It’s such a gloomy day here today that I thought I’d talk about our need for sunlight and and how it affects not only our mood, but our weight.

There are many benefits to regular exposure to sunlight:

*  Sunshine on the skin directly influences body chemistry by converting cholesterol (from the liver) into vitamin D, which helps the body utilize calcium. As we know, calcium is needed to build healthy bones and teeth and prevents diseases like osteoporosis and dental decay.

* Regular daily exposure to sunlight can improve fat metabolism.

* Reflected sunlight entering through the pupils stimulates the pineal gland and this in turn help the hormonal system function efficiently. When we are not exposed to regular natural light (for at least 20 to 30 minutes each day) our natural body clock may gain or lose time. This disturbance of the body’s intricate cycles (known as the Circadian rhythms) is thought to cause hormonal imbalances. Lack of sunlight will also make us feel tired, run down and depressed.

* Exposure to sunlight also increases the heart’s output, which quite simply means more blood, more oxygen, more energy and a faster metabolism. This is one of the reasons why people find slimming easier in the summer months, when they spend more time outdoors.

* Sunlight has several other health bonuses: it lowers the resting heart rate; it lowers blood pressure; it benefits arthritis; it improves eyesight; and it increases the body’s tolerance to stress.

* Sunlight also improves calcium absorption, once again protecting you against bone loss and tooth decay.

* Exercising outdoors is of great benefit as sunlight reduces lactic acid formation, so you are less likely to feel sore after a workout, and it also helps to improve endurance.

* Sunlight balances the reproductive hormones and this has a positive effect on fertility, helps overcome difficulties experienced during puberty and even has a positive influence on impotence. It also helps to sort out ovulation irregularities.

* Sunlight helps to build a better quality flesh. You even look healthier from regularly spending time outdoors.

* Sunlight helps control appetite, craving for carbohydrates and therefore weight gain.

* Natural light has a profound impact on the immune system, making you less susceptible to every passing cold and flu germ.

* Natural light increases productivity.

You don’t have to be in direct sunlight for the pineal gland to benefit. Even overcast skies can benefit you, so don’t be tempted to stay inside on a chilly winter’s day, and sitting in the shade in summer will also do the trick. Just ensure that your eyes are not covered by sunglasses, prescription glasses or contact lenses for at least 20-30 minutes, as these reduce the beneficial ultraviolet rays.

It is important to remember that although the sun is essential to your health and well-being, we need to be sensible about our exposure and avoid sunbathing between 11am and 3pm. If you’re very fair, like me, you may even have to make that between 9am and 5pm in summer. If you need to be in the sun for a prolonged period due to a function or a sports event, opt for cool long sleeves and a large-brimmed hat and even an umbrella.

Learn to trust your body. It will tell you when you’ve had enough sun. When you start to feel hot and uncomfortable, listen to your body and get out of the sun. Don’t cool down in the pool or the waves and then stay in the sun! That’s when the damage is done!

There have been several studies that have shown that sun block creams actually contribute to skin cancer because of the chemicals they contain. (Some of these chemicals even have a negative effect on your endocrine system.) It’s up to you to decide whether you want to use them or not, but I personally don’t anymore. I’ve had skin cancer and prefer to limit my time in the sun.

If you see the sun today, give it my regards! 

Since my Juice Feast I have been much more aware of how people eat. And frankly, it turns my stomach sometimes. They often look like slavering beasts, stuffing themselves with no apparent joy or pleasure. In my opinion we only think most of the things we consume are good, but since we hardly taste them, we have to rely on the advertising!

Eating slowly will not only make you look more sophisticated, but will change your life! Here are a few benefits:

1. First of all - It can’t hurt you!

Slow eating rate doesn’t have any negative effects on your health, but can bring you a number of benefits without extra cost.

2. Appetite reduction

Eating slowly gradually reduces the appetite from the time you begin to eat. It takes the brain about 15-20 minutes to start signaling feelings of fullness. And if you have no appetite, you end up eating less.

3. Portion control

It is the direct sequence of the point #2. Slowly eating can make it much easier to eat less without feeling deprived. It takes some time to feel the fullness, so give this time to your body. Eating fast lets you eat too much before you are fully aware of it. Slowing the rate of eating can allow the satiety signals to develop before your plate is empty.

4. Weight control

Points #2 and #3 turn into staving off extra pounds. Portion size and eating speed seem to be the part of the reason of famous “French paradox” - the relatively low incidence of heart disease and overweight in France as compared to the United States, despite the generally high intake of calorie-rich foods and saturated fat. It is well documented that the French take longer to eat than Americans despite French eat smaller portions. Recently Japanese researches found strong positive correlation between rate of eating and body mass index (BMI) and obesity.

5. Digestion

It is well known that digestion begins in the mouth, where the saliva is mixed with the food and starts to break it down into smaller chemicals that can be absorbed and nourish the body. Chewing food thoroughly promotes smooth, complete digestion. Basically the slower you eat the faster and more efficiently you metabolize the food. When food is swallowed whole it makes it more difficult for the body to absorb all the important nutrients (e.g vitamins, minerals, and amino acids).

6. Taste and enjoy your food!

When you eat slowly, you end up tasting your food more. Eating slowly lets you experience more of the flavors, textures and smells of the food you eat. Your food will become more interesting. And again, French experience. They focus more on the impression and less on the health effects of eating.

7. Quality versus Quantity

Slow eating may become a small step to a more healthy diet. If you won’t like what you eat when you eat it slowly, probably the next time you will choose something of a better quality and enjoy the pleasures of good food. Fast eaters are more prone to consume “junk” and “fast” foods.

8. Insulin resistance

Japanese researches found that eating fast is associated with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a silent condition that increases the chances of developing diabetes and heart disease. Also, fast eating seems to be a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome (combination of the symptoms such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance).

9. Heartburn & Gastroesophageal reflux

Rapid eating may cause acid reflux.

I think it’s worth it!  Let’s all start eating more mindfully and getting more out of our food!

A while ago I realized that I was in trouble. I was spending almost every waking minute at my computer reading blogs. Which meant that I wasn’t taking care of myself.

The whole purpose of not working is for me to get healthy, fit and fertile. I wasn’t even getting close. The hours that were being frittered away every day, were the days of my life. Clearly I needed to make some changes.

So I stepped back a little and took a broader look at my life. What I saw dismayed me. I was seriously missing the point. This journey for me was never about weight loss. Yet, I was hopping on the scale every day. When we decided to go to America this June, I declared that I had 5 weeks in which to lose a chunk of weight so that my trip would be more comfortable. It was time for bootcamp! Every day I “wasted” by not pounding my body into submission made me feel more guilty and more anxious. How is that healthy?

I needed to change the way I thought and the way I spent my time. I more than halved the number of blogs that I subscribe to. That left me some time for being good to myself. And no, I didn’t start the bootcamp! I never will.

I took the time to reconnect with my goals, dreams and desires. And very importantly with myself. I reread the books that teach the principles by which I want to live. And I changed my life in a few short weeks.

Now every day is an opportunity to be kinder and more loving towards my body and spirit. I eat the foods that are good and healing and avoid the things that strain, damage and throw my body (and emotions) out of balance. Some days I’m better at it than others. It doesn’t matter. I’m no longer demanding perfection. I’m learning and improving as I go along.

And my body is loving it! The scale, when I remember to get on it, keeps going down slowly but surely. My health is improving every day. I haven’t had a skin rash in weeks. My hormones did some heroic healing task which delayed my menses for more than two weeks. I’m sleeping well. I have more energy.

And with that increased energy I’m starting to get more active. My body is demanding that I work it. Previously I looked at things that needed to be done in the garden and told myself that I couldn’t do it. Now I tell myself that while I may not be able to do it all in one go, I can do something. Sure, it’s uncomfortable to kneel or bend, but invariably I do more than what I thought I could.

I haven’t gone back to gym yet, because I want my mind to be clear about what I want to do there. I want to my work there to be healing. I don’t want to feel as if I’ve let myself down if I skip a day. The call for more activity, for stretching and toning, running and swimming is getting stronger every day. My body is starting to crave it. I like that!

I’m also taking time to meditate, breathe and just be. My spirit is healing nicely alongside my body. I’m pondering my fertility, my life-choices and my future. And a path is starting emerge. I will be sharing a lot of my thoughts and dreams with you in the near future.

But for now, I’m good! In fact, I’d go as far as to say that I’m almost at goal. My goal being to live a healthy lifestyle. That has always been the goal. The weight loss and increased fertility are just byproducts of that lifestyle. I am working with my body, not against it. The scale has ceased to have any hold over me, in fact I barely even notice it anymore when I go into the bathroom.

I won’t be significantly thinner when we leave in just over two weeks’ time. And while we’re away, staying with relatives, we won’t be eating what we normally eat, so I’ll probably put on some weight and throw myself out of balance in various ways. But that’s okay! It’s a minor detour in my life journey. We know what we want and it’s not something we have to attain, but something we’re doing already. I love that!

by Frederic Patenaude

It seems like every time you turn your head, you hear confusing and misleading information from every corner of the natural health movement. First, you have mainstream “experts” who rely on outdated and inaccurate data to advise us on the subject. And then there’s the raw food or natural health movement itself, within which most people seem to disagree on what constitutes the healthiest diet.

From the mainstream, we hear the following…

“You have to make sure you eat enough protein”

Without a doubt, the issue of “getting enough protein” is the number one concern of anyone switching to any kind of diet for any reason. Even though decades of vegetarian and vegan traditions and extensive research have proven that our actual protein requirements are fairly low and easy to meet - as long as we eat enough food - most people who will advise you about diet will likely make a much bigger deal about protein than it actually is.

Bodybuilders go beyond all extremes known to humankind by consuming upwards to 350 grams of protein per day, an amount that is completely off the charts and only possible through the consumption of refined protein powders.

At the same time, most people on the planet get by on less than 60 grams of protein a day, and many people in these cultures possess wiry and explosive strength that would put most gym goers to shame.

In the end, the evidence is still conclusive: as long as you eat enough calories to meet your needs, you will at the same time consume enough protein, even if all you eat are fruits and vegetables.

There is no reason to make protein more important than it actually is.

“You need to eat a balanced diet”

According to our nutritionists, a “balanced” meal is composed of carbohydrates, protein and fat in the right proportions.

A meal of bread (carbohydrate), with cheese (protein), and a salad containing a dressing of olive oil (fat) and a desert (carbohydrate) would be, in their opinion, a balanced meal.

That meal might be a digestive disaster for most people, but that aside, we don’t find any evidence that our bodies need to receive nutrition in such a manner.

If we look all around the world, we see different cultures that have enjoyed excellent health eating far from “balanced” meals. In China, rice with vegetables is a meal. In the Great North, the Eskimos have lived on almost nothing but meat. The Hunzas regularly ate meals composed of vegetables and some chapati bread.

If we look at wild animals, we also see that they do not eat “balanced” meals. A meal for an orangutan might consist of nothing more than rambutan (a tropical fruit) or durian (another tropical fruit).

There is absolutely no need to worry about eating a very simple diet where most of our meals are composed of a few foods only. As long as we eat a large variety of food from week to week, it doesn’t matter if our meals are not composed of “carbohydrates, protein and fat”.

“You can’t sustain yourself on just raw foods”

Most nutritionists look at the raw food diet and claim that it’s “impossible” to sustain ourselves from only fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Letting alone the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are doing just that and are still alive to tell about it, there is no scientific reason to believe that we can’t live on raw foods.

Nutritionists will claim that it would be “very difficult” to eat enough fruits and vegetables to consume enough calories.

The problem is that they are still stuck with the view of cooked nutrition and its “balanced view” and can’t think outside the box and realize that it is actually possible to consume enough fruits and vegetables and get the calories you need. It just is a lot of food!

The truth is, eating a raw food diet will mean that you’ll be consuming more fruits and vegetables in a day than some people may consume in a week or even in a month. But as you learn to eat this way, you’ll find that this “huge” amount of fruits and vegetables is actually the “right” amount.

“You should never expose your skin to the sun”

Although we know that too much sun isn’t good for us, the advice we get from dermatologists these days defy all reason. Apparently, we should never expose our skin to the sun unless we are fully protected by chemical lotions.

Did you forget the important fact that sunlight is essential to our well-being, and that regular sun exposure at safe periods of the day are actually beneficial to your health, even in 2006?

You need the sun. The question is just how much!

“If it’s natural it’s good for you”

The word “natural” has been abused more than any other term in the food industry. We now have “natural potato chips”, “natural coffee” and “natural beer.”

The fact that these foods come from a factory should make it obvious that they are definitely not natural, nor healthy.

The truth is, even if a food were natural, it wouldn’t automatically make it healthy. There are plenty of plants and mushrooms that grow in the wild that are not only “perfectly natural,” but also deadly!

Let’s be clear: for a food to be healthy, it has to be a lot more than “natural.”

Frederic Patenaude, is the author of the best-selling e-book “The Raw Secrets”.

I absolutely adore this video! It shows exactly where “medical science” has gone wrong.

I’d love to hear your opinion!

Even though I haven’t had any in 75 days, food does matter. Most people are so hung up on the quantity of food they eat that totally disregard the quality of food they eat.

We’ve been brainwashed in our society to believe that drugs and surgery cure diseases. In fact, not only do the right kinds of food prevent degenerative diseases and strengthen the immune system, thereby protecting us against infectuous diseases, but the right food can heal you too! I have read so many accounts of people who have turned their health around by adopting a natural diet. Just last night I read this story by Bell Chung, who eschewed conventional medical treatment for her cervical cancer in favour of a lifestyle change. Less than a year later she was completely cancer free and healthier than ever. What an inspiration!

My own darling husband made an interesting observation the other day. Someone had damaged something expensive of his through negligence and stupidity and when he told me about it he said, “Fortunately I don’t eat meat anymore, or I would have #$@%ed him up! I am much less aggressive now.” That is very true! In dietary trials in prisons it’s been found that when meat was removed from the prisoners’ diet, the incidence of violence decreased significantly. Ever wonder why vegetarians seem so peaceful? It’s because they are!

People all over the world are starting to realize that food matters. This is a trailer for an upcoming movie about that very subject. I can’t wait to see the movie.

Food Matters Official Trailer from foodmatters on Vimeo.

Has anybody else had problems with Youtube lately? I am now using Vimeo, because Youtube is just so frustrating.

I’ve been doing some research for my website and came across this video. It’s so true!

You all know that weight loss is just a small part of this journey for mine, and that I try to focus on the health aspect, but I would like to draw your attention briefly to the badge in the sidebar.  I am well pleased.  Oh, what the heck, I’m ecstatic!

I am so close to breaking the 300 pound barrier, hopefully within the next week or two.  That is huge for me!  I don’t think I’ve been under 300 pounds in at least 5 years, possibly 8 years (I didn’t own a scale in the “lost” years).

There is a lot going on under the surface at this time…  Emotionally I’m all over the place.  This is a good thing.  I am ready to tackle my issues and start living mindfully. It’s impossible to be mindful when you’re expending a lot of energy suppressing your emotions. 

This journey is about healing my mind, spirit and body.  That is what holistic means…

The flowers are for all of us who are walking together on this journey, who have found the courage in ourselves to heal our lives and bodies.   Thank you for walking with me!

I often talk about raw foods and that we need to eat a diet of 75 % or more raw foods. Let me explain why it is so healthy and beneficial.

Raw and living food is uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains. There are also some other foods that fall within this category such as seaweeds, raw carob powder, cold pressed oils and certain spices and seasonings. Whole, ripe, raw, organic foods in their natural state are what help to keep us healthy, vibrant and free of sickness and disease.

The living and raw food diet has helped many people feel better when nothing else has worked.

Many people have been healed of diseases and ailments such as diabetes, fibromyalgia, acne, migraines, back pain, neck and joint pain, asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypoglycemia, colitis, diverticulitis, Candida, arthritis, serious allergies, depression, anxiety, mood swings, heartburn, gas, bloating, skin diseases, obesity, chronic fatigue, cancers and many more by adopting a high raw diet. Excess weight seems to just melt off your body when you eat a raw and living food diet!

By eating a raw and living food diet you will begin to turn back the hands of time. You will start to look younger and more beautiful. You could turn your hair back to its natural color and stop hair loss. You could erase wrinkles and deep creases and age spots, your circles, bags and eye puffiness would disappear. Your acne and blemishes would be gone. Your teeth would be tighter and your gums would stop bleeding and your skin would glow and your eyes would sparkle. You would notice that you look better without make-up and that you have a natural sunny blush. People eating a raw food diet are the healthiest looking people on the planet. They have a glow in their skin, a shine to their hair, a sparkle in their eyes, a healthy, fit, body and look younger than their age. They have a youthful energy and they feel good about themselves and happy to be alive!

Giving up cooked food and switching to a raw and living food diet has helped so many people feel well for the first time in their lives. One of the most amazing things is how quickly this can happen. Feeling healthier, losing weight and healing your body doesn’t take years or months or even weeks on this diet. You will notice changes within days. When you eat a raw and living food diet you are feeding your body and your cells live foods filled with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other life giving substances that cooking destroys.

There are many factors why raw foods improve health but enzymes and acid alkaline balance are probably the two most important ones.

When food is cooked we destroy all of its enzymes. This is a problem because we need enzymes for every function in our body. To walk, to talk, to breathe and to move; life itself depends on them. As we age, our bodies’ natural source of enzymes becomes depleted and we need to replenish this source through the foods we eat. If we do not do this and we continue to eat cooked foods, then we eventually begin to use up our body’s enzyme reserves. Cooking makes it harder for our bodies to break up and digest the foods that we eat. This food then begins to get stored in our bodies as toxins; which can lead to all kinds of diseases and illness.

Dr. Humbart Santillo, M.D., states in his book Intuitive Eating that:

“A human being is not maintained by food intake alone, but rather by what is digested. Every food must be broken down by enzymes to simpler building blocks. Enzymes may be divided into 2 groups, exogenous (found in raw food) and endogenous (produced within our bodies.) The more one gets of the exogenous enzymes, the less will have to be borrowed from other metabolic processes and supplied by the pancreas. The enzymes contained in raw food actually aid in the digestion of that same food when it is chewed. One can live many years on a cooked food diet, but eventually this will cause cellular enzyme exhaustion which lays the foundation for a weak immune system and ultimately disease.”

When we are born we are given a limited amount of enzyme energy that has to last us a lifetime. Think of this as your enzyme bank account. If we do not make regular deposits to this account from eating exogenous enzymes that are found in raw foods and we continue to eat cooked foods that use up our enzyme supply, we become more susceptible to aging, disease and premature death.

An over acid body is found in most people with acute or chronic diseases. Some common symptoms of an overly acid body are arthritis, depression, headaches, lethargy, gastritis, dulled mentality, canker sores, fatigue, muscle stiffness, stomach aches, chest pain, constipation, irritability, sinus problems, acid reflex, restless sleep and so much more. But an overly acid body can lead to many more serious health problems. For example, cancer cells are able to live better than normal cells in an acid environment.

How does our body become too acidic? Diet is the major factor. A diet that is too high in acid forming food will cause the body to become too acidic. And what are acid forming foods? Sadly, the typical Western diet of high protein flesh foods, high sugar, excess fat and low complex carbohydrates is acid forming. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, white sugars, flour products, pasta, breads, most cooked grains, most beans, most nuts, candy, soda, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, chemical additives, preservatives, drugs and synthetic vitamins are all acid forming.

So how do we get our bodies at the right pH balance and create an internal environment that is slightly alkaline? We can do this by eliminating acid producing foods and eating a diet that is high in raw fruits and vegetables. I say raw because when you cook food it makes it more acidic. When you eat a diet that is made up of raw fruits, vegetables, sprouted nuts, seeds and grains you will begin to shift that acid state to a more alkaline state.

How would one go about changing to a raw food diet? I suggest making changes gradually, as we experience any sudden changes as punitive. You will also experience detoxification, so a gradual change will give your body more chance to cope, which will ease your discomfort.

For instance, start by snacking only on fruit.  After a while, start having one fruit meal per day.  Then start having some raw food, like a salad, before eating any cooked food.  Add freshly extracted juice and home-made dairy-free, sugar-free smoothies to your diet.  In the meantime read blogs by people who live a raw lifestyle, for inspiration.  These people have such energy and passion!  From them you will learn that there is more to raw food than salad and fruit.

You don’t have to be 100% raw to experience fabulous health benefits.  I would aim for 75-80%.  This is the food your body was designed to run on!  You will never regret giving life to your body again!

I haven’t done one of these in a while!  I kind of missed it.  It gives me the opportunity to think back on my week (in this case three weeks!) and respond to some of the questions and comments. 

Did you all participate in Earth Hour last weekend?  It did not get an enthusiastic response in South Africa, since we are still suffering from rolling blackouts for two hours at a time several times per week, wreaking havoc with the economy, traffic and just about everything else.  The other evening the power went off at 8pm and Craig and I jumped into the jacuzzi, since it was a beautiful evening.  When we got out about an hour later, I was holding the flashlight while he put the covers back on and as I stepped backwards, I fell off the little “bridge” to the jacuzzi.  Into the beaugainvillea and a rosebush.  With my bare flesh.  I guess you can say that I’m ripped… to shreds!  It’s not that bad,  but I did twist my ankle, which is scary because I’ve had both my ankles in plaster before from bad sprains.  But I iced it, and am only limping slightly now.  I look as if I’ve been dragged through a bush, because I have been dragged through a bush!

Pattie did a wonderful post about exercise and inspired me to the extent that I grandiosely promised to get myself back to gym the very next day.  Well, um, I didn’t.  But you know what, I’m going to do an emotional root canal to find out why I’m resisting exercise at this point.  I mean, I loved how my body responded when I started working out earlier this year.  I was doing so well, until I got flu and now it’s been more than a month since I’ve done anything remotely physical.  I am resisting to the extent that I will rather injure my ankle than go to gym.  There’s something more going on here and I’m going to have to take some time out and investigate…

I’m still enjoying juice feasting, but the same thing that is preventing me from exercising is also preventing me from “experiencing” my juice feast.  I am in effect still not allowing my old, toxic emotions to surface and with it I’m holding on to a lot of physical toxins.  Everything has slowed down - releasing toxins, weight and emotional garbage.  While my body is obviously benefiting from the juicing, I’m not even scratching the surface of what can be…  And I have to overcome that fear!  I have to start letting go…  but of course it’s easier to keep busy (especially when you’re building a website) and not find time for yourself.  The scene is set, I just need to make an entrance into my own life and juice feast.

Thank you all for the nice comments about the new template for this blog.   I feel very comfortable with it and I love the wide text area.   I think it’s a keeper!

Cherry Dolphin asked about waxing - whether I do full or half leg.  I do from my toes to just above the knee.  Yup, I’ve got hairy toes!  I get a terribly itchy rash from shaving and I don’t like hair removal creams, so waxing is the best thing for me.  I also wax my eyebrows and now my armpits.   Sure it hurts, but it’s over quickly and I make sure not to do it just before or during my period, when the skin is more sensitive. 

Speaking of which, I currently have my period, and it’s a breeze again. That alone makes juice feasting worth it! And I know my hormones are getting more and more balanced every day…

Felicia wanted to know how you hang on when riding an ostrich. Well, you hook your legs over his thighs (which are situated close to the body, under the wings - think of the anatomy of a chicken) and you hold onto the front of the wings, while leaning back. For steering you pull the neck to the sides and to stop you pull the neck back, like a handbrake (the ostrich’s neck - not yours!). It’s stops pretty sharpish, so you have to make sure that your weight is to the back of the bird in order to slide off the back and land on your feet, or you’ll end up falling over forward. It’s great fun! Not very elegant, though!

Elize has a question about Vitamin A and carrot juice while pregnant or trying to conceive. We all read that we should not supplement with Vitamin A during those times because it can cause birth defects. There is a huge difference between supplements and food. Supplements, unless they are whole foods (like powdered juices or cold-pressed oils) are synthetic and harmful to the body. You don’t want to ingest those at any time, but especially not when ttc or pregnant. What you do want to do is eat a healthy diet with lots of fresh, raw fruit and vegetables. You should most definitely include the three colours in your diet most days - orange/yellow (carrots, mangoes - beta carotene), red (beetroot - high in iron and helps cleanse the liver) and especially green (spinach, kale, celery, romaine, chard, broccoli - these will also meet your folic acid needs). You will greatly benefit from a glass of carrot juice a few times per week while pregnant. Don’t overdo it, because you don’t want to go into detox mode.

But when preparing for pregnancy, you should detox your body. I believe that a lot of fertililty problems will be averted if we take up to six months to prepare our bodies before trying to conceive. The state of your health is an indication of what is going on at a cellular level in your body and your child will be made up of those cells. It’s in your child’s best interest to cleanse, detox and build some healthy cells!

I have the following problems with supplements:

- they are unnatural substances and are therefore perceived as toxic in the body (they all have side-effects)
 - their absorption rate is poor (about 8-10%), which means that you’re peeing away more than $9 out of every $10 you spend
- science doesn’t have the whole picture yet and I doubt they ever will. There are many substances in fresh whole foods that haven’t even been discovered yet. They help to make the other stuff that have been identified, like the vitamins and minerals, work properly and in the right ratios. You can’t reproduce that, especially if you don’t even know what you’re leaving out.

That is why I avoid all “enriched” foods with “added vitamins”. My body doesn’t want vitamins or minerals, it wants foods that are naturally rich in all the nutrients it needs, even the ones that I don’t know about and it wants me to avoid the foods that rob me of those nutrients! My body needs live foods to sustain and bring forth life.

Thank you again everybody for the overwhelming support and kindness I get from you every day! I love your participation and I love visiting your blogs! See you soon!

About the picture:

Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, is also known as “Jacaranda City”.  Every year in the spring the jacarandas bloom and the sidewalks become carpets of fallen purple flowers.  Photo uploaded to Flickr by giovanni paccaloni.