The Story of Stuff is a 20 minute animated video/film you can watch online, that presents its important message in a very simple, yet entertaining way.

The movie explains in straightforward, powerful terms why our present system of ever-accelerating production and consumption is unsustainable, unjust and unfulfilling, and makes the case that it doesn’t have to be this way. This video is based on one woman’s years-long research - yet she manages to convey a critical environmental and social message to anyone, even young children, in a way that challenges, entertains and inspires. I highly recommend you see it and share the link with everyone you know.

http://www.storyofstuff.com

A large part of what we teach at Hippocrates Health Centre fits well with this message, and that is to do with eating whole foods, preferably those that are locally grown and in season – which means doing away with any type of food that is processed, packaged, toxic and uses excessive energy in production.  We also teach about removing toxic chemicals out of personal care and cleaning products.

Ultimately the most power we can wield is with our dollar – and by making choices as to which industry and companies we want to support, we can change the face of this endless, unsustainable, toxic chain.  If there is no demand, then there is no production, so we CAN make a difference when we choose to purchase products that cause less harm to ourselves, and therefore less harm and destruction to the planet.

I often get asked by people what type of milk they should use in their smoothies or as a milk replacement in their diet.  There are so many choices for people nowadays – the plethora of different types of cow’s milk – as well as goat’s milk, oat milk, rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, powdered milk – there are so many products to choose from how do you know which one to include in a healthy diet??

One of the first things that I teach people about changing to a whole foods diet, is that if the food is not in the form as nature intended, then it is not a good practice to consume it.  Every time that human’s play around and alter food they seem to get it wrong.  I often have people proudly proclaim that they are “very good at reading labels on food” – and my reply is “why do you need to eat anything that comes out of a packet for?”.  If we are looking for optimal, vibrant health, then we need to eat living, vibrant whole food – and that is not found in a packet of processed pasteurised plant milks, nor in pasteurised homogenised animal milks.  All of these are dead foods that don’t supply the body with the nourishment that it needs for outstanding health.

Options.  If you like to use animal milks, then my suggestion is to only use totally raw, unpasteurised unhomogenised milk the way it comes straight from the animal.  And even better than plain raw milk, is fermented raw milk.  I personally drink raw Goat’s milk kefir daily to nourish my digestive system with healthy strains of microflora and beneficial yeast, which enhance my digestion, immune system, mood and overall well-being.  It is a very simple thing to make, and fermented food is an essential part of a holistic lifestyle, that is often found in other cultures, but is missing in western diets.

You can also make fresh nut and seed milks simply by soaking whichever nuts and seeds you like, blending, and then squeezing them through muslin to create a fresh milk.  The pulp can be used in many raw food dessert recipes or put into tahini balls.  Almond milk is absolutely delicious done this way, and I’m sure I could serve it to guests on ice and they wouldn’t be able to tell it wasn’t Baileys!

Another way is to just not use any milks at all and make green smoothies as outlined in Victoria Boutenko’s book Green For Life.  Put any green leafy vegies, such as cos lettuce, kale, spinach, celery etc in a blender with one piece of fruit and water and blend.  They taste great and are a simple and easy way to increase the amount of dark leafy greens in your diet.

In a nutshell, avoid all supermarket processed milks and move toward whole raw milks as nature intended.

This is one area that I have been SO guilty of in the past and that is becoming a bore around food and health. It is one thing to have your own views and your own way of eating, but to push it onto others to the point where you become annoying, judgmental or no fun to be around is not a healthy way to live. Yes, I know guilty as charged - but I’m learning!

At Hippocrates Health Centre where I work, I meet many people who are very well versed on health, but have gotten themselves to a point where they are so confused about what to eat and what not to eat, that they are paralysed and become obsessed over every morsel that they put into their mouths. And even though they may be absolutely pedantic about their food, they are NOT healthy, vibrant, energetic, happy people.

After studying health and diet over many years, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many paths to healing and that the body is very clever in taking as much as it can out of what we eat and doing the best it can with it. We have become so out of touch with our own body wisdom when it comes to food that we no longer can feel what we want or need when it comes to eating. Our taste has become distorted with excessively sugary, salty and fatty foods so that our senses are confused over what it is that we truly desire.

The stress we place on ourselves by trying to do the “right thing” all the time actually causes more damage in our body than if we ate something not quite perfect, but relaxed about it. There was a study I remember reading about once, where they tested the nutrient levels and health status of three groups of people. The first group ate a typical junk and processed food diet. The second group ate a variety of whole foods and rejected processed and preserved foods; but if they were invited to a friend’s house for dinner, they would go and enjoy whatever was served. And the third group were obsessive about their food and if invited to a friend’s house for dinner, would check the menu beforehand if not suitable would bring along their own supplies. What was found in this study was that the second group of people absorbed more nutrients out of their food and were the healthiest of the three groups. Stress, perfectionist tendencies and being black and white when it comes to food, can switch off the digestive processes as we move into a perceived fight and flight situation. In this case, no matter how well we eat, we can still be unhealthy as we compromise our digestion and sacrifice the available nutrition in our food.

This premise is part of the French Paradox, where the French were found to have a diet that should have resulted in a higher level of heart disease (according to the current medical model), but the paradox was that they had a lower incidence of cardiovascular problems in spite of their diet. Part of this apparent paradox is to do with having a positive attitude around food, making food a ritual and a pleasure, relaxing over a meal, taking the time to savour the flavours, to chew well and enhance your digestion through the enjoyment of eating.

If we take out of our diet the processed food, the chemicals, the junk, the sugar, the excess grains, the preservatives, the excess alcohol etc – we are left with only pure whole foods as nature intended. Now within this realm of natural foods - if we cook some of our food or we eat completely raw, or we eat some meat or we decide to be a vegetarian; or we go macrobiotic or we follow Ayurvedic principles – whichever path we choose to go, we are not going to be going too far wrong. Once we get back in touch with our bodies and with our inner wisdom, we can experiment with different styles of eating and healing regimes to find out what suits us best and which way of eating we get the most benefit from at the time. We are all biochemically individual, and even though a Naturopath or healer may be able to guide you with a specific food plan – if something doesn’t seem to agree with you, then don’t eat it. Nobody knows your body and how you feel as well as you do – so use your health knowledge to guide you towards a healthier way of eating, but also remember that food is meant to be a pleasure, and eating is nourishment for both our body and our soul.

Do your body a favour and relax and enjoy your food and take the stress away from what is one of life’s most awesome pleasures.

One of my favourite quotes is from David Wolfe, author and raw food promoter:

“We are tired of eating pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, larvicide, suicide, pasteurised, homogenised, cooked, boiled, glow-in-the-dark, pus-filled food”.

I could add to that – “laboratory created, genetically modified, molecularly restructured, irradiated, nutrient deficient, chemically laden, processed, preservative filled, fake, Frankenstein food”.

When humans try to “improve” food – they invariably get it wrong.  Nature in her infinite wisdom created perfect food, no alterations necessary!

Eat real food – feel real well.