Why does a home made cake taste so much nicer than a shop bought one, no matter if that shop is the most top notch, high end patisserie going?
The meal that is home cooked from scratch rather than scrapped out of a carton after the 'ping' of a microwave will always have that little extra.
Going out to dinner to a restaurant is lovely and the food will probably be great, cooked well, presented well but still missing that little extra too.
What is that little extra then?
I have to confess I am a complete foody and enjoy the whole experience of shopping, cooking and eating. Even when time is very tight, which like most of us, is pretty well always, the time taken to shop,cook and eat, for me, is worth squeezing the time for.
Isn't it always great to eat what a friend has cooked for you, when that food was prepared with the guests in mind and the host wanting it to be good to eat and enjoyed, it has that special quality, love!
Can love make a difference to the taste of a meal? well there is an experiment to be had, but as we are increasingly more aware of the subtleties around us and the energy that goes into and stays within us, may be that kind and loving energy does indeed enhance the food we eat.
It is surely a given that by using the best ingredients we can afford will enhance the taste, ie butter in a cake over margarine is certainly going to make a better cake. Organic eggs taste better than factory farmed eggs from caged birds.
But what if all that, the main ingredient is energy and i'm not talking about what fires your stove.
If the meal is prepared with kindness and care, love and compassion, then will it not taste better than something prepared in a factory? The remote human contact it has had, could be one of a factory worker, fed up that day, in a bad mood,disgruntled etc etc....even if the factory worker is the happiest he/she can be - there is no soul connection with the end recipient.
This goes all the way through the food process, the energy and intention planted with the seeds for the crops, the animal husbandry from rearing through to the butchers display. If each step has been done by some one who cares about the outcome and is passionate about what they do and working in harmony with the environment and compassion for the animals they rear, has that not got to come through energetically in our food and ultimately effect us and our well being.
Ask any one that grows their own food. I live near some allotments, and it is a pleasure to watch the allotment holders plant, nurture and harvest their well deserved crops. The thought of what to plant,the sharing of seeds with others. They tend to them with a vested interest in their success and for the pleasure of eating something they have grown and nurtured themselves - look at the lovely energy that food has within it already.
The type of food and quality of it, is one thing, but food is energy or fuel for our bodies needs and if you think that we are energy beings on one level, we will resonate with other energies.
Many of us shop in a hurry,throwing the items into the trolley as we hurtle around the supermarket. We are less inclined to 'select' looking for the one we want, the supermarket homogenises that experience and we just take the next one on the shelf. Little thought and intention at this stage, but we can add that special ingredient when we cook. Supermarkets can be a soul less shopping experience, but for most of us, this is the way of shopping today, not always by choice but through necessity.
If we prepare food as if we are spitting venom, chances are it's not as great as when we prepare it from the heart and because we want to nourish and please the recipient. A quick snack, a simple spread of salad and cold meats, a full dinner or a lovely home made cake, the intentions in our heart might just be received and enhance the well being, albeit subtly, of those that get to eat it. It is not about being a fantastic cook - we can't all be Nigella, Delia, or Ms Berry, but we can all add that little bit of love.
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Radio 4 and the Flu
A couple of weeks ago whilst travelling in the car, I caught the tail end of Woman's Hour on Radio 4. I tuned in to the last 10 minutes to hear part four of what turned out to be their 5 apart mini drama serial of the week - My Life With Flu. I heard a voiceover describe what is in the flu vaccine and how that would react in the body etc - slightly odd I thought, as it sounded more like a campaign to get people to have a flu jab. At first I thought it was a radio ad for the flu jab...not far from the fact!
So having looked up just what this story was about, I was compelled to listen to the back episodes and hear the final instalment. Here was a story charting the history and development of the original Hong Kong flu of 1969,through the life and loves of Jill and David, up to present day. It charted the damage the flu can inflict on us and the disruption it can cause in our lives...much like any illness I guess, just that those we don't have a vaccine for as yet are never labelled as deadly or harmful or I'm sure they would be pushed too.
But we are in the middle of the flu jab campaign and this collaboration between the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute and Sarah Woods, the writer for this drama was snugly placed at the end of every Woman's Hour - a drip feed reminder of the flu, what it can do, and with a lot of references through out, to the consequences of getting flu and of people asking 'have you had the flu jab?'. A blow by blow account of how seemingly easy it is to catch it and that it mutates, so getting the jab once is not enough. The same virus that Jill was infected with in '69 has mutated several times across the decades and to Jill's body it is new each time as her immune system doesn't recognise it.
The words are always key, 'attacking' the immune system etc and stressing the disruption it can cause, in this case never quite letting 2 people in love be together......
I see many people who have the flu jab and despite what doctors say,they seem to be the only ones that get a dose of flu on a regular basis...not sure that's the desired outcome. Some are so proud to get their jabs every year and for those that don't end up with a dose of flu are convinced it was the flu jab that stopped it - but the chances of getting flu every year are rare,even every 5 years. We have a tendency to call a heavy cold 'the flu' so the definition and understanding of it is a little vague but plays in to the hands of those that want to push the flu jab.
The conflict of interest is great, and with a GP's and Pharmacists paid for every jab, is it any wonder it can feel we are nothing more than a market for a commodity.
If the key is to prevent you getting flu, then why not a big push on vitamin C and Vitamin D in the run up to winter, typical flu season. It could cost a lot less than the vaccine, no side effects other than additional benefits to you health.
It is no surprise that winter is a prime time for such viruses. To ensure a healthy immune system, we need good doses of Vit D, most of us this far north of the equator are well under healthy Vit D levels and as the days grow shorter, what sun we have and the time we are actually exposed to it, is so short that we go into winter with already depleted immunity.
So never mind the not so subtle campaigns to get us to have flu jabs, how about a campaign for us all to get a Vit D test or just increase our levels to the optimum for strong immunity.
The best thing about this approach is that it is not a one trick pony...the flu jab 'might' protect you from certain flu viruses the WHO have figured we are susceptible to, some believe it doesn't even do that. For the sake of argument, let us give it the credit for protecting you from the flu.....Increasing your Vit D and Vit C, will boost your immune system and help protect you against what ever other viruses and cell mutations might occur - Vitamins multi task in your body.
Between the two options, the vitamin approach has more going for it, cheaper and no hidden ingredients that we might like first to be informed about before taking the shot. A win win!
May be we need a radio 4 serial that drip feeds us the benefits of vitamins,then we might take them and have healthier lives as a result.....not sure the Sanger Centre will collaborate on that one.
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Festival of Well being
Yesterday I went to the Festival of Well being in London. This was the third annual event staged by the Resurgence and Ecologist - The Resurgence Trust. If you have never come across them -check out www.resurgence.org.
With 15 superb speakers and artists, it was no wonder we came away with a lightness and sense of positivity. Great to hear of all the positive projects that are going on up and down the country,especially right now in a world that looks so grim,cruel and intolerant.
It seems our sense of well being comes from a greater sense of fairness between us and where the rich/poor divide is the greatest, the sense of well being is low. It seems we don't feel great by having lots of stuff, if those around us are not in the same situation. So stuff doesn't make us happy - phew! can someone please tell those that produce it by the tonne using up the resources future generations might like to have a taste of. I was so happy the other day, to see a small shop that repairs things - hoovers,irons, all manner of electrical goods. Not only is it great we still have people who have skills that can repairs things, we are not all in to the throw away culture and buy new. The planned obsolescence of so many electrical goods can be beaten! Mark Golding from Oxfam highlighted this inequality aspect that blights all our sense of well being
Our connection with nature was also widely spoken about. That wonderful activist, Vandana Shiva and Monty Don,both spoke eloquently on the importance of soil and seed and how it continually heals us and nourishes us as long as we don't use the chemicals of war on it. Nature needs no assistance from Monsanto - she has managed just fine before they arrived on the scene. Nature knows how to adapt the seed to cope with the environment. She doesn't set out to exploit and copyright nor does she make us pay for the water that drops freely. Monsanto on the other hand might just like to try and I'm sure others out there would consider it also. If we face a water shortage, then fracking must be one of the biggest waste of water with other effects we can only anticipate.
Sense of community and conversing with each other also featured high as essential for well being. Here we had Leo Johnson,co founder of sustainable finance ltd, speak of the venture he embarked on getting to know his neighbours after being forced to slow his pace down due to in jury. Suddenly he found himself speaking to people in his street and the next thing, there they are helping in the grape supplies and wine making escapade that united the road he lived in. How many of us know our neighbours. Apparently we have a better chance of this if we live on a quiet cul de sac as opposed to a major road.
Roman Krznaric author of the Empathy Revolution, a book that is designed to start a 'global explosion of empathic thinking and action' Isn't that just what we need right now. Projects he mentioned included babies helping school children learn empathy. I'm sure we could ramp up the empathy.
With Dame Carol Black discussing the importance of your job. Those who are doing a job they love but also feel they have autonomy within that job have a greater sense of well being. The job doesn't necessarily have to be a high flying career of a job,but the person doing it must feel valued and listened to. So Dame Carol's job is to look at well being in the workplace. Needless to say, those that work for themselves have greater job satisfaction even though they don't have the paid holidays, sick leave, etc etc, they have that all important sense of autonomy.
With Rupert Sheldrake adding his unique stance to the day and reminding us that science has a place but that we need science to be open and 'new science' not just the dogmas it has built itself around.
Topped off with Friends of the Earth reminding us that we can't keep taking from it at the rate we are for short term gain. As Craig Bennett said, Friends of the Earth are often accused of standing in the way of progress, but is it progress to see over half the worlds species disappear, terrains and habitats vanish. Minerals that have taken 1000's of years to form- gone! Polluted seas and rivers, retreating glaciers. Does that sound like progress?
The heart warming 'Action for Happiness' speaker,Mark Williamson, enlightened the audience on some of the initiative going on to promote goodness and happiness. So badly needed in society today where a media feed on misery and worse case scenarios. You could be forgiven for living in fear as that is what our current system generates and how much better it is if we can resist buying into fear.
With heart felt poetry from Pascale Petit and the beautiful voice of Brina, It was a day that raised the soul.
If the names above are new to you, google them and see for yourselves the people out there trying hard to make a better, fairer,just and kinder world. We can all start in a small way, just by speaking to a stranger at the bus stop and getting to know those nearest us. Looking at the job you do and see where you get your enjoyment from or how it can be made better.
The world we live in we have created - keep doing what we do and we keep the status quo - improve what we do and we could all be living a happier,contented life.
Satish Kumar, editor in chief of Resurgence and Ecologist magazine, is a true inspiration. Once a Janus monk that walked the world with nothing other than the human kindness he met on route, his gentle wisdom, humanity and sense of fun exude from him. His address to the audience was serene.
Again,if you have never read his works or know of him, then change that.
It was lovely to see all ages, race, creed, socio-economic groups all coming together to share a day of well being.
With 15 superb speakers and artists, it was no wonder we came away with a lightness and sense of positivity. Great to hear of all the positive projects that are going on up and down the country,especially right now in a world that looks so grim,cruel and intolerant.
It seems our sense of well being comes from a greater sense of fairness between us and where the rich/poor divide is the greatest, the sense of well being is low. It seems we don't feel great by having lots of stuff, if those around us are not in the same situation. So stuff doesn't make us happy - phew! can someone please tell those that produce it by the tonne using up the resources future generations might like to have a taste of. I was so happy the other day, to see a small shop that repairs things - hoovers,irons, all manner of electrical goods. Not only is it great we still have people who have skills that can repairs things, we are not all in to the throw away culture and buy new. The planned obsolescence of so many electrical goods can be beaten! Mark Golding from Oxfam highlighted this inequality aspect that blights all our sense of well being
Our connection with nature was also widely spoken about. That wonderful activist, Vandana Shiva and Monty Don,both spoke eloquently on the importance of soil and seed and how it continually heals us and nourishes us as long as we don't use the chemicals of war on it. Nature needs no assistance from Monsanto - she has managed just fine before they arrived on the scene. Nature knows how to adapt the seed to cope with the environment. She doesn't set out to exploit and copyright nor does she make us pay for the water that drops freely. Monsanto on the other hand might just like to try and I'm sure others out there would consider it also. If we face a water shortage, then fracking must be one of the biggest waste of water with other effects we can only anticipate.
Sense of community and conversing with each other also featured high as essential for well being. Here we had Leo Johnson,co founder of sustainable finance ltd, speak of the venture he embarked on getting to know his neighbours after being forced to slow his pace down due to in jury. Suddenly he found himself speaking to people in his street and the next thing, there they are helping in the grape supplies and wine making escapade that united the road he lived in. How many of us know our neighbours. Apparently we have a better chance of this if we live on a quiet cul de sac as opposed to a major road.
Roman Krznaric author of the Empathy Revolution, a book that is designed to start a 'global explosion of empathic thinking and action' Isn't that just what we need right now. Projects he mentioned included babies helping school children learn empathy. I'm sure we could ramp up the empathy.
With Dame Carol Black discussing the importance of your job. Those who are doing a job they love but also feel they have autonomy within that job have a greater sense of well being. The job doesn't necessarily have to be a high flying career of a job,but the person doing it must feel valued and listened to. So Dame Carol's job is to look at well being in the workplace. Needless to say, those that work for themselves have greater job satisfaction even though they don't have the paid holidays, sick leave, etc etc, they have that all important sense of autonomy.
With Rupert Sheldrake adding his unique stance to the day and reminding us that science has a place but that we need science to be open and 'new science' not just the dogmas it has built itself around.
Topped off with Friends of the Earth reminding us that we can't keep taking from it at the rate we are for short term gain. As Craig Bennett said, Friends of the Earth are often accused of standing in the way of progress, but is it progress to see over half the worlds species disappear, terrains and habitats vanish. Minerals that have taken 1000's of years to form- gone! Polluted seas and rivers, retreating glaciers. Does that sound like progress?
The heart warming 'Action for Happiness' speaker,Mark Williamson, enlightened the audience on some of the initiative going on to promote goodness and happiness. So badly needed in society today where a media feed on misery and worse case scenarios. You could be forgiven for living in fear as that is what our current system generates and how much better it is if we can resist buying into fear.
With heart felt poetry from Pascale Petit and the beautiful voice of Brina, It was a day that raised the soul.
If the names above are new to you, google them and see for yourselves the people out there trying hard to make a better, fairer,just and kinder world. We can all start in a small way, just by speaking to a stranger at the bus stop and getting to know those nearest us. Looking at the job you do and see where you get your enjoyment from or how it can be made better.
The world we live in we have created - keep doing what we do and we keep the status quo - improve what we do and we could all be living a happier,contented life.
Satish Kumar, editor in chief of Resurgence and Ecologist magazine, is a true inspiration. Once a Janus monk that walked the world with nothing other than the human kindness he met on route, his gentle wisdom, humanity and sense of fun exude from him. His address to the audience was serene.
Again,if you have never read his works or know of him, then change that.
It was lovely to see all ages, race, creed, socio-economic groups all coming together to share a day of well being.
Thursday, 28 August 2014
MMR Vaccine problems. Dr Wakefield's response and Why is the reporting left to the alternative media?
In a world where the reporting of news is 24/7 it seems that nothing is left unreported or commented on. But when the media chooses a black out or is 'asked' to have a black out, the news is what's not been reported and why......often far more relevant to us all.
Natural news is one of the few alternative media channels that have been reporting on the whistle blower from the CDC on the correlation between autism and the MMR vaccine.
The problem with organisations that partake in cover-ups to protect big business - organisations that are there to protect the public, the public should query what else they cover up.
If someone tells you a lie, you rarely trust what they say after...when that someone is an organisation that is there to protect its citizens health, well that's a problem....
Watch the story unfold via the Natural News Website.
Natural news is one of the few alternative media channels that have been reporting on the whistle blower from the CDC on the correlation between autism and the MMR vaccine.
The problem with organisations that partake in cover-ups to protect big business - organisations that are there to protect the public, the public should query what else they cover up.
If someone tells you a lie, you rarely trust what they say after...when that someone is an organisation that is there to protect its citizens health, well that's a problem....
Watch the story unfold via the Natural News Website.
http://www.naturalnews.com/046628_CDC_whistleblower_media_conspiracy_vaccine_makers.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/
http://www.naturalnews.com/
The health of children are at stake here and that should be news worthy!
Saturday, 16 August 2014
August's Newsletter from CiCHealth
Hi Everyone
Hope you are all enjoying the summer. The weather is certainly erratic and having checked it on the BBC weather site for last Wednesday - on the North Norfolk coast, It declared it to be a bright sunny day......oh if only....indeed it started as a clear blue sky as we left Cley and began our walk along the Blakeney Spit, but within 20mins we were walking into a gale and torrential rain,undeterred, we persisted through and within 10mins the sky had cleared and bright sunshine returned, only for it to do it all over again.
2 drenchings later we were back in beautiful sunshine, fully dried off and more than rewarded with the sight of seals on the beach and bopping along in the sea,following those of us that were mad enough to walk through the rain......us and 2 others.
I though I would share with you a recent radio 4 programme - Inside Health. Ever wondered about the conflict of interest your doctor faces as he/she reaches for the prescription pad, then this programme and the following 2 might be of interest to you.
I'm always surprised that in this day and age how many people hand their health totally over to the doctor and do exactly as they are told,rather than take it as an opinion. When you sit in the consultancy room and watch a doctor google your symptoms it starts to get a bit worrying.
worth a listen if you haven't heard it.
Here is the link......
Inside Health Radio 4 Dr Mark Porter Conflicted Medicine: Pharmaceuticals
There is a very interesting event coming up in London hosted by Resurgence
Resurgence Festival of Wellbeing
The shift from economic growth to growth in wellbeing
Sat 11 Oct 2014 • 10:00-18:00
Some great speakers including Satish Kumar, ecologist and editor of Resurgence magazine. Vandana Shiva, Environment and health activist and Dr Rupert Sheldrake, Biologist and Author, to name a few. For a full list here is the link......
The cost of the day is just £45 and given the quality of the speakers, that is a bargain!
My ticket is booked for this one and perhaps see you there. All good CPD points.
.................
We are also looking ahead to workshops and events in the coming year.
We are very keen to invite back Patricia Peat from Cancer Options. As those of you that attended her last talk know, her depth of knowledge on the subject of cancer and the current thinking and successful treatment methods is second to none.
We are hoping to fix a date during this coming Autumn so we'll keep you posted.
.....................
There is a new Arnica group that is developing in Cambridge. Arnica helps support parents who are against the current stance on vaccination and often in need of support in their decision to go against the system and who need information on how to manage child hood illnesses.
We will let you know of meeting times and dates for this group and helping to spread the word on it would be good. It is all about choice and knowledge. Knowledge hopefully makes for informed choice and Arnica is there is help with that.
Don't forget to keep an eye on the local FHT website, Abington Barns website and Inspire Online, Great talks and events coming along under those umbrellas also.
.......................
This just popped into my email
A link for an e-book on GMO free shopping in the UK. It has taken the guys at the Therapy Team a while to compile this and could well be worth the small fee of £3.06 (if you have a kindle) and are keen not to support the GM industry.
Enjoy the rest of a good summer.
Sarah and on behalf of Maddy
Friday, 18 July 2014
Statins...another big push!
Statins hit the news again on both sides of the pond. Here in the UK we have the headline
'Statins: Millions more to get drugs in controversial plans'
Doctors have been told to offer millions more people the cholesterol lowering drug. As many as 4 in 10 adults could be given statins...just in case!
want to read the whole story.....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28352290
I've written my view on statins many times, so rather than repeat myself take a look at the suggested clips and before you jump at the chance of taking a statin, be your own doctor and do your research. What's really in it for you if you take statins, What can you do yourself and what is really in it for big pharma - follow the money!
If your body developed high cholesterol through lifestyle, then change it, if it developed high cholesterol because you lacked statins....well you have one unusual body there....We don't develop a headache through lack of paracetamol and would you take a couple of those a day just in case and run the risk of stomach ulcers,probably not, but you might avoid things you know give you headaches. That principle can be applied to cholesterol. Before you decide if cholesterol is your friend or foe,watch Statin Nation, you can sometimes get to view it free on line somewhere or the website is http://www.statinnation.net/
Over in US yesterday, NBC ran a story on the harmful effects of Niacin, a vitamin that is prescribed there to lower LDL and raise HDL. Declaring that Niacin is causing heart problems......Well there is a story that made no sense.....and of course the minute you look behind the headlines, and look at the study, it shows that they didn't look at Niacin as just Niacin, it was an extending release niacin, not the over the counter version we can all buy, and in the trial it was being used alongside a drug. NBC just forgot to mention that bit.
Given the drug companies can advertise their pills on national TV in the US, again, it's a follow the money job.
It is absolutely right that when you really want to know something, go to the source. Look at the study, not the reporting of the study with the bias attached. Look at the studies on Niacin and it's excellent safety record and than look at the side effects of statins.
You wonder what the point of news is when it is an inaccurate medley of what exactly? because it is hardly facts.
Not sure what you should do? At the end of day, it is your body that the medicine goes into, your body that has to deal with it....Statins verses lifestyle......Once you see how statins work, you get an idea that they just might cause you the very problem they are being used to treat, so get informed before you make your decision.
Doctors know what drug companies tell them, that can be based on 'cherry picked' studies and if you have put a drug through costly trials,you are going to want to claw that money back, then we come to ethics over profit and that is often a debate that ethics might not do so well in.
Want to know the truth about Niacin, real Niacin, go to the source. Here is the best retort to the NBC news report.
Many doctors are calling for all studies on drugs to be published so they too can be better informed on what they tell patients. It is with big pharma and their big bucks that the problem lays.
So who really is behind these two transatlantic stories.
I think currently 2 trials have to show that the drug works better than a placebo,even if another 8 show it doesn't. That is kind of worth remembering for any drug you have to take. Risk V Benefit, Ethics V Profit.....you decide.
Monday, 30 June 2014
TTIP - Info from the World Development Movement
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