WHAT IS SEROTONIN? HOW DO WE INCREASE IT IN THE BODY NATURALLY?

SEROTONIN:

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, therefore it is responsible from carrying electrical signals between nerve cells. You may see it demonstrated on the image below.

                                  

These neurotransmitters have a key role in the function of our brains.  Serotonin is produced in many spots of our body, mainly in the brain. It is also usually found in the central nervous system and digestive tract.

The serotonin level in our body affects hunger, memory, social behavior and sleep; therefore it has a very crucial place in our quality of life.  

Many scientists believe that the absence of serotonin may lead to depression, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, extra sensitivity and panic attacks.

We may lack serotonin due to three main reasons:

• Lack of production of serotonin in brain cells
• Lack of receptor regions
• Lack of tryptophan (it is an alpha amino acid used in the biosynthesis of proteins, as well as the production of serotonin)

How To Increase Levels of Serotonin in the Body in a Natural Way:

      Do Exercise: Daily exercises such as walking, cycling and running would help increasing serotonin levels. Massaging could also help.

      Spend Some Time Under Sunlight: Vitamin D also has a role in serotonin production.

      Nutrition: Consume meals that contain vitamin B6 (sunflower seed, walnut), vitamin B9 (green beans, cabbage, broccoli, cabbage), and vitamin B12 (red meat, eggs, cheese). Also, eating foods that are rich in tryptophan such as soy beans, almonds, milk, yoghurt would help increasing the serotonin.

     Avoid Stress: Well, not only to ease the process of serotonin release, but also to maintain a healthy life; it is inevitable that stress must be prohibited at all costs. 

Sources: Biological Psychiatry: A Journal of Psychiatric neuroscience and Therapeutics, Multiyasam.com

Gulsen XX

Drinking Water With an Empty Stomach

Dear Reader,

Today, I will share a post about the health benefits of drinking water with an empty stomach.

According to www.healthyfoodteam.com, it is known that drinking water on an empty stomach works in the treatment of various diseases. The only thing you should do is following the directions below:

1) As soon as you wake up in the morning, even before you brush your teeth, drink 640 ml of water. (You can divide the amount of water you’re drinking into small cups and complete it to 640 ml.)
2) Brush your teeth, but don’t drink or eat anything for the next 45 minutes.
3) After 45 minutes, you can eat or drink.
4) After the 3 meals of the day which are breakfast, lunch and dinner, do not eat or drink for two hours.
5) For people who are sick or old who can’t drink the amount of water mentioned, you can start drinking in smaller amounts first and increase the amount each day.

This method sounds very practical and it helps for the treatment of the following diseases:
Headaches, body aches, blood fat, blood pressure, eye diseases, menstrual disorders, constipation, diarrhea, ear-nose infections, asthma, bronchitis, kidney diseases and much more.

To summarize, water is essential for our health.

Where there is water, there is life.

Stay hydrated!

-Gulsen

Simple but Effective Solutions for Skin Problems

Hey Reader!

I know I have been away for a long time, but I am back, and that's all that matters right? I have been hearing people,no matter how young or old they are, complaining about some skin problems. As you all know, skin problems can be caused by various reasons including weather, nutrition or even genetics.
The image above illustrates possible quickest solutions for some skin problems. However, please don't forget to check with your doctor before using those natural ways in case of an allergic reaction. Click on the image to view the solutions.

-Gulsen

Source:www.healthline.com

How to Make Sore Muscles Feel Good

Muscles can often feel sore after exercise or different kinds of activities. Although muscle pain can be unbearable and keep you from exercising, the good news is that the more you exercise, the less your muscles will hurt in the long term. So, here are some tips to alleviate common muscle soreness:

1) Rest: Resting is the best thing you can do for soreness. Try not to use the muscle for 24-48 hours after exercise.

 2) Massage your muscles: When you exercise, tiny tears occur in muscle fibers. The body's natural response to these tears is inflammation. Massage helps you to relieve the inflammation. Massage also seems to increase the amount of mitochondria in your muscle, which causes the muscles' ability to extract oxygen. Don’t forget, massage therapy is relaxing, meditative, and healing. You can use your thumbs, knuckles and palms while massaging your aching muscles.

3) Stretch the muscles out: Stretching will also help to get the lactic acid out of your muscles. Stretch after activity that caused the soreness to prevent becoming stiff.

4) Ice the muscle indirectly: Icing the muscle immediately after activity would reduce inflammation and provide more lasting relief. When icing a muscle, to wrap an ice pack on the sore muscle area would work the best.

5) Apply heat: After the first day of soreness, heat can be used to help blood flow to the muscle. This will help rebuilding take place and provide some relief for your muscles.


6) Take pain medication (for adults, not children): Anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve) would work out well. For children, just because their muscles just start developing, in my opinion, medication intake may be harmful.

                                       ENJOY WORKING OUT AND TAKE CARE!

                                                                   GULSEN XX

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT IN A HEALTHY WAY

Since we started the summer season a month ago, I hear a lot of people complaining about their weight or getting upset just because they don't look good in what they wear. 

After making some research, I decided to write some tips for people who want to lose some weight in a healthy way over summer. I also added some of my ideas. So, let's take a look at the list of those tips and ideas:

1. Be determined and set your goal.

It is always important to know what you are doing before setting a goal. Don't forget it, if you don't know what your goal is, you never know where you are going. Determine how many pounds you want to give and mark the date that you made the decision to lose weight.

2. Have a balanced diet.

That means your diet should include appropriate amounts of food from all the food groups. (I would recommend you to avoid the second plate. After a week, you will realize that you started to lose some weight already!)

3. Avoid skipping meals.

 According to a research, people who ate at least 3 meals per day lost more weight than people who didn't. While you are trying not to skip meals, please try to eat food from home instead of eating at a restaurant. Especially NO FAST FOOD!

4. Try not to use artificial sugar.

Instead of eating deserts which include tons of fat and sugar in them, Learn to love fruit. Fruit helps to satisfy your sweet tooth thanks to its natural sugars. Some fruits also help your digestion system.

5.Consume healthy oils.

 If you cook with oil, use a teaspoon of a healthy oil such as olive oil or canola oil. Or instead of adding oil for flavor, add spices or vinegar.

6. Do some exercise.

What I mean by exercise can be anything active such as playing a sport, doing cardio exercise, walking, going to a fitness center etc. If you think you don’t have any time for these activities, while you are at home, you can always turn some music on and dance for ten minutes or even before you go to bed, you can do some simple body exercise it will also help you to sleep more comfortable.

7. Keep the balance in your nutrition selection.

If you are working out during the day, eat carbohydrate weighted foods, because you will need more energy to spend during the day. But if you are not working out or moving around the space, eat protein weighted foods.

8. Be patient and never give up!

Don't worry, nobody will lose tons of weight in only a few days or a week. Sometimes, it might even take a couple of months or even a year for you to reach your ideal weight. The process of you losing weight might even stop after a month or so, but don't panic, you should surprise your metabolism with doing some exercise. You just need to be patient and everything will be perfect.

9. And the final thing, STAY MOTIVATED AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

Give yourself non-food rewards like a sports trip with a friend or going to the movies. If you're attending a party or going out for a special occasion, allow yourself an indulgence.

At the end, when you look in the mirror, you will be proud of who you really are! 

Take care, stay healthy and have a great summer!

GULSEN XX

TOP 10 MOST UNHEALTHY, CANCER CAUSING FOODS.

As you all know, our eating habit is a big important fact which affects our life style. Either good or bad, you choose the path in your personal journey of life. According to True activist website, there are some particular foods that we should never eat in order to protect ourselves from the illness of our century, cancer. Let's take a closer look at the list of those unhealthy foods.

1) Genetically-modified organisms (GMOs): People say, GMOs have no legit place in any cancer-free diet, especially now that both GMOs and the chemicals used to grow them have been shown to cause rapid tumor growth.

2) Processed meats: Most processed meat products, including lunch meats, bacon, sausage, and hot dogs, contain chemical preservatives that make them appear fresh and appealing, but that can also cause cancer. Especially colon cancer.

3) Microwave popcorn: They might seem like the easiest solution when you want to have a snack, but those bags of microwave popcorn are lined with chemicals that are linked to causing not only infertility but also liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancers.

4) Soda pop: Soda is loaded with sugar, food chemicals, and colorings, soda pop acidifies the body and literally feeds cancer cells. Common soda pop chemicals like caramel color have also specifically been linked to causing cancer

5) ‘Diet’ foods, beverages: All products including the word “diet” are cancer-causing, because they contain artificial sweeteners, which causes a range of illnesses including birth defects and cancer. Sucralose (Splenda), saccharin and various other artificial sweeteners have also been linked to causing cancer.

6) Refined ‘white’ flours: Refined flour is a common ingredient in processed foods, but its excess carbohydrate content is a serious cause for concern. High-glycemic foods in general have also been shown to raise blood sugar levels in the body, which directly feeds cancer cell growth and spread in a very fast way.

7) Refined sugars: Refined sugars increase insulin levels and feed the growth of cancer cells. Fructose-rich sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are particularly offensive, and since cookies, cakes, pies, sodas, juices, sauces, cereals, and many other popular, mostly processed, food items are loaded with HFCS and other refined sugars, that’s explains the high ratio of cancer in our society.

8) Conventional apples, grapes, and other ‘dirty’ fruits: It is very important to be sure that the fruits we eat should be clean and pesticide-free. Unless these fruits are organic or verified to be pesticide-free, they could be a major cancer risk.

9) Farmed salmon: Farmed salmon is another high-risk cancer food, according to Dr. David Carpenter, Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany. According to his assessment, farmed salmon not only lacks vitamin D, but it is often contaminated with carcinogenic chemicals, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), flame retardants, pesticides, and antibiotics

10) Hydrogenated oils: They are commonly used to preserve processed foods. hydrogenated oils alter the structure and flexibility of cell membranes throughout the body, which can lead to a host of debilitating diseases such as cancer. 

EAT HEALTHY, LIVE HEALTHY.

GULSEN XX

Read more: http://www.trueactivist.com/top-10-most-unhealthy-cancer-causing-foods-never-eat-these-again/