5 EASY WAYS TO BE HEALTHIER

                          5 EASY WAYS TO BE HEALTHIER

1. THINK POSITIVE AND FOCUS ON GRATITUDE

Research shows a healthy positive attitude helps build a healthier immune system and boosts overall health. Your body believes what you think, so focus on the positive.

2. EAT YOUR VEGETABLES

Shoot for five servings of vegetables a day — raw, steamed, or stir-fried. A diet high in vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of developing cancers of the lung, colon, breast, cervix, esophagus, stomach, bladder, pancreas, and ovaries. And many of the most powerful phytonutrients are the ones with the boldest colors — such as broccoli, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, grapes, and leafy greens.

3. SET A “5-MEAL IDEAL”

What, when, and how much you eat can keep both your metabolism and your energy levels steadily elevated, so you’ll have more all-day energy. A "5 meal ideal" will help you manage your weight, keep your cool, maintain your focus, and avoid cravings.

4. EXERCISE DAILY

Did you know that daily exercise can reduce all of the biomarkers of aging? This includes improving eyesight, normalizing blood pressure, improving lean muscle, lowering cholesterol, and improving bone density. If you want to live well and live longer, you must exercise! Studies show that even ten minutes of exercise makes a difference — so do something! Crank the stereo and dance in your living room. Sign up for swing dancing or ballroom dancing lessons. Walk to the park with your kids or a neighbor you’d like to catch up with. Jump rope or play hopscotch. Spin a hula hoop. Play water volleyball. Bike to work. Jump on a trampoline. Go for a hike.

5. GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

If you have trouble sleeping, try relaxation techniques such as meditation and yoga. Or eat a small bedtime snack of foods shown to help shift the body and mind into sleep mode: whole grain cereal with milk, oatmeal, cherries, or chamomile tea. Darken your room more and turn your clock away from you. Write down worries or stressful thoughts to get them out of your head and onto the page. This will help you put them into perspective so you can quit worrying about them.

7 tips for healthy eating

These 7 practical tips cover the basics of healthy eating and can help you make healthier choices.

The key to a healthy diet is to eat the right amount of calories for how active you are so you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use.

If you eat or drink more than your body needs, you'll put on weight because the energy you do not use is stored as fat. If you eat and drink too little, you'll lose weight.

You should also eat a wide range of foods to make sure you're getting a balanced diet and your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.

It's recommended that men have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). Women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules).

Most adults in the UK are eating more calories than they need and should eat fewer calories.

1. Base your meals on higher fibre starchy carbohydrates

Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over a third of the food you eat. They include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals.

Choose higher fibre or wholegrain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice or potatoes with their skins on.

They contain more fibre than white or refined starchy carbohydrates and can help you feel full for longer.

Try to include at least 1 starchy food with each main meal. Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram the carbohydrate they contain provides fewer than half the calories of fat.

Keep an eye on the fats you add when you're cooking or serving these types of foods because that's what increases the calorie content – for example, oil on chips, butter on bread and creamy sauces on pasta.

2. Eat lots of fruit and veg

It's recommended that you eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. They can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced.

Getting your 5 A Day is easier than it sounds. Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal, or swap your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit?

A portion of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables is 80g. A portion of dried fruit (which should be kept to mealtimes) is 30g.

A 150ml glass of fruit juice, vegetable juice or smoothie also counts as 1 portion, but limit the amount you have to no more than 1 glass a day as these drinks are sugary and can damage your teeth.

3. Eat more fish, including a portion of oily fish

Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals.

Aim to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, including at least 1 portion of oily fish.

Oily fish are high in omega-3 fats, which may help prevent heart disease. 

Oily fish include:

• salmon
• trout
• herring
• sardines
• pilchards
• mackerel

Non-oily fish include:

• haddock
• plaice
• coley
• cod
• tuna
• skate
• hake

You can choose from fresh, frozen and canned, but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.

Most people should be eating more fish, but there are recommended limits for some types of fish.

4. Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

Saturated fat

You need some fat in your diet, but it's important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat you're eating.

There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

On average, men should have no more than 30g of saturated fat a day. On average, women should have no more than 20g of saturated fat a day.

Children under the age of 11 should have less saturated fat than adults, but a low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5.

Saturated fat is found in many foods, such as:

• fatty cuts of meat
• sausages
• butter
• hard cheese
• cream
• cakes
• biscuits
• lard
• pies

Try to cut down on your saturated fat intake and choose foods that contain unsaturated fats instead, such as vegetable oils and spreads, oily fish and avocados.

For a healthier choice, use a small amount of vegetable or olive oil, or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee.

When you're having meat, choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat.

All types of fat are high in energy, so they should only be eaten in small amounts.

Sugar

Regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.

Sugary foods and drinks are often high in energy (measured in kilojoules or calories), and if consumed too often can contribute to weight gain. They can also cause tooth decay, especially if eaten between meals.

Free sugars are any sugars added to foods or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies.

This is the type of sugar you should be cutting down on, rather than the sugar found in fruit and milk.

Many packaged foods and drinks contain surprisingly high amounts of free sugars.

Free sugars are found in many foods, such as:

• sugary fizzy drinks
• sugary breakfast cereals
• cakes
• biscuits
• pastries and puddings
• sweets and chocolate
• alcoholic drinks

Food labels can help. Use them to check how much sugar foods contain.

More than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g means the food is high in sugar, while 5g of total sugars or less per 100g means the food is low in sugar.

5. Eat less salt: no more than 6g a day for adults

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.

Even if you do not add salt to your food, you may still be eating too much.

About three-quarters of the salt you eat is already in the food when you buy it, such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces.

Use food labels to help you cut down. More than 1.5g of salt per 100g means the food is high in salt.

Adults and children aged 11 and over should eat no more than 6g of salt (about a teaspoonful) a day. Younger children should have even less.

6. Do not get thirsty

You need to drink plenty of fluids to stop you getting dehydrated. The government recommends drinking 6 to 8 glasses every day. This is in addition to the fluid you get from the food you eat. 

All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water, lower fat milk and lower sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, are healthier choices. 

Try to avoid sugary soft and fizzy drinks, as they're high in calories. They're also bad for your teeth. 

Even unsweetened fruit juice and smoothies are high in free sugar.

Your combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies should not be more than 150ml a day, which is a small glass.

Remember to drink more fluids during hot weather or while exercising.

7. Do not skip breakfast

Some people skip breakfast because they think it'll help them lose weight.

But a healthy breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can form part of a balanced diet, and can help you get the nutrients you need for good health.

A wholegrain lower sugar cereal with semi-skimmed milk and fruit sliced over the top is a tasty and healthier breakfast.

6 Tips for Glowing Skin All Day

If you’re constantly looking for ways to get that coveted “glow,” you may be overcomplicating things.

It’s not your fault. Beauty companies have spent decades selling women skincare routines consisting of numerous bottles filled with multiple potions. The result: You have a maxed-out morning that leaves you stressed and running late, and may not even improve your look.

It’s time to simplify.

Your skin’s glow depends on two overarching factors: What you put in your body and what you put on it, but it doesn’t have to be difficult, time consuming or expensive. 

1. Swap your face wash for a cold-water splash
Summer Sanders, author of Raw and Radiant, says to boot cleanser out of your morning line-up. “I don’t wash my face with anything in the morning; I just splash with really cold water,” she explains. “Overwashing skin can strip it of the natural oils that help keep it clear and balanced.” Plus, a cold splash will help get you going before your coffee kicks in.

2. Use your fingertips
Top New York City dermatologist Dr. Whitney Bowe, author of The Beauty of Dirty Skin, agrees that overcleansing is one of the biggest skincare mistakes women make. She takes it a step further and says you can also nix harsh tools and applicators. “Toss the instruments that take extra time to use, clean, and maintain,” she says. “Your fingertips are gentle and effective and will keep your skin barrier healthy.”

3. Add a pinch of cinnamon
Cinnamon is not just a delicious, warming flavor enhancer, it’s also a defender of collagen, that magical protein that gives your skin elasticity. “Cinnamon has been shown to boost circulation in the skin and regulate blood sugar levels,” Dr. Bowe explains. That’s important because excess sugar in the blood triggers a process called glycation, “whereby sugar binds to your collagen and targets it for destruction.” Degraded collagen = wrinkles and sag.

4. Keep your eye cream in the fridge
This one is so brilliantly simple. “Store your eye cream in there so that when you apply each morning and night, you ease the look of puffiness while also just cooling the eye area,” Jean advises. “There really isn’t anything more refreshing.”

5. Reduce your retinol use
“I am a believer in using more active ingredients in moderation, but not every day,” Jean says. Too much can stress your skin out instead of nourishing it. Instead, save yourself time and pop retinols or AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids) into your routine just a few days a week.

6. Use multitasking makeup
You may already be using a time-saving CC cream that turns face lotion, sunscreen, and foundation into one product, but you can make similar magic happen with certain makeup, if you get creative. “A trick my mom taught me that I swear by is to use lipstick (my favorite is RMS) for both lips and a cream blush,” Sanders says. “I like it simple, clean, and quick.”

5 health benefits of vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the most popular micronutrients due to it's role as an immune booster and source of energy, activity and happiness. We investigate the 5 main health benefits of vitamin C that have given it such a good reputation.

Vitamin C has been widely regarded as essential to everyone’s  nutrition for years now, especially sailors who were the victims of scurvy and a host of other diseases linked to the lack of fruit and vegetables that were available to them.

Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, is one of the most important water soluble vitamins. It is essential for collagen, carnitine and neurotransmitters biosynthesis. Most plants and animals synthesize ascorbic acid for their own requirement. However, apes and humans cannot synthesize ascorbic acid due to lack of an enzyme named gulonolactone oxidase.

For this reason, we need to ensure that our diets are packed with vitamin C and, luckily, many fruits and vegetables contain adequate amounts of vitamin C so getting it is easy. The recommended RDA of vitamin C is 75-90mg, however, recent studies suggest that in order to get the best health benefits from vitamin C you would need to consume 500mg daily, which makes a case for vitamin C supplementation.

Best sources of vitamin C

• Sweet potatoes
• Cantaloupes
• Citrus fruits
• Cooked broccoli
• Red cabbage
• Green peppers
• Red peppers
• Kiwi fruit
• Tomato juice
• Spinach
• Asparagus

The Five main health benefits of vitamin C

Vitamin C lowers your blood pressure

As vitamin C is water soluble, it also acts as a diuretic causing the kidneys to remove more sodium and water from the body, which helps to relax the blood vessel walls, thereby lowering blood pressure.

Lower blood pressure also means that you have less chance of having a stroke and increased cardiovascular health, which is so important today as many people suffer from cardiovascular disease.

Vitamin C boosts your immune system

We’ve already heard of how vitamin C prevents curable diseases such as scurvy and how it combats a variety of diseases. As a result, it boosts your immunity and has been found to stave off illnesses such as colds and flu.

Studies show that vitamin C is essential to stimulate the immune system by increasing the strength and protection of the organism. Due to its role in reducing inflammation, it is essentially for immunity and general health. 

Finally, vitamin C protects the immune system, reduces the severity of allergic reactions and helps to fight off infections. If you want to stay fit and healthy then adding more vitamin C to your diet should be a priority.
Vitamin C helps maintain healthy skin and hair

If you want clearer skin and stronger hair then vitamin C plays a major role in making sure this becomes a reality. Vitamin C helps build the protein collagen and coupled with the aforementioned absorption of iron you’ll not only have healthier skin and hair but you’ll maintain it.

Today, collagen is a bit of a buzzword but rather avoid supplementation and consume collagen-rich foods such as berries and foods high in omega-3 such as avocados and salmon. Alongside your vitamin C diet you’ll ensure your natural beauty forever.

How to make star anise Tea

Star anise is a star-shaped spice that is used for cooking and medicinal purposes in Asian cultures. These star pods grow off of the evergreen tree illicium verum that grows in parts of Southeast Asia.

The pods can be used to make star anise tea. This tea has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat colds and respiratory congestion, as well as a way to help regulate hormones in women and promote lactation.

Star anise is one of the ingredients of 5 spice seasoning and is commonly used to flavor meats. Western cooking uses the European Anise seed more often, but anise seed has similar taste and properties to star anise. Star anise pods shows up in western cooking mainly in baking and in different flavoring agents.

Some caution should be exercised when buying star anise. Chinese star anise is safe to consume but there is a sister plant that looks similar and grows in Japan. This Japanese star anise contains compounds that are toxic to humans and can cause seizures and muscle spasms.

Health Benefits of Star Anise Tea

The health benefits of star anise come from antioxidants and several other organic compounds. Star anise has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. Let’s see if modern science can back up some of the medical claims of this spice.

Star Anise Tea for Flu

An important component of several over-the-counter flu drugs is a compound called Shikimic acid. Many of these drugs actually source their Shikimic acid from star anise.

However, Shikimic acid alone doesn’t have much of an effect against the flu. It must be combined with the plant antioxidant quercetin. Quercetin is found naturally in a number of plants including capers, radishes, red onions, and kale. It is important for many processes within the body and can even be taken in supplement form.

In addition, when you make a tea infusion, it is difficult to say how much Shikimic acid gets into the tea. I wouldn’t recommend using star anise tea as your only treatment if you are suffering from the flu, but it can make a good addition and will help keep you hydrated.

Antioxidants in Star Anise Tea

Most plants have some level of antioxidants. Antioxidants possess positive cancer-fighting properties by eliminating harmful volatile compounds called free radicals. I covered the antioxidant capacity of tea extensively in our Tea vs Coffee article.

The primary source of antioxidants in star anise tea are quercetin, linalool, and vitamin C. However, there is a single metric that can be used to measure the overall antioxidant properties of a plant. This metric is called the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, or ORAC for short. The ORAC value of star anise is 11,300 for every 100 grams of star anise pods. This moderate amount may help explain some of the anti-cancer benefits found in star anise.

An animal study from 2007 looking at the cancer fighting properties of star anise found an overall decrease of tumor occurrence and size in rats fed star anise. While this research is promising, more human trials will have to be performed before any definitive conclusions can be made.

Star Anise Tea for Gas

The benefits of star anise on the digestive system are all based on traditional Chinese medicine. I couldn’t find any scientific studies to back up the claims of using star anise for gas. If you have serious issues with indigestion, consult a doctor.

However, it can’t hurt to try star anise tea for mild bloating and gas to see if you notice any personal benefit. It has been used throughout Southeast Asia for centuries to ease gas and help with indigestion and bloating. Star anise tea is traditionally drunk soon after a meal to provide maximal relief.

Hormonal Balance

Both Chinese star anise pods and European anise seeds contain a large amount of a compound called anethole. This compound is primarily responsible for giving anise its licorice flavor.

Anethole isn’t just good as a flavoring agent, it also has been shown to have an estrogenic effect. Anethole also increases lactation by disinhibiting prolactin. Both of these effects may help to restore hormonal balance. If you are pregnant or nursing, please consult your doctor before taking star anise.

Star anise has also been used traditionally to increase libido in both men and women. The estrogenic effect of star anise likely causes this in women, but there is little evidence to support the effect in men.

Star Anice Tea Recipe

Making an herbal infusion with star anise pods is both quick and easy. All you need is a couple star anise pods and a stove top to heat water on. If you want to get creative, you can also add other spices to the mix as well. Spices that compliment star anise are cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, ginger root, solomon seal root, and cloves.

1. Bring water to a boil in a stove-top pan.
2. Add 2 whole star anise pods per cup of water. Add any additional spices at this point as well.
3. Steep for 15 minutes.
4. Strain away any large chunks.

Once your tea is ready feel free to add a natural sweetener such as raw honey to help sweeten the tea.

Relate : Does Star anise make you sleepy?  

Does star anise make you sleepy?

The star anise is botanically known as Illicium Verum. It is dark-brown in colour with eight segments. It has a sweetish licorice taste. Besides, its culinary uses, star anise also has health benefits. Here are some of them:
In traditional Chinese medicine, star anise is prescribed as an digestive aid, promoting health of female reproductive organs and for lactating mothers to increase breast-milk secretion.

The anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties of star anise is useful in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis and dry cough. For this reason, some cough mixtures contain star anise extract.
Star anise can also be used as for its sedating properties to ensure a good sleep.

The oil of star anise is useful in providing relief from rheumatism and lower back pain.

Star anise can also be used as a natural breath freshener.

Shikimic acid, a compound present in star anise is used for preparing drug for curing influenza or the flu virus.

benefits of star anise

Star anise has been used in Asian and Eurasian cooking for many, many years. This age-old spice is not only known as a culinary expert, but is also famous for its medicinal properties.

The star-shaped spice originated in south China and posses licorice-like flavour and is called by the name of 'chakra phool' in India.
Anise is frequently used as an exotic spice in Indian as well as in Chinese cuisines. Because of its strong, delightful fragrance, it is mostly used in biryanis, chicken, sea food and other vegetarian dishes.
But it's time to think 'outside of the kitchen'. This small flower-like fruit is also a storehouse of some key ingredients, which can help combat several illnesses apart from imparting flavour to dishes.

Before using, star anise is dried in the sun until it become greyish-brown in colour. Once dried, anise can be ground to a powder or can be used as it is.
Following are the five benefits of consuming star anise.

Star anise is rich in antioxidants and vitamin A and C, which help fight free radicals that are responsible for early ageing and diabetes.
The oil produced from star anise contains thymol, terpineol and anethole, which is used for treating cough and flu.
Anise also helps improve digestion, alleviate cramps and reduce nausea.
Consuming star anise tea after meals helps treat digestive ailments such as bloating, gas, indigestion and constipation. Anise is one of the main ingredients in your favourite masala chai also.
Drinking one glass of water infused with the crushed seeds of star anise at night can increase one's sex drive!