Winter Blues

I'm writing this while staying home again with sick kids.  This has gone on for 1 1/2 weeks now, and is looking brighter, but still not "normal".  I guess what I've learned through this round (and probably each other one when they come), is how little control I really do have over my life.  I would like to think that I have some semblance of control, organization, direction but when illness strikes, I realize that I am nothing.  This is not a bad thing, but a good thing.  It requires relying totally on my Lord and Savior, who provides healing, comfort, peace and all things good.

We started with puking kids, who somehow got reinfected and were sick twice.  And then I got the flu too, totally sapping my own energy and strength to keep on top of the germy laundry and dishes.  The kids have been troopers, but it's been me who has been the whiner.  I hate the smell/sound of puking and don't do well with it. (Who does?) I hate seeing them so helpless and miserable.  I even was at the point of wishing that I could take some of the misery away from them.  Then I got the bug and wished that I hadn't wished that, as now I was out of commission too.  Then dear husband had to work overtime so he's been pretty tired (and fighting all the germies himself) also.  I haven't even hardly left the house all this time (does checking the mail count?)  When I tried to go for a walk with a few of the "well" kids on sunny Sunday, the cold wind made my throat and ears hurt (even though I had a scarf and hat on).  We've missed 2 weeks of church now.

Then the fevers hit.  All the kids.  Then the coughing.  All the kids.  Now I'm doling out cough medicine (at night), vitamin C, immune drops and such all day long.  Hot steamy showers for them all.  Vapoizer on with essential oils.  Garlic laced food.  Vicks on their feet.  Honey-lemon tea.  To little or no avail.  We'll keep at it, but it's getting wearying.  A baby who thinks that he must wake up far too many times each night and needs his mom to put him back to sleep (sometimes awake for 2-3 hours).  We've been working on that for many months, and are no further ahead than when we started.  Each time we make some headway, then teething, or sickness or something (like a too-tired mom who can't get up and do the right thing, so she does the lazy thing) comes in and we start the game again.  My neck and back also go out of place every time I don't get enough rest and I haven't been well enough to even get it put back in.  So add constant stabbing pain to the mix too and a couple whiny kids who make it known how they feel.  I feel like that too, but at least try to control my whining and fussing!

I know that this is a season, and it will pass.  But, I'm tired.  It's hard to see past that.  We're 2 weeks late on getting groceries, which also makes it difficult to find nutritious things to eat for the picky kids who are hungry but don't want to eat anything I make or offer. (unusual for them, they normally eat anything)

But, we'll carry on.  Because it's worth it.  And because we have no other choice.  And try to be thankful for the blessings we have.  A warm house, some food to eat, a washer and dryer to clean dirty stuff.  Things like that.  So goes the day....

Oil Pulling Therapy - Book Review

Wellness Mama also introduced me to the 2000+ year old Ayurvedic medicine tradition of oil pulling.  Not sure what it was all about, I read the book!  Here's a sum off Dr. Bruce Fife's (the author) website.  If it works like they claim, this has got to be the cheapest, most effective, and easiest way of improving your oral health and detoxing your body.  Much cheaper and pain free, a huge at-home option compared to a nasty dental visit, that's for sure!  (he gives guidelines for using, and when to see the dentist)  The book was well referenced and a very quick, easy read.

"Dr. Karach’s method of oil pulling consists of swishing, not gargling, vegetable oil in the mouth. The oil is “worked” in the mouth by pushing, pulling, and drawing it through the teeth for a period of 15 to 20 minutes. It is done once (to three times) a day on an empty stomach. The best time is in the morning before eating breakfast, but can be done before any meal. The used oil is discarded and the mouth rinsed out with water. The oil is never swallowed because it is loaded with bacteria, toxins, pus, and mucous.

Sunflower and sesame seed oils are the most commonly used for oil pulling, but any vegetable oil will work. People have had success with olive, coconut, almond, and other oils. I prefer to use coconut oil because of its many health benefits. If you use a mild flavored coconut oil it is very pleasant in the mouth. Some oils, such as extra virgin olive oil, are so strong flavored that many people find them difficult to use.

The oil acts like a cleanser. When you put it in your mouth and work it around your teeth and gums it “pulls” out bacteria and other debris. It acts much like the oil you put in your car engine. The oil picks up dirt and grime. When you drain the oil, it pulls out the dirt and grime with it, leaving the engine relatively clean. Consequently, the engine runs smoother and lasts longer. Likewise, when we expel harmful substances from our bodies our health is improved and we run smoother and last longer.

As simple as it is, oil pulling has a very powerful detoxifying effect. Our mouths are the home to billions of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other parasites and their toxins. Candida and Streptococcus are common residents in our mouths. It is these types of germs and their toxic waste products that cause gum disease and tooth decay and contribute to many other health problems including arthritis and heart disease. Our immune system is constantly fighting these troublemakers. If our immune system becomes overloaded or burdened by excessive stress, poor diet, environmental toxins and such, these organisms can spread throughout the body causing secondary infections and chronic inflammation, leading to any number of health problems. "

http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/article%20oil%20pulling.htm

Deep Nutrition - Book Review

Keeping up on my usage of my library card, here's the next one.  Deep Nutrition by Dr. Catherine Shanahan and husband Luke Shanahan from Tucson, AZ.

I heard about this book from my favorite nutrition blog, Wellness Mama.  I was able to buzz through this, even though it's filled with statistics and facts (skimmed over them).  The point of the book is how much our genes can be encouraged or discouraged based on our nutrition.  And how the nutrition of our parents and grandparents affects our lives today.  And how if we are "destined" to bad genes from our ancestors, we are able to reverse many disease processes through nutrition alone.  How beauty is related to nutrition in many different facets.  That's the sum and total of it.  Here's Wellness Mama's review if you want more info.

http://wellnessmama.com/7859/deep-nutrition/ 

Tips of good nutrition (how to carry it out in your life).  She calls them the 4 Pillars of Nutrition (found in many different types of diets, but primarily think of gourmet French cuisine).  

1. Meat cooked on the bone

2. Organ meats

3. Fermented and sprouted grains and vegetables

4. Fresh food (raw milk, fresh veggies and fruit)

In a nutshell

TO DO:

-drink more milk (raw, organic, full fat as possible)

-sugar free nut butters

-sprouted grain breads

-instead of boxed and instant cereals, eat toast with butter or eggs for breakfast

-buy Bubbie's sauerkraut and pickles or learn to make your own lacto-fermented veggies

-eat lots of healthy oils- olive, coconut, macadamia nut, palm, lard, tallow, and butter

-make your own salad dressings

-eat lots of large salads

-use fresh herbs often

-use canned fish with the bones in (and eat the bones)

-eat more liver (1x week)

-make bone broth 2x week (more if you have any sort of health issues)

-eat bone in meats- whole chickens and turkeys, beef with bones (roasts) - make stock with bones after

-if eating boneless meats, make gravy with homemade stock to get equivalent nutrients

TO AVOID:

-any vegetable oils and margarines (canola, corn, soybean, sunflower, etc)

-sugars of all sorts (lower immunity and have no added benefits)

-juice unless freshly squeezed

-energy and health bars (anything prepackaged)

-boxed cereals

-fried foods

-powdered milks or things made with them

-premade salad dressings

-low-fat products including dairy, salad dressings, baked goods

She claims that vegetable oils and sugar are the two things that are the most detrimental to health.  Overall a good informative read.  It fits in with all the other nutrition books I've read which all encourage getting back to real food and saying goodbye to all the prepackaged junk that big box stores try to sell us.