369: Pediatric Autonomy & Essential Oils w/ Dr.Joel Gator
Making medical decisions for your child is never easy. I don't know a single parent who isn't constantly second-guessing every choice ––medicine, supplements, food, natural tools –– it's a constant tug-o-war of the mind. Today on our show, Board-Certified Pediatrician, Dr. Joel Warsh, teaches us practical tools and pointed questions we can ask when we are inside the doctor's office, and why essential oils are one of his favorite tools to use on his own son.
Joel Warsh aka Dr.Joel Gator of the popular parenting Instagram is a Board-Certified Pediatrician in Los Angeles, California who specializes in Parenting, Wellness and Integrative Medicine and is the founder of Raising Amazing. HIs famous Instagram Page @drjoelgator rocks.
Hi! I’m Sarah!
You deserve to live a healthy, happy life my friend. I’m here to help you find tools and information that help. I’m cheering you on. xo
👇👇 Hit play to listen now 👇👇
Listen Everywhere
Listen for free right here, or on your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcast • Stitcher • Spotify • Google Play • iHeart or TuneIN
Dive deeper:
Learn more Raising Amazing and Dr. Warsh/Dr. Gator HERE. Use Code RA20 for 20% discount on Multiple courses- including Natural parents navigating the not so natural medical system course.
Check out his Instagram Page HERE.
What does 6+ years of experience, thousands of hours of research, and an obsession with essential oils result in? THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ESSENTIAL OILS, that’s what. Originally just for my Insiders, this guide literally has it all. And now you, yes you, can get this amazing resource for just $79. Click the link to stop worrying and start learning.
Got a recipe you want to share? Submit it to our DIY Dugout HERE
Belly Blues
From: Janet Dean | Wrightwood, CA
Ingredients:
3 drops Copiaba
1 drop Peppermint
Tiny bit of carrier oil of choice
Direction:
combine ingredients and put on your belly button when you’re stomach is keeping you up at night!
Listen to all of The Essential Oil Revolution Podcast completely free on Apple Podcast • Stitcher • Spotify • Google Play • iHeart • TuneIN or Here on this website
Episode Transcript
This transcription is provided through Podscribe, an AI Technology, and is not 100% accurate.
You can help us improve this transcript! Contact team@revolutionoilspodcast.com and let us know you want to help. It’s very simple to do and we’d love to give you a shout-out for your help. Thank you!
0 (2s): Alone we are strong. Together we are stronger Anonymous
1 (8s): Empowerment in education. Two powerful elements that will help you break free of convention and transform your passion for wellness tool level beyond the status quo, the essential oil revolution where you're given the tools to supersede an ordinary, everyday lifestyle, inspiring speakers, DIY recipes, healthy living tips, and more. You'll discover it all here. So tune in and get ready for a wellness revolution.
0 (39s): Hello and welcome to the Essential Oil Revolution. I'm your host Samantha Lee Wright. Thanks for tuning in. Today on our show, we talk to the Instagram famous board certified pediatrician, Dr. Joel Walsh, also known as Dr. Joel Gator. We talk a lot about autonomy on this show and being responsible for your own health. And today's interview is gonna give you so many powerful insights and tools to really take that into practice. Dr. Wara is a huge fan of essential oils and we talk a lot today about the appropriate use of essential oils for kids and for people in general when you're weighing those pros and cons of medications versus sticking it out or alternative medicine.
0 (1m 29s): That's today on our show. But first, let's pull a recipe out of our D I Y dugout. Today's d I y dugout recipe comes from Janet Dean in Wrightwood, California. Her recipe is called belly blues. To make the belly blues, you'll need three drops, coba, one drop, peppermint, and a tiny bit of carrier oil of choice. Combine ingredients and put on your belly button when your stomach is keeping you up at night. Thank you so much for your recipe, Janet. We appreciate you. If you have your own recipe, send it to us at diy revolution oils podcast.com.
0 (2m 11s): In your email, just include your name, where you're from, or your website, and your original recipe that involves essential oils. That's it. Now onto the show. CrowdHealth
(2m 24s): If you've listened to some of our most recent episodes, you'll have caught the interview I did with c e O of Crowd Health, Andy Scoonover. We talked about how the health insurance processes are inaccessible and can leave people feeling completely taken advantage of and oftentimes doesn't even give them the financial security that they think they're paying for. And that's why I'm so excited to have Crowd Health as a sponsor for our show because I think it is a brilliant solution for allowing people more medical autonomy and can save them potentially thousands of dollars in medical debt. With Crowd Health, you get access to a crowd of thousands of other members who are ready to help pay for large health expenses. CrowdHealth
(3m 11s): Being a member is a flat fee. Everybody pays the same $175 a month. Simple, transparent, and affordable. Plus you get personal care advocates to help you navigate all the complexities of health events. Experience healthcare freedom with Crowd health. Visit join crowd health.com and use Code Revolution at checkout to get your first three months for just $99 per month. That's join crowd health.com promo code revolution. Crowd health is not health insurance. It's a totally different way of paying for healthcare terms and conditions may apply. Earth Breeze
(3m 55s): Support for our show comes from earth breeze. I am always astounded at the genius of entrepreneurs. Earth Breeze has solved a problem that I have been banging my head against a wall about forever. The problem of laundry detergent, not only is it so difficult to find laundry detergent that isn't laid laden with so many toxic chemicals that I know I don't wanna put on my skin or on my kid's skin, but they also have this little problem of giant, massive plastic jugs Who wants that? So unless you're willing to stop doing laundry all together, you can do what I did and switch to earth breeze. Earth Breeze
(4m 36s): It's the coolest thing. Earth breeze Laundry detergent looks like dryer sheets, but they're not. They're revolutionary liquid list laundry detergent that dissolves 100% in any wash cycle, hot or cold. No matter what kind of machine you have, just toss in the sheet and it works just like laundry detergent but better because it's lightweight, biodegradable plastic free and works even with the most sensitive of skin. Most importantly, you still get a powerful clean. I have tested this on many, many very stinky, dirty clothes and my clothes come out clean every time. Best part you can try it yourself with their risk free. Earth Breeze
(5m 17s): 100% satisfaction guaranteed. If you don't like it, earth breeze will give you a full refund. No questions ask and no return necessary. Switch from the old-fashioned goo to something new right now. My listeners can subscribe to Earth Breeze and save 40%. Go to earth breeze.com/revolution to get started. That's earth breeze.com/revolution for 40% off earth breeze.com/revolution.
0 (5m 53s): Well, I'm here with Joel Walsh, also known as Dr. Joel Gator of the Popular Parenting Instagram. He is a board certified pediatrician in Los Angeles, California who specializes in parenting, wellness and integrative medicine and is the founder of Raising amazing Dr. Warsh, it's so wonderful to have you on this show. How are you? 4 (6m 16s): I'm great. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to chat about all things essential oils and kids health and looking forward to getting into it.
0 (6m 25s): I am as well, I have to say, as a former somewhat social media influencer turned basically, you know, dark on the internet because I couldn't handle it anymore. As I think a lot of people can relate to the emotionality of the internet. Your Instagram account is such a breath of fresh air. It is just a very, very peaceful, illuminating, encouraging, positive place and that's kind of rare these days. So I just wanna thank you for that and congratulate you on being able to navigate into that space. It's not easy.
4 (7m 5s): Thanks. Yeah, it's, it's, it's a lot of fun social media these days. I mean, it's un it's unfortunate how much anger there is online and, and division and, and just the inability to have conversations even if you don't agree on something. And, and so I just try my best to have conversations and say what I know and try to minimize anger and, and, and frustration as much as possible. But there's no way it's possible to have zero fighting because whatever you post so much Sure about something, even if it makes no sense.
0 (7m 34s): Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, let's dive in to, first, let's define what is integrative pediatrics, what you practice versus maybe more what people think of as, I don't know, allopathic or classical western traditional pediatrics?
4 (7m 50s): Sure. To, to me it means blending the best of modern western medicine with natural and alternative practices. So I'm not against Western medicine at all. I just think there's a time and a place and we're, we're so out of balance with our health these days and there's so many other amazing options out there in the world in terms of healing and health and support for, for our kids and, and for health in general. And so to me, I try to balance both. I'm not against a medication when you need it, it's just I try to avoid using medications as much as possible and, and try to use natural remedies whenever it's reasonable. And so that to me, again, it goes back to like the balance between both worlds and trying to take the best of the new and the best of the old or the alternative.
0 (8m 37s): Yeah, it's, I couldn't set it better myself. I think it's what's needed in a, in many, many scenarios and I think as said on your feet as well, that's sort of black and white thinking or polarity or all or nothing mentality. It really hardly ever works in many situations. So there, there is a beauty to, to some blending and some moderate moderate or centrist thinking. Well, as you said, we're, we're kind of in a difficult spot right now with chronic disease rates are over 50% in children right now. What is that statistic compared to older times and like, what's going on with all of that right now?
4 (9m 19s): Yeah, it's, it's crazy when you look at the numbers and whatever study or publication you look at, it's gonna have a little bit of a different number, but it's, you know, somewhere around 50% for kids it's over 50% for adults, you know, whether it's 45 or 47 or 52 doesn't really matter. It's a crazy number regardless of how you look at it. And it's like one out of two children have a chronic disease, meaning something that they're taking a medication for every day or something that they're dealing with every day for long periods of time, like asthma, allergies, eczema, rheumatologic conditions. And that is not the way that it was many, many years ago. Sure. You could say, and people argue sometimes, oh well we're better at recording it and reporting it. And I'm sure that's true to a little bit of a degree, but it's nowhere near explaining what is going on.
4 (10m 4s): We are not healthy, we're way less healthy than we were 20 or or 50 years ago. Obesity rates are skyrocketing, chronic disease rates are skyrocketing and it just keeps going up and up and up and nobody seems to be doing anything about it or talking about it. And, and that's terrifying to me. We have to be raising the flag and saying like, we're not doing something right. Our, our how old we are when we're dying is going down. It's like our life expectancy is going down. It's, it's, there's something wrong with that. We, these things shouldn't be going up. And they had been for so many decades and all of a sudden now we're going in the other direction. And, and I think there are many reasons for that, but at least at a minimum we need to identify that there is a problem.
0 (10m 44s): So on in that regard then, let's talk about essential oils a bit. Discuss essential oils in general from, from your perspective as an integrative pediatric practitioner.
4 (10m 56s): Yeah, I, I think oils are a wonderful tool and it's something that we have in the office. It's something that we offer to patients should they want it. It's, it's a really, really easy almost always safe option that you can either do as a first line support for something that's going on that you can add to a regimen for just about anything. I mean they're oils or everything and if you know how to use them and you use a good quality oil and you don't use, you know, too much of it for too long, then really your risks are so minimal. And when you're comparing your risk in comparison to a medication, obviously an oil has a much lower risk in general, especially for kids.
4 (11m 38s): And, and again, going back to what you said, if, if there are options of some things that you can do to support your health that have a lower side effect profile, then then why not do that? And, and they're simple oils you could use like lavender or Franken sands or peppermint or eucalyptus and those first signs of a viral illness or forthcoming and why not try that? And if that works and you don't have to use a medication, great, you still might need to go to the doctor, you still might need a medication. But there these are great tools to support and maybe it could help you to decrease your need of a medication if it's for anxiety or, or or something along those lines. I mean it just, it just depends.
4 (12m 19s): That's why you need to work with a good practitioner and you have, it's very situation specific, but to me it's an excellent tool when you look at like the tree branches of different things that you could use to support children essentially seems like a very natural option given it has so many years of research and so many years of use and its natural products in in oil form. I mean it's basic as it gets basically.
0 (12m 45s): Yeah. And it's so accessible. I think that's one of my favorite things as well. You know, people can, can just easily order a good quality oil online and come to their door and boom, you know, you've got these things and they, and they don't really spoil if you, if you store them properly, like store them in a cool dry place, not indirect sunlight and you know, it's a good investment to have around in your toolkit for sure and easy as just opening the bottle and sometimes as easy as just smelling right, you know, some, in some, some circumstances you don't even need to apply it or take it. You literally just have to smell it. I mean how cool is that
4 (13m 20s): Exactly. And then I mean when you're talking about like bang for your puck, it if it works, if it works for you, if it works in the situation and you can get a whole bottle of many oils for not that much when you compare to how much a medication would cost if you're taking like a drop of an oil and you have a bottle of it and I dunno, it's like 20 bucks or 30 bucks or whatever it is, you think about that over the lifespan of, of a bottle of an oil and if it's giving you a benefit versus you need to take a medication for months. There are very few items that you get I think such a good value for the effect in the right situations.
0 (13m 57s): Yeah, let's talk about some of those situations. I think one of the biggest skepticisms that people can bring towards essential oils and rightly so, it's just sort of this, yeah is it, is it really gonna work? You know, I mean that people don't wanna waste their money on things that aren't gonna work and not to say that the same oil is gonna work for every person who's dealing with the same symptom or situation like as you said, it's situational. That's what I think medicine should be all about. It's all about the individual patient person that's sitting there in front of you. But if we were to talk about kind of generalities, what are some of the most common things that you'll, you'll have people dealing with that you may recommend certain oils for and generally people have a a good chance of it working for them.
4 (14m 45s): I, I would say that the two biggest categories, which would be the most accessible for people because it's something that makes sense they've heard before, they've seen it and there is actually lots of research on it would be, one would be like stress and anxiety and then the other would be colds, like cold, like minor viral illness, cold support tho those kind of things. So when we're talking about say, colds first, I mean everyone remembers like the the VIX vapor rub and the chest rubs and all the, all the things that grandma, you know, used to do back in the day in terms of like some sort of stronger smelling aroma that helps open up your, your nasal passages like a eucalyptus or a peppermint or something like that.
4 (15m 25s): But there's actually tons of research, so that's true that they do work and they do help and they are, they are supportive of, of the body when you're going through a viral illness, especially when it comes to, to breathing and helping open up the nasal passages and things like that. So I I think that's not super woowoo for most people And and you don't necessarily have to go buy a chemical product like a, like a, a rub. You can just make it yourself. You can get some coconut, you can get some oils and, and do that and, and the research is pretty clear now there there is some research that says that you should avoid doing it in a little baby just cuz the, the, the smells might be too strong for them. But other than that there's very minimal risk for using a good quality oil and you can definitely get some some benefit and again, if if it helps you even 1% then, then why not?
4 (16m 8s): If it can give your kid some relief before going to bed or breathe a little bit better during the day and they're not gonna be taking a medication anyways then, then that to me is a, is a no-brainer option for, for where it could be super helpful, especially in those first symptoms. Certainly if it's getting worse and worry about breathing and that kinda stuff, of course you wanna go see your doctor that that might be different. Maybe that's not where an oil would be the right thing to do, but when it's a minor cold and you're not gonna use a medication anyways then, then that, that one seems like a a a to me, a great opportunity to get some oils in and instead of going to the pharmacy and getting a, I dunno a Benadryl or a cold, a cold syrup or you know, cough syrup, something like that where if this, if this works great, if it doesn't then maybe you do more.
0 (16m 52s): Yeah, absolutely. And it helps you not feel so powerless too. I mean my, my daughter just recently last week got the flu, she got the award from the pediatrician as the latest flu in the season cause she got, it was flu bee that she got right smack in the middle of April and it was oh awful. I mean, you know, flu bee is like the stomach flu and you're just, ugh, you can't keep anything down, you're, you're just throwing up left and right. You're got this horrible fever or makes you achy or she was poor thing pretty miserable. And you know, there's not much that you can do. I mean you have the choice you can take Tamiflu, which I'd like to pick your brain on that a little bit cuz I've seen you speak on that before.
0 (17m 35s): I mean other than that there's not much you, you can really do except try to make them more comfortable, boost their immune system where you can push the fluids where you can. But I would apply a digestive oil blend to the bottom of her feet and on her like nausea pressure point that most a lot of people are familiar with like CB bands and the spot that those sit on come somewhat near where your watch is at on the inner inner arm. And just rubbing some of that on her, on her pressure points was so helpful for her. You know, when she was just on the verge of like, mis I'm so miserable, you know, I was able to do that for her and and you could see it, it's almost an instant reaction, a visible just relaxation that can come in of ugh, that yeah, that helps. 0 (18m 24s): That helped. And that's a, that's a really powerful feeling for sure.
4 (18m 29s): I I I I think that there's, again, it's minimal risk and anecdotally just like that story, right? I mean so many people say how much they feel like it benefits them. There is definitely lots of research out there that it shows some benefit and even if you don't believe in it, even if you think it's just placebo, placebo is such a huge benefit to patients in general. I mean look at any study and it's like 20, 30% improvement just from placebo alone and just the Sure, yeah. That you're together, you're close, you're giving them you like a massage of the pressure point. They're feeling a comfort, they're feeling an ease. You feel like you're doing something, they feel like you're doing something. All of these things are of benefit even if you don't believe that the, you know, the peppermint oil is the thing that's, that's magically working and helping them find, i I don't care, whatever people believe that's, that's fine.
4 (19m 16s): You know, everyone has their different opinions. I think it does work personally, but, but I think that that everyone's entitled to their opinions but you can't argue with the results and the closeness and the the parent-child relationship that there is some help there to putting that on and giving them some massage and having a closeness. So to me there's there's no almost no downside at all. No matter what you think. Yeah,
0 (19m 39s): Yeah, I agree. Which let's compare that, I'll bring it back to the Tamiflu situation a little bit. You know, let compare what are the side effects of an essential oil right versus the side effect list of Tamiflu and you compare that to the effectiveness. That's where some of that logical thinking sometimes is really helpful and not, and I'm not saying people should never use Tamiflu. I mean I've definitely used it in the past, but I'm curious on your thoughts on that.
4 (20m 8s): Right, right, exactly how you said it. I agree and there are certain situations where medications can be helpful, but you have to look at the data that you have on a medication and how effective is that in the specific situation that you have. And if it's not that effective, which for the most part Tammy flu is not there, there's tons of research on it and you know, maybe it decreases your, your illness by about half a day. In the best case scenario, if you take it really early and most people don't know they have flu in the first day or two anyways. So by the time you're taking it, it's too late. And there's a very significant side effect profile from nausea and stomach aches and more vomiting, which is not helpful when you're already vomiting. And, and there's neuro neuropsychiatric concerns as well with, with talu.
4 (20m 49s): So there are a lot of potential concerns.
0 (20m 51s): What kind of neuropsychiatric concerns 4 (20m 54s): They get. Like very agitated, they might have bad dreams. Ah,
0 (20m 57s): Okay. Like temporary.
4 (20m 59s): Yeah, temporary. So temp temporary side effects, but again, it's side effects and they're not fun. And if you're taking a medication to get better and it gives you side effects, then if you're not really making that much better, then is it worth it? And that's the question, right? Is it worth it? And are you getting that much more benefit from a medication than from an essential oil? If you're gonna get better anyways, if you're gonna give yourself a side effect, then it's, it's not worth it. So that's where it's this balance that you have to weigh in, in a medical system where there's only research on medications, it's like, oh you should take this medication but if you don't need the medication and it potentially can give you side effects, then sometimes doing something natural is, is the right option. But then there are other times where there's a kid that is very sick that's very complicated, that has a complex history or maybe a tamoo is the right thing for them.
4 (21m 44s): So you can never say never, but for the average child who isn't that sick and has a flu, for the most part, they don't need Tammy flu and, and they probably don't need anything sub hydration, rest. But there are some other things like oils which could be of benefit to help them get through, you know, the worst of it that day two or three or whatever it is.
0 (22m 5s): Yeah, absolutely. I think there's a certain comfort that we've been taught from a young age, which is, well medications, sure they have side effects, but at least we have documented it and kind of know what they are so we can weigh the pros and cons and they've been through this rigorous testing process and they've been approved by the F D A and they're, they're in this pipeline of normality. And so even, I mean no one's gonna deny that medications don't have side effects, but, but I think there's a certain comfort in normality in that versus the unknown, right? The natural world, the essential oils, the herbs, the tinctures, the the crystals, the whatever because right though though that category, the, those things are not FDA approved for many, many reasons.
0 (22m 55s): They're not, not FDA approved because they don't work and they're dangerous. There's a whole other, that's a whole other conversation in a different ballgame. But that's just, they're not
4 (23m 6s): Yeah, I do think it's important cause I think that that is the crux of it, right? It's, it's right. It's not that what we do in medicine, like a medication is bad and we want the research, I mean you wanna know what side effects are, you wanna know how effective something is. But just because we have research on something doesn't mean that's the right thing to do. In your case for something like an essential oil, it could actually work better if it was tested properly. I don't know. Right. Like the most of these things don't have the blind control trials cuz who's doing that cuz there's no money behind it. We don't have the research and I don't know if they, they do work some of these things or not in, in the double blood controlled trial in comparison to a medication. But that is what we should have. I mean you literally should have peppermint oil versus Tammy flu or you know, some bunch of natural things and then see which one is better.
4 (23m 51s): And, and I I bet actually did those,
0 (23m 53s): Who's gonna pay for that? Tamiflu company's not gonna pay for that. Exactly.
4 (23m 57s): They're not gonna pay, they're only gonna, they're only gonna do a study on their medication and they wanna show that their medication works as compared to not working. But it, it's not comparing it to other options that are available that are natural and not comparing it to, well if these two things are equal, which one has fewer side effects? Well that's the one I wanna do for my child. But I don't know that we don't really know. So it's, it's not that the company is doing anything bad or evil, it's just what they do. But we as parents have to weigh the information and then make some decisions based on a lack of some information, but also an understanding of what the side effects might be from a medication. So just at least picking and choosing when we, when we choose to do a medication, that's what I try to at least yeah.
4 (24m 37s): Impart upon my patients and things online is, is just you have to advocate for your children because the medical system is, is, is pharmaceutical and that's fine, but you just have to realize that and, and realize that that isn't always the only option.
0 (24m 53s): Yeah. That that's well put in the medical system. It it is heavily on the medicated side or, you know, prescribe you medications. That's what they do. And it's also within the context and the framing of a litigious society, I, that's a whole other factor that when you're sitting in a doctor's office, you're having that conversation with them, you have to re like understand and remember that, that they have, they have to work within a certain framework because of, partly because of that danger of being sued or being taken to court. We, I mean we live in a very litigious society for sure, but that doesn't mean that you have to agree or make that same decision because you're, you as a parent aren't necessarily within those same, that same framework and working within that same context.
0 (25m 42s): So you do have a lot more freedoms as a, as a parent to advocate for your child than maybe necessarily that pediatrician isn't. That's not to say that they're evil, it's just that that's the reality of the world that they're living in. Yeah,
4 (25m 55s): I mean these are some deep topics but we're getting into 'em so it's fine. I like it. But that is true. I mean that, that, that is the way that doctors think, right? I mean you, you are held to a standard of what is the standard of care on this disease that you're seeing or this illness that you're seeing or whatever, whatever spreads you and what, what would an average reasonable doctor do? And if an average reasonable doctor based on the system now would prescribe a medication like let's say an antibiotic for an ear infection or something like that and you don't do it and then it comes back later and you do get sued, then the question is, well why didn't you, why didn't you do this? This is what other doctors would've done, so why not?
4 (26m 35s): And it, it doesn't mean that it's the right thing in your situation, but a doctor has to think about, well what is the worst case scenario of what could happen? I'll give you, like, especially with urgent care, I I guess that's the best example. Like urgent care, well this cough, could it be a pneumonia bronchitis? Eh, I don't know, maybe it's easier to give you medication in that way. I've I've I've treated you and it's it's covers your butt as opposed to well, you know, maybe come back in a couple of days for that, like one time where the kid does get really sick, but you probably in your case actually don't need the medication most of the time, right? So it's, it's like they're, they're, they're doing what they, they think and sometimes you actually do need a medication of course. Right, right, right. Sometimes you don't and it's just kinda that borderline where it's, it's safer to treat you than to not, but treatments come with side effects and so that's where you as the parent have to be like, is this, is this really needed or, or is it not?
4 (27m 25s): And I, I just have a natural parenting course and I, I talked about this cause I talked about medication exactly this kind of scenario and what I, what I mentioned a lot in, in that program is is like you have to ask the doctor like, do I need to take this like that? That's the thing that I tell parents to, to talk to. It's like, what are you treating? Do I need to take it right now? Can I wait a couple of days? You know, what, what's the scenario? Because there is a lot of times where they're gonna treat you, but like maybe you don't need to actually start it this very second. Or other times when you're like, yes, this is serious, you have to do it, it's important like that, that's a good conversation. Most people don't have it.
0 (27m 58s): Yeah, absolutely. Like I, I always say, yeah, I'll take the medication. I mean if the doctor wants to prescribe me any drugs, I take 'em. I mean, I'll take the prescription and I'll go get it filled and it'll sit in my closet, but I'd say 80 to 90, 80 to maybe even 90% of the time I never even opened the bottle because I ended up not needing it. Now that's a privileged position. I'm able to, you know, have the insurance or have the money to go buy that medication just in case. Right. I kind of, I think that's part of my, I I can definitely play into that like fear factor of, of stockpiling, right? I'm like, well what's the harm in stockpiling these drugs? What if there's a zombie apocalypse, I'll be ready, you know, but, but you
4 (28m 37s): Know, I like to,
0 (28m 38s): I like to have 'em, but just, you know, but I, I've been asking that question for a long time, you know, do I have to take this now? What, what I, I'll sometimes ask what, what would happen when I go home that would to you say, oh I really need to take this like right now. Right? That's a good question,
4 (28m 57s): Right, ex. Exactly. And that's exactly what I talk about in the course because, and when I talk to patients about, because if you go to an urgent care and left, I'm not there with them and the doctor just prescribes you something reflexively because it's easier and and safer or with them, if you ask them the question, I guarantee you nine outta 10 times they were gonna say, if not more, they're gonna say, well you don't need, it might be viral so you give another day or two and and see if it gets better. And, and since 90 plus percent of the infections are viral, that means that it's gonna get better anyways with antibiotics or without antibiotics. So antibiotics aren't doing anything, you're just treating it and then it gets better, which it would've done anyways. So if you have that conversation, then that I think can help give you a better understanding of what they're thinking and whether they're treating you just because, or they're treating you because you tested positive on a test for strep throat and you need the antibiotic because you don't wanna get, you know, rheumatic FIFA or something like there, there are, there are very different scenarios and, and you're gonna be able to get an answer from that doctor straight up like, no, you need to take it today or, I don't know.
4 (30m 2s): And, and that can, can really save you from potentially using some antibiotics that you don't need to and you're not stuck filing them, you're just having them in case you need them. And if, because it's a prescription that you were given and, and you may or may not need it, you don't know it's better, it's better to have it and not need it than not having it need it.
0 (30m 19s): Yeah, absolutely. And that's, that's what I say about essential oils too for people, you know, it's nice to have 'em, you know, because you can't, you'll be dealing with something and then say, oh I think peppermint would help with this. Let me go order some and then three days later you get it, it, yeah, it's nice to just kind of have 'em on hand for sure. So Dr. Washer or Dr. Gator, I wanted to ask a little bit more about essential oils and some of the ways that you've used them yourself or seen people use them that seem really effective?
4 (30m 48s): Yeah, the, the, the other big category that I mentioned I would say would be stress or anxiety. I mean, everybody's stressed these days, everybody's anxious and the answer to that is, is definitely not a pill. I mean, it can be for some people in the very short term if it's, if it's very, very severe. But most of what we're seeing is this chronic low grade stress, especially when it comes to kids. And so I think essential oils is a perfect way to, to help with that. We, we definitely know that smells can, can instantly put you in a, in a new location or can calm your body or calm your nervous system. And so that to me is, is for sure one of the most effective ways that you can, can find some oils that are calming for your, your kids or yourself, whether that be lavender probably may be the most common, but you don't have to have an answer as to what's gonna calm you down before knowing.
4 (31m 40s): You can just smell different oils and, and figure out what works for you and, and, and have that with you. And, and, and you can either put a little bit on, on your skin or you can just, you can just smell it when, when you are stressed you can give your kids little rollers or, or pen like little things that they can have with them at school or things like that. And, and if they do get stressed then you can just have a little bit of a smell and, and how, how is that bad, like compared to taking a medication? I mean it's, it's crazy to me that that's not just an option that everybody has at this point given the world stresses.
0 (32m 9s): What about personally, like you, do you have any stories for yourself or your, your own kid? You have a, you have a son, right?
4 (32m 16s): Yeah, he's three.
0 (32m 17s): Are there any scenarios that you can think of or stories that you've found essential oils particularly effective?
4 (32m 24s): Yeah, I, I think the, the biggest one for him, I mean he hasn't been too sick, which is, you know, thankful he has been just mild things a couple times, but when, when he did have colds we used some, some coconut oil and some pepper but or eucalyptus just to rub on on his feet and his back just, just for that. So that, that would be one situation. Other than that, I mean we've been pretty lucky. He's been pretty healthy so we haven't used a ton ton for him. I certainly have, we certainly have essential oils at the office, so I I can say like it's, it's used on a very daily basis here in terms of, of having it nice smells when people come into the office and trying to keep a calm wellness center type of environment versus, you know, medical office per se. So, so to me it's just nice to have the comic smells around all day.
4 (33m 6s): I would say that after going through and being in this office for a few years now, it's, it's amazing to me how many parents come in and comment about the smells and like, oh it smells so nice in here. Oh like it's, it has such nice, like you don't really think about it but but people don't go to places like that so you, I guess we, we see it from the other side because I hear it all the time when people walk in from them and it like, it reminds me that it is valuable because somebody wouldn't say that unless it's giving them some benefit. It's like, oh, I'm walking in here and it makes me feel something. If it makes you feel something, it means it's doing something, it means it can work.
0 (33m 44s): Yes, absolutely. I think the same is true on the opposite too. Like people know when they don't like something, right? When something makes them not like smell something and it makes them nauseous. Like it's a, it's an instinct that we have to say, oh this, this isn't good for me or Oh I really like this and I think we're kind of quick to dismiss the, oh I really like this instinct for things that maybe we should embrace a little more.
4 (34m 8s): Definitely. Yeah.
0 (34m 9s): Well I wanna point out just a few of my favorite posts that you've done on your Instagram account and one of them I think my favorite that made me laugh so much was fact, moms don't overpack for trips. They simply come equipped because everyone else in the family is always under effing prepared. And I just really like that one. You have a great sense of of humor and sort of reality that I appreciate. And then the southern one that says I've got 99 problems but healing my gut solved like 86 of them. I just, I love that too. But overall you have a, you you, a lot of your content revolves around this idea of creating health over preventing disease and I think that's kind of, kind of what you talked about with your son, you know, he doesn't really get sick that much cuz you focus a lot of your, your work as a parent I imagine around keeping your kid really healthy and I, I appreciate that perspective.
0 (35m 5s): Would you say that that's kind of one of the more frustrating aspects that you see in modern medicine? Is is sort of a not embrace of that?
4 (35m 15s): Yeah, for sure. The modern medicine doesn't really think about prevention. I mean almost at all because there's not really time to do that. You can see a patient for three minutes, I mean how much time can you spend talking about their, their diet or sleep or exercise or stress? I mean you just don't have the time for that. So you can't really focus on, well it's not the doctor's fault, it's just that's the system. But most of your health is the day-to-day choices that you make and the food that you buy and the, the, the toxins that you either do or do not slather on your skin or the the chemical free or the chemical full things that you buy. I mean it's all of these decisions that in the long term contribute to your health and that's where you say like, my son hasn't really been sick.
4 (35m 55s): I, I don't know, maybe it's to that maybe he's just very resilient and healthy and, and, and it doesn't matter what we're doing. But I I think that a lot of it is just to do with the fact that he eats pretty healthy, he has a well-balanced diet, he's a very active, he's outside every day. We live in nature, you know, these kinds of things. I think that gives him more resilient immune system and so that keeps his, his sicknesses at pain doesn't get sick as much as most of the kids that I take care of. I dunno, maybe he has to do that, maybe he doesn't die. Maybe he's just a very healthy, lucky child and hopefully we're not jinxing him.
0 (36m 31s): Well that would be terrible. Well thank you so much. This has been really illuminating and I appreciate your, your candor and your conversations. Is there anything else you wanna share before we move on to our closing questions?
4 (36m 44s): No, I would just say, you know, for anyone that wants to follow me, mention Instagram is a good place Dr. Joel Gator. I also have raising amazing Plus that's the, the website that I have a bunch of courses, a lot of a course that a lot of your, your listeners will probably love be the Naturally Parenting course. That's the newest one that I just made. And, and I talk about natural parents navigating the, the medical system and talk about things like prescription and natural remedies and choosing a practitioner that's right for them and a lot of the frustrations that parents feel. And, and it's something that I've been working on for a while because parents just kept asking me like, how do I find a doctor like you? Or how do I deal with this? Or how do I talk to my doctor about essential oils? And so I, I tried my best to at least impart what I know and, and people have really enjoyed that.
4 (37m 28s): So I think if you, you know, if you wanna check that out, raising amazing plus.com
0 (37m 32s): Well, Dr. Gator, we always like to ask a couple closing questions before we, we say goodbye. And the first is, what's one or two self-care practices you try to do every day to stay healthy?
4 (37m 44s): Number one is, is is being mindful of my schedule and try not to be too over busy. So I really try to get home by a reasonable time every day and not overpack my schedule so that way I'm not super stressed all the time. And, and I would say trying to eat healthy every day a as much as I can. And then going for walks and especially like at the middle of the day I try at lunch to get outside and get some sunlight and get a walk every day just to get out of the office for even 20 minutes. So just being mindful of my stress levels and basic stuff like eating and, and walking.
0 (38m 16s): And finally what's just one thing we should all ditch completely and replace with something healthier today.
4 (38m 22s): We should ditch the chemicals in our food. We should ditch not reading labels and start reading labels for everything. So every single time you go to purchase anything, you should be looking at the labels and, and try to ditch all the long chemically sounding things that you don't even know what they are cuz they're probably not good for you.
0 (38m 39s): All right, well you've already mentioned a good place for people to reach out to you raising amazing plus.com or Dr. Joel Gator on Instagram is a great place. You have multiple courses including one on natural parents and I understand you've given a discount code to our listeners for that.
4 (38m 59s): Yeah, if you use RA 20, so like raising amazing 20 R eight 20, then you can get a 20% discount on that if you want to grab that.
0 (39m 6s): Right. I wish that I had come across your resources much earlier in my parenting journey, so thank you for what you do. You're really, you're making a huge difference. And again, thanks for being a positive place on the internet. I just think we need to thank people for that more often
4 (39m 20s): And thank you for everything that you do in spreading, you know, essential oils and, and natural health because especially when it comes to kids, but adults too, I mean, but especially kids, there's not enough information out there and good information. So I really appreciate all that you can do as well.
0 (39m 34s): Thank you. Well it was wonderful having you here on the show and thanks for sharing your wisdom on the essential oil revolution. We appreciate you.
4 (39m 43s): Thanks.
0 (39m 44s): The essential oil revolution is created by me Samantha Lee riding. Thanks so much for tuning in. We'll catch you here next week with a brand new episode on the Essential Oil Revolution. In the meantime though, keep on learning, keep on discovering, and most importantly, keep on treating yourself well. You are worth
2 (40m 4s): It.