This is the time to boost your immunity to help ward off the colds and flu that circulate in the wintertime. It’s especially important to boost our immune system in times of worry and hardship as these emotions drain our strength and make us vulnerable to illness.

The first support to boosting immunity is nourishing food that also promotes elimination.  Onions are a good food for the heart and circulation. They help reduce cholesterol. They act against all types of infections. Cabbage can help you to cope with stress, anemia, fatigue and infections and are also good for your digestive tract. Broccoli is a rich source of vitamins A and C. It also provides iron, calcium and potassium. It is a good tonic and fights fatigue and stress. Brown rice has a gentle and soothing effect on the digestive system and can lower blood pressure and provides B vitamins (we lose them during stressful times), fiber, iron, potassium and protein. These are not expensive foods to have regularly.

Herbs can help bolster your immune system. Virtually all herbs are a wonderful source of vitamins and minerals. Many have hormonal and antibiotic action. Garlic, echinacea, cayenne pepper, yellow dock root, and Oregon grape root will all support your immunity and help you ward off the colds and flu of the winter season.

Negative moods are proven to reduce the number of antibodies produced in the body. Improve your mood and improve your immune response. You can lighten your negative vibrations by a brisk walk, deep breathing, laughter, listening to relaxing music, visualizing peaceful scenes, meditation, prayer, loving and grateful thoughts, reflexology or massage. These activities bring renewed peace and hope- and bolster your immune response, better enabling you to fight off harmful germs and viruses. It’s not just possible to boost your immune system affordably, it’s imperative!

Penny Waters is a member of the Sandpoint Wellness Council. Penny may be reached at 208/597-4343

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The Web is here to support us. Even though we live in Sandpoint, we have access to the entire world’s offerings via the Internet. As the healthcare issue grows as a concern for everyone, more organizations are stepping in with Internet (Web 2.0 - social networking) solutions. These organizations are generating sites that provide services for their viewers.

ReadWriteWeb writes about how “the number of U.S. adults who are Health 2.0 consumers has risen to over 60 million.” SWC is part of this trend - we are providing usable information to our community.

ReadWriteWeb writes about how “the number of U.S. adults who are Health 2.0 consumers has risen to over 60 million.” SWC is part of this trend - we are providing usable information to our community.

Here is a post on some of the new web sites on health. I found a few very interesting. Patients Like Me as the names infers, it connects up people with similar conditions. Daily Support also connects people in a similar way. This is where the new Web 2.0 excels.

DoublecheckMD gives you the access to medical text that your physician also as access too. You get to research diseases and drugs - if in doubt, search.

Vitals.com allows you to check out any doc. You learn where and when he or she went to school along with his or her contact information.

Organized Wisdom is a collective knowledge base created by laypeople, the “the Wikipedia of healthcare.”

American Well “makes it easy for you to talk to physicians, immediately, from home. ”

Then there are the old providers of information:

www.webmd.com

www.mayoclinic.com

www.medicinenet.com

www.healthline.com

www.drweil.com

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This was an email sent to Robin, one of our members.

Marian agreed to share it with everyone -

Good morning Robin!

I wanted to comment on the Sandpoint Wellness Council’s article in November’s River Journal.  However, there was no shared email address or Internet place to contact ou as a group; so I am sending this to you and hope you will share it with the others.

I thought your group article on Fibromyalgia was timely, important and very well done — a true community service.  For me it’s timely because I have a new client suffering from Fibromyalgia.  She was diagnosed after numerous tests.  What sets my client apart from the things you (all) mentioned is that she has been a crystal meth addict.  This is not my first — the rapid teardown of a body exposed to crystal meth use is common among users and the statistical link between meth and fibromyalgia is growing.  So it is to be expected in their cases that their recovery to health will be long and hard.  What makes it even harder is that they usually have no money for treatment.

In my experience muscle spasms from detoxification (which can reoccur over months) can be severe and crippling; therefore massage is essential and I appreciate Krystle’s comments as well as her observation that many such sufferers are hypersensitive to being touched.  That’s where non-touch vibrational modalities (such as Pranic Healing or even self-touch methods like EFT) can be very helpful.  Penny’s suggestions about changing the internal environment and rebuilding the immune system through diet/herbs and reflexology are also very important.  A person in this bad a shape is often deeply depressed and therefore hard to motivate.  So spiritual overlays may also be in order.

I will keep this article for my office clients to read and I congratulate you on your group approach.  It has been long known that a group mind is much stronger and more creative than the mere sum of its parts.  Together you will enhance and highten a healthier environmebnt for your community.  Keep up the good work.

Marian Breckenridge, Healing Arts Associates,Sandpoint, ID  83864

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The topic of multiple chemical sensitivities became a focus of mine about three years ago as I was trying to understand some of the symptoms I encountered with a few of my massage clients.  I purchased a far infrared (FIR) sauna because I had heard of its many health benefits, and I began studying about FIR saunas so that I could safely offer this detoxification therapy to my clients.  In researching about FIR, I came across an environmental physician researcher that completely captivated my attention; with her personal experience with multiple chemical sensitivities, her medical knowledge, and her passion to help others overcome their discomforting experiences.  Her name is Dr. Sherry Rogers.  Her educational outreach is all about Chemical Sensitivity and what can personally be done to overcome the oftentimes debilitating effects such exposures create in the human body.

What I have learned that I have firmly come to believe is that many of the symptoms and discomforts, as well as the slow and sometimes not so slow onset of symptoms, baffle us because they appear to have no reason for being.  We ask for information from our doctors, our friends, and sometimes even strangers when we overhear someone else talking about their experiencing something we have.  At the same time, I know many of us are asking the big “why” question:  “why are so many young people coming down with disorders that not so long ago were reserved for or only experienced by the aged?

I began to understand these questions that arose in my mind when I more closely considered the evolution of our technological society.  Since the industrial revolution following WWII, manufacturing, industrialization, agriculture, and pharmaculture have accelerated at phenomenal rates bringing to the human experience new ideas, improved living standards, enriched scientific knowledge, and ease at accessing information.  At the same time, marketing all these new found expressions of development became a primary focus as well as an avenue for economic success.

We all KNOW that with industrialization, development, continued ease and comfort, and our adaptation to instant gratification that is a beautiful outcome for such progress, we have also begun to recognize with a little bit of horror that there have been consequences of such a forward moving pace.  More people are suffering from and dying from diseases.  Research scientists are frantically trying to keep up with the “latest strain” of this or that.  We mourn our losses while we ingest the ingredients of the latest “discovery.”

This trickles down, for me, to a reality that the people of the world are exposed to an excessive amount of pollutants the human body, and the bodies of all other living things, for that matter, struggle to keep up with.  Our human body task is to maintain health and well being.  It utilizes many innate sources and systems every day to keep us going.  But when the overload tops out, our bodies can only “keep on keepin’ on” as a daily struggle.  And then, when it can no longer keep up, it begins to fail, a little at a time, until disease takes over and a new struggle begins - detoxifying the contaminants, cleansing, restoring, repairing, rejuvenating, and then - my favorite “r” word - “rejoicing” when we have figured out what we need, walk the walk, and choose healing pathway for ourselves.

This is no easy endeavor.  The myriad avenues for gathering information on any particular subject can become mind boggling.  I am learning about holistic nutrition and my academic guidance leads me into many websites with abstracts utilizing language I am just beginning to acknowledge with a degree of understanding.  Prior to my exposure to how to do research and what to look for, I was overwhelmed by searching, by trying to learn from all the presentations “out there at the ready for me” and to decipher good science from bad science.

Dr. Sherry Rogers provided for me a balancing perspective.  The human population is exposed to so much pollution our bodies have become sick and chemically sensitive.  Our children (as well as our pets) have experienced exposures from the womb.  While past generations suffered disease at older ages, it took longer to accumulate the negative detritus their bodies had to deal with.  Today, our chemical sensitivities arise with contaminated food, air, water, buildings with tainted paints, carpets, and treated furniture fabrics, and such; all toxic ingredients that test the human body’s ability to detoxify and eliminate.  It becomes understandable why our children and pets suffer earlier and oftentimes succumb to illness we still consider as reserved for the elderly.

As a medical massage therapist, I see the dynamic value of massage therapy to assist in detoxifying the human body.  I see the value of experiencing a Far Infrared Sauna therapy session on a regular basis to assist in detoxifying the body.  I see the value of experiencing a manual lymph drainage massage to assist the body in specialized ways to detoxify consequences of treatments or illness.  And as a student of holistic nutrition, I see the value of eating an organically grown and locally grown, whole foods diet rich in vital vitamins, minerals, proteins, and enzymes to assist the body in its detoxifying pathways because of exposures we cannot ultimately control-what is outside and created by our advanced technology.  What we can control is our approach to what we are experiencing.  What we can control is teaching ourselves and our children more efficient ways of dealing with or coping with exposures and supporting those exposures with good food rather than processed foods that do not support health.  We can chose professionals who seek answers and who want to educate, and who see that human wellness is attainable in spite of what circulates around us.

Krystle Shapiro is a member of the Sandpoint Wellness Council.  She owns Touchstone Massage Therapies and can be reached at 208/290-6760.

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But to ensure a great ski season, there’s one vital piece of equipment: your body. Even with all your state-of-art equipment, you need your body to be at its peak. Your body needs to be more than strong; it needs to be loose, aligned and relaxed to assure top performance.

What Others Don’t Tell You

Life just seems to happen, right? You wake up one morning after a hard day on the slopes, stiff, tired and sore. It’s like your body is saying, “Hey! Newsflash! You’re not young anymore!” What happened to that body that could ski all weekend and play all night?

We blame age, but that’s not it. We do lose our edge over time, but that’s because of stress, injuries, bad habits, years of hard work, maybe some minor accidents, never stretching—this all causes your body to gradually tighten and misalign. And that’s why you wake up stiff, sore and feeling battered.

But the secret is, the inherent gifts of childhood—suppleness, strength, natural alignment—are recoverable, and even upgradable.

Upgrade Your Body

Over time, every stress—even minor incidents, like occasional back pain—produces scar tissue. If you were a butcher, you would call this scar tissue gristle. And it increasingly restricts your body’s movement. As your body tightens, it causes misalignment. A tight and misaligned body cannot perform as well as it did with the suppleness of youth, which explains that stiff, sore, battered feeling.

You may have tried stretching, or some kind of bodywork therapy, only to be more frustrated with your body. But the problem could be that your soft tissue is now solid gristle. To get a body that can truly stretch, many people need remedial help.

The Solution – The Secret to Sustainable Peak Performance

If you want a different result, try a different solution. To change that gristle back to soft tissue, you must release it. Yes, it will release. Meat can be tenderized, and your tight soft tissue can become resilient again. With slow pressure, that gristly connective tissue fibers in and around your muscles can become supple again. The bio-chemical change in the fiber comes, in part, from increased circulation. As the circulation and movement increases, the once self-perpetuating tightening process reverses, and your increased movement loosens your tissue even more.

Everything from a good massage to very specific assisted stretching can move you in this direction. The fast trackers will often see me for Rolfing. For more than 30 years, I have helped elite athletes not only recover from injury, but improve their performance.

When I was working with Olympic athletes and professional ball players, my clinic did a study with Arizona State University on elite runners. Every Rolfing subject alleviated their injuries and set new personal records. The body is amazing in its ability to regenerate. It only needs a little help.

Over the years, we have grown to see the importance of stretching, rest, core strength (as Rolfers, we were promoting all this 30 years ago) and our mind’s attitude as being critical to increasing our performance and pleasure. The remaining question is, what do we do about our past sins? All the above will be limited if our bodies are tight and misaligned. To achieve the most from these activities, and our bodies, we need to reverse the years of stress.

Your Best Investment

Invest in your most important equipment—your body. The risk is low and the potential gain is high. Not only can your old injuries improve or disappear, but you may also find that you have the ease and joy of a child’s body once again. I would be as happy to speak to you about your options as I would be to work with you. But whatever you do, I suggest you step out of the traditional box to get nontraditional results.

Owen Marcus, MA Certified Advance Rolfer, www.align.org, 265.8440.

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Fibromyalgia Syndrome presents as chronic, muscular and joint pain that causes widespread body achiness with tenderness at various points on the body. This achiness tends to move around and therefore becomes hard to pinpoint sometimes reflecting a burning sensation and/or a tingling sensation. They may also complain of loss of sleep, low energy, stiffness following rest times, or a lack of feeling rested after a night’s sleep. It is often greatly debilitating. Mostly FMS causes a general all over body ache and constant pain and discomfort—a condition that affects one’s overall well being and ability to function fully.

In researching my resources (listed below) FMS symptoms often overlap other disorders such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), Sleep Disorder, and/or TMJ dysfunction (if pain first shows up in the jaw area). This is why FMS is so hard to pin down for the medical community.

The most important therapeutic direction focuses on the management of FMS and on learning all one can about what is being experienced—paying attention to body signals, timing, and when it is weak or strong.

Joseph Pizzorno, Ph.D and Michael Murray in their Textbook of Natural Medicine, pages 1672-3, discuss the findings of several research hypotheses, one centered on low serotonin levels on sleep deprived individuals that can lead to a heightened sense of pain. The research findings did not really pan out for them on this point as serotonin is a vasoconstrictor and would therefore restrict blood flow. They found a more important approach focused on hypothyroidism, whereby there exists a “particular cellular resistance to thyroid hormone or other metabolism-impeding factors.” These factors are such things as poor diet, “nutritional deficiencies, low physical fitness, and metabolism-impeding drugs.” The authors go on to report that “cellular resistance to thyroid hormone is the underlying mechanism of two main features of FMS: chronic widespread pain and abnormal tenderness.” This condition, inadequate thyroid hormone regulation (ITHR) causes impairment to two mechanisms in the body. In the first mechanism ITHR tends to increase the release of Substance P which affects the body by increasing the sensations of pain. Thyroid treatment oftentimes proves effective in lowering Substance P and therefore reduces pain in FMS patients. The second mechanism is the reduction of the synthesis and secretion of norepinephrine (NE). “Adequate NE is essential to normal function” of neurotransmission from the central nervous system mechanisms and is dependent also on the secretion of serotonin, which in turn stimulates the release of opiates, which in turn has the effect of lowering pain sensations.

This chemistry can be oh so confusing to us, but even such brief information, I believe, enables those suffering from Fibromyalgia Syndrome to begin to ask pertinent questions of their care providers. Seeking appropriate tests and gathering scientific data from many sources will help in finding better pathways toward management and overall comfort.

Resource:

Pizzorno, Joseph and Michael Murray. Textbook of Natural Medicine. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, St. Louis. 2006.

Members of the Sandpoint Wellness Council offer several methods from their experiences that often prove effective in supporting their FMS clients and initiating more comfort.

Krystle Shapiro, BA, LMT, CDT, Reiki, Touchstone Massage Therapies, 208/290-6760

For many people who live with chronic pain, the idea of being touched may not be welcomed. During times of lower pain and discomfort, seeking massage therapy may be just what is needed. FMS sufferers have many irritating chemicals running through their bodies and may be hypersensitive. Massage therapy, however, provides many benefits: it is effective in reducing pain, anxiety, depression, and improves sleep patterns. Massage has a gentle detoxification effect to help rid the body of some of those unwanted or overproduced chemicals. Human touch provides a warm as well as a nurturing sensation that stimulates all of our good brain chemistry, which in turn supports all our bodily systems. With detoxification, such as with Manual Lymph Drainage Massage, the body benefits from ridding itself of accumulated wastes, and then it has clearer pathways for good nutritional ingredients to reach the cells. As the article above references, a good nutritious diet, regular exercise, restful sleep, and appropriate medications lead to reduced symptoms and painful experiences of FMS.

Penny Waters, Herbology and Reflexology, Relaxation Destination, 208/597-4343

Handling Fibromyalgia With the Touch of Reflexology and Herbs

Whether it was your nervous system, an overloaded immune system, a virus, a hormonal and/or emotional breakdown, or too much prolonged stress, your body has changed and you may have fibromyalgia.

Reflexology will stimulate the internal organs and glands, nervous system, muscular system and immune system when pressure is applied to the reflexes in the feet. This promotes a healing response in the body reducing tension, congestion, inflammation, and easing the symptoms of fibromyalgia- aches and pains, constipation or diarrhea, mucus conditions, and fatigue. It is extremely relaxing to the nervous system and clients usually report sleeping more deeply for several nights after one reflexology session.

Herbs are enormously supportive for providing relief. A formula will include herbs to strengthen the nervous system. Herbs which reduce inflammation and cleanse the toxic elements in the blood and liver will be included to reduce sore muscles and aches in the body. In particular herbs for the colon and lungs will be considered.

There’s no doubt that other lifestyle changes need to be made. Healthy, alkaline, nutritious food must replace empty fast foods; rest and time out from stress must be sought. Change can be difficult, so I make it as easy as possible. I provide a ‘super foods’ list and have a cookbook to make this easy. I also advocate the use of music, aroma, visualization, and uplifting reading for ways to balance our entire body, mind and spirit, and I provide ideas for these too. You don’t have time? Your body will make you sick enough until you have no choice!

If we listen to our bodies, they tell us what we need to do to get well. Yes, they are telling us to change our jobs, change our careers, or ask for counseling to deal with emotional situations. The journey to wellness is a journey of self-help, self-discovery, and self-actualization. It can be the most rewarding journey you will ever take.

Owen Marcus, MA, CAR, Rolfing, 208/265-8440

Fibromyalgia and Rolfing – releasing stress heals fibromyalgia

Do you have on going, non-specific pain? Is this pain worse when you are tired or stressed? If you answered yes, you may be suffering from fibromyalgia. I wrote a post on fibromyalgia for my www.StressedOut.org blog explaining fibromyalgia and its relationship to stress. This post is the most read post on that blog. When you put stress and fibromyalgia in Google, this post comes up as the fourth search result. Fibromyalgia is a hot topic.

For years, I have told my clients that as a culture we live on the fibromyalgia continuum. Virtually everyone is at least developing some of the symptoms. The subclinical symptoms may only show up sporadically when we have pushed ourselves for several days.

Chronic sufferers of fibromyalgia just didn’t suddenly catch the illness. Fibromyalgia comes from our bodies being progressively run down. Years of stress, working hard, and not getting enough rest and good nutrition are some ways the body can manifest the exhaustion which develop into fibromyalgia.

Exhausted and hyper

What is interesting from a clinical prospective is all the diagnosed fibromyalgia sufferers I have seen in my practice are wired and exhausted. Most often, their soft tissue is lacking life or as an oriental medical doc would say, low chi. Their deeper soft tissue is tense and fibrous. Many of these clients are committed to getting well and have seen many other good practitioners without getting well. These docs and healthcare providers along with the clients can’t understand why they are still sick.

Much like with depression and chronic fatigue that are closely related to fibromyalgia, fibromyalgia clients need to release the deep chronic tension to get well. That deeper layer of soft tissue needs to come back to life. It is as if that layer is blocking the chi and blood circulation from reaching vital organs and the more superficial levels.

The power of Rolfing

Over the 30 years I have treated people, I have received many referrals from others who normally get great results, but were not getting them for these clients. We all learned that without these deep layers releasing it is as if the other work such as homeopathy and clinical nutrition can’t get into the tissue. Once the stress, exhaustion and tension releases, all the therapies that once were not working start to work better than the norm. These clients often prove to be some of the most successful cases for other practitioners. Rolfing can free the body to allow other therapies to support deep healing and rejuvenation.

Fibromyalgia is not a disease

I find fibromyalgia with the correct therapies combination “curable.” As I mentioned in the post on Stressed Out.org, the medical profession fails to recognize fibromyalgia as a real problem because they believe they have a drug for it. As you read up on this drug, you read that the drug company is not promising a cure, just a mitigation of symptoms.

Fibromyalgia is a condition that developed because the body became run down – not because of an illness that was contracted from being exposed to a pathogen. To get well you don’t treat the problem, you treat the cause. Once the cause shifts, the problem disappears. Rolfing releases the tension and teaches the body not to recreate it.

From my experience, if a person truly wants to get well from fibromyalgia and is willing to step outside the presently considered treatment box – they will get well. The road back to wellness will take a while. It will require commitment and a willingness to feel and express old emotions. There will be times when the person will feel worse – more exhausted and more depressed and possibly experience more short term pain. By hanging in there – you will get well.

Ilani Kopiecki, CMT, IET, CranioSacral and Integrated Massage,

208/610-2005

Approaching Fibromyalgia with CranioSacral Therapy

With the heat and inflammation of fibromyalgia, tissues can be chronically tight and painful. CranioSacral Therapy can help fibromyalgia by gently and effectively releasing tight, sore muscles and joints so that oxygen can enter those areas and enhance healing. CranioSacral Therapy also addresses areas of the body that have been holding due to chronic pain, such as the neck, lower back and spine. When those areas are relaxed and aligned the whole body can be more flexible and able to move through the day.

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Sage: Useful for excessive nasal congestion and coughs. It is beneficial for mental exhaustion, improving memory and strengthening the ability to concentrate. Sounds like it will help with the winter cold we often have at holiday time and may help us recover from the stupor of eating a huge meal! It contains vitamins A and C, vitamin B-complex, a lot of calcium and potassium.

Rosemary: It is a strong stimulant for the circulation and a tonic to the heart. Being high in calcium, it’s a powerful remedy to strengthen the nervous system. It is very good for headaches caused by nerves. Sounds perfect for that holiday gathering that brings together all types of family members, some of whom we enjoy more than others.

Thyme: This herb is a powerful antiseptic that helps with intestinal disturbances including worms in the belly (Culpeper). It is reputed to help with colic and gas, too. These are just some of its many uses. It contains B-complex which supports us during stressful times, vitamins C and D.

The English call ‘stuffing’ by a different name. They call it ‘dressing’. Perhaps you do, too, if you have English ancestry. I think that is a more appropriate word as it truly is an adornment to the turkey and the meal. It is not just a filler, a tasty way to stretch the meat to go a little further. It contributes to the health of the meal as well as the flavor; a true adorning accompaniment that we may all appreciate just a little more now we know of its amazing properties. Here’s to your good health and happy eating!

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Cancer is ever changing because it is so adaptable and aggressive. The medical and pharmacological communities scramble each year to keep up with the science of cancer to not only heal us from this growing epidemic, but to also help us prevent its occurrence.

Prevention is key to warding off this disease and one of the most important components to focus on is healthy nutrition – reducing or eliminating processed and refined foods, increasing our intake of fresh fruits and vegetables; eating many raw and in the form of fresh juices. Whole foods are rich in nutrients containing vitamins, minerals, enzymes and a host of synergistic partners that aid in the proper breakdown and absorption of these vital ingredients all of our healthy cells require to fight the battle.

It requires a huge amount of good nutrients to detoxify the chemistry of processed foods, dyes, preservatives, herbicides, growth hormones, and antibiotics, all ingredients linked to cancer, that coat or are a part of the foods we eat daily. As well, the same healthy nutrients are necessary to detoxify the myriad environmental pollutants we are exposed to. Detoxification generally occurs first within our bodies leaving few nutrients to chemically combine, breakdown, and enable proper absorption and metabolism.

Stress is another factor that creates harmful chemistry in our bodies that must be detoxified before it can be eliminated, again using up vital nutrients needed to ward off disease. Adjusting our lifestyles to eliminate stress factors becomes essential in the fight to prevent cancer.

For those undergoing cancer therapies, it is important to recognize the complications that arise, especially if lymph nodes have been surgically removed, such as edema and lymphedema. The lymph system collects our cellular waste products and sends out our immune system fighting armies to do battle on our behalf. When lymph nodes are removed the process of eliminating these wastes slows down resulting in swelling with limb and torso enlargement. This can become painful and debilitating. We need the fullest power of our lymph system to keep our wastes moving out, so stagnation within this vital system can become disastrous.

Manual Lymph Drainage Massage Therapy (MLD) is the perfect answer for jump starting the lymph system following surgery and treatment. Its gentle pumping effect is soothing and effective at moving wastes along within a slowed down system and in supporting recovery and maintenance for the cancer patient. Teaming MLD with good nutritional choices, increasing physical exercise, learning deeper breathing techniques, and practicing relaxation strategies become the key components for helping us prevent cancer, recover from it, and manage any side effects of treatment therapies.

We want to be our optimal best each day. It is up to each of us to do our part as best we can and make the changes we can control. When we consider it is all about chemistry, providing ourselves with the benefits of life supporting chemistry rather than destructive chemistry becomes a powerful tool we all have available every day.

Krystle Shapiro, BA, LMT, CDT, Reiki

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The art of cooking can be the art of herbal healing, too. This is Part 1 of 2 where we look at some standard combinations of food and herbs in traditional English cooking.

• Roast beef and horseradish. Horseradish root (Cochlearia armoracia) has an antibiotic action which is recommended for respiratory and urinary infections. It is a strong stimulant for the system and has been used internally to clear the nasal passages and intestines. It is recommended for digestion, metabolism and kidney function. Sounds like it will help digest and assimilate the nutrients in roast beef while helping to eliminate the unwanted elements in it, too, doesn’t it? If that wasn’t enough, horseradish is rich in vitamins C,B1,sulphur and potassium. It also contains vitamins A, P, B-complex, some calcium, phosphorus, iron and sodium.
• Lamb and mint sauce. Peppermint (Mentha piperita) stimulates the salivary gland and relaxes the stomach while also encouraging peristaltic movement which aids both digestion and elimination. It has is effective as a nerve stimulant and brings oxygen into the blood, which improves all cellular performance. Peppermint contains vitamins A and C. It also contains magnesium, potassium, inositol, niacin, copper, iodine, silicon, iron and sulphur.
• Parsley as a garnish to everything. Have you pushed aside that sprig of parsley decorating the corner of your plate in favor of the mashed potatoes or slice of ham sitting nearby? Well, you may feel differently when you read about the amazing properties of parsley. It is rich in iron, chlorophyll, and vitamins A and C. It is high in vitamin B and potassium. It is so nutritious that it increases resistance to infections and diseases. Parsley increases iron content in the blood. The roots or leaves are recommended for liver and spleen problems and have a tonic effect on the urinary system. It contains some sodium, copper, thiamine and riboflavin. It also contains some silicon, sulphur, calcium and cobalt. Mom was right when she told you to eat your parsley.

Adding herbs to foods on a daily basis will significantly improve your nutrition and wellness because of the constituents and actions of these wonderful gifts from nature. (Remember to always consult your professional health practitioner when considering the use of significant amounts of herbs for specific health reasons.)

Penny Waters BA MH MIIR LE, Your RELAXATION DESTINATION, 208-597-4343

www.CureForTheCommonSpa.com

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