Category: Health & Fitness

It’s never a better time to be a tea drinker. Far from the days of drinking stale bags of twinnings from your grandmother’s shelf, tea fans today can enjoy the benefits of an industry that finds teas around the world.

Why is tea becoming so popular? Maybe it’s because we’re starting to realize the variety of health benefits you can associate with different types of tea. While we all know green tea is healthy, not a lot of us know how.

Take a look at the wonderful health benefits of this variety of teas!

Healthiest Teas Around The World

It can be hard to find the right teas. Some are tasty and healthy, others are not. These teas are some of the healthiest you’ll find in the world tea directory.

Genmaicha: Slim Down

While it may seem strange to mix a combination of green tea and rice, there are a variety of benefits you can find in a cup of genmaicha. One of the most prominent is that this tea has been known to help people reach their weight loss goals!

If you want to slim down, you should head to the tea aisle of your local supermarket. Or better yet, find a local artisan tea producer.

Ashwagandha Tea: Relax

You need to calm down! Stress is literally killing you, and if you fail to do something about it, you’ll die far too young.

One of the best ways to do it is with a relaxing cup of tea. Drinking Ashwagandha tea has been proven to help you relax. It’s tasty, easy to drink, and can go a long way towards improving your life.

Oolong: Boost Your Metabolism

A lot of us raise our fists to the sky and curse our metabolism. How can we burn calories if our food stays in the same place for days?

Oolong tea is a solution: it’s one of the best teas around the world for kicking your metabolism into gear! A scientific study even showed that it can boost both energy metabolism and fat oxidation!

Ginseng: Kick Up Your Immune System

Along with being a delicious tea, ginseng is extremely popular as a form of alternative medicine. One of the reasons why is the tea’s ability to boost your immune system!

Kick back and enjoy a delicious cup of ginseng if you want to kick yourself into high gear.

Peppermint Tea: Calm Your Stomach

Nobody likes calling in sick. If you wake up with a stomach ache but still need to get into work, you can heal using peppermint tea!

On top of that, it’s also delicious: who doesn’t like the cooling and Christmasy taste of peppermint! For you tummy and taste buds, you’ll need to enjoy a cup of this one!

More Health Tips

Drinking tea is one of the best things you can do for your health. But it’s also highly important to stay on top of all of the health and fitness tips out there.

Keep reading this health blog to follow all of the fitness tips you can: from one mom to another.

Back pain is a common nuisance in the lives of many Americans. In fact, 80% of all Americans will experience some sort of back pain during their lifetime. Back pain can have significant effects on the life of a person, especially a mother.

Forget the actual pregnancy, mothers are continually picking up their children and picking up after their children. It’s no surprise that chronic back pain is prevalent in mothers.

The good news is there’s a free solution that you can use on a daily basis to give your back great relief from pain: yoga.

With gentle movement through certain yoga poses you can increase the stability and agility of your back. We’ve done the heavy lifting for you and have compiled a list of the best poses to try:

Downward Dog

This may be one of the most basic and beginner yoga poses, but it can be an excellent pose for helping you get rid of neck and back pain. Keep your feet hip-distance apart and hands shoulder-distance apart. Don’t let your back arch more than it needs to.

Keep your heels pressed to the ground and press your back through the inner and outer parts of your legs with equal pressure. Pull your spine and head forwards to your hands. Keep your shoulders and back pulled tight as you press through your fingers and arms.

This stretch can provide a whole-body realignment. Take many breaths as you perform this pose.

If you aren’t experiencing any relief from this pose, you might want to ask yourself “Where is the best chiropractor near me?”, and then head swiftly in for an appointment.

Child’s Pose

Child’s Pose is the ultimate pose for back relaxation. Keep your knees wide and bring your knees together for a fantastic neutral stretch.  Let your head fall to the floor and put a yoga block or towel under your forehead for comfort.

Breathe slowly as you reach forward. This pose brings energy to the entirety of your spine as you release parts of the lumbar and vertebrates. The tension in your back will dissolve as you breathe through the pose.

If you need some guidance, many yoga studios have coupons and discounts for their classes! Yoga for back pain is easy to do in groups or in a solo setting.

Wall Plank For the Best Yoga For Back Pain

Stand in front of a wall at arm’s length, reach forward and plant your palms on the wall. Keep your spine long as you walk your legs back and fold at the waist. When you get to an L-shape, reach through your tailbone and legs towards the floor while you move your back and head towards the wall.

Holding this pose for a few minutes with deep exhales can give your lower back great relief. When it comes to yoga for back pain, this is one of the easiest and most beneficial!

Relief

Back pain can be painful and annoying. But yoga will not only give you physical relief, it can also center your heart, mind, and soul. As a mother, you deserve some extra self-love and care on a regular basis.

For more tips on yoga for back pain, health, and fitness, contact us today!

Are you ready to finally get in shape?

With all of the fitness programs out there these days, it can be difficult to find the right one for your body and your life.

But don’t worry, this guide will tell you everything you need to know about how to choose the best fitness program for you!

Read on to find out more.

Check in with Yourself First

Before starting any fitness program, have a little check-in with yourself about what’s going on in your life and with your body. This will help to ensure that you are finding the best fitness program for yourself at this stage in your life- and one that you’ll stick with!

Here are some questions to ask yourself before perusing your options.

How Much Time Do I Have to Devote to Fitness?

It’s important to be honest with yourself here.

Do you have a job, a family, friends or hobbies that take up a ton of your time? Answering this question correctly will help you figure out how much time you can devote to a new health and fitness regimen.

What Are My Fitness Goals?

Do you want to tone up your muscles? Concentrate on flexibility? Work toward running a marathon? All of the above?

Whatever your personal fitness goals are, they should be reflected by whichever routine you choose for the best results.

What Kind of Exercise Makes Me Happy?

It’s undeniable- you’ll stick with a fitness program that is fun for you.

Do you like the aggression of kickboxing? The relaxation of yoga? The structure and results of a 12 week shred?

Everyone is different, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Check in with yourself and figure out what you enjoy to ensure that you will have success with your new fitness regimen.

Focus on One Goal at a Time

After you’ve checked in with yourself about your fitness goals and how you can achieve them, make sure that you don’t try to do everything at once.

If you focus on both fat loss and muscle building at the same time, your exercises and nutrition may be working at odds with each other. For example, if you want to lose weight, you need to be burning more calories than you’re eating. But if you want to build muscle, you need to be eating more calories than you’re burning.

Focusing on one goal at a time will no doubt lead you to the best fitness program for the results that you want.

Experiment to Find the Best Fitness Program for You

If you’re unsure of what type of exercise will be the most enjoyable and effective for you, that’s okay.

Before landing on the fitness program that you’ll stick with, try some new things and stick with them for a couple of months at a time. See what you like, and what seems to be working. And when you find it, stick with it!

It’s Time to Get Started!

Now that you know how to choose the best fitness program for you, it’s time to get out and break some sweat. And if you have any questions or thoughts you’d like to share, don’t hesitate to reach out.

What comes to mind when you think of healthy food and beverages?

There are a number of healthy food and drink options that you should add to your shopping cart. But they’re not all fruits and vegetables.

Drinking green tea is one of the best decisions you can make for your body. It’s one of the healthiest beverages on the market and it is filled with powerful antioxidants and nutrients.

There are a number of health benefits that go along with regularly drinking green tea. As a result, more people around the globe are filling their mugs with this beverage made from unoxidized leaves.

Here are a few benefits of drinking green tea. Read on to learn more.

What’s in Green Tea?

Green tea is a beverage that originally hails from Asia. For some, this healthy beverage is still shrouded in mystery.

There are many different types of green tea available – from the Japanese gyokuro to the Chinese gunpowder tea.

They may have differences, but they are all very similar in their makeup and health benefits.

Green tea is made from the dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis bush. It contains polyphenols that serve as antioxidants.

The polyphenols can protect the body from harmful diseases. Antioxidants like Epigallocatechin Gallate and catechins can treat diseases and even protect the body from cell damage.

Despite its many health benefits, many people still avoid green tea. In fact, green tea only comprised 16 percent of the U.S. tea consumption in 2016.

Brain Function

Tea is already known for having myriad health benefits including lower blood pressure, illness prevention, and anxiety relief.

Green tea takes it a step further. One of the best side effects of drinking tea is that it increases brain function.

Green tea contains caffeine and L-theanine which have known benefits to brain function. Caffeine acts as a stimulant and can impact mood and memory. While green tea doesn’t contain as much caffeine as coffee, it’s overall a healthier option for increased energy.

L-theanine is an amino acid that increases dopamine levels in the brain. This sends signals to other cells and increases brain function. It can also decrease anxiety levels.

Cancer

One of the best ways to prevent cancer is to stave it off with powerful antioxidants. Fortunately, green tea is chock-full of these antioxidants.

Polyphenols are believed to both prevent cancer cells from growing and to kill them off altogether. They can also prevent oxidative damage that can lead to cancer growth.

Green tea has been found to decrease the risk of everything from breast cancer to colorectal cancer. There is no perfect recipe to preventing cancer. However, drinking green tea may lower your chances of getting this harmful disease.

Alzheimer’s

One byproduct of increased brain function is a lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is a commonly found disease that is also linked to dementia. Green tea’s catechin can help to deter the onset of this disease.

The catechin in green tea can create a barrier for neurons, which are integral in brain function. Green tea can also stave off harmful proteins that can trigger neurogenerative diseases. As a result, this can lower the risk of Alzheimer’s in older adults.

Basically, green tea consumption could be instrumental in keeping your brain functioning at high levels.

More Health Benefits

Green tea can help increase brain function, prevent cancer, and protect against Alzheimer’s. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There are numerous other health benefits related to drinking tea. Green tea has also been found to help with everything from stress to fatigue.

Put down the coffee, soda, and alcohol and opt for green tea instead. By doing so, you just may be on the right track to a healthy life.

Do your kids run for the hills when they see fresh greens?

You can’t force kids to eat veggies, but you can certainly make it easier for them to love green superfood. A balanced diet with ample vegetables is crucial to your young one’s health, so it’s important to figure out how to get them to love their greens.

Here are the secrets to getting your kids to enjoy veggies!

Blending In Smoothly

Most kids will flee at the sight of raw spinach and other green superfoods like collards or kale. However, you can blend your greens with fresh fruits and other healthy foods to create incredible green smoothies and juices!

When trying to ease your children into the amazing world of green superfood smoothies, like those at The Real Thing Health, you need to involve them in the whole process. Get your kids to pick their favorite drinking cup and straw for their smoothies and talk to them about the importance of healthy eating.

There are tons of amazing green superfood smoothie recipes you can try. From simple blends of fresh greens with fruit to more exotic combinations of ingredients, you are sure to find something your kids will love!

Now We’re Cooking

Green superfood smoothies are a great way to introduce your kids to fresh greens. Ideally, you want your kids to enjoy vegetables in their food as well!

From tasty snacks that pack a healthy punch to delicious kid-friendly dishes, there are many ways to incorporate veggies into your daily cooking.

Good solutions include veggie dips, overnight oats supercharged with green goodness, pancakes with grass powder, purees and green pizza. As usual, ask your kids what they prefer, experiment and do your research.

There’s no excuse to serve plain vegetables to your kids, especially when cooking them doesn’t always reduce their dietary value! In fact, spinach is more nutritious boiled than raw!

Making Green Superfood Fun

Food doesn’t have to be boring!

In fact, with so many amazing ways to eat healthily, it’s almost criminal NOT to have fun with healthy eating.

When it comes to getting your kids to love superfoods, you should engage with them! Picking vegetables and cooking them into amazing smoothies and ultra-healthy snacks will do the trick!

It’s cool to enjoy your own green juice. If your kids don’t believe you, you can always show them videos and pictures of other children enjoying awesome green smoothies online.

Get Involved

However you choose to introduce veggies into your kids’ lives, they won’t learn to enjoy green superfood dishes if you don’t eat them yourself!

Check your own diet. Are you eating enough leafy greens? Are you supplementing your diet with enough green superfood? Children are extremely perceptive and will know if you are doing differently than you preach.

So remember, you need to follow your own advice when it comes to eating veggies! You can make cooking a family activity that will help you all live healthier while also strengthening your bonds.

Because nothing says “I love you” better than a delicious cup of thick green smoothie!