Wellness Wednesday - Is your body a ticking time bomb?

It's always a shock when someone we know gets cancer, or finds out they have a chronic disease. It's difficult to process. Our first reaction is, invariably, "Why?" Our second will probably be, "How?" There is a fair amount of questioning and commenting and, almost always, one of the comments to come out of our mouths will be, "But she is so fit and healthy. I just don't understand how this could happen!"

That IS the question. How does someone who appears to be so fit and healthy, who gyms regularly, follows a healthy diet and basically follows all the steps recommended to maintain a healthy lifestyle, acquire a dread disease like cancer. It makes you realise your OWN vulnerability and it makes you wonder just how healthy you actually are... for a few weeks maybe. But then you gradually move away from that harsh dose of reality and go back to your daily life where disease isn't actually a REAL possibility for you. It's something that happens to other people. It doesn't occur to us to think that our bodies may also be a ticking time bomb.

That sounds really dramatic but it's, unfortunately, very true. From the day we are born, our bodies are exposed to things that bodies just shouldn't be exposed to. In fact, it actually starts before that, while we are growing in our mother's wombs. Whatever mom eats, or uses on her skin, breathes in, or is exposed to, gets transferred directly to her baby. It's frightening to think that, at such a crucial time of our lives, we are already ingesting chemicals and they are contributing to the cells of our tiny bodies.

After we are born, we continue to be exposed. Breast milk IS the best thing you can give your baby BUT, again, whatever you eat or drink, or use on your skin, will be transferred to your baby. If you feed them formula (and I know some mom's have no choice because they can't breastfeed) you are exposing them to even MORE chemicals because most baby formulas are processed under extremely high temperatures and that leads to the formation of AGES (Advanced Glycation End products) These nasty things build up in your body over time, leading to oxidation (think of rust on anything exposed to the elements for too long) and inflammation, which is linked to a number of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease and, of course, cancer.

Babies products, which are supposed to be safe, are NOT at all safe. Johnson and Johnson is such a well known, commonly used manufacturer of baby products like shampoos and body washes and yet they contain two, potentially cancer-causing chemicals. One is quaternium-15, a toxin which releases formaldehyde; a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant, and a known carcinogen. Frighteningly, formaldehyde exposure has also been associated with leukaemia. The other is 1,4-dioxane, a carcinogen which is toxic to your brain, central nervous system, kidneys and liver. Talcum powder is another, commonly used baby product which has been connected to cancer AND asthma.

All this happens before you can even walk. Over the span of your life you move from baby products, to toxic beauty products from soap right through to body cream. You will get sick and visit doctors who will prescribe medications, like antibiotics, that further break your body down. In between those doctors visits, you will self-medicate with various other over the counter chemicals to cure pain, inflammation, hay fever and insomnia, among other things.

The average person eats roughly 800kgs of food a year. The bulk of that food will consist of processed "foods", takeaway and, if they eat fruit and vegetables, they will be conventionally grown and pesticide-ridden. Whatever meat they eat will likely be hormone and antibiotic-ridden AND from grain-fed animals. Their diet will be heavy in processed and refined grains and low in good, healthy fats. In reality, most people DON'T eat fresh fruits and vegetables anyway. They prefer to stick to packaged and processed foods developed in science labs because it's convenient and they are taken in by labels like "low-fat" and "low-sugar" thereby exposing themselves to even MORE toxins.

In case you don't really know where all this is leading, let's think about how our bodies work. You really ARE what you eat. Everything that you eat gets used to build the body you have. Your body is constantly regenerating itself and it uses WHATEVER you give it, to regenerate itself. It won't be able to differentiate between an organic apple and a packet of crisps. Your digestive system will break it all down and send it out to be used to build more cells. You can imagine that the apple will provide some stellar fuel for your system, but the crisps? Not so much.

Did you know that you can lose anywhere from 200 000 to 3 000 000 cells per SECOND. It's difficult to get an exact answer as to how many body cells we lose on a daily basis but the atoms in your body go through a complete turnover about once every 7 years. That doesn't mean you get a whole new body as you hit the 7 year mark;) It means that, by the end of those 7 years, all the cells you started with at the beginning of that 7 year cycle, will have been replaced with new ones. When we are younger, we are making far more cells than we are losing. As we get older, or we get sick, we are making fewer cells than we are losing and that's how you notice the ageing process beginning to happen. We see the result in the wrinkling of our skin, the greying of our hair, the loss of muscle and strength etc.

Consider all that I said before about how you start your life exposed to chemicals and continue to expose it, on a daily basis, for your entire life. If your body is constantly regenerating itself, what is it using for fuel? Well, it's using all of the chemicals and toxins that you feed it day after day. That means that the cells in your body not only CONTAIN toxins, but they are MADE UP of toxins. Your body wasn't meant to be part plastic and chemical. What is going to happen with all that foreign matter in your body? It is going to transform what you thought was a healthy body, into a very sick, diseased body.

The frightening reality is that most of us are already sick. We just don't realise it. It's basically impossible to be 100% healthy given what we do to our bodies year in and year out. Most of us operate at about 50% on a really good day. We pick ourselves up with doses of caffeine in the form of coffee or coca cola. We have a daily red bull without which we likely wouldn't get through the morning. By the afternoon we are shoving refined carbohydrates down our throats to try and get through the remainder of the day. We JUST crawl over the finish line and make it home to our couch where we blob in front of a TV, too exhausted to think or move. By the time we get to bed we are shattered but can't sleep because we've overloaded our systems with caffeine and sugar all day so we pop a sleeping pill, or have a few glasses of wine, just to get some shut eye.

This isn't a NORMAL way to live. If you are battling to wake up every morning, and feel tired until about 10am, something is wrong. If you are taking painkillers every 4 hours for a constant headache, something is wrong. If you are having to rely on caffeine to pick you up and your body is craving carbohydrates and you are lagging by the afternoon, something is wrong. If you are struggling to sleep EVERY night and it's normal for you to take a sleep aid, SOMETHING IS WRONG. If you don't listen to the signs that your body is giving you, then you will likely wake up one morning and find a lump where there shouldn't be one, or blood where there shouldn't be blood and by then it will, very likely, be something that is only fixable with very toxic medication that will strip your body from the inside out and leave you with a permanently compromised immune system. The only difference between you and a person that is already living with cancer is that they have ACTUAL proof in the form of a lump. Do you actually need to see that lump to believe that you are sick? Hate to be a prophet of doom but by then it may be too late.

There is a way to try and prevent that happening:

• LISTEN to your body
• RESPECT your body. You only get the one.
• Give your body the fuel that it really needs. ie. organic produce and meat from pasture fed animals
• Get rid of ALL processed and refined foods and eat only food that will spoil. ie. REAL food
• Consider a homeopath instead of a conventional doctor. Better yet, consider allowing your body to heal naturally instead of pumping it full of medication. Stop taking pills.
• Get rid of ALL your conventional beauty products
• Get rid of ALL your conventional household cleaning products
• Drink filtered, or boiled water
• Exercise
• Do I need to say STOP SMOKING? It's a no-brainer really.
• Get rid of ALL artificial air-"fresheners" YESTERDAY!

All this may sound like hard work to you but, honestly, what's harder? To do this, or to go through 6 months of chemo and radiation and being in remission with a constant threat hanging over your head? There is no compromising when it comes to your health and that of your family. If you are stuck with how to start, follow the links I've given you. They give you loads of tips. Or just start at the beginning and work your way through. I'm not saying I am all-knowledgeable. Far from it. But I've done a lot of the research FOR you so that you don't have to search high and low. Take advantage of the fact that I am addicted to research and educate yourself;) Use what you want and leave the rest.

Cancer didn't exist just over a century ago. It's a disease of civilisation. That means you have a better chance of avoiding it if you don't succumb to the marketing and hype surrounding all the products that you are exposed to every day. You actually have the power. Don't stick your head in the sand and pretend it's not happening, because it is.

You'll be amazed what happens when you become aware. Suddenly you realise the potentially negative environmental impact you are having on the world around you and, before you know it, you are doing as much as you can to lessen that impact. Becoming aware means you KNOW the consequences. It makes you feel responsible and it makes you WANT to change. That, in turn, makes you more in touch with the world, with people, with the environment and with animals. That kind of reaction has a way of rippling all around you and touching those near you and, before you know it, your friends and family will ALSO be aware. You have the potential in you to save, not only your life, but the lives of the people around you through your awareness.

Don't give in to that ticking time bomb. It's not a given if you are prepared to make the changes. You have nothing to lose so the question is, why on earth wouldn't you?

The benefits of raw apple cider vinegar

Every day, after I've done my oil-pulling, and rinsed my mouth with salt water, I drink a warm mug of raw apple cider vinegar, raw honey and water with a dash of cinnamon. Why would anyone do that, you ask? Well, I'm going to give you all the reasons why, right here.

Vinegar has, for centuries, been touted as a remedy for just about every existing ailment. But it's actually apple cider vinegar that has, more recently, been singled out as a health tonic. You'll find it in all health stores and Dischems these days. The big pharmaceutical companies would, of course, have us believe that regular medication is far better than alternative remedies. It always is, for them, because they have absolutely nothing to gain, financially, from alternative and preventative remedies. However, even they can't discount the following studies proving the medical uses of apple cider vinegar:

• Diabetes: The effect of vinegar on blood sugar levels is probably the best researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar's health benefits. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glucose levels. A 2007 study of people with type 2 diabetes found that taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels by 4%-6% when they woke the following morning.

• High cholesterol: A 2006 study showed evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol.

• Blood pressure and heart health: A study with rats found that vinegar could lower high blood pressure. A larger study also found that people who ate oil and vinegar dressing on salads five to six times a week had lower rates of heart disease than people who didn't. 

• Cancer: A few laboratory studies have found that vinegar may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. 

• Weight Loss: For thousands of years, vinegar has been used for weight loss. It stabilises the blood sugar making people feel fuller for longer. Bear in mind that apple cider vinegar alone, will not give you the body you want! But it's a good accompaniment to a healthy diet.

Scientific studies are great for some but they're not the be-all and end-all for me, given that scientists also believe that scientifically created food, and medication, is actually good for you! There are many people who also believe apple cider vinegar has the following benefits and I tend to agree:

• Detoxification: Apple cider vinegar is rich in natural minerals, vitamins and enzymes. The unique acids in apple cider vinegar can bind to toxins and help the body eliminate them more effectively. Apple cider vinegar can also help to stimulate circulation and aid detoxification in the liver. In ancient cultures apple cider vinegar was often used to purify the blood. Apple cider vinegar aids detoxification by breaking up mucus throughout the body and cleansing the lymph nodes to allow for better lymph circulation. A healthy lymphatic system can remove toxins from the cells in the body while improving immune system response.

• To help with digestion: This is possibly one of apple cider vinegar’s biggest benefits. It can help with indigestion and gastrointestinal discomfort caused by certain foods. It's said to clear up chronic acid reflux when taken with each meal and I can attest to that.

• Strengthens the immune system: Apple cider vinegar devotees claim that it is one of the main reasons they are able to ward of common illnesses like colds and flu. This is possibly due to its unique blend of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. It also possesses antimicrobial and antiseptic properties. I can vouch for the faster healing, myself!

• For soft and shiny hair: Acetic acid, the main ingredient in Apple cider vinegar, will remove build up from styling products and strengthen the hair shaft, leaving you with soft, shiny hair. It also balances your hair's pH level, kills bacteria, and helps get rid of dandruff. Dilute 1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar in 4 cups of water and pour over your hair after shampooing. Leave it in for a few seconds before rinse your hair using cold water to seal the hair shaft and create more shine. The vinegar smell will disappear as soon as your hair dries! Don't do this daily as vinegar is acidic!

A few other benefits:

• Prevents bladder stones and urinary tract infections
• Increases stamina
• Alleviates symptoms of arthritis and gout
• Reduces sinus infections and sore throats
• Improves skin conditions such as acne
• Protects against food poisoning
• Improves digestion and constipation
• Prevents muscle fatigue after exercise
• Fights allergies in both humans and animals
• Prevents bad breath when used as a gargle mixed with water
• Prevents body odour when used externally
• Prevents night time leg cramps

When I talk about apple cider vinegar, I don't mean the stuff you buy at pick n pay in the vinegar aisle. That is very poor quality, essentially "dead", vinegar and it's not going to have any medicinal benefits. It's been completely stripped of everything beneficial. It also contains preservatives and drinking it may actually be worse for you than not drinking any at all! The stuff I am talking about is raw apple cider vinegar which contains "the mother".   "The mother" is that cloudy sediment that settles on the bottom of the vinegar bottle if you leave it to stand for a while and it is made of of living nutrients and bacteria which is why it is so beneficial for you.

Dischem raw brand at a small cost of R19.95

A very good, imported brand, but pricier!

So, how do you drink it? Well, as I said in the beginning, I drink it every morning, about 20 minutes before breakfast. This is how I make it:

• Half fill a mug with hot water
• Add a teaspoon of raw honey and mix until dissolved
• Add a dash of cinnamon
• Top the mug up with cold water
• Only THEN, stir in a capful (or tablespoon) of vinegar
• Drink!

In case you're wondering why you add the vinegar last, it's because it is raw and adding it to boiling water will kill off a lot of the bacteria and nutrients that you NEED to be drinking. So it's best to add it to lukewarm water. The cinnamon is not essential if you're not a fan of it but, to me, it makes it more palatable. Cinnamon IS really good for you, in any case:

• It is known to lower blood sugar and cholesterol
• It has natural anti-infectious compounds
• It reduces pain linked to arthritis
• It may reduce the proliferation of cancer cells
• It is a natural food preservative
• It contains contains fibre, calcium, iron, and manganese
• It's been proven effective for menstrual pain and infertility
• Cinnamon holds promise for various neurodegenerative diseases, including: Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, brain tumours and meningitis

Knowing all that, why would you NOT add the cinnamon?! Besides which, it makes it taste a bit like mulled wine (according to my brother;)

I was REALLY surprised when, the first time I made it for GLM, she actually said she LIKED it! It is an acquired taste for some but we actually enjoy our morning mug and, if I forget it over the weekend when I'm out of routine, GLM will often go and make it for herself or ask why we aren't drinking it;) 

So, if you are ready to enjoy all the wonderful benefits of apple cider vinegar, head off to your nearest health shop or dischem, buy yourself a bottle and get started!

King of the fast foods

I was listening to Redi Tlhabi talking on 702 this morning about the opening of the first Burger King in South Africa. Apparently Burger King were giving away free whopper burgers to the first 1 000 customers. I have to say, I share her confusion over why people would start queuing at a fast food joint several hours before it was supposed to open, unless they were homeless and starving and that burger meant the difference between life and death.

Colour me stupid but what is so special about Burger King? I GET that burgers are tasty. I also GET that fast food is convenient at times if you aren't as fussy as me. (Personally, I'd rather push through the hunger until I find something better.) I just don't understand how a burger, made in a fast food joint like Burger King, could possibly be more appealing than a burger made in your own kitchen, thereby giving you power over the ingredients IN said burger. In fact, Burger King is SO appealing to people, that they actually woke up early to go and queue outside Burger King hours before it opened when they could have actually used that time to make themselves a lunch that would have saved them, not only petrol and time, but also a possible heart attack, or some dread disease, later in life.

Recently, Burger King had to come clean, during the horsemeat scandal, and admit that they used horsemeat in their burgers. They only came clean AFTER DNA evidence was found proving that they were using horsemeat, and they were forced to admit to it and apologise for denying it only hours before. Too late, she cried? Apparently not according to the thousands queuing outside of Burger King this morning! It's scary to think that fast food eaters have no CLUE what they are eating, nor do they seem to care.

Mmm, delicious...

There are two possibilities here: One is that Burger King knowingly lied about the horsemeat in order to protect their own profit margins regardless of the harm they might be causing OR the other possibility is that Burger King literally had NO idea that their food contained horsemeat and are innocent of the lies... BUT that makes them ignorant about their own food so I'm not actually sure which is worse.

There are any number of scarily, toxic chemicals in most fast foods and if Burger King, and its clientele, are clueless about the horsemeat in their own burgers, how can they say they have been honest when listing the nutritional value of their burgers on their website? How can any of their clients trust that the nutritional breakdown on their website, is accurate? And if Burger King actually ARE aware of the horsemeat, then the nutritional breakdown on their website is null and void because they haven't declared it there and that means they have lied. Of course, I think we can safely say that they haven't declared it because they KNOW that you won't want to eat burgers made of horsemeat and so they'd rather lie to you and not lose your money. Where are the ethics there?

Unfortunately, horsemeat is actually the least of your worries when it comes to fast food. Here is a list of some of the ingredients NOT listed in the nutritional breakdown on their websites:

• sodium phosphates
• bleached wheat flour
• modified food starch 
• dextrose (sugar)
• partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cottonseed oil with mono-and diglycerides, (read: trans fats)
• Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil) (read: trans fats)
• TBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleium derived product
• Dimethylpolysiloxane

You may have saved some money because you bought a cheap burger, but what price are you ultimately paying for having that burger? If you read my previous post you'll remember that everything that you eat, becomes a part of you. Your body sees it all as food and it becomes part of your cell makeup, it flows through your bloodstream and it contaminates everything it touches. Why do 1 in 3 people have cancer these days? The above bullet points are part of your answer, folks. If you still can't see it then I'm not sure who can help you there!

The ONLY things that most of us will recognise as "food" on that list, are the bleached wheat flour, the sugar and the vegetable oil. Bleached wheat flour has been sucked DRY of any nutrients that it might have had to start with. Can someone tell me WHY anyone would do that? You not only remove the nutrients, but you kill any flavour it might have had to start with and you might as well add talcum powder to the burger instead. There is also the issue that your body breaks down the white flour  into glucose extremely fast and so you tend to store more of it as fat.

As for sugar, we eat that all the time right? Surely it can't be THAT bad? Well, let's see how bad it can be:

• Bad bacteria LOVE to eat sugar, so sugar can depress your immune system by fueling the bad bacteria
• Sugar contributes to infertility
• Sugars raises blood glucose levels, which can deteriorate blood vessels and lead to heart disease
• Sugar can increase your risk of cancer. Some believe it can CAUSE cancer. Read this article to really blow your mind!
• Sugar contributes to candida, which MANY women suffer from, especially IBS sufferers.
• Sugar cravings are related to stress and the cravings are self-sustaining. (Meaning when you eat sugar because you’re stressed, you’re going to end up wanting more sugar when the stress returns.) Vicious cycle anyone?
• Sugar is addictive. Lisa Byrne says it best in her workbook, Break the Sugar Habit: “Refined, white sugar acts more like a drug than a food in our system…but it started as a whole plant. The sugar cane and beet plant in nature come complete with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals like any other plant. When glucose is part of the whole plant, it acts like a food in your body -- entering our system calmly, breaking down slowly and providing a range of nutrients in addition to energy. When glucose is isolated, sugar acts like a drug in your body. Too much refined sugar creates a cycle of intense highs and lows, keeping our blood sugar, hormones and neurotransmitters out of balance.

Ok, so sugar = not good! How about those vegetable oils? We've been told that they're good, right? Margarine is made out of vegetable oils and we are supposed to eat that instead of butter to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease aren't we? 

That would be... WRONG!

One of the (many) problems with vegetable oils is that, unlike butter or coconut oil, vegetable oils can’t be extracted just by pressing or separating naturally. They have to be chemically removed, deodorised and altered. Vegetable oils are some of the most chemically altered foods in our diets and yet they get promoted as healthy. What's frightening is that they are found in pretty much EVERY processed food, from salad dressing to mayonnaise (and fast foods) and  even on the "healthy" nuts and seeds you buy (look at the ingredients).

The last few times I've been in Durban, lately, I've heard an advert punting Canola margarine as a healthy alternative. It's practically on repeat and I get so mad when I hear it I turn off the radio! Here is the scary thing about Canola oil:

• It was developed by making a hybrid version of the rapeseed, and it was given its name in the 1980s as part of a marketing effort organised by a conference on mono-saturates.
• Rapeseed oil contains high amounts of the toxic erucic acid, which is poisonous to the body. (it has been linked to the formation of fatty deposits in heart muscles in animals) Canola oil is an altered version, also called Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed and it is commonly genetically modified and treated with high levels of pesticides.
• Canola (modified rapeseed oil) is produced by heating the rapeseed and processing it with a petroleum solvent to extract the oil. Then another process of heat and an addition of acid is used to remove nasty solids (wax) that occur during the first processing.
• At this point, the newly created canola oil must be treated with yet MORE chemicals to improve the colour and separate the different parts of the oil. Finally, because the chemical process has created a horrible smelling oil, it must be chemically deodorised to be palatable!
• If the vegetable oil is going to be made into margarine, it undergoes an additional process called hydrogenation to make it solid at cold temperatures. Unlike saturated fats (butter, coconut oil, etc) vegetable oils are not naturally solid at these temperatures and must be hydrogenated to accomplish this. During this process of hydrogenation, those lovely transfats we’ve heard so much about, are created.

Still thinking about that Burger? Did I go through all the other stuff listed that we DIDN'T recognise?

• Sodium phosphates: According to web definitions: phosphate of sodium is used as a laxative to cleanse the bowels... 
• Food starch is usually modified via a chemical process and is used in most processed foods
• TBHQ or Tertiary Butylhydroquinone is found in many foods, ranging from crackers to crisps to fast foods. It is also found in certain brands of pet foods, as well as in cosmetic and baby skincare products, varnish, lacquers and resins and it is used in the stabilisation process of explosive compounds... and you want to eat it because... ?!
• Dimethylpolysiloxane is an antifoaming agent (a form of silicone used in cosmetics, and Silly Putty) It is also found in diet coke, sprite etc.

Some people will read this and say, "So what? Life is short and I want to enjoy it! My parents ate all this stuff and they're ok! But are they really? I challenge you to say you don't know a single person who has cancer or heart disease or diabetes or some other physical ailment. Ageing prematurely also counts. If it's no-one in your immediate circle, then there will be someone who you've met through someone close to you. Doctors will tell you that these diseases are genetic. I will agree that some people ARE genetically predisposed to some diseases. BUT I also believe that it is our lifestyle that will determine whether we get those diseases or not. You are not powerless unless you choose to be.

So, you have a choice here. To continue to live in ignorance, despite having the knowledge at your fingertips, or to begin to affect a change, not only in your life, but in the lives of those close to you. The choices you make will affect your children, and your children's children. Look what happened when food became a booming industry and people realised how much money could be made by deceiving the masses. Our parents were told that eating certain processed foods was much better than eating real food and THEY bought into it. So WE bought into it. That's the power of advertising. 

But I also believe in the power of the influence we have on those around us. So it's up to us whether we choose to continue that legacy, or to affect a change. We need to start a food revolution. That's what I'm doing here and I can see the change happening in people around me and it gives me a great amount of hope. By looking after ourselves, we are also looking after those close to us, AND a great side benefit is that we go easier on our planet too. It's a win-win situation:)

That's enough of that! Tomorrow is THE REAL FOOD FRIDAY FEAST and I'm finally going to share that banana bread recipe I've been talking so much about! I happened to spot a banana bread loaf in a grocery store yesterday and, out of interest, I peeked at the ingredients. All I can say is, it wasn't far removed from a fast food burger! Wouldn't it be nice to eat a banana bread that, you know, was actually good for you? Bet you always thought ANY cakes were cheat meals destined to land on your thighs and hips and you needed 3 gym sessions to work them off! Not this banana bread, I guarantee!

Can I get a YUM!?

Don't miss tomorrow's post;)

Go on, eat that fat!

Winter seems like the worst time ever to try and overhaul your entire lifestyle, right? I disagree! And over the course of this post, I'll tell you why;)

If you were going to be following a "diet" where a meal consisted of 3 lettuce leaves, half a can of tuna and 5 almonds  then, yes, I'd say winter is a bad time to do that. In my opinion, ANYTIME is a bad time to do that! Winter is a time when all we want to do is hibernate, and EAT! You want soups and curries and stews and lots of hot, baked goods and snacky things and hot, sweet drinks. Sounds like a lot of things you can't eat if you are organic and healthy, doesn't it? Well, it's time we blew THAT mindset right out of the water!

Looks pretty fattening, right? WRONG!

I don't believe in diets. I don't believe in weighing your food and counting calories and depriving yourself of all the good things in life, just to lose a bit of body fat that will more than likely return the minute you start to eat "normally" again. Going organic and eating real food is not a diet, or a fad, or a quick fix to your fat loss issues. It's an entire mindset and lifestyle change. It's FOR LIFE. The fact that it has a sideline benefit of losing body fat is an added bonus, but it shouldn't be the only motivation or you probably will fall off the fruit box eventually.

I made a decision to start eating real, organic food about a year ago and it was just as winter started so I can vouch for winter being a good time to start the process;) I'd always considered myself to be very healthy up until then. As I mentioned in my first post, nutrition and health has always fascinated me. But, no matter how healthy I thought I was, my weight fluctuated and my stomach gave me grief a lot of the time. I was constantly on a learning curve and I loved learning but it was frustrating at times, knowing I wasn't quite getting it right!

WTF?!

Just over a year ago, a friend started mentioning organic and paleo eating to me. I knew nothing about all of that and so I decided to start researching it, as I do! I was astounded at how much information I found. It took me a few months to work my way through it and figure it all out for myself, but I began to realise just how wrong I had been for so long. There I was, dutifully cutting all the fat out of my diet, eating low fat this and fat free that, eating only egg whites, skinless chicken breasts, eating next to nothing, counting all my calories and I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting it right.

Despite doing everything the "experts" told me to do, I still had to watch what I ate to avoid my body weight fluctuating too much and my stomach was still giving me grief despite me avoiding all the known aggravants.  I was also still catching every bug that came my way as well. I felt tired and unhealthy and permanently grumpy!

Blegh...

So basically, we have ascertained that I was NOT achieving my aim. It was time for a complete overhaul; a change in mindset and a change in lifestyle.

I'm not saying it was a fast process. I had spent the last 35 years of my life learning what to do and what not to do. Suddenly I felt like a child again because I had to start learning almost from scratch. 

Perhaps the hardest thing to get my head around was that I could eat fat! Now, most of us know that we need to eat some fat, like nuts and avocados and olive oil. But did you know your body also needs animal fat?

Altogether now... WHAAAAT?!

For decades, saturated fat has been utterly vilified. It's supposed to be the cause of obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, it's been linked to cancer, it's a death sentence for diabetics and it's even been blamed for diabetes. It's pretty much to blame for EVERYTHING that humans have ever been afflicted with in the last 100 years. What's really interesting is that, in the last few decades, since scientists decided to blame all of these diseases on our saturated fat consumption, and told all of us to cut it out of our lives, all of those diseases have escalated to epic proportions. Even more interesting is that, while they were telling us to cut saturated fat out of our lives, they were telling us to start eating more grains, starches and vegetable oils. People started drinking skim milk and buying margarine by the truckload, instead of butter and yet they were still getting sick and gaining weight. It's no coincidence that heart disease has now become the number one killer, with cancer and diabetes running close seconds.

I'm going to blow your mind a bit now...

Saturated fat is NOT bad for you. In fact, it's ESSENTIAL for you. If you don't believe me, there is a lot of science behind it and if you are interested in the science, here is a great video that will give you all the stats. It's long and very thorough.

There is a BUT...

Unless you eat free range or organic saturated fat, you are not going to benefit from eating it. In fact, if you choose not to eat free range, it CAN be harmful. The reason why is because, animals that AREN'T allowed to range free and eat their natural food, are, quite literally, sick. These days, cattle are being fed huge piles of genetically modified grains because it's cheaper and it makes them grow big and fat so that they make the companies more money. They are also being injected with hormones to make them grow faster, and, because they are getting sick due to a shockingly bad diet, they are being pumped full of antibiotics. All of that bad stuff doesn't miraculously leave the cattle when they are slaughtered. So you end up with really poor quality meat full of hormones, antibiotics and disease from eating grain. Which means, if you have a grain intolerance, meat will not agree with you. Do I even need to spell out what the hormones and antibiotics are doing to you?

If the quality of your meat doesn't really bother you, how about what the poor cows go through? It's bad enough that their lives are going to be cut short so that we can have food on our table. Shouldn't we show our gratitude for such an amazing gift, by allowing them a happy, dignified short life? The same thing applies to every other animal who is kind enough to feed us.

Which life would YOU prefer? This?

Or this?

It's tough to get your head around isn't it? Eating fat... Boy did I struggle!

For christmas last year, I decided to roast a free range duck from Woolies and, because it was my first time ever, I had to turn to google to find out how to go about it! I had NO IDEA that a duck was so full of fat! Every method involved roasting it for many, many hours, poking it with a knife every few hours, to get rid of all the fat. By the time I was done, I had at least 1 cup full of duck fat, and a VERY small, skinny, crunchy duck. It didn't go very far on christmas day, needless to say!

2 months later, the cup of duck fat was still in my fridge... I knew I COULD eat it, but my mind just refused to allow it. I was SO brainwashed into believing it was bad for me. One day I finally broke through and I made myself a pot of popcorn using duck fat instead of oil. OH... MY... GREATNESS... It was the most delicious popcorn I have ever eaten! After that it wasn't hard to start cooking with it;)

These days I make my popcorn with raw farm butter or duck fat or even coconut oil, I cook things using all three as well. I (gasp) have butter on my banana bread! I drink a glass of full cream goat's milk every night (because I am lactose intolerant and can't digest cow's milk) I eat full cream goat's milk cheese, and full cream goat's milk yoghurt, DAILY. I eat egg yolks now too;) I never thought I'd see the day! I went about 15 years without eating butter and drinking milk! I honestly feel like I've died and gone to heaven;) And the interesting thing is, I have actually LOST body fat. I wasn't trying. That was just a side benefit of  going organic and free range AND eating fat again. I feel so energetic and healthy too; another side benefit.

So, back to why winter is a great time for a lifestyle change...

What could be better than a warm chicken curry full of delicious, healthy chicken fat, on a bed of brown rice, followed by a hot mug of organic hot chocolate sweetened with raw honey. (I'm not talking about the kind you get in a tin. I'm talking about a mug of organic hot milk with a chunk of dark chocolate melted into it. Have I got your attention now? How about a slice of warm banana bread smothered in a thick layer of butter? Still think you can't do this now?

That, my friends, is what eating real food is all about. It's about using all the real things that we were meant to eat, instead of going for the man-made, processed, canned and bottled rubbish that you find lining the shelves of all major grocery stores. The beauty of a lot of organic stuff is that it's actually not that hard to make yourself. So when they tell you how expensive it is, and how it's just "not do-able", don't believe it. I make my own yoghurt. It's so easy a child could do it. I make my own stock which I use to add flavour and goodness to all my stews, curries and soups. I grow my own vegetables. I save a fortune because I don't buy pre-packaged goods loaded with rubbish and, aside from saving money, our health has benefited.

This blog is going to be full of info to help you on your organic way, and it's going to include a lot of recipes and suggestions to save you money and make you healthier in the process. I get so excited just thinking about how much this will change your life for the better.

But that's enough for now. I'm off to make myself a mug of hot chocolate and eat a slice of my delicious homemade banana bread;)