Did you choose to do private cord blood banking after your baby's birth? This is one of the first decisions you'll make about something that may affect your child's health, and parents naturally agonize over it.My husband, Daylon, is the Director of the Reproductive Endocrinology at Weill Cornell Medical College as well as a embryonic stem cell research scientist. My pregnant friends often ask
Illness & Natural Remedies
February: Detoxing Your Medicine Cabinet with Natural Remedies
This new year, instead of making the usual resolutions that we’ve given up on by the end of January, we decided to break it up by dividing some big goals into manageable chunks. Each month, we will invite you to overhaul one aspect of your life to reduce toxins, improve health, and increase your peace of mind. Our promise is that these changes will be easy to implement, and we hope will help
Why Your Hand Sanitizer Doesn’t Stop the Flu (and Might Make You Sick)
Despite my longtime annoyance with Purell-toting moms, once I had my own children I found myself--to my horror--becoming something of a germaphobe.When my sons are sick, we all suffer--they miss school, I can’t work, and no one sleeps. I’m judicious with the use of fever reducers and painkillers (here’s why), so some level of misery is inevitable. And in New York City, it’s hard to ignore how
4 Eating Tips to Avoid Fall Illnesses
The season of “school bugs” is upon us. Are you already fed up with runny noses, coughs, and stomach bugs?In my last post I shared five strategies for staying healthy during the school year and promised that I’d follow up with some specific food tips. When it comes to staying healthy and recovering from illness, you really can’t ignore the importance of diet—for adults and kids alike.But
5 Strategies for Staying Healthy During the School Year
Every year when school starts, the runny noses and illnesses begin, too. I used to be a classroom teacher, and I saw it every year.Are you already fed up with the endless runny noses, coughs, and (worst of all) stomah bugs? Do you feel like you’re just bracing yourself for the next illness to strike your family? Do not despair! There are things you can do to help yourself and your family get
Ticks: Do Non-Toxic Repellents Work?
If you know us by now, you know that we are always trying to find products and solutions that keep toxins away from our homes and families.Sometime there are problems difficult enough to make us pay even closer attention. A good example of this is the problems with ticks and the diseases they spread. Ticks & Pets We walk our new puppy, Koa, twice a day. There is a great park nearby with
Two Ways to (Seriously) Not Catch Your Kid’s Cold
Natural Cold Remedies That Actually Work Go ahead and smother your sick kid in kisses--I truly think I've discovered the secret to not catching their colds. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and nothing I'm about to say should be confused as medical advice. I'm simply telling you what seems to be working for me this winter (or "spring" according to the calendar but not the weather here in NYC!). The
A Nontoxic Option for Zika Protection?
Even those of us in wintery climates can’t ignore headlines about the mosquito-born Zika virus. The World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency as experts scramble to understand more about the virus.Zika’s certainly on my radar. My family and I are escaping the snow to go to the Bahamas next week, and in May, I’m traveling to Nicaragua for a wedding. I'm not planning
Choosing a Humidifier for Winter Survival
This time of year, I get a lot of questions about humidifiers. As temperatures drop outside, we turn up our thermostats for relief. But that warm air is dry, leaving our skin, hair and mucus membranes parched. Add in a cold or flu, especially a sick baby, and you’ll be temped to run out and buy the first humidifier you can get your (very dry) hands on—but wait!The humidifier market is crowded
Bring Herbal Medicine Out of the Cupboard and into Everyday Life
My health coaching clients often ask me about adding supplements to their diet, and as a routine, I don’t recommend them. This isn't because I am against supplements categorically, but I resonate more with Michael Pollan’s philosophy on health: “Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.”I have a lot of respect for science, but I think that it can be hard to transfer laboratory science into
