Freshly pressed juices in the garden at Moinhos Velhos

From the valley

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Nutrition, fasting & wellness notes

Thoughts from our nutritionist, our facilitators and our own archives — on juice fasting, yoga, Chinese medicine and life in this valley near Lagos.

Nutrition2 October 2024

Ed's New Book: Nutrition in the Kitchen

Our head nutritionist has spent ten years answering guests' questions about food. Now they're collected in one place, alongside the plant-based recipes he's become known for.

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Nutrition14 March 2023

Candida: Friend, Foe, or Neither?

Guests often arrive worried that fruit juice will 'feed' candida overgrowth. Our nutritionist walks through what the evidence actually shows.

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Nutrition30 September 2022

What Does a Healthy Diet Actually Look Like?

Cutting through the noise of competing diets to the handful of principles that genuinely hold up — built around vegetables, fruit and whole starches.

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Nutrition18 January 2022

Understanding Calorie Density

A pound of oil and a pound of vegetables can differ by up to forty times in calories. Our nutritionist explains why that single idea makes calorie-counting almost unnecessary.

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Nutrition22 July 2021

Are Citrus Fruits Really 'Acidic'?

Oranges, tomatoes and other sharp-tasting fruits get labelled 'acid foods' more often than they deserve. Here's what actually happens once they're digested.

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Nutrition9 February 2021

The Quiet Power of Ginger

A staple of our juice menu for years — here's what the research actually says about ginger's effects on blood sugar, inflammation and recovery.

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Nutrition11 August 2020

Lectins: Should You Really Be Worried?

Beans, grains and tomatoes have all been cast as dietary villains because of the lectins they contain. Our nutritionist explains why the science doesn't support the panic.

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Nutrition20 May 2020

Why Nutrition Science Is Harder Than It Looks

Our nutritionist Ed on why so much dietary advice contradicts itself — and the difference between genuine evidence and a headline built to travel.

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