Day four juice fast: Oil and what it can do for you

Day four has been hard, it always is. So I had a soy chai this morning which kept me super full and back on track, as well as some tomatoes with pepper and pink salt, some fruit, and some salad veggies for dinner. That fixed that, and will be back to juice tomorrow 🙂

Anyhow, what I want to talk about today is oil. Not the greasy saturated stuff that you cook your chips in, but the natural, plant and nut derived stuff that can be totally beneficial for your health and you body.

There are huge debates over the use of oils in the diet, but one thing is for sure, you need these oils to live. As you know (or may not know) I am studying nutrition at uni, so here is a brief rundown (in my very special Daisy language) of what I know so far:

You have 2 types of cholesterol in your system, the HDL and the LDL. Not all fats are bad,  your system is made up of them, membrane walls, your brain, and even hormones all get help from cholesterol from good fats.

The LDL cholesterol is the type that builds up in your arteries, and can cause health risks and issues like strokes, heart attacks, and are provided to you by excess of saturated animal fats from meat, dairy and eggs, and the HDL are your ‘good’ cholesterols, which come from fish and plant oils, your body even produces this stuff itself in the liver to help you, they actually sweep through your system, collecting the bad cholesterol and flushing it out for you. It can be easy to have an imbalance, even if you eat a fantastic diet, as cholesterol levels can be hereditary, and is important to get these things checked.

Basically the build up in your system occurs when you are not taking in enough of the good oils, and are consuming too many of the bad ones. Examples of ‘good’ oils are the omegas found in fish, nuts, seeds and plants, things like avocado and almonds and walnuts. Although these are good oils, they should still be eaten in moderation, like anything really, as they do have a high calorie count (not great if you are watching your weight). Half an average avocado can be up to 140-150 calories, and I definitely know how easy it is to eat a whole one of those!! That being said, they are also a filling snack with many nutrients and vitamins, and obviously a better choice to have one of those beautiful green pear shaped fruits than a bag of chips 😀

So I’ll tell you how I use oils the most: I cleanse and moisturise my skin with it, I oil-pull, and I make raw, vegan chocolate. I occasionally use it as a hair serum too.

So my whole entire skin regime is in a bottle of oil. I have no cleansers, toners, moisturisers, eye creams, hand creams, I own none of that. I used to work in a pharmacy where I got all of my Dior skin care stuff for free, I had BUCKETS of skin care stuff, with a lotion or potion for EVERYTHING. And now all I have is my $9 bottle of avocado oil in the upstairs bathroom, and my $5 bottle of macadamia oil in the downstairs one 😀

I massage in about a 50c coin size of oil onto my face, then I rinse a face washer under a hot tap, squeeze it out, and rest it on my face for about a minute, then wipe off the oil. Then I rinse it again, rest it on my face again, and wipe it off. Thats my cleansing done. Then I get about a 5c coin size drop of oil, rub it in my hands, and pat it all over my face and neck. Thats my moisturising done. And that is all I need.

My skin has never been better in my entire life, my pores are smaller and not as dark, I don’t get the big pimples anymore, I’m not as shiny or oily (how odd you might say, but have a think about this: oil and water don’t mix. You cook something oily and pour water in the frypan to soak and what do you see? A gross big oily residue sitting on top when you eventually get around to washing it. Same goes for skin. You wash your face with water and your natural skin oils sit on the top and protect everything underneath it, so effectively NOT washing your face and leaving dirt and build up on your face. So what do you do? You add a cleanser, full of chemicals and detergents and junk to dissolve the oil and wash the dirt away. You know what your skin does? It has a mini freak out and says “OH MY GOD, WHERE HAS MY OIL GONE??” and then goes and produces more of the same of what you just washed away, and then some. Particularly if you are an oily skin type and you wash your face often. Ever wondered why you might have oily skin? Because you may be washing away the oil your skin wants, so it goes into over-producing mode and gives you a whole bunch more because you NEED it. With oil cleansing, you are giving your skin oil, oil dissolves in oil giving it a great clean, then you are giving it a bit back. Your skin stops producing as much, and you actually look and feel less oily. TRUE STORY. If you don’t believe me, try it for 2 weeks, and tell me I’m wrong.)

I’d like to know when in the history of EVER did my skin ever look better or clearer than this? I think the answer is that it hasnt, and I was sick the day I took this photo too ha ha ha ha ha 😀

The second (and more weirder thing) I do with oil is oil pulling. If you haven’t heard of this, read here: http://www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au/2012/04/oil-pulling-my-new-morning-ritual/

I actually started it because some research said it may help to clear up sinus issues. For me it didn’t, but I got hooked on it after I saw how white my teeth got!!!! Here is a photo of my teeth as I sit here at my computer, I have not enhanced it in any way, and yes, I am aware they need work but whatever, they are WHITE.

Not even my old peroxide teeth whitening stuff got that result….. In the article I posted it says to rinse your toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide and stuff after you brush, I’ve never done that, just a really good rinse under hot water and air dried it and it is good to go. I have also noticed a lot less wisdom tooth infections and pain since I started too… worth a shot if any of you out there get that!!

The last thing on my DEFINITELY HAVE TO TRY THIS WITH OIL list is the raw vegan chocolate. Now, loads of people are on the ‘coconut oil is the greatest invention ever made and it will save the entire planet from everything ever’ bandwagon, but here is my opinion: It is an oil. It is a medium chain fatty acid, which is a heck of a lot better for you than a long chain fatty acids which are your saturated fats. Shorter chain fatty acids are your plant based oils are are good for your health. So coconut oil, while it is saturated, is medium chain, so right there in the middle of good and bad, its digested more readily by the body and doesn’t reach your gall bladder, which is great if you have issues with that. Where all the crazy hype comes in I’m not so sure about that, but I know for making recipes and having something yum, I know that I would prefer to put something in like coconut oil.

So, chocolates. I have posted this before, but I’m going to do it again (and probably again, and again, its that good). It is my go-to recipe that I use all of the time when I want chocolate. I’m not a big sweet tooth, I would prefer a pizza any day over chocolate, but when you get an urge you gotta have it 😀 This recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make, is super simple, you can add ingredients to it like puffed rice, dried cranberries and almonds (my favourite stuff to put in!!) and you only need a few small pieces to curb that craving 😀 http://crueltyfreerecipes.com/2013/07/01/homemade-dark-chocolate/

This is a photo of the ones I make all of the time:

So there are my three favourite things about oil. Give them a go, you will not regret it!!!!!!!!!!!!

xx