'aloe, aloe!' (natural body lovin')

gotta love when close friends move house and have a massive over haul of all their goodies. today's score is of the green and potted kind. aloe vera to be exact.

i have not so enjoyable memories of aloe vera from my childhood (which i now look back on and reminisce about). my mum used it when i got sun burnt. she used to take one of the 'leaves' and slice it in half, then smear the aloe gel from inside the leaves all over my sunburn. except she would use the 'leaf' as an applicator and those nasty little spikes you can see on the edges of the leaves would sometimes scratch my tender, crimson skin. and trust me, that stung like crazy!

however, her insistence that the mild smelling, jelly-like goo that made up the majority of the inside of the aloe leaf was actually quite beneficial for healing my sunburn now seems to warrant a closer look. so i did a bit of digging, considering i am now in possession of rather large, healthy pot of green, spikey, gooey, supposedly sunburn healing goldmines.

aloe vera has been used in traditional medicine in China, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Jamaica, Latin American and India. medical research has reported that aloe can be used to heal first and second degree burns, making my mum's use of it as a treatment for my childhood sunburn spot on. it can also be used to treat other burns, and to help relieve insect bites and stings.
aloe also has antibacterial and antifungal properties, aiding in treating minor skin infections (like boils, grazes, or cuts), and have been shown to inhibit the growth of the fungi that causes tinea.
it also has potent moisturising capabilities (which have been flogged commercially), so used in it's purest form straight from the plant, or mixed in with your favourite natural organic body moisturiser, it will prove to be beneficial both for healing and protecting your skin.

and as an interesting tid bit, in clinical studies, aloe compounds have been successfully used to reduce gingivitis and plaque (in your mouth). but i wouldn't go out and start chewing on it (although there are some claims regarding aloe's internal health benefits, i'm not confident of their validity so i won't post them, but click on the link if you are interested), from memory, it doesn't taste that nice!

so to get your mittens on those amazing (external) health benefits get yourself some aloe, break off a leaf, slice it in half and smear that clear jelly-goo all over yourself.

just watch out for the little spikes.

x

bananarama!

i used to have an addiction to bananas. and i don't mean in the cute "had one for breakfast every morning" kind of way. i mean in the "got aggressive if one of my other family members ate the last banana" kind of way. i had withdrawl symptoms if i didn't get at least one a day, and most days it was a minimum of two bananas. i literally could not get enough of them! now i have relaxed a little. i chop one up and have it with my oats in the morning, but i no longer go as far as physically threatening my man if there isn't a banana in the house when i want it.
however, this addiction got me thinking; why was i so incredibly physically dependent on this one type of fruit? so i did some research. and i am proud to report that i still have absolutely no idea why whenever i saw a ripe, golden banana i started tapping the inside of my elbow and screaming "hook it up to my veins!!!". there's just too many healthy, beneficial attributes underneath that sunny yellow skin that i couldn't really pin it down to just one possible thing my body was craving. maybe it was the natural high? (haha) don't panic, it's organic!

so here are the fruits (oh yeah, my humour is still going strong) of my research! hopefully you find them inspiring enough to hook a banana up to your veins! (or at least find them mildly interesting)

• bananas are a good source of vitamin b6.  this is wonderful for a few reasons:

1. vitamin b6 plays an important role in converting tryptophan to serotoin.
2. it also aids in the production of hemoglobin, which is crucial for oxygen transportation around your body (and therefore crucial for life!).
3. it is essential for antibody production, which in turn lifts your immune response to invading pathogens (like a cold!).
4. it also aids in breaking down carbohydrates into glucose, which is the basic energy source for our cells.

• bananas can help lift your mood. bananas contain natural norepinephrine and serotonin, two mood raising neurotransmitters (the chemical messengers of our brains) that will help to lift you out of a blue funk. the b vitamins in bananas have a calming effect on the human nervous system, helping with relaxation. bananas are also a good source of tryptophan, an essential amino acid that the human body cannot make by itself, it has to be extracted from the foods we eat. tryptophan assists in the body's process of producing serotonin (the natural happy drug).
• bananas are a great source of energy. they contain three healthy sugars; fructose, glucose, and sucrose, for natural energy hit. but they also have a low glycemic index (g.i.), so that energy hit is sustained.
• bananas help regulate blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke. bananas contain high levels of potassium (roughy 422mg per medium banana) and low levels of sodium (1mg), which is all good news for healthy blood pressure as potassium helps to regulate healthy sodium levels.
• bananas reduce cramping and promote heart health. potassium is essential for proper muscle contraction and therefore assists with cramping during and after exercise. but also consider that the heart is a muscle that pumps blood around your body by rhythmically contracting (beating), so any food that promotes healthy muscle contraction is going to be good for your heart.
• bananas relieve heartburn as they have a natural antacid effect. they are also a good food for ulcer sufferers to eat, as they lower levels of acid in the gastric juices of the stomach and help to create a protective mucus coating on the wall of the stomach.
• bananas aid in calcium retention, and therefore promote healthy bones. as potassium suppresses calcium excretion, a good dose of potassium (from say, a banana?) helps your body to retain the calcium already in your body.
• bananas have been shown to reduce your risk of kidney cancer, due to their high levels of antioxidant phenolic compounds.
• the high level of b vitamins in bananas help with nerve function.
• eating bananas as a regular part of your diet can reduce your risk of stroke by up to 40% according to research.
• bananas promote a healthy bowel, as they contain roughly 16% of your recommended daily intake of dietary fibre.
• bananas can help reduce PMS, as the high levels of vitamin b6 helps to regulate blood glucose levels which helps to reduce period pain, and other period related aches.
• bananas can help when quitting smoking as the vitamins and minerals in bananas (b6 and b12, potassium and magnesium) help the body to recover from nicotine withdrawls.
• bananas contain high levels of iron.
• interestingly enough bananas are also a natural pain remedy, as they provide relief from minor burns. mash up the flesh of a banana and put it against the burn, then cover.

here are some quick nutritional facts for all you number lovers out there (these are for a medium, ripe banana, roughly 115 gm):

• total fat - 0gm
• total cholesterol - 0gm
• calories - 100gm
• sugar - 14.8 gm
• protein - 1gm (2% r.d.i.)
• potassium - 400mg (10% r.d.i. - recommended daily intake)
• dietary fibre - 4gm (16% r.d.i.)
• vitamin c 10.3 mg (17% r.d.i)
• vitamin b6 - 0.4mg (22% r.d.i.)
• potassium - 422mg (12% r.d.i.)

so go chop one up for your cereal, mash it up for a banana and honey sandwich, or just eat one straight off the bunch.

x

food for thought (natural body lovin')

food to help your brain stay healthy and work at it's best for longer.

so to start off: walnuts!
as the human brain is are made up of more than 60% structural fat, to help it function properly it needs a good source of omega-3 fats. these fats are found in bountiful supply in walnuts!
many keep away from nuts because of their high fat content, but research has shown that people that consume nuts twice a week are significantly less likely to gain weight than people who avoid nuts altogether.

some more body related walnut benefits:

• walnuts are also a good source of other essential minerals including calcium, chromium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, vanadium and zinc.

• they are a source of bio-available (meaning your body can absorb it) melatonin, a hormone that is involved with the regulation of sleep, and is also a powerful antioxidant. so for a good nights sleep, nibble on a few walnuts for dessert.

• walnuts also help protect your bones, and nutritional research has reported the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits of walnuts which reduce the risk of certain cancers (including breast and prostate cancer). 

• this research has placed walnuts high on the list of foods that reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular problems (by helping your blood vessels remain healthy), and type 2 diabetes.

x

natural body lovin' part four

i'll give you a clue about this one...

 

roses!
pretty, romantic, fragrant. admittedly a beautiful combination of characteristics, but how are these supposed to help you heal your body naturally?
well after the petals fall away remains a seed pod, known as the hip, and from which oil is extracted.

the oil is known as rose hip oil, and is amazingly useful in terms of skin care (it's not actually your typical red roses that rose hip oil comes from, but they are pretty!).

rose hip oil is a literal gold mine of nutrients, including:

• vitamin a - which helps to manage oily skin, rehydrates dry skin, and assists in ironing out fine lines, wrinkles, even helping to smoothing out uneven skin tone.
• linoleic acid - this is vital for maintaining skin cell structure.
• oleic acid - helps to maintain supple skin, or return moisture to dry skin.
• linolenic acid - important for maintaining moisture and healthy cells.
• lycopene - protects your skin from free radical damage, preventing premature aging.
• beta-carotene - which is a source of pro vitamin a, and an antioxidant that helps to repair sun damaged skin.
• vitamin c- protects against free radical damage and plays a role in the formation of collagen (the main component of connective tissue in the human body).

it can be used by absolutely anyone, young or old, and all skin types (as it acts as a balancing agent). 
massage a few drops into your face and neck (or even just any problem areas) and rose hip oil can help to relieve the signs of premature aging, fine lines and wrinkles, scarring, stretch marks, eczema and psoriasis scars, hyper-pigmentation, dermatitis, burns, acne and chicken pox scarring, sun damage, dry skin, and improve skin elasticity, skin tone and skin resilience to the environment.

 i have been using it on dry patches and other bits and pieces (my skin often cracks if i haven't moisturised enough), and compared to before i came across it, my skins healing time is crazily reduced and my skin comes out beautiful and smooth after. i love it!

x

Scrub up! (naturally) with natural hand sanitiser

In my literary travels I came across a handy little recipe for a natural hand sanitiser. This is particularly well timed because we are going into winter where I live, and with winter comes all the lovely cold and flu germs! So sanitizing after touching potentially disgusting public surfaces (like public toilet door handles) is sometimes quite a must.

If I'm honest, it's a good find for me for everyday use, as constant hand washing dries my skin out like crazy, and normal chemical hand sanitisers also dry my skin out like crazy (because of the high alcohol content - a very drying agent).

Oh, and I never grew up, so I'm always getting into all kinds of messes, mucking around outdoors, with kids, playing with animals (for example, tonight a family of possums decided to come and eat dinner with me, so of course, I petted them and fed them. Repeatedly. And every pat was followed by a hand wash. If I'd had my sanitiser I wouldn't have used half of my hand moisturiser!)

So to make an all natural, skin friendly sanitiser, mix;

• one cup of aloe vera gel
• 1-2 teaspoons of witch hazel
• 3-4 drops of tea tree oil
• 3-4 drops of peppermint oil

Stir all of the ingredients together, mixing in more aloe gel to get a thicker consistency, if that's how you like it :)

X