School daze

Natural Health, Sept, 2004 by Rachel Dowd

Kids get off the school bus each day carrying more germs than homework--and they immediately share those bugs with the rest of the household. This semester, get high marks in natural remedies with our back-to-school wellness kit, developed by California naturopaths Glen Finley, N.D., of Santa Cruz, and Moses Goldberg, N.D., of Napa and Santa Rosa.

what's in your brown bag?

Kids naturally gravitate toward vending machines at lunchtime. But a study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood links food coloring and preservatives to hyperactivity in children. So play it smart and add one of these wholesome snacks in with whole-grain sandwiches, veggie sticks and fresh fruit.

1. Individually wrapped Organic Valley's Family of Farms Stringles (69 cents each; organicvalley.coop) make an easy cheese snack more wholesome with organic, antibiotic- and hormone-free mozzarella.

2. Stretch Island Fruit Leather ($14 for 36; stretchislandfruit.com) is 100 percent dried fruit without added sugars, fat--or sticky hands. Flavors include Tangy Apricot, Mucho Mango and Berry Blackberry.

3. Organic wheat flour and real cheese make Annie's Homegrown Cheddar Bunnies ($2.49; annies.com) a savory baked snack. Other bunny varieties include BBQ Cheddar, Ranch and Whole Wheat.

4. Horizon Organic Smoothies ($3.99 for 4; horizonorgonic.com) combine the goodness of nonfat organic yogurt and fruit juice to provide a full day's supply of vitamin C. They're enriched with NutraFlora, a prebiotic that helps the body absorb calcium and promotes digestive health.

5. Our Family Farm's Brown Bear Vanilla Cookies Dipped in Chocolate ($2.79; ourfamilyfarm.com) will make your kids roar with delight. These chocolate-covered graham crackers have no hydrogenated oils, artificial colors or flavors, or preservatives.

PROBLEM                       REMEDY                  TRY ...

pink eye                chamomile tea bag       Celestial Seasonings
                        compress                Organic Chamomile Tea

attention deficient     essential fatty acids   lemon-flavored Carlson
hyperactivity disorder  in fish oil             Fish Oil

ear infection           ear oil made from       Herb Pharm Mullein
                        mullein, garlic         Garlic Compound
                        or calendula

nosebleed               homeopathic ferrum      Weleda Ferrum Phos 30C
                        phosphoricum

cold or canker sores    lemon balm              Wise Ways Herbals
                                                Lemon Balm Cream

asthma                  fish oil                lemon-flavored Carlson
                                                Fish Oil

warts                   homeopathic thuja       Borion Thuja
                                                Occadentalis

anxiety                 oatmeal for breakfast   McCann's Irish Oatmeal

stomach ache            castor oil rub (always  Home Health Castor Oil
                        clockwise)

lice                    lavender, horsetail     Palmer's Cocoa Butter
                        and geranium tea;
                        cocoa butter, massaged
                        into scalp

swollen glands          hot rosemary compress   steeping fresh
                                                rosemary in hot water

whooping cough          homeopathic Drosera,    Boerick & Tafel 30C
                        spongia or hepar sulph

bed-wetting             horsetail tea early in  Seelect Horsetail Tea;
                        the day; protein snack  turkey breast
                        before bed

allergies               nettle tea              Seelect Nettle Tea

ferver                  yarrow, peppermint      Traditional Medicinals
                        and elderberry          Organic Echinacea
                                                Elder tea

diarrhea                electrolytes;           R.W. Knudsen Recharge;
                        probiotics (6-10        Natrol BioBeads
                        billion microbes/dose)  Probiotic Acidophilus