There was a time in American history when essential oils were only used by traditional healers, massage therapists, and subculture flower children. But now, we have modern families, business owners, and even medical doctors using them in their homes and professions. Why is everyone so excited about essential oils these days?
Here are 5 reasons why I believe essential oils are back to stay! After reading them, you may decide to incorporate them into your lifestyle too!
Why essential oils popular?
1. We need alternative healthcare
Essential oil knowledge was lost when modern medicine became popular in the United States. This is because people used to think Western medicine was more evolved, and therefore should have greater respect. Some innovations, like life-saving surgeries and fertility procedures are truly miraculous. However, this standard of care is only focused on palliative measures. It doesn’t address the root cause of health imbalances. We need and expect more.
We’re realizing that Western Medicine is not making us healthier. We are wising up and asking:
WHY is this happening to me?
WHAT does my body need to be healthier?
HOW can I maintain health?
Nature, traditional medicines, alternative health practitioners, and your own intuition are the best guides.
Essential oils are gifts from nature that help support physiological functions, improve mood, control infections, and thereby add to our health.
2. Essential oils are effective alternatives to toxic products
We are living in a toxic soup that triggers many health problems in our population. Visit EWG.org to learn more about pesticides, herbicides, antibacterial agents, and other threats in our environment. They’re still legal in the U.S., even they disrupt hormones, destroy gut flora, decrease immunity, and cause cancer. Therefore, it’s up to manufacturers to remove them from their products or up to consumers to stop buying them.
Essential oils can clean our homes and bodies. Many families make their own home and personal care products using essential oils. There’s also some trusted companies who provide ready-made products using essential oils. These are safe and effective replacements to toxic conventional products found on grocery store shelves.
3. Essential oils have been used effectively for thousands of years
Did you know essential oils have been used from the beginning of history? Ancient Chinese, Indian, Greek, and Egyptian civilizations prized them for their beauty enhancing, spiritual, and therapeutic value. So even though they are new to Americans, that’s not so in the rest of the world.
Our culture is starting to respect older modalities like my profession of Chinese Medicine, as well as using Essential Oils. I would not call it a trend. Americans are just now seeing what has always been around – an awakening of sorts!
4. People want to feel empowered & resourceful with health choices
Many people these days don’t believe that “doctors know best”. It’s important to have a health practitioner as a guide or for a different perspective. However, most people have the awareness to know when they’re well or not though, and whether it’s an emergency. They know how to research and experiment with natural remedies and determine if they’re working.
Moms in particular, want to trust their instincts more. They want to be resourceful and feel empowered with their choices, just as our ancestors were. They know their children better than anyone else! It’s easy for them to use essential oils and they’re accepted well by their children. Experience shows them that essential oils work well to manage illness in the family and to boost their health.
5. There’s tons of research to support essential oil efficacy
Each year, hundreds of research studies validate essential oil efficacy. Here are just a few that show essential oils can improve one’s health naturally:
Certainly, the excitement behind essential oil use is backed by a compelling need! Do you want to try them out too? Visit my natural products page for more information on the oils I recommend. With over 20+ years of experience using them, I can help answer any questions you have as well!
What do you do when your kids get cuts, scrapes, bites and bruises? How do you handle an injury at the gym or another acute, but non-emergency challenge? Essential oils are a better option for tissue repair than antibiotic ointments that encourage our modern day problem of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Essential oils can also help with muscle repair and circulation, helping the body to heal itself. Learn how to make an effective DIY natural healing salve so you can be prepared! You’ll be using it more often than you think!
My body was put to the test last week when I pulled a calf muscle in tennis class that left me unable to walk normally for several days. Even though it was extremely painful, I knew that it wasn’t serious enough to see a doctor and that I had everything I needed to heal myself. One of the greatest tools I used in my natural health arsenal was application of therapeutic-grade essential oils 2-3 times a day in the form of a healing salve. It’s been a week and my calf is already operating at ~ 90%!
Salves can be infused with dried or fresh herbs. Or you can use essential oils, which are much quicker and easier to incorporate! Salves are especially soothing because nourishing carrier oils are used to keep the herbs on the skin longer so the plant medicine can penetrate through.
I suggest using beeswax pellets, which are less complicated to measure than the block beeswax I used for this recipe. If you must use beeswax blocks, you may want to use a cheese grater to shave it off in smaller pieces since cutting the block with a knife is very difficult and you risk hurting yourself (and your knife!)
Listed below are some of the best essential oils for your healing salve (choose 1-4 for this recipe). I would suggest you combine them based on function, not necessary how well they smell together! Only use therapeutic grade oils. See my essential oil website page for more information about the brand of oils I stand by.
Place coconut oil and beeswax in a double boiler and melt completely under low heat. Remove from heat and add vitamin E (if using) and the essential oils. Immediately pour into the glass jar. Allow it to cool completely before putting on the lid. Store in a cool location, where it should last 1-3 years.
Voila! It’s that easy. You will be so grateful that you took the 10 minutes to make this salve! I’m eager to hear how it works for you. Please let us all know in the comments! Well wishes to you all…
Do you have a hard time getting your child to drink water? Maybe it’s hard for you to stay ahead of his or her thirst (a sign that they’re already dehydrated). Or perhaps you’re challenged with an older child who’s not under your influence as much (like at school) who also prefers sugary, less hydrating, low-nutrient drinks like juice, processed milk, and soda.
If you’re a health-conscious parent, you know about the benefits of water and how necessary it is to nourish our cells and drive most physiological functions in our bodies. The most popular recommendation right now is drinking half one’s body weight of water in ounces. But we often need more than that when the weather is hot, we’re sweating a lot, or when we’re sick. Dehydration can happen to people of all ages when we’re losing more water than we’re consuming. Sometimes dehydration can be so severe that a hospital visit is necessary to treat with IV fluids. Getting kids to prioritize drinking water is your best option to prevent serious issues.
Don’t worry though! It is totally possible for you to help your child establish this healthy habit. Here are several tips I can offer that have worked in my family to keep my son well-hydrated and preferring water over other drinks.
How To Get Your Child To Drink More Water
Model drinking water at home
If your kids see you reaching for coffee, sodas, juice, or even alcoholic beverages (that look like juice!) instead of water, then they’ll want what you have and will not understand the importance of water. You’ll need to teach them that water is best for you and for them.
Offer water first thing in the morning
Everyone, adults and kids alike, would benefit from drinking water first thing in the morning. This primes the body to start peristalsis (moving the digestive tract) which is one of the body’s main detoxification methods. Offer water to your child as soon as they wake, or even leave a large cup of water next to their bed so they can get in the habit of drinking as soon as they wake up. Of course it would be good for you to be doing the same! Adults should try to drink a 1-3 glasses of water upon waking. Your digestion should improve!
Let your child have their own special cup or water bottle
It can make all the difference if your child has their own water container. Let them pick out a special cup. Let them decorate their water bottle with stickers. It’s best to drink out of stainless steel, ceramic, copper, or glass, but plastic will do if that’s all that’s available.
Keep a pitcher of water at kitchen table
You’ll whole family will find it easier to drink more water if you keep a pitcher full on the kitchen table at all times. Kids love to be able to help themselves, so you could even make it easier for them by having a pitcher small enough that they can pour from themselves.
Always travel with water
Try to get your child in the habit of taking a bottle of water with them everywhere. All car rides, school, field trips, and even play dates (if you’re child is uncomfortable asking the parent for water).
Flavor the water
Of course it’s best if a child can appreciate the flavor of water alone. If they prefer drinking juice, try offering flavored water as a healthy alternative. Add sliced cucumber, lemon, berries, and/or mint. Our family also loves to drink a chilled hibiscus tea which tastes fruity but does not have any sugar.
(If the whole family agrees that the house water tastes bad, you may want to consider water testing & filtration!)
Drink sleepy time teas as bedtime ritual
Many families prefer to have milk at bedtime to help induce sleep, but unless you’re drinking raw milk, there’s not enough nutrients and way too much sugar in processed, lower fat milks. As a bedtime drink, you’re better off offering water alone or a bedtime tea to make it a more special ritual. Chamomile or lavender teas can help them relax to support better sleep. Offer it 1-2 hours before bed so they can go to the bathroom before falling asleep and not risk having to wake up to pee.
Teach child signs of dehydration & the risks
Again, dehydration is very serious. If you can spot it easily in babies and toddlers (no wet diapers within 3 hrs, crying without tears, sunken eyes, fever, and/or dry mouth). You’ll need to teach your older kids the signs of dehydration if they’re away from you much of the day. Teach them that they need to drink more water, and maybe even get help from their caregiver, if they’re experiencing:
thirst
a dry and sticky mouth
dark and strong smelling urine
infrequent urination (they should be going every 3 hours or so)
infrequent stools (they should be pooping every day)
headaches or muscle cramps
dizziness
irritability
rapid breathing
Try to drink mainly room temperature water
While ice cubes may make drinking water more fun and ice water can feel refreshing on a hot day, it’s not the best way to drink water. We usually slow down and sip cold water (as we do hot), so it’s not as efficient as room temperature water for getting water into a child quickly to quench their thirst. Also, according to Chinese Medicine theory, cold inhibits the movement of Qi (vital energy) in the body, so can also create stomach pain or slow digestion, as can other cold foods and drinks. Still, I support you in doing what you need to to encourage your child to drink! So if you need to buy fancy ice cube trays, so be it!
I hope you’ll benefit from these tips on how to get your child to drink more water! Please let us know how you’re doing with them by commenting in this post. Moms everywhere would also love to hear your tips if you have any I didn’t mention! Well wishes to you and your family…
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How do you get picky eaters to make healthy choices? I have 5 tips that will help your children try new foods, understand why a balanced diet is necessary, and set them up with healthy dietary habits for life.
Moms know that our most important job is to help our children grow and thrive. Therefore it can be disheartening when our kids start refusing to eat what we provide. Our basic worry is that they’ll starve, so we give in to their desire, which is usually some processed, grain-based “food”. But these foods are high in calories, void of important micronutrients, low in fiber, and break down much too easily into basic sugars which then often damage gut flora. Giving into children’s picky eating can still lead to malnourishment, which is the basis of chronic childhood illnesses in the U.S. today.
Then how do you make your child eat what you provide? The truth is that you can’t unless you threaten them, bribe them, or try hiding the healthy food (like vegetables) in something else they like which is not as healthy (like Kraft Mac n’ Cheese). This does not help your child make conscious healthy choices though. Preferably, they should have some internal motivation to eat healthy foods so that they grow into adults who value healthy eating.
I know this isn’t easy moms, I have a picky eater too. If he could, my son would just each fruit and bread all day. At 8 years old though, he is now turning a corner and making better choices. I would love to share my tips on what’s working in our home with the hope that your family will benefit too. Realize that it may take some time for your child to come around. But when they do, they will be set with great habits for life.
5 Tips to Get Picky Eaters to Make Healthy Choices
1. Be persistent
It’s important that you don’t give up. Keep placing healthy foods in front of your child. Do not assume that their palate is set and that they will always be this way. Their tastes will constantly change throughout childhood.
If you keep offering a food, someday they will eat it! Think about Green Eggs & Ham. For example, if you’re wanting your child to eat more vegetables, offer a variety of them and with multiple of ways of cooking them. Maybe they won’t eat broccoli steamed alone, but they will if you have a yummy dip for it. Or perhaps they’ll eat broccoli creamed with potato in a soup or in a stir fry with rice and soy sauce. Maybe you can involve them in the cooking more or ask them what they’d like to have with the broccoli so they feel like they have some control. Just keep offering the broccoli or even another vegetable with similar nutrients.
Broccoli has not been a problem in our house, but eggs has. My son doesn’t like eating too much meat (which is fine because we don’t as well), so we try to include more plant-based proteins, fish, raw dairy, and eggs in our diet. Right now he’s not eating eggs scrambled (which is a bummer because I used to be able to mix zucchini & scrambled egg in a yummy burrito). But he will eat “Egg-in-a-hole” which is a piece of bread with a hole cut out of the center in which you fry an over-easy egg. I still offer scrambled eggs & omelets. Sometimes he’ll eat them with organic ketchup, but I will make the egg-in-the hole more often because I’m just thrilled that he’s still eating egg.
2. Model Healthy Eating
Moms, I love to empower you! You are the center of your family and if you’re also the main shopper & cook, then you have much of the control. This also means that you will need to take responsibility! Sorry, but I need to give you some tough love.
Buy healthy foods so your kids can eat healthy foods. Realize that if you’re modeling picky or unhealthy eating, your kids are learning from you. If you’re too busy to cook and prefer to eat out of a box or getting fast food, your kids are also learning that food quality doesn’t matter to you and it’s something they shouldn’t care about either.
If you’re not sure what it means to eat healthy, it’s not your fault! We’ve been given the wrong information from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and their Food Pyramid and MyPlate suggestions (which are of course grain-based to support their main industry). It is becoming evident that these dietary suggestions are not helping our population become healthier. You can read this post for my advice on choosing a healthy diet for your family which is based on traditional diets of people throughout the world and is what most holistic nutritionists would suggest.
3. Make Sure All Parents/Guardians Participate
If you’re trying to make healthy changes at home to curb your child’s picky eating, it’s important that all the adults in your child’s life are also on board with your mission. You may need to point out that it’s not helpful and is actually creating a weird power dynamic if you are the “healthy” and maybe “not as fun” parent, but your partner is the one who gives into the processed foods & treats. Really, this should be a goal for the whole family – to live long healthy lives fueled by whole foods.
Same goes for caregivers and teachers. If you need to, pack a meal for your child when leaving them in someone else’s care. It may also be important for you to pack a lunch for your child at school as well.
Side story: When my son was in Kindergarten (which we tried for 2/3 of the year before pulling him out to homeschool), the teachers loved to emphasize that it was important for kids to make their own choices at lunchtime in the cafeteria. That’s a great message except that the food provided was horrible. To this day my son says that the best part of Kindergarten was being able to drink chocolate milk at lunch which makes me roll my eyes every time.
4. Allow Some Consequences
Admittedly, #3 above has been a challenge in our family. My husband makes different, not as healthy meals for our son. I’ve stayed quiet when teachers and parents of friends have given him a lot of candy. I have also given in here and there, still giving him bread and cold cereal occasionally, but for the most part I’m the constant who is always trying to get him back on track.
Where I really failed was enforcing thorough teeth brushing and flossing, even knowing that he was getting more sugar than I would have liked. I have no excuse other than I’ve been too busy and assumed that what he was doing a good-enough job. My heart sank when I learned at his last dental check-up that he had FOUR (!) cavities. When the dentist recommended fluoride I was even more upset. (Fluoride is a neurotoxin and something we avoid in our house because of my thyroid issues.) After I refused, she said, “well, I guess you’ll just need to eat less sugar, bread, chips, crackers…” That was the answer I wanted my son to hear.
Since that check-up and especially after having two of the cavities filled last week, we’ve had many conversations about healthy eating. I can tell that he’s trying really hard to make better choices, even joining me in drinking celery & cucumber juice in the mornings! He’s also more agreeable with us monitoring his brushing & flossing. So while getting the cavities was not ideal, at least my son learned from the experience.
5. Explain What Happens To Your Body When You Eat Well And When You Don’t
Kids need to know that health begins in the gut. When we’re eating well, our beneficial gut flora is nourished and we experience lots of energy, great sleep, efficient digestion, clear skin, and sharp thinking. When we’re eating too much sugar or another dietary imbalance, we’re feeding pathogenic bacteria in the gut instead of the beneficial species. We can experience problems with energy, sleep, attention, behavior, digestion, skin, may experience many illnesses, and may even develop chronic illnesses and secondary infections.
Try to have discussions about this! You are your child’s best teacher. But if you can’t explain it, I encourage you to seek out a holistic nutritionist to help.
I hope this gives you some hope that you can manage your child’s picky eating and that it’s worthwhile to take steps in improving it right now! If you have any other advice for parents, please let us know in the comments!
As the weather begins to warm, cute fluffy animals are not the only forest inhabitants to awaken, but also the disgust-provoking ticks that like to feed off of them. People fear ticks not just for their blood-sucking nature, but also because they can occasionally transmit Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Fever. It’s best to prepare yourself with these natural tick repellents to help avoid these pesky parasites and the diseases they carry.
You don’t need to boycott nature just to avoid ticks. Your heart and soul would be very deprived, as nature is so healing! It’s best to just be prepared. You can repel them safely and effectively with therapeutic grade essential oils. Yes, there are heavy-duty N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET)-containing tick repellents on the market. However, families like you are becoming more concerned about the side effects of these poisons not just on our health, but on the environment too. Even the Center for Disease Control acknowledges the reluctance to use pesticides in this article, and suggests using these essential oils as alternatives to repel ticks effectively:
CDC recommended essential oils to prevent ticks bites.
Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for you, as you will learn from my mistake), I was not prepared with my essential oil blend this weekend when my son and I spent a weekend in the wild. You can hear about our story in the video below. It was horrifying, but I’m glad that it prompted me to write this post so others can benefit.
Add essential oils to a 2 oz. spray bottle and top off with fractionated coconut oil. Shake gently to mix. If you store it in a cool, dark area when not in use, it should last 2-3 months.
To use, spray directly on skin before going outdoors.
Having this blend handy may have helped us avoid taking home 3 ticks from our weekend away. It would also have been wise to check ourselves before getting in the car and then showering right away when we got home (to make sure they’re not in your hair).
You should know that ticks usually need to be attached to the skin for 36-48 hours in order to pass on diseases (symptoms then show up within a week of infection). We knew that the ticks on my son had just attached, so weren’t worried about disease. However, I was sure to treat the wounds with lavender essential oil to speed up the recovery.
I hope you find these natural tick repellents useful so you can enjoy your time outdoors to the fullest! Please let us know if you have any questions or important information to share in the comments! If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it with your friends. Well wishes to you…
Words have power! They can inspire us and lift us up. They can shame us and bring us down. Yet even though most of us acknowledge the influence of words, we don’t realize how our simple every-day speech can affect the connection to ourself and others. When we speak mindfully with the intention to relate, we tap into our natural, compassionate state of being, helping us become a more loving parent, friend, partner, and human-being.
Why I Started To Speak More Lovingly
For the longest time, my negative way of speaking was influenced by my family and social circles. I was sarcastic, cynical, and would say things I didn’t really mean to be funny and interesting.
I started to become more mindful of speaking in a positive manner in massage school. We learned how to speak to clients in a way that made them feel supported. We also learned how to speak about ourselves in a more loving way. Our instructor warned us seriously, “Be careful, your body believes everything you say!”
It was the first time I considered the impact my own words had on self-esteem and physical manifestation of our thoughts. Never again did I complain about a “bad” back or other body part that was simply sending pain signals to the brain in it’s own language. I embraced the idea that I should be talking to and about my body in a positive manner so that it could heal.
Still, I had much more room to go in speaking gently. Several years later at the end of a Yoga class, one of my students came up to me and we were talking about Chinese Medicine school (which I was in the middle of). I must have been talking about a test and I said something like, “I’m not going to kill myself over it”. The student’s expression turned to one of horror and she said, “nothing is worth killing yourself over”. Of course I was kidding, but she reflected back to me that it wasn’t funny. To some people this could be very disturbing. And it made a very deep impression on me because I realized that I was supposed to be modeling love & peace for my students and I wasn’t quite there.
Framework for Speaking Positively: Right Speech and Non-violent Communication
When I made the intention to speak more mindfully, I turned my attention to my meditation practice. I also immersed myself in the Buddhism classes at Insight Meditation Center.
Later on when I became a parent, I learned more about Non-Violent Communication which is very similar (but without the religious connotation, so might be more comfortable with some people although I feel that Buddhism is a philosophy for living peacefully, not a religion!) The Attachment Parenting play group we occasionally attended used NVC as a means to connect deeply with the kids and build relationships among the parents. Since I had the background in Right Speech, NVC was not much of a stretch. I’ve done my best to adhere to it’s guidelines ever since.
I was lucky to already be familiar with these concepts, but they are certainly not mainstream. Here’s more information about each so you can decide if either is intriguing and how to apply some of the simple principles.
Right Speech
Right Speech is one of the moral disciplines of the Eight-fold Path in Buddhism and includes these 4 aspects:
No false speech (lies)
Do not slander or discredit others
Abstain from abusive language
No idle talk or gossiping
It supports the saying we’ve all heard:
“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!”
When one practices Right Speech, we speak honestly and are more authentic in our communication. We mindfully promote harmony and use language to lesson anger and tension in our social groups.
Practicing Right Speech is not easy, especially in this age of social media and with an inflamed political atmosphere.
“Sometimes people justify harsh speech because they are speaking on behalf of a worthy cause. Ultimately, stirring up acrimony is planting karmic seeds that will hurt the cause we think we’re fighting for.
When you live in a world of acrimonious speech, practice of Right Speech requires Right Effort (another tenet on The Path) and sometimes even courage. But it is an essential part of the Buddhist path.”
Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
The Center for Nonviolent Communication is a good place to begin your education on this practice. They have many helpful articles, resources, and even have a training program for those who feel called to share this training with others. NVC was created by Marshall B. Rosenberg in response to the increasing violence he’s observed in our culture. Basically, practicing NVC consists of these four components (these are taken directly from the website):
Observation: Observation without evaluation consists of noticing concrete things and actions around us. We learn to distinguish between judgment and what we sense in the present moment, and to simply observe what is there.
Feeling: When we notice things around us, we inevitably experience varying emotions and physical sensations in each particular moment. Here, distinguishing feelings from thoughts is an essential step to the NVC process.
Needs: All individuals have needs and values that sustain and enrich their lives. When those needs are met, we experience comfortable feelings, like happiness or peacefulness, and when they are not, we experience uncomfortable feelings, like frustration. Understanding that we, as well as those around us, have these needs is perhaps the most important step in learning to practice NVC and to live empathically.
Request: To make clear and present requests is crucial to NVC’s transformative mission. When we learn to request concrete actions that can be carried out in the present moment, we begin to find ways to cooperatively and creatively ensure that everyone’s needs are met.
If you’re wanting to speak more mindfully, it needs to be a conscious shift you make in the heart first, then the mind. Know that it will take some time and don’t feel too bad if you regress back to old patterns of communication. You’re doing your best and that’s what matters most. I still yell at my son everyday, but it’s the practice of Right Speech and NVC that I’m engaging with 95% of the time that makes it much easier for us to forgive each other and reconnect. I hope it does the same for you and all of your relationships.
Have you practiced mindful speech? How has it worked for you? I’d love to know in the comments!
Taking care of kids in this day and age can be tough, especially when it comes to healthy eating! If we didn’t grow up eating wholesome food, we may not know where to start. However, it is possible to learn the basics of holistic nutrition, even if you were raised on processed food (as I was). In this article, I offer you some practical dietary advice for healthy kids.
Kids Eat Real Food!
Kids need REAL food to grow and thrive. The biggest pet peeve of mine is the assumption that kid & adult food is different and that they will only eat processed food. Of course mac n’cheese, chicken nuggets, and pizza are acceptable to most kids if you buy into that logic and that’s all you feed them. These manufactured meals offer tons of calories, but very little nutritional value. A child raised on this diet is likely to become overweight but at the same time be severely malnourished.
The increase in chronic disease and health challenges of children in this country are largely do to nutrient deficiencies, poor digestion, and toxic overload (also lack of exercise, sleep, and play).
It takes more time and persistence, but continually offering your child real homemade food is the most loving thing you can do for them. I understand the challenge. Some kids are very picky and their tastes continually change. But it’s still wise to be persistent in offering them a variety of whole food, knowing that they will one day make better choices.
My son still doesn’t eat kale and spinach (unless they’re in smoothies), but he will eat broccoli, peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes. And now that he’s a reasonable 8 year old, we’re able to get him to eat even more veggies in an Asian stir fry or noodle dish. You need to be persistent and continue to model what a healthy diet looks like and your kids will come around eventually!
Dietary Advice For Healthy Kids
Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrates are the basic macrobiotics for balanced nutrition.
If you are under the impression that fat is bad, I’m sorry, but you have been greatly misled by our government and the American Heart Association. Read The One Surprising Thing You Need To Add To Your Diet to learn about why good quality fat is essential for our health and why you should reconsider it’s worth.
Basic dietary guidelines/macrobiotics by age:
~ Complex carbohydrates should consist of mostly organic vegetables and fruits in a 2:1 ratio with no more than 3 servings of whole grains per day. Try seasonal vegetables & fruits, oatmeal, rice, polenta, and buckwheat.
~ Protein should be organic and sourced naturally. Animal sources contain the highest amount of protein per serving. Make sure the animals were fed organic food diets without hormones or processed feeds. Try organic grass fed beef, organic chicken, wild caught salmon, organic whole fat yogurt, organic eggs, nuts and nut butter, and beans/lentils.
~ Fat is the main source of energy for infants from breastmilk. It continues to be important for a child’s brain to develop as they start to explore different foods. Try avocados and their oil, coconut and it’s oil or milk, flax oil, olives and their oil, egg yolk, organic butter, organic nuts & butters, and deep sea fish.
You don’t need to be super strict about the percentages of each macrobiotic, but just be sure that each group is represented and that your child is eating lots of vegetables, protein, and plenty of natural fat.
Dietary Supplements for Kids
Vitamins and minerals are the micronutrients that we all need for our cells to function at their optimum. Unfortunately, farming practices in this country have severely depleted the soil. Even organic fruits and vegetables do not have the nutrients they once did decades ago. Either we need to grow 100% of our food, making sure to feed the soil continuously through organic fertilizers & composting, or we need to supplement.
Choosing supplements can be challenging. A good place to start is visiting your local health food store and speaking to a clerk who has experience using the supplements. My son currently takes dōTERRA’s A2Z chewable multivitamin and IQ Mega Omega-3 oil (he actually asks to have his fish oil everyday!)
Gut Health Basics
My son admiring our homegrown kombucha
I’ve already written about gut health extensively, so revisit these articles to understand what damages gut health (more than most people realize!) and how you can get it back on track. It’s the basis of strong immunity, so an aspect of nutrition you don’t want to ignore!
Ideally, try to add fermented vegetables to your child’s meals 1-2 times per day. Pickled cucumbers and carrots, yogurt with no added sugar (add in bananas for the sweetness), and kombucha are usually well accepted. I also suggest supplementing with a probiotic. My son loves dōTERRA’s PB Assist Jr.
I hope these suggestions are clear and get you off to a good start! If you need more help, please post in the comments or reach out to me personally with questions.
Concerned citizens have been talking about the dangers of glyphosate for several years. How do you keep your family safe from it and other toxins?
My awareness of it being a potential carcinogen was heightened in 2015 when my stepfather (who was an enthusiastic Roundup user on his ranch) passed away from a quick and aggressive form of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. This is the same cancer that plaintiff Dewayne “Lee” Johnson has, who just successfully won a case against Monsanto here in San Francisco on Aug. 10, 2018.
“After eight weeks of trial proceedings, the jury found unanimously that Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused Mr. Johnson to develop NHL, and that Monsanto failed to warn of this severe health hazard. Importantly, the jury also found that Monsanto acted with malice, oppression or fraud and should be punished for its conduct.”
Why should you be concerned about glyphosate if you’re not the one actively spraying RoundUp in your yard?
Glyphosate is everywhere…
It’s also on the grass your children play on in the park and in vaccines (yes, injected into our bodies).
Now that the law is recognizing that Monsanto knows their product causes cancer and has been hiding the information, and that the EPA did not regulate it’s use properly, it will be interesting to see what happens with Big Agriculture and our regulatory agencies.
What I’m most interested in is seeing how the public uses this information.
How about you? Are you going to wait until glyphosate is banned completely by the government? Or will you take action now?
Glyphosate Is Not The Only Harmful Toxin
If you visit EWG’s website, you’ll learn of many other substances that can harm our health – herbicides, pesticides, triclosan, phthalates and other chemicals in conventional food and personal care products.
I’m providing you with this information not to overwhelm you, but to empower you!
It’s in your best interest to become educated on this now and not rely on the government to tell you what you should be concerned about.
I always suggest that you talk to your doctor about any of the information I share on this blog before making health decisions. However, you must realize that many are not trained in whole food nutrition and may not be educated about environmental toxins.
When I visited a family member who was in the hospital for a month, I was horrified at the food they were giving him (conventional processed food which I believe helped to create the condition he was getting treatment for – when I talked to his doctors about it they could not confirm or deny this). And the hospital cafeteria did not have ANY organic food. Government supported healthcare simply does not recognize industry used pesticides as being a problem.
10 Ways To Stay Safe From Toxins
1. Buy organic
Buy organic food, produce, and clothes when you can (cotton is a highly-sprayed crop). Living an organic lifestyle doesn’t have to be expensive. Follow my tips here.
4. Align yourself with companies committed to health & safety
I buy all of my family’s personal care & cleaning products from dōTERRA because I share core values with the company’s mission and trust in their testing and transparency. For food and other items I can’t get from dōTERRA, I purchase from our local CSA, Whole Foods and New Leaf grocery stores. It’s not overwhelming at all to find safe food & products when there are only healthy options available from your source!
5. Detox your body regularly
It’s a good idea to aid your body’s natural detoxifying process by drinking plenty of water and moving your body often throughout the day. You can do more thorough detoxing quarterly. See this blog post for more details. (Contact me if you’re interested in following a detox protocol in kits that I can supply for you). Detoxifying your body often is especially important if you’re vaccinating often, using conventional personal care products, and are unable to avoid other toxins.
6. Protect your gut health
Damage gut flora with exposure to toxins and you damage the great majority of your immune system. Read my 2-part series on gut health for more information on how to boost your gut health.
7. Investigate potential toxins in your home, work, & school
Again, please visit the EWG website to know what to look for at home and in the places you’re at often like work and your kid’s school. If you don’t like what you find, you can make easy changes at home. But if it’s at school, don’t worry about being the squeaky wheel. All parents need to know this information!
8. Wash your hands and body after playing on grass
Use safe body wash & soaps to rinse away any pesticides/herbicides that can accumulate on the skin with grass play. You can look up product ingredients on the EWG website.
9. Cook often and pack your own meals for outings
I know, this is more for you to do. I like getting a break from the kitchen here and there too! You have the most control over what you eat if you’re making it yourself though. So if avoiding toxins is important to you, then learning how to cook for your family is a priority.
10. Make your own heath decisions
You can do this! Learn to trust your instincts and educate yourself. I really encourage you to seek answers in many places until you feel confident in what you’ve learned.
Let’s help each other be as healthy as we can be! If you think of something else that I may have missed, please let us know in the comments!
Summer is a favorite season for many people, but it comes with certain challenges. Longer stretches of powerful sunlight, warm-weather pests, and eating unhealthy foods on family vacations are just some of things that can dampen one’s enthusiasm for summer fun. Be prepared with these essential oils for summer challenges to keep your family naturally healthy and happy all season long!
Essential Oil Remedies for Summer Challenges
Bug repellent
Do you have a family member who is a mosquito magnet? That would be me, in my family. So believe me, plant power is safer and equally effective at keeping them at bay than DEET-containing concoctions!
The recipe below incorporates dōTERRA Terrashield, which actually works fabulously on it’s own. The additional oils kick the power up a few notches.
Insect bites & stings
If pests get past your defenses, try these essential oil remedies to soothe the pain, itch, and swelling (from Modern Essentials, 8th edition):
Bee/Wasp/Hornet stings – After removing stinger, apply a cold compress of Roman Chamomile to the area for as long as possible.
Mosquito bites – apply lavender (diluted as recommended in chart at bottom) to the bites every few hours.
Spider bites – Dilute basil as recommended and apply as a cold compress to the area.
Tick bites – Don’t add oils to remove the tick or they may inject their toxin into the wound! Pull out the whole tick out close to the mouth without twisting. It’s wise to save the tick to get it, and the person bitten, examined by your doctor. Apply 1 drop of lavender to the wound every 5 minutes.
Sunburns
For minor sunburns, mix 10 drops of lavender with 1/4 cup water in a small spray bottle. Be sure to shake well so the oil is suspended in solution before spraying over the affected area.
Poison Oak
Though the red color on the “leaves of three” makes this plant more recognizable in the summer, avoiding it can still be tricky when it comes to kids and pets.
Rose, lavender, and Roman chamomile are all indicated for helping to relieve the itch. However, with conditions like this that ooze blisters, sometimes adding oil alone can spread the rash. You may want to look into combining the power of essential oils with a drying calamine lotion, or see an acupuncturist/Chinese herbalist for a drying solution like this one.
Indigestion
Eating heavily processed, greasy, and low quality foods at amusement parks or on the road can lead to an upset stomachs, gas, bloating, constipation, and/or diarrhea. DōTerra’s DigestZen blend can help immensely with all of these symptoms! Ginger, Fennel and peppermint are the main oils in this blend that help ease discomfort and can regulate the bowels. These oils have also been reported to help relieve food poisoning, stomach bugs, or motion sickness.
You may also consider increasing your whole food supplements to fill in any nutrition gaps, keeping your gut flora happy and your immune system working well while away from home.
Cooling down
Combine 2-3 drops of peppermint with 1/4 cup pure aloe vera and 1/4 cup witch hazel in a spray bottle. Shake well and mist body as needed to cool down which might be especially helpful at night to prevent restless sleep. This solution can also help easy sunburn discomfort.
Do you have any ideas for using essential oils in the Summer? Please let us know in the comments! And if you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends!
I often hear myself saying, “sometimes it needs to get really bad before it gets better”.
I might be referring to politics or a sticky social situation that prompts change. I’ve said it to clients too who have a health condition that they’ve let go, but are now committed to resolving. But last week was the first time I found myself saying it to my family.
You see, my son has found Minecraft.
I love seeing him so passionate about something, I’m awed by his creations, pleased with how engaged his is with other online players, and proud of his growing confidence (he’s even talking about doing Minecraft YouTube tutorials!).
But…it’s becoming a bit much. That was obvious when he had a meltdown at the end of a day that featured way too much screen time.
After he cooled down and we talked about what happened, he admitted that the game was negatively affecting him. He also suggested that I write a blog post about it to help other parents! So here I am, following through.
I try to encourage autonomy for my son whenever possible. I do my best to educate him on healthy food choices, dental hygiene, and bathing, but for the most part, we trust that he will either make the best choice for himself or learn from decisions that weren’t in his best interest. But now with this digital obsession, it is clear that he cannot self-regulate and is relying on us to provide limits to avoid anymore physical, mental, and emotional harm.
Because of the meltdown, my son is more aware of the negative effects of screens, so I suppose allowing this consequence did work. But I felt horrible that we had to get to that place in order for him to appreciate our screen limits and I had never intended for him to actually learn the lesson this way.
After reflecting on this for awhile, it seems to me that natural consequences are worthwhile only if the person…
1. Understands cause and effect and is mindful of what they are experiencing.
2. Has the maturity to learn from the mistake.
3. Is not permanently damaged from the consequence.
4. Actually cares about their health!
I see examples of this issue coming up in the clinic in different ways. I have a few parents right now dealing with wonderfully willful children who are not making the best decisions. The parents are concerned about chronic infections or behavior problems and are needing to change their lifestyle choices, encourage their children to follow through with our treatment plan by taking some herbs/supplements, and to establish healthy habits like dressing warmer. For if they continue to get sick often or have emotional imbalances, it negatively impacts other areas of their life. The children are not yet making the connection that their poor choices are worsening their condition.
Should you allow natural consequences for unhealthy habits? Will your child learn better this way? Or will the message be lost on them? Of course this is totally up to you to decide, and your answers maybe different depending on the situation.
Perhaps the next question you should ask though is:
Do you really want the situation to get bad before you implement positive changes?!
Please let us know what you think in the comments!
