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.
Paleo vs Plant – a comprehensive response to an ongoing debate
Genetic adaptation occurs over many generations, whereas we only have a single lifetime to get it right. Rather than trying to adjust our genes to a diet that might be inherently wrong for us, why not adapt our diet to our own genetics? The end question when considering the article Paleo vs Plant is whether you should be restricting wholegrains, starchy veg and fruit (as Noakes believes) or if you should be restricting animal proteins (as Shearer believes).
Optimal Nutrition for Hair, Nails and Skin
Healthy hair, skin and nails are an outward sign of health and vitality, and their poor condition may reflect many biochemical imbalances in the body. Hair and nails indicate the health of the body 2 to 6 months previously. This means that much of what is going on inside you will quickly be reflected in this organ system, collectively known as the integumentary system.
The Sunfood Diet
As the sun is necessary for all life forms it makes perfect sense that a diet based on raw food plants warmed and grown beneath its benevolent rays will fill you with energy, cleanse your body and clear your mind.
Is Gluten Really the Cause?
Symptoms of wheat or gluten intolerance overlap with just about every other chronic illness from A to Z. Food allergies are immediately obvious when expressed as rashes, respiratory problems, excessive mucus or headaches. But gluten intolerance lurks in the background with a more delayed, if not subtle action, causing anaemia, asthma, attention deficit disorder, cancer, autoimmune diseases and even miscarriages.
Pesticide-free, Organic Fish?
The great north Pacific central gyre is the world's biggest rubbish dump situated between the USA and China. We need to reduce the production and consumption of plastic with a great deal of urgency. Anyone for a tuna salad?
Why Do We Over-eat?
Our sedentary, food-abundant circumstances may be a by-product of our ‘success’ as a society, and our nutrient, emotional and spiritual deficiencies a result of our hectic lifestyles – but they clearly create imbalances, gaps and voids in our lives, often leading to overeating and obesity.
Back to our Tomato Roots
Executive chef Christiaan Campbell and horticulturist Megan McCarthy talk about how best to grow and enjoy tomatoes. Overdose on tomatoes when they are in season, so that at the end of the season you don’t want to see another tomato. And then you can’t wait until mid-summer until the tomatoes are ripe. I don’t necessarily agree with importing our food out of season.
What Makes Fats & Oils Good or Bad
Most people are aware of the importance of healthy fats and oils in the diet. The ‘fat wars’ have been waged relentlessly in print and social media and books – but what makes a fat good or bad?
Watch out for Hidden Sugars
Sugar is ubiquitous in our food supply – we are surrounded by it and drowning in it. Learn to read labels and know precisely what you are looking for, and you will be able to navigate the turbulent world of hidden sugar.
Pomegranate – The tree of Life
The pomegranate is said to be the Tree of Life, and there is speculation as to whether it was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden! Its Latin name literally means ‘seeded apple’. It is a symbol of hope, one of the ‘three blessed fruits’ in Buddhism, and a symbol of resurrection in Christianity.
Salt of the Earth
‘Pass me the salt and pepper please!’ This all too familiar phrase rings clear at most family meals. Has it become habit or is it numbed taste buds driving us to salt overuse and abuse? Or is it perhaps ignorance of the effect that salt has on our health if not used in moderation?
Indigenous Foods that Control Hypertension
High blood pressure is on the increase and is caused largely through bad eating habits. The good news is that you can keep your blood pressure in check by making a healthy switch to the more traditional African foods that are available on our doorstep.
The Wonders of Wheatgrass!
One of the most popular super drinks of the 21st century is wheatgrass, or 'liquid sunshine'. The famous Swiss Dr Bircher-Benner was using powerful green juices as far back as the 1800s, and it is reported that as far back as the 16th century green juices were used to help treat all kinds of disease. And of all the green juices on earth none is more nutritionally powerful than a little shot of wheatgrass.
The A to Z of Nutrition can Calm our Anxiety
The link between nutrition and our physical health is well established. Along with a host of nutritional deficiency diseases like rickets or beriberi, it’s common knowledge that, for example, excess salt can lead to hypertension. However, the link between nutrition and our mental wellbeing is not nearly as widely accepted or understood.
Vegetables Frozen vs. Fresh – a question of nutrition?
Frozen vegetables are undeniably handy – they are relatively inexpensive, require minimal preparation, last for ages in the freezer, and can be prepared in minutes. Any form of vegetables would be better than no vegetables at all, but are we sacrificing nutrition for the sake of convenience?
Is Protein the Forgotten Nutrient?
How much have we heard about the benefits of carbohydrates in an endurance athlete’s eating armoury? It’s not just about carbs – protein is important too. Ian Craig explains why.
Chocolate and Coffee – the Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Chocolate and coffee provide a luxurious and indulgent element in the lives of many. Some call them foods, others drugs; some deem them to be healthy, others a risk. Whatever your perspectives, these two products, each derived from a bean of sorts, provide endless fascination and debate.
The Udder Truth about Cow's Milk
We have an enormous love affair with cow’s milk in all its forms – cheese, butter, yoghurt, cream, ice-cream, condensed milk and more. It is a food woven into the fabric, and into official dietary guidelines, of Western society. Cow’s milk was once the traditional symbol of purity and nutrition, but most milk today is not the same wholesome product our grandparents knew. Today benefits of drinking cow’s milk seem to be outweighed by the potential health risks associated with poor-quality, processed and contaminated milk, and by the debilitating symptoms resulting from cow’s milk allergy.
Healthy Eating While Traveling is Possible!
Airline food, Big Macs and dubious restaurants can make traveling a daunting prospect if you take healthy eating seriously. But if you’re properly prepared your trip will be fun and relaxing and you will keep well and have all the energy you need to enjoy it to the full. Here is Jill Fraser Halkett’s personal plan of action.
The Benefits of a Raw Food Diet
The boom for the raw foods industry is not limited to the grocery store aisles. Juice shops are opening in cities across the country, promoting the benefits of consuming raw, fresh-pressed fruits and vegetables. Bottled, unpasteurised juices are becoming more readily available at mainstream stores and even coffee shop chains.