Eat Local and Boost Your Immunity

Ever hear the term “locavores”? Locavores are people who seek out foods in their native region and this group of people is growing rapidly. There are many economic and environmental benefits to becoming a “locavore”, in addition to actual health benefits. In fact eating locally may boost your immune system! According to an article on www.GreenSceneUSA.com, local foods may be less processed. They are also not transported thousands of miles across the continent to reach your dinner table. Transported foods may harbor unwanted bacteria and pathogens that were picked up along the way. Our bodies may have less natural resistance to foods coming from those other areas, while local foods provide microbes that are specific to the region we live in and bolster our immune capacity.

While there’s no hard science that indicates the health benefits of local foods, the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill is researching this topic. Last year, they began studying the benefits of eating locally. If you want more information on eating locally and making this switch, check out www.eatlocalchallenge.com.

While we are all aware of the global warming issues that trucking companies are faced with, eating locally also assists in lowering emissions caused by those trucks thereby benefiting our environment as well.

Pop Your Pills

Do you take your daily vitamins? Kids aren’t the only ones who need to take their daily vitamins. The American Medical Association now recommends all adults to take daily multivitamins. People take vitamins for a majority of reasons. Basically, people take them to be healthier and ensure they are getting adequate nutrients in their body. The FDA has a Daily Required Allowance (DRA) they publish to let you know the various amounts of minerals and vitamins your body needs. If you eat a well balanced 3 meals a day containing foods from the each food group, you should have enough vitamins and minerals needed. But if you don’t eat properly you may need to supplement with daily vitamins.

The older you get the more important it is to take daily vitamins. Vitamins help your body to stay in proper working condition, sounds like a vehicle, doesn’t it? Well your body is your vehicle and it needs to be kept running smoothly. Vitamins assist your blood in staying clean, digestion and organs working correctly, and can help you feel a lot better. Find out what vitamins and minerals you may need to be taking at this neat website, it gives you your optimal daily intake.

3 Simple Things to Lose Weight

I am sure these are not things that are going to sound brand new to you. But if you follow this simple 3 step plan, you are bound to lose weight and gain a bunch of energy.  Of course add the exercise into this anytime you can.

1. Get enough rest. Lacking in sleep can increase your chance of being overweight. How you ask? Well your brain craves dopamine and serotonin. These two naturally occurring chemicals in our bodies come from sleep. When we do not get the right amount of sleep at night, our bodies and brain still crave it. So we seek other sources to quelch the craving, mainly in searching out sugary foods. Sugary foods equal weight gain.  Sugary foods give us an instant high, and a faster low.  That low makes us tired shortly after eating the sugar and then we sleep.  By sleeping, our bodies do not have the time to metabolize the food we ate, causing the food we ate to turn into fat.  So yes, its a catch 22!  The answer: Tuck yourself in earlier at night and go to sleep!
2. Keep busy.  By keeping busy, especially our hands, we do not eat on the junk that so often entices us.  Now, that’s not to say that endless hours on your butt at the computer are good for your waistline, but when you keep your hands and brain occupied, you’re not reaching for something to eat. You’re probably not even thinking about food. So the next time you start to open the fridge door, turn on the computer or pick up your knitting instead.
3. Less choices. Having too much variety as options for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even snacktime makes gaining weight a heck of a lot easier.  Try picking one meal a day and eat the same exact thing everyday for that meal.  Make sure the meal is on the healthy side, like a salad with a piece of grilled chicken on it for lunch.  Having less choices, helps you think less about food, and makes it easier to control your appetite.

I hope these tips help you on your dieting journey.  Share some other suggestions with us.

Reduce Wrinkles

As we age, we start to worry more and more about wrinkles and aging. The worry about the wrinkles can often cause wrinkles itself. Many wrinkles come along with age, but some we often help out.

Squinting can cause repetitive facial movements that will form a ridge beneath the skin by overworking your muscles. This eventually leaves a wrinkle. If you have to squint, look into getting glasses. Glasses are far better a fashion statement than wrinkles.

Who would have thought that you can be enabling wrinkling while you sleep?! It’s a sad truth that those face lines you see when you awake, don’t all fade through the day. Side and face down lead to increased face wrinkles, it is best to sleep on back. For those of us just getting this crucial information, too late, try a wrinkle cream to help fill those lines.

Don’t over wash your face. Washing your face with tap water strips the skin of nutrients. When you do wash, don’t use normal soap. Wash your face with a gentle cleanser or soap containing a moisturizer.

Things that you eat can also affect your skin. It was found that cocoa will actually lead to healthier feeling and looking skin. Soy, so popular these days, can help protect and firm the skin. Salmon assists in maintaining great skin. It contains omega-3, a fatty acid, that nourishes skin. Eating Salmon will keep skin plump and youthful.

You will also want to remember the old rituals of no smoking, moisturizing and sunscreen. Mother Nature is already gearing up to give you wrinkles, don’t help her out. Take care of your skin, you only get one shot at it.

How To Stop Pigging Out

Ever had trouble controlling your appetite as soon as you set your eyes on the table feast? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many women continue to encounter this problem. Here are some tips you can apply to lessen overeating and pigging out.

1. Eat before going to a party or gathering.

Parties usually mean lots of food spread out in scrumptious buffets. If you want to lose some weight and control your intake, eat a healthy snack before going to the party. It may be a bowl of cereal, some fruits, or yogurt. Anything that is healthy and fills up your stomach halfway, that way you don’t attend the party eager to attack.

2. Drink a large glass of sparkling water before every meal.

Drinking water is another way to fill up the stomach without putting on the calories. Having a large glass of water before eating lessens the hunger and appetite for a bit, giving you the feeling of fullness. Do this regularly and you may see the long term benefits of every slight dampening in appetite before every meal.

3. Start with a lot of salad and seafood.

If you are in a party or event and there are lots of foods to choose from, start with the salads or seafood. Salads or seafood could fill you up the way carbohydrates can but with much less of the fats and calories. If you want to have a taste of the yummy-looking pastas and chicken or the scrumptious desserts, do it at the last part of your meal, that way you’ll be full enough to gorge in such calorific treats.

4. Eat slowly.

Eating slowly will give your stomach much more time to tell your brain how much you’ve eaten. On the other hand, eating in haste can result to overeating because you don’t realize how full you are until you’ve fully stuffed your stomach and maximized its capacity. Chew slowly and make sure you crush all the food before swallowing.

5. Eat on the table.

Eating in front of the television or while reading a book can divert your attention and distract you from realizing that you’ve been eating a lot. When you’re eating while doing something you enjoy like watching a favorite show, you unconsciously transfer that enjoyment to your eating, making you consume a lot more than you intended.

Care to share a tip?

Super body, inside and out

If there is one thing everyone has in common, it is the desire to be physically fit and healthy.  But what if you cannot afford a personal trainer or nutritionist?  You can stil get that start quality body that the rich and famous have.

Here are some tips to help you become the picture of health:

• EXERCISE – It strengthens all of your muscles, increases your flexibility, burns fat and gives you tons of energy!  Try joining a sport or activity like softball, tennis, or swim.
• NUTRITION – If you want to be healthy, you have to eat healthy.  Eat foods with nutrients.  You will cover all of your bases by eating fruits, veggies, carbs, protein and do not forget to drink plenty of water.  We need 64 oz of water a day to help with diet and flush our systems properly.  Carry a water bottle with you every place you go and drink, drink, drink.
• VITAMINS – Your body does a lot, so why not lend a hand?  A great multi-vitamin is essential in maintaining proper health and well being.  Your body needs vitamins to develop and keep you healthy and at your optimum.  Vitamins daily will also ensure that you are getting the proper nutritional supplements your body needs.

Small square sky blue plates, the secret to eating less

I was recently talking to a friend and since I just wrote a post on weight loss I had to share this with you guys. My friend is a psychologist and she specializes with people who are overweight. She said that there is proof that using a small square blue plate will curb your appetite.

The sky blue color plate can be accompanied by a sky blue tablecloth. This color is known to reduce appetite because it stimulates an area of the brain that has a calming effect on the body, beta waves. It makes you feel satisfied and full.

The small square sky blue plate make the food on the plate look like more. The symmetry of the plate helps stimulate the part of the brain that seeks balance according to feng shui and makes cravings much weaker or non existent.

Another secret she says is peppermint aromatherapy. Peppermint scent satiates the hunger pangs so it tricks the body into thinking it is no longer hungry.

So stock up on sky blue, its a great color for summer too!