Make sure that you and your spouse have individual as well as common goals. Just as you personally can feel lost without knowing what your purpose is or having something worthwhile to pursue in life, so can your relationship suffer without goals to strive toward. Name your goals for how much money you’d like to retire with and vacations you’d like to take together, for example. In making these goals, your imagination is the limit!
How can you find out if YOUR child should be tested for celiac disease?
WebMD Health News recently published a questionnaire that you can use to find out if your child has celiac disease and needs to be put on a gluten-free diet. According to the article, at least half of children with celiac disease NEVER get diagnosed, leaving them suffering from the painful physical and mental symptoms of the disease.
Instead of indiscriminately administering a blood test to kids, now we can narrow down the children who need to be tested by asking them five questions:
1. Has your child ever suffered from abdominal pain more than twice during the last three months?
2. Has your child ever had diarrhea lasting more than two weeks?
3. Does your child have a tendency to firm and hard stools?
4. Does your child gain enough weight?
5. Does your child gain enough height?
Check out the link below!
Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info
As a children’s author, researcher, and humanitarian, I have been growing increasingly alarmed at the growing rate of autism diagnosis. Whereas in the 1980s, a study shows that 4 in every 10,000 children exhibited signs of autism, a study conducted recently by Cambridge University’s Autism Research Center showed that approximately 1 in 60 children have autism. Several years ago, I myself was diagnosed with celiac disease, caused by a reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, after many years without proper diagnosis for my painful symptoms. I am now happily gluten-free and pain-free. Lucky to have been correctly diagnosed and had my symptoms handled with the natural treatment of a gluten-free diet, I am passionate about helping children to avoid the same pain of misdiagnosis and to find natural remedies for their health problems. According to a recent article on NaturalNews.com, one such natural remedy for autism is calcium Bentonite clay. I had to share this information!
The use of Bentonite clay has been rising in popularity in autism treatment centers. Calcium Bentonite clay, also known as “Living Clay” and one of the most sought-after for its healing properties, has a particularly strong negative ionic charge which magnetically attracts positively-charged substances such as bacteria and metals, for example, and absorbs them, eliminating toxins from the body. It is used both internally and externally and is a rather simple procedure. In autism treatment centers, Bentonite clay baths are used to safely remove metals and toxins from the body to increase the chances of success when used in conjunction with other therapies.
As autism diagnosis increases, so does the controversy over its causes. Most researchers seem to be searching for a genetic factor, but others are showing evidence of environmental causes. “There`s really the role for something in the environment that could be triggering someone who is genetically susceptible,” says Dr. Gary Goldstein, a child neurologist and director of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, located in Maryland.
The research supporting the impact of environmental toxins has spurred the search for detoxification therapies that can remove them from our systems. Already large numbers of doctors are recommending chelation and detoxification programs in conjunction with behavioral therapy for autistic children, noting that with these toxins removed, other therapies are more effective. Chelators are substances that fix themselves to heavy metals. Chelation therapies are typically effective, but they’re expensive and carry a higher risk of side effects such as headache, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, and cramps, particularly for children. Calcium Bentonite clay is considered more effective and safer for children.
While many autism clinics are citing successful results with clay therapy, its use isn’t being promoted to doctors due to the fact that clay can’t be patented by the pharmaceutical companies. Similarly, celiac disease affects 1 out of 100 Americans, and since its treatment is simply a gluten-free diet—requiring no pharmaceutical products, doctors are failing to recognize the symptoms of the disease and diagnosis it correctly, leaving only three percent of celiacs properly diagnosed. However, just as in the cause to increase celiac and gluten-free awareness, by taking it upon ourselves to promote natural therapies for children’s autism, we will surely bring about increased awareness on the effectiveness of calcium Bentonite clay treatment, just as I’ve witnessed awareness of celiac disease and gluten-free grow a great deal over the years.
Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info
Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does—television, that is. One of the best decisions I made years ago for myself and for my family was to cut down on television drastically. At first this may seem like a daunting task, but with a few simple tips, parents find it’s much easier than they suspected it would be.
First of all, there is the matter of reducing the amount of TV your family watches to just a few shows a week. In order to do this, I recommend a family meeting to discuss your goals as a family and as individuals. Then take an honest look at what everyone is getting out of television. Everyone will agree that they should watch less TV and spend more time pursuing their own goals. With a meeting like this, your kids and spouse will be much more likely to go along with their new lifestyle of less TV because they’ll understand the reason behind it.
I highly recommend implementing a service such as TiVo ® to help keep TV watching to a minimum. After deciding on the reasons for watching less TV, each family member can decide on a handful of shows to watch together as a family, plus a personal favorite or two, to watch only during designated watching times—Friday nights or Sunday afternoons, for example.
Finally, come up with stimulating alternatives. Take the kids to the library or play board games. Have larger, longer family dinners at the table. Keeping everyone busy will get their minds off this missing element in their lives. I highly recommend using this time to get the kids to strengthen their reading skills and develop a strong interest in reading. Soon you might find that your family—gasp!—may prefer reading over watching TV.
Tina Turbin
The renowned and distinguished School Library Journal LOVES my Danny the Dragon children’s book series just as much as the kids do.
A terrific review of the Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD was published in the June 2010 issue. I’m very pleased to share it with you below.
Tina Turbin
Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy. DVD. 21 min. Imagination Publishing Group.2009, 2010 release.
PreS-Gr 3–When Jimmy and Sally visit the beach, they find a beautiful shell and take it home with them. They soon discover that it houses a dragon named Danny, wearing red tennis shoes and carrying a yellow backpack, and his navigator friend, Skipper. Danny and Skipper have dinner with Jimmy’s family and stay the night. The picture book by Tina Turbin (Imagination Pub. Group, 2008) closes with a promise that the friendly dragon will guide the children through a series of upcoming adventures. The DVD opens with a message from the author. Interpreter Carol Downing signs the entire story, standing on the right side of the screen as the pages turn. The fun cartoon illustrations by Aija Jasuna are scanned. Sound effects add to the narration, underscoring word meaning and helping children with some hearing identify sounds. Recommended especially for schools and libraries seeking to offer a greater variety of material to hearing-impaired children.
–Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY
As a concerned mother and a children’s author who cares very much for families and children, I found the following article to be both appalling and at the same time refreshing to know that such a critical issue is being exposed.
While it has been known that pesticides used for our food and vegetable supply pose a variety of health risks, the fact that these same pesticides are linked to so-called ADHD in children is a truth that every parent needs to know about.
Click here to read the full article. Afterwards, browse through this section of my website for MANY helpful tips, resources and information to improve your family’s and your children’s quality of life.
I hope the above information helps you.
Tina Turbin
Get your family to pitch in with chores around the house, especially the kids. Children may not be expert dishwasher loaders and you’ll always be able to do the chores better yourself, but learn to let it go and get them to help you out with some of the things they’ll be able to handle on their own, even if it’s just pairing together and folding socks. Studies show that children who participate in family chores have a higher chance of growing up more successful than other children. It will raise their feels of self-esteem, make them more competent, and it’ll give you some time to do the following energy-boosting tips.
Tina Turbin
I am a proud member of the NABBW ( National Association of Baby Boomer Women). Through this site many women are truly helped and many women are united in ways to helps others. Really no one understands us better than us. Being a woman is a unique and important role in life and society. We should to help one another!
Please enjoy my latest article on NABBW: http://www.nabbw.com/display_marticle.php?marticle_id=158
Tina Turbin
This means eating a real breakfast in the morning packed with protein. You may think you’re saving time by skimping on breakfast or you’ll insist that you’re not that hungry in the mornings, but I’m telling you that if you’re missing out on this meal, you’re missing out for the rest of the day on valuable energy. Skipping a meal is like trying to run your car without fuel; it’s totally unworkable. Without enough blood sugar, you won’t be able to think or function clearly, and even if you eat later on, your blood sugar level won’t recover. Nutritional studies show that not getting enough blood sugar in the morning affects you the entire rest of the day. This causes your adrenal glands to go into action, raising the level of the hormone, cortisol. Draining your adrenals and running on cortisol will make you feel exhausted and crave sugar and caffeinated drinks for a quick fix. I recommend eating a little, healthy protein-filled meal every three hours to keep yourself fueled.
Another important aspect of diet is increasing your daily intake of protein. Many women don’t get enough of this nutrient. Protein keeps you energized by sustaining your blood sugar level much longer than carbohydrate-packed foods. It also stimulates dopamine production, a neurotransmitter that keeps you more alert, and keeps your energy up by raising your metabolic rate. Cut out carbohydrate-packed snacks and replace them with healthy proteins like walnuts, almonds, cheese, etc.
Drinking enough water is also an essential way to keep your energy up. Some people often mistake signs of dehydration for fatigue. Your cells need water in order to function at their optimum level, and coffee or diet soda isn’t going to cut it. Tea is often a good idea, but I recommend keeping a water bottle with you and sipping from it all day. You should aim for eight glasses of water daily.
Tina Turbin
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a lot of stuff to get done every day, and I can’t afford to not have the energy for it. Mothers, who have one of the most energy-demanding jobs of all, which I know all about from my experience in raising three beautiful children, often ask me about natural ways to increase their get-up-and-go.
Get started on a high-energy lifestyle with changes to your diet. First of all, eat a real breakfast in the morning packed with protein! You may think you’re saving time by skimping on breakfast or you’ll insist that you’re not that hungry in the mornings, but I’m telling you that if you’re missing out on this meal, you’re missing out for the rest of the day on valuable energy.
Another important aspect of diet is increasing your daily intake of protein. Many women don’t get enough of this nutrient. Protein keeps you energized by sustaining your blood sugar level much longer than carbohydrate-packed foods. It also stimulates dopamine production, a neurotransmitter that keeps you more alert, and keeps your energy up by raising your metabolic rate.
Drinking enough water is also an essential way to keep your energy up. Some people often mistake signs of dehydration for fatigue. Your cells need water in order to function at their optimum level, and coffee or diet soda isn’t going to cut it. You should aim for eight glasses of water daily.
With these tips, you should be enjoying higher energy levels in no time as well as quite a few other benefits!
Tina Turbin
