healthy habits

Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9) Is Important for Health

Folate (vitamin B-9) is important in red blood cell formation and for healthy cell growth and function. The nutrient is crucial during early pregnancy to reduce the risk of birth defects of the brain and spine. A diet lacking foods rich in folate or folic acid can lead to a folate deficiency. Folate deficiency can also occur in people who have conditions, such as celiac disease, that prevent the small intestine from absorbing nutrients from foods (malabsorption syndromes).

Folate is found mainly in dark green leafy vegetables, beans, peas and nuts.Fruits rich in folate include oranges, lemons, bananas, melons and strawberries. The synthetic form of folate is folic acid. It’s in an essential component of prenatal vitamins and is in many fortified foods such as cereals and pastas.

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Best Tea for Overall Health: Green Tea

When it comes to tea, green tea gets the gold. “Green tea is the champ when it comes to offering health benefits,” says dietitian Beth Czerwony, RD. “It’s the Swiss Army knife of teas. It covers a lot of territory.”

A medical literature review offers a snapshot of those benefits, linking the consumption of green tea to:

• Cancer prevention.
• Fighting heart disease.
• Lower blood pressure.
• Anti-inflammatory treatment.
• Weight loss.
• Lower cholesterol.

The healing power of green tea is linked to catechin, an antioxidant compound found in tea leaves. It helps protect your cells from damage caused by out-of-hand free radicals reacting with other molecules in your body.

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The Words You Use Can Affect Your Health

Seeing a list of negative words for a few seconds will make a highly anxious or depressed person feel worse, and the more you ruminate on them, the more you can actually damage key structures that regulate your memory, feelings, and emotions. You’ll disrupt your sleep, your appetite, and your ability to experience long-term happiness and satisfaction. . . . Choose your words wisely and speak them slowly. This will allow you to interrupt the brain’s propensity to be negative, and, as recent research has shown, the mere repetition of positive words like love, peace, and compassion will turn on specific genes that lower your physical and emotional stress.  You’ll feel better, live longer, and build deeper and more trusting relationships with others, at home and at work.

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Nutritional Benefits of Strawberries

The heart-shaped silhouette of the strawberry is the first clue that this fruit is good for you. These potent little packages protect your heart, increase HDL (good) cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, and guard against cancer. Packed with vitamins, fiber, and particularly high levels of antioxidants known as polyphenols, strawberries are a sodium-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free, low-calorie food. They are among the top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity and are a good source of manganese and potassium. Just one serving — about eight strawberries — provides more vitamin C than an orange. . . .Choose medium-sized berries that are firm, plump, and deep red; once picked, they don’t ripen further. 

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Kissing Is Good for Your Health

1. Turns out that kissing — even your family and friends — has loads of mental and physical benefits that make getting your smooch on totally worth it. Here’s what the science says.
2. Kissing boosts your happy hormones – Kissing triggers your brain to release a cocktail of chemicals that leave you feeling oh so good by igniting the pleasure centers of the brain.
3. Kissing helps you bond with the other person – Oxytocin is a chemical linked to pair bonding. The rush of oxytocin released when you kiss causes feelings of affection and attachment.
4. Kissing can reduce your cortisol levels — potentially improving your feelings of self-worth.
5. Kissing relieves stress – kissing also lowers cortisol levels and stress. Kissing and other affectionate communication, like hugging and saying “I love you,” impacts the physiological processes related to stress management.
6. Kissing can improve your immune system – Swapping spit can boost your immunity by exposing you to new germs that strengthen your immune system. One 2014 study found that couples that kiss frequently share the same microbiota in their saliva and on their tongues.
7. Kissing, regardless of whom you’re kissing, can have a positive impact on your emotional and physical wellbeing.
8. Kissing makes both parties feel good about themselves and can help strengthen relationships of all kinds, so kiss and kiss often. It’s good for you!

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To stay as healthy as possible while you exercise, focus on ways to minimize your exposure to air pollution. You can limit the effects of air pollution when you exercise in many ways, including:

• Timing your workouts carefully. Avoid outdoor physical activity or reduce the intensity and duration of your outdoor exercise when an air quality alert has been issued. Air pollution levels tend to be highest near midday or in the afternoon, so try to avoid outdoor exercise during these times of the day.Exercising during rush hour can expose you to higher amounts of pollution. If you can, avoid exercising near roadways where there is heavy traffic.

• Avoiding high-pollution areas. Pollution levels are likely to be highest within 1/4 mile (400 meters) of a road. Urban environments and outdoor smoking areas also have higher pollution levels. If possible, avoid these kinds of areas when exercising.

• Exercising indoors. Vary your routine with occasional indoor activities, especially on poor air quality days. Take a fitness class, check out a local gym or run laps on an indoor track.

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Dried Fruit is Highly Nutritious.

It is loaded with micronutrients, fiber, and antioxidants. One piece of dried fruit contains about the same amount of nutrients as the fresh fruit, but condensed in a much smaller package.  By weight, dried fruit contains up to 3.5 times the fiber, vitamins and minerals of fresh fruit. One serving can provide a large percentage of the daily recommended intake of many vitamins and minerals, such as folate. There are some exceptions. For example, the vitamin C content is significantly reduced when the fruit is dried. Dried fruit generally contains a lot of fiber and is a great source of antioxidants, especially polyphenols. Polyphenol antioxidants are associated with health benefits such as improved blood flow, better digestive health, decreased oxidative damage and reduced risk of many diseases.

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The food we eat directly affects our overall well-being, including our hearing health. Eating a balanced diet rich in vital nutrients can prevent potential damage and boost our ear health.According to studies, eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower the risk of hearing loss by 30%. Potassium, zinc, folic acid, and magnesium are four important minerals linked to improved hearing health. Making sure you include vegetables and fruits in your daily diet can do wonders for your hearing! . . . Healthy eating is key to good hearing health. Consuming a diet rich in nutrients, especially those low in fat and sugar and with antioxidant properties, will boost your hearing health and reduce your risk of heart attacks, cancer, and other chronic ailments, improving your quality of life.

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