My Health Pantry: Water

I read the following statistic on the back of an Ozarka water bottle this week and decided I just had to pass it along to you.

Skip the Sugar

A typical 12 oz. sugared beverage contains the equivalent of 10 tsp of sugar. Water has no sugar. Replacing ONE sugared beverage daily with water can cut 3,650 tsp. of sugar a year from your diet. (emphasis mine)

Replacing just one cola a day with water blesses your body on several levels:

* water flushes toxins from your system, which will keep you healthier as you age (toxins store up in our bodies and WILL eventually cause us problems--we can bank on it. We can make our good investments now simply by drinking one extra glass of pure water a day.)

* water makes your skin glow

* water can prevent headaches that are commonly caused by dehydration

* reducing sugar will help extra weight melt away

* sugar is addictive--anything we can do to crave only Christ is a positive thing in our lives

Make it fun to drink your water! For Mother's Day, my kids bought me a large cup from the craft store that they added a picture of our family to, and I love it. It makes me happy to drink my water from this tall cup, so I'm much more likely to drink my water.

Something as simple and inexpensive as drinking water is so a part of my routine that I often forget how basic it is to my health. But I know that when I'm seventy I will be so happly that I drank my water when I was thirty!

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!!

My Health Pantry: Juicing

Juicing is, in my opinion, one of the fastest and most efficient ways of getting concentrated nutrients into your sweet body pronto!

I often juice as I am fasting (called a juice fast) because fresh juices are great cleansers and help the body heal very quickly from what ails it. The power-packed nutrition is very satisfying as well and feels like your insides are getting treated to a day at the spa!

I love the flavor of freshly-juiced fruits, but keep in mind that a little of these goes a long way because of the concentrated, natural sugars. Let the bulk of your juicing be fresh veggies such as carrots or any green vegetable.

When I was pregnant with my second child, I daily drank 32 ounces or more of organic carrot juice + one green veggie. My favorites were celery, kale, cucumber or green bell pepper. Spinach actually wasn't too bad either. The green helped balance the sugary-ness of the carrots. Oh, and I often tossed in an apple as well. Yum.

When my son was born, my midwife could not get over how healthy the placenta was. She said she'd NEVER seen anything like it and was absolutely amazed. I attribute that primarily to the juicing.

I truly believe that if your health is in crisis, juicing is a powerful start to healing. And a great addition to any wintertime health pantry!

My Health Pantry: Fasting

One of the greatest tips I ever learned doesn't cost a penny.

Fasting every so often is a blessing to your health and makes you feel like a million bucks.

Stormie O'Martian wrote a little book on fasting that was inspirational and very informative to me. I read it several years ago and what I read in there still impacts my life today.

So, during this holiday season that is full of sugars and fats that can weigh you down and weaken your immune system, consider a short fast to "clean your house" and start your new year off right!

My Health Pantry: Neti Pot

The neti pot is my new best friend and has been a lifesaver for me this allergy season!

I've heard about the benefits of using neti pots for years, but honestly, I resisted ever buying one because I just saw them as. . . well, gross.

Ok, there it is. I admit it.

But I broke down finally and went for it, purchasing my first neti pot for under $20. Now. . . I wouldn't sell it for the world.

After recently being able to easily fight off a serious sinus infection with only a minimal sacrifice of time and sea salt, I am a now big believer in the benefits of regularly using a neti pot to cleanse your sinus passageways. In India and parts of Southeast Asia, it is as common to flush your sinuses as it is to brush your teeth.

The instructions are simple and you can use the neti over and over again (Wash between uses, of course, to keep from spreading any germs). And, if you have sons, they'll be fascinated to watch you use it. :-)

Between my two big guns--alfalfa and the neti pot--I am definitely breathing easy this allergy season!

My Health Pantry: ALFALFA

The "new kid" in my wintertime health pantry this year is ALFALFA.

This power-packed little herb is great for sinuses and has been knocking out my allergies very well this winter at a time when I am usually struggling for weeks at a time with upper respiratory congestion and headaches and sore, itchy throat. Can you tell I am a sold-out alfalfa convert??

Allergies is the one thing that I have fought year in and year out all of my life. Over the years, I have tried many wonderful things which were great for my immune system, but didn't seem to provide that targeted punch at my head that I needed.

If you struggle with allergies like I do, keep these three things in mind:

* cut the dairy immediately

it is an allergen and will cause extra mucous

* cut the sugar immediately

I even fast from honey for the most part--a tiny bit to sweeten your hot cereal seems to be ok--you'll be able to tell right away if you've eaten too much sweet because your mucous will increase or your throat will get scratchier, etc

* take alfalfa faithfully every day

4 capsules a day seems to work best for me

Alfalfa is such a great herb, partly because its roots grow so deep--sometimes up to 15 feet--that it is able to absorb nutrients that other plants don't have access to. Take alfalfa and you will super-boost your blood, digestion and heart (alfalfa helps to reduce bad cholesterol), among getting vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin B6 and Vitamin D. Alfalfa has been reported to provide more protein than beef, milk or eggs!

The best prices I have found so far for alfalfa are at Mountain Rose Herbs. I order my alfalfa loose in a bag and make the capsules myself, saving tons of money. It is so EASY and QUICK to make your own capsules--you can get your kids to do it. Click on the blinky at the top right of this screen to browse Mountain Rose Herbs' great site.

So, that's the scoop on alfalfa, "the father of all foods." Next time I'll step you through making your own alfalfa capsules for just pennies!

My Health Pantry: Emergen-C

One of the staples of our wintertime health pantry is good ol' Vitamin C.

We've tried different Vitamin-C brands over the years, and we finally found one that all of my kids really like: Emergen-C.

Emergen-c is Vitamin-C plus a whole lot more good for you. First, they start with a whopping 1,000 milligrams of non-acidic Vitamin-C, which your body will appreciate. Then they add 32 minerals and electrolytes. Then they throw in B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12 for energy.

The result is a tasty little powder that you pour into filtered water for a non-carbonated health and energy boost. My kids love the raspberry and ruby lemon honey flavors the best. And I am able to easily find Emergen-C at my local Walmart and Kroger stores, which I love.

Each box of Emergen-C packets costs under $10 in my area, which makes it one of the more affordable ways to get good stuff down my kids, and I really love that!

Hey--check out The Emergen-C web site to see the latest product for kids, by kids: Emergen-C Kidz complete multi-vitamin!! I just discovered this new product while writing this blog. I really like the fact that each packet has 24 essential nutrients, plus choline for healthy brain function. My kids loved the cool names like: Strawnanaberry Blast, Orange Pineapple Explosion, and Cherry Yumberry. Sounds like a winner to me!

I believe you will be as pleased as we have been with the health and energy boost that you experience with only one little packet of Emergen-C a day. Cheers to the FIZZ!

My Wintertime Health Pantry

My friends are always asking me what I keep on hand in my "health pantry" to fight the terrible winter sicknesses that take so many people down.

I've got to be honest, with a family of seven (soon to be eight in the spring!!), we don't always escape the sicknesses through an entire "sick season," so please don't think we're perfect in this area. A lot of factors go into your family's wellness.

But with a little planning and determination, I believe that we can avoid most of the yuck and get better quicker if something does catch us.

Over the next few weeks, I will take you through my winter health pantry and highlight some of my favorite products. Some of these products I sell (why not sell what you love and get a discount for it, right?) and some of them I just love. Someday, I hope to have a virtual health store where I have physical backstock that people can buy from, but for now that's still in the dream stage, so we'll work with what we have.

I pray this trip through my health pantry blesses your family and helps you kick up your heels this winter!