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How To Build Intimacy In Your Relationship, According To Relationship Experts

January 8, 2019 by Power of Positivity

Intimacy is an essential part of any relationship. Whether you are just beginning something new, or you’ve been in a relationship for a while, it’s important to make a habit of building this intimate bond between yourself and your partner. While many assume intimacy comes naturally in any relationship, it is something that must be cultivated over time.

Growing Intimacy in Relationships

As humans, we all have the desire and innate need to be close with others. In a relationship, this intimacy is much more than sex. Couples must build their own form of long-term intimacy that allows them to feel loved, valued, and understood. This closeness keeps their bond strong and allows the relationship to keep moving forward.

Looking for ways to grow intimacy in a relationship? Keep reading.

1. Start with Gratitude

Building intimacy in a relationship starts by showing your partner that you are thankful for them. This gratitude can be expressed through heartfelt “thank yous” but should also be shown in the way that you treat your partner.

This kind of gratitude should be exhibited everyday. Do this by letting your partner know how grateful you are to have them in your life. During quiet moments, take time to reflect on the memories that brought you closer together. Think about the first time you met, your first time being physically intimate, and anything else that re-awakens feelings of love and thankfulness for your partner.

2. Learn to Be More Open

If openness isn’t easy for you, you’ll have to work on this as you aim to become more intimate with your partner. Even the most private of people need to be able to open up their lives, emotions, and innermost thoughts with their partner. While this may not be easy, it is essential for partners that are hoping to grow closer to each other.

3. Practice Honesty

In addition to this openness, it’s equally as important to be honest with your significant other. Yes, there may be things about yourself that you may not want to share, but without honesty, there will always be a barrier between you and your partner.

Truly feeling intimate requires that you are “naked” with your partner. By holding nothing back, you’ll be able to experience a closeness like nothing else you’ve felt before.

4. Try to Comfort Your Partner

We all have different love languages. As you work to build an intimate bond between each other, you and your partner will need to learn each other’s love language. While we all find different things to be comforting, every person needs someone in their corner that will support them and show up for them.

Where most couples go wrong in creating intimate feelings is failing to understand how to act with their partners when things aren’t going well. Each person may respond positively or negatively to certain actions, so it’s important to learn how to treat your partner.

5. Be Practical About Your Relationship

Yes, there are moments where relationships rival the best scenes in our favorite romantic comedies, but when it comes to long-term intimate bonds, we must be practical.

The truth is that intimate feelings can be found in the simplest of things. Practical things like creating a budget together or going over plans for the future can make you feel completed bonded to your partner in ways that no rom-com love story could.

6. Talk About How You Grew Up

While you may not think sharing about your childhood as a way to build an intimate bond, it is an excellent opportunity for you to establish an intimate bond with your partner.

Going over all the joy and pain you felt growing up will give your partners a certain insight into your mind, allowing them to understood how you grew into the adult you are now.

7. Discuss Self-Improvement

Just as self-improvement helps us grow closer to ourselves, discussing self-improvement as a couple will help both partners improve their sense of intimacy. Begin this discussion by talking about how you’ve watched your partner grow, telling them how proud you are of them.

Just as we all need to actively pursue self improvement, it is necessary for couples to intentionally push their relationships to the point where they can grow even more.

When discussing self-improvement for your relationship, start by having a conversation about certain things you’ve been thinking about but have been hesitant to talk about. These things can include a fear of judgement, being misunderstood, or not feeling like you are being valued the way you should be.

8. Listen to Each Other More

Growing closer to each other doesn’t always need to be a complex and emotionally heavy experience. Simply encouraging your partner to talk to you will bring you both closer to each other.

During this kind of conversation, it’s important to completely focus on one another. Oftentimes, having a conversation about basic everyday things will lead to even deeper conversations.

9. Be Vulnerable

Vulnerability isn’t comfortable to experience, but it is a shortcut to becoming intimate with your partner. As you get to know someone, you’ll begin to become more and more vulnerable.

With a long-term partner, it can be easy to forget this vulnerability that you initially had in the beginning of the relationship. As you aim to become more vulnerable, it is important to ensure that your partner does the same. A relationship where vulnerability
is one-sided is one that is unhealthy.

10. Ask Questions

Being inquisitive will naturally lead you to know more about your partner. Whether you’ve known your significant other for a while or you just started dating, your partner is an individual that you will never stop learning about. Just as you are always changing, so is your partner.

Keep asking questions as you grow closer in your relationship. These questions will serve as a way to keep you in tune with your partner’s innermost thoughts and feelings.

11. Practice All Forms of Intimacy

While intimacy is more than just sex, there are various types of intimate bonds. By tying in all forms, you’ll find that you are closer to your partner than you’ve ever been:

Physical
Intellectual
Emotional

Every aspect of being intimate is needed for you to grow closer to your partner. Many experts suggest that appreciating and talking about all three forms of becoming intimate is the best way for couples to improve their understanding of them.

Going back to expressing gratitude, showing your partner that you are thankful for how they touch you, how they make you feel, and how they understand you on an intellectual level will strengthen these intimate feelings in them.

12. Tell Your Partner That You Love Them and Why

Whether this is stroking your partner’s ego or not, it’s always nice to hear all the reasons that someone loves you.

Telling your partner that you love them is an important part of building an intimate bond as it is essential that your partner understands that you really do love them, and vice versa.

13. Keep Dating Each Other

As a relationship grows, it’s natural for that initial spark to fade away, That is why it is so important that couples intentionally keep this flame alive. By making it a point to have regular date nights, couples will be actively working towards growing their intimate bond.

Consider the following date ideas:

1. Work Out Together

Working up a sweat together helps to build your body, as well as bringing you and your partner closer together. The endorphins that are released during exercise helps couples to feel more positively about each other.

2. Spend Time Reading

While most people envision a date as an outing with their significant other, this doesn’t have to be the case. Spending time reading good books and discussing them together will allow both partners to feel more intimate.

3. Work on Your Home Together

This may not seem like a date, but it is definitely a way to bring couples closer together. Whether you undergo an extreme home makeover or simply do a few household chores together, you’ll find that these activities help you to feel more intimate with your partner.

4. Engage in an Extreme Sport

There’s a reason couples on the Bachelor go on extreme dates like skydiving or paint-balling. Going through these nerve-wracking experiences together help to make couples feel more attracted to each other.

Final Thoughts on Intimacy in Relationship

True love is built on how intimate couples become with each other. While some people are under the impression that love doesn’t always last, it can. However, to ensure that couples remain committed to each other, each partner must make a committed effort to grow closer to the other.

There is no one way to build intimacy in the relationship. Keep this in mind when applying these strategies to your love life as you aim to get closer than ever to your significant other.

I Kept A Gratitude Journal For A Month And This is How It Changed My Life

January 7, 2019 by Power of Positivity

It’s very easy to be negative in our world, today. From politics to violence to personal conflicts, it is rare that I make it through the day with some form of commercial or personal conflict to overcome, and it seems that our society is geared to notice the negative. The timeless journalistic adage is that things that bleed are leading stories, and ratings and sales love to focus on conflict. However, if we focus on conflict, what kind of lives will be the outcome. Furthermore, how will it impact our mental, emotional, and physical health? What if we could reverse the damage and benefit ourselves, instead? We can through a little internal focus adjustment in noticing the good. Taking time to practice gratitude has is a gift we give ourselves to improve our whole lives.

Trust me, I know how it feels to be wronged and feels that something must be done to offset the karmic deficit on those that wronged you. However, I also know what toll it can take upon your life. Eight years ago, I got divorced to get away from someone that had taken many years worth of negative toll upon myself. I enjoyed the peace of knowing I was free, and she would no longer be able to dominate my life choices. However, seeing her rewarded with a rich life of her parents while I struggled was hard. Further, sharing a child gave her ample opportunities to attempt to harm me through the child, while I could not respond at all.

However, the lesson that I learned was that this was taking a toll upon me by my own permission, while she was not even aware of any stress to be had. The bitterness of retained anger burned me and affected my own life, while she was living happily. Maya Angelou said about bitterness, “Bitterness is cancer – It eats upon the host.It doesn’t do anything to the object of its displeasure.” (1)

That is how it was for me, too. I found myself distracted and distraught by not only the past but every little thing she did, after. The wounds of the past were still opening and bleeding. However, those were self-inflicted wounds. I began to understand that the level of happiness we find in our lives is a product of what we set in front of our eyes and reinforce, daily. That was when I began to journal about the positive things I could find in each day and practice gratitude. The outcome was phenomenal, and you can share in the results in your own life.

Keeping a Gratitude Journal

As stated, finding negative things about which to talk is built into society and ingrained into our psyche from our culture. It doesn’t take extra work to identify those. However, it takes a little work in order to identify the good things, at first. After you become more practiced in doing it, finding the positive things will become a second nature. An old Native American tradition says that all of us have competing wolves that are trying to dominate our nature, and the wolf “you feed” will be the one to win. (2)

You might be thinking, “Why do I need to keep a journal, instead of just making an effort to notice those things around me that are positive?” Berkeley University’s Greater Good organization says about the effort to Practice Gratitude.

“[Robert] Emmons points to research showing that translating thoughts into concrete language – whether oral or written – has advantages over just thinking the thoughts: It makes us more aware of them, deepening their emotional impact.”(3)

When you hear something or see something, it has an impact. However, it has a greater impact on you when you think about it. It has the greatest impact when you tell others or tell yourself, and a journal is a great way to do that.

Structuring Your Journal

Just as how you live your life and find the positive items, the structure of your journal is a personal choice. However, here are a few tips for putting together your journal.

1. Set aside time required to do the journal.

The first point of conflict that you will face in the creation of this journal is feeling that you don’t have the time to do it. Even 30 seconds of gratitude practice can have amazing impacts on your life. However, more is better. Set aside at least 10 minutes a day to reflect on what you saw in your day. It may take longer, if you have a lot of daily distractions to remove from your mind, first.

2. Make your journal personal.

Resist the temptation to make your journal formal or to list only those things you would want others to see. Make your journal as personal as you are, and keep it under lock and key. This is not for publishing to make yourself feel better. It is for personal recording and reflection, so be as personal with your positives, as well.

3. Praise yourself.

While you may find a lot of other things to praise about your day, spend a little time each day finding something good to praise about yourself. It may be as simple as noting that you were funny to the guy you liked, wore a cute outfit, or made it to class or work on time. However, when you take more time to focus on your personal successes, it will work to build your self-esteem and confidence, as well.

4. Make your positives .. positive.

It is important to make sure that your positive reflections are positive, meaning that you are listing things that you found that were intrinsically good, instead of noticing how things are better than others. When we use the comparison to identify the good things, we are still feeding the negative wolf.

5. Reflect on what you wrote.

After you have written your piece for the day, take a little time to think about what you have written, especially the things about yourself. One of the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal is that you have a written testimony of good things, witnessed by yourself. That is a good thing to have to dispel the doubts that arise in our hearts or minds at various times or to put down negative things that we hear from others.

Practice Gratitude

When you put all of this into practice, you will start seeing a change in how you view your days and your mood living in it. There is scientific proof that when you practice gratitude it can lessen anxiety and depression, as well as making you a happier person that wants to share that happiness with others.

That change in mood and vitality can put a spring in your step, when you make it a practice of reflecting on gratitude in your journal, when you wake up. You will enter each day more prepared to handle what challenges may come, because you drew confidence in the good that you read from prior days.

Keeping a gratitude journal is also a great way to fall to sleep at night. Taking the time to force a reflection on the good that can be found in your days will help to ward off worry that may work to keep you awake, when you would rather be sleeping. This added rest of your mind in sleep will also benefit your mood in the next days, as well.
In the end, none of us wants to live in negativity. That’s why people complain about it. However, we have power over how much influence negative things will have over our lives. Taking the time, each day, to practice gratitude will allow us to live those lives more fully and more happily, and maintaining a journal to practice gratitude is just one of many keys to making that life truly satisfying.

Researchers Explain 10 Proven Benefits of The Mediterranean Diet

January 7, 2019 by Power of Positivity

With a focus on eating vegetables, fruits, olive oil, legumes, nuts, and whole grains, the Mediterranean diet is seemingly good for your entire body! Some of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet health benefits practitioners include reducing the risk of developing heart disease, cancer, and depression. Also, it can help prevent cognitive decline.

A large body of research points to this diet offering surprising benefits. Some other examples include improved memory and a reduction in blood sugar. This is not a new diet at this point. Indeed, people have long considered the Mediterranean diet among the healthiest diets. The Mediterranean diet health benefits list is staggering. You can quickly adopt it with few restrictions.

Some of the critical aspects of the Mediterranean diet include:

Eating at least five servings of non-starchy vegetables a day
Eating at least five servings of non-starchy vegetables a day and consuming healthy fats from fish, nuts, and olive oil sources.
Enjoying two servings of legumes a week
Eating at least a handful of nuts daily
Get adequate protein from fish and eggs two or three times a week.

Let’s take a look at the many benefits of this lifestyle.

Promotes Healthy Weight Loss

One of the main factors that have made this diet so successful in helping people lose weight compared to other diets is that it is not a very restricting diet. This meal plan allows followers to indulge in their favorite foods regularly while keeping them fuller. This satisfaction makes it much easier to stick to a healthier diet.

To realize the full potential that this diet has and enjoy the maximum amount of weight loss possible, you should plan on sticking with it for at least six months. This should not be looked at as a “diet” but more as a lifestyle change that you plan on sticking with for life.

While you follow this diet, you can enjoy eating small amounts of bread and other carbs. Indeed, these are calorie-dense foods that can add up quickly if you’re not stringent with portioning. This can result in your weight loss stalling or reversing.

Bolsters Cognitive Health

Aside from enjoying a reduction in the risk of developing degenerative cognitive conditions such as Parkinson’s and dementia, followers of this diet can realize it also offers measurable improvements to the brain’s language capabilities

For faithful followers of this diet, the significance of these findings remains clear. But the younger generations can also benefit from the Mediterranean diet health benefits, both physical and mental. Following this diet can help maintain peak brain function throughout the lifetime of practitioners. Some of the potential benefits of this can include a healthier frame of mind, improved job performance, and a considerable bump in the quality of one’s life!

Puts You In A Better Mood

People suffering from mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD can benefit from the boost to cognition resulting from following this diet.

These conditions may result from your brain not getting enough of the chemical in the brain responsible for thought processing, the regulation of one’s mood, and body movements; dopamine. By consuming foods encouraged by this diet, namely probiotic foods high in fiber and healthy fats, such as olive oil and nuts, you can enjoy improvements in your mood and overall brain health. Also a possible cause of some mood disorders, poor gut health can be mitigated by this diet!

While scientists do not recommend this diet as a complete replacement for regular treatment programs for said conditions, following this diet can be used, with likely positive results, as a supplement to traditional medications and therapies. It’s not guaranteed, but with time you may find you do not need to medicate to suppress the symptoms of these disorders!

Helps to Maintain Heart Health

In countries where the population’s diet closely mirrors Mediterranean counties, heart disease is much lower than in other parts of the world. The dietary choices increased frequency of physical activity, and an emphasis on valued social support of those in Mediterranean countries are all factors that keep the heart and the rest of the body healthy.
Their diet often reduces the risk of death due to cardiovascular complications due to its positive impacts on LDL or “bad” cholesterol.

The beneficial effects this diet has on the heart health of practitioners are not only due to their food choices but also as a result of what they choose to drink. Long associated with a reduction in the rate of heart disease, the regular but moderate consumption of red wine is encouraged. The key here is reasonable, as in no more than ten ounces for men under 65 and no more than five ounces for women and men over 65.

Protects Against Type 2 Diabetes

When researchers looked at the Mediterranean diet compared with other healthy diets such as vegan, vegetarian, low-carb, high-fiber, high protein, or low-glycemic diets, they found that it provided more beneficial effects for those with diabetes or high blood sugar.

An emphasis on healthy foods with many monounsaturated fats such as fish, olive oil, and nuts and high fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables is what researchers attribute to the decreases in cholesterol and blood sugar in people with diabetes.

By replacing trans and saturated fats with healthier unsaturated fats, individuals have enjoyed improvements in insulin sensitivity.

Reduces Your Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease

By improving blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and the overall heartiness of your blood vessels, this diet significantly reduces your chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia as you age!

Research indicates that when seniors follow a diet closely resembling that of Mediterranean countries, the rate of cognitive decline is slowed or even halted. This enables older adults to limit the burdens of illness, both economic and social while preserving their quality of life.

For a long time now, doctors have been trying to get patients to embrace healthier eating habits more in line with this diet as a possible means to combat cognitive conditions such as dementia.

Reduces Your Risk of Developing Parkinson’s Disease

As a result of the increase in healthy antioxidants you’ll be ingesting by following a diet similar to that of Mediterranean countries, you can drastically reduce your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by nearly 50%!

Antioxidants, which occur in high concentrations in foods such as the vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and seafood encouraged by this diet, offer results by keeping your cells from undergoing a process known as oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can cause a lot of damage over time and can contribute to the development of Parkinson’s and other degenerative diseases.

Most scientists agree that more research should look at the effects nutrition can have on neurodegeneration and neuroprotection. Indeed, studies shine a positive light on the diet’s ability to provide significant benefits to people genetically predisposed to or who face factors from their environment that can contribute to the onset of such conditions.

Fights Off Inflammation

Research on the impact of this diet on inflammation biomarkers in those at increased susceptibility showed that a diet such as this can regulate and even reduce these markers. This results in better control of inflammation within the body, which can act as a preventative measure against many of the conditions and concerns brought on as a result of chronic inflammation.

Indeed, the rich antioxidants of many foods consumed on this diet reduce your body’s likeliness of experiencing oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a leading cause of inflammation.

To increase these beneficial effects even further, try increasing your intake of foods containing betaine and choline. Foods rich in betaine include vegetables such as spinach and beets. You can find choline in abundance in egg yolks and soybeans.

Staves Off Cancer

Studies have shown that followers of this diet enjoy a reduction in the risk of developing cancer and cancer-related mortality. The research says that the Mediterranean Diet plays a protective role in preventing cancer.

Aside from the general reduction in risk of cancer developing among devotees, studies have positively associated this type of diet and lifestyle with more specific types of cancer. One stand-out example is that the diet is particularly effective at reducing or preventing the development of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Improvements in Pain Management

High fiber vegetables and fruits, and magnesium-rich whole grains, all encouraged while following this diet, can provide real value and effects on pain management. Due to its effectiveness at reducing inflammation and providing stress relief, you’ll likely notice a huge difference in your body’s response to pain.

Magnesium is the real driver of this diet’s success in pain management and relief. If you’re looking for some of these Mediterranean diet health benefits, try to include more nuts, fish, legumes, whole grains, spinach, and chocolate.

Improved Fertility

Studies prove that a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and fish can positively affect fertility in even those who had trouble previously with trying to conceive! Admittedly, research continues on this topic. But, the diet’s overall other benefits mean that doctors still recommend trying to follow the diet’s guidelines closely.

With an overabundance of information available pointing to the Mediterranean diet being a real winner when it comes to weight loss and overall health, it’s hard to say no to giving it a chance. More people show an interest in their health and well-being today. So this diet is a safe bet for those that want a plan that they can stick with and benefit from for the foreseeable future!

Final Thoughts on the Many Reasons to Follow the Mediterranean Diet

With the Mediterranean diet, health benefits are plentiful! By adopting a few of these suggestions, you will improve your overall health and mood. The sooner you start on the right track to a healthier lifestyle, the better. Healthy living is cumulative, it’s not a race, and every little bit counts, eventually resulting in a better you!

5 Best Almond Milk Recipes You Can Make at Home

January 7, 2019 by Power of Positivity

What you put into your body goes to feed your cells, and the health of your cells means the health of your entire body. To be holistically healthy, it’s important to be conscious of what you put in your body, and how it nourishes your cells. Milk is one of these things that’s been hotly debated for years, and now Almond Milk is making its way into the conversation.

As a kid, you heard that dairy was an important part of a balanced diet. You may have heard that it was important to have at least three servings of dairy a day and that if you didn’t, you would never have strong bones or grow up to be tall. For kids, there could be some science behind this. For adults, it seems to be the opposite.

According to the Genetics Home Reference Journal, over 65% of adults have some sort of a lactose intolerance. This makes sense because our early human ancestors only evolved to drink milk from cows in times of famine when sources of fat and calcium couldn’t be found in meat and vegetables.

Cutting dairy out of your diet can be a freeing experience. Many people don’t realize the adverse effects that lactose has on them until they go cold turkey and find themselves with less joint pain and a more regular digestive system. Thanks to the new popularity of alternative milks like soy milk and cashew milk, going dairy free is easier than ever.

“Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.” – Hippocrates

Benefits of Almond Milk

Recent studies on almond milk have shown that it has almost twice the amount of calcium than traditional milk. This healthy milk also has been proven to lower cholesterol. What is more, it contains huge amounts of vitamin E and vitamin D, which could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Using these almond milk recipes rather than traditional dairy products can help you lose weight, as well. Be sure to buy or make unsweetened milk to maximize its fat reducing potential.

1 cup cooked white beans
1/2 cup unsweetened milk
1/3 cup vegan cheese shreds
1/8 tsp garlic powder
(optional) 2 tsp olive oil

Instructions

Drain beans, and using a blender, combine all ingredients except for vegan cheese.
Put blended mixture in a pot and heat up to the desired temperature.
Add in vegan cheese, and enjoy on rice or with veggies!

Additional Almond Milk Recipes Tips and Tricks

Don’t feel restrained by these five recipes. Instead, use them as a great jumping off point for your journey into better health and a dairy-free lifestyle.

Use it to make a healthier cappuccino. It foams up just as nicely as milk, with fewer calories.
Don’t be afraid to buy ahead. Almond milk and other nut milks last much longer in the fridge than animal-based milk. Some might even be shelf stable before opening, so read the back of the label and if you need to, stock up.
Don’t let your French press be a single-use item. It’s perfect for much more than just a sublime cup of coffee. The French press is great for making homemade nut milk and other almond milk recipes by separating the almond pulp from the milk in a flash.
You can save the pulp that remains after making homemade milk and use it for recipes. Don’t be afraid to get creative with it. Waste not, want not!
This milk can play the same role as normal milk even in baking! Make a healthier cookie, cake, or muffin using nut milk rather than traditional dairy.

Final Thoughts on Almond Milk Recipes

The benefits of switching from dairy to another option are clear cut. Because most adults are somewhat irritated by lactose, the problem is much more widespread than you would think, and it could be affecting you.
There are a lot of signs that you have some sort of food sensitivity, and it’s important to listen to your body. Even if you don’t have an adverse reaction to traditional milk, you may think about switching to a milk substitute for health and lifestyle reasons.
Whatever your reason for using a healthier alternative to milk, there are a lot of things you can do to make recipes you’ve prepared for a long time be just as great or even better by substituting almond for cow’s milk. What’s really important is that you make choices that make sense for you and your health. Luckily, the choice seems to be a tasty one!

10 Foods to Eat If You Have A Vitamin E Deficiency

January 7, 2019 by Power of Positivity

Vitamin E is catch-all for 8 different fat-soluble vitamins that aid in preventing the process known as oxidative stress from occurring in our bodies. Making sure you are getting the right amount of vitamin E can help to minimize your risk of developing such issues as cancer, heart disease, and even age-related damage to the eye such as macular degeneration.

Get too much of this essential nutrient, though and excessive bleeding may occur if you happen to get nicked! It’s important to keep your levels in check as too much isn’t good, but not getting enough is definitely less than ideal!

Continue reading for some signs to watch out for that may indicate you need to up your vitamin e intake, some of the many health benefits adequate vitamin intake provides, what foods you should be eating more of if you need to more vitamin E in your diet.

Vitamin E Deficiency Symptoms

Vitamin E deficiency for the longest time was considered to be a non-issue amongst members of civilized society due to its rarity and its thought that those that were deficient were not so because of poor diet choices. Experts are now starting to think to find that people are not getting vitamin E from natural food sources and that increased attention needs to be paid in order so we get this essential vitamin in the right amounts!

There are a few different situations where a deficiency may come about and it’s usually brought on by a malfunction in the way our bodies absorb this essential nutrient. Examples of these situations are as follows: If a baby is born prematurely and comes in weighing less than 3.5 pounds, they are at an increased risk of being deficient in this vital nutrient due to their bodies inefficiency at absorbing this nutrient. Luckily though there are pediatricians that specialize in caring for newborns in these situations and they will typically analyze the individual’s nutritional needs in order to get this under control. Another situation where a vitamin E deficiency may arise in when someone has issues absorbing dietary fat such as when they suffer from inflammatory bowel disorder, or IBS.

Other examples of when a E deficiency may be likely is when a person suffers from other conditions such as cystic fibrosis, Crohn’s disease, liver disease, had gastric bypass surgery recently, or have a pancreatic insufficiency. Signs of a deficiency include impaired speech and vision, and a loss in muscle coordination.

Health Benefits of Vitamin E

This vitamin offers us numerous health benefits when we get it in adequate amounts. Below you will find a brief brake down on some of the stand-out benefits this essential nutrient provides us:

1. Balances Cholesterol

Cholesterol is produced naturally by our liver and in order for your hormones, cells, and nerves to function properly in our bodies we need to make sure it is at the right levels. Natural, healthy levels of cholesterol result in a healthy, balanced, and normal body. If cholesterol begins to oxidize, it may become a problem! Recent research has found that certain forms of this vitamin may act as protective antioxidants that fend off the oxidation of cholesterol. The way these forms of E accomplish this is by fighting off damage caused to our bodies as a result of free radicals.

The Tocotrienol isomers of this important vitamin contain three double bonds that benefit our cardiovascular health as a result of their ability to halt the activity of enzymes that modulate cholesterol production and synthesis. These isomers may also stop cell adhesion and so may reduce the progression of atherosclerosis, which is the thickening or hardening of our arteries. An important take-away from all this though is that synthetic forms of this vitamin found most commonly in supplement forms do not appear to offer sim liar effects as previously mentioned when compared to natural forms.

2. Prevents Some Diseases And Fights Free Radicals

When free radicals run rampant in our bodies they act to break down the healthy cells we have in our bodies. As a result of the cell damage caused by these free radicals, increased risk of cancer and heart disease may occur! These free radicals are molecules that naturally occur within our bodies and when they oxidize or accelerate they can end up causing real damage to our bodies. There are different forms of vitamin E that have the great antioxidant ability to reduce the damage caused by free radicals, fend off inflammation, and as a result, can decrease the rate of cell aging and also reduce your risk of developing health issues including heart disease!

These forms of this vitamin have been found to greatly improve our bodies immune system, and as a result aid in the prevention of many common conditions and illnesses. A recent study made the claim as a result of their research that the formulations of gamma-tocotrienol, alpha-tocotrienol, and delta-tocotrienol are best to realize these benefits.

3. Repairs Skin Damage

This essential vitamin offers a plethora of benefits to our skin by way of improving elasticity and moisture, strengthening the walls of capillaries, and acts as a naturally occurring anti-aging nutrient within our bodies. This important vitamin has been found in recent research to significantly reduce the occurrence of inflammation without our bodies and on our skin which helps to maintain youthful and healthy skin! These beneficial antioxidant properties are also great in that they protect your skin from cancer risk as a result of exposure to the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays and cigarette smoke!

When you take it in combination with vitamin C signs of skin conditions such as eczema and acne may be noticeably reduced, and the inflammation of the skin that occurs as a result of prolonged exposure to

4. May Thicken Hair

Due to this essential nutrients status as a powerful antioxidant, it aids in greatly reducing the damage to your hair that is brought about as a result of environmental factors and also promotes good circulation around your scalp! Using it in an oil preparation may offer you the benefit of increased moisture retention in the skin which works to reduce the occurrence of flaking and drying of the scalp. Using this oil will make your hair appear fresher and healthier overall. If you find that your hair is starting to look dull, or dry, consider applying a couple drops of oil to realize these amazing benefits!

5. Regulates Hormones

This vitamin offers the amazing ability to naturally balance your hormones, playing a vital role in regulating both your nervous and endocrine systems! If you notice increased weight gain, PMS, allergies, urinary tract infections, anxiety, fatigue, or changes in your skin, all signs of a deficiency, increasing your intake may be in order! Keeping your hormones in check will help to keep menstrual cycles regular, give you increased energy, and assist you maintain a healthy weight!

List of Vitamin E Foods

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower Seeds contain in a 1oz serving 7.4mg or 49% of your daily value of this vitamin!

Almonds

Almonds contain in a 1oz serving 7.3mg or 49% of your daily value of this vitamin! Other nuts that contain this vitamin in good amounts include hazelnuts, pine nuts, Brazil nuts, and peanuts.

Avocados

A half of an avocado contains 4.2mg or 28% of your daily value of this vitamin!

Spinach

In 1 cup of cooked spinach 3.7mg or 25% of this vitamin is contained! Some other leafy green vegetables to consider in order to meet your daily needs of this vitamin include turnip greens, beet greens, mustard greens, collard greens, and Swiss chard!

Butternut Squash

In 1 cup of cooked butternut squash 2.6mg or 18% of this vitamin is contained! Similar to butternut squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes both provide significant amounts of this vitamin, coming in at 9% and 7% respectively.

Kiwi

In 1 cup of kiwi 2.6mg or 18% of this vitamin is contained! Some other fruits that contain this vitamin at similar levels include blackberries, mangoes, and mamey sapote.

Broccoli

In 1 cup of cooked broccoli 2.63g or 15% of this vitamin is contained!

Trout

By consuming 1 fillet of this tasty fish, you will receive 2mg or 13% of your daily value of this vitamin! Some other fish that feature this nutrient prominently

Olive Oil

1 tablespoon of olive oil offers you 1.9mg or 13% of your daily value of this vital nutrient! Some other oils that contain this vitamin in good amounts include rice bran oil, grapeseed oil, and wheat germ oil.

Shrimp

3oz, or roughly 12 large shrimp, provides your body with 1.9mg or 12% of your daily value of this vitamin! For some other shellfish options: crayfish and blue crab also offer good amounts of this vitamin!

Conclusion

If you’ve discovered that or believe you may be deficient in this essential vitamin, ensuring you start to consume it in adequate levels will likely offer you a variety of noticeable health benefits! From improvements in your skin, your hair, and reductions in your risk of developing a whole host of terrible conditions and diseases, ensuring you’re getting it at the right levels is vital! After reading through this article you should be armed with the knowledge you need to make a decision on whether supplementation or increased attention needs to be taken in order maintain your intake at correct levels. If you find you need to increase your intake, consider some of the foods listed above as healthy options to up your intake!

Science Explains 15 Habits Proven To Boost Your Mental Health

January 7, 2019 by Power of Positivity

When people think about their health, it’s likely that they are thinking in terms of physical health only. This would be a mistake though, as our mental health is just as important and we should all be taking the necessary steps to improve mental health.

Just as our bodies benefit from a fitness routine, our minds can benefit from a routine as well. There are plenty of activities that we can make a part of our day that will act to positively improve our mental health.

Some potential benefits of taking care to ensure our minds stay healthy include the following:

Increase in productivity
Longer lifespan
Improved immune system

In order to attain these amazing benefits, continue reading for 15 habits you can make a part of your daily routine. These will have a positive impact and improve your mental health and, in turn, your overall health and well-being.

1. Go For A Walk

Going for a walk at least once a day is a great way to maintain and even improve mental health. A recent study found that by going outside and taking a nice walk, our mental well-being may be improved significantly for over 7 hours afterwards! The study found that participants felt happier and were in overall better moods after going for a walk.

This is great news because walking also offers us numerous physical health benefits! By simply going out for a 20-minute stroll in the morning, you’ll likely end up in better spirits for the majority of the day!

2. Stay Connected

People that are more connected to their family, friends, and their community are much happier and end up living longer lives than people with fewer connections to others. Conversely, those who are less connected to others end up with a higher risk of depression and cognitive decline as time passes. Knowing this, if you find yourself feeling out of touch with your family and friends, it may be time to make a change. Make time for loved ones and take part in community activities, and your mental health will thank you!

3. Lift Weights

Lifting weights offers us so many benefits both of the body, and the mind, that it truly is a mistake to miss out on this daily habit! Recent research observed participants who displayed symptoms of depression and had them complete resistance training. The results showed that those who followed a weight lifting routine benefited from improvements in their mood and a noticeable reduction in their symptoms of depression!

The authors of the study were able to rule out other factors such as age, general overall health, exercise frequency, skill level, and strength as factors resulting in the positive mental impact. Regardless of any of this, all participants were able to realize relief from their depression symptoms to some extent.

4. Spend Time Outdoors

Going outside for even just 15 minutes has positive mental and physical benefits. Brief stints in the great outdoors result in a noticeable boost to your brain’s serotonin levels, which brings an improvement to your mood. Going for the aforementioned walk outside, or just parking a little further from work so you have to walk a little more are both easy habits you can adopt in order to maximize your outdoor time!

5. Find Something To Laugh About

Try to get in the habit of finding something to laugh about a few times a day. Laughing may benefit your mental fitness due to the release of many feel-good chemicals in your brain. This results in an overall better mood, reduction in stress, short-term memory improvement, and increased ability to learn new tasks and information. Try to make an effort to laugh every day; listen to some funny podcasts, watch a humorous movie, and stock up on funny pictures for when you don’t have internet access so you’ll always have something to laugh about!

6. Try Meditation

Meditation is a great habit proven to offer numerous benefits to your brain’s health! By simply taking a little time out of your day to relax, breath, and focus your attention on the present, you’ll likely notice some startling mental effects! Whether or not you manage to accomplish textbook meditation or not, just sitting quietly and focusing on your breathing will likely bring about positive benefits.

7. Try Journaling

Try starting a journal to reflect on the day’s events. By jotting down what you are thankful for and what good things have happened throughout your day, you’ll start to realize that although your mood might not have been the best, lots of good things do still happen on a daily basis that are grounds for feeling good.

By giving yourself an outlet in order to vent emotions in a healthier way, journaling will likely result in less stress and an overall eased mind.

8. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep time is often a neglected part of our days but not making it a priority is a huge detriment to both our physical and mental fitness! Not getting enough quality sleep leads to many negative side effects including stress, depression, anxiety, weight gain, heart disease, and many more!

Try to ensure you’re getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every day. Additionally, try to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, regardless of the work week. Sleep is the time where our bodies can best make the necessary repairs to our bodies and minds, which ensures we are functioning at our best.

9. Plan Fun Activities

Research has discovered that planning something fun such as a vacation can be just as beneficial as the vacation itself! Planning a fun new activity doesn’t even have to be as extreme as the next family vacation; even just making plans to go out on the weekend to try a new restaurant or go for a hike with friends is enough to notice real benefits.

10. Eat Nutritious Foods

Diet has a profound effect on both our bodies and our minds. Making a daily habit out of healthy eating is a great way to improve yourself overall! Many specific foods have been linked to improvements in brain health; studies are now coming out suggesting that different types of foods may reduce symptoms of anxiety as well!

Ensuring that you’re meeting your daily vitamin and mineral intake requirements will help to keep your body and mind functioning at peak capacity, and will likely result in you feeling both physically and mentally healthier overall.

11. Do Something For Others

Try to do something nice for others every day. Not only will it benefit the recipient of your kindness, but you’ll likely feel better for it as well! Recent research discovered that people who regularly commit acts of selflessness in order to do nice things for others resulted in a decreased occurrence of social avoidance, reduction in symptoms of anxiety, and an overall better mood! The acts don’t have to be anything crazy either; simply holding the door for someone or being polite can provide positive benefits!

12. Learn Something New

Make it a habit to continuously seek out and try new things. Reading about something new that you aren’t familiar with or trying a new hobby are both great ways to keep your mind abuzz, which results in overall improved feelings of well-being.

It is typical that as we age, we are less likely to branch out and pursue new interests and learn about new topics. This is a fault though, as it is important that we keep trying to expand our scope of knowledge. Doing so results in a better outlook on life and positive mental growth.

13. Keep Good Posture

A recent study found that those who frequently sat in a slumped over or hunched position felt more fearful, slow, quiet, and hostile than when they sat up straight, with proper posture. Maintaining good posture is a great way to improve one’s function physical and mental health; you’ll be in a much better mood with your head held up high!

14. Question Your Thoughts And Beliefs

Constantly question the negative thoughts that occur in your mind. By making it a habit to questions the negativity swirling around in your head, your mind can benefit by returning to a more peaceful, awakened, and calm state.

Just because a negative thought occurred in your head, it doesn’t make it true or a reality. Internalize this, and the next time something negative pops up, question its validity and you’ll likely find it’s grounded in falsehood. In realizing this, negative thoughts will have a weakened effect on your mood; your mental health will be the better for it!

15. Limit Social Media Exposure

Social media is an amazingly convenient way for people to keep in touch with family and friends. For many, however, it ends up being a drain on their minds. New research coming out has discovered a link between high-frequency social media use and symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Teens and adolescents are especially prone to the negative effects of social media; take action to limit social media exposure in order to avoid its negative mental health effects.

Conclusion

Taking the steps necessary in order to improve mental health should be a top priority! There are so many different habits we can adopt that have positive effects on our minds, and there’s really no excuse to not get to it!