La Chispa

Natura Málaga – three days of natural, healthy and sustainable living

Phil Speirs — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:41:27 +0000

4th healthy living fair will be held on May 25 – 27. Natura Malaga will have a commercial area, exhibition area and will be offering more than 80 completely free activities. The aim of the fair is to showcase a way of life that is healthy and respectful to the environment. Having established itself as the most important multidisciplinary event of its kind in the area this year will see new features and attractions: celebrating Natura Malaga bike day, there will also be ... Continue reading

Transition meeting in Zarzalejo

Phil Speirs — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:34:03 +0000

The first national transition meeting was held on the weekend of April 20 – 22 on the outskirts of Madrid. Here Ana Blanco recounts her experience of the weekend’s activities and some of the conclusions that came out of the gathering.

Friday 20 Each visiting group had made a poster representing their vision of transition in their area. The poster for Coín received lots of attention from the other people for the work on the local currency and the local farmers’ market. Other groups presenting included ... Continue reading

Alternative economies

Phil Speirs — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:05:28 +0000

Last night in Coín’s Casa de Cultura a lively meeting was held exploring alternatives to help regenerate the town’s economy. Viva Coin, who organised the meeting, invited 3 key speakers to offer their insights into possible solutions, including Jose Martin of Coin in Transition, Guillhermo Alvarez of Ciudano por Coin and Andres Pacheco of the Young business people’s association. Jose Martin put forward an arguement following the principles of the global transition movement that we need to develop more local resilience by focusing on our ... Continue reading

Arboretum 1st anniversary

Phil Speirs — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:37:11 +0000

This post is only available in spanish – sorry for any inconvenience….

“si hace falta un sueño para crear cosas nuevas, hacen falta personas para hacerlo realidad”

Como casi todo en esta vida, Arboretum comenzó con un sueño, luego se le dio forma y consistencia teórica y pasó a ser un buen proyecto y finalmente se puso en marcha y ya cogió la categoría, además, de reto. Un reto que con la cabeza y con el corazón, hemos sido capaces de ir construyendo con nuestras manos, TODOS JUNTOS, poco a ... Continue reading

Vegetarian protein guide

Phil Speirs — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:09:03 +0000

By Vanda Lakatos Proteins are the basic building blocks of the human body. They are made up of amino acids, and help build muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails and internal organs. Next to water, protein is the most plentiful substance in the body, and most of it (around 60% to 70%) is located in the skeletal muscles. There are 20 amino acids that are required for growth by the human body and all but eight can be produced in your body. These eight amino acids, called essential ... Continue reading

Quality of Life – Give the body a boost

Phil Speirs — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:05:07 +0000

More tales from America this issue, following our Health Detective’s recent sabbatical at Dr. Young’s pH Miracle centre in California. This time, the story of 15 year old Linda, recently diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of cancer that appears in the lymph nodes. While this has a successful cure rate of over 80% with traditional chemotherapy and radiation, this article shows how complementary care is still critical when people use conventional medicine.

I met Linda in December last year, just after she had finished ... Continue reading

The Bazi: Know Your Life Map

Phil Speirs — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:01:18 +0000

Since ancient times, kings and princes were surrounded by the best astronomers to see what luck they had in store. In the I-Ching, Book of Changes, it states “those who know, make less mistakes.”

Among practitioners of authentic Feng Shui there is a saying that first is destiny, then your own luck and then Feng Shui. We can expand on this to explain that first is ‘Heaven Luck’: what the Universe has provided for you. Second is ‘Man Luck’, which you, with your willpower, can get; ... Continue reading

The culinary garden: Stevia

Phil Speirs — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:57:11 +0000

Hierba dulce is the literal translation of the term Guarani ka’a he’e, made up from the words ka’a or caa (herb) and he’e or je (sweet), due to the sweet taste of its leaves. Caajé, green sugar or stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a small perennial plant about 80 -100cm tall, native to the region of Monte Grosso (Paraguay / Brazil), where it grows in a tropical climate. In our region stevia loses its leaves during the winter and sprouts again in spring. In late summer, ... Continue reading

Cambridge weight loss

Phil Speirs — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:54:10 +0000

In the early 1960′s Dr Alan Howard developed an interest in overweight and obesity, and began to investigate methods of weight reduction. Together with Dr Ian McLean-Baird of the West Middlesex Hospital, Dr Howard organised a National Symposium on Obesity in 1968, and went on to develop what they regarded as ‘the perfect diet’. What they wanted to achieve was a formula food with the right level of protein to protect lean tissue, the right level of carbohydrate to promote a mild ketosis and eliminate ... Continue reading

A better digestion naturally

Phil Speirs — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:49:57 +0000

Too often we dismiss the embarrassing symptoms of bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhoea or indigestion and we (over) use anti-acid pills or laxatives. Medications provide a quick fix but can allow the problem to become chronic and sometimes evolve into more serious issues such as IBS, ulcerative colitis or even colon cancer.

In Chinese Medicine, a healthy digestion is considered crucial for your energy levels, immune resistance and overall mood and its use to help these disorders is becoming more common place in Europe.

Paula, a ... Continue reading