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Trainers Reveal the Causes of Shin Splints (and How to Fix It)

December 30, 2020 by Power of Positivity

If you are an active person, imagine all the workouts that your legs get. Sometimes, though, you can have too much of a good thing. You know all too well if you’ve ever experienced painful shin splints.

Did you know that your tibia (shinbone) is the second-largest bone in your body besides your femur? It takes these massive bones, plus your fibula, to create the legs that support your body. Your tibia is the large bone in the front of your lower leg, and your fibula is the smaller bone in the back that supports your calves.

You will notice that the thick muscles of your calves cover your fibula while your shinbone is close to the surface of the skin. Your shinbones have a triangular shape with the smallest point towards the front of your lower legs.

Have you ever been exercising or even walking around the block and felt sharp pains in your shins? Or maybe it is a dull ache that never seems to stop. Chances are you are experiencing what medical experts call shin splints.

A journal article published by Comprehensive Therapy explains that shin splints are called medial tibial stress syndrome, or MTSS. While the syndrome’s pathology isn’t fully understood, it usually presents people who “overdo” exercises and other activities. Sometimes, shin splints can be a symptom of tumors, lipomas, or stress fractures.

What Causes Shin-Splints?

When you are especially active, you may be prone to MTSS, says an article from Current Reviews on Musculoskeletal Medicine. The report asserts that shin splints are the primary cause of exertional leg pain in athletes. MTSS is considered a repetitive stress injury, so it’s easy to see why athletes are affected.

Consider all the workouts you do with your legs, especially if you are a fitness or sports enthusiast. Any activity that involved your legs specifically, like running, kickboxing, or physical training, may trigger pain or MTSS. The article warned that if MTSS isn’t treated, it can lead to more serious debilitating disorders.

The article also mentions the gender differences in experiencing shin splints. It cites statistics published by Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics in North America that female athletes have 1.5 to 3.5 times the risk of developing progressive MTSS and stress fractures. Low calcium (hypocalcemia) can also be a culprit.

What Are the Symptoms of Shin-Splints?

The intensity of pain may vary from person to person. However, MTSS usually causes discomfort right along the edge of your inner shin bone. You may feel a stabbing (acute) pain, or it may be a dull ache that can be present during activities or at rest. Unfortunately, you can get MTSS in both legs at the same time.

What Are Other Risk Factors for Shin-Splints?

Being overly active isn’t the only risk factor for MTSS, although it’s usually the cause. Here are some other risk factors to consider:

•Having flat feet

•Wearing worn-out shoes or ones that don’t fit properly

•Your feet roll in when you walk or run (called pronation)

•Exercising on hard surfaces, like pavement

•You recently started playing a high-impact sport

•You’re a runner, gymnast, or dancer

•You don’t pace your training times, levels, or distances properly

How is MTSS Diagnosed?

Most of the time, mild symptoms of MTSS will resolve with a little time and rest. However, you should seek medical attention if the pain is severe or won’t improve. If you notice that your shin area is inflamed and feels warm to the touch, you should visit your primary healthcare provider as soon as possible.

Since a tibial stress fracture’s symptoms often mimic those of MTSS, your healthcare team may run a series of tests to determine a diagnosis. They will interview you to assess your symptoms, medical history, and current activity levels.

Some of the standard tests for MTSS diagnosis include an x-ray or MRI.

These imaging tests can reveal if the problem is MTSS or another issue like a stress fracture. If you have a stress fracture, the imaging will display a small crack along your shin bone.

How Can Your Prevent MTSS?

If you have any of the risk factors listed, you can take certain precautions to avoid a painful bout of MTSS. They may not be foolproof, but at least they can minimize your risks. Try these suggested hints:

•You should wear shoes that fit you well and will absorb shock when you run.

•If you are a runner, consider running on softer surfaces like a treadmill or a track.

•A novice runner should strive to build your speed and endurance gradually.

•If you are a gymnast or dancer, consider exercising on a sprung floor, a special floor with a little bounce to it.

•Try incorporating lower impact exercises like swimming, yoga, or Pilates.

How Can I Treat Shin-Splints

Since this common injury can be bone or muscular related, you first need to know what type of splint you are experiencing. Since the two are treated differently, you must see a doctor and have an x-ray for a definitive diagnosis.

•Bone Related

When bone-related, you need to be careful as all the bone stress can lead to a fracture. If you should get a fracture, then you will be down for a while. Bone related shin splints require rest.

It would help if you avoided all activities that put any stress on your legs, like walking or running. However, if you still feel that you must exercise to stay fit, then doing something like a stationary bike or swimming is acceptable. These workouts won’t put any undue on the bone to further complicate matters.

•Muscular Related

When the problem is muscular, it is a bit easier to treat than an issue with the bone. One of the best ways to treat it is to use a foam roller and roll it along your shins and calves. One of the most significant issues in a muscular injury is that the fascia is too tight, and running a foam roller over the painfully stiff region is perfect.

If you do this activity periodically throughout the day, then you will notice that the fascia is not as tight nor painful. Another commonly used method is a manual massage. You can do this or have a partner help you out.

Muscular issues require proper backing, which is why you might need new shoes. Your shoes must provide adequate arch support and allow your feet to be stable when walking or working out. The right support in a pair of shoes can help address biomechanical problems within your feet.

Additionally, it can help to alleviate stress from the muscle that is affected.

Prevent Shin Splints from Occurring

If you are an avid runner or someone who is continuously working out, then you might want to take proper precautions to avoid this injury. There are four things that you can do besides getting new shoes that can have a dramatic impact.

1. Reduce Your Running Pace

If you reduce your pace while increasing your foot strike rhythm, it will help you have better pace mechanics. When you learn how to put less of a load on your feet and shins, you will decrease the chances you will sustain an injury.

To help you learn this trick, you should count your foot strikes on your left side for about 60 seconds. Now, switch and count the strikes on the right side. The goal is to have no more than 90 strikes per minute on each foot.

Any more than that number is asking for trouble.

2. Workout Your Hips and Inner Core Regions

Improving these regions will make you a tougher runner, which enhances foot strike and your body’s mechanism.

3. Use the Ten Percent Guideline

The goal of most runners is to do more as you are always striving to get better and faster. However, you should never increase your weekly mileage by more than ten percent.

4. Monitor Your Vitamin Levels

Your vitamin levels are essential, specifically your vitamin D and calcium. When you are deficient in either of these, then you have an increased chance of developing problems. If you don’t want to take supplements, you can make sure you get what you need by eating milk, yogurt, and other dairy products.

Final Thoughts on Reducing the Pain of Shin Splints

Dealing with calf and shin pain is no easy feat. Whether the pain is in the bone or the muscle can significantly impact how it’s treated. However, it’s best to utilize methods to prevent the pain from occurring in the first place.

You can do many stretches and things to help with pain when it’s muscular, but you should always see a doctor for a definitive diagnosis. You don’t want to put any additional strain on an already problematic region. Shin splints are painful, but you will recover in time.

6 Conversation Killers To Avoid For Mindful Communication

December 27, 2020 by Lakeisha Ethans

Mindful communication is the act of speaking to another person with positive thinking, effectiveness, and honesty. It means being aware of your emotions, behaviors, and the position of your conversation partner and sticking to the current discussion in the present.

Though it sounds simple, many people struggle with mindful communication. It’s too easy to fall into all sorts of negative patterns that derail attempts at productive discussion. How can you ensure that doesn’t happen to you? Here are 6 communication killers to avoid for mindful communication.

1. Being Defensive

Not all communication is a walk in the park. Sometimes it can be difficult and personal, and someone can come to you to communicate criticism, negative feedback, or ways you’ve been unintentionally affecting them.

When faced with such communication, it’s very easy to take things as a personal attack of sorts. You’re upset at the idea that you’ve harmed someone, or you dislike the criticism you face. Either way, you might be tempted to make excuses, avoid responsibility, point fingers, or even deflect and protect yourself.

But this kind of defensiveness is contrary to mindful communication. You have to accept that conflict is a part of life, and all you can control is how you handle it. If you create more conflict from conflict, then you’ll have an unhealthy, never-ending cycle of anger.

Think about it: wouldn’t you rather someone was honest to you than they secretly had negative thoughts about you but pretended not to? In order for that honesty to come to fruition, you have to appreciate where they’re coming from without being defensive.

2. Making Assumptions

Everyone is unique and experiences different situations and life events. Even those who have been through similar experiences to you will have handled, felt, and overcome them in their own individual ways. Generalizing, using stereotypes, and other similar issues will prevent positive communication quickly.

With all the diversity and variation in the world, making assumptions is not just unfair, but unwise. It’s rarely ever safe to assume that you know what someone else is thinking or feeling, and these assumptions kill communication. Think about it:

Why would you bother to communicate if you assume you know what’s going on, or that others know what’s going on?
How can you hold a productive discussion when you’re holding onto incorrect assumptions that affect your ability to discuss things at all?
Can you maintain your focus in communication if your assumptions are quickly uprooted?

Don’t assume – express. Seek to understand and clarify and you’ll enjoy more positive and mindful communication. Exchange feedback, ask questions, and make your voice heard.

3. Providing Solutions

Unless someone is asking for advice or solutions, you shouldn’t assume that someone talking to you about something personal is a cry for your personal help. Your goal should be listening, understanding, and providing support, as you will help them find the solution themselves through their own words, without you ever needing to contribute. When someone communicates, they seek to be understood, not for advice to be shoved down their throats – especially in relationships like marriages, say studies.

It’s reasonable to ask if they would like advice, but offering solutions is a very quick way to kill communication. This is because you are shutting down the person’s attempt at communication with you by essentially telling them what they should do instead of conversing evenly. Here are some examples of solution-sending that are simply bad for mindful communication:

· Moralizing

Moralizing refers to the act of telling someone what the correct thing to do would be, often from a moral standpoint. It can make the receiver feel guilty and uncomfortable and often leads to resentment. Examples of moralizing statements include “You should really start waking up earlier!” and “Clearly, the right thing to do here would be…”.

· Advising

Providing advice to someone who is venting or communicating about their feelings can feel like a slap in the face. You’re illustrating how simple the solutions are to you instead of understanding that finding that solution isn’t the current point. Unless someone is asking for your advice, or you’ve clarified that they do want it, don’t just go offering it around! Examples of advising statements include “If you asked me, I would say that I would…” and “If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that you would do best if…”.

· Ordering

No one wants to be ordered around in place of positive and helpful communication. Telling someone what to do has no place in a mindful conversation. Examples of ordering statements include “Go deal with that right now!” or “Stop being so late.”. Threats added to ordering statements are equally common and even less helpful, such as “If you don’t start organizing your workspace, I’m going to throw your things out!” or “If you don’t fix that, I’m not talking to you.”.

4. Being Afraid Impairs Mindful Communication

Mindful communication often involves an element of bravery. You have to step up and be open, just as your discussion partner is. The problem, then, arises when you’re too afraid to take that step and lose positive thinking in the process. You might worry:

That there will be consequences to talking about your problems
That you’ll receive a response you don’t want
That it will be pointless for you to attempt to be heard as no one may listen

There’s nothing wrong with looking over priorities, risks, and reasons before deciding to open a discussion. You may even need some more time to process the events that require communicating about, or you may even decide eventually that you are at peace without such communication. These are all fine, but being dictated by pure fear alone is a killer of proactive discussion.

Try to avoid:

Wallowing in self-doubt to the point you aren’t sure if you deserve to air your problems at all
Being too cautious about wording so that it’s difficult for others to understand you
Refusing to trust the person you’re communicating with, even a tiny bit, to the point where you cannot feel safe when talking to them
Being so afraid of criticism that you immediately lash out if faced with positively provided feedback
Creating unfair expectations that you fear will not be met
Catastrophizing about potential outcomes
Deciding against saying exactly what you mean and hinting at your true intentions instead because you’re too afraid of being honest and direct
Using unresolved conflict as a shield against the potential to solve the current issue

5. Being Self-Focused

It’s human nature to focus on yourself, but that’s a surefire way to kill any communication that could occur. When someone is communicating with you, it’s either going to be an equal discussion or it’s going to be an exchange where you take turns listening to each other. Personal bias will never be positive for a discussion!

Whichever applies, the bottom line is that it’s never okay to make it about you when it’s not your turn. Even if you try not to let it show, focusing on yourself while someone is talking to you will quickly make the speaker feel like they aren’t being heard. Here are some forms of self-focus to avoid during such a discussion:

· Thinking Of What To Say Next

Have you ever been in a conversation where all you’ve been thinking of is how to contribute to the discussion when it’s your turn to talk? You might think you’re multitasking well, but you’re going to miss out on the speaker’s words and meaning if you do so. This is especially true if it’s a disagreement you’re conversing about – spending your time thinking of arguments is a surefire way to ensure no mindful communication at all.

· Taking Things Personally

Being offended, upset, or affected by someone’s communication isn’t an uncommon reaction. But giving in to those emotions and manifesting them negatively can put a big damper on communication efforts. For example, when someone talks about feeling sorry for their friend, you might wonder why they don’t feel sorry for you. Or, if someone is talking about how they dislike uncaring people, you might start to wonder if they’re talking about you. Don’t fall into this trap! Take people at face value.

· Being Distracted

When someone needs to seriously communicate with you, put your devices down, stop your current task (if possible), and face them, engaging in active listening. If you’re scrolling through social media or visibly engaged elsewhere, you’re going to wind up having a very one-sided form of communication. If need be, tell the speaker you’ll be able to devote your attention to them in a few minutes and finish up what you’re doing first.

6. Being Judgemental

In communication, there is no room for unfair judgment. Mindful communication means putting aside your gavel and paying attention. When you pass judgment onto someone trying to hold a conversation with you, you’re behaving high-and-mighty, as if you’re above them in some way, shape, or form. Here are some judgemental acts to avoid:

· Name-Calling

This contempt-filled behavior has never been productive, and it’s never going to be! There’s absolutely nothing to be gained from these kinds of remarks, and it only halts proper communication in its tracks. And this isn’t just limited to blindly thrown insults. Examples of name-calling statements that don’t include direct aggressive insults are “Don’t be so silly” or “You are too emotional”.

· Criticizing

Constructive criticism is fine – when asked for. But pure criticism with nothing constructive or helpful behind it is only going to come across as an attack. It causes conversation and discussion to be halted. Examples of criticizing statements include “That was such an unintelligent decision” or “I can’t believe you would do such a silly thing”.

· Diagnosing

This refers to the attribution of one’s behavior or actions to a perceived issue. Not only is this a form of assumption, but it’s also a shut-down altogether. You’re labeling someone right off the bat without giving them a chance to communicate. Examples of diagnosing statements are “You’re very clingy today” or “Someone’s being negative”.

Final Thoughts On Some Communication Killers To Avoid For Mindful Communication

The goal of communication is simple – to get your message across and hear the message of the other person. If you do not communicate mindfully, that message can get mixed up in confusion, emotion, and unfair statements. Do what you can to ensure a positive environment that welcomes direct and honest conversation!

Mass General Proves Short Workouts Can Improve Metabolic Health

December 27, 2020 by Kristen Lawrence

A new study found that quick bursts of exercise, even as short as 12 minutes, can greatly improve metabolic health. Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) discovered that short workouts cause changes in the body’s metabolite levels. These markers indicate a person’s cardiovascular, cardiometabolic, and long-term health. The paper published in Circulation explains that just 12 minutes of intense cardio can impact more than 80% of circulating metabolites.

The paper went on to describe that this type of exercise can open pathways that boost a number of health markers. Their research highlights potential mechanisms that could help health experts more thoroughly understand how bursts of exercise impact metabolism.

“Much is known about the effects of exercise on cardiac, vascular and inflammatory systems of the body, but our study provides a comprehensive look at the metabolic impact of exercise by linking specific metabolic pathways to exercise response variables and long-term health outcomes,” says investigator Gregory Lewis, MD, lead study author and section head of Heart Failure at MGH. “What was striking to us was the effects a brief bout of exercise can have on the circulating levels of metabolites that govern such key bodily functions as insulin resistance, oxidative stress, vascular reactivity, inflammation, and longevity.”

Key findings from the study

The MGH study gathered data from the Framingham Heart Study to measure circulating metabolites in 411 middle-aged men and women. The researchers recorded levels of 588 of these metabolites both before and right after 12 minutes of intense exercise. Astonishingly, the team found that positive shifts occurred in many metabolites that had previously indicated cardiometabolic disease at resting levels.

For instance, glutamate, a major metabolite associated with heart disease, diabetes, and a shorter lifespan, dropped 29%. Also, DMGV, a metabolite that increases the risk of diabetes and liver disease, decreased by 18%. Furthermore, researchers found that other factors besides exercise may impact a person’s metabolic health. This includes a person’s gender and body mass index, with obesity potentially inhibiting some benefits of exercise.

“Intriguingly, our study found that different metabolites tracked with different physiologic responses to exercise, and might therefore provide unique signatures in the bloodstream that reveal if a person is physically fit, much the way current blood tests determine how well the kidney and liver are functioning,” notes co-first author Matthew Nayor, MD, MPH, with the Heart Failure and Transplantation Section in the Division of Cardiology at MGH. “Lower levels of DMGV, for example, could signify higher levels of fitness.”

Analyzing a person’s metabolic responses may help predict lifespan

The Framingham Heart Study began in 1948 and spans three generations of participants. The MGH study applied the same signatures used in the current study group to stored blood from prior generations of volunteers. When studying how exercise affected their metabolic health in the long-term, researchers could accurately predict a person’s future health and longevity.

“We’re starting to better understand the molecular underpinnings of how exercise affects the body and use that knowledge to understand the metabolic architecture around exercise response patterns,” says co-first author Ravi Shah, MD, with the Heart Failure and Transplantation Section in the Division of Cardiology at MGH. “This approach has the potential to target people who have high blood pressure or many other metabolic risk factors in response to exercise, and set them on a healthier trajectory early in their lives.”

Other ways to improve your metabolic health

Get adequate sleep.

When you don’t sleep deeply or long enough, your body’s hormone levels become imbalanced. A study from Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin found that adults sleeping 5 hours or less had elevated ghrelin levels. This hormone helps regulate your appetite, so having more of it means you will feel hungry more often. Also, lack of sleep causes the hormone leptin, which suppresses appetite, to decrease.

Make sure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night and keep a regular sleep schedule. Turn off technology a few hours before bed, or use blue-light-blocking glasses to help regulate your melatonin levels. Also, keep your room cool enough so that you can sleep comfortably and soundly.

Exercise regularly.

Many people today don’t get enough vigorous exercise to offset their increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Some experts recommend getting at least 150 minutes of intense aerobic exercise each week, in addition to resistance training. We need both cardio and resistance exercise to keep our organs and muscles healthy. However, as the above study shows, you can get away with shorter workouts as long as you keep the intensity up.

Eat throughout the day.

We need a steady supply of nutrients to keep our brains and bodies moving! In our busy lives, it can seem difficult to eat enough quality food. However, if you plan ahead and prep meals during the weekend, you can make eating healthy a lot easier. Try to eat a few nutrient-dense snacks such as nuts, seeds or protein shakes during the day. In addition, include plenty of fruits and veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fats in your meals.

Drink plenty of water.

Chronic dehydration continues to rise as more people turn to caffeine-filled or sugary beverages instead. Not only does water stave off hunger, but it helps every part of our bodies function properly. If you feel thirsty, this means you have already gotten dehydrated. Keep a glass or stainless steel bottle with you at work or school to ensure you get enough water.

Eat more calcium.

One study found that calcium from low-fat dairy sources helped boost metabolic health in participants. In other words, calcium from these foods can help reduce body fat, allowing your body to function more optimally.

Final thoughts on a study showing how short workouts can increase metabolism

This study shows that we don’t need to spend hours slaving away in the gym to get healthy. Even 12 minutes of vigorous exercise can greatly improve metabolic health and reduce the risk of disease. In fact, these short bursts of exercise can impact about 80% of circulating metabolites! In addition to working out, getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water, and eating nutrient-dense foods can improve metabolic health.

9 Powerful Ways Random Acts Of Kindness Can Change Your Life

December 27, 2020 by Lakeisha Ethans

In today’s world, being kind isn’t as common as it should be. Many people shrug off compassion in favor of material growth and surface-level success. We are often too busy with the hustle and bustle of daily life to take the time out for random acts of kindness. It’s sad!

But what if you found out that being kind isn’t just something you do for others. What if it were something that can help you, too? What if compassion could dramatically alter your world in ways you may not have thought possible? Here are 9 powerful ways random acts of kindness can change your life.

1. They Reduce Stress

When you are kind to others, you divert your brain’s attention onto other people for a time. This is a form of pro-social behavior or behaviors performed to help others, and it can create bonds in what is known as affiliative behavior.

Pro-social behavior has been known to have tremendous positive effects on stress levels, helping people to cope with different stressors in life. It’s actually been studied numerous times, each time coming out on top for reducing stress impact and even aiding in the management of more balanced emotional function.

Meanwhile, affiliative behavior has its share of benefits, too. You’re forming a close bond and creating good feelings within you from feel-good hormones and pride in your actions. That’s why altruism is often cited as a way people find happiness and even health!

2. Random Acts of Kindness Boost Heart Health

Yes, we’ve all heard about how your heart can feel “warmed” when you perform acts of kindness for others. That feeling is compelling for those who aren’t expecting it and are genuinely moved and touched by it. But your heart actually isn’t just warmed. You also physically help it.

You see, random acts of kindness produce a positive hormone in the body known as oxytocin. This feel-good neurotransmitter works further by facilitating the production of more nitric oxide in the body, particularly in the blood vessels. This means that those vessels are dilating with the nitric oxide or expanding. This results in:

Better circulation
Better transportation of nutrients throughout the body
Reduced blood pressure

As a matter of fact, despite being most commonly only associated with positive thinking, oxytocin is also often considered a cardioprotective neurotransmitter – that’s how effective it is! So adding acts of kindness to your day can boost cardiovascular health in surprisingly helpful and healthy ways!

3. Your Perception Of Life Changes

It’s a little cheesy to think about, but your performance of random acts of kindness changes your life most profoundly by changing your perceptions and views of the world around you. Think about it: random acts of kindness are unconditional, selfless, and non-obligatory forms of love and care, given without the intent to receive in return. This gives you a subconscious chance to:

Acknowledge the existence of selfless goodness in the world around you, whether from you or for others
Spend increased amounts of time considering additional acts of kindness that you can continue to perform, therefore spending less time and negativity
Remove some of the jaded skepticism that may linger in your brain about the authenticity of generosity or altruism
Regard your relationships and bonds with more respect and love while spending more time thinking positively of them
Accept kindness from others as you realize that everyone could use a hand or even just a smile sometimes, and you’re in a better position to receive
Feel more hopeful and create purer intentions in your everyday life, potentially shifting your attitude and values for the better

In addition to those subtle perspective shifts, you can’t quite remove yourself from the equation when you act kindly. There’s something special about realizing that your actions have brightened someone’s day. Indeed, it can make the world seem much less bleak. It elevates you into a place of positive thinking!

4. They Make You Feel Loved

For some reason, when you give to others as an act of love, you naturally receive love feelings. It’s quite an interesting phenomenon, as your emotions respond most positively when you make others happy. This means loving others gives you the sense of being loved – and that’s not just a subjective statement, either.

In fact, a study entitled “Reflecting on acts of kindness toward the self: Emotions, generosity, and the role of social norms,” published in 2012 in The Journal of Positive Psychology, found several interesting facts about how emotional responses from kindness can increase this aspect. You will:

Feel more loved
Feel in awe of acts of love
Become more optimistic
Experience more positive thinking
Achieve better self-esteem

5. They Reduce Anxiety

Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time along its wide-ranging and complex spectrum. You might get a little nervous sometimes, or you might have severe panic disorders, or you may fall in between the two extremes. Whatever the case is, it’s unlikely that you’ve never felt anxiety in your life, ever.

A study entitled “If it makes you happy: engaging in kind acts increases positive affect in socially anxious individuals,” which was conducted by the University of British Columbia and published in the journal Emotion in 2013, revealed that kindness might be an effective way to manage such anxiety.

The research conducted in a randomized control trial indicated that low positive effect is typically associated with anxiety, especially of a social kind. Positive affect, in this case, can be defined as positive experiences of alertness, interest, happiness, joy, and so on.

But here’s the kicker – researchers then found that those who performed acts of kindness were able to enjoy a much higher positive affect occurrence in just a month! Even small random acts of kindness helped significantly, reducing their social anxiety in the long run.

6. They Improve Relationships

This is a fairly obvious point to consider. When you are kind to those in your life, especially when it’s not expected, you’re creating a stronger bond with them. Relationships that would have gone stagnant or drifted apart are instead strengthened when you take the time to be kind to the other party – and, chances are, they will reciprocate your kindness, leading to an ever-increasing bond.

Kindness is a part of human nature, believe it or not. It’s hard-wired into our systems. After all, our ancestors who came before us needed to work together to survive, and the more bonds they formed, the better their chances of managing the difficult life of the olden days.

Though we no longer need to group up to survive the harsh outdoors and a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, humans still build connections through cooperation. Be kind to the people around you, and they’ll be kind in turn, and your connections will grow and grow!

7. They Can Increase Your Productivity

Kindness can benefit you in somewhat surprising ways. If you’re looking to be more productive, try being kinder to people who you work with – and if you’re in a leadership position, start encouraging more kindness among those working beneath you.

A study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior in 2008, called “The Contours and Consequences of Compassion at Work,” indicated that the act of enforcing compassion as part of office culture could lead to increased productivity. Several reasons for this can be concluded logically, such as employees who:

Will not fear the micromanagement of leading figures.
Become less likely to engage in unhealthy forms of competition
They are likely to cooperate, leading to better productivity and work results.

8. They Can Prevent Illness

A lot of illnesses occur with something called inflammation, which occurs when blood pools in certain areas. The response intends to help get rid of an infection, heal wounds, or cure problems. It’s the reason your temperature rises when you get a fever-causing infection or why parts of the body that are injured tend to feel warm.

When it happens chronically, inflammation can be a factor in the risk of developing the following conditions:

migraines
obesity
diabetes
chronic pain
cancer.

Believe it or not, kindness may be able to help bring down inflammation. Thus, it leads to a reduced risk of disease.

Research titled “Do productive activities reduce inflammation in later life? Multiple roles, frequency of activities, and C-reactive protein”, published in 2014 in the Gerontologist journal, indicates that older adults who perform volunteer work have the lowest inflammation levels. Go figure!

9. Random Acts of Kindness May Facilitate Shifts and Evolution

A larger way that random acts of kindness can change your life is more surprising than you may expect. You see, kindness in sufficient amounts can become a feedback loop. It inspires others to be kind, which inspires more people to be kind, and so on. It’s the kind of positive cycle we really need in life today. So dedicate all that good energy to important things.

In the long run, this means random acts of kindness have the power not just to change your life but also the lives of everyone around and potentially the lives of every human being. Here are some thoughts to consider when it comes to an understanding of the evolution of humankind through kindness:

An act of kindness can dramatically change someone’s life for the better or even completely turn their life around, allowing them to play a bigger role in the cycle of kindness.
When you make something unexpected but beautiful in someone’s life, you remind them of the beauty that they, too, can create and the beauty that already exists in this world.
Your random act of kindness can shift another person’s perspective just enough for them to get back on track with positive thinking.
When you are kind, you serve as an example to the people around you about the possible things and can happen in the world.
Teaching others indirectly about kindness can promote kindness as a core value for future generations, strengthening the unity, compassion, and love humanity has for each other as the decades fly by

Final Thoughts On Some Powerful Ways Random Acts Of Kindness Can Change Your Life

You shouldn’t need a reason to perform random acts of kindness out of the goodness of your heart. Hopefully, these powerful ideas described today will convince you that it’s time to start exercising compassion more regularly!

Inspired by Her Children, Woman Starts Amazing Weight Loss Journey

December 27, 2020 by Kristen Lawrence

Opal Stacie, a mom of three, decided to start her weight loss journey to improve her and her kids’ quality of life. She said her wake-up call came when she couldn’t walk from the bathroom to the kitchen without losing her breath. She knew she’d have to start making changes to have better health and improve her fitness levels. For her, losing weight wasn’t just about becoming stronger physically – it was about empowering herself mentally as well.

Opal’s weight loss journey

“I started the journey because I wasn’t well mentally, and physically, my health started failing,” she said. “I started having headaches and I started to have really bad asthma symptoms.” Since she began to worry about her health, she made an appointment with a neurologist, but he couldn’t find anything wrong. She felt that gaining around 100 pounds in a short time led to her having unpleasant symptoms, so she made losing weight a priority.

Opal and her neurologist came up with a plan for her to lose at least 20% of her body weight so she would have better health. She said that eliminating unhealthy foods from her diet was one of the first changes she made. Cutting back severely on foods high in sodium and carbohydrates helped her feel better and eliminate unwanted bloating. The next step was to add some sort of exercise to her daily routine.

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A post shared by Opal | Wellness | Weight Loss (@opalstaciewellnfit) on Sep 1, 2020 at 5:29pm PDT

“Then, I made a goal of just moving, just movement, even if that meant just to walk around my neighborhood,” she said. “I did that for about 30 minutes, at least 5 times a day, 5 times a week.” She said she didn’t follow a specific diet, simply deciding to eat intuitively and listen to her body. Moving more and eliminating or reducing intake of unhealthy foods helped her reconnect to her body and give it the right fuel.

She quickly figured out what foods caused inflammation and what foods she should avoid. While she didn’t commit to one type of diet, she did count calories. This is a great idea for people just beginning their weight loss journey, so they can get an idea of how many calories are in certain foods. After a while, you can eat intuitively once you learn proper serving sizes and calorie amounts of the foods you eat.

A weight loss plan underway

This new plan for losing weight greatly helped Opal, but it didn’t always come easily. “Weight loss for me has been a struggle that I’ve dealt with my entire life. I don’t think there was ever a time that I was able to lose weight on my own.”

She said that her kids gave her the most motivation, because she wanted to have better health and fitness for them. She knew that if she felt healthier, she could provide more for her children mentally and emotionally. We all need a reason for the improvements we make in our lives, and sometimes that comes from the people closest to us. Plus, she can include her children in walks around the neighborhood, which teaches them the importance of exercise as well.

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A post shared by Opal | Wellness | Weight Loss (@opalstaciewellnfit) on Aug 12, 2020 at 12:42pm PDT

“I would say that physical fitness has given me my worthiness back. It has given me my confidence back, it has allowed me to live, honestly,” she said.

Her biggest advice to anyone wanting to improve their fitness and begin a weight loss journey is just to believe in yourself. Even if you have no idea where to start, just having faith in yourself can give you the momentum you need to take the first step. Opal says that it is possible and you can do it, as long as you keep that positive energy going. It may just turn out to be the best decision you’ve ever made.

On one of her Instagram posts, Opal said of her weight loss journey:

“Before I could lose a lb I learned to accept myself. I lied and told myself “you can do it” because at the time, failing so many times before left me with zero confidence in my abilities so I had to tell myself lies every day. The more I lied and pushed myself to workout, the easier it became to believe the lie.

I pretended like I had already lost 50 and it was only a matter of time before my body would catch up. It turns out, dedication, will power, resilience, courage, endurance those things were already embedded in me, wasn’t a lie. The lie was the loud voice telling me that I was too big to ever see real progress. The lie was that I wasn’t strong enough to complete a workout, the lie was that I didn’t have enough will power to resist my favorite foods.

If you lie to yourself long enough, you start to buy into it. You think that the things you’ve been telling yourself in your head is true. You are capable, you just have to believe you are capable and then make that 1 small step.”

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A post shared by Opal | Wellness | Weight Loss (@opalstaciewellnfit) on Aug 6, 2020 at 12:19pm PDT

This proves that everything begins in the mind. So you look at your body and feel like you have so far to go. But you can achieve whatever your mind tells you. Simply affirm every day what your goals are and tell yourself you’ve already achieved them! As long as you get your mind focused, you can totally transform your life and outlook. Self-love and care must come first, no matter what goals you have. Remember, as long as you remain centered and aligned with your inner self, everything will fall into place eventually.

Don’t Miss the 10 Confidence Builders Most People Ignore

December 26, 2020 by Power of Positivity

How would you rate your self-confidence on a scale of 1-10? Are you a confident person who believes that you can do anything you set your mind to, or do you need some confidence builders to boost you? If you lack trust in yourself, it harms your mental well-being. Did you know that if you think you can’t do something that chances are you will never accomplish that goal?

Your mindset is essential as you go through life, and it will change as you age. The way you feel towards yourself at 20 isn’t going to be the same by the time you hit 40. Life has a way of changing you through experiences.

For some, they are humbled, and for others, they get the wisdom they need to live the life they’ve always wanted. It’s normal for an 18-year-old starting out to fear the world around them, and they may have a negative mindset from being around peers who have the same thoughts and views. Thankfully, a unique thing happens as you begin to age.

You will start to have a mindset more geared towards success, and you will want to surround yourself with like-minded folks. Confidence builders are little tips and tricks that can help you mature and see the world through different lenses. Your experiences mold and shape you into the person you are, and some have had poor experiences to guide them.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve been through or where you’ve been; you can learn to be a new and better you.

Confidence Builders You Need to Succeed

Shake the dust off your feet from those past mistakes; here are some great tips to help you build your self-confidence so that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

1. Define Your Purpose and Set Goals

How many times did someone ask you what you wanted to be when you grew up? The chances are that you never became any of those dreams you wanted as a child. However, you are never too old to dream.

What do you want to do with your life? Where do you see yourself in one, five, or even ten years down the road? One of the best confidence builders is to define your purpose. If you want to give back and help children with special needs, then go towards your goal full steam.

When you stop looking at all the wrong things in your life and focus on what’s right, it can change your confidence level.

2. Surround Yourself with Positive People

Your inner circle is significant to your self-esteem. You want to make sure you have friends who help you build your confidence and not tear it down. It’s always essential to have a sound support system.

Positive people are the ones that can look at the glass as being half empty and see it as half full. They can help you see the light even in the darkest situations in your life. You need this kind of people around you to thrive and survive in life.

3. Quit Comparing Yourself with Others

It would help if you learned to be grateful for the things you have in life and not compare yourself with others. Social media has given people a skewed sense of reality. People post pictures loving on their spouse or the unique gifts they receive, but they never show you the things beyond those pictures.

Be honest; how many times have you read one of those posts and then felt down on yourself. It would help if you learned to take things you see and read at face value. Don’t compare material possessions, looks, or relationships with others. You have unique gifts and callings that are just for you.

Stop looking at the neighbor’s yard thinking the grass is greener over there. One of the most prominent confidence builders you can learn in this life is to be thankful for the things you have. Chances are, if you had the life you wish for of those you envy, you would want the life you have back.

4. Take Action

Why is it that the first step is the hardest one to take? You know what you want to do in life, but you lack the confidence to make that initial move. The difference between those that succeed in what they do in life and those that don’t is one got out of their comfort zone, and the other didn’t.

A man worked in a factory delivering goods to customers. His boss approached him and offered him a sales position to make about $25,000 more a year. It was indeed a boost in income, and he could pay off all his bills.

Sadly, the man turned down the job because he didn’t think he would be good at sales. The sales would be to the same people he had delivered supplies to for over 20 years, but he didn’t trust his abilities.

Don’t be afraid to take the chance. Believe in yourself enough to know that you can do whatever you put your mind to.

5. Develop a Good Exercise Routine

Exercise is the key to getting a better body and mindset. When you get rid of the few extra pounds you’re carrying, you will feel better about yourself. Additionally, you will also notice that you feel better mentally too.

When you’re working out, your body is boosting the vital neurotransmitters inside your brain. These chemicals, like serotonin and dopamine, help you to feel good. It will reduce any anxiety you have as it drives away the chemical imbalance that can hold you back.

6. Look Good, and You’ll Feel Good

How do you dress each day? Do you look like someone confident and ready to tackle whatever comes your way, or do you look like you grabbed the first clothes out of the laundry basket to go to work? Your appearance means everything.

If you want to make a million bucks, then you need to start looking like it too. Get up early, take a shower, splash some cologne or perfume on yourself, and dress like you mean business. When you look good, you will feel good. Confidence builders can be as simple as changing your outward appearance to reflect a positive mindset.

7. Focus on Solutions Rather Than Problems

Are you focused on your problems or your solutions? One of the most significant ways to improve your confidence is by adjusting your focus. It could be that you’re focusing on all the wrong things, and it’s holding you back.

Rather than looking at the lack of money in your checking account, why not look at the ways that you can make more cash? Confidence builders require you to think outside the box and find new and creative ways to get things done. As you pull yourself out of one dire situation after another, you will start to build your esteem, knowing you can handle whatever comes your way.

8. Get A New Best Friend

Did you know that your best friend is a direct reflection of you? How many times have you heard the saying that “birds of a feather always tend to flock together?” It’s an adage with plenty of truth behind it. You’re known by the company you keep, and their thoughts and mannerisms will rub off on you.

You want to make sure that your best friend is going in the same direction as you. If you have an always pessimistic and depressed friend, how can they push you to be a better you?

9. Fix Your Body Language

Did you know that your body language speaks volumes, and it communicates much louder than your words? Someone who has low self-esteem will feel down on themselves; they may have poor posture, keep their head hung low, and look like they’ve lost their dearest friend.

However, someone who is confident holds their head high and acts as if they own the world. Try changing your stance and see how it helps your mood and your confidence levels.

10. Fake It Until You Make It

So maybe you don’t have everything together, and your life is a mess. Why not learn to fake it till you make it? Just because you suffer from low self-esteem and have no confidence doesn’t mean you have to show the world how you feel.

Still get up and dress and prepare for success. Make sure you surround yourself with positive people and don’t envy your neighbor’s life. When you set yourself up for victory, even if you don’t feel like it, then you fake it until you get to the point where you believe it.

Final Thoughts on Confidence Builders

If only there were someone that could wave a magic wand and make you more confident. Alas, there is no magic solution to boost your ego. However, if you take small steps in the right direction, you can fix your mindset and grow over time.

A complete changeover in your thought processes isn’t going to happen overnight. Think about a person that’s climbing the side of a mountain. It takes momentum to make it to the top. Each step you take should be a learning experience in how to accomplish the goal.

When you finally reach your destination, you will realize all the confidence builders that helped you on the way, and you can share your journey with others.

10 Ways to Fix Things If Your Partner Dislikes Your Friends

December 26, 2020 by Power of Positivity

One of the most enduring parts of a committed relationship is that you and your partner are best friends. You complement one another in many ways, and you have each other’s backs. However, what do you do when your partner dislikes your friends?

According to research published by the National Library of Medicine, friendship plays a vital role in your well-being. Humans have evolved as social creatures and have a fundamental need for companionship. The study mentions that camaraderie is a critical component of happiness.

Ways to Settle Issues Between Your Partner and Friends

You’re in a problematic situation if you’re between your lover and your pals. While you are in love with your significant other, you don’t want to destroy years of treasured friendships. If your partner dislikes your friends, here are ten suggestions that may resolve the conflict.

1. Find the Underlying Issues

Whenever there’s a conflict in your personal or professional life, not everything is as it seems. Once you start talking to the opposing sides and do a little investigating, you may discover underlying issues. Some may be so obvious that you never noticed them, and others more hidden.

You know that your mate doesn’t care for your friends, but do you know why? Perhaps they are withholding some information from you or have a grudge from the past. Maybe it has more to do with your love relationship than any issues with your friends.

2. Is Your Partner Jealous of Your Friends?

This recommended step can be a slippery slope, but it’s essential to know. You’ll need to be honest with yourself if you suspect that your partner can’t stand your buddies because of jealousy. When you go out with your friends, does your partner become angry and critical?

Maybe they’re jealous of your time for a good reason. Do you spend most of your free time running around with your besties and rarely with your partner? Perhaps they feel lonely and betrayed because they’re always last on your list.

If this is the case, it’s understandable that your significant other may feel slighted and bitter. However, if your partner expects you to spend every second with them and is irrationally jealous, there’s a problem. You may be in a relationship with a controlling and toxic person, and you’ll be wise to make your exit.

3. What Do You Say About Your Friends?

You’ve probably known your pals for a long time. Perhaps you even grew up together and had many shared experiences. So, you have the advantage, and your lover may only be familiar with what you say.

If your partner dislikes your friends, listen next time to how you talk about them. Do you mention them in a positive light, or do you share all the things you can’t stand about them? Have you ever broken confidence and told your mate things about your friends that they trusted you not to repeat?

It’s impossible to erase something that you’ve already said, and your mate heard. However, you may try some damage control. It may involve apologies to your partner as well as to your companions.

Have you painted a skewed picture of who your friends are? Since that’s all that your person may have as a reference, it’s no wonder they think ill of your besties. The only way to fix this situation is to let them know your friends for a more accurate assessment.

4. Have You Outgrown Old Friendships?

Sometimes, you hang on to old friendships out of obligation. If you’ve known each other for years and have gone through a lot together, it’s hard to admit that maybe you’ve grown apart. It’s normal, and it doesn’t mean that either of you is a terrible person.

Maybe one of the reasons your significant other isn’t fond of your buddies is that you’ve also lost interest in them. Unless you have a strong bond, time and distance can make friends drift apart. You rarely spend time together or talk, so it’s just the natural course.

It’s not like you are “resigning” from a friendly relationship. You’ve simply grown apart and have gone your separate ways. However, if you are involved in a toxic friendship with others, and your mate realizes it, you’re within your rights to walk away.

5. Be Patient

Remember the old phrase about good things coming to people who wait? If your partner dislikes your friends, maybe you need to give them some more time? According to a study cited by the National Library of Medicine, people often form impressions of others by their physical appearance.

Such personal judgment isn’t always accurate. Have you ever met someone and your first impression of them turned out to be wrong? It takes time to know people for who they are, not by who they seem to be. So, be patient with your partner, and let them get to know your friends better.

6. Listen to Each Side

It’s difficult being between a person you love and longtime pals. If your partner dislikes your friends, you usually become the mediator. You need to make sure that you are listening to both sides.

Maybe your mate doesn’t care for your buddies for a good reason. If you don’t listen to them or are in denial, you’ll never know. To be fair, you must listen to what both parties have to say.

Active listening involves open body language, mirroring the speakers’ emotions, and restating what they’ve said. It’s the best way to avoid misunderstandings.

7. Have a Group Discussion

The best way to settle a conflict between your lover and your besties is to get it all out in the open. Consider meeting on neutral grounds and let each side have their say. Everyone may be surprised if there’s been a long string of miscommunications and misunderstandings.

Usually, these situations are mild, and there are no strong emotions involved. However, if your partner dislikes your friends intensely or has a history of confrontation, your group discussion may be more difficult. In this case, you’re better off talking to both sides separately.

8. Learn How to Compromise

After having a group discussion and hearing both sides, you may not like everything you hear. However, confrontation may be the tool that helps resolve some issues. If not, it’s still okay to agree to disagree.

Maybe you’ve come to an impasse that makes you realize that your mate and your buddies will never be close. Unless either side is toxic for you, you needn’t choose one over the other. It’s possible to love your person and keep your other friends.

By making a compromise, you also set some ground rules. Your pals will be supportive of your love relationship and civil to your partner. Conversely, you will ask your significant other to be supportive of your relationship with long-time besties.

9. Create More Occasions to Get Together

Often, your partner dislikes your friends because they don’t genuinely know each other. The best remedy for that is to make your person part of your social circle. The next time you meet your companions for dinner or a movie, bring your mate along.

Consider inviting your pals over more often, so your partner feels more relaxed around them. Ideally, a couple has mutual friendships. However, differences in culture or ideals may make it difficult. The only way you can tell is if you bring everyone together.

10. Make Some Hard Decisions

Staying between your lover and your besties can wear you down mentally and emotionally. If you’ve tried to be a peacemaker and nothing has worked, you have some hard decisions to make. Take into consideration what you’ve learned from discussions.

You must try to set your emotions aside and re-evaluate your relationships. What if your friends and your lover clash because they’ve been trying to warn you that your lover is toxic? It’s not a case of choosing your buddies over your mate, but rather you are choosing your best interests.

If your significant other is acting out of jealousy and has control issues, listen to your friends, and say goodbye. It’s a difficult call, and you must know that your companions are acting out of love and for your well-being. This is an extreme case, though.

On the other hand, what if your partner dislikes your friends because they are toxic and you’re too close to realize it? Good friends will be supportive of your love relationship when they see you are happy and being cherished. Those who get jealous or try to sabotage you and your partner aren’t real friends, so write them off.

Final Thoughts on Your Partner Disliking Your Friends

There are no rules that say your partner and your friends must be one big happy family. However, it makes life a little easier when they can at least be civil. It’s up to you to offer the olive branch and see what happens.

Science Reveals 12 Reasons You Should Eat Amaranth

December 26, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Have you heard about amaranth? This fast-growing plant is taking the health world by storm due to its amazing health benefits. You may wonder why you should add amaranth to your diet. Here are 12 good reasons why that may be a good idea.

What is amaranth?

The word amaranth in Greek means immortal. Although amaranth’s health benefits aren’t as extensive as mortality, they are worth noting. Amaranth is a bushy type plant with a thick stalk and abundant leaves. This fast-growing plant can reach anywhere from three to nine feet tall. The seeds of the amaranth plant are used to mill flour. Aztecs popped amaranth seeds and eaten ate them with brown sugar in Mexico’s ancient times.

Amaranth is also used in medicine in some countries to remedy malaria, diabetes, bacterial diseases, snake bites, and parasites. Both red and green amaranth plants provide lots of health benefits.

So why eat amaranth? Let’s take a look at why this healthy food exploded onto the nutrition scene again recently.

Twelve Reasons to Eat Amaranth

To say that amaranth is nutritious is an understatement. Researchers continue to dig up new evidence of its health benefits. Here are at least 12 reasons you should add this amazing plant to your regular diet.

1 – High in Vitamin C

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid aids the growth and proper development of your body’s functions like the formation of collagen, the ability to absorb iron, healing, and maintaining your immune system. Without enough vitamin C in your body, you can’t maintain good bones, cartilage, or teeth.

A recent study on green amaranth found it contains a higher amount of vitamin C than the red amaranth plant. It’s abundant in antioxidant phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are compounds found in plants. When you eat plants high in phytochemicals, they can lower your risk of some diseases.

2 – Amaranth is gluten-free

Gluten is found in pasta, bread, and cereal. It’s healthy for most people, but for some, gluten triggers reactions such as inflammation or gut pain. Because amaranth is gluten-free, it’s a great alternative substitute for grain. Amaranth is low in carbohydrates and easy to digest, but be sure to cook it. It’s not digestible eaten raw. You can cook it like you would a grain.

Cooked amaranth

Add 1 cup amaranth to 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil
Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until soft
Don’t let it set too long; otherwise, it will get mushy and jelly-like. Eat it as a savory dish or sweet, depending upon what you add to the grain.

Popped amaranth

Put one tablespoon of amaranth seeds into a saucepan and set on medium heat. Allow seeds o warm-up, and they’ll begin to puff up. Shake the pan when you hear the popping sound to make sure all the seeds get popped. Don’t let them get too hot, or they’ll burn.

3 – Lowers cholesterol

Cholesterol builds healthy cells, but too much cholesterol in your body causes a buildup in your blood vessels. This blockage makes it difficult for your blood to flow properly to your arteries. This leads to heart disease. There’s no way to tell if your cholesterol is high except through a blood test.

Research confirms that amaranth is high in fiber and phytosterols. So eating it may lower your cholesterol and, in turn, lower your blood pressure and reduces your risk for atherosclerosis. It’s also packed with vitamin K, which helps with blood clotting and helping wounds heal. It’s also thought that vitamin K can help you have better bone health.

4 – Boosts immune system

Your immune system plays a significant role in your body’s health. Protecting your body from harmful germs, substances, or cell damage, your immune system goes to work, destroying any foreign microbe that enters your body. It’s important to have a healthy functioning immune system to stay healthy. Amaranth is packed with antioxidants, which means it boosts your immune system.

It’s also thought that it has anti-inflammatory benefits to help relieve arthritis and other inflammation-related diseases. It’s phytochemicals neutralize the free radicals and other damaging that affect your health. Amaranth oil can be used topically to relieve painful minor injuries and skin conditions.

5 – Abundant amounts of protein

The cells in your body contain a lot of protein. You need protein to help your body repair damaged cells and build new cells. Protein is essential for proper growth in kids, teens, and pregnant women, high in protein and amino acids, including lysine. One cup of this super grain provides 10 grams of protein, which is higher than most grains. In fact, this plant-based protein is very similar to milk proteins, which makes it easy to digest.

6 – It may be good for diabetes

Left untreated, diabetes is harmful to your heart, kidneys, and nerves. The high glucose levels damage your organs, causing a stroke, a heart attack, eye problems, feet, and nerve damage. If you have diabetes, you need to manage your glucose levels by eating a healthy diet and checking the levels throughout the day. Amaranth can lower blood glucose levels. With 2 grams of fiber per half a cup of amaranth, it’s a great addition to your diet.

Because amaranth is considered high on the glycemic index, it should be eaten with a grain that has a lower glycemic level. A glycemic level is a number assigned to foods that represent the rise of your blood glucose level a couple of hours after eating food. Good grains to mix with amaranth are as follows:

Buckwheat
Brown rice
Quinoa
Oats
Rye
Barley

One study suggests combining amaranth with a type of grain in 25% to 75% for the lowest GI level.

7 – Loaded with vitamins and minerals

Vitamins and minerals are combined to provide your body to perform many roles in your body. They keep your bones strong, heal your wounds, and boost your immune system. Some vitamins and minerals turn your food into energy and repair damage in your body. If you’re looking for a great source of vitamins and minerals, look no further than amaranth. This super grain is a great source of vitamins, including vitamin C, E, A, K, B5, B6, folate, niacin, and riboflavin. Amaranth contains many minerals, including:

Calcium
Copper
Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Phosphorus
Potassium
Zinc

8 – High in calcium

Calcium is essential to maintain strong bones and perform other functions. Most of your calcium is stored in your bones and teeth to keep them hard. Your body also needs calcium to build and maintain your muscles and nerves. Eating amaranth regularly may help improve your bone health. This is because it has much calcium and vitamin K. Thus, it helps to fight osteoporosis, a degenerative disease that causes bones to become brittle and weak.

9 – Aids your digestion

Digestive problems make it difficult to find healthy foods that won’t affect your gut. Look no further than amaranth super grain. With lots of fiber and other easy-to-digest minerals, amaranth is a good gluten-free grain to add to your diet, especially if you have Celiac disease. Just be sure to cook or pop the amaranth before you eat it. When it’s not cooked, it’s hard like a dried bean.

10 – Strengthens blood vessels

Ugh, varicose veins!

Those ugly blue and green bumpy veins that pop out on your legs aren’t attractive. They can also be painful and sometimes harmful. The secret to getting rid of varicose veins could be as simple as adding amaranth to your diet. Packed with flavonoids such as Rutin, which helps reduce varicose veins, amaranth also strengthens the capillary walls due to its high amount of vitamin C and collagen.

11 – Healthy eyes

It’s easy to forget about the importance of keeping your eyes healthy until you face an eye infection or other eye-related problem. Amaranth is easy to boost your eye health due to its high level of vitamin A and carotenoid. Muscular degeneration and cataracts are common as you age. Adding amaranth to your diet can help slow down these degenerative diseases.

12 – Helps your overall cardiovascular health

Today, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death for women and men in the United States. Cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity are a growing problem for all age groups. Studies found that this grain is a good dietary source for people with CVD because it contains magnesium and healthy dietary fiber.

Final thoughts on Adding Amaranth to Your Diet

Amaranth leaves, stems, and seeds are packed with proteins carotenoids, amino acids, and dietary fibers to name a few. This super grain is a high level of antioxidants phytochemicals and vitamin C promotes your immune system and helps reduce heart disease.

The plant acclimates well to drought or wet conditions, so it’s easy to grow. Thus, it’s making a big impact on countries around the world who are adopting it as the main food source, especially in poorer countries where food is difficult to grow. Researchers are constantly finding new health benefits of this amazing plant. With so many benefits to eating this food, the question isn’t why should you eat amaranth, but why aren’t you?

Adorable Dog Learns to Use a Soundboard to Communicate with Family

December 25, 2020 by Kristen Lawrence

Pets have so much to tell us, and this dog showed the world how to communicate with family using a soundboard. The beautiful Australian Shepherd named Flambo uses buttons with words on them to talk to his owners. When Flambo pushes them with his paw, it makes the buttons say the words aloud. This helps the adorable dog communicate his wants, needs and thoughts with his family, an incredible feat!

Flambo’s owner Abba has many fond memories with her beloved Aussie dog. However, she says one of the most memorable ones was the first time he said he loved her using the buttons. Flambo’s ability to communicate with family in this unique way makes their connection even more special.

How Flambo came into Abba’s life

“I got Flambo when I was looking for a new service dog prospect,” Abba says. “My other dog was getting older and it was ready to retire. I found Flambo’s breeder because I’ve known her for 14 years. She breeds fantastic, healthy dogs with great temperament and I knew she would have a dog that would absolutely fit my needs.”

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A post shared by Flambo (@flambothedog)

Little did she know at the time just how much Flambo would change her life! Of course, Australian Shepherds are well-known for their intelligence and training potential. So, the fact that Flambo can communicate with family using the buttons is something you’d expect from this dog breed.

Facts about the Australian Shepherd

According to the American Kennel Club, here are some basic facts about this beautiful dog:

They are smart, exuberant, and hard-working.
They have a life expectancy of 12-15 years.
Australian Shepherds are in the herding group.
They need a lot of exercise, at least 1-2 hours a day, and a large area to run around in.
It’s one of the most popular dog breeds in the U.S.
They actually aren’t Australian. They probably came from the Basque region of Spain, and shepherds from this area took their dogs with them to Australia. From here, they brought them to the U.S., so Americans called them Australian Shepherds.
Aussies became famous from rodeos, where they helped herd bulls and perform tricks.
Native Americans considered them sacred, nicknaming them “ghost eye” because of their pale, ghostly blue eyes.
They often have two different colored eyes, called heterochromia.
These shepherds can do a wide variety of jobs due to their intelligence. Common duties include being a Seeing Eye dog, search and rescue dog, or drug sniffing dog. They make wonderful service dogs of any kind as well.

“I knew instantly that he was the right guy for me, and after a few weeks of begging, I was finally able to take Flambo on a test trial and the rest is history,” Abba says.

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A post shared by Flambo (@flambothedog)

“Besides the obvious unconditional love, some of the positive things he brings to my life is laughter. I don’t think there’s an hour in my day that goes by without him making me laugh or smile,” Abba says. “He is goofy, he is funny, he is so happy; and he just keeps you entertained and happy all day long.”

Why dogs make us feel so much better

Pets in general have this incredible ability to brighten our lives and lower our stress levels. Dogs also teach us important qualities such as love, compassion, patience and generosity. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that “pet owners exhibited greater self-esteem, were more physically fit, were less lonely, were more conscientious, were more socially outgoing, and had healthier relationship styles (for example, lower fear and preoccupation levels) than non-owners.”

According to the Dog Parent Study conducted by BarkBox, 71 percent of dog owners believe their pets have made them happier. Almost 80 percent find it easier to get out of bed in the morning thanks to their dogs. Around 93 percent believe their dogs have made them better people!

Some people call dogs the angels of the animal world because of their loyalty and unconditional love. Studies have shown that even spending a few minutes with dogs can boost oxytocin in the brain, the “feel-good” hormone. You may feel this love chemical when dog, which lowers feelings of stress and anxiety. It also boosts empathy, trust and relaxation levels.

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Research published in the journal Science found that just gazing into each other’s eyes caused a huge spike in oxytocin for both dogs and their owners.

“Of the duos that had spent the greatest amount of time looking into each other’s eyes, both male and female dogs experienced a 130 percent rise in oxytocin levels, and both male and female owners a 300 percent increase.”

Dogs have astounding healing benefits for humans, and it seems our furry friends benefit as well! If you have a dog and want to teach it to communicate with family like Flambo does, watch Abba’s video for more tips. You can find the stickers for the buttons on Amazon.

Pet owners reveal the true reasons they canceled their plans with friends.

Final thoughts: Dogs can learn to communicate with family in clever ways, such as using buttons like Flambo

Flambo the Australian Shepherd learned to talk with his family using stickers on buttons. Any owners can teach their dogs to do this with a little patience and training! While Australian Shepherds are known for their intelligence, many dog breeds can learn this unique communication technique.

Dogs have so many benefits for humans, including boosting oxytocin levels, lowering stress, and keeping us active! If you have a dog such as a shepherd, you know firsthand how much exercise they need. Dogs just make life better all around, and if they can communicate with family like Flambo, it’s even better!

We hope you enjoyed hearing about Flambo’s story, as well as learning about all the beautiful things dogs bring to our lives. If you have a pet of your own, let us know in the comments if you have taught them to communicate with you! We would love to hear how it’s changed your life.

Weekly tips, affirmations, and small actions to feel your best.

Get adequate sleep.

Exercise regularly.

Eat throughout the day.

Drink plenty of water.

Eat more calcium.

Every day is a day to shine. Shine on!