Enjoy a full years subscription of Healthy Revelations and discover life-changing health secrets you won't find anywhere else.

  • $240 Yearly Value
Topics covered include:
  • How To Lose Weight Fast
  • Healthy Eating
  • Stress Relief
  • Disease Prevention
  • Doctor Recommendations
  • Seasonal Health Tips
  • And More...

STRESS. We all deal with it at some point in our lives. But having too much stress in your life can be very harmful to your health and can make you more vulnerable to everything from colds to high blood pressure and even heart disease.

Stress management is a valuable tool to learn when it comes to your overall wellness. While there are many ways to cope with stress, eating stress-fighting foods is one good way to start.

From boosting serotonin levels to lowering stress hormones, there are a number of foods that actually counteract the impact of stress on our lives.

The following foods should be part of your diet for stress management:

Complex Carbohydrates : All carbohydrates give a signal to the brain to produce that “feel good” chemical, serotonin. To keep a steady flow of serotonin, dieticians suggest complex carbs like whole grain cereals, breads and pastas and oatmeal.

Oranges : Because they are a wealth of vitamin C, studies show that oranges are great stress-busting foods, as well as a great immune system strengthener. Experts suggest taking 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C before a stressful event.

Spinach : It's the magnesium in spinach that helps to regulate cortisol levels that particularly get depleted when we are in stressful situations. Not enough magnesium can trigger headaches, adding to stressful situations. One cup of spinach is the recommended amount, as the magnesium goes a long way. Can't do spinach? Try cooked soy beans or salmon instead, for the same effects.

Fatty Fish : Omega-3 fatty acids are important to prevent surges in stress hormones, as well as protect against heart disease. Try fatty fish like salmon or tuna for your Omega-3's.

Black Tea : Good for lowering levels of cortisol following stressful events, many experts swear by the healing powers of black tea. Black tea helps you to recover quickly following stresses and helps you to remain calm.

Pistachios : Chosen for their ability to soften the pre- and post-effects of stress, experts suggest eating a handful of pistachios every day to help lower blood pressure so it won't spike when faced with stressful situations.

Avocados : Another great high blood pressure reducing food is avocados, due to their potassium content. Half of an avocado has more potassium than a medium-sized banana. Additionally, avocados, in guacamole form, are a great and nutritious treat when stress has you craving snack foods.

Almonds : Chock full of vitamins, like vitamin E and a range of B vitamins, almonds are a great treat to eat that help with resiliency when dealing with stress.

Raw Vegetables : In a purely mechanical way, crunching on raw vegetables can help to alleviate stress. By releasing your clenched jaw and possibly warding off headaches, chomping your carrots, celery and other veggies is beneficial on many levels

While these are but a few suggestions, they will all help to get you back on track towards a less stressful life.

 

According to an About.com report, SPF is actually determined indoors by exposing human subjects to a light spectrum to determine how the light affects their skin.

The study said that sunscreen with an SPF of 15 filters 92 percent of UVB rays. In other words, a sunscreen with a SPF of 15, will “delay the onset of sunburn in a person who would otherwise burn in 10 minutes to burn in 150 minutes. The SPF allows a person to stay out in the sun 15 times longer.”

Unfortunately there is currently no measure of UVA absorption that has been determined. Most sunscreens offer protection from UVA and UVB rays, although the time factor that a person can stay out in the sun and not be affected by UVA rays cannot be determined like that of UVB rays.

Either way, it is extremely important to wear sunscreen of at least a SPF of 15 when you are outdoors and reapply every two- to three hours.

 

Summer is a great season to partake in the numerous delicious seasonal fruits. Not only do these summertime fruits taste great, but they also give you many nutritional benefits.

Some fruits to enjoy before the season ends include:

Berries: the phytochemicals in blueberries, strawberries and blackberries all boost immunity, and protect against heart diseases and circulatory problems.

Peaches and Plums: full of vitamin C and beta carotene, peaches and plums help to eliminate free radicals from the body.

Pineapples: being packed with the most vitamins and minerals, pineapples are also a great digestive aid.

Papayas and Mangoes: both are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, beta carotene and fiber.

Just like we have been cooped up all winter, so have been a number of those creatures that we've come to despise: insects.

With summer in full bloom, insects are also in full swing and are ready to attack when necessary.

So, what do you do to avoid these nasty creatures biting you?

Environmentalists suggest that the best way to deal with insect bites and stings is to prevent them before they happen.

Ways that you can avoid or prevent bug bites include:

Applying repellents to exposed skin. Do not apply repellents directly to your face, instead spray the repellent into your hands and apply to your face that way.

Wearing shoes when walking around outdoors. Avoid going barefoot whenever possible.

Do not swat or attempt to hit a flying insect. This will only make them mad and attack you more frequently.

Covering food when it is outdoors. Insects flock to food and the less chance you give them to get to the food, the greater your chance of avoiding them all together is.

Avoiding bright colored clothes when you are outdoors for extended periods of time as insects are attracted to bright colors.

Trying not to wear heavy smelling perfumes outdoors as insects are also attracted to the smells.

Keep these tips in mind before you head outdoors and you won't be dealing with insects biting or stinging you this summer.

Bug bites are going to happen now and then, but enjoy your summer while it lasts ,winter will be here before we know it!

 

According to a report on CNN.com, “getting CPR within minutes is crucial for someone who's suffered from cardiac arrest, as brain death and permanent death start to occur just four to six minutes after the heart stops.”

Unfortunately, the report also states that more than 95 percent of cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital.

But, if more people would learn CPR, then many of these deaths may not occur. Many people do not want to take the time to learn how to perform CPR, but medical experts say that learning how to do it is much easier than it used to be.

As stated on CNN.com, Dr. Kenneth Rosenfield, an interventional cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, once had a patient whose life was saved because the man's quick-thinking wife knew to perform CPR to the rhythm of the song “Staying Alive”. As a result of a one minute American Heart Association spot she heard on the radio she knew to push very hard, 100 times per minute to the tune of “Staying Alive”.

According to Rosenfield, “You should take a class, but it's easier than it used to be. There's no mouth to mouth. You push on the chest very hard and don't worry about breaking a rib.”

Anyone interested in learning where they can take a CPR class, can visit either the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association to find a class in your area.