Is organic food pure hype?

Since the introduction of industrial monocultural farming practices (which drastically deplete nutrient levels in soil), copious pesticide usage and other environmental hazards have been introduced to the delicate ecosystem. Consequently, most produce nowadays is laced with a dangerous cocktail of toxins which expose serious risks to consumers of non-organic food.

By eating organic produce, you can help mitigate or minimize the associated risks with today's industrially farmed produce. More specifically, by introducing superfoods into your diet, like chlorella, kale, coriander, beetroot, chia seeds, spirulina and chlorophyll, you will help your body boost its nutrient levels and detoxification processes. Raw fruit and vegetables are also key to maintaining a healthy alkaline body. Indeed, a plant-based diet could be considered the bedrock of good health according to numerous studies.

Another proactive way to mitigate the effects of environmental toxins and detoxify the body is by taking heath supplements (and exercising regularly). Vitamins feed the body with vital nutrients it needs to boost antioxidant levels and help expel toxins away from the lymphatic system and vital organs.

By maintaining your health through a wholistic approach, you'll help to enhance your health and boost its natural defenses and immunity.

 

Healthy alternatives to fast food

It's old news. Many so-called 'fast food' are laden with unhealthy toxins. For example, fast food usually contains dairy, egg or meat which often feature excessive levels of antibiotics, pesticides, arsenic etc. Instead, there are better ways to eat that reward your health, your skin, your mood and keep animals off the menu (which is great news for our animal friends!). 

Here are some healthy alternatives to fast food:

• non-GMO popcorn (air-popped only as microwaves have been shown to negatively affect food) with sea-salt and lemon juice (you can also add a little turmeric, coconut oil, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, Himalayan salt or curry powder for an extra 'zing')
• organic vegan burger (without the bread), layered with hummus (without canola oil), tahini (unhulled), quinoa, shredded raw beetroot and avocado
• steamed rice noodles with frozen Thai vegetables (lightly steamed), lentils, coconut milk, fresh lemongrass, fresh ginger, raw sesame seeds and homemade vegan peanut sauce 
• 80-85% dark cocoa vegan chocolate
• baked cauliflower, sweet potato and broccoli covered with coconut creme and sprinkled with vegan nutritional yeast
• rice pasta (i.e. wheat free/ gluten free) with fresh basil, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, semi-dried tomatoes, white beans, capers, extra virgin olive oil and a drizzle of pure balsamic/ pure apple cider (with the mother) vinegar
• falafel with hummus (without canola oil)
• vegan dolmades (rice & olives wrapped with vine leaves & marinated in lemon juice, sea-salt and olive oil)
• homemade vegan guacamole (with lime, red onion, chili, coriander, Himalayan salt, flaxseed oil) and homemade vegan jalapeno & tomato salsa dip with homemade sweet potato or kale chips (baked or dehydrated)
• homemade spicy vegan chilli beans
• vegan lemon or mango sorbet (without sugar or corn syrup etc; instead, try natural non-GMO Stevia)
• homemade mixed berry, banana, pear, nectarine & fresh orange juice popsicle. Simply chop fruits in small pieces and place in a ice cube tray or freezable tray, (but not a non-stick tray, as these are lined with toxins that can be absorbed into your food thus detrimental to your health). Add fresh orange juice until it covers the fruit at a depth of  5 or 10 centimeters. Freeze for 1 hour before adding 5-10 popsicle sticks. After 2-3 hours, they are ready to serve, just cut out each rustically shaped popsicle with a warm knife. Alternatively, you can place the fruity ice cubes in a blender and make slushy icies - just serve in a dainty cup or small bowl & spoon
• baked eggplant & artichoke marinated in extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, rosemary, thyme served with quinoa topped with fresh grated garlic & lemon juice.
• mixed mushroom, bok choy, water chestnuts and tempeh very lightly sauteed in organic soy sauce and served with steamed brown & wild rice
• quick tasty salad: mix various salad leaves including salad spinach leaves with 1/2 a Tuscan red onion finely chopped, capers, mixed nuts, walnuts, lentils, fresh lemon juice, flaxseed oil, sea salt and black ground pepper
• homemade vegan spring rolls (baked or steamed not deep fried) served with homemade sweet chili sauce
• homemade or store bought organic spicy bhuja mix (without canola oil).

You can also find fast food outlets that serve a healthy salad (just hold their dressing and ask for a wedge of lemon and a dollop of extra virgin olive oil instead). You can then add mixed nuts, chia seeds, avocado and/ or quinoa to boost the nutritional value and protein of  the salad meal. The added protein will also help you feel fuller.

Now there's no excuse not to eat healthy and vegan! Healthy meat-free wholefood can be fun, fast and good for you too. Try it for yourself today.

Create the life you want...

A great way to convert negative energy and any general feeling of malaise is through 'movement'. Movement is therapy. It gets your heart pumping and your thoughts shifting outside a critical, myopic headspace and untangled from its convoluted negative thoughts. Basically, the aim of movement (which can take any form such as yoga, swimming, painting, restoring an antique, taking a language class, traveling, volunteering at an animal shelter, crafting etc) is to help break the accumulated inertia in your life so that you have a new life canvass to work with or space/ time in your life to fill with things and activities that you truly love and enjoy.

Movement has the capacity to give you energy, induce feel-good endorphins and create space in your routine to breath and rethink your life priorities. As a result, by choosing to step forward and branch out into a new direction, you might find old and deeply held frustrations released and a more calmer or more energetic feeling envelope you. You might also find the inspiration to turn an aspiration into reality. These are just some of the rewards you can look forward to when you take action in honoring your inner voice, values and aspirations.

Here are some simple steps you can use today to help follow your bliss and manifest your authentic self:

• To begin, simply identify what part of your life drains your energy or makes you feel unfulfilled when you think about it. This may signify the area of your life needing attention or a new direction. 

• Get clear on where you want to be or how you wish to live/ feel. You could try a vision board or create a 'life map' to help navigate the small steps leading you onto a self-actualised path. 

• Make a list of key steps you need to conquer in order to achieve your goals. Note the steps as small, manageable and incremental goals.

• Focus on the here and now, not the past. A vision board is a good tool to use daily to help you visualize what you want and where you desire to be. It will also help you to refocus on the present moment instead of feeling marooned in powerlessness, boredom, restlessness, disorganisation or just general frustration. Instead, try listening to motivating music, watch inspiring movies or read motivational literature to help cultivate a powerful mindset for drawing positive feelings that motivate you into making positive changes. 

• Set a realistic date to accomplish your goals on a calender. Ensure you place the date on your fridge or desk to see it everyday. (You'll be reminded to take action and make your goals a reality). Commit to honoring this date.

So, what are you waiting for? All you need to do now is take that first life-changing step. Begin it now! Take a nice long walk in the park, clean out a clutter filled cupboard to prepare for a repaint, cut out magazine pictures for your vision board or purchase flowers for your dining table or work space to uplift your soul and 'vibration'. Get those positive emotions flowing. You can even collect some discarded sea treasures down at your local beach (just be sure not to disturb those pretty seashells occupied with delicate sea creatures).

Whatever form of movement or new activity you choose to awaken your passion, body, mind and soul is fine. It's purely a symbolic action. You're simply saying 'yes' to yourself, 'yes' to your authentic voice, 'yes' to your unique take on bliss and a life of wellness and true joy. So get moving today. Being active will help you create momentum in life. When channeled correctly, it can also help you achieve inner peace, balance, harmony and joy.

Superfood spotlight: kale

Kale is an incredibly nutritious vegetable. Try it raw by slicing kale into fine pieces, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, sea-salt, black pepper, capers, avocado, red lentils and red Spanish onion. Delicious and nutritious!

  

The magical essential oil: Australian native Tea Tree

Native Australian Tea Tree (melaleuca alternifolia)

Indigenous Australians regarded the Australian native Tea Tree 'magical'. This was attributed because of the healing qualities of waters nearby native Tea Trees. Australian Aboriginees discovered that wherever the Tea Tree shed its leaves into a nearby lagoon (in which they bathed), it dispersed its healing oil into the waters thus noticing its 'magical' healing capability.

Today, you can use this remarkable oil for a myriad of ailments. It functions as an antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antimicrobial, antiseptic and antifungal. One caveat is to research the optimal dosage and suitable applications for this essential oil. For example, Tea Tree essential oil is not recommended for pregnant nor breastfeeding mothers. It's also not recommended for animals. Otherwise, remember to test a small patch on your skin to ensure you're not one of the rare individuals allergic to this efficacious medicinal oil

When selecting a native Australian Tea Tree essential oil, check that it's 100% pure, organic and sold in dark or indigo glass (to guarantee its purity and efficacy). It should also be used topically and never ingested. Once you have successfully tested the essential oil on your skin and find it's compatible with your skin type, you can then have it on standby for emergencies and domestic applications, including:

• burns (some medical grade burn pads contain native Australian Tea Tree essential oil)
• dandruff
• athlete's foot
• nail infections 
• fungal infections
• gingivitis
• cold sores
• herpes
• boils
• MRSA
• lice
• scabies
• toothache
• tooth abscess compress (until you can get to the dentist)
• mouth disinfectant for a sore throat (just mix a few drops in a glass of water, swish in mouth and spit it all out)
• coughs 
• congested sinus (use in an oil burner)
• aromatherapy: apparently, Tea Tree essential oil calms and grounds when a person's in shock, 'hysteria' or upset
• skin cancer (it can both prevent and treat skin cancer according to one study by the University of Western Australia)
• anti-aging (some non-clinically tested claims include it can activate tired skin cells, be anti-aging and erase fine wrinkles)
• psorisis
• acne
• blackheads
• cuts
• insect bites
• rashes
• washing
• airfreshner
• household cleaning (dilute in water)
• shoe deodorizer
• hair shampoo
• warts
• bacterial infections
• stimulate hair grow
• stop or reverse hair loss
• keloid scars
• candida
• jock itch
• ear ache
• deodorant

and so much more...

For more information, research this amazing and comparatively affordable essential oil for recommended dosage and application methods. You'll wonder how you ever managed without Australian native Tea Tree essential oil.

Raw food pyramid

Source: Raw Vegan Diet

The diagram above provides a good representation of what food (and the quantity) a raw vegan should aim to eat.  Of course, you need to ensure you also get an optimal supply of B12 vitamin via nutritional yeast or vitamin supplements. And there are great vegan sources  of DHA, EPA and omega-3 now available for vegans (endorsed by the Vegan Society). For more information, see Vegan Raw Diet or The Vegan Society.

By eating a balanced, nutritious, organic, raw food vegan diet, you will help equip your body with natural wholefoods high in vitamins and minerals (and thereby low in toxins and allergens). Your body will undoubtedly benefit from the alkalizing effects of the vegan raw diet, and in many cases (and quite possibly most cases), reverse debilitating diseases and illnesses that thrive in a highly acidic and toxic body (characteristic of typical dairy, meat and highly processed food diets). In fact, when you couple a healthy vegan raw food diet with gentle daily exercise and a positive mindset, you can achieve and sustain far greater wellness, emotionally, physically and mentally.

Essential fatty acids - essential to good health

Flaxseed & flaxseed oil - good sources of omega- 3

If you're vegan, you're probably aware of the importance of essential fatty acids (EFA) in your diet. But if not, then the following information will be useful to know and put into practice.

Essential fatty acids can be saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. As a general guide, by observing whether a fatty acid is solid or liquid at room temperature can help you correctly identify an EFA type. For example, fats containing a high proportion of saturated fatty acids are usually solid at room temperature. These are known as saturated fats and derive mostly from animal sources (lard, butter etc). In contrast, plant fats are high in either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats (except in the case of palm and coconut fat which are highly saturated - albeit, virgin cold pressed coconut oil is extremely beneficial for your health).

Both saturated and monounsaturated fats are made in the human body naturally, so supplementation through diet is not critical. However, there are two polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are only derived from diet (as they can't be produced entirely in the human body). These fatty acids are called linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. In this way,  you must take extra care if you're vegan to ensure your diet contains these fatty acids daily as only selected food sources contain them.

Without these essential fatty acids, your body can not produce other PUFAs such as arachidonic acid, or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These are important for maintaining a healthy body and brain function. More specifically, they help maintain the integrity of cell membranes, create prostaglandins (which regulate inflammation and blood clotting), enable cholesterol metabolism, and provide fat for fat-soluble vitamins (i.e. vitamins A, D, E and K). As you can see, it's crucial to good health that vegans supplement their diet with good quality alpha-linolenic acid sources. This will enable the body to convert alpha-linolenic acid into EPA (eiocosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) - two vital nutrients for human development and health maintenance.

Although EPA and DHA is found in abundance in marine fish oil, they are not found in most vegan foods (apart from algae, sea vegetables and seaweed etc). However, there are great vegan sources now available. These sources have the added benefit of being free from heavy metals and other toxins that are found in marine fish oil as well as being a cruelty-free option. So, to ensure you're obtaining the optimum levels of essential fatty acids in your diet, it's good to supplement your plant sources of essential fatty acids with EPA/ DHA vegan supplements. You can find a great selection at Deva Nutrition.

To equip your body with a balanced essential fatty acid intake, try to minimize your linoleic acid intake (which is found abundantly in a typical vegan diet), for it can suppress the body's ability to convert alpha-linolenic acid to DHA (which is vital to optimal brain function). Therefore, vegans should be mindful to use less sunflower, safflower and corn oils and instead increase their intake of oils containing alpha-linolenic acid such as rapeseed (canola) oil, flaxseed oil, chia seeds and walnut oils. This encourages human tissues to make more DHA.

The good news is that a vegan diet is usually high in good fats. A vegan diet is also more likely to adhere to the standard health recommendation which stipulates a good diet should derive just 35% of their total calorie intake from fats and oils; whereas diets containing dairy, meat and egg products contain too much saturated fats that can contribute to high levels of cholesterol in the blood - a risk factor for atherosclerosis and heart disease. In contrast,  polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) have the opposite effect, they optimize the body's function. For more information see The Vegan Society.

Sources of Linoleic Acid (Omega 6 family):

• vegetables
• fruits
• nuts
• grains
• seeds
• safflower oil
• sunflower oil
• evening primrose oil
• pumpkin oil
• wheatgerm oil.

Alpha-Linolenic Acid (Omega 3 family)

• flaxseed (linseed)
• mustard seeds
• hemp seeds
• walnut oil
• green leafy vegetables
• grains
• spirulina
• hemp seed oil.