Sarah's Blog

Child Sex trafficking has not only become a problem in countries around Asia and Africa, but is rapidly growing in our own back yards here in the United States. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it means children are being taken from their families and sold into prostitution against their will.  We as a people need to bring awareness to not only our own children, but also our close friends, neighbors, co workers and the people we want to protect.

Children are being taken from their very own bedrooms, schools, betrayed by “family friends” and much more.  How can it be?  The missing person’s report goes up every day for young teen girls, many are said to be run-aways.  The truth of the matter is many of these girls are finding themselves in the hands of evil men who will abuse and sell them in the sex trade.

Why is this not being talked about more?  These are our children we are talking about.  Lets not turn a blind eye to this people!  My heart is breaking for your children.  It is our responsibility to protect these kids and put a stop to this madness.

You may ask your self, how can I make a difference, I am only one person?  The start of it is bringing awareness!  Informing yourself and your own children of this problem and reporting suspicious men with underage girls.  Be approachable to your children, so that they can tell you anything without fearing your response.  Not putting your kids in situations that can lead to them becoming captives to it.  These pimps will take girls from malls, streets, pose as friends from school, boyfriends and so much more.  Be-careful who you allow your kids to be friends with and who they are allowed to spend the night with.  Sometimes the enemy is someone you trust!

This problem has exploded since the start of the internet and websites such as craig’s list and My Space where many of these girls are being exploited.

Check out this website:

http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/child_sex_trafficking_in_america_pimp_control

Thank you for listening to me rant on this.  I am just realizing my eyes are really being opened to this for the first time and I am ready to make a difference.

We finally hit that time of year where everyone wants to know if they should get the flu shot.  It seems like many of the people who receive the flu shot end up with the flu any way.  Though you may hear much controversy about getting the vaccine, don’t forget it is still a vaccine and you should always do your research before getting any like that.  Pregnant and breast feeding women should stay clear of it all together.  

I strongly recommend getting proactive and getting your immune system up and running so that you can fight these things off when they come around.  One of the reason the flu is associated with the fall and winter months is due to the lack of Sunlight.  The sun provides us with a very important immune support through Vitamin D.  Our bodies use Vitamin D to help strengthen the lungs and respiratory system.  We really do ourselves a huge disfavor by staying out of the sun altogether.  Many American put sunscreen on to prevent the UV rays from the sun.  It is hard to know if it is the sun or the lotions that are causing all the problem with skin cancer. (That is for another topic someday)  Everything in moderation I guess.  In the winter months we wear clothes that cover our skin preventing our exposure to adequate absorption of D.

One article I read  says, “Vitamin D has a profound beneficial effect on your immune system. For one thing, it dramatically stimulates potent anti-microbial molecules found in your white blood cells and in the lining of your respiratory tract.”

 ”Ultraviolet radiation (either from artificial sources or from sunlight) reduces the incidence of viral respiratory infections, as does cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D).

There are many other ways one can support their immune response when it comes to flu season. 

Going back to the basics

A healthy diet and life style counts for something.  

1.  Lets start with sleep, with out adequate sleep one is bound to lower their immune system. The average person needs a full 8 hours a night.  Living in a busy fast past world makes this very difficult to do now days.  

2. Nutrition is key!  Increasing daily fruits and vegetables is a good start.  Remembering to take your supplements daily.  Staying away from the holiday treats is difficult, but too much sugar will weaken the adrenals and immune response.  Water intake is another consideration.  Each person should be getting about 1/2 their body weight in ounces to stay well hydrated.  Keep flushing those toxins out, the longer they sit there the great chance of coming down with something. 

3. Exercise  We all know how important this one is, but…there are no buts about it!  Exercise will keep you feeling healthy and energized.  Keep doing it, or start if you haven’t already.  

This brings us to the final list of supplements you can take to build a healthier immune system.  I am only going to mention the top five I recommend patients. 

Thymex by Standard Process 

Congaplex by Standard Process

Colloidal Silver

Echinacea

Grapefruit Seed Extract

Homeopathics are another way to go if you begin to feel flu like symptoms.  Check out these two websites Borion or Homeopathics

There are many more to choose from if you are needing more suggestion

Here is some information on Tamiflu which is the standard of care most people get from their medical doctor.  http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?k=tamiflu

It is common practice for pregnant women to receive this drug even though it is a class C drug in pregnancy. 

I hope this helps to lesson the fears people are having about the flu.  Feel free to leave your suggestions and comments below.

Salad Dressing without preservatives

I am going to start blogging my new recipes I get that are all natural and healthy

Italian Dressing By Sarah Jones

Balsamic Vinaigrette 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups

Organic Garlic powder or fresh 2 pinches

Organic onion powder 2 pinches

Sea salt one pinch

Italian seasoning 3 pinches

Mustard seeds, crushed 3 pinches

Organic Dijon mustard 2 tsp

Organic Honey 1 to 2 table spoons

Olive oil 1/2 cup

Shake well before use.  Add Fresh avocado, Tomatoes, Green peppers, cucumbers.  Cut into small pieces and soak in dressing for an hour in the refrigerator.   It is to dye for.  I love this salad. 

“A recent report on the power of organic foods, which was endorsed by a number of scientist, organizations, and experts in organic research, nutrition and medicine, recommended long-term feeding trials with both annimals and humans.  This type of research would be able to assess the impact that consuming organic food has on health- including female health, fetal health and male fertility.  Of animals fed organically produced feed, the report showed significant health improvements in tha areas of growth, reproductive health, and ability to recover from illness.”

It is common practice to give cattle estrogen to increase their size and profits for farmers.  However the side effect is creating cows that are estrogen dominant, in turn causing the consumer to also gain high levels of synthetic estrogen.  It is no wonder we have girls as young as 4, 5 and 6 developing breast tissue along with some young boys.  Other girls are getting their periods at the ages of 6 or 8 years old.  Estrogen dominance can have many harmful side effects which I will cover in a later blog, one of which increase the risk for estrogen dominant cancers.

Over 400 studies have been published on the comparison between organic foods and non-organic foods, showing the health effects, nutritional content and food safety in consumers.  A dramatic decline was observed in mineral levels in the fruits and vegetables over the past 50 years in the non-organic foods.  There is less and less food available in your food.

Organic foods are higher in Vitamin C and phytonutrients, which are compounds that not only protect plants from pests and disease, but are also beneficial in the prevention and treatment of cancer. 

Normal functioning of the female endocrine glands depends on trace elements (minerals and vitamins).  Each of your hormones is activated by the mineral in the center of it. “For example, the thyroid must have sufficient quantity and quality of the trace element iodine to form the hormone thyroxin and the mineral selenium to activate it. The pancreas requires trace minerals, and zinc to make insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar.  The sex steroid hormones of the gonads require Vitamin E, selenium and fat-soluble vitamin factors as precursors.  Magnesium and Vitamin E are vital to pituitary hormone Production, while Vitamin D is very similar to the Calcium-controlling parathyroid hormone. Estrogen production is dependent on copper.  Therefore, sufficient real, live, whole food vitamins and minerals are required for a healthy hormonal state.”

Pretty interesting, don’t you think!

Last night I laid awake thinking about my midwife experiences here in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex.  I have been truly blessed to be apart of such a great team of midwives in the Dallas and Fort Worth area.  These midwives have sewn so much wisdom and knowledge into me.  When I first came to DFW I started to work with Gentle Beginnings Birth Center in Hurst.  This birthing center has changed my life.  I have grown to understand more about the holistic side of midwifery and enjoyed using the tremendous resources all around.  

One of those resources is using Chiropractic care during a woman’s pregnancy.  Gentle Beginnings is located in the same building as our wonderful Chiropractors, doctors Jim Bob and Cindy Haggarton at Lifetime Family Wellness Center.   They have taught me so much about healing the body through nutrition, herbs and holistic care.  We are a culture of pill poppers.  When we have a problem we go to the doctor for something to cover up the symptoms, not heal the cause.  It seems we are missing something if we are not getting to the route of the problem.  In this day and age if the symptom persists we will probably just get it removed, such as our gallbladder, appendix or pancreas.  Holistic care is about healing from the inside out.  We can heal our bodies through better nutrition and a healthier life style.  It is crazy to me that we are such a developed society, yet we are suffering from malnutrition from poor eating habits.  If McDonalds and Burger King are our Child’s favorite places to eat, it is no wonder we have such a high volume of heart disease, diabetes,  obesity, and the list goes on.  I am sure that some of you are thinking what does this have to do with Chiropractic care or even being a midwife.  Well let me tell you, it really does have so much to do with it.   I used to think Chiropractors were about bone crunching  I soon discovered this is not the case.  It may be for some of them, but the ones I have met here in the DFW have been amazing men and women who truly respect the human body and the need for whole foods to begin the process of true healing.  I have seen women who were considered infertile by the medical world get pregnant with a change in diet and lifestyle.   Children with chronic allergies and asthma were cured in a matter of days with dietary change, usually taking dairy out and just feeding them real foods.  Some of you know exactly what I am talking about too!  There is so much more!  The other side that I have seen is regular Chiropractic adjustments through the pregnancy can really help to make a woman’s labor quicker and more efficient.  There have been women in my care that would have ended up with a C-section if it were for a Chiropractor coming to them in labor to adjust their pelvis or sacrum.  The DFW is full of great resources!  We need to take advantage of these and start spreading the word, so that we can reach a lost generation.  I don’t feel like this is common knowledge now days.  Somehow the truth feels lost.  It seems our grandmothers knew some of the tricks to a healthy diet and lifestyle that our parents didn’t. 

It is my hope that I can continue to learn new things.  I never want to think I know it all or that I can’t learn something new, for if I did I would miss out on something that may change a generation to come.  There are so many aspects to midwifery care.  My goal is to bring as much awareness and education as I can to families that I help during their pregnancy and birth.  I want it to be a lifetime investment. 

Thank you for listening and I hope you will share your knowledge and experience with the rest of us.  Please leave your comments below.