Snot, Skittles and Pop Tarts

Fuel for Sickness, or Fuel for Health?

On sugar, snotty noses, and what we're really feeding our kids

Several years ago, I saw something at church that I still cringe to remember. A mother a few rows over was keeping her little one quiet with a bag of Skittles — feeding them to him one at a time. The baby had a runny nose, and I'd already caught myself wondering what he might be eating that left his little immune system so worn down. Then out came the candy.

I'll spare you the full picture — there was a moment I had to look away — but it left an impression I've never quite shaken.

Sugar, I've come to believe, is fuel for sickness.

Not long after, I got an emergency call from a friend in another state. Her voice was tight with panic: her son had pneumonia in one lung, and she was terrified it would spread to the other. She wanted to know which essential oils I'd suggest — and admitted she was hoping to avoid the ER, because she didn't have insurance.

My heart went out to her. (Friend, if you're reading this — please forgive me for telling it.) But when I asked what he'd been eating, the answer stopped me: "I just gave him a Pop-Tart." When I asked why, she said she'd bought a whole case of them so her husband could grab those instead of fast food. Oh my.

I took a deep breath. How could I gently help her see the thread I was seeing — between what was landing on her son's plate and what his little body was up against? There's a fine line between what I can and can't say, and it shifts with every person I talk to.

But here's the part I'd say plainly to her, and to you, because I love you both: pneumonia is not something to wait out at home. A child who's struggling to breathe needs to be seen — that day. I know the cost of care is a genuine, frightening burden for so many families, and I don't say this lightly. Real food, herbs, and oils are how I try to build a strong foundation over the long haul. They are not something I would ever lean on in place of care when something serious is happening. It's both/and — never either/or.

On a lighter note: I later told this story to a dear friend in California, who laughed and confessed she eats Pop-Tarts on road trips. She makes me laugh (and cry). At least it isn't every day, right?

And lest I sound too sure of myself — when I got home from Mexico, my sister told me the neighbors had kindly dropped off Pop-Tarts for my kids while I was away. Even my own children aren't immune! Though I did have to smile when they wrinkled their noses and told me the Pop-Tarts were "too sweet."

So when my kids do get sick, my first question isn't only "what's going around?" It's "what have you been eating?" I picture our cells like little houses in a neighborhood. Clean food, herbs, and oils are the good security that keeps the whole block strong — the kind of place a burglar takes one look at and decides to move along. And when the occasional break-in does happen, that's when we call in extra help. The goal is simply to keep our houses — our bodies — as strong and well-cared-for as we can.

A friend's take on how viruses work

A dear friend of mine, Ashley Stone, once wrote something on this that I've always appreciated, and I'll share the gist of it here in my own words.

The short version

Viruses can't reproduce on their own. They slip into a cell and borrow its machinery to make copies of themselves — which is hard on the cell in the process. The point that stuck with me most is that viruses tend to prey on cells that are already weakened. When our bodies are under constant stress and toxic load, our defenses wear thin, and those weak spots become the easy targets. Which is exactly why the everyday care we give our cells — how we feed and rest and tend to them — matters so much.

She also points to a handful of oils — frankincense, lemon, eucalyptus, oregano, thyme, and melaleuca among them — that researchers have studied in the lab for their antimicrobial properties.

Read more

You can find more of Ashley's writing at stoneoils.com.

One more thing I've never forgotten

Years ago I gave a presentation on tocopherols and tocotrienols at a nutraceutical conference. Afterward, the CEO of a large nutraceutical company made an offhand remark that stuck with me — that sugar is about the last thing you'd want to hand an illness, like pouring gas on a fire. The whole room nodded.

I'm not a doctor, and I won't pretend the science is ever that simple. But it lines up with what I keep seeing in my own little corner of the world: give the body real, clean fuel, and it so often does better. That's the heart of everything I share here.

Here's to health!

Steffanie

A note from my heart: I'm sharing my own experience and opinions here — not medical advice, and I'm not a physician. Good food and essential oils are part of how I care for my family day to day; they are not a substitute for medical care. If you or your child has something serious — pneumonia, trouble breathing, a high fever, anything that frightens you — please see a doctor or go to the ER. Statements here about essential oils haven't been evaluated by the FDA and aren't meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.