Flu and Cold Defense

"The best treatment for cold and flu is prevention. Because many essential oils have strong antimicrobial properties, they can be diffused to prevent the spread of airborne germs."
                        ~People's Desk Reference for Essential Oils
 
           I know that the cold and flu season is almost over, but I wanted to share some natural remedies with you. I will be sharing some recipes, herbs and essential oils that are great defenses against colds and the flu.
           When you get a cold there are hundreds of options of medicines for you to choose from. Whether its the flavor of your cough drops or what kind of cough syrup you want. However most of them are doing you more harm they are doing you good. Here is a recipe for cough drops that  are natural and you don't have to worry about what's in them. Drinking chamomile tea with honey as the sweetener is also a great choice. Honey is a natural throat reliever and is great asset when you have a cough or cold. Peppermint Tea is another defense against colds. If you are trying to keep your children from catching a cold or the flu, but need a more natural or organic choice try making these vitamin gummy bears.
            There are quite a few essential oils that are wonderful for fighting colds. Some of them might be surprising to you. Lavender essential oil is one of those surprises. I have used Lavender essential oil on my family to fight colds and it really does work.

                                                  

Another essential oil that is great for fighting colds and the flu is Frankincense. Most cough suppressant products like Vick's are based on Frankincense.  I have also used this oil on my family to help with colds and respiratory illnesses.

The all time favorite essential oil for fighting any kind of sickness in my family is the essential oil blend, Thieves! Thieves has 5 different oils in it: clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus and rosemary essential oils. It smells like Christmas! It also has a great story behind it. The recipe is based on one that 15th century robbers used on themselves during the black plague. They would rub this blend on themselves and then loot the houses and bodies of the dead and dying and they never contracted the disease. When the authorities finally caught them, they traded the recipe for a more lenient sentence.

If you want to get these essential oils or check out some other great essential oil products go to Young Living's website. To order click on member sign up and enter my number ( 1564241) in the sponsor and enroller # slots.

             We still need a lot of signatures for the petition to end taxpayer funded abortions in Oregon. Please go to the website and print out a sheet and sign it and mail it in. Or you can ask me about it when you see me next. I will always have a sheet with me until we meet our goal. We have collected 27% of the total we need for Jackson County. The deadline is May 11th.  We have the opportunity to end this and we can!

           

     Do you have any natural cold and flu remedies that you like to use? Please share them with us!

Soli Doe Gloria!

Beautiful Skin

       The make-up and skin care aisles are full of all sorts of different brands to choose from.  However, most of the products that are available are not at all good for your skin or your health. There are alternatives to using these chemical laden products and in this article I am going to show a few different options for make up, body care and how to heal your skin the natural way.

          So many of us use make-up every day without really thinking about what it's doing to our skin and our health. If you buy your make-up there are generally three kinds: 

1. The cheap and unhealthy make-up

2. The more expensive but still unhealthy make-up

3. Expensive but healthy make-up

The make-up options for # 1 and 2 and some of #3 are chemical based and some of them even have mercury in them, among other ingredients that you don't want soaking through your skin. The majority of the brands for #3 though are mineral make-up brands. Mineral make-up is not only way better for your skin, but it looks just as good. As it's name denotes it is made out of minerals and may also contain essential oils. In my research for a good mineral make-up brand I came across two that I was impressed with. The first one is Cowgirl Dirt. Cowgirl Dirt is a christian, family-owned mineral make-up company. I have not been able to try them yet, but I really like what I have read about them.  The other mineral make-up company that I enjoy is Pacifica. Pacifica was originally based out of Eugene, OR before moving up to Portland, OR., and it began when the founder started playing around with essential oils. I have been able to try Pacifica's lotion, but have not tried their make-up yet. There are also many recipes online to make your own mineral make-up and many online suppliers. One supplier that I have looked into is Coastal Scents. They have all kinds of minerals and bases that are safe and healthy, as well as containers for your finished products. Young Living has lots of essential oils for you to add to your make-up if you decide to make your own. The benefit of making your own make-up is that you can customize it to the needs of your own skin. Whatever skin type you have, whether it is oily, dry or a combination, you can put in the moisturizers, minerals and essential oils in your make-up to help your skin heal.

                                                        

              With body care products it's just as bad. There are the same three kinds of body care products as there are of make-up.  Pacifica has a great line of mineral based, essential oil infused body lotions and body butters. My favorite scent is Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter. Tree Hut is another natural lotion company that I have been using. With face scrubs and shampoo and conditioner, try to find the one with the most natural ingredients, and that doesn't make bubbles. When a shampoo or face wash bubbles it strips your hair and skin of all its natural oils that they need to be and look healthy. There are also several recipes for making your own shampoo and conditioner, lotion, and face wash. Stephanie Tourles has many different recipes in her book Organic Body Care Recipes. You may want to look around and see what recipes you like. Here are some lotion recipes to get you started, as well as some natural sunscreen recipes.

  

         So here are a few ways to heal your skin with natural remedies, that have worked for me and my family.

    

Frankincense is great for taking away warts and other similar skin blemishes. My little sister had a wart on her upper lip and I started applying Frankincense to her feet, twice a day for three days and it was completely gone by the end. The reason I applied it to her feet was because the pores on the soles of your feet are the biggest in your body and therefore absorb things way faster.

                                                   

Lavender is wonderful for cuts and burns. A friend of mine had gotten a burn on her arm from cooking Thanksgiving dinner back in November. I brought my bottle of lavender with me to church after she burned herself and we applied it to her burn, and within 24 hours it was almost gone. Then, a couple weeks ago my cat scratched my forehead and I applied a little lavender and it healed really well. You can get these essential oils from Young Living. If you order while your on the website enter my number in the sponsor and enroller # slots. My number is 1564241. These are only a few of the ways that you can care for your skin and look beautiful at the same time. 

              I am going to keep bringing this up until it has been accomplished. We still need signatures for the petition to end taxpayer funded abortions in Oregon. We have till Mother's Day (May 11th) to accomplish this goal. Go to www.oregon2014.org and print out a signature sheet, sign and mail it in. If you are feeling even more adventurous have your friends and family sign it. Have a long way to go you guys, but we can do it. 

             I look forward to talking to you all next week. If you have any mineral make-up companies that you like please share them. Or if you have a favorite recipe share that also. Do you have any suggestions for taking care of your skin naturally?

Soli Deo Gloria!

Rest for the Weary

         "I slept like a baby." "At night I can't fall asleep, in the morning I can't wake up."  "I slept like a log."  Sleep is so valuable to our health, yet not many of us, myself included, really give our bodies the kind of rest they need. We could be doing great on exercise, a healthy diet and making sure we get all the vitamins and minerals our bodies need, but if we don't allow our bodies to get enough sleep, all of that other stuff will go down the drain. When we sleep our bodies heal themselves, which is something it isn't able to do as well when we are awake. I will be offering a few ideas on how to create better sleeping habits, which hopefully, will help improve your health. I have been implementing some of these as well.

      

      One of the first problems that everyone has when it comes to actually going to sleep is thinking, "I still have way to much to do, how can I possibly go to sleep now!" Guess what?!?! It will still be there in the morning! Whatever your project is, if you allow yourself to get a good night's sleep, you will have more than enough energy to finish it and do it way better the first time. Take a deep breath, relax, and go to sleep. Not only that, but our best sleep time is between the hours of 10:00 pm and 2:00 am. A couple other habits to create would be going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning, even on the weekend. This kind of consistency is extremely beneficial. So much of our health depends on how much sleep we get each night and the quality of that sleep. Here is an article that explains in more detail the habits that will help us to work up to a great night's sleep. 

      

        A lot of our sleep problems are related to when we exercise, what we eat just before bed, and the amount of stress in our lives. Try not to exercise just before going to bed. Exercise releases certain hormones that are great when they are released earlier in the day, but not so great when released just before bed. Sleep is hormone based as well. When your body has competing hormones it gets confused and you don't sleep. Coffee, soda, sports drinks and energy drinks are detrimental to sleep when we drink them just before going to bed. Our bodies need 7-8 hours of real sleep every night. When our bodies get less sleep than they need, they start producing stress hormones. So not only is it bad to go to sleep stressed, but if you don't get enough sleep, you will wake up feeling even more stressed. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep, going to bed on time and waking up at the same time each morning aren't the only things that will help your sleep. Leaving a light on in your room, or where it can shine into your room, will affect your sleep in a negative way. Try to have your room completely free from any kind of light, whether it's from inside the house somewhere or from a source outside. If the light is from outside the house and is shining through a window, hang thick drapes or a thick blanket over the window to block it out. If you have a night light, or a hall light on at night, turn it off or make sure it doesn't shine through your bedroom door. Light stimulates your brain in way that your brain shouldn't be stimulated when you are sleeping. You also don't need to keep your room very warm. Our bodies core temperature cools down when we go to sleep and having our rooms warm make it harder for our bodies to get to work healing itself. If you get cold at night, you can always put some extra blankets on for more warmth. Here are some other ways to get a great night sleep. 

     If you want to avoid using pharmaceutical drug sleep aids, here are some natural options. There are herb tinctures that you can drink for a good night of sleep. You can even drink tea before going to bed, but make sure it is an herbal tea and that it doesn't have caffeine in it. I have this wonderful book called Organic Body Care by Stephanie Tourles. Her book has all sorts of good recipes for shampoo, body lotion, and even a few for aiding sleep. She also shows how to make sleep herbal pillows that you keep inside your pillow case, as well as a few recipes for sleep balms. If you still have some trouble getting to sleep, even after drinking herbal tea, making your room completely dark and doing the other suggestions, here are some essential oils that help. Lavender Essential Oil, RutaVeLa Essential Oil Blend, Peace & Calming Essential Oil Blend, Stress Away Essential Oil Blend, Deep Relief Essential Oil Blend and a few others. I have a couple different ways I like to use essential oils for sleep. The first combination is 1 drop of Peace & Calming on my forehead, 4 drops of Lavender on my spine and then I put Stress Away on the nape of my neck and on my wrists. The second combination is Stress Away on my wrists and neck and Deep Relief on my temples. To get these oils you can go to the Young Living website and not only see these wonderful oils that I just talked about, but many other great products. If you decide to order something while you are on the website enter my member number (which is # 1564241) in the sponsor # and enroller # slots.   

                                      

              

            I know I mentioned this in my last post, but I am still helping get signatures for the petition to end taxpayer funded abortions in Oregon. Every year $16 million of Oregon state taxes get spent every year on abortions. So far, we have reached just under 1/4 of our goal at 33,798 signatures state wide, and in Jackson county we have reached exactly 1/4 of our goal with 2,621 signatures. This all sounds good, until you look at the deadline. The deadline is Mother's Day, May 11th, and we need a minimum amount of 116,284 signatures state wide. If we reach this goal, it will allow us to vote on the bill in November. We can do this you guys! If everyone would print out just one petition sheet and ask 10 people to sign it and then mailed it in as soon as it was filled, we would reach our goal. It's not that difficult. Start with family members, friends, and then if you are feeling more adventurous, ask your church's leadership if they will allow you to set up a table for one or two Sundays. You can get petition sheets and more information at http://oregon2014.org.  

             Well, I hope this was a beneficial topic and we are all able to start creating better sleep habits. If you have any suggestions on some sleep habits or aids please share them! What's your favorite routine before bed?

        

Have wonderful week!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Sources

www.wellnessmama.com

www.bulkherbstore.com

Organic Body Care by Stephanie Tourles  http://www.stephanietourles.com 

The Many Faces of Coconut Oil

          Since I have been in the essential oil business over the last couple months, I have been asked a few times if coconut oil is an essential oil.  While it is not an essential oil and is a fatty oil (or a carrier oil) by definition, it does have some healing capabilities.  I have researched it a bit this week and I thought I would share it with you.  Coconut can be used as a skin moisturizer, hair conditioner, and used in homemade lip balms, body creams and any other kind of moisturizer. You can also check out this article that lists 101 ways to use coconut oil http://wellnessmama.com/5734/101-uses-for-coconut-oil/ .

                                              

          I was reading the other day on Wellness Mama that coconut oil is really good for your teeth. It is high in vitamin D which your bones need to regenerate themselves. She has had her teeth correct cavities and other dental problems just from eating coconut oil. I knew that coconut oil can be used as a natural whitener if you brush with it. Here is a link to her article about how she found out that coconut oil can fix cavities http://wellnessmama.com/3650/how-to-remineralize-teeth-naturally/. When I got done reading this article, I decided to read the ingredients list on the back of my toothpaste from Young Living.  My toothpaste has coconut oil in it! After I read this I was even more excited about my essential oil and coconut oil infused toothpaste. This wonderful oil not only helps your teeth remineralize, but it also works as a natural whitening. If you would like too check this great toothpaste out, that has absolutely no chemicals in it go to www.youngliving.com and check out their other great products as well. And if you decide to order some stuff, enter my member # (which is 1564241) in the sponsor and enroller # slots that are at the top of the order form. 

                                                 

        Coconut Oil is also a natural sunscreen, http://wellnessmama.com/4621/eat-your-sunscreen/. I had heard that coconut oil was a natural sunscreen somewhere else, but these articles confirmed it. It is high in vitamin D, and because of that coconut oil helps our bodies get the amount of vitamin D that they need so we won't burn. It has a natural SPF 4 content. The point of eating coconut oil or using it on your skin directly is not to keep out the sun completely, but to help your body fill its need for important vitamins and minerals that cause us to burn if they are not properly maintained. Wellness Mama also has a recipe for homemade natural sunscreen,  here is the link http://wellnessmama.com/2558/natural-homemade-sunscreen-recipe/.  As a redhead, I burn really easily, so I look forward to trying coconut oil this summer. There are also some essential oils that act as a sunscreen. They are Helichrysum Essential Oil and Tamanu Essential Oil. To use these essential oils just add them to a carrier oil (like V-6, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or coconut oil) and apply it to your skin.You could also add them into the recipe I shared from Wellness Mama. These essential Oils can also be found at Young Living as well.  I know it's a little early in the year to be talking about sunscreen and sunburns, but it's a side of coconut oil that not very many people know about. 

                                                  

           On a slightly different note, I have been helping with the petition to end Taxpayer Funded Abortions in Oregon. We have till Mother's day to get all the signatures we need. Last time I heard we had already collected 33,000 signatures and we need 150,000. Please sign it if you are a registered Oregon voter. You can do it a couple ways, you can either sign it when you see me next or you can go to www.oregon2014.org and print out the sheet there and sign it, then turn it in. I would really like to see this bill make it onto the ballot in November, there is still some time for you to help get it there. Ronald Reagan wrote an article called "Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation". It was written 10 years after Roe v. Wade was passed. President Reagan was against abortion being legalized and wrote this book to try and awaken the country to where it was headed.  Let's work toward's getting rid of abortion in our state and then our country. It's not to late to do something about it. Let's end abortion now.

          I look forward to talking to you all next week and I hope that you all have a good week!

Soli Deo Gloria!