Natural Nutrition
See how food nourishes the body and soul. We round up fresh, organic foods and seasonal favorites. Get the nutritional lowdown, recipes, and practical cooking advice. Discover our Juicing Column and Chef’s Corner.
Food as Medicine
Can we rely on food to fight colds and flu? The desire for self-improvement and the growing access to online healthcare information has fuelled the health trend of self-diagnosis and self-treatment globally. Functional foods and beverages can be used in place of some medicines. The second most desired functional benefit is immune support.
Black Seed – why all the fuss?
The saying ‘the beloved child has many names’ can be applied to the black, boat-shaped seed – Nigella sativa – as it goes by many monikers worldwide. It is most commonly called black seed, black cumin, or black caraway in English, and it has also been called Roman coriander or love-in-a-mist. It is known as ‘ketzahk’ in Hebrew, ‘chernuschka’ in Russian, and ‘kalonji’ in Hindi.
Our Deadly Bread
The wheat you eat today bears little resemblance to the wheat mankind has eaten for thousands of years. Not surprisingly, many of us do badly on this food, with varying degrees of intolerance.
Nutritional Programme for Fasting
Fasting is a time-proven remedy. Animals instinctively fast when ill, and for thousands of years humans have used fasting as a healing and spiritual-religious process. In the opinion of Dr Elson Haas, fasting is the single greatest natural healing therapy and here he shares his nutritional programme for fasting.
An Appropriate Diabetes Diet
Diabetes is not a stand-alone illness as it is the cause of several conditions, some of which are life-threatening, including heart disease, kidney failure, Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Many people who have diabetes do not know they have it. This article by Patrick Holford gives dietary advice on how best to control diabetes.
The Best Dietary Choices for IBS
Living with IBS often turns food choices into a fatiguing challenge. New information on FODMAPs may help IBS sufferers select the foods that work best for them, while avoiding those that aggravate symptoms.
Kefir – a probiotic boost!
Wholefoods provide us with all the necessary nutrients to maintain good health, and fermented kefir is no exception. This cultured, natural probiotic is tasty and fun to make in the comfort of your own home.
Berry Healthy!
Berries are not only beautiful to behold, but they just taste so good and are literally bursting with health benefits.
Avocado – pure green goodness
In our household avocado, both the fresh pears and the rich green oil, rules supreme – whether eaten with a spoon and some Herbamare salt, straight from the skin, or included in luscious, unctuous salads, or mashed with soy sauce and spread on hot toast, or in a spicy guacamole, or simply smeared all over my face!
What we feed our children
Children must have good nutrition at crucial, developmental stages of their lives in order to promote early brain development, ward off childhood obesity and build up a strong immune system to fight illness.
Chocolate – for the love of it
Some people think chocolate is in its own separate food group. I personally think, as do many others, that it is an ‘essential’ superfood and that life would just not be the same without it. Chocolate, derived from cocoa beans, has a long and interesting history. The word cacao has changed over the years to cocoa, and was taken originally from the Mayan and Aztec languages.
Grow your Own
Mankind is a relative newcomer on this earth, yet in a short period of time has achieved remarkable things. As a result of our successes, however, we have lost touch with many simple pleasures – such as working with Mother Nature to provide food from our gardens. Natalie Becker aims to empower you to feed yourself from your own backyard!
Mediterranean Diet linked to slower Mental Decline
People who eat and drink like the Greeks may think a little more clearly into old age, hints a study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The findings add to a handful of evidence that a Mediterranean-style diet may be as good for the brain as it is for the rest of the body.
A Balanced Diet
Nutrient density means how many nutrients you get from a food, given the number of calories it contains. Nutrient-dense foods give you the most nutrients for the fewest number of calories. No principle is more likely to support healthy eating than that of nutrient density, because it gives you concentrated amounts of valuable nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fibre, essential fatty acids and phytonutrients, to name just a few.
Time for a Pantry Clean-Out
Every now and then we need to get rid of everything in the kitchen that could wreak havoc with our health. Restock with nutritious foods, beverages and snacks. If you don’t have forbidden products in your kitchen, you won’t be tempted to eat them in moments of weakness.
Get your FATS Straight
People are often confused about exactly what an EFA is, what it does, and why it is (or they are) important in the human diet. Then, just to add to the puzzle, there’s the often contentious debate about which fatty acids are actually ‘essential’. Sandi Nye takes a look at these fascinating molecules.
Which Milk?
A recent conversation threw an interesting light on a preconceived idea. A colleague and I were chatting about cow’s milk as part of a human diet, and I expressed the opinion that this milk was meant for cows, not for people. My stance echoed what I had read and learned about milk from both scientific literature and so-called conventional wisdom on milk in the modern diet.
Genes to Plate – nutrition made personal
If you haven’t ever thought about genetics and nutrition together, there’s a fascinating interaction that can affect health and disease.
Salad Jars – the perfect lunch box snack
Here is a recipe on how to make salad jars – the perfect lunch box snack. Use butternut balls, falafels and other fresh ingredients side by side, with a bit of room in between each ball.
Benefits of Coconut Milk, Water and Oil
Coconuts are synonymous with island life – palm trees with huge coconuts swaying in a light breeze along a sandy coastline. Today, however, more and more people are associating coconuts with superfood status, and are talking about the health and skincare benefits of coconut water, milk and oil.