Kicking Bad Habits Naturally: 5 Ways To Live A Healthier Life

Everyone has at least a few bad habits, and it can sometimes seem impossible to break them, especially without resorting to non-natural methods such as prescription drugs. 

However, there are many natural alternatives to kicking bad habits naturally that you might have.

 Therefore, it is important to consider which habits could prevent you from living a long and healthier life so that you can take steps to eliminate them.

1. Excessive Snacking

Regardless of whether you have started excessively snacking due to stress or because it is a bad habit that you have indulged for years, it is a good idea to get this problem under control so that you can become healthier.

It is not necessary to take a pill to help you curb your urge to overeat. Instead, you need to provide yourself with a healthier environment that replaces potato chips with crunchy alternatives such as cucumber slices, carrots and kale chips.

2. Regular Alcohol Consumption

It is okay for an adult to occasionally enjoy an alcoholic beverage, but it can become a serious health risk if you find yourself drinking on a regular basis. After all, alcoholism can lead to a wide variety of diseases.

Additionally, drinking irresponsibly can result in a DUI conviction, and this will have negative ramifications on several aspects of your life. In some areas, legislators have made the decision to help people focus on getting sober instead of putting them behind bars.

For example, Las Vegas has a DUI court that encourages people to deal with their drinking problem. However, it is necessary to have an experienced Las Vegas DUI lawyer on your side to help you get the best results from your appearance in DUI court.

Anyone who drinks regularly should consider joining a support group to make the process of quitting go more smoothly.

Alternatively, many people are able to reduce their alcohol consumption by setting weekly limits and drinking only during mealtime.

3. Smoking Cigarettes

For many people, their addiction to cigarettes is one of the hardest things to give up. However, studies have proven that smoking does extensive damage to the cardiovascular system, and it is linked to several deadly diseases.

If you want to quit smoking without using drugs or a nicotine patch, you should enlist the support of your family and friends to help you get through rough periods.

It is also a good idea to work with a counselor during this time, and you should never start trying to quit during an extremely stressful time in your life.

4. Skipping Breakfast

Although many people believe that they can manage their weight more effectively by skipping breakfast, it will actually make your metabolism run slower, and this leads to sluggishness and weight gain.

Therefore, it is best to avoid this bad habit by having a healthy breakfast every morning.

5. Watching Too Much TV

It is understandable that everyone wants to relax on the couch occasionally, but watching too much TV will increase your odds of developing diabetes and becoming obese.

Due to this, it is best for everyone to avoid watching more than two hours of television per day.

If you are going to exceed this time frame, you should exercise while you watch or take advantage of commercial breaks to do some cleaning. This will help you improve your health while you indulge in your TV habit.

As you can see, it is not necessary to turn to non-natural methods to help you deal with a wide variety of bad habits. 

Ultimately, the only thing that is standing in the way of you becoming healthier is a lack of motivation. 

Therefore, it is a good idea to educate yourself about the potentially disastrous health consequences of your worst habits.

Source: https://www.smartlifestylechoices.com/kicking-bad-habits-naturally-5-ways-live-healthier-life/

15 Tips For Choosing Healthy Fats In Your Diet

For the past few decades, we’ve heard all about the virtues of a low-fat diet and the dangers of dietary fat and cholesterol.

But with the number of overweight and obese people climbing every day and statin drugs for lowering cholesterol the most commonly prescribed medications in the world, researchers have recently reviewed the low fat trend.

Emerging research has shown that there is such a thing as healthy fat which can increase your good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol-think H for healthy) and decrease your bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol-think L for lousy). 

But with so many so-called healthy oils and butter substitutes on the market, how do decide what’s best to buy? Here are tips for choosing healthy fats in your diet:

1.    Choose plant-based oils such as olive oil, or peanut oil if you are not allergic to nuts.

Plant based oils will not contain cholesterol as compared with animal-based oils such as butter.

2.    Choose monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Mono means 1 and poly means more than 1.

  These fats are most easily used by the body for a range of important functions and are healthier for you than saturated fats.

These will help you feel full and make it less likely that you will eat saturated fats from animal products, such as butter and lard.

3.    Go Mediterranean. The Mediterranean diet has been shown to be heart healthy due to the proportion of olive oil used as dressing and cooking oil.

Olive oil is actually higher in calories than butter but contains no cholesterol.

4.    Choose natural oils, not ‘lite’ or ‘light’ ones. Some people find the taste of olive oil a bit overwhelming, such as that of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or EVOO.

There are different grades of olive oil you can try until you find one that suits your palate.

Avoid oils labeled lite or light, however, because those words do not usually refer to the color of the oil, but the fact that is has been blended with another type of oil, one potentially less healthy for you.

5.    Eat olives. These tasty little foods are the origins of olive oil, so you can get all the benefits of the oil plus a tasty snack for only a few calories per portion.

Rinse off the salt water they are usually packed in to make them healthier, and enjoy!

6.    Substitute olive oil for butter in a range of recipes.  Use it as a spread on bread and for cooking and frying.

If you miss buttercream frosting on your cake, try a simple glaze of water and powdered sugar instead, with a dash of olive oil for body and texture.

7.    Eat avocados.  These tasty fruits contain a range of heart-healthy fats 75% monounsaturated and 25% polyunsaturated.

They are versatile and can be used in sandwiches, salads, Mexican and Tex-Mex meals, and more.

8.    Use guacamole instead of mayo in your sandwiches.  Make your own guacamole by mashing fresh avocado with some fresh tomatoes cut into cubes and a squirt of lemon or lime juice.

Use your guacamole as you would mayonnaise, on turkey sandwiches, with your tuna salad, and more. Be careful of commercially prepared guacamole, however, as it can often contain unhealthy fats.

In fact, some actually contain very little avocado. If you must buy it, be sure to read the label to make sure avocado is listed as the first ingredient.

9.    Eat nuts in moderation if you are not allergic. Studies have shown that those who eat 1 ounce of nuts each day have an easier time losing weight and keeping it off.

Nuts are not only rich in healthy fats and certain vitamins and enzymes, their fiber makes you feel fuller and aids in digestion.

10.    Try walnuts in your oatmeal each morning. Studies have shown that 8 walnuts a day can help lower you cholesterol naturally.

A bowl of oatmeal made with quick oats, water and a dash of cinnamon can help lower it even more.

11.    Switch to peanut oil.  Peanut oil is a monounsaturated fat, which means it is a simple fat easily digested and used by the body.

It increases healthy cholesterol in the body and is great for your skin and your memory.  It works well in Asian-style dishes.

12.    Cook at home using healthy oils so you can steer clear of artery-clogging trans fats.  Healthy oils like peanut, olive and coconut oil give foods a rich flavor compared with the trans fats in store-bought cookies, cakes and other packaged convenience foods.

Trans fats are created by pumping hydrogenmolecules into a range of (usually cheap and unhealthy) oils to make them solid and therefore less likely to spoil as the products they are made with sit on store shelves.  Trans fats are damaging to heart health and should be avoided as much as possible.

13.    Add coconut oil to your diet in moderation. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but studies have shown it is processed by the body differently than animal-based saturated fats.

Coconut oil has been shown to offer a range of healing properties and can improve your digestive health. It is usually solid at room temperature but becomes liquid on warm days.

14.    Use coconut oil in a wide range of tasty recipes, even if you are not fond of the flavor.

Coconut oil is versatile and can be used in most forms of cooking and baking; however, some people find the taste too strong or overwhelming in subtly seasoned recipes.

If you do not want the strong taste of coconut to be obvious in your dishes, use expeller-pressed or deodorized coconut oil.

15.    Use butter in moderation. Butter contains a range of vitamins and nutrients, including Omega-3 fatty acids, which can be good for heart health.

Butter does also contain cholesterol, true, but also offers a range of health benefits, such as helping you feel full for longer and boosting your metabolism.

Enjoy your day.

21 Cooking Tips For Everyone

1. Never sear meat in a non-stick pan: It won’t brown nicely – you may end up with splotchy, grey meat.
2. Never heat non-stick pans past the manufacturer’s instructions (or past medium heat, if you no longer have the instructions).
3. When cooking crock pot meat, sear first.  Use meat with the highest fat marbling to prevent greyness.
4. Make your own incredible butter. Whip 35% cream until it is firm. Squeeze out whey. Add orange zest & a splash of juice.
5. Keep cheesecloth in your kitchen. It’s handy for straining liquid from yogurt, tofu and straining whey from home-made butter!
6. Rub your steak or roast with fresh cut garlic before cooking. Stick slivers of fresh garlic deep into your meat for incredible flavor.
7. Be prepared! Always keep your pan lid handy for dowsing fat fires – they do happen! (Put lid onto pot to smother flames.)
8. Keep a kitchen fire extinguisher handy in your kitchen – and learn what to do for different types of fires. (Retweet!)
9. Use vegetable oil instead of butter in cakes containing dense, starchy fruits and veggies like carrots, apples and banana.
10. Next time you make gingerbread cake, try replacing your liquid (but not fat) with ginger beer!
11. Do as much of the prep as you can the night before for stress-free cooking. (What do you set out in advance?)
12. To add oil to a dish already cooking, add it in the edge of the pan. That way, it will be heated when it reaches your food.
13. Make sure fruits and veggies are stored in a refrigerator no warmer than 40 F.  (Retweet this.)
14. Wash your fruit and veggies before peeling – not after. (Too much risk of contaminating the knife, if you wash after.)
15. Soak veggies like broccoli and cauliflower in cold water for at least three minutes to make sure contaminants are released.
16. Add a splash of milk to salted water when cooking to keep cauliflower white. Rinse momentarily in cold water before serving.
17. Dry your potatoes before mashing by returning them to the pan after draining. Cover. Let them sit on turned-off burner for 5 min.
18. When storing fresh herbs, stand the stems in a glass of water in your refrigerator.  They shouldn’t go limp and will stay fresh.
19. For a quick and easy meal, cover uncooked ribs in roast pan with BBQ sauce and 1 liter Coke.  Cover and simmer at 325F for 2 hours.
20. Save leftover sauce in ice cube trays. When frozen, add to bag of same type of sauce cubes. Reheat and use for quick dishes.
21. Crack egg into bowl. Use clean plastic water or pop bottle. Place bottle mouth against egg yolk – and squeeze to separate from white.