9 Benefits of Honey Water You Never Knew

BY KRISTIENA SARTORELLI

Maybe you only know the benefits of a warm glass of water in the morning or maybe you have only heard about how honey is great for your skin, but have you heard what wonders combining warm water and honey can do for you overall? Read on and let me tell you the wonders of honey and warm water. I promise you, this is no old wives’ tale.

1. Watch Your Weight Melt Away

Yes, drinking water and honey can help you lose weight. Get the plaguing thoughts about the sugar aspect of honey out of your head, as that is one of its benefits. I know, I know, it sounds crazy and too good to be true, but it isn’t. The sugar in honey is a natural sugar (or read: good for you), which provides a healthy source of calories. Not only that, it can help to ward off any sugary sweet beverage cravings you may have. Soda pop is full of empty calories, and though everyone knows this they still reach for the bubbly refreshment. By cutting back on the amount of pop you drink, your calorie intake drops and with that so do the pounds. It may not be an overnight success story, but it is better for you all around in the long run.

2. Stay Regular

OK, I know talking about being ‘regular’ can sometimes be taboo, but if Jamie Lee Curtis can do it, so can I. Drinking a warm glass of water with honey first thing in the morning helps to improve your digestive system. The antiseptic benefits of honey help relieve the acidity in your stomach while increasing the production of intestinal mucus. It also helps to hydrate the colon and infuse water into your, excuse me for this, stool. All of this combines you passing much more easily and regularly. Which brings us back to watching your weight melt away, because… well, I think you can figure the rest of this one out without my help.

3. Gives Your Immune System A Helping Hand

Have I stressed just how good honey is for you yet? Honey has amazing bacteria-killing properties. If you go for raw, organic honey (you should) it is full of enzymes (hello again digestion), vitamins and minerals that lead the front line against protecting against bacteria. One study presented at the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Conference in Harrogate, UK found that Manuka honey may even help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Honey is also an antioxidant, which helps fight those bad free radicals that reek havoc in our body and on our skin.

4. Reduce Your Allergies

And no, I’m not suggesting to take a Claritin or something like that with the glass of honey water. By using raw, local honey you help to acclimate your body to the pollens of your area. In turn, this helps to reduce your susceptibility to environmental allergies. If you really think about what bees do in the grand scheme of things, this makes perfect sense. Now I know the warm water isn’t necessarily crucial to helping with allergies, but being hydrated is never a bad thing.

5. Hello Energy, My Old Friend

Move over coffee  – honey and warm water are the new dream team for boosting energy.  The benefit to your energy levels by staying hydrated has all but been shouted from a rooftop. Think of your body as a houseplant. You know how droopy and sad it gets when you’ve forgotten to water it? Your body essentially does the same thing. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration can leave you feeling lethargic, drowsy and sluggish. So let’s add honey into this equation. Now you have a natural source of simple sugars and carbohydrates (energy-givers) to an all ready proven energy booster. The total? A refreshed outlook on life and energy that you didn’t know could come without a cup of coffee. Now, I’m not telling you to cut coffee out – I know I couldn’t function with out it – but next time you feel an afternoon crash, try reaching for some honey and warm water first and see if that does the trick.

6. Soothe That Sore Throat And Cut That Cough

According to the Mayo Clinic, hot water with honey can help reduce the soreness and irritation of a sore throat. Honey helps to coat the throat while the warm water soothes. This soothing and coating action also helps to reduce your cough, as coughing is sometimes caused by irritation from a sore throat.

7. Detox, Detox, Detox!

Honey and warm water helps to flush out the toxins from your body. By helping you to get regular, it helps you to regularly rid your body of toxins that can build up and cause disease. Adding lemon to the mix increases the benefits, as lemons help to increase urination, dispelling toxins more frequently and keeping your urinary tract healthy. Lemon contains citric acid, which helps to maximize enzyme function and in turn stimulate the liver and help with detoxification.

8. Gassy? It Helps With That.

Feeling a little uncomfortable and gassy? Drinking a glass of warm water and honey will help! Honey helps to neutralize gas.

9. Increase Your Health

Not only will drinking warm water and honey increase your hydration (plus everything else I’ve listed), it also helps to increase the levels of “good” cholesterol in your body and reduce cardiovascular strain. I call that a win, win.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/9-benefits-honey-water-you-never-knew.html

11 Benefits of Lemon Water

1. Gives your immune system a boost.

Vitamin C is like our immune system’s jumper cables, and lemon juice is full of it. The level of vitamin C in your system is one of the first things to plummet when you’re stressed, which is why experts recommended popping extra vitamin C during especially stressful days.

2. Excellent source of potassium.

As already mentioned, lemons are high in potassium, which is good for heart health, as well as brain and nerve function.

3. Aids digestion.

Lemon juice not only encourages healthy digestion by loosening toxins in your digestive tract, it helps to relieve symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, burping, and bloating.

4. Cleanses your system.

It helps flush out the toxins in your body by enhancing enzyme function, stimulating your liver.

5. Freshens your breath.

It also helps relieve toothaches and gingivitis (say wha?). Because the citric acid can erode tooth enamel, either hold off on brushing your teeth after drinking lemon water or brush your teeth before drinking it.

6. Keeps your skin blemish-free.

The antioxidants in lemon juice help to not only decrease blemishes, but wrinkles too! It can also be applied to scars and age spots to reduce their appearance, and because it’s detoxifying your blood, it will maintain your skin’s radiance.

7. Helps you lose weight.

Lemons contain pectin fiber, which assists in fighting hunger cravings.

8. Reduces inflammation.

If you drink lemon water on a regular basis, it will decrease the acidity in your body, which is where disease states occur. It removes uric acid in your joints, which is one of the main causes of inflammation.

9. Gives you an energy boost.

Lemon juice provides your body with energy when it enters your digestive tract, and it also helps reduce anxiety and depression. (Even the scent of lemons has a calming effect on your nervous system!)

10. Helps to cut out caffeine.

I didn’t believe this until I tried it, but replacing my morning coffee with a cup of hot lemon water has really done wonders! I feel refreshed, and no longer have to deal with that pesky afternoon crash. Plus, my nerves are thankful.

11. Helps fight viral infections.

Warm lemon water is the most effective way to diminish viral infections and their subsequent sore throats. Plus, with the lemon juice also boosting your immune system, you’ll simultaneously fight off the infection completely.

How much?

For those who weigh less than 150 pounds, squeeze half a lemon’s worth of juice into a glass of water. If over 150 pounds, use an entire lemon’s juice. You can of course dilute the lemon juice more, depending on your personal taste.

Not only are the benefits of lemon water endless, it’s one of the most substantial yet simple changes you can make for your health.

Is lemon water part of your daily routine? Let us know in the comments!

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/11-benefits-lemon-water-you-didnt-know-about.html

Revamp Your Fridge and Pantry for Optimal Health - part 1 of 2

by: Heidi Hackler

Spring cleaning isn’t just for your closets. This is your chance to get rid of excess baggage in your kitchen, too. With a fridge and pantry full of nutritious, whole foods you’ll be able to make healthier meal choices and create the foundation for optimal health. Bonus: You’ll feel lighter, too.

The first step to cleaning your fridge and pantry is to read labels. Follow these guidelines to help you decide what to keep and what to toss.

How to Read Labels

• Look for five or fewer ingredients.
• Look for ingredients that you can pronounce, or to quote Michael Pollan, “Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.”
• Pay attention to serving size, often something you may think is a single serving is actually labeled as two or even three servings.
• Look at fat content and aim for zero trans fat. Trans fats are found in hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils and have been directly linked to heart disease.
• Look at sodium content and aim for low-sodium or no-sodium foods. The daily-recommended guideline for sodium is between 1,500 and 2,300 mg per day.
• Look at sugar content and aim for no more than 26 grams (6 teaspoons) per day.
• Look for artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, and saccharine, and artificial flavorings and colorings. Studies have shown these artificial ingredients to be carcinogenic with the potential to damage DNA.

Toss foods that don’t meet the guidelines and re-stock your fridge and pantry with healthier options. Aim for re-stocking mostly whole foods, with a minimum of processed or packaged foods. Here’s what to look for …

Spring Clean the Fridge

Condiments

• Many condiments like ketchup, relish, bar-b-cue sauce, and salad dressings are loaded with sugar and salt. Consider making your own salad dressings from scratch for a healthier alternative to prepared salad dressings.
• Some yellow mustards contain artificial coloring, look for brands that don’t.
• Imitation mayonnaise may contain artificial ingredients, aim for all natural mayonnaise, or better yet make your own from scratch.
• Check expiration dates of condiments, which tend to sit in the fridge for a long time, and toss any that are expired. When in doubt, check the guidelines from Consumer Reports on how long to safely keep condiments.
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Produce

• Eat organic produce whenever possible—it’s more nutritious and less toxic for your body, and it’s healthier for the planet too.
• Eat from all colors of the rainbow.
• Follow the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen guidelines.
• Shop local farmers markets for seasonal produce, which is often pesticide free even if it’s not certified organic.

Meats, Eggs, and Dairy 

• Look for labels stating non-GMO, no antibiotics, and no growth hormones.
• Buy organic, free-range poultry.
• Try to find grass-fed beef and lamb.
• Avoid farm-raised fish; buy only wild-caught.
• Get cage-free eggs.
• Choose organic, no rbGH dairy products.

Beverages

• This is the number one place that sugar hides so ditch the naturally and artificially sweetened drinks in favor of water or herbal teas.
• Substitute soda with sparkling water—add a squeeze of lemon or lime, or a few cucumber slices, mint, or organic berries for flavor.
• Stock a variety of flavorful herbal teas, some of which are naturally sweet (such as those containing licorice root).
• Buy organic, fair trade coffee, and aim for only one or two cups per day, preferably before noon.

Leftovers

• Following Ayurvedic tradition, Dr. Suhas recommends not eating anything older then 24 hours. According to Ayurveda, leftovers are difficult to convert into Ojas, the vital nectar of life.
• The Mayo Clinic recommends not eating anything older than 3 or 4 days, after which food poisoning becomes more likely.

Freezer

• Review the federal government food safety website for a list of limits on how long you should store frozen foods.
• Do not re-freeze thawed, raw meats until after they’ve been cooked.
• Ice cream and other frozen fats are hard to digest, and are also loaded with sugar. Try substituting fruit sorbets made from scratch for ice cream. This blueberry-lemon sorbet even has anti-aging properties.
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- See more at: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/how-to-spring-clean-and-revamp-your-fridge-and-pantry-for-optimal-health#sthash.RCAQ4uCO.dpuf

Happy New Lunar Year

Happy New Lunar Year!

Whether you call it the year of the sheep, the ram (a male sheep), or the goat (sometimes they do look similar, especially in Chinese writing, apparently), my wish to you is to see it as a new period of opportunities to set goals and enhance your life in all main areas of life that are forecast and analysed for each sign of the Chinese zodiac:
 Career - be focused and acquire new skills
Relationships - stay true and respectful of your partner, or if you are single, take the chance to find your soul mate
Health - be consistent, do low-impact exercises, and attend quickly to any injuries
Wealth - if you stick with smart and low-risk investments, most signs will have a successful financial growth.

Now take pen and paper and write down your specific goals!

Elena
Your Coach to Success
www.envisionlifedesign.com.au

Tony Robbins: Energy - Health - Success

Tony Robbins on choosing to be healthy, to have energy.
How to make it sustainable? Build a base and celebrate every milestone.
How the rich get richer, the happy get happier, and the healthy get healthier?
Find out in this video...

Program Your Mind for Health and Success

We all want to be happy, healthy, successful, and live a fulfilling life. In the video from my post yesterday, Dr Wayne Dyer talks about one of the simplest, and easily achievable ways to program your mind and body for health and happiness.

What is your ritual before going to sleep? How do you prepare the unconscious mind for the repair work it does to your body during the hours of sleep?

You give your unconscious mind instructions for repairing with all the things you fill your mind with. So it is your choice - do you think of the things you did wrong during the day, or have been doing wrong for the last 20 years? Or do you say to yourself the things you want to "seal as instructions":

"I am content!"

"I am lucky!"

"I am happy!"

"I am healthy!"

Think of your thoughts and imagination as currency. Currency, with which you can get the things that you don't want in your life. Or you can get the things you want to attract and manifest into your life, like health, happiness, confidence...

Think about it - you are about to go to sleep, and "marinate for 8 hours into your unconscious state." What instructions do you give your mind to work with during that time? The thoughts you fill your mind with - always, but at that time more than any other time, monopolise and mobilise your intention. So, ask yourself the question: "How would I feel if my thoughts, my WISH were realised?"

SO, before you go to bed, leave the unwanted things and thoughts behind, and instead say:

"I'm happy!"

"I'm in perfect health!"

Because, what you focus on, what you program in your unconscious mind, is what you get in life...

Elena Alexandrova

Your Coach to Success

www.envisionlifedesign.com.au

Dr. Wayne Dyer - Program health and happiness

How do you prepare yourself for sleep? What instructions do you seal for the process of repairing?

A precious reminder from Dr Wayne Dyer.

Wheel of Life

“Why live an ordinary life, when you can live an extraordinary one?”
Tony Robbins

So many people give the best they can – at work, at home, and yet, when they look at their life, something is missing. Can you pause and have a look at where you are at, and identify the gaps? It might turn to be a useful 15-20 minute exercise.

In order for you to feel satisfied and fulfilled with your life, you need to have a balance in your “achievements” in all areas of your life – family, relationships, finances, health etc. Even if one of them is lagging behind, the energy flow gets interrupted and the light that comes to your life and shines through everything you do gets dimmed.

So take time out and do some self-evaluation. First, decide what is important in your life – health, family, business… For the sake of completeness, you can use the list that is most often referred to when “auditing” the areas of your life:

-          - Family                                    - Health

-         - Personal Growth                     - Finance

-          - Career                                    - Attitude

-          - Social Life                              - Relationships

You can choose to break down relationships into Business, Personal or Intimate. Or change Personal Growth with Spiritual Development. Or you can put aside Attitude, and work with the other 7. But it’s important to encompass ever area of your life, analyse it and mark on the graph: How satisfied are you with each and every of these areas, out of 10?

Reflect and mark how successful you think you are in each, at this stage of your life. If you have a successful and fulfilling career, give yourself a 9 or a 10. Shade the area on the graph. If you are struggling with your finances, give yourself a 2, or a 0. If you are in an un-resourceful relationship, mark yourself with 1, and make a change straight away!

Now, look at the shaded areas of your life, and make a call – are you equally successful, and satisfied, with all areas of your life? Or are there one or two that clearly are calling for an intervention? Analyse and make a list of the areas you need, and want, to pick up your game at.

If you want to achieve harmony and fulfillment, raise the bar, and start taking action!