Farmacy Co.

I hate how everyone always overdoes it with smoothies and adds a load of extra fruit that isn’t needed! Like dude chill, it’ll be enough to sustain you, plus if you get hungry have some nuts at midday - so easy! ⁠
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Here is the recipe I love: ⁠
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1 banana⁠
1 kiwis, peeled and cubed⁠
1 cup almond milk or macadamia milk ⁠
Handful of spinach⁠
1 tbs vanilla protein - I like nutras thriving protein but totally up to you ⁠
1 tbs LSA - good fats and chia seeds ⁠
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So easy and so yum! ⁠
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Let me know how you go! ⁠
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these little gems are powerful disease fighters. Name an illness, and one berry or another is effective at preventing it. Berries contain effective phytonutrients for the health of the eyes, brain, heart, and immune system. Berries are to fruit what broccoli is to vegetables. Is there any higher praise?

Berries contain quercetin, the powerful anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and cardioprotective antioxidant.

Berries also have another potent compound called ellagic acid, which is as important to its beneficial effects as sulforaphane is to those of broccoli. Recent research has shown ellagic acid to be a very important chemopreventive agent because of its ability to keep DNA from harm.

The results of detailed molecular studies by researchers D. Barch, Ph.D., published in Carcinogenesis in 1996, and B. Narayanan, Ph.D., published in Cancer Letters in 1999, agree that ellagic acid prevents binding of carcinogens to DNA. Beyond that, epidemiological studies have shown that eating fruits containing ellagic acid lowers the incidence of heart disease and cancer. Ellagic acid may actually change a person’s genetic predisposition to cancer.

An analysis of recent medical school research shows that ellagic acid kills cervical cancer cells in particular and performs similarly on cancer cells in the breast, pancreas, esophagus, skin, colon, and prostate. Many more studies have shown the anticancer effect of ellagic acid and its protective effect against radiation damage to chromosomes.

- commentary thanks to Dharma Singh Klasa “Food as Medicine” 🥦🥬🌽🥕🥒

as medicine

The Truth about Fish 🐟

For decades fish has been placed on a health pedestal, believed to be ‘the healthiest meat’, due to improvements in cardiovascular health, blood pressure and brain health when consumed.

While fish do have remarkably healthy qualities and most health associations still recommend we eat 2-3 serves a week because of this, If we look at fish from a whole perspective, how healthy are they... really?

In what kind of environment do they now live? What do they ingest or absorb which enters their bodies, remaining in their flesh that we then eat?

Not to mention, what is commercial fishing doing to the globe and the oceans?

Fish contains two types of Omega 3: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which have been given almost rock star health status dating back to the discovery of the Mediterranean diet, whose population had the longest life expectancy,
the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease along with most other chronic diseases, in the world.

Recently, the science behind fish intake has been wavering, finding “inconclusive health results”, states one study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“There was no significant effect of fish-oil supplementation on blood pressure, plasma lipids,
or plasma glucose”, says another Journal. OOPS - CHUCK THOSE SUPPLEMENTS AWAY PEEPS. - Hoodwinked again 🧐...

Wild Fish v.s. Farmed:

Wild Fish:
Wild fish now live in a thick toxic soup, a plethora of poisonous chemicals of plastics, sewage, pesticides, unrefined oil, industry, farming and mining run off contaminants.

Farmed Fish:
This has led to the emergence of fish farms.
The downside of most farms is that the fish live in crowded enclosures, are generally fed processed GMO meal pellets containing fish, other chemical products and colour pigments.

What's the recommendation?

Eating smaller fish, such as anchovies, sardines, herring, wild salmon, shrimp, prawns, small crab, oysters, mussels, clams, scallops, are safer as they have very little mercury or contaminants and still contain Omega 3.

Foooooking Yum Green Smoothie in case ya looking for some inspo!

- 1 cup fresh berries of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup coconut or almond/rice milk
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 cup chopped kale or scoop of greens powder 1 scoop natural protein powder
- 1 tablespoon raw honey if needed

For boosted protein option:
Add 1⁄2 tablespoon cooked quinoa.
Blend all the ingredients together in your blender, such as a Vitamix.
You can freeze these as ice creams too. Enjoy!!

Most of us have forgotten the real reason we eat: for fuel.

A lot of people eat for taste and satisfaction which of course can lead to obesity and other weight related issues, whilst others, like me ate out of sheer necessity but with massive resentment.

I certainly lost my way for a good 15 years, and it's actually only now, over the past 3 weeks since my surgery that I am changing my mindset and my attitude towards food.

When I was 14 I was sent to boarding school and to be blunt the environment was toxic, especially when came to how you looked, and how much you weighed- for many of the girls, it was the first time being at a mixed school, so pressure to look goods for boys was rife.

It was here that i developed bulimia and anorexia, and saw my inability to continue to starve and deprive myself of food as a massive failure, so I'd throw it up instead. Whilst I haven't made myself sick in a good 5 years (except maybe on a hangover!) the sentiment of wanting to rid my body of food as quick as possible has followed me around like a devil on my shoulder up until recently.

I know that this is the case for many women, and for anyone that has dealt with an eating disorder in whatever form, literally I want you to know that I HEAR you. Having negative, or even body hatred thoughts is so isolating, lonely and all-consuming. Punishing ourselves constantly with words of distain for eating a slice of cake or chocolate bar is not a way to live, and it's not sustainable.

One chocolate bar is not the enemy, food is not the enemy, and deprivation and unobtainable restriction is not the route to happiness by proxy of getting "skinny".

I feel so strongly that if we'd learnt about nutrition and it's importance to our health and happiness from a young age, many women and men who'd suffered from eating disorders could have been saved.

EAT THE RAINBOW 🌈 (with a little bit of meat on the side!)

But I hear you ask why is the science all pointing to eating this way??

1. Because inflammation is recognized as underpinning every single chronic disease-state from cancer to obesity to Alzheimer’s disease, so doing things to minimize inflammation is hugely beneficial to health, such as eating more anti-oxidant rich veggies.

2. Eating less meat and animal products helps decrease inflammation and also lessens environmental insults.
Globally most people eat around 34kg of meat annually, but Australians and Americans eat closer to 90kg!!

3. Another point to make here is if you are going to eat meat in moderation, just eating the best cuts like the prime steaks or lamb cutlets is not the most sustainable option as there are not a lot per animal and it’s resulting in over farming and massive wastage.

A top to tail approach is best.

Let's give a shout out to the gut-loving legume...🥗 ⁠
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Increase higher fibre, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, good gut bacteria feeding foods back into your diet such as soaked organic legumes and gluten free grains. ⁠
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They are high in available proteins when soaked overnight and free of the ‘anti-nutrient’ often spoken about associated with them.⁠
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Legumes have the lowest environmental impact out of all proteins; they are gluten free and are cheap and nutrient packed.⁠
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Doing whatever we can to protect our good gut bacteria is invaluable:⁠
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“In the near future, gut bacteria could turn out to be the single most important factor affecting a person’s entire health, and one that we have control over.” Prof. Cooper ‘Institute of Molecular Bioscience’, University of Queensland.⁠
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Understanding Nutrition and Diet:

I believe we can all look after ourselves in the external world by gaining basic knowledge of nutrition and healthy lifestyle practices. As well as this, we can learn about your body and what it likes, listen to it.

> How does it operate best and give that to it.

> This is different to ‘what tastes does it like or want’.

> This is ‘what makes your body feel good’.

> Does it operate best on alcohol every night (not
normally) or alcohol only 1-2 nights a week, or by not drinking at all?

> Do you feel better when you eat lots of meat or when you eat lots of veggies?

> Are you somewhere in between?

> Does it depend on the day or the year?

What is your body telling you about how you want to be treated? Are you really listening to it?

I find the best way to listen to my body (although it takes a few goes to get used to doing it) is to do a "Body Scan Meditation"

Body Scan: Meditation Step 1:

1. Take a deep breath in and out and say relax.Start by bringing your attention first to your toes, imagine every muscle relaxing and going floppy all the way to the top of your head.Once you have done this, lie there and feel how nice the feeling of relaxation is, and loosen further any places that hold tension. Enjoy this feeling.

2. Once you have scanned your body for any further tension, and relaxed it, you may now hold an image or symbol in your mind. It may be a flower, a tree, the sun, the Christian cross, an Om, anything that has a positive impact on you. Hold this image in your mind for as long as possible (5-10 minutes). It is natural for your mind to wander, just keep gently bringing it back to the symbol. Practice of this exercise makes it easier and more relaxing each time.

For me this really helps me connect with my body

The Farmacy is all about striving to achieve optimal health and wellbeing. Self love, self care and becoming an ultimately amazing loving human (who lives to 102!) ⁠
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What I'm learning is that there is not just one aspect to health and attaining nutritional efficacy, yes, what you put in your mouth is important. How you nourish your body and how you allow it to move will ultimately drive how you look, and how you feel. ⁠
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But in order to gain a great sense of self awareness, self love and ultimately happiness. There are 3 pillars: ⁠
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1. The External Life: Food, lifestyle, life routines and fitness. - this is my primary exploration at the moment, and really what most people focus on when trying to "optimise" themselves. ⁠
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2. Your Thoughts, Affirmations and Impressions. - this is the most underrated aspect of yourselves that we can impact and change quickly through a greater sense of self love - it also massively affects things like weight and how your body absorbs nutrients. It you're not open to receiving food because you're worried about weight, and your cortisol (stress levels) are high because you're not in a good mindset, your body won't be focused on digesting food - which means it won't be metabolised effectively and might well be stored as fat. ⁠
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3. Your Connection to Your Source: The Greater Universal Power. Your spirituality. - For some people this can still be a little bit whoo whoo - and I get it. Spirituality is not for everyone, and I definitely still resist the idea of meditation and trying to connect with a "higher power or purpose". I guess for me the easiest way to get my head around inviting "the universe" into my life is to see everything as the law of attraction. ⁠
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My best friend Nat is a life coach and her who ethos comes back to the simple principle of putting out what you want to get back, and in turn the universe will give you what you want to receive. Which makes total sense- if you're a dick the universe will be a dick back. ⁠
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So when these 3 things work in harmony, I believe we can achieve greatness and ultimate happiness. ⁠
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In reality, and what the science leads to is that fad or extreme diets don’t work and aren’t healthy long term.

High Protein/ Keto/ Paleo 🥩🐓:

Diets too high in animal products can increase inflammatory markers, accelerate aging, cell damage and disease and are not environmentally sustainable.

Veganism 🥦🌱:

On the other hand vegetable based diets void of any animal products are healthy in the short term, but can affect weight, immunity, fertility, skin, hair growth, energy, resilience and strength, particularly for growing children, in the long term.

Somewhere in the middle of two extremes is often where health and wellness lies. Something based around 💃🏻 The Mediterranean Diet 💃🏻 is still the healthiest balance around.

It’s plant based, all locally sourced, without processed foods, animal proteins once a week or so, rich in fibre and antioxidants, plus they enjoyed their homemade wines and treats and meals with happiness, relaxation and laughter filling the air.

I’m so into this recipe at the moment! It’s such a good alternative if you’re looking to reduce your meat consumption.

I honestly find it really hard not to have meat with most dinners and lunches, especially with salads which lets be honest, can be pretty bland sometimes.

But, this crispy chickpea salad is hearty and filling enough that you don’t need that punch of meat to beef it up.

Chickpea Buddha Bowl 🧘🏻‍♀️

- half a tin of drained chickpeas
- half a cup of cooked quinoa
- quarter of an avo
- 1 truss tomato chopped
- roasted pumpkin (I usually do this the night before cause let’s be honest who has 40 mins during the day to make lunch)
- basil leaves - I’m fully obsessed atm, and they’re so good for you
- handful of spinach- mega rich is folate and vitamin E

Dressing:
- spoonful of vegan mayo
- olive oil
- apple cider vinegar
- chopped garlic

Those gorgeous little golden balls!!

Chickpeas are in short, epic (apparently). They have one of the highest protein content of any plant protein, which equates to more protein than an egg, but less than chicken.

“100 grams of Chickpea, when soaked for a night, can give about 17 grams of protein while 100 grams of the egg can give 10 grams of protein which says chickpea is better for protein intake.” - thanks google.

Aside from protein though, chickpea potentially has the edge over chicken in terms of delivering a wider variety of nutrients to the body, and potentially in a more natural form, here’s the skinny:

🐓Both chicken breast and chickpeas are high in calories, potassium and protein.

🐓Chicken breast has more niacin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, however, chickpea contains more folate.

🐓Chickpeas aren’t usually pumped full of growth hormones. So are arguably more “natural”

🐓Chicken breast has signficantly less carbohydrates than chickpea.

🐓Chickpea is a great source of calcium and iron.

🐓Chickpea is an excellent source of dietary fiber.

🐓For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken breast has more dha than chickpea