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Three Oils That Protect your Respiratory System

The US Surgeon General said in an interview last week: “… we would rather prevent disease than treat disease”. The worldwide struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic has made this more evident than ever before.

You have been seeing my IG Lives and YouTube videos where I am sharing various ways to keep your body healthy, strong and have yet another line of defense against preventable diseases like the cold, the flu and the coronavirus.

Essential oils are another way in which we can keep our immune system strong and ready to fight pathogens. Here are 2 essential oils (to be used topically) and one oil-based infusion (to be used internally) that my family has been using for generations.

– EUCALYPTUS: This highly anti-oxidant oil can help you relieve cold symptoms, break down congestion in the chest, clear your nasal passage and promote relaxation, helping you sleep at night.

My mom used to put a few drops in our chests before bed when we were super congested. I still remember those moments fondly.

– THIEVES essential oil: a blend of oils

The blend includes herbs like cloves, cinnamon and rosemary and is believed to help boost the immune system. It has antimicrobial activity and can help you fight nasal and sinus congestion. It is also good at promoting respiratory health and energizing the mood.

My sister would put 3-4 drops on my little nephew’s hands right before dropping him off to school every morning. He rubbed his hands together and smell the oil before rubbing it on his temple and neck. That first year of use, he avoided the cold when most kids in his school got it at least once.

– OIL OF OREGANO: This is a natural antibiotic and antioxidant with antiviral properties. It contains various potentially healing compounds that can also help reduce pain and symptoms of the cold and flu.

I often use it at the first sign of symptoms, adding 3-4 drops of the oil blend (NOT the essential oils but the oil infused in a carrier oil) in a cup of tea, 3-4 times a day. You can also take it in small caps.

Immunity Boosting Herb-Infused Vinegar

This is an incredibly versatile herb infused vinegar, based on the original recipe made famous by the story of the 4 thieves who, legend has it, during the black plague stole from the dead and dying without getting sick themselves.

The herbs on this blend are all regularly used to help us strengthen our immunity, reduce inflammation and most are amazing at helping you improve digestion and absorption of nutrients.

This vinegar can we used topically, can be used in food or as a remedy. Check out the video here and the recipe / ingredients below the video.

Ingredients

16 oz organic apple cider vinegar
2 tsp of cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

2 teaspoons dried sage leaves
2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorn seed, crushed
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 bulb fresh raw garlic cloves, chopped

Directions

Fill a large jar with the herbs and then add the organic apple cider vinegar, making sure all herbs are fully covered in the liquid.
Stir with a wooden spoon and ensure the herbs are thoroughly saturated with the vinegar.
Seal the jar using plastic paper, then add the metal lid to prevent the vinegar from corroding the metal in the lid.
Let the mixture marinate for a minimum of 2 weeks (ideally 4 weeks) in a dark place, shaking the jar daily to ensure better extraction.
Once done, you can strain all the herbs and store in an amber or dark blue color glass jar and start using your vinegar in salads, in tea blends or topically.

Herbal Tonic for the Cold, Flu, Other Respiratory Illnesses

This powerful tonic can be used by people who are perfectly healthy and trying to stay healthy and those with the cold, the flu and other symptoms.

If you have a fever, aches and pains, and are concerned about getting sicker, this can help shorten your symptoms, reduce inflammation, rest easier and feel better a little sooner.

You can do this with just 5 ingredients:

2 inches of ginger root (boiled in 16 ounces of water)

1 cap full of raw apple cider vinegar

½ lemon juice (freshly cut)

1 dash of cayenne pepper

1 tsp of raw honey (avoid if you’re a vegan)

You can also add a couple of other ingredients, to create a one-two punch of protection:

20 drops of reishi tincture

10 drops of oil of oregano

Take this 12 ounce drink once a day as a protective tonic and 3-4 times a day if you’re fighting a cold, the flu or something else!

How to Make Hand Sanitizer at Home

In light of the continued spread and worldwide struggle with the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the CDC’s directive to practice social distancing and other guidelines, many of you have asked if alternative practices like herbal medicine can help add an extra layer of protection to your health and immunity.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing with my community simple herbal and other home-made remedies to help you stay strong and supporter through this world-wide pandemic.

In this post, I’ll show you how to make WHO and CDC approved hand sanitizer at home with just 4 ingredients.

I tried it at home and showed you the process here.

Here is the mix/recipe:

4 ounces of isopropyl alcohol (91% or above)

1/2 tsp of glycerol or glycerin

1/2 tsp of hydrogen peroxide

1 ounce of water (boil the water, let it cool)

5 drops of tea tree oil

5 drops of lavender

*Add to a clean, empty bottle with a spray cap

Coronavirus: Can Herbal Medicine Help Protect You?

The coronavirus is wreaking havoc around the world, not just in the health of people but in our psyche and in the world economy as a whole. We don’t know as much as we’d like to about this virus and that is one of the reasons for the type of panic we’re seeing. If you don’t know an enemy, how do you fight it, right? In my practice as an herbalist, I’ve had a dozen people ask me if I could recommend botanicals that can protect them from getting the coronavirus. Check out my answer and my recommendations here:

Practical recommendations from the US Federal Government: coronavirus.gov In addition, please make sure to check for symptoms, like:

fever
dry cough
shortness of breath – less common

In Herbal Medicine we take a 3-step approach: 1 – Prevention 2 – Lessening of symptoms 3 – Strengthening the immunity The Botanical/Herbal recommendations for prevent and protect your respiratory and immune systems include: Respiratory:

garlic
elderberry
plantain leaf
echinacea
thyme

Immune System:

reishi/chaga mushrooms
oil of oregano
tea tree
ginger
eucalyptus

Easy Sauce Recipe: Black Garlic Sauce

*To get a copy of my cookbook: http://ebookbundle.jovankaciares.com/

For months, I’ve been wanting to create a few video recipes featuring easy-to-make recipes that can dress veggies and salads and make the experience of eating more plants more exciting.

So I enlisted the help of amazing Executive Chef, Verité Mazzola (my sis’ in law) to create today’s recipe: a simple black garlic sauce. Easiest thing that could change the way and amount of veggies you eat each and every day. It is so simple and so YUMMY it should be illegal! Check out the recipe video below.

Ingredients:

5 heads of black garlic (if no black garlic, use 5 regular garlic cloves)
1/4 vinegar
1/3 cup of avocado oil
2 Tbsp of date syrup
Pinch of salt and pepper

*get the black garlic here: https://amzn.to/2wtqFiw

Instructions:

In a blender or small food processor, blend until smooth. Safe in a glass jar and place in the fridge until it’s time to use.
Add to your veggies just before consuming and enjoy!

La Rayia’s: Providing Healthy Meals to Homeless in LA

Today I have a super special video for you. A few months ago, I learned about and visited a new Bodega (little market in Spanish) owned and run by a fellow Afro-Latina.

If you don’t know this powerful little bodega in the heart of Los Angeles, you must! LaRayia’s is the first and only organic plant-based, vegan bodega known.

Through food recovery programs, they offer organic, vegan and whole foods to the community for less than $5.

They also make their own vegan foods, juicing and snacks. The store also sells crystals, candles and merchandise with profits going to fund their food delivery programs. Their non profit arm, Lunch on Me, provides organic food & healing for those experiencing homelessness in downtown Los Angeles.

This is truly a group of exemplary women doing incredible work. I’m especially proud about this fellow Afro-Latinas changing the world for good one meal at a time.

Visit LaRayia’s Bodega at 2713 W. 6th Street in Los Angeles or on Instagram at: @larayiasbodega.

To learn more about Lunch on Me, check out IG: @lunchonme 🇵🇷🇨🇺 www.crowdrise.com/la-bodega

Five Chemicals Banned In Europe (Sold in the USA)

Did you know there are toxic food chemicals allowed to be used in the foods you consume and feed your children? And what’s even more shocking if that many other industrialized nations, especially in Europe, have tested some of these chemicals, deemed them unsafe and banned them from their food chains.

However, in the good ol’ USA, we have a totally different approach to food safety. Here, the Food and Drug Administration uses the “innocent until proven harmful” tactic, allowing ingredients into our foods sometimes for decades until and unless someone can show there’s a problem.

Some of these chemicals can cause symptoms from diarrhea to hormone disruption and some are suspected of causing life-threatening diseases like cancer.

So before you take another bite, check out this list (mean to be a starting point to your own research and self-empowerment with respect to the foods that you feed your amazing body):

rBGH and rBST – available in Milk
Olestra – available in packaged, highly-processed foods
BVO – available in soft drinks
Potassium bromate (bromated flour) – available in baked goods
DPA – available in Apples

Five Veggies That Burn Belly Fat

Belly fat, why are you still with me? That’s the question most of us have asked of the little extra round soft stuff in our mid-sections. Belly fat is not just about how we look but more importantly, how we feel and how we stay healthy long term.

Scientific studies have now shown that fat around your belly is a potential precursor to heart disease and can put you at risk for diabetes, chronic inflammation and other health issues.

Sadly, most of us struggle to lose that pesky fat that seemingly refuses to leave our bellies. Especially if you have a sedentary lifestyle, you can only expect that belly fat to get larger still.

Luckily, there are whole foods now easily available in most markets across cities that have natural belly fat burning abilities. Consuming these foods can be a great compliment to slowly reducing fat from your abdomen and achieve your healthy living goals.

Some of the ingredients that have fat-burning abilities are also anti-oxidant, high in fiber and densely nourishing, making them superfoods in the true sense of the word.

Let’s check these amazing foods that can help you lose belly fat:

1. Mushrooms

One of my favorite superfoods, mushrooms are immunity powerhouses. You can find dozens of edible mushrooms in supermarkets but my favorites are shiitake, maitake and portobello. They have been known to promote weight loss and fat burn by regulating the levels of glucose in the blood. They are also rich in protein and can help you increase your metabolism, resulting in eventual fat loss.

2. Cauliflower

Cauliflower has become a go-to option for folks who don’t want to eat starchy foods like potatoes or rice. Cauliflower contains phytochemicals that can help enhance fat loss in the body. It is a highly versatile vegetable that can also help regular digestion, making it easier for your body to absorb nutrients and prevent fat storage.

3. Asparagus

I often consume mushrooms and asparagus together. For some reason, they go together really well. Asparagus contains the chemical asparagine, an alkaloid that acts directly at a cellular level to break down fat within the body. Also highly versatile and can be consumed roasted, in stews and stir fry’s alike.

4. Cucumbers

Cucumbers are highly cleansing, filling and rich in vitamins. They are ubiquitous in the juicing world, especially because they are water rich and help you feel fuller longer, eventually helping you consume less calories.

5. Pumpkins

Who doesn’t love pumpkins? They are relatively dense (because of their high fiber content) yet low in calories. Pumpkins are common in weight loss programs as one of the few starchy vegetables “allowed”. They will help you feel full, grounded and satisfied when you are consuming less calories than normal.

Why losing Weight Is Hard (And What You Can Do About It)

What is the one thing you might be missing that could lead to long term, healthy weight loss. For years, dieters have been told that less calories equal more weight loss. But the truth is a lot more complex than that (you already know that!)

Set Point Weight... Have you heard about this concept? Set Point Weight is a concept that believes that each person’s brain fights to keep a pre-determined weight where the body functions at an optimum or comfortable level. It’s like a thermostat, that different people keep at different temperatures to stay comfortable.

Learn more in the video and follow these 3 simple steps:

1. Change the structure of your diet.

2. Change the structure of your gut.

3. Change your background.

What do you think about this concept? Does it make sense? Are you willing to try just a wee bit harder to reach those weight loss goals? Let me know in the comment section below the video.

4 Tips to an Effective Cleanse at Home

Many people find cleanses and detoxes appealing as a way to reaffirm a commitment to healthy eating, especially at the start of a new year. While I certainly understand the desire dial down cravings for sweets and processed foods and create a pathway toward eating well over the long haul, the trouble I see with juicing and other similar cleanses is that too often, they leave people hangry, sluggish and distracted by constant thoughts of food.

Cleansing can also lead to unwanted issues, like constipation (from lack of fiber) and bloating (due to excess fructose from juice cleanses).

If you want to reboot your diet in the new year without the unnecessary restriction and potential downsides that comes with detoxes and cleanses, clean up your eating with these coach-approved tips instead.

GO GREEN (AND ORANGE AND PURPLE AND RED)

Most Americans aren’t anywhere close to meeting their needs. (90 percent fall short of vegetable recommendations and 85 percent aren’t meeting their fruit quota.) To help you boost your intake and your overall health, add sliced strawberries to your oatmeal at breakfast, opt for a summer salad at lunch, and fill half your dinner plate with a steamed vegetable medley.

And don’t forget snacks! Enjoy sliced carrots, celery and jicama with hummus or a little guacamole with gluten free crackers.

CUT OUT ADDED SWEETENERS

While Americans fall short on fruits and veggies, we’re overdoing it on sugar, consuming close to 20 teaspoons a day. Health authorities suggest capping added sugars at 6 teaspoons (equivalent to about 25 g) a day for women and 9 teaspoons (or about 36 g) for men. Challenge yourself to cut back on added sugar from sweetened yogurts, cereals and granola bars, as well as the usual suspects (soda, cookies, ice cream, cookies and other baked goods). You’ll appreciate the natural sweetness of fruit so much more when you cut unnecessary added sweeteners from your diet.

BE GOOD TO YOUR GUT

Many people are drawn to cleanses to reset their GI system, and these regular cleanses can have amazing benefits! While trying to flush out toxins, take measures to boost your gut health so it can do its job well.

A healthy gut is important for almost every aspect of wellness — from boosting your mood to helping you sleep, from weight management to preventing chronic diseases, the list goes on and on. To reboot your diet and reset your gut, remember to do a mild, food-based “reset cleanse” on a regular basis.

EMBRACE MILD, FOOD-BASED CLEANSES

Our team does a 3-week purification challenge twice a year, using some meal replacements, herbal supplements and easy-to-digest meals that are perfect for any part of the year. Check out more details about it here.

How To Improve Memory with Herbal Blends

How’s your memory? Do you forget people’s names, can’t remember if you turned the stove off, forgot the wallet yet again!?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Memory decline can happen at any time in our lives, and for a variety of reasons. Your memory and brain work like the memory in your computer. Lots of information is taken in first, then connections are formed.

Your brain then creates specialized messages that are stored as memories in the appropriate “place,” so you can access them later. Stress, chemical changes, poor diet, lack of sleep, age all affect your ability access those “places” and remember things.

So, how to get those brain areas to work more efficiently so you can remember things better? Well, with my trusted herbal blends, of course! Here are 3 of my favorites:

REMEDY NO 1: GINSENG

-stimulates nervous system

-increases concentration

-reduces mental fatigue

INFUSION

1 tsp, 1 cup of water

1x / day

4 weeks

REMEDY NO 2: SALVIA

-antioxidant activity

-improves brain activity

-improves memory

INFUSION

2 tbsp, 1 cup of water

1-2x/day

daily

REMEDY NO #: GINGKO BILOBA

-improves blood flow

-blocks free radicals

-activates the brain

INFUSION

2 Tbsp, 1 cup of water

1-2x/day

Vegan Keto Diet – Is it possible? Is It Healthy?

My clients keep asking me about the ketogenic diet and whether it is healthy.

More importantly, they (and I) want to know if you can do keto and still follow a plant-based, whole foods, vegan diet.

Here’s my take on the keto craze and a vegan version of a keto diet.

1^st effect

Anyone eating a plant whole foods diet with no white crap, sugars and junk will get into a mild ketogenic state

2nd effect

Intermittent fasting – can also put you in a mild ketosis state

13-16 hrs without solids

3rd effect

Exercise can help you achieve a mild ketogenic state

fat moves faster out when moving regularly

less free radicals = more longevity

Foods and Herbs To Help Manage Earaches

These alternative remedies can be administered alongside necessary antibiotics as additional synergistic treatment.

Try one of the following 3 remedies, ideally one at a time. Check out the video below and the instructions in writing below the video:

Click Here To Access The Video

Remedy No 1: ECHINACEA

-stimulate white blood cells

-has antibiotic effects

*How To Do It?

Add 2-3 drops of tincture into each ear 2-3 times per day

Remedy No 2: Onion

-antibacterial and antibiotic

-antifungal

-reduces swelling

*How To Do it?

Cut 1/3 of the onion and place it directly over the ear. Hold it in place with a cloth bandage for 15 mins. Add a hot pack over the onion to release the oils into the ear.

Remedy No 3: Tea Tree

-antifungal, antiviral

– can shorten the duration

-relieves pain

*How To Do It?

Mix 1 tsp of coconut oil and 1-2 drops of tea tree. Put it gently into the effected ear.

Change the cotton ball 2-3 times per day.

What have been your tried and true earache remedies? Let me know in the comments below the video.

Upset Tummy Be Gone | How To Soothe Your Tummy

We’ve all been there: a squeezy feeling in the pit of your stomach, and gas bubble that feels trapped and causing pain, a bloated stomach that makes you look 4 months pregnant (even the boys), the funny butterflies that are neither cute nor sexy.

What to do? If you’re feeling that combination of physical discomfort and emotional stress that manifests in discomfort, pain and distention on the belly, I got some herbal blends for you! Check out the video blog and the written list below the video!

Here are some of my favorite tummy soothers:

1. CHAMOMILE

-aromatic and carminative bitter

-loved by kids & elders alike

-great for occasional gas and bloating

-relieves nausea and occasional heartburn

2. GINGER

-warming carminative

-soothes upset stomach and nausea

-supports sluggish digestion

-rekindles digestive fire and reduces gas/bloating

3. PEPPERMINT

-cooling carminative

-smooth muscle of the digestive tract

-soothes the nerves & a nervous stomach

4. BURDOCK

-bitter stimulant

-maintains healthy gut flora

-keeps microbiome in balance

-stimulates digestive secretions

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