The ‘Green super foods’ have been around for a little while but you may not have come across them yet or found a decent explanation on what they each do.

Spirulina is a type of algae that grows on the oceans surface. It was discovered to be great for boosting energy levels for every day use or for athletes. One well known Olympic gold medalists I served in a health store many years ago in Sydney said the only supplement he used during training and to boost his performance before an event was spirulina.

It is ridiculously high in protein at around 60-70%, and contains high concentrations of a multitude of vitamins and minerals such as B12, iron, and essential fatty acids. One serving is basically like having a bucket of fresh vegetables. So it is also great in smoothies for children who are fussy eaters too.

Chlorella is a chlorophyll based fresh water plant. Its main function is as a full body cleanser, detoxifier and blood alkalizer. It has been claimed as “one of the most nutritiously dense foods on the planet” by Synergy Natural, the most respected producers of good quality green foods. And it’s not hard to see why with Chlorella’s intense levels of all the amino acids, many vitamins, most macro and trace minerals, antioxidants and the good fats. It is almost considered a ‘complete food’, with virtually the same nutritional content as eating a meal of fish and steamed vegetables.

Barley Grass is a powder made from the young leaves of the barley plant. It’s main function is to help rid the body of over-acid states which can contribute to pain, inflammation, rashes, acne and even being overweight. Barley grass helps to alkalise and balance the natural ph. of the body. It contains chlorophyll, a multitude of vitamins and minerals, enzymes and fibre to boot.

Wheat grass is the grass of the wheat plant either freshly juiced or dried in a powder. Its main functions are to improve digestion and increase the metabolism. Again, super high in most of the vitamins and minerals, trace elements, protein and fibre. Why not grab some today?

 

Find Honor on Facebook, Twitter and her blog www.nutritionsciencewellness.com

With many parts of Queensland being exposed as being in the “grip of a Diabetes epidemic” and having some of the highest rates of Diabetes in Australia, lets look at some of the natural ways to treat, potentially reverse and prevent the illness.

 

Because Diabetes Type 2 is around 90% diet and lifestyle related, there’s a lot a person can do. Eating small but regular meals is key to keeping our blood sugar levels stable. Having a small snack, particularly one that contains some protein, like raw nuts, seeds, hummus with crackers or vegetable sticks every 3 hours is a great way to prevent significant rises or falls in the sugars and insulin being released into our blood stream.

 

Foods and drinks to avoid are soft drinks, weather its diet or regular, most of the sweet breakfast cereals, white breads, white pasta’s, sweets, chocolates, ice cream, pastries, fruit drinks, cordials, even too much fruit, dried fruit, sugar, honey, jams, marmalade, and hidden culprits like tomato sauce, where the first and therefore biggest ingredient is ‘sugar’.

Join in the healthy fun for the “Home Made Meal Comps”, and for the next 21 days post a photo (or more) of your healthy meals, snacks or drinks on my Facebook page, to inspire yourself and others to eat healthier, and to win a free copy of my book “A Diet in Paradise”, a free nutrition consultation with me, and much more.

Follow Honor on Instagram, Facebook to find out more www.honortremain.com.au  

 

In a small bowl place 2 crushed garlic cloves and around 3 tbs. of beautiful quality olive oil. Set aside to infuse.

Wash and cut a bunch of asparagus, 1 large zucchini, and some leaves of spinach or silver beat.

In a medium saucepan drizzle half the infused oil, with a pinch of salt, and place over a medium heat, add all the greens, toss until they are all covered in the oil.

Turn heat down, add a splash of oyster sauce, toss and place lid on.

Keep turning veggies and remove them from heat once they are tender.

Drizzle the remaining infused oil over them, toss and serve- Amazing!!

 

Depression rates are on the rise, and it can be a very challenging time for the person experiencing it and for those around them. The most basics tasks become a misery. People often experience feelings of apathy, depleted will power, and feelings of being drained and exhausted. Many people don’t know how to get out of depression without medications.

 

But art therapy can be a great medicine for easing depression. Visiting art galleries and taking in the beautiful colours , shapes and pictures can soothe the most hardened soul.

These days most of us are constantly bombarded with horrible images that seep into a part of ourselves and add to the burden of feeling negative through television, our computers on social media and in the news

One of the greatest remedies for this is to filter what you allow yourself to be exposed to while increasing beautiful, happy and uplifting images and surroundings, which we absorb and have the added benefit of making us happier.

 

A brand new art gallery and summer art exhibition in Noosa has just begun; the pieces are beautiful and inspirational icons. “This art surprisingly, has a powerful effect on people no matter how simple or elaborate their style”. Says coordinator Viola Cox.

 

The images can sometimes be confronting to our modern eye because of their composition and unusual proportions – making them almost abstract. But this was done intentionally, even in the past, to shock us and tell of something other than the natural world is being spoken of – something mysterious; and hoping to engage us in that mystery.

 

The icons visiting Noosa this summer are modern renditions of ancient images carrying on a 2000 year old tradition. They have been painted in the last few years by 3 Sydney women dedicated to teaching love and compassion through their artwork.

 

So come and allow your spirit to be moved and uplifted, while enjoying exquisite artwork, and other lovely artefacts at Noosa’s new Gallery.

Contact: Nadine 07-5449 1889 at Studio Revamp, 791 Noosa Eumundi Rd, Doonan and check the Facebook page for more details.

 

Other helpful therapies are:

 

-Regular Exercising

-Eating healthy foods, high in vitamins and minerals, such as vegetables, fresh proteins and fruits.

-Omega 3 fatty acids are very helpful- such as through chia seeds, fish oil and flax seed oil.

-Probiotics are great.

-St Johns Wort, such as Floradis, Remotiv is very good.

-Speak to me, your natural health practitioner or doctor on which therapy may be best suited for you.

 

-5 fresh dates pitted

-2 tablespoons of ABC spread (almond, brazil, cashew)

-1 tablespoon of chia seeds

-1 tablespoon of raw cacoa powder

-1/8 cup of cooked amaranth grain

-Shredded coconut

 

Mix all the ingredients, except coconut, in a blender or with fork until a smooth consistency. Roll in coconut and freeze.

 

Makes 8 balls

 

Blurb-

Chia, amaranth and Cacoa are being heralded as the new ‘super foods’, with chia seeds & Amaranth containing high amounts of protein and chia containing omega 3 fatty acids, which help with, weight loss, bowel health and brain health. Cacoa is super packed full of antioxidants, which can also assist with weight loss and lower inflammation or pain in the body, whist keeping us looking younger.

 

 For centuries diets from around the world have used traditional food combinations, such as lentils with rice in India to pork with pineapple in Europe.

Now science reveals how these ancient food pairings could hold remarkable wisdom.

 

• Pineapple and Protein= Enzymes increase Protein Digestion.

 

Pineapple is a rich source of bromelain, a group of enzymes that digest proteins.

Bromelain has powerful anti-inflammatory activity making it popular in sports medicine. Bromelain can decrease pain and swelling in damaged or inflamed soft tissue and help joint health and repair.

Bromelain is strong enough to work in replacement of pepsin and trypsin, two of the chief protein degrading enzymes in the gut.

This is especially beneficial to exercise or bodybuilding enthusiasts who ingest high amounts of protein, desiring rapid metabolism and absorption back into muscle fibres. So have some fresh pineapple with your next high protein meal, to upgrade the effects.

 

 

• Fats and Vitamin D= Enhanced Absorption

 

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. It aids calcium reabsorption within the gut to help maintain bone health. The inactive form of Vitamin D can be obtained from the sun and is also found in cod liver oil, salmon, milk, sardines, beef, egg yolk and some mushrooms.                                                   Science has revealed that dietary fat can greatly enhance absorption of the supplemental form. Because Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, its absorption follows a similar pathway to that of oils from the diet. Eating fats stimulate bile, which encourages small structures, called micelles, to form. The micelles transport the fat and Vitamin D together to be more easily absorbed by the gut surface. Foods to eat around your Vitamin D supplement to help intake are: raw nuts, flax seeds, avocado, herring and salmon.

 

• Eggs, Avocado, Full-Fat Dressing and Salad: Antioxidant Enhancing.

 

Did you know that the oils found in the diet are one of the most effective enhancers of carotenoid antioxidant absorption too?

The carotenoids are not only an antioxidant but are additionally the colour pigments found in fruits and vegetables that range from yellow to orange to red in nature.

Carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, are responsible for eye health, for decreasing risk of some cancers, and for boosted general health.

Journals from The American Society of Clinical Nutrition, found that while salad veggies can be packed full of carotenoids, the addition of full-fat salad dressing, avocado or whole egg with the salad, increased the antioxidant absorption far more than when the salad was fat-free.

 

 

 

The hottest diet trends right now is the #Paleo diet. It consists of eating a whole food based diet, lots of meat, seafood, fish, some dairy, some eggs, and fruit and vegetables. Grains and legumes are avoided.

 

It is touted as being the healthiest around. In some cases, it is. To eat a diet based on whole foods no matter what else is amazingly good for your health! And to eat a diet high in animal protein has undeniably great benefits for your weight. But what about the rest of your health, for Paleo man only lived to an average age of 30 years old, so something wasn’t working for them.

 

On the other side of the dietary pendulum we have veganism, which is the consumption of anything that hasn’t come from an animal. The diet is plant based and void of meat, seafood, fish, chicken, eggs, dairy and honey. There are many health benefits, but there is a downside, it is becoming so common for #vegans to be overweight that they have their own groups called thing’s like: “What Fat Vegans Eat”, so again, a potential problem here too.

 

In 2014 The University of Sydney and The University of Southern California released groundbreaking news on how protein, fat and carbohydrate ingestion impacted health, weight and ageing.

 

They discovered a high animal protein and low carb diet had positive effects on weight, although lifespan was remarkably shorter and general health was poorer!

 

‘The test subjects were four times more likely to die of cancer or diabetes than the lower meat protein eaters, whilst cardiovascular disease and ageing were greatly accelerated’! University of Sydney

 

While those on a high plant based diet had remarkable results with little to no disease present and longer lifespans, but weight was slightly higher.

So what’s the key? I have my opinion.

Check out Or2Bee Café in Hervey Bay for some great vegan/paleo meals, treats and drinks.

Find Honor on Facebook, Instagram

I’m a holistic nutritionist, so I’m pretty open minded to alternate medical practices when I can see their benefit, they make logical sense or they are backed by science.

But two persistent and newly revived practices are being pushed into my health sphere and my doubts on their efficacy have been nudging me so I needed an expert’s opinion. They are:

 

• Can brushing your teeth with the spice turmeric, (which stains your hands, fingers, bench, bowl and anything it touches yellowy-orange), somehow make your teeth whiter????

And:

 

• Is the practice of oil pulling, where oil is swished and held in your mouth for a period of time, an effective remedy for dental cavities?

 

I approached Dr. Steven Lin, a Sydney based dentist and writer currently preparing his upcoming book, ‘The Dental Diet’, and asked him his thoughts on this field. His reply was:

 

“Turmeric has a wide range of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.  These properties have health benefits throughout the body, and may include a decrease in gum disease. I highly recommended the consumption of turmeric for this reason.  Although turmeric used in a toothpaste/mouthwash, the results are much less clear and it’s not a proven way to whiten your teeth.

 

While oil pulling has a history in Ayerverdic medicine due to the believed benefits to oral health. People reported a clean/fresh feeling after oil pulling however there’s no evidence to support clinical benefits in healing teeth.

For those with sugar cravings, swishing with oil is actually a great way to curb these urges and prevent sugary snacking, therefore potentially prevent future cavities”, Dr Lin states.

 

So, possibly these two emerging fads should be viewed just as that, fads.

 

I feel it’s important for people to resist from blindly following any trend or idea, no matter who presents it. Whether you’re reading a newspaper, magazine, some ones blog, a science report, a political report, you’re at church, at an ashram, at the shops, or talking with someone, always question for yourself, ‘does this make sense logically? Do I feel in my gut that what’s being spoken is truth? Who presented this information and do they have a bias anywhere?’

 

Because not only does this give you more freedom of choice, it also gives a potent power in your own convictions when they are true for you, and can safeguard you from falsities if they arise.

 

Find Honor on Facebook, Instagram and at www.honortremain.com.au

 

 

-1 cup cos lettuce sliced

-1 cup rocket

-1/4 red capsicum sliced

-1/4 cup whole, kalamata olives

-1/2 avocado

-Yellow globe tomato’s

-1/2 carrot finely sliced

-1/8 cup capers

 

Assemble salad, drizzle with extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil and balsamic and serve.