Gubinge - A Home Grown Superhero

Everybody needs a little Gubinge in their life.  G-what you're asking? Gubinge, otherwise known as Kakadu Plum is the Aussie King of Superfoods. Here's the low down...

Gubinge is one of Northern Australia’s best kept secrets: a native bush fruit with extraordinary levels of vitamin C. For generations, gubinge has been recognised for its medicinal value by Aboriginal communities. 

Vitamin C Heavyweight Champion

These humble nuggets of fruit are said to be the world's richest natural source of vitamin C. Now, after centuries of growing virtually unnoticed to the outside world, the secret is out. Tests have confirmed what indigenous Australians have suspected for centuries that the typical vitamin C that we find in the raw plums is about 1.5 per cent by weight. To put that in some perspective, that's roughly about 500 to 1,000 times higher than you would get in a normal orange.

Environmental Stress = Highly Nutritious

In the Kimberleys, they do not irrigate the Gubinge or cultivate it using typical commercial horticultural techniques. Essentially, those precious vital phytonutrients (the antioxidants within the plant) allow the plant to survive the harsh conditions and make the plant more resilient. Like some of the superfoods grown high in the Andes, the level of environmental stress present in its natural environment makes the plant stronger and more densely rich in antioxidants. It's these nutrients that get passed onto you when you start to include it in your diet which do all kinds of wonderful things to your health.

Here is what is amazing: to make Gubinge powder they take the whole frozen fruit, dehydrate it at 40ºC for 16 hours and then mill it into a powder, so all they have done is take away the water: everything else is there in the powder.

So basically you take the Gubinge powder and your body can use every skerrick because it is a complete, whole food.  And we now know that whole foods are the way to go because they are the complete package.  Mucking around with foods (think skim milk or low fat foods) makes them lack vital nutrients and offer no value to our diet.  In fact, they can have quite the opposite effect of making us sick.

Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired?  Gubinge is for YOU.

Including a superfood like Gubinge in your diet can make an amazing difference to your overall health which directly boosts your immunity, energy and your body's ability to fight off illness and disease and because it is local to our environment – it is perfect for those of us living in Australia.  We are a product of our environment and local food and produce is most assimilated by our bodies.  

You'll find gunbinge (and other superfoods) in many of our Loving Earth products now available at Live Well.

What Kind of Yoga is For You?

What is Yoga?

Yoga is designed to connect your mind with your body and spirit through breathing techniques, meditation and health-promoting postures (asanas).

Not only does practicing yoga tone your body and refresh your mind, it also improves your immune system, helps lower your stress level, and provides so many more health benefits.

Types of Yoga

Today, aside from having an abundance of yoga studios, there are many different styles of yoga to consider. Even though they’re all based on the same poses, each style has a particular focus. For example, one style has a purpose to improve flexibility, while another style primarily strengthens your core. So let’s take a look at the different types of Yoga along with their benefits and who would suit each type.

Hatha Yoga- In Sanskrit (an ancient classical language of India) “Ha” means “sun” and “tha” means “moon”. This type of Yoga is relatively slow paced, gentle type of Yoga and is a good place to start if you are completely new to Yoga and don’t know any of the asanas (poses). Like all types of Yoga, Hatha Yoga aims to unite the mind, body and spirit.

• Purpose: To introduce beginners to yoga with basic poses and relaxation techniques
• Benefits: Relieves stress, provides physical exercise, and improves breathing
• Good for: Beginners and people wanting to learn the basics of yoga

Ashtanga Yoga –In Sanskrit it means “eight limbs”. It’s a fast moving, intense style of Yoga practice and is based on a progressive set sequence of asanas, synchronized with the breath. Ashtanga Yoga can be quite physically demanding as you constantly move from one asana in the sequence to the next, so you’ll find that it will improve your stamina as well as your flexibility and strength.

• Purpose: To help improve one’s spiritual self
• Benefits: Relieves stress, improves coordination, and helps with weight loss
• Good for: Fit people looking to maintain strength and stamina, and those who want to get in touch with their spiritual side

Iyengar Yoga – This type of Yoga concentrates on the correct alignment and form of the body. Unlike Ashtanga Yoga, there is an emphasis on holding each pose for a long period of time rather than moving constantly from one pose to the next. Iyengar Yoga uses props such as blocks and straps to help align the body into the different poses.

• Purpose: To strengthen and bring the body into alignment
• Benefits: Helps improve balance, speeds up recovery from an injury, and builds up body strength
• Good for: Beginners who want to learn the correct alignments in each pose and those with injuries, balance issues, and chronic medical conditions like arthritis

Vinyasa Yoga – Much like Hatha, Vinyasa covers basic poses and breath-synchronized movement. This variety of Hatha yoga emphasizes on the Sun Salutation, a series of 12 poses where movement is matched to the breath.

• Purpose: To link the breath with movement and to build lean muscle mass throughout the body
• Benefits: Helps improve strength and flexibility, tones the abdominal muscles, and reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes
• Good for: Beginners and advanced yogis alike seeking to strengthen their bodies

Bikram Yoga – Also known as hot yoga, Bikram is practiced in a 38 degree room. It’s typically a series of 26 poses that allows for a loosening of tight muscles and sweating.

• Purpose: To flush out toxins and to deeply stretch the muscles
• Benefits: Speeds up recovery from an injury, enhances flexibility, and cleanses the body
• Good for: Beginners and advanced yogis alike who want to push themselves and those with physical injuries 

These are only a few of the many styles of yoga. Try one or all of them to figure out which one suits your needs the best.

The Sunshine Vitamin

We Canberrans are fortunate to enjoy plentiful sunshine all year round. You’d think we‘d be getting plenty of nature’s ‘sunshine vitamin’ yet at least 58% of us are deficient in vitamin D. That high number is alarming when placed next to the growing mountain of evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of so many health concerns including:

• Cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate, colon.
• Leukemia
• Diabetes types 1 and 2
• Osteoporosis
• fibromyalgia
• chronic fatigue syndrome
• autoimmune illnesses including MS and rheumatoid arthritis
• Colds & flus
• Infertility
• Rickets 

If you work indoors and don’t get some exposure to sunlight on a regular basis (free of wearing sunscreens and makeup), it's quite possible that you are compromising your health. Given the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency it’s a good idea to talk to your GP about checking your levels via a blood test.

If you want to boost your Vitamin D, there are a number of natural food sources including milk, eggs and fatty fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines and tuna. However, it's extremely hard to get all of the vitamin D that you need to experience your best health without some exposure to sunlight.

Vitamin D is made in the body when UV light comes into direct contact with your skin. Whilst we’re highly aware that too much exposure to sunlight can expose us to the dangers of skin cancer, an avoidance of all sun is also risky. Aim for 5–15 minutes of sunlight 4–6 times a week on bare skin (arms, legs, face and back) without sunscreen.

For more significant depletion of Vitamin D, dietary changes and exposure to sunlight aren’t enough. In this case your health practitioner will suggest a supplement. Look for the vastly superior D3 rather than its cheaper and less effective synthetic D2. Get your vitamin D levels right and you’ll indeed be basking in good health.

Foods That May Be Harming Your Fertility

What you eat can either significantly boost or reduce your fertility. The good news is, when you make healthier choices, the benefits can be large. A recent Harvard University study showed a decrease of 80% in infertility levels when coupes switched to a healthier diet. In part one of this series, Live Well Naturopath Shanna Choudhary outlines the foods to avoid. Follow her advice and you’ll be giving your body the best preparation to conceive.

Think outside the box

If there were just one thing you could do that would have a huge impact on your fertility (as well as your health), removing processed and packaged foods from your diet would be it!

If what you are eating comes out of box or a packet it’s likely to be both nutrient poor and chemically laden. ‘Food’ like this places stress on the body by adding to its toxic load as well as depriving it of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals required for health and fertility.

Sweet Poison

You know how sugar gives you that sweet sugar “high”, which temporarily boosts your mood and energy levels but quickly gives way to the “crash” that follows, leaving you feeling moody, irritable and not so crash-hot anymore…

You may not know that the rollercoaster of sugar highs and lows disrupts delicate hormonal balance in your body which makes falling pregnant much more difficult. Diets high in sugar affect the pancreas and can lead to insulin resistance and eventually diabetes. Sugar also triggers a stress response in the body; depleting your adrenals, messing with your thyroid and depressing immune function.

It is still possible to have some sweetness in your life, but choose unrefined and more natural sources like maple syrup and raw honey and be sure to avoid the fake sugar substitutes which are very toxic to your health and fertility.

Caffeine Hit

Caffeine seems like our friend at first; as a good caffeine hit boosts our alertness and concentration levels, and can seem like a great pick-me-up when we need one in the morning or when we hit that afternoon slump.

However, caffeine consumption is associated with increased conception time; and has been shown to affect hormonal balance, prevent ovulation and even increase chances of miscarriage.

Even just 2 coffees a day has been shown to exert negative effects on ovulation and can actually increase risk of miscarriage by up to 2x.

Caffeine has also been shown to reduce muscular activity in the fallopian tubes, decreasing follicle function so the ovum may not reach the uterus. This could also be a possible implication in ectopic pregnancies.

Soy Trouble

Soy pops up in many different forms, and is found in a large variety of foods and food products, such as soy milk, tofu and soya sauce.

Soy has an oestrogen-mimicking effect on the body, which can disrupt your hormonal balance and therefore fertility in both females and males.

A number of studies have shown that soy has a negative impact on reproductive health and fertility; demonstrating significant changes in reproductive organs and the menstrual cycle, such as the development of endometriosis or heavy menstrual bleeding.  

Men are also adversely affected by soy, as it has been linked to lowering libido, erectile dysfunction, reduced sperm count, breast enlargement and mood swings.

Genetic Engineering

Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) contain an in-built pesticide in the form of a bacteria: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). However, Bt is believed to be causing widespread health and fertility issues in populations that have GMOs in the diet.

In Australia we have 43 varieties of GMO canola, corn, potato, rice, soybean and sugarbeet approved for human consumption. GMO ingredients can be found in margarine-type spreads, dairy blends, tinned, processed/packaged, snack and fried foods such as bread, pastries, chocolates, potato chips, cakes and confectionery; they are also widely used in stockfeed, used to feed the animals that are bred for the meat and dairy industries.

Whilst there is not a large body of long-term studies on the fertility effects of GMO foods, one study showed that mice who over a period 20 weeks were fed GMO corn, had greatly impaired fertility when compared with the mice who were fed non GMO corn. Moreover, the offspring of the mice fed a GMO corn diet also suffered from lower fertility rates/were found to be sterile.

Until GMO foods can be proven to be safe for consumption, many countries (particularly in Europe), have banned its use altogether. 

Good Fat, Bad Fat

Some fats deserve their bad reputation, however there are good fats out there that are really important to include in your diet to support fertility.

‘Bad’ fats to avoid include hydrogenated fats found in margarines and spreads, biscuits, potato chips, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, and other processed foods.

When good fats turn bad: Fats oxidise easily (become rancid) in which case they become toxic. To avoid this, try to make sure the oils, nuts and seeds that you eat have been packaged in a way that keeps them from exposure to light (dark packaging), air (air tight, and not already ground) and heat (some fats/oils become damaged by heat).

‘Bad’ fats harm fertility by causing inflammation, damaging cell membranes and altering the balance of hormones in the body.

‘Good’ fats on the other hand, are especially important when wanting to conceive, as they are essential for the production of hormones. Keep eating them once you do get pregnant, as they are integral to foetal brain and nervous system development.

Look out for reduced fat or fat free foods, as they are generally highly processed and high in sugar, and can impair the body’s absorption of essential fat-soluble nutrients such as:

Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Vitamin E. All of which are important fertility nutrients.

Coming Soon - Part 2: Foods to Boost Fertility.

Want Help Balancing Your Hormones and Boosting Fertility Naturally?

Take advantage of our special offer with Shanna: inital consultation only $90 (usually $150). There are limited places available so be quick! 

To make an appointment or an enquiry please give us a call now on (02) 6295 0400, you can book online by clicking the book now button below, or come in and see us at 35 Murray Cres MANUKA ACT 2603. 

Oil Pulling - An Ayurvedic Wellness Practice

Oil pulling, when most people hear this they assume you are talking about something to do with mechanics or your car. However, oil pulling is actually an ancient Ayurvedic remedy for oral health and detoxification. It involves the use of pure oils as agents for pulling harmful bacteria, fungus and other nasty organisms out of the mouth, gums and throat.

The practice of oil pulling

The most effective oil pulling is done by placing around a tablespoon (you can start off with less and work your way up) of cold pressed organic oil into the mouth, and then swishing the oil around the mouth for approximately 10-20 minutes and then spitting it out. The longer you can hold the oil in your mouth the better but start with a few minutes and work up.

Research has shown that organic cold-pressed sesame oil is the most effective. Although other oils such as extra virgin cold pressed coconut, sunflower and olive oil have been used with success as well.

What happens next?

• First, the oils mix with the saliva, turning it into a thin, white liquid
• Lipids in the oils begin to pull out toxins from the saliva
• As the oil is swished around the mouth, teeth, gums and tongue, the oil continues to absorb toxins, and usually ends up turning thick and viscous and white
• Once the oil has reached this consistency, it is then important that you spit it out so the toxins don’t get a chance to become reabsorbed

What are the benefits?

A variety of scientific studies show the success of oil pulling therapy. One study has proven that oil pulling with sesame oil can boost overall oral health. Particularly, using sesame oil as an oral health agent helps to reduce the amount of germs in teeth plaque and mouth saliva. Scientists also believe that the lipids in the oil not only pull out bacteria, but stop bacteria from sticking to the walls of your oral cavity as well.

Another interesting find is the ability of oil to cleanse out harmful bacteria, as well as reduce fungal overgrowth. These oils also possibly help in cellular restructuring, and are related to the proper functioning of the lymph nodes and other internal organs.

The benefits of oil pulling for oral health include:

• Overall strengthening of the teeth, gums and jaw
• Prevention of diseases of the gums and mouth, such as cavities and gingivitis
• Prevention of bad breath
• Potential natural remedy for bleeding gums
• Prevention of dryness of the lips, mouth and throat

Going beyond the mouth to find even more benefits

Ancient Ayurvedic health practitioners strongly believed that oil pulling could assist with more than just diseases of the mouth and throat. It is believed that these oils help the lymphatic system of our bodies remove harmful bacteria and promote healthy micro-flora to ensure we have a healthy internal environment. Due to this, oil pulling has been used as a preventative health measure for a wide variety of health conditions. It’s another reminder that when it comes to our wellbeing, what helps each part also helps the whole body to be healthier.

Other benefits of oil pulling for our overall health include:

• Increased energy
• Clearer mind
• Decreased headaches
• Clearer sinuses
• Alleviated allergies
• Better sleep
• Clearer skin
• Regulated menstrual cycles
• Improved lymphatic system
• Improved PMS symptoms
• Reduced hangover after alcohol consumption

With so many benefits why not give it a try and let us know how this traditional remedy works for you.