Other suggestions for old rind
Candied - Boil to soften then roll in raw sugar
Addition to stir fries and salads.
Showing posts with label boosting health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boosting health. Show all posts
Monday 16 March 2015
Homemade orange tea
Other suggestions for old rind
Candied - Boil to soften then roll in raw sugar
Addition to stir fries and salads.
Saturday 19 May 2012
Natural cold remedies
Coughs, cold and Flues are a pain at any time of the year. I personally find that pharmaceutical remedies have very little effect on me. So I've complied a list of natural alternatives that I find do help. However, it is important to remember that illness must be recovered from - there is no quick solution. You just can't wish it away; no matter how much you may try. The best thing to do is allow it to past on through.
Coughs and sneezes.
If mucus comes out, get into a tissue and into a bin as quickly as possible. This is the quickest way to help heal your body. The longer infected mucus stays in lungs/sinuses the more severe the infection can get.
Honey and lemon tea. Or Honey, Lemon, and Ginger if you prefer.
This best when using freshly squeezed lemons and real honey, preferable from your local region. The lemon is acid enough to kill the bacteria in throat (This is why lemon is traditionally served with fish), and provided a nice shot of vitamin C to boost the immune system. Honey, more then just making this mixture palatable, has anti-bacterial properties and has been show to sooth inflammation. Ginger soothes nausea, and has anti-viral qualities. Perfect mixture for counter acting sore throats.
Salty water.
Gargling a mixture of salty water every 3-4 hours is a quick way to keep a sore through clean. The taste is very unpleasant but it is effective. The salt water serves to kill microbes while the gargling motion helps remove mucus that may be covering bacterial infestation.
Eucalyptus oil.
Eucalyptus is a handy decongestant if you can get hold of it. Apply a small amount to the bottom of your nostrils or burn some in an oil burner. This will simultaneously sooth sinuses and act as an expectorant.
Garlic.
Eating loads of garlic on a regular basis will boost immune function. However this more of a preventative measure. Eating it while sick will help you immune system cope but not enough to be noticeable. It also had anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
Echinacea.
Like Garlic, this another herb that helps boost immune function. It has been shown to be particularly good for staving off colds an flues. However, this is also a preventative measure.
Astragalus
This little example of Chinese herbal lore is another good preventative measure. Like Garlic it can boost the immune system and is often recommended for people with weaken immune systems.
Willow Bark capsules.
Willow Bark is a natural pain killer. This is a good all-rounder, whether you are taking them for colds or for migraines.
Hot Steamy Showers.
Ordinarily, the Thought of filling the bathroom with steam horrifies me as complete disregard for the environment. This concern aside, filling your lungs with steam in the shower is the perfect way to loosen up the mucus in the airways and sinuses - encouraging the infected mucus to literally leak out, taking the bacteria with it.
Fruits and vegetables.
Eating fruits and vegetables is important for general health. It is even more important to eat healthy when ill, even though this is the last thing most of us want to do. Fruits and vegies will provided lots of vitamin C for immune function and, by eating a variety, all the minerals/vitamin that support vitamin C absorption.
Fish and Shellfish
These are naturally higher in Zinc then most vegetables. Zinc is important mineral to the absorption of vitamin C (but not the only important factor).
Sleep.
Sleep is so very underrated. When I'm sick I can sleep up to 18 hours a day. I wake up better for it. Sleep is integral to healing of any sort.
Caffeine.
Caffeine, despite the fact that it is added to so many pharmaceutical drugs that supposedly help us fight colds, is something that should actually be avoided while you are ill. It will over stimulate your body, leaving you worse for the wear. Worse, the body will struggle to remove it from your system, taking away valuable energy from the immune system while it is trying to fight infection.
Junk Foods.
Again, these are something you want to avoid. Heavily processed foods are harder for the body to break down, stealing energy from the immune system. Quite often these foods also come with a range of preservatives and other nasty chemicals which serve to confuse the body even more. Really Sugary foods have even been shown to feed bacterial infections.
Fresh Air
This is an important way to clear infections from you room/house. People often forget that is a room is closed up it is just recirculating the same air. This means it is also circulating any spores of infectious diseases that have been carried into the room.
Coughs and sneezes.
If mucus comes out, get into a tissue and into a bin as quickly as possible. This is the quickest way to help heal your body. The longer infected mucus stays in lungs/sinuses the more severe the infection can get.
Honey and lemon tea. Or Honey, Lemon, and Ginger if you prefer.
This best when using freshly squeezed lemons and real honey, preferable from your local region. The lemon is acid enough to kill the bacteria in throat (This is why lemon is traditionally served with fish), and provided a nice shot of vitamin C to boost the immune system. Honey, more then just making this mixture palatable, has anti-bacterial properties and has been show to sooth inflammation. Ginger soothes nausea, and has anti-viral qualities. Perfect mixture for counter acting sore throats.
Salty water.
Gargling a mixture of salty water every 3-4 hours is a quick way to keep a sore through clean. The taste is very unpleasant but it is effective. The salt water serves to kill microbes while the gargling motion helps remove mucus that may be covering bacterial infestation.
Eucalyptus oil.
Eucalyptus is a handy decongestant if you can get hold of it. Apply a small amount to the bottom of your nostrils or burn some in an oil burner. This will simultaneously sooth sinuses and act as an expectorant.
Garlic.
Eating loads of garlic on a regular basis will boost immune function. However this more of a preventative measure. Eating it while sick will help you immune system cope but not enough to be noticeable. It also had anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
Echinacea.
Like Garlic, this another herb that helps boost immune function. It has been shown to be particularly good for staving off colds an flues. However, this is also a preventative measure.
Astragalus
This little example of Chinese herbal lore is another good preventative measure. Like Garlic it can boost the immune system and is often recommended for people with weaken immune systems.
Willow Bark capsules.
Willow Bark is a natural pain killer. This is a good all-rounder, whether you are taking them for colds or for migraines.
Hot Steamy Showers.
Ordinarily, the Thought of filling the bathroom with steam horrifies me as complete disregard for the environment. This concern aside, filling your lungs with steam in the shower is the perfect way to loosen up the mucus in the airways and sinuses - encouraging the infected mucus to literally leak out, taking the bacteria with it.
Fruits and vegetables.
Eating fruits and vegetables is important for general health. It is even more important to eat healthy when ill, even though this is the last thing most of us want to do. Fruits and vegies will provided lots of vitamin C for immune function and, by eating a variety, all the minerals/vitamin that support vitamin C absorption.
Fish and Shellfish
These are naturally higher in Zinc then most vegetables. Zinc is important mineral to the absorption of vitamin C (but not the only important factor).
Sleep.
Sleep is so very underrated. When I'm sick I can sleep up to 18 hours a day. I wake up better for it. Sleep is integral to healing of any sort.
Caffeine.
Caffeine, despite the fact that it is added to so many pharmaceutical drugs that supposedly help us fight colds, is something that should actually be avoided while you are ill. It will over stimulate your body, leaving you worse for the wear. Worse, the body will struggle to remove it from your system, taking away valuable energy from the immune system while it is trying to fight infection.
Junk Foods.
Again, these are something you want to avoid. Heavily processed foods are harder for the body to break down, stealing energy from the immune system. Quite often these foods also come with a range of preservatives and other nasty chemicals which serve to confuse the body even more. Really Sugary foods have even been shown to feed bacterial infections.
Fresh Air
This is an important way to clear infections from you room/house. People often forget that is a room is closed up it is just recirculating the same air. This means it is also circulating any spores of infectious diseases that have been carried into the room.
Thursday 17 May 2012
The benefits of cereal
I went off cereal for a very long time. This is partly because my dairy allergy was not fully picked up on until I was well into my 20's. Having cereal with cow's milk when you're allergic to it is just a recipe for a bad tummy. Needless to say, that for quite a while the thought of eating a bowl of cereal was enough to make me feel ill. However, I have recently started eating it again and realised there were benefits. :)
1) It's cheap. No-Brainer there. A 500g box of Gluten-free cornflakes will last me 7-10 days.
2) It's simple. There's no possible way it can upset your stomach unless you are actually allergic to one of the ingredients.
3) Cereals are mostly starchy carbohydrates rather then sugar. This is an important point in that quite often nutritionist will tell you how sugary cereals can be. Coco pops, for example, has 35g of sugar per 100g. On the offset, this sounds like a lot. What people don't realised that this sugar content is halved when milk is added; slowing down the overall absorption of the sugar and giving your body time to burn it off before converting it to fat.
4) Most cereals are fortified. Those of us with dairy allergies can really struggle to meet our daily calcium requirements. Most cereals now contain 57% of the Recommended Daily intake of calcium. Making it just that bit easier to get enough calcium. Fortified cereals also contain Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, B2, Folic Acid, B12, and Iron.
1) It's cheap. No-Brainer there. A 500g box of Gluten-free cornflakes will last me 7-10 days.
2) It's simple. There's no possible way it can upset your stomach unless you are actually allergic to one of the ingredients.
3) Cereals are mostly starchy carbohydrates rather then sugar. This is an important point in that quite often nutritionist will tell you how sugary cereals can be. Coco pops, for example, has 35g of sugar per 100g. On the offset, this sounds like a lot. What people don't realised that this sugar content is halved when milk is added; slowing down the overall absorption of the sugar and giving your body time to burn it off before converting it to fat.
4) Most cereals are fortified. Those of us with dairy allergies can really struggle to meet our daily calcium requirements. Most cereals now contain 57% of the Recommended Daily intake of calcium. Making it just that bit easier to get enough calcium. Fortified cereals also contain Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, B2, Folic Acid, B12, and Iron.
Monday 14 May 2012
Coping with writer's block
The first thing that happens when I attempt to start work on an assignment or project is that my brain has a minor freeze as to how to go about writing it. Because of this I've had to come up with several techniques in order to combat writer's block.
1) Ease off the coffee. Contrary to common belief, caffeine does not help you get work done. Caffeine is a stimulant. To a degree it will make you brain work faster, however after a certain point it will actually over-stimulate you. This will mean you will be easily distracted from your task and fidget/pace incessantly. This is not a frame of mind in which anyone can work. This is why it is important to limit you caffeine intake.
2) Fruits, vegetables and seafood. It is incredibly important o have a healthy diet. A good diet will impact on your overall health. Better health will mean that you are better able to cope with long periods of study as you will be able to work longer with reduced exhaustion. Fish and vegetables contain several nutrients that are vital to the production of chemical neurotransmitters in the brain. This will improve concentration and ability to use and retain information.
3) Water. Drinking plenty of water has many health benefits. I have devoted an entire article to this earlier. Water will improve concentration and will support the brain function. Goes without saying that this is incredibly important.
4) Exercise. It is important to have a health amount of exercise in your lifestyle. It also will stimulate your ability to think by increasing blood flow to the brain and encouraging the production of endorphins - neurochemicals important to brain function and reduction of stress.
If making these changes to your lifestyle doesn't help there are a few only solutions that might work.
5) Meditation. Clearing you mind and relaxing can sometimes remove the anxiety/stress that is stopping you from getting the words out that you need. Try some simple breathing exercises - get yourself into a comfortable position and focus on counting your breaths. Just breath. Alternatively, you can try visualisation exercises; pick a favourite scene and slowly build up details until you have the whole picture in your mind. Imagine yourself walking around the scene picking up objects and sensing them - touch smell ect. This will relax your body will building up your ability to focus.
6) Free writing. Open a notepad or word document and start writing. It doesn't matter what you write. In fact don't focus on what you are writing. Just let the words flow out. At some point, you will be hit by inspiration and and begin to write on the topic you were blocked on in the first place.
7) Structured questions. If you already have a good idea of what you want to say but are having trouble getting this down on paper, begin asking yourself structured questions. Eg I need to introduce an an article for my assignment. I will ask myself questions like 'what is the article?', 'Who was it written by?', 'When was it written?', 'What is it about?', 'What do I need to do with it?' ect. This can be adapted for writing scenes for novels. Ask yourselves questions like 'What is going on in the scene?', 'Where is it set?', 'Who is in this scene?', 'How are the dressed?' ect. After you have devised and answered these question you will have enough information to write this into a paragraph/chapter.
1) Ease off the coffee. Contrary to common belief, caffeine does not help you get work done. Caffeine is a stimulant. To a degree it will make you brain work faster, however after a certain point it will actually over-stimulate you. This will mean you will be easily distracted from your task and fidget/pace incessantly. This is not a frame of mind in which anyone can work. This is why it is important to limit you caffeine intake.
2) Fruits, vegetables and seafood. It is incredibly important o have a healthy diet. A good diet will impact on your overall health. Better health will mean that you are better able to cope with long periods of study as you will be able to work longer with reduced exhaustion. Fish and vegetables contain several nutrients that are vital to the production of chemical neurotransmitters in the brain. This will improve concentration and ability to use and retain information.
3) Water. Drinking plenty of water has many health benefits. I have devoted an entire article to this earlier. Water will improve concentration and will support the brain function. Goes without saying that this is incredibly important.
4) Exercise. It is important to have a health amount of exercise in your lifestyle. It also will stimulate your ability to think by increasing blood flow to the brain and encouraging the production of endorphins - neurochemicals important to brain function and reduction of stress.
If making these changes to your lifestyle doesn't help there are a few only solutions that might work.
5) Meditation. Clearing you mind and relaxing can sometimes remove the anxiety/stress that is stopping you from getting the words out that you need. Try some simple breathing exercises - get yourself into a comfortable position and focus on counting your breaths. Just breath. Alternatively, you can try visualisation exercises; pick a favourite scene and slowly build up details until you have the whole picture in your mind. Imagine yourself walking around the scene picking up objects and sensing them - touch smell ect. This will relax your body will building up your ability to focus.
6) Free writing. Open a notepad or word document and start writing. It doesn't matter what you write. In fact don't focus on what you are writing. Just let the words flow out. At some point, you will be hit by inspiration and and begin to write on the topic you were blocked on in the first place.
7) Structured questions. If you already have a good idea of what you want to say but are having trouble getting this down on paper, begin asking yourself structured questions. Eg I need to introduce an an article for my assignment. I will ask myself questions like 'what is the article?', 'Who was it written by?', 'When was it written?', 'What is it about?', 'What do I need to do with it?' ect. This can be adapted for writing scenes for novels. Ask yourselves questions like 'What is going on in the scene?', 'Where is it set?', 'Who is in this scene?', 'How are the dressed?' ect. After you have devised and answered these question you will have enough information to write this into a paragraph/chapter.
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Tips for giving up the cigarettes.
Quitting smoking is hard. Anyone who has attempted will tell you that. I quit smoking quite a few years ago. I will say, that for me personally, it was the best choice I could have made. I feel that quitting is harder then ever since pharmaceutical companies started targeting those who want to quit with nicotine gum, hypnotherapy, pills; my list could on. All these expensive solutions don't necessarily help. Hypnotherapy doesn't work on everyone and nicotine gum only serves to feed the real addiction (although, it does stop you from inhaling nicotine via smoke). So I compiled a list of things I found helpful when I quit.
1) If you are still smoking or using nicotine patches/gum, then slowly cut back. It is okay for this to take months. Lifestyle changes do not happen over night and quitting cold turkey has 50/50 chance of leaving you more addicted then ever. (I could explain the psychological and sociological reasons behind this but it's not necessary; all you need to know is that going cold turkey is risky.)
2) Cut down on stress levels where you can. It is all to easy to light up in moments of stress. The best thing you can do is start have 15 min periods throughout the day where you relax. Meditate or read, or anything else that is calming.
3) Be wary of food, alcohol and even excessive exercise. When giving up one addiction it is all too easy to use another as a crutch. The idea quitting smoking is to give up an addiction - not create a new one.
4) Have a healthy diet with 9-10 different serves of fruit/vegetables a day. This helps in two ways. Firstly, it helps your lung clear and repair themselves as the body has a ready supply of vitamins and minerals. Secondly, it helps ease the symptoms of detoxification as the traces of the nicotine and other nasty chemicals found in smoke are purged from you system.
5) Drink lots of water; this also help clean and repair the body.
6) Remember to get a healthy amount of exercise every day. While to much can make you an adrenaline junkie, just enough exercise can help clear and strengthen the lungs.
I sincerely hope these tips help someone. And if you do feel the need to quit, I wish the best of luck. Remember, though, it does take years for lungs to fully recover from the damage smoking causes and the heavier/ longer you have been smoking, the longer it will take for your lungs to recover.
1) If you are still smoking or using nicotine patches/gum, then slowly cut back. It is okay for this to take months. Lifestyle changes do not happen over night and quitting cold turkey has 50/50 chance of leaving you more addicted then ever. (I could explain the psychological and sociological reasons behind this but it's not necessary; all you need to know is that going cold turkey is risky.)
2) Cut down on stress levels where you can. It is all to easy to light up in moments of stress. The best thing you can do is start have 15 min periods throughout the day where you relax. Meditate or read, or anything else that is calming.
3) Be wary of food, alcohol and even excessive exercise. When giving up one addiction it is all too easy to use another as a crutch. The idea quitting smoking is to give up an addiction - not create a new one.
4) Have a healthy diet with 9-10 different serves of fruit/vegetables a day. This helps in two ways. Firstly, it helps your lung clear and repair themselves as the body has a ready supply of vitamins and minerals. Secondly, it helps ease the symptoms of detoxification as the traces of the nicotine and other nasty chemicals found in smoke are purged from you system.
5) Drink lots of water; this also help clean and repair the body.
6) Remember to get a healthy amount of exercise every day. While to much can make you an adrenaline junkie, just enough exercise can help clear and strengthen the lungs.
I sincerely hope these tips help someone. And if you do feel the need to quit, I wish the best of luck. Remember, though, it does take years for lungs to fully recover from the damage smoking causes and the heavier/ longer you have been smoking, the longer it will take for your lungs to recover.
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