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5 Powerful Reasons to Take Food Supplements

March 14, 2016 By Marisol

Dietary supplements continue to be a debatable issue among health professionals, fitness specialists and nutrition experts. On one hand, there are people who believe that all the vitamins and minerals needed by our bodies can be obtained through diet alone. They have even come up with studies that show the negative effects of these products that come in the form of tablets, capsules, drinks and energy bars, increasing the risk for mortality in certain age and gender groups, even if direct cause has not been proven. These pills and tablets are not regulated, they say, and taking them could do more harm than good. On the other end, there are physicians and nutrition scientists who advocate the use of these health products, claiming that while sensible eating provides us with the necessary nutrients, the changing times are depriving us of sufficient amounts to protect our tissues and organs, hence lowering our immune system and making us more susceptible to diseases.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/colindunn/4397922243/

Carol Haggans, a registered dietitian and consultant to NIH, says, “It’s possible to get all of the nutrients you need by eating a variety of healthy foods, so you don’t have to take one but supplements can be useful for filling in gaps in your diet.” Fast-paced lifestyles, environmental destruction and climate change, and a host of other factors have widened these gaps, contributing to our nutritional deficit. Hence, the need for dietary reinforcement becomes more urgent.

Five Reasons to Take Food Supplements

We are eating more nutrient-deficient processed food and fast foods.

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The fast-paced lifestyle of today has people multitasking and being always on the go, making processed foods and fast food offerings a very convenient way of taking one’s meals. Yet fast foods have been stripped of their nutrients and replaced with chemical additives and preservatives to make the tastier and more filling. If you are making them your regular meals, you will need vitamin and mineral pills.

We are exposed to environmental toxins daily.

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External toxins and free radicals abound in the environment, coming from cigarette smoke, exhaust from cars, pesticides and even household items like hair sprays and cleansers. You inhale them and absorb them through your skin. To combat the damaging effects of toxins on our health, you need adequate amounts of antioxidants. Unless you are fastidious about the food you eat, your regular diet is not enough to provide you with ample amounts of antioxidants. You can only get them from dietary supplements.

The earth’s soil has been depleted of nutrients.

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Back in the early 1900s, our planet’s land was rich in vitamins and minerals. These were passed on to the organic matters that grew on them – trees and their fruits, vegetables and other plants that we eat. Today, the potassium, calcium, magnesium and other important micronutrients that nourish and protect our bodies are severely lacking in our earth. Business in agriculture is partly responsible for the depletion of the nutrients in soil. Farmers abuse the land, planting and harvesting for profit without giving the land enough time to regenerate the nutrients. One negative outcome of this is seen in our fruits and vegetables. Compared to years earlier, they now have less of the vitamins and minerals they used to be abundant in.

Cooking methods and storage decrease the nutrients in our fruits and vegetables.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/agrilifetoday/15244283410/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agrilifetoday/15244283410/

Vitamins and minerals are affected in different manner by specific cooking methods and storage. When cooking vegetables in water, most vitamins and minerals leak out to the water, so throwing the water away means you’re not getting the nutrients in the food. If it’s broth or soup where you eat the liquid, you’re getting the nutrients, too. High heat and longer cooking time destroy Vitamin C, potassium and folate. Long storage time, even in cool places like your refrigerator, also depletes food of its nutritional value.

Adults now experience more stress than their ancestors.

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The adults of today are more stressed than their parents. In part, this is due to the emphasis placed on loving one’s self, achievement of external goals (money, success, fame and image) and overly high expectations from other people. These are all stressful objectives, especially if unmet. Stress impairs proper breathing. Stressed people have small short breaths, depriving their lungs of sufficient oxygen. Stress produces too much adrenaline and cortisol, leading to higher blood pressure and other medical conditions. Being stressed also leads you to unhealthy actions, like smoking, drinking and eating your comfort foods that are usually high in fats and sugar.

Now you know why diet alone isn not enough. Although ideally, we should be getting all the required nutrients from the food we eat, it is nearly impossible when we are surrounded by the unavoidable toxins and our fruits and vegetables are not as vitamin- and mineral-rich as they used to be. If we want to stay healthy and live longer, supplementation is a good way to begin.

Filed Under: Health & Beauty Tagged With: benefits of food supplements, food supplements, minerals, vitamins

Sleep – The Often Overlooked Factor in Healthy Living

February 27, 2016 By Marisol

When a healthy lifestyle is discussed, the most common factors mentioned are the need for a healthy diet and regular exercise, and to stop the smoking and drinking habits. Seldom do we include adequate and sound sleep to maintain our physical and mental wellness. To make matters worse, contemporary society looks upon people who sleep little as good and industrious performers while sleeping is interpreted as being lazy.

Difficulty sleeping
Source: Mislav Marohnic.https://www.flickr.com/photos/mislav-marohnic/5233928419.Nov 25 2010

Sleep is usually left out when talking about the fundamental practices to achieve life longevity and wellbeing. Even doctors and other healthcare professionals fail to bring it up in their advice to their patients for lifestyle changes. Yet, it is right up there on the level of importance with water, a nutritious diet, regular physical activity and stress coping mechanisms. Sleep allows your body to rest after the business of a day is done. It is its opportunity to recharge and repair and ideally, sleep should last for seven to nine uninterrupted hours.

Learn more about sleep, the often overlooked factor if you want to live longer, reduce your risks for illnesses and enhance good moods.

Five Reasons to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

1. It reduces the appetite and suppresses hunger.

When the body is deprived of sleep, it lowers the normal release of the hormone leptin, which functions to curb appetite, and increases the level of the ghrelin hormone, the appetite stimulant. Consistently sleeping for only a few hours a night therefore leads to weight gain or obesity.

2. It keeps you young looking.

Granted, the study that showed faster biological aging as a result of sleep deprivation involved older participants, why risk the chance that it could be true for younger ones, too?

Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/nRAhNSGCpB4
Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/nRAhNSGCpB4

3. It enhances good moods and relieves stress.

Even without scientific data, everyone will agree that getting a good night’s sleep is a mood upper, just as not sleeping enough causes irritability. But the sleep-stress link is a vicious cycle. Sleep deprivation causes stress that in turn causes insomnia. Chronic insomnia leads to depression, anxiety, poor performance in school or at work, poor memory and impaired reflex response. So the solution is to address the cause of stress first or your own perception of stress.

4. It staves off diseases.

When you sleep, your body produces more T-cells. These cells fight against invaders such as the bacteria and viruses that cause colds, flu and other acute illnesses. Habitual lack of sleep also increases the risk for dreaded chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart conditions.

5. It boosts alertness and upgrades performance.

Achieving a sleep/wake equilibrium helps maintain your alertness and subsequently your performance in any activity, be it at home, in school, at work and even in sports. Sleep deprivation makes you sluggish and lose concentration.

8 Ways to Sleep Soundly

  • Stick to a regular exercise regimen but avoid overdoing it, especially on the three hours prior to your bedtime.
  • Have a modest meal at least four hours before going to sleep. A too full or too hungry stomach can keep you awake. Avoid caffeinated and alcoholic drinks.
  • Take a warm shower when you are ready to go to bed. Apply lavender essence to your bath for a sedating effect.
  • Keep your bedroom clean, uncluttered and in cool temperature. Use soft linens on your bed and pillows. Spray your sheets with chamomile or lavender aroma since these are calming oils.
  • Use dim yellow lights or turn off lights completely when going to sleep. Bright lights mimic the sun and can be glaring on the eyes.
  • Avoid watching an action movie just before going to sleep. Play soothing soft music or use apps that play the sounds of waves, raindrops or wind to calm you down.
  • Relax your mind, put away distressing issues and think positive thoughts of peace and gratitude. Meditate. Count sheep. A repetitive act will help you sleep faster.
bedroom
Source: www.pixabay.com

If you didn't have a fitful sleep or enough sleeping hours the night before, make up for the loss by taking afternoon naps of 15 - 30 minutes. Napping restores energy and makes you ready to face the rest of the day again.

Sleep is a key factor to achieving an enhanced quality of life in its physical, psychological and cognitive aspects. If you suffer from chronic insomnia and sleep deprivation is taking its toll on your health, relationships and performance, seek the help of a healthcare professional or a mental health specialist.

Filed Under: Health & Beauty Tagged With: importance of sleep, sleep, ways to sleep soundly

6 Ways to Exude Confidence without Seeming Boastful

October 8, 2015 By Marisol

Everybody wants to have confidence but not everyone knows how to get it or even know what it is. In trying too hard, a lot of people become arrogant and cocky. The truly confident people walk and talk with an air of quiet assurance. They don’t constantly seek affirmation from other people because they know what their strengths and abilities are as well as their limitations. Those are the types of people you want to emulate.

Before you start on your mission to gain confidence, it’s important to know what this quality is, and why it is essential to your overall success and happiness. The best definition of it I can find comes from Google: a feeling of self-assurance arising from one”s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.
And there lies the problem. How do you gauge your skills and abilities? What if you over-rate yourself? In thinking too highly of yourself, you may only be presenting yourself as a bragger. It’s a thin line between radiating inner strength and coming off as a smart-alecky show off.

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Here are tips on how to naturally exude confidence without seeming boastful.

1. Know your strengths and work to improve them.

What do you like to do? It could be leading people and motivating them, cooking, excelling at a certain sport, or simply doing your job well. When you have identified your interest, work on improving them. Attend classes, find help on the internet and consistently develop your skills by learning newer techniques. When you know you are good at something, that itself gives you confidence.

2. Graciously accept compliments but don't seek them out.

Confident people welcome recognition of their abilities but don’t actively seek them out. Their behavior and attitude do not change with the absence or presence of others because these are constants in their lives. When praised, they respond with an acknowledgement but avoid self-glorification.

3. Take notice of criticisms but don't overly react to them.

No matter what others say, critiques and criticisms are always negative. They attack the issue or the person’s character and even the most confident individual is still a human being, after all. But how you react to criticism is what defines your own self-esteem. Rather than holding the person in contempt, confident people analyze and learn from the negative comments. If it was an undeserved one, they simply dismiss it and don't obsess over it.

Having-Confidence-quotes

4. Avoid extolling your own achievements and virtues.

Some people mistakenly think that by talking about their accomplishments, talents and possessions, they look good to other people. But a study published in Psychological Science has found that braggers were less liked by other people. While this is not a surprising revelation, it should make you take stock of yourself and see if you’re guilty of bragging. Bragging elicits a good feeling, akin to that of eating and having sex. It’s also a way to unconsciously boost the self-image because people who brag all the time are actually those who are insecure and have low self-esteem.

Confident people don’t brag unceasingly and indiscriminately. They share their stories and experiences with other people who are genuinely interested to listen. And in sharing, they also inject a sense of awe in their stories and gratitude for their achievements.

5. Be ready to listen more.

Genuine listening is different from making small talk. And the people you are conversing with can easily tell one from the other. The technique to active listening is to develop a sense of curiosity and a sincere desire to know the story. Show the person that you are genuinely listening by asking appropriate follow-up questions. Don’t judge and contradict. And don’t interrupt; let the person finish first before talking.

6. Be happy for the success of other people.

The really confident person does not begrudge another person’s success because it does not take away from his own. When you are confident in your own accomplishments, you don’t view other people as threats. On the other hand, you feel truly happy for them and when they see that, they will appreciate you.

Filed Under: Health & Beauty, Work & Money Tagged With: exude confidence without looking boastful, self confidence

We Can’t All Be Melissa McCarthy, So Let’s Stop Fooling Ourselves

May 27, 2015 By Marisol

In celebrity news, all reports say Melissa McCarthy looked stunning in her latest three appearances. She was seen on May 19 when she got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, then a week later in Berlin and London for the premiers of the action comedy movie Spy, which she co-stars alongside Jude Law, Jason Statham and Rose Byrne.

Women size 5 and above who saw the photos and read about her must be feeling elated. Finally, we’re being recognized, and in a positive way. If Melissa can get away with it, why not us?

Wake up, ladies, and smell the java. That’s Melissa McCarthy, famous actress and comedian whose one-liners can trigger a million laughs. So if she says, “To my core, I don’t care. I’ve let go of that quest for perfection,” don’t believe her; it’s her version of a Jedi mind trick. Besides, if the commodious comedian truly meant what she said, why did she do Pilates to lose 50 lbs.? She should just have let well enough alone and gained more weight.

Actress Melissa McCarthy is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame on May 19, 2015 in Hollywood, California.
Actress Melissa McCarthy is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame on May 19, 2015 in Hollywood, California.

To be fair, McCarthy did look relatively spectacular in her recent looks – a snakeskin floor-length dress with a sexy-ish keyhole neckline, a cream tunic with swirl pattern paired with leather leggings and a floral white-and-purple maxi dress, all in flowing fabric, the favorite weight falsifier of plump women. If the actress keeps on with her weight loss, it would be exciting to see how she looks in the upcoming reboot of Ghostbusters, which will star an all-female cast.

For us mere mortals, let’s get real and stop fooling ourselves. Here are some painful truths that fat girls and women have to put up with:

Most men are not naturally attracted to fat girls.

That is a universal truth. Men are physical by nature and the first thing they notice in a girl are her corporeal attributes. If they had a choice of dating a supermodel-y miss or one on the heavy side, other things being equal, it’s a 99.9% chance they will pick the former. A slim girl is also arm candy and for guys, that’s something to brag about.

Granted, there are some boys who intentionally seek out overweight girls. They have this pre-conception that excess pounds are directly proportional to high IQs and pleasing personalities. Or they may just have an adipose tissue fetish.

Fat girls can’t wear bikinis.

Technically, this isn’t true. Anyone can wear a bikini, even your ninety-year old grandma, or grandpa for that matter. But girls and young women have not fully transcended into the higher level and are therefore vulnerable to snickers, howls and cruel jokes. Fat girls in bikinis are prime targets of bashers. They are better off wearing modest one-piece swimsuits in black.

Fat girls can’t wear sexy clothes.

Body-con dresses, cut-off shorts, barely there skirts and butt-hugging denims are for girls size 2, 3 and 4. Flabs trying to squeeze into these outfits is an oxygen-stealing experience that will turn chubby girls blue in the face and get the fashion police responding.

But something to look forward to come August is Melissa McCarthy’s clothing line that will make clothes shopping a delight, if you’re anywhere from size 4 to 28.

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Even intellectual professors are not exempt in having a bias against fat girls.

Social research has shown that professors and teachers have biased attitudes against their overweight students. The anti-fat inclination drives overweight girls to perform poorly and get lower grades as a result. To resolve the question of which comes first, PE teachers from an unnamed school reported expecting lower performance from fat students, so that the same performance from a normal and an overweight student will not be viewed in the same way. Such a bias will tend toward giving the fat person a lower grade.

Job opportunities are offered first to the slim girls.

First impressions of employers matter a lot in their hiring decisions. Of those already employed, about 49% reported work discrimination such as less promotions and being the butt of jokes. Again, this is based on scientific data and is not my personal observation. Yet, who’s surprised? We see it all the time, among friends, in school, at work. And we’re even guilty of it ourselves.

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Filed Under: Diet & Fitness Tagged With: fat girls, melissa mccarthy weight, spy movie

3 Common Unhealthy Habits of Millennials

May 10, 2015 By Marisol

Smoking and booze are notorious for topping the list of harmful behavior across all generations. But today, Generation Y have their own unique challenges to having a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Many of the unhealthy habits of millennials are borne out of the advancements in technology that provide limitless possibilities. Technology misused has its negative effects on health; knowing about them, whether you’re a millennial or not, will help you avoid those behaviors and allow you to live to old age unencumbered by illness. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Health & Beauty Tagged With: lack of sleep, millennials, sitting, unhealthy habits of millennials, video gaming

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