Tag Archives: nutritionhealth

A proven naturally way to Lowering your cholesterol and tri-glycerides

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I am so thankful that after three years I can still pass my Christmas in Italy with my family. Lots of things have changed, people do different things, some with family and others by themselves travelling a bit more. There is still a lot more fears attached to Covid than in other places, and any new news about it becomes an extra worry. In pharmacies people still wear a mask and you feel like the odd out if you don’t. There was a new strain of flu going around and young and older people felt worse than ever with it. This is due to the immune system not being challenged for 3 years. My parents, even in their old age are always worried about lack of food, so they buy more than they will ever eat in one week, and they love to plant seasonal vegetables, even in big pots. When they were given big pots as a gift, they were so happy that they can manage to plant their seasonal vegetables without much effort, as the planting them on the land would be too much for them.

Green and red salad

They try their best not to take extra medication that they can avoid, even though they might take some that are essential. Both my parents were tested high for cholesterol last year, and of course, they were given by their GP the usual medication to lower it. They both did not react well with it, and I mentioned to try to see if with Benecol, as I knew that it would work, would go down enough for the doctors to be ok with it. I also suggested to take fish oil in capsules for both of them, for two reasons, one for the brain, and the other to reduce tri-glycerides, which again they both had a bit high. They have been taking it since the summer, and I asked if their cholesterol was low. They said they were so happy with it, as the cholesterol got down so much, as well as the tri-glycerides, with the fish oil. To be fair the doctor in Italy did suggest the fish oil for that too, which is good. They have not told the doctor about the Benecol though and the reason for being lower. My mum had a heart operation 6 years ago so she had to have a lower cholesterol.

The main ingredients that is beneficial to reduce cholesterol in Benecol is plant sterol ester, and I would not agree with all the ingredients in Benecol, but for people, like my parents that would rather have a food that keep taking pills, this is the 2nd best option.

Freshly squeezed orange juice

The best one is to take plant sterol and phytosterol in capsule as well as combining the dietary changes. My parents do eat their own seasonal vegetables, and fennel, endive and salads, as well as broccoli, chicory, and broccoletti (found in Italy but not England), are part of their stable diet, as well as beans, lentils and fruits. Green leafy vegetables, sage, nuts contain plant sterols as well as the food above.

We were so fortunate to have my mum make us freshly squeezed orange juice every morning, that is because a couple of kilos of oranges would cost two Euros, compared to 2 pounds for a pack of 5 oranges here. They would also eat good nuts such as pecans and walnuts as snacks, which would help with having higher good fats as well. At their age, they eat less meat and hard cheese, due to my insistence, less frying and more oven baked food, as well as using only olive oil if any food needs to be cooked. Using their own olive oil from their own olive tree only raw with salads and food.

© Fennel

 If you do have high cholesterol and high tri-glycerides, you need to consider the entire life style change as well, to make the most of it and get things sorted out for good, and that would include walking 30 minutes, twice a day, to keep your circulation going and keep your heart pumping well.

Some of the plant sterols in supplements might cost as much as the Benecol, so maybe worth getting that instead and you get more for them, like a monthly supply. Fish oil with high EPA and DHA, again get a good brand as that would still be worth it, and even if you eat fish, you might not get enough from a couple of times that you eat it a week. At least you can get the plant sterols and fish oil till your tests come back normal and then keep going with the dietary changes and walking to keep it stable, and maybe just get the Benecol every now and then to keep it down.

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapist – NAET for allergies – R-Craniosacral Therapist – NLP – Angel Guide Certified – Mindfulness Meditation teacher- Resilient heart (heart-Math

Babies and mothers craniosacral therapy sessions

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From reflux, during pregnancy, to tiredness and relaxions for anxious mothers to babies and mothers birth trauma, Craniosacral therapy is a gentle but very powerful and magical therapy that allows the entire body system to settle and balance up. This will reduce, anxiety for the mother, and stress mode, or vagal irritation for the baby when they are born. In turn for the baby means, less colic, less irritation or fear mode, less reflux, improved breastfeeding, more peaceful sleep for baby and mother. craniosacral therapy is a gift of a lifetime for your baby, as it will improve the mother and baby connection, a HAPPY BABY, will increase the good positive neurons forming and good memory that will positively affect them for their lifetime!

For babies with a small amount of birth trauma just few sessions is enough to settle them in a balance way. This improve the connection after a tongue tie for a good latching and hence feeding well.

For the past 30 years, I have heard of mothers saying that their baby do not poo for few days or even a week or more at the time, and they have been told that it is normal.

After just one session and suggestions of babies infants probiotics, babies poo few times a day, as they should do.

The foundation of good bacteria from the start of the baby’s life, will set them for a lifetime of good intestinal tract. There are plenty of research now connecting the gut health with the brain healthy development of the baby in their adult time.

The past 50 years with the use of too much anti-biotics, which at times, they do save lives, but others were prescribed as sweet, have seen the stripping of the good bacteria, with an increase in gut dysbiosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and other Irritable Bowel disorders. Now that we have learned how important our friendly gut bacteria are from the start, let’s keep them in and start from the beginning!

Give yourself and your baby the gift of life, with craniosacral therapy. For the mothers and adults, the change is a bit more slow, but worth starting and carrying on!

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapist – NAET for allergies – R-Craniosacral Therapist – NLP – Angel Guide Certified – Mindfulness Meditation teacher- Heart Meditation certificated (Heart-Math)

Transformation by Maria Esposito in the Fulcrum for craniosacral therapy

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(taken from) The Fulcrum, Issue 82 January 2021 click here for original article

I find that the more I follow my intuition and connect to the heart, serving everything that makes my client whole and integrated, the faster they heal and in so doing transform their lives and mine.

Having held CST workshops on how to deepen one’s practice for the past five years, I was recently invited to write about the journey that led to teaching. Hesitant at first about how to put my thoughts and experiences in words, I was reminded that there seems to be a hunger to understand ‘grounding’ more deeply and learn to apply it to our daily lives, and a desire to develop a more intuitive, heart-centred connection with ourselves, our work and our clients. In recalling my own efforts to learn these things, and the wonderful transformation when I was finally able to apply them to myself and my practice, I’d like to share my journey.

A massage course led to further qualifications in sports massage, reflexology, nutritional therapy, muscle testing and Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET). I found that I loved helping others to resolve their problems and pain and have been a holistic therapist for more than 28 years.

Informed by anatomy, physiology, nutrition and Eastern approaches, I spent many years helping clients and yet I still felt a need to meet them more holistically. My first experience of CST was when cranial-osteopathy was recommended for my son’s recurring colds and coughs. The process that led to the release of his birth trauma made me so curious that I eventually enrolled to study CST at the College of Cranio-Sacral Therapy (CCST).

My scientific and therapeutic training was comfortable with the physical focus of cranial-osteopathy but I found myself unsure about the whole-system approach that was taught at CCST. Nevertheless, during treatments and practical sessions, I felt much-needed changes occurring within me and experienced profound results. Whatever it was, it was working. Still, it was challenging; I was very good at the physical and scientific aspects of CST but not as good at grounding and working off-body. I became increasingly conscious of being ungrounded, of not being fully present in my body, especially in the mornings and evenings, which led to exhaustion. Not able to ground well, I did not pass my practical exam. It was the first time that I had not succeeded in something that I had put effort into and it was difficult to accept. So, as a positive and stubborn person, I set out to understand everything I could about grounding.

‘Just Ground’

A healer brought a fresh perspective on grounding that helped me understand the concept of being fully present and embodied, and why I was ungrounded in the first place. At the same time, Octavia Kelly, a CST colleague, brought her experience and insight to my training. I am very thankful to both and for my failure to pass the practical part of my final training assessment, as my journey would have been completely different otherwise. I would not have understood the concept of grounding as deeply as I do now and how essential self-healing is to our work.

I realised that the more grounded I was, the more I felt calm, focused, alive and less tired throughout the day.

Developing Intuition and Heart-Connection

My interest in intuition and heart connection first began when I started to practise CST in combination with the NAET method of treating allergies. Many clients began sharing what they saw and felt during treatments, which was often beyond my wildest expectations of what was possible or logical. My natural curiosity led me to explore this. Hence, when I tuned into and followed a client’s whole system during a treatment, I often saw images, for example, a femur or tibia or fibula in an incorrect position, and sometimes I would feel pain in my own leg, knowing that it was not mine. This would lead me to ask if there was a problem with the limb that presented to me, and I found that the answer was always ‘yes’ when I worked this way. So, I started to mention more of what I felt or saw during treatments and the answers often confirmed where a problem that affected their body and sometimes their mind had started. If my hands felt something hot or cold, or if my clients spoke of seeing images and/or colours, I would follow and see where it led.

I began to attend healing classes to become more grounded. The technique that helped me become more embodied and less stuck in my head (with my logical, scientific mind) was to visualise that my legs and feet were weighed down by anchors. Thai Chi and Qi Gong classes, where grounding and body awareness were practised in every class, and swimming and Pilates classes, also helped me to become more embodied. After a few months, I was grounding well enough to pass my practical exam, and a door opened to a new experience of life, professionally and personally.

I realised that the more grounded I was, the more I felt calm, focused, alive and less tired throughout the day. I could see clearly what I wanted to do in my life, and I experienced inner peace for the first time. Reaching a steady state of inner peace is not an easy thing to achieve; it takes time, especially when life challenges you. Still, the more whole and grounded I became, the lighter I felt, and when life ungrounded me I recovered my grounding and balance more quickly.

‘Just ground’ became my personal mantra and after a few years of experiencing the benefits of this amazing change and self-transformation, I wanted to share this simple way of being. This led to developing my CST workshop ‘Grounding and Healing Tools’ and, judging from its popularity, it seemed to fill a gap for many therapists.

This workshop is a reminder of how far I have come on my own journey in grounding and in my own life, and it is a privilege to pass on what I have learnt to others who are ready to understand the concept more fully and embrace their potential. Through teaching grounding techniques I hope to remind, reconnect and deepen practitioners’ understanding of why grounding is so powerful, transformative and important for ourselves as individuals and therapists, and for our clients.

I have also found healing tools useful in my practice. Healing, defined as ‘the process of making or becoming sound or healthy again’, resonates with me and I feel that my work is part of a healing process. The danger is that we can become vulnerable to our clients’ issues, and if not careful, can internalise them. As part of my toolkit, healing techniques help to protect me from holding on to my clients’ emotions and feelings. I find that I feel much more exhausted if I do not combine CST with these tools, and my hope in sharing them is to help others stay protected, resourced and energised in their work.

I found that the more I followed my intuitive sense without fear or judgement, the more accurate my treatments became.

Fascinated by this process, I started consciously to develop my ‘right brain’ – thought to be the most creative and intuitive part of our body. Inspired by John Upledger’s experiences in the ‘Inner Physician’ and ‘Somato-Emotional Release’, I found that the more I followed my intuitive sense without fear or judgement, the more accurate my treatments became. I then read ‘The Biology of Transcendence’ by Joseph Chilton Pearce in which he describes the heart as the fifth or highest brain. As a result of this study, I now practise CST with intuition and heart-connection.

Developing heart-connection transformed my practice. The first time I understood this profound power I was treating a client who shared something I was simply not able to understand. Beyond my comprehension, the only way I could follow and support my client was to let go of judgment, fear and worry and connect to unconditional love for them and their journey. I focused on just being there, trusting and allowing the whole system to do what it needed to do, following where it led. This, of course, is the principle of CST – observe, listen, allow whatever needs to unfold and integrate. Yet, in my experience, we all come to a profound recognition of this truth in different ways.

As I deepened my intuitive perception, following where the client’s system led, it felt natural to share with colleagues, to help them strengthen the intuition that many already experience. I felt that some just needed guidance or reassurance that whatever they were experiencing needed to be followed and taken into consideration for the benefit of their client’s whole system, health and deep healing. The workshop ‘Integration of the Self, Strengthening Your Inner Intuition,’ grew out of this desire to help therapists grow further in their knowledge and awareness to push beyond their comfort zone while remaining sensitive to their boundaries.

Thanks to my inner curiosity, my therapy practice has evolved far beyond my expectations. As I have sought ways to deepen my connection to clients, I have come to realise the power of working from our hearts is essential to serving them in the best way possible. Focused by grounding and guided by intuition, the unconditional love and peace that is inherently present when we are led from the heart enable us to grow both personally and professionally. It is this truth that I wish to share with others.

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapist – NAET for allergies – R-Craniosacral Therapist – NLP – Angel Guide Certified – Mindfulness Meditation teacher- Resilient heart (heart-Math)

Children anxiety is real and can be helped with craniosacral therapy

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I have seen many children lately, mainly with anxiety related disorders. This was due to lack of sleep, too much going on in their lives, and too many things to do, as well as long days at school and home.

I have seen this, especially near the time that children need to change from one school to another. Parents starts to panic and start stressing their children on where is the best school for them, this can be from primary to secondary and from secondary to A levels.

I also seen different background from strict religious background to atheist and more. The amount that is put on the child, either for necessity and or for learning lots of more things is massive.

This means they have so much more information that they need to have, and their sleep is restlessness and have little or none deep sleep.

This leads to the child starting the day tired and ending up being irritated, eating more sugars than they need to, to feed their stress pathway; jumping up and down for a while, than getting exhausted, bypassing their sleep time, and getting even more tired; till they start getting anxious, due to the cortisol being high all the time, and getting the adrenaline rush, which makes them want to fight, run, or freeze. They start having ticks and do things to relieve their stress mode, sometimes with no results. They start fighting with their siblings and their parents, start breathing from their chest, which will give less oxygen. End results, they will be exhausted by the end of the day, and cannot catch up with that exhaustion, till they get ill, quite often, which is the body stopping them from carrying on the way they are carrying on.

This cycle of stress, irritation, ticks, and exhaustion illness, will carry on for the entire months of school, till the summer, and it carries on at times into adulthood. Where they will start running, having a stressful job and keep being deprived of rest, sleep and mental stability.

Can you see the cycle here? So start looking at signs of restlessness into your child, or children behaviour and start thinking if your child is overwhelmed with activities and less rest time. How do they breath? Can they breathe well? Are they having ticks, or even frequent illnesses? Are they anxious or fearful of being left alone? Do they want your attention all the time? Do they talk all the time, without resting their mind? Or are they quite all the time, too much in their head already?

Craniosacral therapy, will help getting their system quieter, calmer and more settle in themselves, with less anxiety. I teach the heartmath breathing technique for parents to teach their children and do some breathing technique themselves, so that they can settle and be present with their children as well.

This will benefit the children as well as the parents, has it will allow presence, space and time to be quite and relax the body and mind, with a physiological, change, mental and spiritual calmness.

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapist – NAET for allergies – R-Craniosacral Therapist – NLP – Angel Guide Certified – Mindfulness Meditation teacher- Resilient heart (heartMath)

This winter we are fighting more colds and flu viruses! what can you do?

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This winter we are fighting way more colds and flus. There reason for that, is last winter we were all self-isolating and not mixing up at all. So all the colds and viruses that were not related to COVID 19, this winter are back!

As your immune system did not have any challenges last year, well, guess what, this year has been challenged a lot, so you get one cold after another, as your immune system is now fighting things that is meant to fight!

Children when they start nursery, as you know if you have children, will start getting ill every week, as their immune system start to build up a resistance of soldiers to fight the same colds and viruses over and over again. This is called inner immunity, when you fight something twice, usually the immune system will keep a record of that virus in its memory, so that next time it encounters it, it will know what to do.

Did you know that some inland indigenous tribe can die of the simple cold? That is because their immune system has never encountered it. Now for the elderly and vulnerable people and children, that immunity does not work well, so they need as much help as they can, they are like the indigenous people who have never encountered the cold virus. That is because their immune system does not work as well. Hence all the precaution for the always new variant of the COVID 19, till at least there is a better solution that we have now.

For any other person to strengthen your immunity, or help your immune system to fight well, the solutions is a healthy lifestyle, with extra supplement when needed and nutritious food to get the vitamins and minerals, proteins and fats, as well as carbohydrates, to support your immune system in their fight. It is like feeding your soldier and nourishing them with food and warmth.

In times of illness, also the soul and mind needs that support, before, during and after. Craniosacral therapy resets the body system into balance, by centering your body and mind back to health and allow the breath of life and the energy to run through your body after the illness.

Here is the link for strengthening your immune system click here

COVID19 support during and after to avoid long COVID fatigue and get back to your center click here and more COVID 19 help click here

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapist – NAET for allergies – R-Craniosacral Therapist – NLP – Angel Guide Certified – Mindfulness Meditation teacher-

Loss of taste and smell, with or without COVID-19

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Olfactory sensory and gustatory both to function well depends on the nerve receptors, the G protein that are found in our mouth and nose and they are both connected to the brain function through neurological connections.

A healthy person has got more than 10.000 taste buds and about 100 million of receptors for the sense of smell.

  • Both the sense of smell and taste are connected to the nerve brain function and in particular to certain cranial nerves. And both need certain nutrients such as sodium and energy production to make up either the smell or the taste that we need.
  • So, lots of vitamins and minerals from our diet, including some sodium or salt.
  • The main sensory tastes are five: sour, sweet, salt, bitter and umami taste, which taste of meat. Any other taste is usually made of the combination of these five primary ones.
  • If we eat a lot of salty foods though, our taste of salty food will be more developed than any other taste and if we eat more of the sweet food than our sweet taste is more. The good news is that if you avoid too much of the salty foods or sweet food, the taste changes within two weeks, and hence you might be craving less of too much salt or too much sweet, this goes for meat or any of the primary tastes.
  • In a healthy person, any food that does not taste good will be avoided, this is part of our survival mechanism. I wonder if with allergies, many people avoid certain foods after they reacted once with them as part of the survival mechanism. This mechanism is the connection with the neurological part of our brain.
  • Usually with NAET method, that brain connection to a certain allergen is rebooted and hence a healthy food or food group can be reintroduced without the brain giving the signal to attack it through the immune system.
  • New olfactory receptors (neuron receptors) are replaced every month, and they are the only mature neurons receptors that would do this in our body. The smell receptors and neurological pathway are connected also to the tear glands, hence when there is a strong odor usually will lead to crying.
  • Did you know that women often have a higher sense of smell than men, especially during ovulation?
  • Did you know that smoking reduces the sense of smell strongly, and in long term smoking will damage the olfactory receptors permanently?
  • Age also reduces the sense of smell, from 65 years old onwards.
  • Did you know that zinc deficiency can lead also to loss of sense of smell and taste?
  • Head injury can reduce or destroy your sense of smell and taste and certain drugs, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer and anti-histamine, steroids, will all reduce the sense of smell.
  • Did you know that emotions are also connected to the sense of taste? Hence it is possible that when we crave certain foods, might be due to the state we are in. Recognizing that state of emotion can also stop craving and eating certain unhealthy foods.
  • Eating sweet foods evoke emotions of pleasure and bitter ones can cause expression of disgust even in newborn babies. It is because of this link that humans and animal learn to avoid certain foods to avoid having an upset digestive system.

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapy – NAET – R-Craniosacral Therapy – NLP practitioner – Certified Angel Guide

Folic acid summarized facts

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Folic acid intake is often connected to pregnancy and women, very few people know about the importance of folic acid for the health of the physical body, which include male and female health. I have summarized some of the key points below, including what you need to eat in order to get an adequate intake and absorption of folate.

Key points of folate and why is so essential to have it in our diet:

Folic acid intake is often connected to pregnancy and women, very few people know about the importance of folic acid for the health of the physical body, which include male and female health. I have summarized some of the key points below, including what you need to eat in order to get an adequate intake and absorption of folate.

Key point of folate and why is so essential to have it in our diet:

  • Mushrooms, green vegetables such as spinach, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, turnip greens, swiss chard, kale and beet green. Brewer’s yeast contains the highest source in food, followed by black-eyed peas, rice germ, soy flour, wheat germ, beef liver, soy beans, and other beans. Fruits contain the least of them all.
  • Raw food is higher in folate, and cooking the food will reduce the folate content by 50 to 95%. There are now many cereal and foods that are fortified with folate or folic acid.
  • Absorption of folate also depends on other nutrients, such as zinc. Zinc deficiency could reduce the absorption of folate into the blood stream. One more essential key fact to be able to absorb folate properly is the health of the intestinal tract, where the folate binding protein is made so that folate can be transported into the body. Folate needs to be converted into the body to become folic acid and other compound for its multi-function use.  Among some of its functions, there is amino acid metabolism (making proteins from amino acid), and red blood cell formation.
  • Folic acid is essential for cells division, hence essential nutrient to have if you are planning for a baby.
  • It is part of reducing homocysteine level, together with B12 and B6, hence connection with prevention of heart disease,
  • Prevention of megaloblastic macrocytic anaemia. Folic acid is essential for the formation of the red blood cells.
  • Folic acid has been also connected to the health of the brain at any age, for men and women. Hence recommended intake at any age and gender!

It is recommended an intake of 400 to 550 microgram of folic acid per day to prevent any of the disorders that a deficiency would cause, as well as if you are planning to have a baby and during pregnancy. Vitamin C intake protect the loss and damage of folate.

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapist – NAET – R-Craniosacral Therapist – NLP practitioner – Certified Angel Guide

Cellular health for a strong immune system

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Cellular health

Did you know that we are made of millions of cells stuck together, and these cells health are essential for our own body health?

Inside one cells is like a house, food needs to be eaten, waste needs to be taken out and the house needs to be cleared. Only certain nutrients are allowed in, and other are repelled. If any of the toxins from the food and drink that you eat gets in by mistake, the cells might die, and a new cell is made.

Also, every single cell in our body changes completely within a year. So, in a year time, you are a completely different person. Now nutritionally if you change the way you eat that is healthy for your and your cell, that is great, you might be younger and healthier than you are now if your diet is not the greatest.

But also you need to consider the emotional health, if you deal with life in exactly the same way that you have been dealt till now, then the emotional and mental health will be the same in a year time, and if you change the way you deal with emotion and life now, in a year time, you will have that memory cell change. The change in the way you see, feel and deal with life, can be very quick, as you get more grounded, anchor positive feeling to your body and keep reinforcing these positive ways of thinking, you will see the result in your life.

It is like a mirror reflecting back at you, when you change internally how you deal, see and cope with the world. Even in time of chaos around you, uncertainty, fears and worries, you can connect to that inner strength and inner peace that is within your heart, deep within you, and you will see the future clearly, things will come to you without much effort, and you will see the future brighter than ever.

I know that it seems difficult at this time and age, but it our inner world that needs to change, and we are the only one that can do it, with help, it can be done. We can only change ourselves remember.

Positive way of dealing with life, with NLP, craniosacral therapy, grounding and healing tools click here to read more about the webinars and book your place.

Nutritional food and nutrients essential for our internal cells:

As you can see from the list below, you need to have a varied diet, in order to get all the nutrients that the cells need to function well.

  • For the cell to make fuel for the body it needs to have fat, carbohydrates and protein to make it first of all. You can get that from the good fat such as fish oil, avocadoes, olive oil, coconut oil, seeds and nuts.
  • Carbohydrates from good ones such as brown rice, brown pasta, wholemeal bread, potatoes with skin on, any vegetables also have some form of carbohydrates.
  • Proteins from meat, fish, beans and lentils and eggs.
  • Nutrients such as magnesium, vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6 and biotin (found in grains, fish, meat, beans and lentils);
  • Zinc (found in pumpkin seeds, oysters, meat, shellfish);
  • Iron (found in meat, eggs, in a form that the body absorbs it easily, in vegetable form is found in lentils, beans and spinach, you need to have some vitamin C to be easily absorbed and used in the body);
  • Lipoic acid (found in spinach, organ meats and red meat, broccoli, avocadoes, meat, Brussel sprouts, rice, carrots);
  • CoQ10 (found in organ meats, oily fish, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, oranges and strawberries, beans and lentils, soy beans, sesame seeds and unsalted) pistachio
  • Water and you know where to find it.
  • Manganese and magnesium found in green leafy vegetables, mineral water, beans, lentils, oysters, mussels, grains.

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) RNT- NAET – RCST – NLP practitioner – Certified Angel Guide

One apple a day

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One apple a day

Almost everyone know the expression ‘one apple a day keeps the doctor away’, even in Italy when I grew up! Being lucky enough to grow up in the countryside in Italy and near the seaside I did not realize then that not everyone had the same fortune of picking up their own fruits and vegetables from their front yard. I remember just going under the tree and picking up the fruits of the season wash eat or clean it and eat it. I don’t think I have ever tasted the same fruit ever again really. Or I still do when I go back to Italy and my parents still pick up pears from the tree for our breakfast. But all fruits have really a good amount of nutrients and vitamins, so why just apples are the ones that are so important or why the expression. I am not sure where it started or when but here are some apple history and qualities:

There are about 25 types of apples and they vary in colour and texture, from green to red. Some are sweet such Red Delicious, Royal Gala (my favourite) to Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Cox Apple, etc.. It seems that the original apple tree comes from Eastern Europe and Southwester Asia. Because of the cultivations and hybridization (is the process of combining different varieties or species of trees and make a new type) there are now many more varieties of apples from the first original apple tree. In the past the apple was thought to keep people forever young. Scientifically the consumption of apples in many studies have show to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma, type 2 diabetes (as it releases the blood sugar slowly). Here are some of the nutritional benefits of apples. Apples contain high amounts of flavonoids especially quercetin. Quercetin is an antioxidant that protects the integrity of the cell membrane. Our body is formed of millions of cells and the outside of the cell can be under oxidation attack all the time. Quercetin and other antioxidant such as vitamin C, and many more flavonoids found in coloured fruits and vegetables, protect our cells from being destroyed. Quercetin also blocks the inflammatory cascade, which involves quite a lot of the inflammatory disorders such as asthma, arthritis, allergies, etc… Of course you could be allergic to the apple and so in that case you need to find the solutions for that (see my website for treatments). Pectin is another ingredient in apples; pectin can help lower cholesterol levels by improving the intestinal motility and reducing therefore the reuptake of fat and toxins (in few words good for elimination of food waste). One medium whole apple supplies 3 grams of fibres; eating about two apples a day will reduce the cholesterol up to 11 percent. Pectin is good not only to relieve constipation but also diarrhoea (Kaopectate is an over the counter medication for diarrhoea that contains pectin). Nutritionally raw apples contain vitamin C, pectin, fibres, potassium, phytochemicals such as ellagic acid (anti-oxidant) and quercetin. So really when they say that one apple a day keeps the doctor away is quite true but it is also true that many fruits also contain some sort of nutritional value, antioxidants, and fibres and therefore is worth to vary and combine our fruits to get the most of goodness from them. So hopefully the above has convinced you a bit to start eating keeping an apple or two in your lunch box or bag or any other fruits. Fruits salads are really good to have and enjoy!!!!

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapist – NAET for allergies – R-Craniosacral Therapist – NLP – Angel Guide Certified – Mindfulness Meditation teacher- Resilient heart (heartMath)