Welcome to the Equinox.

We have just welcomed the first 2011 Equinox, which is when the earths tilt is neither towards nor away from the sun, we are parallel. 


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The Equinox also represents a change of season and brings with it the sentiment of renewal and transformation.

Now is the time for cleansing your mind, body and soul. You may be inspired to clean out your home, embark upon a deeper level of consciousness or complete a detox for your body.

I’ll take all three (!) but specifically now is the time to prepare my body for winter.

Our immune system is about to be hammered with winter colds, flus and other virus's floating around, so what can we do to minimise, or avoid completely, the winter blues?

Vitamin C (with bioflavonoids) is great, getting Vitamin C from a food source is the best option, as it is more bioavailable for your body, I am looking into Kakadu Plum and Camu Camu, goji berries are also a great source.

Echinacea is fantastic for immune support, especially for respiratory function. My preference is the tea and the cooler months really suit sipping warm tea, tablet form is available.

Garlic is an amazingly strong anti-bacterial-fungal-viral food, I am adding it to anything and everything that I can!

Fish oil tablets also support the immune system.

Interestingly enough it is important to have healthy gut bacteria for your immune system; nutrient uptake is dependent on a strong presence of good bacteria in your gut, if you are over ridden with bad bacteria - candida - which most people eating the traditional western diet are, one way to help your body get back into balance and function better on every level, is to take a probiotic, you can get this from dairy or soy yoghurt (check the labels as not all yoghurt is probiotic) or take a probiotic capsule (Inner Health Plus).

There are a million and one things that you can do, it depends on your lifestyle and preference, what you will and want to do, as well as your specific health requirements, but the above is a well-rounded approach that you will see results from.

Enjoy the autumn leaves. Crunch!

Love J x

Mother Nature - the oldest and greatest pharmacy



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Well well, as promised superfoods. Firstly before spending time and money on superfoods I would make sure that you feel comfortable that your day to day diet is where you would like it to be. In order for our bodies to uptake nutrients at the optimum levels there needs to be a presence of a range of nutrients – like iron absorption in the presence of Vitamin C is ideal and protein cannot be absorbed until all amino acids are present etc. So with this in mind if you don’t feel that you are eating the best diet then I would focus on that first before adding in these superfoods, otherwise you may just be making expensive toilet visits!

So what is a superfood? A super food is a food that has high levels of minerals and vitamins. Vitamins and minerals are so deficient from our diet due to commercial farming using poor soil, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides etc, they are affected by over cooking, also processes such as dehydrating, freezing and other preservation methods can affect mineral levels. Vitamins and minerals are so important in the body; they are the X factor in taking health to the next level!

I read something interesting called vertical disease – this is where you can walk, talk and function normally – yet you are not at your optimum state of health, and this could be acceptable to you simply because you don’t realise that you could be functioning better or that you ignore warning signs, opting to wait until you are bed bound before you take action! Pushing into a new level of living is exciting and empowering, realising your full potential and living each day inspired by this is what true health is about!

Superfoods in their raw, organic state can reverse deficiencies in minerals and vitamins that lead to serious disease.  The superfoods I am going to cover today are goji berries, cacao and maca because I have tried these and felt the benefits. There are more superfoods, some of which I am currently testing out, but I feel a responsibility to get to know them better before I can talk more about them. There are many books and the internet is a great source of information if you want to find out about the other superfoods before I get to them.

So firstly goji berries, they are available at the supermarket or organic stores/ health stores. Of course organic is best as they have not had thier medicinal properties reduced. Interestingly goji berries are the number one food in Chinese medicine, coming in before 1000's of other options. Known as the berry of longevity when eaten in the right way and as a regular part of your diet they give anti-aging properties. Known as an adaptogen, this means that they have a stabilising effect giving you more or less of what you need; in particular they assist with stress by supporting the adrenal glands. They boost immune function and are an alkaline food (I will talk more about acid/alkaline balance in depth another time).

David Wolfe has described these berries as “the most nutritionally rich berry-fruit on the planet”. Goji berries are high in antioxidants,  antioxidants are important for protecting us from free radical and radiation damage, this type of damage increases degenerative disease leading to premature aging. Gojis actually allow the body to heal itself! Goji berries also boost the immune system, meaning that if infection is present the body can fight it reducing or eliminating symptoms completely. David Wolfe recommends daily intake – if this is applicable to your nutritional requirements – of about 15-45gms.

I think it is important here to state that as your diet improves and you feel good, you will also become intuitively connected with your bodies needs and then it is your responsibility to give your body what it requires.  Taking every superfood, herb and supplement is NOT good for your health. Strategically choosing what your body needs, monitoring how it makes you feel and altering intake to fulfil your desired results is what is so incredible about nutrition. No two people are the same and no one formula will suit every person. Play with foods, experiment with how your body responds to food and find a perfect combination that works for you.

Cacao – this was a complete revelation for me. As a chocolate lover I knew deep down that I was never going to completely shed this pleasure, even though I felt the ill effects of consuming it. For me dairy and sugar have powerful ill effects on my body.
Cacao is chocolate – but it is chocolate in its purest form, also known as cocoa. Cacao is a fruit and the seed of the fruit when cracked open has cacao (chocolate) in it. This is sold in organic/health food stores, the best is raw cacao – a fantastic Australian website is http://www.livingearth.com.au/ they are very particular and conscious of providing a top quality product.

The processes that have gone into making chocolate as we know it, leaves the cacao seed void of all its nutrients and introduces a whole host of fats, sugars, preservatives, artificial flavourings and other toxins into our bodies.

Cacao comes in a variety of forms; powder, nibs, butter (all which I have tried) and beans with or without the skin or paste. It is bitter-sweet, like dark chocolate. I don’t find the taste of the nibs pleasing alone (other hard core dark chocolate fans may find the taste enjoyable), I find that mixing the nibs, powder and butter (not like butter in the supermarket) into smoothies is a delicious treat that honestly leaves my cravings satisfied.  Cacao is a rich source of magnesium – Mother Nature’s feel good mineral. Cacao is the highest food source of antioxidants in the world! It is high in iron, zinc, manganese and chromium. All important! It contains Omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin C…even serotonin which makes us feel good.  I honestly feel a buzz when I have cacao smoothies, and it doesn’t mean I crash afterwards, it hangs around and energises me. Cacao is my (not so) secret weapon!

Finally maca, Maca is a root vegetable from Peru. I have used it in a grounded powder form in my smoothies. Historically Maca was used for strength, stamina and libido; it increases blood oxygen levels which means all functions internally run smoother. Maca has been used for woman experiencing menopausal discomfort due to its adaptogen qualities, it can normalise hormonal functions in relation to stress.  The conditions listed that Maca is known to improve are: - anaemia, chronic fatigue, depression, infertility (human and livestock), lack of libido, malnutrition, menopausal symptoms, menstrual discomfort, poor memory, stress tension. Maca is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sulfer, sodium and iron and contains trace minerals – zinc, iodine, copper, selenium, bismuth, manganese, tin and silicon, also has vitamins B1, B2, C and E. Not bad!

Using what the earth has provided to boost our health is very exciting. Mother Nature is the oldest and greatest pharmacy, when respected and honoured it is so simple and easy to harness and mantain great levels of vitality and ultimately longevity.

Love J x

ps. A great read on superfoods is David Wolfe's Superfood book. He goes into detail on each food and its health benefits!

You are what you eat

Well I have officially started the studies and already learnt some amazing things about our magnificent sacred bodies, some incredible foods and what health really means.

Did you know the normal, acceptable, birth right level of health is... bouncing out of bed, smile-on-your-face-spring-in-your-step sort of thing, excited for the day, endless and joyful energy all day, the ability to cope with all situations with a level cool head (and yes food choices affect your ability to deal with stress!) and choosing when you will go to bed, teaming with excitement to wake up and do more!

Now how many people feel like this? I have been reading about real things that can be done, simple and non expensive things that are available to all and this has made me sit up and listen! I am very excited and inspired and so happy that I can begin to share the world of nutrition with everyone...

Warning: Some content may offend weak stomachs!

You are what you eat. How many times have you heard this? So many times that it has probably lost its meaning, yet it is so so true. Saturated, refined, processed until its beaten black and blue, nutrient poor, toxic food not only does nothing for you nutritionally, it actually robs you of what goodness you do have inside! Some fast foods have such toxic effects on your body that rather than process and send the toxins straight where they belong (down the toilet), your body stores them. Your body cannot even begin to process the toxins and run all the other functions of the body. We pay good money for this food. Isn't that scary?

Eating healthy doesn't have to be scary, it doesn't have to involve huge changes and hunger or even cravings. It can be really simple, and the beauty is that once small changes are made and you start to feel good, you want more, that's just human nature.

So you make a few more changes, you tell your friends and family, no-no actually, they notice before you tell them, they notice that you look better, your skin is clear, your eyes sparkle, your hair is shiny and thick and you have lots more energy, and they want a piece of what you are having, and so the snowball begins. All from a very simple, small change.

So what small changes can you make?

Well what about, without making any other changes to your diet, you start eating a salad with your lunch, make it exciting, not just cucumber, lettuce and tomato - what about, strawberries, blueberries, grapes (fruit is AMAZING in salad), nuts, seeds, sprouts, avocado, green beans (they are SO yummy raw), beetroot, mushrooms, herbs, carrot... the list goes on! Get creative, go crazy, put 20 different things in there, the more variety the better.

Note - For a complete protein eat beans with nuts and seeds or grains. Some 4 bean mix (available in the canned veg section of the supermarket), some walnuts and sunflower seeds sprinkled over the top for example.

Have your salad first, then eat whatever else you normally have,  you will probably find that you don't even need whatever else it was that you were eating.

What else can you do? What about starting the day on a glass of warm lemon water, I've said it before but this is great for awakening your system, detoxing and encouraging a bowel motion.

Ok side note...Did you know that it is ideal to have 3 bowel motions a day!?! One with each meal, there is a reflex that is stimulated by chewing, swallowing and digestion that is meant to activate your motion, however since we are usually in the car on the way to work, or in a meeting or just busy, we ignore this reflex and it's suppressed; over a long period of time this results in constipation. When toxins sit in your bowel they are reabsorbed and the body becomes overloaded, and this leads to a whole host of problems and serious disease. So in essence - don't hold on to shit!

Another thing you can do is add dark leafy greens to your meal; if you don't like the taste, shred the leaves and add them at the end just before you eat so they don't go soggy (yuk). Leafy greens are a fantastic source of calcium, iron, folate, vitamin A (for bones),  C (for your skin) and K (for your blood). Leafy greens need fat for optimal absorption so cooking with a little (1 tsp) butter or oil will increase the benefits. Leafy greens are; broccoli, kale, spinach (spinach actually has calcium blocking properties so if looking for calcium in leafy greens avoid this one), romaine lettuce (lunch time salad), dandelion greens etc.

What else can I do? Drink more water!!! So simple.

Another idea... give your body 12 hours rest from food a day, this way it has time to digest all your food and it can move onto other housecleaning, this is easy if you eat dinner before 7pm and eat breakfast after 7am. You should still have water though as this helps all the internal processes tick over.

Finally, eat organic! This can be expensive yes, but the major chains of supermarkets are beginning to stock a small range of organic food for a reasonable price, you need to start somewhere so what about here?

Right i'll leave it here for now. Some really easy things to do. Once you start this journey and start giving your body what it needs it will start giving you what you need. Imagine clarity of thought, great memory, the ability to concentrate for long periods of time, an abundance of creativity, energy to achieve your greatest desires and much more.

Next topic on food is superfoods including chocolate (!)- I have been introduced to some amazing bits and pieces that don't cost the world but make the world of difference...

Love J x

ps. I am by no means qualified to give nutritional medicine advice yet... but if you have any questions about different things in your diet please ask, I will try my best to direct you to information from good reliable healthy sources. Email me on facebook or comment below. x

Crash-Bash... Burn

Christmas parties. Booze-fuelled long lunches. Work functions. Music festivals. Weddings. Crash-bash...burn!

Want to start 2011 with a bang and survive the silly season?

Get your beauty sleep beautiful.

Keep sip-sip-sipping! A big water bottle will do the trick since it only has to be filled a few times, a glass means frequent refill visits - easily forgotten.

Eating delicious food is a part of the fun, but setting some boundaries will mean that you still get the fuel your body needs for all that late night booty shaking. Maybe limit 'treats' to after lunch - this means you get two healthy meals in - or only eat treats at lunch time, or only between certain times, or only every second day; whatever suits your lifestyle.

Have fun, let you hair down, but respect your body at the same time.

Get out and about, exercise will energise you. Perhaps go somewhere you haven't been before - a picnic in a park, a walk on a secluded beach, a day trip up the coast. 

Throw in a few booze free nights for good measure and voila!

Love J x

Va-Va-Voom

Busy friends chasing children. Studying. Working. Doing all the above at once,(!) need more energy. So some ideas for those of us with less than adequate va-va-voom!

Start the day on lemon water. (See previous post)

Please please eat Breakfast. Please.

Oats are a fabulous choice for breaky. Rolled oats are my pick, the quick cooking variety have undergone partial cooking processes which reduces nutrient levels. Also to decrease cooking time the outer shell is removed/broken which also depletes nutritional value. The low GI impact of oats means you get a slow release of energy, so you feel full for longer. Oats are a perfect start for your perfect day.

Snack. Feed your body, it's important to maintain energy.

Great snacks are nuts and seeds. Whole, raw almonds are delicious.

Fruit such as avocados, bananas, apples are all fantastic energy boosters. Apples actually affect you the same way a caffeine fuelled coffee would!

Vitamin C is found in a lot of fruit, particularly citrus, and is a great source of energy. I would recommend eating fruit rather than drinking juice because you miss out on so many nutrients from the flesh of the fruit. The process to make juice also diminishes nutrient levels and often juices have added sugar which will zap your energy.

Stop for lunch. Now. Right Now.  

Skipping a meal is another no-no. For those monitoring their weight... skipping meals will slow your metabolism as your body tries to preserve energy, then when you eat next your body will store the energy, resulting in weight gain. So eat lovely's.

Lunch ideas - vegetables – all of them are fabulous at providing our body with exactly what it needs. In particular sprouts, asparagus, broccoli and spinach are excellent energy boosters.

Eggs, tuna, chicken are all high sources of protein which will sustain your levels of energy.

Legumes are great energy foods, kidney beans, tuna and salad in a wrap = delicious. Also baked beans on wholemeal bread are a simple and easy lunch choice.

Thirsty?

H2O – I know health experts can really get pushy about water consumption, but there is a reason. Water is Mother Nature's miracle nectar.
So sip-sip-sip.

Ideally 1-2 litres a day, more if you are active or in hot weather. With practice you will polish off 3 litres easily. I notice on days that I don’t get enough... Sluggish. Headaches. Pimples. Blah.

What to avoid…

Now I apologise to all the sugar fiends out there, but refined sugar, found in chocolate, biscuits, cakes etc will cause fatigue. While you will get an initial boost from consuming these delights your body will experience an insulin spike and once you come down from this high you will feel deflated, tired and crave more sugar, so the journey continues.
I am no saint when it comes to sugar but I am making changes to wean myself from its clutches. (Honey is my saviour, and it has trace levels of nutrients...so it has health benefits) Everything in small doses. 

A good night sleep wouldnt go astray in boosting energy, however this is sometimes impossible. Teething. Yikes. So do what you can in that department.

I hope this helps…

Love J x

Let nature energise you!

Everyone knows that water hydration is good for the body, so here is an old favourite that will kick start your day...

Lemon water.

The practice of drinking lemon water originated from traditional Chinese medicine. And they were on to something.

This citrus is bursting with nutrients: Vitamin C, Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium... to name a few.

These essential nutrients work to boost your immune system, promote and support digestive systems and promote healthy clear skin.

Lemon water can be drunk at any time of the day, but I definitely feel the benefits first thing in the morning. I drink it in warm water first thing and chilled in the steamy summer afternoons. It is the ultimate refreshment!

So let nature energise you!

Love J x

Delicious. Healthy. Perfection.

My current obsession...

1-2 Bananas

400ml coconut milk

Tbsp Honey

Ice

Whiz together and indulge. Heavenly.

Coconut milk is considered by some nutritional experts as a ‘Super Food’, I certainly support this. Others have likened it to 'Mothers Milk'. Uniquely perfect.

Coconut milk is loaded with many powerful fatty acids. These little guys have a very important role within our body. The balancing properties can assist with regulating blood pressure, hormonal imbalances and stabilising blood sugar levels. It also boosts cellular healing processes, including immune and inflammation responses to illness and injury.

Coconut milk also stimulates the metabolism and therefore can assist with weight loss.

Convinced yet...? Go on, get into it!

Love J x