Free Shipping

Get free shipping on all orders above R550. *South Africa Only

Natural and Organic

All our ingredients are non-GMO, sustainably sourced and natural

More on Health?

Hundreds of fascinating articles on solving different health problems.

Excellent savings

Sign up to our newsletter for weekly specials and vouchers

 chevron_left chevron_right

Food

View

10 Foods That Aren't As Healthy As You Think

by Aam Coetzee

10 Foods That Aren't As Healthy As You Think

There are many foods that aren’t healthy at all that are perceived to be healthy. These are foods that aren’t healthy that often contain hidden sugars, or simply aren’t packed with as much nutritional goodness as they promise. Let’s take a look at the top 10 healthy foods that aren’t healthy: Cereal When producing cereal, many of the original vitamins and minerals get destroyed. To compensate, companies add synthetic ingredients to fortify the cereal. But even with this fortification, cereals aren’t as healthy as whole foods. Not to mention most cereals are loaded with sugar to improve the taste. Skim or Low-fat Milk Skim and low-fat milk may have fewer calories, but whole milk has more saturated and monounsaturated fats that have major benefits. These benefits include helping to keep you feeling full, supporting metabolism, and improving your body composition. Without the fat, skim and low-fat milk also have less fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K when compared to whole milk. Protein bars Many protein bars are not far off from normal candy bars. They’re filled with sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, and artificial sweeteners. While the protein content is a good thing, it is usually outweighed by the bad ingredients of these bars.But this does not mean they are all bad; just make sure to read the label carefully before buying one. Sports Drinks These may be thought to be on the healthy side of things because they are designed for sport. But this is not the case whatsoever. While they may contain good things like minerals and electrolytes, they are also jam-packed with sugar and often contain more calories than sugary soft drinks. Whole-Wheat Bread Not all whole-wheat bread contains pure, whole grains. Even the ones labeled multi-grain usually still use refined flour for the most part. Egg-White-Only anything Egg yolks are healthy. Many people say they are not because they contain cholesterol. The truth is, as part of a healthy, balanced diet, eggs wont hurt they will only help. As for the cholesterol: your liver produces more cholesterol per day (about 1-2 grams) than you ingest through your diet. Furthermore, dietary cholesterol doesn't strongly correlate with blood cholesterol Fruit Juices These must be healthy because they are made with fruit, right? Wrong. While the fruit may be healthy when eaten whole, the health benefits quickly disappear when you squeeze out the juice and remove all the fibre. And even though the sugar found in fruit is better than the refined sugar in processed foods, too much of it is also unhealthy. To make matters worse, the bottled fruit juice we buy in the stores usually has added sugar and preservatives to make them taste better and last longer. Fat-Free Foods As you should know by now, fat doesn’t make us fat, sugar does. Fats are important for everything from brain- and metabolic function, to better weight loss. When producing fat-free foods, companies often add trans fats, sugar and artificial sweeteners to get them to taste better, which can lead to weight gain and serious health problems. Most Yogurt Many low-fat and fat-free yoghurts contain loads of sugar, once again to add some flavour and taste. Others use artificial sweeteners, which may also spike your blood sugar and insulin levels. Dried Fruit They are basically just candy with fibre. While it may be better for you than normal sweets, it still contains a lot of sugar and chemicals to improve shelf life. And because its dried, it contains more calories per gram than normal fresh fruit. Why these foods aren’t healthy for me? Because most of them contain sugar and artificial sweeteners, they tend to cause blood sugar levels to fluctuate. When this happens, the body releases more insulin to try and maintain balanced blood sugar levels. When there is so much sugar and insulin in the body, it can have negative effects like weight gain, and also lead to serious health issues like diabetes, kidney problems, and heart problems. Manage blood sugar levels with Manna Blood Sugar Support Take Manna Blood Sugar Support to help control blood sugar levels the natural way without any side effects. You can use Manna Blood Sugar Support in conjunction with any other medication.

Read more

Best Snacks for Weight Loss

by Freda Coetzee

Best Snacks for Weight Loss

Eat healthy snacks and lose weight One of the hardest things, when it comes to weight-loss, is managing how much you eat. If you are a heavy snacker, you can struggle to lose weight. Most of the snacks we eat are incredibly unhealthy and addictive. Of course, you don’t have to completely stop snacking to avoid addiction and weight gain. We all love to nibble on something during the day. The best way to stop eating unhealthy snacks is to substitute them with healthy ones. Should I limit sugar or fat? Indulging in rich, decadent foods like creamy avocados or buttery salmon may seem like an obvious cause of weight gain. The same applies to loading up on sugary cereals and carb-heavy bagels, which can’t be good for your waistline either. However, scientists are now investigating the effects of regularly consuming large amounts of either sugar or fat on their own on our bodies. In many parts of the world, these two ingredients are rarely eaten separately. However, an increasing amount of research suggests that fat alone does not contribute to weight gain, while numerous studies have linked sugar consumption to an increased risk of gaining weight. So, you want to limit snacks with lots of sugar. Some sugar-filled snacks include: Candy bars Cookies Ice cream Donuts Cupcakes While fats may have a bad reputation, including healthy fats in your diet can have numerous health benefits. Some snacks with healthy fats include: Avocado toast topped with olive oil Hummus with whole grain pita chips Mixed nuts, such as almonds and cashews Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey and sliced almonds Guacamole with veggie sticks for dipping Snacks for weight loss Baked goods When you think of baked goods, you might think of carb-loaded, sugary delights. But you can buy or make healthy baked goods – they can be just as delightful. These treats might be quite expensive to buy at health shops. Baking is a good option if you want to save some money.  The two golden rules when it comes to baking healthy treats are: Rule 1: Limit sugar When choosing a recipe, you can always lessen the amount of sugar or switch sugar for another ingredient. Some replacements for sugar include: Honey Stevia Agave nectar Rule 2: Swop flour for healthy alternatives Flour has a lot of carbohydrates and lacks essential nutrients like fibre. Flour can also cause blood sugar spikes and high blood sugar levels can lead to feeling extremely hungry. There are many alternatives for flour, like: Almond flour: Made from finely ground almonds, this flour contains healthy fats, protein, and fibre. It is low in carbs and a good source of vitamin E and magnesium.Coconut flour: Made from the pulp of coconut meat, this flour is high in fiber and low in carbs. It also contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are a type of healthy fat that can provide quick energy.Ground flaxseed: This powder is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and protein. It can be used as a flour substitute in low-carb baking recipes. Examples of baked goods for weight loss: Avocado brownies with avocado frosting Chickpea-pecan blondies Almond flour banana bread Coconut flour chocolate chip cookies Chocolate peanut butter protein bars Flourless pumpkin spice muffins Fruit snacks Fruit is naturally sweet and great for satisfying a sweet tooth. Fruit is also packed with vitamins, antioxidants and fibre. And of course, they are versatile. You can eat them fresh or you can bake, roast or freeze them. Some examples of fruit snacks: Strawberries dipped in dark chocolate Brown sugar-broiled grapefruit Apple slices with peanut butter Cottage cheese and pears Colliflower pizza with fruit toppings Baked apple crisps with cinnamon Protein-packed snacks Protein is a great weight-loss choice. Eating lots of protein can truly help you lose weight since protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer. Good protein snack choices include: Roasted chickpeas Hard-boiled eggs Biltong or droë wors Almond trail mix (with dried fruit and dark chocolate) Almond and dried apricot rice cakes More tips: Great substitutes for chips include air-popped popcorn or kale crisps.Put your snacks in a bowl instead of eating out of containers. Doing so can help you to not overeat. Practice good portion control.Use your freezer. You can freeze fruit to add in smoothies later or enjoy with yoghurt. You can also freeze baked goods and defrost them for teatime. Takeaway Don’t feel guilty if you like to snack. Be smart about your snacking habits. Substitute addictive, sugary treats with healthier ones. Remember to enjoy your weight-loss journey. 

Read more

Healthier Drinks For Better Weight Loss

by Marthinus Opperman

Healthier Drinks For Better Weight Loss

When we are trying to be healthier, we usually nit-pick our food very carefully, which is good. But there are healthy drinks for weight loss as well. However, whilst doing this, we often forget to look at what we drink… Since a drink doesn’t really make us feel any fuller, we tend to forget that they can be just as jam-packed with sugar as unhealthy foods, and may easily send our calorie count soaring! Luckily these drinks can be replaced with healthier drinks for weight loss. Here are drinks to replace with healthier drinks for weight loss: Sugary Soft Drinks These are the obvious culprits, and the first to come to mind when talking about unhealthy drinks. I don’t even need to tell you how bad these are, but just to remind you: about 7 teaspoons of sugar in one small can of cola! Rather Drink: Tea Soda. How to Make Basic Tea Soda: Steep 2 tea bags of your favourite tea in 3 cups of boiling water.it chill by putting it in the fridge or freezer.Add 1 cup of sparkling mineral or soda water. There are countless other healthy, homemade recipes to try out online! Fruit Juice You might say that you will just pick freshly squeezed fruit juice instead of the ones with added sugar, right? Well, consider this: An apple only has about 3 teaspoons of sugar in it, but how many apples do you need for a glass of apple juice? 2-3 Apples only give you a medium-sized glass of juice. This way, the sugar quickly adds up! Rather Drink: Lemon Water with some freshly squeezed lemon juice or some bottled lemon juice. Sports Drinks Sports are healthy, so sports drinks are too, right? This cannot be more wrong. Although they claim to have added benefits like vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes – these are all artificial versions created in a laboratory. And the sugar content is just astonishingly high! Rather Drink: Coconut Water. It is a great drink to stay hydrated and keep energy levels up naturally. Flavoured Milk and Milkshakes Although milk itself may be healthy, all the added sugar and ingredients that go into flavoured milk – not to mention the ice cream that goes into milkshakes – make it something to limit to special occasions. Rather Drink: Homemade flavoured milk and milkshakes. Chocolate Milk:Two teaspoons of cocoa powder or cacao nibs melted in a little hot milk. Vanilla Milk:One teaspoon of organic vanilla essence stirred into a glass of milk. Fruity Milkshakes:Use fruits like strawberries or bananas blended with milk to make healthy smoothies.Add a couple of cubes of frozen coconut cream and blend, to get the milkshake effect.Iced Teas and Coffees Stay away from store-bought iced tea and iced coffee, as it is filled to the brim with sugar and preservatives. Rather Drink: Homemade Iced Tea or iced coffee. It is super easy to make, just make your favourite tea in a big jug, add some ice, and sweeten with some honey if needed. The same goes for coffee. How about a healthy meal in a glass? Our Manna Low GI Shake is formulated to allow you to skip a meal without losing the needed nutrients and energy, helping you lose weight in an easy and effective way. It also helps manage your blood sugar levels. The Manna Low GI Shake comprises of 6 ingredients which are high in fiber, protein, and minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium. Our shake has been proven to help curb food cravings, suppress appetite, and satisfy you for longer. It couldn’t be easier to lose weight. All you do is choose your favourite flavour of Manna Low GI Shake, add it to milk, water or juice, mix it and there you have a healthy meal in a glass. As simple as that! We don’t use any artificial sweeteners or preservatives. The new Shake is gluten-free, lactose-free, Non-GMO, soy-free. Also, the shake is suitable for Vegan’s, Vegetarians and Diabetics.

Read more

How to Choose The Right Carbs for Weight Loss

by Freda Coetzee

How to Choose The Right Carbs for Weight Loss

There has been a lot of controversy about carbohydrates and whether or not we should eat carbs for weight loss. Well, the bottom line is that we can actually eat carbs, BUT we have to make sure that we are eating the right carbs for weight loss. We do need carbs seeing that they are the fuel for our body’s energy production system. But in order to only eat the right carbs, we need to know the difference between them and know how to use it to our advantage… What’s the difference between Simple Carbs and Complex Carbs? Simple carbs break down very quickly into sugar, which means that they give you instant high levels of energy. Unfortunately, they also cause your sugar and energy levels to crash just as quickly. Stay away from these carbs! Complex carbs take a lot longer to break down, which means they give you sustained energy over a longer period of time, without the nasty crash at the end. These are the carbs you should be eating! How do I choose the “right” carbs for weight loss? Here are 12 helpful hints for making sure we stick to complex carbs and stay away from simple carbs for weight loss… 1. Read the Label The nutritional label is your friend. It can help you to easily spot any sugar or simple carbs, which usually includes things like: Sucrose Fructose Dextrose Maltose As a rule of thumb, the higher up they appear in the ingredients list, the more added sugar the food has. 2. Avoid ALL simple carbs? While the easy answer would be “yes”, it is not that simple. While most processed foods that contain unhealthy refined carbs can be relatively easy to spot and to exclude from your diet, some healthy foods also contain natural forms of refined sugar. An example of this is the lactose, which is milk sugar, which is found in dairy. 3. Pick Whole-Grain Bread White bread and certain brown bread are filled with refined carbs. Even though many breads claim they are high in fibre and are healthy for you, you should rather opt for whole-grain bread made out of barley, oats, whole wheat, and rye. 4. The Truth About Fruit Yes, fruit does contain simple carbs. But because they contain so much dietary fibre, it balances out. The fibre helps the body process the sugar more slowly, so it does not cause such big sugar spikes. However, you should not eat too many fruits, and also try and stay away from fruit juices as these usually don’t have enough fibre in them to help counter the effect of the sugar. 5. Don’t Forget to Watch What You Drink We often only look at what we eat and neglect the carbs and sugar in the drinks we drink. These can easily add up as they can be jam-packed with refined sugar, and are usually empty calories. Alcoholic beverages are also usually quite high in sugar, as alcohol is, in essence, a form of sugar. When you do go out for drinks, make sure to keep moderation in mind. 6. Autumn Foods Certain foods that are often associated with fall, such as sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and squash, are great sources of complex carbohydrates. 7. Beware of Sweeteners Although you might only put a few teaspoons of sweetener into your coffee or tea, or just sprinkle a light layer of sugar onto your porridge in the morning, these can add up. Brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses, honey, and even things like agave nectar are all sources of simple carbs. 8. Add Some Beans Kidney, white, black, garbanzo, and pinto beans are all good sources of fibre and complex carbs. Other good sources of these are lentils and split peas. 9. Popcorn: A Healthy Treat? Many people assume that popcorn is unhealthy, but the truth is that it is a whole grain and thus a good complex carb. However, make sure it is air-popped popcorn and not those with added salt and fat like you get at the movie theatre. 10. Exotic Grains Who said healthy food has to mean boring food? Try some interesting whole grains like quinoa, millet bulgur, and triticale. 11. The Right Rice Not all rice is unhealthy; in fact, brown rice is classed as a whole grain and is loaded with fibre. White rice, on the other hand, can be very unhealthy as it is a refined carbohydrate. 12. Slow down the Carbs Whatever types of carbs you eat, slowing down the uptake of energy (glucose) from the food to the bloodstream will help you to have more energy for longer and also help to control your blood sugar levels. Take the Manna Blood Sugar Support supplement with each meal, no matter what you eat, because this product will help to slow release the energy of the food and therefore help to curb cravings and suppress appetite. Stop the Cravings with Manna Blood Sugar Support It helps to reverse insulin resistance. Normalize blood sugar levels. Helps to retard the uptake of glucose. Assist the body to require less insulin. Keep your energy level high.

Read more