Breast Cancer Fund – Education and Awareness

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, there has been no better time to consider the impact our environment may be having on our risk of developing this disease.

The Breast Cancer Fund (www.breastcancerfund.org) are at the forefront of providing awareness and information about the prevention of this disease.

What do they do?

The Breast Cancer Fund’s aim is to transform how our society thinks about and uses chemical and radiation with the goal of preventing breast cancer and sustaining health and life.

Pretty powerful stuff!

Backed by the scientific evidence of the links between breast cancer and environmental factors, the Breast Cancer Fund’s website is packed with information on:

• Breast Cancer and Our Environment
• Chemicals and Radiation
• The Biology of Breast Cancer
• Reducing Your Risk
• Campaigns to make products safer

Have a look at the website www.breastcancerfund.org and see what you can learn today about reducing the risk of breast cancer.

Safe Beauty Products for Your Family

In our last post, we were talking about the potential health hazards found in the ingredients in many beauty products.

Now we’ve found a great way to help you avoid unsafe ingredients and the beauty products in which they are found. The best part is that you can carry it with you at all times on your phone!

It’s called EWG’s Skin Deep app. Here’s how it works:

By typing in the name of your product or scanning the barcode, the app searches the EWG’s database and returns a rating on your product based on health hazards associated with the ingredients on the product. You can then decide whether or not this is the best beauty product for you before you head to the checkout. Their database is constantly updated, so if your product doesn’t return a result, it is added to their “to do” list so they can investigate and provide this information in the future.

EWG (Environmental Working Group) is an organisation driven by providing information to consumers to empower them to make informed decisions on the products they use on their bodies. They also advocate for responsible corporate and government policies to protect the vulnerable among us. Their website www.ewg.org also has a wealth of information on skin care, fragrances, make up, oral care and products for babies and men.

Let us know what you think of this app and website. Have you found anything surprising about the products in your bathroom?

Beauty – At What Price?

We know that to look after our health, it is important to get adequate nutrition, exercise and rest. And while it’s important to consider what we put into our bodies through our food, it is equally important to pay close attention to what we are putting on our bodies by way of cosmetics and toiletries. The chemicals found in these products are easily absorbed by our skin and can be delivered to our bloodstream, so it pays to be aware of the ingredients in the products you are using.

Here, we have listed the Top 10 Chemicals to Avoid in your cosmetics. Have a read and see if you can start to take your beauty product shopping more seriously.

Chemical	Examples	Reasons to Avoid
Urea	diazolindyl urea, imidazolindyl urea	Preservatives that release formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
Parabens	butylparaben, ethylparaben, isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben	Preservatives that are linked to breast cancer.
Phthalates	di-butyl-phthalate, di-ethylhexyl-phthalate	Used as a plasticiser. Known to cause damage to liver, kidneys, lungs and reproductive system. Suspected of causing birth defects, lowering sperm counts and a breast cancer risk.
Petroleum By-Products	mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin, dipropylene, glycol, butylene glycol, disodium EDTA, tetrasodium EDTA, trisodium EDTA, polybutene, triclosan, polyethylene	Clogs pores, exacerbates acne. Highly likely to contain carcinogens that are linked to breast cancer.
Propylene Glycol and Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)		Made from the same chemical that is used to make anti-freeze. Penetrates the skin easily and is linked to damage of the liver, kidneys and brain.
Sodium Laurel	Laureth Sulfate	Absorbed into the body and mimics the activity of estrogen, causing PMS, decreased fertility in men and in increase in breast cancer.
Diethanolamine (DEA) and Triethanolamine (TEA)		Can react with other ingredients to form potent carcinogenic chemicals
Synthetic Fragrances	parfum, vanillyl butyl ether	Fragrances are known allergens and can cause asthma.
Synthetic Colours	FD&C Yellow 5, FD&C Red 40	Cause skin irritation and sensitivity.
Mica		Irritant to the skin and the fine dust can be problematic as it is inhaled. There is no valid data on the safe amounts of Mica for dry cosmetics such as eye shadow and powder
Nanoparticles		When particles are broken down into nanoparticles, they are very easily absorbed into the skin. Nanoparticles of zinc oxide and aluminium can collect in part of the brain and cause cell death, according to new research.

Gluten Free Lunch Ideas for Kids

One of the hard parts of a gluten free diet for children is having nutritious and delicious food in their lunchbox every day. Here are some ideas for keeping your little ones satisfied and to keep those lunchboxes coming home empty!

  

For those that can’t do without their sandwiches, it may be worth investing in a bread maker. With the addition of preservatives in many commercially available gluten free breads, many families opt to make their own at home. A bread maker could be an essential time saving device for families with children that enjoy taking sandwiches to school.

What are the alternatives to sandwiches?

Leftover chicken legs from dinner the night before

Mini quiches

Risotto balls

Hard boiled eggs

Sushi

Gluten free pikelets with grated apple

Leftover meat, vegetable or rice from dinner

Meatballs and vegetable skewers (kids love anything on a stick!)

If they like something, write it down! Keep a little note pad in the kitchen and each time you notice something they like, write it down for future reference. Even if they have the same thing for lunch 2 or 3 times a week, it’s better that they eat something wholesome that they enjoy rather than come home hungry. You can make up any nutritional fallout when they get home in a form that they enjoy.

Let your child’s teacher know that they are not to share other children’s foods at lunchtime. Most teachers will be happy to make it a blanket rule for the whole class.

Going to a party? It pays to be a little organised. Here are some things to keep on hand or prepare in advance in readiness for a party or special play date.

Gluten free cupcakes in the freezer to grab and go.

Packets of plain, gluten free potato chips

Gluten free lollies to substitute at a party

Consider wrapping leftover mince in gluten free pastry and freezing for a take along homemade sausage roll

There is also a great series of eBooks you can download at the iTunes store called “Lunchbox Solutions”. They are filled with tasty, healthy meal options that are all gluten free.

What tips and tricks do you use to keep your kids healthy and happy? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!

Gluten Free Eating - Online Resources

This week in our series on switching to a Gluten Free diet, we take look at the most useful online resources.

Websites:

http://www.angieglutenfree.com/cooking-classes/ offers cooking classes with their wholefoods expert Angie. Her website also has recipes and you can download her ebook for $7.50

www.glutenfreefamily.com.au – a great archive of Blog posts on Gluten Free recipes and tips as well as a list of major food chain options and some kid-friendly recipes.

http://www.glutenfreeeatingdirectory.com.au/ Australian Gluten free food and eating out guide – also an app Gluten Free Eating Directory 1.4

http://cucinaitaliana.com.au/gluten-free-cooking-classes/ holds cooking classes in Sydney and Venice! (Oh how we wish we could all go to the classes in Venice! It looks amazing!)

Apps for iPhone and Android

FoodSwitch is a free App which scans the barcodes of packaged foods to show ingredients. It now has a new feature called “GlutenSwitch” to help your supermarket shopping a little easier.

Coeliac Australia’s Ingredient List details over 800 ingredients and 300 additives used in Australian and New Zealand foods and indicates whether they are appropriate for a gluten free diet. $9.99

Orgran’s Recipe App is free and has over 300 recipes using their brand of packaged foods available at most major supermarkets.

The free Wholefood Market Recipe App allows you to filter recipes for gluten free options.

Have you found any other resources that you’d be happy to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Going Gluten Free – Out and About in our Local Area

A change in diet can be a daunting and tricky exercise. Regardless of the motivation to initiate change, it can be difficult to navigate this new area of your life, especially when you’re out and about.

You might be in a bit of a routine with your meal preparation at home, but do you feel a little nervous when you are out to think of what your options may be?

We’ve put together some great tips for eating Gluten Free that will not only be useful for those just starting out, but also those already excluding gluten that need some fresh inspiration. Enjoy!

• Going to the local RSL? Choose a roast dinner without gravy or a steak and salad
• When out and about shopping or sightseeing and you haven’t pre-planned to take food with you, consider buying a banana and some nuts or a healthy smoothie for lunch
• Sushi rolls in Foodcourt – usually vegetarian is the best option if you need to completely exclude all traces of gluten (i.e. In the case of Coeliac Disease
• A hot baked potato is another option in a food court at a shopping centre. Stick to a grated cheese topping if you are unsure of the ingredients of the other toppings
•  McDonalds have a warm grilled chicken salad with Balsamic Dressing that is gluten free and not a bad option if you are on the road and need a quick bite. For kids that are super fussy on a road trip, McDonald’s Fries are gluten free and preservative free but these would only be useful as a last resort due to their lack of nutrition and high salt and saturated fat content.

Great Local Resources

• Bresnahans Butchers in Mortdale is great for Gluten Free and Preservative Free sausages and are experts in catering to individual dietary requirements on request.
• Foodies at Peakhurst stock a great range of organic and gluten free foods and even have an online store and delivery service. www.foodiesorganic.com.au
• Major supermarkets have their own gluten free branded pantry foods 

Anzac Biscuit Recipe

Who doesn’t love an Anzac Biscuit?

This traditional Aussie biscuit is said to have originated during WW1, when wives would bake these treats at home and send them to their husbands on the front line. The biscuits were easily transportable and contained ingredients that wouldn’t spoil easily on a long journey.

We went searching for a healthier alternative for these treats and Teresa Cutter from www.thehealthychef.com has come up with a great recipe and some variations that are sure to hit the spot for nutrition and taste.

You’ll find her delicious recipe here: http://www.thehealthychef.com/2014/04/anzac-biscuits/

 

 

Which one would you like to try?

 At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget.

Start Your Day Right!

What’s the first thing you drink or eat in the morning? A cup of coffee? Some muesli? Have you considered the benefits of your first drink of the day being warm water with lemon?

Here are some great reasons to starting your day with this revitalising drink:

• It kick starts your digestion for the day. Lemons are high in minerals and vitamins that help loosen toxins in the digestive tract.
• Lemon has powerful antibacterial properties
• It has pectin fibre which is important for colon health
• Reduction of pain in joints as it dissolves uric acid
• Detoxifies the liver
• Lemons are packed with vitamin C for immunity and to promote healing
• It is a gentle diuretic
• Hydration for your body
• Because of its very low sugar content and high alkaline mineral content, lemons actually have an alkalising effect on the body.

 

Warm water is the key, not hot or cold as the body reacts differently to these conditions. Ashley Pitman, a wellness educator and cleanse specialist recommends adopting the practice of drinking a cup of warm water with lemon in the morning for a month and seeing how it can radically alter your experience of the day.

Will you join us in the challenge? Let us know how you feel after having it in the mornings!

 

 

The Glycemic Index – Just Another Fad?

There are lots of food and diet fads that come and go. Perhaps you’ve heard of The Aitken’s Diet, The Soup Diet, The Fasting Diet, eating no carbs, eating lots of carbs, the list goes on! In 2002 we became aware of a new way of looking at carbohydrates and how our bodies process them through the Glycemic Index (GI). This became a household term, and it seemed everyone was talking about the GI of foods.
So, was it just a fad or does it hold some important information on how our bodies process the food we digest and the effect that has on our overall health?

The official GI website administered by the University of Sydney explains how GI is calculated:

 “The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health.”

Those foods which have a high GI raise our blood sugar levels quickly and significantly after eating them and, while ok in moderation, can play havoc with our pancreas and other vital organs if we continually rely on high GI foods for most of our nutrition.

The pancreas is responsible for the secretion of insulin, the hormone that regulates and breaks down the glucose in our cells. If there are continual dramatic spikes in our blood sugar, the pancreas struggles to produce enough insulin to meet the demand and eventually this can lead to a condition called “Insulin Resistance”. This is where the liver and the cells of your body are no longer able to respond to insulin and you face the very real possibility of developing Type 2 Diabetes. Scary stuff!

So while it may seem that following the GI of foods was a passing fad of the early 2000s, the science on which it is based cannot be denied. As society relies more and more on quick, carbohydrate-laden foods that are filling and easy to prepare, there has been a steady increase of serious diseases linked with poor management of blood glucose levels.

If you would like to know more about how fluctuations on blood sugar can affect your health or would like to check the GI of the foods you consume, you can find lots of helpful information at www.glycemicindex.com, the official website for the glycemic index and international GI database which is based in the University of Sydney.

 

 

Kids' Nutrition - Time Saving Tips

You know the drill: Our kids need lots of nutritious and energy-packed food to help them grow, learn and keep active. While we’d all like to ideally cook fresh wholesome meals and snacks for our families all the time, it is not easy to find the time or energy to do so.

I thought I’d share a few shortcuts that I use to cut down on time in the kitchen when trying to provide nutritious food for my kids (and myself!)

The Big Chop Up

Something that works for me is to do one big fruit and vegetable “chop up” once per day. Then, I only make one big mess to clean up rather than constantly dragging out the chopping board. For example, at 2pm, before I go to pick up the kids from school, I cut up vegetables and fruit for:

·         Today’s afternoon snack,

·         Tonight’s dinner,

·         Tomorrow’s lunchboxes.

I basically cut up all the same things in one big batch. So, one day it’ll be carrots, cabbage, apple and celery so I can make coleslaw for dinner and lunch and carrot and celery sticks for afternoon tea and lunchboxes. The next day it might be lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and capsicum for a big salad in a bowl that I then divide up into containers for the next 24 hours.

Grab and Go

If I don’t get a chance to do my big chop up, then I rely on easy to pack foods like bananas, a carrot (just washed, not peeled or cut), apples or whole cucumbers to get those nutrient-rich foods into the lunchboxes – basically anything that’s wholesome and easy to grab and go!

Nuts

Keeping a container of nuts in my handbag helps with the munchies when we’re doing a quick car trip, or as a protein top-up straight after school.

Lunch Meat

Freezing small portions of leftover roast chicken makes it easy to include protein in their lunch without relying on deli meats loaded with preservatives.

Of course, I don’t have it all together, far from it! But in terms of making my kids’ lives healthier and my life easier, these shortcuts help to keep us from falling into the “Just go and grab a packet of chips” habit every day. J  

What are your tips for healthy and quick nutrition for your family?

 

Rhonda Mackay

 

*Rhonda is a writer and mother of 2 girls. She has a special interest in emotional health and enjoys both the laziness of the school holidays and the peace of the school term in equal amounts! ;)

Magnesium - Why is it so important?

After last week’s post, our good friend and Naturopath Sharon Hespe commented on the benefits of magnesium to help with the symptoms of TMJD. So today, we thought we would talk about magnesium and how important it is for the healthy functioning of our bodies.

Magnesium is an element that is essential to all living cells. As our body is unable to produce its own magnesium, we are required to get it from other sources (see below). Magnesium is essential for:

·         Muscle and nerve function

·         Blood glucose control

·         Energy production

·         Enzyme functions

·         The transport of calcium across cells

 Some signs that you may be low in magnesium:

·         Muscle cramps

·         Dizziness

·         Fatigue

·         Anxiety

·         Nausea

·         Type II Diabetes

·         Poor memory

·         High blood pressure

 Foods that are high in magnesium:

·         Almonds

·         Cashews

·         Black beans

·         Avocado

·         Potato with the skin on

·         Bananas

·         Oatmeal

·         Salmon

·         Broccoli

 

If you are concerned about your intake of magnesium, talk to either Alisa or Sharon (www.sharonhespe.com) will help you to understand how you can improve it and advise whether or not a supplement may be helpful.

White Christmas

White Christmas is a treat that many of us can remember from our childhood. Sweet and tangy, it conjures up memories of being in Nanna’s kitchen, where she didn’t mind the mess you made whilst “helping” her and licking the spoon was mandatory!

The recipe for this iconic Australian slice, traditionally uses loads of sugar, imitation cherries and Copha (which is a trans-fat made from hydrogenated coconut oil with added preservatives).

We went looking for a delicious White Christmas recipe that was free from those ingredients that aren’t kind to our bodies and we found just the right one!

The lovely Bianca at www.wholefoodsimply.com has kindly let us share her tasty recipe that uses easy-to-find ingredients and the kids will love making too. Without refined sugar, preservatives, gluten or dairy, this White Christmas has the sweetness of honey and coconut and the tasty zing of goji berries.

It’s an easy treat to make as a gift, serve with coffee or even keep for yourself! J Enjoy!

 

 

1 cup desiccated coconut (most commercial brands contain a preservative so use an organic brand such as Macro from Woolworths)

1 cup raw cashews

1/2 teaspoon concentrated natural vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup goji berries

1/4 cup pistachios

Place the coconut and cashews into your blender or food processor and blend until the mixture forms a smooth paste. Gently mix in the vanilla and honey until combined. Add the berries and pistachios and pulse until chopped and combined. Press the mixture into a silicon loaf tin and put it into the fridge for several hours to set. Cut and enjoy!

 

 

 

Wheat Free Cheese and Olive Bread

1 cup (150g) rice flour with ½ sachet yeast

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup (160g) pitted black olives, chopped

75g mortadella (lean bacon can be used), chopped

4 eggs, litly beaten

80g butter, melted

Lightly grease an 8cmx26cm bar cake pan. Stir flour into bowl, add cheese, mint, pepper, olives and mortadella. Stir in eggs and butter (I use a mixer but it can be done by hand), mix until well combined. Spread mixture into a pan, bake, in moderately hot oven for 35mins or until lightly brown and cooked through. Turn onto a rack to cool.

Yum Balls

This recipe is a great, healthy alternative to traditional sugar-packed Rum Balls traditionally served at Christmas. Enjoy!


Makes about 20 balls

150g dates

100g almonds

2-4 tablespoons tahini

Desiccated coconut

Roughly combine dates and almonds in a food processor on low setting. Add 2 tablespoons of tahini and combine. Continue to add tahini in one tablespoon increments until mixture does not fall apart when pressed into balls. Form mixture into balls approximately 2 cm in diameter by rolling between palms. Roll in coconut. Chill in fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. NB. Try substituting raisins for dates and pecans for almonds.