The Online Naturopath

Herbal Energetics: Heat

2011-04-01T11:52:00.004-04:00

An example I used in my last post was to take two herbs: a cayenne pepper and a cucumber and ask yourself which was 'hot' and which was 'cold'. I think most everybody would agree the cayenne would be 'hot' and the cucumber would be 'cold'. Now, what does this mean? Heating or warming herbs tend to stimulate action and movement in the body. They encourage the movement of fluids (like blood, lymph, digestive fluids, or mucous) and often stimulate an organ (or organs) to speed up and work a little faster. Cooling herbs tend to slow things down a bit, relieve inflammation and soothe irritation.

'Heat' and 'cold' can also reflect physiological conditions within the body itself. In this article, I'm going to focus on heat and the primary herbal therapy for relieving heat.

'Heat' in the body refers to excess caused by irritation or excitation of the tissues. Have you ever been playing ball or running and twist your ankle? What happens? The ankle swells up, often becomes reddish, and hot to the touch. It's hot because the injury has resulted in a lot of blood and fluid flooding the area as inflammation sets in. There is an excess or an irritation of the tissues, due to injury.

Ever been stung by a bee or wasp? What happens to that area? It becomes red, swollen, and again, hot to the touch. It's usually pretty painful too.

What about a sore throat that is red, hot, swollen, and painful? All these are examples of "heat" causing problems in the body.

Heat (irritation / excitation) basically relates to inflammation. There are four signs of inflammation: redness, swelling, pain, and heat. Inflammation can be an acute condition in the body, or become chronic (which actually becomes something other than 'heat'). When tissues becomes injured, or irritated they trigger the inflammatory response in the body, which brings in an excess of blood and lymph.

Organs, too, can become irritated or excited due to various factors and rev up too much, causing problems. This causes a problem of excess which you find in the 'hyper-' conditions (ex. hyperthyroid).

So, what is our primary herbal therapy for heat in the body? Sour herbs. These are herbs which often have a sour taste to them: lemons, elderberry, hawthorn, rosehips, yellow dock, cranberry, mangosteen, noni, (really just about any berry). If you have ever drank aloe vera juice, you will know just how sour it is (and so soothing to tissues).

The sour herbs are often rich in organic acids and bioflavonoids which relieve inflammation and soothe irritated tissues. The actions of the sour taste include toning tissues, speeding tissue healing, and stimulating digestion. They are often very high in vitamin C, which helps relieve inflammation in the body.

A secondary therapy for heat would be our mucilaginous, or demulcent herbs. These herbs lay down a nice layer of "slime" on the irritated tissue which are very cooling and soothing. Aloe vera is considered sour, but it is also very mucilaginous and if you've ever used it on your sunburn you know how soothing it is. Other examples of demulcent herbs are: marshmallow, comfrey leaf (for external use), psyllium seed, and slippery elm. I'll go into more detail with demulcent herbs when I talk about 'moistening' vs 'drying' herbs.

Another secondary therapy for heat are herbs with the bitter taste. Most bitter herbs are cooling and anti-inflammatory. They are often anti-infectious as well, making them useful for infections with symptoms of heat. An example is goldenseal or oregon grape root--both very bitter, are anti-infectious, and considered 'cold'.

Resources:

Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism -- Matthew Wood

Reading the Terrain -- Kiva Rose

Herbal Energetics

2011-03-27T16:23:00.003-04:00

Lately I have found myself very strongly drawn to a concept known as "herbal energetics". Herbal energetics refers to whether an herb is 'hot' or 'cold' or whether it is 'drying or damp.' This applies to humans as well: Is that condition hot or cold? Dry or damp? Tense or Relaxed? It really all comes down to matching person to herb in the best way possible.

At first it can seem really confusing. Hell, I've been studying it now for awhile and it still seems confusing. But you'll find, that with a little study, it can, at times, make choosing herbs an almost instinctive process. An excellent reference for study is "The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism" by Matthew Woods.

Alright, pull out a cayenne pepper and a cucumber. Which one is 'hot' and which one is 'cold'? Unless you've never experienced either one of those it's a pretty easy answer. And if you have actually never experienced those two plants, simply take a bite of each one... That's herbal energetics.

Imagine you've been working out in the sun on a hot August day. You come inside and grab something to drink: do you want a nice cold glass of lemonade? Or a hot cup of coffee or tea? I want something cold! On the other hand, imagine you've been out in the cold wind and snow in January for a while. You come inside and grab something to drink: do you want a cold glass of lemonade? Or a steaming hot cup of cocoa?

So, if I'm 'hot' I want something cold to cool me down. If I'm 'cold' I want something warming to help warm me up. That's herbal energetics. Another example: you've spent a bit too much time in the sun and have a nice sunburn across your shoulders and back. It hurts to even have a shirt on now. Do you want to put some cool and soothing aloe on it? Or would a heating pad feel better? Having experienced this many times in my life...I want cool and soothing!!

With these examples most people will go, "Oh! I can understand that." Very recently I developed a real nice cough. I got lazy, wasn't keeping up with my vitamin D, eating rather poorly, and got the crud that was going around here. It started with a 'dry' cough, as compared to a 'wet' productive cough.

So, I started my treatment with two herbs: mullein and marshmallow root. Both of these herbs are soothing, moistening expectorants. I had a 'dry' cough and took herbs which are 'moistening'. See how this works?? They soothed the dry irritated tissues of my lungs and, being expectorants, helped bring up any mucus trapped in there. Sure, I still coughed, but I coughed less and lost that tight, irritated feeling in my chest.

As the cough progressed, just like in everybody else, at some point it transitioned into a wet productive cough. My treatment changed a bit. I still used mullein for its expectorant properties and added garlic. Garlic is a stimulating expectorant and considered 'drying'. Because of the drying action it wasn't appropriate for the first stage of my cough. I still coughed, but it was less and didn't seem to have the "my chest is tearing apart" feeling that most others had.

Now, notice I never took anything which suppressed the cough, like over-the-counter stuff does. Coughing is the body's attempt to rid itself of the infection and suppressing that just makes things worse, or makes it last longer. So, my treatment was directed at aiding the body in either producing more mucus (moistening) or in removing that mucus by expectorating. I still coughed, I still went through the same phases of illness as my friends and coworkers, but the phases were quicker and less miserable than what they experienced. I also did not ultimately need to do a round of antibiotics, which many of them did.

Best of all, it provided me with a great reminder in why I shouldn't eat junk food, should keep up on my vitamin D, and should take care of myself.

That's my introduction to herbal energetics. I have a feeling I'll get much more in-depth with this topic in future posts. In the meantime, for those of you interested in energetics I suggest these great resources: The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism by Matthew Woods; www.herbcraft.org by Michigan herbalist Jim McDonald; and www.bearmedicineherbals.com/archive-index (a fantastic blog by herbalist Kiva Rose).

Vitamin D levels

2011-03-26T13:02:00.004-04:00

This will be a real quick post. I found this chart on a lecture by Medical Herbalist Paul Bergner and thought it was very impressive. This shows what happens by blood level of Vitamin D. Notice the California lifeguard in the summer had a level of 70-80 nanograms per milliliter, while the average American tested only had 24!

150 ng/ml No toxicity noted at this level (twice normal physiological levels)
70-80 ng/ml California lifeguard tested in the summer
50 ng/ml Mother stops secreting D3 in breast milk; at this level and above breast cancer risk falls by 50%. Below this level risk increases substantially.
38 ng/ml Colon cancer risk at 60%; neuromuscular function impaired
32 ng/ml Calcium absorption impaired; bone loss occurs
24 ng/ml Average American levels in recent survey; parathyroid hormone is suppressed
15 ng/ml Necessary to prevent rickets and osteomalacia; respiratory infections double

It is easy to see that at lower levels our respiratory immunity is severely weakened. This means more colds and flu for us. So keep the Vitamin D levels up!! You can have your levels tested at a doctor's office or go to www.vitaminDcouncil.org for a home test kit.

Mineralize with an Herbal Infusion!

2011-02-13T10:51:00.007-05:00

In my opinion, our best source of minerals come from plants. Plants have this magical ability to take minerals from the soil (which our bodies can't absorb and use) and transform them into wonderfully building elements for the body. Unfortunately, most multi-vitamin supplements contain minerals straight from the ground, pulverized, and put in a tablet. The body either ignores it (it passes straight through unabsorbed) or is able to use it only by expending a lot of energy to transform it into usable forms.

Luckily for us, plants take those minerals and do the transforming for us. This means those minerals are changed into a state the body can make easy use of. And one of the best ways to get these minerals is through an herbal infusion.

Infusions are similar to making a cup of tea, only a lot stronger. Regular teas don't provide a whole lot minerals because they're only steeped 5 or 10 minutes. An herbal infusion is steeped for hours. This allows the water to pull out a lot of awesome minerals--great news for us!

What you'll need: a quart jar and lid; one ounce of dried herb (by weight); and boiling water.

Simply place one ounce of dried herb in the jar, fill with boiling water, seal it and let sit for 6 to 12 hours. Strain out the plant material when finished and drink. Add a little honey to taste if you desire. Refrigerated, an infusion will last about 24 hours. After that it's best to water your garden with it and make a fresh one. And speaking of garden--that used plant material makes great compost!
Three of the best mineral-rich infusions: nettle leaf, red raspberry leaf, and oatstraw. These three herbs have long been used to nourish us and build our health. Nettle leaf is particularly high in calcium; red raspberry is high in organic iron, and oatstraw is high in organic silica (used for strong bones, skin, and connective tissues). However, each of these herbs are high in virtually ALL beneficial minerals.

My pregnant wife routinely consumes these infusions and they are a fantastic way of providing minerals to the baby. They've long been used during pregnancy because they are so gentle. That is truly the mark of a great herb--that it can be used every day and the only side-effect is good health.

**For more information on using infusions for pregnancy check out the book Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by author Susan Weed.

Why I love herbs

2011-01-02T13:44:00.003-05:00

Being a paramedic, and now an instructor, I'm asked occasionally why I'm into all this "herbal stuff." At first my answer was something along the lines of, "I don't know, I've just been interested in them since I was a kid." But, the more I pondered it the more I was able to articulate it. So, here are some of my thoughts.

I believe that herbs better activate our innate healing response. Especially when we gather them ourselves and make our own medicine. Imagine you feel yourself coming down with the flu. You open up your cupboard and pull out some homemade echinacea tincture. As you do you remember the beautiful morning when you dug it out of the ground, sun shining, birds calling, the world at peace. You recall washing the roots, chopping them, placing them in a jar and covering with alcohol. You remember shaking the mixture twice a day for six weeks and being excited for it to be done. There is a part of yourself in that medicine. Compare that with the antibiotic pills you will receive from your physician. Which do you think will better activate our innate healing response, the one deeply linked to our thoughts, emotions, and subconscious?

There is another reason I love herbs -- I believe they better support the body's healing ability. Drugs go into the body and force a change. Herbs, too, can go into the body and force a change. The difference is that herbs provides minerals, vitamins, anti-oxidants, essential fatty acids, proteins, and other compounds which then support the change being produced. Medications produce the change but don't give the body anything to support it. In this way, herbs provide some depth, while medications are more two-dimensional.

I also find knowledge of herbs to be very empowering for people. We as a culture have allowed ourselves to give all our power to doctors. We assume that we know nothing and only doctors have the answers. However, by learning even basic herbs we can take that power back. We are no longer dependent on someone else to give us the "magic elixir" which will heal us. Instead, we make our own (which better activates the healing response as I discussed above), or we buy a supply of different herbs and use them to treat ourselves and families. Either way, we're actively involving ourselves in the healing process, which is key!

I believe drugs have their place and there are times when I think they're necessary. However, I believe that herbs have way more to offer us in terms of actual healing than medications do. I would very highly recommend picking up a couple books on herbs and start with the plants in your own backyard. Odds are there are plenty of potent medicines within a few feet of your back door!

Avoid The Flu With These Two Supplements

2010-10-19T15:59:00.006-04:00

As the weather cools, flu season kicks into high gear. Unless you've been living in a cave you have probably been inundated with flu vaccine propaganda. It seems like the medical community comes out in force to get everyone vaccinated against the flu. Personally, I do not want mercury, formeldehyde, and antifreeze injected directly into my body. Especially considering several major studies have shown the flu vaccine to be virtually ineffective. So, what can we do to protect ourselves that is natural and healthy? My answer -- Vitamin D3 and Elderberry.

Elderberry is a very old-time remedy for the flu. Well, science has actually shown why it works. Elderberry contains two enzymes which actually prevent the flu virus from penetrating our cells. It disables the mechanism the virus uses to attach and drill through the cell wall. This is a great supplement to take through the flu season. One of my favorites is one called Elderberry Defense by Nature's Sunshine. However, I will also use elderberry flowers and berries in tea. Elderberry tincture is another very effective way to take it.

The second supplement is Vitamin D3. D3 is the most natural form of the vitamin and most closely resembles what our bodies produce. Several studies have shown that high vitamin D3 levels in the body is more effective at preventing flu than the vaccine. How much is enough? Here is where there is much disagreement in the medical community, and a little research will show vastly different recommended amounts. However, most often I see an adult dose of 5000 units of D3 daily. Personally, I take 4000 to 8000 daily, depending on how many sick people I've been around. This supplement is also important in preventing seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that those of us in the north are prone to.

Both of these supplements are fairly inexpensive and work great at flu prevention. In my opinion, much better than getting a harmful vaccine!

Echinacea works two ways

2010-10-02T10:16:00.003-04:00

It is common knowledge that echinacea boosts the immune system. Even people who have no knowledge of natural health have heard of echinacea. And it works great too! However, there is more than meets the eye with this fantastic herb.

There are two species that are typically used: Echinacea angustifolia and Echinacea purpurea. There is a mountain of research which indicates that echinacea boosts the immune response. This makes this herb very useful in fighting off infections, colds, flu, strep throat, bronchitis, etc. If taken when the first symptoms of a cold or flu are noticed, echinacea can stop them from progressing further.

Apparently, echinacea kind of tricks the body into thinking it is being invaded by a massive attack. This stimulates it to ramp up production of white blood cells and strengthen the immune system in general.

However, this herb works the "other side of the coin" in infections: the environment. Without getting too technical there are two lines of thought when it comes to getting sick: the medical and the naturopathic. The medical mindset says that all infections are caused by invading bacteria or virus which enter the body and cause illness. The naturopathic mindset says the environment (our tissues) has to be pleasant for bacteria and viruses or they won't enter in the first place. One focuses on killing off bacteria with antibiotics, the other focuses on cleaning and strengthening the environment so bacteria can't live there. One approach weakens the body (and actually weakens the immune system), while the other approach actually builds the body and makes it stronger.

Bacteria and virus love an environment high in cellular waste and toxins. Think of a stagnant swamp versus a clear running stream -- which one breeds more mosquitoes? If our tissues are stagnant and "swampy" from poor diet, lack of exercise, etc then they create an environment that bacteria love. If, however, we create the "clear running stream" in our tissues then bacteria won't thrive there.

Back to echinacea: it is actually a blood and lymph cleanser! It stimulates the body to cleanse! This means it is working on the environment by cleaning out the "swamp" and making it uninviting to pests. This makes the body stronger and healthier.

So, two actions: one, it stimulates white blood cells to grow and multiply. Two, it cleans out the environment which then keeps bacteria and virus out (or keeps them from multiplying). Echinacea is best used in the short-term: at the onset of an infection take frequent repeated doses. It seems that after about two weeks of continual use that it loses some effectiveness. There are other herbs which are better for long-term immune building.

I carry a bottle of Ultimate Echinacea from Nature's Sunshine around with me all the time, especially working as a paramedic. If I feel the hint of something coming on I start taking doses every hour or so to stop it in its tracks. Do yourself a favor and keep some echinacea handy!

Following Your Passion

2010-07-20T15:36:00.002-04:00

This term is bantered about quite a bit and it often conjures up different feelings for different people. One emotion that often comes up is actually anxiety. There is a lot of fear in the idea of following ones passion in life. I think that's because we have this image of someone dropping everything: job, family, friends, etc. and heading off on some crazy adventure to 'follow their passion.' As if we have to give up everything to follow some gigantic passion in life. Or, we get anxious because we don't even know what we're passionate about.

The reality is actually much simpler, and no reason for anxiety. Instead, ask yourself what interests you. And then--pursue it! If you are interested in knitting then get a couple books, or a knowledgeable friend, some yarn and get to it! I have followed so many interests over my life and have not regretted a single one. Have I been passionate about all of them? You bet. Has that passion remained for every one of them? Nope. It doesn't have to--don't get weighed down by the idea that what makes us passionate can't change, or that we have to stay passionate about it all our lives.

I recently started learning to play the guitar. This is something I've wanted to do for years. Now I carry my guitar with me and play it (or try to!) as often as I like. I love it. Does this mean I'm going to join a band and tour the country? Highly unlikely. But...that's the beauty of following things that interest you--they can lead you down different paths in life. Or lead nowhere other than being mentally engaging and fun--and that is actually very important for our health.

A gentleman by the name of Dr. Bach discovered this point a long time ago. Dr Bach had kind of frail health and was often ill. He found that when he was mentally engaged in something he enjoyed doing that his health improved. He loved to research and experiment. This lead to Dr Bach developing the Bach Flower remedies which are used all over the world to treat emotional problems.

So, if you don't know what you are passionate about, ask yourself what interests you. Get a book on it. Research it on the internet. Get mentally engaged about it and, above all, have fun with it! When we are pursuing what we enjoy we are following our passion and it can lead down many fun and interesting paths. And you never know, maybe someday you'll make a career out of one of your passions...

Have fun!

Stress Trumps Everything

2010-07-02T14:56:00.003-04:00

A good friend of mine and Naturopathic Doctor, Dale Tamminga, used to tell me all the time, "Stress trumps everything." If you're a card player you know that trump cards can't be beaten. It is like that with stress and our health.

What Dr. Tamminga meant is stress can beat out healthy diet and even supplements to an extent. If we don't get our stress under control it will undermine everything else we do. We cannot lead health-filled lives if we are constantly beaten up by a stressful lifestyle.

Me personally, I have a built-in barometer to the amount of stress I'm putting on my body -- I get sick. When I get ill it's almost always following a period of major mental / emotional stress or physical stress (like 'holiday' eating). This can often explain why even those considered "health nuts", or those in the natural health field, still get sick occasionally. The other major reason is typically a "cleansing" action of the body, where the body stirs up some accumulated toxins and pushes them out.

Following a healthy lifestyle helps offset stress tremendously. Providing the body good nutrition goes a long way to helping it cope with stress. However, following certain practices geared specifically for relieving stress is what is usually required.

As I sit and write this I have a head cold. I can look back and see exactly what happened as my stress accumulated more and more and I didn't do anything to offset it. Here are a few suggestions to look into.

1. Regular massage: (Or any bodywork like cranialsacral, energy work, etc). Bodywork and massage are fantastic ways to reduce stress. Done regularly is the best -- once a week or once every other week. Not only does it reduce stress but it makes the body feel great!

2. Bach Flower Remedies: These remedies are easy to obtain (found at most health stores), easy to use, and very effective. A little research is needed to obtain the right remedies and it's often best to have a blend made up by a knowledgeable practitioner. However, Bach remedies are very do-it-yourself for the health-minded person.

3. Meridian Tapping Techniques (EFT, etc): This is one of my favorites. Very easy to do, very effective, and can be done anytime, anywhere. There is just a ton of information on meridian tapping on the internet if you look for it.

4. Exercise: Exercise is another great way to reduce stress. Whether you go for slow focused movements of yoga, tai chi, or chi gung or you're more into the high-intensity exercises like running or competitive sports it all works to decrease stress.

There are also numerous herbs, vitamins, and minerals which are fairly specific for helping the body cope with stress. Some of the best ones are labeled 'adaptagens'. Adaptagens help the body 'adapt' to stress (both physical and mental). Ginseng, eleuthero, suma, and maca are a few of the well known ones. These work best when taken on a regular basis.

The only problem with these methods come from NOT doing them. At times it seems like I am the poster-child for quietly allowing my stress to climb out of control. Don't be like me! Don't wait until you get sick to start managing your stress! Your body will send you many small signals, like colds and flu, telling you your stress level has gotten too crazy, until finally you'll get a BIG signal -- heart attack, cancer, or other major disease. Keep that stress under control!

I think it's time for me to get a massage....

Raw Desserts book!

2010-07-01T11:37:00.009-04:00

As I continue my journey into raw foods I want to share things which I feel are interesting or worthwhile. My current goal is to achieve at least 60% raw foods for my daily diet. Raw food means it has not been cooked. The food is still "live" and contains all its enzymes and nutrients. Once food reaches a certain temperature the enzymes, vitamins, and minerals begin to be destroyed. By leaving your food uncooked all that goodness remains intact.

Now, I admit that there are many days that I struggle to even reach 60%, which is slightly more than half my diet. There are some days I don't even come close. But, I'm always striving and someday 60% will be a minimum for me. What I'm finding easiest to do now is have breakfast and lunch be raw, then eat a regular dinner. But, with this new ebook I think it will be much easier to reach my goal. This book is....

"Just Desserts: Delicious, Nutritious, Raw Delights." Yes, it is a book of raw desserts! Look at these pictures! Everybody loves dessert. Now you can make actual healthy desserts. Yum! I'm all about desserts.

This ebook can be found at www.rawfor30days.com/blog/?p=101 There you can also view a video on making raw apple pie. Enjoy!

ACLS training

2010-06-10T13:42:00.004-04:00

Many of us in the medical field have to certify in ACLS, or Advanced Cardiac Life Support. This program is to train us on advanced cardiac care -- namely medications and procedures to care for emergency heart problems: heart attack, stroke, fatal heart rhythms, etc. We train on many different procedures designed to re-start a heart if it has stopped. It is something which we have to re-certify in every two years.

An awful lot of care and research goes into ACLS, because heart disease is still the number one killer in America -- it's even above cancer. The medications and procedures are constantly being evaluated and re-evaluated for effectiveness. New techniques and new technology are tried out all with the goal of saving that cardiac arrest victim or saving the heart attack and stroke victim.

I just re-certified my ACLS again--this makes the sixth or seventh time. I am constantly impressed with how much time and effort go into this study. However, I also ask myself how come this amount of time, effort, and research can't go into prevention of heart disease! It is a terrific example of how medicine works -- it's almost solely focused on trying to fix a problem after it is already a major problem!

Maybe if we had to re-certify every two years in proper diet, proper nutrition, and which foods and herbs prevented heart disease we'd have a lot less need for ACLS. Maybe it would no longer be our number one killer. I bet cancer, stroke, and the other major killers would decrease as well.

So, what are some heart healthy foods and herbs? First of all, a diet consisting primarily of raw vegetables, especially the leafy greens, is a must! Follow that with raw fruits. There is a large body of research out there showing that heart disease can actually be reversed and healed by this diet. Take that processed food and throw it in the garbage!

Two heart-healthy herbs are garlic and capsicum (cayenne). These two have been used for several hundred years to fix heart and cardiovascular problems. Garlic has been shown to lower cholesterol and reduce plaque deposits in the arteries. Both of these herbs work to heal the entire cardiovascular system. Incorporate them into your diet whenever possible. People often find it easiest to take them in capsule form -- just ensure they're good quality. I prefer Nature's Sunshine's High Potency Garlic and their Capsicum capsules.

Hawthorne is a very well-known heart herb. It aids in oxygenating the heart, actually strengthening the heart and cardiovascular system, lowers blood pressure, and improves the tone of cardiac muscle. I have a friend who was diagnosed with a weak heart (very low ejection fraction) and her doctor wanted to do surgery and put her on medications. She said no and did Hawthorne instead. Her next evaluations showed a very improved ejection fraction -- into the normal range. Her doctor actually got angry that she was doing so well just taking herbs! A phenomenal heart supplement is Nature's Sunshine HS II. It has three herbs -- Hawthorne, garlic, and capsicum.

CoQ10 is an antioxidant which helps protect the heart and vessels. In fact, antioxidants in general are critical in maintaining or healing the cardiovascular system. Essential fatty acids found in fish oil or flax oil reduce arterial inflammation and aid in healing the arteries.

The list of herbs and nutrients which can help heart and artery disease could go on and on and on. The ones listed above are used very often and with very good results. Coupled with a healing diet and heart disease can be reversed. Let's make the need for ACLS classes obsolete!

Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days!

2010-05-10T10:26:00.005-04:00

My wife and I just watched a really incredible DVD called, "Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days." It was fantastic! If you or a loved one is suffering from this disease then this movie is a must see!

In 'Simply Raw' they take a group of six people, each suffering with either Type I or Type II diabetes, and chronicle their amazing journey of actually reversing this disease in 30 days! This group is taken to a holistic center in Arizona and placed on a completely raw diet for the duration. No caffeine, no meat, no alcohol, no sugar, no packaged food. Only organic uncooked foods for the duration.

These people were under medical supervision the entire time and instructed to reduce their insulin by increments. One gentleman, a Type I insulin-dependent diabetic was able to go from 70 units of insulin a day to only 5! Every other participant who completed the program was off insulin completely and doing fantastic. In fact, they went off all of their medications completely--and one person had started out with 13 or 14 different meds!

The beauty of this movie is that they picked six people who had absolutely no experience with raw foods or healthy living. They were your average American eating the average diet. They did this to show that anybody can do this--not just those crazy 'health nuts'. And these people struggled. In fact, one of them quit the program. One person 'cheated' and drank alcohol one day. In other words, these are real people and their struggles were real.

At the end however, everyone had made amazing improvements. This disease is reversible! At the very least, a person can get to a much much lower dose of insulin. This is one movie which I plan on sharing A LOT!

Check out www.rawfor30days.com to learn more about this movie. It truly is an inspirational film.

Josh

Yarrow -- Not Just For Bleeding

2010-04-28T12:06:00.003-04:00

Yarrow is a terrific herb to have around if you are accident prone. It's latin name Achillea milleforium refers to the greek hero Achilles, who supposedly used this herb to stop bleeding from battle wounds. And wow, does it work.

I got to see this herb in action first-hand. I was teaching a class on primitive skills outside and we were several miles from a hospital. I was demonstrating something known as flintknapping, or how to make tools from stone (arrowheads, blades, etc.) Now, I'm not great at this, not even good at it really, but most people have absolutely no idea how this was done in the past. So, I gave my little demonstration.

I was using a type of stone called obsidian. This stuff is amazing! It's actually volcanic glass. It literally produces the sharpest edge known to man. Have you ever seen those pictures of a razor's edge? Up close it's all jagged and rough. With obsidian, it just gets thinner and thinner until it just disappears. They make eye-scalpels out of this stuff!

Anyway, I had just demonstrated how it slices through tough leather like it's butter when I proceeded to show how it also slices through my thumb like it's butter. It left a nice slice about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long in the pad of my thumb, and fairly deep. And boy did it start bleeding! If you've ever been cut by a razor, or even the edge of a tin can, you know how they bleed.

Being a paramedic I immediately held pressure on it. Being a naturopath I immediately bee-lined it to the closest yarrow plant. I took a couple of its lacy leaves and began to chew them up a bit in my mouth. My thumb was bleeding through the pressure I held on it. I took out the green yarrow mash and just stuck it to the wound. The bleeding slowed and then stopped completely in about 30 seconds! Wow! Ever since then, I try to keep some capsules of dried yarrow in my first-aid kit. Simply open up and sprinkle on the wound to stop bleeding. Note: large wounds need a hospital! But, if yarrow is all you have then use it until you can find some medical attention.

Yarrow has also been used for a very long time for influenza and is often found in herbal formulas for colds and flu. It is diaphoretic, meaning it can make you sweat, which is helpful for detoxifying the body and reducing fever. Yarrow tea tastes like lizard spit so it's best mixed with some mint for flavor (and mint enhances its fever-reducing qualities). A tea containing mint, yarrow, and boneset is great for colds, fevers, and flu.

Oh, and you know how it does a great job with external bleeding? It's also been used successfully for internal bleeding, excessive menstruation, bleeding hemorrhoids, and nosebleeds.

There are many more uses for the wonderful yarrow and whenever I'm outside I get excited when I find the plant. However, I get especially excited if I'm going to be around anything sharp...

Josh

Stop Using Your Immune System To Digest Your Food!

2010-04-19T09:43:00.002-04:00

Our immune system has a lot of work to do, and digesting our food shouldn't be one of them. Yet, quite often, it's called to do just that.

Due to poor quality food, lack of chewing, the overuse of antacids, poor food combinations, and eating while stressed our digestion suffers. In fact, poor digestion and digestive problems are one of the most common problems in this country.

Well, we have these wonderful enzymes which are supposed to break down our food into very simple parts. The majority of these enzymes should come from the foods we eat. However, cooking and processing destroys them, so most of the food we eat has no enzymes at all. The burden then falls on the body to produce all of its own digestive enzymes--and we often lack enough enzymes to properly break down the food.

The job of the small intestine is to absorb all of those simple nutrients from our food. However, sometimes it lets through food which hasn't been completely broken down. This is known as "Leaky Gut Syndrome" and is actually pretty common in today's world.

Our body is designed to recognize nutrients as food once they are properly broken down to their parts. If it gets through before being broken down completely the body doesn't see it as food. Instead, it sees it as a foreign body. And who's job is it to take care of foreign bodies in the body? That's right, the immune system.

Along comes an immune cell to engulf the foreign body and destroy it. It does so by sucking the substance into the cell, secreting digestive enzymes within the cell and basically liquifying the invader. In other words, it digests it. Blood tests have shown that eating an enzyme-deficient meal can create a very large immune response, while eating an enzyme-rich meal creates very little immune response. Personally, I'd rather have my immune system fighting viruses and bacteria, not the meal I just ate.

This problem is linked to most, if not all, auto-immune disorders. Also, conditions like hayfever and allergies. The medical approach with these conditions is to forcibly suppress the immune system. The real problem isn't that the immune system is over-active--it's become confused! It has to get revved up into action every time we eat because we're not digesting our food properly.

Obviously, the best way to rectify this problem is to eat foods which are rich in enzymes. This means raw and uncooked. Next best is to supplement with enzymes every time we eat. My favorite for this is a product called Proactazyme Plus by Nature's Sunshine. It contains a broad spectrum of enzymes that come from plants--like what we'd get if we were eating properly!

So, give your immune system a break!! Eat enzyme-rich fruits and vegetables and take an enzyme supplement. Let's digest our food the way we're supposed to--in the stomach and small intestine, NOT in the blood stream!

Josh

Can a Headache Kill Your Digestion?

2010-04-14T17:15:00.006-04:00

Well, yes and no. It will if you take aspirin for it. I just learned something interesting--salicylic acid (aspirin) used to be used to preserve our food! Why? Because it kills enzymes. Why is this important? Because without enzymes we can't digest anything.

Fresh fruits and veggies all contain enzymes. You've seen them at work already. Ever seen a bruise on an apple? That's from enzymes. The cells of the apple rupture because it was dropped or hit against something. The enzymes which were contained in the cells go to work and begin to actually digest the apple.

Enzymes in our food are great--they actually help us digest our food. However, they are NOT good for the storage of food. This means that food manufacturers go to great lengths to destroy all the enzymes in our food. If they don't then our food will spoil on the shelves and they'll lose money. So, all of our processed and canned foods are devoid of those helpful enzymes.

Besides enzymes that occur naturally in our food, our body produces its own digestive enzymes. These are necessary to break down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Without enzymes we would die. As we age, or if we become nutritionally deficient because of our diet, we don't produce as much enzymes.

Salicylic acid (aspirin) has been shown to not only stop food enzymes, but also deactivate the enzymes our own body produces. This means really poor digestion. The other pain-relievers such as Tylenol, Advil, etc. aren't much better and can cause damage to the liver. Better to replace with herbs like White Willow Bark, Peppermint oil, Tei fu oil, APS II, or IF Relief which don't cause these problems.

And, you know what? A common cause of headache is poor digestion. Do you see how a vicious cycle can occur? One gets a headache due to poor digestion, takes a pain reliever which further causes poor digestion, which causes more headaches, and on and on and on.

When I was young I popped aspirin like candy. And had bad digestion and more headaches. Hmmm...

Homeostasis or What Happened? I Thought I Was Healthy!

2010-04-14T14:12:00.005-04:00

Homeostasis. It's what keeps us alive. It's what can slowly kill us. Homeostasis means maintaining the same state. This is a good thing, right?

Yes!...and no. Our body must maintain homeostasis or die. There are many things in the body which must stay within a certain range or bad things happen. Let's look at the blood for a bit. The body works very hard to keep the blood, and what the blood contains, within specific ranges. Since blood services every part of the body, you can see why that's important. If the blood suddenly went out of balance, it would affect the entire body. So, there are systems in place designed to keep the blood as it should be -- or, in homeostasis.

However, this marvelous system can also lead to slow, degenerating conditions in the body. How? As an example, let's look at the mineral calcium. Calcium levels in the blood must stay within a certain range. Maybe we drink a soda pop, which contains a lot of phosphoric acid. Calcium and phosphorous just love each other, so calcium leaves the blood and bonds with the phosphorous. Now the levels of calcium in the blood just went down. And that soda pop didn't give us any calcium to replace it. Where's the body going to get calcium to maintain homeostasis in the blood?

Where is there is great big store of calcium? That's right, our bones! Calcium is taken from the bones in order to maintain homeostasis of the blood. It's kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul. The body takes care of an immediate problem--lowered blood calcium, by sacrificing long-term health. A few years later and a few thousand soda pops and our bones are getting weak. But, what happened? I thought I was healthy!

Our bodies are so marvelous at compensating. The soda pop is just one little example of how eating nutritionally deficient foods hurts us. If our food doesn't provide the nutrients necessary to maintain homeostasis, then the body is forced to rob it from somewhere else. It compensates for a very long time until suddenly we break down--typically with some chronic disease: cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, etc.

As a paramedic, we were all a bit nervous about runs that involved children. Why? They're cute, they're fun to play with, and they can crash on you in a second. Children's systems can maintain homeostasis like no other--they will compensate and compensate and suddenly they're in cardiac arrest. They will compensate until the body is just absolutely unable to do so anymore. Basically, it taught me that while they can look fine--don't trust it! Adults don't compensate quite so well--so if they still look fine twenty minutes after that car accident odds are good they are fine. If it's a child though...hmmm--I want to thoroughly examine before I say they're okay.

It's the same with our health, only a lot slower and less dramatic. We will look fine, feel fine, and have no symptoms. So, we continue to eat our garbage food and drink sodas or energy drinks until, slowly and gradually, our body can't compensate anymore and disease develops.

The moral of this story is that by providing the nutrients we need to maintain homeostasis, we stay healthy. Nutrient-rich foods and herbs build the reserves in the body. Nutrient-poor foods rob minerals from the body. Which do you want to eat on a daily basis??

Josh

Great Smoothie Recipe -- Thanks Megan!

2010-04-14T10:14:00.003-04:00

My smoothies have always been rather hit or miss. They often range from bad to almost good, without ever quite reaching the, "Yeah, I'd drink that again," benchmark. Until now! I got this smoothie recipe from an excellent blog: http://megansmind-holisticwellness.blogspot.com. In fact, the picture is hers too.

Smoothies are a great way to get your fruits or veggies. With them being blended they are already pre-chewed. This makes them very easy to digest and absorb. Easily digestible foods are much healthier for us. The digestion process can take up to 2/3 of our body's energy! Smoothies and/or juicing is truly one of the healthiest habits we can get into.

Anyway, I'd pretty much given up on getting a good smoothie. I knew they were out there, but I couldn't quite seem to make them myself. Until this recipe for Mango Lassi. Thanks, Megan!

Here is the recipe and it came from the book, "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen."

Mango Lassi

3 cups of water
2 mangoes peeled and cubed
1/4 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
1 vanilla bean
Optional: 1/2 lime

Blend 2 cups of water with the mango, almonds, dates, and vanilla bean until smooth. Add the remaining water and blend again. Pour into glasses and serve. Can refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. Optional, add the 1/2 lime during the blending process. That lime gives it a little kick that is terrific!

I finally found a smoothie that, once I drank it, said, "Yep, I'd drink that again." And I have!

Are Your Fillings Making You Depressed?

2010-04-08T13:12:00.006-04:00

I suffered from depression for many years. Probably since I was a teenager. The problem was I didn't really recognize it. I mean, I could recognize when I would have a bout of "depression" where I would actually say, "I'm feeling depressed right now." What I didn't recognize was that insidious depression that is there all the time. The kind where I just didn't really feel like doing anything, didn't feel like talking, didn't feel like seeing anybody.

I've spoken with other depression sufferers and they describe it similarly. It can kind of sneak into your life, very subtly, until you gradually find yourself shutting yourself away more and more. And you can't link the feeling to anything. It makes sense when someone gets depressed because a loved one dies, or a serious relationship ends--you can point to a cause. Chronic depression is different. Instead, you can't find anything to point a finger at. In fact, a lot of the time you feel you should be happy because there's nothing bad going on in your life.

This was actually one of my first encounters with naturopathy. I was going through massage school at the time and was in the midst of a serious case of depression. The owner of the school, a Naturopathic Doctor, took me aside and did an assessment on me. Wow, did she come up with some interesting stuff!

I had some nutritional deficiencies and a few organs out of balance, but what I really tested for was mercury. And the mercury was coming from my fillings! This was the first I'd heard that maybe our fillings weren't that great for us.

Now, I had a lot of fillings. I drank an awful lot of soda pop growing up and spent a lot of time at the dentist. I never gave them much thought except that going to the dentist was unpleasant. Fillings were just a routine part of that.

Well, those metal "silver" fillings contain 50% mercury! And mercury is one of the most toxic substances on the earth! What?!? I had no idea they had mercury in them. I've done some research and it's been shown that mercury off-gasses from those fillings. Which means we are breathing it in, it goes into the bloodstream, and then into the brain, tissues, or other organs. Now, maybe one or two little fillings wouldn't be a problem for a person, but I had over ten.

Another thing I found was that it's possible to create a "battery effect" in the mouth where those fillings create a very small electrical charge. Which means maybe it's possible they're creating an electromagnetic field right near the brain.

I know it sounds kind of crazy. At least, it did to me at the time, especially having worked in the medical field for years. But, I took a chance and scheduled to have my fillings removed and replaced with composite fillings. I went to a dentist who specialized in mercury removal (very important!) They take efforts to ensure the mercury doesn't go down your throat. It took four appointments over a period of months--as my finances would allow.

What I noticed was a gradual reduction in my depression. At first, I was using some herbal formulas for depression, but after all my fillings were removed I just gradually felt like I didn't need them anymore. So I quit taking them. And that was about five years ago.

Now, there are many causes of depression, and I'm definitely not saying that fillings are the only one. In fact, I'll probably write more about those other causes another time. What I am saying though, is I had depression and after removing my fillings I don't have it any more. Not to say that I don't have down days occasionally, like everybody, but that quiet insidious depression seems to have lifted. Was it the fillings? Don't know for sure, but regardless, I'm happy not to have a bunch of mercury in my mouth anymore!

That Pesky Dandelion

2010-04-06T10:01:00.003-04:00

Many people think of the common dandelion as a weed, and that is a shame. The dandelion is just packed with nutritional goodness, and it grows practically everywhere! It is like a multi-vitamin that grows right in your yard. What's funny is that people spend a lot of money getting rid of the dandelions in their yard, and then turn around and spend money buying vitamins and minerals.

Dandelion is high in iron, making it helpful for anemia and low iron levels. It also contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. It is high in organic sodium (the good kind, not like table salt) and potassium. It is a rich source of vitamin A, C, E, and the B vitamins. Dandelion actually provides more vitamin A than carrots! And these are only a few of the nutrients found in dandelion--whew!

This herb has been used for centuries for liver disease. And today, scientific studies have shown that it aids the liver and gallbladder in filtering toxins and purifying the blood. Dandelion also stimulates the kidneys to eliminate toxins. This makes the humble dandelion a great addition to any herbal cleanse.

Dandelion makes you pee more--in other words, it's a diuretic. Unlike diuretic medicines, however, it doesn't deplete the body of potassium. This means you don't need to take additional potassium with it.

Dandelion has been used to treat acne, age spots, eczema, gout, heartburn, psoriasis, rheumatism, chronic joint complaints, and edema, to name a few. Experimental studies suggest dandelion may also aid breast tumors and help prevent breast cancer. Amazing that such good medicine grows right outside our back door.

In the past, when springtime rolled around people would make a 'spring tonic'. This medicine would help clean out all the accumulated 'junk' in the body from winter and perk it up. A major ingredient in this was dandelion. Sometimes it was only dandelion.

Dandelion is edible (obviously!) and I suggest picking the leaves before the plant flowers. The leaves are little bitter, but once it flowers the bitterness gets worse. You can pick them and eat them as is as long as they have not been sprayed! And watch it because if you don't spray your lawn, but your neighbor does they may still be contaminated.

These young leaves can be added to salads, green drinks, smoothies, etc. They can be added to dishes much like any green--just don't overcook or you lose that nutritional goodness. Those yellow flower heads can be dipped in batter and cooked like a fritter. Or, made into dandelion wine. Dandelion leaves, root, or flower can all be made into nutritious and medicinal teas. And, if all else fails, you can always buy dandelion in capsule form.

So, wander out in your yard and start eating! Sure your neighbors will think you've lost it but what do they know? You know the truth!

Good health! -- Josh

Do you WANT to get well?

2010-03-26T12:05:00.005-04:00

There is a quote that goes, "One will only get well once they are tired of being sick." It may seem odd, but I have encountered many people who, deep down, just do not want to get healthy. It seems crazy, I mean who doesn't want to be healthy? You may know someone like this -- in fact, I think it's a lot more common than one would think.

I used to think the mere fact that a person contacted me for a natural health evaluation meant they wanted to get better. It seems logical, doesn't it? They would tell me about their problems, they would follow the program I suggested, and yet wouldn't make much progress. It was very frustrating to me and I would constantly ask myself, "What am I doing wrong? Why isn't this working?"

It occurred to me after awhile to try an experiment. One of the assessment tools I use is muscle-response testing. At it's most basic level it turns a person's body into a lie-detector. The human body is such a marvelous creation! By pushing against a person's tensed muscle we look for any changes in strength. Interestingly, when someone makes a statement which they view as untrue their strength changes. It gets weaker temporarily. We usually use the arm for this because it often makes that change in strength obvious to the person.

So, in this experiment, I asked the person to make a statement, "I want to get better," or "I want to get over this ______ (arthritis, anxiety, depression, etc)." Then I would push on their arm to see if their strength changed. Surprisingly, several of these people's arms went down, which means that, subconsciously at least, they did not want to get better! Wow, I thought, this changes things.

I began to explore a bit more with these folks. I tested them on, "This disease (or condition or whatever) is serving me some purpose." Their arm stayed strong meaning it was "true" to them. Hmmm. What purpose could chronic illness and suffering be fulfilling for them?

And that is a question that any one of us who has suffered something, from anxiety or depression to arthritis and even cancer, needs to ask ourselves. Ask and be brutally honest with ourselves. Could this be serving me somehow? Is it fulfilling some kind of need? Does it get me attention or love somehow? Or, can I use it as a shield to keep people away? Does it identify me? What might the consequences be if I no longer had this illness? There are a million different questions that could be asked--the key is to just start asking them.

Not everyone has this mental / emotional block to healing. But, it is something which we should all consider any time we want to improve our health. If, deep down, we aren't "sick of being sick" then how can we heal? If, subconsciously (or even consciously), we want to stay ill then what are the chances we will get well?

There are ways to get past these self-induced limitations. One way is with Bach Flower Remedies. These remedies are great at helping us to release "stuck" emotional issues. A few helpful ones might be:

Chestnut Bud: When we repeat the same patterns in life over and over. Could it be possible, through some chronic ailment, that we are repeating some kind of pattern? This remedy helps us to transition into new ways of thinking and being.
Star of Bethlehem: For past traumas, often emotional, that we haven't recovered from. This remedy is very helpful since our emotions often become "stuck" because of some traumatic emotional event (or events) in our lives.
Wild Rose: For the person who has given up and just doesn't care anymore. They are apathetic and indifferent and make little effort to improve their situation.

There are many more Bach Remedies which may be appropriate. The beauty of these remedies is they can be tailored to each individual person. I'd suggest speaking with a natural health consultant familiar in these remedies.

The second way that I have found for overcoming these deeply held blocks is through Meridian Tapping. I've seen this clear blocks to healing in seconds. It is a very simple, very effective tool that anyone can do. It goes by a few different names: Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Meridian Tapping Techniques, and Energy Tapping are a few. They involve tapping on certain acupressure points while focusing on the emotional issue. I will devote an entire article to this sometime in the future.

So, if you are a long-term sufferer, or even recently diagnosed with a disease, take some time to explore your inner world. Look to see if you have any mental / emotional blocks to healing. If you do, the quicker you can clear them, the faster you will heal and regain health!

All good health! -- Josh

Low Thyroid? Filter your water!

2010-03-25T09:52:00.006-04:00

Under-active thyroid is a tremendous problem in this country. Common symptoms include: fatigue or lethargy; low body temperature--cold hands and feet; hair loss; weight gain; dry skin; hormone imbalance; PMS; irregular periods; and much much more. Thyroid medications help keep the thyroid hormone levels stable, but do nothing to address the underlying condition. In other words, they aren't going to help the body rebuild the thyroid. Typically, once a person is put on thyroid medication they are on it for life.

Now, there are many things which can contribute to an under-active thyroid. The most common is a lack of good organic iodine in the diet. Iodine is the primary mineral the thyroid uses to produce hormones. Iodine levels are typically very low in our foods, and if that food is processed, iodine is nonexistent. They iodize our table salt, but there are some problems with that. First of all, table salt is really not good for us. Second, the form of iodine sprayed on our salt is not a good form of iodine. It's a byproduct of some other industry and our bodies just do not utilize it well. While we can make some use of it, the body has to work hard at it. The best forms of iodine come from sea vegetables like dulse and kelp or an herb like black walnut. The iodine in these is easily absorbed by the body and easily used by the thyroid.

However, this article is about something which we consume every day and might be causing your thyroid to function poorly--your water. I'm talking specifically about chlorinated and fluoridated water. If you are hooked up to city water, then this is for you.

Remember way back in high school when we learned about elements and the periodic table? Yeah, I know, I promptly forgot all about it too. But iodine (the mineral our thyroid needs to function) is in the same vertical row as chlorine, fluorine, and bromine. They are collectively known as Halogens. Chlorine and/or fluorine (we encounter as fluoride) are commonly found in city water. Chlorine to kill off any bacteria in the water and fluoride because some people think it makes our teeth stronger (but that's another story...)

Chlorine and fluoride have the ability to disrupt iodine in our body. First of all, these minerals can block the absorption of iodine from our foods. That means that even if we happen to eat some foods rich in iodine, our body can't get it. Second, these minerals can actually displace the iodine already found in the body. Granted, these are not necessarily very strong effects, otherwise we'd drink one glass of chlorinated water and die shortly after. Instead, when we drink it every day, day after day, it has the cumulative effect of reducing iodine levels in the body. And reduced iodine levels means a poorly functioning thyroid.

The solution? Get a quality water filter for your drinking water and a filter for your shower. Often times people will be very conscientious about filtering their water and then think nothing of taking a nice hot shower for twenty minutes--inhaling and absorbing chlorine the whole time. Check the market, there are some inexpensive showerhead filters that are easy to install. I'm lucky, I live in the country and our well-water is clean.

When restoring balance and health to the body you need to look at what is going in on a daily basis. Our bodies are marvelous creations and able to handle just about any abuse we throw at it--if it is occasionally! When we abuse it with poor food, chemicals in our water and environment, and stress daily then the body begins to break down.

If you are on city water take efforts to protect your thyroid--and the rest of your body! These chemicals don't just affect the thyroid. They have negative effects on the entire body. Get a quality filter, or install a reverse-osmosis water system, and take a small step to better health!

All good health! -- Josh

A little about me...

2010-03-23T13:12:00.009-04:00

I actually became interested in herbs when I was maybe nine or ten. Our fourth grade teacher read us a book called, 'My Side of the Mountain.' It was all about this young boy who runs away from home and lives in the woods. While there he eats fish, lives in a tree, and eats wild edible plants. Wow, did this spark my imagination! After that book I was ready to run away and live in the woods! But this really began my passion for plants. Growing up, I would try to get one of my parents to buy me a new book any time I went into a bookstore--books about identifying plants, books about edible plants, books about medicinal plants and herbology. I loved it all.

Outside of high school my interest waned a bit. Life interrupted, so to speak, and things like marriage, career, and child took center stage. That draw to help people was there, but I didn't know of any way to go to school for natural health and herbs. Remember, this was before the internet where I could have done a simple search. Instead, I went into Emergency Medicine.

I became an EMT first, then quickly followed that with Paramedic. I admit, I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I liked the thrill of a 'good call', one where my skills were put to the test. I worked as a medic for about eleven years. During this time I became very familiar with the medical side of health care. Over time I noticed something about a lot of my patients--especially the elderly ones on a lot of medication. They never got any better. They'd be on 5 to 10 different medications (sometimes more) and never seemed to improve between the times I saw them. There had to be a better way...

My interest in herbs and natural health had never left, and it began to creep into my thoughts more and more. Weren't these medications supposed to make people better? I learned an important lesson--medications soothe and placate symptoms, but don't really do a lot to build health in general. They're just not designed for that. If you are in pain, the medication numbs the pain, but it doesn't fix whatever is causing the pain to begin with.

By this time I began getting burned out working EMS. All the sleepless nights, fast food meals, and stress were taking their toll. I happened across an advertisement to become a massage therapist and enrolled in the school. During the year-long program I was introduced to many different facets of natural health and healing, not merely how to massage.

Massage therapy led me to naturopathy. Naturopathy can be thought of as natural medicine or holistic medicine. It uses herbs, homeopathic remedies, Bach flower remedies, diet and nutrition, emotional healing, aromatherapy and essential oils, and much more. The goal of a naturopath is to find weakness or imbalance in the body and give the body what it needs to regain its health.

I went to see a naturopath for the first time and loved it! Finally, I began to see progress on my own health issues that I'd struggled with for years. My overall health improved greatly. I learned that the road to health is a journey, a process, sometimes a struggle, but always worthwhile. Occasionally progress has been slow, other times issues have cleared up virtually overnight. I have fallen in love with naturopathy and now do it full time.

My journey continues. I left EMS a few years ago and now only do naturopathy. I continue to learn and grow and add new tools to my toolbox. I still stumble, I still get sick occasionally, usually if I haven't taken good care of myself for some reason. I'm definitely not going to say I have achieved perfect health, not by a long shot, but like I said, it's a journey.

My goal with this blog is to pass on information that I have found helpful to me. Please take it as that--information. It is based on my own experience, my own research, and my own path to health up to this point. I hope that you will find something interesting and possibly even helpful in this blog.

All good health! --Josh