By Mary-Jane Liddicoat (click below to listen to the interview broadcast on TBSe FM 1013 Mainstreet 'Family Affairs' program 24 August 2011) All kids love critters. What is a critter? The word comes from 'creature' and can refer to any living thing, including insects and other creepy crawlies. Critters also include parasites, worms, fungi, moulds, flukes, viruses or bacteria that are lurking inside your body. How many of those do you and your kids have? Probably more than you'd really care to know about. What science today knows Hundreds of millions of people may be infected with intestinal parasites. Some critters can live up to 25 years in the body, and under the microscope, they may be up to 10 meters long! Tape worms have a quarter of a million eggs, that can break open into the body. Parasites can affect our entire system – eyes, digestive system, reproductive system, brain, sinus cavity, liver, muscle tissue, lymph glands, bones and more. Many tumors when removed have been found to contain parasitic material. Tumors are thought to be the body's way of trapping worms and worm food (plaque) in order to keep us alive. Our bowel, for instance, hosts over a kilo of up to 400 species of bacteria and other organisms to help break down food to absorb nutrients and eliminate waste. If you are not flushing away all your waste every day or your guts are clogged, it will be harder for your system to get rid of the unhelpful critters. These critters can contribute to seriously ill health and disease, including poor eyesight, tumours and cancer. If your child has eyesight problems you might want to check for parasites as a first pre-cautionary step. Worms are potentially deadly. Nothing to fear? Most critters get into our systems via our food, but they can also be due to contact with infected excrement. While we might not be able to avoid critter contact, we can invite them to leave quickly and easily. How? By keeping your body healthy and clean. The answer is not to smother your house and body with '99% germ killing' potions, which may contain potentially harmful chemicals which may both weaken your immune system and build up in your liver and feed the critters. Maintaining good health and a clean body is the best approach. Here is a list of simple steps: - Stay healthy and strengthen your immune system by eating whole, uncooked organic foods, supplementing as required, and getting plenty of exercise and rest
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day
- Avoid processed food and eliminate excess sugar (parasites love sugar)
- Remove all sources of potentially harmful chemicals in your body and house, including in personal care, beauty, and cleaning products
- Remove rubbish from your house and office
- Wash sheets, towels and clothes regularly
- De-worm your pets
- Practice good hygiene around animals, handling rubbish, and after using the toilet - wash your hands even just with water!
A healthy body will remove parasites naturally over time. If you have a serious metabolic condition, like cancer, asthma, you might consider a faster approach using a one of the many available parasite purging remedies. Ingredients often include black walnut, clove, ginger root, anise seed, peppermint, fennel As always, ask questions, be aware and choose what works for your body. Bodies are amazing things and usually drive themselves without any interference from our high brains. So my invitation to you is not to put your higher 'educated' brain into overdrive with worry or concern. Rather, to ask your body what it might need to feel even better, and take if from there? This article is for information and you should seek the advice of a health professional if you suffer from particular conditions. When you do, remember you can ask for additional information. Need a hand asking questions? Start here... Or if you really want to know more fascinating things about critters, read on here... *** Mary-Jane Liddicoat is an ex-diplomat now looking at ways to create more ease, joy, prosperity and abundance in her communities. For more information visit www.conscious-living.asia and www.healthyhomes.asia. Mary-Jane lives between Seoul, Korea and New South Wales, Australia, with her Korean sculptor husband and their three children aged eight, six and two.
How many mums get stressed and cranky with their kids? I see a LOT of hands up...and yes, my hand is up too. Is that fun for you? Is it fun for your kids? And does it really get you the result you want? I started looking at this a few years ago when I was REALLY stressed and cranky and my daughter asked me 'mummy, why aren't you happy?'. Oh boy. I realised that the unhappy vibe I was emitting was being broadcast loud and clear over the airwaves, through my kids and beyond. So I decided to make a change. What I found was that I was making a false economy. In other words, I had thought, I had to sacrifice myself in order to serve my family. I had thought that to be a 'good mother' I could no longer spend time on 'me.' And after a while, I simply forgot who I was, and clearly this did not make me happy. Who is most important in your life? So who would you say is the most important person in your life? Who is the first person that comes to mind? Many, if not most people would say a family member, maybe a child, parent or spouse. If you're a parent, you will say 'my kids' in a heartbeat. It is certainly true that children, parents and family members have a huge impact on our lives, influencing who we are and who we have and will become. Did anyone answer that YOU are the most important person in your life? When you think about important people in your life, where do you rank? Are you even in the top ten? Take a minute to think about this. You are the only person you are guaranteed to be living with your entire life. Everyone else simply passes through (yes, even your kids), some for longer periods than others, but you are the only person you are with ALL the time. Where are you in your life? So don't you think YOU should be important in your own life? Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying other people aren't important and I am not suggesting you disregard your family or other people in your life. I am simply inviting you to take a look at how important you are to yourself, and to ask what your life would be like if you valued yourself more? Many people would start spending more time doing the things for themselves, the things that make them happy, the things they love doing. So right now, take a look at what you do, how you spend your time, and why you do those things. How much of what you do is because of someone else? How many of us spend a lifetime doing what we feel obligated to do, or what we think others expect of us? (And do we ever really meet all those expectations we imagine anyway?) Next, ask yourself what would you do if you could choose anything for you? (Personally, I choose to work out in the gym and then have a massage. What's that for you?) Do you find this an unusual question? Has anyone ever asked you this? Most of the time we act according to: 'What do I need to do to fit in here?', 'What will make other people like me?', and 'How can I please my children/parents/co-workers/spouse?' and 'How can I help my family be more successful?'. These questions are not wrong, but they are not likely to bring the YOU out of you the world - and your family - really needs. Because if you're not functioning as YOU, you're not functioning at 100 per cent. What would YOU like to do? Instead, you can ask 'What would Ilike to do?'. This question reminds you that you are an important person in your own life. The more you understand the key position you have in your own life is you, and start to do things you enjoy, you may (accidentally, oops) even become happier! Studies have shown that smiling - a key indicator of happiness - is contagious and has a positive effect on the people around you. It can make you a lot of money, and it can even help your kids at school. So the more you value yourself by recognizing that you are important in your own life, the greater happiness you will likely create among all those dear to you. Looking at it another way, NOT doing this, and ending up unhappy, may in fact be a disservice to them. In Australia and , what do most parents and family members usually reply when asked what they want for you? To be successful and happy... Being successful and happy is possible for everyone. But not by making other people important. By making YOU important in your own life. *** Mary-Jane Liddicoat is an ex-diplomat now looking at ways to create more ease, joy, prosperity and abundance in her communities. For more information visit www.conscious-living.asia and www.healthyhomes.asia. Mary-Jane lives between Seoul, Korea and New South Wales, Australia, with her Korean sculptor husband and their three children aged seven, six and two.
by Mary-Jane Liddicoat, 15 June 2011 (click here to listen to the broadcast TBSe FM 1013 Mainstreet 'Family Affairs' program 16 June 2011 and published SIWA Discover Magazine Summer issue) As an Australian, I grew up being told to slip (on a shirt), slop (on sunscreen), slap (on a hat) and stay out of the sun to avoid skin cancer. They almost got it right. In June, the Washington-based non-profit Environmental Working Group's published it's findings on the 'best sunscreen', which was: a hat and shirt. So what about sunscreen? Australians have been slip, slop, slapping for decades. But did you know the incidence of skin cancer in Australia skyrocketed from the point when people began decreasing their sun exposure this way? It seems that not only have we been denying our bodies the very thing they need to stay healthy (vitamin D), we have been absorbing highly toxic chemicals directly through our skin all summer long. What Vitamin D can do for you We all know we can get vitamin D from the sun and that lack of vitamin D causes rickets. In 2009, a study by a group of Leeds University researchers found that higher levels of Vitamin D were linked to improved skin cancer survival odds. Here's what the Vitamin D Council says: "Current research has implicated Vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer, as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease and more."Sun-dosing The recommended daily allowance for vitamin D is set at 200-400 international units a day (IU) -- thought to be the level above which overt cases of the classic vitamin D deficiency disease rickets will not be observed - however, you actually need around 4,000 IU/day just to maintain the vitamin D levels you already have. The easiest, most effective, and cheapest way of getting the Vitamin D you need is from the sun. How much do you need? That depends on the colour of your skin. If you lay naked in the park in June in Britain for half an hour between 11am and 2pm, scientists say you could generate around 20,000 IU of vitamin D. Of course, the mitigating factors are skin pigmentation, where you are on the planet, cloud cover, pollution, speed at which the police came to arrest you... Don't wash it off! And did you know that it takes around 48 hours for vitamin D to penetrate the skin? By this time, most of us have probably washed it off. Being oil-soluble, vitamin D is broken down by soap and washed away in your shower. To avoid this happening after adequate sun exposure (enough for fair-skinned types to turn pinkish), wash off the skin with water only, using soap only under arms, feet and other particularly whiffy bits. If you were a cat, you'd lick it off... Trying to get sun exposure behind glass won't work since the vitamin-D-making UVB wavelength is disrupted. UVA gets through, but that's not what you need. Sun-screens Today most people are aware that for years personal care products have contained harmful chemicals. Sunscreens have their own particular pitfalls with many of the commonly used ingredients becoming highly toxic when exposed to the sun. The US Food and Drug Administration has known about the dangers of vitamin A in sunscreens for ten years: "Retinyl palmitate was selected by (FDA's) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition for photo-toxicity and photocarcinogenicity testing based on the increasingly widespread use of this compound in cosmetic retail products for use on sun-exposed skin." (October 2000 report by the National Toxicology Program). And yet this ingredient is still allowed in sunscreens and other personal care products. Other chemicals used as filtering agents are also highly toxic. Avoid sunscreens containing oxybenzone, para-amino benzoic acid (PABA), octyl salicyclate, a vobenzone, cinoxate, padimate O, d ioxybenzone, phenylbenzimidazole, h omosalate, sulisobenzone, m enthyl anthranilate, trolamine salicyclate, and o ctocrylene, just to name a few. Take this list with you when you go shopping. You can also download a free list of common chemicals to avoid from www.healthyhomes.asia (available in English, Korean, Japanese and simplified and traditional Chinese). And don't just trust a 'brand name'. Different countries have different regulatory standards. So even if you buy a trusted brand in country X, the ingredients may not be the same as in the product you buy in country Y. So double check the label. What do I do? These days, I spend December to March in Australia, and the rest of the year in Korea. So I am spending most of my time in summer. I wear a hat, shirt and use a trusted sunscreen bought in Australia (and mailed to myself in Korea when necessary). I have lived in Korea for 11 years and have always self imported all my own personal care products and supplements. Why? Because it's easy to do and gives me peace of mind. The short story for summer fun and sun - Don't burn and avoid baking in the sun at midday, especially in the first few days of sun exposure
- Be aware of how much sun your body needs to absorb the required amount of vitamin D (ask your doctor for a Vitamin D test to check your levels, see below)
- Once you have received your required dose of sun, cover up with clothing and a hat, stay in the shade
- Eat a diet of fresh, raw, unprocessed, organic foods, which are full of natural antioxidants which will help counter damage from exposure to ultraviolet radiation and maintain a healthy balance of omega 6 and omega 3 oils in your skin, the first line of defence against sunburn.
- Avoid processed foods which will load your cells with damaged, oxidized fats, which will not give your skin the proper fat protection it needs at a cellular level.
- Avoid using sunscreen unless you must be out in the sun long enough to burn
- Check the ingredients listed on the back of all your personal care products, including sunscreen, and avoid the potentially harmful ones.
- If you choose to use a sunscreen, use a product that protects against both UVA and UVB, and
- Choose the safest sunscreen available...
The safest sunscreen? Right now, it appears the short answer is zinc or titanium mineral products (make sure it doesn't contain nano particles, which are still being studied). Other safe sunscreen ingredients that will nourish your skin include: coconut oil, jojoba oil, sunflower oil, shea butter, vitamins D and E and eucalyptus oil. And check out the extensive product listing at www.ewg.org. A new internal sunscreen Also take a look at astaxanthin, which is becoming known as a 'supernutrient' and is now the focus of a large and growing number of peer-reviewed scientific studies. In 2002, the Journal of Dermatological Science published a study finding astaxanthin is able to protect against alterations in human DNA induced by UVA light exposure. It's produced from marine algae in response to exposure to UV light. This is the way the algae protects itself, so it makes sense that this deeply pigmented substance would have the capacity to 'shield' you when it is taken in large enough quantities for a long enough time to saturate your body's tissues. Typically this is several weeks. One of the benefits of astaxanthin that has caught the attention of researchers is its ability to reduce signs of aging, by helping protect skin from sun damage. I'll be looking into this more for sure! It's summer, have fun! What if you could read this article without fear or concern? It's summer - enjoy! Stress, worry and fear, after all, can be just as toxic as some sunscreens... So simply: get enough sun for Vitamin D, and don't burn or slap on toxins. Easy? Further reading *** Mary-Jane Liddicoat is an ex-diplomat now looking at what different choices we might be making to help create more fun and wellbeing in our communities. For more information visit www.conscious-living.asia. Mary-Jane lives between Seoul, Korea and Wollongong, Australia, with her Korean sculptor husband and their three children, aged seven, five and two.
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