The Natural Home

Today, I joined an afternoon talk focusing on health & wellness for the family.  The event is called The Natural Home.  I joined the event mainly because I have zero knowledge on essential oils and wanted to get some ideas on how people uses it.  Also, I missed my dearest friend (twin) who I rarely see these days.

The speaker was Noelle Polack who is a birth & postpartum doula and a health & wellness advocate.  It was an intimate event attended by wonderful people who are passionate about taking care of their health & family.  I’m inspired just by observing the talk.

It’s so cool how everyone was so engaged, how everyone was sharing tips on what they use in order to take better care of their families’ health and how everyone really took the time to study and understand the different approaches to health.  I was quiet all throughout as obviously, I didn’t know anything yet but I hope by sharing my learnings in this post, I get to help even a few folks 😉

Every time I attend a seminar, webinar, event or anything educational, I make it a point to take notes and blog about it so that I have somewhere to refer to if I want to review. So for today’s talk, I’m sharing here my rough notes. I learned a lot. I especially like the portions where people discuss in more detail about the topic.

So if you’re into health & wellness, I suggest you join the next run which will happen on October 7, 2017, 1:30-3:30pm at Hello Munchkins Play Cafe in Quezon City.  Registration fee is P350 per head. For inquiries, you can call or text at +639177920358.

The Natural Home

What do we want for our family? Health is definitely one of them.  When we look at the state of the environment today, we have antibiotic resistance, autoimmune disorders and behavioral disorders (e.g., ADHD). In order to address those, we’ll need to look at nutrition and do some lifestyle modifications.

In the Philippines, we have the so-called “Pinggang Pinoy” (Healthy food plate for Filipino adults).  The Go is starch, Grow is protein and Glow is non-starchy vegetables & fruits.  It’s a good visual guide for us on what is good and healthy for us to eat everyday.

The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has come up with a visual tool to guide Filipinos in consuming the right amount of food in every meal. The visual guide called Pinggang Pinoy will answer the question of how much you should eat in one meal in order to be healthy. It will also serve as a quick and easy guide for determining how much to eat per meal time.

Some more good information about the types of food we eat:

Red/Purple	Orange	Orange/Yellow	Green	White/Green	Yellow/Green
these foods contain antho-cyanins, powerful antioxidants that may cut your risk of heart disease and stroke by inhibiting clot formation	the beta carotene in orange foods boosts eye and skin health and may decrease the risk of certain cancers.	these cousins to the orange family are rich in beta cryptoxanthin, an antioxidant that protects cells from damage.	green foods pack natural chemicals called isothlocyanates, such as sulforaphane and insoles. All of these chemicals stimulate production of cancer-fighting liver enzymes.	garlic and onions contain allicin, a tumor fighter. mushrooms have other disease-balding chemicals. These veggies are rich in flavonoids, which protect against cell damage.	these foods contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which help fight cataracts and muscular degeneration.
talong, gabi, kamatis, mangosteen, rambutan, native blueberries, red cabbage, red pepper	kalabasa, kamote, melon, native orange	dalandan, papaya, pineapple, mangoes	malunggay, saluyot, bokchoy, broccoli, cabbage	celery, local asparagus, guyabano, onions	avocado, corn, cucumbers, green beans, green peas, green or yellow pepper, spinach, ampalaya, kamias

Avoid preservatives, food coloring (especially red and yellow) and sugar because these are linked to:

• cancer
• ADHD
• allergies
• hypersensitivity
• asthma
• hyperacidity

Anything in excess is harmful so it’s important to know that the recommended amount of sugar is ZERO for 2 years old and below and less than 3 teaspoons of added sugar for 3 years old and above.

For babies, it is critical for them to have the right nutrition in the first 1,000 days.  That’s between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday which builds the foundation for a child’s ability to grow, learn and thrive.  The impact of good nutrition early in life can reach far into the future.

• Pregnancy (pre-pregnancy to birth) – babies developing in the womb draw all of their nutrients from their mother. If mom lacks key nutrients, so will her baby, putting the child’s future health and development at risk.
• Infancy (birth to 6 months) – breastmilk is superfood for babies. Not only is it the best nutrition an infant can get, but it also serves as the first immunization against illness and disease.
• Toddlerhood (6 months to 2 years) – nutrients from a variety of healthy foods are an essential complement to breast milk to ensure healthy growth and brain development.

10 good things you need to know about exclusive breastfeeding:

1. saves life and protects baby against disease with antibacterial agents
2. provides all nutrients baby needs for the first 6 months.
3. ensures clean and safe source of food, especially in emergencies.
4. makes child grow strong and intelligent
5. breaks the cycle of diarrhea and malnutrition
6. bonds mother and child
7. reduces the mother’s risk of ovarian and breast cancer
8. helps space pregnancies, a natural method of birth control
9. saves month by not having to buy infant formula and feeding equipment
10. protects the environment with no need for packaging and disposal.

There are various approaches to health but for the audience, everyone’s into aromatherapy so the talk focused more on that.

• Allopathy – treatment of disease by using traditional/western medicine
• homeopathy – treatment of disease by minute doses of natural substances that in a healthy person would produce symptoms of disease.
• naturopathy – alternative medicine based on the theory that diseases can be successfully treated or prevented without the use of drugs, by techniques such as control of diet, exercise, and massage
• aromatherapy – holistic therapeutic application of genuine and authentic plant-derived essential oils for enhancing the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health of the individual.

More on essential oils…

Rene-Maurice Gattefosse – coined the term aromatherapy, discovered & continued to study the medical applications of the essential oils of various types of plants and made the distinction between use of plants for fragrance and aromatics for therapeutic purposes.

Essential oils as part of a holistic practice of healthy & wholesome living.

Essential Oils for children:

• Lavender – for calming down children, anti-inflammatory, diaper rash
• roman chamomile – calming, anti-inflammatory, a bit expensive
• ginger – warming, sniffles, good for digestion
• citrus – lemon, mandarin, grapefruit, orange, lime (safe but photo-sensitive)
• eucalyptus radiata (NOT globulus) – do not apply to face but safe for diffusion
• rosemary ct. console – good for congestion, good for diffusing

Recommended dilutions for different age groups:

• 0-3 months – 0.1-0.2%
• 3-24 months – 0.25-0.5%
• 2-6 years – 1-2%
• 6-15 years – 1.5-3%
• 15+ years – 2.5-5%

Common usage of Essential oils (EO):

• fever – if head and neck are warm but extremities are still cold, then it’s not yet time to diagnose. When the whole body is heated up, that’s the time to diagnose. Put a drop of lemon EO to a bowl of water.
• decongestion – use breathe blend EO
• sleep – use lavender EO (include in massage oil or diffuse with vetever EO) or use cedar wood EO

Essential oils for household use:

• lemongrass EO – helps disinfect, spray with vinegar
• grapefruit EO – brighten up scent of kitchen and bathroom
• on guard blend EO – for immune support, okay to ingest, place 1 drop of EO with tablespoon of honey

So there, everything I learned from the talk by Noelle Polack today.  I’m so excited to get the rest of my essential oil package so that I can start my journey on essential oils.  I’ll post more on that very soon!