More than 32 million children missed school last year due to illness or injury.
Are we really better because of “modern” medicine or is it time to go back to our…
Back to Basics – Eating 101
As a Functional Medicine Health Coach, many people come to me because they suffer from gas, bloating, belching, acid reflux, and/or feeling overly full after a meal. Some people have a major GI disruption that may cause a closer look with your Functional Medicine Health Coach but, for many, the solution is in being aware of eating hygiene.
What is eating hygiene? It is a few simple tricks that will help you properly digest your food so that you do not have these uncomfortable issues. Here are 3 simple tricks that may help you reduce or even eliminate these annoying symptoms.
When I first opened Just Breathe, I hear about a lot of holistic and alternative practices. One of the things that I had heard about over a year ago was ear coning or candling. Being someone that had grown up on Cape Cod and been told as a young child that I “had lobsters in my ear,” which was my pediatrician’s polite way of saying I had a lot of wax build up, I was intrigued by the idea of having that wax removed and finding out what it feels like to actually hear.
Then I met Anastasia. Anastasia is a healer who practices ear candling.
I decided that I wanted to get this treatment and signed up for a session with her. The results were incredible!
There is an epidemic related to asthmatics that is known as “the September Epidemic.”
Clinical studies show that 25% of hospitalizations for asthma peak 17 days after Labor Day. The reason for this has been linked directly with children returning to school. People are put in an enclosed, climate-controlled space and exposed to more allergens and viruses than they have been all summer. Schools are places where there is more mold, dust mites, cockroaches, mice, and are considered, for some, places of high stress. In addition, there is an increase of viral infections during this time of year, especially rhinovirus which causes colds.
Being a woman in today’s world is really tough. There are so many things that are expected of us and it is hard to find the support and love that we want and crave.
For years I was in a J.O.B. that was chosen for me by my mother. She always wanted me to be a doctor and it never felt right to me. However, she was my Mom so I did as she wished. Kind of. I did go to school in a pre-med program but, forever being the “practical” child and knowing that being a physician did not ring true for me, I took a program that led to being able to work in a clinical lab. For some reason, on my journey, I also decided that people weren’t my thing, so I found lab work perfect. I could follow my mother’s wishes and study medicine and not have to actually deal with the population.
Summer is a time to let our hair down, or put it in a messy bun, and relax! We spend days on the beach, go camping, spend time with family and friends and might not be so careful about our food choices. I am an admitted sugar addict and, in the summer, sugar definitely creeps back in to my diet with so many sweet desserts readily available.
Sugar is such an interesting chemical. Besides being responsible for causing pre-diabetes and diabetes, high blood sugar has also been linked to high triglycerides, heart conditions, PCOS, kidney disease, problems with the eyes and more, it is also hard to eliminate from our diet because it actually reacts in our brains in a similar way as drugs which makes it addictive. And this is why, I, personally, prefer to eliminate it from my diet in a group setting. But I get ahead of myself.
Allergy season is hitting us hard this year. I see people all the time with runny noses, red puffy eyes, headaches, exhaustion. They may or may not be taking medication for these symptoms, either prescribed by their physician or bought over-the-counter at a local drug store. These drugs may help their situation short-term but they need to keep taking it and it does not continue to help them. They may have to take more to find continued relief or move on to a different drug with side effects that are worse than the first one.
Dry salt therapy is good for a myriad of conditions. It is excellent for people who have chronic lung conditions such as allergies, asthma, COPD, and emphysema. Because it is nature’s antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal, it is also good if you are feeling like you might be getting sick or trying to recover from something such as a cold or bronchitis. It is also excellent for relieving symptoms of psoriasis, eczema, acne and other skin conditions. People who suffer from anxiety and depression feel calmer and less anxious after sitting in a salt room. I like to joke that it can help with anything except weight-loss – and I can even make a scientific argument for that depending on what is preventing you from losing weight.
But not any room is a salt room…
You lay awake all night not because of your sleep issues, which are bad enough, but because your significant other is sleeping like a baby while raising the roof on the house with their snoring. You are angry, frustrated and TIRED!
It took years of dealing with my husband’s sleep apnea before he finally agreed to a sleep study test and was prescribed a CPAP. What finally made him agree to get tested for sleep apnea was my constant complaining and sleeping on the couch. But this past weekend, we went camping and the battery on the CPAP machine did not make it through the first night of our 2-night excursion. But, miracle of miracles, while he still snores, it is much softer and I, and all of our neighbors within 2 miles, were able to sleep through it!
What changed?
My son is 19 and his head hits the pillow at 10 pm and he is out cold until he naturally wakes up at 6:30 am, gets out of bed with a pleasant, “Good Morning, ” and starts his day with a good breakfast – usually eggs with a vegetable and goes out ready to take on the world.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could all experience this?