Category Archives: Health

Get Some Help

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Some places I just don’t go emotionally. For me they are like taking back alley bike rides: They seem convenient but the potential problems keep me from going there. When I was a bundle of nerves and confusion the other week, I knew I needed to rethink my emotional bike ride theory and figure out how to seek and receive a safe path, whether convenient or not. My problem was I just didn’t know HOW to do that. I don’t have a problem being honest with my feelings, but usually when I am most folks don’t know what to do with what I share. As my friend Carla said, even though I am a recovering strong black woman, people see me as having it all together and don’t usually ask if I need any help; they assume I have it all together. So between folks not knowing how to advise me or assuming I don’t need advice and me not knowing how to get help, I don’t get or expect much help. This doesn’t mean I don’t need or want help; I do. After talking with Carla, I understood what recovering strong black women and their friends can do to get them the help they need:

Strong Black Women

  • Confess what you’re going through.

    • Even though you may not have gotten help in the past, you don’t know what your confession may yield you. When I told Carla how I felt, she didn’t have anything to offer me in that moment but later she apologized for not asking me if I were okay. She then gave me permission to interrupt her talking about her so we can talk about me.

  • Talk it out.

    • If you are like me you may know that you need help but just not sure what you need. If you talk it out, you may discover what you need to ask for.

  • Ask your friends to let you talk.

    • People who have strong black women as friends take for granted that these friends are supposed to hear all their problems. This is the typical nature of the friendship so you have to speak up for yourself.

  • Know that your friends want to help you.

    • They usually are so grateful for all you’ve done for them that they are willing to help you or work hard to get you the help you need.

    Friends

  • Ask.

    • Make sure to ask your strong black women friends what they are going through. Don’t assume they have it all together.

  • Listen to them.

    • After you ask your friends what’s going on, LISTEN to them. We’ve all had people ask us how we are doing and when we’re honest they don’t even acknowledge what we’ve said but go on to the next subject. Don’t do that. Even if you don’t have advice to offer, at least pray for them in that moment.

  • Seek God.

    • Let Him show you HOW to help your strong black women friends. Even though they may be the ones who usually dispense the advice, God can use you to help them too.

    God means for our relationships to be reciprocal for healing to take place. Let’s do our parts so we can be healed (James 5:16).

    How have you been guilty of not seeking or offering help?

    Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

    Friday Feature: Roundup One

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    God has placed some awesome natural healing practitioners in my path. Starting today, I plan to roundup some of their articles for a fourth Friday Feature. With my lay experience and their expertise there will be a wealth of information to help us strong black women be strong in body the way God intends for us to be (1 Corinthians 6:19-20.)

    • Dr. Colbert tells us about The Most Important Nutrient in the Body.
    • Dr. Cherry speaks about necessary enzymes in God’s Pathway to Healing for Digestion.
    • Mike Adams, the Health Ranger and editor of NaturalNews.com, says Dangerous Chemicals in Personal Care Products Compromise Health

    • What do you think you might do as a result of reading these articles?

    Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

    Friday Feature: Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide

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    When cleaning my bathroom with bleach made me weak, gave me a headache and irritated my nose, I had to give it up. I know; nothing works quite like bleach. Put some in a load of whites, scrub a sink and a tub, and disinfect the garbage disposal and you will get clean and sanitized, but, like me you might get some other things you hadn’t counted on, like toxic fumes, burnt skin, eye irritation, or coughing and wheezing.
    Instead of getting sick, I began to whiten my clothes with oxygenated products. There are a host of these available for all types of cleaning uses. You can do a web search or check a natural health store for brand name products. But my daily go to cleaning product is food grade hydrogen peroxide.

    Hydrogen peroxide is made of hydrogen and oxygen, an oxidizing agent (one that transports oxygen), helping clean the body internally and externally and whatever our body encounters. It helps our bodies fight infections and keeps our immune system boosted. This substance kills bacteria, fungi and viruses. What a great all-purpose cleanser!

    Though food grade hydrogen peroxide is non-toxic and is a powerful cleanser, disinfectant, food decontaminant and odor remover, like bleach it can burn your skin, even when mixed with the proper amount of distilled water, as it should be used. But I’d rather risk having small-scale, momentary burns for superior and non-toxic results than a product that makes me sick and may cause long-term damage.

    Food treatment
    I like to clean my fruit and vegetables in bulk. Like I do when cleaning with baking soda, I put my produce in my sink that’s filled half-way with water and add one tablespoon of food grade hydrogen peroxide. Like baking soda it removes dirt but it also sterilizes produce. Hydrogen peroxide zaps whatever pesticides and bacteria were there. Let the produce soak for about 15 minutes then rinse produce with cool water. I also have a one-quart spray bottle of distilled water mixed with at least an ounce of hydrogen peroxide. When I run out of my choice vegetable and fruit wash and I haven’t cleaned my produce in bulk, I use this to spray individual pieces of fruit and rinse after 2-5 minutes. I also have sprayed my meats to decontaminate them.

    Surface treatment
    Bathrooms and kitchens are the most used rooms in my house and, like yours, accumulate a lot of bacteria. I disinfect my toilets, countertops and sinks, especially after working with meats. Just like the everyday hydrogen peroxide you use on cuts, this food grade version turns surfaces white on contact with a contaminated source, making me confident that the product is working. I use this to freshen up my carpet, too. Just spray the stale area.

    Body treatment
    Add 20 drops to four ounces of water and you have a natural mouthwash. I also use this to clean a fallen toothbrush or one that I don’t get to change when I should.

    There is a host of other ways to use this product, but, as always, I share only what has worked for me.

    What ways do you (if you) use food grade hydrogen peroxide or another natural product you find equally useful?

    Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

    Friday Feature: Baking Soda

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    Buy one, get one free. Get two for one. Fifty percent off sale. However it’s termed, I think we all like a deal where we get more when we only spend for one. What bothers me, though, is when I can’t use the second item or don’t want it. I usually have that problem with clothes at a discount store where the inventory is already limited. I have a hard time finding another item to complete my deal. I’m so glad this is not the case with several natural, non-toxic household products I use. I get more than a ‘two for one’ with most of them, and for a recovering strong black woman trying not to have a specific something for everything, that’s definitely a break that I more than welcome.

    Baking soda
    The advertisement on the box doesn’t exaggerate. There is a bunch of ways to use baking soda. Of course I use baking soda to clean my teeth if I run out of toothpaste and have used some with water the rare times I get heartburn, but following are the ways I use baking soda on a regular basis:

  • Cleaning fresh fruit and vegetables.

    • I wet fruit then rub a little baking soda on each piece. For soft produce and items that have a lot of ground in dirt, like beets, I soak them in a half sink-full of cold water with about a tablespoon of baking soda for about ½ hour. This is my preferred way to clean my mustard, turnip and collard greens. I rinse with cool water after rubbing and soaking.

  • Cleaning sinks and tubs.

    • After the boxes I use to deodorize the refrigerator and freezer need to be changed, I use these old boxes as cleansers for my bathroom and kitchen. This is the ultimate two for one!

  • Tenderizing greens.

    • Sometimes I just can’t find the small (young) collard green leaves, only the large ones, which are almost always tough. If cooking them a little longer than usual doesn’t work or I don’t have time to cook them for extra time, I put a pinch or two of baking soda in the pot toward the end of the cooking cycle. They easily go from tough to tender in a matter of minutes. I also use this method with other tough greens.

  • Cleaning my locks.

    • When I wore my hair straight and had product build up on my strands and my regular shampoo wouldn’t work, I would just switch to a different shampoo. That doesn’t always work with my dreadlocks. A natural hair care specialist gave me the tip of cleaning my locks with baking soda and this has worked well for me: I pour the desired amount of baking soda in a dish with enough water to make a paste. I then take the paste and rub it vigorously on a group of locks, particularly the ones where I can clearly see product and dirt build up. I rinse with warm water and my hair is literally squeaky clean. The baking soda can be drying so I make sure to follow up with a hot oil treatment.

    I hope these tips are as helpful for you as they are for me. Besides for baking, what are some ways that you use baking soda?

    Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

    Friday Feature: Immune Builders

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    I served a family at a funeral and a side of fries and tons more food to hungry boys and a starving man this week. And I served that man by serving our boys alone three nights of the week. Gloriously, I watched my laid back niece and nephew play with my rowdy ones and them all having fun as I occasionally refereed and heated plates to feed the whole bunch. I tried to sneak in pages to one of my good reads until the curious boys sought out a quiet mom and came to snuggle with me. As you can imagine, mama (and wife) is tired and I feel a tickle in my throat so this weekend I’m going to hang my “Do Not Disturb” sign to wind down with alone time and do whatever suits me. But first I’m going to pump myself full of this good stuff that I’m sharing to help you strengthen your immune system.

    In addition to my daily regime of minerals and supplements, with the immune building and energy supplying vitamins C and B-Complex, manganese, magnesium and zinc, I have five that I go to in emergency situations (though it’s all right in most cases to use them daily):

    Astragalus (AKA Huang Qi)—This root is nutrient-rich root is a powerful antiviral and antibacterial agent. I prefer to use this as a tincture but have also used it in a tea form.

    Probiotics—My choice is Lactobacillus Acidolphilus. This probiotic (good bacteria) not only builds my immune system but also helps my digestive system and fights against yeast infections.

    Pau D’Arco (AKA Lapacho and Taheebo)—The antiviral and antibacterial properties in this bitter herb (that I use as a tea) seem to be the most powerful for me, knocking out a number of issues simultaneously.

    Elderberry—Similar to astragalus with its antiviral and antibacterial properties, I sometimes use this along with or alternate it with astragalus.

    Ginger—I use a small wedge of fresh ginger in my fresh squeezed juices and as a tea. I’m still working on using the right amount of ground ginger in foods so that the taste won’t be overpowering.

    As I stated when I started Friday Feature, I’m just sharing with you the natural methods I have used that have worked for me. Make sure you conduct your own research, including consulting your healthcare professionals. Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it can’t be harmful.

    Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

    Sources: Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 3rd Edition, by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC and James F. Balch, M.D. and Dr. Reginald B. Cherry.