All posts tagged: Organic

How to live a less toxic life

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No matter what you do, where you go or how you live your life, unless you’re living under a rock in the middle of nowhere, it’s pretty hard to avoid toxins. Our daily lives are full of them. They’re in the atmosphere, in our food and drink, cans and bottles, in our toiletries, cleaning products, furniture, clothes, house paint, drinking water and even in our computers. We actually even make toxins ourselves through our own stress! These daily chemicals safe or are thought to be linked to issues such as lower IQ, cancer and reproductive problems and could well play a part in all sorts of illnesses. We simply don’t know what their effects are. We’re actually exposed to toxins from within the womb, from chemicals that travel across the placenta and into the foetus. These chemicals can be known toxins such as mercury, lead and BPA (found in plastics) or other unknown toxins that we simply have no idea we’re ingesting. In ABC’s Catalyst programme last week, Dr Maryanne Demasi investigated the chemicals found …

All hail the sunflower, king of the good oils

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Sunflowers are grown all over the world and are a hugely important and valuable agricultural commodity. They are incredibly beautiful and there’s nothing like driving through the country when it’s sunflower season, with fields as far as the eye can see of these gorgeous yellow flowers that give the impression they’re turning their heads to the sun – hence their name in French (tournesols) and Spanish (girasoles). Although it was commonly accepted that the sunflower was first domesticated in what is now the southeastern USA (the Sunflower is the official flower of Kansas), roughly 5000 years ago, there is archaeological evidence that it was actually first domesticated in Mexico around 2600 BC. In fact many indigenous American peoples used the sunflower as the symbol of the sun and sun gods, including the Aztecs and the Otomi of Mexico and the Incas in South America. It’s still used for its many health benefits and even used as a poultice to treat rattlesnake bite – just in case you ever find yourself bitten by one when you’re …

Inspirational Woman: Zoe Tuckwell-Smith

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Zoe Tuckwell-Smith is one of Australia’s best-loved young actresses. Known for her leading role in Winners & Losers, she has appeared in many films and TV series, including Home & Away, All Saints and thriller, Gone. She lives in Melbourne with actor/director partner Damon Gameau and their one-year-old daughter, Velvet. Your little girl has just turned one! How has your life changed in a year? Magnificently. I never expected to love being a mummy as much as I do. It’s the most joyful I’ve ever felt! How do you juggle working as an actress and being a mum? I don’t really! I only went back for a few months after Velvet was born to finish up a job I’d been on for some time. It was really difficult juggling it all. I’m finished now and have taken the rest of the year off to be a mum. Are you a healthy eater? Yes, I eat really well and enjoy cooking a lot. I prefer savoury food over sweet any day and I’m sure most of …

Ten easy steps to better health in 2015

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You don’t have to be a total health nut, suddenly go vegan or vow to run 10 kms a day. You just have to make some minor adjustments and be good to yourself. Being healthy is actually EASY… Getting healthy and changing to a healthier regime can be quite daunting. That’s why our New Year’s Resolutions so often fail. We simply ask too much of ourselves and end up giving up and going back to our old ways. The trick is to try not to overcomplicate your new year’s health regime. Don’t set unachievable goals. Just aim to make some easy adjustments. Here are some of the easiest ways to get healthy for 2015. Water – there’s no real minimum or maximum you have to drink every day. Everyone is different. But as long as your pee is clear and light in colour, you’re drinking enough!! Juice – we don’t mean cartons of concentrated juice that’s full of sugar, we’re talking good old-fashioned home-juiced raw veggies! A juice every morning will set you up for …

Mythical Corn – not just good on the cob!

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Corn is a huge part of Mexican life. It’s an absolute staple food and has even had a mythical status in Mexico. Being an ancient and nutritious crop full of vital vitamins and minerals (including pantothenic acid, phosphorus, niacin, dietary fibre, manganese, and vitamin B6), the Mexican ruler, Moctezuma, made it a symbol of life and fertility and offered it to the Gods as sacrifice. We don’t sacrifice it as such, but we do offer it up to the makeup gods and use it in our GMO-free Translucent Corn Perfecting Powder! As well as corn starch and corn powder, we also use corn resin (which as PLA is what makes the body of our fabulous new Eco Sharpener!). Corn Resin is made by isolating the starch stored in the corn kernels and converting it into sugars.  During a process of fermentation and separation the sugars become lactic acid, which is used to create the plastic called polylactide. Corn Resin requires about 20% to 30% less energy to produce and contributes only half the carbon dioxide than plastics …

What is Organic?

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It’s complicated, that’s what it is! And no, that’s not just an excuse for not being able to call all our products or ingredients organic. Fact is that the standard is defined differently in different jurisdictions and countries, so what is certified organic in the USA for example, may not be organic in Australia. So, like us, if you get your ingredients and formulate your products in a different country, then they may not be called organic in Australia… In general, organic products are those (of food or farming methods) produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, or other artificial chemicals. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market products as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, organic products are those produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by national governments and international organizations. Trouble is, each of those countries has a different set of standards to the …