Stress You Are Such A Pain In The........

Minimize Stress With These Tips

-Give your time to something or someone that you believe in. I do this with animal rescue and it really does work to alleviate the stress from other parts of my life. There is no better feeling than giving and helping others for the sake of being truly kind and caring.

-Avoid excessive alcohol, caffeine, fats and sugar. Don’t Smoke- No fun I know but.... What you eat and drink really affects your body and by indulging in an unhealthy diet you are really just adding to the stress. I will be the first to admit that when I feel stressed I want diet Pepsi and chocolate so I need to work on this (hard, very hard).

Have an apple instead of a cookie - Another bummer but it works.....this really sounds not very appealing but if it works it is worth a shot.LOL

-Exercise regularly.-Whether you like to walk, do weights, or whatever it may be for you just keep moving . I always feel much better after a great workout at the gym.-Take time for yourself to relax each day.

Meditate, go sit by the water, read your favorite book-Whatever it is for you that relaxes you take even 5-10 minutes a day to do this for yourself. For me there is no place like being near the ocean. It renews me!

-Learn to “let go” of things which are outside of your control. A tough one for me! I obsess over what I cannot control until ,y voice of reason says enough!

Learn to adapt to change-This one is hard for me a lot of the time because I want things to go my way and I keep trying so I need to work on letting it go.

Hopefully you follow at least a few of these and they help with your stress levels. Good luck. Stress is such a pain in the you know where!!

Chocolate Lovers Rejoice!! Just In Time For Valentines Day-Chocolate Pros! MMMM!! Woohoo!

Just In Time For Valentines Day! Chocolate Lovers Rejoice!!!!

Does it get any better than this really? Harvard researchers recently found that cocoa flavanols (protective substances that are also abundant in dark chocolate) help improve blood flow to the brain, which could slow the mental decline that occurs as you age. Surely this is great news for me as I eat more chocolate than anybody should be allowed in a lifetime! After reading this and of course indulging in some chocolate to help my mental decline I decided to share one of my all time favorite posts that I wrote sometime ago on the benefits (okay a few cons but definitely more benefits) of chocolate. If this does not make your day all you chocolate lovers out there then I don’t know what will.

Chocolate Pros-Wooohhhoooo!!! It is good for you!!!

**If you eat chocolate, only eat dark chocolate-Dark chocolate has many beneficial polyphenolic bioflavanoids that have powerful antioxidant properties, which can actually help to protect you from damaging oxidative stress. (This is good news-definitely cheers me up a bit)

**Chocolate contains the same type of disease-fighting "phenolic" chemicals as red wine and fruits and vegetables, says Andrew Waterhouse of the University of California at Davis.

**Boosts brain chemicals- More Americans crave chocolate than any other food. Some explanations: chocolate's "melt-in-the mouth" consistency and mood-lifting chemicals such as caffeine and theobromine. And when mixed with sugar and fat, chocolate appears to boost "feel-good" chemicals in the brain (endorphins and serotonin), thus promoting euphoria and calm. Some women use chocolate candy to "self-medicate" for premenstrual syndrome, studies have found.

**Doesn't cause acne. Giving up chocolate won't cure acne or pimples, according to a famous test at the University of Pennsylvania. In the test, 65 acne-plagued adolescents ate the amount of chocolate in 1 pound of bittersweet chocolate a day for a month. For another month, they ate a dummy chocolate bar. Their acne was no worse on the real chocolate than on the fake chocolate.

**Helps lactose intolerance .Chocolate makes milk easier to digest if you are lactose-intolerant. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island found that adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of cocoa to 1 cup of milk blocked cramping, bloating and other signs of lactose intolerance in half of 35 subjects. Cocoa stimulates lactase enzyme activity, they found.

**Also, researchers at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego recently found that chocolate contains anandamide, a chemical that mimics marijuana's soothing effects on the brain (this must be why I run for chocolate when stressed).

**Tests show chocolate contains antibacterial compounds that may discourage, not promote, tooth decay.

**No link to hyperactivity -Some contend that eating chocolate (or sugar) causes hyperactivity, aggression or other behavior problems, notably in children. But several scientific studies have found no evidence of that. In fact, some research finds sweets calm many children.

**Tastes really, really good! Chocolate Cons (I don't like any cons with chocolate but in the name of fairness....)

In Fairness (and sadness) a few Cons......

**Chocolate's greatest crime is that it usually is combined with animal fats, dangerous trans-fats and sugar in high-calorie, bad-fat baked goods.

**Can cause heartburn. Chocolate is a common culprit in heartburn, according to tests by Donald O. Castell, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania. The reason: Chocolate contains concentrations of theobromine, which relaxes the esophageal sphincter muscle, letting stomach acid squirt up into the esophagus. If you suffer from heartburn, he advises, go easy on chocolate.

**Does contain caffeine. Most people have no negative reaction to small amounts of caffeine. If you're sensitive, you should know how chocolate stacks up with caffeine sources: 5 oz. brewed coffee has 85mg caffeine 5 oz. loose tea or 1 tea bag, 30mg 6 oz. cola, 18mg 1 oz. chocolate candy, 6mg 5 oz. cocoa or hot chocolate, 4mg 6 oz. chocolate milk, 4mg
Fun Fact!!!!!!

The average American eats almost 12 pounds of chocolate a year (double that for me). World chocolate consumption rises 3 percent a year, while cocoa bean production rises just 1.5 percent. To avert an eventual shortage, growers are working to increase production. LOL!

Source USAWeekend.com

Happy Valentines Day!

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