Elizabeth Yarnell Amazon icon Audible icon Autographed icon Bluesky icon Book Bub icon Buffer icon Booksprout icon Buy Me a Coffee icon URL Copied! Copy URL Email icon Facebook icon Goodreads icon Headphones icon Home icon Instagram icon LinkedIn icon Linktree icon Mastodon icon Patreon icon Periscope icon Pinterest icon Reddit icon RSS icon Search icon Share icon Snapchat icon Threads icon TikTok icon Tumblr icon Twitter icon Vine icon Youtube icon Join a free Q/A Call!

Natural Remedy for Nasal Congestion of Summer Colds

There seem to a few particularly nasty summer colds flying around this July and I’ve been busy dispensing remedies left and right to help alleviate symptoms and bring the body back into balance. Most notably, I’ve been offering up homeopathic Kali Bich.

Kali Bich (pronounced “Cali” as in California, “Beech” as in a beech tree) is great for clearing up thick nasal congestion that constantly needs to be blown out. Usually, a single dose will clear the nose and allow the sufferer to sleep soundly and stop carrying a box of tissues around with them. Often, this remedy will be enough to help the sufferer turn the corner toward regaining health.

Kali Bich works well with viral infections that produce yellow snot, but not so much when the infection has become bacterial and moved into green mucous.

When you administer the right homeopathic remedy, the health turnaround can be dramatic. If there is no effect, then it is not the right remedy for what ails you, but no harm done.

Homeopathic remedies may be used alongside other remedies or medications without fear of interactions. Click here for information on giving homeopathic remedies.

Marula Oil Hydrates Your Face

I was recently given a gift of Marula oil with an effective usage demonstration from a glowing 70-year old woman who slathered a few drops across her remarkably fresh-looking skin. I went home and began using marula oil every night after washing my face. I give it two thumbs up for moisturizing and plumping up skin. My skin has been looking seriously young.

Marula oil is fast-absorbing and high in oleic acid. Free of free of preservatives, synthetics and parabens, it penetrates the skin and provides for lasting hydration.

TelAvivClubNight
Here we are in a Tel Aviv nightclub: my husband and me, my brother, one of my sisters, and two women in their twenties who were graduating medical school with my brother.

It’s not just me who has noticed that my 44-year old skin is looking exceptionally good. Last month my husband and I hit the nightclubs in Tel Aviv. My 32-year old brother was warning us that we might not get in past the velvet rope line. I had visions of that scene in “Knocked Up” where Katherine Heigl and Leslie Mann try to go out to a nightclub and the bouncer rejects them with the line, “I can’t let you in! You older than the earth!” (It’s one of my all-time favorite movie monologues!) I was fully prepared to be sent away. Instead, I breezed up to the front of the long line and was waved through immediately. Hah!

Once inside the club, my brother’s friends – both guys and girls – guessed I was younger than my brother when it is he who is twelve years younger than I am. Pretty cool, I must say.

Ok, part of this I have to chalk up to my Jazzercise habit, but the skin on my face is not giving me away, either. Maybe it’s the marula oil?

Try it yourself.

Words of Wisdom from Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan
Author and ethno-botanist Michael Pollan

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”
Michael Pollan

“You are what what you eat eats.”
Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

“What an extraordinary achievement for a civilization: to have developed the one diet that reliably makes its people sick!”
Michael Pollan, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual

“If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t. ”
Michael Pollan

“For a product to carry a health claim on its package, it must first have a package, so right off the bat it’s more likely to be processed rather than a whole food.”
Michael Pollan, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual

“There are scores of studies demonstrating that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits reduces the risk of dying from all the Western diseases; in countries where people eat a pound or more of vegetables and fruits a day, the rate of cancer is half what is in the United States.”
Michael Pollan

If you are unfamiliar with ethno-botanist Michael Pollan from his many books, TED talks, or other writings, here’s a compilation of even more Michael Pollan quotes.

ClayDry: A Natural Deodorant That Works!

There are all kinds of things not to like about mainstream deodorants and antiperspirants, including aluminum, petroleum products, chemical dyes, and artificial fragrances. But natural deodorants can leave you wet beneath the arms. That’s why I’ve been so excited to find Clay Dry Deodorant.clay dry deodorant

Antiperspirant use has been correlated with breast cancer – reason enough to change an antiperspirant habit. That’s what I was thinking when I began my quest for a natural deodorant that would keep the odor away and also prevent wetness. It has been a long journey because, as it turns out, this combination is hard to find.

I’ve tried all kinds of natural deodorants from Tom’s of Maine to the Crystal to essential oils, but none have won my devotion. The closest I’ve come to staying both odor-free and dry was from using a combination of dampened baking soda and cornstarch. The baking soda neutralizes odor and actually does a great job of keeping me odor-free through the next day, but I could still find myself dripping wet and wearing sweat circles underneath my arms. I tried to avoid this by powdering my underarms with corn starch as well. Sometimes it worked well; other times, not so much. It was hard to get consistent results with such haphazard application. Seriously.

Then my sister recommended that I try Clay Dry Deodorant and I was hooked.

Clay Dry combines the drying qualities of clay with essential oils, plants, and herbs into an easy-to-use and effective deodorant that keeps me both odor-free and dry. Once my husband tried it, he switched from Speed Stick and finds it just as effective.

Finally!

Too Much Soda May Contribute to Irregular Heartbeat

An interesting story out of the tiny country of Monaco tells the story of what can happen to your heart from drinking too much soda pop.

This 31-year old woman had been drinking soda pop exclusively since she was 15. For 16 years, she never drank anything else, not even water! Her soda of choice was a cola, and she drank about two liters a day (about 2 quarts).

It turns out that the soda had caused an imbalance in her potassium levels, compromising the electrical activity in her body and leading to erratic heart beats.

Arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeats, can be frightening when they happen to you. You may feel like your heart is skipping beats (palpitations), or that your heart is racing. Some people become faint or light-headed and experience shortness of breath.

The heart is controlled by electrical impulses. Conducting electricity requires a certain solution of minerals including sodium, calcium, and yes, potassium, to work successfully. Nerves and the nervous system also work on electrical impulses that fire the synapses between nerve endings and carry the messages to the rest of the body.

When we forget that the human body is a complex machine that requires vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to be the catalysts and conductors of electrical, osmotic, and cellular activity, things start to malfunction, as this woman has experienced.

Many, many chronic ailments can be traced to the twin culprits of inflammation and vitamin/mineral/nutrient imbalance or deficiency. Many people can find find relief simply by removing their personal inflammatory triggers and balancing their nutritional profile. My preferred method for doing this is to go on a scientifically-designed anti-inflammatory diet and taking appropriate supplements until the gut heals enough to absorb the needed nutrition from foods.

When the woman from Monaco stopped drinking soda for just one week, her potassium levels and heartbeat returned to normal levels.

Never underestimate the power of food on your body’s functions.