Kid's Health

Since I changed the name of this blog (from some poorly focused garden blog to the vit/herb/ health thing), I will just start by writing about what obsesses me as a mother.
1. Kid's thrive with good nutrition. For some this may not include milk, cheese, peanut butter, tree nuts etc. For us though, it resembles Adele Davis mixed with a little hippy mama and a dash of americana country. I mean PROTEIN. Complex carbs from whole grains. A bit of natural sugar here and there for lovin' pep (both fruit and honey/ maple syrup). Fresh food (good eggs, homemade bread, beans and cheese, fruit, a sly vegetable when I can) and some basic nonchalance about junk food. Yep, I've been letting it go. Cookies at school? Whatev. A bag of candy? Yes, you can have a piece after you eat your peas and salmon cakes.
2. Kid's immune systems might need a boost too. I use an Elderberry, echinacea syrup. It helps with the constant barrage of preschool colds, infections, germs. It is a syrup so easy to drink.
Here are two different kinds: Elderberry echinacea syrup by NOW, Nature's way Elderberry syrup. NOW is a great vitamin company my dad always believed in.  Maybe because it was cheap?? Just sayin'; my dad was a confirmed cheapskate!  But more or less, NOW has always had less flashy packaging, less "bio-certified by lab tests" stuff and just as much potency.  So I stand by them as well.

*Just a word here: I use Lucky vitamin dot com, as well as Vitacost dot com. These two sites allow me to be busy and working and still get vitamins.  HOWEVER, I love and respect the Community Mercantile. And when I'm in Lawrence, I try to keep them in business by getting my necessities there. Supplement emergency? Go to the Merc! Need guidance? Ask Tyra! My dad, Hal Sears, helped to start and make their wonderful department what it is today. He guided and helped and healed lots of people from his place at the Merc.

Back to the info. Why elderberry? It is hugely anti-viral. It's botanical name is sambucus. It's an anti-oxidant and gets your immune system kicking. My daughters' respond quickly to it. Remember that potency is not what you may think. Stronger is not necessarily better. It is important to look at how far away from it's native environment the supplement is. There is a school of thought that believes that only whole food sources can provide health benefits. I believe it too- but pragmatically, I can't get elderberries into my food.  Dude. I'm just not up to the task!! So I look at syrup- a glycerin extract. This means that basically the berries are soaked in glycerin (sweet, vegetable based and kid edible!). Very close to the source! No huge machines, no high concentrations that may do more harm than good, nothing created in a lab. I could recreate this in my kitchen after picking elderberries this summer! I encourage you to do this if it floats your boat. Get back to me about plant identification- I'll give you some information on correctly identifying the elderberry plant and berries. DO NOT GO EATIN STRANGE BERRIES IN THE WOODS. Jeez. Do I have to tell you everything?? (Also, do not attempt to sue me. See disclaimer in my info section.)

be well- feed your kids and yourself good food. lay off the sugar. refined sugar makes your immune system crash- a complex thing with sugars inhibiting absorption of vitamin c I think.