Organically Inclined » health

Comment to Win – Sinupret for Kids Giveaway!

Mish — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:51:48 +0000

Just comment on any Organically Inclined article – or any article over at Large Families Today – and you’ll be entered to win:

A sample of Sinupret for Kids
A copy of Dr. Bob Sears book, “The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood”
A Sinupret activity book, stickers and bear
Cute little kids’ binoculars

Sinupret for Kids is a plant-based, natural cold remedy that works by supporting the immune, sinus and respiratory functions of the body – rather than just treating symptoms. It helps children by getting them healthier – rather than just treating the symptoms of the cold.

Sinupret has been the subject of a number of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. In one of the largest clinical trials in children testing sinus remedies, Sinupret was evaluated retrospectively in more than 3,000 children by approximately 1,000 physicians.Â 88% of the physicians found Sinupret effective.Â A majority of the children who used Sinupret experienced healthy sinus functions.

For more on how to keep kids healthy naturally, read this article by Dr. Bob Sears.

FYI: I (Michelle Kennedy Hogan) don’t often accept review work for OI because I like to keep the information from the site as objective as possible, so I will let you know that I was given a copy of Bob Sears book and a sample of Sinupret for Kids for my family. I am a big fan of the Sears family and their positions on natural living and attachment parenting – otherwise I would not advocate them on Organically Inclined or Large Families Today (they also have a large family, by the way!). I really like the book offered here and I thought some OI readers might enjoy it and the sample too – so I hope you’ll participate!

Thanks!

Technorati Tags: health, healthy kids

How to Keep Your Kids Healthy…Naturally!

Mish — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:26:12 +0000

A quick note from Michelle: I have always appreciated the advice of the Sears family as they are wonderful advocates of attachment parenting. I don’t do a lot of reviews and freebies here at OI because I like to keep the information as “pure” as possible, however because I like the Sears family so much I accepted a sample of Sinupret as well as a copy of “The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood” by William, Martha, James and Robert Sears to read and offer as a prize here on Organically Inclined. It’s a great book – and I hope you’ll appreciate the information about cold remedies offered in the following article.

I also hope you’ll enter for a chance to win the Sinupret giveaway pack by sending me an email with your name and address!

By Bob Sears, M.D., F.A.A.P.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Winter season is here and once again my office is filled with coughs and runny noses. As a pediatrician I expect to be busier than ever for the next few months. And while having a busy office can be a good thing for any self-employed physician, to be honest, this isn’t the kind of extra business I like to see. Parents bring in their sick kids, hoping that nothing is seriously wrong, yet wanting me to at least offer some type of relief. I don’t know who I feel sorrier for â€“ the child who has to suffer through the symptoms or the parent who has to stay awake all night listening to those symptoms night after night. Well, at least parents can give their child a nice dose of nighttime cold and cough medicine so that the parents can get a good nightâ€™s sleep . . . oh, and also so the child can feel better, right? Wrong.

Last year the FDA decided that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should no longer be used for infants and toddlers under 2 years of age because of possible severe side effects and a lack of evidence that they actually work. Just this week, in response to the FDAâ€™s ongoing investigation which has found little evidence that these drugs work, manufacturers have voluntarily decided to change their labeling and advice for children, and state that the drugs should not be given to children under 4.

Pediatricians still support recalling the medicines for children under 6, and the Food and Drug Administration is studying their effectiveness for children under 12. Unfortunately, it may take them a year or more to make a final decision and order changes.

The problem with current cough and cold meds

Why, after so many years of routine use, did the FDA snatch these life-saving remedies (well, not life-saving, but at least â€œnight-savingâ€) out of the hands of desperate parents? First, there have been an alarming number of harmful and even fatal reactions from these meds. Most of these reactions are due to misuse of the products. Parents often mix several cold and cough meds together and don’t realize they are overlapping the same ingredients. Or they are simply guessing how much they should give their baby when the label doesn’t specify an infant dose. However, some severe and fatal reactions have even occurred with seemingly proper dosing.

What about antibiotics? After a week or two of illness, many parents will bring their child to the doctor hoping for antibiotics to help them get over the illness. The problem is, unless there are a few days of fever and worsening symptoms a couple weeks into such an illness, antibiotics are probably not going to help and medical policy makers have advised doctors to stop using antibiotics for routine, uncomplicated sinus infections and mild ear infections.

Providing Relief

Keeping kids healthy requires diligence during the fall and winter months. Here is what I recommend:

Run a hot steam vaporizer
Flush stuffy noses with saline
Prop kids slightly upright to sleep better
Drink plenty of fluids
Eat chicken soup or other hot broths
Eat healthy; include fruits and vegetables in daily diet
Use honey for scratchy or sore throats (only for kids 1 year and older)
Take Sinupret for Kids (not a drug but a natural dietary supplement that supports nasal/respiratory/immune system health and function)

Sinupret for Kids is a natural product that I have found to be very effective at supporting the sinus, respiratory, and immune systems. It is not a drug, but a plant-based remedy that has been used in Europe for decades and is now available in the U.S. The active ingredients are an all-natural combination of 5 plants that have been studied extensively and have a long track record of safety in Europe and around the world. Sinupret promotes healthy drainage in the upper respiratory tract, improves airflow in the nose and supports healthy mucous clearance from the nose and sinuses. Visit www.SinupretForKids.com for more information.

www.HealthNewsDigest.com

Technorati Tags: eating healthy, health

The Pre-Proportioned Diabetic Diet

Mish — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:05:27 +0000

I called this blog Organically Inclined back when I started it because I try very hard to do things organically and “green,” but don’t always succeed. However, the one area I thought I had down pat was the frugal area. I have always been the epitome of frugal! I always made the frugal decision. It was one area I in which I felt very confident.

Well, no more! Now that I am the parent of a Type 1 diabetic, I have to tell you that pre-proportioned – well, everything – has become my friend.

Because Alex can only eat two snacks per day that are 15 grams of carbs or less, the nutritional labels on the back of packages are a Godsend.

I was always anti-packaging girl. If it came in a box, I hated it! I liked snacks that are fresh – and package free. Now, I’m in love with items like individually packaged peanuts, applesauces and string cheese.

Why? Because they are easy for alex to grab and go. And while I know that someday we’ll feel confident enough in his ability to judge a portion size of applesauce out of the jar of homemade, right now – it makes me feel good that he can get himself a snack (he is 12 after all), without “Mommy” having to come and count out the amount of peanuts, or get out the measuring cups for the applesauce.

I still hate the packaging – and am saving all the applesauce cups to start seeds in next February – but for now, while we are still adjusting to coping with Alex’s chronic disease, having some of the little things made easier means a lot!

Technorati Tags: carb counting, diabetes, health, type 1 diabetes

Diagnosing Diabetes – Alex’s Story…

Mish — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:27:41 +0000

I recently noticed several changes in my son, Alex’s physical appearance and behavior. Alex is 12 and recently grew about six inches in as many months, so I was not at first shocked by his tendency to eat everything in sight. I have an older son who went through a similar growth spurt, so I just let him eat and said little.

However, in the last four weeks or so, Alex was drinking everything he could get his hands on. He drained the gallon of milk in the fridge. He drank five pints of water while standing at the sink once or twice (he told me this later). He brought a gallon jug of water to soccer practice – and finished it. Apparently, he was getting up three or four times every night to go to the bathroom.

Then I noticed that Alex looked particularly thin in the face. His cheekbones started to show and had the hollow look of a supermodel. My husband noticed he was acting a little more “slow” than usual. He couldn’t hold even the simplest instructions in his head. I might ask him to go into the pantry and hand me a box of a pasta and he would look at me blankly and say, “What?” in a slow, mumbly voice.

Again, though, a growth spurt, coupled with what I thought was a bit of teenage ‘tude (which I had also encountered before) didn’t really trigger anything as being wrong immediately. He still did his school work. He still went outside and played.

It wasn’t until we noticed that after draining an iced tea (one of those huge cans), a hot chocolate and most of his brother’s lemonade at a soccer game that we really paid attention. Especially after he begged my daughter Lydia for her water (she played in the game), when we got in the car.

“Alex!” I scolded him. “She played in the game. You can’t take her water.”

“But I’m so thirsty,” he said.

When we got home – again, from a game he hadn’t played in – he had to “sit down and rest” for a while. I looked at him for a few minutes and realized, he didn’t just look like he’d gotten taller – he looked sickly thin. His upper arms (an area I don’t often see because he wears baggy t-shirts) looked more like twigs.

Something clicked in my brain – and I just knew he had diabetes. I sent Alex to bed that night to rest and had my husband call a friend of his who has diabetes. We had him bring his glucose meter to the house the next morning. I didn’t let Alex eat until he had gotten there. My husband and his friend tested Alex’s sugar while I was dropping my daughter off elsewhere. When I got home, they told me his blood sugar level – without eating anything for 12 hours prior – was 260.

Normal blood sugar should be between about 80 and 140, depending on the person. With food.

I called our local hospital. They told me to “make an appointment with your primary care physician” because it was Sunday. I called Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, explained Alex’s situation and they said, “you better bring him right in.”

I did. But before I did, I let Alex eat a peanut butter sandwich because he was so hungry. About two hours later, Alex was tested and had a blood glucose level (at the hospital) of 737! They didn’t even need to see all of his labs to tell us that he did indeed have juvenile diabetes.

To Alex’s credit, he took the news very well. He said that from now on when one of his brothers or sister calls “Shotgun!” in the car – he’s going to call “Diabetic Shotgun!” And he’ll never have to sit in the back again! I love my kid’s sense of humor.

I’ll update more on Alex later. But for now, here are some sites with great info about the disease:

Diabetes.org

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Technorati Tags: diabetes, health, juvenile diabetes

10 Uses for Olive Oil: Frugal and Green Tip of the Day

mishakennedy — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:46:50 +0000

I am in love with olive oil. No, really. In fact, my buy everything local plans are often dashed because of two things – olive oil (which I’ve never heard of anyone producing in Vermont) and bananas. I’d rather do without bananas…but don’t take away my evoo!

Here are 10 ways you can incorporate olive into your life in a frugal and green way – yes, I know that olive oil is expensive compared to other cooking oils, but when compared to lotions and other items, it’s cheaper and better for you! There isn’t one paraben in olive oil!

Anyway, here’s the list…

1. Make -up remover/wrinkle remover. Now, I don’t wear make up, but from what I’ve been told by my friends who do, olive oil is a wonderful remover. In addition, rubbing a little olive oil in underneath eyes and on other potential “wrinkly” places actually helps remove (plump up?) wrinkles!

2. Pedicure agent. File your rough heals and callouses down a bit, then rub olive oil on them. Put on a pair of socks and wait for the magic! A little olive oil every night before bed rubbed into feet can promise smoother, softer feet in a week’s time.

3. Ear ache relief. A little warm olive oil dropped into a tot’s ear can soothe an earache.

4. Olive oil and sea salt make a great exfoliating scrub for anywhere on your bod – added to the bath, they make a great after gardening soother.

5. A great replacement for shaving cream or oil – soothes sore, razor burned skin.

6. Mixed 3 to 1 with lemon juice, olive oil makes a great furniture polish.

7. Rub into leather – anything – shoes, a catcher’s mitt or a belt – to restore and make supple again. Just test a small spot first to make sure it doesn’t discolor it!

8. Protect garden tools. Give tools a quick once-over with a wire brush after their last use to remove any rust or other grit. Then wipe down with or dip in olive oil. Repeat this treatment after every use and tools will never rust!

9. A little olive oil rubbed into the ends of hair can help prevent split ends. Go lightly on all over treatments – hair can easily get a little too oily!

10. Drizzle over pizza or pasta – yum!:-)

Technorati Tags: evoo, extra virgin olive oil, frugal, green, health, olive oil

Frugal and Green Tip of the Day – Stay Healthy

mishakennedy — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:50:10 +0000

Ah…easier said than done? Perhaps, but I don’t think so.

In Helen Nearing’s book , “Loving and Leaving the Good Life” she talks about an old Eastern medical practice where the town “doctor” would visit everyone periodically and make sure they were well. In exchange, the town paid the doctor well for keeping them healthy. If someone became ill, the doctor stopped being paid by that family until they became well again.

This simple story radically changed how I started to view health care. Wouldn’t we stay healthy if we paid our medical practitioners to keep us well – rather than “fix us” once we are broken? It seems to me that we have been doing things backwards for a very long time!

I know a lot of people who like to call me a hippie or a treehugger and think that my way of life is some sort of rebellion against society – and maybe in some ways it is!

I have one friend who, I think, really believes that I don’t use a chemical cleaner on my counters because I’m trying to make some sort of liberal statement.

I know many people who are insistent that using chemicals in their home to clean or chemicals on their lawns to make them green. Many of these same people are also constantly complaining about chronic medical conditions – all types of strange things, not just little aches and pains. Are they related? I don’t know for sure, but I have my suspicions.

I have made a solid, full-fledged effort to eliminate chemicals from my family’s life. I use natural cleaners (vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, hot water); we eat organic foods whenever possible; I never put chemicals on our lawn or garden – I’d rather have the weeds; and I have eliminated the use of artificial sweeteners, antibacterial products, Teflon, BPA, and other chemicals that could injure or suppress our immune systems.

I must say, in comparison to my similar age friends who are not so against using any chemical to spray the ants, we, knock wood, have remained very healthy. We do not suffer from an inordinant amount of infections, colds or other illnesses – although we have our occasional bouts with these considering how much time we spend in the local gymnasium during the winter! My children also do not have any allergies of any sort – food or otherwise.

Now, am I foolish enough to believe that we will never have any sort of health issue? Of course not. I know that we are susceptable to just as many pathogens as anyone else. However, I do believe that eating well and staying away from harmful elements, we get a leg up on immunity. I’d rather face an illness or injury with a “clean” healthy body than one that has already been very depleted by junk food or a constant barrage of antibiotics or other medicines.

There seems to be a population in this country that is proud of its medical history. I am tired of listening to people “brag” about their latest medical intervention! How annoyed with me, they must be, when I reply that I haven’t seen a doctor for myself in 16 years – and that was for the birth of my first son – before I knew about midwives! I do have a wonderful pediatrician for my children who gives them their sports physicals and we’ve been to the emergency room a few times for an occasional x-ray or stitches.

So – stay healthy! Eat well! It will save you lots of money in doctor visits, co-pays and prescriptions.

Technorati Tags: family, health, kids, nutrition

Mish — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:00:19 +0000

Some new Organically Inclined products now at the OI shop!

I can’t wait to receive my first OI onesie…

Technorati Tags: baby, family, frugal, green, health, miscellaneous, mom, organic

Frugal and Green Tip of the Day – Breastfeed Your Baby

mishakennedy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:42:03 +0000

This is probably the most frugal and green tip I can give! There is nothing more natural – and cheaper – than breastfeeding. And any mother can do it.

But first things first. Breastfeeding is the cheapest way to feed your baby. Period. It is estimated that families will spend over $1000 a year on formula and related costs alone. Add in extra money for doctor visits because formula fed babies are more prone to ear infections and food allergies and the cost goes up even more!

Breastfeeding is easy and way more convenient than bottle feeding. One mother I know couldn’t believe that I would nurse my baby. “Isn’t it a pain?” she asked. “Why don’t you bottle-feed?”

I don’t bottle feed, I told her, because I’m too lazy.

It’s way too much work to clean all those bottles, sterilize them, remember to carry them around with me, make up extras, buy the formula, and so on. I would way rather just sit on the couch and pull out a boob.

“Aren’t you then, like, attached to your baby all the time?” another mother asked me once. “Yes,” I replied, “but that was kind of the point of having her.”

I like being “attached” to my baby. I love babies, that’s why I had them. If I didn’t want to hang out with them all of the time, then I wouldn’t choose to have children. If there is anything I’ve learned over the years, it’s that babies soon grow up – too fast – and I need to cherish them, and cuddle them when they are small. Because when they are 15 they just look at me like I’m insane all of the time and talk about how they can’t wait to graduate and move out!

Breastfeeding also has a few other great benefits – like babies with higher IQs; lower cancer risks for both mom and baby; fewer food-related allergies; fewer ear infections; and leaner children longer in life.

Breastfeeding isn’t always easy. I nearly gave it up in the first week with my first born. The hospital gave him a bottle and a pacifier – and no one told me that my boobs would turn into rock-hard watermelons two days after I got home! It was so easy to nurse in the hospital without any milk in them yet. I had a full week of a crying baby and a frustrated postpartum me. It was awful. At one point I was pumping milk and giving it to him in a bottle because it was all he would take. Then, finally, my boobs settled down a bit and the baby figured it out and we happily nursed for the next 9 months or so.

And with each baby I have had some little issue – with my last baby (who is 6 months now), it was a crack so deep I thought they had relocated the Grand Canyon! But, from experience, I knew I had to just keep nursing…and we got through it. I wish I had had the Internet to refer to when I had my first. A site like breastfeeding.com or Mothering Magazine provide a wealth of information for the new or experienced mom.

Nursing, like anything else, can be frustrating at times. But the benefits far outweigh the downside. Babies should be nurtured and what better way to do that then to nurse them – and how great that it doesn’t cost a dime?

And – if you are – or you know of a new mom who needs a little help – email me, I’m happy to do what I can!

Technorati Tags: breastfeeding, family, health, mothering, mothers, nursing

Frugal and Green Tip – Baby Wipes

Mish — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:24:48 +0000

I really thought I couldn’t live without baby wipes when I had baby number – 2 or 3. They were so handy to have around. But now that I’m on baby number 6, I barely remember what it was that was so appealing. In fact, when I do buy the occasional package, I find that I use them more for my toddler’s face and hands and less for my baby’s butt!

So, what do I use to clean to my baby’s butt? I have a stack of clean, soft rags- some purchased inexpensively at a discount store, some I made myself out of old towels and t-shirts. We keep them in a drawer in the kitchen and when baby has stinker, before I unwrap her, I wet one or two of the rags in warm water. Then it goes into the diaper bucket in the washroom.

Simple.

What do I do when we are out? I grab a handful of the rags and either bring along a bottle of water – or I use the water at the local bathroom. I bring a plastic grocery bag or ziplock with me for the dirty ones – just like cloth diapers.

I’ve seen “frugal” baby wipes made out of baby wash, baby oil and paper towels, and I have to be honest with you, I just don’t think baby needs all that stuff on her bum. And, I don’t think buying a roll of paper towels is very frugal or green! In fact, it’s been so long since we have purchased a roll of paper towels that my family doesn’t even know what to do with them anymore! A friend brought some over at Christmas time and it took us until well into February to use them all – I kept forgetting they were around and am so used to not using them that by the time I did remember them, the spill or whatever was already cleaned up.

So – save yourself $5 a week and a few trees (and chemicals) and just buy $5 worth of cheapo rags. Your baby’s butt will thank you…

Technorati Tags: baby, family, frugal, green, health, mom, organic

Diet Soda – Obesity Link

Mish — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:35:16 +0000

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We all know that drinking soda in’t good for you. It’s full of sugar, caffeine, and artificial whatevers. The average 12 ounce can of soda has about 100 calories in it. Drink 5 or 6 a day and you might as well have gone to McDonald’s for lunch. So in an effort to make soda “better” for us, companies came out with diet soda – replacing that evil sugar with aspartame. Although aspartame has been billed as “safe” by our government, I believe it to be far from true.

Dr. Janet Hull, author of Sweet Poison, says “The dangers of aspartame poisoning have been a well guarded secret since the 1980s. The research and history of aspartame is conclusive as a cause of illness and toxic reactions in the human body. Aspartame is a dangerous chemical food additive, and its use during pregnancy and by children is one of the greatest modern tragedies of all.

Why haven’t you heard about aspartame poisoning before? Partly because the diet industry is worth trillions of American dollars to corporations, and they want to protect their profits by keeping the truth behind aspartame’s dangers hidden from the public. When NutraSweet® was introduced for the ’second’ time in 1981, a diet craze revolutionized America’s eating protocols and a well-oiled money machine was set into motion changing modern lifestyles.

After more than twenty years of aspartame use, the number of its victims is rapidly piling up, and people are figuring out for themselves that aspartame is at the root of their health problems. Patients are teaching their doctors about this nutritional peril, and they are healing themselves with little to no support from traditional medicine.”

Further, Hull points out the following nutrition fact about Phenylalanine in aspartame:

“The 1976 Groliers encyclopedia states cancer cannot live without phenylalanine. Aspartame contains 50% phenylalanine.

“Phenylalanine is one of the essential amino acids found in proteins, but I am one of the believers that amino acids should be eaten in combination, not in isolated form. Nature provides amino acids in combination; only man isolates them for processing purposes.

“Phenylalanine is found naturally in foods such as eggs, milk, bananas, and meat. If you are PKU (Phenylketonuric) or sensitive to phenylalanine, you will react to the phenylalanine in aspartame. You may want to get a blood test to check for this condition. Over the past 20 years, humans have become more aware of PKU reactions because human beings began using isolated phenylalanine to the degree it is harmful to some individuals, many as aspartame side effects. My suggestion would be to research PKU and phenylalanine extensively. Phenylalanine can be very harmful to diabetics.

“Read all food labels and avoid anything with isolated amino acids. You want to buy products with at least eight amino acids in combination.”

There is also an increasing argument to be made that artificial sweeteners, in addition to causing chemical side effects, cause metabolic ones as well. It is possible that one’s body can be fooled into believing that an artificial sweetener is a real one and so produces the same amount of insulin to counter the sweetener as it would regular sugar. Could diet sodas, then, actually be a cause for obesity – instead of a cure? I’ve stopped drinking diet soda completely, and have only one sugar-filled one occasionally and I’ve already seen my weight drop (I have about 40 pounds to lose).

A study on the obesity – diet soda link was recently released and is available for your perusal here:
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.716159v1

So – not only is getting diet soda out of your diet, and drinking water – or say, iced tea – instead, the healthier thing to do, it’s also the frugal thing to do…

Technorati Tags: aspartame, diet soda, food, frugal, health, soda