Boost immunity!

Autumn is a great time to boost immunity!

A healthy immune system is very important for every aspect of health and wellness.The immune system is the body's army, fighting off and keeping out invading enemies. If the immune system is not strong to work properly acute's and dis-eases may occur.

We do not 'catch' a cold, a flu, a 'bug' of some sort. We manifest these acute's only if our internal environment is too toxic. Over toxicity in the body depletes immunity - we are then prone to manifest a cold, flu, etc. The body uses a cold, flu or any other acute to spell extra toxicity out of the body as the body does not tolerate being toxic or acidic for long. Ideally, the body likes to be mainly alkaline: 80% alkaline and 20% acidic! Aware of this, it is important to support the immune system, specially over the transition of seasons, when there is a big rebalancing and readjusting of the body in preparation for the new season ahead (autumn to winter, for example).

Support and boost your immunity with:

* Rest: Rest is a fantastic way to allow the body to spend its energy where it needs to - healing.
We naturally want to work less in Autumn and especially over the Winter months. Listen to your body. Take a day off, mid week. Half a day will do! Go to sleep a couple of hours earlier.

* Being happy: sounds easy, ha!? Being happy does not mean being in a constant state of excitement but feeling positive about your life most of the time. With practice and effort you can develop your ability to be happy. 'Its said the life is a series of events, and it is the meaning that we take from these events that determine how we feel about them'. Alison

* Foods and herbs:

. Orange foods: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, pumpkins -
they contain the beta-carotenes to fight infection.

 . Dark Leafy Greens: kale, spinach, beet greens, mustard greens, lettuce, Swiss chard, cress - wonderful to fight off anything that threatens to compromise your immunity.





. Shiitake mushroom it helps to treat colds and flu, poor circulation and exhaustion.

 . Ginger it stimulates circulation and as well as garlic, lower cholesterol and prevent blood clotting

. Warming and spicy chillies  - pepper fights bacteria and
stimulates digestion

. Echinacea is a well know herb for its immune boosting properties. You can buy tea bags and drink it everyday for a couple of weeks.

. Astragalus Root is a Chinese herb traditionally used to prevent flu and other respiratory infections.

. Cinnamon - aromatherapists believe that smelling cinnamon improves mood, vitality and concentration. Cinnamon and fresh ginger tea, perfect!

 . Apples 


. Berries Blueberry and Acai, packed with antioxidants: anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.

.Vitamin C found in citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, parsley, leeks, apples, broccoli. Vitamin C is an antioxidant which helps massively to boost the immune system, especially when under stress as we loose a lot of vitamin C when under stress.

Include this foods to your diet, specially throughout the Autumn and Winter months.

If you do manifest a cold, a flu or a stomach 'bug' be happy about it! It can be very annoying at times but think of it as being a natural way for the body to get rid of toxins. The body knows what it needs to do to keep us healthy, we just need to support it with the right materials. 

Health & love,
Carolyne

* When using herbs, always consult a herbalist or someone with good knowledge. Herbs are very powerful and should be used with respect. 

Autumn yummy recipes!

Ohhh... Autumn is such a pretty season!

Being here in the countryside in North Wales for this season has been a fantastic experience: to watch the leaves turn yellow, orange and red, then watch them leaves turn more of a brownish colour and finally, to slowly fall down. The grounds are getting covered with leaves now. The winds have been blowing strong since last weekend.

this is my in laws' beautiful autumn garden!

when the sun is out, its just fabulous!!!

I have been indulging myself with loads of fruits and vegetables of the season:

Mangtout: raw in salads and added to stir-frys.
Pumpkin and butternut squash: I have made this deliciously simple soup with mainly butternut squash and a small piece of pumpkin and added coconut milk, turmeric, onions, chillies and lime.
Potatoes, Leeks, Onions and garlic, Mushrooms, French beans, Courgettes, etc.
Potato and leek soup - an English classic!
Pears, apples, plums.


Some ideas for you to try:

. Roast parsnips, butternut squash and sweet potato with olive oil, honey and thyme.
. Cut butternut squash in small cubes, roast then add: to watercress and feta for a fab salad!
. Make a delicious earthy vegetable casserole with potatoes  carrots, parsnips, tomatoes  peppers. Add some paprika, chillies and cumin. You can also add some beans. Bean casserole - tchan tchan!

. Porridge! Yummm... be creative with your porridges:
- Add dates and almonds to it.
- Great an apple on top of your porridge add some cinnamon and chopped nuts of your choice.
- Remember to make your porridge with water. You can add any nut, seed or coconut milk to it after.
- Sprinkle cacao nibs, dried coconut flakes and some agave syrup.
- Simply add organic honey.


Indulge yourself with healthy meals.


















Health & Love,
Carolyne

Autumn is here!

Autumn is the season of harvest, a time when we start to go inward and gather together on all levels, a time to store up food, fuel and warm clothing, a time to think, perhaps study and plan for the soon coming stillness of the winter. In nature, everything moves its energy inwards and downwards. Leaves and fruits fall. Green grasses turn into lighter and drier colours. Those enchanting yellow, orange and red colours are everywhere!

The forces of Autumn create dryness in Heaven and metal on Earth; they create the lung organ and the skin upon the body... and the nose, and the white colour, and the pungent flavour...the emotion of grief, and the ability to make a weeping sound. 
 - Inner Classic


The autumn is the time to be more focused on preparation of food to obtain the energy required for the cooler months ahead. Soups, grains and loads of earthy vegetables come in play, hotpots, roasts... Play with the vegetables and fruits in season: apples, damsons, pears, plums, chestnuts, elderberries,blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, artichoke, aubergine, beetroot, broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, celery, courgette, fennel, garlic, kale, leeks, onions, potatoes, turnips, watercress, celeriac, kohlrabi, pumpkin, jerusalem artichoke, parsnips, chicory, beetroot, cauliflower. 

In Chinese medicine Autumn is the season of  the metal element and the organ represented are the lungs and the large intestine. Here are a few words associated with the Autumn/Metal. Take a look at them and observe yourself and the others around you! Can you recognize any symptoms? This may indicate balance and/or imbalance

Reflective             Spiritual and mental nourishment             Heavenly father providing the chi                     the ability to let go - to grief  life or someone
Colours                Pure                                       Cold                                    Blocked
Valuable               Perfectionism                         Precise                                 Congestion
Sharp                   Strength                                 Structure                              Materialism
Hard                    Shiny                                      Connection/Network within our body
connectedness in a spiritual level - if imbalanced, feeling of disconnection    
                
colour: white-pure/ high expectations
lungs: the way we take in pure chi energy and are connected to the Universe and each other.
large intestine: the way we get rid of what we don't need.
illnesses: asthma, skin issues like eczema. IBS, constipation, a flamy cough/ mucous, weeping eyes...  

Let's explore Autumn and the Metal element. Here are some ways you can start exploring:

* Keep observing what is happening in nature. How does the first day you felt Autumn make you feel or made you feel?

* Notice how connected you feel, are you in touch with how your body feels in relation to seasonal changes, the planets and the food you eat? Are you aware of what you need to give quality and meaning to your life emotionally and  spiritually? The metal element gives us the clarity and strength we need to see these so we can begin to get the best for ourselves. Maybe use your favourite meditation or piece of music to spend some time connecting with the wonderful essence that is within you.

* Explore the emotion of grief, remember or imagine a loss, this could be the loss of a person, a relationship, a dream, leaving a job, moving houses... anything that involves reflecting, moving on and saying goodbye. When you feel you grasped the emotion reflect on where you feel on your body, how your energy feels and what helps you moving out of the emotion.

* Enhance your minerals - notice how many vegetables you eat and if possible increase your intake of vegetables. Ahhh!!! This is a great time of the year to introduce sea vegetables into your soups, hot pots - they are full of minerals! 

Health & Love,

Carolyne 

Nutritional Talks in Brighton

Come and join me!

Enjoy your summer season!

Ideas  for your summer days:

* Create a space in your day to spend a regular amount of time in natural sunlight.

* Sunflowers love the sun - the flower heads follow the sun's path through the sky. Snack on sunflower seeds, which contain essential fatty acids, zinc, iron, calcium and a high level of B complex vitamins, specially B5 which nourishes the adrenal glands in the body, and helps alleviate stress.

* Celebrate the midsummer by visiting a favourite place in nature to watch the dawn and rise and/or meditate.

* Run barefoot early in the morning. I did it this morning by Brighton beach. It was great! 

* Prepare a picnic with foods that have absorbed the light energy of the Sun and spend time nourishing your body with light form inside out.

* Make a green juice everyday. Mix and match with celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley, lemons, fresh wheat grass, ginger... you can add half and apple or pear - sprouts... Play wit it! Its is fresh and nutritious!

* Have loads of fun!

Remember to drink plenty of water. We need a minimum of 2 litres of water a day just to carry on with our bodymind daily tasks - if you are all day out in the hot sun, drink more fresh water. Hydrate yourself!

Love & Health,

Carolyne

Summer time...

Summer is here even with all these grey and rainy days in England, it is summer!!!
The sun will appear again.



" Our task is to take in light (when we have it!) so that we may merge with our true selves and our destiny, thus facilitating the healing of the planet. As each of us becomes whole we radiate light - light from within - unimpeded by our self imposed emotional and physical blocks".    Jacob Liberman


Summer is a period of abundant growth. 

Expansion  -  Growth  -  Lightness
Outward activity  -  Brightness  and  Creativity








Summer foods:

Use loads of colourful summer fruits and vegetables and have fun creating beautiful meals. Use flowers to eat and decorate your plates and table.
Serve cooling fresh foods like salads, sprouts, cucumbers, fruits. Apples, watermelon, lemons and limes are best cool summer heat.
Eating heavy meals on hot days cause sluggishness. Such foods as nuts and seeds in excess, dairy, meat and grains. Well, with our weather here in England we can play with it. Eat more fresh foods for sure, specially in hot days and in the grey ones, add grains like quinoa, amarranth and brown rice to our salads. 

To be more comfortable on very hot days, drink more warm or hot drinks to induce sweating and to cool the body. Cold drinks are no good, really! Interesting to know that ice creams and ice drinks contract the stomach and stop digestion.

In the Chinese Five Elements philosophy the Summer is represented/connected with the Fire Element.

The supernatural forces of Summer create heat in the Heavens and fire on Earth; they create the heart and the pulse within the body... the red color, the tongue, and the ability to express laughter... they create the biter flavor, and the emotions of happiness and joy.       Inner Classic

The Fire Element rules the heart and the small intestines. In chinese, the word heart is xin, and is translated as  "heart-mind". Dean Ornish, heart specialist in California has developed from his own experience this awareness:"I think the mind is where heart disease begins for many people".

General Symptoms of a Heart-Mind Imbalance:
* Scattered and confused mind
* Excess or no laughter
* A rudy or very pale face
* Speech problems (stuttering, excess verbiage, confused speech)
* Depression
* Poor circulation
* Weak spirit
* Aversion to heat

The heart in harmony: 
Those with a healthy hearts are genuinely friendly.
Clarity is a central attribute of those with a harmonious heart-mind. They seem to see effortlessly through a problem to arrive at brilliant solutions.
We of "the information age" tend to have mental hyperactivity. Energy from the excessive thought and worry races through the head while the heart is weaken.
When spirit becomes sufficiently concentrated in the heart, superficial thinking stops and integrated thoughts begins. Rather then thinking about "reality", thought becomes reality - one becomes fully present.

Foods for calming and focusing the mind:
A simple diet with occasional light fasting promotes deep, peaceful thinking.

. Grain: whole wheat, brown rice and oats gently calm the mind.
. Silicon foods: cucumber, celery, lettuce, celery-lettuce juice.
. Fruit: mulberries and lemons calm the mind.
. Chia seeds: have sedative action
. Spices: dill and basil can be use both in food and teas.
. Herbs: chamomile (my favourite!), catnip or valerian - helpful for nervous person or insomniac.
Magnesium in foods is healing to the heart. It retrains the "anxiety peptide", a complex of amino acids in the brain which appears to contribute to anxiety.
Green foods re rich in magnesium as well as organic whole grains.



Let's explore this Summer! Even if it really does not feel like it is Summer at times...
Observe your heart-mind! 
Be at peace!


Love & Health,
Carolyne 

A nicotine story...

Hi all!

I have been away... Left the blogging aside but now I am back. Its been soo long...
I have past my exam for my Naturopathy Nutrition diploma and I am now studying for the Advance diploma. It has been an amazing journey! I am extremely passionate about the course and its philosophy. The philosophy of the cell has become pretty much my philosophy.

-------

I came across this article at the Metro newspaper the other day.

'Hoping to kick the habit? Just nibble a carrot'    by Fred Attewill

Don't waste your money on electric cigarettes and patches if you are trying to give up smoking - just grab a carrot stick instead.
People wanting to quit are 3 x more likely to succeed if they eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, a study shows.
Smokers with higher fruit and vegetables consumption also smoked fewer cigarettes a day, waited longer to smoke in the mornings and scored lower in nicotine dependence tests.
The results - which were taken from 1,000 smokers over 14 months - were consistent for people of all ages, genes, races and backgrounds.
Jeffrey Haibach, who led the research said: 'It is also possible that fruit and vegetables give people a feeling of fullness so they feel less of a need to smoke'
Unlike some foods which enhance the taste of tobacco - such as meat, fizzy drinks and alcohol - fruit and vegetables actually makes it taste worse.
The research, carried out at the University at Buffalo in New York state, was published in science journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Great, ha!?

Our body is our own pharmacy. If our body have all the necessary nutrients it can make its own feeling good factors. The need to reach out for tobacco, alcohol, sugars and other substances to feel better, relaxed, to ease a pain or experience pleasure, will diminish and eventually stop, because we will be experiencing bliss from within, with our own chemicals. 

We need a well balanced diet full of organic fruits and vegetables, good oils and plenty, plenty of water - the way to pollution is solution. In case of addictions, vitamin Bs, amino acids and possibly some other supplements, are very important.


Did you know...
. if we were to inject the nicotine of 1 cigarette we would die
. 10 million people smoke in the UK
. 106,000  people die every year from disease related to tobacco
. 1 cigarette contains 4,000 chemicals - 30 of them are cancerous

Love and health,
Carolyne x