MAH March 2013 - Nettle- A Natural Antihistamine

Image by James Bowe

It's March already and with the changing calendar comes the changing weather. This year the temperatures have been all over the map in our area. We can go from a 70 degree sunny day to a forecast of 6 inches of snow in less than 4 days. With such fluctuations in temperatures and weather patterns, the plants and animals are clueless as to what is going on. Buds are forming in our yard. And allergies are starting to pop up all around.

I've Heard About Nettle

One of the herbs I've heard about in the past regarding allergies is Nettle. I've always been curious but just haven't taken the time to educate myself. With the impending arrival of another person in our home, I've been trying to broaden my knowledge of holistic and natural healing. I knew that there was nettle in my pregnancy tea blend, but I had no idea why.  So, I decided to dig further.

Read the rest of the article HERE!

The Girls and FCLO

Drew and I have been taking fish oils for a while. There is a lot of information out there about FCLO and its benefits. Modern Alternative Mama and Modern Alternative Health both have great information in their archives. Some believe it, some don't. I have seen definite improvements in my health and my family's overall health with the addition of FCLO to our routines. Sometimes I taste the "fishyness" when I swallow and sometimes I don't. Our immune systems have been amazing since we started taking them and we had been kicking around the idea of starting the girls on them for a while. Paired with our shift towards Real Food and healthier living, FCLO was a logical supplemental step for all of us.

After the Christmas Crud took out both girls and Drew, we decided that while their diet and supplements helped to fight off sickness quickly, they needed an extra boost to keep them well. We ordered more FCLO from Green Pastures for us and added a bottle of oil for the girls.  I was worried that the girls wouldn't want to take it or would fight the taste. We decided to get the liquid cinnamon oil for the girls because it offered the best taste and was well received in other children by what we read online.

We also did NOT call it Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Seriously, who really wants to put THAT in their mouth. When I approached the dinner table with the dosage for the first time, Miss Moo asked me what I was telling her to take. I told her the first thing that popped into my head, "Magic Medicine." My thinking was twofold. One, she was getting over being sick at the time, so she equated medicine to making her feel better, not to tasting badly. I also know that my girls love anything magical, so medicine that would magically make her better was a win/win.

That was the first week of January. This week marks the last week of February. Both girls still take their magic medicine. Moo reminds me when I have failed to give it to her. Everyone has recovered and stayed healthy despite being exposed to many sick friends and family- some who have even had the flu.  I certainly don't think it's the FCLO alone, but I do know that it has helped.

So, if you've been curious, give it a try. You will be surprised at all the benefits you receive as you change your diet and your lifestyle.

I'm New to the Neti Pot

Although I managed to escape the funk from getting into my ears or my chest, I didn't escape congestion. This ailment was probably fed by the fact that I'm pregnant and have a higher production of mucus that usual due to heightened estrogen (and other hormones) levels. Yippee.  Luckily, I had a scheduled visit with my fantastic midwife and I was able to tell her all about the germs in my house and the steps I had taken to fight them off.

A Quick Recap

I tried to do all I could, especially when I wasn't at home with my medicine cabinet, to stave off any infections or horrible viruses from zapping me and Baby Boy.

• Emergen-C: 1,000 mg , 2x a day since the onset of the girls' and Drew's symptoms.
• Kombucha: One bottle twice a day -  I increased this by adding the second bottle.
• Zinc: I was taking a zinc supplement but it seemed to create some nausea so I stopped after two days.
• Elderberry syrup: 2 tsp, 2x a day.
• Pregnancy Tea: All kinds of goodness, including nettle and peppermint. (You can get some from Totem Herbal.)
• Regular, daily multi-vitamins: We use doTerra.
• Good, real food.
• Resting and staying off my feet when I could.

My Midwife's Suggestion

I mentioned the concern that I had over the change in color I was experiencing in my nasal discharge, shall we say. I told her all I had been doing to fight off the funk and my overall healthy status other than my congestion. I asked for any additional tips she had and she suggested a Neti Pot.

The Neti Pot

Image by epidenver via Compfight.

A Neti Pot is a little, ceramic pot that looks like a tea pot that has been stretched. It is used to irrigate the sinuses and clear them of any congestion and debris. You use it by mixing up a solution of salt and warm water and pour the solution up one nostril into the sinuses and out the other side. Gently blowing can rid any additional clumps that were loosened. Then the process is repeated on the other side. 

This process is very different than a saline spray that is sometimes used when experiencing congestion. A saline spray is good for moisturizing nasal passage when they are congested and temporarily relieving symptoms. However, they do nothing to remove the mucus or blockages that are present in the sinuses. 

Neti Pots can be used therapeutically. Regular use will remove mucus and prevent bacteria from growing and causing infections. It's use is also helpful in preventing ear infections. Clearing out blockages in the sinuses prevents anything from backing up into the ears and breeding bacteria. Much like hand washing to get rid of germs and prevent the flu, Neti Pots wash the germs out of your sinuses and prevent the funk.

I've Never Done This Before

I've never been a fan of anything going in my nose. That's a serious understatement.  I'd fight my mom about nasal and saline sprays as a child to the point I'd make myself sick. Yet, here I was as an adult, purchasing a device to pour a salt and water solution through both sides of my nose.

I read websites and the instructions- several times. I climbed into the warm tub and filled the Neti Pot. I added my salt and mixed it. Then I stared at the pot for a few minutes. Here I was a 32 year old mother of 2.6, but I was afraid of the Neti Pot sitting on the side of the tub. I took a deep breath, placed the spot in my nostril, got a good fit, and tipped my head down and to the side.

What Happened?

At first, nothing- I wasn't tipping my head down enough so nothing was happening. I relaxed my face and tipped my head a little further down the left. The warm salt water started running up my nose and into my sinuses. It felt similar to getting water in your nose but not nearly as painful because it was flowing through, not being inhaled. It wasn't nearly as horrible as I thought it would be.

I felt things in my head loosening. Some water/discharge mixture did flow/fall into my mouth and I'd spit that out. After using half the solution, I switched and cleaned the other side. The process was a lot easier now that I knew what to do. I emptied the pot, bent over, and gently blew through my nose to get everything out that was loosed but not removed. 

When it was all over, I felt like my head was 20 pounds lighter.  My ears, which had felt stuffy for the last two days, seemed to be loosening. Over the next hour or so I would get the sensation that my nose was running, so I'd blow it and get a lot more grossness out that I anticipated. My cough from drainage stopped. I had no problems breathing clearly and that distant sick taste in the back of my throat disappeared.

Moving Forward

I plan to use the Neti Pot daily for the next two weeks to be sure that I have washed out all possible bacteria from my sinuses and allowed my ears to drain completely. I will then use the Neti Pot every 2-3 days as a preventative measure to keep things clear and germ/bacteria free. I've also done a little bit of research on naturally treating sinus infections and will be getting some garlic supplements to start taking. I will be staying on those through the end of the pregnancy in order to prevent the development of Group B Strep, which we'll discuss soon.


Have you ever treated your sinus congestion or infection naturally? What did you find most helpful?

Mama, Naturally

Ever since I went through my great weight loss (which I still need to blog about), I've been slowly and steadily cleaning up my act. Once I met and married Drew, it became  a lot easier to change the way we lived because he is so supportive of a natural, real lifestyle. We started with food and once we had children our awareness spread.

Sometimes I am really hard on myself and think that I don't do enough to promote natural living in my children. Then I realized that I do more that I did as a child as does Drew. So I thought I'd take a minute to look at what we DO and WHY it's so important.

The Kids

Miss Roo sleeping in a GroVia AIO.

• Cloth Diapers: Both girls have been mostly cloth diapered since birth. I say mostly because there have been times, travel, sickness, moving, when I just haven't been able to cloth diaper due to time, facilities, and sanity. The girls have been cloth diapered 95% of the time since they were born. Baby Boy will be as well. We cloth diaper not only to cut down on waste- more specifically HUMAN waste- in landfills, but to keep our children free of diaper rashes, harsh chemicals on their skin, and cleaner in clothes. I have never experienced a blow out in a cloth diaper. I don't have to slather my girls with ointment at every diaper change. I don't have to buy diapers every other week or once a month. I just do a load of diapers every 3 days.

Wooden eggs dyed for the girls' Easter baskets.

• More Natural Toys: I haven't found a way to completely escape plastic toys. The girls receive gifts from family and friends. They also have particular things that they gravitate towards- pirates and their ships, Minnie Mouse, farm animals. Each time we purge and donate I try to slip more and more of the plastic stuff into the bags. I try to make gifts for them at every holiday that are cloth or wooden. Our toy kitchen is stocked with felt and wooden food and their dishes are wooden or Green Toys. Our trains and their tracks are wooden as are our fantastic set of building blocks.

• Less Toxins: We don't use traditional bubble baths anymore. We use Dr. Bronner's baby wash for all our bathtub fun. We have wooden and metal toys in the tub. Our toothpastes have ingredients I can pronounce. Their supplements aren't filled with sugar. I get probioitics in them from foods. The juice they drink- with filtered water added - is just that -JUICE.

The Parents

• No 'Poo: I've wondered for years what exactly mainstream shampoo was doing to my hair and my scalp. I spent some time researching it and learned it is essentially detergent. I decided to come off of it. And then I got pregnant and my hormones went NUTS. Everything I had been able to predict about my hair and manage with baking soda and vinegar wash went out the window. I am not using and Aloe based shampoo which I finishing making this little boy. Drew is completely on the no 'Poo routine with baking soda maybe once a week and he's doing great.
• No Deodorant: We don't walk around stinking, we've just changed what we use. We were using Thai Deodorant Stones but I was still experiencing weird reactions to them. We then moved to alcohol while I did further research. After a few weeks, I switched to Milk of Magnesia. Plain 'Ole MOM. I have had no irritation, no sweating, no odor. I use a nickel size under each arm and let it dry before I dress. I spent around $2.50 on a bottle that will last us at least a year.
• No Chemical Skin Care: I used to use all kinds of mass marketed skin care systems. Any time I would miss them for more than a day, my skin would go haywire. I started looking into what some of the chemicals in those cleansers and moisturizers did. Some chemicals in well known skin care lines are used to tan leather. I was done. I now use natural soap and tea tree oil as a cleanser and an oil cleanse 2-3 times a week. 

The Family

Local, organic, from scratch chicken and chili stew.

• Food: We are on a real food diet now for 95% of our food. I say 95% because I am constantly learning and changing. We eat local, grass fed beef, lamb, pork, and chicken. We buy local and organic produce whenever we can. I try to shop the perimeter of the store- produce, meat, dairy, bakery - when at all possible. Some things I have not tried to make yet - bread, noodles, sprouted flour - but I do try to make things I always used to buy - diced tomatoes, sauces, soups. Processed foods are disappearing from our house and being replaced by homemade goods on a weekly basis.
• Laundry Detergent: I now make a powder detergent. It isn't chemical free, but it's low chemical, low suds. I use bar soap, borax, and washing powder in a 1:1 ratio. This item is one of those things that I plan to tweak to lower the chemicals even more, but for now this is far down as I've gotten the mixture. Fabric softeners have left our home as have dryer sheets. I do occasionally use the Lavender sachet's from Trader Joe's to lightly scent our clothes, towels, and sheets.
• Cleaning Products: I use On Guard cleaner from doTerra and Dr. Bronner's for most of our cleaning needs. Peppermint is my Bronner's of choice for general cleaning due to peppermint's antibacterial qualities illustrated in laboratory studies. I do use Clorox wipes when we are all sick in the bathrooms, but otherwise, mainstream cleaners are disappearing. For cutting grease, I use cleaners with a citrus base or make some heated lemon water to scrub through the gook. 

One of our vintage pans.

• Cast Iron: We are slowly acquiring and upgrading to traditional, antique cast iron and enameled modern cast iron. Have you ever noticed little pieces of your non-stick pan were missing? Guess where those went while you were cooking? Modern cast iron isn't as good as the vintage/antique stuff because it is simply cast -not hand turned or smoothed. Drew has become very versed in all things cast iron and has been getting us great pieces to cook with in traditional ways. He's my go to guy.
• Supplements: FCLO, multivitamins, Kombucha, probiotics, essential oils as medicines.

Moving Forward
There are countless additional changes I'd like to make in our home. I'd like our home to have less stuff in it and focus on all aspects of our family. I'd love to establish and maintain a better rhythm. I'd like to have a small garden to grow a few veggies and fruits seasonally. I'd also like to focus more time on my kids and ways to make their world a more inspirational, natural place to learn and evolve. 

As I look at 2013 spread out before me and all the changes it will bring, my only resolution is to be true to myself in my desire to Mama, naturally.


What is your biggest desire this year? Where are the biggest places you find yourself successfully Mama-ing naturally?

Forget Resolutions – Develop 5 Easy Habits – THIS MONTH! - MAH January 2013

Image by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton

Today’s Daily Tip: Start with just one or two goals; if you have too many, you will be less likely to keep up with them.

Every year the 1st of January looms in the distance and taunts me as it comes closer and closer.  Each year I have made resolutions to lose weight, or get it shape, or travel more, or NOT resolve to do anything. I begin the year with gusto and by the end of February I am right along with everyone else – back where I started from on January 1.  So, I’ve thrown resolutions OUT the window! This year I am not making resolutions but developing 5 healthy habits to improve my life and health. Today is January 3rd, and it takes 28 days to form a solid habit. So join me and be on your way by the end of the month!

Head on over to read the rest and see what other great health tips we have!

Modern Alternative Health - October 2012

It’s Flu Season And We DON’T Hand Sanitize

October 17, 2012 By   Malissa   |   Uncategorized  |   Comments: 2

Image by iEatYanYans‘.

Prior to Miss Moo’s birth, I thoroughly stocked our then town house with hand sanitizer. She was born during the H1N1 flu season and the hospital attached to our birth center had managed to terrify us about that strain of flu beyond belief. As the flu season carried on and no one we knew got sick, I began to relax about the plastic bottles stationed around the house and pondered exactly what slathering my hands with their contents was doing to us.

So, What’s In The Stuff Anyway?

Most hand sanitizers are essentially hand soap diluted in a large amount of alcohol – somewhere between 60 and 90 percent depending on the brand and size of the bottle. An alcohol content that large can lead to serious health hazards, particularly for children; levels that high can easily cause alcohol poisoning. Small children are at greater risk due to their size and propensity to place toys and their hands in their mouths.

Having the bottles accessible to children also pose threats. Many are  brightly colored and scented to please the user and in turn, interested little hands grab them to use in play. Using hand sanitizers frequently with children may mean they have no fear of it as a chemical and feel they can responsibly use it in correct amounts. Amounts over the size of a pea could lead to alcohol poisoning  in young children. Symptoms of alcohol poisoning can include nausea, dizziness, and headaches. Alcohol poisoning is a serious condition that must be treated to immediately to avoid long term health effects.

 To read the rest, head on over!

Sometimes, we eat junk.

I'd like to report that we eat 3 squares a day with two snacks, every day. I'd also like to have you believe that we always eat organic and never eat junk.

 But, that would be a big fat lie.

We DO eat junk. I am sure there are households who don't, and I envy them. But alas, I'm human and I can't even do 1/2 of it all well, much less all of it.  Sometimes, we eat junk.


 By junk, I don't mean just food I don't make, but it's also food that's not good for us. Miss Moo loves Cici's and prior to our realization that she was gluten sensitive she earned trips there from time to time. We eat at Chick-Fil-A much more than we should - my guess is once a week there for a while. And I haven't mastered Mexican meals like the joint 1.5 miles away dishes up - so we eat there when I really, really want Pollo Fundido.

So, yes. We eat junk. I strive to keep the junk to one thing a day. Moo found a Berenstain Bears book at the library that she fell in love with and has been added to our library at home. She can explain the difference between good food and junk food thanks to our efforts and Papa Bear. If she asks for more junk in a day when she has had a marshmallow or yogurt, she responds correctly to being asked what too much junk can do to her body. That helps me feel like less of a real food failure.

I have begun making meal plans and this has helped me tremendously. Going on one big trip to the store once a week is much better than a trip daily for dinner goods. It also help Drew to know what is going on with dinner when he starts his work day. Planning lunches and dinners also gives me a break in planning leftover days. It's a system that works here and you might consider using at your own house.

I don't plan breakfasts because the girls and I are grazers in the mornings. Some days fruit, some days toast and cream cheese, it just depends on the day. Lunch and dinner are planned for daily and the plan stays on my fridge.  Here is an example of a week's meal plan.


MONDAY:
Lunch  - pizzas, apple sauce, carrots
Dinner - Spaghetti, salad, cucumbers. watermelon

NOM!

TUESDAY:
Lunch - grilled ham and cheese, Veggie Booty, bananas
Dinner - Shrimp and grits, salad, cantaloupe

WEDNESDAY:
Lunch - Shrimp and grits, cheese, watermelon
Dinner: London broil, wedge salad, peas, yogurt

THURSDAY:
Lunch - chicken "nuggets", peas, mac and cheese
Dinner -  BREAKFAST! :)

FRIDAY:
Lunch - Butter noodles, cucumbers, berries
Dinner: Barbecued chicken, grilled corn, grilled veggies, risotto

SATURDAY:
Lunch - chicken, grapes, cheese, baked beans
Dinner - Farmer Johnson's

SUNDAY:
Lunch - hot dogs, veggie booty, rest of fruit share
Dinner - Burgers, fries, beans salad, brownie bites (?)

Some weeks I plan a meal out, other weeks I don't. It just depends on what is going on in our world and how much time we will get together as a family on the weekends.

From time to time now that I have a plan, I'll take pictures of dinner and post them along with recipes and tips.

What do you do to plan for food? Do you eat junk?


***I started this post about a month and a half ago. The picture of Miss Roo is from tonight's feast :)

Real Food - A Journey

Miss Roo's journey of food has been quite different from her sister's. Roo's place as a second child brought to the table (hee hee) a greater knowledge base, more patience, and a Mama with more resolve.

Breastfeeding is too often depicted as something romantic and simple. For me that was far from the truth. With Miss Moo I had supply issues and wasn't given any real support during my hospital stay.  I delivered on a Thursday afternoon and never saw a lactation consultant. She was born during the H1N1 panic and every type of drop-in care and support group was cancelled during her first 6 months of life. Visits to lactation consultants were costly after the first free visit and insurance wouldn't pay. She lost weight. We both cried. Our pediatrician sternly pointed at formula. Drew and I, being first time parents, conceded. And I cried some more. Moo began formula with what little breast milk I could provide and gained weight. By the next peds visit I was told she was TOO heavy. I felt embarrassed as I stood in the office. As I walked to the car I felt angry.

I began slipping into a terrible PPD because I couldn't feed my child and was filling her full of food that was now, seemingly, making her heavy. I decided enough was enough. I stopped feeding her formula and we took a nursing vacation. I nursed her every 2-3 hours from 2 months until 6 months when she began taking solids more easily and drank water willingly. I admitted I needed help with my depression and saw my Midwifes. And I began educating myself.

Moo's First meal - rice cereal with banana.

With Miss Roo we did things entirely differently. I was educated before becoming pregnant with her but after we knew she was cooking I read everything I could on herbs, supplements, foods, and depression. A friend from college mentioned placenta encapsulation. I had run across it in some research while I was nursing Moo but decided to do additional research now that I would actually have a placenta to use. I talked with my Midwife and we decided to use that as an additional  preventative measure. When Roo arrive my house was well stocked with Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Gaia Herbs Lactate Support, Mother's Milk tea, and placenta pills. When I prepare, I PREPARE.

Whether it was my planning, my supplements, my placenta, or my willpower doesn't truly matter. What matters is that it worked. Roo was a healthy breast milk baby. She made it a few weeks into her sixth month before she sampled food. This time we ignored what all the pediatricians and baby experts tell us to feed our children. We were (and still are) in the process of cleaning up our diet. We were replacing low fat, manipulated unhealthy food with real, organic, good fat, whole fat foods. We began this process shortly before we married but seem to layer our deck with life events one on top of another. So this evolution has been slow but consistent.

Where Moo had rice cereal, Roo had avacado and banana. Where Moo had jarred organic food, Roo had the food that we were eating. She sampled fruit, veggies, dairy and meat.

 Roo's first meal - whole milk yogurt with banana.

And she LOVED it.

This kid can EAT. Moo has always been a fabulous eater, but Roo puts her to shame. She is a carnivore. She loves pork and beef especially. She would eat bananas until they came out her ears, as Nana would say. She eats the rainbow daily and with fervor.  At most meals she cleans her plate and her sister's and then moves on to mine.  She has never turned down a food that we have preparedfor her. 

The girls enjoying a carpet picnic for "brunch":

Local, free range eggs, GFCF bacon, GF pancakes

with real maple syrup, organic OJ, and some local fruit

(missing from the picture because it is always consumed first.)

I know that I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or scientist, but I CAN tell you that eating real food works for developing a great love of real food in children and a healthy weight in both children and adults. I was trying desperately to lose my baby weight from both girls. Nothing was working. I was staying heavy even breastfeeding and counting calories. After a few months, I decided I was only going to eat good fats from meat, dairy, nuts and fruit as well as remove gluten and eat more veggies. I was not going to count calories or read the fat grams in the food I was eating. The results have been amazing.

 December 2011

 Janauary 2012

 February 2012

 March 2012

 April 2012

I'm not runway ready, but I'm better. I've lost weight, inches, sizes, and pain in my back and legs. 

Real food. That's where it's at.

Interested? Here's some books and films I love:

BOOKS:

 Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon  - http://www.newtrendspublishing.com/SallyFallon/

Wheat Belly by William Davis, M.D. - http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/buy-the-book/

Real Food and Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck - http://www.ninaplanck.com/books.html


The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife, C.N., N.D. - http://www.amazon.com/Coconut-Miracle-Previously-published-Healing/dp/1583332049

FILMS:

Ingredients  - http://www.ingredientsfilm.com/
Fresh - http://www.freshthemovie.com/
Food, Inc. - http://www.takepart.com/foodinc
Food Matters - http://www.foodmatters.tv/#
Fork Over Knives - http://www.forksoverknives.com/
Fat Head - http://www.fathead-movie.com/