Examples of toxins found in our bodies

What are the consequences of these toxins in our bodies?

Consume this juice in moderation. 

I'm used to buying one or two packets of pads for the month. This means I use one type or size of pads during my period. At times it's not a problem but sometimes it is because the flow may differ on different days or times. My activities may also be different.

This requires a pad size or pads with the characteristics necessary for the type of flow or activity. That's why I buy various pad types and sizes at the same time. So that I can use the one that is convenient for the type of flow I get or the time of the day.

The night pads for example are more convenient for the night and are made to reduce stains while you lie down to rest. There are pads for heavy and light flows and the quantity of the flow may vary during one menstrual period. 

One brand I've loved for a long time is Always. This time I got Always alongside another brand called Nana. I have seen many ads for Nana on French channels so I felt familiar with the product already (the power of ads). I hope I like the product.

There are a lot of health problems caused by the things we eat daily. Like they say, you are what you eat. That's why we have to be careful with the things we put into our body.

Recently, I had an experience at the market which got me not only surprised but also sceptical about all the things we eat. That's why in this post, I'm sharing with you how to distinguish between organic and chemically treated vegetables (njama-njama) in the market.




If you want to eat right and stay healthy, you should be searching for organically grown food to eat. So here is how to identify organic vegetables.

How To Distinguish Between Organic & Chemically Treated Vegetables (Njama-njama) In The Market

Organic vegetables usually have some holes in their leaves

This is because plants and animals grow together. There are insects and tiny animals such as snails and caterpillars that feed on the leaves of these vegetables. That's why they have holes. If there are no holes it means some chemical products have been used to make sure that the leaves are not eaten at all.

You can find some insects or tiny animals on organic vegetables

This point is related to the first one as when you see some insects on the leaves or stems of the vegetable it means that chemical pesticides were not used and the vegetable is organic.

Organic vegetables have smaller and darker leaves

Organic vegetables are generally darker than chemically treated ones. Their leaves are equally smaller.

Chemically treated leaves and stems are very fragile while organic is stronger. 

Chemically treated vegetables contain more water than organic vegetables.

That's why when you cook them they 'fall' or reduce a lot.

Chemically treated vegetables easily wither or get rotten.

They don't take long to wither or decompose.

Chemically treated vegetables are more attractive than organic vegetables

They have bigger leaves, and brighter colours and look very much ok without holes or imperfections on them. This is because they have been pumped with chemicals to look their best.


The problem with most of these products is that they can cause strange and incurable sicknesses in our bodies if we keep consuming them. Our forefathers ate naturally grown products and lived for donkey years. But these days, without hospitals and medical help most people will not live up to 50.

This is because of what we eat. We want to produce more and better but in the course of doing that we are destroying our beautiful bodies.



Most Africans don't know that moving from organic to chemically treated production is impoverishing our soils and killing our bodies and those of our children, therefore, making us poor. The western world is moving towards organic products because they have realized the bad effects of it while we are moving towards producing chemical food for ourselves. This is so sad!


I hope this post enables us to realize that we are killing ourselves by eating chemically grown food. If you have parents, brothers, sisters or friends who are using chemicals to grow food, discourage them today! Tell them why it's bad for them and for us to use chemicals to grow food! Let's save our continent and world from killing itself!

It's painful to start breastfeeding and it's also painfully to stop. Dealing with sore breasts which feel like they are going to explode is not easy and makes you restless. It can make you sick. The last thing you want to care about at that time is if your boobs are going to sag after it's over but how you manage your sore breasts counts.

Weaning my baby was an experience I didn't know was going to end. It was a long week of pain and somehow I managed to worry about making my breasts sag. When your breasts are sore, you need some remedy to help you soothe the pain and reduce the milk piled up in your breasts. Here are the methods that I used to soothe my breasts and this is what I did to make sure that my boobs don't sag after it.

How To Soothe Sore Breasts During Weaning And Prevent It From Sagging

1. Hot and warm massages

The milk that fills the breasts needs to be evacuated and sometimes your breasts may leak very slowly or may not leak at all as in my case. A hot or warm massage helps the veins to relax and also the milk to flow out.

This is what I used to massage them. Just make sure you are careful and don't burn yourself with hot objects.

- Coconut shells

This method really helped the milk to flow out very fast. Make sure the shell is smooth so that it doesn't feel uncomfortable or hurt during the massage. Do it gently and take your time.

How to use it:

I let heat the shell by the fire and massage the breast from downwards going up. This means, you start massaging around the nipple and move upwards towards your chest. Don't do it in the opposite direction as it will make your boobs sag.

How many times can it be done a day? 

This can be done twice or thrice a day. Or when you feel the need to help the milk flow out.

- Hot or warm water

This gave me some relief from the pain and relaxed my chest.

How to use it:

Heat the water and dip a towel into it. Squeeze the towel and use to massage each breast especially around where you feel much pain. Another way is to hold the entire breast in the hot or warm towel for a few seconds then take it off.

How many times can it be done a day?

I recommend doing the water massage after the coconut shell massage so you can follow the same twice or thrice a day schedule.

2. Wearing firm bras

After massaging and soothing your breasts, wear a firm bra to hold them together. A firm bra which is still very comfortable and fits well. The bra should be able to keep your breasts in one place to reduce your pain.

I recommend body or sports bras that cover you up and hold your breasts well without feeling tight.

Also, get some good sleep, eat well and rest. Avoid bending over to the front too much and get some healthy comfort food. My comfort food was boiled fresh groundnuts as we were visiting my mom and it was the groundnut harvesting period.

Related: Travelling To Harvest Groundnuts, Weaning My Baby, & My First Brand Deal

3. Hand and oil massage

When the pain is over and your breasts are getting to normal, start using your hands to massage them. Apply some oil to make it easier to massage. Place both hands above and under your breast and massage clockwise and anti-clockwise gently. This will make them firm and reduce wrinkles.

Related: 6 Ways To Care For Your Breast While Breastfeeding

Those are my tips for you to wean your baby and prevent saggy boobs.

There are things that you wouldn't understand until you experience them. Breastfeeding and weaning are some of those things.

I weaned my baby a month ago and from time to time I still feel a void and an interruption in our bond. I miss breastfeeding her when we lay down after she wakes u at night and is crying. The easy way has always been to breastfeed her back to sleep and I've gotten used to that. Even one month after weaning her it still comes like a reflex.


It's not like the whole breastfeeding process has been enjoyable for me. Not at all. The first three months especially were so painful. I almost gave u breastfeeding. But later it was so enjoyable as it created a very special bond between my baby and me. I planned to continue till she is two years but I just had to stop her now at one year and three months. This is very long for some people I know. Everyone I knew asked me to stop already and for some other reason, I decided to stop.

Related: Why I Stopped Breastfeeding My Baby At One Year Three Months Instead Of Two Years As I Planned

It wasn't just the physical pain of weaning that got to me, but also the psychological. I missed breastfeeding her. I loved and enjoyed her dependence on me for that. It made me feel good and accomplished as a mother. I felt like I actually fed my baby. I was happy that she was happy that I breastfed her. It made me feel satisfied. Weaning was taking that joy away.

It hurt even more when my breasts were full and sore and she was crying so much but I couldn't give her. She even wanted me to carry and hold her but I couldn't because my chest and breasts hurt so much.

It was hard I tell you. But I'm happy we are both recovering from that. She is picking up with eating very well and though she misses breastfeeding from time to time, she is visibly moving on. So am I.

Related: How To Stop Your Baby (Or Kids) From Running Your Life

I never expected that it would affect me mentally. I always thought it was just physical. But a bond is really created between a mother and a child during breastfeeding and that bond can be so strong.

A few weeks ago, I had a migraine and I remember feeling intense pain in my neck. It didn't start all of a sudden as I had been feeling a lot more tired physically and mentally prior to that.

I even talked with a friend who told me to take it easy with whatever I am doing because I need to stay healthy to take care of my daughter.

The most stressful thing about being a mom is having the feeling of not doing enough for your kid(s). This feeling can haunt you throughout motherhood. It can make you stressed out and always want to do more so much that you may begin to neglect your own wellbeing.

We don't have only kids to worry about as mothers. There's also the rest of the family, our friends, taking care of the house, our love life and our jobs to worry about. Adding all these up can make life really stressful for a mom especially when she has to do it all by herself.

Not paying attention to your health as a mom will affect not only you but also your kids. It can make you sick, tired, and stressed and affect your relationship with those around you. If you are in this condition you may not be able to give your children the love and care you always wanted to give them.

That's why it is necessary for moms to take good care of themselves in order to be strong enough physically and mentally to raise their kids.

And in this post, I'm sharing with you six things moms can do to stay healthy physically and mentally so that they can be the best parents possible.

Moms, Do These 6 Things Daily To Stay Healthy Physically & Mentally

Eat

It sounds so easy but when you become a mom eating can be a struggle. And by the way, moms do eat to stay alive but most of us don't eat well. Some moms live on coffee throughout the day and others eat snacks because it's fast and easy to make.

I was feeding my daughter the other day I kept thinking of how much I worry about her eating right and having all the necessary nutrients for her to grow and be healthy. Then I remembered that while doing that, I barely have time to eat. This made me decide to eat first each time. Feeding her needs a lot of energy and doing this while hungry can be so draining. So it's important to eat first, mama. Get the strength you need to do the things you have to do.

Sleep

Sleep is medicine. When I had a migraine, I decided to just rest. I couldn't do anything anyway so I had no choice. I left chores like laundry for another day and used my free time to sleep. It took me three days of rest to begin to feel like myself again.

I just wasn't sleeping enough and while I slept I had a lot of things on my mind about what I will do the next day, how to be more organized and how to do things better. These thoughts never end. We are always thinking of how to be better moms every day and we don't realize how tiring it can be trying to be good enough every day. This stress may accumulate and cause fatigue as in my case. And like I said there are many other things to worry about too which may make us really tired at the end of the day.

So take time to sleep, mama. Your body needs it.

Drink lots of water

There are a lot of things that make you lose water as a mom. Sweating from doing chores and running behind your kids and for those who breastfeed that's a major way to lose water.

You need to replace your body's water in order to not dehydrate. Dehydration can make you feel weak, cause headaches and slow you down. Always drink water and eat fruits and vegetables that contain lots of water like watermelon.

Pause

Take breaks. This goes especially to the stay-at-home moms. When you are a stay-at-home mom you can just go on and on non-stop with your kids. You may forget to take a break because you are trying to get things done as much as possible. But I have come to realize that these chores have no end. They just keep coming and you just find yourself always doing something.


You need to take a break mama. Even those who work with organizations and companies have a break time. You need to take a break too. Read this post on five ways you can take a break as a mom to know how to take breaks from your motherhood schedule.

Appreciate yourself

Before anything, I want to let you know that you are doing well mama, though nobody sees you. Just know that you are doing well. You are doing your best and you are highly appreciated.

I know that because I am a mom too and I understand what it means to watch a baby or kids throughout the day non-stop. I was thinking about having a day to myself alone one time then it occurred to me that I have been spending time with my daughter for the past seven months, day in and day out and I am still sane. I need a pat on the back for that. And not only me but all the moms who are doing their best to nurture and protect these kids.

Bravo mama! You are doing well.

Do what you love

This is necessary for your sanity. Your mental health is as important as your physical so do something that you enjoy doing like a hobby so that it will lift your spirit, relax you and give you energy.

This could even be your career. If it means that much to you and gives you so much pleasure, then you should consider it again. Don't let your dreams be drowned by motherhood. Find out how to do both and do it.

Put yourself and your feelings first. Your desires are as important as that of your kids. Don't always show up as their mom, also show up as you. Your personality is important. Don't lose yourself, mama. You need to stay healthy physically and mentally so that those who depend on you will have only the best of you.

Ginger-lemon tea is one of my favourite homemade teas. I love the smell and the blend of tastes from the ginger and the lemon.

This tea is also good for the respiratory system because it cleanses and eases breathing. It's therefore great to drink ginger tea for colds and coughs. It reduces the feeling of nausea and helps with digestion.

So many healthy reasons to drink this tea. So how do we make it? Here is how to make some ginger-lemon tea.

- Peel, wash, and grind the ginger into a paste. Put the quantity you want into a teacup.

- Boil some water for the tea.

- Add the hot water to the ginger paste.

- Wash lemon and slice into two halves. Squeeze the lemon juice into the cup.

- Add some honey. Stir.

- Let it settle and drink.

That's how you make some hot ginger tea. You can replace the lemon with lime if that's what you have or prefer at home.

Apart from its good taste, ginger tea is a good cleanser as ginger and honey are good for cleaning the throat and lungs. Lemon is good for cleaning the stomach and reduces fats in the body.

I love taking this tea early in the morning on an empty stomach and in the evening before I go to sleep because it helps in my digestion throughout the day and calms my belly in the evening for a good night's sleep.

Hope you try this tea and get the best results as I do. You may want to skip the lemon if you suffer from gastritis.

Do you take ginger tea? How does it help you? Please share your thoughts in a comment.