It's Mono Season!

So I found out this week that one of my friends and their date-mate both have mono. Yikes! Trying to be the helpful friend, I looked around in my Young Living circle to see if anyone had used essential oils to help the body heal from mononucleosis. I didn’t get much information from them, so Deidra and I explored the abyss that is the internet, and came up with some recommendations that we think can help my friend and anyone else with mono (or any nasty virus) to support their immune systems.

Mononucleosis is a highly infectious virus that is known as the “kissing disease” because it is very easily passed through saliva exchange. The symptoms can include fatigue, a sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes, swollen tonsils, headache, skin rash, a compromised liver, a swollen spleen, and a general feeling of unhealthiness. No actual cure is available, but here are several natural remedies that can help you feel better sooner and stay above the wellness line.

THIEVES™

Taking 2-3 drops of Thieves™ essential oil internally in a capsule along with a few drops of a carrier oil (coconut oil is the best, but grapeseed and olive will also work), or mixing a bit with a cup of tea is the quickest way to get this immune-supportive oil in your system. If ingestion doesn’t work with your body, then rubbing a few drops of Thieves on the bottoms of your feet twice a day also works, because the largest pores of your whole body are on the bottoms of your feet. In fact, you should be able to feel like you taste or smell the oil within 35-40 seconds of rubbing it in, and it will get into every cell of your body within 20 minutes after you apply.  This is because essential oil molecules are super tiny and can go places many other things can't. This topical method can be used 2-3 times daily to help your body to prevent relapses, and help to keep other viruses taking hold while your body is in a weakened state.

OREGANO OIL
If you want an extra kick in the capsule, add a few drops of Oregano essential oil along with your carrier oil. You may feel like you've even Italian food all week, but it seriously takes care of business. Just google it! The most palatable way Deidra and I have found to drink it is to mix a few drops in a large mug of mint tea. It almost tastes like it's supposed to be there.

Both Oregano and Thieves(tm) come in Young Living's FDA-approved Vitality(r) line, so they are totally safe to ingest.

COCONUT OIL

Everybody knows that Coconut Oil is good for you in many forms, but it seems to be the number one remedy for helping you get back on your feet after you've been infected with a virus like mono.  Why? Because it contains Monolaurin, a molecule that comes from lauric acid, a constituent of coconuts. Monolaurin helps boost your immune response to a range of viruses including influenza and even Herpes.  It actually helps prevent virus cells from entering their target, us!
So down that coconut oil any time you think a virus may be at work.  The best way to get it working for your body is to just eat it straight up. Swallow a tablespoon of cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil every morning and evening. If even the thought of it makes you gag, you can add it to tea, coffee, or golden milk. In the morning, we recommend putting an extra helping in bulletproof coffee! 

SALT WATER

This is one thing that you don’t just want to ingest unless you have low blood sugar like me. Otherwise, the best way to use this is to gargle it. Use ½ tsp of salt (Himalayan pink salt or sea salt is best) for every 1 cup of purified hot water. This helps to soothe and heal your mouth, and the salt can help to dry out your sinuses.

ACV or Apple Cider Vinegar

Drinking a cup of warm water with 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of honey 2-3 times per day can help to flush out your body. Some folks even add their Thieves™ oil to counteract the taste of the vinegar.  The ACV balances out the pH in your stomach so you can heal faster, has antioxidant properties, and contains a variety of vitamins and minerals. Honey is antiviral and can help to eliminate the virus from your system completely. If you can’t or don’t eat honey, the drink won’t have the same effect, but use a sweetener of your choice, just not sugar. The ACV and water alone is pretty unpleasant so vegans like me can use stevia, coconut sugar, agave, or maple syrup.

VITAMIN C

Although Vitamin C is by no means the cure to the common cold, it DOES help to support your immune system and is an antioxidant. As part of a treatment regimen for mono and other viruses, Vitamin C can help to shorten the duration of the condition. It’s a water-soluble vitamin, so there is no need to worry about taking too much of it in the short-term. It should flush out of your system if you ingest more than your body can use.

THINGS TO AVOID

Don’t drink alcohol, as your liver is compromised. Sugar and dairy should be avoided, as they can reverse the effects of many of the remedies listed above and can screw up your gut pH. Junk food, fried food, and fatty food should also be avoided, for obvious reasons.

FINAL NOTE
Sleep, plain filtered water or with citrus (particularly lemon juice or any citrus essential oil), and consistent rest are the best way to get your body better. Good luck, and we hope you feel better soon!

*DISCLAIMER
Please be aware that all essential oils are not the same. Some oils, especially those sold by private vendors on the internet and even brands sold in retail establishments can be low quality or even diluted with unknown carrier oils that could make you sick. We only recommend Young Living essential oils because of their high quality, organic growing methods, strict distillation practices and the professional standards of Young Living. 
To order YL Essential Oils: Email us at otown.oilers@gmail.com or directly online:
https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start?site=US&sponsorid=3703800&enrollerid=3703800

This blog post written by Ari

Think Dirty - Household Cleaner

So my fave housecleaner, Lysol, is no longer welcome here at our house.  I loved the lemon clean smell that I grew up with but it really irritated Ari's sinuses. They hated how it smelled and decided to do a little research on the subject of cleaning products, specifically Lysol Clean & Fresh cleaner. It’s pretty bad. In fact, the EWG rates it an F.

The obvious concerns are respiratory effects and skin damage. All but two of the disclosed ingredients that have data can cause major respiratory problems. Our old friend generic fragrance is back at it again with the acute skin and respiratory toxicity, along with its friends sodium borate (which can also cause skin damage, subfertility, and birth defects) and limonene (a culprit of contact dermatitis, organ effects, asthma, and cancer). Fun stuff!

So we chose a natural product that smells amazing to both of us. Needless to say, we’re glad we switched to Thieves™. Since we found out that there is evidence backing the main ingredient of Lysol as promoting organ failure, we figured you might want to switch, too.

The reason that Thieves™ household cleaner is a great replacement is that it has NONE of those nasties; instead, it uses all-natural essential oils from Young Living, specifically clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus radiata, and rosemary, all of which also come in the FDA-approved Vitality® line, so all of which are safe and edible. That way if your food falls on the counter or your kids run across the freshly-mopped floor, you won’t need to worry! Young Living has you covered. It’s better for the environment as well, since the Lysol going down the toilet drain is a danger to aquatic life.

Thieves™ cleaner might seem a bit expensive at first but you only use a capful in a quart of water for a great household spray or spot cleaner for your carpet. It doesn’t come in those convenient wipes Lysol either but we have a recipe to make your own wipes that smell even better! So you have easy access cleaning that’s REALLY clean and not toxic. 

There are so many ways you can use this cleaner that we have thrown out lots of products: carpet shampoo, glass cleaner, fruit and veggie spray, wood cleaner, and laundry detergent, to name a few.  So we now have a lot fewer nasty chemicals in our home to screw up our bodies and cause issues we don't need.  And best of all, we find Thieves does a much better job even though it is natural enough to ingest.

If you would like to try Thieves foaming hand soap and get wholesale pricing contact me at otown.oilers@gmail.com or order direct here:

https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start?site=US&sponsorid=3703800&enrollerid=3703800

Here are a few recipes for making your own products from the Thieves cleaner:

This blog post written by Ari