OLD NEWS:  I found it interesting that the list of what happens if you DON’T have enough vitamin D takes up far more space than just what Vitamin D DOES do for the body.  Basically, vitamin D is essential for promoting calcium absorption in the gut, and thereby maintaining serum calcium and phosphate levels, which enables bone growth and remodeling. This is old news.  We’ve known for a long time that vitamin D is important for bone health, which is why the USA adds vitamin D to a lot of their dairy products and cereals. This was back when rickets was a real problem, but these days, I imagine most people under the age of 60 have no idea of what that is – unless they are actually teaching our kids some health and nutrition in school beyond birth control. Sorry, I digress.

NEW NEWS: Now for some of the exciting new news - some of the newer research has shown that in addition to maintaining bone health, vitamin D is also important in human health in the areas of cardiac function, immune function, reduction of inflammatory response, and neuromuscular health. In addition to these there is preliminary research showing that adequate vitamin D levels can be cancer protective and helpful in auto immune diseases. I think the answer to why that is true is because of what you will see in the next paragraph.

What’s important about the newer research is that scientists have discovered that vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune system. They believe they have found that without sufficient serum levels of this vitamin our killer cells, specifically our T-cells, will not be able to do their job, which is to fight off infections in the body. T-cells are our fighter cells, the “big guns” you could say.  But, apparently, they must be "triggered" into their defensive mode in order to seek out and kill all foreign pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. The researchers found that the T-cells rely on vitamin D to activate them.  According to Prof. Carsten Geisler, Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology, "When a T-cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or antenna known as a vitamin D receptor with which it searches for vitamin D.” This means that the T-cells must have vitamin D before they are activated! Vitamin D is the "ON" switch for the T-cells! Which means, of course, if the T-cells can't find enough vitamin D in the blood they can’t do their very important job. This important fact is also an important consideration in dealing with auto immune reactions and the virus theory of cancer.

The other issue that seems to keep coming up is our inflammatory response and what role vitamin D plays here. Inflammation modulation is considered crucial for many chronic problems and diseases, such as how our blood clots. That alone will affect our chances of having a stroke or heart attack. Truly, inflammation is a subject in itself, but I found overwhelming agreement that anything you do that increases the inflammation in your body is NOT good for your body. A recent study showed that increased concentrations of a particular serum (blood) inflammatory marker, were found in women with low vitamin D levels. This would explain why adequate vitamin D intake is important in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases, including heart disease, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. There was a direct inverse relationship - vitamin D low, inflammation markers high.

Vitamin D - What happens when we don't have enough?:

Other than the generalizations of bone, immune function and inflammatory response I talked about in the previous paragraphs, below is what I consider a long and scary detailed list of both diseases and disorders that may result from NOT maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D:

•    Bones disorders:  Osteoporosis, rickets, osteomalacia (bone pain caused by softening), painful teeth
•    Cancer, especially bone, breast, and prostate
•    Adrenal insufficiency
•    Alzheimer's disease
•    PMS
•    Depression, usually in the winter months, seasonal affective disorder
•    Parkinson's
•    Cardiovascular disease – 45% increased risk of heart attack
•    Type I and 2 diabetes
•    Periodontal disease – which also leads to chronic inflammation
•    Premature births
•    Gestational immunity
•    Stroke – 78% increased risk
•    Autism, ADHD – please follow this link to read more about autism.
•    Chronic inflammation – which in and of itself leads to other dangers such as stroke & heart attack
•    Increased risk for cesarean section delivery
•    Overall decreased immune response
•    Any disease – there is a 77% chance of dying of any disease if vitamin D levels are low

We will see later that “what is normal” is still being debated. As you look through this list, you can see that some of these disorders/diseases can be interrelated, as chronic inflammation for example can cause cardiac failure and/or stroke. The point is, obviously, maintaining an adequate level of vitamin D is essential to our health and well being.

Let me just add this disclaimer - I am recounting to you my summary of the research articles, online discussions by medical professionals and information from governmental information sites. References and resources are many and will be included at the end of this series. I am absolutely not diagnosing or prescribing. Please read our general disclaimer for the website.

Tomorrow - we should be able to get through a discussion of our best sources and maybe even what is considered enough or too much. This is where the not everyone agrees and your own choices come into play. You must educate yourself before walking into any medical professionals office. Do not take the "just give me a pill for it" line of reasoning - because that is not reasoning at all.

Thanks for reading - comments and questions, as always, are very welcomed.

Ann

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I've noticed this past month that each day a new article or research paper about vitamin D has come across my desk. Some of this research is not new, some of it doesn't agree with what I learned in nursing school and when discussing a lot of the important stuff, those that are supposed to know the answers don’t agree. So this is why I decided to spend the last few weeks doing an in-depth research of all that I could find concerning vitamin D.

I've decided to break up this important content into the following categories - I hope you'll stay with me throughout the discussion and give me feedback with your particular and personal experiences concerning this essential nutrient.

Vitamin D, what is it?

Vitamin D, what does it do?

Vitamin D, what happens when we don't have enough?

Vitamin D, what are our best sources?

Vitamin D, what is considered "enough"?

Vitamin D, what is considered "too much."?

Vitamin D, interactions with medications and other cautions.

References and Resources.

Vitamin D, what is it?

Everyone agrees that vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that it is available in only a few foods and is, therefore, added to other foods as a supplement. Individual vitamin D supplements are readily available in both a prescription and an over-the-counter form. Many agree that the best way to obtain vitamin D is through natural sunshine exposure.  It is, however, necessary to have an adequate amount of ultraviolet rays (specifically UVB) from sunlight to strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. As you will see, this is not possible in some northern latitudes. Although there are five forms of vitamin D, numbers one through five, only D2 and D3 are bioactive and used in supplements, and for those who care, they are specifically Ergocalciferol or vitamin D2 and Cholecalciferol which is vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is synthesized by plants, whereas vitamin D3 is synthesized by humans in the skin when it is exposed to UVB rays from sunlight. Foods may be fortified with vitamin D2 or D3.

Although supplementation is available for both, we will find that there is controversy over which form, either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3, is better able to supplement our serum (blood) vitamin D levels. Sun exposure is still considered the best source for vitamin D. There are those who would argue that sunshine and ultraviolet rays are the leading cause of skin cancer. This is true and we will discuss this later.

Tomorrow, Part II - What does it do and what happens when we don't have enough.

Comments and questions are very much solicited.

Ann

A recent study shows a link to a higher risk, like 87% higher risk, of developing pancreatic cancer. Now as a nurse, I know whenever we heard “pancreatic” mentioned in the same sentence as “cancer”, we knew we had a seriously ill patient on our hands. The survival rate is not good for this type of cancer.

For most teenagers this risk doesn’t even phase them because as we all know – teenagers are invincible. The truth is, the problem of soda type soft drinks is much bigger than pancreatic cancer. Soda pop is full of phosphorus which causes an automatic balancing system in your body to restore the balance between phosphorus and calcium. How does it do this? Well, unfortunately, for a LOT of teenagers, actually for all of us who have been drinking soda pop all of our lives, this calcium is leached from our bones. We all know what that means. If you don’t, it means osteoporosis at earlier and earlier ages and for sure and certain if you don’t stop drinking this stuff! A 1996 study published in the Journal of Nutrition by the FDA’s Office of Special Nutritionals noted that a pattern of high phosphorus/low calcium consumption, common in the American diet, is not “conducive to optimizing peak bone mass in young women.” No kidding.

Not all agree – as with any discussion, there are those in the soda pop industry who will tell you that the amount of phosphorus in one can of soda is not enough to cause harm. Maybe true – one can probably not. The problem is and continues to be that most people drink far more than that in just one day. Most sources I checked agreed that the majority of teenagers (and adults) are drinking far more carbonated drinks any day of the week than any other beverage. The point is the high sugar content, or worse than that the aspartame, is contributing not only to early onset of osteoporosis but to early obesity in children.

True story – checking out at the grocery store, I turned to see three really cute little girls. Ages were probably 2, 4 and 6, cute as buttons, happily following alongside their father who had a grocery cart FULL of processed foods consisting of boxed everything. I saw no fresh anything – and yes I did stare. I really wanted to ask him if I could take a picture of his girls and his grocery cart, but I wasn’t in the mood for an argument. What really depressed me then and still continues to haunt me, was each of these LITTLE girls was proudly carrying a very large bottle of their own Mountain Dew! He was much bigger than me, so I decided now wasn’t the time to give him a lecture about how bad, wrong and evil he was. Yeah, I know at least he was WITH his girls and at least HE was doing the grocery shopping.

We won’t even go into the neurological dangers of aspartame at this time, but I have a very strong personal testimonial of how dangerous this one ingredient can be. Drink water!!

Follow this link to see a review of this article published in the medical journal, “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention”, as well as a short article by one of our favorite healthy-planet websites, Natural News.

Not just baby bottles, but all the plastics and canned goods in your home – including your personal care products! Wingsets uses recycle #1 and glass – don’t use #7 – look at the bottom of your bottle.

Check out this link to see what they are FINALLY doing about it. There’s a lot you can do too.

Now, the truth is, I’m getting older – oh, you are too! So, this remains an interesting topic for me. Plus, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at what I now consider a very young age – in her 70’s. She was a vibrant woman with an amazing array of talents. She has left a legacy of beautiful intricate quilts, some of which were commissioned by the Virginia Historical Society. So you see that I have a particular interest in keeping my brain healthy – and keeping your brain healthy.
Anthocyanin is what is proposed to be responsible for this neuron protection (see chart below). This particular flavonoid gives blueberries their color and is believed to be the key component of the blueberry’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Plants rich in anthocyanins are from the Vaccinium species, and as well as the blueberry, include cranberry, black raspberry, red raspberry and blackberry, blackcurrant, cherry, eggplant peel (cook it with the peel in place), black rice, concord grapes, and red cabbage. Which is where the “eat the rainbow” theme comes from. Blueberries and the other vegetables and fruits just mentioned will test high in their ability to decrease the amount of free radicals in your body. This is measured by the ORAC scale. Take a look at the chart below and see that although blueberries are somewhat down the scale, they are more easily available, usable and more reasonable in price. Someone please tell me where to get purple corn – I live in Nebraska for heaven’s sakes, why haven’t I seen purple corn? Chokeberry Jelly is Warren’s favorite, but this is processed to the point that any nutritional value is greatly reduced. Grapes in this part of the world are, in my opinion, fairly expensive and contain a high sugar content. From what I’ve been able to find there is 15.48 grams of sugar per 100 grams of fruit. We’ve been growing (okay ignoring) black raspberries in our back yard for almost 10 years now and they’ve produced a paltry amount of berries. They usually end up as bird food, but I think if I tried, I could probably get some pesticide-free, organically grown berries out of the vines that come up every year. But, my point is, blueberries are easier to come by. Please note, however, that black raspberries have been shown in studies to be very cancer preventative and inhibit promotion and progression of tumor cells. Food (pun, I guess) for another blog.

Food source – Amt of Anthocyanin (per 100 grams of fruit)

Purple Corn 1,642 mg
Chokeberry 1,480 mg
Red grape 888 mg
Eggplant skin 750 mg
Black raspberry 589 mg
Blueberry 558 mg
Red Raspberry 365 mg
Cherry 350-400 mg
Acai 320 mg

Free radicals: The term free radicals is no longer a mysterious sounding term to us. You can’t pick up a magazine, read a newspaper or check out your email without coming face-to-face with this fact of life. We all have free radicals and they are caused by normal metabolism. The question and issue is – can my body deal with the number of free radicals I have? The more inflammation, the more free radicals. We all do things to increase the inflammation in our bodies that includes regular wear and tear, degenerative pervasive abuse on bones and muscles, poor diet, as well as constant exposure to toxins from our food and environment. These free radicals, which can damage cell membranes and DNA through a process known as oxidative stress, are blamed for many of the dysfunctions and diseases associated with aging. I, personally, am not ready to get old!

We found a very good resource from the US Highbush Blueberry Council that goes into a lot of detail about the many benefits of including blueberries into your diet. In fact, they tell us that, “Using a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have shown that a serving of fresh blueberries provides more antioxidant activity than many other fresh fruits and vegetables.” This is not new information, but I believe it is something worth repeating. And new research continues to prove this as true.

Fortunately for us, blueberries taste good and can be used in so many different ways. If you do a search on the internet for blueberry recipes you will find no less than 2,600,000 recipes! We know that fresh is best, organic is your only choice and raw is preferred for health benefits. How do we eat blueberries in the Wooledge household? Okay – Warren and our grandchildren love them as pancake topping syrup and I love them in non-fat, plain yogurt sweetened with stevia. Okay, I do like to add just a little of whipped cream (just a squirt – I promise!). We buy them fresh when in season and frozen the rest of the year. The price is not outrageous and of all the high-antioxidant fruits I can think of, the most available.

How do you use blueberries? Do you use organic? Share your recipes and ideas with us – we’d love to hear.

4-digit number – means the produce has been conventionally grown – meaning lots of use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Enough said.

5-digit number – if it begins with an “8”, means the produce is genetically modified. We avoid GMO as much as possible, but very often when you buy processed foods you have no idea what’s really in that box and much less what’s in your children’s school lunches. This is also why I recommend buying and eating food as close to the source as possible, and hopefully, you KNOW the source. Why take chances with your children’s health? We’ll be posting a blog very soon about the pro’s and con’s concerning genetically modified foods. Can you even think about Monsanto and not be concerned? All of the European Union nations, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries require the mandatory labeling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients–the U.S. does not. However, on our produce we can tell – take advantage of it.

5-digit number – if it begins with a “9”, means you’re getting organically grown produce. Obviously, I think this is the only real choice. Do we always buy organic, well no, but we do try and the price difference is narrowing all the time. I’m a very lucky woman in that my husband does the grocery shopping. Warren found organic apples at our local Hyvee (probably the higher-priced grocery store in town) and paid $1.38 for Braeburns. The produce sticker was #94101. He also found Golden Delicious, sticker #94021, for $1.88. Not bad I’m thinking. I figure my eating organic produce now will certainly save me dollars in health care in the future. How much did that box of fake macaroni and cheese cost? The over-processed but already flavored rice?

These numbers are NOT on your barcodes, they are stickers placed directly on the apples as shown in this picture.

Let us know the prices you find for organic product. I’d like to compare different grocery stores, different towns and states.

Organically yours, (okay, not original – any suggestions?!)

Ann

World’s #1 Super Food?": The Acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) berry, a more recent discovery from the rain forest, was proclaimed the “World’s #1 Super Food” on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Enough said, right? Well, no, not in our book. Although like everyone else, we do love Oprah, we decided to research this a little further. According to NBC Today, the Yanomami Indians harvested and used this phenomenal powerhouse as a food that “holds unique power.” They believed there was energizing power in both the fruit and its oil.

Miracle Skincare ingredient? So – in our never-ending search for beneficial, natural ingredients, we decided to take a look at this miracle fruit as a possible skin-care ingredient. Guess we weren’t the only ones interested and you will now find it listed in some of the most expensive skin care products on the market.

What is Acai oil and where does it come from?: The Acai palm tree is native to Brazil and other parts of Central and South America. The small purple berries hang in clusters from the tall palm tree and each berry contains one large seed. As with any fruit, we’ve learned that the darker, the better as far as antioxidant and phytonutrient power. The oil from the Acai is cold-pressed from the seeds of the Acai berry. Cold-pressed is the best way to obtain oils as this process retains the highest content of beneficial properties otherwise lost during a heat or solvent extraction. The oil is naturally deep golden to light brown.

Why is Acai oil so beneficial?: The Acai fruit does, in fact, contain a truly amazing nutrient profile with a combination of omega-3, omega-6 and omega 9 essential fatty acids that support cellular structure, phytosterols, vitamins such as B1, B2, B3, E, and C, minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, and potassium, and essential amino acids. And as importantly, the Acai fruit is rich in anthocyanins and phenols, which are powerful antioxidants. It is no secret that Vitamin C is essential for helping to rejuvenate and revitalize your skin. Research shows that the content of anthocyanins is reported to be an astounding 10-30 times higher than the anthocyanin content of red wine grapes.
Antioxidant values are calculated according to an ORAC value and the Acai fruit is shown to have a value higher than pomegranates or cranberries. Studies have also shown that the phenols in Acai Berry Oil may help destroy and protect against cancer cell formation. Quite truthfully, all of our products are formulated with this element in mind – to help protect against cancer cell formation, which is why we use green tea and rooibos tea in all of our creams. Our research usually starts with this fact in mind even more than the anti-aging issue – luckily they usually go hand in hand due to free radical elimination.

Acai extract: The extract we use generously in our creams, especially the Skin Intensive Facial Renewal, is produced using a blend of dried Acai pulp, vegetable glycerin and water. It is alcohol free, GMO free, preservative free and biodegradable. The extract, of course, contains all of the beneficial properties mentioned above. These antioxidants help to reduce cell death which causes the aging process, thereby keeping your skin more firm and youthful. The full-bodied extract that we use is naturally dark brown in color and if you purchase a cream that has any beneficial amounts, the cream will NOT be white, it will be cream colored to tan – which ours is.

So – you decide. Is Acai “The World’s #1 Super Food?” Well…maybe not, as we can think of others that are probably more nutrient dense. We’ll publish a blog very soon about foods and what it truly means to be nutrient dense. In the meantime though, definitely Acai is a powerful skin care ingredient and one you should look for while reading labels. And – please DO read the ingredient labels before you buy anything.

You can also check out an article by WebMD on Best Ingredients for Skin Care Products – you’ll see that we use them all!

Hopefully, healthfully helpful!

Ann

Ginger tea has been tested and found to be as effective as ibuprofen for relieving painful monthly periods. Just add 2 tbsp of ground or chopped fresh ginger root in hot water and let steep for about 15 minutes, strain and sweeten as desired.

Ginger essential oil is also a very warming essential oil and improves circulation and blood flow, which is why we’ve added it to our very effective best seller Spicey Muscle Oil.

In a bath you can also gain the benefits of fresh ginger root by grating or chopping about 4 tbsp and placing in a muslin bag and placing the bag under running bathwater. Research also shows that ginger has skin rejuvenating properties and can brighten skin – use carefully and sparingly as it can also be skin sensitizing. We like to add our Muscle Soothe essential oil blend to our Dead Sea Mineral Bath Salts for an easy fix for aching, tired muscles and bones.

Traveling? – for motion sickness either carry a bottle of the ginger essential oil and sniff it from a tissue, use it in a car diffuser (coming soon to our website), or try crystallized or pickled ginger, all of which have been shown to work better than other over-the-counter medications at preventing and treating motion sickness.

Give these a try! Let us know how you use ginger and the results you’ve had with it.

Another recipe using ginger – haven’t tried this one yet, but can’t wait. Please, please!! Let us know if you try this and what you thought, or how you would change it or even any of your own favorite recipes using ginger.

Carrot Ginger Soup:

Spice Blend:
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 Tbsp black pepper corns
3 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
2 star anise
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
Using cheesecloth, gather edges around spices or use a clean muslin bag and tie tightly. Add the bag to chicken or vegetable broth.

Soup Base:
1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil (or enough to saute vegetables)
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 pound carrots (buy the ones marked for juicing – they’re cheaper and chop up easily)
5 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Saute onions and carrots in olive oil for about 5 minutes – they’ll cook more later. Add bag of spices to broth and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat down just enough to keep liquid to a low simmer, add carrots and onions and continue simmering until carrots are tender – about 15 minutes. Remove bag of spices and process the soup with a hand blender until soup is smooth and carrots are pureed. Or – if you’re like us, leave some lumps!

If the soup is too thick, add additional seasoned stock, up to 2 cups, to achieve desired consistency. Adjust seasonings. Place sour cream in a plastic bag, snip the corner and squirt a swirl of sour cream around the bowl of soup. You can be really fancy and drag a toothpick from the center of the bowls out to the edges, forming a spider web design on soup. Top with some fresh sprigs of cilantro!

Be sure to let us know if you try this and if you have any suggestions to improve it.

Hopefully, healthfully helpful!

Ann

There are three populations of people who experience this debilitating problem on an ongoing basis and below are my recommendations for each, along with some research.

1. During pregnancy – ginger used fresh in tea or foods. If not alleviated with herb, try the essential oil. See note below.
2. During chemotherapy – ginger used fresh, ginger essential oil inhaled.
3. Post surgery – depending on age, ginger essential oil inhaled.

Aromatherapy as well as herbs do have an answer for alleviating nausea. There are really only one or two effective pharmaceutical drugs that actually make a difference, one of which is fairly expensive. I think natural means are more effective, don’t require a prescription and from my research work as effectively, if not more so than pharmaceutical drugs.

From the research I’ve done, as well as anecdotal evidence obtained from others and personal experience, two essential oils in particular have a history of helping to reduce and even stop nausea. Peppermint and Ginger essential oils are both well-known for their ability to do just that.

Ginger during pregnancy:
Some sources say there is not enough information about the safety of ginger in pregnant women to recommend it for morning sickness, saying that ginger inhibits an enzyme called thromboxane synthetase and may possibly influence sex steroid differentiation in the fetal brain. Studies have not confirmed this. Martin Watt, a well-known voice in the aromatherapy world believes, and to quote: “There are NO essential oils that used externally are proven as harmful to a developing foetus. The vast majority of oils you have listed are common food additives. This is all stuff from the aromatherapy novel writers.”

As a nurse and certified professional aromatherapist, I tend to err on the side of caution when using essential oils during pregnancy, especially the first trimester, which is when most nausea occurs. Essential oils are aromatic hydrocarbons and are very small molecules perfectly capable of crossing the placenta and the blood brain barrier. My question is and will be until someone is able to prove differently, since essential oils are metabolized through the liver – does a fetus have the ability to accomplish this and at what risk? However, my favorite resource for essential oil safety is the classic “Essential Oil Safety” by Robert Tisserand and Tony Balacs. They include ginger essential oil in their list of “Essential oils SAFE to use in pregnancy.” So – my recommendation and suggestion would be to try the tea first and if the nausea is truly causing difficulties such as electrolyte imbalances, switch over to the essential oil gradually. To some the smell of ginger can actually be too strong. I am writing a longer discussion that we will publish soon about pregnancy and safety using herbs and/or essential oils. Peppermint is not recommended during pregnancy.

Nausea with migraines:
As I said, I rarely experience nausea. I do, however, have migraines and fairly frequently. I woke up one morning this past summer with an absolutely horrible migraine with accompanying nausea – which rarely (can’t remember ever before actually) happens for me. Migraines are frequently accompanied with nausea. It was my experience this particular morning. My dilemma – I couldn’t take my normal ibuprofen (not recommending that – and that’s another story), or even my prescription medication for migraines (again, not recommending that either), because my stomach was first of all empty and, secondly, I would have just lost it in the toilet anyway. Along with that issue, I really couldn’t even get out of the bed to even get to those items much less take them. This was an unusually severe migraine. To say I was miserable is so not even close to relating to you how bad I felt. Then out of desperation I realized that I had been recommending to other people the use of peppermint and/or ginger essential oils for nausea – just sniffing it is sufficient for most. I’d never really tried it myself – truly. I’d also been recommending Lavender for years for people with migraines, but I’d always thought mine were just too severe to even give it a try. Now, I shouldn’t be admitting this to you, but I knew that it worked for others, but for some reason, (medical background, taking a pill seems easier and more effective? I don’t know) I hadn’t tried Lavender to alleviate my own migraines. Well at that point – it seemed not only the obvious solution, but the only solution. I asked my husband to bring me my peppermint, lavender and ginger essential oils – and quickly please. I simply placed a few drops of the ginger onto a tissue, breathed it in and felt almost immediate relief – seriously. I sat back a minute, actually being somewhat surprised that it worked and worked quickly and effectively. But, my head still hurt and my first impulse was to now take my usual ibuprofen – but decided to try the Lavender instead since it was there in my hand anyway. I opened the bottle, with a dropper cap which should always be on any bottles you buy, and dotted my forehead with straight lavender. It worked! And it has continued to work since that time. I now just put a few drops on my forehead each time I feel a headache starting and it stops it in its tracks. Now, you are talking to someone who has been using and recommending that others use essential oils for years. I just hadn’t personally tried those two for those two problems – shame on me!

Ginger and cancer:
A study (Levine, Gillis, Koch, Voss, Stern, & Koch, 2008) showed that high protein meals that included ginger (fresh) reduced nausea of chemotherapy and reduced the need for use of antiemetic (anti-nausea) medications.

A precautionary statement from the American Cancer Society, who usually sides with allopathic medicine and as an organization is well-funded by pharmaceutical companies, nevertheless, had valid points that I think are important to include in this discussion: "While ginger may be effective in treating nausea and vomiting associated with some cancer treatments, it may also interfere with blood clotting. This could be life threatening to some patients receiving chemotherapy.

Recent preliminary results in animals show some effect in slowing or preventing tumor growth. While these results are not well understood, they warrant further investigation. However, it is too early in the research process to say whether ginger will have the same effect in humans." This is one of those times I would agree with checking with your doctor first. Hopefully you have a physician who has taken the time to become educated on alternative modalities.

My favorite recipes lately have been for anything that has a curry-like taste and we attempt to make our own by simply adding cinnamon, cloves, fresh ginger and fresh nutmeg into what would have been a basic vegetable soup or stew. All of these herbs are well-researched for their ability to make you healthier. We’ll do individual articles about each another time. Chai as a coffee substitute is not only wonderful on cold winter days, but includes many beneficial properties in each of its ingredients. A recipe we tried recently:

Chai Tea/Coffee:

3 – 4 peppercorns
2 dried cinnamon sticks (about 1 inch each)or organic sweet cinnamon chips (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
1 tbsp cardamon powder (prefer the whole, but didn’t have it on hand)
4 – 5 clove buds
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and cubed
Approximately 2 turns of the fresh nutmeg grinder – you can always add more to each cup to taste
Either green tea or chicory – amount depending on individual preference as to strength
Sweeten as you prefer. I use and recommend stevia.

Simmer the spice blend (add tea or chicory later) with 3 cups of water for 5 minutes,then steep for another 10 to 20 minutes. Strain into cup and add soy or almond milk and tea or chicory (or both). Reheat slightly if needed. I actually reuse the chai mixture over and over again for a few days, adding water each time and only adding the milk individually with each cup.

So, what does work for you? I’d love to hear comments about things that you’ve tried, things that have worked and things that didn’t work. See our comments section below.

Bryer E. A literature review of the effectiveness of ginger in alleviating mild-to-moderate nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2005 Jan-Feb;50(1):e1-3.

Levine, Gillis, S.Koch, Voss, Stern, and K. Koch “Protein and ginger for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced delayed nausea”, Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.). 01/07/2008; 14(5):545-51.

FINALLY! We’ve finished our testing of the new All Purpose Household Cleaner and frankly we are really impressed with it. We don’t make this cleaner, we purchase the base and then add our own therapeutic, clinical grade (just means they aren’t adulterated) essential oils. This cleaner is non-toxic completely and works on everything I could test it on, plus our other testers were really impressed as well, receiving a thumbs up from everyone. Unscented it still does a great job cleaning, but with the addition of essential oils, it becomes a natural antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral cleaner. Dr. Mercola recently posted a couple articles on his site about how pervasive these bad guys are – germs – in everyone’s house. This isn’t anything we didn’t already know and we’ve all seen that even in the grocery stores, they are offering wipes for your grocery cart to help deter any possibility of picking up some of those nasties. Truth is, it’s really hard to avoid them – even if you’re a hermit in an Alaskan cabin somewhere (okay, my house feels like that lately). We have always offered an all purpose household cleaner, and liked it, but it just wasn’t quite as perfect as I wanted – so we kept searching and testing, which is one of the things we do best. Take a look at the different essential oil blends offered and read about the benefits for each one – all essential oils are naturally antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal – some more than others and they do NOT contribute to the ever-growing problem of resistant bacteria.

Features & Benefits:

My husband, while pouring out of a 5 gallon bucket into a 12 oz bottle, spilled some of the cleaner on one of our upholstered dining room chairs and I was seriously worried that it was going to stain it – but nope it didn’t, nary a spot. Some of our “tests” are unplanned! This all purpose cleaner is the ultimate eco-friendly cleaner for your entire house. It is made with 100% botanical actives and will safely – and very effectively I might add – clean any water washable surface in your home. I have used it extensively on the new ceramic tile floor Warren put in the kitchen and on our laminate wood floor in the family room. It makes me feel very good to know that as a grandmother I don’t have to worry when the grandkids crawl or play on the floor.

Biodegradable:

This cleaner is completely biodegradable! It is made from powerful ingredients that are all natural and from sustainable sources – something we are having to pay much closer attention to these days. I compare this cleaner with one that I used to use in our bathrooms that if I even got a drop on my hand, it would cause a red spot! Now that can’t be good for the air I breathe, it causes additional harm to the water supply, and it certainly isn’t a safe chemical to have in my home. As always, we do not buy products that have been tested on animals. Well…that’s not entirely true, we do use our soaps and balms on Abby and Brit – and the Bugz Off!

Coming Soon:

Coming soon are two blogs that will give you more ideas on how to keep your house free of germs, where to look for them and why essential oils accomplish much of this task. The other blog is the one I had hoped to have out before Christmas – well, it’s still very relevant today. Also keep watch for our updated list of ingredients and their benefits which will give you good information as to why our ingredients are environmentally sustainable, why we choose organic and why they work so well in our products.

Directions:

Effectively and safely cleans all water washable surfaces. Spray product unto surface and wipe clean using a damp sponge or cloth. For cleaning floors, add ½ cup (approx. 125 ml) to a gallon (4.5L) of water. We will be offering this in a larger gallon refill size in the near future.

Stay warm!
Ann