Why Vaping Is as Dumb as Smoking

There’s a lion enclosure at your local zoo. The lions have a well-documented history of attacking people on sight. The lions have not yet been fed that day. Given the data at hand, deciding to jump into that enclosure would be pretty stupid, wouldn’t it?

Say there’s a different lion enclosure at another zoo. The lions are new to captivity. There’s no data regarding their reactions to humans. They’ve been fed.

Which enclosure would it be safer to jump into?

The second, obviously. The lions have at least been fed, so a human leaping in doesn’t look like a magically appearing meal. There’s no proof they’ve attacked before, so there’s at least a chance they won’t attack now. But is it safe to jump into that enclosure?

The answer, of course, is an emphatic no. Just because an activity is safer than, it doesn’t make it safe, especially when the data needed to make that decision is incomplete.

Vaping: Safer Than

Vaping delivers a nicotine fix without the tobacco, sating an addiction without the known carcinogenic and other medical dangers of tobacco. As such, it’s touted as a safe, satisfying alternative to smoking. It’s marketed as a fun hobby and an effective way to quit smoking cigarettes. Fact: neither of those marketing claims is facts.

Not enough studies and tests have been completed to support sweeping statements regarding the safety of e-cigarettes and vaping. There is no conclusive evidence that these alternatives are effective tools for kicking a tobacco habit.

Where’s the Data?

Over the last decade, the e-cigarette and vaping industry have exploded, resulting in a largely unregulated $3 billion global industry.

The data has, simply put, not had the time to catch up to the market. Policymakers and lawmakers are struggling to decide if and how to regulate e-cigarette use. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), World Health Organization (WHO), and other guardian entities of health and public safety are scrambling to find the footholds they need to even begin studying the effects of vaping on the human body.

In other words, there isn’t enough data to show that vaping is a definite health threat, but there also isn’t enough data to prove that it’s safe.

Emerging Health Concerns

A lack of definitive answers does not equal a complete lack of data or concerns.

Health organizations like the American Lung Association are beginning to compile and investigate a growing list of concerns including, but not limited to:

• Manufacturers have not revealed the chemicals used in their products
• Early tests have already found significant cancer-causing chemicals
• A child has already died from accidentally ingesting liquid nicotine from e-cigarettes
• Preliminary studies also raise concerns over the risks of secondhand emissions

Frightening Setbacks

Thanks to diligent research and effective communication, the population of cigarette smokers in the United States has dropped to between 12 and 28%, depending on the state.

But while Big Tobacco’s control and influence are waning in traditional cigarette sales, they are starting to make up for it through vaping. In the case of youth sales, vaping has allowed them easy, unchecked access to a new market.

As of 2013, “over a quarter of a million youth who had never smoked a cigarette used e-cigarettes.” That’s triple the amount from 2011. Imagine what that figure would be today.

Between flavoring options and marketing, it is clear that the vaping industry is taking advantage of the lack of oversight and regulations to create an addicted consumer base among youth and children.

Pro-Profit, Anti-Truth

Whether it’s Big Tobacco at the helm or new vaping manufacturers, the end-goal is clear: profit. If the decades of runarounds, cover-ups, and deceptions from the tobacco industry have proven anything, it’s that the manufacturer of the goods has no incentive to reveal the dangers and risks their goods pose to consumer health and safety.

Does that sound too cynical to be true? For some light reading, read WHO’s information revealing just how much the tobacco industry was willing to lie, deny, and cover up in the name of profit.

With vaping profits on the rise, consumers need to ask: why should we believe an addiction-for-profit based industry’s word now?

Why Is Vaping as Dumb as Smoking?

It’s like jumping into that second den of lions because the lions told you: “Come on in – I already ate.” 

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Jennifer Landis is a tea-drinking, yoga loving, clean eating blogger, writer, wife, and mother. You can find more from Jennifer at her blog, Mindfulness Mama.

How Health Experts Eat Healthy Without Going Broke!

Like health experts, you can eat healthy without going broke, too! A primary reason you and many others may prefer to skip healthy foods is their relatively high cost. Well, that might only be because you haven’t explored all of your options.

The Game Plan for Eating Affordable Healthy Meals

Don’t know where to start?

Start with a brilliant game plan. Prioritize inexpensive healthy eating. As the famous adage suggests, if there’s a will, there’s definitely a way.

By considering the nutritive content of food more, you can eat healthy without spending a fortune.

Since you take in the good foods (as opposed to the wasteful bunch), you’re helping your budget as well as your body.

As a publication in the British Medical Journal implies, it’s one of the “rules” that many health experts live by.

Other Strategies for Eating Healthy on a Budget

• Choose gluten-free and organic foods since these are free of pesticide residues and harmful chemicals. For the same reason, avoid GE (or genetically engineered) foods.
• Construct a meal plan according to your personal budget. Remember to be flexible for certain situations, but be disciplined in following it.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables. Bananas, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, oranges, pears, plums are affordable options.
• Eliminate junk. This includes artificial low-fat ingredients, frozen meals, canned goods, potato chips, and ready-to-eat packages from the supermarket.
• Go with tasty and nutritious food ingredients. Try adding avocado, grapefruit, mangoes, papaya, and sweet corn to your meals.
• Plan your meals, but remember to be flexible. According to Harvard Health Publications, it’s recommended for meals to consist of 50% fruits and vegetables, 25% proteins, and 25% whole grains.
• Simplify your meals. Do your best to stay away from processed foods and fancy “health treats”.
• Stick to water. Coffee, milk, and tea are good, too. Avoid drinks with too much sugar such as sodas and “healthy fruit juices”.

Tricks for Affordable & Healthy Grocery Shopping

An effective way of dodging costly meals with unhealthy food ingredients? Consider growing your own garden.

If you own a garden with loads of edible produce, you don’t have to spend a fortune on healthy ingredients. More importantly, it reduces the number of trips to the supermarket; shopping for herbs and spices, as well as fruits and vegetables, becomes unnecessary.

Moreover, due to increasing food prices, dietary plans that could lead to malnourishment may be preferred. Remember, even if you’re on a tight budget, you don’t have to disregard your health.

Granted you’re open to different options, you can still eat healthy without spending a ton of money.

More Healthy Shopping Ideas

• Make use of discounts and special promos. Take note of the dates of supermarkets’ sales. Usually, you can shop for relatively low-cost foods during the holidays, clearance sales, and special occasions.
• Buy in bulk. Buy for durations of weeks and in some cases, months. Usually, foods are relatively more affordable in bigger amounts.
• Purchase meat that is close to its expiration. Assuming that preparation and cooking are done prior to spoilage, you can take advantage of up to 50% in  savings.
• Visit your local farmers’ market. There  you will find a variety of healthy signature products. Since the prices aren’t usually fixed, shop wisely and don’t be afraid to negotiate.

Five Rules to Proper Storage of Your Healthy Food

Did you know that in the United States, up to 40% of foods end up going to waste? Consequently, millions of precious dollars go to waste.

Don’t let this be you!

It’s due to improper storage. Make sure to read expiration dates on labels. By keeping this in mind, as well as some steps on proper storage, you can eat healthy on a budget without having to unnecessarily replace your food.

Food Storage Rules

1. Freeze fruits and vegetables (especially if you buy in bulk). When frozen, fruits and veggies remain at the peak of their freshness.
2. Freeze poultry and raw meat; for this, allocate space in your freezer’s bottom shelf.
3. Avoid putting anything in or with metal containers inside the fridge.
4. Avoid storing fruits and vegetables together. Ripe fruits give off ethylene; ethylene is an organic compound that can slowly ruin fresh vegetables.
5. Keep dried foods in glass jars. Make sure to seal the containers tightly.

The Power of Preparation: 3 Tips on Healthy & Economical Food Preparation

One clever way to eat healthy without spending a lot money is by storing food properly.

But, that’s not the end of it!

Using your creativity with available resources, you can enhance flavor, incorporate variety, and guarantee safe nutrition. It can be a time-consuming task, but for the sake of your health and your pocket, why disregard it?

Healthy Food Preparation Tips

1. Add onions, bell peppers, and preferred natural spices when skewering meat portions.
2. Olive or sesame oil add a distinct aroma to fried meals.
3. Use honey as sweetener (instead of sugar).
4. Use natural herbs for marinades; marinade an hour or so before cooking.

Is Eating Healthy Without Hurting Your Budget Possible? The Verdict!

So can you eat healthy without spending a fortune? Can these meals also be delicious?

You can! Eating affordable healthy foods is only a matter of commitment. Whether you’re living on limited income or you’re trying to maintain a frugal lifestyle, cutting back on healthy meals shouldn’t be an option.

Moreover, remember to set realistic health goals. Granted that you’re willing to follow particular strategies, you can eat healthy without going broke!

 

Sources

How to Eat Healthy without Breaking the Bank. (n.d.)

Wiley, M. (2014, Jan. 4). Eat Healthy Without Breaking The Bank 

Smith, V. (2012, Oct. 24). Eat Healthy … Without Going Broke.

Blalock, M. (2014). Eating Healthy on A Budget: 5 Expert Tips That Make it Easy

Amen, T. (2016, Apr. 25). Eating Well without Breaking the Bank 

How to Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank. (2016, Mar. 1) 

How to Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank. (2011, Oct. 11) 

8 Steps to Eating Healthy Without Breaking the Bank. (2016, Mar. 23) 

 

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Leonard Parker is a health blogger and owner of the eCommerce store, RebounderZone.com. Rebounder Zone offers rebounder trampolines, health equipment, and health information to mature adults.

Leonard is a graduate of Stanford University and has worked in a number of roles as a consultant and digital marketing specialist. Rebounder Zone was started because Leonard saw first hand how exercise and healthy living can change lives, and he wants to help others experience this fantastic feeling, too. For any inquiries, please contact Leonard at leonard(at)rebounderzone.com.

When was the Last Time You Connected with Someone?

I just recently took a 5-day personal development course put on by Creators Code, called “The Launch” on June 1st. It transformed me to another chapter in my journey called ‘life’. This was no ordinary personal development course. It is an experiential course that was 10-12 hours each day and we dived in deep! This course really inspired me to write this post.

 

I am Like You So Listen

I am here today blogging not as a psychologist but rather as just me- Rosalyn. I am not wearing my therapist hat, the wife, mom, sister, or daughter hat, I am here just like you, a regular human being. I see myself first as a human and my other roles as secondary. And what I learned from this personal development course is that sometimes who I am as a therapist hijacks my ability to be human. Although I show up authentically real with my clients: supporting, loving, direct (I call bullshit when I see it), I also have parts of me that I don’t show, because it isn’t appropriate or professional.  No one wants to see their therapist have a meltdown, right?

So my point is that sometimes I fear that people will be shocked when I express the range of human experiences in my personal life because “I’m a therapist and I should know better”. But guess what?  I sometimes get angry and scream at my kids. Sometimes I play small because I don’t want to seem like I am bragging or being too much. Other times I have moments of self-consciousness about my body, sometimes I am guarded, sometimes I zone out on Facebook because I don’t want to deal with life. These all sound like familiar behaviors to some of you, right? Yeah, we all have tactics for showing up in the world as a way to emotionally protect ourselves.

Who You and I Really Are

My work is to help people come back into their wholeness and essence of who they were when they were born – which is pure love, light, and joy. I sometimes forget to do this for myself because I am so passionate about helping others. I forget about me, but during this course, I was able to reconnect with that little girl in me that remembers playfulness, silliness, coloring outside the lines, and being unapologetically me.

Can you imagine a world where we could all get back to being in our true essence? When we didn’t have to please anyone, play small so we don’t have to hurt others’ feelings, or toughen up because we don’t feel safe, disconnect from our heart because someone hurt it too many times. Imagine if we could speak the truth to one another without worrying about offending anyone. What about receiving feedback from others without feeling judged or offended?

I have this dream and I truly believe I’m on the path to contributing to it both professionally and personally. My dream and passion are to become a conscious loving human being and help others do the same. This entails being so aware not only of ourselves but also of those around us. Being conscious and collective where we love our neighbors and strangers. Showing up with kindness and compassion to ourselves and one another. Can you imagine the ripple effects this would create out in the world if people started to raise their level of self-love and loving presence to one another? There would eventually be less war, less violence, less bullying, less judgment, less shame, less abuse, less racism, less oppression, and less hate. Instead, there would be more peace, love, environmental awareness, and happiness, within ourselves and with those around us. There would be a sense of community.

So my whole point of this is to share with you how precious you are and to reflect on who you are when you aren’t wearing your different masks. This dream starts by learning to love yourself.

We were all once a young child, precious, perfect, and sweet. Who wouldn’t want to go back to before all the rules and experiences came along; before people started  telling us how to behave or not to behave. When you get blamed, usually someone else allows themselves to judge what you did as bad and put that on you. Then we form a story that we are bad because we are told so. So go back to remembering who you are before all that happened. Most of us won’t be able to, but most of us can probably think of a little newborn baby and immediately we melt, we ooooh and ahhhhh, and we think this baby is perfect. Well, that baby still is the essence of you.

An Experiment for You to Try

I have an experiment for you to try to create a powerful and heartwarming experience:

The next time you are with a loved one, it could be your partner, a dear friend, sibling, your child (best if the child is 6 or older), or parent. Tell them that you’d like to try connecting with them in a way that you may not have done in a long time, and it involves touch and silence and a lot of heart.

I invite you to face that person, and hold each other’s hands; just look at each other in the eyes, keep eye contact, and just see if you can really see them. I realize it may feel awkward at first., so let the awkward feelings come up. Breathe; let the awkwardness pass and breathe some more. See if you can even match the rhythm of your breath together as you continue to look into each other’s eyes. Keep breathing so that your breath connects with your heart and then your belly as you continue to hold your gaze with each other.

Many people believe that our eyes are the windows to our soul.

So notice that this person that’s in front of you once was a child, precious, perfect, and sweet. Also, notice that this part of them still lives in them. Then notice your own experience in your body as you become aware of the other person’s preciousness as well as your own. In that very moment, appreciate this about the other person and in yourself. In that moment you do not have to please, play small, wall up, avoid, zone out, get defensive, or whatever you do to protect yourself from the world. You are just you being here having this experience; you are connected in your essence.

How to Look Good When Feeling Awful

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Why Minimizing Your Life Could Be the Answer to Your Stress

Stress is something we encounter every day, from work obligations to family requirements, and everything in between. Americans, however, experience more stress than is healthy — and they may not be doing much about it.

Even though Americans’ stress levels are starting to decrease overall from previous years, there are still 42 percent of people who aren’t taking the time to keep their stress in check.

Ways to Lower Your Stress Levels

What can you do to manage stress? The kneejerk reaction is often to make more money, do more and be more.

In truth, however, eliminating elements from your life will provide you with the clarity, space and time you so desire. The answer to your stress problems is available through minimizing different aspects of your life.

Here are three ways to start de-cluttering and cleansing your world:

1- Forget Storing, Embrace Purging

Don’t spend any more of your time or money on storage systems. It’s not that the perfect containment system for all your stuff eludes you — it’s simply that you have too many belongings.

With possessions comes responsibility — and stress. If you don’t have heaps of belongings to worry about and take care of, you will spare yourself that time and energy of trying to keep track of it all.

Additionally, when you are selective about the items you keep, only the useful and meaningful items will remain. This will actually save you time in the long run, as you won’t have to go searching for items amongst all your unwanted clothing, housewares and possessions. You’ll have a very clear mental catalog of what you held onto.

If you need a little added motivation, look at the bestselling book, “Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Book” by Japanese cleaning consultant, Marie Kondo. It details how to begin bringing minimalism into your home by sorting through what’s there.

Once you’re done culling, you can donate your unwanted belongings to various charities including Goodwill or the Salvation Army.Bigger Isn’t Better

2- Bigger Isn’t Better

Somehow the American Dream got caught up in the notion that bigger is better, especially with homes. Coming in second only to Australia, US homeowners have the largest average house size in the world — with a footprint of over 2,000 square feet.

With each square foot comes a higher price tag, meaning higher mortgage payments, property taxes and debt. Not only that, but monthly costs, such as utility bills, also go up since there is more space that needs to be supplied with power, water and heating/cooling.

In an effort to avoid these costs, people are opting for smaller homes. Some folks are even moving into tiny homes — less than 500 square feet. Some are traditional structures, and some are less traditional ones including buses, campers and shipping containers.

Each tiny living space allows the occupant to be free of crushing living expenses and money woes each month. All overhead costs decrease when living in a tiny house.

Tiny homes also discourage hoarding or excess accumulation of food and household products. With the limited amount of space available, only choice items can be housed. This empowers residents to invest in high-quality possessions. These pieces will last longer and will be more likely to be treasured possessions rather than a conglomeration of so-so items.

3- Go Paperless & Online

Papers have a way of stacking up on countertops, office desks and by the front door. The time and energy required to open, read, deal with and then file the paperwork could be better spent.

Opting to go paperless via online billing and banking reallocates that time for other, more fulfilling tasks. It will also eliminate physical clutter and allow for more accurate and efficient bookkeeping.

We’re all busy people, juggling a multitude of tasks and expectations. If meaningful efficiencies can be found in our day-to-day lives, we’ll be better able to spend our precious time with who and what we love.

Practicing simplicity and minimalism isn’t about depriving yourself. Rather, it’s about making the very most of what you have — and eliminating stress in the process.

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Jennifer Landis is a tea-drinking, yoga loving, clean eating blogger, writer, wife, and mother. You can find more from Jennifer at her blog, Mindfulness Mama.

A to Z Reasons Why You Can’t Lose Weight

People aspire to lose weight for a variety of reasons. Regardless of the reason, if you have tried to lose weight, no doubt you have ran into plateaus and other periods where you just didn’t make progress. Is there hope?

Of course, there is!

This is an alphabetical list of reasons why you may be having trouble losing weight. Hopefully, something will spark a light bulb in your brain, and you will be able to get back on track towards your weight loss goals!

Starting the list with ‘A’, for 

Absorption Problems in Your Gut

Insulin resistance can be one of your worst enemies when you are trying to lose weight. In other words, your body is unable to use the hormone insulin properly to process your food.

The sad outcome: your body keeps fat that is already there. This condition can be prevalent if you are at risk for diabetes, known as prediabetes.

The Details: What’s Going on in your Body

1. Food is broken down into glucose, or blood sugar, which is the body’s primary source of energy.
2. When your blood flows through the pancreas, your pancreas detects the glucose and releases insulin. Insulin enables cells throughout the body to use the glucose.
3. Your cells use insulin receptors to transform the glucose to energy quickly or store the glucose as a future source of energy.

When this process goes haywire, your cells don’t get the glucose. Instead, the glucose builds up in your blood stream, and your cells are deprived of glucose.

How Your Body Responds

Your body hangs on to energy stores, or fat, that it already has and any glucose that the cells do absorb goes into storage as yet more fat.

The Solution

There are several ways you can fight insulin resistance that causes nutrient absorption issues such as moving more, eliminating white foods (white sugars, white flour, white rice) from your diet, cutting out wheat from your diet, integrating more good grains into your diet, eating fruits and vegetables whole instead of as purees or juices, avoiding packaged foods, lowering inflammation via anti-inflammatory foods (walnuts, flaxseed, olive oil, green tea, red wine, cinnamon, and turmeric), replacing fats such as lard and butter, and consulting your doctor about medicines that can help.

Binge Eating

Common when dieting, binge eating describes eating large amounts of food in short periods of time. Binging is not healthy and can be detrimental to your weight loss efforts, regardless of whether you are binging on junk food or healthy food.

Here’s the kicker:

Depending on the calories, binge eating can wipe out a week’s worth of dieting.

The Solution:

Try these tips to break binge eating habits:

1. When dieting, think adding new foods instead of restriction of unhealthy foods. These are the common phases when you diet with a restriction mindset: restriction → binge eating → guilt → restriction → binge eating → guilt. That is not healthy!
2. Get out of the mindset that you have to be perfect with your diet.
3. Don’t become obsessed with weighing yourself on the scale. It’s normal for your body weight to fluctuate.
4. Cheat days should not be in your nutrition vocabulary. Cheat days provide the perfect opportunity to binge.
5. Celebrate small wins and don’t panic over small setbacks.
6. Stay flexible with your diet.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates, especially refined carbs such as sugar or grains that have  been stripped of their nutritious parts, can wreak havoc on your goals to lose weight. Eating too many refined carbs can create significant spikes in your blood sugar, which leads to cravings.

Try this: Substitute refined carbs for more complex carbs that come with their natural fiber.

Dining out Too Much

Let’s face it: we love to eat out. Just the simple idea of not having to cook some days is irresistible. But as you probably know, restaurant food is meant to taste and look great, and looking great doesn’t always correlate with being healthy, too. Those tasty sauces, salad dressings, and other delightful delicacies can reverse your weight loss progress.

How you can fall out this trap at restaurants:

1. Review the menu and decide what you want (healthy choices) before going to the restaurant.
2. Eat before. We tend to make “in the moment” food choices when we are hungry. “In the moment” food choices usually aren’t healthy.
3. Drink water. This will help quench your appetite
4. If there are specific foods or ingredients you are trying to avoid, ask the waiter/waitress before ordering
5. There is no shame in “doggy bags”. Many times servings at restaurants are more than a manageable portion, so split these up into meals for the next day.

Eating Mindfully

Make your eating time sacred. Whether you eat alone or with others, cut out the electronics, chew your food slowly, and take note of your food’s flavors, colors, smells, and textures.

Tips for Developing Self-Love While Transforming Your Body

For those of you just reading this now, as a Food & Body Image Psychologist, I wanted to demonstrate to you that you can go on a Body Transformation AND (learn to) Love Yourself. You can read about this on my previous blog here. 

I’ve been on this Body Transformation & Self-Love journey for almost 8 weeks now with Coach Nadine Dumas, and wanted to share some insights on my takeaways so far from my own experiences. Note that everyone’s experiences would be different since we’re all different individuals with our own histories. 

I am writing in a perspective that will hopefully help you gain tips for how to emotionally and mentally grow on your own SELF-LOVE and BODY TRANSFORMATION journey.  

My idea of a Body Transformation and Self-Love Journey is not about how much weight or inches I’ve lost or showing you my before/after photos because, although this is bound to happen, it’s not the point of it. This is about showing you how to LOVE YOURSELF from INSIDE OUT while your body is transforming. 

Self-love starts with Self-Care

What does self-love actually mean? It’s 2 parts:

1) Self Love is appreciating you (just like you do with loved ones) 

2) Self -Love is action oriented. It’s engaging in action that supports your psychological, emotional, physical, physiological, and spiritual well-being.  In other words, self-care activities.

Take your before and progress photos from a Place of Respect for Your Body

How many of you cringe, pick apart your body, focus on what else needs improvement about your body when you take your before and/or progress pictures? I know I used to. Even if I could see progress, I would still be picking apart my body for what else needed improvement.

Please don’t do that. You only show your body more disgust and hate. And you know what your body’s doing? Listening to you. And what happens when you treat something with disgust and hate? It won’t love you back. It will fight you back. So in your body’s case, it will fight you back with physical symptoms such as plateauing, weight gain, bloating, digestive issues, illness, and other unwanted symptoms. Emotionally? It will feel heavy, drained, stressed, tired, sad, lonely, exhausted, burnt out, angry, hopeless, shame.

So when/if you take before and progress photos, please focus on how amazing your body already is, no matter what shape/size/weight you are now- this machine that gives you life, the ability to move from place A to B, the ability to breath, to feel, to walk, run, climb, crawl, dance, hug, touch, make love, hold a loved one, write, sing, paint, create, explore, relax, etc. Respect and be grateful for your body, and it will show you love back in the “symptoms” of energy, vitality, positive thinking, mental clarity, great digestive health as well as feeling happiness, purpose, meaning, hope, love, joy, freedom, peace, and so much more!

Eating healthy is self-care, therefore, health eating is self-love. However, it’s only one aspect of self-care.

As part of being in the journey, it’s about putting some attention and focus on my relationship with food for some of the time, but for the most part of my life, have it as something in the background (rather than the foreground). The rest of the time, I’m focusing on all the awesome aspects of my life! Eating foods that nourish my body will give me the brain power I need to serve myself and others, to be a great mom, wife, friend, psychologist, mentor, speaker and give me the ability to grow and challenge myself continuously.

5 Proven Natural Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol

Cholesterol is an essential substance needed for proper body function but when levels get too high, cholesterol increases the risk of heart attacks. Alarmingly, more than 17% of the adult U.S. population have dangerously high cholesterol. Some medications can reduce cholesterol levels, but there are also natural ways to help achieve the same goal.

Here are five proven ways to naturally decrease cholesterol:

1- Make Fiber Your Friend

Fiber-rich foods such as oats and barley can help lower cholesterol levels. When ingested, they form a gel in the gut which fixes itself to cholesterol-rich bile acids. This pairing prevents the body from absorbing bad acids.

2- Be Choosey About Protein

Opting for leaner meats and protein-rich plant foods can decrease cholesterol in the body. Fish such as wild salmon, sardines, and bluefin tuna (Omega-3-Rich Fish Chart) are great menu items and contain omega-3 fats. Another fine option is consuming  plants which contain protein, including legumes, beans, seeds or nuts.

Equally important is the decrease or removal of red meat from the diet. Red meat has an abundance of saturated fats, which have negative health impacts.

3- Make Small Changes

Ingredients added to food in preparation and presentation can affect cholesterol values. Opt out of using margarine and other processed fats in favor of olive oil in food prep.

Add some spice to a meal to help lower the levels. Garlic, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, and coriander all help while also adding some major flavor to each bite. Researchers at Penn State University discovered that adding spices to high fat and oil content dishes actually lowers absorption of these dangerous substances. So spice things up to lower triglycerides.

4- Make Lifestyle Changes

Lowering cholesterol isn’t just about watching what’s ingested and digested: One’s lifestyle can also impact cholesterol levels.

Smoking lowers the body’s “good” cholesterol while also injuring blood vessel linings and raising the risk of blood clots. The good news is that studies have shown that good cholesterol levels can rebound soon after a person stops smoking.

A good dose of laughter also helps. Laughing actually increases good cholesterol which counterbalances the bad stuff. Watching a funny movie, looking at silly cat videos online, and going to a stand-up comedy show are all forms of good medicine.

Learning to take time out and to relax can assist in keeping cholesterol in check. When you’re tense, stress hormones are issued out into the body and destroy other cells. This causes the body to respond by manufacturing large amounts of cholesterol to try to repair the damage. This, in turn, creates a glut of cholesterol in the system. After learning to use relaxation and meditation, your body will rely less on cholesterol for help.

5- Lose Weight

If a person is carrying extra pounds, losing the excess weight can help with cholesterol control. The American Society for Clinical Nutrition detailed 70 studies that have linked weight reduction to significant decreases in cholesterol.

We can’t and don’t want to eliminate cholesterol entirely from our lives and bodies — it is essential for proper body function. The key is to keep it in healthy forms and amounts.

For a person hoping to achieve and maintain this, many approaches can be tried. Medications are available but so are ample natural options for decreasing cholesterol.

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Jennifer Landis is a tea-drinking, yoga loving, clean eating blogger, writer, wife, and mother. You can find more from Jennifer at her blog, Mindfulness Mama.

Generic vs. Brand Name Drugs – Does it Matter? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Blink Health created an infographic that describes the differences between generic and brand name drugs and we feel it is important we share this with you. This, given the number of people who are overpaying for prescription drugs. Here at The Zeit, we have talked about how the Fitness & Health industry is making millions by taking advantage of desperate people trying to lose weight or look a certain way. We have also featured blog posts about the likes of FDA possibly suppressing a possible AIDS cure and how most supplements are a waste of your hard-earned money. We hope our readers benefit from our latest look into the vague world of the health industry.

Who are Blink Health?

Blink Health‘s mission is to make prescription medications available at lower prices to millions of people across America. They are the first company to develop a proprietary technology to group millions of patients together, creating the strength to negotiate the lowest drug prices possible. They are also the first company to allow patients to purchase their medications online and pick them up at their local pharmacy.

Blink has been making a lot of noise recently and has been featured in many high-profile media outlets including:

The New York Times

New Online Tools Offer Path to Lower Drug Prices

NBC

Generic vs. Brand Name Drugs infographic:

Source: https://www.blinkhealth.com/

Let us know about your experience with prescription drugs  by commenting below 🙂

A Life Coach’s Guide to Living by Choice not by Chance

Each day we make choices that influence our pace and quality of life, and many of these are unconscious. While it’s a good thing we don’t have to think about every little choice we make, when it comes to creating a whole, fulfilled, balance between work-related activities and the rest-of-our-life activities… it’s a good idea to wake up and smell the proverbial coffee. Otherwise, we can find ourselves living with the effect of our choices such as feeling overwhelmed, stressed, unhealthy, or out of control.

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”-Nelson Mandela

This is not about right or wrong, good or bad. I believe there are no mistakes, simply lessons learned. Living by choice, not by chance requires us to take responsibility for our own life. We get to choose if our experiences will be a sentence, paragraph, page or a chapter(s) in our life’s story.

So let’s get started…shall we?

Do the following calculation:

• Subtract your current age from 90
• Add two zeros to the answer
• Divide that number in two

*This is roughly how many weeks you have left on this Earth, assuming you live to a very ripe old age.

If you smoke and don’t look after yourself properly, subtract 1,200 weeks.

It’s time to live by choice, not by chance. Here’s how:

LET GO: Release those people, places and things that no longer serve you. You have the power to forgive an apology you never received, past hurts that keep you resentful, and folks that drain your energy. Let go. Start anew.

CHECKLIST of things to let go:

• Toxicity
• Clutter
• Blocks
• Negativity
• Comparison
• Need to Please
• Distractions
• Old Belief System
• Anger/Resentment
• Ego

QUESTION: If not now, when?

ACTION: Let go of something that no longer serves you