Calcium rich foods - 25th January 2022
There are women and men who are not convinced that our body can absorb calcium from calcium carbonate and calcium citrate pills. There are others who have read over and over again that taking calcium pills can cause more harm than good. For these people there is another option which is to absorb calcium from food.
Adults need 1000mg of calcium a day. However, women over the age of 50 and men over the age of 70 need 1200mg per day.
The body absorbs calcium easier when taken with vitamin D and vitamin K2. Vitamin D is fat soluble. Our body cannot absorb more than 500mg of calcium at a time.
Here is a compiled list of calcium rich foods (and some less rich) and the amount of calcium that each quantity contains. Please note that this is not a complete list and in no way is it precise, but it is meant to give a good indication of the amount of calcium the food contains.
2 dried figs - 65mg
2 oranges - 110mg
Sardines 85g - 325mg
Salmon 100g - 9mg
Yoghurt plain 100g - 183mg
Greek yoghurt - 110mg
Parmesan 1 tbls - 55mg
Almond milk calc fortified 225g - 300mg
Kale 1 cup - 179mg
Pumpkin seeds 33g - 18mg
3 prunes - 12mg2 kiwis - 34mg
Almonds 100g - 260mg
Half avocado - 6mg
Walnuts 100g - 98mg
Kefir 1 cup - 300mg
1 egg - 25mg
Sauerkraut 100g - 30mg
2 tbls tahini - 128mg
1 bar dark chocolate over 85% - 7mg
Crab meat 100g - 56mg
White rice 100g - 10mg
Ricotta 100g - 207mg
1 banana - 5.9mg
Canned tuna 120g - 34mg
1 cup oatmeal - 100mg
Mussels 100g - 33mg
Milk 100g - 125mg
Cashews 50g - 18mg
Peas 50g - 12mg
Liver 100g - 10mg
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Producing zero waste – making compost - 24th February 2021
You could put your leftover food in a white plastic bag and place the bag outside your door every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sometimes cats get to your bag before the dustman, sometimes you don't wake up in time and sometimes you just forget it's a Wednesday. A few days later the liquid starts oozing out of the white bag. However, it doesn't have to be so. You could use your food scraps to enrich your soil. Your plants and trees will love you for it. If you have a garden and don't want to mess about with waste, all you have to do is dig a hole in the soil, put your waste in it and let nature do the rest. The worms will find that waste and will break it down. If you have a terrace, just find a large bin and put the food leftovers in it, when it is full start filling another bin. When the second bin is full, empty the first bin in the pots or planters on your terrace, mix it with the existing soil and that's it, you will have dark soil full of minerals and nutrients. Plants also love the internal organs of fish. When I buy fish, I always ask the fishmonger to give me the internal organs. I put my gloves on and place them directly in a hole in the soil. About three weeks later the fish is literally gone! Give it a try, it is not that difficult and well worth it.
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More about vinegar - 2nd February 2021
Add 50% vinegar and 50% water into an old spray bottle. Mix and use to clean windows. You will have clean windows in no time at a fraction of the cost. Most of all you will not breath chemicals while cleaning your windows and you will not be harming the environment.
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Small changes to improve our lifestyle. Part 5 - The power of vinegar - 20th January 2021
If you want crisper and softer clothes, put distilled white vinegar in the compartment of the washing machine drawer instead of fabric conditioner. Vinegar works better than fabric conditioner because it strips your laundry of detergent residue. Add one eighth to 1 quarter cup of vinegar in the washing machine drawer where you would normally put the fabric conditioner for the rinse cycle. It will brighten, reduce odour and soften clothes without making use of the harsh chemicals found in conditioners. The chemicals in the fabric conditioner leave clothes stiff after several washes. Moreover, chemical residue is not good for your clothes or for your skin and you will also not be responsible of throwing more chemicals into the environment. Distilled white vinegar rather than brown vinegar works best as it has no tannins that can stain clothes. It is also makes clothes and linen hypoallergenic, so it is good to use for people with sensitive skin. Vinegar also prevents lint and pet hair from clinging to clothes. You can also put 2 cups of vinegar in an empty washing machine using hot water to clean it every 6 months. Do not clean the rubber seals of the washing machine with vinegar as in time it can damage the seals.
I have been using white vinegar instead of fabric conditioner for over a month and my clothes come out fresher and softer. I dislike the artificial strong smell that detergents leave on clothes so I prefer odourless clothes. If you want your clothes to have a nice smell, fold them and put nice smelling soaps on top of the folded clothes. In that way clothes, sheets and towels will have a mild smell of cleanliness after a few days.
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Small changes to improve our lifestyle. Part 4 - Natural versus synthetic fabrics - 15th January 2021
Natural fibres include 100% organically grown cotton, linen (made from flax), silk, wool, cashmere and hemp. Synthetic fabrics such as nylon, polyester, lycra, rayon etc. are made from chemicals and solvents. Although there is not enough research to know how fabrics made from chemicals and solvents affect our skin, we can see the differenc e on our skin when wearing clothes made from 100% organic fibres. The natural fibres in these fabrics let the air circulate from the outside on to the skin thus drying any dampness caused by our skin, the fibres feel soft and comfortable on our skin, they do not keep moisture trapped and thus our body temperature remains more constant than when wearing synthetic clothing which traps moisture making the skin feel clammy and uncomfortable because the fabric sticks to our skin. Natural fibres are hypoallergenic having antibacterial properties. Synthetic fabrics have undergone extensive chemical treatments which can irritate our skin, causing rashes and allergies. Moreover, natural fibres are biodegradable causing no harm to the environment when disposed. Although fabrics made from natural fibres cost significantly more, they last longer and we wear them all the time because they feel so good. So, they are a better investment in the long run.
Dishwasher tablets made from natural ingredients - 5th January 2021
Do you know what dishwasher tablets are made of? Have you ever tried to read the ingredients? When l tried to read the ingredients the packet read – amongst other ingredients it also contains... … Hmmm what are the ingredients not mentioned? I thought that all ingredients should be mentioned on the packaging. Most of us buy in a hurry and have no time to read what is on every package. However, detergents such as dish washer tablets are used to wash our plates. Some of their residue remains on the plates, cups and dishes. The next time we eat from those plates, the chemicals in the dishwasher tablets ends in our bodies. Moreover, the water with chemicals from the tablet ends up in the sea. We can do something to stop this. We can use naturally made dishwasher tablets. They are actually cheaper than the ones bought at the super market and they are kinder to us and to the environment. See ingredients of our dishwasher tablets here
Small changes to improve our lifestyle. Part 3 - Sunshine and vitamin D - 12th December 2020
Now that winter is fast approaching, ask yourself, how much sunlight do you really get? Do you wake up, spend sometime preparing to go out, get into your car, get to the office, then leave the office when it is dark for 5 days a week? We need sunlight. Sunlight does not only make us feel good but it also replenishes our body with vitamin D. Try to stay in the sun for 20 minutes every day. Why don't you have your break outside when it is sunny? Sit in the warm wonderful winter sun, close your eyes and soak it all in. According to Rathish Nair and Arun Maseeh from the journal of pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics, People with a naturally dark skin tone have natural sun protection and require at least three to five times longer exposure to make the same amount of vitamin D as a person with a white skin tone. A person with white skin tone needs about 15 minutes of sunshine. Emerging research supports the possible role of vitamin D against cancer, heart disease, fractures and falls, autoimmune diseases, influenza, type-2 diabetes, and depression. Prevention is better than cure – make it a point to enjoy the winter sun every day when it is available.
Small changes to improve our lifestyle. Part 2 - Sanseviera Laurenti in your bedroom - 26th November 2020
If you are thinking of keeping plants in your home, you should consider keeping as many Sanseviera Laurenti plants (snake plants) as possible even in your bedroom. The crucial benefit is that these plants purify the air in your rooms by absorbing toxins through their leaves. They then release oxygen even at night. Other plants release carbon dioxide at night. These plants are not only beautiful but they are also easy to maintain. Although if you overwater them, their roots will rot. So make sure the soil is dry before you water them. They also need indirect light.
Small changes to improve our lifestyle. Part 1 - Why raise your bed! - 16th November 2020
We spend 8 hours in bed so it is important to invest in a good mattress. Everyone knows that. However not everyone knows that to sleep even better, the bed should be elevated by at least 15 cms from the head board side. This helps in breathing deeper and with less effort. An elevated bed also helps relieve snoring, sleep apnea and acid reflux. There are some people who cannot use a pillow because it gives them neck pain. So, elevating your bed is the best option. Try to avoid sleeping flat on a mattress without elevating your head in some way, as this puts a lot of strain on your back. Sleeping in this way can also cause bags under your eyes as fluid can settle in your face. Moreover, blood does not circulate freely in your entire body. So, your head has to always be elevated above your heart. It is not good to just stack 2 or 3 ordinary pillows under your head as it can cause neck pain and spinal misalignment.
Raising your bed is quite easy. Place 2 pieces of 15 cm to 23cm wood at the head board side, one on the left and one on the right. You could also do this in 2 steps. Start with 10cms then add another 10cms after you get used to the first 10cms. Two people have to do this. One lifts the bed and one places the wood under the foot of the bed.
Lip balms - 12th November 2020
When covering our lips with gels or lipstick, we have to keep in mind that part of the gels that we put on our lips are going to end up in our mouths and thus ingested with what we consume. Therefore, it stands to reason that we should never put anything on our lips which we cannot eat. A lot of people, for instance, put petroleum jelly/Vaseline on their lips. Petroleum Jelly is recommended for external use only so it should not be applied to the nostrils or to the lips. It could be carcinogenic so why risk putting it on your lips. Moreover, it can cause acute lipoid pneumonia (google scholar EHP paper by P.A. Bogovski and F. Vinkmann). The most expensive lip balms are not necessarily the ones that are good for you. Read the ingredients before buying a lip balm. A lip balm that contains natural oils such as avocado oil and butters such a Shea butter or Cocoa butter and also contains beeswax, is very likely to be a very good balm for you. You might ask can we eat beeswax? The answer is yes - unless you happen to be one of the very few who are allergic to beeswax. Beeswax, in fact, is edible and digestible. So when you next go shopping for a lip balm look at the ingredients and ask yourself, can I eat this? If you can, then there is no doubt that it is good for you.
Deodorants or antiperspirants which should we choose? - 28th January 2021
An antiperspirant blocks perspiration while a deodorant lets the body perspire but neutralises the smell.
According to several studies, antiperspirants do not cause breast cancer. However, one of the active ingredients to block pores is an aluminium-based compound. Some research has suggested that these aluminium compounds may be absorbed by the skin and cause changes in oestrogen receptors of breast cells.
Perspiration is a necessary bodily function. The body regulates temperature by releasing water from its skin and glands. It also eliminates toxins from the body through perspiration. According to the Journal of the Royal society of Medicine in a paper called The Composition of Human Perspiration (Samuel Hyde Memorial Lecture) (Section of Physical Medicine) by B.A. McSwiney -
'While normally small amounts of urea are found in the sweat, it is stated that in uraemia the sweat glands may assume some of the functions of the kidneys and excrete urea…' It continues to state that 'Investigators have found that perspiration consists of water, inorganic salts, ammonia, urea, uric acid, amino-acids, lactic acid and sugar.' However, each person is different. 'Many investigators have apparently failed to recognize the great variation which exists among individuals, and even in the same individual at different times.'
We therefore perspire for a couple of reasons. Blocking the pores to avoid odour is not the right thing to do.
When we perspire bacteria forms under our arms. The smell comes from the bacteria not the perspiration. Deodorants let perspiration come out from the under arm but at the same time gets rid of odour-causing bacteria, provides a different scent or neutralises odours and absorbs some of the moisture. There are natural products – see our natural deodorant here - that can neutralise the smell while at the same time let the body's natural process of perspiring continue normally.
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