A few months ago, there was yet another development in my cycle. It started getting longer, much, much longer. At first it was only a couple of days. No big deal for me. Pre-birth control, I had irregular periods in times of stress. Well, basically they got more irregular during times of stress. Complete predictability didn’t occur.
     Then they(the period gods or whatever) started adding more days. The funny thing is, it’s predictable, it starts almost like clock work. The middle of the month I start “spotting”. Barely anything, but I wear a small pad just in case. This goes on for a week. Some days there is no spotting on the pad, just a smig on the toilet paper. During this week I’m irritable, a tiny bit bloated, sleepy, foggy headed, and my “girls” (yes, I call my breasts “the girls”) get a little tender.
     Then right around the 23-26 I get crampy and Aunt Flow officially arrives. Then I swell up like I’m pregnant or something – only for a couple of days. For the remaining week, I progressively feel better until finally it’s all over. Then I have two weeks – yes, two weeks – until it starts all over again.

     What in the world is going on and what the hell am I supposed to do about it? The easy answer is to talk to a doctor, preferably a naturopathic doctor. However, I don’t have health insurance and don’t have enough cash to see a doctor. I am lucky enough to know someone going through nutritional counseling at the moment, and I’ve met an awesome Ayurvedic consultant and bought a couple of her ebooks. I’ll be writing about her in the near future. And then there is the internet. Of course not everything you read on the internet is true or tried. However, it is possible to weed through the crap and find lovely bits of truth.

     From my nutritional counselor I’ve been suggested to do a colon and liver cleanse. The idea is that if either are overloaded then your whole body is affected negatively, including hormones. I believe this is especially true for the liver. I don’t know all the details but I’m reading and learning. It is also a good idea to take bad things out and put good things in. So, at the moment, as boring as it might be, I don’t drink alcohol. I eat almost entirely organic foods and drink lots of filtered water. I’ve added probiotics, green powder(barley greens and sea veggies), and digestive enzymes. All in the hopes to support my body to find it’s natural balance as it cleans it’s self out.
It was also suggested that my girly hormones are not balanced. I had done a small amount of reading just before the wonderful Ayurveda woman mentioned that I might have too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. I’ll be adding extracts and herbs one at a time to see how I feel.

     I’m also planning to get off my bum a bit more. It’s well know that exercise helps to regulate your body. Since my poor sleep has been improving(thank goodness for acupuncture!) and because I was able to get away on vacation, I am feeling much better. I have a little more energy to be more active. My goal is to do 20 minutes of exercise daily. This week hasn’t been completely successful, but it’s a work in progress.

I’ll keep you updated! I’m excited to feel the positive changes in my body and life!

For other related posts, check out the list below.

Aunt Flow – Part 1
Aunt Flow Part 2 – Feminine Products
Raspberry Leaf Tea – A Woman’s Tonic
Moon Time meet Aunt Flow
Accessories for Aunt Flow

     Since I feel like throwing in the towel at the moment(and using cliches left and right), I thought I’d have a chat about stress and stress management. I might end up talking typing my way into being more Zen.

     Stress does bad things to your body if you don’t know how to manage it. Long term stress, even if you do know how to manage it well, will do bad things also. Muscles tighten, digestion slows or speeds up, sleep gets longer, less, or interrupted in some way. (Hence why I’ve started this post at 6:30 a.m.) Depending on many different things, it can negatively impact relationships, or draw you and whomever closer together.

     So what the %@&*!!! does one do to better manage stress? Well, it doesn’t come easy and it takes some experimenting. Think about what you enjoy doing. This can be your starting point. I love reading, writing, art, gardening, nature, learning how to take better pictures with my gorgeous new camera, etc.

Managing stress part one

     One needs to be able to identify that there is a problem before a solution(or experiment) can be reached. What the hell is stressing you out? To use me as an example, I’ve always had trouble sleeping. So I’ve always been tired. The “older” I get, the worse, or more tired I get. The less ability I have to deal with bullshit. I had found a solution to the problem of my sleeping/nightmares in acupuncture. It works! It’s brilliant! Now I just have to build my energy back up by sleeping well for a longer period of time. Though I’ll never really be able to make up for all that poor sleeping for 25+ years, or so they say.
     Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to wear me out. After a day with a horrible migraine, two nights of not sleeping more than 4.5 hours each night, I was unable to fully deal with a business challenge, along with working a ton, getting up early and not being able to nap, two extra-whiny-needy pets, and not having a lot of down time to recover, among other things. The last straw was a speeding ticket on my way to work. Within a few minutes, I started bawling. There was no way I could do any sort of body work that day. Luckily, the people I work with are very understanding. They know that sometimes you just can’t work.
     See, I identified a bunch of problems. Part one completed.

What I could have done differently.
     Really, the migraine should have tipped me off. But I thought it was just a fluke, nothing horrible, just a crazy thing happening by chance. I also should have paid closer attention to the stresses I was feeling due to the business stuff I was having to deal with for the last week or so. It was more intense that I was used to. Something that would have possibly helped was remembering to pull out my aromatherapy, talking about it more, doing some deep diaphragmatic breathing, taking a walk, etc.
     I tend to be one of those people whom holds everything inside, which isn’t healthy because it has to come out eventually. So talking, for me is a good thing, if I can start. Even if I end up talking about something that is different, but still bothers me, it can help relieve the “exploding” feeling I get sometimes.

     Blogging can also help, which is why I started this post very early this morning.(It’s no longer in the a.m. at the moment.) Unfortunately, I didn’t let myself cry then, which may have helped prevent a bawling session that cost me some work hours.

Managing stress part two

     Pick something you enjoy doing, or that you know helps you to decompress, or that you just read about. Start somewhere! Try breathing techniques. If you need an idea as to how to do that, read here. Try drinking a cup of tea. Go for a walk. We have all heard that moderate exercise increases endorphins, which make us happy and helps us to de-stress. Try something. If you don’t feel better, try something else. Remember that it can’t last forever, there has to be an end eventually.

     Of course you can argue that looking back I can say anything. You are right about that. I can’t change what happened, all I can do it try to learn from it and do better next time. No one should expect you to be perfect and “on” all the time. Mistakes happen, life happens, shit happens. Sometimes the thing to do, is to just cry it out, pick yourself back up and try again.

Fresh Water Works Filter

     For the last few months we’ve been contemplating a water filter. The original reason was to filter out fluoride. Then I learned that Bellingham does not have fluoride added to the water. Yay! Excellent! So I felt less pressured to get a filter, I still wanted one, but wanted to buy one that I felt was high quality, though not super expensive. I did a little research and found that one brand had several good reviews, New Wave Enviro. Our co-ops and Terra Organica, another local healthy grocery store, both carried one of their filters. But the one I was looking at was listed at about $115, which for us, is kind of a large amount of money. I agonized over it. I could buy it, but could I afford it? Then a friend mentioned that Terra Organica carried a much less expensive one by the same company, priced around $32. Interesting. I wanted to know the difference between the two, so I put off buying it until I figured it out. And true to form, I forgot and didn’t pursue it further. Procrastinating and forgetting is what I do, very well.

     Recently, I volunteered to become a “practice client” for someone I know whom has been going through nutritional therapy training. I answered a few questions, gave a thorough health history and discussed the things I wanted resolved. One of the things that I might be having trouble with is my liver, it may be over taxed. It fits with my increasing sensitivity to artificial scents, cleaners, cigarette smoke, alcohol, and much more. I’m not really surprised, I’ve been wondering if there was something up with it. Anyway, she recommended that I stop drinking tap water. In fact she was very surprised that I did, considering I eat fairly healthy and avoid all sorts of other nasty things. If nothing else I should use a Brita filter, she said. At least that will take out the chlorine, which is a poison and no one should ever ingest. Haha, yup, that’s right. It’s used to clean water and no one should ingest it. Oh the crazy things we’ve done while “progressing”.

     I told Rick about it once I got home and he urged me to get that $32 filter and not “settle” for the Brita(nothing wrong with the Brita, it just doesn’t take as much out). Plus having the little spout that hooks up to the faucet that doesn’t have to be refiled like a Brita was going to make my life of cooking, kombuchaing, etc. much easier.

     Well, I have it now. Rick and I noticed the change in the taste of the water right away. It tastes cleaner. The funny thing is, I thought our water tasted clean before. Now it’s pristine. Yup, I’m very happy with it. I’m making plans as to what needs filtered water, the kombucha, the humidifier, tea pot, drinking water of course, the animals drinking water, soaking grains and legumes, soups when I decide to make some, rinsing any foods – I wish I had one for the shower. Perhaps we’ll get that in the future. For now, I’m very pleased with my nifty cool “Fresh Water Works Filter”.

     If you don’t feel like going to their site and reading the unpronounceable names and where they come from I’ll condense it for you. Organic mercury(sounds like an oxymoron right?), which we know is very bad for us, can cause kidney damage and I think brain damage in those very young kiddos. Some crazy things such as acrylamide that are added to water for sewage treatment. Apparently, we have to use nasties to clean out the other nasties. Things like dioxin, which run off of chemical plants – can cause reproductive problems and make you more likely to get a cancer. There are many more that end in “ide”, “zine”, and “chlor” that come from pesticides, herbicides, chemical plants, refineries and much more. The last one I will mention is organic arsenic. People used to kill each other with in back in the day – very bad, increases your cancer risk. And all these nasty things your liver has to filter out, while filtering through the residues in your food, the shower steam you inhale, the alcohol drank on weekends, the exhaust from cars, anything else artificial or organic that isn’t actually safe to breathe or ingest. Give you liver a break, because it works hard enough before you even drink a glass of water. Getting a water filter is a good first step to take if you are planning a detox in the near future.

     As far as installation it’s very easy. It is a counter top unit with a hose, it’s own little “faucet” coming off the filter. It has an attachment that connects to your faucet. It will work for any faucet (unless it’s really old and doesn’t have threading) whether your faucet has inward or outward threads. It comes with an adapter in case your faucet has an “innie”, so that it will fit onto the connector which requires an “outie”. I know that is overly technical. Kidding of course, just at the moment I can’t remember the official name of the types of threading etc. Anyway, all you do is screw everything together and turn it on! Let it run for about five minutes to help clear out any sediment. Ours ran grey – it was the charcoal – for a few minutes. It is recommends that you don’t use hot water because it will wear out the filter sooner. So in the morning, I fill the kettle with filtered water and wait for it to start steaming, so I can have warm lemon water(it’s good for you, keeps you regular).

     One last thing, there is a slight difference in the $32 filter and the more expensive one. It appears to be that it filters out lead, cysts(?), and something called cryptosporidium. Eventually, we’ll upgrade to take out those things, until then I’m hoping there isn’t a lot of lead in our water. It the little steps that count. My liver will be much happier for now. When I do a detox later in the year it will be more thorough because all the water I’ll be drinking will be less toxic.

Fresh Water Works Filter Faucet Adapter

     Several months ago when I started to experiment with different, more natural feminine products, I had no idea where I would end up. I definitely had no idea I would end up using cloth. When I started doing research my thought was, “What did women use when there wasn’t disposable cotton/rayon/whatever feminine products?” The only clue I had was a fiction book I read, one of the Outlander Series books. The main character was having her period while they were at a Scottish gathering and mentioned tearing part of her petticoats and using that. Beyond that I had no idea.
     After doing a lot of research I discovered that you can find some nice, even dare I say – cute, cloth feminine pads. Besides being healthier for ones nether regions, it’s a much better idea for the environment. Way less waste. In fact, with proper care, your pads can last for years! Imagine all the pads you don’t have to throw away! And the money you will save!

     I bought a sample pack from epicerma, an etsy shop that makes what she calls Moon Pads. There are plenty of other shops on Etsy that have similar items. Being a thorough person, I did research, read through a million etsy shop profiles and policies. Annie Rose, the owner, had all the things I considered important, organic cotton grown in the US, milled by union workers, dyed by her with gentle dye, not horribly expensive, and cute! I hated the idea of having white or cream colored pads that might end up looking dingy after a few months.
     After a few months of using the sample pack I bought, I’m still singing her praises! I love them! In fact, I just ordered more, which should give me enough to last an entire period without worry about running out and using disposables – though I do still use organic cotton disposables. I’m excited. Though they won’t get here in time for my current period, I’m happy they’ll be there for the next one!

     So if you aren’t happy with your current type of feminine products consider cloth, either paired with tampons (which I do sometimes) or all alone. They are, in my humble opinion(haha), a better option than the Moon Cup (though I haven’t tried it, something about it bothers me. Aunt Flow shouldn’t be held back so severly), tampons(though for the heavy days when I work, I use them – organic of course), and anything non-organic.

     Before I go I want to say a little about non-organic tampons, pads, and toilet paper. Often times, especially if they are cheap, tampons and pads aren’t entirely cotton. They can contain rayon or nylon which are less safe for your lady parts. They are treated with bleach. If you read the label of a bleach bottle, it will warn you to not get on your skin, in any body opening such as eyes, mouth, or a cut, so why in the world is it being used on items that go where the sun don’t shine? Up against such delicate and permeable skin? How is that safe? Your body will absorb the toxin. Bleach, or specifically chlorine, is a poison, a disinfectant that kills just about everything. Your lady parts deserve something less toxic. They definitely don’t need to be disinfected. There are options that use organic cotton, not treated with chlorine. Just google it and you’ll see, or check out your local health food store. On that note, most toilet paper is treated with bleach to give it that nice fresh clean white color. This tissue paper, is used daily by almost everyone in the developed world – even men (unless they have chosen to use cloth there as well), on some of the most delicate skin in the human body. Seems like a bad idea to douse it with chlorine.
     Rick and I switched to recycled toilet paper that isn’t treated with chlorine. There are a few options out there for this as well. The most well known is Seventh Generation recycled toilet paper, which in our area runs about $10 for 12 or so roles. It is surprisingly soft. Nothing like the cheap-paper-towel-rough stuff you find in public bathrooms across the US. Rick and I use Trader Joes toilet paper, which is about $4 for 12 rolls, much less expensive, and just as soft.
     Really, is it too much to ask to be gentle to your bum and your lady parts? They are after all, supposed to last a life time. Make it easier for them to live healthy.

     For more of my research and humble opinions(haha right) about periods and the necessary accessories check out my other posts.
Accessories for Aunt Flow
Moon Time Again – Taking back control of your period and your life
Aunt Flow Part 2 – Feminine Products
Raspberry Leaf Tea – A Woman’s Tonic
Raspberry Leaf Tea Made in My New Tea Pot!
Aunt Flow Part 1

And….

For the other Neti Pot posts click here:

Neti Pot – The Modern Hippy’s First Experience

Neti Pot – The Modern Hippy’s Second Experiment & Directions

On a side note:
     While at work today, surrounded by other hippy massage therapists (Yes, at the moment I have a job, as a fill in contractor. So it’s okay, I’m still in control of my schedule and am working for a respectable clinic, not an assembly line. I’m still damn the man, but setting up one’s business takes time when you are lazy and recovering from a rough year.), I was asked how I was feeling. Meh, I said, but I bought a neti pot and that and essential oils, are helping me a lot. No antibiotics for me! Each person had their own thing to say about neti pots and how wonderful they are. I love this hippy town!

     I’ve spent my sick time reading, devouring really, Ree’s site. She’s a ballerina city girl whom fell in love with a cowboy rancher. Her stories make me want to have four kids, live in the middle of nowhere(even more than I already do), teach Rick to ride a horse, dress him in Wranglers and a cowboy hat. Not that I don’t love him wearing his adorable baseball tees, making lovely websites and fixing the internet when it won’t bend to my will. But, her stories hit that spot in my imagination that loved Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables.

Thank you Pioneer Woman (and Gee too!) for the wonderful reads!

Neti Pot and Sea Salt

     I will be singing the neti pot’s praises for a long time! I used it again this morning in and out of the shower. Let me say, I was very nervous, being a bit of a chicken when it comes to nose/sinus stuff. Yeah, so I had done it once before, but I was still nervous. Maybe it was because I had been in so much pain last night. Not from the neti pot experiment, but just from feeling like poop, forgetting to take my fish oil pills, sitting in a chair all day, not being able to nap properly, having a monstrous sinus and tension headache AT THE SAME TIME! It was so pathetic and bad that I cried four times, over silly things like dropping the chicken sausages on the floor and not being able to see where one rolled. Yup, that’s how ridiculous I am when I’m sick. But that’s not the point. The point is, today I feel much better. And today, I was able to get the water to come out the OTHER nostril! And I got to see it happen!

     I tried it in the shower, still made the back of my eyes feel cool and tear. And I coughed a lot. Today though, I was brave and curious enough to try it in the sink – while watching myself in the mirror. Sorry, no photos, I still have some self respect, or is it self consciousness?

     Per request of a friend and occasional reader, Yosh (hope you don’t mind the mention), of the modern hippy, I will be giving instructions and other information about using the neti pot.

     First, what you’ll need is a neti pot. Funny I know. Can you tell I’m feeling better? Please wash your neti pot out and thoroughly rinse. You don’t want soap behind your delicate eyeballs – imagine that headache! Then decide where you are going to do it. Over the sink? In the shower? I suppose you could do it outside if you’d like. Where ever it won’t matter if you splatter. (Hahaha, rhyming too!) Measure out 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Unrefined is okay, I used it. I wouldn’t recommend any of the colored sea salt. No need to dye your sinuses, plus that might cause problems I don’t know about. I DO NOT recommend using iodized table salt, as brands like Morton’s actually contain dextrose, an artificial sweetener. Artificial sweeteners are not meant for sinuses! Let alone eating, but once again I digress.
Fill the neti pot with warm water. I used warm tap water, though when I get a filter I’ll probably use that. Mix until the salt is completely dissolved.

     Now comes the fun or scary part. Remember, you will be breathing through your mouth through this, your nose will be busy. Lean forward, tip your head to about a 45 degree angle. If you aren’t leaning forward enough the gunk will flow down the back of your throat and make you sputter and probably gross you out a little. Stick the spout of the neti pot in one nostril. Make sure there is a good seal and the water won’t sneak out. Steady your hand if you are shaking. Very slowly tip the pot. Can you feel the water enter the bottom of your nose? Good. Keep pouring slowly and wait unti for a funny feeling behind your eyes. It’s almost out! Try to remember to breathe, but breath holding is acceptable if you don’t hold it too long. It’s a very strange sensation to be breathing while water is running through part of your breathing apparatus.

     Something to remember is that you are in control of how much water flow there is. The more you tip the pot, the faster the water will flow. I’m a fan of slow flowing.
Also, the more you do it the better you will get, the easier everything will be.
Rinse through both nostrils. I didn’t use the whole saline solution that time. I was still getting used to it. I think I used about a third of it. Do what is comfortable for you, and what gets you the best results. I’ve read that some people use a whole pot for each side of the nose.
When you stop rinsing exhale gently through your nose to help the gunk out. Use a tissue or do this over the sink. I’ll say this again: Do blow gently to avoid hurting yourself. Also, don’t plug either side of your nostrils. Allow things to come out on their own, without the closing of one side.
Then wash your neti pot!

After you are done see how you feel. Can you breath better? I could. It felt strange, but good.

Some considerations:

     I read that if you can’t blow your nose (though I’m not sure if this means “don’t have the ability” or “it hurts too much”) consult a health care professional first. If you are sensitive like me, go slowly, don’t rush it. Children should be closely supervised! Don’t share!

Where to get a neti pot?

     I got mine from our local co-op. If you don’t have a natural food store, or supplement store, try a pharmacy. You can of course check online! Etsy has some cute stuff, if you’d like something handmade and unique! If I hadn’t been so desperate, and hadn’t put buying one off until the last minute I would have gotten one there.

One last note.
Why use a neti pot?

     It’s a great way to clean out your sinuses. If you are like me and have sinus trouble, use it. If you have allergies, use it. If you live in a polluted area, use it. If you live in a dusty area, use it. If you have a cold, use it. If you have pets, live in an old house, or live in a small place, or work in a poorly ventilated place, smoke, go camping, have kids, use it. “Have kids?”, you ask? Why not? You could win the gross out competition and show them that there are natural ways to deal with your sinuses. Just don’t let them play with it unsupervised. Maybe wait until they are older to show them, just in case.

     ”How did you get sick?” – Rick asked me. I have no idea. Maybe it’s because my good sleep has disappeared again. Maybe it’s because along with the quality, the quantity has been down for a couple of weeks. There have been nights – very fun of course – where I didn’t get to sleep until 4 a.m. I haven’t done that since I was 20. Even if that is the cause of my drippy nose and left eye – it was worth it. A very good friend is leaving to do military stuff far away very soon. So what if I didn’t sleep the way I should have?

I digress… a lot…

     So what to do once bad germs are ravaging your nasal passages, ears, throat, and general sanity? The modern hippy way of course!

1. Rest – get as much sleep as possible. Even a boring old, stick in the mud, M.D. will tell you that.
2. Drink lots of water, filtered if you can.
3. Don’t eat or drink sugary things. Sugar feeds bacteria.
4. Eat well – meaning no junk food. Your body needs real nutrients, not empty calories.
5. Take it easy, kick back, say “No” – let your body do it’s job of kicking the hell out of the germs you’ve recently acquired.
6. Drink some herbal tea like echinecea (as long as you aren’t allergic to rag weed).
7. If you have essential oils, pull them out and get ready to use them! Think lemon, eucalyptus etc.
8. Wash your hands – even a school kid will tell you that.
9. Try to stay positive – I’ve heard that if you are in the better mood you’ll health faster. Also, who really wants to be in a bad mood?
10. a. Experiment! Carefully of course. Call your friends for ideas on healthy ways to deal with a cold. Or check here!
10. b. Don’t be stupid. If you are horribly sick, not getting better, go see a doctor or a nurse practitioner. They are there for a reason.

     What am I doing? I chose not to make cake – remember the sugar thingy. I’m drinking a lot of water, though I don’t have a filter yet. I’m making more tea – tasty tea that even Rick likes. The fun part, that appeases my inner Little House on the Prairie lover, is that it’s tea from scratch (just like a modern hippy would make).

Homemade Cold Care Detox Tea

Quick Recipe:
     All you need is organic ginger root, organic peppermint leaves(stems have flavor too if you are using something you dried – like I am) and a couple of slices of organic lemon.
     Slice the ginger thin. More surface area for the hot water to work on. And through in the whole slices of lemon, rind and all. Rind contains nutrients as well, though I’m not sure what’s killed by the hot water.
Let it steep in boiling hot water for 10-20 minutes, depending on how strong you want it.

Effects of this tea:
1. Warming – I’m not kidding, you will start to feel toasty. The thought is that raising your body temp will help to kill the nasty bugs.
2. Diaphoresis – fancy word for sweating. Good because it’s a way for your body to detox.
3. Peppermint will sooth a sore throat – it’s an analgesic – fancy word for pain killer.
4. It’s tasty – this is always a plus when you are feeling under the weather and you really want cookies and milk. Or whatever.
5. Ginger root, lemon, and peppermint all contain essential oils. Each of these oils work well for colds flus, among other things.

Note: I suggest, if you have any interest in theraputic aromatherapy pick up The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils by Julia Lawless. It’s a brilliant reference book – I bought one for a friend I love mine so much!

Best essential oil reference book

Note: These photos were taken with my new phone, the Memoir, old one need to be retired. I think this takes pretty fantastic photos. It will work while my point and click limps along – until I get myself a gorgeous DSLR.

     As frugally as possible I am switching our foods to mostly organic. Eventually we will be entirely organic. But as cost is a major factor in any life change, it’s going slowly. By eating organic foods I’m cutting out several toxins that would otherwise add to the crap already stored in my body. I decide what to choose to buy organically by referring to the list provided by The Environmental Working Group. Here they are by rank. Feel free to check out the full list here.

1. Nectarines
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes – Imported
11. Carrots
12. Pears
     Potatoes make the list at #15. I’ve read that anything that grows in the ground like potatoes or peanuts should be organic because they are sitting in a mire of chemicals and dead dirt – they end up absorbing quite a lot of disgusting bits. I want my potatoes to live in a dark chocolate loam of purity until they get picked up for the co-op or other natural food store.
     I have been following this for a couple of weeks. Lots of organic apples and lettuce can be found in our fridge at the moment. Honestly, what I’ve found in the last couple of years of buying more organic foods – they usually taste better. I’m all about taste. Food should taste yummy – not only a visual picture of yummy.

     Organic foods are important to help eliminate the ways toxins get into your body. Wonderful. How do I get rid of the toxins I already have? That’s a little more complicated. There are a million things out there claiming to help detox. What I do, when researching things is to view everything logically, then pick the things that seem to fit together like a puzzle. Synergy is the idea. The logical things I’ve found, that are helping me shape what I’ll be doing to detox my body, short and long term are:

Eliminate processed foods – There is no way around this!
Cut out ways toxins get in – i.e. in food and personal care products
Drink enough water – you have to pee these nasty things out!
Drink filtered water – same idea behind eating organic foods!
Rest – it’s hard work for your body to clean itself!
Cut out things that aren’t beneficial for detoxing or are harder for your body to process – red meat, dairy, coffee etc.
Get enough vitamins – supplements or fresh fruit and veggie juices, preferably organic
Give your digestive system a break – do a water or juice fast. I’ll be trying a juice fast in the near future.
Exercise – It increases all sorts of good hormones, increases circulation which helps to get the nasty stuff out!
Add a probiotic – Miso, kombucha, keffir or yogurt, though the latter two do break the dairy rule
Colon cleanse – I’ve read something that compared your colon to your sink – if you never cleaned your kitchen sink imagine to horrible possibilities!
Drink some teas that promote detoxing – you can find them boxed, or make some lovely loose leaf blend!
Use milk thistle – a friend of mine mentioned that her mother’s naturopath said if she wanted to do a little detoxing buy a bottle of milk thistle, take double or so of the dose until the bottle is empty. (I’ve tried it, it’s amazing how it can help!)

     I’m a firm believer in finding things that fit your life. It’s a westernized ideal to find the one magic treatment that will detox your body fully. My opinion is that detoxing will start to happen naturally after making certain life changes, i.e. cutting out processed foods or coffee. To further detox it seems that the idea of finding synergistic things to use will help you to cleanse your body the most effectively. It’s like clutter – clutter attracts clutter – the problem are habits and choices. I’ll use myself as an example.
     I’ve cut out processed foods. Almost no coffee – only twice or so monthly. I’m cutting down on sugar – I do make fabulous gluten free baked goods so it’s hard. Switching to organic stuff. Cutting down on dairy. I’m lactose intolerant so I don’t drink milk, but I loooooove cheese and yogurt. However, these still create phlegm in the body – the idea is to not create more phlegm. From what I’ve been reading it’s a better idea to use goats milk products like cheese and yogurt instead. I haven’t tried that yet. I’ve done the milk thistle thing. I drink a decent amount of tea that either supports my immune system or helps to boost detoxing. (There are things that detoxing herbs will do that you might not expect. I’ll explain later.) I’ve started exercising at least twice a week. In the grand scheme of things that isn’t much, but it’s way better than what I was doing. I’ve added some needed vitamins such as B12 (I don’t eat a lot of red meat at the moment), D3 (we live in Washington and I know the lack of sunshine affects me profoundly) and minerals such as calcium and magnesium (necessary for proper muscle and nerve health). I’m doing more research to help me figure out what else is important and may need supplementation. I’ve started drinking Kombucha, which I love. I choose only the stuff at the store that has herbs added, no artificial or “natural” flavors or other additives. (Soon I’ll be making my own!) I drink a ridiculous amount of water in a day. I’ve adopted a system of drinking water 30 minutes before or after a meal. I’ve read many times over that drinking water with a meal will dilute the digestive juices and subsequently not allow food to be broken down properly. Thus improper digestion. I’m also planning on doing a juice fast, either using organic juices from the store or ones I prepare myself. Problem, I don’t have a juicer at the moment so I might just have to buy stuff from the store. I figure that one day, doing a fast won’t hurt me – as long as I use juice and teas. Just water will probably make my blood sugar drop too far. Also, a plan for further future would be the colon cleanse. I’m also thinking about adding a more broad vitamin B complex supplement as well. And I’ll be learning how to make keffir from both milk (cow and goat) and coconut milk (crazy I know!).

     From what I’ve seen so far, each change is beneficial in a different way I didn’t know mattered. Not drinking anything 30 minutes before or after a meal has made a HUGE difference in my indigestion problem – I was getting uncomfortably farty.
I’m also trying to sweat out some of these nasty things through taking hot bathes at home and hopefully soon using the YMCA’s sauna.

     A note on using detoxing herbs. Some herbs are laxatives. Laxatives shouldn’t be used long term as your body can become addicted to them. Stop using them and your body may have the opposite problem – not going enough. However, there are some that have a laxative-like effect, but are not true laxatives. Milk thistle is one of the ones I think falls in the last category, but I can’t find definite literature on that. Just be cautious. Aside from laxatives, sometimes detoxifying herbs will make you sweat, which I have found out the hard way several times. Peppermint, lemon, and ginger induce sweating. Since I’m making my own teas and using fairly fresh items I got the crazy sweats a few times and didn’t know why. Also, please understand that the fresher the herb or whatever, often the stronger the effect. So if you have a box of peppermint tea in the cupboard that has been there for awhile, chances are it won’t have the same effect. My advice, experiment on an day that doesn’t matter or be prepared for some entertaining times.

     Also, remember that if you are taking any sort of prescription consult a trained professional. Though most herbs you’ll find are safe, many prescriptions drugs are not safe with herbs. On a little side note: many of the articles that are written by allopathically focused people tend to phrase their sentences to make it sound like the medicines are safe and the herbs are risky. (This makes me very angry.) Hands down, prescription medicines have more side effects and have a higher chance of having a negative reaction with another prescription, food, or herb. Herbs rarely have side effects. Almost all medications have side effects or things you must consider and/or change in order to “safely” take those medications.

Any suggestions on what to do to help clean myself out are always welcome!

Raspberry Leaf Tea in a Brandy Glass

     A few years ago, during a painful period my mom picked up raspberry leaf tea for me. The box said something about easing cramps etc. I tried brewing it a couple of times, but it tasted horrible. Like drinking brewed evil. So I packed it away for sometime. Eventually I tried it again – when I still didn’t like it I gave it away to my niece.
     Years later here I am again looking for a preventative to cramps. Luckily I’m not in the throws of agony, in fact, if you read Aunt Flow Part 1, you would have discovered that my cycle is not what it was years ago. Nothing is too agonizing, just annoying. That is no reason not to do some research about menstrual aids or tonics – this leads me back to raspberry leaf tea.

     I am now of the opinion that fresh is best. So the freshest raspberry leave tea will not be found in a store, but in my parents back yard. I was out picking raspberries with my parents a couple of days ago and I asked my dad about raspberry leaf tea, if they actually use these “common” leaves for that tea. He said he was pretty sure, he thought it was new growth that they use for the tea, but he wasn’t positive. I did some research on drying and benefits. When I was ready to start plucking he told me which areas were up for grabs.

     “Normal” red raspberry leaves are used in the tea. They are full of vitamins and minerals. One site, The Eclectic Physician , said the leaves are best picked just as the plant begins to flower. There still are flowers on my parents’ bushes, but they are already providing fruit. I didn’t find anything about new growth leaves being used, or the best, but it makes sense that since they are new they would be excellent sources of those vitamins and minerals as well. Also, my dad has a degree in horticulture. He is rarely wrong about things that grow in the ground. In fact I can’t think of a time when he was wrong. Believe me, I try to question everything – he always said ask questions, so I do.

Recipe:

     To make your own fresh tea, pick leaves that you know have not been sprayed. One site recommended drying the leaves first, one used fresh leaves. Crush or mince the leaves. Bring water to a boil, add or pour over leaves and let steep between 5-10 minutes. Strain.
     Because I’m a flavor queen I tried adding a few berries to the mix as well. Nothing wrong with adding more vitamins and a little color to one’s tea. If adding fruit, squish the fruit before adding to the water, or pouring over them – makes sure that all the little sections are broken.
     Rick tried it too and loved it as well!
     *I made the mistake of not mincing the fresh leaves the first time I made tea. It had very little taste and it seems that the leaves were hardly effected. I have made it daily in the last few days, each time slightly differently – Once I simmered the leaves and berries for a few minutes. Then I steeped for a very long time (Forgot about there truthfully). Also, because of the summer heat they are drying out, so I have used varied types of leaves, some wilted, some fresh and some dried.

     What is it about raspberry leaf tea that makes it so good for the ladies?

     It contains vitamins A, E, C and some vitamin B complex. All of which are strengthening to the immune system. Vitamin E promotes circulation and healing. It also contains phosphorus, potassium and calcium. According to Wikipedia larger amounts of calcium is needed to control nerve response in labor. Obviously (at least to me) being calcium, it helps the developing fetus with bone development. In menstruating women that calcium will be used for our bones. Reading about it easing cramps, my guess is the things that make laboring women deal with pain help us deal with our smaller amounts of pain.
From a massage point of view, I know that calcium and potassium are needed for proper muscle function, if you don’t have enough you get cramps. Your lovely, sometimes ambitious, uterus is a muscle that needs those minerals as well. So feed it!
     Most of the annoying problems with pregnancy or a horrible period can be connected to a lack of something, be it calcium or a vitamin.
     The leaves also contain an alkaloid called fragrine which is supposed to tone the muscles in the pelvic region which includes the uterus. The tannins in the red raspberry leaves act as an astringent which soothes inflammation, especially in the digestive tract. Pregnant or menstruating women can have digestive upsets on occasion.

     Hopefully through eating well and supplementing with raspberry leaf tea a menstruating or pregnant woman will be able to better prevent unnecessary pain and discomfort.

My plans:

     After reading all about this magical leaf, I plan on keeping raspberry leaves handy all year round. Now I will probably just use fresh leaves (unless they dry before I use them). However, it would be an excellent idea to dry some leaves to use during the winter, when the garden is sleeping.
     I’m going to pick some new growth leaves and some regular leaves, lay them inside, on the counter or somewhere safe(perhaps in the shade on the deck). I wouldn’t recommend drying them in the sun as it can bake some of the nutrients out. After they are completely dry store them in a glass jar, (one of the many I keep from various store bought delights). It is best to store things away from direct light, so a dark cupboard would work well. Also remember to keep them away from heat, as that will kill some of the nutrients before you turn it into tea. (Yes the raw foodist would argue that once above 160 degrees most of the nutrients are lost, so tea isn’t as good as originally thought.) But teas have shown to be effective, just no reason to give sunlight or heat the chance to leach out the nutrients before being subjected to hot water.
     I will of course take pictures to mark the progression of my tea drying and storing.

     If anyone has dried their own leaves for tea or cooking and have any suggestions, please feel free to share!

     *I have only been drinking this since the first day of my period this time. (It is recommended to start drinking it about a week before to help even more.) I’m feeling pretty good – hardly had any cramps, feel a little less moody, and more awake. I’m convinced to the point where I’m drinking it in 80 degree weather now.

My sources:
http://www.eclecticphysician.com/archive.php?action=Nbr&Nbr=199
http://www.iemily.com/article-468.html
http://konzababy.tripod.com/RRL.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_raspberry_leaf
http://www.localharvest.org/red-raspberry-leaf-tea-C6483