[turbojenn]

be sure to get unsweetened fruit!

[cloverbee]

that's it! I'm going to the grocery store!!!

[turbojenn]

Don't go for the juicer....I use mine when I do a cleanse, but not otherwise...you do need a ton of fruit to get a cup of juice...say 4 carrots, a couple handfuls of spinach and an apple, and you get about 5oz....wonderfully healthy stuff, but crazy expensive to make. And cleaning a juicer....no fun.

I stock up on peaches, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries at the farmers market all summer, and fill my freezer with gallon ziplock bags full....I've made smoothies all winter and I've got 2 bags left, and the fruit season is starting again - yay!

[cloverbee]

cool. I was thinking of buying a juicer a while back but I don't know if it would be worth it since fruit is so expensive and apparantly you have to use a lot of it. what do you think? I really need to cut the sugar. so far I have cut partially hydrogenated oils and a lot of fake stuff.

[turbojenn]

For the smoothies, I use about 6oz of unsweetened apple juice, 2oz of almond milk (optional, I just like it), 1 cup of frozen fruit - or a banana, and a scoop of the BioCleanse powder - blend it up, and enjoy. The BioCleanse is pretty innocuous tasting as far as these things go - I've had to drink some pretty foul stuff in my journey to wellness.

[turbojenn]

holy crossposting batman!

midge - I made my dietary changes because of environmental allergies and constant migraines...life was hell....and food sensitivites were at the root of it all. Now, I don't take a single pill except my multivitamin, and have no allergies...I'd definitely start by cutting wheat and dairy from your diet - those are the two biggest food allergy culprits out there...

[cloverbee]

turbo, how do you make those smoothies?

[turbojenn]

Yup, raspberry leaf tea is indeed good for cramps...I'm not that fond of the flavor - its not bad, but I wouldn't make a cuppa unless MRG demanded it.

midge - I use a digestive herb supplement that has slippery elm, marshmallow root and some other stuff I can't remember at the moment (and am too comfy to get off the couch to go look)...its a chinese acupuncture concoction to help the small intestine meridiens. It does indeed help when I take it before meals.

If you are having some digestive issues, I would recommend doing a cleanse for a week, and get a couple of colonics throughout the week. I use a medical food product called BioCleanse that I blend into a smoothie with some fruit and unsweetened juice - I have smoothies for breakfast and dinner, and a lunch of fresh veggies and fruit....its really not bad at all, and not worrying about cooking gives me plenty of time in the week to pamper myself with baths and meditation....

If you're interested in more significant dietary changes, let me know...I made a huge change 5 years ago - eliminating dairy, wheat, eggs, sugar and beef from my diet, and I am happier, much healthier and my intestines are happy happy happy....

[cloverbee]

yeah, I recommend Nature's Sunshine herbs. they have been tested and have the best quality. they grow and harvest their own and are the purest. I've used them for 20 years. you can get them at betterherbs.com. In order for the SE to work for allergies you have to take it continuosly for six months. If you really want to get your stomach lined out though, I would also recommend eating a new yogurt called Activia. I think Dannon makes it. It is supposed to get you lined out in two weeks. I've been taking it and it works wonders for my stomach. It has lots of probiotics in it. anyway, w/ herbs you have to be careful of the quality b/c they are not regulated.

[midgemcgrath]

nereid--i totally drink raspberry leaf tea for that! i think it helps a little, but only if i start drinking it a couple days before i expect my period. i wouldn't say it cures them, but just takes the edge off.

cloverbee--it helps with allergies??? i have bad allergies (food and pollens), i hadn't heard that. wow! i bought loose powder, so i think i just hae to sprinkle it on/in something to eat it, or i read you can make tea of it too. you must have capsules or something. cool, thanks!

[cloverbee]

yes midge. it is a great colon cleanser and is supposed to be good for allergies as well. it provides mucilage for your colon. I take two at night.

[nereid]

Oooo, wonderful idea for a thread! Earlier today when I was looking through another forum, I read that Red Raspberry Leaf tea is good for cramps. I've never tried it myself, but I thought it was pretty interesting.

[midgemcgrath]

Seems like there was a lot of support for this, so here 'tis, a thread on alternative medicine. I know that there is a lot of talk about this stuff in bits and pieces on other threads, but it seems like such a popular topic these days that it really deserved its own. Anything about herbs, naturopathy, accupuncture, nutrition, etc., bring it on!

I'll start: has anyone ever used slippery elm root for digestive problems? I bought some, but I'm scared to try it, and don't know anyone who has! It's supposed to help heal irritated digestive systems...