The Last Resort

Staci referred me to this website. People often ask me about where to start to get healthy, or how to feed their family right. This article has the steps - the place to start. The author is very no-nonsense, and he doesn't really tolerate whining. :) I've only read a couple of articles on the website so far, but what I've read goes right along with what I've learned in the 11 years I've been living like this.

Note: Upon further reading of this site, I've noticed that the guy is also a HUGE conspiracy theorist. Just ignore that part. ;)

Circadian Rhythm

I found this article very interesting today. It gives tons of info and then says our bodies are made to sleep from 10pm to 6am. It also says to sleep in a pitch black room. I've heard these things before, but in light of the fact that Nick and I often go to bed late and drag around the whole next day, it's pretty interesting to me. Anybody up for an experiment?

This is pretty weird

Have you seen this? Little girls are going through puberty at ridiculously young ages. The alternative medicine community blames it on endocrine disruptors, chemicals in all kinds of cleaners, as well as pesticides in meat and produce. Pretty creepy, and yet another reason to go green with cleaners and buy organic!

Colloidal Silver

Here's an article about colloidal silver that I found interesting. We use it all the time against all kinds of sickness, and it works great. Each of my kids has only been on antibiotics once in their lives because of this stuff. There are many people who say it's dangerous and they refuse to use it because of what happened to this guy, but if you scroll down and read Dr. Mercola's comments, you'll see the truth. :)

Another headline

The U.S. maternal death rate is higher than in European countries. Interesting. Even more interesting is the list they give of the cause of death.

"The major direct causes of U.S. pregnancy-related deaths are blood clots, hemorrhage, complications of medical conditions, and eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, which are marked by dangerously high blood pressure."

How many of these deaths could be prevented by a change in our diets? I already talked about eclampsia last week. Hemorrhage is scary, but in theory should be solved with proper vitamin intake and absorption. Many medical conditions are a result of poor overall health...

I'm sure we cannot keep ALL of these from happening, but obviously, even with our high-tech hospitals, we are doing something wrong. After all, we are all humans. If other humans are experiencing a better rate, let's figure out what they're doing and DO it.

And, although it wasn't mentioned... dare I bring up homebirth here? Many of those same European countries do homebirths for all routine pregnancies. Hmmm...

Diet for moms

Betcha thought this post was about how to lose weight. Well, it's not.

Kim at Starry Sky Ranch posted a series a while back about Home Management Notebooks. This, I have found, is a secret of moms with lotsa kids. They don't keep it all in their heads - they write out everything they know. :)

Anyway, this morning I was looking through the info I downloaded from her. One of the things she included was a "WAP diet for pregnant and nursing moms."

Before copying it here, I want to make a couple of observations. First, midwives all over know that this diet keeps pregnant women from getting eclampsia. The high blood pressure issues that cause doctors to induce labor to "keep the mom and baby safe," (even though these inductions often end in c-section, but that's another post) these issues can be solved through just a couple of days with a diet like this. You must have protein and fat to make a healthy baby. Nursing is a similar story.

I ate similarly to this during both pregnancies, gained about 30-35 pounds both times, and lost it easily by four or five months postpartum, partially thanks to breastfeeding. I had no swelling whatsoever, and my blood pressure never went above 118/80 ish.

So, here's the diet, straight from Kim's download:

Diet for Pregnant and Nursing Mothers

Cod Liver Oil to supply 20,000 IU vitamin A and 2000 IU vitamin D per day

1 quart (or 32 ounces) whole milk daily, preferably raw and from pasture-fed cows

4 tablespoons butter daily, preferably from pasture-fed cows

2 or more eggs daily, preferably from pastured chickens

Additional egg yolks daily, added to smoothies, salad dressings, scrambled eggs, etc.

3-4 ounces fresh liver, once or twice per week

Fresh seafood, 2-4 times per week, particularly wild salmon, shellfish and fish eggs

Fresh beef or lamb daily, always consumed with the fat

Oily fish or lard daily, for vitamin D

2 tablespoons coconut oil daily, used in cooking or smoothies, etc.

Lacto-fermented condiments and beverages

Bone broths used in soups, stews and sauces

Soaked whole grains

Fresh vegetables and fruits

AVOID:

• Trans fatty acids (e.g., hydrogenated oils)
• Junk foods
• Commercial fried foods
• Sugar /White flour
• Soft drinks
• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• Drugs (even prescription drugs)

Sunshine reduces breast cancer risk

Yet another reason to forgo the sunscreen...

It's cloudy outside

And Hannah's watching Elmo. Again.

I have to teach a piano lesson today. Just the one. The only one I've taught in three weeks. Nobody wants to take lessons during the summer.

We all have runny noses. It's clear, so hopefully it won't be a big deal. (I'm sorry, was that more than you wanted to know?)

Somehow I need to grocery shop today. The co-op we go to closes at 6. Nick gets home at 6:30ish. Therefore, I have to pull off this trip every week. It is a challenge. Audrey goes in the Bjorn and Hannah in the cart, or Audrey in the cart and Hannah runs around the store. Either way, I'm wiped out after a 20 minute trip. Either choice has its ups and downs. I love bringing the girls with me when I run errands. I feel like it helps them learn. But it sure requires patience and energy from me!

I have felt terrible for the past several days. For some reason any time I'm under stress, my digestion shuts down on me and my stomach is...not happy. I nurse myself with a combination of digestive enzymes, DGL, and probiotics. The silliest thing about it, is the only "stress" I'm currently under is my own thoughts. Everything is good. Somebody tell my stomach that, please.

Tomorrow we're going to the lake again. Should be fun!

OK, I guess I'll quit procrastinating now. Have a lovely day.

Sunblock, Vitamin D and Cancer

We're told all the time to slather our kids and ourselves in sunblock to avoid certain death from skin cancer. I have not done a ton of research on this, so take it with a grain of salt, but this article and the video it links to are very interesting contradictory information. Think about it - a hundred years ago they had no sunblock. They lived in the sun, working farms, etc. They didn't die from cancers - they died from farm accidents or illnesses like fevers. What's the deal with that?

Now, obviously there is some risk of TOO much sun. We don't want heatstroke and we don't want peeling and blistering sunburns. That would just be stupid. On the other hand, I personally don't want to wear makeup that has sunblock every day or cover my kids in it every time they step outside. We have to have some exposed skin that receives sunshine on it so that our bodies can produce vitamin D. Seriously, it's hard enough to get enough sun here in Colorado because of the cold...

C-sections

I've posted too much of this kind of thing lately - I'm starting to get bored with them. :) I really believe this information is important though. I had a c-section with Hannah, but would never do it again unless I had another baby whose life was in danger like hers was. Women who choose to deliver their babies that way baffle me, frankly. Not only do you have a newborn, but you've just had major surgery as well! I had what the midwife said was a rather painful, difficult homebirth with Audrey, but it would choose that a hundred times over before having even one c-section. Plus, as this article talks about, the risks multiply many times over with a c-section. It's not the perfectly safe procedure people want to think it is! Ok, I'm done now.

Elderberry and flu

This is something fairly new to me, but I got an email from an email list about it today. Here's an article about how Elderberry can help you recover from the flu within two to three days. I also gave it to Hannah when she woke up with what sounded like croup one morning. She never coughed like that again - it was gone by the next night. What I have cost about $20, but seems well worth getting to have on hand if someone in your house gets the flu!

And while I'm on the subject, this article about Tamiflu and flu vaccines sums up what I believe about those. Wash hands, carry wipes in the car to use after going places, if you do get sick use Oscillococcinum and elderberry as soon as you feel it come on. These are safe even for very little kids at 1/3 the adult dose.

OK. Done with my soapbox for the day.