Hungry For Change DVD Review

Hungry For Change - Your health is in your hands.

This latest release DVD from the makers of “Food Matters” is informative, educational and entertaining. For many who already lead a natural, healthy lifestyle, the information contained in the DVD will confirm and cement your views on healthy eating. However, for a majority of people who have veered off the path of healthy living, this film provides insightful information on how commonly consumed processed ‘foods’ are contributing to the declining health in western countries.

As with their previous documentary “Food Matters”, “Hungry For Change” encompasses a combination of interviews with health professionals & testimonials from health advocates, intertwined with the fictional tale of an average woman living a standard mainstream life. We follow the journey of this woman who, for all intents and purposes is living a normal life, however is not feeling optimal health due to her less than healthy lifestyle choices.

Specifically, this film looks at weight loss (or weight gain) issues and addresses the influence of diet drinks, monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame, artificial colours, flavours and sweeteners in processed foods and how they are influencing the overall health of western society. During the course of the documentary, suitable alternatives to processed foods are provided to encourage the viewer to take greater responsibility for their own health and to move away from the marketing incentives of denatured processed foods.

Snippets of wisdom from health experts like Dr Alejandro Junger, Joseph Mercola and Dr Christiane Northrup are seamlessly intertwined with interviews with healthy eating advocates such as Jon Gabriel (“Gabriel Method”), Kris Carr (“Crazy Sexy Diet”) and Australia’s own Joe Cross (“Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”). Refreshingly, there are no products that are being marketed, no brands being pushed and no gimmicky sales pitches.

Ultimately, “Hungry For Change” is the kind of documentary that you will go back to and watch a few times, just to refresh your passion and motivation for living a healthy life and choosing nutritious foods. I would recommend this film for anyone who feels that they have lost sight of their health/weight/life goals and needs some gentle persuasion to refocus their journey towards a healthy & happy life.

For the month of August 2012 www.downtoearthorganics is selling this latest DVD Hungry For Change at 20% off the recommended retail price. Get your copy here while we still have stock!

Down To Earth Organics – your one stop natural and organic stop

How Supermarkets Are Regaining Control Over Consumer Choices.

While many of us do our best to ensure that a majority of our purchases are local, ethical and environmental, ultimately, finances and necessity (read convenience) overtakes our cynicism and we end up buying our organic chickpeas from a major supermarket chain.

If we rewind a few decades to the 1950s and beyond, consumers had little or no choice when it came to consumable items; the store keeper chose the brand and allocated a price for our purchases. This relationship between the consumer and store keeper all changed when somewhere in the 60s when the supermarket was introduced and consumers we permitted to browse the isles for products. Consumers could themselves select what they wanted, a turning point in the control of consumer choice.

These abundant choices continued through to the present day where we no longer use a basket to carry our groceries, we need a tank sized trolley to cart our purchases to our self-serve checkout. We have endless choices for any item that consumes our attention and we well and truly have control of our choices. Or do we?

Our supermarket roller coaster ride has been spent for many of us with our eyes wide shut. While some may have been quietly hoping for the dynamic range of choices to be minimised (do we really need an entire isle dedicated to soft drink?), for some of us we are now becoming cognisant to the fact that we really have not been in control of our choices for some time now.

Like the evil sister that quietly studies and entices our boyfriend until she finally covets his affections right under our naive nose, supermarkets have been studying our purchases (loyalty cards), understanding our preferences (stocking organic chickpeas) and providing us with incentives to spend more (how many times have I spent $28 on groceries and found myself disappointed that I didn’t spend enough to get my fuel voucher?).

How could we not have seen this coming? Obviously there have been some big monopoly decisions that have occurred in order to manipulate the general course of events, but I suppose it really started when some of the big guys realised that the idea of a supermarket or no label brand was attractive to the consumer. I remember in the 80s when the supermarket brands were originally shelved near the ‘Homebrand’ and ‘Black & Gold’ budget brands, until that is, they did their research and realised that there was more money to be had in eliminating competitors’ brands from the shelves and stocking their own products.

For me, this really all came to crisis point when I realised that the organic chickpeas that I had been unashamedly purchasing from a major supermarket chain was no longer available. I tracked down my cherished brand of organic chickpeas at a local independent grocer, only to find that their price was more than double what I had been purchasing them for. I also realised that a huge majority of natural and organic ‘healthy alternatives’ that you could previously purchase in supermarkets have been replaced with identical supermarket products. Granted, these products may well come from the same farms and be manufactured in the same factories and simply packaged differently, who really benefits here?

Being both a consumer and a small business owner myself this really made me realise that some of my purchases as a consumer were not in line with my beliefs as a small business owner. As we grow and learn, each of us begins to understand the value of how even our smallest purchases influence our global economy. Ultimately it is up to us as consumers to support small independent businesses, to allow ourselves to sustain and relinquish control of our choices and enable small businesses to remain as an integral part of our economy. As I learn to make more conscious and aware choices with buying natural, organic and local products from independent small business I hope this will somehow influence others to do the same.

Choose natural, choose organic, choose local.

Mohdoh Mouldable Aromatherapy Review

Mohdoh is one of the most innovative healing products currently on the market; it combines aromatherapy with colour therapy and play therapy. I have had a couple of pots of Mohdoh sitting on my desk for the last few weeks, unopened and waiting patiently for me to play with them.

Originally designed and manufactured in the UK, Mohdoh Mouldable Aromatherapy products have already won Best New Non Food Product of the Year for 2010 and 2011 at the Natural and Organic Show in the U K. Mohdoh utilises a non-toxic dough base as a carrier for natural essential oils chosen for their therapeutic properties.

As the dough is kneaded, essential oils are not only vaporised and inhaled, but also absorbed through the skin. The concentration of oils is controlled to ensure that Mohdoh is both safe and effective. Specific colours are used for each formulation selected to balance the energy centres that may be out of harmony within the body. The synergistic effects of touch and smell have been shown to be very effective in treating a number of stress related complaints and the tactile nature of the dough has in itself a soothing, calming effect.

So, today I finally opened my very own pot of Mohdoh Mouldable Aromatherapy - Think, I was initially attracted to the yellow colour, and the uplifting mix of essential oils – rosemary, basil, rosewood and palmarosa.

After playing with my Think Mohdoh for a few minutes I was surprised with the level of detail that has been researched and tested with the design of this product. The blend of essential oils is aromatic enough, but not overpowering, the pliability of the dough is perfect for massaging the hands and the texture of the dough allows for the release of the essential oils, but does not leave your hands sticky or slimy. I particularly liked the perfect quantity of doh per container that you can put back into its pot and use another time – good for another three months.

What I really like is that this therapy is totally non-invasive, suitable for children, the elderly or as a gift for someone that may already have everything. I still have the uplifting scent of my Mohdoh Think on my hands as I type. Such a perfect 'at work, at home or at the office' therapy that you don’t need to have any special training or instructions to use – just squeeze and play!

Take a peek at our range of Mohdoh Mouldable Aromatherapy  Products at our Down To Earth Organics online store:

Think - Stimulates and improve concentration
Travel - Relieves travel anxiety and nausea
Calm - Relaxes those constantly on the go
Breathe - Provides comfort from coughs and colds
Sleep - Aids restful sleep
Quit - Helps you quit smoking
Slim - Helps lose weight
Headeez - Helps lto relieve headaches and tension
Unwind - Gently calms and relieves worry

For more information on Mohdoh products see our article “Mohdoh Mouldable Aromatherapy FAQ” at Down To Earth Organics