June 17th, 2020
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Arrowroot Powder To Treat Acne and Great As Cosmetics

My pre-teen 12-year old daughter has pimples on her back and face, especially on her T-Zone. I’ve tried almost a dozen of topical acne agents off the shelves from creams to gels, lotions, essential oils and washes with ingredients targeting acne but none worked. I’ve even tried fresh aloe vera gel directly from the plant and ‘cooling powder’ made from fermented rice but none worked as well.  One night,  I applied organic arrowroot powder on my daughter’s acne and the next morning when she got up, the acne dried up. The arrowroot powder worked like a charm!   I’ve been using organic arrowroot powder as loose powder and blusher for several years now.  We’ve not looked back since.  My daughter now applies arrowroot powder on her face and body after each shower.  The powder not only prevents the acne from flaring up but also gives the skin a very smooth and silky feeling.

 

 

Apart from thickening food, arrowroot powder contains health properties and lots of uses in the area of vanity!  Arrowroot contains a good amount of potassium, iron and B vitamins, which is great for metabolism, circulation and heart health. Studies have even shown that arrowroot can stimulate immune cells and boost the immune system.

Arrowroot powder is an inexpensive agent in the cosmetics industry.  It is also used as a topical treatment to promote the healing of cuts/scars.  These are some of the best uses of arrowroot powder in your everyday beauty routines:

1. Clears Acne. Arrowroot absorbs oils/sebum excellently and promotes natural healing as it penetrates the skin. Rubbing some into skin before bed and in the morning can reduce oil production, soften skin and dry out/heal blemishes.

2. Lightening loose face powder. When mixed with loose face powder, it can lighten the tone by several shades. This is particularly useful for gradually adjusting the shade of holiday make-up as your tan naturally fades. It is so lightweight that it blends seamlessly into the powder and leaves skin soft and silky to touch. It also reduced the need to reapply make-up as it absorbs sweat/oils.

 

3. Dry Shampoo.  This will be ideal for women in confinement after giving birth or those bed-ridden. Massage the arrowroot into your scalp and along the first couple of inches of the length of your hair. It will absorb the oils and leave your hair bouncy and soft. Use a damp cloth to gently wipe away any remaining traces of the powder on your hair.

4. As a base for home-made make-up. Arrowroot makes an excellent base for DIY make-up projects. Foundations and face blushers using a blend of arrowroot, cinnamon, roselle, beet root and cocoa powder are a major trend now. It’s excellent as you can adjust the measurements to get the shade exactly right for your skin tone.

5. Replacement for baby powder.  Mix a few drops of essential oils to the arrowroot powder and store the homemade homemade baby powder/talcum powder in a salt shaker.

How to use arrowroot powder as talcum powder and acne powder
Pour some organic arrowroot powder into an extra large salt shaker and shake some onto your palm before applying generously on your body and acne. The feeling of your skin will be silky smooth. Try it to experience it!

Using arrowroot powder as blusher and loose face powder
Mix some organic roselle powder or beet root powder with arrowroot powder. Mix well and adjust the shade according to your liking.  Store the powder in an empty loose powder container and apply on your cheeks with a blusher brush or a powder pad.



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Acne treatment, Alternative Remedies, Beauty tips
June 17th, 2020
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3 Unique Dental Care Tips

If you’re looking for ways to keep your teeth strong and healthy, you’ve probably heard all the classic tips like brushing twice a day, flossing regularly and avoiding sugary foods. While brushing and flossing are important to long-term oral health, if you want to go the extra mile to get your best smile ever, there are a few things you should know. To learn more about three uncommon tips for keeping your teeth in great shape, read on.

1. Try Invisible Aligners

If your teeth need straightening but you’re hesitant to get braces, there’s another option that’s become increasingly popular in recent years. Invisible aligners can straighten your teeth just as well as braces, but they’re discreet and can easily be removed for brushing, flossing and eating. The best part is, thanks to their popularity, they’re accessible in many areas – for instance, you can get Invisalign Lakewood and look forward to a neater smile.

invisalign for teens

2. Be Careful With Whitening
While white teeth are often seen as a sign of good dental health and even as a status symbol, having exceptionally white teeth isn’t necessarily an indicator that they’re healthy. In fact, some dentists have even warned that whitening your teeth too much, including with at-home whitening strips, can cause sensitivity, gum irritation and even permanent enamel damage. This could potentially lead to issues with hot or cold foods, as well as vulnerability to infection. Instead of worrying about whether your teeth are white enough, just be sure to take good care of them on a regular basis. Teeth naturally come in different shades, so if yours are healthy, there’s no reason to worry about their color.

A bright white smile might look attractive but it is not necessarily a sign of healthy teeth (Credit: Lumi Images/Alamy)

 

3. Clean Your Tongue

With all the attention given to the teeth and gums, it can be easy to forget about the tongue. However, cleaning your tongue is an important part of a good oral health care routine. The tongue is an easy place for bacteria to build up, which can potentially lead to gum disease over time if left unchecked, so be sure to brush your tongue whenever you brush your teeth.

Teeth are critical in everyday tasks like eating, speaking and more, so taking good care of your teeth is essential. Thankfully, a few simple tweaks can make all the difference! Try these dental care tips today and you’ll be on your way for a healthy, gleaming smile for years to come.



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MFLV
May 25th, 2020
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Benefits of Soaking In The Morning Sun

Most of us have heard about the harmful effects the sun rays have on our skin when we are overly exposed to it. In the past century, most public health messages have focused on the hazards of over exposure to the sun.

Did you know that not getting enough of natural sunlight can have negative impact on our health as well?  The right balance of sun exposure can have lots of mood-lifting benefits and can promote sleep too.  Exposure to the Sun’s warm rays at a specific time and in a consistent manner can be beneficial to us. It may heal numerous skin diseases and can also help to boost your mood. Exposure to sun rays also called sunbath therapy has been in use from ancient times due to its disease-fighting properties.

The most widely known benefit of sunlight is its ability to boost the body’s vitamin D supply; most cases of vitamin D deficiency are due to inadequate exposure to the sun. At least 1,000 different genes governing virtually every tissue in the body are now thought to be regulated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25[OH]D), the active form of the vitamin, including several involved in calcium metabolism and neuromuscular and immune system functioning.

Although most of the health-promoting benefits of sun exposure are thought to occur through vitamin D photosynthesis, there may be other health benefits that have gone largely overlooked in the debate over how much sun is needed for good health.

Benefits of soaking in the sun

A growing body of scientific research suggests that completely avoiding the sunlight isn’t such a bright idea. Here is why you should soak up some sunshine every day:

1.  It elevates mood. Sunlight and darkness trigger the release of hormones in your brain.   is thought to increase the brain’s release of a hormone called Serotonin.  Also known as ‘Happiness Hormone’,  Serotonin is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm, focused and happy.

2.  Helps to improve sleep.  The brighter your daylight exposure, the more melatonin you produce at night. Melatonin is a type of hormone that’s produced by the pineal gland in the brain during darkness at night. Also known as the sleep hormone, melatonin has a range of effects on the brain, from improving sleep to synchronizing your biological clocks, and lowering stress reactivity. In addition, the amount of daylight exposure you get is crucial in maintaining a normal circadian rhythm.

3.  It promotes bone growth.  Vitamin D is a hormone that promotes calcium absorption and is essential for bone growth and formation. Since sunlight is a primary source of Vitamin D, the hormone is also dubbed as ‘the sunshine vitamin’. The Vitamin D found in our body needs activation. The sun helps to convert inactive Vitamin D levels to active levels.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), getting anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes of sunlight on your arms, hands, and face twice or thrice a week is enough to reap the vitamin D-boosting benefits of the sun.

4.  It boosts the immune system.  Researchers now confirm that our immune cells have receptors for vitamin D, which means that it is needed at optimal levels for the immune system to function well. Deficiency in vitamin D is associated with increased autoimmunity and an increased susceptibility to infection. Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to 18 types of cancer.


Japanese researchers reported that daily supplementation of vitamin D3 reduces the risk of getting influenza A by over 40%. Another study found that people who maintained normal or optimal levels of vitamin D levels developed fewer viral infections, including influenza, and were sick for fewer days than participants with lower levels of vitamin D.

5.  It may reduce the risk of melanoma.   Safe sun exposure may actually protect you from skin cancer!  According to a study published in the Lancet Journal, the skin’s exposure to ultraviolet radiation of short wavelength (UVB) has been associated with a decreased risk of melanoma. The research found that outdoor workers who were exposed to regular sunlight had a lower risk of developing skin cancer compared to their indoor counterparts. Other than that, an adequate amount of sunlight has also been linked to a reduced risk of certain cancers (including colon, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancer), suggests a study published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.

6.  It promotes weight loss.  Latest research reveals that basking in morning sunshine can reduce body fat and help you shed those extra pounds.  Fat cells deep under your skin can sense light. And when bodies do not get enough exposure to the right kinds of light, fat cells behave differently. The blue-light spectrum of sunlight, a spectrum that can penetrate the skin, can cause subdermal fat tissue to decrease in size. In other words, it can cause fat loss. Thus, the action of sunlight may help one to stay slim or become slim!  As little as 20 to 30 minutes of early morning sun exposure is sufficient for you to lower your Body Mass Index (BMI) and trim your waistline.  But of course, one also needs to exercise and follow a healthy and sensible diet to lose weight.

 

Save Sun Exposure and How Much Sun Exposure Is Needed

As you can see, having healthy levels of vitamin D is crucial in living your healthiest life!   However, do practise safe sun exposure protection measures.

Allow 10 to 15 minutes or so of unprotected sun exposure to your arms, legs, abdomen and back several times a week. After that, follow up with good sun protection topical application, like a 30-SPF or higher sunblock.

Choose the right time of day.  If your shadow is longer than your body height, you can’t make any vitamin D. Between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. is the usual window for significant sun exposure.

We’ve lived so much of our days under artificial light, which does not provide the full spectrum of the all-natural light we get from the sun.  For a start, kick start your morning with a little sunshine vitamin to help jump-start your day in a healthy and happy way with absolutely no cost to your bank account. 



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Health and Fitness, Interesting Information
May 16th, 2020
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Caring for Birth Mothers Through Adoption

Making the choice to grow your family with adoption is a big deal and a reason to rejoice. What many families don’t realize is how much goes into the decision of how or through what organization their new son or daughter will enter their lives. There are so many aspects to consider before making a commitment to an adoption agency. Most adoptive parents spend hours researching the experiences of other adoptive families, licensures and accreditations, fees, and other similar factors. However, too few consider the importance of how well an adoption agency assists young birth mothers.

Why Caring for Birth Mothers Matters
Oftentimes, the women whose children will be adopted are very young, afraid, alone, and in need of a lot of help. Few of them had any thoughts of pregnancy prior to their current situation and some may even face abandonment and rejection by their own parents as well. By pursuing adoption, these women are trying to do what is best for their babies and themselves. It is a brave and difficult journey, and it is possible that their only support is coming from the adoption agency.

What You Can Do
Adoptive parents have the power to perpetuate an adoption culture in which birth mothers are respected and cared for. Many adoption agencies include medical care for the birth mother in their fees or require the adoptive family to incur those costs. Some agencies go no further than that and less reputable organizations may do even less for their mothers. However, there are agencies that go above and beyond to set their clients up for success after the birth of their child. For example, adoption agencies that provide housing, career training, educational assistance, or relocation programs seek to help birth mothers move forward and build a better life. By responsibly searching for this type of organization, adoptive families not only change the life of a child but also the woman who gave birth to their new family member.

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MFLV
May 11th, 2020
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Fever After Deep Tissue Massage

A few months ago,  just before the Covid-19 pandemic took a turn for the worse, which led our country into a partial lockdown, I went for a deep-tissue massage. I was suffering from painful stiff shoulders for several weeks and needed a good masseuse to ease the pain.  The massage that I booked in is a fusion form of modern bio-electric meridian therapy and traditional deep tissue massage.  I had to strip down from head to toe and was provided with a disposable underwear and a robe.  The massage therapist was an experienced lady from China in her early 60s.  After a 2-hour session, I was given a cup of hot water to drink before I left the health center.  I didn’t drink the water as it was too hot as I was in a rush for school run. That was probably my mistake that caused my post-massage sickness!

That same night, I had headache, felt a slight chill and my body felt hot. I felt like I was about to fall ill. I checked my temperature and it was billy boiling at 38C.  I drank a packet of Izumio hydrogen water and applied Oregano essential oil on the soles of my feet at bedtime.  The next morning, I felt slightly better and by evening, I was right as rain again.

I suspected that my body went into a detoxification process after the massage.  I had a similar experience when I first drank hydrogen water – besides a flare of rashes on my hands, I had fever for just a day and was well again the following day. These are symptoms of a body detox.

What Is Deep-Tissue Massage?

Deep-Tissue Massage targets your body’s deepest layers of muscle and releases tension in over-stressed areas. When your muscles are badly knotted, this therapeutic treatment is designed to loosen up the muscles.

Deep-tissue massage is a mix of slow, short, strokes and penetrating finger pressure focused on tight, contracted areas. The therapist uses her thumbs, forearms, and even elbows to work muscle tissue and relieve tension.

A deep tissue massage basically releases your muscles that are stuck in an uncomfortable posture for a prolonged period of time, resulting in pain. In my case, I am always working in front of my computer and the improper posture on my chair may have caused persistent stiff shoulders.

Why Deep-Tissue Massage ‘Flushes’ Toxins Out?

Deep-tissue massage stimulates movement of the lymphatic system and byproducts of muscle metabolism.  One of the primary responsibilities of the lymphatic system is removal of waste from the blood.  The Lymph then brings the waste off to be filtered through the liver and kidneys, and eventually excreted.  This waste can be anything from allergens to metabolic wastes, excess fat to viruses and bacteria. If you have too much lymph in your body, it can build up in the tissues under the skin’s surface — the same tissues that are manipulated during a massage.   That is why during a deep-tissue massage, the body is suddenly flooded with toxins in the lymph, causing you to suddenly feel icky and feverish.

Steps To Prevent Post-Massage Sickness
As the human body is mostly made up of water, the normal functioning of all the body’s systems is dependent on how hydrated we are. Most massage therapists will advise you to drink water after a massage. Most massage centers provide warm  drinking water after a massage session.   It is also highly advisable that you are hydrated before the session too.

Another mistake I made was not keeping myself hydrated before the session as I didn’t want to go to the bathroom during the session!

Drinking water in the hours before your massage will encourage the lymphatic system to instantly process and discharge metabolic waste through the organs preventing the overloading of toxins. It is essential to ask for a drink of water during your massage if you feel thirsty, as this will usually prevent a headache from occurring later.

If you haven’t had a massage in a long time and you have previously experienced post-massage nausea, headaches or sickness it’s best to inform your therapist as often the application of lighter pressure can reduce the amount of waste discharged. You can then normally increase the pressure in subsequent massage sessions.



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Health Issues, Interesting Information
April 14th, 2020
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Black Pepper Health Benefits

Most of my home-cooked dishes are flavored with freshly ground black pepper. I love adding lots of black pepper into my egg dishes and porridge.  Often called the king of spices, black pepper is more than just a terrific flavor enhancer. It’s known to offer a wealth of health benefits while imparting an excellent depth of flavor to any dish.

Black Pepper Nutrition Facts
Black pepper contains minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, as well as vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B6, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database. Other nutrients include vitamin E, folate, and vitamin K.

black pepper on spoon

As black pepper is such an important health-promoting ingredient, multiple studies on its health benefits have been carried out, including one by US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health

Black pepper (Piper Nigrum L.) is an important healthy food owing to its antioxidant, antimicrobial potential and gastro-protective modules. Black pepper, with piperine as an active ingredient, holds rich phytochemistry that also includes volatile oil, oleoresins, and alkaloids. More recently, cell-culture studies and animal modeling predicted the role of black pepper against a number of maladies.

The free-radical scavenging activity of black pepper and its active ingredients might be helpful in chemo-prevention and controlling progression of tumor growth. Additionally, the key alkaloid components of Piper Nigrum, that is, piperine assist in cognitive brain functioning, boost nutrient’s absorption and improve gastrointestinal functionality. In this comprehensive treatise, efforts are made to elucidate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, gastro-protective, and antidepressant activities of black pepper.

Here’s are some good reasons to sprinkle some black pepper into your food:

1. Cancer prevention
The piperine in black pepper can be credited with the prevention of cancer, and becomes twice as potent when combined with turmeric. The spice also has Vitamin C, Vitamin A, flavonoids, carotenes and other anti-oxidants that help remove harmful free radicals and protect the body from cancers and diseases. The best way to eat pepper to harness maximum benefits is to eat freshly ground pepper, and not cook it along with food.

2. Stimulates digestion
The piperine in black pepper eases digestion and stimulates the stomach, which then secretes more hydrochloric acid that helps to digest proteins in food. Thus adding a dash of pepper into your food will actually help you to digest it faster.

3. Relieves cold and cough
Black pepper is antibacterial in nature, and therefore helps to cure cold and cough. A teaspoon of honey with freshly crushed pepper does the trick. It also helps to alleviate chest congestion, often caused due to pollution, flu, or a viral infection. You can add it to hot water and eucalyptus oil and take steam. And given that black pepper is rich in Vitamin C, it also works as a good antibiotic.

4. Enables weight loss
Studies have found that piperine in black pepper, the very compound that makes you sneeze, also fights the formation of fat cells.  Research says that black pepper might offer an alternative to treatments for fat-related issues.

Black pepper’s characteristic to inhibit fat cell formation sets off a chain reaction that can keep fat formation in check at various other biological levels.

5. Improves skin
Crushed pepper is one of the best exfoliators nature has provided us. However, don’t use it directly though; add a bit of honey or fresh yogurt to it. It also enables blood circulation, and provides the skin with more oxygen.  Black pepper is known to help in the cure of Vitiligo, a condition where the skin loses pigmentation, and creates white patches.

6. Alleviates depression
It’s believed that the piperine in black pepper helps to deal with depression. It stimulates the brain, and helps it to function properly by making it more active.

With so much health benefits and a wonderful flavor, there’s just no reason not to add black pepper into all your food.



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Nutritional Information On Food
April 14th, 2020
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How to Feel Like a New Person This Summer

With the coming of the warm months and some more free time on your hands, the summer is a great time to embrace some personal changes. This summer can be the one where you adopt new habits and come out of it feeling like a new and improved person. Why not? Here are a few strategies as to how you can feel renewed and refreshed this summer.

Consistent Exercise
One way to literally feel like a new person is through getting in better shape and building your strength. Exercise will not only leave you feeling great about yourself, but it will also boost your immune system and give you greater energy during the day. Developing a consistent exercise plan will also give you a structured schedule during the summer that will help you mentally get into physical activity.

Acupuncture
Another way to focus on feeling your physical best is through treatments such as acupuncture. Sarasota pain management will rid your body of nagging aches and pains that come with the resurfacing of old injuries or just older age. Managing your pain will open the door for you to exercise more consistently and move around easier, leading you to a more youthful feeling.

Image

Rekindle Old Relationships
Your mental health is also an area that you should focus on to make sure that you are feeling good this summer. One way to do this is to reach back out to old friends that you know would make you feel good to talk to. Rekindling an old relationship can leave you feeling refreshed and happy to have rebuilt a social component of your life that you haven’t had in a long time.

Consistent exercise, acupuncture and rekindling old relationships are three strategies you can employ this summer that will leave you feeling like a new person.

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Alternative Remedies, MFLV
April 4th, 2020
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Sleep vs Exercise – Which is More Important?

For someone who is severely sleep deprived, I am often put in a tight spot where I have to ask myself this question “should I sleep in to get the 7 or 8 hours of sleep tomorrow or should I get up early to exercise?”

That’s a terrible decision for me to make. Both sleep and exercise are equally important to me. They are like food and water.  Both are key components of a healthy lifestyle and shouldn’t be pitted against each other but I still have to make a tough choice. Most of the time, I have to bitterly choose sleep over exercise.  There are times when I chose  exercise over sleep and eventually felt lethargic and sickly throughout the day, especially on those days when I only had 5 hours of sleep.

Sleep is important for workouts reducing the risk of injury and allowing muscles to recover from exercise. When I don’t have sufficient sleep, I lack the stamina to run and feel crappy the entire day.  Lack of sleep weakens the immune system, making people more likely to become sick — which means missing workouts.

Sacrificing sleep has also been tied to weight gain, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, among other health problems. Of course, regular exercise provides a lot of benefits, too, including sounder sleep.

Desiree Ahrens, a certified health and wellness coach at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said that for the time-starved, there are ways to sneak exercise into the day without heading to the gym or a formal exercise class.  I can’t agree more on this. On days when I have to skip exercise, I try to walk and move more throughout the day. For instance, I park my car further away from where I am headed to so that I can hit more steps in a day and at the same time, soak in some sunlight and Vitamin D.  At home, I will engage myself in more chores like mopping, spring cleaning or simply walking up the stairs to my unit on the fifth floor.

Workouts can also be broken down into small chunks of activity throughout the day. We just have to be a little more creative with the workouts. Whenever I have an extra 10-15 minutes at home, I try to do some stretching and lower abdomen exercises.

Sleep is the base on which a healthy mind and body stand. From our immune function to our mood, energy, appetite and dozens of other health variables.  If that base is wobbly, our health will suffer.

Making time for sleep and exercise can come down to cutting out activities that aren’t as important. Almost everyone could forgo 30 minutes a day of internet or TV time.  Work can wait too.

At the end of the day, we have to use common sense when striking a balance between getting enough sleep and getting up for a morning workout. Do what makes you feel good and happy. The key is not to stress yourself out and to ultimately achieve good physical and emotional health.



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Health and Fitness
February 21st, 2020
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Matcha Green Tea To Prevent Influenza

With the Covid-19 Coronavirus epidemic turning into a global emergency, causing fear and panic in almost everyone in countries affected by this invisible killer, people are taking precautionary measures and boosting up their immune system to fight this menace.  From face mask to hand sanitizer to vitamins and eating healthy foods, everyone surrounding me from the young to the old have suddenly turned health and hygiene conscious, which is a good thing.  Not only have I been stocking up more frequently on fruits and vegetables, sweet potatoes and herbs but also on matcha green tea powder.

Boosting your immunity could be as simple as drinking matcha and green tea daily. Matcha contains a class of antioxidants called catechins. Matcha is high in a catechin called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which is believed to have cancer-fighting effects on the body. Studies have linked green tea to a variety of health benefits, like prevention of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and even encouraging weight loss.

According to a meta-analysis published in Molecules (from US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health),  green tea may be an immune booster, helping fight both cold and influenza viruses. Researchers found that not only does drinking tea on a regular basis help you recover from a cold but may also make you less likely to get one in the first place and could help prevent recurring or new infections.  Gargling with green tea may also help, a practice that is common in Japan.

Green tea is a powerful antioxidant, which is believed to protect against a variety of diseases including cancer. Because of it’s ability to eliminate free radicals, it inhibits the flu virus from replicating. Therefore, it will not only help prevent the flu virus from entering your system, but if you do catch the flu, it could greatly lessen the duration of the flu.  Drinking green tea is also a great way of ensuring that you are taking in enough fluids.

Amongst its many health benefits, matcha:
~ is packed with antioxidants including the powerful EGCg
~ boosts metabolism and burns calories
~ detoxifies naturally
~ is rich in fiber, chlorophyll and vitamins
~ helps increase focus and calmness. The L-Theanine in green tea is known to help stimulate alpha brain waves which in turn helps with focus, concentration and calmness.
~ provides vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc and magnesium
prevents disease
~ lowers cholesterol and blood sugar

The consumption of tea extracts including catechins and theanine has also been reported to enhance systemic immunity and prevent the occurrence of upper respiratory tract infection and influenza symptoms in healthy adults.

Matcha Spoons Obubu Kyoto Tea Farms

Do choose matcha powder (ground green tea leaves) over green tea bags or brewed green tea leaves. When you drink matcha, you ingest the entire leaf and receive 100% of the nutrients of the leaf. Matcha green tea has approximately 137 times more antioxidants than regularly brewed green tea.  This type of green tea contains over 60x the antioxidants of spinach and 7x the antioxidants of high quality dark chocolate.

One cup of matcha = 10 cups of regularly brewed green tea in terms of nutritional content.



The influenza virus is a cause of serious illness and even death, so it is imperative to take preventive measures to stay healthy. These are some simple things that you can do to prevent getting the flu:

Keep it clean. To help prevent contracting or spreading the flu, be sure to wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth with tissue paper or handkerchief when you cough or sneeze, and get a flu shot.  Where possible, avoid people who have the flu or going to work if you have flu. While these measures aren’t 100% guaranteed, they go a long way toward lowering the risk of respiratory illness and flu.

Lead a healthy lifestyle. Living a balanced life that includes a healthy diet, regular exercise, getting sufficient sleep, and indulge in stress-reducing activities to boost your immunity.  Stay committed to these activities to improve and maintain good health.

Talk with a doctor. Visit your doctor to discuss ways to prevent the flu and whether or not a flu shot is appropriate for you.

Note: The majority of researches on green tea assume that we are drinking at least 3-5 cups per day. So, if you only have one cup of green tea a day, you may not reap all of the benefits.  But don’t let that stop you from drinking this wonderful beverage whenever you can.



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Health Tea
February 13th, 2020
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Health Benefits of Overnight Soaked Cooked Rice / Fermented Rice

What do you do with your unfinished takeout rice? Or if you have just a few tablespoons of unfinished rice from dinner and do not feel like keeping it in the fridge? Most people would just bin the unfinished rice. But wait, don’t throw the unfinished rice just yet!  You can squeeze out a lot more nutrients and health benefits from the unfinished rice by soaking it overnight and it’s scientifically proven.

Source : berrychik.com

For centuries, it has been a practice to consume overnight soaked rice in many South Indian families. Having known the health benefits of the soaked rice, the practice of consuming this dish for breakfast continued for generations.  However, due to globalization and increased wealth, this healthy breakfast has been replaced with modernized / processed breakfast foods like cereals, pancakes, bread, cakes, deli meat, just to name a few.

Soaked rice / fermented rice is rich in B6, B12 vitamins and is a source of beneficial gut-friendly bacteria which helps in digestion and boosts immunity. In a study, the given samples of normal cooked rice and overnight soaked cooked rice are tested for carbohydrate, crude protein, fat/oil and fibre content. The rice which was overnight soaked cooked rice was found to have more nutrient content than unsoaked cooked rice. There is an increase in energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre content and minerals.



Soaked overnight cooked rice used to be a pauper’s food, unfit to be offered to guests, and reserved to be given off to the house maid. At a time when refrigerators were uncommon, soaked rice was an inevitable item. Every night, some water would be poured over leftover rice and would be kept aside till the next day. This would get slightly fermented overnight and nutritionally rich with gut-friendly bacteria. In this modern day and age, this practice is almost nonexistent as every house is equipped with a refrigerator.

Adding 3 cups of water, fenugreek seeds and salt to the cooked rice

Source: vidhyashomecooking.com

Fermented rice provides immense health benefits such as:

1.  provides energy
2.  provides beneficial guts-friendly bacteria in abundance
3.  helps with allergies and skin related problems
4.  may prevent stomach ulcers and other digestive issues
5.  provides rich source of vitamin B12 for vegans
6.  prevents constipation
7.  may help alleviate blood pressure

Fermented rice can be eaten plain or added with yoghurt, buttermilk, raw onions, chopped cilantro and spring onions, tomatoes or just about any condiments as you would for rice congee. I like to pair my fermented rice with fried shallots, pepper and a dash of organic soy sauce.



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Healthy Snacks, Interesting Information
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