Nourish + Rejuvenate
Ingredients:
1 cup cashews
1 cup dates
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions:
We were always told once a brain cell dies, it’s gone forever. However, scientists are now proving that brain cells can be regenerated. Just like your muscles the brain needs regular use.
While many diseases and conditions have genetic predispositions to them. The truth is, you do have the power to control these genes by living healthily. All your brain wants is a little attention.
The same basic rules apply for both your brain and body when it comes to health. A well-balanced healthy diet, with a rainbow of colourful food, lots of good oil, exercise for oxygenation, and time out.
Free radicals break down the neurons in your brain causing damage. Colourful fruits and vegetables are packed with antioxidants – the dark purples of
blueberries, the deep reds of pomegranates, the rich green of kale and collards, the bright orange of sweet potatoes.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who ate more dietary antioxidants had 70% less Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Food is a powerful ways to control or neutralise the major causes of all disease in your body – aim to eat 8 – 10 servings (1/2 cup = 1 serving) of fruit and vegetables everyday.
Oil and more oil, everyone of your brain cells is insulated by a layer of fat, and your brain is made up of 60 percent fat cells. So it needs oil for nourishment. Among the best nutrients are omega 3 fatty acids – the kind of fats found in salmon, tuna, mackerel, nuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and green leafy vegetables.
In fact Omega 3’s have been shown to boost intelligence. Walnuts are considered a super brain food in Ayurvedic medicine and if you look at a walnut shape it looks a lot like the cerebral cortex.
Exercise is one of THE most important anti-aging medicines known. It’s a natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and stress buster. It will also help you sleep better, lower your cholesterol, lower your blood sugar and insulin levels. Aim to exercise 4 times a week –whether it’s walking, running, swimming or dancing, your brain will thank you.
Some supplements to consider if you’re under a lot of stress – take a good all round combination that contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. B-Vitamins are essential for normal brain function.
Super anti-ageing herbs:
because it has so many benefits, to name a few – anti-ageing & wonderful skin healing benefits.As renowned women’s health expert Dr Christine Northrup says ‘Be a life long learner’, she believes this could be one of the most important factors in maintaining and enhancing your brain function, be actively engaged in some pleasurable activity that involves growth, development and learning. Do crossword puzzles or suduko.
So why wait? Start protecting your brain now because mental decline is not inevitable, you can boost your memory and mental alertness at any age. Research shows clearly that healthy, well-nourished and well-educated people show no signs of declining mental function with age. Feed your brain, both with the right nutrients and the right information.
Sign up by clicking: HERECacao or raw chocolate has been used in South America for centuries for its healthy benefits and energising properties.
Cacao is the dried seed from a South American tree and which is used to make cocoa, chocolate or cocoa butter. Cacao contains many of the same health benefits of the dark green leafy vegetables, however it all depends on a few key things; like how it’s prepared, how you eat it or what you eat it with.
Why is Raw Chocolate good for you?
Raw cacao beans are full of flavonoids that act as natural antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from ageing and disease caused by free radicals. Raw cacao contains up to four times the antioxidants of traditional cocao powder.
Scientists from Cornell University in the US recently discovered that raw cacao contains nearly twice the antioxidant content of red wine and up to three times the antioxidant content of green tea.
Benefits
These are the amazing benefits of good quality raw chocolate:
Avoid this chocolate!
Commercial chocolate (bars, sweets etc.) is usually roasted to high temperatures that ends up destroying all the goodness – the anti-oxidants, enzymes and nutrients whereas raw chocolate is not heated above 45°C to maintaining it’s health benefits.
Store bought chocolate bars also mostly contain a lot of sugar and milk which if you don’t know all the negative effects that sugar has on your weight, your skin and ageing then read more here.
The lower the cocoa content in the chocolate bar or sweet the lower the antioxidant level e.g. A 75% cacao bar has approx. 25% sugar.
Uses
Cacao powder is finely ground and easy to add to recipes or smoothies, homemade energy balls and raw chocolate cakes.
The cons
You can have too much of a good thing. Raw cacao is a stimulant, contains some caffeine and can over stimulate the nervous system, especially if you are sensitive. Don’t consume more than four heaped teaspoons a day.
HEALTHY CHOCOLATE RECIPES
Raw Chocolate Nut Smoothie – Energiser
½ cup almonds
2 cups dairy alternative milk i.e. rice milk or coconut milk
2 medjool dates
1 teaspoon raw organic cacao powder
1 banana (frozen if desired)
Directions
Place all ingredients into your blender and mix until smooth and enjoy!
Chocolate & Kale Smoothie – Hormone Balancing
Directions
Throw all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.
Healthy Chocolate Bar Recipe
-2 cups of mixed nuts, seeds and dried fruit
– 1/2 cup of coconut oil
– 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
– 1 tablespoon raw honey
Directions
Chop nuts into smaller pieces.
Mix all ingredients together, flatten in a baking tray and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours.
Cut into squares.
Store in a refiergate.
For so many years, health experts have preached that a low fat diet was the way for you to lose weight and be healthier. They proclaimed fats as your enemy, linking them to heart disease and other illnesses.
The food industry jumped on this “theory” and bombarded us with fat-free and low-fat “food” options. A walk down the supermarket aisle will confirm our obsession with fat-free foods.
To ensure that the flavour of foods was not compromised, they added sugar in increasing amounts. So, while our low-fat options exploded, so did obesity rates, as well as other related health issues.
Clearly, low-fat did not deliver the promised results. We now know that healthy fats DO NOT make you fat. In fact, they are one of the three macronutrients, along with carbohydrates and protein, that your body NEEDS to function at optimal levels.
And, truth be told, fats help us stay slim!! The right fats can help you become lean, healthy and vibrant.
THE WHY
So, why do we need fats in our diets, how much is enough, and what kind of fats should we incorporate into a balance eating plan?
Fats provide essential fatty acids (EFA’s) – essential for your body to function and to prevent disease. EFA’s help to build and protect cell membranes from inflammation, produce hormones, absorb vitamins effectively, protect your nerves, and support basic brain function, protect your heart, keep your 
skin and hair soft and subtle, lubricate your joints.
Fats deliver vitamins A, D, E, and K to your cells and are also are a great source of energising fuel.
So, you can see that your body really can’t function without them!
THE WHAT
How do you know if you’re getting enough ‘good’ fat?Your body will send you warning signs that you’re potentially deficient these signals could include the following:
THE BAD FATS:
Let’s take a closer look at the different types of fats. The standard diet consists mainly of artery-clogging saturated and trans fats.
Why? Because they taste so good and are widely available in our food supply.
Fats (saturated and trans fats), together with salt and sugars, enhance the flavors of foods and keep you coming back for more.
Most of us have heard about the bad saturated fats. Usually solid at room temperature, found in animal products such as meat and diary.
Most processed foods on supermarket shelves are made with poor-quality omega-6 fats from refined, processed vegetable oils. They’re abundant, very cheap, taste good and improve texture.
Trans fats are unsaturated fats that have been altered though the process of hydrogenation to extend their shelf life. These should be avoided at all costs, as they are associated with heart disease, insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes (think: packaged cookies, pastries, muffins, and cakes).
THE GOOD FATS
Healthy unsaturated fats play a huge role in your overall health and well-being.
They are either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats and are considered good fats because they help lower your cholesterol levels, which can reduce the risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Polyunsaturated fats:
Provide you with essential fatty acids (EFA’s), essential meaning we must get them from our diet as our body does not manufacture them. These fatty acids keep your brain functioning well and aid in the healthy growth and development of your body.These “good” fats also help your body produce prostaglandins otherwise known as the hormones that cool off inflammation.
Omega-3 EFA’s, found in oily fish such as salmon, tuna, and sardines, as well as flaxseeds, chia seeds, avocado and walnuts, are central to reducing inflammation and heart disease.
It’s always best to get your omega-3s from food, but supplement if you need to.
Most people get too many omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils and margarine.
Monounsaturated fats:
Found in peanut butter, nuts, olive oil, sesame oil, and avocado. 
Exception to the rule – coconut oil, can be metabolised by the body faster than others, hence they are rarely stored as fat. Read more about that here.
For good health and a balanced diet
The more omega-3 fats you eat, the easier your body can cool off, which means less inflammation- the root of nearly every chronic disease, especially those impacting the brain and the heart.
Your brain is completely dependent on these high-quality fats. In fact, it is made up of 60 percent fat. High-quality fat boosts cognition, happiness, learning and memory.
In contrast, studies link a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids to depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and even violence.
Your heart will also thank you for eating more omega-3s, which help lower levels of bad fats (triglycerides) and raise levels of good fats (HDL). Omega-3 fats make blood more slippery, reducing the likelihood of artery disease.
And remember, the next time you are in the supermarket and spot a fat-free or low-fat label on a food item, take that as a red flag and your cue to run as fast as you can to the fresh produce section!
A few things you should consider when selecting your fat sources:
You’ll find it is easy to add these ingredients into your diet on a daily basis – get your downloadable guide here
In fact, at the end, I’m going to share one simple recipe you can make in under five minutes that incorporates all of these foods.
Why are flax seeds so good for everyone – in particular helping women balance their hormones?
Flax seeds are very high in lignans or phyto-oestrogens and bear a strong resemblance to the female hormone oestrogen in shape, structure, and some functionality. Phyto-eostrogens are plant compounds that have very mild oestrogenic effects that can be used to modulate the influence of the body’s excess oestrogenic hormones on body tissues. Phyto-oestrogens help with hormone imbalance and may help prevent many types of cancer, such as breast, colon and prostate cancer The flax seed plant contains a higher concentration of photo -oestrogen lignans than any other food.
Aside from the lignans flaxseds are loaded with the best source of vegetarian essential fatty acid Omega-3 (or ALA) essential to our health and wellbeing. More than that, our bodies can’t produce these fatty acids on their own. So you have to get them as part of your diet.
Flaxseed contains a perfect balance of omega-3’s and omega-6’s which work to form the membranes of every cell in your body and play a vital role in the active tissues of your brain.
Flaxseeds can also improve the quality of your hair, nails, and skin, as well as helping you to lose weight or bulk up, and it lowers cholesterol, blood pressure and prevents arthritis and cancers.
Flax seed also really helps the digestive system creating an ease of bowel movement combatting constipation. One of the great benefits also is the help flaxseed can bring during the menopause.
What else do Flax seeds Help You With?
– Contain complete proteins (it has all the essential amino acids your body needs)
– High in minerals like potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc and B vitamins
– Important role in the metabolism of fat
– Full of both soluble and insoluble fibre (you need both types),
– Flaxseeds contribute to an alkaline pH balance in the body
Research Backs Flax Benefits
Recent research indicates that flaxseed may have the ability to reduce blood pressure, lower level of harmful cholesterol, offer both estrogen-like and anti-estrogenic effects, and is being studied for its ability to protect against cancer.
Follow up studies show that just 2-3 tablespoons of flax daily can help up to 2/3rds of severely depressed women bounce back within eight weeks. Flax, says Udo Erasmus, PhD, has a mood boosting ingredient: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that is essential for the proper function of brain cells, yet up to 85% of women aren’t getting enough of it.
How to store flax seeds
The best way to keep a fresh supply of flaxseeds either ground or whole is to store them in an airtight container in the freezer and use them as you need them.
How to use flax seeds
For both hormone health and general health, it’s a good idea to have 1-2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds a day, preferably added to other foods like breakfast cereals, soups, salads, yoghurt.
Here are some ideas:
1. Add to cereals, oats or porridge, topped with fruit and cinnamon
2. Sprinkle on salads, along with ground/whole pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds
3. Add to your soup (add at the very end, so that heat doesn’t destroy the essential fatty acids)
4. Sprinkle on baked peaches, custard, rice pudding or fruit and yoghurt just before serving
5. Add to fruit smoothies or green / vegetable smoothies
You’ll find it is easy to add these ingredients into your diet on a daily basis – get your downloadable guide here
In fact, at the end, I’m going to share one simple recipe you can make in under five minutes that incorporates all of these foods.
This blog was inspired by my grandmother.
After my grandfather died my granny lived for many years on her own with her dog for company, doing everything for herself, well into her late 80’s. She really cherished her independence until the day she slipped and broke her hip, her life was never the same again. She had osteoporosis.
She was moved to an old age home so she could be taken care of. Her hip never really fully recovered and she struggled to walk properly again. She was kind of happy and cared for, but she’d lost her independence and she had to stay in the home for the rest of her life. Not an uncommon story, but I wanted to dedicate my article to her and to you, so you have essential knowledge about keeping your bones strong and healthy as you age.
When it comes to the health of your bones from the age of 35 your bone mass declines. Adopting the right strategies to prevent low bone density or osteoporosis needs to start before you get a diagnosis. In the article I’ve given you a few essentials to consider, that will help keep you strong and stable as you age.
Strong Bones – 6 Do’s and Don’ts!
The health of your bones is instrumental to your health and longevity. Bone formation peaks between the ages of 20 and 30. After the age of 35 you begin to lose bone mass unless you take action to prevent it!
We all seem to have it in our heads that we only need calcium to build healthy, strong bones. However there’s far more to the story to giving you fracture free strong bones, both now and down the road. There are other essentials components for better calcium absorption and stronger bones.
1. Physical activity – your bone is a dynamic living tissue that gets stronger when stressed and weaker when not used. So the best way to improve your bone mass is with weight-bearing exercise, strength training and improving your coordination and balance (with yoga or Tai Chi).
Weight-bearing exercise includes walking, running, dancing and stair climbing. Strength 
training (lights weights or using your own body weight) has been found to prevent falls—the most common cause of hip and wrist fractures— when you get older. Swimming and cycling are less effective for maintaining strong bones because they are not weight-bearing.
Try to get 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity daily, including weight-bearing exercise, strength training (at least twice a week), and activities that improve balance to help prevent falls.
2. Calcium – You need 1,000 mg under the age of 50 and 1,200 mg over the age of 50. 700mg a day = eat a handful of almonds, an orange or a serving of broccoli. Other good sources include sardines and sesame seeds.
3. Key nutrients or co-factors are necessary to support the absorption of Calcium into your bones.
a) Vitamin D – is essential. If you’ve not had much sunlight exposure you might be deficient. You can also get it from foods such as oily fish and egg yolks. About 400IU/day
b) The support of probiotics. A recent research study found women 48 and older who took a probiotic supplement for at least eight weeks improved their bone density by 36%, compared to those who didn’t take a probiotic.
c) Omega 3 – found in flax, oily fish and chia seeds increases the absorption of calcium plus omega 3 is anti-inflammatory. To much inflammation stimulates the bone dissolving cells (osteoclasts).
d) Vitamin K – is a fat-soluble vitamin found in broccoli, cauliflower and green leafy veg. It’s needed to make a protein that’s essential for your bone formation. A study found that those who consumed moderate or high amounts of vitamin K from vegetables had a 30% lower risk of hip fractures than women consuming little or none. Only 100-150mg per day is needed, 500mg of kale gives you your daily portion.
e) Magnesium intake regulates calcium absorption into the bones and approximately 50% of total body magnesium is found in your bone. Calcium and magnesium work together like 2 sides of a coin. If you consume a 1,000 mg of calcium per day, then you need at least 500-800 mg of magnesium.
4. Mediterranean diet – latest research shows your skeleton needs a wide range of nutrients to stay young, several studies have found that higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, particularly those rich in potassium, are associated with lower risk of fractures.
Eat a minimum of 7 servings of a variety of different coloured fruits or vegetables daily. Olive oil can raise your blood levels of osteocalcin a marker of strong bones. The antioxidant Lycopene found in tomato can help reduce fractures.
5. Another reason to eat your vegetables – is your diet acidic or alkaline? Calcium is stored in your skeleton and is used to neutralise acids in the body.
Dr Susan Lanham-
New, professor at the University of Surrey, completed an analysis of clinical trials of the alkaline diet and its potential benefits. ‘An alkaline diet would be beneficial to all women as it appears to help conserve calcium and benefits muscle, heart and bone function.’
Acid forming diets are rich in grains, proteins and diary will leach calcium from your bones, fruit & vegetables are classed as alkaline and reverse this process in your body.
6. What to drink? Try to reduce caffeine as it’s diuretic effects increases the amount of calcium you excrete for several hours after we drink it. Research also shows that caffeine may interfere with the absorption of Vitamin D. Since Vitamin D is necessary for the body’s absorption and use of calcium. Avoid fizzy drinks, they contain phosphoric acid which interferes with calcium absorption.
The good news for wine lovers – Oregon state University suggest a small glass of wine with dinner may be good for bones, but that’s in moderation of course go – overboard and it has the reverse effect.
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You’ll find it is easy to add these ingredients into your diet on a daily basis – get your downloadable guide here
In fact, at the end, I’m going to share one simple recipe you can make in under five minutes that incorporates all of these foods.