The Surprising Benefits of Green Tea

You've probably heard before about green tea being good for you. Aside from being a lovely beverage, green tea has a host of health benefits. However, you need to drink a LOT of tea to reap them. Rather than water, I sometimes make a big pot of tea and keep it iced in the fridge for drinking throughout the day. Some people will make a super-infused cup of tea by placing several bags in a cup and drinking it in one go. Others still will add tea to their smoothies or just drink a cup here and there throughout the day. Probably the easiest way to get in all your tea is with an extract in a supplement form. Instant green tea is also available in powdered form in the grocery store. To see benefits, you need to consume about 100mg of tea per kilogram of body weight. For most people, that's about 6 to 10 cups of tea per day. Why go through all this trouble and all this tea? Here are a few great reasons.

Morning Wake-Up without the Jitters
Green tea does contain caffeine, but it also contains a compound called L-theanine which naturally calms you, so you can stay awake yet focused and at ease.

Metabolism Boost
People who drink green tea, especially before a work out, are more efficient at burning fat and less likely to store fat. Simple as that!

Super Dose of Antioxidants
Antioxidants are the molecules that prevent the oxidation, or breakdown, of your cells. Antioxidants are found in abundance in plants, and in abundance in green tea. Preventing the breakdown of your cells helps you recover quicker from a workout and keeps you looking younger longer by staving off the effects of aging.

Reduce Stress and Anxiety
Green tea has been shown to keep you at a calmer, more even state of mind. This can help you to focus and rationally respond to stressors throughout the day. Lowered stress can also help prevent weight gain by reducing high-stress hormones in the body and reducing the likelihood of habits like stress-eating.

If you haven't already, try adding green tea to your diet. If you already drink green tea, try increasing the amount you drink. Enjoy! And until next time, keep it clean!

A Weekly Date... with Yourself!

Things can get hectic in day to day life. Everyone has different demands and responsibilities, which can get overwhelming. Myself, I keep a strict diet, exercise every day, and lately have been spending any time not working or staying healthy by renovating my home. Add in stressors like taking care of kids or relatives, keeping up friendships, going to school, moving, second jobs or projects, and there's no end in sight to the work.

Sometimes because of all the endless activity that I seem to be doing for very little result (everything takes time), I get worn out not just physically but mentally and emotionally. What's the point of working so hard when you can't enjoy what you reap from it? Sometimes working towards a goal is reward enough in itself, but it's also important to take a moment to reflect on other things.

My husband and I often work 6 days a week, and usually very long hours. So every Sunday morning we set aside some "us" time. It's informal and no pressure, we just go where we want to go and do what we want to do. There's no set schedule or itinerary. Often we'll have breakfast or lunch away from the house and sit and have a long chat, sometimes we'll see a movie, go to church, take a walk in a park, go to a museum, visit family or go to the beach. On these days I don't think about my diet or exercise, I don't work on any projects (unless I just really take joy in it that day). Fulfilling or thought-provoking conversation and a good meal recharge my batteries, but it could be anything that makes you feel great and fulfilled.

The point of taking the time out is to give your mind and your body a reprieve. There are some days where I'd rather not take the day off so I'll give myself just a couple of hours. But it's the refreshment of having a long thoughtful discussion and not obsessing over anything I need to do and allowing myself not to take things so seriously that gets me through the week. You don't need a significant other to have your weekly date. You can spend the time with a friend or family member, or even take joy in being alone with yourself. But always knowing that I have my quiet Sunday mornings keeps me sane and balanced, even on a Wednesday when the weekend feels far away and I would much rather have a peanut butter cup than another plate of grilled veggies. Knowing that I'm blessed enough to be able to take a couple hours to myself each week is plenty for me to be grateful for.

Find a day that works with your schedule and commit it to being your time to yourself. Know that no matter what crazy things happen you will always have that time. Until next time, keep it clean!

Quick Tips to De-Stress

We've all had those days when everything rubs you the wrong way, everyone is annoying and everything seems to go wrong. But a lot of our anger and annoyance is commanded by ourselves and how we choose to react to it. Figuring out how to view your surroundings can determine how your whole day goes! Here are a few quick tips to de-stress on those especially tough days.

Herbal Relief

Lemon balm, lavender, chamomile, passionflower and reishi are just a few herbs that naturally calm your mind and body. All of them can be made into a nice cup of calming tea, or can be found in scented candles to keep at your desk.

Deep breaths

This may sound obvious, but when you're upset your heartbeat tends to quicken and your breath becomes more shallow. Studies show that just a few minutes of slow deep breaths, taking 10 to 15 seconds per breath, can slow your heart and focus your mind, making you more alert and rational. Set a timer for 5 minutes and practice breathing in through your nose for 5 seconds, then out through your mouth for 5 seconds. It helps to pretend you're breathing through a straw. You may be surprised at how quickly you've been inhaling.

Meditate

Sometimes clearing your mind is all you need to start fresh. Take a 5 minute break, set a timer, and then sit and try to think of nothing. Thoughts will come in, you will acknowledge they are there, and then let them pass and clear your mind again. The simple act of practicing letting all of the little annoyances and overwhelming tasks pass is often enough to gain the perspective you need to get through the day.

Think about a happy memory

Remember something really good that happened and reflect on it for a few minutes: how it made you feel, what you were doing, who you were with, what the weather was like that day. Bonus points if you think about doing something good for someone else as this will make you feel twice as good!

Find out what's making you angry

Write down what's making you mad, even the little dumb or unreasonable things, like running out of milk to put in your morning coffee, or a co-worker forgetting to thank you when they've borrowed something. Then write down why it made you angry and how it made you feel. Reflect on each of these things. Is there a pattern? Are you feeling under-appreciated  or is something else making you upset about unrelated things? Sometimes just understanding why you're stressed puts things into perspective.

Let it go

Only you have the power to decide how you feel about something. If you stub your toe on a door, the door didn't make you angry. The door is not at fault. And neither are you. Accidents happen. There is no reason to be upset. It hurt, and being upset is natural at first, but once it's passed it is what it is. Now try imagining a person stepped on your toe instead. It is the same thing. It is natural to be upset at first, but even if it wasn't an accident, you have the power to decide. Are you going to waste your energy wishing the other person bad luck and causing more and more pain, or are you going to let it go and enjoy your day?

One of my favorite quotes is, "Resentment is like swallowing poison and waiting for the other person to die." Being stressed, anxious, angry and upset only causes harm to yourself. It's not always easy to remain calm, especially when your patience is continually tried. Your stress may manifest as anger, worry, or depression. But in all of these cases, ruminating does nothing to solve the problem. Allow yourself a moment to try one of these activities, then resolve to do better next time and move forward. Until next time, keep it clean!

Under Pressure!!

Aside from being an AWESOME Queen and David Bowie song, being "under pressure" is a drag and, unfortunately, it's part of everyone's life at some time. Pressures at home, work and school can have a detrimental effect on your health. Luckily, there are ways to manage the stress in your life (because, let's face it, there is ALWAYS going to be SOME stress no matter how hard we try to eliminate it). The best place to start is at the beginning - what is causing your stress?
Once you figure that out, you will be able to learn healthy ways to reduce and alleviate stress.
Sometimes it's pretty clear where stress is coming from. Major life changes (the death of a loved one, marriage, the arrival of a new baby) can bring on stress and tension. Prolonged stress can wreak havoc on your body causing rapid heartbeats, headaches, stiff neck/shoulders, back pain, stomach upset and may lead to a weakened immune system, high blood pressure and a list of other detrimental health problems. We all know the signs of being stressed out but do you know how to manage or relieve your stress? Here are a few ways that I personally have found to be effective:

• Keep a journal. Write down those negative thoughts to get them out of your head! Imagine the stress traveling from your mind, down your arm and through your pen onto the paper. Once it's on the paper, let the stressful thoughts go and do your best to not revisit them.
• Exercise regularly. Even taking a quick 20 minute walk around your neighborhood can do WONDERS for improving your overall sense of well-being. Give this one a try - it's quick, easy and really helps.
• Do something you enjoy. Doing volunteer work, gardening, painting, coloring in a coloring book or partaking in any hobby that makes you smile is a great way to reduce stress.
• Let the feelings out! Talk, laugh or cry with someone you trust.
• Ask for help. Sometimes we take on too many things and don't like to say no to people and this causes us to feel overwhelmed and stressed. If you have too much on your plate, ask for help.
  
• Speak up. Not talking about your concerns and/or needs creates stress. Learn to express yourself in a thoughtful manner so that those concerns are released instead of keeping them bottled up.
  
• Learn to relax. Activities like yoga, tai chi and meditation are known to lower blood pressure and reduce stress. Can't hurt to try, right?
• And lastly, when all else fails......LAUGH!!! In the end, sweating over the small things just bogs us down. Why not laugh them away? Put on a silly movie, get a friend to tell you a funny joke or remember a time when you did something sooooo silly that you can't help but laugh. Laughter IS the best medicine!

Hope you will give these pointers a try next time you are feeling some tension in your world. Until next time, keep it clean and don't forget to LAUGH!