It's Week 9, Day 3 of my blog experiment and, I have to say, my intuition seems to go awry when it comes to medicine. There have been more than a few situations when I thought I knew the source of a sore throat or the cause of a cough, only to find out I was completely wrong, especially with my kids. "He has croup" turned out to be strep throat. "She just has a bad cold" turned out to be a double ear infection. Children aren't the best communicators when it comes to what ails them. And, I usually default to "Let's go to the doctor's office" just in case they need treatment but I've been genuinely surprised at how often I've been off base about what they need to make them feel better.

I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who studies medicine. There is, obviously, a reason doctors go to medical school. But, the most common childhood illnesses seem pretty straightforward. It usually comes down to a sinus, respiratory or ear infection, right? I typically know when something is wrong with my kids, even if I don't know what is wrong. But, I wonder if there's a way to hone my intuition to know how to prevent or, at least, limit illnesses when they do arise by tuning in to which foods are the most beneficial when different health challenges present themselves. I'm not limiting this to my children. I'd love to put the idea into practice for the whole family. Yes, I know you can't prevent every illness out there but there must be a way to deflect some of those germs besides bathing in antibacterial soap and using hand sanitizer at every turn.

I know instinctively or subconsciously when I need to cut back on caffeine or get some extra protein in my diet. Maybe that's my body communicating directly to my mind alone. But I wonder, if I develop more awareness, can I use the same kind of unconscious knowledge to give my children a targeted nutritional boost when needed, even if it's just to make them more comfortable when they are sick? There is plenty for me to learn by simply reading up on the subject and, like most moms, getting more vegetables into my family's diet is a top priority. Bring on the purees and the crudites, that's easy enough. But, I'd like to think I have a little mountain woman wisdom in me somewhere, too. I don't have anyone to take me into the Appalachians to gather blackberries and mint along the riverside or teach me where the ginseng is hiding and why I'd want to find it, but as a lifelong eater, I'd like to think I've picked up some innate knowledge along the way about what my body needs nutritionally.

So, I'm adding this to the list of ways I hope my intuition can help improve my family's general well being. Look out kids, here it comes: the spelt bread, spinach smoothies and extra helpings of root vegetables. Just kidding, I'll probably start with some fresh berries and rosemary. I'll have to look them up to see why they came to mind.