A Growing Epidemic: Road Rage and Intolerance

A few months back I went to the gas station to fill up my car. The gas station was busy and no pumps were available so I began my wait for a pump to open up. The person behind me, who had a pump open up for him on the side which he happened to need, started getting impatient with me and honked his horn at me a couple times before getting out of his car and very impolitely saying "If you move forward, I could get to the pump!" Before I could respond with "I have to leave room for the person in front of me to get out" he had turned and was walking back to his car. His car which was a huge, obnoxious, bright yellow SUV; maybe if you had a sedan you could maneuver the vehicle in tight situations such as this, sir. The entire time he pumped gas he did not even look in my direction and on my way back from paying a woman, who saw the whole incident, approached me and reassured me saying that "there was nothing you could have done" and "if it was me, I probably would have made him wait even longer."Seeing all these people get so aggravated, speeding through parking lots, refusing to let a fellow driver (who is probably in just as big a hurry as you are, I might add) over, and feeling the need to yell or exchange words with someone else, is truly horrifying. Driving seems to be becoming a justifiable precursor to murder for some people; for instance the driver who pulled his GUN on I-95. It's nothing new that more cars are coming onto the roads each year, creating a lot more traffic, adding to congestion. Patience is not only a virtue but a way to help control stress levels (as does laughing, so the next time you are stuck in traffic take a listen to a favorite comedian). One of the main reasons we see road rage so much on the road can be linked to depersonalization. When we look at cars on the road do we see the moms, dads, children, church goers, doctors? If we did we would probably have a second thought to spare for them, or at least not express such lewd gestures and foul language. A study mentioned in the linked to article above discussed how rats live together fine until there is "one rat too many" and then they start attacking each other; is that what is happening to us? The species that is supposedly superior and smarter than other animals... 

There are many reasons to control the amount of stress in your life, a lot of them pertaining to the health risks they can create. Realizing stressful moments and taking a minute to try and distress yourself can be beneficial to your future and longevity.A Florida study showed that the smells of peppermint and cinnamon together, while driving, will actually reduce fatigue and frustration while increasing alertness. So, maybe this will help easily aggravated drivers from reverting to primal actions while on the roads.

Shellac: The Miracle Nail Polish

Manicure lovers, this one is for you. 

As a person who rarely ever gets out to a salon or spa, it was shocking to hear about a new type of nail polish which acts like a gel nail but does not weaken the actual nail by filing it down or gluing anything over it. It is called Shellac nail polish and it was created by Creative Nail Design. The best way I can describe the nail polish is as a thicker version of regular nail polish.There are only a couple draw backs with this nail polish: the small amount of color options and the ten minutes you must soak your fingers in pure acetone to remove it. So far Shellac only comes in relatively standard colors, like reds, oranges, neutrals, and pinks, nothing too outrageous. However, the benefits of getting Shellac, in my eyes, far out weigh the disadvantages. Shellac nail polish is a little time consuming in the salon as each layer has to be dried by the special UV light, but this is not by any means a long process; the nail polish dries very quickly. Once the nail technician is done coating your nails and they have done a final run through the UV light, they are completely dry and ready to go. The nail polish is also unlike regular nail polish because it does not chip off and will last a solid two weeks before starting to become unsightly.

For me, finding a nail polish that is worth spending my money on and I do not start to chip off in the first two days is a complete miracle. Not all nail salons are offering this option yet, so it might be worth your time to check around and see who is. It is definitely worth your time and money to give this nail polish a try.

Everything Coconut

So, it has been a ridiculous amount of time since my last post and there has been a lot going on. One of my favorite experiences was Bikram Yoga, which a good friend told me about.

Bikram Yoga, also known as heat yoga, was a short lived experience, mainly due to cost of classes. Bikram is not one of the cheaper options out there and out of all the different yoga classes it is definitely one of the most difficult and, in my mind, beneficial. It is true that during the first class there are moments where you are not sure your body can handle the 105-110 degree heat for 90 minutes, but the key is to not leave the room, even if you are just sitting around watching what everyone else is doing.

Bikram takes it toll on the body and you sweat so much it is ESSENTIAL to replenish what is lost. This is how I first heard about coconut water. About a month after I started doing Bikram I became unable to make it through the full length of a class and would end up leaving intermittently, even during my first class I had never felt like I had to get out of the room so badly. It was during one of these times an instructor started talking to me and advised me to make sure I replenish my electrolytes. She then offered coconut water and explained the benefits it held.

I had been drinking Smart water which has three essential electrolytes, but water is NOT enough, as I found out. The instructor, whose name I did not catch, told me to try eating a banana before coming to get the extra potassium and showed me how coconut water has five, as opposed to the three, essential electrolytes that a body needs and sweats out. The brand that I got hooked on is Zico as it is the brand which the Bikram studios carry. Another brand to try is So Delicious which mainly offers coconut milk products; I first found out about them when I bought their, completely amazing, coconut water sorbet!

Immediately after trying coconut milk I noticed the remarkable resemblance it had to soy milk. The texture and initial taste was very similar to soy milk, but the aftertaste was definitely more coconut than anything else.

Coconut products have a very distinct taste and take a little getting used to, don't expect to love it straight away. Being in Bikram, because my body needed the nutrients, I would start to crave coconut water which was what mainly contributed to my love of the products. There must also be a love, or at least tolerance, of coconut flavor as well; if you hate coconut you are probably not going to enjoy the taste.

Never the less, I would highly recommend giving these products a try, especially for those of you spending a lot of time in the gym or thinking of trying something like Bikram!

My Favorite Dieting Tips

Everyone knows the basic dieting tips; limit alcohol intake, don't over eat/watch calorie intake, get exercise, and focus on healthy eating. This summer I have really taken more of an interest in dieting and been reading up on a few of them. Here are some things I have learned that are easy to incorporate into my everyday life even when I am not seriously dieting. And they still help me lose some weight!

The O2 Diet by Keri Glassman is based on eating foods high in antioxidants and will not only help you lose weight but also do amazing things for your skin! The 4 day cleanse it involves has you eating a lot more food than I am used to and by the third day could only eat the snacks because I was still feeling so full. These are a few of my favorite things from her 4 day cleanse which fill me up and keep me from too much extra munching:
Tips from O2 Diet: Replace regular water with lemon water (8 ounces water to 1 ounce lemon juice), green tea, scrambled eggs (1 whole egg + 3 egg whites), and a sliced granny smith apple with a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Cosmo released the 10 Best Dieting Tips, all of the tips are wonderful and will help the impact of any diet you may be on. My favorite is "reach for your cell." It is a great tip for the pesky cravings that you are not sure you can avoid. If you have a friend that is also trying to diet, even better, they can really help keep up your strength; it is always easier when you are not going it alone.

Women's Health Magazine promotes a book called Look Better Naked by Michele Promaulayko (editor in chief of Women's Health); you can get a glimpse into the book from the website and they will send the 2 day cleanse program to your e-mail free. The foods are delicious and the cleanse is only 2 days so for those of us who get bored eating the same foods every day for a week, this is a great solution.

Check out the link attached above to "Look Better Naked" for the 2 day cleanse, workouts, recipes and more!

Getting Away from High Fructose Corn Syrup

My friend recently put up a blog post called "The High Fructose Corn Syrup Rant" which has inspired my writing this blog post. Her blog has a couple good facts about the negative side of high fructose corn syrup so I strongly encourage you all give a little look over too.

Many you all have probably seen the television commercials like the one I have posted above; and while what the commercial says is true, it has annoyed me ever since the first time I saw it. One thing I want to point out is how they say "like sugar it's fine in moderation", while this is true, I dare anyone to go out and buy fruit drinks or sodas that do not contain high fructose corn syrup. Whenever I hear that statement I want to yell at them! how are we supposed to drink something in moderation when it's in EVERYTHING???

If they were really interested in helping us I suggest spending money on helping limit the amount of high fructose corn syrup used instead of commercials telling people things that are impossible to avoid. Its easier to stop yourself from buying chocolates and sweets containing sugar than drinks that should be somewhat healthy for us. Is it really necessary to buy our own fruit and juice it just to avoid all the sugar/high fructose corn syrup added to them?

(clearly not all the items in this image contain high fructose corn syrup, but most of them do)

Thankfully with all the organic and natural food industries that have become more recognized and sought after recently there are some stores which carry products containing less or no sugar. However, having to drive to three different stores to get all the groceries you need in the organic/natural/healthy way many people would like, it is hard to find the time and energy to do so. This is why many people just have to settle on the less healthy options even though they would rather not do so.

Every little step you take to help your body is well worth it, but having industries like these seemingly sabotaging our healthy choices seems unfair and cruel.

Natural Ways to Alleviate Body Ailments...

There seem to be a lot of medications out these days for colds, flu, headaches, and any other bodily abnormality; while it is nice to be able to get rid of these symptoms the medications are not always gentle on the body and its organs. I find it nice to be able to avoid these medications whenever I can. A couple things that I am always keeping around the house are ginger pills, liquid golden seal, and olive leaf pills.

Ginger:
Ginger pills are really great for joint pains and soothing the stomach. My parents actually love using ginger to help with arthritis. Generally they take 2 pills per day; one in the morning and one in the evening.

Golden Seal:
Golden seal is great to help get rid of things like cold sores. If you put some on a tissue and hold it over the spot it seems to help get rid of the cold sores a little faster.  I also have very mild acne that comes out every so often, and I find that applying golden seal over the area affected and it will actually help reduce/get rid of my acne.

Olive Leaf:
Olive leaf is AMAZING for colds; generally things effecting the respiratory system. I however also find it useful for flu like symptoms, mainly the achy muscles and light headed feeling. Olive leaf can also help prevent or lessen the effects of a cold if taken before you get it. Olive leaf should probably NOT be taken everyday even though direction labels might tell you that you can, it is possible to over dose on olive leaf and too much is not great for your body.
  

Iodine:
A couple drops of iodine in water is a great way to wash fruits and veggies. It can also be used to clean out cuts and scrapes.

*Random Fact: A good remedy for drawing poison from snake bites is to mix chopped onion and salt in a cloth and place it over the wound.

Curbing Appetite and Exercising

Summer has hit and if you are like me, you crave that lean, skinny bikini ready body. Unfortunately, this also means eating right doesn't always fit in with your particular diet. I definitely get some relentless cravings that seem impossible to ignore and blow any form of healthy diet I might have started.

Going to Ocean City this past week and being at the beach always gives me more motivation to stay on track with dieting but it is usually short lived. One thing that I found which is incredibly helpful are these lists of foods which curb appetite and which help curb those sweet cravings. This list of "How to Stop Sugar Cravings" by WebMD has some great tips, eating fruit and not letting my hunger get out of control are probably the ones that work best for me. This slide show of "Foods that Help You Eat Less" by Fox News is a great list of foods to start incorporating into meals.

Eating while trying to lose weight or just get a leaner body always seems like a ridiculous notion to me. It just seems like eating less is the way to lose weight or extra bulk; so it is difficult for me not to take the "starvation diet" road. But one of the best things you can do for yourself is get active and keep your body fueled. Setting yourself up for a binge period will definitely not help you out in the long run. Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and eating a LARGE, healthy breakfast can set you up to lose more weight and gain flatter abs than skipping it. Unlike the way we like to do things here in the great U.S.A. meals should get increasingly smaller, not increasingly larger; why are we saving our biggest meal of the day for bed (the most inactive part of our day) makes no sense.

 Since I happen to be a person who doesn't need to exercise and keep the most healthy diet to stay an average weight it can be really hard to find and keep the motivation needed to maintain my exercise/dieting routine. But exercising just to get a great body is not the only benefit you should look for. Just by taking a brisk walk you can lower your risk of stroke by 37% than those who do not walk. Remember: keeping your heart rate up for a half hour every day will greatly increase the health benefits you receive from working out.