NATURAL WAYS TO BENEFIT YOUR BODY

20 NATURAL WAYS TO BENEFIT YOUR BODY

I do not know about you, but I try hard to stay healthy and use natural ways to do so.  Yes, sometimes we have to take medicine but did you know that there are some natural ways to try first?  I would much rather try something that is not laden with chemicals.  Why put something in your body that you can not even pronounce or have a hard time pronouncing?  

1. Red Yeast Rice:  Nature's way of lowering cholesterol.  The researchers are out on this one due to the fact that it has not been studied to death.  However, the Chinese have used this for thousands of years to lower their cholesterol.  I have actually used this and can say it has worked for me, much to my doctor's dismay.  I won't go so far to say it is for everyone or that it is a cure-all.  Only saying that it worked for me.
2. Sunflower seeds:  These tiny seeds are very rich in magnesium along with pumpkin seeds.  They can help give you some relief from muscle cramps. spasms, migraines, and even fibromyalgia.  Why not add some to your salad or just munch on a handful daily?
3. Salmon:  I love salmon so this one is another easy one for me.  Wild caught salmon is not only full of omega 3. it is one of the best fatty acids for arthritic pain.  There is a study that if you eat enough salmon (fatty acid) it can equal to taking one ibuprofen. 
4. Greek yogurt:  I make Greek yogurt because I know how good it is for you.  The protein alone is awesome for you but there are so many great benefits to eating this yogurt.  Per my doctor, buying Greek yogurt is not always good for you health-wise due to the fact it is full of sugar. So if you can not make your own look at the sugar content.  Yogurt is full of probiotics.  Have you heard that word before?  This is a good bacteria that is formed when making yogurt.  Probiotics help keep your gut healthy.  It helps you with all kinds of stomach concerns and it great to eat when on an antibiotic.  It also is full of B-12. The potassium in yogurt will help balance out sodium intake.  It is a great food for a workout recovery.  Also will help with diet concerns.  
5. Coffee:  It is full of good for you antioxidants.  It can also help with delay onset muscle pain.  Meaning adding some to your diet after a workout can help with the pain that sometimes follows a good workout.  It can also help to open and boast a pain reliever.  That is why some pain relievers you buy have caffeine as an ingredient. 
6. Honey:  They say if you eat a bit of local honey daily this will help with allergies.  It will also help reduce the time frame you have a canker sore.  
7. Homemade Sauerkrat:  I say homemade because it is full of probiotics so it is preferably not to process it with heat.  Like Greek yogurt, it will help your gut healthy.  
8. Garlic:  I love garlic so this one is another easy one to add to my diet. It has a lot of vitamins and minerals benefits.  Garlic will help fight a cold, helps to reduce blood pressure, improves cholesterol, contains antioxidants that help with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.  This is only touching on the benefits of garlic.
9. Ginger:  Ginger root is good for nausea, motion sickness, and some inflammatory issues.  Have you ever been told to drink ginger ale when sick on your stomach? Now you know why.  It can also be used as a pain reliever.  
10. Chocolate:  It is said to help with insomnia, muscle soreness, and stiffness.  The darker your chocolate is the better it will help with heart disease.  It helps with improving your mood.  I do not know about you but now I will so going to eat chocolate to improve my mood.  What a great excuse, right?
11. Cherries:  I have long heard that they are good for you to eat.  I never really knew why but it is said to help joint point when associated with the uric acid build up in your blood.  
12. Tumeric:  This was a discussion around my table outside on my deck not but a few weeks ago.  Tumeric root is amazingly good for your body.  It helps with heartburn, joint pain, arthritis, stomach pain, headaches, Chron's disease, colds, bronchitis, lung infections, fever, and fibromyalgia.  See here for a full list of benefits.
13. Whiskey:  Use this for a cold.  You can mix it with honey and water to make a tonic to help relieve a sore throat.  My dad used moonshine, with honey and rock candy as a reliever for coughing.  Now whiskey is not necessarily natural but the ingredients are.  
14. Epsom salt:  I have long used Epsom salt in my bath to help relieve some muscle pains or to easy my body's aches and pains.  Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate and can be used in so many ways.  You can use Epsom salt as a scrub to naturally exfoliate dead skin from your body.  You can also use it in your soil to help your plants to thrive.  \
15. Echinacea: Have you ever heard of taking echinacea or drinking a tea made of it?  That is because it helps to reduce inflammation. 
16. Oranges:  I think we all know that vitamin C is one of the health benefits of eating citrus fruits but did you know it has an antioxidant called beta-cryptoxanthin?  This antioxidant helps to alleviate inflammation due to rheumatoid arthritis. 
17. Watermelon:  I love watermelon.  It is so refreshing.  It is a great summertime fruit to enjoy all while being heart friendly.  Yep, you read that.  It has lycopene which is what causes the pink color in the melon.  The same thing in tomatoes but watermelon has more.  It also has benefits of vitamin C and potassium.  It can also help protect against diabetes.  It can also help with the frequency or severity of asthma attacks.  It helps with weight loss.  Now we all have an excuse to eat a slice of watermelon.
18. Cucumbers:  Cucumbers are high in nutrients our body needs, protein, fiber, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.  It helps to promote hydration.  They may help lower your sugar and help lose weight.  
19. Beets:  It took me years to like beets but now that I do I love them.  They do not have a lot of calories.  Beets are good for your blood pressure.  They help reduce cancer risks, they support brain health, improves digestive health, and fights inflammation.
20. Water:  Water is so good for you that we forget just how good.  Water flushes toxins from our body.  It helps you from becoming dehydrated which can cause headaches and muscle cramps.  Water also helps boost your immune system, it regulates your body temperature, helps with bad breathe, mood, takes an edge off of a hangover and improves your heart health.  The more you drink the more your body will crave.  You can always throw in lemon, lime, melon, or cucumber and gain even more benefits.

There are all kinds of benefits to so many natural products that the earth gives us.  I only touched on 20.  I could probably name way more.  This might have to become some type of series on health benefits as the weeks and months pass.  I am thinking a fall or wintertime entry to help reduce the symptoms of colds or flu.  So, stay tuned for more to come in the next few months.

I actually started the research for this entry due to being sick for almost a month.  I encourage everyone to use nature for health benefits.  Now let me go have a cup of sore throat comfort tea.  

Happy Saturday Peeps.

ENJOY!!