Holistic holiday first aid kit – part 2
So I am off on holiday to Japan and thinking about what to pack apart from the obvious clothes, toothbrush etc. In part 1 I discussed my two go to solutions. So now I wanted to share some other ideas:
Skin
MOA, TheGreenBalm can be used to soothe dry itchy skin, calm minor rashes and burns. It contains both tea-tree oil which is a natural anti-bacterial agent and yarrow a herb well know for its skin-healing properties.
Sunburn
Fushi wild andiroba oil harvested from the tropical rainforests of south and central america has antibacterial and antiinflamatory properties in the oil. Which makes it great for sunburn, repelling bugs and to moisturize dry or damaged hair. A more readily available remedy is aloe vera.
Travel Sickness
Ginger has long been the go to natural remedy for any type of sickness including travel sickness. Pukka three ginger tea also contains galangal another plant often recommend for motion sickness as well as anti-inflamatory turneric and soothing licqorice root so it may be useful for calming an upset stomach as well as alleviating travel sickness.
Bug Bites
Zap Ease from Incongnito (www.lessmosquito.com) is a natural mosquito-repellent maker. I haven’t tried the product but it is award winning. A few “clicks” of Zap-Ease around the area of a bit “has the effect of localising the posing and inhibiting the histimine release, which causes the itch and the urge to scratch”. The device is harmless but not recommended for kids under 2 years old and people with pacemakers.
Related Posts

Tips for a healthy stomach
The stomach is the body's food processor. It takes about 4 hours for a moderate meal to be processed. It takes 7 seconds for food to travel from your mouth to your stomach. Your stomach can hold 1.5 litres of food and drink. Chew each mouthful at least 20 times Chewing produces saliva which start the digestive process efficiently, enabling the food to the broken down thoroughly. Eating to quickly often means you don't chew each mouthful enough and causes problems such as heartburn and indigestion. Swallowing large lumps of food causes problems for the gut as undigested food ferments, creating toxins and gases that irritate the stomach lining; it also prevents absorption of nutrients and creates digestive problems. Digestive enzymes Digestive enzymes help to minimize indigestion, acide reflux, bloating and gas. There are three main clasifications of digestive enzymes:
- Amylases: which break down carbohydrates
- Lipases: which break down fats
- Proteases: which break down protiens

The superfood that can combat metabolic syndrome
Every few months a new super food seems to emerge into the public domain. Avocado seems to have caught the british public's imagination as sales soar. With Avocado the hype seems to be justified. The fruit slows down and even reverses metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions -
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- high blood pressure
- high body mass index (i.e. overweight)

Mundane superfoods – part 2
In part 1, I explored how you could swap lemon balm for caco. I want to continue this theme of swaping more common foods for exotic super foods: Use Blueberries for Acai Berries Acai berries (pronounced ah-sah-EE), a sort of cross between a grape and a blueberry, look very much like the latter and, oddly, taste a little like a berry dipped in chocolate. They've been used in traditional medicine to treat infections from parasites, ulcers, hemorrhaging, ulcers and diarrhea. Acai berries come from the Amazon region. Besides the berries themselves, the juice and pulp are commonly added to teas, fruit drinks, fruit bars and other products geared toward health and vitality. Nutritionally, these little berries contain high levels of antioxidants, flavonoids and anthocyanins. But as beneficial as acai berries are, their nutritional profile is very comparable to that of blueberries, which are readily available in your local supermarket. Blueberries have truly remarkable benefits for cardiovascular health, as well as for your brain, insulin response and even cancer prevention. Packed with vitamin C, which boosts your immune system and helps collagen to form, they're also loaded with fiber for greater regularity, impacting your heart health, and manganese, a mineral noted for energy conversion and proper bone development. Reference Blueberry Council

