Just Natural Health & Beauty magazine - July - September 2022 (issue 11)

July - Sept 2022

www.justnaturalhealth.co.uk

ISSUE 11

The Empowerment of Sexuality: a Dual-Edged Sword of Secret Self

Sunshine Start to the Day the PlantBased & Healthy Way

Cracking the Truth About Dairy

Organic, Vegan and Ethically Sourced Tea Bag

Listening for the Roar of Female Eco-Activists

aybreak. Smoke rising, a pungent sigh for peace, as the incense burns to set the mood, people sat poised and gently stretching on their mats; a bell chimes and practice begins, forms rippling through the asanas on their breaths... In these turbulent times – oh, that such an expression was not so frequently appropriate – walking through sunlight dappled streets to a morning yoga class, serenaded by birdsong (harmonised for urbanites by the sounds of a waking city), is a welcome meditative exercise. It also goes a long way to stilling one’s mind before diurnal challenges, pressing the reset button on thoughts which can become a frantic muddle of misinformation and worry, deadlines (and headlines) and familial responsibilities. The long day (or short, depending on perspective) unfolds into a night that comes and ends far too soon; soul-nourishing social pursuits become relegated to two little days.

But summer is the season for socialising. As we yet wait for the four-day weekend to become an actual thing, the world goes about its usual quotidian under a cloud of subdued determination; a self-set goal not to actively mull over the fact that there could be another lockdown at some point this year, Covid infection rates sky-high throughout spring and the PM warning future variants could well be deadlier (not to shift focus from any, um, penalties or anything…). Pandemic anxieties aside, however, none of us is ignorant of the continued war in Ukraine, its direct effects on food and fuel prices a souring influence on each and every person. But what comparison, the displacement of over a million people from their homeland and a terrible, unending civilian bloodshed? The blue and yellow flags continue to fly here in the UK, and abroad, this stand of solidarity concurrent with concerns over a planet already hurtling towards a sixth extinction. So it is that we mere mortals must dredge up strength and centre ourselves, must focus and practice ahimsa, a non-violence to self and – critically – to others. If the climate crisis has taught us anything about being human, it is that we all belong to the whole, to the One, whether that’s spiritually recognised or accepted as simply biological and environmental fact. Aum. As one, then, let’s set our minds (and bodies, of course) to enjoying summer while we can, while it is finally, fully here.

Simple pleasures. Now, we can revel in the heat of the sun – with due protective measures taken when the days are particularly hot (one must remain sensible at all times, dear readers). We can go barefoot, absorb vitamin D in lunchbreaks – there, yet clad with shoes – or after work, raising our faces to the sun over morning coffee and the luxurious read of the papers at the weekend.

And our gardens no longer present themselves as sadly cold and miserable, flowerless spaces that serve only as reminder of further chores to get round to. Now, they become veritable oases of natural joy and colourful calm; perhaps even nourishment, too.

In this issue, you’ll find that we’ve been somewhat swept up by the enchantment of the season, the way summer tends to make us feel that little bit more, well, sexy (quite literally…). So, from staying – ahem – abreast of plant-based developments, saying no to dairy ice cream when the mercury rises in this burgeoning Wellsian “Modern Utopia” of ours, aiming for some Blue Zone longevity as nature intended along the way, we hope you’ll enjoy the heart-healthy and soul-nourishing tips included in these pages.

It’s advice for feeling your sparkling best this season – and beyond. So, whether a Pilates devotee or a lifelong yogini, while we can, while the wonderful warmth of the summer sun yet shines, let’s drop into the flow of a surya namaskar and be thankful that our ujjayi breath is not currently covered by a mask or, worse, weakened by Covid: after all, being sensible now, having learned from the recent past – who knows what autumn’s return might bring?

NICOLE RALEIGH EDITOR

MARKETING MANAGER MARK SHARP DESIGN CLARICE LEIGH & JAMES HEATHCOTE MARKETING EXECUTIVE CLAIRE CUNNAH & ISABELLE MILLER WEB DESIGN ANT PAPA Produced by Just Natural Health, 210 Mauretania Road, Nursling Industrial Estate, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 0YS Just Natural Health make a conscious effort to ensure accurate content at the time of publishing. The views expressed by advertisers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher.

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Great Weekly Offers see page 34

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J U LY - S E PTE MBE R 2022

14 18 Though She Be but Little, She is

Fierce: the (Founding) Roar of the Female Eco Activist

06 Post-Pandemic

Spotlight on PlantBased Progress: A Modern Utopia?

We assess whether veganism can ever be a true panacea for climate change issues and future human health.

07 8 Hot Eco-Reads for the Beach

We bring you the hottest books for summer holiday beach reading with a generous dose of environmentalism; a green mindset to offset those airmiles, perhaps…

16 All-Male, All-Vegan Role Models

You’ve seen them on multiple social media platforms, you’ve read their books: these are the guys changing the stereotype of the vegan male as limp lettuce figure.

Shining the spotlight on the women doing their eco-warrior bit for the world – from How Many Elephants to The Vegetarian Times’ “20 Under 20” list, the ladies are absolutely rocking it.

24 The Madness of Milk: Cracking the Truth About Dairy

Why it’s time to ditch that dairy addiction once and for all. With artisanal plantbased cheeses aplenty, what’s your excuse now?

36 Heart Health: Rhythm of the Blood

It’s all too easy to ignore heartbeat irregularities and put that strange feeling in your chest down to stress: time to note the tell-tale signs and give your lifestyle a heart-healthy overhaul.

40 Healthy Habits & Store Cupboard Staples for Serener Slumber

Sleep is so underrated, and so crucial.

How to make sure you’re getting the critical shuteye your body and your mind require.

44 Plant-Based Blue Zones Lessons for Making 100

When it comes to advice on how to live, who would pass over the wisdom of the centenarian? Learning from those who know best around the globe.

48 The

Empowerment of Sexuality: a Dual-Edged Sword of Secret Self Embracing the erotic and revivifying our libidos this year. Post-pandemic days are no time for prudishness.

54 The Zen of Noodles and the Art of SelfCare

A historic look at the meditative practice of making noodles and pasta; a mindful process to nourish the soul.

59 Unicorn Space:

Upending Burnout Why to get those creative juices flowing again…

You deserve a colourful splash of magic in your day-to-day.

60 Yearn for Yoga or Prefer Pilates?

A Comparison

One size does not fit all. We look at the pros and cons of both systems of postures and let you decide on the various merits of flexibility and strength.

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Post-Pandemic Spotlight on Plant-Based Progress: A Modern Utopia?

“In all the round world of Utopia there is no meat. There used to be. But now we cannot stand the thought of slaughterhouses. And, in a population that is all educated, and at about the same level of physical refinement, it is practically impossible to find anyone who will hew a dead ox or pig. We never settled the hygienic question of meat-eating at all.

This other aspect decided us. I can still remember, as a boy, the rejoicings over the closing of the last slaughter-house.”

H. G. Wells, “A Modern Utopia”

hese few pre-emptive words of the science-fiction writer, H. G. Wells, written in 1905 (but all too keen-sightedly with regards to our reality today), might have suggested an early vegan ethos and, indeed, vegetarians have long adopted him as a spokesperson for the cause. Yet, despite the content of this socio-philosophical work of his, Wells was pro-vivisection (in true Island of Dr. Monreau fashion) and it was fortunate, if strange, that his friendship with that other great writer George Bernard Shaw didn’t suffer despite public debate between the two on the topic (Shaw fervently anti-vivisectionist, mirroring the sentiments of Queen Victoria herself).

To return to the theme of the quote at hand, though, key expressions such as “all the round world” (planet Earth, anyone?), “a population that is all educated” (who among us is ignorant of the annual Veganuary campaign?),

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and “never settled the hygienic question of meat-eating at all” (none can forget the recent, horrific experience of a zoonotically transmitted virus), as well as this last point being what “decided us” – it is clear that the titular “Modern Utopia” Wells envisaged was to be a meatless one (even though it remained a fisheating one…).

Summer being the time of year when each household cracks out the barbecue (just how rusty such cooking apparatus is dependent on the many variables of storage style), the question of what to sear over the heat arises: why tinge the air with the smell of grilled meat or risk food poisoning with flesh left pink, not to mention any slaughter of innocent and sentient animals, when subtly blackened veg (and even fruit) can offer the tastebuds dishes to eat which are similarly if not even more tempting? Summer days are, quite

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literally, salad days – and aptly figuratively so as well, given that Shakespearean expression’s sense of being in the prime of life, full of vibrant youth and open-minded innocence.

Ah, sweet, sweet Summer…

These are the days in which to relish breaking apart with our hands an iceberg or Romaine lettuce and toss the crunchy, verdant leaves together with other raw (and hydrating) veggies, all drizzled with (ideally) coldpressed oils and vinegars of choice, served with a generous portion of yet-warm and gut-healthy sourdough bread – or equally delicious glutenfree alternative... Who among us does not fundamentally feel themselves buoyed by brighter, longer days, the ameliorated weather enabling a more active lifestyle, as well as these wiser eating habits, habits which can be paired with a good wine (natural, of course) and favoured company? All without creatural death – right?

Granted, not all of us relish the thought of a brick’s width novel or non-fiction publication when we’re seeking relaxation. Happily, however, many writers who elected the environment and/or climate change as their theme weren’t channelling the Existentialists in terms of word count (sorry, Kierkegaard). To which end, here are a few it will serve both your own curiosity and future conversations to peruse: Why perpetuate the passé belief that a beach holiday obliges cracking out the latest trashy Romance? When one has consecutive days of spare time available, vacation stylie, surely it is better for the brain (and sense of self) to attempt to tackle that TBR (To Be Read) list you’ve been compiling ever since your teens (potentially) and sink those ready-and-waiting (and maybe even laser-surgery sharpened) ocular teeth into a tome of literature pure and true? For example, the American literary canon is replete with environmentalists: from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Walt Whitman, from Herman Melville to William Carlos Williams, the place of Man within the tangible embrace of that territorial deity Nature has inspired many a pen to scribble over paper and leave an ecologically appreciative legacy in its wake.

Silent Spring Rachel Carson

A seminal text of the 1960s environmental movement, and still frequently referred to today, this is an eco-read bookshelf must.

The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future David Wallace-Wells This 2019 non-fiction looks at the consequences of global warming – and doesn’t predict a happily ever after for life on Earth.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Michael Pollan Guiding readers towards a more sustainable, nourishing way of eating in the modern age, this is a good choice for those coming to environmentalism via a culinary perspective.

Walden Henry David Thoreau

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Eating Animals Jonathan Safran Froer

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Nature and Selected Essays Ralph Waldo Emerson

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A novelist with a philosophy degree from Princeton, expect musings on notions of identity within consumption and a heavy dose of moral questioning.

Emerson’s search for a redevelopment of Man’s original harmony with Nature looks closely at notions of environment as commodity, beauty, language, and discipline.

Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea and Human Life George Monbiot Highly praised, it could be argued that it was Monbiot who first made the term “rewilding” mainstream. justnaturalhealth.co.uk | Just Natural Health & Beauty

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Setting aside the old notion of the fishreplete Mediterranean diet (particularly since Seaspiracy), what has more recently been found to lend itself to such a reenergised sense of well-being is the adoption of a plant-based diet. Specifically, a Whole Foods Plant Based (WFPB) way of nourishing our bodies, rather than meals stuffed with ultra-processed meat alternatives (but more on that later). Indeed, a recent article in The Guardian questioned whether we, the human race, were not eating ourselves to extinction (following in the footsteps of last year’s Kate Winsletnarrated Eating Our Way to Extinction).

Not merely through animal agriculture and factory farming’s intensive and polluting processes, not only in reference to the damage caused to the oceans through industrial fishing practices, but in the very real risk posed by ever more widespread monoculture: the cultivation of an extremely limited number of cereal and other crop species. As the article reminded readers, by “creating fields of identical wheat, we abandoned thousands of highly adapted and resilient varieties”. Diversity; biodiversity: that is to say, what this grand and magical thing called Life is all about. If that is destroyed, modernity has no hope of utopianism.

With homogeneity become pervasive – from what we wear to how we decorate our homes, and beyond – so it is that naysayers are warning that plant-based living is beginning to adversely affect the environment. The ability to eat the foods we like best at all times of the year does not sit naturally with seasonal cycles: a papaya might taste sweet, but what cost to the climate its import from tropical climes to the colder north? Should we really be enjoying avocados when there is snow on the ground? It is perhaps not the type of self-questioning we undertake mid-summer, when the sun is high in the sky and Britain’s beaches become flooded with a sea of swimsuit-clad bodies, but the fundamental point is as clear as the cloudless firmament: what grows locally and when is what is best for the planet in terms of what one should be consuming in that moment and place. Any other way isn’t natural.

In terms of the current precarious situation with monoculture, we only have ourselves to blame. Hunger issues following WWII led to scientists replacing quite literally thousands of traditional varieties of crops like rice

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and wheat with a small number of super-productive species. Ironically known as the “green revolution”, such manmade meddling was facilitated by advances in genetics, increased irrigation, and the implementation of agrochemicals… When you consider that we have minimised from around 6,000 edible types of plants to only nine – yes, nine – it doesn’t take a microscope to see the potential for a catastrophic event, and that’s without taking into account that just three of the nine (rice, wheat, and maize) are where 50% of our calories come from.

What does all this have to do with the seeming modern utopia that is plant-based progress? The simple fact that one person’s utopia is all too often another person’s dystopia.

At the Natural & Organic Products Expo held at London’s Excel Centre back in the spring, 57-year-old Adrian Ling, CEO of Plamil (a company co-founded by his father, Arthur, a vegan from childhood in the 1920s, a good two decades before The Vegan Society was even formed), took to the stage to discuss “vegan trends, innovations, and possibilities”. Plamil having been an innovator in the 1960s when it came to commercialising soya milk as an alternative to dairy (inroads into options away from a cow’s udder having originally been cabbage milk… yes, we think we’ll pass on that one, too; definitely not one for the coffee…) – the company’s ethos is still not just bringing an environmental product to the people, but nutrition as ethically as possible, also. Inspired by the vegan driving force that was Leslie Cross, today Plamil is positively thriving.

Leslie Cross, of course, founded the Plant Milk Society from which Plamil later developed under Arthur Ling’s management. An activist in the true sense of the word, raising his two children vegan when it had never been heard of before, recognising the need to overcome the vitamin B12 deficiency that arises when dairy is removed from the diet in addition to animal flesh – Cross called plant milk “the milk of human kindness”, and it is that same milk that has strengthened the bones of veganism in the years since (see our article, “The Madness of Milk: Cracking the Truth About Dairy”, p.24). Although today Plamil is more well-known for its dairy-free chocolate, Cross’ move to promote veganism from cradle to grave as the normal way of things has similarly been taken up and perpetuated by subsequent vegans, but always cast aside by those not yet accepting of or open-minded to veganism as ridiculous: “dairy is crucial” is ever marketed as biological and nutritional law. Why? After all, as Adrian Ling adamantly declared at NOPE, “veganism is the future; there is no other alternative”.

With vegan comic books (Beans on Toast was mentioned by Adrian Ling) and poetry (the oh-socool Benjamin Zephaniah is a good starting point) now mainstream, not to mention movements such as Extinction Rebellion and public figures like Greta Thunberg flooding social media channels – today’s kids are incredibly aware of the state of matters when it comes to the connection between what is on their dinner plates and what is happening to the environment. The planet’s hope lies in their hands as much as ours, small gods with hymn-reminiscent “whole world” power in their worried palms, but it’s clear that their minds are far more open to change – because it is their future which is much more at stake than the dwindling quota of years left to the older generation(s). What a responsibility they have inherited.

But they are taking that responsibility very seriously, indeed. Earlier this year, Plant Based News reported that a recent University of Exeter study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found that children are the great exponents of the vegan path as the moral way for our times. The speciesism of adults – where, for example, a companion animal such as a dog or cat is held to have more value than farm animals like cows and pigs – is replaced instead by a consciousness of care for all in the minds of children.

The cognitive dissonance, then, of a stance where one eats animals whilst professing to love them is something “nurtured”, rather than a question of “nature”: humans are not born with a cat’s obligative carnivorism; the hunger after flesh is something learned from elders.

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What about the long-term health implications of turning from such inherited meat-eating practices?

Well, as The Vegetarian Society recently reminded its members, the EPIC-Oxford study has long been the go-to reference point on vegetarian health. The largest UK research programme of its kind (there were 65,000 participants), the study ran from 1993-1999 and sought to track the health differences between “vegetarians, vegans, pescetarians (fish-eaters) and meat-eaters”. From today’s perspective, it is now probably no surprise that the first two categories exhibited “markedly lower” rates of heart disease and certain cancers.

However, results also showed the beneficial impact of lowering risk from hypertension, Type-II diabetes, and cataracts.

The study also found vegetarians and vegans had very good levels of dietary fibre, vitamin C, Omega-6 fatty acids, folate, vitamin E, and magnesium, while only vegans were able to stay below the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of saturated fat. Unfortunately, vegans also displayed the lowest calcium intake (less than 700mg/day), as well as very low levels of vitamin B12 (well under 1.5mcg). Of course, today we would expect such a B12 outcome, if not the calcium findings as well. Interestingly, a November 2020 study found bone fracture risk to be 43% higher than meat-eaters.

But, to refocus on the ethical basis for turning from the exploitation of animals – as the spread of veganism becomes ever wider, animal suffering diminishes not simply in reduced slaughter figures, but also in the number of new livestock being born into the world: population control on the other side of the mirror shone by Sir David Attenborough in the closing frames of his 2020 witness statement documentary, A Life on Our Planet, released as the pandemic’s first terrible effects were felt around the globe.

Veganism, then, isn’t only a lifestyle that removes, but one which improves. This nonstasis state is identifiable not just in the food movement, but in fashion and beauty, also.

In fact, a plant-based approach is now being taken by medical researchers attempting to overcome the current antibiotic resistance problem. Vegconomist reported at the start of the year that, in a recent study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, plantbased nanoparticles were being studied as an alternative to nanoparticles from gold and silver, as the latter are toxic for humans, even if effective. There is a long way to go in this area, but in more widespread pharmaceutical developments the vegan trend is clear, too.

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On the topic of progress, one must make mention of process, that is the ever faster (and better) development of hyper-processed vegan foods. Earlier this year, the Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) discussed the ongoing debate surrounding the differences between a healthy vegan diet and an unhealthy one (i.e. WFPB vs. convenience). Aside from curtly summating the discrepancy between the two as a matter of packaging (the more packed and wrapped it is, one can safely assume the less healthy), the SFT also made mention of the United Nations’ FOA (Food and Agriculture Organisation) NOVA classification system. Under this system, four levels of processing are identified:

1.

Unprocessed and minimally processed foods

Only the undesirable parts of these main ingredient foods are removed (stems and leaves; skin and bones if of animal origin).

They can be fermented for shelflife purposes.

2.

Processed culinary ingredient

Ingredients that improve the flavour of other foods, this category includes fats like oils and butter. They can be pressed, refined, ground, milled, or dried.

3.

Processed Foods

4.

Ultra-Processed Foods

Tinned foods such as pulses and fruit and vegetables, as well as “real” bread and cheeses and cured meats. The quantity of added sugar or salt in these items is what can change something seemingly healthy into a food decidedly unhealthy.

With a description including “typically created by a series of industrial techniques”, this category covers convenience and/ or ready-to-eat meals, foods which have a long shelf-life and high levels of sugar and salt – which makes for an addictive food. The ingredients list will include flavour enhancers, colouring, thickeners and foaming, etc. – the longer the list, the worse the food.

So, where does that leave plant-based progress?

Do the cons outweigh the pros? The UN’s FOA found that those who consume large quantities of ultra-processed foods (not specifically plant-based hyper-processed foods, though) tend to have lower levels of fibre, potassium and magnesium, and even vitamin C in their bodies. Such people are also consuming far greater quantities of saturated fat, a key heart disease and high cholesterol risk. Additionally, a study published in the British Medical Journal discovered a 62% increased likelihood of obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, depression, and cancer. When you consider that over 50% of calories within the average Briton’s diet come from ultraprocessed foods, the picture looks a little bleak.

It goes without saying, at this juncture in history, that meat consumption needs to be minimised or erased – for the planet as much as for people. However, plant-based is not necessarily the panacea plaster of an answer that it might at first seem. If you are basing your meals on meat alternatives, that’s not a recipe for long-term health.

Opt instead for fresh fruit and veg, as well as wholegrains and nuts and seeds (if not allergic). After Veganuary this year, it was reported that 49% participants noted increased energy levels, 48% a better mood, 39% a marked improvement in the condition of their skin, and 37% saw a desirable change in their body weight. It is doubtful that those participants were subsisting on the latest alt-meat burger with a side of chips each night…

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The title of this article you’ve been reading mentions “plant-based”. It’s a term that horrifies Plamil’s Adrian Ling, who considers it a permissive expression for a flexitarian approach, one that allows for a foundation of doing the right thing, but for lapses as well, for backwards steps into animal exploitation and planetary harm. Such blurred lines, though, are promoted widely elsewhere – minus the planetary harm.

Februdairy was the farmers’ backlash against Veganuary last year, but in 2022 the campaign has been Regenuary. As Plant Based News reported, Regenuary promotes – as you might have, um, gleaned from the name – regenerative agricultural developments, claiming that it is grazing animals which will help solve the climate crisis. As might be expected from a vegan publication, PBN’s article was suspicious, given Regenuary’s move to go against Veganuary’s (and vegan) attempts to “prevent suffering, avoid another global pandemic, and keep our planet habitable”. Nonetheless, as we at Just Natural Health & Beauty continue to assert: there is no one, right path at this time. Therefore, is not an amelioration better than a continuation as is (i.e. a move to grass-fed and pastureroaming livestock as opposed to the hell house indoor environments of factory farms)?

Indeed, Just Natural Health & Beauty has written often on the flourishing biodynamic regenerative agriculture movement. Seeking better soil health, that “whole ecosystem” mentality requires the “right”, roaming place of animals within the regenerative loop. It also allows for the very real situation of some people being unable to subsist in adequate health on a fully vegan diet, due to other disorders. Furthermore, it seems a concept structure well for overcoming the present problem of expanded monoculture.

And so, the debate continues. What’s clear, though, is that the world’s eyes are open now: question is, are our minds and hearts as well? If so, a praxis of compassion – of flexible and tolerant form – is sure to truly steer us towards a more meaningful “modern utopia” that will save us from a looming sixth extinction.

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Steer clear of salt-heavy processed foods

Sunshine Start to the Day, the lP ant-Based & Healthy aW y

If you’re thinking about switching to plant-based, want to make a concerted effort (though, let’s not linger on that word and become disparaged) to cut out animal products from your diet, then beware the dangers of the breakfast…

Although Harvard Health Publishing has found plant-based eating in general to noticeably reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and Type-II diabetes, herbivorous eating comes in many forms. It’s all too easy to get it wrong, not find the correct balance of nutrients, and feel less than great – and eventually give up.

Instead, here are a few tips for getting it right and sticking to the plant-based path to health, and still eat food that is delicious.

Don't eat solely carbohydrates Bagels might be brilliant for hitting that pleasure spot, but overall highly processed and refined carbs are a no-no for blood sugar levels. You might feel full directly after a bowl of that big name cereal you were delighted to discover was vegan, but within hours you’ll be reaching for a snack to keep you going.

Instead, think about your macronutrients and include some protein in that breaking of the nocturnal fast. A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that circa 20g of protein in each meal increases satiety: at breakfast, this mainly means nuts and seeds and dairy-free milks and yogurts.

Additionally, the fattier the source (again, nuts and seeds, but also their butters), the more you’ll feel fuller for longer.

Avocado on wholewheat toast, topped with sunflower seeds anyone..?

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Although it might seem an obvious endeavour to swap out a pork sausage for a vegan alternative, pause for a moment and consider the salt content (and the preservatives, the fillers, the saturated fats…). You might be saving Babe, but are you saving yourself later down the line?

Wiser alternatives are tofu scramble or tempeh hash: high-protein, low-sodium cooked breakfast options which are just as satisfying (if not more so) than flavour-enhanced and blood pressure raising sausages – however cruelty-free they might be to non-human animals.

Say no to sweetened yogurts Palatable as the likes of berries and other fruits might sound (and be), plain vegan yogurt is what you want to be buying. Otherwise, you’re piling up a veritable sugar mountain of consumption each day.

Look for “no added sugar” on the label, and check that each serving provides a minimum of 5g of protein. When it comes to actually eating what you decide to purchase, remember that you can always add fresh fruit or even a little maple syrup or agave to sweetly tingle those taste buds the more natural way.

So, while VFC (Vegan Fried Chicken, the company founded by Matthew Glover, co-founder of Veganuary and Managing Director of Veg Capital) accused KFC (the world-famous Kentucky Fried Chicken) a few months ago of misleading its customers with a “behind the bucket” marketing campaign that claimed “highwelfare standards”, when in reality the farm was yet another horror of factory farming proportions – the disingenuousness truly shocking – one has to (a) laud VFC’s bringing to the market a cruelty-free alternative to the junk food many people have come to love (and get addicted to) over the years, but (b) temper that praise with the caveat that such foods should be an occasional treat.

And that’s alright: no-one wants to subsist on celery sticks and cucumbers and refrain from ever again indulging in a drool-worthy, gloriously fatty and carbohydrate-dense bite; the key is moderation.

Added fibre isn't necessarily the fibre for you...

Plant-based eating provides for a lifestyle that doesn’t require a conscious effort to include more fibre: everything is pretty much fibre-rich on the vegan diet. This is why digestive complaints (though not those FODMAP-affected) can ease, cholesterol levels lower, and blood sugar stabilise when adopting a WFPB approach.

However, if the fibre you are consuming is added fibre (aka functional fibre, fibre which has not come from whole foods like oats), then it’s thought that the benefits could be considerably less. Further research is needed, but one such added fibre is inulin: an extract of the chicory root, inulin can be found in breakfast bars and flavoured yogurts.

As ever then, seek your fibre from the source: breakfast like a king (or queen) on fresh fruit and/or vegetables, combined with wholegrains and nuts and seeds.

Your body – notably, your gut microbiome – will thank you for it.

Certainly, for the men among us the ability to partake in a properly satisfying meal is crucial in becoming fully plant-based. Termed “hegans”, today there are numerous sporting heroes out there who proudly claim their vegan lifestyles, from athletes to tennis stars, from footballers to racing car drivers (yes, we mean you, Hamilton).

Flying in the face of stereotypes of yore, masculinity no longer lies in a slab of meat, as The Guardian reported earlier this year.

Indeed, it’s becoming more normal to eat plant-based than it is to profess a remnant hunger for a beef-begotten hamburger (which makes sense, given UK vegan numbers increased fourfold between 2014 to 2019, according to The Vegan Society). However, the trend is not a complete evolution.

Society being yet patriarchal, the concepts of old linger still – and masculinity (sadly) seems to continue to rely on its connection to meat, a powerful remnant carnophallagocentrism, as per the traditional gender role of strong hunter (as opposed to the weaker, female caregiver…). With insults such as “soy boy” historically flung about and even the PM stating back in 2020 (you know, the year the pandemic hit) that veganism is “a crime against cheese lovers” (more on this later), will the concocted social construct of the meatmad man ever metamorphose? There is muscled hope, especially in the protein, um, stakes (note the spelling).

A “protein myth” came to the fore at the beginning of the 20th century, claiming that meat was the primary source of those essential amino acids. It took until 1974 for The Lancet to publish a counterargument. Truth is, soya, quinoa, and hemp offer the complete amino acid package. Other plant proteins might be lacking a totality of essential protein, but if one includes the primary three, then there is no problem at all. Similarly, food combinations offer a way round any perceived lack as well. So it is that those “soy boys” have aptly become “vegan bros” in the public’s consciousness now. justnaturalhealth.co.uk | Just Natural Health & Beauty

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All-Male,

All-Vegan Role Models Avant Garde Vegan

(aka Gaz Oakley)

(aka Ed Winters) An activist for the 21st century, this Brit has proved popular both at home and abroad (i.e. Stateside), his particular educative blend of factual knowledge and dry philosophising wit securing him a Penguin Books publishing contract before a more recent move to California.

Dirty Vegan

The Happy Pear

(aka David & Stephen Flynn)

He might be tattooed and an ex-stuntman, and somewhat intimidating at first glance, but showman Pritchard’s “proper banging vegan food” is quite the hit here in Ol’ Blighty, perhaps due to its absolutely nonpretentious style. It’s got to say something when the BBC choose you for their first ever vegan cookery show (back in 2019; no disrespect to the latest US show, Peeled, due for imminent release).

The Irish twins who’ve been expounding the virtues of veganism for nearly two decades, the Happy Pear keep plantbased living grounded despite being top-notch chefs. Nevertheless, even this cosy pair, what with the sweaters and the homely smiles, tap into the machismo of a shirtless shot. Boys will be boys, eh?

And yet there’s a remnant need for masculinity to be power-hungry, as well as protein seeking. This has been witnessed in the proliferation of body builders and “vegan gainers” on Instagram and other social media platforms perpetuating an aggression in their choice of diet that is simply the other side of the coin of traditional gender stereotyping. In short, why does man need to be a cliché of pumped up testosterone, as much as a mountain of bulging biceps and pectorals? Why can the male of the species not embrace his compassion, proudly claim a softer – one might dare term it – more feminine side (manbun and distinct lack of a chiselled form and all)? Isn’t this the century for deciding our own pronouns, the time for acceptance of personal choice?

Nonetheless, at the same time it really shouldn’t be a mere matter of the freedom to make personal dietary decisions.

After all, let’s not forget that this is a global problem, now. A report issued by the UN in 2013 found even then that 14.5% of GHGs (Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions) were from animal agriculture. Later, in 2018, a study published in the journal Science proposed that a cessation of both meat and dairy would reduce farmland by 75% in a global rewilding project, and still feed the planetary population. The message is clear: we are feeding animals, deforesting and soil destroying, in order to feed ourselves. The question asked for years has been, why not cut out the industrial scale of livestock farming and feed ourselves from the fields directly?

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Images: top left Gaz Oakley SWNS.com, top right Ed Winters © I.D.E.A. Studios, bottom left Matt Pritchard veganfoodandliving.com, bottom right David and Stephen Flynn independent.ie Gerry Mooney.

An influencer extraordinaire when it comes to taking plant-based cooking up to the next level of culinary flair, the Welshman has recently returned to his homeland from England’s capital, combining his urban-tinged “high-energy Insta feed” with a revivified delight in Nature.

(aka Matt Pritchard)

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Earthling Ed

the (Founding) Roar of the Female Eco Activist

When women rise, the world rises with them.

- How Many Elephants

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In the name of wildlife conservation and biodiversity, the week of June 23rd to 30th marked World Female Rangers Week. Launched last year by anti-poaching group How Many Elephants, the campaign’s inaugural focus was on female rangers, predominantly in Africa. The purpose of the celebratory week is to shine a spotlight on those incredibly strong – in all senses of the word – women who educate others and act as role models to girls and younger women: in what is a traditionally male position (with only 11% of that workforce not a man), these females protect some of the most endangered species on the planet.

Elephants, of course, are one of the central symbols of the horrors of poaching and the endangerment of a species to the point of risk of extinction (together with rhinoceroses).

The illegal ivory trade, as well as the market for bushmeat, have led to a “human-elephant conflict” which has left only 415,000 elephants on the entirety of the African continent.

It is estimated that roughly 96 elephants are currently killed each and every day. That’s an annual poaching rate of 35,000 elephants. So it is that organisations like How Many Elephants exist, seeking to safeguard one of Nature’s wisest mammals. This is done visually, incorporating the data into design; not the graphic atrocities one sees with other animal-protection groups, but in a visual way that impacts by communicating the sheer scale of the problem.

Founded in 2013 by – you guessed it – a woman, namely Holly Budge, How Many Elephants’ designs can be necklaces (handcrafted by Budge herself) made from vegetable ivory or brass to represent poachers’ bullets (often cut from the same material), but also other artworks. All put forth in some way the daily count of elephant deaths (and there are only 96 different pieces in Budge’s collection).

Yet, Budge is more than an artist with a concept. A conservationist herself, Budge is also known as a world-class adventurer, having scaled Mount Everest and been the first female to skydive off it. She’s also patrolled the front line with female rangers in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa. There are few who could be more suited to the promotion and protection of both biodiversity and gender diversity in conservation.

Ecofeminism, of course, began in the 1960s and 1970s, evolving from out of Second Wave feminism in an amalgamation of philosophy and politics, environmentalism and art. It is only more recently that science has begun to intermingle with all that, too. Indeed, Just Natural Health & Beauty last autumn looked at powerful, animalloving women working in STEM, bringing a green-thinking energy to their laboratories, seen most clearly in the latest explosion of progress in the alt-meat and cell ag sector. And that influence over the younger generation that How Many Elephants is lauding is gaining ground.

The Vegetarian Times in its “20 Under 20” list of youth climate activists late last year, mentioned the biggest movers and shakers in their first two decades of life who are endeavouring to save Planet Earth before it’s too late. Among them were 14-year old Genesis Butler, who went vegan at the tender age of six and has advocated for animals ever since, becoming the youngest ever person to deliver a TEDx talk. Also included was Jamie Margolin, author of YA nonfiction title Youth To Power: Your Voice and How to Use It, whose international youth climate justice movement marched on Washington, D.C. in 2018. With Instagram and TikTok users no doubt familiar with the names Maija Elizabeth (@SustainablyMaija) or Gaia Ratazzi (@ ssustainably_), it is Bella Lack who compares most closely with Holly Budge’s path, though: the 18-year-old is youth ambassador for the Born Free Foundation and Save the Asian Elephants, as well as youth director of Reserva.

Indeed, only Joe Brindle, founder of Teach for the Future, was listed, a sole male mention amidst the otherwise female-dominated list.

This was perhaps on the basis of having taken a draft Climate Emergency Education Act to Parliament for action, which also saw him featured on the Sunday Times Green Power List.

Women, then, are in an ever more powerful position; they are finally being heard, but listened to not just for themselves, but on the wider platform of environmental, of planetary issues. To this end, the Vegan Women Summit (VMS) was formed, the events and media organisation seeking to build “a global community of strong and ambitious femaleidentifying change makers”. Founded by Jennifer Stojkovic, the concept was sparked by the inequalities she had faced in the food tech industry, but VMS seeks diversity in fashion and beauty, as well. Its aim is to “increase representation of women founders, women investors, women in positions of leadership”, believing that “the longer we leave the talent and expertise of woman on the table, the longer we leave animals on the table”. Hear, hear.

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A Seafood Summer: The Marine Conservation Society’s Sustainable Guide There’s something about summer which tends to draw people to the coast. The sun beating down combined with the salty air and sound of the surf draw our interests out to sea – not simply in terms of a refreshing dip beneath the waves, but gastronomically also, it seems. So ensues the tussle of conscience: knowing what we do about animal sentience (not solely the reserve of mammals), aware as we are of the environmental impact of industrial fishing practices, apart from medically being unable to be wholly plant-based, how could we possibly justify any decision to dine on fish or seafood?

Well, apparently one can still do so sustainably (despite what Seaspiracy might have reported). The Marine Conservation Society recently released an updated Good Fish Guide, providing information on the environmental impact of around 130 different types of fish and seafood, all based on the species and how it is caught or farmed. The traffic-light colour-coded Guide is a resource to assist consumers in making the responsible

choice, while still protecting the sea and its marine wildlife: green means as good as possible, while red means eating that species is a promotion of overfishing, habitat damage, or other “unsustainable practices”.

In the UK, 80% of the seafood eaten comes from just five species: cod, haddock, salmon, tuna, and prawns.

As with crop monoculture, this is not sustainable. Re-diversifying the fish and seafood one decides to eat this summer (if you can no longer resist) should still take into consideration those ethics firmly held the rest of the year. Therefore, far better a swap for each of these, respectively, would be: hake, sardines, mussels, farmed trout, and plaice. All should be as locally sourced as possible.

Thus, sustainably, you could follow NHS guidelines and consume fish twice a week; thus, you could appease the siren call of the ocean and satisfy your craving. But it might be wise to refrain from watching an eco-doc for a little while afterwards, perhaps…

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Meat Me Halfway

If there was ever a film that vindicated flexitarians, Meat Me Halfway is it.

Addressing the issue of the sense or otherwise in the global population going vegan, the documentary coproduced by Brian Kateman (leader of the Reducetarian movement) and actress Madelaine Petsch suggests as alternative a reduction in meat consumption in order for human diets to become much more sustainable.

All so far so omnivorously obvious, yet omnivores themselves laugh at the notion (and vegans take offence).

However, Reducetarianism posits that, by minimising how often meat is eaten, factory farming practices can be eradicated. Indeed, a study published in the journal Science in 2018 found that the elimination of both meat and dairy from a person’s diet reduces (low and behold) their carbon footprint by almost 73%.

Essentially, then, Meat Me Halfway takes issue with the “all-or-nothing” mindset and offers instead of a blackand-white approach a very attractive shade of grey for those struggling to fully shift to veganism; it takes away the guilt, a sense of shame in falling off the plant-based waggon that one is failing this planet we hold so very dear.

The film’s target audience is global, but its purpose is inspired by the statistic that the average American consumes in excess of 200lbs of meat each and every year. That’s a horrifying amount, not just as regards individual intake, but in the total annual weight of meat eaten by the entire population of the United States alone… No wonder we’ve reached critical point with industrial agriculture, with 9 billion land animals solely on US soil (if you can call it that) and 70 billion globally suffering in factory farms.

Kateman also considers vegetarians and even vegans to be reducetarians, with vegans reducing animal products to zero. He doesn’t see any cause for concern in an individual eating a few pounds of meat per year and doesn’t like resultant terms for “lapses” from one’s dietary goals (such as “lazy vegetarian” or “cheating vegan”). Instead, he wants to switch that thinking around and laud what inroads one does make into living as plant-based as possible. After all, there’s a considerable evolutionary history to overcome that has placed meat at the centre of humans’ thinking (at least, until recently).

Perceived (and passé) social norms aside, Kateman devotes a large portion of the film to plant-based alternative products, praising the opportunity they give die-hard (oh, the irony) meat-lovers to retain “meaty” dietary satisfaction. Certainly, Vegconomist reported at the start of this year that Pilgrim’s Food Masters (owner of Richmond sausages) predicts a growth of 74% in plant-based products, after a survey revealed 43.7% of its customers “now describe themselves as flexitarian”. Kateman’s excitement over cellular agriculture, or lab-grown meat, is palpable. However, he warns that the long-term success of all these products in bringing more people over to a meat-free way of living will be dependent on affordability.

Meat Me Halfway, then, suggests an alternative path towards any chance of Wells’ “modern utopia”, wherein our moral obligation to, yes, reduce the suffering of other beings, no matter how sentient of otherwise, takes precedence: if, en masse, we reduce our meat consumption, gradually – perhaps tricklingly slowly – we will reach the point where we see those terrible conveyor belt slaughterhouses firmly shut.

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Cracking the Truth About Dairy

Dairy: the cliff edge from which so few vegetarians wish to leap off and dive with ethical elegance into veganism. There is a possessiveness to dairy (“my cheese”), a reluctance to alter what on the surface doesn’t seem so very bad – what harm when there is no blood, no flesh to be seen, reminder of a “food’s” origin? So it is that, just like Cowspiracy and its marine successor Seaspiracy, dairy is now having its own outpouring of awareness-raising documentaries – to the point of overflowing.

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[Cows] in the UK don’t usually get the kind of David Attenborough treatment reserved for lions and tigers.

- The Guardian

Let’s start with Cow, the title inspired by dairy’s central animal source. As a Sustainable Food Trust review noted, what Cow does is make sure we truly know what is going on, intimately and from the animal’s perspective. Shot over four years, it is “a confronting and bleak insight” into the first-hand experience of cattle on an industrial dairy farm. Following Luma, a heifer who has birthed six calves on the farm, Cow records her daily life, until her doomed end.

At the film’s start, viewers are quickly shocked by the speed with which Luma’s latest calf is taken away from her. Devoid of dialogue, the script flows only in the lowing of the bovine language, all too frequently panicked and desperate. The camera focuses on the soulful eyes of its protagonist, clearly distraught and bereft of her infant. She goes off her food from the grief. And why has she been put through this? So that the calf doesn’t drink the milk her udder holds, so it instead can be sold to human consumers. Milk fetches a higher price when the ethics of such a practice are taken into consideration and the calf permitted to stay with its mother somewhat longer (“calf at foot”) – but the essential process of forced production and theft is fundamentally the same. The “ethical dairy” farmer might permit 12 weeks’ bonding or so between mother and baby, and if organic might treat their heifer to grass on an ongoing basis (a minimum of 60% of the time is required for organic certification), but other than such perks in the cow’s life, there is little difference from the exploitation of industrial dairy cows (Luma and the others only saw grass at least 45 minutes into the film).

As was the intended outcome with other such ecodocumentaries, those who see Cow for the first time are usually duly horrified, become depressed, and swear off dairy henceforth. After all, how can dairy ever be “ethical” when it is a product of an endless series of impregnations without consent and heartrending kidnappings after every birth?

Strong words, but suitable for ripping away the bright, calcium-kid smile from the milk industry’s advertising gloss on reality.

In order to produce a dairy cow, heartrending cruelty, and not merely exploitation, is a necessity. Milk and its derivatives are products of pain, suffering, and abominable interference with the law of love.

- Leslie Cross

The average British person consumes

It takes a cow roughly around

of milk in a week

to turn grass into milk

1.4 litres 60 hours

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No longer simply a movement, alternative milks have become mainstream. With Oatly now offering a soft-serve vegan yogurt amongst its other hugely popular products, all vying to catch the eye of dairy-free consumers in competition with the increasing numbers of other brands – options ranging from coconut to almond and soya (to name but a few) – it’s clear that plant-based dairy products are here to stay. And now, with the upcycling methods of “grain milks” such as barley being added to the list, why would anyone still want what comes from a cow’s udder instead?

Given this, it might have been World Milk Day on June 1st, but – and we urged the same thing last year – why not henceforth try and make them plant-based milk days instead?

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Vegan Canada recently reviewed the current available scientific evidence on the health risks of dairy products.

Collating information from 15 separate studies, results showed that consuming dairy increases the risk of certain cancers by around 9%; in particular, prostate cancer.

Meanwhile, another study of 52,795 women in the US found a 22% increased risk of breast cancer specifically in those who drank milk (as opposed to consuming other dairy products).

The health benefits of ditching the dairy are numerous.

Furthermore, dietician for The Vegan Society, Andrea Rymer has noted that fortified plant milks contain more calcium than dairy, whilst being lower in fat, too. The fortification is particularly important for those new to plant-based living, as they otherwise might not make up for calcium intake elsewhere in their diet.

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Before we look more closely at plantbased alt-dairy, though, it’s first worth mentioning that developments in labgrown dairy, referred to as precision fermentation are coming on apace, also.

Precision fermentation still uses cow DNA, stretching it before processing to allow microorganisms to create a product bioidentical to animal milk, or “real milk without animal cruelty”.

Vegconomist recently reported on a study co-published by precision fermentation company Formo (formerly known as LegenDairy Foods) and the University of Bath, which surveyed consumers in the UK, USA, Brazil, Germany, and India on their willingness to buy and to try vegan cheese, with 71% showing interest in purchasing and 79% keen to at least try a lab-grown alternative to dairy-derived cheddar and the like. It is thought there is such widespread interest due to the extensive dissatisfaction with plant-based cheeses.

So, it is interesting to note that Canadian company, Opalia announced earlier this year that it was one step closer to animal-free cell-cultured milk, after replacing the controversial ingredient of FBS (Fetal Bovine Serum) in its processes.

Given that FBS is taken from the placenta of pregnant cows, a more ethical alternative was always going to be a necessary discovery. Nonetheless, Opalia is still gathering mammary epithelial cells from cows, before enhancing them and growing them in a bioreactor, where they lactate. Very Sci-Fi creepy (or perhaps that’s just our take), but by this method Opalia can create two whey proteins, four casein proteins, and even milk fats – and bring dairy products to households without lifelong industrial incarceration and impregnation of female cattle.

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Danone North America has also been seeking animal-free casein for better-tasting vegan cheese. The protein casein is what gives cheese its melting and stretching qualities. Danone North America joins the likes of Nobell Foods, which has developed a plant-based casein “by recreating the genetic code in soybean seeds”. But, back outside the laboratories, and as pertains to properly vegan alternatives, dairy-free milks are also battling to be considered the best. Currently, oat milk is in competition with macadamia milk for top “creamy” coffee choice. Such creaminess come from monounsaturated fat (the heart healthy kind), macadamia milk is sadly still pretty rare (not to mention, expensive) to come by in the UK. However, across the pond it’s doing very well indeed.

Approximately 225ml of unsweetened macadamia milk has about 5g of fat, 1g of fibre and protein each, 1g of carbohydrates, and only 50 calories, whereas the equivalent serving of oat milk has 60 calories, only 3g of fat, 1g of both protein and fibre, but 7g of carbohydrates. So, the difference between them is pretty minimal, unless you’re on a low-carbohydrate or diabetes-management diet: then, the macadamia milk is a no-brainer. Additionally, it contains iron, vitamin B6, manganese, and potassium. And if you pick up a fortified version, you’ll likely benefit from vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin A, and calcium, too. Great, then – if you can find it.

The alt milk scene is very much a profitable one. In 2020, globally the alternative dairy market was valued by Grand Review Research at £14.8 billion. By 2028, it’s estimated that that figure will have increased some 12.5%. Yet, what about its sustainability factor? It is widely known that almonds and rice use a phenomenal amount of water in their growing. Oat milk might be the most environmentally friendly, but is it entirely healthy with its high carbohydrate density? Certainly, Plamil’s Adrian Ling thought it far superior to almond milk, his company’s future vision seeking the most nutrition for the most amount of people, for the most future environmental amelioration and sustainability: no small ambition.

For those for whom macadamia milk isn’t an option, another new addition to the market is Alpro’s Not M*lk, which debuted in January. Another oat milk in a busy marketplace, Alpro’s version is made from European-grown oats and packaged in recyclable cartons. Not M*lk is competitively priced, though, in a major growth sector, UK consumers spending £146 million on oat milk in 2020 alone. In 2020, the global vegan yogurt market was worth around $1.94 billion [c. £1.54 billion]. By 2026, that value is expected to rise by some 17.7%. It is thought that vegan yogurt is especially seeing a growth period because of its flavour adaptability when compared to plant milks (though, this is changing, too). Starbucks has even launched a vegan yogurt drink in South Korea, “Pine Coco Green Yogurt Blended”, plant-based industry in the country having tripled over the past 10 years.

With lactose intolerance widespread in all creeds and colours (the US National Library of Medicine estimating that roughly 65% of the human race taken as a whole are so) and with dairy also having been found in other studies to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke – for those who refuse to relinquish animal-sourced dairy products, the question begs why continue to poison oneself in this way? Are diehard dairy advocates, as any vegan worth their salt in personal research will tell you, simply addicted (dairy milk containing morphinelike compounds called casomorphins that serve naturally to bond calf to mother)? Perhaps, but as another dairy-exposé documentary, Milked suggests, the answer is in part a fiscal one.

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The planet can produce enough for human need, but not human greed.

- Mahatma Gandhi

Directed and produced by Amy Taylor, and co-produced by its presenter Chris Huriwai, the Ahimsa Films documentary Milked is a Kiwi look at the dairy industry, New Zealand being the biggest exporter of dairy in the world. Following Chris on a self-set mission to unearth the truth behind the lies when it comes to the environmental impact of industrial dairy farming, Milked brings to viewers a man from the rural north of Aotearoa, who has always had a connection with and concern about the environment. When Chris watched Cowspiracy, he simply thought that was the state of affairs in America, not at home. After all, New Zealand also claims to have the most sustainable dairy industry in the world. Then, he discovered he was wrong.

According to Greenpeace’s Genevieve Toop, the biggest polluter in New Zealand is the dairy industry, accounting for 23% of its total GHGs. It might self-describe itself as sustainable, but its emissions have increased by 132% in only the last 30 years. Kevin Hague of Forest & Bird told Chris that the country is seeing “a collapse of natural ecosystems”, while Aotearoa’s Green Party member Gareth Hughes recounted how New Zealand used to be covered in forests, but that it has now “lost the biggest chunk of wetlands in modern history in the last 100 years [in order] to put more cows on paddocks”.

The disequilibrium is frightening.

New Zealand’s largest dairy company is Fonterra, a co-op owned by farmers. Classed as one of the top five dairy (and meat) companies globally, Fonterra and the other four together produce more emissions than the entire UK and its population of 68 million people does (578 million tonnes in comparison to 507 million tonnes, if you were wondering). On its own, within a decade Fonterra’s emissions are projected to exceed New Zealand’s entire emissions target.

Is it any wonder, though, when “white-gold fever” still runs rampant, the country having over 6 million dairy cows? In Aotearoa alone, the dairy herd produces in excess of 150 litres of urine per day and effluent equivalent to that of 90 million people. What demonstrably suffers is the surrounding environment, namely the soil and water. In New Zealand, water is quite literally sacred to the Māori. However, pollution has already afflicted such lakes as Omapere. Such pollution of land and water by industrial dairy farming isn’t unique to New Zealand, either.

Globally, farmed animals and humans combined equate to 96% of all mammalian biomass (only the remaining 4% of all mammals wild), and worldwide demand for food is predicted to double by 2050. This isn’t surprising, but what is shocking is scientists’ warning that in order to feed that exploded population (while it continues to consume meat and dairy at the current unsustainable rate) not just one but five Earths would be required.

The Vegan Cheese Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report for the period 2022-2030 predicts a market value of $7.1 billion [c. £5.66 billion] by the end of the report’s eightyear coverage. Mozzarella has been the runaway plant-based cheese as a product; no surprise, given its broad application in a variety of people’s favourite dishes, from pasta and pizza, to toasted sandwiches and salads. It is projected that vegan ricotta will come to nip at mozzarella’s heels, though, with an estimated revenue growth of 14% by 2030: again, this is fuelled by a near-global predilection for Italian inspired meals.

Cashews as a source for vegan cheese, meanwhile, garnered most revenue last year. Low in fat and offering vitamins B2 and B12, cashew-based alternative dairy products are also cholesterol-free and gluten-free.

The lowest cost dairy substitute, however, is the oldest one: soy-based dairy products hark back to the days of fermented tofu in the East and offer consumers a nutritionally complete food in terms of essential fatty acids and amino acids. But what of more outlandish artisanal cheese, that holy grail of vegan gastronomic skill? With hemp and even cauliflower being experimental ingredients these days, what will eventually be the key to unlocking a cheese that tastes like cheese but doesn’t cost a cow a thing?

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From the four-legged to the winged, cows are one thing, but what about chickens? With avian flu having stricken poultry farmers since the latter part of 2021, the outbreak was so severe that free-range and organic farms were forced to bring their hens entirely indoors, egg cartons displaying a note to consumers that stated the move was temporary. Yet, it still meant that the chickens suffered. If avian flu continues to frequently reoccur in this manner, subsequently ever more seriously, it surely poses the question of whether we should continue to exploit birds for meat and eggs, does it not?

As with other products “traditionally” derived from animals, companies are also racing to the finish line to create a plantbased alternative to eggs. Alt-meat chicken was a relatively “easy” thing to create in the grand cellular agriculture scheme of things, but eggs have proved a tad trickier. The Every Company, an American biotechnology company, revealed in 2021 that it was precision fermenting egg whites from real chicken egg proteins (so, not vegan then…), the proteins added to yeast cells and then “grown up” in vats (similar to the process of making synthetic insulin for diabetics). However, at the start of 2022 scientists at the University of Helsinki, Finland revealed that they had created a fungi-based egg white via precision fermentation.

Apparently, the Trichoderma reesei fungal-produced ovalbumin uses 90% less land and emits up to 55% less than standard egg production. It is also claimed that it eliminates the risk of salmonella and antibiotic exposure. Egg white has been focused on as an alternative to the chicken egg white powder that is a vital ingredient in the food industry. So, while JUST Egg dominates a keenly developing market as a plant-based product (around a third of us would choose vegan eggs over “conventional” eggs), it is hoped that this biotech fungal version might in the long-run offer greater functionality at scale.

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As pertains to the domestic kitchen, however, the go-to for an eggy taste in one’s plant-based cooking is Kala namak (the sulphurous-smelling Himalayan black salt).

It’s not an egg, per se, but it hints at what one gave up for moral reasons. Conversely, chickpea water (aka aquafaba) can be whipped up in egg white fashion and used to bind or provide bubbles (its foamy quality come from its saponins). About three tablespoons suffices for the replacement of one egg. Chemically, though, while chicken egg white contains about 11% protein (all nine essential amino acids and then nine others) and not much else besides, aquafaba also offers carbohydrates and anti-ageing isoflavones.

Sadly, aquafaba’s protein is incomplete, so it has to be combined with other foods to offer nutritionally complete meal – which isn’t particularly onerous.

Nevertheless, it otherwise offers healthy fats like linoleic and oleic acids. Beware also opting for canned chickpea water, as sometimes it can be exactly that: just water.

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Pumpkin Puree

Now, in an ever more eco-aware and conscious-living world, stainless steel water bottles are the way to go. Just Natural is here to help you stay hydrated at minimal cost to the planet and its creatures.

Bear with us… When it comes to baking, pumpkin puree is a lifesaver. Its texture adds that certain something that always seems to be lacking when an egg is missing, sure, but it’s the nutritional content of pumpkin puree that makes it a top pick for vegan baking: think vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and potassium and fibre, also. A ¼ cup is equivalent to one egg.

Available in three different, poignant designs (turtle, polar bear, and penguin), Just Natural's branded stainless steel vacuum drinks bottles can both keep your drink cold for 24 hours or conversely - for the tea lovers amongst you - hot for 12 hours.

Tofu Best for savoury egg dishes that you once enjoyed, tofu (especially silken tofu) lends itself to a delicious breakfast scramble.

Cholesterol-free, tofu is also a plant-based source of iron, calcium, and potassium.

Again, a ¼ cup is equivalent to one egg.

Unsweetened Applesauce This one harks back to the dieting era of the late 80s and early 90s, but the wisdom of its replacement of chicken eggs is sound. Chock full of anti-inflammatory antioxidants, applesauce is also good for those who struggle with digestion.

As with other egg replacement options, a ¼ cup of applesauce is equivalent to one egg.

Ground Flaxseed or Chia Seeds Adding both texture and fibre to recipes – not to mention Omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins – these nutritional powerhouses can be used in recipes without any heating process, as well, from yogurt-based desserts to smoothie bowls and the like. Mix 1tbsp of either ground flax seeds or chia seeds with 2tbsp or 3tbsp of water until thickened: this mixture is then equivalent to one egg.

Mashed Banana or Cooked Sweet Potatoes or Avocado Puree The key words here are “mashed” and “puree” – be sure you don’t liquify these options, as they won’t work in the same way. Rich in a wide range of vitamins and minerals, a ¼ cup of each similarly equates to one egg. The only caveat with these three is that their individual flavours will permeate through the overall flavour of the finished dish.

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Rhythm of the Blood The heart: the centre of our being, figuratively and (almost) literally; the old ticker that pulses the countdown of our given mortalities – the heart is an organ emotionally driven as much as biologically and its health is vital to our all too human drive for a lifespan that stretches well beyond that of our ancestors. But many factors must combine for our cardiac muscle to continue to do its job and do it well, imbuing us with the energy to thrive throughout our frenetically busy and vibrant days, dancing out the choreography of life.

It was World Heart Rhythm Week back in June, the Arrhythmia Alliance-run awareness event for educating the wider public on irregular heartbeats. In the UK, around 100,000 people each year die from sudden cardiac arrest – that’s more than breast cancer, lung cancer, and AIDS deaths combined. Globally, approximately 1 in 14 of us are living with CVD (Cardiovascular Disorder) and 1in 3 of us dies from a heart or circulatory disease annually. Furthermore, the British Heart Foundation states that every three minutes someone dies from CVD in the UK alone.

However, heart health doesn’t always present with pulsation irregularity or any symptoms at all. There are obviously signs that do occur, though. Always tired despite getting your 8 hours’ sleep? Think you’ve got a constant case of heartburn? Bleeding gums? Heart skipping a few beats here and there, even while at rest?

Dizzy when you stand up? Or are you someone who avoids the stairs like the plague for breathlessness? In all these cases, see your doctor (the last example can be symptoms of mitral valve disease and cardiomyopathy).

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Of course, there are risk factors as well: from high cholesterol to high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, to smoking and a sedentary lifestyle, risks to heart health also include a family history of CVD, air pollution, high levels of stress, and the state of a person’s mental health. Nonetheless, sometimes cardiac arrest can seemingly come from out of nowhere.

That’s why it is important to know your usual resting and active heartbeat, your own internal rhythm, and be aware when that rhythm is off-beat and its tempo skewed. Self-awareness and mindfulness are promoted a lot these days, but what if your concentration is on everything but yourself? With seemingly so many unknowns, it pays to be subconsciously contented that you’re keeping your heart otherwise healthy.

To this end, scientists have been suggesting the benefit of vitamin D not on bone health, but for reducing the risk of heart disease. One study, published in the European Heart Journal, found vitamin D deficiency to be a common occurrence in patients with heart disease and high blood pressure. But – a diet rich in egg yolk and oily fish, consumed under a warm Mediterranean sun, aside – many of us are deficient in vitamin D. And so, we are told we must supplement.

However, there is no need to panic, believing the populationwide deficiency in this “sunshine vitamin” means a mass cardiac catastrophe later on. You might not even be one of those who are deficient, so don’t start knocking back superstrength vitamin D capsules. Indeed, a 2018 study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found no evidence of reduced risk of death from heart attack, stroke, or a cardiovascular event in 25,000 patients taking a daily vitamin D3 supplement over several years. Too much synthetic vitamin D will be stored in our fat, however (unlike water-soluble vitamin C if taken to excess). So, what else can be done? Prevention rather than cure.

A diet low in saturated fat and high in fibre has been shown to help reduce the risk of heart disease. By including beans and legumes in your diet, you are ensuring a plantbased source of protein that doesn’t have the higher risk from animal protein shown in a 2011 study published in Current Atherosclerosis Reports. Containing far less fat than meat or fish and no cholesterol, beans also help reduce the risk of CVD caused by obesity, Type-II diabetes, and high cholesterol, as according to a 2019 study published in Advances in Nutrition.

Opposite to inclusion is exclusion, and avoiding toxic vegetable oils is another way to safeguard your heart from a cardiac event, such industrial oils causing inflammation in the body entire, as well as obesity. Even Hollywood stars know this, Zero Acre Farms raising $37 million [c. £27.2 million] from investors that include Robert Downey Jr. and Sir Richard Branson for the purpose of bringing “an end to the era of vegetable oils”, according to Vegconomist. Instead, the Jeff Nobbs-founded Zero Acre Farms promises to circumvent deforestation and worsening of chronic disease through the creation of a fermentation method that results in healthy oils and fats. The exact scientific process is yet to be revealed as we go to print, but one expects great things – perhaps even “heartening” things – from the premise…

Meanwhile, a new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism proposes that making supper entirely plant-based can reduce heart disease by some 10% in comparison to those who choose to consume meat and refined carbohydrates. This is based on a plant-based supper that consists mostly of wholegrain carbohydrates and unsaturated fats (i.e. not junk food vegan menu options). Thereby the endothelial function of our blood vessels is improved, so they open wider and lower our blood pressure.

Hydration, however, is key (as with most of our health, not just that of our heart; particularly during a hot summer). Indeed, a recent study by researchers at the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, looking at the long-term effects of water intake on the heart health of participants between the ages of 44 and 66, found that poor hydration resulted in raised blood pressure and decreased “cellular integrity of the heart muscle”. It is thought that this is in part because water regulates the body’s sodium, hormone, and kidney function balance. So, perhaps step away from that dehydrating cup of coffee in the afternoon when you’re lagging: water doesn’t just perk you up, it replenishes your innermost vital organs (as well as revitalising the skin).

Yet, to return to the impact of emotions and one’s mental health on the state of our heart, it turns out that a few among us (circa 35%) can actually consciously feel their heartbeat and count it without touching a pulse point; can, simply through an inner awareness, sense its precise count. You’d think this would evidence the importance of mindfulness, the power of self-awareness for permitting balance when disequilibrium looks set to tumble into chaos.

Studies, however, have shown that those with a conscious awareness of their heartbeat have more intense emotional reactions, suggesting a propensity to experience more stress. At the same time, they’re also more empathetic.

Then, of course, there’s exercise. As little as 17 minutes a day power walking, in fact, can lower the risk of developing CVD. Promoting cardiorespiratory fitness (where your heart gets the most oxygen it can from the lungs when working optimally), exercise that gets the heart pumping and the lungs working is brilliant for lessening the likelihood of suffering a cardiac attack. A study published in the European Heart Journal found that although that 17-minute fast-paced walk or a jog can improve “peak oxygen uptake” by around 5%, so too can a gentle stroll for 54 minutes or a subdued cycle on a stationary bike.

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The Sound of Plant-Based Music: Vegan Violins & Emotional Piglets Multiple studies have looked at the effect of music on our pulse and overall heart health. Now, that’s been taken one step further into the realm of ethics, with the crafting of the world’s first vegan violin.

A bespoke instrument made

by Padraig ó Dubhlaoidh (Pawrig O’Dooley) of Hibernian Violins and certified by The Vegan Society, the vegan violin has come about after the luthier’s 40+ years of experience in the industry, making, restoring, and conserving. Using traditional tools and methods, the veganfriendly instrument uses natural dyes, pears, berries, and local spring water from the Malvern Hills for the glue, and does away with the need for horsehair, hooves, horns, and bones overall. So, a nice little cruelty-free upgrade, there.

Hay Fever? Dust or Pet Allergy?

July is peak hay fever season for the 95% of sufferers allergic to grass pollen. Weed pollen lasts through August. Then, as autumn begins to draw in, in September, dust and pet allergens begin to become more difficult to manage as we start to spend more time indoors.

HayMax organic drug-free allergen barrier balms can help with all of these. They have been proven in independent university studies to trap over one third of pollen, plus dust and pet allergens before they enter the body. Less allergen, less reaction. Over 80% said HayMax works.

They are drug-free with no drowsy side-effects, so are suitable for children and adults, including pregnant and breast-feeding women. HayMax is certified organic by the Soil Association, carries the Vegetarian Society Approved vegetarian trademark and has won over 50 awards.

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However, though one’s morals might be appeased by such musical innovation, one’s bank account is sure to whimper slightly at the £8,000 price tag.

Comparatively minimal for violins, nevertheless the musical benefit to a person’s heart health could very well be diminished into silence.

It’s not just we humans who appreciate a melodic bar or two, either. Plant Based News recently reported that pigs are similarly emotionally reactive to music. Playing a variety of consonant and dissonant music to six litters of between 10 and 12 piglets, researchers conducted a study recently that found that when three- to five-minute pieces, played randomly and with three-minute breaks in between each, were filtered through speakers into where the piglets were housed, they responded positively both in terms of body language and in the sounds they made when the music was tonally consonant. Highly intelligent animals, one wonders what they would have made of Stockhausen…

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Healthy Habti s tS ore Cubop ard tS aples There is simply nothing like a good night’s sleep to bring calm to an overworked and anxious mind. There’s a reason humans evolved in such a way as to necessitate sleep – not just for the mind, but for the body entire as well, from the health of our heart to our immunity overall. If only it was an easy and automatic thing to tumble down the rabbit hole into restorative dormancy, though.

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&

Well, by implementing a few habits in the morning and evening, and even during the day, we can better signal to our brain when the time has come for rest (not an easy thing for it to accept when daily life fast forwards at a speed gone mad). Nevertheless, it’s worth adopting or at least briefly trying out a few of the following suggestions to find what works best for you.

We’re pretty sure you’ll wonder why you ever previously contemplated counting sheep…

You could also try ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) self-soothing techniques.

Know that feeling when you hear a whisper or are tapped lightly and rhythmically or have your back gently stroked and a tingling feeling spreads from your scalp, down the back of your neck, and throughout your body? Well, now there’s a YouTube channel to help you achieve that calming moment (probably a Spotify playlist, also). Given that scientists at the University of Sheffield are looking into ASMR’s ability to beneficially lower heart rate, we’d say it’s pretty legit…

1. Mindful Gratitude Studies have shown that actively practising gratitude, thinking about the things we are thankful for, just before bedtime signals to the neurochemical impulses in our brain to release dopamine, so we can drift off to sleep on a gentle wave of positive thoughts.

Journaling is a useful tool for facilitating this, as is a short meditative practice.

2. Tidy Home, Tidy Thoughts We are all of us creatures of our environment and our domestic surroundings influence us emotionally, whether we realise it or not. Who wants to wake up to last night’s supper plates waiting by the sink or the laundry still damp in the washing machine from the day before? As organised as our diurnal hours have to be, it really is worth the extra time investment, before relaxing fully of an evening, to ensure that our home is as clean and tidy as we’ll want it the next day. There are few things worse than waking up to a used cafetiere…

Tart Cherry Concentrate

More potent than the juice, a mere 2tbsp of concentrate is the equivalent of 60 cherries.

The effects can kick in after just half an hour, also.

3. Tomorrow's To-Do List Operating on the same premise as space clearing, by planning the day ahead – actually taking a pen or pencil and noting down what needs to be done, in order of priority – does wonders for easing any anxiety that might linger, bunched up in the neck and tight shoulder muscles, trying to ooze into our thoughts and destroy any potential for sleep. Don’t let it. Empty yourself of tomorrow before it begins; this can include a visualisation practice, also.

3. Bed is a No Phone Zone You’re attached at the hip to your Smartphone during the day (well, it’s glued to the palm of your hand, but you see our point) – so, why on Earth would you want to take it to bed with you? Social media posts and emails and messages should all have a cut off point. It’s widely acknowledged that we’re all addicted to our mobiles, increasing anxiety and depression in the vulnerable, and that blue-lighted screen is resetting your body’s rhythms with its false light, prohibiting melatonin release. Turn it off and get some shuteye.

If you’re still having trouble sleeping, then it might be worth having to hand some of these traditional lures for Mr Sandman: they all promote release of the hormone melatonin, which in addition to regulating our circadian rhythms has antioxidant properties, too.

TO DO

Pistachios

One of the most potent melatonin sources, there are 6.6mg of the hormone in about 49 nuts… Eat a ¼ cup just before bed and, like tart cherry concentrate, you should be in dreamland in a little over 30 minutes.

Eggs Not a plant-based option, granted (and you’ll probably want to wait until this recent outbreak of avian flu is over with), but otherwise eggs are a great go-to for a melatonin boost.

Salmon Again, one instead for the pescetarians or flexitarians, but… Salmon is not only replete with healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, but melatonin, as well.

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When you feel your stress levels are out of control and you’ve tried everything you can think of and your blood pressure still feels way too high and you couldn’t possibly imagine ever winding down and relaxing again – maybe channel a US Navy SEAL and breathe, box breathe.

Used as a calming technique, box breathing actually has its roots in Yogic pranayama and Ayurveda as a method by which to slow down the sympathetic stress reponse, rather than any military background. Working with the notion that slowing down your breath promotes relaxation, when we purposefully take in more oxygen, we release tension in the body and thereby stimulate the vagus nerve (the longest nerve in the body).

You only need five minutes and, with many things, the more often you do it, the easier it becomes and the way you react to stressful situations will change, evolving into something closer to stillness, to a pause in which to assess both action and thought before any impulse...

Method...

1.

Set timer for five minutes.

2.

Sit cross-legged on the floor with your spine straight. If this is uncomfortable, sit on a chair with your feet flat to the ground.

3.

Close your eyes and inhale for four counts.

4.

Hold your breath for four counts.

5.

Exhale for four counts.

6.

Hold this non-breath for four counts.

7.

Inhale for four counts… And continue until the alarm.

Thus, box-like, you’ll rise, clear-headed now to confront whatever it was that threatened to derail your day. It really is all about the breath.

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Plant-Based Blue Zones Lessons for Making 100 Longevity, a bid for immortality: this is the holy grail of human life. We mention Dan Buettner a fair bit in this publication, but an obsession with Blue Zones – those areas of the globe where people reach the centenarian mark far more frequently than elsewhere on this strange and beautiful planet of ours – has led to an eye ever being kept on and an ear ever cocked towards news of the latest research on what might be the precise magic recipe, so to speak, for being able to similarly reach that 100th birthday.

So it is with keen interest that we learn the answer could lie in a bottle of oil, or two.

In addition to the general lifestyle of Blue Zones people such as Japan’s Okinawans (who are ten times more likely than us to reach that tenth decade mark) being a predominantly plant-based diet, with minimal fresh fish allowed for, as well as plentiful pulses, nuts and seeds, wholegrains, herbs and spices, and a daily glass of red wine (not to mention staying active and maintaining a positive outlook in lives enriched sociably and spiritually) – olive oil and avocado oil might just the secret, too.

In Ikaria, Greece the older generation consume about 113ml of olive oil each day. Two other Blue Zones – Sardinia, Italy and Loma Linda, California – follow the same habit. At this point of the 21st century, it might seem pretty obvious that a 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is going to be better for the heart than industrial oils or lard (heaven forbid!), but besides its Omega-3 fatty acids, olive oil is also replete with antioxidants and low in any inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids, thereby helping to reduce inflammation in the body (inflammation being a precursor for disease). Blood cholesterol is protected from oxidation, as well. And, contrary to earlier warnings, good quality EVOO is safe to cook with.

Avocado oil, on the other hand, is popular in Nicoya, Costa Rica. With much of the whole-form fruit’s beneficial nutrients still present in its oil, avocado oil is high in unsaturated fats (i.e. the ones that lessen inflammation).

Found to reduce triglycerides and bad LDL cholesterol, given its smoke point is higher than olive oil’s, it might even be the better option for high-heat cooking, too. Rich in antioxidants, avocado oil also contains carotenoid lutein which is a boon for eye health and reducing age-related macular degeneration.

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So, as trends in the health and wellbeing sector seem to suggest, if more people eat their five-a-day, stay regularly active, live as positively as possible (it’s all the mind, dear readers), and keep stress to a minimum, living in the moment and practicing compassion for others – then that upper limit might just be achieved after all. If you’ve still got your eye on receiving a letter of congratulations on your grand age from the monarch, channel those centenarian aspirations and do as some of the Blue Zones countries do. Here’s a little helping hand to get you started:

Nicoya, Costa Rica

Sardinia, Italy Apart from these (for all intents and purposes) super oils, Blue Zones people tend to cook at home more, combining good quality food with the cherished company of friends and family.

Preparing and sharing meals benefits the mind, as much as it does the body. What bread is broken with loved ones is either wholewheat or sourdough, and the average daily fruit and vegetable consumption is around 10 servings (rather than the British RDA of 5 servings). Animal flesh, whether meat or fish, is minimized to very small portions only a handful of times a month.

This ties in with the Okinawan suppertime phrase, hara hachi bu: a reminder to self to eat mindfully and to only 80% fullness.

Nevertheless, if more and more of us start living longer (a) is that necessarily a good thing (it’s rather debatable, given the climate crisis) and (b) just how old can we actually live to? On this last point, recent research has suggested 150 years of age. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications last year, deemed the “absolute limit of human lifespan” to be somewhere between 120 and 150 years old.

That is the point at which the employed mathematical model of analysis estimated our body fully loses its ability to recover from illness and injury (its “resilience”).

Blue Zones people eat four times the amount of beans and pulses as the average person in the West.

Sardinia is no exception, with its recipes heartily full of chickpeas and fava beans and white beans – all satisfying, all great for the body and a cruelty-free way to get one’s daily protein quotient. Indeed, most days Sardinians will luncheon on a beanbased soup.

Harking back to our earlier article this issue on the ethics of eggs and plant-based alternatives (See “Even Eggs Are Out…”, p.30), Nicoyans would not perhaps give much thought to such a problem, given that one of their favoured protein sources are pumpkin seeds (or pepitas). Small treasure troves of healthy fats, magnesium, and fibre, pumpkin seeds also contain approximately 12g of protein per cup. And that’s not the only marvellous protein source in Nicoya: black beans and quinoa are staples in the diet, too.

While quinoa is known to be an excellent, proteinous alternative to rice or couscous, black beans are rich in the antioxidant compounds, anthocyanins, by which Nicoyans protect themselves from free radical damage and oxidative stress – both of which are more prevalent as we age.

Okinawa, Japan

It might seem obvious, but tofu and edamame beans being a staple of the Japanese diet, this is nowhere more true than in Okinawa, where the residents consume tofu every day. Plentiful in protein (20g a cup), in iron, and calcium as well – tofu has been found to be an aid to lowering cholesterol and even potentially reduce the likelihood of breast and prostate cancer. Edamame beans, meanwhile, have around 17g of protein per cup and similar benefits. justnaturalhealth.co.uk | Just Natural Health & Beauty

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Awesome Avocados

Just as we’re all a little fixated on living as long as we can in the best possible health, so it is – in tributary fashion – that avocados have become a worldwide obsession.

As Yoga Journal reported back in April, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that just two servings of avocado each week resulted in a 16% decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Not only that, either. A separate study, published in the Journal of Nutrition discovered that those participants who ate avocados benefitted from greater microbial diversity in their gut. Furthermore, a 2019 study connected avocado consumption with lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

The scientific cheerleading doesn’t stop there, though. Way back in 2007, a study published in the journal Seminars in Cancer Biology found there to be a connection between avocados and the prevention and potential eradication of precancerous cells in the mouth. Pretty awesome, huh?

Food for thought, certainly. So, the next time you’re out shopping or at the market stall, weigh up the benefits of this beautiful and duly lauded green and savoury fruit: is your health worth the price tag?

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A Question of Longevity:

Quercetin, Glutathione & L-Tyrosine In the early 1900s, Elie Mechnikoff coined the term “orthobiosis” to encompass “all the factors that may affect longevity and well-being”. Whilst we might glean guidance from Blue Zones countries on how to live to a ripe old age, nonetheless, the health industry more specifically can provide additional support to those lifestyle foundations, too.

One nutrient which is currently being praised for its promotion of longevity is quercetin. An anti-inflammatory compound, quercetin is a polyphenol (plant-derived antioxidant micronutrient) thought to support the immune system. It’s being touted as the competitor supplement to turmeric, but you can ingest minimal quantities of quercetin from fruits like apples and raspberries, as well as cherries and red grapes. Activating the protein enzyme, AMPK (regulator of our cellular metabolism and the clearance of damaged cells), a study on fruit flies published in the journal Discoveries found that flies’ lifespans increased by some 30% as a result of AMPK activation. Further human-based studies are needed, but the horizon looks promising.

Another “master antioxidant” is glutathione (GSH).

Offering immune system support and hormone regulation (which in itself can protect again arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and even cancer) – glutathione can rebuild itself and vitamins such as C and E, but the body’s natural production of it slows as we age. Consisting of three types of amino acids (L-cysteine, glycine, and L-glutamate), GSH is produced by our liver and nerve cells. However, by consuming foods rich in cysteine and selenium, that degradation can be arrested somewhat.

Sleep, of course, is the often-overlooked daily slot in our lives which could serve best our pursuit of centenarian reward: it is only when we are asleep that our brain’s lymphatic system kicks in, a sort of cleaning mechanism; if it can’t in this way repair, that way cognitive decline lies. If your memory is feeling a little shaky lately, though, it might be worth considering your L-Tyrosine levels. A non-essential amino acid (i.e. our bodies make a small quantity of it), it’s believed to boost happiness and reduce stress and help produce neurotransmitters (basically, brain chemicals) such as dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Available in protein food sources, initial studies have hinted at L-Tyrosine’s ability to maintain mental alertness and problem-solving capabilities under intense stress, including sleep deprivation, also.

If you’re thinking of supplementing L-Tyrosine, it is recommended that you speak with your GP beforehand; it can also interact with medication for Parkinson’s disease.

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The Empowerment of Sexuality: a Dual-Edged Sword of Secret Self

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No sex please, we’re British… And given that men’s predominantly meatheavy diets, according to The Guardian, are thought to cause 40% more climate emissions than a woman’s, is it any wonder that libidos are a little, um, lacking when there’s an entire world to be worried about?

Yet, in this almost smugly frenetic and stressed-out world we live in (where, if you’re not busy, then you must be doing something wrong), one’s attention is captured by the valid science that notes kissing decreases cortisol levels and instead increases serotonin, ameliorating our mood and even helping us sleep better. Nonetheless, though puckering up might be one way of waking refreshed of a morning, we all know with quiet confidence (and an air of mystique) that under the covers and in between the sheets holds many other pleasurable treasures (for the sake of our wellbeing, understand) – don’t we?

We’re talking, of course, about intimacy, about being empowered in our own sexuality, explored together with a loved one, and even with ourselves. Gone are the days when Father and Mother slept in single beds or even in different rooms: a healthy physical relationship means a psychologically healthy couple.

Simple, right?

Well, not so much, actually. Setting aside the fact that some people find discussing their sexual needs and preferences as unsavoury as society deems open discussion of menstruation, are you aware – for instance – of the 13 erogenous zones (aka “the pleasure points”) other than the female clitoris? No? If you’re of the old-school, “quick fix” brigade who’s only otherwise heard of the G-spot and vulva, then you might be surprised to discover – with considerable enjoyment taken in the process – that an erogenous zone is not all about a woman’s nether regions. Shocking. Rather, “nonpenetrative outerplay” is where it’s at (even though you might think “Valentine’s Day is far behind us now”; again, modernise). Indeed, with summer very much here for a few, erm, pleasurable months, things might become so hot in the bedroom post a little explorative play that you’ll have to tone it down a notch when the mercury rises. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

The secret is touch. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But imagine not being touched, ever; and now, imagine the sensation of being touched suddenly. You’d feel utterly alive, wouldn’t you? And that’s how the areas of our bodies that seldom get a skirting brush of fingers feel when our lover exerts a whispered and tantalising touch there.

We’re not going to launch into an anatomy lesson, but it helps to be aware that such areas as the labia and A-spot exist, that one’s fourchette and pubic mound require attention also, or that the perineum is not just a male erogenous zone.

Besides the distinctly sexual parts of our body hidden from public sight – and the fact that attention to the breasts can result in an orgasm all its own – consider the scalp, the neck, the ears… Remember that passing breath on the soft areas there? Focus on those the next time your partner isn’t getting turned on by the tried-and-tested (and potentially boring) old way. Indeed, a 2013 study found these areas to be commonly considered erotic points at which to turn on one’s lover.

How do we touch, though? With what do we stimulate the skin’s sensory receptors? Our hands, our fingers – parts which themselves react to attention given, too. From the swirl of a fingertip on an upturned palm to a brush of the lips or tongue on an inner wrist, don’t forget these areas when it comes to pleasuring your partner. Such tender strokes can stimulate goosebumps on the ever-sensitive torso, also (just beware the overly ticklish person). And while feet and toes might do it for a select few, oftentimes foot fetishes are best kept just that: better a massage of a dainty foot than an illplaced lick between the toes…

As for the physical science behind the benefits of a healthy sex life, researchers have found that morning sex is able to release the hormone oxytocin, which promotes a sense of bonding with our loved one. Many people prefer morning sex to that enjoyed just before sleep (or other times of the day) and it is thought – though further studies are needed – to lessen the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, as well as lower blood pressure and alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Certainly dopamine (the “happy” hormone) levels are highest in the morning, which might assist feeling more turned on when the sun is up, while a woman’s vulva has increased blood flow from REM sleep and men have higher testosterone levels to aid the necessary “uplift”. Furthermore, arousal releases norepinephrine and the oxytocin released in climax lowers cortisol levels, resulting in that “no stress” post-coital attitude (and sometimes bliss). Mornings, also, aren’t yet clogging our brains with all that’s happened over the day’s elapsed and eventful hours, so we can be more present during the act. Additionally, like morning exercises, endorphins are released and you can safely say you’ve gotten in a workout for the day already: “sexercise”, anyone?

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Pomegranates, A Sensual Fruit

Pomegranates are a fruit of secrets. An aphrodisiac, yet a contraceptive; a fruit to cool the energy of the body, and a fruit to warm it. The binary qualities of pomegranates intrigue, but not as much as getting beneath the tough pink flesh to prise from the lattice of pith its ruby jewels.

The major faiths of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam have all viewed pomegranates as balanced symbolically between life and death, and – according to medical historian, A. R. Ruis – between fertility and barrenness, childhood and motherhood (and then there’s Persephone’s seasonal legacy of infernal waiting…).

We’re not going to plunge into discourse on Sergei Parajanov’s filmic The Colour of Pomegranates, but when it comes to this exotic fruit, a fruit which has represented immortality and eternity, as well as resurrection and university totality – what provokes wonder today is its myriad health benefits.

More recently, studies have found pomegranates to have properties which are – wait for it – “antitherogenic, antibiotic, anticarcinogenic, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, astringent, oestrogenic, neuroprotective, spermatogenic, and vermifugic”. Meanwhile, a double-blind study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research found that when men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction were given a “daily dose” of pomegranate juice, their condition improved. This might be, as a

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study conducted by Queen Mary University posited, because pomegranate juice increases testosterone levels (not only in men, either).

So, as these summer days extend into long and balmy nights, why not add a jewelled spark of health to those wonderful salads and delectable couscous dishes you were planning on feeding family and friends? After hours, when everyone’s gone home or to their rooms, it could just make you and your other half’s evening magical.

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If you’re seeking some intimacy pep, though, then you might be interested to know, for any men reading this humble publication, that the lower heart disease risk of a plant-based diet by extension means a lower risk of problems with erectile dysfunction, also, heart disease often leading to sexual performance issues. By this logic, foods beneficial for heart health are foods beneficial for a man’s sexual longevity – in all senses of the word. Indeed, sexologist (yup, they do exist) Shamyra Howard asserts that the “foods we consume impact hormone levels, stamina, and systems […] directly related to sexual functioning”.

Goodness… Better give our readers a beginner’s list, then…

Figs

Some of you reading this, however, might be feeling embarrassed; might view if not sex, then at least masturbation, as a shameful thing.

This could be due to social stigma or the way one was brought up (either religiously guided, or not): but this should not be so. Away with the taboos: orgasms given and received and orgasms from masturbation are normal; indeed, they’re crucial to a healthy life.

An orgasm releases stress, brings a feeling of contentment as the dopamine and the oxytocin wash over us, but so too does simple pleasure and self-pleasure. It’s about taking a moment entirely removed from whatever else is going on and being in the extreme of a physical-centred moment. The more you or your loved one tend to your pleasure zones, in fact, the higher your sex drive is likely to become.

This is down to mindfulness: when we orgasm, it is a whole-body experience, every millimetre of us alive – and every part is open to the communication of touch. Keep that dialogue going, we say…

Exercise essentially being movement of any kind with the aim of becoming fitter, intercourse counts too, releasing mood-boosting endorphins just like a really good run after work (you know you love it). The most challenging poses (as surely most of us have found) are standing up or bridge position (yep), but feel free to dip into the plentiful contortions of the Kama Sutra for inspiration as well. And the longer the session, the greater the benefit – in all ways! Of course, physical coupling works at many different intensity levels dependent on the persons involved, so best not ditch the gym membership just yet.

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Potentially the fruit that saw the Edenic downfall of Adam and Eve (though not in that order), figs are rich in antioxidants and polyphenols which do away with harmful free radicals and leave us feeling younger.

No one wants to feel an old fogey in the bedroom, do they?

Avocados

Given that our hormone production tapers off as we get older, avocados are a boon because they help regulate those hormones and are chock full of vitamin E and vitamin D.

Beetroot Juice

It might sound slightly unappetising, but a 2020 study published in the journal Critical Reviews in Food and Science and Nutrition found that the nitrates in beetroot juice become nitric oxide once we have drunk it, which lowers blood pressure and increases oxygen, which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease.

Pumpkin Seeds

High in the amino acid L-arginine (an aid for testosterone levels and, erm, blood flow), pumpkin seeds also offer zinc.

Dark Chocolate

The lady might very well like Milk Tray, but dark chocolate would serve her wooer better. Rich in magnesium, it contains phenylethylamine, associated with mood elevation and a more sensual frame of mind.

Maca Root

Medicinally used in Incan and Peruvian cultures, you might hear about Maca root being added from one trendy smoothie to the next, but traditionally it was used to increase strength, libido, and sexual function.

What should definitely be steered clear of is dairy. According to the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an organization of over 12,000 doctors in the US, it is believed that dairy negatively impacts sperm count and erections, as well as libido generally and the mysterious (at least to some of the opposite sex) female orgasm.

Men who consume the most cheese have the worst sperm counts, the worst sperm motility, the worst sperm morphology.

Dr Neal Barnard President of PCRM

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It is thought that dairy products in general “throw off hormone levels”, including oestrogen and testosterone. A 2010 study discovered that the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone increased in men after drinking cow’s milk, decreasing testosterone secretion and subsequently lowering their libido. According to the medical and health centre of the University of Wisconsin (UW Health), about 5% of men over the age of 40 suffer from complete erectile dysfunction (ED); by 70, that percentage increases fivefold.

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The Zen of Noodles and the Art of Self-Care “Self-care”: a 21st century term, our language has now idiomatically appropriated the very real need to take time for oneself and recharge and repair.

Even our burgeoning national fleet of electric vehicles must be switched off and allowed a plugged-in boost. As opposed to self-soothing habits – that night in with technology switched off and just you, the dog, a blanket and a book; or an evening hot bath run with candles round its edge and music for the soul on the speakers (if that’s your thing) – self-care is, by contrast, about actively doing what betters our life, reducing stress on a practical basis.

The Harvard Health blog has written before on nutritional psychiatry. In basic terms exploring the concept of the human brain on food, you probably haven’t realised before that your brain needs to be constantly fuelled, even while asleep. Obviously, we can’t be actively eating while snoozing, and that’s why we have the digestive system and other bodily processes that we do. However, as in other areas of health, what we eat matters. For example, lots of refined sugar will harm the brain. Indeed, although you might get a momentary high from chowing down on a delectably gooey brownie (particularly in the first of those given self-soothing scenarios above), multiple studies have shown that too much refined sugar can exacerbate depression and other psychological disorders. It also negatively impacts insulin regulation overall and leads to inflammation and oxidative stress: precisely the opposite of what is needed.

It is now widely accepted that food plays far more important and central a role in our lives than simply keeping us alive. Matters of nutrition aside, food features in religious ceremony, cultural customs, and is a prominent part of countries’ economies. The history of noodle making is – well – also tangled up in such a way, and it is a great method by which to meditatively muddle through one’s thoughts: as the dough is crafted into the best and final version of itself (i.e. noodles), so too our mind sculpts our mental mutterings and musings constructively. While, as Najmieh Batmanglij wrote for The Smithsonian, a noodle master in the northern lands of China might well be able to magically “stretch and swing a lump of dough into perfect individual strands in 15 minutes” – likelihood is our own humble endeavours will manage merely palatably digestible portions, but you see our meaning…

The earliest mention of noodles dates back to the 5th century, in the Jerusalem Talmud, culinary food historians tending to agree that noodle-type pasta probably came from Iran (sorry, Italy). When flour was first introduced to Japan by Zen priests travelling back from China during the

Middle Ages (from the close of the 12th century to the end of the 16thcentury), noodles quickly became popular in mainstream Japanese society. Though some records state this exchange between the two countries occurred much earlier (in the 9th century, contemporary to when hard durum wheat was introduced to Italy from Persia), noodles soon became a competitor staple to rice, even in the monasteries, where the tradition of rice gruel for breakfast and steamed rice for lunch expanded to include simple noodle dishes being offered to visitors. By the 14th century, noodles had reached Korea as well.

The flour of these noodles was often wheat, but traditional Chinese noodles are thought to have been crafted from millet (one 4,000-year-old bowl of the stuff was discovered intact at an archaeological site in the northern part of the country at the start of the Millennium). Today, noodles can be made from rice, buckwheat, mung beans, kelp, corn, konjac (a type of yam), and so on. In China, birthdays are celebrated with “longevity noodles”, while for marriages and moving into a new home noodles are taken with gravy to symbolise a flavoured life. If you fry noodles, you make them Yang; if you boil them, they become Yin. Originally mentioned in the I Ching (“Book of Changes”) in approximately 700BC, Yin represents the female nature; Yin is passive, the negative principle of nature (not a feminist system, then…). Yin is also connected with the moon and the cold and the damp. Conversely, Yang represents the male nature; Yang is active, the positive principle of nature (not that every man seems to follow such, but…). Yang also represents wind, heat, and the dryness of summer. The point is that these binary opposites are ever in a fluid state of balance and constant change: such is life. This is the Zen of noodle making. The metamorphosis from separate ingredients to lump of dough to something carefully tended to and become really quite beautiful is a metaphor for how we handle life in general: noodle making becomes a metaphor for self-care and deeper meditative practice.

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Few people are unlikely to have failed to attempt to make pasta from scratch, particularly during the lockdowns. Some of us also tried our hand at noodle craft. Nutritional psychiatry-wise, noodles become that bit denser and more nutritionally complete when eggs are added to the dough, the amino acid composition of the ova rich in protein and the fat content (between 10% and 15%) easily digestible and brain-healthy. Egg noodles offer the additional benefit of B vitamins and vitamins A, D, E, and even K and C in small amounts, too. Or one can always top a bowl of purely carbohydrate-dense noodles with an egg, as well.

If you find yourself horrified by the thought of all those (delicious) carbohydrates, though, then perhaps take a step back and re-evaluate.

The sense in such a carbohydrate rich diet is historically sound, it seems. Dr John McDougall, a plant-based physician, has for years been expounding the benefits of a “starchitarian” diet. For those scratching their heads at the term, “starchivores” predominantly eat rice, corn, potatoes, and fruit and vegetables. Having seen first-hand the effects of a westernised diet on subsequent generations of the same East Asian families, Dr McDougall noted how, from the first generation’s rice-and-vegetable diet to the second generation’s turning to fast food culture, by the third generation obesity had become a prevalent condition.

Flying in the face of recent preoccupation with protein, the physician asserts humans only need 5% protein per day. Basing his science on first-hand studies and historical record of starchbased diets being commonplace until nations become rich, Dr McDougall calls such chronic conditions as obesity, Type-II diabetes, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, and the rest – i.e. the by-and-large diet-caused diseases – a mass “food poisoning”. Or, to use his expression, “people are sick from eating the king’s food” (aka meat and dairy). A starch-based diet, by contrast, costs nothing and (unless one is suffering from a gluten intolerance or similar such gastrointestinal disorder) has no side effects. Further, all is not lost: disease can be reversed by a return to starch-based eating habits. The expression “the breadbasket of the world” wasn’t coined for no reason.

Self-care, then, is finding one’s equilibrium again; discovering the perfect balance of mind, body, and soul. Self-care can be developing a thicker skin and becoming more resilient, encompassing a rewiring of our normal thought processes in order to endure and prosper. In this manner, we maintain an inner calm, we exude a confidence, and we become more effective in multiple parts of our life. All thanks to noodles?

Who’s to say…

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THE SILENT SOLOTASKING SELF A NATURAL RESET

From forest bathing to quietly revelling in the gentle lullaby lap of lake waters on a pebbled shore, simply sitting in or strolling through the natural world switches off our multitasking machine-like ways and presses reset. We become conscious of our breath, aware of the noise we add to the space around us, and senses sharpen as we learn to listen and once more simply be – honestly and without haste.

It isn’t surprising: humans weren’t born to sit in clinicalseeming offices under poor quality lighting without fresh air, chained to desks until the clock’s release. Nonetheless, if the pandemic had a positive side, it was a semi-reprieve from such a scenario. Now, hybrid working lingers in many sectors and, on the whole, the workforce is much happier with the weekly schedule: too many WFH hours and one feels as if one lives at work (which, to be fair, you do when you’re fully remote); whereas, too many in-office days and you feel as if you slot in eating and sleeping as your downtime, the commute stealing away all other remaining 60-minute openings. In both scenarios, oftentimes we know we’ve been staring into the virtual world too long, inputting and outputting, when that familiar craving for greenery and birdsong calls, siren-like, and we can’t sit still, can’t concentrate any longer: we must, we simply must, be outside.

In an age that has become necessarily environmentally aware, it is intriguing that “Nature therapy” is an actual thing being prescribed more frequently these days by psychologists. Multiple studies have found that being in nature can improve cognitive function and lower blood pressure, as well as support the immune system and aid stress management and our ability to sleep soundly. Even pottering in the garden counts as being at one with Mother Earth. The key is remaining present, fully embracing the moment in those surroundings; being still and steady both in mind and in breath.

The Tang Dynasty poet, Wang Wei is known as “the Buddha of the Poets”. His poetry focussed almost entirely on Nature, a central idea within that poetic philosophy – most expressive of the Chan school of thought – is that of emptiness. He believed that the self is empty, formed by energies external to it, and that it also contains “the perceptible world in its totality”. By such thinking, “all phenomena that take place in reality – from flowing water and sunlight to the twittering of birds – are empty”. How on 58

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Earth does a poet express this? In silence, in absence of language, of course. For it is only in silencing the self that we can hear the truth we seek.

An iota of this concept can be carried with us when we are back at our desks, refreshed from our natural sojourning, and find ourselves habitually on the precipice of leaping into the maelstrom of multitasking madness in order to meet deadlines that seem to advance never one by one, but all at once, an army of asks. Indeed, multitasking is actually bad for the memory and for productivity, according to Dr David Merrill, adult and geriatric psychiatrist at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Pacific Brain Health Centre. Dr Merrill asserts that our brains were not designed to do two things at once. If we do attempt to do so, there is what the APA (American Psychological Association) calls a “dual-task cost” whereby we become less accurate and slower at each thing that is juggled.

That said, there are the blessed few among us who are “supertaskers”: a 2010 study published in the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review found only 2.5% of participants could remember words and answer basic maths questions whilst in a driving simulator. Supertaskers, indeed.

So, what is the alternative? Well, it’s pretty simple really: solotasking. The Metro reported on solotasking earlier in the year. Intentional managers of time, solotaskers refuse to be distracted from the, um, task at hand: their mantra is “one thing at a time” and everything else is to be excluded until completion. What solotasking permits is a “flow state”, that strangely euphoric feeling of being in control and satisfied by what we are doing. A sense of accomplishment overcomes us when we are in the present with a project, rather than ever chasing our tails as we try to focus on too much at once. Indeed, full immersion in the work means a speedier turnaround time and work of a better quality (not the one for the office natter sesh, then).

How to switch from being a multitasker to becoming a solotasker? Do we need to channel Eastern wisdom and shift our workspaces, not to the garden shed, but to the great outdoors completely? No; let’s keep it real, folks. Instead, try the old school methods of making a ToDo list, of blocking off limited periods of time for specific tasks, switching off mobile notifications and refusing to be distracted. Identify what time of day you work best as well, as you need to protect those “power hours” for your deepest concentration efforts. Good luck.

Upending Burnout

Of course, if we don’t take time for ourselves – if we don’t self-soothe, self-care, reset in Nature and try to adopt non-multitasking habits – then that way burnout most likely lies. With an estimated 79% of people having at some point suffered from burnout, it is with widespread keenness, then, that the latest alternative concept of “unicorn space” is welcomed from lawyer and author, Eve Rodsky.

Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World promotes unicorn space as a moment for “active and open pursuit of self-expression”. Based on the premise of nurturing our natural talents and private interests, whether we’re already aware of them or not, unicorn space requires a commitment only to being our best selves.

Unicorn space is not simply having a drink with a friend after work. Rather, it is about creative pursuits as immersion in activities that put us in a flow state, fully engaged. More than a hobby, a passion, or proactive self-care – unicorn space is a time for intention, creatively. A mental health protective measure, a 2021 study found that creativity allowed for “transformative coping” and imbued the person undertaking it to regain a sense of purpose in life.

Unicorns might be mythological, but saving yourself from burnout is a real possibility. It’s in oneself that we must believe.

What has the power to help burnout is an ability to get interested again in your own life.

- Eve Rodsky

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or Prefer Exercise is a balm for many; an endorphin-releasing physical pursuit that shapes not just the body, but keeps the mind in good – or at least better – condition, too. The form of exercise we decide to undertake is also a subjective choice dependent on personality as much as ability: the individual who favours an hour on the treadmill followed by an intense session with the weights is perhaps not suited to the slow yet meaningful routine of the Tai Chi practitioner (though that is probably what they need most to be including).

Similarly, Yoga devotees oftentimes struggle to conform to the more regimented and subtle movements of Pilates. There are many who do Yoga as well as Pilates, of course, but although they both unfold (pun intended) on a mat, they can seem vastly different. However, they’re not so very dissimilar: developing muscle strength and endurance, improving balance and coordination, the flow of poses activates the parasympathetic nervous system, brings us away from the “fight or flight” sense of our sympathetic nervous system, and allows us to relax, be present, and take pleasure in the moment.

Yet, what about weight loss (the primary goal of so many who purposefully undertake exercise, rather than for the sheer joy of

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utilising our bodies, awesome biological structures that they are)?

Weight loss is a process of many parts. From diet to exercise, it is psychological as much as physical, and when Yoga and Pilates are implemented into a person’s week – combined with high intensity workouts inclusive of running or power walking – then the results are pretty impressive. Indeed, someone weighing approximately 130lb could burn 413 calories during an hour’s Astanga class.

Compare that with an hour’s Bikram Yoga (the hot one) and you’ll burn about 354 calories (the positions not as intense as those in the Astanga series), while those who attempt an oh-so-gentle Hatha Yoga session will find themselves only 148 calories down. By comparison,

Pilates generally burns 177 calories if a beginner’s class and 354 calories in more advanced sessions, like Lagree.

Certainly, it’s no bad thing to be blending exercise forms. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that a mix of workouts resulted in more body fat being lost when endurance training was undertaken in addition to resistance training. What’s more, a 2009 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that Yoga promotes mindful eating habits, the asanas developing a deeper awareness not just of one’s body, but of the experience of others.

In other words, compassion: for people and planet.

Nonetheless, what Yoga offers practitioners additionally is pratyahara (the art of withdrawing). As Yoga Journal discussed earlier this year, this aspect of Yoga permits silence in a world in overloaded state, floundering in a sea of excess (of information and misinformation, of consumerism and keeping up with the Joneses). It more specifically permits withdrawal from the self and reactivity. Termed “the conscious withdrawal of energy from the senses” in the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali, pratyahara can be described as similar to savasana (or corpse pose): we relax physiologically, then we relax mentally, and when we feel ourselves in a state of nonreactivity – that is pratyahara. Its development permits us a calmer way of going about daily life, less likely to fly off the handle if someone upsets us (or cuts in front of us dangerously on the motorway… Sun salutations to combat road rage? There’s sense in the seemingly bizarre). Pratyahara, in short, allows us the mental space in which to choose how to respond to others.

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The Art of Surrender:

Ishvara Pranidhana

Working on the same premise as pratyahara is ishvara pranidhana (or the “practice of surrender”). As the wellregarded yoga teacher Shiva Rea – student of the late Pattabhi Jois – recently wrote, remembering the morning rangoli (or “sacred diagrams”, also known as yantras) designed with rice flour sifted through fingers onto the floor (creative meditations and offerings to the Divine) – ishvara pranidhana is the “big picture” of yoga practice.

In contrast to western notions of surrender as being a weakness, a disempowerment, or last-resort state, the eastern perception of surrender deems it as essential. One of the five niyamas (or “inner practices”) of Astanga Yoga, the “Eightfold Path”, ishvara pranidhana is as necessary as tapas (or “discipline”) or svadhyaya (or “self-study”): otherwise known as Kriya Yoga, the threefold Yoga of action.

Ishvara pranidhana does away with modern preoccupation with the self, with notions of “I”. If we were to become a less self-obsessed society, who knows what great things might eventuate? Focussing on the self takes us away from the totality, the wholeness of existence: we are all one, part of the whole (more mundanely recognisable in our similar planetary situation; an ecosystem entire, dealing with shared global warming problems). By surrendering the ego, then, we may experience “grace, peace, unconditional love, clarity, and freedom”. Pretty appealing, no?

A first step towards achieving ishvara pranidhana begins with ishta-devata (our personal connection to the universal whole). After all, Yoga means “unification” and it is on the breath – the inhalation, the exhalation – that we begin to step away from Gollum-like concepts of “me-me-me”. After that, the asanas extend and deepen the sense of letting go, giving into the flow, the physical states that literally “unyoke” the body from the mind. A “moving prayer”, we surrender to the practice, understand that an asana’s difficulty symbolises those difficulties we face in everyday life: as we overcome those obstacles, so we pass through the barrier of a pose (eventually, still practicing ahimsa and ever listening to our body, watching out for any signals of pain).

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Proprioception: The Sixth Sense of Equilibrium

What of Pilates, then? As with Yoga, it is suitable for both men and women, and develops muscular definition (the “long and lean” look is what Pilates devotees are most admired for and complimented on). However, whereas Yoga has asanas which are modified with props or according to how deep a stretch is desired, as well as individual limits or levels of flexibility or strength, Pilates has a repertoire that uses not only a mat, but apparatus also, such as the Reformer.

Consisting of over 600 exercises and variations, Pilates (originally called “Contrology”) is a boon for all, as it can be physically rehabilitative, opposed to the gentler poses in Yoga bringing more immediate mental comfort (together with a careful practice that takes care with sore backs, knee injuries, and similar). Indeed, from couch potatoes who want to get healthier to professional athletes making sure they stay in top condition, from the pregnant woman preparing for her first birth to the woman seeking to regain the female form she had before three or four children, and from young to old – Pilates has something suitable for everyone. It also doesn’t have the potential problem of cultural appropriation, either.

Further, studies have shown that Pilates can positively affect states of depression and pain, in particular back issues. This is because – like Yoga’s moola bandha – Pilates works our core muscles, the muscles in our stomach area, coordinating movement and breath with that core engaged (thus increasing cardiorespiratory capacity, as in Yoga, and elevating energy levels; more oxygen equals more vibrancy).

It goes without saying that core strength increases with ongoing Pilates practice, but this by extension improves posture, which in turn corrects weak and imbalanced muscles, reduces headaches and shoulder pain and back pain. The focus on alignment, just like Yoga, is all important.

When we are properly aligned, we are less likely to injure ourselves; we are, simply, more in control of ourselves.

Balance, proper alignment, our posture and coordination – these come from a finely tuned mindbody connection known as proprioception. Also referred to as kinaesthesia, the term was coined by neurophysiologist C. S. Sherrington in the early 1900s, combining the Latin word proprius (or “one’s own”) and reception. Proprioception, then, is our perception of our positioning and movement, physically speaking. This is enabled by sensory receptors in our muscles and joints and skin, and in motor output signalling from the brain.

What Pilates (and also Yoga) can do, is offset the natural degradation of proprioception as we age and prevent injuries from falls and stumbles. Indeed, beginning work on one’s “sixth sense” ability, honing our proprioception, is advised as early on in life as possible. Simply standing barefoot can ground us before working on our balance by taking one foot off the ground, etc.

Pilates is a method by which to develop a sharper self-awareness, more mindful of when we are tense and emotional, or when we need to focus on our breath, look inward, and destress – oh so similar to Yoga. Elevated cortisol levels over an extended period of time are no good for anyone (increasing the risk of heart disease and consequences of high blood pressure). Instead, it has been found that Pilates helps strengthen not just our tangible body (including the bones), but our immune system, also, especially in older adults. Finally, Pilates and Yoga both promote mobility, for a functional blend of strength and flexibility is what mobility is all about (they’re pretty great for bedroom antics, too: see our article, “The Empowerment of Sexuality: a Dual-Edged Sword of Secret Self”, p.44).

So, at the end of the day, it comes down to asking, why even choose between them?

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Aimee Benbow Advertising Feature

Head Nutritionist Viridian Nutrition

Improve Your Sleep During Menopause Although a natural process of ageing in women, the menopause can lead to the body behaving differently, with sleep disruption being a common symptom. The good news is research has shown nutrition can help with putting to bed those sleepless nights.

Menopausal symptoms can vary widely between women.

However, a common complaint which is estimated to impact up to 40% of menopausal women is difficulty with sleeping.

Causes of sleep disturbances include hot flushes and night sweats, insomnia, breathing issues such as sleep apnoea, and mood related disorders.

There are also a number of dietary and lifestyle factors that can affect sleep quantity and quality.

How hormonal shifts during menopause impact sleep During the menopause, there is a marked change in sex hormone levels. The ovaries produce less oestrogen, leading to the cessation of eggs being released from the ovaries and therefore a halt in menstrual cycles. Progesterone production also significantly reduces. These huge shifts in sex hormones are a contributing factor to sleep and various other areas of health, including mood, appetite, and libido.

Oestrogen and progesterone play a key role in body temperature regulation. When these levels significantly alter during the menopause, there is a severe impact on body temperature control, leading to symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats.

Links have also been made between a decline in sex hormones and poor mood. Although the exact mechanism is unknown, studies have found that hormone replacement therapy had positive effects on those with low mood and depression, suggesting a clear correlation. In turn, poor mood and depression have been linked to insomnia and therefore may be a cause of poor sleep for those during the menopause.

Tips to sleep better during the menopause Avoiding caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, particularly in the late afternoon and evenings, has shown to improve sleep patterns.

Maintaining a healthy weight and weight loss in those who are overweight has demonstrated improvements in the severity of hot flushes.

Food supplementation may also help. For example, magnesium has been studied for insomnia.

Additionally, pilot trials have also seen the benefits of magnesium supplementation with hot flushes and night sweating. Magnesium has also been investigated for its use in improving mood disorders which can affect sleep, while sage extract has been well researched for the improvement of night sweats and hot flushes, as well. Indeed, it can be considered an additional support for reducing symptoms of menopause that lead to poor sleep.

Take time out to relax. Meditation and breathing exercises can help slow down an overactive mind and prepare for sleep.

For more information on diet, lifestyle, and food supplements, visit your local health store for personalised advice at findahealthstore.com.

This article is for information purposes and does not refer to any individual products. The information contained in this article is not intended to treat, diagnose, or replace the advice of a health practitioner. Please consult a qualified health practitioner if you have a pre-existing health condition or are currently taking medication. Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet.

Author: Aimee Benbow, BSc (Hons), MSc, is Head Nutritionist at ethical supplement company Viridian Nutrition. Working in the food and supplements industry for over 11 years, she has supported people’s health through product development, advice, and education.

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