The perfect diet is a myth. No diet is perfect for every person. If you have tried many fad diets unsuccessfully, you will know what I mean.

Healthy eating has to become a lifestyle instead of a regimented diet plan to be successful. To endure and create lasting results, eating habits have to make sense and be easy to manage.

1. Don’t Deny Yourself

Elimination diets do not often work because your body ends up craving whatever it is you have eliminated from your diet. This especially applies to things we consider a treat or reward, like chocolate or a glass of wine, or a piece of cake. You get the picture; if you punish yourself, you will never stick to any diet or eating regime.

2. Elimination Diets

If you follow an elimination diet due to health constraints such as allergies or sensitivities, stick to it until you recognize the impact on your body and overall health. If your health is severely affected by consuming certain foods (think Celiac Disease, etc.), of course, you must stick to the elimination diet specifically for you. 

Also Read: Diet vs Exercise: Which Is Good For Weight Loss

However, if you have eliminated certain foods because it is the current fad, be reasonable.

For example, if you love bananas, lower your intake of bananas, but don’t eliminate them completely. Even though bananas are high on the glycemic index and, therefore, taboo in most diets, they are tasty and offer many nutrients.

3. Have and Keep a Goal in Mind

Start with and try to adhere to your goal, whether to lose pounds, to eat healthier or both. Once you start seeing results, the goal will be much easier to achieve. You can modify your goal as you progress. For example, if your goal is to lose twenty pounds and you reach that goal, you can decide how strict you need to be to maintain the weight loss. 

Also Read: What Is The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid? Know The Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

4. Do Your Research

Before you begin dieting or changing your eating habits, research your methods. For example, giving up carbohydrates completely is a broad and unhealthy plan. Carbohydrates can be healthy; you just need to know which ones are beneficial and which ones are not.

5. Implement a Support System

If you are embarking on new eating habits, but those around you do not eat healthily, you will never be able to stick to your goal. If you are the primary grocery shopper and chef in your home, it is much easier to implement a support system, often without others even realizing it. For example, stop buying processed foods and stick to healthier, fresh produce and ingredients. You may have to spend more time in the kitchen, but it will be worth it. 

Conclusion

No one diet is perfect, successful, and sustainable for everyone. If someone tells you that, they are promoting a myth. It is more important and healthier to find what works best for you. Your lifestyle, willpower, and even your support system must all be considered. 

Did you know different herbal teas can benefit your health? Well, if you did not know, you do now! Besides being a multi-seasonal beverage, tea is an herb that can actually improve your health.

Being healthy is vital when looking for insurance that pays out a substantial amount of money like term life insurance does. Drinking tea can help you reach optimal health without exerting much energy and therefore allow you to get a higher life insurance policy.

Research studies conclude that people who drank tea were not as likely to grow certain cardiovascular diseases or pass away prematurely from various causes, like a stroke or heart attack. The benefits of tea surpass the minimal pleasure of drinking something tasty. 

Various herbs of tea, like green tea, can combat inflammation, diminish stress, and enhance your energy. Understanding how and why certain teas provide these benefits can help you make the best decision for your own health when venturing into the world of tea-drinking.

#1: Tea Includes Antioxidants

When you drink tea — primarily black, green, and hibiscus tea — you are consuming high levels of antioxidants. These antioxidants work together to keep the inside of your body clean and healthy. Antioxidants also help to reduce the risk of diseases and cancer.  

Antioxidants are crucial to the body because they protect your cells from being attacked by the free radicals that develop cancer or heart diseases. The free radicals are molecules created when the body breaks down food. They also appear when exposed to radiation or tobacco.

Though black, green, and hibiscus tea are filled with plentiful antioxidants, white tea has the highest concentration of antioxidants. The reason for this is because it is not processed as much as the others. 

#2: Tea Has Less Caffeine than Coffee

Like many other people in the world, I am an avid coffee lover. However, after learning how caffeine works, I decreased my intake of it and substituted my morning beverage with tea. With absorption and metabolism of calcium, caffeine can contribute to bone thinning, also called osteoporosis. Similarly, if you consume too much, caffeine may also cause your muscles to twitch or feel sore when experiencing caffeine withdrawal.

Tea does have caffeine in it, but it is far less than a cup of coffee. In terms of caffeine, drinking two cups of tea is equivalent to drinking one cup of coffee. Alternatively, herbal blends of tea have no caffeine in them, so consuming too much caffeine is not even a concern in these instances.

#3: Tea Helps to Reduce the Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

When comparing tea to coffee, it is essential to note that the risk of a heart attack or stroke is reduced when a particular tea is consumed regularly. Tea has anti-inflammatory properties that help to soothe swollen tissue in the arteries. Inflammation increases the risk of blood flow restriction and clotting. 

Green tea is the best tea to consume if you are looking to achieve these benefits. Drinking four or more cups of green tea can potentially reduce the risk of a heart attack by 35 percent and can lower your LDL cholesterol levels. Alternatively, drinking one cup of matcha tea is equivalent to drinking four cups of green tea.

The only downside to drinking this much tea in a day is the constant need to use the bathroom. If you can handle having to take multiple trips to the bathroom each day, you will see your swollen joints and arteries soothe and your risk of diseased heart decline. 

#4: Tea Can Assist with Weight Loss

Drinking tea can be a way to prioritize both your mental health and physical health because it boosts your energy and helps aid in weight loss. Having high energy keeps you mentally focused throughout the day, and being physically fit benefits all other aspects of one’s life.

Unlike how the caffeine in coffee keeps people energized, the amino acids (or L-theanine) found in tea give people a boost when drinking green tea. Amino acids slow the absorption of caffeine, so people are able to enjoy their surge of energy longer. 

That means that after a long day of working at your job, you can still have some energy to squeeze in a quick work-out.

While there are claims of how drinking coffee can aid weight loss, drinking tea has also been proven to help. Just as the amino acids in green tea help extend one’s energy boost, it signals the body to burn stored fat which in turn helps you lose pounds.. 

#5: Tea Can Help Keep Bones Strong

Though not all types of teas can help keep bones strong, certain strains do. A native plant to South Asia, Moringa, is one of those forms of tea. Moringa is known for being a mainstream superfood and for its medicinal uses. 

The reason this tea is claimed to support healthy bones is that it contains more calcium than milk. It also contains iron and Vitamin A and K, which are essential for keeping your bones healthy and firm.

 #6: Tea Can Help Strengthen Your Immune System

With its antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties, tea is bound to tune up your immune cells so they can do their job well and faster than usual. 

On a more controversial note, there are some who argue that drinking tea could even help with battling cancer. With the anti- properties listed above, amino acids, and its ability to encourage cell rejuvenation, it is assumed to be beneficial for those fighting cancer. 

The research on the matter is diverse, so more research and studies need to be conducted to determine if this is factual or not. However, it would not hurt to increase your tea consumption to be on the safe side.

Drinking Tea Offers Something for Everyone

No matter which tea you prefer to drink, there is some flavor that is ideal for your taste and lifestyle, and it will provide you with some health benefits. Like anything you put into your body, remember to research any new herbal teas before adding it to your diet.

As you can see, the potential health benefits of drinking tea are almost limitless.

We have all been there, we’ve opened that bag of chips (or insert other processed food), we smell it. 

It may bring back smells from your childhood, you may have had a bad day, and that smell is just making you happy. And then you taste it, and immediately you need more and more. Before you’ve noticed, you finished the whole bag, and you realize both physically and mentally, you do not feel that great.

You feel bloated, sluggish, maybe even a little foggy in your mind, and let us not even discuss the feelings of guilt after consuming an entire bag of chips. Why?!!

Why is it that most of us can not finish an entire chicken or a ridiculous amount of vegetables? Still, when it comes to processed food, it is as though we have a bottomless stomach? What effect does processed food have both on our brains and on our bodies?

Eating too much-processed foods, as in most packaged food, has a negative effect on our physical and mental well-being.

Physical effects:

Currently, America is going through an epidemic, one of obesity, as in at least 40% of Americans ages twenty-plus are obese. The root of this lies in the American diet, which is full of processed foods. Without getting super technical, certain types of sugar found in processed food cause inflammation in our cells and lead us to gain weight.

Looking into the future, weight gain in the form of obesity and inflamed cells can cause diabetes, chronic diseases like cancer, and an increased rate of heart disease. On a day-to-day level, processed food causes issues in our digestive system that can make us feel bloated, gassy, constipated, and low energy.

Moreover, processed food can feed on the preexisting yeast that lives in our body, thereby creating fungal infections. So, in a nutshell, processed food causes a myriad of both short-term and long-term problems. Instead, we need to eat foods that fuel us, which give us the nutrients our bodies need to live longer and healthier lives.

Currently, there are thousands of diets out there focusing on losing weight through eliminating or adding certain foods, but at baseline, almost all of these diets have two common factors, more fruits and vegetables, as in WHOLE foods, and less or no processed foods.

Mental effects:

As mentioned, processed foods do not only affect our physical well-being but our mental health as well. Think about what happens when you take the first bite of a chip, you immediately feel good, and your brain is telling you it wants more. Why does that happen? Again that does not happen with other foods. The sugar in processed food affects the serotonin levels in your brain.

Just like opiates and other drugs, sugar gives you a little bit of dopamine, the feel-good chemical in your brain. Of course, you want more of that! When you eat processed foods for a brief period, you actually do feel better.

In fact, when dopamine is released into the brain, it stimulates the brain to want more of it. Therefore, a cycle occurs of our brain telling us to seek out these processed foods and us overeating. This repetitive behavior can even lead to food addiction.

In addition to this addictive behavior surrounding processed foods, these foods cause us to feel tired, agitated, moody, and sometimes even foggy. Ever hear of sugar crashes? That’s exactly due to the increase in the sugar followed by a quick decrease of sugar in our bloodstreams, and leaves us tired and wanting more sugar.

In a nutshell, aside from tasting good, processed food has no added benefit to our bodies’ physical and mental well-being. But how do we turn words into actions? Especially when processed foods are so readily available and inexpensive.

Start experimenting with whole foods. Think of the flavor or texture you love in a portion of processed food, perhaps crispiness, and start applying it to whole foods like making crispy roasted vegetables. Take a visit to your local health food store or whole foods and start thinking of swapping out some of the processed foods in your house with foods from these places.

Moreover, think about your cravings; add in more sweet vegetables like sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots to counter your sugar cravings. In general, taking processed food out of your life is challenging, so think about changing your mindset; think about what you can add to your life to live a healthier lifestyle rather than what you are taking out.

The relationships we had with our caregivers laid the foundation for how we view ourselves, our understanding of the world, and how we relate to others. The British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby discovered that the types of attachments we have with others is often determined by how we were emotionally tended to and comforted by our primary caregiver. In other words, the attachment formed with our main caretaker is instrumental in our feelings of safety and security as adults.

What role attachment styles play in a relationship?

Attachment styles play a crucial role in how we respond to conflicts, our wants and needs within a relationship, and why things may trigger us and/or our partners. Understanding these styles can give us better insight into ourselves and our partners (past and present). 

The first three attachment styles are a result of an insecure attachment with the primary caregiver. When a child grows up and feels that their needs and feelings were not attuned to either entirely or inconsistently, this causes the child to feel a lack of stability and security in relationships with others. 

a. Anxious attachment

A person with an anxious attachment is someone who has an overactive nervous system. They are very aware of their partner’s emotional state, and any changes can activate their nervous system. They might have issues communicating their wants and needs and usually have a deep fear of abandonment. People with this type of attachment are often insecure and rely on the support of their partner to feel safe. If their needs are not met, or they feel their partner is not giving them the support needed, this causes an increased desire to reach out to their partner. This can come across as “clingy” or “needy.” 

b. Dismissive-avoidant attachment

The dismissive-avoidant attachment is, in many ways, the opposite of an anxious attachment. Instead of being anxious and relying on others due to the lack of comfort and support in their upbringing, they learn to be very self-sufficient and independent. They do not give or rely on emotional support in relationships. This translates into relationships where the person hides or isn’t in touch with their feelings and isn’t attuned to the needs of their partner. They will often have communication issues as a result.

c. Disorganized/fearful-avoidant

The disorganized/fearful-avoidant is the combination of the avoidant and anxious attachment styles. People with this attachment style are fearful of rejection. They want to have relationships with others but often have intimacy and trust issues. Despite craving love, they have trouble letting their guard down. As a result, they will have high anxiety in relationships.  

d. Secure attachments

People with secure attachments had caregivers that were attuned to their needs growing up were provided comfort and support and grew up in a stable, loving environment. A secure attachment is an attachment where the person feels safe and confident in themselves and in their relationships with others. Those with a secure attachment are grounded, trust easily, and communicate any concerns with ease. They also provide their partner with support and comfort.

You might associate yourself with one or more of these attachment styles. For example, you can be mostly secure but recognize you have some anxious or avoidant behaviors. Furthermore, the way we relate to our partner and the way our partner relates to us in different situations can cause a variation in our attachment styles.

A person with an anxious or avoidant attachment style can develop a secure attachment in a relationship with someone who can provide support and security. In other words, a partner with a secure attachment can help their partner have a more secure attachment.  

Alternatively, a person with a secure attachment style can become anxious or avoidant. This can be due to trauma or sustaining a relationship with someone who has an insecure attachment and does not adapt their attachment style.

I had an anxious attachment style due to a narcissistic, abusive mother. I desperately wanted her love and comfort, and I grew up feeling unsafe and lacking security. This translated into relationships where I relied on my partner to feel safe and secure, and I would feel abandoned and neglected if I felt my partner wasn’t able to comfort me or provide me with support. Although co-regulation (providing one another with support for emotional regulation) is necessary for a healthy relationship, I was entirely dependent on my partner for my emotional well-being. 

At, last!

In my personal experience, my anxious attachment style and codependent behaviors went hand-in-hand. I relied on my mother’s approval (which I only received by taking care of her and prioritizing her well-being) to feel better about myself. My codependent relationship as a child turned into romantic relationships where I was completely dependent on my partner to give me the sense of comfort and security I was lacking. I felt incredibly anxious when I did not receive that support. Through a lot of work and introspection, I was able to work on my codependent patterns and anxious attachment style to have a healthy, interdependent marriage.

It is possible for all of us to have healthy attachments. It requires awareness and a willingness to turn inward and recognize our unhealthy patterns and triggers. Our attachment styles should be viewed as a roadmap for growth, kindness, understanding, and compassion for ourselves and one another. We cannot change our upbringing, but we can change our present and future.

One morning, I woke up feeling like I was ten pounds heavier. The idea of putting on leggings or anything tight was horrific. And the last thing I wanted to do was move my body.

Yes, I did indulge the night before with take-out Thai food and red wine, and yes, I was expecting my period later on in the week. But regardless of the reasons behind this bloat, I felt horrible. 

Movement:

While, in general, I try to listen to my body, which would mean staying in bed with some Netflix, this bloat got me feeling pretty icky both physically and mentally as well, and I knew I needed to do something. Putting on both my personal trainer and health coach hats, I laced up my sneakers and went for a walk. With bloat, movement is key, but for me, the kind of movement was essential. I could not engage my abs; I could not pull my belly towards my back; moreover, I couldn’t even feel my core. Also, I felt so heavy and grounded that I knew a run or a HIIT workout would feel way more intense than it would on a regular day, as it felt my body was holding on to a lot more weight. Walking was the perfect method of both moving my body and getting some fresh air, which gave me an emotional boost as well. 

Nutrition:

As soon as I came home, I filled up a large cup with water and fresh lemon juice. Lemon helps with digestion, and water flushes out your system and brings fluid into your colon, allowing you to go to the bathroom a bit easier. Over the course of the day, I tried to finish three liters of water. In addition, one might benefit from adding herbs like peppermint, anise, or fennel to a hot cup of water. There are even specific teas on the market, which address bloat, which one can find online or at their local health food store. 

Additionally, try to increase your fiber, whether from fruits, especially berries, whole grains, vegetables like artichokes and brussels sprouts, and beans. Fiber supports a healthy digestive tract and, therefore, can ease the bloat. 

If none of these suggestions work, I would advise calling your health care professional. It might be time to avoid certain foods like dairy or gluten. Or try an elimination diet taking certain items out of your diet for around three weeks and then slowly adding them in, seeing how your body feels.

Experiment with your body, see what works and what doesn’t work. The more aware we are of how we feel post eating a specific food, the more in tune we can be towards what makes us feel but please remember each individual person reacts differently to the same foods, so what might work for a friend of yours? It might not work for you. 

External Resources:

Other tactics to deal with extended bloat can be acupuncture or even stomach massages. A lymphatic drainage massage targets your digestive system as well, where the masseuse will press and massage your belly in a clockwise motion from your belly button to your pelvic region, thereby assisting digestion. 

Bloating also can be a symptom of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. If symptoms persist, it might be a good time to get an extensive stool workup, where doctors can take a look at your microbiome, the makeup of the microorganisms in the gut, which can tell you a lot about what is going on in your digestive tract. 

Bloating is uncomfortable; it is not a condition to sit in; please know that while everybody is different, there are treatments to ease discomfort. 

Pranayama is the controlling of breath to achieve specific results in the energetic body.

In Sanskrit, it can be translated as “life force,” which is why it is such a vital piece of a yogi’s practice. Without pranayama, yoga can feel more like a standard exercise regime.

Many yoga postures and flows become just another form of expertise without the breath, and often why yoga is mistaken as nothing but stretching.

However, any practiced yogi will tell you that once you step into your own pranayama—breathwork—practice as you are flowing in yoga, your practice begins to transform as much as you do. 

Why Yoga?

Yoga is known for its healing benefits. But what many misses in yoga is the combination of the movement with the breath. This is why someone doing yoga poses in another type of exercise regime may not have the same benefits if you practice a traditional yoga flow that includes the marrying of the breath to movement.

Something profound happens when you begin to marry the breath to your movement. We often live in our minds in this era of human history. We are forward-thinking, informational heavy, but our bodies have been sorely forgotten and often neglected at the expense of our mental health.

Movement Is Important

If we continue to move through life without including our bodies in our movement, we can become disintegrated. The practice of pranayama is an awareness of our breath, something we cannot live without

It’s for this reason that scientists have recently been studying yoga and its transformational results. When you add more breath into your lungs, it stimulates your vagus nerve, which can help take your system out of “fight or flight” mode into a parasympathetic system of relaxation. 

Can Pranayama Healing You?

Only in pranayama can you find this fascinating combination of movement and breath. Not only that, pranayama’s work has been proven to decrease stress, improve sleep, reduce high blood pressure, improve lung function, and increases brain function. You can find case studies on how it can improve lung function and high blood pressure.

Pranayama’s work helps to decrease stress by moving our body into a more relaxed state, which is what our body also needs to get to sleep every night.

When we engage in constantly stressful activities, even as simple as a dramatic TV show or a heated conversation on social media, our body’s response system that was built to protect us from primal threats turns on. In our day and age, this system is triggered very regularly throughout our days. So much so that most people don’t know how to truly relax or not being a state of fight or flight. When someone steps into the breathwork of yoga, it can be a profound shift like no other. 

Pranayama’s Spiritual Benefits

Taking your body out of fight or flight, pranayama can lead to a more attuned sense of spiritual connection. When our bodies are in flight or flight, like they are so often in the present age of constantly refreshing social media and hour-long news cycles, we can be in a nonstop state of survival mode. Conversely, when our bodies are tapped into our parasympathetic system, we can heal. We can experience deep, meaningful transformation, spiritual transformation. 

For anyone who has practiced meditation, the breathwork can be similar. Pranayama is an essential part of calming your body down to stay focused and tap into your soul in a way that can be quite hard if you’re living out of survival mode. 

Will you give pranayama a try? It’s as simple as a breath in and a breath out.