Lately I have been seeing many of my friends picking up some of my old habits. The funny thing is they don’t seem to remember me telling them about these healthy items years ago. So this January I decided to tell you about all the great things I’m doing to keep myself healthy. I don’t know if you will want to or need to adopt any of them, but it may get you into the mindset that you might want to look into these nifty health rules.
NOTE
- Green Juicing – So many people are juicing now, and ultimately I think that is great. I first learned about the benefits of juicing from my autism biomedical community. Green juicing has long been a great way to detox our autistic children (and ourselves) so I have been familiar with it for a few years now. My husband and I have at least one green juice every morning. Usually this is all we have for breakfast, but sometimes we will supplement it with a protein boost such as a hard boiled egg. If we are feeling like we really need to ramp the detox and nutrient content up, and maybe help shed a few pounds (like right after the holiday) we will juice 2 to 3 times a day and eat a simple dinner of soup or salad. Our green juices often contain kale, celery, ginger, cilantro (is a natural chelator which helps pull heavy metals from the body), carrot, lemon, green apple, fennel, parsley, spinach, beet, garlic, sweet potato, pear and pomegranate. We always add an apple, pear or pomegranate to provide the sweetness, but usually only one or two. You really want the greens to take front and center! And you don’t want to have too much sugar in the juice, which is what the sweet fruits will produce. Since we started green juicing I have noticed a marked difference in my skin quality and my keratosis pilaris (bumps on the back of my arms and on my legs) have gone away. In addition it is a great way to get extra nutrients I would never be able to pack in, no matter how many salads I ate. Check with you doctor before you start juicing.
- Grapefruit Seed Extract and Raw Apple Cider Vinegar – I skip the flu shot (not a big fan of vaccines if you must know the truth) and instead treat illnesses with grapefruit seed extract and raw apple cider vinegar. I prefer liquid grapefruit seed extract and dose myself by adding it to empty 00 capsules I buy on Amazon. If I am sick I will simply dose myself at least twice a day. Grapefruit seed extract will kill just about everything. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is another great home remedy that I will not go without. There are several rules of thought on ACV as it is often called. Some prefer that you dilute it a lot, say 1 tablespoon to 8 oz of water and sip on that all year. Others, like myself will take the ACV straight up multiple times a day. I have done this to treat a UTI I had acquired over a weekend and could not see a doctor. I took 2 tablespoons of ACV with a water chaser 2 to 3 times a day and it knocked the UTI out within a day. Grapefruit seed extract is NOT for everyone, please check with your doctor before using.
- Krill Oil – For me krill oil is a must have. Both my husband and I take it daily. But not only that my father and both my in-laws take it. My father swears that the krill oil is what has dissolved his blocked carotid artery. He had a 85% blockage only a year ago, it is now down to 50%. Krill Oil is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Obviously you should check with you doctor to make sure krill oil is right for you before starting it, or stopping any other medications.
- Curcumin/Tumeric – the active ingredient in tumeric is curcumin. Curcumin is known to decrease inflammation in the body. I take it daily as does my husband. Inflammation is what causes pain in the body and I aim to reduce inflammation as much as possible. I first learned about curcumin when it was suggested that Matthew take it to lower the inflammation in his brain that causes his autism.
- Vitamin D3 – I live in the mid-Atlantic states where is is cold and dark half of the year. I read that Dr. Mercola suggested that we have at least 15 minutes of exposure to the sun over large portions of our body (back or stomach) every day. That is virtually impossible for me so I supplement with a good quality Vitamin D3 daily.
- Magnesium – Recently there have been several studies that indicate American’s are critically low in magnesium. Again, this is something we saw in the autism community and was one of the main reasons I began supplementing. I use magnesium glycinate since magnesium citrate can cause diarrhea. Once I began supplementing my magnesium I noticed an improvement in my depression, which I no longer have.
- Food Grade Diatomacious earth and Neem – Both are great for killing parasites. Parasites do not know how to distinguish a human host from an animal host, and it is well known that our animals often carry parasitic infections. Most animals are treated with deworming medicines.
- De-Stressing – I have had horrible stress. Being a mom can be stressful, but being the mom of a child with autism can push one over the edge. Even with Matthew’s vast improvements I have still be dealing with constant stress. His delays keep him playing catch up in certain areas and we are struggling with the school on a regular basis.
- Tulsi/Holy Basil – I love holy basil and use it in both a liquid and a tea form. It is an adaptogen. I have found relief of my asthmatic cough by using Tulsi on a regular basis.
- Ginger – I use ginger pills to help regulate my cough-variant asthma.
- Tea Tree Oil – Tea Tree Oil is my go to when treating skin afflictions such as warts and molluscum contagiosum. But you must be careful with TTO as it can cause a rash on sensitive skin. It is best to mix it with a carrier oil such as jojoba and to test the skin for reaction. But I have successfully removed plantar warts with it by applying TTO directly to the wart twice a day. After about 1 to 2 weeks of daily treatment the wart simply fell out. For molluscum contagiosum I used the TTO mixed with a carrier oil and applied it once a day, being careful to only apply to the eruption and watching for irritation. When irritation occurred I immediately stopped the application and waited several days for the skin to recover.
I love all of these products and use them often. Please know I am NOT a Doctor nor any other clinician. I am only telling you what I use in my home. I am not suggesting you use any of these products without talking to your doctor or clinician first. Many of these products can cause side effects and you need to do your own research to make sure they are safe for your use.
