It might sound like a big claim, but Aloe Vera is probably the most impressive medicinal herb invented by nature!! Of all the plants I’ve researched Aloe Vera is looking like the most impressive herb of them all. (Garlic would be a close second.) There is nothing on the planet that offers the amazing variety of healing benefits granted by Aloe Vera in a single plant.
I can clearly remember the first time I met a blood orange. I thought I had just a regular orange in front of me until I sliced it in half to find the deep crimson red colored flesh and thinking the orange must have gone off! I was just about to throw it away, when I was stopped and told that it was fine and that it was just a blood orange. I can remember thinking… yuck ‘blood’ how weird!
Now I look at them with delight and eagerly await their appearance at the start of each year. Once I’ve bought them I can’t wait to get them home and slice them open and find out what degree of crimson they will hold. In Europe we only really get blood oranges until March so get them quick as they won’t be around for much longer! Scientists are currently working on trying to control the gene so that Blood Oranges can be grown in all the major orange growing areas like Brazil and Florida but until then they are rare little gems to be enjoyed whilst available and eaten in abundance!
We could all benefit from a detox. Unless you’re a vegan eating only organic food, living in the countryside, don’t smoke, drink or use any artificial cosmetics on your skin then you could benefit from detoxing your body. This doesn’t mean that all the toxins we encounter will be stored in our bodies, in fact we’re pretty good at getting rid of unwanted chemicals. In today’s hectic existence however, most of us generally consume more bad stuff than our bodies are designed to deal with, which can lead to us feeling sluggish, not sleeping well and having bad skin, as well as contributing to more serious problems and illnesses.
Cold pressed juices seem to be having their moment in the spotlight recently and there’s no doubt that they’re pretty awesome, but I don’t think they’re any more special than a smoothie. In fact, both have their plus and negative points and are both wonderful in their own right.
When I say ‘smoothie’ or ‘juice’ I mean cold pressed juice and both prepared freshly with great ingredients. Supermarket bought smoothies throw up a multitude of issues and should be avoided for maximum nutritional value. This topic needs a post all of its own!!
In the UK we are recommended to eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day in order to keep us healthy, in Greece its 9, in France its 10 and in Japan its 13 portions of veg and 4 portions of fruit (17 in total!!) This probably contributes to why they have pretty much the longest life expectancy in the world. Even I have to admit that 17 seems like a pretty difficult feat to manage every day.
I’ve always believed that rather than concentrating on how many portions you eat it’s a bit easier and more enjoyable to try and eat a variety of different colored fruit and veg each day, week and month, work with what’s in season and mix it up as much as possible, that way you know that you’re getting the best variety of vitamins and you get the added enjoyment of a huge array of tastes! This is obviously much better for you than eating the same 5 portions of fruit & veg a day in any case.
I am not a nutritionist or dietician. I am simply someone who has been fortunate to learn from some of the top natural health experts in the country and have managed a number of courses in nutrition and natural health & beauty over the past 5 years; I’ve listened carefully to lots of very knowledgeable people, researched and experienced first-hand the amazing power of juicing and living a healthy lifestyle. If you have any health concerns I would recommend that you consult a healthcare professional before changing your diet or lifestyle in any drastic way.
