Importance of Washing Your Hands

Frequent hand-washing is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick and spreading illness. Hand-washing requires only soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, which is an antiseptic that kills 99.99% of germs without any water or towels and come in small bottles that fit in your bag or pocket.

When to wash your hands

As you touch people, surfaces and objects throughout the day, you accumulate germs on your hands. In turn, you can infect yourself with these germs by touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Although it's impossible to keep your hands germ-free, washing your hands frequently can help limit the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other microbes.

Always wash your hands before:

• Preparing food or eating
• Treating wounds, giving medicine, or caring for a sick or injured person
• Inserting or removing contact lenses

Always wash your hands after:

• Preparing food, especially raw meat or poultry
• Using the toilet or changing a diaper
• Touching an animal or animal toys, leashes, or waste
• Blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing into your hands
• Treating wounds or caring for a sick or injured person
• Handling garbage, household or garden chemicals, or anything that could be contaminated — such as a cleaning cloth or soiled shoes

How To Wash Hands?

Hands should be washed vigorously by scrubbing with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Germs can hide underneath fingernails. Thus, rub tips of fingers along the soapy palm of the alternate hand or use a fingernail brush. Rinse hands well and completely dry with a paper towel or air-dryer. Turn the faucet handle off with a paper towel to avoid recontamination.

Rooibos Tea

Rooibos Tea (Redbush) is an herbal tea that is grown only in the South African highlands. It is rich in anti oxidants and flavonoids. Infact the anti-oxidants in this tea are not found in any other tea like green tea/black tea, etc.

Benefits: 

Rooibos tea is one of the best health drink for all those who care for their health and fitness. Some of the beneficial factors related to this tea are as follows:

• Used for curing headache, hyper tension and insomnia.
• Beneficial in fever and asthma.
• Free from caffeine.
• Higher quantity of anti-oxidants as compared to green tea.
• Helps with the immune system
• Anti-aging
• This tea don't have oxalic acid. People with kidney stone can also take this tea.
• Has many minerals which is good for your body: copper, zinc, manganese, iron, potassium and calcium.
• Taking Rooibos is good for your skin.
• This tea is good for certain types of allergy. And reduce the allergy risks in the body.

Be Happy, Stay Positive & Smile :-)

Smiling, laughing, and positive thinking have been proven to have a huge number of health benefits to both the mind and body.
Stress has been linked to a number of health problems, including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. 

A smile can…

1. Start your day pleasantly.
2. Make others understand you are in a good mood.
3. Promote positivity in a work environment.
4. Relax your face muscles.
5. Make others put a smile on their face.
6. Tell people that they are going to be okay.
7. Makes you look a lot prettier or more handsome!
8. Reduce all of that stress you might accumulate.
9. Help your immune system work a lot better.
10. Lower your blood pressure.
11. Give you a child like innocence.
12. Release serotonin, natural pain killers and endorphins thus making it a happy drug.
13. Make you look younger.
14. Fill you up with positivity and power.
15. Show your understanding side.
16. Say that you can be polite in the hardest of times.
17. Help you live longer.
18. Make you appreciate the little things in life.
19. Make you look at the brighter side of a bad situation.
20. Be contagious to all those around you.

A smile has more wonderful benefits that you could ever think about....

Did you also know....

The 17 muscles that we use when we smile works to lift our faces, thus it helps to delay the sagging of the skin on our faces as we age.  The 42 muscles that work together when we frown all cause the skin our faces to sag and make us look older than our actual age.

Quick Tips To Staying Healthy

These are a few quick and easy steps that we should follow and apply to our lives to ensure that we maintain a healthy lifestyle:

1.  Kick the smoking habit and limit alcohol intake.
2. If you are overweight, go on a sensible diet. Cut back on saturated fat intake, eat more fruits and vegetables and take a daily multi-vitamin and calcium supplement and drink lots of water!
3. Add strength and resistance training exercises to your workout routine.
4. Get plenty of rest and sleep.
5. Have an annual physical examination, with a cardiac risk profile and a base-line bone density. 

   -For women, include a GYN exam and mammogram. 

   -For men, see your urologist for a prostate screening.
6. Reduce Stress! Reduce stress such as meditation, joining a support group, massage therapy, aromatherapy. Be sure to take time for yourself everyday, even if it is just for fifteen minutes.
7. Immerse yourself in something that you enjoy and something that is just for you. Reward yourself with a special treat, whether it be something that you have always wanted or something that you have always wanted to do.
8. Be kind and gentle to yourself! :-)

Tone up your legs and thighs

Are you sick of your thighs rubbing together? Losing leg fat, especially in women may actually be quite a tricky job. There are some specific areas in your body like your calves and thighs which are more prone to gaining fat.

I have some steps that is pretty useful to reach your goal of getting the legs you want to have:

• Get Motivated  This is the key to everything, including losing leg fat. If you would really like to succeed, then strong motivation is something you will be in need of.Think of something that might motivate you 3 times a day – it might be pictures of celebrities with gorgeous legs, a pair of jeans you no longer fit it, etc. These thoughts are not very pleasant, on the contrary, they kind of make us feel bad, but that’s exactly what we need. We need to feel the pain, the lack of something we truly want and only that bad feeling will give us enough strength to achieve our goal.

•  Patience Patience is another key that you will need. And do not get disappointed when you do not see the results the next day, it takes time!

• Exercise. Exercise. Exercise. Obviously, you need to do exercises! There are many different types of exercise that you will be able to do in order to get rid of that leg fat. The exercises may seem a bit tough and tiring at first. However, once you get used to them, in no time, those exercises will be easy. Besides, after a couple of weeks, you will start to see the results of work you put into it. The most effective exercises are the following: Jogging, fast walking, sprint running for short distances, sit-ups, swimming, dancing, pilates, yoga, aerobics.

• Create a Routine I recommend you create a routine and stick to it. If you only do your exercises once a week, then this is not going to work. I recommend you choose at least four days a week to do the exercises. If you neglect to do them, then it will take a much longer time to get those skinny legs you have been wanting for so long.

• Ballet Squats This is a form of exercise that targets your lower body, including your thighs and legs. To start this, all you have to do is bend your knees as you are making sure your torso is upright, You should be holding your hands on your waist or out in front of you. Your knees will have to travel in line with your toes. You should lower yourself as low as you can go. Make sure you do not hurt yourself with this one and keep the back straight.

• Reverse Lunge It’s another exercise that many individuals have used in order to lose weight quickly in their legs. Start out with your feet about eight inches apart and your torso erect. Take an easy step backward. Lower your hips until your front thigh is parallel or straight to the floor. The position of your knee should be directly over your ankle and foot.

• Running This is a great exercise when it comes to losing weight not only in the legs, but in the rest of the body as well. It will increase your heart rate and it’s a good aerobic activity. Running is also going to speed up that metabolism.

• Ride a Bike Riding a bike is another important exercise to do if you are looking to lose weight. When there is nice weather outside, why not ride your bikes? You may also go to the gym and exercise on the bikes they have there.

• Playing Sports This is also a great idea and also a lot of fun! It will speed up your heart rate and help you burn fat off of your whole body, including your legs. Some good sports include volleyball, tennis, basketball, soccer, football, etc.

• Swimming If you like swimming and you have access to a pool, then look no further – it’s not only a great workout for every single muscle in your body, it’s also the greatest way to get your whole body toned and lose that leg fat that’s been bothering you for so long. And it’s also very pleasant, so you practically kill all the birds with one stone! :-)

• Drink Water Drinking water is another important factor. With that thought in mind, you need to avoid those fizzy drinks as they are no good for you. Nor they are good for those legs of yours. Start drinking 8 glasses of water a day and in just a few weeks you’ll see how much faster the weight loss is going.

• Eat Healthy By reducing your calories and eating healthy foods such as fruit, vegetables, oatmeal, white meat, whole grain foods, you will be doing your body good. And you will be shedding off those pounds by weeks. You’ll see!

• Never give up If you do not see improvements in your legs in a week, you should NEVER give up! Those improvements will start to show through in no time, if you use these tips. So don’t panic, and keep doing what you are doing!

Apple's

 
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is a famous saying, but did you know that this quote is actually very true? I love apple's! There are many types of apple's and what they all have in common is that they carry lots of nutrients and benefits for your health.

Apples have been recommended for :  

Obesity, Headache, Arthritis, Bronchial asthma, Inflammation of the bladder, Gonorrhea, Anemia, Tuberculosis, Neuritis, Insomnia, Catarrh, Gallbladder stones, Worms, Halithosis, Pyorrhea.

Here is a list that explains some of the benefits of eating Apple's:

• Helps protect bone health
• Helps prevent asthma, heart disease, and cancers such as lung, breast, colon, and liver
• Research also suggests that the phytonutrient called quercetin may help to prevent Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease
• Pectin in apples can help to lower LDL cholesterol
• Cleans teeth and strengthens gum
• Will make the cholesterol level lower
• Detoxify the body and has an antiviral properties
• Prevents constipation because it helps digestion
• One large apple supplies almost 30% of minimum amount of fiber that should be consumed daily
• Good for diabetes and weight management.
• Good source of vitamin C
• Good source of soluble and insoluble fiber
• Excellent source of flavanoids and antioxidants

Nail Hygiene

 

Your nails protect the tissues of your toes and fingers. They are made up of layers of a hardened protein called keratin, which is also in your hair and skin. Your nails' health can be a clue to your overall health. Healthy nails are usually smooth and consistent in color. Specific types of nail discoloration and changes in growth rate can signal various lung, heart, kidney and liver diseases, as well as diabetes and anemia. White spots and vertical ridges are harmless. 

Appropriate hand hygiene includes diligently cleaning and trimming fingernails, which may harbor dirt and germs and can contribute to the spread of some infections, such as pinworms. Fingernails should be kept short, and the undersides should be cleaned frequently with soap and water. Longer fingernails can collect more dirt and bacteria than shorter nails, thus potentially contributing to the spread of infection.

To help prevent the spread of germs and nail infections:

• Try to keep your nails short and trim them often.
• Scrub the underside of nails with soap and water (or a nail brush) often when washing your hands.
• Clean any nail implements tools before using it.
• In nail salons, check that all nail implements are sterilized before they use it on you.
• Avoid biting and chewing your nails.
• Avoid cutting cuticles, as they act as barriers to prevent infection.
• Never rip or bite a hangnail as it causes swelling and infections. Instead, clip it with a clean, sanitized nail trimmer.

** Infections of the fingernails or toenails are often characterized by swelling of the surrounding skin, pain in the surrounding area, or thickening of the nail. In some cases, these infections may be serious and need to be treated by a physician. **

Plums

There are so many types of fruits out on the market and one of my favorites are Plums! These scumptious little buggers have so many benefits for your health and here are some of them:

• It is believed that 3 serving of fruit every day can reduce your chances of macular degeneration.
• Is very effective in resolving the symptoms of fatigue. Just 5 to 6 plums in your daily diet can help resolve the symptoms of fatigue in a week. The reason for this is plum has all important minerals, especially certain natural tranquilizers which help to calm the nerves and catalyze natural REM sleep.
• Has some phytonutrients that can stop the growth of breast cancer cells.
• Help in absorption of iron in the body. 
• They contain fibre, potassium, vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, iron, minerals, and vitamin C and are low in fat and contain no calories.  
• It is a good source of dietary fibers which can help lower bad cholesterol and help prevent constipation.

They are the perfect fruit to eat when you are busy and need something quick to eat, or when you are on the run! When you are craving for sweets, bite into Plums instead! :-)

Oolong Tea

Try adding Oolong Tea to your diet! This tea sounds super awesome for your health!

The Chinese name "Oolong" means "Black Dragon". It is available loose leaf or in tea bags, and more recently, this tea extract has become available as a dietary supplement. A study in 1998 confirmed that continous consumption of Oolong tea does result in body weight reduction. More studies were conducted later on and found that Oolong makes body burn its own fat for energy! Oolong is more oxidized than green tea, but less than black tea. It is practically free of calories and contains just fractional grams of carbohydrates per serving, studies suggest that regular consumption will speed up your metabolism so that you will burn about 80 plus more calories per day than you normally could. It will help you lower your triglyceride levels and even help you prevent getting type II diabetes. Drinking this tea regularly will provide your body with antioxidants which can prevent or undo the damage done by free-radicals. Furthermore, by removing free radicals from your bloodstream, Oolong tea can boost your skin health, immune system, and metabolic rate!

Your teeth reflects your overall health!

Your teeth and gums have plenty to say about your overall health. Cavities and gum disease may contribute to many serious conditions, such as diabetes and respiratory diseases. Untreated cavities can also be painful and lead to serious infections. There is also a link between poor oral health and heart disease. The mouth is often used to diagnose, make a prognosis, treat or intervene on a number of diseases. Healthy gums should look pink and firm, not red and swollen–and your teeth should feel solid.

To maintain good oral health, here are some rules to follow:

• Brush and floss your teeth daily, at least 2 times a day for at least 2 minutes. Using an antimicrobial mouth rinse as well can help to reduce bacteria in your mouth.
• Visit your dental professional regularly to have your mouth examined. See your dental professional immediately if you notice any problems.
• Eat a healthy diet according to Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide. Avoid junk food since sugar feeds bacteria in your mouth!
• Do not smoke. If you do smoke, make sure to visit your dental professional regularly.
• Replace your toothbrush at least every 3 months. 
• Drink milk, as it is high in calcium. Calcium helps bones and teeth to grow stronger!

Get the body you desire to have!

3 years ago, I was super slim and fit, but I lost all the momentum of staying fit and exercising. As a punishment, nothing in my wardrobe fits me! So now I have a goal to lose 15 pounds before my 27th birthday and nobody said that losing weight is going to be easy! 

I have a list here to remind myself and other people viewing my blog on how to get the body you desire to have!

• Eat healthier (such as raw veggies and fruits)  and cut out all the junk food (chips, candy, ice cream)
• Water, water and more water! H20 keeps you hydrated and replenish your body altogether! Cut out on drinking soda beverages, fruit juices (as they have higher content of sugar than soda) 
• Eat smaller meals/snacks throughout the day which will help you not over eat. Starving yourself is harmful for your body and eating a huge meal instead of snacking shocks your system, does more harm than good!
• Make sure you add protein in your diet (whether it's nuts, meat, beans, etc.)
• Do not eat at least 2 hours prior to bedtime! Your metabolism is the slowest in the evening..when you eat late, the food stores in your body as fat.

Hojicha Green Tea

Hojicha green tea is different from other Japanese teas because it is roasted over charcoal. This tea is delicious and has a great toasted flavor, a great way to start the day! 

The benefits of Hojicha tea are weight loss, helps boost the immune system and even helps prevent tooth decay. This tea is truly amazing! Drinking it will put you in a blissful mood and really help clear your mind from stress. A traditional Japanese green tea, Hojicha is naturally lower in caffeine which can be drank in the evening and is great for digestion!

Benefits of Coffee

You wake up every morning and your so damn tired...mmm the smell of fresh brewed coffee is the first thing I look forward to start my day off. Over 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed globally every year but did you know that if you drink this cup of "Joe" in moderation, there are some health benefits?

So, go on... drink your coffee, enjoy and read the Benefits of Coffee...

For coffee to provide health benefits, do not exceed four cups per day. Women who are trying to get pregnant, who are pregnant or who are breastfeeding should limit their intake to two cups per day.

• Increases Alertness- Caffeine is a well-known stimulant and is known to increase alertness in individuals. This is because it stimulates the nervous system and regulates blood pressure and intestinal functions in the body.
• Stimulating Breath – Caffeine dilates and opens up the airways, and is great for those who face breathing difficulties such as asthma/bronchitis. People who have recently undergone a surgery are sometimes treated with caffeine to help stimulate breathing.
• Rich in Antioxidants – As you might already know, your cup of java is extremely rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants protect against the free radical damage in the body, prevent high blood pressure and pre-mature aging.
• Weight Loss – Coffee can help burn extra calories by boosting your metabolism. A cup of Coffee in the morning can give you instant energy and help you workout and exercise for longer duration.  It is also low in calories. Of course the extra cream and sugar have to be done away with!
• Treating Migraines – Ever wondered how a cup of coffee can dissolve away your headache within minutes? Caffeine has analgesic properties, and is even a common ingredient used in over-the-counter painkillers.
• Diuretic functions – Caffeine content in coffee causes the kidneys to produce more urine, which helps in flushing out the toxins from the body.
• Improved Brain Function – People who consume 2-3 cups of coffee every day are more productive at work and remember things better. As per a recent study, coffee drinkers are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in their golden years.
• Type 2 Diabetes – Several studies have shown that Chlorgoenic acid found in coffee can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. Caffeine is known to raise blood sugar levels and increase energy expenditure in the short-term. It also increases your body’s insulin sensitivity, lowering the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
• Cancer - As per a study conducted by the Harvard Medical School, regular coffee drinkers are 50% less likely to suffer from breast, colon and prostate cancer. This can be attributed to the high antioxidant content in coffee.
• Decreases Your Chances of Developing Parkinson's Disease - 6 separate studies conducted by researchers have proven that people who drink large amounts of coffee on a regular basis are 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's disease then those that don't. 
• Liver Cirrhosis – Cirrhosis of Liver refers to the scarring of Liver tissues and is a common ailment amongst alcoholics. A wide range of studies conducted under different settings, have all shown that those who drink 3-4 cups of coffee everyday are 80% less likely to suffer from Liver Cirrhosis.

Jasmine Tea

I am sipping on a big cup of Jasmine Tea as the weather is now becoming a lot more colder and hot drinks are more of a demand these days...I am a huge tea fanatic since a lot of them have lots of health benefits which makes it a huge bonus of drinking it! :-)

I would like to share the health benefits of Jasmine Tea ...

• Used for cancer prevention.
• Strengthens the blood vessel, thus preventing heart attacks, thrombosis and atherosclerosis.
• Contains antioxidants that prolong youthfulness.
• Useful for diets, lowers cholesterol in blood and burns calories.
• This tea is especially important in cold time of a year, because it helps to fight viruses and bacteria, has been used successfully in the treatment of influenza.
• It strengthens overall health by stimulating the immune system.
• Jasmine tea lowers blood pressure.
• It prevents tooth decay.
• Besides, it helps to get rid of various allergic reactions.
• It has a relaxing effect.
• Jasmine tea is an excellent anti-stress drink that is recommended for chronic fatigue syndrome.

Steps to Losing Weight !

• Don't diet! Change your lifestyle. Do things that you know you can incorporate into your lifestyle. Do small things consistently rather than one massive effort for a few weeks, which will be a lot less stressful for you in order to get used to the change.
• Set realistic goals, visualize what you want to accomplish and by when & stick with it!
• Understand that most of the battle is going to be fought between your ears.
• Adequate rest and sleep is crucial!
• You have to reduce your stress levels! Practice meditation or yoga to keep a clear mind for your work & personal life.
• Eat more often! Eat more meals a day, but eat smaller healthier portions.
• Don't do Fancy Diets (Fasting diets, crash diets, water diets, etc.) They just slow down your metabolism in order to help you burn fat & lose weight!

Calculate your Calories for your Weight Goal !

Here is a link that has a calorie calculator so you can determine your daily calorie intake for your goal weight, whether you would like to lose or gain weight! 

Calorie Calculator for your desired weight!