Hello and welcome to my first blog post.

My name is Charly and I’m a professional complementary therapist. I specialise in Reflexology – a truly transformative complementary therapy that works alongside allopathic and other schools of medicine (like Ayurveda and TCM) - to help people live healthier, more balanced lives. I also offer Facial Reflexology, non-surgical Face Lifting Treatments, Holistic Massage, treatments for clients being treated for cancer and Healthy Lifestyle Support coaching for my clients (in person and via zoom).

If you want to know more about my background, my qualifications - and why my therapy practice is named after a bird! - check out the “About” section of my website.

This blog is designed to help support my clients – and people who are exploring ways to live healthier and happier lifestyles – to find information, tools, and simple healthy lifestyle hacks that can incorporated into busy lifestyles without adding to the pressure.

This blog is designed to be:

• Realistic: there is no such thing as perfect! Whether that’s in relation to body shape, type, health or habits. All we can do is our best and if I can help to support with what best means for you, then that’s my goal.
• Informed: disclaimer! I, like everyone else, have opinions and preferences and I’m sure that these will come through in the blog. But I’m not about imposing those views or laying down rules. I promise I will make sure that everything I share is well researched and I’ll try to make it clear when something is just my view.
• Achievable: I can’t cover all the bases but what I hope to do here is live up to the name. What I mean by “every body welcome” is that we are all different. I have read so many blogs and posts that tell readers that we “should all practice…” insert term of choice: intermittent fasting / keto-diet / no carb / low carb / veganism / eating high-fat diets / eating low-fat diets / the list goes on! I really try to avoid this: different people may have different allergies, intolerances, preferences, religious or morale constraints on their diet or health conditions which make certain “dietary shoulds” inadvisable, inaccessible, inappropriate or just plain silly. So I will try to share information that can be incorporated to help frame a healthy mind-set around food, movement and wellbeing that can be picked from when appropriate. I also try to take into account range of budgets and the cost of living challenges that are impacting most of us to varying degrees.

So, without further ado, edition no 1.
Pesticides: the impact on our bodies, and how to work around them without breaking the bank.
Pesticides: the monsters hiding under the bread*? What’s the problem?
ok, or under the fruit and veg, too, but that’s not a good pun!

Most conventionally farmed foods (available from most supermarkets or shops, which aren’t labelled “organic”) are cultivated using pesticides and herbicides. These are often chemical compounds which are effective at killing bugs and other plants which would otherwise eat or damage the crops.
These chemicals are also absorbed by the food-crop itself and, through consumption, then pass into our bodies. As you know, everything we ingest has some impact on our body and the traces of chemical pesticides are no exception.

Just like the traces of hormones which pass into the food chain through conventionally and intensively farmed animal products, these chemicals can have a disruptive effect on many of our bodies’ systems and processes including:

• Endocrine or hormonal function
• Digestion
• Reproduction / fertility
• Cognition and brain health
• Auto-immune function

and the list goes on.

But fruit and veg are vital for health: don’t fear the fruit! How to take a balanced approach
Of course this doesn’t just impact fruit and veg: it’s also cereal crops, pulses, herbs, anything cultivated. And the obvious, simple solution to offer is “just buy organic” or “grow your own”. Clearly, these solutions although simple are not easy or even achievable for most of us, especially those on a budget and no outside space at home.

So, what can we do, that is realistic and affordable, so that we can keep up the quantity and variety of fruit, veg, pulses, and wholegrains that are so important for a healthy diet?

• Pesticide-free doesn’t always mean organic. Organic certification is highly regulated. There are growers who may not meet some of the criteria but are committed to not using chemical pesticides or herbicides. If you’re lucky enough to have a local market or independent grocer where they’re knowledgeable about provenance – and happy to share that information – you may be able to buy entirely pesticide free produce without paying the organic premium. Buying local will also lower your food miles: better for you, better for the planet.
• Be selective: some foods are more susceptible to the effects pesticides than others so being wise to the “worst offenders” and avoiding them in favour of other choices, is an easy win. PAN UK publish a regularly updated list of the “Dirty Dozen” – the 12 UK crops with the highest pesticide residues. The most recently measured (2021) list is attached as a pic. Sign up to PAN UK to receive regular updates
• Find a window: if you don’t have outside space but your building allows for window boxes, consider growing some pots of herbs. Herbs count towards the 30 different plants we’re advised to eat every week (see future blog for more!) for top gut-microbiome health, and are big absorbers of pesticides from conventional cultivation.
• Organic on a budget: If you can buy a limited number of organic products try to prioritise those in the “dirty dozen” - see above - (as well, ideally, as animal products including milk as they can contain high hormone levels from feed), or keep your eyes out for the yellow-label short shelf-life discounts to see if they are achievable within your food budget. Even if you can’t eat it straight away, slightly mushy fruits can be heated up – or frozen straight away – to make into natural compotes or toppers for porridge or yogurt and cooking or blanching veg can mean you have a frozen stock of affordable organic at your finger-tips.
• Wash ‘n’ go. There is no such thing as perfect and we shouldn’t be afraid of eating the full range of fruit and veg, even when we’re fully informed about some of the downsides of conventional farming. Good preparation can help reduce some (although not all) of the pesticide residues. Washing, peeling or cooking can be good options depending on the product can help to minimise effects and help to keep us on track with eating with rainbow.
• Avoid ultra-processed foods. When it comes to ultra-processed foods (UPFs) pesticide levels are probably amongst the least of our concerns (more to follow in another blog…). However, it logically follows that the more pre-prepared or processed a food is, the less control we have over its ingredients and – generalising here – the more likely it is to have lower quality or / and conventionally farmed components. The more recognisable ingredients are as their original forms when we eat them, the better they will be for our bodies so that’s some food for thought – and for the lunchbox.

Before I finish I wanted to add a note about the “Clean Fifteen”. In contrast to the Dirty Dozen, this is a list of the fifteen conventionally farmed crops which are least impacted by pesticides. So, when it comes to these, it’s a case of save some money and go for it! However, currently this list only exists definitively for USA-grown crops (check out the EWG website for info if you’re based in the US). Because our farming practices are different, we can’t assume the list will be the same in the UK – the “Dirty Dozen” lists have parallels but aren’t identical. That’s why I’ve personally contacted PAN UK to ask if they might have similar info for the UK – or consider compiling a clean 15 for the next update. Watch this space…

Coming soon…
I hope you have found this post interesting and informative. Topics coming up are going to include:

• Seasonal and sustainable: better for the body, better for the planet
• Seasonal spotlight: monthly highlight of the fruits and veggies in season to help lower our food miles and benefit from produce at its best
• Fitting movement into a busy schedule
• 30 a week: how realistic is it? (with recipe suggestions)
• Exploring the concept of “treats”: re-framing for a balanced approach

If you have any questions or would like to book a wellbeing consultation via zoom (or, for Londoners, find out more about my Reflexology Practice) then drop me an email to charly.meehan@outlook.com

Thanks for reading!