WE ALL WANT TO BE SLIM BUT ....

Dieting is big business - the majority of women will have tried it at least once, if not many times in their lives. If it worked that one time and they've remained slim ever since, brilliant, but most of us will admit that we lost weight on some diet or other but then we put it all back on again. It's a miserable business for us and a money-maker for those who invent the latest diet packages.
The best way to get on top of the weight problem is to learn about healthy eating. If your BMI (Body Mass Index) is too high (check it here) then you'll need to shift kilos and that will involve cutting down on bulk and cutting out the obvious baddies - sweets, biscuits, processed foods in general for instance. Too many animal fats are not a good idea either for health or slimming. Avoiding alcohol during the dieting process is a big help. However, the emphasis should always be on balance if you're not to put strain on your body; but what is the ideal balance?
Dr. Andrew Weil M.D., leading authority on healthy eating, natural healing and holistic as well as conventional medicine, recommends 50-60% carbohydrate, 30% fat, 10-20% protein. Click here to read about his wellness diet. The most comprehensive guide to nutrition that we've come across so far is Dr. Weil's Eating Well for Optimum Health (See here on Amazon - the reviews are worth checking out too)
A word about all-protein diets:
too much saturated fat can put excess strain on the liver and kidneys and cause problems in later life. Only the most healthy people can get away with a short period (such as a few days, max a week) on these diets but they're not a good idea.
It's worth bearing in mind that meat products can take up to 3 days to pass through the alimentary tract. In some older people the intestinal transit time can be as much as 2 weeks! Imagine the state of the meat in your fridge or larder after that length of time - doesn't bear thinking about. The meat digestion process in particular consumes pancreatic enzymes which are vital in healing and requires bile acids which are carcinogenic in the human colon. We've all heard of people dying of cancer of the colon and, in older people particularly, diverticular disease is extremely common - tiny pockets in the colon which can trap food and become infected leading to diverticulitis which has to be treated very rapidly to prevent peritonitis (a potentially fatal burst into the peritoneum).
Our colons are very delicate and we'd be wise to look after them. By the way cooked meat loses amino acid benefits and produces acidic metabolites such as uric acid which can be toxic - charcuterie is pretty dodgy too.
A further note on the all-protein diet. The human brain consumes 18% of our energy and that energy comes only from carbohydrate in the form of glucose. The older we get, the more brain cells we lose and we all know what can happen to brains in later life, so perhaps it's a good idea to make sure those little grey cells are well-fed with the correct food. Luckily the Atkins diet is fast falling out of vogue. There's no question it works, but at what cost in later life? And then there's the added problem of not putting all that weight back on afterwards.
If you have a lot of weight to lose, it's best to consult a reputable dietician - doctors aren't trained in nutrition so can only give some general advice. A good maintenance and detox routine, if you need to shift a couple of pounds following a bit of an eating/drinking binge, is to cut out alcohol, animal products and bread for a day or two.
Finally a dieting tip - chewing thoroughly reduces the amount of work required in the digestion process and eating more slowly gives the stomach time to tell the head it's had enough and to please stop.
BON CHANCE!

GREAT NEWS FROM THE GREENPEACE KIT-KAT CAMPAIGN!

Here it is in their own words:

Thank you and congratulations are in order!

Early this morning Nestlé finally announced a break for the orang-utan - as well as Indonesian rainforests and peatlands - by committing to stop using products that come from rainforest destruction.

The new policy commits Nestlé to identify and exclude companies from its supply chain that own or manage 'high risk plantations or farms linked to deforestation'. This would apply to notorious forest destroyer Sinar Mas and have implications for Cargill, one of Nestlé's palm oil suppliers which purchases from Sinar Mas.

None of this could have happened without your fanstastic efforts.

Thank you for supporting the two-month long Kit Kat campaign! Thank you for e-mailing Nestlé, calling them, tweeting, changing your Facebook profile picture and much more!

Please take a moment to toot your own horn a bit:

Share this sweet success on Facebook, on Twitter, or any of your other social profiles! Thanks again!

--The entire Kit Kat campaign crew

http://www.greenpeace.org/kitkat

HOORAY FOR PEOPLE POWER!

BICARB IS BRILLIANT by Sue

If you've cleaned your teeth with it, used it to replace yeast in cake-making or added it to the water when boiling veg to speed up the cooking and prevent wind, you'll already be aware that bicarbonate of soda is versatile stuff. But did you know that bicarb, also known as baking soda, can brighten your white wash? 2 tablespoons should do the trick. You can sprinkle it round your sinks and hand basins and use like Vim or add a couple of tablespoons dissolved in water to a half-filled washing-up liquid bottle to make it go further. Bicarb's great as a degreaser too. If you get mouth ulcers, scoop a little of the soda onto your finger and put it directly on the spot. Calm stomach ache with 1-2 teaspoonfuls in a glass of water. I could go on but why not check out this site for loads more uses.
Warning: Many people use bleach. Bleach is bad news, and not just for your fosse septique. See this site to find out why. And chlorine in swimming pools can make you, and particularly your children, more vulnerable to asthma attacks. I bought a season ticket to Lannemezan pool and was only able to use it a few times. I had an asthma attack that lasted almost two weeks.
Check out this site for more info.

FRUIT NUT AND SEED TEABREAD (a 2lb loaf) from Sue

This went down really well at Rosemary's venue. It's a delicious bread that you can create from fruits, nuts and seeds of your own choice.

Preheat oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas 4 and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin.

Ingredients

230g/8 oz fine chopped dried fruit (such as apricots, dates, cranberries etc.) • 115g/4oz sultanas • 115g/4oz light brown sugar 225g/8oz self-raising flour • 5ml/1 tsp baking powder • 10ml/2 tsp mixed spice • 75g/3oz chopped mixed nuts (such as hazels, almonds, walnuts etc.) • 75g/mixed seeds (such as millet, sunflower, sesame etc.) • 2 beaten eggs • 150ml/1/4 pint milk

Method

Combine dried fruit, sultanas and sugar in a large bowl.

Put flour, baking powder, spice, nuts and seeds in another large bowl and mix well.

Whisk the beaten eggs into the milk, pour onto the fruit and sugar and stir in.

Add the flour mixture and beat until well mixed.

Spoon into the loaf tin and smooth the surface. Bake for approx. I hour until the top is browned (not too much). Test the centre is cooked with a knife or skewer. Allow to cool for about 10 mins. then carefully lift the loaf out of the tin, peel off the greaseproof and cool on a wire rack.

The loaf can be eaten warm or cold, plain or with butter, jam, honey or cheese.

Note: You can vary the fruits to suit. Why not try exotic ones such as mangoes or papaya, pineapple or cherries. Tip: I sometimes buy exotic trail mix and pick out the various fruits to use in recipes.

IS THE BODY SHOP STICKING TO ITS MISSION STATEMENT? by Sue

I have been using Body Shop products for years, in fact I was living in Brighton when Anita Roddick set up her first shop in 1976. She chose her location well, the Infinity Foods health food emporium was just around the corner - it is still going strong. The Body Shop was groundbreaking and caught on very quickly. Brighton, which has just elected Britain's first Green MP, has a sizeable 'alternative' eco-minded population against such practices as animal testing and for organic products and fair trade.
When Roddick sold out to L'Oreal in 2007 my immediate thought was that they would abandon her principles and I would have to look around for another brand. However, when I checked out this Body Shop site, it seemed that L'Oreal is upholding the core values and I have given them the benefit of the doubt. If anyone knows any different, please post a comment.
I now have six used pots to be returned for recycling, so at least I shall find out if that principle still stands.

HOW FRIGHTENING IS THIS!

We spotted this sign by the beach in St. Jean de Luz. It certainly makes you think and to wonder what the timings would be in landfill. Worse probably. We were particularly horrified by how many years disposable nappies take to degrade - seems the word disposable is somewhat sick in this context. Whatever happened to good old terry towelling, dare we ask? NO!

NETTLES AREN'T NASTY by Sue

Nettles, urtica dioica, are actually extraordinary. They were christened 'The Heart of the World' by Rudolph Steiner (founder of anthroposophy - holistic healing) because of the healing energy they radiate to humans, animals and plants.
If you suffer from arthritis, cold feet, gout, lumbago, sciatica or rheumatism, to name but a few, drinking nettle juice or tea can help alleviate the symptoms. And here's a surprising fact: nettle stings in the affected areas increase the flow of blood, produce a counter-irritation and reduce inflammation! Why not keep a couple of pots as houseplants to use in the winter. Nettle tea is also good for improving resistance to pollens, molds and environmental pollutants because they stabilize mast cell walls and stop the cycle of mucus membrane hyperactivity.
You can eat nettles as well, in soups or as a substitute for spinach. Sprinkle the dried leaves on salads or use as a herb - they have a mineral rich, slightly bitter, slightly salty flavour. They're full of goodies, even surpassing spinach - protein, vitamins, masses of minerals and more. A word of warning, don't eat them raw as they can cause mouth and lip problems and aren't easily digested. Always use the tips of tender, young plants.
Nettle tea is a great fertilizer in the garden and makes plants more bug resistant. Put them in your compost too, they speed up the breakdown process. Hang a bunch in your kitchen - flies can't stand them!
Animals profit from eating nettles too - they are good for their health and chickens produce more eggs and cows more milk. Mind you, we haven't tried them out on our dogs yet!
There are lots of websites extolling the virtues of urtica dioica and if you want to find out how to prepare them, just Google in 'how to make nettle .....' and bingo.
Startling fact: selling certain nettle preparations for garden use is illegal in France. So guess which companies have been lobbying again!