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Science Proved Drinking Coffee Helps Improve Brain Functioning and Slow Aging. Now Research Shows Coffee Can Also Help You Lose Weight and Body Fat

HaDminG — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 17:25:00 +0000

If you drink coffee or get caffeine from other sources here’s science to support it.

A number of studies — many recapped by my Inc. colleague Geoffrey James — show the benefits of coffee. Coffee can reduce your risk of cancer up to 20 percent, your risk of type 2 diabetes by 30 percent, and your risk of Parkinson’s disease by 30 percent.

Science even says that the caffeine in your first cup of coffee attaches to the part of your neurons that normally attract adenosine, the hormone that makes you sleepy, and causes your endocrine system to release glutamate, a neurotransmitter that increases your ability to learn and remember. So, yeah: Coffee kick-starts your day.

All of which might make coffee sound like a superfood.

Especially when you factor in the effect caffeine can have on weight gain and cholesterol production.

Recent research from the University of Illinois indicates that caffeine seems to slow weight gain from an obesogenic (likely to make you gain weight) diet by reducing the storage of lipids in fat cells and the production of triglycerides.

For four weeks, researchers fed different groups of rats the same diet, one that contained 40 percent fat, 45 carbohydrates, and 15 percent protein; think an anti-Mediterranean diet.

Some rats also ingested the equivalent of four cups of coffee per day from a variety of sources.

After four weeks, caffeine-consuming rats gained 16 percent less weight and added 22 percent less body fat than caffeine-abstinent rats.

To determine why that happened, the researchers did what researchers tend to do and dug deeper, exposing adipose (fat) cells from mice to various forms of caffeine.

The result? Caffeine decreased the accumulation of lipids in adipose cells by 20 to 40 percent.

They then tracked the expression of several genes associated with lipid metabolism and obesity. The result was lower production of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as triglycerides in the liver.

Or in simpler terms:

The consumption of caffeine from mate or from other sources alleviated the negative impact of a high-fat, high-sucrose diet on body composition due to the modulation of certain lipogenic enzymes in both adipose tissue and the liver…
… (and) brought about lower synthesis and accumulation of triglycerides in the adipose tissue.

I know what you’re thinking: Conventional wisdom says drinking four cups of coffee per day is three cups too many.

But while caffeine tolerance differs from person to person, multiple studies show that drinking three to five cups of coffee a day poses no health risks for the average person, and six to eight cups provides the greatest benefits.

And if you’re trying to maintain or lose weight, the researchers say:

Considering the findings … caffeine can be considered anti-obesity agents. The results of this research could be scaled to humans to understand the role of caffeine as potential strategies to prevent overweight and obesity, as well as the subsequent metabolic disorders associated with these conditions.

Reduced risk of cancer, Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, and heart disease. Increased short-term focus and endurance. Increased life span.

And you can lose a little fat as well.

Sounds like a series of win-wins to me.

Original article can be found here: https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/science-proved-drinking-coffee-helps-improve-brain-functioning-slow-aging-now-research-shows-coffee-can-also-help-you-lose-weight-body-fat.html

The post Science Proved Drinking Coffee Helps Improve Brain Functioning and Slow Aging. Now Research Shows Coffee Can Also Help You Lose Weight and Body Fat first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post Science Proved Drinking Coffee Helps Improve Brain Functioning and Slow Aging. Now Research Shows Coffee Can Also Help You Lose Weight and Body Fat appeared first on Healthy Gab.

Study: Coffee can help us burn fat

HaDminG — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 09:01:00 +0000

New research links coffee to effectively burning fat

Yep, another health study about coffee. For the last few years, coffee has been a major research topic for scientists around the world. Why? Because a sh*t ton of people drink it, and we still have so much to learn about the daily morning elixir that seemingly brings us back from the dead each and every morning.

We’ve learned previously that coffee can help reduce your risk of cancer, Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease, in addition to helping you focus and even exercise better. Even up to 25 cups a day is still safe for your heart.

Basically, coffee is magic. And a new study from the University of Nottingham supports this claim even more.

The University of Nottingham looked at how coffee affects body fat. To give it context: Our bodies have two different types of fat — white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT — the good fat).

BAT helps moderate our body chemistry to make us healthy. It helps us handle blood sugar, increase bone health and density, and helps us burn WAT efficiently. To burn WAT efficiently, we’re encouraged to exercise so we activate BAT. When BAT is active, we concert WAT into energy and burn fat.

Now, scientists have found that coffee can literally help our bodies burn fat in the same way exercising can. Coffee heats up our BAT, similar to what exercising does, in result helping our bodies to burn fat.

“We all have that warm feeling after we drink a cup of coffee, because we’re stimulating that brown fat,” Dr. David Agus said in an interview. “It’s important and interesting that we actually know the mechanism now. … The goal is to stimulate brown fat. Exercise stimulates brown fat. Good sleep stimulates brown fat. And now we know caffeine or coffee can do the same.”

Of course, coffee has more benefits when you leave the additives out — so if you’re trying to be healthier with your coffee choices, leave the cream and sugar behind.

Original article can be found here: https://www.deathwishcoffee.com/blogs/news/coffee-can-help-us-burn-fat

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Coronavirus Anxiety Insomnia Is Real

HaDminG — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 09:46:39 +0000

To treat it, we first have to understand the pandemic as a slow-moving natural disaster.

Since the NBA suspended its season on March 11 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, I have had only three nights of good sleep unassisted by ZzzQuil. I can fall asleep fine, because I’m so tired from getting poor rest the previous night, and then putting in every isolating citizen’s requisite 15-hour shift of news-reading, texting, Zooming, and fretting. But between 2 and 4 a.m., I pop awake, and everything floods right in.

I flop around in bed trying to get comfortable as my brain upshifts, surging with adrenaline. The Wisconsin election fiasco! Layoffs in media and at museums, hiring freezes in academia! Health care workers putting their pictures on their PPE! Lines of cars at food banks!

When will it be safe to see my parents again? How much money will the
university that anchors our small town’s economy end up losing? One
particularly bad night this past week, this flood of worries came with a
musical accompaniment, as my brain repeated “Elmo’s Song” on a loop. (Toddler parenting during a pandemic: a delightful study in contrasts!)

Anecdotally, I know I’m not alone in my late-night vigil. “Does … anyone sleep anymore?” Scaachi Koul asked Twitter at 12:47 a.m. “Wide awake. Too sad to think. How can we small humans bear this?” Virginia Heffernan asked at 3:18 a.m. “If you tell me you’ve gotten a decent night’s sleep in the last month I’m going to assume you’re either a wizard or a sociopath,” Andi Zeisler joked at 3:20 a.m. “Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint even in the best of times,” Brandon R. Peters, a neurologist and sleep physician who’s the author of the book Sleep Through Insomnia: End the Anxiety and Discover Sleep Relief With Guided CBT-I Therapy, told me. “Periods of stress will definitely exacerbate it.”

Just how many people worldwide might be tossing and turning along with me? Researchers have confirmed that going through a natural disaster like a tsunami, earthquake, or hurricane can result in sleep disturbances, but this pandemic is a global disaster like no other. Judite Blanc, a psychologist and postdoctoral fellow at New York University School of Medicine’s Center for Healthful Behavior Change, has studied incidences of insomnia among survivors of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Blanc told me that researchers take a number of factors into account when assessing the effects of a disaster on an individual’s sleep: preexisting mental health issues or physical ailments, things like gender and socioeconomic status, and the person’s degree of exposure to the disaster’s effects. (And, Peters told me, a tendency toward insomnia in a given person may also in part be a matter of genes.)

But “we also take into account the characteristics of the disaster,” Blanc said. “An earthquake, it just happens so brutally, for 30 seconds. Compared to COVID-19, it’s very different. We heard about the virus, we knew it was coming, we had time to prepare our minds, but now … we are deprived of freedom. We fear for our lives, we feel hopeless, we feel powerless.”

There are now researchers looking at how sleep is working for people living through “the Weirds” (as podcasters Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon have aptly dubbed these times). I spoke with Tony Cunningham, a postdoctoral fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and Boston College, who is working on a longitudinal survey study about COVID-19, stress, mental health, and sleep, run by Boston College’s Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory. The study began on March 13, and the researchers have been having people keep sleep logs and submit dream reports; they now have 1,000 people enrolled from 24 countries and are looking for more. A separate group of researchers at Monash University in Australia is running a study that’s specifically about insomnia symptoms during the pandemic.

“Anecdotally speaking, if you look at disasters of all kinds, not just natural disasters but things like the Boston Marathon bombing, and how they affect the community, this is just different,” Cunningham said. I had asked him what kinds of results he might expect to see from this survey, given the previous literature on how disasters affect sleep. “Usually, change follows the curve of recovery, and this situation, this pandemic, is really unique because it’s so drawn out. It’s not like a typhoon or a hurricane, where the disaster lasts at most a few days. This could be months. It could change society forever.” (Yes, my 3 a.m. brain had considered that, thank you.)

One problem with the traditional sleep hygiene advice given to insomnia sufferers, which is about schedule, habit, and environment, is that quarantine is upending everyone’s baseline. Peters said, “People experiencing insomnia now may have made changes to their sleep habits. So, say, you don’t have to go into work anymore. You’re waking up at inconsistent times”—not using an alarm clock and getting up at 5:17 a.m., like I used to do to get to morning CrossFit (now closed, like everything else). “Without that anchor, I think there are a lot of people maybe sleeping too much time in bed”—something that can lead to night wakings and difficulty getting back to sleep. But, as Cunningham pointed out, some people in quarantine might have nowhere else to be but their bed—if they live in a studio apartment, for example, where the bed is the couch, the dining room table, and the desk. There are also a lot of people who have had to violate the “don’t mix your workspace with your sleep space” dictum so they can put a door between their desk and the parts of their house where other people live.

But talking to Blanc, who mentioned the kinds of difficulties survivors living in shelters after a major event like the Haiti earthquake faced in getting good sleep, made me realize how lucky many of us are to still have so many sleep hygiene choices under our control. For starters, we in the coronavirus insomnia crew should be trying to go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Peters recommended getting morning sunlight—15 to 30 minutes, right when you get up—to set circadian patterns. Try to be physically active during the day, Peters said; be careful about drinking caffeine later than midday; limit alcohol, which makes you sleepy at first but “begins to fragment sleep” later on at night. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep—the eight-hour recommendation doesn’t hold true for all adults, Peters stipulated, so don’t feel like you need to get eight hours if you feel fine with seven. Blanc added that eating well, drinking water, having a routine during the day, and trying to keep your sleep space dark are all important steps as well.

“It can feel like you’re releasing your vigilance, when you go to sleep.” — Martha Crawford, psychotherapist

I’ve experienced bouts of insomnia since my child was born a few years ago, and I’ve used a lot of these sleep hygiene rules to get it (mostly) under control. But the sleep-disruptive worries I’m experiencing now just feel so real—they’re not fears I can reason away or easily partition from the rest of my brain. I saw a thread from Martha Crawford, a psychotherapist who shared visualization ideas for coronavirus insomniacs, drawing a parallel between our situation and the time that she had found sleep “extremely challenging” while undergoing chemotherapy. “I realized I was falling victim to the age-old association between sleep and death,” Crawford wrote. “Death anxieties often fuck up our sleep.”

I spoke with Crawford on the phone, and she said, describing my experience exactly: “It can feel like you’re releasing your vigilance, when you go to sleep.” She recommended trying to understand the particular characteristics of your coronavirus insomnia in order to “talk to” the part of yourself that might be keeping you awake. Is your insomniac self afraid of economic hardship? Worried about becoming sick? Stressed at being quarantined in unbearable circumstances? Looking at my own case, I think my sleeplessness is triggered by a fear that if I go back to sleep, I will miss a chance to use the most powerful weapon I have—my brain—to have an idea that might save my family’s fragile life from the disaster that’s all around me. But I need to sleep. “Even if you’re being chased by a tiger,” Crawford reasoned, “if you have five minutes to rest in the bush, you take that five minutes, right? It’s part of your survival plan.”

The most useful advice I got was from Blanc: To have a designated “worry time,” where you get all of your conversations about the coronavirus out of the way. “You are listening to the news every day without any break,” Blanc said. “Of course your brain can’t handle it. You can’t let the worries occupy your mind all day long.” Tell yourself, she said, “I’m still living through this disaster,” but “worry time” is over. If a worry occurs outside of the window you’ve made for yourself, write the fear down in a journal, and then try to push it aside.

To this end, I’ve decided to mandate a “no COVID after 8 p.m.” rule. After I put my child to bed and sit down with dinner, there will be no texting with friends about our various domestic stresses, no talking to my husband about our town’s prospects, no watching the parts of Stephen Colbert’s show that include clips from Trump press conferences, definitely no Twitter. “You’re going to feel the difference,” Blanc promised me. I hope so.

Original article can be found here: https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/04/coronavirus-sleep-anxiety-insomnia-tips.html

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30 powerful habits for a happy, healthy life

HaDminG — Wed, 06 May 2020 08:26:41 +0000

Here’s the truth: impactful change always starts with a simple action.

Baby steps always seem totally insignificant in the grand scheme of things. However, these small, positive actions are what develop into lasting, powerful habits.

So today I’d like to share some I’ve recently adopted that have made a world of difference in my life.

Try some of these and keep building on them. Each day you’ll be one step closer to a completely fulfilling life that you deserve.

You’ll probably find most of these can be picked up straight away.

Best of all? They don’t take long to stick!

30 powerful habits to adopt for a happy and healthy life

1. Wake up earlier

I notice I’m always more productive when I wake up before 8 am and have a solid morning routine in place.

Related: How to win 2019: 5 healthy habits to adopt

2. Ditch the scarcity mindset

Unlearn any negative limiting beliefs you might have. Learn tips from successful people who have achieved your goals and remind yourself you’re worthy of the same success.

3. Invest in yourself

Learn new skills and invest in your physical health and wellbeing.

4. Test your limits

Constantly try new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone if it’s in pursuit of your goals.

5. Invest in experiences

Travel more, even if it’s by yourself. Try new things that will enrich your life and the lives of others.

6. Deepen your relationships

Spend more quality time with your loved ones. Also, learn more about them on a deeper level.

7. Say no to what doesn’t serve you

Don’t wear yourself thin and don’t feel pressured into things that make you unhealthy or unhappy.

8. Know yourself better

Practice introspection and develop a deeper relationship with your values.

Related: 7 ways to get to know yourself better

9. Diversify your income streams

Start a side hustle (or more!). Don’t have all your eggs in one basket.

Related: How to create a money-making blog for under $5

10. Create more things

Start fun projects that are meaningful to you. Write, create music and art.

11. Embrace the small moments

Sometimes the simplest moments in life are the most wholesome and fulfilling. Fill your life with more simple things that bring you joy.

Related: 21 ways to boost happiness that don’t cost a thing!

12. Go green

Learn about adopting more sustainable habits around food, fashion, and lifestyle.

Related: 8 easy ways to live more consciously right now

13. Challenge your views of the world

Have an open mind to different perspectives, immerse yourself in new cultures, and never stop learning.

14. Spend more time in nature

Go out on hikes, explore local spots, or simply spend time in your local park. Nature makes me feel most alive and keeps me grounded in the present.

15. Shop smarter

Spend less and be more intentional with your purchases.

16. Choose the right friends

Only surround yourself with people who are supportive, loving and who have aspirations in life.

17. Protect your skin

Wear sunscreen every day and opt for natural beauty products without harmful chemicals.

18. Meditate daily

Check out Headspace for a great introduction to it. It can be as easy as 10 minutes every day – or even less.

19. Eat mindfully

Fully enjoy your meal rather than checking your phone or being in front of the tv.

20. Stay active consistently

Even a 10 minute walk every day makes a big difference.

21. Make your gut health a priority

Your gut is virtually your second brain and its state determines so much of your health. Aim to eat whole, nourishing foods.

Related: Why I switched to a vegan lifestyle

22. Cook your own meals

It’s so satisfying, saves money, and is way healthier than relying on ready-made meals.

23. Make water your go-to drink

Cut back on highly caffeinated and sugar-packed alternatives.

24. Practice gratitude

Appreciate the people in your life by telling them and spending quality time with them. Write a gratitude list and add to it every day.

25. Keep track of your goals

You’re more likely to achieve your goals if they’re written down and constantly reviewed.

26. Do the hardest tasks first

Knocking out the most difficult items makes the others so much easier in comparison. Not only that, but you’ll be more motivated than ever to crush your goals!

27. Hold yourself accountable

Feel empowered knowing you’re the only one in charge of your life. Create reasons for doing things, rather than excuses against them.

Related: 5 ways to live more intentionally (when you have no time)

28. Have mental reset days

Practice self-care and have a day each week dedicated to your wellbeing.

29. Stay inspired

Fill your room with a vision board and motivational images. Listen to podcasts and TED talks. Have a inspirational quote as your phone wallpaper.

Related: 15 killer success quotes that will inspire and empower you.

30. Take action!

Don’t wait for others or what you think is the perfect time. Do something every day that leads you towards your dreams.

Related: The 1% rule: how to unlock success every time

Original article can be found here: https://thissomebody.com/30-powerful-habits/

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9 Reasons To Stop Seeking Approval From Others

HaDminG — Wed, 06 May 2020 06:17:31 +0000

How often do you do things just to make someone happy? Do you seek approval? Do you depend on someone else? Well, you can’t let people decide for you. If you seek approval from others for everything you do, just keep reading the article.

We will give you a few great reasons to stop doing that.

1. It’s your life

This is absolutely true. You don’t need a permission from others to live your life. You are the one in control of everything you do. Of course, you can ask for an advice, but try to remember that your heart gives the best advice. Trust your instincts and follow your dreams. It’s your life after all.

2. Create your happiness

People around you can add to your happiness, but you happiness should never depend on them. You can’t just sit there and wait for others to make you happy. You are in charge of your happiness. Remember that.

Give yourself the love and respect you deserve. Don’t let others control your happiness. It’s all up to you.

3. Seeking approval is time-consuming

You can’t make people see things through your eyes. That’s why you should stop seeking approval for every move your make. It’s almost impossible for some people to understand you. Rely on yourself and your knowledge.

Listen to your mind. Make a decision, and do things your way. Tomorrow is never granted, so stop wasting your time waiting for others to understand you.

4. Free yourself

Depending on others is like living in a cage. Free yourself and rely on yourself only. You don’t need a permission to live your life. You don’t have to call others before you do or say anything. We create our own happiness. We have the power to free ourselves. Let go of your habit to please others. Please yourself.

5. It’s impossible to please everyone

There will always be people who will say that your choices are ridiculous. Don’t pay attention to that. Follow your instincts and trust your gut. Are you happy with your decision? Yes? That’s the only thing that matters in life. Stop thinking about all the naysayers.

6. Know yourself better

Once you free yourself from other people’s opinion is when you start living a meaningful life. Listen to your mind. What does it say? Try understand yourself. What’s your next move? Spend more time with yourself. It’s all up to you. Focus on your inner self.

7. You lose energy

Trying to please everyone will consume all your energy. Instead of spending it on your future plans, you decide to wait for someone’s message of approval.

Safe your energy for all the important things in life. You will need it for all your dreams and goals. Why would you let others take control over your life? Prioritize yourself and use your energy to turn your dreams into reality.

8. You are discouraged

You will meet a lot of people who only think of themselves. You will never “meet” the real you. Waiting for an approval means ignoring you own knowledge and value.

Listen to the little voice inside you. Get the courage and move on! Most people would love to see you fail. Don’t give them a reason to discourage you.

9. Your days are full of fear

You keep waiting for an approval and you depend on other people’s opinion. You hate the idea of being discouraged and stopped. It fills you up with fear and kills your mood. Where did your self-confidence go? You matter and your dreams matter, too. You can’t stop the clock.

Time will go by, and you will wake up one day feeling miserable about all the times you let other people decide for you.

Original article can be found here: https://www.healthandhealthyliving.com/9-reasons-to-stop-seeking-approval-from-others/

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H&M To Launch Vegan Leather Made From ‘Wine Waste’

HaDminG — Wed, 06 May 2020 06:04:26 +0000

‘Going forward, we need to be using more bio-based materials and use more waste in our collections’

Swedish fashion giant H&M is to launch a vegan alternative to leather made from the byproducts of wine.

Debuting on March 26, a number of handbags and pairs of shoes in the Conscious Collection will use the ‘soft vegan leather’ – created by Italian tech company Vegea.

The collection will also feature new dye made from the coffee grounds in H&M’s offices in China, as well as recycled polyester.

‘A holistic approach’

“Going forward, we need to be using more bio-based materials and use more waste in our collections,” Pascal Brun, H&M’s Sustainability Manager told Vogue.

“It isn’t just about materials, though, it’s about how we can design clothes to last longer and to be eventually recycled, and how can we involve our customers to have more sustainable behavior. It’s a holistic approach.”

Conscious Collection

Last year, H&M’s well-known Conscious Collection featured vegan pineapple leather and orange silk.

“For this collection, we explored the beauty in nature, which shows in the prints, as well as the flowy silhouettes, the striking colour palette and the attention to detail,” Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor at H&M, said.

“We’re thrilled to introduce new plant-based sustainable materials to create high-performing, beautiful and fashionable pieces that are statement-making yet so easy to wear.”

Original Article can be found here:

https://www.plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/hm-to-launch-vegan-leather-from-wine-waste

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11 Signs Your Body Is Screaming for a Detox

HGabAdmin — Mon, 27 May 2019 16:02:30 +0000

When you hear the word ‘detox’, a range of ideas may come to mind. Perhaps immediately your thoughts wander to strange herbal concoctions or pungent wheatgrass shots! Perhaps you’ve tried a detox program before and found the initial symptoms to be unpleasant. Or perhaps you have experience with detoxing on a frequent basis and are aware of the incredible physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of a deep cleanse. Either way, it’s important to dispel common myths around what a detox is, and to truly understand why it’s important to give your body a break from time to time.

So, Why Should I Detox?

Our body is constantly working to dispel toxins and unwanted matter from its various systems. Over time, the body gets run down from unhealthy food choices, alcohol, caffeine, drugs, stress, and environmental toxins that are a part of modern day life. No matter how healthy your diet or lifestyle may be, external factors still require us to give the body a chance to recharge and dispel anything that may be holding us back from experiencing superior health and long lasting vitality. When our vital organs are placed under too much pressure and unable to work efficiently, this is when illness and disease can appear. Taking time to cleanse the body and nurture these vital organs goes a long way in prevention, and also has immediate effects – greater energy, clearer skin, better digestion, mental clarity, and so much more.

Is your body screaming out for a detox?! Here are 11 tell-tale signs:

You constantly feel fatigued, stressed and overwhelmed
You experience frequent headaches and/or lack of mental clarity
You often have skin breakouts and blemishes and/or a tired, dull and lack-luster complexion
You seem to pick up colds, flus, bugs and viruses easily and are often on medication
Your digestion is troublesome, uncomfortable and irregular
You slip into making less-healthy food choices and often have fried foods, processed meat, dairy, gluten, processed foods, refined sugar or fast food
You frequently have coffee, alcohol, drugs (prescription or otherwise) or cigarettes
You are exposed to common environmental toxins such as carbon emissions, cigarette smoke, herbicides, pesticides, artificial fragrances and household chemicals
You are carrying excess body weight
You often feel emotionally unstable, depressed, unmotivated and lacking energy and enthusiasm for life
Your breath and BO seem to have an alarming stink, no matter how much deodorant or toothpaste you use

A detox is your opportunity to give your body a break and allow your own self-cleansing and self-healing processes to kick into gear. Your body is innately intelligent and a period of cleansing is the perfect way to hit the reset button and start on a path to a healthier, happier, more vibrant you!

Here are just some of the benefits of a holistic, natural detox:

Prevention of chronic diseases
Stronger immunity
Assistance in losing stagnant weight
Improved quality of life
Increased energy
Radiant, glowing skin
Bright, clear eyes
Mental clarity
Balanced emotions
Improved self-confidence and empowerment
New healthy habits and routines
Improved longevity

What Is A Detox?

Most of us tend to agree that detoxification or ‘detox’ diets are short-term interventions designed to eliminate toxins from the body, promote health and assist with weight loss.

But in essence, it is really just creating the perfect conditions to support our body in doing the job it was already made to do… “Detox”.

Here are some great tips to help you out when doing a total body detox and why these tips are so important for your overall, long-term health:

Hydration

Importance: Elimination of toxic particles and the rejuvenation of cells.

Tip: Aim to drink between 1-3 L of water per day.
How to make this happen:

Use meal times as a reminder to hydrate. Drink 500ml water (with lemon juice if you prefer) upon rising, and repeat half an hour before lunch and dinner. Carry a water bottle with you throughout the day.
Replace your 3pm coffee with herbal tea.

Exercise

step aerobics with dumbbells

Importance: Strengthen your lung capacity/ability.

Tip: Aim to move your body regularly throughout the day
How to make this happen:

Break exercise into smaller chunks of time. Take 10 minutes in the morning to stretch, go for a half hour walk before heading to work, or take the stairs instead of the elevator in your building.
Incorporate being active into your social life; catch up with friends for a walk, run or gym session instead of a coffee or cocktails.

Real, Live FOOD!

Importance: Specific foods assist with deactivating toxins and removing them from the body (specifically heavy metal build-up).

Tip: Aim to incorporate as many fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet as possible.
How to make this happen:

Juices, smoothies and salads are a perfect place to start. Incorporate chlorophyll-rich foods such as wheat grass and barley grass, as well as herbal teas and sea plants such as nori.
Coriander, and foods containing citric and malic acid (grapes, oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits) as well as selenium-rich foods (such as Brazil nuts, mushrooms and sunflower seeds), have been shown to assist with the removal of heavy metal build up within the body.

Sleep

Importance: Sleep assists with the rejuvenation of cells and helps with the healing and repair of your heart, muscles and blood vessels.

Tip: Aim to sleep 7-8 hours per night
How to make this happen:

Be aware of the importance of sleep hygiene (avoid caffeine before bed, allow 2 hours between your last meal and bedtime, use dim lighting).
Make a conscious effort to wind down before rolling into bed. Put your phone down, turn off the TV, free yourself from distractions and make your sleep space as comfortable as possible.

Get Outside

Importance: Breathe fresh air into your lungs; receive your daily dose of vitamin D and boost your mood.

Tip: Eat more meals outdoors; every once in awhile, exercise outdoors instead of in a gym or studio.
How to make this happen:

If you’re going to be inside all day, take your breakfast outside to a sunny place.
Instead of eating lunch at your desk, go for a walk outside and sit in a comfortable, relaxing space.
Breathing in fresh air and feeling the sun’s warmth on your skin can help to both clear your lungs and boost your mood.

So there you have it! Detoxing is not as confusing or restrictive as you may have thought. By assisting your body’s natural detoxification system, chances are a little boost of self-care will be a relaxing and enjoyable experience for you! Plus, the benefits of feeling amazing afterwards make it all so worthwhile.

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8 Tips To Detox Without Fasting, Juicing Or Restricting

HGabAdmin — Mon, 27 May 2019 15:41:32 +0000

Lately it seems as though everyone is doing a juice cleanse, experimenting with fasting, or living off raw food. If you’re like me, and have a history of disordered eating, battles with countless diets, or struggles with body image, a typical “detox” may do more harm than good.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t reap all the positive benefits of detoxing your body, mind, and spirit. Here are my top eight tips to detox, free of fasting, juicing or restricting.

1. Consume whole foods as close to their natural state as possible.

Detoxifying the body doesn’t have to mean a crazy restrictive diet. By choosing whole foods, your body will be able to digest and metabolize them with ease, leaving more time for natural detoxifying to take place. Think fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season, organic free-range chicken or turkey, wild-caught fish, cage-free and organic eggs, naturally gluten-free whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds.

2. Eliminate trigger foods such as caffeine, sugar and gluten.

Foods like these can wreak havoc on your digestive system, zap your body of energy, and become addictive over time. By easing up on these choices, your body will naturally improve digestion and energy levels, and will learn to crave natural whole foods instead.

3. Hydrate.

Drink up pure filtered water, green tea and hot lemon water first thing in the morning. Staying hydrated can help cleanse your body of toxins, boost metabolism, clean up your skin, and do so much more. Hot lemon water can help to release toxins as well as bacteria from your skin.

4. Sleep well and often.

Getting enough sleep — and getting enough quality sleep — is crucial to a healthy body. Detox baths with Epsom salt and lavender can improve quality sleep and help you stay asleep. Turning off technology and using earplugs and eye masks can also aid proper sleep.

5. Practice slow eating and eating without distractions.

Eating slowly and without distractions will give your body time to register that you’re eating, will prepare you for proper digestion, and will allow your body to hone its natural hunger cues. This will teach you to eat what your body needs, and to stop when you’re full. Put the fork down between bites, savor your food, and limit distractions when you’re eating.

6. Move your body in ways that are restorative.

Be sure to move your body daily. This doesn’t always mean an intense workout. Sometimes your body will crave relaxing movement, such as a walk, jog, hike, yoga, or a dance class. By moving in such ways, you’re able to release tension and improve recovery and repair of your body.

7. Diminish stress.

When you’re stressed, your body kicks in with a fight-or-flight response. This means that any crucial actions within your body are halted as you fight your stress. This leaves little time for detoxing, cleansing, digesting, or pretty much anything other than combating the stress of the moment. Practice activities to diminish stress, whether it’s yoga, meditation, or watching a funny movie; whatever works best to manage your stress.

8. Eat three square meals a day and minimize snacking.

When your body is constantly metabolizing food, you leave little time to do anything else, including detoxifying, cleansing, and repairing. By eating three meals a day without snacking in between, you allow yourself time to fully digest your food. Plus you leave time to detox and heal your body.

The post 8 Tips To Detox Without Fasting, Juicing Or Restricting first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post 8 Tips To Detox Without Fasting, Juicing Or Restricting appeared first on Healthy Gab.

The Importance of Deep Sleep and 10 Tips on How to Get It

HGabAdmin — Fri, 24 May 2019 16:46:54 +0000

Do you want the secret to health and wellness?

Sure you do, everyone does. Everyone is looking for the miracle supplement, workout or tip that can change their lives seemingly overnight. Well such a thing does exist, is available to you anytime, and will cost you nothing.

It’s sleep — specifically deep sleep.

The Epidemic of Chronic Sleep Deprivation

If you’re like the majority of the population, you are probably depriving yourself of it on a nightly basis.

Sleep has been called the “force multiplier” in that it has the ability to enhance, or worsen, whatever state that you’re in.

If you are eating well, controlling stress, and exercising often, then getting good sleep on top of all that will help enhance the benefits of all those healthy things that you’re doing.

On the other hand, if you are eating poorly, not exercising, are constantly stressed, and overdoing it with medications or other substances, a lack of sleep is going to compound and multiply everything.

It’s like being kicked while you’re down

And when you are chronically sleep deprived, it really does a number on you. A lack of sleep can keep your body in a constant state of stress and over time this can get pretty ugly. Elevated stress hormones can be involved in creating a bunch of pretty nasty conditions including the following^[1]:

Anxiety
Headaches and dizziness
Weight gain
Depression
Stroke
Hypertension
Digestive disorders
Immune system dysfunction
Irritability

How to Get the Best Deep Sleep

Deep sleep is so important for not only your body, but your mind. Here are 10 ways to get the best deep sleep possible:

1. Start Going to Bed Earlier

You’re going to bed too late each night. I get it though, there are too many distractions that can keep you up late.

First among all those is entertainment. The amount of programming through cable and streaming services could sink a battleship. It’s like there isn’t enough hours in the day to consume it all.

And let me tell you, there isn’t. When you combine this with the distraction of social media, you can find yourself still scrolling at 2 am.

You would be doing yourself a favor by putting off all those shows for another time and allow yourself to get to bed earlier. Trust me, those shows aren’t going anywhere and we’ve become content consumers, thinking it’s like an assignment to finish that next series on Netflix.

There is no assignment, those things are there for your enjoyment. So enjoy them on your on terms and don’t let them interfere with getting deep, consistent sleep.

2. Create a Wind Down Routine

This is key in getting deep sleep. Your body craves routine and responds favorably to it.

You want to create a wind down routine that you start at the same time each night and follow the order of. This wind down routine will allow your body to know that sleep is coming. This is going to allow you to fall asleep sooner and get that valuable deep sleep.

It doesn’t matter really what type of routine it is, but find out what works best for you and stick with it. It may be taking a shower and then reading or it may be some yoga and then listening to music. The key thing is that its important to create some structure for your body to help unwind with to eventually get that deep sleep.

3. Turn down the Light

Remember all that entertainment all around you? It may be seriously degrading your ability to get deep sleep.

We live in a 24/7 artificially lit world. As the sun sets, the opposite happens and your house springs into action. Lights are blaring, T.V’s are on, screens are being fully used. All this artificial light is disrupting your circadian rhythms and throwing off your ability to get deep sleep. The blue light emitted from electronics has the ability to prevent melatonin release from the brain which is crucial in your sleep cycles.^[2]

So turn off those electronics 1 to 2 hours beforehand and you’ll be surprised at the positive impact this can have.

4. If You Really Have to Use Those Electronics, Make Use of These Tools

There are going to be times when being on your laptop is required or you do have to use your phone. Fortunately, along with your modern technology, comes some ways to make them have a less harsh impact.

The first one is a tool for if you need to be on your lap top doing work. It’s called F.lux. This takes away that blue light from your lap top screen and gives it a more natural warm and orange glow. It can replicate the brightness all the way down to candle light and embers from a fire. Reducing the blue light is going to help you avoid the sleep disruption it causes.

I’m actually using it right now as I write this.

If you use an iPhone, you can switch on the night shift mode which also takes away from some of that harsh blue light. If you have to be up watching T.V, at least switch it into “movie” mode on your picture settings. Most T.V’s have “standard”, “dynamic”, and “movie” mode. Movie mode will give it a bit of warmer glow and cause less of that blue light disruption.

5. Keep Your Room Dark

This goes along with all this melatonin/blue light we’ve been talking about.

Just as blue light prevents your brain from secreting melatonin, darkness helps to produce it. When it gets dark, your body realizes the cycle of the day is ending and your sleep cycles should match up with that. Your sleep cycle involves this melatonin secretion so you want to help encourage it by keeping your room as dark as possible.

This can be tough in our modern world but your best friend in this situation are black out curtains. These are available most everywhere from Walmart to Amazon. They help to eliminate all that outside light to keep your environment as dark as possible. These are what hotels use and you may have noticed how dark those rooms can be compared to the amount of light that is usually prevalent outside.

6. Keep Your Room Cooler

Again, our modern environments create overly bright, overly warm living situations. This warmth is great but is not the most conducive to sleep.

Sure, warmth may make you drowsy but doesn’t promote that deep sleep you’re looking for. You want things to be a touch on the cool side to promote better sleep.

When you’re asleep, your body temperature actually drops and by creating a cool environment you can actually speed up the process of getting to sleep. Your body senses the coolness and can transition easier into sleep while also engaging in deeper sleep.

If you can control your room temperature, the sweet spot seems to be at around 5-10 degrees cooler than your average daytime temperature. At the very least, your sheets should feel cool to the touch, then you’ll know you’re in the right range.

7. Don’t Eat Too Much Before Bed

It’s hard to go to bed hungry and a little snack can be o.k, but you want to avoid heavy meals later in the night. This keeps your body up digesting and doesn’t allow you to naturally wind down and get that deep sleep.

Also, just the discomfort and bloating makes it tough to get settled. At the same time, your body can think it’s in the middle of the day as the focus appears to be on digestion and absorption as opposed to sleep. This can cause some more havoc with your body clock which hasn’t been allowed to naturally do it’s thing.

If you’re up all night eating and exposed to bright lights from screens, in your bodies mind, is like being outside in the middle of a bright sunny day. Sleep is the furthest thing from its mind in this situation and it doesn’t know the difference between it being noon or three in the morning.

8. Check out What You’re Sleeping On

There’s a bit of a science to your bed and mattress and getting it just right is pretty crucial.

If you think about the majority of purchases in your life; house, car, schooling, etc your mattress needs to be right up there. Seems kind of ridiculous but it’s where you spend 1/3 of your life – or 1/2 of it if you have teenagers – so it should be considered a significant purchase.

The usual idea is going for the softest mattress possible. There are a lot of options for that now with memory foam mattresses and super soft mattress toppers. To get the best deep sleep possible, you’re going to want to go for more of a medium-firm one. The same way I like my steaks…

If you like the softer pillow top mattresses at least go for a firm mattress underneath for better support. A firmer support will give more support and cushioning to your spine and this is important for helping you sleep.

When things are too soft there is a lack of support for you spine and body and even slight movements can be disruptive to your sleep.

9. Watch out for the Caffeine

No surprise here that caffeine can keep you up but you might not know how long it can cause this to happen.

Caffeine can kick in around 10 to 20 minutes on average, and the noticeable effects can last for 2 to 3 hours in your body. If you over consume caffeine, it can take more and more of it to feel its effects to the point you’re injecting espresso.

It would seem to make sense that you want to cut caffeine out 2 to 3 hours before bed but this probably won’t do the trick. Caffeine has what’s called a “half-life” meaning its existence, and effects in the blood stream, can last longer. This half life can last around 5-6 hours,^[3] so you might have to do some new math as to when it will be best to have your last coffee of the day.

10. Easy on the Alcohol

It seems like I’m taking all the fun away but caffeine and alcohol can really disrupt your sleeping patterns.

Alcohol may knock you out quick but it prevents you from getting that deep quality of sleep you are looking for. We’re looking at that body clock getting screwed up again with alcohol.

Alcohol turns on a brain pattern called “alpha activity”. This type of brain pattern doesn’t usually happen when you’re asleep but when you’re awake and alert. This now disrupts your circadian rhythms and in turn can block your REM sleep.^[4]

Add this all up and you may pass out after all those Jager bombs but your body is not going to get any benefit or deep sleep from it. All you’ll have to show for it is the inevitable hangover the next day.

Final Thoughts

In society today, many people seem to wear their lack of sleep like a badge of honor. There’s this sense of “sleep being for the weak” and the desire to burn the candle at both ends.

Not only is this not a sustainable way to live, you may be causing a lot of damage to yourself while you’re at it. The ability to get deep sleep on a continuous basis is critical for your body and mind to be at their best.

In this article, you’ve seen some things that you can start doing tonight to start getting better sleep. From making a more suitable environment, to watching out for the things that you consume, hopefully you have a better idea now of how your body responds to all these.

The best part is that most of these tips are easy and won’t cost you anything but are only going to enhance your health and wellness.

The post The Importance of Deep Sleep and 10 Tips on How to Get It first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post The Importance of Deep Sleep and 10 Tips on How to Get It appeared first on Healthy Gab.

Sleep deprivation can kill you — here’s 10 things that sleeping less than 7 hours per night does to your body and brain

HGabAdmin — Fri, 24 May 2019 14:35:31 +0000

About a third of US adults don’t get enough sleep.

And sleep deprivation has serious consequences for your brain and body.

Many people think they can get by on less than seven to nine hours a night — the amount of sleep doctors recommend for most adults — or say they need to sleep less because of work or family obligations.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently acknowledged in an interview with The New York Times that his long work hours were taking a toll on his well-being and raising concerns among his friends.

That prompted Arianna Huffington to post an open letter to Musk about his sleep schedule, telling him that he was “demonstrating a wildly outdated, anti-scientific and horribly inefficient way of using human energy.”

Musk posted his response on Twitter at 2:30 a.m. ET. “I just got home from the factory,” he said. “You think this is an option. It is not.”

Musk seems to understand that working 120-hour weeks is harmful. As Matthew Walker, a neuroscientist who’s an expert on sleep,previously told Business Insider, “The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life.”

Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep, and kids have to get even more, though needs do vary from person to person. Some incredibly rare people can actually get by on a few hours of sleep per night, while others on the opposite end of the spectrum are sometimes called “long sleepers” because they need 11 hours nightly.

But regardless of your body’s clock, a lack of sleep will cause your physical and mental health to suffer.

Here are 30 health consequences of sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation is linked to a higher risk for certain cancers

Sleep deprivation and disrupted sleep schedules have been linked to increased risk for several cancers, most notably colon and breastcancers.

Skin doesn’t heal as well from damage when you are tired, leading to skin aging

Poor sleep quality is strongly correlated with chronic skin problems, according to research from the University of Wisconsin. Studies have also found that when skin is damaged by the sun or other factors, it doesn’t heal as well in poor sleepers, so those people wind up showing more signs of skin aging.

Tired people have a harder time controlling their impulses, potentially leading to unhealthy behavior and weight gain

People who don’t get enough sleep have more cravings for unhealthy meals, a harder time resisting high-calorie foods, and difficulty controlling their impulses. Researchers think hormonal imbalances that result from sleep deprivation are responsible for this, since those imbalances are linked to a high body-mass indexand obesity.

People feel lonelier after sleepless nights — and being lonely makes it harder to sleep well

Researchers have found that sleep-deprived young adults are less likely to connect socially with other people, and that people who report poor sleep also tend to say they’re lonelier. To make things worse, people who feel lonely don’t tend to sleep as well, which can lead to a sort of vicious cycle.

Being sleepy makes it harder to learn and disrupts short-term memory

Sleepiness has long been a problem for students. Delaying school start times an hour for middle-school kids has been found to significantly increase standardized test scores, and it may have an even bigger effect on teens, who naturally tend to be night owls.

But it’s not just kids — sleep deprivation also wrecks adults’ short-term memory. Several studies have found that sleep-deprived adults have more difficulty remembering words they’ve learned and have a harder time improving newly learned skills.

Long-term sleep deprivation also seems to damage long-term memory

Sleep disruptions for elderly people can lead to structural changes in the brain associated with impaired long-term memory. Sleep-related memory deficits have been observed in the general adult population as well — as early as 1924, researchers noticed that people who slept more forgot less.

A growing body of evidence links bad sleep with signs of Alzheimer’s in the brain

Several studies have found that sleep helps cleanse the brain of the beta-amyloid protein that can build up while you are awake. That protein is strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers say that a lack of sleep can lead to a vicious cycle, since the more beta-amyloid protein there is in the brain, the harder it is to get to a cleansing deep-sleep state. People with more disrupted sleep schedules tend to have more beta-amyloid protein built up.

Heart disease risk rises with sleep deprivation

There’s plenty of evidence that sleep deprivation has a negative effect on the heart. When researchers kept people awake for 88 hours, their blood pressure went up (no big surprise there). Even participants who were allowed to sleep for four hours a night showed an elevated heart rate when compared with those who got eight hours. Concentrations of C-reactive protein, a marker of heart-disease risk, also increase in people who are fully or partially deprived of sleep.

Sleepiness leads to irritability

People feel irritable after sleepless nights (as we’ve all experienced at some point), and research has also found that people get more distressed by common circumstances like interruptions at work when they are tired.

Sleep-deprived people have slower reactions

Your reaction time is severely impeded when you don’t get enough sleep. Studies have found that college athletes and West Point cadetsall did worse on decision-making tests and had slower reactions while tired.

Thats not all! Here is a list of more problems derived from sleep deprivation:

The longer people go without sleep, the harder it is for them to see clearly — people sometimes even experience hallucinations when they’re sleep-deprived
So it’s no surprise that sleepiness makes people clumsier
The immune system doesn’t work as well when you’re tired
Overtired people are more susceptible to colds
Being tired drains your sex drive and makes it harder to perform
Sleepy people express more unhappiness and signs of depression
Risk of type 2 diabetes rises when people are overtired, even for people who aren’t overweight
Tiredness is associated with bad decision-making that can put lives and finances in danger
Sleepy people are more easily distracted
Tiredness makes it hard to speak normally
Like driving drunk, driving tired can lead to more car accidents
Tiredness is connected to urine overproduction
You need sleep for muscles to get stronger — without it, muscle atrophy occurs
Sleepiness makes pain harder to cope with
Tiredness leads to gastrointestinal issues
Sleepiness is associated with headaches
Disrupted sleep cycles lead to more inflammation, which could worsen asthma, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease
If snoring or sleep apnea is causing sleep disruption, it could lead to serious health problems
Poor sleep disrupts genetic activity, which may explain some of the health risks of getting too little rest

At any given time, people who haven’t gotten the right amount of sleep are more likely to die

Many health problems are associated with sleep deprivation and poor sleep, but here’s the big one: People who consistently do not get seven or eight hours of sleep a night are more likely to die during a given period.

Put more simply: We all die eventually, but sleeping too little— or even too much— is associated with a higher risk of dying sooner than you might otherwise.

original/complete article can be found on https://www.businessinsider.com/sleep-deprivation-effects-on-your-body-brain-2018-8

The post Sleep deprivation can kill you — here’s 10 things that sleeping less than 7 hours per night does to your body and brain first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post Sleep deprivation can kill you — here’s 10 things that sleeping less than 7 hours per night does to your body and brain appeared first on Healthy Gab.