6 Things Health Conscious People Do Without Questioning

There are a number of valuable reasons to buy organic food.

Non-organic food has herbicides, fungicides and pesticides, which are known to be toxic. Yes, they're only in small amounts, but these toxic substances when taken long-term, through frequent consumption, add up to something significant, especially if junk food is chosen regularly in the diet.

Organic food has better nutrition value because the toxins in the above are not present to denature the food's vitamins and enzymes (lose their molecular shape). Also, organic food is GMO free...

2. Eat a high percentage of raw food
On the subject of vitamins and enzymes raw food has a higher nutrition value than cooked food. For example, some food can have very little nutrition value because it contains many denatured vitamins and enzymes caused by the extreme temperatures (heating), unable to serve the body's metabolic requirements. The same effect occurs when deep freezing food.
It's not unusual for health conscious people to have a salad a day and have an overall diet of around 80% raw food.

3. Drink plenty of clean water
If someone put me on the spot and asked what I would say is the single most important contribution to health, I'd respond by recommending drinking more than an adequate supply of good clean water, because it's probably the most underrated factor that contributes to health. No wonder health conscious people are often seen drinking water!

4. Exercise regularly
Besides improving hormonal control such as blood sugar regulation, then there's better cardiovascular function, body mobility, muscle contraction, nervous function and other bodily functions, exercise also helps with alertness and cognitive ability thus increasing intelligence...
The recommendation is around 20-30 minutes exercise a day. The level of exercise depends on the individual and what is appropriate for them in terms of age and fitness.... Where appropriate, the more strenuous the exercise, the better. For example, frequent strenuous exercise gets you puffing and panting which in effect improves cardiovascular function.

5. Maintain a positive outlook
Many health conscious people are frequently seen up-happy. They frequently laugh, have their hopes and are optimistic! Usually, they find themselves having plenty to do in life that interests them. They appreciate the beauty in things... It's also worth a mention that meditation helps maintain good health.
 
6. Avoid toxicity
With the state of the world today it is increasingly difficult to avoid so many different environmental toxins such as air radiation, other pollution and low electromagnetic frequencies from applications such as the computer, Wi-Fi, mobile and phones... etc but health conscious people avoid chemicals from personal care and beauty products like toiletries, shampoo, hair sprays, creams and lotions... by choosing the natural non-toxic forms of these products.
As already mentioned toxicity is also avoided by choosing the organic option while avoiding junk food.

Source  Paul Phillips | Amazines 

5 Tips for Detoxing

Have you or your clients overdone it with indulgences lately and looking to get back on track? At this time, the last thing you want is something high in calories and heavy; it will only dig you further into a hole. What you need is wholesome, nutrient-packed foods that help to bring an abrupt end to the symptoms and discomfort associated with overdoing it (bloating and constipation). What your body really needs are foods that are packed with anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants, potassium, water and fiber, but low in calories and sodium. These foods will immediately get your mind and body back on the healthy track as they hydrate you while flooding your body with nutrients to help to neutralize damaging particles and flushing out bloating culprits, like salt.
Follow these five tips:
1. Choose foods that are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. These properties help to protect the body from damage caused by toxins created from overdoing it on less-than-healthy options, and assist in neutralizing toxins and preventing the inflammation and the damage they cause to your vessels. These foods actually help to revitalize cells. Think vegetables especially brightly colored ones, but all work—and the more the better! After all they are 80 to 90 percent water and provide potassium and fiber. Fruits, beans and fish also are good choices.
Anti-inflammatory/ Antioxidant-packed Recipes:
Fruited Harvest Salad: Light and refreshing, the persimmons, pears, lemons, arugula and pomegranates fight inflammation with their antioxidants and phytonutrients.
Colorful Detox Salad: Chockfull of vegetables that mop up free radical damage, this low-calorie salad is great for detoxifying and fighting inflammation.
Crispy Cran-Mango Brussels Sprouts: Brussels sprouts are superstars when it comes to fighting damage and inflammation. Cranberries and mangos are phytonutrient powerhouses too.
2. Choose water and potassium-rich foods that are low in sodium. This is an amazing combination that restores normal fluid balance and flushes out bloat and puffiness. Potassium helps to counterbalance sodium and getting fluid helps to flush out your system. Think  vegetables—all of them, especially green leafy veggies—and fruits.
Ginger and Carrot Slim-down Smoothie: Potassium-rich cantaloupe and apples round out the phytonutrient-rich ginger and carrots to make this an ideal beverage to restore normal fluid balance.
Slimming Raspberry-mint Detox Spritzer: Raspberries and lime make this a drink a potassium winner, and at only eight calories, you can drink it all day long and flush away bloat without the calories adding up.
Lemon Mint Detox Drink: Lemon, mint and ginger flood the body with potassium to flush bloat and restore normal hydration status.
3. Choose foods packed with fiber. These foods are automatically low in calories and fiber keeps you regular. After your body extracts nutrients from food, fiber helps to flush out the waste and toxins from your colon to give you a flat stomach. Think all vegetables, fruits and high-quality carbohydrates like oatmeal and quinoa.
Pinto Bean Grilled Cheese: Beans are ideal when it comes to boosting fiber; this sandwich makes a great fiber-rich lunch when paired with a salad and fruit.
Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili: With quinoa, black beans, kidney beans, peppers and tomatoes, this meal makes a great fiber-rich lunch or dinner to flush wastes out of the body.
Pumpkin Chia Seed Pudding: With fiber powerhouses like pumpkin puree and chia seeds, this treat packs a whopping 17 grams of fiber. Plus, the pumpkin and chia are both great for fighting inflammation with their potent phytonutrients.
4. Include veggies that have especially powerful detox capabilities. Fennel, bok choy, beets and kale are standouts when it comes to detoxification. They are some of the few foods that play a role in both phases of liver detoxification. Try these recipes to get your fill:
Spiced Ginger Citrus Quinoa: (featuring fennel)
Beets with Feta and Walnuts
Detoxifying Green Tea Smoothie (featuring kale)
5. Sweat it out. Skin is the body’s largest organ, and sweating is a great way to help the body with its healthy, natural elimination process. Aim to sweat daily because this is one way your body eliminates metabolic breakdown products and excess salt.

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The Incredible Healing Power of Hot Yoga

Any Yoga practice is potent when it impulses you to new instincts, when it allows you to go deep within yourself and find your own hidden powers. Hot yoga, also known as Bikram Yoga, is one such, which help you unleash your strengths and harness the power of your mind and body; teach you to appreciate even flaws, within yourself and within others. And there comes the incredible healing power!!
Because beyond the mental benefits, yoga -- and hot yoga in particular -- brings a lot of amazing physical benefits that are especially vital for active people who regularly run, cycle, swim and lift weights.
In Bikram or hot yoga, the room is heated to between 98 and 105 degrees give or take, and as the humidity rises the sweat comes, in large quantities. More than any other body parts, hot yoga makes use of your skin, the largest organ of our body, to flush out the toxins through sweat. By using the skin, you take pressure off the organs that usually detoxify us -- the liver, the kidneys, even the lungs.
The heat also warms the muscles, allowing us to stretch and move more deeply into poses. Hot yoga helps to have better flexibility to our body, the yoga poses are designed to get a complete massage to your organs, and it also help you to tone your muscles in well shape.
Studies have proven that the regular practice of any yoga practice can really help you to increase the flexibility of your body up to 40% in ten weeks of practice. By shifting from one pose to another, with a sequence that comprises mat poses and standing poses, hot yoga also offers very strong cardiovascular exercises. All the postures of Bikram yoga are totally dynamic in their own way.

Bikram Yoga also has been proven to balance blood pressure, pulse rate and respiratory rates. This kind of yoga also helps to boost energy levels and helps us to get a very sound sleep; as the name indicates, the hot yoga leaves you detoxified and feeling physically cleansed.

Bikram Yoga is a good choice for people in Dubai, who spends long hours in Gyms and for other workouts to keep their health. Rawr Yoga Dubai offers Bikram yoga classes in Dubai Marina; the classes are guaranteed with great results and literally help you to detoxify and tone your body.

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SPORTELUXE LOVES our delicious quinoa beetroot and broccoli salad

After some salad inspo? We love this detoxifying quinoa, beetroot and broccoli salad created by wholefood meal delivery service Eat Fit Food.

Quinoa, beetroot and broccoli salad

Ingredients

For the salad

½ cup quinoa

1 beetroot

¼ of a bunch of broccoli

600g sweet potato

1 carrot

1 capsicum

A handful of walnuts

A handful of sunflower/pepita seeds mixed

¼ of an onion

A handful of sultanas

A handful of parsley

A handful of spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing

1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed

A dash of Dijon mustard

A squeeze of honey

A dash raspberry vinegar

A dash of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Cook quinoa for 11 minutes.
2. Small dice beetroot and cook in a 180°C oven for 30 minutes.
3. Small dice sweet potato and cook in a 180°C oven for 15 minutes.
4. Steam broccoli in small florets for 2 minutes.
5. Cook walnuts and seeds for 5 mins in a 180°C oven.
6. Chop onion, carrot and capsicum.
7. Mix the quinoa and parsley together with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Combine dressing ingredients together and drizzle over salad.

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