After finishing up my herbology course, my belief in food as your best medicine solidified. God has literally given us all we need to be healthy. Our ancestors and especially our Native Americans knew this and how to use the amazing herbs and spices that grow for our benefit. It is sad that this knowledge has been replaced with drugs with a myriad of side effects. The very drugs themselves we use to feel better actually make us sicker. There are so many God given foods that are every bit as powerful as drugs without the harmful side effects. I want to share some of these amazing herbs and spices over the next little while.

     Today let's talk about garlic. We all know garlic is good, right? Nothing new. But, how many of us know how good and what to use it for? Let me share: Garlic is right up there with being one of the most prized foods on the planet. Not only does it keep vampires away, it is an incredibly immune boosting plant full of antioxidants and heart healthy properties. Garlic works by boosting the bodies immune cell activity. When you chew garlic, or eat it in a grinded form, the release of allicin acts as a powerful antibiotic that inhibits germs to grow. 1 milligram of allicin has a potency of 15 units of penicillin!! Dang. And it won't mess up your gut!! Why don't we all have this in our arsenal? Here are some other fun facts for you: garlic lowers blood pressure, kills cancer cells, helps defend against allergies, regulates blood sugar, eliminates parasites, reduces the common cold by over 50% and thins blood similar to aspirin. Garlic helps the production of bile to help reduce the fat in the liver, lowers cholesterol and helps keep the blood and vessels healthy. There are a plethora of studies about garlic which have stood the test of time. Garlic should be our go to for sore throats, ear infections, colds, infections, etc. We should gravitate to the natural before ever reaching for the synthetic and harmful. If we did that, really we shouldn't even need the synthetic. There are many garlic supplements out there if you don't want to chew on a clove raw. I love Allimax. It comes in liquid as well for the littles. Stay healthy my friends! 

     I actually don't like these letters. They are made up. There isn't a blood test or lab at all that confirms this ailment. They are acronyms to label something that isn't working as it should. Same goes for Autism. ADD/ADHD and autism weren't even in the dictionary not too long ago and now they are labels thrown around cheaply. The problem with getting that cheap label is that you start to believe it is actually a sentence or a disease you can't come back from. The truth is when you have this label, it means that there is something not working right in the body and when something isn't working right, there is something you can to do to fix it. The world today is different than the one we grew up in. There are so many things thrown at little ones today that literally change the way the brain functions. It makes me crazy and frustrated and those things will never change. Our world is full of toxins we never had before. Kiddos get 4 times the vaccines we ever had. There are chemicals and food dyes banned in other countries that invade our food supply. Little, developing minds are handed electronics before they can even say "mom" and the outside play and discovery has been reduced to a fraction of what used to be the norm. If we want healthy, functioning brains, we have to treat the whole person. If someone is telling you a magic pill or oil will cure this crisis, keep moving on. While there are some good things out there to help, healing a mind requires looking at the whole picture. Each picture is different since each person is different. Where do you start?? First off, always, always examine what goes into the body. As a teacher, I can promise you that my little ones who show up with candy in their hand or sugar cereals in their bellies can not sit and focus. Our bodies are a chemical process. What goes in affects the outcome. No other way around that. You have to get rid of the junk and change the diet. That's not easy, but incredibly necessary. Food allergies need to be explored, Candida and bacteria treated and malabsorption issues addressed. The brain needs nutrients and nutrients will not be absorbed in a gut that is compromised. If you are spending your money at a doctor that doesn't understand this correlation, keep looking. There are great tests now to help explain what is going on inside of the body. The Organic Acid Test has been an amazing tool for me and so many others. I so wish every doctor understood these tests. Maybe one day. Many of these little people have heavy metal toxicity, pesticide toxicity, liver stress, etc.  There are supplements to help clean out the toxins and to help the body to work properly.

     Another critical part of brain function is getting play time! kids are constantly on electronics. Adults as well! Electronics, especially video games change the way the the brain works. So hand those to a little, developing mind and you will develop a brain that functions like a rapid moving, jumbling and busy video game. Kids need to develop a brain by exploring, touching, feeling and by example from real people and situations. Get rid of the games and get them outside. Kids get hardly any recess time at school anymore which is ridiculous! The schools with more recess have higher scores. We aren't meant to sit. Many kids need to learn tactically, especially these days. There are schools now that allow for this. Search for a school that fits our child if possible. In any case, foster a world where your child can learn from the world and not on a device. 
  Lastly, drugs. This is a tough subject. Many parents are at their wits end. Schools also pressure parents as they aren't geared to teach these distracted minds. The serious trouble with these drugs, that are so often handed out way too easily, is that they not only change the child's very person but that at some point stop working altogether. At that point, you have a child that will have an even more damaged body and is older and harder to change. Many times all it takes is changing a diet and clearing out yeast and bacteria. Some times there are many more steps. Adults may also need to address these issues. My plea is that you take the hard steps. Do the hard work now. You can't always make a child change but you can change what you do and allow in your house. Start with baby steps. Start with breakfast and get rid of the junk. Just keep doing your best and don't give up. There are always answers.