7 Keys to a Healthy Diet

1
Consume a Variety of Foods

Not all the nutrients and other substances in foods that contribute to good health have been identified, so eating a wide assortment of foods helps ensure that you get all of the disease-fighting potential that foods offer. In addition, this will limit your exposure to any pesticides or toxic substances that may be present in a particular food.
2
Keep an Eye on Portions

Sure, you can eat all the broccoli and spinach you want, but for higher-calorie foods, portion control is the key. In recent years, serving sizes have ballooned. In restaurants, choose an appetizer instead of an entree or split a dish with a friend. Don’t order anything that’s been “supersized.” When reading food labels, check serving sizes: some relatively small packages claim to contain more than one serving, so you have to double or triple the calories, grams of fat and milligrams of sodium if you’re planning to eat the whole thing.
3
Eat Plenty of Produce

Aim for 2½ cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit a day, for a 2,000-calorie diet. If you consume more calories, aim for more; if you eat fewer than 2,000 calories, you can eat less. Include green, orange, red, blue/purple and yellow produce. The nutrients, fiber and other compounds in these foods may help protect against certain types of cancer and other diseases. Legumes, rich in fiber, count as vegetables, though are moderately high in calories. Choose whole fruits over juice for more fiber. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are good options.

DIY Ginger Tea and Its Health Benefits

Ginger is a very common kitchen ingredient used by people across the globe. Its distinctive aroma and flavor add zest to different cuisines.

DIY ginger tea final

It also has many medicinal benefits. Ginger is a good source of vitamins A, C, E and B-complex as well as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, calcium and beta-carotene.
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In addition, it has anti-inflammatory, antinausea, antispasmodic, antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties that can help treat and prevent health issues.

You can eat ginger in different ways, but sipping on ginger tea is one of the best options. You can easily make this soothing beverage at home.

DIY ginger tea ingredients

Ingredients

    4 to 6 thin slices of raw ginger
    1½ to 2 cups of filtered water
    A little lemon juice
    1 to 2 tablespoons of raw honey

Directions
1. Peel the ginger root and wash it thoroughly.

DIY ginger tea step1
2. Slice the ginger into thin slices.

DIY ginger tea step2
3. Bring 1½ cups of filtered water to a boil.

DIY ginger tea step3
4. Add the ginger slices.

DIY ginger tea step4
5. Put a lid on it and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes.

DIY ginger tea step5
6. Strain the water to remove the ginger.

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7. Squeeze in a little lemon as per your taste.

DIY ginger tea step7
8. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of raw honey.

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9. Stir and enjoy your hot ginger tea.

DIY ginger tea

If you want a cold tea, put the tea in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Add a few ice cubes before serving.

As a variation, try steeping some fresh peppermint leaves, 1 small cinnamon stick or a few cardamom pods with the ginger to make a more refreshing tea.

You can drink up to 3 cups of ginger tea daily. Avoid drinking ginger tea in excess, as it can cause many side effects.

5 Home Remedies for Seasonal Allergies (Beyond Local Honey)

Runny nose, itchy eyes, and the infuriating sensation of not being able to sneeze? Pollen count is on the rise as the weather warms up which means one thing-allergies. When it comes to home remedies for allergies you hear a lot about local raw honey preventing them. It is supposed to work because the gradual intake of local pollen will help build up your immunity before the symptoms start, thereby providing relief when the season actually hits. And while it does work for some people, let’s not forget that there are plenty of remedies you can try at home to help relieve the common symptoms of seasonal allergies. As a Minnesotan I intend to soak up every last bit of warm weather, especially after our brutal winter, and I’ll be utilizing a number of remedies to help fight any allergies dragging me down.

Love these natural remedies for allergies! They are so simple and so much better than taking medication.


1. Nettle-Peppermint Tea

Nettle has such a negative image, but it’s one of the most incredible herbs you will use once you add it to your repertoire. From relieving arthritis (link), lowering blood pressure, and (of course) helping seasonal allergies, it performs a wide variety of functions thanks to its (find property names.) The peppermint contains a type of flavonoid called luteolin-7-O-rutinoside which can help inhibit the activity and secretion of anti-inflammatory enzymes, such as histamines, and greatly reduce the dreadful discomfort that comes along them.

peppermint for allergy relief
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You will need…

-1 teaspoon of dried peppermint OR ¼ cup chopped fresh peppermint
-1 teaspoon of dried nettle leaf OR ¼ cup chopped fresh nettle leaf
-Honey and lemon to taste (optional)
-8 ounces of fresh water

Directions

It doesn’t get much simpler than this recipe! Place the nettle and peppermint in a mug and cover with boiling water. Steep them for 10-15 minutes, strain; add honey to taste, and drink 2 times daily as needed for allergy relief.

5 Things That Happen if You Quit Sugar for Life

Kayla Matthews, Natural Society

First, let’s set the record straight by saying that sugar in and of itself isn’t evil, per se. It occurs naturally in plenty of foods, including fruits and milk. With that being said, adding excess sugar to your dietary intake simply isn’t necessary. In fact, you’ll notice numerous positive things happen when you decide to quit sugar for life.

Although people living in the Western world have been trained to desire sugary treats, as well as foods that include copious amounts of sugar for flavoring, we certainly don’t need it. If you stop eating anything but naturally occurring sugars, you’ll notice that 5 very distinctive things will happen.
1. Your Energy Will Improve

Ironically, many of us have a tendency to reach for sugar-filled items, including so-called energy drinks and caffeinated beverages, when we’re tired. Yet without all the sugar, we’re guaranteed to have a higher energy level naturally. In other words, all that sugar is blocking our body’s ability to keep our energy stores at maximal levels. Plus, there will be no up-and-down with your blood sugar, so afternoon crashes will become an experience of the past.
2. Your Weight Will Stabilize

Sugar makes you crave more sugar, and we’re not just talking about sugar in its raw form. Let’s face it: most sugar comes in high-fat and/or high-carb foods that have been processed or at least contain tons of unwanted ingredients. There is, of course, the exception of fruit, which are nearly all sugar.

By going on a sugar detox, your body will not be subjected to the need to deal with all those additional calories. You won’t feel hungry, and you’ll end up losing weight – or at least not seeing the scale fluctuate as dramatically.

Why We’re All Deficient In Magnesium, The Many Signs & What To Do

Signs of magnesium deficiency are everywhere in the United States, if you know what to look for. Unfortunately, the symptoms are so incredibly common that they constantly slip under the radar! Hardly anyone, especially doctors, notice that the ailments we suffer from on a daily basis are actually magnesium deficiency symptoms… and we’re all paying for it.
Just about every single person you come into contact with – especially those with a health problem, but even those with only minor complaints – are suffering in some way from this nationwide deficiency. Including you!
What Exactly Is Magnesium?

Magnesium is life.

It is the 4th most abundant mineral in the body, right next to sulfur (which is JUST as important).

Along with being a mineral, magnesium is also an electrolyte. “Sports drinks” (aka sugar-filled scams) claim to contain electrolytes such as magnesium, potassium, and sodium because we sweat away these important nutrients during exercise, and their deficiency is what leads to the common problems athletes face, such as muscle cramping! But believe me – electrolytes (especially magnesium) do so much more than treat and prevent muscle cramps.

First off, electrolytes are what allow us to be living, electrical beings. They are responsible for all electrical activity (and thus brain conductivity) in the body. Without electrolytes like magnesium, muscles can’t fire, your heart cannot beat, and your brain doesn’t receive any signals. We need magnesium to stay alive, point blank. As soon as we don’t have enough of it, we start to lose the energy and conductivity that keeps us going. Technically, as soon as we become deficient, we slowly begin to die, getting more aches and pains day by day, feeling worse year after year. I can’t stress it enough… signs of magnesium deficiency are everywhere, if you just look.

Magnesium is a cofactor in over three hundred reactions in the body, necessary for transmission of nerve impulses, temperature regulations, detoxification in the liver, and formation of bones and teeth. However, magnesium shows its true power in cardiovascular health. The Weston A. Price foundation writes, “Magnesium alone can fulfill the role of many common cardiac medications: magnesium inhibits blood clots (like aspirin), thins the blood (like Coumadin), blocks calcium uptake (like calcium channel-blocking durgs such as Procardia) and relaxes blood vessels (like ACE inhibitors such as Vasotec) (Pelton, 2001).”

Nearly EVERYONE has signs of magnesium deficiency but we don’t realize it…

Mistakes help us find the right person.

We may love the wrong person, cry for the wrong person. But one thing is sure, mistakes help us find the right person. Go for someone who isn’t only proud to have you, but will also take every risk just to be with you! Never, ever settle. Just be patient and don’t rush things, anything worth having is worth waiting for.

10 Ways to Release Fear of Rejection

“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” – Bo Bennett

We’ve all been rejected in some way, whether by someone we asked to the homecoming dance in high school, by an employer we really wanted to work for, or even by our parents if they didn’t agree with our ideas.

Many people fear rejection, not only because it hurts, but because they put all their worth in others opinions of them. If this sounds like you, read on to find out how you can release the fear of rejection once and for all.
10 Ways to Release Fear of Rejection
1. Realize that your value doesn’t diminish just because others fail to see your worth.

You set your own value based on your thoughts about yourself – you set the stage for everything that happens in your life, and only YOU can decide to let others influence your emotions. Not everyone will like you; in fact, some of them might have intentions to tear you down from the get-go, whether out of jealousy or anger. However, you have to keep your head up anyway, and know that as long as you recognize your own worth, no one else can ever cast shadows over you.
2. Avoid conjuring up stories in your head about how a future event will play out.

How often do you play out scenarios in your head before they even happen? And, more often than not, the stories probably take a negative turn, leaving you feeling anxious, hopeless, and out of control. According to Psychology Today, there’s actually an explanation for those negative voices in your head, though.

Melanie Greenburg, Ph.D., says, “Psychologists believe these voices are residues of childhood experiences—automatic patterns of neural firing stored in our brains and dissociated from the memory of the events they are trying to protect us from.”