How to control stress-induced weight gain?

Can stress make you fat? Chronic stress has been found to be a major contributing factor in obesity.

When you're under stress , you may find it harder to keep up healthy-eating habits.

During particularly stressful times, you may eat in an attempt to fulfill emotional needs, which is sometimes called stress eating. And you may be especially likely to eat high-calorie foods during times of stress, even when you're not hungry.

To combat weight problems during stress and reduce the risk of obesity, you need to manage stress.

When you feel less stressed and more in control of your life, you may find it easier to stick to healthy-eating and exercise habits.

Try these stress management techniques to combat stress-related weight gain:

•Recognize the warning signs of stress, such as anxiety, irritability and muscle tension.

•Before eating, ask yourself why you're eating — are you truly hungry or do you feel stressed or anxious?

•If you're tempted to eat when you're not hungry, find a distraction.

•Don't skip meals, especially breakfast.

•Identify comfort foods and keep them out of your house or office.

•Keep a record of your behavior and eating habits so that you can look for patterns and connections — and then overcome them.

•Learn problem-solving skills so that you can anticipate challenges and cope with setbacks.

•Practice relaxation skills, such as yoga, massage or meditation.

•Engage in regular physical activity or exercise.

•Get adequate sleep.

•Get encouragement from supportive friends and family.

Combine stress management techniques and natural anti-anxiety and stress-relieving supplements which will keep stress levels low and help you successfully manage your weight.

Consider working with Stress Management Coach for sustainable results.

A Simple Breathing Exercise

If you’ve done any stress reduction technique before—or even read about it—you know that breathing is central to relaxation, and that developing slow, deep and steady breathing can help you relax. The more relaxed your breath, the more relaxed you'll feel in your body and your mind.

Try this simple breathing exercise.

Sit in a relaxed posture and set your alarm clock for no more than six minutes.

•Relax the muscles in your abdomen.

•Slow down the pace of your breath.

•Start to breathe from your abdomen—allow your breath to fill the abdomen so it becomes full and round.

•Place your right hand over your navel—you should be breathing so deeply from your belly that you can see your hand rise and fall.

•Keep your shoulders down. (Make sure they aren’t hunched up by your ears.)

•Inhale for a slow count of three, pause for a count of one, and then exhale for three.

•Continue at your own pace.

Most people breathe in a very shallow manner. It takes some time to develop regular and slow breathing, so don’t worry if it doesn't feel natural yet. The more you practice, the more it will become so!

Learn To Keep Your Stress Under Control and Balance Your Life 

Be your own Personal Coach

Take the quality of life check test. How many circles can you tick?

• Am I taking extremely good care of myself?
• Do I take time out of my schedule every week just for me?
• Does my schedule reflect my priorities?
• Am I tolerating any person, place or thing that is draining my energy?
• Am I living within my means, saving and investing consistently?
• Am I fuelling my body, mind and spirit with premium sources of fuel?
• Am I strengthening my soulful connections with important relationships?
• Am I consistent with my spiritual practice?


Learn To Keep Your Stress Under Control and Balance Your Life

Elderberry - The Winter Wellness Berry

The winter season is fast approaching and with it a heightened awareness of the importance of maintaining health and wellness, naturally. One herbal therapy that is sure to be popular is elderberry. The purplish-black berries of the elderberry bush have a long history of being used by the Europeans to balance health and maintain wellness during the cold winter months. So revered was the herb, that in the middle ages, it was considered to be a Holy Tree, capable of maintaining good health and improving longevity.

But, do elderberries really deserve their age-old reputation as the winter wellness berry? I think so!

Like other dark berries, elderberries are a rich source of powerful antioxidant compounds called flavonoids and anthocyanidins. It has been shown that in addition to protecting cells from the ravages of free radicals and their effects, these compounds display a remarkable ability to maintain a healthy balance of microbes.

Recently, a group of scientists were able to use a cutting edge technology analytical tool called DARTvision (Direct Analysis in Real Time) to identify three novel flavonoid and anthyocyanidin compounds in elderberry which were shown in laboratory testing to be the most biologically active microbe balancing chemistries. They then developed a solvent-free supercritical extraction process to optimize the levels of these chemistries and ensure they would be present in consistent amounts in every dose of the extract consumed. Using DARTvision, the researchers were able to confirm that the desired chemical fingerprint of elderberry had been achieved.

I recommend New Chapter's Immunity Take Care is this dose reliable Elderberry extract. Because the extraction process is incredibly precise and every batch is validated with DARTvision, New Chapter can guarantee dose-to-dose reliability. Why is that important? Because it means you will receive the same wellness enhancing benefits with every delicious blueberry-flavored lozenge.

This winter, make a resolution to keep your immune system strong. Provide it with the support it needs from this revered herb. When combined with a whole-food diet, regular exercise, and of course lots of hand washing, you can stay healthy, happy and energized through the winter and beyond!

Get More Info At eVitamins.com

Toothpaste, Shampoo and Body Wash - Are They Worth Harming Your Health

Do you enjoy a shampoo with a rich lather?

A shaving cream that really foams?

How about relaxing in a tub full of bubbles?

These may seem like some of life’s simple, innocent pleasures…until you look at WHAT is causing all that foam and lather. Once you find out, you may decide it’s not so simple or pleasurable after all.

What’s more important: the foam or your health?

Check the labels of your shampoo, soap, facial cleanser, shaving cream, body wash, or shower gel: Do you see either Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) listed? Or one of their cousins: Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Myreth Sulfate, etc.? Most manufacturers use these anionic detergents because they produce a lot of foam very inexpensively. But SLS is so strong that it’s also used to scrub garage floors. Worse, it has been proven to cause cancer in the long run. And the American College of Toxicology says SLS stays in the body up to five days. Other studies show it easily penetrates the skin and enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain. Yet SLS is found in most cleansing, foaming products—even in some toothpastes!

Most people selling products with this and other harmful ingredients really just don't know. The FDA has a GRAS list (Generally Regarded As Safe), and almost everything is on there, so most people selling these products just focus on the marketing hype and what the product is supposed to do for skin (clean it, make it feel soft, etc.). Sadly, of the 7000 ingredients used on the skin, only 5-6 have been tested for LONG-TERM safety, and none have been tested TOGETHER. Currently, 125 are strongly suspected carcinogens, 20 cause adverse nervous system reactions, and 25 are connected to birth defects.

So why exactly is SLS so bad?

Here are what tests show about Sodium Lauryl Sulfate:

* SLS PENETRATES EYES AND TISSUES: Tests show that SLS can penetrate into the eyes as well as systemic tissues (brain, heart, liver, etc.) and shows long-term retention in those tissues. Especially when used in soaps and shampoos, there is an immediate concern relating to the penetration of SLS into the eyes and other tissues. This is especially important in infants, where considerable growth is occurring, because a much greater uptake occurs by tissues of younger eyes, and SLS changes the amounts of some proteins in cells from eye tissues. Tissues of young eyes may be more susceptible to alteration by SLS

* SLS FORMS NITRATES: When SLS is used in shampoos and cleansers containing nitrogen-based ingredients, it can form carcinogenic nitrates that can enter the blood stream in large numbers. They can cause eye irritations, skin rashes, hair loss, scalp scurf similar to dandruff, and allergic reactions.

* SLS PRODUCES NITROSAMINES: (potent carcinogens that cause the body to absorb nitrates at higher levels than eating nitrate-contaminated food like hot dogs or lunch meat) Dr. David H. Fine, the chemist who uncovered NDELA contamination in cosmetics, estimates that a person would be applying 50 to 100 micrograms of nitrosamine to the skin each time he or she used a nitrosamine-contaminated cosmetic. By comparison, a person consuming sodium nitrate-preserved bacon is exposed to less than one microgram of nitrosamine.

* SLS STRIPS MOISTURE AND OIL FROM THE SKIN: According to the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, SLS produced skin and hair damage, including cracking and severe inflammation of the derma-epidermal tissue. Skin layers may separate and inflame due to its protein-denaturing properties.

* SLS IRRITATES SCALP AND MAY PROMOTE HAIR LOSS

* SLS CAN DAMAGE DNA IN CELLS: according to Japanese studies.

What’s more important: the foam or your health?

You CAN choose healthful alternatives: there are many all-natural skin care ranges on the market today. Try to find them in your local health-food store.

For More Info Visit Amazon.com for The Largest selection of Natural and Organic products