To dye or not to dye

  To dye or not to dye

Some people wouldn’t be caught dead wearing their natural hair colour. But how far would you be willing to take it, even if it could be detrimental to your health?

 We all have beautiful hair colour when we are young, and many women dye their hair in an attempt to get their original colour back. But something happens as soon as babies and your 30’s come along!

 Hormones play a huge role in hair care. If you have fluctuating hormones, you’ll have fluctuating hair! Hair loss, straight hair going curly, light hair that went darker, thinning hair, loss of lustre and shine, even gray hairs. These have all left us with our hands in our hair, with many that have run to the hairdresser for some S.O.S colour and treatment.

 But today we will be shifting our attention to hair colour or dyes and bleaches. Ancient Romans and Egyptians often dyed their hair. The Egyptians first shaved it off, then dyed and braided it, and then they wore it as wigs. Some of these dyes were plant based using henna or berries. Dyes to blacken hair included leeches and vinegar solution! Gold dust was used to lighten hair, crushed nutshells for browning, saffron, indigo, alfalfa… All of these in an attempt to look more beautiful, and to boost confidence.

In the 1800’s, a gentleman called William Henry Perkin who was a chemist, attempted to generate a cure for malaria, but out came a synthesized dye. This colour was mauve. It must have been quite an experiment if you ask me.

Roman prostitutes were required by law to dye or bleach their hair blonde, to have themselves set apart. (No offence to all the natural blondes out there!)

According to studies done, permanent hair dye and straightening lotions may increase your risk of breast cancer. Even when hair dyes are used correctly, they can cause toxicity. Permanent dyes cause chemical changes that increase the penetration of the product into the hair. This can damage your hair. Your skin is also absorbing, with the chemicals penetrating into the blood stream.

Ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde etc. can cause serious skin irritation, redness, itching and burning when it comes in contact with the skin and even difficulty in breathing. These are all dangerous chemicals that can cause numerous health risks.

It might be worth trying out some natural alternatives. The colour doesn’t last very long, but it will definitely have less side effects.

Tea rinses:

Tea rinses have been done for centuries. By doing a final rinse with tea, you will lift your own hair colour, condition your scalp and hair.

Rooibos tea can bring out golden, reddish tones.

Chamomile can lighten hair and give subtle highlights.

Black tea will darken hair, with the caffeine stimulating hair growth on the scalp.

You can even use a spray bottle, and sprits on hair before drying.

Coffee rinse:

Coffee enhances darker hair shades and the caffeine used externally can stimulate hair growth.

There are quite a few other alternatives like sage, henna and lemon juice. Take some time out to find out what will work for you. I have even heard of people colouring their hair with beetroot or carrot juice!

You might feel judged, insecure and ugly at the beginning, especially if you have been colouring your hair for as long as you can remember. Embrace your locks, get them healthy and full of natural shine, and not full of chemical pigments.

Detox your body by fighting the chemicals from dye etc. Eat a diet rich in colours which are full of anti oxidants that help fight against free radical damage.

Are you brave enough to go bare and flaunt your natural hair colour and work with what you’ve got?

Lizelle

Recipe:

Sweet potato and pecan brownies

These are quite gooyee, but rich and decadent. They can look a bit raw, but everything is cooked well.

4 cooked sweet potatoes (mashed). I roast it whole and then remove the skins.

¼ cup cocoa powder

250g soaked, pitted dates (remove liquid and mash)

1 cup ground oats

¼ cup melted coconut oil

Tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Chopped pecans (inside batter and sprinkled on top)

-       Mash sweet potatoes and dates together, add cocoa powder

-       Add vanilla, salt and chopped pecans. Mix well.

-       Add ground oats and mix well.

-       Add melted coconut oil.

-       Spread on a baking sheet covered in wax wrap. (About 1,5cm thick)

-       Press pecans on top.

-       Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 min.

-       Remove from oven and cut into squares.

-       Place back in the oven, with spaces in between.

-       Bake for another 10 min.

-       Cool completely before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

Covid Candida

Covid Candida

Yes, you’ve heard me right! Many people, especially children, have developed candida overgrowth during lockdown. Being home, eating more, indulging in comfort foods and less exercise, have all lead to this. Children who would not usually be culprits of overgrowth, are now sitting with this unruly villain.

Candida is not for the faint hearted. Candida is the normal flora that lives in your gut. Candida overgrowth is when the normal digestive gut health gets corrupted by candida that takes over. Candida feeds on sugar and simple carbohydrates, which most of us have been indulging on during our prolonged stay at home. This is not your normal “holiday binge” but rather an extended, overstayed family in your midst.

 

Symptoms can vary from:

·     Brain fog

·     Lethargy

·     Irritation

·     White coating on the tongue

·     Bloating

·     Genital itching and irritation

·     Possible anal itching that have spread

·     Genital burning

 

Treatment:

One of the first things, is to make this “overstayed family” feel unwelcome. Stop giving them sugary and refined, processed food. You need to starve it first. You need to feed them healthy greens, lots of vegetables, especially raw, and wholegrains like brown rice and oats. Then you need to feed them lots of garlic and olive leaf extract, which is really bitter. Wake then in the morning with warm water with lemon juice and ginger. Guests will stay if they get creamy coffee with sugar and rusks!

Once they are out of the house, then you need to have a good cleaning. Water, lemon juice, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, fresh herbs, apple cider vinegar. Get your “bottle brush” ready to scrub those intestines. That is where your brown rice and vegetables come in. The good fibre that you need to scrub out those nasties.

Then you need to soothe and re colonise the good flora by taking in probifloras. There are many on the market. You can try FloraFood by AIM. myaimstore.com/healthamplified

Remember that stress and antibiotics can also cause underlying digestive issues, which then leads to imbalances in your gut.

So enjoy your family and friends on occasion, and don’t let them overstay their welcome. You might end up regretting it!

Lizelle

Recipes:

Quick Asian rice noodles

 

 

Rice noodles

Green pepper

Red pepper

Red onion

Sliced brown mushrooms

Green herbs

Garlic

Roasted peanuts

Avo

Pink salt

Nutritional yeast (optional)

Balsamic vinegar, lemon juice or soya sauce

-Soak noodles in salted boiling water, about 8 minutes.

-Fry onions and peppers in a little olive oil.

-Add mushrooms, herbs and salt.

-Serve noodles with the mixture, top with avo, roasted peanuts and lemon juice.

-Sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

*We buy raw peanuts and then dry roast them at 140 degrees Celsius until the skins start coming off. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn or turn rancid.

Cauli pesto guacamole

1 Cauliflower head broken into florets

3 Avo’s

2 Tbsp basil pesto

Apple cider vinegar to taste

Garlic

Pink salt to taste

Black pepper

-Place everything in a food processor until smooth (or chunky if preferred).

-Serve with carrot and cucumber sticks, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions and seed crackers.

"The Flood"

Health Amplified

“The flood”

The flood, the plague, the red tide, that time of the month, having a period, or better known as menstruation. These are all secret code words between women which have bonded us together into womanhood.

For most girls and women, having a period is a one week a month episode with a few aches and pains. For others, it can come across as a debilitating disease, where life get’s influenced drastically. Continuous spotting, bleeding non-stop for a month, pain and extreme fatigue due to prolonged blood loss. Let’s have a look at nutrition etc and see how we can bring some kind of relief.

The first thing we need to look at is your omega oil intake. These oils feed your endocrine/hormonal system and helps keep it happy. Feed it the wrong oils and you will cause disruption. Omega oils are found in cold pressed flaxseed oil, cold pressed salmon oil, cold pressed olive oil, avo’s, nuts and seeds etc. No wonder we crave fatty food just before or during our periods. Our bodies need those healthy fats and oils to function optimally. We just need the correct source, and not heated, overly processed oils.

The second thing that we need to look at is our iron intake. Loss of blood means loss of iron. Symptoms can be pale skin and fatigue. Continuous bleeding can even lead to anaemia, if you don’t make up for it in your diet. Make sure that you stock up on beetroot and spinach. (See the beetroot recipe at the end). Have it mixed in with roasted vegetables, grated beetroot into salads, blended into smoothies or have fresh vegetable juices. I tend to avoid vegetable juices that are in a carton. The product has to be pasteurized and heated, so it is basically cooked vegetable juice. The taste is very contrasting if you had to compare the pasteurized product to fresh juice. A favourite of mine is pomegranate juice. It adds vitality and energy to your day! It is a bit pricy, but definitely worth it. Try the Woolworths brand or “Rush” glass bottled juice. “Rush” is sweeter where as Woolworths pomegranate juice has a tang to it.

You can supplement with iron tablets, but it may lead to constipation. I prefer sticking to a more natural wholefood form for better absorption.

Please remember that vitamin C helps with iron absorption, so make sure that you are eating lots of fruit and vegetables. We don’t get in enough fruit and vegetables. 

Barley grass contains valuable chlorophyll and is also anti inflammatory. Ginger and cinnamon are also wonderful ingredients to include on a daily basis. These also act as anti inflammatories, are pain relieving and cleanses your system. Add 2 cinnamon sticks and 2 rooibos tea bags to a flask. Pour over boiling water. Let it stand for 2 hours before taking half a mug every now and then. You can add some plant based milk if you want to. The cinnamon also aids circulation and warms you up. Cinnamon is a natural sweetener, so no need to add any.

Stay away from junk food as far as possible. It is high in sugar and heated oils. It can throw your endocrine system out of sync, leaving you feeling more miserable with worse PMS than what you should be having. Refined flours including white bread is devoid of nutrients, rather fill up on wholegrains like brown rice, oats, buckwheat, millet etc. These will fill you up and provide the good carbohydrates that your body needs for fuel.

Calcium lessens PMS symptoms and magnesium helps to relax your muscles. Remember that calcium is also found in fruit, vegetables and almonds, not just in dairy.

Not all of our cycles are regular, which can put a lot of stress and worry on ourselves. There is assistance available alongside a wholefood predominantly plant based diet.

I love essential oils and it has become a part of our household! A drop of geranium oil mixed into a little coconut- or olive oil and rubbed onto your lower abdomen and back can bring relief from pain, stabilizes moods by helping to balance your hormones. Frankincense oil and lavender oil are also anti inflammatory and pain relieving. We use geranium oil during the day, and frankincense and lavender during the evening because it relaxes you so much. Myrrh oil helps with the onset of menstruation if it is delayed.

And then lastly, moderate exercise. Exercise and stretching are stress relieving activities, it releases feel good hormones and helps to ease aches and pains.

I’m sure we all have some or other embarrassing period stories to tell! If all else fails, then there is nothing like a hot water bottle, cosy blanket and some dark chocolate!

Lizelle

Recipe:

Roasted beetroot and gnocchi

Our kids have loved this since they were toddlers, asking for “pink gnocchi”. The beetroot colours the gnocchi pink when mixed! This is a lovely winter dish and a way to incorporate beetroot that kids will enjoy. Gnocchi is a type of small, Italian potato dumpling.

-Cook beetroot, peel and cut into cubes.

(You can buy whole cooked beetroot if you are short on time.)

-Place in a roasting pan.

-Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

-Add some garlic and sprinkle with pink salt.

-Roast until slightly shriveled and soft.

-Cook gnocchi according to package instructions in salted boiling water.

(Or try to make your own from scratch.)

-Gnocchi is cooked when it floats on the surface of the water.

-Remove with a slotted spoon and incorporate the gnocchi into the roasted beetroot in the pan. Incorporate until it turns pink!

-Taste and add more salt and balsamic vinegar if needed.

-Don’t forget some freshly ground black pepper.

-The men in the family can also enjoy this one, even if it is pink…!!