Boost Your Immune System

     Fall is approching and with it comes cooler weather, leaves changing color and shorter days. I love Fall and I look forward to it all year long! But, Fall and Winter are usually the time when people get sick the most! The cold and flu seem to be every where and it never fails that my family and I get sick at least once (usually more than that) a season!
    

     Being sick doesn't have to become your reality! With just a few simple tips and facts, you can boost your immune system and stay well all year long! Instead of having a running nose, headache, cough or sore throat, you can enjoy all the lovely things Fall has to offer!

What Causes a Weak Immune System?

     There are many things that can lead to having a weak immune system, but there are a few basic culprits.
      Sugar competes with Vitamin C, which is good for the immune system. If you are consuming alot of sugar, than that can lead to a weaker immune system.

     Fatty Foods or having high cholesterol levels makes your immune cells lazy and inactive.

     Alcohol causes your immune cells to become disorientated and confused so they can't do their job!

     Lack of Sleep lowers your immune function. Your body needs at least 7 hours of sleep to maintain healthy immune functions.

    Other things like Under Eating, Stress, and Smoking can lead to having a weak immune system. If you have a weak immune system, you are going to get sick more often and alot easier!

     No one likes to be sick, and learning how to boost and strengthen your immune system will help you stay well and healthy all year long!

How Do You Boost Your Immune System?

     Simply staying healthy is one sure way to have a healthy immune system! There are a few specific ways to strengthen your immune system,and adding these things to your life can insure that your immune system is in tip-top shape!

Green Tea is richin many chemicals that have been shown to have health protective properties called phytochemicals! Drinking a cup or two a day can aid in boosting your immune system!

Echinacea is an herb known to aid the body in its fight against the cold and flu. Supplements of echinacea helps support the immune system and maintain the body's resistance to disease.

Eating your vegetables is very helpful in maintaining and boosting your immune system. One serving of vegetables contain over a hundred differnt phytochemicals!

Exercise has also been shown to help boost your immune system. Be careful, though, doing too much can tire your body out and make your immune system weak! Swimming, walking, running or biking for half and hour a day can be very beneficial in supporting a healthy immune system.

Medatation has been shown to boost energy levels and help the body cope with the stresses of the world around it. It is incorporated into cancer patient programmes in Germany and helps with the recovery process.

     These are just a few of the many ways to boost your immune system. Using these tips will help you strengthen and boost your immune system, so that you can stay healthy and well this Fall and Winter as well as the rest of the year!

     Taking care of your body not only helps you stay well and healthy, but also helps the people around you too! If you aren't sick, then you can't get anyone else sick! Having a healthy immune system is the key to not getting sick, even if the cold and flu are 'going around'!

I hope these tips help you stay well this Fall and Winter! Share them with your friends and family members to help them stay well too! Share this post so that more people can learn how to become the healthiet verison of themselves!

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Stay Healthy, Happy and Laughing!
H. Banana

Ginger!

I have been using Ginger a lot lately in my smoothies as well as baking. I knew it was good for me, but I didn't know exactly why or how good it was for me! Here is some of the benefits of Ginger that I found interesting!

This info came from Bembu .

#1.
Ginger is know to help fight many different cancers. Research has shown that ginger can act to literally obliterate cancer's cells.
#2
IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Ginger is known to spell relief for those suffering from IBS. Adding ginger to your diet can have a calming effect on the bowels and digestive system.
#3
Alzheimer's Disease. Research has shown that ginger helps to slow down the loss of brain cells, which typically is a precursor to Alzheimer's. By protecting the brain cells you are protecting yourself from getting Alzheimer's.
#4
Weight Loss. Ginger works as a fat burner in your body and helps to make sure that the weight you are losing is from fat. It also helps to keep you feeling full longer which will keep you from over eating.

The website mentioned earlier has a few more health facts about ginger, so if you are interested in learning more about ginger, I would suggest checking it out.

So, if ginger is so good for you, how do you add it to your diet? There are a lot of ways to do that! I have been adding a chunk of fresh ginger to my fruit smoothies and it is so delicious. It really gives the drink a festive flavor! Ginger-Lemon tea is also a really great way to get ginger in your body. Its refreshing and great for you! Cooking and baking with ginger is great too! Search around and I am sure you will find many recipes with ginger listed in the ingredient's list!

I hope this post has encouraged you to take steps to better health! If you enjoyed this post, please share it with a friend!

Keep Healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana

Cold Weather, Warm Drinks!

  Now that is cold outside I want to have something warm to drink inside! I usually don't like anything that is too complicated or has a bunch of ingredients! Here are a few of my favorite warm drinks to have on those cold days!

#1. Hot Lemon Water. A lot of detoxes and cleanses that I have looked in to have suggested drinking hot lemon water every morning! I like to drink it in the morning and sometimes in the evening. To make it is simple: Just heat some water to boiling(Or just warm, depending on how hot you like your drink to be!) and add a few drops of lemon juice!

#2 Coffee! I love coffee, and if you read a previous post of mine (Your Body on Coffee) you will know that coffee has a lot of health benefits for us! I usually have a cup of coffee with a dash of cream in the morning and then maybe another cup in the afternoon or if I go walking outside I will have a cup. I rarely ever had decaf coffee just because I usually need the caffeine, so I have to make sure not to drink in right before bedtime! How do you like your coffee? What are some of your favorite coffee brands or shops? Let me know!

#3 Apple Cider! I like to drink this hot and cold! We have found an apple cider that doesn't have any added sugars(Which is a plus!) at Costco . I like to heat it in the microwave or have it cold. Spiced apple cider is also amazing, but I rarely have time to make it! Maybe I will have time over the holidays!

#4 Tea! Tea of any kind is great for warming you up on cold winter days! A few of my favorites are, any kind of Green Tea ( To learn more about Green Tea, see a previous post of mine!) Black teas, spiced and herbal teas. Too make it is simple, heat water to boiling and add a tea bag. You can also use lose leaf tea and a strainer. You can check out my Mom's blog( Tea in the Morning Too ) to learn more about tea as well as other things!

#6 Lattes! Lattes have a lot of milk in them and they are usually pretty sweet, but there are plenty of healthier recipes out there to try! I have made a Gingerbread Latte on my blog(See a previous post).

A few favorite flavors are, Gingerbread, Pumpkin, Peppermint, and Caramel. Let me know what flavor of Lattes you like and whether you prefer to make them yourself or get them at a shop!


Well those are just a few of my favorite hot holiday drinks. Let me know what is your favorite holiday drinks! I hope to get a few more holiday drink recipes up in the near future so be on a look out for those!

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

Food Facts

Here are a few facts about food that will hopefully get you motivated to become healthier! I know that I was pretty 'wowed' by a few of them!

#1
This fact came from Style Craze 
Eating an Apple is a more reliable way to stay awake than drinking coffee. The natural sugars in apples are more potent than the caffeine in coffee.

#2
This fact (and a few of the following) are from paleo-diet-menu
Cherries help calm your nervous system.

#3
Grapes relax your blood vessels.

#4
Apples help your body develop resistance against infection.

#5
Watermelons help control your heart rate.

#6
Oranges help maintain great skin and vision.

#7
Blueberries help protect your heart.

#8
Kiwis increases bone mass.

#9
These next few facts are from Relax Deco
Bell Peppers are full of Vitamin A which contributes to healthy, glowing skin.

#10
Green Tea is rich in antioxidants to help fight off wrinkles and ageing.

#11
Water keeps your skin hydrated and glowing!

Well, that's a few facts about food. Let me know if you didn't know any of these! Now, when I eat any of these foods, I will think about the benefits they have!

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

The Many Benefits of Green Tea

Green Tea isn't just refreshing and delicious but it has so many benefits! I did some research and found a few Pins on Pinterest that list the benefits of Green Tea! I will link those websites at the bottom of the post!

I love drinking Green Tea over almost any other kind of tea. You can drink it cold over ice or hot and curl up with a good book! I was excited to learn that Green Tea isn't just tasty, but good for your health as well!

Green Tea Can Help Weight Loss
Green tea has ingredients like Caffeine, Theobromine, Saponins, Theophylline, Vitamins and Epigallocatechin. These ingredients lead to thermo-genesis which lead to increase in your body's heat and that will turn up your metabolic rate and help keep your weight down!

Green Tea is Good for Your Heart
Green Tea helps fight Cholesterol Disease. Its helps keep your arteries healthy and unblocked which will help prevent heart attacks! This wonderful tea has ten times the amount of antioxidants that are found in fruits and veggies!


Dental Health
Along with the natural fluoride found in tea, polyphenols and catechins are associated with killing bacteria that cause a number of dental issues like; tooth decay, bad breath and gum disease, which by the way is the number one cause for tooth loss! A study published by the European Journal of Nutrition  found that drinking at least one cup of green tea a day can decrease that risk of tooth loss!

Green Tea can Help Avoid Cancer
Research as shown that tea is beneficial in preventing cancer including  prostate, pancreatic, breast, colorectal, esophageal, bladder, lung and stomach! The catechins found in tea prevent the cell mutation, deactivate certain carcinogens and reduce the formation and growth of tumors. To reap the anti-cancer benefits of green tea you might have to drink at least four cups of tea a day!

These are only a few of the many benefits from drinking green tea! If you want the website where I found this information, along with more benefits of green tea, you can go to - www.stylecraze.com

I hope this makes you want to drink more green tea and to learn more about the benefits associated with it! I personally love green tea but if you haven't tried it before, here are a few good brands to try!

www.wholefoodsmarket.comrepublic-tea-earth-day-mint-green-tea - Mint green tea is a delicious and refreshing drink hot or cold!

www.tazo.com

www.tazo.com

I hope you enjoyed this post about the benefits of drinking tea! If you want to know more about tea you can see my Mom's blog teainthemorningtoo  .


Keep Healthy and SAFE
H. Banana