The Raw Debate!!!

This is a wonderful debate between Brigitte Mars and Susun Weed, both are held in high esteem among natural living and healing promoters.
This is a 6 part program and above is #5. I recommend that you watch all 6, I simply wanted to share a piece of it.

My question to my readers!
How do you feel about raw after watching this video?

Tom's of Maine

So my fiance and I started to look into natural personal care products after the Coptic conference where we learned about a few things that were bad for us, specifically Flouride like that found in toothpaste.
For those of you that don't know, Flouride builds a crust around the pinneal gland in the brain. The pinneal gland controls the pituitary gland which in turn effects the thyroid...so by enameling the pinneal you can cause thyroid problems and many other yucky things.

I was a little worried about flouride poisoning my body because after years of intensive dental care, I was drinking flouride water a lot, not to mention its in tap water and using flouride toothpaste.

So when my man and I went grocery shopping for things like toilet paper and shampoo, we looked to see what non-flouride toothpaste there were to be had and found Tom's of Maine flouride free natural toothpaste!
It's a little more expensive than Crest or the other brands, but when you're not buying it every day or week and it's for your health, the few extra bucks don't seem like a lot.

I've tried it for about 2 months now and love it. The peppermint flavor seems to last longer than my last brands of toothpaste and my teeth are actually a little whiter (but this could be a combo of the toothpaste and that I've stopped drinking coffee).

This last shopping trip, I bought Tom's of Maine natural deodorant in Citrus. Its a roller bottle kind so its a little wetter than the Axe we've been using.

Why have I been using Axe (and yes, I am a female)
Well, some time last year I had a bad allergic reaction to both Secret and Suave deodorants. I broke out in red bumps and welts on my underarms and inner legs where I had used the deodorant to help keep my thighs from sticking when I wore a skirt (a little trick for us voluptuous types).
My skin felt irritated and I looked to see the reaction and stopped using those two brands immediately. So I had to find another alternative and started using my fiance's deodorant, Axe. When I had no break outs it became my norm and the smell isn't bad and noone seemed to notice I smell a little like my man...

Anyways, after that anecdote...
Tom's deodorant is awesome too! I've worn it at work where I'm in a sweat box all day running around and I have found that I'm not stinky nor is there any strong citrus odor, which is cool. I also have less shaving bumps when I use it after shaving.

So, to sum it all up, try out Tom's deodorant and toothpaste! I haven't tried their mouthwash, soap, or floss yet but plan to.
Their site is also cool, sorta gives their ethics in business and why they do what they do, which they do well.
Tom's of Main

Aruyveda and Raw Food

I am currently reading High Raw by Kevin Gianni

and watching his show on YouTube The Renegade Health Show (which I love). I am also still reading Prakriti by Dr. Svaboda and never considered a combo of Aruyveda and Raw diets until today when I watched Kevin interview Dr. Gabriel Cousens:




Definately worth watching and an interesting topic.

How to Find Good Essential Oils

I have been asked by several people where and how to find good essential oils.
Now, I am no oil expert. I do not claim to be. I am simply a student of herbalism and aromatherapy. What I know about essential oils is self taught through experience and books.
That being said, here is what I learned:

First, oils are expensive because they are expensive to make. It takes pounds and pounds of plant material to make one little bottle of oil. If an oil is cheap, I would question why because it might be cut with other materials.

Ways to know if an oil is pure:

Know the scientific name.
Make sure that the oil you are looking at is the actual essential oil needed. Sometimes, there will be two oils of the same name but different scientific name and different properties. Take Lavender for example. There are many different types of Lavender but only Lavendula augustifolia is considered True Lavender and is the best to use in aromatherapy. However, Lavendula inermis, a type of lavender known for its long lasting flowers and coloring, are used to make a cheaper version of lavender oil.

Make sure you are buying Essential Oil:
Oils are a big business as Better Homes and Gardens and similair magazines show celebrity secrets of how they keep their homes smelling lovely. You can find oils to scent yourself and your home everywhere from Walmart ot Pier1 (they aren't just found at head shops anymore).
This does lead to a small problem in that many people buy fragrance oils thinking they are obtaining essential oil and visa versa.
Read the Labels!
Another few words to look for on the labels is therapeutic or pharmaceutical grade. If the bottle does not have these words, do not use them for aromatherapy.

How to test oils:
you can test essential oils by putting a drop on a piece of white paper and let dry. If there is a residue then the oil has been cut or polished with other material.

I am also frequently asked where to buy oils.
This is a tricky question as there is no one place I can point out and say They have the best of all of them! I haven't tried ever oil seller and cannot pretend to know.
However, here is what I do:
I buy local so I can ask the vendor about their oils and get a specific amount of what I want. Recently, I bought 1.5 drams of Rose oil from Dillys in Elizabethton, TN. I wanted the smallest bottle they had and without the roller ball they have for the oils used on skin. The proprietor was happy to oblige and even gave me a discount.
I also have a little secret for buying Tea Tree oil and have decided to disclose it to the public:
Walmart has pharmaceutical grade Tea Tree Oil 2 fl. 0z for just $8!!!! Its excellent and I've used it on wounds, bites, and a face wash thet cuts through fast food grease!

My best advice is look around you, READ, research, and test. Don't stress over it too much of course, especially if you are only using the oil to scent your home.
Go for what you like best, what feels right for you. Don't worry about what a book or ad says is hte best oil out there.

Easy ways to remove Toxins from your life!

Most people find it difficult to switch to an All-organic diet or change out all their chemical cleaners for lemon juice, white vinegar, and baking soda. Here are a few ways to make the first step towards healthy living without cutting out all inorganics and non-green cold turkey:

Use unbleached coffee filters.
Bleached coffee filters contain Dioxin from the bleaching process, which is a chemical that, among other nasty things, worsens ailments such as endometriosis. Your filter doesnt have to be bleached for you to use it (it turns coffee brown anyways) and unbleach filters can be found right next to the bleached ones in the coffee isle of your regular supermarket.

Drink filtered or bottled water.
Studies show that the chlorine in city water leads to cancer of the bladder and rectum. There are a lot of toxins in tap water (not the least of which is Flouride which enamels the pinneal gland). Drinking water in general aids the body in ridding itself of toxins, so make sure you're not adding toxins to your system instead of removing them.

Lower your Sugar and Caffiene intake.
Caffiene, accordin to Dr. Robert E. Svaboda, is a credit card that the body cannot pay. Caffiene is also one of the those excitotoxins in the media lately (akin to MSG and Apsartame). Caffiene also destroys good bacteria in the digestive system, allowing fungus and parasites to grow (like Candida).
After lowering or cutting out caffiene intake, the body balances itself out (yes there will be headaches at first but they will go away in a week or so). You will certianly find a change for the better in sleep, attitude, and energy.
Sugar is certainly not healthy for those with diabetes and other similair problems. There is a lot of literature out talking about the dangers of sugar's processsing including bleaching (so use raw sugar when you can!). Sugar is also food for Kapha (for those of you reading Prakriti by Svaboda) and bad bacteria (Candida), allowing its growth in the body.

Cut out the Aspartame!
Aspartame is poison, plain and simple.
The FDA alone counts 92 serious side-effects!
Check out DORway for more issues attributed to this chemical that creates formaldyhide in the body.
Apsartame is found in sweeteners, sodas, even yogurt! Just read the labels.
If you can't use sugar or honey but don't want aspartame poisoning and still desire that sweet taste in your tea, try Stevia. Its a safe herb thats been used for years.

Monthly Herbal: Lavender Shopping!

To tie up my monthly herbal I wanted to point out the Lavender shops in my area (Tri-Cities, TN and local).

Scott County Lavender in Jonesborough, TN specializes in all things Lavender including pet beds and soaps. They were also a major part of the Jonesborough Lavender festival this year (which I sadly missed). I hope they continue with the festival and their shop. You can smell them up the street, I swear!

I found that there is another Lavender Festival in Oak Ridge, TN (near Kentucky) that occurs in June. This year's was "the best yet" with food, over 90 vendors, and presentations on everything from Naturopathic medicine and yoga to Cooking with herbs. Maybe I'll check it out next year too.

I also came across The Lavender Cottage , based out of Greeneville, TN in my search. While having nothing to do with the herb, this etsy shop does have a lot of nature inspired jewelry.

Two Trees and Healing

Chief Two Trees is a well kown healer in the Appalachian region and to any reader of Raymon Grace's books.
I had not heard of him until tonight as I sat talking with my soon-to-be mother-in-law about herbal healing.
Chief Two Trees treated my fiance and his sister as children when they were suffering from worms and allopathic doctors of the area could/would not help. Their mother took them to Two Trees who knew immediately what the problem was as soon as he set eyes on her two children.
He prescribed a list of remedies including Sorbic Acid and Swedish Bitters. Within days, both my fiance and his sister were worm free.

Two Trees also treated the family for shingles with a remedy involving urine that I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to try but worked to cure the ailment within hours.

I am told that there might be the startings of a book by Two Trees that was never finished due to his death in 1995. I'll be checking with the local college to see if they have any more information on this work.

The point of this post is that there are many people who have been treated with natural remedies and haven't thought much of it (my fiance never even thought to mention the above to me before). I am grateful to my mother-in-law-to-be for having written down these remedies and letting me copy them into my own journal for later research and use (hopefully I won't ever need to use them myself).