Swine Flu Shot? Why you should say no....

This article confirms my reasons for concern--untested vaccinations are a risk. And swine flu, in my opinion, is not worth that risk.

Now you might think it's because I haven't dealt with the swine flu, but as I type this, my oldest child is on her third day of suspected swine flu. Actually, she's already back to acting normal today. :) So, now it's just a matter of stay isolated until the fever has been gone 48 hours.

You see, my kids illnesses usually come in the form of a 1 day fever with little to no symptoms (other than the desire to sleep and a bit of ick.) Since we changed our diet and got chemicals out of our house, the girls immunity has been great. So the dreaded swine flu has taken 3 days instead of 1, which seems a long time for us. But her immunity is being built. And once it's over, it's done.

But the risks with vaccinations often involve long-term problems. In fact, the 1976 version of the swine flu vaccine killed more people than the flu. Not a success. Hopefully the medical community will not make such a bad mistake the second time around, but we won't know the results until after the damage is done, therefore, I encourage you to risk an illness instead of an unknown intervention. God made our bodies to deal with illness especially if we take care of bodies.

Traditional Foods Diet backed by Extensive Research

This video gives the research that changed my diet! I now eat a more traditional diet and am even working on some fermented foods. Enjoy.

One cookbook and only one

After recommending Sue Gregg cookbooks as a great place to start, I was asked which one would I pick. Hard choice, but great question.

I would pick of these 3:

• Main Dishes
  
• Breakfasts
  
• Meals in Minutes
  

My version of Main Dishes is not converted to the Nourishing Tradition style (it may be further updated now), but includes a booklet (which you could download from her site for free) that tells how to convert recipes. The other 2 are already converted. The Main dishes IS whole food--just not soaked rice. And it's got charts to help you find recipes you want (kid friendly or low fat or vegetarian or low cost). It is probably the one I'd get (I think)

The Meals in Minutes is designed to fill your freezer, but can be eaten as a regular meal too. If your interested in making ahead, I'd get this. We like pancakes for dinner, so the breakfast one helps, but it's not probably the first one I'd get b/c dinner is the big cooking meal. BUT it is probably my favorite one b/c it helped me get the soaking grain stuff down.

Maybe that will help someone else, too! Happy cooking. :)

Dry skin brushing

I just came across this incredibly thorough article on dry skin brushing. It motivates me to do it more!!! Dry skin brushing helps not only with surface problems of skin and cellulite, but benefits your body so much, it has even made nausea disappear for me. I got my brush from T-Tapp and use the great directions that came with the brush, but I'm fascinated by all the detailed information. Enjoy!

http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/HealingTechniques/Dry_Brushing_Technique.htm

Should Christians Use Alternative Medicine?

I'm feeling philosophical! Watch out....

There are a lot of people in the natural health field who do not believe in God. But they are also a lot of Christians who see the goodness of God's creation and wonder why we need to do things with chemicals when herbs used properly (such as in pure and concentrated form) can do the same things. Some herbs or natural remedies are ineffective b/c they are not in the proper form--they may lose potency when heated, for example. And so people try a home remedy and give up on it. But I have seen things that work amazingly and think about how God gave that property to that plant. I believe God provided for us when I see we don't need to fight the body to help it fight illness (such as meds for every fever). If a treatment is not based in something God created but rather in something mystic/spiritual, I would have nothing to do with it as it contradicts my personal convictions. My experience with natural remedies is that most of them are more science/nature based than it is spiritual. Of course, it could be that I find that b/c that's what I'm looking for!

But I see the glory of God in his provision for our ailing bodies. And I see a lot of our suffering caused by our cultures decision to eat man-made things instead of the natural food God provided. (see this post) God truly is a good provider. And at times when we do suffer, we have the opportunity to find greater pleasure in God, not in our circumstance.

I haven't had as many practical thoughts to share here lately (I have so much already on the blog), but would love to answer questions, so feel free to ask. :)

My hair secret for baby fresh hair.

I kissed my daughter's sweet head. There's nothing like the smell of a baby. But wait--she's 7! And she does truly have that sweet baby smell. Let me explain.

I'm about to reveal a big secret. I don't shampoo my hair. I found out that shampoo does more damage than good. Not only are most the chemicals toxic, but my hair is so much better when I skip the shampoo. It has more body and shine and doesn't need anything sprayed on it.

I know, you are remembering the last time you skipped washing your hair and it was not pretty. Do you know why? B/c your scalp is used to replacing the oils you strip off of it. Don't strip them off and your scalp will adjust. If you jump into this, you may have to go through a yucky transition time. I started it gradually and almost accidentally. I had a season of sickness that I wasn't showering as much b/c of low energy. So, my hair washing was spaced out. Then I tried just rinsing with water sometimes instead of shampoo. Eventually I just ditched the shampoo. Now I use a cup of water with a "swig" of raw apple cider vinegar (maybe a Tbs.?) as a rinse. I use plain water on my hair before and after. Not everyone uses the ACV but I have scalp issues if I don't. (If I could get my general health under control that would probably disappear too.) I can tell if I go too long without washing it, even if I'm "only" using water. It's not greasy, but it doesn't lay right.

So, I decided if it's good enough for me, why not try it on my kids. I don't give them daily baths anyway. And after a couple weeks, I noticed the baby fresh smell! WOW! Could I sue Johnson and Johnson for all the lost years?? Guess not, but I'm sold on the free shampoo--water! Think of all the money you can save on shampoo for a whole family for a year. Cool, huh?

By the way, if you want to search out more details on how people use vinegar and baking soda as they back off shampoo, you'll want to search for "no poo". Lovely phrase, huh. I also noticed my hair dries a lot faster after a shower. Less need for hair drying is healthy for your hair too! The only thing I need to figure out now, is how to find time to wash my hair when I don't get up before my kids.

Let me know if you try it. In fact, if your brave, you can share before and after pictures!