Considering that the Neolithic agricultural revolution is estimated to have begun only 10,000 years ago (Richards, 2002), this would appear to indicate that many, if not most, of the products of that revolution are foreign to the aboriginal digestive system.

Modern research on the Paleolithic diet (Cordain et al., 2005) supports the conclusion that many of the health issues facing modern aboriginals come from this leap into a standard Australian diet without any of the intervening evolutionary pressures that where face by Eurasians over the last 10,000 years.

Lactase persistence is the human ability to continue producing the requisite enzymes to digest dairy products.  Recent research(Itan, Jones, Ingram, Swallow, & Thomas, 2010) has shown that approximately 85% of post adolescent aboriginals have no ongoing ability to digest dairy products.

While further research is warranted current research into human neurobiology and nutrition would seem to support the position that aboriginal people in Australia should be moving from a standard Australian diet and moving towards of food lifestyle that excludes, dairy, cereal grains, processed oils, processed sugars, refined carbohydrates and solanaceae foods.

Cordain, L., Eaton, S. B., Sebastian, A., Mann, N., Lindeberg, S., Watkins, B. A., O’Keefe, J. H., et al. (2005). Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 81(2), 341-54. Am Soc Nutrition. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15699220

Itan, Y., Jones, B. L., Ingram, C. J., Swallow, D. M., & Thomas, M. G. (2010). A worldwide correlation of lactase persistence phenotype and genotypes. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 10(1), 36. BioMed Central. Retrieved from http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/19627/

Rasmussen, M., Guo, X., Wang, Y., Lohmueller, K. E., Rasmussen, S., Albrechtsen, A., Skotte, L., et al. (2011). An Aboriginal Australian Genome Reveals Separate Human Dispersals into Asia. Science, 94(September), 94-8. American Association for the Advancement of Science. doi:10.1126/science.1211177

Richards, M. P. (2002). A brief review of the archaeological evidence for Palaeolithic and Neolithic subsistence. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 56(12), 16 p following 1262. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601646

This is the foundation of our belief that actions can be labelled good or bad.  They are performed by a comptetant person.

But what if this is not true?

While this can be useful it fails to take into account modern knowledge of nutrition and neurobiology.  One of the things that we are now familiar with is that almost any behaviour or congitive failure can be induced by removing nutrients from an animals diet.  We can induce paranoia, psychosis, aggression, anxiety, rstlessness, inability to concentrate and even learning difficulites.Recent studies in Jails in the USA  have shown that incidence of aggression in jails can be reduced by the addition of appropriate nutrients to the residents diet.  These studies have been repeated many times and show that diet can be a driver of cognition and behaviour.What does this mean for the criminal justice system?

The prime implication is that our perceptions of morality and responsibility is showing increasing weaknesses as the foundation of our criminal justice system.

In the Christian bible one of the first injunctions laid on man is to avoid eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Modern neurobiology is increasingly showing that this was good advice!  Morality may not be the best foundation of our legal system.

Maybe it is time to take the advice offered in the bible?

Most of the conversation on violence focuses solely on cognitive aspects of aggression.  This most commonly arises from our desire to hold people responsible for their actions.  Indeed our entire criminal justice system is built on the principle of responsibility for our actions.

Every person chooses their own behaviour and must be held accountable for that behaviour.  No exceptions!

Or are there.

Modern research into nutrition is increasingly showing cognitive and behavioural impacts of sub-clinical nutrient deficiencies ^1,2,3,.

Big words I know, but what do they mean

Effectively it means that any person who has a nutritional deficiency in certain nutrients is going to have difficulties making responsible choices.

These symptoms range from irritability, difficulty learning, anxiety, depression, impulse control and a number of other cognitive dysfunctions.  In fact one of the worst outcomes seems to be from a high sugar diet ⁴.

What does this mean for us?  We need to start having Nutritionists, particularly public health and behavioural nutritionists involved in the development of crime and violence prevention policies.  We also need to get Crime prevention involved in discussions about food policy particularly in our schools.

However I am also always on about getting more vegetables in our diet, so here is my answer!  It is definitely me favourite smoothie.

To make your smoothie base you will need:

• 500G organic carrots.
• 1 large bunch celery.
•  medium raw beetroot.
•  cabbage.
• Ginger (about 2cm cube)
•  slow juicer.

Juice all of the vegetables and refrigerate the juice, it will be the smothie base.  Keep all of the pulp.

Add 1 large glass of juice to your blender and add any fruit you want.  Blend thoroughly.  You will end up with a very purple but very healthy smoothie.

The Pulp.

I always collect and keep the pulp when I juice my vegetables as it becomes a great base for vegie patties.  I add almond meal and spices to make the patties, but that is another story.

If you are a non-veg you can add it to mince and it becomes a great base for meatloaf or rissoles.

If you are going to do this you need to clean your vegetables before juicing.

The pulp will last up to a day in the refrigerator but does not freeze well if you are adding it to other dishes.

I also have used it in a vegetarian omelet and have made cakes with it.  The cakes where interesting but require some experimentation to get right.  It suits semolina cakes better that a plain sponge type cake mix.

I have also promised myself that one day I will get around to trying it in Friands, but I doubt that they will be as good as my partners Friands.

Centacare and OasisLiving present -

Active and Vital – Healthy ageing and you!
Everyone understands the ageing process.  We become less supple, less active and tire more easily. We start to lose interest.  Holidays overseas come to an end!  We need more care and support! Or is that really true?

• Do you have 80 year old friends who still travel and look after themselves?
• Do you have older friends who tire you out because they are so active?
• Are you having problems gardening or walking?
• Do you want more from life?

This public health seminar is for all people who wish to remain fit and active for their whole life.

“Active and vital” provides the information that you need for longevity and vitality.

If you are starting to experience “Old age” and are thinking that this is way too soon.

Come along and ask all the questions that you would love to ask!

Venue:  Centacare Room, St Mary’s community centre.

Starting:  Wednesday 16^th November and runs for  4 x 2 hour sessions.

Bookings essential.   Maximum 15 places per seminar.

Cost: $5.00 each week.  Includes morning tea

Dates and times.  Wednesday morning 9:30AM – 11:30AM.  16^th Nov, 23^rd Nov, 30^th Nov & 7^th Dec.

The “Active and Vital – Healthy aging and you” program runs for approx  2 hours per session.

Call Centacare on 1300 523 985 to book your place for this Centacare Bundaberg workshop.

Here is a reprint if anyone is interested.

I am thinking I am also going to try it as a raw soup and just blend it down to a smoothie. sounds like fun!

Carrot Coconut Soup

The ginger and curry powder add great flavor to this easy-to-prepare soup. It’s also rich in vitamin A and tastes great!

Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 TBS + 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 TBS fresh ginger, sliced
• 4 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 cups sliced carrots, about 1/4-inch thick
• 1 cup sweet potato, cut into about 1/2-inch cubes
• 5 oz canned coconut milk
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop onion and let it sit for at least five minutes to bring out its hidden health benefits.
2. Heat 1 TBS broth in a medium soup pot. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add garlic and ginger and continue to sauté for another minute.
4. Add curry powder and mix well with onions.
5. Add broth, carrots, and sweet potato and simmer on medium high heat until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
6. Add coconut milk.
7. Blend in batches making sure blender is not more than half full. When it’s hot, and the blender is too full, it can erupt and burn you. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Return to soup pot and reheat.

Serves 4

The simple answer is that most of what is called violence prevention is not in fact violence prevention.  Most of it should be called “running around picking up the pieces when it is too late.”

Prevention means an intervention prior to the act occuring.  In Public health this means an intervention before any of the signs or symptoms of aggression and violence occur.

In violence prevention this means to act pro actively before it becomes an issue in the families and groups where it occurs.  It is prophylactic in nature, and it is wholistic enough to consider and intervene in all the areas where problems can cause aggression.

It means planning interventions and training in areas as diverse as sleep, nutrition, family rituals, the construction of meaning, intention, goal mapping and setting, planning, and social contracts and engagement.

It does not mean blaming people who believe that aggression is a normal form of negotiation.  It does not mean blaming individuals who have health or skills deficiency’s that lead them to lash out in pain of frustration.  It does not mean expecting marginalised or dispossessed people to behave in a way that will dis-empower them.

It does mean up-skilling people.  It does mean giving people the tools and knowledge required to understand and meet their own needs.  It means educating the community in all of the different issues that are the prequels of aggression and violence.

If you answered yes to any of these questions you are a member of a large community of people with the same issues.  Figures gathered by the Australian bureau of statistics show that over 1,000,000 people in Australia alone have problems with sleep.

But help is at hand!

Sleep research shows that while some of these sleep issues have a medical issues that requires treatment, many people are simply not aware of how sleep works and how to arrange it.

Poor sleep quality can be a matter of habits or even lack of knowledge about how sleep works.

Some simple issues that cause sleep problems are;

• A tiny switch in your brain that suppresses sleep if there is light present, so a darker room is better!
• A moving partner or pet can disrupt your sleep!
• Sleep requires cooling down.  A hot stuffy bedroom can keep you awake!
• Becoming overtired can make it hard to get to sleep.
• Sleep is habitual, so disturbing your sleeping patterns can make it hard to sleep.
• It takes most people around 15 minutes to fall asleep.  Falling asleep quickly can mean you are sleep deprived!
• Most people need 8-10 hours of sleep a night for optimal performance.

At Oasisliving we understand that sleep education is not a part of normal education.  That is why our sleep seminar is focused of helping you to gain the sleep you need to have the best quality of life.

Knowing your needs, understanding how to manage your environment, and having optimal sleep are all important for having a wonderful life.

Contact us at OasisLiving to join a sleep seminar and improve your quality of life!

PS: one of the many things that contribute to overweight and obesity is a messed up metabolism from lack of sleep!  Did you get your 8 hours last night?

PPS: Strangely, snoring can be caused by inflammation in the throat and sinuses caused by food intolerances.  Your snoring may be food related and not medical!

Mostly my answer is that it is easy to lose weight but the trick is not to try to lose weight.

The secret to weight lose does not lie in dieting, although diet is important.
The secret to weight lose does not lie in exercise, although activity is important.

The secret lies in how you live. Overweight and obesity are symptoms of lifestyle.  There is no secret trick, no golden bullet.  Your weight is an accumulation of all the things that you do.

The things that contribute to your weight are

• Food
• Activity
• Sleep
• Water, (Hydration)
• Social activities
• Family rituals
• Intentions
• Goals
• and your purpose.

All of these things add up to the symptoms of your life.

At Oasisliving we are a public health education business that teaches you what causes your life and trains you in how to manage those causes.

Areas of study in the 4 day workshop.

These areas can be studied at one at a time or during a comprehensive 4 day workshop.

Call us and see how public health education can add to your quality of life!

Apparently optimism is a part of who we are!

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/wt-bir100611.php