A truly fascinating article by Rob Dunn explores the myths of the ‘calorie’ and how it is changed in a food with processing and cooking. Further the article goes on to explain that not only do nutrient and calorie values differ between two of the exact same fruit or vegetable, but each of our bodies contain different levels of microbes and hence the amount of calories we extract from foods varies.
Bottom line is the article is positive reinforcement that a mostly raw food and low processed diet is the way to go: “it seems that the more processed foods are the more they actually give us the number of calories we see on the box, bag or other sort of label. This applies not just to cooking and pounding but also to industrial processing.”
Read on for a better understanding of foods well worth reading:
This week has been all about Charity – preparing vouchers and prize packs to support six charities: Lighthouse Foundations’ Beyond The Bounce lunch on 12th September, Siena’s Pink Night In (Cancer Council) on 19th October, Arthritis New South Wales’s William’s Ball on 26th October, Haemophilia Foundation NSW’s Family Camp on 9-11 November, Australian Diabetes Council’s Annual Buzz Ball on 10 November and finally this weekend’s Facebook Auction for Support for Mums and their Families. All such great causes and it’s a privilege to support these worthwhile charities.
August saw quite a number of book stores reorder (which is good news!) as well as 5 more bookstores joining the ranks including Collins Booksellers Wagga Wagga NSW and Dymocks in Doncaster in VIC.
I’m really thrilled to have all of the support of these stores as well as that of my book Distributor Dennis Jones & Associates who recently finalised my eBook for distribution via Amazon, Apple and 7 other eBook outlets.
And don’t forget, if you haven’t bought your copy but want to see what all the fuss is about then you can get your free preview chapter here:
Yes, in addition to my web blogs I’m now on Google+, Twitter and Facebook so no matter what your Social Networking poison I’m there to keep you company and offer you little insights, tips, tricks and above all, motivation (we all need some) to help you lose weight and get healthy.
On Mondays I’ll share with you an interesting Food Fact. On Tuesdays I’ll help you to Get Active. Wednesday is is hump day and the perfect opportunity to Get Organised and before more efficient. On Thursdays we Fight Fat! And on Fridays we’re all about creating and maintaining Healthy Habits.
The weekend is no time to slack off either. Saturdays is Barnacle Busters Day where I’ll remind you to complete a task to clear those blockages in the way of your goals. And Sunday is my Words of Wisdom. Plus each morning I’ll give you a word for the day and each night I’ll share with you a final thought for the day.
So pick your poison, become a fan, retweet or reply or create a circle and get involved!
Today on the way down in the lift I noticed a woman drinking from a used commercial water bottle. I wondered if she knew that there are some serious dangers with reusing plastic water bottles. Whilst there has been a huge amount of debate over this very topic the truth is that all plastics emit small amounts of plasticizer over time. And whilst the US FDA has advised that these plasticizers are harmless in small doses, and don’t pose a risk to consumers, other scientists beg to differ.
The issue is predominately with #3 or #7 plastics, or any hard plastic that are “shatterproof.” These plastics contain a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA), which once ingested, mimics estrogen in our bodies. According to Scientific American, studies have shown that a build up of these chemicals can promote human breast cancer cell growth and lower sperm counts. Pregnant women, infants and children are especially at risk. But it’s important to remember that all plastic water bottled and containers leach small amounts of plasticizers over time, even if they are BPA-free.
And the issue becomes more complex if your main source of water is from plastic bottles, or if those bottles are ever frozen or heated (for example if left in a car on a warm day). Add to this the even more imminent danger that reused water bottles can contain dangerous build ups of bacteria if not washed thoroughly with soap and hot water between uses. If you refill a bottle without washing it you run the risk of bacteria left from the drinker’s mouth multiplying and building colonies on the bottle’s walls and grooves. And if your drink is anything but 100% water then the bacterial issue becomes worse as bacteria will use the addatives (such as sugar) as a food source to fuel their multiplication.
So, what’s the answer? The best option is to filter your fresh water straight from the tap as you need it (remember even tap water contains some bacteria). However if bottled water is required then the best options are glass containers (e.g. thermos with a glass insert) then special water carriers that are BPA-free which can be easily cleaned. Tupperware has some great relatively cheap options availble if you have a home water filter, and if you don’t then the Bobble could be exactly what you need!
If you’re wanting to check out my book before you decide to buy (or you just want to know a little more about me) then you can now get a free copy of the Introduction and first Chapter of “Half The Woman I Was” by clicking on this link: http://www.halfthewomaniwas.com/intro/intro
It also include the before, during and after picks of my amazing transformation where I lost 70kg naturally, without surgery. I hope you enjoy the freebie and look forward to hearing whether it has inspired you to start your own amazing transformation.
Did you know that Half The Woman I Ws (that’s me!) is now on Twitter. Follow me to get your regular health and weight loss tips, as well as some extra motivation! You can find me at:
OK so it may be a lousy 12 degree and wet forecast in Melbourne today but spring is right around the corner – literally! Tomorrow marks the first day of spring, and whilst we might feel like we’re still in the middle of winter it’s the perfect time to start shaping up for summer. On cold wet days it can be hard to find the motivation and venue for exercise. Walking out doors is often a bit of a gamble with Melbourne’s changeable weather. But you can find plenty of things indoors to do to help you get in shape (and lifting that super-sized burger off the plate into your mouth doesn’t count).
How about dusting off the exercise bike or the Wi-Fit? You could put on a yoga or Pilates DVD or grab those weights out from under the bed and get going with some resistance training and floor exercises. Not floating your boat? You could always clean the house from top to bottom and then start on the garage (I bet the first suggestions are looking good now). It’s not overly important what you do on wet and cold days like today, what is important is that you get moving and stay moving!
I got to thinking today, after yesterday’s That’s Life magazine release, how our perception of acceptable body image has been so incredibly distorted by the media. It’s estimated we see up to 5,000 messages a day, many in the form of advertising containing slim, trim and athletic bodies. For women it’s even worse as we are bombarded with thousands of images of ‘socially acceptably shaped’ women in magazines, newspapers and on TV advertising everything from feminine hygiene to motor-sports. Most of them have been edited, retouched and air brushed. Few are real. And those that are, are the minority.
Constantly surrounded by this reinforcement of what we should look like many women tend get depressed by their looks and their weight. It doesn’t matter whether you are carrying around and extra 5 or 50 kg, at some point we all feel a sense of failure and inadequacy when compared to socienty’s idea of perfection. That sure is a lot of baggage for us to carry around. It affects our mood and it sometimes drives us to eat too much, sometime to drink too much and sometimes to the gym where we then feel even more of a failure compare with to the size 6 anorexic (but still unhappy) babe running at 12kph on the treadmill next to us. So how did we get caught up in believing that those perfectly air brushed waifs are what we are meant to look like, and that they are … perfect?
In 2006 the Dove “Evolution” Campaign for Real Beauty took one giant leap forward in helping women learn to accept and love their curves. It shows, in time lapse, a very normal woman being primped and made over physically, then digitally altered into someone’s idea of publicly acceptable beauty. It’s still one of my favourite YouTube videos and if you haven’t seen it then I highly recommend you take a look. Whilst watching it you will soon realise that you too can look like a model with the right make up, hair and Photoshop programmer. And whilst media can try and even succeed at distorting our idea of beauty on a superficial level, what it lacks is the human to human connection, and this is where our inner beauty always shines through, no matter how we look on the outside.
Issue 36 hits the stands today with me on the cover! “I lost 70kg and still ate chocolate” is the headline they used – not one I would have chosen myself but it is true, and I still eat chocolate to this day. The are of course some differences – I eat much less chocolate, and I eat dark chocolate, usually 85% cocoa. Before I lost the weight I was craving fats and sugars, and so commonly advertised chocolate bars or blocks of chocolate easily satisfied my need. But these types of chocolate are not quality products, they actually have very little cocoa in them at all and are often filled with other unhealthy items like peanuts, wafers and chewy caramel – more fat and sugar.
Now I eat chocolate as a little luxury, not every day and I eat it for its heath properties: anti-oxidants which rid the body of free radicals; and its oleic and stearic acids which make up 75% of the fat in dark chocolate and help to lower cholesterol. Plus, chocolate makes you feel good – it has a variety of chemicals which boost our endorphins and elevate our mood – one of the reasons we often crave it when we’re feeling down or premenstrual. Sure you can get more natural dopamine by eating a bowl of broad beans but that just isn’t as much fun! And the bottom line here is it’s all about balance.
My favourite chocolate? Green and Black’s Maya Gold. Perfect as a special treat with a good Barossa Shiraz – but only one glass and only a couple of squares!
Sigrid de Castella – weight loss achiever, paleoish intermittent faster, adrenal fatigue recoverer, foodie, cook, writer, globetrotter & dog lover
