Although it can be upsetting to find your Cholesterol levels are higher than desirable, in some ways it can serve as a very useful motivator to improve your diet and your exercise routine! We all know that avoiding unhealthy fats is important for everyone, so most people who want to have a healthy diet aim to cut out or reduce fried foods, fatty meats, too many rich and sweet foods and too many processed foods.

Alongside these changes it is important to increase amount of soluble and insoluble fibre in your diet (fibre binds to fat and carries it out of your body). So plenty of vegetables – raw, lightly cooked or juiced. And plenty of fruit (fruit is best in its whole form – too many smoothies and juice are actually very sugary and can be worse for you because of the high sugar levels). And of course plenty of wholegrain foods – bread, rice, even pasta can be made healthy by choosing the wholegrain varieties.

Apart from fruit and vegetables, another good way of improving your fibre levels is to eat porridge or muesli (not over-processed cereals like cornflakes) and add a selection of super-healthy ingredients like ground seeds (flax has the best track-record of lowering cholesterol – try Irish Health Oils ground Flax Seed) and lecithin. Some probiotic yoghurt is also excellent – preferably not a sugary yoghurt but a natural one. Add berries, grated apple or pear and you have a super-healthy breakfast!

It’s important to remember that not all fat is bad (confusing I know). For example, cooking on medium to low heats with olive oil, Rape Seed Oil or an organic Sunflower Oil is fine, and so is eating home-made salad dressings with good natural oils (for example try Flax, Udo’s Hemp, Olive, Pumpkin, Avocado). Trying to cut out all fats can actually be harmful – our bodies need fat for many purposes including keeping our heart healthy! It might seem contradictory but taking nutritional oils – as long as they are healthy oils and we use them correctly – is healthy, so for example you might decide to take Eskimo Oil ( a fish oil) or Udo’s Oil (a plant-based omega oil) to keep your ‘good’ HDL cholesterol levels up and your not-so-good LDL levels down. Call into Organico for more information.

If you are advised to try to reduce your levels in a few months and feel you need extra help, you might find it useful to try taking Plant Sterol Esthers. We have all heard the adverts for Plant Sterols, they have been shown to reduce LDL levels by at least 10% in 6 weeks, which when combined with the reduction you will gain by changing your diet and lifestyle is very significant. Plant Sterols are now being added to margarine and sweet drinks – but to me anyway it seems strange that you need to take a lot of either fatty or very sweet foods in order to get the active dose! Like many things that are healthy it is vey hard to get the required dose through diet alone. We now have an alternative called Zerochol, a tablet of pure Plant Sterol Esthers which you take once a day with your main meal. And the interesting news is that the manufacturers say it is safe to take even if you are on medication, and can increase the effectiveness of some anti-cholesterol medication to the extent that your GP might reduce the dose.

I had read this already, when I was researching for an article on healthy oils, but it is still amazing – a study published in the Clinical Journal of Oncology found that eating flaxseeds can reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer by up to 40% This is due to the lignan content of flax. Lignans, a very important type of phytoestrogen, apparently kill off cancer cells and prevent secondary tumours by stopping the growth of new cells.

In the bowel, lignans are turned into enterolactone. The study looked at 1,140 postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Women with the highest blood levels of enterolactone had an approximately 40% lower mortality risk and a lower risk for disease progression. It was found that enterolactone protects against cancer growth, irrespective of oestroegen, by promoting cell death and inhibiting sprouting of new blood vessels. This is pretty amazing – and luckily eating flaxseeds is not expensive or unpleasant.

Holford says: ‘We are losing the cancer war. The number of new cancer cases has increased by 20% in under a decade and now stands at 12 million a year, according to new figures from the World Cancer Research Fund. Conventional treatments are actually not that effective. A comprehensive meta-analysis of trials on chemotherapy concludes: “The contribution of chemotherapy to five-year survival in adults was 2.3% in Australia and 2.1% in the USA.” The scientists conducting this meta-analysis emphasized that these figures are an optimistic estimate. The ‘holy grail’ for targeting cancer is some kind of treatment that kills cancer cells, but not healthy cells. My three favourite alternatives to conventional chemotherapy are photodynamic therapy, mega-dose vitamin C and salvestrols. I explore these and other ways to make yourself cancer-proof in my book ‘“>Say No To Cancer’.

We always recommend

You can use inhalation to help with nasal congestion, coughs, and sore throats. If you are too congested to breathe in through your nose then use your mouth but purse your lips – the steam will moisturise and looses the congestion in your nose.

The main thing I find is not to have the water too hot. Too cold clearly doesn’t work – no steam – but too hot means your nostrils (and eyes and face if you are using the towel method) get burned and it’s hard to breath the steam deep into your lungs. If you get the right temperature you find you can inhale deeply and it’s not too uncomfortable.

You can add all kinds of things to the water to increase the effectiveness of steaming. Olbas Oil is the most well-known oil, and it is pretty good, but the oils it is made with are not actually natural oils. I actually prefer A.Vogel’s Po Ho Oil because they use pure essential oils (including peppermint which is very good for clearing the head – also for nausea). You could also make up a blend of what you have at home, just be very aware not to use too many drops as essential oils are very strong! Two or three drops in total is actually enough. Tea tree oil is good, as is Eucalyptus and Peppermint. You can also use fresh or dried thyme leaves as an inhalation for chesty coughs and for sore throats you can make Sage leaf and honey tea…it’s very soothing. I’ve written before about Carrageen Moss drink for colds, and don’t forget cider vinegar and honey – if it appeals to you it can be an excellent disinfectant and detoxing remedy when you have a cold.

I find steaming particularly good just before bed. If you have a little one and you want to improve their breathing, you can put some oils one the shower floor and run the shower hot and bring them into the room for 5 minutes. You can also use an oil burner or candle (add drops of oil to the melted wax of a natural wax candle) and just take the candle or burner out of their room before you leave.

If someone else in the house has a cold and you want to minimise your risk of catching it, you can do steam and oil inhalations to disinfect your nasal passages and keep the germs from getting a hold of you. You can also breath in sea salty water – but that’s another whole article! Look up Neti Pots and how to use them on Google if you are interested.

Stay well! Hannah Dare

What you need:

Carrageen Moss – a good handful of the dried seaweed (about 5 grams)
1 Organic un-waxed lemon
1 Teaspoon manuka honey or local honey per person
1 pint cold water (preferably spring water or filtered water)

Juice your lemon. Put the carrageen moss into a medium stainless steel pan, add water to cover, add the shell of the lemon if it is organic, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice. To serve, strain into a large mug and add honey to taste. keep the pan near the stove and heat up more as needed.

You can also add sage leaves or thyme leaves – sage is good for sore throats and thyme for chesty coughs.

Drink as often as you need to – 3 to 4 mugs a day while you are feeling under the weather always works for me!

For Fleur,

i bought some Colloidal silver from you by mail order last week. I wanted it for an old pet sheep with severe footrot on one foot. I have spent a fortune on vet treatments for him ( he is a neutered ram and very gentle) None of these have worked and I was considering, as a last resor- having the toe removed. He has been going round on his knees. As the flock are rescues from slaughter, ( we are vegetarian animal lovers) it meant a lot to us to give them a natural life – which never happens with farm animals. But we also had to consider his quality of life and comfort and it was heartbreaking not to see any improvement after almost a year.

After one week on the colloidal silver, the infection and inflammation have gone and he is starting to walk properly again.

We have a ways to go before his foot is right but I never in my wildest dreams thought this product would be so good, it was a last resort to be honest. Im going to tell everyone about it.

Do you have any ointment or salve with the silver in it??? Feel free to use this email for your website if you want to,

Many thanks,
Maria Burke

Note from Organico: Obviously, we cannot make any medical claims for treating footrot with Silver, as it has not been tested for this purpose.

If you would like to order Colloidal Silver (now called High Stability Silver) please click here

There are many different causes of Hay fever. Children and adults alike suffer from seasonal allergies to pollens from blooming plants and from allergic reactions to animal hair, feathers, and a huge variety of environmental elements. Hay fever is the result of your immune system mistakenly identifying these normally harmless allergens as infectious agents and attempting to “fight” them, which results in inflammation, sneezing and a range of unpleasant symptoms. Researchers have failed to explain why some people’s immune system goes berserk while others in the same house are unaffected, however anything you can do to help balance your immune system will generally help with this problem.
It seems obvious but staying away from certain foods and making sure you get enough of others can really help your immune system to function at its best all year round.
Foods to eat lots of include – fruit and vegetables (for vitamins and antioxidants); seeds (rich in selenium and zinc); seaweeds (they come in handy flakes now that you can add to your soup or vegetable dishes and contain loads of immune-boosting nutrients) and anything containing essential fats (for example oily fish, chia seeds) which help reduce inflammation. Also – drink more water! Whenever your body is trying to clear something out help it by upping your water intake – water is the great detoxifier.
Foods to reduce: wheat, dairy and sugar – all know as allergens and even though you might think hay fever is just about you nose there is more and more evidence to suggest it is also due to an aggravated system which starts with an unhealthy diet. Alcohol is also associated with an increase in symptoms.

There are also a range of natural remedies that can help you. Your immune system is highly complex and you’ll have to find what combination suits you – I have seen people get lucky with the first homeopathic they try and also people who need to go to a qualified therapist for advice because their case is stubborn. A good natural remedy to start with can be honey – specifically a local honey contains pollen from plants and trees that may be causing your allergic reaction. Unfortunately that can be very hard to find at this time of year, and especially this year because of the bee problems. But look for a local honey that has not been boiled and take a spoonful a day starting at least a month before your reaction usually starts.

I know people who use Chamomile Tea to reduce the duration of their hay fever attack. Leave the bag in for a good 5 minutes to get the full effect. Nettle Tea can also be helpful as nettles are an expectorant and reduce sinus inflammation. Traditionally nettles are a ‘’spring tonic’’ made into a soup to cleanse the blood after a long winter – which makes sense given they are good for a spring-time illness! Use a bag of each as your first drink every morning.

You will find Po Ho Oil inhaler in most health food shops – it’s a combination of essential oils which are great for steam inhalation if you have a cold or inflamed sinuses for any reasons including hay fever. It also now comes in a handy pocket size tube. I especially like the peppermint oil it contains because it makes me feel alert – often having a stuffed up nose can make me feel very fuzzy so this can be very useful!

On the vitamin front, Patrick Holford recommends all allergy suffers to take a good multi-vitamin, a good anti-oxidant and a good vitamin C. These form the base of a healthy body in his opinion.

In terms of stronger herbal remedies the bioflavonoid Quercetin which is a natural anti-histamine that modulates immune system response to antigens is getting a lot of research attention at the moment for both asthma and hay fever. Solgar make a good Quercetin Complex by combining it with Bromelain which reduces inflammation.

Another popular option is Weleda’s ‘’Hayfever kit’’ – it contains a homeopathic remedy made form the most common forms of pollen which can help switch off the allergic reaction, and a soothing nasal spray made from aloe vera which can really help keep nasal passages clear and working effectively. Uur nose is often called our first line of defence so making sure is in working at its best makes sense!

Finally, a neat little hay fever remedy is called Hay Max – a blend of beeswax and oils that you put under your nose which makes a barrier and traps the pollen before it gets a chance to cause its mischief. Voted Best Organic Product by the Health Food Institute in the UK Haymax is simple to use and does not cause drowsiness!

At the start of April we are celebrating Rude Health Week in Organico which is organised by the Irish Association of Health Food Stores – so have a look at what’s on in the Bantry listings and come along and take advantage of the fantastic free events we have organised! For more details see www.organico.ie or call us on 027 51391. Organico Shop, Café and Bakery is located on Glengarriff Road in Bantry.

This was one of many women looking for support and information around the time of hormonal transition, not wanting to go down the road of HRT, or maybe wanting to come off HRT and looking for an approach, that considers the whole person rather than simply treating or masking symptoms.

The important thing to remember is that the menopause is not an illness but a time of transition just like the start of our periods was a transition from childhood to being a young woman. I love to recommend that women take note of the pause in the word menopause, so that it’s not just a time of stopped periods but it’s a great opportunity to pause and consider how you’re life is going and what changes you might like to make to enhance and enjoy it more.

At the menopause the ovaries decline in their production of oestrogen, however post menopause we are still able to produce a form of oestrogen called oestrone from our adrenal gland’s we may also experience fluctuations in levels of progesterone and testosterone. For this transition to go smoothly we need to be in optimum health; and nutrition, emotional well-being , stress management, exercise and environment all play crucial part in this. Menopause can be a time of inner reflection and great happiness but it is also a time when life catches up with you and presents all your unfinished business regarding all aspects of your health and demands that you sort them out in order to continue happily on life’s journey. So this is an ideal time to go on retreat, have counselling, visit a health practitioner and get you physical health in better shape particularly if you’ve been living life on the fast track.

The most frequent symptoms of menopause that women experience are hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, urinary symptoms and mood swings. It can be helpful to make sure your diet contains enough Omega 3 fatty Acids (from oily fish, seeds, or supplements like Udo’s Oil or a Fish Oil supplement like Krill Oil), and that you are getting a good supply or vitamins and minerals (if you are in doubt perhaps consider a good multivitamin such as Solgar’s VM Prime or Higher Nature’s True Food Supernutrition Plus). The most frequent herbs used to support the body at this time are Black Cohosh, Agnus Castus, Shatavari, Dong Quai, Uva Ursi and Sage; for example Menosan (a sage extract) from A.Vogel can be very helpful for hot flushes. For information on these and other supportive products call to Organico. If you want to read more Christine Northrup M.D’s.book The Wisdom of the Menopause it gives in depth medical information and combines with a holistic approach is excellent.

Gabrielle McCauley will give free consultations on hormonal and urinary health for women on Friday 6th May in Organico; call to book your place. Tel 027 51391.
Organico Shop Café and Bakery is open in Bantry from 9.30 till 6pm Monday to Saturday.

People who work outdoors for a living such as farm workers, builders and gardeners are at an increased risk of developing skin cancer because of prolonged exposure to the sun. A fair skinned person who tends to go red or freckles in the sun will be most at risk, also those with naturally red or fair hair and blue green or grey eyes; also those people who have a large number of moles (50 or more) and those who have a history of sunburn or have already had skin cancer. If you fall into these categories or are planning to sun bath, you can increase your skins’ internal protection by taking Beta Carotene (or even better, Mixed Carotenoids) and/or drink a lot of carrot juice to give your skin a better chance of tanning without burning.

The Irish Cancer Society advises us to follow the Sun Smart Code; Cover up – wear a wide brimmed hat or a hat with a neck flap to protect your neck, and a tee shirt or other shirt with close weave material (and presumably long sleeves). Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) 15 or higher. Make sure it has UVA and UVB protection. When out in the sun apply carefully over all exposed areas of the body and re apply every 2 hours if you have been swimming or sweating. Put sunscreen on 20 minutes before going out into the sun. Seek shade, use sun umbrellas, and avoid being out in the sun between 11am and 3p.m. when sunlight is strongest. Protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses that give a high protection against UV rays. Look at the label and check the standard: BS Standard (BS 27 24 19 87) or European Standard (EN 1836). Also remember that about 80% of the sun’s rays pass through the clouds and reflections from water, metal, sand or snow may increase the amount of ultra violet you absorb.

”Green People” do a range of organic sun lotions that protect the skin from UVA and UVB rays with naturally derived ingredients that are gentle but effective. Their award winning SPF 25 sun cream is carefully formulated with more than 80% organic ingredients to protect and keep skin beautifully moisturised, and are suitable for people with sensitive skin and allergies. Their organic sun lotion SPF 15 with tan accelerator contains an extract from the carob tree which speeds up tanning naturally by 25% and reduces the tan fading rate by almost 50%. And they do a fantastic Children’s SPF 25.

Some people want a higher SPF than 25, but actually SPF 15 gives you 93% protection and an SPF 25 will give you 96% protection, so there is no real need to go higher. In fact, a higher sunscreen often just makes us feel more protected so we end up doing more damage. SPF 15 applied every 2 hours is the best for most people. To achieve higher than SPF 25 you need very strong chemicals, which come with their own problems. Research has shown that the chemicals in synthetic sun screens can accumulate in the body and can mimic the harmful effects of oestrogen. They have even been found in breast milk.

Children spend more time outdoors than adults. As a result most people will get 80% of their lifetime exposure to the suns UV rays in their youth. Sunburn in childhood increases the risk of developing skin cancer later in life. Children’s skin is very sensitive to the suns rays all children whether they tan easily or not they should be protected. Babies under 6 months should be kept out of the sun completely. For babies and children over 6 months Green People and Lavera do a range of Organic sun lotions to protect from UVA and UVB and are ideal for children with sensitive skin or are prone to eczema or psoriasis.

Achieve a healthy natural looking tan without going near the sun with a certified organic Self Tan lotion from Green People. Fast, non streaky and effective, it is ideal for all skin types. Winner of the best fake tan at the Natural Health Magazine Beauty Awards 2011, it is scented with essential oils of Rose Geranium and Sandalwood. And if you do accidentally get burnt, Aloe Vera Gel is very soothing, and St John’s Wort Oil heals and relieves the pain.

Finally, don’t forget a little sunlight directly on your skin is essential for vitamin D production which protects us against cancer, osteoporosis and many more illnesses, so try to spend 10-15 minutes in the sun a few times a week. Look after your precious skin and enjoy the summer!

Organico Shop Café and Bakery, Glengarriff Road Bantry opens Monday to Saturday 9.30 till 6pm. Please call 027 51391 or email info@organico.ie for any natural health queries.

1. Many women suffer post partum hair loss which can have a nutritional basis. Increase your intake of foods rich in zinc, folic acid and B vitamins while you’re pregnant, as it is theorized that pregnancy causes a slight deficiency in these nutrients. According to Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, consuming dark green vegetables, extra-lean meats, whole grains and cooked dried peas and beans are good sources of these essential nutrients.

After checking your diet, you might take a multivitamin supplement daily, for example Solgar’s Prenatal Nutrients. I would also always suggest an Omega 3 Supplement – not specifically connected to your hair health but more in relation to general pregnancy health.

2. Another supplement worth considering is Biotin. Biotin is a necessary B-vitamin that plays a large role in healthy hair growth and is often lost during pregnancy, according to the Bastyr Center*. Biotin deficiency affects approximately 50 percent of pregnant women (it can cause certian birth defects if left untreated which is a good reason for taking a multi vitamin with plenty of Bs!) Biotin deficiency has also been shown to cause rapid hair loss un-associated with pregnancy so with any case of rapid hair loss it is worth trying. Take 3 mg of a biotin supplement each day or a strong B Complex.

3. When finished nursing A.Vogel Hair Complex can be very beneficial to take for a couple of months to nourish the hair and return it to health. Hair Complex contains natural sources of B Vitamins, Silicea, Zinc, and many more trace elements that are excellent for our hair.

4. Silicea from Hubner is also very helpful for people with weak hair or nails. Take a course of one capsule per day for 2-3 months.

5. Solgar Skin, Nails & Hair is a comprehensive formula specifically designed to help build collagen and keratin, major building blocks of hair, skin, and nails that can decrease with aging. Delivering nutrients like MSM internally may help support strong hair, hard nails, and moist, supple skin.

Most hair supplements need 2-3 months to work so don’t give up! Avoid tight hair bands and over brushing. Use natural hair products to nourish your hair and scalp – Jason do a Thin to Thick range of products that can be helpful, and in Organico we also recommend the Dead Sea Majik range for extra minerals.

I hope you found this article useful. Contact us if you have further questions! Hannah Dare.

* A Leading Centre for Natural Health in Seattle Washington, US.

Historically in Ireland seaweeds have been used in soups and stews, as a cough remedy/convalescent food, for pain-reducing baths, as a glaze for pottery, an ingredient in soap, cosmetics and glass making, and as a fertiliser. There is evidence of the use of seaweed as food as far back as 2700BC, but a lot of the traditions surrounding seaweed had been forgotten – until recently, when it was suddenly discovered that seaweeds could answer a lot of our health problems.

Where many of our land-grown foods typically contain a narrow range of nutrients, hence the need for a varied diet, the wild seaweeds which grow in abundance off our coasts provide all the macro-nutrients that we need for good health. It is now known that seaweeds can help to lower cholesterol, promote healthy digestion and weight, reduce blood pressure, and protect from cancer and other chronic illnesses. Because seaweeds are fat free, low GL and can be found right here at home it is easy to see why they are becoming the new Superfoods. Weight for weight, seaweeds contain more iron than steak, more fibre than prunes and more calcium than cheese!

An interesting theory I came across is that where it was once thought that the Japanese had lower levels of cancer because of the soya they eat, it is now thought that this could be due to the high levels of seaweed in their diet. Scientific research into the anti-cancer properties of seaweed covers brain cancer, breast cancer, intestinal cancer, leukaemia, throat cancer and lung cancer. For more information on this look up the Seagreens Website which gives all the research references.

If you have bone density concerns, a local Cork company might have the answer. We now know in terms of absorption, some of the best forms of calcium are from plants, such as kale, broccoli, but it seems seaweeds can beat most land plants hands down. Marigot based in Carragaline harvest a ‘calciforous’ seaweed called Lithothamnion calcareum from the waters of West Cork, and make a food supplement from it called Nature’s Calcium. Nature’s Calcium is one of the best-absorbed forms of calcium on the market, and is ideal for anyone with osteoporosis or osteoarthritis in the family.

For people interested in detoxing heavy metals, seaweeds can be a significant part of the answer. Research using Seagreens by Dr Jack Levenson (founder of the British Society for Mercury-Free Dentistry) found that in patients taking Seagreens the mercury was eliminated through the bowels rather than the kidneys (good as it reduced kidney damage) and eventually Dr Levenson removed all the other elements from his detox protocol as everything was already in the Seagreens mix.

An Irish company called Quality Sea veg makes a ‘Dulse Salt’ and a mix of flaked seaweeds called ‘Sea Spice’ which I use instead of salt to reduce sodium and add flavour to breads, soups, stews and all cooked dishes. As I mentioned above, the English company Seagreens make capsules and a ‘Sprinkle’ which are a combination of 3 types of highly nutritious ‘wrack’ seaweeds in a very easy to take form – if you take 2 capsules a day you get a very good basic amount of minerals and vitamins and then any seaweed you eat can be extra. I also love Carrageen as a colds remedy (for a recipe call in to Organico or look at our website).

One odd but interesting testimonial I found about Seagreens: “I see a lot of health benefits from Seagreens: from improved energy and stamina, to better memory and skin. It is the only supplement I have found so far that stops children biting their nails. Nail biting is a sign of nutritional deficiencies, until you remove the deficiency no matter what you do, the child will keep re-cycling nutrients by nail biting. Obviously Seagreens provide the right combination of nutrients to remove that nutritional deficiency’’ (Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD in Neurology and Nutrition, Cambridge).

If you find it hard to imagine eating seaweed take a look at ‘Irish Seaweed Kitchen’ by Prannie Rhatigan (€35 from many bookshops and healthfood shops) which is a fantastic full colour exploration of seaweed and how to include more of it in our diet. Prannie is coming to the Bandon Healthfood shop this month to give a workshop – see details below, it will be amazing!

Did you know the Japanese seaweed Kombu is a natural source of the flavour enhancer MSG. It isn’t harmful like the synthetic MSG but can be used to make many cooked dishes taste great. You can also use Kombu to help make beans more digestible – just put a piece in the pot when you soak and cook the beans and your digestion will thank you!

Seaweed products to look out for:
• Quality Sea Veg Sea Spices, Dulse Seasalt, and Spirulina Flakes for adding to soups, breads & vegetable dishes; Carrageen for making a soothing cough remedy.
• Seagreens Capsules, Iodine Capsules and Sprinkle for convenient seaweed supplementation.
• Organico Super Bread (containing seaweed & seeds) and our new Savoury Scones with Sea Spices.
• Nature’s Calcium – capsules of seaweed high in calcium for strong bones.