Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 198 i WellBeing

Housework for your heart For this study, researchers measured the physical activity of over 5400 American women who were aged 63 to 97 and who did not have heart disease at the start of the study. Subjects wore a research-grade accelerometer for up to seven days to get accurate measures of how much time they spent moving and, importantly, the types of common daily life behaviours that result in movement and are not often studied. Prior studies typically focused on activities like running and brisk walking, while this study measured smaller movements at varying intensity during activities like cooking. Compared to women with less than two hours per day of daily life movement, those women with at least four hours of daily life movement had a 43 per cent lower…

Goji berries (Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense) have been cultivated commercially along the fertile flood plains of the Yellow River in China for at least 700 years. They are one of the most widely used Chinese herbal medicines and are also one of the most scientifically researched of these medicines. There are several species which are largely interchangeable and have a long history of similar use. While the berries are popular as a medicinal food, the young leaves and shoots are also harvested as a leaf vegetable and the root has been used medicinally. The berries are commonly red but black varieties are also grown. Active ingredients Goji berries contain polysaccharides as the main medicinal components as well as small molecules such as betaine, beta-sitosterol, various vitamins and carotenoids such…

In a topsy turvy world, it’s easy to feel negative about things and see things as getting worse and worse. The problem is that feeling negative itself has some unfortunate effects. Psychotherapist and counsellor for Talking Matters, Marie Rowland, observes, “A negative psychological setting can lead to a chronic sense of foreboding and lack of confidence. The chronic pessimist’s negativity invariably becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as they forgo opportunities and lose connections, alienating those who would otherwise be supporters.” This is echoed by Dr Jodie Lowinger, a clinical psychologist and author of the bestselling book The Mind Strength Method, who says, “If you are continuing to get caught up in the content of your worry stories, and chase it with more thoughts about things that might possibly go wrong, then…

1 Plan things that cannot be undone. Do you remember what it was like waiting for the next instalment of your favourite show before bingeing became a way of life? Well, you can recreate that feeling by previewing what is coming up on your favourite streaming platform and organising a family movie night or a date night for when it drops. All you need is popcorn! 2 Be creative. You love that sexy Spanish restaurant in town but you’re in lockdown. Many amazing delivery services have sprouted during this pandemic, so why not set up your own in-house tapas bar by ordering in all the right ingredients and then find that perfect Latin playlist to set the scene? 3 Write down three things you are really looking forward to. Then…

1 Call it out by name and communicate that it is not a healthy way of relating. If you wish for the relationship to continue, communicate what you need moving forward for the relationship to be of a healthy nature and for everyone to be equally respected. Working on your boundaries will be key here regardless of your choice moving forward. 2 Remember that it is never your fault for being breadcrumbed and it is OK to cut ties if you need to. Cultural norms and social media can all enable people to behave in a way that is both disrespectful and dysfunctional. This does not mean that you must accept such behaviours. Having self-awareness, self-trust and a healthy sense of self-worth will put you in a better position for…

Nutritious and hearty root vegetables are a staple ingredient in many cuisines. Discover our favourite root vegetables and four delicious recipes to keep you warm during the cooler months. Sweet potato Sweet potato is a delicious root vegetable that comes in a variety of different colours including bright orange, white, yellow and purple. Orange varieties are one of the best sources of beta-carotene. This important nutrient is converted into vitamin A in the body and is used to maintain healthy eyes and good vision. Beta-carotene also gives sweet potatoes their vibrant orange colour along with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Purple sweet potatoes are rich in flavonoids called anthocyanins. These health-promoting phytonutrients are responsible for giving sweet potatoes their bright purple colour and high antioxidant levels. Including anthocyaninrich foods in…

For several months, Natalie Kyriacou woke up in stifling heat and humidity each day. She was living in a small guest house backing onto one of the few remaining tracks of protected rainforest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. A journalism student at the time, Kyriacou travelled to the Bornean jungle to work on an orangutan rehabilitation project, hoping to learn more about the challenges facing some of the world’s most iconic species and to write about the impact palm oil was having on wildlife in the region. Each day, she bottle-fed infant orangutans, sourced food and enrichment for local wildlife, taught juvenile orangutans to climb trees and monitored wild nest populations, all while wrapping up the final semester of her university degree. It was a life-changing experience, but not one Kyriacou…

Gives a lifting effect The AWARD-WINNING Amazing Eye™ Ceam is a restorative eye cream which contains hyaluronic acid, sea buckthorn and other herbal ingredients. The silky, soft and creamy texture delivers essential moisture to your skin and minimizes the appearance of fine lines and crow’s feet. Gives a lifting effect and leaves the skin feeling firmer. Cleansing Balm • Removes makeup and impurities• Leaves skin hydrated, fresh and clean• Boosts skin moisture and leaves it soft and nourished Cell renewal and regeneration • Hibiscus flowers and apricot seeds to naturally support cell renewal and skin regeneration• Improves moisturization of the upper layer of the epidermis• Boosts cell turnover Improves skin firmness The AWARD-WINNING Natural Magic™ Firming Serum is an ultra light face serum which improves skin firmness. Filled with a…

Author of Beat Autoimmune, speaker and functional medicine health coach Palmer Kippola was a fun-loving, hardworking college student when she was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis). “One morning I woke up and the soles of my feet had that pins and needles feeling,” Kippola recalls. Over the course of the morning the tingling had crept up to her knees. By the time she saw the neurologist it had reached her collarbone. At the time, 1984, little was known about MS. Kippola was told there was nothing she could do beyond medication and seeing what happened. “We left her office absolutely terrified,” she says. “We had no idea what this MS thing was. We hadn’t heard of autoimmune disease.” For the next six weeks her whole body was so numb she…

One fundamental benefit of exercising with a fitball as opposed to training directly on a hard flat surface is that the body responds to the instability of the ball to remain balanced, thus engaging more muscles. These muscles then become stronger over time to keep affirmed balance, triggering stabilisers to ensure functionality for improved mobility. Research demonstrates that exercises completed on a stability ball are significantly more effective than those done on the floor. To perform exercises with a stability ball, you must engage and isolate muscle groups in unison that are generally only used in body-weight exercises. So while you focus on sculpting your beautiful gluteus, your core and lower back are working overtime as well. The exercise ball allows a range of difficulty levels and evident benefits for…

As parents, we have all heard our kids tell some big old whoppers from time to time. The dog did eat my homework. No, I did not take the last cookie. Yes, there will be a parent at the party. From little innocent white lies to big fat fibs, kids and adults alike tell lies. It’s a fact of life. At the very heart of deliberate dishonesty is one fundamental notion. We tell a tall tale because the reality of the situation just won’t be well received. Conscious parenting coach Anna Davis says it’s a complex issue with one simple truth. “We don’t feel safe to tell someone the truth and so we lie,” she says. Hands up if you’ve told your preschooler that his Lego tower is the most…

How can our readers nurture and care for the environment with Brookfarm’s Roll ’n’ Recycle program? Our Roll ’n’ Recycle packaging, which allows semi-rigid plastic to be placed in your recycling bin, is a game changer. Thanks to an award-winning innovative design, the packaging is 100 per cent recyclable and given a second life. Put simply, it turns two-dimensional packaging into a three-dimensional shape, allowing it to be sorted correctly at the recycling facility. This innovation in kerbside recycling of soft plastics is a significant step forward for us and the industry as a whole. It’s been 10 years in the making and two years since we first started the conversation with O F Packaging, our packaging partners, and we are so proud of what we have achieved. It’s paramount…

In the 1988 Talking Heads song Nothing But Flowers, David Byrne envisaged a world in which civilisation had decayed and was replaced by luxuriant vegetation. Today, nature is increasingly being introduced into inner cities, but to complement modern buildings rather than colonise their remains. Examples include green roofs, vertical forests, rooftop farms and green walls, all of which are most often encountered in urban areas. Sod roofs originated with Viking dwellings in Scandinavia, and were widely used in the Middle Ages, when they were a feature of most houses. These roofs consisted of a layer of turf on top of layers of birch bark. Protecting roofs from the weather, in the cold winter climate they provided much-needed insulation. From the 18th century onwards, these grass roofs were gradually replaced with…

Images and text from The Comfort Bake by Sally Wise, photography by Samuel Shelley. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99. As the cooler weather sets in, comfort food is sure to be on your mind. Enter: The Comfort Bake, a deliciously decadent cookbook packed from cover to cover with sweet and savoury bites you’ll want to bake repeatedly. Not a baker? Sally Wise has got you covered with her abundance of simple and easy-to-follow recipes. Whip up some gingernut cookies for dunking, become a lamington connoisseur, try your hand at a traditional custard tart or wow your guests with a sumptuous self-saucing pudding. And don’t fret — there’s plenty for the savoury buffs to love as well, from homemade bread to cheesy pull-aparts and sausage rolls worthy of a grandma’s recipe book!…

In 2021, a day after my 32nd birthday, I gave birth to my son Harrison. I spent my own birthday in labour, wishing Harry would join me but, alas, he wanted his own day to celebrate. I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but I had just arrived at the most sacred and meaningful chapter yet of my life. Harry’s newborn days were filled with a dreamy delight. Time slipped away sweetly, and I happily settled to sleeping, feeding and cuddling him around the clock. I spent my time staring into his ocean blue eyes, enthralled by his cute toes and nose and marvelling at the miracle of life. As special as those early days were, they were also muddled with confusion. Uncertain feelings that, once I came up…

LEE HOLMES runs Supercharged Food and recently released her book Supercharge Your Life. Visit her blog at superchargedfood.com for cooking inspiration, recipes and tips. It’s that time of year again, folks: it’s time to swap the shorts and swimmers for jumpers and scarves. While orange leaves and bare branches signify the noticeable external changes in autumn, our internal shifts can be a bit more subtle. If you want to know how the change of season affects you and what you can do about it, plus get a neat little seasonal eating guide for autumn and my favourite pie recipe, this is the column for you. Seasonal food is bursting with flavour. It has the highest nutrient value compared to foods stored for longer periods or grown in an artificial environment. Once…

KAREN GOLDRICK is a holistic veterinarian at All Natural Vet Care, Russell Lea, Sydney. T: 02 9712 5844 W: www.naturalvet.com.au. Animal Medicines Australia, in their report Pets and the Pandemic, found that pet ownership had significantly increased nationally, with the proportion of households having pets rising from 61 per cent to 69 per cent in 2019. Many puppies acquired during lockdown missed out on Puppy Preschool, even though they may have been well socialised, with increased opportunities for exercise and meeting other dogs. With their human family constantly around during their formative months, puppies acquired during lockdowns never had to experience significant alone time. Separation anxiety may increase with humans starting to return to work or plan long-overdue holidays. Our dogs and cats are having to cope with changing circumstances they…

CHRISTINE BROADBENT An Astrology Reading interfaces the mysteries of birth patterns and planetary cycles. This healing art offers rich insights, improves self-knowledge and is a path to integration. Christine Broadbent has been sharing this approach with clients for over 30 years. She also offers distance readings, webinar classes, workshops and retreats in Australia and New Zealand. Book a reading now, in person or virtually: astroha@bigpond.com. Phone Au: 0402 664101 or NZ: 0214 10126. Gemini May 1–9 is a period to maximise, driven by New Moon energy and your guru planet Mercury back in Gemini. Mercury goes retro on May 10, which offers you three weeks to double-check all communication and be alert to misinformation, especially on May 16. However, Jupiter now begins a five-month cycle that will help you build…

Horses I spend a couple of hours each Friday at a local barn. I ride for an hour and spend the rest of the time just being around the beautiful animals I’ve long been obsessed with. For me, there is no better self-check. Self-compassion and mindfulness Self-compassion doesn’t come naturally to me but my goodness it helps my mental state. Kristin Neff’s Self-Compassion highlights the importance of being kind to ourselves, treating us as we would a friend. Regular guided meditations also help my mind. Sitting with it For someone whose natural reaction is to deflect, avoid and run from unpleasant feelings, sitting and feeling is so important. I regularly tell myself all emotions serve a purpose. Exercise and nature I aim for 10,000 steps a day. I live near…

Nineteen years ago, in early 2003, I encountered AcuEnergetics and it changed the path of my life forever in a very short period of time. I had been suffering with severe pain from endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) since I was around 14 years old. Once a month for about five days I would be in incredible pain — two of those days I’d be in bed on medication. It was awful to say the least. I had been to so many doctors and specialists and tried different medications and therapies… all without any relief. I was also told I had insulin resistance and that I might not be able to have children. I felt hopeless. In addition to this physical pain, over the years I had developed depression.…

Hello, I’m back. Same smile, different brain, tired eyes, bigger and fuller heart. It’s been nine magical months but I’m happy to return to my role as editor. Do you notice anything different about me? I’m wearing a new hat… I’m a mum. This hat’s a little discombobulated, the fit still feels strange, it’s covered in two-day-old pumpkin mash and tattered at the edges but it’s bright and sparkly and full of new life. Sitting at my desk feels familiar; I know how to do this. Words make sense to me. It’s also very nice to rest my feet — chasing after a crawling baby who loves to explore and climb everything is busy work. Perched here, finally enjoying a warm cup of tea and surrounded by the wonderful world…

Meditation cuts mistakes For a new study, subjects who had never meditated before were taken through a 20-minute open monitoring meditation exercise while the researchers measured brain activity through electroencephalography (EEG). Then they completed a computer-based distraction test. The EEG can measure brain activity at the millisecond level. In the brain a certain neural signal occurs about half a second after an error, called the “error positivity”, which is linked to conscious error recognition. Analysis of results showed that the strength of this signal was increased in the meditators relative to controls. These findings are a strong demonstration of what just 20 minutes of meditation can do to enhance the brain’s ability to detect and pay attention to mistakes. They indicate that if you are forgetful or make mistakes when…

Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) are flavonoid compounds that provide the red-orange to blue-violet pigments present in many foods including fruits, vegetables, flowers and grains. These compounds are particularly concentrated in red grape seeds and skins and pine bark. They are also found in apples, cinnamon, cacao beans, blueberries, cranberries, açaí berries, grains such as sorghum, hibiscus, rosehips and green tea. In plants OPCs provide defence against pathogens, and it is the pathogens in the plants that trigger their production. There has been considerable research, including substantial human clinical trials, on grape seed and pine bark supplements, both of which contain the purified extracts of OPCs. Due to commercial interests, there is more clinical research on Pycnogenol, extracted from French maritime pine bark and which contains 65–75 per cent OPCs, than on…

Spend 10 minutes with our Paradigm Shifters, the people who are shaping the ideas that will take us into the future. Meet conservation trailblazer and genetic scientist Natalie Schmitt. How I start my day… I aim to start each day with an hour of meditation. For the first time in my life, I have a meditation room, a refuge from the many distractions of life and a place I can truly be with myself. It has become a key source of joy for me, helping me to anchor my mind in the present moment and live more in my heart as opposed to a mind that loves to focus on self-doubt. As a naturally late riser, I tend to resist my meditation practice, but I try not to push myself…

As our lives become more and more entangled with our digital personas, it makes sense that a whole new world of online social behaviour is cropping up. Over the past few years, we’ve cycled through the dating concepts of ghosting, catfishing and benching, while dealing with roaching and email phishing in the workplace. But there’s a new contender on the rise and it applies to every social domain, from the illusive world of dating to friendships and careers. It’s called breadcrumbing and it’s everywhere. When someone breadcrumbs you, they string you along by feigning interest in you — whether as a romantic partner, future employee or close friend. They’ll drop small crumbs of attention in the form of an email, date idea or social media interaction without committing to you…

The link between our highly sophisticated hormonal system, levels of energy we operate from, stress we experience, how strong our immunity is and our overall health and lifestyle is undeniable. This article explores the endocrine system, its main glands and their connection to chakras, along with introducing a meditation and a yoga practice sequence to help balance your hormones and enhance your vitality. The endocrine system Tightly orchestrated, your endocrine or hormonal system consists of a network of glands (organs) located all over your body, which produce, monitor and secrete hormones, the chemicals that control your body’s main processes, including reproduction, development, growth, repair, mood, metabolism, homeostasis and sleep, among others. The endocrine system operates alongside the nervous and immune systems to assist them in the functioning of the body…

In the Goop-ified world of beauty and wellness, the clean beauty movement has become a regular point of tension, especially between brands and influencers on the one hand and scientists within the field on the other. When you scratch the surface, it becomes clear that “clean beauty” is more of a marketing label slapped onto a product much akin to “clean eating”, insinuating that your favourite comfort foods are polluting your body and so too are your go-to serums, moisturisers and perfumes. As The Eco Well founder Jen Novakovich writes in a blog post, “When you label your brand as ‘clean’, you imply to consumers that other products are ‘dirty’. This denigrating marketing strategy trains people not to trust science, encourages conspiratorial thinking around regulations and betrays trust across the…

MYTH: Chemical sunscreens are harmful. All sunscreens are safe, including chemical and titanium dioxide-based sunscreens. A lot of people call them chemical sunscreens, which already sounds quite scary, whereas zinc oxide is found naturally in nature. But zinc oxide in sunscreens is usually synthetically made. MYTH: Chemical and physical sunscreens work differently. All sunscreen ingredients mostly work by absorbing UV and converting it to heat — a very small amount of heat that you won’t be able to detect — so that means your skin is protected from UV, which is very harmful and causes cancer, premature ageing and uneven pigmentation. One of the good things about zinc oxide is that very few people are allergic to it so mineral sunscreens are great for sensitive skin. However, zinc oxide tends…

Welcome to WellBeing TV, a new feature in collaboration with some of our favourite brands and wellness wizards. As Australians become increasingly health-conscious, we want to bring you honest tips and insights straight from the experts themselves. Whatever wellness you’re seeking, join us on this holistic health journey as we meet and get inspired by the industry’s best. In this WellBeing TV feature, we speak to wellness expert Andi Lew. Andi shares her top tips for changing your career path, staying motivated to study and improving your overall health. For more information, visit wellbeingmag.tv or follow us on Instagram @wellbeing_magazine.…

Did you know The Jetsons was set in the year 2062? The spaceage cartoon family lived in a high-tech world of aero cars and cloud-adjacent homes that supposedly is only a handful of decades from now. First aired in the 1960s, The Jetsons represented a future version of society and family living. Australian homes today encompass a wide range of styles and sizes, reflecting our diverse population and lifestyle choices. From sunburnt shacks in the dusty outback to sleek inner-city apartments and sprawling double-brick builds in the ’burbs, our residential landscape is worlds away from “Orbit City”, the Jetsons’ town in the stratosphere. Forward-thinking home design, however, can improve life in a myriad of ways. What is a future-proofed home? A future-proofed home is designed for longevity, offering reassurance and…

On April 7, 2003 the New York Times quoted then Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as saying that the war in Iraq had not yet reached a “tipping point”. Rumsfeld was giving voice to the idea that sometimes, despite apparent lack of progress, in fact things were taking place that would soon yield a dramatic and obvious change. If it was not in the popular consciousness before this time, the notion of the “tipping point” quickly found fertile ground in popular thinking. In fact, the idea of a tipping point is also a statement of belief in a phenomenon known as “critical mass”, which indicates that once you have built up a certain degree of energy or momentum behind an idea or endeavour then you reach a point where that energy…

What does “looking after yourself” mean to you? It means being kind to myself — making sure I eat well, exercise and sleep well. Making sure I make time for my mental health with meditation, reading and time with friends. Making sure I only put the healthiest of products on my skin, which to me means they must be 100 per cent natural and certified organic. How can our readers nurture themselves with products from Clémence Organics? Our products are so beautiful to use. Many customers comment that using Clémence Organics is like having their own day spa at home. The scents are gentle and soothing. The products are texturally luxurious. They really make you feel that you are giving your skin the absolute best treatment. And from an ingredients…

Adolescents are naturally curious to try the latest craze. Minecraft, popping candy, slime… parents witness a world of fading fads. Often adolescent exploits are a passing exploration driven by peer pressure and promotions. However, the rising popularity of vapes has parents and teachers seriously concerned. The issue is so serious that some schools are warning that any student caught selling, using or possessing a vape could be suspended. Many students have been suspended in Australia, such as the Waverley College student who ran a vape pen network selling to students, Queensland kids caught smuggling asthma puffer-style vapes to school and five students sprung vaping at a Canberra Catholic school. The problem is so pervasive that many schools including Knox Grammar have installed vape detectors in their bathrooms. America’s silent vaping…

As darkness falls over Tasmania’s northern coastline, the sing-song of hungry chicks heralds a magical nocturnal commute. Calling from burrows dug deep into the dunes, tiny, noisy penguins — just weeks and months old — wait impatiently for their nightly feed. I look on, silent and awestruck, as dozens of little penguins tumble out of the surf with belly-loads of fish to share. They waddle right past me, seemingly impervious to my beam of red torchlight, following well-worn, sandy trails. Awkwardly scaling rocky ledges and sliding down too-smooth grassy tufts, the penguins move with the single-minded determination of parenthood, racing to soothe and nourish their hungry chicks. As the full moon shifts overhead, gently crashing waves unceremoniously dump penguin after penguin onto the sand, each one shaking itself off before…

fiction Are We Having Fun Yet? LUCY MANGAN, MURDOCH BOOKS Relatable, check. Witty, check. The perfect balance of light and self-deprecating humour, check. Are We Having Fun Yet? is an irresistible feel-good read that you won’t be able to put down. It’s a novel that doesn’t feel so fictional, following a year in the life of Liz as she juggles the chaos of life as a modern mum. Liz is instantly likeable, and draws you in with diary-like entries detailing her daily frustrations, wins and losses. Between running around after her children Thomas and Evie and husband Richard, and juggling the stresses of work, competitive parents and an overbearing mother, she is fighting for a moment alone to relax and unwind — to do absolutely nothing, really. Are We Having…

What was the inspiration behind Green Nation Life? Green Nation Life was born out of the desire to create an Australian-made lifestyle range, offering truly transparent formulations and minimal, modern packaging that complements modern homes and decors. We love creating beautiful products that are practical and better for you (and the planet). And, of course, they have to smell amazing and actually work! Our years of experience working in the industry left us wanting a range that we felt was missing in the market and that combined a premium aesthetic and naturally derived option at an affordable price point. We worked extensively with local Melbourne manufacturers to create a range of homecare and skincare products that have been designed to meet our strict 98 per cent naturally derived criteria and…

DR MICHAEL ELSTEIN is a Sydney-based anti-ageing physician and writer. He is the author of three books including his latest, The Wellness Guide to Preventing the Diseases of Ageing. He has also designed the app The Diet Guide to Ageing Prevention. Simply taking hormones to overcome fatigue without primarily attending to digestion, diet and essential nutrients is bound to fail. Anyone who suffers from fatigue, which is everyone’s premier gripe, weight gain that is hard to shed, hair loss, cold hands and feet, dry skin, diminished mental capacity and sluggish bowel function has a thyroid which has shut down until proven otherwise. When the thyroid doesn’t work everything slows down. Your brain, your body, your bowels, the whole enchilada. You become debilitated and dull like the devitalised inertia of a stagnant…

I was 33 years old when I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the trauma experienced during my younger years along with my battles with anxiety and depression, the diagnosis didn’t surprise me. But by then I’d found a wonderful therapist, was practising mindfulness and was ready to do the work I needed to heal. What has PTSD looked like for me? Unresolved trauma manifesting in emotional shutdowns, inability to self-regulate, lack of boundaries, people-pleasing, shame, feeling defective, neediness, withdrawal, alcoholism and flashbacks. My teenage years were spent “off the rails”, wagging school, drinking and hanging out with the wrong crowd. It will come as no surprise that I left school at 16. I continued down a dark path until a series of events forced me to choose…

Autumn and winter Fruit and vegetables Fruit Apples (Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Jonathan, Lady Williams, Pink Lady, Red Delicious, Sundowner), banana, breadfruit, cumquat, custard apple, fig, grapes (Muscat, Purple Cornichon, Sultana, Waltham Cross), grapefruit, guava, kiwifruit, lemon, lime, mandarin (Imperial), melons (honeydew, rockmelon), nashi, orange (Valencia), papaya, passionfruit, pears (Beurre Bosc, Howell, Josephine, Packham, Red Sensation, Williams), persimmon, pineapple, plum, pomelo, pomegranate, quince, rambutan, raspberry, rhubarb, tamarillo, tangelo. Vegetables Asian greens (buk choy, choy sum, gai lan, wombok), avocado, beans (butter, green, snake), beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chilli, cucumber, daikon, eggplant, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, field mushroom, okra, olive, onions (brown, red and spring), parsnip, peas, potato, pumpkin, shallot, silver beet, spinach, squash, swede, sweet corn, sweet potato, taro,…

Bushfires on the rise According to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), climate change and land-use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 per cent by 2030, 30 per cent by the end of 2050 and 50 per cent by the end of the century. Bushfires are made worse by climate change through increased drought, high air temperatures, low relative humidity, lightning and strong winds. At the same time, climate change is made worse by bushfires, mostly by ravaging sensitive and carbon-rich ecosystems, making it harder to halt rising temperatures. The report authors say that the restoration of ecosystems is an important way to mitigate the risk of bushfires before they occur and…

From ancient philosophy to New Age thinking, it is drummed into us that if we’re to have any shot at happiness we must live in the moment. Ruminating on past events or fretting about what is yet to unfold is a recipe for emotional disaster. In either instance, we can’t change what has happened nor control what will happen. So the only time where we have any agency is in the here and now. But living in the present doesn’t mean we can’t experience the pure pleasure of looking forward to something. We all know the thrill of planning that perfect getaway, the buzz of buying tickets to a concert or even getting excited about that date on Saturday night. It is actually healthy for us to plan or contemplate…

Suggest that they’d love to see you but ignore your attempts to set an actual time and place. Won’t reply to your messages for several weeks, before sending a series of texts without explaining why they suddenly stopped responding. Communicate primarily with generic comments, photos, memes or emojis. Keep you looking to the future with vague plans and statements like “Let’s catch up soon”. Create conversations that are superficial and non-specific to avoid revealing or learning personal details. View, like or comment on your social media posts, while still ignoring messages you’ve sent.…

Dreaming is perhaps the greatest shared “unshared” human experience. From disjointed anecdotes and blissful experiences one may be disappointed to awaken from, to fear-inducing nightmares and complex real-life-related sequences that play out in distorted dreamscapes, humans experience a vast number of dreams throughout their lives. Yet since these dream experiences manifest exclusively in an individual’s mind and are highly subjective, often fragmented and non-linear narratives which cannot be shared other than by personal waking recount, it is impossible to ever truly share the experience of dreams. So what ties all dreams together? What role do dreams really have in our lives? Why does the brain crave dreaming? What is happening at a neurological level when the mind rolls the dream projector each night? Contemporary neuroscience and psychology is elucidating more…

Humans are beautifully complex creatures with unique money histories, experiences, emotions and behaviour patterns. Despite these differences, it can be helpful to use money archetypes to easily and effectively identify ways to enhance your relationship with money. How do archetypes help with your relationship with money? Archetypes are recurring patterns of behaviour that influence how we think, feel and act. They can be understood as the foundation or primary position from which humans act. In ancient Greek, “archetype” means “original pattern” and such patterns occur in mythology and stories to embody universal meanings and human experiences based on common plots, symbols and themes. The idea of archetypes was further explored by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung in the 1900s and was first adapted to relate to money by Deborah Price,…

Chemical-free: A chemical is defined as any substance consisting of matter — including air, water and almost everything else you put in and on your body. No beauty product that exists is free from all chemicals. Preservative-free: That little number you see on your skincare favourites (6M, 12M etc.)? You can thank preservatives for lengthening the life of your product. Skincare is expensive, and unless you want to keep your products in the fridge and replace them every few days, preservatives are essential to keep every water-based product free from bacteria and mould. Toxin-free: Any ingredient can be toxic in high amounts — even water. But as we now know, the so-called “toxins” and “nasties” in your skincare are actually found in such low amounts that they cause no harm…

Sowing the seeds of a wellbeing mindset begins with getting your hands in the earth. Gardening naturally boosts your mood; it nurtures relationships, promotes a healthy lifestyle and reduces your environmental impact. It also gets you physically fitter. With gardening activities such as pulling weeds and planting, you’ll burn around 630 kilojoules per half hour, according to Fitness Australia, the national health and fitness industry association. And it will help to improve your flexibility, endurance and stamina. When gardening, you’re also being exposed to fresh air and vitamin D, both of which are essential to good health. In the global pandemic, gardening became a way for many to work their way through the chaos and confusion. They couldn’t control what was happening on the world stage, but they could do…

What does “looking after yourself” mean to you? To me, looking after yourself means making time to prioritise you. We often give so much to everyone around us and don’t have much (or any) time, energy and love left for ourselves. Looking after myself means making the space to be quiet and present so I can hear my intuition. It means listening to my body, being kind and giving it the love and nourishment it deserves. How will a yoga retreat experience at Byron Yoga Centre nurture our readers? We give you the tranquil haven, the program, the food and the tools to nourish your whole being. You give yourself the time and space to disconnect from the outside world and tune in to yourself. It’s the opportunity to really…

Sydney student Dakota Stephenson got a painful lesson about vaping dangers. After vaping three times a week for seven months to soothe her anxiety, Stephenson suffered vomiting, a rapid heartbeat and a high temperature. She was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with the lung disease EVALI. While in intensive care she narrowly survived as her lungs filled with fluid. Stephenson was one of the lucky casualties of vaping. Up until February 18, 2020, 2807 EVALI cases have been reported to the US’s CDC with 68 resulting in deaths. Though vitamin E acetate is strongly linked to EVALI, other chemicals are likely contributors.…

Sulphur Creek • Go: Drive 36km west of Devonport to Sulphur Creek’s Hall Point (free camping, no dogs).• Visit: November to March.• Stay: Madsen Boutique Hotel (from $200/night).• Pack: A red-light torch.• Contact: discoverburnie.net. Narawntapu National Park • Go: Drive the B71 for 30 minutes east of Devonport, following the C740 to the national park.• Stay: Stargazers Luxury Cottage (two nights from $507); powered national park campsites cost $16 per couple.• Pack: A SUP or kayak, binoculars, hiking shoes.• Contact: parks.tas.gov.au. Wukalina/Mount William National Park • Go: Drive 17km from Gladstone (via the C843 and C845).• Stay: Bay of Fires Bush Retreat (from $198/night); unpowered national park campsites cost from $13/couple.• Pack: Hiking shoes and binoculars.• Contact: parks.tas.gov.au. Liffey River Reserve • Go: Take the Bass Highway west of Launceston,…

EMA TAYLOR is a naturopath, clinical nutritionist and certified fertility awareness educator. For more, visit emataylor.com or @emataylornaturopathy on Instagram. Magnesium also plays a role in reducing cortisol, one of the body’s stress hormones. Magnesium may not be the first mineral you think of when it comes to supporting the health of your skin; however, it may be the missing link you need. Magnesium is recognised for its use in reducing muscle spasms, relieving cramps and aiding sleep, but did you know that the mineral also has the ability to reduce skin inflammation and improve overall skin tone and texture? Magnesium is utilised in over 320 different biochemical processes throughout the body and plays an important role in maintaining normal nerve and muscle function, supporting a healthy immune system, controlling a…

JACKIE FRENCH is the author of The Chook Book (Aird Books). Her oldest chook, Gertie, is now 17. Although Gertie’s sisters have all long since fallen off the perch, Gertie still lays extremely large brown eggs most days of the year. Get in touch with Jackie via facebook.com/authorjackiefrench, twitter.com/jackie_ french_ and instagram.com/jackie_ french_. Eat baby kale when you can just make out a leaf, as it’s delicious in stirfries or added to salads for crunch. In times of world disaster, I have two responses: organise the larder, ie throw out the jam and tomato kasundi I made in 1996, and plant more in the vegetable garden. The larder has been nicely sorted out the last two years. But what can you plant when you get the vegetable urge in autumn? A…

KAREN BRIDGMAN is a holistic practitioner at Lotus Health and Lotus Dental in Neutral Bay. A middle-aged woman came to see me with an unusual collection of debilitating symptoms. She was absolutely exhausted. Her recurrent symptoms were intermittent fevers that could last up to two weeks, so severe at times that she required hospitalisation. These were extremely debilitating, leaving her exhausted for weeks afterwards, and were accompanied by severe headaches, a sore throat, feeling very dizzy and nausea often leading to vomiting. Memory and concentration deteriorated badly during these times, and as she has quite a high-powered position they impacted significantly on her career. She had been having these symptoms for about 10 years when I saw her and were more severe when she was stressed, as are most chronic problems.…