Best foods for healthy skin and hair

True beauty comes from health.

Best food for healthy skin and hair

1. Salmon and trout
2. Broccoli and spinach
3. Nuts and seeds
4. Berries
5. Spinach and other leafy greens

Beauty starts on the inside.

The food that we eat and the drinks that we drink determine how healthy we are. Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, famously said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Every aspect of our physical health is impacted by what we put into our bodies. Cells need certain nutrients to exist, generate new cells and perform their functions.

Without the right nutrients, our bodies start to deteriorate on a cellular level. Let’s jump straight into the best foods that will help you to look after the health of your hair and skin.

Which foods are good for healthy skin, hair and nails?

1) Foods high in Omega 3 

Omega 3 deficiencies are known to cause skin issues like rough, dry, oily or scaly skin. It can even cause hair loss.

Omega 3 is a fatty acid. Unfortunately, most of us don’t eat enough foods that are high in Omega 3, but eat too many foods that contain Omega 6 and Omega 9 (which come from plant oils).

Our bodies need Omega 3 to function properly. Omega 3 deficiencies can lead to hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular and circulatory problems, diabetes, depression and even dry or oily skin. 

Hormonal problems directly affect the skin – too much or too little of certain hormones like testosterone, estrogen and the human growth hormone (HGH) will directly impact how well the skin can keep itself moisturized.

Too much of one of these hormones can either flood your skin with too much oil or dry it out completely.

Hormonal imbalances explain why teens often struggle with pimples and acne when they hit puberty.

Foods that are high in Omega 3 will help the body to balance out hormonal functions. Without the right hormonal balance, your hair can also become too dry or too oily.

Good sources of Omega 3:

1. Oily fish like mackerel, herring, sea bass, salmon, sardines and trout
2. Seafood like oysters, shrimp, seaweed (spirulina is a form of seaweed) and krill
3. Seeds like chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds
4. Nuts like Walnuts and almonds
5. Beans like soybeans, edamame and kidney beans

Give your body what it needs.

2) Foods that contain fiber

Fiber is the part of plant foods that we can’t digest. It is eliminated through bowel movements.

Although our bodies can’t break down fiber, it is very important because it adds bulk to the excretion process. Without enough bulk, our bodies don’t have enough matter to eliminate toxins and impurities.

These impurities, if left to build up, can accumulate in the body and wreak havoc on the skin - and block up hair pores.

Foods that are high in fiber will help your body to eliminate these impurities and let your skin glow with perfection. Cleaner pores lead to better hair growth.

Foods that are high in fiber include

1. Fruits like apples, peaches, oranges, lemons, bananas, pears, berries, and melons
2. Vegetables like pumpkin, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes
3. Leafy greens like spinach, lettuce, cabbage and bok choy

Use fiber to stay clean.

3) Foods high in anti-oxidants

Anti-oxidants keep the body fresh by reducing the negative effects of free radicals. Think of free radical damage as the general wear and tear that our bodies go through as we age.

Normal functions like physical movement lead to free radical damage on a cellular level - and unhealthy things like pollution, unhealthy food, smoking, alcohol, illnesses and unbalanced diets increase the damage caused by free radicals.

Free radical damage leads to premature aging and wrinkles. Antioxidants reduce free radical damage. Eating a diet high in antioxidants can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and other age-related beauty problems - like hair loss.

The best way to get a healthy dose of anti-oxidants is from raw plant sources, just like the ones listed above. Tea or coffee is another great source of antioxidants.

Find healthy things that you enjoy

4) Vitamin C

Most people know about Vitamin C’s ability to support immune function, but it does a lot more than that. Vitamin C is also responsible for helping the body to heal itself from wounds.

Vitamin C is a powerful anti-oxidant. It is also needed for the creation of collagen, which is what makes skin supple and flexible. Skin starts to sag as we age because less collagen gets produced.

A healthy diet with lots of Vitamin C will help to slow down the reduction in collagen production.

Good sources of Vitamin C include:

1. Peppers
2. Fruits like oranges, lemons, mandarins, tangerines and grapefruit
3. Leafy greens like spinach and lettuce
4. Vegetables like carrots, tomatoes and broccoli

Get enough Vitamin C

5) Vitamin E

Vitamin E is the most well-known vitamin for skin, hair and nail health. For this reason, many skin creams and hair shampoos contain this Vitamin.

Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant that helps to repair damage caused by outside factors like pollution, the sun, stress and harmful chemicals.

When Vitamin E is ingested though food sources, it will help to boost skin and hair health from the inside out. It is also really good at softening skin. Vitamins play a huge role in overall skin, hair and nail health.

Good sources of vitamin E are:

1. Seeds like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
2. Nuts like almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, Brazil nuts, pecans and cashews
3. Fish like salmon and trout
4. Fruits like avocado, mango, kiwifruit and apricots
5. Berries like blackcurrants, cranberries and raspberries
6. Vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, spinach, butternut and turnips

Choose healthy food.

Top foods for hair and skin health 

After reading through this article, you might have noticed that there are some foods that will benefit your skin and hair in more than one way.

Salmon, for example, is a rich source of Omega 3 as well as Vitamin E. By combining the different ways that our bodies need different nutrients to look after our skin, we can see which foods benefit our skin in more than one way. 

This is the list of my favorite foods for skin and hair health:

1. Salmon and trout (Omega 3 and Vitamin E)
2. Broccoli and spinach (Fiber, Antioxidants and Vitamin C)
3. Nuts and seeds (Omega 3, Antioxidants, Fiber and Vitamin E)
4. Berries (Anti-oxidants, Fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin E)
5. Spinach and other leafy greens (Fiber, Antioxidants, Vitamin C and Vitamin E)

External features like the skin and hair reflect internal health and well-being. By looking after your health, you are helping your body to look after itself. 

Drinking plenty of water and getting enough exercise, for example, are other fantastic ways to let your hair and skin shine with ageless beauty. Stay Strong!

Healthy food and exercise tips for great health

Honey is good for you.

This article is written by Nikola, a freelancer and 3D modeler. Follow him on Twitter.

Welcome to my daily healthy activities

Hello. My name is Nikola.

I am going to share some healthy lifestyle routines which helped me to stay in shape, be healthy and look younger.

It works for my mental and physical health since I started with it 4 years ago. Before that I was in a very bad health situation for about a year.

I got good health advice from many people. They include my brother and polite ladies at the health foods grocery store. I've also picked up a few tips from my own observations, experiences and experiments.

Healthy morning routine

Hydrate yourself

The first thing that I do when I wake up is drink a glass of water. I drink warm water because I have a sensitive throat. Water is good because it cleans your body and gets rid of toxins.

Some people add a few drops of lemon juice to their water. It helps them to lose weight. I don't add lemon juice to my water personally because I don't need to lose weight at all.

You need water.

Have some honey

Once I've had a glass of water, I put 10-15 drops of bee glue in a small amount of water (one finger of water) and drink it. Bee glue is great for immunity. Bee products like honey are very good for your health.

Use cold water to wake up

I then splash my face with mildly cold water - depending on the season. I splash my eyes, face and forehead and make sure to get some water behind the ears as well. I pat dry with a towel afterwards.

This will help you to wake up instantly and helps to refresh you. You will notice that your energy levels rise quicker when you do this in the morning. Cold exposure is good for your health.

Stretch in the morning

After that, I do my morning stretching exercises. Stretching activities like yoga is good for you.

I spin both hands while standing upright backwards and forwards. When you spin it forwards, it's like swimming in butterfly style.

I then spin my right hand 10 times and then the left hand 10 times. Still in a standing position, I bend down with my body and touch my toes with my fingers twice. I straighten upright and bend slightly backwards twice. I do this for 20 reps.

This stretching routine works miracles for my metabolism, immune system and digestive system.

At the beginning you could do 10 reps for every exercise.

Practice breathing through your nose

Good breathing during exercise is essential. I learned to breathe in with my nose and to breathe out with my nose as well. Nose breathing keeps you calm and helps you to sleep better at night.

Yoga helped my recovery

I started my recovery 4 years ago by practicing Yoga every morning. My brother told my about The 5 Tibetan Rites. 

At first, I followed everything perfectly. Then I took parts which worked for me and left the other parts. I don't do the parts that have you lying down on the floor for 10 minutes.

There is nothing wrong with taking a good exercise program that you like and making it your own by adding or subtracting exercises. Rather do a routine that you like than avoid an exercise routine that you don't like.

Do health your way.

Do some cardio

These days I run in place for 30-50 seconds. It helps to speed up my heart rate and gets the blood flowing. I also do jumping jacks - about 20 reps.

After that I go to the bathroom which is good to empty my stomach before breakfast.

Exercise helps you to go to the bathroom.

Eat a healthy breakfast

It is important to eat healthy food to get the right nutrients in your body.

Before I had my own healthy diet, my doctor prescribed soy bean products to help with my digestion. I did some research online and found that it produces estrogen hormones.

This is not good for us - especially men in particular. I can feel the negative hormonal effects of eating too much soy in my own experience.

After this saga, I had to find foods which helped with my testosterone levels. The new foods needed to support my gut health as well. I had acid reflux issues in top of everything, so it was not an easy task.

I now have boiled bacon and a boiled egg for breakfast. I actually have this for dinner as well. I add a red bell pepper or a tomato. Home grown is the healthiest form of tomato or bell peppers if you are able to do that.

Eggs have almost all of the vitamins that you need except for Vitamin C.

The boiled bacon proteins are easy for my gut to digest.

So my daily breakfast usually looks like this:

1. Boiled bacon
2. Tomato or red bell pepper
3. Sour cream
4. Bread with bran
5. Himalayan salt
6. Vitamin C

The only supplement that I take with my breakfast is 500 mg of Vitamin C.

I used to have my Vitamin C supplement before breakfast, but I found that it didn't work so well before a meal. It causes acid in the gut when there isn't any food. Now I have it after a large breakfast.

Do good things.

Avoid physically intensive activity after a large breakfast

If you can, try not to do anything too physically demanding after a large breakfast. Give your body time to digest its food. It is good to wait at least half an hour, or even 1 hour, depending on how large your meal was.

Healthy afternoon routine

Exercise

At noon I do push-ups. At first I did only 10 push-ups. Now I do about 17. Do each push up slowly. Get yourself all the way to the ground. Do as many as what feel comfortable to you. You don't need to push yourself too far.

Focus on breathing during exercise

Breathing is very important - especially during exercise. 

When I finish with my push-ups, I stand up and breathe in deeply. I raise both my hands above my head to exhale forcefully out of my mouth. I swing my hands around to bring blood to the muscles that I've just worked.

Focus on posture

Since I've had a problem with acid reflux, I've looked to as many ways as possible improve it. Healthy foods helped a lot, but bad posture has a lot to do about it as well.

When I was in bad health condition I noticed how the older, sicker and weaker people sat and had their shoulders slouched forward. I noticed that most people in the doctor's waiting room sat with this kind of posture.

When I went for a walk, on the other hand, I noticed how teenagers held themselves more upright. The healthier or stronger the person, the better their posture seemed to be.

I wondered if our posture has a direct correlation with things like acid reflux and our immune system. A bent spine puts pressure on the gut and other internal organs.

This is one of the major reasons why I started doing push-ups. They are great for your posture if you do them right. Pull ups are just as important for your posture.

Good posture and healthy food reduced my acid reflux substantially

Fortunately for me, my observations were right. I don't have acid reflux nearly as often as I used to.

This is thanks to the food that I eat, the exercises that I do and my focus on posture. Along with a younger appearance and better health, I must say that my confidence has improved tremendously as well.

Posture affects your health.

Pull ups aren't easy in the beginning

As good as pull ups are for you, I must say that pull ups were much harder to do in the beginning.

At the start of it all, I could do only 2 pull ups. Now I can do 8-9 pull ups - but I do them slowly according to how much my body can handle.

Results of doing pull ups daily

With time my shoulders became wider and I got a lot more strength in many of my muscles - especially my biceps.

Focus on dental hygiene

Another thing that you need to pay attention to is your dental hygiene. Dental hygiene determines your overall health. Teeth are not just good for your confidence or your smile. They can also cause many illnesses if they become unhealthy.

You can't chew good food without good teeth. Your mouth is essential to digest food properly.

Use weights to increase vein visibility

Another health problem that I had was very small veins that were hard to see on the surface of my skin. When I struggled with my health, this was difficult because nurses had a hard time finding a vein to draw blood.

I thought that weight training could make my veins more visible. I hoped that it would make the veins thicker and easier to find. I got a 5 kg weight which I built myself at home. I did 10-20 reps regularly with each hand.

Thankfully, my guess was right! Drawing blood is now less painful for me (less pricking around to find) and much easier for the nurses (they can find a good vein immediately).

Look for solutions.

Walk when you can instead of driving or taking the bus

I decided to take a quick walk from my house to downtown and back instead of using other forms of transport. The round trip is about 7 km. I do this at least once a week.

When I reach downtown, I visit a grocery store and buy a banana as a reward. It tastes nice and gives my body a little nutritional reward for the effort. Choose organic if you can.

Bananas are really good for you

Small choices like a banana as a reward will have a great impact on your health. Bananas have many health benefits.

Bananas for energy

I have noticed that bananas are amazing fruit when it comes to energy. They help me with a quick energy supply after playing sports.

Bananas are great after playing sports like basketball and swimming

I eat bananas after playing an extensive basketball game with teenagers (keep in mind that I am 44 years old).

I also bring 2 bananas and water whenever I go swimming. I am amazed at how well bananas replenish my energy levels.

If I play 2-4 games of basketball in a row, I bring 3 bananas instead of 2.

If I ever do very physically intensive work that causes me to sweat a lot, I eat 4 bananas and salty food. It is important to replace the salt that you lose through sweat.

Bananas can make you sleepy

When I don't do anything physically intensive after eating a banana, I feel sleepy. It's a good kind of sleepy, if that makes sense. I feel happy, unlike other foods that make you feel sleepy and drained at the same time.

Bananas are good for your skin

Bananas are great for your skin. 

During the summer months I occasionally smudge a banana over my face to cool down quickly. I have noticed that my skin looks really good afterwards.

Indulge in goodness.

Avoid unhealthy habits

I don't drink coffee (although it seems that coffee can be healthy) or alcohol. I avoid eating cakes and sweets - especially during the holidays.

I am thankful for the fact that I have never smoked cigarettes. It is also good to avoid soda drinks and artificial sweeteners.

I used to drink an energy drink, which isn't good for your gut. It is particularly unhealthy to have energy drinks at night - even more so if you live a sedentary lifestyle.

You don't need energy drinks to have energy at social gatherings

When I was younger, I liked going to dance parties. I thought that I had the energy to jump and dance all night because of the energy drink. I was wrong.

I have lots of energy at night. There are some people who have higher energy levels at night naturally.

Two years ago I was at some open party and I simply drank lemon juice to stay hydrated. It worked.

By the end of the night, I lost more than 600 calories. The total calories lost for the entire day was over 900 calories.

I'm not trying to lose weight. I actually need to make sure that I don't lose too much weight. Trust me; when you lose that many calories in such a short period of time, you have to eat every 2 hours to regain that lost energy.

If you want to lose weight, on the other hand, just go to dance parties and drink a low calorie and non-alcoholic drink like lemon juice to stay hydrated. Just dance and move according to your body's abilities. Be moderate - like with everything in life. A balance is always the best.

Use every opportunity.

Healthy lunch tips

• Don't be scared of a big lunch
• Include a vegetable salad with every lunch
• Eat more soups
• Add carrots
• Use turmeric for spice and flavor
• Pepper is a healthy flavor enhancer as well
• Add broccoli often
• Lemon juice will help with digestion

Use exercise to increase your energy levels immediately

Whenever I feel like I have brain fog or feel like my metabolism is slowing down, I go for a walk outside in the fresh air. This perks me up quickly.

Walking is good if food is making you feel sluggish. The fresh air and sunlight will help you to increase your metabolism - and therefore your energy levels.

Take a walk before dinner

I take a walk around the block before dinner. It helps me to clear my mind. The walking also makes you sleep better at night. We need fresh, circulated air regularly.

Grab some nuts before dinner time

After I come back from my short night walk, I eat healthy snacks before dinner in moderate amounts. It helps to give your body some important nut nutrients and stops you from over eating at dinner. Eating too much food at dinner time can negatively affect your sleep.

A have apricot seeds, cashews and almonds. Nuts are super foods.

Conclusion

I hope that these tips will help you to improve your health in one way or another. There are a lot of different tips here. Try one or two at a time until you find what works best for you.

About Nikola

My name is Nikola. I'm a 44 year old man. I am 185 cm tall and 78 kg of weight. I work from home, doing freelancing work. This is sometimes very stressful, with less fresh air (like with most office or computer based job where we are in a sedentary position). I do exercises and play sports activities like basketball, swimming and running. This gives me a perfect healthy balance for my mental and physical health. Check me out on Twitter.

Be happy for the sake of your health

Improve health by being happy.

 How happiness improves your health

Being happy can have major physical health benefits. The connection between your emotional state and your physical state is quite profound. Happiness and positivity can help to prevent many diseases like chronic pain, inflammation and heart disease. Happiness also helps to reduce the negative physical effects of stress. It can also boost the immune system. Happiness can even increase your life expectancy! 

In short; the happier you are, the healthier you can be.

Your mood affects your body.

How to be happy

What makes people happy? What is the difference between happy people and those who need a little cheering up? There could be a whole range of answers to that question (I'm already thinking about genetics, upbringing, hormones, exercise, nutrition, chronic diseases, medications etc.)

Let's make it as simple as simple as we can. Happy people have different habits. Happy people act and think differently to those that aren't so happy. This is called deliberate happiness.

In all truth, happiness doesn’t depend on whether you’re rich or poor, or whether you drive a sports car or take the bus. It doesn't matter whether you’re the best looking person in the room or just an average Joe.

This sounds like a bunch of over-used phrases, but it's actually good news! It means that your happiness lies in your own hands. You can be happy right now. And it doesn't have to cost you anything. If you want to be happier, you can simply implement one or more of the following habits into your life.

1. Be optimistic

Negative situations and having to deal with uncomfortable things are, unfortunately, a part of life that we can't avoid. Thankfully, this doesn’t have to define you or your happiness. You should always try to find the silver lining in every situation.

Start by realizing that you can change the way you think. It will take a little effort at first, but you can train your brain to be positive about almost everything that you encounter. 

A positive outlook will inspire feelings of trust and allow you to connect with others better. It will also give you the motivation for longer term life changes (like exercising and eating healthy).

It is easier to make better choices when we aren't running away from an emotional black hole. It is almost impossible to make healthy choices when you're battling with depression.

A positive outlook will also reduce the amount of stress that you face in tough times.

Drop negative thinking. It doesn't serve you. Let go of negative thoughts and emotions. Learn to see problems as challenges and opportunities. If you can't figure something out at work, see it as an opportunity to improve your skills.

Instead of pondering over what’s impossible, think about what is possible - and how you can make it happen.

A better mood leads to better decisions.

2. Focus on what you can control

Too many people worry about things that are far beyond their control. It could be a debilitating illness, a disastrous storm, or an unstable job market. This kind of thinking is exhausting.

It will drain what little energy you have left - and that's why you feel like you don’t have any energy left to think positive and feel happy.  

The next time you catch yourself thinking about things that you don't have any control over, let go of them as soon as you notice it and turn your thoughts into things that you can control instead.

I can't control how my boss treats me, but I can control how many positive things I notice about my job.

The one train of thought makes you feel like a victim to circumstance. The other makes you feel like the superhero of your own destiny.

Negativity drains you.

3. Practice self-acceptance

You are almost always your own worst enemy. You need to accept yourself before you can be comfortable with who you are. You can't feel good if you don't feel good about what you are as a human being.

One of the biggest things that make us unhappy with ourselves is what we see from other people around us. If you compare yourself to others and focus on your own flaws in comparison, it will color your world in a terrible shade of negativity.

Know this: We all have flaws.

Embrace this fact to become happier with yourself. Ironically, this will also help you to accept other people for who they are as well.

Be happy with what you are - today, in this very moment. 

Find ways to be a better version of yourself instead of comparing yourself to other people.

Happiness starts with the way that you see yourself.

4. Be kind to others

This is by far one of the most common habits of happy people. It's also quick and easy to do. Doing things for others and small acts of kindness will give you more than just fuzzy feelings. There is a very real effect on your own happiness when you show kindness to others.

There’s more to kindness than just giving money to charity. Kindness includes donating your time, energy, and experience for the benefit of others. It can also include smiling to someone as you walk past them, saying thank you or helping a co-worker that seems to be struggling with something.

Along with boosting your happiness, kindness will strengthen your social connections and improve your health.

You get what you give.

5. Make your physical health a priority

Our general state of physical health is a good predictor of our personal happiness levels. This is especially true since hormones, happy hormones (dopamine, serotonin, endorphins); genetics and energy directly affect your mood.

We don’t normally take note of how big of a role our health plays on our happiness. This is mostly because we don’t pay attention when things are normal. Think about the fact that as soon as you get sick, it immediately affects your attitude, mood, and outlook very drastically. When the body ails, so does the mind.

This can range from simple headaches to chronic pain or other health issues. 

If you want to be happy, you need to take care of your health. Getting enough sleep restores your vital physical and mental functions. Eating nutritious food keeps your body and mind functioning at its best. Regular physical exercise will keep you in shape and release happy hormones (like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins) to ease depression, stop stress and enhance your mood.

The brain and the body are strongly connected.

What makes you happy? Let me know in the comments below!

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Exercise has many effects.

What happens when you exercise?

Your heart beats faster. Blood circulation increases and more nutrients are sent throughout your body. You may feel hot and start to sweat. Mental stress seems to disappear, you feel a light mental high from endorphins and you feel a strong sense of pride afterwards.

Some people are really fond of exercise. They make it a daily habit. Have you ever wondered what happens to your body when you exercise? 

We should all know that exercise makes you healthy and improves your efficiency in all areas of your life. Here are a few ways that it helps you out in a mental, emotional and physical way.

What are benefits of exercise?

1. Improves blood circulation
2. Reduces mental stress
3. Improves mood and makes you happier
4. Makes you sleep better
5. Reduces the risk of many diseases
6. Improves confidence and helps you to feel relaxed
7. Makes the heart strong
8. Exercise actually makes you a wiser person

Exercise is so good for you.

1. Improves blood circulation

There are many effects of exercise on the heart. When you exercise, your body needs more nutrients and your heart pumps blood faster throughout your body. This ultimately results in hotness and sweating. Non-exercising organs like your brain, skin and liver benefit from this extra blood flow.

2. Exercise reduces mental stress

If a person exercises regularly, it will reduce mental stress hormones like cortisol. It will also increase happy hormones like endorphins and serotonin. Endorphins interact with the receptors in the brain to reduce your perception of pain. This goes for both mental emotional and physical pain. Endorphins and serotonin also trigger a positive feeling in your body.

3. Exercise improves your mood and makes you happier

A lot of research has shown that people who exercise are happier than those who do not. It is because of the dopamine and serotonin (happy) hormones that get elevated naturally through exercise.

Our emotional state needs exercise.

4. Exercise helps with better sleep

Physical activity improves sleep quality and increases deep sleep duration. Exercise may also bolster sleep in other ways because it reduces stress and tires you out.

5. Exercise reduces the risk of some diseases

Regular physical activity improves overall health, fitness and quality of life. It also helps in reducing several diseases like cancer, anxiety, depression, heart disease and diabetes. 

6. Exercise self-improves confidence and makes you feel relaxed

Regular exercise can increase self-confidence by improving body image. While exercising, you're likely to strengthen and tone your body. Seeing these results can greatly improve your self-esteem and help you feel better about the way that you look.

7. Exercise makes your heart strong

Just as exercise strengthens other muscles in your body, it helps your heart muscle become more efficient and better able to pump blood throughout your body. This means that the heart pushes out more blood with each beat, allowing it to beat slower and keep your blood pressure under control.

8. Exercise makes you wiser

During exercise our body releases endorphins which increase the ability of the brain to sort out priorities. It allows us to concentrate and block out distractions. It improves your capacity of remembering and hence you will start to remember more things than before.

Your brain needs exercise.

What happens when you don't exercise?

1. Skin looks horrible without blood circulation
2. Shortness of breath and poor cardio-vascular health
3. Sleeping issues
4. Brain fog and mental decline
5. You get sick more often
6. Muscles get weaker over time

No exercise will harm your health.

1. A bad complexion

Exercise improves blood circulation. Skin cells get the nourishment that they need through exercise. If you don’t exercise, you will have more wrinkles and acne. You will also have a dull face.

2. Shortness of breath

If you don’t exercise, your body will get tired after doing a small amount of work like a short flight of stairs or running for the bus. Even cleaning your house will have you taking breaks to catch your breath. Simple tasks become much bigger chores than what they actually are.

3. Sleepless nights

If you don’t use your energy throughout the day, you’ll have a hard time going into sleep mode even though you feel tired and lethargic.

4. Mental fog

Your brain won’t be on the top of its game if it doesn’t get enough oxygen and other important nutrients (because of poor blood circulation and shortness of breath). Without regular exercise, you will find it harder to concentrate at work. Suppose, you came into your room and you forgot why you came?

5. More sick days

If you are living a lazy or lethargic lifestyle, you are going to suffer through more sick days because your immune system is not as strong as it should be.

6. Weak muscles

Without exercise you’ll find it difficult to hold a grocery bag. Even standing for a long time will wear you out. You will feel the constant need to get more rest.

Conclusion

After reading this, I really hope that you understand why it is so important to exercise regularly. I’d like thank all my readers who stand to benefit from this article. Stay blessed!

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Use your subconscious mind to change your life

Your brain is a powerful tool.

We humans have a gifted organ called the brain. The brain is about 15 cm long. It weighs around 1400 grams. 

Some people aren't too sure about the difference between the subconscious and the conscious mind, so I will clarify the difference between the two.

The difference between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind

The physical brain

The physical brain is an organ with no actual muscle tissue (except for the muscle tissue in the middle layer of the arteries that carry blood to the brain).

A new perspective on mental rest

Current research reveals that the brain never stops working. It is active for all 24 hours of the day. 

You might have heard people say, “Let me give my brain some rest” or "take a mental break".

That doesn’t mean that you are asking your brain to sleep or stop working. It simply switches from prioritizing some functions over others. There are many parts of the brain and regular 'mental breaks' help us to keep all of them in good shape.

One part of your brain is active when you look at a beautiful sunset. Another is active when you hold a conversation. Another part of your brain works harder when you think about making a decision or calculate numbers.

We are actually giving certain parts of the brain a period of rest (less activity), instead of complete silence, so that it functions properly in the long term.

Our brain can be divided into two parts: the conscious and the subconscious mind. The brain is only one but the mind is two.

There can often be contradictions.

The subconscious mind has the power to heal your body

There is a strange phenomenon called the placebo effect. This is when people feel better after taking a certain medication, regardless of whether the medication actually helped or not. In these cases, it was actually the subconscious mind that improved the person's health - not the medication itself.

What is the subconscious mind?

Whenever you sleep, walk, talk, eat, drink, laugh, write or breathe; your subconscious mind controls the actions that need to be taken without needing much thought or effort. 

Have you ever wondered whether you could die of suffocation because you forget to breathe? Thankfully, your subconscious mind does all of these repetitive tasks for you. 

Your conscious mind isn't in control of these actions (unless you focus on your breathing like during meditation). These things happen without your need to focus on them because your subconscious is in control of it.

There are some important bodily functions that the subconscious mind handles exclusively (you can't take conscious control of them). Think of your heart beat and what you dream about as good examples.

The subconscious is unseen, but powerful.

What is the conscious mind?

Conscious mind is responsible for deliberate thoughts and actions. It's the little voice that you hear inside your head whenever you think of something.

If I decide to go to the bathroom, my conscious mind decides to initiate the action. My subconscious mind then takes over because I don't need to focus on putting one foot in front of the other in order to get there.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t control your subconscious brain. You can control it. The subconscious mind is, in fact, a powerful tool that you can use to improve your life drastically.

You can use your brain like a tool.

How to control your subconscious mind

1. Meditation
2. Affirmations
3. Believe in yourself
4. Eliminate negative thoughts
5. Avoid words like don’t, no or never

1. Meditation

Meditation is calming, relaxing, peaceful and strangely energizing. Almost everybody has heard about how good mediation is for your mental and physical health, but very few have actually given it a good try. 

You can meditate at almost any place, any time of the day. It has amazing health benefits as well.

2. Listen to positive affirmations (or create some of your own)

Affirmations are designed to train your brain to think along certain pathways. Listening to positive affirmations is a very powerful and easy way to take control of your subconscious mind. It brings positivity and a sense of accomplishment to your mind and helps you to think along the lines of whatever you want to achieve.

3. Believe in yourself

After reading the power of your subconscious mind, what I’ve realized is that unless you believe in yourself; you won’t be good at something. To achieve anything you should have blind faith in yourself - and in your subconscious brain's ability to complete the task.

4. Eliminate negative thoughts

You might have seen people saying that they don’t like do this or that they don’t like that. Have you ever noticed that people who don't like something seem to struggle with that very same thing?

If you don't like people who raise their voice, you will notice more people doing it. If we focus on the negative, we open our mental eyes up that that negativity and will start to see it everywhere. If you tell yourself that you are tired, you will become even more tired because things get bigger when you focus on them.

5. Try to avoid negative words like don’t, no or never

Don't think of ice cream!

Did you think of ice cream? If you wanted to avoid thinking of ice cream, try thinking about your favorite fruit instead.

As soon as you try to avoid something mentally, your brain will fixate on it because it perceives that as a danger. If you say an affirmation like 'I am not tired. I am not tired. I am not tired', you will feel more tired. 'Tired' is the keyword that goes into your subconscious. Try a positive variation like 'energized' instead.

Invest in your brain.

Closing comments

I'd like to thank SA Spotters readers and Saguren Redyrs for reading my words. I hope that this information has helped you. Wishing for your good health:

Utkarsh Sharma:

Director of Sparkle Purpose

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