Think fast: what’s your pH?

If you are like a lot of my clients, you might be familiar with the term “pH” from biology class or a skin cleanser commercial. And the idea of balancing your inner pH has become trendy these days, being featured in magazines and spawning an assortment of products in health food stores. But beneath the “trendiness” lies an important concern: the fact that the diet of most Australians is overloaded with foods that are acid-forming — that tip the body’s pH toward acidity. And while our bodies are equipped to counterbalance a certain amount of acidity, what we’re seeing is that the standard Aussie diet overwhelms our ability to buffer the acids in our diets — particularly when other acid-promoting factors such as stress enter the picture.

When they learn about the pH trend, my patients often ask, “When it comes to health, what role does pH really play?” Some proponents would have you believe that balancing your pH will cure all health woes. While pH is one of many factors I look at when considering a woman’s health, I never consider it in isolation. That would be too simplistic an approach, and would fail to take into account the complex role pH plays in our physiology. That said, it is an essential factor in our overall health equation, so let’s take a look at how pH imbalance affects us — and what we can do to correct it.

Understanding the pH scale

The derivation of the “pH” is variously traced to terms meaning potential for hydrogen or hydrogen power.

The pH scale measures acidity in terms of hydrogen ion (H+) activity in a solution. A solution is acidic when it has more free hydrogen activity, and alkaline when there is a lack of free hydrogen activity.

The lower the pH reading, the more acidic the solution. Readings from 0–7 are considered acidic, and numbers from 7.0–14 are considered basic, or alkaline. Pure water, in the very middle of the (logarithmic) pH scale, has a pH of 7.0, which is considered neutral.

Body pH balance

In terms of body pH balance, there is no one “correct” reading for the entire body. For instance, healthy human skin has an approximate pH of 5.5 (slightly acidic). Saliva, on the other hand, has a pH of around 6.5–7.4 (teetering on either side of neutral). Your digestive tract’s pH can range from 1.5 to 7.0, depending on what stage of digestion is underway. And when the body is in good working order, human blood reveals a narrow pH window of about 7.35–7.45 (slightly alkaline). Other parts of a healthy, well-functioning body will show still other pH readings.

Why is this? It’s all part of the same body, so why wouldn’t a person’s acid–alkaline balance be the same all over? Because different parts of our bodies serve different purposes. Each of these purposes and their related processes requires a particular acid–alkaline environment for optimum function.

Skin needs to be slightly acidic in order to deal with environmental factors like bacteria and other toxins. Likewise, the vagina maintains an acidic environment to protect itself, and when the pH is raised too high, infections like bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections can result. The stomach and other parts of the digestive system are highly acidic out of biological necessity. The digestive acids are part of how we process and use the foods we eat as fuel. They are part of our internal combustion for nutrition.

Part of the confusion over body pH arises from the close-to-neutral pH balance of our blood, saliva, and urine — substances we can test easily. This has led to the mistaken belief that pH levels are static throughout the body, when in fact they are not. Eating more alkalizing foods (such as leafy greens and dried fruits) can help balance and maintain the pH level of your body and ultimately promote better well-being, but this doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and it also doesn’t happen overnight. Along with a diet rich in alkalizing plant foods, it takes time and commitment to certain lifestyle changes, including exercise and regular detoxification. It also takes knowing whether or not your pH is truly off-balance.

Enthusiasts of the “pH miracle” say that simply living in the modern world — with its reliance on refined grains and sugars, corn-fed beef, and unhealthy fats — means we are all overly acidic. To rectify this, we should focus all our attention on restoring “healthy pH,” by which they mean a blood pH of 7.35–7.45. I fully agree that most people could benefit by addressing their acid–base balance, but before anyone begins megadosing on supplements or downing gallons of “green” water, they need to define their individual needs. (Remember, the key to pH is balance!) And the best way to do this? Test your pH.

Testing your pH

Physicians use esophageal and gastric pH meters to help identify the causes of heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD). Such tests determine the amount of acid in the environment being tested. Similarly, you can test the pH of your saliva and/or your urine with simple litmus strips, which are available in most pharmacies. Keep in mind that in order to get the full picture of your body’s pH, you’ll need to carry out the test not just on one day, but daily for a period of time.

Tracking your urine or salivary pH over the course of a week or so will provide a window into what is going on in your internal world. A diet that lacks essential vitamins and nutrients and is high in acid–forming foods will show up in acidic urine. This is a good indicator that your body is struggling to maintain an optimal digestive environment (also affected by your intestinal flora and immune system), which could be contributing to systemic inflammation — that ubiquitous bugaboo at the root of so many chronic health concerns, including heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity.

If conditions of hyperacidity and inflammation are occurring in your body, the next step is to take a look at the source of the acidity — and food is the first place to start. Imbalanced pH is primarily a product of what you eat — although this might not mean what you think it does.

You may think it’s acid — but it’s not

Considering whether a food is acidifying or alkalizing in the diet can require some mind-bending, because some foods that we think of as “acidic” are, in fact, alkalizing in the diet. It’s actually better to look at whether the food is acid–forming or alkaline–forming, not where the food itself falls on the pH scale. So even though we think of citrus as acidic, fruits like lemons and tangerines are alkalizing because when they’re consumed, they break down and donate alkaline mineral salt compounds like citrates and ascorbates.

Similarly, foods we might normally think of as meek and mild in nature are acid-forming when ingested. Grains and milk are two examples. What’s important is not so much the pH of the food as it goes into our bodies, but the resultant pH once the food is broken down — and this is dictated by the residues the broken-down nutrients leave behind, particularly sulfates and phosphates.

But this isn’t the sort of association most of us can readily make, so we have compiled a list of common acidic and alkalizing foods to guide you (refer to our Acid Alkaline Food Chart). But why is it important to have a certain acid–alkaline balance in our diets? The answer has to do with the dance that occurs between acid and alkaline elements in our digestion.

Digestive enzymes, microbes, nutrients, and pH balance

As mentioned earlier, pH within the digestive tract isn’t a constant, and in each zone of increasing acidity, there are different digestive enzymes and beneficial microbes present. In the mouth, where the process begins, the pH is only mildly acidic, and the enzyme amylase is present. Amylase, responsible for breaking down starch, works in a fairly neutral environment, so when the pH falls below 6.5 it is no longer active.

Acid isn’t all bad…

The acidic environment of the stomach is not only necessary for processing food, but it also helps to protect your body from pathogenic organisms or food antigens that shouldn’t be there.

Interestingly, many people with acid reflux and heartburn — a condition conventional medicine blames on acid-containing foods like fruits and vegetables — actually have too little acid in their stomachs, a problem that’s compounded by medications like Pepcid and TUMS that increase alkalinity in the stomach.

In my experience, many of my patients get rid of their heartburn and acid reflux by adding more acid to their diets. For more on this, please see our article on the link between IBS, acid reflux, and antacids.

As food makes its way from your mouth to your stomach, the digestive tract becomes more acidic. Pepsin, the enzyme responsible for protein breakdown, needs an acidic environment and therefore gets released into the stomach, where pH is very low (about 2.0–1.5). Your small intestine is where most of the nutrients in your food get absorbed, and where the pH increases from 2.0 to 6.5 as the food travels from the stomach to the small and large intestines.

Protein — particularly in the form of red meats — requires huge amounts of alkaline minerals for complete digestive processing. When the system goes looking for the alkalinity needed to offset the acid load, it looks first to the minerals currently in the digestive tract. If it fails to find alkaline nourishment there, it draws on the calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium minerals stored in our bones.

This is where the good greens and essential vitamins and minerals come in. When we eat a diet that is rich in nutrients, there’s no need to draw on the stored minerals in the bones. It’s when we don’t consume a nutrient-rich diet — or, worse, when we over consume foods that promote acidity in the body — that we start tapping our bone resources. In the short term, this isn’t an issue, but in the long run, it can have serious consequences, not just for our bone health but for our overall health.

pH and disease

It make sense, given that the bones are the storehouse for alkalizing minerals, that when the body has to drain the stores to offset acid overload in the digestive tract, the net result can be loss of bone density, which can lead to osteopenia and ultimately osteoporosis. We talk about this at length in our bone health section. But bone loss is not the only health issue that stems from overdrawing our account at the bones mineral bank.

As I mentioned earlier, when your body struggles to maintain the relatively tight blood pH required for survival, it can result in inflammation. Over time, this struggle may be mirrored by a steady rise of the pro-inflammatory blood acid homocysteine in your blood. Studies show that high levels of homocysteine in the blood double the risk of osteoporosis–related fractures, along with other inflammatory conditions like heart attack, stroke, fuzzy thinking, and Alzheimer’s disease. A recent report published in the New England Journal of Medicine explains how elevated homocysteine levels inhibit new bone formation by interrupting the cross-linking of collagen fibers in bone tissue.

Homocysteine levels can be stabilized by eating foods and taking a vitamin supplement rich in folic acid, B12, and B6. Some researchers also describe a beneficial synergistic effect on homocysteine levels between omega–3 fatty acids and the metabolism of these vitamins.

Be aware that a minority of the population cannot convert folic acid due to certain enzyme deficiencies. If your homocysteine levels remain high even after a few weeks of B supplementation, you may want to ask your practitioner about adding a more bioavailable form of folate called 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (MTHFT) to your diet.

Naturally improving your pH balance

Proponents of alkaline diets sometimes talk as though eating alkaline is the only step to good health. It’s true that our bodies know intuitively where balance lies, and they can maintain balance on their own if provided what they need through healthy diet and nutritional supplements. But it’s important to understand that you can’t simply load up on alkalizing foods and supplements and presume they’ll offset any amount of acid you consume or create. To restore pH balance, you must address other sources of metabolic acidity as well, because in most situations, no amount of alkalizing can balance a toxically acidic environment. And to cap it off, detoxification takes place more slowly in an overly acidic environment.

Here are some ideas on how to restore pH balance to your diet, support healthy digestion, keep blood pH levels on track, and protect your bones and kidneys, too.

Take a high-quality daily multivitamin. This will offset any nutritional gaps and insure that your body has the reserves it needs. Your supplement should contain essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and magnesium in their most bioavailable, alkalizing forms. In addition, I recommend an essential fatty acid supplement and a top-quality probiotic to help the body absorb the minerals that are all-important to your bones. Women to Women has formulated high-quality and pure supplements to assist you with this goal. See link below.

Fill your plate with fresh vegetables, particularly the dark green leafy kind. Add fresh lemon or lime juice to foods and beverages as a highly alkalizing flavor accent. Enjoy plenty of fruit, especially fruit with a low glycemic index. Women in perimenopause and menopause, particularly, benefit more from fruits that are lower in sugars, to avoid concerns about insulin resistance. Again, foods that are fresh, organic, and deeply pigmented or brightly colored are the kinds that benefit you the most!

Choose root vegetables, too, as excellent sources of alkalizing mineral compounds. Eating foods such as slow-roasted sweet potatoes, onions, and leeks, which are also high in inulin, can optimize your body’s ability to fully absorb the calcium present in your food and thereby decrease your risk for osteoporosis. Inulin is a type of prebiotic — it is believed to serve as a welcoming “fuel” for friendly gut flora, paving the way for beneficial bacteria to thrive further down into the colon, where it lowers the pH and improves the solubility and absorption of calcium by the body.

Consider boosting your diet with “green foods” or “green drinks,” which contain the pigment chlorophyll in abundance. The plant world’s equivalent of the hemoglobin in our blood, we can thank chlorophyll as the original source of all our food (except perhaps fungi!) It works in the body as a strong detoxifier and immunity–building agent. Foods that contain high levels of chlorophyll include the algae spirulina and chlorella and the juice of wheat grass and other sprouted grains. These foods offer high levels of other micronutrients as well, and their neat packaging can be especially helpful for those who lack time to prepare whole balanced meals or people recovering from illness.

Eat plenty of vegetable protein, watch your red meat intake, and keep your servings of the acidifying animal proteins down to four ounces per meal (the size of a deck of cards).

Avoid refined carbohydrates whenever you can, including sugar, and when you include grains, be sure to emphasize the “whole” in whole grains. Eliminate all processed foods, particularly those that contain partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats).

Clear the digestive slate with a gentle detox plan, to get a better reading on how your diet — and pH — are affecting your sense of well-being. You may be surprised at how well you feel!

If you suffer from IBS, acid reflux, or regular heartburn, consider testing your pH. Remember that you may have too little acid in your stomach, not too much. Don’t just assume that an acid stomach means you’re too acidic.

Chew your food slowly and thoroughly. Enjoy every bite!

The beauty of balance

The subject of body pH may be having it’s 15 minutes of fame — but if it helps you to tune in to what’s going on in your body and eat a healthier diet, I’m all for that. Indeed, there are some people whose pH levels warrant attention — but you won’t know until you test your pH, and you may need a good functional medicine practitioner to guide you. Even so, pH is only one, albeit fundamental piece of the puzzle. To my mind, pH is a helpful indicator of overall balance in the body. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg, and no amount of trendy drinks or diet plans will make it more than that.

That being said, paying attention to your pH is one place you can begin to make an immediate positive change to preserve your long-term health. If it feels like a good place for you to start taking better care of yourself, I encourage you to do so. From there, it’s my hope that you will continue to listen to your body and help it find balance on all fronts, including your hormones, your emotions, and your lifestyle.

 By Marcelle Pick - Supplements available at http://www.womentowomen.com/digestive-health/digestion-gi-health-the-truth-about-ph-balance/

Sun Lotions - Are they doing you more harm than good?

 

 

 

Most of you know, I ventured into formulating my own organic skin care range due to the fact I discovered the health & beauty industry wasn't all its cranked up to be. I was more than shocked to find (through my own initiative to research) that the big brand names in cosmetics have been formulating their 'beauty' products with harsh chemicals that cause various health problems such as disrupting hormones, causing skin allergens and even cancer.

So how do they get away with it? Excellent question, however not one that I can easily answer. But If I gambled, I'd be betting it has something to do with money of course.  Okay, so let's take a look at some of the biggest cosmetic companies like Revlon, L'Oreal and even Avon. Their products have been tested with a definite moderate-serious 'hazardous' outcome (See EWG's Cosmetic Data Base) but are still sold to consumers as 'safe' for external use. Here's where it gets concerning....... These companies also all have annual events which promotes that a certain amount of monies from products sold for such and such event will go to........... (Drum roll)........  the Cancer Council? Or even the Skin & Cancer Foundation? Yes!

How much money do you think the Cancer Council and Skin & Cancer Foundations are making? Oh sorry, of course there's no profits because it all goes to research. Yer right! Am I the only one who feels these organisations are full of it? (Crap, that is). I know many of you think the same.

You need to understand that the big businesses selling/supporting these products get a lot of money in return. This article is not to bring down these big companies and organisations. It's about raising the awareness of the ingredients used to formulate many products, in particular to this article, sunscreen lotions.

I've always believed that a little sun exposure without sunscreen is good. Mainly for Vitamin D absorption.  I strongly believe my ethnicity and genetics plus foods I consumed from a child and now, play a huge role in my body' natural  concentration of melanin. I've never had issues with extreme burning (unless I've been stupid and spent a long time in direct and hot sunlight in summer); and this brings me to the main focus of this article

Sunscreens are filters of UV energy. They are used to filter a PROPORTION ONLY of UV rays. By definition, all types of sunscreen will include active ingredients which either absorb or scatter and reflect UV energy which would otherwise enter the skin and cause severe damage.

Myth: If you wear sunscreen you are fully protected from UV absorption and the suns harmful rays UVA and UVB and will not burn.

Not true! Sunscreens are a means to REDUCE ONLY a dose of sunburn you will get if you don’t wear it. Hence, as sunscreen is used to delay this burning affect and to filter the penetration of Ultra Violet activity.

Sunscreens are filters, not “blocks”. All of them will let some UV through at varying rates indicated by the SPF number. An SPF 30 product will permit 1/30th of the sunburning energy through it in the same time as it would take to suffer a minimal sunburn without any protection at all.

The whole of this definition is important to understanding how they work. It is because the sunburning dose accumulates at 1/30 of the rate that it takes 30 times as long to see the skin reddening sign that damage has occurred and repair and recovery is underway.

Sunburn may take hours to actually appear on the skin. and once you receive a dose of sunburn, no sunscreen or re-application is going to prevent this effect. This is why it is necessary to apply your sunscreen BEFORE sun exposure.Re-application of sunscreen is MAINTENANCE of the very first application.It does not prolong your time in the sun; it merely gives the first application a boost, enhancing its effectiveness.

Of course other factors such as the Country you live in, ethnicity and the strength of the sun as well as nutritional intake, do play  key roles in the impact of skin burning and repair. But this article is solely to discuss the topic of sunscreens alone  and if their ingredients effect our health in a negative way.

The reality is I could write pages on my findings, but to get you all up and doing some of your own digging around here is a link I encourage you all to have a look. Here you can track down products you currently use or thinking of using and see how the testing of these products rate in safety. Also if you have a mobile device, you download their app to and all you do is scan the barcode which will look up the product for you. Check it out,  EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetic Data Base www.ewg.org/skindeep

I personally tested 4 sunscreen products. One supported by the Skin & Cancer Foundation, two natural and one certified organic. I looked at each and every single ingredient and percentages used. I was astounded to conclude the only product I would never use again, is in fact the sun lotion support by the Skin & Cancer Foundation. Every single ingredient is synthetic in this product (which are also found  in most other well known brands) but claimed as a 'safe' enough product to sell direct to public.

I am not a professional toxicologist so am in no way qualified to dispute people who are. The question of safety is different from the question of whether something is an allergen.  There are lots of 'safe' ingredients that are used in cosmetics which also happen to be allergens that some people should avoid.

For example; A brief search through published literature shows that Octocrylene had 2 reported cases of being an allergen in 2003 but according to an article published in the Contact Dermatitis journal, reports of positive patch testing have been increasing.  According to this more recent review in Archives of Dermatology more cases have been identified.  Their conclusion is interesting…

"Octocrylene appears to be a strong allergen leading to contact dermatitis in children and mostly photoallergic contact dermatitis in adults with an often-associated history of photoallergy from ketoprofen. Patients with photoallergy from ketoprofen frequently have positive photopatch test reactions to octocrylene. These patients need to be informed of sunscreen products not containing octocrylene, benzophenone-3, or fragrances."

The all natural and organic products I used and researched had just as good protection from the sun and were indeed all natural and contained no synthetics and no harsh chemicals. If I had children, these would be choice of sun protection.

 

I cant tell you which products you should or shouldn't buy. But let's look at it this way - If you had a choice to pick an apple to eat from a non chemically treated environment or to pick and eat an apple from a tree that has been sprayed with pesticides and chemicals added to the soil, which would you choose? Its pretty obvious. So why should the choices of what we put on our skin be any different? Especially when what we do put on our skin is absorbed straight into the blood stream.

 

 

The products I tested are:

Neutrogena's Beach Defense (supported by the Skin & Cancer Foundation) - A BIG NO NO

Invisible Zinc Face sun lotion - GOOD

Invisable Zinc Body sun lotion - GOOD

Wot Not Face & Body sun lotion - MY FAVOURITE

 

Eat well

Make better household and skin care product choices

Live well.

 

Please share this and your new found knowledge with your loved ones!

 

Georgia






The 'C' Word

Let's talk about cellulite...Not in vanity but from a health perspective....

Gaining understanding about cellulite -

Imagine walking around telling people "I accept the toxic build up in my cells and blood stream and will never rid of them". Would you? Maybe not intentionally but unintentionally those who have curves, cellulite and even thin girls with cellulite that claim to be happy with their bodies need to understand what cellulite is, what it harbours and how unhealthy this is.

What is it?


Cellulite is a lumpy fat deposit that commonly manifests on thighs, buttocks, hips and waist. It is almost exclusively a condition that affects women, occurring in 85% to 98% of women after puberty.

Since cellulite is the visible manifestation of multiple pathologic processes, one cannot reasonably expect a single agent to effectively treat this disease. These lumps are actually collections of fat that are pushing against the connective tissue under the skin, as a result, the dermis (the layer of skin beneath the outermost layer) weakens in cellulite-prone areas, paving the way for swollen fat cells to protrude to the surface.

This causes the surface of the skin to have an unattractive appearance. The longer it sits there, the harder it is to remove. A lot of people suffer from "cellulite build-up" which is really a toxic build-up, manifested in orange peel skin and cottage cheese thighs and buttocks.

No, you don't even need to be overweight or obese to have cellulite - thin and slender people suffer as much from cellulite, as their heftier counterparts. I’m here to say (although you don’t want to hear it) that no matter how perfect or sexy your body - cellulite is unattractive on anybody and it does not contribute to the health of the collagen, elastin, connective tissues or adipocytes in your skin.

The main remedy for fighting cellulite is to detoxify the body. But not with medications or the latest detox celebrities rave about and definitely not even proclaimed cellulite targeting body creams......

“The truth is getting rid of and fighting cellulite can be easy, but needs dedication and consistent work.”

What causes it?


Cellulite is mainly caused by toxin build-up in your body, with the body not getting rid of the toxins, and causing cellulite. Miracle cures are offered from many sources to fight it, but there is NO miracle - yet it can be removed. In my years of research there are some topical and oral treatments that can aid in the removal/break down of toxins but not alone.

There are many factors when it comes to cellulite but it all comes down to diet (not in terms of restricting calories but rather what you are eating) and digestion.

Let us talk more on ‘toxins’


Our body was designed to continuously and naturally remove cancer and disease causing toxins. There are two kinds of toxins; water soluble and fat soluble. Water soluble toxins are easily flushed out of the body via the blood and kidneys, but the fat soluble toxins are a challenge for the body to remove. These fat soluble toxins are man-made toxins like heavy metals, parasites, pesticides, preservatives, food additives, pollutants, plastics and other environmental chemicals.   If our digestive and detox pathways are not functioning optimally, these toxins find their way to the liver, blood, fat cells and brain where they store indefinitely and cause disease.

For example, in one study done on a fat soluble, aggressive, cancer causing chemical called dioxin was removed from human fat cells where it had been stored for 25 years. Storing toxins is unacceptable!

Diseases related to these ingested toxins are almost impossible to calculate because they are so vast and insidious. Even so, according to the Center of Children’s Health and the Environment, an average of 54.9 billion dollars a year is spent researching toxicity’s relation to four diseases in children; asthma, lead poisoning, cancer and neurobehavioral disorders. Imagine the cost if every toxin-related disease for both children and adults were being addressed. The costs would be astronomical.

 So how do you release toxins?

Primarily digestion.  I believe that if we keep our digestion, stress levels and detoxification pathways balanced, we can prevent dangerous chemicals and toxins from storing in our bodies.

When we digest a meal, the nutritional and toxic fats are shuffled through the stomach into the small intestine where bile secreted from the liver and gall bladder emulsifies them.   In the small intestine, millions of small villi and lacteals, which are little finger-like grasses that sweep the gut, help absorb nutritional fats and remove dangerous toxic fats.   If this detoxification pathway is not working the body absorbs the toxic fats, rather than removing them.

The very beginning of the body’s lymphatic system is The Gut Associated Lymphatic Tissues (GALT), which surrounds the entire intestinal tract.  It is here that lacteals help absorb and process nutritional and toxic fats.  The inside of the gut wall must have those villi and lacteals functioning well and the inch on the outside of the gut (which is that lymph tissue) must not be congested.

Other detoxification pathways such as sweating and urinating are critical in regaining balance and eliminating toxins. An other article on the detoxification pathways will be up soon.

To help capture some key points on cellulite lets reverse our outlook. Let us take a look at the most  researched and factual contributors of cellulite:

In general cellulite arises from a number of age-related physiological changes in women:

Poor diet
Slow metabolism
Lack of physical activity
Exhaustive dieting
Dehydration
Total body fat
Thickness and color of skin
Poor circulation
Lymphatic drainage

Most of you will be able to identify a couple or many of these factors as contributing to your cellulite.

So the best way forward is to implement change with the above you do have immediate control of, such as increasing physical activity and drinking more water (I suggest filtered).  Already you'll have introduced two new habits that will become part of your lifestyle for life.

Factors such as emotional well being, stress and environment are changeable with consistency in working through issues (not masking them) and changing the amount of environment toxicity we expose ourselves to, such products around the home like fly spray,  house cleaners, pesticides in the garden and products we use on our skin and pets. This again will be an entirely separate article available soon.

Now, if you are a 'yo yo' dieter, this must stop immediately. The body will send messages to the brain if it feels deprived of nutrients. Most 'yo yo' dieters will deplete the body of essential nutrients and are uneducated in understanding that 'weight loss' (on the scales) doesn't necessarily mean fat loss. In fact 2/3 of what is lost in 'yo yo' dieters and crash dieting is in fact muscle. And muscle does indeed weigh more than fat!

Which brings us to the all important factor of diet and digestion. I bet the majority of you reading this have issue with constipation or diarrhea, 'IBS', gluten intolerance, allergies, bloating.... Shall I go on?

You need to know both constipation and loose stools store toxins

There are many factors that could irritate the intestinal villi and compromise their function. A history of constipation will dry out these villi (grass-like mucus membranes) and force them to produce a reactive mucus. If this mucus is excessive, the stools could appear normal (2-3 regular bowel movements a day) but you could still be unhealthy and bloated or carrying that extra belly weight. If the mucus is even more excessive, the stools can become looser, diarrhea-like and more frequent.  If you EVER see mucus in your stool, this should be addressed right away.

Basically, the villi become stuck and cannot function in the excess mucus.This means that even if the bile successfully broke down the fat soluble toxins in the small intestine, the GALT will not be able to remove them from the body.  Normally, white blood cells in your immune system and 500+ lymph nodes will attack these toxins and naturally neutralize them.  But if mucus is excessive, this may not  happen.

Some of the other causes for irritation that compromise the intestinal villi are stress, worry, anxiety, food additives, processed food, coffee, soft drinks and hyper acidity  - to name just a few.

So what now?

The aim of this article is to encourage women to get out there and research cellulite and toxins. This is not to leave you feeling you need to be a 'size 0' at all either. It's about understanding that by living a life as natural as possible, eating clean, exercising and minimising toxins going into the body and your immediate environment, your body will slowly flush out years of toxic build up which will also contribute to shedding fat, thus improving physical appearance: not in vanity but by respecting your body.

We should all be proud of our bodies but having been in the health & fitness industries plus having started my new venture in organic skin care products, I see all too often women are being victimized and forced to believe forces of nature are to blame to the majority of our issues, therefor the only cure is pharmaceutical. I say no no no no no ...........

I am simply here to advocate that while our bodies may change with age, injuries, being exposed to environmental toxins and so on...we as women... as human beings have every single resource available to us to feed and nourish our bodies with organic produce and natural products, being active and seeking help through difficult emotional times. We are capable of finding balance and being in control!

If knowing what you've gained some more insight to now doesn't make you want to change the appearance of your cellulite based on a health perspective, not just vanity.... that is your choice.

Subscribe to Ultimate-Women for more articles relating to detox and emotional well being  published soon...



Useful herbs that can help flush toxins from the liver, cells and blood

Ginger Ginger, or Zingiber officinale. It promotes circulation.

Ocimum Sanctum Holy Basil Tulsi, botanically identified as Ocimum sanctum, and also described as holy basil. Its qualities are laghu (light)–and Ruksha (dry) which makes it useful in restraining fat.

Tribulus Errestris Prevents water retention.

Centella Asiatica Improves circulation.

Glycirhiza Glabra (Liqorice) and Guggul or Commiphora Mukul are also useful for cellulite.

Beauty from within to skin-
Georgia 

About Georganics

Founded by Georgia Holton, Georganics is a brand that stands up for your right to live a non toxic and healthy lifestyle.

After a diagnosis of an autoimmune disease Georgia refused to follow medical advices of using medications to ease symptoms. Georgia was informed by doctors and specialists that there would be no cure of her diagnosis, Lupus.

Seeking a holistic approach in healing her body from this autoimmune disease through a switch to organic eating, changing household cleaning products as well as health & beauty products used daily, Georgia was not only able to treat her symptoms without the use of medications, but successfully reversed her condition and is now living a completely autoimmune disease free life.

Georgia says, 'My body, mind & spirit are in harmony. I feel strong, confident and super healthy. Why wouldn't I share what I have learned through my journey if it means helping another out of a dark time? I've been in the darkness but now I'm in the light. This is my calling.... I am here to help others.'

Through her journey (which was not easy), Georgia extensively  researched the many hundreds of harmful and toxic chemicals which are hidden in cleaning, health & beauty products amongst other. Georgia believes all autoimmune diseases can be significantly improved through a change of diet and reducing toxic exposure. This challenging experience is what motivated her to formulate the product range which you know branded today as Georganics.

'Beauty from within to skin'

Lupus to the Stage - My Autoimmune Disease and Beyond

A lot has been happening in my world since my last blog on my journey to recovery from Lupus. I decided to quit  from a job I loved (but did so because I was surrounded by toxic people), finding a new job I would be able to use my skills and shared passion in,  finding new balance in home life and lifestyle in general  and deciding to get on stage again to compete.

I've spent the past 18 weeks preparing my body for another bodybuilding competition. The first of two for the year was at my 15 week mark of prep on September 15th.  I can be really honest and say that I did not bust my ass to get to the stage on September 15th. Of course my condition could have been better for competition, but I just wasn't ready mentally to push my body beyond. Was I disappointed with the outcome? Hell no!

I looked the same if not a tad better shape than other years and did it so by doing everything I'd ever done the past 3 years by half. Yes, half the weight training, half the cardio and half the protein intake but kept fats relatively high, religiously supplementing with my UPS BCAAs and Glutamine, keeping optimum digestive function and not once complained about my journey. The day post this competition I received my latest blood tests. And guess what? Absolutely negative for Lupus; autoimmune disease free.... My body is in optimum health.

If you've read my previous blogs you'd see I haven't hid any secrets from you. I've told you exactly what I needed to do to heal my body. The risk now was assessing if preparations for my comp would hinder my progress in any way. The proof is in my bloods! One of my biggest issues for many years was digestive. I know it’s something we just don't talk about, but for me it's been a defining turning point in regaining health. Within one month of my journey to correcting my health I was able to correct many digestive issues. I have explained that previously I wouldn't use my bowel for days and I was a sufferer of major bloating. I now go daily and have had no bloating. And best of all contest prep hasn't hindered this in any way!

So I'm now just a couple days post comp, round 2- the Nationals October 6th. Anyone who saw me on stage 3 weeks ago and compares me now will see some positive changes I've made for competing this time around. I upped my workout intensity, was safely able to cut some fats back without harming my body, worked on my visualisation techniques and kept reminding myself  of how far I'd come since being diagnosed 18 months ago. My challenge this time around was to simply better my overall sharp/conditioning compared to 3 weeks prior and keep my body healthy.

My whole journey to this day has been by far the most rewarding. Being able to feel my body changing via fat loss and not muscle loss as well as maintaining energy right through. My recovery has been amazing, mental health stronger plus my new found love of chemistry/food and the human body when combating autoimmune diseases and cures. 

There will be ‘that line’ that needs to be crossed when it comes to cramping down for another competition. My mind set this preparation was stuck on health and not doing myself any harm. I don't expect that just because my results for Lupus are negative I will be ok forever; but I'm now aware of things to avaoid and what my body needs. I know that how I treat my body now in the 'off season' before I commence preparations for my next competition, will be a major factor my overall conditioning and health. Within this industry of fitness and bodybuilding I wish females (more so) wouldn’t be so silly in doing ridiculous ‘carb loads’, and putting on a lot of weight to gain muscle. If you do this, you will struggle…. You will do yourself harm!

Competing in such competitions I believe is about bettering ones physical and psychological state.  What I have achieved to this day and beyond, can not be taken away from me. I have helped myself daily because I believe I deserve to be in a health body with a great state of mind. My correction of Lupus extinguished any sugar cravings I ever use to have and rid of general fatigue. I've been bouncing out of bed every morning, working all day plus my training and getting a good night sleep every single night.

I know how good I feel now because I've been at my darkest place. I fought my way through depression, lost 15 kilos since being diagnosed and changed my lifestyle for good. My all organic health & beauty range has taken off due to my own success. I will continue to do my research/study in autoimmune disorder and cancers and will continue to help others that also want change the state of their mind/bodies.... Supplementing with quality sports supplements has had a profound result in maintaining healthy connective tissue.

It is fantastic looking great on the outside, but when it comes at a serious cost it’s just not worth it. And just because you look good on the outside, this doesn’t mean your are healthy on the inside. My advice to all is pay attention to your body. Seriously, look for signs of damage like slow recovery, no muscles gains, dry skin, digestive issues, acne, lack of sleep, irregukar menstral cycles, depression, difficulty shifting body fat, dull skin, red eyes, loss of hair and fatigue. I for one can honestly say I'm thrilled to look the way I do now and know I'm in optimum health.

I’m not being stupid and sacrificing what I've worked so hard to achieve over the past 18 months.  I have my future goals set and working my way towards this. In relation to competing it’s my goal to win a WFF Southern Hemisphere title; I know that when I do win a National title, I earned it! In life I aim to build my organic business into a reputable and trusted brand; I will continue to advocate in women's health and the importance of supplementing with quality sports supplements.  Learning and researching has become a big part of my life. Overall, my personal happiness and health is most important. Sacrificing these would only lead me down the road I've travelled.  There’s no turning back now.

Us humans are meant to be so clever, but with all the resources available and knowledge shared we continue to choose to be sponges soaking up information given to us rather than doing our own research. The damage caused to my body was not solely due to putting my body through bodybuilding preparations year after year.... As I learnt it was due to environmental toxins, toxic daily products, my attitude in life and lack of confidence, taking on too much responsibility, not educating myself, not resting well, putting others first and much much more. 

Life shouldn't just be about that day you aim to compete in any sport, start a new job, get married, buy a house, have a baby, or make any changes in life. We should all be living for the journey and what we learn along the way, not the destination. Don't blame anything or anyone for your weight gain, job loss, relationship breakdown and so on. We all end up in certain situations mostly because we allowed it. Most importantly don't wait for the answers to come to you.... Go and find them yourself. You will be surprised at what you will find! 

Georgia Holton 

 





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