Kefir

Kefir is a unique fermented milk product that has been used in European and Asian folk medicine for curing a big variety of medical conditions. It's one of the most probiotic rich foods in the world which is loaded with valuable vitamins and minerals which contains easily digestible complete proteins and the cocktail of beneficial bacteria that improves health in many ways. This interesting name - kefir, comes from the Turkish word "keif", which means "good feeling". If you are curious how it tastes, it is very similar to a greek yoghurt. If you're still not convicted why you should add kefir to your everyday diet, here are some benefits kefir can provide you if you use it regularly:

1. Helps fighting the cancer - regular kefir consumption helps stop cancer cells growth.
2. Kefir is supporting detoxification - because of lactic acid bacteria, kefir is killing aflatoxins and other funguses which is important for healthy genetic expression.
3. Strengthening immunity - Because of its richness in bacteria, it's healing better than antibiotics.
4. Builds bone density - Kefir is increasing the absorption of bone building minerals of calcium and magnesium.
5. Kefir is healing Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and reducing bowel inflammation - this is happening because of the high doses of probiotics, including the strains of lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.
6. It has positive effects on allergies and asthma - because of strong anti-inflammatory properties.
7. Improves Lactose Intolerance 


Best of all is that you can buy kefir in stores or you can make it by yourself and that way you can control on calories intake. If you prefer kefir from store, choose the one which is low in sugar and added flavors, and then try flavoring it yourself at home where you have control over the amount of sugar being used. And if you are making it by yourself, the best way to keep it is in glass bottles.
That's all from me today. Kefir is, beside kombucha, my favorite drink when is made correctly. So try it, you can only improve your health.

 

Chocolate is healthy?! :)

Of course, here I meant on dark chocolate. So my dear ladies, beside of healing your broken heart, dark chocolate is actually healthy. Chocolate healing powers lies in the cacao, the basic ingredient of each chocolate. It contains healthy chemicals like flavonoids and theobromine and the only problem is that taste is bitter and chalky. On the other hand, if you add milk, sugar and butter to improve the taste you are also adding and calories and reducing the benefits of cacao. So stick with the healthy chocolate with at least 70% cacao and enjoy in next benefits of it:

1. Chocolate has cardiovascular benefits - Regular chocolate consumption is reducing the risk of heart failure, heart attack and stroke and high blood pressure thanks to flavonoids which improve the veins and arteries flexibility.
2. Weight reduction - Believe it or not but small portion of dark chocolate can help you to lose some weight. It's very nutritious, rich with fibers and minerals and is going to keep you satiated longer.
3. Prevention for diabetes - Dark chocolate is   helping with controlling of insulin sensitivity.

4. Dark chocolate is reducing the stress 

5. It can protect your skin against the sun - this is happening because, as I wrote, chocolate is rich with flavonols which improves your blood flow to the skin and increase skin density and hydration.

6. Dark chocolate can improve your brain function - Cacao contains stimulant substances like caffeine and theobromine which are a main reason how cacao can improves your brain function so don't feel guilty if you reach for a chocolate bar when you are under job stress.

7. Cough relief 

8. Diarrhea relief 

9. Simple - Eating chocolate is making us happy :)

So my dear ladies, enjoy freely in your favorite sweets - miss chocolate. You are actually improving your health ;)

Women's health

Many women don't go regularly to visit a gynecologist and don't care enough of their reproductive health. This often happens because of the unpleasant examination and inadequate information on how often it is necessary to control the reproductive health. One thing the majority of gynecologists agree is that in general women should visit gynecologist at least once a year and more if it's necessary. Visiting regularly a gynecologist can help in the prevention and early detection of diseases which women are facing with. So ladies, no more excuses. Call and set a date for your gynecology examination.

It is very important to visit gynecologist in order to get on time all the information about sexually transmitted infections, cancer prevention, fertility issues, birth control, menopause, even urinary issues and all other health issues women face. What kind of exam will she has depends on age group woman is in. It can include breast exam, pelvic exam, a Pap smear, screening for sexually transmitted disease. If a woman wants to become a pregnant or needs a contraception, gynecologist can also help her with.
One of the biggest woman fear is breast and cervical cancer. That's way you shouldn't wait to receive an abnormal pap smear to start asking questions and treatment for healing. Be proactive about your health, go to your gynecologist. With today's technology, every problem is easier to be detected and therefore more lives are saved. On this way, you are going to stay healthy which is important and for you and for your family. Be responsible to yourself, you deserve it!
 

Exercise makes changes

We all know how physical health is important, from preventing a big number of diseases, maintaining and improving your health and for simply feeling better and having fun. In general, to feel some of the benefits of exercising you should have at least 30 minutes of a physical activity every day, but if you want to achieve some more specific goal (lose some weight) you may need to exercise more. It doesn't need to include hard and burdensome exercise, just simple everyday walk will contribute a lot. You can choose by yourself what type of exercise is the best for you. But before you start doing exercise of any kind don't forget to consult your doctor, especially if you haven't been active for a longer period of time.

If you're still not convinced to start exercise on regular bases, here are some of the benefits exercise can help you with:

1. It can help you to control your weight - You
can maintain your current weight with physical activity or lose some if you want. In that case just intense the training.

2. Physical activity combats health conditions and diseases - If you exercise regularly it can help you to prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and concerns (arthritis, risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, depression...)

3. You're going to feel better - Exercise is helping with releasing a various brain chemicals, such as endorphin, which makes you feel much happier. In the same time you're going to have more confidence in your look and appearance.

4. Your energy level is going to be higher

5. Physical activity provides a better sleep - Exercise can help you fall asleep faster and make your sleep deepen. Just keep on your mind not to exercise close to bedtime because you can be too energized to fall asleep.

6. Exercise can improve your sex life - It's not just that you are having more energy and look better which have positive effect on your sex life. Physical activity on regular bases can lead to a higher libido for both partners and men who exercise are less likely having erectile dysfunction problems that men who don't.

7. It' fun activity - Exercise can be fun if you choose physical activity you enjoy. It can be a good way to spend some time with friends and family if you choose some group activity. You can also dance, hike, swim...The choice is unlimited, just choose what makes you happy and if you get bored, change it.

                                           Did I manage to convince you? :)

Embrace and love yourself

My blog's theme is a health care and a healthy lifestyle, but I need to mention one thing that does not includes the physical health and health care, but is equally important, if not the most important, and concerns love. I mean on love to ourselves because we can't give love to others if we do not love ourselves. Love indirectly affects the health (the topic of my blog) because the beautiful emotions can make you feel happy and happiness greatly improves health. That's the way you need to accept and love yourself in order to live a fuller life. It requires hard work on yourself and some of the following techniques can help you with this:

1. Reject negative beliefs about yourself - Don't have negative thoughts about yourself, let go of them. We often get these kind of thoughts from other people, people we appreciate and seek love from.

2. Don't seek to the perfectionism - Some people are constantly seeking to the perfectionism and expecting from themselves to be the best in every way so when that doesn't happen they have bad image about themselves. Be good to yourself when you're less than perfect because you are the best version of yourself!
3. Move the focus from negative things in your life - Don't look at the things in your life through the negative perspective. It's not possible that everything that happens to you is bad, this is really unlikely true.

4. Don't call yourself with bad names - If you made a mistake don't immediately say "I'm so dumb". Don't be hush to yourself, you're just a human and all humans make mistakes. Try to learn something from that mistake for a next time. Our life is constant learning process.

5. Assumption that only the worst things are happening is not good - Change your inner thoughts, don't think negative about everything that is happening. Try to be more realistic, it's very unlikely that every situation is going to have the worst outcome.

6. Change the negatively thinking about yourself - Every time when you realize you're having those kind of thoughts, think again, try to find the reason of that thinking and then make a new statement by re-writing your thought as a more positive.
  
 Hope you're going to accept these simple rules and apply them because you deserve it!

Beautiful smile for healthy lifestyle

I already wrote about the importance of a healthy and balanced diet and how essential it is for the whole body. One of the things on which diet also influences is oral hygiene and teeth. Regime that includes brushing your teeth twice a day and regular check up with dentist is main for helping your teeth stay healthy. Smoking, drinking alcohol and food you eat also influence on dental health.

A healthy diet, good for your teeth includes a lot of fruit and vegetables, bread with wholegrain, proteins such as fish, meat, eggs, milk... You should minimize food and drinks rich with fat and sugar if you want to prevent tooth decay. That means to stay away from: sweets, chocolate, cakes, sugary drinks, milky drinks with added sugar, alcohol, sugary breakfast cereals, ice cream, jams, marmalades, syrups and sweet sauces,....

About the link between cigarettes and teeth, smoking can stain teeth yellow, cause problems with breathing, bad breath and increases risk of gum disease, mouth and lung cancer. So if this doesn't make you give up smoking, I don't know what will? Give an effort and quit smoking, you're going to look and feel much better.

Alcohol is also influences bad on your teeth because it can lead to mouth cancer, erode the outer of the teeth which can cause enamel loss. In that case, you need to visit the dentist for filling.
Some foods and drinks can stain your teeth. Here I mean on coffee and tea, wine and cigarettes. Use them the less you can to prevent your teeth stained. And visit your dentist regularly....just take care about your teeth health because there is no nicer things than a smile :)

The big three no no - sugar, salt and fat

In today's capitalist time where everything happens fast, we are eating fast, living too fast. The quick pace of life is imposed upon us. That is also transferred to the food, so there are fewer natural organic food and more and more processed and of poor quality, full of excessive amounts of sugar, salt and fat. The fact is that all food groups are required for the normal and healthy functioning, so that applies and to this food group but the quality and type of sugar, salt and fat are the critical issues.

                                                         SUGAR

Good sugar - Healthy sugars are found naturally in foods, rich with fibers, vitamins, minerals and other natural nutrients that our body can digest and metabolize through healthy pathways and timelines. Examples of the "good" sugar are whole fruit and dates, raw honey and blackstrap molasses.

Bad sugar - Bad sugar means any sweetener added to food is almost certain refined, processed concentrated sugar of some sort. This kind of sugar is very toxic for our health which can cause damaged organs, tissues and cells in the form of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity. Examples of "bad" sugar are sucrose, fruit juice concentrates, crystalline fructose, corn syrup...

                                                          SALT

Good salt - Salt found in food naturally which contains natural minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, bromide, sulfur... Most of the people don't know that all amount of salt they need is already found in many natural foods like fruit and vegetables. There's no need to put additional salt to foods because much salt can be deadly.

Bad salt - Most people use processed table salt that contains 98% sodium chloride and 2% chemical additives and has been processed with high temperature, chemicals and iodine. The final product is simply sodium chloride with fillers and added iodine to improve the consistency of the salt.

                                      

                                                            FAT

Intake of the quality fats is essential for our health. This also includes saturated animal fat. The thing you need to take care is the quality and source of fat. The fact is that our body utilize fat for almost every metabolic process because they need constant supply of good fuel in the form of fat. 

There are two groups of fat which our bodies can't manufacture, so they need to be consumed. These are essential fatty acids that our bodies need in a good supply. Here belongs omega-3 essential fatty acids. The other essential fat human need are omega-6 fats.

Extra virgin olive oil, avocado, walnuts, fish oil supplements, wild caught fish and pasture-fed and grass-fed meats belongs to good fats. Processed vegetable oils, hydrogenated oils, deep fried foods, grain-fed meats, cured meats and processed dairy belongs to bad fats.

After giving you all these facts about this three groups of food, I want to say that all you need to learn is how to manage between healthy and processed food because that way you're going to ensure yourself a bright and a long future. And we all want that, right? :)

the quality and type of sugar, salt and fat are the critical issues. - See more at: http://bonfirehealth.com/dietary-trifecta-sugar-salt-fat-eat-responsibly/#sthash.rQkJ4vhy.dpuf