Inspire Vitality
What could be wrong with lighting a scented candle?
What could be more harmless than nice-smelling scented candles, right? No problem and no harm. Light one, let it flicker away, and allow the aroma to set the mood, right? There are dangers and risks associated with scented candles that may have you scrambling for greener alternatives to these apparently neutral everyday products.
DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between Margarine and Butter?
Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back.
It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow colouring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavourings….
Aquaponics is a combination of Aquaculture & Hydroponics. This means that fish and plants are grown in an integrated system, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two.
An Aquaponic system uses the water from the fish tank to circulate through a grow bed where the plants are grown.
In our endeavor for better nutrition, we often miss out on the most basic of elements, without which our nutrition is incomplete. While we do make sure we ingest enough vitamins, we sometimes tend to ignore some minerals in favor of others. So while everyone harps on how important calcium is for the body, they tend to forget that magnesium is just as important, if not more.
18th December 2012
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
There are many techniques you can follow and supplements you can take to detox your body. One in particular is to eat detoxifying foods.
Here is a list of detox foods that are a great addition to everybody’s diet.
Fruits are high in liquid-content, helping the body wash out toxins. They are also very easy to digest and are high in antioxidants, nutrients, fiber and important vitamins.
Fill your refrigerator with blue green algae, barley, wheatgrass, kale, spinach, spirulina, alfalfa, chard, arugula or other organic leafy greens. These plants will help give a chlorophyll-boost to your digestive tract.
Chlorophyll rids the body of harmful environmental toxins from smog, heavy metals, herbicides, cleaning products and pesticides. They also aid the liver in detoxification.
Citrus fruit aids the body in flushing out toxins and jump starts the digestive tract with enzymatic processes. Lemon juice aids the liver in its cleansing processes. To increase detoxification, start each morning with a warm glass of lemon water.
Remember, vitamin C is one of the best detox vitamins around, as it transforms toxins into digestible material. Eat vitamin c foods often to help get more of these benefits.
This pungent little bulb is one of the best detoxing foods out there. It helps stimulate the liver into producing detoxification enzymes that help filter toxic residues from the digestive system. I recommend adding sliced or cooked garlic to a suitable dish, as this will help aid any detox diet.
Extremely high in antioxidants, the ability for broccoli sprouts to stimulate the detoxification enzymes in the digestive tract is unparalleled. The sprouts are actually more effective than the fully-grown vegetable.
Packed full of antioxidants, green tea washes toxins from the system via its liquid content, but also contains a special type of antioxidant called catechins, which are known to increase liver function.
The mighty mung bean has been used by Ayurvedic doctors for thousands of years. It is incredibly easy to digest, and absorbs toxic residue on the sides of the intestinal walls.
Best for juicing or eaten raw: Onions, carrots, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, garlic, beet, turmeric, and oregano. The combination of these foods will help your liver purge toxins during the cleansing process. These are high in naturally occurring sulphur and glutathione. Sulphur helps the liver detoxify harmful chemicals.
Incorporate more of the easily digestible seeds and nuts into your diet. Flax seed, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, Siberian cedar nuts and sunflower seeds are all excellent options. While detoxing, avoid nut butters.
Use hemp, avocado, olive oils or flax seed oil while detoxing. This will help lubricate the intestinal walls, allowing the toxins to be absorbed by the oil, and eliminated by the body.
Performing a periodic body cleanse may also be beneficial. Do you have any suggestions for foods that detox the body? If so, please drop them in the comment section below. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Fats have acquired a bad reputation over the years for all the wrong reasons and most of us have been indoctrinated to avoid all forms of fat in our diet. In most cases, however, reduced-fat items are far worse for us than the real thing.Food advertised as “low fat” is generally high in carbohydrates (sugar), artificial sugars, artificial fats and chemicals. Most health experts now recommend that we should just eat the “real thing”—good quality fats—in modest quantities.
We talk a lot about this in Lunchbox Solutions
Fats constitute the structural framework of our body and are extremely important for a number of reasons: they help to repair the cells of the body, they transport vitamins, help manufacture hormones and they give us energy. Good fats, because they are “real” foods, tell us when we are full, thereby helping us to eat less. The more good quality fat found in a particular food, the longer it takes to digest and the longer we will feel full in between meals. Fats also slow down the release of sugar into the blood stream via the digestive tract, improving the glycemic index of each meal. Good fats therefore help us to curb cravings for sugar, junk foods and “the wrong” sorts of fats. In fact, a little good quality fat goes a long way!
Different Types of Fats
Saturated Animal Fats
We have been lead to believe that all saturated animal fats, such as red meat and butter, are bad for our health. Indeed, the Chief of Surgery at the Banner Heart Hospital in Mesa, Arizona, Dr Dwight Lundell, discusses in his article “Heart Surgeon Admits Huge Mistake!” how he became disillusioned by the myths relating to cardiovascular health.
“The cholesterol theory has led to the no-fat, low-fat recommendations that in turn have created the very foods are now being known to cause an epidemic of inflammation. In advising people to avoid saturated fats in favour of foods high in
Omega-6 fats, evidence tells us we have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.”
To read the whole article, follow this link:
http://welladjustedbabies.com/heart-surgeon-admits-huge-mistake/
Saturated fats actually have a valuable role to play in the optimum functioning of the body. All animal fats are saturated fats and are stable when exposed to light, heat and oxygen. They all contain cholesterol. They are essential for the properuptake of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. They boost immune function, allow the proper usage of Omega-3 essential fatty acids, hold our organs inplace and protect them. They give integrity to cell walls and aid the absorption of calcium.
Saturated fats are also a good source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Current research shows CLA has potent anti-cancer properties and a powerful ability to reduce heart disease.
Animal fats (and all other animal products) from grass-fed animals will be more potent than fats from their grain-fed counterparts and are well worth sourcing and paying for. We consider it almost essential that any animal fat should be organic.
Saturated Non-Animal Fats
Like animal fats, these fats are stable when exposed to light, heat and oxygen; however, unlike animal fats, they do not contain cholesterol. Coconut oil is a saturated non-animal fat that we highly recommend. Other saturated vegetable oils include palm oil and palm kernel oils. For more information, please see Everyday Oils We Recommend.
Unsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are oils which are liquid at room temperature. Some fats, like olive and macadamia oil, can also become solid when chilled.
Other unsaturated oils include peanut oil, canola oil, avocado safflower, corn, sunflower, soy and cottonseed oils. The more unsaturated fats are, the more unstable they are when exposed to heat, light and oxygen. Damaged (rancid) fat is highly dangerous to the body, yet most commercially available oils are refined by a process using chemical solvents and high heat.
The resulting oils are damaged and will therefore damage your body. For this reason, it is best to buy only high-quality oils and store them carefully, away from heat and light, preferably in dark-glassed bottles in the refrigerator. Unsaturated fats we recommend include almond oil, olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed), unrefined organic sesame oil, walnut oil and chia oil. Note: we do not recommend linseed or flax- seed oil—please see our blog for more information on this… http://welladjustedbabies.com/a-quick-look-at-everyday-oils
Hydrogenated Fat: When Fat Turns Ugly
Margarine and shortening (used in baking) is made from damaged oils mixed with nickel oxide, then hydrogenated. Hydrogenation is a chemical process in which unsaturatedfats are transformed into saturated fats by injecting them with hydrogen. This process increases the shelf life of the product; according to the food industry, itmakes these foods palatable months, perhaps years, from the date of their creation.
The problem is that the unsaturated fatty acid is mutated in the process of hydrogenation,becoming a trans fatty acid (TFA, or sometimes called a trans fat). According to the US Food and Drug Administration, TFAs are so damaging that there is no safe level or daily allowance suggested.
It is suggested that TFAs are a contributing factor in ADD and childhood behaviour problems, as well as adult mood problems such as poor concentration, anxiety, depression and aggression. The damaged fats are also known to impede insulin and its capacity to bind with cells. When unbound insulin circulates longer in the blood stream, the result is a quick return to hunger.
Unfortunately, these hydrogenated fats (margarines and shortening, for example) are used in almost all commercial cakes, biscuits, pastries, crisps, croissants and baked goods. They are cheap to produce and they also provide a low-cost preservation method for baked goods. We strongly recommend that you don’t consume any products which contain trans fats. Opt for those that have monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats instead.
Sources of Good and Bad Fats
Good Fats
• Cold water fish
• Quality meats and chicken
• Nuts, nutbutters and nut oils
• Seeds
• Free-range organic eggs
• Avocado
• Organic butter
• High-Quality cheese and yoghurt
• Oil supplements (such as fish oil) [ed: link to below]
• Organic coconut and olive oil (for cooking)
• Olive oil, macadamia, avocado, and sesame oils (for dressings)
Bad Fats
• Vegetable oils (such as safflower, sunflower, canola and corn oils)
• Lower quality red meats and pork (such bacon and sausages)
• Lower quality processed dairy products (such as processed cheeses)
• Margarine
Everyday Oils We Recommend
Health happens by choice, not by chance or accident. There are ways and means of protecting our bodies, and one way is to consume healthy oils. Because most oils go rancid at high heats, oils that can be used for cooking are limited. However, the choice widens when we use oils in salad dressings, dips and smoothies, for example.
Healthy ways we use oils
• Smoothies—use chia oil, fish oil
• Dressings—use macadamia, olive and sesame oils.
• Baking—use butter and coconut oil
• Frying—use coconut oil, olive oil, avocado
We have listed some of our favourite oils here.
Cooking Oils
• Coconut Oil
• Olive Oil
SUPPLEMENTARY OILS
• Fish Oil
• Chia Oil
Enjoy the good fats lovely people and don’t be afraid of them.
Love
Jen
Here’s an extract from one of Cyndi O’Meara’s blog posts on the KORA Organics website. Every time I read this it shocks me:
The history of margarine is that it began it’s life as candle wax. Procter and Gamble have the patten on the hydrogenation of vegetable oil – they created this oil as it didn’t go off like tallow and was cheap. It’s next life was when it became Crisco Shortening. After that they figured out that they could make a soft shortening by only partially hydrogenated the oil and dyed it yellow and pink (some states of the US didn’t want anyone to think that it was butter) and was sold as the cheap version of butter – and they called it margarine. 2012 there are now plant sterols in margarine – they claim that it lowers cholesterol, but if you read my last nights post this is fallacy – not by my research but the research of the European Heart Journal.
Why are the ants only eating the butter and not the margarine?
Take a look at Cyndi O’Meara’s blog post at: http://www.koraorganics.com/blog/live-in-my-skin/all-things-organic/organic-certification/the-picture-that-started-a-fierce-debate-on-facebook/
In 2007 the authorities realised that trans fats produced by partially hydrogenating a vegetable oil (margarine) were actually quite dangerous to the brain (contributing to dementia) and body (contributing to arteriosclerosis, diabetes and even cancer) so margarine had to change yet again. So for those who eat margarine do you know whether the oil in your margarine is hydrogenated, interesterefied or fractionated and if you do know that, do you know what those processes produce and how they effect the cell membranes of the body. Do you also know what the other ingredients in margarine are and do, and if you buy the pro activ margarine ($8.00 for 375gm) do you really understand why they can make such claims as lowers cholesterol absorption. And do you really understand what the benefits of lowering cholesterol absorption is – opposed to lowered cholesterol (big difference).
The humble, yet incredible coconut.
Despite the fact that the majority of health officials have claimed all saturated fats are bad for you and cause heart disease, recent evaluation of the basis for this recommendation has found it to be seriously flawed, as unprocessed saturated fats are an important part of a healthy diet should be regularly consumed not assiduously avoided.
An important and beneficial saturated fat is coconut oil, which has scientifically demonstrated health benefits, including healthy support for your heart and brain, skin, immune system, and thyroid.
Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which your body converts to monolaurin, and this special agent has antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoalproperties; coconut oil is also rich in capric acid, which shares some of the same antimicrobial benefits that help protect you from infections.
Coconut oil is also rich is medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which stimulate your body’s metabolism and help you trim off excess body fat.
It is the only oil, I personally cook with. It has a high heat tolerance and remains stable when heated unlike most other oils.
As for what oils I use in my other recipes…. I love Chia Oil and Macadamia Oil in my salads and I use these oils also in my healthy shakes! Yum!
The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, the ‘Father of Medicine,’ once said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” He was the first recorded physician to teach that disease wasn’t caused by superstition or the gods, but rather by diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors.
Spirulina, literally the most nutritious food known, is an edible blue-green algae used all over the world for its nutritional and medicinal qualities. It is very common for people consuming Spirulina to experience a jump in energy and vitality. The reason is simple: Spirulina is a powerhouse of nutrition. This conclusion is supported by well over 400 studies conducted in various scientific institutions around the world.
Spirulina is about 60% complete protein, quite a large amount when compared to beef or chicken (approximately 25% protein each). ‘Complete’ protein means that it contains all eight of the essential amino acids that our bodies require to thrive. It has 10 other non-essential amino acids that play important supporting roles in good health.
We all know that fish is a good source of the important nutrients called omega fatty acids (omega 3, 6 & 9). What we don’t often consider is where the fish get the majority of their omega fatty acids: from algae such as Spirulina. This superfood is rich in the omega fatty acids, and especially omega 3, which play key roles in preventing heart disease, lowering bad cholesterol, reducing the severity of arthritis, osteoporosis, depression and diabetes and much more.
Spirulina is by far the highest known source of vitamin B12 with approximately 3 mcg for every gram. Vitamin B12 is essential for the metabolism of every cell of the body, the production of red blood cells and the development of healthy nerve tissue.
It is also the highest known source of beta-carotene, an extremely important nutrient. Beta-carotene is part of the carotenoid family, a group of pigments that give plants their various colours. Beta- carotene is a powerful antioxidant and is sometimes referred to as pro-vitamin A because our bodies convert it to vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for healthy teeth, skeletal and soft tissue, mucous membranes, skin and eyes. Although high doses of vitamin A are toxic, there is no known toxicity associated with beta-carotene. It has been shown to help prevent certain cancers (lung, cervical, skin, oral) and to improve immune system function.
Spirulina provides a variety of other essential nutrients such as vitamins E, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, K1 and K2 and such as minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, chromium, and potassium. It is enriched with important phytonutrients such as gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), chlorophyll, c-phycocyanin and other carotenoids including the powerful antioxidant zeaxanthin.
This amazing algae is a microscopic form of life that does not have the usual tough cell walls that are normally found in plant life. This means that it is extremely easy to digest making all of the mentioned nutritional compounds highly absorbable into your body. All of this amounts to simply an unbelievable amount of concentrated nutrition in every gram.
Spirulina has been shown to be effective against certain cancers & viruses, reduce inflammation, increase immune function, detoxify the liver & kidneys, help with diabetes & liver disease, and offer protection for the brain.
REFERENCES
http://www.cyanotech.com/spirulina/spirulina_techlit.html
http://www.springerlink.com/content/n702565776r5wu15/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12448336
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031635_superfood_spirulina.html#ixzz2H3wVwbzc
We have all heard that fiber is good for us, but why? And how is it going to help you to lose fat, look, good and feel great…
Don’t you just love coming across great websites? I’m pretty new in the blogger world so I love coming across these great websites that can offer such…
Childhood obesity has to be the most important issues facing todays generation. It has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. But why?…
I have only recently changed to the Paleo Diet and I have to admit the change in my energy levels have been huge. I no longer feel tired…
If you have any further questions or would like to offer some advise, please do not hesitate to contact me.
