Cleansing

In my research lately I have been hearing a lot about cleansing.  I was very interested in hearing more about this and how it works.  I know it helps to rid your body of toxins and I know that you lose weight in the process.  But I wanted to know more.  Is it safe?  What are the side effects?  So I spoke with someone who has been doing an annual cleanse for years, Christy Ingram.  She has tried a lot of different kinds of cleanses and she has found one that works great.  So all of the following information is credited to her or the papers she gave me, I am just getting the information to you. 

Cleansing can eliminate waste and impurities, nourish your body, help you lose weight and inches and feed your body nutrients.  It is important to choose the right product because certain ingredients can work together to detoxify your body and to improve your health.  Cleansing can support the body's natural systems to help improve metabolism.  Theses systems include the liver, colon, kidney, lymphatic and adrenal systems.  It also burns fat efficiently and help you lose unwanted fat in a safe and natural way.

The following is what she said on her blog about the cleanse she and her husband due annually:

"Billy and I try to stay healthy (even though we love to eat).  So, yearly we do a 9 day cleanse (Health and Wellness System).  It cleanses everything…blood, lymph, colon, liver, etc.  But mostly it makes us feel so much better.  We’ve tried other ‘cleanses’ before but nothing does the job like this.  More importantly, we’ve kept off the weight we’ve lost on this because it cleans at a deeper cellular level."

Her final results were 7 lbs and 12 inches lost!  She says that she feels so much better after cleansing; that she can think more clearly. 

If you are interested in finding out more information about cleansing or the particular product they use you can email Christy Ingram directly at cleansechristy@yahoo.com

Resources: Health Journal Volume 9/Number 1 and of course Christy Ingram

A Friends Questions Answered

I had a friend email me other day asking me some questions about herbs and essential oils.  I asked her if I could share her questions and my answers here so that we can all learn something from them. 

Her first questions was, "Are there any herbs or essential oils that I can use to help my baby that is constipated?"  She went on to say that her baby only poops every two weeks and she is breastfed.  My Answer: As for using oils...with her age I would only use them externally.  Rosemary is a good one but it is an emmenagogue which means it can bring on the menstrual flow so it should never be used if you are pregnant.  Since it makes me nervous I just steer clear of it.  I would try (if you like it) drinking a few cups of Chamomile Tea everyday since you are nursing she will get the effects of that too and it is supposed to be good for overall digestion.  It is perfectly safe for babies and mama's.  In fact it is so safe that you could make it and give her a few drops of it with a dropper if you wanted.  Remember Peter Rabbit's mama?  She gave him Chamomile tea.

Her second question was, "Have you heard of any herbal remedies that help with the pain & swelling of teething?"  My Answer:

Gum-Omile oil is helpful for teething.  One word of caution: just because this 'blend' had certain essential oils in them does not mean they are safe to give a baby alone.  When blended they are done so in a laboratory where they make sure that the formula is safe.  You can find the oil at http://www.herbsforkids.com/product.asp?productid=363  Here you are buying directly from the company. 

You drinking the Chamomile Tea can help with the teething too! :)  The Omile in Gum-Omile comes from the fact that it has Chamomile in it.

Disclaimer

I am not a licensed medical practitioner and cannot give out medical advice.  Just like you wouldn't take a medication your doctor gave you without reading up on it and it's side effects; I do not take or give my children an herb or essential oil without researching it first.  Not being a doctor I cannot diagnose or dispense advice; only my opinion.

Please continue to send you questions or comments.  I might add your question to a future post but don't worry....you will remain anonymous.

Stay tuned....I have a very interesting topic I am researching and I think you will find it as interesting as I do.  Save my blog into your favorites and check it a few times a week to see if I have updated it.

A Bloody Mouth...No Problem At This House

You hear 'boys will be boys' but you don't know what that means until you have four of them.  The other day my next to youngest who is 3 years old was outside playing catch with his older brothers when the baseball bounced off the sidewalk and hit him in the mouth busting his mouth open.  He came toward the house crying with a pool of blood in his hand.  I put a wet paper towel on it but the bleeding wouldn't stop.  That's when I remembered that I had read that plantain herb can stop bleeding.  I ran to the deep freeze (that is where I keep my herbs to keep them fresher longer) and put some between two paper towels and ran hot water on them until the paper towel started to turn colors (then I knew the medicinal properties were being released)  I put it on his mouth and he immediately stopped crying and most importantly the bleeding stopped too.  He held it on there for about 5 minutes and when I tried to take it off he said it hurt when I removed it.  Not wanting him leaving the house with a paper towel stuffed with "green stuff" I had another thought.  My Green Salve has plantain and comfrey, both good for cuts, so I grabbed that and put some on his lip like I was putting on chap stick and he was fine.  He said it stopped hurting and he went back outside to play.  A friend arrived at our house 15 minutes later to go somewhere with us and when I said I was running late because my little on had busted his lip open she said she would have never known if I wouldn't have told her because the swelling and the cut had already started healing.  When my husband arrived home from work that afternoon the cut was all but healed you could not tell at all that just 3 hours earlier he had been bleeding from the mouth!  It just goes to show yet again, the power of herbs.

How To Make Your Own Salve

It might sound really hard to make your own salve but it is very easy. The part that takes the longest is infusing the herbs with oil. I use a crockpot to do this.

1. Decide what herbs you want to use. I used comfrey leaf and plantain herb. Comfrey leaf is used for mending wounds and broken bones. It is a contact healer; relieves pain and helps new flesh and bone to grow quickly. Plantain herb is a great "first aid" plant. It helps to quickly stop the bleeding of an open wound. It also relieves pain and inflammation of stings, bites and the itching from poison ivy. You can also use if for diaper rash.

2. Fill a mason jar 2/3 full of your dried herbs.

3. Fill jar with oil (I used olive oil but you can also use coconut, sweet almond, etc.) of your choice leaving an inch or more from the top of jar. Screw the lid on tight.

4. Put a towel (I used a hand towel) in the bottom of your crockpot. Put the jar in the center of the pot on the towel. Fill the crockpot with water, one inch below the top of jar.

5. Keep crockpot on low heat (you want your oil to be hot but not boiling) for 3 days. The water will evaporate so you will need to keep adding water.

6. When the infused oil is done will have taken on the color of the herbs because the herbs properties have released in the oil.

7. I used a cotton t-shirt to strain my herbs out of the oil.

8. To make the infused oil into a salve you will need beeswax. You need approximately 2 oz. of grated or pellets of beeswax for 8 oz. of infused oil.

9. On low heat, warm oil and beeswax until melted.

10. Add a drop or two of Vitamin E oil (found right at Wal-Mart) for every oz. of oil. This helps preserve your salve naturally.

11. While the salve is still hot pour into your container (a jar with a widemouth, can, etc.) It needs to be something you can get your hand in to get the salve out.

12. Let it sit over night or until the salve has hardened.

13. Put a lid on it and label what it is and the date. It will keep up to five years or more.

If it is too soft, reheat it and add a little bit more beeswax. If its to hard reheat and add a little bit more oil.

You can use this for cuts, bites, burns, rashes, etc.

Keep it out of light and extreme heat.

This is so easy. I got these instructions out of a herb magazine and tried it. I put a picture above of what mine turned out like. We have used it on everything. I put a little in a jar for my boys and they just go get it and use if when they need it. I made extra to give to family and friends too.

If you have any questions just post below and I will answer them.

Honey For Allergies?

I have heard about using local honey to treat outdoor allergies. Have any of you heard about that or tried it? A friend of mine told me about it and I have a three year old with bad allergies and I was wondering if it works. I am doing some research and I have found good and bad so I was looking for some other opinions. I will update this post when I get some more information.