A Parent’s Survival Guide to Sick Season w/ Phil Cowley

17:36You don't have any spies fighting for you. So when you have somebody who's been sick over and over again, probiotics is one of my very first go-to moves because those bacteria, they're really good at getting rid of viruses and they'll tell our cells how to do it.

17:49Just Ingredients:Okay, so will probiotics work during a cold though? I love it for that because they're learning while your cells are learning. So it makes your immune system even better the next time the virus comes around. I don't know if it'll shorten it during the one you have now, but it'll make sure that you're ready if its friends try to come back in two weeks. Okay, so when one of my kids comes home sick from school or even says like, oh, I was sitting next to so-and-so and she was hacking away or her runny nose was all over the place. I'm like, okay, everybody, you're stocking up on vitamin C, zinc, probiotics, things like that.

18:23Just Ingredients:Perfect. Do you think that? Because you're doing it, you're giving it to the one knowing that one's probably already going to catch some little bit of it. But you're starting everybody else out before they've seen it. And so even the one, and not only that, but the bacteria that you've just given to the one that brought it home, that bacteria's immune system is going to react a lot quicker because they're single cells than ours are anyway. So it's already battling the front line for you before it even gets in. So I think that they all help. I think it's a good way to go. And that idea of here it comes, let's get after it is the way to go.

18:59If every one of your kids is already sick, like they're all hacking on the couch, I'd still say do it. But I doubt it'll help with one that they're all puking and hacking. Like a little late once they're all have it.

19:11Just Ingredients:I usually feel like it's one kid that brings it home. Always. But then I feel like I can like nip it in the bud for others not to get it. Because you're getting ahead of the game. You're getting that vitamin C level higher in the blood. You're getting the zinc in and the bacteria is already ready to fight that front line. OK, so now I told you I wanted to ask you, though, about honey. Oh, I love honey. OK, tell me, you like honey better than a cough syrup? Oh, you know what? Every pediatrician I talk to, every doctor I talk to, every study on PubMed, when they put cough syrups outside of opiates, like coding, which I would never, ever recommend unless you've got pneumonia or you're close to hospital, like those are like...

19:47Just Ingredients:Life-threatening. Life-threatening things. Other than opiates, honey works better than every single cough syrup that's out there. With the caveat, if you're looking at the shelf and it says honey on a box, that doesn't mean honey. I mean real honey. Manuka honey. Real honey honey is what I'm talking about. Just because it says it's got honey in it doesn't mean that it's going to work. Depends on how much honey. meat. Okay. So are you saying like, just take some honey from your raw honey jar that you've gotten from a local farmer, putting a tablespoon of it or so in some water and doing that, or just even eating the honey?

20:22You can eat it, put it in a jar, just go that way. You can take a tablespoon and put it inside of a warm glass of water and put a little bit of lime in there and a little bit of baking soda in there and have them drink it down. Or you can warm up honey, put it inside a silicone mold and freeze them and then have them use them almost like cough drops on the back of their throat and that stuff is the very best i do love honey so i love that you are honey you're

20:46Just Ingredients:crunchy right now you're not even being scrunchy that's crunchy well you absolutely that one's but that's what i said i've got but then i turned around and said use tylenol see so i that's true okay well i'm curious go to your crunchy side okay are there other natural remedies that you like for colds and flus? Iodine. Is that going to be a crunchy thing? Yeah, I'll give that to you. Is that one there? Okay, so potassium iodine is called SSKI initially. And I had this doctor, Dr. Wood, came over and he had somebody who had a terrible cough that had a ton of mucus and phlegm. And he says, I need SSKI, which is potassium iodine.

21:17So I looked into it and it's an old, old, old recipe. What iodine does in a potassium iodine is it hits these cells called goblet cells. Goblet cells make your snot. If the goblet cells puts a lot of water in it, Your snot is really thin. It just protects you. It keeps the cilia moving everything through. It's fine. But when you get sick, the virus has inflamed those and it gets thick. So potassium iodine stimulates goblet cells to make the mucus thin and work the way it's supposed to work. So iodine mouthwashes, iodine nasal sprays that are potassium iodine are fantastic on reducing that mucus.

21:51And you use such a small amount. It's the same amount of iodine you get inside of a large french fry that's in Fadil's bottle. so it's not like you're messing with the thyroid. I always tell everybody, if you eat French fries, then you can use this. If your thyroid is so bad you can't touch anything with iodine, then don't go here. But I love the iodine. Plus iodine inside the mouth, it's this Japanese study that shows that it kills viruses within 45 seconds and that they had a study going on over the age of 70. Their survival rate with colds and flus were so good, they actually mandated everybody over the age of 70 to mouthwash.

22:26and now the dentists are the ones that did the nasal spray studies. They mouthwash whenever they have with iodine every time they have a cold or flu. Oh, interesting. It's just not mainstream here yet, but there are some huge studies going on. So you watch the next couple of years, iodine will become better than most of the stuff they use to get rid of congestion.

22:45Just Ingredients:That's interesting. Okay, I just learned something new. So you're ahead of your time. Yeah, that counts. Yep, exactly. Elderberry has its place. I was just going to ask you. Elderberry has its place. make sure you get your elderberry from a good source because it becomes toxic to the liver from a wrong source. Okay. From a good source. It's got great data. It's almost every ingredient out there. You need a good source. So the reason why there's all this, I hate the word misinformation. There's lots of information. It just, you have to be able to interpret the information. So information that's been interpreted differently is because if you get the wrong elderberry at the wrong amount, it hurts the liver.

23:18The right elderberry does help.

23:20Just Ingredients:You're going to freak every mom out though because everybody's using elderberry yeah they watch it now so if you see a brand and you can see where they make it and you see where it's at and you see that they've done the third-party testing you're fine okay if you go in and you're walking through a store and you pick up a brand that barely has markings on it you don't even know if there's elderberry in there so it's all about doing your research and any good company if you ask them to show you the documentation they they have a person that works amongst them that wants to send you so much documentation that they'll freak out.

23:50So one email to a company and they'll say, oh, let me show you how hard we work. Like, it's like your company.

23:56Just Ingredients:Well, I was going to say any supplement out there could be that way. The ingredient maybe isn't even in the bottle, in the pill. Which is why your guys is great because I know you have so much documentation. You would love for people to say, prove it. You're like, oh, please. I've been waiting for this question. Let me show you how much I can prove it. Yeah. Well, thank you for the little plug there. Well, it really is true, though because you guys like really dig into it so we do we do okay i'm curious though i want to talk some medications that adults use since i've got adult kids yeah i got you what about day quill and night quill i hate day quill okay it's a waste of time night quill i'll take night quill if i haven't slept in two days the same way i use dramamine it's a rescue type thing it's like i haven't slept i need to get to sleep tonight i've got to get some rest i've been up all night because If you don't rest, you don't get better.

24:42That is true.

24:43Just Ingredients:So why do you hate DayQuil, though? So DayQuil's got phenylephrine, which is the PE that we already said that doesn't work in it, right? Yep. It's got guifenesin in it, which I already said drink lots of water and it works better. And it's got Tylenol in it. And if you have a really high fever, I'm going to tell you, look at ibuprofen, look at Tylenol if you have a high fever. I'm not going to use DayQuil for it. Yeah. So it's mostly just orange syrup that tastes good. And, you know, there's better ways to get orange syrup that tastes good. That's hilarious. But NyQuil, I use like Dramamine in which there are sometimes you're like, okay, I have to choose between taking antihistamines that if I took a long time, may mess with my brain, but two days is going to do nothing.

25:19But I've got to get some sleep. I've got to get dried up. I've got to get back into a rhythm. I'll use it the same way I do Dramamine, which is it's a two, three dayer. It's not 14 days in a row kind of a thing. One of my bottles is literally from like 2006 that we have and we still haven't gone through it, but we still use it occasionally.

25:37Just Ingredients:So interesting. So we have it, but it's just not a go-to every night. Okay. So if DayQuil is doing nothing, I'm curious what other medicines are sitting in people's medicine cabinets that are doing nothing. Others? You know, we've already talked about most of the Tussin products that are out there. Okay. That's all quite fancy. And mainly with the PE. Yeah. And the thing is, is if you look on the back of them, we've actually gone through almost everything. So you look at that whole cupboard and you think that there's going to be like 7 ,000 different ingredients. but there's really only about 10 total in all of those cold and flu things.

26:11And so, you know, there's one that's called chlorphamiramine, and it's similar to the stuff that's in Dimetap. And they're both, for me, rescue one or two day type, like you have to get to work and you've got to dry up that nose. You need something right now. That low, small amount of antihistamine for a day or two isn't going to give you Alzheimer's or dementia. It's just going to get you through the day. You'll be all right for a day or two.

26:33Just Ingredients:Okay, so I'm curious what Phil does. scrunchie Phil does when he has a cold? Because I know what I do. So I'm curious what you do. So honey. Okay. And then I use nasal iodine four times a day. Okay. If I still can't breathe and I have to function for it throughout the day, I actually take Allegra D, which has got pseudephedrine that you have to get from behind the counter. Okay. And Allegra doesn't cross the blood brain barrier. So I get the drying of the nose. Okay. I don't get it into my brain. I open up the breathing pathways and I can work my whole shift. Okay. And I get the 12 hour. Then at night, I usually personally only take one Benadryl.

27:10I usually don't do the NyQuil thing because NyQuil has Benadryl plus a bunch of stuff that you don't need, which is like Tylenol and Gwyfenacin and Dexamethorphine. I usually take a Benadryl at night, but I only do that when it's really bad because the problem you have with Benadryl is it compacts that snot. So the next morning when you rehydrate, you almost have double the amount. So if I can stay with a lighter antihistamine at night, that'll still work for me, like chlorpheniramine or bromphamarinine, which are a little harder to find, but that's, you can get them. That's what I'll use at night.

27:40Just because if you can't breathe at night, if you can't sleep at night and you're not sleeping, you're choosing between two bad things. And for me, not sleeping is way worse for my immune system.

27:48Just Ingredients:How about just having a few more pillows underneath you and a humidifier really close next to you? Well, and I also, I also flush my nose out with I was going to say I do all those things too. Yeah, I do flush my nose out before too. But then there's all those nights. Yeah. Well, Benadryl though has some other bad rap. It does. Especially those that use Benadryl like on a daily basis. That's not a great idea. It's contributing to Alzheimer's they're saying. That's right. Doses is that's why I said two or three days is one thing. Every single night is completely different. And UTIs, prostatitis like it's got a whole ton of stuff.

28:22Just Ingredients:Okay. But that's the reason why a day or two everything I talk about, you have to ask how long duration. Two days? Two years? Those are two different animals. It's not going to give you Alzheimer's. Yeah, so if you're really you've flushed out your nose, you put up your pillows, you've done all those things and you're still laying in bed and you're coughing your head off and you can't, you can feel this not running down the back of your throat. Do it for two days. Don't do it for two months. Ever. Let's take a quick break to hear from our show sponsor. I don't have babies at home anymore, but I still get asked all the time about baby formulas.

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30:13Just Ingredients:JUSTINGREDIENTS20. Now back to the show. Well, I'm curious. I've never asked you this question before. What does a pharmacist, a U.S. pharmacist, think about homeopathics? I got so much hate on that for some reason. Recently, I got blown up by it. People don't like that because of the data on it. They just don't like it because the data doesn't look good. So I actually got Boron. Yeah. They flew me over and showed me their place there in Lyon, France. Okay. And there are certain products in homeopathy that has data from patients. Patients, you ask patients, do you do better? Which is, to me, the most important question you can ask.

30:56Just Ingredients:Yeah. It's, I don't want the double blind, like, all that stuff's fine. I want to ask, you take this, how do you feel, right? Okay. They love it so much that there has to be something there that works. But the testing that they did didn't find it. So most people, most pharmacists say it doesn't work because the tests show they didn't work. Well, that's like saying for years we thought the world was flat until we didn't. Right. We're going to go down conspiracy theories now. Well, and so, you know, but now we know it's round. So what the question has to be is, is it to me, I don't think they've done the right type of testing to prove the way that homeopathy works.

31:36And so if you were going off of the data they have, most pharmacists don't really like it, say it doesn't do anything because of the testing they did. I think they just haven't done the right testing to prove it. The tests were just not established properly. I've read a lot of them. I'm like, well, you're missing some key components here, which is patient satisfaction, duration of symptoms. You're going to ask them, do they feel better? Instead, you're looking for more clinical things. And for me, that's not. You're still missing a huge part of the pie.

32:01Just Ingredients:Okay. I was just curious. I like some of their products. Like, I really do. I like some of their products I really like. And there's a few of them that I don't know because it's not been something for me. There's just, you know, it's easier for me to say, just take Manuka honey. So their cough stuff I've never really got into. We can like just do honey. So I don't know. Well, in Europe, that's everybody's like first go to is homeopathics. So I answer it like this to a lot of people. I like homeopathics, but I also like supplements and I also like rest and I also like honey and I also like humidifiers and I also like pots.

32:32Just Ingredients:Yeah, so I say they're all a tool in the toolbox to help you get better, but none of them's like the magic cure. Oh, there's no cure. Yeah. Everything's about symptoms and relief and how you feel. And supporting the body to do its own healing. And they're all tools to help your body do that. 100%. I agree. And if you like it, do it. Who cares what somebody else tells you? If you think it works, then who are they to say? Maybe your body's different. I want to know if these are myths to you, old wise tales, or if they're facts. Okay, we're going. Okay, here we go. Does chicken soup, chicken noodle soup actually help or is it just comfort food?

33:08Systemically, you could figure out ways where you're increasing electrolytes that would prove that it would thin out mucus so it actually helps. However, quite often I find that rest and attention, like they actually have lots of studies where when people come over and cuddle you and tell you things are going to be good and make you a soup and show attention to you, that you improve better. I believe in chicken noodle soup, but I think it may be because I believe in when we care about each other, there are plenty of studies showing that you get better faster the more that people care for you.

33:39Just Ingredients:How about that chicken noodle soup has bone broth in it, and bone broth has amazing amino acids in it that are really good for the immune system and the gut? Absolutely. And it has chicken in it too, which also has protein, and they're eating. Well, and it could have vegetables full of vegetables. So there's all sorts of it. There's vitamin A, vitamin C. So I believe in all of it. I don't think it's a wife's tell, but I think that it doesn't have to be chicken noodle soup either. I think there's other things you could give that would do similar type things too. Fact or myth, how about Vicks Vaporub on the bottom of people's feet?

34:09That's fact. Really? We have these cold trigger sensors. It's a TRPP1 receptor. Okay.

34:17Just Ingredients:Okay. And that receptor that we have is it links into the brain the exact same places where you cough. So when you have that cold brush from the menthol from that, it actually hits the same receptor that says quit coughing. So it's actually a real thing that really does work. It's the reason why you put menthol inside of cough drops. But you can put it on bottom of the feet and you still trigger that same receptor. Interesting. Okay, I know a lot of people will put it under their nose or on their chest. Same thing. But with kids, you put it on their nose or their chest with a kid and they're like screaming at you, right?

34:49Because they don't like it because they say it feels like it's burning. You throw it on the bottom of their feet and you get away with it more with like a four-year-old or a five-year-old.

34:57Just Ingredients:Okay. I always thought it was an old wives' tale. So are there other old wives' tales out there that are actually good? So eucalyptus. Okay. Eucalyptus does the similar thing as that. Lavender in your bath. Okay. Lavender in your bath will actually help reduce this stuff called NK-kappa B, which is the major trigger for inflammation. And so even though it's just a slight slowing of that major trigger, it is a trigger that does help quite a bit. Magnesium and your Epsom salt baths that everybody uses because there's, you know, most bath salts are mostly Epsom salt. They actually help quite a bit because magnesium helps reduce the stricture or the crunching of the smooth muscles, especially around the lungs.

35:37And so magnesium helps reduce some of that smooth muscle so they get that little bit deeper breath. So there's quite a few of them that have science. If you said, is that as good as running into the ER and getting dexamethasone, my answer would be no. But that's not the question people are asking. It said they're asking, what can I do at home that's more natural? Right. And there are answers that are really there.

35:55Just Ingredients:Okay. So I've been seeing online people doing magnesium Epsom salts with bentonite clay. Do you believe that or no? I like them both for different things. So I'd have to see the post you're talking about. Okay. The problem I have with bentonite clay personally is that as soon as I'm done using bentonite clay, I'm slathering myself up because it dries me out so fast. It does. So like I personally have this automatic, I don't like it because my tactile like feeling. But the idea of drawing out toxins from the top layer from bentonite clay, most of the viruses are pretty in deep. Maybe it's because they're still on your hands.

36:31I mean, there's some maybes there.

36:33Just Ingredients:Some maybes. I wouldn't. If somebody says I'm doing it, I'd say good for you. Okay. I actually talk a lot, though, about the immune system and supporting the immune system. so let's back up before someone even gets a cold and a flu do you have favorite things to help the immune system so we talked about probiotics i believe in the leaky gut i saw this huge article the other day that so there used to be some crazy number of different species of apples like 18 000 oh wow and that and then there was a gentleman that went out there and and started looking at it and they had whittled it down to like 12 interesting he is his whole life was trying to collect as many as he has and he's up to like 1300 of 18 ,000 different apples all right so when we start looking at what we really did to food even before we started putting roundup on everything before we started doing all the rest of what we really did with food I think that we have ruined our guts we had this very a hundred years ago we had this very complex diet where you were eating apples that we wouldn't touch now because they were too sour or too crunchy or whatever it was But inside there, the bacteria really loved it.

37:39We're now adding in chicory root and different prebiotics into sodas because we know we took everything out of the food. The vitamin B1 that we take, that's made in a lab by a man, and it's put inside of a bottle, and then we throw it inside of our flour and say, okay, there's your B1. We know that when you get it from natural sources, it has all these phytoestrogens and phytochemicals that are just hooked onto that B1 that our bodies were used to. I believe we ruined our gut lining. I think that the first thing to get better is a very complex system of microbiome inside of our stomachs. I think we need to almost 10 times the different species that we have inside of our stomachs.

38:20And then when you consider every antibiotic you take, it's three months before you get back to where you're at.

38:26Just Ingredients:Oh, wow. My probiotic is my go-to move. My family all uses nasal iodine on the daily during the cold flu season. Oh, interesting. And so I always ask, Allie's my assistant, she's my business partner and I ask her all the time, how many times have you seen me sick since you work with me? And she says once. Oh, she goes, but you got stomach, you got food poisoning once too. I'm like, well, that one doesn't count. Yeah, exactly. Poor choices in Mexico don't count. I've only been sick once and so I do believe a lot in the nasal iodine just because I believe that the way we get sick is through our nose.

38:55So if I'm spraying that twice a day in there and even just for that moment, I've knocked out 50 % of the viral shedding that's going on in there. That's huge.

39:03Just Ingredients:Yeah, that's interesting. And then a good balance between having enough vitamin C, zinc, vitamin D is underspoken so much. Every one of us needs more vitamin D and that's a huge player. And then I also believe the omega fatty acids play more than what we think because that feeds so much of all of our system when it comes to inflammatory cascades. The inflammation is contributing to an immune system that is struggling maybe? I think most of us have silent inflammation processes all the time. And I think that we've done it to ourselves. And I think that silent inflammation that's underlying, that's running at a one or two, it's part of the reason why we all are unhealthy is just, we're always slightly inflamed because we've done, and I can go on for way too long with that, but silent inflammation is something I would tell everybody to look into and to get rid of that really low level inflammation that just stays with us forever.

39:50Just Ingredients:Well, that low level inflammation is from maybe a lot of our food choices and our stress. 100%. And not enough sleep. The toxicity in every product that we put on, BPAs, phthalates, you don't think each one of those things isn't making us just a little bit irritated? Yeah. And so all of those things are around us. And so I think that we deal with silent inflammation in a way that 60 years ago that didn't exist. And so I think that the more that you can shelter yourself in realistic manners, they always say live in a bubble, but you and I both know there'd be microplastics inside the bubble. Even that doesn't work.

40:23That's funny. You can't even live in a bubble without getting BPAs and phthalates.

40:27Just Ingredients:This was last winter. I did a poll on my Instagram of how many times people take their kids to the doctor. And my 12-year-old has never, well, most of my kids have never been to the doctor for being sick. My 12-year-old has never been to the doctor for being sick. And people could not believe that. And people, some of them, they were 9 to 11 times per winter. There was a big range of people that were clicking on that. 9 to 11 times per winter for sick kids. Yeah. To me, I'm like, that's a sign of diet, sleep, stress, and movement. So I have a friend that's a pediatrician. And the funny thing is he says, I will see 40 kids today.

41:03And two of them I needed to see. So you want to say to them, stay home.

41:08Just Ingredients:Oh, interesting. But as a pediatrician, you're like, but those two, what if I missed them? Oh, true. And so that's such a hard thing. Because what I want to say is that colds and flus, you talk about the norovirus, which everybody's puking and stuff. As long as they stay hydrated, it's one to three days and it's passed. A cold above the head, lots of snot, three to seven days. Yep. The flu, 14 days. Ugh. That's what it lasts. And so if you're not seeing a really lethargic kid, like, and that's the one I watch the closest. Right. When that kid just won't get up. If they're up whining and complaining and saying they feel sick and they're awful.

41:46Crying and... I love it. I mean, they have plenty of energy their way to go. that I think that there are probably too many visits to the doctor, but I don't want to discourage somebody who thinks something is serious too. So it's a matter of getting yourself a brand new mom, first baby, goes to the doctor a lot more than number four or five.

42:05Just Ingredients:Yeah, or number six. Maybe that's why she's never been. Because you've learned along the way. That is true. So I would never blame a mom that's wondering to go, but I will say each time you go, you'll learn. Because every time you've sat in a doctor's office for four hours, and you've seen all the really nasty stuff around you, like, oh, crap, we're all getting sick right now. Yeah. And then the doctor says, just go home, you're fine. You're like, okay, so the doctor said it was fine because it was runny nose, low-grade fever. They were still drinking. I was having wet diapers. I'm not coming back and sitting through that again if those are the symptoms I have.

42:36So it's funny how you can learn from those visits.

42:38Just Ingredients:You answered that really well because I don't want to shame parents for going, but if you're going 9 or 11 times per winter, maybe we need to educate ourselves? Yeah, learn from your experience. Learn from your experience. Change some things in the home. If you change the diaper three times in the doctor's office waiting to see the doctor, that baby's hydrated. Yeah, that's true. And you ran out of diapers. The doctor doesn't have any. You missed your appointment. Now you're like, well, I'm not going back for four hours. And so it's kind of funny because I think we all, from retrospect, we've learned these lessons.

43:10But we have to remember how we learned them. I think there's so many parents now that don't have grandparents or like it's the generational education has been lost in so many places that I give some grace to individuals, I think is what it is.

43:25Just Ingredients:Yeah, I love that. And you answered it well. And I do want to say, like, if your child is lethargic, take them. If that motherly instinct is like something's off, take them for sure. Say that twice. I'm not saying that, but I'm saying like. No, for real, say the motherly instinct thing. I believe in that more than anything else. Oh, can I tell you something really quick? My 24-year-old son was in the hospital two weeks ago, and the doctor wanted to do something that my motherly instinct said absolutely no way. She and I had a very strong conversation for 30 minutes, but my motherly, like, hen instinct of, like, no one's going to hurt my chickens came out, and that motherly instinct was so strong.

44:05I have a friend and she brought her kid into the doctor because he was having a toothache and having a little bit of sinus issues. And she said, there is something wrong with this kid. Now, they're like feral children. Brian and Alicia, I can actually say their names. Their kids are truly feral and I love them to death. But she's like, there's something wrong here. So she came in, the doctor said, everything's fine, just don't worry about it. And so she came down to me because I've known her for years. And I said, well, Alicia, what is your gut saying? She goes, there's something really wrong.

44:34I said, then go back upstairs, tell them there's something really wrong and you want something done. Well, the kid had had a huge abscess that was now bulging into the sinus. Oh, wow. And approaching up to the eye. And so they immediately pulled the tooth, drained the abscess, put him on the antibiotic because this is like full of fuss that's nastiness. If she would have listened to the doctor instead of the motherly instinct, it could have been substantially worse. I believe in the motherly instinct 100 % of the time.

45:02Just Ingredients:Yeah, moms listen to it. granted I have six kids there's sometimes I don't know I'm confused I have taken the kid to the doctor like doctor's gonna do the exam I can't do but this one oh my gosh this last month oh that instinct kicked in and I was like no way yeah I don't argue with it at all if there if if a mom comes in saying I believe this I'm not arguing with her like well I love I'm 100 % in I love that now there's times where I will like say okay follow your gut but but go see a doctor and get But here are seven other things I need you to go research so then whatever your gut is telling you you're actually educated on, don't just go with I'm struggling.

45:38Because sometimes there's a difference between motherly instinct and stubbornness.

45:42Just Ingredients:That is true. And you need to be educated because I felt like I was educated on the topic that we were discussing. And that's how most of them are. And usually when you tell, if you say to somebody who's having that instinct, say, okay, now make sure this is instinct, not stubbornness, and you go finish your research, they won't be offended by that. They're like, oh, yeah, I'm going to go dig into it right now. Exactly. Okay, we just talked colds and flus, which we see mostly in the wintertime. We're moving into spring soon. And at least at my house, I've got kids that deal with allergies. So I'd love to know what your tips are versus things that I do.

46:15So I like to start, like, I've got a whole decision tree that I start with.

46:19Just Ingredients:Okay. And so at the top is the most crunchy. Okay. And at the bottom, we go straight into pharmacy because everybody's allergies, they can vary so much. Right. So I always start out with flushing. So we're supposed to have about three liters of two to three liters of snot go down the back of our throat on a daily basis. Oh, gross. Really thin. It's supposed to be super thin. So it's just constantly dripping. Because what we're doing is we're taking, if you think about it, it's like this constant flush of getting rid of all of those allergens. Everything's moving through really nice. I knew it was dripping, but two or three liters seems like a lot.

46:49It's a lot. And so people who've had chronic sinus problems or chronic allergy problems, they don't drain that much. It's a substantial less. It's like maybe half a liter. And so those individuals need to be flushing three times a day with saline. It needs to be part of the routine. Every time you brush your teeth, plus you're flushing out those sinuses on both sides. You have to be doing that or else you're letting that allergen sit there even longer. Number one. Number two, there are ways to reduce histamine from foods and things like that that we eat. There's the DLA that everybody always talks about.

47:22There's ways to stop histamine from things that are inside. Well, that mucus that has all that allergen is going down the back of your throat and it's going into your belly. Yeah. So that allergen is still releasing histamine from inside your stomach. The DOA, that one stops histamine from being released by the stomach. It stays in the stomach. We're not absorbing anything. You've stopped the histamine release from it. So it's a good way to stop those histamine reaction to begin with.

47:48Just Ingredients:Okay. I go back to honey. I actually do like honey. Honey makes a nice barrier. It reduces inflammation processes along the throat. They make honey nasal sprays. They make honey for the back of the throat. I love honey. Okay. And so we'll go into the honey next for sure. And then there are some homeopathic things that I've had people have extreme success with. Goron's got a couple of products. Sodas, what's the other one? Hyland's got a couple of products. There's a few different brands out there that have some. I always say go with it. I mean, it's so low dose. You've got nothing to lose, but the$7 or$6 that you're putting into it.

48:22Right. Bee pollen is really tricky because to really have bee pollen work, you have to get bee pollen from where you live. Okay. Good to know. If you're buying bee pollen that's coming from New Zealand, that's great if you're in New Zealand. But the cheatgrass and the sagebrush we have here is not going to be inside of the pollen that they have over in the other places.

48:41Just Ingredients:I do love my bee pollen, though, on an acai bowl, a smoothie. Well, I like it anyway. There's other reasons to take it. True. We're talking allergies, right? Okay. Yep. Allergies. You and I should talk way too long if we dug into Everdee. I know. But for allergies, bee pollen, the only time we've had good results is when bee pollen's collected locally. So if you've got a beekeeper or if you've got something that's made in Utah and you live in Utah or Idaho and you're in Idaho or in California and you're in California, it works. But pollen from Peru, probably not going to do a lot for you. But I have no problem if you throw it in there.

49:12Okay. What harm can it do for you?

49:14Just Ingredients:It's going to give you some other nutrients. Right. It's going to do some good things. And then now I'm going to start moving in to where you probably won't like quite as much. I'm going to move over to the pharmacy counter. The next thing I usually do is that I go into nasal steroids. The reason why is because inside of a bottle of Nasacort, which has got triumcinolone, that whole dose is equivalent of taking maybe a quarter of a pill of a steroid. But you get to reduce inflammation processes in those nose. Systemically doesn't do much to you at all. Like it's not absorbed hardly at all. Helps reduce a lot of that inflammation process that's going on there.

49:46It's got great data on reducing polyps.

49:49Just Ingredients:Okay. So I would move into the nasal sprays next. Then I would move, and I'm missing steps, but there's more in there. Then I'd move into pills, and I would start with the non-cetating first, which the fexafenadine does not cross the blood-brain barriers. That's the one I say first. Like Allegra. Allegra. If you have mold allergies, though, you have to use Zyrtec or Zyzol because they're the only ones that stabilize mast cells. And there are supplements that stabilize all this stuff too. So spirulina, if you want to do that before this. Spirulina is fantastic. The pineapple. Oh, bromelain. Bromelain.

50:21Fantastic way to go instead of these pills. So if you want to do those, they would fit into that same area after the nasal sprays. Like I would put those in there. I'm missing some others, so you'll have to help me fill in the blanks. Oh, for like? The natural ones. Oh, quercetin. Oh, I like quercetin. Do you like that or no? I do. I think it's got its place about the same area. Yeah, I know.

50:41Just Ingredients:They all sort of spirulina, bromelain, quercetin, all of them sort of. And they work, but it just depends on what's causing it. If I have somebody who has indoor allergies, quercetin's great. Ex-door, outside, I don't know how well it works for pollen. And it's hard because it depends on how bad the allergies are also. Yeah, because it doesn't actually work on the histamine release nearly as much. But mullein leaf does help quite a bit with people that always have that scratchy throat. Okay. But spirulina's really cool because it's got a study that shows it's as good as flonase on reducing allergic rhinocytes.

51:12So I like spirulina because of the way it works that way too. So maybe I put Spiralina, then the nasal sprays. Then I'd go into like the Bromelain Quarginitin, and then I would go into Fexpedalegra. And then, but if you have hives, you have to use Zyrtec and Zyzol because they're the only ones that stabilize mast cells really well. And then after that, there are people that have to start getting into the serious ones where we're now actually talking about the things that everybody hates, which is Benadryl. But there are people whose allergies are so bad that they have no choice, but they have to start moving into those.

51:46Just Ingredients:Okay. So do you think there's things that people can do to help prevent their allergies before spring comes? Oh, yeah. So absolutely start flushing. But I would start spirulina and quercetin like early on. If you know they're coming, I would get ahead of it. Allergies are a cascade. If I go to the top of Temp right now and hit all those little creeks with like 10 rocks, it's easy to stop. By the time I hit the Provo River, it's harder. For me to take out Utah Lake all completely is impossible. So you want to get clear up top, start early, get things like spirulina and bromelain and quercetin going on early, as well as the honey products that help to make sure you don't start the cascade off to begin with.

52:25Just Ingredients:Okay. Love all the tips. Quercetin for sure. I know from my own kids that if they don't start it early enough into the season, it doesn't help. So they've got to do it early. Yeah, you've got to catch it way early because it doesn't work on this histamine. It works on the actual NF-kappa B. So it's a different, it's a whole different animal. Well, I love that. Okay. Thank you so much for all of these tips. I know parents have learned a lot about these different medicines, supplements, all sorts of things. So thank you for taking the time to be here because I know you are super busy. Is there anything you want to just tell the moms that are listening that have sick kids or wonder what to do when they have sick kids?

53:01Just Ingredients:Anything that we missed? They don't take care of themselves. And when you start not taking care of yourself, like eat your food. So many moms are so worried about taking care of their kids that they just don't feed themselves. That is true. And they're so worried about making sure that the house looks clean or the laundry is done, that they don't sleep. If you don't take care of yourself once you're sick, everything goes crazy. So the one thing I watch with most moms is they're so busy taking care of everybody else that they miss. Literally, take the 10 minutes to eat your lunch. Yeah. It's hard to do.

53:31Just Ingredients:I know. I've had toddlers. I know how it goes. I understand it. But eating off of your toddler's plate does not count the same as even your own food. Mom lunch, as much as you want to call it what you do, it's not a real thing. You've got to start. Yeah. You need to take the three to five minutes to take care of yourself or your family will suffer more. I love that. Make your health a priority. Yeah. It doesn't take long. I love that. Well, tell everybody where they can find you because, listeners, if you're not following Phil's My Pharmacist, I don't know what rock you live under. Well, actually, the funnest thing is I just finished a book.

54:03So Macmillan reached out to me and Page Street and I will have a book that'll be out this fall. Oh, my God. It has all of the recipes and the little tips and hints and education. And it's the first scrunchie cookbook for health that's been out there.

54:19Just Ingredients:Phil, that's awesome. I did not know that. Congratulations. So that's coming out this fall. Just keep an eye out. But Phil's my pharmacist on all the major platforms. Okay. And if you are following me, share me with somebody who isn't because that's where we get to share the most. if you have ideas we want to talk about what I like the most those DMs saying hey will you tell us about this that or the other my favorite part is actually helping real people so Phil's my pharmacist on every platform you'll be able to find me and watch for the book this fall that is awesome about the book I can't wait till that comes out we'll have to have you back on in the fall and you can tell more about the book and your favorite parts and things like that yeah I would love it especially since I was so scared about writing it because like my English teacher right now is having like complete fits that out of everybody in his class that I was the one that I'm glad you're the one writing the book.

55:02Just Ingredients:Did you not like English? I was terrible. I actually chose to go into pharmacy because I like science and I couldn't do English. I'm sort of with you there. I went in the math route. I couldn't do it. So I'm like, I got into school. They're like, what are you going to be? I'm like, not English. I didn't know what it was. Now you've written a book. Well, good for you. Your weaknesses can become your strengths. Well, that's not a real book. It's a cookbook. So it's a little bit easier. You know what I'm saying? It's still a book. It's still a book. It's a little easier. Okay. Okay, well, I always end my podcast now with asking five fire rapid questions.

55:31Just Ingredients:Okay. So first one, what emerging health topic are you most excited about right now? I am excited about us taking care of the short chain fatty acids with fiber inside of our gut. I think that that could be a complete game changer. And the idea that the gut brain, the gut skin, the gut lung accesses went from being voodoo to mainstream. I am so excited about the idea of really taking care of the gut. I love that you said that. I think fiber is going to be the new trendy product because people are finally starting to learn what it really does. I think fiber is, you know, everybody talks about trends and I think fiber is one of the life changing products.

56:07It's going to be the way that creatine actually changes things. So instead of being a trend, I think it's a lifestyle changer.

56:13Just Ingredients:Interesting. That's pretty profound. Okay, number two, what's a piece of advice you'd give your younger self? I thought about this one for a long time and I would say enjoy your failures and be humble enough to learn from them. I love that no one has ever said that and I've never thought of it that way yeah it's it's hard enjoy your failures I've I always thought of failures and it let me spiral into dark places and the older I get I realized I learned so much more than everybody else who didn't ever fail Phil I think that's one of the best things I've heard on my podcast I am going to go think about that we all have failures and so many times I get mad about them or stressed about them or frustrated I'm just going to go enjoy them and learn from them.

56:55Yeah, you're like, good. I failed again.

56:56Just Ingredients:Oh my gosh, I love that. Okay, number three. What's the one health practice you'll never compromise on no matter how busy life gets? Exercise. Love it. Exercise period. So I run three days a week. I do 10 miles three days a week. I lift the other three days a week. Good for you. I'm not stopping that because I want to be here. I want to be able to carry my grandkids around. It's when you stop and it doesn't have to be a lot. I'll never stop exercising. I love that. But, you know, the other day I was lifting a personal suitcase, you know, the little travel size ones up in the overhead bin. And this is your like a guy's suitcase and a girl's suitcase aren't the same.

57:31So any man. Mine was heavy. Mine was heavy. I pick up like my wife's. I'm like, what in the world do you have? Yeah, it's heavy. Like mine's nothing. I'm like throwing around hers is like 75 pounds. Like, how did you get that? Yeah, it's heavy.

57:41Just Ingredients:But I was lifting it up and I literally thought to myself, I never can stop lifting weights or exercising because I want to travel when I'm old and this sucker is heavy. So perfect. Exactly. Okay, what's your favorite Just Ingredients product and why? I actually really like your Adrenal Complex because it works. I've had zero people say that it doesn't work. It's unique, and you get results really quickly from it. So people say, wow, that's something different. So for me, I see so many supplements. I have so many on my websites. I talk about a ton of different ones. I love it when I find something that is unique that works.

58:15And so I like your Adrenal Complex.

58:16Just Ingredients:Okay, since we have so many moms listening, we should maybe tell them what the adrenal complex helps them with. People always say I live in fight or flight. Almost all moms do. And so when you live in fight or flight, your face gets puffy, your midsection gets puffy, you feel like you fatigue out, you crash out, all those kind of things. That's all signs of higher levels of cortisol, which is fight or flight. And that's normal because of the type of life that we live now. Like it's a very normal thing. The adrenal complex, I really love it because that helps get rid of that cortisol. So the puffy face starts to go away before like everything else.

58:49And then they realize, wait a minute, I'm actually sleeping better. And then they realize, wait a minute, I was eating fine. I was just cortisol heavy. That's the reason why I was getting it. It's a really cool product because it's unique and because it works. Most supplements, I can find 50 that are just like the same one. It's cool when you find one that you can't find copycats of.

59:07Just Ingredients:Well, thank you. I appreciate that. I live by mine. I want it every day. I don't function as well without it. Last question. what's the best ingredient you've found to life? Okay, so I got ready for this one, just so you know. Because you've been on this podcast before, so I'm wondering if it's the same or something different. Teddy Roosevelt said, it is not the critic that counts or the man that points for the strong man felled, where the doer of deeds could have done better, but it is the man in the arena, the one with dust and mud and blood on his face, the one that strived and felled again and again.

59:39There is no success without error. there is no success without failure. It is the man who actually does the deed, who knows what it means to endure, that has the enthusiasm, who at best, if he succeeds for something greater than himself, knows what the triumph of success feels like. But at worst, if he fails, he fell daring greatly. Failing, daring greatly is the key to success in life. You should fail, daring greatly all of the time.

1:00:13Just Ingredients:I love that. That goes back to what we were just talking about. Yeah. Fail, daring greatly, the ingredient that I was missing from my life for probably 30 years. And I think a lot of people out there are. Or people are even too afraid to fail. Because the critics have won. Instead, we need to be in the arena. They don't count. They don't count. I love that, Phil. Thank you. You have taught me so much today. Thank you so much for being here. No, thank you for having me. This is one of my favorites. So it's always fun when you're here. You can call anytime you like. And I love that I now know your scrunchie feel.

1:00:45Yeah.

1:00:46Just Ingredients:And then we mesh better because my natural can sort of fit with your... I want to be in the middle. I want both sides to come together. I can be that person. That'd be great. That's awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being here and being part of this community. Don't forget to subscribe to the Just Ingredients podcast. We've got so much more to share with you. And if you're not already, come join us daily on all social media platforms at just.ingredients. Until next time, keep choosing what nourishes you.