3 Pink Lemons

Now that the summer is upon us, there are many naughty things that are so hard to refuse. What makes it hard is the time spent perfecting your summer body. Don’t go and ruin it now! That’s easier said than done. There is temptation everywhere, and sometimes it’s very hard to say no.

Staying healthy is something that we decide to do, and us humans are very intelligent. Take technology for example, it has become so advanced nowadays. The things that we can do in medicine is extraordinary. There is so much out there. So, there is no reason that you can’t do the basics of keeping yourself fit and healthy, right?

Here’s how.

Drink plenty of water.

You should know by now how important water is. Especially during summer when the sun is shining and baring all of its heat. You may love to bask in the warmth all day. It’s easy to get dehydrated and not realize until it’s too late. Then you are dealing with all the negative effects of sunstroke. So, always keep water with you, and carry a bottle around in your bag. Refill it when need be. Also, water is so good for your skin and complexion. Think of all the beauty benefits too. – It even slows down the aging process!

Embrace the barbecues.

Barbecues are as bad as you make them. They only consist of the bread and butter that you put around the meat. Barbecues are good for you and use a lot less fat than what you would use when cooking in a frying pan. Plus, they’re absolutely delicious. So you don’t need to feel guilty about them anymore, because they’re great. They also mix up the taste of eating your usual vegetables. It makes them more interesting to munch on. They’re chargrilled with a hint of steak juice – which you already know is to die for.

Early and late night walks.

When it’s really hot, the last thing that you want to do is start your exercise routine. The sun already exhausts you, and you don’t need that extra coat of sweat on top of your sweat. But this shouldn’t be an excuse not to stay active either. Luckily for you, there’s a solution. Get up early in the morning while the sun is still rising. Go for a walk to get in your dose of fitness. You can do the same in the evening too once the sun has gone down. This will make the air a lot more manageable now the sun is out of the picture.

You might think that massages are a great way to relax and unwind. They can be after a long week at work, but there is far much more to them than that. There can be many health benefits to having a massage. So, that means you need to treat yourself to one, like right now!

Relaxes Muscles and Joints

This is probably what most people associate with massages, the way they relax the whole body. This can be a huge benefit if you suffer from something such as sciatica. It’s very common and very painful as you will find out by reading What is Sciatica? or other pains in your back or joints, as relaxed muscles and joints will be a lot less painful. As long as the masseuse knows what they are doing and they go deep enough it should be an amazing relief.

Headache and Migraine Relief

Headaches and migraines are often caused by stress and regular massages can reduce the risk of them occurring. This is a much better way to stop these painful afflictions than keep taking painkillers or other tablets.

Anxiety Reduction

A relaxed body is a healthy body and it can help towards a relaxed mind. A massage can half the number of stress hormones. So, why not just relax while it is happening but will help reduce future anxiety.

Improves Repetitive Strain Injuries

Injuries of this nature are caused by repeating the same action again and again, as explained in this article. The muscles become taught and very painful and generally rest and painkillers are prescribed. However, massaging the injury can release most of the tension in the affected muscles. It can help a great deal with the recovery from the injury.

Massages can help in the same way. If you are suffering because your job means you are sitting down all day. Constant sitting is not good for your lower back. A massage can relieve the strain and reduce the pain associated with this sort of problem.

Promotes Sleep

There are so many ways our busy and stressful lives can affect us. One of them is having trouble sleeping. The relaxing effects of a massage can promote sleep. So, as well as feeling better for your therapy, you will benefit from a good nights rest.

Strengthens Your Immune System

Research has shown that a weekly massage can boost your immune system. This is great for the people that tend to suffer from minor colds and ailments every year. It was discovered that a 45-minute body massage can be very beneficial for staving off some of these minor ailments.

Help Reduce Sagging And Wrinkles

A simple face massage can help reduce sagging and wrinkles. It can make your face, scalp and hair healthier too. Again, it is the relaxing effects that help you face to ward off the effects of aging.

A Relaxed Body Works Better

When your body is relaxed you blood flows easier. This has many health benefits including better organ functionality and improved cell growth. Conditions such as high blood pressure will also improve if you have regular massages.

Visiting a professional massage therapist is usually the best way. but there are times when self-massage can help as well. Sore legs muscles after a long walk are just one of the way we self-massage without even realizing it. We usually rub them to get the blood flowing and ease the soreness and that amounts to massaging them.

Getting into a regular fitness routine is never easy. In fact, it’s a route pathed with excuses and reasons why not. You’d love to go out running tonight, but you have a lot of housework to do. You’re desperate to make use of your gym membership; only you don’t feel like you fit in. And, of course, you would love to finally get around to the home gym, only…you have to work?

That’s right. Home commitments and self-confidence aside, work is often in the way of fitness goals. Yet, few of us realize it. We may blame everything under the sun for our avoidance without realizing our careers are the real problem. As well as doing us a disservice, this leaves us unable to address the issue. And, thus, our get fit efforts are forever doomed.

But, how exactly does work get in the way of exercise? And, what can you do about it?

Work saps all your energy

By the end of a long day, the last thing you want to do is get dressed and go running. With Netflix and comfy clothes calling, it’s near enough impossible to find workout motivation. After all, don’t you work hard enough during the day? If this sounds familiar, why not change the way you approach exercise? If work leaves you without energy, an obvious solution would be to work out before you head off every day. You could do this by either getting up early or asking your boss if you can arrive late and leave late. Then, you can never use lacking energy as an excuse again.

Work leaves you physically unable to work out

Builders and office workers alike complain of strain injuries, especially in the neck and back. And, for obvious reasons, this can cause issues with fitness routines. Try lifting a set of weights after a day of sitting on inadequate office chairs. Make efforts, too, to know correct lifting procedures or exercises which can help avoid repetitive strain. A few weeks with these in place should leave you ready to rumble.

Work leaves you too little time

Work also takes up a shocking amount of time. Thus, working out can seem impossible. It may be that you don’t finish until the gym is closed, or that you start before it’s light. Sadly, you aren’t going to like this solution, but it’s the best option. By waking up earlier, you create hours in your day. Even waking up half an hour earlier may leave you time to do a quick session of yoga before you set out for the day. Failing that, make use of your lunch break. Head to the gym for a half an hour session, then grab a sandwich on your way back to work. Just like that, time won’t be an issue any longer!

The Joy of Travel with No Destination. Nowadays, the modern form of travel seems to be to have everything meticulously booked in advance. Doesn’t this take away part of the great joy of traveling? The feeling of adventure and arriving in a new place. The thrill of spontaneity that you don’t know where each new day is going to take you. The stories that you will undoubtedly have to tell after getting back from a trip of this kind. Still not convinced? Here are just a few of the main reasons why you should consider traveling without a fixed destination in mind.

The Freedom of Choice

You have the total freedom to choose whatever you would like to do and go wherever you want to go. You are not bogged down by a pre-planned itinerary that leaves you fixed in what you are doing. It may seem a little scary at first, this is the way that you really get to know a place. Get underneath the surface of the main monuments and tourist traps. Access to modern technology, you know that you always have instant access to a map. If you get lost or if you are in desperate need of accommodation.

You Set the Agenda

In a group tour with lots of other people, you are restricted by the itinerary that is already laid out. However, when you set out on your own or with family, you can choose what you would like to do. If you aren’t happy with a place, you have the freedom to simply move on. This is an even more viable option if you choose to go on a camping trip. Camping trips are often the kind that lives long in the memory.

You Will Come Back with Plenty of Stories

How many stories can you possibly come back with about staying in an all-inclusive hotel? When you set out without a destination in mind, you are bound to come back with a host of anecdotes. It will amaze your friends and family. Even if what is happening at the time is bad, this will make for a great story when you return. You’re also more likely to visit places that have not been seen in the past. People are much more interested to hear these tales rather than ones about ones everyone has already visited.

So, there you have three of the main reasons why traveling without a destination is an incredible experience. If you are nervous, start on on a trip of just a couple of days before building this up over time.

The Joy of Travel with No Destination

How Quitting Stimulants Can Improve Your Health. If you’re a health-conscious person, you already spend a significant amount of your time thinking about your health. Also, ways to further improve your lifestyle, habits, and environment to feel better, live longer and have more energy.

It’s pretty much impossible to deal with every potential threat to your health that’s out there. The world is very big, after all, and our understanding of the complexities of every chemical reaction is limited.

With that being the case, one of the best overall health strategies is to focus on the obvious stuff. Addiction is one of the key areas where we can make positive change. What about addiction to something more common and every day? Like caffeine or nicotine?

We tend not to think of legal stimulant addiction as being a serious health issue. But there are some good reasons to consider making the plunge and quitting stimulants.

Here are some ways that quitting stimulants can improve your health.

By improving your sleep

Sleep is essential for good health. Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to everything from perpetual, low-level fatigue and depression, to irreversible brain damage and even death.

Stimulants can have a deeply negative impact on your ability to get to bed at night. Even if you leave a gap of time between taking stimulants and sleep. You may find that the quality of your sleep is disrupted by the changing balance of hormones in your body. It can also be hormone receptor sensitivity.

One of the first benefits that people notice when quitting stimulants, is that they sleep longer and deeper.

By balancing out your energy levels

People use stimulants to boost their energy levels, as we all know. What we may not know is that the effects of stimulants on our energy levels. It can become seriously negative over time.

Stimulants typically work by dramatically affecting our hormone profiles. We tend to experience the increased energy in “bursts”, followed by inevitable crashes later on.

After prolonged stimulant use, people often rely on their morning cup of coffee, or cigarette. This is just to become functional in the morning — nevermind amped up.

Dropping stimulants can help you return to enjoying consistent, balanced energy levels.

By normalising your stress hormone production

Cortisol is the primary “stress hormone” of the body. Along with other hormones like adrenaline — triggers the “fight or flight” response to threats.

Stimulants chronically elevate these stress hormone and put our bodies into a state of “alertness” around the clock. This is a major issue. As elevated stress hormone levels ruin our health — including damaging our brains and making it harder to develop new memories. Calm is the antidote.

Keeping your stress hormone levels under control is fundamental to good health. For many people, quitting stimulants helps with this dramatically.

There are many issues that we have to deal with in our lives. Social issues, trying to gain an income, becoming a better person, staying in touch with ourselves and enjoying recreational time. However, there are other things that can crop up when we least expect them to. Health issues are among the most insidious because they can seemingly crop up at any time.

For this reason, it pays to stay aware of noticing the early signs of a growing health issue. This list is by no means exhaustive, but there are some things you can put into practice to ensure you stay healthy. So you can at least see the correct medical personnel and catch issues early. You should be mindful of:

Fatigue

Life stresses can pile up and seemingly leave us all worried about our energy levels. We all know that feeling of feeling lethargic when trying to get out of bed in the morning. It might be that we’re used to taking an hour each morning to get our mental faculties in order. This is relatively normal, especially if you work a taxing job. You are undergoing some personal stress, or you’re generally very spent at the end of each day.

It’s not normal to experience a much more intense state of fatigue that threatens to render you dysfunctional. It might be you’re suffering from fatigue but in your self-disciplined state have been ignoring it. Good warning signs are feeling absolutely drained of all energy throughout the day. Increasing black circles around your eyes, and ironically a lack of sleep quality. People often joke about feeling tired and drained all the time, but feeling put out for the longest time can harm you. Lack of rest can even begin simulating mild intoxication with relative ease. If you notice this has become a trend, see your doctor. Adjust your diet to be more healthy, and consider exercising if you do not already.

Digestion

It’s quite common for someone suffering from health issues to feel a sense of difficulty with their regularity and digestion. There are many gastro doctors available to help you identify and resolve issues like this. Sometimes this can be hard to pinpoint in the first place. If you notice intense changes in your stool, your ability to control timing, there is an intense need to figure things out.

Internal infections, terrible diets, unhappy gut health and many other issues can be identified by your local clinic. Having them either inspect or diagnose you based on your description. Absolutely everyone needs a healthy digestive system to thrive. So, implementing changes should be first on your agenda if you notice an issue.

These two issues are by no means the only things you should watch out for. Often they are the most wide-spanning forms of indicating a potential issue. Ascertain your energy levels and keep an eye on your regularity. You’ll no doubt find that you can pinpoint many health problems the moment they begin.

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Are you a fan of Greek food? Does the thought of olives, tzatziki, and gyro make your mouth water? So, do you like the famous Kleftiko and moussaka? Greek food is divine, and the Mediterranean are well known for their healthy lifestyles and amazing cooking skills. So, if you want to eat like the Greeks do (and let’s face it, who wouldn’t?), read on for some helpful tips…

Embrace the condiment

Greeks love a good dip! There is nothing better than starting off your meal with Pitta bread and a selection of dips. Tzatziki is probably the most famous and universally adored. This is a dip that is made from Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, cucumber, and mint. To make your own from scratch, a Greek yogurt maker will come in very handy. Hummus is another popular option, and this dip is made from chickpeas. If you are a fan of fish, taramasalata is a must. This is made from the salted and cured roe of the cod, and it’s a lovely bright pink color!

Add oregano and lemon to everything

Well, you probably won’t want to add oregano to your dessert, but almost everything! Oregano is added to salad dressings, marinades, sauces, bread, potatoes, salads, and meat. Not only does it taste amazing, but it is great for your health too, as it is an excellent source of antioxidants. And, what about lemon? Well, if you go to a Greek restaurant, you will see that virtually every dish is accompanied by a lemon. Greek people add it to everything; they squeeze it over their main course no matter what they are eating. Don’t knock it until you have tried it!

Eat dessert on its own

If you went to Greece thirty years ago; you would never see someone eating dessert after a meal. Typically, fruit is served after a meal, and dessert is simply enjoyed on its own. It may be offered as a sweet treat when visiting someone’s house, or it may be enjoyed during the holidays.

Don’t be afraid of olive oil

If you don’t have olive oil in your cupboards, you definitely won’t be cooking or eating like a Greek! Greek people LOVE olive oil. They cook everything in it. You should not be afraid of using olive oil in your food. It is an excellent source of monounsaturated fat and it has lots of antioxidants in it. In fact, most experts advise that you use olive oil as your main source of fat. Did you know that Greeks are the largest consumers of olive oil in the world? The average Greek uses about 23 liters per year!

So there you have it, stock up on your olive oil and embrace the variety of delicious dips on offer, and you are good to go. Greek food and cooking is not complicated, and that is exactly what makes it so brilliant and so tasty. Enjoy!