I recently discovered a delightful café in San Francisco, called Japonica, at 5503 California St, where I met two amazing ladies Val, the owner and Audrey, her friend. It was a lovely, unusual little café, clearly loved by the locals.
I politely asked if I could join the wi-fi in the café, as I began to get my laptop out and settle down for a couple of hours work.
They both turned around to me and said in unison “Oh, so sorry, no wif-fi”.
“Whaaaaat – No Wi-Fi?”
The ladies seemed intrigued by my British accent and begun asking me what had brought me there and why. They both came to join me at the table and sat down.
I explained about Juicy Lucy’s Kitchen and my quest to save the world from refined sugars, one Ball at a time, and Audrey promptly searched for my website.
My hosts seemed genuinely delighted to see my pretty Balls and liked my philosophy. We chatted about my flavour combinations, sourcing ingredients, and the problems with organic vs. non-organic produce. The conversation then moved on to why consumers are charged more for produce which has NO pesticides or chemicals on them and various other concerning issues such as the meat industry and huge chains pushing quality down and prices up. An animated conversation with some interesting points of view, were a very welcome and pleasant distraction.
Val then asked if I had come across a woman called Barbara O’Neill a Naturopath and Nutritionist from Australia. Audrey then googled her book “Self Heal By Design”, showing me on her phone and they both told me how this woman has had a controversial impact on the health industry. Audrey then backed up her friend with much alacrity, stating that Barbara O’Neill was “amazing” with a knowing nod, and I should watch her You Tube videos, as well as read her book.
So, actually not having any wi-fi access turned out to be great for me, as I would probably have sat there on my Laptop, head down and got on with my day, but instead I thoroughly enjoyed the two women’s opinions and some great discussions on health and wellbeing issues.
So, I looked up Barbara O’Neill
I came back to the office with a list of reading material from Val; vegan restaurants in San Fran for me to try and various health food shops, and outlets for me to visit. Together with the name of a book and this Naturopath they seemed so keen on telling me about.
Hooked on Health
I looked up Barbara O’Neill YouTube videos. I could see what they meant. I was hooked immediately.
Barbara O’Neill breaks down the wellbeing and health of the human body in plain English and explains exactly what happens when you eat your food, it’s digestion, and the function of the gut and the surrounding organs and the impact each one has on our health.
As I watched, I realised that the people who teach the importance of these subjects are not well known, or if they are, they are shunned by the pharmaceutical companies for the remedies they recommend, which are from nature’s garden itself, such as Buckthorn, Slippery Elm and Cascara, to name a few; rather than over-priced chemicals which more often create an addiction or a whole other set of problems, and are produced by multi-million dollar conglomerates in the pharmaceutical industry whose SOLE interests are dollars, pounds and pence, not the wellbeing of the customers who flock regularly to their Local GP or pharmacist to purchase.
Please note: Juicy Lucy’s cannot be held accountable for any information disclosed in this article. The information contained herein in merely relayed from the video by Barbara O’Neill. As always before taking ion any health regimes, please check with your Dr or Nutritionist to ensure that safe applications of any supplements are being made. Not everyone reacts the same way and not every supplement is suitable for everyone.
The Gut
Your microbiome (your gut) is a massive ecosystem made of up trillions of bacteria, organisms such as fungi, yeasts and viruses which live in your digestive tract. Collectively these weigh up to 2kg.
Eating, (and chewing) food triggers the production of strong stomach acids, which then begins the process of Digestion. Any good Bacteria contained in food are exposed to these harsh acidic conditions and not very likely to survive. This is why a really good probiotic is necessary to nurture your gut. I use a product called Symprove. You can read all about it here.
Caring For The Gut
I began with her video lecture of Caring For The Gut. I can’t recommend this video enough. It’s easy to understand and she explains exactly what to do really take care of the engine room of your body.
Broken down in simple terms; if you put sub-standard fuel into your engine (your Gut), you won’t stop immediately, but over time, the damage will become clear and often may even be irreversible.
If The Human Body Were A Petrol Tank
Sometimes I almost wish that the human body would perform like a petrol tank. We all know what happens to a petrol car when you put diesel fuel in it. It stops! If our bodies did the same, people might start to realise the damage they’re doing, way before it’s too late. Instead, the slow demise of the human body due to the lack of essential nutrients, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, is a slow and steady process, taking out systems one by one until they get that dreaded diagnosis of a disease; colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, crohn’s disease, digestive issues, colitis, anaemia and so on.
Barbara O’Neill says:
“The stomach is an often-neglected organ. Yet upon it, our temperament and our mental powers largely depend. A happy stomach produces a happy disposition. A sour stomach produces a sour disposition. The delicate organs of digestion must be respected.”
In her video she goes on to explain why and I summarise some of the main points in this article. I found it fascinating to watch and learn simple and easy adjustments to habits which we are just so accustomed to, but HAVE to change if we really want to take control of our own health.
Habits Start From Parents
Starting from infancy, parents dictate the tastes of their children; If you give your child a celery stick to chew (rather than a biscuit as an example), the child doesn’t learn taste until much later and they should not be given solid food until their molars have grown. Their Milk teeth are given the name for a reason – because all they should be given is MILK.
She advises young parents to watch the habits you’re teaching your children when it comes to nutrition. I believe it is increasingly important to teach children that they need to take responsibility for their own health instead of, especially in the UK, being able to go the Dr to get a chemical fix for their self-inflicted problems, mostly brought on by an extremely poor diet.
It’s A Choice; Choose To Be Sick Or Choose To Be Well
This diet issue is learned behaviour and as we have sugary snacks and increasing amounts of fast food made available to fit in with our overly convenient, fast-paced, high-sugar, low nutrient lifestyles, my counter is this:
How “convenient” is it going to be in a few years when you’re sitting in the waiting room of the Oncology Department for two hours waiting for your cancer diagnosis? Yes, I thought so! Which is why it is important to make changes as soon as possible. I truly believe that if everyone understood what they were doing to themselves, most of them would reset their habits. It’s often seen in diets where people have inflammation (rheumatism, arthritis etc), when they stop eating the foods that cause the inflammation and begin the anti-inflammatory diet – very quickly they start to feel better, more lively, happier, in less pain and generally brighter with more energy. So why would you not want to continue that across the board with your whole family’s diets? It’s a choice. Choose to be sick or choose to be well. It’s that simple.
Breakfast – King, Lunch – Queen, Supper – Pauper
Barbara O’Neill suggests that the best way forward to take care of your system is to eat like a King for breakfast, like a Queen for lunch and like a Pauper for dinner, so your stomach has a chance to digest and process your food BEFORE you lay down and the gravity doesn’t allow it to process correctly.
Vitamin B12
B12 is a nutrient that helps keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. Vitamin B12 also helps prevent a type of anaemia called megaloblastic anaemia, which makes people tired and weak.
The Technical Bit
In food, B12 is bound up with an R protein which is a glycoprotein produced by the salivary glands of the mouth. It primarily serves to protect cobalamin (Vitamin B12) from acid degradation in the stomach by producing a Haptocorrin-Vitamin B12 complex and when they come into the stomach, Hydrochloric acid breaks that union to release the B12 into the system. There’s much more to it, but essentially, the presence of Hydrochloric acid in the stomach is very important to break down the food.
Magnesium Supplements
Barbara O’Neill recommends a Magnesium supplement 3 times a day to aid your gut and Improve digestion. (This might not be suitable for everyone, so please consult your dietician / Dr or Nutritionist) Muscles within the digestive tract, including the intestinal wall, are relaxed by Magnesium, which improves digestion, as well as counter balances stomach acid and advances stools through the intestines.
Partially digested protein (from eating meat late at night the evening), reaching the colon and not being broken down efficiently before you go to sleep (when your stomach also goes to sleep) then putrefies, releasing bad bacterias and gases.
Drinking With Your Meal Is Bad
She also advises NOT to drink with your meal, as this washes your digestive enzymes away. Which if you think about it makes sense – right? Barbara suggests that one should stop drinking a half an hour before a meal and to not drink up to an hour afterwards. This allows your digestive enzymes to do their job efficiently and break down the food properly.
Drink lots of water all day in between, to rehydrate.
The Pancreas – The Main Digestive Organ
Barbara O’Neill says that the Pancreas is actually the main digestive organ.
The Pancreas is part of the digestive system and produces insulin and other important enzymes and hormones that help break down starches and unsaturated fats. The pancreas has an endocrine function because it releases juices directly into the bloodstream, and it has an exocrine function because it releases juices into ducts.
An endocrine gland secretes its products, (for example hormones), directly into the blood.
An exocrine gland secretes its products (for example enzymes), into ducts that lead to the target tissue.
When the pancreas is overloaded, she recommends coconut oil, which contains triglycerides and antioxidants which help to combat the free radicals, reduce inflammation and boost nutrient absorption.
Papaya and Pineapple – Good Fruits
Also, if people have issues with their Pancreas, they need Papaya containing PA Payne and Pineapple containing Bromelain as these two essential enzymes help to heal the pancreas.
The Appendix – Grumbles When Overloaded
The function of the appendix is to release anti-bacterial fluid. This fluid is used to aid the colon when there is undigested putrefied food waste. When the appendix is “grumbling” and has to be removed, it is because this function has been overloaded and therefore the appendix can’t cope with the amount of toxins being released from the gut.
Summary – It’s Nothing We Haven’t Heard Before
In summary, Barbara, along with hundreds of thousands of other health practitioners, naturopaths, nutritionists and Drs, strongly recommends a healthy, balanced diet.
All the things that are bad for us are usually:
Excessive and poor-quality meat
Dairy
Wheat
Refined sugars
I thoroughly recommend watching her videos, as they are super helpful and really break things down in simple and understandable terms. You don’t have to be a student, just a master of your own health’s destiny. And ask yourself, are you gutted by your habitual diet?
Here are some links to Barbara’s other You Tube Videos:
Decoding Diabetes From Sickness To Health – She believes you can heal all forms of Diabetes.
A book she recommends Cereal Killer by Alan L Watson.
