8 Natural Foods to Quickly Burn Your Holiday Bloat

So, you gave in to holiday temptation. You dabbled with chocolates instead of dumbbells and croissants instead of cardio. Your meticulous fitness regimen crumbled under the pressure of multiple Christmas parties and family dinners. Perhaps you rationalized this by thinking that our bodies need more sweets and salty dishes to manage the harsher outdoor climate, and so you took that extra bite…or five. Either way, you and your body are rolling into the new year with a little “extra” in places, and you need it gone fast. There are plenty of options for getting rid of stomach bloat, from rigorous gym routines to more drastic fat reduction treatment solutions, but at the end of the day, your diet is the biggest factor that contributes to belly bloat. So, try out these eight natural remedies for curing winter bloat in a hurry: 1. Water Water is amazing for digestion. It helps solids move smoothly through your system for fast elimination of food that is known to cause bloating (think food heavy in salt, sugar and fat). It also helps flush out sodium, a common culprit in bloating. Adding fresh lemons to your water further increases healthy digestion by getting rid of lingering toxins. 2. Ginger Ginger is a particularly effective type of carminative, an herb that can alleviate symptoms of digestive tract distress such as bloating, gas and cramps. Ginger helps release gas, improves circulation and even fights abdominal pain, thanks to gingerol (the main active component of fresh ginger). For easy consumption, add half a teaspoon of freshly-grated ginger to a cup of hot water for a soothing tea.Foods rich in potassium are a fantastic remedy for bloating. Without potassium, your body holds on to extra sodium and water. Potassium helps flush out this excess salt and regulate sodium levels, so stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables like bananas, avocados, leafy greens and citrus fruits like oranges. 4. Fiber A lot of bloating stems from constipation, and one of the best ways to have regular bowel movements is to eat fiber-rich food. Try whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes for your fiber intake. Women under 50 years old should get 25 grams of fiber daily while men under 50 should have 38 grams per day. Be careful not to overdo it at the start -your body needs to build up a fiber tolerance gradually. Too much fiber all at once can actually cause buildup, so make sure you drink lots of water alongside your food. 5. Digestive enzymes Digestive enzymes aid in healthy digestion by breaking down fat, protein and carbohydrates, and they reduce bloating and other gastrointestinal issues. There are three different types of digestive enzymes- amylase enzymes break down carbs, lipase enzymes help digest fats and protease enzymes aid in the digestion of protein. Papaya, pineapple and grapefruit are great examples of fruits high in digestive enzymes, so pick up one of each the next time you’re at the supermarket. However, if these fruits aren’t in season, try digestive enzyme supplements as an alternative.Studies have shown magnesium can eliminate belly bloat by neutralizing stomach acid that can cause indigestion. Magnesium also helps to relax the intestinal walls, enabling the release of gas and lowering water retention in the body. Bananas, fish and quinoa are all excellent sources of magnesium, and so are dark, leafy green vegetables and whole grains.7. Omega-3 Fats If you’re a fan of seafood, you’re in luck. Regular consumption of salmon and other fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, nutrients which reduce bloating and inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Omega-3 fatty acids not only calm and reduce gastrointestinal distress but heal as well, lowering sensitivities to foods that cause inflammation over time. 8. Bifidobacteria Consuming bifidobacteria, found in probiotics, has been proven to relieve gastrointestinal tract stress, specifically bloating, cramping and flatulence. When looking for sources of bifidobacteria, keep your eyes peeled for yogurt with this specific strain of probiotic on its label. While probiotics are fantastic for general healthy immune function, bifidobacteria is the only strain of probiotic proven to help with symptoms of intestinal distress.Adopting 8 new tips into your routine may seem overwhelming, but the truth is that they all fit seamlessly into a well-organized meal plan. Unsurprisingly, the most important meal to pack with nutrients is your breakfast. If you only leave yourself 20 minutes to make and eat your meal in the morning, you’ll end up consuming cereal or a muffin, which are heavy on carbs and low on bloat-busting nutrients. So, plan ahead and prepare your potassium-rich fruits and vegetables the night before. If you find yourself in a rush, blend up some oats, banana, pineapple, probiotic yogurt, and peanut butter, and take a smoothie to go. Experiment with different combinations of fruit and vegetables until you find a recipe you love. You’ll find yourself with an influx of energy to carry you through your day or workout, and you’ll be well on your way to getting your pre-December body back.Consuming the appropriate amount of Omega-3 fats can be trickier. Typically, people have an unhealthy balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats. Omega-6 is present in common ingredients such as corn, soy, and canola, so naturally, humans have an overabundance of Omega-6 in their body. Try incorporating seafood into at least two meals a week. If you’re one of those people who can’t stand the thought of eating seafood, consider an Omega-3 supplement to keep your ratio in check. Lastly, you can kill two birds with one stone by enjoying ginger tea first thing in the morning. After a long, restful night of sleeping, your body is dehydrated. A cup of tea is a great first step in getting your hydration back on track. Ginger tea is naturally caffeine free, so it may not be a perfect substitute for your morning coffee, but it’s packed with vitamin C and magnesium and is an excellent way to start your day.

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5:42 AM   by News 4U ·   0

The Secret to a Successful Life? Have Zero Tolerance for Wrong Decisions

Life is full of decisions. Whether we choose this over that, we make a decision and its impact comes afterwards. From time to time, we encounter situations where we need to make a decision. And the decision could have led us to fortune or failure. Meet Joe Green,[1] the former roommate of Mark Zuckerberg, the current CEO and founder of the Facebook. Instead of dropping out of the university with his roommate to work on building a potential social networking site, he listened to his father’s suggestion to focus on his studies and obtain his degree. Well, he had never realised this seemingly rational decision would cost him $100 billion, the current valuation of Facebook. What if he followed his gut feeling and took a more risky path? It would be an entirely different story! Decision making is the most important life skill we should keep improving. Whether we are successful or happy in life is determined by the right decisions we make consistently. And most importantly, there’s a way to do it! Common Struggle: Should I Trust My Gut Feeling or Make Careful Calculations for the Right Decision We all have times struggling to make a decision, especially the important ones. And we are usually caught at a crossroads, wondering whether we should trust our gut feeling or make careful calculations to draw the conclusion. Most often, we believe that logical reasoning can bring us to the right destination. But while we’re trying so hard to make the RIGHT decisions, isn’t it more important to take a step back and ask ourselves: can the reliance on logical thinking help us make the decisions BEST for us? No, indeed. Imagine you’ve got some really good grades in public examinations. Logical reasoning would tell you to pursue degrees like law and medicine, based on the expectation that these professional qualifications could bring us to a brighter future. However, despite that it could be true financial-wise, we are overlooking our interest and whether we will be enjoying our study in those fields. Ultimately, we may earn a lot (if we can make it to graduation). But there is a even larger possibility that we will end up wasting our time pursuing something we are totally uninterested in. What if we have listened to the voice in our heart and take an alternative path to study what we enjoy and like? We would have reached a higher position and enjoyed our times in college. You may think we are suggesting that you should follow your gut feeling when making decisions. Yet, in fact, whether to make decisions based on gut feelings or reasoning is not the key point. It is how much you understand yourself that determines how likely you can make the right decisions. Only Self-Understanding Can Give You The Most Reliable Guidance In our decision-making process, we always seek external information to guide us. This includes the advice and opinions from people we know, people with expertise in the field or people we can trust. When it turns out to be a wrong decision, we blame them for misguiding us and the advice is inaccurate. We completely exclude ourselves from the consideration of options ahead. Actually, knowing ourselves better can help us judge whether the given piece of advice or information is valuable or not more accurately. None on this planet knows ourselves better than we do. And self-understanding is like a yardstick to help you assess the information or advice collected. General norms are irrelevant to decision-making. People advise us by considering the social norms and think from their perspective instead of ours. When weighing pros and cons of a decision, we should not do it objectively or base on the general norms, after all it is all about us. Remember, people who make right decisions consistently may not be the ones who are the smartest or the luckiest. They are, indeed, the ones who thoroughly understand themselves. Understanding Yourself Is Toughest Challenge You Could Have, But You Can Nail It with These 4 Steps Now we know we have to thoroughly understand ourselves. But it is easier said than done. One may think that we are born knowing ourselves and this is definitely not the case. Our subconscious minds always come into play and affect what we do and how we think without even us noticing. In fact, we may even live our lives without actually knowing who we really are. Self-understanding is an abstract concept. The notion taps into intangible things like our values or beliefs and understand your priority, strengths and weaknesses. And to start from something abstract is really challenging so here we provide a concrete step-by-step approach to draw a profile to know ourselves better. Remember to be honest to our own selves. Step 1: Myers-Briggs Personality Test If you are stuck with where to begin, try the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, it offers an analysis on your personality types and groups them into 16 different categories. The test consists of questions and statements and ask for your opinion on a scale of agreement. By taking the test, you will know who you are in a broader sense. Step 2: Strengths and Weaknesses Ask yourself on what areas you are good at and what you are not. It is even better if you can provide examples to illustrate the traits respectively. You can also ask your friends and family members the same question and compare their answers with yours. You will be amazed by the difference between how you see yourself and how they see you. Discuss with them why they have such an impression of you to investigate the reason. Step 3: Priorities Everyone weighs things in their lives differently. By putting yourself into typical scenario, you will realise what is more important to you. For example, if your house is burning down, what would you do and who would you save? You will be astonished by your way to prioritise things that you never know you do. Step 4: Strong Emotions Recall your experience when you have really strong emotions. It can be the time when you are really happy or really furious. Once you identify the incidents , you can then look into the reasons why strong emotions are triggered. What exactly made you so angry? What in particular delights you? By checking these experience, you can understand yourself more about what affects you the most emotionally. Look Further! There Are Always More Options After having thorough understanding of yourself, you should explore more options when making decisions. If you stay with the options in hand, they may be good for you. But if you further explore other alternatives, you may find some that are GREAT for you. While we are collecting information for the existing options, we may come across with other alternatives. Never leave them aside. They may be the best fit for you. There can be numerous paths leading to the same destination. But some of them are shorter and some take less effort. You should never limit yourselves in picking a new road to go. When you are looking for other possibilities, it is the time to let your imagination go wild, brainstorm with the additional information gathered and generate as many options as you can. At this point the feasibility is not of concern. You will weed out the improper ones later. Living without realizing who you are is pitiful. Mourning on the wrong decision you made is even more so. Thus, start building your own profile now and avoid being the next Joe Green! References [1] ^ Fox News: Meet Joe Green, who walked away from a $10b Facebook fortune

5:23 AM   by News 4U ·   0