Tag Archives: vitamin D

Stomach Flu Natural Medicine Cabinet Essentials

The stomach flu has been circling around us for over a month. So far we have remained unscathed even with direct contact a few times. Here is what we have been doing to stay healthy at my house besides the usual.

When I hear of another family member or friend we’ve seen recently with a stomach bug I make sure to have 3 things on hand: Di-Gize essential oil blend, Vitamin D, and Probiotics.

Di-Gize is an amazing blend of essential oils for digestion. I recently read a story from my friend Jen who used Di-Gize and Peppermint essential oil during a trip to Ecuador to get over a nasty stomach bug. Until this story I never thought to use Di Gize internally, I had always just put it on my belly. It gives me almost immediate relief from indigestion and can also be used for heartburn, gas, bloating, and candida according to the Essential Oils Desk Reference.

What’s in Di Gize? Just about every herb/oil you would think of for tummy troubles: Tarragon, Ginger, Peppermint, Juniper, Fennel, Lemongrass Anise and Patchouli. It actually doesn’t taste bad to me but if the scent makes you even more queasy add an extra drop of peppermint.

If you are using it for the stomach bug you can take a drop or two in your water preventively. If the stomach bug has landed in your home you can take it to get the pukes started. Sometimes it can have an immediate effect so if you’re feeling queasy drink your di gize spiked water in the bathroom just in case (I like to do 3 drops). Keep taking it until you can hold liquids down. It can get all the yukes out of your system quick.

According to the Innate Choice brochure research indicates that daily supplementation with Vitamin D can significantly reduce the burden of both chronic and infectious diseases. Vitamin D supplementation can enhance immunity to bacterial and viral infections. Especially in the winter when we get less sun time and spend less time outdoors Vitamin D is good to have on hand for prevention. Get your levels checked to see if you are deficient. You want to make sure the Vitamin D3 you are using in mixed or taken with fat as it is a fat soluble vitamin and fat is needed for proper absorption. I like Innate Choice because its mixed with olive oil and lasts forever. Dr Scott at VanderWeit Chiropractic carries it in the office if you need some ASAP

Probiotics build up the healthy flora in your gut whereas antibiotics kill the bad guys and the good guys in your gut. WebMD says probiotics can help with diarrhea.  Life 5 is my favorite probiotic from Young Living. You can also get probiotics from fermented foods like kombucha, yogurt, apple cider vinegar etc too.

You can order both Di Gize and Life 5 here. If you need help setting up an account let me know. I would be happy to help!

Stay healthy and warm! 🙂

 

 

Natural Medicine Cabinet: Cold and Flu Prevention

Here are 5 important items to have in your natural medicine cabinet during flu season!

Bone Soup

Making your own stock is great preventative medicine and is also great to use medicinally when you are sick as well. From a Chinese Medical standpoint making soup stock from bones is incredibly nourishing to the kidneysand the kidney system is most active during the winter months which is the best time to nourish them.  Bone soup is also great if you are suffering from digestive troubles. I made garlic beef stock yesterday with this recipe and added red lentils, carrots, celery, rainbow chard, and broccoli this morning for dinner tonight. An added bonus is the house smells delicious.

Apple Cider Vinegar

‎”Cold Season Prevention & Remedy #3 for Pregnancy or any time – Drink 1 – 2 Tablespoons of RAW-Unfiltered-Organic Apple Cider Vinegar each day. You can mix it in 8 oz of water or apple juice to make it more palatable. This improves your body’s PH balance and strengthens the immune system. Also fends off yeast, speeds healing of infections, soothes a sore throat, and relieves heartburn. We like Bragg brand.” -Mamaste Yoga
Also equally good if you are not pregnant. 🙂 For more info about apple cider vinegar check out here. Whatever brand you choose make sure it has the “mother” in it for optimal results.

Thieves Essential Oil

I know, I talk about this all the time. Thieves essential oil is a blend of cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lemon. It was named thieves after the infamous band of apothecaries that would use these herbs and spices to cover their faces when robbing the dead bodies during the black plague. It is 99.9% effective in killing bacteria and other sickies and because its a natural source bacteria can’t mutate to it like anti-bacterial soaps. We diffuse thieves at home and in the office to clean the air and spray thieves on door handles and other surfaces. You can also put a drop of thieves in your water or tea if your feeling run down or have a scratchy throat. Young Living essential oils carries this essential oil blend and you can purchase here. You can learn more about using aromatherapy THIS Saturday in the first part of our 2 part series Introduction to the Everyday Essential Oils collection. Part 2 is Saturday Dec 7th.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D otherwise known as the sunshine vitamin is important for immune health especially for prevention of colds and flus according to recent studies. Living in the Midwest it is really easy to become deficient in Vitamin D in the winter months when its hard to get enough sun light. You want to make sure to get a high quality vitamin D3, this is the most easily absorbed form on vitamin D for our bodies and you also want to make sure you take it with fat because it is a fatt soluble vitamin. I like Innate Choice Vitamin D3 drops because it comes in olive oil. You can order this online or pick it up in the office, Dr. Scott carries it. 🙂 Here is some more good info on Vitamin D too,

Don’t forget that acupuncture is a great preventative tool as well. Studies have shown that acupuncture points carry higher concentrations of white blood cells and when stimulated give a boost to the immune system. You can also use acupuncture for a persistent cough, congestion or the onset or a sore throat. If you have a fever though please stay home and use the natural remedies above.