Take the pressure down

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Did you know that a specific Chiropractic adjustment can significantly lower blood pressure? The effect of an adjustment on the C1 vertebra (the very first one that holds up your head) is just as effective as taking not one but TWO blood pressure medications at the same time and the bonus? No nasty side-effects (such as fatigue, dizziness, depression, impotence, respiritory distress or kidney damage) like those high blood pressure drugs! Not only can a qualified Chiropractor administer this adjustment but they can also point you in the right direction to modify your diet and exercise to help you get more out of your life. See? Not just back pain...

Superfood: Chia Seed

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Something that I have started adding to my morning smoothies is Chia seeds. These tiny little seeds are the highest plant source of omega 3's. And we all know how important omega 3's are. They also have a very good ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 (3:1) while most foods have a ration of about 1:15-30, a ratio that is actually bad for you as it increases inflammation and thus pain and other nasty symptoms. But the superfood Chia is also a great source of dietary fibre, which helps stave off colon cancer and heart disease. Chia is also packed full of protein to keep you full and anti-oxidants in the form of Quercetin, which helps you stay fit, healthy, young and full of energy. What's not to love?
Sprinkle them on salads, bake them in muffins or bread or try them in a smoothie.

Anti-oxidant fill me up
great for breakfast
serves 2
1/4 cup frozen blueberries or mixed berries
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons high quality vegetable protein powder
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup coconut milk or cream
2 small bananas
1/4 cup organic apple juice
2 heaped teaspoons green powder (either wheat grass, barley grass or vital greens)

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend till combined. Drink straight away.

Quick vietnamese omelette

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The other day I whipped up a quick lunch for Mr. Ox and I before work with left overs from the fridge. It just goes to show that it's not hard to whip up a simple, healthy, low carb meal in a few minutes.

Vietnamese Omelette
serves 2
omelette
3 large free range organic eggs
pinch of sea salt
pinch of sugar
pinch of turmeric
4 tablespoons water
small amount if coconut or peanut oil for frying

Filling
12 raw prawns (or any left over cold meat)
1 small red chili chopped (this was pretty hot, so next time I'd use 1/2)
1 spring onion, sliced
3 sprigs garlic chives, sliced
1/3 handful fresh chopped corriander
2 teaspoons soy sauce
small squeeze of fresh lime
handful of bean sprouts

Wisk together eggs, water, salt, turmeric and sugar and place aside. In a fry pan cook the prawns and spring onions in a little oil till opaque or if using cooked meat till meat is heated through, place in a bowl and add chili, garlic chives, corriander, soy, lime and bean sprouts. In the same fry pan, add a little more oil and once hot pour in egg mixture. Tilt pan for egg to coat the bottom of the pan. Turn down heat and cook till the egg is set but still moist on top. Tip prawn mixture onto one half of the omelette and fold other half over the mixture. Serve with cut cucumber and iceberg lettuce.

Pain killers, help or harm?

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A Swiss literature review has found that people who take painkillers regularly, such as those who take it for chronic pain of conditions such as arthritis,  double or even treble their risk of heart attack and stroke.
In response to these findings Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, was quoted as saying:

"This confirms what has been known for some years now: taking non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs on a regular basis increases heart attack or stroke risk. However, some patients with debilitating joint pains may consider the small increased risk worthwhile when set against the improvement in their quality of life that these drugs bring." 

Oh my Omega 3

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A new study has shown that omega 3 fatty acids such as those found in fish and flaxseed can be beneficial in the prevention of psychotic disorders. The study focused on individuals aged 13 to 25 with "subthreshold psychosis" (meaning they we're displaying enough symptoms to be classified as having full blown psychosis but were classified as ultra high risk). Subjects were either given 1.2g (4 standard strength fish oil tablets) per day of omega 3 or a placebo for 12 weeks, and then were monitored for a following 40 weeks. By the end of the 52 week study only 2 out of 41 (4.9%) in the Omega 3 group had transitioned to psychotic disorder compared to 11 of the 40 (27.5%) in the placebo group.
Snaps to nemo.

Hear the happy

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We all know that listening to our favourite band can make us feel good and finally scientists have come up with the reason why, dopamine. This study found subjects who listened to music that they liked experienced a 9% rise in basal dopamine levels in the areas of the brain linked to pleasure. The same areas that are stimulated by eating chocolate, having sex and even taking cocaine. What better way to boost your mood after a long day than to blast your favourite song? Finally a scientific justification for that Brittney Spears album...
Thanking my old teacher for the heads up on this one.

Healthy Snax

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The first thing I noticed about giving up processed carbohydrates was how hungry I felt. Back in the old days I would grad a few rice cakes to tide me over, but alas, no more. So I had to get creative. Stashing healthy snacks in my desk draw kept me from gnawing my own arm off. Here are a few tips:

Not so sweet

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The other night I flipped over to Food Additives: An Edible Adventure on SBS, a documentary hailing the wonders of food additives. Difficult though it was to hold myself back from screaming at the television (mental note: sell tv) I did watch the full episode and would be interested in seeing others in the series. Even though Stefan Gates did gloss over a huge amount of not so glowing evidence about food additives, he did touch on one very interesting piece of evidence about artificial sweeteners. The brain and body can tell the difference between artificial sweeteners and sugars.This is because although the artificial sweeteners bind to the same receptors on the tongue, they do not stimulate the same reward centers in the brain and sugar does. Also when artificial sweeteners are broken down by the body they do not release the same amount of energy as sugar does. The body is very smart, when we eat something sweet the brain expects there to be a sudden burst of energy, but alas, with artificial sweeteners there is none. So what does the body do? It must seek this energy from somewhere else and thus your body will make you more hungry so you will consume more food to get that extra energy it feels it has been deprived of. Add this to the detrimental health effects of artificial sweeteners and a case "for" artificial sweeteners seems a little thin. Mother nature 1, Scientist: 0.

Burger in a Bowl

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Ah the first recipe of the year and it's a good one! In fact it's Mr. Ox's favourite, because lets face it, who doesn't love a good burger? The beauty of this is that you can tweek it to suit yourself, make it as healthy (or naughty) as you want. Perhaps use lentil patties or tofu or a field mushroom or chicken or lamb or steak or fish or kangaroo instead of a mince patty. A friend of mine has build-your-own-burger night where she just puts a whole lot of things in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves. Marvellous.

Chirstmas Baking: Shortbread

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What's Christmas with out shortbread? This is my gluten free version I adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe. It's super buttery and super crumbly, make it once and you'll realise why its called the best shortbread in the world.

The best (gluten free) shortbread in the world
250g best (pref. organic) unsalted butter
3x(125g) of gluten free flour (I use one part rice flour, one part gluten free plain flour and one part corn flour to make up 375g of flour)
100g organic golden caster sugar
optional flavours: zest of one lemon, 2 crumpled dried lavender flowers, vanilla essence

Cream together butter and sugar then add flavouring if using. Add in flour and mix together with a spoon till well combined. Press dough into a baking tray and prick all over with a fork. Bake at 170C until golden on top (about an hour). Cut into fingers while still warm.

Surviving the silly season the third

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Over indulging is what Christmas is all about right? It's a time where all healthy eating goes out the window and come new year we're full of silly season remorse, swearing never again. Well this year there are a few things you can do to minimise your holiday hangover. We've already talked about food and drink now comes
Chapter 3: Suppliments

Surviving the silly season the second

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So we've covered food, the next natural progression is
Chapter 2: Drink

Christmas Greens

A few nice green ideas for your holiday table.

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Surviving the silly season the first

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Being one of my favourite things, of course I'm going to start with:
Chapter one: Food

1. Skip the deep fried finger food and stick to the fresher options such as sushi and cold rolls
2. Avoid the carby potatoes and such with your turkey and ham and save those up for pudding and cake! (Christmas is also a great time to try out gluten free baking as many recipes lend themselves to substituting flour for almond meal)

Heart Health

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In case you didn't get the memo, I'm not a big fan of carbs. And guess who else back me up on this? The Italians. Yep those spaghetti eating, pizza inventing, cannoli lovers have done some research that showed women who have a diet high in refined white carbohydrate rich foods such as bread, rice and pasta are 2.25 times more likely to develop heart disease than their carb dodging counterparts. Good news for men though, the study found that men don't appear to have the same like between carbs and heart disease, bad news is men still have a higher rate or heart disease and death resulting from it than women. Still, heart health, yet another reason to put down that slice of toast.

Catch the happiness bug

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Did you know that happiness is contagious?
Yep, those guys at Harvard have done it again by showing that if one person is happy, it creates a ripple effect in the people around them, even if those people are complete strangers. It's a concept called "Emotional contagion" and has been studied and documented since 1994. Until this study, emotional contagion research dealt mainly with negative emotions, showing how contagious destructive emotions such as fear, sadness and anger are.

Cave men can cook

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What's not to love about prehistoric man? He's ruggedly handsome, a burly protector and he can prepare you the freshest, healthiest meal ever. An American study has shown that consuming a  paleolithic type diet similar to our preagricultural hunter-gatherer ancestors is good for us. A paleolithic diet is made up of lean meat, fruits, vegetables and nuts, and excludes nonpaleolithic foods, such as cereal grains, dairy and legumes. After just 10 days of this diet, researches found subjects had decrease blood pressure, improved glucose tolerance, decreased insulin secretion, increased insulin sensitivity and large and significant decreases in cholesterol, lipoprotiens and triglycerides. Who knew Early Man was sexy and smart! 

Salmon with egg and lemon sauce

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I'm always looking for new ways to cook fish and salmon is my favourite. I found this recipe while flicking through an old greek cookbook of my mum's. It was a hit with Mr. Ox, although next time I may substitute the onions for leeks since we both found the onions a little strong. I opted for salmon but any firm fish would work well. The sauce is tangy and creamy (good for you too) and would work well with asparagus too. Serve it with a simple green salad and its a perfect summer meal.

Dairy and Calcium

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"If I don't eat dairy, how will I get Calcium for my bones?"
A common question I get asked.
Now a small amount of organic dairy is not too bad for you, for example I would choose real butter over margarine any day (I trust cows more than I trust scientists) but too much of anything (other than green vegetables) is not good for you.
But lets look at dairy and its claims to being so benificial to health.

Tales of the misunderstood: Low Fat Diets

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Low Fat, is there any other word combination I hate more? I think not. The idea of decreasing your fat intake is based on the lipid hypothesis which states that a high fat diet is the major contributor to cardiovascular disease. This idea was based on poor scientific evidence from the start and in recent years has been heavily criticized (for an informative and funny look at the situation, watch the documentary Fat Head).