Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Children’s Allergies: From Fear-filled to Healthy Immunity


Whether it is seasonal allergy and/or food allergy, these forms of hyper-sensitivities indicate an imbalance within your child’s body. Common allergic reactions include hay fever, hives, eczema, aversion to food, asthma attacks and to a growing number of medications, as antibiotics, penicillin, and aspirin.

On a physical level, an allergy is considered a disorder of the immune system and can be digestive and respiratory related. Your child experiences a hyper reaction to a foreign substance that is otherwise considered safe.

Allergies can be potentially dangerous, especially in children. It then becomes vital to address immediately with a safe and gentle protocol. Most allergies begin in-utero, so moms it is important to examine your own diet, emotional health and response to stress, especially if you are breastfeeding, as these potential factors may have contributed to your child's allergies.

Key areas to explore when implementing preventive measures and addressing your child’s allergy symptoms include:
Refrain from introducing too much food too soon to your child. His or her body needs time to develop a relationship with each food; too much may be too taxing on the body.

Proper mastication of food – teach your child to chew food, until it is soft and mushy. This prevents her stomach from attempting to break down big pieces of food, which may lead to indigestion.

Choose organic produce that is free of pesticides. Prolonged exposure to pesticides can cause a build up of toxins in the body, which in turn slows down the body’s ability to naturally process environmental and food elements.

Choose conscious eating – decrease and/or eliminate microwave, prepackaged, and high sugar food from your child’s diet as they too can increase toxic load within the body. The body innately gravitates to fresh foods, any preparation outside of that requires your child’s body to work extra hard to process. The food that is unprocessed or undigested stays in your child’s body as waste. Read labels/ask for ingredients when purchasing store bought food as most contains sugar, dairy, and nuts, which children tend to be sensitive to.

Teach your child to respond with a peaceful and a calm attitude when facing his life experiences and to openly and appropriately express his emotions. On an emotional level, an allergy may indicate fearful thoughts your child is holding onto about life and the world and he overreacts or becomes hypersensitive when he perceives an attack, hence the definition of an allergy.

Most, if not all conventional medicine products for allergies come with a list of potential adverse effects that are counterproductive to addressing the issue long-term and often creating new health challenges. Consider natural and alternative wellness options to strengthen your child’s immune and digestive system. The stomach rules every aspect of health and approximately 60% of the immune system is located within the stomach/gut. Incorporate the right digestive enzymes into your child’s conscious eating lifestyle, along with immune-boosting essential oils, and the appropriate amount of distilled water everyday. If your child weighs 50 pounds, 25 ounces of water everyday is the best fit for his body.

As soon as you notice a food or environmental intolerance in your child, respond right away. Your early response is the key to preventing the onset of life-altering allergies.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Stomach Rules!!!


Whether you are experiencing food allergies, painful menstrual cycles, morning sickness, infertility, special needs challenges, one thing each person has in common is a challenge in the stomach. When the health of your stomach becomes compromised, all other systems of the body are affected as they all rely on what is first processed in the stomach. This could leave your body vulnerable to varying health issues.

Your stomach is responsible for processing EVERYTHING – your thoughts, emotions, life experiences, and food. The health of your stomach is affected by food nutrition, your response to stress, and your belief about ‘digesting’ your life experiences.

Common symptoms of stomach problems include:
• Gas
• Stiff shoulders/neck/joints
• Headaches/migraines
• Cold hands/feet
• Poor memory
• Insomnia
• Muscle aches and pains
• Abdominal cramping after eating
• Diarrhea/constipation
• Weight issues
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Loss of libido

You must address the health of your stomach in order to fully address any health challenge. First, examine your nutritional intake; remember good nutrition helps to heal and bad nutrition helps to deteriorate and foster dis-ease.

Other support for building a healthy stomach includes drinking the appropriate amount of water daily, taking the right enzymes, which help to repair and optimize functioning of your stomach and entire body; add essential oils to your daily lifestyle - they create gentle, positive changes in your stomach; choose a more relaxed and grounded response to stress and how you process your life experiences.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Essential Oils: Your Family’s Natural First Aid


Scenario: your son trips on one of his toys, falls and cuts his leg. What first aid ointment do you use? How much do you know about the first aid ointment you apply?

Did you know that when you place a combination of lavender and chamomile essential oils on the cut, it heals from the inside out with no adverse effect to your son’s skin and health?

Essential oils are extracted from flowers and plants and their therapeutic properties are used in a gentle way to assist the health of your family. Also known as Aromatherapy, the essential oils have certain qualities, such as natural and safe anti-bacterial, antibiotic, and antiseptic that can be used by every member of your family.

As you may already know, any oil, ointment, cream that is placed on the skin is absorbed into the body and has an affect on your physical body, mood, behavior, and thoughts. Both lavender and chamomile essential oils assist to heal the cut and repair the skin, as well as soothe and relax your nervous and digestive systems. The multi-purpose of essential oils provides added wellness benefits for the user.

Your Aromatherapy first aid kit can consists of essential oil creations for cuts and scrapes, sleep support, coughs and colds, headaches, and so on. It can be used in combination with your traditional first aid kit.

Most traditional first aid kit consists of medicines that have warning labels of potential adverse effects, so research what works best for your family. Always prioritize safety and effectiveness first.

For additional information regarding Aromatherapy first aid support, please contact me at NicoleATucker@aol.com.

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