To do or not to do cardio?

We all are looking for that magic balance of nutrients/calories, weight training and question of 'to do cardio or not to'. I for one am still working on what works best for ME not only for what I will look like come comp day, but how I feel during and what will happen to my body post!  

I am realising that more and more figure/sport model competitions are choosing trainers based on their training methods for example trainiers that stress that the human body should NOT do cardio for a contest prep. I ask you this...... Will one method work for all? Me thinks not. 

Of course cardio should not be the focal point of getting body fat down as food and eating for YOUR individual body type will make all the difference HOWEVER, cardio CAN make or break you come contest prep time. If you are doing intense cardio more than 8 weeks out from a comp PLUS weights you are destined for a future body and physcological melt down. You have either start your prep 'fat' and/or you are not eating the correct balance of macronutrients your body requires for optimum repair, muscle tone and fat burning. Two things I want to add my two bob about (this coming from my own personal experience) :

1) If you honestly are doing everything 'right' in terms of diet and are busting your ass doing cardio but your body is NOT responding, there is something wrong with your body and will only be doing more damage. If your trainer tells you to cut your calories and do more cardio, I suggest abandoning ship. While the results will come for the short time, the dangerous health risks will creep up on you eventually...... and it's not worth it!

2) If you are with a traniner that is giving the same advices to all clients, I suggest pulling your finger out your ass and doing your own research. There is no 'one size fits all' approach and this includes the ever growing 'no cardio' philosophy.

If you trainer doesn't accept that they do NOT know everything about health and inparticular have any real knowledge of every single client's indivudual chemistries and 'how' an individuals body is breaking down nutrients and repairing, then its all just face value isn't it? No real facts.... It's just guessing!

The fact is every one of us is different and we all require an individualised plan and this can also vary year to year.. The answer in knowing what YOU need to do and change as you lead into competition is right I front if you- THE MIRROR...

Gaining understand and paying attention to your own body and how it is/isn't responding to certain foods and exercise is the key in maintaining a healthy body and mind which also looks amazing come competition day. 

All I can say based on my own recovery from an autoimmune disease and this based on a factual blood analysis of my chemistries, is that I didn't do any cardio vascular workout for 1 year and no weights for 8 weeks, changed my mactrinutient intake for my body's chemistries and all to allow for optimum repair for my body and mental health. Even though my body has responded, am burning fat, reversed my autoimmunity and feeling great, I can also see what my body needs for me to step on stage in great condition. 

For this I am now adding 30 minutes of cardio away from my weights and I'm 6 weeks out from comp day. Every other year I was killing myself to get the fat off by doing over 1hr cardio plus weights from 12 weeks out. All I can do along with my traniner is base results of my changes week to week and make changes if needed. I am lucky to have a trainer that continuous to learn and do his own research while allowing his clients to learn and gain knowledge too. 

I have used my failing body as a tool in gaining knowledge and true insight into what I need for me. Not one person on earth will honestly be able to look at me and tell me what it is I need to get into the best shape of my life and maintain health during and post competition. As much as I'd prefer to NOT do cardio,  I'm getting ready for competition and my trainer and I are basing what I need to change/add on how I'm feeling (which is great by the way) and how I look. So if anyone asks me if I'm doing cardio, I say YES I am.


I also want to express I am genuinely concerned for women who have trainers having them gain a lot of weight (fat really) to put on muscle. How much muscle do you really think a natural female will gain in a year? The damage to the metabolic/hormonal system not to mention the physiological challenges this brings is damaging. If you think then getting in to contest shape after a heavy weight gain will be easy, think again. Also women carb loading like the blokes do on refined sugars and/or consuming crazy cheat meals.... YOU are doing harm and in my opinion are being stupid!

If you aren't making educated and individualised changes for yourself (with or without a trainer/ coach by your side), be very careful. The damage you could be making wont show immediately.... But they will eventually!

Georgia x

Falling into the same ol' traps?

Have you ever felt so on top of the world and proud that you finally made those changes you wanted to better your self? But some how, somewhere along the way you started falling back in to your old ways and its not long until you begin to feel like a failure and that you just don't have what it takes to be as successful as you'd like?

I write this blog in part to reach out to women and to hopefully shed some light on the reasons we all tend to fall back into the same trap(s). So in short, this blog is a reminder to YOU that you are not alone. This is called humane nature. But today we explore ways to avoid being stuck in life's traps and to be realistic in our decisions and perhaps take a little more initiative to get back to feeling on top of the world.

The main reason I write about this topic is because I have been going through this the past few weeks. But how long is too long to be stuck in a rut? I guess the answer is different for everyone but overall, if you are not bettering yourself or someone/something else during this period, then you have been in your rut too long. Chances are, the longer you sit around and blame life, work, relationships, lack of energy, being too busy etc, you have missed opportunities to get your self back onto the right track.

So lets talk about this for a minute.... What is the 'right track?' My honest answer is that is no 'right track', and that you will forever come to many crossroads but it will be entirely up to you to choose which direction you want to take. The truth is that none of us would ever know what lies ahead, no matter which track we take. We may have some ideas or feelings that may be telling us 'no take take that road' or 'dont take this one', but unless you know for sure which one NOT to take then you really only have two options; take any road that moves you forward or just stay at the crossroad and like most people, wait for the answers to come to you!

Okay, so where to from here? Like all of us, fear will most likely be the only thing stopping you from moving you forward. Why? Well because you don't have the answer's! We spend so much time worrying about the unknown that we forget to recognize, appreciate and accept what we have in this very moment. Focusing on the unknown (AKA fear) results in negative emotions deep within the subconscious. What you are telling yourself is that you are not strong enough to move forward. Did you get that? You are telling yourself that you don't have what it takes to make a change. Really? Do you believe that you don't have the ability to get up if you fall down?

Most of you reading this will be women, many perhaps you are mothers. Many will have memories of their mothers. Many of you will identify with the nurturing care and belief a mother gives to her child regardless of whether you are one or not. You see, when you were just a wee bub and fell the many thousands of time before you could learn to walk, you would never have once believed you couldn't do it. Why? Because a baby's brain has not yet developed or been exposed to the belief systems that are embedded into our own minds as we start to learn and absorb information into our brains. Mothers and loved ones around you would have been encouraging and cheering you one to get up and try again. But even more amazingly, the innate humane strength would have naturally been telling you to get up and try again, because this is what you are meant to do. You will fall, you will bump your head, you may even break a bone......but you will heal.

As we learn and develop, we are exposed to others beliefs or lack of and we forget we have the choice to believe in their beliefs or ignore them. We somehow lose the ability to recognize that words and doubts are not a reflection of who we are and what we can be. It is the actions we take ourselves that defines us. Not what someone says to you! You can quit smoking if you want to..... you can apply for that dream job.....you can lose the body fat you let creep up on you, you can say NO, you can get up earlier, eat better, say nicer things and you most certainly walk away from anything that is negative in your life and believe that you are and can be truly happy and understand that the road to happiness is not always going to be easy. We must remember that fear will creep in from time to time but in order to move forward we all must live in the moment and appreciate what we do have and what we do have control over.  For if you really believe you haven't got anything to appreciate now, then whats stopping you from finding out what lies ahead? Don't be a mouse and go for the cheese! Keep walking.......

Georgia 

Mind and Body - My Autoimmune Disease and Beyond

My body was slowly detoxifying from a change of diet, using infrared sauna and ridding external toxins such as daily products I’d use either to wash my body or personal/household hygiene; these ranged from deodorants, perfumes, daily toothpaste/mouthwash, hair dyes, make up, bathing soaps and whatever products id normally use around the house like, bug sprays, floor cleaners, air deodorizers and so on. I needed to do extensive research into what products I could make from plants/non chemical ingredients and were available to purchase and make the switch to using these immediately.  I must say, this alone was a new world and I am never going to look at daily living as I once did. I could write a book on the hidden secrets and misleading information our government and major companies lead us to believe about the products that are sold us filling our homes and medicine cabinets with chemicals that are slowly killing us, the environment, our children and our pets.

One would think (as did I) that now that my physical body was on some kind of recovery and life changing direction that I would be closer to being healed. However, there were elements in my healing process that could not be repaired unless I began working on my spiritual health. By this, I don’t mean any religious connotation….. but emotions that had shaped me from childhood to my current adult years. My holistic health coach, Helena has this statement on her website ‘The journey to self discovery’. And this is exactly what it is…. Is it easy to take this journey? Absolutely not! In fact working on spiritual health is quite confronting and challenging.  So where does one begin?

Helena is a professional and is highly qualified in being able to identify strengths and weakness in people. During (what I thought were) ordinary conversations with her, she would pick up on my body language. For example, during one of our conversations (without my realizing my movements) Helena stopped the conversation and asked ‘what makes you uncomfortable about what we are talking about?’  To which I replied ‘nothing’. Then Helena proceeded in her smooth professional way to point out I was flinching or adjusting my posture (or whatever movement I was making) and would explain to me that certain movements or pains within the body where a reflection of some deep emotional connection. At this point I thought to myself…. ‘Bullshit!. Until she showed me something that made me think just maybe she was right! Helena, pulled out a book called ‘The secret language of our body’ and read out to me the physiological and emotional manifestations that were linked with my diagnosis of lupus/autoimmunity. To put is quite simply, as she was reading this out to me, I started to cry. 

I asked her for suggestions of self help books/ papers I could read as I wanted to explore this further. Helena doesn’t work with individuals to just ‘give answers’ but she coaches individuals to learn how to research and take in information then make educated changes and apply these to daily living. Is it possible that I made myself sick with my thoughts? My honest answer now that I have been on my new journey for almost 1 year is YES! We are all raised with certain beliefs that are embedded in our psychology. Everybody is different, but speaking from my personal experience and upbringing, I was not raised to believe in myself and my abilities or follow my dreams. I was raised in a strict upbringing that more or less was to live a life that my parents expected of me. Although I have a good relationship with my parents, most of my late teenage years and early adult years I spent hiding my ‘true self’ in fear that what I wanted and felt was not going to make my parents happy.  I continued to live my life this way subconsciously and have applied this mentality to almost everything I have done (and not done) to date. Just because I had become an expert in hiding my true self, I had subconsciously given myself permission to think and feel that what I wanted didn’t matter or that I wasn’t good enough. This may all seem a bit to ‘deep’ for some people but I will put it to you this way; have you ever met that someone you think to yourself is always the ‘victim’? This person is typically vocal about not achieving goals because of ‘such and such’, or constantly feeling run down because of ‘such and such? I know people like this for sure, but I never thought I was one of them until this journey to self discovery showed me that my shaped up bringing and unchanged thought processes actually was allowing me to subconsciously live a ‘victim’ mentality without being vocal about it. I have stopped myself from achieving certain goals, acting/saying as I feel or doing what I want because I allowed myself to believe I couldn’t!

So how does one move away from these thought patterns and change? The first thing is to identify and be honest to yourself. This can be hard and will raise some painful memories for some people, but the only way to accept and make changes is to first acknowledge. I would never want to have believed that I was a ‘victim’ but the truth is in many ways I was. Now I can say, ‘this is ok’. Because I am aware of my weaknesses I can now change these into my strengths. It’s not something that will change overnight, but one day at a time, one change of thought pattern at any one time, one acknowledgment and acceptance at a time, and one will slowly move into many new and positive changes and new thought patterns. Understanding how powerful the mind really is and how in control of our own thoughts we truly can be is life changing in its self!

My journey to self discovery has thought me to do the following:

• Accept myself as I am
• Make fundamental choices to change things myself (in health and goals)

I have no doubt many years of unchanged thought patterns created a chemical imbalance in my brain. Along with this and other environmental chemicals, I had subconsciously given myself permission to not fully function nor believe I could function as I truly wanted for myself. Have you ever felt inadequate or not good enough? Do you have fears of failing? Are you the type of person who procrastinates? If you answered yes to any of these, now ask yourself; Are you lethargic? Stuck in a job you hate?  Have digestive issues? Overweight? Have unhappy relationships? Afraid of commitment? Suffer from depression? Mood swings? Other health issues? If you answered yes to any of these, then I suggest you spend some time with yourself. Be open to reading and learning new things. Understand that people, situations or information have only as much influence on your life as you allow. I believe that it is possible to create illness with our thoughts. I also believe we can heal illnesses with the power of positive thinking!

  

Suggested reads:

• The secret language of your body – Inna Segal
• You can heal your life – Louise Hay
• End your addiction now – Charles Grant
• Instant Calm – Paul Wilson

You’re Told Fluoridation Prevents Tooth Decay, but Science Proves Otherwise

Despite widespread public health adoption, water fluoridation has come under close scrutiny over the past quarter century. Time has stripped away fluoridation's rosy glow. Once touted as the magic solution to dental caries, fluoride's benefit for your teeth – IF there is any, which is still debatable – comes with overshadowing downsides. No matter which scientific studies you examine, or which population trends you view, the only rational conclusion is that fluoride's health dangers far outweigh the marginal dental benefits it might offer. The science is very clear about the following:

• Fluoride is a toxic industrial waste product that is a poison to your body and in no way a "nutrient," offering no benefits at all to the human body. The fluoride added to water supplies can be contaminated with lead, arsenic, radio nucleotides, aluminum and other industrial contaminants. Additionally, the fluoride added to municipal water supplies is not pharmaceutical grade.
• Fluoride exposure comes from tap water, most toothpaste and many antibiotics, including ones given to farm animals. There is a large variation in exposure levels, making it impossible to accurately predict these variables for any person, family or community.
• Fluoride exposure for many can easily reach toxic levels. For example, poison control should be called if you swallow a quarter milligram of fluoride from toothpaste
• Meanwhile just ONE glass of water can contain this amount of fluoride.
• Fluoride is a cumulative poison that has been proven to cause wide-ranging, serious health problems, such as damage to your bones, brain and endocrine system.
• Dental caries can be prevented with means other than fluoridation, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of fluoride.

Fluoride is Found in More than Just Your Drinking Water

Fluoride is found in all natural waters to some degree. It can be extremely high in groundwater, depending on a number of factors, such as the types of rocks and minerals of that region. Drinking water is the largest fluoride source, adding to your exposure from dental products. But you may not be aware that fluoride is also present in some surprising places:

• A variety of vegetables and fruits, grains, taro, yams, cassava, meat, poultry and fish (especially canned fish), milk and tea; most natural foods have only minor levels of fluoride, but there are a few exceptions. Tea leaves, for example, tend to concentrate fluoride from the soil; deboned meat and poultry can be very high in fluoride due to contamination from bone particles during processing.
• Processed foods and beverages such as sodas, juices, sports drinks, baby foods, etc., are often high in fluoride.
• Air can be tainted with fluoride, particularly in areas with greater industrial pollution from coal burning and phosphate fertilizer production
• Non-stick pans emit a fluoride gas when heated.

Top Ten Ways to Avoid Fluoride

We have reprinted their excellent recommendations on how to decrease your fluoride exposure below.

1) Stop Drinking Fluoridated Water:

Tap water consumption is, on average, the largest daily source of fluoride exposure for people who live in areas that add fluoride to the water. Avoiding consumption of fluoridated water is especially critical for infants.

1. Water Filters: One way of avoiding the fluoride from tap water is to purchase a water filter. Not all water filters, however, remove fluoride. The three types of filters that can remove fluoride are reverse osmosis, deionizers (which use ion-exchange resins), and activated alumina. Each of these filters should be able to remove about 90% of the fluoride. By contrast, "activated carbon" filters (e.g., Brita & Pur) do not remove fluoride. 
2. Spring Water: Another way to avoid fluoride from tap water is to purchase spring water. Most brands of spring water contain very low levels of fluoride. S Before consuming any bottled water on a consistent basis, therefore, you should verify that the fluoride content is less than 0.2 ppm, and ideally less than 0.1 ppm. 
3. Water Distillation: A third way to avoid fluoride from the tap is to purchase a distillation unit. Water distillation will remove most, if not all, of the fluoride. The price for a distillation units varies widely depending on the size.

2) Don't Let Your Child Swallow Fluoride Toothpaste

Fluoride toothpaste is often the largest single source of fluoride intake for young children, and is a major risk factor for disfiguring dental fluorosis. This is because children swallow a large amount of the paste that they put in their mouth. In fact, research has shown that it is not uncommon for young children to swallow more fluoride from toothpaste alone than is recommended as an entire day's ingestion from all sources.

If you have a young child, therefore, we recommend that you use a non-fluoride toothpaste. If, however, you do use fluoride toothpaste, it's very important that you supervise your children while they brush to make sure they use no more than a "pea-sized amount" of paste, and that they fully rinse and spit and after they finish. And, lastly, do not purchase candy flavored toothpaste (e.g., bubble-gum and watermelon) as these toothpastes (which still contain adult-strength concentrations of fluoride) increase the risk that your children will swallow it (and actually want to swallow it).

3) Do NOT Get Fluoride Gel Treatments at the Dentist

Although dental researchers have stated on numerous occasions that fluoride gel treatment should ONLY be used for patients at highest risk of cavities, many dentists continue to apply fluoride gels irrespective of the patient's cavity risk. The fluoride gel procedure requires the patient to clamp down on a tray for 4 minutes and uses an extremely concentrated, acidic fluoride gel (12,300 ppm). Because of the fluoride gel's high acidity, the saliva glands produce a large amount of saliva during the treatment, which makes it extremely difficult (both for children and adults) to avoid swallowing the gel.

Even when dentists use precautionary measures such as suction devices, children and adults still ingest significant quantities of the paste, which can cause incredibly high spikes of fluoride in the blood (for up to 15 hours). These fluoride levels place patients, particularly children, at risk for stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, and places a person at risk for short-term kidney damage, harm to the reproductive system, and impairment to glucose metabolism. The next time your dentist asks you whether you want a fluoride gel treatment, say NO.

4) Eat More Fresh, Less Processed Food

When water is fluoridated, it is not just the water that is fluoridated, but all beverages and foods that are made with the water. As a general rule, therefore, the more processed a food is, the more fluoride it has. The good news is that the naturally occurring levels of fluoride in most fresh water (e.g., spring water) and most fresh food (e.g., fruits, vegetables, grain, eggs, milk) is very low. Use this fact to your advantage by trying to shift as much as you can from processed foods to fresh. Also, since processed beverages (e.g., sodas, reconstituted juices, sports drinks) contribute far more to fluoride intake than processed foods, it is most important to focus on reducing your consumption of processed beverages.

5) Buy Organic Grape Juice and Wine

In the United States, many vineyards use a fluoride pesticide called cryolite. As a result, the levels of fluoride in U.S. grape juice and wine (particularly white grape juice and white wine) are consistently elevated. Indeed, in 2005, the USDA reported that the average level of fluoride exceeded 2 ppm for both white wine and white grape. The levels of fluoride in red wine are also elevated (1 ppm), and so are raisins (2.3 ppm). If you buy grape juice and wine, or if you are a heavy consumer of raisins, buy organic. In the case of wine, if don't want to spend the extra money on organic, consider purchasing a European brand, as Europe uses far less cryolite than the U.S.

6) Reduce Your Tea Consumption (and/or Drink Tea with Younger Leaves)

Be careful of drinking too much tea, particularly bottled and instant varieties. The tea plant accumulates high levels of fluoride, and excess intake of tea is known to cause a painful bone disease called skeletal fluorosis. Some teas though contain high levels of health-boosting antioxidants. Not only are antioxidants good for health in general, they also help to protect you from fluoride toxicity.

In the ideal scenario, one could drink tea with high levels of antioxidants but low levels of fluoride. Recent research suggests that this might be a somewhat obtainable goal. It has recently been shown that the antioxidant levels in tea are far higher in young leaves, than old leaves. This is important because young leaves also happen to have lower levels of fluoride. Indeed, it has been proposed that the fluoride content of tea is an indicator of its quality: the higher the fluoride, the lower the quality, and vice versa.

If you love tea, therefore, try to purchase varieties that are made from young leaves (e.g., "White tea"). This will allow you to maximize tea's known benefits, while reducing its known harm.

Towards this end, avoid bottled and instant teas as they have been to contain low-quality leaves that have very low levels of antioxidants. With bottled and instant tea, therefore, you get the risk (fluoride) without the benefit (antioxidants).
Another option is to drink yerba matte – a caffeinated herbal tea from South America that contains very low levels of fluoride (< 0.2 ppm).

7) Avoid Cooking with Non-Stick Pans

Some research has found that cooking with non-stick-coated pans can significantly increase the fluoride content of food. If you have non-stick pans, consider switching to ceramic or another type of safe pan.

8) Don't Take Cipro and Be Mindful of Other Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals

Many pharmaceuticals are fluorinated, which means they contain something called a "carbon-fluorine bond." Although the carbon-fluoride bond is strong enough to resist breaking down within the body, this is not always the case.
Some fluorinated drugs have been found to metabolize into fluoride within the body and this greatly increases a person's exposure to fluoride. The most notable example is Cipro. Other fluorinated chemicals that are currently known to break down into fluoride include fluorinated anesthetics (Isoflurane & Sevoflurane), Niflumic acid, Flecainide, and Voriconazole. If you are taking any of these drugs, find out if there are any safer alternatives available.

9) Minimize Consumption of Mechanically-Deboned Chicken:

Most meats that are pulverized into a pulp form (e.g., chicken fingers, chicken nuggets) are made using a mechanical deboning processes. This mechanical deboning process increases the quantity of bone particles in the meat. Since bone is the main site of fluoride accumulation in the body, the higher levels of bone particle in mechanically deboned meat results in significantly elevated fluoride levels. Of all the meats that are mechanically deboned, chicken meat has consistently been found to have the highest levels. Thus, minimize consumption of mechanically-deboned chicken.

10) Avoid Fluoridated Salt

If you live in a country which allows fluoridated salt to be sold, make sure that the salt you buy is unfluoridated. Consumption of fluoridated salt can greatly increase a person's fluoride exposure.

Detoxifying and Healing - My Autoimmune Disease and Beyond

I explained in previous blogs that the tests I had taken to assess my blood chemistries are extremely compressive. The findings were astonishing and what I had to do at this stage was life changing and challenging. From eating my standard 6-8 small/medium sized meals daily, I had to cut down to the 3 allocated meals suggested to me (based on my blood chemistries), which as mentioned in previous blogs each consisted of 100g (weight) animal protein, 80g grams added fats and 50g carbohydrates (from veggies). It was strongly suggested I start looking into and using organic and were possible certified organic products. I added digestive enzymes and a probiotic, avoid having liquids with meal times and adding lemon juice to my water 30 minutes prior meals. I was told to STOP weight training (only do light walking), use a sauna daily for 25 minutes and commence with a detailed detox plan.

So week one I started on my detox plan which consisted of the sauna, eating as mentioned above and ingesting ghee in specific increasing amounts over the 7 days until I got to day 7 which involved a combination of other natural products to encourage a purge. After day 7 I was to reintroduce cultured foods into my diet. I was adding things like a few tables spoons of organic full fat natural yogurt, full fat cottage cheese and I was fermenting my own vegetables to consume. Needless to say day 7 wasn't very pleasant but really what started happening to my body from week one which lasted up to 5 weeks wasn't very nice at all. The most noticeable things were the hives that I was breaking out in and feeling tiered. Hives were coming out at different times of the day; just red lumps on various parts of my body. The combination of using a sauna which is gentle on the organs and detoxifying as well as consuming quality fats which were binding toxins to them and flushing them out through the colon meant the balance within my body was going to be worse before getting better. Just like a hurricane slowly building up its strength and collecting houses, trees, rubbish etc until it settles down and everything is released and settled. There was a stage however I felt it was going to on forever. But it took me roughly 5 weeks until the hives stopped coming out.

One of my biggest issues from years back was the lack of digestion and gut problems I had. My chemistries that were now explained to me clearly indicated these issues but what I could now begin to understand is the other effects these digestive issues play with the body and how this effectively over time placed a huge toxic overload in my body. The 7 day detox I had to do was to actually flush my gallbladder/liver and slowly rebuild a healthy gut by utilizing foods and eliminating toxins. I needed to just stick to the exact amounts everyday and not stray. Believe me, I was more than sceptical in this working but I would be the type to rely on laxatives and have colonic cleanses otherwise I could go easily one week to two weeks without using my bowls. Slowly something remarkable was happening. Roughly the same time my hives stopped appearing, I was actually beginning to use my bowls. Slowly every third day turned to the second and then everyday....NATURALLY just through the foods I mentioned, ditching my chemical/toxic loaded body creams, toothpaste/mouthwash, deodorants etc and being selective in chemical free or making my own products and detoxifying with the sauna. For those who understand the frustration in lack of bowl movements and being clogged, hear me when I say every time I visited the toilet, it was a HALLELUIAH moment. I had never been so excited to tell my husband what my body was doing. You can guess he didn't really want to know, but he was happy for me! LOL

From this point I really started to connect the dots. Having a health gut really is what determines how the rest of the body functions. Fundamentally, the gut IS your immune system. I gradually came off my digestive enzymes and probiotic as I was now making my own foods which give me the bacteria I need. It wasn’t only until I started to talk about my lack of digestion that I realized this was an issue from way back. To make it even worse, it would be even more clogged going into competitions. I had always relied on a higher protein diet, low carbohydrate and low essential fatty acid diets. When I think about post competitions, I never replenished my body with what I now as ‘nourishing’ foods. I had sweet cravings so I would eat high sugar treats and then move into what I thought was a healthy diet. This is imperative for all to know and understand that ‘healthy’ is NOT the same as ‘nourishing’. The body is made up of fats and proteins. Straying away from this too much for too long (and everybody’s effects will be different) will result in some kind of malfunction(s).

When I commenced my first year of competing I had already had an underactive thyroid. I never took prescription drugs but tried to manage this alone. Now looking back I see there were so many other issues that would gradually take over or replace the existing. From 2005 I went from thyroid issues, to adrenal fatigue, surgery for cervix T4 cancer cells, breaking in and out hives, cortisol problems, back to thyroid etc etc etc which I was in some way self-managing with foods, but now looking back at my issues I see there was one issue that was there the whole time…… my digestion (or lack of). I really cannot express enough how any digestive issues will eventually result in one or much other health (mainly labeled autoimmune) diseases/issues. Which brings me to this point – If  you have any of the following (to name a few) Lupus, Celiac, Thyroid, Sjrogen’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid or organ issues (to name a few) such as kidney, gallbladder, liver or hormone problems/depression, IBS or again even more extreme CANCER….. it all depends on your gut, how your body metabolizes and  detoxifies, what you are eating and how your body is utilizing it. Can you see how taking prescribed medications, relying on laxatives or even relying probiotics  will not cure any of these and 100’s of other health issues OR putting the body through extreme treatments such as chemotherapy will only result in malfunctioning organs/damaged tissues in other areas? If you don’t believe this or have at least the desire to do your own research, I strongly suggest you start exploring the hidden truths and facts behind my information and experiences. But this is still the beginning.....

By Georgia Holton

Understanding My Results- My Autoimmune Disease and Beyond

I had already received the medical diagnosis of Lupus and no other support from doctors to heal this condition. Now I had received a report from Helena (Holistic & Clinical Nutritionist) in a 200 page book which in it contains a full analysis of my personal blood chemistries, what they mean and how I can heal. The first thing I needed, was to get an understanding of the Health Model VS the Disease Model.

[The Disease Model is based on the assumption that the health is simply the absence of disease and established risk factors. When medicine is practiced this way, a doctor is expected to assume that disease is mostly the result of flaws in the genetic pool. As a result, the focus of treatment is on making a diagnosis, putting a label on that diagnosis, and then treating the label. This approach works well in crisis situation, such as heart attack, but fails miserably when used to handle chronic disease toxicities and infections. The flaw rests in the fact that symptoms and risk factors are less often the cause (and more often a reflection) of underlying defects. As a result, treating the symptom by dictating to the body what you would like to have happen (rather than supporting natural mechanisms) does little more than hide the underlying defect.

The Health Model begins, instead, with the premise that it is necessary to know how something works in order to repair or improve it. It further proposes that health changes must be addressed from the perspective of their impact on total health, rather than just focusing on how a procedure impacts a specific symptom. The Health Model addresses health from a broader framework than the conventional approach.]

To get started I was required to begin with a 7 day detox. Believe me, it’s nothing like what you would expect or even heard of.  From the day I begin my detox, I would also be commencing a specific eating regime for my blood chemistries and to heal.  I needed to be completely free of coffee, all dairies, no fish, no soft drinks (which I don’t consume anyway), no fruits, no sugar free anything, but follow my new 3 meal a day diet which was high in fats (from butter, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, nuts) totaling 250g , protein from animal sources totaling (70g)and carbohydrates from vegetables totaling 150g. The ‘tonic’ that assisted my detox was also made up of pure fat from butter.  I needed to keep drinking water (lots of it), stop weight training, only do a gentle walk in the mornings and use a sauna daily for 25 minutes.

Needless to say that having been in the health industry for many years and knowing essential fats were good, I really didn’t believe consuming 250g of it a day would be. Furthermore, my protein intake was literally cut down to half as well as my veggie intake.  To top this off, I was meant to STOP weight training for a minimum 3 months? Geez…… But I made the fundamental choice to give this a go! Now the difference between seeing your GP or medical specialist is that they would not completely explain your results, nor would they do the type of testing I had, nor would they know how to help you in a natural way. They prescribe medications that are riddled with chemicals which cause toxic parties in your body and realistically only treat symptoms, not causes. My journey could only begin by flushing out toxic build up (which we all have in various amounts) and this was by far the hardest part….

Food for your face!

You can’t just shove junk food in your face and expect to have smooth, supple skin. But swap those cheese puffs for a cup of cottage cheese and you’ll get glowing results. Read on for 10 nourishing foods...
 
When it comes to your health, the outside reflects the inside. A dull, dry complexion is a blinking neon sign that you’re not eating right.  Lucky for you, you can put your best face forward with a better diet. Here’s how:

Face Food #1: Avocados This creamy, green fruit is abundant in essential oils and B-complex vitamins that nourish your skin, inside and out. Niacin (vitamin B3) is especially important for healthy skin, and avocados contain lots of it. Niacin, an anti-inflammatory, soothes irritated skin and red, blotchy skin. One avocado has 3.8 mg niacin – 27% of your daily need.

Face Food #2: Mangoes Mangoes have more than 80% of your daily requirements for vitamin A, which is why they’re such a great face food. Vitamin A maintains and repairs skin cells; a deficiency will result in a dry, flaky complexion.  As an antioxidant, vitamin A also fights free radical damage that can prematurely age the skin. And with fewer than 70 calories per serving, this succulent fruit is the perfect pick for your figure, not just your face.

Face Food #3: Almonds Not only is it a gorgeous shape for your eyes, almonds are also great for your complexion. With 150% of your daily need for vitamin E, it’s no wonder that getting a bit nutty is good for you. Vitamin E's rich oils moisturize dry skin, and its antioxidants protect against skin damage and premature aging.

Face Food #4: Cottage Cheese Dairy is good for your bones and face. But it’s the selenium in cottage cheese, not the calcium, that makes us wild for the creamy curds.  Selenium, an essential mineral, teams up with vitamin E as a powerful free radical-fighting antioxidant duo. Plus, it’ll protect against skin cancer and fight dandruff.

Face Food #5: Acerola Cherries Your average cherry doesn’t supply a lot of vitamin C, but that’s not true for Acerolas. One of these cherries supplies 100% of your daily allowance for vitamin C, which is great news for your skin. As an antioxidant, vitamin C fights skin damage and wrinkles.  It also plays a central role in the production of collagen, the structural protein in your skin.

Face Food #6: Oysters Whether they’re an aphrodisiac or not, oysters are a love fest for skin. They fight pimples because they’re rich in zinc.  The mineral affects sebum production, a deficiency may contribute to acne.  Zinc also helps boost elastin (the skin's elastic protein) production with the help of vitamin C.

Face Food #7: Baked Potatoes Set aside the greasy French fries.  A plump, steaming baked potato is good for your skin. Eat one baked potato (with the skin) to get 75% of your daily copper need.  This essential mineral works with vitamin C and zinc to produce the elastin fibers that support skin structure.  Too little copper in your diet can reduce your skin’s ability to heal and cause it to become rigid and lifeless.

Face Food #8: Mushrooms  This fungus isn’t just for soup; it’s rich in riboflavin, a B vitamin that’s vital to your skin. Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is involved in tissue maintenance and repair, and improves skin blemishes caused by rosacea.  This vitamin is so important for skin repair that the body uses large amounts after sustaining a burn or wound, or undergoing surgery.

Face Food #9: Flaxseed Oil It’s no secret that omega 3s are great for your skin, but did you know that flaxseed oil is one of the best sources of this essential fatty acid? That’s great news if you’re not a fish-lover. Just one teaspoon of flaxseed oil per day provides 2.5 grams of omega 3s, which, in turn, hydrate the skin. Essential fatty acids also dilute sebum and unclog pores that otherwise leads to acne.

Face Food #10: Wheat Germ Don’t let the “germ” scare you – it’s actually just the embryo within a grain of wheat, and it’s nutritious. Wheat germ is a good source of biotin, a B vitamin that's crucial to skin health.  A mild biotin deficiency can cause dermatitis, a condition characterized by itchy, scaly skin.  Sprinkle wheat germ on yogurt for a tasty way to get more biotin in your diet.