A recent health article I read reported that cases of rickets is on the rise. With this resurgence ‘possibly being a product of modern day society.‘ (1) In Victorian times rickets (softening and weakening of the bones) was rife amongst children however, in this day and age why has rickets once again, reared it’s ugly head?
Along with vitamin D deficiency, malnourishment was (and still is) a major contributing factor to rickets… However, given the variety and availability of fresh produce available to us today partnered with the number of sunny days our ‘sunburnt country’ provides, one can only conclude that it is our unhealthy diet and lifestyle choices that are to blame for the resurgence of deficiency related illnesses such this one.
Short of taking a synthetic Vitamin D supplement, rickets is an easy one to prevent:
Eat a good variety of fresh, phytonutrient-rich produce and enjoy the outdoors regularly. While this approach may seem a little too simplistic, it’s not far from the truth… And while a good diet and regular outdoor activity might not be the solution to every health condition around, it certainly crosses a good number of them off the list!
As we often mention, nutritional supplements will never be able to replace what the body receives from living, fresh whole foods. While supplement manufacturers are able to extract around 150 ‘fragmented’ phytonutrients from foods, there are approximately 3850 valuable phytonutrients found in fresh fruits, veggies, sprouts, grains, fermented foods etc that supplements can’t supply. Many of these are known to help prevent illness and fight disease.
Just by drinking one glass of our Pineapple Zinger Smoothie (found in the recipes) your body will receive over 600 phytonutrients which are readily available and biochemically complete. Treat this recipe (and all of our others) as your nutrient ‘hit’ for the day… Because it stands to reason that deriving nutrition from food is kinder to your body and potentially more effective than using Berocca to ‘give you back your b-b bounce’!
So how do we know what specific foods to include in our daily diets? Below is a brief list of foods to regularly consume, however the best way to ensure that your body is well nourished, is to focus on variety and rotation and to eat seasonal and local produce wherever possible.
Phytonutrients readily available in foods:
Red/Purple: The phytonutrients in grapes, cranberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries plums, red apples, raisins and red capsicums have shown promise in helping to reduce blood clot formation, protecting against heart disease and delaying cellular aging.
Red: Tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon. These fruits contain lycopene, which may help prevent heart disease, prostate cancer and lung disease.
Orange: Carrots, mangoes, apricots, rock melon, pumpkin, squash and sweet potatoes. All high in alpha and betacarotene, these foods may prevent cancer by blocking cell damage caused by oxidation. They may also help enhance the immune system.
Orange/Yellow: Oranges, papayas, pineapple, lemons, limes, tangerines, peaches and nectarines contain the nutrient beta cryptothanxin – a nutrient known to help with the prevention of heart disease by helping to inhibit cholesterol synthesis.
Yellow/Green: Spinach, avocado, kiwifruit, zucchini, cucumber, mustard greens, turnips, collard greens, corn, peas and honeydew melon. These foods may help prevent cataracts and macular degeneration due to being rich in lutein and zeaxanthin.
Green: Broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage and Chinese cabbage. These foods contain sulforaphanes, isothiocyanates and indoles – nutrients which are all involved with breaking down carcinogens (cancer causing substances) within the body.
White/Green: Onions, celery, asparagus, leek, chives, garlic and pears are rich in flavonoids (beneficial in helping reduce inflammation, allergies, bacteria, fungus, viruses etc). Plants in the onion family also contain allicin, which have shown to deter the growth of tumors within the body. (2)
That’s it for now folks… We hope you enjoy our delicious recipes to follow and have fun eating a rainbow of colours in your meals this week. Remember, when it comes to nutrition the closer to nature the better! See you all next time 🙂
(1)https://guardianlv.com/2013/11/rickets-resurgence-a-product-of-society/
(2) http://ministryhealth.org/HYMC/News/TheHealthBenefitsofFruitsandVegetables.nws
- 1 cup almond or other nut milk
- 1 small frozen banana
- 4 dried figs (stems removed)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp mesquite powder
- 1 tsp maca powder
- 1 tsp vanilla paste (or essence)
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth.
- 1 Lebanese cucumber
- 1/4 avocado mashed
- 6 sun dried tomatoes
- 6 caper berries (or capers if caper berries aren’t available)
- Slice cucumber into thick rounds (you’ll need 6 for this recipe). Top each with a teaspoon of mashed avocado, a sun dried tomato and a caper berry.
- Wraps
- 3 zucchini’s (medium in size and chopped)
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 2 eschallots (long green onions chopped)
- 2/3 cup flaxseeds (ground finely)
- 1/2 cup psyllium husks
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp Himalayan or Celtic salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Place zucchini, spinach, eschallots and garlic in a blender and blitz until pureed. Add all other ingredients and blitz again until well combined. If mixture is a little thick, add a small amount of water and blitz again. Mixture should be ‘gluey’ but still easily spread over your teflex/baking sheets. Using a palette knife, spread in a circle or rectangle ensuring that no holes form. Dehydrate for around 1.5 hours at 45 degrees Celsius then take off teflex and ‘cook’ for another 30mins to an hour. If using your oven, set to the lowest heat with the door ajar and check every 20 minutes. As with dehydrator method, take off baking sheets once dry enough to handle and place the wet side (side originally stuck to baking sheet) facing upwards. The end product should be wraps that are dry but still flexible enough to roll.
- Your choice of savory filling. One of my all time favorites is sundried tomatoes, avocado, red onion and a mountain of sprouts.
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup pineapple chunks (frozen)
- 1 orange peeled and chopped
- 1 cup kale leaves (packed)
- 1/2 cup carrot chopped
- 1 x 4mm slice lemon (including peel)
- Place water, carrot and lemon in blender and blitz on high until carrot is pureed. Add all other ingredients and blitz again until smooth. Serve with a lemon wedge on the side (for those who like a little extra zing)!
- Salad
- 1 cup broccoli florets cut into small pieces
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 green apple peeled and grated
- 1/2 red capsicum sliced thinly
- 1/2 cup snowpeas sliced
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut
- 2 tbsp pepitas
- 2 tbsp sun dried sultanas
- Dressing
- 1/2 large avocado
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp mild curry powder
- 1/2 tsp raw agave or honey
- 1/8 tsp Himalayan or Celtic salt
- Generous pinch black pepper
- For dressing, place all ingredients except olive oil in a blender and blitz until smooth. While blender is running slowly pour in olive oil. Meanwhile, place all salad ingredients (except coconut and pepitas) in a large mixing bowl. Pour over some or all of the dressing and mix through well. Transfer onto a plate, top with coconut and pepitas and either serve immediately or let marinate for up to 2 hours.
- 1 cup brazil nuts
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup cacao butter (melted)
- 6 tbsp raw agave
- 1 vanilla bean (scraped) or 1 tsp vanilla paste (try to avoid vanilla essence for this recipe)
- 2 tbsp matcha green tea powder (found in Asian grocery stores)
- 1 tbsp liquid chlorophyll (mint flavor)
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan or Celtic salt
- Place nuts and water in a blender and blitz until very smooth and creamy (may take a few minutes). Scrape out of blender into a bowl and sit for 10 minutes. After sitting, place nut mixture into a nut bag and strain or put into a fine mesh strainer over a container to drain water off. Keep liquid portion as this is a rich, brazil nut milk. Once a nut cream consistency is achieved, place nut cream back in blender and blitz with all other ingredients except cacao butter. While blender is running, slowly pour in cacao butter until all combined. Transfer to a flat, rectangular container (lined with cling wrap) and place in the fridge to set for a minimum of 2 hours. Once set, cut into small rectangular bars or squares and enjoy as is or dip in raw chocolate for a decadent Raw Green Tea and Mint Ganache Truffle Bar! (highly recommended 🙂 )