Have you tried yoga? With its increasing popularity, more and more people are trying yoga. Maybe you've tried it, but did you know that aside from the obvious benefits of increasing strength, yoga has many other health benefits? It creates awareness of your mind/body connection. It even taps into your body's ability to heal itself.
Do you love the aromatic, spicy flavor of ginger? I have to admit that I didn’t used to love it, but it has grown on me and now I love it! Did you know that ginger’s amazing flavor comes along with a host of health benefits? Ginger and Digestive HealthTurmeric contains a compound called curcumin that has LOTS of health benefits. It is found in delicous things like curry powder and mustard. Here are a few of the benefits: Turmeric is good for your heart
It can help with cancer and arthritis
It may help with Alzheimer's and Osteoporosis
Fall is just around the corner and with it dreams of pumpkin spice lattes. While pumpkin spice lattes may not be the healthiest item on the menu, one of its ingredients is full of health benefits! Cinnamon is full of health benefits! Just a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon sprinkled on your food can help prevent an insulin spike. This spike normally occurs after a meal and signals the body to store fat instead of burning it. It could help in your battle of the bulge! Because cinnamon helps regulate insulin, it may also be beneficial for diabetics. Some other great benefits of cinnamon include:
Red fruits and vegetables contain phytonutrients such as ellagic acid, anthocyanins, lycopene and more. These phytonutrients may help regulate blood pressure levels, lower bad cholesterol, and reduce tumor growth. Anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants that help prevent cell damage, help keep your heart healthy, and reduce the pain from arthritis and gout. Lycopene may help reduce the risk of some kinds of cancer, such as prostate cancer, breast, colorectal, endometrial, lung and pancreatic. The best way to get your daily dose of lycopene is in cooked tomatoes with a small amount of fat, such as a marinara sauce with a little olive oil in it.
Are you finding that you are really sore after a workout? Adding cherry juice to your diet could reduce soreness after exercise. Research from Oregon Health & Science University found that people who drank 2 cups of tart cherry juice two times a day for a week felt less muscle pain and soreness after a race than those who didn’t.
Cherries have a natural anti-inflammatory antioxidant, known as anthocyanin. It can be used to reduce the pain and inflammation from gout, arthritis, muscle pain and back pain. They may also offer some protection from colon cancer, heart attack and stroke. Everyone is different, so the amount you need to consume and the time it takes to see benefits may vary. To receive benefits you should drink at least one ounce of tart cherry juice concentrate, a quarter cup of dried tart cherries or 1 ½ cups of frozen tart cherries. All cherries contain anthocyanins, but tart cherries have twice the amount as sweet cherries. It could take a few days to several weeks to see results.
It is no secret that I love to travel. One of the places I have traveled several times is the Hawaiian Islands. One of the best things about the Hawaiian Islands is the amazing fruit they grow there - mangoes, bananas, pineapples, and more! Eating fruit directly off the tree, sun-ripened is amazing. On one visit, our little apartment had a mango tree in the yard, so each morning we would eat sun-ripened and warmed mangoes for breakfast! Soooo good… But back to the pineapples. We even went to the Dole Plantation on Oahu and took a tour to see the pineapple growing!
Hawaii is known as the place pineapple comes from even though Christopher Columbus actually brought them back from South America. People in South America use pineapple to treat digestive problems and inflammation. One cup of pineapple contains only 82 calories, but a whopping 131% of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C! It also contains vitamin A, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, manganese, potassium, antioxidants and polyphenols like beta-carotene.
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Tonya CruzI am a Duke Integrative Medicine trained Health Coach located in Charlotte, NC. I hold a B.S. and M.A. in Wellness Management. I have a passion for health and for helping others achieve the healthy life they desire. Archives
April 2017
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