We use Coconut Oil and Olive Oil

WHAT OILS should you use WHEN? This article from Dr. Mercola's website discusses the oils that we use in our homes.  We always cook with coconut oil and use it in place of other oils in all of our recipes that call for butter or margarine etc.  When we need oil for salads and other raw food recipes we use cold pressed olive oil that we keep stored in a dark cool place.  See below...

A common question that many people have is whether or not food should be eaten uncooked. I personally believe that consuming a majority of your food uncooked is a cornerstone of optimal health.
Typically, the less processed and heat-treated the food is, the more nutritious and healthier it is going to be.
Nevertheless, most people prefer to cook their food, at least occasionally. When you do, you're going to cook with some form of oil.
The question is, what's the best, healthiest type of oil to use when cooking?
Dr. Rudi Moerck has studied oils for a long time, and offers some intriguing insights in this interview.

Cooking with Tropical Oils – Your Healthiest Alternative

I have, for many years now, recommended coconut oil on the basis and the supposition that it doesn't contain much unsaturated fat. As a result, it's not going to be damaged by heat and create trans fats like some other oils. (Another tropical oil that is very similar is palm oil.)
Dr. Moerck agrees, saying:

"I would say that coconut oil is okay to cook with. It's a saturated fat.  Your body will burn it as fuel or it will get rid of it some other way. It won't store it in your body.. So from that point of view, if you're going to use oil then that's a good one to use."

Interestingly, unlike carbohydrates, which can also deliver quick energy to your body, coconut oil does this without producing an insulin spike. Yes, it acts like a carbohydrate, but without any of the debilitating insulin-related effects associated with long-term high carbohydrate consumption.
But that's merely the beginning.
Earlier this week I published an entire special report on the health benefits of coconut oil, which include:

• Promoting heart health
• Promoting weight loss, when needed
• Supporting your immune system health
• Supporting a healthy metabolism
• Providing you with an immediate energy source
• Keeping your skin healthy and youthful looking
• Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland

Part of what makes coconut oil such a healthful oil for cooking is that 50 percent of the fat content in coconut oil is a fat rarely found in nature called lauric acid.  This is also one of the features that distinguishes coconut oil from other saturated fats.
Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties.
In addition, coconut oil is about 2/3 medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs.  These types of fatty acids also produce a host of health benefits.
Best of all, coconut oil is stable enough to resist heat-induced damage, which you cannot say for other oils. In fact, it's so stable you can even use if for frying (although I don't recommend frying your food for a number of health reasons).
I recommend using coconut oil in lieu of every other oil, whether your recipe calls for butter, olive oil, vegetable oil or margarine.

Important, New Information about Olive Oil

Extra-virgin olive oil is a good monounsaturated fat that is also well-known for its health benefits. It's a staple in healthful diets such as Mediterranean-style diets.
However, it's important to realize it is NOT good for cooking. It should really only be used cold, typically drizzled on salads and other food.
Due to its chemical structure and a large amount of unsaturated fats, cooking makes extra-virgin olive oil very susceptible to oxidative damage. However, during this interview I learned that extra-virgin olive oil has a significant draw-back even when used cold – it's still extremely perishable!
As it turns out, extra-virgin olive oil contains chlorophyll that accelerates decomposition and makes the oil go rancid rather quickly.
In fact, Dr. Moerck actually prefers using almost tasteless, semi-refined olive oil rather than extra-virgin olive oil for this reason.
If you're like most people, you're probably leaving your bottle of olive oil right on the counter, opening and closing it multiple times a week. Remember, any time the oil is exposed to air and/or light, it oxidizes, and as it turns out, the chlorophyll in extra virgin olive oil accelerates the oxidation of the unsaturated fats.
Clearly, consuming spoiled oil (of any kind) will likely do more harm than good.
To protect the oil, Dr. Moerck recommends treating it with the same care as you would other sensitive omega-3 oils:

• Keep in a cool, dark place
• Purchase smaller bottles rather than larger to ensure freshness
• Immediately replace the cap after each pour

To help protect extra virgin olive oil from oxidation, Dr. Moerck suggests putting one drop of astaxanthin into the bottle. You can purchase astaxanthin, which is an extremely potent antioxidant, in soft gel capsules. Just prick it with a pin and squeeze the capsule into the oil.
The beautiful thing about using astaxanthin instead of another antioxidant such as vitamin E, is that it is naturally red, whereas vitamin E is colorless, so you can tell the oil still has astaxanthin in it by its color.
As the olive oil starts to pale in color, you know it's time to throw it away.
You can also use one drop of lutein in your olive oil. Lutein imparts an orange color and will also protect against oxidation. Again, once the orange color fades, your oil is no longer protected against rancidity and should be tossed.
This method is yet another reason for buying SMALL bottles. If you have a large bottle, you may be tempted to keep it even though it has begun to oxidize.

The Worst Cooking Oils of All

Polyunsaturated fats are the absolute WORST oils to use when cooking because these omega-6-rich oils are highly susceptible to heat damage.
This category includes common vegetable oils such as:

• Corn
• Soy
• Safflower
• Sunflower
• Canola

Damaged omega-6 fats are disastrous to your health, and are responsible for far more health problems than saturated fats ever were.
Trans fat is the artery-clogging, highly damaged omega-6 polyunsaturated fat that is formed when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening.
I strongly recommend never using margarine or shortening when cooking. I guarantee you you're already getting far too much of this damaging fat if you consume any kind of processed foods, whether it be potato chips, pre-made cookies, or microwave dinners...
Trans fat is the most consumed type of fat in the US, despite the fact that there is no safe level of trans fat consumption, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine.
Trans fat raises your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels while lowering your HDL (good cholesterol) levels, which of course is the complete opposite of what you want. In fact, trans fats -- as opposed to saturated fats -- have been repeatedly linked to heart disease. They can also cause major clogging of your arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.
Personally I don't cook very much but when I do I use our Pure Virgin Coconut Oil as it is the most resistant to heating damage, but also a great source of medium chained triglycerides and lauric acid.
So, cleaning these oils out of your kitchen cupboard is definitely recommended if you value your health.

Mediterranean and Stunningly Beautiful Nearing 60

My sister's boyfriend, Martin, is from the mediterranean.  I had the opportunity of meeting Martin's mother.  I was in awe at how beautiful her skin was and that she looked like like a sister to her grown son. 

I couldn't believe that she was his mother. It was incredible. The son is nearing 40.
When I talked to Grazyna, she told me that when she lived in the Mediterranean, she would eat whatever grew there. She said through the day she would eat a handful of nuts from the trees, vegetables, or fruit that was growing. It was incredible to see how well the food she had been eating had preserved her beauty. It was stunning to see the health that her face radiated and the health of her grown sons. She patted her waist and said "see what America's food is doing to me". The evidence of the food she consumed the majority of her life was still clearly written on her face despite her year on American Foods.

I ran across an article that was on http://www.abcnews.go.com/ about the benefits of the mediterranean Diet.

Here is the article...

"Take It or Leave It? The Truth About 8 Mediterranean Diet Staples"

Among the legion of today's most popular diet regimens, the Mediterranean diet has become a poster child for healthy eating, garnering praise from nutrition experts and home gourmets alike.

But while few would dispute the health benefits of such a diet, what is it about the Mediterranean Menu that makes it so healthy?

A study released Tuesday in the online edition of the British Medical Journal took aim at this very question. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the University of Athens Medical School in Greece looked at more than 23,000 Greek men and women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Over the course of about eight and a half years, the researchers led by Harvard's Dimitrios Trichopoulos and the University of Athens' Antonia Trichopoulou compared the health of the participants against their adherence to a Mediterranean diet.
What they found was that certain foods in the diet, more than others, may offer the bulk of the nutritional benefits of the regimen.

As the authors note, that the analysis "indicates that the dominant components of the Mediterranean diet score as a predictor of lower mortality are moderate consumption of [alcohol], low consumption of meat and meat products, and high consumtion of vegetables, fruits and nuts, olive oil, and legumes."

In contrast, they noted, high consumption of fish and cereals and an avoidance of dairy products in the Mediterranean diet seemed to have little to do with the benefits of the overall diet.

The authors were quick to point out that their findings could not be assumed to be universally applicable. And some diet and nutrition experts noted that examining the Mediterranean diet component by component may not be the best approach.

"In some ways, looking for the 'active ingredients' in the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet may be a distraction, since it is the overall dietary pattern that matters most to health," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.

"Once you have a mostly plant based diet and eat few processed foods, almost any variation on the theme will be fine."
And some said the research ignored a main strength of the diet -- namely, what it omits.

"One of the strengths of the Mediterranean diet is what it does not contain: high amounts of sugar and preservatives," said New York-based weight and nutrition expert Dr. Jana Klauer. "The standard American diet stimulates the craving for sweet taste through overly sweetened foods."
Still, will the findings have implications for your own diet? The following pages take a closer look at what nutrition experts have to say about the various components of the Mediterranean diet.

Olive Oil

Widely used in Mediterranean-style cooking, olive oil has become almost synonymous with the Mediterranean diet itself. The healthy reputation may be well-deserved, as the authors of the new study note that this component of the regimen appears to confer at least some of it health benefits.

Katz noted that olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat -- a fat that is believed to which lower total cholesterol and, more specifically, levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol in the blood.

But while olive oil may indeed be healthier than other fats -- most notably the saturated fats found in meat and synthetic trans fats found in certain baked goods -- pouring too much of it into your diet can be too much of a good thing.

Olive oil is "a heart-healthy fat, to be sure," said Keith-Thomas Ayoob, director of the nutrition clinic at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. "And it has excellent street cred, but there are some limits."

First of all, Ayoob said, olive oil has just as many calories per gram as other less healthy fats. So while it may not clog your arteries, it could have an unfortunate impact on your waistline.

"The more fat you have, the less food you can eat without gaining weight, so if you need volume in your diet, use olive oil but use it modestly," Ayoob said. "Just a thought, so people don't go out and start pouring olive oil over everything and thinking it'll save them."

Fruits and Vegetables

The notion that additional helpings of fruit and vegetables lead to a healthier diet should come as little surprise to anyone who has even had a doting mother. So nutrition experts largely agreed with the researchers when they suggested that the veggie-heavy offerings of the Mediterranean diet are responsible for much of its positive health effects.

"Once again there is clear data that the healthiest foods grow in the ground," said Dr. Mitchell Roslin, director of Obesity Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
Ayoob agreed. "Mountains of evidence shows that the more [fruits and vegetables], the better, period," he said. "They're loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and they're where you'll find a bucket of vitamins and minerals. The challenge is to eat them every day and preferably at least one at every meal."

Fruits and vegetables also tend to pack relatively few calories into quite a bit of bulk, along with water and fiber. The upshot is that they tend to be more filling than some other calorie-dense foods -- and thus more amenable to a lower-calorie diet.

"The more you eat of these, the less you eat of other things," Katz said.
But, he added, the considerable contribution of fruits and vegetables to the Mediterranean diet equation may be the very reason why it may overshadow some of the other healthful elements of the regimen.
"Once a diet is heavily based on vegetables and fruits, it becomes tough to show much additive benefit from anything else," Katz said.

Fish and Seafood

Fish and seafood are widely regarded among nutritionists to be among the healthiest of animal proteins. So it may come as a surprise to some that, according to the new analysis, these options do not appear to have much of an overall impact on the healthiness of the diet.

But the notion that these components of the Mediterranean diet may not be as instrumental to its success was one that stirred debate among nutrition experts. Roslin said that he feels the analysis overlooks the fact that wild fish are extremely healthy.

Dr. Carl Lavie, medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention at the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, La., agreed. "In other populations, fish has been very protective, which may be applicable in our population with a high amount of obesity and [cardiovascular] risk factors," he said.

Ayoob noted, however, that the way that fish and seafood is prepared could be an important factor.
"Fatty fish tend to lower bad cholesterol and there are lots of other benefits," he said. "My advice? Keep eating fish, just don't deep-fry it and you'll have the benefit, even if this particular study didn't find much."

Nuts

One aspect of the Mediterranean diet that authors agreed was a strong contributor to its success was the presence of nuts. Aside from contributing a healthy helping of unsaturated fatty acids, nuts like almonds and walnuts offer a wealth of nutrients including calcium potassium and fiber.

The research released yesterday is not the first to suggest the importance of nuts to the Mediterranean diet. A study published last December in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that adding an extra pound of nuts to the mediterranean regimen offered a promising way to help control the risk of metabolic disease in older adults who had a high heart disease risk.

"It's high time nuts got their share of the limelight," Ayoob said. "Almonds and walnuts are favorites in the Greek diet, and they're both tied to better heart health."

Katz added that just as important as what nuts contain is what they do not. He said they tend to be free of harmful fats, as well as sugar and salt if properly prepared.

Pulses (Beans)

Along with nuts and vegetables, the researchers in the new study found that beans were likely to be significant contributors to the success of the Mediterranean regimen.

Related

"No surprise here," Ayoob said. "Beans are a near miracle food. They have some protein, lots of fiber source, iron and a ton of other nutrients and adding beans to any diet makes for a better diet.

"I'd like to see a 1/2 cup of beans on everyone's plate every day," he added.

Beans are also a standout on the Mediterranean diet menu due to their versatility. Various types of beans can be added to soups, salads and pasta sauces. And because of their high protein content, they can also be used as a meat substitute -- without adding fat and cholesterol to dishes.
And while their price may have little effect on the health of those consuming them, beans are also much cheaper per pound than meat -- an important feature for more economically-strapped dieters.

The Last Three Recommendations for a Mediterranean Diet were...
Alcohol

The author listed pro's and con's to alcohol consumption.  I recommend Fermented Fruit Juices and Kombucha (instead of Alcohol)
Cereal

As with fish and seafood, the recent analysis placed cereals near the bottom of the list as a contributor to the overall healthful nature of the Mediterranean diet. But nutrition experts said it might be too early to count out the food category, which is a renowned source of fiber and various nutrients.
"'Cereals' is a broad category," Ayoob said. "Most of the research indicates that cereal eaters have better diets.

"It's a super vehicle for getting low-fat milk and fresh fruit into people, he added. "So I'm a little skeptical of the study results here."


One reason for the relatively low placement on the list could be the fact that the food group is a broad one which could include everything from whole-grain offerings to sugar-laced breakfast treats.

"[Cereals] have the ability to exert differential affects on health because they can range from healthful choices (whole grain cereals) to less nutritious choices (processed cereals) and low-fat or no-fat dairy to whole fat products, so that may have impacted the results," noted Dr. George Blackburn, professor of nutrition medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Katz said another reason that cereals may not have had a great impact could be because the other plant-based components of the Mediterranean diet are so healthy.

"Once a diet is already based mostly on plants, the additive benefit of [cereals] may be small," he said. "They would represent a stronger benefit when used as substitutions in the typical American diet."

Note: Quinoa, Amaranth, Millet, and Buckwheat are all Naturally Gluten Free

Dairy

The article was uncertain as to benefits of dairy, but the Mediterraneans used it sparingly. I also suggest using it sparingly, and only consume if it's raw milk from pasture fed cows.

Vitamin C Cures Illness when Dr's wanted to pull the plug

When Shane and I were in New Zealand last month (September 2010), we worked with a Dr. from Hamilton.  Before giving my class on essential oils to a group of medical professionals, Dr. Reeder introduced me and the oils by telling about the below scenario.  A man was going to die.  His Doctors were going to take him off of life support, but a Naturopath and family members finally persuaded the Doctors to give the man Vitamin C.  Long story short...the Vitamin C worked and the man lived.  Dr. Reeder went on to talk about the success that he too had had with Vitamin C treatments.  Out of all of the healing modalities Dr. Reeder has studied, he has found the doTERRA brand of essential oils to be the most pure and to have the most profound effect on his patients. You can go to http://www.everythingessential.me/Hints/YoungLiving.html to read about people's experiences using doTERRA oils verses other brands of oils.

Below is Dr. Mercola's article on the subject of Vitamin C...

"Miracle Nutrient" that Cured Man on the Brink of Death...

"The 18-minute long New Zealand News3 video report shows the compelling story of Allan Smith, a man conventional doctors claimed "could not survive," after contracting a severe case of swine flu in June of last year.
But they were wrong.
Allan's family refused to accept the hospital's hopeless prognosis and the subsequent decision to turn off his life support. Instead, his family insisted the hospital try high dose intravenous (IV) vitamin C.
You'd think the hospital would have willingly agreed. After all, none of their conventional treatment methods had worked. The entire intensive care unit staff declared he was beyond hope.
Yet one medical expert after another, throughout this nine week ordeal, refused to administer intravenous vitamin C!
Why?
They simply "didn't think it would work," and dismissed it.
The family ended up enlisting a top legal expert to fight for their right to have vitamin C administered. This case illustrates just how difficult it may be to get a conventional hospital to concede to measures that fall outside the scope of conventional medical practice – even when the suggested treatment is FAR safer than any drug alternative.
And in this case, they had absolutely NOTHING to lose by taking a wild chance... They had already given up and claimed he was as good as dead! And yet they resisted every step of the way.
Fortunately, this man's family was both resourceful and insistent.
Another recent example illustrating the necessity to think for yourself and not allow yourself to be railroaded by narrow-minded doctors is this one, where CNN Health writer Elizabeth Cohen discusses the positive outcome her mother experienced once she decided to buck the system by being a "bad" patient.

How a Humble Vitamin Brought Allan Back from the Brink of Certain Death

The story of Allan's recovery has become known as "one of the most remarkable and controversial turnarounds in New Zealand medical history." And for good reason.
It's not every day someone walks away from the brink of certain death.
What makes this story even more remarkable, is the fact that once admitted to the hospital with swine flu, Allan was also diagnosed with leukemia, which dramatically worsened his chances of recovery.
Vitamin C expert Dr. Thomas Levy initially sent me Allan Smith's case report over a year ago, and I'm thankful for his contributions to this follow-up article as well.

Dr. Levy is the author of several books, including Curing the Incurable: Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins, and Stop America's #1 Killer, a book about vitamin deficiency and heart disease. He's also written extensively on topics such as dental toxicity issues from mercury amalgams and root canals, vaccine safety, and the clinical uses of vitamin C for infectious diseases.

Dr. Levy went to New Zealand in the middle of the furor following the 60-Minutes program about Allan's case and gave a PowerPoint presentation, "Vitamin C: The Facts, the Fiction, and the Law." This presentation is available on the home page of his website http://www.peakenergy.com/, along with more information about vitamin C use.

The Smith family had contacted him for advice, and he'd referred them to John Appleton in New Zealand. Appleton provided a lot of information on vitamin C and referred the family to CAM (Centre for Advanced Medicine), http://www.camltd.co.nz/ in Auckland.
According to Dr. Levy, adequately dosed vitamin C, to his knowledge, has never failed to cure an acute viral syndrome, and Allan's case couldn't be a better demonstration of the curative power of vitamin C.
Not only did the vitamin C cure Allan's swine flu infection, but after spending nine weeks in an induced coma, he walked out of physical rehab after 13 days as opposed to the predicted three months.
Even more astounding, today, just over a year later, he also has no further signs of leukemia...

The Allan Smith New Zealand Vitamin C Organization is now dedicated to supporting patients' rights to receive high dose vitamin C in hospitals, if they request it. The website, vitaminCcancure.org, also includes the original TV3 60-Minute program about Allan's story.

Dosage Guidelines

According to Dr. Levy's case report, the vitamin C doses administered to achieve this astonishing turn-around were:

• 25 grams were given intravenously on the first day
• Followed by two 25 gram infusions the next day. At this point, the chest x-ray suddenly showed air pockets in Allan's lungs -- a dramatic improvement!
• On the third day, Allan received 75 grams intravenously
• Followed by 100 grams IV daily for another 4 to 6 days

To the Smith family's shock, a new hospital consultant decided to discontinue the vitamin C treatment at this point, which led to further battles with the hospital administration.
One week later, the intravenous vitamin C (IVC) was restarted, but only at one measly gram, twice daily. Still, despite this tiny dose, his recovery slowly continued. Once Allan regained consciousness, he started taking 6 grams of oral Lypospheric vitamin C a day, at which point he began to rapidly improve.
The family firmly believes that had the hospital continued administering IVC at the recommended high dosage, Allan's recovery may have been far more swift.

Vitamin C and Infectious Disease

Dr. Levy is a great resource and has written about the mechanics of vitamin C and how it works to treat infectious diseases such as the flu. You can find one such article here.
According to Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, "health" occurs when there is an ample flow and interchange of electrons in your cells. Impaired or poor electron flow and interchange equals "disease," and when the flow and interchange ceases entirely, your cells die.
Oxidation, caused by free radicals in your body, involves the loss of electrons.
Antioxidants counter the disease process caused by oxidation (loss of electrons) by supplying electrons.
Vitamin C is a major antioxidant, and according to Dr. Levy, perhaps the most important "electron donor" to maintain optimal electron flow in your cells.
Using vitamin C to combat infectious diseases is not new.
In 2005, the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource), published findings that vitamin C beats bird flu and other viruses, stating that:

"High dose vitamin C is a remarkably safe and effective treatment for viral infections. In high doses, vitamin C neutralizes free radicals, helps kill viruses, and strengthens your body's immune system.

Taking supplemental vitamin C routinely helps prevent viral infections."

For severe types of influenza, such as bird flu, they recommend the following dosages:

"Severe cases may require 200,000 to 300,000 milligrams of vitamin C or more, given intravenously (IV) by a physician.

This very high dosing may be needed since the Avian Flu appears to consume vitamin C very rapidly, similar to an acute viral hemorrhagic fever, somewhat like an Ebola infection."

They even state that vitamin C, at saturation, can replace antiviral drugs.
Here are three other sources discussing the remarkable benefits of vitamin C for infectious diseases such as the flu:

1. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 1999 found that vitamin C in megadoses administered before or after the appearance of cold and flu symptoms relieved and prevented the symptoms in the test population compared with the control group.
2. The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, MD states that cases of influenza, encephalitis, and measles were easily cured with vitamin C injections and oral doses.
3. Orthomed.com – Dr. Robert Cathcart, MD, also offers personal case studies where intravenous administration of vitamin C turned out to be lifesaving in cases of acute flu complications.
   
   "It is not really a matter of medicine; it is a matter of chemistry. Doses of ascorbate which are massive enough to force a reducing redox potential into tissues affected by the disease will always neutralize the free radicals," he says.

A Word of Caution about Vitamin C Supplements

It's important to remember that every nutrient you ingest raises or lowers up to nine other nutrients in your body.
Every nutrient needs certain synergistic nutrients, and if you are already low in those synergistic nutrients, taking more of one thing will only further deplete the existing deficient levels, worsening any problems relating to that nutrient's metabolism.
For example, taking large doses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on a regular basis lowers your level of copper, so if you are already deficient in copper and take high doses of vitamin C, you can compromise your immune system.
So, whereas temporarily taking megadoses of vitamin C supplements to combat a case of the cold or flu is likely not going to cause a problem, for long-term, daily use, your best bet is to eat a diet high in organic vegetables and fruits that are minimally processed.
Not only will you get vitamin C, but you will get all the other accessory nutrients and micronutrients that are needed to optimize it.

Yet Another Potent Alternative to Dangerous and Poorly Tested Flu Vaccines

Fortunately, Allan's case of swine flu was unusual. As you probably know by now, the swine flu epidemic actually turned out to be far milder than previous flu seasons...
Meanwhile, the pandemic influenza vaccine has turned out to be highly reactive – more reactive than previous influenza vaccines. In addition, we also know that the most commonly used flu drug Tamiflu comes with a laundry list of potential dangers, from blackouts to brain infections, to neuropsychiatric events, and death. (Allan also received Tamiflu, which had no effect whatsoever against the raging infection...)
I mention all of this because since Allan's swine flu infection was extremely severe, it has the potential to frighten some people into wanting to take any measure available to avoid a similar fate.
But it's important to realize that your chances of avoiding such an infection by taking the flu vaccine was, and still is, slim to none.
That said, isn't it comforting then to know there are at least two viable alternatives to conventional flu treatments?!
The other alternative, in addition to vitamin C discussed above, is vitamin D, which I have already mentioned in previous articles.
Although the studies proving vitamin D's protective powers against the flu do not include the swine flu virus specifically (it's too new to have been included), there are compelling reasons to believe it can offer protection against swine flu (H1N1) as well.
Canada has since vowed to investigate vitamin D's protective potential against the H1N1 virus specifically, but as you probably know, flu viruses mutate each year, yet people with sufficient vitamin D levels appear more or less immune to the seasonal flu regardless of which strain is currently in circulation.
There is so much compelling evidence, I believe maintaining optimal vitamin D levels year-round is one of the absolute best strategies for avoiding infections of ALL kinds, including severe influenza strains.
One of these compelling pieces of evidence is the research indicating that vitamin D deficiency is likely the TRUE culprit behind the seasonal flu -- not the flu virus itself.
That's a radically new line of thinking, and it makes all the sense in the world.

Got Flu-Like Symptoms? Try This Crash Treatment...

If you are coming down with flu-like symptoms and have not been taking vitamin D on a regular basis, you can take 50,000 units a day for three days to treat the acute infection.
Some researchers like Dr. Cannell believe the dose could even be as high as 1,000 units per pound of body weight for three days.
That said, there's still the possibility that vitamin D won't work, even in these mega-doses, if you've never been exposed to the antigens before.
Ultimately, your best bet is to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D between 50-70 ng/ml year-round. For more in-depth information about test values, recommended labs, and the treatment of vitamin D deficiency, please review this previous article.
To find out even more important information about vitamin D, I strongly recommend you watch my one-hour free vitamin D lecture along with my video on vitamin D's role in flu prevention.

 (This entire post was from from Dr. Mercola's Website http://www.drmercola.com/)

Sleep Insomnia

RECOMMENDED FOR SLEEP Insomnia

DoTERRA Essential Oil Recommendations: http://www.everythingessential.me/HealthConcerns/Insomnia.html#page=page-2

Recommended Supplements:

Melatonin: Melatonin is the sleep hormone. It is said to induce sleep without any negative side effects. Melatonin is a natural compound produced by the body to convey the message that it is night and the body should go to rest. As such melatonin has a sleep inducing effect on your brain. Adults that do not produce sufficient melatonin can have trouble falling asleep, as their body cannot tell the difference between day and night. Taking a supplement, such as Sleep All Nite Naturals™. Contains natural melatonin that will help your body strengthen your biological clock and restore your sleep cycles.

Sunset triggers heightened melatonin secretion from the pineal gland; and these levels normally subside with sunrise, thereby regulating periods of sleep and wakefulness. When this biological clock, known as circadian rhythm, is disrupted, sleeping can be difficult, and supplemental melatonin may help improve sleeping patterns. Melatonin supplements may be of use for certain insomnias and circadian rhythm sleep disorders, as reported in the November 2004 issue of the journal Sleep Medicine. Specifically, melatonin supplements taken at the same time each night improve sleep, according to the January 2004 Journal of Applied Physiology. Additional research published in September 2004 in Sleep showed improved sleep in 40 healthy men who took melatonin supplements.

Melatonin is associated with getting a good night’s sleep. A study has shown that melatonin treatment can significantly reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, as well as increase sleep efficiency, measured by the amount of time spent sleeping proportionate to time in bed, and increase the overall duration of sleep. Research supports the effectiveness of Melatonin in increasing sleep efficiency and duration and decreasing the time it takes to fall asleep.

In several studies, supplementation with melatonin has been found helpful in inducing and maintaining sleep in adults, for both people with normal sleep patterns and those suffering from insomnia. It is also useful in banishing jet lag.

However, it appears that the sleep- promoting effects of melatonin are most apparent only if a person's melatonin levels are low. In other words, taking melatonin is not like taking a sleeping pill. It will only produce a sedative effect when melatonin levels are low. Melatonin appears to be most effective in treating insomnia in the elderly, as low melatonin levels are common in this age group. Because of this, he Melatonin in Sleep All Nite Naturals™ is at a recommended dose of only 1 mg.

L-Tryptophan: In recent years, melatonin has gained the reputation as the natural answer to insomnia. Yet the fact that melatonin is made in the pineal gland from serotonin is frequently overlooked. Thus supplemental tryptophan may induce one’s pineal gland to naturally increase its melatonin production. Also, important sleep regulating nerve circuits in the brainstem (the raphe nuclei) use serotonin as their neurotransmitter, so it is unreasonable to expect melatonin alone to provide optimal insomnia relief.

Low dose melatonin (0.5mg to 1mg) plus tryptophan (500mg to 1000mg) may prove more effective for many people with serious insomnia.

Tryptophan occurs naturally in the body and is an amino acid. Its main function is to manufacture serotonin, (a neurotransmitter) in the brain which helps promote better sleep. Serotonin is a precursor of melatonin, so necessary for healthy sleep patterns. Tryptophan is an amino acid that plays a key role in the repair of protein tissues and in creating new protein. In the brain, tryptophan is converted into serotonin, a natural sleep-inducing chemical. It also enhances the brain's ability to produce melatonin, the hormone that regulates your body's natural inner clock.

Valerian Root Extract: Valerian can bring you restful sleep without morning sleepiness or other side effects or dangers of addiction. Studies have shown that valerian has an extremely beneficial effect among poor or irregular sleepers (particularly women), and also for people having difficulty falling asleep.

Studies have shown that Valerian has a calming effect for people under stress. As many people experience sleeplessness when they are under stress, Valerian’s relaxing effect helps those individuals to fall asleep more readily. Scientific studies of Valerian’s natural sleep promoting abilities have shown very positive results. Valerian is a natural herb derived from the root of the valerian plant. It has been used for centuries to induce relaxation and sleep in a natural fashion. However valerian is not a remedy that will give immediate effects; it has to be taken for several weeks to promote natural sleep. Valerian will however, unlike popular prescription drugs, not cause any addiction or dependence! Also, Valerian is noted for calming the nerves and promoting restful sleep.