Vaccines are potentially dangerous in numerous ways, due to the quantities of vaccines given and chemical and heavy metal additives used in production and for preserving them. Both of my daughters had severe reactions to being vaccinated more than 20 years ago, causing years of difficulties for both children and parents, and there are so many more vaccines given to our babies and children today. Although there are many reasons for the sharp increases in autism in children, and Alzheimer’s and other dementia in elders, I firmly believe that immunizations, including annual flu shots, (which often contain mercury and other harmful chemicals and heavy metals).

I want to let people of all ages know how they may safely strengthen their immune health so as to help prevent illness, and recover quickly if sickness occurs. These are simple, often inexpensive solutions that are considered safe for people of all ages, unless otherwise noted in the text. If you prefer to have more personalized information, please consider a Wellness Consultation or the Six Months to Wellness Program. I’d be happy to support your wellness education in any way I am able.

First, and possibly most importantly, eating whole milk plain organic yogurt (or kefir) every day may be your best line of defense. Eating whole milk plain organic yogurt is shown in research to be one of the most powerful selective antimicrobials that we have on Earth. Astonishing, right? What this means is that it can help our bodies to fight the bad guys and support our good colonies of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract, assisting digestion, immune health, energy levels and a cheerful mood.

Notice I said ‘whole milk’, ‘organic’ and ‘plain’. This is because low fat and fat-free yogurt are no longer whole foods; they’ve had all that good fat removed, and most of the powerful immune boosting nutrients are bound to the fat. That good fat (the cream on the top) also supports good brain, skin, mood, heart and overall health.

I also stipulated that the yogurt should be ‘organic’. This is vital for immune health, as we want to avoid the hormones and antibiotics that are believed to compromise good immune system health. Non-organic yogurt, usually loaded with food additive chemicals, numerous forms of sugar, and ‘dead’ beneficial bacteria, should really be referred to as pudding, not yogurt. And ‘plain’ is implying ‘unsweetened’, as sweeteners also compromise the immune system.

Now, I often hear people say that that they don’t like plain yogurt, that it’s too sour or boring. For the numerous health benefits, we want to taste that sour flavor, but we need not always eat yogurt alone, although you’ll want to avoid fruits and other sweeteners. You may try mixing in some organic cinnamon, a thinly sliced cucumber, or finely chopped red pepper. These are all ways my daughters and I have loved eating plain yogurt over the years. I’ve found even finicky toddlers love these three simple recipes. Try them daily to strengthen your immune health or create your own sweetener-free yogurt snacks.

In my opinion, the most amazing immune strengthening herb is Elderberry. If you haven’t read my recent article about the benefits of Elderberry yet, please do so. Elderberry has been revered throughout much of Europe and with many Native American tribes for centuries for strengthening the immune system, providing the body with the ability to stay healthier, fighting illness and disease. The traditional use of Elderberry for prevention of cold and flu was to consume a small amount beginning just before the flu season begins and each morning and night until spring arrives.

Unlike many herbal immune remedies, Elderberry has been successfully used for prevention, the onset of symptoms and when cold and flu symptoms are full-blown. Traditionally, people experiencing illness would increase the frequency of taking Elderberry tincture, elixir or syrup from between four times a day to as often as every hour, and sometimes as often as every fifteen or twenty minutes. Since virus germs and bad bacteria can multiply every fifteen or twenty minutes, this may help get their numbers down quite quickly.

Raw local honey is another wonderful way to lift the immune system. The traditional use of raw local honey to prevent illness has a rich history going back thousands of years. Very small amounts, usually ¼ to ½ teaspoon each morning and night is believed to help the body fight potential pathogens, improve vitality and increase overall health. One of my favorite ways to use raw local honey is to mix it in a glass of slightly warm water with a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice. Larger amounts of honey, because of the sweetness, may create an opposite effect, so please be sure not to overdo it.

Honey should NOT be given to babies less than one year old. All others, especially folks who suffer with allergies, will likely find a great improvement in immune health with the use of raw honey daily.

Eating more vegetables is well known to improve the immune system’s ability to fight illness, including the flu viruses. Include a wide variety of colorful cooked and raw vegetables in all three of your daily meals, and reach for a snack that includes vegetables when you need a between meal pick-me-up. Please don’t count potatoes as one of your vegetables, however. Their high starch content makes them an immune weakening food.

And you may want to reduce or eliminate the following foods (or food-like substances) to support your immune system:
sugar- white sugar, processed honey, etc.
flour (even whole wheat, soy, rice, and other whole grain flour). This includes most bread, pasta, pastry, rolled and instant oats and packaged cereals.
fried foods are quite harmful to our immune health
junk food
food additive chemicals
margarine, shortening and most vegetable oils, especially soy and canola
fruit juices- drink water or herbal teas instead.
fruits- people are often surprised by this. An apple each day, or an occasional piece of fruit is not bad for us, but the amount of fruit that most Americans eat is potentially damaging to our immune health.

To your health!

Here is a partial list of symptoms, conditions and degenerative diseases that have been shown to be helped over the centuries through safe, natural periodic cleansing and simple daily detoxification practices:

o Acne
o Allergies; sinus, tactile, digestive, hives, etc
o Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia syndromes
o Anxiety
o Arthritis
o Asthma attacks
o ADD /HD (attention deficit)
o Autism spectrum
o Body odor (foul)
o Brittle nails
o Chemical sensitivity
o Chronic constipation
o Chronic digestive disorders
o CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome)
o Chronic infections
o Chronic respiratory issues
o Chronic weakness
o Cirrhosis of the liver
o Crohn’s disease
o Depression
o Drug /food addiction
o Eczema
o Fibromyalgia
o Gallstones
o Gout
o Gum disease
o Hair loss
o Halitosis (bad breath)
o Headaches
o Hot flashes and night sweats
o Immune disorders
o Insomnia
o Irritability
o IBS (irritable bowel disorder)
o Kidney disease
o Kidney stones
o Low blood sugar
o Memory loss
o Migraines
o Mood swings
o Multiple sclerosis
o Muscle aches / pain
o Obesity
o PMS
o Parkinson’s disease
o Psoriasis
o Rashes, itching (chronic discomfort under skin)
o Sinus pain (drip, irritation, sinus headache, etc)
o Ulcerative colitis
o Ulcers
o Weak bones
o Weight gain (excess)
o Weight loss (excess)

Accumulating toxins may affect just about any region of the body or mind as the incomplete list above shows. Properly cleansing the debris from the body’s organs, tissues and cells allows the body to find its center, restart nutrient utilization and resume a better working order. Rejuvenated organs and cells offer us more energy and vitality as well as a sense of inner peace and calm. This can lead to more restful sleep, a lift in spirits and a release from chronic pain and discomfort.

Here are my top 10 favorite general cleansing herbs and foods. It is not good enough to purchase one or more, however, unless you pay close attention to the quality of the product you choose. Please buy organic/ local whenever possible.
For more info, read my article “Quality is Everything” .

Turmeric
Ginger
Holy basil (tulsi)
Red clover
Burdock
Hempseeds
Sea vegetables
Blessed thistle
Dark leafy green vegetables
Sprouts

We hear a lot of discussion about detoxification these days. While cleansing and purifying the body systems is essential for optimal health, there are times in the year that are more ideal for a major detoxification program than others. When I teach detox programs, the greatest enrollment is nearly always directly after the New Year, which is, for those of us in the far north, the worst time of the year to cleanse. Winter is a time to build and nourish, strengthening the immune system’s ability to protect us from seasonal illnesses. Cleansing during the cold winter months may weaken the body. Spring and fall are ideal for therapeutic detox programs. Daily detoxification herbs may offer tremendous protection from chronic illness, heart disease, cancer, colds and the flu. But not just any detox herbs will do. If we want good results, then we need to pay attention to the quality of the product! Please read Quality is Everything, for additional information.

There are many safe and effective ways to protect ourselves from the onslaught of toxins every day of the year. Several foods may serve to gently cleanse the liver, blood, colon and cells. Squeezing lemon or lime, preferably organic of course, into your water or onto food can help support the liver’s function. Eating artichokes, asparagus and dark leafy greens such as kale, collards, arugula and watercress also support liver detoxification and blood purification. Beets help detoxify and build good blood.

The colon’s ability to function optimally is most important for vibrant health. Adding freshly ground organic flax seeds or hempseed fiber to cereal, salads, soups, yogurt and sauces is an inexpensive and effective way to support colon health. Flax and hempseed are better sources of fiber than most of those products found in the grocery store aisles. Some of those are made of tree or cellulose fiber. Some may make our bodies dependent of the product in order to eliminate, similarly to many laxatives.

Some of the best fiber products on the market are produced by Renew Life. Their Fibre Smart Powder is made with pre-milled flax which I do not usually recommend. It’s ok in this case however, because the oils that easily go rancid after fifteen or thirty minutes post-milling have been removed. They also offer an Organic Triple Fiber Powder and a cinnamon flavor Organic Bowel Cleanse. All three are made with predominantly organic ingredients, no psyllium and are quite good at cleansing the colon and supporting the removal of the cholesterol that is sent to the colon for elimination.

Renew Life also makes seven delicious Organic Fiber Bar , such as Chocolate Dream or Lemon Burst. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Well, they do all taste very good, and some are even delicious; and what’s more, they have 14 grams of fiber, which is more than half of the recommended amount that we should consume per day! Not bad!

There are some wonderful herbs and herbal products formulated for daily detoxification that we can use safely to support the body’s ability to keep up with the onslaught of toxins. Some of the best will include organic turmeric, green tea, ginger and a little known Ayurvedic herb called Tinospora cordifolia.

Organix South’s line of Ayervedic herbs called Thera Veda offers some excellent and very safe daily detoxification products. Vijay Cellular Support offers overall cleansing and antioxidant activity, while Nirmal Liver Care Formula provides significant assistance to the liver’s ability to detoxify effectively, and Pavan Upper Respiratory Formula helps the body with the respiratory tract that may have been exposed to air pollution. Supercritical Antioxidants

New Chapter’s also got some powerful products for daily detoxification support. Supercritical Antioxidants has clinical research to support its significant antioxidant activity. Turmericforce is a potent, yet gentle product to support liver, lung, blood and cellular detoxification, and a single serving of their Green & White Tea is equal to 5 cups of tea in liquid form. In Japan, those folks who are the healthiest tend to drink 5 to 10 cups of green tea each day.

New Chapter also offers an amazing product named CoffeeBerry. The fruit of the coffee is believed to be one of the most powerful antioxidant foods on Earth, providing the activity of five servings of antioxidant rich fruits. Low in caffeine (with the caffeine of only one sip of black tea), it won’t make you feel jittery. And the big bonus is that Coffeeberry contains five of the eight ‘essential sugars’ that build and protect healthy cells.

Some of my other favorites include Gaia’s Anti-Oxidant Supreme, Cleanse Maintenance or Tumeric Supreme. Flora makes a wonderful detoxification tea called Flor-Essence liquid or bulk tea packets, that has been used for cancer and cancer prevention for decades. It may also be used periodically or daily for the prevention of many other imbalances, as well. Flora also offers a new product called Super Antioxidant with Pomegranate.

There are other organic daily detoxification products on the market, but these are the proverbial ‘cream of the crop’ for use when we desire noteworthy results. Now we can all relax and know that, although we can’t always control the load of toxins that we take in, we can support the detoxification process by using some of the most potent daily products available.

Indigestion, acid reflux, acid indigestion, GERD; upper GI troubles go by many common names, but the problem is huge and growing! That ‘purple pill’ has been in the top five best selling prescription medications for years, grossing $5.7 billion in 2005, according to Forbes.

Virtually all of the medications made to address acid reflux and indigestion on the market either work to reduce or neutralize the hydrochloric acid in the stomach, or to turn off the pumps that produce the stomach’s acid.

Hydrochloric acid is produced by the body so that, as the liquefied food called chyme, churns about in the stomach, the proteins will be broken away from the rest of the contents, to assist absorption when it reaches the various sections of the intestinal tract. It also acts as a protective barrier to kill dozens of the potentially harmful microorganisms that occur in our food or water.

Unfortunately for the millions of people who suffer with these uncomfortable and potentially very serious conditions, the reality is that the majority of sufferers may actually have insufficient stomach acid, rather than excess stomach acid. When doctors perform the Heidelberg capsule test to check for excess hydrochloric acid, the results show that as many as 90% have an insufficient quantity to properly digest the proteins contained in a typical healthy meal.

It can be very confusing for the layperson, and doctors rarely do any testing before writing a prescription for the latest version of reflux medication. This is unfortunate, since the symptoms of excess stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) production and insufficient production are virtually identical. It is therefore essential for our health and ability to absorb and utilize nutrients to be tested properly before beginning any of these medications, even the over-the-counter (OTC) ones.

There is a simple home test that any of us may safely perform when we are feeling indigestion. (Please note that those who suffer with a hiatal hernia may not experience the same results from these home tests as others will.)

We can mix a rounded teaspoon or two of baking soda (bicarbonate) into about six or eight ounces of water and drink it down the next time we feel indigestion coming on. If the baking soda neutralizes the excess acid, then you will know that you experience excess hydrochloric acid. If you don’t experience any significant relief, then you will realize that you have insufficient hydrochloric acid.

If you are the type of person who would like to confirm this information, there is also a safe home test to confirm a likelihood of insufficient hydrochloric acid. Just follow these simple steps:

At your local health food store, please purchase a bottle of betaine hydrochloride tablets that include digestive enzymes. An excellent product is called Parazyme, made by Renew Life.
Take one capsule as directed on the bottle with a larger meal. (This does not mean that you need to eat a large meal, just a larger one in your typical day.)
If you feel none of the discomfort that you normally experience, then you will probably be in good company with the millions who have insufficient hydrochloric acid production.
If you feel a burning, discomfort in the tummy or indigestion, this indicates that your level of hydrochloric acid is sufficient (or sometimes in excess). You may want to use a teaspoonful of baking soda as in the test above to relieve the discomfort.

There are other tests for stomach PH but they’re more invasive. One of the lesser uncomfortable tests is the Heidelberg capsule test, where a plastic capsule is swallowed that contains electronic monitoring equipment. The capsule measures the pH of the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine and transmits a signal back to a monitor worn by the patient.

If you visit your doctor and mention your tummy symptoms, you’re likely to receive a prescription for a proton pump inhibitor medication, without any testing whatsoever.

Recently released research has shown that there may be more considerable problems associated with several of the best-selling upper G. I. medicines than previously believed.

The good news is that there are several holistic ways to support digestive health so that we may not need to resort to the potential side effects linked to these various popular prescription and OTC meds. To begin with, there are several dietary practices that you may choose that have helped millions before you.

1. Don’t drink water, milk or soda with your meal. This can dilute the hydrochloric acid and enzymes necessary for proper digestion. To prevent thirst while eating, drink a refreshing glass of water 15-30 minutes before your meals.
2. Don’t drink alcoholic beverages with your meal. If you enjoy a beer, glass of wine or a mixed drink in the evening, it would be ideal to wait one hour or more after eating.
3. Reduce your overall sugar intake. Refined sugar may be a significant contributor to the discomforts of indigestion.
4. Reduce your white flour intake. White flour has had the bran and germ removed, and the fiber found in the bran is well known to support digestive health.
5. Eat your vegetables! More root vegetables and dark leafy greens help to alkalize the body, and an alkaline body experiences better digestion.
6. Chew your food. We should chew our food until it is a fine liquid without chunks, and then swallow. This usually takes upwards of 50 or 60 chews per bite. Most Americans, however, chew six to ten times per bite, and swallow their food with good sized pieces intact. This is very hard, even impossible, for your digestive tract to break down completely.
7. Sit down when you eat. Sitting encourages the digestive processes.
8. Relax. Don’t eat on the run, or while angry or upset. Before eating, try taking a few deep breaths. The difference will probably impress you.

Try paying attention to which foods tend to affect you and while you are working toward digestive health, do your best to avoid these foods.

Candida in the intestinal tract has been associated with problems of the stomach. For much more information on this topic, please read: Candida Free!, posted to this site very soon.

Next, let’s discuss the herbs and nutritional supplements that may provide digestive relief, according to dozens of studies and millions of users throughout the world.

Ginger, preferably certified organic, is well known for its effect on virtually all aspects of digestive health. Taken just before, during or after meals, ginger can significantly support the calming of upper G.I. tract distress, increasing the body’s ability to break down foods and digesting proteins, so as to help increase absorption and utilization of nutrients. Ginger, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, also helps prevent gas, sooth intestinal discomfort and support eliminative regularity.

New Chapter, one of my favorite and most respected companies, produces some of the most potent certified organic ginger products on the world market. Much of their ginger is grown on their biodynamic farm in a remote region of Costa Rica. It is then processed into a variety of therapeutic, digestive comforting products, including capsules, liquid extracts, concentrated tiny softgels and delicious ginger honey syrups.

When I travel, I always bring the ginger capsules, which can serve triple duty, helping with my inflammation and occasional issues with motion sickness. The Daily Ginger is helpful for daily use, and I’ve found the Gingerforce, a super potent 250:1 concentrate of ginger extract, to be phenomenal for my more ‘heavy duty’ needs. At home, I use the Ginger Honey Tonic daily.

Swedish bitters, served at most fine restaurants throughout Europe, may be sipped or drunk down directly after eating to support digestion and help prevent discomfort. There are hundreds of different combinations of herbs that may be chosen, so if you aren’t fond of the first one you try, you may not want to stop there. Try another. Some are really quite tasty! But, like the name says, they are bitter. It is probably better to develop a taste for bitter and have good digestion and utilization of nutrients than to experience serious side effects of something that is actually preventing most digestion and absorption of nutrients from occurring.

Enzymes – Good digestive function relies on the body’s ability to produce digestive enzymes. Enzymes are used to break foods apart and release specific nutrients. Protease enzymes prepare proteins for absorption; lipase prepares the fatty acids (good fats), lactase to break down milk sugars, etc. Taking digestive enzymes with meals helps to assist the process of digestion, supporting increased absorption and providing our cells with the necessary nutrients, as long as we’re consuming healthy, organic whole foods.

Although there are hundreds of enzyme products on the market, there are very few excellent, therapeutic quality ones. My favorites include those offered by Renew Life and Enzymedica.

Enzymes with HCI – As mentioned in the home test above, hydrochloric acid (HCI) is available in supplement form, and may be most effective when combined with digestive enzymes.

Licorice – Licorice has been used in Asia to support digestive health for thousands of years. Its mucilaginous (thick and slippery) appearance helps by soothing gastric mucous membranes.

Wood Betony – An uncommon herb that is very supportive of the stomach and solar plexus is called Wood betony. A member of the mint family, wood betony has been used for hundreds of years for a tight and nervous stomach, the burning feeling of the stomach and gas. T was prescribed by doctors in previous centuries for those who ended toward both nervous and digestive disorders.

Peppermint, as well as other varieties of mint, is known to help settle the tummy when indigestion rears its ugly head. If you have only occasional mild discomfort, a peppermint tea may suit your needs.

As you can see, there are lots of ways to experience truly natural relief for tummy discomfort. Let me know what you find works best for you!

With New Year’s Eve in just a few days, it’s about time to take the necessary steps to assure a happy New Year’s Day, free of headache, upset stomach, aches, pain and an overall feeling of malaise. With this knowledge, you may then go out (or stay in) and enjoy your favorite celebratory beverages and feel just fine in the morning.

First, be sure you’re drinking enough water for your body’s needs. We should ideally drink half our body’s weight in ounces of fresh, filtered water every day. This means that a 150 lb person would consume 75 ounces of water daily. Now, let’s be clear about a common misunderstanding. This does NOT include the water that you use to make your tea, coffee, reconstituted juices, soups, etc. This means 75 oz (or approximately 9 eight-ounce glasses) of fresh, pure water that has nothing added! And, if you do drink coffee, tea (green or black), an alcoholic beverage or soda, there is something that you should be aware of. Because they can be dehydrating, you will need to drink one extra eight-ounce glass of water daily for every cup of coffee, tea, soda, wine, beer or shot of alcohol that you consume throughout your day!

You will ideally want to stay away from fruit, sugar and fruit juices for those few days prior to indulging in the bubbly (or your preferred alcoholic beverages). These foods acidify the body, setting it up for a greater possibility of imbalances, pain and illness.

Be sure that you eat a meal, but don’t overeat prior to drinking alcohol. You’ll want to have a well balanced meal, preferably rich in alkalizing vegetables. The more alkalizing vegetables include most root vegetables and dark leafy greens. Don’t overdo it with protein, but be sure you include a high quality protein source, such as fish, with your meal. Protein is more difficult to digest, so a smaller portion will leave you with more energy, and less likelihood of experiencing a hangover later or the next morning.

Miso vegetable soup is an excellent meal or component of a meal before a night out to celebrate. The salty flavor of the miso combined with the alkalizing vegetables helps to prevent the headaches or tummy upset often experienced after alcohol consumption.

Another preventive tip is to begin drinking approximately one to two hours after your meal, rather than drinking during or before dinner. This will give your body a chance to get the digestive processes well under way before it needs to deal with the processing of the alcohol.

Now, let’s discuss some effective tools for when you’ve been blessed with the nausea, headache, chills, aches and pains of drinking a bit too much for your body to handle. I have observed the following foods working to help the body with a wide variety of hangover symptoms.

Umeboshi plums are a Japanese pickled plum, available in most health food stores. They are very salty and quite strong in flavor. A tiny pinch of the flesh of the umeboshi plum is plenty, even for a ‘violent’ hangover. Beware; more is not better! Place the pinch of umeboshi between the gums and inner cheek and leave it there. Be sure to drink plenty of water both before and after using the plum. Repeat, if necessary, an hour later.

Swedish bitters, also sold at most health food stores, are used for virtually every digestive upset throughout Europe. Mix a serving of Swedish bitters with a glass of seltzer or soda water and sip until gone. Repeat, if desired, one to two hours later.

The following recipe may be made before bed or in the morning after the partaking of too much alcohol for the body to deal with. It is delicious, and in thirty years of use with my family and friends, I’ve never known it to fail!

Bring 1 cup (per person) of water to a simmer.
Add one umeboshi plum pit (with the flesh removed. Use only the pit, not the flesh. If only umeboshi plum paste is available, use a generous pinch of paste) per cup of water.
Simmer, covered, on low for 10 minutes.
Add a dash of real tamari per cup of water.
Simmer for 3 more minutes.
In a small dish, mix 1 rounded TBSP of kudzu (sometimes spelled ‘kuzu’) into a small amount of cold water.
Add to the simmering umeboshi tea, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. It will begin by looking chalky. You will know when it’s nearly done because it will become thicker and translucent.
Stir for one minute more.
Remove from heat, and let cool for approximately 30 minutes.
Grate fresh, organic ginger root.
Squeeze the juice from the grated ginger into the thickened tea mixture.
Add 1 teaspoon of ginger juice per cup of water and stir gently.
When it is cool enough to do so, sip one cup until gone.
Please be careful not to burn your lips and tongue, as this thickened drink will cling to them, just as a pudding or gravy might.

Happy New Year! Enjoy the celebration, and now you will have a greater chance of enjoying the morning after, as well!

The holidays can be a joyous time, but for the millions of people with digestive complaints and stress disorders, it can be a time of great pain, discomfort and the potential for embarrassment. Overeating, too many delicious sweets and strange food combinations can create a variety of discomforts. And the stress of family interactions often contributes to any digestive problems that you may already have issue with.

1. Reduce the stress load. Exercise often, preferably daily for at least 30 minutes. Breathe deeply. This is an excellent task for passing the time while waiting in line, while stuck in traffic or just before bedtime. If you’re prone to stress disorders, you may want to try Holy basil, Ashwaganda or Rhodiola. Holy basil helps, according to traditional use, to quiet the mind, improve focus, balance blood sugars and support immune function. Ashwaganda is useful in times of great stress or long term fatigue. Rhodiola is shown in research to lift the spirits, calm the adrenals, improve motor coordination and clarity of thought.

2. For the few days before the holidays begin, try taking 2 (or more) probiotics 30-60 minutes prior to each meal and snack. To choose an excellent quality product, please see Food Safety: Protect Yourself from Food-Borne Sickness, posted to this site on December 21, 2006.

3. Try eating smaller meals throughout the day, rather than the one huge meal so many folks indulge in during the holidays. If you’re the host, try staggering the h’orderves, snack foods and other refreshments about every two to three hours throughout the day, removing the previous course as you go.

4. Immediately after eating, you may try sipping some peppermint or ginger tea. Be sure to cover your cup or tea pot while the tea steeps. For superior results from ginger tea, try making your tea from fresh (preferably organic) ginger root, rather than from tea bags. With a fine grater, grate a rounded teaspoonful of ginger root, and squeeze the juice into warm, not hot, water and add honey, if desired.

5. Have a yogurt smoothie for breakfast or lunch. Be sure to use whole milk, plain organic yogurt as the base of your drink. If your family members and other guests are diabetic or prone to blood sugar imbalances, try adding ground cinnamon to a vanilla or fruit smoothie.

6. Chew thoroughly. We tend to be more prone to digestive discomforts when we gulp down our meals.

7. Relax when you eat your meals or snacks. Try taking three deep, relaxed breaths before each meal. Breathe deeply, hold for five seconds; exhale completely. Wait five seconds and repeat.

8. Try not to hold a conversation while eating your meal. Talking while we eat can contribute to indigestion.

9. Be grateful for your meal and all that you have prior to eating. A formal grace or a moment of silence is helpful for preventing digestive discomforts.

10. Try taking enzymes. Our bodies should produce all the enzymes necessary for digestion, but many of us do not produce digestive enzymes well these days, leading to poor digestion, pain, gas, bloating and other discomforts. When we feel more stressed, we tend to produce even less of the needed digestive enzymes. As always, it is important to choose a high quality product. Some of the best brands of digestive enzymes on the US market include Renew Life’s Digest More, Digest More Ultra or ParaZyme; or any of the Enzymedica brand’s products, including their Digest Gold. Renew Life also makes a wonderful enzyme that’s suitable for children called Kidzyme.

happy Holidays.

Food safety has been in the news, some would say, far too much recently. Although most of the thousands of strains of E. coli are harmless to the human body, the one found recently in hamburgers, spinach and lettuce or scallions, E coli. # O157:H7 can indeed be quite uncomfortable, even life threatening. How can we protect ourselves and our families from this serious intestinal infection?

When a family has visited a fast food (I use ‘food’ loosely here!) restaurant, why is it that some family members will become ill while others do not, even when they’ve all consumed the contaminated ingredient? Why is it that animals have been eliminating in the fields where our food is grown forever, yet we’re becoming increasingly sick from these potentially dangerous microorganisms?

Just as hospitals and nursing homes are finding it increasingly difficult to kill germs entirely, leading to the creation of dangerous ‘super bugs’, it is likely that this harmful strain of E. coli has mutated into a tough guy with greater influence than it previously held. But, more likely the greater culprit is our reduced immune function because of our vulnerability to being swayed by media campaigns produced by and for big business. Let me explain…

Our immune systems have been dangerously compromised by the overuse of antibiotics, steroids, several other medications, sugar, chlorinated water, etc that harm our beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, that live in our intestinal tract. This good bacteria is, quite literally, our life and health support team. It has become better known in recent years that probiotics are necessary for digestion, absorption and assimilation of nutrients, but we are now beginning to understand how important probiotics are to our immune system, as well.

Probiotics are our first line of defense against pathogens that enter the body through food and water. Without these powerful protectors, we become very vulnerable to food and water borne microorganisms including, but certainly not limited to, this potentially dangerous strain of E. coli.

For thousands of years, the human body has contained many strains of beneficial bacteria in the gut, but in the past one hundred years or so, we have been on a misguided attack campaign against bacteria as if they are the great enemy. In reality, it is estimated that, of the bacteria that live within the body and on the skin, only one in every one thousand is actually harmful and 999 are good, valuable and now believed to be quite necessary for life and good health.

Probiotic foods were the primary source for replenishing the probiotics throughout history. In every region of the world, people had their favorite cultured (fermented) foods that were eaten by most members of society each and every day, and in many regions these fermented foods were eaten with every meal. Through Eastern Europe and parts of Asia, there were cultured milk foods, prepared almost daily, such as yogurt and kefir. Eastern Asia prepared miso, tempeh, tamari and many delicious fermented rice dishes. When someone felt any digestive upset, a cup of yogurt or miso soup would have them feeling better in no time.

Today, we have adopted the mistaken idea that fermentation was strictly used for food preservation. With the invention of refrigeration, we’ve gotten away from the healthy habit of consuming cultured foods each day. Their sour taste has fallen out of favor, and simultaneously we have adopted habits that seriously damage the beneficial probiotics that inhabit our gut. We are becoming weaker as a result.

Antibiotics are taken for hundreds of minor ailments, often when the underlying issue is not even bacterial. Factory farming practices include the use of antibiotics for the animals, often daily, which is passed on to us through commercial dairy foods and meats.

When we overuse antibiotics and consume them regularly through foods, we become over run with the potentially harmful overgrowth of parasites and fungus, particularly several strains of candida. A person with a candida overgrowth will often crave excessive amounts of sugar and flour, eating fewer healthy foods that support our intestinal probiotics, particularly vegetables and sour foods.

People who use probiotic supplements prior to travel in third world countries have significantly fewer bouts of dysentery, traveler’s diarrhea and malaria. This would support the belief that those more prone to suffering the ill effects of a harmful strain of E. coli would be the members of the family (and community) with lower numbers of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract, and therefore a more vulnerable immune system.

To protect yourself from these potential pathogens, and to increase immune and digestive health, try to include organic cultured foods in your diet every day. If you are more prone to intestinal infections, colds, the flu or have digestive issues, you may want to include probiotics in your health program.

The unfortunate thing is that most of the probiotics on the US market are junk. A research study conducted at a naturopathy school by four medical students showed that, of the top selling 20 probiotic products on the market, 11 of them (including the two top sellers) had less than 10% of the live beneficial bacteria that the label stated were in each capsule, and 2 more had less than 30%! These companies should do us all a favor and put more money into the product they’re producing and less into marketing!

To choose an excellent product, visit your local health food store and purchase any probiotics produced by Natren, New Chapter or Bio K Plus. These three companies provide superb quality products that will likely offer superior results.

There is no doubt that the discovery of antibiotics has saved countless lives. When we have a life-threatening bacterial infection, antibiotics may certainly be the answer to winning the battle. But the question has arisen in recent years; are we overusing this miracle drug, jeopardizing our health and ability to fight minor pathogens, in the process?

The answer, according to both research and the health of the American people, is a resounding YES! We have fallen into the habit of requesting a prescription for antibiotics anytime we feel sick, whether that illness is related to an overgrowth of harmful bacteria or not. This puts our immune and digestive systems on very thin ice. The super-bugs that are being created through antibiotic overuse are getting more press in the last two years, with thousands of hospital deaths being associated with this growing problem.

Dozens of scientific studies have shown that the beneficial bacteria that colonize our intestines known as probiotics (although many refer to them simply as acidophilus, the most common of the species), are a very important component of the immune system (and the digestive tract), working for us in a variety of ways. They are well known to fight the harmful bacteria that commonly live in smaller numbers within our bodies, keeping them from ever becoming a problem. They also fight the bacteria that arrive through exposure to contaminated water and food, especially raw vegetables or improperly cooked foods. The recent spinach scare is a perfect example of this. Not everyone who has consumed the contaminated spinach has fallen ill, but those with few or no beneficial bacteria left in their gut to fight the pathogenic E. Coli have become ill or have even died.

Another way that probiotics support immune function is that they deliver important messages to the lymph nodes that line the intestinal tract, which are considered an integral part of the immune system. Probiotics also reduce inflammation, helping to prevent serious conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Probiotics seem to also fight other harmful pathogens including parasites, fungal infections (including candida) and viruses that can cause colds, the flu and even the HIV virus which can lead to AIDS.

We have only begun to discover the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of benefits that probiotics offer the human body when they are in sufficient numbers within the digestive system (and throughout the rest of the body). It is well known that we can effectively prevent or take care of a yeast infection with acidophilus, and if we can re-establish strong enough healthy colonies, help to prevent their recurrence. But are you aware that it is probiotics that are needed to bring the body back into balance for countless other illnesses and conditions as well?

Although many dermatologists treat severe acne with multiple rounds of antibiotics, it is, in reality, the beneficial microflora that are really what is needed for long-term benefits for good skin health. Too often, people with acne who are treated with antibiotics will find temporarily

relief, then experience years of auto-immune conditions following treatment. Had they been provided with high quality probiotics in sufficient numbers instead, the acne will usually clear up quickly and the immune system will then be strengthened, helping to prevent a future acne issue or many other immune concerns.

Probiotics help the body to convert the valuable nutrients from our healthy food into the form that our cells can use. Without them, we can eat all the most nutritious foods available, but we won’t be able to utilize them properly. Probiotics create several vitamins and other nutrients in the process, including the entire B complex to nourish skin, hair and the nervous system, and vitamin K for vein and capillary strength.

Probiotics create or increase the bioavailability of several antioxidants including lipoic acid, glutathione and superoxide dismutase (SOD). These powerful detoxifiers assist the liver in removing or rendering harmless thousands of toxic chemicals that we are exposed to every day through food, water, skin and even the very air we breathe.

Probiotics increase energy to the cells, organs and nervous system, helping to prevent fatigue, irritability and depression. They also have been shown to create important nutrients for the brain and nervous system, including phosphatidylserene (PS), phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylinositol (PI). Most people studied with severe depression, Parkinson’s disease, brain and memory problems are found to be seriously low in these vital nutrients. They must be present for serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine production and proper function. They are essential for the ability of the neurotransmitters to pass messages from one cell to another, in other words, essential for brain and nervous system health.

Stress, chlorinated water, excess sugar, junk food, antibacterial soaps, chemical exposure, pharmaceutical medications, overuse of antibiotics, as well as the antibiotics received through eating commercially produced eggs, dairy, meats, poultry and farm raised fish all deplete our probiotic colonies. Protecting and replenishing these vital beneficial bacteria is essential for good health. Eating organic, unsweetened yogurt and other cultured (unpasteurized) foods every day is helpful for maintaining healthy colonies; but once they are seriously damaged, we need the get out the ‘big tools’. Many of the commercial probiotic and acidophilus products, when independent lab tested, are found to lack the numbers of healthy microflora that the label claims they are to contain. Please read: Quality is Everything! posted to this site on August 28, 2006 and Herbal and Nutritional Products, the Good, Better and Best, posted to this site very soon.
If you digest poorly, need more energy, feel too stressed or get sick frequently, please visit your local herbal pharmacy or health food store to learn more about these indispensable health providers. With sufficient colonies of these wonderful intestinal residents, you can enjoy the health and vitality we all deserve.

There will be many more posts related to probiotics, gut health, immune health, and what’s not working with pharmaceuticals in the very near future. Stay tuned…