[If] you’re surrounded by a tightly connected circle of friends who regularly gather to eat and share gossip, you’ll not only have fun but you’re also likely to live an average of fifteen years longer than a loner. One study of almost three thousand Americans found that people with close friendships are far less likely to die young, and in 2004 a Swedish epidemiologist discovered the lowest rate of dementia in people with extensive social networks. Fifty-year-old men with active friendships are less likely to have heart attacks than more solitary men, while people who have had a stroke are better protected from grave complications by a tight, supportive social network than they are by medication.
Source
healthy heart
🍎 Health Hack ~ Washing Hands versus Hand Sanitizers, Who Wins?
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs.
Why? Soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizers at removing certain kinds of germs, like Cryptosporidium, norovirus, and Clostridium difficile1-5. Although alcohol-based hand sanitizers can inactivate many types of microbes very effectively when used correctly 1-15, people may not use a large enough volume of the sanitizers or may wipe it off before it has dried 14.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Wash Your Hands
Wash Your Hands Often to Stay Healthy
You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy by washing your hands often, especially during these key times when you are likely to get and spread germs:
- Before, during, and after preparing food
- Before eating food
- Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick with vomiting or diarrhea
- Before and after treating a cut or wound
- After using the toilet
- After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
- After handling pet food or pet treats
- After touching garbage
🍎 Health Hack ~ Rev Up Your Immune System
“The immune system is the body’s defense against illness and infection. But when someone has a poor immune system, due to a disease such as cancer, they’re more likely to get sick easily. However — whether you have a naturally weaker or compromised immune system — you can help build it and protect your body by optimizing your eating plan. And the best way to strengthen your immune function may be to eat a nourishing diet that packs in immune–boosting foods.”
5 Food Types Supporting a Strong Immune System
- Berries
- Citrus fruits
- Nuts & seeds
- Green & orange vegetables
- Plant based food for gut health
🍎 Health Hack ~ Hydrate to Knockout the Flu
One symptom of the flu is a high fever, which can lead to sweating. You might also be dealing with bouts of vomiting or diarrhea. Your body needs plenty of fluids to replace lost liquids, and even more to fight off the infection.
Water is best, but you can also drink herbal teas or tea with honey. These can have a soothing effect on your symptoms while keeping you hydrated. Two things you should always avoid, though, are alcohol and caffeine.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Adios Sugar
Saying sayonara to sweets may also slow your skin’s aging process, per a paper published November 2015 by the Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Dermatology. “Excessive sugar in the bloodstream attaches to proteins such as collagen and elastin to form harmful new molecules called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. AGEs damage collagen and elastin, causing them to become dry and brittle, which leads to wrinkles and sagging,” Dr. Batra says. “The less sugar you eat, the fewer AGEs you develop.”
🍎 Health Hack ~ Choose Close Friends Wisely
How loved ones see you affects how you see yourself. When people see you in a positive or negative light, they treat you accordingly – and this influences your self-perceptions. In 1999, a group of researchers found that people become more like their ideal selves when they have a partner who sees them as they’d like to be. This “Michelangelo effect” was named after the legendary artist who created stone sculptures based on the images he saw in the raw material, just as partners help to shape their companion into the ideal self that they carry within. Of course, when partners or close friends see you in a less favorable light, that perception will affect you negatively. So, keep this in mind as you choose your partner and friends.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Beat the Winter Blues
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s believed to be caused by the changing seasons. Typically, symptoms begin to worsen around fall and peak during the winter months. Symptoms of SAD are similar to other forms of depression, including feelings of hopelessness, lack of concentration, social withdrawal, and fatigue. Treatments for SAD include medication, talk therapy, exercise, and eating a healthy diet
Besides being high in omega-3s, salmon is a great source of lean proteins. While a richly marbled rib-eye steak is undoubtedly delicious, the high saturated fat content may not be good for your mood or your body. Lean proteins, however, carry plenty of amino acids, which may positively affect your mood. Lean proteins are also a great source of energy, which is something you’ll need to help beat fatigue.
Source: Healthline
🍎 Health Hack ~ Exercise = Brain Power
Aerobic exercise like walking, jogging, or gardening may help your brain’s hippocampus — the part that’s linked to memory and learning — grow. It also might slow the shrinking of your hippocampus that can lead to memory loss as you get older.
Some studies suggest the regrowth is stronger if you like the activity you’re doing. So find something you enjoy and get going.
🍎 Health Hack ~ Pamper Your Gut
Take Care of Your Gut
The bacteria in your gut, collectively called the gut microbiota, are incredibly important for overall health.
A disruption in gut bacteria is linked to some of the world’s most serious chronic diseases, including obesity (31, 32Trusted Source).
Good ways to improve gut health include eating probiotic foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, taking probiotic supplements, and eating plenty of fiber. Notably, fiber functions as fuel for your gut bacteria (33Trusted Source, 34Trusted Source).
