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Green Leafy Vegetables for Improving Mood

If food is a drug, it could be your medicine. Following such logic, illness has its cure (or at least its alleviation) in food. This holds true then for depression and bad moods. Food does have the power to make or break mental health.

Modern meals are rife with processed foods that render the body nutritionally imbalanced and open to a host of ailments, including depression. Bad nutrition affects brain chemistry. As one of the first line of defences against mood disorders is the elimination of an unhealthy diet and its replacement with one rich with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

Dark leafy vegetables are nutrient dense foods and one of the best kinds you need to incorporate in your diet. They are a powerhouse of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that can help alleviate depression.

Vegetarian vs. Omnivorous Diet

In a 2012 study conducted by the Nutrition Department, Benedictine University of Illinois, 39 omnivores were divided into three groups. The first group, dubbed the control or OMN group, was given a daily diet of meat, fish, and poultry. The second group, the FISH group, were assigned to consume fish 3-4 times a week and to stay completely away from meat and poultry. The third group, the VEG group, were given a vegetarian diet, totally free of meat, fish, and poultry. The participants had to adhere to their diets for two weeks.

After two weeks, each participant was given questionnaires to assess their moods and stress levels. The OMN group and the FISH group scored same on the mood scale as they did before they came into the trial. Mood scores, however, for the VEG group showed marked improvements after the two-week experiment.

According to the study, omnivorous diets are high in arachidonic acid (AA) which may alter brain chemistry to disturb moods. Although the FISH group may have increased their intake of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, these did not seem to help any with tamping down AA and consequently, with mood upliftment. In conclusion, the study reveals that a vegetarian diet proves the best for short-term mood improvement.

A previous study conducted in 2010 at the Arizona State University likewise supports the fact that enhanced mood states may be associated with vegetarian diets. The research here involved a cross-sectional study of 138 healthy Seventh Day Adventists. Results of their Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and Profile of Mood States (POMS) tests showed that those on a solely vegetarian diet scored much less negative emotions than those on a combined fish and vegetable diet. By its nature, the fish-veggie diet contains higher levels of AA, EPA, and DHA and a veggie diet has a lot more ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) and LA (linolenic acid). ALA and LA seem to contribute positively to mood enhancement. These fatty acids are essential to health and can be found in seeds such as chia, rapeseed, flax, and kiwifruit seeds.

How Green Leafy Vegetables Stave Off Depression

Leafy greens can get us out of a blue funk. Dark green veggies have Vitamin B6 and folate, a B-complex vitamin. Vitamin B6 synthesizes the amino acid, tryptophan, into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps keep us in a positive mood. A serotonin imbalance often leads to depression, anxiety, excess anger, and a host of other issues. This is why antidepressant drugs are formulated and prescribed. The aim of these synthetic medicines is to boost production of serotonin in the brains of clinically depressed patients. A synthetically uplifted mood though comes at a price of side effects.

Aside from the B vitamins, leafy greens contain antioxidants which strengthen the immune system, among other benefits. A strong immune system makes for a strong body redounding to better mental health and disposition.

Depressed people tend to have raised levels of monoamine oxidase in their brains. MAO is a natural enzyme that cleans up neurotransmitters once their job of neuron communication is done. A high concentration of MAO however is not a good thing as it inhibits the volume of stress responding neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in the brain. Low levels of these neurotransmitters equals depression. To illustrate:

High MAO = Low Levels of Neurotransmitters = Depression.
A class of drugs called MAOIs or monoamine oxidase inhibitors are prescribed to depressed patients to chemically stop MAOs from reducing the needed neurotransmitters in the brain; however, these MAOIs produce a lot of side effects, a few of which can even be fatal.
Fortunately, there are natural occurring MAO inhibitors in fruits and vegetables. Phytonutrients in spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and oregano can act as natural monoamine oxidase inhibitors; but, one can’t eat enough volume of spices alone to get a sufficient MAOI amount. Dark leafy greens like kale however have the phytonutrients as well; and these (green leafies) we can eat a large amount of. This inhibitor phytonutrient is also present in berries, apples, and green tea. This explains why the studies point to vegetarians as having better mental dispositions over their meat or fish eating counterparts.

Let Food Be Thy Medicine

Since the quality of our food or diet is one of the keys to both physical and mental health, let us heed wise, old Hippocrates, who once again has proven to be ahead of his time in this:

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” - Hippocrates

With this in mind, let’s get a kick-start on incorporating more leafy greens into your diet. If you still haven’t developed the taste for whole green vegetables, smoothies with a pre-mixed veggie blend are a great way to get more of those leafy mood lifters into your eating lifestyle. Try this refreshing “100% Green Smoothie” from Coles:
Ingredients:

• 1 kiwifruit, peeled
  
• 1 / 2 Lebanese cucumber, chopped
• 1 tsp Nature’s Own Superfood Blends 6 Supergreens
  (Tamps down the raw, tangy taste of leafy vegetables while giving you all the depression-fighting phytonutrients from them)
• 2 tbsp mint leaves. Keep some extras for garnish
• 1 / 2 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp maple syrup, optional

How-To:

Put all ingredients in a blender and process for 1 minute or until smooth and frothy. Pour this nutritious concoction into a glass and garnish with the extra mint leaves. Drink to your health.
It is ideal to get those leafy greens in at least once a day. And be patient. The feel good neurotransmitters take some time to get their balance if you take the natural way to mental health.

Food Is Only Part of the Battle

Of course, food is only part of the depression battle; but, no less important. The natural way to good mental health also entails a consistent exercise regimen; avoidance of bad health habits such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse; adequate sleep (highly underrated); strong support group; and coping therapies.

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Five Weird Sleeping Problems

Sleep is supposed to refresh; but, if you chronically wake up feeling tired and the worse for wear despite getting a good eight to ten hours in, then you may be experiencing some sleeping disorders. Some issues, such as insomnia, are common enough for you to have heard others struggling with these. Still, there are a rare few that many of us do not even know exist because not many people talk about them.
Here are some oddball sleeping phenomena with enough “What the…?” to cause you nightmares just thinking about them.

PLMD and RLS

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) and Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) are two distinct sleep disorders but they sometimes occur in tandem. PLMD is characterized by twitches and jerks or involuntary limb movements. These movements may range from slight foot jerks to violent thrashing and flailing of arms and legs. PLMD may also involve nasal, abdominal, and oral movements. A typical episode may occur as short as half a second to as long as ten seconds. These episodes sometimes pan out at intervals between five to ninety seconds.
Uncomfortable sensations in the legs and arms such cramping, tingling, burning, or itching mark RLS, also known as Willis-Ekbom Disease (WED). These sensations prod patients to move their limbs to get relief. In 80% of cases, RLS is usually accompanied by PLMD. RLS is prevalent among middle aged to older women and affects about 12.2% of insomniacs and 3.5% of people with EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness).
Both these disorders disrupt sleep to an extent that a person may develop chronic insomnia. Treatment may consist from simply correcting an iron deficiency to prescribing serious medication such as anti-Parkinson drugs, benzodiazepines, or even morphine to manage the symptoms.

Exploding Head Syndrome

Here’s an odd sleep phenomenon that you may never have heard of because of its rarity. Why the Exploding Head Syndrome deserves its name is the fact that basically the sleeper is violently awakened by a very loud noise going off close to his ears. The noise is often described as a huge bang much like that of a firecracker, gunshot, cymbal clash, or bomb, exploding by your ear.
Truth is, no noise of that nature has actually manifested in the room of the sleeper or anywhere nearby. Although it seems so aurally realistic, the noise is really in the sleeper’s head.
Occurrences of the phenomenon can increase or decrease over time. Although more cases have been reported by people over the age of 50, teenagers or children as young as ten years old can suffer from this strange malady.
The syndrome is not painful or dangerous but it can be scary. The sufferer may develop a sleep phobia, thereby creating other sleep issues. Treatment for this syndrome may range from relaxation techniques to prescription of antidepressants.

Sleep Paralysis

While the Exploding Head Syndrome can be scary, sleep paralysis can be extremely terrifying. Imagine waking up from sleep, fully paralyzed. You can’t move your limbs, body, not even your vocal chords to holler or whisper for help. Plus, you feel weighed down by something which makes you experience shortness of breath. Many sufferers even report seeing a presence in the room which ain’t friendly.
Whoa! Sounds like a victim in a horror movie. And so it seems. Sleep paralysis victims often attribute the phenomenon to malevolent supernatural causes; hence, the tales of incubuses, succubi, and more recently, alien abductors.
Sleep paralysis may last from a mere few seconds to a few agonizing minutes, but contrary to the scare it engenders, it is not a dangerous condition. However, it may manifest as an offshoot of anxiety and depression or it could even be an inherited sleeping disorder. Patients of narcolepsy often fall prey to sleep paralysis.
If you find yourself at its mercy, don’t fight it. Just go with the flow. Allow yourself to fall asleep again and you’ll be sure to wake up properly afterwards.

Sleep-Related Eating Disorder

If you’re on a crusade to lose the twenty pounds you’ve gained this year, SRED (Sleep-Related Eating Disorder) is not something you want to have to deal with. Aside from wreaking havoc on your carefully laid out diet, this sleeping issue can be dangerous in the sense that it involves sleepwalking and worse, even sleep-cooking!
Maybe it’s your brain’s sneaky way of getting more gustatory delights from those chocolate chip cookie sundaes and Snickers Sonic Blasts you’ve been saying NO to during the day. Maybe it’s from your sleep apnoea, depression, or even stomach ulcers. Whatever the reason, the fact is SRED is not good; definitely bad from both the health and safety points of view.
The person with SRED will sleepwalk to food, typically to the kitchen, eat huge amounts of usually high-calorie food. They may even chop food or turn on the stove with the intention to cook. All while sleeping through it! The next day, the sleeper has no recollection of eating or cooking with just (barring sleepwalking accidents) a full stomach or little or no appetite for breakfast to show for the unremembered nightscapade.
Who are susceptible to SRED? Mostly women are but so are those with histories of substance abuse, alcoholism, and sleep disorders. Sleep specialists treat the SRED patient with prescription medications, lab monitoring, and de-stressing techniques such as counselling, assertiveness training, and the like.

Sexsomnia

Much like eating while sleeping, sexsomniacs have sex (in whatever form) while thoroughly asleep. The sex may manifest from simply annoying loud orgasmic moans to real humping with or without the consent of the humpee. In fact, there have been rape cases involving somnambulant ravishers who didn’t remember their crime because they were asleep.
Sexsomnia, commonly known as “sleep sex” is a very rare sleeping disorder, or so we think. According to Dr David Cunnington, Director of the Melbourne Sleep Disorders Centre, sexsomnia is a lot like sleepwalking or sleep-eating. The disorder may be more common than we know. It just seems so obscure because people don’t usually talk about this for fear embarrassment and ridicule.
Sexsomnia may be caused by large amounts of liquor, illicit drugs, sleep deprivation and a history of sleepwalking.
If all you are worried about is a little bit of insomnia, don’t thank your lucky stars just yet. Insomnia may just trigger one of these or other more widely talked about disorders such as night terrors, nightmares, sleepwalking and the like. So take good care of your rest. Make sure you follow some sleep hygiene - consistent lights out schedule, no screen time two hours before bed, among others.
On this note, sweet dreams tonight!

Why are pollen allergies so common in Australia?

Australia’s spring brings new flora to life and with it, tons of pollen upon 30% of Australia’s population allergic to the substance. Oh yes, spring means the dreaded hay fever or seasonal asthma for everyone sensitive to those itty-bitty plant particles called pollen. And in just over a month, it’s going to be spring again!

Pollen allergy seems to be the most common allergy type afflicting Australians. A huge part of pollen allergy is triggered by these airborne particles from grasses, weeds, and trees predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere.

What is Pollen?

Pollen is a group of microscopic oval and round grains produced by plants for their fertilization and reproduction. Pollen, a plant’s semen pods, may be either borne by insects or the wind to fertilize flowers, the female reproductive organs of plants. Because wind-borne pollen is produced in vast quantities and is so much lighter than the insect-borne type, these can be carried over long distances. Ease of transport and mass quantities allow this substance to affect a great number of allergic people, even those residing way across the Australian continent from the source.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports on The National Health Survey’s statistics of 2007-2008 which points to 3.1 million Australians suffering from allergic rhinitis. A large chunk of these sufferers are sensitised to pollen.

The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in the Australian continent has necessitated the creation of sites and apps dedicated to pollen forecasts which have become indispensable tools for millions of pollen-sensitized Australians. Yet, these forecasts are not as accurate as we like them to be. The Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) has announced its commitment to creating the first pollen allergy map of Australia which will standardise the pollen monitoring program all throughout the continent. The project aims to offer current, reliable, and accessible information on pollen measurements and forecasts in different locations through apps, websites, and social media.

Why Pollen Allergy is Common

Pasture grass pollen like that of rye and Bermuda grass is one of Australia’s worst offenders for hay fever. Pollen allergy is so common because pollen seems to perpetually exist in the air, its abundance seasonally reliant on temperature and rainfall.

Abundance is a major factor to the commonality of pollen allergies. One typically develops allergies to substances to which one is regularly exposed to as a child. Thousands of pollen grains can occupy one cubic meter of air. Imagine regularly breathing in millions of these tiny grains every day. It’s enough to jolt our immune systems, albeit wrongly, to assume pollen as a health threat; so, out come the big guns with our antibodies prodding our white blood cells to manufacture their ammo, histamine. Histamine is what brings about our defensive sneezing and other annoying and even debilitating side effects such as rashes, swelling and itching. The unfortunate effect of all these is that once your immune system has made up its mind about an allergen, there’s no talking it out of its stance. Pollen will simply and always be an allergen trigger.

What to Do About Pollen Allergy?

The best medicine is prevention; in this case, avoidance is the cure. It is, however, next to impossible to avoid pollen altogether unless you hide yourself off to the Arctic. The next best thing is to tone down your level of exposure by:

• Being fastidiously aware of the pollen count through pollen forecasts. These may not all be that accurate, but at least, you can be better prepared.
  
• Staying indoors in air-conditioned areas when the pollen count is high and during blustery days. In addition, do not go outside during or after a thunderstorm. Keep windows and doors shut at all times.
  
• Do not mow the lawn. If you must, wear a mask or hire someone else to do it. Then stay indoors.
  
• Identify and root out indoor and outdoor plants that contribute to you allergies. Be aware of the various culprit types and their seasons of pollination. Start with this pollen calendar as your guide.
  
• Consult with your physician about drug treatments and allergy injections to significantly tamp down the symptoms. Many allergic symptoms can be counterproductive and debilitating so it is well worth the expense and effort.
  
• If you can’t help but be outdoors, shower immediately upon reaching home. Do not lie in bed or sit on your sofa with the clothes you wore outside. Pollen or spores that have stuck to your outfit may now rub off on your upholstery or linens, exacerbating your allergies indoors where you were supposed to have created a safer haven from it.
  
• Wear shades when outdoors to prevent pollen from getting into your eyes.
  
• Smear Vaseline or some nasal ointment in your nostrils. The ointment should act as a trap, preventing the usual full measure of pollen from being inhaled.
  
• During pollen season, avoid parks and the countryside like the plague.
  
• Lay off the alcohol. Beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages contain histamine, the very same compound released by your white blood cells that provokes allergic reactions.
  
• Vacuum with a HEPA filter which has a mesh fine enough to trap minute particles such as pollen, spores, and pet dander.
  
• Remove dust off furniture, walls, and bric-a-brac with a damp cloth.
  
• Escape your pollen infested area by taking a vacay away from it. As mentioned, the only real cure for pollen fever is avoidance of the substance in the first place.

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The Centenarian Secret: What It Takes to Live to 100

Wanna live to be a hundred or even just a little over past that finish line? Many of us would, as long as we remain reasonably fit and healthy, right?

I come from a line of long-lived ancestors. My maternal grandmother passed away at 102 and two grand-aunts, at the venerable ages of 103 and 104. If the centenarian privilege runs in my veins, I’d be celebrating my 100 years courtesy of some very resilient genes. Or would I?

Let’s talk about the keys to health and longevity. Just how do centenarians manage to outlive many of us?

Today’s Golden Oldies

I bet you didn’t know that in 2008, Australia was home to 2,860 people aged over the 100-year old mark. In fact, a 2006 census revealed that a surprising 96 people are over 110 years old! The figures are quite astonishing, considering centenarians were a rarity several decades back.

The United States holds the numero uno spot for the highest centenarian population with a total of 72,000 golden seniors in 2014! Japan is trailing behind with a population of 30,000 100-and-over year olds; but, Japan’s vintage population is burgeoning at a rate higher than other countries including the U.S. It is possible that by 2050, Japan could take the prize as home to the highest number of centenarians.

What’s even more astonishing than population figures is the fact that a few centenarians are actually breaking the stereotype of the frail old man/woman. They have got us rethinking about our notions of physical fitness vis-a-vis age. For one, Meiko Nagaoka proved that at 100 years, she’s no oldie von mouldy. This remarkable granny just completed a 1,500-metre freestyle swim! I dare many young ‘uns to try match this feat. If you don’t exercise much, you probably won’t even make it past the 500-metre mark (10 continuous laps in an Olympic-size swimming pool). You may say, well, she’s probably been swimming ever since she was 10. Nope, she started swimming at 80! How’s that for saying you’re too old for this and that, huh?

At 102, Fauja Singh, “The Golden Bolt,” still runs marathons. He also started running somewhere in his eighties when he felt stressed and all alone after the death of his wife and son. By the time Singh hit 99 years of age, he was discovered to have the overall physical fitness of a 40-year old man!

This just goes to show we can defy age to a certain degree. Now what’s the secret...the so-called elixir of quality long life?

The Keys to Living a Century

In his book “The Blue Zone Solution….,” longevity expert, Dan Buettner, identifies blue zone areas, places where the concentration of long-lived people are highest. These are: Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Sardinia, Italy; and Ikaria, Greece.

The common thread supporting longevity in these areas is, first and foremost, lifestyle. For Buettner, diet and eating behaviour form part of the reasons behind the long-life phenomenon.

The Long-Life Diet

An exemplary diet and the good habits that support it in these blue zone areas run across common veins:

Predominantly vegetarian diets high in fibre

Most really old, active people have lived off a high percentage of fruits, vegetables and other plant-based food for years. Meat is not common fare and is very occasionally found on their table.

Whole grains such as oats form common staples. Legumes also form a good percentage of the vegetarian diet. Black beans seem to be particularly popular in the blue zone areas with one cup supplying the protein and antioxidant needs. More importantly, beans are gut-friendly food which encourage good bacteria to thrive. As a lot of diseases do begin in the gut, a very healthy digestive system is also key to a long, healthy life.

A majority of centenarians eat a cup of greens daily. Leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and watercress can add up the years if eaten consistently. Snacking on a variety of nuts has also proven to be a good eating habit. According to Buettner, “Nut eaters live about two to three years longer than those who don’t eat them.”

The modern diet with processed food are strangers to the blue zone area. Chips and soda are just as foreign to these golden seniors as spinach probably is to a junk food lover.

Eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper

Blue zone people tend to eat in volume during breakfast or lunch but tend to skip (in case of the Okinawans) or eat very little come dinnertime. Snacking averages once a day. Eating the right food this way balances their calorie intake in relation to their bodily needs, thereby effectively managing and staving off weight gain.

Employing Hara Hachi Bu

Another common habit among these golden oldies is eating only until one is just full. The Okinawans calls this Hara Hachi Bu which extols the virtue of consciously eating to fill only 80% of your satiety. This habit of conscious calorie restriction goes a long way toward healthy weight maintenance. Yo-yoing your way through life actually physically ages you in the long run and reduces your lifespan.

Cooking at home

Eating out is a super rare treat, not a norm. People in the blue zones tend to cook their own food, enabling them to have control over their ingredients and menu. It also helps to live in a community that live on the tenets of healthy diets; so, you probably will never be offered a soda or a bowl of chips when you come visiting. A healthy diet is just so ingrained in their lifestyles and therefore, in their kitchens as well.

Eating is a social activity; no one eats alone

Seniors in the blue zone enjoy each meal in company of family and occasionally, friends. Meals are bonding affairs, full of conversation. Social interaction gives a sense of relevancy and companionship to older people which really helps prolong their energy for life. Furthermore, conversation during meals slows down the eating pace which is necessary for good digestion and being in tune with one’s satiety level.

The Long-Life Exercise

Exercise? Most blue zone seniors may never have stepped foot in a gym; yet are as spry as anyone thirty years younger. Movement has been unconsciously ingrained into their lifestyle by daily walks around the community, baking bread from scratch, gardening, and doing a round of chores that is part and parcel of their daily living. It is a good amount of muscle movement that keeps them physically younger than what they ought to be.

Age-Defying Genes

We know that diet, eating behaviours and amount of daily exercise do impact strongly on our lifespans. There are, however, other studies that conclude that lifestyle has nothing to do with living longer; but genes do.

True, you may know of centenarians that have defied the laws of health by living to ripe, old ages with a cigarette on one hand and a beer glass on the other. These are a chosen few, however; so, if Granddad Jack managed to smoke for 80 years with nary a glimmer of a lung tumour, this does not mean you’ve inherited his lucky streak. Just imagine though, how many more years Granddad could have, given such a sturdy constitution, if he lived cleaner.

No one can deny that having good genes is one of the major factors for reaching the coveted 100th birthday. On the other hand, no one can also discount that a healthy lifestyle may be a more promising factor to bet on.

So will I live to be a 102 because my grandmother did? Maybe, but I’m not willing to bet my life on it unless I’m living clean and eating green.

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Reference: Lifehack.org

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Honey: The Sweetest Cough Medicine

You don’t need a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down. A spoonful of honey is already sugar and medicine in one, an easy-to-gulp-down remedy for those with a sweet tooth. Honey has long been a traditional medicine for cough. If only all medicine were as yummy as this, getting sick would have its perks, eh?

If you were part of that generation that got fed honey as a cough medicine, well lucky you; and guess what, your mom was right. Even the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Paediatrics agree that honey is an effective cough suppressant, and a much healthier alternative to over-the-counter medication. Before antibiotics came into the picture, honey was the go-to cough suppressant sleep-deprived parents gave their kids who suffered from night time coughs.

Unfortunately around the start of the antibiotic era, honey simply fell out of favour.

Honey is naturally endowed with antibacterial properties, making this a viable home treatment option. One of these is hydrogen peroxide, a germicidal agent. It is for this reason that honey is recognized to be a potent infection fighter and therefore a good temporary front liner response to coughs and colds.

The Proof is in the Honey Pot

A study in 2012 was conducted on 300 children with nocturnal coughs and upper respiratory infection. Three different types of honey were administered: citrus honey, labiatae honey, and eucalyptus honey. The placebo group was also given a sweet substitute, silan date extract. Although parents reported improvement of cough symptoms and sleep quality with all confections including the placebo, the positive ratings were so much higher among the honey treated group than among those fed the placebos. It is good to note that the type of honey mattered not at all where the results were concerned.

An earlier study by the Penn State College of Medicine lent support to the 2012 study. It was discovered that a small dose of buckwheat honey before bedtime surprisingly proved to be a more effective temporary cough reliever for sick children than dextromethorphan (DM), the antitussive drug ingredient in over-the-counter cough medicines.

Taking Honey as Cough Medicine

Adults should take one tablespoon of raw, organic honey 1-3 times daily to help minimize coughing fits. A spoonful before bedtime will gain you uninterrupted sleep, cough-free. Honey’s thick, sticky consistency coats the throat well and soothes irritated mucous membranes.

If you are not much of a sweet tooth and don’t relish the thought of taking a whole spoon of honey, you can make your own cough suppressant tea with it. You may want to try this aromatic Chai Tea recipe from Honey.com.
For 4 cups or 4-250 ml. servings of tea, you will need:

• 500 ml. water
  
• 2 black tea bags
• 10 ml. vanilla extract
• 2.5 ml. or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 2.5 ml. or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2.5 ml. or ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 125 ml. honey
• 500 ml. milk, soy milk, or milk substitute

Mix in water, tea, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and honey in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the ingredients to steep for 30 minutes. Remove the tea bags. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate this Chai tea base. This tea base will store well in the fridge for up to a week.

Should you want to take this hot: Combine one part of the Chai tea base with one part milk. Heat the tea over the stove or in the microwave. To serve cold, combine equal parts of the tea base with milk and pour over ice cubes. As a cough suppressant though, it would be more advisable to take this tea, warm.

For kids, reduce their honey dosages to a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon. Unfortunately, children below the age of two years risk the chance of acquiring botulism; so, it would not be wise to give them the honey medicine.

Honey’s Other Wonders

Honey is not just a one-hit wonder. With 181 naturally occurring beneficial substances in it, honey can be put to other great uses. Honey can double as an:

Anti-fungal fighter

Aside from being a natural antibiotic, honey has proven a better fungicide than over-the-counter preparations. Mixed with beeswax and olive oil, honey diminishes the effects of psoriasis conditions and provides relief from other fungal infections such as ringworm, yeast problems, and athlete’s foot.

Antiseptic and Burn Ointment

The natural hydrogen peroxide in honey helps heal surgical wounds and those that have become infected and failed to heal well. Honey has three conditions which render it a good germ fighter: its natural acidic pH, high sugar content, and low moisture content. These three conditions create a negative environment for bacteria. Manuka honey is best known for fighting infection.
As a salve for burns, honey minimized pain and scarring far better than burn ointments with silver sulfadiazine. Lightly spread honey over the affected area and dust with cornstarch to reduce stickiness. This will work for skin rashes and abrasions as well.

Antioxidant booster

The darker the honey, the more polyphenols or antioxidants it has. According to research by the University of California, four tablespoons of honey a day can increase the number of antioxidants in your bloodstream. Such a boost gives you better chances of protecting your cells from free radical damage, reducing your risks for cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and the like.

Face and Body Moisturizer

Smoothing a thin film of honey over your face and body will add moisture to your skin. Wash it off after a while with cold or slightly warm water and get rewarded with baby smooth skin.

Energy Revitalizer

Honey’s natural sugars can instantly boost endurance and reduce muscle fatigue among athletes. It could help you get the most out of your workouts as well. A spoon of honey before gym time will help you go the extra mile. It is also great picker-upper for lethargic mornings. Just spread it on toast or use honey in your tea instead of sugar for an energy boost.

The Best Kind of Honey

Purchase raw organic honey that has not undergone processes like clarification, pasteurization, and filtration. A jar labelled “100% pure” honey is the best bet. Know that the darker the honey, the richer the flavour. Seal honey in an airtight container which does not permit any moisture to get in. Honey has a long shelf life as long as it is kept in a cool, dry place.

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Vitamin D2 or D3: What’s the Difference?

We’ve been bombarded by all the caveats against the dangers of sun exposure with just cause. We may, however, have forgotten to tread the golden mean here by swinging toward the extreme. Many of us have taken the warnings to heart, studiously avoided the sun, and slathered on tons of sunscreen in dread of freckles, aging skin, or skin cancer so much so that it probably slipped our minds about how important the sun is to our overall health. We need sunlight so our skin can manufacture an essential element: Vitamin D.

Strong bones depend on Vitamin D’s capacity to help absorb calcium and phosphorus. Sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D. Exposure to the sun at the right time and length of time prods the skin to produce Vitamin D.

Vitamin D can be further broken into two types: D2 and D3. Let’s see how these are different from the other.

What D2 Is

Interestingly, Vitamin D2, known chemically as ergocalciferol, can be produced in mushrooms grown under ultraviolet light. Wild mushrooms usually grow in the dark and don’t contain the vitamin. As a supplement, Vitamin D2 isn’t much of a favorite for the following reasons:

Less stable; easily broken down It is limited by a short shelf life. D3’s conversion rate to active energy trounces D2’s plodding rate by 500 percent. Does not bind as well as D3 to vitamin D receptors in the body and so isn’t a very reliable absorber of calcium and phosphorus for the bones.

D2 supplementation could be a fitness faux pas. A study from the Appalachian State University saw some muscle damage in a six-week experimental supplementation administered to Nascar pit crew men. After six weeks of supplementation, the crew was asked to do 90 minutes of intense exercise, after which a blood testing was administered.. The tests showed some muscle deterioration. D2 binds less effectively to proteins.

What D3 Is

Your skin manufactures Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol when you safely expose it to sunlight. This is the most natural form of Vitamin D and also the most common form of supplementation. Why D3 is such a popular choice of supplement stems from the facts that:

Vitamin D3 is more potent than D2. In cases of obesity, the high potency of D3 is preferred as extreme weight issues do tend to lower Vitamin D levels in the body. In addition, D3 remains as an active component after its conversion to an active form while D2 gets partially deactivated by the kidneys in the process. Vitamin D3 converts to the active form 500 percent faster than Vitamin D2.

D3 binds well to our Vitamin D receptors, making this a good choice to aid in your absorption of bone food: calcium and phosphorus. D3 has a more stable and longer shelf life, a quality clearly advantageous when used to fortify milk and other food products D3 costs as much as D2 but it has a lot more pros than cons going for it. As D3 is naturally manufactured by the skin, this is therefore more readily synthesized by the body.

Vitamin D3 is clearly the better choice of supplementation; although some believe there really isn’t much difference between these two forms of D vitamins. One thing is sure though. Our health is heavily reliant on Vitamin D. The vitamin plays a huge role in maintaining bone health. Calcium and phosphorus can’t do their jobs without adequate amounts of this vitamin.

The Australian Ministry of Health pegs the RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) according to age:

Category	Age	AI
INFANTS	0-6 months	5.0µg/day
	7-12 months	5.0µg/day
CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS
Boys and Girls	1-3 yrs	5.0 µg/day
	4-8 yrs	5.0 µg /day
	9-13 yrs	5.0 µg/day
	14-18 yrs	5.0 µg/day
ADULTS
Men & Women	19-30 yrs	5.0 µg /day
	31-50 yrs	5.0 µg /day
	51-70 yrs	10.0 µg /day
	>70 yrs	15.0 µg /day

Table Reference: https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/vitamin-d

Aside from sunlight, you may get a good dosage of D from dietary sources. Fatty fish like tuna, mackerel, and salmon are great sources. You may look also source D from eggs and fortified milk.
In case you don’t think you are getting enough Vitamin D, always consult your physician for supplementation.