1+ year without chemicals! :)

It's now been almost 14 months that I stopped using shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, facial soap, deodorant and fluoride toothpaste.

Instead I use.. water, water, water, clay, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and a mixture of both. I initially switched shampoo for baking soda, at least a few times a week for about 2 weeks, then just WATER! :)

And my hair got thicker, stronger, longer -it used to grow really slowly. I also haven't gotten a single split end since I stopped using those awful chemicals.

For those who think the baking soda thing doesn't work or damages the hair, well just like any other product: if you use too much of it on a quasi-daily basis, there will be some damage. All you have to do is scrub your scalp with some baking soda mixed with water (it will form a paste) IF you feel your scalp is getting oily, and stop when you think you've scrubbed enough. Use your gut feeling :)

I recently read an article of a girl who used baking soda every day for 3 years and now she's complaining that it ruined her hair. Well.. it's supposed to be a month-long treatment. Do it right :)

So.. nope my hair doesn't stink (why would it? I don't eat corpses or fatty foods anymore) and it's actually really soft.

If I go swimming in the sea, my hair might get a bit dry because of the salt or really sticky due to the humidity in the air, then I apply some cactus or coconut or avocado oil on wet hair and then rinse it off.
It works wonders :) but then again, too much oil on a weekly basis might not be a good idea.

My hair now, after 14 months of just washing with water, sometimes adding natural oils and that's it! :)

Protein - for once and for all

I've really had it with people thinking that you can't get protein from anything other than dead animal flesh.

Firstly, most people don't even know what protein is, or what a polypeptide is, or what an amino acid is!

So let's start from the very basics...

Proteins are chains of amino acids (building blocks). The human body needs protein to function - immunity, oxygen transport, hair and skin structure, etc. The human body can also produce amino acids, except for 8 which are: histidine, arginine, valine, tryptophan, threnoine, phenylalanine, methionine, lysine, leucine and isoleucine.

Sounds complicated but it's really not. You can only get these amino acids from food, they're everywhere! However, people have been lazy when they realised that animals contain all amino acids, hence their meat is considered ''complete protein''. So why look for a variety of fruits, vegetables, seeds and grains when you can just kill an animal and eat its flesh?

Thankfully, you don't need to kill.
And you also don't need to look too far, because some vegan foods ARE complete proteins!
They contain all 8 essential amino acids.

These are:

Nuts
Seeds
Soy & other beans
Sprouts (especially alfalfa sprouts)
Grains
Spirulina & Chlorella (algae, and these are 70% protein)

Now some would argue, including myself, that these foods aren't really the best for you - sure you can live a long and healthy life with a daily bowl of rice but legumes, nuts and grains contain lectins which are bad for you and they tend to digest very slowly so they rot in your stomach and make your poop smell bad.
Sprouts are tiny plants so it's not very practical to eat them, unless you have nothing else.

But now here's the interesting part... complete proteins get BROKEN DOWN during digestion so that the amino acids can form other proteins in your body, like haemoglobin or keratin.
So why eat a dead animal with ''complete protein'' if you will break down the protein anyway?!

Just eat amino acids from less fatty and acidic foods, so that you can also save your organs, and stay away from diseases.

The fruits & vegetables that contain the essential amino acids are the following:

Histidine:  Apple, pomegranates, beets, carrots, celery, cucumber, dandelion, endive, garlic, radish, spinach, turnip greens.

Arginine:  Beets, carrots, celery, cucumbers, green vegetables, leeks, lettuce, potatoes, radishes, parsnips.

Valine:  Apples, pomegranates, beets, carrots, celery, dandelion greens, lettuce, okra, parsley, parsnips, squash, tomatoes, turnips.

Tryptophan:  Carrots, celery, chives, dandelion greens, endive, fennel, snap beans, spinach, turnips.

Threnoine:  Papayas, carrots, green leafy vegetables such as celery, collards, kale, lettuce (especially iceberg),  nori (the sushi seaweed)

Phenylalanine:  Apples, pineapples, beets, carrots, parsley, spinach, tomatoes.

Methionine:  Apples, pineapples, cabbage, cauliflower, chives, dock (sorrel), garlic, horseradish, kale, watercress.

Lysine:  Apples, apricots, grapes, papayas, pears, beets, carrots, celery, cucumber, dandelion greens, parsley, spinach, turnip greens.

Leucine:  Avocados, papayas, olives, coconut.

Isoleucine:  Avocados, papayas, olives, coconut.

So there! No need to kill animals and/or have things rotting in your intestines!

You can easily achieve 0.5g/kg of body weight of protein with fruits and vegetables.

I do it with minimal effort, just a desire for a varied menu every day!

Eat a lot, eat a lot of goodness & feel very good! :)

(List copied and slightly edited, from http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/protein.htm)

Bed Abs Exercises!

When I started getting taller very fast (around the age of 10), my posture suffered from it and so did my spine - it curves outwards and so even with a yoga mat, my vertebra hurt when I workout my abs.
The best solution for me was to work out defying gravity (bar, pole, or any edge like a pool or wall), until I realised I can work out my abs without leaving my bed!

I know it's not ideal because it's better to work on a hard surface, but until my spine readjusts (I believe it will with a lot of yoga) this is the best I can do without getting bruises.

SO I decided to draw out the exercises I do so you can try the same, it's really a lot of fun and it's so comfortable you have NO excuses not to do them until you get tired!
(But if your back is fine on the floor, then you should probably stick to that)