I found this recipe on Mark Sisson’s site when I was googling ideas for cooking chicken. I only had chicken breasts so I made a few changes to the recipe. I’m also not the biggest fan of cauliflower so I only used half. But this dish is delicious!

If you didn’t know it was cauliflower you’d almost think you were eating couscous. Every time I make this I can’t stop myself from going back for more, even when I’m full!

Enjoy!

Moroccan Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head cauliflower
• 2-3 chicken breast fillets
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoons ginger root, finely chopped or grated
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 red hot chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 green chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 red capsicum (pepper) thinly sliced
• 800g can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup minced parsley
• salt and pepper
• 1 lemon

Directions:

In my previous post I discussed a bit of research which I hope provided you with some useful information and that it wasn’t too long or boring.

Not everyone is going to agree with what I have written, and it isn’t my intention to make people change the way they think or live; I’m simply providing facts from my own research and the research provided by other likeminded people.  It’s up to you as an individual to decide what you think is best for your own health.

If fats are good for me, then why am I told to reduce my intake to help lose weight?

While it is generally acknowledged that saturated fat isn’t the only determining factor in the cause of heart disease, it is still generally conceded that too much of any fat is bad for you. But too much of a lot of things is bad for you.

One of the main reasons why it is recommended that you reduce your intake of fat is because of the high calorie content compared to carbohydrates. Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram, whereas fats contain 9 calories per gram. If you still think there is any truth in the calories in/calories out method then read this post to dispel that ridiculous notion.

For weight loss (80 per cent of which will result from diet, 20 per cent from exercise) obviously what you eat is important.  But don’t trick yourself into thinking you can simply cut high calorie foods and exercise a little more to get the results you want. What you need to consider is how your body uses the energy you consume.

As I mentioned in my previously, fats and proteins are used by the body in a number of ways besides providing energy. Protein builds muscle and repairs cells, while fats insulate neurons and provide carriers for non-water-soluble vitamins. Carbohydrates on the other hand provide the fastest form of energy (glucose), but it is also the form of energy which is easiest to store in the body as fat when we eat too much of it.  The body doesn’t need it for anything other than energy, so when the liver can process the excess it gets stored as fat. Mark Sisson wrote a great post about this here.

OK, so which fats should I eat?

Being able to ignore popular press and marketing tactics which promote low-fat, sugar replaced concoctions and low cholesterol options is all well and good, but it’s also important to know a bit about the chemistry of fats and why the medical establishment is so adamant about lowering your dietary intake of this nasty, fattening, illness inducing substance.

Fats (fatty acids or lipids) are classified as organic substances which are not soluble in water. Fats are made up of hydrogen and carbon bonds, and most of the fat in our body is in the form of triglycerides (three fatty acid chains attached to a glycerol molecule).

Fatty acids are classified as follows:

Saturated

Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are highly stable fats which are generally solid at room temperature due to the straight nature of the carbon bonds – they pack together easily. Fats are saturated when all the available carbon bonds are occupied or saturated by a hydrogen atom which prevents the fat from going rancid. These fats (found in animal products like butter and lard, and tropical oils such as coconut oil) can withstand very high temperatures without going rancid, so they are perfect for cooking. Saturated fat is also formed in the body from too much carbohydrates. As I have mentioned previously, saturated fats provide lasting energy and are essential for a number of bodily functions.

Monounsaturated

Monounsaturated fatty acids lack two hydrogen atoms, and instead have one double bond in the form of two carbon atoms bonded to each other. These fats remain liquid at room temperature due to a kink in the double bond; however they are still relatively stable. Your body makes monounsaturated fatty acids from saturated fatty acids and uses them for bodily functions. Most commonly found in foods as oleic acid, (main component of olive oil) these fats do not go rancid easily so they are OK for cooking. This fatty acid can also be found in fruits and nuts such as avocados, almonds, pecans, and macadamias.

Polyunsaturated

Polyunsaturated fatty acids lack four or more hydrogen atoms and have two or more pairs of double carbon bonds. These fatty acids remain liquid even when refrigerated and are highly reactive due to unpaired electrons at the double bonds. They will go rancid easily so they should never be heated or used for cooking. Heating polyunsaturated fats turns them into trans fats which can result in free radicals when the body tries to break the fat down.

Two polyunsaturated fatty acids which are found most commonly in foods are double-unsaturated linoleic acid, with two double bonds (omega-6), and triple unsaturated linolenic acid with three double bonds (omega-3). The omega number is an indication of the position of the first double bond.) These fats are referred to as essential fatty acids or EFA’s because your body doesn’t make them naturally, so you generally need to get them from foods.

Conventional or politically correct nutritionists claim that polyunsaturated fatty acids like vegetable oils and margarines are a healthier option over saturated and monounsaturated fats and will reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. It is generally recommended by conventional nutritionists that thirty percent of total calories in modern diets come from polyunsaturated fats. However evidence indicates that these fats should only constitute about 4 percent of total calories. An ideal ratio is 4:1 up to 1:1 of omega 6 to omega 3. These EFA’s are typically found in foods like walnuts, flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and fatty fish like salmon, tuna and sardines.

Despite what conventional nutritionists claim, when polyunsaturated fats become oxidised or rancid from being heated or oxygenised they are characterised as free radicals (single atoms with unpaired electrons in outer orbit). Free radicals are extremely reactive and are known to attack cell membranes and red blood cells, which can lead to damage in DNA/RNA, triggering mutations in tissues, skin and blood vessels. Ultimately free radicals can be a precursor of tumours and damage in blood vessels leading to plaque build up.

So which fats should I eat, and which should I avoid?

Why is margarine bad for me?

I heard recently that a dietician of a friend of mine claims there really isn’t much difference between butter and margarine. I couldn’t believe my ears! Studies have actually shown that flies don’t even recognise margarine as food! So I thought I would add this description of how margarine is made so you can decide for yourself.

Polyunsaturated fats, usually liquid at room temperature are turned into fats that are solid at room temp (margarine) by first using the cheapest oils available – corn, soy, cottonseed or canola. These fats, generally already rancid from the extraction process (as stated earlier, very high heat will cause unsaturated fats to go rancid), are mixed with tiny metal particles like nickel oxide, then subjected to hydrogen gas in a high temperature, high pressure reactor to solidify the liquid fat.

After this process, soap like emulsifiers and starch are added to the mix to help form a butter-like consistency. The mix is once again subjected to high pressure when it is “steam-cleaned” to remove the unpleasant odour.

The natural colour of margarine is a very unappetising grey. So the mixture is bleached (no harm in that…) and finally dyes and flavours are added as a finishing touch so it ends up resembling butter, or something that at least looks edible.

Are you sure polyunsaturated oils and margarines are still better for you…?

Sources:

Danceswithfat

Marksdailyapple

Naurishing Traditions – Sally Fallon

Good Calories, Bad Calories – Gary Taubes

Original images:

madlyinlovewithlife

ilovebutter

It’s difficult to provide information which helps people to remove deeply ingrained assumptions about how fat is bad for you. Read on though, and maybe you will change your mind.

“..if we accept the premise that what we eat determines our health, then we must add the observation that in no period of our history as a nation have (we) eaten so poorly..” Sally Fallon

First of all I’d like to share with you a little about my own experience growing up with healthy nutritious food, and secondly research which explains a lot of what I attempt (before the argument starts) to tell people when they ask me this question. I hope the following sufficiently explains why saturated fats and fats in general are so essential to healthy living.

I grew up in rural Victoria and I was raised on lots of healthy natural food, which of course consisted of lots of good fats.

We ate plenty of red meat and sometimes our own chickens, eggs from our chickens, raw milk from a local farmer and a lot of cream and butter. I’m pretty sure margarine was the ultimate sin in my Mum’s opinion. My mum also made her own yogurt and Dad made ice cream! In fact, my parents rarely ever, with the exception of special occasions, allowed any sort of processed foods in the house.

Even though I have had my fair share of nasty junck foods, I am very happy to say that I would choose natural unprocessed foods over the processed,  low-fat-sugar-filled junk that is so cheaply and readily available to me now.

My favourite resource for “fat facts” is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Her cookbook is full of amazing recipes and it provides an incredible resource for healthy nutrition and dietary facts. I am also a fan of Gary Taubes (although many people seem to find him disagreeable). His very informative book Good Calories, Bad Calories is full of controversial information and science behind diet and health.

What can I eat which will…

• Provide the building blocks of cell membranes and hormones in my body
• Allow for the absorption of minerals
• Help to keep me feeling full for longer by slowing down nutrient absorption
• Ensure that carotene is converted to vitamin A
• Equip my body with carriers for fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K

Yep. Saturated fats from animal and plant sources.

But my Doctor told me saturated fat is bad for me?

“Saturated fat is bad for us, makes us fat and is the obvious cause of high cholesterol which inevitably leads to heart disease.”

Very few people will agree that fat is good for you, and it is the general consensus of “health experts” and the medical establishment that your fat intake, especially saturated fats from animal sources should be reduced in order to lower the risk of chronic illness. This theory (the lipid hypothesis) is the idea that there is a direct link between the incidence of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet.

The hypothesis was first proposed by Ancel Keys, a prominent researcher in the 1950’s. While numerous subsequent studies have pointed out the flaws in Keys’ research, his work received considerable publicity compared to researchers providing alternative views, and consequently Keys’ findings have provided us with the deeply ingrained notion that saturated fat is bad for us, makes us fat and is the obvious cause of high cholesterol which inevitably leads to heart disease.

Watch this clip from Fatheadmovie for a very succinct explanation of how we have come to this conclusion.

So you see, there is very little evidence to support this hypothesis. A reduction of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet has never been directly linked to lowering the risk of death from heart disease or chronic illness. Good Calories, Bad Calories is also full of references which explain and prove this.

“Countries like Holland and Norway, where people ate a lot of high fat foods reported a very low incidence of CHD, while Chile, on the other hand where they didn’t eat a lot of fat, reported a high incidence of CHD.”

In his study in the 50’s, Keys took reliable statistics from six countries and found a positive linear relationship between the amount of saturated fat in the diet and the incidence of CHD. However, the original study actually involved twenty-two countries, and when these remaining countries were included in the statistics the positive correlation completely disappeared!

Countries like Holland and Norway, where people ate a lot of high fat foods reported a very low incidence of CHD, while Chile, on the other hand where they didn’t eat a lot of fat, reported a high incidence of CHD! So, Keys faced a conundrum, and like any good researcher working on beneficiaries from the American sugar and cereal industries, he removed the statistics which skewed the data the wrong way.

Subsequent studies which attempted to replicate Keys’ findings consistently refuted his hypothesis, yet it was most often claimed the findings were from untrustworthy sources, labelled irrelevant or said to be misinterpreted.

Keep in mind that a lot of what you now hear and read about regarding new research and findings on cholesterol raising “artery-clogging” saturated fat is from projects backed by funding from these same high profit industries.

“…based on the evidence available at the time, American’s should reduce their risk of heart disease by reducing fats in their diet and replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats.”

In 1957 the American Heart Association actually castigated researchers like Keys for taking an uncompromising stand against dietary fat based on research and evidence that didn’t stand up under critical examination. In 1960 however, less than four years later, a change of heart was revealed when an AHA committee of six researchers (including Keys’) released a new paper claiming, based on the evidence available at the time, that American’s should reduce their risk of heart disease by reducing fats in their diet and replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats. The research was released with minimal references, all of which were from recent studies on the link between dietary fat and atherosclerosis, which actually contradicted the committee’s findings!

It wasn’t until 1982 that the US Department of Agriculture, the American Medical Association and AHA really started to push a reduction in dietary fat, with the recommendation to reduce fat intake from 40 percent to 30 percent. And that is exactly what people did. They reduced their fat intake and consequently increased everything else. To be more specific, people started eating more carbohydrates and more sugar.

Obesity, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, stroke and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease all shot up. Still think it’s the fat? As Dr Robert H. Lustig says “It ain’t the fat people. It ain’t the fat!”

Have a look at this graph taken from a slide of Dr. Lustig’s speech comparing the reduction of fats in the diet and the increased incidence of obesity.

What about cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a naturally occurring waxy fatty substance which is found in every cell of our bodies and is integral to many bodily functions. There are two types of cholesterol, High Density Lipoproteins, known as the good cholesterol and Low Density Lipoproteins, more commonly known as heart attack inducing cholesterol.

“Mother’s milk provides a higher proportion of cholesterol than almost any other food. It also contains over 50% of its calories as fat, much of it saturated fat. Both cholesterol and saturated fat are essential for growth in babies and children, especially the development of the brain.” Sally Fallon

There are numerous studies which prove that LDL cholesterol does indeed correlate with CHD. However, there are two types of LDL, and one of them actually has no relationship to artery clogging plaque formation at all. Pattern A, or large buoyant LDL’s are so big and light that they simply float through the bloodstream, unable to get underneath the surface of endothelial cells in the vasculature to start the plaque formation process.

Pattern B however, or small dense LDL’s are small enough to get under the endothelial cell surface, and can cause plaque build up leading to clogging of the arteries. So, small dense LDL’s are the bad guys, and large buoyant LDL’s are the good (or neutral) guys. The problem is, when LDL in the bloodstream gets measured to do a lipid profile, both get measured together, because it is too difficult to distinguish the two.

So how can you tell which LDL you have more of?

You look at your triglyceride levels in association with your LDL measurement. Triglyceride levels will indicate which LDL is higher. What you want to have is high HDL (good cholesterol) and low triglyceride. You don’t want high triglyceride and low HDL because that means more of the small dense LDL’s are in your bloodstream, and that also means you can be pretty sure you’ll die of a heart attack. As Dr Lustig explains, HDL to triglyceride ratio actually predicts CHD better than LDL ever did.

Dietary fat has been shown to increase you large buoyant LDL, whereas carbohydrates have been shown to increase you small dense LDL’s. This is explained perfectly in the following passage from Nourishing Traditions…

“Elevated triglycerides in the blood have been positively linked to proneness to heart disease, but these triglycerides do not come directly from dietary fats; they are made in the liver from any excess sugars that have not been used for energy. The source of these excess sugars is any food containing carbohydrates, particularly refined sugar and white flour. “

OK, so I think that is probably enough information for one sitting. I hope you found this information useful. I will be back with part two explaining the different types of fats and which fats to avoid very soon. I will also explain the reasoning behind low fat diets as recommended by dieticians and nutritionists.

Sources:

Original image: Various Brennermans

Good Calories, Bad Calories. Gary Taubes

Nourishing Traditions. Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig

Fat Head

The Primal Blueprint. Mark Sisson

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

I’m pretty sure the recipe is wrong to how Mum used to make it, but this is how I like it.

Ingredients:

• 3 Large Zucchinis
• Couple handfulls of  your favourite cheese (for topping)

Filling:

• 1 Tsp Olive oil
• 1 Clove of Garlic minced
• 1 Onion finely diced
• 500g Mince beef
• 1 cup of the scooped out zucchini
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup beef stock (or 1 tsp stock dissolved in hot water)
• 4-5 Tomatoes diced (or 800g can diced tomatoes)
• 1 Tbs Tomato Paste
• 1/4 cup almond meal (to thicken)
• Salt and Pepper

(Yes this is basically a bolognese sauce)

Preparation:

Pre-heat your oven to 350C.

Mince the garlic and dice the onion and cook in the oil until the onion is soft. Add the mince and the bay leaf, stir continuously to break up any chunks. When all the mince has browned, add all the other ingreients except the almond meal. Leave to simmer for about 10 mins and then add the almond meal. Let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

While the filling is simmering cut the zucchinis in half use a knife to   mark out the stuffing hole. Use a spoon to scoop out the middle of the zucchini.

Once the sauce is ready, place the prepared zucchinis onto a baking tray and scoop in the filling. Push the filling into the stuffing into the zucchinis so that you can get as much as possible into each one. Cover each stuffed zucchini with lots of cheese and bake for approx. 35 mins or until the zucchinis are cooked through.

Leave to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Tomato, bacon, spinach and zucchini Quiche

I’m a big fan of quiche. They’re a great source of healthy fat and protein and you can add any of your favourite  fillings.

I haven’t always been that great at making them, but I am slowly but surely getting better at it. I used to dread cooking them because they would always turn into a soggy flat mess.

I like searching online for new recipes, and when I found this one it looked so easy and simple I was excited to try it out.

As usual I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I’m not very good at that. I will learn my lesson one of these days..

Anyway, they were still awesome. I made a double batch the first time because I wanted to try two different fillings to see what worked best.

Creamy crustless quiche

Ingredients for the basic mixture for a single quiche. I just doubled everything to make two.

• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups full cream milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup cheese of choice, grated- I just used a 4 cheese blend
• heaped Tbsp Arrowroot flour
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Beat eggs and milk
3. Add melted butter and arrowroot flour and mix until smoothe
4. Add cheese and mix it in
5. Pour into a 9 inch pan greased with butter
6. Arrange fillings of choice
7. Bake  for approx. 45 minutes or until top of quiche bounces back

Tomato, zucchini, bacon and spinach quiche

• 4 slices short cut bacon, diced and cooked
• 1 medium zucchini chopped in half length ways and sliced
• 1 big handfull of baby sinach
• punnet of cherry tomatoes chopped in half

Asparagus, cup mushroom, bacon and feta quiche

This one didn’t turn out quite as nice in terms of presentation, but still tasted great.

• 4 slices short cut bacon, diced and cooked
• 6 small cup mushrooms, sliced
• big handfull of baby spinach
• 100g traditional full fat feta
• 6-8 fresh or canned asparagus stems for the top

Asparagus, mushroom, bacon and feta Quiche

Prepared Shepherd's pie just before baking

I really like Shepherd’s Pie, but in following with my endeavour to maintain a healthier Primal lifestyle I didn’t want to use potato for the topping. After searching online I found this awesome recipe. I have made some minor changes, but it’s pretty much the same and it is delicious!

Try this and I promise you won’t want to go back to boring mince beef, peas, carrot and potato mash Shepherd’s pie!

Shepherd’s Pie with Spiced Parsnip Mash

For the topping

• 4-5 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 Tbs butter
• Tsp ground cumin
• 2 Tsp ground coriander seed

When parsnips are ready to be mashed add

• 1 Tbs Butter
• 1/4 cup of double cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the filling

• 2 leeks, sliced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 Tbs butter
• 6 cup mushrooms or any mushrooms of your choice, sliced
• 500g lamb mince
• 2 Tsp Arrowroot flour
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig thyme (or Tsp dried thyme)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preparation method

The topping

• Simmer the parsnips in water until tender – about fifteen to twenty minutes.
• While they are cooking, fry the onions in the butter over a moderate heat until soft and translucent.
• Stir in the spices and continue cooking until fragrant.
• Drain the parsnips. Add the sauteed onion, butter, cream, salt and freshly ground black pepper and blend it up with a bamix until you get a nice smoothe and creamy consistancy.

The pie filling

• In a large pan, cook the chopped leeks (or onions if you can’t get any leeks) and the diced carrot with the butter until they are soft and golden.
• Add the sliced mushrooms, and cook for a further five minutes, then stir in the minced meat, bay leaf and thyme sprig. Try not to stir the meat up too much as you want it to brown a little.
• Add the arrowroot flour and the tomato paste. Continue to cook, stirring regularly for about five minutes.
• Pour on the hot stock, the Worcestershire sauce, salt and black pepper, turn down the heat and leave to simmer gently for 25-30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
• Scoop the mixture into a large baking dish and the evenly spread the mashed parsnip over the top. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

Are you sure you want to be on the Pill?

If you have been wondering if the Pill if right for you, or you have been searching for a reason to stop taking it, you have come to the right place.

The oral conceptive pill or just ‘the Pill’ is the most popular contraceptive in Australia, with over a million women currently using the drug. And yet so many of these women are unaware of or choose to ignore the potential serious health risks of ongoing use.

For many women (including myself until a while ago) the convenience of the Pill outweighs the risks of potential chronic illness. The ease of access to the drug and encouragement from health professionals allows women to disregard concern for current research indicating the health issues of long-term use.

Most often prescribed as a contraceptive, the pill is also touted as therapy for various health concerns ranging from regulation of your cycle to reducing facial acne and treating Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS is in fact most often caused by insulin resistance (which can be caused by taking the Pill!) and all the Pill does is artificially regulate your period without addressing the underlying dysfunction. You can read more about PCOS and insulin resistance here.

Why I stopped taking the Pill

As a woman who took the Pill for around 5 years I can understand how easy it is to justify the risks. The convenience of the pill made me ignore my own research on the side effects, and warnings from my Mum to stop taking the synthetic hormones which were causing damage to my body.

I was recommended the Pill by my Doctor to help treat ovarian cysts when I was 17 years old, and continued to take it for the next 5 years with some short breaks in that time. My Doctor told me the Pill would help prevent the cysts, and when I thought that the cysts had cleared up I discontinued my prescription. However, after a few months the cysts and pain returned and I went back on the Pill. Of course, all the Pill was doing was dealing with the superficial symptoms by regulating my cycle, not the underlying issues and as soon as I stopped the symptoms reappeared.

In my own experience, the continued use of the pill caused severe mood swings and irrationality, uncontrollable emotional and stressed responses to trivial occurrences and I believe it was the root cause for the large varicose vein now residing on my leg. The changes in my mood put a great deal of unnecessary stress on my relationship, and after speaking at length with my partner I decided to stop taking the Pill.

I realise that the prospect of being without a convenient and fairly reliable form of contraception is terrifying, but I think avoiding the possibility of serious illness and feeling happy and emotionally stable is much more important. I am very lucky to be in a relationship in which I feel comfortable discussing different options, but I knew I needed to stop either way because the Pill was causing both psychological and physical damage to my body.  If you are worried about the effect which stopping the Pill may have on your relationship, take it step by step. Consider the risks and talk about it with your partner.

I didn’t expect any miraculous change in the way I felt after discontinuing the Pill, and I knew it would take a while for my cycle to regulate after being on it for extended period of time, so I started getting acupuncture and TCM herbs to speed up the process.

I have written previously about my experience with Chinese Medicine here, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to stop taking the Pill. In the book The Pill; Are you sure its for you? (J. Bennett, & A. Pope, 2008), Jane Lyttleton, a TCM practitioner, says that ‘the Pill interferes with normal liver qi (energetic flow) function in the body leading to liver stagnation in many women’. I had acupuncture once a month for about six months and also took herbal pills to help balance and regulate my hormones as well as cleansing my liver. At the time I started the acupuncture my cycle became fairly regular, but it still took a while for things to get back to normal. I no longer have any issues with ovarian cysts, and my cycle is now almost perfectly regular.

The risks you should know about if you take the Pill

While I am not claiming that woman shouldn’t take any drugs at all– many drugs do provide benefits in certain situations – I am arguing that the Pill is a drug that most women could do without. And there is a great deal of evidence providing support for this claim.

Research by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has proven that the Pill’s synthetic oestrogen and progesterone are known carcinogens and increases the risk of breast, liver and cervical cancer. It is known to cause around 150 chemical reactions in the body, many of which are yet to be understood!

In return for a convenient contraceptive you are putting yourself at risk of not only the above cancers and chemical reactions, but also:

Blood clots – The Pill (whether progesterone and oestrogen combination or progesterone only) increases your risk of blood clots and stroke, and if your pill contains the synthetic hormone degestrel, the risk almost doubles for fatal blood clots.

Inhibited muscle gains – Research indicates that long term use of the Pill can inhibit muscle gains from resistance training.

Low bone density – The Bone Mineral Density (BMD) of women who take the Pill is lower than that of women who have not taken the drug.

A loss of libido – The Pill can have detrimental effects on your sex life due to drug affecting the release of testosterone which plays an important role in arousal
Heart disease – Women who remain on the Pill for long periods of time may experience an increase of plaque build-up in the arteries, raising the risk of heart disease.

Aside from these major chronic illnesses which you may be at risk of by continuing to use the pill, you may also be subject to these unpleasant side effects:

• Mood changes and depression
• Weight gain
• Irregular bleeding between periods

• Breast soreness
• Thrush and infections

Regardless of these serious health concerns, doctors continue to recommend the Pill to women, whether as a contraceptive or for other health concerns. There is some research which indicates the drug may lower your risk of ovarian and uterine cancer and improve symptoms of PMS, however, are you prepared risk all of the previously mentioned side effects to reduce the chance of ovarian and uterine cancer? Surely no cancer at all is better! Simply taking a good look at the possible damage which the Pill could be causing your body clearly shows that the risks are significant and warrant taking a look at alternative options.

Original Image: Gnarles Monkey

With so much hype surrounding the issue it can sometimes be a little nerve racking when a client comes to me with spinal pain or injuries because there is always the possibility of the things getting worse. But with the right exercises (OK’d by your specialist when needed), I believe that you can find some relief.

Here’s what my Dad has to say about it.

The Quest for a Healthy Back

(How I pined for a spine like thine)

I appreciate this opportunity to write a contribution to my daughter Zoe’s blog, as I believe that I do have a success story to tell which may help others to manage what otherwise can be a crippling and worrying experience. I am not a trained health professional, so readers must only add my story to their own ever expanding health knowledge and experience.

I was pretty fit in my teens and early twenties, which was about fifty odd years ago. We lived in a small satellite town called Hernes Oak which was about three miles from the now vacant area called Yallourn. Like young people did then, we walked, ran or rode a bike, mainly into Yallourn. For longer trips, like weekend sport, we had to get a lift with friends until you were able to buy a car. About the only time we went in the family car was to Mass on Sunday, or during our annual holidays. So like many young people, riding twelve, or up to twenty miles per day to school, paper rounds, sport or work meant that I was always very fit without really trying.

If I could not ride I preferred to run, rather than walk, as it was quicker and easier for me as I was born to run, due to my lean body type. I joined the local amateur athletic club at about fifteen and did very well at middle distance races, and in all the throwing and jumping events in my age group.

I did try to build up muscle, as young men do, by lifting weights and doing some gymnastics at the YMCA in Yallourn. But without any coaching ! and some time after that period I began to get back pains which I attributed to the weight lifting, mainly because we did not know about “bend the legs not the back”. It could also have been partly due to Javelin throwing, my favourite event, because of the violent stress to the lower back when one props on the front foot to bring the throwing arm from way back, to way forward, very quickly. Anyway the cause was possibly due to multiple reasons.

One thing I did find out in my fifties, through an X-ray was that I had Scheuermann’s disease, probably in my teens; which is decay of one side of the spinal segments in the top region of the spine. This was the main cause of the kyphotic spinal curvature which I have. The X-ray also confirmed that my discs were ok except the compressed lowest disc. Also I was then told that my problem was the facet joints, which was a relief as I had feared having a slipped disc.

I worked as an electrician all of my life, until my recent retirement. I consider myself lucky to have had an active job that suited me so well and kept me fit at the same time without doing too much damage. While with the SEC in Yallourn, and later Melbourne, I was made very aware from my employer of the Health and Safety message about the protection of one’s back. ‘Bend the knees not the back’ was drummed into us always. For most of my middle years I was afraid of, and avoided bending over and especially of bending to touch my toes. As I got older my lower back would, about once per year, lock up /become inflamed, usually in winter, and I could hardly get out of bed.

This insistent OH&S health message about not bending the back changed for me after finally reading and practicing the exercises in Sarah Key’s book The Back Sufferer’s Bible, which my wife Maeve had recommended to me. Sarah Key questions the mantra about not bending our backs and the subsequent lack of confidence in the strength and flexibility of our backs. The other major message I received from her book is that our backs tend to over-react with pain and inflammation, when caught in a sudden or unusual position, and like Henny Penny, react with spasms as if the sky is falling in. We in turn may panic, become stressed and want to lie down, when in fact the back can be partly reassured and relaxed by some gentle floor exercises.

Note: I am only referring to situations similar to my own periodic inflammations. More serious back problems need special attention from qualified professionals.

My practice then for about the last ten or more years has been to do the strength and stretching exercises shown in her book, plus a couple of my own add ons, every morning in order to maintain my back. I also am generally an active person, doing handyman work, plus some walking, and household duties. I mow a large area of lawn without a ride-on in the fine weather, and collect cut and store our firewood in the cool and cold months. This has not stopped me from having inflammation pain and stiffness occasionally, and as usual for no particular reason. These episodes are never as severe, as often, as the times before the exercises, also I begin “the treatment” immediately which I believe reduces the severity of the inflammation. I have also, at times, taken anti-inflammatory tablets especially if it seems like a severe episode, or I am impatient about being  unfit.

I now believe, that as with the health of our whole self, ie good food etc, we have to learn to maintain our back’s flexibility and strength and not rely upon a health practitioner to fix it when it “seizes up”. I know that I need to do the flexibility and strengthening exercises every day for the rest of my life.

Mike Larkin

Original Image: SmithGreg

1 Tbs Maple syrup
1 Tsp vanilla essence
1/8 tsp salt
Big Tbs butter

Preheat your oven to around 350 deg F.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a food processor for a few seconds, add the wet ingredients (melt them all together in the microwave for about 30 secs first) and whizz it all up. Don’t blend it too much, you want some chunky bits in it. Grease a smallish square baking tin with butter and pack the mixture into the tin.  Bake for about 10 -15 mins or until golden brown on top.

Once cooled cut the granola into squares or break it up a bit and store in an air tight container for easy access when your craving a yummy snack.

I have this broken up on warme berries with yogurt and a little cream.You can also use the mixture as a crumble topping. Very yummy!

I have to admit that I was sceptical at first and didn’t expect to see any results or improvements. I had been suffering from tonsillitis on and off since I was 11 or 12 years old and was on a waiting list to have a tonsillectomy. If you have had tonsillitis you know how painful and unpleasant it can be. When I let my tonsillitis get so bad that I wound up in hospital with my throat drastically swollen and an IV drip in my arm, I thought it was probably time to try something different than the usual antibiotics and bed rest. My throat didn’t heal for 3 weeks.

Even after this nasty bout, I’m ashamed to say it still took me months to actually go and see the Chinese doctor. Actually my mum had to drag me there. At this time I also removed myself from a waiting list for a tonsillectomy.

At the clinic the doctor felt my pulse and looked at my tongue. He asked about my throat and any other symptoms that I had. He hmmm’d and ahh’d a bit and said he’d give me some acupuncture and herbs.

Acupuncture can be incredibly relaxing, however the needles can cause some discomfort at first. While the treatment varies, for my tonsillitis the needles would be placed either side of my neck (around where you can feel your pulse), under my chin, sometimes between my eyebrows as well as both elbows and between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. I was also prescribed some fairly revolting herbs which had amazing results.

After many visits, the small clinic in Footscray is now one of my favourite places in Melbourne. The clinic is small and looks slightly run down with shelving to the ceiling filled with herbs, one wall completely covered with the doctor’s certificates and accolades, and the small cluttered consultation room is divided from the rest of the clinic only by a curtain. The smell of the herbs is wonderfully relaxing. The appearance of the clinic should not take anything away from the fact that the doctor does amazing work!

I am 22 now and have not had tonsillitis since my first visit to the Chinese doctor almost two years ago. I no longer receive treatment for tonsillitis, I don’t need it anymore. I am now however receiving hormonal balancing treatment including acupuncture and herbal pills after coming off the contraceptive pill. That’s a whole different story for another time though.

I would recommend that Traditional Chinese Medicine be seriously considered for any condition ranging anywhere from a slight skin irritation to serious illness.

Original image: Vivien Chen