The countdown is over...

 

The NEW Urban Remedy is here.

www.urbanremedy.com.au

• Brand new cleanse recipes
• Tailored 'design your own' cleansing
• Suggested 'ready made' cleanses
• Brand new locations
• More frequent deliveries

 

The great coffee debate

To coffee or not to coffee? That is the question. Whether you’re a one-a-day kinda person, an abstainer, or a chain coffee drinker, there’s no doubt you have wondered at some point whether the stuff is good for you or not. And if you drink it, how much of it is actually okay?

Caffeine perks
• Improves alertness and concentration
• Improves mood at a consumption level of 200mg (roughly 2 regular cups)
• Helps combat muscular pain by stimulating the release of B-endorphins and other pain-reducing hormones
• Improves endurance: consumed one hour prior to exercise, caffeine increases performance and can assist in weight loss and/or maintenance
• Helps prevent diabetes through the minerals and antioxidants it contains
• Helps prevent Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s by keeping dopamine molecules active
• Helps manage asthma if consumed moderately, and may be used to prevent an attack
• Enhances the effect of medication (eg. painkillers) through blood vessel constriction

Caffeine drawbacks
• Blood sugar swings: coffee causes a temporary surge in blood sugar and a spike in insulin production, followed by a crash in blood sugar levels
• Adrenal fatigue: coffee gets your cortisol going and stimulates your adrenals, leaving them flat afterwards. You get that ‘wired but tired’ feeling and crave coffee no2! Vicious cycle.
• Emotional disturbances: coffee can aggravate stress, anxiety, irritability and depression
• Sleep disruption: particularly if you’re an after-lunch coffee drinker
• Gastrointestinal problems: coffee can cause heartburn/reflux and increase the risk of ulcers
• Nutritional deficiencies: it prevents the absorption of certain nutrients, particularly minerals
• Ageing: caffeine dehydrates and promotes the decline of anti-ageing hormones

Our verdict
Like many things, coffee is good for you in moderation. It also doesn’t agree with everyone so each case should be examined individually. If you do choose to drink it, stick to a max of two cups daily, before 2pm, and pick a good quality coffee (not instant), minus the frills – cream, milk or a good quality dairy alternative is fine but skip the sugar, artificial sweetener, syrups, etc.

Are you ready to sizzle at the races?

Preparation

Depending on how much preparation you want to put in, do the following for 3-7 days prior:

1. Eat dinner before 7pm
2. Get to bed before 10pm: more sleep = less fat
3. Cut out sugar and refined carbs (if you haven’t already) – wholegrains OK
4. Avoid yeast in food to beat the dreaded bloat
5. Do a mini-detox (and a tan) for glowing skin!

On the day

Make sure you’re on a winning streak (not just a streak) with these handy tips:

6. Support your liver with a milk thistle supplement in the morning (we like Flordis Legalon)
7. Eat a hearty breakfast: think poached eggs on sourdough or bircher muesli
8. Eat a light meal before you head out – include wholegrains, healthy protein and good fats
9. Drink a glass of water for every glass of bubbly
10. Place your bets sensibly!

Goodbye wobbly bits, hello PowerPlate!

This week, we put PowerPlate to the test. Buckle up, we’re in for a ride!

The experiment:
5 x 40-minute PowerPlate sessions over two weeks

So what is PowerPlate?

It’s the latest celebrity craze of vibration training that blasts your jiggly bits and gets you fit and toned in 2-3 short sessions per week. It was in fact used (long before celebrities) by Russian cosmonauts to fight the effects of zero gravity, improving muscle strength and bone density.


Classes are in groups of 2-4. I went with my (extremely brave) partner.

You stand on a vibrating platform in regular gym gear (no space suit, alas) and do a series of exercises including squats, lunges, push ups, the plank (could we be any more 2011?) and tricep dips. The vibrations stimulate the muscle-pump effect and increase blood flow (is it me or does that sound a bit rude?), which in turn improves the body’s ability to transport oxygen, assimilate nutrients and disperse toxins.

Studies have shown that adding a PowerPlate to your workout increases its effectiveness by 57%. Yes please.

The guinea pig: 
Me, exercise-phobe extraordinaire

I’m super healthy and I walk a lot but let’s get one thing straight – I’m no gym bunny. I used to dance ten hours a week when I was younger (and run and play tennis), and… like all good things in large doses… I got sick of it. The mere thought of exercising makes me want to whip out a box set of Gossip Girl and climb under the doona.

The verdict:

I have to say, after the initial excitement of free exercise, I started to wonder if my not-so-gymtastic body would be up for the challenge. I struggled in the first two sessions but found myself improving so quickly and so noticeably that I stayed motivated and didn’t feel disheartened by my lack of fitness.  My partner and I both felt like we had improved leaps and bounds by session 3, and were tricep-dipping and push-upping like pros in the last session ;)... you should see my plank now!!

I loved the fact that you could feel every muscle working, and that you could target particular muscles with such precision. The instructors at the studio in Bondi Junction were amazing. They definitely knew their stuff and checked in on us regularly, asking if there were areas we wanted to target (aka jiggly bits) and making sure we were activating each muscle correctly (read: working hard enough).

After the workout, you also get to look forward to a mini cellulite-banishing massage. A way to kiss goodbye to wobbly bits and cellulite in 40 minutes? Definitely a man (or woman)'s best friend.

Given my hate-hate relationship with exercise, I didn’t expect to fall in love with PowerPlate but (it’s official) I most certainly have. And so have my new found abs. Now all I have to do is convince them to stay there.

Less Gossip Girl, more PowerPlate? Who am I kidding, a girl can multi-task.

         xoxo

Super healthy snacks

We have placed main meals under the microscope in our last three blogs on breakkie, lunch and dinner. Now it’s time to address the pivotal issue of what we do in between the three biggies, when our tummies are rumbling, our blood sugar has dropped and our minds are wandering towards the full range of Cadbury’s in the nearby vending machine.

What to do?
As with most things nutrition, there are varying schools of thought. Some say snack throughout the day and some say don’t snack at all. We sit somewhere in the middle – and there is a way to find healthy snacks when the next meal is just too far away!

Here are some yummy, super easy snacks for you to try:
• Carrot or celery sticks with hummus
• Carrot or celery sticks with guacamole
• Celery sticks or apple slices with ABC spread (or peanut butter if you’re feeling a bit indulgent!)
• Plain bio yoghurt with 10 raw almonds and a handful of berries or ½ a piece of fruit
• A lump of cheese with a handful of grapes or a sliced apple (the fat stops that dreaded sugar spike)
• A handful of raw nuts – try mixing almonds, brazil nuts and cashews for complete protein
• A protein ball containing mixed nuts, seeds etc

If you’re really hungry or have skipped a meal:
• Avocado and sliced tomato on one slice (or two) of sourdough toast
• A mini-salad with tinned salmon fillets, a small can of mixed beans, a ¼ of an avocado, diced tomato and diced cucumber
• A small bowl of additive-free soup (we like 'Pitango')
• Two boiled eggs or a small can of salmon for a protein fix

Mars Bars no more! We hope you enjoy some of our healthy alternatives.

10 reasons to drink green tea

Just a quick dose for you today. We recommend that cleansers drink green tea during the cleanse as it’s known for its detoxifying properties. Here are some additional reasons to add a cup (or three) to your daily routine.

1. Much healthier source of caffeine than coffee
2. High in antioxidants
3. Aids in weight loss
4. Combats fluid retention
5. Protects against heart diseases
6. Increases exercise endurance
7. Antimicrobial
8. Supports a healthy liver
9. Reduces inflammation in the intestinal tract
10. Promotes longevity

Wow. It almost sounds like that’s all you need to do. Not quite, but a very good start to a healthier and longer life.

If you find the flavour of green tea on its own not to your taste, you might like to try flavoured green teas. Some of our favourites include T2 Gorgeous Geisha, T2 Green Rose, and Lipton Mint Green Tea.

Enjoy!

How do you like your green tea?

Chia seeds - a superfood friend with benefits

I'm loving chia seeds at the moment. I'm using them in EVERYTHING. One might even say that I'm chia-tastic.

What you need to know (or maybe just want to know) about chia seeds
They are:
1.    A wholegrain
2.    Super high in the essential Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are vital as they help the body recover after exercise and help to increase metabolism, helping with fat burning and weight loss.
3.    High in fibre, which helps to make us feel fuller for longer and keep us “regular” (lovely)
4.    Gluten free
5.    Rich in iron (3 times more than Popeye’s favourite food)
6.    A complete protein, containing 8 essential amino acids. It’s a little complicated, but many plant sources of protein are incomplete proteins that need to be combined with another protein. These little babies do it all on their own.
7.    High in other good stuff like calcium (higher in calcium than milk and more absorbable too), B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous and zinc
8.    Rich in antioxidants to battle those nasty free radicals (I seriously imagine a little battalion of antioxidant warriors going to work on the insurgent free radicals). Antioxidants help to slow the process of aging. Sounds good to me.

Just throw them in
Salads, soups, stirfrys, smoothies. A tablespoon or so will do the trick. Yum. 

Black versus white seeds
According to The Chia Co, there is very little nutritional difference between the white and black seeds, so it really depends on the colour that your recipe or mood calls for.

Yummy chia smoothie
One the weekend I bought some chia seeds from About Life in Bondi Junction (you can get them from any health food store). The packet had a great smoothie recipe on the back, which I had for breakfast this morning and it was delish. Hopefully they don’t mind me sharing it with you!

1 cup banana and/or berries (I used ½ banana ½ strawberries)
½ cup yoghurt
½ cup milk (or your preferred milk replacement)
½ cup coconut milk
1tbs chia seeds (soak the seeds in a little water until the seeds and water form a thick gel, then add them to the smoothie)
1tbs honey (I prefer maple syrup with yoghurt as honey is antibacterial and kills all the good bacteria in yoghurt)
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp grated ginger (I left this out)

1.    Soak seeds
2.    Add all ingredients to blender
3.    Blend
4.    Drink (I can hear you saying “duh…”)

Try them out. Suffice to say that I’m a fan of these tiny little suckers.

Weight loss and detoxing/cleansing

I can't tell you how many people ask if they will lose weight while they are cleansing. Tons of them... The answer is yes, but it's not quite as simple as that.

You definitely do lose weight, but not all the weight you lose is fat and some of it will come back if you’re not careful after the cleanse finishes.

A lot of the weight you will lose is excess fluid. Excess fluid (fluid retention or edema) has many causes including; too much salt or not enough protein in the diet, food and environmental allergies, poor circulation, and hormonal imbalances (women are particularly prone to fluid retention prior to and during their periods). Fluid retention masquerades as fat (and looks like fat) and can add up to 2kgs to even the smallest frame.

Juice cleansing can help to flush this excess fluid due the natural diuretic properties of many of the ingredients used and the cleanse’s high content of water (which actually helps get rid of excess water, contrary to what you might think).

In addition to this, because the cleanse is relatively low in kilojoules (approx 4400 kilojoules per day for a Level 1 cleanse), you will most likely lose some fat also.

It’s pretty simple, if you want the weight to stay off following the cleanse, you need to eat less salt (the main offender for fluid retention) and follow a healthy, wholefoods diet (see our blog post on Simple Healthy Eating Principles). If you can stay off the booze, takeout and sugar for a few weeks after your cleanse, you’ll do your body (and weight), the world of good.