Your Daily Source for Alternative Health News & Tips
Many of us appreciate the fact that we can enjoy that occasional glass of red wine as a great way to unwind and de-stress. Red wine also has a number of well-documented health benefits. Continue reading
If you frequently find yourself waking up wishing that you could stay in bed and escape the daily grind, consider incorporating just a few actions that can transform your attitude and create a more enjoyable day. Even if it has already gotten off to a rough start, it isn’t too late to change things for the better. Continue reading
With our modern lives filled with plenty of stress and often poor nutrition, many women experience hormonal imbalance. Many don’t realize that the disturbing symptoms are often connected to metabolic damage caused by lifestyle factors.
Just some of the symptoms of a hormonal imbalance include depression, lethargy, PMS, weight gain, poor sex drive, anxiety, urinary tract infections, allergies and facial hair growth. Turning to a pill, or a variety of pills, for relief often brings side effects that are worse than the symptoms.
By balancing hormones naturally, through diet and other lifestyle factors, it’s often much easier to maintain an ideal weight, maximize energy levels, and enjoy a happier, healthier life.
Avoid Processed Foods
Foods that are packed with chemicals and other harmful toxins, like pre-packaged meats (as well as standard meats from animals confined in feedlots), baked treats, fried foods, frozen dinners and fast food, wreak havoc on hormones.
Some even contain chemicals that can mimic hormones in the body and prevent it from producing real hormones.
Eat Plenty of Omega-3 Rich Foods
Include plenty of foods that are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which can help boost hormone production by producing healthy cell membranes that allow hormones to easily reach their destination. They also aid the body in repairing cellular receptor sites and keeping cells in optimal condition.
A few of these foods include:
Coconut oil offers great benefits for hormone health. It contains the necessary building blocks for hormone production and can also aid weight loss efforts, decrease inflammation and provide antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. Optimally, you should consume about ¼ cup per day.
Replace your canola or vegetable oil with coconut oil when cooking or add it to a smoothie. It’s especially tasty blended into coffee.
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Following a diet that is 80 percent plant based provides great benefits, and is more important than ever for balancing hormones and for optimal health.
Include plenty of organic, antioxidant-rich foods such as brightly colored produce like carrots and berries as well as dark green, leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, collard greens and mustard greens.
Beans
Many beans are considered hormone balancing foods as well as good sources of protein, making them an especially good choice for vegetarians. Some of the best choices include lentils, black beans, red beans and garbanzos.
In addition to diet, it’s important to keep stress levels low, which can be accomplished through deep-breathing exercises, meditation and a variety of physical activities. Be sure to get a good night’s sleep and exercise at least 30 minutes each day.
-The Alternative Daily
Everyone loves the scent of freshly-laundered clothes. When we think of toxic hazards we don’t often think of our sweet-smelling clothes. However, the majority of commercial laundry detergents hide dangerous chemicals behind those sweet aromas. Continue reading
A recent study published by JAMA Internal Medicine revealed that there is some evidence indicating that those who follow a vegetarian diet have reduced mortality rates.
Researchers studied a variety of vegetarian types including non-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian (includes seafood), lacto-ovo-vegetarian (includes dairy and egg products) and vegan (excludes all animal products).
A longer, healthier life was credited to all types of vegetarians with a 12 percent lower mortality rate as compared to non-vegetarians. So, what does this mean to you?
Going all-vegan is not necessary, and may not even be optimal for most people; however, the emphasis in a healthy diet should be on raw, fresh, whole foods. A good rule of thumb is to include 80% raw vegetables and fruits and just 20% cooked foods in your daily diet. When you do eat meat, focus on lean, healthy proteins such as wild-caught salmon, organic grass-fed beef or free-range chicken.
Raw Food Benefit
Raw foods are good for you for a number of reasons, including the fact that they are packed with antioxidants and essential vitamins and minerals. Another important factor is that raw food, sometimes referred to as live or living food, has not been cooked or exposed to temperatures over 118 degrees, which destroys or deactivates natural enzymes.
Enzymes are essential for all of the chemical processes in the body, especially digestion. Consider that nutrients are chemicals in that when those chemicals are heated it causes a chemical reaction – the higher the heat, the more damaging the chemical reaction is.
Heating food above 118 degrees creates acidic toxins including carcinogens and free-radicals that are associated with just about every disease and chronic illness including cancer, heart disease, arthritis and diabetes. Cooking also destroys the live enzymes necessary for optimal digestion and overall health.
The late Dr. Edward Howell, the author of Enzyme Nutrition, spent his entire professional life studying enzymes and conducting extensive clinical and laboratory research. He is considered a pioneer in the raw food movement. His theory was that if you don’t get enough enzymes from the food you eat, your digestive system is placed under a great burden and is forced to produce enough enzymes of its own to accomplish its task.
If the body is constantly overstimulated to produce enzymes, that should be provided for it through live foods, it does not function properly, and nutrient deficiencies occur. It also often leads to chronic illness, a weakened immune system and a shortened lifespan.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need to go 100 percent raw to achieve optimal health, but transitioning to an 80/20 diet may be your best road to a higher quality, lengthier life.
-The Alternative Daily
Many of us have heard time and time again that we should stay away from processed foods. However, the reasons why are not as well-known. Continue reading
You probably already know by now how bad diet soda is for your health. If you’ve been ignoring the headlines about the numerous research that has proven many of soda’s damaging effects, you might want to pay closer attention. Continue reading
Ginger is packed with so many powerful compounds it should be considered a staple in any healthy diet. In fact, it offers so many medicinal properties that some feel it should be a must in the medicine cabinet as well. Continue reading
Are you looking for delicious and simple ways to boost the health quotient of your meals? While many herbs, fruits and vegetables have their own specific benefits, and variety is key, including the following three diverse ingredients in your cooking on a regular basis can help you and your family look and feel their absolute best. Continue reading
Most people know that soda is detrimental to health. Sadly, that does not always stop them from drinking it, often in massive quantities. In fact, statistics show that the average American drinks a staggering 58 gallons of soda per year! This is especially scary as studies show that even moderate amounts of soda are extremely unhealthy. Continue reading
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