Category Archives: Uncategorized

Natural Remedies For Head Lice

October 16, 2015 happyholistichealth 3 Comments

Another school term has started and with that comes the re-appearance of the head lice plague. The blight of every school mum, head lice provide a never-ending battle for parents. What do you do when you get that call from school “Your child has lice?” If you’re a health conscious parent you’ll look for a natural alternative to the noxious poisons found in insecticide based head lice shampoos and lotions.

Dangers Of Head Lice Shampoo

Here’s a toxic alert! Skin can readily absorb any product that’s applied to it. Once absorbed it travels to your bloodstream and throughout your body causing toxic effects.

There’s agreement amongst experts that absorption of toxins through the skin is more dangerous than through the mouth. When toxic substances are ingested they are broken down and often detoxified by the liver and kidneys. When they’re absorbed through the skin they travel straight into the blood stream without being broken down first, carrying the full toxic load with them.

One study found that some toxins were absorbed more easily through hairy skin than hairless skin. This makes one wonder whether higher levels of pesticides are being absorbed through the scalp from head lice shampoos and lotions than is expected. Are the toxin levels being absorbed becoming critical?

Apart from the dangers of absorbing the toxins into your body, the chemicals in the shampoo can also irritate the skin especially if the skin is sensitive, as in a child, or if it has any breaks in it.

The chemicals in head lice shampoo can also irritate the eyes.

All insecticidal shampoos and lotions sold in Australia must be registered with the Therapeutic Goods Act (TGA) to ensure they comply with safety standards and are effective.

But although deemed safe many of these lotions and shampoos containing pesticide can be harmful to children. Because children’s bodies are much smaller than adults the amounts of toxin in the products can have more impact on their small bodies.

Insecticide Shampoos Don’t Always Work

Lice often become resistant to insecticides and many parents find that insecticide shampoos and lotions don’t kill the lice. Repeated unsuccessful attempts to get rid of the pests leaves your child exposed to higher doses of poison without solving the problem.

If you’re in any doubt you need to ask yourself whether the pesticide based shampoos are worse than the problem?

Natural Alternatives To Head Lice Shampoo

While head lice don’t carry and spread disease like some other pests, they are none-the-less a real problem.

So how do you beat the problem without poisoning your child?

There are a few alternatives to toxic insecticide treatments. Simply by diligently combing conditioner through dry hair with a metal lice comb you can rid the hair of lice and nits. But it can take a number of attempts. Conditioner stuns the lice for about 20 minutes so they can’t crawl around and if you are quick you can comb them out.

But even more effective is to use conditioner in conjunction with an essential oil mixture.

Some essential oils are very effective at getting rid of lice and nits. Plus the mix can be added to a spray bottle of water and used daily to prevent further infestation.

An essential oil mix first stuns the lice just as conditioner does, but unlike conditioner it also kills them. Lice attach the nits, or eggs, to the hair shaft where they stick like glue and are normally very difficult to dislodge. The great thing about the essential oil mixture is it loosens the nits making them easy to comb out and dispose of before they hatch into nymphs.

Essential Oil Head Lice Treatment

A number of essential oils are suitable in the battle against head lice but some, like tea-tree oil which is very effective, can be too strong for children’s sensitive skin.

These ones are more gentle but powerful enough to do the job.

Head Lice Treatment Recipe

To 75ml base oil (coconut is great, or sweet almond) add:
Lavender essential oil – 25 drops
Geranium essential oil – 13 drops
Rosemary essential oil – 25 drops
Eucalyptus essential oil – 12 drops

Makes 2-3 treatments. Store any left over in a glass bottle, amber is best.
Be sure to use high quality essential oils. Do not use fragranced oils.

Method

Massage the oil mix through dry hair and leave for two hours.
Shampoo out adding the shampoo BEFORE wetting your hair.
Wet hair and wash.
Put conditioner on hair and comb through with a metal lice comb. This makes it easier to remove all the creatures. To make certain you get all the lice and nits divide the hair into segments and thoroughly comb through each section.
Repeat a few days later to remove stray lice from any missed eggs.
This formula can also be added to distilled water and sprayed over your hair each morning as a lice deterrent.
For really bad infestations the treatment can be repeated every 3 days over a few weeks if needed.
Be generous with the amount of oil used. The bottle will do 3-5 treatments depending on the amount of hair you have.

The extra bonus is your child’s hair will smell beautiful.

Remember to take all the usual precautions: tell your child’s school, tie back hair, don’t share brushes and combs, run bed linen and hats through a hot washer dryer to kill any stray lice and nits.

Head lice infestations are a fact of school life. Check your child’s head regularly. If your child starts scratching don’t panic. Get to work fast to eradicate the pests with the least toxic impact for your child.

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.
Source articles
http://cincovidas.com/toxic-alert-skin-can-absorb-what-we-apply-to-it%E2%80%94including-cosmetic-chemicals
http://raisingolives.com/oils/treating-lice-naturally-with-essential-oils

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Gratitude. Generosity. Growth.

September 21, 2015 happyholistichealth 3 Comments

Is your life happy? Do you remember to enjoy the small things in life? Do you express your gratitude every day?

In order to live a healthy happy life requires you to address all aspects of your life and surroundings. You need to go much further than just getting fit or changing what you eat. Obviously fitness and diet develop the physical body. But they also develop the mental and emotional bodies to a degree through the endorphins released through exercise, and by creating a better chemical balance in the brain through good food choices.

The mind-body connection is well recognized and it’s known your emotional state affects how healthy your body is.

Holistic growth involves changing and improving on all levels – spiritually as well as physically and mentally. It requires you to be constantly aware and willing to make changes in attitudes, to practice mindfulness, to cultivate gratitude and to open your heart with generosity.

To develop your spirituality you don’t need to follow a religion although you can if you prefer. But you do need to develop a close and meaningful relationship with your essential inner self. You could go and undertake something quite life-changing such as Vipassana to achieve this, but often it’s by simply looking at the things in your life differently that you create the biggest impact, and you can do this in small ways every day.

Becoming connected to the world directly around you in a positive and meaningful way can create a snowballing effect that leads to big changes within. By developing and practicing this you also show love and care for yourselves. You can do this by:

showing love and care for the Earth in your own neighbourhood
appreciating the small gestures of those you cross paths with
acknowledging when things fall into place smoothly
actually noticing what is going on around you

The Key

The key to achieving these grass root changes is in the cultivation of gratitude, which results in you becoming more generous, which then leads to personal awareness and growth. What a great chain of events!

Gratitude is a funny thing. We are all taught to say please and thank you but not often how to feel and express gratitude for our life.

I remember teaching this basic social grace to my son when he was 3 years old. As he and his little friend were exchanging Christmas gifts the boys were told to “shake hands” to show gratitude and thanks. They looked at each other bewildered for a moment and then both started shaking their hands wildly in the air around themselves.

But gratitude is not just about saying thank you for a gift (whether you like it or not). It’s about finding joy in the detail of your life and bringing the focus of your life back to the minutiae around you.

It’s about bringing an awareness of the continual flow of life and a development of a sense of your connection to all, within.

It’s about recognizing all the blessings that are a part of each day, the blessings that often get lost in the daily humdrum.

Gratitude’s about finding joy in the detail of your life.

Gratitude is about learning to find joy in the detail of your life — Gratitude’s about finding joy in the detail of life

Living In The Moment

When exactly is it we first become focused on “keeping your eye on the prize”? I see this as the single most important attitude that undermines the practice of gratitude. We spend our life focused on achieving the promotion, the dream house, cool car, we follow fashion which changes so fast we constantly need more new garments, we work towards the next holiday, beautiful jewelry and on and on and on.

We’re driven by never-ending striving for what we need to achieve and own, our eyes constantly focused on what’s up ahead, the big prize.

When we live with this focus we miss the life around us, the little details of our everyday life…we fail to ever live in the moment.

Living in the moment is what we’ve been told to do in order to know, understand and improve ourselves, but we’re never in the space to achieve it.

By cultivating gratitude and forcing yourself to bring your focus back from what you desire or want to achieve you start to notice the small things around you, and to find ways to give back to the earth as well as to the people in your life.

By cultivating gratitude you also cultivate generosity.

Gratitude Journal

One way to begin cultivating gratitude is to start a gratitude journal.

Like to know more about keeping a gratitude journal and the benefits of gratitude?

Disclaimer.

How to Find Happiness @ Work (living-minimalist.com)
Gratitude’s the attitude, baby (betheloveoflife.wordpress.com)

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Garlic – Nature’s Antibiotic

May 20, 2015 happyholistichealth 2 Comments

As the chill wet of winter settles in and the incidence of coughs and colds grows it’s time to get serious about natural alternatives to prescription antibiotics. One natural remedy that has been around for thousands of years to fight winter viruses is the garlic.

The humble garlic has enjoyed a long and illustrious reputation as a heal-all, and rightly so. Garlic has been used for healing since the time of the ancient Egyptians. Now science has confirmed that garlic deserves its status and is indeed the medicinal giant it was always held to be.

Garlic was used by both the ancient Greeks and Egyptians to treat a range of health problems. From Egypt it spread through Pakistan and India into China. In many different cultures garlic was used to treat very similar ailments, including respiratory, digestive, fevers and rheumatism. In ancient Greece Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used garlic in the treatment of many diseases.

As a culinary herb garlic is relatively new and throughout history was more likely to be used for its medicinal properties. For a plant that offers so much to invigorate your palate, it seems almost too generous for it to have powerful healing properties as well.

It is the active ingredient in garlic, allicin, a sulfur compound, that holds all the healing power, and allicin is the same ingredient that gives garlic its strong odour and taste. This compound is produced when the clove surface is exposed to the air by crushing or cutting the clove.

Garlic acts as a broad spectrum antibiotic and is able to kill a wide variety of bacteria. Unlike chemical antibiotics that kill off millions of friendly bacteria that your body needs, Garlic only targets the invading bacteria, and even promotes and increases your healthy bacteria. Garlic is also a powerful anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-protazoal and antiparasitic, efficient at destroying antigens, pathogens and any harmful micro-organism.

To gain the benefit of garlic it needs to have a strong garlic-y smell released by the active allicin. Without this aroma it won’t do you much good. The cut surface of the garlic needs to be exposed to the air while it is raw. If you are going to cook with it make sure it is crushed and left to sit for a while first.

HOW GARLIC HEALS

Some of the healing effects of garlic are:

Cardiovascular: Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in the world and hypertension is an important indicator. Garlic acts powerfully on the circulatory system, helping to lower hypertension and regulate cholesterol.

A 2013 study* found that taking a daily dose between 600-1500mg of aged garlic extract was as effective as the hypertensive drug Atenolol in reducing blood pressure over a 24 week period. It does this by widening the blood vessels

By lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol garlic reduces the risk of heart disease. However it doesn’t seem to affect triglycerides or HDL levels.

Skin: Although you won’t find garlic in your skin cream it is a strong acting topical treatment for acne. It possesses excellent anti-microbial properties to kill bacteria and works effectively to kill radicals swiftly.

Chronic fatigue syndrome: In many ancient cultures garlic was used to improve the capacity of labourers to work longer and harder by reducing fatigue. Today it can be used to relieve the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome as well as to improve physical endurance, although no studies have been done into this use.

Respiratory: Asthma and Bronchitis – Garlic is known to have a strong action on the respiratory system and is a useful treatment for asthma and bronchitis. As well as being very effective in treating the common cold by reducing its duration, garlic can also be used to ward off colds and other viruses.

Immunity: Garlic is known to boost immune function to reduce the incidence of colds as well as dramatically reduce the duration of colds by up to 70%. This wonderful bulb is a true superfood, containing many trace nutrients to strengthen immune function. Garlic is high in manganese, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Selenium and fibre. It also contains decent amounts of potassium, calcium, phosphorous, iron, copper and vitamin B1 as well as small amounts of other nutrients.

Detox: In high doses it has been shown that garlic can protect against heavy metal toxicity as well as reducing many signs of heavy metal toxicity.

Food Poisoning: It has been suggested that fresh but not aged garlic may be capable of killing certain bacteria including E. coli.

Hair Loss: Garlic contains keratin in the sulfur it contains which both stimulates hair growth and strengthens the hair.

Other Uses:
Allergies
Candida
Vaginitis and candida
Hypoglyceamia
Liver problems
Haemorroids
Tumours
UTI
Plus many, many more ailments from the prevention of tick bite to diabetes.

HOW TO REAP GARLIC’S BENEFITS

When a cold first begins its assault on you one of the easiest ways to fight it off is to chew or swallow a raw clove of garlic in which a strong garlic aroma has developed. The effect of garlic can be quite dramatic even eradicating the cold. Cut the clove open first and leave to sit in the air for a few minutes before you eat it. The healing power strengthens when the cut clove is exposed to the air.

Eat Garlic

Some people have no problem with eating cloves of raw garlic but for others it’s not so easy.

When I need a dose of garlic I crush it and use it on top of my meal. That way I can eat it with the first mouthful – the garlic is still raw but easier to take with a mouthful of food.

Don’t shy away from raw garlic. Garlic only affects your breath if you chew it. Instead you can cut the clove up and swallow each piece without chewing. Plus there are plenty of delicious foods such as fresh hommus or guacamole that contain lots of garlic in its raw state.

As a bonus garlic is not only very nutritious it is also low in calories.

Absorb Garlic

Another way to take your garlic is through your skin. Your skin absorbs what is put on it and this goes for garlic as well as expensive skin products.

Crush a few cloves of garlic and cover them with some carrier oil that is suitable for applying to the skin, such as olive oil, jojoba, almond or other food grade oil. Allow the mix to steep for at least half an hour. Don’t be tempted to heat the garlic as even short-term heating reduces the anti-inflammatory effects. The carrier oil holds the allicin from the garlic clove.

Once the oil has finished steeping apply it to the soles of your feet. Put on some socks to protect the oil and relax while the oil is absorbed through the pores of your skin. Once in your body it is carried throughout the body.

If you prefer you can rub the cut garlic clove directly onto the soles of your feet. It will still be absorbed through your skin.

But be warned. You will probably develop a garlic taste in your mouth, or your breath may start to smell of garlic about twenty to thirty minutes after applying the garlic to your soles. This indicates that the garlic has been absorbed and carried through your body.

It would be wise not to do this immediately before going out socialising.

Garlic Supplements

If you simply cannot face raw garlic you can always take your garlic as a supplement, in the form of a powder, an extract or oil. However there is a great difference between garlic supplements. The amount of allicin they contain is dependent on the way in which they are prepared. Unfortunately, allicin is not stable and can change quickly, reducing the effectiveness of the preparation. If the supplement is odourless its effectiveness is compromised.

To reach therapeutic levels you need at least two to three cloves each day. Don’t be afraid to use this smelly treasure and hold back, as the body can tolerate up to four grams or about four cloves each day.

But, there are some people who are allergic to garlic. And you need to be careful with garlic if you suffer from a bleeding disorder or are taking blood thinning medications.
*Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Studies.

Disclaimer

Source Articles
http://www.medicaldaily.com/garlic-good-you-7-surprising-benefits-garlic-optimal-health-324114
http://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-health-benefits-of-garlic/
http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Garlic.htm
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-300-garlic.aspx?activeingredientid=300&activeingredientname=garlic

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Find Control In Your Life – Step By Small Step

April 24, 2015 happyholistichealth Leave a comment

Sometimes we get so set in our habits it becomes impossible to think about changing them even if doing so means taking back control in your life. Often the route to changing set habits seems too tough to even begin. That’s where process becomes vital. A plan that breaks down the insurmountable changes you need to make into small easy steps is invaluable as it makes those changes easily achievable.

When my son was in his first year of University he visited his Naturopath for some health issue. Hardly surprisingly the naturopath called him out on his eating habits, asking why he ate junk, specifically McDonalds, for his lunch when his Uni was surrounded by great little Asian cafes where he could go and get a big bowl of broccoli instead.

My son came home and told me he’d been told to eat broccoli for lunch. He laughed a lot, said “Yea right! As if (that’s ever going to happen)” and for him that was end of possiblity to change. Totally normal response from an eighteen year old I thought.

Telling a guy of this age to replace all his delicious (to him) foods with another food that he didn’t love, was like speaking to closed ears. For him the cost and the task were both simply too big. He wasn’t prepared to give up his foods because he loved them. He coudn’t find a good motivation as he wasn’t really convinced enough that his poor diet was contributing to his symptoms, in spite of what his naturopath and I told him. He didn’t see the benefit, better health, as big enough a compensation for the loss of a practice he loved.

So we talked, and I gently nagged, and he ended up agreeing once a week to try out the nearby cafes and let me know if there were any worth visiting. Plus I suggested he modified the instructions a little to make it easier and less of a chore.

The prospect of steamed broccoli for lunch five days a week didn’t cut it with him. But when I broke it down into small steps by suggesting he try it just once a week the task was immediately manageable. He no longer saw it as an imposition as he actually really liked the new foods offered.

When I modified it to something less extreme than a bowl of broccoli, and made the change smaller, it was far more appealing to him, and better than the junk food healthwise. In fact he came to enjoy the variety.

Changing habits is never easy to do especially when they are ones you really enjoy. When you focus on the deprivation that’s involved, of how much you’ll miss out on if you drop or change the habit, any benefits can become difficult to see, and without obvious benefits there’s no incentive for you to do it.

The other big problem that often stops you before we even start changing your habits is the actual logistics involved. Sometimes the organisation required to make change becomes so huge it seems insurmountable. While there must first be enough motivation for you to put in the effort, the steps to get there must be designed so it’s actually easy to manage them.

In my son’s case he not only thought he’d miss out on something he loved, but he also had to consider the issues or steps involved in deciding which café to go to before he’d commit to doing it – which ones he could afford, which would have quick service to fit into his lunch break, which menu looked better, and perhaps most importantly whether his friends would also change so he didn’t need to eat alone. The last of these was a ‘maker or a breaker’. If his friends had stayed with the junk food option the steps to change would have been insurmountable in his assessment and he would have dropped the idea before starting it.

One simple way to overcome the apparent looming difficulty of making change is to break the goal down.

I take the attitude that by changing just that one meal a week my son was 20 percent healthier than he was before. And it opened the way to eating healthier because once he started he found he enjoyed it as much as the junk. This made it easier to replace more and more meals with healthier options.

This is a tactic I often suggest to clients. Most of them love their coffee but often coffee contributes to their ill-health. If I ask them to stop drinking coffee they often agree reluctantly but don’t actually make any change, and sometimes even don’t tell me they still drink just as much.

But if they only have to cut their coffee back from say four cups a day to three the task is much more achievable, and they start to see benefits immediately. They’re already doing 25 percent better than they were, so are that much further towards their goal of good health.

Many times when you just don’t ‘feel the joy’ it’s normal to want to change your life. But if you are so busy focusing on the end point where your life would be totally happy, blissful and perfect, that place where you are in control of your life, the road to get there appears simply too long and difficult. The steps you need to take seem too big, especially if they involve juggling many other responsibilities in your life to manage.

Breaking everything into small steps is the easiest way to bring change, to allow you to take a gentler pathway to that goal you have. It also provides an easy confirmation that things are starting to change and you are achieving what it is you want.

When I want to make changes I first break the task down into small steps. Then to I go back through it and break it down again, taking it right down into tiny little steps. There are days when my steps might include one so basic as getting up and going outside. When I get there I can feel the satisfaction that I have been able to drag myself away from my work so I have a sense of achievement that reminds me “I can do this”.

The steps you take don’t have to be major in themself, they simply need to be defined and achievable. They reinforce your knowledge that you can make the change you need. Each and every one needs to be acknowledged right when it’s achieved. And most importantly each one will allow you that feeling that you again have some control in your life.

So what is it you want to change first? Take another look at where you can break it down into those tiny little, easily attainable steps. Then begin, one confident step at a time on the pathway towards your goal.

Disclaimer

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Lactose Intolerance –What Milk Should I Drink?

February 11, 2015 happyholistichealth 2 Comments

When you get diagnosed (or work out for yourself) that you have difficulty digesting milk and other dairy foods because you are lactose intolerant, you suddenly get confronted with the decision of what to use as a milk replacement. There are so many different kinds of non-dairy milk available now and the choice can be overwhelming.

Should you look for an alternative form of animal milk or one of the nut milks or perhaps a grain milk? Or should you simply just use ‘lactose-free’ cows milk? And what exactly is A2 milk?

Lactose intolerance is not the same as a milk allergy.

People who are lactose intolerant lack the enzyme needed to break down the sugar in milk, lactose, so it can be absorbed. Normally your body breaks down the lactose with an enzyme called lactase. When this is lacking or deficient your body cannot break down the lactose, which then passes through your gut in a completely undigested state. When it meets the bacteria in the lower intestinal tract gas is produced and you experience all the painful symptoms.

LACTOSE FREE MILK

For many people who are lactose intolerant, and not allergic to dairy foods, the simplest option is to switch to lactose-free cows milk, in which the lactose, or milk sugar, has been changed to a state that their gut is able to process.

In lactose free milk the enzyme your body lacks, lactase, is added to the milk to break down the lactose for you, into smaller molecules that you are able to absorb. You don’t experience the symptoms associated with digesting normal milk.

One difference to normal milk is that lactose-free milk tastes much sweeter because the sugar is already broken down.

SOY MILK

Soy milk is made from soy beans and water. It is low in saturated fat but rich in a range of essential nutrients including protein and potassium. It is also high in antioxidants which are a great benefit to your health.

Because so many soy crops are genetically modified it is vital that you only drink ones labeled as GMO free.

Select ONLY those brands that are made from whole soybeans, and they will be labeled as such, even if just in the ingredient list.

This point is really important with Soy Milk. If the milk is made from soy isolates, as more than half the soy milk in Australia is, AVOID IT. Also, check your soy milk is unsweetened as many brands add sugar.

Soy milk has quite a creamy consistency. There is a great difference in the quality and taste of various soy milks so you may need to test a few to find one you like.

There is evidence that soy can improve your blood profile and help prevent strokes and heart disease. The phytoestrogens in soy can help balance the hormone levels in postmenopausal women and reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men.

ALMOND MILK

Almond milk is made from ground almonds and water. Some brands on the market contain very little almonds, but the one I use has 10% content and it is just a case of seeking out a quality brand.

Although almonds are a good source of protein, the milk is low in protein. But it provides all the antioxidant benefit provided by almonds. It is cholesterol free and has been used to lower blood-sugar levels. Some brands are fortified with calcium and vitamin D and B12. Many brands are sweetened.

Almond milk has a nutty flavour and light, creamy texture. It can be used in everything, from cooking to smoothies or drinking. Almond milk however is not suitable for anyone with a fructose intolerance or nut allergy.

Almond milk is quite easy to make for yourself. It contains far more almonds than packaged varieties and can be made using organic almonds and pure water. Plus you know it won’t be loaded up with agave or other sweeteners.

HOW TO MAKE ALMOND MILK

Simply soak 1 cup of almonds I water for at least 6 hours or overnight to remove phytates and enzyme inhibitors.
Remove, and for a less gritty flavour and lighter colour milk remove the skins.
Rinse and drain, then blend the almonds with 4 cups of filtered water. For a thicker milk you can reduce the quantity of water.
Strain through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, which you can buy or make simply yourself.
You can blend in cinnamon, honey or other flavourings.
It keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

You could also try this recipe with macadamia or hazelnuts. Milk made from any nut is always simple to make for yourself. If you drink milk rarely or only use it for cooking just make small quanitities as you need it. This great recipe for CHIA MACADEMIA NUT MILK contains lots of extra wholesome ingredients and is a great example of how creative you can be with your home-made milks.

COCONUT MILK

Coconut milk is a great alternative to cows milk for thickening or creating a creaminess in soups, stews, curries or for baking. It can even be whipped up and makes a great replacement in desserts for normal cream.

Coconut milk contains a special sort of fat called medium chain triglycerides, that are metabolized differently to other fats in your body. They boost metabolism and give a burst of energy, rather than get stored in the body as fat.

Coconut milk is made from the coconut flesh and is rich and thick. Don’t confuse it with coconut water which is the liquid from the centre of the nut.

Unlike most liquids coconut milk contains lots of fibre because it is made by grating the flesh. One cup contains over 5 grams of fibre, one sixth of your daily requirement.

If you want to make coconut milk yourself just add young coconut meat to the blender, cover with filtered water and blend. Add more water until you reach the consistency you desire.

Any leftover coconut milk from cans can be frozen in ice-cube trays.

If you choose to eat wholefoods in your diet you may prefer nut milk to other lactose-free options because they undergo less processing.

RICE MILK

One of the grain milks, rice milk typically contains about 14% rice. It is very low in fat but is much lower in protein than soy milk. In fact it falls low all round on the nutrition scale, although there are calcium enriched versions available.

Rice milk is thinner and milder in flavour than either soy or almond milk and is suitable for anyone with soy or nut allergies or gluten intolerance as well as lactose intolerance.

OAT MILK

Oat milk is another grain milk. It is not as rich as the nut milks and has a mild, slightly sweet taste.

It is very low in fat but high in vitamins and minerals. In fact it contains more calcium than cow’s milk, one cup containing over a third of the RDA. It also contains lots of Vitamin A. It is very low in fat, about a third of that in cow’s milk, and is cholesterol free. It is a good option for vegans as it contains 10 percent of the RDA of iron.

Oat milk can provide a great tonic for the nervous system, calming it down.

It is not suitable if you have a gluten intolerance.

A2 MILK

It is the protein component in A2 milk that makes it different to most cow’s milk available. In this respect it resembles the milk from other animals like goat, sheep, or buffalo.

While A2 may be better for those with an allergy to milk it does not help someone with a lactose intolerance, as the milk sugar is not changed. If A2 milk does improve symptoms then perhaps those symptoms were due to a milk allergy rather than lactose intolerance.

OTHER MILKS

More and more options are making their way into the market. I noticed there is now an ‘Ancient Grains Quinoa With Chia Milk’ available, bringing the health benefits of both these awesome Superfoods into a new lactose-free milk suitable for those with nut allergies.

LACTOSE IN FOODS

Milk is not the only food you need to avoid when you are lactose intolerant. Any food containing lactose also needs to be avoided. This includes cream, cheese, butter, ice-cream, crème frais, condensed milk, custard, plus the huge number of processed foods that have any form of milk in them. Packaged foods containing milk solids, skimmed milk, milk proteins, biscuits, cakes, bread, luncheon meat, soups, sauces, plus many more all should be avoided.

Goats and sheeps milk and cheese do contain lactose but in far lesser quantities than cows milk. You may find you can eat small quantities of goat cheese occasionally, and tolerate some butter. But many may find even this brings on their symptoms.

Quality yogurt is often tolerated with lactose intolerance because the live bacteria in the yogurt partially break down the lactose, making it easier to digest.

As more and more nuts, grains and seeds are used to make milk the choices will just become wider and more difficult. Why not try out a few different milks and find which you prefer. And remember to mix up the different types of milk you choose, sometimes soy, nut, oat or rice, for greater variety in your diet. I use soy milk for cooking some things and various nut milks for making others as some milks suit one type of food preparation better than others. For drinking it comes down to your own preference.

Disclaimer

Source articles
http://www.livestrong.com/article/337301-how-is-lactose-free-milk-made/
http://www.naturalnews.com/023752_milk_cows_lactose_intolerance.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/267017-what-are-the-benefits-of-oat-milk/
http://fedup.com.au/factsheets/additive-and-natural-chemical-factsheets/a2-milk

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6 Basic Supplements Everyone Needs

January 30, 2015 happyholistichealth Leave a comment

The question is always whether you should supplement your diet for good health or not? Generally it’s better if nutrients come from food. But most people don’t eat an optimum diet and so can’t get the nutrients they require from their food. Supplements can be useful as they can fill nutrient holes in your diet. On their own they will never be enough to reverse lousy eating habits. But well selected, high quality supplements certainly have benefits. Most people don’t need to take handfuls but there are some basic supplements that everyone in our society would benefit by taking.

MULTIVITAMIN & MINERAL

Even when they eat well, most Aussies don’t get the optimum 6-8 serves of vegetables each day, or even the 5-6 recommended serves. Nor do they always get the recommended 2 serves of fruit.

Unfortunately Australian produce is affected by the low levels of minerals in our soils with the result that much of the produce we grow is also lacking in minerals and vitamins. This problem is worsened by modern commercial farming practices which further deplete the already starved soil (and produce) of nutrients.

If you only eat organic produce you may be getting enough vitamins and minerals from your foods. You will certainly get than from commercially grown produce, as it has been shown that organic produce contains much higher levels of vitamins and minerals. But the reality is that most people don’t eat only organic foods.

When you combine the vitamin and mineral deficiency in produce with poor dietary practices it becomes obvious that many Australians are significantly deficient in basic vitamins and minerals.

To make certain you are getting enough a quality multivitamin and mineral daily is almost a necessity.

Be wary! There are many around that are just junk. The vitamins and minerals in them are in a form that is not bio-available, which means your body is not able to absorb them properly and they pass through and out of your gut without being taken up. Money down the toilet, so to speak.

Minerals come in many different forms and some forms are better for you than others. Many multivitamins include inferior forms of minerals that your body can’t really use.

You need a certain amount of vitamins and minerals for them to be effective. If there is not enough they simply don’t do what your body needs. It is important to have sufficient amounts of each nutrient in the multivitamin you take.

Don’t get sucked in by brands flaunting ‘A-Z Vitamins and Minerals’. Chances are you don’t need all of these, and the bigger the range of nutrients the less there will be of each one in the tablet – after all the tablet can only be so big!

Before you throw your money away do some research or talk to your natural health practitioner. Look for someone who is professionally trained in nutrition (taught in natural health courses) including vitamin and mineral therapy. Most mainstream Medicine courses do not include much nutrition.

There are some excellent multivitamins around with the optimum balance of quality nutrients but often these are the ones you can only get from your Health Practitioner.
Cheaper products on supermarket shelves are not worth your time and money.

OMEGA 3

Omega-3 essential fatty acids are wonderful anti-inflammatories and excellent for reducing the symptoms of chronic disease. They are essential for brain function and strongly support heart health.

As the name suggests, these oils are essential for good health. Your body cannot make them so you need to obtain them from food or supplements.

Omega-3 is found in a range of foods, and is particularly high in fish oils, including krill oil.

Vegans and vegetarians are particularly at risk for omega-3 deficiency. While there are a number of vegetarian sources for omega-3 flaxseed oil is usually used for plant-based supplements.

Research into the effects of fish oils has shown that in addition to its wide range of cardiovascular and cognitive benefits it is particularly helpful in the treatment of autoimmune disease. It has been shown to significantly reduce symptoms in Lupus, reduce joint pain and stiffness in Rheumatoid Arthritis, and assist in inflammatory bowel disease.

Omega-3 also plays a role in the prevention of many diseases and reduces the symptoms caused by inflammation in others.

Fish is an excellent source of omega-3 but many people don’t like it. Plus there are concerns about the presence of mercury and other heavy metals in fish. With a high quality omega-3 supplement you avoid these problems.

1 gram – 1000mg, of combined EPA/ DHA each day is recommended for maintenance. But to gain real benefits and boost your health, especially if your health is compromised, you need more, up to 5 grams a day.

Be wary about cheaper omega-3 supplements. In some the processing causes the oil to go rancid. This is actually harmful to you, creating free radicals and inflammation in your body. Omega-3 supplements are very much a case of you get what you pay for!

VITAMIN D

Most of us are deficient in Vitamin D, even in ‘sunny Australia’. We live and work inside far more than we ever did in the past and when we head outside it is under a thick cover of sunscreen, which prevents the vitamin D in the sun’s rays from being absorbed by the cells in our skin.

Vitamin D is essential for a huge range of body processes. One of the most important is to work with calcium to build and maintain strong bones and teeth. It is also crucial for an effective immune system. Deficiency can increase your risk for asthma and cancer, cause daytime fatigue and affect thinking processes

The current recommendation for adults is 1000IU a day. But this is the bare minimum maintenance dose, great if your levels are at an optimum level but nowhere near enough if, like most, your levels of Vitamin D are lower.

Don’t DIY Vitamin D – it is possible to have too much. Most doctors will happily order a blood test to find out your levels. Good levels are up around 75 ng/ml.

Once you know what your level is, it’s important not to get complacent as your levels of Vitamin D vary greatly through the course of a year, being at their highest in late summer and their lowest in early to mid spring.

Discover how to optimize your time in the sun (without sunscreen) to get the most Vitamin D from the least exposure at Good Morning Sunshine: Just How Much Vitamin D Are You Really Getting?

To raise the levels in your body, rather than just maintain them, you need between 1000 and 5000 IU a day, depending on how low your levels are. Make sure you get the D3 form.

Again, there is quite a big difference between the quality of different brands and how well your body is able to utilize them. Be guided by your Natural Health Practitioner.

ALGAE

The two most commonly used forms of algae are spirulina and chlorella. These are some of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. Spirulina is one of my favourite supplements and I recommend it to clients regularly as well as taking it myself.

Chlorella is an amazing detoxifier which cleanses heavy metals from your body.

Spirulina is a great detoxifier but is higher in protein, so excellent to boost your energy when you feel flat, or simply every day. It is an excellent punchy source of nutrients and can help you feel healthier very quickly. Read more about it at Spirulina, The Supergreen Solution

Dosage requirements vary and you need to adjust for your requirements. Because algae are food you can’t overdose on them, and you can increase how much you take in times of greater need. But you may need to go gently especially if your health is poor because too much algae may provide too much stimulation for the body to deal with.

It is VITAL that your algae is well sourced. It MUST be organic or it will be loaded with heavy metals like mercury. Look for tablets or powder with an even dark green colour. Lighter specks indicate the presence of fillers.

PROBIOTIC

Probiotics occur naturally in your gut. They play an important role in your wellness, not only by improving your digestion, but also by boosting your immune system and keeping bad bacteria in check. They control yeast overgrowth and diarrhoea and inhibit lactose intolerance.

Our digestive system functions best with the aid of a quality probiotic. The trillions of good bacteria in your gut are essential for good health but can easily be destroyed or over-run by bad bacteria.

Numbers of these bacteria decrease as we age. Antibiotics are notorious for killing them. Poor diet or pollution can also destroy them. When numbers decline your system goes right out of balance and you can suffer many symptoms.

Probiotics come from two sources – fermented foods or a probiotic supplement.

Fermented foods include sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha tea, yoghurt and need to be raw or the probiotics will be dead.

If you don’t eat fermented foods every day taking a good quality, broad spectrum probiotic daily will repopulate your gut with good bacteria to fortify your health and return your digestion to normal.

Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria are the two most common and effective forms of probiotic. You need between 10 and 30 billion ‘live units’ each day.

COENZYME Q10 (CoQ10)

CoQ10 is a power packed antioxidant which delivers various substances including fat into your cells for a boost of energy. It is of great benefit in helping cells function properly and preventing cell damage.

CoQ10 provides great benefit for heart health, and offers anti-oxidant protection for a number of related cardiovascular conditions. It keeps your heart functioning efficiently.

As an anti-oxidant it protects cells against the stress of free radical damage and helps prevent chronic disease.

Once you reach the age of 25 the levels of CoQ10 in your body start to drop and you are likely to be deficient. When this happens DNA is damaged more quickly and you age prematurely. CoQ10 slows the process and may improve signs of aging like fine wrinkles.

CoQ10 seems to offer benefits for a wide range of diseases including chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia

When CoQ10 is used for specific diseases dosage varies wildly. But for general health and anti-oxidant protection between 60-150mg daily is sufficient.

I hope this short list helps you select supplements you need to include in your everyday health plan.

Disclaimer

Source articles

http://www.drfranklipman.com/the-4-key-supplements-to-take-every-day
http://madelinelemon.com/the-6-supplements-you-need-to-take-everyday
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7234/4-supplements-everyone-should-be-taking.html
http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/coenzyme-q10/evidence/hrb-20059019

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New Moon Clarity: Discover Your Personal Insights For Lunar Manifestation

January 20, 2015 happyholistichealth Leave a comment

Often when you live a life based on good health you get focused on the physical – eating healthy food, getting enough exercise, or avoiding toxins. But to achieve good health you need to takes steps on all levels, and the physical is only the starting place. It is equally important to manifest change on each of the levels of mind, body and spirit. The time of the New Moon is especially potent and the best time to birth anything new into your life. Creating a New Moon Ritual is a powerful way to stimulate new beginnings and change.

New Moon Rituals address all of three of three aspects of yourself, the mind, body and spirit. They help you to clarify desires, to form that desire into a goal, and to set an intention for achieving it.

Once every month I remind my followers on Facebook that a New Moon is about to occur and I suggest they prepare their Lunar Manifestation List. Some of them do. But the response of many who have never done this before is “What the…?”

Unless you have been guided to this by someone you will most likely not know how to do it.

For years I have held amazing New Moon Red Tent Circles to coincide with the New Moon. They are the most wonderful supportive space for busy women to take some time out for just a few hours. They provide the space to tune into yourself and identify what’s not working in your life, what’s really p*ssing you off, and most importantly, where you need to make changes and exactly what you want to begin in your life.

It all happens with a group of women who offer unconditional support for you to gain understanding and clarity. All in the group can share without comment or advice from others, and can even vent if they need. Everyone usually gets amazing insights.

Within the circle you also have the opportunity for a some self-care and sometimes a little creative play (Recently we played with finger paint. I have never done this before and it was So. Much. Fun.)

Why I always hold these sessions at the New Moon

Simple!

Throughout history indigenous societies always honoured the time of the New Moon because it is the time when our intuition (those gut feelings you get) are at their strongest, especially for women.

Test this out for yourself. Keep track of what messages your subconscious sends to you in the few days around the New Moon. Often the messages come through your dreams. Take notice if you wake up suddenly knowing the answer to something that has been troubling you.

This is also the time when many, especially women, feel extra weary. Your body may feel heavy, sleepiness overcome you in the afternoon, you crave early nights or you may feel less like going out and socialising.

This is you telling yourself that it is the best time to slow down and go within. This is the best time to access the knowledge you already have for a better, happier life.

The time of greater awareness varies from one person to the next but usually is for a few days around the New Moon time. As the actual time of the New Moon varies from one place to another because each place is in a different time zone, you need to check for the exact time and date in your area. Remember to set your own location.

Lunar Manifestation Lists

One of the things that always forms the closing of my New Moon Red Tent Sessions is the creation by each person of their Lunar Manifestation List.

It becomes too easy for us to roll along on our merry way, one week passing to the next until we suddenly notice that another whole year has passed us by.

Using the New Moon to set our Lunar Manifestation Intention List is simply a form of getting clear on your wishes for the month, like a monthly goal setting. But it is more than just ‘goal-setting’ as this one really comes from our heart.

Mix It Up

It’s important to wish for what you really do need in your life, or what you don’t need. Whatever you decide to include on your list frame it with the intention of stimulating personal growth.

You may wish to change a bad habit, or a relationship you have outgrown or one you are now ready to welcome in. There may be a material possession you would love. You may need more self-nurturing. Perhaps you would like to undertake some form of service to others or to allow others to do things their way. It may even be to simply change the way you view a situation.

Whatever it is you wish to create can be added to your list.

Get specific

When I look back on my own lists I am struck by how often what I wrote came about.

For about 18 months I kept adding ‘New Car” to my list. But no new car appeared. Then one month I wrote down the make, the model and even the colour of the car I wanted. Six weeks later just that car was sitting in my driveway, and I got it for an awesome price too.

When I got really serious and was more specific about my list, my focus and my energy was directed towards achieving that goal, like an arrow.

Take Time

Don’t just dive in. The result will most likely be superficial. This is the time you need to get real. Spend the time to really tune in to your subconscious, your inner knowing, if you want to discover deep insights about how to change for the best.

You can simply sit and write your list but if you spend some time beforehand to really tune in to yourself you receive greater clarity about the deeper issues that are holding you back.Also you may find something you are ready to receive in your life that you were not yet aware of.

If you meditate this is an awesome way to tune in to your intuition.

If you prefer someone else to guide you through a meditation there are many guided visualisations available on Youtube. (I am creating a series of suitable guided meditations for the New Moon which will be available later this year.)

Keep things Simple

You don’t need to meditate, it’s not essential.

Simply taking some time to go somewhere quiet, somewhere you won’t be disturbed is enough. It may be a special space in your home or somewhere you love in nature. Wherever you choose just make certain you are somewhere you will not be interrupted. (For busy Mums it may even mean locking yourself in the toilet!) Just find somewhere quiet and peaceful.

New Moon Red Tent Ritual

Make sure you have pen (they can be coloured) and paper with you, the list needs to be written by hand. A journal is perfect for keeping your Lunar Manifestation Lists together if you would like to keep them to look back at later.

If you wish play some uplifting music, light a candle or do anything that has special meaning for you. But make sure it doesn’t intrude and draw your attention away from listening to your intuition.

When you are seated comfortably take a few moments to relax yourself. Start by loosening your toes and work your way up your body. Finally feel your shoulders drop, your jaw relax and your forehead un-crease.

Now take a few deep belly-breaths. As you breathe in imagine the Indigo Light of Intuition entering your body along with your breath and spreading through every cell of your body. As you breathe out feel the stress of your day and any negative thoughts you are holding leave your body along with your breath.

As you breathe the Indigo Light within on each breath feel yourself connect more deeply with your inner knowledge. Allow your breath to relax into a natural rhythm and sit for a while opening yourself to any thoughts or ideas that flow in.

Be creative.

If thoughts about what you need to do today are blocking out anything else then maybe what you need to manifest right now are some organizational techniques so you can get all that stuff out of your thoughts. Bringing in techniques such as this will free up lots of brain space for other things in your life. So put it on your list.

What you need may come to you as a a picture in your mind-eye, you may hear it, a clear thought or even just a sudden flash of insiration. Be open to receive.

Write your list in the present tense, as if it is already happening.

While you can’t wish for change in others, that it for them to determine themself. However you can wish for changes to yourself that may then affect them later.

Add up to ten things to your list. More becomes too many and lessens their impact. Less is fine, simply putting greater focus on what you do add, but you do need more than just one or two.

Each New Moon of the year is associated with a different part of your life and your list is more potent when you focus your wishes on that area of your life. This New Moon right at the start of Aquarius is about BIG Plans, and seeking freedom in your life. This moon also has a link with the past and might be the perfect time to discover a new way to renovate, restore or revitalise an old problem or relationship.

Finishing Your Ritual

Just one more step – speak the list out loud. Giving a voice to your intentions empowers them, and anchors them in the front of your awareness.

When you have finished, thank your Higher Self, your angels, or simply the universe, blow out the candle and you are done.

Lunar Manifestation Lists are not like affirmations. You don’t have to keep repeating them. Once you have done the ritual you can put the list away.

What you do with your list is up to you. Some women burn their list, others put them under their pillow, some even bury them. I keep my Lunar Manifestation Lists in a journal as I like to have the reminder later of the power of positive intent. Sometimes reading through them refocuses me when I feel I’m getting nowehere.

There is no time frame around when the things you have placed on your list manifest. Sometimes you may need to include them for month after month. If you do your wish may need to be re-phrased (as I did with my car) or may not be right for you. Often when your intent is strong and you are focused you will find changes start to occur about two weeks later around the time of the next Full Moon.

I hope you decide to adopt this wonderful practice into your life. It literally only takes a few minutes and by regularly setting yourself this focus the benefits are huge.

Catherine Bullard trained as a Red tent Facilitator with Star Of Ishtar.

Disclaimer
All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.

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Set Your New Year Resolutions For Success With A Releasing Ritual

December 22, 2014 happyholistichealth Leave a comment

As the year slides to its close the energies of the New Year may have already begun to affect you. You may already be formulating goals and plans that you would like to birth in the year ahead. New Year resolutions may already be forming. You may even be plotting pathways to achieve those goals. You may be one of the many who want to get a jump on the New Year, to enter the New Year already clear about how you’ll achieve your goals for 2015. One way to set the founadtion for success with your goals is with a simple New Year Release Ritual.

For the last few weeks I keep being surprised as I hear myself talking about things that will happen for me in 2015, ideas and plans I hadn’t even noticed were forming in my brain or my heart. But apparently these ideas were solidly there just waiting for me to notice.

Many of us have already formed plans even if we’re not conscious of them yet and you may find you are doing the same. This year you’re being urged to get real about what you want for yourself, to set a considered plan of action, and to get to it now.

It is way too easy, especially in these fast-paced times to allow your life to slip past. Days flow into weeks, into months, years and suddenly a decade has passed you by. Trying to look back and see the detail of your life pathway becomes more and more difficult as time moves on if you have neglected to mark points along the way.

Markers for Your Life

In times past traditions and ceremonies provided marking points in people’s lives. They provided moments in people’s consciousness when they paused, finding time to take stock of themselves and their life.

We still hold on to some of these traditions – 18th or 21st birthdays, weddings, funerals – but many milestones are no longer honoured or even remembered. Many of those we do still hold no longer require us to examine and consider ourself and how our life to date has evolved.

We no longer have many occasions where we pause and examine our progress in life, acknowledging our achievements and successes, appreciating our blessings, recognizing our lessons, and planning changes.

Set Strong Foundations For Goal Success

Trying to establish goals and resolutions to guide you along the pathway to achieving your dreams without first pausing and taking time to appraise the road you have just traveled is like building your home over a sink-hole. Without solid footings the structure of your life will simply collapse.

A Release Ritual is your opportunity to establish a firm base on which to build your future. It doesn’t take long to do and provides you with deep insights and clarity to steer you to better results.

As the energies of 2014 begin to unravel set aside time to draw together the threads of the year that has just passed. Find the space for yourself to weave them into a strong support that can carry you into 2015. Take time to examine your experience, the rainbow of coloured threads of your life, both the weak strands and the strong, threads of extreme beauty, and threads of fragility. Once you have examined the weave of your last year the signs that point to the new directions you need to follow next become apparent.

Old Year Releasing Ritual

Begin your reflection by settling down in a quiet corner with a pen, paper or a journal, and a relaxing herbal tea or coffee. Light a candle to signal the start of your ritual if this has meaning for you.

Life has a habit of drawing you back to the same old lessons, over and over, spiraling round, often revisiting them under another guise, until you reach awareness and understanding of that particular lesson for your life. Each time you revisit the lesson gets louder, as if the universe is shouting so you will hear.

To save yourself treading these same old well-worn paths yet again next year, begin your release of the old year by writing down the illuminating life lessons you learnt in 2014. What were those ‘Aha’ moments? What great insights occurred?

Next add the dreams that came true for you. It’s easy to forget what the dreams you once held even were once they have actually happened, and just as easy to forget how dearly you held them, hoping they would eventuate. Remember to include the small dreams as well as the huge ones. The small dreams of life often grow into the big important ones.

What did you achieve in 2014? Remember to include the small glories not just the major ones. What did you learn you could do that you didn’t realise before?

Now you are ready to consider how you have grown in the last 365 days.

How have you changed? What have you learnt about yourself? What changed you? What is it you now know about yourself that you didn’t know before? Write them all down.

What did you discover you had outgrown? What no longer serves you? What, or who, did you release from your life?

How did you surprise yourself – what did you do that you didn’t know you capable of? What have you done that swells you with pride? Was there something you were able to do that you have never managed before? Were you called to step up, and you did?

What was there in this last year that was a source of grating disharmony? What can’t you tolerate any longer? By now you know what it is you just have to change in your life. Write it down.

If there’s anything you need to get off your chest about this last year, do it now. Rant if you need to. If you feel the urge to cry honour it, it will bring release and relief.

Now finally, write down what it is you are grateful for, the gifts you received from 2014. Include every little thing. As well as the big stuff in my life I include small joys in my gratitude lists like my morning cup of tea, or the slightly creepy but endearing smile my gorgeous dog beams at me whenever I arrive home.

Finished?

Closing Ritual

And now dear friend, you are ready to release the Old Year. You are now ready to face the year ahead. You are ready to set your resolutions, to clarify your dreams and your goals, to decide what is achievable for you, and to stride forth with purpose into the New Year.

Take some time now to close down your releasing ritual.

Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply through your nose, down into your abdomen. Hold briefly and then breathe out slowly through your mouth making a small sound as you do. As you breathe out give thanks for the past year, for all your experiences, your joys and pains, the lessons you have been given and the insights you have received.

Breathe in again, drawing in with your breath the green light of healing, deep into your abdomen. As you hold it briefly allow the green light to flow into every cell of your body until your whole body shines with its emerald green glow. Breathe out again, slowly. Sense any negativity you have been holding in the cells of your body, any disharmonies from your past year, flow from you with your breath. Feel your shoulders relax as the weight is taken off them. Feel your body sink into your chair.

Once more breathe in deep into your abdomen this time drawing in the golden light of possibility. Feel it flow freely through you bringing renewed energy to your body, clarity to your mind, and generosity and fulfillment to your heart.

As you slowly release your breath allow the energy of the past year to ride on it. Allow it to float away, knowing that you hold within you all the loving positive energy you have earned in the last twelve months. You will always have the knowledge and insights you have gained.

Take your time and when you feel ready open your eyes and welcome with joy the new energies of the coming year.

Healthy Home, Meditation & Mindfulness, Natural Remedies & Homeopathy, Uncategorized

14 Awesome Books That Will Change Your Life

December 6, 2014 happyholistichealth 2 Comments

Christmas and the summer holidays are the perfect time to dive into some great reads. And as most of us want the New Year to be a fresh start with new plans and goals, it makes sense to read at least one life-affirming, soul-sustaining book to support you on your life journey and life purpose.

This post marks a major milestone. As I hesitantly wrote my first article in July 2012 I never dreamed I would reach 100 posts. To honour this 100 post milestone I have collected a few of the books that offered me inspiration and guidance, and influenced my journey along the pathway to health, happiness and a fulfilled life.

I am a total book addict. Curled up with a book, reading in my bedroom, is my go-to-happy-place. These are not my favourite books although some are certainly ones I do love. These are books with a purpose.

Because I always want to know the answer ‘right now’ these are books that present a poal or a purpose and then tell me how to get there. Most importantly, they all definitely played an important part in signposting the pathway for me.

This selection can give you the tools to make enormous life changes for yourself too. Take a look, and maybe find an inspiring book to add to your summer reading list, one that will open the doorway to allow big changes into your life in 2015.

WARNING: Long but awesome post ahead! Feel free to skim

LIFE CHANGING SUMMER READS

In no particular order (apart from which one I pulled off the bookshelf first)

#1. Love The Life You Live: Ten Steps For Happier Living by Anne Hartley

This book guided me to the Life Coaching course I chose. I‘d wanted to do it for over two years before I found a course that really resonated. During that time I stumbled across this book in which Hartley outlines her “Heart Process”, the essence of the Hartlife Coaching Course I studied.
The Heart Process is basically a guideline to reclaiming your “happy.” Starting with her own story Anne takes you through a series of heart-based steps to find your joy in life again. This is solid stuff that has been around for generations, but it is presented in such a way that you don’t just get excited about the message you are also guided as to how to achieve it in your own life. The book is packed full of helpful hacks for mastering each of the ten steps.
Anne has been a Life Coach for over twenty years during which time she has refined everything she has used in her work, and here you have her most successful techniques.

#2. Walking Meditation by Nguyen Anh Huong & Thich Nhat Hanh

The practice of mindfulness has recently taken the world by storm, but my introduction came a while ago from the Master of Mindfulness himself through this book. This is more a kit than a book and is a wonderful tool if you want to introduce mindfulness into your life. It contains an instructional DVD, a CD of 5 guided meditations to get you started, and a small book to guide you through so you get the most out of your practice.
Someone once said to me that women gained most from active meditation and men gained the most from still meditation. I don’t know if it’s true or not but the concept of women engaging in the active, masculine Yang, and men in the passive, feminine Yin has a beautiful poetic balance to it.
An excellent and simple meditation for all women (and men) to master.

#3. Goddesses In Everywoman – Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives by Jean Shinoda Bolen

This is the book that launched me into the healing work I do with women today. Exploring the goddesses from ancient Greek mythology Bolen opens up our understanding of the age-old psychological patterns that modern women still follow. This is one of those books that bring incredible ‘aha’ moments as you suddenly recognize yourself in one or another goddess. It places the patterns, whether actual or potential, that you fall into in your life right there in front of you, where you can’t help but see them for what they are.
I love this book – it was such a solid foundation to understanding women’s archetypes and led to my ability to hold space for women’s healing groups, as well as to presenting their life patterns in a far more easily understood way to my Coaching clients. It’s easy to read, easy to understand and very insightful.

#4. The Inner Goddess Makeover: A Step-By-Step Makeover by Tanishka

This is the book that inspired me to go train as a Red Tent Facilitator and then later, a Women’s Rites Of Passage Facilitator. I came across “The Inner Goddess Makeover” after I read about women’s archetypes in ‘Goddesses In Everywoman’ and was left hungry to discover more about the feminine archetypes we all embody.
Tanishka uses each of seven goddess archetypes to embody seven universal psychological feminine aspects. Each one also governs a chakra. As you work through the exercises for each, consciously exploring the issues raised, you experience energy shifts and clear old blocks that were limiting you and stopping you from experiencing your personal empowerment and potential.
I worked through this awesome and exciting journey, one chakra/goddess per month. Some of the goddesses were easy but with others I was really challenged. It was so empowering that after I finished I contacted Tanishka and went and trained with her.
This book is challenging but F.U.N. Even more fun when you set up your own goddess circle to work through it with the support of your Besties. Tanishka pulls no punches! Totally down to earth, her vibrant personality shines through, and she speaks to the reader as if you were both hanging out and chatting over a coffee.

#5. The Botany Of Desire by Michael Pollan

This is an odd book to have here but it is the book that galvanized me into opting for organic produce whenever I could, especially potatoes, changing my eating habits forever. It is about the reciprocal relationship between people and four domesticated crops. Pollan links four desires – sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control – with four plants that we use to satisfy them. He uses the story of the potato to illustrate control.
In his examination of how potato growing has evolved he visits commercial potato farms, an organic farm and Monsanto, the developers of genetically modified potatoes. Reading about the intense chemical spraying program and the permanent toxic state of the commercial farms was more than enough to turn me away from commercially grown potatoes forever. It also set me to investigate which other commercially farmed crops are highly toxic and which are relatively safe.
My very first post on this blog, Telling Tales on ‘Taters’ was inspired by this book and is about organic vs commercially grown potatoes.
The other stories about the apple, tulip and hemp are also fascinating.

#6. Healthy Home, Healthy Family by Nicole Bijilsma

Nicole is a Building Biologist and Sick Building Syndrome expert who is passionate about environmental medicine. Electromagnetic radiation (EMR), allergens, drinking water, and toxic chemicals pervade our living and working spaces and here Nicole shows you how to reverse their damage on your body, your mind, your emotions and your health.
An accomplished Naturopath and Acupuncturist with a young family of her own, she has produced a book full of practical ways to determine and remedy the levels of toxins you are being exposed to everyday.
This book contains lots of questionnaires and checklists to assess your own home. There is also advice on selecting cleaning products, air cleaners, plastics, and more. It even includes a guide for anyone about to buy, rent or build a house, with what you need to investigate or ask before you start.
With resource lists, useful websites plus so much more this is a great book to have on hand.

#7. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook by Miranda Castro

I was a Mum who used homeopathy for my family long before I was a professional Homeopath. Back then I needed a book that was comprehensive enough for me to find the correct remedy for the symptoms that presented, but not too complicated for my purely amateur ability.
Miranda Castro has written a book that nails it. It includes the homeopathic history, principles, myths, how to actually take a Homeopathic case and work out a remedy, then a comprehensive Materia Medica and Repertory to guide your remedy choice.
This book has it all for the ‘Home Homeopath’ and clearly and simply presents everyday homeopathic prescribing as the individualized effective treatment system it can be, when it is done correctly and well.

#8. Eating For The Seasons by Janella Purcell

I rarely recommend diet or cookbooks. But this is so much more than just a set of recipes. This book is all about eating in tune with the seasons and the rhythms of nature. By so doing your body gets just what it needs for the time of year.
This means more than simply eating light, raw food in summer and heavier, warming food during winter. Purcell’s eating recommendations are based on the principles of Traditional Asian Medicine.
Recipes (with alternative suggestions) are grouped by season. Each section also contains advice about health objectives of the season, preferred seasonal cooking methods, what to avoid, and which body organs need support.
A great book to remind you of seasonal eating patterns, even if you don’t use any of the recipes, it helps to keep you connected, by tuning in and aligning yourself with the rhythms of the Earth and life itself.

#9. The Life You Were Born To Live by Dan Millman

I love numerology and once studied it avidly, but it was so complicated. Not any more! Dan Millman changed all that. He has devised the “Life-Purpose System” from the ancient wisdom of Numbers, and it’s amazing, clear, and easy to follow. As Millman says “ the drive to understand our life purpose is as important to our psychological growth as eating is to our biological survival.” And he sets out all the information you need to help you in your quest.
It’s a big book but you only need to read the sections that apply directly to you and can ignore the rest. Millman shows you the simple way to calculate what is relevant to you. As you work through your picture he breaks it down into detail that applies to you, along with specific issues in your life and guidelines for action.
Millman’s book can help you sort out conflicts in your life and help you find your life purpose.

#10. Excuses Be Gone by Wayne Dyer

Wayne Dyer has been turning out awesome books for decades. But I love this one. After doing lots of work learning to recognise my inner critical judge, this book taught me about changing the lifelong self-defeating habitual thinking that the inner critic thrives on.
It teaches about stepping up and recognizing that although we can’t control everything that happens around us, what we make of our situation, and how we deal with it, is completely up to us and the way we choose to think. Powerful stuff!
It is easy to recognize the excuses we habitually use that Dyer places before us here. He takes us through the Seven Principles of Excuses Begone, with exercises at the end of each principle to help cement them in place. He then looks at seven questions surrounding the paradigm shift such as “What would my life look like if I couldn’t use these excuses?” and “What’s the payoff?”
But what I really love and often go back to just to remind myself, are the Four Cardinal Virtues and how they manifest – reverence for all life, natural sincerity, gentleness and supportiveness.

#11. 29 Gifts: How a Month Of Giving Can Change Your Life by Cami Walker

There are so many “Challenges” around now – 5 day, 7 day, 30 day. But this 29 day story of the role that gift giving and the practice of generosity and gratitude played in Walker’s battle with Multiple Schlerosis is heart-warming and life-affirming.
She shows that by placing our focus outside ourself and the problems of our own life we move the energy of our life away from our problems and illnesses and give ourslf the room to heal.
As she embraced the practice of Gratitude and Gift-giving on her month long journey Cami’s health and happiness turned around. Initially filled with thoughts of ending up in a wheelchair and in extreme pain her experience was transformative.
From her own experience Cami began a movement that has spread across the globe – millions of people on a 29 Day Gifting Challenge.
This is beautiful story of her journey that you can take on and apply to your life.

#12. The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle

We all talk about living in the moment, but not that many of us actually manage it. This is the basic message that we hear so often is the essence of Tolle’s book. But what makes it different is how he explains so clearly how our thoughts and emotions get in the way of achieving this, so we actually understand what is going on.
Tolle likens the mind to a destructive disease, and as long as you allow your mind to stay bonded to the inherited collective mind-patterns it will continue in its diseased state and you will continue to suffer.
He leads us to an understanding that enlightenment is found through consciousness, that through surrender we can find happiness and ultimately peace.
It is resented as a dialogue with many questions you would ask yourself.
This book really helped me get through some tough times in my life.

#13. The Chemical Maze by Bill Statham

This tiny little book revolutionized my shopping. It lists by their number all the additives found in foods, personal care and cosmetics. Beside each it grades the danger the additive poses for you, what the adverse effects are (such as asthma, dermatitis, cancer), why it is added, along with the types of products it is used in.
Luckily for you it is now available as an app for iPhone or Android.

#14. Creative Visualisation by Shakti Gawain

One of the first books I read that turned me onto the path of creating the life I really want, this book was written over 35 years ago and still holds today. An anniversary edition has just been released and is a great book to start with if you are just beginning your manifestation pathway.

So this is just a starter. It doesn’t include the writings of so many brilliant teachers. I hope you are drawn to one of the books on this list. Happy reading!

Please add the name of any book that has guided you to make huge change in your life in the comments section under “LEAVE A REPLY” below. I’d love to know, and am always ready to open the cover of a new book and discover another new life lesson.

Uncategorized

MSM The Miracle Mineral

November 27, 2014 happyholistichealth 2 Comments

For some time now there has been a lot of buzz with good cause, surrounding the nutrient MSM (methyl-sulfonyl-methane). MSM is known to be especially useful for treating chronic pain, especially arthritis, and other inflammatory disorders in a natural way. But in fact it is very useful for treating many more health issues.

When you see the list of all the health problems it can help, MSM may look like an awesome cure-all. It is no wonder MSM is known as ‘the forgotten nutrient’.

WHAT IS MSM?

Sulfur is very important in the human body and an important part of human nutrition. It is needed for a number of different processes within the body. Low sulfur levels in the body lead to many degenerative diseases.

MSM is a natural form of organic sulfur compound and is found in all living organisms. It forms a natural part of the earth’s food chain and is the main source of bio-available sulfur that the human body is able to actually utilise.

MSM is needed by your body for healthy connective tissues, good joint function, proper enzyme activity, hormone balance and a well-functioning immune system. It provides one of the tools your body needs to heal itself and maintain its vitality.

MSM is really no more than a simple food supplement that is present naturally in diets that are not loaded up with processed foods.

However the MSM that occurs in our food is destroyed during processing. Given that most food in the food industry is processed in some way – by heating, irradiation or freezing – most of the food consumed in the western world no longer contains MSM. As a result most people are deficient in this essential compound, and this deficiency is likely to become even greater as you age.

MSM DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS

MSM deficiencies show up in many ways including pain, fatigue, depression, sensitivity to stress (both physical and psychological), and many degenerative diseases.

Chronic Pain: MSM supplements are often successfully used to help treat chronic pain and a range of inflammatory disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, bursitis, tenosynovitis, tendinitis and eye inflammation.

Aging: As they age most people become less flexible. Their tissues become less elastic, joints stiffen up, lungs and blood vessels lose elasticity, and their skin develops wrinkles. MSM levels in the body also decrease with age. When MSM is replenished these symptoms of aging are reduced.

Cell Health: MSM aids detoxification within the body by increasing the permeability of cell walls. As you age old cell walls harden and new cells are stiff and inflexible, affecting the movement into the cell of nutrients, and out of toxic waste products that lead to degenerative disease. MSM helps the body replace old stiff cells with new, healthy, elastic cells which allows a more efficient passage of nutrients into the cell and elimination of toxins and waste products out of the cell.

Heavy Metal Exposure: Most of us are unknowingly exposed to a wide range of heavy metals, through the air, our food, even in tattoo ink. MSM can be really useful for anyone who has had exposure to heavy metals because it plays such a powerful role in eliminating them from the body, by inactivating them and hastening their removal.

Antioxidant: MSM is a wonderful antioxidant to help scavenge free radicals within your body. It also assists your body to make its own antioxidant, glutathione for detoxification. Free radicals are now considered to be behind all degenerative disease. They also play a part in the aging process speeding up all the signs of aging. You can read all about why free radicals are harmful in “Free Radicals Are Bad, Right…But Why?”

MSM For Muscles And Joints

MSM is best known for its wonderful benefit for connective tissue, particularly in skin, hair, bone and joint care. Some of the benefits you might expect from taking MSM are:

Improved joint flexibility
Reduced pain and swelling in joints
Reduced stiffness
Improved circulation
Improved cell vitality
Break up unhealthy calcium deposits
Improved collagen formation
Generated keratin production
Enhanced strength and thickness of nails and hair happening quickly
Creation of new cells and repair of damaged tissues

MSM For Chronic Pain

MSM has been found to be a wonderful pain killer, very effective for relieving chronic pain. It acts as an anti-inflammatory as well as having an analgesic effect to naturally block pain.

Here are just some of the painful problems MSM has relieved:
Burns and scars
Injury from accidents
Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Fibromyalgia
Migraines and headaches
Bursitis
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
RSI
Sclerosis

MSM for Skin Problems

MSM is a genuine miracle beauty mineral that can radically improve skin, hair and nail health. It improves the production of collagen needed to keep skin supple, as well as keratin, both critical for producing healthy hair and nails. Hair and nails can become stronger, and hair thicker after just a few weeks of regular use.

Acne, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, dandruff, some fungal infections, and scars can all benefit from taking MSM. Aloe Vera is frequently used to heal damaged skin but in fact it is the MSM that is contained in the aloe leaves that really works the wonders, repairing the scrapes, burns or other damage. Instead of using aloe vera MSM can be applied topically as well as taken internally.

WHEN YOU NEED MSM

Neurological diseases
Alleviate allergies – food, contact, and inhalation. MSM inhibits histamine just as well as antihistamines, without the side effects.
Fights the inflammation associated with auto-immune disease. Experiments for arthritis and Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Disease (ALD), showed great improvement. In Lupus it had benefit before and after the disease.
Can protect against the onset of cancer
Has a strong action against, even killing, parasites including Giardia, Trichomonas, as well as various intestinal worms
Improves cellular glucose uptake in diabetes, as well as assisting pancreas repair
Eases sore and stiff muscles and cramps, it inhibits muscle spasms and relaxes muscles, and is excellent for exercise recovery
Constipation
Relieves stomach acidity
Improves oxygen uptake by the lungs. In emphysema it is often the deficiency in MSM combining with the smoke aggravation that leads to the disease
Stress
Prevents candida and yeast surviving anywhere in the body outside the intestines
Improves circulation by dilating blood vessels

ILLNESSES MSM MAY HELP

Arthritis – Osteoarthritis & RA                               Allergies
Gastrointestinal problems                                        PMS
Acne                                                                             Lung dysfunction (asthma, emphysema)
Muscle pain                                                                 Parasites
Heartburn                                                                   Lupus
Snoring                                                                        Breast and colon cancer
Parasites                                                                     Diabetes
Stress                                                                           Mental disorders
Eye health                                                                   Constipation
Acidity (maintaining pH in the body)                      Cramps
Headaches                                                                   Hay fever
Carpal tunnel syndrome

MSM FOR PAIN RELIEF

In pain relief MSM acts as an anti-inflammatory as well as having an analgesic effect to naturally block pain. It also improves the action of the hormone cortisol, which your body releases in response to inflammation.

MSM is an excellent energy booster. Because it increases the permeability of cells, allowing nutrients to pass more easily in and toxins out, your cells use less energy. Because it is easier for your body to absorb nutrients far less energy needs to be spent on digestion. So there is more energy left over.

MSM: FOODS OR SUPPLEMENT?

MSM occurs naturally in protein rich foods such as meat bones, poultry, eggs, fish and legumes. Good vegetable sources include raw leafy green vegetables, garlic, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, kale and wheat germ. It is also found in beer and coffee.

Raw milk has the highest naturally occurring amount of MSM, however, it is destroyed in the pasteurization process. MSM is also lost when food is cooked as it vapourises in the steam, or when it is stored for any lengthy time.

Unless your diet is excellent and you eat lots of MSM rich foods every day, you are better off getting your adequate amounts of MSM from a supplement.

MSM comes as a powder or capsule and is considered very safe and non-allergenic.

You can take a supplement knowing you can’t overdose with MSM. It has been shown to be extremely safe in toxicity studies. Even with a diet rich in MSM the amount you would ingest from your food would still be only a small fraction of the recommended therapeutic dose. So even if you are getting MSM through your diet you can safely take a supplement. Your body will take what it needs and eliminate the excess.

Dosage varies depending on your complaint. For most adults an effective therapeutic dose would be between 1.5 grams up to 10 grams a day, taken in three doses with a glass of water, 30 minutes before eating.

If you get nausea or headaches, diarrhea, a mild rash or swelling of the ankles (all detox symptoms) you may need to decrease the dose you are taking before slowly working your way back up. But be aware that your body is ridding itself of toxins and so you need to continue the MSM in order to finish the process.

While it is always better to get your mineral needs from the food you eat, sulphur and MSM may just be an exception. It is unlikely, even if you are eating a perfect diet, that in our society you are getting enough MSM to satisfy what your body needs.

Disclaimer

Source Articles

http://www.puremsm.com/details.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/442084-what-is-the-supplement-msm-good-for/
http://www.nutriteam.com/msm
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/03/msm-benefits.aspx
http://www.bewellbuzz.com/wellness-buzz/5-msm-benefits/

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LIFE CHANGING SUMMER READS

#1. Love The Life You Live: Ten Steps For Happier Living by Anne Hartley

#2. Walking Meditation by Nguyen Anh Huong & Thich Nhat Hanh

#3. Goddesses In Everywoman – Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives by Jean Shinoda Bolen

#4. The Inner Goddess Makeover: A Step-By-Step Makeover by Tanishka

#5. The Botany Of Desire by Michael Pollan

#6. Healthy Home, Healthy Family by Nicole Bijilsma

#7. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook by Miranda Castro

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#9. The Life You Were Born To Live by Dan Millman

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#11. 29 Gifts: How a Month Of Giving Can Change Your Life by Cami Walker

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#13. The Chemical Maze by Bill Statham

#14. Creative Visualisation by Shakti Gawain

Please add the name of any book that has guided you to make huge change in your life in the comments section under “LEAVE A REPLY” below. I’d love to know, and am always ready to open the cover of a new book and discover another new life lesson.

Share this:

WHAT IS MSM?

MSM DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS

MSM For Muscles And Joints

MSM For Chronic Pain