A Natural Solution 4 You - 8/8/06 - by Donna

A NOTE FROM DONNA

I've been making our herbal mouthwash for a couple months now and it's been fun to switch flavors from one batch to the next. It's amazing how cheap it is since it's only water, glycerin for sweetness, and essential oils. I like being able to use essential oils that keep gums healthy.

Here's one of the recipes I've used in an empty 8 ounce bottle with a flip top lid (mine is from Frozen Lemon Juice). I add 7 ounces of purified water, 2 teaspoons of glycerin (optional for sweetness), and for essential oils for healthy gums, I used 7 drops Rosemary Essential Oil and 7 drops of Peppermint Oil. You can find the glycerin at a drugstore. In our area it was one of the family-owned ones.

This photo is one of the sunrises at Bluebird Cove shining through the wind chimes that we got for our anniversary in April. We have looked at them for over 5 years since we moved here and finally decided to invest in them. They have brought so much peace to my heart as I am in the garden. Hearing their soft music lifts my spirit to heavenly things.

I'm finally getting somewhere on the Bluebird Cove Chronicles blog. I wanted to do the story leading up to Bluebird Cove, especially since this will be a virtual diary for me to remember all the times that God carried me through the troubles of life .... and all that He shows me in His Creation here at Bluebird Cove. If you haven't subscribed to emails of that blog, you can subscribe to Bluebird Cove Chronicles here. I will be ready to get into the day-to-day shortly. There's been a lot going on outside that I want to share with my virtual Bluebird Cove friends. I've added a bunch of photos to our online gallery. We've had a mama deer and two fawns regularly visiting so I took a sweet photo of one of the fawns looking right at me. I also took a walk-through of the garden to have a digital record of how things are growing.

Until next time, make it a happy and healthy day!
Donna


HEALTH NEWS AND TIPS

The FDA Formed 100 Years Ago - Are We Safer Because of It

A century ago, in an era of snake-oil salesmen, dangerous medicines, and horrifying conditions in the meatpacking industry, Congress created the Food and Drug Administration. Consumers’ health and safety has improved remarkably since then. Yet problems with our food and drugs today echo the very reasons the FDA was established.

Congress and some states are considering legislation to require that drug companies make public their clinical trial results. And measures in Congress would empower the FDA to require drugmakers to complete any requested follow-up safety studies once their products are on the market, so patients and doctors know about harmful side effects. But the bills languish, fought by a pharmaceutical industry that flourishes in the status quo. Read the entire article here at Consumer Reports.


Study Shows Laughter Helps Blood Vessels Function Better

Using laughter-provoking movies to gauge the effect of emotions on cardiovascular health, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have shown for the first time that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood vessels. Laughter appears to cause the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, to dilate or expand in order to increase blood flow.

When the same group of study volunteers was shown a movie that produced mental stress, their blood vessel lining developed a potentially unhealthy response called vasoconstriction, reducing blood flow. That finding confirms previous studies, which suggested there was a link between mental stress and the narrowing of blood vessels. Read the entire story.

FEATURED TOPIC
The ABCs of Defense

It's time for school supplies and getting your children prepared for another year of school. Don't forget to include the supplies you need to keep them healthy. Keeping their immune systems working at peak efficiency will prevent colds and flu from gaining ground.

Here's a great article that will help you to have some direction in keep your kids healthy. They don't have to be sick. Read Defending Kids Against Disease by Brian Gill.

FEATURED PRODUCT

Milk Thistle Combination

Our livers have a big job and with all the pollution in our air, water and foods, a little bit of herbal help would prove to be wise. Our forefathers always did Spring tonics for the liver and blood because they knew that keeping their livers healthy had a lot to do with feeling good.

This powerful formula provides nutrients that must be present for the liver to perform its 500 or more functions. It contains Vitamin A & C, milk thistle extract (80% silymarin, 175 mg.), dandelion root (150 mg.), choline bitartrate (60 mg.), and inositol (60 mg.).

Milk Thistle consists of three powerful liver-protective flavonoids. These flavonoids, silybin, silydianin, and silychristin, are usually referred to as silymarin. The effects of silymarin are well researched, showing protection against such hepato-toxins as alcohol, carbon tetrachloride, pesticides, heavy metals, and acetaminophen overdose. Not only can silymarin protect liver cells, it can regenerate already damaged ones. Additionally, silymarin was shown to increase liver, stomach, and intestinal glutathione. Read more about Milk Thistle.

NUTRITION IS A CHOICE

Egg Replacements

There are plenty of egg substitutes available for baking or preparing a dish that calls for eggs. Ener-G Egg Replacer is a reliable egg substitute for use in baking. It is available at health food stores and most grocery stores.

Tofu: Tofu is great for egg substitutions in recipes that call for a lot of eggs, like quiches. To replace one egg in a recipe, purée 1/4 cup soft tofu.

In Desserts and Sweet, Baked Goods: Try substituting one banana or 1/4 cup applesauce for each egg called for in a recipe for sweet, baked desserts. These will add some flavor to the recipe, so make sure bananas or apples are compatible with the other flavors in the dessert.

Other Egg Replacement Options

• 1 egg = 2 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. oil + 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 egg = 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed simmered in 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 egg white = 1 Tbsp. plain agar powder dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water, whipped, chilled, and whipped again

Information from VegCooking.com

LAUGHTER IS GOOD MEDICINE

On Aging .....

When an eighty-year-old woman was asked if there were to be candles on her cake, she responded curtly, "No, it's a birthday party, not a torchlight procession."

A man's death was mistakenly noted in the local paper's obituary section. The "corpse" hastened to the editor to protest. "I'm awfully sorry," the editor replied. "But it's too late to do much about it. The best thing I can do for you is to put you in the "Birth Column" tomorrow morning, and give you a fresh start."

ABOUT ESSENTIAL OILS
Shop for Essential Oils & Accessories
Essential Oil Kits
Tell Me About Essential Oils
What About Quality and Purity
Essential Oil Recipes
Free Email Newsletter: "Essential Oil Recipes & More"
INFORMATION FOR CHILDREN
Natural Health Information for Parents
Herbasaurs Supplements for Kids
Research Health Topics for Children

NATURAL HEALTH CONSULTANTS FOR YOU
Due to the high traffic of our website and FDA/FTC rulings, we can't answer individual questions. However, we have two friends and business associates with the expertise to help you, so we refer to them. Look over the information about them on the websites shown and be sure to place your order through them to get a free 30-minute consultation.
For People - Dianne Frase
For Pets - Robin Sockness

NATURAL HEALTH LINKS FOR YOUR PETS
Pet Supplements by Health Topic
Pet Success Stories Using Nature's Remedies
Flint River Ranch Oven-Baked Pet Foods
Healthy Pet Foods & Supplements
Free Natural Pet Newsletter

FREE NATURAL HEALTH CLASSES
Learn how your body works one system at a time or with a health topic class. Knowledge is essential in making wise health decisions. Take the entire course or choose a system you want to know more about (i.e. digestive, glandular, intestinal, etc.). View the class topics here.

PLEASE PASS IT ON!
If you enjoyed what you read today, please forward this newsletter to your friends by clicking on the white envelope below or cut and paste the web link to this page and send it on.

COPYRIGHT AND REPRINT INFORMATION
© 2006 Donna L. Watkins

The stories, suggestions, and information in this newsletter are not meant to diagnose or prescribe for you. If you have a medical problem, you may want the advice and recommendations of a medical doctor. All stories, recipes, information, etc. that are passed along in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and are not necessarily endorsed by the businesses of Sunshine Life Center, Inc. This is a personal publication by Donna L. Watkins. The ideas and information expressed in it have not been approved or authorized by anyone either explicitly or impliedly. In no event shall Donna L. Watkins or Sunshine Life Center, Inc. be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of this information or its publication, including any action for infringement of copyright or defamation.

Forwarding and Use of This Newsletter
You may forward this newsletter in its entirety or use this copyrighted newsletter on a website if you include the following credit: The Herbs Place

A Natural Solution 4 You - 7/24/06 - by Donna

A NOTE FROM DONNA
Welcome new visitors and subscribers and thanks to all of you who share this newsletter with others!

If you enjoyed my updates about Bluebird Cove, where we live, visit the Bluebird Cove Chronicles Blog. Bookmark the site and stop by often.

Now that I don't need this space to talk about my life here at Bluebird Cove, I can chatter a bit about some health topic of interest to me.

I promised you links to the photos from the arboretum Randal and I visited over in the Shenandoah Valley. Well, they have been deleted from the camera. I was having a problem and during my "fix" I deleted those photos before I downloaded them to the computer. Too bad. Guess I will have to go back to take more.

Many of you still inquire about Squeek, our little black kitty that was diagnosed with FIV. Although the vet did not expect her to live out that week in February, she's been doing really well and we are thrilled. She takes her daily herbs and vitamins on her food and doesn't complain. Maybe she knows she needs them. I've had other pet owners tell me that. The animal balks at the food and doesn't want to eat it but it is left for them as the only food to eat ... and they do. Then after a few days it's like they crave the herbs.

We had a Rottweiler "client" years back at the store. He was a hyper dog and the owner had a home embroidery business. When customers would come to pick up their order, the dog would run to greet them. Very friendly dog, but most people didn't take it that way. She was torn between the dog's freedom of the house and her customers' fears. Since she was already a client of ours, she scheduled an appointment for the dog.

Being a dog, they had no problem getting the herbs down by tossing them into his mouth. He didn't mind swallowing anything. The funny thing was that after a few days, any time they opened a bottle of herbs, he came running for his. I guess he knew he felt better and wanted them.

Until next time, make it a happy and healthy day!
Donna

HEALTH NEWS AND TIPS
Women’s Sleep Habits Predict Weight Gain
Skimping on sleep may mean greater weight gain for women. That’s the finding of a study presented in San Diego at the American Thoracic Society’s International Conference.

Data came from 68,183 healthy women who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study. The Nurses’ Health study started in 1976, when women were 30-55 years old. In 1986, the women reported how much sleep they usually got per night. They reported their weight every two years for the next 16 years.

Women who reported sleeping five or six hours per night gained more weight than those who got seven hours of nightly sleep, the study shows. The researchers included Sanjay Patel, M.D., of Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University. Read the rest of the story

Spoiled Meat Looks Fresh 8 Weeks After Sell-by Date
From Consumer Reports
Attention, meat shoppers: Your supermarket may be selling ground beef and steaks packaged with gas that keeps it looking red for a month or longer. Our tests found that meat packaged using that method stayed red even if it was spoiled.

The process, used in factory-wrapped (or case-ready) meat, replaces most of the oxygen in the package with other gases. Those include tiny amounts of carbon monoxide, which react with the pigment in meat, producing a red color.

Consumer Reports decided to do limited testing to check whether carbon-monoxide-packaged meat can stay red even when spoiled. Since there’s no requirement that the process be listed on meat labels, we called manufacturers to verify that the brands purchased were packed with carbon monoxide.

We tested 10 samples of locally purchased ground beef and steaks from three companies. We found that the meat appeared red even if it was spoiled or had bacterial counts that were close to indicating spoilage. By their use- or freeze-by date, seven samples were fresh but two packages of ground beef from one company were spoiled; an additional sample was on the brink of spoilage a day before the stamped date. Get more information and find out what you can do at your grocery in the complete article here


FEATURED TOPIC
Walking. Yes, you've heard it again and again how beneficial it is, but ...... Personally, I've tried to do the daily walk thing on asphalt and it's too routine for me. I get tired of the hard surface and the same old route. For Randal, it's a different story. He loves routine and walks every weekday at exactly 6:45 AM with a neighbor. A measured two-mile route. I knew I wasn't getting in enough exercise gardening and doing housework on most days, but I also knew that routine didn't work for me, because I'd tried it several times.

The AARP magazine came (yep! I'm over 50 so I qualify) and in it there were some interesting challenges for walking. Now I'm excited and have joined the walkers. I've chosen the Appalachian Trail, well virtually. The soles of my feet won't be touching the trail, but they will be taking more steps because I'm mentally walking the trail and virtually seeing my progress online. I began in Maine and am now about to exit Vermont.

Yesterday I folded laundry while stepping away in place. I love the challenge of getting my step counter to what I need to finish the trail in 70 days. I'm even hoping I'll get to enjoying it so much that I might be able to make a round trip in the 70 days. Hey! I'm out there in the middle of nature .... I can dream can't I? :-)

Here's some information in case you want to join me on the trail. Let me know if you take the challenge too. It will be fun walking the trail with you. Of course, you may choose another optional trail depending on how many steps you want to do a day ... and you can even change trails at any time to match your stepping ability, so there's no failure here! Go for it! The step counters are only $9 if you are an AARP member. Here's the info:

Join Us on a Walk on The Appalachian Trail
Want to make exercise fun? Track your virtual path along famous trails like the Appalachian Trail, or the Lewis and Clark, Alaska Highway, or Highway 50. "Step Up to Better Health" is a motivating 10-week walking program designed to boost daily activity. Wearing a step counter and tracking your steps online, you’ll be inspired to move more as you enjoy the benefits of an active lifestyle. You’ll have access to health and fitness articles, healthy recipes, and health-related resources on the web.

If you own a step counter you can begin tomorrow morning. If you don't, you can order one at a reasonable price from AARP and get an informative booklet with a section you can log-in your miles until you get to enter them online. Members pay only $9. Get More Info On The "Step Up to Better Health" Program

How About a Program Based on Timed Exercise Instead?
Get Fit on Route 66
If you'd rather not count steps but want a physical activity adventure designed to inspire you to be more active, trace the famous route of this virtual highway by exercising. Whatever physical activity you enjoy doing - tennis, jogging, swimming, biking, softball, or something else, this is a fun way to motivate yourself into keeping fit.

Your goal is to "travel" from Chicago to Santa Monica (2,448 miles) by recording your physical activity minutes. You'll record your minutes of exercise online, where our program will convert the minutes to miles; one minute equals one mile. You set the pace, whether it's ten or sixty miles a day. Find out more about this free program here

NUTRITION IS A CHOICE
Food Labeling - Beware of Marketing Come-Ons

Ignore the hype on the front of the package. This part of the label is designed by the food processor's marketing and advertising departments. It will contain whatever trendy words will help sell the product. While the meanings of many of these terms are regulated by law, it's still easy to be deceived by them. The food may not be as good for you as these large and colorful words want you to believe. Manufacturers cannot legally lie on a food label, but they can stretch the truth a bit. Be wary of these tricky terms:

Consider the word "pure." Everyone wants to eat food that's pure. You would not want to put contaminated food into your body. But "pure" has no regulated, agreed- upon meaning in food labeling. It tells you nothing about what's in the package that perhaps should not be there.

"Natural" is probably the least trustworthy of all the label terms. While the term "natural" sounds appealing, it really says little about the nutritional quality of the food, or even its safety. In reality, "natural" is empty of nutritional meaning. Consumers believe that "natural" means the food is pretty much as Mother Nature grew it, but this is seldom the case. And even then, "natural" is not the same as nutritious, or good for you. The fat marbling in a New York strip steak is "natural," but it's not good for your arteries.

"Made from" simply means the food started with this product. For example, the claim "made from 100 percent corn oil" may be technically correct, yet it is misleading. Consumers are led to believe they are eating 100 percent corn oil. They think of fields of corn under a clear blue Iowa sky. But a lot can happen to corn oil before it gets to the grocery store. The label really means the processor started with 100 percent corn oil, but along the way may have diluted or hydrogenated it, changing it into a fat that will clog your arteries, not one that flows free and golden. Another common label lie is "made from natural..." This simply means the manufacturer started with a natural source, but by the time the food was processed it may be anything but "natural."

"Made with real fruit" is a good example of a misleading claim. The law does not require the label to say how much real fruit is in the product. This boast is particularly prevalent in snacks for children, which may contain a grape or two in a snack that is otherwise mostly sugar. "Made with whole grains" is another little, "white" label lie. The consumer is led to believe that this is a whole-grain cereal or waffle, yet the package label is not legally required to say how much "whole grain" is in the product. Its main ingredient could be refined flour with just a small amount of whole wheat added. So, the food won't contain all the fiber and other nutrients associated with whole grains. "Made with vegetables" is another misleading term, which sounds healthy, but says nothing about how much nutrition is really in the box.

Understand the real meaning of "fat free" on a label. For example, suppose a food is labeled 95 percent "fat-free." This means that five percent of the total weight of the food is fat, (which may not seem like much), yet a single gram of fat contains nine calories compared to four calories in a gram of protein or carbohydrates. Five grams of fat in 100 grams of ground or dark-meat turkey represents one-fourth of the calories in that serving.

is a tip-off that something bad was done to the food, requiring another process to put some of the good stuff back in. Enriched flour or enriched white bread are not as healthy as their whole wheat counterparts.

"Smoked" legally describes the flavor of the food, not how it was smoked. The consumer imagines the food is smoked in a backyard barbecue or an old-fashioned smokehouse. Really, the food could be artificially or chemically smoked and/or just contain smoked flavoring and still legally be labeled "smoked."

Beware of fruit "drinks," which may contain little or no real fruit juice. Look at the ingredients to find out what's really in there. "Drink" on the name of the product tells you that it is not 100 percent juice. It may, in fact, be mostly sugar and water, with added vitamin C. This enables the manufacturer to say the product is "high in vitamin C," even if it's a long way from being real orange juice.

Experienced label-readers look right past the banners and big hype on the front of the package and look for the facts in small print on the back.

Source: www.askdrsears.com
Read the entire article.

LAUGHTER IS GOOD MEDICINE
Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says, "Ted, I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of aches and pains. I know you're about my age. How do you feel?"
Ted says, "I feel like a newborn baby."
"Really? Like a newborn baby?"
"Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants."

ABOUT ESSENTIAL OILS
Shop for Essential Oils & Accessories
Essential Oil Kits
Tell Me About Essential Oils
What About Quality and Purity
Essential Oil Recipes
Free Email Newsletter: "Essential Oil Recipes & More"

INFORMATION FOR CHILDREN
Natural Health Information for Parents
Herbasaurs Supplements for Kids
Research Health Topics for Children


NATURAL HEALTH CONSULTANTS FOR YOU
Due to the high traffic of our website and FDA/FTC rulings, we can't answer individual questions. However, we have two friends and business associates with the expertise to help you, so we refer to them. Look over the information about them on the websites shown and be sure to place your order through them to get a free 30-minute consultation.
For People - Dianne Frase
For Pets - Robin Sockness

NATURAL HEALTH LINKS FOR YOUR PETS
Pet Supplements by Health Topic
Pet Success Stories Using Nature's Remedies
Flint River Ranch Oven-Baked Pet Foods
Healthy Pet Foods & Supplements
Free Natural Pet Newsletter

FREE NATURAL HEALTH CLASSES
Learn how your body works one system at a time or with a health topic class. Knowledge is essential in making wise health decisions. Take the entire course or choose a system you want to know more about (i.e. digestive, glandular, intestinal, etc.). View the class topics here.


PLEASE PASS IT ON!
If you enjoyed what you read today, please forward this newsletter to your friends by clicking on the white envelope below.


COPYRIGHT AND REPRINT INFORMATION
© 2006 Donna L. Watkins

The stories, suggestions, and information in this newsletter are not meant to diagnose or prescribe for you. If you have a medical problem, you may want the advice and recommendations of a medical doctor. All stories, recipes, information, etc. that are passed along in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and are not necessarily endorsed by the businesses of Sunshine Life Center, Inc. This is a personal publication by Donna L. Watkins. The ideas and information expressed in it have not been approved or authorized by anyone either explicitly or impliedly. In no event shall Donna L. Watkins or Sunshine Life Center, Inc. be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of this information or its publication, including any action for infringement of copyright or defamation.

Forwarding and Use of This Newsletter

You may forward this newsletter in its entirety or use this copyrighted newsletter on a website if you include the following credit:
< href="http://www.theherbsplace.com"> The Herbs Place >