Liver and Gallbladder Cleanse

1/2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 c. water

4 Tbsp. Epsom Salt

Apple Juice

Grapefruit Juice

*Use grapefruit juice for the 10:00 p.m. olive oil mix. The juice keeps the oil from separating and it taste much better than with water. Use the water for the Epsom salt mix.



Eat a no-fat breakfast and lunch such as cooked cereal with fruit, fruit juice, bread and preserves or honey (NO MILK OR BUTTER), baked potato or other vegetables with salt only. This allows the bile to build up and develop pressure in the liver. Higher pressures pushes out more stones.



Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice is best. Organic if you can get it.



2:00 p.m. Do not eat after 2:00. Drink water and apple juice only.



DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING FROM 5:30 P.M. ONWARDS



6:00 p.m. Mix 1 Tbsp. Epsom Salt with 3/4 c. water or grapefruit juice.



8:00 p.m. Repeat by drinking another 3/4 c. Epsom salt mix.



8:30-9:00 p.m. OPTION: You can have vanilla ice cream (no carrageenan) 16-32 oz. Bryers is a good brand. You get more stones if you don't eat the ice cream.



9:45 p.m. Pour 1/2 c. olive oil into pint jar. Add 3/4 c. grapefruit juice and shake jar.



10:00 p.m. Drink olive oil mix. You can chase this with honey between sips. Get it down within 5 min.



Lie down immediately. The sooner you lie down the more stones you get out. Be ready for bed ahead of time. Lie on your right side. Try to keep still for 20 min. You may feel a train of stones traveling along the bile ducts like marbles.



Next morning upon awakening, take your third dose of Epsom salt mix. Don't take before 6:00 a.m.



2 hours later take your fourth Epsom salt mix.



2 hours later you may eat. Start with fruit juice. Half hour later eat fruit. One hour later you may eat regular food but keep it light.

**You will see not only stones but liver flukes in your stool. This works. Try it**

Here's The Plan

So a friend of mine and I have been talking recently about vitamins and supplements and which ones are the best, which ones to put our family on, and which ones are affordable for our limited budgets. There are so many products out there that it's all so overwhelming researching it. I want to get the most for my money nutritionally speaking. Not all brands are the best or comparable to other brands. Just because it says "All Natural" doesn't mean it is. I prefer to have supplements that are not sweetened with fructose.

I talked to our local chiropractor about what supplements children (2 years and older) should be on and she recommend a good quality fish oil, a good quality multivitamin, and a probiotic. Now, when I say good quality, I am not referring to the GuumiBear vitamins from Wal-Mart that are full of artificial colors and flavorings. They are not worth the money. I highly recommend a whole food vitamin with maximum absorption without added sugar, preservatives, colors, or flavorings.

Libby is currently on a powdered probiotic, a liquid fish oil, and "Catalyn", which is explained below. I am researching alternative products that are cheaper, but still a great product.

Kellie, our chiropractor sold us a whole food supplement for kids (similar to a multivitamin) from the company Standard Process called "Catalyn" chewable. Libby was even taking this one at 14 months just smashed and added to her food. Now that she has teeth she can easily chew it. It has 19,000 phytonutrients! Awesome stuff, but it's a little pricey for me to keep buying it. So I found an alternative that our whole family can take. Children simply take half the dose. It's an organic liquid vitamin. And it fits our budget. It only costs $16.26 for 30 oz. So no need to buy three different vitamins for all our needs. This one will do the trick.

I also found her a chewable softgel fish oil at $17.99 for 180

softgels by Nordic Naturals.

Garden of Life also has "Primal Defense" for kids which is a probiotic powder for $16.25. Children can start taking that as soon as they can

start other liquids besides formula or breast milk, which is around six months of age.

So, I was able to find three different products with a price that fits our budget.

Here are a few brands that I highly trust that I myself have taken personally or my family has taken. This list is not exhaustive, but I simply can't list everything.

Garden of Life (excellent products. A little on the pricey end)

Nordic Naturals (makes great products for kids)

Standard Process (available only through health food stores or licensed health care professionals)

Integrative Therapeutics (again, only available through health care professionals).

So what am I taking you ask? Well, I am simply just going to take a good multivitamin as I described above and fish oil softgels at 180 softgels for $12.72. I love yogurt and sour cream so I get my probiotics in that way. Be sure and eat yogurt that is free from high fructose corn syrup, the ingredient in most store bought yogurt. I buy the organic variety at Wal-Mart without added antibiotics and hormones.

Where am I getting all these supplements at such affordable costs? http://www.vitacost.com/. They sell everything from vitamins, bath and body supplies, to food, to books, etc. They are well below retail price and shipping is only $4.99 no matter how much you order. So head on over there and check out there products.

Included in my order (which I will purchase when Joey gets paid this week) is all natural toothpaste without flouride (that's another post), deodorant without aluminum (that's another post), all natural baby products, and other bath care products. I currently purchase my toothpaste and deodorant from Wal-Mart both from the company Tom's of Maine, but vitacost has them much cheaper.

This is the toothpaste I am getting for Libby without flouride.

Hope this info isn't too overwhelming, but rather helpful in helping you decide the best products for your family's needs. Every family is different and the needs different and the budgets different so do what you can afford.

More to come in a later post information about aluminum and flouride.

Cloth Diapering

In my quest to save money, I began my cloth diapering journey last March. That was my foremost reason, although there are certainly other reasons to cloth diaper.

• I like the idea of not putting chemicals next to my baby's skin. Ever wonder why the disposables can hold so much? The chemicals in the diapers expand to hold more liquid. I do keep a package of disposables on hand to use at church or if I get behind in my laundering and you know what? I don't worry about it.

• Some babies are even allergic to different brands of disposables so finding the right brand can be difficult. You don't have that issue with cloth.

• They are easy to use, especially if you buy the pocket or all-in-one varieties. They come in awesome colors and different styles to suit your needs/pocketbook.

I currently use Haute (pronounced "oat") one size pocket diapers with Libby. They have a pocket in the back in which you stuff an insert into it. The adjustable snaps in the front allow you to adjust the rise from a newborn to 35 pounds, thus eliminating the need to buy more diapers as they grow. I also use disposables liners with every diaper that catches the poop. If they don't poop the liner gets thrown in with the soiled diaper and washed. There is no waste. Should they happen to poop simply flush the liner and no rinsing is required. I put the soiled diapers in a small trash can with a lid to help hold the smell in. I wash them twice a week, although depending on the number of diapers you have you may have to wash more often or less often. I have 16 diapers which seems to be a good number, but more is always good.

*Mine are snaps instead of Velcro

I also use Charlie's Soap to wash all my laundry. To keep the diaper's absorbency in tact, you need to wash them with an all natural detergent, otherwise with time, they will no longer absorb as much liquid. It's better to use the detergent with all your laundry to keep other detergent's residues left in the washer from getting on your cloths. The cost for Charlie's is actually cheaper than name brand detergents because it's highly concentrated only requiring 1/8 cup for each load.

This time around I have been researching other brands of cloths to use with our son. I like the pockets, but it still involves an extra step of stuffing with an insert. So, I found a one size all-in-one by Mommy's Touch that involves no stuffing, but will still grow with my baby. The insert is sewn in and comes with an extra snap on liner for the heavy wetters.

I have also researched other websites that offer that brand that is cheaper and Nicki's Diapers seem to be the place. I also purchased the Haute pockets from there as well. To purchase seconds or going-out-of-stock diapers check this site for awesome deals. I purchased one mommy's touch diaper from there last month just to try it out and I love it!! It was a brand new second, but I can't tell a difference between those and a new one. They also get great reviews.

For great reviews on cloth diapers, go here to see what other moms are saying.

I love cloth diapering. It's simple, cheaper than using disposables, and healthy for my baby. Yes, the up front cost is more, but the savings and benefits are lifelong.

Grapefruit seed extract

Due to GSE's anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and anti-biotic properties, it is safely used to treat a number of internal and external infections, parasites, fungus, viruses and bacteria in humans and animals. It is yellow-amber in color and comes out in drop form that you mix in water. It is virtually tasteless. I mix it in with Libby's juice and she never even knows it's there.

It detoxifies, enhances and supports the immune system. It is also helpful in alkalizing (raising the ph) the blood which is vitally important because viruses, bacteria and even cancer can not survive in an alkaline system. Though lemons, limes, and grapefruit are chemically acidic, when they are metabolized by the body they have an alkalizing effect. One easy way I have found to alkalize my body is to you squeeze half of a lemon or lime in my ice water. I also purchased ph strips at a health food to test my acidity levels and they weren't too bad but not where it should be. I know of several post-cancer patients who are very faithful in drinking their lemon/lime water to help level out their body so cancer can not survive again.

It is safe and non-toxic for adults and children. It would take 4,000 times the normal dose of GSE to produce a 50% chance of poisoning according to a website I was researching.

It is used internally for yeast infections and an overgrowth of candida (yeast) in the body, colds, bladder infections, chronic inflammation (indicates a weakened immune system), parasites and many other things.

It is used externally for fungal infections of the feet, nails, and skin. Use it as a spray (use 10-20 drops in distilled or boiled water and put into a spray bottle) for cuts, burns, insect bites and wounds. It will stop an infection dead. It can be used as a facial cleaner and used to treat acne which a lot of times is caused by bacterial infections.

*The dosage listed on the bottle is anywhere from 10-20 drops but it doesn't matter. You can't overdose on it.*

If you're around someone who is sick, immediately give GSE to yourself and your children as a preventative. It doesn't always guarantee if you won't get sick especially if you're immune system is already compromised from a recent cold, flu, antibiotic treatment, etc.

The Nutribiotic brand to me is the best brand and everyone I know who uses GSE uses that brand. It is cheaper if you order it online here, however if you don't want to mess with ordering you can buy it at your local health food store.

Also, take GSE with you when you're traveling and camping. It can also be used to treat ticks (put the drops directly on the tick and then remove with tweezers), insects bits, first aide spray and water treatment. *Side note: Joey and I don't do that kind of camping or backpacking where we would come into contact with questionable water but if you do then you can use GSE to sanitize water. I don't know that I would feel comfortable doing that. I think I would boil it first if I could and then use that but that's me:)

It can also be used to spray on garden vegetables to detract pests from eating it up. Some of the recipes I found called for mixing it with cayenne pepper so research it before you do it to make sure you get the right amounts.

This is excellent stuff to keep on hand and no home should be without it.

I by no means guarantee any of these treatments, especially if the infection or virus is too far gone to be treated naturally. Sometimes conventional treatment needs to be sought out, however I will try the natural first and then if to no avail, I will seek out conventional treatment as a last resort.

Now, run stock up!!

All About Olive Oil and Other Healthy Oils

Olives and olive oil have been used as powerful remedies for a wide variety of ills. Olive oil is one of the most digestible of all fats. A diet rich in olive oil contributes to longevity and reduces the wear and tear of aging on the body tissues, organs, and the brain. It reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer, and it can protect against stomach ulcers.

High-quality extra-virgin olive oil should not be used in cooking, though, as some of the nutrients in olive oil become less effective when heated. For that reason, I recommend that it be mixed into food once the food has cooled, although I use it some for stir fry veggies.

For the most healthful and nutritious look for extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil, also referred to as E.V.O.O., is the result of the first cold-pressing of an olive crop. Use it often in salad dressings, in pesto, and in marinades for a rich, classic Mediterranean flavor!

Other healthy oils/fats that are great for cooking include grapeseed oil, coconut oil, palm oil, and real butter. I use all the above and all are great for cooking at high temperatures. Of course organic or cold-pressed is best, but it can also be expensive so buy what you can afford. The debate is out on whether safflower oil is healthy, but I still use it. A book I read only recommends it if it is organic cold-pressed, but I just buy the kind from Wal-Mart which isn't.

Limit if not avoid vegetable oil, canola oil, peanut oil and definitely avoid shortening or Crisco and margarine of any kind because of the hydrogenation process it undergoes.

I love the following homemade salad dressing and I make it ALL the time. It is the best ever and my mom and I absolutely rave about it. Hope you enjoy it. The olive oil will give it a stronger taste so if you want something a little less "flavorful" you can use the grapeseed oil.

Simple Salad Dressing

1 clove of FRESH garlic, chopped

1 tsp. salt

1 -1/2 T. of white vinegar

4 T. of olive or grapeseed oil

1/4 tsp of dry mustard

dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small jar and shake thoroughly. This is quite salty so if you are not a salt lover, you can reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp.