Ultra-Processed foods are making us sick and no one cares

It's completely normal to eat ultra-processed foods. Despite mounting evidence these foods are dire for our community health, none of the major food producers in Australia, or the world for that matter, are making changes, and there's little in the way of government support to educate Australians on making better choices.

An ultra-processed food often resembles a natural product but on closer inspection it contains substances that have been extracted from foods. They have ingredients that are synthesised and not available to the home cook. Things like hydrolysed protein, gluten, invert sugars or additives and flavour enhancers. Have a look at the ingredients list on your packaged products; If you see ingredients you can't put in your pantry, you can classify it as ultra processed. These are different from traditional processed foods which include foods like cheese and sausages. These come from natural foods but have have been prepared with ingredients like oils, fats, sugars or salt. A whole food (not processed) comes directly from a plant or animal source and is not processed or prepared only with other ingredients that come from nature.

I'm a big believer in the bodies ability to heal itself and overcome adversity. Sure we can handle some of these foods, weekly, possibly daily in small amounts. It's not like we can NEVER eat them. Truthfully we've been eating these foods for years and we're ok, aren't we? Perhaps not.

A study gave one group of people access to a wholefood unprocessed diet, and another group access to only ultra processed foods. They were permitted to eat unrestricted, using their autonomy to decide when they were satisfied. The group that ate ultra processed foods consumed an additional 500 calories a day, while reporting the same level of satiety. Even more alarmingly, other research has shown that a diet high in ultra-processed foods lends itself to the development of a gut environment that favours the wrong kinds of microbes which produce a myriad of inflammatory disease. In other words, bad, disease causing gut bacteria flourish on an ultra-processed diet.

It is clear, over time, an ultra-processed diet will inevitably lead to weight gain . And while there's nothing wrong with a bit of meat on the bones, the low fibre and low nutritional value of a ultra-processed diet, coupled with the increased inflammation associated with obesity leads to a frightening list of illnesses including heart disease, dyslipedemia, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, gastrointestinal illnesses and an assortment of cancers.

These are the salty, sugary fatty foods which are chemically formulated to be hyper-palatable and keep you reaching for more. This stuff is addictive. Ultra processed foods train you to eat more and more. Our children are learning how to eat on this stuff. Their little brains are developing neuronal pathways that prefer synthetic foods.

Kids are among the biggest consumers of ultra-processed foods. I'm guilty of feeding it to my fussy eaters also. Packaged breads, cereals and snacks for kids are amongst the biggest contenders. And actually, in high income countries, such as the US, UK and Australia, ultra-processed foods make up more than 50% of calories for the average person. That's scary. And we are not really to blame. The powerful marketing, high availability, cheap (often subsidised) prices and palatable nature of ultra-processed foods make them truly hard to avoid. Many are marketed as healthy, when they’re really not. Some are worse than others. Packaged bread, for example is ultra processed. A couple of slices of wholemeal toast amongst a diet of mostly natural foods is not as harmful as sugary, salty and fatty snacks morning noon and night. And conversely flour is considered an unprocessed food, but foods made of refined flour cause your blood sugar to rise steeply, and when on repeat day in day out, elevated blood sugars drive inflammation and disease. It is wholly possible to eat unhealthily on natural foods by baking flour, sugars and lots of fats together and consuming it all too frequently.

I'm not trying to guilt you into throwing out all the food in pantry. I am encouraging you to fight back one snack at a time with mindfulness. Choose to add in more natural foods, thereby crowding out foods that are not so wholesome. Endeavour to make meals from scratch in your own home. Teach your kids to cook. It takes a bit more planning but the rewards are delicious. What you eliminate from your diet is going to create the biggest gains for your health in the long term. Your body will thank you for it.

References

Fardet, A (2016) Minimally processed foods are more satiating and less hyperglycemic than ultra-processed foods: a preliminary study with 98 ready-to-eat foods.  7, 2338–2346.

Monteiro et al (2019) Ultra processed foods; What they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition. Cambridge University Press

Hormonal ...and a new puppy

It's common knowledge that throughout modern history women have had a bad rap for being hysterical and hormonal. Unable to reason or or have valid opinions as we are at the mercy of our monthly cycles (eye roll).

A lot of the feminist activism of the last 150 years or so has been aimed at squashing these rumours. Of deleting any differences between men and women.

Although there is no scientific fact behind the hysterical female stereotype, emerging science demonstrates that there are differences between the sexes and these are brilliant and should be celebrated.

I personally notice my hormones have a major influence on my feelings and decisions, strongly linked to survival. Like the time I was 40 wks pregnant on my due date and going for a long walk along the rocky oceanside hoping to induce labour. I instinctually had a need to find a cave and settle in to give birth. Of course I was to be birthing in a hospital, but still, my instinct, my lizard brain, was telling me to find private shelter.

Or as a breastfeeding mother, I sensed if anyone messed with me or my baby I was ready to viciously go for the jugular. This is the mama bear response, well documented to be associated with the oxytocin that breastfeeding produces. Luckily it never came to that.

But back to present day.

I had been clucky for a pup, cooing over other peoples dogs for months. The prospect of a pup had been out of the question. I wasn't sure where to find one. We had been in a rental while we renovated with no pets allowed. Andy and I had a very special border collie named Jim who had passed of old age in 2018, when our kids were still babies. I wrote about him and the grief of losing him here. It hadn't been practical to get a dog.

And then, out of nowhere one Sunday morning, I pulled an oracle card; Animal Soul Friends. My oracle readings are always spot on, but this one threw me a bit. I read the message and completed the attached healing process, all the while with a question at the back of my mind, what did this have to do with my life? I then pulled another card. Angel Raphael, healer of hearts. 

It was hours later that it occurred to me that right now was the perfect time for a new pup. I've been living in Yallingup these last couple of months and working from home. We were about to start summer holidays and it was looking like I'd be staying here until March or April rather than January/February like originally planned. Now is the perfect time for me to get a puppy.

I started looking. My husband wasn't keen on the idea so I put it out of my head, but I could not stop looking. I mean obsessively looking. I would sit at my computer with a few tasks in mind and end up looking for dogs. Researching what breed would suit us best, our backyard is much smaller now after extending our house, the pup needed to be small.  I contacted breeders with poodles, lhasa apso dogs and maltese crosses. Being in a country area, they were all hours drive away and difficult to check out. After a day or two of this I decided a Miniature Schnauzer would be a good fit. I found a breeder who had a 4 - 6 month waitlist. That's ok, I told her, and went back to my work. But still that niggling feeling, I found myself searching still. And then found a website that is purely for registered breeders, and found two miniature schnauzer pups just 9 weeks old and ready to go in Busselton, just 25 minutes up the road. The only dogs available close by and the exact breed I was looking for.

I rang and asked to come check them out with the kids after pick up. Sure, no problem.

'We're just looking at the puppies' I told the kids. At the time I was telling myself I would not be buying a dog. I was just looking, because my need to be near a puppy was just so great at the time.

There were two sweet little pups. One with a green ribbon around his neck and the other with a pink. The pink was very laid back and independent and didn't seem much interested in the kids or playing with her brothers and sisters. The green one was curious and playful and he followed the breeder around with his head adorably cocked to the side.

We left. The breeder wanted me to take him straight away but I did not. I wasn't ready, I had no equipment. He needed a crate and food. I was only supposed to be looking. I needed to think about this.

I woke up yearning for that little green-ribboned puppy in my heart. Feeling it deeply like an ache. John John, My 5 yr old, climbed into my bed for a cuddle like he does every morning, "Mummy" he said “I really want a puppy.” He was yearning too.

Me too, sweetheart. All the guidance and signs were telling me to take the plunge and get the pup.

It was arranged. He was a divine disruption. It caused drama, my mother in law was not too happy about a pup being in her holiday house, my husband was worried about his mother and the ongoing responsibility of a dog. I knew everyone would come around. This house has had puppies before.

The puppy was ridiculously precious and cute, asleep in my lap. I named him Raphy after Archangel Raphael. The green ribbon, Raphaels colour, and the oracle card immediately following the Animal Soul friends card, seemed like it was meant to be. I felt I was following divine instruction. But I started to doubt myself. Had i made the right decision? He is a major responsibility. Am I a drama addict? Are my family drama addicts? Everything had been going so well and then I went and threw a bitey chewy little puppy into the mix. Everything worthwhile is hard work, I told my husband...and myself.

And then I ovulated. I had been coming up to ovulation the week of obsessively searching for and procuring a baby. A baby dog. Was this decision hormonal? Now my youngest is 5 (about to be 6) but I am still of childrearing years, did I just need a baby in my arms? A baby to care for?  You can treat dogs like babies for their entire lives. Especially small, very cute ones.  Was this dog my baby replacement? Yes. Yes he was.

The dust has settled now. It needed to settle. It took a month, but everyone is happy. Especially me, with my dog, I am overflowing with love and gratitude for this sweet little fur angel. I can't believe how lucky I am.

The decision to have...I mean ... adopt... this puppy may well have been hormonally influenced but it is a decision that brings colossal love and joy for my family and for him, for Raphy. That sweet animal benefits so much from our love. My children will grow up with him as their companion. Heading out for walks with the kids and the dog feels so right, and so relaxing. I've met many friendly faces in the neighbourhood because we have him in our lives. He is a connector, a healer, a lover and a very cuddly little comedian.

Our hormones evolved to enhance our lives and ensure our survival. Hormones bring love into our lives in the form of children and connection....and puppies. Being influenced by healthy hormones is not a bad thing.

On the other hand...Hormones that are not so balanced, or not so healthy and are wrecking havoc .... well that's all too common and can feel like a very bad thing. It's also a whole lot of other blogs. Naturopathic medicine has the tools to bring you back into your glorious radiant self, so please make an appointment with me to welcome in a better functioning version of you.

19 tips for good sleep

 If you need to be woken up in the morning – either by an alarm clock or by another person, then you’re not getting enough sleep. Many of my naturopath and massage clients report they have trouble sleeping. You can give yourself a better chance of a good night by following your body’s natural rhythms and these guidelines. .

 Below I’ve listed nineteen - yes that’s NINETEEN - things you can do to improve your sleep at night.

1: Get out of bed at the same time each day.

Have a regular time of getting up out of bed. Regardless of what time you were in bed the night before get up at the same time each day. 

2. Don’t lay in bed worrying.

Avoid lying in bed for long amounts of time worrying about sleeping. If you’ve been in bed for more than 30 minutes – or what feels like 30 minutes and your worried about sleeping – get up and go do something else in dim light (a few yoga stretches are ideal here) and then go back to bed when you’re sleepy. 

3. Cut your day naps.

Avoid napping during the day – limit to a 20 minute powernap in the afternoon if necessary. 

 4. Get some sunshine.

Spend time outside in natural light during the day 

 5. Lay off irritants.

Avoid eating foods that may interrupt sleep such as acidic citrus, wine, beer or fatty foods that may cause indigestion. 

 6. Go natural.

Avoid Bright light exposure late in the evening, particularly blue light from electronic device screens. Turn off your devices at least half an hour and ideally an hour before bed. Sorry, no more scrolling your phone in the middle of the night. 

 7. Wind down

Avoid big heavy meals or sweaty workouts in the three hours before bed as the can be stimulating for your body and brain.

 8. Be in the dark.

Make your room as dark as possible – remove all sources of light, such as digital clocks and the little lights that might be admitted from electronic equipment such as stereos or laptop charging plugs. This is because light interrupts your production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.

 9. Get comfy.

Use a comfortable mattress and pillow for comfort and support

 10. Don’t work in your bedroom.

Reserve your bedroom for sleeping and making love 

 11. No problem solving

Avoid thinking about troubling issues before bed. Allocate time earlier in the evening or day to worry and problem solve 

 12. Lay off the stimulants.

Eliminate all stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, soft drinks and nicotine, completely if possible but particularly after 3pm 

 13. Avoid alcohol

Reduce or eliminate alcohol – even one glass of wine interferes with healthy sleep and you wake feeling tired. 

 14. Avoid illicit drugs

Avoid illicit drugs – these mess with you and your sleep 

 15. Try and keep pets out of the bedroom .

Avoid having pets in the bedroom, and children (joke!). This is a tough one, obviously this comes down to personal choice and many of us choose to sacrifice good sleep in order to make our loved ones feel secure. The kids may take a few years to grow up and forgo their midnight cuddles, but if you can at least make a special sleeping space for your pets that’s not on your head, your health will be better for it.

16. Drink sleepy herbs

Try drinking a herbal tea before bed. Chamomile is wonderful, so is lavender, passionflower, lemon balm and oat straw. I’ve put all these gorgeous sleepy herbs in a delicious Sleep Tea blend, available in the Wild Grace Tea Shop.  

17. Have a Bath

Have a warm bath before bed – extra points for placing Epsom or magnesium salts in the bath, lavender essential oil is wonderful for inducing sleep also.

 18. Get the temperature right.

19 degrees celsius is the optimal temperature for good sleeping.

 19. Create a routine

Create a bedtime routine for yourself: Set aside 30 – 60 minutes for winding down with a bath, self massage, breathwork, yoga, a meditation and listening to sleepy music. Spotify have some great playlists. 

Herbs that can help when you're feeling grumpy

Some days are much harder than others. When things go wrong, or a spanner is thrown in the works  emotions bubble up and you find yourself being a little bit snappy. Wouldn't you know it though, there's a herb for that. 

I practise herbalism on an energetic basis. We all have our different personality's, dispositions, and energetics. What's right for you will be different to what's right for me, and I love finding the right plant medicine for the right person. 

I mixed up the below formula for myself last week when I was a grumpy mcgrump pants, and it worked a treat.

Korean Ginseng 

This one is powerful. So powerful that I find many herbalists shy away from it. it's quite stimulating, so wonderful if you're feeling tired and havn;t had enough sleep. Which was me last week, a combination of staying up a bit too late and my kids needing me in the middle of the night. It's indicated for loss of physical stamina, exhaustion and tiredness, and diminished concentration and memory Just what I needed. I find a few drops of korean ginseng prior to a long drive is excellent for helping concentration. 

Sage

Sage is one of my personal herbal allies and finds it's way into many of my personal blends. It contains rosmarinic acid which is an antioxidant and really good for your brain. Matthew Wood lists one of sages traditional uses (of which there are many) as indicated for 'withered dry skin and withered tendons.' Yes exactly how I feel after not getting enough sleep for a week. Also has traditionally been indicated for mental lethargy, depression, melancholy and poor concentration. There are many other uses - this plant is complex and full of magic as far as I'm concerned - the uses I've listed above seem the most apt here. 

St Mary's Thistle

A powerful liver healer, this herb prevents and reverses damage to the liver induced by alcohol and life in general. Wonderful for strengthening the liver to process all those nasty toxins you don't need. In traditional chinese medicine the liver is associated with the emotion of anger, so by nurturing the liver you nurture your anger. 

Zizyphus

Has a mild tranquilising effect - perhaps downplaying all those irritable emotions. It's indicated for anxiety, nervous exhaustion, restlessness, irritibility and insomnia. Perfect. I always expected this herb to be quite sedative but have found when taking it, it actually has more of a calm your nerves type vibe. It helps you get off to sleep because it calms your irritability and anxiety allowing you to destress. I’ve found it doesn’t make you drowsy if you want to stay awake.

Ginger

Another herbal ally for me that I consider a master healer. just so much awesomeness in one little root. Full of anti-inflammatory, calming goodness, and a little bit of ginger tincture added to a herbal blend improves the taste an awful lot. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of herbs that can help your mood - there are many more. This mix was exactly what I needed at the time. After taking this blend all noises and mess and annoyance dulled and faded. I managed my tiredness for the rest of the day, and of course, made sure I got into bed early for a goods night sleep. 

If you'd like to experience the gorgeous support offered to us through our herbal allies, please book in for herbal medicine appointment. Appointments are available online or in person in South Fremantle. 

Herbal tincture

7 lifestyle tips to stop getting sick

Confession time: I prefer getting all my nutrients from food rather than popping supplements and powders. I focus on eating healthy and this used to be enough. I’d rarely get sick. Since becoming a Mum it’s a different story. Of course I took supplements prior to conceiving, during pregnancy and most of breastfeeding (I forgot here and there), and I irregularly take them now. Experience is telling me, though, that diet alone isn’t doing enough to build up my nutrient stores post children. It’s hard not to get a cold from a toddler child that needs cuddles and kisses and likes to give cuddles and kisses back. Pre-children I never got sick. I was dedicated to my fitness, ate a pescatarian whole food, low sugar, anti-inflammatory diet, and went years without so much as a cold. 

After two pregnancies and four and a half years of continuous breastfeeding (that’s a lot of nutrients sucked from my tissues) and, 5 years later, I still have my sleep interrupted by babes. I also have a child in day-care a couple of times a week who’s exposed to new pathogens constantly. It feels like I get sick A l l   t h e   t i m e.   I’m actually embarrassed about how often I get a cold. This is postnatal depletion syndrome.  

I’ve had enough. 

I’m boosting my nutritional profile by taking some concentrated vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids and probiotics RELIGIOUSLY. And of course, botanical medicine. Medicinal Mushrooms are renowned for boosting the immune system, but intuitively, they don’t resonate with me at this time. Rather Echinacea, Baical Skullcap, Japanese Knotweed, Siberian Ginseng, Lemon Balm, Nettles and Withania are here to help me. I feel like my immune insufficiency is caused by nutrient depletion, and once I have those stores up, the mushrooms may be ready to help me. 

So here’s 7 lifestyle tips to overcome immune insufficiency caused by postnatal depletion:

1. Antioxidant rich foods. Antioxidants modify your immune response.  The phytochemicals that antioxidant rich foods provide the body help repair damage to your tissues caused by your immune response to infection. When you see colour in your fresh produce, you can safely assume that’s antioxidants, so that’s why the phrase ‘eat the rainbow’ is so popular. 

2. Getting adequate sleep: , the sleep hormone melatonin performs as a potent antioxidant, repairing and restoring your body. I know this is easy to say and not do when you mother small ones, so ask for help where you can, and do your best. It may mean turning off netflix and getting into bed earlier. Your sleep is much too valuable. 

3. Protein: Inadequate protein is linked to dysfunction in the immune system. Protein is available in meat, dairy, beans, legumes, wholegrains, eggs, nuts and seeds.

4. Wholefood diet - one that is based on foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Not only do whole foods contain a wide array of nutrients, wider than foods that have been segmented, they also retain their vital force, or prana. Nutrients in their natural state work synergistically in the body to benefit the immune system. 

   Leave out

5. Sugar: Sugar is an immune suppressant with studies showing intake of sugar reduces the capacity of white blood cells to function properly, so therefore your immune response is weakened. Studies have shown that eating sugar can deplete the immune system for up to two hours after consumption. So that’s every time you eat sugar, you’re weakening your immune response for a time. 

6. Caffeine: Chronic and excessive intake of caffeine is likely to function as a stressor to the already depleted immune system. HOWEVER, in small amounts it’s actually anti-inflammotory, antioxidant and helps modulate the immune system, and may be particularly helpful in auto-immune conditions.  Yes I love caffeine. It’s been a saviour for me these past 5 years as I’m woken up often in the night and unnaturally early as well, that cup in the morning is supportive. If you’re having a lot, or having it with heaps of milk and sugar, then any anti-inflammatory effects may be lost. I try and keep to under 200mg of caffeine a day. For me this means using nespresso pods at home and rarely buying a coffee when out, as the caffeine content can vary greatly in cafe coffee. 

7. Preservatives: additives and colourings - Foods with these additives have, for the most part, long lost their vital force. Overly processed foods, while do provide calories to keep you going, do more harm than good in the long run. Often high in the wrong kinds of fats, sugars and a driver of inflammation, these kinds of foods wear you out. 

   If you’re rundown or experiencing repeated illnesses, nutritional and herbal medicine will help you build up your immune system and resilience. Nature has everything you need to thrive. Please book in for a naturopathic appointment for health coaching and a herbal and nutritional plan to restore your vitality. Life is too short to waste it feeling awful. 

On being a lightworker and a ghost story

A disembodied spirit jumped on to me while I was visiting a recently-ex-drinker. This person had been forced into abstinence by medical necessity. 

Alcoholics tend to attract disembodied spirits, or ghosts, if you like. Ghosts never quite followed the light and are stuck in a miserable space of nowhere, always having needs not being fulfilled, seeking out depression and misery as that is the frequency they dwell in. I guess the ghosts that loved a drink while living, love a drink while dead. Perhaps you could call it some kind of hell? Anyway, I’m not one that physically sees disembodied spirits as I’m walking around in ordinary daylight, (I have seen them while deep in process giving Shiatsu bodywork, but that’s another story) however I’m pretty sure I felt the moment this particular entity decided that I’d do. I was sitting on my friends couch, and I guess this entity was bored shitless as my friend was no longer drinking or smoking, I felt it attach to me.  

I hadn’t had a drink for ages - well a month, but that’s a long time for me. I’d been feeling fabulous and not missing it at all. But on the way home I noticed every. single. bottle shop. And not only every single bottle shop, but every pedestrian that happened to be carrying a bottle of wine. The shops gleamed at me with their yellow lights as I passed by.  

The traffic was terrible, the hour was late, and I realised I'd be home past dinner time with hungry kids and at least half an hour of food prep in front of me, If not more. I decided to go to Rouccos for dinner, order the kids some pizza and spaghetti, and skip the whole clean up altogether. After this decision was made I realised I could order a glass of wine. That’s exactly what happened. I’m pretty sure it was the entity influencing my decisions.  

The wine gave me a terrible headache after a couple of hours. I knew I needed to get rid of this thing. In the meantime I discovered someone I thought a friend had unfriended me over a relatively impersonal disagreement. Yes, it was only facebook, but it still hurt. This was upsetting on top of having an alcoholic entity hanging out with me. 

I knew what I needed to do, I trained in Alana Fairchild's channelled healing modality Soul Guidance and Sacred Mentoring TM- soon to be renamed Saraswati Healing - last year. It is a gorgeous modality that involves creating a sacred container for channelling spiritual light and using the Crystal Mandala Oracle and accompanying books for guided healing processes. It always feels heart expansive and amazing. You come into your session with an intention, and that intention is flooded with spiritual energy to be made manifest. You have the choice of working with Angels, Ascended Masters and Goddesses, each with their own flavour. There are 54 possible unconditionally loving beings within the deck and healing processes to come through and offer healing and guidance for you.  

After a couple of days of finding the time (cause you know, mum life ), I ran an Ascended Masters 333 healing template  

I was drawn to study with Alana because I find she is divinely clear channel. The particular prayer for clearing entities and karmic clearing within the template is exquisite and complete. I made sacred space and using the Crystal Mandala oracle deck, pulled my ascended master for help. Mataji. Mataji is a Hindi word meaning ‘mother.’ As the story goes Matajii is an unconditionally loving spiritual being who lives in the centre of the Earth, holding space for us all with loving embrace. She is a grounding energy and of the base chakra. Perfect, because the base chakra is associated with tribe, family and our sense of belonging. The unfriending had upset me greatly, was weakening my base chakra, and draining my energy.  

The beautiful entity clearing prayer gently encourages the disembodied spirit into the light. A further message and guidance from spirit healed my leaky chakra, ridding me of my emotional upset over the unfriending completely. The whole process takes about an hour, and I was left blissful and relieved of my suffering, and no cravings for alcohol since.  

I’m soon to be offering these sessions one on one and am looking to run group sessions which will be an evening of guided process and sharing in circle. You create an intention for whatever you like, be it personal growth or healing for humanity. 

What I love most about this modality is that every time you offer healing to yourself, you offer healing to all. Gathering with others to generate a sacred container and channel healing light for ourselves that we can then send out to wherever it’s needed is powerful and important. And right now particularly, the world needs healing light. And that is what this is, light work with unconditional love. 

Also I’m going to be running a Goddess template at the Sistahood Rising festival in November  this year, so very much looking forward to that! 

I look forward to sharing more of this with you soon.  

Alana Fairchild can be found at www.alanafairchild.com

The artwork in the background of this image is by Shiloh Sophia Mcloud

BPA affects your fertility - here's what you can do about it

Th story of how BPA (bisphenol A)was discovered to contribute to infertility is an interesting one. It was August 1998 and a research group at Case Western Reserve University were studying egg development in mice. Suddenly, seemingly overnight, there was a dramatic increase in chromosomally abnormal eggs - that is eggs that won’t produce a healthy, living baby. Until this point 1-2% of the mouse eggs where chromosomally abnormal, but that jumped to 40% all of a sudden. After a thorough investigation the researchers discovered that BPA had been leaching out of the plastic cages and water bottles after being washed in detergent. Once all the damaged plastic cages and water bottles where replaced, the rate of eggs with chromosomal errors returned to normal. 

It’s difficult to avoid all BPA as it’s present in many everyday items such as packaging and paper receipts from the store. The good news is minimising your exposure will go a long way to reducing the risk of BPA affecting your fertility. In several studies on women undergoing IVF it was found that those with the highest levels of measurable BPA in their blood had more abnormal eggs, and less eggs that successfully fertilised and developed than women with lower levels of BPA. Women with higher levels of BPA also suffered more miscarriages.

However it was found that eating 400mg of natural folate from your diet daily - from foods such as leafy greens, brassica vegetables and lentils pretty much cancelled out any negative impact of BPA. 

The point is don’t stress about being exposed to BPA, but make moves to reduce it. Don’t drink out of plastic water bottles. Don’t eat out of plastic containers and especially don’t heat food in plastic containers. A lot of tinned foods are largelyly BPA free however many companies are replacing BPA with similar chemicals such as BPS and BPF. 

Why we need healing with the divine feminine, and what that actually means

Over the last few years there’s been a LOT of media coming out about the divine feminine, or the sacred feminine, but what does that really mean?

I know personally, back in 2012, the words feminine divine started to pop into my head when I was meditating, so as the years went by and I noticed other people were talking about this, I took a lot of interest. Here’s what I make of it.

We relate feminine principles to attributes such as nurturing, receptivity, nourishing, intuition an even organising.

The divine feminine isn’t about biological sex, neither is it something only of benefit to woman. We all have a balance of feminine and masculine within us. The divine feminine has been squashed under the patriarchal reign of the last whatever-thousand years.

The feminine supplies the nutrients needed in order to grow. Like the placenta and the womb, and breastmilk, or like the rich fertile soils that grow plant life of earth. There’s been a cultural decision to bind the feminine and not allow her to flourish. We’ve been this way for so long that women are commonly bigger patriarchs than men. It’s ingrained. And this is not about being anti-men. No body benefits under a patriarchy.

Our patriarchy is evident in the way we plumage the earth for her resources, taking, taking, taking but not allowing the resources to replenish. It’s evident in the way we (as occupants of earth) have been fighting and trying to achieve domination over each other for ever. The way we put profit before people, animals and the environment. The objectifying of the female body not out of a place of respect but of a wish to occupy and control. The way it’s common across many cultures for children to be sexually abused, married young and sold to the sex trade. All of this action is done without consideration fo the wellbeing and nurturing of the individual. There is a saying in Japan, There’s no such thing as a wise woman. This belief is reflected through many cultures on our planet. The feminine for so long has not been able to speak. But the feminine, if allowed, would not allow our bodies and our earth to be raped.

Of course the symptoms and consequences of patriarchy above apply to a much smaller scale in our own lives, the way we choose to live in our loss of power and control over ourselves, the way we work ourselves to the bone, stressed, frazzled, how we get lost in distraction. We’ve forgotten how to go inwards and trust our intuition, and we ignore what we know is right.

The divine feminine isn’t a doormat. We have been traumatised, in our personal childhood, and as a culture collectively. The divine feminine teaches us about feeling and processing that trauma so you can move onto other things and lift other people up. The divine feminine in her wisdom stands tall in her conviction. When something is not right she puts it right. I spent the weekend in workshop with Alana Fairchild in discussion about Goddess energy, the stories and lessons that the goddess energy tells. Goddess Tara tells us we have a divine given right to say no thank you to what is not right and what does not serve. Goddess Isis sees us through the healing process. Feeling all the feels, processing the pain. There is a purity in the darkness and through it we can rise again, this is the teaching of Isis. And Kali, with her sacred fury. She is all about the power of truth and wisdom over the falsehood of the ego. I find through reflection and embodiment of these goddesses, their stories and principles, I bring the divine feminine through myself.

The strong, protective, divine masculine merges with the divine feminine in a beautiful union. If the divine masculine in us devoted it’s logic, strength and protective qualities to protecting and allowing the feminine and to protecting the earth and our communities - then we would see true healing and true evolution take place.

This blog was strongly inspired by our discussion during the workshop with Alana Fairchild over her weekend, and her book The Kuan Yin Transmission, pictured above, is an extension of the workshop content. I haven’t read it yet but looking forward to snuggling in with my signed copy.

5 things to try when your kids are driving you crazy

Roll out your yoga mat and stream a yoga class. 

After weeks of a particularly bad, clingy, tantrummy, destructive terrible twos phase (here’s hoping it’s a phase) I was starting to be worn down and cracks were beginning to show. In a particularly frustrating moment I found myself yelling at my kids and saying things like ‘don’t come near me’ feeing exasperated at the 78 things to be exasperated about. Anyway ‘don’t come near me’ …this is heartbreaking for little people to hear. 

I knew I’d gone way too far and after big cuddles and apologies I sat down to an online yoga class where the teacher asked us to sit in the self-awareness mudra (legs crossed, index fingers to thumb resting on top of your knees) and set an intention. Today’s intention was about giving ourselves a compliment. It was unnatural to give myself a compliment in that moment feeling terrible as I did about my angry mummy self, but also exactly what I needed. I set my intention. “I am a calm, loving and wonderful mother” 

Immediately after a few moments of peace with the intention, my two-year-old interrupted me for something or other, but I already felt so much better. Sometimes he wants to be cuddled for the entire yoga class, and I just do poses around him as best I can. 

I use gaia.com for yoga and I particularly love the ‘yoga every day’ series on Gaia but there are other paid yoga streaming services and free classes on you tube. Find one you like

Get out of the house to the park. 

I prefer parks where the children are fenced in so they can’t run away and force you to chase them. If your kids are past the running-away-to-potential-death phase, then the world is your oyster. Children absolutely thrive in nature. Fresh air, breezy trees and safe places to jump around and socialise. There are other parents for you to chat too. What’s not to like. 

Garden.

Hands on planting, weeding and especially watering with tiny little watering cans, connects you to the earth and brings peace and calm. Plus kids are so cute when completely absorbed in their little gardening tasks that you completely forgive them for being massive pains in the ass. 

Surrender.

Sometimes just lying back on the couch and reading them stories for an hour, running around and playing games and following their lead is the best thing you could possibly do. Forget the housework, and what YOU wanted to get done that day, just be. Janet Lansbury, my go-to toddler parenting guru, says that children are the best directors of their own play. The games and activities they come up with are exactly what they need for their growth and development at that time. So listening to their ideas and following that lead is the best way to go. Requests for screen time apparently don’t count as development though, so when this happen, redirect, wait it out and distract with toys and other games… or just put paw patrol on and have a goddam break for 45 minutes. 

Get Childcare

Give them to their other parent/relative/friend/ babysitter for a couple of hours and take yourself on a date with yourself, for yourself. Long soaks in the tub, art gallery, the movies, or one of my personal faves, staying in bed with books, magazines, netflix and cups of tea all day long. You freaking deserve it.