I thought I would write a little bit about the importance of circulation and the immune system. I have been writing about H1N1, HBD 2 just released and I have been working on HBD: The Heart Pumping Adventure lately, so it just seemed appropriate!

We all understand that getting your heart pumping will keep our bodies healthy but what exactly that mean? Well, when your heart is pumping, blood is circulating - increasing the blood flow throughout the body and when the blood is flowing many things are happening. More oxygen and nutrients are being delivered, your breathing becomes more laboured which stimulates the intestinal muscles to contract which will help to relieve bloating and constipation and this will boost the immune system thus helping the body fight off bacteria and viruses.

If you are felling a little lazy or need to study for a test, run up and down your stairs or do ten jumping jacks and get your blood moving. You may be surprised with a little more energy and a better grade!

Be well,

When I was a kid the one thing I would never ever eat was a mushroom. Boy was I a silly girl! They are low in calories, full of favour and are truly an amazing nutritional power food.

There are so many to chose from and so many ways to prepare them that there is fungi wanting to be eaten by all of us!

I love to add them to soups to stuffing them with cheese to stir frying them with other veggies and serving with rice.

My personal favourites are the portobello (a meal in itself and full of potassium!) and the creminin (full of antioxidants and b vitamins!)

This website is a fantastic place to begin your journey of discovering the delicious mushroom. Look around the site, as it is clever and informative!

And if you have yet to watch Pearl and Zoe cooking up the yummy “Immunity Soup,” please do - it is full of mushrooms.

Be well,

When I was in school one of my teachers (also a doctor) spoke of a child patient who had cancer. They came to him for some alternative therapies and my teacher suggested some visualization.

He had the child close his eyes and start describing the cancer in every aspect - colour, hairy, ball-like etc. Once that was established, my teacher had him describe his own warriors or defenses in his body. The scene was set, the battle visualized with the  cancer was being destroyed.

This didn’t occur in one visit but over many. The weeks that followed were full of imaginative creative stories on how his body was destroying the cancer. Not only did the child feel better after the sessions, he was physically better.

This story made a big impact on me. It actually is one of the reasons that led me to write my series of educational adventure stories called, Human Body Detectives. And when my kids are sick, I have them visualize their white blood cells destroying the bad bug. They really get into it, describing the bugs in full detail and the battle scene.

We don’t know for sure if creative visualization really boasts our immune systems but as a parent and a doctor, I see how it allows us to be physically and emotionally stronger and proactive in our health.

Be well,

The kids woke up early to record this video. They started out a little slow but did mange to bake their favourite breakfast!

Check them out on their site, watch their fun and print up their recipe!

Enjoy!

Last weekend I spent spent a lovely few hours with some colleagues. We talked about many things but one thing in particular…how we are going to strengthen our immunity for the upcoming cold/flu season?

I thought I would share with all my followers what I plan to do for myself and my family. I am keeping  my medicine cabinet fully stocked throughout the winter months and I have told the family that we will be upping our supplements intake for the next few months. Although they probably will not even notice since I usually throw everything into a blender ( I put in a whey/rice base or soy based protein powders - ProBasics or IsoProtein)!

Everything that I am suggesting can be purchased on my Emerson Ecologics custom form. You will need the access code which is 96743 and if you have yet to set up an account you will need to do that.

Cold/Flu Prevention Protocol

First of all, the most important things to do are…

1. wash your hands all the time with soap and water!

2. sleep well and for at least 7 to 8 hours ( more for kids)

3. eat a whole colourful foods - well balanced diet

4. keep the stress levels down and find ways to relief stress

Daily supplement guidance

1. probiotic (Seroyal/Genestra HMF)

2. cod liver oil - capsule or liquid ( Nordic Naturals)

3. a little bit of “Berry Well Immune Support” powder by Vital Nutrients for the kids

4. mushroom complex: Innate MaikeGold 404

5. liquid vitamin d3 ( pure encapsulations - Vitamin d3 is the active form of vitamin d)

• recommended dose: 1000IUs per 25 pounds

• for a preventative measure, I would do 1 drop for kids up to 75 pounds and over 75 pounds 2 to 3 drops

6. vitamin c: Carlson’s chewables or alacer corp emergency c or pure encapsulations

If you or someone gets sick…

1. Homeopathics

• Boiron Oscillococcinum - for children or adults
• or Heel Flu Plus
• Nux Vomica 30c

2. Wise Woman Herbal (WWH)

• Elderberry tincture: I make a “grape juice” for the kids when they are sick and they sip on it throughout the day
• Children’s glycerite: for kids
• Phytobiotic capsules: for adults
• * if your kids prefer chewables. then Integrative Therapeutics Echinacea vitamin C with Elderberry maybe the best*

3. Vitamin C

• up to bowel tolerance ( 5 to 10 grams a day)

Doasges and protocol: Take medicines as directed. I like to suggest to people to take something every 2 hours. For example:

• take one of the WWH
• vitamin c
• homeopathic
• and then start all over again

Do this for at least 5 days and at least 2 days after you feel better ( but you can cut back on the timing and/or dosages).

And of course some hydrotherapy (magic socks) during the day and night will be key.

Please email me with any questions!

Be well,

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2009

Contact: Heather Manley, N.D.

HAWAII DOCTOR PUBLISHES SECOND KIDS’ EDUCATIONAL ADVENTURE STORY

Hawaii Naturopathic Physician, Dr. Heather Manley, announces the release of Human Body Detectives: Battle with the Bugs, the second activity workbook and story-telling audioCD in her Human Body Detectives (HBD) series, on November 18, 2009.

HBD is a series of educational adventure stories for 7-12 year olds where two young “Human Body Detectives,” Merrin and Pearl, magically enter different systems in the body to solve health mysteries. Through action packed fiction stories told on audio CD, listeners learn how the various systems work and what foods best fuel each system. The accompanying workbook filled with games and puzzles reinforces what kids have learned from the story and helps them further understand the importance of maintaining a healthy immune system.

In Battle with the Bugs, while on a family trip to Mexico, the girls are joined by brave cousin Sam on a learning journey through the immune system. They start out in the mucus-filled nose of cousin Max, who is suffering from a bad cold, and proceed to learn everything from what white blood cells do to what causes a fever. Trying to help Max, they even befriend a macrophage warrior named Quickster whom they help fight the bad bug invaders.

Battle with the Bugs follows Manley’s first story, The Lucky Escape, where Merrin and Pearl wind up in their baby brother’s digestive system and narrowly escape his poopy diaper.

HBD stories and workbooks:
• Engage kids in a fun way to learn about how their bodies work
• Encourage kids to make healthy food and lifestyle choices
• Inspire kids to take charge of their own health
• Support parents and teachers by enhancing science/health curricula

As a physician and a mother, Manley believes that if children understand how their bodies work, they are more apt to make healthy food and lifestyle choices. She came up with the idea for the HBD series after discovering a lack of books on the market that help kids learn, in a fun way, about how their bodies work. Manley’s goal is to expand the series to at least five books with corresponding DVD’s. Merrin and Pearl will next appear in the circulatory system, learning about keeping the heart healthy, in HBD: A Heart Pumping Adventure, set for press in spring 2010. Adventures through the nervous and muscular systems will follow.

The activity workbook, audio CD, and DVD packages are geared to serve as tools for families, teachers and home school parents, to supplement current science and/or health curricula. The HBD series is also highlighted on Manley’s website. The site provides a resource for people, especially parents of young children, to learn about preventative health care and taking charge of their family’s health.

Dr. Manley is a naturopathic physician licensed in the state of Hawaii. She is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Medicine and the Hawaii Naturopathic Medicine Association.

For more information, please visit the HBD site, or email drheather

A few weeks ago, my neighbour and friend interviewed me for his website, Living Uncondionanally/Holistic Human. His site connects and works with people in health, business and spiritually related fields. It is really a non profit  educational organization.

We sat in his office for about an hour as he asked me questions from everything from children’s health to Human Body Detectives to finding the right naturopathic physician. He divided the hour interview into 5 different segments. Below is the first segment on children’s health. You can watch the other segments by going to this link.

Find more videos like this on Holistic Human®

Be well,

I remember watching Jurassic Park when it come out years ago and one important discussion very close to the beginning was about controlling nature. The scientist stated their was no way nature could be controlled as it was really chaos - spontaneous, living for the moment  (to survive) - going with the flow ( or something like that.) Whereas the business man thought it could be controlled. Well, all of those who have watched this move, know very well how it ended…

So, in general, I have always thought that it was just finding the right balance to control the “home chaos” and well accepting it to a degree, but  lately my life just seems unusually chaotic.  So my question is to all of you reading this, Can I find some kind of balance within the home chaos? Or do I need to fully accept the chaos and go with the flow of it?

I believe I know the right answer, but wow, it is super hard as the parent at home the most, to do. Please tell me how you handle all the craziness! Especially with more to come with all the holidays approaching.

Be well,

This was written by a colleague ( and good friend) of mine. We have very similar thoughts on disease, disease prevention and overall health and lifestyle choices. I was excited to read her updated perspective on the Swine Flu. She makes me laugh about being “naive” about the overall health of Americans. To me, it just makes sense to eat well, exercise, laugh, drink water, wash your hands and take a few supplements. But really that is what we need to teach the general public - the basics for optimal healthy living or just being.

I say we become proactive in our way of living, embrace what we have and strive towards making changes in our daily life so we can achieve optima health. We can all make healthier choices whether it be breathing deeply, to eating more vegetables or just being more present with life in general!

Please take a moment and read Dr. Anderson-Ross’s blog and my last blog entry on H1N1. I want to pass on as much as I can about health - the pros and cons to everything - people can then make the best decision for themselves and their families.

Be well,

I thought I would re-post this blog. It was one of my first blog entries and I was just thinking about this time in my life and how important this moment was to me.

I moved to Boston right after high school. I loved it! I immediately met 2 au-pair French girls and despite our language barrier ( I spoke a little French and they spoke a little English) we hit it off.

One of our first conversations was about “to have” and “to be.” They spoke how they noticed in America, that people had a “to have” mentality, whereas, in Europe it was more of a “to be” way of thinking. This had a huge impact on me and I still think about it today and how it applies to my lifestyle.

I have given a few lectures on how this relates to our health. Do we “have health” or are we “to be health?” It is somewhat of a combination of both but it definitely begins with being healthy. Your everyday awareness to the health  of your body is what will determine your having health. Our bodies want to be healthy but in order for the body to have health some conscious lifestyle choices are required.

I encourage everyone to make healthy lifestyle choices - finding ways to relief stress, breathing deeply, eating whole colourful foods and just, well, being present!

Be well,

I do love curry! And I am glad I do, but after reading this BBC article I realize that I might want to consider eating more of it!

Found in the yellow Indian spice Turmeric, you can find the magical phytochemical, Curcumin.  Past research has given accolades to Curcumin for its’ healing benefits for inflammation/arthritis and gastrointestinal symptoms. However, this BBC article  suggests that Curcumin may have more to offer…scientists have shown that it may  kill off cancer cells.

Ok then, back to  the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, famous quote,

“Let Food be your Medicine and Medicine be your food.”

Let’s research more whole colourful foods and see what else these foods have to offer. Or better yet, just eat more colourful whole foods! Have any recipes to share?

Be well,

The halloween birthday craze began about 2 months ago when Pearl was determined to start organizing her birthday party. She had a vision of a “mystery party,” followed by bbq dinner with parents and then a night of trick or treating with her friends. It was a completely fulfilled request and most importantly, I survived it!

I highly recommend using Dramatic Fanatic mysteries for your child’s next party. Once I explained the idea behind the party, some of the kids just got it right away, and when I got into character as the host, the rest of the kids started to get into character and the mystery really began!

Dramatic Fanatic was developed for, as they say, “kids who love the spotlight.” There are several mysteries to chose from which were created by the award winning children’s television writer, Jennifer Hamburg. I loved how super easy it was to follow and how affordable it was.

Pearl is looking forward to the next party ( she was hoping for next month but not going to happen) and I think when we do the next party, we will roll out the red carpet and solve the “Movie Star Mystery.”

Have fun and be well,