The Secret to Delicious and Effective Healthy Living Recipes
You are probably tired of all the “substitution” healthy living recipes. These “substitution” recipes are actually unhealthy foods that they have tried to make healthy and still remain palatable. But, there is still absolutely no way to make a candy bar from lime extract, dates and peanuts. This won’t ever happen. Dates and limes just don’t make a candy bar.
However, when you come to this realization it can be very liberating. In fact, you will discover how good healthy foods really are. Once you stop trying to bake delicious, moist brownies out of cardboard, you can start focusing on creating dishes that you will actually enjoy.
Here are a few tips on how you can create your own healthy living recipes that are very good and satisfying:
• Its best to stay in season
Seasonal foods are definitely a treat and very tasty. You should always treat them that way. They are perfect for making into delicious main courses or the desserts. You should try using peaches in the summer and delicious mandarin oranges in the winter. Berries are a great way to greet spring, and crisp apples are ideal for fall. You can still enjoy these fruits the rest of the year, but if you eat them when they are at they best, they can be quite the treat.
• Put your attentions on the positive
Ordinarily, when you are eating healthy you should stay away from heavily processed foods. So no packaged foods. Instead of bemoaning the loss of your “little debbies” or packaged cookies, instead focus on how delicious your homemade treats are. Then you can be so proud of yourself not only for eating right, but for also creating those healthy living recipes that are so delicious.
• Pay attention to your family
This may not sound like a recipe at first. However, when meals become about time spent together rather than food, you will find that everything tastes better. Your meal can become a time of self-reflection if your schedules don’t allow for regular family dining. Take some deep breaths and drink a good, healthy cup of green tea. Eat slowly and take time to think about yourself and your day. You will soon see that this makes meals so much easier even if you aren’t eating high fat foods you really want.
There is more to healthy living that just food. Its more about mindset. In closing, a really successful healthy living recipe factors in all aspects of a meal and doesn’t just focus in on the sugar and preservative content.
September 21, 2009
Backing Up the Green Tea Healthy Habit
If it seems like we’ve been on a green tea binge lately, you’re right about that healthy habit. There is so much thrilling research available today regarding green tea. The good news just keeps coming. However, don’t take my word for it. I’m just your friendly neighborhood science-reporting beauty goddess. (You didn’t know that was my official title, did you?) Instead, check out the peer-reviewed data available everywhere:
• 2001 International Journal of Cancer
Chronic gastritis and stomach cancer are just a couple diseases green tea can prevent. Scientists analyzed people for this study. You certainly aren’t dealing with fish and green tea. These are real people in China.
• 2003 International Journal of Cancer
Green tea has been found to interfere with some types of cancer and angiogenesis. Cancers cannot develop without angiogenesis occurring in your blood cells. The healthy habit of green tea can actually help inhibit the growth of cancer already in existence.
• 2006 Journal of American Medical Association
Green tea also contributes to a decreased cancer deaths. This was a study that showed that people who drank green tea usually tended to have lower death rates from cancer. In a nutshell, green tea basically appears to help them avoid or recover from cancer better.
• 2009 American Journal of Epidemiology
Green tea will also help to prohibit blood and lymph cancers. A new study out of Japan showed that if you drink about 5 cups of green tea daily it can cut the probability of you developing any of these issues by 50 percent.
Just imagine, those are just four out of thousands….
As you can see, green tea is a habit worth keeping. If not already a habit, start drinking green tea now and make it a habit. Trust me — it’s a lot better (and a lot better for you) than trying to start nibbling your nails or twirling your hair! Some people like to brew their own tea while others take it as a supplement. Can’t stand the taste? Try it in a capsule. Whatever you decide to do, you can indulge in this healthy habit with confidence, knowing that you are taking steps to keep your life long and your skin intact.
September 20, 2009
Hay Fever Attacking? Here Are Three Herbal Allergy Remedies That Research Has Found Can Help Relieve Allergies
Allergies, particularly seasonal allergies, also known as hay fever are a very common problem these days, mainly in urban countries. Although the exact reason for allergies is by and large tough to describe, it is well-known that when the whole body comprehends a “foreign invader” or any other probable danger, it expels a chemical known as histamine. This chemical causes swelling, and is primarily responsible for most allergy symptoms.
While some people wonder why our body would create histamine at all, it is really a very superior immune system response, at least for the moment. It is the body’s way of segregating the unfamiliar matter, and eliminating it from our system.
Envisage this… something dangerous or toxic suddenly was breathed in and particles attached themselves to the insides of your nose or the cornea of your eye. Your whole body wants a way to get this danger away, so it generates nasal mucus to “entrap and remove” it as you blow your nose… or your eyes begin to water and burn to let you make out something is not right, and it is clearing it out as it is possible to.
So the advantage is clear… the difficulty with allergies is that the body replies in the same manner to foreign substances that are NOT dangerous…like cat dander, or pollen. Now, the general method in most of the developed world to stop allergies is some form of prescription or OTC drugs. Nonetheless, there are natural herbs and remedies that are effective in lowering levels of histamine and alleviating other allergy symptoms. While not all herbal remedies work, these have shown some promise in lab studies.
Here are some of the top herbs for allergies:
Licorice - Yep, the same plant that grants the candy it’s name a flavor. Licorice has been revealed in studies to lessen allergy symptoms by lessening irritation. It does this by helping maintain high levels of natural cortisol in the bloodstream. Cortisol is mainly a natural drug, and it works to decrease inflammation. Beware of having licorice if you are suffering from high blood pressure, or any heart condition, or take any medication for any heart conditions. Pregnant and nursing women should never take licorice.
If you have trouble breathing when your allergies are bad, then take Ma Haung. Ma Huang is able to open the airway because of its properties that act as a natural stimulant. Be cautious with this herb if you are suffering from hypertension, and it is best only if used for short periods of time… usually ten days at a stretch or less.
Nettles is good at blocking histamine. Perfectly made nettles extract might be capable of blocking the chemical called histamine in your body. Generally 2 - 4 ml per day of well prepared extract is a better dosage for anyone attempting to prevent hay fever symptoms.
These are herbal plants that can aid in relieving symptoms of allergy, but please check with a physician before taking any herb for whichever reason, as drug interactions and negative impacts are rare but possible. So be very careful when trying any herbs for allergies.
Fighting Off Seasonal Allergies? There Are A Few Herbal Remedies That Can Help
Alternative remedies and herbs for allergies are always increasing in popularity, due in part to a public more aware of pharmaceutical drug dangers and side effects. This isn’t to say that all natural and organic remedies are completely safe… but typically side effects and drug interactions are milder, and they are much more affordable than expensive synthetic pharmaceutical medications.
Furthermore, many people in the world have a hard time obtaining prescription allergy medications, but would like a form of medication that can clear up the burning eyes, the running nose, the swollen feeling symptoms that have to do with excess histamine in the body… A.K.A. hay fever or an allergy attack.
Luckily there are several several herbs for allergies that work as antihistamines. Histamine is a chemical in the human body that your body makes to respond to what your body believes is a foreign chemical, or allergen.
Now, in extreme circumstances of massive histamine release it is possible to enter a state called anaphylactic shock, and death can result. In these situations, herbal remedies for allergies are not a good approach, and you need to stick to the one sure cure for too much histamine: an epinephrine (adrenaline) shot.
However, for nearly all of histamine responses to allergens, there are more mild symptoms, and include the typical symptoms that come with allergies. burning, itchy eyes, nasal congestion, sinus pain, etc. These problems can usually be treated effective herbs for allergies.
Nettle For Allergies - This is an herbal antihistamine. In fact, a study was conducted in 1990 with 69 people who have seasonal allergies taking nettles or a OTC med for their allergies. over half found good benefit from the herb, and 48% found it to relieve more symptoms than the OTC lab created allergy medications. Additional studies have been undertaken and conclude this herb is effective for seasonal allergies.
Eyebright - This herb has been widely used by herbalists for the past century. Even though lab research has not yet documented clinical, controlled studies on eyebright, science knows it to be made up partially of flavonoids. These compounds are commonly believed to be an anti-inflammatory in mucus membranes like nasal and optical membranes.
Quercetin - This natural pigment has some great antioxidant and histamine blocking abilities. When studied in a test tube, quercetin lessens the histamine that immune system cells release. While this isn’t verified to work the same in a living organism yet, it is evidence that quercetin MAY be a herbal allergy remedy that works.
Now, much more research should be undertaken to corroborate the efficacy and the safety of these natural remedies for allergies. Furthermore, it is necessary that you consult a medical professional before using any of these herbs for allergies. A woman pregnant or nursing shouldn’t take any medication, herbal or synthetic without an informed recommendation from a pediatrician. However, for those needing a natural remedy for allergies, these three can be just what knocks your hay fever out! =]
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