Easy Winter Chicken Casserole

Slow cookers or the old fashioned term, crockpots are seeing a resurgence in modern cooking. This recipe is really easy  (fool-safe), will boost your immune system and ward away winter chills and infections. The best part is you come home from a busy day to the house filled with the delicious aromas of tonight's dinner already cooked for you!

Nutrients are destroyed when food is cooked too fast or at high temperatures so using a slow cooker makes the food easier to digest, highly nutritious and quick to prepare when you have little time. I make this at least once a month for chilly nights. It tastes amazing with the chicken literally falling off the bone and makes enough to feed the whole family or keep in the fridge as leftovers for the next few days/nights as I do.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole organic chicken - not just free range as they are still fed grains that are sprayed and genetically modified soy to fatten them up, ask your local butcher, markets or Coles/Woolworths sell them now at reasonable prices. Using a whole chicken means you have the bones and ligaments as well as the chicken meat which provide numerous minerals and nutrients - always preferrable!
• 1/4 cup of pearl barley - very warming and adds extra low glycaemic carbohydrate for winter in the form of whole grains, contains gluten so if coeliac substitute with millet, rice or sweet potato
• 1/3 cup of quinoa - South American seed that is now grown in Australia, is gluten free, high in protein like lysine as well as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Choose whichever colour appeals to you - white, red (higher iron content), black and rinse with water before use.
• 1 strip of Kombu seaweed - high in minerals, especially iodine which is low in Australian soils (Hence the high level of hypothyroidism in Australia), helps remove heavy metals and toxins from the body
• Fresh sprig or 1 tsp dried thyme - adds flavour to chicken, anti-bacterial for lungs and all winter respiratory infections
• 1/2 Japanese pumpkin - easier to cut and more flavour than Butternut or Gray pumpkin, lots of betacarotene for your eyes and all body cells
• 1 brown onion - onions are perfect antidote for any coughs and colds - you'll realise how potent they are when you chop it up! 
• 1Tb of apple cider vinegar - the acid helps breakdown the bones and meat to secrete the minerals we need making it easier to digest. Apple cider vinegar is naturally fermented so it still retains its natural antimicrobial and healing properties
• Any other vegetables you like or have in the fridge to use up - carrots, celery, parsnips, etc. As there are already carbohydrates with the barley and quinoa, I would not suggest adding potatoes but you could substitute instead
• 1 bunch of parsley - add at the end once taken off the heat as so delicate to add extra minerals especially iron
• Miso paste - stir in 1 Tb to crockpot if serving all for dinner or 1 tsp to individual plates if going to keep some and reheat at a later date as it is destroyed by cooking. Adds flavour, salt and minerals. Easily digested as traditionally fermented. Use whichever type you like but the lighter the colour, the cooler the effect so dark brown barley miso is generally for very cold climates. If you skip the miso, the add sea salt and pepper!

Method:

Rinse barley and quinoa with water quickly by swirling in pot and throwing excess water out. Place in crockpot and chop Kombu seaweed into 2cm strips with scissors into pot. Rinse chicken and place whole into pot. Throw in thyme, chopped pumpkin into 3-4cm chunks, diced onion, apple cider vinegar and add enough filtered water to cover chicken. Cook on low heat with lid on for at least 8 hours but sometimes I leave it for 12 hours and it has been fine so long as there is enough water, it never dries out. 

Remove from heat and gently cut up the chicken in the crockpot into quarters - should just fall away from the bony carcass by now. Mix 1 Tb of miso paste in cup with hot water and stir into crockpot if serving it all for dinner or 1 tsp to individual plates if going to keep some and reheat at a later date as it is destroyed by cooking. Also stir in 1 bunch of chopped parsley for extra fresh greens. You could even add spinach or baby spinach here instead as the heat in the casserole will wilt it perfectly without needing extra cooking. You can experiment with your own flavours eg adding lemon rind/halves, lentils, etc

The beauty of slow cookers or crockpots is their ease to use without slaving over a hot oven or when you are time poor with all the nutrition still kept in tact and easily digestible. Most come with a small recipe book so you can experiment with tagines, breakfast porridge, soups, stews, desserts and curries. They sell them at Kmart, Target, David Jones and all major department stores from $60. Winter bargain!

Tune into 99.3FM Radio Saturdays 7-10am

Accentuate The Positive Radio Show 

with presenter Karen Swain 9.45am Saturdays

Claudette is now a regular guest on Accentuate The Positive radio show every Saturday morning 7-10am, giving the latest nutritional research and health tips to make you want to spring out of bed every morning!
Latest talks include the health wonders of beetroot, nuts to bring out the smile in you, why water is the elixir of life and more...

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Butter or Margarine - which is better?

There is so much conflicting media about whether it is better to eat butter or margarine or even to decipher which is which, with the multitude of "spreads" on the supermarket fridge shelf. When margarine was invented it was seen as the revolutionary health product with a big HealthyHeart tick to promote it but recent research now shows otherwise.  

Margarine is made by passing hydrogen gas through liquid oils in the presence of a metal catalyst of nickel and aluminum to make a semi-solid state to which yellow colouring is added to make it look like butter. Many margarines claim they are rich in Omega 3 oils, essential fatty acids, made from healthy olive oil but even if they start with these products, the hydrogenation process destroys these beneficial fatty acids, converting them into trans fats. The finished product is low in Omega 3 oils, high in trans fats. Trans fats are synthetic fats that are fairly new to our food chain due to modern processing methods so we are only seeing the effects on our health in recent years. They cannot be broken down and used by the body but instead cause free radical damage to our cells. Trans fats make platelets sticky, increasing the likelihood of a clot in a small blood vessel causing strokes, heart attacks or circulatory occlusion. They can also increase blood cholesterol levels by up to 15% and blood fat levels up to 47%. Unfortunately, the HealthyHeart criteria is simplistically based upon the out-dated research of saturated fat content without any measurement of trans fats, creating enormous misleading confusion for the public. Also in Australia food companies are not required to list the amount of trans fats on the nutrition label so we have no way of knowing how much trans fat we are eating. There is no upper safety limit for the recommended daily intake of trans fat, simply that “it should be as low as possible”. However, New York City Council has been very proactive, passing laws a couple of years ago to limit the maximum amount of trans fats in all foods cooked and sold in NY city. To demonstrate this imminent health concern, adding 1 steak to your diet everyday, you increase your saturated fat by 5%, which increases your risk of a heart attack by 17%. By adding one teaspoon of margarine to what you normally eat each day, you increase your trans fats by 2%, but your risk of a heart attack increases by a shocking 93%.

Butter has received an enormous amount of flack in the past 30 years since margarine was invented but the tide has changed in recent times as more research is done into different type of fats and their function and effects in the body. Butter is mainly saturated fat, 9% steric acid, 19% oleic acid, 38% palmitic acid and low in Omega 3 oils. In excess these acids can interfere with the beneficial anti-inflammatory effect of omega 3 oils. There was also concern about the cholesterol content of butter as 100gm of butter contains about 250mg of cholesterol. However, recent research shows that only 20% of cholesterol comes from a diet of high cholesterol foods, while the other 80% of cholesterol is made in your body to carry around sugars and poor quality fats, such as trans fats, from processed foods. The good thing about butter is it is easily digested being a natural product, helps improve some strains of good bacteria in your gut for digestion producing butyric acid and being a solid at room temperature, it does not oxidise or go rancid easily with high temperatures, causing damaging free radicals in the body cells when eaten. Therefore it can be used in frying and other high heat applications. Of course, it needs to be eaten in moderation (1tsp/day) and yes, it is difficult to spread unless it is at room temperature or spread on hot toast! You can blend your butter with olive oil at home to make your own spreadable butter or try alternatives like mashed avocado, humus, drizzled olive oil, tahini, nut spreads.

If there is one thing you do for your health, do not consume margarine or any other "olive oil spread". Despite millions of dollars of marketing to convince us otherwise, the fact remains that butter is a natural product made from cow's milk, while margarine does not exist in nature and has to be made in a laboratory. Would you rather eat synthetic chemicals or food?

Feel Like It's All Work, No Play?

Time is the essential commodity nowadays as we realise that the work/life balance it crucial for both health and happiness. Life without the play factor is pretty dull, unfulfilling and deadening. Personally, I had always thought that the solution was to do everything faster, with time as my enemy, so then I would have more time for personal interests like sport, relaxation, friends and family, until I read a quote from The Universe, TUT's Adventurers Club:

"The trick to blending work and play lies not in what you do, but in how you view what you do. See work as play and see play as important - very important"

This hit me like a brick - I get it! I've always been passionate about my work and practice but even still there are always areas that you don't like doing, like your tax for instance, so rather than feeling trapped in a never-ending cycle which you can't get out of, it was to change my attitude and feeling towards it instead. It didn't change what I had to do but this simple reminder took an enormous pressure off and turned my work into enjoyment. I now have this stuck to the wall above my desk and if I ever feel myself groaning over any aspect of my business, I look at this and I feel the shift inside so it suddenly seems to become easier, certainly more fun and I get it done faster too.

Obviously this is easier said than done when you have spent years ingraining a habit or our inner critic that I like to call the “gremlin”. At the The Conscious Club the other week I heard the neuroscientist, Dr Joe Dispenza from the movie What The Bleep Do You Know? talking about breaking the habit of the mind and recreating what you want in life. As he reiterated, the key is the combination of thought and emotion which makes it so powerful. Once you have the feeling, the action follows more easily. This applies both for the positives and negatives in our lives. It creates choice between your thoughts and emotional reactions. But if you've never known what it feels like to sing from the rooftops, it can be difficult to visualise and feel the joy that would accompany this. This is where I have found the ThetaHealing comes in as a tool to retrain the brain what these feelings feel like http://www.claudettewadsworth.com.au/thetahealing/ Simply repeating any affirmation or goal is not going to get you anywhere very fast - the key is to visualise and feel like you've already achieved it now in your life!

Prioritising play is also a fairly new concept as most of us were brought up in a society where play was seen as frivolous that should be placed well after work. However, research shows that employees who work less hours to enable more free time for relaxation and families, get the job done faster and more efficiently because they're more motivated, relaxed, happier and thereby, feel more fulfilled in their jobs. Hence the saying, if you want a job done, give it to a busy person - they've got less time at the job but they actually achieve more. Interestingly, more high profile executives are putting this into practice such as Facebook's CFO Sheryl Sandberg who leaves work at 5.30pm everyday to be home for her children. 

What can you do to bring more play into your life?

Question whether you are taking on too much and preventing others from doing their fair share. You may be blaming them unnecessarily for not taking on more responsibility or beating yourself up for not getting everything done, although it maybe unrealistic. Be clear with your boundaries and learn to say No. Doing things you don’t want to only creates stress so change what you do or change your attitude as stress is the number cause of most health problems I see in my practice. Ask yourself these questions: What am I most grateful for in my life right now? Who do I love? Who loves me? What am I committed to in my life right now? What am I most happy about in my life right now?  What am I proud of in my life right now? What am I most excited about in my life right now? What do I enjoy most in my life right now? It does not have to take loads of time or money to have fun. Smiling and laughing occasionally is a start and helps to keep the "gremlin" at bay.

Yoghurt Boosts Sexual Performance

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made a surprising discovery that yoghurt boosts sexual performance of male mice and even increases the size of their testes! This was an unexpected result as they were actually studying the influence of probiotic diets on obesity. However, the yoghurt eating mice had 10x the active follicle density - giving them thicker, shiny hair, 5-15% heavier testes, faster insemination of their partners, and even developed a "male swagger" pointing their testes outwards. Females eating the yoghurt gave birth to larger litters and were more efficient at weaning their pups. Now researchers at Harvard University are studying the link between yoghurt intake and semen quality in humans with similar results. Source: The Week.

The Pill - What All Women Should Know

The Pill is a convenient and effective contraceptive of synthetic, powerful hormones (various combinations of oestrogen and progesterone) used to override and suppress the body’s own production of these hormones. As a result, ovulation does not occur as the ovaries are suppressed and the eggs unused. These hormones are involved in cell replication, bone density and the body’s production of other hormones, such as DHEA and testosterone.

What many women don't know are the unwanted side effects of the Pill which are more common than women realise and become accumulative in nature as most women stay on the Pill for years at a time. These include:
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies. I advise all women taking the Pill to take a multivitamin each day but unfortunately the Pill actually affects how these are absorbed as well. Palan PR et al, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2006 v194:e35-e38
• Increased copper and vitamin A storage, so that there is a risk of toxicity from too much.
• Increased risk of blood clots and high blood pressure: do not smoke whilst on the Pill!
• Increased pigmentation of the skin, causing brown skin marks.
• Decreased liver clearance ability, impairing liver function, causing a build up of toxicity in the body
• Increased risks of reproductive cancers. Meta-analysis of case-control studies has found that use of oral contraceptive drugs is associated with an increased risk of premenopausal breast cancer, especially with use before first full-term pregnancy in parous women. Kahlenborn C, Modugno F, Potter DM et al. Mayo Clin Proc 2006; 81 (10): 1290-1302.
• Reactivation of the body’s production of hormones upon cessation of the Pill may be delayed or dysfunctional, causing hormonal irregularity and imbalance as well as infertility
• When used for purposes other than contraception, it does not correct the underlying causes of the hormonal dysfunction that will reemerge once the Pill is stopped.
• Increased tendency to develop vaginal infections including candida.
• Can trigger or exacerbate migraines and/or headaches.

Cautions to be aware of:
• Antibiotics, anti-epileptics, anti-fungals, vomiting, severe diarrhoea decrease its effectiveness: additional contraceptive measures should be employed during this time!
• Do not smoke whilst on the OCP as blood clotting is increased significantly by both the Pill and smoking. Spontaneous, fatal heart attacks and strokes of seemingly healthy women in their 20-30 years have been reported when using both drugs.

FemCap

A women's hormone-free, safe, effective and easy-to-use contraceptive that actually works! FemCap is a reusable, latex-free, FDA-approved contraceptive cervical cap. It’s easy to insert and remove yourself, not as bulky and more effective than a diaphragm and doesn’t need to be fitted by a gynaecologist. It’s not sold in Australia yet as our market here is so small but easily available with comprehensive notes & DVD by post.  www.femcap.com

Natural Contraception

Claudette also teaches Natural Contraception using temperature and cervical mucus charting together with your lunar dates. From her clinic, Claudette sells the Natural Fertility Management kits for both conception and contraception as well as helping women re-establish hormonal balance and regular cycles again after coming off the Pill, breastfeeding, around menopause and other hormonal conditions affecting the reproductive system such as PCOS, endometrisois, fibroids, period pain, fertility problems or a total absence of periods. http://www.claudettewadsworth.com.au/womenshealth/

High Cholesterol - Try these Tips

High Cholesterol

Cholesterol is essential in the body to carry around fats and sugars and to make hormones. It is only a problem if there is too much as it gets deposited in arteries. 80% of cholesterol is made by the body to carry around excess fats and sugars; only 20% comes from diet. Therefore, it is usually not high cholesterol foods in the diet which is the problem, eg eggs but poor quality fats and sugar. Research now says it is safe to have 6 eggs a week. Similarly, if your cholesterol is too low, this will cause problems such as depression, violent behaviour, aggression and increased risk of cancer.

Cholesterol foods to avoid: organ meats eg. brain, kidney, liver, caviar, crustaceans eg. prawns, lobster, oysters, crab, too much dairy especially butter, cream, cheese. 

Increase Omega 3 oils which boost HDL good cholesterol, lower Triglycerides and have a platelet unsticking effect in arteries: cold water deep-sea oily fish (salmon, mackerel, trout, herring, cod, mullet, sardines) eat 3/week; nuts and seeds: a handful/day to sprinkle on cereal, salads or snacks: walnuts, almonds, pecans, Brazil, linseeds (avoid peanuts); cold pressed oils to use raw in salad dressings (not commercially processed salad dressings) or drizzle over vegetables: flaxseed oil, extra virgin olive oil 1Tb/day; avoid canola or vegetable oil and use avocado on bread instead of margarine or butter.

Avoid Trans fats which are synthetic fats that are fairly new to our food chain due to modern processing methods but they cause free radical damage to our cells,. They are formed when vegetable oils are hydrogenated as in margarine, hardened in shortening eg. packet biscuits and pastries, or, in oils that have been overheated as in deep frying, or, oxidized oils which are rancid oils. They harden and thicken the food product so it will not go soft or go off quickly but remains crisp for months on your pantry shelf. But they also do this to our cell membranes and arteries once we eat them. Avoid margarine, hot chips, French fries, deep fried, doughnuts, packet biscuits, commercially-produced muffins, pastries and rancid oils. 

Many companies use trans fat instead of oil as it is less expensive, improves taste and texture of food product and extends storage shelf life. Unfortunately, food companies are not required to list it on the nutrition label so we have no way of knowing how much trans fat we are eating. Also, there is no upper safety limit for the recommended daily intake of trans fat, simply that “it should be as low as possible”. 

However, by adding one steak to your diet per day, you increase your saturated fat by 5%, which increases your risk of a heart attack by 17%. By adding one commercial muffin to what you normally eat each day, you increase your trans fats by 2%, but your risk of a heart attack increases by 93%! Trans fats make platelets sticky, increasing the likelihood of a clot in a small blood vessel causing strokes, heart attacks or circulatory occlusion. They can increase blood cholesterol levels by up to 15% and blood fat levels up to 47%.

Other cholesterol lowering tips:

• 1 Tb of psyllium husks and 1/2 squeezed lemon in glass of warm water on rising
• Add 1-2Tb flaxmeal or ground linseeds to cereal or in smoothie each day
• Eat artichokes and replace meat with vegetable proteins occasionally: chickpeas, lentils, borlotti beans, etc - mix through salads, add to soups/stews
• Drink roasted Dandelion root tea or green tea instead of coffee as coffee raises cholesterol and blood pressure. Try fresh sprigs of rosemary in hot water as a tea - excellent for the liver!
• Reduce all sugars, sweets, chocolate, fruit juice, soft drink, dried fruit and limit your fresh fruit to a maximum 3 pieces per day
• Avoid white flour products and increase your fibre by eating wholegrain bread
• Reduce alcohol: moderation means 2 glasses every 2nd night for men and half this for women
• Drink vegetable juices which help flush out the liver and are full of antioxidants eg. carrot, celery, beetroot, ginger, spinach
• Smoking: 70% increase in death rate and 3-5 times increase in risk of heart disease
• Decrease stress: stimulates more cholesterol production as cholesterol is the precursor to the stress hormones: try deep breathing, meditation, massage, yoga, tai chi, relaxing hot bath, time out in nature
• Exercise: 1 hour 3x week - whatever you enjoy!!

3 Easy Steps to Prevent Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis OA is caused by a depletion in bone density, called "porous bones" so that they become weak and brittle with age, resulting in fractures. However, if there are adequate nutrients to support their structure and repair as well as favourable environmental conditions for the bone formation and restructure, your bones will provide enough strength and support throughout your life. The foundations of your bones are laid down early in life but they are being constantly remodelled all the time and it is never too early to start taking preventative steps. Post-menopausal women are at higher risk of OA due to the hormone changes but there is much that can be done to prevent excessive loss if healthy changes are made early enough.

Diet & Sunshine

Vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients for bone formation. Make sure you have a blood test with your doctor to check your levels (at least 100mmol/L) as I find many clients today are deficient as they are either working inside all day, are overly conscientious in avoiding the sun or live at a latitude where there simply is not enough sunlight exposure. The Vitamin D producing UVB rays are absent all day in winter at latitudes south of 35 degree which is everything south of Canberra! Being a fat soluble vitamin, food sources include cod liver oil, butter, oily fish eg. sardines, mackerel, salmon and milk. Most people are not consuming enough though so you will need sunlight exposure everyday in the morning without sunscreen or sunglasses or to supplement. The recommended dosage is 1000 international units (IU) of vitamin D every day but if you are already deficient, then this maintenance dose will need to be increased.

Calcium sources include soups made with bones, seaweeds, full fat dairy (you need the fat to absorb the calcium properly), vegetables like kale and broccoli, almonds, tahini and oily fish mushed up with the bones eg. sardines or salmon. The recommended dosage is at least 1,000 milligrams (mg) of elemental calcium (1500mg for post-menopausal women) every day. You need other minerals as well which work with the calcium which come from a broad healthy diet with lots of vegetables and salads.

Soft drinks, especially Coke, coffee, sugar, sweeteners, diruetics, alcohol and cigarettes all leech calcium and minerals out of the body. Research shows that junk food and carbonated drinks in teenage years are a primary cause of osteoporosis.

Exercise

Weight bearing exercise is essential to deposit the minerals into the bones. This includes walking with hand weights, jogging, squats, lunges, push ups, resistance exercises, yoga but does not include swimming unfortunately! Our bodies are made to move every day so include some exercise into your daily routine with duration being more important than intensity.

Stress  

Stress hormones strip the body of vital minerals and create acidity in the body which accelerates bone demineralisation. In our stress-driven modern world, relaxation is vital for everyone. Relaxation is different to sleep and uses different brain waves. Choose a method that suits you and make a commitment to yourself to spend to spend some time every day practicing relaxation. eg. meditation, drink chamomile tea, stretching, yoga, gardening, spend time in nature, remember to breathe, counselling, massage, creativity: writing, art, cooking, singing - especially in the shower, dancing - even around the room for 10 minutes is a great release!

10 Foods for an Einstein Brain

To boost your mental power and speed up your memory recall, include these foods in your diet:

1. Eggs Eggs contain choline which is essential for boosting memory. They are also an important source of cholesterol which is the building block of hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain so having very low cholesterol can be just as damaging as high cholesterol. You only obtain 20% cholesterol from your diet so 2 eggs a day for 5 days won't raise your cholesterol that much. Buy organic, not just free range! Best eaten with a runny yolk either boiled or poached - yum!

2. Bananas Our brains need potassium to help keep them alert, B vitamins to nourish the nerves and magnesium to keep us calm and relaxed. The perfect post-workout snack or try a banana smoothie for a fast nutritious breakfast.

3. Walnuts Full of Omega 3 oils for brain and nervous system development - just take a look at a whole walnut kernel - remind you of something...

4. Blueberries We've all heard how blueberries are antioxidant superfoods, rich in flavonoids, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and macular degeneration. However, new research at the Harvard Medical School found that those who ate blueberries experienced slower cognitive decline by up to 2.5 years.

5. Oily Fish Oily fish like sardines, salmon, mackerel contain Omega 3 oils and good quality protein which are both essential for brain development and function. Unfortunately our seas are so polluted nowadays that it is essential to source smaller fish to avoid heavy metal accumulation such as mercury. Avoid larger fish: tuna, swordfish, flake (shark), marlin, catfish, orange roughy (deep sea perch). 

6. Coconut The common myth that coconut oil is bad for you has been widely dispelled by current research advocating the numerous health benefits of coconuts. Coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acids which are heat-resistant so it is the safest oil for cooking as it doesn't turn into harmful hydrogenated fat that elicit damaging free radicals that attack brain and body cells.

7. Avocado Good oils like vitamin E and Omega 3 oils make this creamy fruit a delicious addition to any salad or smoothie - antioxidant and nourishing for brains all round!

8. Spinach Popeye may have looked all muscle but he obviously had some brains too. Spinach is rich in iron to improve energy and concentration levels as well as antioxidants to prevent ageing of the brain.

9. Almonds New research has found 30gm daily of raw nuts including almonds boosts serotonin levels, making you feel happier and decreasing hunger. Source: Journal of Proteome Research

10. Water A lack of water is the number 1 trigger for fatigue with a mere 2% drop in body water triggering fuzzy short-term memory problems, trouble with basic mathematics and difficulty focusing on the computer screen. Keep a jug of water on your desk or carry a bottle with you - the Elixir of Life!

Artificial Sweeteners And Weight Gain

In the 1980s, the San Antonio Heart Study examined consumers of artificially sweetened drinks who gained about 8kg/year and had greater rises in the body mass index than the controls. The weight gain correlated with dosage.
Artificial sweeteners, as they are 200 times sweeter than normal sugar, encourage sugar craving and sugar dependence. Repeated exposure trains flavour preferences.

Add Fizz to Your Forehand

In a new study, tennis players were given bicarbonate soda and another group a placebo. The bicarb group showed no loss of skill level whereas the placebo group experienced significant skill losses. It all comes down to the alkalizing effect of the bicarb, which counteracts the muscle tiring that comes from the buildup of lactic acid when you exercise. However, long-term excessive bicarb soda intake can cause problems for your blood pressure and stomach. If you want to alkalise your body in a sustainable way, eat plenty of vegetables, especially greens.

Source: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition

Fructose Fuels Gout

Gout is caused by excess uric acid levels in your body forming needle-like crystals that deposit in your feet, causing pain and potential immobility. Over the past three decades there has been a 250 per cent increase in the rates of gout, which has been linked to an increased consumption of fructose-rich drinks such as soft drinks and orange juice. Women who had one 180mL serving of soft drink per day were 74 per cent more likely to develop gout than women who consumed one per month or less. Women who had 180mL of orange juice per day were 41 per cent more likely to develop gout.

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association

BEET for BRAINS

A new study showed that after having beetroot juice there was an increase in blood flow to white matter in the frontal lobes of the brains. These are the areas of the brain associated with dementia and loss of other mental functions. The reason beetroot juice has this effect is its high nitrate content. In your mouth, good bacteria convert nitrate to nitrite and nitrites help open up blood vessels in your body.

Source: Nitric Oxide: Biology and Biochemistry

The "Sleep Mistake" Which Boosts Your Risk of Cancer

There’s growing concern among experts that the proliferation of glowing gadgets like computers may fool your brain into thinking that it’s still daytime after the sun has gone down, which can disturb sleep patterns and exacerbate insomnia.

Such concerns are not new – Thomas Edison may have created these problems when he invented the light bulb. But the problem has grown worse thanks to the popularity of Apple’s new slate computer, the iPad.

Many consumers use and iPad to read at night, and paper books or e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle, which does not emit its own light, the iPad’s screen shines light directly into your eyes from a relatively close distance.

According to CNN: “What makes the iPad & laptops more likely to disrupt sleep patterns than, say, a television sitting across the bedroom or a lamp that illuminates a paper book, is that these shoot far less light straight into the eye, researchers said.”

When light receptors in your eyes are triggered, they signal your brain to ‘stay awake’. To do that, your brain stops secreting melatonin, which is both a hormone and a potent antioxidant against cancer.

Normally, your brain starts secreting melatonin around 9 or 10 pm, which makes you sleepy. These regularly occurring secretions thus help regulate your sleep cycle. However, if you regularly trick your brain into altering this cycle, sleep disturbances are not far behind. It can even create a state of permanent “jet leg”.

Alcohol conscious choices tips

• There are big differences in the types of alcohol you consume. For example, a cocktail can often contain between 2-5 standard drinks. A healthier option is to monitor and limit your amount of standard drinks throughout an event.
• It is not just the alcohol but also what you mix with it. A humble cocktail can often contain between 68-340 calories per drink just for the alcohol. Now imagine if it contained lemonade, cream and other goodies…
• Hydrate, hydrate and then hydrate some more. Hydration is calculated based on a person’s weight—i.e. 30ml per kg body weight. Then, additional re-hydration is required for every glass of coffee, tea, alcohol or soft drink drunk. When you add this all together some time people need to drink as much as 3.5L per day. The old rule of one alcoholic drink followed by a glass of water in between is a good general recommendation. Remember—most hangovers are often simply caused by dehydration.
• Replenish what is lost. Alcohol depletes our reserves of key vitamins and minerals. The most important group that are lost are B vitamins. A quick tip is to take a B complex before you head out and then an additional one during the night. It reduces the incidence of hangovers markedly, provides valuable nutrients for your liver so it can process the alcohol and keeps your mood (and your wits) positive so helps you have a better night. Food sources are tricky as the alcohol is likely to destroy them through digestion so supplementation is the most realistic.
• Protect your liver. Another important prescription is the wonderful herbal medicine called St Mary's Thistle (Silybum marianum). Taking this herb before the big night can make a huge impact on your recovery and your enjoyment of the evening - well worth investing! Additionally, it helps to protect our liver in the long term so reduces long term effects and damage.
• It's too late, the big night is over already...The best approach is to hydrate with pure water and obviously be gentle with your body. Expecting it to run a marathon is simply stupid; expecting your poor and overworked liver to process a 'fry up' is also a bad idea.
• Extract taken from The Food Coach Newsletter: www.thefoodcoach.com.au
  

Green Smoothies

You’ve heard the saying “eat your leafy greens”? Well, here they are, all blended up and ready to drink in a glass.

To create a green smoothie I use as a green base, spinach, parsley, mint and basil. It’s important to rotate the green base, so sometimes I use carrot tops, bok choy, beetroot leaves, purple leaf lettuce, broccoli, spinach, chard, or kale. Then for flavor to make it palatable I add what ever fruits I have in the house – apples, pineapple, banana, lime, watermelon, coconut, rockmelon, avocado etc. Then finally to liquify it you need to add 2 glasses of water. One important thing you need is a very powerful blender. Not all blenders have a high enough rev count to break this down into a drink.

Leafy greens are full of minerals and nutrients like folic acid, niacin, vit A, B, C, D, E & K. They are high in calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc & selenium.

By blending the greens and not juicing them we are ingesting high levels of fibre. This fibre acts as a giant sponge, soaking up lots of toxins in the alimentary canal, cleansing the body.

The green smoothie is very alkalising for the body. Acidity has been found to contribute to the development of cancers and many other serious ailments. It’s been proven that leafy greens have very high pH levels, which is essential for a balanced alkalised body.

Extract taken from: Effortless Meditation Newsletter www.effortlessmeditation.com.au

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar has had many significant supporters. In 400 BC Hippocrates was known to use it as a health tonic. American soldiers were said to have found it useful in combating scurvy, indigestion and pneumonia.

Since then numerous studies have been done on apple cider vinegar with suggested cures for indigestion allergies, sinus infections, acne, high cholesterol, flu, chronic fatigue, candida, acid reflux, sore throats, contact dermatitis, arthritis, and gout. Apple Cider Vinegar also breaks down fat and is widely used to lose weight. It has also been reported that a daily dose of apple cider vinegar in water has high blood pressure under control in two weeks!

Apple cider vinegar also alkalises your body and balances your pH levels. Drink 1tsp-1tb in a glass of water before your meal or use it on salads as a dressing. Use organic unfiltered apple cider vinegars.

Extract taken from Effortless Meditation Newsletter: www.effortlessmeditation.com.au

Tai Chi Lowered Blood Pressure in 85 % of Trials

The 2,000-year-old Chinese practice of tai chi is a branch of Qigong – exercises that harness the qi (life energy).

Tai chi has been linked to numerous health benefits, including improvements in the quality of life of breast cancer patients and Parkinson’s sufferers. It has shown promise in treating sleep problems and high blood pressure.

According to U.S. News & World Report:

“…In 85 % of trials, tai chi lowered blood pressure. Other studies have shown it to reduce blood levels of B-type natriuretic peptide, a precursor of heart failure, and to maintain bone density in postmenopausal women.”

Eating Healthy on a Tight Budget

One of the greatest misconceptions out there is that processed, pre-packaged foods are less expensive that raw, whole foods. But more often than not this is simply not true.

Cooking from scratch is usually far more cost effective in the long run, particularly if you stop throwing away the left-overs.

A 2008 report authored by the Stockholm International Water Institute, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Water Management Institute found that half of the food produced worldwide is wasted!

To prevent unnecessary waste:

• Plan ahead. If you plan your meals in advance, you can buy only what you need at the store.
• Buy proper portions.
• Learn to store your food so that it stays fresh.
• Learn recipes for tasty leftover meals.

The British website Love Food Hate Waste can help you calculate portions, and provides a variety of time- and money-saving tips, recipes, and much more.

Aside from the actual sticker price of the food, cooking from scratch using fresh, whole (preferably organic) ingredients will provide you with far superior nutrition, rather than empty calories.

Keep in mind that the money you think you’re saving today by stocking up on cheap, denatured, processed foods will end up costing an arm and a leg later on, when your health fails and the medical bills start rolling in…

The Amazing Ant-Aging Discovery

You may be able to extend your life and stay fit throughout your old age with a simple change of diet that switches on your “youth” gene.

Professor Cynthia Kenyon, whom many experts believe should win the Nobel Prize for her research into aging, has discovered that carbohydrates directly affect the genes that govern youthfulness and longevity.

She found that turning down the gene that controls insulin in turn switches on another gene which acts like an elixir of life.

As the Daily Mail reports, research confirms that insulin-like growth factor is intricately linked to various cancers, and that “raised insulin levels, triggered by high carbohydrate-consumption, could be what connects many of our big killers.”

Your diet can over-ride genetic predispositions to disease, and this research further strengthens those claims, as the two key genes in question can be turned on or off as a consequence of eating carbohydrates.

This results from two primary conditions:

1. Excessive amounts of sugar/grains and processed foods, combined with
   
2. Insufficient exercise

Source: http://articles.mercola.com

Finally, Proof that Cancer is a Man-Made Disease

A study of ancient bodies has determined that cancer is a man-made disease, one fueled by the excesses. Tumors turn out to be extremely rare until very recent times, when pollution and poor diet became issues.

Despite examining tissue from hundreds of Egyptian mummies, researchers confirmed only one case of cancer.

According to the Daily Mail:

“Dismissing the argument that the ancient Egyptians didn’t live long enough to develop cancer, the researchers pointed out that other age-related disease such as hardening of the arteries and brittle bones did occur…

Fossil evidence of cancer is also sparse, with scientific literature providing a few dozen, mostly disputed, examples in animal fossil.”

According to the latest statistics compiled by the American Heart Association, cancer surpasses heart disease as the top killer among Americans between the ages of 45 to 74. Environmental/lifestyle factors are increasingly being pinpointed as the culprits, such as:

• Pesticide- and other chemical exposures
• Pharmaceutical drugs
• Processed & artificial foods (plus the chemicals in the packaging)
• Wireless technologies, dirty electricity, and medical diagnostic radiation exposure
• Obesity, stress, and poor sleeping habits
• Lack of sunshine exposure and use of sunscreens

This is not an all-inclusive list, of course, but as the research into the health of our ancient ancestors shows, cancer is not a “natural” disease, and genetics are not a primary factor.

Source: Daily Mail (October 15, 2010), Cancer (September 1977; 40(3): 1358-1362)

New Warnings About the Hazards of Mobile Phones

Holding a cell phone against your ear, or putting it in your pocket, may be hazardous to your health. Apple says your iPhone should come no closer than 5/8 of an inch; BlackBerry recommends about an inch.

The longest study of mobile phone radiation has just been completed. It cost more than $30 million (funded in part by the mobile phone industry) to carry out, and involved nearly 50 scientists from 13 countries, along with more than 14,000 people.

Statistics show that, over all, there has not been a general increase in the incidence of brain cancer since cell phones arrived – but the average hides that fact that brain cancer has increased in the 20-to-29 age group while dropping for the older population.

According to the New York Times:

“The largest study of cell phone use and brain cancer has been the Interphone International Case Control Study… The authors included some disturbing data in an appendix available only online. These showed that subjects who used a cell phone 10 or more years doubled the risk of developing brain gliomas, a type of tumor.”

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal investigates various methods of cutting down the radiation your mobile phone produces. However, they say the most effective one may be the simplest – keep the phone away from your head and body.

Source: New York Times (November 13, 2010), Wall Street Journal (October 5, 2010)

Olive Oil During Pregnancy Reduces Wheezing

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet and using olive oil for cooking/dressing salads during pregnancy were both significantly associated with less wheezing during the first year of the infant's life.
Other factors remained associated with wheezing: male gender, day care attendance, maternal asthma, maternal smoking during pregnancy, infant eczema and mould stains on the household walls.
Source: Castro-Rodriguez JA, Garcia-Marcos L, Sanchez-Solis M et al. Pediatr Pulmonol 2010; 45(4): 395-402

Midlife High Blood Pressure & Dementia Later in Life

Analysis suggests that 17 % of late-life dementia cases are attributable to midlife systolic blood pressure levels between 120 and 140 mm Hg.
Source: Launer LJ, Hughes T, Yu B et al. Hypertension 2010; 55(6): 1352-1359

10 Organic Foods That Are Worth the Money

1. Peaches/Nectarines: very highly sprayed due to problems with fruit flies, mould, etc.

2. Apples: more pesticides are found on apples than are found on any other fruit or vegetable – a grand total of 36

3. Capsicum/Sweet Bell Pepper: 3^rd on list of pesticide load after peaches & apples

4. Celery: 4^th on list for pesticide load & cannot be washed off very well

5. Baby Foods: an infant’s immune system is less developed than an adult’s so is more vulnerable to damage

6. Dairy: dairy cows eat grains that are heavily treated with chemicals as well as given antibiotics. These are passed into the milk and stored in the dairy fat.

7. Grapes: imported grapes get treated with numerous chemicals. Grapes are also, whether organic or not, especially high in fructose which elevates blood sugars rapidly

8. Spinach/Lettuce/Kale: the chemicals used to treat green leafies may cause cancer or interfere with hormone production

9. Strawberries

10. Green beans: there are over 60 pesticides that are registered for use on green beans

Source: Environmental Working Group

Stress Increases Mortality & Chronic Diseases

High cortisol level is known to be associated with osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, susceptibility to infections and depression but may protect against chronic obstructive lung disease.
Source: Schoorlemmer, RMM. Relationships between cortisol level, mortality and chronic diseases in older persons. Clinical Endocrinology. Volume 71, Issue 6, pages 779-786, December 2009

A Simple, Inexpensive Trick to Cure a Cold

The most common way cold viruses are spread is not from being around coughing or sneezing, or walking barefoot in the rain, but rather from hand-to-hand contact. For instance, someone with a cold blows their nose then shakes your hand or touches surfaces that you also touch.
However, the key to remember is that just being exposed to a cold virus does not have to mean that you'll catch a cold. If your immune system is operating at its peak, it should actually be quite easy for you to fend off the virus without ever getting sick.
Common contributing factors are:

• eating too much sugar and too much white flour products
  
• not getting enough rest
• using insufficient strategies to address emotional stressors in your life
• Vitamins D & C deficiency

Myself and my clients have had remarkable results in curing colds and flu within 12 to 14 hours when administering a few drops of 3 % hydrogen peroxide into each ear. Your will hear some bubbling, which is completely normal, but no pain.
Wait until the bubbling subsides (usually 3-5 minutes), then drain onto a tissue and repeat with the other ear. A bottle of hydrogen peroxide in 3% solution is available at any chemist for a couple of dollars or less. It is simply amazing how many people respond to this simple, inexpensive treatment.

Early Childhood Television Exposure

A study in Canada studied 5-month-old infants and their families with follow-up at 17, 29, 41 and 53 months, to estimate the influence of early childhood television exposure on academic, psychological & lifestyle characteristics in grade 4 (10 years of age).

Every additional hour of television exposure at 29 months corresponded to:

• 7 % & 6 % decreases in classroom engagement & achievement in mathematics
• 10 % increases in victimization by classmates
• 13 % decreases in time spent doing weekend physical activity
• 9 % decreases in activities involving physical effort
• Higher consumption of soft drinks & snacks

Hepatitis B Vaccination For Your Baby's Health

3 Hepatitis B Vaccinations are part of the standard government-recommended childhood vaccination schedule, with the first dose given at 12 hours of age in most hospitals.

But Hepatitis B is a primarily blood-transmitted disease associated with risky lifestyle choices such as unprotected sex with multiple partners & intravenous drug use involving sharing needles – it is NOT primarily a “children’s disease.”

As Dr. Jane Orient of the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons testified to Congress:

“For most children, the risk of a serious vaccine reaction may be 100 times greater than the risk of hepatitis B.”

There are more reports of serious adverse reactions in children than there are cases of childhood hepatitis B and, despite what you may hear in the media, reactions can be serious.

In 2008, French authorities launched a criminal investigation of two vaccine company managers (from GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur) for failing to disclose dangerous side effects of their Hepatitis B vaccines.

According to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System in USA, there were 36,788 officially reported adverse reactions to Hepatitis B vaccines between 1992 and 2005. Of these, 14,800 were serious enough to cause hospitalization, life-threatening health events or permanent disabilities.

And 781 people died following Hepatitis B vaccination.

According to a study in the UK, Hepatitis B vaccines may increase risks for developing multiple sclerosis 3x.

In New Zealand, the incidence of type 1 Diabetes rose by 60 % among children following a mass Hepatitis B immunization campaign.

A study published in Annals of Epidemiology (Sep 2009) found that giving Hepatitis B vaccine to infant boys increased the risk for an autism spectrum disorder 3x.

In the journal Neurology (2009), another study revealed that children who received a particular Hepatitis B vaccine were more likely to develop “central nervous system inflammatory demyelination” than children who did not receive the vaccine.

Pet Chip Implicated in Cancer

Pharmaceutical giant Merck is being sued over claims that its HomeAgain pet microchip caused cancer in a cat. Two years after the chip was implanted, the cat developed a cancerous tumor at the implant site. The tumor was removed surgically, and the microchip was found embedded in the tumor.

In 2007, Dr. Katherine Albrecht released an in-depth analysis of animal studies involving microchip implants & found a “clear causal link between microchip implants & cancer in mice & rats,” as well as an association with cancer in dogs.

The reason why this is an important issue is that many predict there will be a massive push by government authorities to microchip humans. Not only will this be a mistake for privacy reasons, but it appears that there are also serious health consequences.

Fortunately, our pets are serving as canaries for this health challenge & providing us with an early warning alert as to what would happen if we choose to get these microchips.

Multivitamin & Lower Heart Attack Risk in Women

An article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Sept, 2010) reports an association between multivitamin use and a reduced risk of myocardial infarction in older women.

Using a multivitamin along with other supplements was associated with a 30 % lower risk and use for at least five years was linked to a 41 % lower risk of myocardial infarction compared to nonusers.

They attribute the vitamins’ protective benefit to their antioxidant properties, which retard atherosclerosis via free radical scavenging, and the ability of B vitamins to lower homocysteine levels. Minerals, e.g. Magnesium, inhibit insulin resistance, decrease vascular tone and prevent pro-inflammatory changes & endothelial dysfunction.

Women Are Dying From Hormone Therapy: Why Is It Still Available & Recommended?

Big Pharma is still pushing its hormone therapy for women, despite the fact that it increases women’s risk of cancer and other health problems.

Pharma’s lucrative estrogen plus progestin combo is already known to increase the chance of getting breast cancer by 26 %. But an article in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows hormone therapy also increases the chance of dying from breast cancer, as follow ups are conducted on women who took it.

In fact hormone therapy, already indicted for causing delays in breast cancer diagnosis by increasing breast density (& increasing lung cancer deaths) is now so dangerous that Peter B. Bach of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who wrote an accompanying JAMA editorial, told the New York Times that even the recommendation to take “the lowest possible doses for the shortest possible time” is now questionable. Perhaps like prescribing the fewest and lowest tar cigarettes as possible.

Hormone therapy is also linked to asthma, lupus, scleroderma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, urinary incontinence, hearing loss, cataracts, gout, joint degeneration, dementia, stroke, blood clots, malignant melanoma, & 5 other kinds of cancer according to medical journal reports.

Given over 5,000 lawsuits in USA brought by women with hormone therapy-caused breast cancer, why is it still on the market? Why is it being tested (with tax dollars) to extend the franchise into a new generation of women? And why is it still presented to women as a “choice”? As in We Warned You.

Bee Pollen Superfood

Bee Pollen is a power-packed Superfood providing high levels of energy and stamina. It contains vitamin A, B, C, and E, calcium, magnesium, iron & potassium, to name a few of its minerals. It contains up to four times as much protein as beef and eggs per 100 grams. Its most outstanding benefits include more stamina, energy and endurance, and over time, regular consumption of bee pollen will help alleviate many different health problems, slow down ageing and improve your quality of life.

You can take these granules as they are on a spoon, sprinkle them in salads or add them to smoothies

The Worst Cooking Oils of All

Polyunsaturated fats are the absolute WORST oils to use when cooking because these omega-6-rich oils are highly susceptible to heat damage.

• Corn
• Soy
• Safflower
• Sunflower
• Canola

Damaged omega-6 fats or trans-fats are disastrous to your health, and are responsible for far more health problems than saturated fats ever were by clogging your arteries & raising LDL cholesterol.

This is formed when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening.

There is no safe level of trans-fat consumption. Use pure virgin coconut oil for cooking which is stable at high temperature.

New Warning About Olive Oil

Extra-virgin olive oil is a good monounsaturated fat that is also well-known for its health benefits. It’s a staple in healthy diets such as Mediterranean-style diets.

However, it’s important to realize it is not good for cooking. It should really only be used cold, typically drizzled on salads and other food.

Due to its chemical structure and a large amount of unsaturated fats, cooking makes extra-virgin olive oil very susceptible to oxidative damage. Even when used cold, it’s still extremely perishable! Any time the oil is exposed to air and/or light, it oxides.

Consuming spoiled oil (of any kind) will likely do more harm than good.

To help protect extra virgin olive oil from oxidation, squeeze capsule of vitamin E oil into the bottle.