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Knowing where to start when getting healthy can be somewhat of a challenge if you’re completely new to the concept of detox. Detoxification is nothing new however – our bodies have been doing it since the day we were born. Detoxification is one of the body’s most basic automatic functions of eliminating and neutralizing toxins through the colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph and skin. However, with the number of chemicals and pollutants swimming around in our food, air and water supply, our bodies get overworked and need a helping hand.

So here are 12 things you can do today to help clean up your inner ecosystem without having to embark on a massive cleanse. Just start with one thing and work your way up. And don’t stress it!

1. Go green – Adding more greens to your diet, whether eating or juicing them will help to alkalise your body, send much needed nutrients to your cells for cleansing, repair and regeneration not to mention replenishing those all important red blood cells. Here are some juicing ideas.

2. Get brushing – Sloughing off dead skin cells with a dry skin brush helps to get the lymphatic system moving and move toxins out of the body. Let’s not ignore the fact that it can also help reduce cellulite!

3. Get high on H20 – Drinking enough water everyday is super important in staying hydrated and helping to flush out toxins and impurities so swap the soda for water!

4. Herb it up – Adding herbs like coriander, parsley and watercress to your meals or juices is an easy way to help rid the body of toxins. Watercress is especially good at energising cleansing enzymes in the liver.

5. Move your ass – Yup, exercise, exercise. Shaking your booty whether it be dancing away to your fave tunes, jumping on the rebounder, getting your downward dog on or going for a run helps to get the lymph moving and gets you sweating it out!

6. Breathe deep - According to the ‘Tao of Breathing’ up to 70% of our body’s waste products are eliminated via our lungs and the rest through the urine, skin and feces. So when we shallow breathe, less oxygen is available to our cells which slows down the flow of blood carrying waste from the kidneys and lungs.

7. Get your enema on – I am a big fan of cleansing the colon whether it be through enemas which you can do at home or visiting a colon hydrotherapist. Check out how to do an enema here.

8. Fibre Frenzy – By adding sufficient fibre to your diet, you naturally help to cleanse the colon as it works as an internal sweep helping to remove any undigested food from your intestines. Chia seeds are great for this. 

9. Hot’n Cold Hydrotherapy – By switching the water in your shower from hot to cold and back again a few times, you help to wake up the lymphatic system, boost the immune system and increase detoxification.

10. Turn that frown upside down – Smiling can completely change your internal system. Even though you may not feel like smiling, by doing so, it helps to reduce stress and gradually change your mood. Stress is super toxic for the body, creates acidity and can prevent our body from carrying out its important functions so crack us a smile!

11. Dump the junk – Removing addictive foods such as refined sugars, processed foods, drugs and alcohol will help to improve your body’s pH  and help normalise your internal ecosystem. The internal state of our body is massively overlooked and what you put into your body plays a major role in the level of health you experience.

What are your favourite ways to detox?

If you fancy having a go at a 48 hour juice fast, check out my ebook Clarity Cleanse.

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One of the things I hear most from people is that they get stuck eating the same thing over and over again and lack variety in their diets. This is where I think superfoods play a super important role in helping to increase your nutritional intake without having to get fancy or dream up culinary creations just to get your fix of the good stuff. So I thought I would tell you about the 9 superfoods that I personally don’t think enough people are eating and will be incredibly beneficial in helping you to grow big and strong like Supergirl. (Because who doesn’t wanna be like Supergirl?! She’s awesome!)

1. Chia seed are my one of my fave foods. A complete protein containing loads of easily digestible protein that helps to cleanse internal organs, this food is for those that want to be warrior. Check out my post on “7 Reasons to Love Chia“.

2. Spirulina is a blue green algae that offers 60-70% vegetable protein, essential vitamins, phytonutrients, antioxidants and is rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamin B12 and trace minerals. Add to your favourite green smoothie. Wanna try John’s Banana Smoothie?

3. Hemp Seeds are a great source of omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for brain function and healthy cell regeneration and they are a fantastic source of protein. Sprinkle on salads, add to smoothies or make hemp milk.

4. Bee pollen is a little known food but packs a punch with its complete protein and amino acid profile containing 5 to 7 times the amino acids found in equal amounts to beef, milk, eggs and cheese. Its helps to boost the immune system, alleviate allergies and is great for depression, digestion, fertility, weight loss, boosting energy, cramps and anti-aging.

5. Kukicha Twig Tea is called twig tea and it’s been around for centuries. It’s made with the stems, stalks, and twigs of the tea plant. It’s known as a peasant’s drink in Japan but in the West we’ve started to praise the health benefits of the tea for its ability to promote longevity. It’s especially known for its ability to balance acidity in the body, which can lead to disease and ill health down the line.

6. Kale is knockout superfood for many reasons; it’s super super anti-inflammatory, it’s packed with calcium, iron, fibre, EFA and the all important chlorophyll. Check out “8 Reasons to Love Kale” and my much-loved recipe for Kale crisps! Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, collards and brussel sprouts contain compounds with proven anti-cancer activity.

7. Coconut oil / coconut butter ROCKS! It’s the only oil that won’t turn rancid when heated unlike the commonly used olive oil.  It has numerous health benefits including helping prevent osteoporosis, reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease, boosts immunity and stimulates the body’s metabolism. Let’s also not forget that it’s an amazing moisturiser and nourishing hair mask! Add to smoothies, use for cooking, making cheesecakes and desserts.

8. Ginger is a powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-nausea solution. Add a chunk to Pad Thai sauce, smoothies, grate in salads or add a chunk in some hot water and raw honey.

9. Garlic contains compounds that promote apoptosis in colon, breast, lung, prostate cancer as well as leukaemia.  This compound also exists in onions, leeks, shallots and chives. Garlic is much more easily assimilated by the body when crushed and dissolved in a drop of olive oil. Add to salads, soups, raw nut cheese.

Read my earlier post on supefoods like maca, lucuma, acai and more.

What are your favourite superfoods? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to share this with your friends!

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1. B-SCHOOL

Marie Forleo rocks. She is teaching women all around the world how to build their businesses the smart way and how to make money online. I signed up to B-School last year and it was the best thing I have done for my business. Honestly – I didn’t have a clue about marketing and quite honestly just the idea of it made me want to run in the other direction. But B-School breaks it down for you, connects you with other brilliant women around the world and gives you the tools to take your business to the next level. Seriously, don’t miss out on this if you want more freedom, money and flexibility in your business.

B-School is an 8 week online program to help you leverage your unique skills so that you can make the impact in the world that only you can. Marie might not be offering this again, so if I were you, I would get on board asap!

The doors are open NOW, and if you want to find out a little more, check out the video below where Marie will explain exactly what you will and won’t learn.

PLUS I’M OFFERING A BONUS!

If you sign up to B-School using this link only, you will score all 4 copies of my books for free! Yup. But it’s only available to the first 10 people to sign up so you gotta be quick! All you need to do is email your proof of purchase to info@pollynoble.com and providing you’re one of the first 10, the books are yours!

Sign up to B-SCHOOL using this link. 

2. Vitality Planet

Vitality Planet is a pioneering full-day conference and exhibition that celebrates the greatest wealth attainable, allowing you to discover new worlds of possibility for revitalising your life and rekindling your brilliance. Vitality Planet provides fresh insights for the next evolutionary step in your personal wellness and showcases routes for healing that you may never have considered before. At Vitality Planet you will:

• Join 6 innovative speakers as they take you on a compelling adventure into often-unexplored areas of human wellbeing on our main stage.
• Meet Europe’s cream of the crop health and wellbeing practitioners and learn some of their closely guarded wellness secrets.
• Sample a bounty of brand new nourishing taste sensations, and learn what makes today’s nouveau vitality chefs tick.
• Investigate the next generation of wellness products and delve into the minds of those that actually make them.
• Mingle with a huge crowd of vitality and longevity enthusiasts and make fresh new friends.
• Collect a free vitality “goody bag” worth £20 on the day

For more information or to book your tickets, click here.

3. ALIVE

Top health experts from around the world will be sharing their health and wellness secrets at a 2 day conference and awards show in New York (which can be attended in person or virtually online.) Speakers include Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, Mike Adams, Dr Robert Young, Dr Nicholas Gonzalez, Gabriel Cousens, Dr Thomas Lodi and many more. The information shared by these world-renowned experts will have the potential to change your life for the better, give you insight into how to reverse dis-ease as well as the tools to do so. ALIVE – 29-30 June 2012 – www.alivenewyork.com

I’ve decided to introduce a new segment to the blog called “Meaningful Monday” where each week I will share with you an image, picture or quote or just something that I want to discuss in order to prompt you to think about life, your soul purpose or just spin a different perpective on things. I find that it’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day doing that “being” takes second place. So this segment will act as a reminder to take a back seat from doing, connect with your higher self and have an awareness that you are so much more than what you think you are. Well that’s the plan anyway….let’s see how it pans out!

Image by me

You are loved. There is something so powerful about these words that they bring tears to my eyes. They cut to the core of my heart and profoundly affect me in a split second. Yesterday I received a beautiful bunch of flowers from one of my best friends who I haven’t seen in 10 weeks as she’s currently working in America. Part of her message read, “you are loved” and I wanted to share this with you because I wanted to remind you that you too, are loved. For me, being told “you are loved” makes me feel protected, appreciated and on some level reminds me that I am part of everything, All That Is, The Universe – whatever you want to call it. Separate, yet one with everything that exists. Unconditional love personified.

LOVE IS WHO YOU ARE AT YOUR CORE

I don’t know if I can fully explain the feeling that it evokes in me but if you feel something too when you read that, then this blog post has done its job.

How do these words make you feel? What words evoke the same feeling within you?

Holy Crap! I just spent £1900 on a juicer. Yes you heard me right – a juicer! I never thought I would be able to say that I spent that much money on a machine that makes juice – a Jimmy Choo handbag yes – a juicer, NO! But my health is too important to me and I want to feed my body the best medicine I can give it. So I went for it.

What’ so super duper magical about this machine that makes it worth nearly £2000? (Well its around £1500 but i paid £300 for delivery from the USA which bumped it up a fair bit. Well there are several reasons.

1. The Norwalk is a 2 part cold press juicer meaning that the juice doesn’t get heated by the extraction process

2. It extracts the highest amount of nutrients compared to other juicers (check out the stats here)

3. You get the highest yield of juice as the pulp comes out drier than a pancake. (In fact it came out so dry that my friend and I tried to cook it – we called it our Carrot Pancake)

It is super heavy so it won’t be coming with me when I go to France in a few weeks for my best friend’s wedding. Instead I will be taking my KT100. Although the price tag is a little hard to swallow, they say that the machine eventually pays for itself. Here’s what is says on their website.

The Norwalk Juicer Produces 50-100% more juice than other juicers: Based on organic produce costing an average of $1.50 per pound people who drink 12 glasses of juice per day will save $3000 per year in organic produce using the Norwalk over another juicer! Anyone who drinks 4 glasses of juice per day will save $1000 per year in produce, for the rest of their lives!

It’s very easy to clean as it’s stainless steel so providing you dismantle it immediately after juicing, all you have to do is run it under the tap and hey presto. Here’s what else it says as to why the Norwalk is superior.

Complete extraction. The tremendous pressure exerted by the Norwalk Hydraulic Press gently and completely extracts the natural fruit sugars, vitamins, trace minerals, enzymes, and other vital elements. This imparts to the juice an extremely fine quality and flavor which is unequaled by any other method of juice extraction.

Frozen Juices. Norwalk juices may be deep frozen and held for periods of up to 6 months with very little loss in food values. Green juices may be made up in quantities in season and frozen in ice cube trays and stored in plastic bags in your deep freeze.

Storage of juices. The Hydraulic Press method of juice extraction provides a minimum mixing of air with the juices which results in very slow oxidation or decomposition. This is why Norwalk juices may be kept refrigerated in closed containers for several days with little, if any, apparent loss of flavor, color or, vital elements. With the Norwalk it is possible to keep the refrigerator stocked at all times with a variety of delicious and satisfying juices with only occasional use of the juicer required.

Simple and efficient. So simple, that a 25-pound sack of carrots may be juiced in 20 minutes, providing 7 to 8 quarts of juice. Many Norwalk owners juice only 1 or 2 times a week to keep their refrigerator stocked with a variety of fresh juices.

Yes I know you might be thinking “Great, I’ve just gone and bought a masticating juicer/centrifugal juicer which I thought was good and now I learn that it’s not as good as I thought!” The truth is, no probably not. But unless you are willing to fork out big bucks, then stick with what you’ve got. Juicing with whatever machine you have is better than not juicing at all. Plus, if you are an occasional juicer then, what you have probably suits your needs so fret not! Keep juicing and enjoy!

I just wanted to let you know about my new purchase as it’s all a bit exciting! Unfortunately, I can’t wear it like a Jimmy Choo handbag but making sure I’m healthy from the inside out is kind of sexier…as much as I love my Jimmy.

If you are looking to upgrade your juicer, you can’t go wrong with a masticating juicer. Check out my faves here.

Not sure what the difference is between a juice or a smoothie? Read this.

Want some advice on what juicer to buy? Check this out.

Have you heard of Norwalk? Do you fancy getting one?

Following my post last week on how agave isn’t as good for you as you may think, I wanted to give you some good news that there are plenty of other sugar alternatives that are! Hoorah! Because life just wouldn’t be as sweet without a little healthy sugar honey!

Source

Raw honey has been filling my cupboards for a while now and my family and I love it, more than conventional honey. You might be wondering what the difference is between the two; raw honey has not been pasteurized or filtered, and is ideally taken directly from the hive. It is a powerful antisteptic and antibacterial powerhouse of nutrients. It can be used topically to help skin abrasions or infections heal quicker.

When you think of sugar alternatives, blackstrap molasses might not immediately spring to mind but unsulphured organic molasses are rich in vitamins and minerals and unlike agave, is low GI having a minimal effect on blood sugar. It is thought to be incredibly healing, especially for arthritis, ulcers, high-blood pressure, anemia, gall-stones and skin conditions. Similar in taste to molasses, is yacon syrup which is mildly glycaemic and can be used in place of agave.

Similar in taste to molasses, is yacon syrup which is mildly glycaemic and can be used in place of agave.

Coconut sugar is the new favourite sugar on the block for many reasons; it is a low GI sugar sustainably harvested from the coconut palm flower; it is low in fructose and contains essential vitamins & amino acids, mineral salts and B vitamins.

I always thought that maple syrup was a sugar baddie as I assumed it was high in sugar and most likely highly glycaemic. It just looks naughty! However with more research I discovered that this little wonder food has a lot to offer. It contains potassium, calcium, zinc, manganese, small amounts of iron and B-vitamins helping to boost the immune system and protect the heart.

I’ve been using dates in my raw food recipes since the very beginning of my raw journey because they are just so versatile and easy to use. Personally, I prefer to use organic Medjool dates as they are the easiest to work with but if you can’t find them, use what you can and soak to soften before using. You can use them as they are, or soak them and blend with water to make date paste.

Xylitol has all the sweetness of the common sugars yet 40% fewer calories. Proven to fight cavities, safe for diabetics and those with cancer and candida, is excellent in weight management and with a low GI, it is an ideal alternative for anyone with glucose-related problems.

I have been using and selling stevia for a while now because I think it is a brilliant sugar alternative. It has no effect on blood sugar, has no calories or carbs and is safe for those with cancer, candida or diabetes. Here are a few more reasons why stevia rocks.

So there you have it. No need to feel sad about agave lying to us because we have all these other wonderful options! I would just like to remind you however that sugar is sugar is sugar is sugar. Go easy and consume sensibly and in moderation.

Do you already use any of the above? Let me know in the comments below if you will be trying any listed above?

Addicted to sugar? Check out these 10 tips on Kicking Sugar Cravings from Hungry For Change.

My favourite organic apothecary LoveLula are holding a model competition and have asked me to help spread the word. LoveLula believe in natural beauty, in loving who you are and treating yourself well as do we here at Polly’s Path to Health & Happiness! They are looking for someone who embodies the spirit of LoveLula – intelligent, beautiful and fun and I know that all my readers are all of those things so I thought it would be perfect to let you know about it here on the blog!

They are looking for 3 women to be the new faces of LoveLula and represent beauty at every age. The public get to vote for their winners and the chosen 3 will get to go to a glamourous photo shoot in or around London. Each winner will also get a LoveLula hamper worth £500 and a feature in the LoveLula blog.

Entries are already coming in so if you want to be in with a chance, check out the competition page on LoveLula’s facebook page here.

Good luck!!!

I’ve decided to introduce a new segment to the blog called “Meaningful Monday” where each week I will share with you an image, picture or quote or just something that I want to discuss in order to prompt you to think about life, your soul purpose or just spin a different perpective on things. I find that it’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day doing that “being” takes second place. So this segment will act as a reminder to take a back seat from doing, connect with your higher self and have an awareness that you are so much more than what you think you are. Well that’s the plan anyway….let’s see how it pans out!

Quote and picture by me

This quote came to me today when I realised that although I try to live peacefully with cancer, I do have an attachment to one day being cancer-free. What human wouldn’t? I also have an idea of what I would like my life to be like when that day arrives, how I will look and what I will be spending my days doing. And I guess it’s okay to have a goal but attachment to how we think things should be, can often trip us and leave us vulbnerable to feeling unhappy when things don’t turn out the way we envisioned. And let’s be honest, how often do get exactly what we want in the way we want it, when we want it? I would hazard a guess that this does not happen that often, because as humans we limit the possibilities by only assuming we can have certain things based on our past experience and beliefs of what’s possible or feasible. Sometimes, we get what we want, sometimes we get something better than what we wanted and other times we get what we need (and that doesn’t always make us jump for joy initially but normally with hindsight we are able to see why we needed it and take from it what we are meant to.)

The reason we don’t always get what we want is because we have an attachment to the form we think the thing we want should take. When we release the attachment to form and be open to what the Universe wants to give us, we can be surprised by the miracles that occur. So by releasing our pre-conceived ideas, we send a message to the Universe that we are receptive to all that it has to offer, any way it may come.

For me, the lesson is releasing my attachment to being cancer-free and this imaginary life that I think is going to be so much better when I “get there”. Of course, a life without cancer looming over it is always going to be more enjoyable, simply because this life-threatening disease is no longer knocking at your door. But I think my lesson in all of this cancer nonsense is to learn to be happy with NOW and live my life with joy, passion, peace and happiness. It’s not easy but I guess that’s why they call this thing called life a journey…so we can keep working on it everyday.

What attachments are you clinging on to? What do you need to let go of?

Here’s a nice affirmation I like to use:

” I am open and receptive to all the Universe has to offer me. I trust in the process of life.”

When I adopted a raw food diet  in 2010, I had no clue where to start. I bought myself books, watched YouTube videos and over time educated myself on the likes of irish moss, chia seeds, raw cheese, sauerkraut and kelp noodles. I assumed that most things were much healthier for me than the average food  and while I was right about most of it, I got tripped up with one food in particular, as did most people. Thinking it was healthier than conventional sugar, I was fairly liberal with agave syrup. There has been a lot of controversy about agave over the last year or so, which I want to address here so you can make your own decision. I know I have made mine.

(I couldn’t resist using this picture of Noble Syrup I found on this website!)

Okay, so it seems that many of us have been duped and misled into believing agave, touted as a “healthy, low GI sweetener suitable for diabetics” is much better for us than conventional sugar. But according to Dr Mercola, it is no better than high fructose corn syrup, “Most agave “nectar” or agave “syrup” is nothing more than a laboratory-generated super-condensed fructose syrup, devoid of virtually all nutrient value, and offering you metabolic misfortune in its place”. Ah, that put a spanner in the works!

He goes on to say, “Though processing methods can differ among manufacturers, most commercially available agave is converted into fructose-rich syrup using genetically modified enzymes and a chemically intensive process involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals” Hmmmm.

There may be a few distributors who do make high-quality agave but be aware that the majority of commercially made products will pose a health risk.

So, to sum up, here are a few reasons why agave is not the best for you.

• Agave is not low calorie, (apparently it contains around 16 calories per teaspoon, the same as table sugar)
• It has a high glycaemic load
• It’s not a natural whole food
• It will add lard to your arse because it’s basically just fructose
• It’s highly addictive
• It has no enzymes
• Some agave makes contain saponin which can cause diarrhoea and vomiting
• Agave may also contain pesticides due to distributors cutting it with corn syrup

You might like to read “The Skinny on Sugar” which explains the difference between fructose and glucose and why fructose isn’t the enemy. Fructose from whole foods is very different to the manufactured fructose found in most of our processed foods.

Okay, so I hear you cry “Give me some good news! What can I use instead?” Lucky for you and me, I discovered there are several alternatives which you can read about here.

Last year I uploaded a blog post detailing the Environmental Working Group’s list of the cleanest vegetables and the most pesticide-ridden. And I just recently noticed that this list has changed slightly so I wanted to update you so that you make informed decisions around which foods you buy organic and which you buy conventional. I know that for some it’s simply not possible to eat all organic so if that applies to you, then having this list to hand will help you to reduce the number of nasties you’re ingesting.

The Dirty Dozen outlines the fruits and veggies that are sprayed the most from 1-12 and the Clean Fifteen lists those that have the least pesticides.

For more info on this you can visit the Environmental Working Group’S website.

Have you started eating more organic? If so, have you noticed a difference in how you feel or the taste of your food?