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5 Things That Happen To Your Body When You Eat Himalayan Salt

5 Things That Happen To Your Body When You Eat Himalayan Salt

You may have heard of Himalayan salt before. But you might wonder what exactly makes it superior to sea salt or table salt? Well, for starters, Himalayan salt contains 84 trace minerals that we need for survival, including calcium, sulphate, potassium, magnesium, and sodium chloride. Himalayan salt does not go through nearly the same amount of processing as sea salt and table salt. That means it offers more nutritional value per serving.

Himalayan salt, as you might’ve guessed, comes from the Himalayas in Pakistan, and doesn’t have the same exposure to pollutants and toxins in the environment since it must be obtained from underground. Workers hand-mine it, hand-crush it, and wash it thoroughly. Then, they dry it in the sun and put it into bottles for transport. On the other hand, sea salt and table salt go through tremendous processing and heating, which strips the salt of most minerals. Also, table salt contains additives to prevent clumping, which makes it unhealthy to consume in large quantities.

Here are 5 things that happen to your body when you eat Himalayan salt:

So, now that you know that Himalayan salt contains far more nutritional value than other types of salt, let’s talk more about the benefits of Himalayan sea salt.

salt

1. It regulates water in the body

Sodium plays a critical role in maintaining optimal functioning of your nerves, muscles, and other body tissues. Salt, an electrolyte, helps to carry out electrical impulses within the body, and actually controls our thirst mechanism. Therefore, if you don’t consume proper amounts of salt, you won’t get nearly the amount of water that you need. Having enough water in your body allows your kidneys to retain the proper level of electrolytes as well. Therefore, consuming a moderate amount of Himalayan sea salt will help you to consume enough water, and keep your electrolytes balanced.

2. Himalayan sea salt lowers blood pressure

I know what you’re thinking – doesn’t salt actually increase blood pressure?! Actually, according to a groundbreaking European study that measured salt levels in people’s urine over an eight-year period, more cardiovascular deaths occurred in people with low salt levels than those with higher amounts of salt in their bloodstream. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers found no correlation between higher salt intake and hypertension risk.

After following up with the participants in the study, researchers found that 50 people with low urinary sodium died, compared with 24 deaths among those with moderate urinary sodium, and only 10 deaths among those with high levels of urinary sodium.

However, regarding this study, it’s important to remember that you still should monitor your salt intake, but salt is vital to the regulation of blood pressure, and can lower it if eaten moderately.

3. It prevents muscle cramps

This refers to electrolyte levels in the body, which can change dramatically when you exercise. Sweat contains salt, and when your sodium levels drop too low, it can result in muscle spasms and contractions. Therefore, if you exercise regularly and rigorously, Himalayan sea salt can help you maintain proper electrolytes in the body. Additionally, they may prevent painful muscle cramps and excessive sodium loss. This explains why sports drinks such as Gatorade (not recommended by us, by the way), contain high levels of salt to replace what you’ve lost during a workout.

Like we said before, sodium helps to maintain a healthy nervous system. Thus, having low sodium levels results in twitching and cramping muscles. So, another benefit of Himalayan sea salt is the maintenance of the nervous system plus helping to prevent muscle cramps.

4. Himalayan salt balances your pH levels

Our body’s normal pH level is around 7.4, however, anywhere between 7.0 and 7.7 is generally healthy. Because Himalayan salt contains 84 trace minerals that can be found within our bodies, it  perfectly matches our natural pH level. We have an alkaline pH, just like Himalayan salt. So, if your body’s pH is more on the acidic side, Himalayan salt can help to stabilize it.

himalayan glaciers

5. It keeps your bones strong

While having a diet too high in sodium can actually leach calcium and potassium from the body, eating just the right amount of salt balances these minerals in the body, which promotes healthy bones. According to this study published in the Journal of Nutrition, we need a perfect balance of potassium and sodium bicarbonate in our blood to maintain healthy bones. They recommend eating mostly fruits and vegetables; however, adding Himalayan sea salt to a salad or cooked vegetables at night will ensure you get enough sodium in your diet, plus make the vegetables more appetizing if you don’t find them enjoyable by themselves.

6 Things I Dare You To Do Today

Do you ever feel like most people today pay far too much attention to themselves and far too little to others? What would happen if we all went a little out of our way to make someone else feel good? I think we would have a world full of more hope, love, compassion, and smiles than we do now. No matter how much money you have, where you live, or what language you speak, you can ALWAYS do something to help another person, even if that just means opening the door for them when they have their hands full.

Here are 6 things I dare you to do today:

“How you make others feel about themselves says a lot about you.” – Unknown

1. Show compassion to someone

Like we said before, our society today pays far too much attention to the self rather than other people. No matter what you’re going through, you can always make someone else feel good somehow. Compliment them, hold the door for them, pull over to the side of the road if you see someone stranded, or bake cookies for a friend who just had a bad breakup. I think you get the point – you can probably list a million nice things to do for someone if you tried. Compassion costs nothing, and only requires that you open your heart and realize that we all are one family and should look out for each other whenever possible.

today

2. Tell someone they’re beautiful

We live in a world behind screens, and our conversations happen in bubbles through text, so our people skills will start to suffer. We have literally become afraid of getting close to other people because talking through technology feels more comfortable. Well, it’s time to break down those walls and get used to vulnerability again. Nothing bad will happen to you if you call someone beautiful – in fact, it has mutual benefits. You will feel uplifted, and the other person will, too. If you don’t believe us, you should read about this amazing photography project that a student did where she took pictures of people she found beautiful.

3. Hug a stranger

You don’t have to stand on the corner of the street with a ‘Free Hugs’ sign, but it might work best that way, because at least people know what to expect. Running up to them in a store or other public place might not give you the reaction you want, so if you feel like trying this, the free hugs strategy will probably be your best bet. Who knows the last time people hugged someone…they might live alone, not have a girlfriend or boyfriend at the moment, not have any friends..the reality for most people is that they feel quite lonely. So, you can help alleviate this feeling if only temporarily by offering them a hug.

Hugs have so many health benefits, including releasing oxytocin, a feel-good hormone that helps us trust others, decreasing our stress levels, giving us security, and lowering our blood pressure.

4. Call someone you’ve been meaning to talk to

Today, I dare you to give someone a ring who you have been wanting to talk to for ages, whether that be an old friend, your mom, your high school math teacher, or your ex-boyfriend. Calling someone we had/have a relationship with can make us feel safe, understood, and maybe give us a good laugh, too. It never hurts to catch up with someone and ask about how their life is going either, so what do you have to lose?

5. Commit a random act of kindness

This doesn’t have to involve anything fancy – you can hold a door open for someone, pay for their coffee at Starbucks, help them change a tire, offer to help your neighbor carry in their groceries, or something similar. We have dozens of daily opportunities to help one another, so why not take them? Remember, it usually costs nothing to help another person, and the feelings you and the other person will get are priceless.

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6. Write someone a letter (by hand)

Can you think of the last time you received a handwritten letter? Me either. Today, we read emails and text messages, but it just doesn’t feel the same as opening a letter you got in the mail from your friend who lives halfway across the country. You get to see their own unique handwriting, read on paper instead of a screen, and wait with anticipation for the letter to arrive. So, if you can recall how excited you feel running to the mailbox to open your long-awaited letter, imagine how the recipient would feel!

Whether it’s a note from a loved one, a postcard from a friend traveling abroad, or even a special package, the mailbox transforms into a source of excitement and anticipation.

To elevate this experience, having the right mailbox is essential. A well-designed mailbox not only adds curb appeal to your home but also ensures the safety and security of your precious correspondence. For a wide selection of stylish and functional mailboxes, look no further than https://mailboxempire.com/. With an array of options to suit every taste and need, this site offers the perfect solution for enhancing your mail-receiving experience. By choosing a mailbox that reflects your personal style, you can turn the simple act of checking the mail into a delightful daily ritual, reminiscent of the joy felt when opening a handwritten letter.

I dare you to do some, if not all, of these things today. They don’t take much time or money – all they require is for you to open up your heart and spread a little love, kindness, and compassion.

9 Things You Should Do Every Day Before 9 AM

Think of your morning routine – do you wake up, stretch, and go about your day easily before 9 AM, or do you jump up, throw on some clothes, and grab breakfast while running out the door? Most of us probably picked the latter and wished we could transition to the former.

Luckily, starting up morning rituals is just a matter of practice and habit – in fact, to form a new habit and get it to stick, research says it takes about 66 days on average.

This might seem like a long time, but at least you will have an improved lifestyle after adjusting your routine and will have greater happiness at the end of the day. Our mornings shouldn’t begin abruptly and hastily – we should have time to ease into our day so we can approach it mindfully and optimally.

Here are 9 things you should do every day before 9 AM:

9 am

1. Set your alarm for an earlier wake-up call

Do you wake up with time to spare in the mornings, or do you have enough time to throw on your clothes and grab a piece of toast while putting on your shoes on the way to the car? To have a morning routine, you need to set aside enough time to get ready while also doing the things that will promote a positive mindset. If you want to start your day on the right note and have some extra time in the morning to gather your thoughts, so your day doesn’t feel like a whirlwind, start setting your alarm for 5-10 minutes earlier each day. This way, you will have a wake-up time that can support a healthy morning routine.

2. Get some sun

If we still lived closer to nature like our ancestors, we would rise with the sun and start our day with direct exposure to it. However, living in modern times, many of us don’t get near enough sunshine to support our mental and physical health. Early morning light exposure may lower BMI, improve mood, greater energy and concentration, better sleep at night, and much more. Just 10-15 minutes per day in the early morning sun can make a difference.

3. Meditate

Meditation allows you to quiet your thoughts, center yourself, and prepare your mind, body, and soul for a rigorous, trying day ahead. In essence, meditation gives us a chance to detach from the modern world and enter a land of utter tranquility and peace without a boss, deadlines, people talking to us, and other stressors. If you’d like to read more about the incredible benefits of meditation, you can do so here.

4. Take time to stretch

Stretching in the morning helps to wake up our bones, joints, and minds. When we first wake up, our muscles may feel a bit stiff and tight, so stretching them out helps to relax our bodies and prepare them for the day ahead. You can even improve your posture and circulation by doing a few simple stretches in the morning, so set aside 5 or 10 minutes to get those limbs limber.

5. Listen to inspiring music

Countless studies have linked music to improved mood, concentration, performance, a sounder sleep, and much more. Try to put on some music that pumps you up for the day and contains a positive message to get in the right mindset for your work or school day. Or, if you feel particularly stressed, you might put on some relaxing, meditative music to listen to while you stretch or get ready.

9 am

6. Prepare a nutritious breakfast

Too many people today skip breakfast because they feel they don’t have time to make it or would rather pick up something on the way to work. However, how we fuel our bodies in the morning directly influences how much energy we will have during the day. Opt for a healthy smoothie full of fruits, vegetables, chia, hemp seeds, or a bowl of oatmeal with cut-up fruit. If you give your body the necessary nutrients, you will have much more energy throughout the day.

7. Have plenty of H20

In addition to a lack of nutrients, too many people also suffer from dehydration. When you wake up in the morning, go for at least one liter of water with cut-up lemon to activate your digestive system and clear out toxins. Also, bring a reusable bottle to work or school so you can fill it up on the go. You probably know how essential water is to our health by now, so ensure you get enough of it in the morning and during the day.

8. Express gratitude

Either write in a gratitude journal or express your thanks to someone in your household when you wake up. Simply writing or saying what you feel thankful for will start your day on a positive note and set the stage for a productive, happy day ahead. In our society, it’s far too easy to complain about our lives, so instead of draining your energy with this negativity, counter it with gratitude.

9. Practice positive affirmations

To get your mind focused on the good in your life, you can also say positive affirmations or mantras aloud or in your head. Our minds can easily fall into a negative thinking pattern, but we can change our minds through intention and habit, using affirmations to guide us to more productive, healthy thinking. If you’d like some ideas for morning affirmations, read our article here.

9 am

Final Thoughts on Being More Productive Before 9 AM

By achieving more by 9 am, you will feel less stressed and more grateful for every moment that comes throughout the rest of your day. You will enjoy the blessing of the extra time and be better equipped to live a healthier life. Give it a try!

4 Ways Alcohol Is Hurting Your Sleep

Many folks enjoy a drink or two after a long day at work, and why not? Many workplaces are stressful. Deadlines, gossip, a demanding boss are all common complaints of people that spend 40-plus hours in a stress-laden environment. Fortunately, a drink or two seemingly produces minimal effects on sleep quality. Dr. Irshaad Ebrahim, the medical director at The London Sleep Centre in the U.K, conclusively states – based on an accumulation of data – that alcohol consumption of up to two drinks will not significantly impair sleep quality.

Up to two drinks being the key phrase. Exceeding this limit will almost assuredly negatively affect sleep quality during the mid to late stages of sleep for several reasons, which we’ll discuss.

The primary reason is that, to get a good night’s sleep, we must enter and remain in a state of REM – the most restorative sleep stage for our mental faculties. Without adequate REM sleep, our cognition is highly likely to be off-kilter.

Alcohol effectively obstructs the brain’s ability to achieve the REM sleep state in larger quantities. Again, the higher the consumption, the more disruptive alcohol is to this vital sleep phase.

Here are four ways alcohol hurts your sleep:

alcohol

1. Alcohol wakes us up

While booze may help us fall asleep faster, it also wakes us up during key sleep phases. In a review of 20 different studies, scientists examined the effects of alcohol on 517 people in 38 different lab experiments.

The volunteers drank varying amounts of alcohol, from one to two, two to four, and four or more drinks. Some studies were conducted as a one-night experiment while others spanned a few days.

The results were clear in every case: drinking alcohol helps shorten the time needed to fall asleep and even increases deep sleep during the first part of the night. Afterwards, the participants were more prone to sleep disruption, including wakefulness.

2. It can cause heartburn

Anyone that is prone to heartburn will emphasize how badly it sucks. That uncomfortable burning sensation coupled with stomach tightness is particularly unpleasant.

Alcohol loosens the sphincter muscle in the esophagus, preventing food from entering the stomach. Normally, this muscle is constrictive and prohibits stomach acid from flowing into the esophagus. However, too many drinks can cause this barrier to relax. Naturally, this leads to stomach acid entering the esophagus – creating that damnable burning sensation.

In other words, lay off that third glass of merlot for a heartburn-free, sleep-inducing night.

3. It sends us to the bathroom

Not much else to say here, right? We can all attest to alcohol’s ability to send us B-lining to the nearest toilet. A scientific explanation isn’t necessary, but it helps understand why this is the case.

Alcohol is a diuretic – an effective substance in ridding the body of liquid. Under normal conditions, the body is extremely apt at getting liquid out of the bladder before bedtime, which allows us to achieve the recommended six to eight hours of sleep. We also have an innate tendency to consume less liquid at night. Well, unless we insist on a well-deserved nightcap.

Since alcohol produces the effect of liquid removal from our bladder, and because it’s normally consumed within a short period before bedtime, it’ll often wake us up and send us to the bathroom. Notice that this is a double-edged sword – waking up in itself is counterproductive to regular sleep patterns. When combined with the potency of alcohol, not only are healthy sleep patterns disrupted, we’re more likely to arise to use the bathroom simply. Our sleep patterns are both voluntarily and involuntarily disturbed as a result.

drinking alcohol

4. It counteracts other sleep aids

For those of us with difficulty sleeping (raises hand), we’ll often rely on some form of sleep aid. If this is the case, consuming alcohol with an active sleep aid is a big no-no.

Alcohol and most sleep aids enhance the neurotransmitter GABA – the brain chemical responsible for calming neural activity. GABA also suppresses breathing and reduces heart rate. So, combining two agents – alcohol and sleep aids – that suppress breathing is not only disruptive to sleep, it can be potentially dangerous.

While many of the newer sleep medications are less prone to harmful interactions with alcohol, health professionals remain adamant that alcohol should not be combined with any sleep aid – prescribed or over-the-counter.

6 Ways To Become A Stronger Woman

“I believe in strong women. I believe in the woman who is able to stand up for herself. I believe in the woman who doesn’t need to hide behind her husband’s back. I believe that if you have problems, as a woman you deal with them, you don’t play victim, you don’t make yourself look pitiful, you don’t point fingers. You stand and you deal. You face the world with a head held high and you carry the universe in your heart.” – C. JoyBell C.

Strong women just have a certain vibe about them, and emanate confidence and assertiveness wherever they go. Most women could probably agree that they enjoy being independent, self-assured, and mentally and physically strong, but getting to that point can seem challenging. Despite gender roles and social conventions, women have risen above the expectations of others and have made great progress in showing the world the beauty and strength of femininity.

It doesn’t matter how you see yourself now – you can easily become a strong, independent woman using these tips below.

Here are 6 ways to become a strong woman:

unforgettable

1. Seek the right kind of attention

In today’s world, we have dozens of apps, such as Tinder, that can give us instant gratification without having to form real connections. It’s no secret that women are objectified and oversexualized everyday for marketing campaigns, advertisements, and other forms of media, so using your body to get what you want only further perpetuates the idea that women have nothing more to offer than sex. If you want to form long-lasting, deep connections and attract the right attention, share your intellect and feelings with others.

If you carry yourself with dignity and know your self-worth beyond your appearance and sex appeal, you will start to attract others who also want something more than just a shallow connection to fulfill base-level desires.

2. Follow other strong women

If you turn on almost any reality TV show today, you won’t find much more than materialism, self-absorption, and sexualization of both men and women. Reality TV and other types of media, despite the name, don’t actually portray reality at all. Watching these superficial shows only makes people become blind followers of icons that don’t necessarily have the best values. Instead of binge-watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians, why not start following other strong women who actually promote causes that help the planet and its inhabitants, and don’t use their bodies or money to gain attention? To name just a couple wonderful women to look up to, Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres certainly fit the bill.

3. Don’t wait around for someone to save you

Probably one of the most important tenets of becoming a strong woman is not relying on someone else to come along and rescue you. A strong, independent woman knows she possesses all the power within herself to make positive changes in her life. She doesn’t wait around for someone else to pick her up when she’s down or show her the right way to live her life. While emotional independence may not happen overnight, you can easily work at it each day if you’d like to become a stronger woman. Of course, having relationships with others who we can share our concerns with is important, but we shouldn’t ever look to others to lick our wounds or save us from ourselves.

4. Free yourself from the victim mentality

While women have undeniably been oppressed in the past, and still may not be seen as equals to men in some parts of the world today, you don’t have to perpetuate this belief. Shatter the idea that you somehow have less value than men, because this simply doesn’t have any truth to it. Men and women both play important roles in society, and one gender does not have greater worth than the other. However, playing into the victim mentality and believing that you get treated differently than men will only keep the idea alive that we live in a man’s world.

The best way to overcome this belief is by simply having confidence in yourself, asserting yourself, and sharing your thoughts and ideas with others. If you don’t allow other people to control you, and you stand up for yourself if you believe you have been taken advantage or treated unfairly, then you have mastered one of the best ways to become a strong woman.

5. Keep challenging yourself

Don’t just allow yourself to fall into stagnancy and complacency – keep doing things each day that challenge you both mentally and physically. Life just gets dull if we don’t regularly push ourselves out of our comfort zones and try something new, so don’t hold yourself back just because of self-imposed limitations. Strong women don’t let their minds dictate what they can and can’t do, and push past their barriers even if it feels uncomfortable.

6. Don’t depend on others to make you happy

Most importantly, don’t rely on other people for happiness – this will only make you believe that you need someone at all times to feel content. You have everything you need to feel absolutely wonderful about life, so don’t believe any differently. Relationships can definitely provide a source of happiness, but they shouldn’t serve as our ONLY method of finding fulfillment and joy in life.

If you’d like to read more about the traits of a strong woman, please read our related article here.

5 Gut Instincts You Should Never Ignore

When people say they’re “listening to their gut,” they really mean that their intuition is guiding them in making a decision. We all have this innate ability to listen to that inner voice telling us not to go through with something, or that the person asking us for help might have ulterior motives, or that our childhood dream could actually become a fulfilling career choice in our adult life.

We can essentially decode this often indescribable gut feeling we get in certain situations, because that pang in your stomach, sudden bout of fatigue, or strong urge to help the person next to you can reveal more than you think.

Here are 5 instincts you don’t want to ignore:

1. “I don’t feel good.”

If something in your body doesn’t feel right, you should listen to this feeling before it gets any worse. A lot of people ignore subtle signs from their bodies and end up dealing with a much larger problem than they originally planned for. Your body instinctively knows when something is off balance, and those initial warning signs warrant your acknowledgment and further investigating to find out what your intuition is trying to tell you. Don’t ever hesitate to go to your wellness advocate if your inner voice starts to scream at you to take action – the human body communicates to us surprisingly often through the power of intuition.

On another note, pay attention to how you feel every time you interact with someone. Do you feel drained, anxious, or depressed? These feelings have come to the surface for a reason – by listening to yourself intuitively, you can determine which people in your life suck your energy dry, and who actually makes you feel alive.

Your intuition speaks to you in many ways, so never ignore any “off” feelings you get, no matter how subtle.

2. “This situation seems dangerous.”

Have you ever seen the Final Destination movies, where one person out of a group of friends gets intense visions before something bad happens? These movies, whether intentionally or not, portray the uncanny role that intuition can play in perilous situations.

For instance, maybe on your weekly trip to the grocery store, someone meets your gaze and you instantly get an uneasy feeling about them. Let’s say they start to follow you discreetly around the store, and then you watch them go outside without buying anything. However, they don’t leave; instead, they wait outside the store, and you intuitively feel that by going to your car, you will put yourself in a potentially life-threatening situation. While this person may not have directly endangered you, your intuition commands you to not leave the store without telling the manager or calling the police first.

The fight-or-flight response in humans was designed to warn us of immediate danger, and move us to act on that feeling. While our gut instincts can have flaws, you should listen to them regardless – they might just save your life.

3. “I should help that person.”

Gut instincts don’t always indicate something negative. Since we all originate from the same source, we have direct ties to each other and can sense when someone needs help. We have the powerful ability to read other people’s energy by evaluating their facial expressions, body language, or just how we feel around that person. Have you ever noticed how everyone scrambles to offer whatever help they can after a natural or man-made disaster? This strong desire to assist our fellow humans comes prewired in our evolution as a species; after all, when humans lived off the land, they depended on one another for survival. Some of them gathered wood for shelter and fire, while others wanted to help find food for themselves and others. They helped one another not just out of necessity, but because of a deep understanding that humans need to feel cared for and protected.

Offer help even if the person in question doesn’t ask for it – nonverbal cues can offer much more insight than words in these types of situations.

4. “This comes naturally to me.”

Overthinking can often cause problems that didn’t even exist in the first place, especially in regard to your natural talents. Maybe you have spent weeks practicing your lines for a play, and have all the hand motions, inflections in your tone, and the whole thing down pat. Then, when you get on stage for your final practice, you suddenly forget everything you worked so hard practicing. Or, maybe you have become the star player on your baseball team, but your mind runs on overdrive and puts you under pressure, making you miss every ball pitched to you at home base.

People with extraordinary talents commonly choke when it’s time for them to perform, and all of it stems from letting their minds run haywire. They pay too much attention to their thoughts, rather than letting their instincts take over. If something comes naturally to you, distract your mind with something other than the task at hand, such as a song or memory that makes you happy, and allow your instincts to take over instead.

5. “This just feels right.”gut-instincts-quote

Whether it applies to changing careers, picking your next boyfriend or girlfriend, or deciding where to live, your intuition actually plays a bigger role than rational thinking in these decisions. When you make these life-altering choices, it mostly boils down to how you feel about them. Think about it: we all just want to feel good, so we add and subtract things from our life to align with that feeling. If your career earns you $100,000 a year but makes you miserable, would you stick with it rather than take your dream job that pays $40,000? Your gut would probably tell you to do what makes you happy and take the lower paying job rather than keep one that makes you feel dead inside.

When something feels right, a lightbulb goes off inside you and it doesn’t really require much cognitive ability – it comes easily to you. Listen to your intuition next time you make an important decision – it will help you choose the right path.

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