10 Secrets to Clear and Healthy Skin Naturally

It seems like you’re tired of using skin care products and wants clear and healthy skin naturally. I know how it feels when pimples keep popping up, dark spots are visible, and many more. The first thing you might want to do is hide your pimples, dark circles, open pores, and whatnot! But what if I would say the secret to clear and healthy skin can be found in your kitchen? I’m sure you would be surprised to know about a few simple pantry ingredients, like honey, aloe vera, and turmeric.

If you’re interested in trying natural DIY remedies, there is a lot to do. For those simple and effective DIY practices, you need to know about the 10 Secrets to clear and healthy skin naturally.

They are:

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is made up of essential fatty acids that help in reducing the dryness of skin and allow it to retain moisture. It provides a protective barrier and shields the skin from environmental toxins and dirt. Applying coconut oil can smoothen, soften, and overall it actually helps to improve your skin’s texture. If we use coconut oil regularly, it can diminish the aging signs. This is the only oil that absorbs into the skin easily and swiftly that provides instant hydration and protection.

Turmeric

From ancient times, people from all over the world have linked turmeric to healing properties as well as cosmetic benefits. Turmeric encompasses antioxidants and anti-inflammatory components. The characteristics of turmeric can provide a natural glow to the skin.

You must wanna try a simple DIY turmeric face mask at home. To see if this magical spice of skin has many positive effects on your skin, try it out! Mix small amounts of turmeric, honey, and yogurt together and apply them to your face. Keep this DIY turmeric mask on your face for 15 minutes and then wash off with normal water.

Honey

Honey has an organic acid like gluconic acid that accelerates peeling dead skin cells just like we use a scrub but without rubbing. With age, dead cells stick to the skin’s surface giving a dull and patchy look because their shedding is tardy. Henceforth, honey helps in improving the dullness, and patchy look of your skin. Just mix honey with almonds or oats in dry skin type and 2 spoons of chickpea flour for oily skin. Apply & massage on the face for two minutes and rinse off.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is rich in water content that helps in moisturizing skin, enhances natural hydration, and makes our skin plumpy, smooth, as well as youthful — especially if you have dry skin. Perhaps Aloe Vera is most known for soothing temporary redness. It also helps minimize the dark spots on the skin. Apply aloe vera leaf directly to dark spots on the skin to help reduce their appearance.

Papaya

In addition to being a delicious fruit, papaya is an enormous source of antioxidants and enzymes that gives a lot of health benefits. The high content of vitamins makes papaya most beneficial for our health. Papaya also proved promising results in treating sinuses, eczema, and other hardness of the skin. The simple way to use papaya for skin lightening is to rub mashed papaya on your skin. Leave it for 5-10 minutes and wash it off. You will see instant skin lightening and moisturization on your skin.

Tomato Juice

As you know there are dozens of skin whitening creams on the market. Many of those can contain harsh chemicals that can irritate your skin. So, if you want to make your face glow, use tomato juice generously regularly. Tomato juice is full of vitamin C which is an excellent option for naturally lightening your skin.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil has natural antibacterial properties. It is majorly responsible for treating acne. The tea tree oil can reduce the irritation due to acne and then calms the skin. It also helps to kill acne bacteria and recover the skin. Never use tea tree oil directly on your skin, always dilute it first with any other carrier oil. You can mix 2 to 3 drops of tea tree oil with 1 spoonful of coconut oil.  

Water

Skin is an organ that is mostly made up of water. If your skin doesn’t get enough water, it becomes dry, tight, as well as flaky. It is easy to see the visible change that hydration can make. Keep yourself hydrated to fewer wrinkles and fine lines. Water keeps your skin moisturized, which increases your elasticity. Do not forget to take a sip of water from time to time.

Sleep

When you don’t sleep enough, it can affect an extensive range of things as well as your hormones, and even you’re eating habits. It has been scientifically proven that people who don’t get enough quality sleep show additional signs of skin aging.

Manage Stress

Good sleep is not only helpful to your skin’s health but also to your overall health. So, if you love your skin, find some time to enhance your sleep. Not only you would feel better every day, as well as you will be much gladder with the appearance of your skin.

6 ways that actually work! Improve your Mental Health

What is Mental Health? How should we treat it?

Mental health includes mental, emotional, and social well-being. It affects how we feel, and interact with other people. The state of mental health goes beyond the mere absence of mental illness. It is vital to your general health and overall quality of life. Not only physical health but mental health is becoming less taboo to talk about openly and accept mental illness.

So when it comes to being mentally healthy, don't be unenthusiastic; it is essential to take care of your mental health to get the most out of life. Let us see some ways that are highly effective to take care of your mental health. Making small changes to the way your lifestyle doesn't cost a lot of money or take a lot of time. Some general tips can add value to your life. So why not start today itself?

6 ways that actually work to improve mental health

1. Stay active and exercise: 

A regular workout can boost your confidence and helps you in staying focused, sleep, and feel better. Staying active and including exercise as part of your daily tasks is vital to keep your brain and your other organs active and add essential benefits to improving your mental well-being. Regular exercise can release "endorphins," which help us feel happy and look better, increase attentiveness, and improve our sleep.

2. Respect yourself:

Find some time for yourself, to do things that you enjoy and expand your outlooks. For example, you can enroll in a dance class (if you like), and learn music or a different language.

It is really important to maintain your physical health because it will directly affect your mind. When it is about your mental health, a healthy diet and drinking plenty of fluids can increase your energy levels. Unhealthy foods, smoking, alcohol, and some medicine can also cause you to feel low.

3. Stay around good people: 

People who have big families or a lot of social connections tend to be better than those had the support of a network. Do activities with family and friends where you will make new friends, for example, in clubs, or with groupmates. It’s better to meet people in person rather than interact on phone calls. However, it's not always feasible. You could also contact them or drop them a message and plan meet-ups accordingly. Always stay open for communication!

4. Sleep Enough

Enough sleep can be a significant factor in mental well-being: If you take enough rest, you’re capable of handling anxiety, can deal with issues, and can stay focused on positive thoughts. To know the total amount of rest you require, then listen to your body. Your body can tell if you're getting enough rest if you are not feeling tired throughout the day. It's easy to say that we could achieve more by cutting down on sleep, but it could actually be more challenging to complete tasks.

5. Take a break and relax for some time: 

Try to include the practice of meditation in your break times. Set up regular time slots to do meditation, not only does this do other things you love. What are you passionate about? It's a great way to combat anxiety. If you're doing something that makes you happy, it most likely means your stress is released.

6. Prioritize your goals and set priorities:

• Decide what should be done right now and what can be postponed.

• Be able to say "no" to new tasks whenever you feel that you're doing too many things.

• Keep a track of what you've achieved at the end of the day, and do not worry about what you've failed to do

• Giving time to others in your professional or personal life will make you feel more confident about yourself.

A Conclusion:

You read the above 6 ways that can help you take care of your mental health. If you include these habits, mental issues will no longer be part of your life; they should be treated simply and not make it so difficult. You can read this famous book A GUIDE TO MENTAL HEALTH & PSYCHIATRIC NURSING written by R Sreevani. Still, if you feel like you cannot cope ups with the mental stress, you must reach out to a professional counselor. 

How to make Coconut milk at Home?

Why Coconut Milk?

There are many benefits of coconut milk. We think that coconut milk contains cholesterol. But many studies have proved that raw coconut does not contain cholesterol. Coconut will turn into cholesterol when we cook it. So, if you want to avoid cholesterol from coconut, never cook it. If you are using it in a curry or soup, first cook the curry and then add it. Due to this, there will be no cholesterol in your food.

Choose the right Coconut!

To make coconut milk at home, you need to choose the right one. By green coconuts, milk cannot be made. The one which is brown in color should be taken. It has a white fleshy pulp, that should be used to make fresh coconut water.

How to make Coconut Milk at home?

• To make coconut milk, take fresh coconut.
• Remove the brown layer (if you wish).
• Chop it into small pieces.
• Take a blender, and add 1 cup of freshly chopped coconut and 2 cups of water. Blend them together and make a fine paste.
• Now strain the coconut paste with the help of a soft and thin cloth.
• Squeeze it to get fresh and thick coconut milk.

Ideas to add coconut milk to your diet!

1. Coconut Milk Smoothie: 

Take 1 cup of freshly made coconut milk into a jar, add 2 ripen bananas, 3 dates, and a pinch of cinnamon powder. Blend it and serve chilled with ice cubes.

   2. Coconut Buttermilk: 

Take 2 cups of coconut milk, 1 cup of water, 5 to 8 mint leaves, and ½ teaspoon of roasted jeera powder. Blend it and serve it chilled.

If you like my recipe and ideas for using coconut milk, give it a thumbs up and share it. 

Avoid these foods on an empty stomach

Eating healthy food has become a trend these days. No doubt it is really a good thing to follow a healthy diet. We all know what is best for our health and what is not. There is a lot of information available on the internet. But, in the pursuit of eating healthy and staying healthy, we eat anything anytime. In the process of being healthy, we need to be aware of what to eat at what time. In this article, you’re going to know about those foods that should be avoided on an empty stomach.

Foods that should avoid on an empty stomach:

Sweets

We generally go after desserts and chocolates when we are starving. We quite often expect that desserts contain the important sugars which wouldn't simply be satisfying yet will really help with supporting the energy levels as well. But desserts are thought of as one of those foods that shouldn’t take on an empty stomach.

Fermented milk products

Most of us include yogurt and other milk items in our breakfast with oats or even in the smoothies we drink. Which no doubt keeps you full but truly isn't great for the body. We have fermented milk products because of their valuable probiotic properties and lactic acid in them. But yes, we should avoid them because the hydrochloric acid overwhelms the lactic acid from these milk items. This is the reason why we should avoid milk products on an empty stomach.

Tomatoes

There are many health benefits of Tomatoes. They are good for the skin and for overall health. But tomatoes have tannic acid, if we eat them on an empty stomach, it can cause acidity. That is why experts say tomatoes should not be eaten on an empty stomach.

Bananas

Bananas are another food that should avoid. It has potassium and magnesium. But if we’ll eat them on an empty stomach, potassium & magnesium levels in the blood will spike. And this can cause heart-related issues.

Spicy food

Spicy foods can really be amazing for your taste buds. But at the same, it is not the right choice to eat on an empty stomach, especially when you are hungry and have not eaten for quite some time. Spicy food can damage the gastric mucosa in your stomach. This can cause many negative impacts on the stomach.

Coffee

Drinking coffee on an empty stomach can trigger the secretion of hydrochloric acid in your stomach. Not only this, it can badly affect you, you can feel a burning sensation in your heart. Coffee can be the best option to cut down our sleep and tiredness, but please do not prefer it on an empty stomach.

Puff and Pastries

Puffs and pastries contain yeast that can irritate the inner lining of the stomach if you eat them on an empty stomach. Not only that the process of proliferation of yeast can cause indigestion.

Kindly avoid these foods on an empty stomach. You can replace these items with some good options like a morning detox drink, Fruit Juices, and healthy and light breakfast options like Idly, and Dosa.

See, how Essential oils can help you in your hair growth journey!

Are you suffering from severe hair breakage and thinning?

Nowadays, due to changes in lifestyle many of us are facing severe hair breakage and thinning of hair. We are doing a lot of things to save our hair but no difference. Sometimes this might happen due to not taking a proper diet. If we are not aware of what we are eating and only focus on external hair treatments, I’m telling you this is not going to work. As much as we are taking care of hair externally, it’s important to give them a healthy diet as well. To know what to eat or what not for your hair, please go through this post.

Let’s move on to the topic of Essential Oils. Before discussing essential oils for hair, know how oiling is important for our hair. In my previous posts, I told you how to choose oils for hair. Now we are talking about Essential oils.

What are essential oils? How does it work to stop severe hair breakage and thinning?

Essential oils are well known for their aromatic smell. They are extracted from plants through the distillation process. Many cosmetic brands use essential oils in their products, as it works as a preservative. Essential oils are capable to do wonders for hair health. As it is very effective and strong, cannot use directly on hair. We need to mix it in any carrier oil and then use it regularly. This practice can stop severe hair breakage. Promotes hair growth, strengthens hair, and makes it super shiny.

Types of Essential Oils for hair regrowth:

• Lavender Essential Oil
• Rosemary Essential Oil
• Tea Tree Essential Oil
• Peppermint Essential Oil
• Orange Essential Oil

Try using essential oils and experience the difference in your hair health. If you want to buy online, Click Here (Buy on Amazon)

Now you’ll definitely wanna eat lentils! Know the Reason

What are Lentils?

Lentils are such a food; many people don’t know about their benefits. For those who don’t know anything about lentils, let me tell you. Lentils are seeds of the legume family. We have various types of lentils, and all have their unique qualities. Various colors of lentils are brown, red, green, yellow and black, etc. Antioxidants and essential nutrients present in lentils make them very nutritious.

They are also an excellent source of Protein, Iron, Potassium, Folate, Zinc, Manganese, Prebiotics, and Copper. Let us know about the nutritious value of lentils per serving. One cup of cooked lentils can give 18 grams of protein, Carbs 40 grams, 16 grams of fiber, and fat 1 gram. continue reading to know more about the Health Benefits of Lentils

Health Benefits of Lentils

As we discussed above the nutritional value of lentils, also provides us with many health benefits. Lentils help us in managing or reducing Diabetes. An Antioxidant (polyphenols) in lentils can reduce our blood pressure as well as cholesterol, which is good for heart health. If you’re trying to manage your weight or lose weight, then replace your high calories food with lentils. They are a good source of weight management.

How to include Lentils in our diet?

There are a lot of ways to include lentils in our diet. If you’re a vegetarian, then yes, lentils are a good source of protein for you. Mostly lentils are used in vegan recipes like soups, and stews. It can serve with plain rice or brown rice. You can also use it in protein-rich salads. We have many ways to add it to your diet. I want to suggest one thing, as lentils are high in fiber, do not overeat. It can cause bloating, cramping, and gas. Half a bowl of cooked lentils is a good portion.

Try out these Healthy and Quick recipes

I tried to cover everything about the Health Benefits of Lentils. Hope my efforts in arranging information in a short article might help you! For more such interesting and helpful stuff, you can go through the relevant articles.

Delicious Chicken Salad Recipe

Today I’m going to share a recipe that is full of protein. The main ingredient of the recipe is Chicken Breast. Adding chicken breast to your meal can help in maintaining stronger muscles, and healthy bones. Chicken Breast can keep you full for a longer time and helps you to control your appetite. In a single chicken breast, we will get 128 calories, 2.7g of Fat, 26g of Protein, and No Carbs.

Let’s go through the ingredients and the preparation process:

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Ginger & Garlic (Paste or Powder)
• Black Pepper
• Chilli flakes
• Dried oregano
• Cumin powder (Optional)
• Hung Curd
• Olive Oil
• Veggies (Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumber, etc.)

Preparation:

1. The first step is marination, before adding the masala to the chicken breast do not forget to prick it with a fork or knife. So that it will absorb all the flavors well.
2. Take chicken breast in a bowl, and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and salt. Rub it well and then add ginger & garlic powder (you can also use paste), 1 teaspoon black pepper, chili flakes, dried oregano, and roasted cumin powder. Mix it well and keep it aside (If you have time, you can leave it for 30 mins).
3. Take two tablespoons of hung curd in another bowl, and add some extra virgin olive oil, chili flakes, oregano, salt, and mix. Chop your favorite veggies and add them to the curd mixture.
4. Grease some oil on a grill pan, and add the marinated chicken breast. Let it cook for 6 mins on a medium flame, after 6 mins turn and cook another side.
5. Cut the cooked chicken breast into small pieces and add the chicken pieces into the mixed veggies bowl.
6. Enjoy your lunch with this protein meal.

This chicken breast recipe is the best protein meal you can enjoy today! Give it a try and enjoy this healthy and delicious protein meal.

Stay tuned for more…

Almond Banana Smoothie for Breakfast

Delicious idea for breakfast and the best way to add almonds to your diet. I know you already got an idea about the recipe by the title of this post. Yes, I’m going to share the recipe for Almond Banana Smoothie. This Recipe is loaded with lots of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and omega 3. The ingredients of this recipe make it delicious as well as nutritious.  

Ingredients:

• Almonds
• Oats
• Banana
• Flax Seeds
• Cinnamon
• Honey
• Chia Seeds

SERVES 1

Preparation:

1. To start making our delicious Almond Banana Smoothie,
2. First, take 3 tablespoons of Oats in a pan and slightly roast it. (Allow it to cool)
3. Next step, take 15 Almonds in a mixer jar, pour some water, and blend. (You will get creamy almond milk)
4. In the same jar of Almond milk, add one banana, roasted oats, one spoon of flax seeds, one cinnamon stick/1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder, and 1 teaspoon of honey. Blend them.
5. Take a serving glass, pour the blended smoothie in it, and add some soaked chia seeds.
6. Garnish it with roasted crunchy oats and some honey.
7. Enjoy your delicious and nutritious breakfast.

I hope I made your day with this delicious recipe for Almond Banana Smoothie. This idea of breakfast can keep you full for long hours because we have used oats in it. You will save some time from your busy mornings, as this smoothie can make in no time. For those who are willing to lose weight or are on diet, then this will be a good option for them.

I’m sure you are definitely going to try it. You can get lot of such interesting stuff and delicious ideas for food on my Blog. Stay tuned

Thank You.

6 Healthy Habits to follow Every day

We all want to stay healthy and live longer. But our current lifestyle is making us unhealthy. To improve your health and turn it into a healthy lifestyle, challenge yourself to follow these 6 Healthy habits to follow every day. 

1. Drink Water on an empty stomach

If you want to live a healthy life, start drinking water first thing in the morning. It will help in cleaning your bowels. After long hours of sleep, water hydrates your body and helps the body parts to work more efficiently. This practice will also help you lose weight. Try to drink 2.5 liters of water per day. You can also get enough water by having fruits and vegetables.

2. Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise can improve your muscle strength and boost your stamina. Exercise carries oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and helps your cardiac system work more competently. And when your heart and lung will be healthy, you have more energy to challenge daily tasks. 

3. Do not skip Breakfast

Doing breakfast is important for many reasons. It kickstarts your metabolism and helps you from overeating. If you don’t want to have a heavy breakfast, just keep it light and protein-rich. Eat anything which you like eggs, fruits, etc. But do not skip breakfast anyway. 

Look out for Breakfast Ideas

4. Eat healthy throughout the day

Eating healthy means trying to include green veggies and fruits in your diet. Say a big “No” to oily snacks and sugary drinks. You can have chicken or fish with lots of greens. This is not just enough, to maintain a healthy diet, you need to keep control of your portions. This practice will help you a lot in maintaining a healthy weight.

5. Avoid Stress

Stress could be a major concern for mental health. It’s important to take care of physical as well as mental health. Avoid stress to lead a healthy life. If this concern is not taken care of, you might face many health issues. Do not think too much, keep your mind relax. The best practice to avoid stress is Meditation. Meditate twice for 20 mins a day. 

6. Sleep

One more thing that should be taken care of is Adequate Sleep. Sleep for 7 to 8 hours, and try to go early to bed. So that you can able to cover 8 hours. This will help you a lot to stay the energetic whole day.

Hope these 6 Healthy habits to follow every day will help you.

What are the Protein Rich Foods?

We have already discussed in a previous article, that our body needs protein to help our muscles, bone, skin, hair, etc. to work better. Now let’s discuss some foods which are rich in protein.

•       Eggs
•       Almonds
•       Chicken breast
•       Greek Yogurt
•       Milk

How can we include these protein-rich foods in our diet?

1.     Eggs

One egg contains 6g of protein, whereas cereals only provide about 5 grams of protein. If you will have, 3 large eggs can give you 19 grams of high-quality protein. Not only protein, but it will also give you nutrients such as selenium and choline. What’s else we want? Eating eggs for breakfast will reduce your appetite and keeps you full for quite a few hours.

Ideas for yummy egg breakfast recipes

    2.     Almonds

Almonds are one of the highest protein sources among all nuts. It also contains 6g of protein in 1 ounce and around 170 calories. You can it to your diet by eating overnight soaked almonds. Even you can also sprinkle chopped almonds in salads.

Add Almonds to your diet like this

3.     3.      Chicken Breast

A lean source of protein is Chicken Breast. 100 grams of skinless chicken can give you 22g of protein. For a person who eats meat, chicken is the best option to have enough protein. Cooking methods for chicken can reduce the chances of fat consumption. Have it in lunch as low calorie and high-protein meal.

Look out for some delicious recipes for chicken breast

4.     4.      Greek Yogurt

Greek Yogurt is nothing but a thick and creamy version of yogurt, which is very high in protein. Not only protein it’s a good source of calcium as well. You can use it in sweet dishes as well as salads and smoothies. I prefer to pour it into my fruit bowl.

Try out this amazing idea

5.     5.      Milk

We all know milk is a good source of calcium, but yes, it is also having high-quality protein. Adding milk to your diet can increase your daily intake of protein. If you don’t like the taste of milk, you can try its substitute. Like coconut milk, cashew milk, and many more.

Make delicious coconut milk at home

Thanks for reading and stay tuned to my Blog for useful information like this.