Marlenea La Shomb – N.D. & P.Tr.

“Heaven Sent” Natural-Health Pioneer

Denis Ouellette & Marian Kozlik
March – April 2025 • Vol 4, No 15

A dear friend of ours went to heaven last month. Thank you, Marlenea, for 30 years of partnership and your many excellent contributions to this magazine!

I first met Marlenea when she came with her pre-teen son, now in his forties, to volunteer in erecting hefty Army tents for a big church conference we were having; this was some time in the early 1990s. Her first writing for this magazine was in 2005. Our collaborations grew from there. Many of you know I do breathwork, and she co-facilitated these seminars many times, in many locations around Montana and beyond. For several years, she wrote TWO articles in each issue of Natural Life News. She even distributed up to 25 boxes of the paper magazine around Bozeman for years, before we went full-digital at the end of 2022.

Her love of knowledge for all things natural was insatiable. Just some of her topics included: gardening and foraging, recipes, natural remedies (she became a Naturopathic Doctor), improving vision, Auriculotherapy (“reflexology for the ears”), rebounding for health (Certified Reboundologist), life and love lessons, hormonal and gut health, seasonal eating, minerals, the homeopathic cell salts, composting, fermenting, and even WWOOFing!

Our archives have these article topics (and more) posted, going back to 2017. (My deeper archives have PDFs going back another ten years.) Her own page on Natural Life News, as one of our beloved columnists, can be accessed HERE. (One of her articles is on the next page.) Check them out, and you will surely “Jumpstart Your Health!”

She would come over to my house every two months, with her books and handwritten notes, excited to hammer out her latest articles. Teaching about natural health was one of her many passions. She even did Toastmasters with me for years. Soon, all her butterflies were gone, and she became an excellent lecturer.

Marlenea, we love you, we miss you, and we wish you many happy adventures as you journey on!

—Denis Ouellette

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Marlenea, you’re a precious friend, a soul sister, garden buddy, and playmate. As I walk past our rebounder there you are jumping. In the kitchen we are preparing meals and luscious desserts. Your recipes show up randomly and I smell and taste them. Garden plots you’ve planted rest in stillness yet the moist soil is felt on these hands. My heart swells with joy as I hear your laughter and see your smiling eyes. Our embrace lasts for an eternity, for truly we are one.

—Marian Kozlik

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Sun “Kissed” & Heaven Sent

The Delicious Versatility of Citrus Peels

Feed My Sheep • Recipes for Life

Marlenea La Shomb, ND, LMT • Jumpstart Your Health

All fruits are sun-kissed, yet the citrus family comes in right at the top in terms of the needed hours of sunlight to grow an abundance of juicy fruits. Mostly eaten raw, we juice lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits, and we zest the peels. Lemon juice is a wonderfully healthy replacement for vinegar in salad dressings. My mom’s and my favorite jam has always been orange marmalade, made from the sour-orange rind.

It wasn’t until I studied the use of food from other countries, in this case citrus, that I realized how much we throw away that other cultures find uses for. Years ago, I learned that the pith (the chewy, white part under the skin) is a main source for rutin.

Rutin is a bioflavonoid that is found in apples, buckwheat, most citrus fruits, figs, and both black and green tea. It has powerful antioxidant properties. It also helps your body produce collagen and utilize vitamin C. It is included in more than 130 therapeutic, medicinal preparations, and by itself, offers a number of health benefits, such as: Helps blood circulation, prevents blood clots, lowers cholesterol, reduces arthritis pain, and even heals bruising. [HEALTHLINE.COM]

Oriental chefs cut the peels in very fine slices, sauté them in garlic and oil, and add them to veggie dishes, and they will quickly deep-fry them until crunchy to use them as chow mein noodles. It’s delicious! Choosing to go without the oil frying, I cut my citrus peels thinly and dehydrate them at 115o, saving the nutrients that are cook/heat-sensitive. They still come out crunchy for a topping on salads.

If you’re out of lemons, you can still take the dried peels and blend them in with salad dressings or in humus for that livened, lemony flavor. Last of all, I powder the thinly sliced, dried peels in my NutriBullet personal blender. This fine powder I then add to smoothies, sauces—anything where I am looking for a hint of lemon zestiness.

Now, for the best part! Use this nutrient-rich, colorful citrus powder as a powdered-sugar substitute. Here’s my recipe: Take some heaven-sent, sun-kissed dates, remove the pits, slide in some nut butter to hold a nut inside. (I use pecans.) Now, roll them in your orange-peel powder. Oh yum!

That hint of bitter from the citrus peels, which is not as familiar to us in the West, actually helps with liver function. However, if you like things sweeter, mix a 3/4 portion of orange powder with 1/4 of coconut sugar. I tried it both ways. Give your friends and family the taste test. Try your citrus powders in raw, energy cookie balls or in baked cookies. Enjoy all the energetic vitality in your citrus peels. Always have the dried peels of lemons, limes, oranges, pink grapefruits, even when they’re out of season, right in your own cupboard—year-round!

Nature’s Secret for Vibrant Health and Long Life

Marlenea La Shomb, N.D., P.Tr.
Jan – Feb 2024 • Vol 4, No 8

After the flood of Noah had subsided, what did the dove bring to the ark as a sign from God? From Genesis 8:11— “And the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth, was an olive leaf plucked off. So, he knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.”

Scripture has far more to say about the olive, its fruit, oil, wood, and leaves, than any other herb or tree. Olive oil was part of the special ointment used to anoint priests and kings. Solomon crafted the two cherubim who were to guard the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple’s Holiest place from olive wood.

Christ often retreated to the Mount of Olives with his disciples to teach and pray. Some think that the very olive trees under which he prayed are still alive and healthy today. In fact, the name of the Garden of Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew Gatshamanim, which literally translates as “oil press.”

Early Judeo-Christian legend holds that Adam, on his deathbed, asked for the oil of mercy, which the Lord had given him for his own and all people’s redemption. He sent his son Seth to the angel that guarded the Garden of Eden. The angel gave Seth three seeds from the tree of knowledge, out of which grew a cedar, cypress, and olive tree. The Jews declared the miracle of Hanukkah because their eternal flame flickered for eight days on empty. Their fuel was olive oil.

It was a capital offense in Greece to kill or cut down an olive tree. Also, at one time in Greece, only virgins or chaste young men were allowed to harvest from the trees.

Throughout early ages, tea made from olive leaves has been a popular folk remedy for combatting fevers. From as early as 1827, medical reports state that a tea made from olive leaves helped the worst cases of malaria. It was found to be far superior to quinine, the recommended treatment of the time.

Today, the health benefits of olive oil and tinctures and extracts made from its leaves continue to be extolled by both herbalists and medical science alike. Early in this century, the bitter compound was isolated from the olive leaf. This phytochemical, called oleuropein, provides the olive tree with vast disease-resistant properties. It is credited with the olive tree’s ability to live for thousands of years. It protects the tree against nearly every disease.

While olive leaf extract isn’t a cure-all, it may help with your goals for weight loss, improved health, and boosted immunity. It is a significant natural source of wellness with therapeutic properties that include:

• Gastroprotective (protects digestive system)
• Neuroprotective (protects central nervous system)
• Antimicrobial (inhibits microorganism growth)
• Anticancer (reduces risk of cancer)
• Anti-inflammatory (reduces risk of inflammation)
• Antinociceptive (reduces pain stimuli)
• Antioxidant (prevents oxidation or cell damage)

Olive leaf extract may help with heart health, and herpes breakouts, and much more. You can get olive leaves and make your own tea. The tincture and extracts can be found at your local health food store.

Send inquiries to Dr. Marlenea La Shomb by email to jumpstartyourhealth@gmail.com. Marlenea passionately works as a health coach and writer for all who are ready to find harmony and balance in body, mind, and soul through natural therapies and education.

Ask Dr. Let’s Talk About Fiber

Marlenea La Shomb, N.D., P.Tr.
Nov – Dec 2023 • Vol 4, No 7

Dear Dr. Ma,
I’m reading that I need more fiber in my diet to help with my constipation. But adding fiber makes things more painful and blocked in my gut and colon. What can I do?
—Kevin

Dear Kevin,

I’m basing my answer on Dr. Norman Walker’s life’s work and on his book, “Colon Health, the Key to a Vibrant Life.” He’s considered the grandfather of a healthy colon and gut.

So, when did the abuse of YOUR colon start? It could be from a lifetime of processed foods that did not digest well. It could be from antibiotics and other medications that killed off the microflora in your gut. It could even be from birth, since a premature baby’s gut is not ready for baby formula, as opposed to mother’s milk.

Let’s talk about fiber. If you add fiber to an unhealthy gut, it creates MORE blockage, not less. Think about what the digestive tract does.

It separates the nutrients from your food, and then the fiber that’s left acts as a brushing action to facilitate elimination. In an unhealthy gut, the fiber gets stuck in those pockets of blockage (see illustration) and can’t get through the constricted areas, causing the pain you’re feeling.

What’s the solution? It’s simple. Eat your fruit and juice your vegetables and stay off constipating, man-made, boxed foods. A juicer separates the fiber and the nutrients until your gut heals those constricted areas. Avoid white flour and white sugar—as in macaroni and cheese—as much as possible!

Try whole-foods with natural fiber sources. Lentils and other beans are an easy way to sneak fiber into your diet in soups, stews and salads. Broccoli (lightly steamed) is considered the number-one fiber vegetable. And then there are berries, avocados, popcorn, whole grains, and of course, apples!

Hydration is key. Water and other fluids help fiber work better, so not drinking enough liquids can contribute to harder stools that are more difficult to pass. The rule of thumb is to drink half of your body weight in ounces of pure water per day. Caffeine is a natural diuretic and will dehydrate you, so watch out for those turbo energy drinks!

The original “poop doctors” are Dr. Norman Walker and Dr. Richard Schulze (HerbDoc.com). Schulze recommends his Formula #1, containing the herb senna, which increases the peristalsis (muscle contractions in your digestive tract) and is excellent for colon health and elimination. His Formula #2 uses bentonite clay, which pulls impacted matter from the walls of the colon. (See Dr. Shulze’s Superfood ad in the PDF version of this article.)

But remember, these formulas can’t do their job if you keep abusing your colon with constipating foods and drinks! What are the worst offenders? Alcohol is frequently mentioned as a likely cause of constipation. Try eliminating gluten, a protein found in grains like wheat, barley, rye, etc. Cut way down on highly-processed grains, milk and dairy products, fried or fast foods, and a lot of red meat. If you love your red meat, be sure to have an en-zyme-rich salad with it, with a simple dressing made of apple-cider vinegar or lemon and a good olive oil. Better still, add sauerkraut, or have a fermented drink like kombucha to help your body break down and digest the meat. Both of these contribute to thriving micro-flora in your gut.

Remember, with a little help, Mother Nature can heal and regenerate your colon and gut health, which is your key to a vibrant life!

I hope this is helpful.
— Dr. Ma!

Send your questions to Dr. Ma La Shomb by email to jumpstartyourhealth@gmail.com. Marlenea passionately works as a health coach and writer for all who are ready to find harmony and balance in body, mind, and soul through natural therapies and education.