My Wintertime Health Pantry: Activated Charcoal

Viruses abound. Especially if you have several children in the house and they like to share.

If one of my kids gets a stomach bug, it will invariably make the rounds of all of us before it's all said and done. But I've decided to fight back!

My favorite weapon against stomach viruses is activated charcoal.

Activated charcoal is pure carbon specially processed to make it highly adsorbent of particles and gases in the body's digestive system. Activated charcoal has often been used since ancient times to cure a variety of ailments including poisoning. Its healing effects have been well documented since as early as 1550 B.C. by the Egyptians.

It is GREAT to have on hand for kids because it can be used if you are concerned your child has overdosed on a chemical cleaner or an over-the-counter medicine. You can even mix it with water to make a paste to apply topically to bug stings or bites. Activated charcoal has even been used effectively in the treatment of snake bites.

It's one of the "right hand warriors" in my health pantry. So, when my four-year-old recently started throwing up and having stomach cramps and diarrhea, I whipped it out and instructed everyone to take some charcoal with their Emergen-C. Paul and I took two a day and the kids each took one.

No one argued with me. I guess they've learned over the years that stomach bugs are no fun!

Since the charcoal is very black and powdery, I camoflauged it as best I could for my two-year-old in some Activia yogurt (Activia is boosted with probiotic). He took it fine. My four-year-old balked a bit, but took it ok a half capsule at a time in the yogurt. It is odorless and tasteless as a capsule.

The quicker you can start activated charcoal once you've been exposed to something or start showing symptoms, the better.

Here's to a year free of stomach bugs!!

Where are the Digestion Police?

I admit it. There is something that drives me crazy when I see it. And it makes me wish there was a special task force just for Digestion Abusers. I guess that's where I come in: Officer Kristen.

First, let's define digestion and why it's important to your health. Digestion is the process by which food is rendered usable by your body and capable of being absorbed for use in carrying on the various vital processes of your body.

. . . This is important because if your body can't digest something you swallow, your body treats it as an attacking, toxic invader and goes into stress mode to get rid of it. If you commit this crime often enough, you'll end up sick and diseased. Not a pretty picture, is it?

But the good news is that God designed our bodies beautifully and wonderfully, and there is hope when we follow a few simple guidelines for what we put into our mouths and when.

Never, Never, Never. . .

serve raw fruit with a cooked meal!

Ok, my pet peeve is out in the open. Now, if you'll let me preach just a little more.

Raw fruits and veggies break down quicker than anything cooked, so when you eat a bowl of mixed fruit, say, with a plate of meat-sauced pasta, the meat sits in your gut for about 7 days and the fruit is done in about thirty minutes. So what, you ask?

Well, the fruit just sits there because it can't move on through your system properly and becomes essentially toxic. That defeats the whole purpose of eating the fresh fruit in the first place!

So, practice this general rule of thumb and all will go much better with your gut:

Eat fruits with fruits and vegetables with vegetables. If you serve a raw food with a cooked meal, go veggie.