Top Five Cold and Flu Remedies

So you have a cold, or worse yet the flu, and you are miserable! What can you do to help you feel better until the virus has worked its way out of your system?

Try one of these five natural remedies:

Echinacea

Echinacea can work wonders to help you fight that cold or flu. It has the ability to raise the levels of properdin, which is responsible for increasing defence mechanisms that help fight viruses and bacteria. It is also a blood cleanser and helps to move dead cells and other particles through the lymphatic system. To get the full benefits that echinacea can offer, make sure you take it as soon as you feel the cold or flu coming on. It is available as a tincture, capsule or tea.

Garlic

Garlic is well-known for it ability to boost the immune system. It contains allicin, which is one of nature’s most powerful antibiotics. If you combine garlic with echinacea, you will have a dynamic duo working on your behalf to fight off viruses and bacteria.

Ginger

Ginger not only has antiviral properties, it offers pain relief, antiseptic qualities and is an antioxidant! Not only will it help to reduce the pain and fever, it is a mild sedative to help you rest easier. You can drink ginger tea, make a tincture by soaking it in water, or add it to a fruit smoothie.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is probably the best know natural remedy for colds and flus. You can either take a supplement or eat a wide variety of citrus fruits because of their high Vitamin C content. A great recipe to try is a combination of oranges, pineapple, seedless grapes, lots of fresh ginger, banana, pink grapefruit, cantaloupe mixed in a blender with orange juice as needed.

Drink Plenty of Water and Eat the RightFoods
Because your body needs all its energy to fight the cold or flu virus, it is best to avoid big meals when you are sick. However, drinking lots of water is imperative to help your body eliminate the toxins and wastes.

You may also find the following foods healing for your body:

Bananas – to soothe upset stomachs

Blueberries - helps prevent diarrhea, may lower fevers and relieves aches and pains (high in natural aspirin)

Chili Peppers - helps break up mucus in the lungs

Cranberries - helps to prevent bladder and urinary tract infections

Onion- phytochemicals can help to clear bronchitis and other infections

Rice - helps with diarrhea.

While it is true that there is no cure for the common cold or the flu, there are remedies you can use to help relieve the symptoms. So next time you feel the sniffles coming on, reach for the echinacea, drink up your Vitamin C smoothie and relax knowing that you are providing your body with the right weapons to fight the battle.

A natural high-potency vitamin can do wonders. Take the guess work out of what vitamins to take by taking Vita-Super vitamin. It contains your full daily need so you stay well day after day.

Keeping off the Winter Weight by Changing Your Workouts!

Just when you thought you had figured out the perfect work-out routine…the cold weather comes along and ruins all your will to get outside (or even muster up enough motivation to get in the car to go to the gym). About this time every year, you predictably trade in your afternoon walks for large glasses of egg nog and hot chocolate. Sure, that doesn’t SOUND too bad, but that winter lethargy can really throw a wrench into your weight-loss goals.

So, make winter the season to shake things up. Tired of the old gym routine? Try a new indoor activity to get your blood pumping, as well as keeping your interest piqued. Check out our top five winter workouts that are guaranteed to keep you in shape during the hectic holiday season.

1) Join a class. If you already belong to a gym, there is no better time than the winter to start taking advantage of those exercise classes and try something new. From yoga to spinning, there’s a class to fit almost everyone’s work-out personality. Group classes are excellent ways to foster healthy habits--after all, if everyone around you is exercising and eating healthy foods, you probably will find yourself motivated to do the same.

2) Take a swim. Indoor pools are marvelous! Swimming is a wonderful physical activity that’s easy on the joints and can help improve cardiovascular strength (and the heated water feels pretty good too). For all you exercise-junkies out there, just because water work-outs are low-impact doesn’t mean that they’re not intense. For a heart-pumping work-out, try alternating swimming and jogging in the pool with leg lifts or squats. The water resistance is a great way to combine strength training with cardiovascular exercise.

3) Spice up the machines. Does the idea of spending 30 consecutive minutes on a treadmill sound less than appealing? Yes, exercise machines don’t have to be boring if you mix up your workout. Try doing a circuit of a cardio machine, then alternate with crunches and squats to keep your heart rate up.

4) Make every little step count. Even if you’re not a member of a gym or fitness club, you can even stay active without leaving the comfort of your home! Make an extra trip or two up your stairs and dance to some music while you’re vacuuming or cooking dinner. You can even make watching television into an exercise if you do crunches or lift small weights during the commercials.

5) Check out your library. Most public libraries have lots of exercise videos that you can check-out for free. You may feel silly working-out to that Richard Simmons tape, but as long as keeps you moving and having fun, you’ll be good to go.

Losing Weight the Mediterranean way

How do they DO it? Residents of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea typically consume a diet that is high in fat, but they are slimmer than their American counterparts. What is more, they generally live longer and have a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. No, they’re not necessarily genetically-blessed, because there are scientific reasons why the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest meal plans in the world.

One of the secrets of living a longer and healthier life is the olive oil that is an integral part of most Mediterranean dishes. You might think that this oil high in fat, and you’re definitely right. The catch is that olive oil, and the other fatty foods that typify the region, are monounsaturated fats. Unlike the saturated fats that included in the artery-clogging junk foods that Americans love to chow down on, monounsaturated fats are actually healthy for your heart and may play an important role in preventing certain types of cancer.

Here’s the skinny: it’s not just olive oil that helps you slim. There is no one “magical food” that will ward off the pounds, it’s the entire Mediterranean approach to eating that helps keep them svelte and fit. Their diet is typically heavy on the fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and fish. Compared to the average American meal that is often laden with meats and cheeses that are high in fat and cholesterol, it’s no wonder that they’re healthier.

For example, the average person in Greece eats twice as many vegetables as the average American. So, the best bet for a healthier meal is to go Greek— stock up on the veggies and treat yourself to a glass of red wine with dinner, which is loaded with caner-fighting antioxidants. What else can you do? Here are some other suggestions:

Fish is also a great alternative to fatty meats, which is similarly high in protein, but low in unhealthy fats.

Use olive oil instead of other salad dressings that are high in calories. Throw in some bits of feta cheese to a bag of mixed greens and you’ve got a healthy Greek salad.

Have a sugar craving? For a sweet and nutritious dessert, try some baked apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

When buying bread products, steer clear of the processed white flours and look for the whole grains. Those darker breads contain more nutrients and give your body lots more energy than their whole-wheat counterparts.

If you need a quick pick-me-up, have a handful of almonds with some dried fruit.

Of course, you can get too much of a good thing. Even though nuts and olive oil contain healthy fats, they are both high in calories. The key to any successful weight-loss plan is portion control, portion control, and portion control. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with your food! Mediterranean eating is delicious and pleasurable, as well as being amazingly healthy! So eat up!

Recipe of the Week: Spicy Chicken Fingers

On a diet and looking for a way to put some kick into your everyday chicken dinner? Try this fast and easy recipe your entire family will love. Serve these tangy chicken fingers for a low-fat, low-carb flavor explosion! Leftovers are great chopped up for a salad the next day.

4 6oz chicken breasts, cut into 3 strips (skinless, boneless)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1/3 cup Lemon juice
1 tsp Vegetable oil or peanut oil
¼ tsp Red pepper or cayenne pepper

Combine the lemon juice, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, oil and cayenne pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Add the chicken strips and toss well to coat.

Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, tossing occasionally.

Preheat the broiler and lightly grease the broiler pan. Arrange the chicken strips on the rack about an inch apart.

Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 5 minutes, brushing once with the soy sauce mixture halfway through the cooking.

Turn the chicken and broil 5 minutes longer, again brushing with the soy sauce mixture halfway through.


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The "Day One" Diet

Here’s a scenario that might be familiar to many Americans: you realize that you’ve got to lose a few pounds to stay healthy, but you just can’t get over those overwhelming feelings when you look down at the scale and see how much weight you really need to lose. At this point, you ditch the diet because it looks like it will take forever to reach your long-term goal. Does this sound like you?

Traditional diets seem to fail many Americans. Why? Many diets can have a negative impact on your self-esteem since the emphasis is on losing those big numbers rather than smaller-scale goal setting. Dieticians emphasize that most people who successfully lose weight and keep it off have ditched the diet completely, in favor of concentrating on exercising and eating small, low-fat meals.

If yo-yo dieting does not seem to be working for you, you might want to try a new and different approach – the Day-One method of weight loss. The logic behind this method is that you make TODAY the only day you diet. The catch is that you start over again the next morning, so that every day is Day One of your diet. This breaks down your weight-loss goals into easy, attainable steps so that if you slip up, you can just start over without feeling like you’ve botched your entire diet.

This method is perfect for long-term dieters, who have a significant amount of weight to lose, but see no end in sight. By setting small daily goals for yourself, you will be able to make your path to weight-loss much more manageable, especially since gradual weight loss can become frustrating for those of us who are impatient to lose weight quickly. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, take pride in your day-to-day accomplishments that will eventually lead to a complete weight-loss success!