By N. Cagahastian Herbs are currently on the spotlight in the gardening scene. Home-cooks find growing herbs and veggies at home to be very practical and convenient. Herbs do not need a lot of room or horticultural skill to grow them. Many of them even are low maintenance yet perennial and last many years.
They may seem tiny, but herbs are actually nutrient giants loaded with compounds, antioxidants and essential minerals. To help you find the perfect tiny taste-enhancers that are perfect for your favourite and beloved dishes, Yahoo Health came up with a list of very helpful herbs that not only add taste to your dish but upgrade it to a whole new healthier level.
Thyme
Thyme are painkillers that can cure headaches.
No kitchen should be without thyme. This wonder herb is usually used to add fragrance to everyday dishes and is available throughout the year. It is one of the most widely used medicinal helbs for killing germs and curing colds. Packed with iron and manganese, two teaspoons of thyme provides 20 percent of the iron daily requirement and aids in brain function and bone formation.
Parsley
Parsley may play aid in blood clotting, liver function and proper bone formation. Two tablespoons of it provide more than 150 percent of Vitamin K daily requirement. It is also used to freshen breath and as an aphrodisiac.
Lemongrass
This citrusy grass is commonly found in Southeast Asia. It has the same compound found in lemon zest which explains its flavour and scent. It is also used to cure fever, muscle cramps, upset stomachs and headaches. It is packed with antioxidants that can help prevent heart diseases and cancer. Studies also found that it contains antimicrobial properties that destroy E. Coli.
Oregano
This wonder herb has 20 times more cancer-fighting antioxidants than other herbs. As a matter of fact, according to USDA researchers discovered that 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano has the same antioxidant power as a whole apple.
Rosemary
(Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images)) Study finds that sniffing rosemary can improve memory by 75%.
There is a healthy and scientific reason why rosemary usually spices up grilled steaks-according to a study, rosemary lowers the levels of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) found in barbecued or grilled meat by 60 to 80 percent.
Cilantro
A University of California research found that a compound in cilantro called dodecenal is twice as effective at eliminating salmonella bacteria as commercial antibiotics.
Sage
Just like oregano, sage is a powerhouse of antioxidants that boosts memory and brain power.
Lavender
FYI, it is not just for scented candles and incense. Yes, lavender has relaxing and stress alleviating effects but it is also a rich source of calcium, vitamin A, iron and vitamin C.
Peppermint
Like sage and oregano, peppermint has high levels of antioxidant levels and helps in reducing weight as its smell reduces cravings.
BALTIMORE —A recent study in the journal Nature Reviews Neurology reveals that patients with chronic migraines have lower levels of antioxidants than healthy patients who are headache-free, showing promise that antioxidants like riboflavin and co-enzyme Q10 may help relieve migraines.
When two people follow the same weight-loss diet to the letter, but one fails to lose weight, the problem might be their bodies' different responses to the same foods, a recent Israeli study suggests.
That's because when two people eat the same meal, one may experience a spike in blood sugar levels when the other person doesn't, the study found. Over time, elevated blood sugar can lead to health problems like obesity and diabetes.
Many popular diets such as Atkins, The Zone and South Beach center on a component known as the glycemic index (GI), a fixed ranking of foods based on how fast and how high they raise blood sugar after meals. The index was originally developed to help people with diabetes choose foods that wouldn't cause blood sugar to rise too high.
The logic behind the weight-loss diets is that consuming foods with a lower GI like fish, lean meat and vegetables can help keep blood sugar low and promote weight loss.
"The idea behind the low-GI diet is that the glycemic response to a certain food is an intrinsic property of the food which means that we should be able to predict how a certain individual would respond to some food by looking at the average response of a small group of other people to that food," senior study authors Eran Segal and Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot said by email. "Our study demonstrates that this cannot be done."
To see how foods are digested, Segal, Elinav and colleagues recruited 800 adult volunteers and collected data through health questionnaires, body measurements, blood tests, glucose monitoring, stool samples and a mobile app used to report lifestyle and food intake for a total of 46,898 meals.
In addition, they asked participants to eat similar meals for breakfast each day.
As expected, age and body weight appeared to impact blood sugar levels after meals.
But the study also found that different people show vastly different responses to the same food, even though their individual responses remained the same from day to day.
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The neurotoxic properties of aluminum have been known for long, with mounting evidence that chronic exposure can lead to many neurological diseases, including dementia, autism, and Parkinson’s disease.
Yet, as there is a lack of longitudinal studies, as well as push back from industries that use aluminium in their products, definitive scientific proof is difficult to establish. Still, despite the shortage of conclusive studies, mounting scientific evidence leaves little room for doubt.
A new case study from Keele University in the UK unequivocally shows high levels of aluminum in the brain of an individual exposed to aluminum at work, who later died from Alzheimer’s disease.
Indeed, aluminum exposure has been implicated in Alzheimer’s and a number of other neurological diseases until now, but this study claims to be “the first direct link” between Alzheimer’s disease and elevated brain aluminum following occupational exposure.
Namely, an aggressive form of early onset Alzheimer’s disease after eight years of occupational exposure to aluminum dust was found in the case of this 66 year-old Caucasian man , which scientists conclude “suggests a prominent role for the olfactory system and lungs in the accumulation of aluminum in the brain.”
There are many studies showing elevated aluminum levels in living individuals displaying a wide range of neurological. High aluminum levels in the tissues of people who died from Alzheimer’s disease have been found in a number of times before.
For example, in 2004, high aluminum levels were found in the tissues of a British woman who died of early-onset Alzheimer’s. This happened 16 years after an industrial accident dumped 20 metric tons of aluminum sulphate into her local drinking water.
Undoubtedly, exposure to aluminum is unfortunately an occupational hazard for those who work in industries like mining, factory work, welding, and agriculture.
Moreover, it is a fact that you ingest aluminum vapors every time your nose catches cigarette smoke wafting by. Inhaling aluminum dust or vapors sends aluminum particles directly into the lungs in a highly absorbable form, where they pass into the bloodstream and are distributed throughout your body, including the bones and brain.
It has been known that aluminum powder causes pulmonary fibrosis, and aluminum factory workers are prone to asthma. Studies of the health effects of aluminum vapours have been grim, pointing to high levels of neurotoxicity.
A featured documentary, The Age of Aluminum, is shining a light on this issue, revealing the “dark side” of this toxic metal, exploring the scientific links between aluminum and diseases such as breast cancer and neurological disorders. Additionally, it shows the way aluminum mining and manufacturing have created acute ecological problems across the globe, leading to environmental disasters in Hungary, South Africa, and the UK.
In the film, neuroscientist Christopher Shaw reports:
“Many researchers are beginning to accept that aluminum has some sort of role to play in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Whether it does in others is still an open question, but Alzheimer’s is really coming into focus and it’s fairly clear that the body burden of aluminum from all the sources to which humans are exposed may be contributing to Alzheimer’s disease.”
Aluminum Can Be Found Everywhere
Naturally, aluminum occurs in soil, water, and air, but we are additionally contributing to the load with the mining and processing of aluminum ores, the operation of coal-fired power plants and incinerators and manufacturing of aluminum products.
Aluminum only changes its form by attaching or separating from other particles, but it can’t be destroyed in the environment. Rain washes aluminum particles out of the air and into our water supply, where they tend to accumulate rather than degrade. People who live in an industrial area have higher than average exposure to aluminum.
The average adult in the US consumes about seven to nine mg of aluminum per day in food, and a lesser amount from air and water, according to CDC. Only about one percent of the aluminum you ingest orally gets absorbed into your body—the rest is moved out by your digestive tract, if it’s functioning well.
Laboratory tests have found aluminum contamination in a vast number of products on the market, from foods and beverages to pharmaceuticals, which suggests the manufacturing process itself is a significant part of the problem.
A shocking number of foods and consumer products contain aluminum, including:
additives such as magnesium stearate; drugs, such as antacids, analgesics, anti-diarrheals, and others;
Cosmetics and personal care products such as shampoos, lotions, sunscreens, antiperspirants, deodorants (including salt crystals, made of alum)
Foods such as baked goods and processed foods, baking powder, self- rising flour, salt, baby formula, coffee creamers, coloring and caking agents
Aluminum products, including foil, cans, juice pouches, tins, and water bottles
Vaccines—Hepatitis A and B, Hib, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), pneumococcal vaccine, Gardasil (HPV), and others
Aluminum contamination in our food supply is a more serious issue than you may think. Namely, aluminum compounds are often used as additives in foodstuffs. Additional contamination occurs when food comes into contact with aluminum equipment and other items, for aluminum is unstable in the presence of acids and bases.
Aluminum equipment has a protective oxide film, but this can be damaged as fine fissures develop from normal wear and tear. This toxic metal serves absolutely no biological purpose, so the less of it you ingest, the better.
Researchers in a study published in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe analyzed 1,431 non-animal foods and beverages for aluminum content, and their findings were the following:
77.8 percent of the studied foods and beverages had an aluminum concentration of up to 10 mg/kg
17.5 percent had aluminum concentrations between 10 and 100 mg\kg
4.6 percent of the samples had aluminum concentrations in excess of 100 mg/kg
The report contains a table which shows the aluminum content of everything from flour and baking mixes to soup, chocolate, beer and wine, and herbal teas, with variable contamination levels, while some are more homogenous. The report has numerous other tables that demonstrate the prevalence of aluminum in our food.
Baked goods are very high because of the common practice of baking and storing foods on aluminum trays Therefore, if you cook your food in aluminum foil, you are introducing your own contamination. It was found that cooking meals in aluminum foil increases their aluminum concentration.
Researchers concluded, “eating meals prepared in aluminum foil may carry a health risk by adding to other aluminum sources.”
A 2006 study found that cooking meat in aluminum foil increased aluminum levels as follows:
Aluminum levels increased with higher cooking temperatures and longer cooking times
Red meats cooked in aluminum foil showed an increase in aluminum by 89 to 378 percent
Poultry increased by 76 to 214 percent
The concerns are not due to one exposure here and there, but due to the cumulative effect of many smaller exposures over time that can lead to a toxic metal overload and erosion of your health.
Aluminum Is Detrimental For Your Brain
Scientists are clear that toxic metals damage brain tissue and lead to degenerative disease by producing oxidative stress—and aluminum is one of the worst offenders. Namely, it is as harmful for your central nervous system as cigarette smoke is for your lungs.
As the Alzheimer’s rates are increased daily, today’s multiple avenues of aluminum exposure are of great concern. Similarly to the particles in the environment, your body has a difficult time releasing it once aluminum is in your tissues.
When it enters your body, it travels around easily, unimpeded, boosting on your iron transport system. It crosses biological barriers that normally keep other types of toxins out, such as your blood-brain barrier.
Aluminum can accumulate in your brain over time and seriously damage your neurological health—regardless of your age.
Aluminum in children’s vaccines
The signs and symptoms of aluminum toxicity are shockingly similar to the ones of autism, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurological diseases. The MSDS sheet for aluminum shows symptoms strikingly similar to those in common neurological diseases, including speech impairments and aphasia, dementia, depression, muscle weakness, memory problems, motor disturbances, and other neurological difficulties.
The conventional cancer treatments include chemotherapy as an only way to fight this disease, but unfortunately, it harms the body even more than the cancer itself.
That is the reason why cancer patients turn to natural medicine, seeking for a safer way to treat cancer. Namely, a great number of people have succeeded in defeating this deadly disease with homemade remedies and natural herbs.
Some of them used carrots, others cannabis or turmeric and baking soda, but the newest remedy is honey.
Honey has been considered to be a holy food for centuries, since it is one of the most important natural remedies known to men. Throughout the history, it was constantly used due to its numerous health benefits, mostly by wealthy people as it was quite expensive.
Explorers discovered bowels with honey in Tutankhamen’s Tomb which is over 3000 years old. Romans and Greeks used the honey to strengthen the body and to heal wounds.
13 years ago, a man from Zagreb, called Ante Kresic from Zagreb, was told he had one of the deadliest cancers- lung cancer. Moreover, he was informed that he won’t live much longer.
Yet, he is perfectly healthy man today, due to his natural cancer treatment with honey and natural herbs. He defeated lung cancer and now he keeps bees.
He was released from the hospital in April and he decided to try the honey treatment. After several months he went for a regular check-up in the hospital in Zagreb, and the doctors were shocked because he was still alive.
Hence, they advised him to proceed with consuming his homemade remedies and therapies. In summer, his disease was gone. When he had his blood checked, there was no sign that he has ever been ill.
Afterwards, Kresic decided to share his experience in order to help people with similar problems like his one.
The stories of Kresic and people like him serve as evidence that honey mixed with other natural spices as ginger, pine needles and other herbs can defeat cancer.
A woman from Bosnia also succeeded in defeating cancer with a mixture prepared from honey and ginger. She recommends that the honey used should be homemade, or bought from reliable beekeepers. She also shared her recipe, hoping to be able to help others.
Recipe:
Chop two big ginger roots and mix them with (18 oz ) ½ kg of organic honey.
Put the mixture in a glass jar and consume 1 tablespoon (use wooden or plastic spoon) 3-4 times a day. The first effects will be achieved in 4 days.
Remember to keep positive and never give up the struggle for your health, regardless of the doctors’ predictions, for that is the first step to your improvement.
Two scientists, during World War II, invented the magnetron, a tube that produced microwaves. Combining the magnetrons within Britain’s radar system, the microwaves were able to locate Nazi warplanes on their mission to bomb the British Isles.
Several years later, Percy LeBaron Spencer of the Raytheon Company, by accident discovered that microwaves also cook food. Namely, he found that radar waves had melted a candy bar in his pocket.
The first microwave oven to go on the market was as large and heavy as a refrigerator and was called the Radar Range. However, a great number of studies show that microwave ovens are harmful to our health.
Microwaves heat and cook out the food in the following way: alternating currents force atoms to reverse their polarity, which creates friction and vibrates the water inside of the food molecules, causing the food to heat up.
Nevertheless, there are 2.45 billion hertz inside of your microwave. This is not such a threat until the seal on your microwave door ages and begins to leak. The frequency amount shown to harm the human body is 10 hertz.
Hence, be cautious and never stand near an operating microwave, since you would not be aware of the harm done by the leak until the damage is already done.
This means that even if your microwave oven is perfectly sealed, you are still exposed to harmful levels of electromagnetic fields. EMF can penetrate human bodies (this is the reason why they are used for x-ray machines as well) but can cause serious health problems.
The EPA recommends limited exposure to EMF of .5mG – 2.5mG. To be more specific, if you stand 4 inches from your food cooking in the microwave, you will be exposed to 100 – 500mG. Standing 3 feet away from the operating microwave will expose you to 1 – 25mG.
These are the effects microwave ovens have on our food:
Break chemical and molecular bonds
A study by Hans Hertel, a Swiss scientist, suggests microwaving food degrades and depletes food of its nutrients
The radiation from the microwave destroys and deforms the molecules in the food, creating dangerous radioactive compounds
Microwaved Infant formulas’ structure is changed, altering the components in amino acids, and creating immunological abnormalities
Microwaved breast milk looses 96% of its antibodies
A study from the Search for Health from 1992, discovered that patients who consumed microwaved vegetables experienced: Decrease in white blood cells
Decrease in hemoglobin, causing an anemic-like conditions
Increase in leukocyte (indicating poisoning and cell damage)
Rapidly increasing cholesterol levels.
Furthermore, these are the harmful effects microwave ovens have on our bodies:
Weakened immune system
Lowered resistance to viral and bacterial infections
Cause birth defects
Cataracts- due to our eyes lack of blood vessels to dissipate the cellular stress and heat from the microwave
Cancer
More serious illnesses
You may think that microwave ovens are a good choice as they are more convenient and cook your food faster. Unfortunately, it is far from true, since they bring numerous harmful effects and decrease the nutritional value of your food.
Therefore, as the health of you and your family is of up most importance, microwave ovens should not be one of your kitchen facilities.
Magnesium is one of the secret weapons against illness. Moreover, according to a study published in The Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, a deficiency in this efficient nutrient makes you twice as likely to die as other people.
The magnesium deficiency also leads to a long list of symptoms and diseases, which can be prevented and often cured by adding this nutrient.
However, although we are aware of most of its benefits and our need to have it in abundance in our bodies, still even half of us are deficient in this nutrient and unaware of it. This article will tell you why or how important it is to our general health or why it helps our bodies function better.
Namely, magnesium can be used in numerous cases of health disorders. It is mostly ignored because it is not a drug, even though it is more powerful than drugs in many cases.
That’s why it is often used for life-threatening and emergency situations like seizures and heart failure. In addition, it is used in cases of pregnant women who come in with pre-term labor, or high blood pressure of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) or seizures, so they are given continuous high doses of intravenous magnesium.
Moreover, if someone is dying of a life-threatening arrhythmia (or irregular heart beat), he is given intravenous magnesium. In cases of constipation or when the patient is getting prepared for colonoscopy, they are prescribed milk of magnesia or a green bottle of liquid magnesium citrate, which empties their bowels.
However, the numerous benefits of magnesium should be felt by regular consumption of this favorable mineral. You can start taking regular magnesium supplementation today and see the results.
The Relaxation Mineral
Magnesium is an antidote to stress, it is the most powerful relaxation mineral available. It is actually responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions and is found in tissues, but mainly in your bones, muscles, and brain. You must have it for your cells to make energy, for many different chemical pumps to work, to stabilize membranes, and to help muscles relax.
If we regard it as the relaxation mineral, we can easily understand that the deficency of magnesium is indicated in any case of tight, irritable, crampy, and stiff body part or even a mood. In fact, the list of conditions that are found related to magnesium deficiency is so long. To speak in numbers, there are over 3,500 medical references on magnesium deficiency!
Symptoms of magnesium deficiency
You may not even be aware of the seriousness of this issue, but magnesium deficiency is a huge problem in modern living. By conservative standards of measurement (blood, or serum, magnesium levels), 65 percent of people admitted to the intensive care unit, and about 15 percent of the general population, have magnesium deficiency.
However, note that a serum magnesium level is the least sensitive way to detect a drop in your total body magnesium level. So rates of magnesium deficiency could be even higher!
If you have any or more of the following symtoms, your body probably lacks magnesium:
Anxiety
Trouble swallowing
Irritable bowel syndrome
Reflux
High blood pressure
PMS
Autism
ADD
Palpitations
Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue
Osteoporosis
Angina
Constipation
Anal spasms
Irritability
Sensitivity to loud noises
Obesity
Menstrual cramps
Irritable bladder
Headaches
Migraines
Muscle cramps or twitches
Insomnia
Diabetes
Asthma
Kidney stones
inflammation in the body
higher CRP levels
The biggest reason for the high numbers of people lacking magnesium is simple: their diet, which contains practically no magnesium. Most often, our diet consists of highly-processed, refined foods, and most often, white flour, meat, and dairy (all of which have no magnesium).
Moreover, we even decrease the levels of magnesium by our harmful everyday habits. Namely, magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, coffee, phosphoric acid in colas, profuse sweating, prolonged or intense stress, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics and other drugs, and some intestinal parasites.
We must consider the fact that magnesium is often poorly absorbed and easily lost from our bodies. To properly absorb magnesium we need a lot of it in our diet, plus enough vitamin B6, vitamin D, and selenium.
Eat Foods High in Magnesium
As often as possible, you should consume the following: walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, shrimp, parsley, beans, barley, dandelion greens, garlic, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts,kelp, wheat bran, dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, avocado.
Probably, after years of experience, you can now say that you have mastered the tooth- brushing skill. However, we are here to say that you are wrong, unfortunately.
Namely, research has shown that we should avoid the monotonous moving of the brush round and round in small circular movements or only back- and- forth movements, but it suggests a rather combined technique for best results.
The optimal method of tooth brushing is called the Modified Bass technique. According to it, you should angle your brush at the gum line, move it in a circular motion to loosen plaque at and underneath your gums, then, sweep the brush away from the gums to remove debris.
Try this technique as soon as possible and you will soon have a healthy and shiny smile!
Dates are not the most popular fruit and many of you do not even consider consuming them on a daily basis. However, dates are extremely beneficial fruits, as they can provide some excellent health benefits.
An experiment was done on this small fruit, and a woman ate 3 dates a day, for 12 days. The effects were simply unbelievable!
Hence, if you start eating three dates a day, here is what you will experience:
Reduction of High Blood Pressure and Stroke
When it comes to lowering high blood pressure, the magnesium in dates is extremely helpful. A great number of people are on blood pressure medication in the United States, all the while this fruit might make those medications unnecessary.
Moreover, dates contain potassium which helps the heart work more smoothly and reduces blood pressure as well.
Hence, researchers tried to discover whether or not dates had any impact on stroke risk.The research was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and clearly shows that dates can lower stroke risk. To be more specific, there have been no less than seven studies that prove that magnesium decreases your stroke risk by about 10% for every one hundred milligrams of magnesium you ingest on a daily basis.
Improvement of the Brain Work
Other studies examined the ingredients in dates and their relation to brain health. Their findings showed that in case one has enough vitamin B6 in your system, the brain actually works better.
Moreover, this means that you have more focus, more accurate memories and can access information faster. Therefore, these fantastic fruit keeps your mind sharp and ready to learn.
Rich In Nutrients
Dates have some great nutritional benefits, as they contain copper, potassium, fiber, manganese, vitamin B-6 and magnesium. Therefore, you do not need to take those vitamins when you are eating three dates a day.
Digestive Health Improvements
If you have problems like IBS, constipation or many other digestive and GI problems, dates can help, as they are great foods for digestive health. This is due to the fiber they contain, and they have been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer. Furthermore, dates are even recommended treatments for hemorrhoids.
Pain Relief
Dates are high in magnesium, which is an anti-inflammatory. Due to that, dates can relieve pain and reduce swelling. As studies have shown, these fruits can reduce arterial inflammation and lower your risk for heart disease, and treat other inflammation- caused conditions like Alzheimer’s, arthritis and more.
Healthy Pregnancy
According to a study done at UST, dates help with labor and delivery. Namely, the researchers tested 69 women and concluded that if the women ate dates during the last four weeks of their delivery, the labor and delivery was more favorable. Also, dates are helpful with weight loss after a pregnancy.
Weight Loss Risks
However, you should always take care of the amount of foods you consume if you want to lose excess weight. Namely, Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist for CNN.com, suggests that it is possible to eat so much fruit that you hinder weight loss efforts. Hence, he advises limiting your fruit servings to three per day.
As a rule of thumb, a serving of fresh fruit should be about 1 cup, and a serving of dried dates should be about 1/4 cup. This is due to the fact that dried fruits like dates have smaller serving sizes and higher energy density levels.
What you eat after a workout matters! No matter what time of day you exercise, the key is to follow up with meals that combine protein, which helps your muscles recover, and carbohydrates, which replenish energy stores. For best results, eat within 30 to 60 minutes after exercise, when muscles are most receptive. During this window, an increase in enzyme activity makes the body more efficient at storing glucose for energy and building protein in fatigued muscles.
Homemade Post Recovery
This combination of banana, milk, and yogurt makes for a fresh and satisfying sports recovery drink. Dairy products like milk and yogurt work double duty, providing both protein and carbohydrates. Bananas are packed with potassium and magnesium―powerful electrolytes for healthy muscle function. Have this smoothie for breakfast following a morning workout, or a small afternoon meal when you get in from the gym.
Protein-Packed Sandwich
You can’t go wrong with a sandwich after a workout―it’s got everything in a hand-held package. Low-sodium cold cuts provide some salt to help replace what’s lost in sweat during exercise. Tomatoes add freshness and a boost of vitamin C. You can easily substitute 100 percent whole wheat bread in this recipe to boost the fibre content. Grill it up ahead of time and pack for lunch, or whip it up in minutes for an easy weeknight dinner.
Grab and Go Granola
It’s not always easy to eat 30 minutes after a workout. Granola is a great on-the-go snack. Leave some in your desk or glove box as a healthful alternative to vending machine food. Oats, honey, orange juice, and flax provide protein, carbs, and some healthy fat. Nuts and dried fruit contribute iron for healthy red blood cells. Mix this sweet and crunchy treat with low-fat yogurt, or enjoy by the handful. Just remember to exercise portion control, as this high-energy food is calorically dense.
Plant-Based Protein
Beans are an amazing source of plant-based protein and carbohydrates. Whole-grain bulgur wheat is loaded with hunger-fighting fiber. Feta cheese adds calcium for strong bones. Make a large batch of this light and refreshing salad in the beginning of the week and you’ll have a great post-workout meal that’s ready when you are.
Peanut Butter Power
Peanut butter can be your post-workout secret weapon―it’s affordable, versatile, and satisfying. Don’t shy away from this nutrient powerhouse because of its fat content―just use measured portions. One tablespoon of peanut butter contains about 100 calories and 7 grams of healthy unsaturated fat. Add chicken and vegetables in a flour tortilla for an easy high-protein meal.
FITNESS discipline sometimes evades us because it is easier to relax or engage in hours of unhealthy activity than it is to adhere to a robust fitness plan. But the mental perimeters you subconsciously erect to obstruct your fitness goals do not have to be permanent.
According to nutritionist and wellness coach Donovan Grant, it is much easier to give up than it is to commit to a fitness plan, but the reverse can be achieved by following simple steps as well.
"The mind is a very important part of the overall fitness plan of any person. However, the mind can be stimulated through a number of activities to change this outlook if it is what you really want," Grant explained.
He said that many people start fitness journeys for different reasons and while some people simply want to mirror somebody else's fitness achievements, there are others who need to lose weight for health reasons as well as for their general quality of life.
"People want to become fit for a number of reasons whether they are grossly overweight or it has become difficult to control the children because of the amount of weight that they have on. But regardless of what it is, they must first know why it is that they want to achieve the fitness goal," Grant explained.
He pointed out that while it is easy for people to become discouraged, the first and most important part of regaining control over a mental block against continuing one's fitness routine is to remind yourself of the reason you started out initially.
"Ask yourself why it is important to lose weight. Are partaking in unhealthy foods or watching television more important than the end result of your fitness goals?"
He recommended that you also use post-its in places you will see them so you are reminded of the reason you started and what you want to accomplish.
Another strategy that has proven very effective is to surround yourself with people who will motivate you or those who have similar goals because this make the journey easier, and fun in the process.
However, in cases where you simply do not have the support system and you are unable to motivate yourself even with the reason behind your fitness journey in mind, you may need professional help.
"Depending on what you want to achieve then you may also want to get a professional to help you get results and to ensure that you are achieving your goals," Grant advised.
