Tag: healthy living

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4-7-8 Breathing Technique: What It Is & Why You Should Use It

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Breathing is something that we do automatically, without even thinking about it. However, taking control of our breath can be an incredibly powerful tool in reducing stress and anxiety, improving sleep, and promoting overall well-being. One popular deep breathing method that has gained popularity in recent years is the 4-7-8 breathing technique.

In this article, I will explore the benefits of this breathing technique, how to do it, and tips for incorporating it into your daily routine.

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How To Fight Anxiety: 4 Techniques that Work

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Do you ever feel suddenly overwhelmed by things you need to do? Or perhaps you get that anxious feeling where you just can’t focus on anything?

You’re not alone.

This article will show you how you can fight anxiety by presenting four scientifically proven, easy-to-do techniques you can do anywhere that will help your body and mind reverse these unpleasant feelings, so that you can get back into a state of calm where you can focus on the task at hand.

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Mind Over Body: Catarina’s Path to Health

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By Catarina Rodrigues, Featured Health Story

Three and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. A hiatal hernia is what happens when the upper portion of your stomach slides up into your chest because there is an opening (a “hiatus”) in your diaphragm. This causes the person to experience severe acid reflux and discomfort, among other symptoms. When my doctor explained this to me, as—you may imagine—it all sounded quite frightening. He told me that this was essentially an incurable condition and that surgery was not recommended at my age.

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Heart Healthy Diet Practical Tips for Getting Started

Heart Healthy Diet: Practical Tips on Getting Started

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Your diet, as most people know, is a big component of healthy living. There’s even much truth to the idiom, “You are what you eat!” However, when it comes to living with chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, having the right diet becomes even more important, as the foods you eat can make a huge difference not only in the symptoms you experience day to day, but also in the way your chronic conditions progress over time. What this means is that with the right diet—aka the heart healthy diet— you can take control of your health by helping to slow or even reverse your chronic conditions. When it comes to heart disease, being on a heart-healthy diet can protect you against further narrowing of your heart’s blood vessels and in turn help prevent further complications such as heart attack and strokes.

In this article I will discuss what types of foods make up a heart healthy diet. In a subsequent article, I will cover the essentials of a specific component of heart healthy eating–the low sodium diet.

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How To Lower Cholesterol Naturally: 6 Essential Tips

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Cholesterol. It is something that you’ve probably have had checked at least once in your life as part of your routine doctor’s visit. You may also have heard your doctor mention your “LDL and HDL” levels and how it is important to have healthy levels of both. But do you know why?

In this article, I will go over what you need to know about cholesterol and provide essential tips on how you can lower your “bad cholesterol” while improving your “good cholesterol”—all while doing it safely and naturally.

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Anti-Inflammatory Diets: Fact or Fad?

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Inflammation. Foods that fight inflammation. Anti-inflammatory diets. It has no doubt become a buzzword in the world of nutrition and health these days. But while there’s little question that the food we eat is an important part of staying healthy, some of these diets are being promoted with very big health claims, among them the assertion that they can cure serious diseases. But does the actual science match up to these claims? And should you follow these dietary guidelines? And what exactly do these diets consist of? These are the questions that will be addressed in this post. 

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Benefits of Fish Oil Supplements: The Scientific Evidence

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Fish oil. It is one of the most commonly used supplements these days, estimated to be taken by 19 million adults in the U.S. alone. In the media, claims of its health benefits are broad and ubiquitous, ranging from heart disease and cancer prevention to treatment of ADHD. However, while there is little doubt that a diet rich in omega-3 foods is beneficial, do fish oil supplements—which also provide omega-3 fats—confer the same benefits for your health? And what if you are currently on one or thinking about starting—what are the ‘right’ reasons for doing so and the potential risks to consider? And finally, what should you look for in a product?

In answering these questions today, I hope to equip you with the confidence to make the best decisions in regards to your health. If you haven’t yet and would like an introduction to omega-3 fats and their natural food sources, take a look at the first part of this article.

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