The Best Vegetables to Eat for Anti-Aging Benefits

As we continue to age it becomes increasingly important to make sure that our bodies are receiving adequate nutrition. When we are not taking care of our bodies to the greatest extent possible, it can turn into quite an ordeal as the consequences of our neglect to our health begin to catch up with us. When we aren’t being conscientious about the choices that we make, it can cause a lot of problems.

Fortunately, we have the option to think about the choices that we have been making and modify them to the point that we are able to prevent further damage and often, reduce the damages that have already been done. Our bodies are extraordinary machines and more often than not they can seem to bounce back miraculously!

But we have to make sure that we are maintaining them and making good choices. So, consider the following vegetables as some of the best things that you can eat for your health and wellness, and vegetables that can help you to stay youthful and to prevent the signs of aging.

First, edamame is a great option for anyone who is hoping to prevent the signs of aging. It encourages blood flow and can even help women who are dealing with menopause by providing a special type of plant estrogen called phytoestrogens to the body. Edamame helps with cardiovascular health, which can also translate to blood flow. And making sure our blood is circulating properly is one of the best ways to enhance our natural glow and keep us looking and feeling great!

Another great vegetable to eat to help us to prevent the signs of aging are sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have been considered a veritable super food. They are chock full of vitamins and nutrients that help our bodies function optimally. One of the strongest vitamins they contain in order to help us in the fight against aging is vitamin A, which has been known to help our collagen levels and ultimately help us to reduce and prevent lines and wrinkles from forming in the skin. Another vegetable that contains high levels of vitamin A is the carrot, so eating both of these root vegetables can have a great impact on our efforts at anti-aging!

You might also want to consider eating more cooked tomatoes. When they are cooked, tomatoes produce an antioxidant called lycopene, which can do wonders in helping us to keep our skin healthy and free of any damage that might threaten it. Throw in a little bit of cilantro for detoxing and you could find yourself enjoying quite a delicious meal that can actually have tremendous health benefits as well!

Overall, eating nutritional foods will do wonders for the body and mind. When we are taking care of ourselves, it’s hard not to radiate the confidence and natural vitality that are within each of us. Try to incorporate more of these vegetables into your diet today for the best chances of reducing aging through your diet!

Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Poisoning with Safe Heat During Winter Weather

When you’re in the middle of a winter weather crisis, and you don’t have any heat, you must find a way to produce that heat in order to get warm. It’s not safe to just use any type of heating that you find, because many of them come with dangerous side effects that can be harmful or fatal.

One of the side effects of using the wrong kind of heating is carbon monoxide poisoning. This is something that occurs when, instead of carrying oxygen throughout your body, your cells are filled with carbon monoxide.

When you breathe in carbon monoxide, you may not even be aware of it because it’s odorless. You can get symptoms from experiencing it, though. You may get a headache or start to feel dizzy.

Some people get confused or end up vomiting. This type of poisoning can make you feel like you have the flu. There can be multiple things that cause carbon monoxide poisoning, but it happens to you when you inhale fumes from these devices.

Certain household appliances can cause a buildup of carbon monoxide in your home - things such as a furnace or a fireplace - even if it’s a wood burning fireplace. Your home can have a buildup of this gas from a gas stove or from a water heater.

You can also experience carbon monoxide poisoning from your vehicle. The main reason it happens is due to poor or no ventilation of an appliance or heating device. This is especially true when you’re trying to heat your home during a cold weather event.

When the electricity goes out and it gets cold inside, some people think it’s okay to bring their charcoal grill inside to heat the house. But a charcoal grill releases carbon monoxide.

One way to tell if something’s wrong is to look at the flame of whatever type of heating device you’re using. With natural gas devices, the color of the flame should be blue and not yellow or orange.

But if you’re burning fuel in a portable heating device, the flame should be yellow or orange. Always look at the device ratings. Most will have a label indicating whether or not they’re safe to use indoors and if there are any ventilation needs.

Don’t use any device that’s not rated for indoor use. It’s safe to use indoor propane appliances, alcohol heaters, solar powered heaters and vent-free heaters. You can use a wood stove or gas fireplace if either has been properly ventilated.

Because you can’t see it or smell it, you have no way to know if you’re at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. This is why you need to have a CO detector in your home. You should have one of these alarms on each floor of your home. These devices can sense carbon monoxide before the gas makes you ill - or worse.

Common Blind Spots When Working on Self Care

When it comes to working on self-care, all of us have different blind spots. These are basically aspects of our ourselves that aren’t fully aware of. It could be personality traits, feelings, or actions.

These blind spots can really hamper our self-care efforts. That is why it is so important to become fully aware of them. Here, we’ll look at some of the most common blind spots you may discover when working on self-care.

You avoid conflict

A lot of people hate conflict, but sometimes it is needed to resolve situations. If you tend to avoid conflict, it means you’ll often do or say things you don’t necessarily agree with. This is a common blind spot that can really derail your self-care efforts.

The trouble is, when you give in to others just to avoid conflict, it reduces your credibility. You’ll also find you are frequently miserable due to not standing firm in your own beliefs and values. So, if your blind spot is avoiding conflict, it’s important to address it.

Not letting toxic people go

Do you have toxic people in your life you just can’t seem to let go of? Whether it is a friend, partner, or family member, associating with toxic people is going to really hurt your self-development.

If you learn to let toxic people go, it’s going to significantly improve your life. You’ll be happier and much more able to make positive changes in your life. It’s hard to remain positive in life when you are surrounded by negativity. So, assess the relationships in your life and if there is a toxic person around you, work on distancing yourself and instead surround yourself with positive role models.

You are continually late

Frequently running late might not sound like a problematic blind spot in self-care. However, it could be negatively impacting various aspects of your life. When you are known for being late, it lowers your trustworthiness. This can negatively impact your personal relationships, as well as lead to issues at work.

In terms of self-care, this trait can make it harder to stick to certain changes you make. For example, you may find it more difficult to stick to a schedule you set yourself.

Impatience

If you tend to be an impatient person, you may find self-care more challenging. This is because you won’t necessarily see any results overnight. It takes time to adopt new habits and see the benefits of self-care. So, if you’re impatient, you might give up before you’ve experienced the benefits of your hard work.

When you are impatient, it makes you frustrated when you don’t see instant results. So, working on becoming more patient as you start your self-care journey is essential if you want to keep it up.

These are some of the most common blind spots you’ll experience when working on self-care. Identifying your blind spots will help you to reduce the challenges of self-care and make you much more likely to succeed with any changes you make.

How the Lack of Self Care Can Lead to an Unhappy Life

Self-care is often seen as a luxury, but did you know it can lead to a longer, happier life? Without self-care, you’re likely to end up feeling stressed, tired, and generally unhappy.

Here, we’ll look at how a lack of self-care can lead to an unhappy life. You will also learn some of the signs to watch out for that you need more self-care in your life.

You’ll feel stressed and exhausted

When you aren’t taking care of yourself, you’ll often feel stressed and exhausted. This in turn can lead to burnout and a feeling of resentment. For example, it could be that you are exhausted from taking care of everyone else’s needs. Over time, if you don’t factor in self-care, you could end up resenting your loved ones.

When you are constantly exhausted and stressed out, it’s impossible to maintain a positive outlook. Self-care helps to combat stress and it also boosts your energy levels.

Personal hygiene suffers

A side effect of not following a self-care routine, is that your personal hygiene could suffer. This is especially true for those experiencing depression. When you are depressed or low, self-care is the last thing on your mind. In severe cases, you could spend days in bed, failing to do even basic self-care tasks such as taking a shower or brushing your teeth.

The trouble is, failing to take care of yourself leads you to feel even worse. So, maintaining self-care is crucial for your mental health and personal hygiene.

You’ll seek unhealthy enjoyment

Another thing that tends to happen when you lack self-care, is you’ll seek unhealthy enjoyment. It could be overindulging in junk food because it makes you feel better. Or you could turn to alcohol or drugs to escape.

When you start turning to unhealthy habits for comfort, it’s going to lead to additional issues. You’ll also feel unhappier, particularly if you drink in excess. Alcohol is a depressant which can leave you feeling a lot worse than you started.

Weight gain

Many people who don’t take care of themselves, experience some level of weight gain. The more weight you gain, the unhappier you are going to be. It can be difficult to lose weight, so focus on self-care to help you to avoid this potential challenge.

You never feel good enough

Self-care is something you do because you are worth it. Therefore, if you fail to take care of yourself, you can end up feeling like you are never good enough. As you are constantly tired and juggling life’s responsibilities, you may feel like you are a failure, or you simply don’t measure up to others.

These are just some of the things that can happen when you don’t follow a self-care routine. The effects can be severe, causing you to lead an unhappy and unfulfilled life. So, if you’re looking to lead a happier life, now is the time to start focusing on your needs and making self-care a priority.

How to Balance Practicing Personal Self Care with a Busy Life

One of the most difficult challenges a lot of people face with self-care, is finding the time to fit it in. When you live a busy lifestyle, it can seem almost impossible to find extra time to look after you.

So, how can you balance practicing self-care with a busy lifestyle? Here, you’ll discover some great tips you can follow.

Schedule it in

A good tip you can follow to ensure you can fit self-care into your busy routine, is to schedule it in. Think about it, you schedule in everything else, so why not self-care? When you set a time to focus on yourself, you are much more likely to stick to it. No matter how busy you think you are, there will always be time for self-care somewhere in your schedule.

Establish a morning routine

If you are struggling to find the best time of day to practice self-care, you might find it easier in the morning. If you’re a busy parent, you might disagree here but think about it. In the morning, you could get up just 30 minutes earlier, or 15 minutes if you want. This can be the perfect opportunity to practice self-care.

Alternatively, if you are a parent you could focus on self-care in the evenings when the kids have gone to bed. It doesn’t take long to practice self-care so you should always be able to squeeze it in somewhere.

Look at automating daily tasks

There are all kinds of tools and gadgets that can automate various aspects of our lives. If you are constantly busy, you’ll find automating certain tasks can be a game changer.

For example, you could switch from going to the grocery store, to ordering groceries online. If you have items you frequently purchase, these can be added to your favorites list, making it easier to add them to your order next time. Doing your grocery shopping online can free up a lot of free time during the week that can be used on self-care.

Start small

You don’t have to start by completely overhauling your lifestyle. Instead, you can start small with self-care. Begin by taking just 10 minutes out of each day to focus on a self-care activity. Focus on developing one positive self-care habit at a time. Once you have mastered that, you can move on to the next task.

By starting small, it makes it easier to fit self-care into your busy life. Many people mistakenly think they need to begin with at least 30 minutes a day. The truth is, however much time you can free up for self-care is enough. Once you get started, you’ll find it easier to start focusing more on self-care due to the benefits you experience.

Overall, balancing practicing self-care with a busy lifestyle isn’t easy. However, the tips above can really help. You’ll find a lot of tips online too from busy people just like you. Remember, self-care is essential to your health and wellbeing. So, no matter how busy you are, you should always try and make time for self-care daily.

The First Step to Change is to Recognize it is Needed

If you’re struggling to make healthier changes in your life, it could be that you’re not convinced a change is needed. Many of us are also great at avoiding change. It tends to be something we dread, rather than look forward to.

However, if you want to live your best life, it’s imperative you recognize when a change is needed. So, how exactly can you recognize that change is needed in your life? Below, you’ll discover some of the common signs to look out for.

You feel lost or stuck in life

Do you feel like you’re stuck in a rut and you have lost your purpose? This is a sure sign that a change is needed. Everyone has a purpose, but it isn’t always easy to identify it. Also, your purpose can change as you get older and go through life’s experiences. So, if you feel like your life isn’t your own anymore, it’s time to make a change.

Your mood is consistently flat

Another sign change is needed is if you find your mood is constantly flat. That is, you don’t really enjoy anything anymore. You don’t have to feel depressed to make a change, simply feeling constantly flat is another indicator your life isn’t satisfying.

Think about the things that used to make you feel good. It could be that you once enjoyed your career. If you now don’t like your job, it’s a sign you need to make a change to get back to feeling that initial excitement.

You suffer with poor self esteem

Low self-esteem can develop for a lot of different reasons. However, it tends to be more prevalent in those who don’t take care of themselves. If you lack self-care, you may criticize yourself more or feel like you aren’t worth much.

Over time, poor self-esteem can lead you to feel like you don’t deserve good things in life. This in turn can cause you to give up trying to be happy. If you suffer with poor self-esteem, it is a good sign you need a change.

You have very little energy

Having little energy throughout the day could be a sign of poor sleep. However, it can also relate to a deeper issue if you are constantly tired. It may mean that you have lost your passion and interest in life. When you spend a lot of time doing things that don’t inspire you, it can zap your energy quickly.

So, if you wake up feeling tired and drained consistently, take it as a sign you need more self-care in your life. When you are taking care of yourself, you’ll feel energized and ready to take on anything.

As you can see, there are a lot of signs that could point to the fact you need a change. Self-care can really help to improve self-esteem, give you a sense of purpose and help to make you feel happier and more energized. So, if you want to make a change, recognize where your current issues lie and use self-care to eliminate them.

5 Effective Ways To Deal With Pressures In Life

Do you ever feel like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Or, at the very least the weight of the people around you? Nothing weighs you down like pressure and too much of it is likely to leave you feeling frustrated, angry, and sad. In extreme cases, you may find yourself bubbling over and knocked out by overwhelm and burnout.

It isn't just work deadlines that get you, it can also be financial obligations and the burden of daily life. Money, in particular, is a rising cause of anxiety and stress for Americans. Combined with the stress of excessive working hours, a lack of control and support, and it's no wonder so many people are feeling under pressure.

We all react differently to pressure, some people swear it makes them perform better while others recognize the damage it can do to their performance. It is much easier to remain focused on a task when you're calm. So, let's look t five effective ways to deal with pressures in life.

1. It's The Process, Not The Outcome
Sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is detach from the outcome and remain focused on the work that you are doing. It is much easier to live your potential if you remove the obstacles you face mentally. If you focus on the process, rather than the outcome, it will reduce the likelihood of performance anxiety.

2. Organize
How do you organize your day? How do you manage your thoughts? You can't store it all in your head. The best way to deal with thoughts and responsibilities is to have an external organization system. It might be that you write out a daily to-do list, it could be that you prefer a digital calendar. Whatever it is – it removes the pressure of memorizing everything you have to do and worrying about forgetting something. Your list is your bible and will serve as a reminder for everything you need to do or deal with. You will notice a serious dip in the pressure you carry.

3. Deal With Negative Thoughts
If you struggle with negative thoughts this will only add to the pressure you feel. One of the ways you can manage these thoughts is through re-framing them. When you are faced with a negative thought, start by putting things into perspective. As frantic worry starts to overtake you, stop and remind yourself that no matter what it is you're faced with that you can handle it. It's not the end of the world, work through it by deciding your next steps – first, I'm going to do x and then I'll do y, and do this until you have successfully reframed your thoughts and empowered yourself.

4. Know Your Limits
Your brain can only keep it all together for so long. So, if you're dealing with tens of thousands of thoughts daily (you are), as well as a list of things to do, and a glut of problems, your brain can only maintain for so long. Understand that your brain has limitations and start going easy on yourself. Be realistic. Do not expect to carry all of the solutions all of the time. You literally can't.

5. Breathe Through It
When you are faced with a crisis, too much pressure or you feel overwhelmed, press pause and breathe through it. Count to ten as you inhale deeply and exhale and allow yourself a moment to clear your brain of worries. Let your mind have enough time to recalibrate so you relieve some of that pressure and allow yourself to think more clearly to deal with the problem at hand.

Why People Fail So Badly at Taking Care of Themselves

Even when you know how important self-care is to your wellbeing, it isn’t always easy to incorporate it into your daily routine. In fact, did you know many people fail when it comes to taking care of themselves?

Here, we’ll look at why people generally fail when it comes to self-care and the main things holding them back.

It is often perceived as selfish

One of the main reasons people fail to take care of themselves is because they feel it is selfish. It could be that you feel guilty when you take time to focus on you. Or, you may worry what other people think, or that you are a terrible parent for not focusing solely on your children’s needs.

It is a total myth that self-care is selfish. In fact, it can help you to be a better parent, friend, spouse and relative. The more you take care of yourself, the easier you’ll find it to take care of others. You’ll also show your children the importance of self-care. Teaching them to take care of their own needs is a crucial life skill that’s going to help them to grow up to be happier adults.

It requires effort

There is no getting away from the fact that self-care does take some level of effort in the beginning. When you aren’t used to making self-care a priority, you’re going to need to make quite a few changes to your routine.

Coming up with a self-care plan can feel like a chore, making it easy to put it off. However, there are ways to reduce the effort. For example, focusing on one thig you want to improve at a time can really help. Perhaps you’d like to start working out more? Scheduling time to exercise as soon as you wake up for example, can be a great start. Or, if you’re looking to drink more water, focus on that goal first.

If you break down your self-care tasks, it makes them much easier, reducing a lot of the effort involved.

Different approaches work for different people

Every one of us is different, which means we enjoy and dislike different things. When you initially look at examples of self-care, you’ll find a lot of them relate to things like reading a book or taking a hot bubble bath. These types of activities aren’t for everyone so they might feel self-care really isn’t for them.

Self-care isn’t just bubble baths, yoga, and meditation. It is anything that relaxes and takes care of you. So, if you find going for a run is a more effective way of feeling good, that would be classed as a self-care task.

If you find one self-care approach isn’t working, try something else. Self-care should be personal to your own needs.

These are the most common reasons people fail to take good care of themselves. It can be difficult overcoming the initial barriers to self-care. However, once you fully understand what and how important it is, you’ll find it much easier to stick to a self-care routine.

Supplements are a great way to boost the health when you are deficient in vitamins and minerals. However, they should never be used as a replacement for a healthy diet.

The vitamins and minerals found in food are in their natural form. Supplements on the other hand don’t tend to contain the same level of nutritious benefits as the real thing. So, it’s much better to get your daily dose through your diet where possible.

Here, you’ll discover the best foods to eat to avoid needing supplements.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A. They contain a lot of beta-carotene which converts to vitamin A once it is in the body. They are considered one of the healthiest types of vegetables you can eat, with even the skin being packed full of nutrients.

Adding sweet potatoes to your diet will help to boost your immune system, promote good gut health and enhance brain function.  

Dairy

If you want to avoid calcium deficiencies, it’s important to eat a lot of dairy. Think milk, cheese and yoghurt. These days, a lot of adults are calcium deficient because they avoid consuming higher-fat dairy products.

Provided you consume dairy products daily, you should get the right amount of calcium that the body needs....

Safety Tips for Ensuring Optimal Intermittent Fasting Success

When you decide to use fasting to lose weight, you have to be aware of how to properly refeed. If you’re not, you can cause problems for your body and end up undermining your weight loss efforts.

Refeeding simply means eating again after a fast. When you do without food, your body stops producing as many digestive enzymes. There’s no need for the enzymes, since there’s no work to do.

If you don’t refeed correctly, you’ll experience problems. Some of these problems include issues such as diarrhea. You may end up with gas pains that are bad enough to double you over.

You may also experience bloating. Some people who use intermittent fasting experience nausea when they attempt to begin eating again. The reason that these symptoms can happen is because your body is slow to respond once food is reintroduced....