Our Daily Bread....

Poor little bread really has had a hard time recently at the hand of the carb nazis, totally undeserved too. Widespread belief, thanks to diets such as the Atkins diet, is that carbs will make you fat, and must be avoided at all costs if you are ever to look like Gisele. However, the truth of the matter is that carbs actually have just 4 calories per gram, whereas fat has a whooping 9 calories per gram. It is not eating carbs which will lead to weight gain, it is over consumption in general which makes you gain weight. 

Diets like the Atkins work by seriously restricting calorie intake so that the body has to look elsewhere for energy and starts to burn body fat. This is a process called Ketosis, which incidentally also has a side effect of bad breath! Atkins and other similar diets are completely unbalanced, and are actually very unhealthy in the long run as they promote a high intake of saturated fats (the baddies) which can lead to a higher risk of heart disease.  

There is no need to go to such extreme lengths as completely removing whole food groups from your diet in order to stay in shape and healthy - especially bread which actually has many nutritional benefits! Bread is actually a great source of protein - it contains 12g of protein per 100g - this is a fair amount considering an egg has 13g of protein. It also contains iron, fibre, magnesium, calcium and zinc - all nutrients which can be lacking in modern diets. It is also a great source of B vitamins which support your brain, nervous system, energy levels, moods and keeps skin and hair glowing. 

If consumed in moderation (like all good things!) bread really can contribute to a healthy, balanced diet. It has been eaten for centuries, and forms a large part of the healthy Mediterranean diet so many of us strive for. When choosing breads, it is always important to choose a wholegrain bread with seeds (white bread is nutritionally rather empty after the bleaching process it undergoes to become white). Wholegrain breads with seeds are also low GI which means their energy is released slowly, leaving you satisfied for longer. As with all products, labeling can be very deceiving so make sure to choose a bread labeled as 100% wholewheat or wholegrain, and check the ingredients carefully as even breads which claim to be wholegrain can contain enriched bleached flour.  

Being healthy and staying in shape is not about going on extreme fad diets which cannot be sustained and ultimately only lead to temporary weight loss, it is about making small positive lifestyle changes such as switching from white bread to wholewheat bread, exercising regularly, and eating in moderation. 

See, you can have your bread and eat it!

xx

Where the magic happens..

As hard as it is not knowing what is going to happen tomorrow, or where something will lead us, sometimes we must have faith and trust that there is something greater than us out there, and that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it is hard to see the reason at first, but this force will guide us and help us through even the hardest of times. 

For a while now I have been asking myself, 'is it really worth it?'. A life in the corporate world, a daily, miserable commute, sitting behind a screen all day feeling my back tighten and tension forming with every new email into my inbox, inwardly counting down the time until the 'working day' was over. This really cannot be what life is all about, surely there is a better way..

Being just about to take a leap of faith into the unknown, I have found myself being incredibly indecisive, anxious and doubting every single step. Even though I know that deep down that this is what I want to do, it's still not easy! What if it doesn't work? What will I do? How will I pay my bills? Doubts fill my head trying to sway my heart, and at times almost managing..but deep down I have this little voice that can barely be heard telling me to take the leap. The doubts continually morph and come and go, but the little voice is always there. 

So I have finally decided to honor that little voice and put my corporate job on hold. I have just paid the deposit to do an intensive yoga teachers training course in India. It's a big step giving up financial security in pursuit of a passion, but I feel a huge relief in finally having taking the decision, and I hope I will be able to find my way and follow my path to transform from a corporate caterpillar into a yogi butterfly! 

Sometimes you need to take a leap into the unknown, and hope that magic is waiting for you on the other side! If it is not, all is never lost, and I have faith that I will be able to put myself back on track, a happier, healthier person for having made this leap and done the course. 

I will, of course, keep you all updated on my progress throughout the course - which by the way is 6am-6pm daily with multiple yoga sessions, yoga anatomy, yoga history, philosophy, meditation and teaching, and that's just the start. Anybody who knows me knows that I have trouble rolling out of bed at 8am, never mind 6am, (in fact one friend who I recently shared my plans with almost fell on the floor laughing that I would be up at 6am!) so this is definitely going to be a challenge. I have no doubt it will be exhausting, and at times painful, but I am looking forward to every minute of it! 

As Neale Donald Walsch once said, "life begins at the end of your comfort zone", so here I go! What are you waiting for?

xx

Detoxifying my bathroom

With a society so obsessed by eating organic, and staying fit and healthy it is amazing how many chemicals we haphazardly slap onto our body without even a second thought as to what side effects these chemicals may have on us. Modern city life has become dependent on so many products - mascara, foundation, eye cream, moisturizer, perfume and lip gloss, to name a few, that it is almost impossible to completely eliminate chemicals from our daily routines without going totally make-up and product free (Nooooooooooo!). 

In order to try and start detoxifying my bathroom, I am going to start with a basic: Shampoo. Most shampoos, soaps, detergents and toothpastes often contain these three nasty chemicals:

-Parabens : These bad boys act as a preservative prolonging the shelf life of many of our cosmetic products. Recent studies have linked Parabens to certain types of cancers, most significantly breast cancer as it increases levels of estrogen. Aside from this, Parabens also rather ironically contribute to hair and scalp problems such as removing the protective cuticle and making hair dull and brittle. Why would we want our shampoo to do that?!

- Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS): SLS is used as a foaming agent. Unfortunately, not all of its effects are good, and it is actually known to be irritating to the skin and is even used as a standard skin irritant in clinical studies! Again ironically for a shampoo, SLS can cause scalp problems such as an itchy, flaky scalp when used frequently. SLS has also been linked to other undesirable effects such as its ability to penetrate the cornea of the eye, even if absorbed through the skin, where it can accumulate and then be released slowly. No thanks!

-Phthalates: Phthalates act as gelling agents, and in fragrances to make the smell last longer in many cosmetic and beauty products. Phthalates are known as "endocrine disruptors" which mimic the body's hormones and have, in laboratory animal tests, been shown to cause reproductive and neurological damage. Excessive exposure to Phthalates has also been linked to weight gain in adults and children. 

Aside from the very serious cancer links with these chemicals, I personally have enough trouble keeping away from the chocolate without my shampoo contributing to weight gain too! Many chemicals can and do penetrate the skin, and with these three nasties floating around, I am trying to detoxify my bathroom products as much as I can. 

First on the list is finding a good SLS, Phthalates and Paraben free shampoo.....(drum roll please).......Jason Natural Care to the rescue! Jason have been providing "natural products containing only pure, nutritional, and organic ingredients". Given my naturally wavy (read frizzy) hair, I decided to try their Smoothing Sea Kelp Shampoo at £6.29. Like any seasoned shampoo-er, I enjoy a good lather in the shower so despite the clear benefits I would get from an SLS free shampoo, I was not looking forward to giving this up. Luckily this product still manages to give a great lather and smells delicious. After using this shampoo for a good month, my hair feels moisturized, much smoother and I have much less breakage. 

Although Jason is SLS, Phthalates and Paraben free and it is a definite step in the right direction from other mass-produced super market brands, despite their tag line ("natural, pure, nutritional, organic")  it still does have a few chemicals in it. 

This is one of the hardest things about detoxifying your products - labeling does not always clearly show what is in the product, and unless you have a science degree they can be hard to understand. Labeling laws should be much stricter on this issue so ingredients are completely transparent for users. Labeling on food items is much stricter, yet food must go through the whole digestive system (which can eliminate chemicals) before reaching the blood stream, where as any products applied to the skin go straight into the blood stream. Thus I shall continue my search for the perfect 'free from' products and keep you guys updated!

If you have found any excellent 'free from' shampoo or other products, I would love to hear about them!

xx

Hello and Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

This blog is about all things healthy, nutritious, happy and yogic (with a bit of naughtiness thrown in for good measure!).  It is to be breathed all in, and loved all out. 

Please feel free to leave your comments and thoughts!

Namaste xx