Holiday Gift Ideas – My Favorite Things to Share with You

Pets – although I prefer to call them our animal companions!

Jackson Galaxy is a great resource as a cat behaviorist – any of his books will make a difference in your relationship with your cat and in your cat’s health. He has herbal droppers for cats for various emotional issues and does a lot of good advocate work for cats even remodeling cat shelters so cats have common open space to socialize. His book on “catification” will help your family make your home also a home for your kitty – it has so many great ideas and is a perfect gift for a cat lover. Had a pleasure to meet him in person. I have learned a lot from him over the years and that has made my relationship with Charlie so much deeper.

Lynn Schuster – The Animal Spirit Talker is my all-time favorite go-to for any time I need to communicate something important with our animal companions, for example when it is time to go to the vet or we will be moving. She also helped our parrot convince Charlie once (when he sneaked out, stressed out as we were packing to move) to go ahead and come back home, and guided them both through the journey into the airport, checking in and the flight when we moved across the country. Lynn teacher animal communication and it is a life changing experience. If you are worried about your animal communion and would like to understand if something is worrying them, I strongly recommend talking to Lynn to help you out.

Darwin’s Pet Food is the cleanest and most species-appropriate pet food I have found. I do not care what marketing message companies provide to make you buy their products; pet food industry is not serving your animal companions health. On the contrary. This food has turned around Charlie’s health.

Pet Bowls: we use this for our kitty Charlie – you can make eating foods much more comfortable for your kitty or your puppy, and materials are safe for the animals. Keep in mind that as your companion cat or dog ages, arthritis is common, and that means pain with movement, and so making the feeding time more comfortable will make a difference for them.

Pet Health OPC Formula: Yes our all-time favorite anti-inflammatory and antioxidant OPC comes in a combo with glucosamine to support aging cats and dogs.  You may notice them jumping or running more and being less sedentary, which means they are in less discomfort (remember, our animals do not use words to communicate their pain, so their behavior is their language).  This is a very popular and effective product among vets and my friends. We also use it daily and it helps Charlie jump, run and move more freely even though he already is a senior!

Personal Wellness

Castor Oil Packs: I love the traditional naturopathic medicine, which includes hydrotherapy and castor oil packs. There are many products on the market for the latter, but Dr. Marisol ND, has the product I like the most. Castor oil packs have been around for a long time and are used topically for many types of pain, inflammation and even post-surgery (once the surgery site heals) … So many uses for one simple product. Dr. Marisol also came up with a special cotton pack – this alone makes the process easy and convenient. Her oil is excellent quality.

Oral probiotics ProbioraPro: We need good bacteria not only in our gastrointestinal track but also in our mouth! This probiotic was introduced to me by my biological dentist and it helped me substantially before and after my dental surgery. FYI, most probiotics will say there is milk in them, and so does this one. But that does not actually mean there is milk in the product. The truth is that dairy is used to culture one of the common strains, but the probiotic itself does not contain milk. Do not swallow it – this is for your gums and oral health, so keep it there. You will have to put my name on the website to be able to make a purchase. This is for practitioners and their patients only.

Sunlighten Sauna is the best quality sauna (on my current wish list) if you are ready to splurge – if you are short on space and resources, investigate if their Solo (portable) version would be right for you.

Epsom Salts: Any simple epsom salt bag will do. I have seen big boxes at Costco and I have a few of those handy. Your local drugstore will carry it (just avoid scented ones).  They are dirt cheap and predictably helpful. Magnesium in these salts relaxes tense muscles and sulfate is healing to the gastrointestinal tract and yes, there was a study showing you do absorb that sulfate. If you are under stress, soak in Epsom salts. And then have a glass of water to rehydrate.

Effervescent Vitamin C Dechlorination Tablets from Vitabath is the easiest and inexpensive way to get rid of the pesky chlorine in your bathwater. While there are good quality filters for the showers (e.g. Aquasana), I have yet to see a workable, practical filter for bath water. Most city water in our bathroom contains chlorine, and all you have to do is drop a tablet of this Vitamin C into the bathtub filled with water. It works beautifully! More on these tablets and thyroid friendly baths soaks here in an article I have written.  You can get these Vitamin C tablets in various stores online.

Berkey Water Filter stands the test of time. I even took a traveling size to Poland to give it to my mother, who is still enjoying it. It retains minerals, so it does not drop pH (which reverse osmosis does, unfortunately), and you can add the PF2 additional filters if you suspect arsenic and fluoride in your drinking water. You may not know that about it, but originally it was developed for emergencies, so you can even filter river or lake water (just not salt water). I have actually seen mineral deficiencies induced by long term reliance on reverse osmosis, so if you are using that technology, you have to remineralize. I have an entire chapter on that issue in my book, the EBV Solution.

Austin Air Filter with wild fires here to stay and getting more pervasive, it becomes more important than ever to have a solid heavy duty air filtration system in your home that can handle smoke particles on top of everything else. I was so impressed with this filter for its capacities that I personally added it to my home arsenal and we partnered with the company so that our community can enjoy 10% off. Use coupon: EBVHEROES10.

AnnMarie skin care: Honestly, there is nothing more magical than to put pure botanicals on your face. You will recognize all the ingredients! They are old-school essential oil based products created by a health conscious couple – their commitment to ecology and our health is top notch.

Digestive upset? I have two favorites for my family and my clients and students for indigestion, heartburn and upset stomach from eating all the rich foods or all the wrong foods. Both work remarkably. Needless to say, we always have some supplies at home.

1. Here is the formidable Isotonix Digestive Enzyme complex in packets (when you eat out or when traveling) and in bottles (when you want to use it more regularly at home).
2. And here is the outstanding Ultimate Aloe Vera Juice. Would you like to know more about aloe vera juice? Here is the in-depth evidence-based article I wrote about it.

Stressed out during the Holidays?  I have 2 quick and effective solutions for you: vitamin Bs and adaptogenic herbs.

1. B vitamins are stress vitamins. It means we use them fast during stress and they have to be replenished daily. B vitamins are our mood, memory, cognition, energy, focus and neurological functions. I recommend that every woman take a good B complex every day! You may need to double on it on a very stressful day! Here is the methylated B complex I have personally used for many years.
2. Adaptogenic herbs have been used for hundreds of years in every culture to help us humans tone down on our stress response, since stress is chemically hurtful to our body. There are many formulations of a variety of these herbs in supplements. My all-time favorite though is Bliss. For some reason, the combo of herbs in it just hits the spot. Our clients say it is their favorite supplement. It takes “the edge” off and yes, you can still drive!

Electromagnetic and Wi-Fi Pollution Essentials!

Harapad is a great company for daily support like low EMF ear piece for your phone, phone protection or laptop pads. I have their 3 laptop pads and literally wrote my book on one of them.

Tech Wellness – has become my favorite website for practical EMF-related tools for families.

1. My favorite ear piece for the phone  – I absolutely love my air tube ear pieces for my phone (trust me I have been looking for these for a long time and tried quite a few bad ones) – an essential tool in my busy business. I have 3 pairs and this is what I use on my phone and when I teach or present online. 100% of the time. I do NOT put my phone next to my ear and recommend that you do not either.
2. I also have the TechWellness phone stand and stylus – both are excellent quality.
3. They also have faraday boxes for your routers and faraday bags for your phone.
4. Various EMF measuring devices.
5. Also, go offline – check their Mindfulness Nature Kit!
6. Children and EMF – My favorite website for parents weary of EMF exposure of their children, especially now with home schooling and classes on line,  is Tech Wellness as above. You can get a safe baby monitor, EMF safe crayon stylus for children to use on their phones, blue light glasses (very cute) for children, and more.
7. They continue to surprise me with well researched products that do matter and do work.  Plus the website is so classy and sassy, not overwhelming and not too techy. Created by a woman.

Note: Some of the websites above contain affiliate links. I only support companies and products that are ethical, high quality, and provide the benefits they claim they do. I have used most of these services or products. This is from my home to yours, for your wellbeing!