Family and Children Our Top Ten Thoughts for Vital Health Nutrients - OK, you went through 9 months of pregnancy. You signed up for a lifetime with this child - so, every morning provide a hot breakfast before school. The building blocks are protein, oil (essential fatty acids, which will be discussed later), water, fruit or vegetables, and whole grains. Some ideas: Scramble an omega-3 cage free egg with spices and last night’s left over vegetables; toast whole grain bread and then spread with a delicious nut butter; Chop up fresh apples with cinnamon; serve up hot whole grain cereal with raw honey and fruit etc. That being said, lunch is the most important meal of the day for you and your children. You are not going to be able to have the stamina to parent throughout the day, if you do not eat a large lunch, slowly, during the time of day when your digestive fire is strongest. School lunch does not count as lunch for your child; it will be primarily social time for most children and, most of is probably zero on the nutrition scale. So when your kids come home from school be sure to give them real lunch: soup, an entire sandwich etc. In this way they will be able to think clearly to do homework. In addition, the sad part of our nutrition is that 100 grams of spinach today has about 1.3 milligrams of iron as compared to 158 milligrams of iron in 1948. I am providing iron as one example of just one of the nutrients that is depleted in our food supply. You and your child both need to take a whole foods multiple vitamin (5 out 7 days of the week). Our recommendation is Kids and Us Essentials by Mega Foods. These are small and easy to swallow (children under 5, take 3; children 5 to 10, take 6). Family Dinner, Talk, Eating Seasonally - Have family dinner most nights. This takes some planning on the weekends or some division of labor, but can be accomplished. In my house, our family dinners have a formula: 4-5 roasted, steamed vegetables, whole grains (rice, millet, quinoa) in the rice cooker with the added nutrition of organic vegetable stocks, a protein, lots of water with lemon before and after, rice puddings/baked apples available for desert. In the summer, we eat more salads and fruits; in the winter more oils, free range meats, root vegetables, and soups. Prepare a lunch box with healthy snacks to keep in the car, so that you are not tempted to stop for fast food. Kids that have family dinner have the security blanket, even as teenagers, to see how much their family cares. This is the best prevention against unhealthy rebellions, where young people harm themselves because they are angry at someone else. Oelate - Americans are deficient in essential fatty acids. Yes, you do need fat, but it needs to be the right kind. Omega - 3 oils provide every cell with benefit. They allow the brain to cognate; they allow the cells to hydrate; they protect our circulatory system and our skin, to name just a few of the benefits. Having enough oils is essential, particularly during the cold winter month. Unfortunately, due to our destruction of the environment, we cannot get enough. Our cold water fish are contaminated (please do one thing for the environment each day); many cows no longer eat grass and instead consume a diet of corn, antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides and fertilizers; whole grain bread is less readily available. Provide your child with a spoonful of our terrific tasting Artic Cod Liver Oil by Nordic Naturals (orange flavored). I am not kidding you; my children and I take it each morning. If your children will not comply without hiding under the table, we have a capsule version. During the winter months, be sure to put pure organic sesame oil at the tip of nostrils (with a clean q-tip for each nostril); and also a small amount at your earlobes. This small act will prevent the dryness that can incept some bacteria and virus; as well as pull out toxins. Also, apply sesame oil (with a pure essential oil or without) to the base of your child’s feet at bed time, this will soothe their nervous systems to sleep. Don’t forget your feet. In the morning, give yourself a sesame oil massage before your shower to nurture your body, pull at toxins, and move your lymph (which moves toxins out of your tissues). Hydration - Drinking pure water at the rate of ½ the child’s body weight in number of ounces a day is the key to a healthy immune system (for you too). Water aids digestion when it is at room temperature, so before breakfast, after breakfast, prior to lunch, after school, before dinner etc. (you get the idea) provide your child with water. Soda has no place in your child’s diet - a treat once a week of 8 ounces of non-caffeinated soda will keep you and your child part of our Western culture, but that should be sufficient. Talk to your children about the massive marketing efforts of the soda companies who are making big bucks to make America sick - and have infiltrated the schools. Americans are spending $60 billion a year on soda pop; imagine if some of that was re-distributed to teachers, books etc. Does your child’s cafeteria (even in elementary) have soda? If there are soda machines at your child’s school, petition to eliminate it. Everyone in America knows this is not helping our children, but harming them (obesity, tooth decay, lack of proper hydration, fake sugar chemicals etc.) Also, read labels and do not provide any drinks with high fructose corn syrup (this is the fast route to insulin resistance and type II diabetes). Always choose fruit over fruit juice; although freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices are fantastic. Prevent, Prevent, Prevent - Yes, you can prevent most colds and flus. The guidelines above are a beginning. But, I also supplement with key immune boosting herbs for my children in the winter. This is money well-spent; Less stress and misery from being sick, school work going smoother because of less days missed, less work days missed for the parent, less trips to the doctor, less medicines etc. My favorites are: Black elderberry extract - Strengthens the immune system to help prevent virus, provides blood flow to the capillaries etc. For young children 3 to 10, I administer Eclectic Institute’s Elderberry extract (1 to 3 dropperfuls 5 days a week, depending on the size of the child). This is food and does no harm. When the child can swallow, most prefer capsules, Professional Solutions (Black Elderberry Capsules) . Astragulus or Ashwaganda - Astragulus goes into the bone marrow and increases white and red blood cells. Ashwagandha, “vitality of 100 horses”, both strengthens the immune system and helps the child to relax at night. We carry Eclectic Institute’s Astragalus Extract (3 dropperfuls everyday) or Vital Nutrients Astragalus Capsules (take 2 capsules 2x a day). We also carry Ashwagandha Capsules by Banyan. Protect the digestive system from stomach flus with a probiotic powder (healthy bacteria) which supports the colon. My favorite is Probiotic Synergy Powder by Designs for Health, mixed in yogurt in the morning. Be aware of how the child is moving his/her bowels. Drinking room temperature water in the morning will help. If the child needs additional help, a weak cup of ginger tea or lemon in warm water will help. During the height of the flu season, I also add in Larix or Western Larch powder by Eclectic Institute to provide additional immune protection; I also add this to my children’s yogurt in the morning. Sleep, Security, and Night-time Routine - Particularly, in the nighttime regimen. Set up a consistent bed time for you and your child and do not vary. Even teenagers should have lights out and “good night kisses” by 10 pm. Younger children by 8:30 pm at the latest. Children benefit from a warm bath with drops of lavender oil (we love our Wisdom of the Earth oils); foot or back or body massages with sesame oil and these pure essential oils after bath; warm chamomile tea; almond, soy, organic milk warmed with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg; bed time story etc. Consistency is the most important thing. Play, play, play - Pick one, two or three days where your kids do nothing after school, but have one to two hours of play time. Even if they are in day care, you can create a play/downtime when you get home that involves no TV, no noise etc. I’m extreme in my life there is no room for the TV during the school week, but particularly eliminate it when the sun is out, during the school week, before bed. No child or adult’s nervous system needs this box in their bedroom. Make TV a special event and send your out to play with no agenda or noise (TV, Ipod etc). Imagine if you did this: picked two half hour segments and played: walked the dog leisurely, kicked the soccer ball or basketball around, hung out on the swings or at the park, climbed a tree etc. I believe that you know the quality of life would be improved. De-toxify - Do not put anything on your child’s body that you wouldn’t eat. We will be carrying a line of all organic products, Pangea Organics, that have no sodium laureth sulfate or parabens (petrochemicals). Everything that we put onto our skin is absorbed into our body. We also have a responsibility to our children to not harm the environment. When we use toxic chemicals in our house, they get into the water supply in both their production process and in our usage of them. Make natural cleaning products with white cider vinegar, water, essential oils that are as effective, if not more so, for cleaning and also protect your home environment. Rosemary, lavender, thyme, eucalyptus and lemon essential oils are as effective at ridding bacteria, as many of the toxic chemicals. Your children are exposed to enough toxins. Please limit where you can. Spiritual Connection - Each person needs time with nature, each day. Each person needs to connect with spirit in their own way: church, prayer, nature time or meditation. As you prepare your food, express gratitude for the plants and animals that came together to give you this meal. A meal prepared with love (even with the worst ingredients) is still better than a meal prepared with upset or negative emotions (even one that is all organic). Eat at home as much as possible, because you, for sure, will prepare the food for your family with the right spirit. Breathe - The role of breathing, slowly, each day for 5 to 20 minutes, deeply into your abdomen, with your mouth closed can not be overly emphasized. Breathing techniques, such as alternate nostril breathing or a mantra with your breath, such as SO on the inhale and HUM on the exhale, are helpful. The main idea of this breathing is to slow your breath, so that you live longer; calm your nervous system, so it is not living every moment based on the story of the past or the future in your head; and so that you are more present in each moment. As those of you may remember who saw the play, Our Town, by Thornton Wilder… When Emily is dead at that end and in heaven that is what she remembers… she never really noticed each moment as she was living it. May You Be Filled with Loving Kindness, May You Be Well, May You Be Peaceful and at Ease May You Be Happy

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Although these herbs are safe for most people, we advise that you consult with us
or your holistic health practitioner. Some can interact with other medications; others
are ill-advised with certain allergic conditions. Before putting anything in you body,
understand what is right for you based on your health history.
Listen to your body's wisdom.