Sydney Fragrance have created a stunning collection of luxury soy based candles.  Each candle has been designed to evoke memories of Sydney's beautiful harbour, cities and countryside.  
 
The candle I have been using in my home is called ‘fireside’. I have always been drawn to woody fragrances. This candle contains vetiver, cinnamon, bergamot and cedarwood. I find this to be quite a sexy scent, it's earthy, spicy and musky.  

With the scent of this candle, I can imagine sitting in a cozy log cabin, in bushland by the sea, drinking a glass of red wine.  It also reminds me of how an expensive men's cologne would smell, a seductive smoky blend of incense, cigars and leather.   

There is nothing better than arriving back to a cosy house with beautiful scents in the air.   Some candles I have used before, I open the box and the scent disappears within a few days.   Not with this one.  I have received
so many comments from visitors asking me what that beautiful smell is.  Once the candle is lit, the scent is even stronger and the burning power of the candle lasts for a long time.  The candle actually has 80 hours worth of burn time.     

Made with a double cotton wick, non-toxic soy based and large  beautiful glassware with a woodgrain lid. Each fragrance is conceived and formulated by world class perfumers ensuring a high-quality and unique candle.
I love this scent and I can't wait to try the other candles in this collection.

Available at Sydney Fragrance, as part of their 'scent of Australia' collection.

By: Jessica Sparkles

By: Hannah Tong

Protein is vital for your health. Your body needs it to create skin, muscles, bones and hair. These five foods that contain the healthiest protein for pregnant women will ensure healthy growth while preventing low birth weight.

These food options are also great at maintaining your tissue health. Since you’re pregnant, your daily protein requirement shoots up to 71 grams. It’s an extra 25 grams of this nutrient each day.

1. Eggs

In one egg, you’ll get 90 calories. On top of that, you’ll have more than 12 vitamins and minerals. Plus, they’re rich in quality protein.

In addition to protein, eggs are rich in choline. It’s a nutrient that promotes the growth and brain health of your unborn child. Thus, it’s a nutrient that you need to prevent neural tube defects development.

You can even have eggs that contain omega-3 fatty acids. They’re vital for the brain and vision development. Opt for DHA-enriched eggs that contain omega-3s.

Ask your physician about how much you can consume per day. It’s safe to eat one to two eggs if you’re pregnant. However, if you’re worried about cholesterol, try eating just the egg whites, instead of the whole eggs.   Also, make sure eggs are fully cooked.

2.Poultry

A serving of roasted turkey can offer you 28 grams of protein. It’s in dark-meat cuts. The white breast meat gives you 30 grams of it.

If you can’t have turkey, try getting chicken as it gives you up to 28 grams of light-meat. A turkey burger can have 25 grams.

So, if you make a pasta sauce, substitute ground turkey, instead of meat. Or you can top your green salad with roasted chicken. Another way is to toss a cold turkey with your kale.

Or you can pair your favorite fruit with poultry to give you an excellent protein-rich meal. The fruits you can have may be diced apples, orange, halved grapes.

There are tons of ways on how to prepare this food to give you a protein-rich meal to meet the daily requirement.

3. Salmon

It’s not only beneficial for you but also for your unborn child. Intake of this type of fish increases your body’s omega-3 fatty acid levels and your child’s too.

Since it’s rich in omega-3s, it’s great in boosting your mood. It’s not the same as swordfish or shark as salmon has a low amount of mercury. It’s a compound that’s harmful to your baby’s nervous system development.

Despite that, you must only take up to 12 ounces a week to avoid consuming too much mercury. Then, ensure that you’re eating a farmed salmon.

4. Beans

They’re not only rich in protein, but they’re also high in iron. Your body needs this mineral to build RBCs for your growing baby.

The iron levels in the beans can replenish hemoglobin in the body, thereby, preventing iron deficiency. It also helps in fetus development while it assists the placenta to grow. 

Beans also contain amino acids that are helpful fighting against infections. It strengthens your immune system, so you can prevent being sick while pregnant.

The antioxidant contents of beans are helpful for you and your baby’s skin. Through antioxidants, you can prevent yourself from getting gestational diabetes. Then, if you choose the dark-colored beans, you’re getting a higher amount of antioxidant.

Even though beans are healthy as they’re rich in vital nutrients, never over-indulge yourself. Keep in mind that they also contain purines, which can cause gout or kidneys stones if you over consume.

If you need to eat beans, make sure that you’re getting the fresh ones and not the canned options. The reason for this is that canned beans are dangerous to your health because of their preservatives.

5. Greek yogurt

It can make a nutritious addition to your pregnancy diet. It gives you the nutrients that you need each day. However, ensure that it’s not made with unpasteurized milk, which contains Listeria.
 
Listeria is a bacterium that can cross the placenta. As it crosses, it can cause life-threatening infection to your baby.

So, ensure that you're getting pasteurized Greek yogurt. It offers you twice the amount of protein that you can get from a regular yogurt. Thus, it makes it favorite pregnancy foods.

Apart from protein, Greek yogurt is also rich in calcium. You’ll need this mineral because most of it will go to your baby’s bones, teeth and nails. If you don’t consume enough, your unborn child will have to get it from your stores.

When that happens, you’ll suffer from a calcium deficiency. A cup of this food will give you 20 percent of your calcium need per day.

In addition to that, Greek yogurt can also resolve bloating while pregnant. Bloating is a common issue because of gastritis and indigestion. When you consume yogurt, you can easily eat those hard-to-digest foods without having to worry about bloating.

Plus, it contains less sugar. That said, you can prevent yourself from getting too much sugar and gain weight.
Since it contains prebiotics, it can keep your gut healthy. As a result, you can avoid IBS and diarrhea, which are common complaints among pregnant women.

Conclusion

When you’re pregnant, you can have a lot of foods that you must avoid. You should consult your physician about the food items that you can and cannot eat. In this way, you can avoid complications.

Protein in your diet is vital as it can also affect the health of your body. Thus, you must consume the right amount of this mineral to ensure that you’ll have a healthy body and baby.

The five foods that contain the healthiest protein for pregnant women listed here are proven to be safe for your condition. However, if you’re in doubt, you need to talk to your doctor or dietitian to ensure that you’re getting enough and avoid overconsumption.

​Hannah Tong is the founder of Omaby.com, a blog dedicated to providing accurate advice to mothers regarding childcare. She loves taking care of her kids and teaching them the right things. She is also enthusiastic and loves sharing her experiences to teach others about how to care for their families' health. Check the latest article (Child's development) here.

​Every day I wake and take a handful of prescription medications that enable me to get out of bed. In the afternoon, I take more medication. At night, I take even more. Every now and then, I have to take different meds to get it back into normal mode.
 
Why? Because when I was in the hospital in 2007 for a systemic infection, I was given an IV medication, new on the market, in high enough doses that the medication blew out my pituitary. The pituitary gland is a small organ in the brain that controls the endocrine system: hypothalamus, adrenals, thyroid, pancreas, hormones and more.
 
Detoxifying Your Life: Organic Eating Isn't Enough 

I hate taking so much medication, and know firsthand that medicine can be toxic and dangerous just as much as it can be helpful. I've reduced my meds, much against my doctor's initial wishes, to include only those I absolutely have to have and have turned to alternative health options that are more natural and in general safer than many of the traditional options. In order to be healthier and stay healthier, I also set out to remove toxins and chemicals from my life, which included unnecessary medication and healthier more organic foods.
 
But eating organic isn't the only thing necessary to detoxify your life.

​Chemicals and Toxins Absorb Through Skin 

Think about this: Doctors and drug manufacturers have long known that whatever we put on our skin is absorbed by the body and utilized. Some things absorb better than others, but everything that comes in contact with our skin is processed by the body similarly as if we had ingested it.
 
Don't believe the skin absorbs things like food and drugs are absorbed? Just look at the number of medications on the market that are made in patch, cream, foam of gel form. Stop smoking nicotine patches are sub dermal, placed on the skin and they release a slow, low-level of nicotine all through the day. What about the birth control patch that was out a few years ago?

​Estrogen and Testosterone Skin Gels Harm Children and Pets 

There are testosterone and estrogen foams and gels given to those who need a boost of hormones, where the patient simply puts a measured amount of gel or foam on their forearm. In fact, this method has been found to cause problems for people who hold children after using the product, because the child's skin comes into contact with the adult's skin that has the foam or gel on it and the children are then dosed with estrogen or testosterone too. You can read more about these occurrences at this link and also about how pets have been impacted by hormone gels here.

​Chemicals and Toxins in Personal Care Items 

After all, we use multiple products on our skin daily, at least, most of us do. Shampoo, conditioner, bath wash, lotions, hairspray, makeup, dish soap are all things most people come in contact with nearly every day. Other things might include air fresheners, carpet cleaners, household cleaners, and other fluids and chemicals. If these things get on the skin, the body ingests and absorbs them similarly to if we had eaten them.
 
Would you eat Windex? Would you drink a cup of bleach? How many times have you sat down to put on your makeup and taken a few bites of lipstick or licked the mascara? And yet, every time you use one of these products, you are adding chemicals to your body in low doses-granted much smaller doses than if you've eaten the same item-and the chemicals build up inside of you.
 
The National Safety Council released a report in 1993 called Accident Facts, and it listed over 900 chemicals that are known toxins in our personal care items that can cause health problems as severe as cancer and as minor as skin irritation. In immune compromised individuals, those with kidney problems, or those with autoimmune disorders, though, these chemicals at these small doses build up and can cause major health concerns.

​Plant-based All-Natural Personal Care and Household Alternative Items 

What about you? Have you considered the chemicals you put into your body every day? Sure, maybe you try to eat healthier and you use organic foods, but what about the other things you put into your body by putting them on your body?
 
If you want to live a truly organic, all-natural, toxin-free and chemical-free life, you have to look beyond food and medication and look at everything that is absorbed by your body. Some things you have no control over, like air pollution, but other things you can change by purchasing all-natural, certified organic products. There are 'green' plant-based household cleaners, and having certain antimicrobial and antibacterial essential oils in your first aid kit-such as tea tree oil and lavender essential oil-can treat minor scrapes, burns and scratches naturally.

​There are even all-natural mineral makeups for foundation and all the usual cosmetics you wear. I even reviewed a mineral makeup foundation here, if you're interested to see how it holds up compared to the greasy, heavy, chemical-laden versions of foundation.

​Alternative Living, Healthy Living, Your Choice 

Going green and being healthy, pursuing alternative ways to enhance your life and improve your lifestyle isn't easy. It takes a conscious decision and awareness of all the dangers to your body around you and actively seeking to reduce those dangers. Your body will feel better, live longer and stay healthier if you take steps to cut out all these toxins and live more naturally.
 
About the author:
 
Alice Clover has been an author & nutritionist for over five years, with a penchant for topics that pique her passion: alternative medicine, healthy living and her all-time favorite: food! She loves gourmet dining, gourmet cooking, comfort foods, sushi, seafood and dinner parties where she is both a guest and cook.