Unvaccinated children are healthier than vaccinated children

Posting this here because Facebook is likely to censor it. 

https://thetruthaboutvaccines.com/vaccinated-vs-unvaccinated-healthier/

Non of this is surprising to mom's who have spent a lot of time with other moms. We have noticed for decades that the children in our groups who are not vaccinated are simply sick far less often.

Covid 19

I know there is a lot going around about this virus right now. And it is kind of weird that there was a serious epidemic in 1818-20, and again in 1918-20. But I'm not really worried. Cautious, but not worried.

First of all, God takes care of us.

But secondly, it's 2020, not 1920.

And what's the difference?

In the 1918 epidemic toilets, clean drinking water, and refrigeration had only been introduced on a mass scale shortly before, and certainly hadn't taken full affect yet. Not everyone- or even a majority- had indoor plumbing yet.

Have you noticed that all these "killer viruses" that we have panicked over in the last few years started in developing countries with few or no toilets and clean water, or, in the case of China, places where food and such are rationed? And they all fizzled out by the time they reached America?

Toilets corral all disease associated with human waste (including the poop of those who are sick) away from everyone. This single device reduced the spread of all communicable diseases by a substantial amount. (see my post about toilets here)

Along with toilets comes clean drinking water. Most of us Americans really take this major health tool for granted. If we really wanted to stop disease in the developing nations we would make sure everyone had clean drinking water.

Refrigeration; at the time of Louis Pasteur there was actually a debate about what caused disease. Was it the transmission of germs or the health of the victim that determined who got sick and who didn't? The germ transmission theory basically won, leaving us with the feeling that we are always playing Russian Roulette with our health. If we could just kill all the germs we would be fine (thus all the hand sanitizer, which usually does more harm than good).

But it turns out that its both. If you look up Measles deaths in the US in the last 20 years you will find that 1) there have been pitifully few (20ish in the last couple of decades put together) and 2) those who died were already immuno-compromised, already weakened. Notice its only the already weakened that are in real danger from Covid 19? Everyone who has died was over 80, and all those who have been hospitalized were over 60. That wasn't true in 1918.

Refrigeration has allowed Westerners to be the best nourished people in history. Our immune systems are simply strong enough to resist most illnesses and to keep those we do get very mild. Oh, we occasionally see someone get seriously ill from germs, but it's pretty rare now a days (unless you look at Staph infections in hospitals of course, but that's a different topic.) We westerners are sick, and seem to be getting sicker all the time, but they are not illness caused by the transmission of germs. They are diabetes, cancer, and conditions where the immune system is attacking part of the body. (i.e. Rheumatoid Arthritis is the immune system attacking the joints.) They are diseases of prosperity.

So, I'm not really worried about Covid 19. I don't really think it will spread much here in America where we have well functioning toilets and clean water (except among the homeless in California where it may turn out to be a major problem since they are currently pooping in the street and living basically on drugs), and if we do catch it, those who live in my house are not in any high risk groups. We'll be sick for a week or so and then move on. I am a bit more concerned about my 81 year old father, but honestly, he is as tough and strong as you could expect a man in his 80's to be. I will be suggesting to him today that he up his vitamin C and maybe start taking echinacea as a precaution, but really, He's probably fine.

We are seriously blessed to live in this time.

(and you know, all those hoarding hand sanitizer and toilet paper; what in the world???? I would think, you know, FOOD would be the best thing to stock up on in case of quarantine. But whatever....)

Freedom in Food

Do you know what the second most traded black market item is?

Milk.

Raw milk to be specific.

It is illegal in many- most- states.

What you buy in the store has been cooked (pasteurized) and homogenized, had chemicals added to control the smell (to make you think it is still good for a longer period of time) and had stuff added to alter its vitamin content.

Raw milk is much more aligned with how our bodies function, is much better for us. Many who can't drink regular milk CAN drink raw.

Did you know its even high in vitamin C when the cow eats spring grass? That C is destroyed when its pasteurized. As are all the digestive enzymes.

And today's commercially sold raw milk is produced in very clean facilities, so it is safe to drink (unlike store milk where they depend on cooking the milk instead of sanitation to protect the consumer).

And this is just milk. Our government interferes in our food in many different ways, most for the purpose of protecting big business (Monsanto) than actually for our protection.

Here is a letter to President Trump calling for food freedom in America.
https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog/2/28/2020/a-food-freedom-proposal

Get Rid of Pollution in Your House

For several months I have been suffering from a stiff, tingling face with occasional pain in the ear, teeth, and by the eye. This has been concerning, to say the least.

A root canal (since a tooth was obviously infected), crown, doctor, and Ears Nose Throat specialist later and the conclusion is I have allergies.

Duh.

My brother has had severe allergies with asthma all his life. My mom and grandma had mild asthma. And I have had asthma in the past when exposed to dust (especially in mouse infested storage rooms), certain cleaning supplies, and onions, though I haven't had an episode in years.

(Hubby has many contact allergies, as do many of my kids, meaning I'm already on high alert for allergens, so should have caught this.)

Allergies is not a real surprising diagnosis. 

Three courses of antibiotics and some steroids, and my face is doing much better, but I don't want it to come back.

Sadly, for various reasons that aren't our fault, I lost my insurance just as the diagnosis was made, so there won't likely be any testing to see specifically what is triggering this particular problem.

However, I can use some logic and figure it out;

• We have mold (not the black, dangerous stuff) in our main bathroom and laundry room (and occasionally spotted starting in other places.) When I find it, I wash it with bleach or vinegar and it quits growing, just becoming a stain on the wall.
• We live in the country, so we have mice. I seal everything up the best I can, but they need surprisingly little room to get into a house. 
• We have inside dogs and a cat. 
• We live in a cheaper home, built with pressboard and composite (manmade, not God made) materials. These are known to "breathe" out gases such as formaldehyde as they age.
• We live in a mining community, so our water may have...interesting....things in it. Frankly, I don't want to know.
• We are down wind from many of those mines that not only stir up things in the dust they move, but who knows what they add to the mines that gets blown our way.

So, let's just assume I'm allergic to molds (including desert molds that grow in our dirt), animal dander, pollens from the fruit trees in every other yard, and off-gassing of our own house and the mines. 

"According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the top five air quality problems in the U.S. are all indoor air problems. Common residential indoor pollutants include excessive moisture, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), combustion products, radon, pesticides, dust particles, viruses, and bacteria. All of these are known to affect human health, and the resulting odors, dampness, stale air, and stuffiness also make a house less comfortable."

https://smarterhouse.org/ventilation-and-air-distribution/indoor-air-pollutants

How do you know if your house's air is bad?

If you have anything that burns in your house (gas stove, furnace, gas dryer, etc) there is a possibility of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide being leaked into your house, both highly dangerous.

You can certainly hire a professional to check this out for you. You can also buy some electronic detectors for your house, such as radon and carbon monoxide detectors. Amazon carries them.

Or you if you have these symptoms in your family you can be pretty sure somethings wrong:

• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Watery eyes
• Nasal congestion

Or if you and your family frequently gets:

• Headaches
• Bloody noses
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Rashes
• Fever
• Chills
• Fatigue

they may actually have allergies, not "bugs."

VOC's are compounds in paint, varnish, glues, dry-cleaning chemicals, markers, fire-proofing chemicals on carpets, drapes, and pajamas. Gasses dissipate into the air from any and all of these.

Let's add in that we all have electronics in our homes in some form (or you couldn't be reading this, now, could you?) Electronics, pollen, dust, dirt, pollutants, and any other junk in the air carry a positive ion charge, meaning they have more protons than electrons. (If you have the same number of protons and electrons, the element is "balanced" and called an atom. If you have more electrons, we call it a negative ion.)

Since our own cells are mostly negative ions, too much exposure to the positive ones make us depressed, anxious, and fatigued. (Thunder storms, rainfall, plants, and beaches generate negative ions, explaining why we feel so much better when we go near these things. They balance us.) 

It doesn't help that pesticides, household cleaners, and air fresheners all have toxic chemicals in them, also, that do damage to our bodies, especially lungs. So, you can start improving your house's air by simply not using these products any more than you have to.

The all purpose cleaner I use is:

• 1 Tablespoon of borax
• 1 Tablespoon washing soda
• 1-5 drops of dish soap (I use hypoallergenic Palmolive.)
• 1 quart of warm water
• 1 spray bottle that costs $2 or more (works better than cheap ones). 

Just mix everything in the spray bottle (add the soap last so it doesn't produce too many suds). It's actually the best cleaner I've used, and it doesn't give me an asthma attack or make anyone itch. You can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil if you want. I like to use lemon, myself. Stupid cheap as well as affective and non-allergenic.

Air fresheners don't actually freshen the air. They cover up bad odors by adding "good" oders on top, while putting positive ions into the air and pollutants into your lungs.

I'm not alone. 

Even if you live in a big city, odds are good the air outside is better than the air in your house..

The number one method to clean the air in your house is to open up your windows and at least get as good of quality as is outside into your house. Even as little as 5 minutes a day will make a big difference. 

Now, we leave our windows open as much as possible around here, which means mid-April to somewhere in September, unless it's raining, which is seldom here since its the desert (we get about 10 inches a year).this does make a difference.

It is the high desert (4500 feet elevation), though, so for half the year it's too cold to leave the windows open very many days.This is the time of year the mold grows. Yes, its the desert, with around 20% humidity, but with all the showers, laundry, dishes, etc going on with our family of 11, we stay around 60% in the house when the windows stay closed. Much too high.

So we need to go further than opening windows.

#2 Best Way to Improve Indoor Air 

Plants "breathe" in carbon dioxide and "breathe" out oxygen which makes the air feel fresher to us. They also produce negative ions for us to absorb, so we need plants around us no matter what. But it seems they also remove mold spores, pollen, dust, dander, mites, and many chemical pollutants from the air. They are living filters.  

The best plants are:

• Spider plant (one of the best)
• Pothos
• Orchids (which, addition to cleaning the air, add extra oxygen into the air at night, making them great for bedrooms)
• Bamboo palm, 
• Chinese evergreen,
• English ivy, 
• Gerbera daisy, 
• Janet Craig, Dracaena “Janet Craig”
• Marginata, Dracaena marginata
• Mass cane/Corn plant, 
• Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, 
• Pot mum,
• Peace lily, 
• Warneckii, Dracaena “Warneckii”

But, really, any plant is good.

According to NASA you need about 1 plant for every 120 square feet for optimum cleaning. So if you have the average 1200' home you need around 10 plants (with a 6-8 inch diameter pot. Bigger plants can count as more than one plant). 

Do be careful not to overwater them since that will increase algae, and remove any dead leaves or stems so decaying plant matter doesn't add to the pollution in your house.

Salt Lamps

It is  a known fact that people suffering with asthma get better if they go into salt mines. Breathing the salt- laden air really helps the lungs. 

You can buy large lumps of salt (or baskets of small lumps) from those mines that have a light bulb in them. This is generally called "Himalayan Salt." The light gently warms the salt, causing it to absorb pollution- laden water from the air. The water then evaporates back into the air, leaving the pollutants behind. The rocks should be wiped clean a couple times a week.

The light from these "lamps" is a soft, warm orange, which mimics the sunset, encouraging sleep, so we will use ours for our night-time reading lamps.

Air filters

Charcoal will filter out many, many pollutants, and is in fact, used in most air and water filters. The most natural air filter is to just hang some activated charcoal in a breathable pouch (cheesecloth, nylon stockings) or just put some in a bowl in the rooms you want to clean. I plan to buy some soon and put some under seats in our cars, as well as throughout the house.

You could use barbeque briquettes, but they often have unhealthy additives, so read the label.

Also, activated charcoal has been treated to make it more porous, increasing the surface area to absorb pollutants, so it would be better to use than BBQ briquettes.

All charcoal would need to be replaced every couple of years.

Mechanical Air filters

I already use HEPA filter bags in my vacuum cleaner to help reduce dust and yucky stuff. I try to vacuum most weekdays, which reduces our allergens in the house. My brother has removed all carpet of any kid from his house and was able to get rid of his asthma medicines! Carpets are fuzzy dirt traps, it seems.

We will be replacing ours with hard floors of some type as they wear out. Advantage: I can install laminate flooring (helped do it in my church) so I can save installation costs by making this choice! Laminate has the problem that is is artificial and gasses out toxins into the air, but on the other hand, you only need plain water and a microfiber mophead to clean it, so no toxic cleaners. And mops are cheaper and last longer than vacuums do.

I was also given an air cleaner some years ago and have bought new filters for it. It is only big enough to do one room- not the whole house like I need- but it will help when we must keep the windows shut. 

We'll add that our house is cooled with a swamp cooler. This means all summer the air is pulled into our house through a wall of watered down pads and pushed out the open windows, filtering out many pollutants before they even come into the house. 

Beeswax Candles

I have not tried these yet, but might. They release negative ions as they burn as well as cleaning pollutants.

Other Things that Will Help Allergies

Regular dusting, especially on the hard to see places like door tops, also helps. Flylady.com suggests you use a high quality feather duster that holds the dust instead of scattering it, and set a timer for 10 minutes once a week and just dust what you can in that 10 minutes. This will keep most homes pretty dust free, with the addition of just a deep dusting with a cloth once or twice a year. (and its kind of fun waving the feather duster around like a magic wand while trying to beat the timer).

Washing curtains and other "soft" surfaces, and vacuuming those you can't wash, can also drastically reduce dust and their bugaboos. 

Dust-mite proof covers on all pillows and mattresses on the bed will help, also, as will washing your sheets weekly and blankets frequently. Now, I have a hard getting to this much washing, honestly. I'm not perfect. But I can do better, so I will. 

Groom your pets regularly to help reduce their contributions to the atmosphere.(My 11yo has taken this over).

Keeping shoes out of the house helps too, if you can do it. I keep a large box by the door for everyone to put their shoes in. It reduces the cleaning as well as the allergens. And, at least when I had a bunch of little kids, I always had an idea where the shoes were.

Natural ways to have good smelling air

If you want more scent to your air than "clean" you can bake a loaf of bread :-) or put a small pot on to simmer on the back of your stove with some cloves, vanilla beans, or any spices you enjoy the scent of. And an essential oil infuser will do a similar job.It is believed the infused essential oil will also help clean the air.

I'm not perfect. I can't do all these things. But I can do more than I do now, and will. The things that require spending money will have to be spread out, but most of this list I can do without a financial investment.

How about you? How is the air quality in your house? What do you do to reduce allergens in your life?

How to Care for the Most Important Health Tool You Have

As Mammas we all want our families to be as healthy as possible. That is one of the most important parts of

our job. So what is the most important tool we have to accomplish that?

The toilet.

The (Lesser) Great White Throne!

Imagine having to handle- with your hands (using bowls, etc)- all the human waste from your family. Or having to go out to a smelly hole in the backyard every time nature called. Think of what life would be like if you suddenly didn't have a toilet :-P

The toilet has changed the world in important ways.

Prior to the mass introduction of flush toilets (invented in 1596 by Sir John Harington and improved into what we know as the toilet by Thomas Crapper, 1836-1910, and this is why it's called a "Crapper")  into our large cities, (late 1800's- very early 1900's) people had to use outhouses (holes dug in the ground with small buildings over them). So, an apartment building with 100 residents might have 4-8 outhouses in the backyard. These were occasionally emptied by special contractors, who were not always very diligent about sanitation, dumping the waste in the river, park, vacant lots, wherever. (It was still believed by the most prominent doctors and scientists that disease was spread by bad spells and spirits.)

If your neighbor had Scarlet Fever, and you shared the same outhouse (or the epidemic-rates of mice and rats ran from the outhouse to your apartment) you got Scarlet Fever. Can you imagine the effect this had on disease? If your neighbor had Measles, you didn't have a lot of choice but to have Measles. Typhoid? Thanks to the rodents, the entire block would get it.

Actually, a good part of the world still doesn't have toilets (also called  "water closets"). Here is an article discussing the effects that has.

An article from the World Health Organization on the same subject.

Here is a handy chart showing the decline of disease. Notice that all communicable diseases saw a sharp decline.

(Actually, along with toilets came clean water, trash trucks hauling refuse away, refrigeration, and other general improvements in hygiene. I believe the toilets were the biggy, but let's acknowledge these other advances, also).

That modest little "chair" is probably the single most important tool you have in your home to keep your family healthy!

Toilets come in "round" (the most common type), elongated, and "comfort height" (which is a handicapped toilet without an official ADA sticker on it.) And of course, nearly any color you can dream of, though white is far the most common and cheapest.

Other countries have squat toilets which you squat over to do your business. This is actually much better for your health since it shortens and widens the pelvis area, making it much easier to "go" and reduces constipation. In America, we can buy stools to elevate our feet and achieve a similar effect.

So How do I Care For My Toilet?

I'm glad you asked that!

First of all, they don't really need a lot of care, generally, to function right. The basic mechanism functions on its own with little- or no- maintenance. It uses simple levers and gravity. A rather brilliant design.

If your toilet runs constantly, take the top of the tank and flush it to see what is happening. In fact, even if your toilet is working great, go do this so you know what "normal" looks like.

• If the chain is getting caught on something, which is most likely the case, simply shorten the chain (don't worry about putting your hands in there. That's clean drinking water. It's what comes out the bottom that's contaminated). There is usually a clasp on the arm that goes up and down. Take the chain off that clasp and put it back on a few links down, like you are shortening a necklace. Test it to see if you got the length right. 
• If the chain is too short to let the little black, blue, or red flapper (rubber thingy that covers the hole in the bottom of the tank) completely close, lengthen it (see above, but in reverse). If the chain is at its longest and the flapper still can't close a paper clip can function as an additional link.
• If the flapper is broken and so not covering the hole, turn the water off the toilet (underneath there should be a knob on a flexible pipey thing, called a "flex pipe" or "water supply"), take the flapper out, and go to the nearest hardware store. Show the flapper to an employee and tell them "I need one of these." They'll help you find the right one (actually, there are only a few options, so it's not rocket science. Color doesn't matter. Match the size of the ball, disk, and holes that fasten it to the toilet). Then just snap the new one in place and turn the water back on. You will likely need to adjust the chain. 
• If you still hear water running, and you are sure its the toilet, call a plumber. The above, though, will fix 99.99% of toilet running.

If your toilet keeps getting clogged up, quit putting anything but poop, pee, and toilet paper in it. If you still have a problem, you may need a plumber to look at your lines. Tree roots and other obstructions can wreak havoc with your pipes.

A toilet uses 1-7 gallons per flush, with the average today being 1.6-2 ish. There are more efficient designs in the works that would only use 1 gallon. 

Now, what about sanitation? 

Flylady, the guru of curing CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) says to wipe down the outside of your toilet, and run the brush around the inside every day. This way you don't need to use harsh chemicals, just store the brush in a vase (or something equivalent) beside the toilet with some water and soap (dish soap, shampoo, body wash, doesn't matter. Soap is soap. Use that nasty shampoo that fried your hair). This will keep your Throne nice and pretty, as well as sanitary. Takes about 2 minutes a day.

If you haven't cleaned it for a while, it will get a nasty yellow build up in the bowl. Lower the water level by pushing the water down the "throat" of the toilet with your toilet brush until it's gone, or dump a gallon of water in it real fast. Then squirt a little toilet cleaner (acid) up under the rim and around the bowl, scrub with your brush, and wait a few minutes (up to about ten). Then scrub again and flush.

If repeated use of the acid cleaner doesn't get rid of the last of the nasties, lower the water level, put on rubber gloves, dip a pumice stone in the water, and scrub. Keep the pumice wet so it doesn't scratch the bowl. When the yuckies are all loosened, flush. 

Other than that, the toilet really needs very little care. It is completely non-porous and so doesn't hold germs. They simply wipe off. It is truly one of the greatest inventions of the modern era!

Now, doesn't that feel good? You are protecting your family from massive, deadly diseases and certain death by....wiping your Crapper down each day. Talk about a return on your time investment!

Have you ever looked in your toilet tank to see how it works? Let me know your thoughts on the Great White Throne. 

.5% of people who try to lose weight loose it and keep it off for five years or more.

You read that right- Half a percent. That's 1 person out of every 200 people who have tried to lose weight will actually loose it and keep it off.

This includes those who have weight loss surgery, join a gym, etc.

Your body doesn't know the difference between a diet and a famine, and acts to save your life when food gets scarce by saving every calorie and sending signals to your brain demanding that you go look for food...NOW!

Do you know what this means?

It's not your fault. You are not weak. You are not lazy. You haven't failed.

We've been lied to.

For all practical purposes, it is impossible to lose weight. Your body just won't let you.I mean, think about it; if any of the diets out there worked, wouldn't there be fewer, not more, fat people all the time? Wouldn't that one method be the only method?

So does this mean that a fat person is doomed to an early death?

Not at all. If you remove all the studies paid for by people who make money from weight loss (drugs, diets, gyms, diet foods, etc) the evidence associating obesity and illness practically goes away. And if you control the remaining studies for the effects of poverty, the rest of the ill-health of being fat disappears. In fact, there are a few illnesses that being fat protects you from (i.e. Tuberculosis).

There is absolutely NO evidence that losing weight improves anyone's health.

None.

We know for a fact, however, that dieting will kill you.

So where does this leave us?

We need to be healthy.
Starving ourselves is not healthy.
Limiting our foods to just a few food groups is not healthy.
Thinking like an anorexic is not healthy.

You know what?
Denying ourselves desert is not mentally healthy!

So what does the human body need?

Exercise. Not "go out and exhaust yourself once a month" exercise, but a general "be active." find something fun to do where you move your body (dance class, softball team, buy a horse, plant a garden, etc) and do that. If you get discouraged because you exercised and stepped on the scale and it hadn't moved, you are exercising for the wrong reasons.

In fact, through you scales away! I MEAN IT!

Move because it makes you feel good.

What do you eat? 

Whatever you want.

I read a study some time ago (don't remember enough to look it up. Sorry) where they put a bunch of two year olds in and room with toys and food of all types (not sugary stuff, though. Veggies, meat, dairy, fruit, whole grains). All but one child, when left to his natural taste buds, ate a balanced diet when total intake over a week was considered (a child might eat nothing but fruit for a day, nothing but meat the next, whole grain bread the next, and veggies the next.) Their instincts made them want what they needed most.

And that one child that didn't eat a balanced diet? He drank cod liver oil for days. But, he was the only one in the group who had rickets, a mineral deficiency disease. Cod liver oil has the minerals that you need to cure rickets. After days of drinking CLO, he began to eat like the other children, and all signs of rickets was gone.

I read of another study where two groups of adults were given the standard health evaluation and education on nutrition and exercise. Then one group was given diet information. At the end of the study, many in the "diet" group had dropped out because they simply got discouraged and couldn't keep up with the dieting. The ones that stayed saw no improvements. Only two dropped out of the other group and that just because they moved. However, everyone else in the "no diet" group saw improvements in all their health numbers, (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.) and they had fun at the meetings encouraging each other to find fun active things to do.



It's time we quit listening to the voices that say we aren't beautiful, aren't adequate, because we don't look like the 1% who make it to TV. It's time we start honoring our wonderfully designed bodies by eating the God-made foods our hunger tells us we need until we are physically AND mentally satisfied. No more "diets." Just eating like God meant us to eat when He designed our taste buds.

Seriously, trust your God-given instincts. Trust that He designed your body to be healthy.

We Have Lost the War on Germs

Actually, it turns out we have shot ourselves in the foot by fighting microbes so hard. The majority of microbes are actually helpful, yet we kill the good guys when we try to kill the bad guys.

In the 1800’s, when the Germ Theory was proposed by Louis Pasteur, there was a competing theory; the Health Theory. 

The Germ Theory says that we get sick because we are unlucky enough to “catch” a bad guy germ. That germ then makes us sick. Though Pasteur backed off from this view before his death, it monopolizes our health care and homeMaking today.

The Health Theory says that we are exposed to billions of germs, good and bad, all day every day. We become sick because our body becomes weakened in some way, making it vulnerable to the bad guys. If we keep our bodies healthy, we won’t be susceptible to the bad guys.There is more research supporting this view every day.

So here’s the right way to fight disease and increase health:

1.       Throw away all you antibacterial products (including hand sanitizer). They kill the good guys and the mild bad guys, but NOT the super bad guys (antibiotic resistant bacteria). The Supers then have no competition, so they grow much faster. Plain, ole’, soap and water is the best thing to wash with, and for the house? How about this?
1 Tablespoon borax
1 Tablespoon washing soda
1 teaspoon dish soap
1 quart water
Mix them all together and either pour into a spray bottle or wet your cleaning clothe with it. Works better than any other general cleaner I've ever tried. AND no perfumes, no artificial colors. If you want, you can add your favorite essential oil.

2.       Seek to increase your good guys. When the good guys are strong, they will kill the bad guys (plain and super) with no problems. You will never even know the bad guys were there. You increase the good guys by eating “probiotic rich foods” as well as natural foods. This means lots of:

a.       Yogurt

b.      Kefir

c.      Sourdough bread products

d.      Cultured sauerkraut (as opposed to what is sold in the stores today. That’s pickled, not cultured)

e.      Fresh veggies

f.      Organic, grass-fed, REAL meat (not lunch meat, canned meats, etc. but hunks of muscle cut off an animal.)

g.     Pro-biotic supplements, if necessary.
(Note: my family isn't here yet. This is the goal, not our current state. We are still working on it.)

3.       Exercise. It makes every part of the body, inside and out, stronger.

4.       Get enough rest. Since the invention of the light bulb, most of us don’t. 

5.       Drink plenty of water. Again, we don't.

6.       Don’t take antibiotics! They will kill the good guys, leaving you susceptible to a worse bad guy. They also cause the bad guys to mutate into supers, which then spread to people who haven’t even taken the antibiotics. If at all possible, just don't take them. (Note: there have been times of pneumonia or life threatening infection when we have taken antibiotics, but it has to be extreme illness.) 

7.       Reduce stress. Trusting in God is the best way to do this.

 

 I once read a homesteading book where the author said your primary goal in homesteading is always to improve your soil. Need more fertility? Buy a cow. She will give you lots of good, rich manure. Oh, milk, butter, cheese and a beef calf every year too. But most importantly manure. Need more plant matter in your soil? Grow a garden. Oh you get the produce, but the important thing is the decaying plants you can add to the soil later.

In the same way, we need to do what is right for our friendly bacteria. Yes, we will end up nourished as a result, but mostly because our bacteria is healthy.