Year of the Yang Water Tiger 2022

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: February 1, 2022

year of the tiger 2022

Happy Chinese New Year. Today is the first day of the lunar new year – it’s the year of the Yang Water Tiger.

The Tiger is known for her power and courage, and is a natural leader who is careful and direct.

The Yang Tiger energy is especially active, forward-moving, and brings momentum that can help us accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves in the past couple of years. Hard work will pay off this year.

Working hard doesn’t mean working all the time. Make sure to balance work with relaxation, family time, exercise, hobbies, and self-care – when it is time to work be productive, put away the distractions and give it all of your attention. Like a tiger waiting for the right moment to pounce, relax until it is time for action, then give it your all.

This is the year for completing what we started, bringing our efforts to fruition. Think about what you want your life to look like in the coming years or decade – it is time to grow and move forward in our chosen direction.

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Health in the Year of the Tiger

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: February 1, 2022

Chinese New Year marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Winter is the season of the water element; fear is the emotion associated with the water element and winter.

Manage fear and anxiety by connecting to the earth and bringing grounding qi into daily life. Flow beyond 5elemnt2-croppedfear. Get outside and walk amongst trees, breathing deeply, leaving the ear buds at home. In the five element cycle, earth controls water.

Over activity, over use of stimulants, and lack of sleep depletes the kidney qi, which is associated with the water element. Move forward with gusto this yang tiger year, but also in a balanced way, including rest and sleep – and eating well. Rest and sleep are the best way to replenish the kidney qi. As we age, our kidney energy naturally declines. Take naps, ideally lying flat, to give the most energy back to your kidneys.

Foods that support the water element are bone broth, soups and stews, beef, chicken, eggs, seafood, and root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, squash, shiitake mushrooms, berries and walnuts.

Spring is associated with the wood element, the liver, and the emotion of anger and frustration.

Avoid letting your energy stagnate this spring, or frustration can build and one may become irritable and argumentative. Bottling up anger can contribute to physical ailments that are due to qi stagnation such as body pain, headaches, digestive issues, or menstrual/menopausal irregularities.

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Japanese Beef and White Sweet Potato Stew

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: January 28, 2022

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Simple and delicious. The base is bone broth, tamari, ginger with sweet Japanese cooking wine – slow cooked stew beef with Japanese white sweet potatoes. Yum. A hit with the kids.

Ingredients

2 pounds local stew beef (boneless chuck 1 – 1 ½ in chunks)

3 cups bone stock or broth (chicken, turkey, beef)

¼ cup tamari or soy sauce

10 slices of ginger, peeled

Black pepper

Sea salt

1 lemon (Zest goes in with the potatoes. Juice at the end)E95E380D-ABC0-4796-BCD6-DBC75E5FBD30_1_105_c

2 pounds Japanese white sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-1 ½ in chunks. Alternatively use regular sweet potatoes or butternut squash.

Scallions (optional)

 

Salt and pepper the meat. Turn oven on to 350 F.

In large Dutch oven heat 1 T bacon fat, ghee, butter, coconut oil or olive oil.

Sear half of the meat, turning once about 5 minutes per side. Put aside. Sear the other half and put aside.

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White Tiger Decoction

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: January 25, 2022

Powerful and graceful White Tiger Decoction treats what is known in Chinese medicine as the 4 bigs – big fever, big thirst, big sweat, big pulse – and has its place in the Chinese medicine dispensary as an important emergency formula. Apropos for 2022 – the Year of the Tiger.

F61544D3-B9B8-42B6-AB3B-639D19360CAD_1_105_cGypsum, the main ingredient, is a clear white mineral with a crystalline structure made up of parallel fibers, which is pungent, sweet and cold. Some say it is very cold, others slightly cold, but all agree that it has strong heat clearing properties. It’s function can be likened to cleaning a clogged screen, allowing the body to vent the heat that has built up under the clog. We can visualize the image of the parallel crystal fibers – keeping the vertical flow of the meridians, so heat cannot build up. This amazing mineral is can either reduce profuse sweat or promote sweat as is needed.

Gypsum is used together in White Tiger Decoction with honey-fried licorice, rice and anemarrhena which, along with gypsum, are all sweet and/or cool and help replenish the fluids that were scorched by the intense heat and high fever. It is an incredibly effective formula when used appropriately for the correct pattern, including for pediatrics.

I had the chance to use it when my son woke up the first day of the winter break with a fever. His main signs and symptoms were headache, rapid and flooding pulse, body hot to touch, and fever went up to 104.6. I have him White Tiger Decoction and the fever came down from 104.6 to 101 literally within minutes. By the time he went to bed an hour later his fever was below 99. I was amazed that it worked so fast. I am so grateful for the wisdom of the ancients and to have this potent medicine at my finger tips. Chinese medicine rocks!

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Oral-Nasal Virucidal Therapy

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: January 25, 2022

For prevention and early treatment of COVID and other viruses, one of the best things we can do is treat the area that the viruses come in and hang out: the nose and throat. Gargling is one way to get to the throat, while a spray will take care of the nose and behind, where the nose and throat meet. This effective method has been shown to reduce PCR positivity and shorten the duration of illness.

There are many options for what anti-viral/microbial agent to use use. Solutions of Betadine (povidone-iodine 1%) and hydrogen peroxide (3%) are highly effective. Grapefruit seed extract has anti-viral and anti-microbial effects, as do many essential oils, like the ones used in Listerine. Obviously, Listerine is great for gargling, but not so great for spraying up one’s nose. Xlear Nasal Spray contains grapefruit seed extract.

The goal is to decontaminate the nose and throat to reduce the viral load that your body has to deal with, and to reduce the transmission of the virus.

2 teaspoons Betadine in 6 ounces of water

Use nasal spray or syringe bulb and spray up nose – snort it to back of throat and then spit it out.

Gargle the rest of the Betadine solution, spit it out – do not swallow.

Finish with Listerine gargle

This method is recommended for early stages of COVID or flu, or if nasal symptoms continue. This can be done up to every 4 hours while you are awake. Read More »

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Gargling with Antiseptic Mouthwash Kills Viruses

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: November 10, 2021

Gargling is an easy way to reduce infection and transmission of viruses. Antiseptic mouthwashes, like Listerine, effectively reduce oro- and nasopharyngeal (mouth, throat and nose) viral load and inactivate coronaviruses.

The nose, throat and salivary glands are major sites of virus replication and transmission during early stages of coronavirus infection, as well as other respiratory viruses and bacteria. Targeting these areas with mouthwashes and nasal rinses can help prevent progression and reduce transmission of the disease.

While the vaccines aim to prevent viruses from replicating in the lungs, they do not prevent viruses from replicating in the nose, mouth and pharynx, which has a different type of mucosa than the lungs and this area is the first area to be infected.

The easiest thing we can do is to gargle daily for prevention of transmission of viruses and bacteria. Alternatively, gargling can be applied after exposure to someone who is sick or potential exposure after flying or being in a crowded place. This can be helpful for all people regardless of vaccination history.

What to gargle and how often: Read More »

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Cinnamon Twig Formula

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: October 17, 2021

Cinnamon Twig Formula, Gui Zhi Tang, is a commonly used formula that is useful for the very initial stages of a cold or flu when there may be mild symptoms such as sneezing, aversion to cold and wind, mild sweating, feeling feverish, lack of thirst or headache. It treats exterior wind cold and harmonizes the nutritive and defensive Qi. Most of the herbs in the formula help the digestion (fresh ginger, dates, licorice, and also cinnamon twig and white peony root), while a couple harmonize the surface (cinnamon twig and white peony root). It’s made up of mostly food type herbs, and is pretty yummy for a Chinese medicine formula.

To take the formula, prepare the herbs with hot water and drink, followed by a warm bowl of porridge.  Wrap yourself up with some blankets until you have a slight sweat. At that time, change into warm dry clothes and discontinue the herbs.

Once the cold/flu goes deeper and there are symptoms such as sore throat, thirst, high fever, cough, different formulas are appropriate.

Cinnamon Twig formula is not just for colds with sneezing, it can be used as a base formula for many conditions, including emotional vulnerability, palpitations, abdominal pain, joint pain, cold hands and feet, hot flashes, when the pattern fits.

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MegaCidin Throat Spray

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: October 11, 2021

 

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MegaCidin is a combination of potent herbs and immune-boosting probiotic spores that can support your inner defenses in as little as 30 minutes! Plus, MegaCidin comes in a convenient spray bottle that you can keep with you in the car, at school, at work, or while traveling.

How does it work?

Just spray MegaCidin 1-3 times in your mouth towards the back of your throat 2-3 times per day, in order to activate your oral immune system.

The mucosal tissue inside of the mouth is rich with immune cells that can alert the rest of the immune system to invasion.

Supporting your oral immunity with MegaCidin is like enhancing your inner surveillance team so that your immune system can better identify and respond to foreign invaders.

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Introducing MegaSporeBiotic

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: October 8, 2021

MegaSporeImmuneSupportMegaSporeBiotic is a 100% spore-based, broad-spectrum probiotic clinically shown to maintain healthy gut barrier function.  It has been shown to clinically reduce leaky gut by 60%.

This unique all-spore formula effectively RECONDITIONS the gut by promoting microbial diversity and maintaining key health-promoting, commensal gut bacteria. MegaSporeBiotic boasts a 5-year shelf-life, does not require refrigeration, and maintains efficacy during antibiotic therapy.

MegaSporeBiotic contains Bacillus spores, which are naturally designed to survive digestion. The reason for their inherent survivability comes from their bi-phasic life cycle.

This means that the Bacillus spores can transition interchangeably from their dormant form to their active form, depending on the environment. In its dormant spore form, Bacillus will surround itself with an endospore, which is a tough, natural outer shell that protects it from light, heat, pressure, acid, lack of oxygen, and other environmental factors. This key feature is what allows MegaSporeBiotic to survive easily through digestion without the need for enteric-coated capsules or refrigeration.

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Rolling Bale Farm – Custom Lamb Cuts available

By Kelly Kaeding | Published: September 10, 2021

Rolling Bale Farm is offering custom cuts of organic 100% grass fed lamb. We shared a whole lamb with a friend last year and it was delicious.

They will be selling out, so get your order in now. Delivery is expected October – November. See the available cuts and price list. They will customize your cuts to your preference.

Local lamb is clean food, deeply nutritious and it is the warmest meat, which is great for Vermont winters. Support our local Vermont farmers and nourish yourself with the healthiest meat available. Save the bones in your freezer and make bone broth!

email Hilary at wolfehammond@gmail.com for fall delivery in 2022 and future years as well.

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