Tag: healthy food

From Acid to Alkaline ~ Healthy Body

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

From the diet we eat to the lack of exercise we are always in an acidic body environment most of the time. If we want to improve out health we should try to reduce the acidic foods we consume and create a healthy diet for our bodies to heal. Healing takes time and so will change.

Start changing today to see results tomorrow.

It was said that an acidic body can be the sort of environment that can promote disease and illness.

There is a variety of healthy foods that can reduce your body acidic levels. This post on LiveStrong -https://www.livestrong.com/article/321217-foods-that-reduce-acidity-in-your-body/ – talks about alkaline and acidic foods. Remember that acid reflux is caused by too much acid and a weak esophagus (or a combination of things). The most obvious acid base foods are fried foods – but this does not mean you cannot eat fast food at all.

For example, you could simply have it less often, maybe a pizza once a month or something. In my opinion it is not a crime of the body to eat fast food, because we are human and we have one life so why not live it, eh? Of course that is not an excuse for you to go and stuff your body with it, because your body will get sick fast. Diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and organ dysfunction are some outcomes of a poor diet and acidic body. Dr Axe also talks about these foods in more detail here: https://draxe.com/nutrition/acidic-foods/

But don’t forget that teas and coffees are also acidic, and some other daily dietary foods like dairy. Diet is the 1st line of defence against acidic bodies and the best thing to change to see results. Second to that we have other options available.

At the moment I am on prescription strength sodium bicarbonate capsules. This is a treatment for acid reflux among others. It is also an effective ph neutraliser. Exercise is usually a great method of keeping healthy and sweating will expel your toxins and help aid healing within the body.

If you suffer gastric issues; like reflux and general indigestion then don’t overdo it. Walking or swimming or light exercise might be best. In time your body will boost its effectiveness in ridding itself of toxins whilst increasing circulation, boosting mental health (important) and reducing the risk of chronic health conditions.

Stress needs to be addressed but this is more of a mental health and wellbeing issue than relating to acid base body. But being relaxed and having improved moods will enable you to feel more motivated to eat a healthy diet.

So, go out there and change your body for the better.

Benefits of Garlic

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Garlic has many health benefits. Before we go any further, you might like to check out my related poem ~ Garlic – Classified Substance 001.

https://psychedelicwizard.wordpress.com/2021/09/22/garlic-classified-substance-001/

Garlic has been used throughout human history as both a medicinal and food component, it is known as the ‘stinking rose’ and is rumoured to ward off vampires. It has a pungent, potent smell and flavour and is the most widely recognised flavouring in the world. The garlic can be bought fresh and raw, powdered as garlic granules, or in bulb form. You can buy standard or go organic. Personally I love organic garlic bulbs, they are potent miracles. This is a strong superfood!

This is popular for its health benefits, and rightly so. But just to mix things up, during the first olympic games, garlic was taken by athletes before they competed… and it was also fed to soldiers to give them courage as garlic was associated with war! You can cook it by frying, which means to chop before. I’m not suggesting sticking a full bulb into the frying pan. I recommended if frying to mix with something yummy, more on that after. The benefits really are far reaching:

1) Garlic is a nutrition powerhouse – it is in the allium family, closely related to onions and leeks. Garlic possesses a sacred magic, sulfur compounds, a potent component which is formed when the clove of a garlic bulb is crushed or chopped. One of these compounds is allicin, and to reap the benefits you should crush, before cooking. Garlic also has selenium, vitamin c and manganese at fairly good levels, and even a small amount will contribute to your daily intake.

2) Prevent the common cold & other illness – This is a superfood which exerts strong, potent health effects within the body. The substances including the allicin provoke reactions within the body which causes the immune system to function more smoothly. A 12-week study found daily garlic supplements reduced the number of colds by 63% compared with a placebo1. Average length of cold symptoms reduced by 70% from 5 days in the placebo group to 1.5 days in the garlic group!

3) Garlic reduces blood pressure – High blood pressure is also called hypertension. It causes your heart to work harder to pump blood around your body. This can lead to cardiovascular disease if not corrected or treated. Human studies involving garlic showed that it does in fact reduce blood pressure2. 600-1,500mg of aged garlic extract was as effective as the drug Atenolol at reducing blood pressure over a 24-week period3.

4) Helps to improve cholesterol levels – There are two types of cholesterol that people have usually heard of, HDL or the good ‘type’ and LDL or the ‘bad’ type. Most people don’t think about this stuff, but if you are interested then you will be glad to know garlic can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol4.

5) Reduce oxidative stress – Garlic has been shown to increase antioxidant enzymes in human beings5 as well as reducing oxidative stress.

6) Sulfur compounds can protect organs from heavy metals – One study which lasted 4 weeks of employees at a car battery plant found that garlic reduced lead levels in the blood by 19%6.

I want to just finish those 6 benefits by adding that it is clear that garlic has for thousands of years been used for the health benefits, and so there is likely a substantial amount more without studies behind them. It would appear garlic also improves blood flow, since it reduces blood pressure. But just a friendly caution, don’t eat so much you make yourself sick. As you can become unwell if you are intolerant to garlic, with symptoms like headache, stomach aches and dizziness. I suspect garlic is under used because of the pungent smell and taste, but it is easy to cook.

Why not fry it as suggested? Mix in with beef mince, onions and tomatoes and fry for perfection, seasoning to taste. For vegans like myself, simply add garlic with tofu, or something else that needs spicing up like pasta or even your own vegan quiches. It is extremely flexible, use it on everything.

Source

1 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11697022/

2 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6966103/

3 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24035939/

4 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19060427/

5 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16335787/

6 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22151785/

Morning Sunshine Saturday

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Good morning to all you wonderful souls out there reading this post. I hope the sunrise is as beautiful there are it is here. The sun is out, the birds are chirping and the day has a glow of elegant expression.

Today I will be writing, and focused on that in its entirety. My goal is get some work added to the Wattpad story Apocalypse on Easy Street, which so far has 5 parts. I’m listening to classical music on Classic FM which is a relaxing and mindful station for anyone looking for a radio to work to. For breakfast a wrap of chili kidney beans and full caffeinated coffee.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, why?”

“You never drink caffeinated coffee!”

That is true, but since I don’t have decaffeinated and I don’t want tea, I’ll drink as I please. Besides, life is too short. Maybe one day you’ll wake up and smell the coffee. Anyway back to the writing. Aside from the Wattpad zombie story, which is more of a fun thing on the side, I’ll also be adding to my work in progress zombie novel set in the English countryside. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t bore you with too many details. I’m not exactly famous so it is not like anyone really cares, you know?

I want to add a ‘grateful’ section to this post, listing what I am grateful for this morning. Here I go, be free to add your own in the comments:

1) The sunrise 2) the birdsong 3) the food I am about to receive 4) the computer I am using 5) my ability to work on the computer 6) the fresh air 7) My imagination 8) music 9) to be able to sit on my sofa without fear of being attacked 10) God

I hope you have enjoyed this morning post. Sorry to keep the poem till last. You know me by now. 

Having the morning breakfast proper

loaded up for the day

to write

to have fun

my life is going the right way... for once.

Why you should eat an evening meal before 6pm

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Everyone loves to think they are healthy and eating a healthy diet. A lot of people are, and have a healthy eating routine. However, a lot of people are not as healthy as they think, even if they eat plant based or vegan diets. I’ll tell you why. They are eating their food at the wrong time.

For the purpose of this short post, I’ll focus on the biggest meal of the day which is typically for most people and evening meal or dinner. Once upon a time people could enjoy breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner (called tea as well) and supper. There are more to this list, things like elevenses make another option. Nowadays people simply can’t afford to eat all of these and the majority of people don’t and haven’t for many years. In the past I might have breakfast, a snack for lunch and dinner.

My new routine for a long time has bypassed breakfast completely. I don’t bother anymore, because I don’t eat bread the majority of the time (if at all). I prefer to have wraps or pasta for carbs. But I think the majority of people have dinner. It is important to eat early though for the following reasons. By early I mean before 6pm or 7pm at the latest.

  1. You will find you are less hungry throughout the evening. If you tend to snack or eat food throughout the evening or late at night, you will find eating early will help to suppress those urges. I suspect it is because those late night hunger pangs are due to not eating enough and early. By eating early, you are signaling your body that it can in fact sleep without feeling like it is starving. Which in turn, will aid sleep and you should not be hungry.
  2. Reduces indigestion / hearburn. Late night food and snacks in any variety can and will cause your digestive system to be on continuously, and being horizontal will mean your food won’t be digested properly. Heartburn is common result, and you can either use extra pillows, take pills, or eat earlier. Don’t forget, you should be asleep at night, not digesting food. It can take a few hours to digest, which is why an early meal is best.
  3. Helps aid fasting. You’ll find if you eat at 5:30pm for example that by the time you wake up, say 7pm or 8pm, that is at least 12 hours fasting. Your body should fast every night as this is the healing stage, and if you are constantly digesting, you will never enter a fasting or fat burning state (although probs need to go more than 12 to be fat burning). My point is that your body will heal quicker if you fast by eating early. Most people do it without realising.
  4. Prevent weight gain and aid weight loss. Yes, late night snacking and meals after 7pm will cause you to gain weight, you might not notice, but it will be happening. If you counteract it you can offset this. Eating early kicks your metabolism inter high gear, and then into rest for sleep which is where the fasting state takes over. So, you will also lose weight, and it will be at first stored fat and glucose etc.

The Attraction – Combinations Mind Unleashed

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I managed to go down to the shops in the old town today. This morning was me delivering a presentation for 45 minutes which worked out great. I also received good feedback that it was impressive, so well done me.

I was only going to buy a canvas but of course naturally ended up buying more than I should. I bought a Pink Floyd The Wall Wallet, which I wanted to buy since I have had a plain black wallet for years and not changed. I also bought this strange Nebula light from this cool giftshop. The light is for my bedroom at night since I am fed up of sleeping in the pitch black. I bought a shirt with a skeleton wielding guns on, and a pack of boxers with small bananas on, yummy. I did get a set of 3 canvas for £5 which I thought was quite cheap and a big tube of black acrylic paint for £2. On top of them I bought some awesome Grumpy Mule decaf coffee, some creamy planet saving oat milk chocolate (vegan), and some 85% Divine dark chocolate… they had no Montezuma but honestly that is probably too bitter at 100% and I was not in the mood. I also bought 3 pairs of candles in different colours, blue, light green/blue, and pink.

I was complimented on my combination of coffee and chocolate and it got me thinking… is this not normal then? I see people combine smoking with coffee, croissants, breakfast, fruit, many things. But chocolate, is this some sort of mind blowing unleashment of genius taste fantasy? It’s only earth so you know, lets eat it. The attraction to the combination is the caffeine in the chocolate since I drink decaffeinated coffee. Although this new oat milk chocolate discovery, which made me salivate as soon as I smelled it, was probably as I imagine crack cocaine would be to a junkie.

Who can blame us in the first world for having such fruity addictions? We have so much choice, that any combination of many things is okay but looks weird. What do you think pineapple on pizza was like as an idea? Now, there’s no stopping at pineapple on the pizza, you have burger pizzas (WTF?), lamb pizzas, chips on pizza. I mean the list of combinations is mind bending. Anyway, coffee and chocolate is good and I recommend trying it unless you have a restriction on diet.

Now I am talking about coffee, I could do with getting a coffee grinder or some sort of modern equipment to make my coffee making more convoluted as to appear proper to the people that may come round. I don’t want to give the impression that I don’t care about brands or monetary value.

Can you tell me your coffee combinations? Wizard loves you all, and wishes goodness, peace and prosperity to all of you, especially those in need. Amen. Namaste.

Café lite: Review!

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

You can find a bit more here: https://stockportoldtown.co.uk/visit/cafelito/

The café is located in the old town of Stockport, Greater Manchester. It is a wonderful part of the town, the better part if I say so. All the old ancient buildings from 500 or 600 years ago, great architecture, great shops and the feeling of going back in time.

I have sat outside this café before and had a drink. I only went back the other day, for a drink inside. Today I was braver and sat in for a decaffeinated Americano and then, decided to try the vegan breakfast! they are open until 6 serving any food unless they haven’t got the ingredients.

I had another decaffeinated Americano with the vegan breakfast. I must say that I was expecting something sub par put the food was nice and lovely. Food cooked to perfection and there was a big amount of smashed avocado. The dish was as follows: 2 slices of lovely bread/toast, not the average stuff; big pot of beans, 2 vegan sausage, some peppers on the avocado, a slice of lime, fried tomato, big mushroom, 2 hash brown. Excellent! It cost me £6.50 for the meal. I think it was worth it, very filling, and cooked well. Oh, and a pot of sauce… I chose red, aka, tomato sauce. Good value for money if you think about it. The avocado is the most expensive part in terms of cost both to bank card and the natural wildlife.

The decaf coffee was £2.20 each which is actually pretty standard for most places. The coffee they use appears to be in mugs displaying Grumpy Mule coffee, quite tasty. After my recent trip to Bramhall, the café there didn’t seem quite as good as café lite.

As you can see above, the café is in one of those brilliant pieces of architecture I mentioned. You don’t need to travel the world to find great examples, they are on your doorstep. It offers the vegan options which will automatically bump it to 4 stars minimum. If you look for images of the café, you will find outdated pictures.

Inside is a lovely modern décor with tons of plants, giving it a lovely low beat vibe. Flooring is wooden. You cannot see into the kitchen a lot, which is not a problem. I think having as many plants as they do is why I like it.

Overall, clean, welcoming, great staff, lovely service, good house coffee, great food and choices. Has to be a massive; 5/5. Well done café lite.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Stuffing Thy Gobbo

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
Rich salty punch

rice fried

beef chewy

mind blowing sauce

black bean delight

elegant spring rolls

such garbled ecstasy

 I thoroughly enjoy

I Will Be everything I can be

because I have a huge Cantonese meal in me!

So today I went out after my criminal law tutorial for a coffee. The cafe is lovely. I also read a paper. Every paper is focusing on one event right now so is quite hard to actually read any news.

Yesterday I bought the new Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City movie, which I watched last night, and I must say… it was terrific and awesome. I also bought Batman: The Killing Joke, which I have wanted to watch for some time!

This evening I went to a take out restaurant which does Chinese/Cantonese food. I took the meal home although in hindsight I should have sat in because it was empty around 6:15pm! Lovely food for a brilliant price. I will sit in and review it properly. I will also review the above movies soon. Talking about the Batman films, they have a wide array of animated DC movies which you should try out! Just as does the Resident Evil movies! Don’t miss out on a movie because it isn’t mainstream!

Much love and peace.