much electricity as an average light bulb

What we think...
I've been using this purely as an aromatherapy machine and then as a humidifier when we were sick since receiving it in the mail. I'm really impressed by the size of the machine and how well the essential oil scents permeate the air (particularly the lavendar one); one neat thing is that you could actually use your own EO's to scent a pad to use in the machine, though I haven't done this yet. We did experience less coughing when we used the machine in our bedroom and found that the closer you are to the menthol/eucalyptus pad, the more effective it was in relieving respiratory symptoms. If you're really stuffed up, I'd go with a regular humidifier, but if your symptoms are none to moderate, I'd go with the VaporeEze. I think it's an affordable product at $19.99-$24.99, awesome because of the size, weight, and effectiveness, and would be great for all ages and especially allergy sufferers. In fact, I just lent it to my sister so she can use the lavendar pads for aromatherapy while birthing her first baby! If it came down to the VaporeEze or a traditional humidifier, I would recommend going with the VaporeEze. It's effective and easier/safer than a water vaporizer!
 
Buy It! Visit VaporEze's store here to purchase the vaporizer or any of the essential oils/pads, or you can click on the Amazon.com link above.
 
Win It! Power Industries, Inc. is giving one of my readers her own Waterless Vaporizer/Aromatherapy Unit complete with a variety of essential oil pads! Visit http://www.vaporeze.com/, look around, and tell me which essential oil scent you want the most. Be sure to leave a comment and email address for every entry! Contest ends on or after May 7th, 2010 at noon, EST.
 
Extra Entries:
*Blog about this contest or tell people about it through a parenting forum (2 entries)
*Subscribe to or follow me (each different way = 1 entry; Blogger, Google Reader, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
*Fav me on Technorati or otherwise vote me up somewhere
*Grab the Baby-Mama Shower button (2 entries)
*Grab my regular button (2 entries)
*Have another great idea to spread the word? Do it and tell me how you did!

This review is based on sample products provided by Power Industries, Inc. No other compensation was received.

H1N1 Vaccine and Pregnant Women

 My decision is final: I will not be receiving the Swine Flu vaccine.

This was a difficult decision and one that I've spent almost two months laboring over. Having finally made this decision after much research, though, I am also finally at peace. Working as a Paramedic in NY, the first word out was that I would be mandated to get the vaccine since all healthcare workers were being mandated. I didn't know too much about it at the time, and before I was even able to get vaccinated, a passionate nurse in Rochester blew the whistle and got the NY government to recant on their decree for involuntary vaccination.

Shortly after this, I was given word that there would be a "secret" clinic for EMS workers in the county to get the vaccine free of charge. It still wasn't available to the public, or to pregnant women, and I still hadn't made a decision even up to the day before the clinic--then I got a respiratory flu type thing and so my decision was made for me. One week later, the clinic was offered again, but I had been sick to recently to receive the vaccine.

The next time I was offered the vaccine, I randomly got a stomach flu (maybe this is God here?)...and thus couldn't get it. Yesterday, for the third time, the vaccine is being offered again to me, this time through my "regular" desk job. I signed my name on a paper stating that I was interested, and then did some serious research on the topic to help me really decide.

After spending hours on the Internet reading everything from how it's absolutely necessary for pregnant women to receive to how it's a consipracy of the government to control population rates (by causing abortions of the fetuses), I decided to call the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and see what they had to say on the matter. I told them of the huge amounts of personal stories I was finding online linking the H1N1 vaccine to miscarriages/pre-term labor in every trimester, and asked what statistics they had been putting together from themselves receiving these reports. I asked if they could really recommend that pregnant women get the vaccine, and if they would put out a warning if it seemed that there were an unreasonable amount of miscarriages happening within hours of women receiving the vaccine.

The CDC told me that they didn't really have any solid research yet to indicate the safety or risks of the vaccine to pregnant women, but that "in a time of national pandemic, it is recommended for pregnant women to receive it." To me, that says "we don't really know, but we figure that you'd better just get it." They told me that until the vaccine and reports of adverse effects among pregnant women have been able to be studied, they will not release any statement to the public--they will even NOT warn pregnant women to be careful about receiving the vaccine EVEN IF the CDC was receiving a lot of reports of miscarriages and pre-term labors linked to the mothers receiving the H1N1 vaccine!

Upon researching the media and government pressure for pregnant women to receive this vaccine because of the supposedly large amount of pregnant deaths associated with getting the Swine Flu, I found out that while 6% of deaths occuring from H1N1 have been from pregnant women, none of these women received early anti-viral treatment and all ended up dying from pnemonia (a complication of H1N1). Pregnant women are also representing a statistically larger population of hospitalizations due to H1N1, though I couldn't find any solid information on trimester or health history for these women.

Looking at the history of the H1N1 vaccine that was given during the 1976 pandemic of Swine Flu, one can see that it obviously wasn't tested enough and was given to people before it was determined to be safe. Again, we rushed to an "in times of a pandemic, we should all get the vaccine" attitude. As a result, we can now see that there were deaths and complications associated with receiving the vaccine, including Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a severe nervous system disease)! We don't, however, have information about pregnant women during that time. The good news is that this current vaccine is being studied by the NIAID, including for effects on pregnant women in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Unforunately, the long term effects won't be known for many years, and women in their 1st trimester aren't being studied as natural causes of miscarriage are more likely to occur before 14 weeks.

The last thing I considered before making my decision was the ingredients used in the H1N1 vaccines. I won't go into too much detail here, but even some of the "safe" versions for pregnant women include mercury, formaldehyde, eggs, and sucrose. Not to mention the other billion ingredients that I don't even KNOW what they are. Yeah.

So these are the reasons and the research behind my decision to not receive the H1N1 vaccine. I may look at things differently if I wasn't pregnant, but it appears to me that it's just not a good idea for me to get the vaccine right now. There are pregnant women whom I respect whom have chosen to receive the vaccine, and so far, everything is just fine for them. I think that whether or not to receive this vaccine is a difficult and personal decision for anyone since there just isn't research supporting either side of the argument.

My best advice? Decide what is easier for you to live with. Will it be easier for you to not get the vaccine, get H1N1, and lose your unborn baby as a result; or will it be easier for you to get the vaccine and lose your baby (or have him or her suffer serious consequences later in life) as a result? For me, I'm at peace with not getting the vaccine, but given the same information, another woman may be at peace only if she does receive the vaccine. Either way, we are mothers doing what we think is best for our children--and no one can judge us for that.

H1N1 Vaccine and Miscarriage:
http://miscarriage.about.com/b/2009/09/29/some-pregnant-women-fearful-of-h1n1-vaccine.htm
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/62474237.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UthPacyPE7iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

H1N1 Vaccine and Guillain-Barre Syndrome:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no01/05-1007.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/providers_qa.htm

Reporting Adverse Effects from H1N1 Vaccine:
http://vaers.hhs.gov/

H1N1 Vaccine Study for Pregnant Women:
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/QA/H1N1pregnanttrials.htm

H1N1 Vaccine Ingredients: 
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/QuestionsaboutVaccines/ucm186102.htm