Did you know that your body can be too acidic, that is to say your blood pH is too low. Acidity is one of the most common causes of inflammation, especially arthritic conditions. It is quite easy to over-acidify your body with a normal diet and the effects on your health can be debilitating. To put it simply, when your blood pH starts to drop you need to raise it which is done through ALKALIZING.

In October 2001, in an issue of the European Journal of Nutrition, an article talked about how sodium chloride has been almost unknowingly incorporated into modern diets in ludicrously copious amounts, a diet that leads to very high body acidity. The article also talks about how the elderly are worst effected by this contemporary diet which contains these large amounts of sodium chloride. It has also been stated in other medical journals that body acidity is directly linked to joint damage and inflammation.

A means to fix this is to cut any foods that contain any derivative of sodium chloride. The alfalfa plant is also an effective way to increase the pH balance in your blood which help towards curing or preventing arthritic conditions, particularly with gout.

Do you suffer from particularly bad arthritis? Achy joints can be bad enough without the addition of inflammation and infection, yet how is it possible to prevent arthritis or even cure it? When the cartilage between our bones deteriorates we are left with awfully painful aches at our joints as bone grinds against bone. What our body needs is collagen to rebuild that much needed cartilage between our bones.

It has been the case for the last two or three decades that convenience has leapt above health in our list of priorities and more often than not the human race’s progression at making things more convenient for us leads to deterioration of our health. I bring this up because I want to ask, how convenient is a boneless piece of meat? Very convenient yet is also responsible for us missing out on something important, something that can stop us from developing arthritis in the future.

Pretty much everybody knows that you can make a very useful stock with the left over bones and scraps after you and your family/friends have finished off what they could when you plumped a whole chicken in front of them. As well as being useful though a chicken, beef or fish stock can provide great health benefits. It supplies a great deal of gelatine and collagen which are a rich source of glycosaminoglycans, something that helps repair the cartilage in your body. The collagen is also a hydrophilic colloid which attracts water to the joints which acts as a cushion, quashing any complaints you may have had or preventing them completely.

So to prevent any arthritic inflammation make sure you enjoy plenty of beef and chicken stock, in soups or other recipes you may have. Remember, homemade is better, and most of the time cheaper than those shop-bought tubs.

In my previous post after talking about an effective way to get rid of dust mites I mentioned air purifiers as one of the main solutions. Yet how do they work? I don’t want to delve too deeply into the science of it but it is effectively based on a few naturally occurrences. That is a thunderstorm and the ozone in the stratosphere many miles above our heads.

The Thunder Storm concept

Have you ever been out in a thunder storm? Have you ever noticed how great you feel when you’re watching the cloud roll in from the distance? That is due to the negative ions. The science behind negative ions and their effect on human behaviour is still very much unknown and speculative yet studies have seen how they have a positive effect on how a person feels, whereas positive ions have the adverse effect. One story mentions a scientist who worked beside an electrostatic generator. On days where it was throwing out positive ions he would end work in a foul mood, feeling fatigued and emotionally drained, yet on days it was producing negative ions he finished an eight hour shift bubbly and in good spirit. It has yet to be confirmed how, or why, these ions have this effect on the human body but it is proven that it makes a difference.

As for the use of negative ions in air purifiers, it works a little differently. The purifier charges air or gas particles negatively. These negatively charged particles then attach themselves to dust or any other airborne contaminants and are then attracted to a positively charged plate, removing the contaminants from the air. This could effectively be done the other way round, with positively charge particles being attracted to a negatively charge plate, yet it is because of the positive effects that negative ions have on the human body that the former technique is used.

A by product of a streak of lightning in a thunderstorm or in this purification method is…

Ozone (O₃)

You have probably heard of the ozone layer, which is up in the stratosphere where you will find the highest concentrations of ozone. Up in the stratosphere ozone’s main job is to filter out UV rays which are very damaging for your health. Used in an air purification process it does a slightly different job.

The ozone created by an air purifier is there to oxidize any nasty chemicals or contaminate in the air, effectively getting rid of them and any negative effect they may have on your health. You see the negative ions are useful for getting rid of the particulates (tiny particles of solid matter, i.e. dust or soot) as well as making you feel better by changing your mood yet the odours and all the harmful gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbonic acid, sulphuric acid and sulphur dioxide that may linger in you indoor air cannot be gotten rid of this way. That is why ozone is used as it can get rid of odours and any harmful substances that may be contaminating your indoor air.

All good air purifiers produce negative ions which in turn creates ozone. Couple this with good air circulation and your indoor air will be as clean as it is in the fresh wide open countryside, if not cleaner.

The house dust mite is an invisible enemy polluting the air inside your office or home. You may have heard of dust mites before and how there are tens-upon-thousands of them living in your house as you read this, reproducing, eating and excreting. Yet quite a lot of us just disregard them even though they can be very damaging to our health and we know that but because you cannot see them then you don’t treat them as a serious threat to your health. But what if I said you could see them? Try getting a sheet of jet black fabric or a piece of paper of the same colour and dust your pillow or sofa cushion over it. In normal light you should be able to see tiny white specs and if you focus hard enough you can actually see them scurry about. Not a pleasant experience yet a necessary one and one that will immediately make you want to scrub down every corner of your home, right?

So, a creature that is that damaging to your health and you can even see it with the naked eye? Surely its threat levels now must have peaked for you, and no doubt they are about to get higher when I tell you about all the nasty things they can do to your health.

The Dust Mite Incursion against your health

First off let me ask you, do you ever have those days where you are just not feeling right. When it’s even harder to get out of bed and go to work than it usually is. Your confused because last night you managed to get a good nine hours of sleep (a habit you have got into for the last few months), you have been eating healthier than you ever have been before and you are getting plenty of exercise, far exceeding what the government and health officials suggest you do. So what is the problem? Not knowing why you feel like you do can be frustrating and make you feel even worse, so let me point the finger at the likely candidate; DUST MITES.

Dust mites reproduce at an alarming rate (even faster than bunny rabbits) which can be very bad for your health. As well as this all they do is eat and excrete, filling your air with their waste. And that is just the live ones as all the dead dust mites just remain in the air in your house unless you do something about it. The effects on your health are as follows:

1. The body can eventually become allergic to the dust mites which can cause:
   1. inflamed or infected eczema
   2. frequent sneezing
   3. Itchiness
   4. runny nose
   5. and a build up of particulates in the lungs clogging it up
2. Dust mites can also be very damaging to anyone that may have asthma or any other medical problem relating to breathing and the lungs.

How to solve the problem

Dust mites can be killed quite easily, all you have to do is wash your bed sheets as well as cushion covers on you sofas and any carpets you have in the house, basically dust mites can settle anywhere yet are more prevalent in carpets, fabrics and linen. Temperatures of over 60°C or below freezing (0°C) will kill 90% to all dust mites subjected to that temperature change and washing anything with regular washing machine soup will clean away the dead dust mites as well as their ‘leavings’. However what about all the dust mites floating about in your air? An air purifier can easily fix that and comes even more highly recommended than washing down your furniture and bedding on a regular basis as it does all the work and is much more beneficial to your health.

Obviously having a clean house is beneficial and goes without saying yet you can quite easily have a normal, healthy and manageable cleaning pattern coupled with an air purifier and you will be able to enjoy clean, fresh tasting air on a daily basis inside your own home.

To find out more on air pollutants check out the book The Silent Killer by Pete Billac or even have a look at the range of air purifiers they do at EcoQuest as they are some of the best and come highly recommended.

How do saturated and unsaturated fats differ? We’ve already talked about fat at a molecular level and how they contain fatty acid chains. In these chains there is a certain amount of space for hydrogen atoms, one of the three building blocks of a fat, and if all of these spots are taken up then the fat is considered fully saturated and thus deemed a saturated fat. But what if all the spots aren’t taken up? Well if there are hydrogen atoms missing from the chain then the fat isn’t fully saturated. The oxygen in the chains use this extra left over bond to make double bonds with one another and it is these double bonds that make an unsaturated fat.

Monounsaturated fats

Monounsaturated fats are these fats made primarily of fatty acid chains with one double bond. As a whole group they have been classed as cholesterol lowering fats and can help stave off any possible future cardiovascular problems if consumed in place of fatty acids that have the adverse effect. However monounsaturated fatty acids range in effects. The most important monounsaturated fatty acid when it comes to nutrition and giving your body the chemicals it needs to maintain health is oleic acid.

What is oleic acid?

You’ve probably heard of your omega-3 fatty acids haven’t you? Well oleic acid is an omega-9 fatty acid which is most concentrated in olive oil, pecan oil and peanut oil. The health benefits of consuming these monounsaturated fatty acids include reducing blood pressure as this is a trait that is held by olive oil and it is strongly believed that it is the oleic acids (which makes up 75% of what is in olive oil) is responsible for this. It is also believed that oleic acid can help fight the progression of a lethal and nasty disease that attacks the brain and adrenal glands called adrenoleukodystrophy or ALD (also known as Schilder’s disease).

However increased levels of monounsaturated fatty acids and oleic acid in red blood cells has been attributed to higher risks of developing breast cancer. Yet this is all speculative and as long as you moderate what you are consuming the health benefits are rather astounding.

Check out the great book ‘Fats that Heal Fats that Kill’ by Udo Erasmus which, while it can get quite scientific at times, is a massive eye opener in the speculative and still very ambiguous world of getting the most nutrition from fats as is possible.

Additives have been used for many centuries in human history, whether it be pickling vegetables or salting meat or even seal wine with sulphur dioxide. It is only in the last fifty years or so that additives has become a dirty word. This is due mainly to the advancement of food science and the many man-made creations that may improve the quality of our food yet may not have a great effect on our health. With the introduction of the ‘E’ prefix in front of codes to help us identify what exactly is in our food back in 1986 there have been many natural and man-made introductions to the world of additives. Because there are hundreds of these E numbers it is best just to indentify the most common ones and to explore what effects they may have on your health.

E102 Tartrazine

Tartrazine is a yellow food colouring and one of the most common throughout the world. It is completely synthetic and does not occur naturally. It is known to cause allergic reactions in asthmatics as well as those with an aspirin intolerance. It can also cause development of hives or rashes as well as also being attributed to thyroid tumours and hyperactivity in children. Tartrazine can be found in a wide range of things like sweets, soup, rice and crisps. In all cases it is used for its yellow colour.

E107 Yellow 7G

Causes allergic reactions in people who are asthmatic, much like with Tartrazine yet the reactions have been documented as being far milder than that caused by Tartrazine. It is found primarily in soft drinks.

E110 Sunset Yellow FCF

Again a very common additive which can be found in sweets, baked goods, snack foods, breakfast cereals, soft drinks and even in canned fish. This has a plethora of health risks associated with it including hives, allergies, hyperactivity, nasal congestion, kidney tumours, abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting and indigestion. A synthetic additive.

E120 Cochineal

A red food colorant. This is known to cause allergic reactions as well as cause an anaphylactic shock in some people. Due to its price though it is rarely used in food stuffs nowadays and is more commonly used in cosmetics (in lipstick or eye shadow).

E123 Amaranth

A naturally occurring red food dye that is used in cake mixes, fruit jellies and sweets. It has been known to exacerbate eczema, hyperactivity and asthma. It has even been shown to cause birth defects and foetal deaths in some studies.

E127 Eythrosine

Eythrosine is a red food dye that can cause sensitivity to light as well as cause hyperthyroidism and even thyroid cancer. It can be found in snack foods, sweets, canned fruit and baked goods.

E132 Indigotine

A synthetic blue additive known as a coal tar derivative in accordance with its source. It is used in ice cream, biscuits, sweets and baked goods. May cause vomiting and nausea, breathing issues or other allergic reactions, skin rashes or high blood pressure. It is an additive banned in Norway.

E150(a-d) Plain Caramel and its counterparts

The HACSG (Hyperactive Children Support Group) suggests that consumers AVOID THIS. Used in beer and whiskey (which I doubt you’ll be feeding to your children, but worth a mention all the same), as well as fruit sauces and soy.

E155 Brown HT

Known to cause skin sensitivity as well as induce allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Used in chocolate cake mixes.

This is to name but a few colorants yet there are hundreds more additives and E numbers and exist in the forms of preservatives, firming agents, acidity regulators, antioxidants, emulsifiers, sequestrants, anti-cooking agents, colour retention agents, stabilisers, sweeteners, gelling agents, raising agents, improving agents, flavour enhancers, glazing agents, anti-foaming agents, packaging gas and propellents.

To learn more there is a great site called foodreactions.org and is worth a look.

Fats are energy providers. While a bee exists to make honey or a heart exists to beat, a fat exists to provide the body with energy, which is does through providing a large amount of calories, something that we have already covered. So choosing what fats are good and bad from how much calories they contain would be a bit silly as they all provide the same amount. I suppose one thing that would concern many is one of the main problems associated with eating fats, especially saturated fats, and the number one killer in the western world at the moment; heart disease. The scientific evidence that links saturated fats and heart disease is quite damning yet there are saturated fats that can actually reduce the chance of heart disease.

Coconut Oil and other tropical oils

To start with, I think a quick history of coconut oil and its unjust demise in popularity deserves a little mention. The lipid (scientific term for a fat) which is rich in saturated fatty acids was once prevalent in the world of food and cuisine. It was (and still is to some degree) used to deep fry foods, and was even used in cinemas to cook popcorn. However a very vicious smear campaign against the tropical oil in the nineties saw it being replaced by hydrogenated vegetable fats. While it is true that coconut oil can raise blood cholesterol if eaten irresponsibly due to its high concentration of a certain C12 saturated fatty acid, hydrogenated fats are far more dangerous as they are a manmade substance which the body does not recognize as food and therefore has trouble breaking it down and absorbing it into the body meaning quite a lot of it is deposited either as body fat or as blockages in your arteries. So this healthy alternative is anything but.

Its relatives, palm oil and palm kernel oil (the tropical oils) share the same story. And the reason these saturated fats are so different and special to those found in meats and dairy products is down to the fat molecule chains that we have briefly looked at already. You see, the chains found in meat fat, lard, butter and cheese tend to be classed as long-chain fatty acids which are harder to break down and absorb into the body while coconut oil and the other tropical oils are primarily composed of medium and short-chain fatty acids. These can be easily broken down and absorbed by the body and means less of it is deposited elsewhere, whether that be in your arteries or as body fat.

Also due to the fact that tropical oils are indeed saturated they are less likely to contain free radicals which can be very damaging to the cells within your body. So these oils already have advantages against other saturated fats as well as fish and vegetable oils which are your unsaturated fats.

AND EVERYTHING HAS MANY ADVANTAGES AGAINST HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE FATS

To learn more about coconut and tropical oils check out the book by Bruce Fife, The Coconut Oil Miracle.

Fats, a very broad subject, yet a very important one when it comes to health, and while exercise is very important to keep fit and healthy you also need to keep a close eye on what you are putting into your body. When you think of it this way all the chemicals in your body have to come from somewhere and this somewhere primarily comes from the food you eat so making sure you are getting the right foods is essential. Fibre from vegetables is important for your digestive system yet fats, whether you like it or not, will play a major role in whether you can keep your body fit and healthy. That is not to say that you should avoid them entirely…

What are fats?

Fats, like everything in the ENTIRE universe, are made up of atoms (this is the bit where I wince as I fear with that ‘A’-word I have already lost your interest, but give me a chance, you may learn something really interesting). Fats are made up of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms, much like carbohydrates (hence the name CARBO-HYDRATES). The only difference between carbohydrates and fats is that fats contain less oxygen. This contributes to the fact that fats (which contain about 9kcal (calories) per gram) are richer in their calorie content than these carbohydrates, and even proteins (which both contain around 4kcal per gram). I know that the fact they are made up of these atoms doesn’t mean a lot to you but it did help a lot in explaining why fats are so calorific compared to everything else, so basically a little bit of trivia to impress your friends with, right?

Fats come in all shapes and sizes; there are saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, trans fats and cis fats and hydrogenated fats. And it is a mixture of some of these types of fats that can keep you healthy and provide your body with everything it needs. However, despite this clear grouping of different kinds of fats, that isn’t to say ONE type is good for you while another is bad as all fats are different and have different qualities (whether they are healing qualities or damaging qualities) which aren’t specific to one type of fat.

Look for later posts for what fats are good for you and why and which fats are bad for your health.

To find out how to successfully incorporate fats into a healthy diet check out our website to find out more about the cooking demonstrations we do on our retreats.

1. Basic Bounce and/or therapeutic rock
The correct posture for rebounding is with the feet about hip-width apart, knees solft, and as relaxed as possible all over.

• Keep your feet flat on the mat
• Very gently, bounce on the mat
• Relax your shoulders.
• Keep doing this gently

For anyone with an illness or injury, we recommend that you start with this exercise for 30 seconds to find your barrier. It can be used to relieve tension, headaches and often to relieve symptoms of the common cold and so on.

2. Pedal Feet

• Raise right heel, keep ball of the foot on the mat, place heel down on mat.
• Raise left heel, keep ball of foot on mat, place heel down on mat.
• Keep alternating from one side to the other.
• Gently bounce as you do this exercise.
• Swing the arms in time with your feet.

This is the next step after you have found that you can do exercise 1 for 1-1.5 mins. If you have any illness or debilitating condition, you should stick to exercise 1 for at least two weeks, while your pain lessens and your energy increases.

3. Side Step

• Take right leg out to side; touch foot to mat; return to centre; REPEAT 4 TIMES.
• Take left leg out to side; touch foot to mat; return to centre; REPEAT 4 TIMES.
• Gently bounce as you do this exercise.
• Swing the arms in time with your feet.

This is the next step towards aerobic exercise. If you wish to go further you will find it helpful to ask for help/instructions from the Back To Nature Clinic.

4. Knee Raises

• Assume correct posture.
• Raise right knee towards left hand, return to mat.
• Raise left knee towards left hand, return to mat.
• Alternative from side to side.

This is a further progression towards aerobic exercise. It is a little harder than the side steps. The level of the knee raise governs the intensity of the exercise, and can be varied from the toe being just off the mat to the thigh being parallel with the floor.

REBOUND TO YOUR FAVOURITE BEAT MUSIC – with about 120/130 beats per minute – IT WILL MAKE IT EVEN MORE ENJOYABLE.