5 Things To Keep Clean to Avoid or Recover From the Flu

January 18, 2013

Sometimes a little hygiene goes a long way, especially when it comes to prevention of viral infection.

1. Wash your hands with soap any time you come into contact with others, and any time you walk in your house. Antibacterial gels are not a substitute for a good hand washing. Hand washing standards call for at least 30 seconds of washing with soap under water, or, as they teach the preschoolers, while singing the ABC’s twice through.

air duct needs cleaning — The view inside an air duct in my house before it was cleaned recently. Eeewww!

Oh, and you do not need to use antibacterial soap; regular old soap is plenty fine. Antibacterial soaps, gels, and other products are likely contributing to the emergence of super antibiotic-resistant bugs in our hospitals and water supplies.

2. Clean all sheets and towels often, and especially after any illness. Don’t re-use washclothes between washings. Some virus germs, like the norovirus that causes “winter vomiting bug,” can live on fabrics for as long as twelve days! Remember the infamous story of early American colonists delivering smallpox-infected blankets to a Native American village? The entire village was shortly wiped out from smallpox.

3. Replace your toothbrush regularly, and especially after any illness.

4. Get the air ducts cleaned and sanitized in your house, particularly if it has been longer than five years since this has been done. Virus germs, mold spores, and other types of filth can live in your air ducts and be re-circulated through your indoor air every time you turn on heat or air conditioning.

5. Wipe down your phone and keyboard with cleaners. Do this on a regular basis with other objects that you touch constantly after you’ve been out and about as well, like your steering wheel, tablet, television remote control, etc.

Who Eats the Most Fast Food In Our Society?

January 17, 2013

You may have heard the popular theory that the poorest or least educated among us are the ones that eat the most fast food, but you would have been misled.

Rodale News reports on a recent study released by the University of California-Davis that found that most fast-food eaters are considered “middle-income” Americans: i.e., those families of four who are living off of incomes of $50,000-$75,000 each year.

In a comment by the study’s lead author J. Paul Leigh, professor of public health sciences at UC–Davis and a specialist in health economics, he noted:

“Low prices, convenience, and free toys target the middle class—especially budget-conscious, hurried parents—very well,” he said, adding that the fast-food industry attracts the middle class by locating restaurants right off freeways in middle-income areas and by offering food with broad appeal. He also found that people who work long hours were more likely to hit the drive-thru…

As an aside, I’m amazed that supporting a family of four on an annual income of $50,000 could possibly still be classified as “middle class” anymore. Really? Who makes these classifications? Have they themselves ever tried to support four people on about $2,000/ month? Is this kind of hand-to-mouth existance what we think of when we think of “middle class”? I met a professor from the University of Denver last fall who was doing a study on bankruptcy and how people recover after filing for a bankruptcy. His results were showing him, in his words, that “most people are just a fender-bender away from complete financial ruin.”

This report shows us that the American “middle class” is overworked, stressed, underpaid, and mal-nourished by fast food in a lifestyle that demands speed and convenience in everything in order just to survive, including our essential task of procuring nourishment. Is this the life of the future we envisioned?

Lentil “Meat” Balls

January 15, 2013

I was inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest Goop newsletter and her recipe for lentil “meatballs”.

Of course, I couldn’t make it exactly as Gwyneth had suggested: for one thing, her recipe calls for cheese and I need to make my household’s lentil balls dairy-free. Her recipe also called for garlic and oregano, two herbs my son is very sensitive to, so those went out of my version, too. I kept in the beaten eggs, but if you need to make this egg-free, simply substitute with pureed cooked sweet potato. I also made my version gluten-free by using quinoa flakes instead of breadcrumbs.

Here’s my dairy-free, gluten-free version of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Lentil Meatballs.

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Dairy-free Gluten-Free Lentil “Meatballs”

Makes about 4 dozen small balls.

4 cups cooked lentils (2 cups of raw lentils simmered in water until soft)
7 oz. tomato paste
1 tsp. Celtic sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp. Aleppo red chile powder, or regular red chile powder
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. dried basil
freshly ground black pepper
2 beaten eggs
1 cup quinoa flakes
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375F. Place lentils and spices into a food processor and pulse into a thick paste.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in the lentil mixture and slowly add the quinoa flakes, not adding so much that the mixture is too dry. Add olive oil if needed to moisten the batter.

Form the lentil mixture into small balls and place cookie sheets coated thinly in olive oil. Drizzle lentil balls with olive oil. Place the sheets in the oven. Turn balls when the bottoms brown (about 10 minutes), and cook 5 minutes more. Be careful not to overcook as the balls will become dry.

Serve with marinara sauce. Freeze leftover lentil balls for later use.

*If I had had any in my house, I would have included frozen or fresh chopped spinach in the lentil mixture or in the marinara sauce. Unfortunately, we were out of spinach when I made this recipe and served it with lettuce and carrots instead.

10 Common Sense Ways to Avoid Getting the Flu

January 14, 2013

As much as we might try to avoid it, anyone can come down with the flu after exposure to the virus, even if you got the flu vaccine (now thought to be around 60% effective for this year). Sometimes it’s good to get a reminder of how hygienic you can keep your your immediate environment and, with just a little bit of effort, keep the flu virus away from your household.

1. Make your house a shoe-free zone. Shoes go everywhere we go, but by the dirtiest route. Germs can enter our homes carried on the soles of our shoes after we walk through someone else’s sneeze, spit, or cough. I read once that germs can live on inanimate surfaces for hours or maybe even longer. Eeewww. In our house we leave our shoes at the door.

2. Do not share towels. Designate personal towels in household bathrooms and enforce respect for the concept. I like to give each person their own color towels to make it easier to remember which are yours. Wash your towels often.

3. Don’t touch public door knobs or handles. After washing hands in a restroom, don’t re-soil yourself by grabbing onto a door knob that many hands have touched. Use the same paper towel as you used to dry your hands to provide a defensive layer between your clean hand and the dirty knob or handle; or pull a sleeve over your hand to prevent skin-to-knob contact.

4. Avoid touching stair rails, elevator buttons, ATM buttons, light switches, money, or other places where untold numbers of people have placed their germy fingers. Wear gloves or employ the sleeve-trick to minimize skin-to-germ contact, and wash hands well after contact.

5. Make it habit to wash your hands anytime you enter your house, no matter where you have been or what you have been doing. Enforce this rule for all household members and guests to your house.

6. Perform a Sinus Rinse or Neti Pot rinse after contact with crowds or sick people. If you can flush away the germs before they take up residence in the warm, inviting mucous tissues in your nose, then you have a better chance of keeping a full-blown infection at bay. Dirty sinus cavities are breeding grounds for infections.

7. Blow your nose often or whenever needed to remove excess mucous. Do not simply snort your snot back up into your head; the human body encapsulates foreign molecules inside mucous for the specific purpose of facilitating removal from the body. Your body wants you to blow your nose and remove the irritation! When my 7th grade Home Ec teacher, Evvie, heard a sniffle, she was known for shoving a tissue box at the offender with the admonition to “Stop recycling!” As I’ve aged I’ve grown to appreciate more of Evvie’s wisdom than I did when I was twelve.

8. Isolate sick family members until they are healthier. Do not invite sick people to the dinner table or allow them in common areas. Make them comfortable and keep them hydrated as much as possible. Here are some remedies for flu that you can offer, along with chicken broth/soup and weak tea.

9. Bring your own equipment to the gym. Lots of virus and bacteria molecules can be shed through sweat so invest in your own hand-weights and yoga mats, and be sure to wipe down shared machines with anti-bacterial wipes or sprays.

10. Take probiotics. Keep your body in a shape to repel unwanted invaders with regular doses of probiotics like those found in Good Belly Probiotic drink. In my personal experience, my kids and I stay healthier during the school year when we drink Good Belly regularly.

If you still end up getting the flu after all of your preventative efforts, try this homeopathic flu remedy – an essential to keep in the house during flu season!

Natural Sinus Remedies for Stuffy Noses and Colds

January 11, 2013

This question was posted on my local mom’s listserve today: My son has had a cold for several months now and after rounds of antibiotics, nasal steroids and surgery, his cold isn’t going away. A nurse at his ENT dr’s office suggested a sinus rinse. Well, it appears that a sinus rinse is torturous for him and he screams and moves away as best as he can. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’ve showed him videos on the Internet of other children doing the same thing which was no help. I can stomach only so much of his screaming. ~Annie

Annie, I can relate to your dilemma! My kids balk at doing sinus rinses, too, but I’ve come up with some alternatives that they can handle and work to not only bring immediate relief but also to speed healing by clearing sinus passages.

1. Instead of an active Sinus Rinse involving flushing out the sinus passages, I tend to use a preservative-free saline sinus spray with my kids. They accept it better, and will blow their nose after I squirt into the nostril. The saline loosens the mucous so that it will move out more easily and uses osmosis to decrease inflammation in the sinus cavity. Unfortunately, however, this may be hard with a 2-year old who may not understand how to blow his nose properly. Just have him do the best he can.

2. Sinusin by Heel is a miracle remedy for opening clogged nasal passages. Agitate the bottle first by slamming it into your palm a few times, then squirt up each nostril. Encourage him to blow his nose, but don’t get into a fight about it; it’s ok if he doesn’t blow, too. Sinusin is non-medicinal and homeopathic, so you can feel safe about using it with your babies, and short-acting, so feel free to repeat it when he appears stuffed or runny again. Sometimes I find doing a second round immediately does the trick. I find Sinusin at Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers, but I know it is also available on Amazon and may be also at Whole Foods.

3. Place a humidifier in his room at night with a vaporizer dish filled with clean water and 2-3 drops of eucalyptus essential oil. Eucalyptus is a purifying essential oil and breathing the moist, scented air will help clear his sinus passages while he sleeps.

4. Homeopathic Cold Calm by Boiron when taken as tablets dissolved underneath the tongue can offer safe and effective short-term relief from cold symptoms. Give him a tablet whenever symptoms appear; if the symptoms decrease or lessen, you know you have the right remedy. If there is no change within 30 minutes, it is not the right remedy so cease taking it. This one is definitely found at Whole Foods – often next to the registers during cold seasons– as well as at Vitamin Cottage.

Of course, you can use all of these remedies for yourself, too, when needed, with no negative side effects or concern for drug interactions.

To help keep him healthy, consider offering him lots of vitamin C and a daily drink of Good Belly Probiotic Drink.

5 Things To Keep Clean to Avoid or Recover From the Flu

Who Eats the Most Fast Food In Our Society?

Lentil “Meat” Balls

Dairy-free Gluten-Free Lentil “Meatballs”

10 Common Sense Ways to Avoid Getting the Flu

Natural Sinus Remedies for Stuffy Noses and Colds

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