“I love when my kids are sick” - said NO MOM ever.
Playing mommy-nurse is HARD. (Especially if YOU are sick!)
My daughter, Anna, had RSV as an infant. I spent countless nights watching her labored breathing, wondering what I could do to strengthen her struggling lungs. For many months after that, every cold she caught landed us in the ER for steroids.
Watching her struggle made me feel so helpless. Fall/winter illnesses make moms feel helpless too.
As if living in the quasi-arctic wasn’t hard enough, seasonal colds add insult to injury.
There isn’t much that disrupts a schedule more than being sick.
Either YOU have to halt your schedule to take care of miserable people, or you have to find a babysitter who is willing to watch sick kids. It’s a lose-lose.
I choose NEITHER option! I chose healthier kids and strong immune systems that are capable of fighting off those nasty bugs more quickly.
I choose building immunity, so I don't stress over every sniffle.
“They” say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Personally, I think the “ounce” is WAY easier than the pound.
What if the “ounce” could even be tasty!?
Guess What?! - Studies show Raw Milk actually boosts your immunity!
You could have:
Less sick days this fall/winter
LESS Staying home from work to care for a miserable kid
Confidence that your kid could fight off the flu-bugs at school
Less need for drugs/interventions
More sleep
More enjoyment for the fall/winter season
Healthier bodies overall
All of that from Raw Milk? - YES!
My daughter was too young to drink milk during her RSV trouble, but raw milk has played a HUGE role in building her immune system since then. She now deals with colds like a champ!
The National Center for Biotechnology Information states that:
“without an immune system, we would have no way to fight harmful things that enter our body from the outside or harmful changes that occur inside our body.” (1)
Um…. WOW?!
If that doesn’t wow you, I’m not sure what could.
Your body *literally* houses a whole team of disease fighting “doctors” who help you!
Humor me and imagine if those doctors actually lived in your house and followed you around…
“Oh- don’t mind them.. that’s just Dr. Antibacterial and Dr. Antivirus… they work together with Dr. Anti-parasite and Dr. Antifungal to take care of anything that might hurt me.” :) :) “Excuse me… Could you scootch over for Dr. Harmful Substance Neutralizer? His job is pretty important.
Silly? Maybe.
Or maybe not.
Stick with me: If you had a house full of doctors on YOUR staff for the purpose of keeping YOU healthy, wouldn’t you want to support them?!
You NEED them to show up for work if they are going to be protecting YOU… right?
Is it any different with our immune system?
The JOB of your immune system IS TO HELP YOU.
So - are we helping it? - or are we expecting it to work for free?
Last time I checked, doctors don’t work for free :)
If you’re like me, I want to give those little guys everything they need to do an excellent job.
So how can we do that?
Dr. Axe says “switching up your diet is one of the best strategies regarding how to support your immune system health naturally.” (2)
Maybe that feels too overwhelming.
I see you. I am potty training a three-year-old, I haven’t showered today and I’m not sure what’s for dinner.
I GET it.. I’m a mom.
But guess WHAT, friend?!
“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger.” (3)
Did you catch that?! “THE SEED OF EVERY HABIT IS A SINGLE TINY DECISION!”
I can’t overhaul my whole diet overnight, but I CAN make ‘a single tiny decision.’
Obviously there are many facets (and many foods!) that support our immune system, but you know which one I’m most excited about recently? Raw milk! (don’t even get me started on kefir!;)
Dr. Axe explains: “Some of the main reasons that over 10 million Americans now drink raw milk on a regular basis include the following raw milk benefits”
Stronger immune system
Healthier skin, hair and nails
Nutrient absorption
Reduced allergies
Increased bone density
Neurological support
Weight loss
Help building lean muscle mass
Better digestion (4)
Um…. Can I get a WOW!?!
The tiny decision of raw milk could dramatically benefit your immune system!! (and that’s just the BEGINNING.)
Our weekly farm guests use Raw Milk to maintain and improve their health every day!
We’d all agree that our immune systems are important, so why not make them strong? (ESPECIALLY as we go back-to-school!)
Just take a little look-sey at these 5 research-based benefits of raw milk!
Top 5 Raw Milk Benefits for Your Immune System
1. Overall Immune Support
According to a 2019 study on Diet and Immune function, “Nutrition is of prime importance in strengthening the immune system." (5) Raw milk plays a very important part in building and strengthening both the innate and adaptive immune systems.” (6)
2. Lung Health/Asthma Prevention
“There are multiple peer-reviewed, scientific studies which correlate raw milk with improved lung health, both in childhood and adulthood.” (7) According to the PARSIFAL study of over 14,800 European children, “regardless of which environment the children lived in, those children who drank raw milk had significantly lower rates of asthma than children who did not drink raw milk.”
3. Protective against respiratory infections
According to the
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, “Early life consumption of raw cow's milk reduced the risk of manifest respiratory infections and fever by about 30%”
4. Allergy Prevention
No one likes allergies. As a child/young adult, I used to have debilitating seasonal allergies. When our kids (or ourselves) can’t function, we often turn toward allergy drugs (which I’m THANKFUL to have). But what if there was a more natural answer?
“There is no doubt that the components of raw milk can influence the immune function...it is one of the most intriguing and promising paths to be studied in allergy prevention.”(8) (PMC U.S. National Library of Medicine)
5. Super Food Material: aka - Let's make some KEFIR!
“[Kefir] is a powerful immune-building food which has been shown to stimulate… the immune system, have a beneficial effect on the composition of the gut microbiome, and reduce allergies. [It] has also been shown to reduce the duration of respiratory infections and colds in the elderly.” (9) Kefir is “packed full of beneficial bacteria that can colonize the intestinal tract and can help to support optimal digestive health and boost immunity.” (10)
If you have questions, ask away!!!
I LOVE helping, so don’t hesitate!
Always rooting for your family's health and wellness!
Liz
Hey friend! Look at you!
You just read a whole blog about purposeful Nutrition. You're Amazing!
You're done with the first step :)
If you don't know me, I'm Liz Gerdes, and I'd like to be your cheerleader.
I'm a SE MN dairy farmer and friend to anyone who needs one.
I help moms feel awesome about what they feed their families with farm fresh milk!
Visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow me on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm for more info.
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