Detoxify the System

Ultimate Health Key No 3:

Detoxify the System:

This was a big chapter full of little self tests where you had to score yourself and it would tell you what a toxic cesspit you were at the end. So, I am just going to add the summary:

Toxicity is an important cause of health problems such as low energy, weight gain, bad breath, poor skin and headache

The funciton of the liver is key to the elimination of potentially toxic substances

A liver-supoorting diet is one that includes easily digested food such as fruit, vegetables and grains, and is low in liver-taxing foods such as fatty foods, dairy products, processed foods, alcohol and caffeine

Certain nutrients and herbs such as milk thistle, choline, inositol, green tea extract and alpha lipoic acid can be very effective in improving liver funditon and reducing toxicity in the long term

Food sensitivity is an important and often undiagnosed cause of ill-health and reduced vitality

Food sensitivity is often related to porblems with poor digestion or leakiness in the digestive tract

Foodstuffs identified as a problem should be eliminated from the diet for one to two months, after which time they can often be reintroduced in small amounts withough causing a recurrence of the orignal symptoms

Acid and/or digestive enzyme supplements may be very useful for improing digestion and reducing a tendency to food sensitivity in time

Candida albicans overgrowth in the gut can lead to a wide range of health problems, including weight gain, irritable bowel syndrome, mood disturbance, fatigue and food cravings

Factors which encourage candida overgrowth include anitbiotic use, stress, homrmonal treatments and a diet containg foods that encourage yeast growth, including sugar, refind carbohydrates, bread and alcohol

The cornerstone of the anit-candida regime is a diet based on foods that do not encourage candida growth such as meat, fish, eggs and vegetables

Supplements that help restore healthy gut bacteria can be very useful in the management of candida

Other supplements useful in managing candida are those that support the liver and help to stabilize the blood sugar level

Natural anti-fungal supplements and those that help heal the lining of the gut may also be of benefit

Overcoming issues with internal toxicity can often bring about a profound improvement in both physical and mental well-being

Makes sense people. How can your body efficiently process the food if it is always busy dealing with other issues??

Week 9 Weigh In

Start Weight: 106.4kg
Week Nine: 105.0 kg
Loss/Gain: 200g
Lost so far: 1.4kg
Kgs to Goal: 45kg

Weight Loss Legend Extraordinaire Loses 1.4kg in Nine Weeks!! You can just see the heading in the Women's Weekly with a picture of my grinning in a bikini, can't ya??

I suppose it is at least coming down slowly but surely. I have 2.4kg to go to reach virgin fat.

I have Phoebe's 2nd birthday tomorrow. The little tike has been driving me up the wall so have offloaded her to Mum and Dad for the day and am supposed to be sorting the house out for tomorrow's "party" and doing the "moo moo" cake (see example below) and making the chocolate crackles, etc etc.




I need to go shopping for bits and bobs, her birthday present, (still don't bloody know what I am getting, she's got enough toys to sink the Titanic), get Ben's rugby socks and rugby shorts (bloody Under 8's have a game on Easter Saturday) and a plethora of other tasks. Need to clean the fridge, can't have visitors here and see the science experiments I have going on in there! Funny thing, I have been a bit of a lazy tart since being diagnosed with the depression again. Keep thinking I can use the fragile state of my mental health to sit around on my gluteus maximus and read blogs all day instead of doing my housework. I need to dye my hair, bought a hairdye over a month ago and haven't used it yet. Hair hasn't been cut, let alone trimmed since end of July last year and last time I dyed it was Xmas Day!! Blair told me the other day that my greys were sexy and made me look like a "witchy" sort of hippy chic. Whatever!! Got to admire the effort he puts into trying to compliment me. He told me I was a truly beautiful woman the other day. That is bloody hard to take.

Righti-ho-bags:

Ultimate Health Key No 2:

Give Your Body Water

Body is approx 70% water so it figures that we need it to be operating at optimum potential.

Even mild dehydration (the state most of us walk around in each day) can cause problems with an array of symptoms such as headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, heat intolerance, light headedness and dry mouth and eyes. Low fluid intake increases you chance of getting cancer. One study found that women consuming five or more glasses of water per day had about half the risk of developing cancer of the colon compared with women consuming two or fewer glases of water a day.
For average day to day needs, we should all aim to consume about 30mls of water for each kg of body weight (or 2.2pds). A 70kg adult should drink 2.1 litres (2100mls) a day and a 100kg adult would need 3 litres a day as a minimum.

The key to drinking water each day to required amounts, is to keep it around. Have a bottle in the car, your handbag, on the bench, on the coffee table. You are more likely to drink it if you can see it.

Your Blogs

Okay, I need to stop spending the whole flipping day pissing around looking at your blogs!! I have no idea how many I have in my Favourites now but every time I go somewhere I end up linking somewhere else and adding more bloody people to the list. When will it all end??

I love reading for inspiration but when it counteracts the good with all the arse-stuck-to-chair, then I really need to re-evaluate.

The other problem is I hardly bother about my own blog because I'm too busy reading. AAAAARGH!!

On the upside, Ultimate Health.

Key number 1:

Give Your Body Oxygen

The crux of this key is the fact that the majority of us don't breathe properly. Oxygen is an essential ingredient in the reactions which convert your food into energy.
If you are not breathing properly this can lead to problems with low energy and reduced vitality
Can also impair function of the body's cells.
Good breathing habits can be an effective way to enhance health and vitality and may also be beneficial in harmonizing body and mind.

Learning to belly breath is the first step to better breathing habits. Try it:

Breathe gently in and out through your nose. Breathe out all the air from your lungs, pause briefly, and begin to breathe in again. Concentrate on taking long, smooth, unhurried breaths.
As you breath in push your belly out, this will ensure you are filling th ewhole of your lungs with air. When your lungs feel full (not too full!!), pause breifly again, and then breathe out through your nose. Repeat this cycle always making sure that you belly is moving in and out as you breathe.

I bet you feel better already, I did!!

Ultimate Health

I have had a book for ages and ages and not really read it. On Saturday morning I decided to stop just using the back section as a reference and to actually read it. The book is called Ultimate Health, Twelve Keys to Abundant Health and Happiness. It is written by Dr John Briffa, a UK doctor who gave up conventional medicine to practise in complementary medicine, incorporating mind, body and spirit. It is great.
The twelve keys are:
1. Give Your Body Oxygen
2. Give Your Body Water
3. Detoxify the System
4. Balance Your Blood Sugar
5. Maintain Thyroid Function
6. Take Exercise
7. Honour Yourself
8. Trust Your Intuition
9. Live in the Moment
10. See Life as a Mirror
11. See the Positive in Everything
12. Be Love

Over the next couple of weeks I will expand on each key and let you know how I am going to apply the principles to my life and health.

On the goals front, Sue has inspired me to put a Brazilian in the mix and I think once I hit the 80's I will take the big step and get one. Scary.

I just did a whole over view of my goals and rewards and Phoebe came up and pressed a button on the keyboard and wiped it all!! Will post again later.