YouTube - Otitis media ear infection reference

YouTube - Otitis media ear infection reference

This is a great video of what is going on during an ear infection

Healthy Digestion = Healthy Body

So now that it’s nice and cold outside (well at least in most parts of the northern hemisphere) and I have written a good few tips about keeping healthy in the cold weather, I feel the need to write on a different subject. I will tell where this need came from first. while I was working to keep my family healthy from the cold, mainly focusing on the respiratory tract, all my kids and myself and my wife got hit with a stomach virus of some sort. Well this just went to show me that you have to be ready for anything.

The digestive tract- what is it and how does it work

I love watching educational videos and I think this one is done well so I stuck it in for an intro into the digestive system.

So now if we do not digest and absorb and dispose of the food we eat properly then we either don`t get the essentially substances that we need to be healthy or we can be stuck with waste products from the food we eat lodged in our gut.

Water is really important for the digestive system, as it is for the whole body. Staying hydrated helps to keep us regular so that our bodies can get rid of the waste that we don`t need.

Not over eating is a really important habit that I myself am yet to get myself to abide by. Over eating creates great stress on our body. It can be damaging to your immediate and long term health.

Make sure to eat lots of fiber. Fiber even though it does not get absorbed into the body is very important for the maintenance of the digestive tract.

Don't eat when you are stressed. It’s funny because so many of us eat just because we are stressed but when we are stressed our digestive system is not working at its best so less food will actually get absorbed. Also stress can cause ulcers and other digestion problems, so try to relax, breath and meditate.

Pro-biotic bacteria like those found in yogurt and other fermented food is great for strengthening digestion.

Also digestive enzymes found in fresh fruits, vegetables and sprouts are very important for healthy digestion.

I hope this information helps you all to live a healthier life.

Ginger root

Ginger root beside for being a very tasty ingredient in foods and teas is an amazing medicinal herb. Now if you don`t know about the wonders that ginger does for digestion issues you should  get out your pen and paper and take notes, well today you could just copy and paste this and then print it out. So for starters, ginger root is the number one herb for nausea. I sometimes get really bad motion sickness when I ride the bus and it frustrates me because then I can’t read or make good use of my time. So what I would do is buy some dry ginger root candy and eat that when i got motion sickness and it would really help. It seems that i am not the only one enjoying ginger root to relieve nausea here are some clinical studies done on this topic.

For morning sickness

http://www.theannals.com/cgi/content/abstract/39/10/1710

For motion sickness

http://ajpgi.physiology.org/content/284/3/G481.abstract

So how can you use ginger?

It’s very simple, take a piece of fresh ginger about the size of the top joint of your thumb boil it in a cup and a half of water for five minutes add some honey and drink.

Of course you can get pills and use essential oils but I like to use herbs closest to their natural form.

How to treat the common cold- tea, toast and steam inhalation.

In the last posts about treating winter ailments I said what herbs to use, here i will say how much of each herb and how it is best taken.

Tea

This is a basic herbal formula that could be taken by anyone and is very useful to strengthen the immune system and also regulate mucus in the lungs and respiratory tract.

1 teaspoon chamomile flowers

1 teaspoon elder flowers

1/2 tea spoon sage leaf (only if not pregnant or nursing)

1.5 cups of boiling hot water

Simply pour the water over the herbs in a large mug, add honey and cover with small plate or for 10 minutes. Drink once a day for prevention and two to three times a day when treating a cold.

Toast

I have mentioned in earlier the importance of raw garlic but not how to eat it. Toasted garlic bread is a great and simple solution to how to eat fresh garlic.

1 clove fresh garlic

1 teaspoon cold press olive oil

1 slice toasted rye or spelt bread

Simply crush the garlic, mix it with the olive oil and spread it on the toast. Eat the same as the tea. Once a day for prevention, two to three times a day for treatment.

Steam inhalation

Steam inhalation is a very powerful tool in treating respiratory related issues because it brings the therapeutic constituents directly to the lung in concentrated amounts.

Boil about two cups of water in a small pot.

Once the water starts to boil take it off the stove and place on a hot plate on a table top. If you have a tea warmer that you can put a tea light candle inside of that would be even better because it will keep the water hot and steaming for longer. Add five drops of Eucalyptus or Ravensara oil to the water. Put your head over the pot and place a towel or sheet over your head, stay far enough away so not to get burned and breathe deeply for at least five minutes. Repeat this at least once a day when sick.

I hope that this is helpful and clear please feel free to E-mail me any question you may have.

urhealth.com@gmail.com

A bit on ecology and green thinking

I really think of myself and my wife as people who honestly care about the environmental and safe guarding the health of our ecosystems. But when I look at how much we consume and waste I just don`t feel that we are doing enough. We compost all our biodegradable garbage, we have a gray water system for all the water in the house beside for the toilet, we bring this big duffel bag to the supermarket so as not to use plastic bags, we recycle all of our plastic and glass bottles, we walk instead of drive whenever possible and we try to buy the most Eco-friendly products we can.

In contrast to all this we still drive a regular fossil fuel powered car, we buy all most all of our food items in plastic containers and wrappings, and we are not so conservative about the amount of electric we use in our house. I think that what bothers me the most is that we are so dependent on these things, plastic, and cars and electric. I don`t want to be a vegetarian and I never will be but because of the way that we eat meat in the western world, eating meat is also contributing to environmental problems. What is a person to do?

Here is a good link for more information to how you can do more to save our planet

http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/tp/globalwarmtips.htm

Keeping you children healthy in the winter

Those of us that have kids know what it’s like to have your child get sick. You feel so bad for them all you want to do is help them to feel better. Either you or your spouse has to stay home from work to take care of your child and that is always a self-hate issue because you get upset that you are missing work but you also feel that nothing should matter more than your child being healthy. We all want our children to be healthy all the time. As parents we become concerned when our child show the slightest symptoms of sickness. As soon as one of my kids starts to get a runny nose or a cough I get to work. We all get sick but if you catch it early then you can get better a lot faster. I am very proud to say that by using herbal remedies and aromatherapy I have been successful in make sure that no one in my house hold has needed to take anti-biotic drugs in the last three years. I have three boys a five year old a three year old and a 9 month old. Those of you with children know that these are prime years for colds flues ear-infections and the like.

So what do I do?

It’s really not that complex. I used Herbs and essential oils as soon as i start to see symptoms and I give them to everyone in the family. I make herbal teas and cough syrup using herbs such as chamomile, Elder, Yarrow, Catnip, Licorice root and Echinacea. These are all herbs that work to regulate secretion of mucus, have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, anti-spasmodic properties and help to strengthen the immune system. I all so use steam inhalation and topical application of essential oils such as Eucalyptus, Raven Sara, Tea tree, Pine and Cedar wood. These Help to work as expectorants which help the lungs to dislodge mucus, are powerful anti-microbial and help reduce fever.

I started using natural medicine with my first son when he was still under one year. I was in my second year of school studying to be a practitioner of natural medicine and my son was sick a lot. To say the truth I was really discouraged then because I was unsuccessful in treating my son. But now after five years of experience treating children (my own and many others) for common ailments, I have found natural medicine to be much more effective then then conventional therapy.

Staying healthy in the winter time YouTube class- introduction

Because most of the common winter ailments are related to the respiratory system I find it apropriate to start with a few short videos on the respiratory system and how it works.

Cilia and mucus membranes play a big role in most acute and also chronic respiratory problems. They also work together with the immune system to fight off diseases. I put here another video that show how it works.

Now all of the common winter ailments are directly related to Cilia mucus membrane and the immune system.

Plastic polution

If there is one thing that everyone can do to help the environment it`s to just stop using plastic where ever possible . http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dianna_cohen_tough_truths_about_plastic_pollution.html
Click on this link to watch a short video of how and why.

Quick tips for staying healthy in the winter

Well here we are again; its winter time and the kids already have runny noses and coughs. Your throat feels itchy and scratchy in the morning and you just want to know what can you do to stop whats coming. It happens year after year winter comes around and brings with it the flue, strep throat and their buddy the common cold. Let us not forget about ear infections and sinusitis.

So the first tip to fighting off these common ailments is to catch them when they are small.

For Example I woke up this morning with an itchy throat (true story) and the first thing i did was cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a half a cup of water and drank that down, then after i got the kids off to school I made myself a sandwich that had amongst other things two cloves of fresh garlic. For now I am feeling 100% but i know that i got to stay on top of it because I may have some streptococcus bacteria hanging out in my throat just waiting for the chance to multiply and set up shop. 

so how do you do it, how do you keep your immune system good and strong so that you don`t have to pull out the nuclear weapons (by that I mean anti biotic).

1) Catch it early- if you have a itchy throat start to drink hot herbal teas like mint, chamomile, Elder flower, Elder berry and rose hip. Start taking vitamin C 1000mg per day. Eat fresh garlic, at least two cloves a day. If you start to get a runny nose or lung congestion, start to do steam inhalations with essential oils such as Eucalyptus, tea-tree and Raven Sara.

2) Keep your immune system strong- take vitamin C at least 500 mg even when you feel fine, eat fresh garlic, take a multi vitamin supplement and get regular exercise even in the winter months.