Natural Product Recipes and Tips from ACHS Annual Winter Celebration

The 6th Annual ACHS Winter Celebration was a great success! We had more than 40 people attend the workshop, where ACHS President Dorene Petersen demonstrated how to make natural products to support a holistic lifestyle (including herb sugar scrub, aromatherapy and herb bath salt blend, peppermint foot scrub, essential oil blending, and how to make natural lavender and hops sleep pillows).

All of the recipes from the workshop's demonstrations can be downloaded for free from the Apothecary Shoppe College Store website. Click here: http://www.apothecary-shoppe.com/product_info.php?cPath=45&products_id=1548

Here are some of the tips and suggestions for making and using natural products that were shared with workshop participants throughout the day:

• When stressed, it is important to calm the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for the "fight or flight" response). To do this, use some deep breathing at least twice a day.
• Store natural products carefully. Air and light can diminish the active constituents in herbs and essential oils.
  
• Coat your body in your favorite base oil and essential oil blend in the morning before you step into the shower. This will stimulate your senses and hydrate at the same time.
• When making a natural product that requires the use of glycerin, make sure your glycerin is plant-based. Glycerin is a humectant and holds in moisture.
  
• After you have stripped lavender from its stalk, do not throw the stalk away. You can use lavender stalks in fireplaces/fire pits to add some soothing hints of lavender.

For more tips like these and to watch Dorene's demonstrations from the Winter Celebration do two things:
#1 Become a Fan of ACHS: http://www.facebook.com/ACHSedu
#2 Subscribe to ACHStv on YouTube, where we have posted hours of instructional holistic health videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/achstv

Green Your Life while you earn credit

In case you haven't heard...

ACHS is hosting an exciting wellness retreat October 4-9, the ACHS Green Your Life Retreat at Breitenbush retreat center in Oregon.

And now we have even more exciting news—attend, and you earn 1 elective credit towards your ACHS diploma or degree.

You'll have the opportunity to meet and learn with experts such as:

• Plant Identification Walk with ACHS President Dorene Petersen and Essential Oil Company President Robert Seidel
• Essential Oil Distillation with Robert Seidel
• Children's Health with Deborah Halvorson
• Iridology with Dorene Petersen

>> Click here for more information.

Imagine an opportunity to relax, explore your wellness potential, and get hands-on holistic health experience while you earn credit towards your ACHS diploma or degree.

Call us today at (800) 487-8839 or click here to securely register online. We look forward to helping you green your life!

American spend billions on alternative medicine

According to a July 30 article on WebMD, Americans "spend almost a third as much money out-of pocket on herbal supplements and other alternative medicines as they do on prescription drugs."

In a new government report, out-of-pocket spending on alternative medicines like herbal supplements, chiropractic visits, and meditation was estimated at about $34 billion in one year.

“The bottom line is that Americans spend a lot of money on CAM products, classes, materials and practitioner visits,” National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Director Josephine P. Briggs, MD, said. “We estimate that this (represents) approximately 11% of the total out-of-pocket spending on health care.”

Highlights from the report released by NCHS and NCAAM include:

• In 2007, 38 million adults spent $12 billion on about 354 million visits to CAM practitioners.
  
• Two-thirds of the out-of-pocket spending did not involve a practitioner, but alternatives like over-the-counter herbal therapies, classes, and materials.
  
• The largest single expenditure was for "non-vitamin, non-mineral herbal supplements and other products (almost $15 billion) followed by practitioner visits ($12 billion), stretching and meditation-related classes such as yoga, tai chi, and qigong ($4 billion), homeopathic medicines ($2.9 billion) and relaxation techniques ($0.2 billion)."

Briggs further commented that chronic pain, back pain in specific, is the most common reason people use alternative medicine. “Americans," Briggs said, "turn to treatments like acupuncture, chiropractic care, and massage therapy to deal with these painful conditions,” adding that groups like the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society are on record as endorsing these therapies as useful options for the treatment of chronic back pain.

>> Click here for more information about CAM training

>> Click here to read the complete WebMD article on CAM

ACHS lavender distillation yields 30 mls of essential oil

On June 30 ACHS held a public distillation of lavender from the botanical teaching garden. About a dozen community members helped College President Dorene Petersen with the distillation, including harvesting the lavender from the garden.

Historically, lavender Lavandula angustifolia has been used to relieve stress and its effects, including insomnia and anxiety, and to generally aid relaxation. It can also be used around the home as an effective deodorizer and air freshener, in closets and drawers as a natural insecticide, and as a perfume.

Lavender oil is colorless, pale-yellow or yellowish-green oil. It must be stored at cool temperatures in well-filled, airtight containers, and protected from light.

>>To sample the lavender essential oil from the ACHS distillation, check out the Apothecary Shoppe College Store for your free sample.

>>To see more pictures from the ACHS lavender distillation, friend us on Facebook.

>>To watch the ACHS lavender harvest and distillation, visit our Youtube channel, ACHStv.

Herbal medicine chest for busy moms

We all know that it is important to nourish ourselves by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, making sure we take care or our own needs as moms, and getting plenty of rest.

However, sometimes our kids have other plans for us! Whether it is a crying baby that keeps you up all night, over-committing ourselves, or just generally being off balance and on the verge of burnout- herbs can be an excellent ally! Fellow moms often ask me what herbs I like to use during busy or stressful times- below are some of my favorites! All of these herbs are safe to use while nursing and are also excellent for postpartum.*

Nutritive Herbs

• Milky Oats - Milky oats (tincture) will give me instant relief when I am on the verge of burnout and exhaustion, not thinking clearly, moody, and just plain overwhelmed. Milky oats are nourishing for the nervous system and can be taken over a long period of time. I notice the effects immediately, feeling revived and rejuvenated.
• Alfalfa- Alfalfa is packed with nutrients- a great addition to tea!
• Gotu Kola- Commonly used in Ayruvedic medicine, combined in a formula with other nervines, it reduces nervous exhaustion while at the same time promoting mental clarity.
• Nettle- One of the best nutritive herbs. This herb can be used daily. This is a great herb to use to revive yourself if you are feeling drained. The whole plant including the seeds is an excellent remedy for adrenal exhaustion, something a lot of mom's may experience when they juggling multiple tasks and don't take the time for self care. Nettles are packed with trace minerals and vitamins.
• Dandelion- Often thought of as just a weed, dandelion is a wonderful mildly bitter herb that has a long use in traditional herbal medicine as both a food and a beneficial medicinal remedy. Dandelion leaf can be eaten in salads, stir fry, the root roasted can be used as a coffee substitute and the dried root can be added to your tea blends.

Nervines

• Catnip- this herb will come in handy for both mom and baby. Not only does it have a gentle relaxing effect, it will reduce colic in your baby both through the breast milk, used alone as a tea, or used in a "gripe water" formula. Catnip in a tea along with slippery elm, chamomile, fennel, and infant massage helped my daughter with her colic symptoms tremendously.
• Chamomile- Another great herb for both mom and baby, it is not only relaxing it is a natural anti-inflammatory, and good for nervous tummies. So when your baby begins teething, chamomile is an excellent herb to have on hand to both relax you and your baby. Chamomile will also help with local inflammation of the gums when your baby is teething (apply tincture directly). I like chamomile combined with lavender as a tea for relaxation.
• Lavender- Gentle and relaxing to the nervous system, it is good for insomnia, as well as milk production & the let down reflex, combined with other herbs such as chamomile, fennel, catnip.
• Passionflower- I like this combined with other nervines in a nighttime tea, excellent for relaxation.
• California Poppy- Excellent for anxiety and insomnia.
• Lemon Balm- I like lemon balm combined with other herbs in a tea, the herb gives a general over-all good feeling. Calming effects will pass to your infant through the breast milk if you are nursing. Combines well with milky oats in tincture form.
• Motherwort- This herb is bitter, great for anxiety. I like this herb in tincture form.
• Skullcap- For the mom's with so much on their mind, new changes, over stimulation, a touch of the blues, exhaustion from lack of rest, I think this herb is one of the most valuable. It will nourish & restore your nervous system.
• Vervain- This herb will help when you are irritable and on the verge of the angry "I've had it and I just might lose it" cry. Great to combine with the skullcap and or milky oats in tincture form. Good for the emotional mood swings of PMS-safe to take over long periods of time.

Author Bio
Angie Goodloe graduated from the American College of Healthcare Sciences with her Diploma in Herbal Studies Master Herbalist and Holistic Nutrition Certificate in 2005. She also graduated from the East West College of the Healing Arts in 2003 and currently teaches holistic health courses online. To read more about Angie and her work, check out her blog: http://authenticmama.com/

*This is the opinion and/or claim of the author. It is always recommended that you consult with a primary health care provider before making significant changes to your diet or health care routine.

5 stress-relief tips to protect your health

For some people exercise is relaxation. It is difficult to worry and fret about the mistakes and decisions of the day when you are coordinating arms and legs in a dance movement or running that extra mile up a hill. What’s more, relaxation is doing something you enjoy, absorbing yourself in the moment, and nothing else.

Emotional and mental relaxation is as fundamental to your health program as the food you put into your mouth. Do not neglect this aspect of your health regime, regardless of how busy you are.

For easy, at-home, do-it-yourself stress relief and health support, try these techniques:

1. Diffuse your favorite essential oils in your office and home. Lavender, neroli, and anise are pleasant, yet effective stress-reducing aromas.

2. Soak in a fragrant bath, scented with lavender or rose essential oils. Play some relaxing music, light an aromatherapy candle, read a book, and relax. Remember not to have the water too hot, and add the essential oils just before you get in, as they evaporate quickly.

3. Eat a good meal full of fresh vegetables and health-supporting herbs, like rosemary, which enlivens both the senses and digestion.

4. Remember to enjoy life. Do something fun: Walk in the park, watch a comedy, or savor a great meal.

5. Every night, before you go to sleep, write down five things you are grateful for in your life that day.

CLICK HERE for a free download about the history of aromatherapy.