Are You Training Them Up?

As the parent of three children I know how exhausting it is to constantly have to be the authority and to stand your ground. It is no joke. We all love the hugs and kisses and being told "you're the best mom in the world." But in order to be a good mom (or dad) you have to set boundaries for your children, put rules in place and enforce them - consistently, day in and day out. If you've never had to do it, it's hard. Plain and simple.

As a biblical health coach, I'm going to focus in on this aspect as it relates to your children's health. I can't begin to tell you how many moms I've spoken to who have children who seem to catch every bug that goes around, or are extremely overweight or suffering with asthma or allergies or have been diagnosed with ADD who just want to know what they can do to help their children become healthier. When asked this by one mom who was extremely concerned about her childrens' weight problems, I suggested that she approach any changes very gradually, one at a time, and once that change was made, start working on the next one. She asked what she should do first and I said without a doubt she had to get her children off diet soda! They drink it all day and even have it with breakfast! I explained that the artificial sweeteners they contain have a profound effect on brain function and health and that they actually increase cravings for sweets and thus cause weight gain rather than encouraging weight loss. The high phosphorous content also breaks down their bones.

She said she just couldn't do that because they would argue with her and complain and she just couldn't deal with that. Hmmm, that's like the mom who wants her child to give up a pacifier but doesn't want to endure a night or two of fussing. You may see a 15 year old falling asleep with a pacifier in their mouth! But at least there was no conflict.

Come on, we're made of stronger stuff than that, aren't we?? We've all heard that nothing worth having comes without some effort and that includes health - ours and that of our children.

We are responsible not only for what we feed our children but also what habits we instill in them. Let's be honest - especially when they are small, they can't go out and buy junk food. If they eat it, it is because we have purchased it and made it available to them. Then when they are old enough to be making their own choices, they'll continue doing whatever we've taught (and modeled for) them. The Bible tells us to train up our children in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from that. That's a very sobering truth.

We all want our kids to like us, but there are so many times we have to take the unpopular stand - in the final analysis we are their parent, not their friend - they have plenty of those. It's so much easier to build credibility with your kids in this area if you don't just tell them they can't have soda, but they see that you don't drink it either. If you give them fruit as a snack after dinner and then later on they see you with a spoon and a half gallon of ice cream nestled in your lap - the message is more than mixed!

This is a subject close to my heart. Children in our country today are the most overweight, out of shape and unhealthiest in recent memory. This may be the first generation that does not outlive their parents and that's a crime. We can't let that happen. As parents much of the outcome rests in our hands. We have to make a commitment to the health and wellbeing of our children by taking the hard stand, making the difficult decisions and then standing by them. Consistently. Once they're grown and on their own, the decisions are theirs and they assume full responsibility. But while they're under our authority and control, we are responsible.

I don't know about you, but I would much rather have my 8 year old angry with me for a few days than have my 30 year old suffering from diabetes or heart disease and know I could've done something to change that outcome. Let's make the choice to train them up in the way they should go so they will have long, healthy lives.

It's All In Your Head!

I have watched a series of programs on Pastor Benny Hinn's program recently where he interviewed Dr. Eric Braverman. These shows have been enlightening and encouraging. I love hearing a doctor - yes, a real, board certified, main stream, conventional doctor talk about the power of herbs, spices, teas, foods, bioidentical hormones and supplements in conjunction with medications, only when absolutely necessary. Dr. Braverman was talking about something I've not heard before - brain health. He says that if your brain is healthy and receiving the nutrients it needs to function optimally, you will be able to stay slim, to concentrate, have energy, sleep well and generally remain healthy. Although I've never heard any other doctor approach health that way, it makes perfect sense.

I immediately ordered his books which were being offered and I am anxious to be able to read in more detail exactly what herbs and spices he recommends. He shared that typically most herbs and spices contain so many nutritious substances that adding them to our meals increases the nutritional content exponentially! What a simple (and tasty) thing to do. But aren't we usually the ones who make things more complicated than they need to be?

I loved how he explained the importance of brain health. He said that the brain represents God in our bodies - it controls all other functions - just as God is sovereign and over all the universe. How logical. God tells us that He has given us trees and seeds for our health and healing but we read that and fail to take it literally! We just leave it out there in the spiritual realm when it refers directly to our physical health. From his years of research and experience Dr. Braverman is proving the absolute literal truth of the scriptures that speak about the wonderful, healthy food God created and provided for us.

It is encouraging beyond imagining to hear a doctor go on television and not only talk about the natural, holistic methods he uses, both personally and with his patients, but also to give God the glory for it!

In my opinion we need more doctors like Dr. Braverman.

Listen to your Gut!

Mothers know their kids better than anyone. I remember when my son, Matt, was small he had one ear infection after another for a time. We were visiting my inlaws at the Jersey shore and he was actually on an antibiotic, yet I was still up with him all night. I called the doctor and said he must have developed a tolerance to that antibiotic. He told me that couldn't be. When we got home and I took him in, sure enough he had a raging ear infection and the antibiotic was not touching it. Score, mom one, doctor zero.

Several years later, Matt was about 9 years old and we were living here in the Hudson Valley in our new home. We have well water here which we'd never had before. Matt began to develop a horrendous cough. You know the type - people would turn around a look at him as if he had typhoid fever and pull their kids away from him. I couldn't blame them - he sounded awful. I took him to our pediatrician who prescribed, what else, an antibiotic and a cough medicine. His cough seemed to improve slightly while he was on the meds and then went right back once we stopped. Took him in again - same story - and same result. She never tried to figure out what might be causing the cough, just sent us out every time with something to suppress the annoying (and embarrassing) symptom and never giving me an answer as to what may be causing it.

I was at my wits end and was praying one morning and asked the Lord to please show me something that would help Matt. Sure enough as I watched a show later that morning a doctor was being interviewed who had written a book about natural ways to deal with sinus and respiratory problems. I just knew the answer was in that book. As it was just before Christmas and we were on kind of a tight budget, I told my husband that all I wanted for Christmas was that book. Being the wonderful man he is, he obliged.

I sat down and began reading and didn't even get past the first chapter. He talked about how very common substances we wouldn't even consider may cause allergic reactions - one he mentioned was sulfur. That jumped out at me because every time we turned on the water faucet the smell of rotten eggs was overpowering - our water had a very high sulfur content.

I was ecstatic! I told Matt - from this moment on we would conduct an experiment - he was to only drink bottled water and we would see if that helped his cough. When I tell you that by the end of that day his cough had improved 100% and was completely gone within two, I am not exaggerating. It absolutely amazed me. I called the doctor to let her know what I'd discovered in case anyone else had the same problem and she was flabbergasted - she couldn't believe that was the answer and said she'd never heard anything like it.

Fast forward to his teen years and we tried this natural acne remedy. After the very first night he woke up with his eyes almost swollen shut and red welts on his face. I went online and checked the ingredients again and then called the company and they confirmed that it did contain sulfur. When I asked to return it as my son was obviously allergic to it, they told me "you can't be allergic to sulfur."

Yeah, you can and he is. His stomach even gets a little funny sometimes when he eats whole eggs - the yolks are a good source of sulfur - so we do two egg whites and one whole egg for his omelets.

Those were the experiences that propelled me into studying natural health more seriously and the more I learn the more exciting it is. Just always remember to listen to your gut - I knew there had to be an underlying cause of my son's symptoms, even if the doctor didn't or just didn't want to be bothered trying to figure it out.

One Size NEVER Fits All

The Atkins Diet. Low Carb. No Carb. High Protein. Vegan. Vegetarian. The Zone. South Beach. Low Fat. Mediterranean Diet. Eating for your blood type. Raw foods diet. There are more diets than you can shake a stick at and, unfortunately, in this country more overweight and obese people as well. Why? What's the problem?

I won't pretend to have all the answers. Actually I don't think anyone does. There are valuable principles and strategies in each diet that could help someone. For me personally - I think the reason we have so many diets and still so many overweight people is that we neglect to address the whole person. You may be 50 pounds overweight - but there's more to it than just that. You are a spirit being - are you discouraged, resentful, bitter, bored? Those things will affect your overall health and your ability to maintain a healthy weight.

You have a soul - a mind, will and emotions. Are you depressed, stressed? Do you feel you have no control over certain situations in your life? Are you sad, lonely, angry? Those things definitely will affect every area of your health, including your ability to lose weight.

You live in a physical body. Do you burn the candle at both ends, stay up working until all hours, expect to sleep 3 hours and be able to be at your best all day long? Do you eat mostly processed, junk food loaded with sugar, chemicals, unhealthy fats and artificial colors/flavors/sweeteners? Without a doubt, those things affect your health and your weight.

So for my clients, I consider all three dimensions - spirit, soul and body - in order to determine how to best address the issue of weight loss. You are more than just pounds on a scale and every one of us is created uniquely in every way, including biochemically. That's why one diet doesn't work for everyone. I believe you have to put together a specific plan for each person. That's what I've done for myself. What works for me may fail miserably for you. That's ok - we were created to be different.

So don't fall for the one "size" fits all mentality and feel like a failure when a diet that worked for someone else fails for you. Just remember, one size never fits all!

Never, Never, Never Give Up!!!

I got an email from a close friend of almost 20 years today. The first line of her message was in huge, bold letters: I'M SICK!! She was ecstatic that she'd finally found a doctor who took her symptoms seriously, despite prior test results that were "within normal limits." Not too many people are happy when the doctor confirms that they are sick - but she is and with good reason.

This has been going on for years - not one or two - but six! In 2002 she was a beautiful (still is), healthy, energetic 125-pound 40-something woman. Her dad died and being executor of his estate put her under an enormous amount of stress. The first and most upsetting symptom was weight gain - regardless of how carefully (or how little) she ate or how much she exercised. The weight gain continued and with it came new, alarming symptoms - heart pain and palpitations, inability to sleep more than a few hours a night, joint and muscle pain and tenderness, memory loss and brain fog, shortness of breath and fatigue.

Because I am a health coach and have informally "coached" her for years I suggested a thyroid problem (despite the test results) and adrenal fatigue as a result of the unremitting stress. She saw numerous doctors - holistic, naturopathic, mainstream, specialists - you name it, she saw them. Their responses ranged from diagnosing and prescribing thyroid meds (and in the process nearly killing her - literally); to trying all types of supplements and diets; to telling her she was either "just eating too many calories" or that at her age (42) gaining weight and feeling lousy are "normal." The most distressing response was just treating her as if this was all in her imagination and discounting everything she said.

To her credit and by the grace of God, she was led to a doctor who actually listened, took her seriously, did testing that was different from what had already been done and is now taking steps to address the very real root causes of the symptoms she's been experiencing.

Doctors are simply well-educated, trained people - they are not God. They simply don't have all the answers. Who does? We have to stop thinking that just because a doctor tells us we're fine, despite how we feel, if we know in our hearts that something is wrong, we have to keep searching for the answer. Jesus Himself tells us to ask and keep asking and we will receive - seek and keep seeking and we will find and to knock and keep on knocking and it will be opened to us. God gave us our instincts and intuition for a reason - we need to listen to that still, small voice.

So today I rejoice with my friend and encourage each and every one of you to never, never, never give up!

Doctor Knows Best?

My dad is 82 and has been to doctors galore to try and figure out why he is losing weight. He's lost 30 pounds, 17 since April. After a slew of testing, the doctors have decided he doesn't eat enough calories and "prescribed" Ensure twice daily in addition to his regular meals.



I'm a certified biblical health coach and I also discussed with him that perhaps he is not eating as much as he needed to. I ran his meals for that day through the calorie counter book and he was borderline. I had offered to mix together whey protein powder, green food and other healthy ingredients that he would just have to throw into a blender and mix with water to bump up not only the calorie count but the nutrition as well. He refused. The standard answer is: You're not a doctor - you think you know more than the doctor?



Well I looked at the ingredients of Ensure - the first four are water and three different types of sugar. With all the buzz about how unhealthy a high sugar diet is, it amazes me that a doctor would prescribe this. But, you know, I'm not a doctor - what do I know.



It's just disheartening that strangers will listen to me and respect the information I can share - but my own father won't. I realize it's nothing new - the Bible tells us even Jesus couldn't do any miracles in his hometown because they wouldn't take Him seriously! Who am I to complain, then? I have the utmost respect for doctors. However, I don't think most are very well versed in nutrition and that lack of knowledge could be deadly. What do you think?