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As I sit here heading into another Covid lockdown, this time from the Delta variant, I ponder about our future. Will Covid Sars-2 prove to be our dinosaur extinction moment? Will the Homo sapien’s story end here at the hands of a virus. Perhaps a virus engineered in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, which was funded by American corporate interests. It all sounds like a scenario drawn from the pages of an airport bookstore thriller. However, over 4 million people have lost their lives from this pandemic and deaths are not slowing up anytime soon.Continue Reading

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Sacred Chef Secrets & Recipes by Sudha Hamilton

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‘Microbiome’ – Micro meaning very small – Bio meaning life – Me meaning you or me. Remember this term because it is going to become better recognised as an important factor in human health and our longevity. Human microbiome is defined as the collection of genes found in all microbes residing within us – basically all the bacteria, fungi, viruses, and microorganisms inhabiting our bodies. ‘Microbiota’, another term, refers to all microorganisms inhabiting a particular environment like the gut. There are many trillions of these microscopic entities residing in our human gastrointestinal tract, on our skin, and most places. Long have we ignored this micro-environment and rather focused on larger, more readily seen matters, possibly to the detriment of our health and understanding of life. Remember that microbes have been around for a lot longer than we have (billions of years) and are easily the most successful life forms on this planet.  In the current climate, with a global viral pandemic ravaging the world, we are all suddenly more aware of the micro-realm. Indeed, our awareness of microbiome greatly increased around 2002, when gene sequencing technology became available to identify microbes and their influence. Following this there has been a huge explosion in the study of microbiome and humans.Continue Reading

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human skeleton model

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We are all born into this life without our consent. Nobody asks us whether we would like to play the game of life in human form. Observing the unfocused gaze of a newborn babe one witnesses a magical tabula rasa moment. Consciousness is, it seems, at its earliest manifestation, the state of the watcher. A baby observes via its eyes and visual sensory apparatus within the brain. We, as human beings are made up of many trillions of human cells. There are 200 different types of cells within the body and none of these are individually conscious or sentient. Consciousness: Free will and cellular facts tell a story that is wildly divergent from the narratives derived from religion and lore.Continue Reading

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Listening to state premiers declare to interstate and overseas visitors, “We don’t want you!” I can’t help think that these bold statements ring with a rare truthfulness in the mouths of these politicians. Parochial Australians have had to grow up embracing tourism in order for their nation’s economy to flourish but deep down I suspect they would rather tell all, “to go and fuck off!” COVID-19 the pandemic has given all and sundry a chance to indulge their xenophobia. Donald Trump called this coronavirus the “Chinese virus” and we all know how well such statements play to his supporters in the United States. Closing borders and states of emergency bring out deep rooted racist attitudes in many citizens, as they seek to blame someone for their troubles. Anxiety breeds panic, just, have a look at the supermarket shelves across Australia. The message really is – COVID-19 we don’t want you!Continue Reading

A doctor administering an intramuscular immunization to a middle–aged woman. Original image sourced from US Government department: Public Health Image Library, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under US law this image is copyright free, please credit the government department whenever you can”.

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Your daily dose of the virus. COVID19 continues to roll out and over countries across the globe. The pandemic of this novel coronavirus is affecting human beings everywhere. Older people are in fear for their lives and thousands are dead or dying. Australia is facing the largest levels of unemployment in more than 80 years. Lines of desperate people snake outside the doors of Centrelink offices and down streets, as they wait their turn to get welfare. Businesses have been forced to close their doors, including gyms, pubs, cafes, libraries, cinemas, clubs and restaurants. Tens of thousands of casual staff have been let go with immediate effect. The world is suddenly a very different place. We are all being dispensed with our daily dose of the virus news, which is in fact updating hourly. Continue Reading

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I was originally going to title this piece, “My Bad Teeth”, and then I thought that for half a century my teeth have been hanging in there, literally. Certainly, I was not born with immaculate white teeth, as you see on TV and at the movies. My teeth have always been more of a yellowish white. I must confess that I did not treat my teeth well in my formative years. I ate too many sweets, too often, and did not listen to the sage words of my dear mother. I knew it all from a very early age. My hard headed and opinionated self was bullet and dental caries proof. Actually, I wasn’t, but I thought I was. Isn’t that so stereotypical of youth? We think we know it all and yet… My teeth: Deep roots into psyche…Continue Reading

a person holding on to belly fat

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Our skin is our single largest living organ and it literally defines who we are. Without our skin, we would be a skeleton in a puddle of blood and that would take some getting used to, I imagine. Skin is often derided for being at the surface of things and thus incorrectly labelled superficial – so skin deep – but what this elastic covering achieves for our anatomical structure is more than just a tidy appearance. Skin breathes and like a baboon’s bottom its colour and appearance indicates our state of health – it is a barometer for all to see, of our moods, our level of hydration, our age and whether we are succumbing to disease.Continue Reading

Sacred Chef dishes

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We are not alone. In fact we are hosts to trillions of micro-organisms happily munching on our waste products and doing a sterling job within our digestive system. It may come as a bit of a shock to those of us with obsessive compulsive cleaning tendencies,  that killing all the tiny invisible bugs is not a really good idea. Bacteria are all around us, within us and performing vital tasks for our health and the health of this planet.  Of course like everything in existence there are good and bad bacteria, not intrinsically bad but just bad for humans and probably quite good for something else. The good bacteria,  or gut flora,  are involved in a myriad of useful functions, like fermenting unused energy substrates, producing vitamins for us, preventing the growth of bad bacteria, producing hormones to help us store fats and improving our immune functioning.  If we did not have all these bacteria munching away our bodies would be unable to digest many of the carbohydrates that we consume, such as certain starches, fibres, proteins, and sugars like lactose. Studies with animals indicate that we may need to eat 30% more calories to maintain our stable body weight without the helpful presence of gut flora. The good bacteria transforms carbohydrates into short chain fatty acids and these are able to be processed by our cells into nutrition  and energy. Lactic and acetic acid are also produced by this saccahrolytic fermentation and they are used by our muscles. There are numerous other positive functions supported by good bacteria in our systems.Continue Reading

Kidney, organ png sticker, medical

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In our western health culture the kidneys are perhaps one of the most invisible and possibly neglected bodily organs. These two vaguely bean shaped organs are located near our spine at the small of the back, just below the liver and spleen. Our kidneys matter. Responsible, in the main, for the removal of urea, mineral salts, toxins and other waste products from the blood, they are seemingly behind us and out of sight, out of mind. Perhaps their association with excreting waste has led to a lack of polite conversation about them over the years. The kidney is not, at this juncture in time, the somewhat sexy organ that the liver has been of late, with its infamous association with drugs, alcohol and partying. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) however prescribes far greater influence for the kidneys upon our physical health and indeed our lives.Continue Reading