March 2019 – The Start Of Healthy

Take a Spring Detox Bath with Epsom Salt

Detoxing the body has become something that more and more people are turning to as part of their health and wellness routines. However, that also means that there are many fad trends popping up that claim to help with the detox process. Yet, the one that is tried and true is the same one your grandmother or mother may have recommended to you decades ago. One of the best ways to detox impurities from your body is a good, old fashioned bath with Epsom salt

Simply put Epsom Salt is a combination of sulfate and magnesium. Sulfate is known for its ability to help strengthen parts of the digestion tract and this added strength makes it easier for the body to release toxins that may have been building up in the digestive tract. Magnesium helps remove toxins by helping to improve multiple functions throughout the body. The two ingredients work in harmony to remove toxins by stimulating the pathways where toxins may have built up.

One of the best ways to detox impurities from your body is a good, old fashioned Epsom salt bath.

What Are the Benefits?

A warm bath with Epsom salt has multiple benefits including soothing the skin, reducing muscle soreness, promoting circulation, reducing stress, and promoting foot health in a variety of ways.

Epsom salt baths work to exfoliate rough, dead skin cells in order to treat dry skin. This is especially helpful during the winter months when skin tends to be at its driest. People with mild skin conditions often turn to Epsom salt to relieve redness or bumps on the skin.

Epsom salt baths are often used by people who are experiencing soreness or pain on varying levels. Many people use Epsom salts to simply provide relief from minor soreness in the muscles. It is also used in baths by people with all types of inflammatory conditions or to ease the inflammation of conditions like arthritis.

The magnesium in an Epsom salt bath has been known to help reduce both mental and physical stress. Additionally, magnesium has been linked with the production of melatonin, a known contributor to providing a good night’s sleep.

Epsom salt baths are a go-to for people with a variety of foot issues including toenail infections, itchy feet, foot odor, and athlete’s foot. There are many additional reasons that people turn to Epsom Salt baths. Additionally, just the act of taking a warm bath can promote an overall sense of relaxation and calmness.

How to Detox with an Epsom Salt Bath

Epsom salt can typically be bought at any high-quality grocery store, health food store or online. Simply pour about 2 cups of Epsom salt into warm bath water while the faucet is running. After the salt dissolves you can soak in the warm bath for 15-20 minutes. Resting after an Epsom salt bath will help the bath provide maximum results.

How To Reduce Stress This Spring

Many people look forward to spring. After a cold winter, we look forward to longer days and warmer weather. However, it’s easy to overlook common stressors of the season. Holiday debts are starting to show up on the credit card statements. Taxes are due. Spring break means you might have a house full of kids. There are a number of reasons why you may find yourself feeling frazzled and stressed.

Everyone wants to feel happy and refreshed as we say goodbye to yet another winter season. As spring approaches there are a few ways to reduce stress that can help you truly enjoy the new season.

Start the Day with a Healthy Breakfast

You are what you eat. Over half of all Americans skip breakfast once a week, and more than ten percent never have any at all. While it may save a little time initially, just some of the benefits you miss out on all day include:

Regulation of blood sugar

Increased energy levels

Neurological stimulation

Promotion of a healthy heart

Getting metabolism started

For more energy start the day with a healthy breakfast.

Make it a goal this spring to always make time for something healthy to eat at the beginning of each day for maximum energy and endurance.

A smoothie made from greens or fruit, honey oats, chia seeds, and a healthy shot available to buy in many food stores.

Make Time for Spring Cleaning

We’ve all heard of spring cleaning. With the beginning of the new season, many choose to use this time to freshen up their living spaces. It makes sense. The cold snowy winter months can drag in all sorts of dirt and grime. Now’s the time to throw open the windows, air your home, and clean all the corners and crevices till everything looks and smells clean and fresh. During your spring cleaning, take some time to remove clutter you don’t need or use. Just looking around at the tidy cupboards and extra space will help reduce stress.

Get Some Exercise

Even if it’s only for a half hour per day, exercise is a great way to boost your mood, increase energy levels, and enjoy more restful sleep. If you have cardiovascular issues or other health problems, it’s a good idea to speak with your doctor to determine the level of physical activity that’s safe for you.

Take a Moment to Breathe

Deep breathing can lower your heart rate and reduce stress. After you’re done exercising, this can be a great time to go somewhere private and just spend ten minutes focusing on your breath and allowing yourself some time to deliberately forget all your worries. If your community offers a Yoga class, sign up! Yoga does more than burn calories and tone up your muscles. It’s a total mind-body workout that combines strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation or relaxation.

Spring is a time for renewal. By following these helpful tips, you can be on your way to reducing your stress levels and truly enjoying the season.

Improve Mental Health In Spring

Winter can be a difficult season for people with mental health problems. Depression and anxiety are often much worse during winter months because you are stuck inside in bad weather and not able to do things that would help you to feel better. Now that spring is approaching, you can use the brighter warmer weather to take steps that will help improve your mental health. Here are some ways you can improve your mental health in spring.

Spend More Time Outside

Sunshine (vitamin D) is a good way to help improve your mood and overall mental health. As the year moves into spring weather, the days will be longer and warmer. You can improve your mental health by taking advantage of the better weather. Even spending fifteen minutes outside in the sun every day can help your mental health. Getting time in the sun is the easiest and most effective way to get vitamin D into your body. In addition, spending time outside of the house will help you get out of a mental and emotional rut, which can also improve your overall mood.

Take Stock of Your Internal Environment

Lots of people use spring to clean their homes and get rid of the clutter that has accumulated during the winter. Sometimes a cluttered environment can contribute to a depressed or anxious mental state. By spring cleaning your home and getting rid of clutter, you give yourself a fresh start for the way you think and live in your environment. In addition, the physical act of cleaning your home gets your body moving, your circulation going which is all good to help improve your mental health.

Get Involved in Journaling

An excellent way to improve your mental health in the springtime is to start journaling. Maybe you thought about it in the beginning of the year, but haven’t yet used it as a daily practice. Now is a great time to start!

Improve your mental health by journaling.

Journaling can make us more self aware and help us detect unhealthy patterns in our thoughts and behaviors. It allows us to express those thoughts that seem to consume our minds on a regular basis and by writing them we can very often put them in the past.

Get Some Exercise

Spring is a good time to be more active because the weather is improving. Going for a short walk every day or even a few times a week not only gets you out in the sunshine but helps get your endorphins pumping, which can improve your mood. In addition, regular exercise helps improve your physical health, which improves your mental health.

Whether you’ve been struggling through winter with depression or you are just looking for new ways to improve your overall mental health, spring is a good season for feeling better. Taking small steps such as spending time outside, spring cleaning your home, and exercising can have a big impact on your mood. Committing to these actions this spring will help improve your mental health so you can enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

Do Probiotics Help Constipation?

Improve Your Bowel Health With Probiotics.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer for more information.

Start with Probiotics

Your bowel contains good bacteria and also has bad bacteria. You may start to have problems with your digestion when the bad bacteria start to outnumber the good bacteria. The good bacteria are known as probiotics and are beneficial to our health. There are many different types of the good bacteria.they They all help to digest our food and take out the nutrients needed for good health. Without probiotics your body will find it difficult to absorb what it needs to stay healthy. Sometimes various things will cause an imbalance in your bowel. This could be stress or illness and the use of medications especially antibiotics.To help your body get the balance right again you can take a high quality time-release probiotic supplement. You can also add various fermented foods to your diet, such as sauerkraut and kombucha. Other foods to improve your bowel health include fibre and plant based foods and also fermented foods eg sauerkraut, kefir, yoghurts. Processed foods are not good for your bowel health.

It is important to keep your body clean as well as your mind. Medical professionals are finding out that having a healthy bowel is a key factor in the overall health of our bodies. If you’ve been feeling low in energy even though you have been trying to get healthy it might be a good idea to look at your bowel health.

The intestinal wall and the bacteria act as a barrier between the blood stream and the rest of the body. This barrier is designed to allow nutrients to be absorbed while blocking bad bacteria and toxins from entering your blood stream.

However, if your gut is low on good bacteria, the gut wall also begins to fail and cause reactions like allergies and other immune problems. Support your gut barrier by consuming more indigestible fibers, also known as prebiotics. You can consume prebiotics in supplement form or by eating foods like jicama, avocado, soybeans, potato skins and organic apple cider vinegar.

Be Careful With Your Food Choices

The modern diet tends to be full of processed food, chemicals and sugar, which all cause chaos in the gut. Not only that but the food you eat, whether good or bad, can change your gut for better or for worse within only a few hours. Take the time to choose your food carefully, and focus on whole foods, plant-based food and fermented food while shying away from sugar and chemicals.

Try Fasting

The benefits of fasting have recently been promoted widely in the media and among health professionals.Fasting means abstaining from all or some foods for a set period of time.Fasting doesn’t have to mean 24 hours drinking only water. In fact, intermittent fasting can be as simple as not eating after 8 PM at night and then not eating again until 8 AM the next morning. That’s 12 hours of not eating. This allows your gut to get back on track as the probiotics can rest and repopulate. Once you’ve mastered 12 hours, try increasing it to 14 by eating dinner early and not eating past 6 PM.

Taking these simple steps will help strengthen your gut and reduce inflammatory responses throughout your body. Other benefits of fasting are promotion of blood sugar control,improves blood pressure and cholesterol levels,may boost brain function,helps in control of weight loss.

Probiotics Improve Gut Health

Spring Health: Improve Your Gut

This post may contain affiliate links.

Start with Probiotics

Your gut is full of good bacteria, but it also has bad bacteria. When the bad begins to outnumber the good, that is when you can start to have problems. The good bacteria are known as probiotics and they break down food to extract the nutrients. They also help to generate enzymes that aid digestion and maximize absorption. Without probiotics, your body will find it difficult to absorb what it needs to stay healthy. To fix this, you can take a high quality time-release probiotic supplement. Many studies have shown that probiotics improve gut health. You can also add various fermented foods to your diet, such as sauerkraut and kombucha. Other foods to include for gut health include fibre and plant based foods.Avoid highly processed foods if you want to improve your gut health.

Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home. It can also be for your mind and body. Medical professionals are finding out that having a healthy gut is a key factor in how healthy our bodies are. If you’ve been feeling your energy is low despite all your efforts to get healthy it might be a good idea to look at improving your gut health this spring.

Strengthen Your Gut Barrier

The gut or barrier is the intestinal wall and gut microbes, which function as a barrier between the bloodstream and the rest of the body. The gut barrier actually has an intelligent permeable design, which means that it allows nutrients to penetrate it while blocking toxins and bad bacteria.

Try Fasting

The benefits of fasting have recently been promoted widely in the media and among health professionals.Fasting means abstaining from all or some foods for a set period of time.Fasting doesn’t have to mean 24 hours drinking only water. In fact, intermittent fasting can be as simple as not eating after 8 PM at night and then not eating again until 8 AM the next morning. That’s 12 hours of not eating. This allows your gut to get back on track as the probiotics can rest and repopulate. Once you’ve mastered 12 hours, try increasing it to 14 by eating dinner early and not eating past 6 PM.

Taking these simple steps will help strengthen your gut and reduce inflammatory responses throughout your body. Other benefits of fasting are promotion of blood sugar control,improves blood pressure and cholesterol levels,may boost brain function,helps in control of weight loss.

Spend More Time Outdoors In Spring

Believe it or not, Spring is coming! Perhaps you can already see the changes in your neighborhood. Some of us aren’t as lucky. However, all of us can start making our Spring plans now. We can spend more time outdoors in Spring and experience life-changing rewards.

Healthy Sunshine

Go ahead: do nothing. Just sit outside and absorb the sunshine. Your body will create healthy vitamins to build immunity and improve mood. So if you feel as if sitting still is somehow lazy, just remind yourself that you are creating good physical health as well as a sense of calmness and peace for your day. Meditate. Read a book. Take things slowly for a few minutes (or longer). Be good to yourself. The other stuff in your life can usually wait for a little while.

Energizing Exercise

Spring is a time to get out and get moving. Walking will shake out some of those tense muscles you’ve developed while hibernating on the couch during snowstorms and flu season. Running will get you breathing deeply as you build cardiovascular endurance. Swinging on a swing will let you feel like a kid again. Go to the park, go fishing, or go out with a friend; it all works. Fresh air improves sleep habits. A change of real-life scenery rescues us from those online virtual worlds we sometimes spend too much time in.

The Joy Of Gardening

Springtime is the time to plant seeds that will bring results later. You can have a home garden and grow your favorite vegetables. You can start some herbs in planters and move them to the porch when the weather warms up. Have you ever carved your own pumpkin for Halloween? Have you tasted fresh peas from your garden? Planting seeds in the ground can mean planting possibilities in your life. Enjoy the seed catalogs, pick your produce, teach the kids, and build self-reliance. Spring is the time for growth, and this can involve changes within you as well.

The Abundant Life

Living a life rich with a variety of outdoor experiences is worth the effort. It doesn’t necessarily require extensive travel, although it can if you want it to. It might include an impromptu luncheon on a friend’s porch. It might include a community class on local landmarks. Perhaps a road trip or even a cruise is in order. The goal is to get outside, connect with others, and enjoy new experiences. What you do is up to you. Spring just makes it that much easier to spend more time outdoors.

Spring Into Good Health

Reset Your Body This Spring

The winter months make most people feel more tired than normal. The cold winter season often makes the days seem longer, making people feel low in energy. When spring comes, the difference is very noticeable as energy begins to be restored. However, many find themselves looking back and seeing how those cold months of slowed activities. Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations have impacted their physical body. Weight gain around this time of year is incredibly common. Fortunately, there are several ways to help our bodies Spring into good health

Salt Water Flush

A salt water flush is an excellent way to give the body a good startup. Many people may notice that their body is not functioning at its optimal level. This could be because the body isn’t getting rid of waste properly. The Saltwater flush ensures that the bowel is flushed of any toxins that the body is holding onto. This flush will really improve your digestion and help to get rid of any bloating you may have and you will start to feel more healthy.

Ingredients:

2 tsps. Himalayan pink salt

32 oz. Water

1 tsp. Lemon juice

Find a glass jar with a screw top lid and add the water(should be quite hot) the salt and some fresh lemon juice. Shake it all well to fully dissolve the salt. No granules should be visible. They will ie in the bottom of the jar if they don’t dissolve.

Drink the mixture very quickly, within a few minutes. Since it really doesn’t taste that great!

After half an hour you will probably need to go to the toilet and so the flushing out effect begins. When your bowel is completely cleansed it is always a good idea to take probiotics for a while to help replace some of the good bacteria.

Mid adult woman making cold-pressed juice in the kitchen. Focus on cold-pressed juicer

Juice Fasting for Good Health

Juicing fruits and vegetables can help give you any minerals and nutrients you might have missed out on during winter. Juicing your fruits and vegetables allows for those nutrients to be distributed throughout your body much faster. Another benefit of juicing is that it gives your digestive system a little break. Juice fasting isn’t necessarily meant for long term use as it entails a lack of fiber to the body, but it’s great to use for a kick start for few days at a time. Below is a juice recipe that is sure to boost your energy levels.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 pineapple chopped
• 3 -4 mint leaves
• 1 apple diced
• 4 medium carrots

More HIIT

HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training and involves alternating between intervals of high cardio and low-intermediate exercise.The idea is that HIIT makes sure the body burns more calories and fat even after the workout as your metabolism is gradually accelerating. There are so many innovative ways to incorporate some HIIT into your workout routine. For example, if you regularly go for hikes, try to structure in some HIIT by sprinting a portion of the hike and then walking another portion. A more specific HIIT routine would be as follows:

Instructions:
1) Sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds.
2) Walk slowly for 30 seconds.
3) Repeat for 30 minutes to complete routine.

The transition from winter to spring can be difficult for many people, but it doesn’t have to be. There are several ways to good health and to reset the body for the new spring season.

The Start Of Healthy

I am a fifty-something working Mum and Grandmum, who is also a Registered Nurse, with a keen interest in common health issues, treatments and how to become and stay healthy.

My aim is to bring you all the latest health news, information, advice and links to the best sites on how to get to know and improve the joy of healthy living.

There will be regular blog posts from myself and other experts.