Dragonfly News
The Official Monthly Newsletter of Song of Health
March, 2007
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In this
issue: |
Allergies,
The Natural Approach
by Dr. Letitia M. Watrous,
N.D.
Sharing Experiences
by Sandra Strom, CEO of Song of Health
Recipes of the Month |
ALLERGIES, THE NATURAL APPROACH
By Dr. Letitia M. Watrous, Naturopathic Physician
Allergy season is approaching as the days begin
to get longer. Many people suffer terribly from
allergic rhinitis with constant nasal drainage,
weeping itchy eyes, and headaches. This is all
unnecessary. What has occurred is a loss of wisdom
in our society or perhaps a loss of connection
to the seasons. Our bodies change as the seasons
change. We are pulled by the moon, stars, planet,
and sun, just as the maple trees and hibernating
animals are. Coming out of the winter rest the
sap starts to flow again in the tree and leaf buds
begin to grow. Animals emerge hungry and ready
to migrate. Humans, naturally through winter, have
eaten root cellar vegetables such as squash, potatoes,
cabbage, turnips, beets, and carrots. We have lived
for thousands of years on staples like beans, grains,
nuts, seeds and the meats we could hunt or fish.
A man is to eat food that he can reach by foot
in 1 week’s time, which is easily 200 miles. Our
‘habitat’ then has been local foods. It has only
been in the last 100 years of our history that
food has been so easily transported.
Trains, trucks, ships and airplanes now allow
pineapples, oranges, bananas, or mangos to be delivered
fresh to store shelves in the middle of winter.
This is not what our metabolisms, hibernating in
10-degree winter snow, are ready for. So, eating
these foods “out of season” builds up a toxemia.
The toxins may be released at the time, but more
commonly are released and infiltrate the lymphatic
chain and liver at the change of the season, when
the days become longer, warmer and we have an increase
in metabolic function. The pooling and then dumping
of these toxins from wrong eating overwhelm the
lymph. The lymph carries the lymphocytes and other
types of white blood cells, which eat garbage and
keep out bodies pure. As the white blood cells
become overburdened they begin to over-respond
to every irritant. Mold, pollens and animal dander,
for example, then push the body into extreme measures
of cleansing. The sinuses, being the body’s first
line of defense, respond by producing mucus to
flush the irritant, protecting the liver from more
toxic lymph to filter. This sinusitis, a normal
healing mechanism, should never be stopped or suppressed
with nasal sprays, inhalers, or anything to dry
up the drainage. If you do this, you stop the body’s
wisdom, drive the toxins deeper into the tissues
and stress an already congested lymphatic channel
and overburdened liver. Chronic degenerative disease
such as lymphoma, chronic obstructive lung disease,
or congestive heart failure will follow. The body
must be allowed to dump the poison.
If a person follows seasonal dietary eating habits
and avoids their food intolerances, the ebb and
flow of the season and body will be as one. There
will be no extra toxic lymphatic drainage occurring.
Seasonal allergies are a disorder of modern man.
We cause our own suffering. To heal this malady,
do not eat any tropical or warm climate foods if
you live in a cold winter climate.
To support the lymphatic system at this time of
seasonal change you can do some of the following:
Wormwood (WW) capsules can be taken when a sinusitis
occurs. Most common dosage is 2 to 6 capsules a
day to drain and support the sinuses and lymphatic
chain.
Nettle tea has proven effective for “allergies”.
Three cups a day is often prescribed. Nettle capsules
are also an easy way to help white blood cell function.
Ginger and garlic are warming and immune supportive.
These can be taken in the form of teas or capsules.
Homeopathic remedies are often utilized to rebalance
the metabolism, depending upon symptom presentation.
Hepar Calcarea Sulph, Gelsemium and Allium Cepa,
to name a few, are prescribed depending upon the
individual’s response to the toxemia.
Constitutional hydrotherapy will rebalance the
digestion and drain the lymphatic congestion in
usually 5 to 10 treatments. For my new patients
with seasonal allergies I tell them this is a mandatory
therapy if they are just beginning to follow their
food intolerance diet. My long-term patients no
longer get this seasonal disease, for they follow
the wisdom of the seasons and earth. If they do
have symptoms, they know they have violated a natural
law of healing and call for guidance.
May you have a healthy and happy Spring! Enjoy
the sun when you can. Eat the new shoots that come
forth early in the season. We all benefit from
the cleansing effects of rhubarb and bitter greens
in the warming of our earth in this season. My
very best wishes to all of you for another time
of change on this planet.
SHARING EXPERIENCES
"The Answers to my Well-Being"
By Sandra Strom, CEO Song of Health
I recently became ill, first with
flu-like symptoms, including stomach pain and nausea,
which then went into sinus and bronchial congestion.
Was I able to pin down what caused my immune system
to weaken and become prey to the nearest viruses?
You bet I could!
If we slow down long enough to think back on the
last couple of weeks and diagnose the condition
of our lifestyle habits, then it is simple to pinpoint
where our problems begin. For me, it was stress
and fudging on my food intolerances.
For several weeks I was allowing myself to buy
into stress. True, my work can breed stress but
it is my choice as to whether I take it on or not.
I know simple remedies to relieve stress, all I
have to do is…do it:
Begin my day with prayer and meditation. This
is a spiritual activity, not religious, that helps
me to establish a connection with a power greater
than myself, with Great Spirit. I get to turn all
my worries over to that power first thing in the
morning, then I don’t have to carry them with me.
If I choose to pick up those worries sometime throughout
my day, I can repeat the process. If I remember
to pray in gratitude for all that I’ve been blessed
with, for it is so much, then even if I or a loved
one is sick, even if I’m poor or there’s been a
catastrophe, there is still something to be found
in the rubble worth praying in gratitude for. I
have found that my day goes a lot better this way
than if I start it with “oh ___”, jumping out of
bed as though there’s a fire and immediately tensing
up every muscle in my body, ready to run the rat
race!
Exercise for at least 20 minutes daily, stretch
often during the day and consciously get up and
walk around for a few minutes…with a smile on my
face.
Find healthy humor in my life. Laughing is one
of the best stress relievers there is and having
a good, upbeat attitude makes life fun instead
of a drag.
If someone else’s actions are affecting me in
a negative way and I’m finding myself getting stressed
over it, I first need to be aware of what is happening
and then step out of the emotion. The easiest way
for me to do this is to either pray for the other
person (at the very least, say the Serenity Prayer!)
and/or try thinking about what the person is really
upset about, the underlying issues, and does it
have to do with my actions or am I just being their
sounding board. This gives me enough time to remove
myself from the immediate whirlwind and emotion,
which will ultimately help to avoid stress and
afford me the opportunity to determine what the
next best action is.
I had been fudging on my diet for a couple of
weeks. A co-worker was bringing me chocolate candy
every day, and like any typical woman’s thinking,
chocolate sounded like the ultimate quick fix for
the immediate difficulty of the day. One of my
food intolerances is the combination of refined
sugar with fruit within six hours of each other.
I thought I could get away with just a small bite
of candy, even though I had consumed a fruit substance
not three hours before, plus the candy itself probably
had coconut oil in it. I was becoming addicted
to the sweet morsel. And although I wasn’t necessarily
getting immediate reactions every time I committed
the food mixing violation, eventually it caught
up with me. Bam! I was down sick for several days,
and the symptoms of congestion continued to linger
for over a week. I did go to a local naturopath
for an Echinacea shot, which helped to boost my
immune system, so my energy level at least returned
in a few days. And I took some homeopathic remedies
that Dr. Watrous suggested, which aided immensely
in recuperating.
Sometimes it seems easier to cave in to our cravings
or desires for that quick fix, our personal poison.
We pay the price with our health, one way or another.
Maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually. The
longer we abuse ourselves, the worse our condition
gets.
We are human beings on the path of progress. Sharing
our experience, strength and hope, we continue
together, to achieve…and maintain…
Great Health – Great Life.
I wish you a great month!
* Hydrotherapy at home: If no one is around to
help you by placing hot-then-cold compresses on
you, you can get the same results by:
•
First prepare a cold compress by dipping a towel
in cold water and ringing it out. Then either step
into a hot shower or bath for at least five minutes
– long enough for the body temperature to rise.
Get out, wrap the towel around your torso and immediately
get under blankets and cover yourself completely.
Stay covered until the towel is warmed by your
body, approximately ten minutes.
* Homemade Nasal Douche:
Mix together
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. boric acid
1 pint warm water
Dissolve first three ingredients in the warm water.
Cup it in your hand and sniff it up. The intention
is to sniff as deeply as possible so it goes through
the nasal passages and into the throat. DO NOT
SWALLOW. Spit it out. Repeat several times, until
you feel relief. Repeat several times throughout
the day. (This sounds gross and isn’t the most
fun thing to do, but it works great by breaking
up the phlegm while soothing the membranes.)
RECIPES OF THE MONTH
MAIN DISHES
SCALLOPS IN LIME SAUCE
(Contributed by Sandra Strom, CEO Song of Health)
½ lb. bay or sea scallops
½ tsp. cilantro, fresh
or dried
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. lime juice
¼ cup green onion or leek, chopped
2 Tbsp. rice
mirin
2 cloves garlic, diced
Rinse scallops and drain.
In cast iron skillet melt butter on medium heat.
Clarify butter by skimming the fat off, leaving
the clear “oil.”
Place onion and garlic in skillet. Then add scallops
and cilantro. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add limejuice
and rice mirin. Turn heat up to between medium
high and high, just until sauce begins to boil.
Take skillet off heat immediately. Stir and let
set for 30 seconds. Serve immediately, pouring
some of the sauce over the scallops. Serves 2.
VEGETABLES
SCALLOPED YUCCA ROOT
(Contributed by Sandra Strom, CEO Song of Health)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
1 quart boiling water
1 cup cheese
1 large yucca root
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. butter
¼ cup green onions, chopped
4 Tbsp. flour
1 Tofurky Vegetarian Italian Sausage,
thinly sliced
2 cups rice/soy blend milk
(½ and ½ may be substituted for part of the milk)
1 clove garlic, finely
diced
Peel the yucca root and cut into slices ¼ inch
thick. Drop in boiling water and cook just till
tender.
Meanwhile, melt butter in saucepan, clarify by
skimming the fat from the top, leaving the clear
“oil.” Add flour and stir to make a “roux.” Slowly
add about ¼ cup of the milk, stirring constantly.
Continue to add the remainder of the milk and cheese,
stirring until thickened.
Put olive oil in a 9x12 glass baking dish. Add
onion, sausage and garlic. Put in oven and heat
until “frying.” Add yucca, making sure everything
is spread evenly in dish. Pour cheese sauce over
yucca mixture. Bake until browned on top, about
15 minutes.
Note: Potato may be substituted for yucca. Meat
sausage may be substituted for vegetarian. Milk
may be substituted for grain milk, but the grain
milk gives it a sweeter flavor.
|