Essential Home Remedies: Stomach

Last week, I talked about several easy home remedies totreat minor skin ailments like rashes and acne. This week, I’d like to go down that same road but for internalproblems instead. When you’ve got a stomachache or suddenly find yourself feeling nauseous, it’s not convenient to make a trip to the store. Keep these items around the house for an all-natural solution to your problems.

Ginger root can calm an upset stomach.

Nausea: It happens to the best of us: you’re doing fine and then all of a sudden you’re not. You’re nauseous and uncomfortable. No Pepto Bismol to save you? Try sugar—that’s mostly what OTC remedies are made up of, anyway. Have some sugary syrup (like from a can of fruit) or drink some (flat) soda. Ginger and peppermint are also natural stomach settlers, so having a ginger ale, chewing some fresh ginger, or even eating a Peppermint Patty can help.

Diarrhea:No one like to talk about it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. If you’ve got a case of the runs, try making some tea with pomegranate skin in it. Steep about 1 tablespoon in a cup of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Oak bark works, too, if you boil for 3 minutes then let it steep for 30 minutes. Drink 2 tablespoons 4-6 times per day. Why do these remedies work? They contain tannins, which promote the production of mucus in the stomach lining and protect it from further irritation.

Pomegranate skin tea can help treat diarrhea.

Food Poisoning:If you’ve got food poisoning, you’ll need something to absorb the toxins. Brew some black tea and make some burned toast. Tannic acid and charcoal (the burned part on the toast) will help soak up those toxins and get you feeling better faster. However, if you have extreme food poisoning, go see the doctor.

Hangover Queasiness: Alcohol drains your body, dehydrates it, and generally makes it unhappy. If you wake up after a night of drinking and feel sick, try drinking a cup of tomato juice with a bit of Tabasco sauce. Sounds suspiciously like a Bloody Mary, I know, but hear me out. The antioxidants in the tomato juice and Tabasco will get your liver going again and supplies your body with much-needed antioxidants to kick-start the recovery process.

Has anyone tried these remedies? I keep ginger tablets on hand for queasiness, and I’ve used sugar to help relieve nausea before. Be sure to let me know if there are any other natural remedies you use for upset stomachs—who knows, maybe I’ll add them onto the list!

Stay tuned for the next part of this series: Sinus and Throat. I’ve got a few more home remedies to share that I think you’ll all appreciate. And with spring in full swing, natural allergy remedies will be ever so useful!

Remember that these are just suggestions to consider. Before treating yourself, be sure to consult with your doctor or other licensed health professional. Be sure to share your natural remedy experiences in the comments below! J

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7 Foods That Boost Your Metabolism

Water stimulates the metabolism.
Image from vibevixen.com

One of the best ways to ensure that your body keeps on burning excess calories instead of storing them as fat is to keep your metabolism going. Many of us have jobs where we sit all day (guilty), and that’s B-A-D for your body. There are lots of ways to keep your body active during a typical workday, but today I want to talk about the foods (and drinks) you can consume to help.

 Water—no joke, when you get dehydrated your body’s metabolism slows down. People who drink plenty of fluids every day tend to burn more calories than those who don’t.

Salmon—Foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids help our bodies build muscle. More muscle means more calories burned. Omega-3 is also thought to help reduce cortisol levels, which in turn would reduce how many calories our bodies convert to fat (this has not yet been proven).

Coffee—As long as you don’t overdo it, drinking coffee can be a great metabolic aid. Just one cup of coffee contains enough caffeine to speed up our metabolism by up to 15% and keep fat-storing processes at bay.

Hotter is better! Eat chili peppers to burn more calories.
Image from growers-market.org

Avocado—The essential oils, fats, and antioxidants present in avocados help keep our blood vessels healthy and inflammation down, meaning that our metabolism can function well. Avocados also have lots of fiber, which speeds up our metabolism as well.

Beans—Because our bodies have to work extra hard to process the fiber and resistant starch in beans, we burn more calories doing so. Studies suggest eating foods with high levels of resistant starch (beans, whole grains) can boost metabolism up to 24% throughout the day.

Chilies—Spicy foods that contain chilies also contain capsaicin, which boosts calorie burn. The hotter the better!

Green Tea—The combination of caffeine and antioxidants in green teas naturally stimulate our bodies and speed up our metabolism and increase fat burn. Various studies have suggested that drinking green tea on a regular basis can help people stay slim.

Green tea's antioxidants and caffeine can help us stay slim.
Image from bubblews.com

Other foods that you can eat to give your body a natural boost include almonds, apples, pears, broccoli, cinnamon, curry, grapefruit, lean meat, oatmeal, spinach, unsweetened soymilk, and yogurt. I don’t know about you all, but those are some of my favorite things to eat anyway!

For more information on these foods and others, check out “Surprising Foods That Fight Fat” on Health.com and “16 Foods that Naturally Boost Your Metabolism” on Organic Authority. I used both as sources.

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Mirror, Mirror on the… Hey, Is That a Wrinkle?!

Wrinkles: at some point in our lives, we’ll all get them. It’s a natural part of aging and goes along with the degradation of collagen in our bodies. And while we will inevitably find more and more wrinkles on our hands and faces as we age, there are a few things research has taught us over the years that may help slow wrinkles down.

Getting wrinkles is a natural part of aging.
Image from inbetweenathlete.com

The number one cause of wrinkles is sun. That means if you’re set on spending all summer, every summer out in the sunlight getting your tan on, you’ll likely see more wrinkles sooner than those who work hard to protect their skin. Need proof? Last summer a story was featured on the NY Post about a trucker who spent 28 years on the road with half his face in the sun. You can literally see the difference sun makes by looking at one half of his face as compared to the other.

Pulling all-nighters takes its toll as well. When your body doesn’t get enough sleep, it produces and excess of cortisol, which breaks down skin cells. When you do get enough sleep, your body produces Human Growth Hormone (HGH) instead, which keeps your skin healthy and thick. Furthermore, if you always sleep on the same side or on your stomach, you may eventually develop permanent sleep lines on your face that don’t go away.

Half of this trucker's face is badly damaged from sun
Image from nypost.com

What you eat affects wrinkles as well. Whole foods boost collagen, while processed and sugary foods do the opposite. Foods like salmon, which contains plenty of fatty acids, helps keep skin supple and smooth. Soy has also been found to help improve firmness. Antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables (especially berries and dark leafy greens) also help fight any skin damage you may have. Green and black teas also include antioxidants to help slow collagen degradation.

Have you ever noticed that men and women who are physically fit seem to age slower? That’s because building muscle tone through strength training and yoga helps prevent sagging and delivers oxygen throughout your body (including to your skin!).

Being happy leads to fewer wrinkles.
Image from farm3.staticflickr.com

When skin gets dry, it cracks, bleeds—and wrinkles. Drinking enough water keeps skin moisturized and clean. Moisturizers with peptidesin them also help keep skin healthy, so check your ingredients list. Moisturizer should be applied just after washing skin because the dampness can help lock in more moisture. If you’ve already noticed some wrinkles appearing, try a retinol cream. Dabbing on a small amount can help repair skin and reduce wrinkles.

Last, but certainly not least, happiness and independence from chemical substances helps prevent wrinkles. Those who smoke or drink alcohol on a regular basis may develop more wrinkles than those who do not. Studies have also indicated that people who are optimistic about life and in a happy relationship also had fewer wrinkles and looked younger.

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Spotlight: Wine, Benefits & Risks

Image from draggarwal.org

Like many people, I have a soft spot for wine. It’s one of those flavors that took some time to grow on me, and now that it has, there’s not anything quite like it. Of course, I don’t like every wine I taste; I prefer reds that are smooth yet robust, and I like my whites to be slightly sweet and fruity.

Nowhere close to being an expert on the matter, I found myself wondering what exactly the benefits of drinking wine were and where they cut off. For years, I’ve been aware of the fact that a glass of red wine each night can be beneficial. But I’ve never looked into the matter further than that. I’ve never been a big drinker, and I always just assumed I didn’t need to worry about any of those problems.

I still find myself in a position where I’m not overly concerned about my alcohol consumption, but every once in a while I decide that instead of one glass of wine, I’d like to have two—and even rarer yet, three. What then? At what point do the benefits cease and the risks begin?

Image from chr.wikipedia.org

For men, there are benefits to having up to two drinks per day. For women, benefits last up to one drink. What’s in a drink? Twelve ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of red or white wine, or 1.5 ounces (one shot) of 80-proof distilled spirits.

Alcohol in general can raise the “good” cholesterol (HDL) in our bodies and thin our blood. Wine also contains phytochemicals that act as antioxidants and help prevent cellular damage in our bodies. This can prevent blood clotting, plaque formation, and potentially promotes cardiovascular health and helps fight cancer. Both red and white wine contain these non-alcoholic phytochemicals, but red has a much greater concentration compared to white.

However, it’s not all good with wine. Sometimes the benefits aren’t as great as the risks and consequences. Some conditions are worsened by wine, which is why physicians sometimes recommend that patients not drink alcohol. Wine can raise triglyceride levels, which can be a problem for those who already have high levels—such as diabetics. Wine is also full of empty calories and can prompt weight gain, especially if it’s enjoyed in excess.

My personal problem with drinking wine is that it worsens my migraines. It doesn’t always happen, which is why I sometimes enjoy a glass or two. But other times, it sets off a headache—which can last for hours or even days at a time. This is due to the sulfites contained in wine (red more than white).

Image from thewell.spafinder.com

Some alcohol can also raise estrogen levels and can possibly increase tumor progression for women with estrogen positive breast cancer. Even staying under the limit of one drink per day could increase the risk for breast cancer. At this point, researchers still say the health benefits outweigh the risks for just one drink—but past that, the risk goes up with every drink. I think I’ll resist the urge for that second drink from now on.

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