How to naturally protect yourself against the flu virus part 2

In my last blog I talked about foods which help to boost your immune system naturally. In this blog I'll be talking about specific foods which inhibit or break down your immunity. One in particular is sugar. White sugar has been proven to be a major immune suppressor, which can make you susceptible to all kinds of viruses, bacteria and disease. With the holidays approaching we'll all be tempted by many sweets. The key to staying healthy is to eat treats in moderation or not at all. I love to have a little pumpkin pie this time of year, so one thing I like to do is to make a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin and use a gluten free crust or better yet a crust made from nuts. The point is, you want to try to make the dessert as nutrient dense as possible. If you're going to eat sugar occasionally make sure it contains the highest quality and most nutrient dense ingredients. Also consider using raw organic amber agave nectar or stevia to sweeten instead of white sugar. Agave nectar is lower glycemic than sugar and Stevia is an herbal sweetener which does not raise blood sugar levels. To find more healthy recipes for the holidays check out my friend Olga's website at www.bwell4life.com or The Weston A. Price Foundation at www.westonaprice.org

How to Naturally Protect Yourself Against The Flu Virus

The flu virus is a big topic these days. For some of us these are uncertain times. How do we protect ourselves from the flu virus? Well my suggestion is to learn how to boost your own immunity naturally, without the use of vaccines or supplements. Your own immune system is your best defense and should be utilized fully first.
Most of the beneficial bacteria are in the gut and can also be found in other other orifices, including the sinuses and nasal passages. If your intestines are in poor health, you will inevitably have issues with low immunity, less resistance to viruses and infection and inflammation. So what causes low immunity, less resistance to viruses and infection and inflammation? Stress. Stress comes in all forms and there is good and bad stress. Some of the good stress can even become negative if done too much.
Some examples of bad stress are conventional toxic food, negative toxic emotions, doing and thinking too much, chemical stress and environmental stress. Exercise can even become stressful for the body if done too excessively or not done properly. That's why we want to focus on balance.
I'll be talking about the top five steps we can take to boost our immunity naturally in my next four blogs. The first way is to stick with organic fruits, veggies and pasture fed meats at least 80% of the time. Start by cleaning out your pantry and getting rid of the processed junk foods.
If you take the junk foods out of your house you will be less tempted to eat them on a daily basis. That way if you get tempted by junk foods outside of the home, you'll end up eating less junk food overall.
Dispose of any product in your pantry that contains white flour, white sugar and white table salt. Switch these out for organic gluten free flour (brown rice flour, bean flour, potato flour or quinoa flour, millet flour, buckwheat flour), sprouted flour, organic raw amber agave nectar, 100% stevia and celtic sea salt. I personally love to cook pancakes with sprouted or organic gluten free flour, this adds variety.
Then take a trip to your market and buy all the fruits and veggies you normally buy but in the organic and/or local section. When it comes to buying meats pasture fed is the best. You want to eat animals that are eating what they are designed to eat, like grass, bugs, etc. Conventional animals eat corn and moldy grains and are injected with hormones and antibiotics. These are not happy healthy animals. When we eat sick animals this makes us sick since we make new cells in our body from the food we take in. That's why it is crucial to eat healthy, happy pasture fed animals.
In my next blog I'll be discussing why sugar is a major immunity suppressor, what you can replace your sugar with, and how to get rid of sugar cravings.

Do we really need so much sunscreen?

I used to think I needed to heavily protect myself with sunscreen year round, because of fear of aging faster or getting skin cancer. Since then I've learned when your body is truly healthy, the sun's rays will not effect your health in the same way. It occurred to me that staying out of the sun isn't natural, my body craves the warmth and rays of the sun. Absorption of the sun's rays, if not absorbed excessively, can be a way of healing for some people. This was true for me personally and the rays of the sun helped me heal from severe adrenal fatigue one summer. The sun provides vitamin D, which many of us are highly deficient in these days. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin with can only be absorbed in the body by eating high quality fat. Vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to diseases such as heart disease, cancer and chronic fatigue, to name a few.

I start my summer out by gradually building my base, so that my skin gets used to the sun and doesn't burn. Ten to twenty minutes a day is sufficient.

The best way to avoid sunburn in the summer is to significantly reduce or eliminate all together your sugar intake, toxic foods, drinks and drink lots of high quality water. Gradually build up exposure time depending on how sensitive your skin is to the sun. Use an organic sunscreen without out parabens and other harsh chemicals - http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/.

If you plan to be at the beach all day or are going to be in intense sun all day, I recommend Badgers. Another great natural alternative to sunscreen, which I've tried myself, is organic unrefined coconut oil or real Shea butter. These actually act as sunscreen and protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. The bottom line is that we need sun exposure coupled with a healthy fat intake in order to absorb vitamin D. Consider how healthy you are from the inside out instead of the outside in.

interesting related links...

http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/cancer/577-sunlight-and-melanoma.html

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/sunlight.html

21 Day Detox

Hello Everyone,
I had a few ideas during my recent trip. One of them was to inspire people to try something different whether it is a new food, a new way of eating or a new exercise. I discovered that if I stop learning, I stop growing. We all need new experiences so we can continue to grow. That lead me to where I am now. For those who are willing and able to participate, I would like to offer you a 21 day detox challenge. Now this is not a traditional fasting detox like you see at the grocery store. All I ask is that you eliminate all wheat, soy, dairy and processed sugar from your diet for 21 days. This presents an opportunity to try new foods. If you totally hate to cook but still want to participate, Gourmet on the Go will put together meals without wheat, soy, dairy and processed sugar. They also offer an organic meal plan. Just mention that you are a client of mine if you choose to go with them. Their website is
www.gourmetonthegoatl.com.

I also plan to have cooking demonstrations led by me, my husband and/or any volunteering clients. We will be teaching everyone to make Kombucha, raw food, alternative grain dishes, and more. I plan to introduce a new and simple food or meal each week.
I'm also here to answer any questions during the process.

A few good books to check out if you want to learn more about this are:
Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon
The Body Ecology Diet, by Donna Gates

If you choose to take the challenge please let me know by February 9th.

Thank you and I hope to hear from everyone soon.

In health and happiness,



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Allison Pelot
404-606-5581
www.allisonpelot.com
allisonpelot@gmail.com