Just Elizabeth Ashe
Health and Fitness

How Food Impacts Your Mood – And The Real Food Revolution

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Did you know that the food you are eating can actually be doing you more harm than good. Well its true even if you think you are eating right and dieting than you might just be in for a big surprise. Many wonder why they feel the way that they do, with hypertension, headaches, insomnia, thyroid problems and all sorts of issues.

The way that we eat even affects our children and can exhibit itself in the form of hyperactivity, sleeplessness, obesity and even the inability to not hold their attention for long sorts of time. As you guys know I am mom of four boys and I have one son that has been dealing with chemical imbalances in his brain for quite some time now.

When I say chemical imbalances I am referring to hyperactivity and more things in which he has been evaluated and I refused to place my son on medication.

That is when I really started to learn more about how food affects the brain and the body, especially in kids with problems such as these.

I continued my long journey on learning more about some of the issues he was dealing with, until I came to learn about real food and the real food movement. Which was something I was pretty much doing at the time on my own already.  However I was able to learn tons of new stuff about how what we eat can actually affect our mood and our whole bodily functions. To the point of being able increase our lifespan or reduce it.

That I why I wanted to share with you some of the information I have known about for quite some time now. I wanted you to know more about why eating real food is ten times better for you and why it’s so great for your heart and immune system.

I have a couple books that I have read and will be doing a review on them, really soon!

The first one is the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook– An excellent beginners guide that I refer to time and time again when preparing real food.

And the Second one is The Untold Story Of Milk makes you think why everything you thought about milk is wrong and what sort of milk you should be drinking!

Lots to come on these two reviews soon in my what I am reading book section.

I urge you to take a look into the real food for rookies e-course to get a great head start into what real food is and how it can benefit you in the long run.

You can learn more about that course here!

Till than check out this awesome video!

Here is a great video intro on how food can impact your mood and why you should get to thinking about what you are really eating.

P.S. I would love to know your thoughts on the whole issue and even if this is something that has sparked your interests?

Natural Hair Spotlight

What’s Really Good about Your 4b Hair?

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If you have 4b – 4c Hair texture and wondering If going natural is right you. I am sure you have come across your own internal questions wondering what is really good about having a 4b, 4c hair texture. When you see so many others with a looser curl patterns that seem to do a lot more with their hair and that has you asking well what really can I do with my own.

I knew that when I was younger the flowing hair in the wind was something that I wanted, and so that is why I kept my hair relaxed for periods off and on to ease the time it took for my mom to do my hair, thinking that it was low maintenance. When I look back on it, it really was not. The constant trips to the salon for touch ups and styles just so I could have that simple look, yeah I say simple because I really am a simple girl but to go back and forth being natural back to relaxed for years was something I had to stop doing.

Now I am here, I did the big chop in late April and almost 5 months since I decided to do this. But many have questioned why I with a strong 4b – 4c hair textured decided to do it this way with out letting it grow it more first.

Well here are some benefits of having a 4b hair texture and why you should love what you have even if many others feel indifferent towards it.

•Our Hair texture is low maintenance, requires nothing but moisture and the less you touch it the more it grows.

•Soft as cotton and spongy to the touch

•Defies gravity by growing upwards and then down

•The versatility of styling options is endless and the ways the twists come out are awesome!

•Breathtaking fros in all shapes and sizes

•Great for locking and thickness that does not fade over the years.

•Provides protection for scalp from the sun.

•Gives us a unique Personality for our hair alone!

So if you are still wondering if there are any benefits to your natural 4b, 4bc hair texture than let me tell you it is surely not lacking in anything at all.

P.S. Luv what you got and show it off!

Read my post here on Why Going Natural Was the Best thing I ever Did!

Would love to hear your thoughts, why do you love your hair texture?

photo courtesy of fyeahcurls



Natural Beauty

Going Natural – Everything I Hoped For And More

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You know I was thinking, about natural hair and things and the beauty that goes surrounds natural African American hair, kinky hair, textured hair and curly hair. How over the past decade a new movement has come about of new women wanting to showcase what god them and the true beauty that is them.    afrochic.2

I have been natural on and off since high school, more natural than relaxed but I have always worn my hair in its braided state or w/ something to cover it up and never in its true form until the short period when I was pregnant and decided to get locks.

The whole locks things lasted almost two years until after the birth of my last son, and then I took them out to get my hair relaxed again, because I hated staying to one thing. Having a more eccentric style and the whole straight relaxed thing did not last long either. I love the texture of natural hair the kinks and curls that come with it, I love the spins and waves the knots and all that embellish it.

So that is when after the last time that I had a relaxer and my hair was to my shoulders, I ended up changing hair stylists because I had moved. Somehow when I changed stylists she changed relaxers on me and my hair did not take well to the change. My hair became over pressed and started to break off from the creamy crack. It broke off so much that I decided the hell with that, and decided I am going back natural for good the hell what anyone thinks.

I ended up doing my big chop in late, late April of 2010 and now it is late July of 2010 and I am loving my natural hair with out the stuff on my scalp causing irritation and all that crap .

My hair is healthier, thicker and is growing at rate that I never thought it actually did. It  actually grows  a little more than a half an inch per month, which is good because that means instead of an average 6 inches per month, I would have about 7 and possibly than some!(I found this out from measuring my hair over a period of four months.)

But that brings me to the question to ask you, how did you feel when you did your big chop, or how are you feeling about going natural?

If you are sitting on the edge, and wondering if it is something that you want to do let me tell you, it is more of mindset change than anything else. Once you are able to get over the stump and realize the true beauty that is you. This comes with research into natural hair care, the history of the negative connotations towards black hair and actually learning how to take care of your hair.

Than you will have understanding, with understanding comes wisdom about your hair and that brings freedom to be what you want to be and who you are.

I love that I have went natural and hope those that are sitting on the bench do the same………

P.S.  I would love to hear your comments on the whole going natural situation. Wanna know more about mindset change and the whole history of black hair in America than you read my post by clicking here!

Photo: c0urtesy of fyeahcurls



Natural Beauty

Paraben Free beauty Products – What You Don’t Know

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Resting BeautyThere are many chemical ingredients to avoid in skincare products,

Many women today use a wide range of skincare products. These products might include cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and shampoos and they might be used several times a day throughout most of their adult life. Women have come to rely on these products and spending on them has reached unbelievable levels. But do most women ever take the time to read the ingredients listings on these beauty products? Do they know what they are using and if they might be putting potentially dangerous ingredients on their bodies? Most women probably do not. It may never occur  to them that ingredients considered unsafe might even be used in the products offered to consumers.

Unfortunately, there are many skincare products on the market that have questionable and dangerous ingredients. Some of these ingredients include synthetic fragrances, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or SLS, Phthalates, and Parabens.

But what are they and why should they be avoided?

Parabens are preservatives put into beauty products to extend their shelf life. They have no benefit to us…only the manufacturing company. They do in fact have adverse effects for us though, including estrogenic qualities. They have produced abnormal hormonal effects following application on laboratory animals, particularly males, that resulted in decreased testosterone levels and other varied abnormalities. They have also been found to accumulate in the breast tissue of women with breast cancer.

For more information on Parabens Click Here to  read Not Just a Pretty Face, I got the book a while back and it explains in great detail about the chemicals we are putting on our bodies on a regular basis.

Phthalates are a group of chemical compounds that are basically used as plasticizers (substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility). It is hard to imagine that we need plasticizers in our skincare products but you can find them in cosmetics, soaps, and various lotions. High Phthalates doses have shown hormonal activity in animal studies and have resulted in damage to the liver, the kidneys, the lungs, and the developing testes.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or SLS for short is an ingredient that gives a product like a shampoo or facial cleanser its foaming ability. Most people equate cleaning ability with the amount of suds or bubbles created, so companies use SLS to give us the impression that it is an effective cleanser. SLS is a known skin irritant and when companies test new healing ointments or crèmes, SLS is the irritant they first rub on the skin to irritate it so they can then see how well their new product works to heal the inflammation. SLS can infiltrate the eyes, brain, heart, and liver with potentially harmful effects according to the journal of the American College of Toxicology. SLS can cause rashes, eczema and other skin irritations. Even more shocking is the fact that some products containing this ingredient are labeled as “natural” or organic because SLS is a detergent derived from coconut oil.

Synthetic perfumes or fragrances can contain hundreds of chemicals. Some, such as methylene chloride are carcinogenic and others might cause headaches, dizziness, coughing, vomiting and skin irritation.

These ingredients hardly sound beneficial or even appropriate for our skin care needs. So what can you do to avoid these dangerous ingredients? First, read the ingredients labels carefully and search for them online to do some research into negative effects. Find out exactly what they are and what they do before you put them on your skin. Second, find reputable companies that offer organic and 100% natural products. This may be a tall order since there is no regulation for organic bath and body products in most countries. Ask around and you will be able to isolate ethical companies using safe ingredients. Third, try making some of your own skincare products. When you make your own you know exactly what is in them and you can feel comfortable that they are safe.

P.S. Don't forgot to read  more about Beauty Secrets of the Bible By Clicking Here!

Hair Story – Untangling the Roots Of Black Hair In America

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hair story

I had the chance to read Hair Story the History Of Black Hair in America, this past month or so.  And boy let me tell you what a book. If you are really wanting to know why we as black women and men think or have thought about our hair the way that we do then you  need to read this book.  This book is full of information about the history of African American hair starting in Africa, than on to the slave trade and the downhill transgression of  the feelings towards our hair.

It goes deep into the mindset of people with Afro centric hair and why society puts so much undue attention on our hair, and why we as a people feel sometimes like our hair is not good enough to wear in its natural state, and why many people as adults have no  idea what their hair texture is or even how to take care of it properly.  We as a people starting from early on were put in place and stripped of our culture and than that led to the nonacceptance  of our hair  by America, race wars within our race between light an dark skinned, good hair vs so called bad hair and so forth.

The history of black America goes into all that and than some and is certainly one book for anyone that is thinking about going natural should read.   I have not been disappointed.

“An Engaging look at what has become a major status symbol among African-Americans…….an impressive work of cultural history” -Book Page

Here are some of the Topics in the Book:

  • Black Hair In Bondage
  • No Excuse for the Nappy
  • Revolutionary Root – Naturals, Afros, and the Changing Politics Of Natural hair
  • The Business of Black Hair
  • Politically Incorrect – Black Hair New Attitude
  • The Burden of Proof: Explaining Black Hair Culture
  • Hair Today, Hair Tomorrow

I highly Recommend this book to all newly naturals as Required Reading for Sure!

To get the Hair Story – History of Black Here Click Here!