This is me before starting the metabolic balance program

2 years after

Over the last three years, many acquaintances, clients, and friends tell me I look more vibrant and healthy than ever and ask me what I’ve been doing to make that happen. The answer is metabolic balance®, a nutrition program that balances your metabolism and helps you manage your weight.

Would you like to find a way to lose weight that takes into account your unique biochemistry and nutritional needs, that diminishes your food cravings and hunger, that helps you lose weight quickly and long-term, and that helps you feel so good that your body craves more exercise, which in turn gives you more energy and well-being? How about the fact that you get to eat natural healthy foods, which are chosen specifically for you from the results of a set of blood tests?  And what about being supported by your own personal coach throughout the process?

The foods in your metabolic balance® plan are specially designed to naturally balance your hormones, enzymes and biochemistry. From the metabolic balance® website: With your personalized nutrition plan you supply your body with all the vital and healthy nutrients it needs. Food is not selected according to calorie content or by percentage of fat, protein or carbohydrates. The criteria for food selection is the effect a specific food has on your hormonal system. Through this method a healthy and naturally balanced insulin production is promoted. Insulin is the “internal key” to your body's weight management system, and has a substantial effect on other hormonal and enzyme production. Your personalized nutrition plan allows your blood sugar and insulin to increase at a much slower rate (rather then surging); thereby, allowing you to avoid hunger and food cravings for a longer period of time. Subsequently, more fat can be burned during the space between your three daily meals and especially while you sleep! By following your nutrition plan and a set of simple rules, you begin to strengthen and balance your entire hormonal system and to naturally manage your weight.

The program was designed after a tremendous amount of data and research and because it’s so individualized, it can be applied to widely varied individuals. This was especially attractive to me—I know from my work as a homeopath, no one remedy, or prescription, or food list is good for everyone.
 
When I heard about metabolic balance® 3 years ago I was impressed by all of this; I eventually I asked one of my colleagues to coach me through the program and saw immediate positive results in my own health.

It became a life style and habit changer; I had been on my way to having metabolic syndrome and I didn't know it, except that I kept gaining weight, I didn't feel well, my energy was low, and it was hard for me to walk uphill without my heart pounding and feeling short of breath. As I later learned through training as a coach for metabolic balance®, I had far too much insulin flowing through my system all the time, which was setting me up for a vicious spiral into chronic illness. Even though I was eating organic, healthy, locally grown food, most of it from the farmer's market!
 
I lost 10 pounds after a gentle 2-day cleanse and 2-week stint eating from my meal plan, without added fats or oils, and following 8 simple rules.  I then added in healthy cooking and salad oils and continued losing a pound to one and a half pounds a week for the next few months, until I lost 35 pounds altogether! Personally, I found the clarity of the rules, the weighing of food and eating only specific foods very helpful, since I tend to be vague about many things in my life.

I’ve now coached numerous clients through the process with a lot of success. As with most habit changing activities, the more willingness to comply with the program, the quicker and easier the weight comes off and stays off.

Give me a call or shoot me an email if you're interested or know someone who would benefit from this process. I'd love to tell you more about it!

I’m not writing this to convince or attempt to change the way anyone feels about vaccinations. My purpose is to help those of you who have chosen to do something other than the full schedule of vaccines for your children to feel more serenity about your choice in the midst of the fear tactics of the pharmaceutical companies, the media, and now our government. Since I started my homeopathy practice in 1991, one of my main objectives is to help my clients and community find resources in order to be informed.

What happened?! A relatively benign childhood illness has suddenly become an anxiety-provoking, life-threatening disease. Here’s a little video to put it in perspective: Measles, Back In The Days Before The Marketing Of The Vaccine

Yes, measles is highly infectious and it does cause uncomfortable symptoms. The child does need at-home nursing care for about 10 days, although for much of that time, they feel fine and want to play normally. There is a chance complications can arise, just like any aspect of life, even getting into your car, or walking across the street, there is a level of risk. If the child is immune compromised or has poor nutrition, especially low levels of Vitamin A in the diet (such as not enough fresh fruit and vegies, butter, meat, eggs), they are more likely to have complications. On the other hand, once children have had measles, they gain lifetime immunity (which the vaccine does not provide). Since the illness is relatively benign, the question is whether the risk of vaccination is greater than the risk of having the disease. Thinking about this in a more general way, there may actually be positive reasons for children getting the measles and other childhood illnesses! 

The immune system develops beginning at the age of twelve months. At this time, it is able to manufacture antibodies to specific diseases and learns to recognize pathogens in order to overcome them naturally. Childhood diseases are one way the immune system learns to flex its muscles. In my early training as a homeopath, I was introduced to the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner (Waldorf Schools) and Samuel Hahnemann (developed Homeopathy over 200 years ago). As both innovative thinkers and careful observers, they believed childhood illnesses enhance the personal, inherited, and even karmic development of the children who catch and recover from them. So what are we doing as a society to our children’s development and that of future generations if we suppress these illnesses? We are weakening their immune systems. This in turn causes a host of autoimmune illnesses, like asthma, diabetes, environmental allergies and food sensitivities, which we are seeing more of in recent generations of children. 

As a homeopath and parent for more than 35 years, I have seen homeopathic medications work wonders in both acute childhood illnesses and with supporting the immune system long-term. The course of the child’s illness is much quicker, they are more comfortable, and there is less chance of complications when the correct homeopathic remedy is given.When recovery is slow (taking more than 10 days) the immune system is presenting the need for a new constitutional remedy. At this point, evaluation from a homeopath proves worthy.

Here is a link to Aviva Romm, MD's website, she wrote a great article about what the measles symptoms are; general recommendations, and natural treatments, including dietary, supplements, and herbal recommendations. 

I would add some recommendations for homeopathic medicines to have on hand in the 30C or 200C potency, including pictures of the plants these remedies are made from:

Aconite: for the first symptoms of high fever, rapid pulse, dry skin and a dry cough and restlessness preventing sleep.

Belladonna: useful in the early stages with high fever (102 degrees and higher), face is bright red, and the child feels so hot that heat emanates from the body, although not very thirsty, pupils are dilated, they are oversensitive to light and noise, and when the rash appears it is bright red, and shiny.

Bryonia: the person feels dry and is very thirsty with chapped lips, the eruption develops slowly or is delayed, all motion makes them feel worse, so they don’t want to move at all, a dry, hard cough develops without the rash expressing (so when the remedy is given, the rash should soon appear), they are very irritable and don’t want to be bothered.

Euphrasia: is best for measles when there is a lot of bland mucus running from the nose and burning tears streaming from the eyes, and especially when in the early stage there are a lot of eye symptoms including conjunctivitis with a sticky, thick, yellow discharge, a sensitivity to light, an intense, throbbing headache, and a dry cough with the rash and the voice may be hoarse.

Pulsatilla: used primarily in the later stages of the measles, when the fever is no longer high and the chills may predominate, although they prefer cool air and open windows and feel worse in stuffy rooms. The child is especially clingy and lethargic, wants to be held and carried at all times. The mucus from the nose is thick and yellow, they may have an earache, feel nauseous and may have diarrhea, if they have a cough, it’s dry at night and loose during the day. If eye symptoms linger after the measles go away, this remedy is very helpful to resolve them.

These are the most commonly used remedies for measles and there are many more possibilities including for more severe and less common symptoms. (see Vaccine Free Prevention and Treatment of Infections Contagious Disease with Homeopathy: A Manual for Practitioners and Consumers by Kate Birch) It is important to remember symptoms are signs the body is working to deal with the virus and homeopathy can support relief in a natural and holistic way. Over the last 200 years homeopathy has helped countless children and adults recover more quickly from epidemic diseases with less suffering and without secondary complications. Should you be faced with this illness and want to have a consultation with me during the process, please do! You do not have to deal with this alone. If you have these remedies on hand and your child comes down with symptoms at night or on the weekend and I am not available, these are the first remedies to give. Just choose the one that fits best with the symptoms. Give 3-5 pellets as a dose once every 3-4 hours for no longer than two days. If you notice no change after that time, call me.

Many of these illnesses are manageable at home with rest, fluids, hygiene and loving care. Many others are not currently a danger to our population. Others are more of a problem when a young child goes to large daycare situations.  Those of us lucky enough to have access to care for illnesses with homeopathy, herbs, healers, and community support, are even more resourced and have an additional advantage. The lack of differentiation between life threatening illness and manageable illness is indicative of the fear-based consciousness of our current era.

It's also important to remember that we have preventative resources as well. Building up the immune system is key - with a good cod liver oil, adaptogens like elderberry syrup, foods containing high levels of Vitamins A, C, and D (with K), a constitutional homeopathic remedy, and plenty of exercise in fresh air and sunshine. We also have this excellent resource, which has been used since homeopathy was developed 200 years ago - Homeoprophylaxis - taking a specific homeopathic remedy when an outbreak of a specific illness is prevalent or when exposed to this outbreak. Here's a link to an article: Homeoprophylaxis: Human Records, Studies and Trials. Please get in touch with me if you're interested in this option for your family.

It’s a fact of life—our kids get sick, and they get sick more often when they start school or daycare. Even with all those shots available, and whether they’re vaccinated or not, they will still get viruses that their little bodies need to learn how to deal with.

I’d like to share some ways of caring for them when they really need our help to feel better. Also things you can do to prevent the illness from going into a secondary infection. I believe both common-sense actions and homeopathic remedies will lessen the time our children are sick and help strengthen their immune systems.

Parenting a Sick Child 101

Not all of us know how to handle it when our kids get sick, perhaps because our parents aren’t around to show us or talk with us about it. Also, with the advent of vaccines, there has been a societal push to lessen the role of us as parents tending for our kids because it’s inconvenient; we have to work; they have to be at school everyday; it’s just not productive.  Even though we do get sick from time to time, the media message is that this is a waste of time and we shouldn’t allow it.

Of course I’m not saying that illness is necessarily a good thing! We worry about our kids when they’re sick, they may feel awful, and we may become both physically and emotionally exhausted caring for them. But acute illness is also a time when their bodies are strengthened and detoxed and they get to slow down and just be. My understanding is that the childhood diseases we don’t see much of anymore, like measles and chicken pox, have the benefit of increasing the development of the child’s physical body and emotional psyche. Many people, including myself, have seen our kids recover from these illnesses and then exhibit a big cognitive shift and growth spurt. This can happen after the flu or an intense cold as well.

So, when your kids start to feel ill, do your best to slow down with them, have some quiet activities you can do together or that when they’re older, they can do by themselves—like books, or puzzles, or drawing, even napping! Try not to resort to the screens, this is really not restful and can wind them up! Some kids, especially the younger ones, need you to sit with them, need your contact and want to nurse more often, or sleep on your chest. Take the opportunity to rest with them! Enjoy the break from the everyday commotion of life as much as you can.

Here are some specific things you can do to lessen the impact of viral infections:

At the beginning of symptoms:

Homeopathically:

Ferrum Phosphoricum 6X at the first sign of any illness. A little fever, cheeks may be pink, a little less energetic, but usually no other symptoms yet. You can give 4 tablets up to 4 times a day for the first day or two. This may help them avoid the illness altogether or help them get over it sooner. If the child is better, at any point, then stop. If their symptoms progress, then look at other remedies after that first day.

Oscillococcinum: At the first sign of a flu – they are tired and feel achy and may have a sore throat. This remedy really works! You may completely stop the illness if you give it at the first signs. Again, give up to 3 doses over the day they first seem ill, this remedy comes in tiny pellets, so give about 10 of them as a dose.

Belladonna: If a child gets sick suddenly and dramatically with a high fever, dilated pupils and very hot, dry, red skin. This can happen with a virus! They may seem fine and be playing, or be out of it. They may not be thirsty at all or just ask for lemonade. Give 30C strength 2 pellets as a dose every 1/2 hour until the fever goes down or they seem less ill. If this remedy doesn’t help bring down the fever within two hours, or you suspect something more than a flu or bad cold, call your doctor.

If the cold or flu has progressed:

Call your homeopath if you don’t feel certain about choosing remedies, but if you have a good acute care homeopathy book and access to homeopathic medications, you can at least give it a try. You may be able to help your child quickly and without side effects. If you observe these traits with your child (or yourself), and they fit well, give the remedy you choose in the 30C strength, every 3-4 hours for a day or 2 or until they feel better. If you don’t see any improvement in a day or two, either look at your homeopathy book and choose again, or call your homeopath. There are dozens of other homeopathic medications available, but these are the most common for basic colds and flus.

Pulsatilla: This is a great remedy for the child who becomes weepy, whiney, and clingy when they get sick. They tend to have lots of thick, yellowish mucus that runs a lot but doesn’t make the skin around the nose irritated. Sometimes a cough will start from all the mucus running down their throat as soon as they lie down, or when they first wake up in the morning. They don’t tend to be thirsty and feel better when they’re outside or have fresh air coming in the window.

Bryonia: They feel worse for any movement and just want to lie still in a quiet room. They’re very thirsty, and their throat feels dry. They tend to be irritable and ask for things, but then throw them away.

Gelsemium: Anyone who has the combination of feeling dizzy, drowsy, droopy, and dull may need this remedy, whether for the flu or a bad cold. The child (or adult) may be so sleepy, they can barely keep their eyes open. The muscles may feel sore and achy and they’re generally weak and even tremble from weakness. They may have flushes of heat alternating with sweats, with chills running down the back.

Common sense:

Make sure your child has plenty of water, chicken or vegetable broth, herb teas with lots of honey, miso soup, and diluted juice to drink. Have them take the time to rest more than usual – longer naps and getting to bed earlier are a must. Give them chewable Vitamin C, avoid wheat and dairy to lessen mucus, try Naturade Expec for lingering mucus causing tickly coughs and sore throats. Be in contact with other parents whose kids may have similar symptoms and let them know what remedies helped your kids, they might help theirs as well.

It’s that time of year—suddenly we’re getting the scratchy throat, the congestion in the head and the achy, tired feeling! We know its coming, we’re adjusting to much cooler nights and mornings, our biological clocks are forced to adapt to the time change, and to top it off, we also have the “Candy Holiday” in which our immune systems are assaulted by large amounts of sugar and we’re  outside in the cold. If we have kids, they’re hit even harder, partly because they’re exposed to all the other germ carriers, but also because their immune systems are new and need to produce antibodies to so many new viruses.

I was hit by the nasty sore throat and cough version last week, so I trotted out all the home treatments I could think of. I was back to my usual healthy self in just 3 days. Here’s a list of home remedies to shorten the duration and lessen the intensity of these colds and coughs:

Gargle with salty water

Drink cups of bone broth with a little salt and as much cayenne as you can stand

Take lots of Vitamin C, chewable and Emergen-C

Clear your sinuses with a neti pot or NeilMed Sinus Rinse

Drink more water and herbal teas

Take hot baths with Epsom salts or other salts

Eat lighter, easier to digest meals

Sleep more!

Rest more!

These are mainly common-sense ways of dealing with sickness, but not all of us are in a position to know about them or remember them. It took me a couple of days of having the sore throat from hell, before I remembered I could gargle! Oh, what relief!

There are great homeopathic remedies that can help with the symptoms of acute colds and flus. Call me so I can find the best one for you or your child.

We'll be studying natural care for colds and coughs at our next Homeopathy Study Group on November 19^th. You’ll learn about specific remedies for the many types of symptoms that you and your family might need help with. Call me at (510) 516-1334 if you'd like to join us.

I want to add that I’m being treated by a homeopath, so I think that also helped me get over this faster. I am generally pretty healthy, in fact this is the first time I’ve had anything like this for at least 2 years. So, making sure you come in for your health maintenance remedy is a great thing to do this time of year. Before you get hit by the latest bug!

Next week: Caring For Your Sick Child

Just over a year ago, I started a weight loss program that became so much more—I liked it so much that I recently became a coach for the program! I had no idea that besides losing lots of weight, I would become so much more energetic and vital! I shifted my habits around eating and began to need to exercise throughout the day. All of this from eating three decent meals a day, not snacking in between, and only eating specific foods that are good for me (through the results of a blood panel and my specific health information). I had been on my way to having metabolic syndrome and I didn't know it, except that I knew I didn't feel well, my energy was low, and it was hard for me to walk uphill without my heart pounding and feeling short of breath. As I learned through training as a coach for Metabolic Balance®, I had far too much insulin flowing through my system all the time, which was setting me up for a vicious spiral down into chronic illness. Even though I was eating organic, healthy, locally grown food, much of it from the farmer's market!

Metabolic Balance® maximizes a person's ability to lose weight (or gain it if they need to!) by adjusting their metabolism naturally, and improving the overall health of the body. The company was started by a German doctor who was concerned about the increase in obesity and Type 2 diabetes in children. He researched the causes of this obesity epidemic and found ways to counteract it. He started from the premise that food is medicine and that everyone has individual food needs. There are no supplements and everything you need comes from the grocery store, farmer's market, or CSA. Metabolic Balance® has had success with those having issues with: Type 2 Diabetes, Insulin resistance, Rheumatism, Migraines, High blood pressure, Fatigue, High cholesterol, Osteoporosis, Menopause and menstrual symptoms, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and Allergies.

Let me know if you'd like to find out more about this great program. I'd love to discuss whether this is right for you!