The turning point in my life was when I purchased a Vitamix Total Nutrition Centre in 1994.  I had wanted a high powered blender for some time, as I inherently knew that I needed to include more raw food into my diet.  I could see the advantage of blending a whole pile of fruit, leaves, etc and just chugging it down.  At that stage I was 40 years old and suffering from various maladies.  These ranged from horrible PMS that lasted at least 2 weeks of every month, drinking too much alcohol and popping sleeping pills every night.  I was a mess.

I purchased my Vitamix from my daughter’s friend’s mother, Colleen Thornhill.  Meeting Colleen and her husband Mike, and purchasing the Vitamix changed my life almost immediately.

I became a vegetarian within two weeks of purchasing the machine and increased my raw intake by at least 70%. I blended smoothies every morning for myself and the rest of the family.  I took a flask of the stuff to work and basically just had fruit all day.  Supper was a big salad.  I lost weight, strangely enough, even though I was already very slim.  I dropped from 50kgs to around 44kgs, and kept this low weight for about 3 years – slowly stabilising and creeping back up to around 47kgs, which is my current weight.

For the next three years I still drank alcohol, but less so and still took sleeping pills, sadly, but I felt much better all round and I no longer experienced PMS, which was a huge relief.

In 1997 we left South Africa, and this was another turning point in my life.  My husband and I both gave up alcohol.  Two years later we moved to Saudi Arabia, and it was there that I decided to give up sleeping pills.  This was exceedingly difficult, but since I was not working, it seemed like the right time. Within 6 months I was able to sleep without any chemical aid.

A year later we moved to Dubai.  Here I increased my raw intake to around 95-100%, exercised every day on my rebounder (a gift from Colleen and Mike) and felt like I had evolved into the me I was meant to be.

At this point I purchased a distiller and a dehydrator. I wanted to be sure the water I was drinking was as clean and pure as possible. The dehydrator was to add other textures and flavours into the raw diet.  Dried fruit is my passion! I eat far too much of it.

I am now 56, and incredibly happy and well.  I have amazing energy and never get depressed, even if things do go wrong!

I highly recommend to anyone embarking on a ‘health crusade’ to seriously consider going ‘raw’.  Somehow raw food vitalises the body.  Every cell seems nourished, content and happy. If all the parts of the whole are well, it stands to reason that the whole being will be well too.    The easy way to do it is with a blender, particularly initially.  It is so easy to blend and chug.  Purchasing a juicer is also a good idea, but I have not yet done so.  I tend to only juice oranges and have a cheap little juicer for this purpose.

I also highly recommend exercising on a rebounder (or mini trampoline).  I bounce/aeorobicise on my trampoline every morning for 30 minutes to very upbeat, trendy music.  It is a great way to start the day and excellent for encouraging elimination, and of course keeping fit and trim.  The other benefit I have noticed is that I now have really good balance.

When my daughters were young teenagers, they decided to become vegetarian.  I was against the idea as I was not prepared to cook separate meals and told them that I was still making what I always did and they could just eat the vegetables.  However, it did plant a bit of a seed in my mind and also the fact that I always watched the animal programmes on TV as I have always loved all creatures, and realised that animals have feelings too.

During December 1995 I decided to make it my new year’s resolution, to become a vegetarian. It was decision that I did not take lightly and I waited patiently for the 1^st January 1996 to roll around.  However, during that December I was watching Keith Floyd, the British chef, doing one of his cooking demonstrations on an ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn.  There he was with his glass of wine in his hand cooking an ostrich flambe with all the other ostriches running around and I thought to myself what an insensitive and uncaring man he was.  I then realised that I was not much better and instead of waiting until 1^st January, I gave up meat, fish and chicken from that day on (15 years ago).

I used to love the taste of meat, fish and chicken, enjoyed braais and roasts, chicken done in every way, all fish (except shellfish).  Tuna salad was a staple for me. I used to order baby chicken in a restaurant and enjoyed sucking on the tiny bones. Wiener Schnitzel was delicious done in breadcrumbs with a lemon sauce.  I never took note that veal was in fact a baby calf.  Veal calves are killed at about 18 or 20 weeks as “white” veal, or fed on grain and hay and killed at 22 to 35 weeks to produce red or pink veal. Delicious lamb roasts on a Sunday comprised of a little helpless animal killed at the age of between one month and one year.  Some of the lucky ones managed to be a bit older before they were killed as sheep. I could go on and on about the unnecessary killing spree of baby and adult animals.

Transport of the animals, killing of the animals – Poor practices include cruel treatment of animals during loading, unloading, transport and slaughter. Cruel treatment includes gouging out eyes before slaughter, using fire, twisting tails and beating exhausted animals to load and offload animals on to trucks and slaughtering animals with cuts across the throat that are incomplete and slaughtering in front of other animals

Some people say that fish don’t have feelings.  Well I disagree, it may not be feelings as we do, just instinct, however as Paul McCartney once said:  A fish’s life is as important to the fish, as yours is to you.  Have you ever watched a fish gasping for air and thrashing around when it is taken out of the water.

Then there is the whole subject on its own of fishing for larger species.  The trawlers drop their mammoth size nets and whatever unlucky fish is swimming in the vicinity also get caught in the nets and just die for no reason whatsoever. So many areas in the world have been over-fished and many fish are becoming endangered and possibly extinct.

Then there is the whole subject of eggs of battery hens.  These hens never see the light of day or walk on solid ground.  Their entire life consists of being in a wire cage. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the battery cage is the size. Most battery cages are barely larger than the hens they contain, and in many instances, hens are unable to move or turn around. Typically, battery hens are installed in battery cages within weeks of hatching, and they spend around nine months in cages before being disposed of because they are no longer productive.

Like many animals, chickens can develop some curious responses to stress. Many battery hens, for example, will attempt to attack each other through the wire. As a result, most commercial egg producer debeak their battery hens periodically, removing their beaks with a heated knife so that they cannot attack each other. The hens may also throw themselves against the bars of the cage or wedge body parts into the wire, in some cases severely injuring or killing themselves.  Although I do eat eggs, I only buy free range eggs.

Similarly, I only purchase milk which is RBST free, that is from cows that have not been force-fed hormones that cause many health issues for cows.

Its surprising how many people do give me a hard time about being vegetarian, from people quoting from the bible saying that god said the animals are here for us to eat.  That may be the case. however, I choose not to have something die because of me.

Whilst doing research on this topic, I was absolutely sickened by the cruelty and inhumanity of what sometimes goes into putting an animal meal on the table and I am so grateful that I am not part of it, and it reinforces my beliefs, and I am so happy to be a vegetarian.

University finds solution to global warming. It might affect you so read on!

It has long been known that the estimated 1,3 billion cattle are breathing out CO2 and blowing off methane at such a rate as to be serious contributors to global warming. Just in case you are not aware of the impact that global warming can have on the earth, just take this as an example of climate change. Africa will experience heat waves and serious drought on a continent that already short of water. Wars are being fought over oil. When will people start fighting over water, the source of all life on this planet?

The contribution of cattle to this problem has set New York University and Oxford University to seek a solution to this ever-growing problem. It has been suggested that livestock farming is contributing to a massive 51% of the greenhouse emissions (Goodland and Anhang 2009). Global warming is not going away unless something serious is done we are going to be in dire straits. In their paper they consider a new kind of solution called human engineering. This involves biomedical modifications to humans that will reduce the number of cattle contributing to the problem or measures to enable humans to adapt to climate change”
As a vegetarian, this is the part that made me laugh out loud. Basically the suggestion is to find a way of making people hate eating meat. The academics recognised that people lack the motivation and willpower to give up eating meat So have suggested that a more realistic option would be to induce chainsa mild intolerance to meat. this can be achieved by humans that currently eat meat to wear meet patches which would be akin to nicotine patches for smokers. These would stimulate the immune system against common bovine proteins causing the person to have an unpleasant experience and not want to eat meat.

The other bizarre suggestions that the academics made to reduce the demand for livestock were:

• To make people smaller through hormone treatment and genetic engineering. Smaller people eat less than bigger people which means the consumption will be reduced
• To make people smarter with the use of drugs. Generally smarter people have less children and this again means there will be less consumption.

The lead author of the paper, S. Matthew Liao indicated that these were just ideas to deal with climate change and he was not in favour of these ideas being enforced on anybody but rather for people to volunteer in the interests of climate change.

Well it seems that the impact on global warming by livestock is serious enough that ‘Meatless Monday’ is actually being taken on by top restaurants around the world. Public figures, film produces, actors, actresses and schools all standing behind this moral drive to save the planet. When I was a child it was a common practice for Catholics to abstain from meat on Friday and instead to eat fish. Projecting forward I can see that Mondays will be a day when people will find difficulty in eating meat publicly on Monday. That will be a day I for one look forward to!

These multi nationals never fail to amaze me. The Mafia were like a nursery school party next to the likes of Monsanto and the sad part is that the general public actually live in ignorance and allow themselves to be manipulated.  GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) is really more frightening that you can imagine. This  playing God in the worst possible way. I mean mixing a grapefruit and a tangerine (kinda like a seedless naartjie) to get a Mineola is one thing, but when you start putting fish DNA into a tomato that is something else.

Where do you think GMO will take us?  Let your imagination run free!

What we are talking about is transgenic plants that have had genes inserted into them that are derived from another species. Most of the trans genetics is between plants and micro-organisms. Can you imagine creating this cross plant/animal freak that produces not one or two children but thousands. Just to equate with a lettuce with a count of  up to 1200 seeds in a single gram. So how do you reverse this in nature when you find they messed up? Surely if God thought it a good idea to mix species to ensure that there was enough money to feed the world it would have been done and Monsanto would not have to get involved. Is their motivation really an interest in feeding the world. Mmm, I think not. Perhaps pure financial greed is the motivation since there is evidence that there are no fewer starving people since the introduction of GMO.

Most people that I have spoken to think that hybridisation is Genetic Modification. Hybridised seed is where they cross plant seed and that is unnatural enough but not as horrific as genetic modification. To understand more about GMO watch this video.

So if the money hungry manipulators want to mess up the earth and create all these freak tomatoes, soya beans, maize, Cotton,
Did you know that GMO tomatoes were actually taken off the market due to commercial failure which means there was not enough money to be made. Alfalfa was banned but has been deregulated in the USA since 2011. While we happily move on with our busy lives focusing on paying the rent, educating our children, negotiating the traffic, deciding what to eat for dinner and all that modern life demands of us, we are not aware that the Monsantos of the world are changing our world an before we know it we are ignorantly eating their genetically modified creations. So what is being genetically modified and how is it affecting our lives. Well the most popular GMO products are soya and maize that are used in the manufacture of so many other products. About 9% of beetroot worldwide is GMO and rice is set for release in the USA in 2013. The moral of the story is that GMO is alive, well and growing. The best we can do is to DEMAND is to know whether what we are buying contains GMO products. This is currently being denied.

With so many concerns about the safety of GMO food the questions are:
1. Do you think that it is fair to sell Iwiza mielie meal Africans without them even knowing that the Maize Meal is Genetically Modified because the information is not on the label and the risks involved in consuming GMO food?
2. Do you think that it is fair for parents to innocently feed their children GMO foods because they are not labelled and because they do not understand the possible risks?

The African Centre for Biosafety sent samples to a Commercial Laboratory and this is the information that was reported;
FOOD PRODUCT Cerelac Infant Cereal contains 77.65% of GM maize (AND IS NOT LABELLED)
FOOD PRODUCT Bokomo Wheatfree Pronutro contains 90.36% GM maize and 71.42% GM Soya (AND IS NOT LABELLED)
FOOD PRODUCT Iwisa Maize Meal contains 66.18% GM Maize (AND IS NOT LABELLED)

For more information on ‘GM labelling in SA: the law demystified’ which you can download from the African Centre for Biosafety website www.acbio.org.za
I you feel strongly about this then act immediately by sending an official complaint to the National Consumer Commissioner (NCC). You are within your rights to and are encouraged to send in official complaints of the three companies that are not complying with labelling. The Commissioner needs to get the message loud and clear from consumers that we know our rights and we will not be backing down.

Download the complains form that has mostly been completed on your behalf.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FORM

Complete and email the complaint form to m.mohlala@thencc.org.za.

REMEMBER THAT IF YOU DONT STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS

YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU.

Vita-Mix have featured their 5200 super blender on a number of popular TV programs. They featured on the Martha Stewart show ”The Martha Stewart Show” is an hour long daily series that informs and inspires viewers on subjects from cooking and entertaining to crafting and gardening, hosted by Martha Stewart.

And then, Vita-Mix featured on the Ellen Degeneres show ’12 Days of Giveaways’ and actually gave away over 300 of their 5200 Super Blenders on the show.  This episode will no doubt flight in South Africa, but who knows when so here is a photo clip of the Viamix giveaway.

And then, Vita-Mix Corporation gave Colleen and Michael of Healthmakers one of the new Brushed Stainless Model 5200.

Now this is a Super Blender that you could REALLY get passionate about. Between looks and performance i’m not sure what the world has to offer that could beat it.

Go and check this beauty out at www.healthmakers.co.za. Just search for brushed stainless.

Another Healthmakers approved product that will be in stock mid August 2011.

Saturday 26 March at 8:30pm is the day and time we all give a little back to Mother Earth. Its Earth Hour 2011 and by switching off the lights for one hour in the evening you will be joining in the worldwide symbolic gesture to pledge your commitment to combating climate change (last year the ‘hour’ became the planet’s largest voluntary action ever witnessed as it reached 1.3 billion people in at least 128 different countries).

Imagine what we can achieve indeed! This year there is a movement to go beyond the hour (60+) with each person making a commitment to a positive action for the planet, a commitment that can be celebrated by turning off your lights on March 26th. The challenge is to find one way you can be an inspiration and make a difference by taking your pledge beyond the hour! Healthmakers would love to help you make this commitment to Earth Hour 60+ by suggesting a number of simple yet effective ways that can help you help the planet.

We believe the Eco-Charger is a break through in Green Energy Technology. It recharges ordinary bog standard AA and AAA Alkaline disposable batteries and also the rechargeable batteries (Ni-MH batteries are cadmium-free and therefore less toxic than the cheaper Ni-Cd alternatives). Becides the financial upside though money saved, by recharging all your batteries you will be helping to alleviate the environmental problems regarding disposing of batteries as the number used can very quickly multiply.

Remember that ordinary batteries should not be thrown away with ordinary household waste as they contain toxic chemicals that can leach into the soil and groundwater. You can safely dispose of all depleted batteries through the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) and Uniross, a company which has joined forces with all Pick n Pay stores and selected Makro, Builders Warehouse and Stax stores to put collection boxes for all battery types in the stores. The batteries are collected and the non-recyclable ones are “concretised” and disposed of safely, the recyclable ones are put in a container to be sent to a facility in France where they can be recycled as there are no facilities in South Africa that can recycle batteries. By using the Eco-Charger you are reusing every battery upto 20 times and then by recycling you are not only ensuring the safety of our ground water and food (through healthy soil) but you are also ensuring that the finite source of metals used in making the battery is reused.

A second way to take up the 60+ pledge is to get an ECO Kettle. If you are not using this kind of kettle you are currently on average boiling twice the amount of water needed because measuring the amount of water to be boiled is nearly impossible.  This means twice as much energy used, in fact if you are using a 3kw kettle and it takes 60 seconds to boil you could power a single lightbulb for 50mins using the same amount of energy. The ECO-Kettle with two reservoirs works differently. You have a 7 cup reservoir of water that feeds through to the boiling chamber (when you hold the selection quantity button down, where you can select to boil from a single cup to 5 cups of water at a time). This means that you save energy every time you boil by boiling only the exact amount of water that you need. (The Energy Saving Trust in the UK did a consumer trial on the ECO-Kettle and found that 31% less energy was used than by normal kettles).

There are those that care about the environment and there are those that care about their back pocket. If you are either of these people then this kettle is for you. Often when we make a change to benefit the environment we often have to compromise our own convenience. With the Eco Kettle it is win win all the way. Enjoy the benefits of a fast boiling 2200 watt element, save the cost of electricity by not boiling unnecessary water and honour your pledge to Earth Hour 60+ and our planet by playing a part in taking care of the environment. It will certainly pay for itself time and again.

Did you know that empty plastic water bottles have become a major contributor to worldwide pollution and that for every 2 plastic bottles produced you have added 1kg of carbon dioxide to your personal carbon footprint?  Did you know that 40% of bottled water is actually TAP WATER? With or without added filtration – you’re paying through the nose for it. Worse, an independent test found arsenic, DPBs and 36 other harmful pollutants including industrial chemicals hiding in bottled water which could also contain the potentially hazardous chemical BPA.

Buying your water in a plastic bottle means:

• that in the time it takes you to read just this one short sentence, over 8,000 empty water bottles are being thrown away worldwide.
• means that 5500 rubbish trucks will be filled each day solely with plastic bottles.
• that the U.S. alone used 4110 barrels of oil to produce the 67 million plastic water bottles discarded EVERY day!

The production of plastic bottles doesn’t just deplete the planet of oil reserves but we ask that you please consider the harm that the processing of plastic water bottles does as it releases toxic compounds such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide, and benzene into the environment.

Healthmakers therefore recommends that you give up your plastic water bottle habit and save the planet by offering a wide range of BPA Free water bottles which are reusable and refillable making them extremely Eco-Friendly. They can be filled with water (or other liquids) you can trust to keep you healthy (see our Water Purification range on our website for healthy water options)

BPA Free Water Bottles:

Cheeki Water Bottles are manufactured from Premium 304 Food Grade Stainless Steel and are healthy for you and the environment, and are available in a wide range of stylish and fun designs that keep your water fresh and cold. Cheeki bottles are perfect for kids’ lunchboxes; sports; exercise and everyday use.

The FLOW Water Bottles we offer are made from 100% food-grade Stainless Steel making them toxin and BPA Free, because all these bottles are stainless steel they do not need a liner like an aluminum bottle would, this means that the these bottles will not hold flavors or make the water taste strange. The caps of the FLOW Water Bottles are made from recyclable BPA-free polypropylene.

We believe that by adding your positive actions towards making our world a better place by using even one of these environment ideas, you can become a part of Earth Hours 60+ global symbol of hope and movement for change. “Together our actions add up. So take action, and save the date for this year’s Earth Hour.

St Patrick’s day came and went in my world without much recognition until my daughter Tammy came back to South Africa to join Healthmakers, after a 10 year stint in Ireland. So this year we will see how St Patrick’s day can be celebrated in a small and healthful way on this great big island of Africa.
The original reason for celebrating Paddy’s day is to commemorate the feast day of St Patrick who was a Christian missionary and who was later made the patron saint of Ireland. Today however it has become a colourful and lively joyous celebration marked by musical performers, floats in all the countries where the Irish have made their mark including, the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Uruguay, New Zealand, and South Africa.

If you would like  your friends to be Green with envy this St Patricks day then get going on growing some micro-greens.  With the versatile Easygreen you can grow anything from smallest alfalfa sprouts to large sprouts and micro-greens. You won’t need the luck of the Irish when you have an EasyGreen micro-farm. I placed some mung beans and clover seed into the Easygreen sprouter just 18 hours ago and already they are celebrating St Patrick’s day!

The clover is used as the Celtic tradition of honoring “3′s” has been around in Ireland for millennia.

Here are some things in life that come in three’s

3 leaf clovers

faith, hope and charity

past present and future

land sea and sky

the religious trinity and then there are So many things that are represented by 3′s like

3 cheers

3 blind mice

3 is a crowd

3 R’s

3 muskateers

There are just so many of these 3′s  See how many more you can think of.

Getting back to the Easygreen Micro-farm, remember that at the end of the rainbow of your Easygreen mist sprayer you will find your pot of green gold.  Your family will be going through the sprouts and greens so fast that you might think that the tokoloshe are helping you to eat them but today, to be sure to be sure you can blame the leprechaun. On St Patrick’s day, if you are sprouting clover be sure to look fo a four-leafed clover and perhaps this year to celebrate Paddy’s Day swop your Guinness for a Green Smoothie.

Happy St Patricks Day!

Take note of the dangers of BPA

What is BPA?

It is a chemical known as Bisphenol A (BPA)

Because I do not drink carbonated drinks, and I’m not that fond of bottled and canned fruit juices, because they are high in sugar and have been cooked and pasteurised, I always carry water with me. As I am reasonably fussy about the water I drink, preferring not to drink tap water, I carry purified water with me from home.
Some years back we became conscious of the fact that storing water, in any old plastic container, did not appear to be a healthy practice as chemical substances could leach from plastic into the water. We really went out of our way to find ‘safe’  containers which, at that time we were informed should be made of polycarbonate. One only has to look at the collection bottles, and processing jugs that were used by most manufacturing companies, to confirm that this was the right route to take. It came as quite a shock to find out that the polycarbonate bottles that we had been carrying our water around in, all contained Bisphenol A, which, is an endocrine disruptor that can actually mimic the body’s own hormones, interfering with oestrogen and other reproductive hormones.

Listen to what Mike Shelby, PhD. of The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (US Govt) has to say about Bisphenol A

So, not only was the Bisphenyl A leeching from the polycarbonate water bottles that I had chosen to save my water in, but also from carbonated drink tin cans, making the high sugar, caffeine laden, acidic, carbonated drinks much more dangerous to human health than I had imagined.

I proceeded to research Bisphenol further and was surprised to find out that babies bottles and drinking cups were commonly made of this type of plastic.
See http://www.plasteurope.com/news/PLASTICS_AND_HEALTH_t218796

Next, I was lead to how you can identify the type of plastic that a plastic bottle is made from by the number in the Recycle Symbol, that is usually moulded into the bottle.  Initially it appeared quite simple to be able to judge the safety of the plastic bottle by the numbers but I soon realised that the interpretation of these numbers was more complicated.  Polycarbonate that leeches BPA would be marked number seven, and that seemed clear enough, until I found out that the replacement for polycarbonate, that was BPA-free, and known as co-polyester is also labelled with recycle number seven. However, you will find that plastic bottles that do not contain Bisphenyl A are now marked BPA-free.

So, what are the safe options in choosing a drinking water bottle? My research shows that a good quality aluminium bottle that is well lined with a non-leaching substance would be a good choice, as would a stainless steel bottle ,which, would be a bit heavier, and finally a standard old-fashioned choice is a glass bottle but this is not always practical, especially for children as it is subject to being broken if dropped.

The common attitude,  that I’ve been doing this for years and hasn’t killed me, prevails, and I would agree with you, however, it is not the single contaminants that is the problem, but the multiplicity of contaminants that ,when added up, produce life-threatening diseases. When this happens, we find it difficult to pinpoint the straw that broke the camel’s back.

I  invite you to take this seriously, and to try to avoid consuming Bisphenyl A  by drinking out of polycarbonate bottles and containers, tin cans, cold drink tins and checking that babies bottles and cups are BPA-free.

Below is a list of health issues related to the absorption of Bisphenyl A taken from http://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/bpa/bpa_side_effects.php

“More than 200 lab animal tests to date strongly suggest that BPA exposure, even at very low doses, creates risks of dangerous developmental, neural and reproductive health effects in infants and children. Exposure to BPA, even at low and short-term doses, is linked to a staggering number of health problems, including:

Life threatening illnesses are created, often not through the one toxin, but the combination of one and one and one and one.

Suggestion: Eliminate this One from your life and that of your children.

Alternative safe drinking bottles are available at: http://healthmakers.co.za/store/water-bottles/

Where is the Green in this ‘Green Smoothie’?

Michael is the Smoothie artist in our home. Saturday’s smoothie was SO special that I begged him to remember what he put into it and to write it down. Our smoothies are not only packed with superfoods, yummy fruit, nuts, seeds, healthy oils and loads of greens, they are mostly delicious and please don’t tell him…. occasionally horrific! Let me share Saturday’s smoothie with you.  Colour : Kinda bland or slightly chocolatie Taste: Definitely no green detected, slightly sour, I guess that is due to the Vitamin C in the Baobab fruit (what amazing energy), subtle sweet undertones and a great nutty flavour. Consistency: Full bodied but quite pourable Quantity : 2 full litres divided by 3 = 2 full glasses each Nutrition : Overwhelming!!

So here it is…..

Michael’s Super Saturday Smoothie 2 plums (including skin but with seed removed) 2 nectarines (including skin but with seed removed) 1 banana, peeled 1 yellow cling peach (including skin but with seed removed) 1 small pineapple (remove skin) 1 large handful of green grapes (including skin and seeds) 10 Small Spinach leaves (swiss chard) 2 Bloody sorrel leaves (it’s real name) (this sour leaf masks the green leaves) 100ml Soaked flax seeds 1 handful Soaked pecan nuts (measure after soaking) 1 handful Soaked cashew nuts (measure after soaking) 2 Tblspn Boabab Fruit Powder SEE http://lifestyle4health.co.za/baobab-fruit-powder/ 4 Tblspn Raw Chocolate Powder 1 Tray Ice Cold filtered water to achieve correct consistency

Coca Cola

Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? It’s because it gets you high. They took the cocaine out almost a hundred years ago. You know why? It was redundant.

In The First 10 minutes:
10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.

20 minutes:
Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)

40 minutes:
Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.

45 minutes:
Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

60 minutes:
The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

60 Minutes:
The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.

60 minutes:
As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.
This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (As little as two if you’re a smoker.)

But, hey, have another Coke, it’ll make you feel better.

*FYI: The Coke itself is not the enemy, here. It’s the dynamic combo of massive sugar doses combined with caffeine and phosphoric acid. Things which are found in almost all soda.

Unfortunately, when calcium is sucked out of your bones to neutralize soft drink acid, your bones get thinner, weaker and brittle; doctors call this osteoporosis.

Based on the acid content alone, soft drinks should carry warning labels that read: WARNING: If you drink this sludge long enough your bones will rot.

The biochemistry involved here is simple and straight forward. Published medical studies document how efficiently the phosphoric acid in soft drinks
deteriorates bone density.

One study of particular interest, was focused entirely on discovering why a group of healthy teenage girl athletes was experiencing an unusually high rate of bone fractures while playing their team sports.

The study, examined every imaginable factor that could account for the high bone fracture rate. Finally a common link was discovered; every member of the team consumed several soft drinks daily, including before and after practice.

Once this common factor was discovered, the mystery was solved. The researchers determined that calcium was being drawn out of these healthy teenagers bones to neutralize the soft drink acid resulting in weaker bones and the abnormally high fracture rate.

Imagine that! Just a few sodas a day was all it took to weaken the bones of healthy teenage athletes.

But don’t be too hasty in your judgment on soft drinks. All this negative press does not suggest that soft drinks are completely, utterly, absolutely and totally worthless.

The truth is, cola soft drinks have many excellent uses.

In some states the highway patrol carries a couple gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident. The acid eats it right off the road!

I’ve already mentioned that cola drinks are great for cleaning corrosion off car battery terminals: Try it! Just pour a little Coke over the terminals and watch
the corrosion melt away.

Cola drinks are great for loosening rusted bolts. Soak a cloth in your favorite cola and let it sit on the rusted bolt several minutes and wah lah, the bolt comes right out. This works almost as well as WD 40, which is an excellent product made for loosening rusted bolts.

Cola drinks are also great for cleaning road haze off your windshield; for this reason alone it’s good to carry some of the stuff in the trunk of your car!

From a health standpoint, the acid content in soft drinks is not the only thing to be concerned over, it is just one of many.

ALL SOFT DRINKS CONTAIN SUGAR and/or HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN
SYRUP – OR – they contain ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

As we examine these ingredients, keep something very important in mind.

When it comes to your health, you are always going one direction or another.
You’re either moving toward strength, health and vitality or you’re moving away from it, there’s no standing still, there’s no status quo.

Food ALWAYS has a powerful effect on your body chemistry and your body chemistry ALWAYS has a powerful effect on your health.

If you want good health you have to choose your food and drink wisely.

Make no mistake about it, a diet rich in sugar or corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, refined carbohydrates and highly processed foods that are loaded with chemicals and preservatives will eventually destroy your health.

When you consume something high in sugar, in a matter of minutes the sugar is absorbed directly into your blood stream, causing your blood sugar level to rise.

If your blood sugar rises too high, too fast, you’ll pass out on the spot. To stop that from happening, your pancreas makes the powerful hormone, insulin, to
stop the blood sugar from rising too high.

Insulin stops rising blood sugar in it’s tracks by literally turning the sugar into fat, so instead of having high blood sugar, you have high blood fat.

Common sense tells you that loading your cardiovascular system up with fat, sticky blood cannot possibly be healthy.

Now, instead of having high blood sugar to deal with, your body has to get rid of the fat that was made from the sugar, that came from the soft drink that your thought was such a good deal at just 98 cents for a 2 liter bottle.

To get rid of the blood fat your body, in it’s infinite wisdom, flips some metabolic switches that get you to STOP burning stored fat for energy and START burning the new fat that was just made from the sugar or corn syrup.

Since you won’t need all the extra energy the blood fat could produce, the blood fat that is not burned for energy is stored away in your fat cells, causing them to grow larger and causing you gain weight.