Author: hfhadmin

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Health Healthy Drinks Recipes

How To Make Lavender Iced Tea And Why You Should Be Drinking it

Lavender is native to North and East Africa, the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, India and Arabia, but today it is cultivated and grown in many places throughout the world. In this article you can read something more about its health benefits, and we will also give you the original recipe for perfect lavender tea!

Lavender tea has proven to be efficient in treating different health conditions. You can either use it to ease insomnia, or maybe calm nervousness and anxiety. It is especially recommended if you are under stress or just need something to uplift flagging spirits.

how-to-make-lavender-iced-tea-and-why-you-should-be-drinking-it

Lavender tea is amazingly efficient in treating upset stomach, and even flatulence and colic. Studies have shown that lavender tea is an excellent remedy for stomach infections, bowel infections, depression and serious migraine headaches. When applied topically, lavender tea can alleviate cold, cough, asthma, bronchitis and other similar problems with the respiratory system.

It is the perfect solution for excessive sweating, and it can also consequently reduce the body temperature in cases of fever. Lavender contains flavonoids, tannins, courmarines, and essential oil rich in camphor, geraniol and linalool. Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and other local healthy food stores are just some of the places where you can find fresh lavender.

Ingredients:

  • 2 family size tea bags (6 regular tea bags)
  • 1 tsp lavender

Preparation:

Boil some water and pour it into ½ galon mason jar or just leave the pot on the stove. Add the tea bags and lavender, and let it rest for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags.

It is not necessary to remove the lavender, but you can still do it by pouring the tea through a strainer.

If you do not like the taste, just add some honey and lemon.
Serve your lavender tea over ice.

Sources and Credits: http://www.naturalcuresnotmedicine.com/2014/04/make-lavender-iced-tea-drinking.html
Helen Bailey
Image Source: Dave Sommers

Categories
General

Is This a “Weed” Or An Unrecognized Health-Boosting Plant?

Most of you would probably pull this plant from the garden thinking it is just some kind of a weed. What you do not know is that actually this plant has many health benefits, and it is also popular in some cuisines throughout the world.

Purslane (portulaca oleracea) has fleshy succulent leaves and yellow flowers. Its reputation as being simply a weed comes due to the fact that it grows in different conditions, ranging from fertile garden soil to poor arid areas and rocky driveways.

The hardiness of this resilient plant can be easily demonstrated by the fact that its seeds can stay viable buried in soil for up to 40 years. Purslane originated in Persia and India, but today it grows all around the world. There is evidence proving that it can be used in the treatment of different health conditions.

Researchers have discovered that purslane contains more antioxidants than spinach, and the concentration of omega-3 fatty acids is greater than the amount found in some fish oils. And the fact that it is suitable for vegans and vegetarians is another advantage that goes in favor of this plant.

Antioxidants improve the general health, and boost the immune system. They are considered to be the main aid in cases of heart diseases, atherosclerosis, cancer, memory-loss and age-related vision loss.

Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, asthma, heart diseases and depression.

Purslane is rich in vitamin A, which prevents some types of cancer and improves the eyesight. 100g of purslane provide 44% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A.

It is also rich in vitamin C, and vitamins B, including riboflavin, pyridoxine, and niacin, carotenoids, and some trace minerals, such as iron, magnesium and calcium.

Keep in mind that purslane loses its nutritional value immediately after the harvesting. If your garden is too small, or if you think that purslane may take over your entire garden simply grow it indoors as a microgreen.

Take an empty container, or whatever you may prefer, some potting soil, and organic purslane seeds. Sow the seeds and keep the soil moist (be careful not to over-water it), and feel the joy as your micro-purslane grows!

In the Middle East purslane is sold in bundles, and people use it to prepare different dishes. It is often referred as a ‘cooling food’ in hot climates. It is also used in the preparation of some typical Mediterranean dishes. Sauté it with some onions, garlic and tomatoes, or prepare a healthy salad with some olive oil and lemon juice. It is a perfect, health-boosting ingredient for your favorite soups and smoothies. Now it is not just a weed, right?

Article and Image Source: http://www.naturalcuresnotmedicine.com/2014/07/just-weed-unrecognized-health-boosting-plant.html

Categories
Health Tips

Here is How To Use Ginger as a Medicine

Ginger is considered to be one of the most healing foods, beneficial for the general health. We have listed some of the heath benefits provided by this spicy vegetable.

Muscle Pain

For centuries ginger root has been used as a folk remedy for different health problems, including cold and stomach disorders. Researchers from the University of Georgia discovered that regular consumption of ginger relieves the pain after exercising.

Ginger essential oil warms the body, improves and speeds the blood circulation, which is the main reason why it is an excellent remedy for sore and tired muscles.

But, which is the best way to use it? Put 4 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger in a cotton bag and dump it in your bath. While you enjoy this relaxing treatment, ginger will cure the sore and inflamed parts of your body.

Painful Menstrual Cramps

Do you often have painful menstrual cramps? Try some ginger tea. A study published in the “Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine” showed that when it comes to treating cramps ginger is equally effective as ibuprofen.

Add 2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger to a cup of hot water. Let it rest for 15 minutes and strain the tea. You can also add some honey and lemon juice. This tea is not only delicious, but healthy as well.

Travel Sickness

Sometimes even short trips can be quite uncomfortable and cause travel sickness. The solution is simple – try some ginger. A research conducted by a group of scientists from the Brigham Young University showed that ginger works better than any other medicine for travel sickness.

Chemotherapy Nausea

Ginger is used as a food and remedy for thousands of years, and an American research showed that ginger reduces the negative effects of chemotherapy noticed in patients diagnosed with cancer.

The research involved 644 patients, and showed that patients who took 0.5-1g of dried ginger or ginger powder pill every day, experienced 40% less nausea and dizziness caused by the chemotherapy.

It is still not discovered how ginger fights nausea, but American experts remind that some previous studies have shown that ginger acts as a strong anti-inflammatory agent in the intestines.

Headache

Traditional Chinese medicine recommends ginger as a cure for headache. You can simply chew a small piece of fresh ginger or prepare some ginger tea.

Ginger also makes your skin look young.

Try the following recipe:

Mix 3.5 oz / 100 grams of coarse sea salt, a teaspoon of lime or lemon juice and a teaspoon of shredded ginger. Heat the mixture, but be careful, you do not need it too hot. Exfoliate your body, gently massaging your skin, and then you can have a nice and hot shower. When combined with these ingredients ginger gives your skin a healthy glow, removes the dead skin cells, and vitamin C in lemon or lime smoothes and nourishes your skin.

Ginger is quite powerful when it comes to treating different health conditions, and the list of its health benefits seems to be never ending. Scientists and nutritionists confirmed that this root vegetable can really help you keep and improve your health, and also to prevent and treat different health problems.

Categories
General Health

See What Happens To A 5-Year-Old Girl Who’s Already Consumed 1460 Sodas In Her Short Lifetime! (Video)

Ariel is 5, and she has already consumed 1460 sodas in her short lifetime. She spends the day running around, barely able to grasp her daily Pepsi with her chubby little fingers. Her lungs try to catch up with her feet, as she carefully takes small sips from the poison in her hand.

Instead of smiling together with her daughter, Kayla 35, counts the lights from the hospital roof as the doctors prepare her for the surgery. That is the last time she will have her feet, and she tries to remember every single memory she has ever had, running on her feet.

Kayla still blames it on the diabetes, as if it was a person with a mind of its own, with enough power to manipulate with her life. The doctors actually blame it on the 4410 Pepsi drinks she has been drinking since she was a child.

When Ariel turned 6, she could barely spell, and knew nothing about fructose or dextrin, but neither did her mother. That bottle was the only thing that could bring her piece, living in the broken home. The sizzling bubbles always brought smile on Ariel’s face, even now, when the doctors use big words to describe the ache in her stomach.

The doctors informed Kayla that the condition of her little Ariel was really bad, her kidneys were failing, and the blood sugar was too high. Now her mommy could not do anything to stop the ache in her tummy, nor replace all those ramen dishes and sodas – the only console they had in their poor home.

Today Kayla can not see her feet, because they are gone, and so is her expression in the mirror. There is nothing left, the old Kayla is gone, pieces of her were leaving with every single soda.

Ariel celebrated her birthday dying in the hospital, surrounded with overstuffed teddy bears and balloons. You may have never feared death, but there is nothing more disastrous than the way it lands on the chest of a 7-year-old.

Every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes.

 

Read the full story here: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/07/14/wanna-see-what-happens-to-a-5-year-old-girl-whos-already-consumed-1460-sodas-in-her-short-lifetime-watch-this/

Article and Image Source: Collective Evolution

Categories
Fruits Health Tips Vegetables

Here is Why You Should Not Throw Away The Peel of Some Fruits and Vegetables

Sometime fruit and vegetable waste can positively effect your general health, so do not throw it away, but learn how to use it wisely.

Orange peel

Orange peel contains four times more fiber than the fruit itself. It also contains more flavonoids, such as tangeretin and nobiletin, which have anticancer and anti-inflammatory effect, and prevent diabetes.

A study showed that orange peel is more powerful in reducing bad cholesterol, compared to some drugs.

Spinach Stalks

A study conducted in the German Institute for Food Technologies showed that spinach stalks contain more glutamine, an amino acid which strengthens the immune system and stimulates the body’s ability to recover after an injury or an operation.

Bruce Sherman, a world famous chef, wraps spinach stalks in bundles from six to eight and leaves them in a special marinade, made of red wine, honey and garlic.

Celery Leaves

These leaves have five times more magnesium and calcium than the stalks. They are rich in vitamin C and phenol, a powerful antioxidant and nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties. Finely chop the leaves and add them to your salad or use them as a garnish for your fish and chicken.

Broccoli Leaves

30 grams of broccoli leaves contain 90 per cent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A. Prepare broccoli leaves same as spinach. Steam cook them for a while, add some olive oil and garlic.

Watermelon Rind

You may not believe it, but the inner white layer of the watermelon rind can also provide some health benefits. It contains citrulline, an amino acid important for the dilation of the blood vessels and it also improves the blood circulation.

Chop the rind together with the inner sweet part and make yourself a refreshing juice, or make a cocktail by adding some rum, gin or vodka.

Onion Skin

Onion skin is contains more quercetin than the onion itself. Quercetin is a plant pigment with strong antioxidant effect, and it reduces high blood pressure. Even though you may know that onion skin works perfectly for your Easter eggs, but you can also add some to make your dish even more delicious.

The only thing you should remember is to take out the peel before you serve the meal.

Categories
Health Health Tips Natural Remedies

The 5 Best Natural Remedies For Swollen Ankles, Legs and Feet

Edema is the main reason why your legs, ankles and feet often swell, but prolonged sitting or standing can also cause the swelling. We give you some advices on how to treat your tired and swollen legs in a completely natural way.

Your feet, ankles and legs usually swell during the day, and come back to normal in the morning, but the condition gets worse again during the day. Most women complain about their swollen legs in summer, claiming that it feels as if some ants were crawling under their skin, and annoying cramps often disturb their goodnight’s sleep.

Doctors recommend wearing comfortable clothes, regular walks, avoiding prolonged sitting or standing, reduced sun exposure in summer and many other tips you could use as an instant help.

Ice

Sit and relax your legs. Put some ice in a small plastic bag and wrap it in a towel. Apply it on the swollen area until the swelling is completely gone.

Vinegar

Vinegar is not only good for sprains and strains, but it is also efficient in treating tired and swollen feet. Heat equal parts of vinegar and water. Soak a towel in the solution, squeeze out the excess and wrap it around  the swollen areas on your body. Hold the compress for five minutes. Repeat the same procedure for three times.

Cucumber

Another great remedy for swollen feet and legs. Cut cucumber into slices and apply them on your feet. Wrap everything with a bandage or cotton towel. Cucumber slices will absorb the accumulated fluid and speed up the recovery process.

Lecithin

Lecithin granules are quite effective in treating swollen feet, especially during pregnancy. Take the recommended dose of lecithin regularly for 2 or 3 months. The results are guaranteed.

Vitamin E and Exercising

It is important to consume foods rich in vitamin E, or you can just take it as a dietary supplement. Spinach, sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, wheat germs, and almond oil are just some of the foods considered to contain the highest amounts of vitamin E.

As for exercising, there are some advices recommended for people with swollen feet and legs:

Lay down on the carpet and rotate your leg clockwise for 10 to 15 times, and then do the same in the opposite direction. Repeat the same exercise with your other leg. This will help you reduce any swelling and improve the circulation.

Categories
Health Tips Recipes

How To Make Healthy Iced Coffee at Home

If you like coffee, then ice coffee is the perfect refreshing drink for the hot summer days. We give you the original recipe, and may this be the first thing you prepare once you have some free time.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cold water
  • 2 tsp coffee
  • ice

Preparation:

Add 2 teaspoons of coffee to a glass of cold water and stir well. Cover the glass and leave it for 8-12 hours. You can probably do it a lot faster, but the original recipe suggests that the coffee has to stay in the water for long enough, so it is well combined.

Take an empty bowl and filter the liquid using a strainer, in which you have already placed a coffee filter or a gauze. Simply pour the coffee over the strainer, and there you have your coffee in the bowl.

Serve your coffee on the rocks, and you can also add HONEY or some dark chocolate crumbs and then… ENJOY your ice coffee!

Categories
General Health Health Tips

Here is How To Recognize if Your Olive Oil is Fake

Fake olive oil contains suspicious substances and chlorophyll that give the color and flavor of regular olive oil, even though producers sometimes use soy or other cheap oil.

The author of the book “Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil”, Tom Mueller, claims that 70% of the clean olive oil in the world is diluted with other kinds of oil, which is bad for the health.

How to recognize cold pressed olive oil?

You can hardly recognize for its taste, and even experts are sometimes confused. However, there are two ways to help you buy the original olive oil brand.

1. Clean olive oil thickens when it is cold. If you store it in the fridge, olive oil becomes blurry and thick, but when heathen it will always return to its liquid form. If your oil has not thickened in the fridge, then we are sorry to tell you that you have probably bought some fake brand.

2. Original olive oil is easily flammable.

Where can you buy some good quality olive oil?

Local products are always the safest choice. You can also trust producers who have a certificate that their oil is clean and organic. Never take the price as an indicator for a good quality.

Cold pressed olive oil contains 0.8g of free fatty acids, measured as the amount of oleic acid contained in 100g of the product. It is considered as the healthiest kind, and it is rich in aromatic and valuable nutrients.

How to store olive oil?

Heat and light can easily spoil good quality olive oil. Always choose olive oil sealed in glass bottles, and right after you come home, keep some of it in a smaller bottle and store it in the cupboard, but never near the stove or other source of heat. Keep the rest of the oil at a temperature of 15 °C.

Categories
Health Tips

10 Most Common Bad Habits That Damage Your Kidneys

Kidneys purify the blood from the waste material which is then discharged through the urethra. These organs are located along the posterior muscular wall of the abdominal cavity, or in the retroperitoneal space starting from the last thoracic vertebra to the second lumbar vertebra.

Kidneys are bean-shaped organs and their main function is to maintain the homeostasis or constancy in your body. They are the main executive organ in the body.

The most common diseases associated with the kidneys are: disease of the urinary tract, urinary channels, crystals, inflammation of the kidneys, urethra, bladder, problems with urination, urinary tract problems, inflammation of the urinary tract, prostate, kidney stones, kidney sand, night urination, kidney failure, increased level of creatinine, uric acid (kidneys sand, renal stones, inflammation, sediment).

Disruption of their function can cause a long list of visible symptoms such as:

  • – changes in the urine
  • – swelling
  • – dizziness and vomiting
  • – anemia and concentration problems
  • – feeling cold most of the time
  • – loss of breath
  • – fatigue
  • – itchy skin
  • – bad breath
  • – pain in the legs and waist

If you have any of these symptoms consult your doctor immediately

Have you ever wondered what causes kidney failure?

The answer always lies in our bad habits and insufficient health care. We have listed the top 10 bad habits that damage your kidneys:

  • – delayed emptying of the bladder
  • – insufficient consumption of water and fluids
  • – consuming too much salt
  • – improper and untimely treatment of infections
  • – consuming too much meat
  • – poor nutrition
  • – excessive use of analgesics
  • – untimely use of prescribed medicines to improve the function of the kidneys
  • – consuming large amounts of alcohol
  • – fatigue
Categories
Diet & Weight Loss Healthy Drinks

The Best 4 Morning Detox Drinks To Flush Toxins

Detox drinks are very important for your body, because they help you lose weight in a completely natural way and eliminate all the toxins and any waste material.

Moreover, these healthy beverages provide your body the necessary amount of vitamins and minerals, and we have listed some of the most efficient detox drinks.

Mango and Pineapple Juice

There is no better way to start your day than this juice, and it is rich in nutrients, vitamins and mineral necessary for the proper function of every system in your body. Mango and pineapple will reduce the harmful effect of the free radicals circulating in your organism and eliminate any toxins accumulated in the digestive system.

Combine Green Tea And Citrus Juice

Green tea is mostly used for its amazing health properties. For a double effect, make yourself some citrus juice and add green tea – this combination will boost your metabolism and provide enough potassium and fiber.

This drink is especially beneficial for those who prefer having a drink or two once in a while and people who have not detoxed their body for a long time.

Watermelon Juice

The recipe for this drink is quite simple, and the preparation takes no longer than five minutes – all you need is some watermelon and one or two medium sized cucumbers, lemon, a few mint leaves and some fresh water. This drink is perfect if you are trying to eliminate the toxins hidden in your organism, and also to refresh yourself in the hot summer days.

It will stimulate the proper functioning of your liver and kidneys, and also help the other vital organs to eliminate the ammonia and other harmful material. A glass of this drink in the morning will fill you up with energy for the whole day.

Lemon Water

This is pretty unusual kind of a lemonade, because you should use lukewarm instead of cold water. All you have to do is squeeze half a lemon in two glasses of lukewarm water and drink this lemonade once you wake up, before the breakfast. Then you can have your regular breakfast.

This is one of the most efficient drinks for morning detoxification, and repeat the procedure for 21 days in a row.