Immunomodulators

My 16 month old son Grant had a very rough first year of life. He was sick at least half of it, mostly with respiratory distress type illnesses. He was exclusively breastfed till he was almost 6 months old - and still...was a pretty sick little guy. It seemed like every little cold or bug would turn into a big gigantic scare. The most recent team of specialists said he was most likely immune compromised and would likely grow out of it. So for this they sent us home with a script for 8 medicines! And most of these meds were for asthma. GRRRR. If the world was perfect, they would have sent us home with a list of foods, herbs, vitamins and minerals that boost immunity.

At the pace of a snail, I have been researching immunomodulators. Yesterday I visited my local health food coop store (which is the best I have even seen - even if their recent remodel was in my opinion unnecessary and flawed - now the aisles are soo congested - enough ranting)and spent a whopping $100 on stuff to help us all survive the winter unscathed and stronger for it.



Preventative:

Nutritional Yeast
Selenium supplement (for me)
Probiotics
Kefir starter
Natural Beef Liver
Acidophilus supplements (for me)
immune boosting organic tea (with echinachae & astragalus)

And for when he shows a symptom of illness:
Echinachae & Astragalus suspension

Plus I already have a Horsehound suspension more specifically for lung function

I seem to be on a beneficial bacteria kick. Gut health is very important to overall health.

Im just at the tip of a very enormous iceberg..so I know i need much more understanding of nutrition and amounts etc before I go about spouting truth. However...I am excited to be making strides towards more natural healing and building strong immunity.

coming out of the closet

Yes i have been MIA. Yes I have been hiding. Yes I have been avoiding this.
Partly because its been over a week and a half since I had a meal plan, partly because we havent grocery shopped since then either, partly because we have been eating on the go and at restaurants etc etc. But here I am...coming out of the closet.

This is so difficult for me...to change my ways. Old habits die hard. Especially now that I have a 16 month old, work full time outside the home & now we are preparing the house for market...my time is short. Yet especially because of those exact reasons...I need to change! I need to plan ahead and make the time....prioritize the very necessary action of ingesting quality food. GRRRRR.

My homework right now it to put together another meal plan. Those things are my road map and I do very well when one is in place. Eventually I will have a collection of good eats so I can easily just pick a plan that has worked for us in the past...quick...easy..healthy...delicious...ta da. But for now I am still in the grunt work phase...and honestly...just putting it together seems overwhelming! I am going to call my mom and use some of her home cooking recipes. That will be a quick start..and now with the temperatures diving...comfort food takes on a whole new meaning.

I will mention that I have been cooking. We had broccoli and angel hair (my moms recipe...very simple and amazingly good. Fried green tomatos rounded out this end of summer delight. Oh ya and I made a pumkin pie. Dave made ham and bean soup which we ate for a freakin week (i also made jalapeno corn bread to go with it...and thats a fabulous combo by the way...just keep the jalapeno LIGHT else you burn). I threw together a shrimp/scampi/asian sauce with rice and a salad last night. Scampi..yes very buttery...but it was heavy on fresh garlic..so see :). Theres the balance.

Anyhoo...I was tempted to say good bye and bury this blog. But I am going to move forward, carry the torch, and buckle down. I cant give up this soon! I really want it. So meal plan here i come.