Smoke Inhalation From Wildfires: Tips For Helping You and Your Family's Health
Sharing tips and information that I have researched over the years in how to support, and even help our bodies detox from smoke exposure to keep you and your family’s health protected as much as possible.
For the third fall in a row Northern California has been hit hard with wildfires. There always seems to be a point of time where there is a standstill in knowing what to do, fire is still burning so smoke keeps you and the kiddos indoors, travel is not highly plausible in the area, evacuation centers are overwhelmed with donations and assistance, and so you wait. I always feel compelled in wanting to help in some way, but feel like I come up short with solutions. Until it dawned on me while coming across a few post on social, mother’s sharing their concerns about their little ones being exposed to smoke inhalation, and new studies showing the harmful effects of such exposure , especially to younger children and the elderly .
As a wife of a husband who is a Fire Capt. in the area, I have personally worried about the issue of smoke inhalation for years, that all fire personnel in particular deal with in relation to the very nature of their work. Now that concern has grown to include our son who like other children in the area has gone through three big fires locally. While I can’t magically snap my fingers, making these fires and their devastation disappear, I feel I can help and share some information that I have researched over the years in how to support, and even help our bodies detox from smoke exposure.
The tips are sensible and practical, like it is best to stay indoors with circulated filtered air. However life semi continues on requiring us to go outdoors, even if that means just letting our son get outside and get some wiggles out. The tips I am sharing are effective ways we can support our bodies during a stressful time, and most items can be found readily and might even be in your cupboards already.
I also want to share my heartfelt gratitude for ALL FIRST RESPONDERS for keeping our communities safe. May everyone return home safely!
Rest
While I struggle with this one personally, even when emergency events are not happening. Sleep is still one of the most effective ways are bodies restore, decompress, recalibrate and detox. Rest also helps our mental state which effects our physical health.
Water
So when we think of breathing in smoke we naturally think of our lungs being effected, rightfully so. However another bodily system working double time is our detoxifying organs. The major two being our kidneys and liver, which help remove harmful particles we have breathed in from smoke. Yet these toxic particles don’t just stay sequestered in our lungs but slip into our bloodstream and fatty tissues. Water helps flush out the tissues of the liver and kidneys aiding in the removal of filtered toxins, assisting so that these critical organs are not overly bombarded with waste. And this waste can be moved along effectively in the elimination process.
Options to Add to Water:
-Lemon water is additionally helpful to aiding your detoxifying organs and helping to stimulate your gall bladder which is another aid in your livers function. Lemon is incredibly alkalizing to your bodies ph level, antioxidant, high in Vitamin C, and helps kidney function.
-Peppermint aids in helping digestion, anxiety, relieving stress, helps with sleep, and muscle relaxation.
Steam
Steam from a humidifier, shower, bath, sauna, and tea pot can all help in soothing the tissues of the throat, trachea, and lungs that can get irritated when subjected to smoke inhalation and cold, dry air. Steam helps to relax and lubricate airways while also making it easier for mucus to detach itself from membranes. It has also been found that adding Thyme essential oils to steam water has been beneficial for those having trouble with their breathing, as it is -anti microbial -anti viral -anti fungal which all can effect lungs that are susceptible after smoke inhalation.
Tea
Tea is multi functional in its ability to aid and boost our health and how we feel. Sipping on Tea is known for its soothing properties helping soothe throat and upper respiratory tract, keeping us hydrated, supports digestion, reduces inflammation, stress relieving, and positive affects on helping induce sleep.
Tea benefits can be compounded on when adding local honey to you tea. Honey is known in being: -anti inflammatory -anti fungal -phytonutrient powerhouse -anti bacterial -antioxidant rich.
Some of the best Teas to sip on when worried about respiratory health and your bodies detoxifying organ’s functions are:
-Green Tea: helps digestion, high in antioxidants which help remove free radicals from our systems which exposed to when around wild or structure fires.
-Peppermint Tea: (See Above in Water Section)
-Dandelion Tea: detoxifies the liver and kidney, powerhouse of antioxidants, aids with digestion, and elimination
- Yogi Breathe Deep Tea: Found at Target, Amazon and Whole Foods, etc
- Traditional Medicine Breathe Easy Tea: Found at Target, Amazon and Whole Foods, etc
Eat
The kinds of foods you eat during and after being exposed to smoke and fire can help counteract some effects that your body might be having symptoms of. It is best to avoid meat, dairy and foods high in sugar, as they are known to cause more inflammation in the body hindering your body from healing itself as efficiently. Foods that are high in vitamin C help your bodies natural detoxifying systems and boost your immune system, while known to help aid in cell renewal. Antioxidant rich foods are wonderful in helping counter act the free radicals that your body is exposed to.
Antioxidant Rich Foods:
-Berries (Wild Blueberries have highest amount) - Kale -Artichokes -Onions -Beans -Beets -Dark Chocolate -Cherries -Carrots -Red Cabbage - Walnuts -Pecans -Tomatoes -Apples -Spices -Green Tea/Matcha
** A tip the darker the veggie or fruit the more likely they are going to have higher antioxidants
Anti Inflammatory Foods:
-Turmeric - Olives -Ginger -Walnuts -Cherries -Beans -Lentils -Blueberries -Whole Grains -Broccoli -Avocado -Garlic -Olive Oil -Green Tea/Matchs
home
When the outside air is smokey and at unhealthy levels requiring you to stay in your home, and close off outside air from coming in it can be scary to think that your indoor air will also become unhealthy as well. However there are some simple ways to combat this.
-Dust your home using a Damp Cloth. This will help minimize further particles from going airborne.
-Vacuum. Again this will help remove dust, ash, dust mites, etc that can not only make your air quality poorer but can irritate the respiratory system.
-Change Home Air Filter
-Buy an Air Purifier, however do research on the best air filter for your home because NOT all are made equal.
-Add House Plants. House plants are a natural ways to add a decorative feature while being functional at purifying your home air here is a link to NASA’s top rated air purifying plants
yoga
Light exercise is great for the bodies different systems, especially during physical, mental and emotionally stressful time periods. The lymphatic system which runs the length of your body is part of how your body removes everyday toxins. Yet your Lymphatic system has no built in pump to move it along, so the lymph system needs movement to help it drain and flow this can be from massage, walking, lymph drainage therapy and exercise.
During and directly after exposure to smoke it is not ideal to exercise heavily as your body is most likely “stressed’ by working harder internally and by your emotional and mental state. Heavy exercise could exacerbate respiratory conditions. Yet movement you find in yoga ie. twist, stretches and light cardio assist the body in its natural elimination processes.
Another benefit of yoga is a bit more tricky, have you ever noticed when you are in balancing poses like Warrior 3 or Crow Pose you are concentrating so hard on your body in the pose that for a moment your mind isn’t worrying about the stresses that lie beyond your yoga mat. Your mental health is important, and I have found yoga and exercise in general a great way to help in relieving some of that stress.
Collagen -Why You Need To Add It Into Your Diet, Plus Budget and Vegan Friendly Options
Tips for supporting your bodies production of Collagen, one of the major types of proteins our body uses to support our skin, nails, and hair.
Collagen has hit its peak in popularity (you heard it here first, ha) in the beauty and wellness arenas, its everywhere! From Sephora to your local chain grocery store and of course as my son calls is “The Amazon”can ship it to your front door. I must say I didn’t dive in head first to this trend. And I don’t usually with a lot of trends, I wait to see if there is any feedback or waining within individual’s results, because frankly it is expensive and time sucking to keep up while being informed on all the latest trends. I also don’t have a lot of extra time to incorporate new items into my routine so functionality of a product is another key factor.
A great example of an ongoing trend that is great but I couldn’t fully get onboard with is the Celery Juice Drink. While I loved having Celery Juice first thing in the morning, I don’t have time to juice celery every morning especially if there is a chance I will wake up the kiddo with the noise of the juicer, and due to most mornings I wake up before me little sleepy head. I found it also nonfunctional with this drink to have celery continually stock in the fridge, ie me always having to run to the store because celery had run out at home wasn’t always plausible. So I have semi parted ways with this drink, and only do it on occasion so I can keep my sanity in the morning, and still keep this healthy beneficial trend in my back pocket.
Yes I know I went off topic a bit, but my point is and I think will always be that I am very practical (hello typical virgo with OCD here) and wanting to only share tips and trends that are workable, realistic, and try to also give cost effective short cuts!
So that leads me back to Collagen. I was familiar with the benefits of collagen for our bodies, but my personal focus with the use of collagen was a bit more cosmetic however I was pleased to have results with my hair, skin and did notice a less cracking of my joints when exercising. Like many women who are moms there are inevitable changes that happen, to it put mildly. After our son was born my hair became super super course in the back. While I have always had thick semi curly hair, this course texture made hair styling so time consuming and I just never fully liked the end results. As for my skin….well you try to go without sleep for two years straight. Lets just say concealer and I are BFFs for life. I have found the Powder I use and the supplement that I have taken on the regular now for a few months were an ease to add into my routine, and more important I saw results. My hair has become more softer like it used to be, and styling is more easily done to the lessening of the former course texture. So my skin…. has been going through its own journey due to some not quite diagnosed medical issues, I have been having swelling, hives and breakouts due to severe allergies and possible other issues (might share later when I have more answers from doctors). However with all the other issues my skin is going through between spells my skin has been able to heal faster and feels more balanced. This is quite funny to write and is so counter intuitive to how bad my face appears when I am going through “bouts” that are linked to other issues, but it is a testament to the benefits of aiding our bodies in the healing process, in this case with collagen.
What Is Collagen?
So why is collagen so beneficial to our bodies? Collagen is one of the building blocks that cements our bodies together, and one of the major types of proteins our body uses. You find Collagen in connective tissue ie joints, ligaments, muscle and skin. You can also find Collagen in fibrous tissues like our heart, blood vessels and digestive track. The major area that is being exposed and hyper focused on at this time for the importance of collagen is in beauty and wellness industry, as collagen being a main component in the structure of our skin, hair and nails, and how the appearance/strength can be improved if our body is making the proper amounts of collagen. Unfortunately our bodies production of collagen does slow down as we get older. You can see the results of the less dense connective tissue under a microscope on someone who is older, smokes or excessively tans which can all attribute to and lower collagen levels in our dermis layer of skin (Middle layer) making it less dense in connective tissue. This can lead to skin looking thinner, crepey, weakened and not as plump. This loss of collagen can also lend itself to contributing to joints and muscles feeling more stiff, limited range of motion and shrinking of muscles. The far reaching affects and benefits of collagen is easy to see how it can be helpful and worthwhile to look into this trending focus on collagen.
So a issue that I had when powders and formulas first came out was they were all animal based, depending on the companies extraction process they use mostly ligaments and other areas where you find connective tissue and extract it from animals bone and tissue. Personally I have been plant based for over twelve years so the formulas I was finding were not compatible. The point I like to make here that sometimes I believe is missed, when you are consuming a protein from an animal in this case mainly collagen which is a triple helix (think DNA) your body can’t consume that protein whole. Because that protein and its formulation was made for that animal’s body based on that animals needs and diet. Since your body can’t consume that protein whole your body has to break it down, and it formulates what your body needs from it, and what it doesn’t use or consume becomes waste. I am bringing up this point not to go on a tangent (again lol) but its a point I see missing from the collagen conversation. On the other hand when eating plant based collagen builders specifically fruits, veggies, legumes, grains and nuts the profile of these foods doesn’t require your body to break down a complex animal protein making it easier on your body to get the resources it needs ie collagen, vitamins and minerals. Beyond that, plant based options offer other nutrients that help support your bodies collagen production like Vitamin C, A, E, B1 which are some of the key components in the synthesis of your body making collagen, so when getting your collagen from plant based options your body gets the all around ingredients it also needs for pre/post production and protection to help prevent breakdown.
So I am aware of the cost of products specifically in the beauty and wellness space can add up really fast . I do want to share a few products that I saw results from. However I wanted to add in foods that can benefit and support our bodies in the making of collagen and are great for overall skin, hair, nails and well body health that are also a little less taxing on our wallets also more sustainable. For me personally investing in my health is important because I see that everything is possible when you have your health. Health is wealth!
Collagen Building Products
Collagen Building Foods
Let me know what resinated with you in this blog and if you start to include any of these tips into your routine. Also please share your favorite collagen boosting tips, you know what to do comment below!
EFT Tapping For Cravings: A Simple + Effective Practice To Try On Yourself
EFT TAPPING is a unique therapy for letting go of heavy emotional baggage.
EFT TAPPING is a unique therapy for letting go of heavy emotional baggage. When we lighten our emotional load, we actually give our bodies the opportunity to better deal with other chronic issues that need working out. Integrative nutritionist, Jennie Miremadi, uses EFT tapping for cravings — curbing them and keeping them under control — and she’s sharing a simple guide to trying it yourself.
We love this simple personal practice, especially as we launch into a season saturated with excess and temptation. Discover the basics of EFT tapping here, and learn all about EFT tapping for cravings just ahead…
The EFT + Craving Connection
If you struggle with food cravings, EFT is an incredibly powerful tool that may be able to help. I’ve written about the practice of EFT previously, but here’s a brief recap: In EFT, which stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques (often called tapping), you use your fingertips to tap on specific points on your face and body. These points are identified in traditional Chinese acupuncture that land on energy pathways (called meridians) that run throughout your body.
When you use EFT directly on your cravings, you connect with your craving for a particular food while tapping on the meridian points — the simultaneous tapping while thinking about the craving makes it possible to release or lessen the intensity of the craving. This way you look at the food with a much lower craving, or without experiencing any cravings at all. Pretty amazing, right?
Focus On Real Food
I’m going to show you step-by-step how to start using EFT on your cravings, but before I do, keep in mind that what you put in your body is a key component to combat cravings. Meals that are loaded with sugar and refined carbs (even if organic, gluten-free and vegan) spike your blood sugar and trigger cravings for more sugar and refined carbs. So, you’re likely to get stuck in a vicious cycle of constantly craving unhealthy food. Instead, eat a nutrient dense, anti-inflammatory diet made up of real, whole foods. Be sure to include protein, healthy fats and fiber-rich carbs at every meal. Also, drink plenty of water. In doing so you may be able to eliminate food cravings altogether.
Tap Directly On Your Cravings
If you implement dietary changes and are still craving food that doesn’t serve your health and nutrition goals, that’s when I recommend using EFT to target cravings. Here’s how to do it:
Grab a particular food that you’re craving — and if you don’t actually have the food available at the moment try using a photo of the food instead. As you look at the food, notice what you love about it: Is it the smell? The taste? The texture? Now, rate how much you crave the food on a scale of 0 to 10 (use 10 as the highest or most craving and 0 as no craving at all). Then, take the tips of your index and middle finger (or all four of your fingers) and start tapping on the karate chop meridian point (identified in the photo). Say this setup phrase three times: Even though I have a strong craving for … (fill in with your food choice, such asa grilled cheese sandwich) because I love (fill in why you love it, such as the gooey cheese that oozes out with every bite), I deeply and completely accept myself.
Then, using the tips of your index and middle finger, move to tapping on each of the other meridian points (identified in the photo) about seven times, starting with the eyebrow meridian point, then moving to the side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin and collarbone points. Switch to using all four fingers for the underarm point, and end by tapping with all four fingers on the top of head point. While you’re tapping on each meridian point, focus on the craving and use a phrase to remind yourself of your favorite part of the food (gooey cheese).
Repeat the entire sequence a minimum of three times, retest how much you crave the food on a scale of 0 to 10. If your craving isn’t yet at a 0, keep going with rounds of tapping. Before you start tapping again, connect with your craving for the food. Notice if what you love most about the food has changed to a different feature of the food (instead of gooey cheese, it’s the warm and buttery bread). If it has, focus on whatever part of the food you now desire most.
Modify your setup phrase to note that there is still part of the craving remaining by saying: Even though my craving for x is not yet gone, and I still want x because I love the taste of (fill it in with the aspect of the food you currently desire most, such as the warm and buttery bread), I deeply and completely accept myself. Then do another three rounds of tapping on the other meridian points, adjusting your reminder phrase to remind you of the part of the food you currently desire most (warm and buttery bread). Ideally you’ll keep tapping until you reach a 0, but generally if you can get the craving to a 3 or lower you’ll be in a place where you could take the food or leave it, making the decision not to eat the food a whole lot easier.
When There’s Resistance
If, after doing several rounds of tapping, you find that your craving isn’t budging, you can attempt to tap on your resistance to let go of the craving. Change your setup phrase to note this resistance, stating: Even though I have no desire to stop eating x because (fill it in with your reason), I deeply and completely accept myself. Then do rounds of tapping, focusing on the reasons why you don’t want to let go of the food you crave.
Time Your Tapping
Tapping directly on your cravings can help in the moment when faced with a food craving that you’re struggling to not eat. By reducing your desire to eat it, you make it easier for yourself to walk away from it. But, if you’re like many people who struggle with cravings, there’s often a time after you have a craving when you’re likely to eat the food no matter what. The only way to reap the benefits of using EFT to reduce cravings is to start using it before you get to your no turning back time.
If you’re trying to figure out when your no turning back time is, here’s a hint: It’s often when you’ve switched from thinking about the food to acting on eating. For example, it might be when you’ve picked up the phone to order a pizza. Or, once you’ve popped that frozen enchilada in the oven. Or, maybe it’s when you’ve have the box of the mac and cheese in your hand. Try to determine when your no turning back time is, and the next time you have a craving practice using EFT before you reach it.
Digging Deeper For Cravings
Occasionally you may be able to eliminate a craving permanently by tapping directly on the craving itself. But many times cravings occur because a person is experiencing a negative emotion that they’re trying to suppress with food. If your cravings are being triggered by emotions, you’ll likely have to keep tapping on the craving every time it arises until you figure out what’s triggering it.
Of course, having the ability to use EFT in the moment is empowering. It gives you an actionable tool to reduce your cravings — but ideally you’ll need to start digging deeper to figure out why your craving keeps appearing. You can then use EFT to reduce or release the underlying emotional trigger for your craving. In other words, in addition to using EFT directly on your cravings, you can also use it to decrease or clear the intensity of negative emotions that are at the root of your cravings. When you use EFT in this way, you make it possible for EFT to have a more lasting effect on cravings because you’re targeting the root cause.
If you’d like to dig deeper into the emotions behind your cravings, ask yourself these questions when a craving arises:
+ What emotions come up when I think about craving this food? Why am I having these emotions? Are they connected to any specific events?
+ Did an upsetting event happen prior to this craving?
+ If an upsetting event did happen prior to this craving, does that event remind me of similar upsetting events from my past?
+ Is this a food I’ve craved before? If so, is there a pattern to when I’m craving it? And, if so, is there an event that I can remember when I first started craving it?
+ Does this food remind me of anything or anyone from my past? If it does, why is that upsetting to me?
+ Are there any beliefs about myself that come up when I think about craving this food? If so, are there any events in my life that gave rise to or support that belief?
Create a list of all the specific* events that come to mind when you answer each of these questions. Then use EFT to decrease or clear the intensity of negative emotions connected to the specific events you’re able to identify. Doing this makes it possible to think about the same previously upsetting event(s) that triggered your cravings with a much lower emotional charge, or without experiencing any negative emotion at all. You’re likely to find that when you clear the trigger(s) for your cravings, the craving itself disappears.
*You can read why specific events matter here. And, review the EFT Basic Recipe detailing how to use EFT to reduce or release negative emotions connected to specific events.
Find Support
Getting to the root of your cravings not only takes time, it can be challenging to do on your own. So, if you try digging deeper but find yourself struggling to identify the events, emotions and beliefs triggering your cravings, or you’ve identified them but you’re having trouble working through them yourself, consider reaching out to a certified EFT practitioner to help guide you through the process.
And, most importantly, if you’ve suffered through any kind of serious trauma or are the victim of a crime, please do not use EFT on your own to work through these events (even if they’re triggering cravings for food). Please seek the help of a trained professional who will guide and support you.
Summer Is Here.....Summer's Bucket List
Summer days fly bye and so do plans, so I wanted to make a summer bucket list to help keep some of the activities that I look forward to during this time of year in mind.
I am a wimp, when it comes to summer temperatures sizzling outside. However I am excited for summer this year, there is just a motivating energy that i’ve been feeling. It might be the sun is rising a few mins after I wake up. Or the longer summer days are helping me feel a little less rushed later in my day, another aspect to loving the longer days is feeling supported and more inspired to get more projects done. More important to me than checking off items on my to do list is the time spent outdoors, the long late evenings spent chatting with family and friends sharing memories and laughs in our backyard, or staying past the sun setting at the beach.
Summer also has a way of slipping away to quickly, with a husband who is a Fire Captain and the state of Ca sadly on fire for most of the months, the time of long lazy days of childhood are certainly a dream. Summer days fly bye and so do plans, so I wanted to make a summer bucket list to help keep some of the activities that I look forward to during this time of year in mind, so when the season comes to an end I don’t find myself regretful that I let the days pass me by. So in typical type A adult me mode I decided to make a list, then I am working on scheduling activities in.
Love to know what summer plans you have coming up, any changes in your routine, or exciting festivals or retreats you might be heading off to?!? Wishing you a wonderful summer and plenty of fun in the sun!
