What is Aromatherapy?

Now that I am enrolled to be an aromatherapy practitioner and will be doing posts about Aromatherapy, I thought I would clarify just what aromatherapy is and is not!

Aromatherapy is the medicinal use of PURE essential oils.  Essential oils can be used by a practitioner to heal and help both the physical body and the emotions (which are tied into the health of our physical body).    Essential oils can be used in many different ways including inhalation, dermal (skin) application, massage, and hydrotherapy (placed in water or baths).  The vast number of physical conditions essentials can treat are too numerous to list, but a few popular ones are skin conditions and ulcers, sinus problems, digestive issues, headaches and migraines, muscular problems, and respiratory issues.  Essential oils are also wonderful stress reducers and enhance overall health and wellbeing.  A holistic aromatherapist will treat each client with an individualized blend of essential oils made for their unique needs.


There are so many adulterated and synthetic oils on the market these days that it is very important to distinguish the difference between these and real, organic essential oils.  Adulterated and synthetic oils cannot perform the way that true organic essential oils do, and can actually be harmful to health.  It is very important to make sure you buy your oils from a reputable seller, and buy organic oils if possible, as chemicals can be in concentrated form in essential oils that are not organic.

Over the months to come, I look forward to sharing about essential oils and helping my readers learn how to incorporate them into their lives.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Aromatherapy School...

I am very excited to announce that I am furthering my education by enrolling in the East-West School of Herbal and Aromatic Studies to become a Certified Advanced Aromatherapy Practitioner.  You can read more about aromatherapy and an explanation of what it is here.

Aromatherapy is a powerful healing tool and in some areas of this country is starting to be integrated into the medical arena.  Many countries around the world use aromatherapy as a standard method of care (hoping that will be the case here in the future!).  Aromatherapy can treat all kinds of physical and emotional aliments and is a pleasant form of holistic treatment.  I am looking forward to learning more about it and plan to sit for the board exam offered by NAHA once this degree is completed.

One of my favorite essential oils at this time is lavender.  Lavender has an amazing amount of healing benefits and is used for insomnia, headaches, migraines, anxiety, depression, nervous tension, eczema, muscular aches, colds, infections, flu, whooping cough, bronchitis, increasing blood circulation, killing lice and their nits, burns, sunburn and so much more!  You can read more about its benefits here.

Essential oils, being such powerful tools of healing, need to be used with care and caution.  It is best to consult with an aromatherapist before using essential oils to treat most health issues.

But, don't let that scare you away from them...they can be used in all kinds of massage oils, lotions, air fresheners, homemade perfumes and more, and you will receive health benefits using them in this manner.  Just make sure you are buying your essential oils from a trusted source as adulterated essential oils can actually be harmful to use.  Recipes should also be from reputable sites.  I will be doing many more posts on aromatherapy in the future and will recommend places to buy from and recipes to try.

Seafood to Avoid

I found a helpful article on Yahoo about current seafoods to avoid.  Reading about imported shrimp was especially motivating to never place an imported shrimp in my mouth as long as I live!  Here is the article.

Warm Winter Breakfasts

We all love the smell of cobblers and crisps baking, especially in the winter!  One of our favorite breakfasts has become fruit covered with a crisp or cobbler topping.  Since it's winter time and cold and flu season has begun, I have been working hard to cut back on our sugar intake, since sugar only serve to depress the immune system.  So, I have started to make our breakfast cobblers and crisps without the addition of sugar, and do you know, no one has missed it!
Our culture is so used to very sweet tastes that I think a lot of us have lost the appreciate for the natural sweetness that occurs naturally in foods.  I have been enjoying our breakfasts without the sugar and find that the fruits I use make things sweet enough, especially for breakfast time.
Our breakfast tomorrow is a winter fruit cobbler.  Tonight I chopped up apples,  pears, persimmons, and some plums that we received in our co-op this week and placed them in a large pyrex dish.  Then I made a yogurt soaked biscuit recipe and place those on top.  Lastly, I sprinkled the cobbler with cinnamon, powered anise seed, and allspice on top.  This is able to sit out on the counter over night (covered with saran wrap) and can be popped in the oven first thing in the morning at 375 for about 40 minutes.  Before you know it, your family will awaken to the smell of all those delicious fruits baking and you can know that you are giving your family a nutritious start to their day.

Pomegranates

It's fall, which means, time for pomegranates!  These beautiful fruits are a powerful superfood.  They are full of vitamin C, potassium, vit. B 6, and polyphenols (help prevent cellular damage in the body).  Some studies show that they may have 2-3 times the antioxidant power of green tea and red wine.

Though delicious, the seeds can be a challenge to harvest for those who have never cut a fresh pomegranate.  I find that the easiest way to obtain the seeds is to cut the fruit in half and then gently break each half into half.  Then submerge in water, and separate the seeds from the pulp.  That way if seeds are broken, you will not get sprayed by the juice, which can stain.  Make sure you wear old clothes or a large apron.

This year I am going to try to buy 25 pounds from my local co-op.  The seeds can be made into juice or simply frozen for later use.  It may be a lot of work, but the nutritional value and delicious taste is worth the effort.

Mountain Rose Herbs

I buy most of my herbal products from Mountain Rose Herbs.  They have an amazing supply of organic herbs, tinctures, capsules, essential oils, and so much more.  Herbs can be bought in small quantities or ordered in bulk (a great way to save even more dollars and helpful to do with friends).  The prices are very reasonable and they offer great customer service.  I have always been happy with my products.

Mountain Rose herbs also offers a monthly newsletter full of great information and recipes.  Here is a copy of this months.  I am looking forward to making a few herbal sleep pillows to cozy up to this winter and trying the curried sweet potato soup.  The newsletter is free, so sign up!

Miscarriage

Sadly, I suffered a miscarriage and subsequent D&C last week, thus the lack of posting once again.  I thought I would take some time to share some remedies that have physically and emotionally helped me through the recovery process.

*Recovery Tea:  I have been making a daily recovery tea.  It has consisted of these herbs: red raspberry leaf (this I put in daily), alternate days with either nettle or oatstraw, lemon balm (used daily), and cinnamon.  The red raspberry is a uterine tonic and helps to balance hormones - I have been surprised how quickly my post-op bleeding has been tapering down (I actually started drinking this right when I found out I had miscarried).  Nettle and oatstraw are very nourishing, nutrient rich herbs which help with the healing process.  Lemon balm is a nervine; it calms the nervous system and helps balance emotions.  Cinnamon is a circulatory aid and will help the circulate blood to the uterus to encourage the healing process.  I will continue this tea for about 3-4 weeks post-op.

*Vitex:  I have made a simple tea with vitex berries.  I drink a cup daily  Vitex can take about 3 months to really kick in, but it is an excellent hormone balancer, working on the endocrine system to obtain balance.  It does not contain hormones.

*Milk Thistle Tincture:  Milk thistle seed is an amazing herb that can heal and actually help to regenerate nerve tissue.  I have been taking this daily to help protect my liver from all the medications it was exposed to during surgery and to help support it as it is processing all the extra hormones in my system.

*Partridgeberry: I have ordered some of this herb and will start it as soon as it arrives.  It's a great complement to raspberry leaf and can be brewed with my recovery tea.  It also helps to balance the reproductive system.

*Chamomile:  This tea I brewed the first few nights post-op to help me sleep.  I made sure to use loose flower heads and it was a wonderful sleep aid.

*Blood purifying mix:  In a few weeks when I am feeling better, I will be adding a daily does of tea that has yellow dock root, burdock root, and dandelion root.  This combo will continue to help support the liver process and rid my body of extra hormones.  It's also a good blood purifying mix.

*Homeopathics:  I have been using a number of homeopathics including arnica montana (helps reduce soreness and bruising), hypericum perf. (helps with nerve injury), pulsatilla (helps balance emotions), Wise's Pain Tablets #417 (helps with hypersensitivity to pain and emotion), and a number of Bach Flower Remedies to help with emotions and stress; rescue remedy, aspen, hornbeam, olive, and mimulus.  I think the first two remedies really helped control pain as I only needed one ibuprofen follow my surgery.  I was surprised by the lack of discomfort I had.  I started the homeopathic remedies the day before the surgery.

*Noni Lavender Lotion: one of my all time favorite remedies.  I rubbed this on all the sore muscles after surgery including my back, tummy, and neck.  The evening after surgery, I started having tingling in my face, probably from how they positioned my neck while the procedure was done.  I rubbed this lotion on the tingling areas and within a few hours they were gone.

*Rest:  I was blessed to have my mom here for the first 6 days.  I tried to avoid the stairs at all costs and staying off my feet as much as I could.  This has helped so much.  I am also avoiding any heavy lifting, including my toddler for a few weeks.

*Supplements:  I continue to take a blood builder to keep me from becoming anemic; it also includes kelp which helps to balance hormones.  I take cod liver oil and an adrenal supplement.  I have continued my green's mix and colostrum.  I have added wild bee pollen which helps with immunity and balancing the reproductive system.  I also have continued with my liquid B supplement and have added to that a green tea nano supplement.

*Bone Broths:  I have been taking homemade chicken broth or beef broth daily, as these are great sources of nutrients and aid in the healing process.

*Accupuncture:  I will be starting up some accupuncture in a week, which I did before and during my first pregnancy which bore me my wonderful and precious son.


Thank you for your patience as I have not been able to keep up with my posting schedule.  I hope to resume my normal posting schedule in a few weeks.

Herbal Remedies and Supplements I Keep on Hand for my Child

There are a number of great herbal supplements that can be used for children, often in lieu of conventional medicine.  Many can be used for children as young as one.  Here is a list of what I keep on hand for my 22 month old.

Herbs for Kids Products: I have been quite pleased with this organic brand of herbal supplements and have been using them on my son since he was about 14 months old.  I have provided the link to the site that will include use instructions.  Here are a few standards that I like to keep on hand.

*Echinacea - I use this at the first sign of sickness.

*Astragalus - This is great to use for building up the immune system.  If you know you are going to be around a lot of germs, give them a dose the day before, day of, and day after exposure.

*Cherry Bark Blend - Good for dry irritated throats

*Horehound Blend - Good for respiratory and lung support

*Temp Assure - This is a great blend to support the body during a fever (I even used it for my husband once in a pinch).  My personal rule of thumb is not to medicate a fever for a child that is under 100.5.  Fevers are used by your body to kill of germs and only get dangerous if they go too high or for too long.  Our modern day habit of treating low grade fevers with fever reducing medications actually does more harm than good, making it much for difficult for your body to develop immunity against the germ and to kill off the germ, thus increasing the risks for relapse.

*Chamomile Calm - This is a great blend for teething and for days where there has been a lot of excitement (like Christmas or all day at the zoo) and a calming influence is needed at night for sleep.


Quantum Nutrition Labs:  I cannot say enough good things about these supplements.  I have been using this brand for about 4 years and actually had privilege to be seen by Dr. Marshall at his Southern California clinic.  This are extremely high quality supplements and worth the investment.

*D 3 serum - I like to use this a few times a week to build immunity.  We get a lot of sun in SoCal, so I don't feel the need to use it daily for my son, but it's great for times of sickness or winter, when he is not out in the sun as much.

*Vitamin C - I use this daily, especially since my little guy is not eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegies yet.

*Greens Mix - This is a great daily supplement as well; I use it for calcium support.

*Colostrum Powder - I use this when my son starts to show the first signs of illness, is having an eczema breakout, or has been exposed to germs.

*EFA oil blend - This can also be given on a daily basis and is good brain support.

Elderberry Syrup...

Yes, that season of colds and flus is here.  We all woke up a bit stuffy today, so I decided it was high time to mix up some homemade elderberry syrup.  There are lots of variations of recipes out there, but this is the syrup that I made today:

*1 cup dried elderberries (You can get these from Mountain Rose Herbs.)
*4 cups of filtered water
*10 whole cloves
*2 cinnamon sticks
*1 tbsp of fresh grated ginger
*2 cups of raw honey

Combine the first five ingredients in a stove top pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and allow to simmer for 30-40 minutes until the liquid reduces to about half.  Once the simmering is completed, strain into a jar and allow to cool to about 90 degrees.  Next add the raw honey (you want to be sure that the liquid has cooled to 90 degrees so that when the raw honey is added, you retain the healthy benefits of the honey.)  Store in the refrigerator.  Discard after a month.

Adults can take 1 Tbsp daily.  Child's dose will need to be decided by weight.  There are many ways to determine a child's dose and parents should use whatever formula they feel most comfortable using.  These can easily be found on the internet.  Clark's Rule and Young's Rule are just two examples of methods that can be used to determine your child's dose.  This syrup should not be given to children under the age of two.  Pregnant and lactation women should consult their practitioners.

This is a great immune syrup to take during cold and flu season.  It's delicious and your dose can be taken alone or used to top ice cream, strudels, crisps, pancakes...well, you get the idea!

In our home, we tend to rotate through our supplements and do not take most things on a daily basis.  If you chose to do this with the elderberry syrup, this is a great supplement to take when you know that you will be around a lot of people.  If we are going to an event, I will usually have us take it the day before, day of, and day after to help keep our immune systems boosted while being exposed to germs.

Baby on the Way...

You may have noticed things have been a bit quiet here the past month or two...there has been good reason for that!  We have a baby on the way.  It's been a challenging first trimester so far with the "morning" (more like "all day") sickness.  Now that I am 11 weeks, I hope to be turning the corner soon and postings should be back on track again.  Thank you for your patience!

Blackberry Leaf Tea...

I found out the hard way that flu season has definitely started.  Our family was hit with a stomach bug this week - mainly causing intestinal distress, if you catch my drift.

Only one of us had a fever and thankfully that was kept under control with an herbal tea of yarrow, peppermint, and elder flower (this tea was made for my husband).  My son so far has not had a fever, but I do have on hand TempAssure by Herbs for Kids, which has some of the same herbs to help support the body when dealing with a fever.  An aside, which really needs to be a post on it's own, fevers can be good!  They are your body's way of killing off germs.  As a rule of thumb, I do not treat a low grade fever (below 101 for adults, 100.5 for kids) with tylenol, but instead will give supportive herbs, like the ones mentioned above, which encourage sweating and eventually help to break the fever.  In my husbands case, he started to have the fever early evening and by the next morning it was gone.

Back to the intestinal distress!  Blackberry leaf tea is a very mild herb and wonderful for treating diarrhea.  I was able to brew this for my husband and my son (who is a year and a half) and in both cases, it stopped the diarrhea in it's tracks.  For my husband, I mixed some peppermint tea in with the blackberry to make it more appealing for him and for my son, I mixed it with some water flavored with a touch of cherry juice concentrate.

A great way to make sure your loved ones are well hydrated during times like these, is to have them drink plenty of coconut water, which is naturally full of electrolytes.  Another great option is Recharge, a natural electrolyte drink.  You want to avoid sugary "sports drinks", as the sugar will only serve to lower your immune system as it is working hard to fight off the bug.

Sambucol

The start of fall, back to school, cool weather...this combination often signals the beginning of cold and flu season.  This is the perfect time to make sure that you have plenty of Sambucol on hand!  Sambucol is a brand of elderberry syrup that has had multiple studies done on it's effectiveness against flu viruses.  It is also extremely effective for fighting colds.  It comes in both adult and children's strength (children can start to use it at the age of 2).  I recommend this particular brand because of it's proven effectivenss.  It can be purchased from multiple sites on-line, including Amazon and Vitacost.
This is a standard in our household and it has proven effective a number of times already this year!  You can take it daily as a preventative or take it immediately when the first cold/flu symptoms are felt.