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Why Leafy Greens are so good for you and the Nutritional breakdown.

Not many foods can compare to the high nutritional value of leafy greens. Researchers are finding that eating your greens may be even more important than previously imagined. In putting together this article I found lots of quotes that stated “it was common for our ancient ancestors to eat up to six pounds of leaves per day”. Recent research shows that a gene that is essential for producing critical immune cells in your gut, responds to the food you eat—specifically leafy green vegetables. So eat your greens!

We now know that these greens are packed with an array of antioxidants and other disease-fighting compounds. Researchers also believe that these vegetables play an important role in controlling food allergies, inflammatory diseases and obesity, and may even prevent the development of bowel cancers (see Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for more on that).

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Here’s a nutritional breakdown of the top readily available leafy greens:

Kale:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • High in Calcium (for a vegetable)
  • Also supplies Folate and Potassium

Collard Greens:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • Good source of Folate, Manganese, and Calcium
  • Cancer preventatvive glucosinolates (glucoraphanin, sinigrin, gluconasturtiian, and glucotropaeolin)
  • Similar in nutrition to Kale but more chewy with a stronger taste

Swiss Chard:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • Good source of Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Iron and Vitamin E
  • At least 13 different Polyphenol Antioxidants, including Kaempferol and Syringic Acid
  • Unique source of Phytonutrients called Betalains (provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support)

Turnip Greens:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • Good source of Folate, Manganese, Calcium, Copper, Vitamin E and Vitamin B6
  • Bitter taste linked to high Calcium (4x more than cabbage, 2x more than mustard greens)
  • High glucosinolate content (phytonutrients with cancer-preventing properties)

Spinach:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K
  • Good source of Manganese, Folate, Iron, Vitamins C, B2, B6 and E
  • Showed evidence of significant protection against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancer.
  • Glycoglycerolipids help protect the lining of the digestive tract from damage — especially damage related to unwanted inflammation.

Beetroot Greens:

  • Excellent source of vitamins A, C, E and K
  • Good source of Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Zinc, Vitamins B6

Valuable source of Lutein/Zeaxanthin (good for eye health)

Lettuce:

  • Excellent source of vitamin K. Vitamin K has a potential role in the bone metabolism where it thought to increase bone mass by promoting osteotrophic activity inside the bone cells. It also has established role in Alzheimer’s disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in the brain.
  • Fresh leaves contain good amounts folates and vitamin C. Folates are part of co-factors in the enzyme metabolism required for DNA synthesis and therefore, play a vital role in prevention of the neural tube defects in the baby (fetus) during pregnancy.
  • Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant; regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.

So don’t over look the humble lettuce it’s my favorite green to have in the fridge . . .

How to Choose Leafy Greens

When choosing your greens, you should always look for leaves that are crisp. You want to hear a slight snap when you crack the stems. If they are wilted, soggy, or slimy, keep looking! Ideally, they have been stored in a cool place but watch out for greens stored in ice and the leaves will burn. Greens are loaded with water. Ice can crystallize the water and the greens may end up mushy by the time you get them home.

The leaves should smell fresh and, well, really green!

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Colour is also important. If you have a choice, pick the darkest leaves. Don’t worry about a few brown spots, that’s perfectly normal, especially at the farmers markets. However, if the edges are consistently brown throughout all the leaves they are not good. Last but not least, is smell. The leaves should smell fresh and, well, really green!

NOTE: Non-organic greens can be very high in pesticides. This is one of those items that are definitely worth buying organic.  It is to buy from a local grower when possible. Make sure your growers are practicing sustainable farming practices and not using heavy chemical pesticides and herbicides. If you can’t buy from a local farm or farmers market, then make sure to choose organically-certified greens at the grocery store. There’s no skimping on greens they should always be organic where possible.

Eat your greens! Add them to each meal in smoothies, juices, salads, use as wraps and serve with dips.

I do not suggest cooking greens . . . if they are not sweet enough to eat raw, then do not eat them at all. Once you cook leaves you loose the nutrients of them and the healing properties they hold.

Nuts and seeds and the truth about digesting them . . .

Nuts nuts nuts!

Are they a health food or stopping your gut from healing? How many is good and in what combination is best?
People who have had inflammatory bowel disease or leaky gut or suffer with a gut-brain connections such as (depression, autism) generally do not digest fats well because they lack the enzymes needed to break them down, I was no exception and the low carb high fat diet nearly killed me! Then moving away to a gourmet raw vegan diet. . . I still overloaded on raw desserts and nut cheeses and pates as I was living a gourmet raw diet trying to recreate cooked dishes that were so high in fats and hard to digest foods and fancy gourmet dinners.

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This is what I’ve learned and why I now eat a simple diet with simple combinations and a small amount of  seeds germinated here and there.

High- protein, fatty and oily foods must be minimised, especially during the first year of gut recovery or you will plato and cause long term damage. Learning to eat within your digestive limitations is so important for healing no matter what your mind wants and your eyes see. Fat intake must be increased gradually only in accordance with what you can properly digest good overt healthy fats are essential in the diet but must be stopped or minimised at first to get the healing. Overeating on overt healthy fats like nuts, seeds, coconuts and avocados will, typically, stress the digestive system and create a toxic condition indicated by gas, foul, putrid bowel odours, stomach acidity, constipation, fatigue, etc., which can trigger an inflammatory bowel disease flare up. None mind bad fats, them you just need to steer well clear off.
• One to two ounces of nut or seed or nut butters eaten with one dinner (away from fruit) in a salad meal once per day, may be all the fat that anyone can digest effectively after healing inflammatory bowel disease. Or 1/4-1/2 of an avocado may be your digestive limit per day.
• Raw (ungerminated) nuts are difficult to digest; but, when eaten in small quantities (one ounce per meal, once per day, one to three times per week, depending on your digestive strength (I can not even cope with that much without getting sluggish and tired) and of course chewing them well with lettuce, celery or cucumbers, then they might digest ok and give healthful benefits. The masticating action (chewing) of our teeth is not capable of effectively breaking down hard nuts and seeds to particle sizes small enough to be completely digested by our stomach acids. We are not squirrels! Stomach acid can only act on the outer surface of the nuts particles; if acidic digestive enzymes are not able to act on the protein within the particles, the protein will pass through the system unused and without giving you its nutrients and will putrefy in the bowel causing bloating, gas and wind. Activating your nuts and seeds helps with this.
• Raw nuts and seed smoothies (made with water, citrus fruit (only) or vegetables in a blender) and raw nuts and seed butters -made in good blenders and or available in jars from health food stores, not mass supermarket brands. Are much easier to digest than unprocessed whole nut and seeds, and are, therefore, recommended to eat. Still, they are very rich in oily fat which can cause problems if eaten beyond your digestive capability and you know how fast a bag of nuts goes or a jar of nut butter. So go easy on them with small amounts in the right food combinations and always the freshest highest quality. Food combining and why is it essential for health!-chart. I would suggest having smoothies with fruits, greens and water with NO NUTS OR SEEDS ADDED.

 

• “Living” nuts and seeds, i.e., raw nuts such as almonds germinated/sprouted in water for 12 to 24 hours then sprouted in room temperature air, are more digestible than ungerminated (raw) nuts. The soaking and germination process hydrates and softens the hard fiber and reduces complex proteins into readily digestible amino acids. Germinated nut and seed blends (cheeses or patés) are perhaps easiest on the digestive system—an easy salad dressing is to blend one to two ounces of nuts or seeds with water, fresh-squeezed orange juice, a slice of orange or a tomato in a blender, then use this as a salad dressing or dip for vegetables.
• Experiment making nut and seed milks. Soak raw nuts or seeds in purified water for 2 to 24 hours, rinse well, blend at high speed with purified water in a blender, then strain and slowly drink the milk, mixing in your saliva. Chew chew chew even liquids!

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Step by Step – Making Nut and Seed Milks.
• Avoid old rancid nuts and seeds that’s any that come from a supermarket or in packets, they can be 1-3 years old—these tend to feel soft, taste cheesy with no sweetness and appear darker in color than when they are fresh. You are not getting nutrition from these just toxins and more mucus being formed.
• Heated or roasted nuts and seeds are very toxic and must be avoided. Avoid roasted and salted nut and seed butters. Never cook with nuts!
• Peanut butter is not recommended because: 1. In raw or heated form, it is difficult to digest due to its high protein and starch content which we know doesn’t digest well; 2. In roasted form it is highly toxic; and 3. Peanuts are one of the most heavily pesticide-sprayed crops even in Australia.
• Organic, whole, raw peanuts can be eaten in moderation if they have been sprouted (soaked in water and allowed to germinate for several hours). However, these are subject to a toxic, yellow mold and must be carefully inspected and eaten with caution. Peanuts are actually a legumes and not recommend for gut healing as they are hard to digest.
If you are to eat nuts I would suggest choosing high omega 3 nuts like walnuts, pistachios, Macadamia, Brazil nuts which are great brain foods, over the higher omega 6 almond if you can. I do not suggest the raw nut desserts the are so hard to digest and are high in fats and rancid oils. Once you’ve done the healing work add them in as an occasional treat or different texture!

Food combining and why is it essential for health!-chart.

Why is it so important?

Food combining has been increasing in its awareness in the last decade but was brought to our attention by Dr H Shelton in the 50’s and 60’s. It is recognized that our stomach digests foods at different rates and by using different enzymes to digest each food. If we desire to have optimum health and wellness, we must know the importance of maintaining a properly “balanced diet” in relation to the acid/alkaline diet. Without proper food combing principles our diets will eventually lead to indigestion and acidosis. This will rob us of our cellular energy required to attain an overall healthy body.

Instead of looking at food as “Calories” look at it as fuel that if our bodies are able to assimilate them with ease we get energy. If your stomach is unable to digest the foods properly it doesn’t matter how much nutrition is in the food or what the diet is called, because your body isn’t absorbing any and you become malnutritioned, most of the western world is fat but malnutritioned. We are fat and starving!!

The good thing is when you’re combing food properly your body will reduce weight, eliminate bloating, feel good overall, and get the most out of the foods you eat and will keep your gut healthy. And the energy goes to running your brain and healing your cells.

So how do we do this food combining thing?

1. Never Eat Carbohydrates with Acidic Foods in the Same Meal.

Do not eat bread, potatoes, peas, beans, bananas, dates, or other carbohydrates with lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits, pineapples, tomatoes or other sour fruit.

The enzyme, ptyalin, acts only in an alkaline medium; it is destroyed by a mild acid. Fruit acids not only prevent carbohydrate digestion, but they also favor their fermentation. Oxalic acid diluted to one part in 10,000, completely arrests the action of ptyalin. There is enough acetic acid in one or two teaspoons of vinegar to entirely suspend salivary digestion.

Tomatoes should never be combined with any starch food. They may be eaten with leafy vegetables and fat foods. The combination citric, malic and oxalic acids found in tomatoes, (which are released and intensified by cooking which is why I do not suggest cooking tomatoes ever!), is very a detrimental to the alkaline digestion of starches in the mouth and stomach. They should not be used on salads during a starch meal.

In cases of hyperacidity of the stomach, there is great difficulty in digesting starches. Much discomfort is caused by eating them. They ferment and poison the body. Acid-starch combinations are very rare in nature—the sour apple coming nearest to being such a combination to which we natural spit this out . . .

2. Eat Fruits First

Fruit is a food that digests best when eaten alone. While you’ll read in (4.)  not all fruits digest best together, it has the fastest exit rate of the stomach as fruit does not digest in the stomach, therefore fruits should be eaten first or alone. For those concerned about their blood sugar or candida, as long as fruit is eaten without fat and/or with leafy greens, blood sugar will remain stable. So fruity raw deserts are a disaster on the digestion. fruit is abundant in nutrients, anti-oxidants, and water, fruit is an excellent snack that is easily digested by the human body but needs to be eaten first, starting with acid fruits then moving on to sweet fruits and proteins after all fruit has been consumed!

3. Protein and Starches do NOT mix

Is it a common occurrence to consume a heaping serving of mashed potatoes next to a large portion of meat and/or dairy? This is one of the worst food combinations ever, but can easily be improved. Because the human body requires an acid base to digest proteins and an alkaline base to digest starches, this can lengthen the time of digestion and cause fermentation in the gut. This can lead to bloating, indigestion, and stinky bowel movements as the food putrefies in the gut.

To correct his, it is best to eat proteins with non-starchy vegetables and especially leafy greens. Starches can be consumed on their own or with other vegetables, but not with protein. Proteins that are cooked renders the protein particles in it useless for the body, and cooking demonises it making it unable to be digested fully.

4. Eat Melons Alone-ALWAYS!

Have you ever had the mistake of consuming watermelon after a dinner? Most likely you experienced gas, a slight blood sugar drop, and/or nausea. That is because melons are the type of fruit that digest completely different than other sweet treats. For optimal digestion, melons should be consumed alone and on an empty stomach first thing and then not eaten again in the day. Remove them from your mixed fruit salad.

5. Greens, Greens and More Greens

Greens are easily ruled as one of the best foods for mankind. Loaded with amino acids (building blocks of protein), essential minerals and nutrients (B vitamins, magnesium, iron, and more!), along with fiber (great for digestion). They combine well with all foods, and therefore should make a regular appearance on your plate. If you’re not consuming your 3 – 5 cups of vegetables a day then adding a cold pressed Barley Grass powder it to water, juice, or your favourite smoothie can help keep your mineral up!

For example, a salad is a great contribution to every meal and the live enzymes will help your other food digest smoothly. Eat your salad before any other food on your plate for maxima digestion.

6. Fats & Oil

While overt healthy fats combine well with everything (except fruit!), they should be used in limited amounts as they are very calorie dense and slow down digestion and when used with fruits cause bacteria and yeasts breakouts. Oils should not be consumed as they are not a whole food and when cooked become indisputable and poisonous to the body. Therefore, save your meal with fats like avocado or nuts for dinner or allow your body at least 4-5 hours to digest a dense lunch before eating again.

7. Probiotics (Friendly Bacteria)

You should only take probiotics 30 minutes before a meal not during. Mixing probiotics with a meal may decrease some absorption. The reason is that the probiotic ends up spending more time in the stomach. Another reason to take them on an empty stomach is because before the journey to the intestines, the bacteria will have more difficulty surviving the harsh stomach acid during digestion, affecting their potency.

Don’t take them after a meal! Probiotics that are taken after a meal have even more difficulty surviving stomach acid levels as this is when your stomach acid is at its peak. A study from 2013 found that when a probiotic supplement was taken after a meal, extremely low levels of bacteria actually survived.

A recent study in the Journal of Beneficial Microbes showed that probiotics are optimally absorbed when taken prior to a meal and were absorbed almost as well when taken with a meal containing fats. If you are however eating vegan plant based diet, high in complex carbohydrates and fruits and low in fats you should not need Probiotics. 

What is a ‘Health Coach’ and how can they help you achieve your goals?

8. Timing is Everything

Because foods digest at different rates, you can lessen the pressure on your body by waiting until the previous food has left the stomach and is being digested in the intestines. Wait the following amount of time between foods that don’t combine:

  • Two hours after eating fruit
  • Three hours after eating starches
  • Four hours after eating protein
  • If you eat proteins no water for 4 hours after.
  • If you eat starches no water for 2 hours after
  • If you eat fruits no water for 30 minutes after
  • If you eat vegetables no water for 1 hour after.

This is chart for you to put on your fridge and follow to the T!

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Check out my gut healing protocol here:Hannah’s Gut Healing Protocol.

 

Raw winter porridge.

My favourite raw winter porridge. . .

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Keeps my tribe full till lunch.
🍌 3 ripe bananas per person.
2 ripe sticky dates per person.
🍎 1 crisp apple cored and quartered per person.

1/4 tsp of Ginger and Cinnamon for extra warmth.

Place all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blitz until an oatmeal type texture forms.

Then add 1/2 cup hemp seeds per person or/and 1 tbsp chia seeds per person.

You can add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon per person too or 1 inch fresh ginger per person is nice as well. If you don’t have apples try just ripe pears 🍐.

Berries and kiwi chia breakfast bowl.

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Serves 2.
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
2 cups coconut water
1 cup defrosted berries
1 cup finely chopped kiwi fruit
1/4 cup coconut flakes

Leave for 15-20 minutes to soak up the water. Add more if you require.

Add chopped fresh strawberries and kiwis on top with more seeds and coconut.

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

Chocless hazelnut fudge balls!

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Ingredients:

1 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw buckwheat
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup linseeds
12 pitted dates soaked
1/4 cup carob powder
1 tbs mesquite powder

Add more dates to get the right consistency depending on how fresh your dates are.

Method:

Blend till very smooth but still with some texture. Roll into balls and devour these decedent treats! 😋

Carob is an evergreen flowering shrub. The powder can be ground down without any heating or processing like cacao. It’s also less of a stimulant and is better for those with #adrenalfatigue as it will not affect your hormone levels like #cacaco can as its caffeine free yay! It’s high in vitamin E and magnesium, potassium and minerals and can help with digestion too. It’s high in protein like most plant based nutrients and has an earthy sweet taste that I find more palatable since breaking my cacao addiction 6 months ago. It’s lovely on chopped bananas or in a smoothie. Like all foods like this it’s a sometimes food! If you have allergies to garlic, onions or phenols steer clear as it contains tannins that are rich in gallic acid.
But gallic acid provides anti-allergic, antiseptic and anti-bacterial benefits. Don’t worry it doesn’t taste like garlic ha!!

Green brekkie bowl . . .

Brekkie bowl packed with goodness to set my boys off to school with full bellies and fuelled brains, so they can play learn and grow 🙌🏻

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4 ripe large bananas
3 dates
1 tbs barley greens
1 cucumber
2 sticks celery
1 small lettuce
1 kale leaf

Blended and decorated with love
💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

Why do we get sick and why are we always so tired?

Are you overwhelmed by how much conflicting nutrition advice is out there? Yep I remember that feeling. You try everything and nothing really works you feel frustrated and confused and do not know how to get yourself well. One specialist say this and another says that and you pay $$$$$$$$$ on supplements and remedies and potions to get told those things you just brought don’t help you. Oh gosh what around about!  What is a ‘Health Coach’ and how can they help you achieve your goals?

I hope to show you a bit of the basic science so you can understand what causes sickness and how easy it is to reverse it. And how to see the truth and find your healthiest self. Without the need for supplements, herbs or synthetic food replacements, or powders.

So hear goes . . . Natural Hygiene which I am proud to be a student off is a philosophy started by Doctor Herbert Shelton in which he teaches about the branch of biology in which health depends and the means in which it can be sustained. It is the principles of nature and observing the laws of life, and that man is the cause of all his diseases and those diseases do not come upon him without just cause.

What does that really mean?

Lets look at your body like a battery, and that battery is your daily life force or energy. This energy is the power it needs to move, study, digest, work, run, breath and repairing the cells and a host of things in-between. Each activity uses a different amount of energy, and after a good night sleep the body it restores to its full energy force again. Right?

Well what if your body cannot recharge? Or that you are not getting enough sleep or the quality sleep you need? Then your battery will not be able to recharge to its full capacity and you will not have the full amount of energy to complete your tasks. There must be a balance between the energy we expel and the energy we recharge. If we send out more energy than we get back through sleep then are bodies are depilated and cannot function healthily. We call this energy debt! You may know this as brain fog, muscle ache, yawning during the day, and lack of motivation, or lack of libdo.

We have reserves naturally and our bodies know how to use these stores to keep us going . . .but what if you are living off your stores and not replenishing them properly? Certain parts of your body take more energy than others to run, these are the digestive system and the waste system, (your lymphatic system).

When we eat foods that take a lot of digesting ie Christmas dinner or a big heavy meal that not combined well, or junk food. . .how do we feel after? Tired and we want to sleep right? Well that shows you that the bodies energy source goes to the digestion to cope with the over loading of food. It then has no energy for your brain, your organs, your waste system and it has to shut down and you fall asleep. When the battery is low and we are in energy debt, we are in a state of exhaustion. But when we are in this place the energy cannot digest properly and the body cannot remove waste properly and most of us don’t sleep after a meal we rush off to the next task pushing through our exhaustion. Because the body is unable to expel the waste as it should, it starts to back in in the body ie toxins. This means the body is in danger and organic damage starts in the cells and tissues. Toxaemia. It is at this point the body is faced with two options:

  1. Let the body continue to be damaged and that would end in death
  2. Take action to reduce the level of waste

So the body is so clever and it’s sole job is to stay alive so it would not choice (1.) Unless it had not other option or  . . .(1.) was being stopped! so (2.) Is it’s choice! So once the level of waste has reached its threshold the body then sends out an acute illness to expel the waste . . . asthma, eczema, flu, colds, rashes, sore throat, sleep issues, gastro bugs, coughs, headaches, diarrhoea or a fever. These symptoms are the fastest way for you body to expel the waste. It is trying to communicate with you to take action. Once this cough or fever or rash has stopped, the waste has been removed and the body goes back to normal if you give it rest.

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But we don’t do this in this day and age. We suppress with medications, herbs and pills to stop the acne or the fever or the cough or we stimulate ourselves with cocoa, coffee, spices and flames feel good while our system is struggling to cope. We treat the symptom, which is the cure!! We treat the symptom, which is the cure!!

Say that out loud a few times to let it sinks in . . .

The body tries to eliminate the excess waste, if you supress this it creates the illness. The waste gets trapped in the body and cause more extreme diseases. Disease is organic damage. This shows up in eczema, psoriasis, lupus, inflammatory bowel diseases, migraines, eye degeneration, hair loss, thyroid conditions, infertility, fatigue, diabetes ect and then once the cells are so organically damaged and unable to grow properly they mutate and that’s what we call cancer. Cancer is just a collection of symptoms that have been ignored and mineral defences within the body.

Can you see the connection in not addressing the cold and allowing the body to expel waste as it should, and why you have it in the first place (ie what are you eating and how is your lifestyle) to how your body can get to the sickness or disease you have now? Again as Doctor Shelton says “man is the cause of all his diseases and those diseases do not come upon him without just cause.”

‘Trying to overcome disease without looking at the cause, is like trying to heal a burn when it’s still in the fire.’ Hannah Miles

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What are the causes of disease?

  • Over consumption of unnatural foods in the wrong food combinations
  • Eating to late at night
  • Not enough rest to allow the body to recharge and cope with it’s basic functions
  • A high level of waste in the body
  • Alcohol
  • Chemicals
  • Tabaco
  • Vaccines
  • Lack of exercise
  • Heavy metals
  • Negative thoughts and people
  • Sugar
  • Mineral deficiencies
  • Cooked over heated foods that have no life force
  • Processed foods
  • Caffeine, Cacao, chocolate and spices
  • Medications and drugs
  • Chemical cocktails (tap water)
  • Pollutions
  • Radiation

We run into difficulty when our bodies cannot remove the waste and toxins as fast as we put them in. Not all of these things are in our control our air, soil and water is polluted but we can control what we consume and the lifestyle we lead.

How do we heal disease?

  • Sleep and rest so the cells can regrow and repair
  • Remove as many stresses on the body as possible
  • Do not over eat
  • Only eat natural foods
  • Move you body but do not over exercise depleting your body
  • Clear your mind and spend time in joy
  • Clean fresh filtered water drunk away from food
  • Remove chemicals and heavy metals from your body and home
  • Spend time in nature
  • Heal past traumas and hurts and mend relationships (with yourself too)
  • Fresh air
  • Sunshine
  • High quality raw living foods
  • Time
  • Love and compassion
  • Nature and time in the ocean and lakes

Which ways in life do you add in toxins and which ways do you counteract this? Is your balance right? Are the conditions in your life causes disease or healing it?

Each person will need a different approach to remove excess waste from there body. But giving the right conditions the body is very well equip to heal it self.

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YOUR BODY CAN HEAL IF YOU TREAT IT WELL AND CHANGE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

Check out my gut healing protocol: Hannah’s Gut Healing Protocol.

A simple guide to understanding Nutrition and the part it plays on your body, and how to heal your own body!

‘Life is a construction of nutrition and drainage under the control of the nervous system.’

Nutrition.

Nutrition is the process where raw material is converted into living structures. Materials which are used for digestion, fertility, rebuilding of cells, and repairing of tissues are accomplished. The body is equipped with a whole series of amazing organs, (this is a part of the nutritive system) which allow the body to take in raw materials like air, sleep, water, real food from nature and sunshine and turn this into life. By taking these into the body it is converting them into the blood stream so it can be taken to all parts of the body and used by the cells of the body and converted to structure and tissue. To make and keep life!

FOOD-We take in food and chew it slowly hopefully, and this is the first step where enzymes break down starches and create sugars, we then take it into the stomach where small glands excrete juices and break it down further. We then pass the food in to the small insensitive where more glands produce more juices and also juices from the pancreas and bile from the liver are together used to break the food down further. It reduces the food into small compounds where it can be passed into the blood stream and be utilised. This is called absorption. All these glands and organs are part of the digestion system. When the food particles are in the blood stream, they get picked up and moved to the liver where it then goes through more changes, where it get passes back into the blood to be utilised by the cells. This is a part of the nutritive system. We cannot live without fresh raw food. Food combining and why is it essential for health!-chart.

 

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WATER- we take it into the stomach just like food, but water does not need any digestion and goes straight into the small intestines and can be passed around the blood stream to be utilised by the cells. Too much water or water eaten with food simply dilutes the digestive juices and flushes the minerals and goodness from the body. We cannot live without fresh clean water. If our water is filled with fluoride and chemical this does not nourish us but aids in being a load on the body. How much water is good for you, and why you should never take it with food?

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AIR- we should take it in through the nose (not the mouth) and it is then passed down to the respiratory tracks and into the lungs our largest waste organ, where the blood picks up the oxygen and carries it to the cells to be used by the circulatory system. This is another part of the nutritive system. We cannot live without fresh clean air.

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SUNSHINE– the skin is your largest organ and sunshine is a raw material vital to our bodies. The glands in the body need sunshine and the vitamin D we get from it to convert into tissues and building material. We cannot live without sunshine. The sun does not cause skin cancer the products the sun burns onto the skin causes skin cancer. Small amounts of sun exposer daily is nourishing and needed. Cover up if you are in it for longer periods as too long can deplete your body.

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SLEEP- we do not heal from the food we put in our mouth! food is simple a way to fuel the body and can either put presure on it , or take pressure off of it. A system that is not overloaded but nourished when you go to sleep, can use these raw materials to repair, restore and re build our bodies. If we do not get enough sleep we will simple break down and age faster and our cells will start dying off and sending out symptoms of sickness and disease. This is the first stages of cancer. Sleep allows the body to rejuvenate and re grow. It must be good quality sleep and not induced by a suppressant or sleeping pill and this is not true sleep and will not allow your body to really switch off.  Sleeping and removing the load off your body is the fastest way to repair it and reverse damage. If you are exhausted stop work and all vigorous exercise and sleep as much as you can for as long as you can.

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It is through the endocrine system, the respiratory system, the circulatory system and the digestive system that nutrition is taken in and for the body to repair and re build it self, it needs rest and proper sleep. They all have to flow and work together which is why removing glands like tonsils and appendix is never a healthy option, as this has an effect on every cell of your body as it is clever balance. And all of these raw materials need to be in plentiful amounts and of the highest quality for it to complete its tasks.

Drainage.

Drainage or (detoxification) is the process of which waste is removed from the cells and carried to the organs that do the excretions; skin, kidneys, liver, bowels ect and then from the blood into the large intestines and excreted out the body. This is big process for the body and takes the lymphatic system to be working properly for the waste to be removed. The lymphatic system picks up waste from the cells and carries it through channels into the blood stream. These are things that do not need to be in the body like ie toxins, heavy metals, chemicals, fat, unnatural foods or synthetics, excess minerals it cannot store ect. The lymphatic system then passes it through the lungs to remove carbon dioxide and then goes to the liver and that then passes the waste materials to be converted and used again where possible into the blood, it then goes on to the large intestines and the waste is then excreted from the body in stools or urine which is filtered blood. If this process does not work you get backed up in your lungs (Asthma, croup, CPOD ect,) liver (fatty liver, low stomach acid) skin (eczema, acne, psoriasis ect) and intestines (IB ,Crohn’s and leaky gut) and your blood gets sticky and your lymphatic system slows down unable to work further. The body then leaches waste in to the blood from the instines and the body sends out ways to clean it up and the food particles get trapped and leaky gut is created. You store your waste in fat cells and the body tries to clean the lymphatic system by sending out mucus and bacteria. The mucus then putrefies and causes infections in the ears, lungs and skin. The bacteria gets overgrown and cause imbalances and yeast overgrowths. If the body is not draining probably this affect the glands as they stop excreting juices or produce too much, and of course this all effects the hormones as hormones are made in the glands. . .Wow!!

Are you starting to see how EVERYTHING is connected and how removing glands, or organs just is not the answer, how surpassing symptoms with drugs and medications only leads to death. We must restore balance to the body and only put raw materials into the body.

This is all controlled by the nervous system. The nervous system is so vital in the body, without that transmission nothing would work. So the final part of nutrition is the stress levels in your life. If you can remove the stress and the toxic relationships and trauma and return the body to the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), and allow the body to drain the waste correctly then you can control all illnesses and diseases, retuning the body back to it’s healthy balances state.

By understanding the importance of what you put in you body effects what your body sends out and how that breeds disease, then you understand that it is all, fixable with the right raw materials to start with. Which are;

  • REAL FOOD
  • SUNSHINE
  • FRESH AIR
  • CLEAN PURE WATER –not the chemical cocktail from a tap!
  • A POSTIVE ENVIORMENT

I hope this information helps you to make the wisest choices for your clever body. The only thing stopping your health is YOU!

Why do we get sick and why are we always so tired?

Hannah’s Gut Healing Protocol.

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Remove

Removing is the first step: by removing harmful foods, toxins and stresses on the body you give it the best chance to heal. If you imagine your body as a large cooking pot and each toxin, junk food, chemical, truama or stressful day goes into fill up that pot, eventualy that pot will over flow and you can try to put a lid on it (medication) but you are just supressing the inevitable of it exploding and spilling over (disease and illness). Foods like spices, cooked foods, meats and flesh, alcohol, packaged foods, coffee and chocolate are stimulants to the body and will stop it healing. The body can only heal when it has no pressures on the system and is getting adequate sleep.

Below is what you need to remove without cheating or using as a “treat food”

Things in moderation does not apply to good nutrition and healing the body. A small amount of harmful unnatural foods are still damaging for the body. Large amounts are more damaging!

  • alcohol, coffee, cacao, chocolate
  • soda and canned drinks, fruit juices and cartoon drinks, UHT milks and juices and nut milks
  • cooked foods
  • sweets, lollies, candies, pop corn and packaged treats and biscuits
  • chocolate (even raw if you have Adreanal or Chronic Fatigue)
  • spices and spicy foods
  • sugars and natural sugars like agave, maple, honey, coconut sugar
  • trans fat, crisps, chips, fried foods and packaged and canned foods
  • jared, tinned and pre-made foods
  • wheat, gluten and grains (some grains and seeds like quinoa, buckwheat and millet can be added back in once the healing has been done)
  • canned beans, legumes, meats, broths and dairy
  • stress and toxic relationships
  • work pressures
  • the need to be right
  • the need to be perfect
  • badly combined foods
  • eating late meals
  • reducing nightshades like tomatoes, eggplants, capsicum and starchy vegetables like parsnips, carrots, beets and white potatoes some may need to remove completely but can be returned after the skin has healed
  • remove all parastite and yeast over growths by doing cleanses or probiotic protocols
  • tap water and bottled water and drinking when you are not thirsty
  • chemicals, toxins from your skin care and home cleaning products-supermarket supplements
  • moulds from your home
  • stresses and environmental stresses including work and relationships
  • antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication – ibuprofen, Oral contraceptive pill and thrush medication-all mediation safely.
  • chiropractic adjustments, saunas, vigorous rough massage, excessive exercise that exhausts you and anything else that stimulates the nervous system
  • salt and pepper

This list may seem overwhelming and too much to remove but you will not achive healing if you are still using chemicals on your skin or toxins in your home or having weekend treats of raw deserts, chips, cakes and chocolate or eating foods that are cooked to often in your diet. You must go through a strict removing stage to allow your body to expel the inflammation and re-program itself to start the healing process. It’s not to say if you do slip up (we are all human and life happens) that you have undone all you have worked hard on so far. It’s about getting back on the horse and trying again. Each time you do this your body will recover faster and eventualy it will signal you don’t need those foods anymore and it will show you how to get what you need from natural healthy foods and your environment.

HOW SERIOUS ARE YOU TO GET BETTER? 

For example I used to suffer from migrains and as soon as I felt one coming on I would reach for my migraine tablets and have a chocolate craving. Well what my body was telling me is that I needed magnesium and it was trying to detoxify my system. So now when I feel a mild headache come on I have some almonds or a banana and take double dose of my magnesium powder, or I fast to allow my body to remove the toxins efficiently, I listen to my body instead of supressing the signals it’s telling me.

Your body is very clever, it’s equipt with everything it needs and signals to you what it wants or needs to function. We have become so far removed from our bodies and we are used to suppressing or stimulating it with junk foods or medication we have lost the abilty to read it and understand what it needs. ‘You don’t eat for hunger but to fuel your cells’.

Repair

Repairing is the second but most important step: once you have removed these foods and environmental toxins, it allows the pressure to come off the sympathetic nervous systems which primary process is to stimulate the body’s fight-or-flight response and return to the Parasympathetic nervous system which primary process is to calm and relax the body and allow healing to happen. Healing will not be able to happen if you are in the fight-or-flight response your body does not digest from this state and it can not heal from this state. Eating mindfully is important and eating mono (one food meals) at first will help your digestion repair faster. Having a meal of just one fruit can really help kick the digestion back in.

 How do you repair you body?

These foods below you should be eating daily if possible and be incorporated into your weekly nutrition where possible, try to eat a large amount of organic or low spray greens and vegetables daily and get most of your nutrients and calories from ripe in season fruits. which is our primary source of energy. Nuts and seeds can be added in the right food combinations and depending on your level of leaky gut. Nuts and seeds and the truth about digesting them . . .

“Coffee to a healthy strong body can be productive in small doses sparingly, coffee to a person with leaky gut, stress, hormone unbalances and adrenal fatigue can be a killer and is not a health food.”

Healing healthy foods are essential as is the right environment for healing and repairing cells.

  • bio-individual probiotics if needed until the gut is healed
  • prebiotics rich foods like sweet potato, papaya and lemon
  • bio-individual natural supplements like zinc, magnesium, iodine, glutamine, B vitamins, D vitamins and trace minerals, adaptogens.
  • organic essential oils
  • large amounts of green leafy vegetables daily
  • aloe vera and beetroot juice – for constipation
  • barley grass powder for minerals
  • liquid chlorophyll
  • ripe fruits in abundance
  • sunshine daily on bare skin
  • grounding into the earth bare footed
  • ocean, forest or mountain air regularly
  • silica (diatomaceous earth) -for diarrhoea
  •  activated charcoal – for food allergies or reactions
 

 

  • mesquite powder -zinc, magnesium
  • zinc rich foods like – brazil nuts figs and pumpkin seeds.
  • vitamin A/beta carotene rich foods like- orange root vegetables
  • good natural saturated fats like avocado, walnuts and whole coconuts in small amounts
  • balancing hormones with diet and supplements like maca powder
  • iodine rich foods like seaweed
  • magnesium baths with sea salt and bi-carb to pull out toxins
  • correct food combining is essential to gut health
  • love and friendship
  • mediation daily
  • green juice on a empty stomach
  • only drink when you are thirsty
  • try to stay as raw as possible and only have cooked foods for dinner

The truth about fruit . . . and Carbs carbs carbs . . . good, bad and how many is right for you? may help you too . . .

Renew

This step is the third step: but one of the most important as it seals your new healthy life change and keeps your body able to protect itself and keep growing and healing the cells promoting anti-ageing and high energy levels.

You have done the hard part by removing the foods and making the lifestyle changes. By now you should be used to eating a healthy diet and learning to listen to your body’s signals.

These practices below will help you stick to this lifestyle and allow your body to cope with the everyday stresses that arise:

  • a healthy diet balanced in small amounts of good omega 3 fats, high amounts of natural complex carbohydrates (fruits and vegetables) iodine rich foods like green leafy vegetables and seaweed, nuts, seeds and an abundance of colour from natures foods, and clean filtered distilled water eaten away from food.
  • a daily practice of 10 minutes meditation twice a day will keep your anxiety down and help you think clearly and make decisions in every day life.
  • essential oils to help bring your into your body and relax you.
  • regular soft massage will help remove toxins and help relax your body.
  • Qi-gong or Ti chi or Yoga daily or at least 3 times a week will balance hormones, remove toxins, help with weight loss and distress your mind.
  • walking in nature as often as possible helps ground you (bare foot if you can).
  • practicing mindful-living will help keep you in the present moment and not living in the future or past thus keeping anxiety and worry down
  • setting values up around you and making sure you lifestyle choices are always in keep with these values will allow you to stay on your path.
  • boundaries and communication is vital to your health, if your body feels hard done by or stressed because of others it will show up in physical symptoms. By having open communication to those close to you and always putting yourself first and not over stepping your boundaries you will keep your body feeling safe.
  • chew chew chew your food slowly and spend time appreciating your food. It is fueling your body -do not just throw I down your throat. What does “Mindful Eating” really mean and how can it help your food intolerance?
  • breathing this is the most important thing we can learn as humans and the one thing we all do so badly at because of course we breath or we would be dead right? Well most of us don’t breath deeply enough and shallow breath can cause stress on the body. Take the time to deep breath in for 3 seconds hold for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds at least 5 minutes of each hour every day. I do this every time I stop at a red light or sit on the toilet. Find a place and time that suits you and make it a daily practice. Mediation and Breathing techniques for beginners!

Regrow

The final step to healing your body:

Once you are at this stage you would have changed as a person, your body will be thanking you with clear skin, sleeping well, no aches and pains and no inflamation, an alert mind and clear thinking – sounds blissfull right!

The final step is to address any of lifes hurts. This stage is the most difficult to overcome and most of us are still on this journey even the most enlightened guru’s have their past hurts or backage to overcome.

Through Coaching or Mickel Therpay or CBT or Theta Healing or your chosen way, I suggest dealing with any pain you have been caused or any pain you cuurently have in your life. This can unblock years of trauma you have pushed down causing your body physical symptoms. This is something I can help you with at a one to one coaching session. What is ‘Theta Healing’ and how can it help you?

Each persons story will be different and at first you might not want to open up about painfull past issues, but if you can make the connection beween you constant neck pain and your issue with your mother then you start to see the importance of doing so.

Have you ever returned from a family lunch with a headche or shoulder pain that you didn’t have before? Or met a friend for lunch and not felt listen to or he/she didn’t ask about your life or how you are and you come away feeling down and then go to the shops or eat something to make yourself feel better and just push that emotion down?

Do you see the connection between supressing emotions and physical pain and do you see that suppressing your body with food will cause more symptoms. Even if you have overcome this as an adult and you no longer let others effect. And you and you don’t absorb their pain or issues as your own (well done you) dealing with your past hurts can be prodcutive for your physical body. A simple guide to understanding Nutrition and the part it plays on your body, and how to heal your own body!

I recommend these books to help with this and to find a counselor or therpist you feel comfortable with:

‘You Were Not Born To Suffer’ -by Blake D Bauer

‘Your Can Heal Your Life’ -Louise Hay

‘Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway’ – Susan Jeffers

 

I leave you with this point that healing the body isn’t just about food or supplements, but about a whole body-mind approach and that the balance of life has to be right to achieve total happiness.

Please contact me if you need more support and guidance through your Gut-healing Protocol as doing it alone can be hard.

What is a ‘Health Coach’ and how can they help you achieve your goals?