A Stronger Immune System This Christmas

With the end of Thanksgiving, everyone is now bracing for the coming of further holidays, like Christmas and New Year. This only means we have only a few days left to prepare everything - from our itineraries in going home to the presents we need to buy for loved ones. With the cold winter air, snow arriving earlier this year and increased stress levels with all the activities, everyone will surely be susceptible to feeling weak, or worse, getting sick. You better stock up on vitamin and herbal supplements like American ginseng to stay healthy and keep your immune system strong enough to keep with the hectic season.

So, one of the keys to keeping sane and stress-free health-wise is to keep your immune system in check. Since Christmas is also related to lots of eating, you might want to see if these foods are included in your menu. Consuming this stuff are said to boost your immune system. 

 

Oats

These are whole grains that are good for the body.  It contains beta-glucan which is a type of fiber that has antibacterial and antioxidant properties.  It helps speed up wound healing, boosts immunity and it aids antibiotics to be more effective when taken.

Chicken soup

This is said to be the cure-all and the best cure for bodies that are feeling under the weather. Studies have shown that it blocked the migration of inflammatory white blood cells.  The amino acid cysteine, which is released from cooked chickens closely resemble a bronchitis drug.  The salty broth thins out the mucus which cough syrups also do.  For a more immunity-powered soup, you can add more spices and herbs.

Garlic

This relative of the onion has potent antibacterial properties. Its active ingredient, allicin, is the reason why it this plant is very effective in fighting the common cold. There are a lot of studies that have come out proving the effectiveness of this plant. 

Sweet potatoes

This root crop is essential in keeping our body’s largest organ, the skin, to be in tiptop shape.  Vitamin A has a pivotal role in the production of connective tissues which is the key component of our skin. This beta-carotene rich root crop is one way to increase Vitamin A consumption.

Mushrooms

This has been used by people for centuries to help boost the immune system. They help increase the production and activity of white blood cells which is a key component in beefing the body’s immune system.

American ginseng

This is already a proven herb that has a lot of medicinal properties including helping to boost the body’s immune system. The ginsenosides that it has in its roots are the reason why this is miracle herb that a lot of people are now appreciating.

Be ready in coping with the stressful holiday season and emerge healthier than ever, thanks to these foods. Make sure to have some American ginseng tea as well, as it doesn’t only help your immune system, but it also makes you less stressed and more calm and energetic.

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A Gout-less Christmas

During the holidays, we tend to do three things: shop for presents, party ‘til we drop, and eat anything like there’s no tomorrow. But then, while eating with abandon is supposed to be in tune with the spirit of the season, extra caution should be exercised. After all, some kinds of food may be dangerous to your health. So, as much as you would like to binge on some yummy goodies at every dinner you eat from now until New Year’s it would be more advisable to have a cup of American ginseng tea to keep your metabolism in check.

Moreover, eating too much of some things can, at worse, cause diseases. One of the conditions that can be aggravated with consumption of some kinds of food is gout. Simply put, gout is a kind of arthritis that causes painful inflammation in some joints.

For gout sufferers, here are some kinds of food that you should avoid during these festive holidays:

Herring

You in all instances refrain from ingesting a lot of this food because of its severe high-purine levels.  This is the reason why you should definitely avoid this kind of food. Its high purine levels will dramatically increase your risk for gout. 

Scallops

Seafood is on top of the list for those foods that should be avoided by those suffering from gout.  Scallops are another kind of food that has high levels of purine.  It is the accumulation of uric acid that makes your body suffers from gout.  It’s not necessary to cut this off from one’s diet but consumption should be kept to a minimum level.

Red meat

Although taken in small quantities, red meat is alright to consume by people suffering from gout. But if given the choice, white meat is the better option for your body’s daily protein requirements. 

Asparagus

This is one vegetable that has high purine levels so this should be taken in minimum quantities. Taking in American ginseng can help control uric acid levels.

Liver

Organs like liver, kidneys and other offal’s are a no-no for people suffering from gout because it can increase uric acid levels in the body.

Beer

Beer should be crossed out from the list of drinks because it increases the body’s uric acid levels and the alcohol in the beer makes it difficult for the body to flush it out from the body. 

Soda

Drinks that are high in sugar is a no-no, especially those that have HFCS or high fructose corn syrup listed as one of its ingredients. The sugar will help stimulate the body to produce more uric acid so downing in a can of soda will definitely increase its levels right away.

Ultimately, gout is caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood. Thus, stay away from foods that contain uric acid, as well as sugar. If you can’t avoid them, try supplements like American ginseng.

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Keeping Healthy With Good Cholesterol

When we hear the word cholesterol, we are immediately put off and get disgusted because it is often associated with sickness and diseases.  A lot of people are suffering from health problems because of the high cholesterol levels in their blood.   We conjure images of fats, blocked arteries, people getting stroke and heart attacks with cholesterol. But then, the truth of the matter is that not all cholesterol is bad cholesterol. In fact, there is a good kind of cholesterol that brings benefits to your body when taken. Besides, as for bad cholesterol, even if you take it, you can actually control its levels. For example, American ginseng can help you regulate the levels of LDL, or the so-called “bad cholesterol” in your body, thus creating a balance needed for you to properly function and avoid those diseases.

Credits: Body Building

There are things that you can do to help increase your “good cholesterol” and lower your “bad cholesterol.”  It is just a matter of keeping a balance with your activities and lifestyle and most importantly, maintaining a healthy diet.  Diet plays a very important role in maintaining higher levels of good cholesterol because it is in food where we get most of the cholesterol that goes into our bodies. A diet rich in bad cholesterol without the balance of good cholesterol, as previously mentioned, can do a lot of damage to your body. These proteins can get stuck in your blood vessels, producing a plaque that narrows down the passageways for your blood. Thus, when these cholesterol deposits build up dramatically and cover entire areas of your veins or arteries, your heart would need to work double time to pump blood and keep it circulating. Moreover, when there’s no more space for the blood to pass through, like a water pipe that’s pressured with too much water, the veins and arteries connected to your heart will just burst, and yes, this is deadly.

Thus, there is a need to watch what you eat, including taking in supplements like American ginseng.  This is especially necessary for some people who need to cope up with their cholesterol levels because they have a hard time controlling their food intake.  The goal here is to increase the HDL (the “good cholesterol”) levels or high density lipoproteins in your body. HDL helps in absorbing the excess bad cholesterol and in bringing them to the liver so that they can be broken down properly and expelled out of the body.

Reducing the risk of heart diseases does not only entail lowering the LDL or low density lipoproteins or bad cholesterol but more so increase the HDL levels by eating foods rich in this. Aside from taking in American ginseng, drinking  pure orange juice, eating whole grains, nuts like almonds, walnuts and pistachios, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and halibut and using olive oil can definitely help. 

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Lower Calories but Delicious Food

When people diet, there is one idea that they always entertain: shun food.  They figure that since the cause of having weight is the calories in food is food, it would be wise then to not eat.  But is this really the wise way to shed unwanted pounds?  It does sound very dangerous! Besides, the juiciness of a steak, the smell of coffee, the tangy flavor of Torani syrups – are those the things you really want to give up?

Starving to attain a certain weight is not only dangerous, but very illogical as well.  A person cannot function properly without food.  Thus starving is just one very stupid manner to lose weight, unless a person plans to be a vegetable while dieting.

So, how can one lose the unwanted pounds without going to the extreme?  There are a number of ways, but a dieter should remember that going to the extreme never is the way to go.  Lose the calories keep the food is one nifty and very logical advice when it comes to losing weight. 

By keeping the food while losing only the unnecessary calories, the dieter is assured of staying healthy while keeping unwanted pounds away.  Here are three tips on how to achieve the decision to lose the calories keep the food:

1)      A dieter should be able to monitor their activities daily and be able to know how many calories they use.  By knowing how many calories they burn, they would be able to know how many calories they would need from its only source: food! 

2)       They should be able to formulate a menu with foods that if they total their calorie content, would be lower than the total number of calories that they use.  That way, no extra calories will be left in the body to be stored as fat.

Moreover, whatever fats are stored in the body will be utilized for the body’s activities.  Now that the dieter knows how many calories they need in daily activities, for example, 5,000 calories, subtract 500.  They will thus only need 4500 calories from food.  

The dieter’s body would then be in a calorie deficit, which would of course, trigger weight loss.  It’s simple mathematics really, but make sure that the deficit created will not be too huge that it will lead to starvation again!

3)      So that the body will not feel deprived that it will only receive fewer calories, the dieter can cheat his or her body by spreading out the 2,500 calories in 6 small meals.  Metabolism will speed up and the body will not like eating excessively anymore.

See? There really is no need to starve just so that one will lose weight.  Lose the calories keep the food works on the simple logic of how the body works.  You can have a lot of flavor without having to gorge just by substituting actual calories with the exact flavor, like in the case of suing Torani syrups. Starving could only work for the most limited of time and will only cause the body of the dieter to eventually malfunction.

After all, there is simply no logic in starving.  The human body needs fuel to function well.  This fuel can only be provided by a combination of oxygen, water and calories from none other than food.  The dieter just has to make sure that his or her calories come from nutritious food sources.  

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The Money’s on the Bean

There are really no special tricks when choosing an espresso bean. After all, espresso beans are not really different from ‘ordinary coffee beans.’ There’s no way of identifying beans that are exclusively for espresso, just like there’s no way of identifying flavour from Torani syrups and flavour of “real” ingredients.” There are no specific beans that are only available exclusively for espresso making, although there are those that result to better espresso shots than others. These beans for espresso are simply those that have undergone a specific pressing method so that they would produce espresso. In most cases, the beans are roasted to reach a darker color, which usually equates to a more bitter taste once they will be pressed for espresso.

As there is no instant or specific beans for espresso, choosing an espresso bean can be a bit of a challenge. But, knowing some simple points to selecting them will guarantee finding the best bean to result in a fine shot of espresso. 

The first factor is flavor. As indicated earlier, although people have grown fond of using the term ‘espresso bean,’ there is no such specific thing. That is because any coffee bean can be made into espresso. However, the espresso maker should think about the flavour of the espresso that will result in using a particular coffee bean. For coffee connoisseurs, the best shot of espresso is bitter – the more bitter it is, the better. Thus, the ideal bean to choose for espresso would be one that can be roasted darkly.

But for those who are not that fond of a bitter flavor for their espresso shot, a more subtle flavor produced by a lighter roast is the option. Just remember: The color of the coffee roast determines the resulting flavor, of the espresso, and the darker the roast is, the more bitter the resulting espresso is. Again, espresso can be produced from any coffee bean.  

The strength of the espresso is different from its flavour, although the two factors can be related. For those choosing an espresso bean, the next question after deciding how bitter they want their espresso to be is how strong they want it to be. Various coffee beans contain different levels of caffeine. The more caffeine is contained in a coffee bean, the more caffeine there will be in the espresso. Caffeine levels determine how strong any coffee drink is, so those who want a stronger espresso should choose beans with high levels of caffeine.

People drinking espresso should also remember that espresso comes in shots, so those who want more powerful espresso-infused drinks should either add extra shots or just stick to one shot but made from ‘stronger’ beans.  For those who want just a slight kick, you can always add flavour to your espresso with a shot of Torani syrups to soften the bitterness. 

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