Greetings!!!
This Blog will be a place to find all the tools you need to understand the basics for getting your life in balance and feeling in control again. It will be a place you can come to when I say "eat a candida diet" or a "wheat free diet" and be able to look that up. Or a place to find out a recipe to clean your bathroom without using the toxic cleaners on the market. It will be a place where you can post your recipes for "real food, real fast" to help us all find ways to get 7-9 servings of fruit and vegetables in us every day. Also a place to share the names of practitioners, books or websites that can help us be healthier.
I will begin by giving some background on my involvement and experience in natural health, which people often ask me about.
As a child, I was influenced my my dad (don't drink water during meals; it weakens your digestive juices, get outside and exercise, breathe fresh air at night-leave the window open all year) my mom( a nurse who taught us to care for our problems with good old fashioned soap and water, sleep, ginger ale or a hot water bottle) and my grandfather who was a christian scientist ( mind over matter, think the right thoughts to wellness)
In the 1970s, out on my own in the era of "back to nature" I began reading books on herbs and natural health and knew that was what I was comfortable with.
I experimented on myself and later my husband Ed and my children and learned all I could. When I had married and moved to rural Indiana I learned home remedies from my mother and father in law, who always lived in the deep country and did not rely on doctors.
I had my first son in 1977 using the Lamaze method of natural childbirth and diligently made all his snacks and foods to keep him a "natural" healthy baby.
In 1980 I became pregnant with my second son when we were in the process of moving to northern Illinois. It was a stressful time as we traveled back and forth fixing the old house we were to move into, and Ed worked long days as an engineer on the railroad. The strain of the pregnancy and caring for a 2 year old alone while packing and moving and settling in a new place far away from family and friends took a toll on my nervous system. The doctor I saw told me at 4 months pregnant, I looked like I got heavy easily so I should do a salt free diet to keep from gaining too much weight. he told me to drop all dairy except 1 glass of skim milk a day ( which I rarely got as milk upsets my stomach)
and to not eat celery and avocados as they were high in sodium ( which by the way is GOOD sodium which we need) After 2 months on his diet, one day, I had a few twinges of pain in my ear and slight congestion and woke up the next day with half my face paralyzed! It was a severe case of Bell's Palsy which is a virus that swells up the facial nerve but usually when the inflammation leaves the paralysis goes away. In my case I discovered ( thru hair analysis my chiropractor later had done) my calcium, magnesium and sodium levels as well as vit, D and E levels were seriously low so the nerve, being too weak ( as you need these nutrients for it to survive) , had died . When the doctor could only suggest SURGERY to MAYBE correct the problem (and possibly destroy my hearing and endanger my unborn child) I gave up on him!
I went to a lecture the next night on Natural Health (the Lord provides !) and the lecturer gave me the name of the wonderful chiropractor (right in the little town I was in!)that guided me back to recovery ( after lots of supplements and strange therapies!) Several years later the photos show 95% of my muscle function returned to that side of my face.
I immediately found a midwife and and we had our second child naturally with the Lamaze method at home. Herbs she brewed for me to do a sitzbath in healed the tears I received during birthing so completely that the physician who examined me at my 6 week checkup could see nothing to suggest I had tore.
THIS experience was the wake up call that told me YOU must be responsible for your own health. DOCTORS do NOT know as much as you think they do !
(remember : someone graduated at the bottom of the class- it could've been YOUR doctor!)
From that time on I began to pursue everything I could find to learn about healthy living.It became my passion. I feel everyone should know they are the one who can do the most good for their health One thing that bothered me was the fact that the more you read the more confusing it could be ! One author might say "pennyroyal is good to eat every day" the next one might say "never eat pennyroyal, it is toxic" . I found it hard to know who to believe.
In the mid 80s I met Bill Fage who introduced me to Natures Sunshine Products and answered my many questions. I liked the extremely strict quality testing they did, the fact that they were the largest herb company in the world (in over 63 countries today) and I liked the fact that they allowed you to call the health research dept. and ask the scientists questions. I also liked that they had regular seminars where they sent professionals out to teach about herbs and how they affect the body systems. So now I had an educational source I could trust.
Besides doing yearly daylong seminars with NSP and attending Bill's monthly lectures and herb hours, I took a 5 weekend 80 hour course to receive Certified Natural Health Practitioner in 1998. I continued with courses from Tree of Light as well as every class that NSP provided, and in 2005 received Certified Herbal Consultant, a 300 hour course. I continue to do yearly updates to keep my certifications current along with seminars, conventions and conferences with NSP.
I am happy to provide more detailed info on courses, classes, books and magazines for those who want to learn more for themselves on natural health care.
But for now - its time to hear how YOU came to be ready to seek out natural health care !
