Kefir - Why Is It Good For You?
Although kefir has been around for centuries and has been a staple part of the Eastern European culture and diet, it has in the past couple of years highly grown in popularity in other countries around the world, largely due to its impressive probiotic content and other health benefits it offers.
I wanted to explore this because I myself enjoy kefir quite frequently so I wanted to share with you some useful information on why this drink is actually really good for you. 🥛
I hope you enjoy this one and learn something new 😊
HOW IS KEFIR MADE?
In order to make kefir, you need what are called “kefir grains” which have the appearance of cauliflower florets and are essentially a source of bacterial and fungal species which enable fermentation to happen with the milk sugars.
Kefir is made from milk, usually cows, where kefir grains are added to this milk and then left for hours to ferment. During fermentation, kefir will develop a stronger more acidic flavor than milk and will also considerably thicken, but not as much as yogurt. The strength of the kefir taste depends on how long you let the fermentation take place.
Once you are happy with the taste and consistency, you can strain out the kefir grains (which can be reused) and strong your kefir in the fridge for consumption.
This process is industrialized nowadays to make it fast and affordable however you can also make your own kefir at home with just a couple of ingredients and steps.
NUTRITIONAL PROFILE
In terms of the nutrients found in kefir, 1 cup of kefir with no added sugars contains about:
110 calories
10 g protein
2 g fat
12 g carbohydrates
A variety of other minerals like calcium, phosphorus and magnesium
A variety of vitamins like B12 and B2
Additionally, kefir has been shown to potentially help those who suffer from lactose intolerance which happens when your body can not properly digest the dairy sugar lactose due to lacking the appropriate enzyme, beta galactosidase which functions to break down lactose.
However, kefir can help because this enzyme is naturally present within kefir grains, meaning that during the fermentation process of making kefir, the lactose concentration in kefir falls by about 30%, making kefir a safer dairy alternative for people with lactose intolerance.
10 POWERFUL HEALTH BENEFITS OF KEFIR
A Powerful Probiotic
Kefir is fore-mostly known for its potent probiotic profile, which when ingested can positively impact our health in many ways.
Kefir is actually a more concentrated probiotic source than yogurt, where it contains up to 61 strains of bacteria and yeasts
Eating probiotic foods is recommended because introducing a greater variety of bacteria into our gut helps restore the preexisting balance of bacteria there while also enriching its diversity.
By enriching our gut microbiome, kefir has been shown to aid in improving digestion, helping with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), preventing diarrhea and helping with weight management. Recent studies are even establishing a link between a more diverse gut microbiome and better mental health. If you are interested more in the workings of the human gut microbiome, I have a post on it here
Anti inflammatory Effects
Some inflation is actually not a bad thing but merely a sign that your immune system is appropriately responding to an illness or injury, which will help you fight off disease or help with healing.
But the issue because when this inflation becomes chronic, which can over time accumulate into health issues such as arthritis, heart disease, stroke and type 2 debates.
Some studies have demonstrated that kefir can reduce the activity of certain proteins which become activated during an immune response and cause inflammation. Albeit these studies have so far been done on animal studies, there is a strong potential in kefir being able to contribute towards reducing inflammation.
May Improve Heart Health
There is also research which has shown that regular drinking of kefir can over time lower cholesterol and other fatty deposits in our blood, which if built up too much, can result in arterial blockages.
In addition to this, kefir is rich in probiotics which also boost and enhance our fat metabolism, by helping to form bile acids which are responsible fro breaking down fat deposits.
There are also some studies which claim that kefir can benefit those suffering from hypertension or high blood pressure. It is proposed that kefir can help lower high blood pressure by reducing the formation of the hormone aldosterone which plays a role in the maintenance of a healthy blood pressure.
Benefits The Liver
Regularly drinking kefir has been associated with having a healthier liver and reducing your chances of developing fatty liver syndrome, which happens when a layer of fat starts accumulating around your liver.
Furthermore, kefir has been shown to actually lower the concentration of cholesterol and triglycerides in our liver by improving fat metabolism in our body, which overall prevents the excessive deposition of fat around our body and internal organs.
Antibacterial Properties
Certain probiotics such as kefir are believed to have potent antibacterial effects, helping to protect against infections and preventing the growth of harmful bacteria. In this way, the strength of kefir as an antibiotic can be compared to that of common antibiotics such as ampicillin.
Compounds such as bacteriocins found within kefir have also stop the growth of harmful bacteria and they do this by attacking the cell walls of these bacteria which kills them.
Improves Functioning Of Kidneys
There is some evidence suggesting that the bacteria within kefir can reduce and degrade the amount of uric acid and creatine circulating around our body, which can make the filtration of blood an easier process for our kidneys and prevent us from over working them.
Increases Bone Strength
It may not come as a surprise but kefir’s rich calcium profile also greatly helps towards preventing osteoporosis which is categorized by a deterioration of bone tissue and can seriously increase your risk for bone fractures.
Additionally, full fat kefir also contains vitamin K2 which along with calcium plays a vital role in calcium metabolism and helping to build strong bone tissue.
Lastly, some studies have demonstrated a link between drinking kefir and a increased calcium absorption in bone cells which over time leads to higher bone density and overall healthier bones
May Protect Against Cancer
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death within the world and it occurs when a group of cells within your body starts to uncontrollably divide to form a tumor.
As was demonstrated in test tube studies, the probiotics in fermented dairy products such as kefir reduce the growth of tumors by activating and supporting our immune system.
A study found that subjects who consumed kefir extract had experienced a reduction in human breast cancer cells by 56%, while those who consumed yogurt, only saw a reduction fo 14%.
Even though more human based studies are needed, the proteins and polysaccharides found in kefir have been shown to directly act on cancer cells, by disrupting their cell cycle and thus the uncontrollable division of cells. Through this mechanism, these compounds are able to active apoptosis, causing cell death within cancer cells.
Could Help With Allergy and Asthma Symptoms
Studies done on animals have shown that the consumption of kefir has somewhat effectively suppress the inflammatory response related to asthma and various allergies. Allergic reactions come about as inflammatory responses in our body against certain foods or substances, where our immune system essentially over reacts. Although proper human studies are needed to confirm this link, good evidence already lies in the strong anti-inflammatory properties that are found in kefir.
Aids In Blood Sugar Regulation
Regular consumption of kefir has also been tied to improving your bodies blood sugar control as well as reducing insulin resistance. Additionally, this effect has also been shown among people who already have debates, so it could potentially also help with reducing its severity.
However more research is currently still needed to make more concrete claims between kefir and blood sugar management
I hope that with this blog post I was able to provide you with some new information on the topic of kefir, and that I have persuaded you to try this fermented beverage for yourself and see how you feel after it.
Kefir is easily added into your already existing diet and can add as a great boost of nutrients, probiotics and promising health benefits.
Thanks so much for reading 💗
The Benefits and Buzz Around Bee Pollen
I have recently discovered Bee pollen which can be purchased and eaten as a food supplement. Although I knew of bee pollen before, I never considered that you could add it into your diet to due to its rich nutritional profile and acclaimed health benefits.
Since I have already done a blog post on honey, I wanted to take a look into bee pollen and see what it has to offer for our health. I hope that just like me, you are able to learn many new things on todays new and exciting topic of bee pollen. 🐝
Wishing you happy reading ahead!
ABOUT BEE POLLEN
Bee pollen is a mix of saliva, nectar and plant pollen which happens to collect on the hind legs of workers bees. Th bees then bring back this pollen on their legs into the hive, which is then packed into honeycomb cells, after which it undergoes a fermentation process.
The way in which the pollen is collected for human use is by bee keepers placing a thin mesh at the entrance of the hive which captures a small amount of the pollen that the bees bring in.
The nutritional profile of bee pollen varies as pollen can be collected from a variety of different plants, but overall, bee pollen contains about 20% protein, about 10% of which is essential amino acids. Other than protein, bee pollen also contains complex carbohydrates, small amounts of lipids, simple sugars, vitamins and various other phytochemicals.
A single table spoon serving of bee pollen contains approximately:
40 calories
7g carbohydrates
4g sugars
1g fibre
2g protein
Almost no fat
WHAT IS BEE POLLEN GOOD FOR?
Protects Against Chronic Diseases
Bee pollen is extremely rich in a variety of antioxidants which come from its impressive phytochemical profile. Antioxidants are useful for combating and neutralizing free radicals which otherwise damage our cells and tissues. Through neutralizing free radicals, antioxidants from bee pollen have shown to help prevent type II diabetes, which today is one of the leading chronic conditions globally.
The strength of the effect that bee pollen has on combating chronic diseases is based on which plants the pollen comes from, with certain pollen types being more effective than others.
Keeps a Healthy Cardiovascular System
Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that bee pollen is able to lower blood lipid levels and LDL cholesterol, which in the long run can protect against heart disease.
Studies have shown that people who suffer from nearsightedness caused by clogged arteries, have experienced an increase in their field of vision after having taken bee pollen supplements which helped unclog their arteries.
The way in which this works is proposed that bee pollen contains certain compounds which prevent the lipids in your blood from oxidizing together, effectively meaning that it prevents the formation of clots that otherwise can clog up blood vessels and cause poor blood flow to certain parts of our body.
Boosting Liver Function
Bee pollen has also been shown to promote liver healing and positively impacting the functioning of our liver, which has the main purpose of detoxifying and filtering all the blood flowing in our body. Some studies have even indicated that bee pollen may be powerful enough to help safeguard against damage resulting from toxic substances and drug over doses.
Powerful Anti-inflammatory Properties
Honey products such as bee pollen have in general been known to have strong anti-inflammatory properties, which can be medically used to reduce inflammation and swelling in the body. Bee pollen, thanks to its rich antioxidant profile, is so effective at this, that its strength is comparable to actual anti-inflammatory drugs.
Additionally, Just like honey, bee pollen too can be used to aid with wound healing, especially wounds resulting from burns
Boosts Your Immunity
One of the main reasons as to why I started eating bee pollen is because I have heard that it can greatly improve our immunity and reduce the severity of any allergies we experience. Scientists have discovered that bee pollen does this by reducing the activation of mast cells in our body which are specialized cells which enable our body to trigger an allergic reaction - Effectively meaning that our body is less prone to overreacting to allergies.
Additionally, bee pollen has strong anti microbial properties, meaning that it is great for killing harmful bacteria and other undesirable micro organisms.
Could Have Anticancer Properties
Some studies have indicated that bee pollen may contain certain compounds which help to fight the growth of cancer cells and prevent the spread of tumors, by stimulating apoptosis (programed cell death) in certain cells of prostate, colon and leukemic cancers
Improved Absorption of Nutrients
This is a rather unique benefit, but experiments done on rats have shown that rats who were supplemented with bee pollen absorbed around 65% more iron than those without bee pollen. This increase in iron absorption is attributed to the impressive amino acid composition of bee pollen. Within other experiments, bee pollen also improved the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the diet of rats.
Additionally, other studies have indicated that supplementing with bee pollen can improve muscle growth, promote overall longevity and speed up metabolism, however the majority of this evidence is currently coming from animal studies.
HOW TO CONSUME IT?
Bee pollen can be consumed in a variety of ways and foods, including as a topping onto dishes (breads, yogurts, deserts, salads, soups etc.) or it can even be blended into smoothies or even just eaten by itself.
It is recommended that adults eat about 30g (a heaping tablespoon) of bee pollen per day while for children, that dose should be halved to 15g per day.
If you do find that you are experiencing any adverse effects or allergic reactions from consuming bee pollen, do stop and avoid using it in the future, but for people who have no pollen based allergies, consuming bee pollen is considered safe and a healthy boost to a varied and balanced diet.
I hope that you were able to learn something new about todays topic because I certainly did.
If you haven't tried bee pollen yet and as long as you are not allergic to it, give it a try and see wether you enjoy using and consuming it.
Thanks for taking your time to read this.
Books I Will Be Reading In 2023
In the last post we have discussed all of the best books I have read in the year 2022, so I wanted to dedicate this post to all of the books which I am planning on reading for this year, for which I have in mind 15 so far.
As always, I would love to hear your own book recommendations and to hear on what you are aiming on reading for this year.
I hope you enjoy 😊 📚
BENEFITS OF READING MORE
Although I have talked about the benefits of a consistent reading routine before in this blog post, here are the main ones which I wanted to highlight for you to know about:
Reading Prevents Neurodegenerative Diseases: These conditions include dementia such as Alzheimers where reading readily stimulates our brains activity and enhances its synaptic connectivity, helping to keep our brains active and young while preventing cognitive decline. As well as keeping your brain healthy, reading also aids in better memory retention and brain functioning, which also helps slow down the development of dementia by keeping your brains clear of beta amyloid plaques which over time build up an cause memory decay in Alzheimers.
Improves Your Vocabulary and General Knowledge: Reading has for a long time now been shown to steadily improve vocabulary, spelling as well as greatly enhance the general knowledge and understanding of the world around you. This is also why reading is so encouraged, so that you get to learn about the events happening around you, have a deeper understanding of why certain things occur and with that formulate you own well thought out opinions and perspectives. Reading makes you educated and well informed.
Reduces Stress: Have you ever read for a little bit before going to bed and noticed that you suddenly become very tired and calm? Chances are you have. This is because when we read, we are very focused on the words in front of us which allows us to feel calm helping our body to naturally start releasing melatonin which initiates our body for sleep. This happens especially quickly when we are in a quiet environment with dim warm lighting.
Helps With Calmer Sleep: Because reading can be such a relaxing activity, it is also great for making it easier to fall asleep and generally ensuring a calmer night of sleep. It may also be more beneficial to read on a physical paper back book in the evenings instead of electronic readers as bright lights can disrupt our natural sleep cycles.
Heightens Your Empathy Skills: When we read books, especially those which have a story plot line and different characters, we allow ourselves to become immersed in the story and connect with the different characters. In this way we develop emotions and opinions about certain people in the story which in reality allows us to become more empathetical towards others in our everyday.
Lowers Blood Pressure and Heart Rate: Regular reading has been shown to lower blood pressure and resting heart rate almost as effectively as yoga, which can help with longevity (living longer) as well as keeping your cardiovascular system healthy.
Improved Focus and Concentration: Because reading and following a story requires quite a bit of concentration, reading can be a great activity to help improve how long you can focus for, especially in todays time when we are highly distracted by notifications and live by instant gratification. Reading is a great way to calm ourselves and work on our focus abilities which will help us with our personal, school or work lives.
2023 READING LIST
Bellow you can find all of the books which I am to read for this year, some of which are non fiction and some are fiction.
Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life (Roxie Nafousi)
You Are A Badass At Making Money (Jen Sincero)
The Only Study Guide You Will Ever Need (Unjaded Jade)
Four Hour Work Week (Tim Ferriss)
Best Self: Be You, Only Better (Mike Bayer)
The Buddha and The Badass (Vishen Lakhiani)
Smarter Living (Karen Barrow, Karron Skog, and Tim Herrera)
The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win (Jeff Haden)
Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)
Food for life: The New Science of Eating Well (Spector)
Your Body In Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health (Neal Barnard)
Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (Martin Lindstrom)
8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go (Jay Shetty)
Normal people: A Novel (Sally Rooney)
The Mostly True Story Of Tanner & Louise (Colleen Oakley)
I hope that you were able to find some intereting new information on why it is good for us to read regularly and also that I was able to give you some ideas for books which you could read for yourself in 2023.
Wishing you happy reading :)
Best Books of 2022 That I Have Read
The year 2022 was very productive year for reading for me, because I managed to read 19 complete books in a span of 12 months, which is definitely a personal record for me. For this reason, I wanted to focus this blog post on those books which personally stood out to me and left a big difference after I have read them. I also wanted to share some of my own advice on how to be able to read more, even when we live busy and time-demanding lives.
Here I hope to share with you some books which you too can find transformative, enjoyable and relaxing, which you can of course implement into your own 2023 reading lists. 😄
I would love to find out what books you read in the past year and which ones were your favorites. Share with me and let me know. I have talked on this platform about reading before and how it is beneficial for our brains, so if you are interested in that, feel free to read more about it here
Wishing you happy reading ahead! 📖
HOW TO READ MORE
I often get asked how I am able to read so many books or how do I fit in the time for reading when there is already so many things to do in a day. My simple answer to that is that the key is really to focus on doing a little bit of reading each day and then sticking to that habit constantly.
Below I have included my main pieces of advice if you want to take up reading more seriously in 2023:
Read 10-15 minutes each day consistently
Pick a time of day for when you will do this (For me it was every day during breakfast)
Make a list of books ahead of time which you want to be reading that year or month, so that it keeps you excited and eager to read on
Make sure to pick books which sound genuinely interesting or useful to you and write down this list in a visually visible place so that you don't forget about it (I used digital sticky notes on my computer)
If reading intimidates you, start reading thinner and less intense books and gradually build your way up
If you start reading a book which you do not seem to enjoy and feel like it is not worth your time, simply stop reading it and move on to something else. There is no need to feel guilty about not fully finishing a book. In fact if you decide to move on to something which will be a better use of your time, you are creating a benefit for yourself. No shame here.
Consider wether you prefer to read paper back books or you prefer a digital format such as a e-reader, which is what I prefer. Either option works here, just choose based on what works best for you.
Find small times in your day when you can fit in some reading, such as during your commute to school or work (if using public transport) or instead of mindlessly scrolling on social media, try reading for 10 minutes.
Consider which daily activities which are not beneficial for you, you could replace with a little bit of reading
Try reading before bed for a little, as it can make it easier for you to fall asleep
Try listening to audiobooks if you feel like your days are seriously busy. This can be a great thing to include during your commutes if you drive or during times you spend cleaning
Join a book club (online or in person) where you can discuss the books you have read or want to read with other fellow avid readers - This can be great if you want more accountability to keep your reading more consistent
When on holiday or vacation, focus on reading during your free time spent lounging around
If you want more motivation for keeping up your reading, make note of all the books you have read within a year, which allows you to keep a record of your reading progress
MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2022
Ikigai (Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia)
This was the first book that I had read in 2022 and although its style was simply written and short, it was actually a useful book. The book discusses a Japanese concept termed “Ikigai” which refers to our reason for being or the reason of why we wake up in the morning. Ikigai is compromised of 4 different core questions which together help us find our core purpose and meaning in life, essentially finding out which path is best for us. Our meaning in life is made up of these 4 questions which are 1) What you love doing, 2) What the world needs, 3) What you are good at doing and lastly 4) What you can be paid for doing.
I would recommend this book for anyone who is struggling to find what they want to do in the life, or for anyone who is lacking direction or clarity about their purpose.
Untamed (Glennon Doyle)
This was one of the best books I had read during my summer vacation this year. The book was almost written in the style of a poem yet its writing was very enjoyable, easy to read and fore-mostly had a lasting impact on me.
This book is written as a memoir of the authors life, which revolves around the notion that the author will not be a mother who slowly dies for her children, but will be a mother who shows her children how to truly live authentically. The book discusses notions such as divorce, becoming part of a new family and about how the wholeness of a family depends on each of its members to fully be themselves and live as their true self. The book aims to inspire the reader to become strong individuals who know and respect their boundaries, make peace with our bodies, acknowledge our pains and heartaches and live as the person we really are meant to be.
The subtle art of not giving a fuck (Mark Manson)
I started reading this book because of the huge amount of positive reviews and recognition it had achieved. Mark Manson had taken a rather comedic approach in this book to explain that we should find meaning in our everyday lives by focusing on what is really important and engaging in values which we can control. The book promotes the view that the point to a meaningful life is not to care about a huge amount of things, but instead to concentrate our efforts and energy to the things which truly matter to us.
The unfair advantage (Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba)
Although this book was very business dominated, I still found it to be greatly enlightening and enjoyable to read, simply because it demonstrates a widely applicable concept through a variety of real life business ventures. The book aims to capture the idea of “unfair advantages” which in a business sense is a leverage or simply and advantage which you have compared to other competitors or individuals. Unfair advantages can come in the form of having relevant insider information, personal authority, a net of existing customers or simply aspects such as where you were born and your level of education/ work experience.
The book explains that each of us is born and given a different set of unfair advantages and that it is our role to recognize them and make use of them in the best way possible, in order to succeed - Essentially reinforcing the view that we already have what it takes to succeed in side of us, we just have to play it to our advantage.
Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (Greg McKeown)
I found this book extremely clear in its message and ultimately very useful. The books is based on the premise of essentialism which it reinforces as a lifestyle and way of approaching our work. Essentialism is about choosing to do and focus on the things which are most important to us at a given time so that we can make our highest contribution towards the things which truly matter to us. It is based on eliminating distractions and methods of procrastination which ultimately get us no where and lead us to being stretched too thin with work that is non essential.
Essentialism as a lifestyle, is about consciously choosing to make the most productive and effective contribution towards what really matters to us.
Lessons in chemistry (Bonnie Garmus)
This fictional story was very pleasant and worthwhile to read because the author has an excellent reading style while managing to write a very captivating story line. The story line is based in the 1950’s where Elizabeth, a female chemist who works at a research institute, struggles to be acknowledged for her research work since women's scientific achievements at the time were largely ignored and unappreciated. Throughout the story she falls in love with a fellow researcher who happens to also be very famous and they develop into a stable and loving relationship. The story is grounded in feminism while being coupled with humor and brilliant plot twists along the way.
The island of missing trees (Elif Shafak)
This book blew me away because it was one of the most memorable fiction books that I read in 2022. This story is set in 1974 on the island of Cyprus where two teenagers from opposite sides of the then divided land meet at a tavern in the city they both call home. The teenagers who live in Cyprus are Defne who is Turkish and Kostas who is Greek. The two are in love yet they have to meet in secret as a war was breaking out on the island causing it to be split into two parts (This actually happened). At the core of the story is a fig tree which grows in the middle of the tavern, where this tree witnesses all the conflicts, moments of love and when the capital of Cyrpus (Nicosia) is reduced to rubble.
Decades later the two have a child, Ada, where she lives with her dad in London, England, as sadly her mother had passed away in between. Ada is struggling to understand her families past and history, but the only connection she does have to the island of Cyprus is a fig tree which her father brought from Cyrus and now grows in her back yard.
The story switches between three perspectives: Ada’s perspective who is trying to understand her parents history, the time on the island which Defne and Kostas shared as well as the viewpoint of the fig tree who talks and ponders to itself.
Imperfect: The gifts of imperfection (Brené Brown)
I initially started reading this book because I was struggling with my own perfectionistic tendencies, where the book in a light hearted way really solidified the idea that we are perfect the way we are and that we should genuinely embrace all of our “imperfections” whichever we may have. What is imperfect or perfect is all subjective and depends across individuals, which is why we should starter living for ourselves on our own terms, instead of constantly moulding ourselves to the expectations of others and feeling like we are not enough.
I hope that with this blog post I gave you some more ideas and inspiration about the books which you could potentially read in 2023 and the books which I feel that most people could gain something useful from.
Within the next post, I will be sharing with you the list of books which I will aim to be reading in 2023, so stay tuned for that if that sounds interesting to you.
If you have wanted to make reading a more consistent habit for yourself, I hope that the advice above will be useful for you in helping to establish reading as an enjoyable part of your life. Reading should not be seen as a chose or something that takes time and energy away from us, look into the books which interest you and focus on starting with those.
Thank you again for reading this today 😄
New Year 2023 - Making It Your Best Year
A new year is here and with that many new opportunities, experiences and memories to be made. In order to make the best use of this year, it is crucial to take some time to plan it out, consider our wishes and wants and take the opportunity to make it a year based on our design.
Each year, made up of months and weeks represents an opportunity for growth and change, to step into the shoes of who we want to become - To start living in a direction that feels more aligned with our true selves.
I hope you are excited for this year as much as I am where prosperity, progress and good health will be abundant for all. If you are interested in your own development, join me on this journey of growth to set foot into the new year with good energy and intention.
Wishing you a Happy New Year and that you keep finding my posts useful and interesting to read.
ADVICE ON GOAL SETTING
At the start of the year is when most people set their annual goals or at least in some form make a plan for the upcoming year. Regarding this goal setting, I wanted to provide you with some general goal setting advice which you can use for mapping out and following through on your own goals which you set yourself for 2023. I hope you find them useful 😊
Focus on achieving one goal at a time, instead of juggling 10 different ones
Be realistic with the goals you set yourself in terms of the time frame you expect to achieve them in
Additionally its beneficial if your are passionate and invested in the goals you set yourself, as you will be much happier and motivated during the execution process, ultimately helping you follow through until the end
Consider how will you measure the progress you make towards your goal (This will be different depending on the type of goal you have)
Split the goals you set based on different categories to make it a more balanced approach (Examples: Health, Career, Personal, School, Relationships etc.)
Avoid setting too many goals per category per year as that may make it seem over whelming to follow through and keep track of everything
When starting out with your goal, always keep in mind why you wanted to reach this goal in the first place
In order to visualize your goals more, its might be helpful to construct a physical mood/ picture board which visually represents the goals you want to reach and can also be displayed in your room for your own reference
Consider how you will keep yourself accountable for reaching your goals (Examples: Tracking your progress on a physical tracker, partnering up with a friend, using an app etc.)
It is also really important to be specific with the type of goal you want to reach so that you exactly know at what point you have reached your goal
Set a time frame in which you want to reach your goal
If you are planning on working through a larger more difficult goal, break it down into smaller sub goals which are more manageable
To keep yourself additionally motivated, consider setting yourself a reward for reaching a goal of yours
In order to keep track of your goals, it also helps to write them down somewhere, either on a piece of paper which is then displayed or on your phone - Somewhere where you can clearly see them
23 QUESTIONS TO PLAN YOUR 2023
Which 3-5 new habits do you want to establish this year and how will you implement them into your lifestyle?
Which habits and routines will you carry through into 2023 from 2022?
Which habits do you want to quit in the new year?
Which 5 main goals do you want to set for your professional/ work life?
Which 5 main goals do you want to set for your personal life?
How will you keep motivated and accountable for seeing your goals through until the end?
How will you manage and deal with potential setbacks throughout the upcoming year?
Which relationships do you want to strengthen this year and which ones do you want to cut off?
How can you implement more of the activities which energize you and less of the ones which drain you of energy?
Which new skills or knowledge do you want to acquire?
Which books do you want to read?
Which places do you want to visit or travel to?
How will you take care of yourself in the following year?
How will you minimize your main time wasters?
How will you optimize your work and make your use of time more efficient and effective?
How will you make sure to have fun throughout the year?
Which mindsets do you want to adopt for 2023 and which ones do you want to leave behind?
In what ways do you wish to grow as an individual, in terms of what do you want to improve about your current self?
Where do you see yourself at the end of the year (What are you doing, what have you achieved, which people are a part of your life?, where are you on your personal journey, what struggles have your overcome)
How do you want to feel by the end of 2023?
What are you looking forward to or excited about in 2023?
If you had to describe your ideal 2023 in 3 words, what would they be?
What do I want to remember the year 2023 for?
CONCLUDING WORDS
This blog post represents the first post of 2023, where we discussed all things regarding making 2023 your best year yet and how to effectively plan it as well as set goals. I hope that you have found this topic valuable and interesting, because I certainly did find it useful and will be using these questions for myself. If you have not yet made a review of 2022, here you can learn about how to do just that.
In this new year, I wish you all so much success, prosperity, good health and so much laughter and new memories to be shared.
As always, thank you so much for reading and stay curious!
Reflecting On The Year 2022
The eventful year of 2022 is starting to come to an end and with that it is good to take time to pause and retrospect back on what has happened and how we have grown as individuals. So much can happen within a year so it is important to acknowledge the improvements, achievements, changes and progress we have made in our lives.
I encourage you to take the time to reflect, it does not have to be a long and complex process, but ultimately one that can benefit you in the long run.
Hope you enjoy the read and happy holidays to all of you 💛
WHY ITS IMPORTANT TO TAKE TIME TO REFLECT
The reason why why should bother to reflect on the past year are many, but I think fore mostly, reflecting gives us a time to slow down and really think through our thoughts and ultimately decide wether we are moving our life in the direction we want to be going in. It allows us to simultaneously asses what are the aspects we are doing well on and also plan for the future year in terms of considered what we would still like to improve on and where our future goals life
Reflecting is a useful use of your time because it allows you to asses the core reason for why you do the things you do and also considering wether there is a smarter and more efficient way of doing things.
Additionally retrospecting on the past allows us to see how we have progressed and grown as individuals, which can for many be quite motivating for pursuing future interests
22 QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON 2022
Below I have made a list of some useful questions which you can use for your personal yearly reflection. Feel free to add your own and adjust it to your needs.
What were the highlights of the year for you?
What are you proud of yourself for?
What was your biggest most memorable accomplishment this year?
Who is the person that you could not have gotten through this year without?
Which activities energized you and which ones drained you of energy?
Which habits helped you and which ones held you back?
What challenges did you overcome?
How do you want to optimize/ improve about some of the activities/ hobbies which you did through the year?
What skills do you learn or improve on?
What is your favorite memory from 2022?
What were the biggest time wasters for you in 2022?
What were the most fun memories of 2022?
What were the best uses of my time this year?
What is something you can do today which you could not have done a year ago?
Which mindsets do you want to let go of for the new year?
What got in the way of your success or achieving all of your set goals?
Who are the best people you met throughout the year and why?
If you had to describe the year 2022 in 3 words, what would they be?
Which one of your personal qualities turned out to be most useful this year?
What are the most important learning lessons you have learned?
Was there something you did for the first time in your life this year?
Which worries of yours turned out to be completely unnecessary in the end?
What are you grateful for in the year 2022?
I hope that the year 2022 brought you many beautiful memories and valuable experiences and that todays post helped you acknowledge and write them down. Take some time for yourself towards the end of each year and you will start to see how it can help you achieve a greater sense of calm and satisfaction for the year which has passed while allowing you to plan and visualize the year ahead that will be ripe with opportunities.
Within the next post I will be talking about planning and setting the foundations of your 2023 goals, so stay in tune for that.
Thank you so much for reading.
The Powerful Practice Of Yoga
Recently I have fallen in love again. I have been doing so almost every morning, for 10-15 minutes in order to wake my body up and improve my flexibility. Since doing it and especially on the days on which I do yoga, I notice a big difference in my energy and general focus throughout the rest of the day.
I wanted to look into why I have experienced more clarity and calmness as a result of it, which brought me onto writings todays topic. In this way I hope to provide more insight into the ways that a consistent yoga practice can benefit you and how to make it easier to implement into your lifestyle. The great thing about yoga is that it can be adapted to your abilities and strength making it suitable for almost everyone, where I believe that everyone can gain something from it.
BRIEFLY ABOUT YOGA
If you are unfamiliar with yoga, we can describe yoga as being both a mind and body practice, which emphases controlled movements, strength and flexibility. It is a form of movements which combines a set of postures and poses (called “asanas”), where it is often also combined with various breathing and meditation techniques.
Yoga is said to have originated from India as long as 5000 years ago.
Nowadays there are many different types of yoga practices you can find, such as Ashtanga, Hatha, Hot, Vinyasa to mention a few. Each are different in their intensity, room conditions (such as temperature), tempo and difficulty, which is why yoga can be adjusted for your abilities and strength level.
10 HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA
Improvement in Flexibility, Balance and Strength
Yoga is often under estimated as a form of exercise, but it actually is really beneficial for gradually building up body strength, flexibility as well as improving your balance. Through this, your body feels less stiff and you develop a greater range of motion in your joints, which allows you to move with more ease through any other form of movement you do. (Find out more about the benefits of stretching here)
Helps With Weight Loss
If required, yoga can also be a way to loose weight, as there are types of yoga which are more difficult and intense, allowing you to break up a sweat and over time help with weight loss.
Reduction of Heart Disease
A steady aerobic form of movement like yoga can be a great way to prevent heart disease as it has been scientifically shown to lower important aspects such as your blood pressure, resting heart rate, blood lipid levels (cholesterol) and you blood sugar levels.
Relaxes The Body
If you have ever done yoga before, you have likely experienced that you felt more calm and relaxed afterwards. This is a common finding among common yoga practicers, where this relaxation can ease anxiety and stress levels, deepen your sleep quality, fight inflammation as well as lead to better immunity (Read more about immunity here)
Can Lift Your Mood
After a yoga session you may also feel a sense of being reenergized yet calm. You may find that your mood feels elevated and you have a greater sense of positivity throughout your day.
May Improve Bone Health
Like most other exercise, yoga can also strengthen your bones by over time improving their density. This usually occurs when we apply gradual pressure on our skeletal system as when we physically exert our body.
Improvements in Body Posture
Yoga puts a lot of attention towards the way we position and hold our body throughout the practice, which is why it can be a great way to improve our overall body posture. Because of this, many people also find that it eases physical discomforts within their body or helps with lower back pain. (Read more about how to have good posture here)
More functional Breathing
Another aspect which yoga emphasizes is the importance of breathing during your practice. Your breath is the bedrock of your life and it is what keeps you alive; Notice how your breathing changes when you are excited, stressed or calm. If we can control our breath we can likely also control the way we react to an experience. Much like mediation, yoga tries to synchronize your breathing with the movements and poses you do, which centers your mind, calms you down and improves your mental focus.
Better Management of Depression
Some studies have also shown that yoga can be affective for people struggling with mental health or emotion related disorders such as depression. The reasons for this might be similar to other forms of exercise which re-oxidse your blood and release mood boosting chemicals.
Helps With Increasing Mindfulness
Just like meditation, yoga can also heighten your mindfulness and levels of awareness. This can help you with being more present int he current moment, making it easier to express gratitude for something and experiencing a sharpness of mental focus and concentration.
HOW TO DO YOGA MORE OFTEN
Below you can find some advice and practical tips on how you can implement yoga into your own life and schedule if you are interested:
Attend a (online) beginners yoga class or two to get an idea of the poses
Begin with doing easier poses and build your way up in difficulty as you gain strength and mobility
At the start, I suggest you begin with shorter routines (10-15 minutes) and then once you want more, you can increase that time span
Set yourself a challenge and commit to trying yoga out for a week
Put an intention behind it - Why do you want to start doing it in the first place?
Try it out with a friend
Consciously decide at what time in a day will you do it
Put away judgements and expectations on yourself about the practice
Become more comfortable with stillness and slowing down
Try it out with calming music or silence and see what you prefer (There are plenty of yoga related music playlist available online)
Implement it into a already existing routine your may have (morning, evening, exercise routine)
Purchasing an exercise or yoga mat will likely make your practice more enjoyable and comfortable
Find a place where you feel comfortable and calm with doing yoga (In your bedroom, living room, yoga studio, park, garden, terrace etc.)
I hope that you found todays topic useful and interesting because I do genuinely believe that everyone can benefit from doing yoga at least in some way, even if you decide to not do it regularly. Try it out and see how you feel afterwards or wether it was something you enjoyed and want to continue doing. Let me know :)
Thank you so much for reading, wishing you all happy winter holidays 💛 ❄️
Time Management Basics - Get More Done In Less Time
Today we will be exploring the topic of time management and how we can improve our work effectiveness. I believe this is really important to consider and focus on, as often we get flooded with work and responsibilities which causes us to aimlessly run around our day, without getting any of the actual important work done, while leaving us exhausted and overwhelmed at the end of the day. This is the classical case of where being busy does not match productively using our time.
Here I have included a lot of my own practical work and time management tips which I use on the everyday, in order to make the best use of my time and days.
If you are interested in similar work related topics, I would encourage you to dive into some other topics I have wrote on this subject matter:
So how do we become more productive with our time? How can we get more done with less? How do we maximize our efficiency and effectiveness?
Read on to find out 🌟
WHY IS TIME MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT?
The reasons are plenty, but here is a summary of why you should focus on being effective and genuinely productive instead of just being busy with your time:
The more effective you are with your work, the less time it will take you to finish the work which leaves you more time to do whatever else you want to spend your time doing (This for me personally, is a great source of motivation).
Finding more effective ways to work means that you are likely able to better manage your responsibilities and in turn also your stress levels, which can considerably lower your chances of developing burn out or being chronically over stressed and exhausted.
With better time management you are also able to be more in control of your time with which you can deliver projects and assignments on time while still finding the time for yourself and personal endeavors.
It goes without saying, but better time management significantly improves your working efficiency, which can also boost your confidence as you are able to achieve more with less.
By becoming more time efficient, you are able to focus better and in turn produce higher quality work that will boost your performance in school or in the work place.
IMPROVING YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT
Exploratory Starter Questions
How are you currently spending your time and what you would like to change about that?
What are your current priorities at work/ school (specific projects, tasks, assignments etc.)?
What time of the day do you work best?
How will you keep track of your tasks (digital or paper)?
Why is some work not enjoyable for you to do?
How could you make that work more enjoyable for yourself?
Consider what aspects of your work could you simplify? Remove what is not important or relevant and focus on what truly matters
Consider the Pareto rule which states that 80% of your results comes from 20% of your actions: Which work leads to the greater amount of results for you?
Creating Healthy Work Habits
Health essentials: Sleeping enough, eating breaks, drinking enough water, moving your body
Waking up at a earlier time
Focus on regulating and managing your stress levels (click here to learn more)
Saying no to opportunities when you have enough going on already
Taking breaks during your day
Set time limits in your day (when do you start and stop working)
Have a source of motivation for completing the work and to keep you going
Set Up Your Environment & Maximize Focus
Try listening to music which makes you concentrate or even opt for silence
Manage your notifications and environmental distractions
Prevent your access to social media and other time wasters during work (try using website or app blockers)
Try to declutter and organize your environment very so often in order to keep track of where you keep items and files
Make sure to have a suitable desk chair which fully supports your back and enables you to sit at a good height at your table that will allow you to write or type more comfortably
Create environmental cues which get your brain into “work mode”: Working in a specific room, having a certain scent (candle, diffuser), preparing tea/ coffee or putting on music
Effective Task Management and Solving Procrastination
Focus on 3 main things you can get done each day instead of having a 20+ item to do list (busy is not necessarily productive)
If you have difficulties with starting on something try doing it just for 5 minutes and you will likely see that you will go past the 5 minute mark
Implement time blocking where you assign certain tasks or projects to a certain time period in your day
Do your most energy intensive and least enjoyable tasks first
Set deadlines for yourself if you don't have them already
Setting time limits on each task
Avoid multi tasking
Delegate low importance tasks if possible
If a task seems too complex or difficult, break it down into more manageable steps
Plan your day in advance
Leave some buffer time in between tasks when planning out your day
I wanted to make todays post as useful and practical as possible, because I believe that everyone can benefit from better time management and I think it also becomes quite motivating when we realize that the way we choose to spend our time is indeed within our control.
I hope you were able to pick up some useful tips and information from this post because I also enjoyed putting my own time management advice into it which has worked for me and continues to do so.
Thank you so much for taking your time to read this 💛
Creating Work-Life Balance
You have probably heard of the term “work-life balance” at least once in your life and that is because it is both a hot and important topic currently, especially with the rise in technology in our days which makes it easier to blur the line between our personal/family and work related activities.
If we can manage to establish a work life balance which works for our lifestyle, there are many benefits associated with that, which is why I was inspired to write this post today.
I hope you get something valuable out of this one :)
WHAT IS WORK-LIFE BALANCE?
When talking about work life balance, we are talking about the level of prioritization between professional (work, school) and personal activities in our life. Everyones work life balance is different because we have different preferences and priorities in terms of how we like to spend our time.
I would also like to clarify that work life balance is not always “balanced” in the sense that we spend our time equally among a variety of activities. There are times in our life where we are busier with work or school related work, and other times where we have more leisure and family time.
The idea with work life balance is not to create a “perfect” balance of how we live our life, because perfection does not exist and our work life balance in this sense has to be adaptive and able to shift according to our time priorities in a certain phase of our life.
The point is to create a work life balance - a distribution between personal and work related activities - which feels right to you and fore mostly works for you and makes you feel fulfilled and balanced in some way.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
What do the benefits of having a functional work life-balance look like?
Increased productivity and motivation to work
Decreased illness and absenteeism
Increased physical health
Improved personal relationships
Lowered levels of stress
Improved sleep and less insomnia difficulties
Improved mental health (lower incidence of depression and anxiety)
Greater reduction in chance of encountering burnout while working
Greater clarity of mind and focus (Being able to unplug from work)
Re-establishing a sense of what matters to you and creating personal priorities
Not feeling guilty for taking time off or time for yourself when you need it
15 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR OWN WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Come to terms with the fact that everyones work life balance looks different and there is no perfect formula
Take time to pause and rethink your current routines, priorities and values: How do they match with how you ideally want to be spending your time?
Make health and family time one of your priorities and balance all other work around that
Reduce unnecessary tasks which do not add any meaning to your daily life. Try to delegate tasks which are taking up too much of your time or energy
Pay attention to which activities drain you of energy and which ones energize you
Pay more attention to your body and emotional wellbeing (one of the first signs of a unhealthy work life balance is feeling over stretched and unsatisfied)
Try to negotiate changes to your schedule or work at your work place
Set time boundaries at home and decide on a time each day at which you stop working
Plan ahead and schedule in important activities into your calendar
Set times to digitally unplug and switch off from “work mode”
Take a break or vacation if you really need it
Make use of weekends and days off
Consider wether you enjoy what you do as an occupation
Make your working more efficient by blocking off time in your calendar for certain tasks and setting a time limit on the tasks you do
Be motivated to implement changes in your daily routine: Identify what makes you motivated to work more effectively as in that way you can finish your work faster and have more time left over for other personal activities
CONCLUDING WORDS
Within todays post, I wanted to focus on the idea of work-life balance and what it represents as well as what are some practical ways in which you can currently improve your own. Remember, there is no “perfect” balance at any point in time, our priorities and what we value shifts through time so accordingly we have to be flexible with our schedule and lifestyle.
I hope you were able to learn something new or useful from this and that you make it part of your weekly practice to try and realign your current actions with your true priorities.
Thanks for reading.
Maintaining A Healthy Relationship With Social Media
Based on the statistics resource Statista, so far in 2022, 4.59 billion people are currently labeled as social media users, which represents a very large percentage of the global population.
Additionally based on data from 2021, people in the age category of 0-19 years and 10-24 years spend an average of 49 minutes per day on social media while the largest amount of time spent on social media (60minutes) is actually by people in the age category of 40-45 years old.
This data represents two main conclusions:
The number of internet and social media users is increasing daily
Different age categories are likely to spend substantial time on social media, a trend likely to increase
With this I wanted to highlight, that it is very likely that social media is going anywhere anytime soon meaning that it is becoming easier for us to fall prey to this alluring (and wasteful) use of our time. Luckily, we have the ability to control how much social media we allow to enter into our lives and which kinds of information we intake.
For this reason, I have written this post to discuss why social media is such a common time waster, what are the negatives of it and how we can ultimately have a more manageable relationship with social media.
WHY DO WE FIND OURSELVES CHECKING SOCIAL MEDIA?
Infinite scrolling:
The reason why we often find ourselves endlessly scrolling or browsing through social media and why it is so addictive in the first place, has to do firstly with the way the information is laid out.
Most online platforms including many social media apps today, such as Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, Reddit, Tik Tok etc, make use of what is called infinite scrolling technique in which media continually reloads as you scroll down a page. This makes it easy for time to pass, as it makes the experience of viewing images, texts or videos very easy and effortless. When combined with the fact that social media websites personalize our feed to our preferences, it can make us more prone to becoming addicted to continuous scrolling.
Additionally, human beings are prone to the Unit bias, which states that we are naturally motivated to complete a full unit of something, in order to find a satisfying experience. When this is combined with the infinite scrolling algorithm found in social media apps, it results in continuous scrolling as we try to get to the end of something, but because new content is continually generated, we never actually get to the end of that content.
Role of dopamine:
Another biological aspect we have to consider is the role of dopamine. Dopamine is a naturally produced chemical and neurotransmitter in our bodies, whose main functions revolve around motivation and seeking of rewards; in other words, dopamine enables us to learn which behaviors do good for us which encourages us to do more of those types of activities.
The way in which dopamine works in terms of social media goes like this: When we browse through social media and for example get a bunch of comments or likes on a photo we just posted, our brains reward center becomes activated which releases dopamine into our system. This chemical brings pleasurable sensations to us - sort of like a neurological “high”, which essentially reinforces the notion that we should continue doing more of that activity that allowed for the release of dopamine (opening social media to see how many likes we have received). Keep in mind that dopamine is released both in anticipation of doing something as well as when we do something itself.
This same process can occur when browsing through content which makes us laugh, relieves us temporarily of uncomfortable feelings or relaxes us, all of which make use of the natural reward system in our brains which releases dopamine to reinforce that behavior.
The catch is that once the dopamine levels in our body start to decline due to the natural regulation of homeostasis, our brains will once again try to seek for activities which will release dopamine and start the feel good process all over again. In this way, scrolling through social media, provides little constant bursts of dopamine which over time can lead into a serious and time wasting habit of compulsively checking your phone and mindlessly scrolling.
Involved brain regions:
This idea of mindlessly scrolling through never ending infinity pools of media and information essentially means that we are constantly using our limbic portion of the brain, which is responsible for processing emotions and reactively responding to our environment. Instead, we should be predominantly using our prefrontal cortex in order to make decisions, as it specialized in planning and problem solving - processes which add rationale behind our behaviors.
DRAWBACKS OF EXCESSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Body Image Issues & Insecurities
By posting photos of ourselves, social media enables us to earn the approval of others for our appearance and ability to compare ourselves with others. In this way, constantly comparing our physical attributes to other often very curated and “perfect” bodies or people can make us feel worse about ourselves and encourages the development of eating disorders and low self esteem. Posters on social media have the tendency to only post their highlight or best looking moments, which creates an unfair source of comparison for us.
The Question Of Trust
One advantage of social media is that it allows us to have access to large platforms of people with which we can share media and connect with. This is great for expanding our social circle but on one hand, you have to be careful of this increased exposure to other people, as not everyone who presents themselves as a “friend” is actually your friend in real life. Furthermore, even though we are more digitally connected than ever, people are report higher feelings of isolation and loneliness, which can arise from excessive use of social media and lack of in person interactions.
Sleep Difficulties
As humans we are biologically wired to get tired and fall asleep when it gets dark outside, however in our technological age that is becoming increasingly harder with our bright phone or laptop screens glaring into our face much after sun down. Social media use is not making this issue any better. The issue with common electronics is that they emit blue light from their screen which in the evenings, suppresses our bodies natural release of melatonin - a chemical crucial for initiating sleep - essentially making us less tired and ready for sleep. Additionally, with social media we might be consuming alarming, distressing, disturbing or even funny media which stimulates our brains and makes it even harder for us to get a good nights sleep without waking up in between.
Social Media Is Addicting
When we gain approval of others through social media, which can be in the form of likes, comments, shares, followers or views, our brain registers this positive increase with a release of dopamine which essentially encourages our brain to do more of the same behavior which lead to this positive experience. This effectively means that checking social media and spending more time on it can become a very addicting habit, which can lead to further issues such as procrastination, FOMO (fear of missing out) and a shorter attention span.
Higher Incidence of Depression and Anxiety
FOMO, or the fear or missing out is a very real issue when it comes to social media usage, as it has been associated with greater rates of anxiety and depression when we are concerned we will miss out on something. Additionally, when we see that we are not part of something online or are excluded form it, depression and anxiety also increase. A study from 2022 showed that people who took even just a one week break from social media, experienced significant improvements in their perceived levels of depression, anxiety, and general well being.
MANAGING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA RELATIONSHIP
Getting caught up in the mindless scrolling of social media can sometimes happen more often then we would like, so when you notice that checking social media starts to take too much of your time or mental clarity, here are some ways of managing your social media use:
Try identifying why you use so much social media in the first place (What is the real need here … are you bored, tired, precasting?)
Track your screen time on your devices (How much time do you spend on social media?)
Become aware every time you feel the urge to go onto social media or scroll through something (ask yourself why you have that need)
Keep social media apps out of sight on your home screen
Try spending an hour each week doing at least one screen free activity/ hobby
Finding new activities to do which do not involve being online or in front of a screen
Put away your electronics during dinner, including watching Netflix and Youtube
When going to sleep, leave your phone outside of the bedroom
Try setting a time boundary for apps (can be done through settings)
Try different browser extensions which can temporarily block your access to social media sites on your laptop or desktop
Be mindful of the people you follow and the type of content you consume (be intentional with how you use social media)
Resist the urge to share your whole life
Turn off notifications from social media, especially when you are trying to focus on something
Completely turn of your phone during times of focus or put it onto mute/ focus mode
As a more extreme measure, opt for deleting certain social media apps every once in a while and re-downloading them when a week or so has passed (digital detox)
CONCLUDING WORDS
Within this article we discussed the common issue of increased social media usage across the world, which has unfortunately also lead to many unwanted issues that our current generations face, such as lack of focus, shorter attention spans, increased rates of loneliness as well as depression and anxiety. We continued with explaining what about social media makes social media use so effortless and addicting to our brains, and finally finishing with some practical advice of how to take handle and manage your own social media consumption in a healthy way.
Thank you so much for reading this 💛
Alcohol & Your Health - Whats The Link?
With us approaching more winter months and more celebratory holidays such as Christmas and New Years, most of us will likely experience an increase in our consumption of alcoholic drinks. For this reason, I wanted to write a post on the topic of drinking and what kinds of effects alcohol has on our body and general health, especially because alcohol is rather seen as more of a social norm during holiday events or social gatherings.
I hope you enjoy this thorough piece on alcohol and its effects, I put quite a lot of effort into this one.
ABOUT ALCOHOL
Alcohol is widely recognized as being a psychoactive drug that has been used in many cultures for centuries. Alcohol predominantly has a depressant effect on our body, meaning that it slows down our pulse, breathing rate, thoughts as well as actions.
Nowadays there is a variety of alcoholic beverages made, with different combinations of flavors and additives, which alter the alcohol percentage of a drink.
When we talk about alcohol, we are mainly referring to beverages counting a mix of ethanol (C₂H₆O) and water, where ethanol is the basic form of alcohol present. In most cases, ethanol is first derived from the fermentation of sugars found within a variety of fruits and vegetables (such as grapes and potatoes) and later distilled to produce a more pure alcoholic product.
METABOLIZING ALCOHOL
It is said that our bodies are able to metabolize alcohol at a rate of about one drink per hour or around 0.015 g / 100mL / hour.
Once alcohol enters our system, it is quickly absorbed by our stomach (especially if we have not eaten in a while) and small intestines, after which it enters our blood stream and travels to our liver for filtration.
Once in the liver, our liver releases many enzymes which break down the alcohol, however the issue is that our liver is only able to process so much alcohol at once, meaning that even after some time, a lot of alcohol still circulates around our blood. Therefore, it may take up to several hours (depending on how much we drink), for our body to process all all alcohol in our blood.
There are also several factors which determine how effective your body is at processing alcohol in your blood stream:
Gender: Females tend to eliminate alcohol faster than males
Age: Teens, young adults, and older adults processes alcohol at a slower rate
Food: Metabolism rate increases with ingested food
Time of day: Alcohol metabolizes faster at the end of the day
Exercise: Alcohol is eliminated slightly faster during exercise than when stationary
Alcoholism: Heavy drinking increases the rate, but advanced liver disease decreases it
HOW DOES ALCOHOL IMPACT OUR BODY?
SHORT TERM EFFECTS
Drinking alcoholic beverages can have the following short term effects on our body and mind:
Feeing more relaxed and drowsy
Changes in our mood and emotional stability
More impulsive behavior
A sense of euphoria
Lowered inhibitions and self awareness
Changes in the perceptions of your surroundings (hearing, vision)
Decline in general coordination
Difficulty making decisions and concentrating
Slowed or slurred speech
Potential vomiting or nausea if we consume too much
Potential head aches
LONG TERM EFFECTS
Consistent Mood Changes
Alcohol encourages our body and brain to frequently change moods and the emotions we feel, which can result in unnecessary anxiety and general irritability.
Issues With Sleeping & Insomnia
If we drink often, we may find that initially alcohol makes it easier for us to fall asleep however the alcohol in our system actually disrupts our sleep cycle during the night which impacts the quality of our sleep. This can cause us to feel sluggish and additionally tired the next day, alongside a possible hangover.
Weaker Immune System
Alcohol severely negatively impacts our bodies natural immune system defense by lowering the amount of antibodies our body can naturally produce to ward off infections and pathogens.
Studies show that people who consume more alcohol are more prone to contracting diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, compared to people who do not drink a lot. In fact, the World Health Organization says that about 8% of tuberculosis cases in the world are due to alcohol consumption.
Changes In Sexual Function
Serious and frequent drinking may contrarily to belief, actually worsen your libido and sexual performance. Alcohol does so by primarily preventing normal levels of sex hormones to be produced, increasing the odds of experiencing erectile dysfunction and making it harder to achieve orgasm.
For women, excessive drinking may have a negative impact on their menstrual cycle which could lead to infertility issues down the line.
Changes In Appetite and Weight Gain
Most studies say that drinking alcohol actually usually decreases our hunger and appetite levels, due to influencing the appetite and regulating hormones - Grehlin and leptin. However, alcohol itself can carry quite a lot of calories, especially if we are mixing the alcohol with sweet syrups, additives and other liquors which add additonal calories to our drink. This over time has the potential to induce weight gain.
Increased Risk Of Cancer:
The major consensus among scientific literature is that heavy drinking can definitely promote the development of several different types of cancers, where the National Toxicology Program of the American Department of Health and Human Services actually lists alcohol as a widely used carcinogenic substance.
Alcohol consumption increases our chances of developing the following cancers: Head, throat, oeasophagal cancer, liver, breast and colorectal cancer
Brain & Nervous System Impacts
In terms of our brain, alcohol has very noticeable effects on our cognitive abilities and functioning. Some of these effects include:
Lack of mental clarity: This makes it increasingly harder for you to focus and think straight without getting distracted by other thoughts.
Making it harder to form long term memories: This is explained by alcohol damaging or even killing many vital nerve cells in our brain which are involved with memory such as nerve cells of the hippocampus - A brain region proven to be crucial for the formation of long term memories.
Making rational and safe choices: This is often because repetitive alcohol consumption can damage your brains frontal lobe which is crucial for executive and controlled functions, meaning that you are more likely to not act rationally.
Regulating your emotions: When intoxicated with alcohol, we might feel a pleasant feeling of relaxation but with excessive drinking, alcohol actually disrupts our natural brain chemistry which increases our chances of developing depression and anxiety.
Our general nervous system can be impacted by alcohol just as much as our brain, because alcohol reduces the neural communication between our brain and nervous system in ways that lead to:
A loss of general body coordination
Slurred speech
Feelings of numbness or tingling sensations in your feet (serious damage to nervous system)
Blood Sugar Management Issues
Health experts generally recommend that people who are diabetic or hypoglycemic (suffer with low blood sugar levels) should avoid excessive amounts of drinking.
Consistent drinking can do serious damage to your pancreas as well as liver, which damage your bodies natural release of blood sugar regulating hormones such as insulin and glucagon, which can put you at a higher risk for type II diabetes.
Additionally, excessive drinking is commonly linked to conditions such as pancreatis or liver disease which can make you more prone to hypoglycemia.
Digestive Problms
Although the link between drinking and digestive complications is not immediately clear, there is scientific evidence which shows that heavy drinking damages the internal tissues of your digestive tract which over time mean that your intestines have more difficulty digesting and absorbing nutrients from your food, which puts you at a increased risk for malnutrition.
Apart from that, drinking may cause abdominal problems such as:
Bloating
Gas
Diarrhea
Ulcers or hemorrhoids (Due to dehydration and constipation)
Cardiovascular Complications
Regular intaking of alcohol tends to over time also cause problems for our heart and general cardiovascular system, in the following ways:
Cardiomyopathy: A heart disease in which the walls of the heart chambers become stretched, thickened or stiff.
Arrhythmia: Experiencing irregular heart beats.
Stroke: Results as a lack of blood circulation in our brain such as from a blood clot.
High blood pressure: Experiencing chronically elevated blood pressure levels than what is normal
Heart attack: A condition in which an artery supplying our heart with blood and oxygen becomes blocked, so our heart does not get enough oxygen and glucose for proper functioning
Heart failure: The condition where our heart has a inability to pump adequate blood around our body due to the muscle becoming too weak
Anemia: This is linked with the digestive issue point I mentioned previously, in which we damage the internal lining of our intestines so it makes it harder for us to properly absorb nutrients such as iron which is needed for for the production of adequate red blood cells
Serious Liver Issues
When talking about the detrimental impacts that drinking can have on our body, liver damage is usually one of the primary sources of concern for heavy drinkers. This is because the liver is the bodies main blood filtration unit, where if we often drink a lot, our liver over time becomes damaged from this alcohol processing. This can manifest itself in fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis or the well recognized liver cirrhosis.
DANGERS OF REGULAR ALCHOL CONSUMPTION
One of the main dangers when it comes to alcohol, is the possibility of developing a dependance. If we tend to drink regularly, our tolerance for alcohol increases, meaning that we over time need to drink more in order to feel the same effects, leading us into developing a eventual dependance.
If we do develop a dependence apart from a plethora of health issues, we will also likely be able to observe different emotional and physical withdrawal symptoms.
Some of the symptoms associated with alcoholism include:
Having cravings for alcohol
Drinking more over time
Having difficulty with stopping to drink after one drink
Continuing to drink even when alcohol clearly has a negative impact on your life
Inability to quit drinking
GUIDELINES ON DRINKING
When you do decide to drink on occasion, I would advise you to keep the following in mind:
Don't go drinking if hungry: Always make sure to eat something before or during the time you drink as this prevents you becoming intoxicated too much too fast.
Drink enough water: This applies to before, during and after drinking, where it is recommended to consume a glass of water for every alcoholic drink we consume. This also helps with minimizing any hangover effects the following day.
Don't drink too fast: Make sure to give your body enough time in between drinks to process the ingested alcohol. Your body is able to process about 30ml of alcohol per hour.
Don't mix drinking with other substances: This applies to caffeine, other types of alcohol as well as any form of drug.
Don't drink and drive: Drinking and driving is dangerous and should never be done, because when we drive, our vision and reaction time are severely impacted which can greatly increase our chances of getting into a car crash.
In this article we covered the topic of alcohol, exploring aspects such as the fundamentals of alcohol and how our body metabolizes it, to then delving into the short and long term effects that alcohol has on our body and finishing off with alcoholic dependency and drinking guidelines.
I hope that you have found something of value in todays topic, and that you found it interesting and persuasive enough to make some changes in your own drinking habits if you find that is an area of concern for you.
Thank you for reading :)
The 5 Pillars Of Health
As I have been learning more about how different things impact our health and what things benefits or harms us, I have started to develop a sense of some repeating notions and ideas which have time and time again shown to positively impact our health. I have called these the “5 pillars of health”, because they act as foundational pillars which impact our wellbeing.
With this post, I hope to offer a summative overview to these 5 aspects which our health depends on, in order to create clarity and simplicity.
I hope you enjoy this one :)
THE 5 PILLARS OF HEALTH
😴 Deep Sleep
The reasons as to why sleep is so crucial for our wellbeing are many, where there are three main factors when it comes to sleeping well: How long we sleep for, the quality of our sleep, and the consistency of our sleeping schedule.
Overall, scientists are uncovering more and more functions which sleep does for our body, which explains why it is so crucial in the first place.
Here is a list of some of the most common functions which sleep has:
Energy conservation: We have all felt tired at some points after not having sleep well. This is because sleep is essential for reenergizing us, by producing enough ATP (energy) molecules as well as slowing down our metabolism in order to fully recharge for the next day.
Cleaning of waste: It appears that our brain naturally has a cleaning system integrated within it, with which it flushes out toxic waste that has accumulated during the day. It is proposed that the cerebrospinal fluid found within our brains is responsible for this flushing of waste.
Repair of our body: During sleep, our brain can attend to areas of our body which are in pain or need to heal, which it does so by sending the appropriate hormones and chemicals which speed up healing processes. Furthermore, sleep is also needed for the proper repair of tissues and blood vessels which we rely on every day. Lastly if you are someone who is frequently active, sleep actually also helps with muscle recovery and decreasing muscle soreness, which helps to strengthen our muscles.
Memory consolidation: If you were ever experiencing issues with something and someone has told you to simply “sleep on the problem”, that person does actually have reasoning behind saying that. Science is showing that during good quality sleep, our brain is actually active in a variety of different ways, during which time, our brains analyze all of the new information we have taken in during the day. Through this method, it strengthens new memories we have formed by storing them into our long term memory and also links different pieces of information together, helping us to get a new perspective or idea about something.
Regulating immune responses: You might have noticed that you were more likely to catch a cold during periods of poor sleep, which has been proven to be due to your body producing lower levels of beneficial cytokines and antibodies because of sleeping less. With sleep, our adaptive immunity is strengthened and our reactions to vaccines are also less severe.
Growth and general development: This is especially important for young children and teens whose bodies and brains are still growing and developing rapidly. Sleep is crucial not only for physical growth of our body or different body organs, but also for the general development of our cognitions, emotions and regulation of our energy levels.
Additionally, several studies have shown that consistently getting less than 8 hours of sleep per night, greatly increases your risk for the following medical conditions:
Obesity
Diabetes
Cardiovascular disease
Immune infections and colds
🥦 Balanced Nutrition
The reasons for including nutrition in this list are plenty, where food is the core fuel with which we supply our body for its proper and optimal functioning.
Here is a list of all of the aspects that nutrition is essential for:
Weight management: By making the appropriate food choices, we can prevent ourselves from gaining unnecessary weight.
Immune system: Eating adequate levels of micro nutrients such as vitamins and minerals is crucial for supporting our immune system and generating enough antibodies to fight off infections.
Protecting against chronic conditions: Scientists are recognizing more and more beneficial ways for how nutrition can help managing and decreasing levels of serious chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or hypertension.
Mental wellbeing: There are certain foods which are recognized as being especially brain beneficial and even have neuro-protective properties. Some of these foods are high omega 3 fish such as salmon, blue/ purple colored fruits like blueberries and dark leafy greens such as spinach.
General growth: For children and young adults who are still growing, nutrition and adequate calories are instrumental in making them grow tall and develop properly.
Having good energy levels: Of course it is also crucial to mention that food provides us not only with nutrients, but also with calories which gives us energy to continue living, functioning and developing as human beings.
Below is a condensed list of general ****guidelines for good nutrition:
Include a variety of high fibre whole foods (fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds etc.)
Eat high quality protein sources like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy foods and also add in plant based sources of protein. Avoid eating very fatty meats frequently**.**
Reduce intake of saturated and especially trans fats and include more healthy fats and oils
Drink lots of water
Don't over do it with salt
Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
Limit intake of processed sugars and fizzy drinks
💪🏼 Regular Movement
At at least some point in our lives, we have all heard that regular exercise is beneficial for us and that we should strive to be more active individuals. Science has found many proven health benefits experienced by those who make physical activity a core component of their life.
Cognitive benefits:
Improved thinking abilities and memory retention
Increased mental agility and sharpness as you age
Boosts your mood and energy levels, helping to improve your mental wellbeing
Helping with stress management and anxiety relief
Physical benefits:
Directly improving weight loss or weight management
Decreasing your chances of developing heart disease and type II diabetes
Protecting against a variety of common cancers such as bladder, breast, colon, and kidney
Exercise especially weight training is known for increasing muscle mass but also for improving bone density, which for older people is helpful for preventing osteoporosis and bone injuries
Boosting your skin health, due to alleviating stress levels which could otherwise cause breakouts
Helping to deepen and improve your sleep at night, by making your more tired by nightfall from having expended energy
Increasing our longevity and lifespan, while also improving the quality of our life, by keeping our health in check
In the case that you want to start a new exercise routine or have trouble keeping up with your current one, here are some tips to help you out:
Choose to do an activity which you enjoy (This will help keep you consistent)
Start small and build up
Set up environmental cues and reminders (This will make it a effortless part of your routine)
Join exercise challenges or find a exercise buddy for keeping yourself accountable
Track your progress and results (This will provide motivation in times of need)
😌 Effective Stress Management
Stress is a normal a part of life and everyone experiences it in some respect. The issue with stress is once it becomes chronic and we find that we can not mentally “switch off”, which causes a variety of health issues for us, both mental and physical.
Below are some physical and mental health issues associated with chronic stress:
Physical:
Weight gain
Problems sleeping and general insomnia
Digestive issues
Muscle tension and pain
Increased incidence of chronic diseases (heart conditions, high blood, pressure, stroke, type II diabetes)
Poor immune system defense
Loss in libido
Mental health
Depression
Headaches and migraines
Anxiety and constant worrying
Forgetfulness and disorganization
Lack of focus and concentration
Being more prone to viewing things pessimistically
Low energy levels
However, the good thing is that you have the option to lower and regulate your stress levels and having the option to choose how you will respond to a stressful event. If you are struggling with how to calm yourself down, below are some ideas for how you can alleviate some stress:
Physical activity (genuinely helps)
Meditation
Listening to your favorite music
Journaling and writing down your worries (Allows you to put it in perspective)
Taking a bath or shower
Reading a book you like
Doing a hobby you enjoy
Spend time with people or family members which elevates your mood
Spend time in nature
Focus on your breathing
Taking a nap if that is what you need
👭 Supportive Social Life
Although a rather underestimated aspect of health science, having a good and sportive social life, which includes our friends, family, colleagues and romantic partners is crucial to our wellbeing and feelings of general life satisfaction.
Having a good social life helps with the following aspects:
Improved mental health by making you feel happier
Increase levels of self esteem which can further increase your social connections and opportunities
Promotes a sense of safety and belonging, which can ease anxiety
People give a sense of meaning and purpose to the work you do, helping to keep you motivated
People who have more vibrant social lives score lower in likeliness to develop dementia
Lowering our stress levels by having a good laugh with others
Others around you can help to encourage you to change or avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits such as a poor diet or drinking too much
People can also help us with coping and dealing with past traumas and difficult situations
If you are someone who wants to increase their social circle of friends, try out some of the following ideas for how you can attract more fun social opportunities into your life:
Asking a friend to meet up for coffee or a meal
Hosting a small lunch or dinner for people
Joining an activity club with people who have common interests
Joining a class/ course/ workshop
Doing volunteering work
Going to parties and nightlife
Focus on the quality of your relations instead of having hundreds of friends, most of which don't know you very well
Turning off your computer and saying yes to more social opportunities
Being the one who reaches out to others (don't wait and expect others to always contact you)
Set respectful boundaries in relationships
Be honest and supportive of to others, as people will reciprocate that behavior back to you
I hope that you enjoyed this post and that I was able to offer a simplified view of how to best take care of your health.
Thank you so much for reading.
Why Laughing Is More Beneficial Than You Think
Today we will be talking about a rather humorous topic which is the importance of laughter in our everyday and how it can positively impact both our physical and mental health as well as benefit our social relationships.
The act of laughing is also noticeable among other ape species, where laughter is said to have developed some 10 - 16 million years ago. Laughter is said to first emerge in the first few months of life even among children who are deaf or blind.
In terms of its evolutionary roots, scientists argue that laughter played a critical role in creating and deepening social bonds which we formed with others, which ultimately helped with our survival as a species which predominantly lived in groups. Some people also say that laughter developed as a form of vocal control with which we showed to others that we are content and feel safe, while fostering more trust in relationships. Over time as our brain size increased, so did our ability to form and communicate in various verbal languages, with which laughter also helped to facilitate and once again increased our survival chances.
While scientists are still discovering the history and benefits of laughter, there is enough evidence currently to confirm that laughing is healthy for us.
I hope that you enjoy this post and learn something new from it like I did.
THE CHEMISTRY BEHIND LAUGHTER
When we laugh, there are two main types of chemicals which are released by our brain; Endorphins and Dopamine
Endorphins chemically speaking are a type of peptide (protein) hormones which are produced by our central nervous system and the pituitary gland in our brain. They function both as a neurotransmitter and a feel good happy chemical which helps with the management of pain. Endorphins are mostly released during the process of physically activating our muscles, such as when we contract our core muscles while laughing and not merely just social conversations.
Dopamine is also produced by our brain during laughter and like endorphins, it also functions as a neurotransmitter and hormone which works in the central nervous system. Its main functions include facilitating movement, helping with our memory and creating a sense of pleasurable reward and motivation.
10 BENEFITS OF LAUGHING MORE
Helps Boost Our Immune System
Laughing more has been shown to over time improve the strength and abilities of our immune system in the following ways: First, laughter is known to genuinely help decrease levels of stress hormones predominantly cortisol circulating around our body which it does so by releasing specialized chemicals called neuropeptides which help to lower stress levels. Secondly, laughter is also responsible for stimulating our body to create more antibodies with which we are able to fight off viruses and infections more easily.
Decreases Perceived Pain And Tension
The endorphins which are released when we laugh have been shown to act as natural temporary pain killers which increase our tolerance and management of pain, helping us to endure for longer periods of time when faced with a painful situation.
Furthermore, laughings also helps with decreasing levels of physical tension and discomfort in our bodies, which is due to the relaxation of muscles when we laugh and the improved resulting blood circulation.
Increases Relaxation And Minimizes Stress
Based on several studies, laughing has been shown to decrease stress levels and generally increase relaxation throughout our body.
There are a few possible explanations behind this, one of which is that when we laugh, we intake more oxygen with which we stimulate more blood circulation and in turn decrease the levels of cortisol (stress hormone) in our blood.
Secondly, laughter can physically relax our muscles and boost our circulation which can leave our muscles feeling relaxed after laughing for as long as 45 minutes. Furthermore, a good laugh has been shown to decrease our heart rate and blood pressure after laughing which then leads to a relaxed feeling afterwards.
Helps To Prevent Heart Disease
More and more research is starting to indicate that laughter can do a lot of good for us, including lowering our chances of developing heart disease. This is because laughter has been found to improve the function of our blood vessels and simultaneously increase blood flow which stimulates our organs and muscles so that they remain healthy and functional.
Improves Our Mood And Energy
The previously discussed endorphins are known as happy chemicals which naturally put our body in a feel good state and create a sense of wellbeing that can at least temporarily, shift our mood and energy levels for the better.
Additionally, by decreasing stress levels along side secreting endorphins, laughter has been shown to help people who are dealing with depression or anxiety as they can also help in boosting self esteem and make it slightly easier to cope with such challenging situations.
Strengthens Social Relationships
Evolutionary speaking, laughter has been shown to act as a social glue in our history of living in groups, where it is suggested that shared laughter communicates to other individuals that we have something in common or that we share a similar view on something, which helps to strengthen our relation with that person.
Laughter is crucial for maintaining social and non verbal communication patterns, where some scientists argue that laughter not only improves social bonding but also protects us from physical and psychological pain by helping to create a sense of belonging among others.
Helps Attract New People To Us
When we laugh we are more likely to be perceived as approachable and friendly by others, especially because with laughter, we becomes less resentful, judgmental and doubtful. This in turn increases the amount of people we attract because we are seen as more open, with which we can form positive new social bonds, and in this way increase both our mental and emotional health.
Seeing Issues From A New Perspective
Laughter has this amazing ability which allows us to create more distance between us and our issues which means we can form a new perspective of our problems which essentially makes them easier to deal with. In this way, you can see problematic situations in a more realistic and less threatening way which helps to diffuse potential conflict and makes a issue more manageable.
Increased Personal Satisfaction And Happiness
Laughter can do a lot for our personal feelings of satisfaction and general happiness with our selves, because when we laugh, we are able to express our true feelings about a topic as well as release our inhibitions which hold us back from doing things we fear.
Create More Positive Memories
Often times, the times we were happy with others and laughed a lot are also the times we remember as our best and most memorable memories. Laughter can help us make more of those happy memories which when we look back on, make us smile and remember the good times.
I hope that with this article I have been able to instill a new sense of appreciation for a simple act such as laughing with someone, because as we have seen, laughter can bring us a lot of benefits, both physical, psychological and emotional.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this 💛
The Power Of Self Reflecting
I am noticing more and more the importance of taking time to reflect on the activities which we do, why we do them and to check in with ourselves in terms of how we feel. Self reflections can especially be ignored and underused when we are in particularly busy periods of our life, where we do the majority of things on “autopilot” mode instead of taking some more time to think more deeply about how we spend pour time.
Wether you are currently in a busy period of your life or one that is filled with more time and calmness, I think that reflecting is a very good tool to use, especially if you feel unsure wether you think you are making the right choices and generally moving in the right direction.
I hope you enjoy this one 💭
BENEFITS OF REFLECTING
More Self Awareness
When we self reflect, we center in on ourselves in the current moment which produces a state of calmness. With this opportunity to reflect, we become more aware of how we feel, what we want and who do we want to be/ what we want to be striving for.
We are able to notice our core values which should ideally guide our intentions and decision making, as well as separate our emotions from our thoughts, allowing us to look at various situations and experiences more objectively and rationally.
Better Decision Making
With more awareness of our values and having a better idea of what we want more or less of in our life, we are able to make better longterm decisions which will both benefit us and others, while also not instilling a sense of regret in us by having make a rushed and regretful decision.
Furthermore, we also become more aware of the decision making process itself instead of only focusing on the final decision - the outcome. In this way, we are able to stop ourselves before we make a rash choice while also being open minded and honest about how we feel about the process which will help bring more objectivity.
Align Your Actions With Your Intentions
Once we start making better decisions for ourselves, we are on the way of living more true to ourselves and who we are. Our actions start feeling more aligned with the true version of ourselves which is an empowering feeling as we are no longer compromising our self or living based on how others want us to be.
Improved Critical Thinking
When we take the time to reflect, we are able to give more space and time to our thoughts and feelings which allows us to look at a situation without objectively without being influenced by excessive emotions. During this stage, we are able to analyze and learn from our behavior, noticing what we did right and what is something we should work on for the future.
It allows us to be aware and mindful of ourselves, our behavior and the things we say, as often times these actions impact the relationships we hold with others and ourselves in ways we may not even be aware of.
Furthermore, as we have more time to think through our actions and thoughts, we are more likely to recognize the root issue of a problem much faster and be able to implement suitable changes more effectively.
Increased Personal Growth
Through personal reflection we are consistently learning about ourselves and adjusting our life according to what we learn about ourselves. By becoming more educated about your own thoughts, needs, wants and feelings, you are able to speed up your personal growth journey through the discussed decision making benefits and appropriate critical thinking skills.
You are able to make a better and longer lasting contribution to yourself and in turn also others, by being more mindful of what activities you need to do more or less of in order to become that better version of yourself which you are striving for. You increase your chances of learning from your past mistakes and being more open minded to new perspectives of looking at topics.
25 REFLECTION QUESTIONS & PROMPTS
Below I have included some questions you can use for doing your personal reflection just to make the process a bit more easier.
What are you currently feeling?
Where in your body do you feel these emotions?
Why do you think you feel this way?
Are you happy feeling these feelings or do you want to change them?
Which thoughts do you keep thinking of?
Why do you keep thinking of them?
What are some opportunities for growth and learning you currently have?
What is currently challenging to you?
What do you keep holding on to which you should let go of?
What are some things that you are currently doing and not doing, which you would regret in the future if you did or didn't continue doing?
What are some of your top priorities right now?
What is something in your work and personal life that you are currently doing and is working well?
What are the biggest obstacles you are facing right now?
What is the best way of how to overcome those obstacles?
What is your ideal self like?
What are things which you are striving for?
How can you treatment yourself and others better?
How can you improve your relationship with others?
Identify the most common activities you do in a day and identify why you do them
What is one skill that would help you out a lot right now if you learned it?
What am I proud of myself for?
What is something you did or handled well in the past week/ month?
What can you learn from your past mistakes or negative experiences?
When ever you are faced with making a difficult decision, ask yourself what are the pros and cons of it and the potential opportunities or fallbacks which may get overlooked
If you continue down the path you are currently headed doing what you do, where do you see yourself in 1, 5 and 10 years time?
5 STEPS TO MAKING SELF REFLECTION A HABIT
Determine the following points first before starting:
Time of the day/ week/ month you will do your personal reflection (morning, evening?)
For how long you will do it for when you do it (10 minutes, 30 minutes?)
Format of reflection (digital or paper?)
Wether you will journal based on free flowing questions that come to mind or use a list of journaling prompts to help you out
Put your journal or device in a convenient place where it is easy for you to start reflecting
Try sticking to the habit for a week and see wether you like it and what would you change about this routine to make it more suitable to you (adapt it)
Track your habit progress and consistency for keeping yourself motivated
Reward yourself every so often for sticking to a habit which is beneficial to you
I hope that you found this article interesting and also useful for when you do your own personal reflection. I urge you to not underestimate the importance of self reflecting and see for yourself how it can improve your life and clarity behind your thoughts, feelings and actions.
Thanks for reading 💛
The Magic Spice: Cinnamon
In order to encourage more of the autumn spirit, I thought I would write about the well known cinnamon spice which is quite synonymous with autumn food and drinks as it adds a comforting boost of flavor and charm to both sweet and savory dishes.
But cinnamon is not just a great additonal to recipes - It is actually also beneficial to our health in various ways, from being an anti microbial agent and being able to protect against neurodegenerative conditions all the way to helping diabetic people with managing diabetes. We will be discussing all of these benefits here today, where I will also provide some background information about the spice and its origins as well as offer some ideas as to how you can enjoy more of cinnamon especially during this time of the year.
Before you start reading, I recommend you get a cup of your favorite tea or coffee as well as a comfortable blanket to keep you warm and get you settled into the feeling of autumn.
I hope you enjoy this one 🍁 🍂
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CINNAMON
Cinnamon is a space which actually comes from the bark of trees which belong to the Cinnamomum genus, where only a handful of the cinnamomum species are grown commercially for the cinnamon spice.
The most well known type of cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon, which is also considered the original type of cinnamon, comes from the species of trees called Cinnamomum verum which are native to Sri Lanka.
Indonesia is currently the largest producer of cinnamon, followed by China, Vietnam and Burma, where in 2018, Indonesia and China produced almost 70% of the world's whole cinnamon production.
Once collected in its bark form, it can be ground into a powder and then sold to consumers.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF CINNAMON
Packed With Beneficial Properties & Antioxidants
Cinnamon has many properties which have been used for medicinal and soothing purposes. The extensive properties of cinnamon come from the essential oils from the tree bark, which contain the potent compound cinnamaldehyde. The powerful properties of cinnamon include being:
Anti bacterial
Anti fungal
Anti viral
Anti inflammatory
Due to all of these properties, cinnamon may help with fighting various infections as well as inhibiting the growth of bacteria such as Salmonella. But thats not all, by having so many medicinal properties, cinnamon is also rich in various antioxidants - Even more than high antioxidant foods such as garlic - which could even make it useful as a natural food preservative.
May Help Protect Against Cancers
Although more research is needed on human studies, some test tube based animal studies have shown promising results for cinnamon being able to slow down the growth of cancer cells and even stopping the growth of tumor cells.
The proposed way in which cinnamon acts against cancer is by reducing the growth of cancer cells and formation of blood vessels within tumors, which altogether means that cinnamon may very well be toxic to cancer cells.
Helps To Manage Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
Consumption of cinnamon is associated with a short term reduction in blood pressure while also influencing levels of cholesterol in our blood by lowering the LDL (bad) cholesterol and possibly even increasing HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Considering that cinnamon can help with lowering blood pressure and management of cholesterol, it could be that cinnamon can potentially help protect against developing heart disease.
However more trials need to be done with human based experiments, as currently experiments were only done on animals.
Effectively Lowers Blood Sugar & Type II Diabetes Risk
Cinnamon is quite well known for being able to positively help with managing blood sugar levels which is useful for people with diabetes, where it has been shown that cinnamon may lower fasting sugar levels for as much as 10-30%.
The way in which cinnamon is currently understood to help with blood sugar management is in the following ways:
It controls the amount of glucose which enters the blood stream: This is due to cinnamon interfering with different digestive enzymes which helps to slow down the breakdown and digestion of carbohydrates in your body.
A compound in cinnamon mimics the function of insulin: This improves glucose uptake by your cells although it acts slower than insulin itself.
It reduces insulin resistance: This means that your cells become more responsive to insulin, meaning that they can uptake and use the sugar which flows in your blood stream, all together helping to prevent chronically high blood glucose levels and diabetes.
Could Protect Against Neurodegenerative Diseases
The older we get, the more prone we are to developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers or Parkinson's which are categorized by a progressive deterioration of brain cells.
For Alzheimers disease it is currently believed to be caused by a build up of various protein based plaques in the brain (tau proteins), which effectively lead to slower cognitions and poorer memory abilities. Luckily, cinnamon has been found to contain two compounds which appear to inhibit the build up of these tau proteins, although more research is needed as so far these experiments have been tested on animals.
For Parkinson's disease, cinnamon also holds promising effects as certain beneficial compounds within the spice have been shown to protect neurons, normalize neurotransmitter levels as well as improve our motor function.
HOW TO ENJOY MORE OF CINNAMON
Below you can find a couple of ideas of how to include more cinnamon into your daily food choices - some of which I regularly do myself. Experiment and see what you enjoy, if you are new to using cinnamon, start with smaller quantities.
Including cinnamon in baked goods which include apples, pears, nuts or ginger (apple pie, cinnamon rolls, carrot cake, banana bread, baklava, ginger bread cookies, churros, french toast etc.)
Try making a cinnamon spiced rice pudding
Making your own roasted and caramelized cinnamon nuts at home
Add into oatmeal, smoothies and yogurt bowls
Making your own granola and adding in cinnamon
Try adding a little into pumpkin soup or recipes with sweet potato/ other squashes
Drinks: Making mulled wine with cinnamon and cloves or making a hot chocolate with cinnamon
In terms of the recommended intake, for adults no more than 1 teaspoon per day should be consumed, and for children that should be lower. Cinnamon naturally contains compounds called coumarins which in larger amounts may not be well tolerated by our body, but consuming less than a teaspoon of cinnamon per day is considered safe.
Apart from cinnamon being something that I have enjoyed for practically my whole life, I have always heard that cinnamon is good for you, especially in terms of regulating blood glucose levels, which made me want to explore more how cinnamon impacts our body and ways that it can positively impact our well being.
I hope that through this you were able to learn something new and I also hoped that I have given you some more inspiration as to how you can make more use of cinnamon.
Thanks for reading.
Problems Of Sitting Down Too Much
You might have heard the expression that sitting down is the new smoking or something along those lines. Well, it turns out that, sitting down in the last 50 - 70 years has increased significantly, thanks to a rise in more office orientated work which promotes a sedentary lifestyle. As it turns out, excessive sitting down is actually harmful to our health in many ways.
To make you aware of how much of an issue this actually is, here are some statistics which definitely shocked me when I read them:
An average person sits down for 12 hours of the day
Since the 1950’s, sitting down and inactive office jobs have increased by 83%
A study in 2010 which included 184,190 people found that for people who spent more than 6 hours per day sitting down with low levels of physical activity, had a 71% increase in mortality.
The scary thing is that a different study showed that people who were also physically active for 5-6 hours per week and were sitting down for 5-6 hours a day, still had a 50% increase in mortality
I hope this paints a better picture of the issue at hand here, and with this I hope to inspire you to keep moving throughout your day with the best of your ability- After all we have legs for moving around and not for sitting down whole days.
Hope you find this one interesting 💛
5 HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXCESSIVE SITTING DOWN
Poor posture and muscles stiffness
When we sit for prolonged periods of time, we put more stress on our spine and other joints which can over time lead to back pain as well as a poor posture, since the more we sit, the more likely we are to start slouching. With this in mind, sitting down also makes our shoulder and neck muscles feel stiff and inflexible, often because our head is slightly tilted down in order to look at our computer screens.
Furthermore, excessive sitting down decreases lower body strength as well as a general decline in endurance. This is due to the fact that when we sit, we place more strain on our spine which over time reduces our spine flexibility. This indirectly deactivates and weakness our gluteal muscles contributing to even more back pain and a general loss in lower body strength.
Increased weight gain
Some studies have shown a link between prolonged periods of sitting and weight gain, where some of the proposed reasons for this are that nowadays when we eat we sit down, while also being distracted with our phones, a show we are watching or someone we are talking to, causing us to often eat too much too often leading to weight gain.
Furthermore, going back as little as 100 years, humans were much more active on average than we are today, simply because work was much more physically manual instead of now when much of our work is done through sitting down based work which mostly requires our mental capacities.
Greater cancer risk
There have been some emerging studies which have suggested that prolonged sitting down can actually increase our risk of developing certain cancers such as lung, uterine and colon. However the biological reasons behind this are not clear yet and need more research, but it is interesting to see that sitting down does not only have physical impacts on our body such as muscle stiffness, but may actually affect our internal biology much more than we first believed.
More prone to heart disease
Based on science, it has now become quite clear that there is a definite link between people who spend more time sitting down and people who develop heart disease in their lifetime. Sitting down has been shown to increase our blood pressure while also altering the functioning of our blood vessels which along side the increased risk of diabetes, can actually make you much more prone to developing heart disease.
A study found that for men who spent more than 23 hours a week watching television and sitting down while doing so, had a 64% greater chance of dying from cardiovascular disease than those men who only watch 11 hours of television per week.
Higher risk of diabetes
Additionally, some studies have uncovered a rather underestimated impact of prolonged sitting which is the increase in likelihood of developing diabetes in your lifetime. A different another study found that five days of inactive bed rest was associated with increased insulin resistance which is often a precursor to developing diabetes.
HOW TO SIT DOWN LESS
Below you can find some pieces of advice which you can try incorporating into your everyday, to keep you more mobile and active even with a busy schedule:
Stand up every 30 minutes or so (setting a reminder might be helpful)
When using public transport for commuting, choose stand instead of sit
Try standing up more while talking on the phone or watching the television
If your job requires a desk, try out a standing desk which can switch between a sitting and standing position
Make use of the stairs and walk up escalator stairs
Take a short walking break every time you have a break for a coffee or lunch
Drinking more water will encourage you to move to the bathroom more often
Try some discrete sitting down strength training exercises during the hours you spend sitting down (example: sitting down leg raises)
I think it is important to raise awareness about this topic since more and more work is requiring us to spend longer hours behind computer screens and sit down more. Without realizing it, we could seriously be damaging our health here.
I hope that you take the information presented here and use it to make more informed choices about your sitting down habits, wether it be at home, work, school or anywhere else.
Thank you for taking your time to read this and I hope that you learn something new 🌟
The Magic Grain: Oats
With the colder winter months settling in, I have noticed myself leaning more towards warm cooked breakfast meals such as oatmeal. This sparked the idea of this post, because you might have heard that even though oats are quite a popular ingredient or addition to our meals they are actually very healthy for us to eat.
Today we will be exploring the origins of what we consider to be oats, their nutritional profile, the health advantages they bring to us as well as sharing some ideas on how to include more oats into your diet.
I hope you enjoy this one 💛
WHAT ARE OATS EXACTLY?
Oats are the seed part of the Avena sativa plant which have been grown for a long time, both for our consumption and for livestock feed. Oats are gluten free for those who suffer from Celiac disease and are also very cheap and versatile in their uses.
Types of oats:
Whole oat Groats
Steel Cut / Irish Oats
Scottish Oats
Rolled / Old-Fashioned Oats (we will be discussing this type)
Quick/ instant Oats
NUTRIENTS FOUND IN ROLLED OATS
As mentioned before, oats are very healthy for us and one of the reasons for why that is, is due to their nutritional profile which is rich and varied.
100g of rolled oats has the following nutrients:
Energy: 380 kcal
Protein: 13.2 g
Fats: 6.5 g
Carbohydrates: 67.7 g
Fibre: 10.1 g
Sugars: 0,99 g
Calcium: 52 mg (5 % of daily recommended intake)
Iron: 4.3 mg (50% of daily recommended intake for men, and for women it is 30%)
Magnesium: 138 mg (Roughly 40% of recommended intake)
Potassium: 360 mg (12% of recommended intake)
5 MAIN REASONS WHY OATS ARE GOOD FOR YOU
Fibre Powerhouse and Effective For Weight-loss
One of the main reason why nutritionists advocate for oats so much is because they are extremely rich in good soluble fibre, specifically the type called beta glucan.
This soluble fibre partially dissolves in water and when we consume it, it forms a gel like consistency in our gut which actually keeps us feeling full for longer periods of time - effectively helping those people who would like to loose weight since they are less hungry and are more likely to stay within a calorie deficit.
Additional health benefits of beta glucan include, improving our insulin response (since fibre slows down the release of sugar into our bloodstream), decreasing levels of LDL cholesterol, as well feeding probiotic bacteria in our digestive tract which keep our bowel movements healthy.
Improve blood Sugar Regulation
Type II diabetes is commonly categorized by having elevated blood sugar levels for consistently long periods of time, which is a result of poor insulin sensitivity - Essentially our cells being less sensitive to the insulin hormone, meaning that the excess glucose in our blood can not be up-taken by our cells.
Some studies have shown that oats have been show to not only lower our blood sugar levels, thanks to their fibre rich profile, but also improve our insulin sensitivity - Helping to combat type II diabetes.
Better Blood Cholesterol Management
The before mentioned beta glucan is also suspected to help with deceasing levels fo LDL (unwanted) cholesterol in our blood.
The mechanism behind this is still being debated, but it is proposed that beta glucan encourages the release of bile by our gallbladder which contains some cholesterol and by being released is able to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol which circulate around within your blood.
Furthermore, certain compounds in oats have been shown to protect against the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which helps protect us agains developing heart disease.
Rich In Antioxidants That Lower Blood Pressure
In general, oats are rich in antioxidants called polyphenols, but more specifically they are rich in a unique source of a group of antioxidants called avenanthramides.
Studies have shown that avenanthramides have the power of lowering blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide which helps to widen out blood vessels and ensures healthy blood flow.
Furthermore, these aventhramide molecules have beneficial anti-inflammatory properties which could help with offsetting various chronic conditions caused by high inflammation, such as heart disease.
Lowers Chances Of Developing Colon Cancer
Colon cancers develop in the large colon part our digestive system, where more and more studies are showing that eating about 90g of whole grains per day can significantly lower your chances of developing this cancer.
A fibre rich food such as oats can do just that, and the way this is done is by various proposed ways. Firstly the fibre in oats helps with reducing insulin resistance as we have discussed, where high levels of blood sugar are a risk factor for colon cancer.
Furthermore, oats keep you regular which prevents the chnaces of cancer causing mutations to occur within that part of the gut.
Lastly, oats are also a viable source of anti carcinogenic compounds such as vitamin E, selenium ,copper and zinc, which protects against cancers.
WAYS OF EATING MORE OATS
Now that we know whyoats are good for us, below you can find some ideas of how to include more oats into your diet in delicious and convenient ways
Cooking oatmeal/ porridge (can be sweet and savory) and adding any toppings you like fruit, jam, nut butters, chocolate, nuts, yogurt etc.
Making your own granola or muesli mix at home with various ingredients (nuts, dried fruit, honey, peanut butter, seeds, chocolate chunks, coconut etc.)
Try blending oats into oat flour with a food processor: Use this flour for various baked goods (banana bread, muffins, cakes, cupcakes), pancakes or even bread
Blend inside smoothies
Use to make energy bars/ balls together with dates
Sprinkle on top of toasts (both sweet and savory work)
I hope that with this article I was able to convince you into trying to add more of this great fibrous and delicious grain into your diet. Oats are cheap and very versatile so I urge you to try different recipes and see what you like as well as experince some of the mentioned health benefits we discussed.
Thanks again for reading, I always appreciate it.
Building A Healthy Relationship With Food
You may not realize it, but having an unhealthy relationship with food is often more common than you think. These relationships come in different forms and are expressed differently among people, which is why it can be difficult to clearly define what unhealthy eating patterns look like - After all we all have different lifestyles, food preferences and dietary choices.
Alongside this, living in a current society which heavily praises “healthy” or “clean” eating practices, it can be difficult for people suffering from orthorexia (Having a unhealthy obsessions with eating foods that are categorized as being “healthy”), as their eating habits are praised by diet culture even though their relationship with themselves, others and food is falling apart. But orthorexia is quite an extreme example and deserves a post of its own.
To put in simple terms, I wanted to write this post because I believe that a lot of people struggle with their relationship to food - they might not even be aware of it - simply because each day we are faced with so much media about diet culture and how we should live our lives and mostly how and what we should eat. I we try to fallow all those rules, over time it may become overwhelming, restrictive and damaging to our health, even when it is promoted as a “healthy option”.
I hope you find this post interesting and that you could help yourself or others if you do start noticing any signs of unhealthy eating patterns.
ROLE OF FOOD IN OUR LIFE
Before I get into how disordered food relationships look like and what are some of the common symptoms, I wanted to first talk about food, especially the role it plays in our life.
I want to emphasize that while eating food is essential for intaking energy and vital nutrients, it is not the only role that food plays in our life.
Below are some other reasons for why food matters to us:
Source of energy and crucial nutrients: Macronutrients and micronutrients
Cultural and social bonding: Celebrations (birthdays, weddings etc.), social gatherings, sharing experiences with others, creating memories
Emotional wellbeing: Providing comfort and feelings of nostalgia and happiness
I wanted to briefly talk about the role of food here because I believe that if we only see food as a means of energy and nutrients source, we increase our chances of developing disordered eating habits. We may start feeling guilty about having eaten something, overthinking our food choices or just being generally dissatisfied because food is not eaten to be enjoyed but because it is something that we “have to do” in order to merely sustain ourselves and stay alive.
SIGNS OF A UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP
Feeling guilty after eating certain foods
Being constantly preoccupied and thinking about food (what I ate, what I will eat next, how much am I “allowed” to eat etc.)
Experiencing generally less pleasure from food and eating (feelings of anxiety)
Feeling tired or exhausted from never fully nourishing yourself
Labelling foods as “good” or “bad”
Restricting foods which are “bad” for you
Excessively relying on calorie counters and apps which track your calorie consumption and when/ what you can eat
Seeking excessive comfort in food (too much emotional eating)- could encourage binge eating
Ignoring your bodies natural hunger cues
Having specific “cheat days” where we endlessly indulge in things we otherwise restrict
Feeling lots of stress and anxiety when eating with others because we are concerned about what others may think of your food choices.
WHAT DOES A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP LOOK LIKE?
Giving yourself unconditional permission to eat the foods you enjoy in moderation
Respecting your bodies natural hunger cues (eat when hungry, stop when full)
Eating everything in moderation and not having off limits foods
Not letting the opinions of others control what you should be eating
Not feeling the need to justifying the food choices which you make
Understanding that you as a person are not defined by the foods you eat
You eat food because it makes you feel good and rules you, not based on calories or solely on specific nutrients
HOW TO ENCOURAGE HEALTHIER EATING PATTERNS
Giving yourself unconditional permission to eat
Being aware of your natural hunger cues
Practicing mindful eating (Click here to see my post on how to eat slower)
Don't labeling foods as “good” or “bad”
Seeking professional help if you need it
Prevent restricting food - Restricting foods only makes cravings of those foods worse
Don't only view food in terms of its nutrition - look at all the other parts it plays in your life
Pay attention to the language you use about food (clean, junk food, cheat meal, forbidden, superfood, healthy…)
Start taking gradual small food risks which feel scary to you
Not beating yourself up for any food related reason
Making sure you are eating enough for your needs (activity, age etc)
Regulating your social media intake (can have a big impact on how you view food)
Consider what a sustainable longterm eating approach looks like for you
Try keeping a food journal can work for some (If it brings you further anxiety, don't keep a journal)
Although this is a rather undiscussed and ignored topic, I feel that it is really important to make sure we are eating well for our needs and fore mostly keeping a healthy relationship with food.
Food is so much more than just calories, nutrients or energy, so make sure to acknowledge and respect that. Improving your relationship in this sense will give you so much more appreciation for food and your body, while also giving you a new sense of energy and freedom to carry through your days.
As a last note to keep in mind: Being healthy is so much more than just looking “healthy” on the outside, it is deeply rooted in how you feel on the inside which is ultimately controlled by the relationships you have with yourself, others, food, exercise and other daily activities.
Top Health Benefits of Eating Fatty Fish
You might have heard that incorporating a serving or two of fatty/ oily fish per week is beneficial for you, but why is that? You might have also heard of “Omega 3’s” and that they are good for your brain. But how do they link to fish and what other good things can they do for us?
Thats what we will be talking about today and really unpacking what makes these fatty fish so good for us to eat.
I hope you enjoy this one :)
WHAT ARE FATTY FISH EXACTLY?
So what exactly do I mean when I say “fatty fish”?
Fatty fish a certain types of fish which are considered as such for their high omega 3 fatty acid content apart from their rich concentration of other vital nutrients (protein, iodine and vitamin D) . We will talk more about this later, but it is important to note that omega 3’s are essential for us to obtain through food as our body can not make them itself.
Most common examples of fatty fish:
Albacore tuna
Farmed or wild salmon
Herring
Cod
Anchovies
Sardines
Mackerel
ALL ABOUT OMEGA 3’s
Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fat (polyunsaturated fat) which have to be consumed thorough or diet and if done so can have profound positive impacts on our health and wellbeing.
TYPES OF OMEGA 3 FATTY AICDS:
ALA (Alpha linoleic acid). Found in plant sources (Flax seeds, canola oil, chia seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds). It is mainly used for energy
EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid). Found in animal and plant sources (Fatty fish, fish oil, micro algae). It has several different functions in your body. Part of it can be converted into DHA.
DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid). Found in animal sources (Fatty fish and fish oil as well as meat, eggs, and dairy from grass-fed animals). It is the key structural component of your brain, your eye retina and other body parts
However not all omega 3 fatty acids are created equally.
EPA and DHA represent the more complex biologically active forms of Omega 3 fatty acids which our bodies are best designed to uptake and make use of. ALA on the other hand is less complex and is mainly used for energy for the body.
ALA can be converted into EPA or DHA forms but the issue is that the conversion process is very inefficient (a lot of ALA is needed to make a sufficient amount of DHA) - In other words it is much more effective to obtain your omega 3 sources from animal foods such as fatty fish as those contain most EPA and DHA.
Because of this, vegans and vegetarians are often advised to take a Omega 3 supplement.
RECOMMENDED INTAKES
For EPA and DHA: A minimum of 250–500 mg combined of EPA and DHA per day for adults
For ALA: About 1.6 grams per day for men and 1.1 grams per day for women
WHY ARE OMEGA 3’s GOOD FOR US?
DHA especially, is absolutely vital for the healthy development of your brain and eye retinas
It is particularly important for pregnant women to ensure proper brain development and health of their baby
Consuming a consistent healthy level of omega 3’s can protect against several diseases:
Breast cancer
Depression and anxiety
ADHD
Various inflammatory diseases
Autoimmune diseases
Slowing down age related mental decline as well as Alzheimers disease
Other than that, omega 3’s are also a source of energy for our body and its daily functions.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF FATTY FISH
May lower risks of heart disease
Some studies have shown that increasing your consumption of fatty fish or fish oil supplements may lower your chances of developing heart disease. In a study of 40,000 men from the United States, those who regularly ate one or more servings of fish per week had overall a 15% lower chance of developing heart disease.
Based on Harvard Medical school, some of the possible ways in which the heart friendly omega 3’s work are: “Stabilizing blood flow in and around the heart, reducing blood triglyceride levels, lowering blood pressure, preventing blood clots and reducing inflammation.”
More research is needed to properly confirm a consistently positive link between consumption of fish and prevention of heart disease
Boosts brain health
Some studies have shown that a diet higher in omega 3 fatty acids can slow down mental decline and potentially help with treating Alzheimers disease.
For Alzheimer patients, those who had lower DHA levels in the hippocampus and the frontal cortex had more problems with slower cognition, learning difficulties and poor memory retention.
Furthermore, a low omega 3 diet is correlated with experiencing learning difficulties and poor memory retention. Additionally, in older adults, low levels of DHA have been linked to having a smaller brain size which is a indication that our brain size is shrinking
Additionally, omega 3’s have been found to be an essential component of a women's diet during pregnancy, as they promote the healthy development of the child's brain.
If you would like to read more about what to eat for a healthy brain, click here
Could help treat depression
Researchers noticed that depression is less common in countries where people eat higher amounts of fish, so it opened up the research question weather fish oils and Omega 3’s found in fatty fish can positively prevent depression and other mood disorders.
A study was done in 2009 where researchers reviewed three studies which were looking to find the effects of using EPA omega 3 fatty acid in the treatment of three different types of depression. Compared to the placebo group, those who were intaking more EPA showed a considerable mood improvement for all types of depression tested.
Furthermore a slightly older study from 2004 shower that people who suffer from minor depression, postpartum depression or suicidal thoughts had lower levels of both DHA and EPA in their bodies. Those patients who received a combination fo both EPA and DHA supplements shower a improvement in their depressive symptoms.
One proposed way in which omega 3’s work in treating depression is that these omega 3 molecules can “easily travel through the brain cell membrane and interact with mood-related molecules inside the brain” as was proposed by Harvard Medical School. Furthermore, omega 3’s also hold anti inflammatory proprietress which relieve depression.
May protect against vision in older age
When we talk about declining vision as we age we are referring to AMD also known as “Age Related Macular Degeneration”, for which there are two main types, wet and dry.
In 2008, researchers from 7 European countries had collaborated with the London school of Hygiene and Tropical medicine, in order to investigate a link between fish intake (omega 3’s) and the presence of wet AMD, while also including a control group.
The findings concluded that those people who ate at least one serving of fatty fish per week compared to the control group who ate none, were 50% less likely to have wet AMD which is an astounding difference. However it is important to mention that consumption of normal non fatty white fish did not have this effect, where it showed a clear inverse relationship between levels fo DHA/ EPA omega 3’s and the chance of developing AMD.
Lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis
The American College of Rheumatology had conducted a study in 2018 exploring the relationship between fish oil consumption (that is high in omega 3 fatty acids) and the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis. The results showed that those participants who ate more than 2 servings of fish per week had the greatest “control of other arthritis”, where a higher intake was associated with better arthritis.
Although this study does only show a correlative relationship and not a causal relationship, there is promising implications for using omega 3’s as a way of reliving arthritis discomforts.
Protecting against certain cancers
For the treatment of breast cancer, the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention took a look at the link between consuming omega 3 fatty acids from fish and the incidence of breast cancer in Asian patients. The results turned out promising and the researcher concluded that omega 3’s had a protective effect against breast cancer.
There has been some debate wether omega 3’s can also help with treating bowel and colon cancers, however the results of those studies remains mixed and inconclusive for now.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
When choosing to add more fish into your diet, it is important to keep the following things in mind:
Sustainability: For sustainability purposes it is best to buy farmed fish compared to wild varieties, as it puts less stress on wild populations which gives them enough time to grow back in size
Mercury levels: Although the fatty fish which I have listed above are very low in any mercury traces, if you do decide to eat any other fish types (specifically shark, swordfish or ling), limit your consumption of those as they have much higher levels of mercury which is not beneficial for you.
Diversity: Feel free to experiment with different types of fish during your weeks, both fatty and non fatty types as all fish can offer amazing health benefits and taste great too, just avoid the ones with high mercury levels.
Considering canned or frozen: Wether you are tight on a budget or simply cant find fresh sources, canned or frozen fish are still incredibly good for you to eat and the best part is that they are much more affordable.
Eating 1-2 per week: When it comes to eating fatty fish, the science behind the omega 3 claims that it is recommend to eat these fish type 1 - 2 times per week to obtain most health benefits
Preparation & Cooking: For the fish to retain most of their valuable nutrients, it is best to prepare them either grilled, cooked in a pan or prepared in an oven. Once cooked, serve with a light drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil (I recently wrote a post about olive oil that can be found here). Avoid consuming fish mostly in deep fried varieties as that adds a lot of unnecessary fat, calorie and salt to your diet.
I learned a lot of new research and findings from this topic and I hope that you were able to able to learn a couple new pieces of knowledge too. At the end of the day it is all about keeping things including fish in a healthy sense of balance and moderation, along side a balanced diet rich in whole foods.
Try new foods including new fish you may have not tried before. Its all in the way you prepare and cook fish which really makes them taste amazing.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
The Importance Of A Good Posture
I got the idea for wanting to write a post on how to have good posture a while back, but only now did I realize that this is again one of those neglected yet super important topics especially now where we spend so much of our day sitting down; Working, eating, commuting etc.
I like to focus on things that we have control over in our lives, which also includes our posture. I took a look into why does good posture actually matter in the end and what are some simple ways we can start improving it, and the information I found was surprising.
I hope you enjoy this one and see for yourself what kinds of benefits having good posture can bring to you.
WHAT IS A GOOD POSTURE?
→ When talking about good posture, I am talking about the proper alignment of your body when we are standing or sitting down . Good posture is about holding your body against gravity in such a way that it puts minimal strain on your supportive structures like muscles and ligaments. This keeps our joints and bones in their optimal alignment and over time prevents excessive wear and tear.
Standing up:
Our chin is parallel to the floor
Our shoulders are even (To achieve this roll the up, back and then down)
Having a neutral spine (No flexing or arching)
Our arms hang naturally at our sides with elbows straight
Our abdominal muscles are active
Hips are even and not tilted
Knees point straight ahead
Our whole body weight is evenly distributed on both feet
Sitting down:
Both of our feet are placed flat on the ground in front of the chair
Our ankles are in front of our knees
Try to avoid sitting with legs crossed
Keep your knees below or at hip level
Your abdominal muscles are active
Relax your shoulders
Ensure that you chair supports your middle and lower back
10 REASONS WHY GOOD POSTURE MATTERS
Less headaches
Through better posture, we are able to keep the muscles around our neck area more relaxed and prevent them from getting tense which otherwise can lead to frequent headaches.
Less tension in shoulder and neck area
When our head is tilted forward too much or when we look down at our screens extensively, we can start experiencing uncomfortable tension in our shoulders which further encourages poor posture.
Improves spine health and eases lower back pain
Sitting for extensive periods of time especially with poor posture, results in more pressure and tension being put onto our lower back which can over time cause back pain and discomfort. Try to stand up and walk around a bit every 30 minutes.
Better and deeper breathing
When we are slouching over or in a bent over position, we are essentially compressing our lungs and our airways, so when we open up our chest and roll back our shoulders it becomes easier to breathe and inhale more fresh air.
More energy and better mood
With better posture we can experience and elevation in mood and energy levels due to deeper breathing and also the fact that our body and muscles can move with more ease when everything is properly aligned and we have proper posture.
Boosts circulation and digestion
With good posture we prevent any of our organs and internal systems from getting compressed, ensuring good blood flow, proper working of digestive organs as well as the delivery of nutrients and oxygen around our body.
Keeps your core strong
In order to keep good posture, some level of muscular effort is required, especially from our core and upper back muscles, which keeps them active and engaged.
Makes you appear taller
Although this is more of a side note, people who have good posture seem more attractive to us by looking taller and generally healthier.
Improves your form during exercise
With better posture your muscles and bones are properly aligned which allows you to execute certain movements more correctly. This over time means we become more mobile, flexible and also prevent any unwanted injuries.
Makes you feel more confident
Interestingly enough, some research has pointed out a link between people who practice good posture and a higher level of confidence, which might be due to the perceived image that people get of themselves when they have better posture which as we have seen improves their mood and appearance
5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE
Move and stretch your body: Over time when we are regularly active, our muscle and bone mass increase, which helps to stabilize our posture and stability.
Ergonomic Workspace: Ergonomics is the study of how to improve peoples performance in a work environment. An example can be investing in a ergonomic desk chair which effectively supports your back and optimizes your typing or writing position. Also it is encouraged to have your screen directly in front of your head, instead of looking down.
Backpack: If you often carry heavy things, opt for carrying them in a backpack on your back that will distribute the weight more evenly than compared to a shoulder or cross body alternative.
Increasing awareness: When sitting down or walking around we often simply forget about our posture and before we know it we are slouched over our desk or computer screens. Take a moment every so often during your day to check on your posture and adjust it accordingly. Become more aware of your posture and when you need to realign it.
Less bending down: Try to limit the amount of time you spend bending down or crouching and if you do find yourself being often in those positions, being aware of your posture is even more important.
I have to admit that I learnt a lot of new things about our posture and what are some practical ways of improving it. I hope that you learnt something new as well and that you found this topic interesting.
Even-though it is quite a small and often neglected topic, I think that if we begin to practice proper posture and become more aware of when we need to realign our body, we can set ourselves up for better health and physical condition when we are older.
Thank you so much for reading.