I was rereading one of her books today “Be Your Own Doctor. A positive guide to natural living” and I came across these gems of wisdom:

“Disease stems from deficiencies and a lack of understanding of Mother Nature’s laws of health, plus the unwillingness to accept the obligation to keep the precious temple – the body – in order. This is accomplished by keeping it clean and well-nourished. And, of course, providing necessary aids such as rest, relaxation, positive thinking and plenty of exercise through hard work.”

“We fail to learn how to think for ourselves and to take care of our bodies properly by asking for the guidance which is always there for us to utilize instantly and which will amply provide for our individual needs. Our bodies definitely let us know whether or not we are treating them right or wrong.”

“Since most health problems result from deficiencies, the vital need is nourishment and that nourishment has to be unprocessed and uncooked, and in addition grown in organic earth.”

“We know that no known disease can penetrate the strength of a healthy body. A low protein, low starch, low fat and high enzyme, high vitamin, highly alkaline and high mineral diet is the key.  Anyone can restore health by way of detoxification and rebuilding healthy cells so that the body can heal itself.  Sickness is only a failure to understand the balance of the body, mind, and spirit, which creates well-being.”

“Hippocrates theorized that it was necessary to first remove the cause of bodily upset and then to provide Nature with the proper tools to repair the damage. These tools included a semi-fast to cleanse the bloodstream, food to bring live nourishment to the cells, moist heat and massage to relax the muscles, clean air to bring oxygen to the lungs, exercise to stimulate the circulation, fresh water to lubricate the body tissues, and dismissal of all fear to permit real relaxation.”

Ann Wigmore wrote several books on health and healing, and they are full of genuine, down to earth information that is of benefit to anyone looking at incorporating more raw foods into their diet. 

The Raw food lifestyle has become very “trendy” and Ann’s books certainly don’t fit in that category - but if you are after the real deal, then you can’t go past this legend of the greens!

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Like myself and many others, Mary suffered from a thyroid condition that was incorrectly treated, and this led her on a journey to recover her health by finding out more about her thyroid and what the answer to healing might be.

On this journey she found that thyroid conditions were one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed conditions - leaving thousand of people suffering needlessly, often due to the rigid adherence by doctors to the standard protocol of TSH blood test results and Thryoxine prescriptions.

There has been much debate about the relevance and accuracy of the standard TSH test (thyroid stimulating hormone) and whether this test is a definitive diagnosis of a hypothyroid disorder.  There is a lot of literature to say that it is not - yet most doctors are not aware of the controversy surrounding this test and still use it as gospel.

If a patient has every hypothyroid symptom in the book, has a family history of thyroid disorder, has a low body temperature, and an enlarged thyroid (as I have seen in clinic) - but her TSH is in range, the doctor will more often than not refuse to treat the patient for a thyroid condition.

The patient will be prescribed anti-depressants, told to eat less and exercise more for the weight gain, and that the fatigue is just a natural part of getting older.

None of this actually helps the patient, who continues to decline in health until a forward thinking practitioner uses their judgement and treats the thyroid.

Many patients ask me what literature they can take to their doctor to help them to understand that the TSH test can be misleading, and a result that is at the high end of the range can indicate a hypothyroid problem.

In  Mary Shomon’s latest post she give links to articles discussing the health issues of sub-clinical hypothyroidism (normal TSH but thyroid symptoms) citing scientific journals to illustrate their point.

If you think your doctor might be willing to read about this issue, then this would be a good place to start:
Mary Shomon TSH Reference Article

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There’s nothing like learning something really well by going through it yourself, and because I had a bit of stress earlier this year, I noticed a direct relationship between it, and a decline in my usually quite good health.

I do have a bit of a tricky adrenal and thyroid system that needs lots of support - but even with doing that AND eating really well and exercising regularly  - during the times I felt the most challenged, I had quite a number of negative physical changes.

My skin broke out a bit, I gained a few kilos, my hair was falling out, I was tired, and had lots of aches and pains.  It wasn’t until I resolved the emotional component and got back on track, that my physical health then naturally improved.

It just goes to show what a huge impact how we feel has on our physical health - and I am beginning to count this area as being just as important as what we eat, and maybe even more so.  I don’t believe that we can eat well and do everything else right - but leave our emotional garbage unresolved, and still be healthy. 

Our mind / feelings / emotions live in every cell in our body and we cannot separate them.  To be really healthy we need to heal the body and the mind, not just one or the other.  I see my best results in clinic, when someone embraces the physical side of healing, and also works on resolving their emotional issues as well.

With the launch of my Embracing Life! Six Day Detox, Healing and Renewal Retreats, I’ve found a new passion and have become very excited and enthusiastic about it all - and these feelings have resulted physically in a new-found energy, clear skin, healthy hair, a few kilos dropping off and a brighter outlook.

We never stop learning, and the best lessons are the ones that we experience ourselves. The power of observation in our own lives can be a powerful tool for significant insights and healing experiences.

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If you are sensitive to dairy then it doesn’t make sense to eat it, and with most yoghurt’s being made from pasteurised milk, with sugar, colours and flavours added, it is far from being “healthy”. There is often little to no good bacteria to speak of in many common supermarket yoghurts, in direct contrast to their marketing pitch.

Just recently I found out how to make a superb alternative to yoghurt that took about 1 minute in my blender - and is so healthy you can eat as much of it as you like!

There were three ingredients in my fruit “yoghurt” and that was paw paw, banana and handful of frozen raspberries, with a small amount of water so that it blended together into a creamy mousse like texture.

I poured mine over some strawberries and it was absolutely delightful!

Of course this type of yoghurt is not fermented and doesn’t contain any good bacteria - so we would need to look to other fermented products for that - such as sauerkraut or non-dairy kefir - but more about those another day!

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“Why superfoods?

Superfoods are a category of foods found in nature, they are superior sources of essential nutrients - nutrients we need but can’t make ourselves. We all may be adding more salads and vegetables to our diets, but concern for the quality of foods grown on mineral depleted soils makes superfoods popular.

They are nutritionally more potent then regular foods and are wonderful food sources of anti-oxidants for healthy healing. Superfoods are nutrient dense and calorie sparse.

Superfoods can be divided into 5 main groups:

Green Superfoods
Bees Superfoods
Seaweed Superfoods
Herb Superfoods
Fruit and Nut Superfoods”

Superfoods are a very important part of any diet, raw or otherwise. To find out more and to continue reading about the numerous benefits of these different types of superfoods you can go to the full article here: 

http://www.foodmatters.tv/superfoods.html#Green

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“Vividly bringing to life the latest scientific research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, and behavioural economics, Gilbert reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there.”

If you think from the title that this is just another piece of fluff, feel good, positive thinking, been there read that type of book - then you would be way off track.  This was a very unique book with a very solid base of science to explain some fascinating insights into the way we think, imagine and create happiness.

I found a 20 minute talk by the author on TED talks, and it is a great summary of some of the main points of the book, and the author presents the premise of how we synthesise our own happiness, in a very entertaining way.

If you have a spare 20 minutes, I think you would find it a very enjoyable talk.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html

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When dried, they are a great source of natural carbohydrates, fibre, and contain many alkalising minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium.  They are actually a very good source of calcium, containing about double the amount found in whole milk, gram for gram!  And we all know that milk is marketed as being high in calcium…

Figs are very sweet and make a great snack on their own, or with some nuts or other fresh fruit.  They also incorporate nicely into many dessert recipes or can be chopped into an innovative style of salad.

I found this Fig Pecan Bar recipe at www.drbenkin.com

3 cups raw pecans
1.5 cups soaked dried figs with stems removed
1.5 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Be sure to allow dried figs to soak in water for 1-2 hours before preparing this recipe.

Drain figs and combine them with raw pecans and pure vanilla extract in a food processor. Process until figs and pecans are well combined to form a moist granola bar-like texture. You may need to pause the food processor once or twice to scrape ingredients off the sides of the processor so that you are not left with big chunks of figs and pecans.

Transfer homogenized figs and pecans to a baking dish or tray and press down gently with a spatula until mixture is approximately 2-3 cm thick. Use a knife to cut into rectangular or square bars.

Put baking dish or tray in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or the freezer for about 20 minutes to allow the bars to take form.

Enjoy these delicious and nutrient-dense fig-pecan energy bars!

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I would see people come in on heavy pain medication, stiff, with limited mobility, often with swollen inflamed joints - and after going through a juice fast and detoxification process, they left the retreat with less or no pain, no medication, greater mobility and a reverence for the power of raw food in the healing process.

In arthritis we often find a ‘hot” or acidic condition with inorganic calcium deposits solidifying cartilage and ligaments, restricting movement and causing pain and inflammation.

Juice fasting for a period of time, and then incorporating juices into the diet on a daily basis, can help to break down the accumulation of waste deposits and regenerate the cartilage and joints.

Watermelon is a beautiful alkalising and cleansing juice, and can be of great benefit to hot conditions that need cooling.  Watermelon is a natural diuretic and kidney tonic and after just a few days on watermelon juice, many arthritic patients report an amazing amount of pain relief.

Celery juice is another healing remedy, very high in natural sodium which helps to maintain calcium balance and can facilitate waste excretion.

Carrot juice is highly nutritious and helps in the regeneration process of the cartilage and joints, while green juices such as wheatgrass or barley grass provide essential nutrients and chlorophyll.

Of course correcting the factors that led to the arthritic condition in the first place are important, such as a processed food diet, consumption of inorganic calcium, lack of movement and exercise, stress and poor digestion resulting in a low amount of mineral absorption.

A good detox can put you on the path to recovery and give you fast intial results that inspire you to continue the lifestyle and dietary changes that bring you relief.

You can find out more about detoxification in my July / August newsletter, or you can come to the Embracing Life! Retreat  and experience the benefits of it for yourself!

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I’ve put the retreat blurb below for you to have a bit of a read of - and you can also register your interest to have a retreat held in your area at the website.  I look forward to many of you joining me for a great week of detoxing, fun, relaxation, laughter and fantastic food!

Leisa Wheeler, founder of Embracing Health, is proud to announce the creation of a fresh, innovative style of luxury health retreat.  Departing from the rigid ways of “right” and “wrong” that have pervaded the older mind-sets of healing, Leisa has brought to life a new approach to the concept of a healing retreat - designing a program that empowers participants with knowledge that opens them to a higher awareness of what healing really means.

Not bound by any one strict doctrine, Leisa has woven together the best of the natural medicine world, blending the fields of detoxification, the secrets of superfoods,  the art of raw vegan gourmet cuisine, and the healing power of whole foods, into a delightful six day living experience of food as medicine.

Healing with whole food is only one part of the Embracing Life! Retreat, where as much emphasis is placed on feeding the mind,  understanding the emotions, and nurturing the soul, as in supporting the body.

Daily lectures on a range of health subjects cut through the confusion; yoga and meditative walks centre the mind; healing massage soothes the body; discussions on the role of emotional healing provides sustenance for the soul; and plenty of personal time gives you the space to really rest…

With dedicated attention to every detail of your six day renewal retreat, you will find the information, the luxury settings in exclusive boutique resorts around Australia, the food, the support, the whole experience – will surpass every expectation you ever had about what a week in a healing space should be.

You deserve to take some time out, to experience the divine combination of pampering, detoxification, education, rest and inspiration that a week with Leisa and her team will bring.

We look forward to seeing you there…

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Mike Adams from Natural News and Kevin Gianni of Renegade Health have put together a site called Health Book Summaries to provide exactly that - a summary of some of the latest books on health and fitness.

They’ve already got some great books in their library for you to check out, and you can join for free to receive e-mail alerts when they add a new book to their catalogue.

Have a look www.healthbooksummaries.com  

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