An overview of why I think Adam Goodes holds a mirror up to us.

I rarely feel compelled to respond to low-brow, destructive trolling and ill-considered outrage. I don’t like to add fuel to fires that I don’t think light up the world.

But on this occasion I feel some education is required following some very ignorant, small-minded, unproductive and hypocritical feedback to my recent comments on social media regarding Adam Goodes and how the stance he’s taking holds a mirror up to racism.

Adam
Adam Goodes in full flight

So.

For anyone arguing he deserves the booing (ergo, it’s not racist) because of the 13-year-old girl incident, please read this.

For anyone arguing he deserves the booing (ergo, it’s not racist) because of his “aggressive” “war dance”, please read this.

For anyone arguing he deserves the booing (ergo, it’s not racist) because of his Australian of the Year speech, please read this.

For anyone arguing the booing has nothing to do with race but is instead because he’s become “too political” or “too outspoken” (a la Mark Latham, Jeff Kennett and various shock jocks today), I say: that makes ZERO SENSE!! Adam Goodes speaks out on race (appropriately and rightly so). We’ve lauded him as Australian of the Year for this. To say he shouldn’t, or that we don’t like that he does, is race-based at a bare

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Could you have chemical intolerance? What next?

I make it a personal mission to live my life as toxin-free as I can. High toxic loads aren’t good for any of us…even more so if you’re struggling with autoimmune disease.

Could you have chemical intolerance? What next?
Image via Pinterest

For anyone with autoimmune issues, chemicals and heavy metals seem to be both the cause and effect. Research published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology shows that approximately 20 per cent of healthy people demonstrate an immune reactivity to chemicals. This essentially means the body flags chemicals to the immune system, which in turn fights to destroy those toxic compounds.

Introducing chemical intolerance

Over time, if the toxic load is too heavy and your immune system starts struggling to fight the toxic compounds, this may trigger an autoimmune process known as chemical intolerance.

Chemical intolerance usually evolves in two stages.

  • In the first stage, the body’s natural ability to tolerate chemicals and toxins is gradually broken down.
  • In the second stage, an ordinary exposure to an environmental compound (traffic exhaust, perfume, a drug, or other chemicals) suddenly triggers an immune response.

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One month without exercise, soap and loo paper…

I just got back from a month in true retreat. I was rather cryptic about where I was heading and I committed to not sharing my experience in real time on social media. Golly, what freedom! I’m happy to now flesh out the details because I reckon a few of you will find them interesting.

Refugee chic: I took to winding my hair in a rag.
I took to winding my hair in a rag.

Where did you go?

India. To a hard-core Ayurvedic clinic – Vaidyagrama – in Tamil Nadu, an hour from Coimbatore, which is just north of Kerala. Which is to say, eons from any semblance of a tourist trail.

Why?

As many of you know, my autoimmune journey is a perpetual one. I manage my disease. And I do this by experimenting. I’d been told for years that Ayurvedic treatment was a boon for AI. I very much subscribe to the Ayurvedic tradition of yoga, meditation and the eating principles of this ancient discipline. But I wanted to see if a committed 3-4 week panchakarma (see below) treatment would take my healing to loftier heights.

I’ll be frank. I didn’t want to go. My acute sense of smell and hearing rendered India a torturous prospect. Every bit of me wanted to go hiking in Switzerland. And I even had an escape plan if I couldn’t cope (I’d researched

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Intermittent fasting for food addiction? Let’s discuss.

I’m a cautious fan of intermittent fasting and have previously shared my thoughts on the best way to go about it. But I picked up on something in an interview with American integrative doctor Chris Kresser recently that stoked the fasting fire a little.

Image via ville-noire.com
Image via ville-noire.com

As something of a side note to his ramble about how he personally flirts with this particular food fad, he mentions the spiritual aspect of intermittent fasting:

“Where for some people who can get a little addicted to certain aspects of food or certain types of food or our relationship to food starts to feel a little bit out of whack, then intermittent fasting can be one way of resetting that.” He goes on:

“(Intermittent fasting) can really set you free from some habitual patterns around food.” 

I reflected on this a bit. I personally have rigidity around a few food issues. I get anxious when a meal is not a proper meal. And I’ll eat a heaping meal even if I’m not hungry. I struggle to respect my appetite. To manage this

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The I Quit Sugar One-Pot Wonders Cookbook is here!

Most of you know how much I love stretching out meals to make them more sustainable and cheap. I tend to bore my mates with the topic. It was inevitable, then, that the I Quit Sugar team would conspire to shut me up by creating a One-Pot Wonders Cookbook featuring my favourite no-brainer, densely nutritious shortcuts for getting meals onto the table.

one pot cover 11952.1437958059.386.513 e1437961078817 The I Quit Sugar One-Pot Wonders Cookbook is here!

Here’s why I love it so much:

* It’s simple on a stick. All 33 recipes can be prepared in one single pot. Less chaos, less washing up.

* It’s sustainable. The Sunday Cookups a geared at creating waste-free dinners that provide you with leftovers during the week.

* It’s affordable. Most of the dishes are under $5 a serve, some are even $3.

OnePot onsale1 homepage 2 e1437960828941 The I Quit Sugar One-Pot Wonders Cookbook is here!

Forthwith some pretty pictures that tell the wondrous One-Pot Wonders story:

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Ditch the NavMan for a more meaningful life!

It’s a simple idea, but one that intuitively gels: Navigating without technological aids like Google Maps or Navman works an important part of the brain associated with a sense of self. Finding where you are helps you find yourself, says a study from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet.

8cbffaf333afe93219f8f60a60038451 e1437367398333 Ditch the NavMan for a more meaningful life!
photo via The Little Red House

It goes like this:

Exerting ourselves spatially, extending ourselves to have a better sense of our relative relationship to the world connects us with the part of the brain that craves to know where we are and, thus, who we are.

My take is that the more we work this muscle, the more we get a sense of where and who we are. So often with matters of the mind, mere striving is enough. It plonks us on the path and then “life” takes over from there.

For me, bike riding and hiking totally connect me into myself. They’re instant techniques for this. I reckon it’s in part because of

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The best sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free desserts!

A round up of some of your favourite sugar, gluten and dairy-free desserts I’ve posted in the last few years. For your indulgently healthy pleasures.

For all I Quit Sugar digital eBooks head to the online store here. Find my print books here

rsz_raspberry-ripple-680x340
Sugar-Free Raspberry Ripe

1. My Sugar-Free Raspberry Ripe. The most popular dessert recipe on the blog! Simple, moorish, minimal-ingredients-required “assemblages”, brimful of nutrients and wholesome sweetness. (Sugar and gluten free.)

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Everything you need to know about healing your gut

A growing number of modern ills –in particular, autoimmune diseases – are now deemed to stem from the gut. And many of us have guts that are a little leaky and nervous and cranky. So healing the gut is probably at the top of your wellness to-do list, right? Today, all my gut-health posts in one place, for your ongoing reference (and healthy gut flora.)

Image via pintrest
Image via Pinterest

Start here

 Moody? Flat? It might be your leaky gut. A straightforward post involving factoids and a list. You’ve been warned. Basically I’m going to outline some interesting stuff that explain why problems with your gut are causing the mood and energy issues you might be having.

And here, a gut health post with a focus on why you need to boost your stomach acid, especially if you suffer from autoimmune disease.

Ferments

Lacto-fermentation has been around for eons as a health trick – all cultures have a history of fermenting veggies, dairy, nuts, grains etc for medicinal and digestion purposes. I’ve been fermenting my veggies for a while now.

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How to (really) detox your home

If you’ve been following this blog for a while you’ll know I’m rather committed to keeping my home ecologically and ergonomically minimal and sustainable. I’m also into lowering the toxic load where possible.

chris korbey How to (really) detox your home
Image via Pinterest

Perhaps it all started when I was told I had to move out of my apartment. I wrote about it on the blog here: The scary reason I have to move out of my apartment. And so, I began the process of detoxing my home. I still have a way to go.

First up

Own less. Go to the shops less. Buy less. Consume less. Recycle less (recycling should be a last resort). Less furniture. Less gadgets. Use up what you have first. Improvise. Make do. Use the same thing for two purposes. Need less. Here’s how I do it. Here’s what I don’t own.

Five small hazards to avoid. Building biologist Nicole Bijlsma shares a few of her favourite tips for cleaning up your home. I asked her to share easy, everyday stuff – five simple, inexpensive swaps or choices to make.

In the kitchen

The basics.  The idea of tossing stuff out that still works, even if it’s not the ideal choice….I find abhorrent.

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My complete home fermentation guide part two

I’ve been obsessively experimenting with fermenting projects at home for a while now. Did you have a go at making kombucha? Like the idea of glass jars brimful of bacteria filling up your kitchen and healing your gut? Look no further. Today, a compilation of my favourite fermented beverage recipes. (And here’s my favourite fermented veggie recipes too… just to really keep everything in one place!)

Image via the primative kitchen
Creatively “pimped” kombucha

Kombucha. A few week’s back I shared my complete kombucha kit. Everyone’s favourite gut-health tonic, kombucha is easily made and you can have fun playing around with different flavour combinations too.

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