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Blog Food

4 Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their Diets

One of the best things that you can do for your body is to eat a healthy diet. Whether you’re 20 years old or nearing retirement age, everyone could use healthy foods in their life. However, a lot of people miss the mark when it comes to finding the right balance. While there may not be any perfect diet that works for everyone, there are some mistakes that most people would be better off avoiding. Take a look at some of the most common mistakes that people make when trying to lose weight.  

Eliminating Entire Food Groups  

There are so many diets out there nowadays that focus on eliminating entire food groups that it’s starting to get a bit out of control. Taking breaks from certain types of food may be a reasonable way to lose weight; however, depriving yourself of certain kinds of foods forever isn’t realistic. Instead of cutting out an entire food forever, consider cutting back. 

People who do things slowly and in moderation are much more likely to stick to it in the long run. Whereas people who bite off more than they can chew and do too much all at once usually go back to their old ways fairly quickly. 

Eating Too Little 

The simple fact is that if you’re trying to lose weight, eating fewer calories is the best way to do it. However, some people go overboard when trying to see results quickly. It’s important that if you’re attempting a caloric deficit that you still consume the right amount that your body requires. 

Eating too few calories for a sustained amount of time can result in all sorts of health problems. You could weaken your immune system and even start losing your hair. Always consult with your doctor before cutting back on calories in your diet. 

Drinking Juices 

Juices in and of themselves are healthy. However, drinking too many of them isn’t doing yourself any favors. A lot of people assume that sipping juice throughout the day means that they’re giving their bodies more vitamins. However, what they are also doing is given their body more sugar and calories. 

It’s important that you only drink the recommended amount of juice per day, and ideally, it should be freshly juiced. Juices from concentrate usually lack essential vitamins, and you might as well be drinking soda. 

Forgetting About Exercise 

While diet plays a huge role in your overall health, people forget about the benefits of exercise. Without moving your body regularly, you won’t see the efforts of your diet. Make sure that you’re moving for at least 30 minutes a day doing moderate exercise. A brisk walk around the block is all it takes to reap the benefits of staying active. 

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Blog Health

Common Food Safety Mistakes

We feel safe in our modern kitchens, surrounded by the latest technologies and convenience and we all had drawers full of cleaners and we do our best to keep a sanitary space to cook in. However, food borne illnesses are still a thing, and serious food poisoning is no joke. It can lead to permanent issues and even death. Some of the things people do wrong, happen during the cooking process itself and have nothing to do with the cleanliness of your kitchen. Here is a list of some of the bad habits that can end up making you sick.

  • Thawing meat: Frozen food is something that revolutionized how we eat, and the things that are available to us year-round. They also help keep food items safe from spoiling for long periods of time, until you are ready to make them into a meal. But things can go wrong when you thaw things out, particularly meat. If you do suspect food poisoning you can contact Instant Consult for a quick assessment of symptoms.  If meat is thawed on the counter, or in water, it should be cooked right away. If you thaw it in your refrigerator it will be a lot safer and it will be okay for a couple of days if you keep it covered.
  • Reusing Surfaces: A common vector for food contamination is the reusing of surfaces, like cutting boards and serving trays. Especially when you are dealing with raw meat. It is easy to get careless when you have a lot going on, like a big barbeque party with lots of hungry guests. If you are cutting up meat you must at least wipe down that surface, and the knife as well. There are often dangerous bacteria lurking on the surfaces of the meat. This bacterium will be destroyed when you cook the meat, but other food items, like salad, will not be heated, and the bacteria will be transferred to your guests.
  • Fridge Contamination: You might think that everything is safe in your fridge, that once things are put away there are in a germfree zone and you don’t have to think about it. But the refrigerator only inhibits bacteria, and it doesn’t kill it. You can witness this when you see things going bad. The items in your refrigerator that are at risk are the items that will not be cooked. It is important to keep these items above the items that will be cooked. That way there won’t be bits of infected food dropping down into the things you would like to eat fresh.

It is not difficult to keep things safe, you just need to be aware of how contaminants can spread around. Cleaning is often a big help, especially your hands, before and after you handle food. It can seem inconvenient, but if you have ever had to watch someone go through a struggle with e coli, or giardia, you will know why it is best to play it safe. It is also a good idea to teach your children to have good habits in the kitchen, so you won’t have to worry about them when they are cooking on their own.

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Blog Health

Beat the Covid Lockdown with These Tips

Who would have thought that 2020 would have been a year with global lockdowns, as the Covid-19 pandemic raged across the world and more than one million people lost their lives. Staying at home might be fine for a few days, but when it stretches into weeks then months, it can become very stressful for some. If you are currently under lockdown, here are a few tips to help you handle the confinement.

  • Take Up Yoga – Yoga would ensure that all your muscle groups are exercised and with virtual online yoga classes, you can practice with others using Zoom. For the best yoga wear, get some Divine Goddess yoga pants, a sports tank top and a yoga mat and you’re good to go. There is a meditation side to yoga and that will certainly help to relieve stress, as being with oneself is very beneficial, both mentally and spiritually, and by setting aside 30 minutes at the start of the day, you can prepare mentally for the coming experience.
  • Social Interaction – Imagine being unable to leave your home before the days of the Internet! Luckily, we can chat to all out friends with a video call and check out their Facebook feeds to keep abreast of what they are doing. While we cannot get the social interaction we need when out and about, we can still communicate with people, using the Internet, so do make a point of calling friends now and then. Here are a few health and wealth predictions for 2021, which makes for an interesting read.
  • Change your Schedule – While we mostly have a daily routine when at home, this can become very tedious day after day, so change the order that you normally do things, just to add a little variation to your daily life. Taking a walk in the afternoon should take care of your physical exercise needs and if you are fit and healthy, compile a short weight training session that you can do every day.
  • Balanced Diet – People can be quite lazy when it comes to preparing food when at home and with online suppliers of organic fresh fruit and vegetables, you can have fresh produce delivered to your door once a week, which you can keep in the fridge. If you shop at the online health food store, you can make sure that you are eating a balanced diet and taking a daily vitamin and mineral supplement is advised for the over 40s.
  • Daily Exercise – This must be a priority, which can be carried out either at home or outside, with a program that is suitable for your age and physical condition. Bike riding is great for all ages, or even a brisk walk early in the mornings, as long as you get the required amount of exercise. Click here for Australian Covid-19 updates.

It is worth noting that the Internet is a wonderful source of information and can be used to learn, to keep abreast with current news and even to source entertainment, so make sure that you spend at least one hour per day doing what you love and that should keep your spirits up.

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Blog Health

Mental Health Issues: Online Solutions to Beat Covid-19

Australia has been hit very hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with lockdowns and stay-at-home directives, which can be very stressful for some people and due to the medical services being overwhelmed, many people who have mental health issues are not getting the treatment they need. As we all know, talking to someone is very beneficial when we experience stress and there are organisations that offer virtual therapy using VoIP platforms such as Zoom.

Virtual Therapy

Fortunately, there are online organisations that offer virtual therapy for things like:

  • PSTD
  • Anger management
  • Addiction
  • Mood swings
  • Domestic abuse
  • Social anxiety
  • Grief & loss

One such organisation, is Peaceful Mind Psychology, who offer virtual therapy on a wide range of issues and they help many people to deal with stressful situations and are always happy to help in any way they can.

Video Consultations

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, you are advised to take some video therapy sessions with your psychologist and as you can interact together much like you would if you were in the same room, there is nothing lost when the therapy is via a video call.

Matching a Psychologist to Suit your Personality

It really does make a difference if you like your psychologist and some health providers will match the psychologist with your personality, which maximises the benefits you will receive from the therapy sessions. Research tells us that when a patient strikes up a positive relationship with their therapist, they gain a lot more from the sessions and when you have the opportunity for a psychologist match-up, this is good news. It is important to have adequate sleep and if this is an issue, try to do something about it, as lack of sleep can have health consequences.

GP Referral

While you do not have to be referred to a psychologist by your GP, if you do this, you are entitled to rebates on the cost of the treatment. If you make an appointment with your GP, simply explain that you wish to have some therapy sessions with a qualified psychologist and he or she would refer you to a local practice.

The Pandemic

Having to stay at home for long periods of time can be very stressful for some people and if you are showing signs of stress, perhaps it would be a good idea to talk to a psychologist, a professional who is trained to discover what the issues are, while also helping the patient to overcome their obstacles. As we are all unique in our own ways, some people respond to stress better than others and it can lead to heavy drink or drug use, or binge eating, which is a source of comfort for some. If you, or someone you know is showing signs of extreme stress and anxiety, talking to a qualified psychologist is the best solution. Click here for Australian government information about mental health and well-being.

We are often in need of professional help during times of stress and if the lockdown has caused you to be out of work and you need someone to talk to, remember there are qualified psychologists who can give you virtual therapy and they are only a Google search away.

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Blog Uncategorized

Veganism In The 21st Century

What would make a person want to stop eating meat and only vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts ECT.? One would wonder why a person may want to cut meat, eggs and dairy from their diet, but there are many reasons for doing such a thing. Helen Lee Schifter, a wellness expert, is highly motivated to being vegan in the fashion industry.  First off, the health benefits are amazing for most people who choose to eat this way. Quite a few celebrities’ who eat this way have aged beautifully and they are not the only ones. Most peoples bodies respond very well to veganism. It is gentle on the digestive tract, as well as extremely healing when done right. For people who struggle with digesting dairy products, this is also something that can help. There are certain vitamins a vegan must remember to supplement into their diets though. One is vitamin B9. This is a vitamin found in lots of meats and so one would need to be taking the proper supplements and making sure they have a good source of healthy fats.

Second, becoming vegan can have huge benefits for loosing weight when implemented properly! There is lots of vegan ‘junk food’ and that is a habit one would want to avoid when thinking of trying veganism. Using veganism has helped thousands to loose weight and get off prescription drugs as well! Another concern people may have is that meat processed in todays meat farms is full of anti biotics and harmful additives that have been linked to cancer. The meat industry uses cruelty to animals and therefore, the meat one may consume is stressed and much different than that of which humans in early history were used to eating. Humans are getting sick from the industrial processed meats and are finding that transitioning to Veganism is helping them to heal and giving them better health as well as a higher quality of life.

There is one thing to be aware of as one is transitioning into veganism. One may feel flu like symptoms about a month after cutting out meat, dairy and eggs. this is because the body is doing a sort of detox as it becomes use to the new way of eating. It is reported to usually last about a week and then goes away. These are things one should think about and do a lot of research on. There are reports of people living veganism who look as if they are in their 30’s when they are actually in their 60’s and 70’s. So one reason to choose such a lifestyle would be for the anti aging effects of cutting meat, dairy, and eggs from ones diet. Human bodies respond very well to lots of greens and superfoods. So in this age of being able to acquire most any type of food one wants, it now makes a lot of sense to eat this way. Helen Lee Schifter, recommends trying vegan cuisine. Before the modern day one had to eat what ever was available to them and usually the variety of foods were very minimal. Ones choices are vast now.