Tag: Featured

Categories
Happy x Mindful Wellbeing

3 Anxiety-Reducing Breathing Techniques That Will Calm You Down In Minutes

You feel anxious, you feel anxious about your anxiety, and then your anxiety spirals out of control. Your body tenses up, and worry—whether it’s about one specific thing or all the things at once—floods your mind. What can you do to put yourself back in the driver’s seat?
Soothing your body and mind when you’re in an anxious state is difficult, but we’ve all heard the old adage, “Take a deep breath.” It sounds so easy. Of course it proves harder when overwhelming anxiety is preventing us from enjoying social events, being productive, or thinking clearly. And if you first heard that calm command in childhood, you may wonder if it even holds any weight in adult life, where the stakes are higher and comfort (at the office, in the grocery store, or during a night out) is less readily available.
Still, a 2015 study suggests that self-regulation of breathing should be considered as a primary treatment not only for anxiety, but for stress, depression, and certain emotional disorders as well. Another article, published in Frontiers in Psychology, suggests that certain breathing techniques that facilitate awareness and breath control can “benefit both physical and mental health.”
The fantastic thing about many breathing exercises is that they take only minutes and have a near-immediate effect, which means they can be done during your lunch break or in a discreet space during a stressful event.
We recommend beginning by trying these exercises in a peaceful place: on a blanket or mat on the floor, in your bed before you’re about to sleep, or in a comfortable chair. If you can, start by practicing these techniques in a quiet area, free from distractions and disturbances so you’ll be ready to use them confidently in less-than-ideal surroundings if the need arises.
These exercises are simple, but they might seem counterintuitive at first because most of us are used to breathing without being conscious of our breath. If you forget to count, or you don’t feel like you’re doing it right, don’t worry: The point isn’t to do the exercises perfectly but to afford yourself a sense of calm.

1. Counting Breaths

Does anxiety keep you up at night? Me too.
Instead of counting sheep, consider counting your breaths. This is an excellent opportunity to focus on regulating your breath while preparing your body for the most restorative kind of relaxation: sleep. Breathe in and out of your nose slowly. Count to one. Inhale and exhale again. Count to two. Do this 10 times, and then start at one again.
The key during this breathing exercise is to slow it down. Don’t count as fast as you can, and don’t pump your breaths in and out too quickly.

2. The 4-7-8 Method

When your anxiety is mounting, temporarily distracting yourself can be a great coping mechanism.
All breathing exercises can distract you from your increasing anxiety because you’ll be focusing on your breath and not your stressors. This particular exercise requires a bit of concentration: enough to distract you, but not enough to be difficult.
Breathe in for a count of four, hold it for a count of seven, and breathe out for a count of eight. Do this set three times in total.
To make the most out of this exercise, consider the importance of breathing with your diaphragm, a practice you can learn about with this resource from the Cleveland Clinic.

3. Deep Breathing

When we’re in panic mode, we take quick, shallow breaths instead of slow, deep breaths. Change it up by taking slow breaths that feel like they fill your entire ribcage up with air.
Once again, breathe in deeply through your nose. Notice the air as it fills your nose, then your throat area, then your chest, then your belly. Allow your chest and belly to inflate and deflate like a balloon. Do this for a count of five or 10 breaths.
Breathing is something we literally do all the time. We take it for granted and often we don’t realize how powerful it can be. When it comes to anxiety, breathing can be one of the most useful natural tools we have in improving our relationships with both our bodies and our minds.

Categories
Life x Culture Lifestyle

Thank You For Your Service: 5 Ways To Show Gratitude This Veterans Day

I was smitten with my now-husband the minute I saw a picture of him in his dress whites, looking just like Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman. As a naval flight officer, my husband has flown over the Middle East. He’s spent months on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. He has served his country for the past 10 years.
And yet, like most active-duty and military veterans, he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t even want to use his military discount, lest someone thank him for his service. When they do, he gets embarrassed.
When Veterans Day rolls around, he doesn’t feel he deserves the thanks because there are veterans who have given more in service to their country.
And, he contends, Veterans Day isn’t the day to honor active-duty service members. There is a day for recognizing the courage and commitment of active-duty service members: Armed Forces Day. This lesser known holiday is celebrated on the third Saturday in May, usually about a week before Memorial Day (which is a day to honor only those veterans who have died in service of their country).
Still, there are 21.8 million military veterans living in the United States today, and they all deserve our respect and gratitude this Veterans Day.
While posting a heartfelt message on social media is touching, here are five even higher-impact ways you can show gratitude this Veterans Day.

1. Take time to listen.

You might not know anyone currently serving in the military, but odds are you know a veteran who served during World War II, the Korean War, or Vietnam.
A rapidly aging population, these veterans are among the 28 percent of Americans age 65 and older who live alone.
Senior citizens who live alone face higher mortality rates and are more at risk for chronic health issues than those who interact socially.
One way to show gratitude this Veterans Day is to reach out to a veteran and start a conversation.
Not sure how to find a veteran?
One way to start the conversation is to volunteer for the Department of Veterans Affairs. You can drive veterans to doctors’ appointments or plan welcome-home events for service members. Each volunteer event is an opportunity to form a relationship with a veteran, learn more about their time in the military, and thank them for their service.

2. Show up.

The easiest thing you can do to express your thanks this Veterans Day is to simply show up at a Veterans Day parade, ceremony, or other veterans-appreciation event in your area.
Not only are Veterans Day parades and other events family friendly, but they also give veterans a chance to reconnect, meet other veterans, and talk to civilians about their service.
Your local news outlet should have information about upcoming Veterans Day activities in your area, so dust off your lawn chair, wave an American flag, and celebrate veterans as our servicemen and women march down Main Street.

3. Learn about military life.

If you don’t know any veterans personally, one of the most important things you can do is learn more about what it means to serve our country through military service.
Visit a military museum exhibit or war memorial. Check out a history book from your local library. One of my personal favorites is The Things They Carried, a Tim O’Brien novel about young soldiers in Vietnam. Or watch a documentary, like Restrepo, that shows what life in combat zones is like and how hard adjusting to civilian life can be for veterans when they return home.

4. Realize not all veterans wear combat boots.

There are thousands of men and women who have stood alongside their spouses and partners as they served their country. These military spouses, partners, and families have made sacrifices too, even though they never wore a uniform.
Do you know a military family? Reach out to them this Veterans Day with a call or a card. If you don’t, that’s okay. You can adopt a military family through Operation Here We Are, sending them care packages while their service member is deployed or inviting them to your home for the holidays.

5. Give to a good cause.

Gratitude is good for the soul—and your health. Studies have shown that stress levels are 23 percent lower in people who consider themselves to be grateful. People who express their gratitude through service are happier and healthier than those who do not.
This Veterans Day, if you don’t know a veteran personally, you can still show your gratitude, doing good for service members and yourself by donating to or planning time to volunteer for a veterans organization.
Here are four that earned the highest ratings from CharityNavigator.org, a site that helps you donate to trustworthy organizations. And we’re adding one that supports veterans in their pursuit of wellness through mindfulness and meditation.

Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Charitable Service Trust

Disabled American Veterans Trust was founded in 1920 after disabled service members came home from World War I and has continued to provide support for all disabled veterans. DAV helps veterans get to medical appointments, file insurance paperwork, and find meaningful employment. With 1,300 chapters nationwide, you can volunteer or donate here.

Honor Flight Network

The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization that flies World War II veterans to visit World War II memorials in Washington, DC. It may not seem like much, but many of these veterans have never seen the memorials that have been erected to their brothers in arms—and to their own service. It can be a hugely emotional event for veterans as they revisit sometimes painful memories, but ultimately, Honor Flights works to provide veterans with much-needed closure.
After every WWII veteran who is able to travel sees their memorial, Honor Flight Network will move on to Korean War and Vietnam veterans. You can donate here, or if you know a WWII veteran who would like to participate, start the application process.

Homes for our Troops

When you think about veterans, you might think of your grandfather who served in World War II or the Korean War, but post-9/11 veterans make up 18 percent of the total veteran population. More than one in four of those veterans have a service-related disability, which makes coming home extremely difficult. Homes for our Troops builds houses for post-9/11 veterans with severe disabilities. These adapted homes give veterans some of their dignity back. There are several ways to get involved, from running a 5k to donating building materials.

Our Military Kids

Kids often suffer loneliness, anxiety, and fear while their parent is deployed. Our Military Kids supports kids from kindergarten to twelfth grade through grants to pay for activities that help them cope with the stress of having a parent in the military. You can support Our Military Kids by volunteering at events or simply donating financially. 

Veteran’s Path

Many of us are exploring mindfulness and meditation to augment our own well-being. This Veterans Day, we can support veterans in doing the same. Veteran’s Path facilitates a variety of programs that focus on helping veterans cultivate peace, acceptance, transformation, and honor through nature-based experiences that teach mindfulness and meditation techniques. Civilians can donate, or if you know a veteran who is interested in developing a meditation practice, consider sharing Veteran’s Path’s Guided Meditation library.

Categories
Fitness Advice x Motivation Sweat

How To Maintain Your Shape (And Sanity) While Recovering From An Injury

Like many women, I use habitual exercise not only as a way to stay fit and bolster my health but also as a way to keep myself from going all-out nuts. The endorphin boost, the release of anxious or angry energy, and even just the time to get out of my head and into my body are all among the reasons that exercise is way at the top of my self-care regimen.
So what happens when an unexpected injury sends you to the sidelines? You lose that all-important outlet and need to develop some new strategies to maintain your physical and emotional health.
About six years ago I developed a chronic overuse injury in my right leg (the generic term is runner’s knee) that made running, walking, and sometimes even just standing super painful. That should’ve been an indication for me to stop, right?
Well, I was stubborn, and I made that classic amateur mistake of confusing pain for the discomfort we’ve been told is part of athleticism.
I had become so reliant on long-distance, steady-state cardio for controlling my weight and keeping my anxiety in check that I just couldn’t follow doctor’s orders of staying off it long enough for it to fully heal. I kept returning too soon, re-injuring myself repeatedly for more than a year—a cycle that was vicious enough to eventually land me crying and limping into an orthopedic surgeon’s office.
What could I have done differently to help myself [linkbuilder id=”6442″ text=”stay sane”] and healthy while I needed a rest? Oh so many things.

Get your wiggles and your crazies out.

This is what I tell my toddler when she’s acting up or showing destructive behavior. I make her jump around waving her arms and legs for as long as she can before flopping over. And this is basically what I’m doing for myself when I make sure I get my workouts in.
Did you know you can become addicted to exercise, which means you might suffer withdrawal symptoms without it? Exercise has long been known to benefit a restless or depressed mind, and when you can’t get it because of injury, illness, or whatever reason, you may suffer if you don’t re-calibrate your mental health self-care to account for the missing piece.
For example, my surgeon, who happened to also be a cancer-surviving, award-winning triathlete, told me that the only way he kept his sanity when a punishing cancer treatment schedule sidelined him from triathlon training was fanatically doing crossword puzzles during his time in the hospital.
Whatever it is—meditating, getting massages, or even just obsessing over a new murder mystery series—finding other ways to stay focused, giving yourself an endorphin boost, or mitigating an unsettled mind can be key to staying sane while on a layoff from exercise.

The 411 on Active Rest

Just because you have an injury, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be completely confined to the couch.
Let me stress that you should follow doctor’s orders here, but depending on the severity and location of your injury, there may be some forms of exercise that are still available to you while you recover. Working out while working around a specific body part or group of muscles is part of the concept of cross-training, which can keep you going strong and injury free when done correctly.
For example, many common fitness injuries have to do with overuse of one muscle group or repeated pounding damage to one joint. If you find a form of activity that doesn’t exacerbate your injury (a professional trainer or physical therapist can help you with this), you’re golden.
So if you injured your knee from repetitive high impact to the joint (like I did), you might be able to cross-train by switching to cycling, swimming, aqua-jogging, or even hand-cycling if your gym has that machine. In fact, adding biking and swimming to my routine is how I made the evolution from runner and yogi to include hobby triathlete. So, silver lining? Yep.

Keeping It Tight in the Kitchen

Have you heard the phrase “you can’t outrun a bad diet”? If you’re sidelined from working out while you’re on a weight loss journey—or even just on a lifelong mission to maintain a healthy body—losing the metabolism-boosting and calorie-burning effects of exercise can feel devastating.
Still, remembering that you have control over the food you eat can put things back in perspective. If you’re burning fewer calories throughout the day because you’re resting more and exercising less (or not at all), then you can adjust your calorie intake to make sure you won’t gain weight during your recovery. And if weight and body composition is your main concern while injured, you will feel buoyed to know the results of several studies say that diet is overall more important to sustained weight loss than exercise output. The takeaway? Adjust your food intake to fit with your altered physical output and stay on track.

Getting Back out There on the Quick

No matter how much encouragement and well-meaning advice you get while you’re recovering from an injury, the fact remains that you just want to heal and get back to your grind, right?
In addition to your efforts to stay fit and positive while you allow yourself the time to heal, remember to make use of those tried and true quick recovery methods: RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation), eating nutritious meals, and even alternative recovery methods like getting massages and acupuncture have been shown to help. In the end, follow the advice from your doctor, stay focused, and know you’ll be back on top of your game soon.

Categories
Favorite Finds Nosh

Coconut Vinegar: The Next Big Thing Or A Trend Worth Skipping?

You already love apple cider vinegar, coconut water, and coconut oil. So, how excited are you at the prospect of receiving some of the benefits of both apple cider vinegar and coconut in one tasty liquid? Very, right? The advent of [linkbuilder id=”2259″ text=”coconut vinegar”] in the States has health and beauty bloggers buzzing, but we want to know if the scientific community is ready to make big promises to back up the hype.
Without a doubt, coconut vinegar is the hip, trendy thing, and this newcomer on the Western healthy living scene shows potential to be touted as a hot new “superfood.” But as yet there aren’t enough studies about the use of coconut vinegar to make any scientific conclusions about whether it works the way we hope it does.
While we wait for the results of more research to roll out, experts are looking to coconut vinegar users’ reports of benefits and to data from experiments involving similar substances—such as apple cider vinegar (ACV) and coconut sap—to explore and inform their exploration of the many ways coconut vinegar (CV) might help you [linkbuilder id=”5219″ text=”live your best life”].

So, what is coconut vinegar?

If you’re familiar with ACV, then coconut vinegar won’t seem too foreign to you. Coconut trees and their flowers produce a sap that naturally ferments over time when stored in the right conditions. Vinegar makers like Wilderness Family Naturals (which describes the process of producing CV) then bottle the fermented goodness and voila! A seemingly all-purpose health and beauty elixir makes its way onto a shelf at your favorite [linkbuilder id=”2264″ text=”grocery store”].
While it’s long been used for cooking in South Asian cuisines, it’s a relatively recent import to the United States. So depending on your local grocer’s stock, you may have to head to a health food specialty store or try shopping online to nab it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t released precise CV nutrition information yet, but you can look at the info for coconut sap, its source material, to get an idea of what you’re in for.
Word on the street is that coconut vinegar may offer all the benefits of ACV, but with even more promising results. As Claire Martin, a former esthetician-turned-nutritionist who now specializes in holistic nutrition and wellness, explains, “Coconut trees grow in highly nutritious coastal soil [which] gives its vinegar a higher nutritional value than apples … it’s loaded with amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, including B12 and acetic acid.”

According to Martin and beauty blogs like Holistic Vanity, coconut vinegar can be used in the same ways ACV can—from topical beauty treatments to home health remedies, cleaning, and, of course, cooking.
Given all these uses, it would be easy to jump on the bandwagon and invest our hopes in getting big results from coconut vinegar. But when it comes down to it, although there is evidence that apple cider and some other vinegars actually live up to their proponents’ claims, there just aren’t enough studies about coconut vinegar for scientists to tout it as the same or better than other well-researched vinegars.
As nutrition expert Michael Joseph wrote in an article for Nutrition Advance, “The distinct lack of studies on coconut vinegar makes it difficult to provide a fair assessment.” That said, the nutritional content of coconut sap is a bit more impressive than the nutritional content of apples, so it’s not far off to conclude that CV would work similarly to “ACV” with some extra oomph.
Joseph also notes that “despite the lack of specific studies, coconut vinegar is relatively new, and studies will likely appear as it grows more popular in the future.”

Is coconut vinegar worth your time (and money)?

Many sources say CV is worth a try for lots of uses. And given what the experts have to say, it seems like a viable health remedy when it comes to ingesting it, but using coconut vinegar in cosmetic and cleaning applications requires a bit of caution. Read on to find out how you can use CV, when to avoid it, and why.

Healthy Habits

Like other vinegars that have proven health benefits, coconut vinegar is a raw, fermented food, meaning it contains various enzymes that benefit gut health. It functions as a strong probiotic, which is another buzzword in the healthy living community that does actually hold up to the hype surrounding it. So if promoting good bacteria balance in your gut is important to you (and it should be), then go ahead with the vinegar!
If you’re already an ACV user, you likely know that it’s famous for aiding diabetes patients, as several studies have suggested it can help the body regulate blood sugar. Since it’s the acetic quality in vinegar that’s thought to create this effect, and we know that coconut vinegar has a higher acetic content than the apple cider variety, it makes sense to conjecture that coconut vinegar might be equally—if not more—effective, although no studies have proven that yet.

When it comes to known upsides of coconut vinegar specifically, a major one pertains to its taste. According to Martin, it has a “milder, sweeter, and brighter flavor,” than other vinegars, and “doesn’t taste as acidic as apple cider vinegar even though it is higher in acetic acid … which is commonly used to supplement [linkbuilder id=”2261″ text=”weight loss efforts”].”
In fact, in addition to being a calorie-free jolt of flavor that’s great in in tea, marinades, and salad dressings (read on!), Martin explains that “coconut vinegar is loaded with 17 amino acids, vitamins like potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus and minerals like B1, B6, B12, and inositol. Inositol increases insulin resistance and lowers blood sugar. B vitamins are a building block for good health, playing a key role in keeping you energized and [maintaining healthy] metabolism.”

Beauty Bonuses of Coconut Vinegar

ACV is already a well-known tool in many green beauty kits, and Martin says it’s safe to use coconut vinegar just like you would employ its apple cider cousin in your beauty routines. She also says it’s great to use for “hair conditioner or a facial toner” but advises being “careful to patch test because CV’s acetic acid content can be harsh for certain skin or hair types.” Try it out first in a diluted form (mixed with water or another beauty product you know your skin or hair tolerates well), to make sure it’s right for you.
Try this: Soak a cotton ball with one part coconut vinegar to three or more parts water and apply as a homemade toner. Or for a hair conditioning rinse, add a few tablespoons vinegar to a cup of water. Apply to hair and let sit for a couple of minutes, then gently rinse.
Tons of of anecdotal evidence (even from dermatologists) abounds about ACV’s ability to freshen your complexion—and if ACV, why not coconut vinegar, too?  Of course, if you want published, scientific proof, you’ll have to wait patiently for research to confirm the testimonials. Still, Women’s Health suggests that vinegar’s pH is ideal to combine with your bathwater for a 15-minute soak to restore the natural balance of your skin. Just make sure not to use it without diluting, as you could come away with a bad reaction.

We do know that ACV has proven antifungal properties, in part because of its acetic content, which means even more acetic CV could help with [linkbuilder id=”2266″ text=”yellowing nails”], athlete’s foot, and even dandruff.

Home Hacks with Coconut Vinegar

Most of my friends (and most definitely my husband and daughter) know me as a bit of a clean freak. In fact, I’d say, for better or worse, my relaxation and happiness are often tied to my sense of whether my home is clean, pleasant, and presentable. Still, I worry about the harsh chemicals that most of the really effective cleaning products on the market contain, so I’m excited about the possibilities of using coconut vinegar as a natural home cleanser that’s safe to use (diluted) around kids and animals.
As Martin tells me, “it’s high acetic acid content” makes it a great booster to “add to your next batch of gym clothes laundry,” or you can “mix with some water for an all-purpose cleaner” that you can store in an easy-to-use spray bottle. My former cleaning lady swears any white vinegar also works as an ant deterrent in the kitchen, but I haven’t found it to be noticeably effective for that.
A 1997 study found straight vinegar in general to be somewhat effective in killing E. coli and Salmonella, and later studies found it to be a good killer of some waterborne bacteria involved in burn infections. But as CNN recently noted, “will apple cider or other vinegars sanitize or disinfect your home? Probably not enough [on its own] to make you feel germ-free.”
So it seems like the evidence for coconut vinegar being a powerful nutritional additive is strong (I’m on board), but the potential beauty and cleaning uses are still not tested enough to convince the likes of me.

Steal a nutritionist’s routine

Martin says she “like[s] taking coconut vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar as a daily tonic during allergy season because of its lighter flavor.” But she warns against drinking it “straight up,” as its high acetic makeup (which is one of the reasons it’s so effective) can literally burn your throat and cause indigestion and (you’ll definitely want to avoid this) flatulence. If you’ve had these problems with ACV before, Martin says she “would not recommend coconut vinegar as a daily tonic because it has an even higher acetic acid content.”
But if you’re up for a little dose of tang, Martin also makes a killer raw salad dressing, and she shares her recipe with HealthyWay:

  • 1 part ground turmeric
  • 1 part coconut vinegar
  • ½ part minced garlic
  • 2 parts tahini
  • 3 parts olive oil
  • 2 parts water
  • Dashes of salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne

Mix all ingredients until “smooth and creamy,” and you’ve got what Martin calls “a great nutritional powerhouse for cool weather problems like muscle aches, low blood circulation, or colds.”

Vinegar Throwdown: Coconut or Apple Cider?

Okay, here are the basic comparisons:

  • The two are similar in cost.
  • Apple cider vinegar is a cloudy light brown (just like unfiltered apple cider), while coconut vinegar is a cloudy white liquid.
  • Apple cider vinegar is more readily available in brick and mortar stores, but coconut vinegar can be purchased online easily, and as it gains in popularity, it will likely make an appearance at your local grocer.
  • Many people, including Martin, say that coconut tastes a bit sweet and is more palatable than apple cider vinegar.
  • Still, it’s vinegar! Don’t expect it to be sugary or taste exactly like coconut.
  • Bottles of both contain a cloudy blob of goop called the “mother,” which according to Martin is really a colony of bacteria and yeast that contains “beneficial vitamins, minerals, and bacteria.”
  • CV seems to come out on top nutritionally. As Martin notes, “If compared side by side, the raw ingredients of coconut vinegar (coconut sap) beat those of apple cider vinegar (apples) in every one of the 17 amino acids, minerals, and vitamins that occur in each vinegar.” It’s important to note, though, that some brands of coconut vinegar are made from coconut water instead of sap, and these are not as nutritious, according to Martin. Be sure to check the label before you buy.

Just because something is new (to you) doesn’t mean it’s bad or scary, but the reverse is true as well. Coconut vinegar may be a hot trend, but so far, there’s no evidence that it’s anything close to a cure-all. When it comes down to it, CV is likely just as safe as ACV, and there’s a possibility that it may have some advantages over ACV because it comes from a more nutrient-dense source. It also has a greater acetic content, which might increase its health benefits but could also make it more irritating to people with sensitive skin or digestive systems.

If you’re the type to wait for scientific evidence to weigh in on health and [linkbuilder id=”2265″ text=”fitness trends”], we suggest sitting it out a year or two until the scientific community has a chance to conduct thorough coconut vinegar research. Or if you’re an intrepid explorer who loves to be on the cutting edge of nutritive wellness trends, we say go for it and try adding coconut vinegar into your healthy living practice.

Categories
Fitness Advice x Motivation Sweat

Why Every Woman Belongs In The Weight Room

From practiced yogis to cardio junkies, we’re all familiar with the importance of physical activity. However, many women shy away when the conversation turns to weightlifting. Shoes are laced and feet are hitting the pavement before a barbell is given a second thought. For many of us, there’s a fear of “bulking up” and putting on too much muscle.
Every woman has heard that old fear floating around—“Lifting makes you manly.” Well, it’s time to dispel those nagging weightlifting myths and take back the power, because one fundamental step in achieving any set of fitness goals is strength training, and women are still considerably less likely to make lifting a health and wellness habit.
The truth is, the claim that women will bulk up with weightlifting holds no ground. Physiologically, women are incapable of putting on the same amount of muscle as men. This is due to the significantly lower levels of anabolic hormones (which are crucial for building muscle) in female bodies compared with male bodies.
The truth is, a date with the weights is the answer you’ve been waiting for.
Read on for insight on how to strut over to the weight rack with confidence.

The benefits are waiting, and you’re going to burn baby, burn.

While beneficial, cardio doesn’t offer the same rewards as weightlifting. And despite differing levels of growth hormones, regardless of sex, people experience far greater muscle development when strength training than their friends who are tied to the old treadmill. Lifting helps individuals burn fat while building muscle, as opposed to cardio, which cannot boast toning-related gains.
This is especially noteworthy because muscle needs significantly more energy to perform its basic functioning than fat does. This means that with more muscle, an individual’s body will naturally have a higher resting metabolic rate. And the benefits don’t stop there! That muscle will also help individuals reshape their bodies to achieve a more balanced look.
An increased metabolism and perky behind? Yes please.
According to a recent study, individuals who took part in a weight training regimen developed significantly less belly fat than their counterparts who engaged in aerobic exercise alone. There are many factors at play here. One of the most important takeaways is that although cardio can contribute to weight loss, it doesn’t have the same lasting effect on the body as resistance training does.
A runner only burns the total calories expended during their run, but a weightlifter experiences caloric expenditure during their workout as well as an increased metabolic rate during the next 48 hours. This means that exponentially more calories are burned by weightlifters over time.
So if you’re longing for that flat tummy, weightlifting may be the trick.

Performance Perks

You can hit peak performance with a little help from the weight rack. Stronger muscles mean greater power and exertion across the board. From participating in a local duathlon to acing an inversion yoga flow, once you start weight training, you’ll notice yourself moving with greater efficiency. Your core, arms, and legs will be better equipped to keep you speedy and balanced.
This is why runners and yogis alike often cross-train with weightlifting. From pounding through the last few miles to perfecting a crow jumpback, your muscles will be prepared to support you.

Here’s to Longevity

Women are far more prone to bone and joint degeneration than men are as they age, and weight training actively works to lessen this risk. A prime example of this is weight training’s effect on osteoporosis. Research has shown resistance exercise like weightlifting provides “the mechanical stimuli or ‘loading’ important for the maintenance and improvement of bone health,” which means lifting enough weight actually helps stimulate bone growth and improve bone density, preventing or even reversing damage related to joint and bone degeneration.
And while cardiovascular activity often gets all the attention when it comes to heart health, strength training also plays an important role. In fact, it may offer greater benefits due to the improved blood flow to active muscles during weight training. Resistance exercise produces unique blood vessel responses, specifically in that it stimulates improved blood flow in the limbs. It also contributes to a lasting drop in blood pressure following the workout that cannot be paralleled by aerobic exercise.

Reach for those dumbbells.

Fear not, cardio bunnies! You don’t need to give up that runner’s high. For the widest range of benefits, combine a few sessions of aerobic exercise with three to four sessions of resistance training each week. Don’t know where to start? Build on the fundamentals and treat form as your highest priority as you get into your new groove. As a good reminder, make sure to establish and maintain full range of motion before moving on to heavier weights.
Once your technique is mastered, shoot for three to four sets of 12 to 15 repetitions. Between those sets, keep rest at a maximum of one minute for the greatest benefits. There are hundreds of helpful resources floating around the internet, so don’t hesitate to continue your research. For visual guides, find videos of coaches performing the exercises. However, make sure those sources are credible. T Nation and Bodybuilding.com are both great places to start since they’re brimming with expert advice and workout templates.
As you map your plan, aim to rotate upper body and lower body days to keep your initiation into weight training simple. For example, an average week could look like this:

Monday: Upper Body

Try these! Lat pull-downs, pull-ups, chin-ups, dumbbell rows, dumbbell bicep curls, dumbbell triceps kickbacks, push-ups, military presses, and lateral raises.

Tuesday: Lower Body

Try these! Back squats, goblet squats, leg press, walking lunges, lying leg curls, leg extensions, hip abduction, cable hip adduction, and standing calf raises.

Wednesday: Cardio

Take to the streets, gym, pool, or court for the cardio activity of your choice.

Thursday: Upper Body

Follow the same upper body routine as you did Monday, focusing on your form as you become more comfortable with the exercises.

Friday: Lower Body

Revisit Tuesday’s lower body routine with a focus on form.

Saturday: Yoga

Drop into your favorite once-a-week class or unfurl your mat and get your stretch on at home.

Sunday: Cardio

Enjoy your go-to cardio activity, or switch it up with something else you like but didn’t have time for on Wednesday.
 

Categories
Life x Culture Lifestyle

How To Be More Productive Through Self-Care

If there were more than 24 hours in a day, the question of how to be more productive might never come up. More time in the day equals more time to get everything done, after all.
But with the clock insisting on giving us just 24 little 60-minute increments before the day flips over, we’re all facing the struggle to fit working out, seeing our BFFs, and whipping up a batch of cookies for the kids’ bake sale into a day that’s already jam-packed with everyday minutiae.
The solution might not be what you expect. Could taking more time for yourself out of an already tight schedule be the secret to increasing your productivity?
A growing number of experts are screaming for us to take more time for self-care, and it turns out there’s a surprising boost in productivity that comes with taking that much-needed time out.

The Self-Care Solution

Self-care sounds simple enough. The directions are right there in the term: You need to care for yourself. But knowing what self-care is doesn’t mean we’re actually doing it.
Aaron Boster, MD, system medical chief of neuroimmunology at OhioHealth Neuroscience Center, puts the blame on society as a whole. “Within our culture, it’s completely acceptable to go to work, to work late hours,” he says. “What’s not acceptable or embraced is taking time for yourself. Words are used like ‘lazy’ or ‘unmotivated.’ We’ve completely devalued taking care of yourself.”
And yet, Boster points out, everything from taking time to eat healthy meals (instead of scarfing down a bag of M&M’s at your desk) to drinking adequate amounts of water to getting a full night’s rest can fall under the umbrella of self-care. They’re all things that common sense would dictate we need to do, and they’re all things that have an impact on our productivity levels.
A whopping 1 million American workers call in sick to work every day because of stress-related illnesses (from depression to heart issues), and that stress costs businesses an estimated $200 to $300 billion a year in lost productivity. Lack of sleep alone is estimated to cost companies more than $63 billion annually in productivity reduction.
Simply put: When we skimp on self-care, our productivity takes a nosedive.
“We have to take the time to fuel our bodies,” Boster says. “If you don’t fuel the machine, it doesn’t work too hot!”
Caring for your body is essential maintenance in the same way that getting regular oil changes and new tires are essential maintenance for your car. One prevents the engine from blowing up, the other prevents us from getting sick and losing the precious productivity time. But if we’re not taking time for self-care because we’re too stressed to get everything done as it is, how are we supposed to put an end to this vicious cycle?
Here’s how to be more productive at work and home and take care of ourselves at the same time.

Get organized.

At first glance, improving your organization may sound like it’s more about your bosses (or even your house) than it is about yourself. After all, good organization skills and time management are an obvious means to boost productivity.
But what we often forget is how much a messy desk or messy house can affect our own stress levels. As much as 84 percent of Americans admit that they worry that their house isn’t clean enough, and 55 percent say it causes actual stress.
Clutter has been solidly linked to a spike in the stress hormone cortisol, and it can challenge our productivity. As Princeton neuroscientists found when they looked at clutter, the more stuff you have around you, the more each item tries to pull at your attention. A whole lot of stuff everywhere won’t just cost you time and productivity; it can completely overwhelm you.
Taking time to get things neat and tidy might be time away from “getting things done,” but in the long run, it will help you improve not only your workflow but your mental health too.

Get moving.

If you’ve been to the doctor recently, they probably gave you chapter and verse on getting enough exercise, right? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends adults get at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week.
If you’re not meeting that minimum, you’re hardly alone. Just a third of American adults get up and move enough to hit the recommended physical activity benchmarks every week. Exercise is often the first thing that we cut from our day, because it doesn’t seem quite as necessary as everything else. Your boss isn’t paying you to exercise. Your kids can’t eat your exercise.
But working out doesn’t just help the body in terms of making the muscles stronger, preventing obesity, and boosting the strength of your heart. It turns out scientists have found a direct link between physical activity and job burnout. In a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, scientists in Israel posited that people whose physical activity levels were high had virtually no career burnout issues, whereas those who were sedentary had relatively high levels of dissatisfaction on the job.
It’s not just liking our jobs better that comes from exercise, either. Taking time to work out literally helps make you more productive, allowing you to pack more into less time.
In a 2011 study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Swedish scientists linked exercise to an increase in both the quantity of work and work ability and a decrease illness-related job absences. The scientists suggested reducing work hours for “health promotion activities” to increase production levels. While their recommendations were focused on employers, there’s no reason not to take the bull by the horns yourself.
Boster suggests taking a brisk 20-minute walk twice a week to start yourself off on a new and improved exercise regimen. If you can do more, even better!

Meditate on that.

The mindfulness movement has been catching fire in America of late, and it’s not just your yoga buddy who’s pushing meditation anymore. A growing number of companies are adding mindfulness programs to their employee wellness solutions.
The reason? Taking time to meditate can boost your productivity. As Harvard researchers found out when they began to look at mind–body practices, meditation and/or yoga can increase productivity by an estimated $3,000 per employee per year. And the benefits don’t end at the workplace door. In one employer-based mindfulness program, participants reported a 28 percent reduction in stress and 19 percent less pain.
That’s likely because meditation leads to better rest, says Light Watkins, meditation teacher and author of the book Bliss More: How to Succeed in Meditation Without Really Trying. In turn, Watkins says that better rest “leads to a greater ability to focus on the task at hand and prioritize what’s important.”
“I consider meditation to be a ’key’ habit, because it makes you more apt to do the other things that should be a part of any self-care ritual: exercise, healthy diet, rest, philanthropy, and time spent with loving friends and family,” Watkins says. “If stress can diminish our desire to engage in all of those activities, then meditation should increase our desire.”
Like exercise, meditation may seem like something we just can’t fit in our schedules, but you don’t have to take hours out of your day to make it happen. Meditation is often part of yoga practice, which allows you to hit all your exercise and meditative needs in one fell swoop. Even better: Just 25 minutes a day of hatha yoga is considered enough to improve brain function and boost energy levels, which are tied how productive we are.

Sleep on it.

We all need sleep. It’s how the body restores itself. But if you ask a quarter of American women how many mornings they woke up feeling refreshed in the past week, the answer would be a flat zero. A third of us get less than seven hours of sleep every night.
Going to bed late and waking up early can help you steamroll through the six piles of laundry, catch up on bills, and finally fix the broken toilet. But it’s costing you.
“If you’re going to bed already knowing you won’t get a good night’s sleep, you’re doomed from the start,” Boster says. “We have to figure out ways to make time to sleep.”
When we do it, he points out, we feel better, we think more clearly, and we have more energy. And how else do we expect to be more productive?
A study by RAND Europe found that lack of sleep ends up costing the U.S. economy $411 billion a year, while workers are losing 1.2 million working days annually. Scarier still, the study found that getting too little sleep on a regular basis hikes your mortality risk. If you’re routinely getting less than six hours of sleep a night, you have a 13 percent higher mortality risk than someone sleeping the seven to nine hours that the National Sleep Foundation recommends for adults.
The solution is pretty clear on this one: Carve out enough time to get enough sleep, and you’ll be better able to tackle the mountain of projects ahead of you each day. The better able you are to get them done, the faster you can do it, leaving time for well…more sleep!

What about yo’ friends?

Don’t let the number of social media buddies fool you: We’re becoming an increasingly isolated society. The number of people who say they have no close friends has tripled in the last few decades.
One of the major culprits is time. Friends tend to get the shaft when you’re burning the candle at both ends trying to get everything done. Your boss doesn’t pay you to chit chat, right?
Well, maybe they should. Indulging in time with friends has long been considered a crucial part of a healthy self-care regimen. Friends can boost your longevity by as much as seven years. That’s as much of a life expectancy increase as you’d get by avoiding cigarettes! Of course, personal health means fewer work absences and better productivity in and of itself.
It turns out friendship in the workplace also has a particularly positive influence on the amount of work we get done. Being able to turn to our friends on the job provides a safety net and allows us to ask questions without feeling judged, which helps us be more productive at work. Another big benefit to making friends at work: Your mood tends to improve as you feel comfortable, which spills over into positive effects on the work itself.

Waste time.

Can’t imagine sitting around staring at the ceiling tiles and twiddling your thumbs? How about getting up from your desk, walking to the break room and actually taking the entire allotted 15 minutes away from your work?
Try it, Mikey. You won’t just like it…you’ll be re-invigorated and able to get a whole lot more done than you would have if you’d kept your mind hyperfocused on work.
Our brains get a workout when we’re at work, and sometimes they need an old-fashioned break to recharge, according to researchers from Hiroshima University.
Their suggestion is one that’s hard to argue with, especially if you like kittens or puppies. The researchers found that taking a few minutes to watch cute animals on the internet can restore your cognitive functioning, boosting your productivity and helping you get more work done in the long run.
It turns out your mom was wrong: Laughter isn’t the best medicine. Panda cams are!

Just say no.

Can you bake just a dozen cookies for the bake sale? How about coming in the office for just a few hours on Saturday morning? Would you sign up for the office softball team? Come on, they need someone with a strong pitching arm…and it’s just two practices a week!
Saying no to any (or all) of the above is the ultimate in self-care. It’s giving yourself leave to set down boundaries in your life and putting you in the driver’s seat. It’s also a way to reclaim your time. And look at all the things you can now do with that time to amp up your productivity.

Categories
Health x Body Wellbeing

How To Fall Asleep Fast (And Stay That Way)

Yajun GiaOh Sunday night, how troublesome you can be. For almost 40 percent of Americans, the last night of the weekend is the one we spend tossing and turning, wondering how to fall asleep.
And when you take a close look at insomnia and other sleep disorder statistics from the American Sleep Association, things don’t exactly look better the rest of the week. Hundreds of thousands of us fall in bed every night and beg our brains to just shut up and let us sleep already.

What’s going on?

When it comes time to go to bed, most of us would love to fall asleep the minute our heads hit the pillow. The faster it happens, the faster we can head into dreamland, right?
The good news is we really can fall asleep fast, according to Steven Woltering, PhD, director and founder of the Neurobiological Lab for Learning and Development at Texas A&M University. Woltering and his colleagues have studied sleep onset latency (SOL), the amount of time that it takes the body to transition from being fully awake to sleeping soundly.
In a survey of 2,000 healthy, typically developing people, Woltering says the average time people self-reported falling asleep was less than 2 minutes. When Woltering’s graduate student Yajun Jia added more controls to measure the sleep conditions (aka not going by self reports), the number was higher but still below about 8 minutes. Women tended to have a longer SOL than men, even if they transitioned to sleep quickly.

Yet a third of us struggle to fall asleep at night, putting the number of Americans with insomnia—the diagnosis for trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep—in the millions, and forcing 5 percent of women to turn to sleep medications to help them catch a break at bedtime. So what’s going on?
First, a bit of good news: Doctors don’t consider you to be a “problem sleeper” if you’re not falling asleep within 8 minutes. In fact, trouble falling asleep is not considered a “pathological problem” until it’s happening on a regular basis, according to David White, chief medical officer of Philips Sleep and Respiratory Care. You need to lie in bed for 30 minutes (or more) more than three times a week for a month for a doctor to make an insomnia diagnosis, White says.
An insomnia diagnosis can be short term or chronic, meaning some people will struggle with sleep for just a few weeks or as little as three months, whereas others can face bedtime battles for longer. The reasons this is happening—and the speed with which you can (or can’t) kick insomnia—are as individual as people themselves.
“The more we learn about what goes on in our brain when we fall asleep, the more we realize that sleep does not depend on a single mechanism,” Woltering tells HealthyWay. “There are a number of brain nuclei, biochemicals, and endocrine systems involved, and they all interact. What this tells us is that sleep has evolved as a very important function. I think having such a complex and widespread network is helpful in terms of having some safeguards: If something goes amiss with one system another can take over to compensate so we can still sleep.”
One of the biggest factors in whether we fall asleep quickly is a brain chemical called adenosine. Adenosine builds up when you’re awake, and the longer you’re awake, the more you tend to have.
“The more adenosine you have in your system, the more pressure you will feel to go to sleep! It’s like an internal clock,” Woltering says.
Unfortunately caffeine, certain medications, stress, and other factors can block our adenosine receptors, keeping us awake longer.
So, is it possible to fall asleep faster and actually stay that way? The experts say yes! Here’s how to alter your space, your body, and your mind to make it easier to fall asleep fast—and stay asleep.

  • Space


    If you get the minimum seven hours of sleep a night that adults are supposed to get, each year you’ll spend some 2,500 hours in bed (or wherever you zonk out). But if your bedroom isn’t primed for sleep, you’re probably going to spend a whole lot of that time trying to convince your brain to quiet down so you can catch some ZZZs.
    Lighting: The body depends on periods of light and dark to adjust our circadian rhythms, the internal clock that tells us when we should be asleep and when we should be awake. But too much light in your bedroom will throw that out of whack, White says. A bedroom should be as dark as possible, with the addition of room-darkening curtains and other means to block out distracting light that could trigger the brain to stay awake.
    One of the biggest offenders is blue light, aka the light that’s emitted by a smartphone or tablet screen, White says. “It’s innately alerting,” he warns. “It makes you wake up!”
    Clocks: Most of us depend on an alarm clock to wake us up in the morning, but if your clock has numbers that are visible from your bed, you need to turn it around…or remove it from the room entirely, says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, author of the book From Fatigued to Fantastic!
    Clocks in the room can heighten our insomnia anxiety. Our brains are trying to wind down and fall asleep fast, but we’re watching the time slip by, and the stress hormone cortisol is rising in the brain…which keeps us awake. Dump the clock, and you don’t know how long it’s taking you to fall asleep. That in and of itself can make the transition from wide awake to dreaming go faster.
    Temperature: Growing up, we learned that the average body temperature is 98.6 degrees, and that’s a sign of health. What you might not have learned is that your body temperature fluctuates during the day, and it tends to drop at night. That’s because body temperature and sleep are directly linked.
    As researchers Kazue Okamoto-Mizuno and Koh Mizuno explained in a sleep and thermoregulation study published in 2012 in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology, “heat exposure increases wakefulness and decreases slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep.” Meanwhile, the researchers found, the relationship between your sleep–wake rhythm and the circadian rhythm of your body’s core temperature is important for maintaining sleep.
    In other words: If your room is too hot, you’re not going to fall asleep quickly (or maybe at all!) The optimal temperature for a room—according to the science—is between about 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit if you’re wearing pajamas and using a sheet. If you sleep in the buff and skip out on any sort of covering (no sheet, no blankets), the researchers say you can dial up the temperature to as high as 89 degrees.
    Sounds: Some people need strict silence to fall asleep, while others struggle if it’s too quiet. If you’re the former, a white noise machine may help block out distracting street sounds, White says.
    If you’re in the latter camp, playing relaxing music (think Johann Sebastian Bach, not Justin Bieber) has scientifically backed benefits. According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, listening to classical music can reduce sympathetic nervous system activity and decrease anxiety, blood pressure, heart, and respiratory rate. In turn, those help soothe the body off to dreamland.
    Scents: Aromatherapy may not be a fast fix, but it could be the answer to the question of how to fall asleep without medication.
    Teitelbaum says there are benefits to relaxing essential oils in the bedroom. Although much is anecdotal, at least one study has shown lavender, in particular, has a soporific effect. It might be worth a spritz of the pillow…at least! And yes, you should stop rolling your eyes at the friend who is always blathering on about their diffuser and essential oils on Facebook now.

  • Body

    Prepping your room will only get you so far when it comes to cutting your sleep onset latency. Your body has to be ready too.
    Cut back on caffeine and alcohol: The stimulating effects of caffeine help wake up the more than half of Americans who suck down at least one cup of coffee every day. But caffeine’s effect on the adenosine receptors can make falling asleep fast impossible, especially if you’re drinking coffee or soda after 4 p.m., Woltering says.
    Alcohol, on the other hand, may well allow you to fall asleep or even help you to fall asleep. The trouble comes later in the night, when your body tries to transition into REM sleep.
    “Alcohol actually suppresses REM (rapid eye movement) sleep,” Woltering explains. “We still have a lot to learn about sleep and alcohol. What is fascinating is that researchers are beginning to link chronic alcohol intake with the development of psychopathology. Our brains crave dream sleep and if they don’t get it, pressure starts to build up in our brains to have more of it. Now, it may be—and this is speculative—that some of the delirium that you see with chronic alcoholism may be explained by the brain starting to dream while we’re still ‘awake.’ REM sleep is bleeding through in our waking lives!”
    Unfortunately, the way alcohol affects REM sleep can mean you fall asleep easily at first, but after your body awakens during REM sleep, you can’t fall back to sleep.
    Plan your exercise wisely: Remember when you were a kid, and you were absolutely wiped out at the end of a long day of running around with your friends? Most of us spend a whole lot of time sitting on our rear ends and not a lot of time tiring our bodies out. Increasing the amount of exercise you get to at least 150 minutes per week has been linked to improved sleep quality.
    But White is quick to advise that patients sneak in their workouts early in the day if possible. Working out before bedtime may tire out your muscles, but stimulating activity that raises your heart rate can actually keep you up.
    Get comfy: If you’re a dedicated morning shower person, it might be time for a change. Night showers (or baths) have been shown to help us get to sleep faster, because they lower the body temperature, which works in conjunction with a cooler bedroom to signal to the body that it’s time to dream.

    But don’t get too cool! The same scientists who found overheating could keep us up found that being too cool could have the same effect. One quick fix that’s backed by science? Throw on a pair of socks to keep your tootsies from getting too cold. If you sleep with a partner, they’ll appreciate not being woken up by a cold foot to the leg!
    Another piece of getting comfy is considering your food choices. Large meals shortly before bedtime can weigh heavy in the gut and keep you awake, White says, so it’s wise to get dinner over with well before you plan to hit the sack. If you’re absolutely starving, stick with something small (and non-caffeinated).
    Get help: Even if you’re trying to avoid medication to help you sleep, your doctor can advise you on whether you should try melatonin (a natural supplement that mimics the body’s own sleep hormones), check to see if any medications you’re currently taking could be keeping you awake, and test you for health issues that might make it harder to fall asleep.

  • Mind

    The leading cause of insomnia, at least among women, is anxiety. White calls it ruminating—while other people fall off to sleep, the issues they’re facing in their day-to-day life keep them tossing and turning.
    Get help: This type of insomnia is what White calls “psychophysiological insomnia.” Once the mental health concern is addressed, the insomnia should go away. Seeking help via a therapist is one means to make a difference.
    Meditate: If you don’t feel like your problems have reached the level of speaking to a physician, 15 to 20 minutes per day of meditation has been linked to better sleep. As Light Watkins, meditation teacher and author of the book Bliss More: How to Succeed in Meditation Without Really Trying, tells HealthyWay, “The time you spend meditating will get refunded back to you in time you’re not wishing you were sleeping deeper.”

    Set up a routine: Kids aren’t the only ones whose minds wind down when they follow through the same steps each evening.
    “Parents have long known that creating a sleep routine, such as a bedtime story, eases children into sleep,” Teitelbaum says. “Adults are no different. Setting up a relaxing bedtime routine, such as reading a book, or having a hot Epsom salt bath with a glass of wine, trains us to fall easily into sleep. Don’t expect to go from high stress right into sleep, any more than you would expect a child to do so!”
    Trick yourself: If all else fails, a little reverse psychology may be the key to how you fall asleep fast and stay that way. Studies have found that trying to force ourselves to stay awake instead of trying to go to sleep can have a paradoxical effect. Essentially, our sleep onset latency speeds up because we’re telling ourselves not to fall asleep.

Categories
Nutrition x Advice

5 Ways Your Love Of Kombucha Is Benefitting Your Health

Whether you’re going the DIY route and making kombucha at home or sipping on a kombucha-based cocktail at a trendy bar, chances are you’ve tried and maybe even grown to love this delicious fermented beverage.

From arthritis to Crohn’s disease, kombucha is credited with being a cure-all drink for anything that ails you, and many people swear by its healing properties. Although many of these claims are still in need of corroborating research, there are definite benefits to drinking kombucha besides its addictive fruity–sour taste, so grab a glass of your favorite fizzy kombucha and let’s toast to your health and these five benefits of the trending elixir.

It’s alive! But just what the heck is kombucha?

In basic terms, kombucha is a fermented drink that’s made by combining a SCOBY with sweetened green or black tea. “But what on earth is a SCOBY?” you might be asking yourself. It’s an acronym, for starters.
It stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast and it’s the foundation (otherwise known as the mother) of any batch of kombucha. A SCOBY is a living culture, which means it feeds off of the sweetened tea as it ferments, giving kombucha its delightful fizziness. You can see what one looks like in our video:

To fully take advantage of kombucha’s health benefits it’s important to drink raw or [linkbuilder id=”5175″ text=”unpasteurized kombucha”], as the pasteurization process kills off the healthy bacteria that are naturally formed. Make sure that any unpasteurized kombucha you drink is from a reputable source to prevent contamination; meaning, maybe avoid the kombucha your friend is making in their basement.

1. Make friends with the probiotics in kombucha.

Just like yogurt or kimchi, kombucha is fermented, which means it contains billions of friendly bacteria that are commonly referred to as probiotics. Probiotics have been shown to have a positive effect on chronic digestive issues, bladder infections, and yeast infections and are also known to promote overall gut health.

2. A Vegan Source of Complex B Vitamins

As with other [linkbuilder id=”6545″ text=”fermented foods”], kombucha is potentially a good source of vitamin B12, especially if you eat a largely plant-based diet. Naturally occurring vitamin B12 is responsible for turning our food into energy and is almost exclusively found in meat, fish, and dairy products. Give yourself a pat on the back the next time you’re sipping kombucha, and remind yourself you’re consuming this vital nutrient.

3. Antioxidant Power

Kombucha made with black or green tea is an excellent source of antioxidants, surpassing even fruits and vegetables in its free radical–destroying abilities. In addition to regular use of black and green teas in beauty products, the same antioxidants found in kombucha have been shown to have a positive effect on heart health, cholesterol levels, and stroke prevention.

4. An Impressive Immune Booster

The same probiotics that are found in kombucha and other fermented foods have shown promise in clinical studies researching their immune system–boosting properties.
Studies have shown a positive correlation between gut health and a strong immune system, and probiotic supplementation, like drinking kombucha, can have a positive impact on your digestive system.

5. Keep your blood sugar under control.

A study summarized by the American Institute for Cancer Research that originally appeared in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research has shown that the compounds found in green tea, which might just be a component of your favorite kombucha flavor, may be beneficial for people who have high blood sugar or type 2 diabetes.
In fact, kombucha is sometimes recommended to patients with diabetes, and current research suggests it could play a high-impact role in diabetes treatment in the future.