Sick Like a Rock Star

Winter is coming...

You’re going to get sick with a cold, flu or stomach bug. It’s inevitable. Getting sick is a healthy part of being human. It’s just that our entire culture is fucked up about it. We get sick and think that something is wrong, that we have failed and we focus on how inconvenient it is. We run to the “good doctor” to get drugs and lower fevers when the body should be left to handle it on its own with the help of the right foods, herbs and lifestyle interventions.

Plus, money makes the world go round and when you’re sick, you can’t work. I don’t want to minimize anyone’s financial stress with acute illness. But that we have an economic system that doesn’t allow space for being sick beyond pisses me off. Until we stop valuing productivity more than healthy immune function, then we can continue to enjoy our dysfunctional bodies in the form of chronic inflammation, including allergies, autoimmune disease and cancer.

Look, many cultural shifts often happen when enough individuals change. So let me ask you this…

Are you up for celebrating your mucus membranes this fall and winter?

When you get sick, can you set your ego aside and really lean into it? Effectively saying, “I’m not a goddamn machine! I am a human being!”

Can you engage in one of the most holy acts of resistance against capitalism and the patriarchy by staying in bed and caring for yourself? This isn’t weakness; this is great feminine strength!

If you’re a parent, can you let your child have a fever or cough or whatever…can you tolerate your child being miserable or do you just want to make it all go away?

Can you embrace the reality that when you get sick and do it right, you and your child are really getting stronger and that you haven’t failed?

Well managed acute infections in childhood can set the stage for a healthy a immune system in adulthood. If you fuck this early stage up, you may not be able to fix it later.

So I don’t want to talk about prevention right now. We know how to prevent illness: good clean air and water, nutrient dense foods, less carbohydrates and sugar, minimal alcohol, the right amount of movement, avoidance of food allergies, stress management (whatever the fuck that means), rest, and appropriate nutritional and herbal supplements (please note the absence of vaccines). Yep, we know what prevention looks like…until our healthy habits get compromised and the body becomes hospitable to a bug. Then what? That’s what I want to talk about: how to be sick like a motherfucking rock star.

Ok. Are you ready? Are your mucus membranes all pumped up about getting exercised? Good.

Here’s how we ensure that we make the best of acute illness:

Stay hydrated. I know - boring! But this is a necessary reminder that the best part of your immune system resides in the mucus membranes which are moist. Your mucus membranes are performing a barrier function AND sending important messages to the rest of your body. If you’re dehydrated, then they can’t do their jobs properly. We want that mucus to flow! So drink plenty of room temperature water and hot herbal teas. My favorites include organic peppermint, Equal Exchange Vanilla Rooibos, Rishi’s Turmeric Ginger and Organic India’s Holy Basil.

Calcium Lactate powder. Calcium lactate comes from beets and is dairy-free. This form of calcium is highly absorbable and supports the 1% of calcium flowing through your bloodstream that performs an immune function. Calcium lactate is able to call the white blood cells into action and many people are deficient in it. When trying to understand this product, you can also think of the role that calcium plays in nature: it provides a protective shell and it’s going to do the same for you. I like adding a teaspoon or two to my electrolytes, which plays right back into my first suggestion: consume more fluids.

Andrographis Complex. This tablet is a combination of andrographis herb, echinacea root, and holy basil herb and essential oil. This formula is designed for acute infections and clears heat. Wherever there is heat in the body, there is the opportunity for stagnation, particularly in the liver which has to clear all the immune complexes formed in the blood. This formula is not only boosting immune function, it’s helping with detoxification. It helps the body manage its inflammation without interrupting the process, ultimately helping you feel better than you would without it. 6-8 per day is recommended and if you take too much, your stomach might get upset. No problem just reduce the dosage and carry on with your mission.

Broncafect Phytosynergist. This is a liquid herbal blend of echinacea root, licorice root, pleurisy root, thyme leaf, ginger rhizome, and white horehound herb. You can use this to manage fevers and move the fuck out of mucus. It’s primarily for wet coughs, but you can also use it for the sinuses. It will warm you UP and empower the body to move the pathogens OUT. I always have at least two bottles in my stash because all of these things are useless if you don’t have them when the bug hits! I like to turn Broncafect into a tea, putting 5-10 mLs in a glass of room temperature water and drinking it slowly. 5 mLs is a metric teaspoon and during an acute situation, I might push the dose up to 6-9 teaspoons per day.

And while I sip on my Broncafect tea, I bathe my sick ass in Dr Singha’s Mustard Bath. This gem of a creation contains: baking soda, mustard seed powder, and essential oils of wintergreen, eucalyptus, rosemary, thyme and gum benzoin. Again, you are warming your body up and relaxing! Have you watched Stranger Things? When the shadow monster from the upside down invades Will’s body, it likes it cold. So it goes with an infection. Heat makes you inhospitable to the virus. Burn that shit out.

Essential oil steams. This looks like filling your sink with boiling hot water, placing 2-3 drops of your favorite essential oil in it, covering your head with a towel, and breathing deeply for 5-10 minutes. It’s awkward as well, but worth it. My favorite essential oil is tea tree oil because it is highly antimicrobial and not irritating...to me. Because that’s the thing with essential oils, what you like can be very personal. So go with what you like! They all have antimicrobial properties and this steam inhalation allows you to reach the most affected mucus membranes: the sinus cavity and the lungs.

If you are hungry, eat. If you are not hungry, don’t eat. Pretty fucking simple, heh? Your body is smart; it will tell you what to do if you let it.

A commitment to doing nothing. Both literally and figuratively, not doing is probably the most important of all. The Western medical model prides itself on interventions. The entire system is built upon the idea that man can do it better than Mother Nature. I call bullshit. The most crucial thing you can do when you’re sick is NOTHING and let your body do the work. It will hurt. You will be uncomfortable. It will be hard. But I have faith that you can handle it and come out of the other side that much stronger. Learn to do this well in your body, and you can pass the gift on to your children.

Be sick like a motherfucking rock star in peace, my friends!

Love,

Charlotte

PS - If this conversation about fevers scares the shit out of you, please find a health professional who can walk you through the process and be there to support you. There are medical doctors who understand the value of a good fever - find them!

Just a reminder that the Standard Process and MediHerb products listed above are available through licensed health professionals who have been trained in how to use them.

Last but not least, I am excited to be attending the first Electromagnetic Fields Conference 2019 Diagnosis and Treatment: Effects of EMF Exposure and The Impact of Today's Wireless Technologies next weekend. I just finished another book on the subject matter titled Would You Put Your Head in a Microwave Oven? by Dr Gerald Goldberg. Compelling:

"In terms of the point of this book, one should ask oneself, how could everyone across different regions of the country be getting sick at the same time? Also how is it that the number of ill people seems to be increasing in numbers! Focus on the common link. There are not many things in nature that can affect individuals across broad geographic areas. Microwave radiation exposure is the singular unifying link till proven otherwise. There should be no debate. Apart from all the other environmental toxins and pollutants that we are exposed to microwave radiation will act as an accelerant of illness" (p35).

From his perspective, we are all cooking. So think about this next time you put your cell phone anywhere near your body.

Sorry to end on such a depressing note. Thanks for reading!

5 New Things I Love

Maybe you'll find something you love, too!

#1 Iced Dandyblend Latte

Every night after dinner, my husband and I go through the same ritual. We finish eating and one of us asks, “Should I heat some water for a Dandyblend?” The answer is always YES! And we laugh, wondering why we even have this conversation.

Well, the other night after a hot summer day, I broke our routine: instead of heating water, I made an iced Dandyblend latte. Here’s what you need:

1 pint glass jar

1 heaping Tablespoon Dandyblend

½ pint water

1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla bean paste from Savory Spice

Ice

Nut milk creamer*

Grab your glass jar. Put the Dandyblend in. Fill it halfway with room temperature water. Add vanilla. Stir. Fill it with ice, leaving a generous amount of room for the creamer which you shall now pour. After you admire the swirls of cream, stir again. Sit back and savor the moment.

For those of you not familiar with Dandyblend, this is sold as an herbal coffee substitute. Now, does anything besides coffee taste like coffee? NO! But you can come close with a dark, brown, bitter combination of herbs. Dandyblend uses water soluble extracts of roasted barley, rye, chicory root, dandelion root, and beetroot (yes, it is gluten free). And while I enjoy both the energy boost and calming effect of Reishi Roastand Rasa Koffee, those require more preparation in terms of using a French Press or decocting (plus, I drink one of those in the morning so I need something different at night – ha). Dandyblend immediately dissolves into water and while you won’t get any mood altering effects or stress support like you do with the previously mentioned mushroom beverages, your liver and digestion loves the dark, bitter beverage that Dandyblend offers.

*A note about the nut milk creamer: now, that my sensitivity to coconut has returned, I’ve replaced it with macadamia nuts. It’s an expensive shift in my creamer, but damn, it’s good! Obviously, you can buy a nut milk creamer at the store, I just haven’t found one worth the container it comes in. And if you can consume dairy, then just use regular cream (try to find raw cream directly from the farmer, if you can.)

#2 The Great Hack

Ok, so now you have a wonderful beverage to make while you watch this new documentary on Netflix: The Great Hack. I’m not gonna tell you what it’s about; Netflix can do that. What I’m going to say is this: everything that we create in this world exists because we allow it. Money and attention make the world go fucking round and round. Therefore, where you spend your money and your time illustrates what you support.

Up until this point, I had mostly been focused on the food supply…

I don’t eat at fast food, drink sodas with high fructose corn syrup, or eat Ding Dongs and Twinkies because I wish this shit didn’t exist! It hurts people. And if I buy these items, then I am effectively saying, “That’s cool. No problem here!”

Folks, we have lots of problems, and one of them is called Facebook. I’m not saying that social media doesn’t have benefits, what I’m saying is that it’s not fucking worth our humanity.

Your individual decisions are bigger than you. Just like the trillions of cells in your body create you, each one of us contributes to our culture. At any given time we have LOTS of blind spots, but every single morning we can open our eyes a bit wider and we can do better, right? We don’t have to ask Facebook to change. All you need to do is delete your account and stop participating in this absolute disaster.

Don’t want to watch a movie? That’s fine. Check out this Ted Talk from one of the journalists featured in the movie. She is a rockstar.

#3 An Electronic Silent Spring: Facing the Danger and Creating Safe Limits by Katie Singer

Speaking of making change, I read this book in a matter of days. I simply couldn’t put it down. First, it’s written by a woman – yay for that, especially considering the topic. And she’s a woman I love. I heard her speak about fertility many years ago at a conference, and it appears that her career took a sharp turn when she began suffering from flicker sensitivity. Second, she states at the beginning of the book that she’s going to make mistakes and that this is an on-going conversation. Reading this book, gives you a seat at the roundtable.

I really appreciate that she addresses the impact of electrosmog not only from a health perspective, but also from an environmental one. Without bees we are nothing! Many animals (including us) use the magnetic field of the earth to navigate; these technologies are disrupting that. Monsanto’s Round Up Ready isn’t the only assault to bees.

And the stories that she includes written directly from the people affected by this issue are incredibly compelling. Just don’t expect the book to read like a story; it is chunks of information and with each page I turned, I wondered, “What will she say next?” Bravo.

#4 The Sleep Crown

Shifting gears to one of my favorite things on this earth, SLEEP! I bought this a while back, not knowing if I would use it. Cuz you know how it goes? Many of these health gadgets can end up in a closet or the garage, wasting away. This, however, isn’t one of them. The sleep crown has become a sacred object in my bed. It is so so so so soft. Our home in Colorado has a ton of windows which is fantastic until morning comes or you want to take a nap. I simply tuck this around my eyes and ears and drift off into the cozy land of rest. If light and sound are an issue for you, definitely check this out.

#5 My Weighted Blanket

So here I am last night tossing and turning in bed. I’m still experiencing jet lag, along with a return to the stress of my life after such a nice vacation and an air conditioner that’s not working (right now Colorado is HOT), and the most annoying thing ever: restless legs. Have I been formally diagnosed with such a condition? No. It’s how I would describe what I feel. My legs ache, I can’t get comfortable and I squirm. It sucks.

[For those of you who are health professionals reading this. I am not anemic. I could investigate a bit more into my mineral balance but I do take magnesium. I have found that Vascular Care Complex from MediHerb is extremely helpful for addressing venous stagnation, which I think set in after pregnancy. Those herbs have been my best bet yet…as well as the weighted blanket.]

I digress...

Back to last night, I eventually got up, grabbed my weighted blanket, put my fluffy sleep crown on and drifted off.

Bottom line: I would recommend a weighted blanket for anyone who suffers from anxiety, restlessness, and could use a boost in serotonin. If you like massage and the feeling of weight on your body, I’d consider it. This is the one I purchased.

That’s all for now. Thanks for being here and “see” ya next week.

Shop in peace, my friends!

Love,

Charlotte

The Secret to a Fabulous Vacation

"Keep close to nature's heart...and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." -John Muir

Aloha! My family just returned from two weeks on Maui. If you’re familiar with the island, we stayed in Haiku at the Bamboo Valley Inn. Since we were on the second story, it was a like a tree house surrounded in fifty shades of green with plants growing on top of plants growing on top of plants. It never stopped moving and was so full of life.

When we weren’t in the jungle, we were bathing in the clear blue water at one particular beach that had up to twelve green sea turtles sunbathing in the sand. A bit out from the shoreline, there were a group of rocks that broke the waves for us, so we spent hours each day swimming in water that came right up to my shoulders - watching the turtles come in to the beach and go out.

It was magical.

Now, I’ve been to some beautiful places in this world, but I’ve never done it without technology.

I’ve always had my phone, emails, and text messages. While I had definitely minimized it, I had not, up until this point, eliminated it. And let me be honest, I now know that when I was involved with Instagram, taking pictures was consuming and distracting. This time I traveled with an actual camera and haven’t shared my pictures with anyone.

For lack of a better description, I melted into this vacation. By day two, I didn’t know what day it was, what time it was, and I didn’t give a shit. I let it all go.

I think that is THE secret to a fabulous vacation:

Replace goddess-made nature with man-made technology and observe yourself.

I didn’t need a massage or an acupuncture treatment or an hour in the float tank. These are the tools that help me exist in the modern world, but I didn’t need them when I was being held in the ocean by Mother Nature.

Because here’s the deal: to me, a vacation isn’t really about a vacation. It is a distinct opportunity to observe yourself away from the day-to-day stress. It is about experiencing contrast, and if you travel with all of your devices, how the fuck are you going to do that? You can’t.

One of the defining aspects of technology is that it strives to automate – to make everything the same, to have consistent experiences. This is the exact opposite of nature, which is fully alive, flowing and animated by Spirit, not a manifestation of the human intellect.

One question that I consistently ask my clients who have a chronic health complain is: what happens to your symptoms when you go on vacation? Some immediately say that it gets better and that’s good information to have, while other clients just stare blankly at me and say, “Huh. I don’t know.” Both answers to this question illuminate something important:

At the heart of all healing is the ability to observe oneself. This involves being deeply in your body AND watching it at the same time. Whether you are on vacation or not, it involves doing something differently and seeing what shows up as a result of that change.

Case in point…over the past few months, I’ve noticed that I’ve had more pimples on my face. That’s not been a pattern for me. This is new and I’ve been struggling to figure it out. Once I got to Maui, it got worse. A lot worse. After a day of being there, I woke up with, like, three more breakouts. Then, I asked myself, “What’s changed?”

One word popped into my head: coconut. And then another word popped into my head: FUCK!

I immediately stopped eating coconut and didn’t have a single pimple for the remainder of our vacation.

So not everything gets better on vacation, and that’s A-OK. It’s your ability to observe your body that matters. It’s your teacher. The intelligence flowing through you is the same energy that’s telling those turtles, it’s time to rest on shore, and it’s time to go back into the ocean.

While I know that technology has its place in this world, I also know that we’ve gone too far and our addiction to it has disrupted our connection to ourselves.

But we can change. Next time you’re on vacation with your family, do what I did: say fuck it and leave your devices at home.

You just might learn something and profoundly relax in the process.

When objections arise (which they will), recognize them for what they are: your ego’s cry for significance. And that’s ok, you are significant – no one can do what you do, no one can bring what you bring. And in the same breath, you have to acknowledge the reality that the world will go on without you – both when you die AND when you decide to take some time off. Waking up to your insignificance is a spiritual experience. Don’t let technology rob you of it.

Vacation in peace, my friends!

Love,

Charlotte

P.S. – I’m so glad to be back here with you! Here are a few things I’d also like to share…

Book I finished on vacation - The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life by Dr Robert Becker. Wow. This book blew my mind on too many levels to share, but the bottom line is this: we are electrical beings, so all this invisible shit in the air in terms of radio waves connecting us to the internet, cell phones, smart meters, etc IS without a doubt affecting our bodies and our life force. And the biggest player in this nightmare is the military. I mean, I should have known, but I just didn't get it. Wow. Wow. Wow. Published in 1985 and relevant AF. Beware that this book has small print and you'll learn more about salamanders than you ever wanted to know, but it's definitely worth it if you want to geek out.

Book I’m reading now - Consciousness Medicine: Indigenous Wisdom, Entheogens, and Expanded States of Consciousness for Healing and Growth by Francoise Bourzat. I'm half-way through this book and if you have any interest in or experience with psychoactive mushrooms, along with the medicinal use of MDMA and LSD, then this is a must read. I'm preparing for an experience, so I am really enjoying her perspective. This book is written both for participants AND the guides. On the relationship between creativity, wisdom and love, she says, "Creativity without wisdom can be chaotic and destructive. Wisdom without creativity can be static and lack the energy to manifest itself. Love without wisdom can be overly sentimental or reckless, and wisdom without love can be cool and detached. Creativity without love can be insensitive and mechanical, and love without creativity can become limited and repetitious" (p76). Yeah, read that a few times.

Moving on from great books, this is an awesome skin care product: Maui Vera. It's the BEST aloe vera product I have ever come across. So soothing and leaves none of that sticky aloe feeling on your skin.

Last but not least, we visited the lavender farm on Maui. It was soooooo beautiful and they make a delicious tea from spearmint, chamomile, lavender and lemon balm. It's called Kula Tea and it is a treat! I brought one box home and will definitely be buying more.

Alrighty, that's all for now! Just a quick reminder that I'm here to support you in your healing journey. Here is my online scheduler if you would like some time together to fine tune your self-care. Thanks for being here!