WINTER BLUES   Don’t let that cold get on top of you and Jo’s top diet tips for when you have a cold.

Did you know that having a cold every now and then is actually good for you. It gives your immune systems an overhaul and leaves it at it’s fighting best ready for any more severe nasties that may come your way later.

For a sound and generally healthy immune system your ‘preferred cold’, when treated correctly, should last around 5 days past which you should feel totally revived. Does this sound like you? If not perhaps you have a few things to consider:

1. If you are prone to getting a few too many colds, perhaps you should consider strengthening your immune system throughout the year with herbal and nutritional remedies so that when the cold season comes around your ability to fight off infections is greatly enhanced.
2. Have you found that work life balance? 12, 13, 14hr days, does this sound like you? If your stress levels are not balanced by quality relaxation and rejuvenation time then your immune system is going to have a tough job keeping up.
3. What is your gut like? If you suffer from symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating and pain then your gut is not happy and this can have a profound impact on your immune system.
4. ‘Cold and Flu’ medications do not assist the body in helping itself or promote the immune system to work harder. ‘Cold and Flu’ medications only treat the symptoms, providing a band aid solution and the chances of you getting reoccurring colds are much higher
5. Please always consider taking a day or two off work. Convalescence and sleep, heard of them? Why always soldier on for two weeks working only at 50% of your ability. Doesn’t it make sense to take 2 days off and when you return to work you will have no worries working at 100%?
6. Get on top of it early. At the first sign of a sniffle contact your complementary health practitioner and obtain a specific and holistic treatment. Hit it hard at the start, you will shorten the duration considerably.
7. How is your diet holding up? The food you put into your belly can have profound effects on your immune system. Be sure to check out my diet tips and remember to keep it ‘real’ and ‘whole’… your diet that is.

Sore throat, fever, congested nose and sinuses, blocked ears, mucousy or dry cough, achy body… the list goes on and so does Johanna’s treatment options. Prevent it from getting into your respiratory system and dragging you down longer than you need it too.

JO’S TOP DIET TIPS FOR WHEN YOU HAVE ‘THE COLD’

1. Cut back or remove cow dairy (includes milk, cheese, yoghurt and icecream) from your diet as much as you can. Cow dairy dampens the respiratory system and can be mucus forming which will not assist the body in elimination the bad bugs. Substitute, but only occasionally (1-2 serves per week) with sheep and goat dairy.
2. SUGAR FEEDS BAD BUGS. Remove as much sugar as you can from your diet and this includes excess natural sugars found in fruit. No more than 2 pieces per day and definitely no fruit juice (yes, than includes orange juice!) Cut out all sweets, lollies, desserts, ice cream, soft drinks, sports drinks, table sugar, sugary yoghurt and while you are at it cut out all of the fake sugars too! (i.e. 99% fat free products and artificially flavoured goods). White bread, white pasta and white rice are all forms of sugar too so these really must be kept to a minimum.
3. No bananas - they are also mucus forming and too high in sugar especially when you have a cold. Have a kiwi fruit instead, they contain natural plant digestive enzymes and they are much higher in vitamin C than oranges.
4. Up your protein - fish and poultry are both easily digested proteins, which will boost the immune system and this is a ‘must’ at this stage. Eggs are also fantastic but can in some people create excess mucus so be careful and don’t go overboard if you are overly snotty…
5. WATER WATER WATER - your Mum was right. Water assists the lymphatic system in clearing the infectious load from the system. Warm if you can and sip, don’t scull! Pop a quarter of lemon in your warm water along with a teaspoon of high-grade manuka honey (regular honey doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of anti-bacterial benefits that manuka does and will only provide you with a sugar). Add a little fresh ginger in there if you wish to help warm you up.
6. Load up on lots of garlic and chili (anti-microbial and helps to break up mucus) onions and leeks (contain quercetin which is a potent anti-inflammatory and great for the immune system), immune enhancing mushrooms (shitake, reishi, oyster, swiss brown, enoki are some of the more potent mushrooms)
7. Think twice about alcohol and coffee; do you really need it right now?
8. Wash your hands regularly and keep warm especially around the thymus gland, which is the master immune gland and sits behind the sternum/chest bone (just below the neck).
9. WARM IT UP with rich, warming and well-cooked soups, stews and casseroles is what your body wants. Stay away from cold and raw foods.
10. Feed yourself this gorgeous chicken soup and reap the rewards. It is quick and easy too!

IMMUNE BOOSTING CHICKEN SOUP   You don’t have to be sick to enjoy this soup – it is fabulous all year round!

You will need:

• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 6 cups organic chicken stock
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp turmeric, grated
• ½ small red chili
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 chicken thighs, diced
• ½ tablespoon white miso paste
• ½ cup spring onions, sliced
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Soak the mushrooms in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes while preparing the soup.
2. In a medium saucepan, place the stock, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chili, onion, chicken, miso and spring onions. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Slice mushrooms and add with their soaking liquid, and simmer for a further 3 minutes.
4. Place in warmed bowls and sprinkle with basil and parsley

*Buy the best quality organic chicken stock you can if you don’t have time to make it. Check your local organic grocer or health food shop.

**You don’t have to be sick to enjoy this soup – it is fabulous all year round!

CREAMY PORRIDGE MINUS THE COW’S MILK   Give your body a break from all of that cow’s milk and treat it with some health-promoting coconut milk that won’t add to your congestion.

You will need:

• 1 cup whole oats
• 1 cup of the coconut milk you just made*
• An additional cup of water
• pinch of celtic sea salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ cup walnuts
• Poached quinces or fruit of your choice

Directions:

1. Place the oats, coconut milk, celtic sea salt, cinnamon and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and stir continuously for 5 minutes.
3. Pour the porridge into bowls and serve topped with walnuts and quinces and a little splash of extra coconut milk. If you don’t like walnuts or quinces why not try 1 tablespoon of LSA and perhaps some poached rhubarb?

Serves 2

*Tip – MAKE YOUR OWN COCONUT MILK – Buy a can of coconut cream (Ayam is a great brand): decant it into a glass bottle and add two parts of water and there you go, you have your own coconut milk to use on your cereal, in your curries, and, of course, your porridge. It will last 3-4 days in your fridge.

COCONUT OIL   Don’t be critical about the coconut, the tides are turning for this tropical nut!

The oil, milk and meat of the coconut have been staples of the traditional diet of native populations throughout the South Pacific for generations. The scientific name for coconut is Cocos nucifera. Early Spanish explorers called it coco, which means ‘monkey face’, because the three indentations (eyes) on the hairy nut resemble the head and face of a monkey. Nucifera means ‘nut bearing’.

Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals. It is classified as a ‘functional food’ because it actually provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content.

But it is a rich source of saturated fat …

Correct … but this may not be as much of a problem as once thought. Why? Because not all saturated fat is bad for you. Some saturated fats are made up of long chain triglycerides (LCTs) which are insoluble in water. This means that your body struggles to digest and process them, and they end up stored in the body as fat particles, building up in your arteries, abdomen and thighs. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is made up of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are partly water soluble. So instead of being turned into fat particles, they are transported to the liver and metabolised quite effectively, helping to produce energy for the body, aiding in many bodily functions, and even supporting cardiovascular health and countering weight gain. Another advantage is that MCTs don’t appear to generate as many free radicals in the process of digestion and assimilation (breakdown of food). Coconut oil is one of the few significant plant sources of lauric acid, also found in human milk, that enhances brain function and the immune system.

Most of the health benefits of coconut oil are attributable to its high content of medium-chain saturated fatty acids such as capric acid, caprylic acid and lauric acid.

Unlike most other dietary oils, coconut oil (if not hydrogenated) does not contain trans-fatty acids (due to its very low content of unsaturated fatty acids).

Please note the ‘old’ clinical research that found coconut oil ineffective was referring to hydrogenated coconut oil. Only extra-virgin, unadulterated coconut oil should be used for therapeutic purposes.

THERAPEUTIC USES FOR COCONUT OIL

Cardiovascular system

Unlike many other dietary oils, coconut oil may NOT contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases and may indirectly reduce the risk of many types of cardiovascular diseases (due to the absence of polyunsaturated fatty acids in coconut oil).

• Unlike many other dietary oils, coconut oil may NOT contribute to the development of atherosclerosis (high cholesterol) and may indirectly reduce the risk of atherosclerosis (due to the absence of polyunsaturated fatty acids in coconut oil).
• Coconut oil may help to prevent ischemic heart disease.

Hair

• Coconut oil (applied topically) may improve hair condition.

Immune system

• Coconut oil may inhibit or kill some species of detrimental bacteria (due to its high content of medium-chain saturated fatty acids, especially lauric acid), including:
  • Helicobacter pylori
  • Hemophilus influenzae
  • Listeria monocytogenes
  • Staphylococcus aureus

• Coconut oil may inhibit/kill some types of detrimental fungi (due to its high content of medium-chain saturated fatty acids), including:
  • Aspergillus niger
  • Candida albicans

• Coconut oil may inhibit/kill the Giardia lamblia protozoa that causes Giardiasis.
• Coconut oil may reduce inflammation.
• Coconut oil may facilitate the expulsion of intestinal parasites.
• Coconut oil may facilitate the expulsion of tapeworms.

• Coconut oil may delay the shrinkage (atrophy) of the thymus that occurs with the progression of the ageing process and may restore the function of the thymus.
• Coconut oil may deactivate some types of viruses (due to the high lauric acid content of coconut oil) including:
  • HIV virus (which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

Metabolism

• Coconut oil may increase the body’s basal metabolic rate (BMR).
• Coconut oil may lower elevated total serum cholesterol levels. (It is speculated that this occurs from coconut oil stimulating the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone.)
  • Coconut oil may increase HDL cholesterol levels.
  • Coconut oil may lower LDL cholesterol levels.
  • Coconut oil may lower VLDL cholesterol levels.

• Coconut oil may increase the production of energy.
• Coconut oil may facilitate weight loss in persons afflicted with obesity (by increasing the body’s basal metabolic rate).
• Coconut oil may lower elevated serum triglyceride levels.

Sexual system

• Coconut oil may help to prevent enlarged prostate.

Skin

• Coconut oil (applied topically) may alleviate dry skin.
• Coconut oil (applied topically to the hair/scalp) may help to killhead lice.

Adapted from 2008 Hyperhealth Pro

In traditional medicine around the world coconut is used to treat a wide variety of health problems including the following: abscesses, asthma, baldness, bronchitis, bruises, burns, colds, constipation, cough, dropsy, dysentery, earache, fever, flu, gingivitis, gonorrhoea, irregular or painful menstruation, jaundice, kidney stones, lice, malnutrition, nausea, rash, scabies, scurvy, skin infections, sore throat, swelling, syphilis, toothache, tuberculosis, tumours, typhoid, ulcers, upset stomach, weakness, and wounds.

Coconut oil is lower in calories than most fats and oils. Use it for baking, sautéing and frying when cooking. Because it is a saturated fat it can tolerate high temperatures, unlike the unsaturated fats (e.g. olive oil and flaxseed oil) that go rancid very quickly and end up doing more harm than good.

RECIPES

Appetite control and weight loss aid:

• Combine 100 ml coconut oil and 50 ml avocado oil with 100 ml apple cider vinegar and 50 ml fennel herbal extract in a lidded jar. Keep at room temperature, and shake well before use.
• Take 15 ml before meals to improve digestion and help to control appetite.

Antiseptic cream:

• Combine 100 ml coconut oil with 50 ml olive leaf herbal extract in a lidded jar and stir well. Apply to cuts, bites, stings, grazes and minor infections to help heal skin.

The saturated fat villain that many thought coconut oil once was, in fact, is actually quite amazing. With all the manufacturers of a wide variety of processed foods being pressured to get rid of trans fats (partially hydrogenated fats), you may be seeing a lot more of coconut oil very soon! Remember – extra virgin, cold pressed and unrefined.

Coconut oil becomes solid at approximately 22°C. In its solid form, coconut oil is known as coconut butter. As it cools from the liquid state (26°) it forms small ‘pearls’ which join together until the whole product is solid at 22°C.

What about coconut flesh and coconut milk?

Research shows that the flesh from the coconut possesses similar immune and metabolic properties to that of the oil. The white flesh may help to prevent colon cancer and it may also lower total serum cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Research shows coconut milk’s health benefits are limited to the immune system. It may inhibit/kill many types of detrimental bacteria including Chlamydia trachomatis, Helicobacter pylori, Hemophilus influenzae, Listeria monocytogenes, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis and Streptococcus agalactiae, as well as fungi including Aspergillus niger and Candida labicans. Coconut milk may deactivate viruses including the HIV virus, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Herpes Simplex viruses type 1 and 2 and the Measles virus.

	BREAKFASTS		GENERAL HEALTH TIPS
	GRAINS		RECIPES
	RESEARCH		SUPERFOODS