Jelly Bush Honey - Australia's own active honey.

Did you know that Australia has an active honey, one that is equivalent to New Zealand's Manuka?
I didn't. But today on a visit to my local farmers market I discovered that we do. Australia's active honey is called Jelly Bush Honey, it comes from the tree species Leptospermum, the same species that manuka honey comes from. Apparently out of the 10 species we have in Northern NSW, 3 of these have been discovered to be active. Jelly bush honey has the same uses as manuka honey and may be used medicinally for cuts, bites, grazes, any open wounds and it appears to work wonders on ulcers, especially when nothing else does. Studies have shown that honey derived from active leptospermum trees has antibacterial, antiviral, anti fungal and antimicrobial properties to name a few.
Have a look at the following articles - http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25653017-30417,00.html

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s978921.htm

Also next time you see a bee in the garden, give it a little word of thanks. Albert Einstein once predicted that if bees disappeared humans would soon follow. And we may well have the opportunity to find out if this is true. Bee populations across the world are dying, some are being decimated by a small mite called varroa destructor, Australia is the only Country in the world who's honey bee populations are varroa free. But there seem to be other reasons also, reasons scientist are not completely aware of, bees, like frogs may be an indication of how well our environment is coping, so perhaps we should take note.

"Slow Death by Plastic"

A new book in which the two authors undertook experiments on themselves to assess the toxicity of every day life - have a look at their website. I'm definitely going to buy the book.

Link - http://slowdeathbyrubberduck.com/

Also have a look at the following youtube video of the authors being interviewed on Daily Planet (a U.S programme).

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obFf4qVB0fk

Food Inc. the movie

Have a look at the trailer for the new movie Food Inc.

As the caption says - "You may never look at dinner the same way"

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Naturally Nurtured is born

So it's time to actually put my fingers to work and start blogging - this is a first for me.
I'm new to blogging and I'm sure way behind the times, it took me a while to even understand the concept of blogging, I am now enlightened after a few trips to wiki and a few searches on google. Don't get me wrong I'm not computer illiterate, but I use my computer the same way I use my mobile phone, as long as I can make a phone call, text someone and use the calculator I'm happy. I'm sure there is a multitude of hidden extras on my laptop that I am unaware of. Take the term laptop for instance, do people even use that term anymore, because I really feel like I'm the only one that does? When did a laptop become a notebook? Anyway, after all that you may be asking.... So why am I now here? Well for a number of reasons, mainly due to a concern for us as a species and the world as a whole.


Firstly I should tell you that I am a mother, a qualified Naturopath, Nutritionist and Massage Therapist, along with many other titles, wife, cook, friend, daughter, sister, aunty, gardener, chook chaser, obsessive book reader and seeker of the truth. So what does all this mean? It means ultimately that I like being aware of what I am eating, what I store my food in, what medications I subject myself and my family to, what I buy in general and my impact of the world. But mostly I just want to share with other people the effects we as a modern, industrialised world have on each other, and I would like to share information I find with other people who may not have thought to even consider looking at something like that. I'm interested in many things, so this blog will cross a wide range of topics. I'm interested in helping save animal species, the effects of malaria on 3rd world countries, the fact that bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in babies bottles but has just been listed as toxic in Canada. So just come along and have a look and we can share together. Welcome.