Tuesday 24 June 2014

Health News : Hormone-disrupting activity of fracking chemicals worse than initially found

Many chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can disrupt not only the human body’s reproductive hormones but also the glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone receptors, which are necessary to maintain good health, a new study finds.

"Among the chemicals that the fracking industry has reported using most often, all 24 that we have tested block the activity of one or more important hormone receptors," said the study's presenting author, Christopher Kassotis, a PhD student at the University of Missouri, Columbia. "The high levels of hormone disruption by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that we measured, have been associated with many poor health outcomes, such as infertility, cancer and birth defects."

Read the full ScienceDaily article : click here

Source: Date:  June 23, 2014   Source:  Endocrine Society/Sciencedaily.com 

Fracking chemicals disrupt hormone function

A controversial oil and natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses many chemicals that can disrupt the body’s hormones, according to new research. “More than 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process, and many of them disturb hormone function,” said one of the study’s authors, Susan C. Nagel, PhD, of the University of Missouri School of Medicine. “With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure.” The study examined 12 suspected or known endocrine-disrupting chemicals...

Read the full ScienceDaily article : click here

Source: Date:  December 16, 2013   Source:  Endocrine Society/Sciencedaily.com 


Information on UK Raw Health is the opinion of the writer and/or other individuals mentioned. Information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or provide education. Statements have not been evaluated or approved by any regulatory bodies. Before making any changes to diet, regime and/or lifestyle consult your doctor.

Saturday 21 June 2014

Weight Loss : Things I Can Do Now #3 : Half Your Portion Size & Your Bite Size

Welcome to Things I Can Do Now. This is a series of easy changes you'll hardly notice for those who wish to improve their diet and lifestyle without the effort!


Things I Can Do Now #3 : Half Your Portion Size & Your Bite Size.

If you are eating big meals for lunch and/or evening dinner, it's most likely your food is on a dinner sized plate (26cm dia. approx.). Start your journey to wellness and weight loss by only filling half your plate with your regular meals, so the other half remains empty. This may mean cutting something in half such as a burger in a bun and discarding the surplus half (or giving it to a friend!).

When eating foods such as pasta dishes and take away meals it is easy to consume a whole plate of food even though these are too many calories for one meal and the physical size of the portion is too big for comfort. Therefore it is too difficult to leave half of what is on your plate, instead only fill half the plate.

When ordering take out food, order half the amount you normally get. If you are cooking food, only prepare half the amount you usually would. With the "Half" strategy filtering through to the very start of the meal there will not be any leftovers to tempt you later. You will benefit even more if you say no to any large sodas (even diet versions), instead opting for water, Coconut Water or a freshly squeezed small orange juice.

Now is also the time to take smaller bites/ mouthfuls, filling up about about one third of a spoon or fork each time. This action will ensure that your food is chewed up properly (part one of digestion) and will also make your meal last longer (to ensure meal messages are reaching the brain).


At UK Raw Health HQ we do not promote eating take away fast food in any meals as we cannot be sure of the quality of the ingredients or know fully if there are any chemicals used for texture, flavour or preserving. The "Half the portion" strategy is a good start if you cannot bring yourself to make changes to the ingredients in your diet with immediate effect, but you do wish to do "something" to head in the right direction.

Information on UK Raw Health is the opinion of the writer and/or other individuals mentioned. Information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or provide education. Statements have not been evaluated or approved by any regulatory bodies. Before making any changes to diet, regime and/or lifestyle consult your doctor.

Saturday 14 June 2014

Healthy Recipes : Two Ingredient Cookies from Todd's Kitchen

Today I made these two ingredient cookies using a super quick and easy recipe from Todd's Kitchen. They taste very yummy whilst still warm and I especially love the recipe as it does not include heating fats (apart from the naturally occurring small amount of fat in the ingredients) which is a less toxic way of cooking. Here it is...



I just went ahead with the basic two ingredient recipe, I do not use quick oats, so instead I used some organic jumbo oats chopped up in the food processor.

I did not add chocolate chips as they may contain stabilisers to stop them melting. As I only choose natural foods my next batch will have some chopped up dark chocolate from an 84% cocoa bar included or I may drizzle melted chocolate on after they have come out of the oven. I also have taste buds that adore cinnamon, raisins and nutmeg, so will experiment with these also in future batches.


UPDATE:

I loved these super quick cookies so much I have tried some different additions to the two main ingredients:
1. Adding chopped up 85% cocoa organic dark chocolate - 10/10 - the perfect combination.
2. Adding  handful of organic sultanas - 7/10 - too sweet.
3. Adding a handful of organic raisins - 9/10 - not too sweet and nice texture.

On the baking sheet ready for 15 minutes in the oven.
The finished result. The chocolate is just a little melted in places... yummers!


A perfect vegan or vegetarian recipe to enjoy. These would be a good option if you are transitioning to a healthy diet and still crave biscuits as they are so quick to make!

Thank you Todd for a simple but genius recipe. Mrs Bee. x