But then, because of circumstance, we had to start asking questions. The more we asked the more we uncovered, and the more things began to make sense. We saw patterns developing. It turns out that cancer is not as random or unpredictable as it first seemed to be. We started to see the bigger picture and begin to demystify the mystery that is cancer.

WHAT IS CANCER?

Firstly, cancer has been around for ages. Hippocrates identified and labelled it about 2,400 years ago. He used the terms carcinos and carcinoma, which are greek for crab, as that is what a breast tumour looked like. Later it was translated to cancer, which is the Latin word for crab.

Since then, a lot more research has been done and observations have been made on this subject. We know cancer is a cellular disease of molecules and genes, and we even know many of the molecules and genes involved. We know what the triggers are, and we also know different things we can do in order to protect ourselves and even help fight off cancerous cells.

But before we get to that, there are a few important things to understand…

Let’s start with cells…

Cells in the human body generally have the same basic structure. In the center of the cell is the nucleus, which is the control center, and this is where the DNA is kept. DNA is a chain of connected genes which contain the instructions for building and maintaining our bodies. Genes control how each cell functions, including how quickly it grows, how often it divides, and how long it lives. Every cell in a particular organism has exactly the same DNA and it is super important that, when that cell divides, the two new cells have an exact copy of the DNA that was in the old cell.

Cancer is a result of damaged or mutated DNA turning the cell into a mutant cell…

A CANCER CELL

A normal cell is programmed to go through a cycle – growth, division and death. When a tissue or organ is fully grown, the cells making up that tissue or organ know when to stop dividing because it is in the blueprint of our DNA. But the DNA in that cancer cell has been reprogrammed to have the death button switched off so it doesn’t die or stop dividing. This non-stop cell division becomes a malignant mass of tissue. A tumour. Tumours threaten a person’s life when their growth disrupts the tissues and organs needed for survival.

Although cancer can develop in virtually any of the body’s tissues, and each type of cancer has its unique features, the basic processes that happen to bring about cancer are quite similar in all forms of the disease.

Everyone one of us has the potential to get cancer. In fact cancer cells are forming in your body all the time through natural metabolic processes. That’s why our immune system is so important, because it recognises these abnormal cells and destroys them.

BUT WHY IS CANCER BECOME SO PROLIFIC?

Cancer has been on the rise over the last 100 years. Why is there a higher percentage of people suffering from caner in our recent times? Well if you look around you’ll notice the environment in which most of us live has been contaminated. In our modern world we are exposed to endless amounts of toxic, man-made chemicals that have been introduced into our environment and lifestyles. The air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.

Substances, exposures and viruses that can change our DNA and lead to cancer are called carcinogens (remember Hippocrates called cancer carcinos). Carcinogenesis means the ‘creation of cancer’ and is a process whereby a normal cell’s DNA is damaged or changed by the carcinogen to become a mutant, cancer cell. Carcinogens fall into 3 broad categories: chemical, radiation or viral.

An important observation made about cancer in the early days was that it wasn’t as random as we first thought – but rather is incidental. In the late 1700’s, a large number of men who worked as chimney sweeps as boys were diagnosed with scrotal cancer. In the 1800s, a large number of uranium miners in Germany were diagnosed with lung cancer. And by the end of the 19th century, using snuff and cigars was thought to be closely associated with cancers of the mouth and throat. These clues helped scientists to discover patterns in the development of cancer. There always seemed to be an instance, or event, that turned a healthy cell into a cancerous cell. In a tumour, there will always be a single ancestral cell that was once one of your own healthy cells. A cell mutated and then multiplied uncontrollably.

We know now that certain types of jobs carry a higher risk of cancer development than others. Cancer of the bladder is associated with rubber, dyestuffs and electric cable industry workers. Leukaemia is associated with excess exposure to ionizing radiation (X rays). Cancer of the tissue lining the lungs (mesothelioma) is associated with asbestos workers. Liver cancer is associated with vinyl chloride workers (vinyl chloride is used to make PVC) and lung cancer is associated with uranium mining, and of course, cigarette smoking.

There can also be a long dormant period between the carcinogenic exposure and the appearance of cancer. There are cases of people who had been born near asbestos mines and left the area as children but developed mesothelioma much later on in life. A rare type of vaginal cancer was found in young women whose mothers had been treated with synthetic female sex hormone 20 years before, while they were still foetuses.

There is a big difference between a developing system such as the foetus and a more robust mature system. The recent rise in childhood leukaemia is thought to be caused by prenatal exposure to pesticides or petrol additives that disrupt the foetuses endocrine systems (the endocrine system is a collection of glands that release hormones directly into the blood ie the pancreas, ovaries, testes, thyroid glands etc). Leukaemia can be produced by very small doses of certain chemicals if exposed at a critical time during pregnancy. These chemicals program the developing foetuses for cancer in early life.

The scary thing is that chemicals and hormones that have recently been introduced into our food and the environment are subtle and unpredictable. Man has not been exposed to many of these chemicals for long periods of time and the effects these pollutants may not surface for many years. So we need to act now.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

The American Cancer Association for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer are currently recommending a plant-based diet. This includes heaps of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, legumes and whole grains with some lean protein, such as fish or chicken. It limits red meats, processed meats and refined foods.

Continuous studies show that vegetables (including legumes) and fruits contain numerous vitamins, minerals, fibre, carotenoids, flavonoids and various other phytonutrients that may help prevent cancer. There is probable evidence that the more you eat non-starchy vegetables (such as broccoli, green beans, and squash) and fruits is associated with lower risk of mouth, esophageal, bowel, throat, lung and some types of stomach cancers.

Other observational studies have shown the cancer preventative effect that eating Brassicas (the cabbage family including broccoli and cauliflower) can have. Just 3 servings per week can reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 40%. One or more servings of cabbage per week reduced risk of pancreatic cancer by 38% and eating Brassicas can reduce the risk of breast cancer by over 50%. This potent veggie group contains special compounds called glucosinolates which are responsible for the plants pungent aroma and bitter flavour, as well as their preventative effects on cancer.

Garlic also has a number of powerful compounds including sulfur-based phytonutrients that attack cancer cells. Garlic’s special compounds have also been found to stop carcinogens doing their dirty work in the stomach and in the intestines. Garlic has been found to be protective against colon, lung, breast and prostate cancers, but most effective against stomach and colorectal cancers.

Grains such as wheat, rice, oats, and barley, and the foods made from them, are an important part of a healthful diet. Wholegrain foods (made from the entire grain seed) are relatively low in caloric density and higher in fiber, certain vitamins, and minerals compared to refined flour products. Although evidence of the association between whole-grain foods and different types of cancer is limited, studies support a role for a diet high in fiber in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer.

On the other hand, studies show people who eat a lot of red  (beef, lamb, pork)or processed meats (lunch meats, bacon, hot dogs) have a shorter life span with an increased risk of cancer and heart disease, especial the risk of colorectal cancer. Substances used to preserve processed meats such as nitrates or nitrites can contribute to the formation of nitrosamines, which are involved in carcinogenesis (the creation of cancer). The British Heart Foundation says eating oily fish can help reduce the risk of heart disease and improve your chances of survival following a heart attack. Replacing one serving of red meat with an equivalent serving of fish reduced mortality risk by 7 per cent.

Alcohol is a well established cause of cancer (it has been classified as a carcinogen since 1988) and can be responsible for 7 different types, including breast, liver, mouth and bowel cancers.

Experts believe that smoking is the single biggest avoidable cause of cancer in the world. It causes about a quarter of cancer deaths in the UK, and 90% of lung cancer cases are related to smoking.

Cancer prevention requires a strong immune system, and your immune system gets a boost from regular physical activity. Studies have shown that moderate levels of exercise can reduce the risk of colon cancer by 50 percent and the risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women by at least 20 percent. Regular exercise has also been strongly associated with lower rates of lung and endometrial cancers, as well as heart disease.

Many studies have been done on the benefits of plant-based food and exercise as well as the others on the dangers of certain substances and lifestyles. Some involved tens of thousands participants, and others just hundreds. And even if you don’t think the statistics are 100% accurate there is still a trend, and the trend is that a plant-based wholefood diet and exercise offers protection from chronic diseases, and the latter leaves you open to it.

NOW WHAT?

Sometimes what tends to happen is people don’t relate to a single statistic. It’s easy to put a single statistic out your mind. But when you see those stats and studies together, the puzzle starts piecing itself together. You begin to see the bigger picture and it starts to make a lot more sense.

Humans need plant-based food to survive. Our cells need to be fed what they have evolved to be fed and our immune system needs the support of the phytonutrients found in plant-based food. You wouldn’t put rubbish fuel into a sports car and expect it to function at it’s peak. Processed food and refined sugars are not what our bodies need and it’s not what they are made for. Our cells rely on compounds in plants to get them through the day.

HOW RANDOM IS CANCER?

Anyone has the potential for cancer, but there are ways to arm ourselves and better our chances for a healthy, disease-free life. I think cancer does discriminate a little bit. It discriminates against unhealthy lifestyles, obesity, processed and non-organic food, and toxic jobs (both mentally and physically).

I sometimes heard people say that cancer and heart disease runs in the family. Does cancer and heart disease run in the family or does red meat, fried foods, sweets, butter and twinkies run in the family? Almost in a way it’s easier to just tell ourselves it’s out of our hands, which then takes responsibility away from ourselves.

Cancer research scientists have been concentrating on seeking a cure. Is it just possible that for many of the forms of cancer there will be no magic cure and the most practical approach is to find means of prevention. Educating on the importance of diet and wellbeing. Acting now rather than waiting for something dire to happen.

A healthy lifestyle can help lower your risk of developing certain cancers – you’ve heard that before haven’t you? A balanced diet, drink less alcohol, stop smoking and protect your skin from sun damage. That’s old and boring news. But it’s very important old and boring news that we tend to forget sometimes. We think the solution to a long, happy, healthy life is a long, happy, healthy lifestyle.

The American Institute for Cancer Research has 10 recommendations for cancer prevention.

In a study of over 30,000 women over 6 years they found that the risk of breast cancer was reduced by 60% in women who met at least 5 of the recommendations than those who met none.

The 10 Recommendations are:

1. Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day. Limit sedentary habits.
3. Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods.
4. Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans.
5. Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.
6. If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women a day.
7. Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium).
8. Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer.
9. It is best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for up to 6 months and then add other liquids and foods.
10. After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.

Then, of course, don’t smoke and or chew tobacco.

The trick is to be mindful of what we put in our bodies. Not obsessed. That then becomes unhealthy again. Try have a healthy relationship with food, understand what’s going into your body and know the consequences of the substances you exposed yourself to. Your body is your responsibility. You are the master but you don’t need to become a dictator. You can still have the bad stuff, but only in moderation, and as long as you are also having most of the good stuff.

So, when thinking about food choices we shouldn’t be focused on the calorie count or fat content –  we should rather ask ourselves, is my food natural or processed? Raw or cooked? Sprayed or organic? Does it contain saturated fats or unsaturated fats? Does it deliver its own enzymes? Is it digestible or indigestible? Does it contain fiber? These are the questions that will keep your body healthy and your waistline naturally trim.

We say go crazy on the veggies and fruit, nuts, seeds, mushrooms and oily fish. As much as you like. Then moderation with whole grains and very sugary fruit like watermelons and dates.

Then heaps of moderation on red meat (once a week is a lot) and try avoid refined sugars and processed food altogether. That is the real bad stuff that will get you into trouble.

Then, of course, go organic as much as possible. Drink filtered water. Stay out of sun between 11am and 3pm.

Other things are more complicated to do. London has one of the highest rates of lung cancer and lung disease and this is directly related to the quality of air in the city. The solution – don’t live in ‘The Big Smoke’ too long?

Many specialists in the field of cancer control research now believe that chemicals present in food and the environment in general are responsible for 70 to 80 per cent of all cancers in humans; the remainder are believed to be caused by radiations, viruses or genetics. We have control over the dietary factors and staying on top of this means stronger cells and a stronger immune system, which then means your body can fight off the environmental cancer-causing free radicals much more effectively. All in all, the right diet means the chance of cancer and other chronic illnesses is reduced, which is a very good thing.

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But as the early years of 1900s passed, refined sugar became more accessible to the masses (at one stage white sugar was referred to as white gold because it was so rare). White flour was introduced as a cheaper way to feed the people, but detrimentally it replaced millet and spelt and other such “ancient grains”, which are high in fibre and packed with minerals. White flour, at its core, is an empty filler as its main purpose is to provide bulk and kill bugs.

During the First World War the need to supply loads of food to the troops on the front line without it going bad spawned the canning industry. Scientists at the time proposed that food could be made to last longer by removing it’s enzymes. They tried this and it worked, and and a very profitable idea came about – shelf life. What they didn’t realise at the time was that the enzymes they were removing played a key role in the digestive process in our bodies.

Shelf life is the driving force behind the food processing industry. The longer food lasts, the more profitable it is. Supermarkets caught onto this idea and food processing became more advanced. New ways of removing enzymes were discovered and the shelf life increased. Pasteurisation, chemical additives, bleaching, and other very naughty processes that devitaminise the food we put in our digestive system, were all refined to increase profits and maximise convenience – not for the good of our bodies.

ENZYMES

So what is an enzyme? The life functions of cells are controlled by enzymes and they are present in all living animal and plant cells. Enzymes are responsible for making seeds sprout, for turning leaves brown, and for keeping you alive. They are essential for every chemical reaction that happens in a cell and no living cell can exist without enzymes.

There are three very broad types of enzymes:

PLANT ENZYMES are responsible for the life cycle of the plant, including the decomposition process. They can be found in raw food from plants and it’s very important to include these foods in your diet so you’re not relying on only your own digestive enzymes to do all the work. With the natural plant enzymes contributing to your digestive processes, more of your own enzymes are free to perform other vital tasks within your body.

DIGESTIVE ENZYMES are found in your saliva, stomach, pancreas, and small intestine. They break food down into particles that the body can use to produce energy. These particles are also broken down to make them small enough to be carried across your gut wall and used throughout your body.

METABOLIC ENZYMES keep the cells functioning around the clock. They speed up the chemical reactions that take place in our cells, making them run at their optimum best. They are responsible for our breathing, seeing, walking, thinking, our nerve transmission, brain signals, oxygen exchange, liver function, pH balance in the blood, and even for levelling out our hormones. Everything that happens in your body happens because enzymes are working to make it happen.

The molecule an enzyme reacts with is called a “substrate”. After the reaction the new substance is called a “product”. Enzymes can turn vitamins and minerals from the food we eat into energy the cells need to function at their peak.

Certain enzymes only work with certain substrates. Enzymes are very specific and usually only complete a certain task.

Plant enzymes are the major difference between living, natural, nutritious, wholesome food and dead, vitamin deprived, processed food.

Take a banana. Leave it in the fruit bowl for 4 weeks and what happens? It turns from green to yellow to black. It ripens, then it rots. Now take McDonalds fries and leave it out for a year. Guess what happens? That’s right, nothing. It doesn’t decompose, because it doesn’t have any enzymes in it.

The Happy Meal Project by Sally Davis. Left: The Happy Meal the day it was bought. Right:  The same Happy Meal 6 months later.

Photo: Sally Davis Photography

So when we eat processed food, like those McDonalds fries, the body has to rely solely on it’s own digestive enzymes to break that ‘food’ down into useable forms (even if those forms may not be that useable or useful). No matter how greasy, no matter how much extra cheese, or how much white sugar, or chemicals, no matter how indigestible a food is, your body’s enzymes will try to break it down. But, with hard to digest foods, this can put a lot of unnecessary demands on your natural digestive processes and your body’s resources.

Natural foods like fruits and vegetables are very easy on the body. These foods have their own enzymes which break down the food for you. The body doesn’t need to waste precious energy or produce powerful digestive acids to break these foods down and turn them into a useable form.

Our digestive enzymes can cope with a balanced diet, but if there is a constant flow of manmade, indigestible foods going into our system day after day, month after month, year after year, it begins to accumulate and overrun the system. Remember, our bodies aren’t used to our modern diets. Our ancestors never had to deal with crisps, chocolates, chicken nuggets, ice cream, canned food, pasta, pizza, biscuits, white bread, croissants, beer and all those other manmade indigestibles. The more enzymes we use for digestion, the less are available for the thousands of other tasks which the metabolic enzymes have to perform in our bodies. Think of people who are grossly overweight – they don’t function at their peak. In fact, some even battle to walk or even breathe. All their enzyme energy is spent trying to digest all the indigestible food that they keep sending down into their gut.

Our digestive system has developed from hundreds of thousands of years of animal evolution, originally for the purpose of breaking down plant-based food and the occasional animal protein. This new way of life is merely a blip on our digestive systems’ timeline. The cells lining the digestive system come into direct contact with the foods we eat and the substances contained in our food can affect those cells. Eventually, after years of our systems being subjected to this bombardment of unnatural rubbish, they can’t deal with all the muck and the undigested bits begin to rot, creating hundreds of toxins and free radicals. Then the rotting, undigested debris gets absorbed through the gut wall into the bloodstream and this is where the problems start. From there, these toxins can go anywhere in the body.

The first thing that happens once your system is overrun by toxins is your red blood cells start sticking together. This means they can’t circulate as freely as they normally would so they can’t carry oxygen to the rest of the body as easily anymore. They get stuck going through small blood vessels and block the flow – this leads to the tissues in your body becoming oxygen-deprived.

OXYGEN

Oxygen is absolutely vital to our survival, and in turn, our cells can’t function without it. Normal cells generate energy to grow and thrive inside tiny power stations called mitochondria, and they use oxygen to fuel the chemical reactions that take place there.

Cancer cells, on the other hand, don’t like oxygen very much and most cancers cannot exist well in an oxygen-rich environment. That is why you will never get cancer of the heart – the blood is too well oxygenated for cancer cells to grow.

So how do cancer cells get their energy if they don’t like oxygen? There are two ways for cells to harvest energy from food: cellular respiration and fermentation, which both start with a process called glycolysis, which very simply means turning glucose (sugar) into cell energy (HTP). Normal cells use mainly cellular respiration to harvest energy and this involves oxygen to fuel the reactions. But cancer cells are reprogrammed to change the way the cell functions, including how it harvests its energy. They go about powering the cell by a process called fermentation, which does not require any oxygen. In fact, the fermentation process actually removes oxygen. When you make alcohol, the sugars ferment, and when they ferment they bubble. Those bubbles are the oxygen leaving the party.

So sugar is a type of carbohydrate. Remember all that undigested processed food piling up in your digestive system and then making its way into the bloodstream? Most of that food was carbohydrate – corn flakes, crisps, cookies, cakes, white bread, pizza, french fries, candy and sugary drinks. All these half-digested carbohydrates that were sitting in your digestive system eventually get absorbed into your bloodstream and are circulated around the rest of your body, eventually finding a nice resting spot to settle and ferment. As this fermentation takes place, oxygen is burnt off, creating the kind of environment that cancer cells prefer.

On top of that, the white blood cells, which are supposed to circulate as the immune system, become trapped in all this debris. They are meant to be protecting your system from foreign invaders, as well as preventing the formation of cancer cells. This is when slip-ups happen, as your system simply can’t cope with the assault on the natural balance of things.

Poor oxygenation comes from a buildup of carcinogens and other toxins in the blood, which blocks and damages the cells’ oxygen respiration mechanism. Clumping up of red blood cells slows down the bloodstream and restricts the flow of oxygen to the rest of the body. This then allows fermentation in other parts of the body which creates an acidic, oxygen-free environment in which cancer cells thrive.

ACID vs ALKALINE

Processed food makes the blood more acidic. The lower the pH, the more acidic the blood is and the less oxygen it contains, and the faster a person ages and their cells degenerate. Human blood pH must be in the range of 7.3 – 7.45 – anything outside of that range and we’re dead. The difference between pH 7.3 and pH 7.45 is 70% less oxygen in the blood and, as we’ve just learnt, less oxygen is a very bad thing.

Acidic foods, as you might be able to guess by now, include meat, sugar, alcohol, dairy, white bread and other processed foods. Even emotional stress can raise the acidity in your body. If the body is too acidic it will try to naturally balance itself out, and if their aren’t enough minerals available in your food for it to do so, it will take the essential minerals from its own cells. This leaves the cells weak and vulnerable.

So, it’s important to try and keep our pH level as close to 7.45 as possible and we can do this by ensuring we eat plenty of alkaline foods. These are live, raw foods, especially green vegetables. Even a lemon which is very acidic outside your body becomes alkaline when fully metabolised in your body. You should also drink alkalised water to keep your pH levels balanced.

PLANT-BASED FOOD

This is where the real action is when it comes to providing your body with the fuel it needs to stay healthy. Natural, plant-based food is what humans have been eating for the last 200,000 years. They are packed with the nutrients and minerals the body and cells need to function at their peak. They don’t clog the system as their own enzymes help to break them down. Eating a diet made up primarily of these types of foods goes a long way towards helping you lead a healthy, disease-free life.

For a long time we thought fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals were all the nutrients our bodies required for growth and health, but now we know that there is a new group of nutrients, only found in plants, that hold very exciting prospects for our health and our immune systems. These nutrients are called Phytonutrients (or Phytochemicals). “Phyto” meaning plant and “nutrients” meaning nutrients.

PHYTONUTRIENTS

Phytonutrients occur naturally in plants and act as the plant’s own defence system. They protect the plant from it’s environment by stopping free radical attacks on its cells from ultraviolet radiation, toxins, pollution, viruses (similar to what that causes free radicals in humans) and of course natural predators. Phytonutrients are often concentrated in the skins of fruits and vegetables, and are responsible for their colour, scent and flavour. While our bodies can’t produce their own phytonutrients because they are unique to plants, we can still benefit from the incredible health and defensive properties of these plant nutrients. When we eat plants, their phytonutrients (along with all the good antioxidants in the plant) enter our bodies and strengthen our own immune system to protect our cells from harmful cancer-causing free radicals. The plant’s immune system becomes our immune system!

The Brassica (broccoli, kale and cabbage) and Allium (garlic, onion and leeks) vegetable families especially contain powerful phytonutrients that have shown an ability to kill cancer cells. There are numerous other types of whole foods that contain phytonutrients that are loaded with antioxidants that strengthen our immune system, keeping our cells strong which helps prevent cancer cells forming in the first place. Other foods clean out our digestive system by detoxing the liver and clearing the digestive tract. So the answer doesn’t lie in eating one special “superfood”, like broccoli or beetroot, but rather in many whole foods. An all-round diet of veggies, fruit, seeds and nuts, beans and lentils, mushrooms and oily fish is the key to maintaining this complicated balancing act, and all of these foods offer different benefits.

The estimated breakdown of causes of cancer is mostly environmental, partly diet related, and is hardly ever a result of genetics. We have control over the dietary influences and staying on top of this means stronger cells and a stronger immune system, which then means your body can fight off the environmental cancer-causing free radicals much more effectively. All in all, the right diet means a reduced risk of cancer, which is a very good thing.

So, when thinking about food choices we shouldn’t be focused on the calorie count or fat content –  we should rather ask ourselves, is my food natural or processed? Raw or cooked? Sprayed or organic? Does it contain saturated fats or unsaturated fats? Does it deliver its own enzymes? is it digestible or indigestible? These are the questions that will keep your body healthy and your waistline naturally trim.

x

The post Dead(ly) Food appeared first on Haleo.

SPIRALIZER

This is one of the first pieces of equipment I recommend you invest in! It is not pricey and is a tool which I swear by. This bad boy turns vegetables into noodles pretty quickly and is both user friendly and portable. Courgettes, beetroot, sweet potato, carrots and parsnip are examples of cool vegetables you can turn into noodles. Say goodbye to the traditional pasta and hello to a less bloating and nutritional alternative.

Amazon have plenty to choose from, this is our recommended one:

However, we have recently purchased the spiralizer below – which is more compact, has better blades and makes finer noodles. This is a goody if you want thiner noodles, but the one mentioned above is more preferable for thicker noodles. As it is from Japan, please remember it will take a little longer to ship:

FOOD PROCESSOR

This gem is the business and is a tool we pretty much use everyday. It creates broccoli and cauliflower rice within seconds and grinds up our nuts for raw desserts, sauces, pesto (the list goes on). These differ greatly in price so make sure you think about what you will be using the processor for. For example, you will need a sturdy one with a good motor if you intend on making things like nut butter etc.

In my opinion, you cannot go wrong with the Kenwood brand. The one found in our kitchen is really good – both solid and reasonable in price:

HIGH-SPEED BLENDER

We use this guy most days for either our smoothies, sauces or soups. Vitamix is a great blender, but the price can be rather unsettling, so we went with the Magimax instead. Good blades, blends well, quick and all round awesome:

MICROPLANE GRATER

This handheld grater, allows you to finely shave chocolate, grate fresh ginger and zest lemons. This is wonderful for all of those smaller jobs (like decorating dessert with cacao shavings):

NUT MILK BAG

You need one of these babies if you embark on making your own nut milk (like almond milk). It’s a groovy little nylon bag which strains pulp out of homemade milk:

JUICER

I never understood the point of having a blender AND juicer – surely they did the same thing?  It was only after research did I find that there was indeed a difference. When you juice, you remove the fibre content in the fruit/veges. This means that instead of your body having to break down and digest the food it actually flows directly into your blood stream! Sage is a solid brand and the cleaning of it doesn’t take long either. If you are going to invest in a juicer, this is a goody:

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