[getSynergized]

Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

Remember when your parents used to load your plate up with veggies and not let you have any dessert until you finished every last bit? They just might have been onto something with all those dark green vegetables.

Take a look at Popeye and his spinach. He would down a can and practically lift a car. Impressive wasn’t it? Maybe the general idea isn’t so far fetched.

Five of the healthiest dark green vegetables include broccoli, kale, spinach, romaine lettuce and Swiss chard. These vegetables, identified by their dark green color, are rich in antioxidants and usually have large amounts of phytochemicals like Vitamin C.

If you’ve turned on the television in the past three years, antioxidants have been all over the news. They’ve been proven to help reduce the risk of cancer and strengthen the immune system.

Many foods tend to lose nutrients when cooked. The great thing about these dark green vegetables is that you can find them easily in your grocery store and they taste great with little or no cooking, leaving much of their nutrients intact.

Here is some important information about these healthy veggies:

Broccoli is a fun vegetable for kids because it feels like you’re eating a small tree. In fact, the little buds are actually tiny flourettes that contain more than twice the amount of Vitamin C of an orange.

Some facts about broccoli you may not already know include:

• Broccoli is a great source of fiber, both soluble and insoluble. It not only meets both types of fiber needs, but it’s also a rich source to add to your diet.

• Research has shown indole-3-carbinol - found in the phytonutrients of broccoli - actually deactivates a metabolite which can become cancerous.

• Broccoli also helps restore sun-damaged skin, reduces the risk of heart disease, and boosts the immune system. At the same time, it also promotes healthy bone growth due to its massive amounts of calcium.

Kale is a slightly bitter, leafy green with a huge amount of folic acid and potassium. Try some kale in your stir-fry. You may just find yourself thoroughly impressed.

• The folic acid found in kale is a great addition to your diet if you suffer from poor hair, skin and nails.

• In addition, the potassium helps to promote the breakdown of lactic acid in muscles after a workout, and is a great food to help prevent muscle soreness in the recovery process.

Swiss chard is similar to spinach, with a little more of an earthy undertone. Rich in Vitamins C and K, as well as calcium, Swiss chard is a great addition to salads.

• Vitamin K helps promote healthy eye and brain function. The next time you have to spend hours staring at a computer screen or studying for that big exam, try some Swiss chard and let your mind be at ease knowing your brain is getting the nutrients it needs.

Spinach is a lean mean green antioxidant-packing machine, rich in flavor and in Vitamins A and C, and iron.

• Spinach is loaded with important vitamins and minerals to promote healthy brain function as well as strong bones and muscles.?

• Next time you have a salad, try it with spinach instead of lettuce for a little variety and a big explosion of taste.

Lettuce may be the last thing that comes to mind when you picture dark green vegetables. While many of the lighter shades of lettuce, such as iceberg, have very little nutritional value, the darker the color, the more they have to hide.

Romaine lettuce, while still made up mostly of water, is packed with antioxidants and fiber.

The darker green the leaf, the more folic acid is present, which prevents heart disease.

Even though lettuce seems so simple, look at some of its complex attributes:

• Lettuce is great for diets since it’s very low in calories.

• Magnesium, found in romaine lettuce, does wonders in revitalizing muscular tissues, the brain and the nerves.

• The chlorophyll-packed juice in lettuce is very helpful in maintaining normal hair color.

• Lettuce is high in iron, which helps the formation of red blood cells.

• Lettuce may help in treating insomnia, acid indigestion, colitis, constipation, gout, stress and many other diseases as well.

While you might have been forced to eat your dark green veggies as a kid, now you know why it was so important. Even today, your dark greens are vital to your health and well-being. Try these dark greens in some new recipes; you just might surprise yourself and actually enjoy it!

It may be easy to forget the importance of living a healthy life when we’re going through the daily grind. It may be even easier to get caught up in what’s convenient instead of what’s good for us. However, the benefits you can enjoy with a healthy lifestyle are worth making healthy living a priority!

Here are three healthy living tips you can use to better your health, increase your happiness, and enjoy life to its fullest:

1. Rest and rejuvenate. The biggest healthy living tip that many people overlook is the need for sleep.?Life can get hectic. When we don’t have enough time to get things done, most of us opt to stay up late to make up for the lack of time. Or perhaps our busy minds prevent us from getting a restful sleep in the first place. However, getting less sleep is actually counterproductive to doing anything efficiently, effectively, or well!

• Getting enough sleep enables you to work and pursue your passions vigorously. It rejuvenates your body, mind, and attitude. You should have an ergonomically correct mattress and pillow to ensure you get the best sleep possible.

2. Eat nutritious food. Another healthy living tip is to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Many people believe that they don’t need to eat healthy or watch their diet because they don’t need to lose weight. This couldn’t be further from the truth! You should put only the best foods in your mouth no matter how much you weigh, what size you wear, or how fit you look.?

• What you eat affects your entire body, including your brain. You can think clearer, feel happier, enjoy more energy and avoid illness by eating nutritious foods. Strive to eat more raw vegetables and fruits instead of processed or packaged foods.

3. Affirm the positive. Having a positive mindset is the key to living a fulfilling life. Many people don’t realize the importance of living and thinking positively. As a result, they inevitably find themselves allowing negative things to rule their mind and body.?

• Your attitude is one of the most important contributors to both your happiness and health.

Like every other healthy living strategy mentioned, being positive all the time (or even most of the time) may take some effort. However, an easy way to incorporate positive thoughts into your everyday life is to use affirmations.

Many people use affirmations to help them think more positively as they go about their daily life. Positive affirmations are simply statements you can use to replace the negative thoughts running through your head.

• A good affirmation encourages you to live the healthiest lifestyle possible and be the best that you can be.

Positive affirmations often remind you about how important it is to take care of yourself. An example could be, "I can neutralize bad habits with good food, exercise, and healthy living."

This is a simple way to be reminded of how important you are, how important your body is, and how important your mental health is.

You have a whole toolbox and support system at your disposal to help make your life happier and healthier. All you have to do is take action!

I'm a pretty stressed out fellow and I heard that meditation can help. I would like to know what can be the result of meditation during and after the session. I tryed it once for 5 minutes with the breathe in for 3 counts and out for 6 and my head started feeling light, is this an expected outcome? Also if you could please explain the diffrent types of meditation and what you get out of each?

Thank you all for you help!

My friend says Transcendental Meditation is the best meditation. What is the mantra and how is it special?

There's lots of different kinds of meditation, and I'm not sure which one would benefit me the most, and that I'd most likely be able to do.

I want to send my parents to a vacation where they can relax and do some yoga and meditation. I want the whole trip be comfortable and can be booked online. Any suggestions?

I have a meditation room and I have a lovely cat that goes in there and pees and poops on the floor and on the furniture. I suspect who ever was here before had the litter box in that room. As it is my meditation room I don’t want to put a litter box in that room. She has a place to go potty. How can I discourage her from using that room? She can get the door open.

I am doing a project and I would like to know what happens in basic a buddhist meditation?

Any ideas? I can feel energy going through my bod but I can only keep it up for moments at a time. Do you have to concentrate on something or do I have a misconception of meditation? I simply use it to relieve stress.

-Thank you for your time. -15 year old boy.

What talents are hiding within you?

Many people have grown up believing they didn’t have anything special or unique to add to the world. Perhaps they came from mediocre surroundings or had no encouragement for their gifts so they went unrecognized. Or maybe they repressed their talents because they felt ashamed. Whatever the reason, it’s all too easy to believe our talents and passions are not worth pursuing.

Everyone Has Talent

A great many of us are wandering around with the belief that we aren’t all that interesting when it comes to our natural gifts. But we all have more talent than we think we do.

Very often we hear news stories about children with incredible abilities. Many of them are entertainers or child prodigies featured on daytime talk shows. While it’s incredible to see these talented young children, don’t forget about your own children’s talents, which might not be as obvious. They may not be as advanced as the kids on television but everyone’s talents are worth developing.

•    Children are often inspired after watching the Olympics and parents rush out to enroll the kids in gymnastics or swimming programs. They might possibly be the next Michael Phelps or they may never make it to the Olympics, but they will learn a new skill, get exercise, and meet new friends.

•    Adults may be inspired by their favorite sports hero. If you daydream about winning the Tour de France, then start small by joining a local cycling club.

Be Realistic

We shouldn’t delude ourselves and believe we can do all things. We need to be realistic about what we can accomplish but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try new things or take classes to learn something new.

•    If you’ve always wanted to be a Broadway actor, audition for a local community theater group. Many people can fulfill their passion on a smaller, local level.

•    You might decorate beautiful children’s birthday cakes, but should you attempt to decorate your niece’s wedding cake? Be realistic about your skills and how much time it will take but feel free to take some extra classes or find a mentor in the field who can help you.

Using Our Talents In Our Work

Many of us take jobs we don’t like and live lives we wish were a lot more exciting or fulfilling. Instead of being discouraged with our life choices, we need to choose what we wish to do in the life we have and let our instincts lead us to our passions.

Think about what you love to do the most with regards to your job:

•    Maybe you love writing up detailed reports and therefore have a knack for the written word.

•    Maybe you get compliments on your good communications with clients. This might indicate you would be great as a public speaker or trainer.

What Do You Like?

If you still think you don’t have much talent, start looking at what you love to do with your time.

•    Maybe you love to sing along to your favorite song and your family and friends consistently tell you how good you are.

•    Maybe you love to dance and whenever others see you they remark about your incredible agility.

•    Maybe you find yourself doodling a masterpiece when you have some idle time.

If you think about what you really enjoy doing, you’ll find that you’ve been drawn to it over the course of many months or years. It tends to be true that the better we are at something, the more we enjoy doing it.

If this doesn’t ring any bells for you, think about what your favorite classes were in school. Once again, remember that we tend to love the things we’re good at. Thinking about these things is an excellent way to uncover your hidden talents.

Discovering these talents is a wonderful way to find a new hobby or boost your self-esteem . If you let yourself accept that you probably have undiscovered talents, enjoy this adventure of discovery. It could very well take your life to higher levels of wealth and fulfillment!