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Falcon Healing Arts - Providing you with knowledge and support to care for your family naturally.
Home
Blog
About Me
Testimonials
Natural Products
Work With Brandy
Contact Me
Yoga Events
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Testimonials
  • Natural Products
  • Work With Brandy
  • Contact Me
  • Yoga Events
Boost Energy, Chronic Disease, Emotional health, Gut Health, Kids Health, Personal Development, Women's health

What Does it Mean to be Healthy?

indicators of good health
What does it mean to be healthy?

With my work-life centered around health and wellness, this is a question that I ponder often.

Health is not just normal range vital signs, Body Mass Index, and blood tests.   Sure, physical exams with your Medical Doctor are important to rule out serious conditions! But even The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) define health broadly as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not just the absence of sickness or frailty.“

Are You Really “Well”?

“Well-being” has more to do with how one feels and less about a number on some test. But I would also challenge that it’s not simply a personal perspective. I’m often surprised that some people conclude they are healthy when it’s a fact that they are sick often or suffer with chronic conditions like allergies, eczema, colitis, asthma, or are in constant pain.

For some people, “well-being” could be an acceptance of these chronic issues. They are so common in our culture, they don’t stand out as being abnormal.  Some people don’t realize their condition can be improved, which may increase their acceptance of it. Or, there might be a reluctance to acknowledge poor health if major lifestyle changes are necessary.

Wellness is something that we must always be striving for.  This is especially true when we’re challenged with so many social and environmental factors that threaten our holistic health.

Wellness is Not Perfection

Below are the markers that I look for when assessing health, besides what your medical doctor would tell you. And no, I am not in perfect health either. I’m an Acupuncturist with a thyroid disease in remission and a Yoga Teacher who is technically overweight (emotional eating is definitely involved!).

Even though I’m very comfortable in my skin, I’m not resigned to settle where I am. I’m constantly moving toward being the healthiest version of myself so I can share my solutions with others who strive to do the same.

Indications of Good Physical Health

  • Clear skin – Acne and rashes often indicate hormonal imbalance and point to poor gut health and possible food intolerance as the culprit.
  • Daily well-formed bowel movements – Again, we look at poor gut health when stools are either too hard & infrequent, or too loose.
  • Good muscle tone – Skinny does not equal healthy!  Having a low BMI does not mean that you’re in ideal physical shape. In addition to a lower fat percentage, having good muscle tone is important to support the joints in your spine and limbs so you maintain good posture and stay free of injury as you age.
  • Flexible joints – Being able to sit on the floor comfortably and touch your toes from a standing position are good indicators of sufficient flexibility.
  • Having 2 or less colds/year without any secondary infections – If you’re constantly getting sick or you’re ending up with ear infections, sinus infections, bronchitis, or pneumonia after catching a cold or flu, then there is much room for improving your immunity (gut health) through a better diet, nutritional supplementation, detoxifying your body, and managing stress.
  • Sound sleep – Being able to fall asleep easily and stay asleep is not just a good indicator of physical health, but mental & emotional well-being too. Physical tension, hormonal issues, and indigestion can keep you awake, but so can pensiveness, anger, and regret.
  • Physical ease – Pain is always an indication of inflammation and that your body needs help. In Chinese Medicine, pain is the result of Qi (life energy) and Blood stagnation, that can be caused by injury, muscle imbalance, inappropriate diet, stress, too much/too little activity, and much more…
  • Regular menstrual cycles – Absence of flow, scanty flow, heavy flow, short cycles (less than 25 days), long cycles (more than 31 days), and pain all indicate a disharmony from a Traditional Chinese Medical perspective.  A regular menstrual cycle and proper egg development are responsible for fertility, so extremely important indicators of health.

Indications of Good Emotional Health

  • Resilience – This is harder for kids and definitely comes with maturity. Being emotionally resilient means that you bounce back quickly when challenged by difficult circumstances & stressful situations.
  • Compassion and empathy – Can you understand and feel the pain of others? Can you put yourself in their shoes?
  • Emotional expression – We can express our feelings to resolve conflict and process emotions. At the same time we don’t dump our feelings on people when it’s not necessary or welcome. The appropriateness of emotional expression in situations is what makes it healthy or not.
  • Gratitude and forgiveness – Both of these feelings help us appreciate our life and also help us to move on and build hope about the future.

Indications of Good Mental Health

  • Focus – Are you able to organize your mind and follow through on tasks without overwhelm?
  • Perspective – It’s important to see a situation from another perspective and understand someone else’s point of view.
  • Ability to establish new beliefs – Rigid thinking can lead to cynicism, depression, antisocial behavior, and poor health in general. It’s healthy to have an open mind and consider new possibilities. We should be able to back off or change course when we notice that a certain activity/habit is negatively affecting our health and relationships with others.

We all have something we can be working on to move toward better health. All of the indicators on this list can be improved. 

What do YOU consider to be healthy? What could you add to this list? Is there anything I mention that you’d like to challenge? I’d love to have this discussion in the comments!
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Boost Energy, Kids Health, Natural Remedies, Parenting, Whole Food Diet

How To Get Your Child To Drink More Water

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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Chronic Disease, Gut Health, Kids Health, Natural Remedies, Parenting, Whole Food Diet

Practical Dietary Advice For Healthy & Happy Kids

healthy kids diet advice

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:

healthy kids diet advice

~ 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

Kids love kombucha

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!

Improve Your Family’s Gut Health, part 1

Improve Your Family’s Gut Health, part 2

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.

You can also revisit these blog posts:

What Does It Mean To Be Healthy?

A Simple Guide To An Organic Lifestyle

3 Quick, Healthy Breakfasts That Will Set You Up For Success

And here’s my favorite websites for kids’ nutrition that will give you even more guidance:

Nourishing Meals – Alyssa Sergersten

Weelicious – Catherine McCord

Weston A. Price Foundation – Children’s Health

——–

References:

Children’s Health Technique Seminar, Annette Schippel, DC & Doris Kutz-Compton, DC, July 22-23, 2017

Do you have any dietary advice for healthy kids that would benefit other parents?  Please let us know in the comments!

Well wishes to you all…

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healthy kids diet advice

Essential Oils, Gut Health, Kids Health, Natural Remedies, Natural Sleep Support, Seasons, Summer, Supplements, Toxin-free living, Women's health

Essential Oils You’ll Need For A Naturally-Healthy Summer

Healthy summer kids essential oils

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.

essential oil bug repellent

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!

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Dilution chart:

Chronic Disease, Essential Oils, Gut Health, Kids Health, Toxin-free living, Women's health

6 Easy Ways To Detox At Home

Detoxifying your body may seem like all the rage these days!   But what does it mean to detox and why is it so necessary?  And how do you detox at home?

The liver is the organ that processes the body’s hormonal and metabolic waste as well as toxins.   A toxin is anything that stresses the body and decreases health.  Examples of toxins are pesticides and sugar in our food, phthalates in skin products, and sodium laurel sulfate in hair products.  Then, there’s chlorine & fluoride added to our city water, pollutants in the air, plastics, metals, pharmaceutical medications, etc.

The liver is aided by our excretory system and toxins are expelled through our sweat, urine, and bowel movements. This is an awesomely efficient system, except when the liver gets overwhelmed and sluggish. Typically, our bowels slow down and we experience constipation, weight gain, and inflammation.  Subsequently, skin rashes and acne may result from this GI tract congestion.

What are other signs that your body needs to cleanse? Take this questionnaire to find out.

We are more challenged than ever with environmental toxins.  Therefore, it’s nice to give the liver some extra support a few times a year with a thorough cleanse.

There are several whole food diet programs that help reduce the load on the liver and clear out all the excretory organs. However, many of these programs are quite challenging to stick with.

Fortunately, there are many changes you can make at home to help your body detox easily every day. Here’s how…

6 Ways To Detox At Home

1. Avoid Toxins!

Of course, it’s better to avoid toxins as much as you can.  Here are the things you want to look out for and change if possible.

  • Adopt an organic lifestyle to avoid pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
  • Stop eating sugary, processed, packaged, and fast food made with trans fat.
  • Avoid eating and drinking from plastics, cooking with aluminum foil and teflon, wearing fire retardants in clothes, burning candles and other synthetics substances, etc., whenever possible.
  • Switch to natural beauty products that meet the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Skin Deep criteria.
  • Avoid pharmaceutical medications and seek out natural alternatives from a holistic health practitioners.
  • Get home water and air filters.

2. Drink a few glasses of water first thing in the morning

Encourage peristalsis and get the bowels moving with a nice big flush of room temperature water.  If you add lemon and a splash of apple cider vinegar,  you’ll stimulate the liver and gall bladder to increase digestive function.

3. Load up on vegetables and fruits

Nature provides the best detoxing program! Just about every fruit and vegetable can support the liver and bowels in eliminating toxins.  However, some work better than others:

Top 10 Foods for Detoxing

Just make sure that they you’re eating organic produce or you’re missing the point!

4. Sweat it out

Saunas, steam showers, and hot baths have numerous therapeutic qualities. Releasing toxins is one of them.

In one study, samples were collected from 20 individuals (10 “healthy” and 10 with known health problems). “BPA (bisphenol-A from plastics) was found to differing degrees in each of blood, urine, and sweat. In 16 of 20 participants, BPA was identified in sweat, even in some individuals with no BPA detected in their serum or urine samples.”

5. Essential oils

Applying essential oils topically is an easy way to support organ detoxification.  Place a few drops on the liver area (right side of lower rib cage) and the soles of the feet (where there are numerous reflexology points) .

The oils below have antioxidant effects, support organ cleansing, and make up the dōTERRA Zendocrine Detoxification Blend:

  • Cilantro
  • Rosemary
  • Juniper Berry
  • Tangerine
  • Geranium

6. Epsom salt baths

Soaking in an epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) bath pulls out heavy metals and other toxins through our porous skin. Dr. Axe suggests adding 2 cups of epsom salt to hot/very warm bath water and soak for 40 minutes.   (20 min. to purge toxins + 20 min. to replenish magnesium which helps with sleep & digestion!).


If you’re needing a detox, adopting one or more of these practices at home is a good place to start!

Do you have experience cleansing with one of these techniques? How did it work for you? Anything else to suggest? Let us know in the comments!

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Autumn, Gut Health, Kids Health, Seasons, Whole Food Diet

5 Helpful Tips For A Healthy Halloween (With No Regrets)

healthy halloween

Halloween is a favorite holiday for many families. We love the parties, the spooky decorations, and parading around the neighborhood in frightfully delightful costumes. But celebrating with enormous amounts of sugar can make it downright dreadful!  I have some tips for a healthy Halloween that you’ll appreciate!

If you’re like me, you’re bracing yourself for the endless negotiations with your kids for treats at parties and on Halloween night. And you’re also wanting to avoid the inner battle of whether you should binge on left over candy.

Over-consumption of sugar right now can lower your immune system response, damage beneficial gut flora, and make you more likely to get sick. And no doubt, if you continue to indulge after the holiday, it can negatively affect your physique.

Is it possible to have a healthy Halloween without taking away all the fun?

Absolutely!

Here are several tips you can try that will get you through this festive time, without any regrets.

5 Tips for A Healthy Halloween

1. Bring healthy Halloween party food

Who said Halloween party food has to be sugary and full of artificial colors and flavors? You can bring healthy items that everyone will enjoy eating. Here are a few ideas you may want to try:

Tangerine Pumpkins and Banana Ghosts by Weelicious

We make these treats every single year. They are cute and easy. Enough said.
Creepy Halloween Fingers by Weelicious

You’re sure to creep out some parents, but kids absolutely love eating carrots and cheese in finger form!
Apple Sunbutter Teeth Bites by Forks and Beans

I’m dying to try out these disgusting, yet nutritious apple bites, probably substituting almond butter for the Sunbutter for our play group.

2. Give out healthier treats on Halloween night

For trick-or-treaters, you can add to their health by giving out non-food items like cute erasers, glow-in the dark bracelets, stickers and such.

Or if you still want to give out candy, consider passing out treats that are organic, lower in sugar, and free of artificial colors and flavors. This fun option that has just 6g of sugar (oops, I swear it wasn’t me who already sampled this open package!)

3. Prepare for trick-or-treating with balanced meals

For the days surrounding Halloween, you can help prepare your child’s body for the treats to come by making sure they eat 3 well-balanced meals.

What does this mean? See here for my specific dietary advice for kids.  Basically, I recommend school-age children get approximately:

  • 50% of calories from complex carbohydrates (mostly veggies & fruits with twice as many veggies, limit grains to 2-3 servings/day)
  • 25-30% protein (free-range organic meat, fish, eggs, whole-fat yogurt, nuts, seeds, quinoa, and beans)
  • 20-25% fat (olives, avocado, coconut, macadamia nuts, butter, egg yolk, fatty fish like salmon, flax oil)

Adding good fats to your child’s diet is critical to helping with blood sugar balance. It may also help keep them full longer, so they’re less likely to binge on candy.

You can also help manage blood sugar surges by taking a shot of apple cider vinegar diluted in water prior to each meal. It may be hard for children to accept, but they may try it if you say it’s necessary before eating candy.

4. Limit candy consumption

Last year I tried to be a cool mom by letting my son gorge on as much candy as he wanted when he returned home from trick or treating. And for the first time in his life he passed out during bedtime stories before 9pm. For us, this was a huge deal because my son has never been one to “crash” and has always been a night owl.

He thinks this story is hilarious. I think it’s horrifying. And I’m not going to do it again.

This year, we’re going to have a healthy, fatty snack after trick-or-treating and maybe just a few pieces of candy. And it will be given this way for a few days until we decide what to do with the rest of the candy. Perhaps that will work for your family too.

Now the #5 tip, what do you do with all that candy?

5. Give the candy away

It’s hard to fully embrace a healthy lifestyle if you’re eating handfuls of leftover Halloween candy each day. To resolve this problem, consider…

  • Making a deal with your child – I know some parents who trade money for their candy, or toys for candy. There’s also the Switch Witch who leaves a special gift in exchange for piles of candy.

  • Donate the candy – Operation Gratitude collects candy through their Halloween Candy Give-back for deployed troops & first responders. You can find a participating company, club, or dentist in your area at this link. Here in Redwood City, CA Roy Dental is one of the donation spots.

  • Dump it – my son usually forgets about the candy after a few days, so I just keep a handful and either throw the rest out (because really, candy is not good for anyone), or my husband takes it to work. This year, we’ll try to donate it.

How do you deal with the sugar overload during Halloween? Do you have any rules for your family about candy? We’d love to hear how you manage!  Please let us know your own tips for a healthy Halloween!

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Autumn, Gut Health, Kids Health, Recipes, Seasons, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Whole Food Diet, Women's health

Healthy Pumpkin Recipes for an Autumn Boost

pumpkin recipes

When it comes to seasonal foods of Autumn, I think most everyone in the U.S. would agree that pumpkin is at the top!  I have some healthy pumpkin recipes for you in this article that will satisfy your craving for this tasty squash.

I wrote earlier about my love of of Fall and how it’s necessary to change our activity level, diet, and lifestyle in order to stay healthy throughout the season. Incorporating pumpkin into your diet is a great way to adjust and also add some variety and flare to your family kitchen.

Nutritional Benefits of Pumpkin

In addition to being a yummy food, fleshy pumpkin pulp is a valuable remedy in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dietetics. Pumpkin has a cool and sweet nature according to TCM. Therefore, it can help with many “heat” or inflammatory conditions such as dysentery, diabetes, eczema, and stomachaches.

Pumpkin seeds are just as valuable as the pulp. They’re high in protein, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese, copper, vitamin E, and have many other nutritional benefits.

In TCM, pumpkin seed (called Nan gua zi) is an effective herbal remedy for prostate and bladder issues and is strong enough to expel stubborn parasites.

How to Incorporate Pumpkin Into Your Diet

If the thought of working with a whole pumpkin in the kitchen sounds too daunting, no worries. You can buy canned or boxed pumpkin  (BPA-free) instead and pumpkin seeds from most grocery stores. We like eating raw, sprouted seeds in our house, like this Go Raw brand.

But for the pulp, I prefer to roast sugar pie pumpkins to make pureé instead. It’s not as challenging as you may think, and can be super fun if you let the kids participate. You can eat pumpkin pureé as it as is, maybe seasoned with a little cinnamon and maple syrup. Or add it to yogurt, oatmeal, soup, or a pancake recipe. And of course, you can make pie!

Here’s some recipes your family with love…

Healthy Pumpkin Recipes

Easy Roasted Pumpkin Pureé based on recipe from Weelicious

Choose a healthy, blemish-free sugar pie pumpkin

  1. Heat oven to 400°F.
  2. Cut out a hole at the top of the pumpkin and just like you’re going to carve it, go ahead and scoop out the insides, placing the seeds into a bowl of water if choosing to save them for roasting separately.
  3. Place pumpkin on baking sheet and cook for 40 minutes.
  4. Fit top back on pumpkin and bake for another 20 minutes or until tender.
  5. Remove top again and cool until easy to handle.
  6. Scoop out the pumpkin and either mash, run it through a food mill, or pureé in a blender/food processor.

Use the  pureé in any of these Healthy Pumpkin Recipes:

Creamy Paleo Pumpkin Soup (dairy-free) by Tessa Domestic Diva

Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes (Gluten-free) by Paleo Grubs

Pumpkin Pie From Scratch by Food Foundation

20 Paleo Pumpkin Recipes by Against All Grain

And here’s a quick and easy recipe to roast pumpkin seeds:

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds by Allrecipes

Enjoy!!

 

Do you like eating pumpkin in season? Are there any recipes you think we should try? Please let us know in the comments!

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Autumn, Kids Health, Natural Remedies, Seasons, Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Wise Agree: Bundling Up Is Necessary To Prevent Colds

stay warm to stay healthy

Maybe you heard it from your grandmother, or maybe from a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, like me: you need to stay warm in cold weather to prevent illness!

Until fairly recently, medical doctors believed this was a folk myth – only microorganisms can get you sick, not the weather. And because people crowd closer together indoors when it’s cold, they are more likely to share germs. But researchers at Yale have confirmed now that colder weather (and a colder body) actually slows our immune response, making rhinovirus and other pathogens more likely to get us sick.

TCM practitioners have known this about cold weather for thousands of years. Here’s a greater explanation of why you should listen to them (and your grandmother) when it comes to preventing illness when the temperatures drop.

How Weather Influences Us From A TCM Perspective

Cold is considered one of the “6 Evils”, along with Wind, Heat/Fire, Summer Heat, Damp, and Dryness. This might sound a little wacky to a modern mind, but if you place yourself in a world thousands of years ago when TCM was first developed, it makes perfect sense.

This is simply the way the Chinese explained how humans can be negatively affected by changes in nature. And what is happening outside of us can influence our inner landscape. For our discussion here about illness during cold weather, we are focusing on Cold and Wind.

Cold

External cold can create inner cold from the TCM perspective. Cold is congealing (think of water forming ice). It stagnates our vital energy and inhibits free movement of blood (slowing our immune response). It can also lead to sluggishness and cause muscles to contract & joints to stiffen.

This is why we TCM practitioners suggest that you stay warm in cold weather!

It’s why we use heat instead of ice to circulate energy around stiff, painful muscles & joints.

It’s why we suggest you limit cold, raw foods to the hottest months of the year and eat well-cooked food as well as inherently warmer foods (like onion and garlic if tolerated), during the rest of the year.

And it’s also why we suggest drinking fluids at room temperature or warmer.

Wind

The ancient Chinese Text Nei Jing says that “100 diseases develop from Wind”.

External Wind carries with it microorganisms and allergens. It’s light, airy, changes quickly, and likes to combine with other influences.

When wind is created in the body by itself, we experience dizziness, gas, tinnitus, tremors, and convulsions, depending on where it shows up in the body. When combined with Cold, a condition called Wind-Cold is created, which presents as initial symptoms of the Common Cold: stiff neck, headache, runny nose, chills, and possibly a fever.

Stay Warm to Prevent Wind-Cold Illness

Wind carries Cold into the body (in addition to Heat, but we’re not going there today). Certain areas of the body are more vulnerable than others, particularly the head, neck, and upper back. There is even a point on the upper back called Wind Gate that we use to “release exterior wind” when someone gets a cold. It’s important to stop the “invasion” here before Cold progresses to the Lungs and causes further complications.

But remember, any experience of cold and shivering with any exposed body part can lower your immune response, so these are not the only areas we need to guard.

Staying cooped up indoors is not a healthy option. Getting fresh air is still a good idea.

So how do you prevent Wind-Cold invasion?

Simply…

  • Wear a scarf and hat
  • Cover up immediately when your pores are open, like after a sweaty gym workout or getting out of a hot bath
  • Wear socks or slippers in the house, especially on cold tile floors
  • Wear pants and shoes (seriously Californians!)

Of course there’s still a chance you can get sick.  Your body will be able to cope so much better if you continue to stay covered and warm while you heal from the cold with natural remedies.

In Conclusion

Suffering from the wind and cold is not fun, so why don’t we listen to our bodies and just cover up? I know you don’t want to get sick and you certainly don’t want your family members to get sick either.

Hopefully the information I shared here is enough to encourage you to cover up sufficiently (in addition to eating well and avoiding stress) to protect your immune system and prevent colds. Because not everyone exposed to rhinovirus and influenza gets sick – only those who have a weakened immune system.

Next week we’ll look at TCM treatments you can apply at home if you do actually get ill…

What do you think about keeping your self warm to prevent illness?  As always, I’d love to read your comments and have a discussion about this!

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Autumn, Chronic Disease, Kids Health, Natural Remedies, Seasons, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Why TCM Is The Best Complementary Approach For Relieving Childhood Asthma

childhood asthma

The beginning of the school year is a great time to  assess your kid’s health in preparation for the challenges that come in Autumn.  Sadly, I’m not just talking about the common cold, influenza, or temporary childhood diseases.  Asthma attacks have been shown to spike during the Fall, which can be scary for many parents.  I’m sharing with you some hope though, since this information about Chinese Medicine for Pediatric Asthma can dramatically improve your child’s health.

Children often become sick in the Fall because of stressors like:

  • Fluctuating hot-cold Fall weather can be difficult for their bodies to adjust to.
  • Being packed in small classrooms with infectious kids (there’s always at least one runny nose in the room, right?!)
  • Having compromised gut flora and depressed immune systems from a Summer full of sugar, high exposure to chlorine in pools, and a recent round of vaccinations.
  • Low vitamin D stores if they were constantly covered-up with sunscreen outside in the summer and were not getting dietary supplements.

The increase in asthma this time of year is usually explained by cold & flu viruses progressing to and irritating the lungs.  However, medical doctors also say that it’s because of colder, lung-constricting weather, and mold allergies.

Asthma Statistics, an Increasing Concern

Asthma is a really, really big deal, as parents who have a child with this condition know. Breath is life and heart breaking to watch your child gasping for it. Here’s some statistics that may interest you:

  • Asthma is on the rise and children are effected the most, according to CDC statistics (8.4% of children with asthma vs. 7.6% of adults in 2015).
  • It accounted for 1.6 million emergency room visits in 2013 alone.
  • Asthma attacks result in thousands of deaths each year.

Parents should be concerned about these statistics because asthma can develop at ANY time during adolescence. Just because your child doesn’t have it today doesn’t mean they won’t have it soon, especially if they already have an inflammatory condition like food/seasonal allergies, eczema, and chronic ear & sinus infections.

Also, the standard medicines used to manage asthma are clearly not enough to bring morbidity down. Though the prescribed medications are very effective for calming attacks, there are serious side effects. Bronchodilators are stimulating like caffeine, so they may cause increased heart rate, insomnia, and hyperactivity. Steroids, on the other hand, can cause immune suppression and growth delays.

There is another hope in managing asthma in children that is complementary to the current Western medical approach – an older system from the East that focuses more on the energetic as well as physiological imbalances that makes certain children more susceptible to asthma: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

TCM For Childhood Asthma

What makes TCM most attractive as a complementary approach for asthma is that it is individualized for the patient. Their symptoms and presentation are taken into account, along with other Chinese Medicine diagnostic cues.  This input then guides the practitioner to the appropriate treatment.

(It’s often an imbalance involving Lung energy, which is the organ/channel system that relates to Autumn!)

Specific acupoints are stimulated through gently-placed needles or noninvasive methods like laser, shonishin, or Tuina acupressure massage.  This balances the child’s energy, essentially teaching the body how to heal itself. From a biomedical perspective, this stimulation helps to reduce inflammation, reduce bronchospasm in the case of asthma, and bolster the immune system.

Chinese herbal remedies aid in the reduction of inflammation and bronchospasm too. Also, they address the root energetic imbalance that is present. So for pediatric asthma, herbs that tonify the Lungs, Spleen, and Kidney organs are usually prescribed.

Most TCM practitioners advise on whole food nutrition, which sustains the effects of acupuncture and herbs and sets your child up for a lifetime of healthy eating based on their personal constitution.

Skilled practitioners can also teach your child relaxation techniques that will keep the airway relaxed when your child feels an attack coming on. They can have their inhaler handy, but may not need to use it!

Here’s a wonderful article with greater detail: Childhood Asthma – The Traditional Chinese Medicine Approach

Asthma sufferers have reported that TCM treatments result in:

  • Symptom relief – deeper breathing, less wheezing, greater physical endurance
  • A decrease in asthma attacks
  • Less dependence on medications

Next Steps For Healing Your Child’s Asthma Naturally

If your child has asthma, seeing a TCM practitioner is one of the best things you can do for them!  If your child doesn’t have asthma, but is at risk, they can receive wellness treatments that will keep them strong and prevent asthma from happening in the first place. The time to help them is now.

Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments! If you need personal help, know that I provide free 15 minute consultations where we can discuss your family’s needs or I can help connect you with a TCM Practitioner in your area. Well wishes to you all…

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Boost Energy, Chronic Disease, Gut Health, Kids Health, Thyroid Health, Whole Food Diet, Women's health

The One Surprising Thing You Need To Add To Your Diet

There’s one food you need to add to your diet to maintain optimum health, which you might not prioritize right now. That food is high quality FAT. This may be surprising to you if you only get dietary advice from doctors who align with the United States Department of Agriculture, who don’t recognize the importance of fat.  You might be wondering:

  • Which fats are healthy?

  • Which fat is good, saturated or unsaturated?

  • What are examples of good fats?

In this article, I’ll answer these questions and teach you how fat is an essential nutrient that can give your health a big boost!

 

How Fat Brought Me Back To Health

For most of my life I ate the popular high-carbohydrate (whole-grain centered), moderate protein, low-fat diet to manage my weight and sustain health, as my doctors and health magazines suggested. However, even though I was committed to what I assumed was a balanced diet, I wasn’t healthy. I had terrible digestion, I had acne, and I started to gain weight. I finally woke up and started to question this dietary approach when diagnosed with Hashimoto’s (autoimmune) thyroiditis in my early 30’s.

Since that time, I’ve made many lifestyle & dietary changes that have helped to manage symptoms. Transitioning away from vegetarianism and committing to a traditional whole food diet made the most dramatic change. This included adding more fat to my diet every day. Not just any fat, but SATURATED FAT. Yes, the kind that the American Heart Association is still blaming on clogged arteries and heart disease.

More on that in a moment, but back to my story…

In this last year, I’ve gradually increased the amount of high quality fat in my diet. It’s what my body is craving the most! Currently, I’m exploring a combo Autoimmune Paleo / Ketogenic Diet. According to my last blood panels, I’m closer to remission (and my pre-baby shape!) than ever. And by the way, my blood pressure and cholesterol are well within normal limits.

Current Research on the Importance of Fat

I’m a huge fan of fat, as are many holistically-minded people these days. There is a ton of research out there disproving that saturated fat causes heart disease.

Check out this article, where Dr. Aseem Malhotra, consultant cardiologist at London’s Lister Hospital says (based on meta-analysis, review of previous studies, and personal experience):

“This idea that dietary saturated fats build up in the coronary arteries is complete unscientific nonsense.”

And yet the AHA is holding on tight to it’s claims in a recent health report which again urges us to avoid saturated fats and replace them with unsaturated fats. They deny the importance of fat.  Coconut oil in particular was targeted as being unhealthy. I will not refute this claim here myself because others have already done a beautiful job:

Dr. Mercola – American Heart Association Renders Itself Obsolete With 1960’s Dietary Advice On Coconut Oil

Dr. Axe – Is Coconut Oil Healthy (The American Heart Association Doesn’t Think So)

This thorough article on coconut oil shows us how versatile and important it is in our diets and lifestyle!

52+1 Reasons to Love Coconut Oil

 

Fat is essential in our diets! Here’s more on the benefits of saturated fats in particular since their importance is the most misunderstood.

10 Important functions of saturated fats in human biology:

  1. Half of our cell membranes are made up of saturated fatty acids, giving them structure and integrity.
  2. Fat contains loads of vitamin A, D, E, and K and fat is needed to absorb these fat-soluble nutrients into the small intestine.
  3. Fat and cholesterol are building blocks of brain tissue and needed continuously to maintain function.
  4. Saturated fats protect the liver from alcohol, pharmaceuticals, and other toxins.
  5. Kids need fat in order to develop properly. Nutritional dwarfing and inadequate weight gain have been observed in children placed on low-fat diets.
  6. Researchers have shown that children oxidize fat quicker than adults and therefore need more. Even the American Family Physician (who is more in-line with government dietary suggestions) cautions against limiting fat and cholesterol in children less than 2 years old.
  7. Increasing dietary fat while decreasing carbohydrates (favoring low-carb vegetables instead of grains) lowers blood sugar and insulin levels and also promotes healthy weight by balancing metabolism.
  8. Cholesterol in foods with a lot of saturated fat is needed to make bile salts, steroid hormones (progestagens, glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, androgens, and estrogens), and vitamin D.
  9. Eating fat keeps you satiated, reducing overeating. Try it and see for yourself!
  10. Saturated fats support healthy thyroid function by making receptors more available to use T3 thyroid hormone.

Dietary fats are definitely not equal though! The infographic below is what I know to be true about what we should indulge in and what we should avoid.

 

Good vs. Bad Fats

The concern with “bad” fats is that most are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which have unstable chemical structures that leave them vulnerable to damage from heat, light, and oxygen.

Damaged PUFAs = Oxidation = Inflammation = Chronic issues like cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease, some cancers, and much more.

Also, PUFAs are made up of Omega-6 fatty acids. Our ancestors ate diets with 1:1 ratios of Omega-3 to Omega-6 oils. However, modern Americans typically eat greater than 10X more Omega-6 than Omega-3. The imbalance causes inflammation (and the diseases mentioned above) in addition to damaging of gut flora.

This article has a very thorough explanation about the dangers of PUFAs if you’d like to learn more.

So is fat healthy? Yes! Nature is awesomely perfect and we were designed to eat natural fats, not those manufactured in a laboratory, and only those that don’t spoil quickly.

I hope this post gives you a greater appreciation of fat in our diets and that you recognize it’s importance. And if it makes sense to you to eat more fat, then please do! Your gut, brain, and hormones with thank you! If you’re not sure how you feel about fat, saturated in particular, then I hope this post was thought-provoking and you look into it further.

I’d love to know how you feel about the role of fat in human diets and about animal vs. plant fats. Also, are the amounts/types you’re consuming working for you? Please let us know in the comments!

benefits of fat
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BrandyFalconLAc

Brandy Falcon, L.Ac., E-RYT

“I help families manage modern health challenges naturally by connecting them back to traditional wisdom and healing practices.”

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