Over the years, we have slowly incorporated more and more “natural” concepts into our daily lives. This post will address the choices we have made in regard to our family’s diet and health care.

It is noticeable that Princess and BamBam get sick less frequently than normal. In fact, they have each only been prescribed antibiotics once in their lives. Yes, you read that right. One time each. Princess is 5 and BamBam is 2. Not only do they shake off sickness quicker than other kids in their classes, but more importantly, they rarely need conventional medical intervention. Lately, I’ve had a number of people ask me for advice, so I thought I’d put it all into a post and share.

My disclaimer
We’re just feeling our way around and by no means consider ourselves experts. We’ve never been preachy about the choices that we’ve made. Some are controversial. We do not think that everyone should jump on board the MommyCosm bus.

I want to be careful to say that we have done a good deal of research and have attempted to make educated decisions that we feel are best for our family. It’s OK if you don’t agree with our choices. I love a healthy debate, but please do not leave hateful comments. I’m hoping that by sharing, perhaps a couple of you will be able to walk away with something useful to help with your quest to go more natural.

Here it goes:

Wellness
Our entire family goes to a Network Spinal Analysis Chiropractor at least every two weeks. Yes, the kids have gone since they were born. I consider it preventative care. If you don’t care to click on the link and want to know why I specify “Network Spinal Analysis”, the short answer is that NSA uses “ specific low force touches to the spine” instead of manual manipulation (aka cracking).

On more than one occasion, the kids have started to get ear infections that have GONE AWAY after an adjustment. Once, BamBam was starting to get bronchitis and fought it off. GONE. No need for medication. I am not kidding.

If an infection is just in the beginning stages, our RNP (also an Herbalist) actually tells me to go see the chiropractor first and then to come back in a day or two if things don’t improve. I have never needed to go back to her. For the record, she will prescribe antibiotics and other traditional medicine if absolutely necessary. She respects our desire for a more natural first line of defense.

Sickness
Whenever the kids start to come down with something or are exposed to something serious (this week it was RSV in one school and Strep in the other), I give them a little Herbs for Kids Echinacea tincture in their juice. We also have Cherry Bark for throat/lung support. I just ordered vi Protection for virus exposure.

I only give Tylenol to reduce a fever above 102 degrees, or if it’s almost that high and they are in visible discomfort. Fever is a very natural response that helps your body fight off an attack.

In addition to preventative care and herbal remedies, we also practice homeopathy. I was fortunate when I first began researching homeopathy to find a doctor within our health clinic at the time who was an actual Homeopath. I was very nervous when he moved away. He listed a few books to purchase and I have managed to educate myself and become more confident in practicing homeopathy. I say “practice” because it truly is trial and error and works differently for each person. When I’m really stumped, I seek advice from our local natural pharmacy.

My favorite reference book is: Smart Medicine for a Healthy Child. I’ve mentioned it before. It gives both natural and traditional treatment for most childhood ailments. Click on the link for more of a review and/or to purchase.

OK, so what is homeopathy?
In my non-professionally defined nutshell, the theory behind homeopathy is that “like cures like”. My favorite example is Alium Cepa. It is made from onions. Onions usually make people tear up and cry. It works great for allergies or the beginning of a cold when you have hot, runny fluid dripping from your nose and sneeze a lot. It doesn’t taste like onions though…they are tiny little pellets that have almost a sweet taste. The pellets increase a targeted immune response which alleviates the original symptom.

SO, instead of your body being blocked from responding naturally to an attack on your immune system, such as when you try to reduce a fever or take an otc cold medicine, homeopathy actually stimulates an increased response, therefore strengthening your immune system. Also, everything made into pellets originally comes from nature.

My FIL refers to my pellet kit as my “magic white pills”. He came down with a cold while we were in Aruba, so I gave him something to try before taking otc cold medication. He takes so many drugs for his heart and cholesterol; I worry about a reaction when he adds anything else to the mix. He was skeptical at first, but completely sold when he actually felt better.

 
Vaccines
We do not vaccine our children. Princess had an adverse reaction to her first series of shots, given at 6 weeks of age. We did a ton of research and ultimately decided to refuse vaccines. In doing so, we have had to “break up” with a couple of decent Pediatricians, simply due to differing opinions. We have found a home at a Whole Life Health Center.

Our dog, Jasper, almost died from an adverse reaction to his Lyme Disease Vaccine while we were still on the fence with the issue. We took it as a sign from the universe.

Since the day we decided to be a vaccine free family, we have not questioned our decision and have no regrets.

The first thing most parents say to us when they find out is How do they go to school?

We have to sign a Religious Vaccine Exemption form in NH for our kids to attend school. We have to agree to pull our kids if there is an outbreak (DUH). We’ve never had an issue acquiring or submitting our exemption forms. Not even at the Catholic School Princess attends. Yes, I held my breath submitting it to them. The fact is it’s the law that they have to accept the form. Know your rights

Here is a map that shows the exemptions allowed in each state. There are laws in every state to protect your right to choose, but you need to do the research because they certainly do not make it quick and easy.

Diet
I could write a separate post for each topic, so I’ll just make a list for now. Let me know if you’d like more info about anything in particular.

Try to avoid:
high fructose corn syrup
ANY artificial sweeteners (that includes Splenda, which is nothing more than chlorinated sugar)
MSG hidden in foods
Hydrogenated oils
Trans fats
Nitrates in cold cuts
Antibiotics and hormones in milk, cheese and eggs
Preservatives and chemical coloring
Vanillin (don’t be fooled, it’s NOT vanilla)
Juice that is anything less than 100% juice
Decaffeinated coffee

It can be overwhelming to eliminate all of the above at once. If you are like me, there won’t be much left in your pantry after you check the labels! Fight one or two battles at a time and over a few months or so, your pantry will look much more green.

Stating the obvious here:
Encourage eating as many fruits and veggies as possible. Rarely will a child eat too many fruits or veggies. Unless you’re Princess or BamBam and we’re talking about blueberries.

Misc
Princess has a bento box for her lunches…much healthier meals and much less waste.
My kids do not drink milk.
It’s never a good idea to microwave meat in a plastic container.
Always eat breakfast and make sure it includes protein.
Drink lots of water.

Bith Control and Other Pills
My general rule of thumb is that if something is not safe to take while you’re pregnant, it’s probably not safe to take any other time. Pregnant women kick it up a notch and go more natural to protect their unborn babies. Keep that mind set when you are no longer pregnant.

Read the side effects for every drug that you are prescribed to take. Often times, the side effects produce more problems than the original cause for taking the drug. You then need to take another chemical to address the side effects, which has it’s own side effects. And so on, so on. The people benefiting? The drug companies.

I’m not a complete conspiracy theorist. I do believe that there is a time and a place for conventional medication. I’ll admit, I sucked it up and let the doctor inject me with morphine while experiencing pre-term labor with BamBam, four times actually. I believe that chemicals should be your last line of defense, after more natural options have been exhausted.

My stance on Birth Control Pills is, well, they are synthetic hormones. They prohibit your own hormones from acting naturally. I understand the popularity, and I took them when I was younger and more naïve in my 20’s. You take a pill and don’t get pregnant. Cool. I never liked the way I felt while taking the pill and stopped taking it well before we were ready to start a family.

There are other forms of birth control which do not involve changing the hormonal composition of a woman. I could site references to arguments on both sides of this issue. Instead, I will just say that, for me, I feel more in tune with my body now that I don’t have synthetic hormones regulating me.

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My family is by no means perfect. There are definitely times when we are on the go and the kids are starved, so we’ll drive thru McD’s. Especially during softball season. When we drive through, we always order fruit instead of fries and juice box instead of soda. I try to have healthy snacks in my car so that I can avoid bad eating habits on the go as much as possible.

If you’re not ready to give up something, like Splenda, I warn you not to educate yourself on it’s evils. You won’t be able to enjoy it the same way. For me, avoiding Splenda has upped the carbs in my Starbucks latte from 18 to 42. I no longer have the desire to go every day since I say no to chlorine in my latte. Ahh, ignorance was bliss. I’m just saying, if you are addicted to a certain snack and do not feel you can give it up, please don’t read the label.

In this day and age, it is impossible to live completely natural. I think each family needs to pick the battles they feel are worth fighting. I’ve started with diet and health care. Perhaps next I will tackle sulfates in our shampoos and soaps…and safer home cleaning products. Geez, no wonder we are more stressed than our parents were…there’s so much more out there to worry about these days!

Now go hug a tree.

Questions? Have any tips or advice for me? Leave a comment or send me an email at themommy at mommycosm dot com.