Shelley Gawith, Functional Nutrition

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It can feel really overwhelming but on the evening show with Miriama (https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/sundays-miriama-kamo-shares-her-zero-waste-journey) she shared the 6 r's: 

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle - Refuse - Replace - Rot 

Vicky Robertson, Chief Executive and Secretary for the Ministry for the Environment said, "Sometimes it can feel really overwhelming about where to start. I said to my sister on the weekend, this whole zero waste thing feels too hard. And she very rightly said but that's how changing your diet can feel for some people but you would just tell your clients to do one thing. Not do it all over night. That one thing ... whether it's reducing sugar, gluten, dairy, adding in good fats and not snacking in between meals, can have a big impact on your body and health as we all know." 

I suggest either starting with a re useable coffee cup or taking a look in your fridge or pantry like what we had everyone do in the 31 day Shelley Says So challenge: What are you using to store your ingredients and leftover meals in? 

Do you use a lot of plastic in your house?  

Today, I want you to consider your plastic use.  Then, if you are up to it, start switching to using glass containers and jars. My favourite is to recycle jars from spreads and to use them to stores nuts and seeds in. If you feel really inspired, go through your whole pantry and make the switch to glass storage containers. Have a look at what sort of containers you are taking your leftover dinner to work in. Remember, if you are heating up food, you don’t want the plastic melting into your food. Glass containers are the BEST.  

Also for those of you who have already nailed this, as this was in last year's challenge, let's take it to the next step. What are you wrapping your food up in? This year can you make your own or invest in some beeswax wraps. They are amazing and can easily be brought online or from Commonsense Organics. I love mine. Making food wrapping is so easy and now I don't even own any other plastic wraps.  BAGS:  what sort of  bags are using? I have to admit I did like the ease of plastic bags as I was (and sometimes still am) forgetting my re useable bags. I was very lucky to have a client give me some beautiful re useable bags for Christmas. I walk lots, so now I keep one in my bag all the time, otherwise, I tell clients to keep extras in their cars, so they always have one on hand. Also are you bulk bin buyer? Over Christmas I purchased from Good Housekeeping on Cuba Street in Wellington, the cutest re useable bags that you can use for all your bulk bin purchases. They can easily be watched too.  We've already talked about hydration, but what bottles are you using? Plastic or glass bottles? Here's another easy swap you can make if you haven't already.  

Remember it's starting wherever you are at, there is no pressure, just start small than build on this!  Would love to hear any other swaps you have made to reduce plastic in your lives

👉Sign Up for My Online Course - 3 Steps to Finding your Personal Power Foods at https://shelleygawith.com/3-steps-your-foods 

The dental nurse reckons that flossing with baking soda for 6 weeks will change this. New bacteria grows every 24 hours so this has to be a crucial start to your oral health regime. I included this step in Shelley Says So last year (PS: if you want to sign up for next year here you go.)

But this year i'm upping the game. I'm obviously not a dentist but I do have a passion for oral health, probably because mine has been so bad. I've had jaw surgery, braces, root canals, crowns and mercury fillings, all of which I wouldn't do again if I could go back in time.  Now that I know better, I'm doing everything I can to prevent those things in the future, and now you can too!

Here's our new routine (once again, this is what I am now doing, but you can pick parts of it and incorporate as much or as little as you want. You will definitely see health benefits no matter how much you add. 

If you can help your immune system fight infections by flossing your teeth, you will have more energy to do the things you love doing.

Step 1: A salt or baking soda rinse before you brush your teeth, you can even add an essential oil to this as well. This gets the mouth into a more alkaline state which is what you want before you brush.

Step 2: Scrape your tongue. 

Step 3: Brush your gums. Make sure you brush gum down, it's more stimulating for the gums. 

Step 4: Polish your teeth. Use baking soda, essential oils and maybe a botanical serum to do this.

Step 5: Flossing!! Yay!! You want to floss at least twice each time so you get everything out. BUT make sure you are not using a floss with chemicals. But remember to get right to the back, the last tooth on each side, you need to get that gum part!!! (don’t make the mistake I’ve been making for years.)

Step 6: You use a ribbed rubber tool to go along the gum line to get all the plaque. 

Step 7: The next step is massaging your gums. You want to take a botanical serum or an ozonated gel and massage that into the gums.  

Step 8: Pay attention to any special area that needs some TLC

Side note: Remember, the whiteness of our teeth is a reflection of our health on the inside of our bodies. 

In the online course Finding the Fully Functional You we have gone deeper and started talking about the quality of fats that we are using to cook in. This is really important. The best fats to cook in are ghee and coconut oil.Who cooks in butter? Especially when making sweeter things right? Well Marlies has clearly explained why you don’t want to cook in butter.

So butter has a low cooking point, then it turns brown so the structure changes because butter has milk solids and sugar so it turns toxic. Have you heard that Avocado oil is great for cooking in? However, it is an omega 9 and monounsaturated, so also an unstable source for cooking. It will turn toxic. If you want to cook in olive oil then, the Danes Sautéing is preferable.

Also, just something for you to ponder: it’s actually really hard to get enough fish into your diet. How many servings of fish do you have a week?
This could be something to focus on as I know most people we see in clinic aren’t eating enough fish. The other problem is getting good quality fish as well. You want to make sure it’s fresh and not farmed, and not fed grains. As much as I don’t like saying, we need to supplement with things. Sometimes when nature can’t provide it the way we need it due to demand and the environment, you might need to supplement with it. I personally do supplement with fish oils, but remember, you always want to keep everything in balance. So it’s worth testing it as your body does change. You always want a balance of omega 3, 6 and 9.

Can’t wait to see your latest fish recipes and photos posted on our Facebookpage!