ReinosBlog

As a child I loved spending the weekends on the farm of my grandparents. When I think of those sumptuous meals at the family table, I recall the taste of deliciously-sweet pumpkin, sweet potato, peas, beans and many other freshly-picked vegetables and fruits.

As far as food-supply was concerned my grandparents were completely self-sufficient, like most farmers in South Africa those days. Buying processed foods from the supermarket was seen as a “waste of money” that was better spent by donating to the church.

Apart from saving money, you can get the best fresh and organic foods from your own garden. You don’t even need much land to do it. Moreover, it is not packed in plastic and the only distance it travels is from your garden to your kitchen.

In my Blog “Good Foods are no longer nourishing us” I quoted a scientific report from a food laboratory in Oberthal, Germany, that even the common power foods today like spinach and broccoli have up to 50 per cent less nutrients than in the 1950s. The reason: long transportation routes, packaging in plastics and depletion of soils.

We started growing our own vegetable patch this summer and it is a lot less effort than you might think. It only takes up a small section of the garden and will supply your family with a delicious supply of fresh produce over the summer. I can’t tell you how tasty our first tomato pickings were – a far cry from the “watery” stuff that you buy in the supermarket. The fresh salad grown from seeds are hard to beat.

Our first crop 

Courgettes can be grown in patio containers while tomatoes can even be raised on a warm and well-lit windowsill. Beans are just as easy to grown from seeds and can provide fresh crop for several weeks.

If you live in a city you need a little more creativity. But it’s possible and a growing number of people are doing it because its a lot healthier and cheaper. Balconies, patios and even rooftops can be used. Shelves, hanging baskets or trellises can be used to create lovely gardens.

London has even created a scheme for young people to grow their own food to reduce social isolation and to teach them the value of biodiversity.

About a quarter of Britons are now growing their own food, largely because of rising food prices, sharing gardens with other people in land allotment schemes. A variety of community-based initiatives are encouraging urban farming.

In Germany, maintaining a “Schrebergarten” or small plot of land in the city is a long tradition.

First established in the 19th century to teach children the basics of gardening, they were a source of survival for many during World War II. Now it is catching on again among trendy yuppies wanting to grow their own power foods.

For my part I can only say: I’ve discovered a new hobby. It s a lot of fun!

These days, the scarcity impeding firms’ growth is not of capital — it’s of talent.

Leadership is about understanding what it is that “drives” people giving them the feeling that they are connected and involved in a meaningful way.

To a large extent it is not a matter of fate or genetics on how healthy or happy we are in life. The amount of exercise we give to our bodies and quality of food we eat will most certainly determine what life you will lead in the next five years and how resilient your body will be to the modern scourges such as obesity, cancer, depression and diabetes.

We know what it takes to make us live a healthier life. We make a new year resolution to start a regular work out or to practise a daily meditation. Sadly, in most cases these resolutions don’t last long.

Daily distractions have an enormous pulling power. But there is another major factor. The inner state of mind – the psychological and emotional factors – that you are not aware of at a conscious level but could be the major stumbling block.

It is important to be aware of these “inner scoundrels” that have many voices that sound much like this:

• I don’t deserve to be living a healthy life of abundance and love”
• Life is a hard slog anyway, just bear with it”
• Jesus suffered on the cross, so why can’t I suffer too.”
• I will no longer be getting the attention, understanding and compassion from others when I’m healthy.”
• If I come into my power and strength, I will be rocking the boat. Things could change and that is really frightening.”
• Everything is better just as it is rather than a future that could be much worse.”
• It is better to keep myself small so that I won’t be bashed.”
• I will lose my creativity.” 

We are “animals of convenience” and old habits die hard. The first step to accommodate the “inner scoundrel” is to give him a voice and bring him to the surface. What does he look like? What needs does he have? Fighting or suppressing him will only make him grow bigger. Bring your scoundrel to the surface by listing all your bad habits that deplete your energies e.g. hours of wasted time in front of the TV, the amount of sweet drinks, coffee, cup cakes and sweets you eat without much thought during the day, gossiping about others or spending time with “negative” people.

By bringing all those “scoundrels” to the surface you become more aware of those bad habits. Tell them. I am seeing you and am aware of you but I now need to move on. You served me for a while but you have now fulfilled your purpose. It is time to move on so that I can really fulfil my need to live a wonderful life where I can feel my true strength and power. Replace the scoundrel with a personal mantra that could sound like this:

• My body is the temple of my soul and deserves utmost respect and care
• I feel the energy and power in body and soul
• I deserve in every respect a life of abundance, happiness and inner strength
• I am here in this life for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain
• The more I respect my body and myself the more I will take care of Mother Earth and all those living beings  in my immediate surroundings

The great teachers through history
traverse a varied landscape
of culture and tradition –
but nearly all have passed through
and been strengthened by
alone time in nature . . .

You must have seen this picture which I find symbolic in so many ways. Have we created a world that no longer fits into our physical and emotional make-up that has evolved over tens of thousands of years?

Our ancestors in the hunter and gatherer societies lived in small communities with physical fitness as one of the preconditions of survival. In our modern world we are basically confined to a chair in the office which wreaks havoc to our bodies.

Lack of exercise accompanied by a poor diet has led to a phenomenon we find in almost all the industrial countries. In the early part of the last century infectious diseases were the main cause of death. We have made huge progress in this field through better hygiene and medicine which has rapidly increased life expectation but we need to take a closer look at the quality of our longer life.

A large proportion of us have more or less accepted a condition of being neither healthy nor sick. In many countries every second person over the age of 80 is in frail care.

Illnesses that have hardly been known to mankind such as obesity, diabetes II, cancer and burnout are skyrocketing. According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report we paradoxically have a situation where malnutrition is co-existing with “an escalating global epidemic” of obesity with millions likely to suffer from an array of serious health disorders.

We have not even begun understanding the psychological side-effects of lack of exercise, poor diet and mental illness such as depression. The Canadian molecular biologist Richard Béliveau estimates that one third of all cancer is linked to poor eating habits. A diet consisting of a mix of fruits, vegetables and drinks, such as green tea, can lead to the absorption of up to 1-2g of anticancer phytochemicals per day. “We, therefore, believe that daily consumption of these different foods is a simple and effective method to counter the development and progression of cancer,” he writes.

Beliveau also found that much of the populations in industrial societies lack essential Omega 3 fatty acids with a high percentage of Omega 6 (eating too many industrially produced carbohydrates).

Interestingly patients suffering from chronic exhaustion (Burnout) or depression all reveal extremely low levels of Omega 3. Study after study is revealing that a diet rich in Omega 3 (e.g. fish, avocado,chia seeds) is having amazing success in the treatment of mental illness.

Our capacity to deal the modern stress factors is immensely increased in looking at our diet and getting more exercise. But going for the hard power sports might do you more harm than good. If you have a stressful life you will add to the stress hormones in your body by taxing your body with a sport that puts you to the limit. Its all about finding the right combination of body movement that fits your age group and your level of fitness.

The WHO recommends for adults aged between 18-64 at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity of activity per week. This you can spread during the week in 10-15 minutes sequences. Most people will say they don’t have the time. But take this: In the United States the average time spent in front of the TV per person per day is 4.8 hours!