The following list is by Cara Bergman, a Licensed Acupuncturist specializing in fertility. Visit her website at www.StillwaterFertilityClinic.com.
1. Bone Broth - old fashioned chicken soup made with the bones. Add a splash of vinegar to the water so that the nutrients come out of the bones and into the broth.
2. Liver - especially from grass-fed animals. Eating liver once a month provides nearly the same nutrients as eating red meat every day of the month.
3. Lacto-fermented Vegetables - If you haven't tried these, read moreabout my favorite brand Fab Ferments
4. Fermented Cod liver Oil
If you only take ONE supplement ever, it should be fermented cod liver oil in my opinion. It is an excellent source of Vitamin D among other things.
5. Wild-caughtSalmon high in Omega 3's
6. Red Raspberry Leaf TeaGreat uterine tonic. Good to drink throughout pregnancy.
7. Greens - especially wild greens like dandelion.
8. Kefir both yogurt and kefir have beneficial bacteria. The difference is that the bacteria in yogurt is transient - it will do good things and then leave your system where as the bacteria in kefir colonizes and continues to fight off pathogens in the gut.
9. Nettles tea- look for this in health food stores. It supports the adrenals and helps your body build blood.
10. Grass-fed meat Animals need to be outside eating a natural diet to be healthy.
You're at the bank and the kids are being well behaved, acting as cute as ever, because they know what's coming...the bank teller, after she and mommy finish their transaction, will hand them over something as well...
A sucker!!!
The same holds true for a slew of other places: the pediatrician's office, teachers at school...even the dentist for crying out loud.
Although candy is fun and sweet (and I know most of us moms have a chocolate soft spot, so we can't blame our little ones) there are so many preservatives in candy (when does that stuff ever go bad??), high fructose corn syrup (a dangerous highly processed additive that has been linked to heart disease), and my favorite, food coloring (paint!).
When you get down to it, that sweet treat starts to look more toxic than yum.
Good thing there are sweet alternatives. Even some healthy ones!
I personally love Yummy Earth's Organic Lollipops and Vitamin C Pops and can get then at my local organic market. They come in small resealable pouches that you can easily stow away in your purse and car. On occasion I also add a single Vit C organic lollipop to my kid's lunch boxes, especially in the cold months. Any little bit helps them fight against all those germs!
Keeping a stash readily available in your purse - Vit C Pops in fall & winter, assorted organic lollies in spring & summer - makes it easy for to say, "No thank you," to well meaning bank tellers and the like without your children having a melt down.
They'll already know mommy has the good stuff in her purse.
Happy New Year, Green Mamas!!! Hope you had a great time bringing in the new year last night :)
I don't know about you, but I was actually glad to see 2009 go. It was a mentally exhausting year for my family.
True, a lot of good things happened in the course of that year that I am thankful for. I became an Aunt two more times, a new niece in August and a new nephew in December. I love babies. Plus it gave me the opportunity to watch my beautiful sister-in-law become a mother. And a beautiful mother she is.
However, watching my wonderful mother-in-law go through chemotherapy for breast cancer, helping to take care of her almost every week from January to June (whenever she'd let me help! ;), and watching her spirit drain out of her was how we started off 2009. Thankfully she made it through, has been doing good since, and had enough hair by Christmas to do it up nice. She's a spirited high energy woman that I want around for a long time. Yes, you heard me. I like my mother-in-law!!! :) How many people can say that? I hope and pray her 2010 is a healthy one!
The year also saw some of my best days. In the beginning of July, my husband and I celebrated our ten year anniversary! And our relationship is like a fine wine...as the years pass, it keeps getting better. Then a few weeks later I got to go to sunny southern California and run on the beach every morning, eat fresh local organic food each and every day. I felt fantastic! I've been having some of my own health issues and for some reason I didn't feel them while on vacation.... Fresh food, fresh air, beautiful vistas...Think I might have to make Del Mar my home sometime soon! ;)
Then I flew back to Maryland two weeks later that July...and not even two days passed before I experienced something that I hope and pray no one ever has to experience, ever. I watched a little boy die. Finding him. Calling 911. Watching them work on him. Holding his little hand, saying good-bye...
And for no reason. It was unexpected, unexplained. It happened just like that and the only reason the doctors and examiners can come up with is unexplained natural causes. Absolute horse shit.
Although we've become even closer to his mother and father, our good friends already, due to the tragedy, I'd rather have become better friends through something else. Like going on a week long vacation together, them with their kids and us with ours. We were planning something like that. Going to do it sometime in the future, not sure when. Don't we all plan something and take forever getting around to it, simply because we think we have time?
Why did this have to happen to little Andrew? How does a two year die for no known reason? One minute he was dancing with my daughter in the living room, playing with toys, and running around the house having a good ol'time. The next minute he was tired, laid down for a nap..can't wake him up. It wasn't SIDS. He was breathing, alive. But only faintly there...then gone.
It was SUDC - Sudden Unexplained Death in a Child. I agree with Andrew's father. The acronym should really be SUCD, because that's exactly it. It sucked. I hope no one has to live through that ever ever ever ever ever... The only thing I can pray for now, for Andrew's parents, is that they find peace and love in 2010. I know it has been hard for them. I know it'll never be the same or easy ever again. Anything that will bring them some peace of mind to help them through each day is what I hope for them for their new year.
My hopes for my own 2010? That it is an uneventful year. Sorry, but I just want it to be a quiet, low key year. Sure, I'd love to see my book finish it's edits and find an agent who wants to publish it. But I'll trade all of that for a year where nothing major happens. No one gets sick. No one dies.
So...Knowing that the Universe - God - gives you what you give, I'm getting all of this off my chest now so that I can start anew. Start this year on a good note, a happy note, a positive note. And you should do the same if you have any lingering angst against 2009. I am purging my negativity towards last year in hopes for a wonderful prosperous new year. I am filling up my heart, mind, words, thoughts, and spirit, with love, good things, peace.
Here's to a wonderful 2010 for everyone ...
Good health to all ... Peace of mind to all ... Love boundless to all
If you know someone who has been thinking about going green however hasn't quite made it, why not help them out this holiday gift giving season. There are endless possibilities of gift ideas. How about:
* 10 reusable shopping totes and produce bags holding fresh local fare. Yummm... * A rechargeable battery pack complete with the charger * Reusable wine totes carrying a bottle of local organic wine or beer * Organic fair-trade chocolate or coffee...whatever their choice of stimulant ;) * eco-friendly clothing * handcrafted toys made from sustainable toxin free wood. * Got more ideas?
Or, rather than adding to the mountain of stuff that everyone already has, how about helping others less fortunate by purchasing a necessity item in the name of a family member or friend. How about donating a:
* Cooking stove to help empower displaced women * Bicycle, a sturdy, inexpensive, nonpolluting form of transportation * Plant 100 trees in someone's name
THOSE, in my opinion, are the best giving gifts. And, isn't giving the reason for the season? Or is it the tilt of the Earth?
Be Evergreen with Your Decorations this Holiday Season...
* When decorating this holiday season, don't forget your winged and four legged friends outdoors! If you are blessed with trees in your yard, make cranberry and popcorn garland to wrap around them, complete with birdseed covered pine cones. The animals will love them and they will contribute to your beautiful daylight decorations, naturally.
* One could definitely argue that chopping down trees for any occasion is not exactly eco-friendly. However, when purchasing your holiday tree from a locally owned organic tree farm, you're not only helping out the local economy.
You're also keeping artificial trees out of the landfill, supporting organic farming practices (some tree growers use over 40 harmful pesticides, which you then bring into your home!), and, for every tree cut down this year, that's at least one more tree planted for next season, if not more.
* Go for all the sparkle you want this season, using LED holiday lights. Decorating your tree and home with energy-efficient LED lights will help reduce your energy bills and, since they burn cooler, they are also safer to use indoors. For outdoor lights, there are some awesome solar powered lights that you can decorate the outdoors without all the wires tracking back to the house, draining your pocket book! Plus they can go anywhere, allowing you to light up even hard to reach areas of your yard.
* When it comes time to take the tree down, before you toss it out with the trash, visit eco911.org for local recycling services and pick up dates. Most cities have recycling programs that turn used trees into mulch and other materials. Or, if you are an avid gardener, you can put your tree out back to be self mulched for garden paths. Doing this not only keeps the tree in the cycle of life, birds and other wildlife will enjoy the additional spot to hide and rest in your backyard during the upcoming winter.
The following list is by Cara Bergman, a Licensed Acupuncturist specializing in fertility. Visit her website at www.StillwaterFertilityClinic.com.
