Beautiful and healthy #1 : Products that will increase your metabolism and will keep you healthy

It is said that we are what we eat. But what should we eat if we want to be healthy and good-looking? I would like to share with you a list of some products that scientist agree on their good effect. I was trying to find some new science researches on that so let’s take a look on that and maybe you will decide to add some of these products to your daily nutrition. 

1. Onion. Did you know that in onion peel you can find a substance called quercetin that has been known to have anticholesterol, antithrombotic and insulin-sensitizing properties? These days’ studies investigated the effect of quercetin-rich onion peel extract on antioxidants amount and weight loss for obese women too. Results showed that onion consumption significantly reduced waist and hip circumference for obese women. To add more, dangerous active oxygen forms were reduced, so it proved that onion can be used as an effective antioxidant.

2. Grapefruit. In the last study, consumption of grapefruit was associated with higher intakes of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, dietary fiber, and improved diet quality. Grapefruit may provide a healthful option for adults striving to meet fruit recommendations.

 3. Polygonum minus or locally known in Malaysia, as "kesum" is rich in micronutrients and natural antioxidants. However, its beneficial effect on outcome associates with oxidative stress including cognitive function is yet to be discovered. But supplementation of kesum is safe to be consumed for 6 weeks, with potential benefits to attention, short-term memory, improved quality of life, and mood, as well as IQ.

4. Yogurt. There is a latest research that was investigating effects of high-protein vs. high- fat snacks on appetite control The purpose of this study was to determine whether a high-protein afternoon yogurt snack improves appetite control, satiety, and reduces subsequent food intake compared to other commonly-consumed, energy dense, high-fat snacks. These data suggest that, when compared to high-fat snacks, eating less energy dense, high-protein snacks like yogurt improves appetite control, satiety, and reduces subsequent food intake in healthy women. So probably it could be a good choice for those who want to reduce their daily calorie intake.

5. Cocoa! Chocolate and other cocoa products are not all alike. They differ between themselves in term of nutrients, calories, and bioactive constituents. Therefore, some of them are unhealthy foods, whereas others do not affect health and still others are healthy foods. If you decide to eat chocolate, you should prefer to choose this one with bigger amount of cocoa, because it has less fatty calories and also it can even make your metabolism work faster and reduce harmful oxygen forms amount in the blood.

 6. Calcium is known to have a good impact on bones (so for a good posture as well), but there are also some evidences that calcium supplementation may decrease blood pressure and consequently cardiovascular disease.

7. Decreased appetite and the improvement of the quality of sleep could have a significant impact on the nutritional status. There is such thing as melatonin supplementation that has a beneficial effect on the quality of sleep and reduction of body weight. It may be stated that the results of the studies of many researchers indicate that melatonin can be safely and permanently used in combined treatment of obesity in postmenopausal women. 

8. Fruits and vegetables! The benefits in researches were greater for fruits compared to vegetables and strongest for berries, apples/pears, tofu/soy, cauliflower, and cruciferous and green leafy vegetables. A stronger association were found between increased intakes of higher fiber, lower glycemic index (lower carbohydrate quality) vegetables and weight change, consistent with experimental evidence suggesting an influence of these factors on satiety, fat storage and energy expenditure. Many vegetables were inversely associated with weight change, but starchy vegetables such as peas, potatoes, and corn had the opposite association in which increased intake was associated with weight gain. Although these vegetables have nutritional value (potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B₆, iron, fiber, and protein), they have a higher glycemic index that could explain their positive association with weight change.

No matter what we will choose to eat, the most important thing is to listen to our body. 

You have some questions? Doubts? Experience to share? You need to find more healthy products that will improve your life quality or other topics on beauty/health/nutrition you want to read about? Please, feel free to write some comments below.

How can you become a successful leader?

     The most successful people in this world maintain and master good habits. They understand what they do and where they have to direct their energy. But the sad news is that most people don’t have very good habits. And the great news is if you are unhappy where you are and what you are you can change it! If you will decide to try to be successful, to achieve high levels of success, probably you will have to start to develop the habits that can bring you that. I would like to introduce you with summary of lots advices how to be successful. Mostly of them are from leaders that are successful at life, business and family. 

     Firstly, if you want to be successful, you need to have a positive mental attitude, you need to continually feed your mind with positive thoughts. All negative thoughts can’t made you leader, because, a great percentage of successful people have all experienced some sort of setback or failure and they could have just stopped their journey right there and called it quits. But it won’t lead anywhere. Instead, they had a positive mental attitude about themselves and their abilities, which gave them the power needed to continue along and reach their goals. Creating this sort of attitude could be one of your most important habits that you end up incorporating on a daily basis. Psychologist Angela Duckworth has spent years studying kids and adults, and found that one characteristic is a significant predictor of success: grit. "Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint." So you should demonstrate your passion for what you are doing. And remember that everyone has fears. But successful people don’t allow their fears to limit or define them. Fear inevitably keeps you in the same position and stunts your growth. Recognize your fears and seek ways to overcome them. Interview someone you admire and ask that person how he or she overcame a fear or pick up an autobiography and take notes.

      Secondly, engage in self-improvement daily! Successful people are always looking for ways to improve themselves. They read every day and are students of their profession. They don’t spend their time on activities that don't bring them closer to their goals. Though they are a great start, you must continue to educate yourself. Take part in seminars, read everything, surf the net. Even when you think you've got it, press on. Many successful people read 30 minutes or more every day. Reading can increase your knowledge and know-how. When you read, often you are seeking to improve yourself. This automatically sets you apart from your counterparts. Did you know that many successful people limit the amount their TV time to one hour or less a day? How much time do you lose in front of the television that you could be spending doing something more productive?

     Thirdly, invest in relationships! People who are successful are other-people focused. They take time out of their day to strengthen the bonds of friendship and form long-lasting relationships with others. Networking is something they do all the time. They reach out to their contacts and look for ways to help them with no expectation of in return. There's a saying that goes, “Show me who your friends are and I’ll show you who you are.” People are only as successful as those they choose to surround themselves with. Good associations can help you more quickly achieve your goals. According to research conducted by University of California Santa Barbara economist Catherine Weinberger, the most successful business people excel in both cognitive ability and social skills, something that hasn't always been true. She crunched data linking adolescent skills in 1972 and 1992 with adult outcomes, and found that in 1980, having both skills didn't correlate with better success, whereas today the combination does. "The people who are both smart and socially adept earn more in today's work force than similarly endowed workers in 1980," she says.

     I would like to finish with the classic Marshmallow Experiment of 1972 involved placing a marshmallow in front of a young child, with the promise of a second marshmallow if he or she could refrain from eating the squishy blob while a researcher stepped out of the room for 15 minutes. Follow-up studies over the next 40 years found that the children who were able to resist the temptation to eat the marshmallow grew up to be people with better social skills, higher test scores, and lower incidence of substance abuse. They also turned out to be less obese and better able to deal with stress. 

     No matter where you are in life, there is always more to reach for.  When you constantly strive to become a better person, refine your skill set and invest in your future daily, you become more as an individual. When you become more as an individual, your value increases.  The more your value increases, the more successful you will become. And of course- don't give up when the going gets tough. You may have to change your direction, but keep moving forward.

You are interesting in some tips and tricks on how to start everything? You need some advices how to reach these goals that were mentioned? Or you would like to read some examples of building/investing/starting? Just show me your interest by writing it in the comments below and l will do my best by writing another one post on this topic here!