We are Showcasing our Products at the Next Conscious Club: 17th September

We are excited to have been asked to showcase our products at the next Conscious Club in Paddington next week on Thursday 17th September. My staff and I will be there offering FREE SAMPLES of our activated nuts, date coconut balls, power bars and sokolata (our signature maple-sweetened raw dark chocolate).  Products will also be available for purchase (cash or card).

WHAT IS THE CONSCIOUS CLUB?

I have been honoured to have been going to the Conscious Club since its conception a few years ago.  Founded by meditation teachers Gary Gorrow and Tim Brown, the not-for-profit organisation was founded with a collective mission to inspire people to do good for themselves, each other and the planet. This is achieved through connecting like-minded people and facilitating regular, inspiring, uplifting events, which artfully weave together socially-minded speakers, musicians and films.

In my teens and twenties I went out clubbing and drinking to become ‘unconscious’ and now I feel grateful that places like the Conscious Club exist where people can go out to become more conscious. And what a relief to not wake up with a hangover ;-)   The Conscious Club is becoming an international phenomena opening up in venues around Australia and the world. Just when you think you are too small to make a difference…

The format of the Conscious Club is typically is something along the lines of an internationally recognised keynote speaker, a 20 minute group meditation, entertainment by a local band or artist, a sometimes an inspirational thought-provoking short documentary film followed by local artisans showcasing their products. There is opportunity to connect with new people, try local products, chat over a cup of moksha ayurvedic teas and feed your soul. I always walk away feeling full to the brim with inspiration, new learnings, and new friends.

Next week the keynote speaker is Dr Libby Weaver who will talk about her approach to optimum health and wellbeing. 

With a PHD in biochemistry and 17 years clinical experience Dr Libby will explain how the biochemical, nutritional and emotional aspects of health must be in balance to achieve the most obvious marker for our wellbeing - our vitality!

Australian singer and songwriter and Aria award winner Wes Carr will also be there to sing his music.

WHEN

Thursday 17th September

TIME

6pm Meal & Mingle
7pm Presentation starts
pm Mingle, teas & treats until 10pm

WHERE

Paddington Town Hall: 249 Oxford Street (cnr of Oxford & Oatley Rd)

COST

General Admission $55 | Students $45 | $15 for a Vegetarian/ Gluten free meal

For more information and to book your tickets CLICK HERE!

Check out their website here http://consciousclub.com and register to receive their newsletters by clicking on “join the club”.

Follow The Conscious Club on Facebook or Instagram.

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We hope to see you there next week for a fun evening! Please forward to family and friends!

Transfats to be banned in the USA

The US FDA recently gave food manufacturers three years (until 18 June 2018) to remove trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) from their products, ruling that trans fat are not "generally recognized as safe" for use in human food. In 2013, the FDA had made a tentative determination that trans fats were no longer safe. After years of public comment and scientific review, this is the final step in the process. Currently, the law still allows companies to list products as "trans fat free" even if they had 0.5 grams of fat. That should change with the new ruling. To read the press article click here.

Partially hydrogenated oil is formed when hydrogen is added to liquid oils under high pressure and heat to make solid fats, like shortening and margarine. This increases the shelf life of food.

Trans fats have been banned in Europe for a long time with good reason. They are not safe for human consumption. Studies (like this one and this one) have shown that they are highly inflammatory (i.e. high in omega 6), unnatural substances leading to higher body weight, cardiovascular disease and memory loss.

One would hope that it is only a matter of time for Australia follow suit. In the meantime avoid at all expense shortening, margarine, spreadable butters and foods that contain them like most conventional biscuits and popcorn (as it's bathed in margarine). Read packaging labels carefully and avoid all hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. While not technically trans fats, industrialised seed oils like cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, soy bean oil, vegetable oil and canola oil, should also be avoided for similar reasons (this means avoiding deep fried foods in restaurants like chips or tempura because they are typically deep fried in industrialised seed oils. Sad, I know). You can read more about the dangers of vegetable oils here.

Opt for healthy fats like:

·      pastured egg yolks

·      the fat on pastured meat, poultry and pork (yes bacon!)

·      tallow (rendered fat or fat that rises and solidifies when refrigerated after making a pastured beef broth/stock)

·      fatty wild seafood eg wild salmon or wild tuna

·      full fat dairy from pastured cows, sheep and goat eg milk, cream, butter, yogurt, crème fraiche, cheese

·      extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil

·      extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

·      avocados and nuts

Fat (including saturated fats) from natural sources as set out above are essential for good health and do not increase LDL cholesterol levels, cause cardio vascular disease nor clog arteries. There is now ample scientific evidence to back this up. I have a folder full of scientific studies if anyone wants to eyeball them or meet with me to discuss your concerns. 

I applaud the US government’s decision for making this enormously important move (better late than never…kinda…) together with its recent acceptance that cholesterol is not a 'nutrient of concern'. The tide is definitely turning.

There are trans fats naturally found in meat but they are not artificial and are of no concern as they are a completely different beast to artificial trans fats.

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Cholesterol Is Finally Officially Removed From 'Naughty' List

Every five years, the US Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Department of Agriculture, issues "Dietary Guidelines for Americans." Sure enough, there it is, buried on page 91 of the 572-page Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: "Previously, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that cholesterol intake be limited to no more than 300 mg/day. The 2015 DGAC will not bring forward this recommendation because available evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum (blood) cholesterol, consistent with the AHA/ACC (American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology) report. Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.”

Talk about a major tectonic shift. What follows below is a recent article beautifully summarising the position in the Deccan Chronicle , which I have reproduced here with my highlighting in bold:

Cholesterol has been on the "naughty" list of nutrients for nearly 40 years, with health officials warning us to stay away from high-cholesterol foods since the 1970s to avoid heart disease and clogged arteries.

But US officials have finally given the green light for a U-turn on previous warnings, which means eggs, butter, full-fat dairy products, nuts, coconut oil and meat have now been classified as "safe" and have been officially removed from the "nutrients of concern" list.

The US Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for updating the guidelines every five years, stated in its findings for 2015: "Previously, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that cholesterol intake be limited to no more than 300 mg/day. 

"The 2015 DGAC will not bring forward this recommendation because available evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum (blood) cholesterol, consistent with the AHA/ACC (American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology) report. 

"Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption."

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will, in response, no longer warn people against eating high-cholesterol foods and will instead focus on sugar as the main substance of dietary concern.

The 70s, 80s and 90s were the 'non fat' years, with the government warning people to limit the amount of high-cholesterol foods in their diets to avoid heart disease and strokes.

But nutritionists and scientists have long been campaigning for the U-turn, which started with introducing "good cholesterols" back into the 'safe zone'.

US cardiologist Dr Steven Nissen said: "It's the right decision. We got the dietary guidelines wrong. They've been wrong for decades."

He estimated that about 20 per cent of cholesterol levels in your blood come from your diet, which means the rest is produced by your liver and is actually needed by the body.

Dr Chris Masterjohn added: “Since we cannot possibly eat enough cholesterol to use for our bodies’ daily functions, our bodies make their own. 

"When we eat more foods rich in this compound, our bodies make less. If we deprive ourselves of foods high in cholesterol - such as eggs, butter, and liver - our body revs up its cholesterol synthesis."

Sugar has now been identified as the "worst" food culprit for health problems, with GPs now focusing on weaning patients off the sweet stuff.

Cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra, who works with group Action On Sugar, says a clamp-down on the food industry is next.

He said: "It's very clear that added sugar has absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever and, contrary to what the food industry want you to believe, the body doesn't require any carbohydrate for energy from added sugar.

"And we know the food industry have been spiking our food with added sugars. We also know that carbohydrates and particularly refined carbohydrates - so carbohydrates that lack fibre, sugar being one of them - have the biggest impact on insulin in terms of surges of insulin in our body. And insulin is a fat storing hormone."