Greeley woman’s company, Cleansing Your Roots, helps channel calmness with alternative medicine remedies

Lacey Bertram and her son, Dayton, who she said inspired her to research meditation, healing crystals and other alternative medicine remedies. Photo courtesy of Cleansing Your Roots.

By Emily Kemme

Lacey Bertram admits she sometimes feels stressed as a caregiver. 

She cares for her son, Dayton, who was born with Down syndrome. When he was about four years old, Bertram realized he was severe needs and would live with her the rest of his life.

Because of Dayton’s many health issues, Bertram stays at home to care for him. 

“I’m glad I had him [before my other children], because he’s just a God’s gift,” she said. 

With two more children, ages 14 and 10, along with taking care of her 14-year-old nephew, two dogs and a couple of cats, life can feel a bit hectic at times. 

To manage the demands of her life and to address Dayton’s health, Bertram got into crystals and learned how to meditate. 

She began researching herbal organic remedies to help soothe her son’s asthma and skin needs, and discovered the world of natural tinctures and teas. She taught herself how to blend oils and create teas from herbs, using trial and error to see what products worked and what tasted best.

After developing confidence in her products, she formed a company, Cleansing your Roots, and sells to the public in her online shop. She’s also a regular vendor at the summer Greeley Farmers Market, the Greeley Arts Picnic held in July and the Winter Farmers Market at Foothills Mall in Fort Collins.

Her company’s name is intended to celebrate health. 

“It’s cleansing where you came from and getting back to organics and nature,” Bertram said.

She finds the health benefits of tinctures fascinating and wants to educate people about them.

Tinctures are liquid extracts of medicinal plants prepared by soaking a dried or fresh herb in organic gluten-free alcohol for eight weeks, which pulls out the active ingredients. 

Bertram primarily focuses on herbs that provide respiratory benefits to relieve her son’s asthma, including symptoms that include difficulty breathing, coughing and bronchitis. She finds mullein and sage tinctures are the most effective because they work by loosening mucus. They are plants long used as herbal remedies.

Bertram’s company, Cleansing Your Roots, makes natural tinctures and herbal teas from plants long been used as herbal remedies. Photo courtesy of Cleansing Your Roots.

To dose, you put a couple of drops under your tongue. It’s the fastest way to get the herbs into your body, she said.

“It doesn’t have a great taste — it’s strong,” she admits, and some people don’t like that. But it’s even safe for a two-year-old. 

In addition to respiratory aid, she said the mullein tincture provides an immune system boost, can help fight viral infections, cramping and is an anti-inflammatory. Bertram said her sage tea is useful for detoxification, and may help to soothe hot flashes, sore throat, headaches, brain fog and can lower cholesterol. As one of the most popular herbs used in dentistry, sage targets pain, inflammation and has antibacterial properties. 

Bertram also sells white sage to burn inside homes. 

“It clears bacteria from your home, and helps with negative energy — you might have heard it referred to as ‘smudging’. It’s not just ghosts or bad spirits. Sage does something in your brain to promote positive energy,” she said.

Bertram discovered this use for sage when her daughter began experiencing night terrors when she was six. A physician prescribed melatonin, but it knocked her daughter out, so Bertram consulted a Native American woman on a reservation. 

The woman sold her a dream catcher, a delicately woven web that looks a bit like a spider’s web that’s held together by a flexible hoop. It’s often decorated with items considered sacred by Native American cultures, including feathers or beads.

“My daughter put sage in the dream catcher and it was instant: the nightmares went away,” Bertram said. 

White sage can be used to smudge your home and helps with promoting positive energy. Photo courtesy of Cleansing Your Roots.

Her daughter, now 14, thinks the method works best when her mom also smudges her room before bedtime.

Along with tinctures and teas, Bertram strings crystal beads to make healing energy bracelets for her customers to wear or put in their pockets.

All crystals have energy and different meanings, she said. For example,  amethyst is for healing, and others help with anxiety, calm you or help you sleep. Bertram puts a selenite crystal under her daughter’s pillow to help with bad dreams, another recommendation of the Native American woman. Selenite, a crystallized form of gypsum, is used by alternative medicine practitioners for its healing properties, and is said to promote calmness, mental clarity and well-being.

“They say that whatever crystal you’re drawn to, that’s supposed to be the one. It’s calling you, that’s supposed to be for you,” Bertram said.

Much of it, she said, is whether you believe in the efficacy of a remedy.