Christmas Recipes - Grandma's Fruit Mince Pies!

As a time-honoured tradition, our family have always prepared, created, and consumed more than a hundred mince pies at Christmas time. Sometimes, our grown-up children are more excited about the pies than the presents!

Everyone loves my mother's recipe. The pastry is divine, the fruit mince not too sweet but sweet enough, and the whole pie the perfect size. Because Christmas is all about sharing joy, we thought that we'd share the joy of my mother's famous mince pie recipe! And the best part - all the key ingredients can be bought off the Happy & Healthy website.

Change your Christmas cooking one step at a time with this delightful recipe... and no, it's not a raw mince pie recipe, nor is the sugar replaced by stevia, but remember "wise, not fanatical". Let's call this our cheat day... umm, month.

Remember: Make this fruit mince at least 1 day before you want to bake your Christmas Mince Pies. Any pastry recipe will do - we recommend something that isn't too sweet (you can add a dusting of icing sugar at the end). I'm getting hungry just typing out this recipe...

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* Christmas Fruit Mince *

...for Grandma's Christmas Mince Pies

Makes three large jars and will keep in the fridge for weeks; months if it has brandy in it. Make this (at least) the day before you want to bake so it has had time to 'set' in the fridge.

1 kg fruit - make up a mix of raisins, sultanas currants, dates (can be bought here)

2 cups water

250 g butter

1 tsp cinnamon (can be bought here)

1 tsp mixed spice (can be bought here)

1 Tbs marmalade

2 Tbs golden syrup or maple syrup (can be bought here)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbs brandy (optional - added after cooking)

Place all together in a saucepan and bring to the boil while stirring. Simmer for 10 minutes. It will thicken. Stir.

Allow to cool. Add 1 tablespoon brandy if you like and store in glass jars in the fridge. Cool overnight before using.

Enjoy!

Cholesterol: Part Two "If Cholesterol is not the Enemy, What is?"

Like you I’m trying to find out more about healthful living without being fanatical.  I’m not a medical professional, but I have do have a science background in my training and have had a long-standing interest in nutrition and health.

There’s some challenging research work being done here in New Zealand (and overseas) that indicates “it is likely that the low-fat diet approaches and lipid hypothesis perpetuated over the last several decades may have caused more harm than good.”¹ AUT video clip ²  
 
Is it true that we should be feeding ourselves and our families with a low-fat diet to prevent us from having high cholesterol and consequent heart disease in the long term?

I’m drawing from this research and from my own review of the book The Great Cholesterol Myth ³ authored by nutritionist J. Bowden Ph.D and cardiologist S. Sinatra M.D (published in 2012 and available in your library or at Book Depository).  This book is worth reading if you are concerned about heart disease or diabetes.  It is well laid out and I found it reasonably simple to read.⁴

If you’ve ever had a blood test for cholesterol⁵ in NZ or Australia you will probably have been told that the LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) is the baddie and HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) is the goodie. If the test showed you had more than 2.0 millimoles per litre of LDL in your blood a low-fat diet would have been recommended to you in order to reduce the bad cholesterol.

You may remember from last week’s article that it’s not actually the cholesterol that’s the problem it’s the “boat.”  Think of cholesterol as the cargo that’s carried along on protein “boats” called HDL or LDL.  Based on more recent research the concept of LDL = bad and HDL = good is outdated. More about why the boat can cause a problem in a moment.

Okay, back to the question we all want the answer for:

If cholesterol doesn’t cause heart disease what does?
Answer: Inflammation

There are two types of inflammation we experience in our bodies. 
1. We’re all familiar with inflammation that occurs when we get a cut on our skin.  This is called acute inflammation and it hurts. Immune cells rush to mend the injured area.

2. Chronic inflammation within the body can lie undetected, as pain is not evident. It is characteristic of many diseases like arthritis, cancer, kidney and liver disease and cardiovascular disease.

So what is the enemy and how does chronic inflammation happen?

1. Chronic inflammation is begun by damage done to LDL “boats” by free radicals - the enemy! This damage is called oxidation. Think of the browning that happens to a cut apple sitting on your plate for a while. That’s oxidation happening.

2. Damaged (oxidised) LDL “boats” carrying cholesterol can stick to the lining of the artery wall. This delicate and sensitive, innermost layer of the wall of our arteries is called the endothelium and is only one cell thick.

3. This attaching of the oxidised, cholesterol-carrying LDL boat triggers the immune system into action and ultimately causes inflammation that begins the process of atherosclerosis in the thin wall of the artery.

It’s not the cholesterol; it’s the damage done to the “boat” that’s the problem!
Let’s stick with the picture of the boats carrying the cargo.  LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) “boats” deliver cholesterol to the cells that need it for things like production of hormones, brain cells, for fighting infection…and so on.  The HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) “boats” remove the excess cholesterol if it’s not needed.

If the LDL boat and its cargo become oxidised and then attached to the endothelium the process of inflammation begins as cells from the immune system arrive to take care of the invader.  Plaque will then form at the damaged site. This pocket of plaque can in time rupture causing blood clots which can block the flow of blood to the heart resulting in a heart attack.

Not all LDL “boats” can turn bad when damaged through oxidation.  New technology has identified several types of LDL, for example LDL pattern A and LDL pattern B.

LDL pattern A is large and fluffy in structure compared with LDL pattern B which is dense, hard and is most likely to be damaged by oxidation. We all have both these types of LDL in our bodies, but some people seem to have higher levels of one or the other.  Both types are good, but pattern B is easily oxidised by free radicals and then becomes a problem.

There is advanced blood testing available today that can measure these new particles which are a better indicator of potential heart disease than our current tests.  However this is not yet available in NZ; you would need to ask your doctor to send a sample of blood offshore for this advanced testing.⁶

It would be useful to know some healthful practices that would minimise free radicals and prevent oxidation of these LDL cholesterols and consequent inflammation of our artery inner walls wouldn’t it?

What can we do about minimising the damage done by free radicals?
We can eat more foods high in antioxidants that deal to the free radicals in our bodies, for example fresh fruit & veges, whole foods, raw cacao, etc…  (more to come about this in a subsequent newsletter/blog).  We need to avoid consumption of substances that create free radicals - stop smoking, check our intake of heavy metals, be aware of insecticides, toxins in the air, additives in the food supply and highly processed foods, all of which all contribute to oxidation damage in our bodies.

Let’s take care of our overall health - minimise and manage stress, exercise, be grateful, be compassionate, work to be happy (as they say “a cheerful heart is a good medicine”), and make time to enjoy our friends and family more.

BUT… oxidation caused by free radicals is only one of the conditions that cause inflammation, another is … sugar!  It appears that “this food is a far greater danger to our overall health than fat ever was.”⁷

Bibliography
1. http://www.aut.ac.nz/profiles/grant-schofield I first started becoming interested in this topic when I read a research article about high fat/low carb sports nutrition published by AUT (Auckland University of Technology) last year under the supervision of Dr. Grant Schofield, Professor of Public Health, and Director of the Human Potential Centre at AUT.
2. Fast Fwd this video clip about 5 minutes to lose the intro and the talk about the restrooms etc!  http://www.humanpotentialcentre.aut.ac.nz/
3. Where to buy The Great Cholesterol Myth http://www.bookdepository.com/Great-Cholesterol-Myth-PhD-Jonny-Bowden/9781592335213
4. Comments on the Framingham Heart Study 1948-1964, on which many of the public health guidelines about cholesterol have been made: https://thescienceofnutrition.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/concerning-the-possibility-of-a-nut.pdf
5. Blood testing in NZ https://www.southerncross.co.nz/AboutTheGroup/HealthResources/MedicalLibrary/tabid/178/vw/1/ItemID/156/High-blood-cholesterol-levels.aspx#types
6. NMR test, the Lipoprotein Particle Profile Test (LLP), the Vertical Auto Profile Test (VAT), are some of the advanced blood tests available, but not in NZ currently.
This site makes mention of the various blood tests done in NZ.  http://www.bpac.org.nz/resources/campaign/cardiovascular/lab_cardio.asp?page=14
Dr Bill Reeder: Advanced blood testing & where to get it done http://www.medcom.co.nz/?page_id=188
7. J. Bowden Ph.D and S. Sinatra M.D, The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why lowering your cholesterol won’t prevent heart disease – and a statin free plan that will.  Fair Winds Press, MA, USA. p 54.

Cholesterol: Part One "This Cargo Needs a Boat"

When Rodney asked me to write an article about cholesterol I began to think about why we want to understand this topic. Well, it’s all about heart disease and our doctors telling us to avoid high-cholesterol foods, isn't it?

Okay, I’m interested to investigate this because I don’t know much about it myself, apart from the fact that I went to the doctor some time ago, with someone I know and love, for a test.  She received her results from her blood test that showed she had higher than normal LDL cholesterol levels.

I’m also interested in nutrition and health so I’m looking at this topic from that angle.  Does the food we eat affect our cholesterol levels?

I will endeavour to explain cholesterol in a simple way that even I can understand. If you’re a medical professional reading this please forgive me for oversimplifying the hugely complex processes within our bodies.

I hope I can do justice to this topic and make it as accurate as possible.

What does the term heart disease actually mean?
Atherosclerosis is the technical term for what results in heart disease.  Cholesterol filled constructions, that we call plaque, gather along the walls of the arteries and cause an obstruction to blood flow.

The deposited plaque gets larger and denser which in turn causes inflammation of cells and various types of tissue damage.

In time these plaque constructions can rupture causing blood clots in the artery.  A blood clot can block the flow of blood to the heart which deprives the heart of oxygen.  This causes part of the heart muscle to die and is what we call a heart attack.  Worldwide, this disease is the most common cause of death¹.

So trying to understand how this disease is caused becomes extremely important as we may be able to prevent it in ourselves.

What is Cholesterol?   
Cholesterol is a sterol made by the animal kingdom, as opposed to a phytosterol made by the plant kingdom. It is a molecule made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.

We have been told that there is good and bad cholesterol.  The truth is cholesterol is essential “for life” and therefore good.

The body uses cholesterol for hormone production – the steroid hormones like testosterone and oestrogen; it helps make Vitamin D, it’s used in the wall structure of nearly every cell.  The brain is rich in cholesterol and accounts for about a quarter of all the cholesterol in our bodies^2.   Without cholesterol our cells would not operate properly.
  
Where Do we Get Cholesterol From?
About 85% of the total cholesterol in our bodies is actually manufactured within nearly every cell of our bodies.  Only 15% is obtained from the food we eat.

You can visualise this if you imagine a swimming pool being filled from two sources; a fireman’s hose and a small garden hose gently streaming into the pool.  Our bodies mainly comprise cholesterol that we have synthesized ourselves (fireman’s hose) and not so much the cholesterol we have consumed in our daily food (garden hose).

Total cholesterol in the blood (serum cholesterol) is what is measured if you have a blood test for cholesterol.  But is this measure a reliable indicator of possible heart disease?

Heart Disease only Happens if Cholesterol Finds its Way into the Artery Wall       
According to Peter Attia MD, “Heart disease does not happen without cholesterol finding its way into the artery wall.”³  You could have a look at this YouTube clip⁴ if you want much more in-depth information.

What Gets Cholesterols into the Artery wall?  
Dr Attia describes how this happens.  If we liken the veins and arteries to a canal system within the body then there are boats plying their way up and down the river delivering and collecting cargo at various docks along the way.  

 When we talk about cholesterol (LDL or HDL) relating to heart disease we’re not really talking about cholesterol itself.  We’re talking about the boats, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and High Density Lipoproteins (HDL).  Cholesterol is the cargo.  The cargo needs a boat to take it to the correct docking point along the river. The boat is the lipoprotein.

Is Having a Lot of Cholesterol in Your Bloodstream a Bad Thing?  According to the site Authority Nutrition   “Having a lot of cholesterol in your bloodstream is NOT a bad thing⁵, unless this cholesterol is being carried around in the wrong lipoproteins (ie. the wrong boats).

Heart disease is not a cholesterol derived disease; it is driven by the lipoproteins that carry the cholesterol around.  Current evidence shows that cholesterol is not the enemy.”

Bibliography:
1. Most common cause of death   http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm
2. The Great Cholesterol Myth, J. Bowden Ph.D, S. Sinatra M.D., Fair winds Press, 2012
3. What is cholesterol?  http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the-straight-dope-on-cholesterol-part-i
4. Dr Peter Attia YouTube clip  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAWdHYSrh7M
5. Authority Nutrition http://authoritynutrition.com/diet-cholesterol-and-lipoproteins-explained/

What on Earth is Activated Charcoal Powder?

Before The Natural Health and Supplementary Products Bill is passed through Parliament in December of this year I want to take the opportunity to tell you about Charcoal Powder.  You see I won’t be able to tell you about it next year as making health claims for various natural products like this will be disallowed. That’s quite disturbing isn’t it?

We’ve had a bit of a run on Charcoal Powder over the last few weeks.  People are getting to know how very useful it is?  
 

What is medicinal grade charcoal powder?  A very fine black powder made from charcoal that has been cleaned to high standards of purification then steam activated and dried.  This powder is so fine that it has a huge number of pores in its structure as well as a huge surface area.  You’ll see why that’s important in a minute. Medicinal Grade Activated Charcoal is not produced in NZ.  This is not the same as the charcoal you would find in your fireplace!

What do you use it for?  As it adsorbs most organic toxins, chemicals and poisons before they can harm the body, activated charcoal is an effective antidote against stomach upsets and poisoning.  Some emergency rooms administer large doses of activated charcoal for certain types of poisoning.

I keep it in my first aid kit. It can also be used as a poultice on infections, or infected insect bites for example, as it draws poison out of the cells. Some people use it to clean and whiten their teeth. I haven’t tried that yet.  Though, in theory I could see that it might work because of the absorption capability. 

How does activated charcoal work? It works by binding or rather “adsorbing” chemicals to itself, which reduces their toxicity through the entire length of the stomach and intestines.  The charcoal then passes out of the system along with whatever was causing the stomach upset or poisoning.  Stools will appear black for a day after taking charcoal.

Adsorption is the binding of particles to a surface rather than the filling of spaces or pores in a solid.  Sponges absorb – the spaces within the sponge are filled with water for example.  In adsorption the chemical actually bonds itself to the surface of solid, in this case  charcoal.
 
Activate Charcoal Pore Structure

You can see from the physical structure of the charcoal powder that minute pore spaces mean there is a very large surface area onto which toxins or other substances can attach.

Is it safe to take?  Yes it’s safe to use.  I would only use it once in a while not every day.  It’s a safe, natural remedy that has been used for many years.  In our family if either adults or children are feeling nauseous and we know there’s a stomach bug going around we’re onto the charcoal straightaway.  It has worked well for us.  I have used it as a poultice for an infected cut and I’m going to try whitening my teeth with it.  Don’t use it within two hours of taking other medication or supplements as it will render them ineffective! Before using though, it’s wise to check for any contraindications.  Here are links to the Mayo Clinic and Drugs.com for their comments.

How do you take it? One to two tablespoons in water and drink it QUICKLY!   If you have a stomach upset within a couple of hours you should notice a difference.


There you are then, Activated Charcoal - very worthwhile to have in your first aid kit for vomiting, tummy bug, poisons, stings, insect bites, infections and more.

Happy shopping and remember "you don't need to be fanatical, just wise".

Happy shopping, 
Penelope & Rodney

THE HUNGRY BIN (the best composting & worm farm ever!)

We have just added "The Hungry Bin" to the website as we've been wanting to get a couple of these for ourselves for some time.  We bought our first one this week and thought it would be a good idea to let you have a look at buying one for yourself.

 

Designed and made in New Zealand, The Hungry Bin is a fast and convenient way to compost your food scraps. The innovative design is highly efficient and can process up to 2.0 kilos of waste per day. It not only makes fantastic fertiliser and plant food - it's easy to use and looks good too.

The Hungry Bin is the result of several years of design development by inventor Ben Bell, a keen gardener, composter and worm farmer. He felt that the existing composting worm farms on the market could do with some improvement, and in true Kiwi spirit he decided to do it himself.  The original idea for hungry bin evolved from earlier models Ben created using broken kerbside rubbish bins.

The result of Ben's experimentation is "the best composting & worm farm ever"!

How the Bin Works
The Hungry Bin is a unique design. It creates an ideal living environment for compost worms. The worms convert organic waste into worm castings and a nutrient-rich liquid, which are both high-quality fertilisers. The liquid drains freely from the bin and into a tray placed below it. The tapered shape of the bin compresses the castings, encouraging the worms to move to the surface layer to access fresh food. Compressed castings are easier to handle and largely free of worms. It is a simple process to collect both the castings and liquid produced by The Hungry Bin.


 

Organic Waste

Organic waste is a big and expensive problem. In most Western cities food waste makes up almost half of the waste stream. Food waste is expensive to collect, transport and dispose of. Even using a waste disposal unit requires a lot of water, and creates a burden on the sewerage system. When organic waste breaks down in a landfill, it generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Once it is buried, the nutrients contained in food scraps are lost to the environment, and cannot be reused.

One of the best solutions is to compost organic waste on-site, reducing handling and transport costs, and preventing valuable nutrients from being lost.

The Hungry Bin is one of the most efficient ways to compost, and definitely one of the easiest compost systems to use.


Compost no longer has to be banished to the back of the garden. You can keep your hungry bin right where you'd keep your other rubbish bins. Because hungry bin does not smell or attract vermin, you can keep it in a convenient location where it suits you.
 

About Compost Worms

The secret to hungry bin is the worms it is designed to use.
Compost worms are different from common garden worms that live in soil. Unlike earthworms, compost worms do not make burrows in the soil, but live in the surface layer (the top 30cm or 12 inches). They have evolved to eat rotting plant matter on the forest floor, and are perfectly suited to break down food waste.
The compost they produce is pH neutral, and contains many of the most important trace elements for healthy plant growth. Compost worms are generally smaller than earthworms. A compost worm can eat its weight in food a day!


If you want the best veges from your garden you need the best of composts.  As always, not being fanatical, just learning to be wise.

Best regards,
Rodney & Penelope

Alkaline Water and Why To Avoid It!

Abbreviated from an article written by Lawrence Wilson, MD

This article is a warning to avoid drinking artificially alkalized water.  I am sorry to have to write it, but there is a push to get people to buy alkaline water machines, and the propaganda is intense.  Also, when one starts to use it, one feels better, so many people just assume they are becoming healthier, which is not the case. I am not selling any competing products, and I am only interested in keeping people well.

One reason for the popularity of these machines is that some people do indeed feel better for a while drinking this type of alkaline water.  Quick benefits may include fewer aches and pains, and perhaps a little more energy.  However, the problems with the alkaline water machines more than outweigh any benefits they confer.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIALLY ALKALIZED WATER?
Mostly tap water is put through an electrical machine that runs the water over platinum and titanium plates.  This process causes the exchange of some platinum and titanium ions that makes the water more alkaline in its pH.  In most cases the machine has a carbon filter to supposedly remove impurities.  With some units, one can also add a white powder to make the water even more alkaline.

This is very different from natural alkalized spring water.  Spring water passes over rocks in the earth and picks up various minerals, which helps regulate the pH levels in our bodys.  Good spring water usually has a slightly alkaline pH of about 8 or even 8.5, but not much more.

THE RATIONALE FOR DRINKING ALKALINE WATER
The pH balance of the body is very important, and most people’s bodies are too acidic at the cellular level.  It does not matter if the saliva, urine or other fluids test alkaline.  In almost all cases, the body cells, which are the site of metabolism, are too acidic.  This predisposes one to many metabolic imbalances and diseases including cancer.  The rationale for drinking alkaline water is that it will correct this important physiological imbalance.

Problems with this rationale for alkaline water. 
The main problems with this theory are:

 1. The real cause of excess acidity at the cellular level is a deficiency of what are called the alkalinizing or alkaline reserve minerals. These come from what one was born with, and from your diet, the food that you eat.  They include calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and a few others.

Unfortunately, drinking artificially alkalized water does little or nothing to replace these vital minerals.  In fact, it can deplete them.  It may make the body think it is alkaline, so the body does not need to hold on to its alkaline reserve minerals as much, and it eliminates some of them, making the person even more deficient. If one lives a stressful life, one also depletes these minerals quicker.  

2. Also water from alkaline water machines still contains traces of cadmium, lead, arsenic and other toxic metals found in tap water that are not filtered, that I am aware of, by any carbon filters.  Some carbon only filtering systems claim to filter out toxic metals, but I have not observed this in practice.  Filters that I have seen that are said to remove a lot of toxic metals tend to damage the water even worse.  Reverse osmosis is an example of this type, along with KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) and other types of “advanced” filtration media.

3. In addition, the alkaline water machines also add traces of platinum and titanium from plates that the water passes over to make it alkaline.  These are both supremely toxic metals, especially platinum.

I have observed slightly higher levels of nickel in those who use alkaline water machines for several years.  The nickel is probably leached from the stainless steel in the machine, or perhaps from a nickel-plated machine part.  Nickel is a deadly toxic metal.  The alkalinity of the water may cause a little to be leached out of the machine parts.

4. Carbon filtration also does not remove enough of the toxic chemicals in the water, so one is also getting a daily dose of chlorine, fluorides, aluminum, copper, residues of medical drugs in many areas, pesticides and more.

5. As a result, alkaline water machines do not really balance the body’s pH, although they will change it a little, giving some people the impression they are getting well when, in fact, they are not.

The only way to truly balance the body is to replenish the alkaline reserve minerals.  To do this, one must eat a good amount of vegetables.  The vegetables, and perhaps some mineral supplements, such as kelp, can and do supply the alkaline reserve minerals.

Good quality, natural spring water also supplies some alkaline minerals, as does good quality sea salt.  Using these on a daily basis, the body can be slowly remineralized.  This is the best way to do it.

The water from an alkaline water machine is not the same as naturally occurring spring water.

First, alkaline spring waters usually have a pH of about 8 or possibly 8.5.  The water from the machines is often much higher, up to 12 or 13.  This is not healthful.

Secondly, alkaline spring water and some well water is high in calcium and magnesium, which are excellent for one’s health.  Water from the machines, by contrast, is artificially made to be alkaline by mixing the water with a small amount of platinum and perhaps titanium, both of which are toxic metals.

Why is the diet important? 
Much of the acidity of the body is due to a diet that is too high in grains, cereals, beans, and sugars.  Refined food diets are the worst, but so are most people’s high carbohydrate natural food diets.  All of these foods have an acidic reaction in the body due to their peculiar mineral content.  Red meats also have a more acidic reaction due to other factors such as their high iron content and the bacteria needed to digest them properly.

Even eating some fruits today seem to have an acidic reaction.  This is due to their content of fruit acids, their higher sugar content, their unbalanced mineral content today thanks to hybridization, and genetic modification.  Some fruits are still alkaline forming, but not all by any means. 

The diets need to be corrected by eating more green vegetables each and every day.  This is the best way to obtain enough alkaline reserve minerals.  Using sea salt, drinking naturally filtered water, and taking supplements of kelp, or kale also helps. 

We hope this article has been helpful,
Penelope & Rodney

Sugar Focus 'Doesn't Let Fat off the Hook'!

From an article in the NZ Herald today http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11335891  “Consumers shouldn't think they can eat fatty foods now the obesity debate has sugar in its sights,” an Auckland academic says.

University of Auckland professor of epidemiology, Rod Jackson, is warning people not to get complacent about foods that are high in fat after recent diet reports saying sugar is to blame for the rise in global obesity.

"We've never been healthier. Heart disease rates are plummeting. The rate of death from heart disease is 90 per cent lower than in 1967," Dr Jackson said, adding that life expectancy had increased.

However, our population is getting steadily fatter. "There's no doubt we're getting fatter but we're getting fatter quite slowly," he said.

"The message that should be out there is - replace saturated fats¹ with vegetable fats² and also eat less free sugar [table sugar] and refined carbohydrates."

I Have Three Comments To Make About This:

One:  While there has been a big focus around the detrimental effects of sugar on our health, which is now recognised medically, I have a concern that there will be a big shift to synthetic replacement sweeteners that in general people know nothing about except that they don’t want to put on weight but still want sweetness.  I’m thinking of Aspartame based sweeteners, Saccharin, Neotame, various fruit alcohol sweeteners.³  As a healthy alternative how about using Stevia or Coconut Sugar (very low GI), or Honey.

Two: Totally replacing saturated fats with unsaturated vegetable fats is not the complete answer either.  Both types of fats are required by the body - more about that in another newsletter.

Three:  ‘Yes’ to less table sugar (sucrose) and other refined carbohydrates (processed foods).  ‘Yes’ to whole foods that aren’t processed.  ‘Yes’ to eating more, healthy, green vegetables.

In answer to the obesity issue, this cannot just be addressed by eating less.  It’s actually what we eat and how we eat it. I’ve found from experimenting with myself (having put on about 8 extra kilos during menopause - yikes) that it was relatively easy to remove that extra weight simply by separating fats & oils from my consumption of carbohydrates and adding more, low carb, green-leafy veges to my meals (I’m just about down to my pre-menopause weight - YIPPEE).

For more detail on how to take the pain out of weight loss go to my article on our blog
“How Do We Say NO to the Cravings and Addictions that Can Make Us Fat?”

As always, not being fanatical, just learning to be wise.

Best regards,
Penelope