Please enjoy Inspired Health & Happiness’ May 2011 Newsletter…

Inspired Health & Happiness Newsletter, May 2011.

To your health and happiness!

Please enjoy Inspired Health & Happiness’ April 2011 Newsletter…

Inspired Health & Happiness Newsletter, April 2011.

To your health and happiness!

The Herbal Concept of Balance

In today’s world the idea of health seems to be focused on the absence of disease. This is a novel idea but lacks substance. In modern medicine if a person has a weak immune system, it is said that they are immune deficient; they are prescribed an antibiotic with transfusions and the potential for a bone marrow transplant. When someone develops joint pain and inflammation, they call it rheumatoid arthritis and prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs with a few other minor suggestions. My point in bringing up these two examples is that they are both focused on the immune system, and the aid offered lacks the ability to balance or strengthen the body.

When you give someone who has an immune deficiency antibiotics, you are only furthering their deficiency by destroying beneficial probiotics within the gut, and furthermore, allowing for the growth of Candida yeast (a parasitic yeast that thrives in the colon, but can overgrow into every part of the body). Once this yeast becomes dominant, it can cause a variety of nasty symptoms, and yet can still lay undetected by most professionals leading to misdiagnosis. On top of this you are not strengthening but are encouraging weakness within the body by not allowing it to “exercise” its natural function. When a person is weak, they exercise and become stronger; the same goes with the functions of the body. Without proper balance and strengthening, the body becomes weak, and therefore prone to “disease”.

A person dealing with rheumatoid arthritis, who is taking anti-inflammatory drugs with nothing supportive, is ignoring the fact that environmental toxins and the immune system are the key culprits in this event. The immune system is the controller of inflammatory response in the body, and therefore should be the primary focus in these situations. If a person is dealing with toxin buildup within the body for an extended period of time, the immune system becomes exhausted.  When this occurs, it has a tendency to overreact, causing excessive inflammation. When overinflamed, the body has difficulty repairing the damage, and in some cases causes more damage, creating a greater inflammatory response. As you can see, this creates a progressive problem that is not balanced with the sole use of anti-inflammatory drugs/herbs, but simply delays it.

In my experience, the act of using anti-inflammatory, cleansing, and immune-strengthening herbs, along with increased water intake, can offer great results. These results can be undone, though, if proper dietary and lifestyle changes are not adhered to. If the individual has been dealing with this issue for a long period of time, even after the problem has been properly addressed they may still have some lingering joint pain or stiffness caused by excess scar tissue. Unfortunately, this is not undoable, but a far cry better than the alternative.

The concept of herbal balance is one of grace, care, and in some cases, life-changing realization. For some this concept takes years to fully understand, others are quicker to pick it up, and still more can not see it. This concept is one of change, and in this change the herbs are only the first step. Herbs are compact plant sources of chemical and nutritional constituents that, if used correctly, can cause dramatic shifts in balance within the body. This makes herbs a great resource.  But without diet, lifestyle, and exercise changes, the body will tend to move back into a state of imbalance.

So far I have given examples of imbalance and the use of herbs to gain balance but have done little to explain what this balance is. The best description I could offer would be a scale of -10 to +10, with variations between each level on the scale. The point that you would want to reach is a perfect 0. This is a nearly-impossible feat, but the body is in a constant state of change trying to achieve this.  The closer it gets, the healthier it will be. The idea of using herbs to gain this balance requires a deep look at the underlying reason for the problem at hand and determining whether the use of stimulation, strengthening, depressing or feeding the body is appropriate. In many cases, a variety of actions will be used to balance out the body, because when one part is understimulated, others become overstimulated in order to pick up the slack.

To summarize, the herbal concept of balance is one of restoring and maintaining functional, emotional and energetic synergy within the body. This act of balance helps the body to be at its strongest while progressively getting stronger. Ingestion, breakdown, assimilation, distribution, metabolizing, elimination and restoration are the basic concepts of the bodies functions, and if any of these are disrupted, the balance is lost.

~ Article by Nathan Searles, Master Herbalist, of Forgotten Traditions ~

***For more exciting information on Nathan Searles, M.H., please visit IHH’s Guest Authors page.***

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a raw chocolate preparation workshop, which was presented by Naturally Naked Chocolates and included lots of raw chocolates, lots of friends and lots of fun.  I have to admit, I couldn’t wait for the weekend to arrive, as I am an avid raw chocolate enthusiast.  The thought of preparing my own healthy chocolate creations at home was enough to swell my heart until Valentine’s Day and beyond!

Unless you’ve been living under a giant bar of it, I am sure that you’ve heard by now that chocolate is actually good for you.  Let me clarify this a little bit.  When eaten in moderation, organic dark chocolates that contain at least 70% cacao and a minimal amount of other ingredients are actually good for you and offer our bodies many health benefits.  Of course, I’m speaking about cooked organic dark chocolate.  As far as raw organic dark chocolate goes, this sensational culinary delight is on a completely different playing field.

First of all, why would you possibly eat or want to eat raw foods?

1.  Enzymes.  Raw foods supply our bodies with energy, and this is because the enzymes that are inherent in the food, i.e., an apple, remain intact.  When this same food is heated over 118 degrees Fahrenheit, the enzymes contained in the food begin to die off, causing our bodies to use up enzymes that are present in our bodies (that could be repairing our liver, e.g.)  in order to digest the food that we are eating; thus, robbing us of precious energy;

2.  Detoxification.  Raw foods help to cleanse our body of unwanted toxins that we are exposed to on a daily basis via the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breath, the products we clean our homes with and/or the beauty products that we intentionally put on our skin;

3.  Immune System Strength.  Raw foods are full of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that help to truly nourish our bodies, which helps to create stronger immune systems and keeps us healthier.

Back again to why raw organic dark chocolate is on a completely different playing field. Raw organic dark chocolate incorporates all three of these elements into one delicious package.  As mentioned above, because it is not heated over 118 degrees, the enzymes in raw chocolate are preserved, which makes it better for your body.  It is reported that it helps to detoxify the liver and support healthy pancreas functioning.  It is high in in magnesium, sulfuriron, chromium, tryphtophan, as well as antioxidants, which aid in decreasing free radicals in our bodies, and also contains zinc, copper and manganese.  As if that wasn’t enough, it is absolutely delicious and is simple to prepare in the comfort of your own home!

During this past weekend’s exciting raw chocolate preparation workshop, Raw Chocolatier Judy Garneau instructed us on how to prepare several different raw organic chocolate recipes.  The workshop included taste testing, as well as some very hands-on preparation.  A sample of the recipes that we tasted and learned how to prepare were a basic raw chocolate recipe, a raw crunch bar, almond/peanut butter cups, chocolate chia crackers and cacao mousse.  Can you say YUM?!?  I could and did about fifty times during the two-hour workshop.

Judy Garneau has been kind enough to provide all of you with this quick and easy basic raw chocolate recipe through my Inspired Health & Happiness Blog.  Now it’s time to take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves and prepare some raw chocolate.  Remember to try your hardest not to eat the melted chocolate before it magically turns into delicious little treats.  :0)

Basic Raw Chocolate Recipe

Makes around 20 pieces (you will need a mold for the chocolates)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil

3 Tbs raw cacao powder

2 Tbs raw agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean)

Pinch of Celtic sea salt

Dried fruit, nuts, shredded coconut, extracts, super foods, nut butters (optional)

***USE ORGANIC AND/OR WILDCRAFTED INGREDIENTS, WHEN AVAILABLE***

How to Prepare the Raw Chocolates:

1.  Make sure that the coconut butter is melted into oil (coconut butter is simply coconut oil in it’s unmelted form).

2.  Blend the raw cacao powder, raw agave nectar, vanilla extract (vanilla bean), pinch of Celtic sea salt and the coconut oil with a whisk in a bowl.

3.  Carefully pour raw chocolate mixture into molds (you can purchase molds for candies/chocolates online, check out a local craft store or get creative with some unused gadgets in your kitchen, i.e., small cupcake trays, shot glasses, etc.).

4.  Add any dried fruit (raisins, figs), nuts (chopped walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts), shredded coconut, extracts (mint, butterscotch, raspberry), super foods (maca, goji berries, chaga powder) and/or nut butters (almond, sunflower seed, peanut butter) into the chocolate that your just poured into the molds.

5.  Set in freezer for 20 minutes.

6.  Enjoy!

Helpful Hints:

To melt the coconut butter into oil you can put the jar of coconut oil in a warm spot (if you have a dehydrator, this works fantastic) or you can use a double boiler (I make my own using two heat-proof glass bowls and some boiling water, as pictured above).

To pour the raw chocolate mixture with ease, I poured the warmed chocolate mixture into a Pyrex measuring cup that has a side pouring spout.  This made for easy pouring, otherwise, it can be a little messy (lucky raw chocolate tastes delicious, even if you make a mess!).

When adding in extracts to your molds, add only one drop.  Definintely in this instance, a little goes a long way.

To ensure that your chocolates come out like chocolates, make sure that you freeze the molds right away after pouring the chocolate mixture into them.  If you wait, the coconut oil may separate from the rest of the mixture.  It will still taste delcious, but the oil will turn white and won’t look the same as chocolately chocolates.

You will need to keep your raw chocolates in the refrigerator, as raw chocolate melts quicker than cooked chocolate at room temperature.

A little bit of chocolate goes a long way. These raw chocolates are very rich, and I have found that it only takes one or two little pieces to satisfy my hunger for raw chocolate.

To your health and happiness!

Quick Tip:  Magic Socks

Years ago I experienced a really terrible head cold… I couldn’t breathe for days, I had developed a full-blown sinus infection, and I just felt awful in general.  This blessing-in-disguise illness (now I’m able to share this fabulous information with you) caused me to seek out a naturopathic doctor in my area, and boy am I glad that I did!

By the time I arrived at the doctor’s office, the sinus infection had progressed to the point that it was turning black under my eye.  I knew that wasn’t a good thing for sure.  The doctor and I had a lengthy consultation, during which we discussed my daily diet and lifestyle, then I got an IV drip containing what’s called a Myer’s Cocktail, as well as other natural therapies that he used to help me feel better that day.  By the time I left his office a few hours later, I was able to breathe out of my nose (which was fabulous, as it had been days), I was armed with a list of herbs and supplements to take to boost my immune system and a new understanding of how to get myself well again if I experienced this in the future (I very rarely experience illness).

One of the fabulous tips and remedies that he communicated to me that day was called “Magic Socks.”  I thought this sounded a bit strange, and in order for me to keep breathing out of my nose — which I really wanted to be able to continue doing – I decided to give it a wholehearted full-steam-ahead I’m doing this!

The Magic Socks treatment is so simple that I was thinking, How can this possibly work?  Well, this is how… The Magic Socks treatment can be used if you are experiencing a sore throat or any inflammation of the throat, neck pain, ear infections, headaches, migraines, nasal congestion, upper-respiratory infections, coughs, bronchitis and sinus infections.  It stimulates the production and activity of white blood cells in your body, increases circulation and decreases congestion in the upper respiratory passages, head and throat.  In laymen’s terms (and how it was explained to me), because you have the cold, wet socks on, your body redirects the bloodflow down to your feet to heat the socks up, thus, directing the bloodflow away from the congestion in the upper part of your body, which translates into you feeling better.  Just a note:  This can be sedating, and some people state that they sleep much better during the treatment.

What you will need for the Magic Socks treatment:

1 pair 100% white cotton socks **
1 pair 100% wool socks **
Towel
Warm bath or warm foot bath

**It is VERY important that the socks are 100% wool and 100% cotton.  If it is a blend of materials, Magic Socks may not work.**

Directions:

1. Take a pair of 100% white cotton socks and soak the foot area completely with cold water, trying to keep the ankle dry. Ring the socks out thoroughly so they do not drip.

2. Warm your feet first. This is very important, as the treatment will not be as effective and could be harmful if your feet are not warmed first. Warming can be accomplished by soaking your feet in warm water for at least 5 to 10 minutes or taking a warm bath for 5 to 10 minutes. Your feet should be a warm “pink” color when they are finished soaking.

3. Next, dry off your feet and body with a dry towel.

4. Then place the cold, wet 100% cotton socks on feet. Cover with your thick, dry 100% wool socks.

5.  Next, go directly to bed to avoid getting chilled.

6. Lastly, keep both pairs of socks on overnight.  The magic part of Magic Socks?  The cold, wet 100% cotton socks will be completely dry in the morning when you wake up!  Yes, it is magic.  :0)

Please note:  The Magic Socks treatment should be repeated three nights in a row for best results.

Feel better.

To your health and happiness…