Diet & Nutrition

How to Recognize the Telltale Signs of Burnout Before it’s Too Late

Modern people may not be fighting lions and tigers, but we are under more stress than ever. From job-related stress to long commutes to balancing the demands of family and personal life, many just have too much on their plate. According to many psychologists, this is leading to a disorder known as burn out, which can have dire consequences for psychological health, physical health and even career success. However, there are natural ways to prevent getting burned out and to restore our emotional and physical balance.

What Is Burnout?

Most people have experienced burn out to some degree, either in themselves or in coworkers. You begin to take less pride in your work and express cynical attitudes. Some people begin to depersonalize others, caring less about the person’s feelings and acting without consideration. Although everyone feels burned out at times, it is merely a short phase for most of us.

However, some people deal with it at toxic levels. The results are easily recognized. People who are burned out feel physically and emotionally exhausted, similar to depression. They have reduced feelings of accomplishment and often suffer from symptoms of depression, such as low mood and difficulty sleeping. They also become disengaged, showing less care for their work and more apathy toward their professional and personal commitments.

A Modern Occupational Hazard

The causes of burn out are diverse, but it usually stems from one main factor: occupational stress. The disorder was first identified by a psychologist who observed the effects in staff and volunteers at a clinic for drug addicts. Other professionals have noticed it in teachers, social workers and health professionals. A variety of jobs can cause workers to become burned out, but they all have one key factor in common: long-term stress that cannot be resolved. Unfortunately, this is extremely common in many modern careers.

According to research, physicians are particularly at risk of becoming burned out. Modern doctors often face chaotic environments along with high levels of responsibility over outcomes that they cannot entirely control. They increasingly are saddled with growing amounts of documentation as well as nearly unbearable student loan debt. When you combine these factors with long work hours that can prevent recharging, it is not surprising that up to 75 percent of physicians and medical residents are burned out. However, this trend is not limited to medicine. Many jobs present similar stresses to varying degrees, with similar results. The lack of time to recharge appears to be particularly important. Believe it or not, it is likely that many people are suffering from the symptoms of this disorder without even realizing it.

Burnout Warning Signs to Watch For

Are you suffering from burnout? Here are a few of the warning signs of this common disorder:

physical fatigue
a feeling of cynicism and pessimism
disengagement from issues and activities that were once engaging
a sense of ineffectiveness, that nothing you do will make a difference
taking less pride in one’s work
acting rude or uncaring to coworkers and loved ones
insomnia and other sleep disorders
difficulty concentrating
getting sick more often than usual
vague physical symptoms such as stomach aches and head aches
negative emotions such as anger, depression and anxiety
poor performance and/or low productivity

If these symptoms begin interfering with one’s daily life, it is important to take action quickly. There are natural, healthy ways of treating burn out and restoring both pride and a sense of accomplishment.

Keeping Your Stress Levels Low, Naturally

Are you or a loved one at risk of becoming burned out? There are several things you can do to maintain work-life balance. First and most importantly, avoid the modern trend of incorporating work into your daily life. Although modern jobs encourage 24/7 availability, activities such as checking emails at home can increase burn out by keeping people from having the space to recharge. This may be the number one factor in burning workers out.

Second, it is important to take good care of oneself. Eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water and get enough sleep at night. Take time to exercise and spend time with loved ones. Consider taking up new hobbies that help you unwind, whether yoga or skydiving. Last, make sure your body has the nutrients that it needs to work well even under pressure. Your body needs a wide range of vitamins, amino acids, and other building blocks to keep up with your lifestyle. B vitamins, for example, help your body to continue producing energy even under stress. Glutathione is important for producing mood-boosting neurotransmitters such as serotonin.

Stressful jobs are often the most rewarding. However, it is important to maintain good health and avoid becoming burned out. Taking good care of your psychological and physiological health will ensure that you can continue feeling rewarded and engaged with your career for a lifetime.

Taking Supplements During Pregnancy May Reduce Autism Risk

Jan 17 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

The rates of autism have been increasing in the United States and other countries, from around 1 in 2000 in the seventies to approximately 1 in 150 now. Part of this increase is due to changing criteria for the diagnosis as well as increased awareness. However, there also appear to be other, currently unknown, reasons for the increased prevalence. Could health factors such as nutrition during pregnancy be a contributing factor? According to a new study, taking supplements during pregnancy may reduce autism risk, suggesting that nutrition indeed plays an important role.

What Is Autism?

Autism is a complicated disorder, which is why criteria have changed several times over the past decades. In general, it is a developmental disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate with and relate to others. It also appears to have an impact on the way that people with the disorder perceive the world. Many people with autism also have issues with processing different sensations such as loud noises or certain textures. This can affect almost every aspect of a person’s life.

Although many people with autism lead happy and fulfilling lives, the disorder can be a challenge. In addition, the rising rates are concerning from an epidemiological standpoint. As a result, there are currently many studies examining what exactly causes autism and why rates have increased, and a new study points to prenatal nutrition as an important contributing factor. Could a simple decision like taking vitamins and supplements reduce the growing rates of this disease?

Potential Causes of Autism

Although the symptoms of autism often present later in infancy and toddlerhood, it appears to begin early in pregnancy. Studies have found that there are structural brain differences in people with autism when compared to the general population. Autism has also been linked to ingesting certain toxic substances during pregnancy. In addition, there appear to be several genetic factors. Some families have more autistic children than what statistics would predict, and parents with autism are more likely to have children with the disorder. In addition, autism often occurs alongside genetic disorders such as phenylketonuria.

Researchers believe that most people with autism have a genetic susceptibility that then can become the disorder when there are other factors in pregnancy and delivery. These factors may include infections, metabolic imbalances, chemical exposure, and even poor nutrition. Taking better care of women who are expecting a child may significantly improve their child’s risk of leading a healthy life.

How Taking Supplements During Pregnancy May Reduce Autism Risk

According to a new study in Sweden, women who take vitamins and supplements during pregnancy have a significantly lower rate of having a child that develops autism with intellectual disability. At the same time, a study in Israel has found a significant reduction in autism when pregnant mothers take vitamins that include folic acid. Iron and folic acid appear to be especially important in reducing risk. This is important because prior studies on vitamins and autism risk have been inconclusive and yielded conflicting evidence. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to autism risk, but these are the first studies to find a firm connection between prenatal vitamin supplementation and autism risk.

How can nutrition affect autism rates? Folic acid has been found to be important in preventing neural tube defects and other issues impacting the structure of the brain. It is possible that certain vitamins similarly can prevent the structural brain differences that appear to lead to autism in children who have a genetic susceptibility to the disease. Although we cannot prevent all cases of autism with prenatal vitamins, we may be able to significantly reduce the prevalence and also the severity of the disease in people who have it.

Enjoying a Healthy, Happy Pregnancy

Leading a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy is essential to the future development of a child. Although taking supplements is important in maintaining good health, there are other things women can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby:

Get regular prenatal care.
Try to become as healthy as possible before pregnancy. Doctors recommend taking prenatal vitamins for several months before conception and seeing a doctor find out how you can prepare for a healthy pregnancy.
Get plenty of sleep to allow your body plenty of energy to grow a new life.
Avoid taking medications without the recommendation of your doctor.
Eat a healthy diet and take a prenatal vitamin with folic acid.
Take time to exercise on a regular basis. Talk to your doctor about which exercises are best for your unique situation and fitness level.

Although there is no way to guarantee perfect health, there are many things that pregnant women can do to improve their child’s chances at a healthy, happy life. Taking prenatal vitamins has long been known to have a positive impact on a developing fetus’s brain and neurological system. New research is showing that it may have even more health benefits than we previously realized.

Compounds in Blueberries Help Kill Cancer

Jan 11 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Berries are a foodie trend that’s not going away any time soon. Modern agricultural and food storage methods allow us to enjoy these small fruits year-round, so berries have become a regular part of many people’s daily diet. This is especially true of blueberries, which could have some unexpected health benefits. According to new research, blueberries not only taste great but several of the compounds found in blueberries help kill cancer cells.

Berries: Tiny Fruits With Giant Health Benefits

Berries are not just sugar and crunch. They also provide some incredible benefits for human health. Berries are lower in calories than many other sweet snacks but also are packed full of vitamins and nutrients. Many of these nutrients double as antioxidants, compounds that help our cells repair routine damage. In addition, berries are high in fiber, which is good for the GI tract and also help us to feel full for a longer period of time after eating them.

All berries are healthy, but blueberries appear to have very special and specific advantages. For example, blueberries contain polyphenols, compounds that help to relax blood vessels and contribute to lifelong cardiovascular health. In addition, some of the compounds in blueberries appear to strengthen bones while protecting against diseases such as osteoporosis. However, several other health benefits appear to be due to other compounds called flavonoids and resveratrol: New research suggests that these compounds may contribute to why blueberries help kill cancer and protect against other serious life-threatening diseases.

How Can Blueberries Help Kill Cancer?

Radiation is a common treatment for certain types of cancer, often in conjunction with chemotherapy or surgery. However, it is not without side effects; radiation can cause damage to healthy cells in addition to cancerous ones. A new study looked at the benefits of blueberries by treating human cervical cancer cells with a combination of radiation and blueberry extract, while treating others from the same cell line with radiation alone. The cells that were treated with just radiation saw a 20 percent decrease in cancer cells. Those treated with radiation and blueberry extract had a 70 percent reduction in cancer cells, an increase of 50 percent. Researchers report that the blueberry extract made cancer cells more sensitive to radiation.

These effects of blueberries appear to be partially due to a compound called resveratrol. Besides providing a number of other health benefits, resveratrol, also present in red wine, has been found in previous studies to make cancer more sensitive to radiation, markedly increasing the number of prostate cancer cells that die in radiation treatments. This is significant because cancer patients will not just get a more effective treatment, but be able to get the same effects with less exposure to radiation.

Last, there are compounds called flavonoids in blueberries that have many health benefits. These molecules help to give blueberries their distinctive color and taste but also have been found to prevent the development of cancer when included as part of a healthy diet. Analogs of flavonoids in other kinds of fruit are already used as chemotherapy agents, so it makes sense that these molecules could have a measurable effect on cancer. Flavonoids appear to do this by encouraging more effective DNA repair, in a manner similar to antioxidants.

Healthy Diet, Healthy Life

This research is promising because blueberries are a readily available food with other proven health benefits. They are found over much of the world, allowing many patients to enjoy their health benefits. In addition, blueberries are delicious, which means people will be more likely to make them a regular part of their diet. There are several other easy ways to use food as a means of preventing and treating disease. If you want to get all of the benefits of a healthy diet, consider making the following changes:

Eat a wide variety of foods, including ones from every color of the rainbow. This will ensure that you get a wide variety of healthy compounds and flavonoids.
Focus on moderation. Over-eating can lead to becoming overweight, which is a health risk in itself.
Include plants in your diet. Scientists say 2.5 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day should be the goal.
Limit refined foods such as trans fats, white flour, and processed sugar. These offer mainly empty calories without the benefits of flavonoids and other healthy compounds.
Look for ways to get more fish and plant protein.
Eat more fiber. Whole grains, vegetables, and yes, blueberries have the fiber you need to achieve better gastrointestinal health while lowering your chances of developing colon cancer.

Sometimes it seems like the best tasting foods are all bad for us, while healthy food lacks the flavors that we crave. However, there are several foods that are both delicious and healthy. Blueberries are a sweet treat that we all can enjoy with no guilt, for both the taste and the many health benefits. While no food can guarantee that you live a long and healthy life, blueberries are one of many foods that will improve your chances of a healthy, happy old age.

Scientifically Proven Ingredients for Maintaining Healthy Weight Into the New Year

Dec 30 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

The holidays are a time for baked goods and treats, which means that they also are a time of weight gain for many people. It can be difficult to maintain a reasonable number of calories with so much delicious food being offered in workplaces, parties and holiday meals. By the time New Year’s rolls around, most people are ready for a diet to start taking off that new and unwanted weight. However, sticking to a new diet and exercise plan can be more difficult than it seems. Research has found that there are a few supplements and herbs that can increase results and make it easier to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Natural Remedies for Achieving a Healthy Weight

How can natural ingredients help people to lose weight? Most work in a few key ways. First, some support healthy metabolism, which in turn increases both energy and promotes weight loss. Others work to suppress appetite, helping people to make healthy choices. Some affect the biochemistry of fat cells, glucose metabolism and other factors that contribute to weight. In most cases, supplements that help maintain a healthy weight also have other benefits to health and do not have common side effects.

While no supplement can lose the weight for you, many can provide a slight advantage that can make a huge overall difference. This advantage not only helps people to get results more quickly, but also helps them to keep their motivation high. Losing motivation is a common reason for people to stop a healthy diet or any positive health changes, so increasing motivation can be a powerful boost.

Green Tea and Other Herbs for Healthy Weight

There are several supplements for supporting healthy weight that you might already have in your cupboard. Green tea is one of these. Green tea is known to be a powerful antioxidant, helping cells to fight off damage from our daily lives. However, it also can assist in maintaining healthy weight in a variety of ways. It is a mild stimulant, so boosts metabolism. It also acts as a diuretic, preventing bloating and excessive water weight.

Orthosiphon stamineus, also known as Java or Cat’s Whiskers, is another herbal tea that can help people to effectively maintain a healthy weight. It is taken mainly for its anti-inflammatory support, but several recent studies have found that it also can assist those striving to maintain a healthy weight. The extract from this plant appears to stimulate leptin production, which is a hormone that both increases fat burning and gives people a feeling of fullness.

Bitter Orange and African Mango: More than Fruits

Most people who are seeking to lose weight increase their intake of fruits and vegetables. There are two fruits that have been found to contribute to maintaining a healthy weight, although they are not common in the American diet. These fruits are African mango and bitter orange.

African mango has been found in some clinical trials to support weight loss. According to researchers, it works in several ways. First, African mango reduces fat cell production, which may be why it is proven to reduce the waist circumference of humans and other animals. In addition, it reduces the effects of metabolic syndrome, a disorder that has been linked to diabetes and found to cause people to gain weight.

Bitter orange similarly appears to support weight loss by promoting healthy metabolism and energy levels. People who take the extract of this fruit report feeling more energetic, which makes it easier to stick with a rigorous exercise plan. Although its effects on the metabolism are small, they can make a meaningful impact on weight over time.

Chromium and Other Weight Loss Supplements

Chromium is one of the more popular supplements for maintaining healthy weight and whole body health. This is because it has been shown in several studies to positively affect the human metabolism. People with diabetes who take chromium have blood glucose levels that are easier to control, which can help assist in maintaining healthy weight. In addition, chromium appears to support the formation of lean muscle, which in turn promotes healthy metabolism and gives people a healthier, stronger appearance. Chromium is not found in high levels in the foods that dominate the western diet as it is mainly in kidneys, mushrooms and brewer’s yeast. As a result, many people benefit from taking a supplement.

Whether you want to lose weight for bikini season or to improve your health over a lifetime, it is important to use a holistic approach. Diet, exercise and taking the right supplements are all important parts of maintaining healthy weight. Although no supplement will cause you to lose weight on its own, they can provide the boost that many people need to get the results they desire and keep their motivation high.

Gut Flora Influence Allergies and Immune System Health

Dec 19 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Have you ever talked about having a “gut feeling” about something? Your gut, particularly the bacteria that live there, may be more important to your health than most people realize. A lot has been written lately about probiotics and their impact on health. A surprising range of diseases, from depression to certain types of cancer, have been linked to imbalances of gastrointestinal bacteria. According to several recent studies on how gut flora influence allergies, the bacteria in our bowels may even have a sizable effect on our immune systems.

The Importance of Healthy Gut Flora

Our gastrointestinal tracts are full of millions of bacteria. These bacteria play a huge role in digestion, breaking foods down into small enough pieces to be absorbed. They also appear to be important in maintaining a barrier between the inside of our intestines and the rest of our body, protecting against serious infections and illnesses. An imbalance of this gut bacteria can cause gastrointestinal disorders as well as contribute to a wide range of illnesses.

This may not be good news for many Westerners and people living in industrialized nations. The Western diet, which is low in roughage and foods rich in healthy bacteria, does not support a healthy microbiome. Because of this, an increasing number of people are beginning to take probiotic supplements as well as prebiotics, which are types of fiber that feed healthy gut flora. How important could your probiotic supplement be to your whole body health? According to new research, keeping your gastrointestinal (GI) tract populated with healthy bacteria may even influence your immune system and your chance of developing allergies.

How Gut Flora Influence Allergies

Allergies are a growing problem in the United States. In fact, rates have increased by around 50 percent in less than two decades. According to studies, this may be due to low amounts of bacteria of the Clostridia species. In one particular study, mice were raised in a sterile environment and given antibiotics to ensure an absence of gut flora were exposed to allergens to assess their response. These mice had a sharp increase in allergic reactions over those with a healthy GI tract. Different kinds of bacteria were introduced to assess how these affect their immune system. Those who were exposed to Clostridia bacteria saw a decline in allergies.

Similarly, humans given fermented milk products containing a different bacterial species have been shown to have a decrease in allergic reactions. In fact, researchers have theorized that we may soon be able to treat allergies with probiotic supplements containing certain types of bacteria. There appears to be an important interaction between the human immune system and the GI flora that line our guts.

Are Probiotics Key to a Healthy Immune System?

How can gut flora affect allergies and the immune system? Researchers are still looking for root causes, but a few findings have solved part of the puzzle. Gut bacteria act as the first line of defense against any dangerous things we may ingest. They maintain an environment where allergens are less likely to pass into the bloodstream. In addition, healthy bacteria crowd out unhealthy bacteria which can cause immune reactions, inflammation and even increase the chance of developing colon cancer.

Some bacteria also appear to stimulate the production of IgE, the immune molecule that underlies anaphylaxis and other potentially deadly allergic reactions. Other bacteria appear to suppress IgE production. This may be a major contributor to the rising rates of serious food allergies as well as autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease.

Maintaining Your GI Biome for Good Health

Although the interaction between gut flora and the immune system is still being studied, gastrointestinal bacteria appear to be crucial to whole body health. How can you maintain a healthy set of gut flora? Consider the following lifestyle changes:

Avoid taking antibiotics except when absolutely medically necessary.
Eat a diet with a wide range of fiber, especially whole grains, vegetables and fruits.
Choose fermented foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut, which are rich in healthy bacteria.
Avoid using antibacterial products to clean your home and office.
Consider taking a probiotic supplement and even a prebiotic to continue colonizing your gut with the healthy bacteria it needs.

Although the modern Western diet does not support a healthy GI tract, simple changes such as these can help to compensate. As a side benefit, these changes can have positive benefits for health in a variety of other ways. There are currently no known side effects to taking probiotic supplements or otherwise ingesting healthy gut bacteria.

Much of human disease may not be all in our heads, but rather all in our stomachs. Keeping a healthy GI tract will protect your body and help to maintain good health in a variety of ways. Although there is still much to be studied in this area, there is a good chance that we may someday have targeted probiotic supplements to heal a variety of uncomfortable and dangerous conditions.

Eating Cheese Protects Heart Health, Says New Study

Dec 14 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Cheese is one of the world’s favorite foods, whether toasted, melted or plain. Most people eat it in spite of its potential unhealthiness due to its high calorie, fat and cholesterol content. However, eating cheese may not be the poor choice that we have previously believed. A new study has found that cheese may actually have surprising benefits. In fact, eating cheese protects heart health and may lower your risk of deadly cardiovascular disease.

Cholesterol and Heart Health

There are several solid reasons that cheese is often perceived as a negative health choice. First, it is high in calories and absolutely delicious. It is easy to gain weight eating a pleasing food that also is rich in nutrients. Because being overweight is a contributor to many diseases common in developed countries, many people are forgoing this and other calorically dense foods with good reason.

However, the main reason that many people avoid eating cheese is the high cholesterol content. It is well known that having high cholesterol can contribute to poor cardiovascular health in a variety of ways. It can increase the rate of serious diseases such as heart attack and stroke. While diet is not the only contributor to cholesterol levels, it can have a measurable impact. As a result, many people, especially those at risk of cardiovascular conditions, eat less cholesterol and less cheese.

Eating Cheese Protects Heart Health: Could it be True?

According to new research, cheese may not be bad for your health. In fact, it may produce a net benefit. This is good news for Americans particularly, who consume over 37 pounds of it every year.

A recent study compared the health of people who consume cheese on a regular basis as well as those who do not. This was not a small study, but rather a comparison of 200,000 people over 10 years. Surprisingly, eating cheese, around 40 grams a day, appears to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, people who eat cheese lower their risk of cardiovascular disease by a whopping 18 percent as well as a 14 percent lower risk of congestive heart disease and a 10 percent lower risk of stroke.

How Can Cheese Lower Heart Disease Risk?

It seems counter-intuitive that eating a high fat, high cholesterol food could lower cardiovascular disease risk. However, cheese is not only made of fat and cholesterol. It also is a rich source of nutrients that are often lacking in the modern diet. Cheese is a rich source of calcium and magnesium, two minerals that contribute to both bone strength and the activity of transmitters that are crucial to cardiovascular function. In addition, it is rich in CoQ10, an enzyme that acts as an antioxidant to help cells repair from daily insults. Cheese also contains B vitamins, lycopene, nattokinase and certain amino acids, all of which have been found to be important to cell health in general as well as good cardiovascular health.

When eaten in moderation, the benefits of cheese can outweigh the negative effects of cholesterol, fat and calories. While this is not permission to raid the cheese tray at your next holiday party, getting around 40 grams every day appears to be a very healthy and beneficial decision. As in many health matters, moderation appears to be crucial to getting the health effects of cheese without the downsides.

Heart Health Without the Cheese

While many Americans love cheese, others simply do not. In addition, many have given up cheese for special diets with other health effects. However, there are ways to get the benefits without the downfalls. Many supplements can give people the nutrients present in cheese without the downsides. In addition, people can seek out foods that are rich in these nutrients without the fat and cholesterol. Although we are not sure why cheese has such astounding health benefits, the nutrients are likely the answer. Here are a few ways to get the heart-healthy nutrients that you need:

Be careful about portions. Portion size is crucial in getting the positives of certain foods without the negatives.
Consider a heart health supplement. In many cases, supplements can deliver therapeutic amounts of nutrients without the downsides of the foods themselves, such as cholesterol and saturated fat.
Eat a wide variety of foods. This will ensure a variety of nutrients that support good health.
Select less-processed foods. Processed foods often have more fats and sugars yet a lower amount of healthy nutrients.
Be careful about calories. While it is important to take in a variety of nutrients, being overweight is a greater health risk that should be avoided.
Choose healthy fats. We all need fats to survive and to feel satiated after meals, but plant fats and fish oils can be healthy where animal fats are not.

Although eating too much saturated fat and cholesterol is never a good choice, eating high-fat animal foods such as cheese may an important part of reducing disease risk. In addition, people can choose to take a supplement or otherwise get the benefits of heart-healthy nutrients without the calories and other drawbacks.