How To Gain Confidence In Caring For Your Family Naturally

Sometimes, making healthy choices for our children can be hard. Friends and relatives may think our children are deprived when we don’t provide them with junk foods. They may not understand or support the decision to choose alternative remedies over modern medical treatments. You can however, gain confidence in caring for your family naturally, despite the critics, and today, I’ll explain how.

The Dangers Of Choosing Modern Medicine

Let me start off by saying that although 99% of the time we use holistic, natural remedies, I’m not opposed to modern medicine. If I ever need surgery, I will be more than happy to have anesthesia for the procedure. If my family is in a car accident, we’re going to the hospital. For the everyday ailments, and even the chronic ones, though, modern medicine doesn’t have the best track record.

For over 20 years the Office of Technology Assessment was authorized by Congress to collect and report on data, including health care. Among many of their negative critiques of the health care system, was that “only 10-20% of all procedures used in medical practice have been shown to be efficacious by controlled trial” The government’s response? They disbanded the agency. (source)

Even common childhood medicines like Tylenol are known to cause severe liver problems. Recently a manufacturer for infant and children’s Tylenol pleaded guilty to the criminal charges that they continued to sell “over the counter infant’s and children’s liquid medicine containing metal particles,” months after they discovered the problem (source).

Deaths caused by doctors and conventional medical treatments (iatrogenic deaths) account for nearly 800,000 deaths every year and is the leading cause of death in the US. With only an estimated 5-20% of iatrogenic deaths reported as such, that number could be as high as 15.6 million (source)

Herbal medicine, when used improperly, can cause adverse events too. This case study found that in a 1 year period, 1,446 adverse events to dietary supplements were reported to poison control. A total of 14 people died. That is 14 compared to a possible 15.6 million. (source) 

Even if you don’t give quite the right dose of an herb, or the exact herb needed, it’s typically far less toxic to your child’s body than even a “safe” dose of OTC or prescription medications.

Gain Confidence In Caring For Your Family Naturally By Finding A Support System

Despite knowing that alternative remedies are much safer, you can feel isolated if you’re the only one from your friends and family that uses them. In order to gain confidence in caring for your family naturally, it’s important to find a support system. Find a qualified holistic practitioner in your area. You can also find like-minded people to connect with at local co-ops, famers markets or even through social media groups.

Our Responsibility As Mamas

As a nanny, I’ve seen dozens of children damaged by antibiotics, vaccines, and typical American food choices. One mother I worked with, knew that her preemie babies should have their vaccines delayed and preferably spaced out because of their immature systems and their severe immune issues. She was too intimidated by her Dr. to speak up and instead, let him make decisions for her babies she felt were wrong.

I very much believe that children are a gift and a blessing. Yes, even when they break 3 eggs on the carpet or wake you up at 5 am. As parents, they’re not only our joy but our responsibility to keep safe and nurture. I want to provide my son with the safest and most effective care possible, and for us, that means herbal remedies.

Isn’t Treating Your Family Risky?

I don’t see myself as experimenting with my son’s life by using alternative methods, but rather that I’m making healthier choices for him. Even a Dr. PRACTICES medicine. The medical field is constantly evolving, while herbal remedies have been passed down for centuries. Coronary bypass surgery was performed for over 20 years before there was even a single clinical trial done to see if it was effective. (source)

Narrowing Your Scope

With all of the possible holistic remedies available, it can be intimidating. Decide what top health issues you’d most like to address with your family, and focus on learning about these. If your children are constantly getting colds, then research ways to build immunity and how to treat common cold symptoms. If your son has allergies, then focus on learning more about gut health, probiotics, and other remedies to help heal. You don’t have to know everything about herbal medicine to get your feet wet.

Some of my favorite reference books for natural remedies and herbal medicine include the following:

• Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide by Rosemary Gladstar (read my full review here)
• Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health by Rosemary Gladstar
• Practical Herbalism by Phillip Fritchey
• Aromatherapy for Babies and Children by Shirley Price
• Prescription for Nutritional Healing 4th edition by Phyllis A. Balch (I don’t like the later editions)

Call In The Professionals

While self-study is always important, it can also be beneficial to take a course on natural health. There are so many out there, but the Herbal Academy is one very good one. The Herbal Academy offers both beginner, intermediate, and advanced herbal courses.

Meagan is taking the intermediate course and has been very pleased with the coursework and the instructors at the Herbal Academy. You can read more about her experiences here, or check out HA’s courses for yourself here. I haven’t taken any courses with them myself, however, I plan to once I finish some other herbal classes I’m taking at Vintage Remedies.

Vintage Remedies is also another good program that you can read more about here. I like that they stress evidence-based information, however, I like to glean from more traditional sources as well to round out my herbal education. The company’s goal is to provide students with evidence-based material to confidently and safely treat their families, not use them as herbal guinea pigs.

They offer many different courses, some short and some extensive, depending on what you’re interested in learning. Specifically, I’m enrolled in their Botanical Pediatrics course, which is the perfect choice for any holistic minded mama. You can read more about Vintage Remedies here.

One of the best things I can do for my family though is to pray for them. Pray for their health and strength, and pray for the wisdom and support I need to help them through whatever comes along.

Now it’s your turn to talk. What gives you confidence in treating your family with natural remedies?

REFERENCES:

• Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health by Aviva Romm
• Herbs Can Cause Death or Injury – Journal of the National Medical Association
• Maker of Kids’ Tylenol Pleads Guilty Over Metal Particles – CBS Money Watch
• Conventional Medicine is the leading cause of death – Dr. Josh Axe