Granola Girl here asking for a minute or two of your time...
Those of you who know me know that I am a little bit granola and proud of it. I try to use organic as much as possible. We are a transfat and high fructose corn syrup free family (as much as possible). I am a fan of natural remedies! I detest antibiotics and try not to use them when all possible. I know pharmaceuticals have their place in the world, but I am finding more and more that they have very little place in our family. I have been prescribed dangerous drugs too many times and so have my children with little regard to side effects or concern for safety.
When I was pregnant with Isaiah, I broke out in hives called PUPPPS in my first trimester. Doctor after doctor tried to prescribe me UNSAFE STERIODS. I was miserable for weeks because I refused to take the drugs that I knew were unsafe for my baby. I would have rather suffered with the pain and itchy red welts that racked my body from head to toe. I covered myself in Caladryl to try and get some relief. Nothing helped. I looked like a pink monster. Dave was up night after night trying to comfort me and scouring the internet for a remedy. He found one: flaxseed oil and dandelion root. The next day we went to a health food store. I took a tablespoon of flaxseed and 5 drops of dandelion root. Miraculously, my hives and itches were gone within hours.
Lily finally got over her ear infection that she had had for over a month. The doctors had prescribed antibiotic after antibiotic. She had severe diarhea and was so fussy all the time. The doctors encouraged me to keep her on a routine of tylenol and motrin plus the antibiotic. Her poor little body had so many pharmaceuticals in it. She got horrible diaper rash and candida from the imbalance of good bacteria in her body. I was so frustrated and finally decided enough was enough. I got some probiotics to bring balance back to her body and the diaper rash went away. I got some herbal Mullein Garlic drops for her ears. The minute after I put them in I could see the change in her behavior. The very next day she was a different baby altogether! I am so relieved she is finally better. Over a month of this was enough. I feel incredibly guilty for even giving in to the antibiotics. I should have known better. It's hard to stop and think about alternatives when the doctors don't give you any. Looking back, I know the antibiotics were weakening her immune system. She was catching cold after cold because her body just couldn't get a break. This led to the constant ear infections.
It makes me so angry that the (traditional) doctors first choice in treating a child is antibiotics/steriods. It is so clear that they are wed to Big Pharma. If you ask for a natural alternative they look at you like you're crazy and tell you that herbs can be very unsafe since they are not FDA approved! FDA APPROVED?!? Like the FDA APPROVED drugs that have killed MILLIONS? Like the FDA approved vaccines that may be causing ADHD, autism and other disorders in our children today? Traditional doctors today try to scare you into pharmacueticals. A friend told me that it is better to make decisions out of love and not fear. You will make the right decision every time!
It is clear to me that we need to nurture our bodies in the most natural ways possible. Of course this includes eating healthy and taking care of ourselves. But also- trying natural alternatives first before turning to pharmaceuticals. We need to build our children's immune systems in healthy ways so that their bodies can build up natural defenses. Thousands can be saved by "preventative medicine". I would like to take my children to a naturopath, a doctor that specializes in natural medicines. But unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover this. Insurance covers very little "alternative" or "eastern" medicine. It's sad really. When you stop to think about it there's something very "alternative" about injecting ourselves with the chemicals that pharmaceutical companies put in their drugs.
I see the sea of prescription bottles and drugs on my parents counter at their house. So many drugs. My parents have military insurance. They are grateful to have it- but there are very little choices. It offers very little "alternative medicine" choices. I know my mom would highly benefit from accupuncture for her fibromyalgia and insomnia. But she has had to jump through hoops for years to get referred to one. I know the side effects of some of the drugs that were given to my dad who had tuberculosis in his brain. He had to take over 20 pills a day that made him feel so miserable, it was a struggle to get him to even take them. They were "dirty" drugs. Harsh drugs to his system. Those drugs are said to have "saved his life" but at a large cost to his health. He lost almost complete vision in one eye and has very little peripheral vision. He now has diabetes brought on by the drugs and doesn't enjoy the taste of many things he used to love. He lost many of his memories permanently. There were many other long term side effects, too many to list. Those drugs changed him forever and impaired him forever. I wonder what alternative medicines could have done for him. If maybe they could have saved his vision and kept his insulin levels normal. The drugs their doctors give them treat only the symptoms. Then in turn, they cause more symptoms which are then treated with more drugs. It's a vicious cycle. I can just imagine what my parents livers and kidneys look like after filtering all those drugs for all these years.
Hopefully, by now, you got my hint about the Health Revolution. Please read up on what it is. Basically, in a nutshell it gives power to the people to make their own decisions on what kind of healthcare they want. It gives people choices to try alternatives. It protects natural dietary supplements. It bans chemicals in our food and genetically modified foods from our store shelves. It bans the importations of foods that were sprayed with pesticides that are illegal in the US. It does so much more! Please sign the petition and pass it on!
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