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Below is a great article from my friend and colleague, Alison Price.  Thanks Ali!

My quick two cents:  We use both InLiven and Fast Tract regularly in our family and love them.  So many health benefits: stronger immunity, better digestion, and more.  I’m really big on “Let Thy Food be Thy Medicine” as much as possible.  I love that these products are just fermented foods.

Feeling kind of heavy and ‘bleh’ after celebrating the holidays? I do too! Sweets, fatty meals, not to mention alcohol… not exactly the best body fuels and the after effects are lingering. Although detox diets are quite effective and a wonderfully healthy way to reset your digestive tract and lose the extra pounds, today I’m sharing an easy “shortcut” that benefits everybody.

Probiotics, Detoxing & Weight Loss
An adequate good bacteria count is essential for the body to properly detox. When good bacteria levels are optimal, the body’s waste is more effectively eliminated and less will be stored in our gut and colon. Sometimes several pounds of toxins and waste can be “stuck” inside our digestive tract just waiting to be broken down and eliminated. Good bacteria will accomplish this job for us and customers have reported weight loss by simply taking a teaspoon of InLiven every day. Similar to a juice fast or detox diet, probiotics will help your liver, colon and entire body cleanse itself of waste which can equate to weight loss and an optimally functioning digestive system.

Chlorophyll & Detoxing
In addition to probiotics, I’d also like to mention the detoxing benefits of chlorophyll. The fermented organic wheat grass and alfalfa grass featured in InLiven deliver high amounts of chlorophyll instantly assimilated. Chlorophyll is found in in varying amounts in all plants, but has a molecular structure nearly identical to the hemoglobin of human blood. In hemoglobin the center atom is iron, whereas in chlorophyll the center atom is magnesium.Chlorophyll is the “blood” of plants and is extremely rich in nutrients. It is a known detoxifier and helps promote cleansing of toxins from the cells. Not to mention, chlorophyll helps rebuild and replenish our red blood cells, oxigenates the body, boosts energy almost instantly.

Our InLiven organic probiotic from Miessence repopulates the gut with 13 super strains of good bacteria and the food that the bacteria needs to survive to colonize inside our digestive tract. With over 400 strains and substrains of bacteria needed for a healthy body, Miessence picked the 13 strain leaders to set up shop and provide a welcoming environment for other strains to thrive. Since caffeine, alcohol, stress, common food preservatives, chlorine in tap water and antibiotics can wipe out our body’s good bacteria, everyone’s health can benefit from daily probiotic supplementation. Did you know that after taking two rounds of common antibiotics, studies show it can take 6 months to a year for friendly bacteria levels to return to normal?

Start 2012 off right and do something wonderful for yourself and your whole family – order cleansing, immune boosting, nutrition packed InLiven!

• Take a triple dose of Fast Tract, our most potent probiotic due to its liquid form (25 ml, 3 times a day) for 30 days
• Also take a triple dose of InLiven (1 teaspoon, 3 times a day) for 30 days
• Fast Tract & InLiven can be combined or consumed seperately.
• Fast Tract has 15 times more probiotics per milliliter because this is possible in liquid form. Perfect for those who have never used probiotics or have been setback by a round of antibiotics in the last 12 months. Transition to InLiven for daily probiotic maintenance and more complete superfood nutritional benefits.

 

 

OK, this is just a quick post to alert everyone to this great deal I just found out about from a friend.  So far, just thanks to friends and a little internet research here and there, I have learned how to make elderberry syrup (LOVE this!), a cold and flu tincture, a cold and flu tea, and an herbal-infused salve.

And now THIS!  This looks like a really great way to learn more myself and teach my kids about herbal medicine making in a really fun way at the same time.  Check it out!  The special ends tonight, but even if you catch this after the fact, it still looks like a great deal (looks like it’s normally only $37).

http://www.learningherbs.com/wildcraft.html

Very exciting!  Definitely a Christmas present well-suited to my crunchy, gaming family.

My hubby is a total gamer, and he rubs it off on all of us.  🙂

 

Below is an article for my monthly newsletter section on product usage tips (this month’s newsletter also included some great specials and ideas for beating strep throat naturally).  This particular article was looking too long for the newsletter though, so I’m linking to it here on the blog.  🙂

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Using a truly natural product can be a strange transition for some, because we are so used to ‘normal’ or conventional (chemical ridden) products – how they feel, smell, taste, and work.  Throughout this series, I’m sharing my experiences with some of the products that were the most noticeably different for me when I first made the switch to truly natural products, and how the results are stacking up against their conventional counterparts.

If you’ve been reading my newsletter the last few months, I guess it’s obvious how much I’m enjoying the highly concentrated, food-only supplement products from Miessence.  They really have made such a difference for us in many ways.  But how about some of their other certified organic products?

For this November issue of the newsletter, since we’re heading into the colder and drier weather, I’d like to share with you my experience with the facial moisturizers.

I have personally used the balancing and the rejuvenating moisturizers from Miessence – and generally stick with the rejuvenating at this point for my skin.  There is also a purifying and a soothing moisturizer, which I personally don’t need but clients are enjoying.  All four moisturizers are certified organic to food grade standards – zero synthetics and no greenwashing, just beneficial food for your skin.  They are light, nourishing, and have little or no scent to them (more thoughts on product scents/smells in next month’s newsletter).

Obviously different moisturizers will work differently for different skin types, but here was my experience.  Stick with me through the ups and downs – remember we’re talking about transitions here!  It ended on the upside for me and does for most folks.  🙂

I switched to Miessence’s certified organic moisturizer from a more conventional ‘natural’ (semi-natural) moisturizer during the summer months, and I did an experiment by putting my old products on one half of my face and the Miessence products on the other half.  I noticed immediately that my skin felt softer using the Miessence moisturizer and serum in place of the old moisturizer and serum I had been using.  Hours later, the Miessence side still felt softer.

By the end of the day, however, my skin did feel a little drier than normal.  Then I realized that, well, duh, there are no synthetic chemical hydrating agents in the products, so I knew I needed to essentially wean my skin off the old ‘turbo-charged’ moisturizer I’d been using.  I also realized that this change would encourage better health overall by taking away artificial moisture quick-fixes and helping me think more long-term by focusing on the #1 tip for healthy skin – drinking more water.  You know?  Take away the band-aids and deal with the deeper causal issues.

After a couple weeks, I felt like my skin was feeling well moisturized and hydrated all day with just the moisturizer, so I began reserving the serum for around the eyes, or for a little boost if I hadn’t had enough water to drink.

Then winter rolled around, and I did notice a need for a boost from the serum during the colder, drier days – although my water intake was still not optimal during that season, so who knows if I would have needed it at all if I’d been drinking more water.  The Rejuvenessence serum definitely seems to help protect against the harsh winds and bitter cold we can get here in the northeast.

At this point, even though I confess my water intake is still not where it ‘should’ be all the time, I am very happy with the results I get from the rejuvenating moisturizer and either of the serums just here and there as needed.

Side note – when I do use the serums, I generally use the Rejuvenessence facial serum for around the face, the eye/neck serum for around the eyes, and reserve the more potent (and more expensive) Ambrosia Essence for just occasionally around the eyes – makes it last an extra long time and stretches the value.

I’ll be curious to see how this winter goes now that I’m learning more about optimal hydration and some simple tricks for humidifying our home with added benefits from anti-viral essential oils.  I am guessing I will be using less of the serums this winter and just using the moisturizer most of the time.  We’ll see!  🙂

But these are just my skin’s needs and experiences with the moisturizers.  Yes, a few ups and downs and some experimenting was required, but removing the synthetic chemicals from my daily personal care routines has been well worth the little bit of effort.  And now I can guide others through this process and save them time in the experimenting.

What are some of your facial care needs or concerns?  Normal skin?  Extra dry?  Sensitive?  Acne-prone?  Excessively oily?  A good, chemical-free moisturizer can help, but don’t forget to explore the underlying general health issues as well. 

Still on hiatus, but wanted to post this real quick.  Good fun.  I can’t believe it worked!  Well, yes I can – amazing what finally following a recipe will do.  Although it’s been fun to follow my 5 year old’s imagination when making ‘ice cream’ in the past, it never quite turns out as ice cream.  But THIS!  This came out so yummy…

The other day, the kids and I made homemade chocolate ice cream using raw dairy and eggs from the Shank Family at Your Family Cow, using the vanilla ice cream recipe we found in our Kids’ Kitchen cards that we got from Tiff Hare with Barefoot Books, and turned it chocolate by modifying the recipe to use Narelle Chenery’s amazing, certified organic Berry Radical antioxidant formula (raw cacao base plus a whole lot of other wonderful, nourishing foods) instead of the vanilla beans.

It turned out REALLY yummy!   🙂

Hi all.  Yes, I’m still on my hiatus, but wanted to get the word out on this…

Please, please, please – check out this newsletter we got today from one of our family’s farmers, Edwin Shank and his wonderful family.

This is just crazy – and a little scary except for the fact that I know God’s always in control and I can lay any would-be fears at His feet.

 

OK, so I know, I know… I just started this revamped approach to my blog posts a couple months ago, but I think I need to take another hiatus.  Sorry!  I’m just really engrossed in some exciting work off the blog, creating fun presentations and tools for work in my volunteer and business worlds.   These projects are mostly completed in the basic draft stage, but now I’m into the piloting and implementing and revising.  This is pretty time consuming on top of my life with small children, and honestly, I find myself just not wanting to write blog posts write now – or at the very least not wanting to be constrained to a certain format.  I thought the rotating format would give me more structure and help me keep up with posting, which it may still, but right now – not so much.

So, I hope you’ll forgive me while I take another little hiatus of sorts.  I’m going to be really focused on this offline project probably at least through the end of January, so please be patient with me.  I suspect I’ll still post when inspired randomly, but otherwise, I’ll let you know when this project is done and up and running.

If you aren’t subscribed to my newsletter, you can do so here – that’ll still be coming out once a month, even if my blog roll is napping.  🙂

Cheers!