Don’t always Buy Expensive Healthy Food?

When you’re shopping at the supermarket and trying to decide which brand of cereal is healthier than the other, you are probably pulling your hair.  This is in the case for the average population based on a new study that shows that shoppers automatically connect expensive foods to healthy foods.  A study out of Ohio State looked at volunteers who went shopping and notice that overall the volunteers attached healthy food products to that of being more expensive.  And if they saw something cheap, but was considered healthy, than they became skeptical and had a tendency to look at the ingredient list because they thought they were going to get ripped off.

What the researchers are saying in detail is that when you’re comparing two products which both don’t have much information on its nutritional value, then the shopper for some reason automatically picks the more expensive one, sometimes the price is double in comparison.

What is interesting to note is that healthy food is not expensive if you do your homework.  There are many healthy foods that you can buy in bulk or if you just purchased the storebrand.  This is always a great way to stock up on nuts or ingredients for your smoothie.  There is no reason to buy the more expensive brand-name because they have the same ingredient.  Also if you want to buy organic make sure to understand when it is in season in order to get it at a better deal.

Buy nuts in Bulk

When reading the ingredient list or the words on the front of the product, make sure to be suspicious of the word “natural”.  In the United States the word natural is not even regulated.  Because of this, there is no evidence that it is even beneficial for you.  Carefully always look at the ingredient list is the key here and look for the sugar content.  Another interesting information on sugar is sometimes these healthy products make no mention of it.

Must Have Smoothie Ingredients

If you want something sweet but at same time you want it healthy, is this even possible?  Sometimes you just want to binge on something delicious but at the same time, you do not want to ruin the diet that you may be on.  Because of our lives are very much busy, it is difficult to cook something or even spend the extra dollar for something healthy.  One type of food that does not take a lot of time and if you have the ingredients ready to go, then this may be your savior.  Yes I am talking about the ever popular smoothies. 

The trick is to basically store your ingredients that you will be using for any of your smoothie in an organized way so that when you are busy, you can just make it fast.  Best of all, it is cheaper than buying any smoothie at any supermarket or the mall since you can customize and use the ingredients of your choice.  The other trick is to purchase ingredients that are on season or in bulk.  This will save you lots of money.  Vegetables or fruits will not work because there are perishable but you can get stuff like Chia seeds, flaxseeds, cinnamon and cocoa powder.  You can purchase vegetables and fruits in the frozen section but remember it isn’t as healthy as fresh vegetables.  If you have no choice, than is okay once in a while.

I mentioned cocoa powder in my list and you’re wondering why this ingredient is important.  Well if you didn’t know, it has iron and magnesium.  These two power houses of minerals will provide you the energy and antioxidants needed for your body to function.  Put this in your smootie and you will have that chocolate aroma and you will not have bad breath.

Supposedly it helps with stress and also provide the necessary benefits for your heart.  Another powdered that I did mention is that of Maca.  Make sure to get the raw kind as this will give you the energy boost that you need through your hectic day.  You will see that your endurance will improve and your hormones will be elevated.  I guess it is kind like aphrodisiac in a way but not really.

One more item I want to bring up before I end this article is that of flaxseed.  Flaxseed has been around for a long time and found in many bulk stores that sell seeds.  Only recently, in the last 10 years, that it has become one of the essential seeds to have in your diet.  The reason being, it has the following: protein, omega-3 and fibers.  On top of all that it is one of the best ways to get antioxidants which will improve drastically your cardiovascular conditions.  I find it very easy to store because it is a seed.  Just grab a pickle jar and use that as your vessel for storing any of your bulk seeds that you buy.  Make sure to keep it in a dark area such as the cabinet and make sure it’s in a cool spot.

There is one last tip I want to say, even know I wanted to end this article earlier, and that is peanut butter.  If you are not allergic to it, then the raw stuff is probably the best choice to have in your cabinet.  This will make your smoothie tasty and creamy.  

Also it is one of the best ways to stop your hunger especially if you need to wait an hour or two before dinner.  You can just have a tablespoon of it on a piece of whole-grain bread.  Thinking about it now, you can actually use any other nuts such as almonds and cashews to curb your hunger but I find peanut butter is the best because everybody has it.

Do you have a problem with bad breath?

 I’m sure many of you do, as I have falling in that category many times.  It seems to come and go.  The difficulty is when knowing it because most of the time someone has to tell you and’s usually someone close to you like a family member.  Most ranges will not say anything and try their best to not smell your stinky breath. 

So what causes bad breath? 

Well there’s a few theories and one being that if you have a dry mouth, usually you will have bad breath.  Also if you’re saliva is thicker than usual or if you have a sore this also leads to having a bad breath.  The usual culprit is the food you eat such as onions and such and the best remedy for that is to brush your teeth or rinse out your mouth right after eating it.  Sometimes though, it is a condition if it stays around.  This condition is called Xerostomia and is not a disease but a condition caused by medication.

This Xerostomia as mentioned above is could be caused by your medication that you’re taking.  Yes this is no joke as it seems if you’re taking a certain medication it may cause you to have dry mouth as one of its side effects. 

According to experts, 400 drugs have been known to cause this side effect.  Even more so, the number is much larger as many drugs can cause mild “dry mouth”.  All this will lead you to have bad breath.  So make sure to discuss with your doctor if you’re having bad breath that is consistent over a few days or weeks. 

Now, there are ways to improve your dry mouth and it simply by drinking water or getting a humidifier.

Skin Products Fake Fad - Elephants even more Endangered

South East Asian elephants are endangered in many countries particularly wild elephants.  In the country of Myanmar they are in danger of being extinct where their population was slashed in half since last 10 years to 2000 elephants.  Poaching has increased dramatically even with the global outcry for these animals.  These poachers are looking for the ever lucrative ivory.  There are hidden black markets in some small towns across Miramar but particularly in tourist spots hidden behind. 

Supposedly, you will be able to find all kinds of parts from endangered species such as elephant, bears, rhinos and Tigers.  There has been a crazy new fad happening with using elephant skin for cures for skin conditions.  As of right now elephants are even more endangered because their skin is just as important now as their ivory because of the so-called fad.  According to sources, one secret vendor suggested that using the dried skin and burning some pieces into a pot along with coconut oil makes a great mixture to be applied on skin. 

 
Obviously this is a farce and hopefully there is a stronger crackdown of the black market.  The government of Miramar is working on a solution and announced a new effort along with research, to help resolve the conflict of wild life and humans.  This is a serious issue not just in Miramar but all over the world with the encroachment of humans into natural habitat.  The goal is to help educate the people in hopes to preserve the territory. 

The best way to help is to share the following article from one green planet.( http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/elephant-skin-sold-as-a-miracle-cure-for-eczema/)

Do you need better sleep?

Is an annoying when you’re laying in bed and can’t fall asleep?  You try to find ways to fall asleep by counting sheep or spending time reading.  This may work sometimes but there is a bigger culprit.  Based on a study from several research, it is suggested that if you spend time outdoors during the day, you may fall asleep easier. 

You will also find that you will have a good night sleep, and not that annoying every to our sleep.  The research is based on a observation of people camping during the winter for seven days.  It is found that the body internal clock will adjust to the natural day and light cycle which resulted in that person having a better sleep.

The experts were not surprised because this is agreeable on past theory on that the sun and the darkness gives our body cues on when to be awake.  This means that the lighting in our homes or
workplace during the evenings may have an effect on how tired or the type asleep we will get.  Naturally in the past our ancestor went to bed early, which is not the norm today.  

Experts Know that We Don't Sleep Enough

The professor from Colorado out of Boulder University, suggested that we as human beings do not spend time outside as we used to.  We are more fixated on our electronics such as the iPad and computers making our eyes trained to the light which in turn, disrupts different aspects of our internal clock.  That is why is not suggested to be on the computer an hour before sleep.  Going back to the study, the winter campers went to bed earlier than they are used to back at home.  

 Beware of Tech

The main reason, is obvious.  It’s the technology that we have at home that makes us stay up just a little bit longer than we normally would.  Also they had an extra two hours asleep than normal.

What is suggested by this data is that people who tend to stay up a bit longer may face some health issue.  The risk is higher for diabetes, obesity, fatigue and also depression.  Overall it tells us that we need to get a good night sleep in order to function at our fullest.  With technology of today’s world, it makes it a bit difficult.  One tip that may help out for everyone is try to spend time outdoors.  It is important to get a bit of sun and getting a bit of exercise.