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Crazy times are to be had!! And this has been a crazy time! I've gotten like a million messages from people asking me where the heck I've been! I'm here! Always! I just haven't been blogging like I should be. So, I've made a vow to blog once a week.
Last week I was plagued by the most horrendous virus human kind has ever manifested since the Ebola. Well, ok, I'm exaggerating, but it was pretty horrible!!! Strep throat like symptoms, fever, chills, achy, exhausted, feeling as though I'm swallowing knives and basically that in the beginning feeling of 'I want to die', then halfway through 'I hope I don't die from this!' feeling. I went to the doctor and they did what's called a rapid strep test. I'm sure you've all heard of this. 80% accurate, but if you have the symptoms the doc basically figures you have strep, and errs on the side of caution. I have not had strep in 30 years. Neither have my children, as I have done everything in power to avoid it. Its nasty, extremely contagious, can infect your entire body at times and can be tough to get rid of. The doc offered me antibiotics, but knows me and knows that unless I'm bleeding from the eyeballs and even then, I'm most likely not going to take them. That was a risk, I know that, especially with strep throat. I researched the risks involved with nixing the meds and decided I wanted to go full on au natural, and if, for some reason I wasn't getting better by the 5th or 6th day, I would then, and only then, consider the meds. So, although I felt like death warmed over, the pain was truly amazing, I stuck to my guns and proceeded to pull out all I knew holistically to bomb the heck out of this nasty bacterial invader. I wont list what I did here, simply because its too much, but if you're interested in how I finally eliminated it, send me a message and I'll be happy to respond with what I did. Now its day 6 and I'm feeling nearly 100%. My throat is still slightly agitated, but on the scale that it was where I couldn't eat, drink, talk or swallow, its amazing and I'm very happy with the results! So while I believe western medicine has its place, I try and stick to doing what I can naturally and believing that my body can pull through it. I don't recommend this for everyone. If you do have an illness, always consult with your doc first before deciding to go au natural. Good luck and enjoy your week!!! Cheers!
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So I just wanted to take a minute to say Thank You to all my followers and all my fans who have kept this site alive! I started this site just over a year ago and since then, I have had nearly 3,000 new hits every week! I have enjoyed every minute of it! I love hearing from you , and getting to know each of you. I love writing about what you guys are interested in and talking about the latest health and wellness trends.
And while I try to answer all of your emails, I know I don't always, but you are all on my mind. I know I haven't been blogging as much as I should, but things are just a little crazier than usual because I'm studying for my boards which I take in the Fall. Fingers crossed!! I want to take this opportunity to ask what it is you all want to hear about. I love research and spend hours every week researching the latest in health, wellness and fitness to bring you the best and most up to date information I can. So, please email me or comment and what it is you'd like to know about. Anything at all! I would love to hear what concerns you, what ails you, and what fills your thoughts. You can either email me privately or send it in a comment. Thanks again Healthnutters for your continued support! Were all in this together enhancing our lives with better health! Cheers!! Kristina! By now, the world has heard of the shooting in Orlando, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around this horrific tragedy. I held my kids a little tighter tonight, because its so difficult to process, and they needed to feel safe in a world that seems so unsafe lately. A couple of them cried, and the others were quiet, I'm guessing trying to comprehend how such a horrible act of cruelty and violence could occur, and shocked that it is happening too often it seems. Even once is too often, and yet, unfortunately we're hearing about it more and more.
The energy of the world has become unstable and rigid. Coming to grips with the idea that this may be becoming the norm, doesn't settle well with me. Its rattles the soul and creates a feeling of illness emanating throughout our spirit. We hear of something like this, families being ripped to shreds by a disgusting human that decides to take lives from this Earth, and we're rocked to our core. How can we not be? It makes us think. Think about what if. What if it were me that was there that night? What if it was someone I knew and loved? What if something happens to me like that? What if... How empty the families feel, how they will never see or hear from their loved ones again. How scared the survivors must have been. How they will never again be the same, because of one mans' decision. We can never make this go away, nor can we erase all the other tragedies that we've gone through and heard about. So what can we do? How can we wake up tomorrow and not feel sickened by what happened? You can't. Because you're human and a wonderful feeling human at that. But what you can do is this. Feel. Grieve. Love and say a beautiful healing prayer for them. Help the families get through this the best they can. Feel the pain in your heart, instead of pushing it down, and then send it off with love and healing and guidance. And then warm your heart with tenderness. Heal yourself, and move forward. We need more love in this world, and by you doing this, and telling your friends to do this, you create the positive energy that this world so desperately needs. Feel the light in your soul as it radiates outward, touching lives and bringing people together. Help to heal them with your warmth and your illumination. One of my favorite positive energy healers is Laurel-Bleadon Maffei, and her work is not only amazing but crucial to the healing of this planet. She is so in touch with the energy of this world, and works everyday using her never ending positive light to create a foundation with which to turn when feeling lost. She takes you back to a positive place and reminds us that we are the light of this world and we need to join together to make this planet a better place with which to live. So blessings to you this week and hold your loved ones just a little tighter. Cheers. First, I apologize for all the time that has passed since my last blog! It has been an absolutely crazy insane month! I have had a ton of emails asking me when the heck am I getting back online. Again, I do apologize. I am studying for my boards which are in October, I just put out a new book, and I'm working on not only another health and wellness book, but I'm finishing up a Middle Grade Literary Fiction book! Whew! So, that's what's been going on. Annnnd, it's Summer. Which means all my kiddos are home and I'm trying to keep them busy.
But enough of that and here I am. I have so many things I want to talk about, but one of the topics that has been coming up a lot for me lately, and I have had quite a few people ask me about is yoga and the art of breathing to reduce stress. While there are millions of you tube videos, books, seminars, etc etc about this very subject, sometimes all that can be quite overwhelming. Where do you start? I think the first question you need to ask yourself, is what is your ultimate goal? What do you want to accomplish? I have been practicing yoga since forever. Since well, since I was about 5ish years old, so about 36 years now. Ha! There's my age! Anyway, I know for me, yoga has changed it's form over the years, depending on what I need it for at the time. When I was younger, yoga was a great means to exercise and stretch out. As I got older and had my kids, not only was it amazing for that, but it also gave me the time and space to relax and pull myself together even if it was only for five minutes, because when you're kids are small, there's no way five min could even happen! But that's when it's most important. I've found that the older I get, the more I seem to need those quiet times. Those relaxation times. Those times when "Mom, just needs to get away for a little bit" It has made a really big difference in my life. And as the world seems to be changing and becoming, what feels like to me, more out of hand and stressful, I believe its critical that we really come back to ourselves and de-stress. I know how hard that can be, but you need to do. Focus on your breathing throughout the day, relax. If you already meditate, that's awesome!! Keep going!! Keep on keepin on! If you don't, now is the time to start! Find something that works for you. There is a woman who I have listened to for years and I find her relaxing and soothing. Her name is Doreen Virtue and she has some great CDs out that cover a lot of bases. From abundance, to healing with angels, visualization, to relaxation. I love her stuff! Her voice is very calming and I will more often than not, fall asleep listening to her. Just remember, find what works for you. But, the most important thing is to just do it! Make a plan to make it happen. You are important. You are needed everyday and put on this planet for a reason. Now is the time for you to make yourself feel important by taking the time to do something for yourself! Enjoy your weekend and Namaste!! Cheers! Ok. Eating healthy is always the best way to get your body optimal. But eating healthier is just the start. Eating organically and healthier is another more step towards your goal. A lot of people find it really daunting finding organic foods and dealing with the cost of eating organically. So lately, I've gotten a ton of emails asking me how to not only eat healthier, but how can one go organic without breaking the bank? I get this question all the time.
Eating organically shouldn't be expensive. I have always thought it was crazy and a little backward that foods that are naturally grown, with no spraying involved, should be less. No one had to spend the big bucks on pesticides to spray and no one had to take the time to spray the food. So what the heck? Why? I think this is going to be a question we will be asking for years to come. As a wife and a mother of four children, and someone who tries very hard to make sure we go organic with just about everything we use, I know how tough it can be. I'm not a millionaire and certainly with all the kid stuff I need every month, trying to stay the course organically can be challenging. So, I'll let you know kinda what I do every month when it comes to food, cleaning and beauty products. Just for a heads up, I LOVE Amazon! I don't buy all my products from there, but I do buy a bit. They have a ton of natural organic products for everything, literally everything! I just bought 6 beeswax pillar candles for around 50.00 through Amazon. This week I'm going to try an all room air freshener, similar to the Glade plug ins without all the chemicals, on Amazon for around $6.91 with free shipping. As far as my cleaning products, I but a lot of those from Target, and if you compare them to the ones with chemicals, you'll see that they aren't really that much more because most are concentrated which means you can add water making them last longer. And you can always make your own, even better! Organic food, I buy some of that at the Sam's here in Colorado. Not all Sam's are the same, I've found. The one in Ohio didn't have near the organic foods that the one here does. Believe it or not, I actually go to several places to buy my food. Its a pain in the butt, but, I do it because it's important and I don't want to spend a fortune at Whole Foods. I like Whole Foods, but seriously? I go to the Sprouts here for produce because they have amazing produce for less than the regular grocery store, and I buy my meat there also. We don't eat a lot of beef, but we are not vegetarians, so I will pick up chicken or turkey there as well. I also found the Big Lots here has great organic dry foods for way less than the grocery store. About 50% less. So it can be done. It takes a little more work, and I usually do this here and there when I can, and when I'm in the area. I hope you find this helpful. Another thing you can try is take a day or two and go around to local stores that you know might be less than perhaps grocery stores and see if they some of the things you may be interested in. I actually found a outlet bakery near my house that sells organic multi grain bread for $1.50 when I was out and about one day! Good Luck and let me know how it goes! Cheers! So my new book just came out! I'm so excited about it and I hope you have a chance to download it and take a look. I think you'll find some really good interesting stuff in there!
One of the things I specialize in in herbs and supplements, but I don't take a ton all the time. I think there is a time and place for each one, and I have definitely taken any of those that I've written about at some time or another. I completely believe that each has a purpose and I hope if you do read the book, you'll agree. I've had several people ask me, "How do I know what to take and when?" In fact I get asked that a lot. Not only will this book kind of explain all that, but I think when it comes down to it, listening to our bodies is huge! Too often we forget to do that and the results are never good. So, tell me what you think, leave a comment on the comments page and I hope you get something out of it! And if you haven't signed up for the Health E News newsletter yet, be sure and do that for weekly blog updates and the latest healthy trends! Cheers! Anytime a new health fad or new discovery is made in the health arena, I try to check it out and be the proverbial 'guniea pig' so to speak. Recently I read an article on MSN about how this woman in Australia had cured her cancer, I believe it was thyroid cancer, eating these three fruits, pineapple, kiwi and papaya. ( I'm going to post the video below for you all to watch, it's really quite amazing. Now being a Holistic type person, I have always tried to do things naturally and have whole heartedly believed that what you eat all the time directly either destroys or enhances your body and mind. These particular three foods, especially pineapple, contain a complex mixture of substances called bromelain which is a protein-digesting enzyme. Basically eating these fruits that contain bromelain, can eat away at the protein base around tumors, growths and even certain types of cancers. Excessive inflammation, excessive coagulation of the blood, and certain types of tumor growth may all be reduced by therapeutic does of foods containing bromelain. After reading this, it stored it in the back of my brain for later use. A girlfriend of mine and I were having lunch and she began to tell me that after an extensive ultrasound to find out why she wasn't getting pregnant, doctors discovered she had many, and I think the number she said was like 30!, polyps in her uterus! Wow! She was scheduled for a polypectomy in 6 weeks. They had figured she had had the polyps for quite sometime and this procedure could possible get rid of them and perhaps help in her dream of becoming a mom. After hearing this, I told her what I had just read and thought maybe she might want to try it. I wasn't sure she would take my advice, but she said she would look into it and we left it at that. (BTW, after I had read the article, I started adding more of these three fruits to my raw shakes in the morning!) I saw her again, after her procedure, and asked her how it went. She was bouncing off the walls with excitement. "They didn't find anything!" I looked confused. "They didn't find anything! After you and I had lunch that day, I went straight to the store and bought organic pineapple, kiwi and papayas and since then have been making shakes with them every morning. The day of my surgery, doc came in and said 'I didn't see any polyps. Nothing was there!" She believes, and so do I, that eating and drinking these fruits really made a difference in her healing. The only thing she had done differently was add these to her diet every morning. My friend was really excited and still has her pineapple shakes every morning. I'll keep you posted when she gets pregnant!! So, I truly believe that food can heal, food can cure and pure, clean food can and does keep your body running optimally. This is just one of many many stories I hear all the time from friends and clients who have discovered the power to heal themselves through nutrition. It works people!! Cheers!!! I've gotten a lot of great responses to the new site! Thanks guys and keep it coming!
This week I'm starting a new book. I'm really excited about it, and hopefully with all the research I've been doing on it over the last year, it'll be informative. I realize that with all the info that's out there, anyone can look things up whenever they have something going on that's concerning, but I also know that sometimes you just want it all in one place, in front of you, so you don't have to go searching. As I've said previously, I have four children, and sometimes, a lot of times, things get crazy and overwhelming. My oldest son is going to EMT school, he started about a month ago, and is really loving it. Halfway through the courses the students have to do clinicals in order to take the exams and get through the school. What clinicals are is basically you have to take a day here and there to either ride on an ambulance for 12 hours or spend 8 hours in a trauma unit at the hospital. Over the weekend he spent 8 hours at the hospital helping out in the trauma unit. I really wasn't sure how he would like it, as he's very young and because it can be really insane. Well, when he got home he was really excited and shared some stories with me. His eyes were lit up, and even though he spent 8 hours high on adrenaline, watched a woman die, and helped hold down a homeless man to get him to take his meds, he was thrilled. And I was surprised. That's when I realized how much he's grown up. I wasn't much older than him when I started having children, and even then I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life other than have babies. I'm proud of him and glad that even though there's a lot of kids out there that are clueless as to what they want to do with their lives, I think there are just as many that are right on track and are even more successful than I could have ever thought possible for my generation. That is a side note that I wanted to share with you all. Kids have it tough nowadays also. Lots of stress having to have to be and do and achieve everything so young. Like I said, I was clueless. I think I spent a lot of my time pregnant and sleep deprived with no idea what was next for me. And at the time, it was ok. Kids today are amazing in their own right. I cheer them on and admire them in all that they have to deal with, with social media and a very 'in your face' perspective on how things 'should be' for them. Whatever they become, whatever they decide to do and the path they take, if they can make it through this incredible and at times difficult generation, I applaud them. .. I do anyway. And send lots of blessings. Tell me your thoughts on this. Have a healthy and happy week! Cheers! I am so totally excited about my new site! It took me literally about a month to create an entire new site with all new content, but I think in the end, even with the ginormous amount of frustration and for all the times I said "OMG! I have no idea what I'm doing!!", it was totally worth it! I love it and I'm having so much fun!
I scanned like a million, well not exactly a million but close, different sites to see which one I thought would work for my business, until I found this one which will really expand with the growth of the biz. I'm proud to say that its growing like crazy and I needed a site that could give me that and be able to connect with my followers a lot easier. I love staying connected with you all, and didn't feel like I could before. Now I have an awesome way to do that and a site that will grow right along with me! Cool Beans!! Anyway, I would love to hear what you guys think! I would also love to know what you guys want to see more of. I want to be able to provide you all with more personalized health and wellness to help you along with whatever it is you want to better your mind, body and soul. And I want to learn from you, my awesome Healthnutters! Lets talk! Send me an email or comment below. Thanks for always being loyal! Cheers!! Feb. 16, 2016 Embracing change So, 5 months ago (has it been 5 months already?!) I moved my family from Ohio to Colorado. It wasn't an easy decision. It took a lot of planning, especially because there were so many of us- two adults, four children- and because our lives were so built up in Ohio. We had a lot of friends, (Avon, Ohio is a very smal town, we knew everyone by year two), we had my husband's family, and the kids had so many friends that they were growing up with (after all we were in Ohio 9 years). It was tough, but one that we (my husband and I) felt we had to make. We wanted a better lifestyle, more opportunities, better weather, and I really wanted to be near my family (they either live here or in California). It's been a tough 5 months. Lots of adjusting. My high schooler was very upset to leave his friends, but he's making new ones and trying to make the best of it. What a trooper! But, everyday, when the sun comes out (not much sun in Ohio) and I look out and see the mountains, and breathe in the fresh air, and not to mention that being a Holistic Nutritionist definately has lots of benefits here, everyone is into health, YAY!! I love the fact that I love living where I am. We get outside everyday, we walk or bike or run everywhere! I love looking around and seeing eveyone enjoying life, loving the outdoors and in general thrilled to be alive! I can't wait to see what the next few months will bring! So even though its been a tough adjustment (change is always hard), I'm so glad we did it. Life is an advnture and if you're not happy where you are, make the change. Its always tough getting out of your comfort zone, but what is that famous saying "Life begins when you step out of your comfort zone" Hurrah! Cheers!! |
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