Is Laughing Good for Your Health?

Humour is infectious. Laughter is a potent antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. It eases the afflictions, inspires hopes and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. With so much power to heal, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for overcoming problems and supporting both physical and emotional health. A hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed. It reduces the stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. Laughter mends the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, protecting you from cardiovascular problems. In the words of Dr. Paul McGhee, “Your sense of humour is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.”

Give your Abs a workout with this hilarious video…LOL!!!!!!!!

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Lead a Healthy Lifestyle with Smart Shopping

Good nutrition starts with smart selections at the supermarket. Cooking healthy meals is a challenge if you don't have the right ingredients in your kitchen. The process starts even before you head to the grocery store. Before you set out for shopping, plan your meals for the week, and craft a list to shop from. Base your list on a balanced diet plate that is, consider the proportion of fruits, vegetables, grains, milk (calcium-rich foods), meat and beans (protein-rich foods). It takes just a few minutes, and saves time in running back to the store for missing ingredients. Utilize the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to guide you to make healthy choices. It helps you compare foods before you purchase them. Do not believe everything you read. Many brands try to look nutritious by printing “low fat” or “less sugar” and even natural“” on their labels. Don't forget that your local farmers market is a great place for finding healthy foods.

Remember: You have the power of choice at the supermarket…MAKE THE CHOICES!!!

Healthy Living can Prevent Chronic Diseases

Physical inactivity and poor nutrition are the major underlying cause of chronic diseases. Engaging in healthy behaviours greatly reduces the risk for illness and death due to chronic diseases. Cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of preventable death and disability. You can dramatically reduce your risk of these chronic diseases (long-term or ongoing illnesses) by changing the way you live. Each of these chronic diseases share mutual risk factors that relate to your everyday choices and personal health habits. For instance, an unhealthy diet can lead to obesity, which is a risk factor for certain cancers, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

The following links provide information and resources about chronic diseases and health risk factors addressed by CDC’s Healthy Communities Program:

Heart Disease: http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/
Diabetes: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/
Cancer: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/
Obesity: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/

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Did You Know? - Health benefits of Dark Chocolate

Eating moderate amount of dark chocolate lower risk of heart failure. It contains flavonoids which, helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improve blood flow to the brain and heart and lower the risk for a blood clot. Dark chocolate contains a valuable ingredient, polyphenols which has the ability to stop free radical mediated oxidation thereby, decreasing your risk of diseases by directly interfering with one of the major preventable causes of chronic degenerative diseases. Chocolate also contains other potent plant “chemicals,” including anandamide, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain that temporarily blocks feelings of pain and anxiety. The caffeine and theobromine in chocolate have been shown to produce higher levels of physical energy and mental alertness.

Top 5 Weight Loss Drinks

In many attempts to lose weight people try to control the food they eat. However, it is not only the food that cause weight gain but, what you drink also matters. The mistakes people continue to make is thinking that the fruit juices and energy drinks are healthy for our body however, many of them have added sugars and other additives which can affect your weight loss plan. It is therefore necessary to consume drinks which are less in calories and which will boost your metabolism.

Be sure to include the following five drinks to improve your healthy lifestyle:

1. Vegetables Juices- Consuming vegetable juices, will aid you to feel fuller easily. You will also get all the necessary fibres, nutrients from the vegetable juices. Regular consumption of fresh fibre rich vegetable juices will reduce food cravings and you will never feel like eating heavily as it will easily fill your stomach.

2. Green Tea- this drink is loaded with antioxidants and is an effective metabolism booster. It is an effective natural ingredient that help you to lose weight. It also reduces fat, cholesterol, bloatedness, is a natural body detox and supress appetite. Green tea contains properties that blocks fat absorption into the body. Daily consumption is recommended. From a small cup, the benefits are certainly tremendous. Be sure to check out our variety of natural green teas offered at our Health Shop.

3. Cranberry Juices- are rich in antioxidants which helps remove free radicals in our body that causes cell damage. Cranberry juices contain organic acids which dissolve the fats and flush it out of the body and also remove toxins from the body.

4. Skimmed milk- calcium enriched skimmed milk increases the speed of fat break down in the body and keeps the muscles stronger which helps to increase the metabolic rate. The proteins, vitamins and calcium present in skimmed milk helps in weight loss.

5. Water- the most obvious and vital drink for all living creatures. It is important to drink 8 to 12 glasses of water daily. It flushes out all toxins in your body and helps you to stay hydrated at all times.

Importance of Yoga for Mental & Physical Health:

Yoga increases flexibility and reduces stress. The practices does not only help you twist your body into pretzel shapes but, you find inner/ mental peace. Yoga practices result in changes in gene expression. It boost immunity at a cellular level. Yoga also helps to boost immunity by simply increasing overall health. It helps you to breathe better, move better and circulate better all the other organs function better. Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, an awareness of physical and emotional sensations associated with eating. By causing breath awareness, regular yoga practice strengthens the mind-body connection. The awareness can help you tune in to emotions involved with certain cravings, and yoga breathing exercises can help you slow down and make better choices when cravings strike.

Be sure to regularly practice the yoga exercises illustrated below:

On Your Way to Healthy Living: 5 Easy Steps

It is necessary that people exercise a certain amount per week in order to maintain health and prevent diseases. Certain habits have to be integrated to our day-to-day lives. Moderate daily physical activity can reduce substantially the risk of developing or dying from chronic disease. Daily physical activity helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and helps reduce obesity, symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Consider the following to get on track:

1. Reflect on your lifestyle- take into consideration the types of food and the amount you consume. Focus on the basics like how much fruits you eat, your intake of water per day and the amount of time you a lot for physical exercise per week, if any. 
2. Eat a Healthy Breakfast- this is the most important meal of the day. Try dishes such as low fat butter spread on whole/ multigrain bread, a bowl of cereal with a fruit and always include water. 
3. Choose the right snacks- instead of eating sweets such as cookies and chocolates, choose a fruit or a wholegrain nutrition bar. 
4. Eat a balance meal- be sure to include vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and cabbage in yours meals along with your protein such as chicken or soya and try brown rice instead of white. 
5. Get at least 20-30 minutes of exercise per day- walking, jogging, dancing or a sport such as football can be done. You can also plan your own routine and stick to them. You should practice them ideally, for at least half an hour per day.

      

GET ON TRACK TODAY!!

Unhealthy lifestyles proves detrimental:

There is definitely an ongoing battle against obesity and being overweight in today’s society. This have been attributed to the rise of reports about obese individuals becoming ill and dying at a young age from chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. It is a scary reminder for all of us about the lifestyles we are maintaining. The foods we consume directly impact our well-being. Therefore, to take charge of our health, it starts with what we feed our bodies. Eating the wrong things and lack of exercise is a clear sign of an unhealthy way of life. Unhealthy lifestyles also means more time lost at work, less quality recreational time, and even shorter lifespan. People in this modern day have a mind-set that takes good health for granted. 

We have the choice to live a healthy lifestyle!!!