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Delicious and Good For You: The Benefits of Green Tea

Delicious and Good For You: The Benefits of Green Tea 0

the-benefits-of-green-tea

 

Green tea has to be one of the healthiest drinks out there. If you’re looking to give your immune system a boost, speed up your metabolism, or improve your brain function without moving a muscle (except to grab your favorite mug), then green tea could be the secret ingredient you’ve been needing in your life.

 

Green tea helps with the best of both worlds, because it can help improve your outside by starting from the inside. Green tea is also completely natural. What more can you ask for? With how many benefits are jam-packed in this tasty little drink, you’d wonder why absolutely everyone hasn’t taken advantage of it yet.

 

Let’s start with the basics green tea is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients. You’ve heard it all your life, I’m sure— these things are awesome for you. But let’s break it down a little for those of you interested in the details. How do these things actually affect the health of your body? Antioxidants are nutrients and/or enzymes, meaning they play a huge role in fighting free radicals, substances that attack your DNA and other healthy cells. Antioxidants boost up your ability to fight off these free radicals, and push back against things like visible aging and cellular damage, and reduce the chance of disease. Antioxidants mop up these unstable free radicals to repair and limit cell and molecule damage that comes from our everyday contact with them.

 

Green tea contains a superpower called Epigallocatechin Gallate, which we’ll call EGCG. This compound has been tied to numerous studies that show it is effective in treating various diseases, making it a big contributing player in green tea’s health-boosting reputation. Green tea has also been known to increase fat burning and boost the metabolic rate.

 

Green tea also helps to keep you awake. Are you someone that needs your morning coffee in order to make it through the day? Green tea is likely a better alternative for you. Although it doesn’t contain as much caffeine as coffee does, green tea doesn’t contain the added cream and sugar that many of us coffee drinkers love. Instead, you get an all-natural option with all the aforementioned health benefits. Green tea contains this active stimulant, but because it does not have the same amount that you find in coffee, you won’t get the same jittery effects, which is oftentimes our least favorite part about getting our morning java. Instead, you’ll have a more productive, stable buzz. You’ll still reap the benefits of being more energized, but you won’t find yourself tapping your foot against your desk all day.

 

Hate drinking your tea plain? You can add some natural ingredients that serve up excellent health benefits themselves. Boost up the flavor and nutrition with lemon or honey.

Lemon is packed with nourishing elements like vitamins C, B6, A, E, and iron, magnesium, potassium, and protein, among others. Lemons also help to restore balance to the body’s pH, and is known to fight infections and cold through flavonoids.

Honey will add a sweetness to your tea that rivals sugar in your coffee. Besides its delicious taste, honey also aids in soothing things like allergies and sore throats. Honey will also help you to get yourself off to sleep, as it is a natural sleep aid. Honey is additionally overall anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, regulates blood sugar, probiotic (meaning it contains friendly bacteria!), and helps to strengthen the immune system by way of producing immune cells. How’s that for a super-packed drink?

 

We've only just begun to scratch the surface when it comes to what green tea can do for your body. It's all-natural, has a comforting taste, and produces a multitude of beneficial changes that will become visible after adding a few cups to your diet. What's not to love? Now go ahead and brew yourself a cup, you can thank us later.

5 Apps to Increase Mental Clarity

5 Apps to Increase Mental Clarity 0

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We all have stressors in our day-to-day that get into our heads and hinder us from reaching a place of peace. Fortunately, scientists and techies are coming up with creative ways to help us combat these things. We’re living in the 21st century, so technology has now come into play as a valid tool to help improve your mental state. You can now utilize brain training apps as a tool to increase your mental clarity.

Some of us want to be able to focus better while at work, release ourselves from distracting thoughts, or even just boost our mood. Mental clarity can be a component that leads to your fulfillment, and allow you to achieve peace and balance through brain training activities. These apps aim to train your brain in several different categories— like positivity, meditation, communication skills, awareness, or memory— and in turn lead you towards a new direction. Many have attributed the change to a healthy lifestyle to these apps, so what have you got to lose? Here are 5 of our favorite apps that increase mental clarity.


Elevate: This app focuses on cognitive function, like reading, writing, and listening. This colorful game gives you three training sessions a day that focus on improving your communication skills. It might sound like your high school english class, but Elevate makes these trainings a lot more fun and intriguing. By using bold color schemes, playful animations, and goal-based directions, you feel as though you’re playing a game instead of teaching yourself a lesson about sentence fragments. Elevate aims to improve things like memory, calculation, decision making, and focus through a variety of games that are short and sweet.


Headspace: This app is all about meditation, promising to teach you how to meditate in just 10 minutes a day. Meditation is the holy grail of peace and relaxation for many, and this app aims to expose it to those who are having difficulty or are unaware of how to go about meditation. The goal is to get you to a place where you can focus better, stress less, and smile more. Headspace will teach you the basics of meditation through breathing and visualization, and from there you can choose a category you’d like to focus your session on. Categories include foundation, health, relationships, and performance.


Lumosity: Arguably one of the most popular brain training apps, Lumosity aims to improve skills that can easily translate to real-world tasks, like remembering a list or making decisions. The format is split into sessions of three race-against-the-clock training games tailored to your goals, including but not limited to: memory, attention, problem solving skills, processing speed, and flexibility of thinking. This app feels like a true educational tool that is used to hone in on your cognitive abilities, so you can gain skills that you can apply in your everyday life.


Personal Zen: This app focuses on two animated characters: a happy, friendly little guy, and an angry, negative one. As they burrow through a field of grass, the player must follow the happy character and remember it’s patterns and routes. The point of the game is for the user to focus on the positive, and not the negative. The scientists who created Personal Zen call it’s method “attention bias modification training”, which means it intends to train your brain to pay attention differently. The game aims to reduce stress and anxiety, hoping that the players exit out of the app feeling happier and more positive having focused on the character that reflects those traits. It has also been used in studies as a precursor for an event that can be stress-inducing, like giving a speech, in order to lessen the anxiety associated with the event. Those who played had significantly less stress levels than those who played a placebo version.


Happify: This app trains you to conquer negative thoughts, and in turn hopes to help you show gratitude, cope with stress, and empathize, leading you to live a happier and more fulfilled life. Happify focuses on “positive psychology” meaning strengths and virtues that the player finds within themselves. Features of the app are quizzes, identifying positives polls, and lists that will grant life-changing new habits to the player. Happify aims to improve your mood and your general outlook on life, by retraining your brain to be happier. Performing these guided reflections daily will surely bring you some newfound positivity. Helping you to become more aware, grateful, and be able to focus on the driving forces in your life.


Mental health is just as important as physical health. Keeping your mind positive, sharp, and aware will lead to a mental clarity that you can’t find from a simple workout. Trying out an app as a source to increase mental clarity can only benefit you!
5 Ways to Travel Stress-Free

5 Ways to Travel Stress-Free 0

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Sometimes we find ourselves stressing before we have to travel when we should really be preparing to enjoy ourselves. Whether it’s for a vacation, business trip, or a day trip, many of us are frequently on-the-go. It’s not always fun though, and traveling can oftentimes be a huge stressor in our lives that adds a lot of unnecessary worry or anxiety. Here are 5 ways to reduce that stress and enjoy your travels!

 

  1. Make a list. What to pack, an itinerary of places to visit, or a list of people you need to buy a gift for. A list is a great way to let your mind relax and release the information you need to know without the worry of forgetting something. You can double or even triple check if necessary, and it also allows you to manage your time better when you have everything written out in front of you.
  2. Get a good night’s sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep before you embark on your travels will leave you energized, refreshed, and ready to take on the day. You’ll be able to accomplish more, and having a full tank of gas will even allow you to be more prepared to try something new! Of course, sleep doesn’t always come easily for us, so check out the blog for some tips to combat sleep anxiety.
  3. Have a backup plan. Your mind will rest easier knowing if something goes wrong, you’ll be prepared. Have an alternative means of transportation in case an issue arises, or a second choice for an activity or place to visit if something you want to do gets rained out. When you prepare for the worst, you leave a lot less to chance.
  4. Research your place of interest beforehand. Oftentimes we take a chance on traveling somewhere we’ve never been before, maybe even in another country. It’s important to research your destination beforehand, so you won’t be thrown into any surprises or undesirable situations. You’ll also get a better grasp on the culture and what to expect upon arriving!
  5. Change your mindset. If you begin to find yourself stressing about your upcoming trip instead of being excited for it, try and change your outlook. Don’t look at your travels as a stressor. After all, most of us travel for pleasure, it shouldn’t make you uneasy! Have something to look forward to. Try to find an element of your trip you really want to experience, and if nothing else, let that guide you.
15 Quotes About Healthy Living to Help You Through the Day

15 Quotes About Healthy Living to Help You Through the Day 0

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Sometimes we can hit a wall with whatever we’re going through in life and need a little pick-me-up. Whether you’re working on getting in shape, getting into a healthier lifestyle, struggling with your mental health, or dealing with chronic illness, we’ve compiled an assortment of healthy living quotes we hope you can all identify with and bring you comfort.

Sometimes we can hit a wall with whatever we’re going through in life and need a little pick-me-up. Whether you’re working on getting in shape, getting into a healthier lifestyle, struggling with your mental health, or dealing with chronic illness, we’ve compiled an assortment of healthy living quotes we hope you can all identify with and bring you comfort.

1. Don't forget to put yourself first.

2. Small progress is still progress.

3. Don't wait until you've reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take toward reaching that goal.

4. Fitness is not about being better than someone else. It's about being better than you used to be.

5. Invest in yourself, you're going to be here for a while.

6. Strive for progress, not perfection.

7. Don't let your struggle define you.

8. Push harder than yesterday if you want a different tomorrow.

9. See the good in all things.

10. It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.

11. Your track record for getting through difficult days is 100 percent.

12. It's not "can I do this?", it's "how can I do this?"

13. What 10 things can I be thankful for right now?

14. A healthy outside starts from the inside.

15. See the light at the end of the tunnel.

5 Yoga Poses to Start Your Day

5 Yoga Poses to Start Your Day 0

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Yoga is a great way to wake up your mind and body first thing in the morning, and one of the stepping stones to living a healthier and more fulfilled lifestyle. Yoga aids in strengthening, stretching, and sculpting your body, but also has the ability to soothe your mind and put you in a better mood.

Here are 5 yoga poses you can utilize to start your day off in a positive way!


Downward Dog

Step one: Begin on your hands and knees and bring your hands slightly forward of your shoulders.

Step two: Exhale and press the floor away from you, lift your hips back to push yourself into an upside down v-position.

Step three: Lengthen your spine by lifting your hips, and straighten your legs. Take the tops of your thighs and knees back. Press and hold for 30 seconds.



Warrior II

Step one: Start with your feet spread wider than hip-width. Turn your right foot slightly to the right and your left foot 90 degrees to the left. Align your left heel with your right heel.

Step two: Exhale and bend your left knee over your left ankle so that your thigh is almost parallel to the ground. Strengthen your right knee and press firmly into the floor.

Step three: Stretch your arms directly out over your shoulders, parallel to the floor, and press your tailbone inward. Turn your head to the left and look over your fingers. Hold for 30 seconds.


Pigeon

Step one: Start in downward dog. Raise your right leg extended away from you, then pull it it in by the knee, angling your right shin under your torso, and bringing your right foot up to your left hand. The outside of your right shin should now be firmly on the ground.

Step two: Slide your left leg straight behind you and let the top of your foot rest on the floor. Be sure your left thigh is rotated inward.

Step three: Place each hand on either side of your hips and press your tailbone down to lengthen your spine. Hold for 30 seconds.



Child’s Pose

Step one: Start by kneeling with your feet a hip’s width apart. Exhale and bring your chest down onto your thighs, and your forehead to the floor.

Step two: Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis.

Step three: Lay your hands on the floor, forward, away from your body. Rest in this pose for 30 seconds.



Standing Forward Bend Pose

Step one: Start by standing straight upward. Bend forward so that your hands may now touch the floor.

Step two: Walk your feet towards your hands and let your upper body hang. Your knees may be bent.

Step three: Inhale and lengthen your spine. At this time you may straighten your legs and may wrap your hands to hold your ankles. Hold for 30 seconds.
10 Daily Affirmations to Live By

10 Daily Affirmations to Live By 0

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Many find that filling their mind with positive, self-assuring thoughts can start their day in the right direction. Here are some positive daily affirmations that we can all use in our lives to make taking on the world a little bit easier.


  1. I am in charge of how I feel and today I am choosing happiness.

  1. Amazing opportunities exist for me in every aspect of my life.

  1. I freely give up what is no longer serving me, and release it to create space for what inspires me.

  1. I either have control or I don’t; worry is wasted energy.

  1. I choose to fully participate in my day.

  1. I am at peace with all that has happened, is happening, and will happen.

  1. I am a powerhouse, I am indestructible. I am conquering my problem and defeating it steadily each day.

  1. I am a better person for the hardship I have gone through.

  1. I feel safe in the rhythm and flow of ever-changing life.

10. I free myself from destructive fears and doubts.