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.

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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

Potential health issues associated with milk and dairy products

    Dairy products have been overly consumed for many years. Consuming dairy products, specially non - organic products, for a long period of time has been proven to cause health problems.

When we look at the populations that have had a big increase in milk consumption in the last couple of decades like United States, Canada, France and England we find that illnesses like asthma, cancer, heart diseases and osteoporosis have increased tremendously. United States number one killer is heart diseases and the second, osteoporosis. Number one in breast cancer is Denmark followed by Norway then Holland. Number one in heart diseases is again Denmark, Norway, Holland and Sweden; all countries with the highest milk and dairy consumption. In the other hand, countries from eastern cultures which consume much less milk have shocking less cases of degenerative diseases.

   Dairy intolerances and allergies are very common among many populations. Intolerances happen when the body (just after babyhood) stops producing the enzyme lactase which is used to break down the milk sugar called lactose. Not having enough lactose makes it more difficult for the body to digest milk. Some of the symptoms of milk intolerance are: irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, bloating, stomach cramps, migraines and others. Dairy allergies happen when the body have instant reactions to casein, whey or other allergens found in cow's milk. Dairy allergies can be very dangerous. Children are the most affected and the symptoms can be diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, skin rashes, difficulty in breathing and others.

   Poor absorption of nutrients is associated with dairy products. Casein, a hard protein found in milk is very difficult to digest. The body tries to digest this protein but it can not digest it completely. Through the process of digesting it, mucous is produced. Over a long period of time consuming milk and having to deal with this protein, a lot of mucous is accumulated in the intestinal walls attracting food residues to the walls. The intestinal walls become covered, blocking the absorption of nutrients.

 
Diabetes have also been linked with the protein found in milk. Many studies in various countries show a relation between dairy products and Insulin-Dependent diabetes. Researchers found that the protein in cow's milk provoke an auto-immune reaction in the body, which is believed to be what destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.

Osteoporosis is a major disease related to dairy products. The government persists saying that the calcium found in cow's milk and derivatives is crucial for having healthy bones, consequently, preventing osteoporosis in older age. There are no proofs that this saying is true. Drinking milk does not prevent bone loss. Countries like Japan and China, where people consume less milk and protein have low osteoporosis rates. Western countries with the highest rate of osteoporosis like United States and Scandinavian countries consume a lot more milk and animal protein. Studies also show that higher intakes of protein and use of cigarettes, salt and caffeine provokes calcium losses. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2001), found that "women who ate most of their protein from animal sources had three times the rate of bone loss and 3.7 times the rate of hip fractures as women who ate most of their protein from vegetable sources."

The calcium found in cow's milk is useless for humans. Cow's milk has much more calcium than magnesium. We need a balanced calcium and magnesium intake otherwise we will face mineral problems. Green leafy vegetables, tofu, seeds and nuts which also contain other essential nutrients for our health, have a far better calcium and magnesium balanced ratio.

   Prostate, breast and ovarian cancer are diseases also related with consumption of dairy products. A study done by Daniel Cramer and his colleges at Harvard back in 1989 already showed the relation between galactose, a sugar found in cow's milk and ovarian cancer. Daniel suggests that if galactose is not broken down correctly by enzymes, it will build up in the blood and may affect woman's ovaries. Many women have low levels of these enzymes and if they consume dairy products daily, their risk of ovarian cancer triple then of other women. Galactose is also linked with infertility. Researchers found that individuals with high levels of calcium intake have three to four times their risk of prostate cancer. This happens because too much calcium interrupts the vitamin D to act as the body's natural anti-cancer mechanism.

   IGF-I (insulin-like growth-factor I) is a very powerful growth hormone found in cow's milk. This hormone has been identified as a key factor with tumour growth.

"IGF-I can stimulate normally slow-growing cancers (like breast, ovarian, and prostate to grow very quickly, causing them to appear in a decade or two or even less." Delicious 12/95

A study showed that men which had the highest levels of IGF-I hormone had more then four times the risk of prostate cancer then men with lower levels of IGF-I.

   There is also a problem with a protein enzyme called xanthine oxidase (XO) which is in cow's milk. XO helps the digestive system breaking down milk proteins. In whole fat milk, XO will be present but in semi-skimmed and skimmed milk the fat is removed consequently XO, making it much harder for the body to digest the protein. However, when milk is homogenized small fat globules surround the xanthine oxidase and it is absorbed intact, without being break down, into our blood stream. This causes problems in the artery walls and blood vessels. Cholesterol gets accumulated and vessels become blocked causing cardiovascular system problems like arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure.

Get going with your nut and seed milk! You will love it! If ever having milk and dairy products, purchase them from local farms or where you know you can trust the quality of the milk, at least.

In health,
Carolyne x

Nut and Seed Milk Recipes

Having Nut and Seed Milk is a great way to substitute your cow's milk and add vital nutrients and essential fatty acids to your diet.

The idea with Nut and Seed Milk is to experiment! Have fun!
They are simple and easy to make:

Almond Milk

It is the most popular nut milk. The almond milk looks white as cows milk. It is tasty and creamy!

. Soak 1 cup of almonds overnight (soaked almonds are tastier and easier to digest)

. In the morning, drain the water and add the almonds to a blender with 2 cups of filtered water






. Blend it well

. Use a muslin milk bag (you can buy it on line) to drain it. Add the rest/almond bits to your porridge, smoothies or raw dessert recipes.

. Pour the almond milk into a glass jar and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

You can add more or less water, depending on the desired thickness/creaminess of the milk.
Mix & match with: vanilla essence, cacao powder, maca, dates to sweeten it...use it in your smoothie, porridge, to  , etc.
My favourite recipe is almond milk with a teaspoon of tahini and dates.

I tried Brazil nuts and cashew nuts. I also tried hemp seed and sunflower seed milk which have a stronger taste than the nut milk, but are nice. My last experiment was with oats. Oat milk is so so delicious. Very creamy! I made loads of warm oat chocolate milk with cinnamon and dates this Winter.

Sesame seeds are a great source of calcium.

Chia seeds are a superfood:
. high levels of Omega 3, higher then flax seed
. high antioxidant content
. high calcium content
. it has 19 amino acids, a great source of complete protein
. 6 times more iron than spinach
. 64% more potassium than a banana

I can assure you that once you get in the habit of making your own nutritious Nut and Seed Milk you won't miss the horrible stuff they sell in the supermarkets and call cow's milk.

Enjoy!


Health and love,
Carolyne x

Why milk and diary products are not good for us?

Hello!

I have started to revise for my Naturopathy Nutrition exam in April and I came across some research I did on Milk, dairy products and its advantages and disadvantages. I thought I would share my findings  with you.

Cow's Milk and dairy products have been overly consumed in many countries for many years and it has played a large contribution to our diets with the majority of recipes containing some form of dairy products.

Most of us are bombarded with milk, cheese, yoghurt and ice cream from a very young age, growing up not knowing the milk's side effects. The government emphasizes that milk is needed specially for its high levels of calcium, but calcium from cow's milk is harmful to our body mainly due to it's insufficient magnesium content. Milk has about ten times more calcium than magnesium. We need a 1 to 1 ratio of these minerals in our bodies. A more balanced calcium-magnesium combination can be found in dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, in seaweed, seeds and nuts such as sesame seeds and almonds.

The protein, vitamin A and B found in milk are easily found in other sources. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a good source for vitamins and minerals.

Humans are the only mammals that keep drinking milk after been breast fed and throughout adulthood; and we drink the milk from another mammal! It is like a dog drinking milk from a monkey or so. Very unnatural!!! 

Apart from human milk or goat's milk, in case the mother can not breast feed, I can only think of one advantage for consuming cow's milk and it's products nowadays – to experience the taste of it. But is it worth it?

Most cow's milk contains enormous quantities of antibiotics, herbicides, pesticides, 59 synthetic active hormones, pus, blood, feces, bacteria, viruses, fat, cholesterol and many other allergens. A cow is given around 2.300 different chemicals throughout her lifetime. Many of these contaminants which will be later found in concentration in dairy products, like cheese, are very harmful to the human body especially when consumed over a long period of time.

Dairy products have a big concentration of acid forming, saturated fats which make it easy for problems such as asthma and eczema to appear. Diary products contain casein, a protein very difficult for humans to digest. Casein is used as a binder to make plastic and as a glue for furniture. Can you believe it? Casein makes dairy products mucous forming, aiding to respiratory illnesses to happen.

Dairy intolerances and allergies are very popular specially in the west societies. People have intolerances when they do not have enough lactase enzyme to break down lactose, the natural sugar found in milk and diary allergies occur when the immune system reacts to the protein in milk. Children are most prone to cow's milk allergy but anyone can be affected at any time in their lives. Dairy products are also linked with weight gain, constipation, osteoporosis and many other diseases. 

A large percentage of milk and it's products come from factory farms where animals are not treated 'as living creatures but economic unites in a mechanized production system'. Farmers artificially inseminate cows every year to make sure they keep producing milk in high quantities. Modern dairy cows produce 100 pounds of milk a day - 10 times more then they would produce in nature. Factory farms also waste a lot of water and energy throughout the processes of producing milk and its products. 

Becoming knowledgeable of all the disadvantages of dairy products we can then question ourselves if this “need” for over consuming milk and dairy justifies all the harm it causes to humans, other mammals and our planet.

I have cut down my milk and dairy products intake after studying about it. I could not do it, really!  Nowadays, I occasionally eat organic goat cheese and feta cheese bought from a health food shop or a farm market, where I know the quality is much better and the animals were treated with love. I do not drink milk! And I do not miss it! When I first stopped consuming milk I used to crave it for only a couple of months, nowadays, I never crave it. 

I also noticed that I used to get a rash around my mouth every now and then. I found out that the rash always appeared after I had diary. Since I stopped consuming milk and it's products I never got the rash again and my skin looks and feels better.

Throughout this week, I will give you some nut and seeds milk recipes to be used as an alternative to cow's milk. You can use oat cream instead of milk cream as well... 
I will also give you some more facts about milk and diary products and health issues 
related to it. 

In health,

Carolyne x

A few of my references

Websites:

www.notmilk.com

www.milksucks.com and its recommended articles

www.mgwater.com

Books:

Healing with whole foods – Paul Pitchford

Fats that Kill Fats that Heal – Udo Erasmus
Milk : The Deadly Poison by Robert Cohen 

Delicious Sautéed Kale

Kale is tremendously beneficial to us. It is very alkalising, packed with antioxidants, vitamin A, B6, C and E; a great source of calcium and iron.

You will need:
. 3 handfuls of fresh organic Kale  (there are various types of kale, you can mix a few or choose one variety - lushly curly green kale is sooo tasty. My favourite!
. 1 onion cut into small pieces
. 2 or 3 crushed garlic heads
. 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or 1 teaspoon of ghee
. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
. salt and pepper

In a frying pan, add the oil or ghee, then the onions and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the mustard seeds and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the kale. Mix it in with the spices and let cook until the kale is nice and soft. If you
put a lid,  the kale will cook quicker and keep the flavours.

This is a simple and quick to make recipe to be eaten on its own or as a side dish.
This morning, I cracked 2 eggs on top of the kale, add some chopped parsley and ate it with a small slice of brown pitta bread. It was very satisfying!!!

Carolyne x

Simple Detoxing...

Hi there!

Back with our simple detox tips. Our first one was to:

* Drink plenty of water. Water will help carrying the toxins out of the body.
Drink 2 litres of water a day. If you find it boring to drink it plain, add some slices of ginger, lemon or lime, cucumber or mint leaves. Mnnn... Naturally tasty water!

* Breath Deeply! 
Breathing slowly and deeply not only bring you to your centre and calm you down in moments of stress, it also stimulates your lymphatic system which helps detoxifying your body. Our lymph system is our bin man, who kindly comes and collect our rubbish.
70% of our waste is eliminated through the lungs; the rest via skin, urine and feces. Let's use our lungs fully!

Practice taking longer slower and deeper breaths throughout your day. You can do it while in front of your computer, cooking, exercising, doing yoga, meditating...


* Add greens to your day!
Greens are very alkalising to the body. They will help cleaning away the toxicity in your body.
For green juices, play, mix & match these:
apple, pear, parsley, cucumber, celery, lemon and lime, coriander, kale.
Eating green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, broccoli, Swiss chard, beetroot greens, mustard greens will also help to alkalise your body. You can eat your greens raw, in salads, you can steam greens, add them to soups, casseroles, curry. Be creative!

* Skin brush your body!

A dry skin brush can be bought at Neal's Yard Remedies, Boots and other places. You will brush your dry body with firm pressure and long movements towards the heart - from feet to neck. Brush one leg first then the other, do clockwise circular movements on your stomach, then brush your back and side of the body to your armpits and your chest up to your neck - there are plenty of lymph nodes here! At last, brush one arm then the other (from hands to shoulders). You can also dry skin your face. Just use a smaller and softer brush.
It is recommended to dry skin brush your whole body for about 8 to 12min everyday. Ideally, first thing in the morning.
I skin brush almost everyday before I have my bath or shower. It has become a habit! I do feel better for doing it specially in the Winter months when our body slow down.
Skin brush is a great technique to activate your lymphatic and circulatory systems.
A must to fight cellulite off!!!


These simple detox tips will do wonders to your body! I am experiencing it very much this week. I cut the sweets, bread and pasta, alcohol and started exercising more. My skin is softer and brighter, my digestion is working better and I feel more refreshed and a less sluggish - that winter feeling...

Try it! Even if  for one day. Your body deserves it!



Health,
Carolyne x

The New Year is here!

Dear friends 

Happy new year! 

Let's begin 2012 by de-toxing our daily life. The idea of detox is to reduce the amount of toxins and pollution that we put into our bodies and promote healthy eating and nutrition, together with natural techniques to help our body effectively clear the toxins. 

I will be giving you a few detox tips over this month of January. 

First detox tip: 

* Drink plenty of water throughout the day. 

Water

. We are about 75% water, as is the planet.

. It is ancient and carries wisdom

. It is crucial for the hydration of every cell in the body

. Movement of nutrients in and waste out of the cell and body requires water e.g. breathing, digestion, elimination, urination and sweating.

. Our brain is 85% water and our blood, circulatory system, is 90% water. Our bones are 40% water.

. Correct hydration level help us to go with the flow on every level. 

. Drink the cleanest water you can afford

. 66% water is inside the cells and 33% is out. 

. If we don't drink enough water our blood will thickened and it will draw water out of the cells, leaving the cells dehydrated.

how, when and why?

. The body needs about 8 pints (2 litres) of water per day just to function well. When exercising or under emotional or physical stress, more is needed. So drink up!  

. Replacement of fluids needs to be consistent and establishing a daily routine is crucial if the body is to recognize and use the water you are giving it.

. Always drink your water warm, at blood temperature. it is the ideal!

. Have 1 pint as you wake up.

. 20 to 30 minutes before every meal have a pint of blood temperature water. This ensures your bowels are hydrated prior to eating.

. Drink this water rapidly, don't sip or take your time. Drink it all! 

. Don't drink with your meals as this confuses the body and depletes the body and depletes the spleen energy.

. Keep hydration and nutrition separate. 

. Have a bottle of water with you at all times. 

. If you drink only when you are thirsty then you are not getting enough water. 

. Drink at least an extra pint of water for every hour of exercise you do. 

. At the end of the day drink 1 pint of water. 

References:

'Your Body's Many Cries For Water', Dr F Batmanghelidj

'The ph Miracle, Dr Robert O Young 

'The Secret Life of Water', Masaru Emoto

In health,
Carolyne x