Le Love

Crave!

and some love from me!

London Spa Girl x

Memoires of a rainy day

favourite flowers from my favourite flower man

Healthy lunch

Freshly squeezed orange juice

That's right!

Pineapple breakfast

Temptations temptations....

London Spa Girl x

Vitamin D3 - Flu and bad mood buster

The current weather in London is driving me mad.

It is without a doubt that English weather is unpredictable to say the least! One day you may have clear, sunny skies and the next snow may be falling (I know, be careful with the S word!). Not only that, but there are vast changes in the forecast within hours.

The long days of darkness that occur in the UK can lead to a deficiency of Vitamin D3. The deficiency, called Seasonal Affective Disorder,  can result in experiencing depression symptoms.

Vitamin D3 supplements can't replace our human need for sunlight but if you're feeling Aaaaaaahhhhh!!! like me when we can't get enough sun, the best thing to do is to take supplements to get our Vitamin D3 up to optimum levels, boosting the mood, protecting the bones , prevent the flu and improving the overall health.    

D3 is growing in popularity as a way to prevent flu. Current medical research has identified a correlation between seasonal Vitamin D3 levels and the flu. The more sun, the less illness. The less sun, the more flu. Research has also shown that vitamin D3 prevents respiratory infections in adults and children. Lots of flu remedies provide flu relief, but Vitamin D actually prevents flu. It is especially effective at preventing respiratory illness making it a perfect flu medicine.

You can get your Vitamin D3 from any health store such as Holland and Barrett or the Wholefoods. I personally prefer Solgar's D3. You can buy it online here

Minimum strength D3 for Londoners is 2200 International Units.
Click here to buy online from Solgar's website

London Spa Girl x

The winners of my search for a perfect foundation

First a quick overview of my skin type and what I look for in a foundation:

• I have normal/combination skin
• I am sensitive (to artificially fragranced beauty products)
• I prefer medium coverage that's natural
• I look for something that will photograph well
• My skintone is olive with yellow tones, I'm typically the 3rd shade in the line ups, my colors I've been matched to are Chanel Shell/Beige which is equivalent to what's in between MAC NC30-35
• I've never found a MAC foundation formula that works for my skin

Revlon's Photo ready corrector's sold at Boots

Click here to buy Chanel's Vitalumiere's online or
go at any Boots store

The one I'm currently obsessed with is
Revlon's Photo ready
You can buy it online here or at any Boots store

Revlon Photo ready photographs really well!

Chantecaille's Future skin  is sold only at Space NK.
Click here to buy online 

Giorgio Armani's Luminous silk is sold at Selfridges,
Harrods, Harvey Nichols and other department stores
Click here to buy online

Dior's Nude's sold at Boots. Click here to buy onilne

Spring cleanse and tan with fresh carrot juice

I'm often asked to name one thing that can be done right away to get healthier. With respect to food choices, the best suggestion I have is to begin drinking freshly pressed vegetable juices. Drinking just one freshly pressed juice each day is a reliable way of infusing your body with a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that can protect your cells against premature aging and disease. Because they are fast acting, juices act a little like a blood transfusion.

By fresh juices, I do not mean those items labelled 'fresh' on supermarket shelves which are, in fact, watery processed liquids that have been packed in cardboards or plastic and are full of chemicals, colourings and preservatives. Most of these have been heated to extend their shelf-life, which means that most of the enzymes and and nutrients have been destroyed in the process.

I usually have a fresh carrot juice every morning or a carrot/fennel/celery mix preferably from an organic health store. Wholefoods, Planet organic, Crussh juice bars are all excellent choices.

The power and goodness of carrots - Carrots are regarded as the 'herbal healer' of skin diseases as they promote the repair of skin tissue.

They are rich in antioxidants Beta Carotene, Alpha Carotene, Phytochemicals, Calcium and Potassium and vitamins A, B1, B2, C and E, which are also considered antioxidants, protecting as well as nourishing the skin. They contain a form of calcium easily absorbed by the body. Finally they also contain Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorous and Sulphur - better than a wonder drug!!

Carrot juice has very good anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous and anti-aging properties. Carotene is a known anti-oxidant, which can prevent degenerative processes in the cells and has great anti-aging effects. The compounds containing in carrot juice also have antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties. Also, drinking raw carrot juice can be helpful for lowering the symptoms of stresses and normalizing the function of your digestive system.

I also keep a great natural tan throughout the year by drinking fresh carrot juice. I swear by it!  It's all due to the high concetration of beta-carotene which gives the carrots their orange colour.

London Spa Girl x

Things that make me happy

Awesome entrances

Long al fresco lunches with friends

Secret Locations



Every girl's dream!

Dream kitchen

Corsica

Sassy men

Long Al Fresco lunches

Inspirational ladies

Weekends in the country

Pretty vase and flowers

Acid/Alkaline food balance for health & great looks

The cause of disease and bad looks?
Many doctors, herbalists and nutritionists believe that the explanation may come down to these simple words: pH imbalance

An acidic pH occurs from an acid forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients.

Over time, an imbalanced diet of refined foods with excess animal protein and few fruits and vegetables can allow our bodies to slip into a state of mild acidosis.

We consume too much acid producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks. We use too many drugs and artificial chemical sweetners like NutraSweet, Sweet 'N Low, or Aspartame (in diet drinks and sugar-free products) which are pure poison and extremely acid forming.

If you have a health problem, most likely you are acidic. Research shows that unless the body's pH level is slightly alkaline, the body cannot heal itself. So, no matter what type of method you choose to use to take care of your health problem, it won't be effective until the pH level is up. If your body's pH is not balanced, you cannot effectively assimilate vitamins, minerals and food supplements.

Balancing the pH is a major step toward well-being. To maintain a good health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods. High quality supplements and digestive products help tremendously. Below are some of my personal choices:

Alkaline Forming Foods

• Multi-strain probiotics
• Greens – especially green vegetables, chlorella and wheatgrass, plus fibrous cruciferous vegetables and broccoli, alfa-alfa
• Vegetables and natural herbs like aubergines, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, celery, chard, chicory, chives, cucumber, dandelion, dill, endive, fennel,green beans, kale, kelp, lettuce, mushrooms, parsnips, peppers, potatoes, radishes, sorrel, soya beans, spinach, squash, turnips, watercress
• Olive oil, fish oils, flaxseed oil, coconut oil
• Sunshine and vitamin D3 (Try Solgar's D3 2200 International Units)
• Ginger, natural willow bark, garlic, onions, apples, curcumin/turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
• Virtually all fresh fruits especially apples, apricot, avocado, blackberries, blackcurrants, cherries, cranberries, currants, raisons, dates, figs, grapes, lemons, limes, lychees, mangoes, melon, olives, oregano, papaya, peaches, pears, raspberries, redcurrants
• Raw honey, especially manuka
• Exercise, yoga, meditation
• Sodium bicarbonate
• Apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon or lime juice
• High quality mineral complex such as Nature's plus Ultra-Mins

An ideal breakfast would be an enzyme rich fruit salad. Good source of enzyme foods are: papaya, pineapple, apple, grapes, kiwi, mango, dates, raw honey. Try to avoid banana only due to it's nutritional density. Plain live yoghurt or raw honey could be added in small quantity.



My lunch usually consists of raw veggies such as tomatoes, broccoli, avocado or fresh guacamole, red peppers, radishes and easy to digest protein such as feta cheese, goats cheese or mozzarella and olive oil.
On the go I'd ideally opt for a chicken salad wrap or a lentil (bean) salad, felafel or salmon sandwitch (wrap or pita bread) and a veggie soup.



Acid forming foods

• Synthetic oestrogens
• Meat, eggs, dairy
• Fruits and vegetables picked unripe and shipped a long way
• Pulses, grains and nuts
• Fish and shell fish
• Processed, prepared, canned foods
• Dried meats – hams, saugage, bacon
• All refined carbohydrate products – pasta, white bread, white rice, pies, pastries, cakes, noodles, refined breakfast cereals, doughnuts, dumplings
• Salted snacks – crisps, peanuts
• All cows’ dairy
• Fizzy sweet drinks
• Prepacked fruit juices
• Caffeine – stimulates liver to release glucose into blood stream (even diet drinks!)
• Preservatives, jams etc
• Pickled products
• Alcohol
• Sugar
• Synthetic drugs
• Lack of sleep
• Stress, negative emotions
• Tobacco

Since 40% of your food have to be acid forming go for the healthy options such as brown rice, pulses such as chickpeas, beans and lentils and fatty fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel.



An excellent sourse of potassium and the fastest way to alkalize your body is by drinking fresh vegetable juices in between meals.

I usually start my day with a carrot/fennel/celery mix from the Wholefoods or Kitchen & Pantry in Notting hill or a fresh carrot/spirulina from Crush! or any Lebanese restaurant. You can always add some ginger in your juice. It aids your body in its sugar metabolism.

If vegetable juice is not your cup of tea, then a great inexpensive alternative is an apple cider vinegar - take 1 tbsp of in a glass of water first thing in the morning. Fresh lime or lemon juice is a great choice as well.
If no-one comments within two weeks on how great you're looking - you must be cheating!

Good luck

London Spa Girl x

Things that make me happy

Sassy ladies (Coco Chanel)

Amazing decors!

This is Love

Mamma mia!

Wow moments

London Spa Girl x