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

Mindfulness: A Gentle Approach to Healing

By 

Will Donnelly

There’s an interesting story about a woman being chased by a tiger. She is running for her life and comes to the edge of a cliff. Here, she notices a sturdy vine, and climbs down the vine to escape her tormentor, only to realize there is another tiger down at the bottom of the mountain waiting for her.

She then sees two mice scurry out and start gnawing on the vine. At this moment, she notices a luscious, wild strawberry growing from an outcrop inches away. She looks up. She looks down. She looks at the mice.

Then, she eats the strawberry.

Succulent juices burst in her mouth, and she feels the seeds crunch between her teeth. She notices a gentle breeze flow across her skin and through her hair, as she gazes out at the expansive vista.

Stories such at this, as often taught by eastern practitioners, offer anexperience for the listener, not advice. This old and well-know buddhist story surely has several interpretations. But if this story is anything, it is most certainly a story about mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a “moment-to-moment awareness of one's experience without judgment.” Our protagonist in the story pulled her attention from the tiger above (the past?) and from the tiger below (the future?) and from the mice on the vine (time?) and simply gave the strawberry her full, undivided attention.

Mindfulness is a 2,600 year old buddhist concept that is only recently being used in many clinical settings, to many positive outcomes. In spiritual practice, it is said to be the antidote to delusion. It turns out that when we are paying attention to “what is” in this moment and not judging it, we are not obsessing on all the bad things that could happen to us in our current situation (rumination) or worrying about the future potential disasters.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, the pioneer of mindfulness training, introduced a wonderful practice as part of a healing regime. He has students (people suffering from severe stress, cancer, etc) eat one raisin very slowly, very mindfully. Well, if you don’t happen to have a raisin with you right now, then I have the perfect way to start your mindfulness personal program.

Curious about turning the ordinary into the extraordinary? Try this mindfulness focus-builder for the next 30 seconds - assuming you are in some space where you can be relatively undisturbed (but even a coffee house or office can be great for this exercise!):

Plant your feet on the ground, and feel the earth. Sit up straight, hands on your lap. Close your eyes. Begin to inhale and exhale, slowly and deeply, through the nostrils. Pay attention to the feeling this makes at the area around your nostrils and the top of your upper lip. Also notice how if feels at your belly. With each consecutive exhale, soften your muscles, and allow yourself to go deeper and deeper within. (Cliff notes: Breathe. Relax. Pay attention.)

Take at least 5 steady breaths (if you are in a distracting environment) or practice this for 5 minutes as a mindfulness meditation at home. Voila! You have started a mindfulness personal program!

May we all learn to not require more than we have to achieve contentment. The renowned vietnamese buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh has said “When our mindfulness embraces those we love, they bloom like flowers.”

May you become mindful to your own current reality, and may you watch your life bloom like a flower.

Find the full article at:

http://spiritualityhealth.com/blog/will-donnelly/mindfulness-gentle-approach-healing