Joette interviewed for Natural Parenting Center blog

Tell us some of the important nutritional basics for nourishing our kids:

The most important basics in the kitchen  are also the most  interesting to kids  so they can easily get involved.   Making raw cultured dairy such as raw yogurt and  kefir are science and life  projects  at their best.  So are fermented vegetables. It teaches kids not only that food has life and can chemically change with  the right inoculants, but it trains them to make something from  nothing.  This is  the way we need to think. If we can learn to make something from a simple raw material, we will become more independent which leads to an admirable lifestyle and robust health. This is one of the fundamentals upon which we, as first-rate mothers need to build.

What else embodies this?  While most will simply throw out the bones and feet of the chicken, venison, beef, I encourage moms to make something  even more nourishing from  what at first glance appears to be nothing.  Bone stocks are the foundation of good respiratory health, joint suppleness, brain  acuity and reproductive vigor. So I entreat moms to make bone stocks regularly.  Then use the stock to make soups, cook their rice in it,  simmer their beans in it, and even boil their pasta in it.   It makes everything we eat infused with nutrient dense gelatin and vitamins that would otherwise be thrown into the garbage.

It’s also paramount that we have snacks available  that are kid pleasing.  On my blog  I make a point of offering snack recipes that fulfill  three standards.  They must  be nutrient dense, delicious  and filling.  Why filling?  So that you can offer them your treat just before they leave for a birthday party or a school function.  When they arrive stuffed to the gills with coconut truffles that are nutrient dense, they won’t find much room for  soda and commercial cake. A full belly  has little interest in junk food.

Tell us some of the fundamentals of learning to treat our children homeopathically:

The more children you have, the easier it is, because it’s a matter of experience.   (‘Another good reason to have larger families!)  But if you  happen to have a small family, I love to share the little tricks that  as a homeopath I’ve gleaned through the years from taking care of so many  families.  One, is to do whatever you can to choose the “right” remedy at the onset.   Then stick with it. Don’t  second guess yourself.  For example, if a child has the croup, stay with  Aconitum for  at least 4 doses to insure that you’ve allowed the remedy to act fully.  If  after 4 doses, there are no changes, then retake the case.  That is;  look at what has come to the fore.  It should be enough different that the new remedy will present itself  via the symptoms.  For example, if a child has a  croupy cough (sounding like a seal barking)and you’ve given Aconitum four times, without any measurable improvement, then you  know that in the triad for croup,  the next remedies to consider will likely be either Hepar sulph or Spongia. What I teach in my audio courses is to be able to differentiate  between these remedies and to know some of their  associated remedies so that you have a pathway to follow. Sometimes the differences can be very subtle. Other times it’s just a matter of knowing the top remedies  of a particular illness.   So, for croup, the top remedies are 1) Aconitum 2) Hepar sulph  3) Spongia.

And interestingly enough, they often show up in that order. The need for Aconitum for croup usually presents earlier in the evening or before midnight, while, Hepar sulph  often  appears after midnight and Spongia  emerges around 3 AM.  This  is just  another tool in determining the  correct choice.

There are other triads as well.  Miranda Castro coined the acronym “ ABC of Fevers” in this way:  1) Aconitum 2) Belladonna 3) Chamomilla . It’s a great way to remember that if it isn’t one, its likely to be only one of  two more.   And if you know some of the characteristics of each, it will fall into place rather easily. This is how I like to teach moms.  Make it easy, easy, easy.

What do you love about your work?

When taking a case,  it’s  the story that makes it  appealing because you  are let in on the intricacies of a person’s life.  Those lovely and sometimes not so lovely idiosyncrasies make it a fascinating  story. Folks share the most poignant aspects of their lives. I get to peer into their religious beliefs, loves and aversions and family dynamics.  It’s a rare opportunity to  get to know other humans on a  deep, private level.  They hand me their pearls  and it is my responsibility to embrace them  with dignity and honor. I  feel privileged being respected and trusted enough to be included.

Then the intellectual excitement is in the cracking of the case;  finding the little clues  represented in the symptoms and exciting causes,  that offer pieces to the puzzle. I usually put together a time line of the bench marks in the persons life so we can gain perspective on what happened  and in what order.  It gives the overall picture  continuity and then we can step back and say “Oh!   The colitis started right after taking those antibiotics!” This gives us a powerful springboard from which to find the perfect remedy.

When it comes to teaching moms how to  gain autonomy in their family’s health,  I become a mom on a mission. My passion is in knowing that others can  cure themselves and their families.   Knowing Homeopathy and high density nutrition has given me such might as a mother, that I can’t help but want to pass on the good word. That’s why I  produce audio downloads  and teach moms online.

As  one who has seen the glaring inadequacies and  condescending attitude of modern medicine, sad modern food choices and  an oft meddling government,  I’m fiercely pro-family.  Being an Italian American, only adds to this stance.   I grew up believing that  your family is the team upon whom you can fully depend.   It means that the curriculum of the family is the most important aspect of life. And within that setting only a mom with the commitment to make her own foods and treat her family as often as she can will become a potent mom.   Mighty mom means mighty family and that means magnificent kids.

What are some examples that are not on your site from your own life or your children's life that demonstrate the power of this way of eating and homeopathics for healing?

Well , I’ll tell you an incident that occurred only last weekend  to my husband who is a professional ski instructor.  He took a nasty spill, rolled and landed (hard) on the back of his neck. When he finally came to, there was a crowd of concerned skiers and the ski patrol gathered around him. I’m still not sure how he got home, nor is he, but he was clearly dazed, confused and shaken up quite a bit.

Now, since we live on a ski hill in New York, and my family  spends every snowy hour they can on the slopes, I’ve made certain they each have a bottle of Arnica Montana  in their ski parkas.   This time, however, Arnica was not the best choice because of the fact that he was dazed and wobbly, so the pain was not as important as his state of mind.

I gave him  Nat sulph1M  and within half an hour , he grew a smile on his face that indicated the  transformation.  “Thank you” , he said.  “My mind was fuzzy and I felt fragile and confused.”  There are so many incidents in my life in which Homeopathy has given my family and me the kind of power all families ought to have available.

Our son had fear of a big exam that was forthcoming  a few weeks ago but was calmed by Gelsemium  taken every 4 hours. He aced the exam, but more importantly, he was not uneasy the morning of the exam.   A few months ago, my father had a suspicious lump appear only to have Lycopodium resolve it within 2 days.

But the most profound story is the one about my Aunt Mary.  Unfortunately, this one is not  bestowed with a happy ending. Aunt Mary  was my Godmother with whom I was very close. We spoke on the phone  weekly.  Years ago I had given her a Homeopathy kit so she could  call me should she needed my help. Well, one night she slipped  and sprained her ankle.  Normally, she would have called me to get a remedy, but this time, she just went to the doctor without phoning because she knew I had a busy week that week.   I  would’ve indeed recommended she have her ankle looked at to  be certain it wasn’t a break and then a Homeopathic remedy for the pain, swelling and quick healing.

Instead, on the way home, my uncle stopped at a drug store to get Darvon, following the doctor’s instructions. That night, she took the Darvon and within 6 hours, she died in her bed. The “cause of death” was  cardiac arrest, however, no one in my aunt’s very large family had ever had  heart issues and only weeks prior,  she had been given a “clean bill of health” from the very doctor who prescribed Darvon.  Down to my toes,  I knew it was the Darvon, so did my mother and my uncle.  When I reviewed the dangers of the drug online, it was logical that the drug had caused her death.   Now 2 years later, class action suits are sprouting everywhere against the manufacturer.   The FDA has finally banned Darvon and Darvocet. Just for the record, it’s been prescribed since 1957. The reason it was taken off the market?  It causes cardiac abnormalities and arrest in people who don’t have a history of heart disease, even in recommended doses.  How many unsuspecting folks have been poisoned by this drug  in  the last 40 years with the cause of death appearing to be something else?

This kind of loss is always difficult.  But the salt that stung the wound deeper is that  1st, my aunt trusted the doctor to give her  something that was safe and 2nd that the very remedy that would’ve offered her quick and more importantly,  a harmless method of healing was only 20 feet away in her medicine closet…… in her Homeopathy kit!

This is the kind of story that I hear on a regular basis from clients and students  from all over the U.S. As mothers and others, we need to protect our families and the only way to do so is to arm ourselves with knowledge:  Homeopathic and nutritional.  Well, there’s also the protection we gain from holding to our faiths and scrutinizing what is taught in the schools.   But it means diligence.

I entreat all mothers to not be a “good little patient”.  Be the one who questions every decision a doctor suggests and knowing your alternative options.    This is not a time for compliancy.  Be a fierce lioness when it comes to your family.  Be a mighty mom….read, study, educate yourself.  And then get to the job at hand…of being the most protective person in your children’s lives. And when they’re set well, take care of your parents, your aunts and uncles, your friends, pets,  and so on. I can’t think of a responsibility more important than this one.

http://naturalparentingcenter.typepad.com/natural_parenting_center/2011/02/interview-with-joette-calabrese-empowering-mothers-with-homeopathy-and-nutrition.html