I'm having a bit of a Shaklee Mom moment this week. I was able to attend Macy's walking field trip Wednesday where we walked half a mile to a creek and released the salmon her class has been raising since they were fish eggs. While I was there, I noticed that so many of the children had hacking coughs and were sneezing in a persistent way. Now, it is allergy season in the Northwest, so I know many of these children were not sick with a virus, but mainly reacting to our incredibly green, allergen-potent environment.
The child whose desk faces my child's was coughing a deep, dry cough, the kind of cough that you know must keep him up at night. I joked with him about calling hospice because it was so bad. I feel like even talking about this makes me seem really judgmental as a parent. Like, get it together, or something. That's not what I was feeling. I was feeling grateful. I'm so, so grateful that I literally get paid on the consumption of my family's Shaklee habit, that my business is large enough that our product usage (almost $500/month!) is completely covered by my commission (many other habits we have are covered by Shaklee, including my impending financial dental apocalypse).
Watching that poor child cough directly into my child's airspace, knowing that my child cannot be trusted in areas of hygiene, I realized MACY HAS NOT MISSED ANY SCHOOL THIS YEAR DUE TO ILLNESS. Not. One. Day. The evidence was right in front of me that her wellness this year has not been due to a lack of exposure. So not only had my business provided me the flexibility to attend this gorgeous, fun field trip, but it allowed my child to enjoy it to her fullest because she's healthy. Holy cow.
At the risk of using my blog that's more often than not about theology and life to promote my personal business, I thought it would be helpful to share what it is that Macy takes every day in case there are parents out there who are finishing this school year realizing that their kid may have missed more school than is ideal. I want kids to be healthy and happy. And I want parents to feel empowered to help their children. I was raised on these products and am raising my kids on these products. I can't begin to explain the monstrous dividends our family has reaped because of generational wellness, 4 generations now, starting with my grandparents on both sides. I want people to have that. Or at least have access to it.
Macy takes:
2 Incredivites - this is her multivitamin. It has an ingredient called lactoferrin in it that has been found to contribute to the immune-boosting capability of human breast milk. So it's very immune-building as well as covering all her minimum requirements for A, B, C, D (extra D), iron, some calcium, etc. It's a critical foundation.
1 Mighty Smart - this is Shaklee's fish oil (DHA) chew. My kids beg for more every day. They are delish. Most kids aren't getting fish oil daily and even if they eat fish often, our fish population is so incredibly contaminated that regular consumption actually puts them at risk for high levels of mercury and lead being present in their blood. DHA helps with brain development. We've seen this product help kids with concentration, attention and hyperactivity issues. I cannot overemphasize how critical it is that kids get fish oil and that it be pure. Shaklee purifies the oil in a patented process so there is literally NO contaminants. You can't even get that in our diets anymore.
1 Optiflora probiotic - this is a little pearl. Our probiotic has a patented triple-layer shell to protect the very fragile live bacteria. Most companies can only guarantee that their bacteria is alive at the time of manufacturing. We actually have the clinical data to prove that our good bacteria makes it all the way to the intestines. If you think that's simple, remember, those fragile bacteria have to pass through the stomach acid first! If you think your yogurt is doing that; it's not. If you or your family eat processed foods at all, probiotics are really important. Most of the ability to have a functional immune system begins in the gut. If your gut is off, you can't absorb all the nutrients in your food and your immunity goes down. All 4 of us take this every day.
1 chewable Cal Mag - kids need extra calcium because they're literally growing their bones! Do you remember ever getting shooting pains in your legs as a kid, sometimes called "growing pains?" That's your body's way of asking for more calcium in an annoyingly painful way. We started this product daily as soon as Macy started getting those (just as I did when I got them as a kid). If her legs hurt, 20 min after chewing this, the cramps are gone. Also, if she ever gets stomach cramps, same thing. I looked at the label of our chewable Pepto Bismol and guess what? It's just synthetic calcium! So I tossed that and keep this on hand.
1-3 chewable C's - both my kids take 1 every day and we increase it if we know they've been exposed to an illness or are actively showing symptoms.
As a side note, Penny started preschool this year. And she was symptomatic at least 10 times during the school year. But, she only missed one day of school. And I kept her home as a precaution (her fever was below the threshold for keeping them home). On top of her regular regimen (same as Macy's without the added calcium), any time she got a fever, runny nose, etc I made her a half serving of Shaklee's Vitalized Immunity. It's like Emergen-C but it's not synthetic. I just thinned it out with extra water, added some ice and Stevia drops and told her it was her special juice. I think out of those 10 incidents, only 1 of those 10 turned into an actual cold. 9 out of 10, 1 or 2 half servings of Vitalized Immunity nipped that virus in the bud. So thankful she got to go to school regularly so she could have the routine that is so critical for her education and her sense of well-being.
Sorry, one more side note. We only use Shaklee cleaners and personal care products in our house. If your kids are struggling with immunity and you're using Clorox and Tide (no offense to the big guys), that is also costing them nutrients and could be making it harder for them to fight stuff off. Start with laundry and dish soap. You are literally putting those chemicals in your mouth and rubbing them on your skin all day. Shaklee has a Get Clean Starter Kit where you can change out all your cleaners for $99. It's the equivalent of $3400 worth of traditional cleaners and it comes with a lifetime Shaklee membership for free. That gives you 15% off your products for life.
This is one of the parenting mountains I plan to die on. Everyone has their things that are non-negotiable. For me, giving my children a foundation of a healthy, strong, active body is one of mine. The #1 killer of kids in this country ages 3-14 is cancer. The influence I can have on the longevity and functionality of my children's bodies is unparalleled from pregnancy to 18 years old. Some peoples mountains are safety, education, sports, faith - to name a few. And most of those are important to us too. But this is a non-negotiable one for me. What's fun about this one is, it takes a bit of investigating in the beginning to find the company you trust to the tedious raw ingredient to final product testing to make sure your products actually work. And you have to incorporate that expenditure into your monthly budget. But once that's done, you just set up your order and make sure your kids take them every day. Done and done! Mountain climbed.
If you want to see any of these products or have questions about them, contact me through my Shaklee website: www.ownyourlife.myshaklee.com