Whipped Feta Dip recipe

Today’s post is a super easy recipe for a lovely keto friendly, Whipped Feta Dip.

We recently found the original version of this recipe in a Coles magazine. It was included as a side for a salad. When we made it, we needed to find a swap out for 1 of the ingredients as we did not have it in the pantry.

The result was a delicious, keto friendly, whipped feta that was better as a dip, which has proved very popular at bar-b-ques.

Whipped Feta Dip
Ingredients

100 grams Greek feta cheese

70 grams plain Greek yoghurt

2 tbsp. almond butter

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 clove garlic (crushed)

1.5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

 

Place the feta, yoghurt, almond butter, lemon juice & garlic into a food processor.

Process until smooth, then add the olive oil and again process till combined.

This dip will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for several days (if it lasts that long).


Hope you enjoy this dip as much as we do,

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper

Toxic build-up

Today’s post is about Toxic build-up and the human body.

First, what is a toxin?

Scientists and doctors don’t have a clear definition of a toxin. They can be the waste products that our body naturally produces, like carbon dioxide. They can also be environmental contaminants which include physical, chemical and biological pollutants and organisms.

We are surrounded by thousands of industrial chemicals. They are in our air, food, water and household products. They come from pesticides, herbicides, smoke, flame retardants (chemicals that make things resistant to fire), and other chemicals used in factories.

We are exposed to these chemicals or toxins on a daily basis. They are in cleaning products, processed, non-organic foods, and food additives. There are also chemicals in personal care products and cosmetics, common kitchen items such as plastic food wraps, containers and non-stick surfaces.

Many of these chemicals have been tested for safety. However, not much is known about the long-term health effects. We know even less about mixtures of these chemicals. What is known is that some of them, like persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have been connected with heart disease, cancer, hormonal problems, growth problems for children, and brain problems.

Is it real or just hype?

It is real. Scientists at the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sampled a number of people living in the United States. Their research revealed that every person in the United States has small amounts of chemicals in their bodies. They even found 200 industrial chemicals, pollutants, and pesticides in newborns. These were absorbed during pregnancy and then via breast milk.

This is what many health practitioners, nutritionists and dietitian’s call ‘toxic build-up’.

This build-up can interfere with our body’s ability to heal itself, therefore compromising the immune system.

How do we get rid of toxins?

Our body has built-in ways to remove toxins. For example, our body produces carbon dioxide when it converts food to energy. Carbon dioxide is a waste product or toxin, and we get rid of it by breathing it out. Other organs that help remove toxins include the liver, skin, kidneys, intestines, lymph nodes, and blood vessels. In addition to breathing out, we remove toxic products through urine, feces, and sweating.

What about a ‘detox’?

Historically people used fasts, saunas, leaches, and practiced bloodletting to ‘purify’ or ‘detox’ their body. There have been only a small number of studies on “detoxification” programs in people. While some have had positive results on weight and fat loss, insulin resistance, and blood pressure, the studies themselves have been of low quality.

There have been no studies on long-term effects of “detoxification” programs.

However, there are ways to reduce our exposure. Studies have shown that when changes are made to diet and lifestyle, reducing the absorption of toxins, the body can more effectively remove them. This is a way of ‘detoxing’.

Reducing intake of processed foods and alcohol, eating fresh, organic produce. Use natural cleaning products. Consider the ingredients in the products you put on our skin, because much of what goes ON you ends up going IN you.

 

We also did a bit of our own research and found that in Australia there are several different regulatory standards, depending on how the product is classified.

The one common standard in Australia, the US and the EU that we could find is ‘skincare and cosmetics must have a list of ingredients on the label, regardless of whether it is toxic or not.’

So, take the time to read labels and make yourself familiar with the most common nasties. By buying smarter, you can reduce the toxin load on your body, helping it to work better and keeping you in better health.

Till the next post,

Live Clean and Prosper

Sources – U.S. Center for Disease Control and PreventionNational Library of MedicineUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

 

Antacids, are they worth it?

Today’s post is about antacids and are they worth it?
First, what is an antacid?
Antacids are a product used to treat heartburn, indigestion or an upset stomach. They are a combination of several compounds, usually utilising various salts of calcium, magnesium, and aluminum as active ingredients. The antacids act by neutralizing the acid in the stomach and by inhibiting pepsin. Many types of antacids are available over-the-counter without a prescription. When our digestive system goes to work digesting the food eaten, the glands in the stomach lining produce stomach acid and an enzyme that digests protein. This acid is released into the stomach from cells called parietal cells. This helps the nutrients to be broken down so that they can be used by the body for repair, energy etc.
There are different types of ant acids
There are tablets and liquids, some are made for short term relief such as 2 to 4 hours and others are made to act for longer periods, anywhere from 4 to 24 hours. The most common type is technically referred to as a “PPI” or proton pump inhibitor. This is because all acids contain protons. A PPI inhibits this acid from being released into the stomach. Generally, most people believe that the sensation of heart burn and other symptoms is caused by an excess of stomach acid. This belief is the reason people turn to using ant acids or P.P.I’s. Unfortunately, the production of excess stomach acid is very rare and quite often the opposite is mostly true, being that too little stomach acid is the cause of these symptoms.
Are there side effects from long term PPI use?
Yes, there several side effects, one of the more serious is kidney damage which can begin from about 6 weeks and this is generally irreversible. Nutrient deficiencies are, an almost certainty. This is due to the digestive process not happening the way it should because of the reduced production of stomach acid. So, therefore proteins don’t get broken down properly. The body needs protein for almost everything we do, from hormone and neurotransmitter production to muscle growth. This is just the tip of the ice burg. The human body is a complex machine and those couple of issues lead into so many more problems across the entire body, from hair loss to thyroid function. If you are taking a PPI long term because you believe you have to much acid in your stomach then chances are the medication will become far worse than the problem. So, it is very important not to self-diagnose. Make an appointment to go and see a health professional. Make sure you have a detailed discussion about all thing’s digestion. Now to be clear it is my opinion that this class of drug is possibly the most dangerous over the counter drug for sale at the moment. So much so, that a large legal firm recently launched a class action against the manufacturers of a poplar PPI product, due to stomach cancer and kidney damage. This is just one of several around the world and hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid out by drug companies through the courts. Unfortunately, drug companies consider this the cost of doing business and continue to advertise these drugs.   I guess the takeaway here is – buyer beware and talk to your preferred health professional about your symptoms.   Till the next post,   Live clean n prosper