You really are what you eat

In my first post I hinted at the fact that the food we are eating these days is so far removed from actual food that our bodies don't really know how to assimilate any of what we are actually putting into them. In order to grasp the concept of what organic and natural REALLY means, I think it's important to first understand the difference between what we class as food, and what real food, actually is.

The saying, "You are what you eat" is completely true. 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. More about that in a bit!

Pick me, pick me!

       

Here's some trivial, but interesting, info! 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 aging 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.  

Now let's go back to the apple and the crisps... Nutritionally, I think even the most hardened junk food addict will have to admit that the apple wins hands down! We all know a packet of crisps isn't going to win any nutritional food prizes;) But what difference does it really make to your life if you eat the crisps instead of the apple? It's food either way, right? Your body can use it for energy and it all goes out the same way doesn't it? Not quite...

Those crisps aren't ACTUALLY food. I mean, they LOOK like food because we've been told our whole lives, that they ARE food and so our brains are programmed to put them under the food category. But they aren't actually slices of a healthy, organically grown potato that was grown in a field that provided it with nutrients. The flavours are far from real. They're a mish mash of ingredients made by scientists using test tubes and machines. You only have to look at the ingredients to know that they are so far removed from what real food is, it's actually quite frightening.

Rennet of Calf?! I'm sorry... What?!

Someone very clever took all of that stuff, put it in pretty packaging and marketed it as food. They made it look so good and sound so healthy to us that we were convinced enough to slot those crisps into the food category and make them part of our daily intake. They are so full of all sorts of things specifically designed to appeal to our tastebuds that our minds go, "Ooooh, that tastes like food!"  The scary thing is, we totally ignore the process that goes into making them and what they look like before they are zapped full of colorants and flavorants. They will look and taste nothing like the end product and I can guarantee they have no real food in them. They were probably grey in color to start, before they were bleached and then smothered in colorants and synthetic spices! I mean, what food do you know of that is called E-330?! It sounds like a robot in Star Wars more than something that should be in your food. Seriously, the mind is an amazing thing. We can convince ourselves to not even ask questions about where those crisps come from because the marketing campaign was so good we've bought into the propaganda.

Who wants to be a simba chippie now?!

This may sound like an exaggeration but it does make you think, or it should! Don't ever believe that something is healthy or good for you based on marketing. There are NO companies who exist only for your health and well-being. They are all trying to make money and they will say just about anything to take that money from you, even if they've twisted the truth. Crisps are not, and never will be, real food, unless you make them yourself, from scratch.

So, what you think is food, is NOT food. Not even close. It's difficult to grasp that, especially since the marketing behind everything is so GOOD!

Alright then, what else can you class as not real food? Well here is where things can get overwhelming. Most of what we eat these days is not real food. The amazing thing is, real food is at our fingertips, but we have been so programmed over the years, to eat and drink certain things, that we can't see the raw honey for the corn syrup! I challenge you to go into your  kitchen and look through your cupboards and sort out what is real food and what isn't. Basically, anything processed in a factory can be classed as not real food. That will include pretty much anything refined, that is in a box or a packet.

Here are some examples: White flour, sugar, biscuits, chips, sweets, packet sauces, bottled sauces, 2 minute noodles, anything in a tin, white rice, bread, dry pasta, cereals etc. You get the idea? None of that stuff is real food. It's something made by scientists, in a factory. That means you can't be sure of what's in it. Even if you read the ingredients, there are things they are not obligated to tell you. And they conveniently don't have to tell you HOW it was made. Believe me, it's not made in a kitchen with a cook standing next to a stove adding real ingredients. It's made by people in white coats, wearing big rubber gloves, in a production line of machines and who knows how many machines and people it has bypassed on its journey to that packet. Contamination anyone?

And there is NO love going into that "food". No matter how much the marketing tries to convince you it's all about YOU and what's good for you, I promise you, it's not. It's all about what lines their pockets. They have some really clever words to hook your interest! They say things like "lower in fat" and "new improved formula" and "added fibre" and our minds are programmed to recognize those as good things and we blindly take them off the shelf because that's what we've done for so long and that's what our parents did and probably their parents.

But I'm guessing their parents grandparents DIDN'T. Before factories existed on a large scale, people bought from the local grocer who was supplied by small farmers who grew things naturally, before pesticides became the norm and genetically modified crops took the place of real crops and food was made by scientists and big machines in bigger factories.

They ate REAL food. And they died more from old age and natural causes than awful diseases and they weren't obese and heart disease wasn't even thought of. Did you know very few people died of heart disease before 1900? It was barely a whisper back then. Now it's the number one killer. The same goes for cancer. A by-product of our so-called "civilization".

You know, now, what not real food is! But what is real food? This one is easy:) It's anything that is literally REAL FOOD. If it was grown in a field, the natural way, without pesticides and chemicals to make it grow faster or out of season, it's real food.

Um, if you need that mask then you probably shouldn't be spraying that on our food?!

If it's meat or eggs or milk from an animal that has been allowed to range free and eat it's natural food rather than genetically modified grains, that hasn't been pumped full of hormones to make it grow faster, and antibiotics to try and cure the horrible diseases it gets from being held in such cramped, unhealthy quarters, it's real food.

Exactly how healthy and ethical is this?!

That's it.

I can practically hear you all saying, "That's IT?! The list was far longer for processed foods! What are we supposed to eat?!"

Actually, a lot! I, for one, only eat real food and yet I never go hungry. I can vouch for loads of people who do the same, and they don't go hungry. Not only do they not go hungry but they don't gain weight, they don't get sick, they don't have dread diseases and they are just all round happier, healthier people.

That is definitely enough food for thought for one post;) I am going to leave you there, but not for long!  This blog is going to be ALL about what you SHOULD be eating and all the deliciously yummy food you can make and eat knowing that it is all ethical, healthy and REAL. Can anyone say "Banana bread?!" Yes please!

Watch this space;)

Keep calm and make tea!

If you've read all my blogs then you know that I am NOT a fan of doctors or medication. I talked, in this post, about my experience with the flu a couple of weeks back and how I'd managed to beat it using alternative remedies which included things like food, tissue salts and herbs. I'd like to go into a bit more detail about those herbs, today.

Herbs are nothing new under the sun. Long before there was synthetic medication, people were using herbs to cure various ailments. They were used for centuries, in their natural form. These days you find a lot of those herbs, in synthetic form, in medications, beauty products and household cleaners. Companies have tried to harness the healing power of herbs, in a form that can make them some money. My question is, why would you buy the synthetic version for R100 or more, when you can buy a box of the actual herb for about R20, that lasts you several months and is far better for you, and that works? I'm not an expert, as I've said, but I have had great success with my herbal teas over the years and I'd like to share what I've learnt, with you.

Anyone who knows me knows how crazy I am about my teas! I have been drinking herbal teas for years and there is never a shortage of every type and flavour of tea when we have visitors over. Actually, that's not entirely accurate! The one tea that is often missing from my cupboard is your garden variety black tea. I often forget to buy it because it is the ONE tea I don't drink. One or two friends have actually arrived with their own tea because they KNOW I forget to buy normal tea;) Most people assume that, if you are going to have a hot drink, it'll either be normal tea or coffee. You definitely get "tea" people and "coffee" people and the "tea" people will mostly drink normal tea. The lack of variety drives me nuts. I find normal tea so boring since I discovered the world of "all different types of teas" and so I never buy it, or drink it.

Of course, you also get the rooibos drinkers, but, considering rooibos tea is distinctly South African, there are actually very few rooibos drinkers, compared to normal tea drinkers, in South Africa. My gran used to call it "camel's pee" ;) That was my gran, a real character! But a lot of people seem to dislike the taste of it. I started drinking rooibos because the caffeine in normal tea dried out my throat and, as a singer, I found that, drinking rooibos with honey and lemon was very soothing for my throat. It was especially helpful to sip on during a particularly long show on a cold winter's night. I always arrived at a gig with a bottle of water and my tea flask! I wasn't a fan of the taste to start with, either, but it grew on me.

Fortunately, over the years, manufacturers have gotten more experimental with teas and, more and more flavoured teas have started appearing on shelves. I bought every new one to try as I discovered them. I eventually bought myself one of those teabag trays you find in hotels and at catered functions, because I had so many different teas and it was easier than keeping them in separate boxes which took up loads of cupboard space! That's how tea crazy I was;)

Given my obsession with health and my aversion to medication, it was a natural progression to start exploring teas for their medicinal benefits. I was delighted to discover Dischem's HUGE selection of herbal teas. I began to see the benefits of tea leaves, instead of tea bags. I started my teapot collection (with built in tea strainer!) and my tea collection grew steadily. Over the years I have discovered which teas work for what, and I am STILL learning, because there are so many of them!

SOME of the teas in my cupboard;)

So why loose tea leaves instead of tea bags? Well, have you ever torn open a teabag and seen the quality of the tea leaves inside? Unless it says "whole-leaf teabags" you are pretty much getting dust, and what they call, fannings. It's the dregs of the pile of tea leaves after the good leaves have been scooped up and packed into boxes. The smaller the leaves, the less quality and flavour your tea will have. Tea leaves contain essential oils and, when the leaves are broken up, some of those oils will evaporate which will leave you with a tasteless, nutrition-less tea. If the leaves are larger pieces, they will still contain all the necessary goodness and flavour that you are drinking it for. A teabag is also limited, space-wise, which means that the leaves will not be able to absorb water and swell the way they are supposed to. You won't find any of the medicinal herbal teas in a teabag. That's because they won't actually do what they are meant to do, which is heal you, if they are squashed in a tea bag, made up of dust and fannings, and very little goodness. Long story short, stick to tea leaves if you are drinking tea for health purposes or if you are really fussy about flavour! And needless to say, organic is the way to go because herbs can also contain pesticides and less goodness due to bad quality soil.

So what tea helps what ailment? Here is a list of the teas I favour, and why:

• Rooibos: This little leaf has MANY health benefits if you drink enough of it! It's caffeine free for those with a caffeine sensitivity. It is loaded with antioxidants which bind with free radicals, preventing them from damaging cells and causing cancer or from oxidising with cholesterol to clog blood vessels. Rooibos also protects the liver from disease, boosts the immune system, relieves allergies and helps digestive disorders. You need to drink about 6 cups a day to really feel the benefits and it doesn't matter how you drink it really, as long as you drink it!
• Peppermint: Personally I have found peppermint teabags to taste awful no matter what the quality so I really recommend tea leaves! I drink mint tea on a daily basis because it is GREAT for IBS. It is incredibly soothing for sore, bloated colons, stomach cramps and diarrhea. It promotes good digestion and eases heartburn. It also helps to ease a headache, PMS cramps and sinus problems. If you steam with it, it is a great decongestant and just the smell of it makes you more alert and focused so it's a good thing to have if you're studying.
• Milk thistle: This herb has become more and more popular of late for those who are preparing for a big party night where lots of alcohol is going to be imbibed! It is often used as a treatment for liver problems. It is a natural antioxidant. Silymarin (the active substance in milk thistle) appears to have anti-cancer effects and is currently being studied as a possible cancer preventative. A use you probably would never have guessed is that it can be used as an antidote for deathcap mushroom poisoning. Milk thistle counteracts toxins in the mushroom, as long as it's taken within 10 minutes of ingestion. However, even if it's given within 24 hours of mushroom poisoning, it significantly reduces the risk of liver damage and even death. Milk thistle is also recommended as a natural remedy for morning sickness and nausea.
• Echinacea: You've all heard of this one. It's well known for boosting the immune system and preventing, or lessening the impact of, colds and flu. You get it in many different forms, but, because I love teas so much, I drink it! It is a great preventative herb to drink just as winter is starting and everyone is getting sick. If you are too late, it will shorten the amount of time that you are sick. It can also be applied to skin to heal eczema, sunburn and slow-healing wounds. It's not a good idea to drink it for longer than 8 consecutive weeks though because it can inhibit the production of T-cells eventually.
• Lemon Balm: This herb has many benefits! It's great for insomnia, it eases digestion and stomach ailments, much like peppermint tea, it can be used to treat herpes lesions and cold sores if applied externally, it can also help treat the symptoms of alzheimer's disease, it is good for bronchial inflammation, earache, fever, headaches, high blood pressure, influenza, mood disorders, palpitations, toothache and vomiting. It also soothes menstrual cramps and helps relieve PMS. I have used it for many of the above reasons and it works.
• Stinging Nettle: And you thought all it did was irritate you;) It has such a wide range of uses though! It's good for allergies, relieves hair loss, treats celiac disease, bladder infections, acid reflux, excess gas, sore throats, hemorrhoids, nose bleeds, mouth sores, skin irritations, neurological disorders, arthritis, gout, rheumatism, and soft tissue conditions such as fibromyalgia and tendonitis. Patients with Lupus and other auto-immune disorders, suffering from joint pain, experience relief from drinking a cup of nettle tea a day. It removes metabolic wastes and is both gentle and stimulating on the lymph system. It is used to help treat alzheimer's, it helps with night time bed wetting in children and supports the endocrine system. 
  
• Chasteberry herb: This is known as the "Women's herb" because it's all about women! It's used for menstrual cycle irregularities, PMS, a more severe form of PMS called premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and symptoms of menopause. It is also used for treating “lumpy” (fibrocystic) breasts, female infertility, preventing miscarriage in women with low levels of a hormone called progesterone, controlling bleeding and helping the body force out the placenta after childbirth, and increasing breast milk. I find it works really well for PMS and that's good enough reason for me to drink it!
• Green tea: You all know about this but I bet most of you don't drink it because of it's bitter taste? Well that's just because you aren't buying tea leaves AND you aren't preparing it correctly;) Did you know that green tea is just a younger version of normal, black tea? It is a GREAT cancer fighter and preventer, it prevents heart disease and strokes by lowering cholesterol. Even AFTER a heart attack it prevents cell deaths and speeds recovery. It's anti-aging and promotes longevity and  it also promotes weight-loss and speeds up your metabolism.
• White tea: If normal black tea is the grandmother, green tea is the mom and white tea is the child! They are all the same plant, picked at different times of it's life. White tea has all the benefits of green tea but you can multiply them a hundred fold because it is the least processed of the teas and therefore the best quality. It's exceptionally good for all the same reasons that green tea is good, but it's even better. It's the tea of all teas when it comes to goodness:)
• Marshmallow Root: I drank this by the bucket load when I had bronchial pneumonia and it really helped my voice come back! It's great for sore throats, laryngitis, whooping cough, bronchitis, digestive disorders like IBS, ulcers, hernias and mouth ulcers. It is good for treating cuts and skin irritations like eczema externally. It also helps soothe teething babies!

I think that list is enough for now but it really is an endless list. I'll revisit it sometime again. The teas I drink depend largely on what is ailing me at the time. I don't drink all of them, all the time. Remember that herbs are powerful. They may be natural but they are, in a lot of cases, more powerful than synthetic medication because they are in their most natural form. You wouldn't take medication constantly and so you shouldn't drink certain teas constantly except for rooibos and green tea of course. All the other teas I've listed here are remedies for certain things and should be treated as such.

The way to make them all is easy. Place a teaspoon of tea leaves in a teapot and fill the pot with boiled water. Leave to steep for about 10 minutes and then drink. Green tea is slightly different. It's loaded with caffeine and it can get too strong and very bitter in a short space of time. Green tea should actually have a sweet taste if you buy the tea leaves. The bags will taste horrible and bitter and, of course, won't be nearly as good for you. I only steep green tea for about 5 minutes and that's it. Any longer and it tastes horrible. White tea can go for 3 minutes and that will be enough. It can also tend towards the strong, bitter side if it's left too long. 

Most herbal teas don't taste great on their own. I never suffer through a bad pot of tea anymore. I have learnt that the key to getting all the nutrients into my body, is to make it as easy to drink as possible. So I buy a few different flavoured rooibos teabags and I add them to whatever herb I need to drink and they mask the flavour of the bitter herbs. I also add a small spoon of raw honey to my tea and a drop of lemon juice and it makes it really tasty. You'll find most herbal teas taste awful with milk and I wouldn't recommend it!

Our morning teapot consists of 4 different rooibos teabags, some flavoured, some plain (to get as much goodness as possible out of them), a spoon of green tea and then whatever herbal tea we may need. If we had a glass of wine the night before then I add milk thistle. If I have a stomach ache, I add mint, if I feel fluey, I add echinacea. I make a big pot and drink it throughout the day when I'm home. You can never get enough tea in you as far as I'm concerned so, the more, the merrier. And winter is the best time to be experimenting with teas! It's not only warming, but it's also so good for you!

In the words of Mrs Tiggywinkle from Beatrix Potter: "When the troubles of the day are over, there is nothing that comforts me like a real, hot, strong cup of tea!"

Until tomorrow!

Some easy thing to kickstart your clean, green lifestyle!

I know it can be quite daunting making a decision to live green, organic and chemical free. I am sure a lot of you have read these blog posts and been a bit overwhelmed by just how much is actually toxic in our environment, and how much we have to do if we want to keep it, and ourselves, clean and toxin free! I agree. It IS overwhelming. You might be tempted to just leave things as they are and I wouldn't blame you. When I first made the decision to make our household clean and green, I had no idea what I was taking on. Poor GLM had no idea either. She mostly still doesn't;) I often get questions about what goes where and why and how! But she does it without too much complaint because she knows it's good for us and she knows it makes her wife happy;)

So, maybe you want to start with some baby steps, just to ease you and your family into things gradually? Well, you'll be happy to know there are PLENTY of small, simple things you can do that will already make a HUGE difference to both you AND the environment. Perhaps you can make it your goal to achieve just ONE of each of the points below, each week, or even each month if it's easier. I found that I started off a little slowly, because I was learning and discovering things, and then I picked up the pace as I became more accustomed to it. I also found that, the healthier I felt, the more I WANTED to change things. The nice thing about following my blog is that you don't even need to waste time trying to figure things out. I've done that all for you and this blog is here for that purpose. To make YOUR life easier:)

What you can do, food-wise:

• Make a decision to cut out at least ONE of the "normal" foods you buy, from your monthly or weekly shop, and replace it with an organic, or free range, substitute. 
• A great example here would be eggs. By buying free range eggs, you are ensuring that you get LOADS more nutrients into you and your family's bodies. Egg yolks SHOULD be a bright orange colour. If they are pale and anaemic looking, they are not from healthy chickens and have little to no nutrients. They are actually probably doing you more harm than good because the chicken it came from is, very likely, ill. By buying free range eggs, you are also ensuring that you are not supporting the many chicken farms that keep chickens in unethical, cruel conditions. Watch this video to see what you are unwittingly supporting every time you DON'T buy free range eggs. (please be aware that it is not an easy video to watch. I still haven't watched all of it! It just breaks my heart.) Free range eggs are available at ALL grocery stores so it's a very easy, small change to make, and yet it will go a LONG way.
• Most grocery stores now stock organic bananas so that's something else you could consider changing. Kids LOVE bananas and eat loads of them so it makes sense to have chemical-free bananas in the fruit basket.
• If you become acquainted with the "clean 15" and the "dirty dozen", those of you on a budget can make sure you get fewer pesticides in your diet while still spending less money. Of course, the nutritional benefits are far superior when it comes to organic fruit and veg and there is less impact on the environment as well, but just making this little change will already make a big difference to your own health. The list below will tell you what's cleaner and what's dirtier.

• Start collecting bones after meals, store them in a container in your freezer and, when you have enough, use them to make some bone broth. You can use this to cook EVERYTHING with in place of store bought stock. Bone broth is unbelievably nutritious, and so necessary for your health and yet it is so cheap to make. Find out how to make it here.
• Start buying only fruit and veg that are in season. You may notice that some grocery stores will stock all types of fruit and veg all year round. The problem with that is that, different fruits and veg grow in certain seasons and you can be pretty sure that, if they're being sold at a shop out of season, they have either been grown unnaturally OR they have been imported from somewhere creating a huge carbon footprint. Wait it out for a few months and rather get the proper nutritional and environmental value for your money.

What about things you can do, for the environment, around the house, and in your garden?

• Did you know that while you are running your hot tap, waiting for it to get hot, you waste at least 3 litres of water? I actually tried it one day just out of curiosity and I filled up three one litre jugs before the water even got warm. The same applies if you want a glass of cold water and need to run the hot tap for a while to get it cool, especially on a hot summer's day! (You definitely don't want to risk actually drinking the hot water, no matter how cool it might be, because hot water will have a higher lead content due to the heat of the water leeching the lead out of the pipes. NOT good for you.) I decided to put a big bucket next to my sink and, if I needed to run water for any reason that didn't involve me plugging the sink, I would run that water into the bucket instead and use it to water my plants and my garden or even to fill my steamer or boil eggs. At least it's being put back into the environment, or being used to cook vegetables instead of all that clean water just going down a drain. Something small like that will make a huge difference in the longterm.

• Switch off lights in rooms you aren't using. We only ever have lights on in the rooms we are actually in. If we walk out of a room, the light goes off. It's such a habit for us now that I barely notice I'm doing it. I thought EVERYONE actually did that but, now and then, we have guests stay at our house and I am always surprised at how often I have to go into a room after they have vacated it, to switch off the lights! It's a great habit to get into and Eskom will thank you. Perhaps we can avoid the dreaded load-shedding if everyone starts doing it;)
• If you MUST leave on any lights, make sure the globes are energy saving globes. I can't actually understand why anyone would buy a normal globe these days. They last for such a short amount of time, they raise your electricity bill, and they are dangerous, especially if a child should try and play with a bedside lamp. Energy saving globes are far more hardy, they last for AGES, actually saving you money on globes and they also lower your electricity bill.
• Make a compost heap. Words can't describe how easy this is to do and how much difference it makes to the amount of rubbish your family generates, and to your garden. I had a flat piece of wood in my garage so we dug a hole that was the same size as the wood, and about a metre deep. The wood made a great lid! You're thinking that it probably smells right? WRONG! It doesn't smell AT ALL and that is because there is nothing in there TO smell. It's just fruit and veg cut offs, the occasional pieces of newspaper and tissue, grass cuttings and egg shells (rinsed of raw egg) The way to keep it smelling sweet, is to make sure you don't load your compost heap with all of one thing and not the other thing. A compost heap needs carbon and nitrogen to function properly, and to smell sweet. Carbon comes from dry things like dried plants and grass and cardboard and newspaper and tissues. Nitrogen comes from all the ripe, juicy things like banana peels and apple cores and other fruit and veg cut offs. As long as you throw in some of both, your compost heap will not have a smell. Visit this page to get an idea of what you can throw in your compost heap. Don't make things too complicated for yourself though. I may not be getting it 100% right because I don't calculate the ratios but, the good thing is, I am still getting lovely compost for my garden AND my rubbish bin is hardly being used because of that which means I am saving space in the landfills:) What I do, to make things easier for us is, I saved an old 5kg protein-shake container and I keep it next to the bins in the kitchen. I just put all our fruit and veg cut offs, teabags, etc in there until it's full and then I empty it into the compost heap once every few days. It saves me having to go out to the garden every time I want to throw away some stuff. I promise you that container does not smell at all. I keep a lid on it but that's just to stop the cats from messing with it. Get the kids involved in collecting the compost and emptying it into the heap. It'll teach them some good habits and small kids love to help!

That's the little compost container at the bottom!

• Buy yourself a BIG bottle of white vinegar. 

You may not know it but vinegar has MANY uses around the house and it's natural as well. It's GREAT for cleaning surfaces and stubborn dirt off of pots. It's also great at killing germs. You can use it to clean all your fruit and veg knowing that you are not adding further chemicals to your body because it's just vinegar, but you ARE getting rid of bugs. It's good for getting rid of dirt and insects and other creepy crawlies in your lettuce leaves and other leafy greens. I eat A LOT of those so I keep vinegar next to my sink all the time. What I do is fill a big bowl with warm water and about 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Then I throw in all the leaves, stir it around a bit and walk away, leaving them to soak for a good 10-15mins. Wipe off any excess sand and rinse well in clean water and you're good to go.

Another use for vinegar, oddly enough, is as a laundry softener! It works wonders and it's all natural. Hang your clothes out in the sun or tumble dry them and there is NO vinegar smell at all on your clothes. They are just lovely and soft:)

There are LOADS more tips I can give you but I think that's enough for now. More to come later but I think that's more than enough to get you started;)

Can you fight The Flu, naturally?

Last Friday morning I woke up feeling like I was swallowing razor blades. I haven't been sick for a year so I was pretty upset! I live a very healthy lifestyle, as you will know if you've read all my posts, and I thought I'd be immune! I guess I shouldn't be ungrateful. A year is pretty good going. I used to get sick a minimum of 4 times a year and ALWAYS with something like tonsillitis or bronchitis or bronchial pneumonia. It was never just a cold and it always lasted at least 3 weeks, often more.

Getting sick is pretty much to expected for anyone. You can't avoid the bugs forever. HOW sick you get will have a lot to do with the strength of your immune system. The fact that I got sick a lot, and badly had a lot to do with my IBS because it does lower your immune system. Stress plays a big roll but it also has to do with the lack of good bacteria in your intestines. I was pretty loaded with stress most of the time. I was living out of a suitcase almost permanently because I was at home probably 4 days out of a month. Travelling like that makes it really difficult to eat properly and 80% of my shows included shows at schools up to Grade 7. It's common knowledge that kids are great little carriers of all manner of bugs so there wasn't much of an escape for me. At the time I was pretty ignorant about health so I would go on a course of antibiotics every time I got sick, nuking what was left of the good bacteria in my intestines and I setting myself up for the next bug again and again.

A year ago, when I decided to go organic, I did it all cold turkey, all at once. I cut out all chemicals and went free range, organic and chemical free within a matter of days. Once I had decided to do it, I just couldn't bring myself to compromise. I'm like that. I'm a virgo. There are NO half measures for me;) I felt a little yucky the first few days, and then I felt wonderful for a few days... and then I got sick. Not just any kind of sick. Oooooh noooo, I got bronchial pneumonia sick.

I felt like death. My first instinct was to turn to every kind of pill, spray and syrup I could find. But I didn't. I couldn't. I'd made a decision and I was sticking to it dammit. I stocked up on herbal teas and a few other homeopathic remedies and waited it out... and waited... and waited. I didn't know I had bronchial pneumonia until I went to a doctor who was actually a specialist. I went for a completely different reason. It's one of those appointments that you book several months in advance and then forget about until you get a call the day before to confirm your appointment. So I paid R900 to find out that I had bronchial pneumonia! I told him I refused to take antibiotics and that I was trying very hard to remain chemical free. He looked at me like I was nuts but he went along with it and prescribed a pump, telling me to rinse my mouth immediately after using it to avoid too much absorption and he gave me some codeine syrup to help me sleep because I was struggling with that due to all the coughing. He also prescribed painkillers but I just told the chemist to give me the pump and the codeine and went home to try and recover again. 3 days later I finally started to feel human again!

It was a tough 4 weeks I can't lie. But I came out at the end of it feeling pretty good about myself. For the first time ever, I didn't take ONE antibiotic. I took panado when I had fevers and then the codeine towards the end and the pump but I stopped taking everything the minute I felt like I was beating it and my tiny little immune system finally kicked in. It just needed a little help this time around, but it finally pulled me through.

My homeopath made a very important point. My body was going through one hell of a healing crisis. The thing with going completely "clean" is that your body starts to go through withdrawals. Have you ever tried to cut coffee, or sugar, or soft drinks out of your life? Your body goes through 3 weeks of hell while it tries to adjust to the lack of stimulants. Headaches, stomach cramps, nausea etc. It feels like you're actually sick. It's not different to an addict going through drug withdrawals. The same happens when you cut chemicals, caffeine, sugar, all processed foods and alcohol out of your life, all at once. My body went into shock I guess. And while it was busy coping with the withdrawal, my immune system was left even more defenseless, and the bug caught me off guard.

So, back to last Friday! I was terrified that the same thing was going to happen to me. I know what happens when I get sick. It's long and drawn out and just awful. And every time I think my body will fight it off alone, it just can't. I was so hopeful that the sore throat would just go away but, the next day, the fevers started and, by Saturday afternoon I felt HORRIBLE. You all know that feeling; achy joints and muscles, splitting headache, feeling weak and dizzy, hot and cold at the same time. I thought my head was going to explode but, I didn't give in and have any conventional medication this time, not even panado (taking that was my mistake last time I was sick but more on that shortly). My fabulous GLM went out and got me some Septoguard, which is a herbal, natural antiobiotic, and I drank herbal teas, did oil-pulling (more on this later!), gargled with salt and used tissue salts. (and this too!) I ate healthy, nutritious meals and got as much rest as possible. Saturday night was just awful. I had a fever all night and was so tempted to take medication just to break it so my head would feel better and I could sleep. In my opinion, there are few things worse than having a fever. They really nuke your body!

I didn't give in and take the pill and here's why: I'm not sure if many people are aware of this, but a fever is actually a good thing. It''s the body's natural way of fighting a bacterial infection. Breaking the fever can actually do more harm than good to you. (unless it goes above 41 degrees then get to a doctor). Anything below 41, but above 37 is very uncomfortable, but good for you, nonetheless. Bugs can survive for a long time in a body with a normal temperature, but not for so long in a body with a raised temperature. The fact that your temperature is raised, means that your immune system is doing what it is meant to do, to fight off the bug. If you can see it through, you stand a much better chance of getting better, sooner. The same applies when you have an inflamed muscle, or a cut that gets really hot and infected. The heat and swelling are good things! Taking a pill, or putting antiseptic cream on, halts the natural healing process.

I've never had the guts to try this, largely because I never KNEW about the above, but also because I hate having a temperature! This time around I was determined to do it. I think GLM thought I was a little nuts. I was in serious pain. My head was unbelievably sore, not to mention the glands, the aches everywhere, the chills. I was miserable. I hardly slept while my body did battle. By Sunday afternoon I was nearing the end of my tether when, all of a sudden, the fever broke all on its own! I started sweating and it was the most welcome feeling ever! The chills disappeared, I could stand without wanting to fall over and my joints stopped aching. From then on, I started to feel like I was healing. It still involved a few days in bed. Don't get me wrong. My sinuses were a mess and then it moved down to my chest BUT, where, usually, this would all happen over the space of a few weeks, it happened over the course of 6 days!! 6 days later I am sitting at my desk feeling a little blocked up, with a bit of a irritating cough, but I am 95% healthy again. It is almost unheard of, for me. I feel stupidly chuffed with myself:)

I think back to things that people have said to me when they've been sick. "Every time I think I'm better, something else starts!" or "I'm on my 2nd course of antibiotics and still can't fight this off!" or "I've been to the doctor 3 times. I don't know what else to do!" I used to say all of those things myself but I have a better understanding of WHY all of those things happen now. Antibiotics are at the root of it all, followed closely by all other flu medications and OTC (over the counter) remedies.

It's a HUGE business, self-treatment. In fact, pharmaceutical companies RELY on the fact that you are going to try and cure yourself first, without the cost of a visit to the doctor, so that they can make lots and lots of money off of you. There are SO many flu remedies on the shelves and one can get pretty confused about which one to take but, at the end of the day, it is really about the one with the best advertising. Let's face it, you've tried pretty much all of them, haven't you? You end up either going for the one you always use, or the one whose advert you just saw most recently, or the one your friend told you was brilliant and they all do pretty much the same thing which is NOT MUCH. I can almost hear some of you saying, "Not true! It works for me!" But here is the thing. How long to do you take that stuff for? A week? 2 weeks? You usually end up finishing the whole bottle or box, don't you? And bottle or box lasts about a week... and flu lasts about a week... Or, it's supposed to. But I bet you are still sick after a week, aren't you?

That stuff is good for suppressing your symptoms and making you feel more human, but it's not going to actually cure you. YOU are going to cure you, over time. But, while you are taking that medication, your body is struggling to raise your temperature so that it can fight the bug and you are telling it, "No way buddy, I am taking pills! I will fight this WITHOUT your help!" And after 2 weeks, when you realise you AREN'T fighting it off with self-doctoring, you finally visit the doctor, who prescribes MORE remedies to suppress symptoms and, my WORST nightmare, antibiotics!

I cannot express how bad these things are for you! Your gut is supposed to have bacteria in it. How else are you going to have any kind of immune system? But antibiotics kill EVERYTHING in your gut; good and bad. They aren't picky. And the crazy thing is, NO antibiotic is going to kill a virus because NOTHING KILLS A VIRUS. If they had invented something that killed a virus, we'd have a cure for HIV/AIDS, but we don't. Antibiotics only kill bacterial infections and flu is a virus, not a bacterial infection so those antibiotics are doing NOTHING. (except for annihilating all your poor, defenceless good bacteria) Excuse all the caps but I can't stress this enough. All you are doing is setting yourself up for another bug later in the year, AND creating superbugs.

Never heard of those? Well, here's the thing about those. Doctors and patients got so excited about antibiotics, that they started handing them out left, right and centre for decades, for any old thing. The little bugs decided to fight back, and now we have bugs on STEROIDS. They have built up an immunity to the antibiotics we currently have and are making them more or less obsolete.

A good way to start reversing that problem is to stop asking your doctor for antibiotics, and stop allowing them to simply give it to you, without a blood test to ensure that it is, in fact, a bacterial infection. The problem with health today is that it HAS become big business. Doctors have to have their patients in and out in about 15 minutes because they have a quota to reach. They aren't going to sit and chat to you about what might be wrong. (I am generalising and I am sure there are doctors out there who take the time, but they are few and far between.) If you go to a medi-centre of some kind, they will go through all the motions and then send you packing with a script and wishy-washy instructions to eat well and drink lots of fluids. I never understood that. The most important instruction is an add-on at the end of the appointment and it really doesn't tell a person anything.

What does "eating well" really mean? And what fluids are the good fluids? Well, you can refer to this post if you want an idea of how to eat healthy, but if you read all my posts from the beginning you'll have a much better understanding of food as a remedy. As far as fluids go, I am such a big believer in the power of tea. But I don't mean just any old tea. I mean organic, herbal teas. There is a herb for every ailment and I take full advantage!

That is an entire post on it's own so I am going to leave you there for now. Remember, tomorrow is The Real Food Friday Feast and you'll want to catch this one! It's the perfect winter warmer-upper and it's great for colds and flu;)

I can live without my Loreal. Could you?

Have you ever thought about what happens to the body lotion you rub on your hands, or your face? I mean, REALLY wondered? I'm sure you know it gets absorbed by your skin, but then what? Well, it doesn't just disappear. Once it's been absorbed by your skin, it becomes part of the system. It goes into your blood stream and, eventually, finds its way to your organs and body tissues, the way everything else we ingest does, and your body either uses it, or loses it. You may be thinking, "Did she say ingest? We don't EAT the stuff, we just lather it on our skin." Well, that brings me back to my first question. Have you ever REALLY thought about what happens to it all?

Let's stop for a minute and take a look at a women's typical beauty routine and all the various products she uses in one session. I'm a woman myself. I KNOW it's a LOT;) The routine probably starts with a shower or bath so that will mean soap, shampoo, a possible hair mask or treatment followed by conditioner. If it's a bath, then it might very well be accompanied by bubble bath or bath salts or some kind of oil or milk soak to "soothe and soften" skin. Once she's out of the bath or shower, she will likely lather herself in body lotion from top to toe and then apply some underarm deodorant. She may also then lather herself with a sun protection cream of some sort. She will wash her face with a special face wash product, apply a toner (probably of the same brand because they always recommend it right?) and then, finally, a day or night cream depending on the time of day (more than likely ALSO the same brand) She'll probably brush her teeth and maybe use a mouthwash as well and then she will apply makeup to her face, possibly spray a hair straightening, heat protection spray, in her hair and then flat iron it, after which she will put a smoothing serum over her hair and THAT is just ONE beauty session. It'll start all over again in 8 hours or so and continue ad nauseum until she wakes up one day and decides she's over it and is giving in gracefully to the aging process. For some women, that day will NEVER come;)

Now let's discuss what happens to all that stuff she's used once she's walked away from the mirror. The outer layer of our skin, the epidermis, is the part of our skin we're most familar with. It prevents our bodies from permanently absorbing everything it comes into contact with. The layer just below it, the dermis, is where most of our blood vessels are found and it just LOVES water and water-based substances. You'd think, given the fact that your skin was designed to repel water, that it wouldn't absorb anything but actually, the longer your epidermis is exposed to water and water-based substances, the more absorbent it becomes. 

Think of what happens to your skin when you lie in the bath for a while, or swim in a pool, or the ocean. You begin to resemble a prune. That's because your skin has become more absorbent from over-exposure to water. And water makes it easier for oils and other substances, to travel through the epidermis, to the dermis below. In effect, your skin is actually like a big sponge. If anything sits on it for long enough and there is water to help the process along, it's going to be absorbed. Pretty much EVERYTHING you put on your skin, contains some water so we can presume that ALL the products listed in the beauty routine above, have disappeared into the epidermis and been absorbed into the water-loving dermis, beneath it. 

As I said before, your dermis contains most of your blood vessels. It stands to reason, then, that all the stuff that is absorbed through your skin, will enter your blood stream and be transported around the body to various organs and  tissues in much the same way as food or drink that we ingest. The only difference is that it doesn't pass through your stomach first, because you it didn't enter through your mouth. But the end result is the same as if you did. 

It's also important to remember that your skin works both ways. It is highly absorbent but it is also your body's largest organ for eliminating waste. If you use products that prevent it from working the way it should, and clog up your pores, your body will not thank you for it.

So why am I blogging about it? Well, do you have any idea what the standard ingedients are for body lotions, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, toners etc, are? I bet you look at that list of ingredients and start zoning out before you've even read 3 of them. I know because I used to do that too! They're extremely difficult to even pronounce, not to mention that most of us don't have a clue what the names mean! We just assume that they're good for us because the adverts say so. You all know my view on that and, in case you've forgotten, you can read it in this blog post. I was talking about food there but it's all the same concept really.

"Pure and natural" are the latest buzz words of the beauty industry but don't be too taken in by them. The beauty industry is largely unregulated which means companies can slap the word "organic" on something that is loaded with chemicals, and bad for the environment and for YOU, without you even knowing it. They only SAY "pure and natural" because they know you'll be taken in by it. It's ok, I know you are, because I was too and I see so many of my friends falling victim to it too.

It's time to educate yourself so you can better protect you and your family, not to mention the environment. Here is what you need to look for, AND start avoiding:

• Benzoyl Peroxide: Possible tumour promoter, it produces DNA damage in human and other mammalian cells and it's also toxic by inhalation. It's an eye, skin and respiratory irritant. 

• DEA (Diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine) and TEA (Triethanolamine): Skin and eye irritant which causes contact dermatitis. They are hormone disrupting chemicals that have been restricted in Europe because continued absorption results in liver and kidney cancer. It's easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs and the brain.

• DMDM Hydantion and Urea: Two out of many  different preservatives that often release formaldehyde (yes, the stuff used to preserve body parts in a lab!) which may cause joint pains, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness and insomnia. It can also irritate the respiratory system, trigger heart palpitations or asthma and aggravate coughs and colds. Other possible side effects include weakening of the immune system and cancer.

• Dibutyl Phthalate: Used mainly in nail products as a solvent for dyes and as a plasticizer that prevents nail polishes from becoming brittle. Phthalates are also unlisted fragrance ingredients in many other cosmetics. Dibutyl phthalate is absorbed through the skin. It can enhance the capacity of other chemicals to cause genetic mutations, although it is not a mutagen itself. In laboratory experiments, it has been shown to interfere with hormone function (endocrine disruption) causing reproductive and developmental problems. Dibutyl phthalate is banned in cosmetics in the Europe.

• FD&C colour pigments: Look for p-phenylenediamine or colours identified as “C.I.” followed by a 5-digit number. They are synthetic colours made from coal tar, containing heavy metal salts that deposit toxins into the skin causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Absorption of certain colours can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic. 

• Fragrances: This can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients, many of them toxic or carcinogenic. Clinical observation proves that they can affect the central nervous system causing depression, hyperactivity, inability to cope and other behavourial changes. They also cause headaches, dizziness, violent coughing and vomiting, skin discoloration and irritation and allergic rashes.

• Mineral Oil or Petrolatum: A petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging the pores which interferes with the skin's ability to eliminate toxins causing acne and other skin disorders. Slows down cell development and skin function and results in premature aging. Used in many products such as baby oil which is 100% mineral oil!

• PEG (Polyethylene Glycol): Potentially carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that can alter and reduce the skin's natural moisture factor. This could increase the appearance of aging and leave you more vulnerable to bacteria. It's used in household cleaners to dissolve oil and grease and is found in everything from personal care to babycare products and sunscreen.

• Propylene Glycol and Butylene Glycol: They easily penetrate the skin and weaken protein and cellular structure. PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats! Anyone working with PG is required to wear protective gloves, goggles and clothing and must dispose of any PG solutions by burying them in the ground, because it penetrates the skin so easily. It can cause brain, liver and kidney abnormalities and yet there is NO warning label on stick deodorants where it can be found in VERY high concentration.

• Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Laureth sulphate: This ingredient is used in car washes, engine degreasers and garage floor cleaners and yet its also found in 90% of personal care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, laboured breathing, diarrhea, skin irritation and even death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because proteins are dissolved. SLS may also damage the skin's immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame. When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain.

• Siloxanes: Look for cyclomethicone and ingredients ending in “siloxane” (e.g.cyclotetrasiloxane)
Cyclomethicone and siloxanes are used in cosmetics to soften, smooth, and moisten. These compounds can, however, irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs. They are also suspected of interfering with hormone function (endocrine disruption) and of liver toxicity. These chemicals are persistent. In other words, they don’t easily degrade and can remain in the environment long after they are rinsed down the shower drain. 

• Triclosan: a synthetic “antibacterial” ingredient – with a chemical structure similar to Agent Orange! Commonly found in antiperspirants, deodorants, cleansers and hand sanitisers, it is registered it as a pesticide, giving it high scores as a risk to both human health and the environment. It is classified as a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. Its manufacturing process may produce dioxin, a powerful hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion; that is only one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools! Hormone disruptors pose enormous long-term chronic health risks by interfering with the way hormones perform, such as changing genetic material, decreasing fertility and sexual function, and fostering birth defects. It can temporarily deactivate sensory nerve endings, so contact with it often causes little or no pain. Internally, it can lead to cold sweats, circulatory collapse, and convulsions. Stored in body fat, it can accumulate to toxic levels, damaging the liver, kidneys and lungs and can cause paralysis, suppression of immune function, brain hemorrhages, and heart problems. Its widespread use in popular antibacterial cleaners, toothpastes and household products may have nightmare implications for our future.

Scary isn't it? And yet we have all bought into the propaganda and think we absolutely cannot live without our Redken/Clarins/Loreal etc. If we are forced to live without them, we will all turn into aging hags, have dry, straw-like hair, saggy boobs, hairy skin, dirty teeth and smelly breath, not to mention BO!

Well, I for one KNOW I can do without all that stuff, because I do it on a daily basis! It wasn't something that happened overnight. Let's face it, those products cost a bomb. Who, in their right mind would throw out a half finished bottle of Kerastase?! So I finished everything I had and tried very hard to keep my mouth closed so I didn't swallow anything. I couldn't do much about the absorption issue but I just kept telling myself that it wouldn't be for much longer.

I am pretty chuffed with myself these days because there is not ONE product that I use that contains chemicals:) What's also REALLY nice about that is that I know I am not harming the environment in any way AND, even more importantly, nothing I buy, is tested on animals. And I'll tell you why I'm even more smug;) I pay far less for my beauty products than I used to! In the past, I could easily spend R1000 on my cleanser, toner and moisturiser in one shot, sometimes more if I was cornered by one of those persistent sales ladies (I know they are doing their job and I always felt bad walking away after they'd spent ages giving me their best sales pitch and that's why I used to always get taken in!) These days I spend under R150 and it's all working really well for me. I love how healthy my hair feels, I love how my skin feels and I can rest easy knowing that my body is not getting fed cancer-forming toxins on a daily basis.

Over the last year I have experimented with a lot of products in order to find the ones that work for me and, when I have struggled too much to find the right ones, I have made my own. I now make my own soap, lip-ice (yes, lip-ice also has all of those horrible ingredients in it!) and body creams. The only thing that is slightly costly, is the body moisturiser, but it is a price I am willing to pay because it covers my entire body and I am simply not willing to take a chance. Besides, I save so much more money on my other beauty products that I don't even notice the slight extra cost. I also have found that, since I have cut out all processed foods and started only eating real, organic foods, that my skin seems to shine from the inside out, without much need for a mountain of beauty products. It's always better to work from the inside out;)

Some of you are saying, "Really? How ridiculous are we going to get?! First we have to watch what we eat, now we can't use any beauty products?" Yes, of course you can. You can do anything you want. It's your body and your life. Just remember that every choice you make has a ripple effect. It's going on YOUR body, and going down YOUR drain, but once it's joined the system, it becomes part of something bigger and then it's no longer just YOUR problem. It eventually affects our rivers and oceans. You will say that your parents, and their parents used it all, but don't tell me that they're fine, and don't tell me that our environment is fine, because you would be just plain wrong. Again, you can read about it in this blog post.

At the end of the day, all of these products never existed for our grandparents, grandparents and they managed just fine. These days, we have learnt what we need to do to take care of ourselves and that is something positive we can take from the boom of civilisation. So we don't need to grow old and haggard looking before our time, but we can do it responsibly, thinking that, maybe, industry has gotten just a little out of hand in their quest to make money. Maybe we don't need as much as we thought we did. Maybe what we do affects more than just us. But if you've understood this blog post, then you KNOW it does affect YOU personally, and your family.

It's time to take your health into YOUR hands. Start reading ingredients on things before you buy them. You do it with food, because you don't want to gain weight, so why wouldn't you do it with your beauty products? Is weightloss more important than life? I don't think so and I know you don't. Take the power out of the hands of the big corporations, and put it back into yours.

Because you're worth it;)