Natural Fix For Anxiety

In this video I'm talking about some safe, natural options for those with Anxiety. 

Yes I dealt with anxiety - for quiet a while.  For me it was a revolving door, as I was also dealing with Bowel issues at the same time.  One played off of the other.  Either way I felt controlled by both situations and it took a lot of experimenting on my part to find what worked.

Please realize that what worked for me may not work for you.  And at the same time I'd also like to say, don't give up looking for options if you have anxiety.  I had the option of medication back then...but I kept looking.  This is not to say there is anything wrong with medications for anxiety.  They can be a life saver, I know.  But I also know they can become a crutch,  and many never look any further, and become dependent on them to function.  I'm all about empowering others on helping themselves.  So take about 10 minutes and watch the video and see if anything sounds do-able for you or someone you know.  

And don't take my word on it - take my ideas and do some research as there's so much information out there. I hope this gives you a place to start. 

Getting Better Sleep Is Possible

I was watching a series on Hulu over the weekend and yes, even Hulu has commercials. 70% of them were for prescription and over the counter medication. One in particular that prompted this post was for a prescription for a sleeping pill for when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. Of course I rolled my eyes, not at the concept that this doesn't happen, because it does, but that a medication has been pin-pointed to address yet another variable of sleep issues. It's really just a spin off from another very well known drug for sleep, but now it's able to target another market - and make yet another category of people think they are in need of serious medication. 

But wait, it gets better. Now, it may or may not work for you, but how about taking a chance on some of these side effects, whether you sleep or not? 'Driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. Other abnormal behaviors including being more outgoing or aggressive, as well as confusion, hallucinations, and agitation, may occur. Don’t take if you drank alcohol that day or before bed, as it may increase these behaviors. In depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide may occur.'  Wow where can I sign up?  (yeah, sarcasm can't be helped) 

Ok - I'll get to the real reason for this post.  Pretty much EVERYONE has sleep issues from time to time.  Some worse than others.  I certainly hope you will talk to your doctor or health care provider about it.  Using a mild sleeping pill for short periods or occasionally is not the end of the world, so I'm not condemning their use.  However as a reasonable adult, I hope you have also checked into possible reasons for the sleeplessness as well as looking at safer options first!  

I am one who has been dealing with sleep issues since I was 13!  It comes and goes over the years but it's never far away and can spring up for long periods of time depending on what is happening in my life - physically or emotionally.  When younger I can say it was worry and hormones.  Both just seemed to make the other worse!  Now as a full-fledged adult,  when it happens I know what to look at in my life and make adjustments.  And I always get better results!  Usually it's a deficiency (calcium/magnesium or b vitamins), and of course the emotional aspect causes the mind to go 100 mph and we all know how this can cause sleeplessness.  

What has helped  me and others I work with, in no particular order:

• Stress:  Even if you think you are stress free - think again!  So many of us are programmed that our 'taking care of regular business' is 'normal' we don't even know what stress is anymore unless it's a big wake up call!  Work, family, health, money, relationships - you name it...something is always going on that can affect the nervous system. And it doesn't have to be bad 'stuff' - it can be the good/exciting stuff that can cause underlying problems too.  Noticing it is one thing..the other is to take some time out for yourself daily to keep it from affecting you physically or emotionally.  I use meditation, walking/nature, reading, yoga, massage, a sauna, a fun movie, a new restaurant - something used regularly to help diffuse any upsets that may otherwise take hold.
• Deficiencies:  As I mentioned calcium and magnesium are key.  James F Balch, M.D. (author of Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing) has written that - "A lack of the nutrients calcium & magnesium can cause you to wake up after a few hours and not go back to sleep".  And with B vitamins, specifically B12 - from Dr. Mercola - "Without adequate blood levels of B12 you can experience low energy, mental fatigue, mood changes and sleep difficulties."  - So start taking all 3 if you aren't already!

• Stop worrying about it : Not sleeping, that is.  This was hard to do at first.  All we hear are how important sleep is (yes, I know it is) but worrying about only makes it worse, trust me I KNOW! lol  Instead start telling yourself you will catch up on sleep this week, and in the meantime - after lying there a while with no luck, just get up and read or watch TV for a while and then try again.  Giving myself permission NOT to worry about it has allowed me to make up for lost sleep much easier now, than the days when I constantly worried and kept track of 'how much sleep I wasn't getting'.
• Safe Supplements : Most have heard of Melatonin, which is a hormone produced in the body to help with sleep and wake cycles.  If deficient you can benefit from using it before bed.  GABA is another helpful supplement and is an amino acid prevalent in the brain which helps to calm excited nerve impulses.  Can also be helpful if you are deficient.  
• Herbs: There are so many safe herbs to consider for calming and relaxation - I hope you will give them a try if you need them.  You can try one at a time or a combination of herbs that work together for a more potent effect.  Herbs like Scullcap, Chamomile, Hops, Valerian, Black Cohosh, Passion Flower and Wood Betony are just a few I have used with good results.  You will be able to find them in liquid, capsule or loose tea - so any preference is available for use!  I have sleep and nerve calming formulas that can be used for various concerns, so don't hesitate to ask for more info.

These are all very effective ways to improve your sleep habits. Each person is different and there are variables for everyone...ie other health concerns, hormone imbalances etc.  Bottom line is to know natural help is and always has been available!  Any way I can help, just ask!

A KISS AND A BAND AID


Having just enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day with my daughter, it also brought up heartfelt memories of my own mom.  My mom was great at making me (us) feel better.  When sick, upset, hurting in anyway, mom always took the sting out of it, no matter how minor or big it was.  I hope I have done the same with my own daughter.  It's healing and it's empowering!  That feeling I would get or know I could count on, gotta say it's been a big influence on how I have always felt about life and general healing to this day.  

You can do this yourself!

One of the best things about having been educated in natural therapies and herbs, is the feeling of having control.  KNOWING I can come up with something to feel better or get better.  I also know help is available either close by or a click away if I need extra guidance.  Confidence and hope...that's what my mom supplied and so does anyone who makes you feel better about your situation.  My objective all these years has been to help others gain that for themselves.  

In my opinion staying healthy is not having a supply of medicine or a cupboard full of organic remedies to help what ails us, although it helps :o)  - it's also having tools in place to take care of a variety of health concerns...whether it be physical, emotional, spiritual etc. 

I have found that our physical concerns usually stem from ongoing emotional or spiritual thought malfunctions.  Something has caused a glitch or 'dis--ease'  somewhere in our world.  The LACK of ease in some area of our life.  Then what most tend to do, is focus or dwell on it with the idea we are 'fixing' it since we are focused on it or worrying.  NOPE.  Instead what we are doing is like fanning a fire that appears to be going out.  We keep it going or 'burning' by our constant poking at it. By taking away the fuel (our thoughts and worries) can help us find solutions and relief. Which is another concept I try to encourage...knowing how you can change your focus to feel better, even for short periods of time.

Knowledge is Power -  Information is infinite these days with the Internet.  I mean it was always available...it just wasn't always as easy to find.  Many people have been right where you are - and if it's a problem you are dealing with, whether health or otherwise- may I suggest you seek out the people who overcame that same situation?  Why would you go looking for someone who has or had your issue and they had a bad experience with it and probably not a source of healing or hope?  Refuse to 'go there'!  Instead ask questions from those doing better as you will find something of what they know or did that may be something you can also apply to your circumstances.  When I was dealing with my bowel issues and anxiety problems yrs ago, did I want to hear from the person who was on numerous medications or someone who lost their job or relationship due to their 'condition'?  Hell no!  I'll pass, thank you very much!  I wanted to hear from someone who felt encouraged, relief or marked improvement in their condition.  Someone who was now making light of it and finding themselves better for it and doing well.   And those were the people I learned from - I kept moving forward with each piece of info - sure I may have hit a few speed bumps...but they weren't road blocks...just bumps! 

My mom provided comfort, understanding, encouragement and hope - which always led me to the next step in getting or doing better.   It also helped to me realize I could do it or find it myself.  Teaching independence is part of parenting - I'm still learning but it's paying off.  .  

Maybe that's where the name Mother Nature came from - always there, not making a fuss or in your face, but there to help.   ☺

I'm here if you need help too - phone, email or  live and in person.  

rt2health@yahoo.com or 716-400-0532

Let Them Eat Cake!  

After a weekend of eating I'm on a roll!  lol

Now granted I don't eat a lot of cake...but when I do, it better be good!  I'm like that with chocolate too!  And yes I realize many think sugar and flour are the enemy...but frankly for me the 'processing' that has gone into our 'foods' that I put at the top of the list to 'avoid'.  And it's not easy!  We pay for convenience and yet for something as basic as cake..how convenient is it really?  I mean we buy a box - add water, oil and eggs to most of them...and we 'make' a cake.  Did you know the basic ingredients needed for a made from scratch cake?

Butter
Sugar
Eggs
Vanilla
Flour
Baking powder, salt
Milk
 
So if you can handle a couple measuring cups/spoons..you're done in about the same time.  And you can pick your own ingredients...organic butter or milk/flour/eggs if you so choose to make it even healthier!  (save money too as you have most of these normally on hand)


Here's what you get for 'convenience' in a box:  (plus adding your own eggs/oil/water)


Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron,Thiamine Mononitrate,Riboflavin,Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Propylene Glycol Mono- And Diesters Of Fats,Mono- And Diglycerides), Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate). Contains 2% Or Less Of: Wheat Starch, Salt, Dextrose, Polyglycerol Esters Of Fatty Acids, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Cellulose Gum, Artificial Flavors,Xanthan Gum,Maltodextrin,Modified Cornstarch,Colored With (Yellow 5 Lake, Red 40 Lake). Contains: Wheat.

I hope you can see where I'm going here!  Now I'm not saying never use any convenient prepackaged item again - but what I am saying is we've gotten so far away from actual cooking it's affecting our health! We all get into a rut, but one thing I remember are family get-togethers of home cooked meals!  I LOVED these meals and what went into them...recipes exchanged and great conversation as well.   I'm on a bit of a rampage here as I sometimes get nosy and look in other peoples shopping carts when I'm in the store.  Some inspire me and I wonder what they are making! lol And others depress me as some are full of frozen meals and convenience foods I can't help but feel bad as even the kids in that house won't know how to cook!

My daughter Rachael inspires me with her experimenting with more ethnic and simple meals - healthier and end up costing less as well!  Or home made cookies made with the kids instead of store bought - again, something worth taking a little extra time for.

Another area I've been experimenting with as I pretty much despise bottled salad dressings, is making my own vinaigrette. Basic ratio is 1 part acid (vinegar or citrus) and 3 parts oil (I tweak this to my own tastes...but that's the beauty of it...YOU decide.  Basic ingredients to add:  minced fresh garlic, pinch of salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, honey etc.  All you need is a glass jar with a lid to shake it in and of course pick a healthy oil to use. Regular salad, pasta salad even as a marinade!  

Lordy now I'm really getting hungry! :o)
 

5 Health Tips You Can Ignore

I've always wanted to comment on some of these subjects when I hear folks discussing - Most times I hold my tongue as it's not that important.  But it irks me just the same!

1)  Cold Weather Increases Your Chances of Catching a Cold.   NOPE - You may get a chill if not properly dressed, but a cold, no.  The cold/flu virus comes by way of a 'germ' air born or by touching something.  So a good practice is to wash your hands when you come in from being out or occasionally while at work etc.

2) If You Exercise You Can Eat Whatever You Want - I wish!  Of course I wished I exercised more too! lol  But really...the bottom line is calories add up due to the foods we choose...and while exercise is a great idea to tone up and burn some calories..don't think you can 'chow down' just because you took that extra flight of stairs or did 30 min of cardio.  Cutting back on unhealthy foods and increasing exercise will help to do the job.

3) Low Salt Diets Are Good For You - Lots of new findings coming out saying the low salt diet may be doing more harm than good!  I always felt that was incomplete.  With salt I always felt whenever you start messing with a natural substance to make it more 'presentable' and nice looking (white) then how much of it is really what is should be?  I've used Celtic Sea Salt for over 15 yrs...and I LOVE it.  Enhances the taste of food...and you actually use less.  Full of the minerals from the ocean it's taken from..our bodies benefit.  Our body fluids are mostly a saline solution - makes sense to replace it in a healthy way.  Consider it this way, iodized table salt, and sea salt is like comparing hydrogenated vegetable oil to pure virgin olive oil.  Buffalo News Article

4) Attitude Has No Bearing on Our Health -  Again...I beg to differ!  Most of us are 'reactors' to our daily life.  Meaning we base our moods on how things do or don't go for us.  I know better and I still do it sometimes!  Read this from the Independent News UK:

"Robert Sapolsky, professor of biological sciences at Stanford University and an authority on stress, puts it like this: "In fight-or-flight, your body turns off all the long-term building and repair projects," he says. "Constant high levels of cortisol take your body's eye off the ball. Memory and accuracy are both impaired. Patrols for invaders aren't sent out, you tire more easily, you can become depressed and reproduction gets downgraded." Exposed to chronic stress for years, high blood levels of glucose and fatty acids increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes."

5)  I Don't Believe in Vitamins - Ok...maybe this isn't a 'myth' - ha...but I had to bring it up because I hear it soooo often!  When someone says this I almost want to respond with...then I suppose gravity is something you have a problem with too?  I know...sarcasm for sure!

But I do try to come back with a more intelligent answer than the statement, by pointing out that you don't have to 'believe' in vitamins...vitamins don't really care.  Vitamins are just 'there' - in our foods, in nature - they've been there since the beginning of time.  Nonchalantly supplying our bodies with nutrients (we decided to call them vitamins) that we use up as needed to keep healthy and strong. And since our food sources have changed so much...we are finding the good old vitamins that are supposed to be there have been stripped away by pesticides, genetically engineered foods, processing, etc.  So yes...most of us need to consider adding some nutrients to our daily diets.  I choose herbs or other concentrated supplements and I feel better for it.  Hopefully you are doing it too!

Just shedding some light on some practices you may want to re-think - hopefully to incorporate new thoughts and practices into your life and your family's.  ☺

Being A Little Squirelly...

I find this time of year it pays to be a 'little squirrelly'.  And by that I mean doing a bit of gathering to be ready for the upcoming months.  It's kind of like having the basic staples in your pantry for when you want to make something - stuff you always try to have on hand as it can be such a nuisance when you are in the middle of a recipe to find you are out of one or two ingredients.  Bummer!!

There is nothing worse than needing something right at that moment and having to put on the brakes and grumble to yourself that you should have checked first, *@#! it all!!   Yes...'bummer' is probably not the word that comes out of my mouth in that instance - lol.  But you get my drift.

The winter months are no different.  I'd rather have what I need and never use it, instead of kicking myself for being without.  Peace of mind counts for alot...I mean why add more stress to this time of year, knowing you 'should' have had this or should have done that...in order to be ready.  

There is no reason you and your family can't breeze through the fall/winter months and the typical cold and flu season, feeling great!  I'm taking orders for my infamous "Immune Boost' as well as my powerful 'Anti-Plague' formula...Both come in capsules and liquid tincture. I keep something at work or in my purse at all times...as I hate when I'm exposed to folks coughing and sneezing around me and I have nothing to take till I get home.  I find I can avoid 90% of germs by taking something as soon as possible  And I'm not a fanatic but I'm good at washing my hands at work, or as soon as I get home from being out in public - and especially before you eat.


My basic checklist to have on hand for winters in Western NY:

Immune Boost 
Anti-Plague
Herbal Throat Spray
Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Throat Coat Tea
Ginger Tea (fun flavors out there..but helps with fevers)
Honey
Gatorade
Candles and Batteries for flashlights
More canned products on hand in case of electricity issues. 
Splurge on the soft tissues!


Hopefully you will join me in being a little 'squirrely' this season.  This is one area you can control more than you think.  And don't hesitate to take advantage of my online consultation special running - 50% discount - Online Consult Special

What Age Do You Want To Be?

For many reading this...if you honestly ask yourself how you feel in your body, the way it is right now...you tend to feel your age.  And it doesn't matter how old you are.  Day to day, week to week an ongoing theme plays out where we will find an area to be unhappy with - weight, muscle tone, endurance, skin or hair issues, not to mention health issues we'd like to wave 'bye-bye' to. Maybe a job we detest, relationship that's blah or bank account balance that could be higher.   Put one or more of these 'undesirables' all together and suddenly we feel a certain age.  And as we focus and feel, so we become.

Yikes...put on the brakes!   It's high time to reinvent ourselves!!

Now what does THAT mean?  Well...in a nutshell - reinventing yourself means you have to change your approach constantly to keep making room for improvement!  For me it can mean being hopeful, or learning something new - whether a new health remedy, new recipe, trying a new author or attempting to find new talent I never thought was inside of me!  How many of us have a mental list of things we always wondered about or wanted to try...either we were interested or wondered if we'd be any good at it!  But we talk ourselves out of it!  Reinvention keeps life fresh and gives you a chance to think critically about what parts of your life are working and what parts can be improved.  There's always room for improvement...for isn't that the progression of life?  Or shouldn't it be?  Seeking better for ourselves and those we care about.  Expanding who we are has changed the world we live in. Where would we be without re-invention and expansion??   Electricity, airplanes, health advances, the internet, computers, new business's, The Genie Bra  ....HA...had to throw that last one in to see if you were paying attention.  But you get my point.

I learn from those around me what kind of a difference it really does make.  You do too.  People that show you every day how they either, are or aren't reinventing themselves.  Some stay stuck and focused on the unwanted..and it shows.  Their demeanor, their health issues, their finances, relationships etc.  Then there are those who are looking at what is...and deciding...."hmm...there's got to be something I can focus on better than this!!

To tie this all in from my original title...How old do you want to feel?  I want to feel good, energetic, flexible, eager...not having to think twice about whether or not I can actually do or try something because of my 'age' and how well I''m aging, but to make that decision solely on whether I want to do it or not.  I've felt like that pretty much my entire life - recently I've gotten bogged down with a couple areas that I am not 'wanting' and I am working on my refocusing as every once in a while I start thinking about my age...and frankly I rarely do that when my focus is on what I want.  So this summer is a jump start for me.

You may have to practice this  'Reinventing' of yourself.  How?  Change your approach on a certain subject, tweak you goal, ask someone for help, give in to that idea you've always wanted to try but haven't, and always one that works for me....do something nice for yourself first...THEN do something nice for someone else.  This always clears my mind, opens doors, gives me ideas, lightens my mood and helps me to rethink something or feel better about me.  When this happens, suddenly we walk taller, smile or laugh more, feel more optimistic, and choose differently. 

By doing this consistently, you will always go about your day and life NOT thinking about your age, what you can't do,INSTEAD feeling like life has just begun and what can I do next...Then it doesn't matter what your age is, cause it just keeps propelling us forward and FEELING good in the process.