Your Health and Soil Health—Affected by the Fixers, the Mixers, the Vampires and the Skeletonisers

Our good health is linked to a range of beneficial microorganisms in our body, particularly in our guts.  However, we have inadvertently destroyed many of these by eating highly refined foods, overuse of antibiotics and other unhealthy practices. Likewise, intensive agriculture has often reduced soil biodiversity which is essential to long-term plant health, through reduced organic matter, overuse of inorganic fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, and heavy tillage.  To get soils back to better health, they need a diverse range of functional soil organisms, a good supply of organic matter and reduced tillage, among other things. Healthy soils grow healthy, nutrient-rich foods, with fewer inputs and fewer consequences to the environment.

Orthorexia is an obsession with eating healthy food and can significantly reduce your quality of life.

Simply choosing healthy foods does not mean you are orthorexic. However if you answer 'yes', to four or five of the following questions, it may be time to loosen up about food (adapted from the The Bratman Test for Orthorexia).

    1. Do you spend more than 3 hours a day thinking about your diet?
    2. Do you plan your meals several days ahead?
    3. Is the nutritional value of your meal more important than the pleasure of eating it?
    4. Has the quality of your life decreased as the quality of your diet has increased?
    5. Have you become stricter with yourself lately?
    6. Does your self-esteem get a boost from eating healthily?
    7. Have you given up foods you used to enjoy in order to eat the ‘right’ foods
    8. Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat out, distancing you from family and friends?
    9. Do you feel guilty when you stray from your diet?
    10. Do you feel at peace with yourself and in total control when you eat healthily?

A balanced approach to healthy eating should have a positive effect on wellbeing without reducing the enjoyment of life or affecting relationships. Click here if you want to learn more about nutrition and balanced eating.

5 Foods to Regrow from Scaps

Instead of banishing your kitchen scraps to the compost (or even worse- the rubbish bin), did you know that many can be re-grown?

This is a great way to start your vegetable patch, save money and live more sustainably. 

If you have children, this is a great way to get them involved.

Here are 5 things that I re-grow at home:

Believe in yourself 

Migration is nothing new. Fossil records show that people have been moving around the world since man first walked upright. In fact, all races would seem to have evolved from a common ancestor in Africa.

At various times in history there have been surges in migration to and from particular countries or regions. Sometimes this is due to the pursuit of employment or wealth, and at other times it may be to flee war or poverty. Recent events in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have seen an exodus of people from those regions to other countries. Understanding other cultures is essential wherever you live, and whatever your work role.