My whole 30 post series

Owing to some very unhealthy (albeit delicious) personal food habits in the wake of Easter, I decided it was time I cleansed. The last cleanse I did was in college, way too long ago. That was a four day juice fast, retreat style. Many happy memories of Ballingup bush surrounds, friends and vegetables! Much as I'd love to relive that time, it's just not practical for a breastfeeding mother of two to fast for any length of time, much less head to a quiet bush retreat for the duration. It has to be a different sort of cleanse for me!

I chose the whole 30 cleanse for a couple of reasons. Foremost, it can be done at home, and requires no special effort or expense. Big bonus. It's based on whole foods, JERF, just eat real food, for a month. This promises to reset my digestion and eliminate cravings. Great, much needed! But I also chose it for a more, shall we say, 'investigative' reason.

With all the hoopla around the paleo diet of late, many people, including high profile personalities, have put their two cents into the debate 'for what it's worth'. I happened to flick past that unfortunate tv show 'the circle' recently to hear a bleach blonde drag queen-like woman in her 40s declare that in her opinion cutting out entire food groups wasn't healthy. I wasn't aware she held any qualifications to that end...

But why not put it to the test? There are thousands of testimonials online by people whose lives have been changed for the better to various degrees by paleo and similar diets. While it doesnt suriprise me that eliminating processed food does anyone a world of good, I'd like to see what it can do for me. I'm a perfect candidate at present as my health is wanting. My senses of smell and taste are diminished, a sign of zinc deficiency. I have chronic plantar fasciitis (sore feet) and lower back pain, signs of low magnesium. I'm increasingly tired, which could be my baby's night waking, or anaemia, or both...my baby's night waking is itself possibly due to my milk being high in sugar and low in essential nutrients, I strongly suspect this to be the case as she had been sleeping through prior to my diet completely falling off the proverbial wagon. At present, my diet is like many western diets, inclusive of all types of food, real or otherwise. So I'm going to cut a few out and report the changes! 

The whole 30 diet essentially eliminates sugar, grains, dairy and legumes. While grains have been on my hit list for ages, legumes and dairy are a different story. I still think legumes should be ok provided they are bought dried and soaked til sprouted, but for the sake of science I'll forego the pleasures until the end of the cleanse, then reintroduce them. Its been a long time since I've consumed pasteurised milk, and I do feel that raw milk is a wonderful thing, but in the spirit of cleansing and investigating, I'll forego that too. Sugar is something I regularly eliminate...long story!

In addition to the whole 30 protocols, I'm going to drink warm lemon water before meals, and take a gut cleansing herbal formula, as well as my usual handful of probiotics every evening. 

I'm certain that my health will be amazing by the end of the month. I'm sure my zinc, magnesium and iron levels will return to normal, I'll lose some weight, have heaps of energy, feel light and happy and calm. I'm looking forward to it, and I hope to inspire others to try it too. 

And finally, for the sake of accountability, Im posting a selfie, before and after style!

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to an improvement in that dial! (to say nothing of everything south thereof).

My Tea Habit

Isn't it a wonderful relief that Summer is finally over! Three solid months of 35 degrees plus just isn't fair on a pregnant chick! But now it's cool at last. And that means I can drink tea again!




Antonio cultivating his tea habit

His favourite is chamomile













Herbal tea drinking is a habit I cultivated. My family's tea habit is a traditional Irish addiction to very strong cups of English Breakfast many times a day! While I don't object to a 'propper' cup of tea, I found it much more useful for me, health-wise, to cultivate a habit of drinking herbal teas. It's a perfect example of how to choose a health enhancing option over a health degrading one. (There are many stories floating around about how wonderful tea is for our health. The truth is the benefits are outweighed by the effect of the tannins on the stomach. A leather stomach doesn't digest food very well.) So during my years at the Perth Academy of Natural Therapies, where the student's common room kitchen was well stocked with some "out there" herbal blends, I learned to love the stuff.

I mean really love the stuff! I'm very proud of my extensive and eclectic tea cupboard! I feel that my approach to tea drinking is probably akin to that of our ancestors. Thousands of years ago, and until recently, people drank tea as a tonic, choosing herbal blends to suit the time of day, the season, their constitution or state of health. I use it simultaneously as a source of comforting warmth, a gesture of self care, and as medicine. I often turn to a tea for relief before any other treatment, if I feel 'below par'.

Right now my tea choices are influenced most by my pregnancy. During the first two trimesters I choose nettle and rosehip, sometimes separately and sometimes blended together. Rosehip is a great source of vitamin C, while nettle is a great iron source, as well as a good kidney tonic. After the 30th week of the pregnancy I will add raspberry tea, to strengthen and tone up my uterus for birth.

If I was feeling bloated or overfull,  I might choose peppermint tea, which is a calming and uplifting digestive aid. Chamomile is calming and soothing, and also a wonderful remedy for an unsettled stomach. I might even blend it together with peppermint for this purpose. I often order these teas when I'm out for a meal, partly because they're often the only ones available, and partly because they can be an antidote to any dietary indiscretions that may have transpired!

When a cold strikes I actually use tea as a primary source of relief. Besides taking such things as garlic tablets and tablespoons of coconut oil, I take teas containing such herbs as sage, calendula and golden seal. These three are antibacterial and help with lymphatic drainage, alleviating sore throats from glandular enlargement or infection. I also squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a cup, add a splash of water and drink this several times a day as it is a strong antiviral remedy, and I find it very relieving. Last week I had a cold, and, being pregnant, these gentle remedies became some of my only options. I also ate a handful of small, young nasturtium leaves daily as an immune boost. The cold was mild and lasted all of three days before I was fully recovered.

If I felt anxious or stressed I might choose white tea, vata tea (see below) or chamomile. Any of these would bring me down to earth. If I was feeling sad I might choose peppermint, lavender, rosemary or my personal indulgence tea, a cup of chai! (I've posted the recipe as I make it in the thermomix below)

Teas are a part of my beauty regimen. My beauty regimen is almost entirely focused on keeping my gut healthy, I do very little to my skin on the outside as I consider it too late by the time the skin cells have reached the surface! Ginger tea is especially good for the stomach and intestines, helping them break down the food we eat. Green tea is also a digestive aid, and mild liver tonic. In addition to gut health, hydration is important for the complexion. Any herbal tea is hydrating, while tea and coffee are dehydrating.

Ayruvedic medicine, which is the ancient Indian medicine system, offers tea tonics as wonderful daily balancers. I discovered in college that 'Vata' tea helped to relieve my period pains. Vata tea is also a wonderful digestive aid, and soothing to personalities prone to stress and anxiety. However if you are a 'hot' type of person, say you might suffer from reflux, or arthritis, dislike eating chilli and work in a creative or athletic capacity, the Pita tea is for you. Finally the Kapha tea is for those of us who are 'smell the roses' types, heavier set, robust and grounded people. Kapha tea can get you motivated and help with weight loss, sinus congestion, a sluggish bowel and even help alleviate depression.

Finally, my indulgence tea is another Indian inspired one, chai! I love a good chai. When I feel a hankering I take a teaspoon of black leaf tea and put it in the thermomix with a stick of cinnamon, some cloves, some cardamom pods, a star anise, a good chunk of fresh ginger and some peppercorns. I blitz them for 10 seconds on speed 9, then add a cup of water. I boil this at 100 for about 7 minutes, then add raw honey and raw milk, and strain into a big mug! Sometimes I make a big batch of the brew (before adding milk and honey) and put it in the fridge in a milk bottle. Then I can use it as a cold chai smoothie. I put a third of a cup of the brewed tea into the thermomix with a banana, some raw or nut milk, 2 raw egg yolks and some honey and blitz at speed 7 for 20 seconds. Great breakfast on the go!

What is your tea habit? Get eclectic and try something different next time you have a tea break!

Here comes the Sun

It's day 6 of sugar freedom (but who's counting??), and I'm beginning to feel serene. My face and tummy are a little less bloated and my skin feels clearer. My brain isn't screaming at me, the cravings have just evaporated! Jolly timely too, the shortbread biscuits I made with xylitol were a dismal failure!! Turns out sugar is what makes them crunchy. Oh well! I won't give up on the xylitol just yet!

So back to mental clarity! When I was reading for my research project during my naturopathic studies, I found many studies describing how sugar inflames the nervous system. There was one in particular that has stayed with me; the subjects in the study were scanned under MRI, then fed some sugar, then scanned again. The 'after' shots showed bright, glowing nervous systems, denoting aggitation, irritation. This translates physically to poor coordination and emotionally to stress and anxiety. I usually didn't notice I was feeling this way because it felt normal, this is obviously because it takes most of a week to calm down! Now I can feel the difference, and I highly recommend it! I kind of feel like I'm floating, rather than fighting through life. I feel successful! So far my mastery project is on track!

Even more encouraging is that I think sugar and I have finally called a truce. I feel now that I can maintain a sugarless diet, although the real test will be going to the shopping centre alone. Thats when I usually find myself scanning the cakes at Miss Mauds. Maybe I'll take Antonio shopping with me until I'm a little more sure of my resolve! I can't eat rubbish in front of him because he always wants some. The later he's exposed to that stuff the healthier he will be. For more info on that one check out Dr Robert Lustig, this video is worth the time. I think his presentation was a large part of my decision to swear off the sugar for good.

Sweet obsessions

It's nap time, but instead of doing some breathing exercises or meditating, I'm lying here googling xylitol biscuit recipes on my phone! I've found some good ones which I'll share once I've tested them.

Part of me doesn't really want to eat sweets. But it's obviously not the louder part! My brain is screaming at me to devour the last of the Christmas chocolate. My man dutifully hides it from me, since he's one of those weird, self regulating types! I've tried all my life to be like that, but it's just not in me. For me it's feast or famine, at least for now.

I've bought some supplies to help prevent cravings: Organic crunchy peanut butter is a favourite; high in protein and fats, both of which fill up quickly. It can also be combined with veggie sticks for fibre, also very filling.

Yoghurt is brilliant, and transportable too. Antonio and I often share a tub of Chris's Greek yoghurt. It's the sourest yoghurt I've tasted, but creamy too. We love it!

Ok, 10 minutes left of nap time, I'll dutifully spend them focusing on my third chakra

Mastery and Mummyhood

I had intended to write this post on the first day of the new year, but such is mummyhood!

This year, 2012, is my new beginnings year. I'm aware that many people believe this year is special and significant. I find it interesting that I spontaneously decided to make this year transformational for me personally. At-bloody-last!! I've finally decided to implement some changes I've been "thinking about" for years. Thinking about as well as preaching!

For example, my number one project is to give up sugar. To 'quit' the stuff like a smoker or an alcoholic. I'm a sugarholic. Or I was until Sunday. I've been clean 3 days now. It's not the first time I've quit sugar; I've done it at least annually since I was 9. That was 20 years ago now, and though I was very diciplined at first, each time I quit it was for a breifer period, until it became almost too dificult, I put on weight and found it hard to shift. This did, of course, coincide with my move to Melbourne, where the food is decidedly better, cheaper, available and more generously portioned. I may have lost control!!

In my youth (she muses wistfully!!) I imagined that someday, a vague timeframe occuring around the scary age of 30, I'd clean up my diet permanently, with the vain motivation of age defiance. Now my reasons have broadened to include my health, both mental and physical (nothing like sleep deprivation to inspire appreciation for mental health!), and my son. I believe role modeling is the best parenting tool, thus if I wish to protect him from the poison, I'll have to get off it too. There's a great story about a mother who went to Gandhi to ask him to tell her son to stop eating sugar. He told her to bring the son to see him in two weeks. She did this, and Gandhi simply told him to stop eating sugar. The mother asked why the two weeks were necessary and Gandhi replied "Because two weeks ago I was eating sugar."

And so I'm a dreadful hypocrite no longer! But so far I just feel hungry!! I do have 20 years of tricks up my sleeve though, and I'll share those here if you're interested in trying this for yourself. It does take time to detox sugar. If you were thinking of trying it I'd recommend Sarah Wilson's fabulous ebook, I Quit Sugar'. It's a quick and easy read and very motivational.

This is, as I said, my number one project, but it's the 'lead up' to my much grander goal of self mastery! I've become aware recently that the dissatisfactions I feel with my own life all seem to coincide with the themes of the solar plexus chakra. That's the third one, it's yellow, like fire, and it centers around ego, boundaries, decisions, personal power, will, that sort of thing. I'm so lacking in all that, so despite my creativity, I never really accomplish much! It relates to the pancreas, liver, spleen and upper intestinal tract, all of which are compromised when I binge on sugar. It all ties together so neatly!




So this year will be dedicated to balancing my solar plexus chakra, using tools like my diet, yoga, meditation, breathing, herbs, and general mindfulness of these issues in my everyday life. I intend to blog for accountability. At this end of proceedings the idea of a shiny new self is very exciting, but I know it will get ickier as the year wears on. I know there will be steep challenges, balancing my self and my journey with my responsibility to my family. And I suppose I don't really forsee true balance eventuating at all, since mummyhood and family harmony are my first priorities. I'll fit 'me' in around them. Which means I'll do a little bit during nap time and a little bit in the evening, and a very little bit while someone else cares for Antonio. But it will be done! And for now, the most important thing is what I'm not doing; eating sugar!

So now I'll finish off my chai spiced cocoa with coconut oil and take myself to bed.

The Detox Dilemma

Lately I’ve been asked by many people “what’s your opinion on detoxes/detox diets etc...”. I can see why this is a confusing subject, as the word ‘detox’ presents a relatively new concept. I’ll attempt to clarify these ambiguities.

What is a detox?

The commercial version of the practice of detoxifying the body has become a lucrative industry in the last 5 years or so, and continues to increase in popularity. Detox–at–home products promise instant results and celebrities promote their favourite detox programme, while nutritionists often question their benefits, or even warn against them. Whom do we trust? The answer depends largely upon your definition of detox, and what you’re hoping to achieve. There are now so many different ways to ‘detox’ available that it’s difficult to know what to choose. When a juice bar product, a day spa treatment, a ten day DIY kit, a week’s health retreat in the country and all betwixt is called a detox, how do we decide what’s right for us?

To ‘detox’ in this context simply means to enable or assist the body’s existing elimination pathways, in particular the liver, in removing the non useful, potentially harmful things from within itself. These things might be drug residue from prescription or recreational drugs, the effects of smoking, caffeine or alcohol, build-up from atmospheric pollutants, or toxins from the shortcomings of the modern western diet. ‘Detoxing’ can be taken to an infinite number of levels, depending on how and how long we approach the process. For my part, I believe there is a place for detoxing in our lives, but it’s important to be informed enough to separate a useful, healthy approach suited to your body from the glitzy marketing of many quick fixes.

Why should we detox?

Imagine that your home is for sale and you’re opening it for inspection. You usually clean the house to a respectable level each week, but now it must be perfect. You clean more thoroughly and for longer, including areas you might not normally cover like walls or windows. The end result makes you wish you’d done it sooner! This is how a true detox should feel. It’s a deeper clean than your body can usually perform unassisted in the modern world, which results in a cleansed system which functions a it’s designed to.
I believe it is ideal to cleanse the body annually at least in some small way. You may decide you’d benefit from a detox due to one or more of the following signs and symptoms;

Weight gain
Unexplained fatigue
Sleep problems
Allergies or skin eruptions including adult acne
Right sided discomfort / pain
Raised liver markers (blood test result)
Morning nausea (other than pregnancy)
Lack of appetite in the morning
Aversion to fats / pain /nausea from fats
Bad breath
Migraines and headaches
Constipation
IBS
A yellowed sclera (whites of eyes)
Elevated LDL cholesterol/triglycerides


These and other symptoms are or can be the effect of an overwrought liver. They will all benefit from some form of liver cleansing programme. I believe it is important to bear the principals of detoxification in mind at all times when choosing food for ourselves and our families, but I also realise that the reality of modern life makes a truly clean lifestyle very difficult. This is why I would recommend periods of this style of eating, particularly to assist the treatment of health difficulties and to determine whether intolerance to a food is a factor in illness.

What should I expect a detox to be like?

Usually a detox ranges in length from about 4 days to 2 months. The type of detox will determine how long you maintain it for. If you are fasting, 4-5 days is the norm, but if you are using a clean diet, 2 months is recommended.

Detox diets all have one thing in common, which is to eliminate all processed food. These types of foods have only been introduced into the diet in the last 50 years, which means we evolved as a species without them. Our ancestors gleaned all their nutrition from the basic food groups, or primary foods; fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, honey, meat, fish, and much later, whole, cultured dairy. They were not assaulted by pollution and only occasionally used mind altering substances, often for ritual purposes. Their bodies were therefore able to perform detoxification continually, unhindered by onslaughts of toxins as ours are.

Often detox diets advocate the removal of meat for a period of time. This is because meat takes longer to pass through our digestive system and puts extra strain on the liver. It may also contain a high concentration of toxins such as pesticide and herbicide residues, antibiotics and synthetic hormones. If the diet is a short term one, say a month, removing all meat won’t cause any harm, provided you use high protein plant foods like nuts, legumes and quinoa. However if you’re going to be on the diet for longer than this I would advocate the inclusion of fresh fish and some organic chicken a couple of days each week.

Some detox diets recommend fasting, which is extremely controversial for obvious reasons. My belief is that this can be very useful for some people, but should only be undertaken under the supervision of a sensible, qualified naturopath, for a short time period, and vegetable juices should be included for vitamin and mineral content. I disagree strongly with any system that removes all sources of nutrients, as this can cause harm. I believe too that one should remove to quiet accommodation outside of the city. I certainly don’t recommend fasting while continuing to work, drive and look after children. Besides the risk of low blood sugars, it’s very difficult. Fasting is, of course, an extreme method, and though it is incredibly rewarding when practiced carefully, it can be just as effective to use some foods, but a longer period of time will be necessary. If you are going to fast, keep exercise very gentle, but regular. Also make sure you perform it in the AM. Yoga and some gentle walking are ideal.

A common element in most detox programmes is the use of herbs or nutritional supplements. Many employ one or a combination of the liver cleansing herbs. These are plant extract that have properties that help the liver to eliminate more efficiently in some way. Some are more powerful than others, and they all work slightly differently. This is why I believe it is important to consult a qualified herbalist to select those that will be best suited to your needs.

Another commonly used supplement is a bowel cleansing agent such as psyllium husk. This is essentially a faecal bulking agent which helps to sweep the intestine clean of matter that may have become lodged there. This may occur if the diet is deficient in fibre containing foods like fruit, veg and legumes. Matter stuck to the intestine wall can leak toxins into the body as it putrefies. To prevent this, I believe it’s a great practice to take a fibre supplement like psyllium whether you’re detoxing or not. There are many proven benefits to this, including a reduction in re-absorption of cholesterol.

A bowel purge is a routine start to a fasting detox. This serves to clear the system of food on its way through the alimentary canal. Another way to cleanse the bowel is to use some form of colonic irrigation. Obviously this isn’t going to appeal to everyone, but I can’t recommend it highly enough as a therapy. It can help to achieve dramatic health results for weight management, migraines, the skin and the digestive system.

These, plus some antioxidants like vitamins, minerals and other plant extracts, are often the ingredients of the ‘pills and potions’ that come with a home detox kit. One problem with these is that they often come in tablet form, which might be poorly absorbed. Here again a qualified practitioner can help by providing good quality supplements and taking absorption into account.

What do the critics say?

Many critics argue that it’s ‘unnatural’ to purge and fast the body. My response to this is that it wouldn’t be necessary if we didn’t eat refined sugary, packaged, processed foods or food containing non-food additives like dyes and preservatives. These very low nutrition foods build up in the body in several ways. Processed foods like cured meats, starches; breads, pastas, cakes, biscuits, and much confectionary, are low in fibre and when eaten often can build up on the intestine walls. This build up leaks toxins into the body, and may also lead to cancer of the bowel. Fibre in the diet serves to prevent this build up, but studies show our fibre intake is falling far short of what it should be. The absorbed portion of these ‘non-foods’ are sent to the liver for disposal. Our livers evolved during a time when we ate real food, so they aren’t well set up for a constant onslaught of strange molecules. The effect on the liver is measureable after some time, and research shows that a diet free from refined, additive filled foods will lower elevated liver markers significantly.

To return to the argument that fasting is unnatural, our ancestors, even as recent as 50 years ago, ate far less food per day than we do. Earlier ancestors would often have had periods of food scarcity, particularly at the end of winter, when they would have been obliged to eat a mono-diet of whatever vegetable, grain or fruit was still available. Because the memory of this routine still exists in our DNA, late winter is a perfect time to seek out a professionally organised cleanse.

It’s entirely up to you to decide your opinion on detoxification. However if you are curious, or suffer from some of the aforementioned symptoms of a full liver, consult a naturopath who will be able to assist you with individualised treatment. Many health retreats specialise in ‘detox weeks’ or weekends, where you can experience the myriad health benefits first hand, which I would highly recommend. I would be very cautious, though, about using a detox at home kit if it asks you to fast while living your normal day to day life. However the benefits of using a book or a guide to 'clean up' your diet for a number of weeks are immense, and you may find you retain some of the principals long after the cleanse is completed, like permanently reducing your intake of refined foods. This can only benefit your health.

Remember, when in doubt, see your naturopath. Happy cleansing!