Natural Allergy Remedies - There is Hope!

Dealing with Allergies

When I was young, I suffered from all kinds of allergies.  They were mostly seasonal allergies while a few were reactions to certain foods.  My mother would tap me on the head and assure me that my allergies would disappear as soon as the weather got better or when my stomach had recovered from the ingested food.  She didn't give me any medication for my allergies because her own mother – my grandmother – told her that there was no need to treat allergies.  "Leave them be.  They'll just go away on their own," she used to say.

Grandma was right.  They do go away eventually.  I went through life tolerating my allergies and in a way, I'm grateful that I wasn't fed any syrup or decongestant or given tablets and capsules to get rid of them.

Ever since I can remember, I was always wary about taking medication – over-the-counter or prescription allergy medication.  I'd rather live with my allergy than take drugs to cover up the symptoms.  I'm sure grandma would be proud of me if she were still living today.

The Cleveland Clinic classifies allergies into major types:  environmental, drug, and food, including pediatric allergies.  It defines an allergy as the immune system's incorrect reaction to a foreign substance.  The immune system reacts to a foreign body as though it was harmful.  

Allergens are substances that trigger allergies.  Your allergy may be different to the allergy of your co-worker down the corridor. If you have food allergies and you're not sure if the foods you buy contain allergens, you'll be happy to know that the US Food and Drug Administration now require food manufacturers to include the eight (8) top allergens in their labels if they are included in manufacturing the product.  (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-allergies/AA00057).

These eight allergens have to be listed on the label:

• Milk

• Eggs 

• Peanuts 

• Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts) 

• Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder) 

• Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp) 

• Soy 

• Wheat

Be careful though:  if the label says "non-dairy", it doesn't mean that the product is completely dairy-free.  A milk derivative (like casein) could be present.

If you're looking for natural remedies to relieve allergies, I would give the following products a try:

• Aller-sine Allergy Remedy by Vaxa – a product that is made in the USA and helps relieve runny nose, watery eyes and minimizes reactions to pollen, mold and animal dander. Contains no medication.
• Vaxa Sinus Formula – helps individuals deal with their chronic sinus infections
• Ceramic Neti Sinus Pot – the all-natural product for your nasal cleansing/irrigation needs.

You don't have to take allergy medication to get relief. I would try the Neti Sinus Pot first to try and eliminate with a natural salt solution the allergens that may be in your nasal passages. If you need additional help, you can try the Sinus Formula or Aller-Sine allergy remedy.

Good luck.

ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER - Natural Remedy for ADD

In the last few years, we have spoken with many parents who state that they feel helpless about their children who are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD).  Their specific complaints: 

(a) Doctors are quick to prescribe medication that produce side effects

(b)The lack of information about natural treatments for ADD 

Parents tell us, "Why should I start my 12-year old on medicines that I'm not sure are safe or will bring about complications? It raises my antennas when we're pumping young bodies with medicines containing strong chemicals.”

It's intuitve to be cautious about giving children ADD/ADHD medication, some of which have caused controversy among medical circles.

ADD is attracting a lot of attention (no pun intended) because studies show that it is behind poor academic performance, rebellious behaviour and anti-social qualities.  Over 1.6 million suffer from this mental disorder according to the American Psychiatric Association.  Five percent of American children are diagnosed with ADD; that represents about two million American children.   

How do you know if your child has ADD?  If your child exhibits these symptoms, have your doctor examine him or her:  your child cannot focus on his school work or on simple tasks, is nervous and anxious (your child can't sit still and wanders around frequently), talks excessively, tends to lose or misplace things.  Some children with ADD also interrupt people who are talking and have no sense of organization.  

Ask your doctor about natural remedies that can either replace prescriped meds or be taken as complementary homeopathic treatment.  Your doctor is the best person to advise you.

We recommend Attend by Vaxa to those with ADD or have children with attention deficit disorder. It contains essential nutrients that promote brain health by reinforcing neurotransmitters and a person's memory functions.  For more information, go to:  ADD/ADHD Alternative Treatment.

Chemical Free- No Parabens, No Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Earth Day has been a time for many to reflect on how we can all help the planet and ourselves at the same time. Now is the best time to consciously shop with your health and the environment in mind. With so many amazing chemical free products available, it has never been easier. Even Oprah is now exposing the harm that chemicals can cause to our body and our planet.

What is Chemical Free and Why is it So Important?
Basically, if you think you need a PhD in biochemistry to read the label, don't buy it. Sadly, most products on the store shelves contain harmful chemicals such as parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, Diethanolamine (DEA), fragrances and other synthetic chemicals. Most of these are hormone interrupters and are potentially cancer causing.

What are the Alternatives to Products with Chemicals?
The good news is that now many amazing natural cleaning products, natural shampoo and even natural skin cream is available at reasonable prices. Many of these natural health and beauty products are even organic.

Fundamental Face Cream is a wonderful line of natural, organic products that uses shea butter as a main ingredient in many of their products. Shea butter closely matches the bodies own moisturizers and is a wonderful ingredient. 

Vermont Soap Organics is another fantastic line of natural, chemical free products. Some of their best sellers include foaming hand soap, veggie wash and bath and shower gel.

We must do what we can each and every day, in our small way. Use rags instead of paper towels, take reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, carpool and turn off the lights when you are not using them. Every little thing helps our planet.

At EarthTurns.com we buy 'carbon credits' that offset our carbon footprint by purchasing trees that help remove carbon dioxide from our air. We don't package with plastic, and we use as little packaging material as possible.

We welcome your comments on how you do your part to help the planet and live a chemical free life!

Insulin Resistance: A Culprit In Today's Health Crisis

You may have heard of insulin, but do you really know all of its functions in the body and what insulin resistance is doing to you?

Insulin: An anabolic hormone for growth and repair.

Insulin:

• Stores excess nutrients
• Stores blood sugar for future energy requirments
• Stores Magnesium
• Retains Sodium
• Mediates blood lipids (fat)
• Stimulates cell division
• Stimulates sympathetic nervous system

You may be saying, so what, insulin does all these great things, what's the big deal? Here's the problem.

When we eat carbohydrates (sugar, pasta, bread, grains) the body converts them into glucose. The liver only stores about a one day supply of glucose (stored as glycogen). What do you think happens to the rest of it? It's stored as FAT (about 98% is Palmitic acid---a saturated fat).

SORRY TO GET SO TECHNICAL

So, a high carbohydrate diet is really a high glucose (SUGAR) diet. Insulin needs to be secreted to help store this added glucose and there is a large secretion of insulin. However, the cells try to protect themselves from the toxic effects of insulin (which in large amounts is irritating to the cells) and they down regulate their receptors and the number of receptors.

When this happens, the pancreas secretes more and more insulin because the receptors aren't sensing that there is so much insulin circulating in the blood. Finally the pancreas gets tired and Type 2 Diabetes can result.

Negative Affects of Insulin Resistance

Now that you understand why so much insulin is secreted due to our diets, I want you to understand the negative affects of insulin resistance, so that YOU will resist from eating so many carbohydrates in the form of pasta, donuts, muffins, cake, bread, sugar, cereal, etc.

Insulin is involved in the storage of magnesium. When the cells are resistant to insulin, magnesium is secreted in the urine. One of magnesiums major jobs is to relax muscles. With lower magnesium levels the smooth muscles in the blood vessels can't relax and they constrict, causing--high blood pressure.

To add insult to injury, magnesium also is involved in intracellular energy, so you also feel weaker and tired all the time.

Insulin is also involved in sodium retention. With the added sodium, you get fluid retention and you guessed it, yet higher blood pressure.

Insulin also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and you get further vasoconstriction (higher blood pressure), increased heart rate, increase in ability for blood to clot, increased respiration and an increase in blood sugar and cholesterol in the blood.

Since insulin is a mytogenic hormone, you also get increased cell division, which leads to increase in cancer and aging.

There is so much more insulin does, but I think you are getting the idea by now.

There Are Things You Can Do

Doesn't it sound like many of the medications you or your family and friends are on are designed to reduce the effects of insulin resistance?

Think of these: Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, cancer.

These are all preventable illnesses that have nothing to do with our genetics. It's our lifestyle that is killing us. There is hope if you begin now to change your lifestyle.

You must eat right, exercise right and think right to be a healthy human being. It is easier than you think. It's a lot harder to be sick than healthy.

Begin by:

• Drinking 2-3 liters of pure water each day
• Stop Smoking
• Eat fresh fiber throughout the day---veggies, fruit
• Limit your intake of sugar and other carbohydrates
• Eat Grass Fed Meats---high in Omega 3's...nothing wrong with good fat
• Take Cinnamon Bark or GTF Chromium to help lower your blood sugar
• Exercise 30-60 minutes EVERY DAY...you must get your heart rate up
• Meditate or Pray Daily.
• Love yourself, and your friends, family and the planet.

If you are not physically fit, you should always discuss with your doctor before beginning exercise or changing your medication.

More information on Diabetes Remedies...

Importance of Probiotics--Best Probiotic Available

Probiotics are the live, beneficial bacteria that are nature's way of maintaining proper balance in the intestinal tract.

There are over 400 species of bacteria, weighing more than 4 pounds, in the normal adult colon. Many scientists report that the intestinal tract should contain approximately 85% good bacteria and only 15% of the harmful microorganisms.

Balancing the micro-organisms in the gut is not possible in many people, because of their lifestyle of poor diet, chronic stress, pollution and antibiotics.

The word 'probiotic' originates from the Greek meaning 'for life'. Some common names for probiotics include:

• Friendly bacteria
• Beneficial bacteria
• Healthy bacteria
• Normal flora

What Do Probiotics Do?

These natural probiotics help to digest our food, produce vitamin K and several B vitamins, promote normal absorption of nutrients, improve intestinal blood flow and even detoxify our body.

In addition, they are an integral part of our immune system, helping to kill the harmful microorganisms that find their way into our gut.

You may have already experienced the signs of killing the good bacteria:

• Stomach discomfort
• Gas and bloating
• Loose bowels
• Vaginal yeast infections

It is important to take a complete spectrum probiotic supplement so that you replenish the good bacteria as soon as possible following a course of antibiotics, stress or poor diet.

Fundamental Probiotic- Complete Spectrum Probiotic Blend

Although most of us were raised to think eating yogurt provided the good bacteria, unfortunately it only contains 2 strains of the healthy normal flora and only 100 million or so active cultures per serving. This just isn't good enough.

Although 100 million sounds like a lot, in the bacteria world, it's an insignificant amount. Scientists tell us the lowest amount that would really be effective is about 10 billion bacteria per day. Ideally you should be getting more, and doctors may recommend up to 100 billion per day in some cases.

The other problem with yogurt is that humans were not designed to consume dairy products into adulthood. Dairy makes our bodies acidic, further deteriorating our health and possibly leading to osteoporosis. In addition, most yogurts are loaded with sugar, further increasing the body's acidity and increasing the chance of a yeast infection or type-2 diabetes.

Using just one Fundamental Probiotic ™ supplement on a daily basis will provide you with over 25 billion healthy bacteria that will go to work for you to promote health.

While most yogurt contains only 2 strains of bacteria, Fundamental Probiotics contains:

• 12 different strains of friendly bacteria
• More than 25 BILLION CFU's in every vegetarian capsule

There is not a better Probiotic capsule available that is Made in the USA and that contains such a wide variety of bacterial strains.

More Information About Probiotics