My topic, of course, will be about infertility/nourishing the body prior to conception.

The Gluten and Allergy Free Expo will be April 20-21 in Chicago (there are also other dates for Des Moines, Secaucus, and Dallas) I’ll be speaking at 3:30 on Saturday the 20th.

In my session I’ll touch a bit on why gluten intolerance/celiac is connected to infertility as well as how to help heal the body after a diagnosis and how go about making sure the body gets plenty of nutrients prior to pregnancy on a gluten-free and allergy friendly diet.

I’m also really excited to listen to Mayer Eisenstein talk about Vitamin D. I just wish he wasn’t speaking right before me; I may spend his whole session shaking in my boots! Plus I was hoping to corner him in to chatting with me for awhile……….

Tom Bohager is also there and talking about enzymes, something I’ve recently been researching a bit and it has my curiosity peaked.

The line up of speakers is fantastic and I’m hoping to make it to quite a few of them (spaces are limited and first come/first serve) while I’m there for the weekend.

They are also expecting about 7,000 people to be headed to the expo. I’m so excited to be there as both a presenter and a blogger, to help share the news about nutrient dense diets!

I’ll also be there for some time that weekend, though I’m still figuring out my exact schedule, and would love to meet you there if you’re in the area. So make sure you let me know if you’re going; and you can also find me on twitter while I’m there.

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.

I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full.

If you’ve been a regular reader for some time now, you know that I’m a big fan of using plants and herbs in my quest to keep my body healthy.

And I don’t think there is one area of our world where there are not plants that can be used for healing. Well…..maybe there are, but they are few and far between!

So a few months ago, my friend Jessica (who is also a big fan of herbs and plants and natural healing) had me try some products that are cultivated from the Moringa tree.

Moringa oleifera (synonym: Moringa pterygosperma) is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Moringa, which is the only genus in the family Moringaceae. English common names include moringa, and drumstick tree, from the appearance of the long, slender, triangular seed pods, horseradish tree, from the taste of the roots which resembles horseradish, or ben oil tree, from the oil derived from the seeds. The tree itself is rather slender, with drooping branches that grow to approximately 10m in height. In cultivation, it is often cut back annually to 1–2 meters and allowed to regrow so the pods and leaves remain within arm’s reach.

In developing countries, moringa has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development, and support sustainable landcare. It may be used as forage for livestock, a micronutrient liquid, a natural anthelmintic and possible adjuvant. – wikepedia

This tree has been traditionally used in many countries for ailments like anemia, anxiety, asthma, blackheads, blood impurities, bronchitis, catarrh, chest congestion, cholera,conjunctivitis, cough, diarrhea, eye & ear infections, fever, glandular swelling, headaches, abnormal blood pressure, hysteria, pain in joints,pimples, psoriasis, respiratory disorders, scurvy, semen deficiency, sore throat, sprain,  and tuberculosis. (source)

I’ve done just a bit of reading about this tree, and so far I like what I see. Because while we all seem to have foods in our local areas that can provide us with good health, I also love the use of superfoods for health and healing. And so I place moringa in the same group as plants like maca.

It seems to be high in nutrients, many of which we are lacking, either due to poor diet or the need to heal our bodies because we are not absorbing nutrients properly. From what I can find out it seems to have seven times the vitamin C found in oranges, four times the calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots (beta-carotene, not retinol) three times the iron in spinach, three times the vitamin E of almonds, three times the potassium in bananas, and two times the protein in milk.  (source)

My personal belief is that when our bodies need some extra help, giving them large amounts of nutrients, in the form of whole foods, can be a very positive thing.

Also? It has antioxidants up the wazoo, with over 40 anti-oxidants found within the plant. And we all hear from both conventional and alternative doctors how important antioxidants are for reducing our risk of cancer, slowing aging, proper egg and sperm health.

I remember Jessica mentioning it a few times , and telling me how she signed up with Zija so that she could both purchase and sell it, (yes, Zija is a multi-level marketing company) but I was in the midst of research myself. So she finally just dropped off a sample pack for me to try out.

(We’re practically neighbors, and she’s one of my great local friends that I can talk to where I don’t feel like an alien when I mention kombucha, kefir, tinctures, and the like. She also gets plenty of messages from me asking for herbal advice……)

And lo and behold, I liked it.

Since I can’t tell you what, if any, impact it made on my physically (I’m sure some government entity would have and issue with that), what I can tell you is that I loved the ease of the Zija Smart Mix packets. It was as simple as opening a small powder packet and mixing it with some water each morning. The taste was pleasant as well, in fact it was much better than some of the teas I make myself drink!

I also like how Zija uses multiple parts of the tree instead of just the leaves, or just the roots. Many times, this helps the medicinal properties of the plant to work better within our bodies. (kind of like how elderberry syrup/tincture works even better when you also use the elder flowers)

I liked it so much I put in an order for Todd. Because let’s be honest, sometimes our husbands don’t quite eat as well as we do! And if all he has to do is pour something into his water bottle at work, I know he’ll be much more apt to take it.

Jessica has a Facbook page, Simply Healthy, where you can send her a message and ask her questions about any of the Zija supplements/products, or find out about other avenues for natural healing from the links to articles she posts. (She is currently working on healing from Hashimoto’s and I love the info I find from following her! It’s like she’s a research queen or something.) You can also order the moringa supplements directly from her at a special price, just use the message button on the Simply Healthy FB page to get a hold of her!

The awesome part for you, is that she wants to give away a sample pack which contains four packs of Zija smart mix,  two (AM and PM) trial boxes of their herbal/vitamin weight management supplements, and a sample of the detox tea.

I’m really glad I found out about moringa, it just adds another tool in my herbal/natural toolbox.

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All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.

I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full.

The use of essential oils seems to be a hot topic on the interwebs right now. And I love that people are starting to get a lot of information about their use as they can be very effective and an awesome asset in our natural medicine cabinets. I’ve been slowly dipping my toes into learning about essential oils over the last couple of years, trying to break away from just using them for my natural cleaners.

Over the last few months I’ve begun to do a bit more research and reading, so when Plant Therapy contacted me and asked if I wanted to do a review and giveaway for some of their oils, I couldn’t pass it up.

They sent me a 14 oil kit, 7 of them synergies (blends) and I’ve been busy using them for the last 6 weeks or so. It includes these 7 synergies:

Sensual Synergy (Aphrodisiac)
Energy Synergy (Physical Energy)
Germ Fighter Synergy (Like Thieves)
Relax Synergy (Physical Relaxation)
Immune-Aid Synergy (Immune System Booster)
Tranquil Synergy (Emotional Stress Relief)
Invigor-Aid Synergy (Mental Invigoration)

And these 7 single oils:

Lavender (Lavandula Officinalis)
Peppermint (Mentha Piperita)
Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus Globulus)
Tea Tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia)
Orange (Citrus Sinensis)
Lemon (Citrus Limonum)
Cinnamon Bark (Cinnamomun cassia blume)

The one thing I’m really beginning to love are the synergies, because I can read and research all I want about using oils and which ones to use for specific issues, but these make it super easy to use. And the fact that they are blended together by an aromatherapist puts me at ease knowing that someone knowledgeable has already done the work for me.

I’ve used each of the synergies and don’t have a complaint about any of them. I’ve used both the Immune-Aid and the Germ Fighter a bit over the last few weeks to help us fight the multiple viruses that seem to be rampant in our area now. As an added benefit, they make the house smell great. (I’ve also realized I desperately want a diffuser!)

The Energy blend has been great during my workouts and the Invigor-aid quite helpful as I sit down to write and work for an hour or so in the afternoon. Instead of craving coffee or tea, I just put a dab on me and keep going.

I also know there is a lot of controversy regarding essential oils right now, a lot of people have some very adamant views about sourcing and companies and yadda, yadda, yadda. So I asked a few extra questions about their oils and I feel comfortable using them in my home and telling you about them. (You can read more about them here.) And I also found that I liked some of their single oils better than ones I already had, the scent was almost ‘cleaner’ and ‘brighter’if one could use those words as descriptive.

The only negative thing I can think to say about this particular kit is the lavender, but only because lavender is most definitely not on my list of favorite scents. Which is so weird because everyone else I know loves it! For me, it tends to give me a headache, though I do use it for other family members. It’s a lovely oil, just not one that I prefer, though when used in a couple of the blends they sent me, I like it just fine.

I also asked them if there might be some oils that would specifically help a woman with thyroid or hormone balance issues and here’s what they said,

“Plant Therapy’s Endo-Aid is full of essential oils that would be helpful for Thyroid issues. The oils in that are Tarragon, Peppermint, Ginger, Fennel, Lemongrass and Anise.

For hormone balance we have a Balance Synergy that is specifically for helping women with balancing their hormones.

They could also could try Anti-Anxiety, Blue’s  Buster, Self-Esteem Synergies and Chamomile Roman and Geranium Bourbon.”

I plan on purchasing a few more of their blends soon like the Endo-Aid mentioned above as well as a vanilla/ylang-ylang blend, and if I could keep myself from checking out their line of products, I might just get away with only those two. Because the more I look around, the more items somehow happen to find their way to my cart.

Giveaway for you

I’m also super excited to be able to giveaway one of these kits to our readers here at NKU! I know many of you are also beginning your journey into learning about essential oils, or already use them regularly, and this kit will be a great addition to your natural medicine cabinet.

As an added bonus, Plant Therapy has a bit of a surprise for you all if we get to 900 entries! So if you haven’t signed up for our weekly newsletter, make sure you do so that you can stay informed – you won’t want to miss it!

Also make sure you check out their Facebook page as they announce weekly giveaways as well as specials and discounts.

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All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.

I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full.